Shifters

The Unknown

Only after leaping into the nothingness did Joana realize her mistake. Rather than the prearranged safe teleport she'd painstakingly installed, her destination had been greatly altered. Reacting swiftly, she attempted a forceful portal jump. Despite her quick thinking, nothing happened. Just as she'd figured, the surrounding energy was too volatile to trigger even the simplest of rifts. However, her efforts weren't completely in vain. In doing so, the speed at which she'd been falling drastically decreased. Taking note of this Joana repeatedly tried tearing space until eventually she slowed to a halt.

Floating in the midst of the void, she lurched forward as a wave of nausea rolled over her. Stifling the urge to throw up, she immediately realized that she was no longer floating but standing on a blackened, cobble path. As the feeling passed completely, she straightened to find herself in a long dark corridor.

Joana looked around trying to assess her current situation. Behind her was a wall of nothingness while the front held a pathway leading to the unknown. Josh was nowhere to be seen yet she could still feel the warmth of his presence, which either meant he was nearby or her constant spatial tampering had disintegrated him, spreading his essence around her. Deciding to go with the more positive option, she ascertained that he was nearby, yet out of sight, possibly undergoing a similar situation as hers.

Unable to contact him, her goal reverted to escaping, figuring he'd try to do the same. Slowly wandering through the corridor, she recalled the various stories, of figures far more powerful than her, falling into this void-like abyss. It was generally referred to as the Spatial Stream, the very bane of her existence. Unlike the tales however, the environment wasn't as harsh as they'd proclaimed.

'Could it be an exaggeration or was she elsewhere?' she wondered as she travelled.

Moving steadily, Joana inched closer to the walls, trying to inspect it's surface. Passing a hand on it's surface revealed it to be made of a softer dark material.

'What if he was on the other side?' she thought.

"Josh!" she called, "can you hear me?"

With no audible response, she decided to push further against the flexible wall. Perhaps with enough force, she could break through. Pressing forward, the material began to tear, until finally it gave way. The moment it happened, instant regret set in. Almost immediately, Josh's presence disappeared as cold, dark energy flowed through the gap freezing her body in place. As it washed over, her energy began to deplete rapidly.

"Barrier," Joana tried, weakly.

To her surprise, it worked, a barrier of energy cocooned around her. Although it didn't block out the cold completely, it was enough to restore movement to her limbs. Unsure why her power had returned, she thought it best not to try deciphering the cause. At the moment, her goal was to escape this place. Trying once more to open a portal, a tear flickered in the darkness slowly widening until the expansion halted. Realization sunk in, as she noticed the gap was far too small for her to pass through as too much of her energy had been siphoned.

"Oh well," she muttered, "the mission comes first."

Using every bit of her remaining strength, she calibrated the portal's destination and threw the items she and her companions had risked their lives to attain. As they entered, the last of her energy dried up and the portal collapsed in on itself. With a brilliant flash, the force pushed her through the barrier. She careened through the nothingness, inflicted by the dark energy until something stopped her propulsion. Through blurred vision, she spotted a figure gliding towards her. Before they arrived, the darkness encroached and her consciousness faded.

* * *

Joana snapped awake, body resting on a pile of blankets. Alertness in full swing, she sat up slowly surveying her surroundings. She was situated in what appeared to be a cave. Deciding it'd be best to take a look around, she moved to the edge. Kicking off the blanket draped over her, she attempted to stand only to be struck by a dizzy feeling. As it passed, she unsteadily hopped to her feet. Nearing the entrance, another dose of dizziness swarmed her this time accompanied by nausea. Using the misshapen wall as a crutch, she supported her weight until the feeling once again passed. Resuming her trek, she made it out the twisted tunnel to be greeted by a vast lake. She spotted Josh at the water's edge staring at his hand.

Pushing forward, she managed to sneak up right behind him, "Josh are you ok?"

Startled, he jumped suddenly, stumbling into the cold water. His reaction, was met with a soft giggle.

"I guess you're fine," she chuckled, offering him a hand, "now tell me where are we and how did we get here?"

Grasping the outstretched hand, he pulled himself out, "To answer your questions, no I'm not fine. As for how we got here, I think I'm responsible for that," he replied.

As they returned to their makeshift abode, Josh recounted his experience, carefully omitting the part where he thought of leaving her behind. Joana listened in silent disbelief as he spoke then proceeded to tell her own tale. Josh listened intently, eyes widening at her close calls.

"One thing doesn't add up," she finished, "where'd you get the blankets?"

"Oh," he grinned, "those aren't blankets."

Turning, she reexamined the soft material only to see strange patterns embroidered on it, following them with her fingers, she came upon a large yellow shaft as long as a spear.

Her gaze drifted at Josh abruptly, "this is..."

"Make no mistake," he said, "I was just as surprised as you when I realized. It's a leaf. Also this isn't a cave, it's more like a mangled tree root."

"This is imposs-," she stopped abruptly. Joana knew that there was no such thing as impossible. If one could imagine it, it was a possibility. However, the stories never mentioned anything like this. As the wonders of the tree began to fester in her mind, she suddenly remembered her mission, "How long have I been out?"

"Not long, when I came through that portal or whatever, we landed at the bottom of that lake, I got you to shore, and we dried off using the leaves, which by the way, they seem to love this water a lot, they absorbed all of it off of us," he rambled noticing Joana's annoyed expression, he continued, "ah sorry, I don't exactly have a clock with me but if I had to guess, i'd say it's been 5 or so hours since we exited that place."

"I see," she said falling to her knees.

"Are you ok?" Josh asked, alarmed.

"We don't have much time," she said, "Those items are very important to me and to the people who are counting on it to be delivered. I've sent them away to a safe location for now but The Order will probably be able to track it down. I need to get there first."

"What about this place, shouldn't we at least see the tree before we leave?"

"No time, exploration comes later, first I've a mission to complete. The sooner we get back is the sooner you'll have your questions answered as well."

Josh did not respond but stared at her in silence as she rose from the floor.

Joana lapsed into a trance of sorts as she began to chant quietly. In doing so, the earth beneath them shifted violently.

"What's happening?" He shouted over the constant rumbling.

She did not respond but instead continued her chanting. Dust particles slowly began to gather in front of Joana as her chant grew audible, "....the blood and the earth share a bond, for I and this place have become one!"

On completion, iridescent energy flowed from Joana, into the dust particles, fusing into a beautiful, jagged crystal. Her eyes glistened brightly as she stared at the crystal. Waving a hand, it flew directly into her palm, leaving no trace that it existed.

"What was that?" Josh questioned loudly, still affected by the now ceased tumbling of the earth.

"This is basically our way back," she replied, " there's no guarantee we'll find this place again so an anchor was definitely needed. Certainly takes a lot out of me though. Now this isn't the time for small talk, we need to leave before The Order finds the artefacts before we do."

"Shouldn't you rest first?" he asked worriedly, "you don't look so good."

"I've wasted enough time," she retorted tearing through space, "it's now or never, Trust me."

"That's what you said last time," Josh frowned, earning a glare.

Jogging to her side he looked into the open gateway and sighed. Taking her hand once more, they jumped through.