Eric and the Quantum Dragon
Chapter 53

Eric’s Quantum Realm

Saturday December 29th, V26 (2046)

“She’s here!” Eric shouted to the girls via their earphones and drew his slim pistol from its holster. Stanley roared in defiance and leaped into the air, a blast of Vapora engulfing the area where the black dragon landed.

Eric moved to a new position, trying to see past the cloud of white steam that now covered half the courtyard. Shadows moved in the hazy mist but he held his fire, unsure of where Stanley was.

A sudden flurry of sound erupted from the steam, deep roars of anger and hatred as the two Dracoris fought. Eric stalked closer, his pistol held forwards in both hands. In the weapon were the last of his Armour Piercing bullets and he had to be strict with how he used them.

Once again he cursed his own programming that limited his supply of equipment in the training scenarios. His intent had been to make it as realistic as possible, so things like weapons and ammunition were not infinitely available. Once he used up his allocation for each mission, they were gone.

He had just never expected to be fighting for his life against a Dragon in this world.

Like a blue rocket Stanley came literally flying out of the fading cloud, flung by his nemesis in a powerful strike. The Dracoris Vapora hit the paving hard and rolled across the coloured slabs until he crashed into the front wall of the main building. Windows shattered and the walls crumpled, covering the blue scaled dragon with debris.

Striding into the open came Nothing, her jaws wide open and searching for her enemy. Eric braced his feet and commenced firing, aiming for her eyes and mouth. His first two shots hit behind her moving head, punching thin holes into the long neck. She ducked her head behind her broad wings, obscuring his aim so he stopped firing.

Against a target as big as the dragon, hitting her was easy, but hitting her somewhere that mattered was the problem.

While she was momentarily stopped, Eric ran to where Stanley was lying, still against the side of the front wall. He could see bright red blood spattered down the blue flanks of the Dracoris and he was not moving as far as he could tell.

“Stanley!” he shouted urgently as he approached. “You need to get up!”

At last there was movement, a big shuddering breath that sent a fresh cloud of steam billowing over the pavement. Stanley’s head lifted and his deep blue eyes regarded Eric dazedly.

“Come on, you lazy lizard” Eric yelled encouragingly. “Stop laying about the place. We have a Black Dragon to fight!”

Eric could only guess what kind of reply Stanley was thinking, but he got to his feet and shook the bits of broken glass and rubble from his back. Stanley gave him a nod and the pair of them faced towards Nothing as she recovered from Eric’s attack.

A hasty intake of breath was the only warning she gave, yet it was enough. Nothing spewed a vast cloud of toxic black gas at them, only to have it countered and pushed away by a blast of Vapora by Stanley. The white and black clouds mingled into a grey fog that drifted over the street beyond the school, settling like a poisonous haze that obscured the far buildings.

“Can you still fight her?” Eric loudly whispered to his companion and Stanley grunted what could have been agreement. “Okay, I’ll draw her attention to the right and you try and land a strike while she is distracted”

He got a second grunt in reply so Eric shouted and charged to his left, drawing the attention of Nothing as he started firing at her head. His bullets did not replace her eyes, yet one scored a deep line across her brow and another tore a hole in her sinuous neck. She screamed at him and hurled a concentrated gout of thick black fluid in his direction.

It splashed onto the paving near to him and the concrete began to smoke. Somehow she could spit her gas as a concentrated acid! Eric kept running, firing his pistol one shot at a time to keep her attention. He had circled halfway around her when Eric saw a flash of blue and white at her rear.

Stanley had kept low to avoid her seeing him and now jumped, his long talons slashing into Nothing’s unprotected back. She bellowed in pain, twisting her neck to snap at the blue dragon. Her attacker was too far back for her to reach, so she began to inhale deeply as a precursor to another gas cloud.

Eric lined up his pistol on the preoccupied creature, aiming for her left eye. He fired once and the bullet ripped a vicious hole in her eyeball, causing Nothing to rear back violently. She began to thrash and flail her wings and legs wildly, dislodging Stanley and sending Eric scurrying towards the main buildings for cover.

Black gas fountained from her waving head, filling the courtyard with the poisonous vapour. Eric gulped a lungful down before he reached the doorway and staggered inside, his throat and lungs feeling as if they were on fire.

Carmody and Sarah rushed to meet him, dragging him back from the dark cloud seeping in through the shattered windows.

“Eric!” Carmody shouted but he was not able to speak, coughing up more blood and black bile instead. She laid him as far back from the doorway as she dared, resting his back against the foyer wall and then crouching at his side. Sarah had run out into the gas cloud, pushing through to try and replace Stanley.

At last he was able to speak, his voice raw and full of pain.

“Carmody, I am nearly done” he whispered raggedly. “You need to get Sarah and Stanley then make a break for it. I’ll take on Nothing and hold her as long as I can”

“No way!” Carmody said angrily. “You are coming with us! That’s the rule in our gang – we never leave our friends behind!” There were tears in her eyes and Eric lifted a gauntleted hand to gently wipe them away.

“Take the key” he said gently. “If you can get the key back to my real body, I won’t have ever died”

She looked at him then and understood what he meant. He intended to sacrifice himself to get them home.

“You can barely stand, you stupid boy” she chided him softly. “How can you fight that dragon?”

He smiled and tapped his nose with a finger.

“I have one Tactical Combat Routine left” he assured her weakly. “I have been saving it until now because it is not very mobile”

“Are you sure about this?” she demanded, her eyes red with her tears. “If you don’t make it home with us, what am I going to tell your girlfriend?”

“My girlfriend?” he wondered, a look of innocent confusion on his face.

Carmody had to laugh, a strange sound in this place and time.

“I guess you haven’t figured that out yet, Eric, but you will. Just make it home”

She stood and closed her armoured visor and hefted Excalibur in her right hand. Into the left she drew the broad bladed Mono-sword and gave it an experimental twirl.

“I’m going to replace the others. Catch up when you are ready” she said, her voice echoing from the speakers in her helmet. With that she faced the doorway and ran, eager to do battle with the Dracoris Abyssal.

He watched her go, then got slowly to his feet once more. A coughing fit overcame him and he spat out more blood, then straightened his shoulders. The helmet and pistol he dropped to the tiled floor since he didn’t need them anymore and raised his eyes upwards.

“Activate Tactical Combat Routine Alpha-Twenty” he said as clearly as he could.

Black, grey and silver shapes filled the space around him, forming something large and bulky. He was lifted into the midst of the massive shape, feeling the heavy machine manifest about his body.

“Alpha-Twenty activation completed” a voice like Eric’s echoed from the air. “This is the final activation available until the Mission is reset”

“Copy that” Eric responded from within the powerful machine and began walking it forwards, massive armoured feet cracking the floor tiles beneath him.

=====

Sarah burst from the toxic cloud into clear air, her lungs desperate for another breath. She inhaled deeply and looked around, trying to see her Dracoris partner. There was no sign of Stanley, yet striding out of the dark mist came a giant black form.

“The Dracoris Familia, all alone it would seem” snarled Nothing and reached for her with a long taloned hand. “I smell the key of the boy child on you, the way out of this awful prison!”

“Back off bitch!” Sarah yelled and swung her right fist at the encroaching clawed hand. Her right gauntlet connected solidly with the dragon’s long talons and there was a big crunching noise and a flash of blue light.

Nothing screamed and snatched her hand back as a talon as long as Sarah’s arm was broken off at the joint, dark black blood oozing from the wound. Sarah looked in awe at her gauntleted fist then grinned madly inside her helmet.

“Sarah Special Punch!” she cried out and ran at the stunned dragon. She ran right up to its mighty right leg and swung her fist with all her strength. Light flashed again and this time she could see the crackle of electricity as it surged into the beast.

The Black Dragon reared backwards, trying to get her out from underneath. Sarah yelled happily and drove another potent punch into the left leg. Another pulse of energy flowed into the Dracoris, making it shudder in pain.

She knew she was being too cocky but she was exulting in the fight. Never before had she felt so able to fight back against something so overwhelming strong. Sarah switched her aim to the belly just above her head and delivered another power packed punch.

Electricity discharged and Nothing leaped backwards with a cry of torment, leaving Sarah standing in the open.

“Want some more?” she crowed until a warning alert came up on the inside of her visor.

<Battery reserve depleted. Please recharge>

“Oh crap!” she muttered just before Nothing lashed out with her other set of talons and sent Sarah tumbling across the courtyard, skidding to a crushing stop against the low outer walls.

She was stunned by the impact, protected from serious injury by the tough armour plates but still dazed. With blurry eyes she saw the big black shape of Nothing lunge towards her, ready to finish her off.

Those long talons reached out, questing for her, when a long silvery blade slashed down, severing the tips. Nothing pulled back its front leg and snarled at the figure that stood between Sarah and the monster.

“Leave my friend alone!” Carmody demanded and brandished her cricket bat and sword at the dragon. “You know what I am, so fly away now while you have the chance!”

Nothing regarded the girl guarding Sarah with undisguised hatred.

“I am Nothing, Servant of the Abyss” it hissed at her. “I fear no girl child”

“I am Carmody Brentwood, Dragon Slayer of Clan Verdana and Daughter of Avalon” Sarah heard her friend call out in reply. “I do not fear the Abyss!”

Nothing reared back, the mighty black dragon towering far over the brave girl that defended her friend. It inhaled deeply and Sarah knew they were about to be engulfed in toxic black gas, something neither of them could survive.

In that last moment, Sarah wondered where Stanley had gotten to.

=====

Stanley came to his senses upside down with his head wedged into the side of a building. More specifically his head had smashed through a wall of windows, only his tough scales saving him from terrible cuts. He shook his head, sending pieces of broken glass in all directions like a dog shaking water from his coat.

He twisted and scrabbled with his claws at the metal frames holding him in place and eventually got himself free. The blue dragon dropped a few meters to the ground, slipping clear of the imprisoning building. Looking about, he recognised it was one of the office buildings that faced towards the school grounds.

Somehow, he had been thrown clear over the intervening street by Nothing and got his head stuck in the windows!

His vision was still a bit blurry from landing head-first but he saw the black dragon in the school courtyard, facing off against a lone figure in white and gold armour who was holding aloft a sword and cricket bat. She was challenging the servant of the Abyss and Stanley was too far away to hear her words. Something about the image stirred a memory in him, a tale told by his mother of the ancient times.

“No matter” he thought to himself. “What I need to do now is save my friends!”

Stanley leaped into the air, propelling himself forwards as fast as he could, trying to reach Carmody’s side before Nothing breathed its toxic gas. He saw the rival beast draw in its breath and with horrible certainty he knew he could not reach them in time!

=====

Carmody felt strange. An energy, a feeling of power and determination surged through her. It was uncannily like the first time she had faced a dragon, here in this very courtyard. Or at least the real world version of this courtyard.

Nothing had drawn back, out of reach of her sword or Excalibur, ready to engulf her and Sarah in its deadly black cloud. In the back of her mind she knew she could turn and run, leaving Sarah to face the poison alone.

Yet that was not something a Daughter of Avalon would do. She was the Dracoris Terminus, one of the Clan Verdana, and she did not run from battle!

The black dragon exhaled a massive cloud of dark vapour, streaming in a cone of gas like a mini tornado right at Carmody. Inside she felt like cringing in terror, but another part of her stood boldly forwards, lifting Excalibur into the very centre of the oncoming cloud of death.

“Repulsio!” she shouted and a brilliant green circle of light appeared before her, easily ten meters across and filled with unusual symbols. The gas struck the barrier and was repelled back into the surprised face of the Dracoris.

It stumbled backwards, coughing and retching at the unexpected reversal of its breath weapon.

“Hey, I can cast Magic!” Carmody said in wonderment then collapsed to the ground.

=====

Stanley could not believe his eyes when he saw Carmody create the Shield spell. It was like the ones he saw the Clan Verdana matriarch cast, a powerful enchantment to repel enemy breath weapons. How the girl had known the spell or had the power to cast it was a complete mystery.

However, as successful as it had been, Carmody was obviously drained by the effort. Nothing had been driven back by her own noxious vapours, giving him time to race in and grab Carmody. As he flew in he spotted Sarah lying against the low wall that surrounded the courtyard so he picked her up too. Carrying a girl in each of his powerful arms he flew away from the battle scene, searching for Eric.

“Are you awake, Sarah Evermore?” he asked urgently, gazing down at the armoured shape in his arm.

“Huh?” she mumbled, still a little dazed. “Yeah, I think so. What’s happening?”

Stanley looped in the air, high over the school buildings and focussed on the courtyard below. The gas cloud was drifting away, the darker shape of Nothing in its midst. Stanley gave her a quick recount of what he had seen and Sarah acknowledged him, her mind becoming clearer.

“I’ll try and contact Eric” she advised him. “This Dracoris is pretty damn tough and we need everyone to beat it!”

She tried her communications link and called out to Eric.

“Eric, can you hear me?” she said. “Carmody and I are up in the air, just above the school. Where are you?”

“I am exiting the main entrance now” came Eric’s voice in her earphones. It was wheezy, like he had a terrible cold, then he coughed violently.

Stanley and Sarah looked downwards at the grounds and saw a giant black and grey painted machine walk heavily out of the entrance, its head brushing against the ceiling as it emerged.

It was man shaped yet built to the size of a giant, close to three meters tall. Heavy armour covered the machine, articulating smoothly as it stomped onto the courtyard paving. The right arm looked like an oversized version of Sarah’s Shock Gloves and the left arm had two big machine guns mounted on the forearms.

“What is that?” Sarah demanded. “Are you inside of it?”

“Yeah, it’s my last Tactical Upgrade” Eric wheezed. “A Goblin Powersuit, used by the military. I was saving it for a situation like this”

The Goblin suit planted its big feet on the ground and raised the right arm in a salute.

“I’m nearly dead, Sarah” Eric said calmly. “I’m going to hold up Nothing as long as I can. You need to fly away from here and open your Portal. Get everyone home, nice and safe”

Stanley could feel Sarah’s shock and she started to struggle in his arms, like she was going to leap all the way to the ground.

“Sarah, what is the matter?” he insisted, holding onto her tightly. She quickly recounted Eric’s words, her voice choking with tears.

The dragon looked at the big machine as it strode with determination towards Nothing, hearing the heavy machine guns open fire.

“Eric knows he has little time left” Stanley told her. “He wishes for a Warrior’s death, defending those he loves. You must respect his wishes”

Sarah screamed and cried, pulling at his arm, trying to get loose.

“I can’t leave him!” she sobbed.

“Sarah, it’s not really him” Carmody’s voice spoke up, the girl shifting in Stanley’s grip as she came to her senses. “Remember, this is just a kind of copy of Eric, with his mind driving it. You have Eric’s mind in that key and we have to get that back into the real world so it can be reunited with his body”

“Yes, Sarah” Stanley agreed. “The key is his Soul Spark and we have to take it back to him”

Below them Eric and the Dracoris had engaged in battle, screams and explosions filling the air.

“Let him be the hero” Stanley insisted. “Let him give us time to replace our way home”

“Okay” Sarah answered at last. “Stanley, take us to the Archimedes Tower”

=====

Eric was dying. His lungs were failing, damaged far beyond the regeneration powers of his Enhanced body.

His powersuit sensors detected the Steam Dragon high overhead, icons showing he had Carmody and Sarah safely gripped in his arms. Eric smiled to himself, glad that his friends had risked their lives to save him.

He was even more glad that he could hold Nothing back and give them time to escape. Once again he triggered the machine guns, pumping twin streams of Armour Piercing bullets into her broad side. Nothing roared in agony and lashed at him with her spiked tail, tearing the armour plates off the left shoulder of his Goblin suit.

For a few seconds she was off balance as she pulled back her tail, so Eric jumped the big suit forwards and drove his Shock Glove deep into the exposed belly. Lightning flashed as the glove discharged and Nothing shuddered painfully.

Eric had nearly gotten clear when she spat her thick, black acidic goo over his left side, melting through the damaged armour and searing his left arm. Pain flared in his mind, exceeding his automatic dampeners and sending him reeling away.

He staggered a few steps then felt a mighty blow strike his back, cracking the armour and driving black spikes deep into his body. Red alerts flashed onto his visor as the suit systems failed and he collapsed to his knees.

Nothing withdrew her tail from his back with a wet ripping sound and he nearly passed out. The Goblin suit was nearly done, yet Eric was too. He coughed blood down his chin, splashing it across the inside of the machine. With his last strength he opened the big helmet, exposing his bloodied head to the air.

The Dracoris limped painfully to his front, one bloodied foreleg reaching out to grip his broken suit around the waist.

“I have beaten you, little boy!” Nothing exulted, titling her long head to bring her remaining good eye close to his face.

“You were a tough opponent” Eric said through bloodied lips. “But the fight isn’t over yet”

“What?” cried Nothing, pulling back in alarm. “What other tricks have you got left?”

“Just one” he admitted. “Verbal authorisation completed. Self-Destruct”

Then Eric Hargreaves died for the first time.