Chapter 52

Nothing crept slowly along the wide streets, her nostrils quivering as she drew in the scent. It was strong and clear to her senses, the odour of a hated enemy. The boy child, Eric, had a unique scent yet he was skilled at obscuring it from her.

She had stalked his hiding places for days in this realm with little result. Every time she thought she had found his nest, it was another ambush. Nothing bristled at those memories, her vast body still hurting from the wounds he had inflicted.

Yet now she had a new scent to follow. A Dracoris Vapora, his flowery odour lingering strong in the air like an arrow pointing towards her prey.

More importantly, these new arrivals meant they had found a way to open the locked Quantum realm. The foolish Dracoris probably thought they had come to save the boy child, but in truth they had sealed his fate.

Eagerly Nothing slunk forwards, her mind full of evil intent as she hunted down her new victims.

=====

It was Stanley who sensed her coming, his keen nose scenting the stench of the Abyss that surrounded the Dracoris.

“The Abyssal is getting close!” Stanley shouted in his mind to his fellow Dracoris. “We must get ready to fight her!”

Sarah relayed his warning to Eric, the young man still unable to hear the mind speak of the dragons.

“How did she track me this time?” he asked aloud, even as he struggled into his body armour. Carmody helped him adjust the straps that secured the Ceramite plates, sheathing his frame in tough armour once more.

“It was probably me” Stanley admitted sheepishly. “All Dracoris have a strong scent that others can detect. She probably followed me here, so let me go out and fight her. I may be able to draw her away”

Sarah passed his words on to Eric, who shook his head in a big denial.

“She may have tracked Stanley or any of us. It was inevitable that she would find my base and I have made preparations” Eric declared. “We can exit in another direction and hopefully she will come through this area in pursuit”

“What have you prepared for her?” Carmody asked with interest.

“A nice big surprise” he assured them all. “But before we move on, I want to try something”

“What’s that?” Sarah wondered. Stanley crowded into the doorway, listening intently to the discussion.

“I want to see if my Tactical programs will work for you guys. I designed them for virtual copies of you but in theory they should activate over your real world bodies in here”

“Okay” Sarah said. “Let’s give it a go!”

=====

“Activate Tactical Combat Routine Sierra-One” Sarah said aloud, following the instructions that Eric had given her. For a moment she felt like an utter idiot, as if Eric were playing some kind of practical joke on her.

Then black and silver blocks of something appeared in front of her, shifting and morphing into humanoid looking shapes. Before she could step back in surprise, they engulfed her completely. She screamed with momentary terror as her head was encased in a clear visored helmet and felt solid weight settle all over her body.

“Sierra-One activation completed” a voice echoed from the sky, sounding just like Eric’s voice.

“Holy crap!” Carmody breathed in awe. “You turned her into a Power Ranger!”

Sarah looked down at herself, lifting her arms and turning them with a new found sense of glee. She was encased in close fitting black armour, just like Eric’s and seemingly made of Ceramite. Her fists were inside large armoured gauntlets, with stubby metal spikes extending from her knuckles.

She took a few experimental steps, twisting and turning her body, feeling the armour moving easily with her. Even the weight was not as great as she had expected, spread evenly over her legs, arms and body.

“It fits perfectly!” she said, her voice being projected by an external speaker to the others.

“I’m glad” Eric’s voice came to her via earphones and she realised her helmet and his were linked via a communications array. “I have kept the suit functions at a basic level for now as you would need lots of practice for the advanced features”

“So what can this version do?” Sarah demanded excitedly.

“It is well armoured of course” he replied “But the main feature is the Sarah Special Punch. Those gauntlets are adapted from a military design called Shock Gloves. Each hit will deliver augmented Kinetic Energy and you can send a Taser charge through the metal knuckle studs”

“Oh boy, I can’t wait to try these out!” Sarah exclaimed. She looked over at Stanley who lifted his taloned hands in front of him defensively.

“Don’t even think about it” he growled warningly.

Carmody sidled up to Eric and twirled Excalibur Mark Two in her hands nervously.

“Um, did you design anything for me?” she asked shyly.

“Absolutely!” he confirmed and gave her the activation phrase.

“Activate Tactical Combat Routine Charlie-One” Carmody said loudly. Blocky shapes of gold and white surrounded her, forming another human-like shape that flowed around the girl.

“Charlie-One activation completed” Eric’s voice said from the air. Carmody found herself armoured in white Ceramite armour, trimmed with gold edges and detailing. A helmet shaped like a Knights was fitted on her head, with a gold visor covering her face, only her eyes visible behind a clear Ceramiglass slot.

“You made her a Knight!” Sarah chuckled. “Look, there is even a giant sword on her back!”

Carmody found she was still gripping her cricket bat, but her hands were now encased in white and gold gauntlets. Hearing Sarah’s words, she raised her left arm to her shoulder and found the hilt of a sword of some kind there. Carmody took hold and tried to draw the weapon, wondering if it would work.

Unlike most fantasy games, it was actually pretty hard to draw a sword from a back sheath. You needed inhumanly long arms to make it work, or a specialised sheath that you dropped off your shoulder before drawing. In this case, the sheath was fixed on a pivot system of some kind, so as she tried to pull the sword clear it lifted and rotated, letting the long blade slide free with ease.

Carmody’s eyes boggled at the meter long blade, as broad as a shovel yet light and quick moving in her hand.

“It’s a Mono-Edged blade made from Bonded Ceramite” Eric tried to explain. “That means it is super strong and really sharp. It should be a good backup weapon to Excalibur”

“Thanks Eric” Carmody said softly, embarrassed at how pleased his design had made her. “Wish I had this stuff in the real world”

“Actually, I have the printing programs all ready to go” he told them. “If you like these designs, I can get the Guard Armoury to print them off”

Naturally both girls were excited at this news, then further conversation was interrupted by a load roar from the grounds outside the University parking lot.

“She’s here!” Stanley warned them, the long black spines on his back lifting reflexively. The ground shook for a moment as she slammed into the mesh barriers that guarded the entrance ramp.

“Okay, follow me” Eric said calmly and mounted his motorbike. Carmody sheathed her sword and clambered on behind him, looping one arm around his waist and the other holding Excalibur tightly.

“Don’t you want to fly with Stanley?” Eric enquired in surprise.

“Nope” she replied. “I am a Knight now. I can’t be carried about like some Princess!”

“Fair enough” Eric agreed and gunned his engine, launching the bike across the parking lot with a squeal of quite realistic noise and burnt rubber.

Stanley lowered his dangerous spines and Sarah clambered onto his back. Once she had a firm grip, he launched himself after the retreating shapes of Eric and Carmody. They followed the racing motorbike up a long sloping ramp, making a series of turns then bursting back out into the open air.

Behind them they heard the vengeful cries of Nothing as she broke into the underground parking lot. Then it sounded like the world exploded.

=====

Carmody twisted her upper body, looking back at the rising cloud of fire and smoke that gushed from every opening of the University tower basement. A shock wave of hot air buffeted the bike and Eric struggled for a moment to keep it upright, then his superior dexterity got the machine under control.

She watched as Stanley tumbled in the blast of superheated air then he too righted himself, Sarah hanging on grimly to the Steam Dragon’s horns.

“What the hell was that!” Carmody yelled at Eric. His voice came back to her via the earphones built into the sides of her new helmet.

“Plastic explosives strapped to twenty litre containers of cleaning fluid” he explained.

“Wow, that is a big blast from one bomb!” she said in awe, looking backwards at the rising pillar of smoke from the tower base.

“That was ten bombs, placed around the perimeter” Eric responded with a hint of pride. “I wanted her to really regret finding my base”

The four companions raced along the deserted streets, heading for the 10th District Junior High School. Carmody leaned her armoured chest against Eric’s back as they rode and asked a question that had occurred to her earlier.

“Hey Eric, these suits you designed for Sarah and I fit us perfectly” she said to him. “Why do you have such exact measurements of our bodies?”

Eric was silent for a moment and Carmody wondered if her helmet had not transmitted the message.

“Um, I have a mapping program that can scan someone and give precise measurements” he finally confessed. “It was how I was able to make copies of all of you for this virtual environment”

“I see” Carmody replied and tightened her left arm that gripped around his waist. She heard a faint whimper as she constricted his injured sides. “So you have been playing around with virtual copies of us girls in your head?”

“Yeah” he reluctantly agreed. “But only for tactical combat training purposes, I swear”

“Of course I believe you, Eric” Carmody transmitted and smiled as she laid her helmeted head against his.

=====

Nothing screamed in agony as the flames and flying fragments scorched and tore her body. She blundered blindly through a maelstrom of destruction, desperately seeking the open sky.

After what seemed an eternity she crawled, bleeding, deafened and blind into the cool air. Beneath her charred feet she felt the scorched remains of the grass lawn that once surrounded the tower of learning.

The Dracoris lay on her side, breathing heavily as she considered her position. She had not wanted to invoke this yet but the wounds she had received left no other option.

“Activate Tactical Simulation Respawn Function – Villain-One” she called into the air and lay back exhausted, waiting like she had four times previously.

“Villain Respawn Activated” the young boy-child’s voice spoke to her from the sky. She felt energy begin to pour into her shattered body, rebuilding her dark flesh and re-knitting her broken bones. Her breathing became easier and the pain lessened until at last she opened her regenerated eyes and gazed up at the grey sky.

“Villain Respawn Completed” said the copy of Eric’s voice. “Please note this was the last Respawn available in this simulation. No further Respawns will be possible until the Mission is reset”

Nothing spread her massive jaws wide and laughed wickedly, pleased that she had found the flaw in the elaborate program that guided this world.

“Stupid boy probably doesn’t even know I am doing this” she snickered to herself and got to her feet once more. Her reconstructed nostrils twitched as she sought the scent of the Dracoris Vapora, finding it after only a few failed attempts.

Nothing stretched out her massive ebon wings, rejoicing in their newly remade strength and majesty.

“Now find me the key, little children” she whispered to the air. “Find the key so that I may be free at last of this accursed realm!”

=====

Sarah was amazed at how much like the simulation looked like her school in the real word. Stanley flew low over the surrounding walls and landed in the courtyard, landing on the brightly coloured paving she remembered. Moments later they heard the soft whine of Eric’s motorbike as it turned into the open main gates, Carmody perched close to the boy’s back.

A momentary pang of jealousy zinged through Sarah as she watched them climb off the bike in unison, Eric’s leg tangling with Carmody’s and both of them grabbing each other for balance. She heard them laugh good naturedly at their collision.

“Knock if off you two” Sarah said a little harshly, earning her a questioning glance from the other girl. “We need to hurry, don’t we? There is a dragon chasing us”

She spun about and marched towards the main entrance, her new black booted feet making sharp clacking noises as she stomped across the pavement. Stanley said something to Carmody that she didn’t hear, but it was only the other girl who joined her in the school foyer.

“Eric and Stanley will stand guard outside” Carmody told her as she caught up. “We’ll go and get the key”

Both girls stomped quickly up the central staircase and exited at the first floor. Every detail seemed almost perfect in the recreation of the school, even to the ‘No Running in the Hallways’ signs dotted about on the walls.

“It’s kind of eerie seeing the school without any students or teachers” Carmody observed and Sarah shrugged her shoulders.

“I visited a lot after hours and on the weekends” Sarah said flatly. “Mostly visiting the Blue Wonder. You get used to the quiet”

They reached the door to Sarah’s homeroom and she reached out a gauntleted hand to slide the door open. Inside they saw that every desk and chair was faithfully recreated and the walls covered in the same school posters and educational aids that the original had.

“I half expected Miss Abrams to be standing here to greet us” Sarah joked to her companion.

“Nah, she would tell us off for being tardy” Carmody answered and grinned inside her helmet.

“Or making a mess!” Sarah added. She went to her desk and opened the drawer that lay underneath. In the real world it had a collection of used pens, a broken smart key for her school locker and the wrappers from a collection of snack foods that she always meant to throw in the recycling but never did.

Here and now it was empty save for a single, stainless steel key like they used in old style locks. Sarah reached in and lifted it up, feeling a faint tingle of energy in her fingertips.

“I guess this is it” she told Carmody and carefully tucked it into a pouch on her waist. She made to leave and Carmody touched her arm, stopping her for a moment.

“Sarah, are we still friends?” she asked and there was no denying the anxious tone in her friend’s voice.

“What, because you bumped legs with Eric in the courtyard?” Sarah replied.

“No, I mean after all this time we spend our days with other people. We used to eat lunch together and have adventures, but now I hardly see you”

“It’s Okay, Carmody” Sarah answered. “You have Angelina now and Lilly and Achmed have each other. Eric seems to know every girl in the city and is always off on secret missions for Archimedes. That is just how life turns out”

Carmody lifted her helmet visor, showing her young face and intense brown eyes.

“You have Stanley” she reminded Sarah and that got a smile visible though her armoured visor. Sarah lifted her own visor and regarded Carmody steadily with her blue-green eyes.

“Yeah, lucky me!” she laughed. “But you are right, I do have Stanley. He is very loyal and stands by me no matter what. Sometimes though, I wish for a little more”

“Like Eric?” Carmody asked her.

“It used to be Eric” Sarah admitted. “Now I am not so certain. I wonder if we are too different to really be, you know, close like that”

“I get that” Carmody agreed. She laid a hand on Sarah’s armoured shoulder and smiled warmly at her friend. “We are all so different from who we used to be. Who knows where we will end up”

“True” Sarah agreed then gave a smile in return. “And to answer your first question, yes; we are still friends”

“Cool!” Carmody said happily.

Then Nothing landed in the courtyard outside.