OUTWORLD: Sun Dogs

OUTWORLD: Sun Dogs Part 7

Sorcha's head spun as she plummeted into oblivion. Darkness rushed up to engulf her, draining her of energy, of hope.

Of life.

She exhaled as the darkness took her last breath...

...and then a blinding flare of golden light ripped into her eyes, causing her to cry out and shield herself from its fury. But this was light. Light was what she needed, and she carefully opened her eyes again. The glow was warm, comforting, like spring evenings on Summerkin, and it gave her reassurance.

Sorcha blinked to acclimatize herself and sat up. She had obviously landed somewhere, but all she could see around her was light. No, wait, she was sitting on something hard, but it was barely larger around than she was, a tiny patch of what looked like rock.

Where the hell am I?

She got to her feet. As she did so, she noticed the patch of ground wobbling slightly. Sorcha frowned and took a step backwards, mindful not to fall off, but the effort was unnecessary. It moved with her.

What is this?

Sorcha huffed out a meaty Fox breath and decided to start walking. Wherever she'd landed, somewhere in this alien city, she needed to find a way out. She had moved thirty paces, patch and all, when a shimmering figure revealed itself, stepping forth from a wall of light, and Sorcha stopped walking.

The figure was tall, bipedal, and dressed in a shimmering teal robe covered in indecipherable writing that flowed in ribbons of gold. A kind, lupine face regarded her with sparkling eyes, and a long bushy tail swished in golden arcs.

Sorcha's mouth dropped open, and she fell to her knees. No. It... it can't be. She tried to speak, but her voice wouldn't work. She tried harder. "Are... are you..."

"Sorcha," the being said, its voice female and musical. "Sorcha, I have been waiting for you."

"Amaterasu," Sorcha gasped, her eyes welling up. "Oh, Amaterasu. I love you." She suddenly found herself chortling. "Wow, how hard did I rub that charm?"

Amaterasu dipped her head in greeting. "Sorcha, in any other circumstances I would be overjoyed." Her eyes hardened slightly. "But I fear these circumstances are grave. You come before me in a time of great need."

Sorcha got to her feet. "Okay." She was still enthralled to meet the embodiment of everything she believed in. "A time of great need."

Amaterasu looked to the sky – or what Sorcha assumed to be the sky here – and the light rippled. Shapes took form, becoming structures, buildings. Some featured the sort of dome Sorcha had fallen through. Terrain and sky resolved from the light, and Sorcha realized that this was a picture of what civilization here had been like. Aircraft sped through the space between buildings. Figures – tiny figures, too small for Sorcha to examine properly – scuttled into and out of the buildings, boarding docked craft, living their lives. "Wow." She couldn't find anything more articulate to say. How could she ever compound the amazement she felt into words? It was impossible. Who else would ever be given this opportunity, to see what she was seeing?

Amaterasu blinked slowly, her face set in sadness. "An amazing world. But, Sorcha, it became just another battlefield in a war fought millions of years past."

Sorcha felt sadness as well. "I could have guessed as much. I've seen the aftermath." She stared wistfully at the scene playing out in the ether. "I mean, I've seen the aftermath of war on the news, but this..." She pointed a paw at the vision. "I can't believe such a wonderful place could fall to that fate. It doesn't feel right."