Outrun - Cyberpunk LitRPG

"Trust me. It's all part of the plan. I'm just- I-I'm faking being nervous so she won't feel uncomfortable around me! Yeah- yeah, that's the reason!" A voice called out, though it sounded far away.

"You'd sound a lot more convincing if you weren't trembling…"

Ugh- my head. It pounded with a headache that just wouldn't go away no matter how much I tossed and turned. My eye scrunched tight and I wormed my way deeper into my blanket, trying to just go back to sleep-

"I think she's awake?"

My eyes flicked open- pavilion? Why were there voices in the pavilion? And since when could I fall asleep here-

Memories came rushing back through my head like a tidal wave. I bolted upright, slipped, and fell off the throne I'd been placed up on with Fox. Her tail stretched out to grab me, but she wasn't expecting me to move right away. I ended up flopping to the floor head first.

"Yow!" That- that wasn't pleasant. If I had a headache before, it hurt so much worse now.

"S-see! It's not just me. This thing is slippery!" Fox hopped off the throne and crouched down next to me, helping me stand.

"Yip-" I still couldn't speak. I tried to take deep breaths. My lungs were in a different place and a different size though, making it so much harder to control. I couldn't breathe. Why couldn't I breathe?

"H-hey, look at me." Fox leaned down, staring into my eyes with her sapphire ones. "Don't force it. Just let instinct take over."

Right. I tried to take my mind off of things. Instead, it shifted to the pure impossibility of my situation. I was a human. One hundred percent human- kinda. Sure, I had some mutations and some- uh- adjustments from the interface, but I was still human. How did it become like this?

Fox gently stroked my back with her paw, helping me get more and more used to the weird sensations across my body. "Everything's going to be fine."

"Yip?" Right- still couldn't talk.

"You're so cute." She reached up and toyed with my ears. My weirdly shaped ears. It- I didn't think I'd ever be able to get used to this. It felt good, but it made my head churn in confusion.

I felt a pulse of something magic through the air coming from Cain off to the side. "Try talking now."

"H-hello?" My voice came out, but it sounded so much weaker than it normally did. Or maybe I was just projecting?

"What- did she inherit your nerves with your fur color?" Cain snickered, though shut up with Fox levered a glare at him. His four tails dipped down, going entirely still with fur raised.

The eidolon settled back down next to me, watching me get used to the sensations and feeling of this frankly awkward body. I felt so small. So weak. So, so very vulnerable.

After about an hour, I finally started to walk. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It just took some concentrated effort to keep all my legs moving in time with each other. I still couldn't control the tail and ears, but everything else was easy enough to figure out.

Interestingly, all the Perks and abilities I'd collected since getting the interface still seemed to work. Some of them seemed to work better, even. My Kinetic ability, for one, was in overdrive every time I even just twitched. Maybe it was thanks to constantly moving all four limbs? Or the movement of my tail? I dunno, but electricity sparked off of me repeatedly. Fox got zapped a few times without warning.

I moved back over to the throne. "C-can I shift back?"

"'Yip! Just- just focus on it." Fox called from the throne. "Should be exactly the same as when you shifted the first time."

After a moment, I felt the complete opposite sensation of when I turned into the silver fox form. My entire body loosened up, like I was being released from a heavy net that'd been wrapped around me. I fell back onto my rear, back to being normal, human Shiro.

I stared down at my hands. I never realized how much I would miss hands without having them. Paws were practically useless for doing anything. And skin! Although I was colder now, my clothes were back, including the silver hoodie.

"Why-?" I waved a hand at myself. "What's the point?"

"Uh- um um- I-I thought i-it'd be cool? A-and useful! You won't have to w-worry about Aether Sickness." Fox shifted around, not looking me in the eyes. Now that I was back to normal, she seemed so much more shifty.

"I- thank you for the gift, I guess." I didn't think I'd ever use it again though… no- it was another tool… I'd have to get used to it. It just- it left me so very vulnerable. Or that's how I felt, anyway.

"Y-yeah… and you're a true sprite like that." Fox perked up, looking mighty proud of herself. Her eyes curled up into half-moons. "M-might even be able to c-cast magic like a s-sprite."

"Really?" I froze, staring at her. Casting magic… I thought long and heard the last time I had a Trait point about becoming either a Magi or Adept. Yet now I had this just fell into my lap? All for the small trade of Corvin's parts, which I didn't have much planned for anyway. Oh—would I be contracted to a Magi? That sounded awful.

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"Yeah- i-it'll take a lot of training." She coyly looked up at me through her long lashes. "I'll teach you personally. I-if you want…"

Why did I get the feeling she was just trying to make me come back more? This- this felt like a mouse trap for some reason. I could see the cheese dangling there, and now I was just waiting for the trap to trigger. Hmm…

I glanced off to the side where the two Greater Sprites were quietly in discussion with each other. I barely heard Cain muttering, "Should you tell her or should I?"

"Cast an illusion." Vulpes said something I couldn't quite hear. Then she noticed me looking over and shifted away from the other Greater Sprite almost guiltily. She casually moved over and walked around me in circles like she was inspecting me. "You looked cute as a fox, Shiro."

"Chek?" It'd be hard not to. Fox's were cute… what would Mira think if she saw me like that? No- I had so much I needed to explain to her before then. She'd probably freak out if a sprite just randomly popped up out of nowhere. Or she'd smother me be accident trying to hug me. She always was fond of cute and fluffy things.

The Greater Sprite nodded her head several times. Her fluffy ears flapped around with the motion. "Almost like my lady if she was a kid."

Fox, for her part, shifted on the throne. "W-well, I did use my fur, so…"

I rubbed at my arm, lightning sparking off my finger and dissipating into the air. "About that Kinetic training…"

"I-it's on hold for now. You've- uh- you've been here for four hours already." Fox looked out past me. Her eyes held a sad tilt to them. "Y-you should p-probably head back soon."

"Chek…" I looked back towards the doors of the pavilion. "Until next time?"

"Y-yeah." Fox hopped off her throne and headed for a side room. Her tails hung low to the ground. I kinda wanted to stay longer to cheer her up, but Mira must be worried sick about me. Just before leaving the room, she halfheartedly called out over her tails. "Vulpes, see her out."

"Yes, my lady." Vulpes calmly took the lead back toward the pavilion's main doors. She paused and looked back toward me.

"I'm coming." I stretched out, drained the electricity flowing through my veins, and followed the Greater Sprite to the door. I didn't end up getting any training this time around, but this couldn't be considered a loss either. And there was always next time.

Guardian foxes on either side of the door pushed it open for us once more. I stepped out and took a deep breath. The air here was so refreshing. I'd had 'pure' air before, of course, but that usually had a plasticy tinge to it from the auto-ducts. In Fox's realm though? It was so, so clean and clear.

"You're welcome back anytime, of course." Vulpes spoke up once we hit the bottom of the stares. "Even if my lady is out or busy, the others would love to see you."

I looked around the mountain top. They were keeping their distance, but waves of fox sprites were still scattered around me with predatory looks in their eyes. "I can see that… are there six of you Greater Sprites?"

Vulpes paused for a moment, making me stop next to a fountain. "Twelve. The others are on assignment."

"Wow… that's a lot. Crow only has- had three, right?" Corvin, Corvid, and then their big brother, whoever that was.

"Yeah, well… that guy is worse than my lady in every way, so what can you expect?" She huffed lightly like she was laughing. "He's desperately trying to raise a few more now. Not something that can be rushed, though."

"I can imagine." I wasn't a hundred percent sure how much combat strength mattered to the eidolons. Did they have to defend their domains? Greater Sprites looked like they had important administrative roles for their eidolons though. Being down even just one for Crow must be rough. Especially with me summoning Corvid whenever I wanted to.

"About a week from now, your teacher will be able to meet up again." Vulpes started moving again.

"Who are they, anyway?"

"A Kinetic, obviously… he's on a team with one of Fox's favored Magi." Her head tilted to the side and her ears lowered back to her skull. "Don't really know much more than that. A different one of us usually deals with them."

"That's fine." Must be a merc team… or maybe some kind of corporate elite? It was a Kinetic and a Magi on the same team though, so I was leaning toward the former. Must be quite high up to hold Fox's eye. Not everyone was in a position like me where most of the eidolons paid attention for one reason or another.

We both fell silent until we moved back to where I first entered Fox's domain from. I felt a light pulling sensation on my body, similar to when I held the crystal that brought me here.

I turned back to Vulpes. "This is it, I guess."

The Greater Sprite's head dipped into a low nod. "Indeed. Take care of yourself, Shiro. Oh, and bring that friend of yours by sometime."

"Mira?" I shifted from foot to foot. "I don't know… I'll try? She's…"

"I understand. Still, it'd be nice to have a new face around here."

"I thought there'd be, like, Magi all over the place. Or maybe even the Shrinemaidens." My mind drifted back to Aythryn City's Shrinemaiden. She seemed the type to just come and hang out in the Aether.

"Very few actually enter the Aether." Vulpes shrugged. "It can be dangerous. That, and they're kept to the other mountains of Nine-Peaks."

Nine-Peaks… must be the name of Fox's Realm. It fit, I guess. "Right- well… It was nice seeing you again. And Fox."

"Stay safe." Her expression shifted, becoming slightly tighter. "Oh, and look in the mirror when you get back. Don't- uh- don't blame my lady?"

"What are you-" My hands shot up to my ears. Phew- still human. I rubbed the top of my head just in case and even checked for a tail. It wasn't that. "I guess I'll see, won't I?"

I nodded to the Greater Sprite and let the pulling sensation take me. In a wave of vertigo and a kaleidoscope of washing colors, I was sent back to my bunker. A moment later, the crystal that I used to head to Nine-Peaks dropped into my hand.

"Well… that was something." I carefully placed the crystal where I could find it easily the next time and tossed up my spare Transporter to pop a hole back.

I pulled at the hoodie slightly. With a thought, it was banished into a subspace just like I could do with Crow's Canteen of Chaos. Instead of shadows surging up to claim it though, spectral fox fire lit up along its surface and burned it away.

It was comfortable, but… well, maybe after I explained some more to Mira? That, and the fox ears dangling from the hood made me look even more like a kid, unfortunately. I didn't need any help with that. My- ehem- stature did enough.

After about ten minutes passed while I half-heartedly sorted the bunker's contents, I stepped back through the portal into my apartment. Mira was passed out on the couch, snoozing lightly. Guess she wasn't worried. I pulled the Transporter through the portal, which immediately caused the portal to destabilize and collapse. My other transporter was up on a table, dead.

Right- four hours obviously would kill the battery. Maybe I should set up a remote control system or something? Or an emergency escape portal? My mind drifted across a variety of topics. So much to think about, not to mention going over everything that happened back at Nine-Peaks.

I took off the majority of my gear and headed to the bathroom. An illusion broke as soon as I looked in the mirror- "Fox! Damnit!"