NT Runner 20 - End - Actor Without Substance

Yeong squared up to prepare to fight the approaching Beastfolk woman, however Sebek quickly tapped him on the shoulder and leaned in to order.
“Yeong, the screen.” As soon as the Orc said that she lowered her fists and stepped back through the rest of the party to carry out the command. She knew that he knew best and was not going to question it.

“Got it!” She rushed across the room and as if giving a small window into what would have happened if she tried to fight, Leage, the blonde Fox completely outpaced Yeong in terms of speed, caught up and landed in front of the frail CEO, as if predicting that was his target.

“No hostage taking.” Raithe warned.
“Nothing you do now will save you, understand? Please make this painle-” She furrowed her brow and tried to get around the woman standing in front of her as soon as she noticed what Yeong was actually going for.
“I-idiots! What are you predicting!?” She dove for the screen but Yeong was faster. Leage seemed confused.

“This is not within our calculations. Remain safe. They are unable to-” She calmly gripped Raithe and held her back.

“No! Stop her!” The woman screamed as Yeong turned the little CCTV around and placed his full palm over the screen.

-

Yeong stood in the corner, outside the view of the camera in the dark world that was not seen by any electronic device, or even hinted at. The area he had unaffectionately coined as 'the void.' Within a small cone of grainy light she was able to watch a rather cute scene. Two Foxes, possibly around Kai's age or less, were waiting with baited breath as they stared at a screen. It was black, but rapidly began to be filled with white text as it all scrolled and populated.

“Translate this for me, please.” The dark-haired fox whined in anticipation of what they were seeing. It was hard to tell from the picture, but surprisingly Yeong could tell quite easily by his voice and body up close the Steph 'was' a man originally. He stood behind Lacie, a hand planted on her shoulder as she sat in a plastic chair in front of a blocky keyboard. Her hand fidgeted in her lap. She looked far more... Reasonable than the Lacie Yeong knew. She had a slight build and a mousy demeanor. The girl wore large round glasses. The only thing that was familiar was her smooth red hair.

Lacie glanced up at Steph. “Right now it's out of my hands. In maybe a minute or two we'll know if it works.”

“We'll know IF it works?” He leaned back and held his head in his hands nervously.
“Lace, I got big investors lined up. I promised them this was sound!”

“You shouldn't have promise something like that. I haven't slept in two nights... This is all theoretical. We are literally breaking new ground here.”

“That's what they're paying for, but we don't get the cash if it doesn't work.”

Lacie sighed. “If- If it doesn't work I open it up and try again...” She smiled weakly.
“What's one more sleepless night?”

“What're we waiting for right now?”

“Right now it's installing the software I tweaked since last time. Once that's in place the actual test begins and we'll see instantly if it works.” She leaned forward, her eyes widening.  
“It's done! Here we go...” They both held their breath. Lacie stared up at him.
“Not here! Check the other device! Go go!” She ordered, pointing over to another monitor a few feet away.

Steph rushed over. “What am I looking for!?”

“You're looking for the black text to start scrolling on the screen like on this one.” She explained.

“It's doing it!” Steph jumped up and down.
“You're a genius!”

“Ohmigosh....” The girl looked to be in euphoria. Steph rushed over, turned her and leaned in to kiss her gently.

“Lace... We're gonna be rich. This company is gonna get made by this and we're gonna make it.” He explained giddily. The girl shrugged and stared longingly at him.

“That's great... But how about we celebrate?” She offered in a sultry tone, picking at her school uniform.

“N-now?” Steph gasped. He saw the look on her face and relented. He lifted her leg and pushed her butt onto the desk. They were obviously going to begin fucking right in front of her, so Yeong felt it prudent to step in at that moment, but something told her not to. That what was about to happen was also significant in a sense.

Lacie moaned and leaned back as Steph adeptly pulled her panties aside at the taint before entering her rather crudely. She noticed she was bumping up against the running machines and begged.
“W-watch the machinery, okay?”

Steph breathed and let out a frustrated. “You're the one that wanted to do it right here, right now!”

“P-probably fine.” She relented, fully leaning on the device as Steph thrusted. Her eyes rolled back and her body began to shudder gently. Her ears were going wild as if rocked by little tremors.
“You're so hard right now, is it the money?”

“It's you, idiot...” Steph corrected. He leaned over her and kissed her deeply. She reached up and stroked his ears and ran her fingers through his hair. He gave a few more thrusts before slowing. He breathed heavily and became strained as he looked to be cumming.
“Sorry, I didn't ask.” He said nervously, as if it was a common problem.

“That's fine.” Lacie giggled. It was a familiar giggle that did not seem to change from this point to the future and it felt somewhat endearing.
“We're set, right? It's no issue if I get pregnant. Plus...”

“Plus?” Steph's eyes widened as she leaned up to kiss him and bit his lip playfully.
“Ouch! What?”

“I love you, 'idiot.'” She smiled brightly.

Yeong finally stepped into frame. The two Foxes jumped. Lacie screamed. Steph quickly left her dripping cunt to step in front of the girl in defense of her. He held out his arms.
“Who are you!? What are you doing in my garage!?”

Yeong gulped. “You need to hear me out!”

“Why?” Steph uttered skeptically. His tail was standing up, as was the fur on his ears.

“I'm from the future. Something really, really bad will happen if you meet with that investor without help.”

“You mean, like... Legal representation?” Steph softened his stance somewhat.
“I was kind of just going to go in Solo and work it all out.”

“Wait, what!?” Lacie gasped.
“You were going to look at it all yourself? No second opinion? No legal advise? Thought you sorted all that out.”

Steph looked very embarrassed. “N-no... I just kind of thought I could handle it.”

“Okay, this conversation is a bit beyond me.” Yeong found a nearby pen and pad and wrote down a number he knew very well, along with a name and address.
“Please contact this person and tell them that Yeong sent you. Okay? Before you do ANYTHING else.”

Steph grabbed the page and looked at it. “Is this like... A law firm?”  

Lacie saw Yeong's genuine expression, then looked to Steph. “It seems like it should be fine to delay the meeting a bit. We got the tech. They need to come to us, right?”

Steph shrugged. “Yeah. That's true.” He turned to acknowledge Yeong, blushing as he noticed how attractive she looked in her modern clothing that mostly amounted to stripper attire. Lacie gave him a light smack.
“S-sorry! She's hot. What do you want me to do? Not stare?” Steph rolled his eyes.
“Thanks, uh... Yeong?”

“Yeah, no problem.” Yeong realized something very unfortunate very quickly. She frowned, her heart sinking as she stared out into the endless black void.
“Years until the invention of the first cellphone.” She muttered.

“What was that?” Steph asked.
“Cellphone?”

“It's a hand-held device. Basically a computer in your palm.” Yeong explained sadly.

“Cellphone is so lame. How about HanCom. For handheld computer?” Steph advised, his mind already rushing to consider marketing and applications.

Lacie looked up in thought. “Wireless is possible. I hadn't even thought about it, but we can work on that next.”

“Later guys.” Yeong smiled weakly and turned to face the void. She walked into it, disappearing from sight. She heard.

“Where'd he go!?” From Steph.

“This is it. You did a good thing, now it's over. No way balk.” Yeong sighed.
“And I'm already talking to myself.”

“No good deed goes unpunished, right?” A soft, yet masculine voice chuckled right next to him. Yeong turned to look and saw a tall, chiseled Fox man with Reddish-black hair. His ears were pointed with bright, crimson red. His eyes were gold and they stared down at Yeong benevolently.

“Who are you?” Yeong asked. He was the only person so far other than him and Kai that could appear within the void.
“I 'was' the Hero. Then other people began to call me Coda... Or Patriarch... Or Father. That was fun for a while, but all our children outgrew us.” The Hero explained.
“I've been doing my best to use my powers to help you. Guide you. Get you out of trouble where I could. But I... Had very little left. You were not perfect, but then again neither was I.”

“Did you become a side character in your own story?”

He smiled knowingly. “I was always a side character. The important ones were always your Grandmother, My Wife, my friends and those that came after me... All I had that they didn't was the ability to affect their lives in various interesting and important ways. And that's what you've done, Yeong.” He clicked his tongue.

“Yeong... It's a very nice name. It means Hero, doesn't it?”

“In Aoi, yeah.”

He breathed a gentle sigh. “Please give my regards to Kara. I did not do right by her at all. She deserved better than me and I am happy she got it.” He looked up into nothing and added wistfully.
“Raithe is not a bad girl... Please do not hate her or be angry at her. She was confused and sad that myself and Jeane had to go so suddenly. So many of my people were... Please help them to understand that revenge against the Seraph's is not the answer. It is not what I want.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Yeong asked curiously.

“Because when I use the last of me to send you back, I am no longer going to be around to tell anyone. Don't feel bad. It always HAD to end this way.” He claimed, adopting a neutral expression.

“W-wait-”

“Farewell.” As the figure said that it all went dark, for a while.

-

Yeong opened her eyes as the lights came on in her room automatically. She sat up and stared at the clock. Morning. She slid her legs out of the nice bed and took in her surroundings. The room looked like an expression of what someone thought the future would look like. Sterile white walls of some polymer, and sleek modern furnishing in the same color. She shifted where she sat and simply remained that way, stunned and a bit confused. She stared down at her own body. Similar but in many ways changed. Her hips, her chest, her thighs. All seemed to have grown quite naturally as if she began the procedures early. She actually inherited quite impressive breasts and from her waist to her hips she carried an attractive curve to her body. She was hesitant to look, but felt no kind of way as she noticed a pretty, shaved pussy between her legs. She had little time to experiment, as she felt a vibrating on her inner wrist.

She lifted her hand and saw around her wrist a sleek, comfortable device that she did not notice until it started buzzing. She thought about answering and a display popped up in front of her eyes. It moved with her head and followed where she looked.
“HanCom...” She mused out loud.

“Yeah, HanCom.” Came the voice of Kai. Her annoyed expression appeared in a window right in front of Yeong's face.
“Why do you sound like a cavewoman? Come on, let's go, you're late!”

“Late for...” It came back to her quickly. She stood up.
“Practice.” She exhaled lightly and before Yeong left her room she glanced at her other wrist at a much bulkier device. As she touched the emblem her naked body was quickly covered in a very fine, thin and tight suit that felt like a second skin. It was bright red, a familiar color. She grabbed a red scarf that was hanging next to the door and wrapped it around her neck as she left.
“I'll be there in a minute, okay? Stop yelling in my ear...”

She walked a familiar set of halls within the advanced facility, passing Fox scientists and workers that knew her along the way. Eventually the hall emptied out into a vast Arena. She moved to stand beside Kai, who was dressed in a similar suit of yellow. Flanking her was Janna in a suit of blue. Standing on the other side of Yeong, Joseph her twin was in a suit of green that looked far less flattering on a man, especially one with such slender frame and small package.

As Yeong was still coming to her senses, she was surprised to hear a very familiar voice. “What was the holdup, kiddo?” He looked up to see Kara standing confidently in front of them in a very tight red Aoian Dress. Bells hung from her wild red hair that was tied off at places. She wore high white stockings and red heels.

“It worked...” Yeong claimed out loud.

“Huh?” They all turned to look at her. Kara stepped closer.
“What worked/”

Yeong looked up. “Th-the Hero sent his regards.”

Kara covered her mouth, her eyes going wide. She turned and stared up at a darkened viewing window that quickly became transparent.
“No practice! We're done for today! Got? Meeting time!” She commanded.

-

In front of Yeong, sitting at a desk with Lacie sitting comfortably over his lap in a lab coat was Steph. It was not Raithe. Yeong could tell because the silver-haired Fox was standing beside them attentively in a smart-looking blazer and skirt. Steph wore a very charming black suit and leaned forward to address everything Yeong Said.
“I... I honestly don't know what to say. I'm speechless. Kara, any thoughts?”

“We knew this was coming, or I did. We always expected it when the message came from you guys saying my baby grandso-” She paused as Yeong cringed.
“Granddaughter, sorry. Sent me.”

“What's going on?” Yeong questioned.

“We only now know thanks to what you just described.” Lacie explained from Steph's lap. She adjusted her glasses. The woman had a far more sensible figure without the addition of tons of Tek. She was a charming, adult Fox woman that still had heavy breasts and matronly curves, just not to the extent that they had seen in Yeong's old future.

Kara chimed in. “For a long time we did not have any idea why the Hero... Why Coda didn't just die. He completely ceased.” As she said that, Raithe lowered her head sadly.

“Ceased?”

“What people don't understand is that even when someone dies, there is some continuation. Their Core can be felt from the past, the present and into the future. His just stopped, as if it had all disappeared and now we know that he sacrificed it all for you to be able to make it back. Not just his power and life, but his existence...”

“W-what does that mean!?” Yeong stoop up out of her chair.
“The Hero never existed?”

“No.” Lacie corrected.
“There was a person that was the Hero that you are referring to. All of their actions carried out and lead to what we have now right up until the point when the Seraph Assembly dropped their Weapon of Mass destruction on the tree with he and Jeane inside of it. He has no astral signature. No Core. He was an action without substance.”

“That doesn't even make sense to me, sweetie, and we're both on the same page.” Kara warned.

Lacie sighed. “Okay... Everything that was a result of his actions occurred, however, they are empty of his influence. You remember him, Kara, because it is impossible to conceptualize of events happening without an actor, but his presence within those events OBJECTIVELY are absent. Past, present and future.”

Steph steepled his fingers below his chin in thought. “So he's there... But he never was there? Even in memory?” The man shook his head.   
“Like a... Living ghost.”

“That must be what happens when you sacrifice everything...” Kara offered sadly.

“I-I wont forget.” Raithe sniffled.
“It should be written somewhere. Everything should be written and not forgotten.” With that the woman abruptly left in the midst of abject silence from all present.

“Now we know why the world has been out of wack. Coda was an ever-present force ever since the dawn of history. Without her... Or him... In some form, monsters like what we've been seeing are appearing. Core Beasts far stronger and more intelligent than what have ever been seen.”