Before I start, this is a book I'm writing, [you can also find it here on my Patreon], it's a sorta Far Future Dystopia revolving around a multiversal theocratic empire lead by immortal aliens. Also people have weird superpowers.
"So," Mephis pauses with consideration, "I should get you out of here." He waves his hand over Jake's hands, and the metal pins suddenly retract. With a clatter, the metal falls to the ground.
Jake looks at his hands and stares at all of the red little dots that were left by the pins. "Thanks..." He huffs, he moves to stand up, and with a sudden quiver that shoots through his body, falls flat on his face. "Fuck. Tired."
"Take your time." Mephis phases his head through the door and looks out into the hallway. "Seems nobody is going to be on their way for a while."
Jake pushes himself to roll over, staring up at the ceiling, and at Mephis. "You're more detailed than Shaddai, I don't understand how that's possible."
Mephis phases his head back in. "Every soul adds a bit, and I've been around for, like, eight or so thousand years."
"Before recorded history then..." Jake's face changes through a few expressions. "You're ancient."
"We recorded history before, but that's all lost. It wasn't convenient." Mephis sighs, and floats down to look like he's sitting with one leg crossed over the other. "Human history had a place here before the gods, before all of this. Basically, every culture from back then has been lost."
Jake sits up slowly, his arms wobble for a moment, then he finds stability. "I find that hard to believe. The gods made humans, the gods gave us history."
"You probably won't believe this kid," Mephis says. "But human life started here, and it didn't need those gods. We evolved, we had a history separate from them. We had dancing, and music, and beautiful landscapes. This area used to be a nation, known as South Africa. Now it's just the only settlement left on the planet, and with a heavily guarded gateway I've never been able to use."
"You never used the gateway? How did you get powers?" Jake asks, raising his tone in disbelief.
"Can't quite say." Mephis shrugs. "When I was young and still alive, I was treated in about the worst way you can treat a person. But, in the middle of the night some bright light opened up next to me, and a woman walked out, pale, and strange. I didn't know what to think of it, but she was some kind of person from another dimension. I guess I got my power from that."
Jake's expression of awe betrays his incredulity. "What happened next?"
"She took someone and left. Never saw her again. I couldn't even use my power til gateway travel happened. Saw someone with a power, and just, knew, I knew that if I made a deal with them I'd inherit their soul."
Jake nods. "I don't know if I believe you yet, but, I really like your story."
"You like my story of me getting powers from a stranger from another world kidnapping someone?" Mephis tilts their body away.
"Yeah, it's got mystery, who was the pale woman, why'd she take someone?" Jake smiles.
"You're a weird kid, though I guess you're actually surprisingly normal for someone raised by the Infinitum." Mephis sighs.
Jake stands up, still a little shaky. "Alright, I think I'm rested up." He moves to the door.
Mephis starts to float over to unlock the door, then pauses to watch Jake press his hand against the door. It glows yellow for a moment, then immediately launches off of its hinges and into the hall with the painful sound of metal rapidly being wrenched in half. "Woah..." Mephis states in awe.
"Fuck," Jake mumbles, "I was hoping that would be quieter"
A voice calls from the hallway, "HEY!"
Jake looks back to see a guard running towards the cell. He panics and jumps back into the cell. He looks around quickly and presses himself against the wall.
Mephis cocks his head in confusion and stares at Jake, but doesn't talk, occasionally flicking his eyes towards the hallway.
When the guard rounds the corner, the room lights up with the flying sparks of an electric prod. Jake throws himself at the guard and narrowly avoids being electrocuted as he presses a palm against the chest of the guard. The guard starts glowing yellow and doesn't move.
After a moment, Jake releases his touch and the guard collapses to the ground.
Mephis looks him over, "What did you do?"
Jake looks up at Mephis and then to the hallway, "Removed all motion from his body for a moment" He creeps around the corner, then reaches back to take the cattle prod. "He just experienced brain death."
Mephis's eyes go wide as he processes what just happened. "Alright, well, let's head out."
Jake holds the cattle prod forward and makes his way down the hall, with Mephis floating close behind. Occasionally Jake will duck into a corner when he hears an errant sound, looking around rapidly.
Mephis pushes his head through a wall, then pulls back to whisper to Jake, "There's a staff room right over here, three guards are casually relaxing."
"Thanks," Jake nods, "I'll avoid going that way then."
A voice whispers out of the closest cell, "Hey."
Jake and Mephis both jump back, Jake instinctively turning on the prod for a moment. Jake whispers back, "Who's there?"
The silhouette of a head pulls itself up to be seen through the bars of the heavy metal door. "I can get you out of here."
"You can?" Jake moves close to the door.
"Yeah, I'm from off-world." The voice responds.
"Step away from the door, and don't stand in front of it, get to the side of the cell," Jake whispers.
The figure shuffles back, "Alright, I'm out of the way."
Jake presses his palm against the door, as it did before it glows for a moment, and then launches into the opposite wall, crumpling to fit through a passage slightly smaller than itself.
"Holy shit." The figure steps out of the darkness, Chinookan in appearance, wearing a hoodless cloak made of large colorful latex triangles overlapping like a pine cone, and underneath is a fishnet top and skinny jeans. Their hair is fucked up and partially torn out, and their face is covered in old and recent scars that were never treated. One of their fingers is missing, and their other hand is missing all of its fingernails, both still scabbed over. Under the fishnet top, one can see old battle scars under recent, more messy scars.
"I'm Jake," Jake whispers.
The sound of guards running towards the three echoes through the hallway as the prisoner lunges forward. "Close your eyes."
Jake and Mephis close their eyes as instructed. Three guards round the corner and the prisoner snaps their fingers. A bright flash fills the halls, and the guards stumble over each other. "Open your eyes, they're blind and deaf for ten seconds!" Jake opens his eyes, then Mephis.
Jake sees the prisoner running at the guards and quickly follows suit, watching the three trying to assume a defensive stance before the prisoner picks up a prod and jams it against the neck of one of the guards. The guard cries in agony as their neck burns and they receive a strong kick to the teeth.
Following the prisoner, Jake picks up a second cattle prod and electrocutes the other two guards, his face grimacing at the smell and their horrific groans of agony.
When it's finished, the prisoner takes a deep breath and looks around. "Seems nobody was close enough to hear that, thankfully, plus torture is so common around here that sounds of suffering get ignored." They turn to Jake. "I'm Jesoa Bright, by the way."
"Are you okay?" Jake asks them.
"No, I am in more pain than I've ever experienced in my life." They shiver, "But I plan on riding this adrenaline wave until I collapse."
The three stealth their way down another hall, looking out into the garage where Jake was transported into the facility.
Jesoa smirks. "Just have to press that garage open button and beat up a few more guards and we're free. It's locked, but Jake should be able to fix that, it's right up there on the second floor."
Jesoa suddenly collapses, "Fuck, ran out of steam." They groan, laying on the ground.
Jake struggles to pick them up, slumping Jesoa over their shoulder and hauling them against the door before moving towards the locked button.
When he makes his way halfway up the floor, an intestine reaches out and pulls him down the stairs by his neck. Jake shouts in pain as he crashes to the floor, and Neth walks in through the door with a wicked grin on his face.
Neth stomps down on the back of Jake's hand, "I haven't even got the chance to play with you, no way I'm letting go of my VIP toy so easily."
Jake swipes his other hand up at Neth's leg, only for the leg to crack and bend out of the way.
Neth's fingertip bones move up to the knuckle and pierce the skin, then he swings his fist down and punches Jake right in the chest, leaving four bloody holes in Jake's chest.
Jake now swipes for Neth's foot, and Neth counters by sliding his foot off and kicking Jake across the jaw hard enough to dislocate it.
Jake doubles over in pain, then charges at Neth, swiping his hands back and forth like a wild animal. Neth sidesteps and slams Jake's face into the wall with a sickening crack of bone.
Jake falls to his knees, desperately looking around while his face is covered in blood and tears. He lunges for a spare wrench, clutching it close and rolling onto his back.
Jake takes aim, and with the sound of a sonic boom, the wrench blows a hole through Neth's arm and the concrete wall behind him.
Neth's blasted open arm floats in chunks connected to his body by strings of blood, and casually pulls itself back together. "Cute." His arm unravels like a fleshy slinky, and he grabs jake by the leg, tossing him into the air.
Jake lands with a sickening thud, coughing blood as he struggles to even stand. He reaches out for a chain on the ground, but Neth pulls it out of the way.
In a fit of desperation he grabs his own shirt, and with a glow of yellow, launches himself to the pile of concrete chunks.
Neth's smile crumbles, and his eyes go wide, as Jake touches a chunk. A loud crash rings through the air as Neth is splattered across the room, blood and guts flying everywhere and the concrete firmly lodged into the wall of the garage.
Blood drips slowly out from behind the slab, most of Neth's body crushed between it and the wall.
Mephis cheers. "You got him kid! Let's see him survive that!"
Jake takes a few minutes to stand up, then uses his power, he lifts up another chunk and launch it through the garage door.
Jesoa smiles weakly, barely conscious. "I was... worried... for... moment..."
Jake pulls Jesoa out, the only guard nearby staring at the carnage and the shredded open garage, the guard looks stunned, dropping his cattle prod and walking away in silence.
Jake drags Jesoa to an old bus, sitting them down and then relaxing back in his own seat. "Mephis, why didn't you help?"
"I tried." Mephis runs his hand over the engine, making the bus turn on. "But letting others win fights for you isn't exactly heroic in my mind, so I wasn't allowed to use my powers. Subjectivity is even more important to my abilities than most powers." The bus starts moving, driving off towards the closest town.
Jake coughs up blood. "So, I can't rely on you to bail me out of fights then."
Mephis runs his hand over Jake's body, and all of his wounds quickly fix themselves. "Good news, recovering quickly from fights is common in heroic stories." He looks to Jesoa, "Sadly, I can't heal them unless they have a wish that allows me to."
Mephis drives the bus up to the local hospital, a run-down place that would look long-abandoned if it wasn't for the OPEN sign.
Jake carries Jesoa inside.
"Is there a doctor in here?!" Jake shouts, shoving his body up against the light switch to turn it on.
A doctor looks up from the reception desk, her hair a complete mess, and her face has the text of the paperwork she was sleeping on. "Huh? Oh, yeah, what do you need?"
Jake hauls Jesoa to the front desk, slumping them onto it, which knocks over a cup full of pens. "My friend here is badly injured."
She sighs, looking Jesoa over. "Alright, bring them into the back here."
The doctor leads the three into a room full of beds, not hospital beds, just normal beds. "Slump them down there." She pulls a briefcase off a shelf and sits it down next to Jesoa's bed.
"This is a real hospital right?" Jake looks around.
"Yes it's a fucking real hospital, I'm doing my best with what I can get." She glares daggers at Jake before looking back down at Jesoa, "Your friend here just has surface wounds, nothing serious, but many of these cuts are infected. Bandages, antibiotics, and stitches should work. As for this missing finger, I can sterilize the wound and help it recover as a stump. The fingernails should grow back but it will be slow and they need to be careful since they'll tear out easier from now on."
Jake sits on another bed. "Sorry, thank you for helping."
"I don't do this for free, you owe me 600 Zier." She hands him a pad and opens her briefcase, pulling out the necessary materials.
Jake signs into the pad and transfers 600,000 Zier to her instead. "600 is awfully cheap for medical services."
"Huh?" She grabs the pad and her eyes go wide. "Holy shit, you-" She cuts herself off and starts working on Jesoa. "Thank you."
Jake smiles. "Might as well use my riches for something."
After the doctor finishes, she heads out of the room, leaving Jake to sit with Jesoa.
"Hey there Jess." Jake smiles.
Jesoa rubs their head. "Don't call me that. Where are we?"
"Hospital." Jake points around.
Jesoa looks over their body, touching a stitch and recoiling from the sting. "Alright, I'll have to take it easy when we get back home."
"Where are we going?" Jake asks.
Jesoa looks at Jake for a few moments. "I can't tell you yet, prince."
"Huh?" Jake tilts his head.
Jesoa tries to sit up, but collapses back. "Why are you here anyway? Why were you in that prison?"
"I think it's because I'm too nice, Eternal is mad at me." He looks sullen.
Mephis steps in. "He's abused and was sent here as a punishment for not being a piece of shit."
"I see." Jesoa looks around the room. "Well, if Jake continues to show me they're a good person willing to fight against the powers he was part of, I'll take him with me, you too."
"Oh, I'm a ghost." Mephis points at himself.
Jesoa nods. "Yeah, you can bind to one of us to travel universes."
Mephis is stunned. "I can do that?!" He shouts.
Jesoa starts laughing. "You didn't know? Yeah, ghosts can ride people to other universes."
"I've been stuck here, for over eight thousand years, for nothing?" Mephis rests his face in his hands. "I'm such an idiot."
"Ha, nobody told you, so it makes sense you never found out." Jesoa stares at the ceiling. "Just glad you're here. Wish ghost."
"You know about me?" Mephis asks.
Jesoa nods. "Came here specifically to make a deal with you. I want to wish for you to help us end The Trinity, and Cell 3."
"That sounds like a huge task." Mephis leans their head back. "Who is 'us' anyway? That's info I need to know first."
Jesoa sits in thought for a few minutes, eyes bouncing back and forth while they think it over. They look Mephis directly in the eyes, "The Blood of the Fallen."
"I don't know who that is" Mephis replies.
Jesoa nearly falls out of their bed in surprise, but before they can reply, Jake speaks up, "The terrorist group? You guys, like, kill assassins and the clergy right?"
Mephis nods along. "Alright, are they big? Sorry, this planet gets zero news from the rest of the multiverse."
"We have control over twelve planets," Jesoa explains. "We fight to liberate worlds from The Trinity, we tend to recruit people whose family has been destroyed by The Trinity's actions. Including Jake's dad and sister."
"I don't have a dad or sister." Jake looks baffled.
"You were taken when you were three. They killed your mom in the process. I'm sorry, but you weren't born into the universe by a celestial egg, that shit's fake." Jesoa groans in pain.
Jake looks at Jesoa, then down at themself. "I... I think I need to process this, give me a moment alone."
"Take your time." Jesoa weakly waves. "It's a lot to take in."
Mephis looks over as Jake walks into a closet. "Alright... That kid is surprisingly easy to deprogram." He turns to Jesoa. "What's up with the flashy clothes by the way?"
"Oh, that? I want to be a fashion designer. That one is my favorite. I wanna make weird clothes." Jesoa reaches down and picks up their latex cloak. "I was inspired by a cool animal I saw who was covered in these huge overlapping scales."
"That's pretty cool honestly." Mephis smiles, then slides his hand into his hat. "So, that deal, I've been trying to do what I can to end this theocratic capitalist nightmare. I consider this just an extension of my efforts. I'll make the deal with you."
"Perfect" Jesoa smiles. "I wish for your support, specifically to help those who cannot fight for themselves. The warriors, they'll be fine, but, I need you to protect the weak for me."
"Just sign here." Mephis holds out the contract, and Jesoa weakly reaches forward and signs with their finger. Once again, the contract lights up the room, and Mephis shoves it back into the hat to seal the wish.
"The deal is done, I look forward to working with you, Jesoa Bright." He bows at them, with a big grin on his face.