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 Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:31 pm
The Prologue and Chapter One will be combined since the prologue is short!
WARNING: THERE IS LIGHT SWEARING! I WARNED YOU!
Story: Into Inexistence: The Realm of Imagination
Author: TimeTurner Alchemist (Aka me aka Neko)
Genre: Action/Adventure, a little bit of drama.
Summary: When Vivian Inelli goes after a mysterious pickpocket she finds herself in a world of trouble. Literally. But the new world is something she has been to before from the comfort of her own couch. What happens when she figures out what exactly she can do to it. Will she use it or will she ignore it? Jak, the fate of the world rests on your shoulders but the life of someone close rests with her.
Prologue:
Sometimes I wonder if I am really insane because over the course of the last year, my experiences are looking to be more and more of fantasy rather than reality. My counselor says I’m making the story up to make my brain hide the traumatic experience of being kidnapped and tortured. I told her that I really had been transported into a game; that I wasn’t lying to them. I wasn't tortured or kidnapped. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. My parents told me the same thing. “You weren’t transported into a game sweety. You told us yourself the first day we found you that even you didn’t believe it.” I told her, “How could I have been gone three months and you not have gotten any ransom note from this so called "kidnapper" since you had the police crawling all over the United States!” They had refused to answer. They didn’t know. All they knew was that I went out and didn't come back. There is magic in the world but why it revealed itself that day I don't even know. But it was because of this magic that I am able to tell this story.
Chapter One: An Encounter with the Impossible
It was November 4th when this first began. It was a cool but sunny day, as was the usual weather in November, especially in Sammamish, Washington. A few puffy white clouds floated harmlessly across the sky. There was no threat of rain. I stared out the window from my perch in the bay window in the living room. I looked down. The light pink cushion looked almost white from the reflection of the white wood and the bright sunshine. I felt the warmth of the sun’s rays and leaned back. The sun always relaxed me. The creak of wood opened my eyes. I found my little brother looking up at me with his little teddy bear in one hand and the thumb of his other in his mouth. In the sun, his brown hair reflected red highlights like mine but his big, bright blue eyes were far different from my grey. I lifted him up into my lap where I proceeded to tickle him to death. He giggled and wriggled, almost falling off but I caught him.
“Wanna go play outside Dillan?” He nodded profusely since he didn’t want to take his thumb out. “You gotta take your thumb out to go play and besides, didn’t Mommy tell you to stop that?” I said and stared at the thumb. He looked at it and took it out, smiling sheepishly.
“Can Teddy come with us?”
“Of course! Now go get your jacket and gloves on and I’ll help you with your boots.” He ran upstairs and I went and picked a coat off the rack and some gloves out of my dresser. Dillan ran downstairs with his coat and gloves just as I pulled on my converse.
“You’re five years old and you still want me to put on your jacket and gloves for you.” I laughed and smiled. He knew it was a joke. I helped him his little brown coat and gloves and helped him pull on his little Spiderman rain boots.
“Going outside for awhile Mom!” I yelled up the stairs.
“Be safe and be back by dinner!” She yelled back down from the computer room. My mom was a computer techy and was constantly on the computer looking for new updates. She prided herself in having built the computer from her own two hands and not having to have replaced it by now.
“Mom, I’m fifteen! I KNOW!”
“Sometimes I’m not so sure Vivy! Sometimes you stay out past curfew!”
“I have Dillan to remind me! Don’t I Dillan?” He nodded and laughed.
“You do Vivy.”
Outside, the sun was still shining and the clouds still looked like bits of cotton but I brought an umbrella just in case. You could never trust the weatherman even when he says it will rain. The clouds will do the exact opposite of what you expect just to spite people I swear.
Our property consisted of a house and the two acres surrounding it. Of this, at least a third was woods. I looked down at Dillan.
“Wanna play tag in the woods?” His brow furrowed.
“Mommy said not to go there.”
“We’ll stay really close to the backyard. Here, I’ll show you.” I led him in as far as I said. He smiled. He could still see the house.
“Ready?” He said in his high voice.
“As always.” With that being said, we began to chase each other around.
---------
“Man Dillan! You are getting fast!” I flopped down onto the grass and breathed hard. I looked over to see Dillan doing the same thing. He was breathing really hard.
“You too Vivy.”
It was getting dark as the sun began to set behind the mountains to the east. A wind began to blow as the clouds began to come together, stitching themselves into a patchwork blanket type pattern.
“Come on Dillan. It’s getting dark. We better go inside.” I got up and lifted him to my hip and began to go towards he house listening to the music inside my head. I felt something was missing and looked down.
“Ohh no.” I said and began feeling my pockets.
“What’s wrong Vivy?” Dillan asked.
‘My necklace! It’s gone! It must have fallen off. Here.” I set him down an ushered him inside. “Tell mom I’ll be right in.”
“Ok!” He called.
I went back and searched every inch of our play space following the trampled dirt and grass. I didn’t find it.
Must be farther in.
I followed the path, searching the ground with a little help from the fading rays of light. A little later along, I saw a glint of silver. I rushed forward and found my necklace. The small pendant of diamond and alexandrite was unharmed. I sighed. That was good. I looked at the chain. The clasp had broken open.
“Gotta get a new chain.” I said and pocketed it. I was turning to go back when I heard a noise. Just then, lightning split the darkness and thunder rolled across the sky. A heavy rain began to fall and I sighed.
Stupid rain rains when I don’t have my umbrella. One of these days I’m just going to tie an umbrella to my pants just so it doesn’t rain.
I turned back and heard another noise. It was closer. I looked back over my shoulder. Nothing. I began to get nervous so I walked faster. Suddenly, I felt a hand in my pocket and then turned to find a man running with my necklace!
“HEY! GET BACK HERE! THAT’S MINE!” I began to run after him. Six years of soccer and basketball were under my belt. I could run. I began to catch up ignoring the rain in my face. I slipped and fell in the mud. He stopped and peered back then began to run again. I got up and ran again. I got closer and closer. There was an animal sitting on his shoulder. It was long like a ferret but I couldn’t see anything else due to the lack of light and the rain. More lighting pierced the sky. This guy wouldn’t give up! I ran faster, pushing myself to the limit. I was almost there. I could almost grab his shirt. If he were armed, he would have fired already unless he had a knife. I got close enough, grabbed his shirt and dug my heels into the mud. The force of the sudden stop was enough to send both of us tumbling backwards. He landed on me with enough force to knock my breath out but I held on. He had my grandmother’s necklace and I wasn’t about to let him have it. I pushed him off and got on top of him and began to beat my fist into his face. He grabbed my hand and I screamed out a cry of anger.
“Give it back you low life! You thief! Give me my necklace!” I used my other hand to find a pocket and quickly found the prize. I stuffed it in my pocket and began to try and get away but he held onto my wrist with an iron grip. I got up and tugged hard. This guy was strong and I was beginning to get scared. He got up. What if he took me away? I screamed and yelled for help then looked back at my captor and paled. The guy was a good six feet tall, huge to my little 5’5 self. His arms were well muscled and he glared down with blue eyes. When I set my eyes on his ears, I stopped dead. His ears were long and pointed and then I focused on the animal on his shoulder. It had a pair of what looked like airplane goggles on its head and even in the darkness, I could tell it had orange fur. More lighting and thunder. I got a good look at the features of both man and beast and got scared out of my ever-loving mind.
“You can’t be… you’re… you’re... Jak and Daxter! I’m dreaming but, wait, dreams aren’t wet. This is real!? Holy ******** hell! Let go of me you freak! Help!” I was in tears. I was being held by a person that wasn’t supposed to exist. The world began to spin. I was getting too excited and nervous at the same time. I wobbled then the world went black.
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Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:17 pm
Chapter Two: Disbelief! Your World or Mine?
“Owww. My head hurts.” I said as I awoke from dreamland. I kept my eyes closed and began to remember what had happened last night. A fight, a thievery and a person that… my eyes shot open and I sat up. The person! The person with the insanely long ears! I breathed hard and looked around. The walls were grey with spots of white where the wall had been chipped away. The floor was the same gray with a dirty brown rug in the middle of the room.
Concrete?
I tried to move but found that a bit difficult. I looked down and laughed. I was on a ragged, beat up old green couch. The reason I couldn’t move so easily was because my butt had slipped between the cushions. I stopped laughing and realized that I didn’t have a beat up old green couch. I wasn’t at home in my bed awaking to the rising sun shining through my purple curtains. I began to grow nervous. I had done something like this before. I had woken up in my dream. I pinched myself to try and wake up.
“Ouch! Defiantly not a dream! Where am I? Hello?” I lifted myself out from between the cushions and swung my feet so that I was sitting with my back to the back of the sofa. I glanced down at my clothes. They were caked with mud and I still had my shoes on. I hurriedly checked my pockets for my necklace. It was there. I pulled it out to make sure. Yup, the pendant was still on. That man hadn’t taken it. Was the man a dream? Was it in the face of capture I superimposed a more familiar face? My hopes and dreads were answered at that exact moment. The door opened and the man I had seen last night walked in. Even so, I still nearly jumped out of my skin. It was Jak alright. His blonde hair was spiky and the ends were a bright green. He wore the trademark odd goggles. His clothing consisted of a blue tunic and gray pants with arm guards of the familiar Precursor bronze On his back was strapped a very large gun. I could see the large purple ammo stuck into it. Ammo for the Peacemaker. My eyes traveled to his shoulder where what looked like a deformed orange ferret sat but I knew better. It was Daxter, the Ottsel. One of the Precursors. Jak closed the door. He turned around to find me staring at him.
“You’re finally awake.” He went and stood against the wall across from me. My eye nearly bulged out. It even sounded like Jak. If it sounds and looks like a person then it must be that person. I tried retreating out of reality so I could do some thinking but I could feel his eyes. I looked back up and locked eyes. They were angry, unhappy eyes.
Why wouldn’t they be? I mused He’s been through a lot.
I opened my mouth to say something then closed it again and bit my lip.
“You want to say something?” He asked and I jumped a little. I kept wanting to forget he was there.
“Ummm...” How was I going to say this? Hello! I’m Vivian! I’m from another world! I immediately threw that thought out. “I’m Vivian. Where am I?” That was best. Find out where the hell I was although I was afraid I already knew the answer.
“Ok Vivian. You’re in Spargus City. Now I have a question for you.”
“Okay. What is it?” I was very nervous. The world was beginning to spin again but I force myself to stay calm. No need to get overworked over a question.
“What are you?”
The question thoroughly shocked me. What was I? Then I remembered that they were elves and not human.
“Kinda funny actually. I’m human.”
“Human?”
“You know. The most intelligent creatures on Earth. Top of the food chain? Humans.”
“Earth?” My jaw dropped.
“You… you don’t know what Earth is? If you don’t know what Earth is… where are we? What planet?”
“Hell if I care. It’s a mess anyways but you didn’t answer. What is Earth?”
“My planet. Where I come from. You were on it last night. You stole my necklace, remember? I took it back then I fainted and now I’m here.”
“You’re insane. Earth? I was in Haven Forest when I found a hidden path. I found the necklace you talked about but dropped it after I slipped down an embankment. When you came and took away, I thought only of taking back what I thought was mine.”
“Nuh uh. That necklace was and is mine. It belonged to my grandmother. Do you even know what it’s made of?”
“Silver. Diamond. I didn’t know what the purple gem was but I didn’t particularly care. It looked expensive and could sell on the market for a good price.”
“You’re broke?”
“Why should I tell you?”
“Cause... cause... you can trust me!”
“Why should we?” asked the little orange thing.
“Cause I trust you.” I said. Jak looked almost shocked at this answer but he had control over his facial expressions unlike me. It was probably a mix between the fact I didn’t jump at Daxter’s talking and the fact that I did trust him. He probably didn’t get that a lot.
“How can you trust someone who juts tried to steal something from you?” Jak asked.
I began to twiddle my fingers. Cause I know who you are? Cause you are a video game character of whom I adore? It would never work.
“Well?” He was getting a bit impatient. I bit my lip.
“You seem trustable?” I hoped it would fly but by his arching eyebrow, I could tell he saw through my lie.
“Why don’t I put it this way? If you are from a place I have never heard of, how did you know our names? You yelled them out followed by a series of shouts of ‘I’m dreaming’ and ‘Freak’.” He said and uncrossed his arms. He wanted an answer.
I had no choice. Jak had the upper hand. I could try to run but the possibilities of that were slim. He could shoot me or he could grab me. Too many risks so my best chance was to stay put.
“Do you want a lie or the truth?”
“What do you think?”
I sighed.
“Ok. Truth it is. You know, cause I told you, that I’m from another world. Right?”
He nodded.
“In that other world, the planet’s top species is the human. That’s what I am. We consider people like you elves.”
“Ok.” His gaze told me to keep going.
“The problem is, Elves aren’t real. They were made up in some story long ago. You are one of those made up beings. You have your own game made by a game designing company called Naughty Dog. It’s a series called Jak and Daxter, Jak II, Jak 3 and Jak X. Then there is…”
“Wait… I’m not real in your world?” This was Daxter. “How could this be when we are talking to you right this very moment?”
“Don’t ask me!” I threw my hands up as if nothing to hide. “You are game characters! You’re not supposed to exist! Why didn’t you just leave me back there! Why didn’t you let me go? I could have been found and been taken home! Now I’m nowhere near home or my own reality!”
“I didn’t leave you because it was raining and getting colder by the minute not to mention it was a lightning storm. If lightning had hit one of the trees and fallen on you, you wouldn’t ever wake up.” He had his eyes adverted. It was my turn to be shocked. Yes, I had expected it a bit but still.
“You saved me ‘cause you thought I would die? You didn’t even know me.”
“You’re still a kid right?”
“I’m fifteen; hardly considered a kid.”
“You’re a kid by my standards and you had guts. Most people just scream but you ran after me even though I could have had a knife or a gun or even have broken your arms and legs if I caught you. You didn’t turn back.”
I was recalling now. He had stopped and turned back. When I caught up to him, with that flash of light, I had seen an almost surprised/concerned expression on his face. I guess he had expected me to be like the rest.
“How old are you?”
“Don’t remember and don’t care.”
“You say you don’t care about a lot of things but you do and I know you do.” I was serious now. I was going to say all the things I wanted to now. “You care for Daxter. You and he have been buddies since your earliest days. You even were willing to travel all the way to the Dark eco sage to get him back to the way he was. You care for Keira. You even love her and don’t deny it. You want to kiss her even though Daxter has broken it up many times cause he wanted her to look his way. You cared for...”
“What?” He said, a hint of anger in his voice. Electricity was in the air. A sign the beast inside was becoming unstable.
“…” I suddenly shut myself up. I suddenly hit me. Spargus City? He went back to Haven City didn’t he; to brush up on his favorite pastime? I needed a reason to end the conversation.
“I need to sleep.” I lay back down on the couch and closed my eyes and was suddenly whisked away into sleepy land again.
-----
I woke sometime later. I got off the couch and stretched.
Maybe it was a dream.
That thought was crushed when I finally realized where I was, still in the room with the beat up old green couch. I sighed and went to the door. Jak wasn’t in the room anymore and I had to do something about my predicament.
The door was heavy and a bit slippery. Apparently Jak had left and come back since there was a bit of water on the floor. I heaved the door open and stared out into the city. It was raining again. I could see people scurrying in and out of buildings. I spied a tall lizard with a saddle and reigns. I smiled. I loved those Leapers. I stepped out into the downpour and let it slide down my head and face. At least it was raining. It always made me feel better. The wind picked up and blew my hair around. I wouldn’t do anything right now. It was too stormy and I could get lost. I went back inside and took my first good look around. From the entranceway I could see a small kitchen and table. There was another door, presumably to another bedroom. I walked over to it. It was wooden unlike the other door, which was metal. I tried twisting the knob but it was locked. I went over to the kitchen and looked in the fridge. There was milk, eggs, cheese, butter and some meat. I took it out and looked around for a frying pan. The least I could do was provide Jak and Daxter a good meal. They did save me and I always had prided myself in my ability to cook. I found a steel skillet and set it on top of the stove. I looked around for oil and found none. I took out the butter and cut it in half and popped it in. Butter was not oil but it worked. I turned on the stove and proceeded to make omelets.
Jak and Daxter walked in just as I had finished the second omelet.
“You guys hungry?” I asked as I put the omelets on plates and set them on the table with two forks.
“Yah!” Daxter shouted and ran over to the steaming food.
“You can cook?” Jak asked as he came up.
“I pride myself in that skill. Go ahead and eat!” He sat down and proceeded to demolish his food.
“This is great! We haven’t had a decent meal in awhile!” Daxter shouted with his mouth full of food.
“It is good.” Jak agreed then he looked back at me. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“No.” And I wasn’t. Too much excitement. If I ate I might throw up. So, I just smiled, glad they enjoyed my cooking. Then the smile faded and I walked back towards the front door. I was homesick. I knew no one; I had no one to cry on. I opened the door and watched the rain fall down from the clouds. Even in this situation, I wondered how everyone was doing back home.
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2007 4:44 pm
Chapter Three: Vivy's Gone AWAL!
“Tell Mom I’ll be right in. Okay?”
“Ok.” Dillan said as he went inside. He took off his little coat and dropped it on the floor. With his shoes still on, he walked into the kitchen. Maria stood next to the stove, watching a pot of water intently. Dillan walked over and tugged on her apron.
“Mommy? Vivy says she will be back soon.”
“Where is she?” Maria leaned down to be level with her son. He long red hair made a curtain around the sides of her head. Her gray eyes stared intently at Dillan. Her features did not reflect her age of forty-three.
“She dropped her necklace Mommy. She went to find it.” Maria straightened up and put her hands on her hips, turning her head to look at the door.
“I thought I told her to never wear that out. It’s going to get her in trouble someday.”
Maria didn’t know that the day was already there and at work.
-------------
“Vivy! Vivian?” Maria called into the darkness of the backyard. “Vivian! Dinner is ready!” She waited and tried again. Vivian neither responded nor came running. Something was wrong.
“Sissy?” Dillan called. “Mommy where’s sissy?”
“I don’t know Dillan honey.” She took Dillan into her arms and waked into the living room after shutting the door.
“George?” She said. A middle-aged man of about forty-seven looked up from the magazine. His blue eyes were the shade of the ocean after a storm. His back hair had bits of gray here and there but was otherwise a very good looking man, despite his age.
“Yes? What’s wrong?” He got up and went over.
“Vivian hasn’t come back yet. Dillan said she went looking for her necklace. That was almost an hour ago.” George paled a bit. Their daughter always came back to her parents’ calls no matter what the situation.
“I’ll go look for her.” He said and went to grab his coat and rain boots.
“Me too Daddy!” Dillan said and tried to wriggle out of his mother’s arms.
“Me too.” Maria said and she went and got an umbrella.
-----------
“Vivian!”
“Vivy!”
“VIVIAN!”
They walked through the woods. The rain had stopped but the path they were on was still full of mud traps. They scanned the ground with flashlights, looking for footprints. Maria came upon a spot where the ground had been trampled.
“George! George I found footprints!” He came running, carrying Dillan in his arms.
There were footprints all right; two sets of them. They recognized the smaller pair to be their daughter’s. They were going towards the house but were followed by the bigger prints. They suddenly stopped the turned the other direction. Both did. Vivian had gone after the person. They were in bigger strides. Running. George, Maria with Dillan followed them until they found a big area where a scuffle had taken place.
“She must have caught him.” Maria said.
“Or he caught her.” George said and bit his lip.
“No. Look here.” Maria pointed out a point where both peoples’ momentum had suddenly been stopped. The smaller prints were in the back. “She caught him.”
The prints turned into a large spot where the mud had been suddenly pushed aside. Someone had fallen in. It was a small body and next to it was an undefined spot of squished plants and bushes. Their daughter had fallen and had not gotten up since only one pair of prints went away from the area.
“Then where is she?” Maria turned to her husband.
“He must have taken her.” The sky was getting darker. Long shadows turned into patches of black in the deeper part of the woods. They followed the prints when suddenly they just cut off as if the person had disappeared into thin air.
“George. We have to go call the police.” He nodded and they headed back to the house with great fear for their daughter’s well being.
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2007 4:45 pm
Chapter Four: Houston, We Have A Major Problem.
“Is this really reality?” I said as I lay upon the couch. Jak had gone out leaving the sleepy Daxter behind. I had taken my shoes off and cleaned them. My clothes were still dirty but the caked mud had finally dried enough to be able to rub it off. I wondered where Jak went.
“As real as anything.” Daxter yawned and climbed on the couch with me. I pulled him onto my stomach and petted him as I would my cat, Nightshade. His fur was so soft. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine my living room. Being in the bay window with a book and my cat. She would jump up and demand attention or she would bite me. This was the reason I called her Nightshade. She was sleek with shiny black fur but had a nasty attitude. My mother, my brother and I were the only ones she really liked. My dad wasn’t much of a cat person and my friends never paid attention to her. I giggled at the memory of when I brought her home. He was so mad but he let me keep her anyways.
“What’s so funny?” Daxter asked. He sounded groggy. I bet if he could purr, he would.
“Nothing... just a memory.” I said. Daxter shrugged and settled down to sleep. I kept rubbing his belly until my eyes finally began to droop. I stopped and took Daxter into my arms like I would a teddy bear and began to slip away when a loud noise outside brought me to full attention. I sat up with sleepy Daxter still in my arms.
“What was that?” I looked down. “DAXTER!” He jerked awake and looked up.
“What?” He didn’t like to be woken up.
“What was the noise? It-”
BAM
Another one. Bigger. It sounded like an explosion.
“That?” Daxter asked.
“That.” I said.
“Just a scuffle. Happens quite often. Wastelanders seem to trust no one. I ran into one the other day and ended up getting shocked.” He rubbed his butt at the memory and I giggled. “What’s so funny?”
“You!” I laughed and squeezed him tight. It felt good to laugh. I didn’t want to stop but eventually I had to wipe the tears away and catch my breath. Daxter just looked confused.
“Sorry. I needed that. You just looked so funny.” I grinned and then settled back down. “Where did Jak go anyways?” I asked, settling down again for a nap.
“To see Damos.” I shot up. The force made Daxter fly off the other end of the couch.
“Damos?!”
“The hell was that for?!” Daxter yelled as he got up and climbed back onto the far arm.
“You said Damos?” I asked slowly. Damos! He died near the end of Jak III. The car!
“Yah! Damos. The King of Spargus City? Anything ringing a bell?”
“Yah...too many to count.” I breathed hard. I was right! He hadn’t died! “What did he go to see him for?”
“He summoned him to collect some artifacts but I was too tired to go along and since you were here…. Figured you would need someone to look after you!” Daxter sounded triumphant but I broke his pride.
“You just wanted to be petted.” I laughed but my heart was racing. If he was out on a simple collection mission, that meant I needed more information. “Whatever. That is not the point. I do know Spargus City. Real well. How many battle medals has he won?”
“One so far. Why?” He asked, getting a bit suspicious.
“Just wanted to know.” Good. He wasn’t as far as I thought. If I estimated my time records correctly, I would have been here in a matter of hours in Hero mode… and not in Hero mode. I shook my head. This wasn’t the game. This was real. If things played out, I would be able to make a countdown calendar to his death but that wasn’t the problem.
I knew the future of everyone’s lives right now. I had the power to change Damos’s future. I could be able to tell him who his son is; what happened to him and stuff like that. I could prevent his, on the current course, inevitable death when he heeds Jak’s call for help.
I looked further and further into the problem and found that even that wasn’t the true issue. The issue was...
Should I tell them?
--------------
About another hour passed and Jak wasn’t back yet. I was still digesting the new information that Daxter had inadvertently given me.
Holy s**t. Mother of flying monkey balls. s**t…. What am I going to do? I should... Should I? Maybe...
My thoughts were all fragments. It was too much. I had to do something to help me concentrate. I lifted the sleeping Daxter quietly and then, with almost perfect silence, I put on my shoes and slipped out the door.
The sky was cloudless now with the desert sun beating upon every surface. Stone buildings sat upon raised ground with curtains of many colors in almost every window. Some of them had potted plants out on the doorstep and it almost looked peaceful. Almost. You could tell each house had seen its better days since all were cracked in some area, some severely. I looked up the street and saw a group of people chatting about who knows what and felt a pang of envy. I wished I could be doing that with my friends at that moment. I looked down the street and noticed for the first time that I was near the marketplace. I stepped off the landing and went down the few stairs. I looked back up at the house and looked around, memorizing the location. I liked landmarks. The market was the biggest. I turned towards the market and walked at a slow, easy pace, taking everything in. I could smell fruits I couldn’t put a name to, see vegetables that were in odd colors and feel the wool of animals I would long to see. Everything was new.
But as I walked, I saw people giving me strange looks. My ears! They weren’t long and pointy like theirs. I smiled nervously and made a beeline for the rocky cliffs overhanging the body of water on the eastern part of the town. I sat down and let my eyes play over the terrain, spotting many familiar sights. I pulled up my pants and let the sea spray hit them. I sighed. If a place like this were back on Earth, I would go there everyday. Lake Sammamish was too cold to do things like this. I felt the heat and lay back onto the sandy dirt. The sun slowly sapped my strength and I felt my eyelids droop. They had just shut when a shadow crossed my face. I cracked an eye open to see who it was and immediately teleported thirty feet away.
“Holy Sh..!” I said and grabbed my chest where my heart was currently running the mile. The man who had been standing over me was a good 6’6 with broad shoulders and tanned skin. One of his eyes was covered by a red monocle looking thing, similar to the one on Jak’s headband, while the other eye was a soft shade of green. He wore shining gray armor unlike Jak’s precursor bronze. He had an air of authority but also one of kindness. You could tell just by looking at him that he was a loyal friend but he could also scare you to death if you were on his bad side. Over his shoulder was slung a gun that was almost as big as I was and I was 5’5. Wouldn’t a four to five foot gun scare you? Especially when you knew what IT fired?
Sig…
“That has got to be the fastest I’ve ever seen someone run!” He said in astonishment and laughed. Then the smile disappeared and he got serious. “Well, anyways, who are you? I’ve never seen a person like you.”
What could I say? My heart was still going a mile a minute, my throat was dry and I was still eyeing that giant gun he had. Not to mention he had a good foot over me so I actually had to lean my head back to see him. So, in order to break the silence, I said the first thing that came to my mind… or rather things.
“You’re tall… please don’t hurt me.” I said and felt like disappearing into nothingness. He scared the crap out of me. Yah, I had said I wanted to meet him but that is saying. Saying is usually a lot harder than doing except in certain situations when the matter is forced on you, as was the case. Even so, it was still hard.
“Don’t hurt you? Now why would I do that, unless you give me a reason to be? Now, who are you?”
My bottom lip quivered and my mouth hung open a little. I still really wished that this wasn’t reality but this had to be the rudest wakeup call ever.
“I’m...Vivian. I’m not from around here.”
“So I noticed.” He said bluntly. I reached up and felt my round ears. I wanted to run. To go hide and be the coward that I felt like being at that point.
“Can I go now?” I asked. I heard my voice peter out into a tiny whisper. He arched an eyebrow but said nothing. I took this as a good sign. I began to trot away when a pressing question came to the forefront of my mind. I already knew the answer but thought if I needed to address him, I should address him by the name he knew I knew.
“What’s your name?”
“Sig.”
I nodded and went back towards my temporary home. I hoped it wouldn’t be for long. I needed to get home. My parents were probably going nuts, I was missing school and my friends were probably sick with worry. I walked along the road and came up to the porch. I really didn’t want to go inside. It would make me think about the urgent and pressing issue at hand that I didn’t feel like taking care of at that moment. I looked back up the street. If I knew Spargus as well as I thought, the elevator to the throne room was up that road and to the right. I sighed and lay back on the cool stone. The sun was in a position of three P.M. My internal clock was suffering badly. It said it was time to sleep but it was three, not ten. My brain was still trying to inject some sense into the situation and it was making my head hurt. I began to hum as a way of calming myself; otherwise, I was going to drive myself insane. My eyelids began to droop again and I did not fight it. I fell asleep right there on the porch, dreaming beautiful dreams of sunshine.
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2007 4:52 pm
Chapter Five: X+Y+Z=Problems
WARNING: Math Problems Ahead!
It must have been several hours later when I was finally awoken because the sky was dark and the stars were out. I wouldn’t have woken up myself but someone was persistent. I kept feeling something nudging and tapping my side.
“Go… away… Nightshade. It’s too early.” I moaned and rolled over. I felt it again and waved it away, trying to pull up non-existent covers. When I found there were no covers, I sat up, half asleep and felt around for them. When I felt what I was on, I began to wake up a lot faster. I looked around and saw who had been nudging me and groaned. It was Jak.
“Don’t you know better than to wake a girl when she’s sleeping?” I asked, rubbing my eyes to rid them of the major crusties that had formed.
“Would you rather sleep out here?” He asked, dripping ******** no, but you could have shaken me awake. Poking is annoying.”
“It got you awake, didn’t it?” He arched an eyebrow and I sighed.
“Yah yah. Did you just get...” I searched for the right word since ‘home’ was the only word came to mind. “Here?”
“No, but it was still light out. Figured you’d wake yourself.” He said as he opened the door and went inside. I groaned and followed.
“You could have woken me. My internal clock is trying to follow my sun schedule and now I probably won’t sleep tonight. Thanks.” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “How long was out anyways?”
“’Bout three hours. Maybe four.” Aww Geez. Defiantly slept too long. Just then, my stomach gave off such a loud growl that even Jak, who was ten feet away, turned to look at me. I groaned again.
“Damn it…” I said and went up to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and saw nothing of use to cook with.
“What are you doing?” Jak asked, coming up to my right.
“I’m hungry. I’m going to either A. Make myself food or B. Find food I can eat without cooking. Seeing as you have neither…” I closed the fridge and went towards the outside door. “I’m going to go get some.”
“I wouldn’t go out there right now. A sandstorm is coming in.” Jak said. I stopped and turned to Jak.
“Well then. What, dear sir, are you going to feed me then? I haven’t eaten since lunchtime yesterday in my reality. I. Need. Food.” I said, emphasizing the word ‘Food’. I turned back around and opened the door. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Vivian! Wa…” I didn’t wait to hear the rest. I was hungry and I was going to solve the problem. I shut the door behind me and ran towards the market. I didn’t have any money but I had friends who knew how to steal small items and some larger ones. They, being my friends, had passed this knowledge to me. While I had never used it, my friends helped me practice in case I needed it.
The market was just closing up. The wind began to pick up and blew some sand around. The stars were beginning to get fuzzy from all the sand in the air and I had to shield my eyes. I saw a vendor who had turned away from his fruit to take care of something. I snuck over and grabbed a couple pieces and ran. Unfortunately, I didn’t run the right direction but I couldn’t stop. I needed to get out of sight.
I didn’t hear any cries for help or the sounds of firing guns so I slowed my pace and ducked behind a building. I looked down at the fruit. It looked odd, kind of like an apple mixed with a dragon fruit. I shrugged and took a bite. The taste shocked me. It was sour with a pinch of sweetness in there. It was good but odd. I took another bite and stole a glance at my surroundings. The storm was getting worse. I had to find shelter. The only place that looked even remotely inviting was up a long flight of stairs and into the battle arena. I took it. I wouldn’t find my way back to Jak’s house at this point. I would get even more turned around. I reached the top and was greeted by huge doors. They opened and I ran inside.
“Oh thank God.” I said as I watched them shut. I was safe for now.
It was rather hot in there.
Well duh. Stupid me. There is lava in here.
I looked about. The walls were brown with a brown floor; a certain stone that I didn’t recognize. The only light came from lamps hanging from the ceiling. I looked at the door just a few yards from where I stood.
“If memory serves, that is the actual battle arena.” I muttered as I walked over to it. I pressed my ear against the door and listened. There were no shouts or cheering, no guns. Nothing. I let out a sigh of relief. There was no one to disturb me. I sat down and lay my head against the wall. Thanks to Jak not waking me, I was going to be awake for a long time. The sand storm didn’t look like it would let up either so, I had a while. I had time to think everything through. Make my mind see that it isn’t a dream; it’s real. I felt the sand; I tasted the fruit and even smelled Jak and Daxter. I had irrefutable proof that it wasn’t a dream but still.
“Okay. Think this through like a math problem. It’s what you’re good at. Okay. Make Jak variable X, Daxter variable Y and me variable Z. X+Y=X+Y. That is certain. Now add a variable to one side of the equation. X+Y+Z…equals what? X+Y+Z certainly does not equal X+Y. A new variable must be added to the other side of the equation to equal the same outcome. You would have to add Z to the other side too.”
But I don’t wanna be on the other side of that equation.
This just created more questions with no answers.
“And another thing, if he was in Haven forest, why did he drag me all the way back here to Spargus? Samos and Keira probably would be more help and I would be away from the walking, breathing, LIVING issue that I could run into at any moment.” I said and looked around nervously.
Why am I nervous? He would only come in here for a battle. No one is going out in that storm now. I shouldn’t worry.
But I was. I was worrying to the max. Worrying about my chances of getting home, about my future, about my family, about everything. Even about school! And I hated school!
“X+Y+Z has to equal X+Y+Z. You can’t change it. Make it 2+3+4. That equals 9. 9 has to equal 9 unless imaginary numbers come into play and I don’t know those yet!” I pulled on my hair in frustration. “I’m a random variable thrown into said equation. Therefore, I have…I have to come out on the other side.” It finally dawned on me. This universe would not proceed as planned because of me! It means all I know, knew and will know will be thrown off balance.
Holy s**t monkeys. Could this mean he won’t die?
It was an unlikely possibility but still a possibility no less. I smacked my head against the wall again and again until a headache formed. This wasn’t like a book where I could peek ahead to see how something is done or what someone does to make that something happen.
“Too. SMACK! Many. SMACK! Questions! SMACK!” More hitting of the head against the wall. Tears welled up from pain and confusion so I put my head in between my legs and began to sob. This was too much. I couldn’t handle it at the moment. Anyways, crying always made things better. So I just cried for at least a good hour or so until they just stopped coming out.
“I wonder if the storm is dead yet.” I asked myself as I wiped my eyes. I got up and went over to the door. It opened and I covered my eyes in case the storm was still wreaking havoc upon the city. When I didn’t feel any sand on my skin, I slowly lowered my hand to find I could see the stars with perfect clarity.
“Ohh finally!” I said, exasperated. I could now go back to Jak’s but, I looked up again, stargazing had always been a hobby of mine. I sat down on the top step and stared at all the constellations. I recognized none of them of course since the stars in this universe were arranged differently but stars were stars; they were pretty no matter what. I let my eyes play over the sparkling beauties until they found something very questionable. Over to the left from where I sat was a star much bigger and brighter, its purple light foreboding. It took me a minute to recognize that that ‘star’ was actually the Dark Maker’s ship making its way towards this planet.
Problem Number 2. Dark Maker Ship. Great. This just makes my day SO much better.
Staring up at the foreboding ship, I came to a conclusion.
I will never, EVER, complain about our world being too problematic again.
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Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:31 pm
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:29 pm
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Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 4:19 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 12:21 pm
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:39 pm
Chapter Six: The Worried Family
The day after Vivian’s family called the police, they arrived at the house to search the premises and talk to them.
In the kitchen, Maria fidgeted in her seat as she waited for the policeman to finish talking to her five-year-old son.
Where are you, Vivian?
She looked around and waited a little longer. About five minutes later, he came in and finished writing the boy’s responses. He sat down in the chair across from her. He put the pad of paper on the table and began.
“What was the time you saw your daughter last?”
“It was about an hour before she went out. I was up on the computer and did not see her leave the house. She told me, though, where she was going.”
“Do you know of any of her friends who might have invited her over and she went without your knowledge?”
“No! She would never do a thing like that!” Maria cried, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Calm down. I’m just doing my job.” She stared at him with a harsh glare but finally settled back down. “Ok. Does your daughter, to your knowledge, do any sort of drugs including alcohol or smoking?”
“No. Not to my knowledge. She always tells me what she is doing.”
“Okay.” He jotted her responses on the pad of paper and continued. “Is your daughter on good relations with you, your husband and your son?”
“Yes! We get into fights sometimes but, you know how kids are. We are on very good relations.”
“So, your daughter had no reason to run away?”
“Even if she did, how does that explain the disappearance of the tracks?”
“We don’t know M’am. We are looking into it.”
He got up and nodded to her.
“We’ll let you know when we find something.” And with that, he left.
Maria could see the camera flashes outside. They were taking pictures of the footprints and the area of struggle. Not to mention the area of the disappearance of the tracks. A couple of tears streaked down Maria’s cheeks. She was so worried and afraid. She knew her daughter was strong but, if she had been kidnapped, which was looking to be the number one possibility, could she handle it? Would she be all right?
Would they get her back in one piece?
That was worried her the most. Would Vivian be the same? Maria had heard stories of children getting kidnapped and then coming home empty. They were shells of their former selves. She loved her daughter’s personality, her spunk, her resourcefulness, and her kindness.
Her thoughts were dissipated when her son came into the room.
“Where is sissy mommy? Where did she go? Why are there strange men all over?” Dillan asked, looking up at his mother with big eyes. Maria picked him up and placed him in her lap.
“I don’t know baby. I don’t know where your sister is but the men outside are going to help find her. Just you watch. She’ll be back soon.” Maria didn’t like lying to her son but what could she do? She didn’t know where her daughter was and couldn’t possibly tell him where she had gone.
George entered the room and put a hand on Maria’s shoulder.
“Maria, Dillan. Why don’t we go out while the police do their business? Let’s go to the park. The fresh air will do us good.”
Maria nodded. She knew she would still worry but being inside would drive her stir crazy eventually; sitting by the phone, waiting for the police to tell them they had found her daughter. “Come on Dillan. Why don’t you get your coat?” She put her son down but he didn’t move. He shook his head vigorously and pumped his hands up and down as if throwing a tantrum.
“No! I don’t wanna get my coat! I want Vivy! I want my sister!” He cried, tears dribbling down his cheeks, his face screwed up into a serious frown. Maria and George looked at each other then picked up their son and held him close, letting their own tears go.
“We know sweetie but she’s not here. We don’t know where she is. We can’t do anything…” Maria said softly, trying to comfort her son.
There stood the family, broken and crying, all worried for their daughter.
And their daughter?
Let’s just say she wasn’t acting like the brightest bulb.
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