2044

Allison Fey

The sun had fully risen brightly in the sky and painted a red trail through the mists as the snow on the ground melted into a dense fog that hung close to the ground. The mist clung like a despot’s desires around the area. Oppressive didn’t even begin to explain the feeling the mist had on Allison as she traveled through. It blurred anything past five feet in front of her face and she simply continued on, following the creature that had claimed the name and body of Zane Hannes. She felt as fogged up inside and didn’t know if she felt good with how things were playing out. On one hand, she had little other choice with the available options, and on the other hand she felt like she was abandoning morals she instilled herself a long time ago. The air around was still tinged with cold. Even though the snow had misted over the fog clung to her skin like rough bristles.

Allison looked at her new companion as he crossed hills—stabbing his tendrils into the earth to propel himself forward. A part of her thought on the ease how he told her that Sakonna was no longer. He was right in the fact that she had been uneasy allies at the first, but she thought again on the feelings she sensed within Sakonna before they ever entered Galder’s Reach. Sensing the person Sakonna was before inspired feelings of…she didn’t know how to fully describe it. Loss? Was that it truly? It certainly stirred conflicting feelings deep inside her.

Across a high crest in the distance a stumbling wave of energy emitted similar but not exact toward the tower they had just shut down. She flashed back to Lillian Jones as she was back in middle school—the look on her face when she was using her powers to hide the crime she committed—Using her abilities to get everything she wanted. It was such a powerful feeling in her gut, but she didn’t know why but that was the image that burned itself into her brain and she pushed forward catching up with Zane in no time flat.

When she crested the hill she stopped and retracted the lance back into the slot in her armband. Zane stood next to her, and his tendrils similarly retracted into his back. The way they disappeared into his skin unnerved her—they entered through cylindrical slits in his skin that closed as they retracted fully. The places on his body where they came out of looked like bulbous sores. She looked away and over the edge of the decline she saw the depths of a crater. At the very bottom was a large chunk of metal that looked like it was ripped from a larger hull.

The largest chunk in the center looked like it had been beaten by all forms of matter as it entered the atmosphere—even though the structure hadn’t broken apart it was dented and dinged to all hell. Metal rods jotted out of the ground at odd angles. A surging presence flashed behind Allison’s eyes—she saw this same dome falling from the stars above. She sensed the screams coming from inside the dome and even got a glance of the full ship it was ejected from.

“This came from the sky…do you know of any spaceships that were up there recently…?” Allison asked.

“Recently is a broad spectrum for space travel,” Zane said. “And the answer is no, by the way. None of the memories I’ve gathered know anything about interstellar travel. This is most curious.”

“This the power that attracted your attention?” Allison asked.

Zane shook his head. “No, although I am more interested in this area than I was before. This is where your friend is…” he turned to her slowly, “friend, right?”

“It’s complicated,” Allison said.

“You lot all always are.”

Allison turned in his direction—looking at him was still difficult. He looked like he shouldn’t exist. He visually disturbed her. She didn’t know if she would get used to seeing a face that fucked up.

“Let me guess,” Zane said, interrupting her thoughts. “You were thinking about what to say in response—to defend humanity and how complication in relationships breeds beauty in the small moments or some other greeting card message.” He made a show with his hands at the last.

Allison shook her head. “No, not anything that optimistic.” She offered a smile at the thought. It was humorous to think. “I’m not the best candidate for humanity if I’m being honest with you. A lot of my worst and darkest times are tied to the unforgivable nature of people.”

“Yet you press on?” Zane asked. “Throughout the darkness your kind casts over the globe ad infinitum?”

“It’s not for the good of humanity if that’s what you mean. That’s not my responsibility. I keep moving because I have a goal, of course.”

“One that’s almost at its apex.”

“Yes, hopefully so. When that’s done I’ll find another goal to chase after. One not so bright inside, but one I’ll follow nonetheless.”

Zane chuckled, and something about how his voice layered over itself sent chills down her spine. “What kind of goal could that be? What could be grander than reuniting with an old lost soul after decades of searching?”

“You should know, you have her memories after all.”

Zane thought on it, then it came to him—simply like a bubble popping and sprouting the idea. “Your daughter, of course. How could I have not known.”

“I am not so foolish to think I’ll ever see her again, but I can make this world one that she can return to and be safe and happy. I think my sights after this will be set on that purpose.”

“Hm, interesting. How would you propose to do that?”

“Yet to be seen. I doubt I’ll be allied with you then, so I don’t think it’s necessary to even begin to theorize here.”

His reaction had set it all—the arch of the eyebrow and the zest flaring in his eyes as the corner of his mouth twitched up. “Now why would you say that?”

“I think it’ll come down to a point where either you crave a power I have, or I seek to protect a power you crave.”

“That would be unfortunate, yes,” Zane mused, almost as equally enthused with the conversation. “But think on the fight we’d have. Cataclysmic, I’m sure. That metal of yours has not ceased emitting its energies out to me. Tell me Allison Fae, would you so wish to waste our fight when the each of us is yet to reach even but a fraction of our potential?”

Allison thought on it. “No, I think not. Though you shouldn’t think me fool enough to forget that you have Sakonna’s treasure she unearthed.”

“So you did notice.”

“I couldn’t help but. You made it all but clear what you did with her. It would have been surprising if you didn’t find it among her possessions.”

“Well, I will say I am very inclined on keeping it. So if you were thinking otherwise…”

Allison shook her head. “I’ve no interest in their tools. At least, any more than I currently have. Keep it.”

“Well, you certainly are something interesting,” Zane said. “Any other hero would have fought for the immense power to protect those they love.”

“Who said anything about being a hero?” Allison asked. “I have very specific goals. No more. No less.”

“The world has not been kind, hardened your heart.”

“You complaining?” Allison asked, irked.

“Not even a little. Makes it easy to work with you.”

“Enough of the patronizing. Let us move forward, I tire of talking in circles.”

Zane smiled wildly and he let out a laugh that echoed across the dip. She felt one final chill and then decided that she wasn’t going to let his appearance hold her back. He was unsettling to look at—but the time would come down to it that they would be against one another, and she would consider him an enemy. She couldn’t let something so simple keep her from operating at her best. Similarly—she couldn’t that let fact keep her from taking advantage of her current situation.

He has saved her life. He has also led her to the place where her goal will be fulfilled. Finally—it has been twenty-two years. She couldn’t let the future affect her present.

“Besides, being too worried about what will happen will allow us to miss out on today. I…accept your challenge, or at least, I will.”

“I shall await that day with a yearning desire to separate you from that metal for a final time. It shall be glorious.”

The air around the dome hung heavy and Allison felt like it was proper time to spread out the metal around her. She pressed on her armband and stretched the metal up over her arm toward her chest. Reaching over with her left arm she continued it until it wrapped around her torso—she mainly wanted to shield her heart from any electromagnetic waves. She saw Zane made no effort to shield himself—she wondered if he would even feel any adverse effects.

She noticed he wasn’t following her down the dip when she figured her answer—he wasn’t going to be moving farther—at least yet. There was some level of acknowledgement that she’d want to investigate what was inside alone. That, or it was entirely for her to wade through the dangers first to ensure a smooth cleanup afterward.

Whatever the reason was, she continued walking down closer toward where the ground started rising off of itself. Fragments of the earth hung tense feet in the air. There was a hum that rang throughout her body, and she could see the space between the fragments distorted. It looked as if it were steaming in a boiling desert heat. A pressure started forming against Allison’s legs as she continued down. She took another step and pushed through it. There was about fifty feet remaining when she passed by a larger fragment on her right side. She felt a pushing force erupting from it—she knew it was exerting a strong magnetic force against the armor she was wearing. Because she had absorbed Vita’s armor and its magnetic qualities she assumed they were two forces acting on each other with equal polarity.

Thankfully it seemed like she could take a wide path around the fragment, and she found herself looking back up at Zane on the crest. His silhouette looked no less like a monster’s. The tendrils on his head blew in the cold wind like long hair, but she still pictured a head being fired at with handguns at point blank range.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

She turned back toward the dome and found herself at the entrance—metal stairs lay broken and missing chunks before the sealed chrome-white door. She felt a familiar energy emanating from behind the door and knew she needed to get inside. There was a pad on the right-hand side that looked like it accepted a key card—something she didn’t have any clue where she would find, however, on closer inspection she noticed that the door at the bottom looked bent out. She separated the metal around her left arm and raised it into the shape of a thin pipe and wedged it in between the crack at the bottom. She was able to work it up and was able to pry the two doors apart from each other—pushing them into their respective slots on either side. She looked inside to see a dark hallway extend forward fifteen feet as another closed door remained shut.

She stepped inside and opened the next door when she came across it. When she opened it she immediately smelled the gruesome odor of death. It opened to a circular room with a large machine—an engine of some sort in the center affixed to the ground. Bodies in white lab coats had been strewn around the room. There was another door at the other end of the room, but it stood as the smallest level of importance compared to the massacre she bared witness to.

“What happened to you all?” Allison said, finding it escape her lips as a forceful declaration from her mind.

She walked over toward a body on her left and bent down. The body had been broken—probably on impact with the planet’s surface. It looked like a woman—she had long blonde hair and a snapped name tag on her chest read “Anab”. It was cut off where the tag had snapped. She couldn’t find where the other piece was—probably anywhere among the rubble.

Her name was probably Anabelle. Just…what were you doing aboard this ship, Anabelle? And what are you doing here now? Her face was smashed from impact; it looked like her broken nose has splattered blood that crusted all over her smashed face. She could imagine what it had looked like before. She must have been very pretty.

She checked the other bodies. Some had name tags, others didn’t. The ones that did were Oscar, Jameson, and Victoria. Each of them were similarly smashed to pieces with their pools of blood long dried around them.

“Sorry,” she closed her eyes and bade them peace in their final moments. Behind her eyes she saw the moments each of their lives were snuffed out. She winced as each spine snapped and their heads caved in from the pressure change as the engine entered the planet’s orbit. Still she felt the presence deeper inside and knew she’d fine what she was looking for inside.

She took in a deep breath and walked toward the backside of the room. The door inside opened easily enough as she approached. In any other circumstance she would have questioned why this door suddenly had power when it seemed disconnected from the main source, but she felt the familiar energy spilling out from the room beyond to know she was being led in—invited like an old friend.

She walked through the small hallway and found the door opening for herself once more. Inside her heart skipped a beat as she saw the face she had been looking for all her life. Her body had aged just as any person would have—but she could immediately recognize Lilly’s face. She looked worn—an expected look after existing as a puppet for so long. But…there she was. Lillian Jones sat in the corner of the dome—a mess had sprawled all around them—most likely from the engine entering orbit. But Issachar had come onto this fallen piece of metal—he surely wasn’t on the ship when it was up in space.

Still, that didn’t matter in the current moment. Lilly’s face looked up at her and the face smiled small. “Allison Fae, thirty-five. You have grown up…it is breathtaking to see you again.”

“Hello Issachar,” Allison said. “It has been a long time. I must say I would have expected literally anywhere else to see you again…”

She could tell Issachar was not well. It was not a hard thing to see—Lillian’s body looked sick.

“You wouldn’t believe how long I wished for us to meet again,” Issachar said. “I owe you much explanation, and I fear I won’t have enough time to even begin to cover the feeling I wish to express, but I must also ask for your help, but not before anything that I—” he coughed and hacked a nasty sound. It continued a few moments longer until he got a hang over it. “I understand you may despise me. I have been personally responsible for a lot that you have had to suffer through. It is unforgivable and I do not deserve forgiveness.”

Allison had things she would like to say but figured more than anything it was most important to hear him out. She bent down and moved to sit down opposite them, crossing her legs and nodding slowly. It was a position she hasn’t sat in years. It reminded her of a time long ago when she sat among close friends at a table in her middle school cafeteria. Back then they were the Outcast Club. Back then the world was much simpler—even though it was much easier to think they were better then. She certainly hasn’t forgotten the vow she made with herself back then—that Nassau was the absolute last stand before she gave up entirely on herself and life in total. The thoughts evaporated as she looked back up toward Issachar as he continued.

“I am sorry, for all that I have contributed toward your life. I tried to meet up with you before and make things right…but it got too dangerous. That other boy—he wasn’t supposed to intrude like that. Because of his abilities he learned things about me and my siblings that threatened their lives. I couldn’t continue our conversation safely…”

It seemed like he was waiting for a response now. It wouldn’t do good to keep quiet at this point. “Felix…he has problems with boundaries,” Allison said. “It’s a problem we’ve fought over in recent years…”

“Right,” Issachar continued. “But I truly did wish to make things right with you then. Ever since that day we met those years ago I searched for you. I tried to separate you from that boy because I sensed danger. I didn’t want any more danger for you. I needed some time to recover—an act like that expends a lot of energy—but when I awoke again I had lost you.”

“Right after that I…I met up with Sakonna, actually.”

Issachar looked to perk up. “She’s…s a very fickle one. Stubborn, I bet.”

Allison sighed. “Yeah.” She didn’t know how to tell him the news, perhaps it was best to not mention it. Especially with the company she was currently keeping.

“I know you have been looking for me too—although not specifically me. I know you have been looking for her—Lillian Jones, thirty-five. I apologize for giving you a reason to suffer. I…I had found myself between a rock and a hard place, you could say. A duty much larger than myself with an entire universe at stake against my own personal moral compass. Each of my siblings at the start were working to preserve millennia across a world where we got to live and breathe. Everything was stripped from us. I really believed I was doing something just. I knew we would be opposed, taking the form of a person is not something you can ask of anybody. So I waited—I spent so much time trying to find the absolute worst person I could take over—the person who would have the least waves generated by their disappearance. I ended up choosing Lillian Jones, thirteen because of the result of our first encounter. I…recognize I was wrong. My siblings had each taken numerous vessels over the decades for their work, and in the short times I interacted with them since…they always asked or wondered why I kept her around. I grew weaker because of it, because of my own mistake. I decided I was going to not shed her like the rest of them did—discarded to the empty nothingness. I was going to find you again, and I was going to let you reunite.”

Allison was speechless. She knew he wasn’t done, so she kept quiet as he continued.

“I don’t ask forgiveness. I simply ask you forgive yourself for any guilt you may have had over this whole ordeal. And I ask that you seek out my brother—your father—Ormus. Life…is degrading. Things are not going to plan anymore. We’ve gone off the rails. Our father—Z-One has been killed, and I think there is a mounting rebellion among our number. Ormus was his closest confidant, but he cared for humans. He cares for this world. He cares for you, despite his absence. I know I am asking an impossible task, but I beg in my final moments that you set this right.”

“Final moments?” Allison asked, suddenly bringing her back forward. “You’re…?”

“I’m going to relinquish the rest of my soul to Lillian Jones, thirty-five. I think it is the final act of penance I can provide, even if it is much too late. I won’t be long for this world much longer. The energy I have spent in keeping her alive has all but worn me away. I am…very glad to have seen you before the end…and you don’t have to say anything about Sakonna. I have known for a while, now.”

Her breath caught in her throat.

“I’m sure the others do too—she’s not the first to have passed. It’s been happening more frequently. I know it wasn’t your fault. Just…” his eyes narrowed. “Do the right thing when you can, okay? I don’t know how I can better word it. I’ve made a lot of mistakes—not followed orders I should have. Followed ones I shouldn’t have. I’m at the end of my rope of what I am able to change in this world—for my family or for anybody else out there. I hope that in the remaining life I do have I am able to change something for the better.”

Allison moved to respond, just noticing the tears now welling up in her eyes and she knew Issachar was gone. She felt a deep stain in her heart, cold and icy. It doubled in weight as she saw the light return to Lilly’s eyes. They slowly faded back to their natural color—the hints of gold were completely absent and they returned to brown. She took in a deep breath like she hadn’t breathed air in years. She sat in silence for a moment as she came back to herself and blinked hard, looking up toward Allison.

“Where am I?” Her eyes darted in all around the room before finally settling on Allison. “Are you…real? Or is this a continue to my eternal torture?”

Allison felt a war inside her head and her heart. She had thought of this moment since she left her home all those years ago. Since she left everything she had left with that raggedy backpack on her back and Jace by her side. She flashed back to all the troubles and hardships she’s worked through—overcome—overpassed to get where she was in this exact instance. Everything led up to this one moment and suddenly she came to terms with what she was going to do.

Lilly looked up to her for any sort of validation. Behind Allison’s eyes now rested a final sense of affirmation. She moved forward in one swift motion, piercing her heart with the lance extending into a razor’s edge. She offered nothing else but her eyes bugging out and a final surprised look. Her arm reached out and Allison embraced her, driving the lance deeper in.

“I forgive you, finally,” Allison whispered into Lilly’s ear. It was the final thing she heard as the light faded from her eyes.

This world was too dark for her now. There would be no happiness remaining. This was as much a mercy as she could offer. The tears that had welled up had fallen down her cheeks and she coughed one discomfort as she laid her body down, gently brushing something shimmering beside her. She bent down and grabbed at the object—it was a shimmering red prism that emanated immense energy. It was the Red Monolith; she was sure of it. Issachar had come here in his final breaths to reunite with the monolith of his matching. It made a sort of sense—although why it was here of all places still eluded her.

A sight of a dragon swimming through the volcanoes where mainland China used to be swam through her mind. The creature was still a mystery to her, but a single word rang like an echoing bell.

Elemantic.

With no answers to the several questions swimming in her head she walked out of the room where Lilly had laid. She had to force the two doors open that had allowed her access, but after making it through she had used some of the metal from her armor to seal the doors completely—ensuring a peaceful rest until the end of time.

Zane met her outside the ship. Her gaze toward him was as firm as she had ever given.

“You satisfied?” His eyes were drawn to her hands which she held behind her. “Well, what do you have there…an interesting surging presence even stronger than the weapon you carry.” He hadn’t realized he had licked his lips. It was an atrocious sight.

“I got a treasure of my own,” she said. “And yes, I am.”

Zane had made a face and it was the first time she saw him off balance. She decided to move to the offensive and keep her momentum. “Yes, that means I’m keeping it. My priorities have shifted. You can consider it me aiming to keep our final confrontation interesting.”

“Well you must have seen the lord Jesus in there for you to change tracks so suddenly,” Zane said, and then seeming to realize, “That’s another Zane-ism, I’m not really too sure it’d land but he seemed to think it’d be appropriate in the conversation.”

“Something like that,” Allison said. “Although I’m sure Zane if he believed in Jesus would be appalled at the end result of our conversation. I’m done here if you’re ready to move forward to the true source of Galder’s Reach’s power.”

Zane rubbed his hands together and chuckled. “Now you’re talking. Well I am up for you keeping it for now—it will further incentivize me to keep me on my game. I look forward to claiming it as my own.”

“I can’t guarantee that I’m going to let you get the source of that power, but I’ll give you a chance to fight for it.” Allison said, a stony determined look on her face. “It can be like a race.”

“Well now this has turned from interesting to something I can fully invest into.” Zane smiled wide. “That is a challenge I can accept heartily.”

“You first,” Allison motioned. “and I’ll happily crush you in my path.”

Together they rushed into the mists beyond as they raced for the source of the energy that spiked both of their interests. Zane pushed ahead first with his tendrils stabbing the earth—the two that shot out below grasped the earth with its three-pronged claws shoving him forward.

Allison whipped forward and used her lance to fire out—extending at the end to latch into the earth and pull her forward. Electricity sparked around their bodies as they flew through the electromagnetic quarry. The sparks crackled and embodied the new spark of life within Allison herself. had another new purpose, and she wasn’t going to let anything get in her way.

I will make this world right.