Meridias

by Ryan Hodgson

  Memories that he didn’t have before were rising to the surface. In particular there was several memories of him interacting with an elven women name Jialynne in the Elvin town of Tellia Armon. It seemed as though the elves had helped him, no, Ark to discover himself. Jialynne had hypothesized that Elunduil had split his soul and created Ark and she was also the one researching Elunduil’s weakened connection to Life. Like all elves she was strikingly beautiful with a sharp chin, jade eyes, and long, silken hazelnut hair. She wore a simple dark green robe with intricate markings at the end of her sleeves.

  He realized that something was prodding at his feet and looked up at the others. “Uh, Elunduil you ok? You seem like you’ve been really spacing out since the battle ended.” Tim’s concerned face caused Elunduil to feel embarrassed. Man, these memories popping up where kind of getting in the way. “Um, I’ll get some drinks,” Alicia said tugging Felras with her. When she left Tim turned back to Elunduil. “So, uh Ark. Where did he go?” he asked again. Elunduil looked to his hand for a moment and closed his eyes. He put a hand on his chest and tapped it twice. Tim and Tanis looked confused but Sean seemed to have understood the gesture. “He’s inside of you?” he asked. Elunduil nodded. Tanis was shocked and Tim looked pensive.

  “Hold on, did you merge with him?!” Tanis shouted. Elunduil sighed. Looks like he would have to try and explain the whole thing. “Ark was… a part of me to begin with,” he said as he started his explanation. “Wait, what?” Tanis said while the others were at a loss for words. Elunduil went back to the day he’d stopped the laser cannon. Back to the inferno that had engulfed him. In his desperation he had somehow separated a part of himself, and it took the form of Ark and saved him. Through Ark’s memories he saw that Ark had been helping him from the shadows and watching over him. He’d been at the ruins infested with Dahyen, for example. To join back together Elunduil had used the temporal energy leaking out from the broken Sword of Time and he had turned back the clock on their separation. Ark’s body had followed the soul and he’d temporarily gained Ark’s abilities. In the end he used Ark’s ultimate ability, Destiny’s End, to defeat the Behemoth. He’d also gained Ark’s memories.

  Sean seemed the most surprised. He hadn’t been with them on their first journey here. It didn’t matter though. Elunduil felt that there was no reason for them to hide that they had come here before the VR center opened up. Tim looked confused and his brow was furrowed. “The temporal distortion didn’t…” he trailed off. “Anyway that explains your behavior. There are other things I’m concerned about but I won’t get any answers here,” he said with a shrug. Alicia and Felras returned at that moment carrying cans in their arms. They distributed the drinks and Alicia looked around the room. “So what did you talk about?” she asked seeming to understand that something had transpired in her absence. Elunduil looked away. He’d taken the chance to tell his story because she had stepped out. Right now he found it difficult to act normally in her presence.

  Tim sighed and turned to Sean. “Well first things first. Yes, we’ve been here before. I guess you could say we were like beta testers or something though we weren’t aware of it at the time,” he explained. Sean seemed to understand. Felras looked thoughtful about this news but didn’t appear surprised. Tim then explained the story that Elunduil had told them to Alicia and Felras with Tanis chiming in when Tim let some details slip past him.

  By the end of the explanation Alicia looked shocked. “That’s… really realistic for a game,” she said. “It also explains why Elunduil seemed to act a bit differently after that incident but… why did it affect him in the real world?” she asked posing a question none of them had expected. Tim scratched his head as he searched for an answer but it was Tanis who ended up speaking first. “Well, I mean isn’t it kind of like a dream then? They aren’t real but what we see and experience in our dreams can affect the way we act in real life. A virtual world like this probably has an even greater impact on a person’s psyche.” His explanation certainly made sense and it was just as easy for them to accept.

  Elunduil closed his eyes. It made sense, but something nagged at him. “So Elunduil is Ark then? I wonder why Ark never tried to talk to us.” Alicia wondered. There was a pang in Elunduil’s chest and he clenched a fist. “He didn’t…” Anxiety filled him as he struggled to speak but eventually gave way to the other emotions stirring inside of him. “He didn’t know how,” he said. “He didn’t know what to say.” Alicia frowned.

  “Didn’t he think to say hello? It sounds like Ark seemed to know he was a part of you.” Elunduil groaned with his mouth closed. It wasn’t that simple. Ark was a part of his him, yes, but at the same time he didn’t have any real personality at first. “He was discovering emotions… struggling with them and forming his own sense of self. That Ark is gone now.” Alicia wasn’t sure how to respond. Elunduil’s eyes looked sad and full of pain. She felt like she understood where Elunduil was coming from. Ark may have been a piece of him but that piece had started to mold into something more. That Ark was gone from their world. The only thing left for Elunduil were the memories that Ark had carried.

  There wasn’t much talking after that. They sat around and sipped at their drinks for awhile until Tanis groaned and sat up. “Hey, Elunduil you should come over to my place and spend the night! We can play some Smash or Tales or whatever you want to do!” he said enthusiastically. Elunduil didn’t respond at first but when he did he said curtly. “I’m done with games for today.” Tanis looked to the others for help but they shrugged. The medic who had been working at his desk spoke up. “You guys should be pretty healed up by now, but be careful you’ll be plenty fatigued for 5 to 6 hours,” he said.

  Tanis cautiously stood up at the news. He put a hand on his side. “Yeah, I feel okay now,” he said. “Gotta do something about my shirt though,” he muttered. “Hey let’s go visit Elrik! He can probably whip something up in no time!” The others agreed except for Elunduil who remained stoic. They looked at one another uncertainly. What could they do for Elunduil? “Uhh, you guys go on ahead. I’ll stay behind with Elunduil,” Alicia said. The others nodded and filed out of the room leaving Elunduil and Alicia alone with the medic.

  Elunduil avoided Alicia’s gaze and stared at his feet for a time. He understood that she’d hung back out of concern, but he also wanted to be alone to his thoughts. He was surprised though when Alicia simply sat down nearby and said nothing. She seemed to understand that he wasn’t in a talkative mood. A few minutes passed and she decided to talk about something that had happened to her when she was young. “I’ve never told you about my brother, have I?” She posed it as a question but it was more for her to gather her composure than anything. “He was five years older than me, but despite our difference in age he always played with me. He was kind, and strong, and smart. I always looked up to him.” Elunduil caught on to her phrasing. Was? Had something happened to her brother? “He-he disappeared suddenly when I was 11. He’d secretly joined the Marine Corp against our father’s wishes. I never told my dad, but my brother had told me about his plan. I sometimes wonder if I had said something than maybe he wouldn’t have vanished.” Elunduil sighed. It sounded like she still felt guilty about what happened. “I had nightmares. Dreams where my brother would say he was tired of me and how I was a bother…” she trailed off seemingly unable to continue.

  Elunduil took a breath. “So he’s… MIA?” he asked. Alica nodded. Elunduil grunted. He wasn’t sure what to say but she’d been through something difficult. It was similar to what had happened to him though he felt her pain was probably on a greater scale. “Want to go back to Earth and get some food?” he asked. Alicia was beyond shocked. Was he asking her out? How did her talking about her brother make him decide to ask her out? “S-sure!” she stammered. She’d found herself feeling self-conscious and had nervously run a hand through her hair. Elunduil didn’t notice her unease. He simply wanted to do something to help Alicia through her pain. To get her mind of
f of dark thoughts. He sighed and stood up, his exhausted body protested as he rose.

  They left the infirmary and walked back to the main lobby of the tower. As they reached the lobby they ran into the others who had returned from Elrik’s emporium. “Hey, my armor is finally ready!” Tanis said enthusiastically. “Here I’ll show you really quick!” He put a hand on his APL device but Elunduil stopped him. “Maybe later. We’re going to grab something to eat on Earth before going home,” he said impassively. Tanis looked from him to Alicia who blushed a bit. Realization struck him and he nodded knowingly. “Ohh! I see well then, uh, yeah… Hey Felras I’ll have my parents take you home so let’s go!” He ushered Felras towards the portals and waved back at Elunduil and Alicia. Tim emitted a smug chuckle and followed after them while Sean winked and left with the others. Elunduil rolled his eyes. They seemed to misunderstand his intent but… he glanced over at Alicia. Technically speaking a date didn’t have to be a romantic outing. It could just be meeting up with friends and having a good time. Whatever, he would just treat this like a normal outing.

  He started towards the portal machines and Alicia, caught off guard by his sudden gait, hurried to catch up to him. “So where are we going?” she asked meekly. Elunduil caught on to the tone of her voice. Great. So she did think this was a date. Now he started feeling nervous and stopped by the portal machine to think for a moment. “Well we’re kind of stuck to whatever’s close by so…” He’d wanted to clear up Alicia’s misunderstanding but couldn’t find the words. “I guess we can just go to that fast food place nearby,” he said. Alicia chuckled.

  “Yeah, I guess we’re kind of stuck with limited options. Ok let’s go!” She had a bright smile on her face that left him speechless for a moment. He nodded and the pair walked up to the machine. The portal hummed to life bathing them with a pale blue light. Right then, Elunduil let’s try to make the best of things. He thought to himself as he stepped through the portal with Alicia at his side.

  Chapter 17

  Elunduil’s Truth

  Elunduil and Alicia went to the fast food restaurant that was nearby. It was actually a fast food chain famous for its fries and symbolic golden arches. The food was relatively cheap too so long as one didn’t get a full meal. Elunduil and Alicia sat outside staring up at the building. Well Elunduil was staring at it and Alicia was merely following his gaze with a bemused look. This wasn’t exactly the kind of place he’d envisioned taking Alicia to whenever they did go on a date. At the very least he would’ve chosen to take her to see a movie or go to an actual restaurant but this, this was kind of cheap. “Uh, Elunduil how long are you going to stare at it?” she asked. He looked over to her.

  “I guess we should go in,” he managed to say. She smiled back. They walked to the building and Elunduil opened up the door. He was still racking his brain as to how he was going to explain to Alicia that he was trying to cheer her up. He groaned to himself as they stood in line. Just roll with it. He thought to himself. When they got to the counter Elunduil ordered a regular cheeseburger meal with fries and a drink. Alicia ordered the same thing. They then walked towards the dining area and looked around for seats. It was moderately packed in the restaurant but there were a few tables open. “How about there?” Alicia asked as she pointed towards a table by the window. “Sure,” Elunduil agreed and they walked over.

  They sat down and spent the next couple of minutes in awkward silence as they sat across from each other. “It’s kind of busy,” Alicia said trying to strike up a conversation. Elunduil grunted in agreement but couldn’t think of anything to say in return. To be fair he wasn’t much of a conversationalist. He more or less reacted to what other people said. Thankfully the restaurant clerk called their number and he was spared from trying to come up with something to say. He walked to the counter and grabbed the tray with their food and cups for their drinks. He then went to the fountain drink machine and filled both the cups up. He put Sprite into his cup and Coke into Alicia’s since he knew that she preferred that soda. When he returned to the table Alicia smiled and thanked him.

  They started into their food and while they were eating something elicited a chuckle from Alicia. Elunduil gave her a questioning glance. “Sorry, I was just thinking that you’re still not good with small talk,” she explained in a teasing tone of voice.

  “Uh… yeah,” Elunduil replied. He tended to use jokes and memes as a way of conversing but talking about something like the weather or some random piece of news wasn’t really his thing. “Soo have you been doing anything interesting besides going to Meridias?” she asked. Elunduil shrugged.

  “Not really,” he muttered.

  “I know you. You’ve got some sort of game that you’re playing,” she said. Elunduil tilted his head to the side. “I’m playing the latest Zelda game,” he said. He hadn’t been doing anything particularly interesting in it though, at least nothing he felt was noteworthy. “And?” Alicia said trying to coax more out of him. “I chucked all my bombs at one of the bosses for fun,” he replied with the first thing that came to mind. “To beat the boss, right?” she asked. Elunduil chuckled and shook his head. “Nah, the boss just makes an amusing squawking noise.” Alicia giggled.

  Their conversation, which consisted of Alicia prodding Elunduil for information, continued on for some time. Without noticing they’d finished eating and were down to sipping on their drinks. “We should probably go home soon. I’m sure your dad’s wondering why you haven’t called by now,” Elunduil said. Alicia had a minor look of shock and reached into her pocket for her phone. “I completely forgot! He’s probably worried!” she said exasperatedly as she flipped her phone open. She groaned when she saw her father’s worried texts and quickly texted she had stopped to eat. She sighed and looked to Elunduil who had leaned back on the bench with his arms spread out on top of the seats. He was staring out of the window with a stoic gaze but she could tell that he was relaxed. Most of her tension had also faded during their meal and she smiled. She was really glad that today had turned out so well despite the desperate situation they had been in earlier in Meridias.

  She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “This was kind of a spur of the moment date but I had fun!” she said enthusiastically. Elunduil groaned like he’d just been reminded of something. Alicia giggled as he pulled his arms in. He looked at her. “Actually…” he trailed off and looked to the side. “You looked like you were depressed when you talked about your brother… I wanted to do something to take your mind off of those dark thoughts,” he said. It took Alicia a moment to process what he’d said. “Oh! I see! I just thought… well I did think it was a little weird,” she stammered. She looked down, her face burned red. He had been trying to be nice, and she’d assumed that… well actually even if he hadn’t meant it to be a date the fact that he had been trying to cheer her up was really sweet. She giggled and Elunduil’s brow rose in surprise. “Thank you!” she said. “It means a lot to me, really.”

  Elunduil sighed and started to stand up. “Actually, if you wouldn’t mind I’d like to tell you some more about my brother,” Alicia said. Her eyes were serious, but he couldn’t see any sadness in them. He sat back down. “Ok,” he replied. She gave him a soft smile.

  “His name is Michael,” she said. “He’s 21 right now, wherever he is.”

  “You… think he’s out there somewhere?” Elunduil asked being careful with his phrasing. Alicia nodded. “I never thought for once that he’s gone. He’s still out there. I know he is!” She put a hand to her chest as if she could feel his presence. “I’m sure that he’s just trapped in some situation where he can’t contact me. There’s no way he wouldn’t send something if he could!” Elunduil saw a hint of desperation in her eyes. He felt like she was trying to convince herself that her brother was still out there. Given the form of the nightmare that she’d told him though he felt that some part of her felt abandoned. “I’m sure you’ll see him again,” he replied. Alicia gave him a small smile. “Yeah, I’ve b
een waiting for five years. I’ll wait another five if I have to!”

  Elunduil reflected for a moment. “Back in the infirmary after I’d talked about Ark, did you bring up Michael to try and help me out?” he asked. Alicia chuckled weakly and folded her hands. “I thought that since it was a similar situation I could tell you how I eventually got through it, but I guess I kind of messed up. I got caught up in my own emotions instead.” Elunduil nodded in agreement. He stood up to leave and Alicia followed suit. The emptiness in his chest hadn’t faded. Hanging out with Alicia had dulled it for the moment but it was still with him. He didn’t think he would get over Ark’s loss for awhile, but it was a small comfort that his friends were concerned about him. They made their way to the door and Alicia said something about waiting here for her dad when Elunduil bumped into someone.

  He backed up and was about to speak when he realized that it was someone he knew. “Grandma?” he asked. He hadn’t expected to see her here of all places. His grandmother had short black hair and was nearly as tall as he was. She had a medium-dark skin complexion and was somewhat stocky in stature. “Oh, hi!” she said drawing out the ‘hi’. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Eating,” Elunduil replied flatly. Alicia came up next to Elunduil and his grandma gave them a knowing look. “Oh? Are you out on a date? Is this that girl your mom told me about?” Alicia was momentarily taken aback. She wasn’t sure how to respond and stammered for a moment. A part of her really wanted to say it was a date, but at the same time she knew that Elunduil probably wouldn’t like that. Actually he probably wouldn’t care but even so she should maybe let him explain. She looked over to where he was and was surprised to see that he’d vanished. “When did he-?” She looked around. It was like at school all over again where he would seem to just disappear. “Oh, where did Elunduil go?” Elunduil’s grandma asked looking around. Alicia wasn’t sure but he must’ve somehow managed to leave the building. She wanted to go look but maybe she should clear up his grandma’s misunderstanding, even though she didn’t really want to.