Between Worlds (WIP) - Chapter 3: An Apple a Day Keeps the Other World Away

AN: Have a few words to coast you over until the next chapter of Forgotten! Do enjoy.

The chime of her phone informed Vinera that her ride to Doctor Sharesch would arrive sometime soon. Sadly, though she had cleaned the mess she had made upon her return as well as gotten something to eat, her conundrum had not been helped in the slightest. Why, and perhaps more importantly, how she had ended up in that black abyss, followed by a wide open field were still questions she could not find an answer to.

"But why would the answer present itself?" she asked the empty room, hoping against all logic that something would actually answer. Of course, silence was the only reply she received, but it was still worth a try.

As Vinera dismissed the notification from her phone, she noticed another — much less annoying — one. I missed the launch? she thought to herself as she tapped the notification. It was from one of the blogs she followed, and her eyes scanned over the title of the article.

'Slipway Active' it read, with a picture of the moon behind it. A stock one too, knowing this site. Harbinger News was not really reputable, but at least it was fun to read from time to time. With a sigh, she closed the app and locked her phone again. Before her ride arrived, she should probably get changed.

The trip to her room was a quick one that Vinera managed without even thinking about where she should go. Once inside, she removed her top, grimacing at the cuts that were visible on it. After a moment's deliberation, she threw it next to her door — the official place for clothes that would be disposed of later. Should've taken a shower, Vinera chided herself as she took off the sports bra she had haphazardly put on and replaced it with one that would be a little more supportive and — more importantly — comfortable.

Her new look was quickly finished with a rather plain shirt and a pair of shorts that would help her not melt in the summer heat that had befallen Mezzaluna. Being near the ocean seemingly meant nothing to the weather. Probably makes it worse… If she ever found the time, Vinera would have to ask a meteorologist how all of this worked, and track down the identity of the one who thought that having giant reflective towers was a good idea.

The skyline of Mezzaluna might be nice to look at from afar, but the glistening towers really did a number on the eyes if one dared to look at them for a little too long. Vinera knew, of course, that they had an image to keep. They were the model city of the Mediterranean Sea, and by extension, the Mediterranean Federation. Why they had decided to build a city in the water-filled crater of another would never be something Vinera would understand, but she would appreciate the proximity and beauty of the city's beach. Not today, though.

If she was honest with herself, she would probably not visit the beach anytime soon. The events that had transpired were simply a little too weird for her to seamlessly return to a normal life. At least university is still out. She still had a month and a bit before classes would start again, and even then, Vinera was not sure if she even wanted to continue her studies. The entire thing seemed a little… useless to her. No matter how hard she tried, people would not want to employ someone who could not use most of the technology a modern workplace required.

She might be physically stronger than many people her age, but that meant precious little when nearly everyone could use some form of magic to help them in their life. Need to lift something? Just raise the earth, or summon wind to help you. Maybe you got lucky and the System granted you a form of telekinesis you could use. And even then, all a normal person had to do to become more physically apt than Vinera was to spend a few points on strength. She, on the other hand, would have to use good old fashioned elbow grease. And not even that got rewarded by the System…

A quiet chime echoed through the house, informing Vinera that a car had entered the driveway. Her time to visit the Doctor had come. She still felt a little apprehensive about the whole thing, as it did not quite make sense to her why someone would go to such lengths to accommodate her. Vinera doubted they had ill intentions: if they did, why have her go there with enough time to prepare anything she wished and tell anyone where she was going?

She shook her head, let out a sigh and stretched her arms upwards and a little behind herself. Vinera was rewarded with a slight pop and a wave of relief as an invisible weight vanished from her back.

"Well then," she mumbled to herself as she put on a jacket and slipped into her shoes. "Time to see the doctor."

Just as she was about to walk out of the door, Vinera turned back and grabbed an apple. Some more food wouldn't hurt, and perhaps the old saying of doctors and apples was actually more applicable for strange, alternate worlds.

When she arrived back at the door, Vinera stopped. She looked at it for a moment before she shook her head and extended her hand to open it. For a brief moment it felt as if the handle moved away from her, always staying just out of reach, but then her hand closed around the cold metal and she pulled it open. The step outside was hesitant at first and Vinera turned around as she passed through the threshold of her home. She had to make sure the door was actually closed, and had not been replaced by a black abyss.

Luckily, the door clicked in place as it should and a quick turn of the keys locked it. Vinera directed her gaze upwards, the clouds slowly drifting through the sky giving her a sense of calm she had not felt before. Ridiculous, she thought to herself and shook her head again. Despite her own thoughts, she still touched the front door again, just to make sure it was actually still there.

The almost silent whir of a car landing in the driveway caused Vinera to turn around. Her eyes paused on the stylised 'N' that adorned the hood of the vehicle. Newmaerk… Expensive taste. This doctor she would be seeing was seemingly not only weirdly interested in her, but also willing to throw around more money than most people made in a year. One of the shimmering white — and all too clean — back seat doors opened, and a slightly robotic voice echoed across the driveway.

"Please step inside, Miss Soletti."

Vinera stepped closer to the car, glancing through the window at the driver's seat only to see that it was empty. "Fancy," she mumbled as she stepped around the open door and sat down inside. "I bet you cost a lot."

"Do you wish to browse the catalog?" the car asked, one of the displays in front of Vinera lighting up. "We are always looking for new customers!"

"No thank you," she replied with a laugh. "I couldn't afford that."

While fully autonomous vehicles — both flying and otherwise — were common and decently affordable, this one would not be. On a hunch, Vinera checked in the glove box for the plaque that would mark this car as a rental, but she found nothing of the sort.

"Who is your owner?" she asked as she pulled the seat-belt across her chest and secured it.

"Doctor Sharesch," the car replied. "Do you consent to be transported by this vehicle?"

"I do," Vinera replied and took out her phone. It was a phrase she had said countless times before, one she would have said in a different vehicle if her parents had left the car with her for the day. Why it was that every autonomous vehicle asked permission to transport someone when they were already inside the thing never made sense to Vinera. She knew why it did that of course; nobody wanted to be brought in because they care abducted someone, after all.

"Then please strap in, we will be at your destination in approximately ten minutes."

With those words, and an almost silent whirr, the car lifted off of the ground and into the air. Vinera let out a sigh as she leaned herself against the all-too-comfortable back rest of her seat and unlocked her phone. A quick swipe closed the news article that she had skimmed before and another tap opened her contacts. Her finger hovered over the name of her mother, inching ever closer to the tiny icon of a long-antiquated phone next to it.

The screen then went black as she locked it again. Even if she called her parents and told them what had happened, they would not believe her. Nobody would. The entire thing was simply too bizarre to be true; a waking dream was more likely than her having actually travelled to another world. A sharp pain raced through her arm, almost as if the mere thought of dismissing her trip as fiction upset whoever was responsible for it and did not want to let her entertain the possibility.

"Do you require the first aid kit, Miss Soletti?" the car asked, a panel in one of the doors opening with a quiet hiss and revealing the garishly green box that all vehicles had to carry. "Should this not suffice, I am authorised to call Medavain; all expenses are covered by Doctor Sharesch."

"No need," Vinera replied. "Just some cuts I got for being… clumsy."

Silence reigned for a moment before the compartment in the door closed again and the AI's voice rang through the interior of the car again, a little quieter this time. "Understood."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, Vinera passing the time by looking out of the window. Living at the edge of the city had its perks — though the main one was that nobody bothered you, it was closely followed by not being blinded by the numerous skyscrapers dominating the skyline of Mezzaluna.

It hadn't always been like this, of course, but ever since the 'factory' — many believed it was a research facility instead — had gone up in flames, with its scattered remains now resting at the bottom of the ocean, the city had been 'modernized'. If anyone were to ask Vinera, she would say that they had ruined a perfectly good city and turned it into yet another copy of the Federation's capital. At least we got a nice beach out of it.

The explosion had slightly expanded the ocean and given the city of Mezzaluna its signature crescent-shaped beachand, with that, a part of its name. One that was too perfect to have been made by nature or a disaster; yet another reason why many people did not want to believe the official story. I guess after the third world war was fought – with magic! – between self-proclaimed Gods, nothing should surprise us anymore. It didn't help that most of those who truly did know what happened were dead by now, and the ones that remained did not wish to speak about it. Probably because they are responsible.

Vinera smiled as the car crossed over one of the flood walls that had been used only a few years prior to save the city from yet another disaster. The local youths, as the news liked to call them, had taken to drawing their thoughts on them. Most of it was barely legible and very edgy bits of text, but some sections had been transformed into murals that had garnered enough attention around the world that they were allowed to stay.

A look down at her phone informed her that ten minutes had passed. Something could not be right, as they had not gotten any closer to the city. In fact, they had moved further away, reaching the edges of a forest that stood on one of the hills that still existed near Mezzaluna.

"I thought his office was in the city?" Vinera asked, already unlocking her phone and scrolling through her contacts. Just in case.

"It is," the AI replied. "But since you missed your scheduled appointment, Doctor Sharesch will be receiving you in the clinic instead. It is located inside the Acerbo Forest."

"Why does he have an office in the city when the clinic is in the forest?"

"I cannot claim to know why the Doctor does what he does," the car replied as it began its descent. "I only know where I am supposed to go."

"I gathered as much," Vinera said as she placed her phone in her pocket, her finger resting on the number of her mother.

The car set down with an almost silent thud and the door to Vinera's left opened on its own. "We have reached our destination. Assistant Kirmon will be with you shortly. If you wish to have a refreshment while you wait, all you have to do is ask."

"I think I am good," Vinera said as she stepped out of the car. She turned to look back at the vehicle, stealing a glance past it and outside the gate that prevented normal entry. "Thank you for taking me?"

"You are most welcome!" the car replied, its voice a little too enthusiastic for Vinera's tastes. "I hope the journey was to your liking!"

She did not reply to that as the only thing she could say was likely something the car — or its owner — would not like to hear. Vinera was thankful that she did not have to get here on her own, but the change of location was a little unnerving. There was at least some good news; while the clinic was located inside the forest, it was not alone in the middle of nowhere. Outside the gates, Vinera could already see a few houses, stores, and even a police station that bore the mark of the Mezzaluna Police Department.

She turned away from the gate and took a step towards the brick-stone building that was the clinic before she stopped. "Uh," she began, looking at the car. "Where should I go?"

"Simply head inside, Assistant Kirmon will lead you to the doctor." With those words, the car's door shut and its lights turned off.

"Guess no more talking to you," Vinera mumbled to herself, shaking her head and starting her walk towards the clinic.

The sound of the gravel crunching beneath her feet filled her with a sense of dread it had no right to produce; the building, too, seemed to not get closer despite Vinera's constant forward strides. She frowned and quickened her pace, the white walls and terracotta roof of the rather old-looking clinic finally approaching her at a pace that matched her own.

For the briefest of moments, the thought that the doctor was the one that had sent her to not one, but two other worlds flashed through her mind. It was quickly dismissed as she walked straight into the door, causing it to swing open with enough force that it bounced back from the wall and hit her again.

"Careful," a voice called from across the room, one she vaguely recognised. "Our clinic is a little older. No automatic doors or anything of the like; we tried to replicate the style of buildings from a few hundred years ago."

"I noticed," Vinera mumbled as she rubbed her nose. "You are Assistant Kirmon, right?"

"The one and only!" the man replied, a smile spreading across his face as Vinera looked up at him. "I assume you are Miss Soletti, then?"

"James informed me that it arrived, with the next appointment, but it forgot the name. Again." He laughed before seeing Vinera's confused face and adding, "The car is called James. Doctor Sharesch liked the idea of a butler."

While Vinera did not really share the doctor's views on that particular matter, she could see why he would have wanted to call his car James. With some imagination, one could say that the car had a British accent. Not that it mattered when most anyone had a personal translator with them that could replace  their natural voice with a slightly robotic one that someone else could then understand.

"But that doesn't matter now," Kirmon said as he guided Vinera to a nearby chair and set her down. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I simply didn't look where I was going."

"I noticed," the man replied with a slight chuckle. "Whenever you feel ready, I can lead you to the doctor. You are the only appointment, after all."

"Do you always move appointments to a different location without telling them?"

"Usually not," the assistant replied. "But as you missed the original time and the doctor had to take care of a few patients here, we thought it best to simply move you here as well. I do admit, we should have told you, but it's a little too late for that now. My apologies."

"Well," Vinera began, getting up from her chair, "let me put it this way. The only reason I did not call the police is because my parents vouched for doctor Sharesch."

The man simply looked at her for a moment before he gave a slow nod and one of the pens behind him floated upwards and scribbled a small note on the board behind him. "I will be sure to keep that in mind for the future. If you wish to see the doctor, his office is the second door on the right."

Vinera only gave a curt nod in reply before she walked past the small reception desk and down the featureless hallway. Sure enough, the second door on the right, which had been painted blue for one reason or another, bore the name of doctor Sharesch.

Before she could knock, the door opened inwards and a tall but very thin man looked down at her. "Welcome!" he exclaimed. "I have been waiting for you, Vinera." He paused briefly, tapping his chin. "Can I call you Vinera?"

"Yes?" she replied, slowly pulling her hand back. "If I can come in?"

"Oh yes, do come in!" He stepped inside, a few large strides bringing him to a chair at the opposite end of the large and mostly empty room. Doctor Sharesch gestured to a simple and stylish recliner that looked a little too expensive to belong in a doctor’s office. "Please, have a seat. You can call me Mahrim if you wish."

Vinera put one hand into her pocket and unlocked her phone as she stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her. As soon as she had sat down, the doctor placed a series of instruments on a table between the two that Vinera was all too familiar with. They were either used to measure an affinity, your raw magical output, or something else related to mana that she could not do.

"If you have been tested with any one of these, please tell me," the doctor said as he continued to place more tools on the table. "I already know of a few, but some of the doctors you visited before did not write down the tests they performed — very unprofessional, I must say — and I would rather not repeat what they have already done."

Vinera gave a nod and began to sort through the still growing pile of instruments. Many of them were essentially the same tools that had been made by a different manufacturer, nearly all of which had already been used on her.

"Your condition is quite interesting," the doctor said, putting one last item on the table before looking at Vinera. "A being without magic cannot exist, so there has to be some in you. That is doubly true because it says here that you can use the System, even if it is only the [Status]."

"I can see my [Status], yes," Vinera replied. "But that's it. Any tool that requires me to use magic doesn't do anything. Can't even learn skills that cost mana."

"Most intriguing," Mahrim replied. "Have you noticed that you are better in other aspects when compared to your peers? Perhaps mathematics comes easier to you, or the feelings of others are easy for you to read as a book."

"Not really?" Vinera replied. "I am decent at maths and interpersonal stuff." She hesitated for a moment before she continued. "And training in the gym is also as slow for me as anyone else without the System’s help." Slower if I count the cheat of just dumping points into strength…

It was always such a 'fun' sight to see someone break their personal record by leaps and points because they levelled up and put all their attributeless points into strength. Vinera did not have that luxury. As far as the System and anyone else was concerned, she was a Classless level one. The weakest of the weak.

The doctor leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I see. That already rules out a few of my initial assumptions about your condition. At first I had thought you might simply internalise all the mana you get without knowing it. This can lead to a person not receiving levels from the System nor a Class. Instead, they would grow incredibly strong in one aspect of life, be it the sciences or physical prowess."

"Guess I'm simply not lucky," Vinera mumbled, placing the last of the tools she had already endured on the new pile she had made. "That's all the ones that have been used before."

"Not lucky?" Mahrim repeated. "I guess you could say that, but I would rather you see this as an opportunity. Those that remain without a Class for long are usually the ones that become the strongest. Just look at Jaque; he only got one when he turned fifty and now he is the second-highest ranked adventurer in the world.

"Though, I guess your case does differ a little from his," he added. "The man could still level, even if it was atrociously slow."

"And he was able to receive mana infusions," Vinera added as she watched the doctor pick up one of his instruments and plug a cable into both it and a small port in the desk. "The last time someone tried that on me, I spent a month in the hospital."

"A body that rejects all mana," the doctor mumbled to himself as he tapped a few buttons on the device he held in his hand. "Well, all except for the bit you require to exist," he added in a mumble. "Truly extraordinary." Mahrim extended the tool towards Vinera. "Take this and place your thumb on the marked section."

Vinera did as instructed and placed her thumb on the section marked in dark green. The rough texture felt weird under the digit, somehow pulling her finger in while at the same time holding it perfectly in place without actually doing anything. A moment later, she felt a small — and definitely electric — shock run through her arm. Despite the fact that she could feel the muscles in her arm contracting, her hand did not move from the device, staying perfectly still instead.

"You can take your hand off now," doctor Sharesch said and waited to take the device away as soon as Vinera had obliged. "The good news is that your body does have the channels for mana, they are just extraordinarily empty. Honestly surprised none of the others tested that, but, that at least means my second theory might still be viable."

"And that is?" Vinera asked, rubbing the arm that had been shocked. "And what do you mean by channels for mana? I have always been told that it just is in everything now."

"While that is true," the doctor began as he removed a few of the devices from his desk and replaced them with a few vials, "the Human body has developed something akin to veins in which most of the mana flows. It's not quite the same, but the analogy still holds.

"As for my second theory," he continued, pushing the vials towards Vinera. "I think you might be the first Human with a mana allergy. None of the other cases of people without mana had such a violent reaction to it like you do, and neither did they have intact channels."

He held up a hand stopping Vinera from asking the question that had come to her mind. "No, I don't need to test all your channels. One is enough for my skills to take care of the rest."

Doctor Sharesch pushed two of the vials towards Vinera and pointed towards the one on her left. "Now, this is a solution of about ninety percent condensed mana from Earth. The other is from Mars. As you might know — or not, who am I to judge — mana is different on each world. What I want to test is if you show the same reaction to all mana, or just that of Earth."

"So you want me to do, what? Drink that?"

"Exactly! The dosage is just a bit above what the doctors at the Institute used in your first examination. The one from Earth should give you mild discomfort and, hopefully, the Mars one should make you unreasonably hungry."

Vinera eyed the man and the vials a little longer before she picked up the one containing mana from Mars. A part of her did not want her to drink it as the entire situation was still more than a little sketchy, but a bigger part wanted to know if the doctor's hunch was right. Life was basically a dead end for her anyway if she did not fix herself, so if this was a step in that direction, she would take it.

In a single, rather small swig, Vinera emptied the vial containing the mana from Mars. She placed the vial back down and waited for the inevitable pain to spread throughout her body. Just like she had thought, it came a moment later, the only upside being that it was not nearly as bad as she had anticipated.

Much to her surprise, the pain vanished as soon as it had appeared and, when she looked to the doctor for an explanation, she found a ball of blue particles floating above his open hand.

"All mana, it would seem," he mumbled as the particles slowly began to condense, turning into a liquid that flowed into a new vial he had placed on the table. "Most intriguing."

"How did you do that?" Vinera asked as she slumped a little in her chair, the exposure to mana a little more exhausting than she remembered.

"A skill of mine," he replied. "Should any medication I administer have adverse effects, I can remove it at will. In this case, the mana was the medication and you showed a negative reaction, so my skill allowed me to take it out again."

"How helpful," Vinera replied, forcing herself to push back up into a proper sitting position. "What else do you want to test?"

"A few things," Mahrim replied, gesturing towards the tools that still remained. "I would also like to take an MRS of you, but we are still waiting for the machine to be installed so that will have to wait."

"MRS?" Vinera asked, the acronym not meaning anything to her.

"Mana Resonance Scan," the doctor replied. "It's a process we can use to figure out what kind of mana your body expects to have in it. Sadly it's still relatively new tech and the only working machines are not available to the public. I could probably get you an appointment with the military in a few days, but I doubt you wish to sign on with them."

Vinera exhaled sharply through her nose at the words. "No, I wouldn't." Not like they would take me, anyway.

Military service had changed a lot since the System had come to Earth. NNow everyone who served was expected to have at least some magical aptitude. The weapons of war had mostly been replaced with individual Humans that could level a city or an opposing army on their own. No need for someone like me.

The rest of the appointment was spent in much the same way. Doctor Sharesch tried something that did not really work and then mumbled 'most intriguing', a phrase Vinera was fairly sure the man had trademarked by now. She also had not figured out what about her situation would be intriguing, as it all seemed pretty straightforward. No mana meant no help from the System, and that meant you were damned to a short life with no accomplishments to your name.

She did not know how many hours had passed, but once doctor Sharesch put the last of his little gizmos away Vinera knew it was finally time for her to leave. Just like she had thought, this visit had not brought her any answers; not ones she wanted, anyway. What she had gotten was the knowledge that she was apparently allergic to the very thing that dictated how their world worked; the only thing that would enable her to get anywhere in the world.

"It will take a while to go through all the results," doctor Sharesch said as he stood up and began walking towards the door. "Once the MRS is available I will have Kirmon call you to set a date. That should give me the last bit of information I need to start working on some treatment plans."

"Are you sure you can even treat me?" Vinera asked as she followed Mahrim out of the room and down the hall. "All of this seems pretty pointless to me."

"Don't be so gloomy," he said. "I am sure we can figure out something. If I have learned anything in my time with the System, it's that there is always an upside to any handicap it inflicts. We just have to find yours."

He stopped just before entering the larger hall that housed his assistant and the desk, and extended his hand. "It was nice meeting you, Vinera. Do give Robert and Sofia my greetings when you see them. It has been too long since I last saw them."

"I will," she replied and shook the man's hand. "Perhaps during our next session you can tell me how the three of you met?"

Mahrim smiled. "I would be delighted!"

"Then I will wait for your call," Vinera said and began walking towards the exit of the clinic.

"Stay safe!" the doctor called after her, seemingly unaware of just how unsafe her entire trip here had felt.

Vinera gave assistant Kirmon a wave over her shoulder as she stepped through the door and out into the open. A gust of wind caused her to lift her hand and shield her eyes as the door closed behind her with an audible click. As soon as it had come the breeze vanished, but when Vinera lowered her hand she was not greeted by the driveway of the clinic but the garden of glowing plants and the impossibly tall facade of the temple she had been taken to this morning. The only difference now was that she had arrived directly at its doorstep and not on a path above an endless abyss.

There were only two words that came to her mind as she looked behind her only to see a gate closed with chains, locked with something she could only describe as a blob of light.

"Fuck me."