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2 - Until It Wasn't
🕑 Added 2025-02-12 10:28:22 +0000 UTC[INITIATING SYSTEM]
[NEW LIFE FORM DETECTED: HUMAN]
[INTEGRATION BEGINS]
[ANOMALIES DETECTED]
[INCOMPATIBILITY DETECTED]
[INCOMPATIBILITY RESOLVED]
[INTEGRATION COMPLETE]
[NEW LIFE FORM: LEXIE SPARROWFOOT, EARTH 9, HUMAN, RANK AND STAT TBD, ROLE TBD]
***
DUE TO FALLING QUOTA OF CARD USERS, YOU ARE PREDICTED TO BE A CARD USER.
DUE TO PAST-LIFE HEROIC POINTS DETECTED, YOU ARE PREDICTED TO BE A HERO
Pre-Affixation: [Card User Hero]
***
Lexie’s eyes popped open with a startling flash of light, and she found herself staring at a cream-paneled ceiling, with sparkling lights embedded in a spiral pattern.
“Where am I?” she mused aloud.
“Lexie?” an unfamiliar dark-haired man sat at the foot of her bed, holding her hand. His eyes were red like he’d been crying. “You’re awake. Thank the system, you’re awake!”
“Who are you?” Lexie asked again, trying to yank her hand out of his hold, but he gripped firmly, as he stood, moving closer with an intensity that frightened her. His light brown eyes looked familiar and the eyebags surrounding them almost made her feel sorry for him. She might have, had he not been a stranger who was clearly holding her captive.
“Let me go.” Fear rattled in her chest and she pulled her hand out of his. She tried to recall the last thing she remembered.
Being shot.
Bleeding out on the road.
And now she was in a strange room, surrounded by a bunch of soft pillows that smelled distinctly floral. Speaking of floral, pink flowers were painted on the wall, but not like wallpaper or childish drawings. It was like an artist of Michaelangelo’s calibre had painstakingly etched each petal to be as beautiful and entrancing as possible.
Lexie was distracted by it for a second, before ripping her gaze back at the man with tear streaks on his cheeks who looked like he hadn’t slept for days.
She came to a single logical conclusion.
Tate had left her on the road to die and this lunatic had kidnapped her before the ambulance arrived.
“Are you hungry?” the man asked, gesturing frantically as he spoke. “I cooked all your favorite meals every single day and kept them warm for you in case you ever woke up. Silly, I know, but I didn’t have much else to do and it kept my mind off worrying.”
“I…” Lexie tried not to panic. She didn’t want to alarm the lunatic. His eyes were wide and glassy already, hair haphazard, stubble breaking out over his chin. His entire being radiated desperation. He seemed on the verge of a breakdown.
“I’m not hungry,” she said in a calm, unalarming voice. “But I think I might need to go to the <healing house>.”
“Why?” he asked. “Do you have a headache or nausea?”
“Yes,” she lied.
“I’ll request a healer to come see you.”
“No, I don't want the healer to come see me,” she said, trying to keep from screaming the words. “I need to go to a <healing house>. I think I need a CT scan, or an MRI or something. I might have a brain injury.”
Lexie paused after her speech. Why did it sound like she said ‘healing house’ twice now? She hadn’t. She’d said hospital.
The man frowned and cocked his head like she’d just uttered a bunch of gibberish. Then he laid his palm on her forehead, and Lexie noted the silver bangles wrapped tightly around his wrist.
“Let me get you something to eat first,” he said. “Then we can go to the healing house.”
She swallowed and nodded. She knew better than to argue with a kidnapper, so she simply waited for him to leave and then she got out of bed, landing her feet on the cool wooden floor. She glanced around, trying to orient herself. She was in a bedroom. A tall, ornate closet stood in one corner and next to it was a standing mirror with intricate carvings on its borders. Lexie walked in front of it and did a double-take when she saw herself.
She looked younger.
At least six years younger by her estimation. She’d lost six inches of height, her face still had that childish chubbiness that she struggled to get rid of, and her light brown eyes looked way too big for her face. Her light brown hair fell in curly waves down her back framing her features. As she reached up to touch it, it felt slightly electric.
As a matter of fact, the air around her felt different, almost static. There was a constant buzz of energy and if she focused on it long enough she could feel it permeating her lungs.
“What on earth?” she wondered aloud. “Why do I look ten again? What’s going on?”
That last statement seemed to trigger a whizz and suddenly a window appeared in her vision. Like a computer window. Except there were no computers and it was just hanging in thin air.
When it popped up, Lexie screamed and fell back.
Instantly, she heard footsteps running up stairs and her door tore open. “Lexie? Are you alright?”
She shook her head, pointing at the blue screen still hanging in her vision, moving with her head movements. “What is that?”
“What is what?”
“Th…that thing. It’s like a screen in my eyeballs.”
He frowned. “You mean your system interface?”
“My what?”
The stranger bent, his eyes meeting hers through the blue screen. It seemed for the first time, he was actually evaluating her. “Lexie, do you really not remember who I am?”
Lexie shook her head. She had a sinking feeling that this was more than just an ordinary kidnapping.
“Do you know where you are?” the man asked and she shook her head again.
He bit out a curse and ran his hand through his longish black locks.
“He warned me this might happen,” he muttered and then rubbed his face. “I’m so sorry, honey bee. I should have explained earlier but I thought…I mean I was just so happy to see you awake…”
“Explained what?” Lexie asked.
“Who I am. Who you are. Where you are.”
“I already know who I am,” she told him slowly. “I’m Lexie Evans from Brooklyn, New York. That’s where we are right?”
He stared at her, sadness creeping into his expression as he shook his head slowly.
“Your name is Lexie Sparrowfoot. I’m your father, Aiden Sparrowfoot. And you’re in Hovelton, Orinia, District 9, Earth 9.”
Lexie blinked at him. “Is that a new Soho address?”
He shook his head and sighed. “Let me get you back in bed with some hibiscus tea. Then I’ll tell you everything. It’s going to be a long story."
***
Lexie counted down from ten and then opened her eyes staring straight up at the ceiling.
She released the breath she was holding, her last shred of hope dissipating. This wasn’t a dream. She really was in a new world called Earth 9. According to the man–Aiden, who said he was her father–Earth 9 was only one of the Earth dimensions and it wasn't divided into continents but into districts. He was going to say more but there was a knock from a downstairs door and he disappeared.
Lexie was glad he didn't say more. She was having enough trouble digesting what he did say. And she wouldn’t have believed him except that there was the pesky blue screen still taking up a portion of her vision.
Aiden taught her how to deactivate it. It could be activated by saying, "System Screen on" or "System Interface on" but the AI could also detect questions “What is going on?" or "Where am I?" and that would trigger the screen with an immediate explanation. Of course, to turn it off, she could simply say, "Screen off," or “System Interface off"
"Screen on," she muttered and then looked at the words flashing on the blue background.
[Welcome New Player! Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the welcome manual.]
And then like a Discord channel, there were a lot of topics to explore including the so-called welcome manual, character sheet, something called an ability deck, weapons inventory and a whole bunch of other things.
She focused on the character sheet for a few seconds and it opened up to a table.
[PRIVATE WINDOW]
Name: Lexie Sparrowfoot
Age: 10
Race: Human
Location: Earth 9
Guardian: Aiden Sparrowfoot (Father) click to open family tree.
Status: Unawakened.
Full status screen available upon awakening.
It was her second time viewing this window. At first, Lexie had thought the unawakened meant that this whole thing was a dream that she could wake up from. But she’d tried every trick in the book, including pinching herself, rolling herself out of bed (which brought Aiden up again in another panic), and then closing her eyes and attempting to sleep her way back to reality.
None of that worked.
What is going on? she wondered. Did someone implant a video game in my head for some sick joke? Like in Black Mirror? Am I on some billionaire’s island right now with my confusion televised to sadistic rich folks as some kind of social experiment?
Or did I actually die and wake up in a video game?
That last one would have sounded crazy an hour ago. Now, it was starting to seem like the only logical explanation.
Lexie and her brother had watched a couple of isekai anime so she was familiar with this as a concept. But while Logan always wanted to be isekai'd, Lexie always thought the whole thing would be far too stressful for her temperament.
And she was right. She was incredibly stressed out, and trying her hardest not to show it, or let it consume her.
Logan would be having a field day with this.
She wished he was here. He wouldn’t be on the verge of freaking out like she was. He was a video game nut, he would know what to do.
Thinking about her brother brought back memories of their last conversation. A tentative thought followed, carefully so as not to trigger the brimming mania underneath her calm surface. I hope Logan's okay. I hope he's not too upset that I'm dead.
Hang on. Was she dead?
Lexie got up, the combination of her tumultuous thoughts and the buzzing sensation underneath her skin driving her mad. She tried to breathe steadily as she went to the window, looking out of it, marveling at the glittering lights outside.
She certainly wasn’t in New York anymore.
It wasn’t like any place she’d ever been before but if she had to give a guess, it looked closest to the Scottish countryside, lush greenery, distant mountains and low clouds. She’d gone on an exchange trip to Edinburgh in sixth grade and this looked kind of like the places they visited, lots of grass and trees with cottages and brick buildings littered about. Lonely lanes made of stone connected each home.
Only difference was the sky had two moons.
That’s right. Two big fat moons sitting up there, driving Lexie crazy.
The two neighboring houses didn’t look inhabited. The grass was overgrown, windows dirty, cobwebs on the walls and the roof shingles. Lexie’s new home was in the middle of the deserted homes.
The perfect place to stage a murder.
Thunder crackled, echoed by a knock on the door.
Lexie spun around to find Aiden standing there. He was wearing a loose linen shirt and leather pants, with boots at his feet. Glasses perched on his nose. His neck sported the same silver bands that encircled his wrist and she was tempted to ask what they were but she didn't. There was too much going on in her mind already.
I can’t believe he’s supposed to be my dad. Lexie supposed he looked kind of like her, except that his hair was darker. And her eyes were a surer brown while his were closer to hazel. He was a virtual stranger to her, but something about him also looked and felt achingly familiar.
Where have I seen him before? Or am I simply getting confused by the emotions that the owner of this body would have toward her own father?
“Lex,” he said, and she guessed that was his nickname for Lexie Sparrowfoot. “I’m popping over with Max close by. A dungeon portal is about to open and he needs my help getting rid of it.”
"A dungeon?” she blurted out.
He nodded. “One of the unstable ones. I hate to leave you alone but the dungeon portal is less than a kilometer away and we need to get rid of it before it spawns otherwise we’ll be in danger. Anyway, I’ll be back soon. Stay indoors and keep the doors locked. Nothing will be able to get in without your permission. And remember the rules - no using the stove, or the manaronics while I’m gone. Okay?”
She nodded slowly, and he hesitated at the threshold. She wondered if he was debating whether or not to leave her. Maybe he thinks I’ll run away. Maybe he is holding me captive.
And then it also occurred to her that maybe he was waiting for something from his daughter, a hug or whatever. But Lexie certainly couldn’t give him one. She didn’t know him and still wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t a lunatic who had kidnapped her.
Still, she felt a little bad when his face fell and he turned away.
“I’ll see you in a minute. I love you, honey bee,” he said.
Lexie flinched a little. She hadn’t been expecting the ‘L’ word so blatantly. Even her parents didn’t really say it all that often to her, nor to each other. She was sure they loved her, but they just weren't that kind of family. It was…weird hearing it from a stranger.
Lexie said nothing as he shut the door, and she heard his footsteps walking down the stairs. She felt a little hollow as his steps grew farther away. Maybe I should have told him something nice back. Not 'I love you’ obviously, but maybe to come back safe.
But this was all too confusing and frankly crazy for her to digest. As she watched, lightning cracked across the skies and the lights in the home flickered. Through the window, she saw the trees in the distance sway although there wasn't much wind.
Probably a storm coming.
Left with nothing to do, Lexie went back to her bed and lay down. If she really was kidnapped this would be the perfect time to escape, but where would she even go? She didn't recognize this place with its two moons. And the kidnapping excuse was holding less and less weight as time passed. After all, what kind of kidnapper would just leave her there, where she could easily escape?
And the man did look genuinely relieved when she woke up, like he’d been tortured by the thought of her dead.
Lexie Sparrowfoot's father seems to care about her. A lot.
Lexie wondered how her real parents were dealing with her death, if she was indeed dead. She wondered if Logan had told them about her MIT acceptance. She wondered if that would make it hurt extra or if that would soften the blow because at least she'd achieved their dream before she died.
How morbid.
Lexie and her brother often liked to joke that their parents had them as an experiment. Two highly intelligent academics got together to see if they could create genius children.
Lexie was a culmination of their dreams. Straight A’s all throughout elementary and middle school. Acing one of the toughest high school programs in the country. Would have probably continued that trend in college and graduated summa cum laude. In their eyes, they could probably already see her giving a TED Talk or an inaugural address of some kind. She would of course have to mention how much her parents motivated her and made her the woman she was. She might even manage to squeeze out a few tears. That would probably make them happy.
She’d thought maybe after she was done achieving their dream, then she could finally live life on her terms.
Except, laughably, she didn't actually know what living life on her own terms even meant. Her entire life, she was raised to be a try-hard and a study-machine. She knew nothing else.
With a sigh, Lexie opened up her System Screen again and hovered over the Welcome Manual.
INCOGNITO WINDOW> PRIVATE ACCESS ONLY.
“Welcome Human to your new life!”An excessively cheery voice sounded in her mind as she read the words on screen. “You have been given a new form, as a candidate of the Interdimensional Soul Travel System (ISTS).
“Take a second familiarize yourself with your pre-affixation:”
!ERRORS DETECTED!
!ERRORS RESOLVED!
“[CARDUSER HERO]”
“FULL STAT WINDOW WILL BE AVAILABLE UPON AWAKENING ON SYSTEM DAY. Would you like to access the preliminary stat window now? [Yes] [No]
Out of curiosity, Lexie clicked the yes button. How to do it took some getting used to but she essentially let her eyes linger on the yes button for three seconds and it opened up a new screen.
[STAT SCREEN OPEN]
!ERRORS FROM ANOMALIES DETECTED!
!ERRORS FROM ANOMALIES RESOLVED!
Name: Lexi Sparrowfoot
Race: Human
Age: 10
Class: Restricted
Subclass: Restricted
Cumulative Level: Restricted (For individual levels, open the individual tabs)
Affinity: Restricted
Physical Rank: Restricted
Mental Rank: Restricted
Mana Rank: Restricted.
[STAT SCREEN CLOSED]
Well. That was helpful. It told her absolutely nothing.
[RESUMING INCOGNITO WINDOW]
Your current location is Earth 9 which may change in the future.
You may travel through the Earth Dimensions with Travel Points.
WARNINGS:
DO NOT SHOW ANYONE ELSE THIS WINDOW (INCOGNITO WINDOW WILL NOT BE DISPLAYED OR ACCESSED ON YOUR PRIVATE SCREEN).
DO NOT DISCUSS OR DISCLOSE YOUR ASSOCIATION WITH THE ISTS WITHOUT PERMISSION.
VIOLATION OF ISTS RULES MAY RESULT IN FINES OF UP TO COST OF DIMENSIONAL TRAVEL (THIRTY BILLION CREDITS) AND ASSORTED PENALTIES UP TO AND INCLUDING COMPLETE SOUL TERMINATION. [OPEN HERE TO FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH ISTS RULES]
Anomalies were detected upon transport and were resolved.
You have been allowed to bring 1 item from Earth 2. Would you like to access it?
[YES] [NO]
Lexie once again visually hovered over the yes. With an audible click, a glowing familiar thing spun in her vision, seemingly suspended in mid air.
She gasped. It was her cell phone.
At first it looked like a hologram, but it became solid when she touched it. She plucked it out of the air and stared at it, unable to believe it. The screen flashed showing the screen saver of her favorite Dino Fury Power Ranger. Then she opened it up seeing that everything was just as it had been when she died. The battery percentage was 87%. All her apps and pictures were gone, except for the messaging and call app. The last number she called was 911 and then underneath that was Mickie's. Her friend had called her on the way home to see if Lexie wanted to walk home with her. Lexie told her that she would be staying late at school to study, but that had been a lie. Truly, she just didn’t want the company today.
And now I may never have Mickie’s company ever again.
The thought triggered a separate storm within her, as tears pushed behind her eyes. When she tried to call Mickie’s number, it didn’t work. No cell service.
The pain stabbed at her chest and she rubbed at the hollow ache. But she swallowed, refusing to cry just yet.
I need to get back home.
She opened up her messages to find that only her text thread with Logan remained, and even then it was a handful of messages. She tried to text him just to see if it would work.
Hey, she sent but it didn’t go through. No service.
Defeated, she walked back to bed and scrolled up to read her brother’s messages, feeling the sharp ache of loss expand as she did. Most of what Logan sent were memes or conversations about whatever game he was playing or how annoying their parents were being. No pictures of him and her together. The last convo was about Heroes Online where he had sent Lexie a few photos of the characters that the company had released to the public. And then a picture of himself eating a slice of pizza the size of his head.
I hope Logan’s okay, Lexie thought although she couldn’t imagine how he would be. He was alone now. He would have to bear their mom and dad’s obsession on his own, with no one as a buffer. He could no longer escape to her room when their parents fought. Before they would distract each other with meaningless conversation or by playing video games while the storm raged around them. Now that Lexie was gone, so was that bit of comfort.
He would have to carry the heavy burden of their grief and their expectations alone. And he was so young. And stubborn. Unlike Lexie, he was less likely to bend to their will and more likely to simply break.
A tear escaped running down her cheek. Her throat grew tight. Her finger shook as she scrolled.
At least he was too far away to hear the gunshot. I hope. That would have been traumatizing.
Okay enough of that. Lexie wiped her face and decided crying right now was unproductive and would only make her more depressed. She needed to plan her next moves.
But she couldn't stop herself from scrolling, even as the sobs tore out of her chest, muffled behind her hand.
And then her finger hovered as Lexie froze on an image her brother had sent her. The accompanying message had several exclamation points, talking about how hyperrealistic the graphics were and how interesting the character's backstory was. But it was the image attached that caught her attention.
It was of Aiden, the man whose home she was in, the man who claimed to be her father.
Underneath it, her brother had written out the following:
Take a look at this character. He’s crazy OP.
NAME: AIDEN SPARROWFOOT (AKA THE ARCHMAGE)
RANK & CLASS: S-RANK MAGE, S-RANK SCHOLAR
ROLE: [SUPER-VILLAIN].
