Adventures in Parodyverse - Saving the Future Part 25.1


    Once arriving back on Earth in the Light Cruiser, Lara Night was eager to meet with the Lair Legion, and Chiaki, and find out more about what happened since she left Earth.  But there were some things she had to do first.

    She had to say goodbye to Shen Rae, and accept from her a tiny communicator device designed to look like a simple inexpensive watch, in order to contact Shen Rae if needed.  Meanwhile. the Heart of Light would be hovering just outside Earth’s atmosphere as long as it could get away with it.

    As soon as she was dropped off on the coast of Paradopolis, just by the ocean, Lara realized that something was wrong.  The usual sounds of the city were gone, and though it was early evening, there were no lights visible.  The buildings of the city were just dark grey hulks on the western horizon.

    She took flight, and glided through the air into the city, trying to see if she could figure out what was going on, and what sort of crisis was afoot.  Immediately, she could tell that the power was out.  As she looked to the north, she noticed that the same was true in Gothametropolis.

    The watch on her wrist chimed softly.  Lara looked at it...the dial was glowing that eerie alien blue color.  She stopped on the rooftop of a building, barely landing upon it in the darkness without any light to guide her.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hello?”  she asked the watch.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s Shen Rae.  Lara, remain where you are.  Something is wrong.”

    Those words finally sent a chill down her spine.  It meant that the power outage was a sign of something much bigger than she imagined.

    A moment later, the wind kicked up violently behind her, and she turned around.  Hovering just over the roof of the same building was an Energy Glider.  The door hatch popped open...Lara didn’t have to wait for a cue, she stepped inside immediately.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What’s going on?”  Lara asked.  It wasn’t the Captain who picked her up, it was the First Officer, Jai Yoon...

    ...who looked away from her, and didn’t respond, as she piloted the small craft back toward Heart of Light.  Her eyes, though, said she knew something.  Something she was afraid to tell Lara.


---


    Shen Rae met Lara inside the docking bay for the Energy Glider.  Among the din of maintenance workers checking over the craft, and preparing others, the Captain led Lara quickly through a door into a corridor.  The First Officer followed silently.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Where’s Sharon?”  Lara asked.  She had intended to return her friend home later.

    The Captain didn’t answer that.  Instead, she stopped, and turned to face Lara.  “We have something important to discuss.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Which is?”  Lara asked, sounding a bit small and confused at that point.  She knew she was being prepared for bad news.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Lara, something has happened here.”  Shen Rae began.  “We don’t know what yet.  Earth...it’s dead, Lara.  There isn’t a single living creature here.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Dead?”  She felt panic quickly rise in herself.  “The Carnifex!  He must have killed everyone!”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No, no.”  Shen Rae shook her head.  “There are no bodies.  No blood.  No evidence of a slaughter.  Everyone is simply gone.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How...?  Did we...?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“We’re checking our diagnostic data now.”  Shen Rae interrupted her.  “It’s possible the anchor failed.  This may be a dimensional shift.  I don’t want to say for sure, though, and get your hopes up.  It’s quite possible this is an extinction event.”

    Lara was barely listening anymore.  She leaned against a wall and slid down a little, putting her face in her hands.  “I never should have left.”  she whispered.  “Maybe I could have...”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“...died with everyone else?”  Sharon interrupted her, having tracked her down.  She leaned against the wall too, and crossed her arms.  Sharon was always a realist about these things.  “Shen Rae is trying her best to be sensitive, Lara...but she means to ask you about salvage rights.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Salvage rights?  Like...tearing this planet apart and harvesting its resources?”  Lara asked almost angrily.  She was shaking slightly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Lara, calm down.”  Sharon reassured her.  “Salvage rights means you’re Earth’s...you’re the executor of its will.  You control the rights of access to its resources.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.”  Lara sighed, trying to regain her composure.  “Um...so what are you trying to take?”  She directed that question at Shen Rae.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s entirely up to you.”  Shen Rae replied quickly.  “However,”  she added carefully, “I have a personal interest in recovering several cosmic artifacts, if they’re still here.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She wants to collect them so various salvage races in this galaxy won’t have access to them.”  Sharon explained further.  “But since they’ll be your property, you can ask for them back at any time, or a fair price for them.”

    Shen Rae nodded in agreement.  “Imagine what the Portal of Pretentiousness, or the Chronometer of Infinity, would do for a race like the Z’Sox.  They must be salvaged and protected.  If you give us salvage rights, we’ll also be required to guard Earth until all items are found and recovered.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Better than a guard dog, eh?”  Sharon noted with a wink.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s not really my decision to make.”  Lara pointed out, as she looked at the floor sadly.  Then she thought about what Shen Rae and Sharon meant.  Technically she was the last known survivor of this Earth.  “I mean...I guess legally it is, I’m just not sure I’m qualified.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You told Shema you weren’t qualified as a guardian.”  Sharon pointed out.  “Look at you now.”

    That gave Lara the faintest of smiles, for just a moment, before the weight of the decision she had to make bore upon her again.  Finally, she nodded and reluctantly agreed.  “Okay.  Find the artifacts, and guard Earth.  But I am going to take them back if we find its people.  Count on that.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“As you wish.”  Shen Rae bowed slightly.  She then spoke into her wrist device.  “Begin the operation, we must locate the items quickly.  Ready the Z-Class Wings and start them on patrols.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Patrols?”  Lara asked.  She looked at Sharon.

    Shen Rae nodded.  “There are other parties interested in salvaging this planet.  As you Earth people say, things may get complicated.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I hope I don’t regret this.”  Lara sighed as the Captain left to return to the bridge.


---


    Paradopolis was still dark.  Not a sound was heard, even as what looked like a dozen small flickering distortions of light passed over the city, traveling faster and more silently than any Earth technology could.

    Lara Night flew parallel to them, only at much lower altitude.  She watched them as they went, wondering if they should make her feel secure - they were, in part, patrolling in case of invasion - or maybe she felt worried, since they were also locating artifacts that might leave Earth vulnerable if taken away.  She still wasn’t entirely sure if Shen Rae’s people were friends or if they would eventually turn out to be very clever foes.

    She finally settled atop the observation deck of a tall building overlooking Off-Central Park.  Everything was dark, sad, dead beneath her.  It put her in a solemn mood.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You musn’t give up.”  a soft voice whispered behind her.

    At the same time, a chilly wind stirred around her, swirling in a manner unnatural for the top of a skyscraper.  Without turning around, Lara already knew who it was.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Looks like you did.”  Lara snapped back, her latent anger at what happened to Earth boiling to the surface momentarily.  She finally turned around to see her own anger mirrored in Faite’s silver eyes.

    Faite moved forward, her charcoal robes and silvery hair drifting in the breeze.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Why didn’t you stop it?”  Lara asked her.  “Or prevent it?  Or maybe reverse it?  Whatever happened here...I know you can put it back.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“There’s no need to, Lara.”  Faite responded calmly, in spite of the look in her eyes.  “It’s something that needs to happen right now, to move the story forward.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, that’s a relief.”  Lara interrupted angrily.  “Then why did you bother to say anything to me at all?”

    Faite still tried to remain patient.  “Have your friends guard this planet, and the artifacts if you wish.”  she said.  “You, however...you must not be on this planet when--”  She stopped herself at that point.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“When what?”  Lara prodded, still angrily.  She calmed a bit when there was no answer from Faite.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.  I get it.”  Lara finally calmed down, lowering her voice to a whisper.  “I get it...I can’t be here, because if everyone suddenly comes back...I’d have to be gone.  I’d end up wherever they are now.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yes.”  Faite replied plainly.

    Lara sighed, feeling a little bad for scolding Faite.  She used her best disarming smile as she apologized.  “So you do really care, if you took the time to tell me.  I’m sorry I treated you so badly.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“It’s all right, Lara.”  Faite smiled in return, and looked genuinely reassuring.  “History has taught me to be divinely patient, but it’s difficult even for me sometimes.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“How long do I have to get Shen Rae and myself off the planet?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Not long.”  Faite said.  She pointed skyward.  “I must not reveal too much.  I will only say that--”  She looked skyward slowly.  “The moon will light your way.”  With that, she smiled again, and then vanished into the darkness with a burst of wind.

    Lara took a deep breath, tapped the watch on her wrist, and told Shen Rae, “We don’t have long.  We need to be off this planet.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I agree.”  the Captain replied.

    It was around that time that all of the blue flits of light aligned in formation and headed upward, out of the atmosphere.  Lara’s smile disappeared as they left her behind.

    Her voice sounding solemn, Shen Rae said, “We have a new problem.”


TO BE CONTINUED?


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2008 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin