by deity
It really is as easy as Yachi had told them, Mruyadgi thinks as he flows along a cybersphere. Dean, who is following close behind, agrees. They think back to their first few attempts at planing in this new realm and they share a laugh at their original ineptitude and frustration. Mruyadgi still remembers how scared he was. It seems long ago rather than a little over a week but things had been happening very quickly for all the guardians lately. Dean is still a little nervous here, despite having made major improvements dealing with the various challenges of this part physical, part astral cyber-realm. That first time, it couldn’t have gone much worse. Psi's screams still echoed in his mind now. The jarring of his entrance, the bizarre feeling of resistance upon the astral form there were no pleasant memories of the occasion that he can recall.
It is a peculiar sensation but then astral planing is a peculiarity in every way. Still now as he moves through the realm it gives an unusual sensation, a tingle that touches him both astrally and physically. While a vast improvement on the horrible grating sensation that coursed through him when he first attempted to enter the cyber-realm it was still notably different to what he now thought of as ‘regular’ astral planing.
The same sensation was also noticed by Mruyadgi and it reminded him of another unusual astral sensation; the touch of spirits. Yet it is notably different, while he feels it, it doesn’t touch his mind, connect to his soul as touching spirits, particularly those of his ancestors, does. There is no communication as he moves through these Data-trails, like touching a running machine, it may be warm but there is no life within. No response to the touch, it just keeps going, efficiently, mindlessly, coldly. As he passes another group; he gazes upon their sleek forms. This is definitely their world. The blaze trailing each individual’s track burns into others, making each single unit difficult to distinguish from the group. The formation flows across him in perfect cohesion, his astral form providing no break in their path.
Finally we are coming to grips with this new world. Mruyadgi thinks to himself. The process was quite humbling especially relative to the expertise of Yachi and Peta. There is no denying the guardians had disapproved of the collaboration initially. After all, the girl had no knowledge or gift of the astra. However seeing the partnership she formed with Yachi had caused them to begrudgingly accept the girl. She is definitely knowledgeable of this bizarre internet and the computers that accessed it.
The team of them almost think as one as they explore the new world, Peta at her computer screen, Yachi as an astral projection. But most impressive are the tricks that Peta and her computer allow the two of them to perform. Yachi is constantly telling them that in time they will also be capable of such things but Mruyadgi isn’t so sure. The two of them are brilliant and while his own performance has improved he is still way out of their league.
‘Did you hear that?’
‘What?’
Something bursts through the cybersphere, gouging out a great hole barely a body length from them. They freeze with shock.
‘What in the world was that?’
It happened so quickly, all they could really register was a large, bright form moving very rapidly. The confidence of their auras shrink and they fade to a pale blue. The two guardians can’t help but notice the change in each other, compounding the impact. Once more it is clear that they are in an alien world.
Dean & Mruyadgi share their thoughts, steeling themselves to focus on their response; their actions, rather than dwell on their fears. This was a critical part of mastering astral planning but focusing of the mind was a challenge they had conquered decades ago as they progressed toward their roles of astral guardians. Astral planning was now so familiar to them both that it required almost no thought or focus , moving through the astral planes was a habit, their actions and thoughts instinctive and responses immediate; so that the challenges and tasks involved were barely noted.
‘We should…’
‘Right’
While neither had met such a challenge for some time they both automatically knew how to approach it. What they had once been taught and had more recently passed on to others in their role as astral guardians was once more being put into use.
Retaining their focus and clearing their mind of fear, they move towards the damage hesitantly, neither wishing to edge ahead of the other. They reach it and peer beyond, there is nothing peculiar out there, cyberspheres stretch far beyond them, cascading down from above, contorting in and around them. They move closer but still nothing, their astral forms now protrude out of the cybersphere but there is no sign of anything strange, whatever is responsible for this damage has seemingly disappeared.
‘Whoosh’ with a great shudder the sphere which supports them flips and contorts, Mruyadgi is thrown out of the hole in the cybersphere. He clings to the edge for dear life, Dean, still within but totally disorientated, notices a glow coming from down the sphere to his left, he scrambles away desperately. Doubt and fear invade his mind again, his earlier focus washed away in a few terrifying moments. Dean's aura pales further to to be translucent and colourless as the glow in the sphere becomes brighter, its source surely coming closer.
Mruyadgi comes to grips with his situation, realising he doesn’t need to cling to the cybersphere, he simply planes back within but his movements are cumbersome; more fitting of a newly born animal finding its feet than a master of the astral realm.
But still he progress back to Dean, who is also trying to deal with their situation and keep a lid on the panic building within.
They desperately clutch at the first psychic link they find, assuming, hoping it’s from one of their colleagues
‘HELP US, YACHI, PETA, ANYONE, GET US OUT OF HERE’
The message is the astral equivalent of a scream, indecipherable jibberish to some of the astral guardians let alone the teams’ technical whiz, Peta, the most likely to help them escape their dilemma. They had forgotten the emergency procedures all the guardians had agreed on when they began planing in this strange new realm and had reverted back to astral communication which Peta or the newer planars would not always receive or understand.
But this remains far from their minds as they wait for a response. The two guardians huddle together near the damaged pathway, receiving only silence from their plea. They know that they can’t outrun nor out power the approaching being, the glow from it becomes brighter still. Surely it would come into sight soon. Their fears and feelings of helplessness are confirmed as it does. It can only be described as a great beast, much larger than either of them, its aura far deeper, stronger. It looks like neither the robots of this world nor the astral guardians but it was familiar, having similarities of both. An amalgam of these two powers, two worlds; creating a juggernaut far greater than either of them. Energy pulses so fiercely toward them that the cybersphere vibrates. They see its aura become a bright, deep blue; enjoyment. And they feel the first waves of communication from the creature, A slow snigger that deepens into a chuckle of contempt. It raises one of its forelimbs and extends it toward them, grabbing hold of both of their astral forms which mould readily to its grasp and with a final laugh it bursts through the gash in the cybersphere wall and into the unknown. The two guardians are flung from their feet, they bounce off walls, cyberspheres and datatrails as they are haphazardly dragged through the free space of the cyber-realm by this evil beast. Twisting and turning they catch glimpses of their abductor leading them in a helpless tumble. Could Peta & Yachi even find them now or have they been broken by this beast? Is their fate now solely in the hands of this monster.
‘PETA, HELP! GET US OUTTA HERE’ they wail across the psychic link once more but there is still no reply, there is no rescue.
And only moments before he was bored with his new world Deity thinks. These new creatures are just another part of this realm that he will learn of and dominate. They are very different to anything else he has previously encountered, in fact they seem much more like him. He looks back at them as they bundle along behind
him. He drags them within a net-hub and pulls one to his right and the other to his left. If they are resisting he can’t notice, he directs and they follow helplessly. He continues rotating their forms around him in the net-hub. The blue of his aura becomes brighter still as he admires his prey; swinging like a manic roller coaster around him. Rising and falling at his guidance, unable to resist his manipulations.
‘They may be a little similar to him but they hold one thing in common with all else in the realm, he is their superior…’ he thinks to himself. ‘Are they planars from the astral world or inhabitants of the internet. Unlike other creatures I have encountered here these seem to be borne of human beings rather than the robots of this cyber-world. Are there many more like them?’
‘Who are they? A challenger, another seeking to make this their dominion?’
Suddenly faces and people flash through his mind; Deity recognizes those in the images, They seem strange to him now, shadows from another dimension, his past life, the momentum of his victims fades, they are closer to him and their rotation around him is slower and inconsistent. But Deity is unaware and his grip loosens, his attention is absorbed by the faces.
They feel distant but he knows they are from his recent past, in fact, the people are probably still alive, inhabiting the world he left behind. While the memories triggered by these invasive images are familiar and recent he wills them not to be and to a degree it works, his attention returns to the present. He notices his swinging has weakened and his victims are moving well off course. He corrects himself but the momentum of the two guardians soon dips again as his grip slackens, he ponders the images he recently saw. He can almost convince himself that these memories aren’t his but those of another being but he can’t deny the distraction they caused him. While this was only for a few moments it had a far greater impact upon him than anything he has encountered here, in his new home and this is a concern. He looks again at the two beings he holds, his new discoveries had initially excited him but already he hopes to find others worthy of his status, creatures of consequence. But this last development... maybe it is his greatest threat, one from within.
Deity’s train of thought, is abruptly disturbed as something bowls him over- his new prey! They disappear as he is flung to the side. Momentarily disorientated he quickly recovers, glimpsing them flying away from where they were resting motionless only seconds earlier. Already they are disappearing from the net-hub and out of view. The two astral-like beings vanish and he finds himself alone again.
He searches in vain outside the net-hub. Moving uncertainly to one direction where he views countless possibilities; cyberspheres, datatrails and other cyber- creatures moving busily. But there is no sight of the two victims which seemed so helplessly his only moments before. They are now gone, lost in the anonymity of this maze.
‘What the …’ he begins a stream of obscenities and slams a nearby cybersphere. He realizes a valuable opportunity has gone begging.
How did they escape from him so suddenly, they were powerless and under his complete control, how did these same creatures speed past him and burst from his clutches... and what were the images that flashed across his mind to distraction him only moments earlier and how could he control or stop such things.
‘Here we go, the Evac seems to be working now!’ says Peta
‘Thank god’ says Yachi, who stands amongst a crowd all peering over Peta's shoulders at one of the new computers that Dean had provided for them. They could be felt on the psychic link, eagerly consuming every thought and development.
‘What do you think was the problem?’
‘Not sure, for some reason the the Evac procedure was disabled but I’ve no idea how or why? The problem seems to have passed though, Dean and Mruyadgi should be back soon’
‘I just hope they’re ok?’
‘Should be any second now…’
‘Excellent’ Yachi mutters distractedly as he looks at their lifeless bodies. Mruyadgi’s dark skin is pale, his face stone-like.
The two bodies twitch as the two planars return, ‘Holy Shit, is it gone?’ their voices are loud and panicked,
‘Please... IS IT GONE?’
‘It’s OK, you’re fine here. I promise you, please relax. Sorry about the delay, Peta was unable to use the Evac, when we first noticed you were in trouble. Can you tell us what happened?’ Yachi asks both physically and over the psychic link, to ensure the two planars hear him.
‘We were attacked, by a great beast far more powerful than any of us, even you. We were at its mercy, helpless as it toyed with us, laughing as it threw us around.’ Dean says to the group, which had now moved from Peta and the PC to be huddled around him and Mruyadgi.
‘It grabbed us and flung us around. I thought we were doomed and then it disappeared just like that! I guess that’s when the Evac arrived. Thank God, I’m sure it would have come back…Jesus we were lucky.’ He continues.
‘Peta what do you make of all this?’ Yachi asks Peta.
‘Ahh, I’m not entirely sure, it makes sense I guess. Fits in with what little I saw from here. But other than that I dunno what to make of it. This is all a bit too trippy for me, I just look after the computers remember?’ she responds.
‘Now that you two are safe you should both try and get some rest. I think we should call all the other guardians in too. This is enough excitement for one day but leave that to me, you two go and relax’ Yachi says to them.
‘No arguments here’ agrees Dean and Mruyadgi, who has barely spoken, nods in agreement.
‘Peta could we try some of those reports you were talking of? Hopefully we can create a better picture of what happened’ Yachi asks their technical whiz.
‘You’ve read my mind, they’re being done right now’
‘Thank you, perhaps after they rest we can learn more details from them but right now I think it best if we leave them be’
The crowd disperses, guardians busy themselves helping their recently returned colleagues or, under Peta and Yachi's directions, calling the handful of guardians still planing back to the physical world. The guardians want to ensure that such things don’t happen again and a task, no matter how trivial, distracts them from the horrors of what has occurred. Many of them are visibly flustered, and even simple tasks take plenty of time as the guardians get in each other’s way rather than work together effectively.