{"id":283,"date":"2019-02-22T22:55:14","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T22:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/matrixwriting.net\/fanfiction\/?p=283"},"modified":"2019-02-22T22:55:14","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T22:55:14","slug":"chapter-twenty-nt9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/2019\/02\/22\/chapter-twenty-nt9\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Twenty – NT9"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cPlease\u2014\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d Heleer\u2019s eyes, those same eyes which Dan felt he could peer into for hours, were now cold, locked against him. She had made a decision. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo,\u201d she said. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeleer\u2014\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo,\u201d she repeated, motioning him away. \u201cIt\u2019s over. I failed. You won. Go now.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan could still see her face, and the hurt he was causing her. He understood now. She thought she had done the one thing she never could: shown someone how to be content with what they had. He had done more than prove her wrong. He had taken away the only victory she had ever fought for. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeleer, please,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean it. I\u2019ll stay. I\u2019ll be content. I\u2019ll never try to escape again. Please, just\u2026 just don\u2019t do this.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She looked at him a moment longer, and then turned away. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlease\u2014\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo,\u201d she said, her back facing him. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeleer.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She didn\u2019t answer. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeleer.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silence. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeleer!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan sat bolt upright. He had shouted her name aloud. He closed his eyes, trying to rid them of the image of Heleer\u2019s face. He had to fix this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan opened his eyes again, and took in his surroundings. A stone room, a table and chair, single door, and a bed. He was still in SR. He was in the same room he had started in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan didn\u2019t hesitate, but got to his feet and made for the door. The only reason the soulborgs would keep him in SR this long was if they wanted him to do something. Well, he would do it, whatever it was. It was the only way out. After that, he would find Heleer, no matter what it took. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had gotten half-way across the room when the door opened and someone stepped inside. It was the same soulborg who had spoken to Dan outside in the large hall. The one with Darren\u2019s symbol. Dan stopped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The soulborg closed the door behind him, and then stood there, watching Dan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou may call me NT9,\u201d the soulborg said after a moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same emblem Darren had worn was clearly visible on the soulborg\u2019s shoulder. \u201cAre you a friend?\u201d Dan asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes,\u201d NT9 said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen let me out.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are not in SR.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan said nothing. If he wasn\u2019t in SR, then the soulborgs must have built this place, and why would they use stone and wood? Why not the same metal that they always used? And plus, if he wasn\u2019t in SR, then the strange human-bird hybrids he had seen had to be real. No, he had to be in SR. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLook around you,\u201d NT9 said. \u201cNothing here could be simulated by a SR Unit. The detail is too exact. The construction too precise. The SR Unit can mimic, but it cannot create. All of this is real.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIncluding those bird-humans I saw?\u201d Dan said, raising an eyebrow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He expected a \u2018no\u2019, but NT9 nodded. \u201cIncluding them, and they\u2019re called kyrie.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan said nothing. He still didn\u2019t believe him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConsider what you can feel,\u201d NT9 said. \u201cConsider the stone beneath your feet. Could anything feel that way other than a surface outside SR? Have you felt anything which does<\/em> feel like it belongs in SR?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an upgrade then,\u201d Dan said. \u201cA more realistic SR.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NT9 suppressed a laugh. \u201cNo,\u201d he said. \u201cI doubt SR could be made any better than it is now. This\u2026  this is reality, and it\u2019s something no soulborg will ever be able to mimic perfectly.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan watched NT9 for a moment. \u201cI don\u2019t believe you,\u201d he said. But even as he said it, the sense of fear he had felt before returned, stronger this time. Despite his best efforts, everything NT9 said made sense. Dan had seen nothing which belonged in SR, and encountered only things which belonged in the real world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NT9 watched him. \u201cI think you do believe me,\u201d he said. \u201cMy processors can read Mariedians like a book, and you\u2019re beginning to grasp the truth.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan\u2019s fear was growing steadily. \u201cWhere am I then?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are not on Isadora,\u201d NT9 said. \u201cYou are no longer a prisoner of the Khyta Soulborgs. You are on a different planet. You are on Valhalla.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took Dan a few days to finally come to terms with what NT9 had said. At first he stubbornly maintained that he was in SR. However, after two days had passed and nothing had changed, he found himself beginning to believe he really was no longer on Isadora. He at least wasn\u2019t a prisoner of the soulborgs anymore. And if this was SR after all, then Dan could see no way out of it. All he could do was play along and wait for it to end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having decided that, he turned to the next most pressing thing: finding Heleer. If NT9 was right and this was some faraway planet, then Dan had to get back to Heleer as quickly as possible. The next time NT9 showed up, Dan asked him how he could do this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe only way you can go back,\u201d NT9 said, \u201cis by the same way you arrived. You were summoned here by Vydar, and only by his hand can you be returned.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of this had made an impression on Dan. \u201cWhat?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVydar is a Valkyrie,\u201d NT9 said, \u201cone of seven here on Valhalla. A Valkyrie is a being who has drunk from one of fifteen magical wellsprings scattered throughout this land. Upon drinking, they receive visions of creatures and people from different times and places. With practice, they can use the wellsprings to pull those people from their own times to here, Valhalla. We call the process summoning. Vydar is one such Valkyrie, and he has summoned you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan was silent for a moment. Only some of what NT9 had said made sense. \u201cWhy?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re at war,\u201d NT9 said. \u201cWe have been for a long time. The other Valkyrie want the power of the wellsprings for themselves, and have been fighting amongst each other ever since they were discovered. And the abilities granted to them by the wellsprings means that they can summon armies to fight for them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s where I come in,\u201d Dan guessed grimly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NT9 nodded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that was it. Assuming this all wasn\u2019t just an elaborate simulation, Dan was stuck on a distant planet, expected to fight in a war he cared nothing about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy me?\u201d he asked. \u201cI\u2019m no warrior.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NT9 shrugged, the metal plates of his body sliding and flexing smoothly. \u201cNo one but Vydar himself can know the reason. He\u2019s summoned more than warriors. He\u2019s summoned people to build this very citadel we now sit in. He\u2019s summoned healers and farmers. Not all are warriors. In time, your use will become apparent. Suffice it to say that all those who Vydar has summoned have proven their worth in some way. You will be no different.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWon\u2019t I now?\u201d Dan muttered under his breath. \u201cSo how do I get sent back?\u201d he added so that NT9 could hear him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou will have to prove your worth. The same promise has been made to all who Vydar has summoned: serve him well and do your part to win this war, and when it\u2019s over, Vydar will send you back.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s over?\u201d Dan repeated. \u201cI can\u2019t wait that long, NT9. I need to go back now. I need to\u2014\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing will have changed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI \u2013 What?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing will have changed,\u201d NT9 repeated. \u201cWhen Vydar sends you back, you will go back to the same time and place he took you from. Your life will resume as if nothing had happened.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan sat back in the chair. So he could go back and fix the damage he had caused. If NT9 was right, even the few days he had already spent here would never have happened for Heleer. If he was sent back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen will the war be over?\u201d NT9 said. \u201cNo one can be sure. The enemy has steadily been losing ground for some time; most believe the end of the war is near. But no one can be sure. You will be sent back when your duty to Vydar is fulfilled.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan sat up straight. \u201cDuty?<\/em>\u201d he echoed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuty,\u201d NT9 repeated. \u201cHe saved your life,\u201d he added at Dan\u2019s look. \u201cI don\u2019t know the specifics, but nearly every warrior Vydar has summoned would have been killed or injured if he had not intervened. Can you say this is not your case?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan remembered RR pointing the small black object at him. He remembered her words: \u201cbeyond repair.\u201d<\/em> Had she been about to kill him? Dan hadn\u2019t thought she would, but \u2018beyond repair\u2019 certainly sounded like it. Maybe Vydar had<\/em> saved him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NT9, reading his face, nodded. \u201cYou owe him a debt,\u201d he said. \u201cRepay that debt. Help Vydar win this war, and he will send you back.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan slowly leaned back, thinking. It was too convenient to be a coincidence. This Vydar needed soldiers, and everyone he summoned happened to instantly owe him a great debt? How likely was that? Although Dan knew very little about him, he was beginning to dislike this Vydar. He sounded manipulative, like he didn\u2019t care about the lives he summoned. He might have saved them, but only to throw them into a war they cared nothing for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NT9 got up to leave. \u201cYou may not want to go back to your old life, you know,\u201d he said, turning at the door. \u201cMany don\u2019t.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy\u2019s that?\u201d asked Dan, still thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce you\u2019ve seen Valhalla, you\u2019ll understand. For many, this land is a better place than the one they left. You might wish to stay.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan thought about that. He was fairly certain that anywhere<\/em> would be better than the cell he had lived in. But then he remembered Heleer, and a sudden feeling of longing washed over him. No place would be complete without her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs Vydar the only way back?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes,\u201d NT9 replied. \u201cOnly the Valkyrie can send people back. There is no other way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No other way. RR had once said something similar to Dan, about escaping his cell. Well, she had been wrong. Dan had gotten out, and he believed he could get out of this Valhalla too. Valkyrie or not, he would see Heleer again.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cPlease\u2014\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d Heleer\u2019s eyes, those same eyes which Dan felt he could peer into for hours, were now cold, locked against him. She had made a decision. \u201cGo,\u201d she said. \u201cHeleer\u2014\u201d \u201cGo,\u201d she repeated, motioning him away. \u201cIt\u2019s over. I failed. You won. Go now.\u201d Dan could still see her face, and the hurt he … Continue reading Chapter Twenty – NT9<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-his-part-two"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiction.armyoffour.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}