Chapter 12 – Awakening.

MAIDEN CORE SYSTEM ACTIVE...

...AWAKENING THE MAIDENS...

STASIS FIELD NULLIFICATION: SUCCESSFUL.

SUBJECT(S) RELEASED.

SCANNING...

SUBJECT(S) STATUS: ALIVE.

SUBJECT(S) MANA CAPACITIES: INCOMPLETE.

SUBJECT(S) WELL BEING: HEALTHY.

MANA SYNCHRONIZATION: 70%...

 

 

ACTIVATING ARKCHILD SYSTEM...

AWAKENING CF-203...

AWOKEN.

AWAKENING CF-204...

AWOKEN.

AWAKENING COMPLETE.

BONDING ARKCHILDREN TO HOST(S)...

CF-203 SUCCESSFULLY BONDED.

CF-204 SUCCESSFULLY BONDED.

BONDING COMPLETE.

PREPARING TO RELOCATED ARKCHILDREN...

SELECTING TARGET LOCATION:

LOCATION SELECTED: MAIDEN(S) SHELL.

TARGET LOCATION LOCKED...

POWERING MANA ARRAY...

MANA SYNCHRONIZATION: 60%

MANA ARRAY ACTIVATION: SUCCESSFUL.

ARKCHILDREN SHIFTING UNDERWAY...

...SCANNING...

SHIFT COMPLETE.

ARKCHILD SYSTEM ACTIVATION COMPLETE.

 

 

PREPARING TO RELOCATE SUBJECT(S)...

SELECTING TARGET LOCATION:

LOCATION SELECTED: CORE-TEMPLE [[SOUTH]]

TARGET LOCATION LOCKED.

POWERING MANA ARRAY...

MANA SYNCHRONIZATION: 40%

MANA ARRAY ACTIVATION: SUCCESSFUL.

MAIDEN SHIFTING UNDERWAY...

...ALERT...

...FLUCTUATION IN LEYLINE INTEGRITY DETECTED...

...MANA SURGE DETECTED...

...ANOMALY DETECTED IN MAIDEN(S) DATA...

...PARTIAL MANA ABSORPTION BY MAIDEN(S) DETECTED...

...ERROR...

...MANA ARRAY DATA SCRAMBLED...

...UNABLE TO SUSTAIN SHIFT...

...RELOCATION PREMATURELY ENDED...

SCANNING...

...SUBJECT(S) LOCATION(S) UNKNOWN...

SHIFT: INCOMPLETE.

MANA ARRAY OFFLINE.

 

 

ARKCHILD ANALYSIS...

SN-013 UNREACHABLE...

FF-027 UNREACHABLE...

CV-118 UNREACHABLE...

CF-203 UNREACHABLE...

CF-204 UNREACHABLE...

RF-001[[M]] CONNECTED...

...SYSTEMS CHECK...

...SYSTEM STABLE.

REMAINING ARKCHILDREN DORMANT.

 

 

MAIDEN STATUS ANALYSIS...

..UNABLE TO CONTACT MAIDEN(S)...

...MAIDENS LOST...

MANA SYNCHRONIZATION: 10%

...POWERING DOWN MAIDEN CORE SYSTEM...

MAIDEN CORE OFFLINE.

---

Chris woke to the taste of dirt in his mouth, his face planted in the ground, moss tickling his face. Not the most pleasant way to wake up, but at least it was warm. Lifting himself off the ground, Chris pushed the hair away from his face and spat out the dirt, trying unsuccessfully to clear the earthy taste from his mouth. His throat was dry and he felt sore and disorientated, the fog that had been blanketing his mind slowly clearing. However he had no idea of where he was. The last thing that he remembered was being cradled by Rachael as his life-force quickly faded away. Panic settled in as the realisation hit him. Had he died, and was he in some perpetual dream now? And what of Rachael? Looking around he couldn’t see or sense her either.

Chris stood up in a hurry, his head suddenly feeling light as a wave of dizziness hit him and he stumbled, falling back down again, a fresh wave of pain flowing through his body as he hit the ground. Nope, he was definitely alive. He sat back up, being careful not to do it too fast. He must have been asleep for a while he assumed, given the wound that he had sustained. And if he had been asleep for so long, his body would still be going through the motions of waking up, hence the dizziness. At least it was as good an excuse as any.

He looked down, his long hair flowing across his front as he touched his side where the creatures claws had torn into him. The tear in the top was still there, confirming that it had indeed happened, but the skin underneath was smooth and unblemished. No wound. No scars. Sitting back up, he pushed his hair back behind his back, regretting that he didn’t have a hair tie or scrunchie on him to tie it back. Except that that wasn’t right either. Since when did he have long hair? Not that he was complaining mind you, he loved the idea of having long hair like Rachael had, but last he remembered, his was shortly cropped. Bringing it around, he looked at it properly, now that realisation had hit him. It was definitely his hair, tugging on it proved it, and it was the boring brown colour that it had always been. Unlike Rachael’s hair, his appeared to be straight, and from what he could tell, it went down to the middle of his back. Wondering for a moment with elated hope if anything else had changed he checked his vital areas to see if anything else had changed, but no, he was still very much a he. Bulges where he didn’t want them, and none where he wished he had.

Chris sighed disappointed and stood up, slowly this time, as to not get another light head. Rachael had helped him realise the truth, some of her words echoing in his mind, and more than anything right now he wanted that reality, to be a girl and not just dressed as one. Suddenly having a female body would require an act of magic however, and hence was impossible. He could dream, but reality was harsh.

On the other hand, something was definitely amiss. The evidence was all there that everything he remembered had transpired. He was still dressed in his fem clothes that he had brought and that Rachael had provided, and he was also still wearing the white and gold armoured heels that they had found in the temple. Nearby on the stone floor the sword and shield also lay, as well as a leather and silk harness that he didn’t recognise, but he was definitely not in the temple any more.

As to where here was though he had no idea. He was definitely underground, probably in some form of cave, though the cave itself was massive, a rough stone wall beside him climbing up into the earth, and just visible in the distance as he looked around. There was a soft light from some form of moss, or maybe it was algae, that grew on the walls and roof of the cave in patches, and while he was close to a patch of it, he couldn’t bring himself to touch it. Some things were better left alone. The ground in his immediate vicinity was either covered by patches of green moss, or was bare stone. The prominent feature of the cave however was a building that appeared to be nestled up against the side of the cave, a four story construction that was familiar, yet not. It reminded Chris of a shopping mall, with what would have been large windows and signs running across the bottom floor of the building, except all the glass had long gone, empty holes remaining, the inside dark and foreboding. The remaining floors just appeared to be just rows of windows of various sizes, all dark inside, the top floor nestled right against the ceiling of the cave. A big sign sat in the middle of the second floor, the paint and any neon lights long gone, but from the shape of the letters in the sign Chris gathered that it was probably called ‘South Mall’. Not a very original name, as there were probably dozens of those in the cities around where he had lived.

A shopping mall that had been abandoned for hundreds of years, and somehow ended up underground, but one that looked like it belonged to his time, and not from a period before. Mind you stranger things had happened, like getting torn up by a werewolf like creature. The sort of thing that only happens in books and role-playing games. Chris shuddered at the memory, his hand going to his side, and his mind wandering back to Rachael. Hopefully she was alright. Actually, thinking of it, he somehow knew that she was indeed alright. A definitive sense, but he couldn’t understand why he knew. At least it did give him some comfort.

He was also hungry. The quick breakfast that he had shared with Rachael as they had driven to Old Town was the last time that he had eaten, and that felt like a lifetime ago now. There didn’t look to be any food down here either, unless he was going to suddenly take up eating moss.

Chris sat back down, confused and lost, almost tumbling over backwards in fright as he suddenly noticed a small silver creature sitting in front of him, tilting it’s head in a questioning way. It was strange, but something about it also seemed oddly familiar. It looked like a cross between a cat and a fox, its features mostly feline, but it’s ears and nose were definitely a lot longer than normal, like that of a fox, and similarly with its tail bushy. It had no skin or fur, but appeared metallic and seemed to be made up of many tiny intricate interlocking scales, it’s eyes a deep emerald green. Like that Ark animal he’d seen in the newspaper at the bus stop.

‘You appear confused?’

Chris jumped at the voice in his head, definitely falling over backwards that time. Flushing with embarrassment, he scrambled onto his feet, looking around.

“Who said that?”

No matter where he looked, he couldn’t see anyone. There was just the cave and the structure. No sign of life at all. Not even any bats, which were typical fare for caves. At least he didn’t have to worry about guano.

‘In front of you. You know, the cat like thing.’ The creature tilted it’s head as the words came through, as if to reinforce that it was indeed the source of the words.

“You can talk? What are you?” It was a stupid question, but Chris found himself saying it out of instinct.

‘Nope. I can’t talk. Just send you thoughts via our bond like this.’

Chris shook his head in amazement and shock. Today had been one surprise after another and he’d only just woken up.

“I’d still call that talking,” he said, for a lack of anything better to say, moving up to the creature and crouching down in front of it to take a better look. Examining it closer, he was just right out amazed. It looked so delicate and intricate, like a work of art. It was really quite beautiful, the sort of companion that you’d expect to see with a princess. If it was flesh and blood that was.

‘Why thank you. I’m flattered.’ The cat-fox thing gave Chris a smile, at least that was what he assumed it was. ‘As to what I am, I am an Arkchild, designation CF-203.’

Chris sat down, and just stared at it.

“And what would an ArkChild be?”

‘An Arkchild is an Arkchild. A creature of the Ark. Beyond that I couldn’t really say. However unlike many of my brothers and sisters, I am not a weapon of war. Just so you know. Don’t try sending me off to fight.’

“Why would I want to do that?”

‘Just making sure that you don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t do fights. At all.’

“Okay, okay. I get the point.” Chris motioned with his hand to reinforce his apparent understanding of the creatures point. “So why are you here, ‘talking’ to me?” he then queried. It was nice having someone to converse with, even though it was only his voice that he could hear, but the why of it was eating away at him.

‘You don’t like conversations?’

Chris sighed.

‘I think I have a bit to learn about you, and how your thoughts work. But we have plenty of time. We’re bonded now after all.’ The cat-fox gave him another smile.

“Bonded?” That was the second time it had mentioned that, and he was still none the wiser.

‘Yes, bonded. Arkchildren don’t activate unless they are bonded to someone. We need a source of mana to function, and the bond provides that. You could say that I am living off you, but that’d be a gross misrepresentation of the intricacies of it, and it doesn’t have any negative impact on you. It’s beneficial for us both. At least that it what my data tells me.’

“I’m still lost, but you’re saying that you rely on me to stay active?”

‘Yup.’

“Why are you bonded to me then, and where did you come from?”

“Angel selected me to be your companion, so we were bonded. And I came from the Ark, hence Arkchild. And before you ask, the Ark is located inside the Odinsphere. As to where is the Odinsphere is, I have no clue. Somewhere in the Outerlands. I’ve lost all communication with it. And no, you were never in the Odinsphere, I was brought to you.’

“Okay, okay. Your answers seem to just be leading to more questions. Let’s try something a little more useful. Where are we?” Chris was just getting more lost with all this new information. Something was definitely off. For a start, technology like this was the realm of sci-fi stories.

“I have no clue, it’s very hard to tell anything from down here. We’re not where we’re meant to be at the least. Something happened with the Shift and it was ended prematurely.’

“Shift?”

‘It’s a way of moving from one place to another.’ That really wasn’t much of an answer, and didn’t really explain anything at all, but it was typical of the cat-fox’s answers thus far.

“Where were we meant to be?”

‘Core-Temple [[South]], to meet up with the other maiden.’

“How on earth did you manage to say something like that.” Chris smiled in spite of himself. Apparently thoughts weren’t constrained by normal communication restrictions. “Never mind, that’s not really relevant. Who were we meeting up with?”

‘The other maiden. You’re one, and then there is the other. I know nothing about them though. There was no reason to have that data when we were about to meet them face to face.’

Hope swelled up in Chris, the thought that the other maiden could be Rachael. There was no reason that it should be, but then again, no reason why it couldn’t be. But if you believed in coincidences, then there was as good a chance as any. Mind you, the cat-fox was calling him a maiden, which made him feel happy inside, though for obvious reasons he was sure that the term was a bit misplaced at the moment. Perhaps however, with his now long hair and his current attire he actually looked passable as a girl (though probably not a very good one)? He’d need a mirror to confirm that. That was a distraction from the issues at hand though.

“You have no idea where this temple is though?” he asked.

‘Right on the mark. No clue. You don’t need directions when you’re being taken straight there.’

Which was of course fair enough. It didn’t help, but it was one issue among many.

“Who is this Angel that you speak of?”

‘That no one seems to know, not even Mother or Librarian. Angel is an enigma to us all. But she knows powerful magic, and was the one who wanted you woken.’

More names that didn’t mean anything to him, and more things to confuse him.

Wait a minute...

“MAGIC!?” Chris shouted it in shock, he couldn’t help it. And the creature had mentioned mana before as well. How had he missed that.

‘Yes, magic.’ The cat-fox gave him that quizzical stare that seemed to translate to ‘how could you not know’.

“Since when has magic existed? We’re still on earth right?”

‘Is that what you called it in your time? You’re not in another reality or anything – that’d be silly, not to mention impossible. Where would you get that idea from? No, you’re still on your ‘earth’.’

“...and magic?” Chris wasn’t going to let it avoid this question. It was kind of important. Especially to a gamer, well former gamer now he guessed.

‘Magic has been around since the Shattering of the Core that happened at the end of the war against the Demon King. Everyone knows about that. Well, those in the area where magic is. Those in the Outerlands don’t care about as much, due to, you know, it’s lack.’

Chris gave the cat-fox a pointed confused stare.

‘Innerlands, drenched in magic. Outerlands, mostly devoid of magic. Been that way over a thousand years, at least according to my data.’

“Can you use magic?”

‘Nope.’

“But you require mana to be active?”

‘Yup.’

“From me?”

‘Yup. I said that already hadn’t I?’

Chris sighed, his thoughts were all over the place, and he was just getting more confused. There was a lot to unpack in all of that, if it was even telling the truth. Mind you, given what he was seeing, there was a chance that it was. Magic was real. That in itself was the most significant piece of information that he had learned. There was so much potential attached to that, though he had to calm his thoughts. He had no idea what it was even capable of, besides a failed teleportation attempt. There had also been a war against a so called Demon King over a thousand years ago. Chris wondered if that creature that had almost killed him had been related to that. And what had happened to the others, and had he really been asleep that long? Even more important, how had he been asleep that long. It’d be awesome if he could use magic, but given that he came from a time where magic didn’t exist, he wasn’t feeling hopeful, which dampened his spirit a bit. Ah well. One thing at a time.

He gave the cat-fox thing a long stare. It really was a beautiful work of art, and he found that he was actually quickly becoming quite fond of it. A side effect of the bond perhaps. But he couldn’t keep calling it cat-fox.

“What should I call you?”

‘My designation is CF-203, probably standing for cat-fox, iteration 203, or maybe asset number 203, or maybe even file number 203. Who knows. You can call me whatever you want though.’

Chris stared at the cat-fox for a bit more, names running through his head. Coming up with names was easy, he’d done it a lot. Characters always need a name, as did players in a tale. Finding the name that fit was a different story.

“Spectre. I shall call you Spectre.” He liked it. It fit well in some strange way.

Spectre nodded. ‘Works for me.’

“Is there anything important I should know?” Chris asked Spectre as he got up, on the off chance that it would volunteer something important.

‘You’re the expert at life, not me,’ Spectre replied with a grin. ‘I’ve only been active for a short while.’

Yet it knew so much, it’s creators having provided it with a lot of ‘data’. As to what exactly it knew, well he had no idea. Chris shook his head, and walked over to the weapons lying on the ground. Picking up the leather and silk harness he looked at it carefully. Conveniently it looked to be designed to secure the sword and shield behind his back, if he could work out how to put it on. Fussing around for a bit, with associated laughter from Spectre as he failed a number of times to actually get it to sit right, the contraption more complex than it looked, he finally managed to put it on, all the buckled fastened tightly and the harness sitting comfortably on him. It didn’t appear to look too bad either, like he was wearing some fancy belted top over his ribbed top, and it also masked the tears in said top. Bringing his hair over to his front, he then worked on placing the sword and shield into the harness. He was paranoid for a bit that he’d cut himself or his hair on the blade of the sword, but he discovered that it was actually quite blunt and probably wouldn’t even cut anything if he tried, which was odd, given that he’d sliced the werewolf creatures arm off with it. With a bit of assistance from Spectre, he managed to get them both secured, then letting his hair fall back over them. During the process he also discovered that the harness also had numerous pockets, albeit small and shallow. He had no clue what he’d be able to store in them, but they were nice to have given that he didn’t have any others.

“I guess it’s time to have a look around. Food would be nice, or a way out of here.”

‘Sounds like a plan.’

Chris stood and stared around. It was really strange, this place. Like something out of a movie or a game. But apparently part of his new reality. It still hadn’t all sunk in, and the more he thought about it, the more questions he had. But he wasn’t going to get an answers just sitting around, not unless Spectre actually decided to tell him everything that it knew, and from what he had gleaned of it’s personality he didn’t see that as being likely. He guessed that he’d probably lost his job by now too, not that it was relevant any more. On the plus side, he’d have the chance at a new career, whatever that would end up entailing. Hopefully Rachael had a better idea of what was going on, given that he had a strong hunch that she’d always been able to use magic, if and when he managed to catch up with her. Definitely when, not if. He was going to find her, where ever she was. He knew she was alive and well, just knew, like he knew that he was alive. It was a certainty. So he would find her. In the interim, food. And an exit. Not necessarily in that order.

And he was definitely aware that while it reeked of things associated with a role-playing game, you know, magic and all of that, this was definitely real, however exactly that had happened. No being stupid and getting himself killed. He could do without actually dying. One close call was enough.