《Altera》


 Chapter One

    On a high up balcony in the city of Bathal, a man stands by himself, admiring the stars. This man was tall, his gray hair flowing in the night time wind. His eyes, swirling masses of black and white, glinting in the moonlight like priceless gems. Wings sprouted from his back, a mix of black and white pristine feathers stretching a full eight feet out, billowing in the breeze.


    To the residents of Bathal, and the whole of Altera as well, this man was known by many names. The Lost King, The Weapons Master, The God Slayer. Those names and so many more were talked about by so many people. But only one name, known by a select few, was the real one.


    Maximilian raised his hands up to his horns, foot long protrusions from his head. He was going to miss this, he realized. Chuckling to himself he mentally called up a screen in front of him. Its warm glow was soothing as it displayed a countdown.


    ¡°Only ten more hours huh Old Man?¡± A female voice from behind him called out. He turned to see Samantha, one of his companions for the last five hundred or so years. She stood only about four feet tall, a whole two and a half feet shorter than him. Her hair, a black with veins of red flowing through it, blowed behind her. This plus her short height hinted at her race. She was a Core Dwarf, a rare variant with unmatched strength and constitution. The Bulwark. Her skill with a hammer and shield were unmatched only by him.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s weird isn¡¯t it. All this time and only a few hours have passed in the other world.¡± He laughed quietly to himself, he already knew what her response would be. And her slight admonishing frown proved it.


    ¡°The real world. I know after a while it doesn¡¯t seem like it. Hell, you would know that more than anyone. But this isn¡¯t real. It¡¯s all fake.¡± Even if he expected the words, it still hurt. He knew he couldn¡¯t change her mind, she¡¯s stubborn. But to hear that after all he¡¯s been through made him frustrated. If it really is just fantasy, then had the hardships been for nothing, all the pain, all the loss. Had it been pointless?


    ¡°Hey Maxxy, you¡¯re starting to brood again. And on such a momentous night too!¡± ¡°Yeah, only you could find the chance to be sad when you should be happy!¡±


    The two voices belonged to two of the three remaining companions of his. The first one was the youngest of their group, Sebastian. His fancy multi colored clothes matched his scales quite nicely. From the smell coming off of him, he was out partying with some girls, impressing them with his magic. Only he could think of some of the worlds strongest magic, wielded by The Archmage, as a way to score chicks. But even though he¡¯s the youngest of the group at three hundred, the others are used to him.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    The second voice came from none other than the second oldest of the group, after Max himself. Damien looked to be around ten or eleven, but in reality he¡¯s around three thousand. He still acts like a child though, and that coupled by his white hair and fox ears, along with his tail, make him pretty adorable. Sebastian probably brought him along to attract more women. If they knew who he was, The Shadow, the deadliest rouge in the world, they might have run away instead.


    ¡°Hey you two, come here to crowd up my balcony again?¡± Max smiled, these two always seemed to cheer him up when he was grumpy. Samantha would try to beat the sadness out of him, and their fifth member, Michael, would go all therapist on him and try to figure out what the source of his sadness was. He wanted to laugh, not contemplate god dammit!


    And as if summoned from the depths of hell, their final member arrived. The Healer. ¡°They¡¯re just here because their night of bar hopping proved fruitless¡± The elven man said, a smirk on his face.


    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± They both shouted in response. Just like they always did when Michael teased them. Sebastian because he was annoyed and Damien because it was what Sebastian was doing.


    Max¡¯s quiet laughter grew into a full on belly laugh. This. This is what he was going to miss. The group, his group. Who knew if they would actually be able to meet up together in the other world. He hoped so but life wasn¡¯t always fair. He knew that very well.


    The five of them joked together for the rest of their time in this world. By the final hour they were all sitting together for what could have been the last time. A somber mood filled the air. Max¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by Damien.


    ¡°Is this it for us?¡± He asked no one in particular. That hit Max hard. Damien was the happiest one in their group, even though he¡¯s over thousands of years old, even though he¡¯s killed hundreds, he was still filled with childlike wonder. If even he was like this, was it really the end?


    ¡°No, NO! I won¡¯t let this be the end for us! Even if it¡¯s the last thing I do we are going to be a group forever!¡± Samantha stood up from her chair. Even though Damien was the child, she was always the one who believed that everything would work out. And somehow, with her saying these words, Max felt that it might not be the end. There was always a chance they could meet again. And Samantha was a force of nature when she set her mind to something.


    As the time went from minutes to seconds, Max smiled again. He was leaving Altera behind. He was going back to Earth, back to his family, and back to being human. And while he wasn¡¯t exactly ecstatic about it, he still wanted to see those he had missed all these years. Maximilian the God Slayer, Weapons Master, and Lost King, closed his eyes, and the world went black.

 Chapter Two

    Maximilian tried to open his eyes, but all he was greeted with were blurry figures and muffled voices. A thick slime seemed to surround his whole body, and a mask on his face was giving him a continuous supply of oxygen. The whole situation reminded him of a time he would rather forget, and he started to panic. Reaching forward his hand pressed against cold glass. The voices were getting clearer, but he could only make out bits and pieces.


    ¡°Max don¡¯t worry¡­ doctor said you¡¯ll¡­ just a moment¡­¡± The voice was familiar, masculine. It reminded him of his fath-wait, that''s exactly who it was. The memories flooded back to him. He was in a pod at the Altera Corporations facility. The man outside was his father. He was back on Earth.


    He was able to calm down after the realization of his situation. He pulled the hand back and just floated in the goop surrounding him, his breathing calm. After what seemed like hours but was more than likely just a few minutes the pod opened up. The slime flowed out and he went with it. The world became extremely bright and loud, blinding and deafening him for a short time.


    He felt someone holding him up, keeping him from falling to the ground. When his vision cleared he saw his father there. The light bouncing off his glasses. Max''s eyes became a little teary, as the realization finally sunk in. He really was home.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Max, I¡¯ve got you.¡± His father¡¯s soothing voice calmed him down even more. His thoughts no longer jumbled, Max quickly stood up.


    ¡°Uh, thanks Dad.¡± He flinched at the sound of his own voice. It wasn¡¯t the normal steady baritone he had grown accustomed to, but more that of a sixteen year old kid. ¡®I forgot this is what I sounded like before¡­¡¯


    Looking around he saw similar situations all around the facility. It was huge, with probably a few thousand pods ordered in neat rows. And in front of each of them were people in what looked like bodysuits. He assumed that was what he had on too and a quick look confirmed it.


    ¡°That must have been quite the gaming session huh Max?¡± His head whipped back at the sound of his father. ¡®Quite the gaming session?¡¯ He then remembered that only the participants were told how much time would seem to pass to them. His father probably thought it was only for a day.


    ¡°Y-yeah Dad, you could say that¡­¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if he was allowed to tell him anything, so he decided to wait for a while. ¡°So what happened while I was in the pod?¡±


    ¡°Not much really, they offered us beds to sleep on for the night, and the techs brought us food.¡± His father explained to Max, and proceeded to explain in high detail about how the food they were given was generic and bland. This made Max smile, his Dad had always been a bit of a foodie, though he never could learn to cook decently. It was always up to him to prepare dinners. Not like he minded, he always did enjoy the kitchen.


    ¡°They also mentioned that there would be an announcement in the hall, and some clean clothes on the way. Come on let¡¯s go.¡± Max followed his Dad through the crowds of families. Soon they found themselves in a series of dressing rooms. An Altera employee came up and took some measurements, then came back with some fresh clothes. They were led to one of the rooms where Max got dressed. The clothes were pretty generic, a red t-shirt and some jeans. Warm socks and shoes were given also.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    When they were done there they went to a massive auditorius with stadium style seats. They found a place to sit about halfway up, and they chatted about random things while waiting for everyone to arrive. When people stopped entering a man came down to the ground with an Altera uniform on. He spoke into a microphone in his hand.


    ¡°Ahem, is this thing on? Okay good. Welcome back all you travelers, that¡¯s what we at the Altera Corporation like to call our testers. Now, I know what you¡¯re thinking, ¡®Is this man going to tell us stuff we already know?¡¯ and the answer is yes! Not for your sake but for the sake of your families who don¡¯t really know what you went through.¡±


    Max could feel a wave of confusion coming from the families of the ¡®travelers¡¯ as they¡¯re called, his Dad included. He would probably be more curious about what their reaction would be if he wasn¡¯t so nervous.


    ¡°You see everyone, there¡¯s something that the higher ups wanted to keep secret until now. And that is the amount of time your family members spent in Altera. While many of you probably think is that the travelers experienced a day, maybe a week in the pod. But in reality they spent lifetime. In fact, I think the shortest amount of time was¡­ two hundred years.¡±


    The audience was in uproar at this point, and that included his father, who was looking at him with wide eyes. Max had experienced a lot of things, but something about the way his Dad looked at him made him shrink back.


    ¡°Max, did he just say two hundred years, at least¡­?¡± The words struck him harder than an angry dragon, and he shrunk further. What kind of answer could he give to a question like that? ¡®Yeah Dad, surprise I¡¯m older than your grandpa!¡¯ Something tells him that wouldn¡¯t go over well. Luckily he was saved from answering because the man continued after the crowd quieted down a bit.


    ¡°Yes, well that was the reaction I kind of expected here. But as I was saying, yes, your family members are now older than you are. And Altera Corp thankfully thought of a solution for the obvious problem of reintegration into society.¡± A large screen came down from the ceiling, showing video of multiple giant cities.


    ¡°I would like to introduce you to that solution, these are cities built specifically with travelers in mind. It is designed to house every traveler and their family within its borders. There¡¯s everything a city needs, top notch schools for all ages, hospitals filled with the finest tech, and the best gosh darn sewer system you¡¯ve ever seen! And the best part, we will help you move in absolutely free!¡± Max was sure everyone here was thinking the exact same thing as him. ¡®How did you build this without anyone knowing?¡¯


    ¡°Of course, you aren¡¯t being forced to move here. You are free to stay right where you are. But I would like to ask you, do you really want your family member trying to go back into a technological world, where they don¡¯t know anyone like them, after two hundred plus years in a fantasy one? Again the choice is yours, and the offer will last for a month. I hope you all consider it.¡± With that the man walked out of sight.


    Max just sat there, staring a the screen showing the cities, when his father¡¯s voice took him from his thoughts.


    ¡°Well, I think we have a lot to talk about. But first, I think we should head home. Come on.¡± Max only nodded, following him outside to the car. The car ride home was silent.

 Chapter Three

    In your everyday average apartment building, on the third floor, a father and son sit across from each other at a dining table. Neither spoke a single word, unsure of how the other would react if they did. All the father was wondering is how much time his son spent in the virtual world. The son wondered how his father would respond if he told him. The silence was broken when the door suddenly opened and a child followed by an older woman entered.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± The small girl shouted, running into her dads open arms. This was Max''s little sister Sarah. She had the same black hair as her father and brother, although hers was quite a bit longer. Her blue eyes, which she got from her mother, glittered with joy, just like everyday when she got home from school. She was only six years younger than Max, turning ten last month.


    ¡°How¡¯s my little girl doing huh?¡± Max¡¯s father replied, albeit quieter than his daughter had been in. His demeanor took a drastic turn from the one he had shown earlier, now his expression was warm, as opposed to his cold one towards his son. His question had been directed to the woman, who was Sarah¡¯s nanny.


    ¡°She did great today! I dropped her off at school in the morning, and apparently while she was their she made something for you!¡± The woman, Tammy, exclaimed happily. She always was a very upbeat person, even when she was Max¡¯s nanny when he was little. He smiled, remembering those times that seemed so long ago. But then frowned when he saw what Sarah took from her bag.


    ¡°I made a drawing of all of us. See, we¡¯re all angels, and there¡¯s Mom! And here¡¯s Daddy, and Max, and Miss Tammy! And we¡¯re all in Heaven and happy!¡± The drawing was crude, but it showed five figures with angel wings and big smiles surrounded by clouds. While most people would find this adorable, it just brought up bad memories for Max. He shut his eyes, trying to block out the pictures in his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful princess, I¡¯m sure Mommy would love it if she were here.¡± Max¡¯s father said, noticing Max¡¯s behavior. He filed that away for later, he would get answers out of his son for sure. He was always good at learning what he wanted to know.


    Standing at six foot three, Max¡¯s father, Thomas Thorn, was a solidly built detective working with the local police department. His eyes, which Max inherited, were a rich amber color, though they were obscured by his glasses. And while he made decent money at his job, he still decided to live with his family in a city apartment, mainly to save money.


    ¡°Now Daddy has something really important to tell you, so sit down.¡± He said in his soothing voice. Max¡¯s eyes tightened more, waiting to hear his father say the words he was dreading.


    ¡°You know Max went to that game testing thingy, right?¡± He waited for her to nod before continuing. ¡°Well, something happened and he spent more time in there than we thought he would, and now he¡¯s really old.¡± There it was. Max could hear the slight sadness in his father''s voice.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°But he looks the same! Lying is bad Daddy, you should know that!¡± Sarah didn¡¯t understand what her Dad was telling her. Max still looked sixteen, and he had only been gone a day. How could he be really old? It didn¡¯t make any sense!


    Max took this time to go to Sarah, getting down on his knees so he was eye level with her. ¡°Well the thing is, I don¡¯t look old, but on the inside I am. And I mean really old. Do you understand?¡± He had a slightly sad smile on his face, he hated having to tell his little sister about his age.


    ¡°So does that mean you¡¯re as old as Grandpa?¡± Now Thomas started listening, wondering that same thing. Tammy was standing off to the side, curious but also respecting the families space.


    ¡°I¡¯m much older than Grandpa. He¡¯s like a baby to me.¡± This made the girl giggle, imagining her old grumpy grandpa as a baby.


    ¡°What about Grandpa¡¯s grandpa?¡±


    ¡°Same thing, like I said, really old.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what about America?¡± She was trying to think of all the old things she knew.


    ¡°Like a blink of an eye.¡± At this point her eyes were wide, trying to imagine how old her older brother really was. She kept asking questions, and as he kept saying they were nothing to him, the adults became that much more shocked.


    ¡°... What about¡­ um¡­ Ah! What about the whooooole Earth!¡± Sarah grinned triumphantly, certain that she got her bro this time. Her father and nanny waited for the response to with bated breath.


    ¡°...hmmm. That¡¯s a difficult one, but I would have to say yes, maybe not by much, but I think I¡¯m older than the Earth.¡± He nodded to himself, stopping once he realized that he had just told his family how old he was. Sweat started rolling down his brow as he looked around him, waiting for the outburst he was sure was coming.


    But contrary to his expectations, his father just sat there, inside his own thoughts. If his son was really as old as he claimed, then putting him back in normal school would end badly. But the only other place to go to would be¡­ Suddenly it hit him, the cities. The Altera Corporation had planned for this, they knew the only place families could go after they learned how old their children were was the cities that they made especially for them! He wasn¡¯t sure what the end goal would be, but he knew it couldn¡¯t be good.


    Still, they were right on one thing, Max couldn¡¯t go to a regular school anymore. As much as he hated the idea, he was caught in Altera Corp¡¯s trap. Resigning himself to what he had to do, he stood from his chair, towering over everyone else. He breathed in heavily.


    ¡°Alright, I have an announcement to make. Because Max still has to go to school, and he¡¯s older now, he has to go to a school made for people like him. Unfortunately, the only school like that isn¡¯t here. Which means we¡¯ll have to move.¡± This shocked all of the people present, even Max who had thought he would have to beg his father to let him go.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to make a call, and I want you to start packing. We have a busy week on our hands.¡±

 Chapter Four

    ¡°Are you sure you want to come with us Tammy? I mean, don¡¯t you have family back home?¡± Max asked his little sister¡¯s nanny. Tammy had been working for the Thorn family long enough to have been Max¡¯s nanny when he was little. Heck, she used to be the nanny for their mom when she was a kid. But though he remembered major things like family and facts, he didn¡¯t remember much about her life.


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m the last of my lot, and all of you are like my family now. And someone has to take care of your walking natural disaster of a sister.¡± She finished with a smile. Though he loved the Thorns like they were related, she absolutely loved teasing Max¡¯s sister Sarah.


    But Max focused on the first part of her response, rather than the second. ¡°Oh, I¡­ I didn¡¯t know. I¡¯m sorry that happened¡­¡± It might have been because of his past, but hearing that Tammy was the last of her family hit him hard. Seeing this the old woman smiled and gave him a hug.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright kiddo, or should I call you old man? Heh, my family all had happy lives, and they were all peaceful when they passed. I¡¯m just the last to go, so don¡¯t be so upse-Max?!¡± While she was trying to cheer up Max, images were flashing through his mind. He saw smoke rising from buildings, bodies lining the streets, and things more horrific than can ever be imagined.


    ¡°Max?! Are you okay? Get up, it¡¯s all right!¡± ¡°Hey kiddo, are you ready to-What the heck? Tammy what happened!?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, he just collapsed! I think he¡¯s passing out, quick call an ambulance!¡± ¡°I¡¯m on it!¡±... ¡°They¡¯re on their way, now stay with us Max. Do you hear me, don¡¯t pass out, come on you¡¯re a fighter.¡±... ¡°Okay stand back everybody!¡±... ¡°We got him¡±...


    <hr>


    Max found himself in a dark room, not sure where he was. But at the moment he didn¡¯t care, as grief wracked his whole being. Agony filled him as searing hot chains flung out of the corners of the strange room. They bonded with the skin on his arms and legs, pulling tight to keep him in place. He screamed out, more out of outrage than of pain.


    ¡°Let me go! I¡¯ll kill you, I¡¯ll kill you all! You think you can do this to me, ME!? I¡¯m far stronger than all of you, and I will get out of here one day. And when I do, you will all Die!¡± He raged at his captors, even as his struggles grew less and less. He cried, for the first time in so long, at the loss he had endured. And he vowed that those responsible would pay. Even if he had to wait an eternity.


    <hr>


    Thomas Thorn pace back and forth outside Max¡¯s hospital room. He had gone with him in the ambulance, and watched as they brought him into the building. The doctors told him to wait outside the door as they performed some tests, so that they can determine what condition Max was in. That had been two hours ago.


    Tammy had arrived with Sarah thirty minutes after Thomas. The old nanny had been extremely worried for the boy, but the worst came from Sarah. She still wasn¡¯t sure what had happened, and it took Tammy a few minutes to explain to the little girl why her brother was taken away. It had hurt immensely to see the girl cry like that, but she eventually calmed down.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    They had been waiting for about an hour and a half when the doctor had come out to explain Max¡¯s condition. The news had shocked all three of them, he was in a coma. The doctor told them that Max had seemed to have gone into a state of extreme stress, leading to him shutting down, so to speak. They weren¡¯t sure when he would wake up, but assured them that he would be taken care of.


    That is until a man came up to the family and doctor. This man was wearing an Altera Corporation uniform, in fact it was the same man who announced the cities that the company was building. He explained that it would be to everyone¡¯s benefit for Max to go with him to the nearby city.


    ¡°Mr. Thorn, like I said when announcing the cities, we have some of the most advanced hospitals in the world, and they will be able to take care of your son much better than this place will. No offense doctor.¡± It took an entire hour in order to convince the family to let them take Max, but since they were planning on moving to the city anyways they finally agreed. The doctor however took a bit more convincing, but like the family, it was only a matter of time.


    A moving team was sent to the Thorn¡¯s apartment, where they began expertly putting the families items into their trucks and shipping them to a large building in the city. Thomas insisted that he couldn¡¯t afford such a big house, but the spokesperson, whose name was Mr. Timmons, informed them that due to Max¡¯s special case, the house was completely free.


    After that, Max was moved into one of the major hospitals there, being looked over by some of the best doctors the company had. For some reason none of the family could understand, Altera Corp seemed to place a lot of importance on Max, even though they had seen other people in similar situations. But the doctors insured them that everything was alright.


    Eventually, after a week passed and Max still hadn¡¯t woken up, it was decided by Thomas and Tammy that Sarah would start going to school again. At first she refused, both for the reason of wanting to stay with her big brother, and for the want of every kid, not going to school. But Thomas was firm, and she finally agreed to go. She was signed up at Alexander Elementary.


    A month had passed and with his son still in a coma, Thomas got a job at the police station as a detective. Though he didn¡¯t have to pay for anything, he still wanted something to keep his mind off of his son¡¯s condition. That and he wasn¡¯t sure how long the company was going to keep giving them free things.


    Tammy kept herself busy as the months passed. She watched Sarah, took her to and from school, and started cooking dinners. While she wasn¡¯t half the chef Max was, she was decent at cooking. When she had some downtime she would go to a nearby library and read, often finding interesting books written by the travelers involving the history of the world Altera. She was hoping to find something out about what Max had been up to in the game world. But no matter how hard she looked she could never find a single trace of him. For some reason, this made her worried.


    A full six months passed since Max fell into a coma, it was a normal day just like any other. Thomas was just getting off of work when he saw multiple missed messages from Tammy. When he checked them he almost dropped his phone in shock.


    Max had woken up...