“ Long time no see ,Gilly” , Gwen said gently .
“ Yeah” , he said and sighed.
“ What’s troubling you?”
“ I don’t know where I am. Am I going crazy? Don’t you think that I should already be transferred to a mental hospital? I’m in sort of fog…”
“ Listen, it’s all right . As I understand you don’t remember what happened yesterday?”
“ Absolutely nothing, not even a single small detail.”
“ Oh, I see. Should I remind it to you?”
“ Yes, it would be kind of you”
“ So… Marcus told me that there was an acid rain , even like hail. Acid balls were falling from the sky. You dived in the stream because there was nowhere else to hide and you almost suffocated . Asteria and Marcus saved you, but then Cyberious attacked me and you. This is the apparition you saw. You were teleported to his lair, it’s in a secret tunnel. This dude is the ruler of time and all the occult, I think he’s the organizer of the authoritarian policy you have . He knocked you down and you are trapped in his lair. Asteria tries to distract Cyberious and Marcus is supposed to look for you and take you away. I’m here to solace you. Remember, you can trust me and ask whatever springs to your mind.
He tried to process what had been delivered to him. Not saying a word, he bent and hid his face in his hands. He took a deep breath, his fingers threading through his hair as he attempted to absorb the rush of bizarre and unsettling information. His shoulders shook slightly – a mix of disbelief and emerging fear.
Finally, he looked up , his eyes red and voice thick with emotion . “ It sounds like a nightmare” , he murmured, his gaze drifting as if trying to piece together fragments of a dream. “ How do I know this is real ? How do I know I can trust what you’re saying?”
Gwen moved closer, her expression filled with empathy . “ I know it’s a lot to take in. I can’t imagine how disoriented you must feel” . She paused, choosing her words carefully. “ As for trust, all I can say is that you’ve known me for years. I’ve been by your side through everything. This situation is extreme, but I’m here with you, just like always.”
Gillean nodded slowly , comforted slightly by her presence yest still visibly shaken. “ What happens next?” he asked, his voice steadier but still carrying a trace of fear. “ How do I get out of here? How do we fight something like Cyberious?”
Gwen sat down next to him, her determination clear. “Marcus and Asteria are already working on that. Marcus is searching for any way to break you out, and Asteria is keeping Cyberious distracted. We are not alone in this, Gillean. We have people fighting for us.”
“ Right.” Gillean took another deep breath , trying to muster the courage from Gwen’s words. “ And what can I do? I can’t just sit here waiting.”
“ That’s the spirit” , Gwen smiled, her eyes lighting up with a spark of hope. “ For now, let’s think about what you can remember, anything at all that might help us. And then, we can try to find a way to communicate with Marcus or Asteria. There must be something we can transfer from this dream to them- something Cyberious overlooked.”
Together, they began to search the area, Gillean’s initial despair transforming into a focused resolve . Despite the overwhelming odds, Gwen’s presence and their shared efforts ignited a faint flame of hope, the first step in battling the shadows that surrounded them.
***
As they scoured the dimly lit corners of the room and went out further , Gillean’s thoughts began to sharpen, the fog that clouded his memory lifting slightly with each passing moment. The tunnel was vast and labyrinthine , filled with an array of ancient artifacts and pulsing technological devices that seemed to merge the arcane with the modern.
As they went in another room Gwen immediately pointed toward a flickering screen embedded into the wall, surrounded by dials and levers that looked both ancient and otherworldly . “ Look at this, dude. It seems like some sort of communication device. Maybe we can use it to contact Marcus.”
“ But what if Cyberious notices us?”
“ We are in your dream. It’s the only way I can reach you out. The time machine constructed by Marcus and established in the abandoned mansion has crashed as you probably remember. In spite of this, I can still interact with you thanks to our colleague Brandon MacCauley . He constructed a special VR helmet for me. He wants to save you too.”
“ So technically Cyberious can’t even see us?”
“ Yeah.”
“ But how are you gonna communicate with Marcus if we’re in a dream?”
“ Here’s one magic thingamajig : a device made by Marcus. It is a kind of bracelet- teleport which helps me stay in both realities and to retain my realness this way. I’m like in 2024 and in your dream simultaneously. You’re like a ghost in this dream, but I’m just a visitor.”
“ Oh, it’s complicated.”
Gwen smiled awkwardly and nodded. “ Kind of.”
Gillean moved on to the screen, hesitating just above the controls. “ What if it’s a trap?”, he asked, his voice low.
“ It might be “, Gwen admitted, “ but we don’t have much choice . We need to take the risk if we’re going to get any information- out or in .”
With a nod of determination , Gillean adjusted one of the dials and the screen flickered to life , emitting a low hum. Gwen approached and started trying to call Marcus. After several tense moments, a scrambled image appeared , slowly stabilizing to reveal Marcus’s anxious face.
“ Gwen ! Are you all right ? How’s Gillean?”
“ We’re ok. I thought that this screen is a trap and we wouldn’t be able to reach you out.”
“ No. This screen is what he had been working on with Asteria for all this time since I left you and rushed to her. It was me who embedded it in the wall and it transcended in Gillean’s dream.”
“ Hello ,fella!” Gillean waved to the screen.
“ Hello. We’re fighting to take your unconscious body from the lair as fast as we can.”
“ Thanks a million guys. I would never cope with something like this alone.”
Marcus’s expression was grave and serious. “ Actually ,guys, there’s one terrible thing I want to confess about. Although I don’t want to hurt you, but we need to act according to this fact. I’ve been trying to find a way to the actual lair, like not this gigantic tunnel and so on, but the place where he resides, but it’s heavily shielded. However, I discovered that Cyberious is planning to use the upcoming convergence of the moons to enact a ritual that could give him unprecedented powers over time itself.”
Gillean felt a chill run down his spine. “ What does that mean for us here?”
“ It means we need to move fast”, Marcus responded . “ Asteria and I have a plan to disrupt the ritual ,but we need you to create a diversion. Cyberious must not complete that ritual.”
“ How can we create a diversion from inside here?” Gwen asked , glancing around the room for anything that might serve their purpose.
“ You’ll need to access the main control chamber “, Marcus explained. “ It controls the environmental systems for the entire lair . If you can disrupt those , it should give Cyberious enough problems to slow him down.”
Gillean looked toward Gwen , seeing the resolve in her eyes mirror his own growing determination. “Lead the way, Gwen . Let’s find that chamber.
The duo stealthily moved through twisting corridors, guided by Marcu’s instructions piped through a small , makeshift communicator Gwen had fashioned from parts scavenged along the way. Each step took them deeper into the heart of the enemy’s domain, each moment fraught with the risk of discovery.
As they approached the control chamber, they could feel the energy pulsing through the walls, an ominous reminder of the power that Cyberious wielded . Gillean’s hand found Gwen’s in the dim light, a silent promise of mutual support no matter what lay ahead.
Ready to face whatever came their way, they pushed open the chamber door, stepping into the unknown, ready to do whatever it took to save their world from the tyrannical rule of Cyberious. The battle for time itself was just beginning.
***
Opening the door, they were blinded by the bright yellow light. “ Marcus, we reached the destination” Gwen whispered.
“ Get in. Bye guys, I need to go and help Asteria, there’s a dire situation going on .”
“ Good luck and keep your fingers crossed for us.”
As their eyes adjusted to the surrounding ambience, they went in. Inside they met with a dizzying array of panels , screens and blinking lights. It was a technological marvel and testament to Cyberious’s formidable intellect. But they had no time to marvel at the intricacies of the machinery; their mission was clear – disrupt Cyberious’s plan and buy Marcus and Asteria the time they needed.
“ Okay, according to Marcus, we need to find the main power source and shut it down ,” Gwen whispered , her eyes scanning the room for any sign of movement.
Gillean nodded , his heart pounding in his chest as adrenaline surged through his veins . Together, they moved cautiously through the chamber , avoiding detection by Cyberious’s sentries as they searched for the elusive power source.
Finally, they found it – a pulsating orb nestled in the center of the chamber , surrounded by a web of wires and conduits. Gillean approached it slowly, his hands trembling with anticipation.
“ Here goes nothing” , he muttered , reaching out to touch the orb.
As soon as his fingers made contact , a surge of energy shot through him , sending sparks flying in every direction . Alarms blared, and the chamber was bathed in an eerie red light as Cyberious’s defenses went on high alert .
“ We need to get out of here , now!” Gwen shouted over the din , grabbing Gillean’s arm and pulling him away from the power source.
They raced through the corridors, pursued by Cyberious’s relentless minions. But just as it seemed they were trapped , a blinding light enveloped them, and they found themselves standing outside the lair , blinking in disbelief .
“ We did it “ , Gillean gasped , his chest heaving with exertion. “ We actually did it.”
Gwen smiled, relief flooding her features . “ Yeah , but we’re not out of the woods yet. We still need to stop Cyberious from completing his ritual.”
With renewed determination , Gwen set off toward the convergence site , where Marcus was waiting , ready to confront Cyberious and put an end to his reign of terror once and for all.
As she approached the cite, she could feel the energy crackling in the air , a pulpable sense of urgency driving her forward. With the support by her side, she and Marcus rushed to Asteria to fight Cyberious and his minions , their combined strengths and determination proving to be equal to the would-be tyrant’s power.
Asteria was shooting Cyberious with her laser eyes , while Marcus explained Gwen where Gillean’s body is. He now faded as his dream was over. He was unconscious and without Gwen, while they were all fighting for his life.
She was running in the deserted corridors , trapping over emerging obstacles. Nevertheless, she knew who she was doing it for. Only at that moment she realized that he had been her love. She would be dead too if he died. There’s no sense to live without him. Finally, here he was , in a tiny secluded room, totally unconscious and with a motionless expression on his face. She carefully lifted him up and noticed, how drained he was. She slowly went to the corridors, taking the shortcut Marcus had told her about. Soon , they were out in the forest. She put him down carefully, and took out a blanket to cover him and keep his body warm.
Marcus joined Asteria and took out his new creation – a cybersword. The blade pulsed with a faint , iridescent glow while he swayed it in the air. He ran to Cyberious and stabbed him in his back. Cyberious fell down, swirling and throbbing in convulsions. “ You won’t get away with this! My army is immeasurable and the government will stand still no matter what! Your life will only get harder after what you’ve done, I mean it.” He closed his eyes and stopped breathing. One of the worst creatures in the word is now laying dead.
***
“ Where are Gwen and Gillean?” Asteria asked ,panting. Streams of blood were rushing from her eyes.
“ They’re in the forest. Let’s go find them. I’ll lead you . Come on ,girl. You did a good job! Not every adult is capable of such things, I can’t believe you’re only 17 years old.”
“ Oh, come on. I’ll do everything for the people I love.” Asteria’s voice was coarse and exhausted.
They left the tunnel and were in the dark , intimidating woods.
“ Gwen!” Marcus yelled.
“ We’re here!” she replied and waved for Marcus and Asteria to notice.
Marcus took Asteria by her arm and they quickened their pace. They saw Gwen sitting and stroking Gillean’s hair . Her eyes were full of tears and a vague smile appeared on her lips as she saw them. “ We did this …” she said quietly.
“ Yeah. Will you stay with him for a while?” Marcus asked.
“ Of course, I want to say goodbye and to look in his eyes till the next time.”
Marcus took out his porto-cab and they teleported to their lab. Asteria quickly prepared Gillean’s bed and brought some medicine for him. Gwen sat on the chair next to his bed and took his arm.
“ Goodnight dude” Marcus said.
“ Goodnight Gwen. Call me if you need help.” Asteria said and hugged Gwen.
They left the room and Gwen stayed with Gillean. He was already conscious, but asleep. She watched his chest go up and down as he breathed. He was sniffling .
“ My dear, you’re finally safe.”
She hugged him carefully and laid her head on his belly. Then she sat back on the chair and continued watching him sleep. Knowing that they had managed to save him made her heart beat faster.
