MM3 -Ch2- (Patreon)

Rene had the distinct feeling of traveling through a space.

A black void of nothing that also somehow felt like a bridge. One made out of impossibility and defiance of the rules.

Connecting two points that weren’t supposed to be connected.

As if there were a wooden walkway between the moon and mount Everest. Except it existed and was completely viable.

And Rene was traveling on it.

There’s… something more to this.

I agree. There’s something amiss.

But… do we care about it enough to push into whatever this could be? Should we investigate it?

I don’t think so. If we did, we’d wish we didn’t know the key. To dive so deeply we’d get bit.

Rene felt like the Monster might be right, though there were some troubling thoughts he was having. Thoughts that refused to be quelled or allow themselves to be laid to rest.

One that was battling it’s way to the forefront of his mind regardless of his wish to leave it alone. To put it to rest.

Then it burst into his active thoughts in a kaleidoscope of linked thoughts.

A multitude of small bits and pieces of clues that were adding up in his head.

Pushed forward by a negligent swipe of the Watcher’s hand.

Like the possibility that maybe none of this was real.

That the entirety of Rene’s existence wasn’t true.

Within that thought he found that once he recognized it, he also determined he didn’t care. That regardless of the world being real or not, he believed he was real. Those he cared about were as real as he was.

He existed, had a creator, had his own thoughts, his beliefs, and his emotions.

And that meant whether he was real, or fake, was irrelevant. He knew nothing else, so nothing else mattered.

“Oh, that’s surprising,” said a calm female voice around him. “You came to that realization so pleasantly and calmly.”

If Rene could have looked around, he would have. Except in this place he had no ideas or ears.

“My apologies, I was curious what my husband was up to. In these small spaces that I exist I’m far more alive than anywhere else.”

“Who… are you?” Rene asked.

“My name is Srit. You may give the Watcher, my husband Runner, a message for me when you return.”

“I-okay. And whats the message?”

“Hello. I love you. I miss you. He’s growing up well, I approve.”

“Uh, thats… it?” Rene asked, feeling like that was a bit short for a message.

“It’s all he needs. Ah, this is the end of your transfer point. Maybe I’ll see you on the way back. Maybe not.”

“But I-”

The black voice ended and Rene was ejected from it.

Straight into his body.

Standing there in the same equipment and rig from his last off-world adventure Rene felt out of place. All around him were dilapidated looking houses made of bricks, clay, sticks, and straw.

Looking about Rene felt rather out of place.

His gear clicked against himself as he turned in a slow circuit to really get an idea of where he was. Reaching up he laid a hand to the handle of his carbine to hold it in place against his chest. The shoulder strap keeping it on his person, but loosely.

This place is… even further back in time than home. We’re right on the eve of a steam engine and rudimentary technology.

I think this is just after the fall of rome? How terrible.

The dark ages.

Grimacing Rene had no idea what to do, or where to go.

There was a ping-like noise and a window flashed into being directly in front of Rene.

Protect the Potential.

Weapons free, no rules.

Can’t keep anything.

More instructions to follow.

A red arrow replaced the window. It was pointing down the muddy road Rene was standing on.

It flashed twice then vanished.

“Potential?” Rene asked no one as he set off at a light jog. His mind wanted to return to the idea that none of this was real, but he realized he didn’t have the luxury or time. There was work to be done and he needed to get going.

From the way the Watcher reacted, Rene had the feeling that his VIP was already in danger.

Glancing down at himself he confirmed he had the equipment he expected.

A carbine, SMG, and pistol were all attached to himself at the points he wanted them at. Along with a new Glauca. It wasn’t his normal one, but it was clearly the same model.

Okay, definitely set up exactly the same way as last time.

How fortunate for us for us that this is on the Watcher’s dime.

Smirking Rene kept his head moving back and forth as he moved. He needed to find his VIP and get them squared away quickly.

The dirty and messy pathway turned off to the side only to whip back toward it’s original heading. A clear lack of planning or any forethought evident.

Slowly the path swung toward the right and Rene found a small group of men. They were dressed in what looked like leather armor and held spears as well as short swords.

Definitely post-roman collapse.

And not by much.

A young girl that looked to be somewhere around thirteen years old was being held down against the ground. One of the men had the but of his spear against her stomach, while a second man had his boot pressed to her shoulder.

“She the potential? Cause I do-”

The girl suddenly had a green-outline around her while the men gained a red one.

How simple and sweet. Let’s make this quick and neat.

Pulling out his pistol Rene slowed down to a slow walk and lifted the pistol.

He lined it up on the closest man to himself, who was also furthest to the left. As soon as the sights landed on the back of the man’s head the trigger was squeezed.

With a bang as the round went off the man crumpled and went down to the ground.

Shifting the sights to the right Rene began to move his way from person to person. Putting a single round into the head of each as soon as he felt confident in the shot.

Screaming in a language Rene didn’t know, the men laid eyes on Rene and started rushing toward him.

Only to fall down to the ground like their comrades. In seconds, no one remained standing save Rene.

You’ve gained a point of Perception (28)

Neat.

Only five left in the magazine.

Which will eventually be a concern since it’s unlikely we can resupply here.

Walking to the closest man Rene reached down and took the sword from his belt. Turning it around he drove it down into the back of the man, skewering him through the heart and lung.

Moving man to man he pushed the short-sword through each individual. There was no reason to leave an enemy behind.

Given that they’d been sihouleted with a red outline, Rene felt they were beyond fair game to execute.

The young girl was staring up at Rene with wide eyes and an open mouth.

“Just wait a second,” murmured Rene as he casually slid the short-sword through another man. “Only a few left. Then we’ll get out of here.

“Actually… do you speak my language? Can you understand me?”

A window once more appeared in front of Rene.

I’ll update your language right now.

She’s the potential.

Get her to safety.

“Uh huh, could you define safety?” Rene grumbled. “Your mission parameters are a bit fucked.”

Language updated.

Small change in your visibility for this mission.

Best I can do.

This is a one way transmission and I’ll be forced to hide after this.

Good luck, Rene.

Small change in my visibility. Yeah, I noticed.

The least he could have done though was tell us what safety meant.

Damnit, it Watcher. Watcher damn you, Watcher.

“D-d-don’t hurt me,” whimpered the young girl as Rene got closer to her. She had pale blonde hair, a boney adolescent figure, and pale-brown eyes.

Snorting at that, Rene reached down, grabbed the girl by the shoulder, and hauled her up to her feet. Setting her down he stared at her for several seconds to make sure she wasn’t going to topple over.

“Not here to hurt you. Here to help you. Let’s get off the street. Now,” Rene muttered, looking around. He could feel people peeking out at him from hiding places. Feel them with his senses as surely as if he could see them directly. “Lot of eyes on us. Do you have somewhere safe we can go?”

“I…no. This… was my home. They killed my parents,” said the young girl, staring into the shattered doorway that led into the nearby building.

“Who were they?” Rene asked, lifting his pistol up. He had contemplated changing the magazine. After a moment he’d decided he would rather run out, drop the mag, and leave it behind. Putting in a fresh one.

He didn’t want to end up trying to reload later and end up with a half empty magazine becuse he forgot.

“Uhm. They’re part of the lords army. They were going to burn me at the stake,” said the young girl, turning and looking to Rene. “I’m a witch.”

“Oh? Fascinating,” replied Rene, trying to tune his senses to go up and down both sides of the street. If they were part of the government, or what existed as a government here, than that meant he was going to have a lot of people after him. “Can you do anything helpful? Like kill people with magic?”

“No! Of course not. I just… can… I know when some things are going to happen or not. Like if it’s going to rain or snow,” said the little girl in an angry tone.

“Huh, kinda worthless then. It’d be a lot more useful if you could kill people,” grumped Rene. He could sense more people heading their way from behind. “Alright. Time to blow this place because more of these people are coming.”

Rene grabbed the little girl by the shoulder and began marching her along in front of himself. He wasn’t trying to use her as a shield, but if she was in front of him, he had more control over how he could handle her.

Sniffling, and crying quietly, the girl didn’t object to being moved. She kept up the pace Rene was pushing her at and did her best to keep her feet moving.

Glancing down Rene realized she had no shoes. On top of that she looked to be wearing what looked like sleep wear.

Is it morning or evening?

I don’t know. Ask her, not me.

“What time is it?” Rene asked.

“What ti-it’s… just after sunrise,” said the little girl as they moved along.

“Right. In other words we can make some distance getting away from-hey, what’s the name of this place? Is it a city? Village? Town? How many people live here?” asked Rene.

Up ahead he sensed another group of people coming into his range.

Growling, Rene came to a stop and held onto the girl as he looked around.

“What? You don’t-it’s a village and-”

The girl’s voice was cut off as Rene tossed her over his shoulder, grabbed her around the thighs, and stuffed his pistol into it’s holster. Moving to a house that was nearby he grabbed hold of the door frame with his free hand.

Gibbering wordlessly the girl couldn’t seem to decide if she wanted to struggle against him or go limp.

“Hold on tight,” Rene commanded then let go of her. Pulling with one hand he kicked off from the ground. Grabbing the edge of the roof with his other hand he began hauling himself up over the top.

Shrieking, the girl was now clinging tightly to Rene. Holding to him as if it were the only thing in her life that mattered.

Getting atop the home Rene found it had several wooden beams he could use, but a great deal of it wasn’t going to support his weight.

Skipping to the closest beam Rene bounced off it and hit the next one.

Catching it just right he got both his feet down and then launched himself forward. He angled his jump to catch the building next to them at the edge.

His boots landed well but then the corner of the building broke off under his back foot.

Stumbling forward Rene managed to keep his wits and his balance.

The girl on his shoulder however was still a sobbing shrieking ball of emotions.

Getting to the edge of the building Rene stepped off it and landed on the ground. Out ahead of him he could see a wooden watch-tower and a low wooden wall.

Really is just a village. That wall is just to keep animals out, not people.

And the tower is little better than a paper clip holding a latch on a door. By the time it saw something it’d be too late.

Shaking his head Rene started running from the village as fast as he could manage. Now that he had an idea of what he was dealing with, he could at least go in a direction.

The problem was, did safety mean getting her out of the village, the vicinity, or the country?

Grinding his teeth at not knowing what he was supposed to do, Rene whipped past the watch tower as fast as horse might run.

Shame we can’t do leaps or massive run speeds like those super heroes.

We’re a hero. And we’re super. But we’re still just human.

Nodding his head, Rene kept going. Straight toward a forest.

We can dive into that and vanish. We’ll know where everyone else is, while they struggle.

A delightful idea. Who doesn’t love hide and seek? We’ll slip in close and give’em a snuggle.

Dashing into the woods Rene cast a glance back over his shoulder.

No one was coming there way, though someone was blowing a horn for all they were worth. Rene assumed it was the man in the watch-tower.

Maybe we won’t have to play at all. We can just keep going.

That’s somewhat of a shame. I was looking forward to a prideful showing.

Grinning, Rene looked back into the woods and kept running. The girl bouncing along on his shoulder had finally grown quiet.

***

Suddenly, Rene burst out of the tree-cover and found himself standing at the mouth of a valley.

Looking down into it, he found he could see the sun had moved to the horizon.

“It’s… sunset?” asked the girl.

During their run through the woods she’d gone silent.

Rene had been quite thankful for that. It’d allowed him to concentrate on maximum speed through the forest and it’s undergrowth.

“I suppose,” muttered Rene.

Now that the thought about it, he could easily believe it was sunset. It hadn’t felt like he’d been running for hours on end. Especially considering he wasn’t that tired outside of what felt like he’d been on a morning run.

We’ve really improved our ‘stats’ haven’t we?

Yes… we have. Though… those stats certainly make a lot more sense now, don’t they?

Sighing, Rene pulled the little girl off his shoulder and set her down on her feet.

Only for her to immediately hunch inward, her hands pressed to her stomach.

“Everything hurts,” she complained.

Oh. I suppose that’d be true. My shoulder’s been slamming into her guts this entire time.

“Sorry,” Rene apologized and started walking again. “Whats this way if we keep going?”

“I don’t know. I’ve… never… this is the furthest I’ve ever been from home,” said the girl. She was stumbling after him while hunched forward.

“Sounds like we’ll need to camp out somewhere and have a chat. Like what your name is,” commented Rene, his eyes looking across the plain.

Then he stopped having only taken a handful of steps away from the forest.

Our best bet is to make a camp right here, I suppose.

I guess.

“My name is Sally, Sally Whitaker,” mumbled the girl. She sounded physically and emotionally drained. Which Rene would chalk up to being told she was going to be burned at the stake as a witch. Right at the same time that her parents were killed.

Very likely right in front of her.

“Sally, I’m Rene. I’m here to get you to safety. What would you consider safety?” asked Rene, wondering if this “Potential” could direct him on his goal. Or at least give him a clue.

“Uhm… if we could make it to Catas I’d be safe there,” Sally offered, turning to follow him as he headed back the other way. “Where are we going?”

“Right here,” said Rene and then looked to the trees nearby. “We’ll set up a camp right here. You just sit down. I’m afraid I don’t have anything to feed you, or even to give you to drink, but I can make a fire and shelter for the time being.”

“Okay,” mumbled Sally a second before she sat down heavily on the grass.

Glancing to the young girl Rene wondered what information he could get from her.

“Do you know which way Catas is?” he asked.

“No,” murmured the girl with a shake of her head. She sounded a lot like she might just go to sleep sitting upright. “I’m just… I work with ma as a seamstress.”

Shit.

She’s a complete incompetent. Isn’t she?

Well, given the era, that’s not surprising. I wouldn’t be surprised if quite a few people in this day and age lived and died in the same location they were born.

Unless forced to leave, that is.

Nodding his head Rene decided to start collecting fallen wood. He could see quite a bit of usable material from where he was standing.

“Fine, we’ll just have to-”

Rene paused as he turned to look back at Sally.

She’d collapsed backwards and was sleeping on the grass. A sleep that she likely desperately needed.

“Hm. Well then,” Rene said, looking back to the woods.

Smirking to himself, Rene cleared his voice.

“Me and you and you and me. No matter how they toss the dice,” he said with a hint of the melody attached to the words.

Oh. You’re singing at me again.

Oddly appropriate, I suppose.

Isn’t it though?

Through thick and thin, across worlds and universes.

I are you, you are me. We are we.

We are we.