Gwen was sitting on her bed, holding the peculiar VR helmet. She patted it and thought about Gillean and what she wanted to talk with him about this time. It’s been hard to come to the department and not to see him. This realization hurt her more and more every single day. Finally, she put on the helmet, laid down and closed her eyes. But this time it was hard to drop off. Something was bothering her. It was like a paranormal fog or blanket that covered her from head to toes. Suddenly, she felt as if she was being watched and couldn’t move. She was paralyzed.
“ What the fuck is going on?” she thought desperately and tried to take the helmet off, which she didn’t manage to do.
She saw someone sitting on her bed. This person looked right in her eyes. Then, this weird guy pressed her to the bed, and started chocking her. Not having any other option and being paralyzed , she started praying. Something pushed her up and this guy was knocked off. In the centre of the room appeared a silhouette . It resembled an angel and irradiated all the space in the tiny room.
“ Marcus Bell?” Gwen asked and gaped.
“Yeah , it’s me”.
“ Kinda stupid to ask, but what are you doing here and why are you giving away light?”
“ I’m saving you, can’t you see! The light is a plain trick with fluorescent elements, I’ll tell about it some time later”.
“ What are we to do now?”
“Run after me while this doltish chappie is unconscious !”
“ Gotcha!”
Marcus broke the door and they ran down the corridor and then outside. They stopped to catch their breath only when they reached a hotel in the centre of the city. There was a stony silence around them, as though everyone had died because of a some sort of disaster. This silence added insult to injury.
“ Let’s go to the hotel and discuss everything safely”.
“ But CCTV?”
“ Girl, it’s the only place in the city without the surveillance”.
“ Hm, why haven’t I seen it before? I knew only about the abandoned underground”.
“ No more talks: we should go and book a room for us”.
They went in and headed to the reception. They booked a small room to spend the night in and discuss the weird situation. The hotel was silent, everyone had already gone to bed and no one cared about the crazy and unexplainable things happening around them. Marcus closed the room door and sat on the chair by the window. He drew the curtains and gestured for Gwen to sit down.
“So? What had all of that been?” her facial expression showed perplexity.
“ Ok. So, I used my teleport to get to you. I knew that you get to him during sleep cuz I had been watching you for a really long time. Gillean is in a bad state now , he almost drowned. There was an acid rain and he couldn’t hide from it, so he dived in the stream. It turned out to be a bad decision. The ghost you saw is the Cyberius . He controls all things that are occult and handles time travels easily. He is the ruler of everything. He needs to be aware of the actions the citizens do. Technically, you live in the past , as it’s 2300th year in my and Gillean’s reality. It isn’t an obstacle for Cyberius though.”
“ Jeez . What do I have to do with this?”
“ IDK, girl, sorry for this”.
“ It’s not your fault, I just don’t know how to help Gillean. Is he in a comma?”
“ No, he’s weak and sick , but conscious”.
“ Ok. I can still teleport to him then”.
“ Yes, but let’s go over one tiny detail first”.
“ What kind of detail?”
“ We need to plan this visit”.
“ How?”
“ Oh , this is pretty obvious. We’ll need to create a diversion for Cyberious. While he’s distracted , you’ll teleport to Gillean’s dream , help him recover from the acid rain exposure ,and figure out a way to shield both of you from Cyberious’s surveillance. We might need to use some of those fluorescent tricks I mentioned earlier, or maybe even hack into the occult network that Cyberious controls”.
Gwen nodded, absorbing the information. The plan sounded risky and complicated , but she knew it was the only way to save Gillean and possibly herself”.
“ Do you think we can really outsmart someone like Cyberious? He sounds… omnipotent”, Gwen asked, a hint of doubt in her voice.
Marcus leaned forward, his eyes reflecting seriousness. “ Cyberious might be powerful, but he is not infallible. He underestimates human creativity and the lengths we’ll go to protect the ones we love. Plus, I have a few tricks up my sleeve that he doesn’t know about”.
Gwen felt a mix of fear and exhilaration. The idea of going against being as powerful as Cyberious was daunting , yet the thought of saving Gillean and potentially changing their reality was invigorating.
“ So, what’s the first step?” Gwen asked, ready to dive into the plan.
“ First, we need to gather some materials for the diversion and your protective gear. Then , we’ll hack into the occult network to find the best time to make our move. Timing will be crucial” , Marcus explained.
Gwen nodded . “ And how do we deal with the fact that we’re essentially going against the ruler of time and occult? Won’t Cyberious see this coming?”
Marcus smiled, a glint of mischief in his eyes. “ That’s where the fun begins. Cyberious is the ruler of time , yes, but even he can’t predict every variable. We’ll be those variables. Plus, I’ve been studying his patterns for years. He’s not as unpredictable as he likes to think.”
With the newfound determination, Gwen stood up. “ Let’s do this. For Gillean”.
Marcus stood as well , offering Gwen a reassuring mood. “ For Gillean. Let’s make history… or, in our case, change the future.
As they began to outline their plan in detail, Gwen realized that this was more than just a rescue mission. It was a fight for their freedom, a battle against a predetermined fate. And for the first time since putting on the VR helmet, she felt a spark of hope. Maybe, just maybe, they could pull this off.
***
“ Oh, why is it so cold?” Gillean opened his eyes and looked around. He saw someone peering at him in the corner . He tried to get up, but the panic made him lay still. The figure started approaching him. This person was holding a sort of gun in the right hand. “ Aaaah!” Gillean started hollering in despair. Suddenly, he started falling somewhere.
The ambience was all black and weightless , he was levitating. He fell on solid surface ,and only after this he mastered the courage to open his eyes. He was in a tunnel. He got up, stretched his legs and started running down the tunnel. Nothing was on his way. He had gathered all his power and was running non-stop. Eventually, he started feeling weariness and sat down . He pressed his back against a wall and accidentally hit a peculiar button. The wall behind him vanished and there was a secret passage downstairs. “ Hm, it’s weird” he thought and entered the passage. He was walking down the stairs for ages, they seemed eternal. He reached the destination. It was a plain poorly-lit tiny room . It had another door. Apparently, he found a key on the floor. Hoping it to fit to the lock, he opened the door. It was ,as opposed to the previous one, absolutely enormous. It was an artists studio. There were dozens of canvas, different vibrant paints and incredible paintings. He was flabbergasted and looked around excitedly. He tried to keep silent not to attract anyone though. Suddenly, someone came in, as though teleported from somewhere. It was the person watching him when he was asleep and then awakened by his gaze.
“ Who the hell are you and where on earth are we?”
“ Haven’t you recognized me?”
“ Never seen you before” , Gillean said not comprehending what the person was driving at.
“ If I were you, I wouldn’t be so sure” , the man replied in a patronizing way. He came closer. There was something in his hand.
Gillean turned around and went towards the exit. The man approached and pulled him back immediately.
“ No, dude! Our talk has only begun”.
“ Who are you and what do you want from me?”
“ All right, I don’t wanna make you piss your pants. I’m Cyberious , the ruler of everything. The time is under my control, the people follow my lead, hypnotized .The same thing will happen to you unless you do what I urge you to” , Cyberious’s expression was strict.
“ What am I supposed to do?”
“ Your task is to watch Marcus and give me the information about his experiments. He wants to outwit me, which is impossible.”
“ Why do you ask for my help then?”
“ I still need someone by my side”.
“ No way!”
Suddenly, Gillean was thrown to the wall. Cyberious made him hit the wall with his supernatural powers. Everything was swinging, gradually getting duller and duller. He passed out. Cyberious approached him and took off Gillean’s bracelet connected to the time machine that got him trapped in there. “ You won’t get away with this so easily. No one has ever intended to defy me .”
***
Gillean came round in the same place. This weirdo left him right where he pulled him with an immense power. “ It’s weird that he didn’t carry me anywhere”. Gillean tried to get up, feeling strain and exhaustion. He quietly entered the corridor and started going away. Like a bolt from the blue, a flash of bright white light appeared in front of him. Something was dropped on the floor. It was a note. He unfolded it and saw a makeshift map inside him. It had a route for him to follow and a message above: “ Get there as soon as possible. We’ll check your power”. “ I don’t have any other choice” , he thought and walked , following the specified path.
He got to the target. The room was spacious, it was a warehouse. Cyberious was already there, waiting for him.
“ Oh, you are finally here”, he said and sneered.
“ Yes”.
“ Let me explain the rules first. I’ll give you a special laser gun. I’ll be trying to shoot and knock you down, while you attempt to defend yourself. Pretty straightforward.”
“ Ok.”
The kooky game began. Gillean tried to kick off the shots and was running around the room rapidly. Cyberious terrified him with his mere presence. He looked like an iron man and had grey hair. His eyes were without irises, only pitch- black pupils. Gillean could see that his opponent was triumphant .
He got distracted and then Cyberious shot him in right side, in the liver area. He fell down, pressing the bleeding side and struggling to breathe because of the stress and sudden lack of air. Everything dissipated, and he got lost in the darkness.
“ He didn’t pass the first test.”
***
“ Gwen, you all right?”
“ No. I feel something wrong. Gillean is in trouble.”
“ I’ll be back” , Marcus said and rushed from the room.
He took out his porto cab and entered the actual year he lived in and where Gillean was: 2300th . He needed to speak to Asteria.
He teleported to their lab. He was walking ,looking for her, when he spotted her sitting in the co-working room.
“ Asteria, I need to speak to you ASAP!”
“ What’s going on? Where is Gillean and where have you been?”
“ We’re in trouble. Gillean is most probably trapped in Cyberious’s tunnel. Gwen saw this apparition.”
“ No, no, no! It can’t be true!”
“ Unfortunately, it is. And we need to check up on Gillean and take him away.”
“ But how ? What should we do?”
“ At first, we need to teleport to Cyberious’s lair. I’ll leave you there to distract him and I’ll teleport back to Gwen. She’ll put on the VR helmet and get into Gillean’s sleep. Then I get to you and take Gillean away while he’s asleep and supported by Gwen and your distraction of the stupid creature.”
“ It’s a good plan. Keep your fingers crossed for it to work out!”
“ Good luck to us! Now, let’s start executing the plan.”
***
Asteria held Marcus by his hand while they were teleporting to the tunnel where Gillean was trapped. Finally, they landed in the same place as their companion before and started walking. Oppositely from Gillean , they knew the way.
“ Asteria , I’m going back to Gwen. Break a leg!”
“ Break a leg, dude!”
Marcus vanished, and Asteria moved on. She was walking , when she saw a scarecrow in the middle of the corridor. “How stupid” , she thought and resumed her walk.
She quickened ,when spotted the door of the room he liked to lure his victims in. She heard some sniffing behind her. It was the mechanical dog. She didn’t have any other options, but to run into the room and close the door . The dog followed her and almost managed to keep up. She rummaged in her coat pocket and found an old switchblade. She threw it to the dog to get it distracted and locked the room as soon as she got into. “ Huh, I need to catch my breath. She sat down and the alarm started wailing instantaneously. “What the heck?”
Cyberious got to her . “Oh, an uninvited visitor, girlie”, he said and spread his arm to knock her down with the telekinesis powers he used on Gillean. Strangely, they didn’t work.
She put on the transparent protective glasses and looked unwaveringly on him. There was a flash of light in her eyes that ricocheted to Cyberious . She started shooting him with the light while he was trying to make her fall.
Marcus got back to the hotel where Gwen was. She had been patiently waiting for him to get back. “ How’s it going?” she asked anxiously.
“ Gwen , right now you need to get to Gillean’s dream. He is trapped in the apparition’s lair now. You have to try to calm him down and help , while Asteria distracts the dude and I take Gillean’s body away. He passed out.”
“ Got it, hope I’ll manage to help him.”
She put on the helmet and started thinking about Gillean. She nodded off immediately , and saw him sitting in a dimly-lit room.
