Chapter Fifteen: Phantasms

Sitting behind my little booth to the side of Rafflesia’s entrance, a pile of paper flowers in front of me, I find myself a bit confused. The stands are empty, a particularly strange sight with how the director tends to schedule shows one after another 24/7 to ensure that we don’t lose any business. As they like to say, the currents of the river Styx never slow in Texas.

It is a bit weird though, I don’t think I’ve been back here since the saintesses funeral… How did I get here? I attempt to stand up, but my body refuses to move. Now much more concerned, my focus abruptly shifts to the door as it opens. Walking in slowly yet paradoxically fast, she approaches my table and picks up a carnation.

There’s a bittersweet feeling that falls over me as I realize what is going on. There’s no way I would ever forget those gentle wrinkled hands. I glance up, but find to my dismay that her face is blurred, forgotten in the incessant march of time. It’s been nearly fifteen years since I saw my mother last after all, it’s not a huge surprise. She hovers there in front of me for what feels like an infinite second, and I swear that despite the fact I can’t see her face I can tell that she smiles at me.

Then, she turns, walking towards the pit. Before I know it her figure is darkened, the miniature sun she’s approaching covering her in umbra. I wish nothing more than to stand up, to rush over to her and pull her back from the fate she approaches.

I still can’t stand.

I’m not actually here, after all.

As the heat from the plasma flares, the door chimes, and I turn to find three figures this time. The first is a tiny, dirty girl, likely barely older then six. She takes a daisy, flashes a blindingly bright smile, then runs to the pit. I know who this was, but not their name. I don’t think I will ever be able to find that.

The next two walk together as a pair, the boys each taking a dandelion before they race towards their end. I don’t think I deserve to even think their names, let alone say them. The warmth their memories bring only invigorate the sun, in spite of my particular opinion on them.

The door opens again, and I find two girls that break my heart to see. They pause as they enter, glaring at each other, before one clicks her tongue and steps off to the side. Smug superiority in her steps, the first girl approaches and takes an anemone before leaning forward and kissing me on my forehead. I’m not sure whether it’s my cheeks or the star that are hotter as she vanishes.

Her competitor gone, the second girl approaches, hesitating as she looks down at the selection I have. She starts to reach for one, but I abruptly stand up. She pauses to look at me tilting her head slightly before she lifts her gaze to something behind me.

Curious I turn, and the heat of Rafflesia’s thrusters is abruptly replaced with a creeping chill as I find myself standing alone without my Mecha upon what I think are the empty streets of Oklahoma City. I blink, confused, and raise my hand up. I clench my fingers together, finding them hesitant but under my control.

Am I still in a dream? Is this real? I legitimately cannot tell.

There’s a much different feel to standing upon these streets in just my pajamas than there was to when I was in a giant mechanical beast. That thin haze that hovers over the ground everywhere around here seems to cover everything instead, unsettling in how it obscures anything more than a few feet away from me. Well, except the moon I guess, its three rings doing a good job of breaking its profile up into chunks despite their natural illumination.

Not exactly knowing what to do in this situation, I move off the street onto the cracked concrete sidewalk, then begin to walk. If I continue down this path long enough, will I find a landmark that will tell me where I am? Maybe one of the places I visited earlier, that would tell me immediately where the Maniac Magee is.

"̸̩̫͌̈Y̵̨͑͆o̷̟̅ȕ̵͙͓͠ ̶̠̈̋k̶̥͈̾n̸̼͎̆o̵̙͑w̶̖̔,̸̘͝ ̶̺̙͛̋I̷͚̯͝ ̵͕̋d̴̨̖̈́i̴̙̞̇̓d̶̠̳͛n̷̰͙̈́'̵͈̑͒t̷̩͕͝ ̸̧͋t̶͕̭̂a̶̅̋͜k̷̳͕͂̍e̵̼͚̕͝ ̷̹̾ẏ̶̮̲̐ȍ̸̬̕ù̵͙ ̷̣̖̾f̴̗̈ò̶̲̠́r̴̨̠̎ ̶̮͙̔̍ả̷̝̄͜n̶͖̝̅͑ ̶̩̟͂́ö̵͍p̵̫̯̈͘ṱ̸́i̴̤̓m̵̠̿i̷̜͛͝s̵̲̽͒ṯ̷͍̆́ ̵̼͒́w̵̠̙̎̀h̷̪̾͂e̸͖͝n̴̯̰̿ ̶͍̩̿Į̸̤̀͝ ̴͈͂w̶̙͒a̵̲̋͝s̴̗͍̆ ̵͕̓ī̷͚̣n̷͖̼͑̑ ̵̘̤̌̊y̴͙̕o̴͕͒u̶̹̓ͅȑ̷̝͍̓ ̶̧̏̄h̴̟̏e̸̜͠a̸̰͛d̷͚̀ ̸̭̀ṫ̴͎h̸̩̿e̷̼͗ ̷̠̌͜f̵̼͘i̷̜͆͝ȑ̴̪s̷̤̖̾́t̷̹̩̍ ̸̤̻̉t̴̗̑͂í̴̩͇̏m̶̢̓e̷̜̻̅,̸͈̫̄ ̵͍͎̌b̵̬͐̅u̴̼̚t̵̙͍͊̏ ̴̣͍̏͠I̷̩͑͠ ̶̫̤̿̌s̵̤̿ủ̶̳͆p̵͔̱͗̀ṕ̴̭̹͋ô̸̧̄s̶̮͖͒ḕ̴̗ ̸̨̈́̌ͅI̴̫͕̋ ̴̙̈́s̶̆͒ͅh̷̼̳̅̍à̵̧̲l̸̲̼̃͒l̴̜͓̓ ̸͎̱̃͝h̵͕͛ä̶̫̫́v̸͚̕ȩ̷̞͐̆ ̸̮̙͝t̷̮̰̔̚o̷̠̚ ̴̨͈̿̚c̷̰̎h̷̰̠͆̐a̸̯͌̐n̷̬̿́ǵ̷͓͇ě̵̺̅ ̷̺̈́̈́m̸̲̍y̶̖͠ͅ ̵̞̝̾ọ̶̍p̴̖̃̈i̶̮͛̂n̴̛̗̝i̸͓͗̋o̶̖̿ǹ̶͕ ̴̨̬̀o̸̞̣͌f̶̨͚̉̿ ̷̩͒́ȳ̸͇͚̕o̶̩̮͂̐u̴͇͖͠ ̸̛̪n̴͙͠ŏ̷̯̯w̴̹͉̿.̸̜̩̽"̵͈̌"̷͙͋͛

The creeping chill of those words makes me freeze, my head beginning to ache immediately as well.

Oh no.

Please, not again.

"̴̹̀Ţ̴̇h̵̞̓e̷̩̚ ̴̏͜ḧ̶̳u̵͈͂m̷̹̔a̸̗͝ṋ̸̋ ̸̖̊m̴̛̺ḯ̵̱ǹ̵̜ḓ̸͝,̶̮̀ ̴͇̏e̴̼̕s̴͍̃p̵̪̉e̴̖̾ĉ̸̪i̷̹̒ȁ̵͓l̸̪̈l̶͖͐ỳ̶̼ ̷͉͆t̸̺̀h̷͈͂o̸̻͌s̸̢̅e̵̤̋ ̶͍͐o̸̡̅f̵͇̎ ̴̜̆ỳ̶̘ò̷͖u̷̲͛ ̷͇͛'̸̠͒E̵̢̓ṋ̴̚g̵͚͐ỉ̸̖ǹ̶ͅẹ̸͛s̵͚̿'̵͝ͅ,̶͍̑ ̶̻̏a̵̦̅r̷͓̀e̶̗̋ ̵̳̒t̴̺̚r̵̉͜ủ̶̬l̷͈͂y̷͕̚ ̷͍̄i̵̤͗n̵͓͐ṯ̷͊e̵̗̐r̵̳͐e̸̠̿s̴͓̊ṫ̶̞ï̴͎n̵̗͋g̷̛̮,̸̥̃"̸̈́ͅ ̴̬̇t̵̠͛h̶̖̓è̵̮ ̵̩͌Ḧ̸̻́u̵̜̅n̴̠͗g̵͋ͅe̵̩̚r̸̭̽ ̴̢̀c̴͙̿ȃ̸̪s̸̘̑u̶̫͊å̸͕l̶̼̐l̷͌ͅý̵̙ ̴̨̂s̴̙͆ṯ̶̈́a̸͓̅ť̴̬ê̸͇s̴͚̄,̸̤̐ ̴̔ͅ"̷̢̛T̴̝̚h̷̥͑ȅ̵̹ ̵̻̒w̸̟̅a̶̦͑y̶͎͘ ̵̨̈́y̸̹̍o̸͚͒u̸̖̎r̴̝͆ ̸̖͊ḿ̷̖e̵̹͝m̴̫̽ö̷̥́r̵̖͘i̵̠͘e̸͎̕s̶̜͊ ̵̪̋c̷̭̅ó̸͕m̴̙͂b̴̳̓i̸̻̇n̸̖̏e̶͇̍ ̸̜͆ẅ̸͔́ǐ̶̪t̶̻̋h̴͆͜ ̷͈͆A̴̗͋n̸̠̿i̶͎͘m̴̪͂a̷͇͌ ̴̭̀ť̴̰o̶̼̐ ̷̤͆c̸̥̍r̴͍̒e̶̳̒a̵̻͗t̵͍̐e̸̿͜ ̴͙̀p̸̦͂s̴̯͘e̴̯̿ų̴̃d̵͚̎ò̸̲-̸̭̈́r̵͉̎i̸̝̿f̷̼͐t̵̻́ṡ̷̮ ̸͍͋i̴̮̐s̷͈̄ ̴̛̬s̴̪͂o̷͉͌m̵̩̆é̸̪t̴̲̊h̶̻͒i̸͙̽n̴̳̿g̶̤̈ ̵̝̎t̵͔̂h̶͍͂ḁ̴̔t̴̜̍ ̷̣͋I̸͚͋ ̷̣̄w̸̘̓ĭ̸̱s̶̹̉h̷̬͌ ̸̢͂Ḯ̴̤ ̶̻̃c̵̫͊ǒ̴̰ů̵̠l̶̟̈d̷̡̋ ̵̞̚d̷͖͌ọ̸͋ ̶̖̂f̶̞̑o̸͎̒r̴̛̻ ̶͕̐m̶̈ͅÿ̷̟́s̶͎̏e̷͑ͅl̸̺̎f̴̖̈́.̸̢͛"̶̛̯

The crackling of electricity behind me makes my hackles rise, and I immediately begin to run. The monster laughs as wind ripples around me, its voice full of humor and pain as it playfully exclaims:

"̸R̵e̵a̴l̷l̶y̸?̴ ̷W̷h̸y̷ ̵a̷r̷e̸ ̷y̴o̸u̸ ̴r̴u̵n̴n̷i̷n̶g̵?̵ ̴W̸e̸ ̴b̴o̵t̶h̴ ̴k̵n̷o̷w̴ ̶h̸o̵w̵ ̸t̴h̶i̵s̴ ̷w̸e̷n̵t̸ ̶w̵h̸e̷n̵ ̶y̶o̴u̸ ̸h̵a̵d̶ ̶y̶o̴u̷r̸ ̶p̸r̷e̵c̵i̴o̶u̵s̸ ̸m̸e̶t̷a̸l̷ ̷s̴h̵e̵l̵l̷,̶ ̷a̸n̵d̷ ̸n̵o̴w̵ ̷y̴o̴u̸ ̵d̶o̸ ̶n̶o̷t̶ ̵e̸v̶e̸n̶ ̶h̶a̶v̴e̵ ̶t̷h̸a̸t̸.̸ ̵G̷i̵v̸e̶ ̶i̷t̴ ̶u̵p̵ please, Minea .”

Shuddering at it saying my name, I push myself even further into a sprint. The street seems to go on forever, the sidewalk repeating beneath me no matter how long, how far I seem to run. The cold slowly grows, biting at first before quickly becoming frigid, soon even becoming enough that my body begins to slow down just like that.

“Okay, this is getting old. Enough.”

A tentacle slams in front of me, and I stumble to a stop barely before touching it.

“We aren’t in your real world girl, fortunately for you. I would take the opportunity to break you now if I had the chance.”

My teeth chattering, I watch as the Hunger comes into view, the same as before obviously… but yet somehow different? The humanoid aspect of it is more solid, though my mind still refuses to concentrate upon its details. It’s infinite tentacles slowly gesticulate behind it as it stops floating, stepping down onto its false feet as it approaches me.

My tongue begins to hurt, but I swallow the pain to keep myself alive. “What do you want?”

It tilts its neck. “Why, to become more of course. What you call dimensions are interesting things, you know, the layers of an infinite tower that anyone can learn to ascend if they have enough time.”

My nose grows a bit warm as a thin stream of blood begins to form. “Why are you telling me this? I know this already, but I don’t want to become like you.”

It pauses, looking down at me. “You’re a fragile creature.”

I blink. “Yes?”

“It might not seem like it because of my inherent incompatibility with this realm, but I do not mean any harm to you or any other living creature. I simply wish to explore, to learn.”

I don’t know how I have the courage to spit, “And in the process, capture an Engine alive to power your further ascension.”

It waves a tentacle at me dismissively. “Semantics. I am an eternal creature, and you are a bug with a lifespan that to me is but seconds. You becoming my vessel to allow me to ascend to something more is a greater purpose than you could ever hope for with your life.”

My answer is immediate as I feel a flare of rage in my heart.

“I̸'̷d̴ ̸r̷a̴t̴h̷e̵r̶ ̴f̸u̴c̵k̶i̴n̴g̵ ̴d̸i̶e̸!̵”

Its eyes open wide as it holds up its hand at me. “Wait-!”

Crack.

With a thump, I fall onto my bed. Drowsy, I glance up to see nothing where I just fell from, which probably eliminates the reality of me having fallen into a random rift. I only picked up bits and pieces of what that thing was saying at first, so maybe it explained it? Hard to know.

“Brion, can you hear me?”

With a beep, a small holo screen appears in the air in front of me, displaying a small green orb floating within a bright blue sky. The SAI’s deep but slightly monotone voice comes from somewhere above me, presumably from the hidden hologram projector that I didn’t know was fucking there.

{“Indeed, good morning. It is currently 4 am Central Standard Time. Is there any way I can help you madam Grim?”}

I grimace. “Please just call me Minea, the fake subservience thing squicks me out a bit.”

{“Perfectly fair, Minea. Is something wrong?”}

I hesitate, then ask, “Did you detect any anomalous dimensional activity in the vicinity?”

There’s a pause, before he answers, {“No, just small flares of DE that are typically normal when Engines sleep. Your readings are a bit abnormal though.”}

“How so?”

{“Larger spikes and higher numbers than I am used to seeing from our other Engines. My best guess is that you’re a Heart Engine, and as a result you were naturally gaining and spending more as a result of the emotions that you felt while you were dreaming.”}

I flinch. “Can you promise me that you won’t tell anyone that?”

{“I cannot, but I can promise that I will tell nobody but my partner. We do not keep things from each other.”}

“And they are…?”

“Fuschia, Maribelle’s wife.”

That takes me a second.

“Wait.”

{“Yes?”}

“Is Fuschia your romantic partner or like, a business partner?”

{“Yes.”}

I groan as I reach up to find that the nosebleed was actually real. “So you’re all poly then? I need to get onto Mari for not telling me that.”

{“Incorrect. My only partner is Fuschia, and I cannot speak for Maribelle’s potential relationships as I do not know her past beyond her relationship with my partner. Fuschia can however, be accurately described as polyamorous.”}

Standing up, I walk over to the bathroom and turn the faucet on. “I’m not sure I really get it, but good for you I guess?”

{“Thank you. It is strange that I am getting to know you before my partner’s wife though.”}

I snort, then begin to wipe the blood off my face. “Anyways, I think something happened when I was dreaming.”

{“Would you care to explain? There aren’t cameras in there but the hologram projector can somewhat sense where you are. As far as it can tell, you did not move at all past the point when you fell asleep.”}

“What’s the point of not having a camera if you can do that in the first place?”

{“There’s a difference between me knowing where you are and seeing what you are doing.”}

“Eh. Close enough in my world.”

A small bit of annoyance in his tone, breaking from the emotionless veil he had on, Brion states. {“Moving on, please explain your dream issue.”}

I can’t help but smile, which makes me realize that he can’t see it so maybe he was right. Not something I’ll say out loud though.

“It was a normal dream at first, though I don’t actually know if it was a nightmare or not.”

{“I do not dream, but is it not dependant on how unsettling it is?”}

My smile falls at that. “Yeah, thats why it’s hard to tell. Big mix of emotions that are hard to put into words to anyone else.”

{“I suppose that would obscure the meaning, hm? What else?”}

“Well, there was a chill before I suddenly found myself out on the streets of the city we’re in but without the Doberman as a safety net.”

{“Dangerous, especially after last night's events. Were you near the Maniac Magee or somewhere you recognized?”}

“Nah, but besides the haze that covers the ground here I just somehow knew it was OKC.”

{“Curious. What next?”}

I grimace. “I quickly found out that I could move without the restrictions that dreams normally have, though it sort of felt like moving through water the entire time. With that in mind, I started walking to try and find a landmark. Then it started getting cold.”

Brion pauses. {“I think I see where this might end up going, but continue.”}

“Then the ED appeared and began to talk nonsense as I ran. It caught up to me after what felt like both an eternity and a second, and when it stopped me I could understand it.”

{“Pardon? That’s… definitely an anomaly. I have never heard of anyone able to speak with an Extradimensional like that, assuming this actually occurred and was not simply another dream.”}

“Mhm, it was kind of an awful conversation too, The Hunger just was tooting its own horn and calling itself superior the entire time.”

{“The Hunger?”}

I blink. “Oh, its name, or maybe identity in the great scheme of things. It kind of popped into my head while we talked and matches with the feeling it gave off during the chase earlier.”

{“That by itself could be an academic paper, you know.”}

“I’m not really a scientist, Brion. The important part was that I accidentally used my DE to break out of the pseudo world and return here, where I fell onto my bed as if I was floating.”

{“Hmm.”} Brion’s voice stops for a moment, until he quietly confirms. {“I missed it before, but yes, a few seconds before you called me, your position abruptly shifted to about two feet off your bed. There are inconsistencies in the program the hologram projector uses to track so I overlooked it.”}

My heart drops. “So it did happen.”

{“It’s concerning that it was able to either pull you into a sub-dimension or find you when you accidentally traveled to one. Please give me a moment, I need to speak about this with the Conductor.”}

Flopping onto my bed, I groan. I’m not fucking explaining this to the conductor again.

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