“A fish out of water story with a powerful but humble MC!

  -Weak to strong

  -System Apocalypse

  -Original and unique portal fantasy/isekai

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  Eleanor had been surviving in what could only be described as Hell for three months, one week, and 5 days. If she were to believe the infernal piece of machinery embedded in her eyes, she had also been here for 8 hours, 37 minutes and 24 seconds.

  This was the exact amount of time she had spent stranded away from everyone and everything she knew and loved.

  Because this place, this world, this…abyssal landscape that pantomimed God’s Green Earth couldn’t be in any way the one Eleanor had originated from.

  Any resemblance or empirical evidence that came her way was certainly ignored and it was definitely not agonized over countless hours in the middle of the night.

  Even now she tried, weakly, to convince herself she had merely hit her head impossibly hard and this was her neverending nightmare. Even though she had long ago stopped pinching herself in the hopes she would wake up in her bed. In their room. With him.

  She shook herself out of her spiraling thoughts and ignored how his face became blurrier and blurrier every time.

  Around her, commuters stared blankly ahead as they browsed their… their feeds, or made calls or did whatever else they did with their implanted tech. Scruffy looking kids of various ages swiped valuables from pockets or huddled together in giggling groups. Workers and office drones tapped their feet with defeated looks in their faces, and many other picturesque characters made the sea of humanity around Eleanor.

  Her only port in this storm that brought ordinary comfort instead of utter insanity was one person, the one that had figuratively and quite literally saved her life, the woman standing tall and strong next to her as the train zipped through the city.

  Yuki Vilanova had rescued her life, her mind and her heart after being stranded in Oxford Core for 28 days, almost a month, in which every pedestrian looked at her like she was crazy, where she jumped and screamed at holographic ads and hover cars, was mugged, robbed and swindled out of every valuable she had on her person and where she almost starved every rain-soaked night in the streets as she sobbed uncontrollably under awnings and sky bridges.

  Madam Vilanova- ahem, Yuki- had extended a kind hand to the 18 year old in dirty rags as she returned from her job as an ‘independent contractor’ under the authority of one Mr. Beelzebub. Which was politely saying that Yuki was a mix of a gun for hire, bouncer, bodyguard, courier for a local ‘broker’. The appropriately hellishly named Beelzebub was a lynchpin in the web of underground business that made its home in the north-east corner of Oxford Core.

  All this was important because today, Yuki was introducing Eleanor to Beelzebub in hopes of giving her a job. A real one.

  Her little room in the Vilanova home was already stretching the limits of their hospitality, even if they vehemently denied it. The meager credits she made by sewing and patching clothes for the neighbors in their corner of their megabuilding would not mend the cash leak Eleanor’s presence made in the four-person apartment designed for only two. Any other job was almost certainly out of her reach without formal education, certification, or street-smarts.

  That last one could be fixed with a bit of trial-by-fire in the form of becoming one of Beelzebub’s many errand kids. Even if she was only a kid in Yuki Vilanova’s worldview. Ridiculous, self-sacrificing, impossibly kind, ridiculous woman.

  Speaking of doubly ridiculous women, she was speaking to Eleanor right now.

  “Pardon?” Eleanor blinked.

  Yuki’s pretty narrow eyes crinkled with warm amusement, despite never ceasing their vigilant scan of her surroundings. Her other hand, the one not gripping the overhead handle, was casually resting on her hip, where her gun sat ready to be drawn at the first sight of danger.

  “It’s okay if you’re nervous, Ellie. There’s no pressure if you don’t want to work for BB.”

  “No! I mean- You’ve all done so much for me already. It’s the least I can do just to start paying you back,” Eleanor insisted.

  Her landlady-slash-benefactor-slash-best friend shook her head with a smile, setting her short dark bob of hair fluttering. “You sound more like Leo every day, kid. You have your head set on straight, at least.” Yuki stared at the street urchins in neon colors joking around at the end of the tram compartment. “I swear, if that boy falls in with some street punks he’ll have hell to pay,” she muttered.

  Eleanor’s lips thinned into a line as she considered the young gangbangers. The social aspect of her new world was her biggest weakness. When she was saved, she didn't know which streets to avoid, how to interact with shopkeepers, or the names of any important events or people of the last… two hundred years or so.

  The Vilanovas had come to their own conclusion of how she was so socially ignorant. Some back alley doctor probably ripped out her augs and done some kind of damage to her brain before dumping her in the streets, or at least they guessed so. A knot made itself at home in her stomach every time a member of the family commiserated and smiled sadly when she asked another question that they knew the answer to instinctively.

  Eleanor shook herself out of her spiraling thoughts. She smiled at the Asian woman at her side.

  “He’ll be fine, Mi- um, Yuki. And with Anna’s bartending job and this, you won’t have to worry any more.”

  Of course, nothing would ever be so simple for Eleanor.

  “Morning, B. Thanks for seeing me. This is Eleanor, and she’s…”

  They’re quite literally at Beelzebub’s doorstep. One of his men is standing outside after opening the door to the office in the back of the unassuming auto detailing shop the broker is based in. Eleanor’s eyes land on the lanky, shaggy haired man in overalls and a plain white T-shirt slurping noodles and watching TV just as Yuki stiffens halfway through her greeting.

  Eleanor makes eye contact with Beelzebub and nervously glances back and forth between him and Yuki, who has the tell-tale glow in her eyes of someone taking a call through their augs. Beelzebub doesn’t move a muscle and finishes slurping his meal at a glacial pace as he watches them. Eleanor decides to take initiative.

  “Um…Hi. I'm--”

  “Son of a bitch. Fuck!” Yuki explodes, cradling her head in her hands. Eleanor flinches at her breathless, panicked cursing.

  “Good morning to you too?” says Beelzebub. He throws the empty ramen cup at the bin in the corner and misses. He doesn’t look back at it. “Yuki, I know you hate when I ask, but are you alright?”

  “Beelzebub, I’m sorry.” The man narrows his eyes when Yuki calls him by his full moniker and sits straight in his chair. To Eleanor he suddenly looks like a different man altogether. His eyes are sharp and focused like a hawk’s. “I just got a call from the factory. Manny’s- he’s- he’s hurt. Badly.” Eleanor gasps in horror. Her friend is wringing her hands behind her as she attempts to stand tall in front of her boss. “ I need to go check on him.”

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  “If you’re leaving without completing any of the gigs you’ll have to go home with the flat rate, Yuki,” he says flatly. He rests his elbows casually on the metal desk in front of him. “That is, if you’re going immediately.”

  Eleanor blinks at Beelzebub and then sputters in outrage as his meaning becomes clear.

  “What? Mister Manny is hurt and your first reaction is to dock her pay?”

  “Ellie, it’s fine.” Yuki says with a gently raised hand in her direction. She’s already pushing her to the door. Beelzebub appraises the younger woman with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, of course, boss. Shit, sorry. This is who I told you about. I was hoping to have Eleanor run a few jobs, show her the ropes, but…”

  “Miss Yuki, what are you talking about!? That doesn’t matter, we need to get to-” Eleanor protests.

  “I’ll think about it.” Beelzebub says. Eleanor can’t read his tone at all. “Yuki, just go. And take the bike, not like you’ll be needing it for anything else today,” he sighs as he starts messing with the datapad on one side of the desk. Yuki nods gratefully.

  “That’s perfectly fine. Thank you. Ellie, come on.”

  “But-” Eleanor’s jaw clicks shut at the quelling look the woman gives her as she powerwalks through the auto shop. A regular sports bike stands in one of the car ports, not a fancy hovering one, but a regular one with tires. In one smooth move Yuki mounts and starts it with a roar of the electric engine.

  Eleanor awkwardly mounts behind her and she has a split second to wrap her arms around Yuki’s waist before they fly out of the garage door and into the streets.

  Once the younger woman has gotten the screaming out of her system, she shouts her question over the sound of the wind and the shrieking of the bike.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Vilanova, but I don’t understand! How can he be so cruel to you? You told me he’s your friend!”

  Yuki remains silent for a moment as she drives them at breakneck speeds between and around self-driving semis and the odd pedestrian or two in the ground level of the megacity.

  “Ellie, you’re just a kid.” She must feel her indignation somehow, because she speaks faster. “I know, I know. But I have a rep, and so does Beelzebub, and you don’t understand that yet. As good as I am at my job, he can’t just roll over and keep paying me if I have personal issues.”

  “It’s not fair.”

  “It’s more than fair, Ellie,” Yuki counters. “He could’ve kicked me to the curb with no transport and no money. He’s letting down whatever clients he had lined up for the day. Manny is- Manny is Beel’s friend too.”

  They remain silent as they race to the factory.

  A few stomach-whooping minutes later, Yuki explodes in tri-lingual cursing.

  “Quik-Care” she growled. Confused, Eleanor opened her tightly shut eyes and peeked over the woman’s shoulder. “Damned vultures.”

  Only her extended exposure to this world let her guess that it was a corporate-owned ambulance that was parked in front of the loading dock. The slogan “Quik-Care - Your life or your money back!” was merrily printed on the side. A group of people were standing around the back of the hover vehicle, arguing, by the looks of it.

  As Yuki came to a screeching halt and jumped off the bike, Eleanor got a good look at the group. A pair of EMTs, a few workers in navy blue fatigues, and two-

  Eleanor blushed up to her brunette roots.

  The woman currently screaming her head off at the private care workers was… liberally dressed. Pink neon-tech half-jacket, miniskirt, gold bra and heels and… not much else besides her blue dyed side-shave.

  It was one of those– those women of the night. To her utmost embarrassment, Leo had to save her from being bluntly propositioned one time in the streets by the… the sex workers around their neighborhood. For weeks, he’d take one look at her and laugh.

  “...many times do I have to say it? I can pay for the transport, man!” the Joytoy was shouting.

  “Miss, your official identification does not match you, I’m sorry,” the taller EMT of the two said blandly, not sounding too apologetic.The other one was looking around nervously. “I’m going to need additional verification of some kind.”

  “He vouched for me, you muppet. Not that he’ll get a chance to do much of anything else unless you take him to the hospital sometime today! And you still haven’t told me what the fuck additional ID means!”

  “What in the…” Yuki muttered under her breath as she finished stomping her way to the group. “Hey! Are you here for Manuel Vilanova!? Where the hell is he, and who the hell are you to…?”

  The woman turned with a chilling glare that quickly shifted into wide-eyed horror. Eleanor’s heart rate spiked and her stomach felt like it was somewhere around her feet.

  Yuki stopped cold.

  “...Anna?”

  “Mom!?” The young woman- Anna, shrieked. Her eyes darted down and then back up with a panicked whimper. She tried in vain to close the tiny half-jacket tighter around herself. “It’s- I mean-”

  “Bartending?” Her mother hissed, clenching her hands.

  “I-It’s not what it looks like!” Anna stuttered, waving her hands in denial. “I swear, I swear to fuckin’ God, it’s not that. It’s just… it’s dancing,” she finished in a whisper, tilting her head down.

  Eleanor’s wide eyes bounced back and forth between mother and daughter, arms half-raised placatingly but not doing much to help. The group of people around them shifted awkwardly. The group of workers were the most tense of all, but a few of them were turned away, talking and leaning over–

  “Manny!” “Mister Manny!?”

  Manuel Vilanova was the man laying on his side in the gurney the workers were huddled around. His normally dark skin was pallid and sweaty, but his eyes crinkled with warmth as Eleanor rushed to his side.

  “We will talk,” Yuki promised, pointing ominously at her daughter. Anna opened her mouth to protest. “Later.” Anna looked away without a word as her mother ran to her husband.

  “God in Heaven, Mister Manny, what happened?” Eleanor asked.

  The man chuckled weakly behind the respirator around his head. His wife gently cradled his shaved head as her eyes scanned him, her jaw clenched in stress. His shirt had been cut away, revealing bandages and gauzes pressed against countless wounds along his back. A slow spread of red was slowly soaking them through.

  “Ah, I’m just fine, ni?a. Just a bit of an occupational hazard.”

  “Piss off, Manny. You scared me to death. What happened?” asked Yuki, her harsh words contrasting the soft stroking along his face and scalp. She looked up at the rest of the workers, who tensed up at her narrowed eyes.

  “Oh, it was nothing–”

  “Excuse me, ma’am,” cut in one of the workers, a gray-haired older man. From what Eleanor gathered, older people in the workforce were a rare sight in this day and age. “I’m responsible for this git. It’s on the corp’s head, this whole mess,” he hurriedly added at Yuki’s murderous glare. “Assembly line completely malfunctioned, blew something in the electrical. Manuel here had the good sense to jump away, and my boys dragged him away.”

  “Right. Of course,” Yuki sighed, aggression leaving her abruptly. “Thank you for that, Mr…?”

  “Adam Bronowski, ma’am. I manage the ground floor line here.”

  “Thank you for taking care of my husband, aggravating as he is.”

  “That hurts, love,” Manny sighed. “I’m perfectly alri–” he began saying, before breaking into a coughing fit.

  “Shit. Stop talking, Manny. Anna!” The girl jumped where she was standing a few feet behind Yuki. “What’s going on with QC?”

  At Manny’s sounds of distress the shorter EMT ran up and started fussing over the man, at his partner’s visibly apparent irritation, judging by his crossed arms.

  Eleanor had honestly forgotten about the young woman entirely, and the paleness that had taken over her features evaporated with the heat that took over her cheeks once again. It didn’t make it better that she shuffled closer to her mother and consequently to Eleanor.

  “Hey Ellie,” she greeted kindly but quickly before hissing her explanation to Yuki, out of earshot from the EMTs. “My ID’s outdated, and these morons need it to validate dad’s stay at the hospital. Either that or pay up now,” she grumbled, before she wilted, tears clouding her eyes. “Mom, I’m so sorry, I dyed my hair for… for the new job. I shouldn’t have–”

  “Anna, stop.” Yuki took a deep breath and gently held her daughter’s shaking shoulders. “You couldn’t have known. I’m not– No, I am angry. But not at you, exactly. We’ll sit down and talk later.” She held her daughter’s gaze steadily, a little sad smile on her face.

  The older woman turned back to the stiff EMT, a fake amiable smile replacing her expression.

  “Well, now that I know my husband here is in good hands I’m sure we can get on with–”

  Eleanor jumped when a tinny alarm sounded, looking around in confusion before remembering the cybernetic augmentations in her vision, and thus the fact that the sound was actually coming from inside her skull. Around her, everyone froze. Then, a bright red box displaying two simple words occupied a portion of her field of view.

  Her heart felt like it had stopped, and all her worries about her host family’s monetary problems, her social ignorance, Mister Manny’s condition, and the confusing feelings about Anna’s appearance vanished like a breath in the wind.

  I forgot. For a few months, I forgot I fell down to Hell.