Neo Chronicles: Black Void
Episode 14: This Can't be Real
Table of Contents
Yeah, so I like I was sayin', I'm not crazy. I know I'm not crazy. Yeah, yeah, don't give me that, “crazy people would think that” kinda crud, I know I'm not crazy.
I saw her die. She's dead. The lady, alien, weird thing standing right there is dead. A crazy person would think that she was real. Not me. I know she's not real, because I know she's dead. This is just me goin' through some heavy duty stress. It's takin' a lot for my mind to try an' make sense outta it.
“So why are you just sitting there?” the lady that's not a lady because she's not real because she's dead asks.
“I got caught up in some thangs. Ended up gettin' paralyzed.” I'm only responding out loud to her just to play along. The people around probably see me talkin' to a wall, but that's okay. I'll let 'em think it's like that. I know what's up. “Should wear off in a bit.”
“Oh,” she responds. She looks at me, and then she looks at the battle taking place in the foreground. She doesn't smile because she doesn't have a mouth in this form—she could have a mouth, being a shapeshifter an' all, but she chose not to. That's Ran for ya. Just the way I remember her—just the way she was when she got herself killed. “I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing,” she continues.
“So what brings you here on this fine, sunny day?” It's too rich, I tell ya. Me havin' a conversation with an imaginary dead lady in the middle of a war zone. It's hard not to crack a smile.
“That's the question you ask? No 'what's going on?' No 'how are you here, how did you survive?' Just 'what brings you here?'”
“It's all good, Ran. I know what's goin' on. The bad guys finally caught up with us, an' this is the final showdown. My dude, Ri'lar's gonna hold 'em off, his crew gon' give him the support he needs, an' when I'm feelin' better, I'mma jump on in, an' put an end to it so I can go home. Ain't no thang. As for you, I know you're dead. A planet blew up with you still on it. I gotta live with that, cuz it's my fault, but I'm not gonna go crazy over it. I'm just not. Too many things to worry about right now. I'll save the moping for anotha time.”
“Darius,” she says, suddenly directing all of her attention towards me. “I'm real, and I'm alive.” Then bit by bit, or I guess cell by cell, she morphs back into the lady that befriended me. The twenty-somethin' ol', auburn haired, white lady in Earth clothes. White, long sleeved, brown striped shirt an' grey warm up pants. I'm tellin' you, attention to detail. It's like she's in somethin' new every time I see her, which would be kinda strange if she wasn't real.
“Okay, fine. I'll pretend you're real. Either way, what in the world are you doin' here? Better yet, what are you ever doin' here? You always show up in the weirdest places. I know the 'verse is huge. All the places I've been, I've never seen the same anything twice, except you. So what's your deal? Obviously you're followin' me, but why?”
“That's more like it,” she says. “Glad to see you're at least somewhat inquisitive.” Then she completely drops the convo an' looks up at the sky. “Alright Darius, a whole lot of stuff is about to happen. You're going to be confused, and you're going to get upset, and that's fine, but whatever you do, don't get involved. Feels weird saying this to someone who's paralyzed—by the way, you have to fill me in on that story later—but please, don't move. You'll just have to trust me on this one. Don't turn this into another Miraivus.”
Dang, that was cold. Ran got all authoritative for a moment. An' why she gotta bring it up like that, man? That junk hurts. Goin' all “don't turn this into another Miraivus,” Staak you, lady. If I could move, I sho wouldn't listen to you. I ain't about hittin' no females, but I'd probably deck you for a comment like that. Yeah I'm mad. That junk hurts, man.
But there's really not much I can do about it. It's not like I'm gon' cry or nothin'. Sure, I feel a lil' somethin' watery comin' up, but I ain't gon' show it. Not to her. Not for that. Nah, keep that all bottled in. Try to keep smirkin', nod, an' say, “okay, whatever you say, Ran,” an' leave it at that.
I hear her softly whisper a “thank you” as she turns her back and walks towards the madness. Then, all of a sudden, I start to feel this huge sharp pain on my ankle. Like somethin' heavy's pressin' on it. Then I realize that it's a broken piece of rock that musta been up against it for the longest. A quick toss, an' the rock is gone. Hold up, I felt that. Don't tell me—oh snaps, we back in business.
Then the volume starts to turn down. Like someone came in an' turned off all the background music. The bombs have stopped dropping, the ships overhead hover up to a higher altitude, practically getting out of sight. Really, the only thing left keepin' up the noise is the fellas on the ground, an' after Ran makes her way over to Ri'lar, that pretty much stops too.
What is she, royalty? Like fo real, everyone just stops when she passes by them. The mechs, the soldiers, the factory workers, all one by one. And then she makes her way up to Ri'lar. Dude has a mad look of disgust on his face. Like it's takin' all of his being to stop himself from tearin' the girl apart as she shapeshifts back to her silver body form.
It's hard to tell from this distance what's goin' on, but lucky for me, Ri'lar's end of the translator is still goin'. Ha ha, I can hear everything he's sayin'. Ran, on the other hand, decides to speak some weird mumbo jumbo. So much for finally gettin' some answers, but this is good enough.
“Ri'lar Asp'ec Tripae...” then some yadda yadda from Ran.
Ri'lar responds aggressively with “You know dasst well why we're here, Ryndis Ran! And don't think just because you decided to join the other side of the fence that you're in any position to pass judgment on me for my actions!”
This is a completely different side of Ri'lar. Never seen him this wound up before. Didn't think he knew Ran either, an' he's got mad beef with her, too. And Ran jus' standin' there, lookin' up at the giant like she's on his level, so cold like. Haven't seen this side of her, either. And just as cold, just as mean, an' just as scary, she answers back with whatever she has to say. Her “words”—if you can call 'em that—are sharp, cutting straight to the point. No hesitation, no stuttering, she knows exactly what she came here to do, an' she ain't backin' down from nothin'.
Ri'lar stands there for a moment. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he looks kinda shaken—taken aback. Dang, I wish I knew what Ran said. Then I see Ri'lar look straight at me. What is that in his eyes? Can't really make out that look from over here, but man is it serious! I see him let out a deep sigh. His clenched fists are loosened, an' then he finally looks back to Ran an' says,
“Then I guess you better do it. I won't give you a second chance.”
Go through with what? God, what are they talkin' about? What's this all about? What's goin' on?
PTCHHOO
That's the next sound I hear. At first, I didn't even know where it came from. The space ships comin' back down, the soldiers starting their fight again, the wind deciding to pick up for no reason—all of these things happen right then and there, but that's not what made the sound.
Suddenly, the whole situation just became all too real. The next sight that I pick up is Ri'lar falling to his knees. Even though I'm far away, I can see it oh so clear. There's a hole gaping through his chest. He just got shot, an' it's not one of those “I'll sleep it off” kinda wounds either. That junk looks fatal.
I finally recognize that look now. Yeah, it's as plain as day. His eyes are filled with rage. He's about to go beast mode, an' he's gonna take as many people down with him. I'm ready too. As soon as he leaps into action, I'mma be right there with him, takin' down all these—PTCHHOO—oh God.
Ran shot him? Ran shot him again? How does that—what? Ri'lar is on the ground—completely lying on the ground—there's blood, his blood is yellow like juice. It's leaking from the huge hole through his chest. He's dying. I still see him move, so he's gotta be alive. Where did Ran even get that gun. Who packs that kinda heat? He's still alive. I'm running towards him. PTCHOO—she shot him again!? He can't be dead! Oh lord, the dude is dead.
I run and tackle Ran from behind an' pull back the hardest punch I've ever thrown in my life, but I miss the back of her head. No, it wasn't a miss, I aimed at the ground. Left a crater the size of a small boulder, didn't actually wanna hit her with it—but I did—I really did. I want to kill her for what she just did. How could—that doesn't make any—what did—
“What did you do?” I yell at her. I can see the people in the mech suits quickly crowd around. Bring 'em on, I say. They can get it too. “What did you do?”
“Darius,” I hear her say. I get off of her. Let her stand to her feet. I'm interested—I'm really interested—in what she has to say. What kind of justification can she give for murdering a person like that? Ri'lar was a good person. I ain't sayin' he didn't have his faults, but he was good. He was good to me. He was the only one here for me, an' she's just gonna—she better have a great excuse.
“Darius,” she says in my tongue. “I told you to stay out of it.”
“Oh no! None of that. I'm in it, an' unless you start talkin', things're gonna get real ugly. An' tell your friends if they value anything, they best step off, cuz they 'bout ta get beat down, too. An' gimme that gun!” I snatch that large pistol so fast an' pound it out so hard. Dust is what's left of it. Dust.
“I'll tell you when we get on the ship.”
“I ain't goin' nowhere witchu!”
“Well, you're sure not staying here!”
It's at that moment that I notice the large eighty foot shadow looming over head. I think to myself that it couldn't be any worse than what just happened, but somethin' deep in my gut tells me it is. I look up, an' lo an' behold, the stuff of nightmares. Just to top off this perfect staakin' day, I see a Visigen. It's just like the one from Miraivus too. Rocky, molten like exterior, human like shape, no face at all.
“What the crud is that thing doin' here?”
“Everything on this world has been linked to atrocities you couldn't even begin to understand, your friend too. I'm here to clean it through any means necessary.”
“You are out cho dang mind. There's no way I'm lettin' you—”
“Damn it, Darius!”
What a sight to behold. I see Ran shapeshift again to her human form. And then things start getting dim. I know what's happening, I've ran into my fair share of psy's back home. Someone's in my head.
I look around while I'm still up to see who it is, but I wouldn't be able to tell. I know it's not Ran, cuz she can't do that kinda thing. Or maybe she can, with how crazy things've been, it could happen. I see all the soldiers rush in against me. Way too tired to put up any kinda fight, which is some bull, cuz that's exactly what I want right now. What happened to Ri'lar's crew? They jus' lyin' on the ground like they all dead. The psy musta got 'em too, Whoever it is, he or she worked fast.
Last thing I see before I go out is the Visigen towering overhead. Then it makes sense. They communicate through telepathy. It'd make sense for them to do more than just talk, right? You're the one, right? I know you are. At least let me know before—you know. You're the one puttin' me to sleep?
It's all dark now. I'm right at that point, right on the edge of the dream world. Just about to call it a day. Everything's fading. The light's gone, the noise is gone, the feeling's gone. And the last thing that passes through my head somehow makes me laugh out loud for—what is this—the third time today.
“Yes.”
Ha, knew it.
Episode 14: This Can't be Real
Table of Contents
Yeah, so I like I was sayin', I'm not crazy. I know I'm not crazy. Yeah, yeah, don't give me that, “crazy people would think that” kinda crud, I know I'm not crazy.
I saw her die. She's dead. The lady, alien, weird thing standing right there is dead. A crazy person would think that she was real. Not me. I know she's not real, because I know she's dead. This is just me goin' through some heavy duty stress. It's takin' a lot for my mind to try an' make sense outta it.
“So why are you just sitting there?” the lady that's not a lady because she's not real because she's dead asks.
“I got caught up in some thangs. Ended up gettin' paralyzed.” I'm only responding out loud to her just to play along. The people around probably see me talkin' to a wall, but that's okay. I'll let 'em think it's like that. I know what's up. “Should wear off in a bit.”
“Oh,” she responds. She looks at me, and then she looks at the battle taking place in the foreground. She doesn't smile because she doesn't have a mouth in this form—she could have a mouth, being a shapeshifter an' all, but she chose not to. That's Ran for ya. Just the way I remember her—just the way she was when she got herself killed. “I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing,” she continues.
“So what brings you here on this fine, sunny day?” It's too rich, I tell ya. Me havin' a conversation with an imaginary dead lady in the middle of a war zone. It's hard not to crack a smile.
“That's the question you ask? No 'what's going on?' No 'how are you here, how did you survive?' Just 'what brings you here?'”
“It's all good, Ran. I know what's goin' on. The bad guys finally caught up with us, an' this is the final showdown. My dude, Ri'lar's gonna hold 'em off, his crew gon' give him the support he needs, an' when I'm feelin' better, I'mma jump on in, an' put an end to it so I can go home. Ain't no thang. As for you, I know you're dead. A planet blew up with you still on it. I gotta live with that, cuz it's my fault, but I'm not gonna go crazy over it. I'm just not. Too many things to worry about right now. I'll save the moping for anotha time.”
“Darius,” she says, suddenly directing all of her attention towards me. “I'm real, and I'm alive.” Then bit by bit, or I guess cell by cell, she morphs back into the lady that befriended me. The twenty-somethin' ol', auburn haired, white lady in Earth clothes. White, long sleeved, brown striped shirt an' grey warm up pants. I'm tellin' you, attention to detail. It's like she's in somethin' new every time I see her, which would be kinda strange if she wasn't real.
“Okay, fine. I'll pretend you're real. Either way, what in the world are you doin' here? Better yet, what are you ever doin' here? You always show up in the weirdest places. I know the 'verse is huge. All the places I've been, I've never seen the same anything twice, except you. So what's your deal? Obviously you're followin' me, but why?”
“That's more like it,” she says. “Glad to see you're at least somewhat inquisitive.” Then she completely drops the convo an' looks up at the sky. “Alright Darius, a whole lot of stuff is about to happen. You're going to be confused, and you're going to get upset, and that's fine, but whatever you do, don't get involved. Feels weird saying this to someone who's paralyzed—by the way, you have to fill me in on that story later—but please, don't move. You'll just have to trust me on this one. Don't turn this into another Miraivus.”
Dang, that was cold. Ran got all authoritative for a moment. An' why she gotta bring it up like that, man? That junk hurts. Goin' all “don't turn this into another Miraivus,” Staak you, lady. If I could move, I sho wouldn't listen to you. I ain't about hittin' no females, but I'd probably deck you for a comment like that. Yeah I'm mad. That junk hurts, man.
But there's really not much I can do about it. It's not like I'm gon' cry or nothin'. Sure, I feel a lil' somethin' watery comin' up, but I ain't gon' show it. Not to her. Not for that. Nah, keep that all bottled in. Try to keep smirkin', nod, an' say, “okay, whatever you say, Ran,” an' leave it at that.
I hear her softly whisper a “thank you” as she turns her back and walks towards the madness. Then, all of a sudden, I start to feel this huge sharp pain on my ankle. Like somethin' heavy's pressin' on it. Then I realize that it's a broken piece of rock that musta been up against it for the longest. A quick toss, an' the rock is gone. Hold up, I felt that. Don't tell me—oh snaps, we back in business.
Then the volume starts to turn down. Like someone came in an' turned off all the background music. The bombs have stopped dropping, the ships overhead hover up to a higher altitude, practically getting out of sight. Really, the only thing left keepin' up the noise is the fellas on the ground, an' after Ran makes her way over to Ri'lar, that pretty much stops too.
What is she, royalty? Like fo real, everyone just stops when she passes by them. The mechs, the soldiers, the factory workers, all one by one. And then she makes her way up to Ri'lar. Dude has a mad look of disgust on his face. Like it's takin' all of his being to stop himself from tearin' the girl apart as she shapeshifts back to her silver body form.
It's hard to tell from this distance what's goin' on, but lucky for me, Ri'lar's end of the translator is still goin'. Ha ha, I can hear everything he's sayin'. Ran, on the other hand, decides to speak some weird mumbo jumbo. So much for finally gettin' some answers, but this is good enough.
“Ri'lar Asp'ec Tripae...” then some yadda yadda from Ran.
Ri'lar responds aggressively with “You know dasst well why we're here, Ryndis Ran! And don't think just because you decided to join the other side of the fence that you're in any position to pass judgment on me for my actions!”
This is a completely different side of Ri'lar. Never seen him this wound up before. Didn't think he knew Ran either, an' he's got mad beef with her, too. And Ran jus' standin' there, lookin' up at the giant like she's on his level, so cold like. Haven't seen this side of her, either. And just as cold, just as mean, an' just as scary, she answers back with whatever she has to say. Her “words”—if you can call 'em that—are sharp, cutting straight to the point. No hesitation, no stuttering, she knows exactly what she came here to do, an' she ain't backin' down from nothin'.
Ri'lar stands there for a moment. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he looks kinda shaken—taken aback. Dang, I wish I knew what Ran said. Then I see Ri'lar look straight at me. What is that in his eyes? Can't really make out that look from over here, but man is it serious! I see him let out a deep sigh. His clenched fists are loosened, an' then he finally looks back to Ran an' says,
“Then I guess you better do it. I won't give you a second chance.”
Go through with what? God, what are they talkin' about? What's this all about? What's goin' on?
PTCHHOO
That's the next sound I hear. At first, I didn't even know where it came from. The space ships comin' back down, the soldiers starting their fight again, the wind deciding to pick up for no reason—all of these things happen right then and there, but that's not what made the sound.
Suddenly, the whole situation just became all too real. The next sight that I pick up is Ri'lar falling to his knees. Even though I'm far away, I can see it oh so clear. There's a hole gaping through his chest. He just got shot, an' it's not one of those “I'll sleep it off” kinda wounds either. That junk looks fatal.
I finally recognize that look now. Yeah, it's as plain as day. His eyes are filled with rage. He's about to go beast mode, an' he's gonna take as many people down with him. I'm ready too. As soon as he leaps into action, I'mma be right there with him, takin' down all these—PTCHHOO—oh God.
Ran shot him? Ran shot him again? How does that—what? Ri'lar is on the ground—completely lying on the ground—there's blood, his blood is yellow like juice. It's leaking from the huge hole through his chest. He's dying. I still see him move, so he's gotta be alive. Where did Ran even get that gun. Who packs that kinda heat? He's still alive. I'm running towards him. PTCHOO—she shot him again!? He can't be dead! Oh lord, the dude is dead.
I run and tackle Ran from behind an' pull back the hardest punch I've ever thrown in my life, but I miss the back of her head. No, it wasn't a miss, I aimed at the ground. Left a crater the size of a small boulder, didn't actually wanna hit her with it—but I did—I really did. I want to kill her for what she just did. How could—that doesn't make any—what did—
“What did you do?” I yell at her. I can see the people in the mech suits quickly crowd around. Bring 'em on, I say. They can get it too. “What did you do?”
“Darius,” I hear her say. I get off of her. Let her stand to her feet. I'm interested—I'm really interested—in what she has to say. What kind of justification can she give for murdering a person like that? Ri'lar was a good person. I ain't sayin' he didn't have his faults, but he was good. He was good to me. He was the only one here for me, an' she's just gonna—she better have a great excuse.
“Darius,” she says in my tongue. “I told you to stay out of it.”
“Oh no! None of that. I'm in it, an' unless you start talkin', things're gonna get real ugly. An' tell your friends if they value anything, they best step off, cuz they 'bout ta get beat down, too. An' gimme that gun!” I snatch that large pistol so fast an' pound it out so hard. Dust is what's left of it. Dust.
“I'll tell you when we get on the ship.”
“I ain't goin' nowhere witchu!”
“Well, you're sure not staying here!”
It's at that moment that I notice the large eighty foot shadow looming over head. I think to myself that it couldn't be any worse than what just happened, but somethin' deep in my gut tells me it is. I look up, an' lo an' behold, the stuff of nightmares. Just to top off this perfect staakin' day, I see a Visigen. It's just like the one from Miraivus too. Rocky, molten like exterior, human like shape, no face at all.
“What the crud is that thing doin' here?”
“Everything on this world has been linked to atrocities you couldn't even begin to understand, your friend too. I'm here to clean it through any means necessary.”
“You are out cho dang mind. There's no way I'm lettin' you—”
“Damn it, Darius!”
What a sight to behold. I see Ran shapeshift again to her human form. And then things start getting dim. I know what's happening, I've ran into my fair share of psy's back home. Someone's in my head.
I look around while I'm still up to see who it is, but I wouldn't be able to tell. I know it's not Ran, cuz she can't do that kinda thing. Or maybe she can, with how crazy things've been, it could happen. I see all the soldiers rush in against me. Way too tired to put up any kinda fight, which is some bull, cuz that's exactly what I want right now. What happened to Ri'lar's crew? They jus' lyin' on the ground like they all dead. The psy musta got 'em too, Whoever it is, he or she worked fast.
Last thing I see before I go out is the Visigen towering overhead. Then it makes sense. They communicate through telepathy. It'd make sense for them to do more than just talk, right? You're the one, right? I know you are. At least let me know before—you know. You're the one puttin' me to sleep?
It's all dark now. I'm right at that point, right on the edge of the dream world. Just about to call it a day. Everything's fading. The light's gone, the noise is gone, the feeling's gone. And the last thing that passes through my head somehow makes me laugh out loud for—what is this—the third time today.
“Yes.”
Ha, knew it.
