After lunch, which was thankfully free of any glowing spirits or colpsing dimensions, the two decided to kill some time before Arabel’s evening css. The weather was unusually overcast, with electric gray clouds trailing mist over the rooftops. Arabel, who was always chasing a good photo op or something weird to sketch, suggested exploring the far end of Sector B, an older part of the city rarely visited, even by the adventurous.
They found some hidden ruined structures behind a crumbling warehouse, hidden by yers of ivy and half-flooded alleyways. A heavy metal door, half-broken from time, led into what appeared to be an underground structure, seemingly older than the city itself.
“This feels like a bad idea,” Eclipse said, tapping her ear cuff. She blinked a few times as her contacts shifted. Another ingenious piece of tech created by the engineers of Aegis-5, most everyone wore special enhanced lenses from a very early age. Combining so many archaic devices into one slim piece of one’s daily accessories. As the contacts finished shifting. They worked like a camera lens, adjusting to filter more light to the eyes almost like night vision goggles from the past.
“Oh yeah,” Arabel grinned, pulling out a camera. “Absolutely terrible. Let’s do it.”
Inside, the ruins were… wrong in a way Eclipse couldn’t quite begin to describe. Everything hummed faintly, like a power grid that had been asleep for centuries but was waking up as they walked deeper in. Strange glyphs marked the walls and an unnatural chill lingered in the air.
Eclipse’s fingers twitched. She wasn’t cold, but her skin prickled with awareness.
Then they saw it: a pedestal in the center of a stone chamber, holding an orb-like device. It was cracked, but pulsing with soft blue light.
Arabel stepped back. “Yeah, nope. Don’t touch it.”
Naturally, Eclipse reached out.
“Eclipse!”
“What?!”
“That is literally the equivalent of ‘Don’t push the big red button!’ Put your hand down!”
“But I wanna…” she whined mockingly.
Goofing off was always a part of Eclipse’s personality. She loved making others ugh. Her fingers brushed the object, and in an instant, a surge of energy ripped through her. The room fred with light, runes igniting along the walls, and her entire body shifted.
There was a brief, dizzying moment of disorientation. Arabel’s contacts blurred with static. Blinking all she saw was a blur of silvery bck, a tail flicking into existence and then Eclipse dropped to the floor with a startled yip.
Arabel started. “WHAT THE-! ECLIPSE?! IS THAT YOU?” she yelped her brown eyes, meeting the ice blue one she recognized as Eclipse’s, “YOU’RE A FOX?!”
Eclipse looked down at her tiny paws. She squeaked. Actually squeaked.
“OHMYGOD,” Arabel said, circling her. “You are so small! You’re adorable! Wait. That thing’s colpsing…WHY IS THE CEILING FALLING?!”
Stone cracked. Dust rained down. The orb shattered completely, its glow dimming. With a strangled sigh and a tail puffed out in panic, Eclipse did the only thing she could, leap into Arabel’s arms.
Arabel didn’t even blink. She scooped her up like a fluffy football. “Guess we’re doing this!”
Dodging debris and skidding through colpsing corridors, Arabel sprinted up the tunnel. Eclipse clung to her coat with her cws, heart thudding in her tiny chest. Behind them, the entire ruin groaned and folded inward, colpsing with a thunderous crash.
They burst back into the city alley, soaked in dust and grime. Arabel leaned against a wall, panting and clutching the small puffball.
“Okay. So. That was not your average bad cheese dream.”
Eclipse let out a whimpering bark.
Arabel blinked, then nodded. “Right. Talking’s off the table. C’mon, fuzzy. Let’s get you somewhere safe.”
She cradled Eclipse tighter, her grip gentle but firm. The rain had started again, and as they disappeared into the foggy cityscape, Eclipse realized something important:
This wasn’t a dream.This was real.And her life just got a whole lot weirder.
