System Change

“Jace…” Earth Silvi muttered as a massive, visible shiver ran down her spine. “Yes… I’ve… heard from him. Though, not recently.”

“Oh?” Derek asked. He could understand the woman’s reaction completely. It wasn’t like Jace was the nicest guy to be around, though, Derek could never actually say that he was evil or anything. He’d met people on Cydaria that far outclassed Jace when it came to being vile. Yeah… Derek thought. He’s just a psychopath who loves to beat the shit out of me… and others.

“Yes,” Silvi said. “I thought he was going to kill me more than a couple of times after you disappeared… once he found out I was at fault. He really… missed you.”

If Derek had taken a sip of the beer he was holding in his mouth at the time, it would have spewed out. “Jace?” he asked. “You sure we’re talking about the same guy? Bald head… two… machete-like weapons? Always wearing that weird sadistic grin on his face? That Jace?”

“Yes…” Silvi answered. “That Jace.”

“And he missed me?”

“Yes… in his own way,” Silvi said, then muttered, “In a way that almost got me killed.” She sighed. “The last time he came by was quite a while after that Kelvin guy came. Jace had stopped ‘visiting’ at a certain point. Then, the last time he came, I guess he saw that your cabin was gone. He stopped by, made his usual non-threat threats… and saw that I had been getting myself back together.

“When I told him why,” Silvi paused, “he seemed to have gotten extremely happy, then left. He hasn’t come around since, and I haven’t heard anything about him, either.”

“That’s… interesting,” Derek said.

“No… there is something that is much more interesting than any of that,” Silvi said.“Really? What?” Derek asked.

“Jace… had a team with him,” she stated. “And he was the leader. Like… who would ever choose to follow that man? And he was so strong. I don’t know if he was as strong as that Kelvin guy, but the feeling that he gave off was so much more dangerous than that man. I get chills just thinking about it.”

“Interesting!” Derek said with a big grin. For a moment, he even thought about tracking Jace down once he was finished with Silvi. However, he soon dismissed that thought. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see the man… to see his growth—and to quite possibly kick his ass for once. He just didn’t know where Jace was. Derek knew he wasn’t on Earth anymore, which was most likely the reason he stopped ‘visiting’ Silvi.

Derek was already risking a bit by being on Earth, as it was. There was a good chance that Jace was somewhere that had very strong people around, and he didn’t want to have to fight his way out once someone used Identify on him. But… maybe when all the shit that’s about to happen between the two systems is finished. That would be a good time to visit. Just before I ascend, he thought.

Besides, it wasn’t like Jace was his friend or anything. He just happened to be the person from Earth with whom Derek had probably the second or third most interactions. Jace definitely was the person who went out of his way to visit Derek the most, but those weren’t exactly friendly visits. So, no… Jace could wait. And, other than Silvi, and possibly Jace, Derek didn’t feel any need to visit Big Jim or anyone else he’d been acquainted with before he was trapped in the void.

“But he really had his own team?” Derek finally asked. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of people would be working with the man.

“He really did,” Silvi said. “They looked strong and were all wearing weird combat-type gear. At least, that’s what it looked like they were wearing.”

“Huh…” Derek said with a shrug. “Well… I’m glad he seems to be doing well.”

“Yeah…” Silvi said, but she definitely didn’t mean it.

***

Earlier…

“What’s wrong?” Kelvin asked as soon as he stepped through the teleporter and saw a frantic Darvin sitting at the meeting table alone.

“I… don’t know,” Darvin replied. “Come have a look.”

Kelvin moved forward to take a glance at whatever was on the screen, causing Darvin to act strangely. “So, what?” he asked when he saw what the man was pointing at. “Should just be a Void Beast, right? Just the normal yellow warning notifications.”

“That’s what I thought,” Darvin said. “But look.” Darvin zoomed in, and it showed that there were actually two warnings right beside each other.

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“That could be a coincidence,” Kelvin said. “I’m sure it’s rare, but it’s entirely plausible that two beasts were attracted from a Portal use. Where is this, anyway?”

“Planet C-186…” Darvin said.

“Planet… you mean… Earth?” Kelvin’s eyes widened.

“Yes,” Darvin confirmed.

“That’s… odd…” Kelvin said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that two Void Beasts could have been attracted by an idiot.”

“But look…” Darvin said, then scrubbed forward. “That was just a few minutes ago. Then they both disappeared. See?”

Kelvin watched as the two yellow notifications disappeared at practically the same time. “Okay. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“That’s why I called you here,” Darvin said. “I need you to put together a strike force and prepare them to go to Planet C-186. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe the nodes won’t appear again. But I want some people ready for if they do.”

“Uh…” Kelvin muttered. “I don’t think you have to worry about them staying gone.” He pointed at the screen, which was now displaying information in real time.

“What?” Darvin turned his head from Kelvin and looked back at the screen. Sure enough, another warning node had appeared. He quickly zoomed in again, then sat back. “Whew… it’s only one this time.”

“Should I get a team ready?” Kelvin asked.

“Yes, just in…” Darvin’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as another notification appeared. “Fuck!”

“This is… just what is going on?” Kelvin asked to no one. But soon, his jaw dropped as the notifications in front of him turned orange.

“Kelvin!” Darvin shouted.

“On it!” Kelvin raised his arm to communicate that he needed a human strike team to head to Earth, but before he was able to do anything, Darvin spoke again.

“Oh… oh no!” Darvin said in shock.

Kelvin raised his head and saw the notifications—they were no longer orange… they were red. “That’s bad.”

“Yes… it is,” Darvin said. “Kelvin. Make sure the strike team is elite. I don’t think…” he began, but the words died as quickly as they were spoken. The two notifications had changed colors yet again. This time, it was a pair of colors that Darvin had never seen before in his entire time as a System Watcher. “Black…” he muttered.

“What does black mean?” Kelvin asked.

“Catastrophe,” Darvin said. “City… no… possible planet-level catastrophe. Maybe even more than one. Kelvin…” Darvin muttered.

“Yes?” Kelvin was entirely serious now. He and Darvin hadn’t been getting along lately, but with something so serious, all that was pushed to the side.

“Go,” Darvin said. “A strike team can’t handle this. Let me know what is happening as soon as you get there.”

“Where?” Kelvin asked, and Darvin tapped the screen a few times.

“It looks like… a system dungeon… the closest city teleporter is in a city designated as Charlotte,” Darvin said.

“Charlotte?” Kelvin asked. The city was very familiar to him. “You mean… the place where I went to investigate before?”

“Yes?” Darvin said. “But since it has a teleporter now, you can take one of the planet teleporters, then teleport directly from that city to Charlotte.”

“What are the odds…” Kelvin muttered.

“I don’t know, but you need to go. Now! Before it’s…” he said, but then… the notifications disappeared once again. “What the fuck!?”

“What?”

“They’re gone… again,” Darvin said. “Still, go! To Charlotte. I will inform you of any changes.”

“Yes!” Kelvin said, then ran to the teleporter. A couple of seconds later, he was gone.

Darvin continued to stare at the screen, and sure enough, the two nodes appeared again. This time, they were back to yellow. “I just…” he said out loud to nobody. “I don’t even…” he muttered. Finally, he sighed and sent Kelvin a message through his communication device.

A bit later, the notifications disappeared again, and Darvin wanted to cry. If he didn’t have a reputation to uphold, he might have actually done so. Once again, the warnings appeared in yellow. Darvin was numb to it all. He zoomed in, saw that the warnings were actually in Charlotte this time. Then, he sent Kelvin, who had just arrived in Charlotte, the location.

***

“So, you’re doing pretty well now, all things considered?” Derek said to Earth Silvi.

“Yes,” Silvi smiled and nodded. “I never thought I would be, but I am.”

“That’s good,” Derek said. “So… you would say that you have a future here? On Earth?”

“A future?” Silvi asked. “I guess as much as anyone can have in a world like the one we live in now,” she answered. “Why?”

“Well…” Derek hesitated. When he first saw her again and they began talking, Derek had the thought of taking Silvi, and maybe even Gerard, with him back to Cydaria. However, a few things were keeping him from asking the woman.

They weren’t exactly close. He’d mostly be bringing her along out of the small amount of guilt he felt about how she had been treated after everything that had happened. However, he knew that it wasn’t his fault. Really, the reason he wanted to bring her along was that she was also from Earth, and he felt it would be nice to have someone by his side who knew where he came from—who understood what the world was like before everything happened.

He didn’t, however, know if she and Gerard would actually be okay if they were to travel to Cydaria with him. It was rough enough getting through the void with just himself and Silvi, and he’d be relying on his companion to keep them safe if he were to take them along. So, that was a big reason he was hesitating.

But the biggest cause of his hesitation was the fact that he wasn’t sure what would happen to them once they arrived. How would Dave react? Would a system change go as smoothly for them as it did for him? Dave had said that he didn’t have to worry about going from the Davenresh System back to the Universal System, but would they be able to go from the Universal System to the Davenresh System like he had?

Dave just never answers enough questions, Derek thought to himself.

“What is it?” Earth Silvi asked, interrupting Derek’s thoughts.

“Would you… and Gerard… like to…” he finally began to say, but as he was speaking, the door to the bar slammed open. Derek turned to look, thinking that some of Silvi’s new team were finished at the system store and were returning to the bar. However, what he saw instead was a red man in what looked like a uniform. He had blond hair and gave off quite the aura.

“K… Kelvin?” Silvi muttered as she looked at the man.

“How is it that I knew you would have something to do with everything that is happening?” the man said.

“Oh,” Derek said, taking the newcomer’s attention away from Silvi. “So you’re the famous Kelvin?” he asked. “I’ve heard… well… not much about you, but a little.”

“Who are you?” Kelvin asked, but then he narrowed his eyes. “Wait. You look a little different, but…” The man’s eyes widened in recognition. “You’re Derek…” he started, then his eyes widened even more. “Why does it say that you’re a creature not of this system?” His eyes narrowed as he stared intently at Derek. “What. Are. You?”