Portals & Realms

Chapter 19 - Hopes and Dreams

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"I will be unable to assist you in your fight against Ghost... my power has been drained and I cannot continue the fight. I will use the last remnants of my power and my time to bring you helpful items and weapons and people, but when this conflict ends, I will no longer be able to do anything, and I will have to go back to Aeonia. My time as a Watcher is nearly up..."
"Portal I don't know if we can win. He's... he is capable of destroying worlds, implementing imposters and maybe even more. He has four powerful forms and I don't know how to fight or do any magic."
"Lucio taught you some techniques before he got blocked off by Ghost right? Just remember that and... well you have magic and knowledge on your side. You have wings that you can use, and you have more magic that will simply come to you. The familiars you all possess... they came to you five last night yes?"
"Of course! I have Kenai... the... um.."
"Kenai, the albino Phillipine Eagle."
"Yeah. God she's HUGE, I didn't know birds got so big."
"Well they do. Mae, you must trust your instincts. You are of the Watcher breed, and when my power dwindles and it is your time, you will be able to rise to my position and take my place with the power I bestow. You will be able to do more than now if you use it wisely. But that is only if you prove that you are indeed worthy of the title of a Watcher. I was sent to bring you on this adventure because the others told me that you were the one destined to have such a duty placed on you next. But it was also the fact that you were tied to Ghost, and in order to defeat him, we needed someone close to him."
"I'm... of the what breed?"
"Nevermind that now. It's time. Today you fight and kill Ghost. And you will live and continue to become the one you are shaping up to be. Wake up Mae, and go kick his ass."
Mae now was standing in front of a ragtag group of people (and a dragon), a pile of objects on the floor. She was standing with her arms crossed and a stern look on her face, though she was panicking underneath it all. Would she die? Would everyone else die? Would they fail? PM had his head slightly ducked down so his horns didn't pierce the ceiling, and his wings tucked in as tight as they could go. Dimitri was now ready again in his armor, which was his default armor appearance with his cape left on the floor in the other room. Areadbhar was on the kitchen table, as was Ein's knife, and three other swords that were brought over by Aiden since he had collected them a long time ago.
    "So, what's our plan? How are we going to defeat him?" Aaron asked, leaning against the wall.
    "Good question. I have somewhat of a plan," she said and took a deep breath, her headache having already subsided, but her anxiety not. "Aph, you and Julian will be in charge of getting everyone out of here safely. If you see any civilians on the street, you need to get them to safety."
    "How will we do that?"
    "Aiden owns land where he boards horses. He has two of his own, and apparently a Pokemon trainer has been brought here with two horse-like pokemon. Maybe you two can team up with him and start bringing people to safety. That way if each of you have a horse big enough to carry another person, three or more people can be saved. Then again, your job will just be to ensure that everyone stays indoors," Mae stopped and thought for a moment, looking at a small piece of paper she wrote down some ideas on. If anyone wanted to object to her decisions, then they were all free to. I know this entire situation more than they do. If they have anything to say, it should be Elvadoer fessing up and apologizing for bringing us all here instead of blaming it all on me. "Ok so Aph, Julian, Noa, Kigu... oh! Ok me, Perri and PM will be the opening attack force since we can fly and all, but PM will carry Annika, and Perri, you will carry Ein. Same people as us running from the cops, but-"
    Ramille stepped forward and pointed a hand at her, "you can't fly, remember?"
    "I can, somehow. I saw something and in it, I had wings that spanned off my arms, or they were on my back. I don't... remember exactly but! Rest assured, I can fly," she reassured, "I don't necessarily want anyone on my back in a worst case scenario that I can't fly or that something goes wrong. Ok so that leaves Aaron, Dimitri, Xolo, Elvadoer, Dante, Ramille, the other horse pokemon, and whoever else ends up in this mess for the ground fighting against the weaker demons."
    "What about Aiden?"
    "He's going to do ground fighting as well. I never said that he was lacking in a sword of his own did I?" Mae let out a laugh and looked at Annika, "plus, he has something else to fight with."
    Everyone stayed silent as the plan boiled over in their heads with how much they believed in this plan. In the midst of the silence, a knock came to the door and Mae mouthed a "one moment" as she went down the hall to the front door. As she peered out the window, she was met with the smiling face of someone she could actually recognize, followed by another face. She unlocked the door and opened it, "Aiden, just in time. And... Noa?"
    The male behind Aiden nodded. He had blue hair, two piercings in each ear, and had on a very Pokemon-y outfit. "That's me."
    "We were all just finishing up preparations and telling the plan to everyone. How bad is the sky?"
    "Bad. It's a bunch of thin yellow cracks. It's all over the news now, people are panicking. I actually came by to make sure now would be a good time to send out the hacked message, since I did want to hear it for myself."
    She stepped aside and let the two male's in as Aiden hurried into the front room, slipping between Ramille and Julian to the TV behind them. Noa walked in slower, and when Mae was shutting the door, she swore she saw other faces back there, but didn't wish to say anything. Once again she closed the door, but didn't lock it, and walked into the front room behind Noa. The group had turned around now, still slightly squished together as he turned on the TV and changed it to HDMI 1, the screen flipping to life as some random show was playing. "Let's see this magic happen," he whispered, a small smile planted on his face like this was some evil scheme. He unlocked his phone and tapped into a few things, and then placed it back in his pocket. Now, they waited.
    The screen stayed on the show as the group watched it anxiously. "What did you do to make the announcement... thing?" PM asked and looked at the screen curiously. He had just learned what a television was last night along with Dimitri and Julian, so it made sense he was confused.
    Aiden laughed, "glad you asked. I have advanced equipment at home that is powerful enough for me to do my regular job and program schedules and make calls, but I specifically buy equipment for powerful ideas and actions. Mostly it's for music or for game design since I help with that, but I have delved into the realm of some hacking. Not for malicious purposes, but to undergo the datamines of dangerous websites and report them. So I simply recorded myself talking, explained the situation at hand, and then linked up my entire system to the internet lines and made it so those lines connected to the satellites, and a specific area of coverage was made.
    "So, with all that coverage and technology, I hooked up a specific time for the message to play on the devices and radios and cars hooked to the internet. And right now, or around now, the message will play on the devices. Since everyone, or mostly everyone is inside their houses, buildings, shelters, or even the schools since they are open for shelter specifically to the students who got there that morning before the cracks appeared, it will reach the most people possible."
    Julian shook his head, "you lost me halfway through that, but if you are sure this will work, I must believe you."
    "As will I," PM nodded and groaned as he stretched out his neck, his bones cramping a little since his head had to be ducked slightly almost all the time. "I would never have said this before, but I must put my faith in you. I was brought here to save my new family, and though I am in a different skin then what I usually look like, it feels like this experience will stick with me a long time."
    The TV flickered and it went to a black and grey screen, Aiden immediately shushing everyone. There were three thin grey bars on the left, right, and bottom of the screen, but across the top was a thicker grey bar with the words "ANNOUNCEMENT, PLEASE LISTEN". Noa leaned on the back of the couch and squished between Elvadoer and Aph.
    "Attention all persons getting this recorded message, this program requires a moment of your time. Please listen carefully," the recording started off with a more robotic voice, but there was a hint of Aiden in there. Like he might've used a voice changer so his identity couldn't be immediately tracked. "As you may be aware, yellow cracks have formed in the sky, and also there were sights of three dragon-like creatures yesterday attempting to evade police. They mean you and your family no harm. I am, infact, partnered with creatures you may be afraid of. Please, do not be scared. Do not go out and panic buy or try to harass others in fear they may be one of these creatures. I ask for you to stay indoors where you are, or go and seek shelter in a shop or your home at this time."
    "Wow, very reassuring with this cryptic language," Aaron said sarcastically.
    "Shh, let's listen," Aph responded.
    "A very powerful being is planning to erupt from these cracks and is specifically attempting to kill us, not you or your friends and family. However, we fear that if you are in the way or direct sight of him, he will then change his attention to you. That is why we ask you all to stay indoors and inside, not outside or spectating unless we, the group of fighters, request help. Police will not interfere with our fight, but instead will provide coverage of what may be going on outdoors for you to know. They will be tasked with saving those outside or in a difficult place, and with potentially putting out any fires or quickly cleaning up rubble that will inevitably happen. As well as escorting anyone potentially injured to a safe spot. Once again, we simply ask you to stay indoors and out of sight, and that there is nothing to worry about regarding this unsettling situation. We thank you for your cooperation, and only ask in return for you to follow what we have said, and for respect."
    The TV flickered once and it returned back to the show at hand, everyone sighing or nodding, or even mumbling something under their breath. Mae grabbed the remote, but before she could, the TV flickered back to the grey screen. Except this time, there was a red and black background behind the bars.
    "I thought you just added a message?"
    "Nope, I added this part last night Annika."
    "As you may not be aware, we will show you who is on your side in this fight. We have three dragons as of making this message, since more allies may join our battle tomorrow or later after this is concluded. These three dragons are shown on screen. On the left is Flower, the draconic form of Perri, one of the five adults who went missing those weeks ago. In the middle is PM, a brave soul who traveled between worlds to get here. And on the right is Mae, another one of the adults who went missing," the screen stayed on the images of the three of them briefly before switching to a blank one. "And here are the names of everyone else fighting as of us recording this message: Elvadoer, Dante and Ramille, the last three of the five adults who vanished. Aphmau, Aaron, Ein, Julian, Annika, Noa, Edo, Kigu, and Dimitri. Some of you may recognize these names. This is the end of the broadcast. Thank you."
    "Do you think everyone will actually listen to this broadcast?"
    Aiden shrugged, backing off of the couch. "I don't know. Some might still go outside and panic and harass others, but that's just the nature of some people. We can't change that. What we can change is the future of this world... you guys will win, right?"
    Julian nodded, "of course we will. He is a one man army with expendable demon lackeys he can spawn in. The demons can barely hurt you as long as you stay aware, we just have to knock down as his draconic demon form, and then his other hippity hoppity dragon form, and then his african wild dog fighter form, and then we get down to who he really is and bam, threat defeated."
What if we can't do this. What if we do die? What if we fail and the world is doomed and no one will ever be able to grow up or do the things they wanted to do today or tomorrow or even in a year...?
    Mae sighed, "We better get going. The middle of all the cracks is by the golf course. If we don't hurry, he could come here quicker than we expected," she walked off from the group, her head pounding as she could feel her blood rushing every second that went by. "I'm counting on every single one of you."
    Elvadoer, Ramille, Ein, and Annika each grabbed a sword off of the table, and Dimitri held Areadbhar in his hands. Aiden had a shotgun that NO ONE saw him carry inside the house, and then Aph pulled out a small pistol of her own. "We are counting on you too. Don't screw up," Elvadoer said coldly. Part of Mae feared she was going to attack her right there and now, but if she was to survive this fight, then her and Elva would fight afterwards.
    Xolo nodded behind everyone and opened up the back doors, letting himself and PM out through the back. Everyone else slowly filed behind Mae as they exited the front door, the sunlight washing over their skin. That's not the sun. That's the yellow cracks in the sky. Mostly everyone looked up at the thick clouds hanging above, no rain yet falling, but the cracks cutting through the air. They pulsed as if something was alive in there, worming and growing in power and moving to the center to explode into life. Like a newborn nearly out of the womb in a white walled hospital. Perri stepped off to the side and extended her arms in front of her, her entire body shifting. Her arms and legs grew as thin claws came from her nails, and a tail swayed. Her clothes shrunk into the human form she hoped would resurface later, and then she opened her eyes. Flower was alive.
    The back gate to the house swung open as PM and Xolo walked out, shutting it again and standing at the top of the driveway. Leaning on the fence post was a shadowed figure and two tied horses, the ones Aiden must've brought along. "Huh? Who are you?"
    The person turned towards the group and rolled their eyes. "Finally, you kids are out of the house. I was waiting out here for ya." The features of the newcomer were apparent as they put down their hood and had their hands on their hips. Strong, tan horns winded from their head as they stood there. Dark blue and grey fur covering whatever wasn't covered by the studded jacket and tight pants. "Name's Bruce."
You brought an Animal Crossing character into this. I'm going to strangle you Portal.
You asked for help! The voice replied to Mae as Bruce walked forward, extending a hand, but not to Mae.
    "You're Aph, right? Pleasure to be of service to you. Well, not of service, but of some help to the younger people of this world."
    Aph was visibly stunned, but shook it off, shaking his hand. It was like a human hand, but furred and with short, cut nails. "Yep! That's me."
    "Good, are you here to help us?"
"Of course bird brains. Wouldn't turn down the opportunity to work these old muscles back to the shining glory of my youth." He laughed and looked at the huge ragtag group gathered. Two dragons, a harpy, two horses, and a lot of people with swords, weapons, and a shotgun.
"Alright, let's get going!" Annika ordered and walked past them. "Mae, I need you to transform. You three can carry most of us there on your backs. It's not too far."
She nervously nodded and closed her eyes and backed up from the group. It was easier to shift this time, not feeling every little detail this time. We have to win. If we don't we will all die. Everyone will be lost. He cannot win against me. He cannot. I am strong. I am powerful. I am a hero.
With her eyes back open, she stretched out her front paws and stayed on four legs, realizing now how tall she was. Yes, she noticed partially when running from the cops and when shifting out, but she did notice a difference. She wasn't giant per say, and was actually shorter than PM and Perri, but she was still big. "I can probably carry three or four people and do a light run there. As can Perri and PM possibly."
"I can carry three or four most definitely," PM assured and looked at the ground, bending his wing down and his neck to make it easier for people to get on his back. Bruce, Aph, Aaron and Elvadoer hopped on, making PM regain his posture and strength. Perri bent down her wings as well, and Julian, Ramille, Dante and Ein hopped on. For Mae, she had no wings to bend, and no back plates to be wary of. Her spines ended at the base of her neck. Annika, Dimitri and Xolo hopped on, leaving Noa and Aiden left on the ground with the two horses.
"We will ride there the long way to give you guys more time and seem more normal. Once there, we will divide and conquer and prepare for what is to happen," Aiden reassured and began to turn around, but stopped and held up a hand. "Oh Bruce! This is for you."
A gun was tossed through the air and he caught one handed, nodding. "Thank's gruff."
Oh we are giving animal crossing villagers GUNS NOW.
I didn't have any part in the gun decision. Portal spoke in her mind and Mae almost felt her walking and pacing in there. It was eerily quiet as the group began walking, all that was heard were the footsteps of the dragons, and occasional conversation by the warriors. I want you to know something Mae. Are you listening?
Mae nodded at nothing, yes, I am listening.
Your power... your draconic form is bringing upon changes you may be scared of. I know you had part of it attack you last night in the garage. Your upset state almost lead you to nearly eating a pack of raw ground beef.
She remembered that well. The moment she saw it when opening the deep freeze made her reach for it, hungry and upset and desperate to wash away the guilt with anything.
Your experience has differed from mine greatly, as with the other Watchers and every other magical being up here and in their worlds. Your form could lead you to having... more or less, predatory instincts. They can easily be controlled! Don't worry. I had a blip with it in the past, but it doesn't hurt you as bad as you may be thinking. It's instinct. I know that Autumn doesn't have them, never did. But in extreme cases of anger and with the power being newly in your veins (and also at its full potential after unlocking it for yourself and the rest of your group when breaking out of the Villa by force), it could happen again.
So I could... hurt someone? She asked the dragon speaking in her mind. If I'm not careful, I could hurt them?
No no! It's not like, automatically targeted. It makes you attack the enemy, or prey, or someone evil or someone trying to hurt you. You are still yourself when it happens... I think. At least that is what I've heard. Portal paused, and it was as if she was walking right alongside the group as they made their way down the middle of the barren street. The closer they got to the point of contact with the center of the cracks, the more the sky darkened. I just wanted you to be aware of this. Don't fret about it. Hell, it may never affect you again after that happened! Maybe your body already knows that feeling and will keep it under control from now on without you even having to interfere or help with the process.
Thank you for telling me this Portal.
Of course, it was my job to keep you five safe after all. Make sure you don't die out there, for your friends. Be wary of your neck, remember what the Magician said. I must go if I hope to use the last of my power to it's advantage before I retreat back to Aeonia. And with that, Portal's presence in Mae's mind was gone. It was like the demon and angel that appeared on a cartoon character's shoulders ceased to be.
And before everyone was an expanding crack in the road, and black claws wrapping around the hole in the sky.