A young boy sat in a damp and musty room, its walls made of rough, gray stone situated deep below the castle of Leviere. Heavy chains bound him to the ground, rendering him immobile as he gazed into the dark abyss that lay before him. The only semblance of light came from a faint glimmer of moonlight that filtered through a crack in the ceiling.
As he tried to make sense of his situation, the boy’s mind wandered back to the last person he had seen - a girl he considered family. But she had appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace behind. He was lost, alone, and scared, with nothing but his memories to rely on.
He remembered leaving his bedroom and then, as if in a dream, standing face-to-face with Ruby. But he couldn’t be sure it was her. Before he could even understand his situation, she disappeared into a white oval, leaving him stranded in this unfamiliar and terrifying place ever since.
It had been several hours since, or maybe a couple of days. For all he knew, a year could’ve passed in the isolated, dark space. Once the person disappeared into the oval, the boy had been panicking for his dear life, only to constantly be pulled back to the ground by a pair of chains attached to his hands. Their tight grip around his wrist left a rash from all his attempts to escape and still managed not to budge even a centimeter.
He tentatively ran his fingers over the material wrapped around his hand, taking in every detail. The texture was rough and uneven, with a grainy yet patterned feel that reminded him of the grooves on a stone surface. As he explored further, he discovered that the surface was covered with numerous dots, carefully spaced around as if they had been meticulously engraved. It was a familiar pattern he had seen before - on the door signs at school. The dots formed Braille, etched onto a dark, marble-like rock that matched the room’s color and his hair. Every inch of the material seemed imbued with ancient mystery and power.
He struggled to breathe; his breaths were shallow, and his eyes drooped. His stomach was constantly growling, and an intense buzz was ringing in his head. The combination of these sensations drove him crazy, to the point that he almost hit his head against the ground.
He couldn’t bear it anymore.
Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours. How long was he going to be kept locked up? The girl had promised to come back, but it had been days. Was she lying to him? Why should he trust her? Who was she, and what was her motive? And most importantly, where was he? When would-
Out of nowhere, he heard the sound of grains rubbing against each other, and a faint light beamed at him, casting a shadow on his frail body. He turned to see a wall splitting apart, creating a path for the white light that led to the unknown. He was bewildered and watched with amazement until the light stopped.
The light illuminated the entire room with its gentle touch, hovering slightly above the ground, leaving enough space for a step. The boy was surprised to find that the light was soft enough for him to look directly into it without squinting his eyes.
The room was silent for several seconds as the boy stared into the portal, hoping for something to come through, but his hope quickly faded.
He looked around and noticed the lifted platform he sat on. Confused, he turned around only to jump back in fear at the sight of three pearl-white heads of a decapitated dragon suspended against the wall. The boy’s teeth rattled with his breaths picking up speed as he widened his eyes with fear of the heads striking him. Suddenly, he heard a footstep coming from the direction of the portal.
The young boy quickly turned around, startled by the sound of movement behind him. To his surprise, he saw a dark silhouette standing in front of the portal, its features obscured by the dim light. The figure was holding something in their hands, which glinted in the faint light.
As the portal began to close on its own, the silhouette slowly moved towards the boy. He stood frozen, unsure of what to do next. The only thing he could do was watch and wait.
The silhouette let out a high-pitched squeal, which echoed through the dark space as the walls fully closed on themselves. The boy strained to make out who the figure was, but the darkness engulfed everything before he could get a good look. Despite the uncertainty, the boy couldn’t shake the feeling that he had seen that silhouette before.
??: [Sorry about that…]
With a chuckle, the feminine voice sat in front of the boy and brushed the ground.
??: [I just got a little surprised.]
Suddenly, a bright orange flame manifested over a pale hand in front of him. Its luminescent glow barely reached the corners of the room, but far enough to expose the three heads behind him to the light.
Sitting in front of him was the short girl that met up with him earlier in the day, smiling like nothing ever happened. The boy stared back at her with his eyes bloodshot from crying.
Boy irritated: [You have a lot of nerve coming back here.]
Girl confused: [Nice to see you too.]
Boy: [You lock me in a cell, and expect a pleased reaction?]
Girl: [No... don’t you recognize me?]
The boy looked at the girl for several seconds to try and jog his memory, but he didn’t get anything from the large dark eyes looking back at him. She furrowed her brows.
Girl: [Did I wipe all of your memories?]
She sat back and scratched her head with her free hand.
Girl: [Well, I’m Ruby. Ruby Ly, from Winooski.]
The boy’s eyes widened.
Boy: [… Ruby? What are- why do you look different?]
Ruby exhaled in relief.
Ruby: [Heirloom... it’s nice to have you back.]
The flame hovering over her hand flew to their heads, hovering with its light illuminating the room.
Heirloom: [Why are we here? Why did you leave me here, Ruby?!]
Ruby: [It’s…]
She crossed her legs and rested her hands on her exposed ankle.
Ruby sighing: [really complicated. Explaining everything would take a few hours… so I’ll try and sum it up for you.]
For the next five minutes, Ruby explained their situation with the Dragon Tamer. She tried her best keeping out the information on his dragon taming history, but freely spoke about the others he had in his team. Without saying names, Ruby said all she could in a linear timeline. Heirloom had a hard time understanding her but tried his best to wrap his head around the concepts she introduced.
Heirloom confused: [None of that explains why I’m chained up.]
Ruby: [I’m not allowed to tell you that.]
Heirloom: [Why not?]
Ruby: [It’s complicated, Heirloom. You just have to trust me… okay?]
Heirloom: [You can’t keep me like this without telling me why.]
With nowhere to turn, Ruby looked Heirloom in the eyes. The look in his crimson eyes reminded her of the troubles that came with them, but his soft beige skin and round face only brought back memories from Earth. She looked at him with conflicting feelings, raising her cheeks and forcing her to turn away.
Heirloom: [Ruby, please. Tell me what’s going on, for real.]
Lowering her head and closing her eyes, Ruby answered.
Ruby hesitantly: [Telling you runs the risk of returning your memories.]
Heirloom pulled himself back.
Ruby: [For the safety of Leviere, and the people of this world, that isn’t something I can do.]
The two of them went silent and allowed the crackling flame above them to echo around the room. They stared at each other, both with a different expression. Ruby’s wide eyes stared down on him from above, showcasing her newfound bravery and consciousness, while Heirloom looked up at her with a narrow glare, sharpening the red in his eyes.
Ruby: [I wanted to take you out today. They won’t let you out of your cell just yet, but the city is empty for the time being. As long as we don’t cause a scene, we should be good.]
Heirloom: [If my past self is as dangerous as you say he is, wouldn’t having me outside run a risk?]
Ruby: [Do you want to stay in this cell?]
Heirloom: [Calling this a cell is beyond generous. Locking me here for days on end is equivalent to hell itself.]
Ruby: [Be glad you got this room. Your friends weren’t as fortunate.]
Heirloom: [You mean my disciples? I must’ve been something special to have people following me.]
Ruby: [Enough about that. You want out of this cell or not?]
Heirloom: [Yes, only if these cuffs come off.]
Ruby: [I can’t do that.]
Heirloom: [What’s there to be scared of? My memories were wiped, were they not?]
Ruby: [I don’t want to run the risk of-!]
She looked at the grin across Heirloom’s face and hesitated to continue. She thought about what she was about to say and changed her sentence.
Ruby: [Who are you? The Heirloom I know isn’t like this.]
Heirloom: [With your conflicting memories, maybe you have the wrong idea about who I really am.]
Ruby: [Then I’d have no choice but to hand you over to Leviere.]
Heirloom narrowed his eyes and dropped the smile.
Ruby: [I’m the only one that thinks your memories have returned. Telling them I had the wrong idea wouldn’t be so hard.]
Heirloom: [You’re hard to persuade.]
Ruby: [What can I say? I’ve lived two of your lives.]
She winked his way and hopped onto the floating platform.
Ruby: [Whether you’re the Heirloom Luong from my world or this one, the one thing that remains true is that you have no memories of your evil life.]
She crossed her legs and sighed.
Ruby: [I’m giving you a chance to restart your life. Whether or not you take my offer is up to you, but you need to know that you will have to be by my side until we leave.]
Heirloom: [Those options are fucking ridiculous. No matter what I choose, you’ll be watching my back.]
Ruby: [That’s kinda the whole point.]
Heirloom groaning: [Spend the rest of my time here with Ruby watching me… sounds like a dream come true.]
Ruby disgusted: [Don’t get any weird ideas. You’ll always be the brother I never had.]
Heirloom: [That hurts, y’know?]
She let out a little laugh and stretched her arms.
Heirloom: [I really want these cuffs off; they itch like hell.]
Ruby: [Sorry, but I can’t do that. Taking you out of the cell on its own is a risk. If I even think about taking those cuffs off, Didus will kill me himself.]
She threw a hand towards one of the walls and watched as the bricks began to spread apart, just like earlier. As soon as the process began, she lowered her hand and walked behind Heirloom.
Heirloom: [That’s not fair.]
Ruby wrapped her hands around his waist and raised him like a giant teddy bear. The moment he got on his two feet, the chain holding his cuffs to the ground separated with a click.
Heirloom: [It was not that easy!]
Ruby: [Quit whining and let’s go. The next wave will start soon, so we don’t have much time.]
With a hand on his back, Ruby gently pushed Heirloom towards the separated wall that was beaming a bright white light.
Heirloom freaking out: [Hold on!]
As they approached the light, Heirloom began resisting Ruby’s force.
Heirloom: [Are you sure that thing’s safe?!]
Ruby: [Not sure. For all I know, this could take me to the center of a volcano.]
Heirloom: [WHAT?!]
Ruby: [I’m kidding. There’s a 1% chance of harm.]
Heirloom: [I’m not liking those odds!]
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Ruby: [You’ll be fine!]
She pushed onto his back and forced him through the portal as he screamed from the top of his lungs. As his body fell through, his voice echoed around the room into a fade. Ruby chuckled before following.
Reaching the other side, Heirloom looked to the sky and saw a towering castle of brick and polish reaching to the clouds with peaking tops. Two bright stars shone onto his pale skin and constricted his slit pupils. A warm breeze blew upon him as he awed at the sight of unknown creatures soaring the skies, and woodland creatures he’s never seen digging their faces into the ground for a bite. Enormous clouds peaked over the horizon where two cliffing waterfalls were.
The sound of chimes followed the breeze, and the clashing of the waves in the distance all pleased the boy’s ears. Unlike anything he’s seen before, heard before, or smelled before. Everything around him was foreign in a way that he couldn’t believe.
Heirloom stood speechless as he couldn’t believe his eyes. His heart began to race to the beat of a drum while melting to the touch of the wind. A smile cracked its way around his mouth with a light chuckle following his excitement.
Ruby silently walked beside him and watched his reaction. Almost as if he hadn’t noticed her, Heirloom couldn’t take his eyes from the castle view. She giggled and looked ahead.
Ruby: [Welcome to Tietus! Isn’t she a beauty?]
The portal against the cliffside began to close in on itself piece by piece until it was covered.
Heirloom awed: [You’ve been living here for the last few weeks?]
Ruby: [Yeah.]
The weight of the wind slightly grew stronger.
Ruby: [I will never get tired of it.]
The breeze softly brushed their hairs and any hanging cloth. With a smile across her face, Ruby moved her hair away from her eyes and behind her ear. Heirloom turned to her and caught a glimpse of her bright smile.
Heirloom: [It’s beautiful.]
Ruby: [This is only the beginning. Let’s go to the city.]
Continuing down the yellow path towards the castle over the horizon. Heirloom ran after her with his hands in front of his waist.
Heirloom: [What’s there to do in the city?]
Ruby: [All sorts of things, but since the citizens moved out a lot of places are closed. I mostly just want to show you to my friends. You probably know a few of them.]
Heirloom: [They are people from Winooski?]
Ruby nodded.
Heirloom: [Do they look different, like you?]
Ruby: [The only people I’ve seen that look the same are Devon and… I think that’s it.]
Heirloom: [Who is that?]
Ruby: [Our senior and an old member of my advisory.]
Heirloom: [Does he have his memory of the real world?]
Ruby shook her head.
Heirloom: [Then how do you know he’s the real one?]
Ruby: [Something about him just felt like the real one, y’know?]
Confused, Heirloom pulled his head back.
Ruby: [They act the same, and look the same… if that makes any sense.]
Heirloom: [Ah, ‘tis a shame.]
They continued down the path.
Heirloom: [In a world like this, why would you want to go back?]
Ruby: [We suddenly disappeared–]
A sudden thought came to her mind which caused her to stop in the middle of the path. She slowly turned back to Heirloom with a raised eyebrow and walked up to him.
Ruby: [What day was it before you arrived in this world?]
Heirloom pulled his head back with a nervous chuckle.
Heirloom nervously: [You mean… on Earth?]
Ruby: [No, because travel worlds often.]
She stepped back and crossed her hands.
Heirloom: [Uhm… I don’t remember. It was the middle of August. I think the fourteenth, but I could be way off.]
Ruby: [Fourteen… I disappeared on the seventeenth. What year was it?]
Her continuous questioning began to worry him.
Heirloom: [Twenty seventeen. We just went into eighth grade.]
Ruby: [I disappeared three days after you… but–]
Heirloom: [I said I could be off. I wasn’t paying attention to the day.]
Ruby: [… Does that mean we disappeared at the same time?]
Heirloom: [I don’t know, man. I was texting you when I blinked and arrived in that cell.]
Ruby: [What? We need to hurry.]
The floor beneath them instantly split apart and dropped them into the beaming white light, then closed as soon as they disappeared.
Ruby and Heirloom dropped into a wooden building from the ceiling that had split for a portal. Like nothing happened, Ruby landed on her two feet and looked around the room. Heirloom on the other hand, screamed from the top of his lungs and landed on his back. The whole sequence was nigh-instant and happened faster than Heirloom could keep up with. One second they were outside, the next they were in a hallway.
As he groaned, Ruby opened a few doors and shut them as fast as she could. With her eyes narrowed, he knew there was something on her mind relating to the what he said earlier.
Heirloom in pain: [What just happened?!]
Ruby didn’t take any time to answer him. Heirloom stood up and looked around, and absorbed the wooden lodge architecture. It’s homely-ness and warmth left a feeling of familiarity in his chest.
Heirloom: [Are we back in Vermont?]
Ruby: [She’s not here…]
Heirloom turned to her.
Ruby: [Where did she go?]
Ruby walked to the stairs and rushed her way to the first floor. Heirloom followed after with his hands still tied together.
Heirloom: [Who are we looking for?!]
Ruby: [Someone from my TA. She said she’s going to bed, but I don’t see her anywhere!]
Heirloom: [Do I know her?]
Ruby: [Probably. It’s Felix. Tall, black guy that always wore a big jacket.]
Heirloom: [Faisal? Why were you calling him “she”?]
Ruby: [It’s… complicated.]
Heirloom stopped walking as he heard a yawn coming from a door to his right.
Ruby: [She knows most about our situation. I talk to her when I need to brainstorm.]
Heirloom: [Felix wasn’t the brightest person, though.]
Faith: [Talk about disrespectful.]
The door Heirloom was staring at suddenly opened, and coming from the other side was a blue haired girl in a purple robe.
Faith: [Y’know, I got GX Champ that one time. Not just any body gets that.]
Ruby turned around and saw Faith looking at Heirloom with her eyes narrowed.
Faith: [Who were you talking to? Shouldn’t you be in jail?]
Faith took a look around the room and saw no body. However, a rustling could be heard in the room over.
Heirloom: [I’m here with someone… are you Felix?]
Faith: [Way to put one and two together, Heirloom]
Heirloom surprised: [You know me?]
Ruby excited: [Faith!]
Peeking her head over the corner from the living room to the kitchen, Ruby had a wide smile across her face and bright wide eyes. Faith turned to her and raised her blue eyebrows.
Ruby: [Where did you come from?]
Both Heirloom and Faith pointed at the door behind her.
Faith: [Why did you bring him here?]
She quickly changed her point towards Heirloom.
Ruby: [We need to talk about something.]
They made their way to the living room and sat around the table near the fireplace. Heirloom had a difficult time finding where to rest his cuffed hands, eventually settling with sitting sideway with his wrists on the armrest. Faith and Ruby sat across from one another, with Heirloom close by Ruby’s seat.
Faith: [So what’s this about?]
Ruby: [Heirloom told me something, that I think might’ve brought us a step closer to finding out how we got here.]
Faith: [And that is?]
Ruby: [Get this, we all were teleported at the same time.] Faith stared at her unfazed. [Does that not surprise you?]
Faith: [It does. I’m just having a hard time connecting the dots. Your body has been in this world for thirteen years. You even have the memories of your princess life to prove. So with that being said, how did we get transported here at the same time?]
Ruby: [That’s what I don’t understand, but Heirloom here says that he was transported the same day I was.]
Faith turned to Heirloom with the same expression.
Faith: [When was that?]
Heirloom: [Middle of August, Twenty Seventeen.]
Faith widened her eyes and took a large breath.
Faith surprised: [Wait, seriously? I think that’s when I was transported.]
Ruby nodded.
Faith: [None of this makes any sense!]
Heirloom: [Not really. Everyone was transported at the same time, but their lives started at wavering times. Me and Ruby arrived at the same time, and I’m thinking it’s because we were in contact with each other.]
Faith mumbling: [I was with Parker and Sean when I was transported.]
She raised her head and looked at Heirloom.
Faith: [How did you get transported?]
Heirloom: [I blinked.]
Faith stared at him until Ruby confirmed it for him.
Heirloom: [I was texting her when suddenly-]
Ruby: [He arrived at the point when I wiped his memories. I showed up next to Heirloom, too, inside the late Roshan’s castle.]
Faith: [You showed up next to each other… I showed up next to Parker. Okay, now brings the question of whether or not you had the option to edit your appearance.]
Heirloom confused: [Edit my appearance? Is that how you became a girl?]
Faith: [I’ll take that as a no.]
Ruby: [I didn’t get to change my appearance either. Maybe it was just for the people that didn’t have prior lives.]
Faith: [But why is that the case? From what I know, Zack, Parker, and Sean are the only other people that had the option to change what they look like. And what William told me about Andy, he looks pretty different too.]
Heirloom shocked: [Andy and William are here too?!]
Faith nodded.
Heirloom: [But those two live in Colchester. I thought only Winooski residents were–]
Ruby: [From what we could tell, only Winooski school students were transported. Where they live doesn’t mean anything.]
Heirloom: [Then, why don’t we ask them about this? They’re both the smartest people I know!]
Faith coldly: [William was killed.]
Heirloom and Ruby widened their eyes and turned to Faith.
Faith: [In cold blood, by one of your teammates.]
Heirloom: [How… that’s impossible. I would never order someone to kill him.]
Suddenly, he felt a pulse in his head and winced.
Faith: [William was fighting for revenge and demanded we didn’t interfere. Went out fighting for what he believed in.]
Ruby concerned: [What about Andy?]
Faith: [No one has a clue where he is. He showed up with Zack and Ismail, then they all split up. His and Ismail’s whereabouts are unknown.]
Ruby: [Damn… then what do we do?]
Faith: [Beats me!]
Faith stood up and raised both her hands in the air, stretching out her back and belly button. With a grunt, she lowered her arms and looked at the ceiling.
Faith: [If anything, I need to find them asap.]
Ruby: [I wish I could help you, but I’m stuck babysitting that guy.]
Heirloom rolled his eyes.
Ruby: [He’s not allowed to leave the city, and I’m not allowed to be without him.]
Faith: [Understandable. Have fun with all that, imma go take a nap.]
Faith walked up to the stairs.
Heirloom: [Seriously? Shouldn’t you be looking for Andy?]
She stopped right in front of the first step and turned back.
Heirloom: [You don’t seem to be trying that hard to find him.]
Faith: [I don’t want to hear that coming from you.]
Heirloom: [Well, Andy isn’t just your friend, y’know? Other people are concerned about him. How can you sleep when your friend is missing?]
Ruby: [Don’t do this right now–]
Ruby reached for his shoulder, but he pulled away before she could lay a finger on him.
Heirloom: [No! I’m not gonna sit back and watch you go to sleep while Andy is still out there. If I were you, I’d do anything to find him.]
Faith: [What are you talking about?]
Heirloom walked up to Faith and looked her straight in the eyes. They were about the same size, with Heirloom probably a few centimeters taller.
Heirloom: [Ruby told me what you can do. With power like yours, you are the last person that should be snoozing. Make yourself useful and get your useless ass out there.]
Ruby grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled him away from Faith, all while he maintained eye contact. His crimson eyes lit a fuse in Faith that she hadn’t known existed. For a moment, her eyes glistened purple.
Ruby: [What’s gotten into you?!]
Heirloom: [Do you really want to find Andy? With all that power, I bet you don’t want to go back home-]
Faith: [Shut up!]
A bubble of blue and purple manifested around Heirloom’s head, suffocating him deep space. Though he couldn’t breathe, Heirloom never broke eye contact. In a panic, Ruby squeezed the bubble until it popped, fizzling out of existence. Heirloom gasped for air then smirked.
Ruby angry: [What is going on with you two?!]
Ruby turned to Faith, which now had purple eyes that shined in the bright room. Her narrow, mean glare surprised Ruby.
Faith: [I tried everything in my power to find him.]
Faith slammed the wall, denting it and creasing her hand.
Heirloom: [Obviously you didn’t try hard enough.]
Faith eyes slowly reverted to light blue as she took a deep breath.
Faith: [I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Goodbye.]
She began to walk up the stairs.
Heirloom: [Bitch.]
Faith suddenly stopped her steps and stood in silence, before continuing back to her room.
As soon as they heard the door shut, Ruby turned back to Heirloom with her eyes narrowed and frustrated. Heirloom looked away without saying a word. Before saying a word, Ruby snapped, summoning a barrier around the two of them that prevented any sound from escaping.
Ruby: [Why?]
The simple question didn’t get an answer from the dragon tamer.
Ruby: [How come you attacked her like that?]
Heirloom: [I just said what we were both thinking.]
Ruby hesitated to respond as Heirloom looked back at her.
Heirloom: [She’s pathetic. In the other world, and this one.]
Ruby: [You have no right to say that!]
Heirloom: [Face it, Ruby. The truth is that she doesn’t want to go back, and is doing anything in her power to stay as long as possible.]
Ruby: [We don’t know that for sure. You really hurt her.]
Heirloom: [As long as she got the message. Unlike her, I have people that would worry about me.]
Ruby: [You were being an asshole.]
Heirloom remained silent on his seat.
Ruby: [I’m not sure if getting your memories back keeps your old personality, but if you keep up this act, I’ll keep you locked up until we leave.]
With a roll of his eyes, Heirloom turned away and stared at the fireplace in front of him. The warmth coming from the burning logs left a sensation on his skin that he couldn’t explain. Almost like he got goosebumps, he felt his skin tingle around his arms.
Ruby groaning: [Now I have to apologize on your behalf.]
Heirloom: [Tell her I said “fuck you” while you’re at it.]
Ruby: [Don’t test me.]
A portal appeared beneath where Heirloom sat and pulled him in faster than he could react. Ruby remained in the lodge and sighed.
Falling from the ceiling and arriving back in the cell, Heirloom grunted in aggravation as he landed on his back and the cuffs automatically reconnected to their chains. Once again locked up in the dark room, he sat down and began thinking.
Despite being transported to another world and being told he should’ve retained his Earth lifestyle, there was a sour taste in his stomach that had been bothering him since he heard the news. His mischievous urges, and feeling to cause damage had been scaled to one hundred, and maintaining them was beginning to grow tiresome.
With every second, he could feel his mind falling apart, and trying to force a side of him out that he didn’t know he had. The moment with Faith and earlier with Ruby, he didn’t feel like he was in control of himself.
He began to grunt and wince to himself, suffering in the silence of his own dismay. A pain he didn’t know he could feel. His head started pulsing and his vision grew fuzzy. A muffled voice called to him as he rose his voice. The voice was soft… warm even. He could recognize it, but without a face to pair it with, he felt like he was going crazy.
It hadn’t even been a minute away from Ruby, yet everything felt like it was falling apart.
???: […]
The voice inside his head grew louder and louder.
???: […]
Heirloom couldn’t understand a word coming from it, up until he slammed his head against the chains holding him down and shattered them into shards.
Erma: [Master! Can you hear me?!]
Heirloom rose his head and stared at a wall not too far from him. His eyes shined with malevolence as the sour feeling in his stomach faded.
Erma: [I’m going to find you.]