"You know where the stone is?" Vermillion asked as she closed the rift. Red energy buzzed from under her glove, sending sparks all around when it moved.
"I know where it was," Myron corrected. "There's no guarantee it's still there, but I think it's worth checking my village." He waited for a moment, clearing his throat. "And since it is such an important matter, I'll need to get there as soon as possible." Vermillion rolled her eyes and spread her arms wide. Energy spilled from her gloved arm, and a rift opened up in front of them. She clenched her fists, and the borders of the portal grew more solid, anchoring it in place.
"You have an hour, at most." She said, walking back towards the med bay. "Don't expect me to bail you out if you miss the deadline." She teleported mid step, a flash of light engulfing her instantly. Myron turned back to the rift, and walked through, closing his eyes and trying not to throw up.
For a heartbeat, the ground beneath his feet disappeared, and he was floating. Or falling. He wasn't quite sure. Lights flashed around him, but he didn't dare look. He made sure he had a sturdy grip on his cane and kept walking.
Then the ground came back. The flashing ceased, and the air around him was dry and hot. He opened his eyes to the familiar huddle of huts in the middle of the miasma flats. Here and there, the dry, cracked ground spilled black vines from inside the earth. Miasma here was in its most raw form, and the people had learned to live not only in spite of it, but evolve with it. He walked towards a small pond that connected to a bog that seemed to have no place here. The miasma flats had no ryhme or reason; there was a tundra one second and a plain the next. It was the way of his people to live in every one of these miniature biomes, to be able to adapt to anything.
Myron hadn't expected it to be so empty. Not many people made their home in the blistering heat, but it seemed like everyone had just up and left. An outside kiln still burned at the pottery maker's shop. That was strange; Dorothy would never let a fire burn unattended.
Myron crossed over to the bog, walking along the trees until he found the markings he'd left in his last visit. Avoiding the dark waters, he hobbled along, walking until he found the wood bridge his dad had built. Another turn, and he saw his old home. It was still attached to three trees that had grown close together, protecting him from any of the creepy crawlies on the ground. Where are all the beasts? He asked himself as he approached his treehouse. He hadn't recalled seeing even one Boa constrictor on his way here.
His cane started shaking, the beads in its hair rattling against the skull. Someone was here, that much was certain. And that someone had scared everything into hiding. Myron tapped his ane on the ground, and a gust of wind picked up. It took him up, jetting him toward his porch. About halfway there, the force disappeared, and he started to slow. He reached his porch at the apex of his ascent, and landed just on its edge as he had begun to fall. The treehouse only had one covered room, its walls lined with Myron's various findings, experiments, and brews. A bookshelf in the back held what must have been hundreds of little trinkets and trophies from his travels. He walked to the bookcase, glossing over the various nicknacks. His gaze settled on an empty space where the stone had been, dust outlining its previous resting place.
Gunshots rang out, shattering his thoughts. Voices yelled, though he couldn't make out the words, it sounded like someone was barking orders. Myron moved the window looking through the light canopy of leaves. He could see people in white and yellow uniforms, and one behind them wearing some kind of jumpsuit. Everyone but him had a gun, and where fanning the ground and the trees for something. The one in the jumpsuit curled his fingers, and a fireball formed in his hand. He threw it at a nearby tree, setting it ablaze.
"I don't care if we have to burn down every tree in sight to smoke it out," He was yelling. "We aren't leaving without that stone!" So, Enforcement was already a step ahead of him. But if they didn't take the stone, where was it?
Myron looked up to find something on a branch staring back at him. It had been climbing toward him quietly, claws extended, but immediately froze when he saw it. Its fur was black, though it changed mock the color and texture of the surrounding leaves, apparently thinking it could still hide. It crept forward again on all fours, moving like some kind of monkey. It gripped the branch with thumbs on its forelegs, though it didn't have thumbs on its hind legs, and no matter how good its camouflage, Myron could still see its bright, shining yellow eyes. Myron's first thought was that it was a construct, but its master was nowhere to be seen. Even so, no summoner would create a construct so... tiny.
It jumped at him, teeth bared, spitting and hissing. Myron stepped aside, catching it by the scruff of the neck. It kicked and scratched, though it couldn't reach him. It eventually gave up, its fur changed back to black and its claws retracted. It was glaring at Myron, and probably thought it looked quite scary, but it looked more like a pouting child than a beast. If Myron didn't know any better, he thought it might stick its tongue out at him. It had fangs that only showed when it pulled its lips back, a tail he'd almost describe as bushy, and ears so big it'd probably trip over them if they weren't held up.
"What the hell is that?" He heard the fire-thrower yell. Myron glanced out the window, and saw that they were closer now, looking straight up at his house. He tapped his cane on the ground, and a purple sheen spread over the floor and around every wall of the house. It disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared, and a small inscription was left in the wooden floor when his cane had touched it. That out to ward off any fires. The creature was watching him amazement, apparently forgetting it was supposed to be angry. Myron thought back to what the fire-thrower had said. They were looking for the stone too, but how would burning down trees help reveal it to them? The creature looked more bored than agitated now, and had begun to swing its legs. Had this thing taken the stone?
A fireball peeked over the porch and hit the outside roof, dissipating harmlessly. The Enforcement squad sounded surprised, apparently expecting the house to be up in flames by now, but Myron ignored them. He walked back over to the bookshelf, showing the creature the empty spot on one of the shelves.
"Do you remember what was here?" Myron asked quietly, not sure what he expected. The creature turned to him and nodded, chittering. "Do you know where it is now?" It reached for its chest, pulling the fur apart. On the surface of its dark skin, Myron could just make out the dim glow of a discharged inscription stone. The same stone he was looking for.
The inscription stone was meant to be used as a special catalyst; its purpose was to replicate any. Yet here before him was a self-created construct, bearing the symbol of the same stone. The creature had gotten bored again, and was combing through its tail with its fingers. Myron thought over his options; the item he'd been sent to retrieve was now a living being, and Enforcement was breathing right down his neck. He could fight them, but they didn’t know who he was, or even that he was still here.
"Do you think you could show me how you turned invisible again?" The creature smirked and faded away, only its glowing eyes remained. “We’re going to sneak past those people, okay? Just stay quiet and keep your eyes closed.” Myron walked to a window on the other side of the treehouse, opposite to the side the Enforcement squad was on. He sat in the window sill, looking down to make sure his positioning was correct. He sat the creature in his lap, and, rather amazingly, it didn’t run when he let it go. “Stay quiet.” Myron whispered to it before falling back.
Air rushed by him, curling around him and slowing his descent. He hovered for a moment before righting himself and stepping onto the ground. The creature was breathing heavily and had dug its claws into his jacket, its camouflage shifting in its fright. He pet its head, trying to calm it down. When its breathing evened out, he extricated it from his chest, placing it on his shoulder. “Just hang on, and make sure your eyes are closed.” He waited for the creature to comply before walking back to the desert village. He kept his pace brisk, making sure he wasn’t being followed. The creature opened one of its eyes a sliver, and started chittering in his ear. He waved it off, shushing it. Just a little further and they’d be at the rift. It kept chittering, trying to tell him something.
“Sir? Where are you going?” He stopped walking, turning around while over-exaggeratedly leaning on his cane. There was a man behind him, in white and yellow, with a visored helmet that covered his face.
“Don’t scare me like that!” Myron said, putting on the innocent old man act. “You’ll give me a damn heart attack with all your creeping.”
“My apologies, it’s just that this area has been evacuated.”
“Evacuated? Did you check all the houses?”
“Er… well, I’m sure we-”
“I just woke up! This is the first I’m hearing about an evacuation.” Myron walked toward the soldier, making sure he was within swinging distance. “Why do we have to leave?”
“There’s a class nine miasmatic construct wondering the premises.” He said, speaking like he was told to memorize the exact wording of his excuse. “For your own safety, we have to relocate you until it’s captured.” He felt a weight release itself from his shoulder. He rushed to grab at the creature, but it was gone. He cursed under his breath as he saw some nearby reeds bend unnaturally. The soldier was looking at him, unsure how to proceed.
“Um, are you okay, sir?” Myron let power flow to the end of his cane, and hurled purple lightning at the soldier. The soldier vanished, the lightning fizzling in the distance. He was a Fallotus, then, capable of creating illusions and turning anything he touched invisible. Myron could track him, but a Fallotus wouldn’t hang around for too long. He was probably already heading back to his friends by Myron’s house.
The reeds waved again, and Myron smiled. He readied another blast, but the man became visible again, tripping over something in the reeds. He fell, and something with black fur and yellow eyes jumped on him, whacking him in the helmet with a small stick. The creature got the stick under his helmet, and pried it off as the soldier struggled to stand. He threw it off, losing the helmet, and turned invisible again. Almost. Myron couldn’t be sure from his distance, but he saw two blue eyes floating in the air. The creature raised its stick, pointing at the pair of eyes. Purple lightning erupted from the stick, hitting the Fallotus and causing him spasm the way a cartoon would if it got shocked. He started to cycle through colors before eventually stopping on blue and collapsing.
Myron looked back at the creature, who was looking back at him with a wide-toothed grin spread across its face. Now it all made sense. The creature was made from an infusing stone meant to replicate any process. It could only camouflage because it must have seen this Fallotus do it, and it couldn’t camouflage its eyes because the soldier couldn’t.
It walked toward Myron, imitating his hobbling and leaning on its stick. Myron led the way back to the rift, and the creature stayed with him. He’d kept Enforcement from getting the stone. Sure, he hadn’t gotten it either, but it was looking like the resistance just got a new member.
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