《Your Soul!My Pen》


 Of Pens and Herbs - 1 - An Awakening

    Footsteps could be heard rushing against a hard floor; growing faster in rhythm with a desperate pant. They ran as fast as they were capable of, clinging close to the cold and empty walls. The floor was checkered with the shade of a raven and a dove, running across in balance endlessly across the hallway.


    A confused girl desperately squirmed as her face contorted in fear. A loud clash of blades could be heard not too far outside. The girl panicked and broke off faster than her limits, though she couldn¡¯t keep it up for long, willpower was the only thing keeping her going. Her lungs began burning and her legs grew weary, forcing her to slow down. The girl grunted from exhaustion and forced herself to recover. Her body sparked with just enough determination to keep her going, but it wasn¡¯t enough. Her heart jolted her with enough pain to force her on the ground.


    ¡°How...how the hell did it get to this?¡± she stuttered spitefully in pain. She nudged herself slowly now, her breathing growing haggard and rough. Suddenly a loud swing ran just barely in front of her, time practically stopped as it did so. The damage was marked a few seconds before anything moved, wind rushed out of the hallway as it was split open. The girl got a small look at the barren crimson sky, only for a moment before the entire building crashed on her. The act was merely collateral damage from the battle just outside the building.


    The battle was a mistake, nothing more than an anomaly...and yet


    ¡°That¡¯s how it got to this¡­¡± The girl finished solemnly. She easily pulled herself from the rubble and got to a secure spot amongst the rest of the destroyed buildings. Sparks and smoke littered the air as whatever was more than a close distance away was completely covered in black. The sky was opened up as the two clashed again, sending rifts in the atmosphere. The girl stood still with a resentful glare,


    ¡°That¡¯s how it got to this¡­This is our fault¡±


    Jake¡¯s eyes immediately opened, his old dainty alarm clock was ringing. As he slid out of bed he felt it creak ever so slightly, so he was very careful as to not crack the floors anymore then they had been. He quickly took his usual choice of clothes from a basket in the corner of the room and headed downstairs. As he did so he threw his hoodie over his usual clothes, the sleeves were much too big, the white fabric was stained, and there was a large H holding up a smaller A in a logo circled that read Hero University. A few other various decorations and items had this same logo on it, most of which were in the room Jake slept in.


    Once Jake reached the seventh to last step he jumped up and down a few times, dooming whomstever laid under it into utter turmoil. A loud groaning voice could be heard from under it, and Jake quickly circled around to the door that led to the closet under the stairs and opened it before the one on the other end could.


    ¡°Uhng...Jake did you sleep in our father¡¯s room again? Why don¡¯t you ever sleep in your own room?¡± The girl groaned. Her silver hair was still somehow perfectly intact over the night, tied into twintails that ran to her shoulders. Needle marks ran across her cheek and the parts of her arm that weren¡¯t already damaged. An open laptop showing some anime and a few lights were all still on in the cozy room.


    ¡°Oh come on Samantha! Our Dad¡¯s never home to sleep here anyway, so why wouldn¡¯t I sleep there?¡± Jake smiled,


    ¡°Nnh...it¡¯s Aerith now. Speaking of which, I must check on something promptly¡±


    Aerith nudged around in her blanket and found her way on her laptop. She clicked around on a few thing sleepingly and quickly snapped awake when she heard the familiar noise of her game, Phantasy!Soul Online. She tapped a few more things and waited until a character that looked close enough to her was on screen, the only differences being that she had red eyes and was much shorter. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Wuzzat?¡± Jake asked, staring at the exceedingly moe art


    ¡°It¡¯s a game, Jake. See how my character¡¯s name is Aerith? That¡¯s what I want you to call me from now on, it¡¯s my name on all the forms I¡¯m on too¡±


    ¡°Ae...rith...Greindsworthia...Silvagies...Tremporia...line, line, line¡± Jake sounded out, ¡°Gotcha...say, how many hours have you clocked on this thing?¡±


    ¡°How many hours did I used spend with you?¡± Aerith let off as she stared at Jake in the corner of her eye


    ¡°Around eight or so a day¡±


    ¡°Double that¡­¡± Aerith sighed as she looked back at the laptop screen, ¡°Give me a sec, I need to finish this RP, then we¡¯ll head to school¡±


    ¡°Wait. Do you spend all this time in this digital world because you can pretend to be someone better than yourself?¡± Jake teased


    ¡°No, I spend all this time here because I¡¯d rather live in this world and this is the closest I¡¯ll ever get¡± Aerith immediately retorted, she scrunched up closer to her blanket and kept Jake as far out of her vision as she could. Jake smiled and shut the door behind him. Next he shuffled around his pocket and pulled out a necklace holding up a strange green rock. Every now and again the rock pulsed a bright green, and it also glowed slightly in the dark. Jake clenched the artifact closely and leaned against the wall. The gem was a smooth and evenly cut chunk, but it¡¯s origins where a mystery. All Jake could remember was one, faint memory


    His mother came to him in a small, room made of mostly wood. Large windows were cut out evenly on either side. Jake was sitting down in the very center.


    ¡°My child. I have to do something for you, I¡¯ll be gone for a long time¡±


    Jake¡¯s mom walked up to her son and knelt down directly in front of him, her face was erriely welcoming.


    ¡°I need to create a world where you can do anything you want Jake. But to do that I need to kill someone, The Volcano Dragon. This means that I won¡¯t be able to train you anymore¡±


    Jake¡¯s mom reached into her pocket and pulled out a the small green rock held on a silver rope. It pulsated violently in her hand, vibrating. She secured it around Jakes neck, and gently rested a hand on his chest,


    ¡°I, Airiya Johnson, beseech the gods of this mortal plane. I enchant this pendant with that of fortune, whoever is and shares the blood of the user shall be granted fortune unbeknownst to them. Let this blessing rain for as long as I live, and one second after¡±


    Jake only silently stared at the floor, contemplating dinner. He noticed that his mom stood up but still kept her hand extended out.


    ¡°I, Airiya Johnson, curse the one wearing the pendant and bearing my blood with the curse of normality. Let their paranormal abilities be restricted until they may break the curse through willpower, but not more than five minutes. Let them never truly master it until they know of this curse¡­¡±


    Instantly Jake felt a sharp pain drain every muscle in his body. Immediately he felt his power diminish until he could barely think. He let out a loud scream as his mother only watched with a still and elated expression. Bright yellow and blue chains began to shoot out of the ground, wrapping around every part of Jake¡¯s body as sparks of flames surrounded him. Tears began running down his face as he struggled to even think. The ground trembled with the amount of power being sealed at this one moment.


    ¡°Finally. I, Airiya Johnson, curse Jake Johnson. Let him forget everything he has ever known except for this one, final memory¡±


    And in a flash of white, the memory collapsed as Jake faded into leaves. The last thing he remembered was his mother¡¯s, unfading smile as she let out her final words to him, ¡°Come find me...¡±


    Suddenly Jake woke up from his trance when he remembered something. He had a science test today, and he was all out of writing utensils¡­


    ¡°Not only that, but I have a science test today as well! Oh mama, I¡¯d better get a pen or something¡±


    Jake rummaged around in the pockets of his hoodie for some change, any kind of money...he dug around in his pockets and quickly darted away around the room for some currency. If he was unlucky here, maybe Aerith could farm some bitcoins for him. He made his last stop in the pockets of his sweatshirt and pulled out a shiny, silver quarter. With a grin he flicked the quarter and it pampardly plavered pompously palbeit prather perfectionally into his perfect pocket, Pnice. Jake gave himself a motivational slap on the cheeks from both ends, and quickly rushed out his door. Though it¡¯s not like it had a handle on it, or there much of a door left.


    ¡°Or something...yeah¡±

 Of Pens and Herbs - 2 - Better Call Saul

    The Bric a Brac store was a run down mess of a place on the corner of a street, conveniently located right next to Jake¡¯s house. The owner, Saul, filled the store with lots of unique items, from random notebooks to stuffed animals. Several rodents and even a few dogs and cats roamed the isles, looking for some type of food to eat. The most prominent pet cat of them all, Joan ¡°The Arc¡± Johnson, was particularly dangerous to be around. Several times, Joan would chase around several customers and even bully Saul. Joan would talk about how she was an anime girl trapped in a cat''s body, and tried several times to do magical rituals that would return her to her normal form. Jake had even helped with a few, and Aerith even tried to reverse the ritual, to no effect fortunately.


    ¡°That sister still whining at you again¡± Saul¡¯s ragged voice could be heard from the back of the countertop. He wiped his beard for a second and coughed heavily, ¡°Y¡¯know you could always grab some herbs for her if you need it, but it¡¯s a little early for that eastern medication type of junk y¡¯know?¡±


    Jake only parsed through a few items before returning. He passed by the broken, cobweb filled shelves. Bits of the larger furniture creaked with every step, and only the more astute were able to avoid breaking anything. The more prominent items Jake passed by were several lighters and various herbs Aerith needed in her rituals.


    Jake came back with a pen soon after, It was that type of cheap black and gold that¡¯d you¡¯d only find in bulk. It looked like it¡¯d barely be viable as a basic toy, much less a writing utensil.


    ¡°Ah, that piece of junk¡± Saul laughed, ¡°Some girl came over and dropped it over one day, something about that weird magical nonsense your sisters obsessed with. Something about a...lion or somethin¡¯ ¡±.


    Jake nodded, ¡°Sounds interesting..I¡¯ll take it¡±


    Saul only laughed,


    ¡°You mean that stuff really gets to you huh? Tell you what, I¡¯ll give you it for...a quarter¡±


    Jake nodded, grateful that his charm worked out for him. He flicked the quarter away at the salesman and went off. Now with a working writing utensil, Jake only had make the 3 minute trip back to his house. His street was abandoned, and his house even more so. It was little more than a shack with a small second floor. The walls were practically melting, and the windows were all but entirely gone. Jake swung open the door to see his sister yet again. His sister¡¯s hair now partially covered her right eye, and she wore a gothic dress with a small bowtie at the waist.


    ¡°You. Did you bring any of the stuff? Y¡¯know, the leaves¡± Aerith elegantly explained


    ¡°Ha, no. All I bought was a pen. Come on, we gotta get ta¡¯ school¡± Jake laughed as he brought out the writing utensil to demonstrate. In response, his sister yoinked the pen out of his hand and inspected it closely. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°There must be something more to this, however. Did this pen not come from the very man who delivers my herbs, Saul Incognito?¡± Aerith ever so gracefully inquisited. Jake only nodded in response.


    ¡°But there must be more to it! Some type of ancient evil, or maybe an alternate persona. Perhaps this resembles the Millenium puzzle, or some type of gateway like an isekai. Perhaps we must prove ourselves worthy?¡± Aerith began to mutter to herself as she researched further.


    ¡°Definitely. Must be an ise-whatsit I reckon. Can we go to school now?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, sure¡± Aerith finished. She suddenly stopped and handed Jake the pen as they both walked out their broken door. Just in front of their house was the bus stop, conveniently enough. Because of this, Jake¡¯s friends often made a habit of meeting him and Aerith at the stop right before the bus got there. It became something of a tradition.


    Just now, Zackory Yokito, one one Jake¡¯s best friends, pulled back his beanie and waved hello to his dear friend,


    ¡°Oh hi Jak--¡±


    ¡°Oh hiya Jake, hey Aerith! Finish any of your homework?¡± Layalli Tamaly waved with a smile, she softly elbowed her sister, Nadene Tamaly, ¡°Come on Nadene, say hi to Aerith and Jake¡±


    Nadene only hid in her large scarf and slightly muttered, ¡°Hello Aerith and Jake...¡± and immediately turned around to look at the empty street and wait for the bus, she pulled up a long patterned gray scarf up to her nose, with the rest of fabric just barely grazing the floor. Zackory joined soon after.


    ¡°No, didn¡¯t get any of my work done. I¡¯m sure Aerith did though, right Aerith?¡± Jake said


    Aerith only carefully eyed Jake¡¯s pen, still clearly analyzing it in her head. Jake sighed and dropped down to sit, the bus was gonna be a while most likely. The street down here was broken and ragged, most of the citizens would kill you just as soon as look at you. Layali did the same and brought herself down next to him,


    ¡°So, remember that show on Netflix I wanted you to watch?¡±


    Jake sighed and thought for a moment, ¡°Wait, was that the one with the number one hero or the number one ninja?¡±


    Layalli giggled, ¡°Neither, it was the one with the gems in that highschool for people with like...super powers and stuff¡±


    Jake looked on in confusion. He hadn¡¯t even heard such ridiculous premise before, let alone taking time out of his day to sit down and watch it.


    ¡°Ehm...there was the strong guy, and the fancy one? And the girl who pulled things out her chest?¡± Layali stuttered as she tried to explain further,


    ¡°Still doesn¡¯t ring a bell¡­¡±


    ¡°M-Maybe you only watched the first episode or two? There was that guy who did the thing? And other one who became the strongest hero of them all¡±


    ¡°Layali you shouldn¡¯t be taking the kinda stuff Aerith does. Trust me¡­¡± Jake suggested. Now it sounded like she was talking about some other random web series on You!Tube or something. Honestly whatever it was, it sounded generic.


    Layali gave in and deeply sighed, ¡°There were those two gay guys?¡±


    ¡°Pffft. Oh right, I remember that. Yeah it was pretty good. Dunno why that Natsu guy didn¡¯t just 86¡¯ those pirates before they got to Chi-Chi. Honestly though I thought they could¡¯ve given Sasuke a bit more screen time before he went of and sold his soul to the Shinigami king. But then again that was just the first episode, is Jojo ever gonna get the third blue eyes before I-Island crashes into wall maria?¡±


    ¡°No spoilers here, but I knew you¡¯d love it¡± Layali teased, ¡°We can watch it after school if ya¡¯ want, meanwhile I got some new Polaroids developing, should have them by this evening¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just use that smartphone you have? The one that can hold like...thousands of photos?¡± Nadene pipped in


    ¡°Well yeah, but older stuff is better. Takes more effort and time, also it¡¯s a bit more fun¡± Layali noted. She shrunk a bit in her speech and bundled up a little closer to herself. An awkward feeling filled the room and Zackory felt the need to break it,


    ¡°Hey, so wh¡ª¡°

 Dawn of the Light of our Heroes! - 1 - Layali

    The bus coincidentally began to arrive and break at a screeching halt just after Jake and Layali had finished their conversation. The passengers were thrown forwards as the driver stopped just before a large pothole. The bus let out some exhaust in the form of an unhealthy black smoke and groaned as it grew to a halt. The bus doors unwillingly creaked open, bouncing back slightly as if they were trying to close back. The bus driver was a gruffly old man with a hat that was seemingly stuck to his head, none of the kids had ever seen it off. Nadene was the first one to step on the bus, but just as she did she was immediately grabbed by one of the arms in her pockets.


    ¡°K-Kid. Lemme tell ya¡¯ a tale. Way back when I was wit¡¯ ma friends, and we was chillin¡¯ out by the schkool-yard. An¡¯ we saw a fine lookin¡¯ woman, I tells ya¡¯ this gurl wa¡¯ so fine dat she coulda been an angel¡±


    Nadene only starred in the bus driver¡¯s eyes, she was partially afraid at this point but with all the witnesses it¡¯s not like anything too bad was gonna happen.


    ¡°A-An¡¯ we saw dis girl, and she was m-magical, h-her heart wa¡¯ fiery man, you should¡¯a seen it. An¡¯ I studied for drivin¡¯ dis bus jus¡¯ so I coul¡¯ see her again. B-but she musta¡¯ died in da¡¯ war¡±


    ¡°Oh. I¡¯m sorry for your loss¡± Nadene tried to make out as genuinely as she could, ¡°It must be difficult to cope with dedicating your life to something, only for it to mean nothing in the end¡±


    ¡°Well dats¡¯ da thing tho¡± The man hurryingly continued, ¡°She dead. But she ain¡¯t...dead ya know? So if ya¡¯ eva¡¯ see her in heaven, jus¡¯ tell her dat¡¯ I sent ya, kay¡¯?¡±


    Nadene pulled away firmly and shakily nodded, ¡°Christ I¡¯ll get your women old man, just like...leave me alone¡±


    The bus driver only nervously shook his head and brought his hands to the wheel once more. Allowing everyone else to reach their normal spot, the very end of the bus. Layali had to pass by someone she hated every single time she got on this bus, because she was always there before Layali was. Most of the time this girl was comfortable already, either doing makeup or talking with her friends too much to notice. Layali rushed by them and nudged herself in the furthest part of the corner she could, all the while shooting dagger at her enemy.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Suddenly, a spotlight appeared on the star of the show. She stood up, the bus driver wasn¡¯t going anywhere for awhile, he was crying to hard. She did a few more glances at the mirror and shut the case as dramatically as she could with a confident smile,


    ¡°Layali, could you make it any less obvious that you¡¯re still upset about our breakup? Might I add, the 3-month anniversary of our break-up?¡±


    Layali thought for a moment about being the bigger person. About not giving in to this petty fake version of reality that school had presented her, about moving on, finding someone else, and starting over...Only for a moment.


    ¡°OoOh, sorry sweetie! I¡¯m just ever so slightly annoyed that you ditched our entire relationship because your daddy said so¡± Layali mocked, standing up herself. The spotlight was given to her too now, everything would be extremely silent if not for the faint sniveling in the background. Stephanie was slightly phased, but not enough to keep her from enabling herself a little more.


    ¡°Honestly Layali, I get that you¡¯re upset. But I¡¯m not sure what you expect, I gotta listen to father, he¡¯s the one who pays for the school. Well, he is know at least. Since...y¡¯know, arranged marriage and all¡± Stephanie laughed, she reached in her back and began working on her nails now, though she was secretly relishing in the time she had without her saying anything. Layali began steaming now, boiling over as she shot a constant stream daggers at Stephanie.


    ¡°Wait...arranged...you got married at 14!? Like, Again!?¡±


    ¡°Well...yeah, you proposed to me at--...y¡¯know, I¡¯m not even sure why I¡¯m arguing this¡± Stephanie sighed, she really wanted to back out at this point, but it was too late. Everyone was watching both of them, and until this bus started she was trapped.


    ¡°Y-You dare...you¡¯re trying to marginalize my suffering aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s almost like you¡¯ve converted to the enemy side at this point!¡± Layali practically screamed out loud. Her passion was enough to really get down to Stephanie¡¯s core. Her confidence broke and she stepped away a tad,


    ¡°N-No...I-It¡¯s just that...I-it...Dad doesn¡¯t really think it¡¯s a good idea...to have someone like me as a daughter...I-It was a burden to my family¡± Stephanie broke away fully, filling her nails way more than they needed to be.


    ¡°Oho ho, so now I¡¯m a burden am I? What, you think you can just throw me under the bus cause¡¯ Dad told you to? That¡¯s what you think isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Christ could you just lay off of me for one second !?¡± Stephanie shouted back. The room grew very silent, and everyone immediately awaited for her to finish what she was going to say. Just as she opened her mouth the bus started up again, throwing her down into her own seat compartment. Layali dropped back down in her seat with her arms crossed. She longingly looked out at the window with a defeated look on her face, waiting for Stephanie to get back up and finish; But she never did. A disappointed audience groaned, and the light slowly dimmed to a dark black before cutting off entirely.

 Dawn of the Light of our Heroes! - 2 - Nadene

    The ride up until now had been silent. Layali only stared off into the distance of the bus the entire time, and Jake was seemingly day dreaming. Nadene hadn¡¯t done much of anything either besides sleeping. Eventually the bus came to a halt right in front of the school, though no one woke Nadene up. Her eyes were closed so often that everyone assumed she was awake. And Layali rushed off way too quickly for her to check on her sister. By the time she had snapped awake the bus had already started back up. Her consciousness slowly faded in, but not fast enough. The school had already disappeared from view and the bus wasn¡¯t stopping any time soon. Her eyes dizzily opened, and as soon as they did Nadene immediately rose up.


    ¡°Wh-What?! How the heck did I...shoot, shoot shoot shoot! Idiot!¡± Nadene¡¯s thoughts raced around as she quickly darted in front of her. Only one passenger was on still. They were wearing a beautiful dress, almost glass like in its appearance. Various ornaments hung from the waist line and her hair. Her eyes were shut, but she didn¡¯t look to be asleep, as Nadene stared at her the woman immediately addressed her,


    ¡°Well hello there dear! My name¡¯s Spiritfawn, Jake¡¯s mother, he¡¯s told me so much about you!¡±


    ¡°O-oh, you¡¯re, uh, Jake¡¯s mom? You¡¯re kind of of...younger than I thought. You know you missed the school right? I think you could walk back at the next stop¡±


    ¡°Oh? I guess I¡¯ll just have to turn the bus around then¡±


    Spiritfawn rose up and elegantly walked over to the front of the bus just as it came to a red light. The bus driver stopped in his breath and immediately turned to look at her. His hand shook as he slowly rose it up to the goddess. Spiritfawn gladly took it in her hands and softly took it. The bus driver let out a stuttered cheer, he still wasn¡¯t sure what to do with himself yet.


    ¡°Greetings again, Mark. Turn the bus around and get us back to the school¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry misses. But I can¡¯t turn the bus around. Not for anyone¡±


    ¡°Is that so..? In that case¡­¡±


    Spiritfawn took a small step backwards, but an exact duplicate of her remained in her place. Nadene stumbled back and pinched herself, but eventually just stared. Spiritfawn opened her eyes and signaled for Nadene to follow her. She complied and carefully nudged herself across the seats. The two of them left the bus, leaving the clone behind.


    ¡°Being the goddess of space-time sure does have its perks, huh?¡± She smirked as the two saw the bus start back up again. The Spiritfawn clone only went back to where the original was sitting before. The clone gave one last goodbye before being whisked off.


    Nadene only looked up at the goddess with a blank stare, ¡°What?¡±


    Spiritfawn lead her to the sidewalk and began walking back towards the school. Currently they were in the middle of a shopping district. Several different small businesses and shops passed them by as they walked.


    ¡°I¡¯m a goddess, sweatie. Specifically space-time¡±


    ¡°The heck is space-time?! It sounds like you¡¯re just saying that so I don¡¯t ask questions...¡± Nadene asked, bewildered


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s half space and half time¡± Spiritfawn eloquently explained, she did a little skip as she did so, just for emphasis.


    ¡°Okay then. Let¡¯s say you aren¡¯t kidding...In that case, doesn¡¯t that make Jake at least a demi-god?¡±


    ¡°Yeppy~! All I need is to find him, bring him over to my world and defeat the ultimate evil!¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Nadene sheepishly laughed ¡°How are you gonna get them there?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not all that hard. Just gotta get Jake. And Samantha, you probably know her, and that¡¯ll be most of what I need. Then just gotta send them over to the Volcano Dragon and that¡¯ll be all¡±


    Nadene only looked up her confused, but smiled all the same. They continued the walk for some time more, each of them looking off at the various people along the way. Spiritfawn made sure to stay ahead of Nadene the entire time, even if it was only by a few inches. Spiritfawn kept the same elated grin the entire way, and Nadene¡¯s expression was still hidden behind her scarf.


    The two of them both came up to the corner of the street among a few other people. Spiritfawn only kept walking, but Nadene stopped from muscle memory. A few of the people around her looked on in confusion, but no one said anything. The cars passing by honked their horns and slammed on the breaks, Nadene could even see a few of them crash into each other with the sudden stop. Nevertheless she kept walking until she reached the end. Once the goddess turned around and looked the damage she put a finger to her chin in confusion,Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°Erm..was that me?¡± She whispered over the blaring car alarms, and mass hysteria. The cars zigzagged across the street, each letting off their own bit of smoke. Spiritfawn didn¡¯t even seem to notice, as all she did was lend out a hand to Nadene and signal for her to cross. Nadene did as she was told woozly stepping past debris and murmuring sorry at every step she passed. Once she got to the end, Spiritfawn took her arm and brought her back. Nadene let out a faint gasp as she was pulled, but just as she was the outline of a box outlined every car and person with a deep mystical shade of green. The outlines stretched across every object, and as they were they slowly went back in their direction. The cars repaired and began to fall back into place, the people¡¯s expressions came back to normal, and everything slowly began to reverse. Then things went right back to normal; as if Spiritfawn hadn¡¯t even been there.


    ¡°Goddess of Space-time¡± She said with pure satisfaction. Nadene only sighed. She turned back around and pointed to the end of the block,


    ¡°That buildings the school. Your son should be in room 113, which is also where I should be¡±


    Spiritfawn nodded, but then suddenly stopped her motions. Actually, everything around Nadene stopped. The cars, the people, even her body, but she was still conscious. Spiritfawn turned her nose up at Nadene and smiled,


    ¡°But, you¡¯re already in room 113, Nadene¡±


    Nadene¡¯s mouth was frozen, so she couldn¡¯t respond. The world around her slowly melted away, the various buildings draining all of their color. Spiritfawn was the only one immune. Soon a gout of darkness spread around the entire world, consuming everything in a murky black. The structures around them grew grainy and distorted like an old movie. Nadene was unable to shut eyes. Unable to blink. All she could do was watch and listen.


    Spiritfawn put a finger to her mouth and whispered, ¡°Now wake up, I¡¯ll see you again soon¡±


    Nadene snapped awake. Her muscles jolted up and banged on her desk. Her thoughts immediately began swarming through her, causing an intense headache. A few of her classmates, namely Stephanie and her friends, giggled at her awakening. Nadene sighed and bundled a bit more in her scarf, somehow she¡¯d been lucid dreaming? No. That didn¡¯t make any sense, she was right there, everything she touched and tasted felt so real. And yet as soon as she thought of it her brain began replace each memory with another. It was as if she was in two places at once, but that brought even more confusion.


    The teacher brought her ruler to the whiteboard and slammed it down, a few drops of blood flew off as she did so. Nadene sighed, Mrs. Rangel must¡¯ve still been off with her baby. She eyed the board and scanned for the teachers name *Mcdoogal*. The teacher scrunched her face in irritation and brought it up immediately in anger,


    ¡°Alright maggots! You¡¯re all gonna learn, and you¡¯re gonna learn the right way! The Doogal way!¡±


    Nadene tilted her head and quickly looked at the clock, the bell had just rung. That must¡¯ve been whatever woke her up. She looked back and rose her hand,


    ¡°Uh, Miss McDoogal--¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Ms. Doctor Mcdoogal to you¡± She bellowed, bringing her ruler up, ¡°Speak, Cadet!¡±


    ¡°Uh, I think you¡¯re very beautiful¡­¡± Nadene flattered, ¡°And you don¡¯t need to seek out a significant other to appreciate you, because just by being happy for you you shall find satisfaction¡±


    ¡°Kissing up to the substitute teacher again, Nadene¡± Stephanie teased, ¡°Y¡¯know if you¡¯re into women there¡¯s always your sister. I hear she¡¯s open¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s incredibly unc--¡±


    ¡°QUIET, all of you. Except for this lovely one over here, she knows her way around this world. Tamaly, you¡¯re getting an A on this test¡±


    Stephanie immediately let out a shocked grunt, ¡°W-Wait...How the hell is that fair? What she strokes your ego a bit and she gets an A on the test?¡±


    ¡°Hold your tongue Cadet Mcallister! Tamaly demonstrated that, even though she was asleep up until now, she could scan the appropriate actions to take in order to flatter her boss. Such actions are important in the real world, I would expect more of someone from you and your sudden spike income class¡±


    Layali rose up now, ¡°Nadene I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve been sleeping this whole time! I thought you were studying in your mindscape by now!¡±


    Stephanie groaned, ¡°Oooh my god, the only thing more embarrassing than you babying your sister like this is¡­¡± Stephanie paused and tried to find the right word, ¡°I-Is...uh--¡±


    ¡°Is what Steph? I actually care about someone else. It¡¯s weird how you take issue with that¡±


    Stephanie paused and blushed a little, ¡°I mean, uh¡­¡±. Eventually she crammed herself back into her seat and looked off into the corner. Layali sighed lightly and brought herself down too. Miss Mcdoogal watched the two of them through the conversation like a tennis ball. When they were over she slammed her ruler on the whiteboard again, a few more flicks of blood shooting out.


    ¡°Alright. Is this a regular occurrence with these two?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be over soon, they¡¯re just learning how to m--¡±


    ¡°Quiet, Cadet Yokito! I was asking the lovely young lady in the scarf!¡± Mcdoogal screeched. She then she pointed her ruler directly towards Nadene,


    ¡°...Yes¡±


    Layali immediately interjected. Nadene only shrugged while Stephanie was busy talking with her friends. Miss Mcdoogal finally took a stack of papers out from the table next to her and began passing one out to each student except for Nadene. Nadene prepared to rest her head down and sleep, but a couple of students had already gotten up and turned it in. Once around half the students had finished the phone rang. Miss Mcdoogal shuffled towards it and listened on for a few seconds.


    ¡°Keifer, you are to report to the office this instant. Your mother wishes to speak with you¡±


    Nadene¡¯s eyes widened. She immediately remembered everything that had happened, the bus, the duplicate, rewinding time, somehow it got to be just that more real. Yet still, she remembered everything fading, and then somehow she woke up in this classroom. It was somehow wrong and right at the same time. Jake looked similarly surprised, but only for a few moments. He shrugged and walked off without another word.


    Nadene eyed Jake in the corner of her eye. Whatever was going on was probably none of her business, but even so she felt the need to find out. She let out a slight sigh, and firmly rose her hand,


    ¡°Yo. I need to go to the bathroom¡± She murmured. Miss Mcdoogal nodded and pointed right towards the door. Nadene smirked and quickly stood up, turning to leave without a second thought

 Dawn of the Light of our Heroes! - 3 - Jake

    Jake silently strolled through the hallways. Hands in his pockets and a casual presence about him. However, on the inside he was incredibly confused. Had his mother come home from Egypt? That dainty old green rock was the only memory of her he ever had. He turned a corner and started walking a little faster. He focused on the fragments he still had, but all he could hear was, come find me. He was eager, extremely eager.


    His thoughts trailed to Aerith for a bit. Why wasn¡¯t she going with him? Whoever called for him must¡¯ve made a mistake, or maybe Aerith was the mistake. He drowned in his thoughts for a bit when Nadene tapped him on the shoulder. Her jet black hair swinging lightly as she reached up to it.


    ¡°Oh, heya Nadene. What¡¯re you here for?¡± Jake asked


    ¡°I wanna see your mom...mind if I come with?¡± She deadpanned back


    Jake only happily nodded and continued walking with the silent girl not far behind. They soon arrived at the office in just a few moments. Jake swung open the door in excitement, but no one was in the office waiting for him. The old lady at the desk dismissively looked up at him,


    ¡°Kiefer...you¡¯re leaving early today¡± She creaked, ¡°I thought Mrs. McDoogal would¡¯ve told you to bring your...belongings¡±


    Aerith suddenly busted out of the door with Jake¡¯s pen in hand,


    ¡°Hey Jake. I assumed you¡¯d forget your pen, so I kinda rushed in your class and yoinked it. Don¡¯t think it leads to any parallel worlds, not on it¡¯s own at least¡±


    Aerith handed Jake his pen, then left swiftly without another word.


    Jake¡¯s rock glowed a little. The office clerk adjusted her glasses a little and sighed,


    ¡°My mistake. Belonging¡­Well, you are dismissed. Your mother should be arriving shortly, she mentioned something about...hm...needing to kill the Volcano Dragon. Didn¡¯t know we excused students for video games¡­¡±


    Jake only shrugged. The office clerk motioned to Nadene,


    ¡°What about you..? Why are you here¡±


    Nadene quickly tried to scramble an excuse as to why she¡¯d get to leave too, but found none. She sighed as her scarf drooped down in defeat,


    ¡°No reason. I was just escorting him to the office. He gets lost easily¡­¡±


    Just as she turned to leave, a woman slowly creaked open the door. She had a innocent stare on her face and stumbled into the room clumsily. Most of her body was overly shiny and fake looking, she had a set of glasses on with entirely opaque frames, and she had the strangest maid outfit on. Nadene kept the door open and stared silently. The woman rose her hand slightly and waved,


    ¡°Hey, Jake. Remember me? I¡¯m...uh...your mother¡± She smiled softly


    Nadene¡¯s head spun around some more, this wasn¡¯t the woman she¡¯d seen before. This one was way shorter, her hair was a short purple and she carried herself differently. She was acting differently too, nothing like the god she had met before.


    ¡°W-wait...really? You¡¯re a bit younger than I expected...h-how old are you?¡±


    Jake¡¯s mom stumbled on her words a bit before spitting out, ¡°T-Two...T-Twenty Two! Twenty Two years old is what I meant! Nailed it¡±


    Jake went to embrace his mother, nearly tripping into her chest. His mother attempted to back away, but all Jake felt was a hard metal. Jake titled his head and quickly backed away,


    ¡°You are really...really hard, kind of like...metal¡± He muttered, mesmerized. His mother only sheepishly laughed and giggled away. She remained distant throughout. His mom woozed back a tad bit towards the door,


    ¡°T-try not to touch me okay? I get a little glitc¡ªtwitchy every now and againnnn¡± she buzzed, ¡°Wwwwoah, h-hhhaa ha, told ya¡¯ so. Now come on Jack, let¡¯s go home¡±


    Jake¡¯s Mom glitched a tad bit, but increasingly so as she made her way to the door. Just as she opened it, another walked in, a fiery spark about her. Her crimson hair was styled in a posh and bouncy manor, with one sharp tooth poking out of her mouth at all times. She wore a coffee toned jacket, but parts of it looked to be torn and singed. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Hey, I need a kid here. Name¡¯s Jake Keifer¡± She demanded. The purple haired girl jittered nervously,


    ¡°Yyyou m-mmust¡¯a have bbbeen missstaken. IIII¡¯m his mother!¡±


    The taller woman¡¯s eyes narrowed, she rose a hand to her chocolate skin and frowned, ¡°Uh no. He¡¯s my kid...¡±


    The smaller frowned and leaned closer. ¡°Hey Saria, I thought I was gonna be the one to grab the ¡®cash money¡¯¡± She murmured, eyeing Jake the whole time


    Saria held in a gasp and leaned forward some more, ¡°Uh, no Navi. You were supposed to man the teleporter. This was a me thing. Wait, doesn¡¯t that mean that no-one¡¯s at the teleporter?¡±


    ¡°Heck. Uh, just use some magic or something. I think Cash Money¡¯s confused¡± Navi signaled, ¡°Anywho, let¡¯s issue the emergency plan. Code: Bianca¡±


    Saria and Navi both embraced Jake instantly, ¡°BOTH OF US ARE YOUR MOM¡±


    Nadene, still holding the door open, only starred on with a tilted head. Whatever was going on was beyond her, but it sounded like none of the people she had met today were Jake¡¯s mom. At this point she only looked on to see how confusing it would get. The office clerk slowly maneuvered her hands up to her glasses and dragged them off with her wilted hands,


    ¡°Eh. Well we don¡¯t have a mother registered with the boy. Taking him right now would qualify as kidnapping¡±


    ¡°What if I told you I didn¡¯t care?¡± Saria cheered


    ¡°Well I couldn¡¯t argue with you. These old bones can¡¯t search through custody files anymore...¡± The office lady groaned


    ¡°Thankises¡± Navi finished. She picked up Jake by the hoodie, lifting him easily. ¡°Wow. You are really light. How tall are you?¡±


    ¡°Six feet exactly¡± Jake murmured in pride, ¡°Say¡­if both of you are my mother, then who¡¯s my dad?¡±


    ¡°...Jake...I¡¯m your real Dad¡± Navi smiled as she trailed Jake out the door. Nadene watched them go off for a few seconds until they were out of earshot. Afterwards she sighed and gave a look to the office clerk, she was asleep. Nadene only smiled and walked out the door, it wasn¡¯t her first time leaving school and it hopefully wouldn¡¯t be the last.


    She rushed down the sidewalk towards the bus stop when she suddenly tripped. Immediately she drew back, it was Stephanie.


    ¡°Gah! Wait, what¡¯re you doing here?¡± She scrambled


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to get on a bus to find the god of space time¡± Nadene explained


    Stephanie sighed and shook her head a bit, ¡°Well, I¡¯m just...walking around, y¡¯know. I thought I¡¯d go to that trade...market thingy you and Jake like so much¡±


    ¡°Oh, you mean Saul¡¯s place¡± Nadene recalled, ¡°Good place. I got my scarf there. Traded it for this weird pendant Layali gave me¡±


    Stephanie stood up and dusted herself off. She leaned against a wall by her legs and dragged herself down on the dirty floor. She eyed the various small businesses in front of her, and a few of the rough looking citizens.


    ¡°I just wanted to take a walk¡± Stephanie sighed, ¡°How¡¯s Layali doing?¡±


    Nadene stood for a while, but eventually leaned up against the wall herself and sat down. The cracks in the road were slightly uncomfortable, a few random bugs rushing amongst the weeds.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t hate you¡± She sighed, ¡°She just wants you to be a little less...fakey¡±


    ¡°But doesn¡¯t she realize how difficult that is!?¡± Stephanie shouted back, grimacing to herself, ¡°Honestly it¡¯s like she¡¯s never even been in a relationship before! If she could get off her high horse for one second then maybe she¡¯d be able to understand me¡±


    Nadene only nodded, ¡°She wants you to stop telling yourself no. That¡¯s what frustrates her to no end¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh Yeah? Heh, I guess we¡¯ll be bickering for a little while¡¯ longer then¡± Stephanie slumped a bit further down, ¡°Anyways...what¡¯s up with Jake?¡±


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s still Jake...just with two moms now¡± Nadene giggled


    ¡°Wait, what about his Dad?!¡± Stephanie quickly stumbled her words,


    ¡°Dunno, either they¡¯re not his real parents, or Jake¡¯s mom is in a relationship with a robot¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Occam''s Razor Yo¡± Nadene answered with a finger at her forehead. Stephanie only groaned and stood up. She casually gave a hand for Nadene to climb up,


    ¡°Sooo, I guess you¡¯re heading to the bus stop?¡± Stephanie asked


    ¡°Yep. I really just have to check on something. After that...dunno¡±


    ¡°Neat. Let¡¯s head out together then¡±


    Nadene nodded and began to head towards her destination. The two of them were largely silent throughout their walk, and it didn¡¯t take them all that long to reach the distinct dark green seats of their destination. Nadene plopped into the seat, taking no notice of the grime and dirt, or the faded advertisement. Stephanie was a little more cautious, slowly crossing her legs and leaving as much of the metal off of her as possible.


    ¡°The bus should be here in around a few minutes¡± Stephanie noted, ¡°What is it you¡¯re really looking for anyways?¡±


    ¡°I had a dream where I met Jake¡¯s mother, and she cloned herself so that one was in the bus and one was walking around...I just want to make sure she¡¯s still here¡± Nadene explained


    ¡°Fine...don¡¯t tell me¡± Stephanie sighed and stood up, ¡°Tell ya¡¯ what. You go find whatever you¡¯re looking for, and I¡¯ll meet you at that pizza place. Bring Layali with you, I wanna do that thing with the spaghetti¡±


    ¡°Y¡¯know Layali hates spaghetti right?¡± Nadene pointed out. Stephanie only shrugged and walked off. Heading down the street near the restaurants. Nadene watched her for a bit until she came out of view, the she made herself cozy on the cold metal and sighed.


    After a short while she heard the bus slowly make its way down the road. It creaked to a stop as it came in front of her, exhaust shot out as it did, and the smell was immediately brought in the air. Nadene jolted awake and quickly eyed the windows, right where she had left it was another clone of Spiritfawn. Nadene only smirked to herself, as the bus door opened she began to make her way down the street, but something was wrong.


    She felt extremely tight. Every muscle was frozen. Immediately she recalled being in this position earlier, but it felt different. It was less frozen and more paralyzed, like her brain stopped sending signals. Pretty soon she felt her legs moving into the bus, despite her not even considering it. Every motion was involuntary. Her legs lost all feeling, and next to go was her vision. By the time she was in the bus every sensation was lost. Her heart pumped faster and faster, but even that eventually normalized through whatever was happening. The only thing she was allowed was her breathing. She grew into a heavy pant, feeling her body brush past Spiritfawn. She went to the end of the bus and carefully sat down. Everything around her started to fade into a dark, endless void. Eventually she relaxed and let herself be taken by whatever magic she had gotten herself into.


    Suddenly her vision returned, she was sitting in the exact same position she was when she first woke up. The only differences were Spiritfawn was there, still as a doll. And everything around them was a dark, inky black. She couldn¡¯t move her body, through fear or magic she could not tell. Though, out of her sight Zackory, Jake and Layali were all on the bus too, each in the same position they always took. Nadene only took a small look around, and then found herself with her eyes closed yet again.

 Dawn of the light of our heroes! - 4 - Stephanie and Aerith Hit the Road

    ¡°Christ¡¯s sake...It¡¯s been a full day¡± Aerith said under her breath. She was panicking internally, after all her brother was missing, but part of her wanted to find that pen. Maybe it had taken Jake to a mystical world without her. Jake would need the advice and guidance that only Aerith had, unless he had found someone else¡­


    The bus had passed too, so it¡¯s not like he¡¯d gone to school. Maybe he was at Nadene¡¯s house, she always had him doing something weird or strange. Or maybe one of those bullies really got to him. Aerith smirked at the thought.


    Another one came to mind, maybe he¡¯d just run off...but then Saul would¡¯ve told her that would he not? She sighed to herself, jotting down a few notes as she pushed away excess trash from the table. A few different theories here and there, but she didn¡¯t really have any concrete evidence.


    Just at that moment, a slight knock was heard at the door. Aerith hastily rushed to the door only to see some girl. Her hair was over stylized and she had clothing on much too expensive to be here. Aerith looked at her dismissively,


    ¡°What is it you have for me?¡± Aerith asked, turning up her nose as much as she respectably could


    ¡°Have? Uh, no...I need to see Jake. Didn¡¯t know he had a sister¡±. Stephanie looked off, trying to avoid any embarrassment. She peaked by while she waited for an answer.


    ¡°Yes...he does...unfortunately he¡¯s missing, hasn¡¯t shown up in a day¡±. Aerith began to shut the door, to which Stephanie stuttered and held the door open.


    ¡°Wait, Jake too? I-I came here because of Layali and Nadene...also Zackory. They¡¯re all missing too...I¡¯m worried about all of them...¡±. Aerith looked on in interest, perhaps they had all been whisked away to a new world like she originally theorized. A group of four that knew each other well was always the best choice for things like this.


    ¡°Yes, upsetting isn¡¯t it? Come then, I supposedly have the time to spare¡±. Aerith left the door open as she signalled for Stephanie to come in.


    ¡°Name¡¯s Stephanie by the way...yours?¡±.


    ¡°Aerith...Aerith Greindsworhthia¡±. The girl paused for a moment and awaited for Stephanie to bully her or find some excuse to leave. Stephanie only shakingly nodded and continued carefully stepping amongst the house. Her eyes widened when she came across the kitchen, debris still everywhere with a clear hole in the ceiling.


    ¡°W-What...how¡¯d that happen?¡± Stephanie asked, still unable to keep her eyes off it. Aerith hardly even batted an eye at it, taking a few random assorted items and setting them near a bag on top of the bed.


    ¡°The bed was too heavy, either that or Jake¡± Aerith paused to find her words, ¡°The house is clearly a little run down...sorry about that¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°No no, it¡¯s fine. Just...not what I¡¯m used to I guess. Where are we going..?¡± Aerith thought for a moment, focusing on any spots where a bunch of people Jake would have known would be around.


    ¡°The mall, that one with the long name. You have enough money to at least get in right?¡± Stephanie nodded, patting the pants pocket where she kept her wallet. Aerith let out a sigh of relief, she didn¡¯t have the money to start up any alchemy business to make any money, nor did she have any money to steal from Jake. Aerith shoved a few more things in the bag before she headed towards the door.


    ¡°We¡¯ll ask anyone who knows where they might¡¯ve gone¡­¡± Aerith looked over her shoulder and smiled, ¡°And if not then we¡¯ll do something responsible...like telling my dad or something¡±


    ¡°With the condition of this place I doubt that¡¯d be any better then calling mine¡­¡±. Stephanie spoke mainly to herself, but Aerith heard her anyway. She chuckled and stepped outside, the sun irritating her sensitive skin. Stephanie followed soon closely behind, curiously looking around at all the different sights and sounds.


    ¡°Different isn¡¯t it?¡± Aerith noted as they came up to a road. She ignored the stop sign, not as if the cars would ever pay attention to it. The mall was only one mile away, but the transition between the two districts would make it seem like an entirely separate continent. Stephanie¡¯s comfortability would gradually increase as time went on and she got more acquainted with her surroundings, with Aerith''s case being the opposite. The sidewalks got cleaner, there was less empty lots, and it certainly smelt nicer. Some of the shops looked inviting.


    Though the amount of eyes on her increased as well, more people paying attention to her outfit and hair style. Aerith shot a dismissive glance at all of them, looking forwards towards the mall yet again.


    ¡°We passed by her house y¡¯know¡± Stephanie said, ¡°Layali¡¯s...of course it¡¯s empty, but we could still check...y¡¯know, later on¡±. Aerith stopped and turned behind her, clearly annoyed.


    ¡°We¡¯re more likely to find someone that could help us if we just go to the mall first¡±.


    ¡°But, even if we did, it¡¯s just gonna be some kid...¡± Stephanie stepped back now, ¡°Let¡¯s just go to Layali¡¯s house¡±.


    ¡°Why do you have such an attachment to her anyway? I¡¯m trying to find my brother...what¡¯s Layali matter to you?¡±. Aerith shook her head and turned away, ¡°It¡¯s getting dark soon anyways...heading out right now is our best option¡±. Stephanie nodded, giving a glance behind her before she turned back and followed.


    ¡°If you have to know she¡¯s my friend, but wouldn¡¯t anyone want to find a missing person?¡± Stephanie pointed out. She moved faster now, clearly flustered. The mall was coming ahead shortly, and though this wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d seen the mall, it definitely looked like a different building. The mall looked very much like a city, with each large block being carelessly added on the side of another, with large bridges and even railways circling around. The surrounding area was dotted with fake plants and grass, controlled entirely by brick outlines. The sheer cost to run this thing, the sheer absurdity, Aerith thought it was outrageous. The brightly lit title summarized it all perfectly, The Mega Super Extreme Awesome Duper Million Tra- Tra- Tra Trillion Bunch of Billion Mall. The ¡®Tra-Tra-Tra¡¯ being lit up one after the other individually.


    ¡°This is what money gets you then¡­¡± Aerith muttered, ¡°The resources used for this thing could be used to do...anything else, but instead they build this¡±. Stephanie laughed, and nodded her head.


    ¡°This place has priorities over the whole county electricity wise. This place¡¯ll cause a blackout 3 times a day with no consequence...You¡¯d be an idiot to set up shop or even live within miles of this place¡­¡±


    Aerith grimaced at the building. Quickly, she rushed into the entrance, making sure Stephanie was following behind her.

 Reunions - 1 - Jakette!?

    Jake¡¯s eyes slowly adjusted to the world around him. There was a hazy fog in the air, overwhelming his long dormant senses. His nostrils flared and his eyes stung. Most of his body was covered by waves as they desperately reached for him, soaking him every so often. His injuries, surprisingly, were gone. Slowly, Jake leaned up and nudged himself away from the water, looking around the coast. The cool air signaled that it was morning, with a light wind making it even colder. All was quiet across the coastline, with the ocean being content with softly seeping into the sand.


    As Jake began to take in his surroundings more, he noticed the weird stuff on the side of his face. He pulled at it, but a sharp pain came from his scalp. Hastily, he felt around more, noticing the long sheet of hair he had. Even more panicked now, he ran his hands up to his face, his eyes, and finally his chest.


    ¡°No...oh no¡­¡± Jake held his mouth shut just as he spoke. He rushed over to the sea, cupping water in his hands and pouring into a small hole. The overcast day made the backdrop for a mirror, allowing Jake to see his reflection in the water. His entire form was feminized. His hair drooped down, as if his usual hair grew in length. His eyes were bigger and brighter, and his voice was soft and light.


    ¡°What the hell did those girls do to me?! I¡¯ve become one of them! Oh god my voice¡± Jake scrambled up, unable to look at himself any further. He was long far away from civilization given the landscape around him. High and jagged mountain ranges surrounded him, with only a few natural archways providing an exit.


    Everything around Jake was so much taller, grand structures formed after millions of years of history. There was a certain emptiness to it, however. Like there was one thing off from it, one imperfection. Jake shook the thought from her head and reached in her pockets, in the deep reaches of her pants lied the pen and pendant. Jake slowly drew both of them out, the items still perfectly intact. Both of them had an aura of energy to them, pulsating as if they were calling to her.


    ¡°C-Come on..take me back, or at least turn me back into a guy¡­¡±. Jake clicked the pen a few times, trying in various arrangements to summon herself back to her world, Aerith had told Jake plenty of times about parallel worlds, but never how to exit them. Jake shook her head frustratingly and threw the pen on the floor. The pen hovered where it landed, spinning around as it generated a bright yellow energy. It violently spun for a few moments before it suddenly clicked and gently hovered down on the floor. Jake looked at it, scared to pick it back up again. The pen quickly flew back into her hand, what was more strange was that her hand involuntarily grabbed it.


    Another breeze passed by, freezing Jake even further. She coughed and fell down to her knees, hugging her body with what little warmth she had in her. Again, the pen jolted out of her hands, it¡¯s glow hardly visible in the pale and barren illuminance of the sky. It sparked with energy and, rather slowly, created a velvet coat. It hovered in the air briefly before dropping down. Jake opened her eyes just in time to see it, and quickly rushed to the coat before the waves got to it first. She dropped it over her shoulders crudely, desperately nudging herself away from the waves.


    ¡°You create coats then huh?¡± Jake shivered a little more. In reaction, the pen flew back out, flowing itself over the coat, making it thicker and even more advanced. Jake let off a faint smile, still too wet to put her arms through the fabric. Jake finally stood up and began to slowly trot her way close to a naturally formed arch way, listening to the faint waves of the ocean besides her. The Pen seemingly had a mind of it¡¯s own, hovering around Jake as it pleased. Particularly attracted to her pockets, it poked around at it more and more until Jake noticed it.


    ¡°What¡¯d you want? I don¡¯t have anything on me except..¡±. Jake quickly drew her pendant out for the pen to see, to which it poked it more again. She only tilted her head further, slowly waiting for a response as she put it on. The pen made the closest action of a nod that it could. As Jake draped it over her neck, the pendant itself buzzed wildly. It¡¯s light saturated the surround area, glowing a brilliant hue. Jake stopped in her tracks to admire it, it¡¯s light was gorgeous.


    ¡°R-RIGHT...C-CAN you hear ME!?¡± A static and noise filled the back of Jake¡¯s head. Her back tingled as if someone was right behind her, sending the back of Jake¡¯s hair on edge. She turned around, only to see no one. She dismissed the feeling of panic she was having and forced herself to settle down. The voice was an even higher pitch than hers, but it was louder and more energetic,The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°OOOKaAY! T-TTHat¡¯s GOOD! G-good! Good!¡±. The voice was getting less distorted now, though Jake was unable to cover her ears or block it out. ¡°Ahem¡­Is the voice better? Yes, no?¡±. Jake looked around and nodded, her breath growing slightly more weary. The voice seemingly organized a few things before it began to speak again.


    ¡°Hiya Jake! It¡¯s mom...the real one, but I¡¯d prefer it if you called me Spirit-fawn. You don¡¯t mind that do you?¡±. Spirit-fawn waited for a response, but Jake only looked around at the sky, desperate for a source of the voice. Eventually she knelt in the sand, the pen still circling around her. Her expression was shocked, yet emotionless, she only stared at the ocean in front of her.


    ¡°M-Mom?¡± She softly let out. She weakly reached out a hand, and her pen began circling around her faster.


    ¡°W-where are you? In the sky? T-this doesn¡¯t make any sense, I-I¡¯m dreaming¡±


    ¡°I assure you, Jake. You¡¯re not dreaming, you¡¯ve been brought here for a reason. A very important one¡±


    Jake shook her head again, only thinking of her pen now. She willed it to stop and take her out of it, she willed for her sister or one of her friends, but none of them came. She looked around, terrified of the large rocks around her, it was all so huge, so much bigger than she was. She but a mere speck in the sand¡­


    ¡°I-I¡­¡± Jake felt tears forming in her eyes, ¡°I-I...M-mom it¡¯s been so hard. A-Aerith, she¡¯s a mess, she doesn¡¯t even go to school, and Dad...Dad¡¯s always working...We moved around until we landed here...A-and, you¡¯ve been here all this time¡±


    ¡°Do not worry, my son¡± Spiritfawn responded calmly, ¡°Everything will be explained in due time. I take it you¡¯ve noticed your changed in appearance? Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°Wh-Wha? N-no, c-change me back.¡± Jake finished her crying and stood up weakly, still looking at the cloudy sun while she waited for a response, or at least some type of emotion.


    ¡°In this world, Jake, you can look like anything you¡¯d like! I¡¯m sure if you really want to, you could change yourself back right now!¡±. Spiritfawn laughed to herself.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Jake shut her eyes and concentrated, focusing on his appearance and how it was back home. Her mind wandered towards how her hair used to look at first, but none of it quite worked. Eventually her brain shot back, causing her to open her eyes, still her same self.


    ¡°Hm...you must not want it enough then. I¡¯d stick with this if I were you¡­It might hurt if you try to hard¡±


    Jake only stood and stared. She glanced at her pen and pointed to it, ¡°What¡¯s that then?¡±


    ¡°Aha!¡±


    Slowly, an apparition formed in the clouds. It descended just above the water, glowing a bright blue. Made from various shapes and runes was a young fawn, though it¡¯s antlers were grown, forming a symmetrical and elegant shape. Two talisman draped from the horns on either side, only cementing her presence further.


    ¡°That is why you are here, Jake. To do what I am unable to; You must kill the Volcano Dragon¡±


    Jake gasped, then frowned, ¡°That¡¯s what this is all about¡­¡±. She looked down in disappointment, forcing the pen seemingly against its will to stick itself in the wet sand before her. It crashed with a pathetic sound, utterly dwarfed by the loud explosion that followed. The source of energy was the pen itself, scattering the sand everywhere it could¡¯ve been found. The hole was directly in front of Jake, who didn¡¯t move or give a reaction. Though deep inside she wasn¡¯t even sure how she did it. Likely the weight or some other enchantment.


    ¡°If this is just about that dragon, take me back and do it yourself¡± Jake said blankly. Spiritfawn only laughed, unaffected by the reaction.


    ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re eager to test your abilities out aren¡¯t you? Child, this pen has been infused with every aspect of my abilities. Nothing you do with this can surprise me, this object is my equal. The pen is unable to touch me and I it¡­¡±. Jake still didn¡¯t move, to which Spiritfawn elaborated further, ¡°This is a gift, young one. One that I can¡¯t take back. Money, life, any element you can think off save for death, they are all yours so long as you can control and comprehend them¡±. The pen proudly swept across Jake, slashing through the air with incredible speed. Jake only stood.


    ¡°Bring me back, or at the very least bring my friends here¡­¡± She demanded silently. Spiritfawn only hovered in the air like some angelic force, light radiating from her body at all times.


    ¡°You¡¯ve had that power since I gave you that pen¡­Go if you must and come back as you wish¡±. Jake nodded and thought long and hard, the pen¡¯s energy sparking around her. She felt light, just as light as she was when she was transported here by¡­


    ¡°W-Wait!¡± Jake stammered, ¡°Someone sent me here! Was it you?¡±


    ¡°Someone?¡± Spiritfawn pondered, ¡°Oh, it must¡¯ve been the fire child, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get to know her soon enough...I shall see you sooner than you think Jake!¡±


    Just as the words were spoken, Jake felt her consciousness subside into the deep reaches of her mind. Slowly fading away as the final wisps of sight and sound were overcome by a deep buzzing sensation. Vibrating every part of her body until everything suddenly came to black.

 Reunions - 2 - Splinter Stephanie

    ¡°What do you mean I¡¯m not allowed to pass this section!?¡± Aerith shouted. She struggled against the hand of the guard holding her back, but her lack of muscular form and sunlight proved fatal. She kicked and wailed, writhing around her only free muscles. Eventually, she took a deep breath and jolted her mouth on the guards arm. The guard, surprisingly, had no reaction to the force.


    ¡°Do you know who I am? I¡¯ll cast spells, send curses, make potions. The gods themselves will rain hell upon your children, and your children¡¯s children. And on the day of your eternal rest, you¡¯ll rue the day you decided to block Aerith Greindsworthia Silvagies Trempor¡ª¡°


    Aerith yelped as she was hastily knocked down onto the floor. The hard surface of the tile not giving her any favors. She blinked a few times, her contact lenses out of order. She shot a dirty look at the guard as she readjusted it, and dragged herself far enough to be out of their sight. She nudged herself, still on the floor, past a few isles until she reached Stephanie. She was wearing sunglasses now, picking around a few various supplies. She quickly darted at Aerith in the corner of her eye.


    ¡°So are you gonna do that every time or..?¡± She sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯s all in the act I¡¯m a mage after all~¡± she winked to her with a smile. Stephanie held back any extreme reaction, and kneeled down to look at a different binders of various design.


    ¡°How many more floors until we get there?¡± Aerith muttered.


    ¡°Wait, I need to finish getting this months supplies, do you think stripes or polka-dots are better for mint-green?¡± Stephanie pondered mainly to herself, she eyed a few pencil cases and looked at the book back she had chosen. All of her supplies were fully decorated, and matched their own aesthetic. She frowned at each one, groaning as she put them both back.


    ¡°What are you shopping for?¡± Aerith stammered, ¡°We don¡¯t have time for aesthetic choices!¡±. She quickly lowered her voice, hoping none of the passerby would notice her. Stephanie kept looking for more items, stuffing a few in the book bag she had chosen.


    ¡°Actually..we do¡± She mummerd blankly, ¡°I at the very least, need to keep up a natural appearance. I¡¯ll head out in a few, the person we¡¯re looking for is just past this level¡±


    Aerith nodded, slithering of to the side and allowing Stephanie to stand. She carefully walked in front of the guards and presented her ID, a silver credit card. The guards let her pass by, with Aerith following suit as the guards broke away, still on the floor. In the deep reaches of her pockets, a bright gold rock glowed a bright green.


    ¡°Christ! That pendant really works..Normally I have to work on them for a while to get this far¡± Stephanie said mainly to herself. Aerith only smirked, a charm as great as Jake¡¯s was too good to not be shared. She had taken a relatively large chunk out of it in the past, mostly out of anger. Though her luck had increased so much it was almost staggering, and she hadn¡¯t parted with it since.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been using this the whole time¡± She snickered, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have gotten this far without it¡±. Stephanie scoffed and turned her head back, she gave off a grateful smile, then resumed her walking.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re here¡­We¡¯ll find someone with the right connections here, though it¡¯s probably gonna be one of those shady-type of deals¡± Stephanie explained, ¡°You can stand up now y¡¯know¡±. Aerith quickly picked herself back up, muttering to herself and swiping the dust off her dress.


    ¡°Let me do the talking too, no spellcasting or whatever¡± Stephanie instructed. She took off her glasses and folded them in the collar of her shirt carefully. Stephanie picked at it and grunted, resting it on her hair instead.


    ¡°What kind of witch do you take me for? It¡¯d take quite some time to prepare anything right here¡±. Stephanie only shook her head and continued to look around. Her eyes fell upon the large isles, much cleaner and more organized than the last levels. With the way the mall was structured different sections where made especially for specific types of people. Income, region, race, age, all of them were factors in where you were allowed to go, and where you were supposed to go.


    Each section was restricted by it¡¯s own credit card. Stephanie had enough to get halfway through the building, though she was at past her highest level now, the aristocrat district. Floors made of a royal red carpet and clean walls. The faint sound of classical music could be heard if you were quiet enough. Most of the items available were furniture or rare animal meat. Most people on this level, however, were here because of the literature section. Classics and modern texts alike were found here, along with shadier forms of information


    Rather suddenly, a blaring alarm went off in every isle of the mall. A red light flashed on and off every few seconds, and the sprinklers went off. Stephanie looked at the camera¡¯s in surprise, though none of them were looking at her. Every single camera in the room were focusing on a lone corner. Stephanie backed away from the water, getting close to one of the furniture display stands.


    Aerith on the other hand came closer to the apparent danger. She innocently peeked from an isle, it wasn¡¯t a fire, and it didn¡¯t feel like an earthquake. Aerith moved further across the maze of isles, going further across each one. Stephanie had hardly noticed, but she quickly jumped for Aerith once she did. The alarms still blared on, but there was no announcement. In fact, it didn¡¯t seem like there was anyone on the level at all, just from looking around. And it felt cold, extremely cold. The world around Aerith was going darker as she continued, each isle she passed by, consuming her more and more in the fog. Stephanie¡¯s senses weren¡¯t affected, and she only called out Aerith¡¯s name with increasing desperation.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Aerith could no longer read the names of the items around her, they were all now consumed in the black fog. Though she didn¡¯t care so long as she reached the end. She heard her name faintly off in the distance, but she didn¡¯t care. She only kept going further and further into the darkness, until all that she could see was a few inches in front of her. The items names had all changed to illegible text, constantly shifting in different tongues. Aerith made the final stretch and got close enough to see what was causing the ruckus.


    She found a large black blob resting in the corner, still as a statue as if there was a spotlight on it. Slowly, she reached a hand towards the object. Curious but gentle, she quietly let a lone finger towards the object. Just before she reached it, Stephanie took her hand and pulled it away. The light returned to her vision once again. Though just as it did Stephanie pulled her away, her feet were moving much too fast without her thinking.


    She looked behind her for short moment. The thing she had nearly touched was a disgusting distorted mess of mass, corrupting everything it touched. Several mouths and eyes melted around the disgusting flesh, constantly crying out a putrid noise, as if it was crying. Aerith¡¯s face twisted in fear,


    ¡°Wh-What...Is that? Oh god, I can still hear it!¡± Aerith cried. Stephanie didn¡¯t respond and only continued to run. She heard it¡¯s voice in the back of her head, tingling her back at every moment, it shifted it¡¯s pitch constantly. The voice was so loud and distorted that it gave her a headache.


    ¡°Aerith...You¡¯ve hid for too long Aerith...I¡¯ll kill you, or maybe I¡¯ll take away your magic...I¡¯ll take away your magic because it¡¯s the only thing you¡¯re good at Aerith. Without magic life isn¡¯t worth living is it Aerith? I¡¯ll make it so you can¡¯t even kill yourself, you¡¯ll only sink further into depression. Deep...Deep...Down¡­¡± It teased, ¡°I bet you don¡¯t even remember me...do you Aerith? You¡¯ve probably gone insane down here haven¡¯t you? You¡¯ve been here so long, and your mother¡­¡±


    Aerith stopped. Stephanie regretfully stopped soon after, out of breath. Aerith only looked at the hulking mass blankly, a violent aura began emanating from her. Wisps of purple and pink flew upwards, sparking a wind that made her hair flow up. She gave a dismissive glance, holding out a hand and grabbing the soon to be formed staff. An unbloomed flower circled the top, with an ivory handle with a curve that met at the handle. On the bottom half the staff formed an elegant blade carved with several outlines. Aerith held the staff in front of her, it felt almost like an old friend. Some childhood object that gave off a nostalgia to her. She stared at it in curiosity, but pointed it at the hulking mass. Stephanie stood back in amazement, her head in a swirl of utter confusion.


    ¡°Aer..ith?¡± She hesitated. Stephanie fumbled her words, defensively moving further behind her. Aerith looked behind herself with a reassuring smile, her hair still flowing from the sheer amount of energy. The staff itself glowed with a violent energy, shaking the ground beneath them. Slowly from under the carpets, blob after blob rose from the ground, bouncing cheerfully. Each one a different size, but all them had the same two black dots for eyes. They glowed with a faint light inside of them, each one going towards the hulking mass. Cheering as they attached themselves to every side they could.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember what or whoever you are¡± Aerith said, confidence radiating from her voice, ¡°But, I know damn well you¡¯re an enemy!¡±


    Just as a few dozen off the orbs attached themselves onto the distorted mass, each of them erupted in a violent explosion. Stephanie covered her ears and turned away. She whimpered silently, feeling the incredible rush of wind blow past her. Slowly, Stephanie looked in front of Aerith to see the aftermath.


    The walls, floor, and even the ceiling of the corner were...gone. The support structure of the building being shown off like bone and flesh. Aerith stared in shock, looking at the results of what she had done. The night sky was visible from the gaping hole inside the building. She turned around, hesitant even in herself as she slowly drew back.


    Stephanie looked in awe, but not at Aerith. The mage¡¯s eyes fell slowly onto Stephanie¡¯s hand as it pointed directly behind her. Aerith neither had the strength or will to turn around, so the creature made the decision for her. A large tendril swiftly ripped it¡¯s way through the wind and dug into Stephanie¡¯s lower stomach. Her reaction morbidly froze in place as she held still, the disgusting noise it made being enough to send her into a state of shock. The tendril was mere centimeters away from Aerith, ridiculously precise in it¡¯s strike.


    ¡°Don¡¯t...you...even¡± the mesh creaked in a loud and high pitched shrieking preach, there was no weight to any of the noise coming from it...it was off in a way. The sentence was hardly legible through all the screams and distortions. Aerith still didn¡¯t look back and only held her unsure smile on.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill this one too...I¡¯ll destroy anything that means anything to you, Aerith...That¡¯s what you get Aerith...for leaving me¡±


    Aerith only stuttered on her first word over and over. Her memories were blank still, everything was.


    ¡°S-Stephanie...does it hurt? L-let me help with that¡± she finally got out. Her staff let off a faint green glow before orb after orb of green appeared from the ground. All of them formed a compact circle around Stephanie before they began to climb on top of her and make high pitched noises. Each one seemingly cheered for Stephanie, but the words were all unintelligible.


    ¡°N-No...that¡¯s wrong, you¡¯re supposed to be encouraging her¡± Aerith faintly murmured. Her head tilted to the side as she forced the orbs to made a different type of unintelligible noise instead, which only garnered a stronger reaction. The mesh only watched on as Aerith struggled to control her emotions. Trying in vain to get the orbs to follow her commands.


    ¡°Come back...Aerith, we need you...bond with us Aerith...Come back...Aerith¡±


    Various words of encouragement and positivity all layered together into white noise. Only making the orbs become more and more wild and exhausting. They all began to pout and whine, a few of them even cried. The combined noises forced Aerith to cover her ears in pain, muttering to herself to keep their voices out. Though it was useless, the mesh¡¯s voice was in her mind.


    ¡°Aerith..? Oh Aerith? I¡¯ll release her if you go with me¡­if you pinky promise Aerith, just like old times¡±


    The offer peaked her curiosity instantly. She cancelled out any spells and looked at the mesh. The mesh only melted in on itself while it waited for the concept to sink in,


    ¡°You came back...Aerith, we need you...you¡¯re important Aerith¡­¡±


    The mage got closer, her staff expanding into material cubes and fading away as she got closer and closer. Once more, the world around her fell into darkness. Each step furthered the dense fog that formed around her. The text became jumbled and the world became black. Though the mesh had no mouth, you could clearly see it smiling. Aerith reached out her finger to touch it, then her hand, and then her whole body. Every sensation in her body was numb and fatigued, until everything faded away around her and collapsed as if she was in a dream. As if everything prior was just a dream and she was about to wake up.


    ¡°You¡¯re the main protagonist¡­Aerith¡­¡±

 Serial Expirements Aerith - 1 - Weird

    Aerith¡¯s eyes jolted open. The world around her was dark and gloomy. The room was outlined in a jagged, inky black, as if she was inside an old cartoon. Everything was white, and the shadows where a burning orange, though there didn¡¯t seem to be a single light source around. There was a harsh beam in the background. The kind that played from old stadium lights. Carefully, she stood up and felt the headache rush down the rest of her body.


    She noticed her silver hair no longer felt like a wig and her elegant dress no longer felt like a halloween costume, it was more realistic now, tailored to match her gothic style. Aerith looked around the room, 3 doors being the only exit. Each one was identical, carrying no discernable differences. Aerith walked towards one in middle, and stepped through it.


    The inside of the room was pure black. Even through the doorway nothing could be seen. Curious, Aerith only kept walking forwards. Each footstep gave off a loud echo that scattered across the hallway until the end. Eventually, a small white dot could be seen quite a ways away. Aerith had to squint to see it, though as soon as she blinked the dot found its way in front of her instantly. It was a door, or rather a sketch of one. Aerith jumped at the suddenness, looking behind her only to realize that she didn¡¯t know just how far she had gone.


    With hesitation she pushed open the door and stepped through it. On the other end she found her room, untouched by Jake¡¯s use of the bed or any of the scattered papers. It was still a mess, but less so. She got closer to her side of the bed, careful to keep the door open just in case. On the bed was a small ink pen, seemingly made of a cheap plastic. Aerith eyed it curiously, but kept holding the door open. She tried to summon her staff, but it didn¡¯t feel possible. Like there was some odd rejection in the atmosphere.


    She used her limited vision to look at the stairs to her left, they were still there. Again, she looked at the pen. Curiosity got the better of her and she hastily grabbed the object. To her relief, the door had yet to close. She inspected the object closer now, it most certainly didn¡¯t feel like the one she had before. This one was dull and fragile compared to the grand, high energy nature of the other. Embarrassed, she scoffed and turned downstairs. There was a dream like state into everything around her, the air tasted of the morning, each object in the house seemingly frozen into a trance, some bits of junk and knick knacks hovering in mid air.


    Aerith didn¡¯t dare touch anything for fear of some catastrophic reaction. Everything in her house was in order, except for any trace of Jake. Her various ornaments and books were all in their proper place, a few of them lost objects or trinkets she had misplaced earlier. Her curiosity faded away, and she realized exactly what happened. She turned up her head dismissively at her surroundings and looked up at the ceiling,


    ¡°Take me back, pathetic creature¡± Aerith demanded. The disgusting voice of the monster wormed its way into her head again, she could still hear it writhing around.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Aerith...I¡¯m Null, remember? I finally tracked you down...at first I tried...I tried...I tried looking at every human in the planet...but that was slow slow SLOW! But when that Fawn showed up, y-you¡¯re...I can¡¯t take you back yet Aerith...not yet not yet not yet!¡± Null screeched aloud, ¡°I can¡¯t bring you back...yet...not until Jake comes too¡±


    Aerith pondered to herself, coming up with theory after theory until her head hurt, ¡°Why keep me here then..?¡±


    ¡°Oh Aerith...this place?¡± Null formed, ¡°This is a world where you don¡¯t exist anymore...Aerith. Instead, your mother becomes stricken with grief because you failed her. She¡¯ll do anything to get you back...anything anything..even if it means abandoning you...¡±


    Aerith giggled, ¡°You must take for some kind of idiot if you think this is real...what did I do, run away, maybe kill myself?. Nothings even all that different here¡±. She looked up in pride and curiously opened the door, everything was a bit bright, sure, but it was normal. She saw the bus stop not too far away, and Saul¡¯s store couldn¡¯t have been that much further back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it Aerith..? Nothing¡¯s changed here because you don¡¯t affect anything Aerith...You¡¯re useless to everyone except me, and only me...You¡¯ll never do anything here...You¡¯ll just decay like the rest of them, you could be a hero with me Aerith...just like in the shows¡±


    ¡°Shut it, get out my head now¡­¡± Aerith stopped in the middle of a road. She held as still as she could while she focused on forcing Null to get as far away from her mind as possible.


    ¡°No, Aerith...Don¡¯t you get it? This isn¡¯t a choice Aerith¡­this is my world...I¡¯m your god...submit to me¡­join me...become me¡±


    The world around Aerith slowly began to melt away. The buildings around her decayed and the streets formed into a lake, gel swarmed Aerith and stuck her in the ground. She began to sink rapidly as the soft material formed itself around her, encasing her in a hard shell. She screamed at first, but forced herself to bite her lip. The material found her way past her feet, freezing them in place.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what you are...but I-I¡¯m...I-I¡¯m pretty sure your a¡ª¡°


    ¡°A friend...Aerith...This is the easy way out¡­¡± Null interrupted. Aerith held in her cry as much as she could, feelings her legs slowly being restricted. It was almost as if her fear manifested itself higher and higher up her body. She tried desperately to get her staff, anyone, to try and get her out of the situation, but it only creeped higher and higher.


    ¡°GET...¡ªOFF OF ME!¡± Aerith shouted, still partially frozen in terror. Her face twisted in anger as she thrashed her muscles as much as she possibly could. The mass only went higher in response, reaching up to her neck and spreading out to her arms. Aerith¡¯s psyche was in panic, her heart began to race and her body only shook more with each passing second. She stammered on her words before she sheepishly began to laugh to herself.


    ¡°O-Okay, you don¡¯t need to do this, I¡¯ll obey you if you need me to. W-Whatever you want, okay?¡±


    Null only went further up, getting to her neck, and preventing her head from turning her head any further.


    ¡°P-Please...D-Don¡¯t kill me. There¡¯s still one more thing I had to finish. Before I...B-Before I¡­¡±


    She drew her eyes up as far as she could before it too was frozen in the pale mud. Encased in a molded statue of stone. The only facial features that remained of Aerith were her caved in eyes and mouth, both of them stuck in the emotion forever. Null let the rest of the model world fall around it, sinking into the floor solemnly. Though it didn¡¯t look like it, it was everywhere, watching Aerith, softly crying.

 Serial Expirements Aerith - 2 - Hope is Here Cause I am Here!

    In the quiet of the world around them, a fiery will sparked itself into existence.


    ¡°Hey! If you keep trying to capture this girl people are gonna start saying things¡±


    The loud explosion the fell forth sprung out a tall and proud woman. Her crimson hair slowly fell down as she smirked. A lone tooth showing from the corner of her grin. Oversized sunglasses hung over her ears, and fire seared ablaze all around her, loudly erupting at every move she made. Parts of the jacket she wore were singed and burnt in spots, the furred parts especially.


    ¡°You..? Oh not you...not you not you...not you!¡± Null cried. The flow of the ground grew agitated and swirled anxiously.


    ¡°Yep, it¡¯s me. Here for the girl, think ya¡¯ know why¡­There¡¯s no easy way this time either, I have some anger I gotta burn out. I was holding this one¡¯s brother and he literally just warped out of existence. Kind of annoying, say did you take him too?¡±


    ¡°Her brother isn¡¯t REAL! That¡¯s a lie. That¡¯s a lie. That¡¯s a lie! You¡¯re lying!¡±


    The woman stretched her arms out and cracked her back before she continued. After a quick sigh, they began walking towards the statue of Aerith, each step eliciting a further response from Null. She eyed the solemn and onimus statue with an amused glare, it looked almost too pathetic. Null sprouted a wall directly in front of her, though she immediately burned a hole in it just tall enough for her. The material melted like a fresh wax, slowly dripping along itself. Null tried again, raising wall after wall in front of the woman, though she burned each and every one to the ground. Eventually, she brought her foot down, sending the world around her into a bright fire. A loud noise erupted as Null cracked across the injury.


    ¡°Noooooo...Noooooo...Noooooo¡± Null moaned. It swarmed around and around, seemingly in pain. The woman only watched as Null¡¯s world faded away around her, quietly melting away until the mall came back into view. The sky dropped to the ground and the floor seeped away into the various cracks of the ground. Every trace of Null slowly made it¡¯s escape, far away from the scene, leaving only Aerith, now free on the floor. Her clothes and hair had returned to their normal form, now scratched and dirtied. Stephanie was unconscious, right behind the woman. The mall was mostly destroyed by now, the section they were on previously must¡¯ve caved in at some point, or a few more, actually.


    Aerith starred in shook, her muscles still frozen in fear. Her legs and arms were still afraid to move, and the tears on her eyes still remained.


    ¡°Kid, you can move now¡± The woman sighed, ¡°Name¡¯s Saria, professional dragon, just saved you too I guess. So there¡¯s that¡±


    ¡°I-I...Saria? W-what are you here for?¡± Aerith clenched her gut. She felt something coming up much too quickly. Her body lurched down as she vomited out a pale white liquid that also slipped far away. Aerith moved far away from the mess, panting.


    ¡°What..was..that..and why..was that inside me?¡± Aerith barely managed to make out any tangible words between the bile and her own fear. She nudged herself far enough to lean by one of the damaged walls and quickly wiped her mouth, just now noticing the amount of damage that had been caused. Most of the outside world was visible through the gashes in the architecture. Saria only stood by and snickered,


    ¡°That was Null, not sure why she was after you though¡± Saria pondered to herself and looked out at the sky. Eventually she shrugged it off, but Aerith was still staring it shock.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s a she?¡±


    Saria looked back blankly. She quickly turned her attention to the girl behind her and pointed at her, ¡°What about this one, do you know them?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡± Aerith trailed off as her eyes fell to the corner, ¡°She¡¯s a friend. She was injured before, how¡¯s she holding up?¡±


    Saria picked them up by their back effortlessly, ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it...Null¡¯s weird like that sometimes¡±


    Stephanie could be heard lightly groaning. Saria turned to one of the larger cracks leading outside the mall and leaned over. Then turned to Aerith and signaled to her back.


    ¡°Climb on my back, it¡¯ll be faster¡± she said. Aerith tilted her head in confusion,


    ¡°Where are you going? Wait, I meant why...¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re never gonna find out unless you get on¡± Saria pouted, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, trust me¡±


    ¡°Last time that happened I got turned into a statue¡±


    ¡°And who got you out of that situation?¡± Saria mused. Aerith sighed and regretfully drooped towards Saria¡¯s back.


    ¡°Now hug me¡± Saria instructed.


    Aerith groaned as she did what she was told.


    ¡°I think you should go a bit higher¡±


    ¡°Okay¡±


    ¡°Hiiigher¡±


    ¡°Uh..huh¡±


    ¡°Just a few more inches~?¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Not falling for that¡± Aerith sighed as she braced herself. Saria giggled and finally jumped from the mall. Aerith screamed in a frenzy, struggling to hold onto Saria. Somehow, Saria managed to keep Stephanie around her as she dropped off. She was getting ever more excited the closer she got to the ground. Likely, there¡¯d be innocent civilians down below, utterly destroyed by her raw power. She¡¯d crash and injure Aerith and this girl she had with her, likely fatally injuring them or even crippling them beyond belief. The destruction, the fire that would ablaze from the devastation, but most importantly, the failure.


    The failure would be the ultimate outcome if she failed to transform right here and now, and as the thoughts ran through her mind she let out a smirk of excitement. Her eyes were enveloped by a bright glow, and her teeth began to extend. Her face extended a snout, and then another shape entirely. The small stubs in her forehead grew upwards into horns, new bones entirely growing from her back. Scales shaped around her skin, changing color to a washed out green. Her body extended out and finish taking the form of a dragon, wings and all. She proudly swooped her wings down and soared far above the mall.


    Aerith could only scream and panic as she looked at the buildings above her fade away. Though the longer she flew, the more relaxed she became. Eventually blinking away her tears and forcing herself to climb on Saria¡¯s back. They were just barely close enough to catch the odd glimpse of a building when Saria leveled herself, casually gliding through the air. Aerith found her footing on the dragon¡¯s body and laid on her back, staring at the stars, mesmerized.


    ¡°Yeah that¡¯s gotta be it. You wanted to rescue me so you can take me to your world right? I must have some important duty to fulfill or some ancient prophecy to complete...Though I guess I should warn you, I have a brother at home, he¡¯ll probably miss me...It¡¯s okay though, he¡¯s kind of a huge jerk...I might miss Zackory more than anything...¡±


    ¡°WHAT?¡± Saria shouted over the harsh wind flowing over her, ¡°Eh...We¡¯re kinda high up here, I can¡¯t really hear you all that well...plus I have this girl in my mouth¡±


    Aerith quickly nudged herself as close to the edge as she could, Saria¡¯s teeth were awkwardly closed and her tongue was blocking her throat. Aerith giggled a bit before she drew back. The Dragon was huge, nearly the size of a football field, towering across the brisk night sky. Her jade scales gleamed in the sky, and her midnight wings teared through the atmosphere.


    She leaned to the middle of Saria¡¯s back and tried to get as comfortable as she possibly could. The wind still proved to be an annoyance, threatening to keep Aerith cold the entire night if she didn¡¯t get lower. The clouds looked down on the three of them solemnly, silently drifting off.


    ¡°So, where are we going? You said you¡¯d tell me¡± Aerith recalled. Saria looked up at her and grumbled to herself for a bit, remaining silent. She swooped her wings down dramatically, irritated.


    ¡°Come on, I know you¡¯re not talking with your mouth. That Null thing spoke to me the same way...¡±


    Saria sighed, ¡°Aye, I would tell you everything right now. But I¡¯m not sure if I have much more time. I¡¯m not even sure if I have enough time to explain why I don¡¯t have to explain¡­¡±


    Aerith looked up in silence and waited for Saria to give in. Saria grumbled again and started to go a bit lower,


    ¡°Listen, usually this wouldn¡¯t be an issue so we wouldn¡¯t be in this situation. But I¡¯m kind of in a tight place right now. Currently I don¡¯t really have enough energy to get us where we need to go the quick way...So we¡¯re gonna try and do this manually¡±


    Aerith nodded and looked off as the buildings below her started to come back into view. They were closer to the higher class zones now judging from the amount of lights.


    ¡°So you¡¯ll have to land and recharge your batteries or whatever¡± Aerith finished.


    ¡°Not quite, I¡¯ll have to eat something hot or spend some time next to some fire or something...Do you have anything like that in this world? I haven¡¯t been here in ages¡±


    ¡°Since when?! How old are you?¡±


    Saria thought for a moment. She darted her eyes over to an empty field and started to slowly descend towards it. Her eyes tried to figure how big the field had to be to fit her, but by by the time her brain caught up it was already too late. She clenched her wings shut and folded her neck in, just barely fitting in the space.


    ¡°Ah geez, last time I came over here I¡¯m pretty sure there was this huge war going on, people all over the place, working hard for what they believe in¡­¡±


    ¡°Saria¡­¡± Aerith trembled


    ¡°Men going off overseas, supporting their families and their country, heads held up high in pride...Anywho, I think there¡¯s something warm here, let¡¯s go find it and...¡±


    ¡°Saria you crashed us into a backyard¡± The mage finished. Saria quickly forced her head as far as it could go in front of her. Her eyes barely managed to make out the back of an estate. It rested just shy away from one of Saria¡¯s wings, any movement would like destroy it. Aerith quickly slid down Saria¡¯s back, enjoying it much more than she should¡¯ve. She hid herself amongst a bush close to the neighbors back porch, keeping a close eye on the door to the backyard.


    ¡°Hm¡ª? I don¡¯t think I did. I thought this was one of those fields where those small wolves eat babies. I have the power of the gods! What could I possibly not understand about gauging the distance of a yard?¡± Saria pondering to herself while nervously shimmying around.


    Saria groaned as she receded back to her usual form feeling her muscles slowly contract and shrink down until she became human again. The transformation happened in a flash of smoke and cinder, leaving Saria in the middle. Stephanie was left on the ground covered in saliva a few yards away, still unconscious.


    ¡°Idiot, get over here¡± Aerith whispered, ¡°Who knows how many people saw us down here?¡±.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me an idiot! Everyone¡¯s backyard looks like a park now okay?¡±


    Suddenly, a flash of energy ran through her. There was a strange aura to it, almost whimsical it it¡¯s nature. Aerith was about to ask Saria where it came from, but her expression quickly changed when she saw that Saria was frozen in fear. Her heart began to race with theories and ideas. She jolted up as quick as she could, then called upon her staff. Just as she did, a blue light started to outline the clouds. Seemingly the source of the energy, light circled around every cloud and began to break through the night sky. Aerith could¡¯ve sworn she heard a chant as light opened open the clouds, a radiant glow shining down to the earth. A divine echo could be heard from the clouds now, it¡¯s weight enough to send anyone on their knees.


    ¡°Honey? Is that you down there? Sam!? Can you hear me? Sweetie?¡±


    Aerith froze, the voice sounded familiar. She struggled to keep staring at the bright light in the sky, but she felt it¡¯s warmth.


    ¡°M-Mom? Is that you?¡± Aerith hesitated in her speech. She squinted her eyes to try and make something out, but she couldn¡¯t make out anything.


    ¡°Oh my, you¡¯ve grown so much since I¡¯ve last seen you! Jake too! Come on, I¡¯ve  opened up the portal already, just get up these stairs and we¡¯ll meet back up with your brother! But please dear, call me Spiritfawn...¡±


    ¡°Spirit...wah? What portal? Where are you taking me? Don¡¯t you have questions yourself, I don¡¯t understand...¡±


    ¡°See, that¡¯s what Jake told me...He¡¯ll just have to explain it to you I guess. Come on, just walk up these stairs, they¡¯re right in front of you!¡±


    Aerith frowned. Slowly she felt herself take careful involuntary step after involuntary careful step, but just before she did she suddenly remembered Stephanie. She quickly rushed over to her, covering the light with one of her arms.


    ¡°Wait. wherever you¡¯re taking me I wanna know what happens to her first, and this one too¡± Aerith pointed to Saria and look up at the sky, awaiting an answer. Saria¡¯s breath only quickened when Aerith pointed towards her.


    ¡°Ah, did you get a girlfriend when I was away, Aerith? I support you! I¡¯ll deal with the one that brought you here though, we go way back. Right Saria?¡±


    Saria nodded ever so softly, smiling and laughing sheepishly. Aerith sighed and pointed her wand at Stephanie lazilly. Two glowing purple flat creatures appeared behind her, both attached themselves to Stephanie and flew up.


    ¡°Aah, so you¡¯ve already figured out your powers then! Wonderful!¡±


    ¡°Actually, I haven¡¯t...I¡¯m surprised I can do this much¡­The only other time I did it was when I was fighting that...thing, what can I do?¡± Aerith began to ponder to herself as she walked back around to where she was before.


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s rather simple really! It¡¯s a staff that can destroy anything in any way you want! It¡¯s fuel is powerful emotion, I figured I¡¯d based it off of that hero show you liked so much. There¡¯s a bit of overlap where you can sorta create things, but they have to go away somehow!¡±


    Aerith nodded with a blush on her face and looked at the floor. She casually waved goodbye to Saria, and took a few more steps forward until she reached the first stair. It caught her off guard at first, causing her to stumble her first few attempts before she got the hang of it.


    ¡°So, once I step through here you answer all of my questions right? You¡¯ll still be...you, right?¡± Aerith said somewhat aggressively.


    ¡°Yep! You¡¯ll know when you get here, trust me!¡±


    Aerith¡¯s eyes fell down on the floor, disappointed. She carried herself and Stephanie off up each step, letting the world around them fade away until the only sensation Aerith could feel was a buzz and the only thing she could see was a bright blue.

 Enter Vivien! - 1 - Even Weirder...

    Jake¡¯s eyes bolted open. She quickly shifted up, noticing they were on a bed. Everything around her was made of a strange blue crystal, reflecting off in every possible way. Though the brightness didn¡¯t affect her as much as it should¡¯ve, it still annoyed her.


    She was in a small room, lined with a few book shelves and tables. The window in the corner only showed an endless black. Jake¡¯s head hurt when she looked at it, eventually she pulled away and looked to her side. Both the rooms that were joined to her''s looked exactly the same, each leading to 2 rooms of their own. Jake shook her head and groaned, turning back into the bed, and shutting her eyes.


    She thought about the events that lead her as far as she¡¯d gotten. Met mom again, found a pendant, found a pen, transported to a different dimension...Oh wait. Jake felt the pen free itself from its covers. She eyed it intently and held it close to her person


    Soon afterwards, she heard a crash in the room besides her, followed by her sisters voice. Jake quickly hopped out of bed and make her way to the room besides her, unbeknownst to Aerith, who was looking around as she made her way to Jakes room. The two collided, with Aerith instantly pulling down her skirt and pushing whoever was in front of her away. Her gray drill-tails bounced up and down and Jake¡¯s almond hair swished to the side. The two crashed down on the floor, and their eyes opened at the exact same time.


    ¡°Aerith!?¡±


    ¡°Jake!? Why are you girl?¡±


    ¡°Mom did it...she gave me a pen too; It makes coats¡±


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Wait, you met her too? That¡¯s way cooler than mine, all I have is this stupid staff that explodes things¡±


    Jake sighed and stood up, helping Aerith up too. Aerith looked at the pen, currently on the bed, and scoffed. She summoned her staff back and showed it off,


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the pen that you bought from Saul in the morning?¡± Aerith sighed, disappointed with her expectations of a grand contraption or device.


    ¡°Yeahhuh¡± Jake nodded. She looked around in a few of the rooms. Slowly starting to walk in the way Aerith came. Jake¡¯s eyes browsed around some more. Everything was so shiny and crystalline and perfect looking it almost made her want to destroy it all.


    ¡°So...Mom¡¯s kinda weird now isn¡¯t she?¡± Jake remarked as she skipped past a few rooms. Aerith nodded and looked off at the floor, glints of her one red eye showing off,


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s Spiritfawn now, according to her...You think this is all still about that Volcano dragon?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what she told me, I guess she recruited both of us to help her¡± Jake frowned and eventually leaned on the side of a wall. ¡°And we don¡¯t even know where we are now, this place is like one big maze¡­¡±


    ¡°And everything around us is an endless void¡± Aerith continued, ¡°Say, do you know Stephanie?¡±


    ¡°Stephanie Mcallister? Yeah of course, she¡¯s from school, Layalli and her used to date¡± Jake recalled, elated. She laughed to herself, playing a few memories in her head.


    ¡°Me and her snuck through that huge mall over by where she lives, it was pretty fun. Then a weird white thing nearly killed us and this dragon lady had to rescue me...then I got here...Speaking of which she should be somewhere near here...¡±


    The faint voice of a girl could be heard far off in the distance. They were talking to themselves and stomping about, clearly agitated and confused. Aerith took a look at Jake¡¯s questioning face and gave an affirmative nod. Just as Jake was about to make her way towards Stephanie, she heard another voice now faintly resembling Layalli¡¯s this time, and then Nadene¡¯s, and Then Zackor¡ª


    ¡°YO! Hey guys, it¡¯s Jake! Get over here!¡± Jake cheerily shouted, waving her arms about. Her pen flew out towards the four now, trying to get their attention.


    ¡°Wait. Is that Aerith?¡± Stephanie trailed off. She brushed her shorter brown hair out of the way. They squinted her eyes carefully, noticing the small black dot at the end of a long hallway. Layali, Nadene, and Zackory all followed, with Layalli stay far behind the rest. They met each other in the middle, both groups out of breath.


    ¡°Hey...Aerith¡± Stephanie mumbled. She drifted her eyes into the corner and put up a shaking hand to her head, ¡°Remember anything important while I was out? We kinda have some explaining to do¡­¡±

 Enter Vivien! - 1 - Reunion at Last!

    Aerith and Jake both leaned on opposite sides of the doorway, looking on at their friends. They had explained everything to the best of their ability, as much as they could without overloading them in turns. Nadene pulled up her scarf some more and pointed towards a window,


    ¡°Then I suppose our most important goal right now is getting out of here. Jake, spawn in a cube or something...I wanna see how stuff works outside here¡± She explained, twirling the midnight strands in her hair that weren¡¯t tucked in her scarf.


    The Pen did what it was told without Jake having any input, twirling about as it spawned a blank grey cube around the size of Nadene¡¯s hand. Nadene took the cube and leaned over the side the window tossing it down. The cube fell down with no signs of stopping, falling faster and faster until it became a small dot.


    ¡°Okay then, looks like we can¡¯t leave that way...What about you Aerith?¡± Nadene continued.


    ¡°Mom said I can destroy things however I want, I can also make things, but they must be destroyed. Also I need to charge it with emotion¡± Aerith stated. Nadene frowned and pulled down her scarf,


    ¡°Well, our solutions aren¡¯t exactly limited...try bringing us somewhere else like you did before...otherwise all I can think of is using that pendant. Whatever it does it might be able to help us here¡­¡±


    ¡°No need to everyone! I¡¯ll get you out her in a minute!¡± a voice said haphazardly. Spritfawn tested her voice and cleared her throat before continuing, ¡°Mhm, alright. I now have a script somewhere...and I jotted some notes down to... *Ahem* alrighty then! So I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all wondering why I brought you here, and the answers pretty simple! Jake and Aerith, I need you two to fight the Volcano Dragon for me and kill it. I have given you the tools necessary, those being The Pen, the weapon of creation, and The Eraser, the tool of destruction. One makes things, and the other blows them up. See how I made a team synergy thing? Anywho...I brought your friends with you just like you wanted Jake, and I brought your girlfriend just like you asked too, Aerith¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Stephanie shot a quizzical look at Aerith, to which she laughed sheepishly. Zackory, Layalli, and Nadene all shot a quizzical look at Jake, to which she smiled and joined her sister.


    ¡°So I guess you¡¯re all here now! Don¡¯t worry, I already made your friends nice outfits for them to wear on the trip. I¡¯ll let you guys figure out things on your own from now on though, I¡¯m sure I can trust you to be responsible~! But I¡¯ll be popping in every now and again just to check up on you two! Oh, and one more thing!¡±


    The voice transitioned to a very serious tone now, the world around Jake and Aerith flashed into a deep black, with their Mother standing in front of them.


    ¡°No matter how many horrors you face, Aerith. I want you to know that I have always loved you. Jake, don¡¯t forget what you are...¡±


    ¡°Okay thanks die! I mean Byeee~! I have a bit of business to take care of, but I¡¯ll be watching you soon okay!?¡±


    In a flash of blue light, everything around them became numb and frail yet again. Jake and Aerith gave each other a terrifyingly worried look right before they were transported away yet again. Jake turned to the others as passionately as she could and waved to them before her hand lost all feeling. Jake¡¯s friends all had different variations of distress and panic on there face, clawing away at the ground before it too abandoned them to whatever world they were being transported to. Layali struggled to keep her ponytail down as it began to float up fast than her,


    ¡°We¡¯re all gonna die aren¡¯t we!?¡±


    ¡°Transported to a magical realm by my friends mom, not the best way to go out¡­¡±


    ¡°Christ I don¡¯t even have the right makeup on! What¡¯s everyone gonna think when they find the body!?¡±


    ¡°Hey...does anyone smell bacon?? Cause it kind of smells like ba¡ª¡±

 Enter Vivien! - 3 - Noon

    Zackory shifted around lazily. He noticed that his bed wasn¡¯t his usual bed and his clothes weren¡¯t in the closet; something was up. He tossed and turned around until he found his face pointed at the sun. He took a quick whiff of his surrounding environments, eyes still closed, and rolled back over lazily.


    Eh, it¡¯s only noon. I can probably sleep a few more hours; Maybe I¡¯ll get back to that dream with that weird glass dimension and the mall...Then again it is almost post-noon, I can probably get some bacon if I get to it fast enough.


    Zackory turned over again and began to think some more, Wait, how¡¯d I get on the ground? Eh, must¡¯ve just fallen out my bed. I probably just passed out before I could take anything off...Then again I don¡¯t remember my floor feeling like this


    Zackory opened his eyes and quickly squinted them at the bright sun. A gust of wind blew past his ears to break the silence of his thoughts. Zackory shrugged and shut his eyes again,


    Meh, must¡¯ve fallen out my window. I guess I should get back home¡­


    Zackory slowly crawled up and stretched himself before shaking himself down and sighing. He was on a large hill that was higher than the forest it was surrounded by, with a small pond in a crevice within the mound. At the end of the pond Zackory found everyone else, still asleep.


    Zackory was currently wearing a dark green cloak with a white undershirt. A pair of rustic boots were snuggly tied on him, and a belt ran across on of his shoulders down to his waist. Everyone else, save for Jake and Aerith, were seemingly dressed in the exact same wear. Zackory slid down the hill close to the rest of them and sat down.


    Ah jeez, that wasn¡¯t a dream was it? Well, since no one¡¯s around to stop me I guess I can do this to em¡¯


    ¡­.


    Jake quickly jolted up out of the water and and coughed anything that made its way into his lungs. He shot up at Zackory with an angry glare and frowned,


    ¡°What the HECK was that for..!¡± Jake shouted, ¡°Wait...am I¡­¡±. Jake pushed Zackory out of the way and tested his voice a few more times, ¡°Okay...thank god...I¡¯m back to normal me¡±. Jake sighed with relief and let himself relax on the ground, ¡°Wait. This isn¡¯t...how come everything¡¯s green...and¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!¡± Stephanie whined, ¡°First I get stabbed by a demon, then I get taken away to another world without ANY of my clothes, and I¡¯ve been transported here with my ex, and now I¡¯m soaking wet!¡±


    Apparently Layali was awake too, because another groan could be heard now.


    ¡°Oh you wanna travel down that road now don¡¯t you? I¡¯m sorry, but we¡¯ve been transported here by a magic dear! The rules of our society don¡¯t apply here, if you¡¯re so worried about how we¡¯ll look together maybe you should think about how we¡¯re the only humans in the area!¡±


    ¡°Oh I¡¯m sorry, honey! Why don¡¯t you try getting stabbed by a demon, then you can ride that high horse all you want!¡±


    ¡°Hey guys, maybe we shou¡ª¡°


    ¡°DIE IN A FIRE ZACKORY!¡± They shouted at the same time. Zackory only looked down at the floor blankly.


    ¡°Why...Why did you scream that too, Jake?¡± He asked solemnly. Though his question wasn¡¯t answered, Jake¡¯s pen gave him a light tap on the shoulder to show some semblance of compassion.


    ¡°Well then...looks like my time has come¡­¡± Aerith proclaimed, she stood up dramatically and covered her only visible eye with her hand just enough to show the glowing, dark red. Her staff materialized just besides her in the air and Aerith caught it just before it dropped. Jakes pen immediately hopped out to watch, excitedly bouncing. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Now then, my tender sheep present themselves before me, the Shepard. I shall take you across this land, protecting you from all wolves that may come our way. Elegant in nature but destructive in power, I shall lay waste to this land if need be. Be it Volcano Dragon or the most epic of kings, they will know famine, drought, and death. I shall conquer this world as all heroes do, even in the hour of my death¡±


    Stephanie sighed and crossed her arms. ¡°Okay...Jake, who is she exactly and why is she doing this?¡±


    Jake laughed causally, ¡°Oh that? She¡¯s my lil¡¯ sis. She¡¯s been my sister for about 15 years now¡±


    ¡°Wait she¡¯s adopted!?¡± Stephanie suddenly registered, ¡°That makes so much sense in retrospect¡±


    ¡°Nooo silly! She came out my dad just like all kids do¡± Jake smiled


    Stephanie remained silent for a few moments, ¡°I...are you being serious¡ª?¡±


    Aerith¡¯s voice became loud enough to block out their conversation now. It was clear at this point that Nadene was just pretending to sleep to try and avoid talking to anyone.


    ¡°And they shall all chant my name! The name of Aerith Greindsworthia Silvagies Tremporia! Now behold! A small taste of my power! Think of it like a free sample, of DESTRUCTION¡±


    Several yellow glowing blobs all shot behind Aerith and bounced forwards deep into the forest. Each one attached themselves to the other until the form grew past the size of the trees. The orb slowly blossomed out into a large figure, it¡¯s two black lines for eyes gazing up at the sky, desperate for a command.


    ¡°Now, I beseech thee...burst¡±


    The blob let out a nightmarish scream, growing a mouth and disgustingly stretching it out as it began to implode on itself before letting out a huge amount of energy. It exploded out with a blast radius that demolished the trees all around it, just before it reached them Jake¡¯s pen shot out of the sky and spun around blindingly. A series of various materials were created and destroyed almost at the the same time, with the pen just barely able to defend itself. Various spires and cubes of steel and wood forced themselves outside the pen to try and prevent any damage. Wind furiously ran across all of them until the wind finally subsided moments later.


    When the pen stopped spinning and went back into Jake¡¯s pocket the dust cleared. Faint smoke emitted from the pen now. The forest had been completely flattened and a large crater around the size of a small stadium was all that remained of the blob. Aerith exhaustingly laughed at the damage,


    ¡°Oh man...I didn¡¯t even know I was capable of that, holy cow!¡±


    Everyone else only stared forwards and gaped at the smoke that was still rising. Nadene finally got up now and currently lay on the hill,


    ¡°Wow, we¡¯ve been here for god knows how long and you¡¯ve already leveled a forest without any concern for the local wildlife and ecosystem, or if there were any people there¡­Really showing off that responsibility with your power¡±


    ¡°Hey! I didn¡¯t mean to do THAT...I wanted to make a firework! I must¡¯ve been too excited or something¡± Aerith pondered. She eyed her staff curiously and turned over to Jake,


    ¡°Go fix it, you still have that pen don¡¯t you?¡±


    Jake¡¯s pen bolted towards Aerith in response. Slowly, it rotated itself to imply a no.  Aerith tilted her head and pointed at it with a quizzical glance,


    ¡°Is it...talking to me?¡±. Jake only nodded in response, the pen agreed, shaking up and down.


    ¡°Uh, okay...Can you fix the thing I did?¡± Aerith asked. The pen shook no in response.


    ¡°Is it because you¡¯re...mad at me?¡± Aerith continued. The pen shook no and pointed at Aerith¡¯s staff while continuously shaking its head.


    ¡°Guess it can¡¯t repair damage done by the staff then¡± Nadene finished, ¡°Great...Alright then...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna go out on a whim and assume you know this stuff¡± Stephanie chimed in, pulling her hair and wringing it dry, ¡°Y¡¯know, different worlds and all that stuff. Isn¡¯t there always some old town nearby or something?¡±


    Aerith snapped out of her conversation with the sentient pen and put a finger to her chin in thought, ¡°Oh yeah huh, there¡¯s always a starting town nearby in games I¡¯ve played, though you normally just spawn there¡­I guess we should just pick a route and stick with it¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we like...draw an airship or something and take that?¡± Nadene sighed, ¡°Honestly you guys have every tool you could possibly imagine at your disposal and you wanna walk through a forest¡­¡±


    Jake felt a light bulb appear over his head, ¡°How about we take go-karts? I¡¯ve always wanted to drive one of those out in the open¡±


    ¡°Jake¡­¡± Layalli groaned, ¡°Go karts aren¡¯t built to go on grass and dirt, they¡¯re barely meant to go on the road they were built for, you can¡¯t ju--¡±


    ¡°Ah, hover Go Karts¡± Jake corrected. Layalli stopped mid sentence and gave in, ¡°Go for it¡­But you¡¯re giving me new clothes after this...¡±


    Jake smiled and took his pen out, ¡°Alright pen, spawn me a hover Go-kart with enough seats for all of us¡±. The pen whirled around in the open space of the field and ran across, creating a futuristic car as it did. Four cushioned seats were in the center, with two small extensions on either side with a seat of their own. The wheels were nonexistent, and the dashboard only had a steering wheel with two pedals and a gear stick. The whole car was a garish bright yellow with stripes on the hood.


    ¡°Actually...I think I might just walk aimlessly in the forest and get eaten by wolves later¡­¡± Layali decided


    Jake jumped in his new car and giggled like a child, ¡°Oh come on! It¡¯ll be fun. Say. Where¡¯s the key go in this thing?¡± Jake trailed off. The pen sprung to life and shoved itself in a holder next to the wheel. The car¡¯s ignition stirred up and a burning blue light emitted, outlining the bottom of the kart. Small traces of dust were cast away from the constant wind, and a vacuum like sound started to whir lightly in the background.


    ¡°Aerith, you¡¯ll get in right?¡± Jake asked. Aerith suddenly came to attention, shaken. She nodded and and trotted off into the seat behind Jake. Zackory silently hopped into the seat next to Aerith, and Nadene stretched before she sat in the to the right of Jake. Stephanie groaned and shuddered as she forced herself into one of the extensions. Layalli eventually got in too, only because of everyone else.


    ¡°Well it¡¯s not like you have any obstacles in the way anymore¡± Nadene sighed, ¡°Just go in any direction and we¡¯ll see where it takes us¡±

 Enter Vivien! - 4 - And so the game began!

    Saria was still standing in the yard, shaking. She found that she couldn¡¯t move no matter how bad she wanted to or needed to. Her body was shivering now, each breeze only made her condition worse. Even if someone saw her at this point, she wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything, though that¡¯d be impossible with her previous preparations.


    Suddenly she came to attention again, the sky turned from night to day and the moon opened up the heavens. Spiritfawn elegantly hovered down onto the ground, level with Saria. Spiritfawn had taken on a human form this time. Her height was short, coming up around halfway of Saria. Her hair glowed a bright blue, dreamily floating around in separate sections, and wore a complex dress with a set on antlers in her hair.


    Saria dropped to her knees in fear, still shaking and trying to hide any panicked screams. Spiritfawn only watched silently. Her eyes drooped down as she softly ran a comforting hand on Saria¡¯s head. Saria¡¯s fear was interrupted with confusion. Silently, Spiritfawn continued to softly comfort her until she eventually calmed down.


    ¡°H-How? I-I had him on that bus. I saw him the entire time!¡± Saria whimpered, ¡°That¡¯s not fair! You¡¯re a cheater, how am I supposed to beat you if your stats are so high¡ª!?¡°


    ¡°Saria...do you believe all men are created equal? That each and every person has equal opportunity to accomplish their goals and dreams? No matter what the situation?¡±


    ¡°I...yes, all men are created equal¡± The self proclaimed goddess sniveled ¡°I want to trust in a principal like that, that¡¯s why I fight; to keep that rule alive¡±


    ¡°Is that why you want to kill me, Saria? Is it because you¡¯re dissatisfied with the world I have created? I used to be naive like you, but it became apparently obvious..No one is created equal. Certain people are better tied to certain things, weather it¡¯s your dream or not is irrelevant. If one wants for things they¡¯ll never have, what would be the point of life? And if one has things they never want, they are nothing but trash¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Spiritfawn waited for sometime before continuing, leaving Saria in suspense as to weather or not she¡¯d be killed.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to take my children and use them to defeat me, or I¡¯m going to take my children and use them to defeat the Volcano Dragon, ending god and creating a world in which all men are equal. However you accomplish your goal is up to you, in fact I welcome it. Use whatever cunning you have at your disposal, just as you have been, abandon your morals and sacrifice your friends and family for this little game we have. I won¡¯t do anything you can¡¯t do, apologies for wanting to see my son before you take him away forever. Do whatever it takes to win, and we¡¯ll let fate decide who is right¡±


    Spiritfawn pulled away from Saria and walked away in the darkness. The ground she walked on was set ablaze with life and blue particles as they circled around her.


    ¡°Oh, and Saria?¡± Spiritfawn called out. Saria came to attention, shaken again after she had just recovered.


    ¡°Yes, Airya?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be scared y¡¯know. If I wanted to kill you I would¡¯ve done it¡±


    And in a flash of black Spiritfawn, or rather Airya, was gone. And Saria was left in the dark of the night to get back however she possibly could. After a few deep breaths she focused and her eyes narrowed. Saria reached down into one of the pockets of her jacket and pulled out a flip phone made of glass with various accessories and additions to it. Just as soon and she opened the phone a high pitched girl began to read out an advertisement,


    The Aerospace:Eyslon DV is brought to you by UA. UA, bringing you quality multi-dimensional cellular networks and devices since the age of the golden king! Loading your database now¡­


    Saria scrolled through all her contacts until she reached one called Navi and pressed the call button.


    ¡°Hey Navi¡± Saria let off a smirk, ¡°Get me back home, everything¡¯s going to plan¡±


    ¡°Oh really!? Normally girls like her are pretty upfront about what they want. But I guess she¡¯s the type who teases who she¡¯s playing with for a bit before she lets it get to the climax¡±


    ¡°Yeah...ahem...y¡¯know I could¡¯ve died like three times today. I fought Null and stole a god¡¯s kids¡± Saria pointed out, unsurprised.


    ¡°Heheh, to be fair sis¡¯...I came pretty close at least 8 times today, but Lexa kept interrupting me before I finished¡±


    ¡°Wait are you speaking literally or metaphorically here, I never quite know with you...¡±


    ¡°Metaphorically with what? I was working on that stuff you wanted for the kids¡±


    Saria remained silent for some time and then hung up the phone, placing back in her pocket and waiting for the blue light of the transporter to take her back.

 Enter Vivien! - 5 - Sin!City

    The hover car haphazardly swooped through the forest, bumping various debris as it ran through different speeds. The trees were much denser here, as they had passed the clearing where Aerith had left the crater. Not too many interesting things had passed them at this point except for a small burnt colored pig, the only change in color throughout the lush hills and fields.


    ¡°Where y¡¯all think we are right now? On like a map I mean¡± Jake asked everyone, Nadene was seemingly the only one to think about it. She pulled down her scarf and contemplated for a moment,


    ¡°Zackory? I need an analysis of the time and weather¡± She commanded


    ¡°Oh you mean right now? It¡¯s not noon, doesn¡¯t smell like it, the wind¡¯s blowing south west and there isn¡¯t going to be rain for a while. The air¡¯s cleaner then back home, so take whatever you want from that¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re probably going to be driving here for a while¡­¡± Nadene sighed, ¡°There¡¯s just not enough information to decide anything, we don¡¯t even know if there¡¯s any civilization nearby...or at all¡±


    ¡°PLEASE tell me we¡¯re going to stop soon¡± Stephanie gagged, ¡°If I have to stay in this thing one more minute I¡¯m gonna take my chances and walk the rest of the way there¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh come on Steph! Where¡¯s your sense of adventure?¡±


    ¡°About 20 miles back, probably doing better than I am right now¡­¡± Stephanie gagged over the edge of her seat.


    ¡°Do you get carsick or something? I can go slower if you want¡±


    ¡°Jake, you asked for a go kart and you cannot legally drive¡± Nadene pointed out, ¡°This car handles like garbage enough without you on the wheel, anyone would be car sick in this situation. So why don¡¯t you slowly pull this kart to a halt, destroy it, and give us some type of way to see where we¡¯r¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hey look what¡¯s that over ther¡ª¡°


    ¡°Hey look I think I found someone¡± Jake interrupted. Zackory looked back down again, his passion faded. Jake took a shortcut by ramming off a hill and forcing the car to a stop, it nearly bounced upside down in the process, kicking up dirt and plants and it continued. The person Zackory had spotted was a knight on horseback, they were wearing a huge amount of armor, the horse as well and a huge lance dangled of the horses side. Jake stopped the car a few feet away, and the knight stopped in their riding and gave a sharp tug on its horse, which neighed in pain loudly and rose itself up, kicking its hooves about.


    ¡°Now now girl, we have visitors...ahem, I am sir Leo III, and to whom owes me the pleasure?¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Ehm, I¡¯m pretty sure it goes the other way around¡± Laylli piped in, ¡°If you say it that way then¡ª¡°


    ¡°Greetings Sir Leo. My name is Aerith Greindsworthia, I travel with my brother, Jake, and my companions, Stephanie, Zackory, Nadene, and Layalli. We beseech you for a request in our travels¡± Aerith said with a slightly posh accent, ¡°If you will, may you please point us in the right direction to the nearest town or village, my fool of a took brother failed to bring the correct map¡±. Aerith pretended to laugh and sheepishly smiled.


    ¡°Why, I spot quite a few mages if my senses are intact. A simple navigational spell or prayer should do the trick, that is at all if you are at all familiar with the art of magecaft¡± Leo responded with an eyebrow raised.


    Aerith attempted to reassure the knight by only continuing to laugh, ¡°Yes yes, of course. But if one wanted to, if you will, navigate themselves without said magic...how would they go about doing it?¡±


    Leo¡¯s voice grew slightly angered now, ¡°But my eyes do not lie! I see two highly talented mages right before me, surely one of you could navigate yourselves no? That is of course assuming that these items of significant powers belong to you? Forgive my assumptions my dear, but I speak from my heart¡±


    Aerith could only nervously giggle until she was eventually forced to shake her head yes. Leo nodded and began to ride off again,


    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll forgive this infraction on my time. I shall go back to my hunt, I search for the legendary best, the Cibous! It comes paired with a meat so devious in it¡¯s creation that only I shall have it¡¯s head¡± Leo proudly chanted. His horse seemingly grumbled as it rode off once more, but just before it got anyone Nadene stopped it,


    ¡°Sir Leo, I beg your pardon. We are criminals, and this girl that you¡¯re speaking to right now just put a crater in your little forest. That ciby-whatsit might¡¯ve been vaporized in the process. Please, arrest us at the nearest village¡­¡± Nadene uttered in a monotone voice


    Everyone except Nadene let out a shocked gasp, especially Aerith. Nadene only quietly hummed to herself and waited for Leo¡¯s aghast expression to come forth,


    ¡°I-I dare say Lady Luck herself has granted me my wish! Haha, a full confession as well! I shall heed your orders and complete them dutifully my dear Nadene...If you¡¯ll just get out this...device of transportation I¡¯ll take you right to where you want to go!¡±


    Jake¡¯s pen shot out of the car and immediately spun out a large rope. Jake caught it in midair and looked at Leo, ¡°Drag it across this forest, that¡¯s our one condition¡±


    Leo laughed heartily, ¡°And what!? I¡¯m just supposed to assume that this vehicle isn¡¯t stolen as well?¡±


    ¡°If you bring this here you can return it to it¡¯s proper owner later¡± Nadene pointed out. Leo thought for a moment,


    ¡°Well then, seeing as it you¡¯ve thought of everything I figure that you¡¯ll tie the rope yourself no? I shan¡¯t sully my hands with items that have been shared by a thief¡±


    Nadene nodded solemnly and took the rope from Jake. She maneuvered herself carefully around the horse, hearing it grunt with annoyance as it felt more weight being attached to it. Nadene secured the rope around the horses body, and then did the same with the hood of the hover car. Once she got back in the car blazed back to life, and Leo¡¯s horse began trotting through the forest once more. As the rope stretched out the length gave a few yards between the Leo and them, giving them room to at least whisper to each other.


    ¡°Wow, we¡¯ve been here for god knows how long and you¡¯ve already gotten us arrested, really doing good with that whole ¡®don¡¯t fail me¡¯ gig¡± Aerith mocked.


    ¡°Yeah, I did get us arrested, rightfully I might add, I didn¡¯t lie. Now we¡¯re getting to a city with a prison, that means civilization. Jake can just draw us out of here or better yet buy us out of whatever prison we end up in. Then we can get situated with some type of house or room, and then we can figure out how to get out of here, if anything goes wrong I¡¯m sure you can turn the place to dust in a few seconds¡±


    ¡°Yeah actually¡± Stephanie groaned, exhausted, ¡°It¡¯s a solid plan for now...ach¡±


    Aerith scoffed and crossed her arms, looking off in the distance of the car. While she waited to see a town of some sort appear.

 Enter Vivien! - 6 - Saria

    Saria felt her consciousness slowly return to her in a bright blue light. She quickly stepped down and felt her sense of balance return to her. Her head felt like she had just woken up from an intense dream. Slowly, she felt the overwhelming heat that surrounded her at all times form around her body again. She centered and encased the energy in a golden pendant she wore on her neck, shaped like a flat pyramid with every other segment cut off, centered into a spine that ran through the center of the whole shape. The pendant radiated with a deep with a glistening orange that still gave off a slight heat to it.


    Apparently awaiting Saria was Navi who had her lavender hair cut short today. A set of goggles were stuck to her face, so opaque that Saria couldn¡¯t make out her eyes. She held and elated stare at her sister and lightly giggled,


    ¡°Ehe...Welcome back Saria¡± She waved. Saria rolled her eyes and stepped off a glowing blue platform with various bits of machinery surrounding it.


    ¡°Alright. What¡¯d I miss?¡± She sighed, throwing off her jacket in a corner and continuing to walk towards the doorway. The floor was made of a haphazard mix of cobblestone and wood, almost in a pattern but not quite. The walls were made of stone with the supports made of wood. Various windows lined the hallways, none of them having any actual glass.


    Saria picked up a lone sheet of paper labeled report. And read parts of it out loud,


    ¡°Guild expenses met. Lexa and Bianca, smiley face. Edward, frowny face. Moonlight and Spencer, mild face. No quests were completed while I was gone¡­Alright, nothing caught on fire¡±


    Navi nodded, ¡°Happy with what you see, or did you want something a little more?¡±


    Saria set down the report and looked back at Navi, ¡°Yes actually, file a request to see Moonlight, I need her for something¡±


    Navi nodded, ¡°Yeppy! On it, misses!¡±. Immediately Navi¡¯s body sparked with a violent charge of a pastel green and purple. She quickly jolted off and back again in a few moments, the only difference being that she was carrying a large rabbit-like creature in her hands. It was a deep shade of silver, with a small bushel of fur on her stomach. It had a clear mouth, and a slight amount of styled hair on her head. She wore a small pair of glasses that were currently dangling on her sleeping figure, and her mouth still dribbled with saliva.


    ¡°HA! Made it in 3.5 seconds, that¡¯s my 35st fastest time so far...¡± Navi cheered. Her body twitched with a few more jolts, sending electricity through Moonlight¡¯s body. Instantly Moonlight was launched up, sparks paralyzing her for a few seconds. She was awake, though a bit more fried than she could¡¯ve hoped for.


    ¡°Goodness gracious! Is it Wednesday night already?¡± Moonlight woofed off, she shook her fur about for a moment, getting all the fuzz and dirt off before she continued, ¡°What are we working on today dearest? The mech or the¡­¡± Moonlight slowly trailed off, looking at Saria. She blushed immediately and bowed her head down,


    ¡°Forgive me, miss Saria. Is there something you need of me?¡± She asked with a low and quiet tone of voice. Saria looked down at the creature with an imperious stare,


    ¡°Yes. I need you to do a reading for me¡± She commanded


    ¡°But, m-misses...I thought you d-didn¡¯t want to know the outcome at this moment¡± Moonlight stuttered but immediately regretted, she quickly bowed her head further to avoid looking at Saria¡¯s face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make assumptions!¡± Saria barked. Moonlight darted down further and whimpered.


    ¡°Simply look ahead around a few hours in the future and tell me where the children are¡± she ordered.


    Moonlight nodded, shaking. She hopped off of Navi¡¯s hands and plopped onto the floor. Her nervousness slowly began to fade away as she focused her mind and body in the present. Everything around her began to fade. The air, her emotions, Saria¡¯s heat; All began to fade away into the blackness of the deepest void, an endless never ending trench in a sea of forward motion. Hypnotizing, Moonlight found her mind slowly melt away at the seems, sinking in the abyss of the night. Particles of dreams, memories long lost, and entire universes passed by her, only fragments of a larger puzzle. She fell through an endless space until she reached what she was looking for. The ocean of time passed over her, and she drowned herself across the waves as she sunk deeper and deeper. Within the darkest parts of the lake she glimpsed a small vision of fate itself, she saw Jake, Aerith, Nadene, Layalli, Stephanie and others all in a jail cell. Nadene was in the center of the room thinking, with everyone else around them. Just as she got close she felt her lungs tighten, she needed to go back up for air, but she was already so deep there was no way she¡¯d be able to get up. Still, she swam up slowly but surely until she felt her last wisps of energy fade. Her consciousness slipped back and she shook her head until her eyes came back to normal and she slipped out of her trance.


    ¡°Well? What happened when you went in?¡± Navi asked, kneeling down.


    Moonlight wiped her mouth of water, though she found nothing there. Her memory was a strange mix of her time underwater and her time walking around in the castle. She shook her head a bit more before she answered, ¡°I...I saw them in the jail, one of them was in the center and everyone was looking at them¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Jail? Can¡¯t Jake just draw himself out of there? I mean, I¡¯ve let myself be captured before, but it was never that tame. Normally the conditions are a bit more...restrictive¡± Navi cooed


    ¡°Dearest, I wish you would lower the bedroom talking, it¡¯s screwing my memory¡± Moonlight sighed, still unable to get the sensation that she was wet off of her.


    ¡°Screwing your memory...that reminds me of a time I was imprisoned. Wait, didn¡¯t you do that Saria?¡±


    Moonlight began to ring her fur now, her face twisting in discomfort, ¡°Wait, while that¡¯s all my memory has to offer. I¡¯d like to indulge Navi her a bit more about this¡­¡¯screwing¡¯ if I may¡±


    Navi¡¯s head titled, ¡°Well it¡¯s not like she did all that much, honestly it was quite disappointing¡± Navi sighed nostalgically, ¡°She sat me down in this bed and put this thing in me and then after a while my brain felt funny. I was tied down too, I could¡¯ve even reach to take it out myself. Though I don¡¯t think it was a screw though, it was more of a plug really¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make her think I do lewd things to you. That sounds like those cartoons Bianca and you watch!¡± Saria puffed up with her arms crossed, ¡°I only asked you if you wanted me to upgrade your OS last week, and I tied you down because A, you kept squirming, and B, because you asked me to, idiot!¡±


    ¡°Well duh, Saria! That¡¯s why I was so vague, my memories¡¯ been screwed¡±


    Saria let out a surprised stutter, she wasn¡¯t exactly prepared for her to say something like that. She grunted in annoyance and shook the conversation away,


    ¡°You and Moonlight go get the kids and bring them back here, I¡¯ll be doing paperwork and checking on Lexa and Bianca¡±


    Navi picked Moonlight up, letting her softly relax on her shoulder. She ran off normally this time, making sure Moonlight could balance herself properly. She darted away out of Saria¡¯s sight. And Saria waited until Navi was out of earshot to go back towards her jacket and rummage through her pockets until she found her phone.


    The Aerospace:Eyslon DV is brought to you by UA. UA, bringing you quality multi-dimensional cellular networks and devices since the age of the golden king! Loading your database now¡­


    She rushed her fingers to quickly scroll down to Lexa and Bianca with a small heart to the far right of the contact name. She calmly pushed the call button and held the phone up to her ear, instantly the phone was picked up before the first ring was even completed, Bianca was on the phone


    ¡°UGHH...Lexa could you please quiet down? *sigh* Sorry about this, but we¡¯re out for a cibious right now, we¡¯ve received reports right here in cobblestone about one nearby. We¡¯re gonna be out for a while¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really urgent though, I really need someone to do something¡± Saria said


    ¡°Then get Spencer to do it or something, Lexa keeps bugging me and  we¡¯re on watch right now¡±


    ¡°Okay, Listen, Jake will create a cibous out of thin air for you to eat, just go get them¡±


    ¡°All right. But you¡¯re ruining the hunt right now, hope you know that¡±


    Bianca hung up the phone.


    Saria lowered her phone down and began shifting through contacts,


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about this, old friend¡± She murmured to herself, ¡°But you¡¯ve outlived your purpose. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s time for you all to die¡±


    She pushed the down key until she reached Vector and pushed the call button. Vector was a bandit leader that plagued the outskirts of Saria¡¯s small province of land, Sin!City. The master of one of the largest bandit gangs, Dusk Gambit. If you needed someone to do something illegal around these parts it¡¯d be through these guys. Saria had used them quite a few times to get work done that she didn¡¯t want associated with her, they were clever enough to not get caught and wise enough to not double cross their employers. In short, they were perfect for Saria.


    When the person on the other end answered they remained completely silent, only the faint wind making any noise. Saria waited for some time for them to say something before her, but they didn¡¯t utter a word. Finally Saria gave in and spoke first,


    ¡°I need you to do a job, Vector. Cobblestone county jail, I need 2 kids dead by like...midnight, maybe...Yeah, midnight. You¡¯ll know them when you see them, if their clothes don¡¯t give it away then their behavior will. The money gets in your pocket as soon as I get your word¡±


    ¡°Two kids huh? And Cobblestone county jail no less, ain¡¯t that were Saria put all those weird guards? Heh, I think I have a few of my guys there¡± Vector replied, his voice was rough and haughty, emanating a constant sense of danger around him, ¡°But what about the parents, won¡¯t they go lookin¡¯ for em?¡± He mocked.


    ¡°Heh...Well you¡¯ll probably be happy to hear that you don¡¯t have to kill anyone¡¯s parents this time. There shouldn¡¯t be anyone looking for them¡±


    Vector fell silent in his laughing and let the wind take over. Looping the phone cord in thought while he sulked in the darkness. His entire body did not move besides the one basic motion until he rather suddenly stopped,


    ¡°Say, Spektra, you wouldn¡¯t be ratting me out to anyone here now would you? Cause that¡¯d be bad now, wouldn¡¯t it? I ain¡¯t got no problem with killing a phony queen¡± He threatened as his eyes narrowed


    Saria smirked, Phony Queen and Spektra, both names I¡¯ve given myself after my exile. He thinks he can kill me here because I¡¯m not the real one, but that couldn¡¯t be further from the truth¡­I get to make it out like a secret weakness while it¡¯s my greatest advantage¡­


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯re bound by blood, same as always¡­The pain you feel is mine and vice versa¡±


    ¡°Glad ya¡¯ remember that. I¡¯ll be sending word off to everyone I¡¯ll need, how much room do I got here?¡± Vector replied with a terrifying grin


    ¡°I only want them dead, and I don¡¯t want anyone seeing it. I need no information from them, so torture is unnecessary. Use as much magic as you want¡±


    ¡°Alright then, sounds good. Cya¡¯¡±


    With that Saria hung up the phone and melted it in her hands with a proud but erie grin. She felt the metal expand out and pop, then churn into a soft soup that was only released within sparks and smoke. With the phone gone she went back to the doorway and picked up the various reports Navi had left aside. She read over them carefully and hugged them close to her person while she left the room and walked a few rooms down into hers.


    Saria¡¯s office was a cramped space, ironically nearly everything was made of wood with traces of stone. Several bookshelves outlined the room, polished with a slide curved shape, filled with various books, documents and artifacts. Cabinets and folders were lined against the wall, with a desk in the center, and a single golden flame lightened the whole room. A calendar was just behind a grand throne with red velvet comforting. A table was to the left of the throne, having other various papers and folders tossed along it. Saria made her way into her chair and took a feather and ink quill from the further reaches of her table. She placed the reports on the table carefully and began to write out on them, covering expenses and logging various behaviors of several members that worked for her guild, castle and hotel, The Silver Rune.

 Dusk Gambit! - 1 - Its treason then!

    Stephanie suddenly opened her eyes and looked around quickly. Then she let out a load groan, she hadn¡¯t been dreaming. Nadene really had gotten them arrested. She saw a large stone archway not too far away now, they were arriving soon. She rested herself as far as she could in her seat and stared up at the sky, sunset had approached in the time she was asleep.


    ¡°So, what the plan once we get in?¡± She asked softly, ¡°Guns blazing or stealth?¡±


    ¡°Actually...I think I got something¡± Nadene responded with a slight tone of pride, ¡°I was thinking we get ourselves fake identities, there must be some calling card or set of clothes that belongs to a house of nobility or power here. If we can fake something long enough to buy ourselves some time we can probably get some place to hide from there...Any thoughts Aerith?¡±


    Aerith, who still had her arms crossed, paused for a moment and thought, ¡°It should work, but I¡¯ll need more information on this place¡­¡±


    ¡°Got it¡± Nadene responded, she cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted, ¡°Yo Leo! Who do you work for?!¡±


    ¡°Work!?¡± Sir Leo became quickly offended, ¡°You mere criminals reduce me to something as pitiful as work? No, I serve Queen Saria. However, in her absence I serve the figurehead of the current Saria, a mere replacement...I owe my full allegiance to her nevertheless. Now quiet down with the ignorant questions, honestly it¡¯s like you¡¯ve never even been here!¡±


    Nadene sighed and crossed her arms with a smirk. Aerith only grumbled to herself, and crossed her arms, irritated.


    ¡°Well, if you must know this looks like the kind of world that would work. We could play the role of the noble foreigner if you so wish. I¡¯ll limit my abilities for that much¡­¡±


    ¡°Great, sound like a plan then. Jake, copy the clothes the first couple of rich guys we see. You and Aerith can be the leaders while we are your humble servants¡±


    ¡°Ughh...even pretending to serve either of you makes me gag¡± Stephanie groaned over the side of the car.


    The road to the archway was close enough to touch now. Sir Leo had already passed through, greeting two guards on either side of the gate. Both of the guards wore light amounts of armor on their shoulders and chest, with a large tunic fitting under it. The guards eyed the car intently, focusing on each and every passenger. Everyone was silent as the car was slowly dragged through fallen leaves. A tense sense of air sapped at the woods. By this point, most if not all of the ground was coated in an autumn blanket. Leaves were only brushed aside to make room for the extremely well kept stone brick path. Tall dim lamps alternated across the sides of the road, soon they¡¯d be lit when the sun fell.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Old houses stacked several stories tall were neatly assorted across the road, the denizens wearing various different Witch outfits, tunics, and robes all doing various tasks and chores outside their house. One was hanging clothes on a string just by their window. Another was cooking something in a pot, smoke steaming from the top out into the sky. Leo came up to an intersection now, the road formed into a circle with a large well at the center. His horse came to a stop and he slowly crawled off the saddle. Then he freed his horse from the rope and slowly brought it back to the kids.


    Nadene was the first one to hop out of the car. She glared up at Leo¡¯s armored head, then dramatically brought a finger towards him.


    ¡°So it¡¯s treason then!¡± She shouted as she slashed her arm through the air, ¡°Sir Leo, you have arrested six sons and daughters of nobles from a very far off kingdom. Explain yourself!¡±


    The Pen sprung to life and immediately draped the fanciest clothes it could on each of them save for Aerith after a coat of smoke. Jake received a long black coat. Layali and Stephanie black suits and Zackory¡¯s outfit didn¡¯t change at all. Leo backed up in surprise and immediately reached for the sword on his horse,


    ¡°What is the meaning of this...this treason!? Queen Saria tells me everything! You must take me for some kind of fool to think that some nobles would just so happen to show up. You yourself said you were a thief!¡± Leo stuttered


    ¡°A mere trick. It seems that the great Sir Leo is unable to decipher as much¡± Aerith added with a large flair of drama, ¡°However, we¡¯ll forgive this infraction if you grant us safe passage. If you still have your doubts, town of cobblestone, know that even someone as neuro-typical as you all could sense my power just from a small glance¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah! You better back off and let us see the Queen, else¡¯ she¡¯ll be mad and fire you!¡± Stephanie added as she pulled herself out of the car. She felt like putting up her fists or saying a swear word, but she didn¡¯t want to be too mean. Her legs were still a little wobbly after the ride and keeping herself in that compartment too, so she stumbled back and leaned on the side of the car. Though it wasn¡¯t quite tall enough for her to do it, so she grumbled and sat on the rim of the windows. She ended up falling further in the car when she aimed wrong, however.


    ¡°Yeah, and I guarant¡ª¡°


    ¡°I can assure you she¡¯ll want to see us¡± Jake finished. Everyone in the town was staring at them now, frozen with their same still, blank, expressions in the middle of their tasks. Leo was visibly shaking in his armor, though the emotion behind it wasn¡¯t quite clear. Light whimpers echoed through his helmet for sometime. Eventually he drew his sword out and pointed his sword at all of them, a slight glare visible through his helmet,


    ¡°It¡¯s treason then¡­¡± He said solemnly


    Nadene immediately backed up, ¡°Well, fun while it lasted...Aerith¡± she called out. Aerith smirked and stepped forwards in front of everyone, she pointed the Eraser directly at Leo. The town around her didn¡¯t react in the slightest to her surprise. Some of them had even moved on and gone back to work.


    ¡°No one¡¯s asking for your opinion. Grant us safe passage in this town or we¡¯ll grant ourselves passage...A passage in your town that is!¡± Aerith paused for a moment, waiting for some type of reaction, ¡°A passage in your town that is!¡± She repeated. The girl looked down for a moment, partially in shame. Even so, she still felt the need to explain herself, ¡°Because, y¡¯know...I¡¯ll destroy everythi¡ª¡°


    Aerith quickly rose her staff up in defense, Leo had swung at her. Before anything else could happen, a shard of blazing energy fell between them. It burned itself slowly until eventually fading out entirely with a soft burst. Aerith and Leo both looked to the source, directly in front of then now, was Saria. She had a hand on her hip and confidently walked forwards towards them, her expression smug as ever.


    ¡°Y¡¯know...I was feeling real good about myself today¡­I take a walk through my town, hope to get some tea or something, and now the mongrels are trying to...¡± Saria stopped in her movement and her speech, she put a finger to her chin in thought, ¡°Wait, what are you trying to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to arrest these kids¡± Leo boomed


    ¡°We¡¯re trying to find a place where we can think¡± Nadene sighed


    ¡°I just want out¡± Stephanie groaned, still sitting in the car


    ¡°Oh. Well, I can do two of those things...Come, the six of you. We¡¯re going to prison!¡±

 **UPDATE**

    Dear Reader,


    After nearly finishing the full manuscript from this arc, I''ve noticed that my skills, compared to the beginning of the story, have developed to the point where I can point out the more glaring flaws in it. I didn''t think I''d come to the point where''d I''d even want to edit this part of the story, but here we are. I''m going to try as hard as I can to make this the best thing I can possibly write now, just by doing this one novel I''ve already learnt so much. Because of that, I''ll be going on hiatus until I can finish editing it. I promise I''ll be back soon, I''m not quite sure when...This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I think the biggest sign that I should''ve edited this more comes from my analytics, most people probably don''t have any idea what''s going on with the story right now, but not very many people are still reading my story. I''ll come back pretty soon, hopefully with a better story in my hand. Maybe about a month tops. I''m aware I''ll be losing a lot of people like this, but I think it''s what''s best for me right now.


    In any case, I''ll see ya'' soon. Cya when I have something worth reading~!