First Contact Part Three Chapter25

‘I think he’s waking up.’ ‘Not much point if you ask Greg, just look at the state of him.’ ‘Yeah, but what can you do? You can’t really pick and choose what falls out of random holes in the Universe.’ ‘Hang on … yep … he’s definitely waking up.’ Freaka-chu sat bolt upright and gasped as pain flooded through his head. He could hear voices that sounded like those of Elion, Jazz and Red somewhere close by but they were somehow distorted. He thought of what he should do next. Moving only seemed to cause him pain, so he decided to stop doing it until he was sure the sensations had subsided, or at least lessened. The memories flooded back to him. They had fallen into The Black Hole, a thoroughly stupid move by anybody’s standards. He had severed the link to the core of the programming that governed The Mercury Rooms, so that narrowed down the possibility of where they had ended up at least. To anywhere but the internal programming mechanisms that governed the Mercury Rooms. They could literally be anywhere else in the Universe. His eyes were scrunched up tightly still and he contemplated keeping them that way for a little while longer. That way he wouldn’t have to deal with whatever problems they were on the cusp of having to deal with, at least for a little while longer. Though he counted himself and his companions in misfortune to be rather lucky. Of all the billions of places in the Universe they could have been transported to, they had landed somewhere that was relatively warm, with a breathable atmosphere, suitable gravitational forces and, above all, no monsters. At least not in the immediate vicinity anyhow. ‘We’d better get The Doctor, he’ll know what to do,’ the voice that sounded like Elion’s said from somewhere behind him. ‘I’m up!’ Freaka-chu declared, finally opening his eyes and surveying his surroundings. He was lying in a large room that bore the same colour as those within The Mercury Rooms, except here, the trim was a luminous green instead of gold. The overall appearance however was exactly the same. There seemed to be only minute differences. Had they had the utmost fortune and landed in a portion of The Mercury Rooms they simply hadn’t come across before? He smiled to himself and attempted to stand up. The pain shot through him again so he decided to stay where he was. ‘Watch yourself there,’ the voice that sounded like Elion’s came again. ‘You fell out of the ceiling.’ ‘We were lucky then,’ Freaka-chu said, craning his head behind him to address his companions … who were all still unconscious, scattered around the room. Three people stood over the group, each of them bearing a ridiculously close resemblance to one of Freaka-chu’s companions, but with minor differences. Jazz’s double stood a little taller, in a lime green suit instead of the plum one that Jazz wore. Elion’s was almost identical, aside from much longer hair and a beard. Red’s was a woman with large breasts that looked as though they and her blouse were locked in a never ending struggle to repel and subdue eachother respectively. ‘What?’ Was all Freaka-chu could manage. ‘Stay calm,’ Red’s female double said. ‘The Doctor’s coming, he’ll be here any minute. He’ll know what to do.’ Freaka-chu shook his head. ‘What?!’ He said again, this time a little louder. ‘He’s deaf as well as stupid then,’ Jazz’s double nodded in agreement with himself, taking out a large bag of cookies. ‘Don’t be rude, Greg!’ Elion’s double chided. ‘Ah, here he comes,’ Red’s female double said happily as an eerie noise grated through the room. VROOOOOOOOOOK! VROOOOOOOOOOK! VROOOOOOOOOOK! VROOOOOOOOOOK! ‘What?!’ Freaka-chu said, his eyes wide as a large blue, wooden Police Box with a flashing light on top materialized out of thin air. ‘WHAT?!!’

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE PARALLEL WORLDS *** The knock on the door was unexpected. Mrs Requiem looked up from her book and frowned. Visitors were exceedingly rare at this time of day. ‘I’ll get it,’ Shepard said, striding through from the Den. The huge wooden door opened with an ominous creek as Shepard peered through the crack and conversed briefly with the person standing outside. There was a short conversation that Mrs Requiem couldn’t hear before Shepard opened the door fully to allow the tall form of Alf Guðbrandr to enter. ‘Alf,’ Mrs Requiem said, rising from her chair, placing her book down. ‘What can I do for you?’ Alf took in a deep breath and sighed, looking at Shepard. ‘I believe we need to talk, Mrs Requiem,’ he said solemnly. ‘Alone if possible.’ ‘Of course,’ Mrs Requiem said, looking past Alf at her son. ‘Shepard, would you mind?’ ‘No problem,’ Shepard said warily. ‘I have studies to finish.’ Alf watched Shepard disappear up the stairs before he turned back to Mrs Requiem. ‘Alf, what’s going on?’ Mrs Requiem asked hoarsely. ‘I take it this isn’t you finally accepting our invitation to dinner.’ ‘I’m afraid not,’ Alf said sadly. ‘There’s been a … a terrible tragedy.’ ‘What’s happened?’ Mrs Requiem breathed. ‘It’s your husband,’ Alf said, lowering his gaze. ‘He went out on a job this morning …’ ‘You are not here to tell me what I think you’re about to tell me,’ Mrs Requiem said fiercely. ‘I’m so sorry,’ Alf cut across her. ‘NO!’ Mrs Requiem shouted. ‘That’s unacceptable! He can’t be … … … he can’t be …’ Alf sighed. ‘I think we’d better sit down,’ he said, putting a gentle hand on Mrs Requiem’s shoulder and lowering her into a chair. ‘How?’ She asked, tears welling in her eyes. ‘It was a demon,’ Alf said remorsefully. ‘A demon that he simply wasn’t prepared for, like nothing we’ve ever seen. It rejected death … it just … didn’t die.’ ‘Oh god,’ Mrs Requiem said, suddenly clamping a hand to her mouth. ‘Shepard.’ ‘That’s out of our hands now,’ Alf said, taking her hand. ‘Whatever hopes the boy had for his future will have to be put to one side. He is now honour bound to hunt this thing down and destroy it.’ ‘I know the code,’ Mrs Requiem said sharply. ‘But I will not loose my son like … I won’t … I can’t loose them both.’ ‘You won’t,’ Alf said, his eyes dancing. ‘I’ll be his teacher.’ ‘But you retired …’ ‘That doesn’t matter now,’ Alf said grimly. ‘I shall teach him all I know and more thereafter. I won’t let him die. This is a matter of grave importance. If there is something out there like this, then it must be destroyed.’ ‘You’ll be sending him to his death,’ Mrs Requiem said, almost choking on her tears. ‘I’ll do all I can, I promise,’ Alf said fiercely. ‘The rest will be up to Shepard.’ *** ‘Will-ko?’ The Reaper said, stroking his chin with a skeletal hand. ‘That’s a strange name.’ Will-ko frowned and shakily got to his feet, wrapping his arms around himself for warmth as a sudden chill swept over him. He looked the Reaper up and down and shivered. ‘So, if I’m not dead,’ Will-ko gulped. ‘What are you doing here?’ ‘Sightseeing,’ the Reaper replied simply, looking around the darkened surroundings.

Will-ko gave the pitch black plane a three-sixty observation. ‘Sightseeing?’ ‘Admittedly, I’ve strayed from the interesting sections,’ the reaper said forlornly. ‘My name is Skelifish by the way,’ he said, extending his hand. ‘I’m a Reaper.’ ‘Gathered,’ Will-ko said, gingerly shaking the bony hand through fear it would suck the very life from him. ‘So … the Grim Reaper has time to sightsee?’ SkeliFish snorted a laugh. ‘No … but I do.’ ‘You’re not the Grim Reaper?’ ‘I’m a Reaper,’ Skelifish retorted. ‘There’s more than one of us … but the thing is, Will-ko … I’m here by my own doing. I can survive in this plane of existence. You’re obviously human, and humans don’t tend to come here of their own free will. They’ve got a nasty habbit of dying very quickly … So, you’re either here by accident, by force or by suicidal intent. Whatever it is, I suggest you return the way you came. Otherwise, you will be dead soon and that’s not a good thing for me. ‘You see, if you die, then a Reaper will show up to claim your soul … and I can’t let that happen.’ ‘You get commission or something?’ Will-ko asked, trying to remove the quiver from his voice. ‘I wish,’ Skelifish puffed before his expression turned dark. ‘I can’t have other Reapers showing up here. I’m a fugitive.’ *** A solitary bell chimed somewhere off in the distance. The grey clouds had rolled in from the black sea, seeping the graveyard in a dense fog. Most of the mourners had already moved away, towards the inn where the wake was being held. Death wasn’t dwelled upon here, like it was on some plains of existence. Here, it was simply another part of everyday life. Such was the ways of the Reapers. Shepard stood, staring down into the grave of his father, retaining the same thoughtful expression he had been wearing for the past week. Alf Guðbrandr stood by him, a bony hand on the boy’s shoulder, their black cloaks writhing in the calm wind that passed over them. The boy hadn’t spoken a word since he had been told the news. ‘First thing tomorrow morning,’ Alf said simply. ‘We shall return to the School and begin your tuition. We have much work to do before the start of term.’ Shepard simply nodded in reply. ‘I won’t attempt to deceive you though, Shepard,’ Alf said heavily. ‘This next year will be the most gruelling experience you have ever encountered. The Hades School for Reaping Arts is a place where only the strong survive. The mental and physical challenges you will be expected to become a master of are set at the most advanced levels. I cannot prepare you for the sheer leap you will have to take, nobody can. But once you are over the initial shock, we will be able to hone your skills.’ ‘… I always wanted to be a rock star,’ Shepard said simply. Alf blinked a few times at hearing the boy finally speak, then he wrinkled his brow and nodded. ‘And now, because of what has happened, you have to abandon your aspirations.’ ‘I should probably say that it’s not fair,’ Shepard continued. ‘It’s not,’ Alf nodded. ‘I wholly agree. The difficulty however is that both tradition and law dictate that you must be the one to avenge your father’s death. I hope you do not blame him for this.’ ‘My father?’ Shepard said, shaking his head. ‘No … why would I blame him? There’s a demon somewhere that killed my father. It may as well have killed me, because now, the life I was looking forward to is over. I’ve got to put everything aside to prepare myself for the day when I finally have to take a life. Something that I promised I would never do.’ Alf simply nodded again. ‘My father was destroyed when I was two,’ he said, his old voice cracking. ‘I can’t even remember him, at all. So, believe me when I know that I understand what you are going through. I didn’t become the Reaper I am today because of aspirations of greatness, egotism or bloodlust. It was thrust upon me, just as it was

you … It almost destroyed me. There was nobody there to guide me through it. I had to find my own way. I vowed that once I was able, I would not allow anybody to undergo such a thing alone ever again.’ ‘Is that why you became Headmaster of the School then?’ ‘That and many other reasons, yes,’ Alf replied. ‘That is why now; every student has a mentor to train them in their studies. I only hope that I have not gotten rusty in my own age.’ Shepard finally tore his gaze away from the grave and looked up into Alf’s black eyes. ‘Thank you,’ he said simply and then turned back as another bank of fog began to roll over them. *** ‘So,’ Will-ko asked airily. ‘How come you’re a fugitive then?’ ‘Because I ate meat on a Friday,’ Skelifish replied sarcastically. ‘It’s my business … And, I’m not going anywhere a human would want to follow, by the way.’ ‘I can’t go back the way I came,’ Will-ko insisted. ‘I’m stuck here.’ ‘A stupid position to get yourself into,’ Skelifish said, finally coming to a halt. He regarded Will-ko with a scrutinizing eye and muttered something to himself under his breath. ‘Fine,’ he said after a few moments of silence. ‘I’ll bite. How exactly did you get here?’ ‘Well,’ Will-ko said, folding his arms. ‘I was brought up in this evil science lab, where they changed me. Did experiments and stuff, they gave me magic powers … but that all went away … I lost the power.’ ‘You can’t give somebody magical ability,’ Skelifish said bluntly. ‘It’s either in you or it’s not. Believe me, I know.’ ‘Well, they found a way to put it there.’ ‘That’s crap,’ Skelifish said, resuming his brisk pace. ‘It can’t be done. Literally, it can’t. If they told you that they did it to you, then they were lying. You can enhance magical powers in a lot of ways, but the only way to actually possess them is, like I said, to be born with it. But as I recall, I asked how you got here. I’m not really in the mood for a life story.’ ‘Sorry,’ Will-ko said sheepishly, wondering exactly how true the Reaper’s words could have been. If he was right, it would mean that Will-ko still had the means to use his magical powers. A useful development when it was considered. ‘Well, the thing is, we had this problem … erm … I’m from this place called The Mercury Rooms see, and erm, the Universe was going to end … so we … we had to find somebody who could fix our machine …’ ‘Hold up!’ Skelifish sighed, stopping again. ‘Actually, I think you better had take it from the top.’ ‘Sorry,’ Will-ko said sheepishly. ‘I was confusing you, wasn’t I?’ ‘More annoying than confusing,’ the Reaper replied, drawing his cloak around him. ‘So, c’mon … while I’m young.’ Will-ko explained about his escape from the facility and about their fortuitous arrival in The Mercury Rooms. He explained about how he had become a Moderator, about the DDOS attack and the problems with the Black Hole that sent them on their quest. He told the Reaper about finding Dorian Grey and how the Sorceress Elysium had agreed to lead his friends to the Great Illusive Oracle in exchange for one of their party substituting her in her home Dimension. ‘I guess that’s this place,’ Will-ko said, casing a dismal eye around the bleakness that seemed to cling to everything. Skelifish had remained silent throughout Will-ko’s story, with his eyes closed, the Reaper merely made “Mmm-hmmm” noises now and then to reassure Will-ko that he was still listening and hadn’t fallen asleep. ‘I know of Elysium,’ Skelifish said off-handedly as Will-ko came to the end of his story, which was the point where he had awoken and shortly thereafter been scared witless by

having a Reaper standing over him. ‘What you have done is merely a temporary solution. She’ll have to get married to a denizen of another dimension in order to remain there permanently. I believe your end of the bargain was fulfilled upon your arrival here.’ ‘So … that’s it then?’ Will-ko puffed. ‘I can just … go home?’ The Reaper nodded, the inkling of a smile played upon his lips before his stern expression returned. ‘You can go home, magician,’ he said. ‘But from here, you can’t get home.’ ‘Isn’t there a way to just re-open the portal I came through?’ ‘Probably,’ The Reaper shrugged. ‘Good luck with that magic-boy.’ ‘You’re not going to help me?’ Will-ko spluttered. ‘Not at all?’ ‘I’ve got my own worries,’ Skelifish replied. ‘And they’re a little more serious than yours.’ *** There was a deafly hush throughout the courtyard. The stands that were normally filled with spectators when the arena was used for sporting events were absent. What the courtyard was being used for today was not a spectator sport. Well, only to a select deranged few. It had been six years now since Shepard had begun his training at the Hades School of Reaper Arts and most of his talents were exceptional, even by the school’s standards. Of course there had been set-backs, numerous ones. Shepard excelled in combat skills, academics, speed trials. Where strength, tactics and prowess were involved, Shepard was top of his classes. However, Shepard Requiem was notoriously a poor student when it came to the magical aspects of Reaper Science. Even the simple basics that most of the students had upon arrival seemed to elude him. He had been forced to repeat years of study in order to grasp the simpler tasks. Had it not been the case that he was honour-bound to avenge his father, he would have been expelled and regarded as a lost cause long ago. His ability to walk through walls was shaky at best. Heavily dependant upon the moment and required Shepard to perfectly relax himself before the feat could be accomplished. Under battle conditions, he had absolutely no chance of phasing through anything. Teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, even palm reading was lost on him. The magical properties of his scythe were also an enigma to the boy. The scythe itself possessed magical properties because of the way in which it was made. It could – when wielded correctly – cut through the very fabric of reality. Portals could be opened to any plane of existence when the Reaper in question knew what he was doing. Shepard had thus-far only managed to create portals from one place to another in the same dimension. The destination, however, was usually random. On numerous occasions, he had opened a portal in the training room and found the other end leading to the bottom of the ocean, which then proceeded to spill through the gateway until it was hurriedly closed. It was, for this reason, most beneficial that the Reapers only simulated breathing as to not to disconcert people. The actual process of inhaling oxygen was useless when you didn’t actually have internal organs, or muscle and skin to cover them. The Reapers only had flesh on their heads or thereabouts. He had displayed the ability to use each skill, but only briefly. His technique was far from masterful. If it came to a non-magical bout, then Shepard would win, handsdown, no question about it. But therein lay the problem. If Shepard were to encounter the demon responsible for his father’s murder, he would most definitely be needing skills of the highest calibre. Magical and non-magical alike. Today was the day that Shepard would first publicly use the skill indicative to any Reaper’s arsenal. The ability to project death onto a subject. Some chose to do it from a distance, others preferred to transfer the element through touch, one Reaper named Twibbler did it by spitting on his target, but he was frowned upon for doing so.

Shepard knew the theory. Just like all the other magical elements. He knew that he was capable of the feat. He was a Reaper, it was as simple as that. It was like the ability to speak. He was very much capable, but he had had to learn it. This was no different, except the one distinction, that when he spoke, something, somewhere didn’t die as a result. He looked at the small cages full of rabbits before him, his non-existent-stomach doing a violent lurch. The fact that he was about to – for all intensive purposes – commit murder was a thought that never entered into the matter. He was a Reaper and death was a way of life. The reason for the butterflies in his ribcage – as he didn’t have a stomach – was that he was being watched. His first actual try wasn’t going to be just him and Alf. A crowd had gathered. Trustees of the School including the Mayor and lots of other officials were occupying the sidelines to see the Reaper arts in practice. Alf had assured Shepard that he would never have allowed this if he had known, but unfortunately, there was no backing out now. Shepard had to get this right. He knew the theory; he could feel the life forces of the Rabbit in the hutch across from him. He could see the energy rippling inside the creature as he outstretched his hand. He should have probably tried it by placing a finger upon the animal. Trying the feat from a distance was a foolish thing to attempt. Nevertheless, he was determined to do something magical sometime soon. It was perfectly simple. All he had to do was feel the life energy and separate it from the host body. There was nothing that sounded too difficult about that. He felt the energy in his mind’s eye. He could feel the fleshy husk that surrounded the energy. The body seemed irregular, but that was because it was a rabbit. All he had to do was mentally rip them apart. The funny thing was, he actually heard the tear. The sound of the soul being loosened from flesh flashed through his mind. He had done it, he had actually done it. He must have because the audience were cheering. Actually, the cheering sounded a lot like screaming. There was definitely panic and yelling going on. Something had happened. Something terrible. Shepard had an awful suspicion he knew what it might be. He opened his eyes and was met with the worst thing imaginable. The rabbit was still alive. He had wrenched a soul from a body in the nearby area. But the rabbit was still alive. *** ‘Where does this road go to?’ Will-ko asked casually as he strolled along in Skelifish’s wake. ‘Somewhere near LEAVE-ME-ALONE-VILLE! But first we have to go through STOPFOLLOWING-ME Town, and GET-THE-HELL-AWAY-FROM-ME-I’M-REGRETTING-EVERCOMING-OVER-TO-MAKE-SURE-YOU-WERE-OKAY City.’ ‘Subtle,’ Will-ko nodded approvingly. ‘Look, listen,’ Skelifish said abruptly, holding up his skeletal hands. ‘I’m not trying to be rude here, but I don’t need a tag-along. Really, it’s the very last thing I want. I need to be unnoticed. There are people out there that want me dead and I’d rather not do anything that could bring me to their attention.’ Will-ko considered the matter. ‘How can a Grim Reaper die? Aren’t you death?’ Skelifish sighed an exasperated sigh. ‘No, we’re not death. We just bring death along with us. We die too … … … all too often … and you’re changing the topic again! Leave me alone!’ ‘So who’s out to kill you then?’ Will-ko persisted. ‘I mean, how many people have the stones to try to kill death?’ Skelifish stopped in his tracks and fumed silently for a few moments. What would it take to get rid of this kid? ‘Seriously,’ he said as calmly as he could. ‘Magic-boy, if you don’t go your own way, I’ll take your soul myself.’ ‘But then you’d still be stuck with me.’

‘Not for long.’ ‘You won’t be stuck with me for long if you show me a way back home.’ Skelifish scratched his chin. ‘And if I do, you’ll leave?’ ‘Sure will,’ Will-ko replied chirpily. ‘You could even come with me! If whoever’s trying to do you in lives in this dimension, then come with me to another dimension … mine!’ ‘One thing at a time,’ Skelifish said, surveying their surroundings. The blackness still stretched on forever, it was only now that they had come to a large, blue wall that Will-ko was willing to believe they had travelled anywhere at all. The Reaper turned to Will-ko and sighed. ‘Okay, I know roughly the direction we need to head in to reach an Exit Portal. But I can’t guarantee it’ll take you home. It’ll take you to another dimension, but there are literally billions of them out there.’ ‘Okay.’ ‘But, if we’re going together then we’re having some rules,’ Skelifish continued. ‘Rule One. If I tell you to do something, you do it. Rule Two. Enough with the questions … and I’m not one for small-talk either-’ ‘What about chit-chat?’ ‘No! Now, Rule Three. Even if you can’t resist braking Rule Two, never ask me about my past. Are we clear?’ ‘Crystal.’ ‘You’re going to ignore all of that aren’t you?’ ‘Not all of it,’ Will-ko shrugged. ‘I’ll do my best to follow them … Scout’s honour.’ ‘Okay then,’ Skelifish said, starting off down the path that ran along side the fluorescent blue wall. ‘Hold on … you grew up in a lab … you can’t have been a Scout.’ ‘It was worth a try,’ Will-ko replied, smirking. ‘So, how far is it to this Portal?’ ‘A while.’ ‘Oh … are we there yet?’ ‘No.’ ‘Oh … … … are we there yet? ‘NO!’ ‘Oh … … … are we there y-’ ‘-Finish that sentence and I swear I’ll scythe you!’ *** ‘You must go, quickly!’ Alf said, thrusting the hastily packed case into Shepard’s hands. ‘I’m sorry!’ Shepard said for what felt like the millionth time. ‘I didn’t mean to ... I couldn’t … I didn’t …’ ‘I know that,’ Alf said abruptly. ‘You know that … but you killed The Mayor, Shepard. Be thankful he was not a true Reaper, or else his family would be honour-bound to kill you.’ ‘What do I do now though? I can’t go home! I can’t chase down the demon that killed my father! I couldn’t bear to shame my family with either consequence!’ ‘Shepard,’ Alf said, grabbing the young Reaper by the shoulders. ‘I have taught you everything I could ever possibly teach you. All you lack is the will. The power is inside you. You have but to become its master.’ ‘I don’t know how,’ ‘You will discover how,’ Alf said, taking up his scythe. ‘But you must leave, quickly. They will want to make an example out of you, and I’m not sure I can protect you.’ Alf carved a hole in the air with his scythe’s blade and opened up a vast portal. ‘The demon that killed your father is out there,’ Alf explained. ‘Your journey is not yet complete and you will need all of your Reaper powers intact before you face this creature. Now, disguise yourself. Take a new name, something obscure, and above all, avoid death at all costs.’ ‘Even if I kill it …’ Shepard said sadly. ‘I can’t come back, can I?’ Alf bit his lip and cuffed the boy softly on the cheek. ‘I’ll do my best, Shepard,’ the old man said warmly. ‘But now, you must hurry! It will not take them long to figure out what has occurred. You must hurry as far away from this portal as you can once you are on the other side, do you understand?’ ‘I do,’ Shepard said, taking up his own scythe.

‘Then, may the gods have mercy upon you Shepard Requiem,’ Alf said as he watched Shepard disappear into the bleak blackness that was the demon realm and closed the portal behind the last student he would ever teach. ***