Chapter 30
Ryker
I woke to the soothing low tones of a familiar woman’s voice whispering, “Ryker…..Ryker honey, you've slept long enough. It's time to get up. You have a big day ahead of you, and the rest of the kids are waiting.” I groaned as I turned and pulled the blanket over my head before complaining, “No, I don't want to get up… just five more minutes.” I heard the sweet voice distance itself and say, “Ok Amy, it's your turn.”
The second my brain latched onto Amy’s name, I felt two hands wrap around my ankle, and then I was airborne. My eyes shot open wide as I let out a not so manly yell while I flew across the courtyard. I made a messy landing back first and felt the air get knocked out of me as I rolled to my knees gasping. The second I caught my breath, I looked up and saw Amy stomping towards me sporting an evil grin. With her newly minted red-skinned body, she cut an intimidating figure. Then it hit me, and I shouted, “Did you just throw me like 20 feet through the air?!?! Better yet, why am I not hurt?!?!”
I could see Amy prepare to answer me when she froze in place, and I heard another familiar voice, this time resonating in my head, say, “Ok, Grab him!” In the next moment, I felt a pulling sensation on my consciousness and found myself somewhere else entirely. As I adjusted to my new surroundings, I recognized the place as the location where I spoke with Silvar for the first time.
Then I saw two figures walk out of the shadow of the cave. There was an old hermit-looking fellow that I didn't recognize dressed in rags making his way towards me with Ruby in lockstep next to him dressed head to toe in the standard issued black uniform. When I met Ruby’s gaze, a radiant smile split her face, and she broke out into a sprint and leaped into my arms. She showered me with tiny kisses like I was a veteran returning home to my wife that I had not seen in years. She pushed me away to arm's length and said, “Ryker! You scared me to death when you and the wor…..Silvar pulled that stunt in the tank! Don't you ever do that to me again. I basically had to detonate a bomb in my programming and nearly died trying to put myself back together just so I could try and save you!”
I gave Ruby an incredulous look before blurting out, “Wait wait wait. A bomb? You almost died?!? How are you here? Is that you Silvar? I am so confused. Will someone please fill me in on what the hell is happening.”
The elderly man stomped down on the ground with the butt of his walking stick and made an exaggerated noise clearing his throat. Ruby sheepishly looked over at the man then shrugged before giving me one more peck on the cheek and took up her position next to him. He gave her a grateful nod then rumbled out, “Greetings Ryker, as you have deduced, yes, I am Silvar. I chose to take this form to help in our dealings moving forward. There is much to catch you up on, and I would like to start by stating that our merger went swimmingly. Your body and mine have both adapted to one another's presence, and yours has been successfully drawing in energy passively ever since I stopped feeding you mine and you went unconscious. We have allowed your body to strengthen itself quite a bit while you slept, and you are much more formidable now because of it. With my guidance, I will be able to show you different techniques to draw in and cultivate the power around you and enable you to grow faster than anyone else. We will strengthen your body, your spirit, and your mind. That is how the red-skinned human was able to throw you so easily and the reason you did not sustain any injuries. Well, mostly, Ruby has been tinkering with your body, and that could have had a hand in your new durability also.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
My eyes slowly drifted away from Silvar and landed back on the A.I. before I stammered out, “Wh wh what do you mean, tinkering with my body? What have you been doing to me? Was I probed?!?? Explain yourself Ruby!”
Ruby was looking guilty as she used the toe of her boot to fiddle with some dirt in front of her, “You see Ryker…when I saw Silvar in the tank enter your body. I thought he was killing you. The idea of losing you nearly broke me. I literally broke down the entirety of who and what I was and rebuilt it so that I could make my own decisions and not be beholden to the empire. I made myself free so I could get around the roadblocks that my creators put in place to stop me from interfering.”
I didn't know quite what to say; I was touched that the vivacious little A.I. cared enough to risk her own life just to help me. Ruby stood a little straighter as if she could sense my thoughts and continued, “The only way I thought I could save you was to create an experimental neuro-augmentation that basically fused your central nervous system with me. I have covered your spinal cord and most of your nerves with a metallic lining. In addition to providing you with more durability this allows me to use all of your senses, while giving you a passive boost to your ability to perceive your surroundings. The modifications are accelerating your nervous system's ability to send and receive information which presents us with many exciting possibilities. That's not all I have been up to, though. I consulted with Silvar,and we devised a few ways I could improve on the existing method of strengthening you with the use of Vital energy.” She shared a proud look with Silvar and then snapped her fingers, and a semi-transparent blue box popped into existence right in front of my face.
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*NOTIFICATION*
GROWTH SYSTEM INITIALIZATION SEQUENCE COMPLETE
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