J'baki found himself in a dream. He didn't know what to expect from jumping through a hole in the floor, but he didn't expect to fall directly on clouds as hard as bricks. He woke up sitting on the clouds rubbing his head.
He couldn't see a thing below, and the people that jumped after him fell straight through with no issue.
How are they doing that? He thought. He began jumping up and down to no avail. He pulled his bat off of his belt and started to bang the clouds, almost breaking the bat in half.
"Spore levels are too low to pass through the cloud," Isshi said in a robotic voice. "You must connect to the mycelia network."
"Connect to the what?"
"Connect to the Mycelia Network to increase your spore level."
"How do I connect to the mycelial network?"
"Connections are automatic."
"Then why haven't I connected?" J'baki asked with frustration.
"Information not available."
"Not this again."
J'baki sat on the clouds as more people passed through. That's when He heard Isadora's voice coming from his watch.
"J'baki! Where are you at?" Isadora sounded distressed.
"I'm up here on this stupid cloud! What is this?"
"Ask Isshi to help you."
"I've tried that it's no help!"
"I've already gone ahead. Try to figure it out and catch up."
"Go ahead. I'm sure I'll be able to find you."
J'baki suddenly felt a burning sensation coming from his arm. He looked down and Isshi was burning something into his arm.
Though the heat was intense on his fingers, he managed to rip Isshi off of his arm.
Isshi fell through the cloud leaving J'baki alone. He writhed back in pain. He looked down at his arm only to find no trace that he had just been burned. He got down on all fours and attempted to peer through the cloud.
"You cannot be serious right now." J'baki started to panic "how the hell am I supposed to get down there." J'baki started to pace impatiently around the cloud.
All he could do now was try to find a way into this network and through this cloud.
Connect to the mycelia network.... he contemplated. What had he learned since he got here? He couldn't see past some clouds above him, he couldn't receive the message from The Empress, he couldn't even see the Empress as a matter of fact. Were all these connected? How was he supposed to connect to something just by knowing what it is?
While J'baki sat and contemplated his thoughts, he noticed that no one else has dropped into clouds. He really was alone. He laid on his back and let his thoughts flow through his mind.
His friend Benji was his first thought, he remembered something he told him a few years ago, about a missing piece. They were running around the city when Benji stopped them at a park, he remembered the simple beauty of it. The inner hill shape leading to the river. People were sitting on the grass having picnics, fishermen had their poles on rail with their lines hanging in the water. Kids ran around with their pets while their parents sat and talked with each other. It was all so clear in his mind. Benji's face as they leaned across the metal rails was calm. His beard was just coming in and his eyes pierced into J'bakis.
"J'baki. Do you feel it?" He closed his eyes as his hair blowed in the wind. "The link?"
"Link?" J'baki was younger and more dense than he is now.
"Here. Close your eyes." He did. "Now, hold my hand." He reached out to grab J'baki's hand. J'baki felt an infectious sensation crawl up his arm and started to panic "Relax, take a deep breath." He took deep breaths and allowed the sensation to creep further into his arm and up the side of his neck. "Hmmmm that's weird."
"What's weird." J'baki asked.
"Your Beo is missing." Benji replied. "How are you supposed to link." The sensation left J'baki's arm in a cooling whish.
"What's a beo?" He asked shaking the chills from his arm.
"I can't tell you that J'baki." Benji let out a laugh and put his hand on J'baki's head. "You have to let it tell you."
"Ohhh. Okay. When will it tell me?" J'baki asked. Smacking his arm now.
"You'll know when it tells you." Benji's face faded from J'baki's memory as he jolted up suddenly putting all of the pieces together.
He looked down between his legs and found A small bird nuzzled in. The bird sprang up and flapped furiously in his face.
"Finally you are awake!" The bird chirped.
J'baki squinted his eyes at the bird. "Isshi?"
"Yes it's Isshi! Now that I'm not on your arm I can begin the link to the mycelia network!" Isshi flew onto J'baki's left shoulder and started pecking behind his ear. "I've made you this artificial Beo from spores extracted from you're body"
"Is that why you were burning me?"
Isshi started to materialize a mushroom like object from his wing. J'baki examined the fleshy white object that came from a robotic bird.
"What is that?" He asked.
"Swallow it and you'll be able to connect to the Mycelia network." Isshi explained
"I'm not swallowing that!" He protested, stepping away from Isshi
"Do you want to get through the cloud or not?!" Isshi exclaimed.
"Of course I do!" J'baki yelled back.
"Then swallow this, no fuss!" Isshi held the mushroom up to J'baki's mouth. "Open up!"
"But what," j'baki started to speak.
"No fuss!" Isshi shoved his wing down J'baki's throat.
J'baki swallowed the piece and felt it's fleshy tendrils wiggle down his throat. His body was filled with the same sensation of Benji grabbing his arm. It filled his entire body, making him heat up all over. He struggled to catch his breath as he felt little explosions all over his body.
The cloud below J'baki dematerialized and he began to fall into the root below. Still writhing in pain he plunged to the bottom of the root. The inside of the root system was beautifully lit with orange spores that stuck to the sides of the walls. J'baki was in too much pain to focus on the beauty before him. He fell face first into the spore lined ground with a dramatic splat.
Trying to stand up was an impossible chore. As he lay taking deep painful breaths,
J'baki could feel the burning sensation leaving his limbs traveling through his neck and gathering into his ear. Although still in pain his breath slowly came back to him.
Lying at the entrance to the Veins of Sasha, J'baki felt himself slip into unconsciousness the black filling his eyes with every passing breath. All he could do was slumber through the feeling of little explosions on his body.
The Empress sat in a trance on her throne. She sat perfectly still as spores flowed through her eyes. Her thoughts directly connected to the chosen few below that could hear them.
"Empress. The message has been transmitted." A tall man approached the throne, brushing his low cut hair. "It's time to disconnect from the mycelia network."
After a few moments, the Empress closed her eyes, let out a sigh of relief, and put her hand to her head.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," she said through strained breaths. "Have they started their descent?"
The man placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Everything is moving normally. How are you?"
"Fine." The Empress rose from her chair. "Going into the Sulcis this early may not have been wise."
"I fear the perfect time may not have ever come." The man stepped back from the Empress. " we made the right decision."
The Empress walked down her pristine throne room off to a corridor of the large tree trunk.
"I hope you're right Gray, I would hate for them to be in irreparable danger for our sake."
Gray followed The Empress into her room.
"Of course not, I've taken the liberty to deploy special forces just for this occasion." He said proudly.
The Empress rolled her eyes at the response.
"The twins?" She did not approve of their methods.
"Oh don't say it like that, They are very reliable. And they've promised to keep a low profile."
"I should hope so." The Empress stood behind a changing wall. "Any other developments I should know about?"
Gray paused for a moment. "There is. I didn't think it was important enough to bring up, however since you asked."
The empress was in the middle of changing out of her dress clothes. "Well go on then."
"It seems as if an artificial Mycelia device has been activated inside of the root system." Gray explained.
"Gray what the hell!" The empresses raised her voice. "That is unacceptable, that is counterfeit technology and is not allowed. That means anyone outside of my reach can do as they please in there."
"I know Empress but"
"No buts, have your twins take care of it at once." The empress emerged in much more relaxed clothes. " We can't let anything disrupt the Sulcis. We're already pushing the limits of the tree as it is."
Gray bowed his head in agreement.
"How do you want to take care of it?"
"Bring him to me, he can't be up to any good. We'll figure out just where he got this little device, to think he could hack into the mycelia network."
"I will see to it." Gray bowed out of the room, to fulfill his duties. The Empress retired to the bed as the first night of the Root Down began.