The Forever Gate Ultimate Edition

by Isaac Hooke

  "Tell me, would the world be any less real if we had some device plugged into our bellies that fed images, sounds and sense data to the wires implanted in our spinal cords? Would it? That simulation you were just inside, did it not feel real to you?"

  Zak sighed. "I— I don't know anymore. Reality is... confusing."

  Hoodwink chortled. "Tell me about it." He gazed intently at Zak. "Help me. I need a pilot with your skills."

  "But I was hit in there," Zak said. "I don't think I'm good enough."

  Hoodwink glanced at Ben. "Did any of the others land in that clusterfuck you arranged?"

  Ben shook his head. "They all were hit and respawned."

  "That's what I thought." Hoodwink turned to Zak. "I think Ben might have the difficulty level turned a bit high. Your skills are more than appropriate for what I need."

  "I'll think about it," Zak said.

  "All right," Hoodwink said. "But don't think overlong. You can contact me on my aReal. I'm sending my ID now."

  Hoodwink transmitted the number and then got up.

  "You know," Zak said. "Inside, when I'm piloting the shuttle, that right there seems the most real to me out of all of this. In there, I finally feel like I'm a part of something again. Like I have purpose. Like I'm needed. And the adrenaline, man. It really gets my heart pumping. Really makes me feel alive. Almost as much as vitra did."

  Hoodwink nodded slowly. "You come with me, I'll certainly give you purpose, my boy. Though I can't promise you'll feel alive. Nor can I even promise you'll even come back in one piece. But I'll definitely give your life meaning, because you'll be fighting for us all."

  With that, he left Zak to his decision.

  Hoodwink led a party of engineers through the corridors. The robot patrols had decreased, he thought—the robots were being called away to repair the ongoing damage to the hull. He had encountered two entire sections sealed off along the way, due to hull breaches, and had to find alternate routes.

  Eventually the group reached the launch bay and once there Hoodwink had the engineers work on the shuttles. He had a specific set of modifications for them to make, which included the installation of electronic countermeasures to confuse the alien weapons systems.

  Tanner joined him shortly after his arrival.

  "How does Ari fare?" Hoodwink asked him.

  "I got back from the Inside half an hour ago," Tanner said. "Red Mesa has been secured. That said, there's not much left of the city. The Keepers are working overtime to rebuild everything."

  "I asked you how Ari was doing?" Hoodwink pressed.

  Tanner sighed. "She's frustrated, as you can imagine. She wants to come here and see you, but she can't. And she hasn't heard any news on Amoch, yet."

  Hoodwink nodded. "Has Stanson found the location of any of the Dwarf sub-AIs on the Inside?"

  "Not yet. Because we don't have a working search function yet, he can't just initiate a lookup from the Outside. He's reached out to the Users for help, and they've been in touch with their eyes and ears. We're still not sure if getting our hands on a Dwarf will even make a difference. The sub-AIs might not be able to track down Kade."

  "But we have to pursue all options available to us..."

  "We do," Tanner agreed. "How did it go with Zak?"

  "He's hard to read," Hoodwink said. "But I think he'll help. I did tell Ben to put together a list of five other potential pilots. He's going through the scores of anyone who's ever taken the flight qualifications. I've also been in touch with our two official pilots as well."

  "Just a second." Tanner cocked his head. "I'm getting a message from Stanson." A moment later he said: "Apparently Ari has received a potential lead on Amoch's base and she's moving in to scout. Can I borrow one of those wireless access ports of yours?"

  Hoodwink nodded at the satchel he'd set down at a nearby terminal.

  Tanner retrieved a thin metal cylinder from inside it.

  "I should go with you," Hoodwink said.

  "We can handle it, Hood." Tanner lay back on the floor and attached the device to the connector on his abdomen. "We've managed this long without you, after all. I think we can manage a while longer. We're just scouting, remember."

  Hoodwink nodded. "Just the same, be careful, Tanner. And take care of my daughter."

  "I always do," Tanner said.

  Hoodwink smiled wanly. "Except the time I returned to find her dead."

  Tanner's face became grave. "I'll never let that happen again, Hood. Never. I swear it."

  "See that you don't," Hoodwink told him. "Because if you do, you better hope you don't wake up."

  40

  Ari strode through the desert lands outside the Forever Gate of Rhagnorak. There were signs that a large army had once encamped there: the depressions in the ground, the firepits, the open latrines. Fist-sized glass disks drew a path across the ground, marking where something had superheated the sand, perhaps Amoch's staff—assuming the site had actually been his.

  The hot sun beat down on her and she paused in the shade of one of those giant skeletons that were often found there in those barren lands. The unburied portion of the skull was the size of a house; from it extended a long backbone, to which a prodigious basket of ribs was attached. The middle ribs were bigger than some footbridges. The backbone tapered as it continued toward the tail, which fanned outward in a massive rake.

  She sensed motion behind the ribs nearest her and she spun, drawing her sword. She no longer had her shield—the defensive item had mysteriously vanished a few hours ago.

  Tanner emerged, hands raised. "Sorry."

  "Some warning next time, Tanner." Ari sheathed her sword.

  "Where's Renna?" Tanner asked.

  "I sent her out to care for her real-world body," Ari said. "Unlike me, she's not hooked up to a drip feed."

  "Why didn't you flag down another Keeper to join you?" Tanner said.

  Ari shrugged. "Guess I'm used to being self-reliant. By the way, you didn't bring me a new shield? The last one I had just vanished."

  "No shields for now," Tanner said. "There was some kind of expiry bug with them. A couple of the Children are working on it." He paused to survey the disturbed sand. "So what do we have?"

  "Well, there was definitely some sort of base here," Ari said. "Whether or not it belonged to Amoch, I'm not sure. Whatever the case, they're long gone now."

  "Someone tipped them off?"

  "No idea," Ari said. "Maybe he simply recalled everyone to participate in another one of his attacks. Either way, there's nothing for us here. Let's get back to the city."

  "How did you hear about the camp?" Tanner asked.

  "Briar sent a courier my way. Apparently he has a few men embedded in Amoch's camp. They send out messages now and then."

  Tanner frowned. "And Briar relates those messages to us when it's to his advantage, no doubt."

  Ari nodded. "No doubt. But like I said, let's get back. This heat is killing me." Once they passed through the Forever Gate and into the city proper, the temperature would drop by at least ten degrees.

  "Remember, Ari, it's all an illusion," Tanner said. "You can ignore heat and pain."

  "Yes," Ari said. "But that mindtrick requires focus. Something I'm fairly low on right about now. It's been an exhausting day."

  "For the both of us," Tanner commented.

  "Tell me, how's Hoodwink?" Ari asked.

  "His plans are going well. He's looking for pilots to lead an attack against the Satori mothership. His top candidate is Zak, of all people."

  "Zak?" Ari asked. "The one we forcibly removed from the Inside?"

  "The very same," Tanner told her.

  "An attack on the alien mothership..." Ari said. "I hope it all works out."

  "So do I, Ari," Tanner said gravely. His unsaid words were obvious: because if it doesn't we're all doomed.

  They turned toward the distant Forever Gate and began the long march through the molten heat.

  Brute stared through the gapi
ng hole in the Forever Gate toward the barren land outside. The four-armed creature shifted slightly, its incredible weight crunching the debris underfoot.

  Two individuals approached from the desert. Brute zoomed in on the distant pair.

  Accessing local memory... positive match. Ari Flanners.

  Brute had been drawn to that particular area by traces of vitra use, which appeared as a fading mass of bluish mist floating in front of the hole. Beyond, Brute had expected to find some hapless Keeper to tear limb from limb. But instead Brute had wandered into its old foe.

  Option A—initiate covert reconnaissance. Option B—depart to find another target. Option C—depart to report encounter to Amoch. Option D—

  Brute grinned evilly and withdrew all four scimitars.

  Ari and Tanner trudged onward through the unforgiving heat, the sand enveloping them to the ankles. The Forever Gate towered above them, but because of the position of the sun, those walls offered no shade. The pair slowly approached the ragged hole that had been blasted into the bottom.

  The city had suffered a minor attack while she had been in Red Mesa. A bomb had detonated, carving that hole in the Gate. A score of Lightning wielders had run through the streets, wreaking havoc. The Keepers had managed to restore order, but the city was still on edge. When Ari had arrived earlier, hundreds were queued at the transit center, awaiting their turn to take a portal hop away from there. Outside the terminal, she had found the streets relatively empty, as most of the remaining citizens had locked themselves indoors at the urging of the Keepers.

  "Finally," Ari said when they neared the wall. "When we get inside, the first thing I want to do is find a water vendor."

  "There might be one or two still operating," Tanner said. "Though the price for water has probably skyrocketed since the attack. Like most of the commodities in the other ruined cities."

  "I don't care what the price is. I'd give all my coin for just one glass right about now. I know it's not real, but my mind doesn't know the difference."

  Ari made her way across the rubble that strewed the ragged hole through the Forever Gate. As she passed through, in her weariness she stumbled on one of the rocks and fell flat on her face. Before she hit the ground she heard a soft hiss above her, as of a sword swiping through the air. She also felt a momentary gust of wind pressing down from above.

  She didn't know it then, but that fall saved her life.

  "Ari!" Tanner said, his voice urgent.

  Ari rolled to the side, flinching as the jagged debris dug into her body. The clang of steel erupted from the ground behind her.

  She leaped to her feet, drawing her sword at the same time.

  A red-skinned version of Brute stood before her, grinning wildly, a scimitar held in each of its four hands.

  41

  Ari stood there, stunned, unsure of whether to fight or flee.

  Tanner decided for her. He threw himself at Brute, his swords moving in a flurry of deadly strikes.

  Brute easily parried the attacks with its four blades. The creature actually began to laugh in a ghastly bass. The chortles grew with each passing moment, until Brute no longer bothered to fend most of the attacks, and parried only when Tanner stabbed at its face. Those stabs on Tanner's part were dangerous, because he was leaving himself open to attack from the other three blades.

  Ari fed vitra into her fire sword so that the metal glowed molten red and smoke poured from the edges. "Tanner, retreat!"

  She had beaten Brute only once before, by breaking all its swords and then shoving a pipe bomb into its eye, but she was too exhausted to even attempt such a maneuver that day. And she didn't have a pipe bomb.

  Brute abruptly stopped laughing and focused on Tanner. Those four blades beat down at him with murderous intent. It was all Tanner could do to defend.

  Ari threw herself into the fray. Brute reserved the two swords on his right side for Ari and the two on his left for Tanner. Though her lone blade moved in a blur, she could never find an opening. Always one of Brute's scimitars was there to meet her own weapon.

  She parried an incoming blow and attempted a stab, knowing that it would leave her open. Indeed, she could already see the other blade coming in to strike at her heart.

  But she was committed now, and unleashed the pent-up flames that she had allowed to build within the blade. As the tip of the sword struck Brute's side, the fire erupted, smashing into Brute's chest and sending the creature stumbling backward. Brute tripped on a piece of debris and toppled outright.

  "Retreat!" Ari said.

  Ari and Tanner fled.

  Ari glanced over her shoulder. She saw Brute getting up. Without warning the creature hurled two of its swords at them.

  "Tanner watch out!" Ari said.

  She deflected the blade that was meant for her, but Tanner was a split second too late. He spun around and managed to parry the thrown scimitar: the blade missed his torso, only to dig deep into his thigh instead.

  "Ah!" Tanner collapsed.

  Ari withdrew the scimitar from his flesh, bringing with it a thick eruption of blood, and then helped him to his feet. Tanner moaned in agony.

  "Remember, it's an illusion," Ari said. "Ignore the pain. Stanch the blood."

  "Easier said than done!" Tanner panted through gritted teeth.

  Brute was sprinting toward them.

  "Leave me." Tanner glanced at the creature. "I'll disbelieve reality and come back uninjured."

  "I'll draw him away." Ari dropped him. "Buy you some time."

  Tanner tossed her his blade. She grabbed it out of the air with her left arm so that she wielded two fire swords. Only a week before she had uploaded the latest version of dual-sword technique to her avatar, a database of tactics and muscle memory that three of the Children had spent months refining.

  She raced toward Brute and leaped, bringing both blades down on the creature from above. Brute parried with its own two remaining blades, but the creature seemed slightly off balance. She extended both feet, planted them on Brute's shoulders, and kicked off.

  She somersaulted, landing in front of Brute, who had stumbled backward.

  She pressed the advantage, swinging both blades, and Brute struggled to parry.

  Not so good when you're evenly matched, are you?

  The pendulum of battle abruptly swung against her and she found herself on the defensive, retreating.

  Her weariness had caught up with her.

  She reached into the sword, searching for vitra, but the power seemed slippery and elusive, and she couldn't quite grasp it. When Brute stumbled on a portion of rubble, she used the moment to race past the creature and dodge behind a house.

  She wasn't sure if Tanner had escaped to the Outside yet, and thus was relieved when she spotted Brute in hot pursuit behind her.

  She hurried through the nearly deserted streets. She spotted a street vendor up ahead, and the man promptly hid behind his stall when he saw them. Ari sheathed one of her swords and scooped up a water bottle as she passed, downing the contents while she ran.

  Behind her, Brute had sheathed its two remaining swords and raced after her on all six appendages like an insect of some kind. The creature was quickly gaining on her.

  She veered down a side street and ducked inside a tavern, where a few citizens took solace from the recent attacks by drinking.

  Brute came right inside after her. The creature stood up, towering to its full, monstrous height, and unsheathed its twin scimitars.

  She tossed the water bottle to one of the stunned patrons and withdrew her other sword to defend.

  Brute moved in. She parried the creature's blows, retreating. She dodged an overhead strike, rolling over a table, knocking over a patron's beer mug in the process. She deflected the sword that Brute intended for the patron, and then kicked the edge of the man's chair so that he dropped to the floor.

  Brute plowed through the table, smashing it.

  The other patrons, including the barkeep, had fled the tav
ern by then. Ari continued to retreat under that flurry of blades. She reached once more for the vitra inside both blades, and finally found it. She had difficulty fanning the flames, but managed to gather enough to release a small torrent of fire.

  The weak flames reflected easily from Brute's invulnerable torso, and the fire caught on alcohol that had spilled over the ruined table and wooden floor. As Brute and Ari fought, the flames slowly grew until half the tavern was ablaze.

  Ari had kept to the defensive the whole time. She was growing wearier with each passing moment, while the beast didn't seem to tire at all. She had the sense that Brute was playing with her: she had made several mistakes, at times risking too much, at others moving too slowly, and presented Brute with many openings, but so far her foe hadn't taken them. Certainly, she'd received several cuts and nicks across her body, but those were superficial. No, the creature wanted to prolong her death. And from the sneer on its face, Brute was deriving much pleasure in doing so.

  The creature backed her against the conflagration so that flames licked at her heels. She retreated sideways so that the fire resided on her right flank. After she deflected a particularly nasty salvo, a burning rafter abruptly collapsed behind Brute. The creature ignored it, battling on, but Ari took that as her cue to get the hell out of there.

  She backed into a burning chair. She swung her body around it, sheathed both swords, and wrapped her fingers around the flaming object. The fire scalded her fingers, but she ignored the pain and threw it at Brute's face.

  Then she leaped through the flames, landing on a table. She vaulted onto the fiery bar and dove through a window. The glass broke when she struck and she landed rolling outside.

  She clambered to her feet in time to watch the entire tavern collapse behind her.

  She ignored the stares of the shocked bystanders, most of whom were the very patrons who had fled the tavern. She patted down those portions of her outfit that were smoldering and then broke into a run. She made the mistake of looking at her charred hands and nearly sicked up.