Taboo Online

Lauren returned to her body with the sensation of falling several feet onto the capsule mattress.

Her back struck the padding, cold air rushed into her lungs, and the headset suddenly felt heavy around her skull. The padded braces around her shoulders, waist, and legs held her securely when her body tensed.

For several confused seconds, she did not know which world she was in.

Then the medical lights above the capsule came into focus. Sensors tugged at her skin, an intravenous line remained taped inside her elbow, and the low mechanical hum of the Bureau’s underground dive facility surrounded her.

An alarm started beside the capsule.

Lauren raised her right hand as far as the shoulder brace allowed and stared at the slender branch resting against her palm.

The destination mark had crossed with her.

Pale green light pulsed beneath the silver bark. Fine roots remained wrapped around her fingers, though they had loosened enough to preserve her circulation. The branch clung to her without causing pain, responding to every movement of her hand.

It had survived the journey from Powerforge to Earth.

The medical staff rushing toward her capsule clearly understood how impossible that was.

"Don’t touch it!" Lauren shouted.

Her voice came out rough and breathless, but the nearest nurse stopped before reaching through the open service panel.

Dr. Daniel Shaw hurried between the capsules with a tablet held against his chest. He checked the readings above Lauren first, then leaned close enough for her to see his face through the transparent cover.

"Lauren, follow my voice. Tell me your full name."

She answered, and he continued before she could ask anything of her own.

"Do you know where you are?"

"The Bureau dive facility."

"Any chest pain, trouble breathing, dizziness, or numbness?"

"My body feels exhausted, but I’m awake and thinking clearly." Lauren reached for the connection that had followed her across worlds. "Luke is still inside."

The thread between them had weakened until she could barely separate it from her own pulse. There were no words traveling through it, only the faint sense of someone holding on at the far end.

"Leave the headset where it is," she said.

Shaw’s hand stopped near the release controls. "Your active session has ended. The capsule shows no remaining connection to Powerforge."

"The capsule isn’t measuring the bridge."

His gaze moved toward the silver roots around her fingers. The green light beneath the branch brightened when Lauren concentrated on Luke.

Shaw looked back at her. "What bridge?"

Another alarm sounded several stations away.

Rhea’s body jerked inside her capsule before she forced herself still. Her eyes opened beneath the headset, and she immediately began searching the room rather than waiting for anyone to speak.

"Calder is conscious," a technician called.

Medical staff opened Rhea’s capsule first. As the cover rose and two nurses approached, she lifted one hand to stop them.

"Where is Lauren?"

"Three stations to your left."

Rhea turned her head and found the branch raised above Lauren’s chest. The hard tension in her face eased slightly.

"It made it through."

Shaw looked between them. "I need a complete explanation, starting with what entered this facility."

A technician released Rhea’s headset. She pulled it away and took a moment to breathe before answering.

"That branch is part of the Central Heartroot. The rest of the tree is sheltering hundreds of survivors, and it no longer has a living connection to the land beneath Lethariel. Lauren has to establish one here before the core runs out of strength."

The activity around the capsules slowed.

Most of the dive stations had already opened, but Luke, Kellan, Dorian, and Iris remained connected. Their capsule covers were still sealed, and each monitor displayed active neurological patterns.

Shaw glanced toward them. "Why did only you and Lauren return?"

"Lauren is carrying the destination mark. Luke had to stay with the core and maintain the other end of the bridge." Rhea looked toward the remaining capsules. "Kellan, Dorian, and Iris stayed to protect him and the people inside."

Lauren’s raised arm had started shaking.

"Could someone release the brace around my right shoulder?" she asked. "Please keep your hands away from the roots."

Shaw nodded to the closest nurse. "Open it slowly. Watch her hand for changes in circulation or skin temperature."

Once her shoulder was free, Lauren lowered her arm and cradled the branch against her chest. The nurses removed the remaining padded braces while the tiny roots adjusted around her fingers.

One of the technicians stared openly. "We’ve never had a physical object return with a player."

Rhea swung her legs toward the side of her capsule. "I know you need to document it. You can do that after we stop the rest of it from dying."

Shaw remained focused on Lauren rather than responding to Rhea’s tone. "Is the branch changing you in any way?"

"The Heartroot already changed me during my trial," Lauren said. "The system gave me a five-percent Verdant Elven Bloodline. That is why its roots recognize me."

Shaw’s eyes flicked toward the green light beneath her skin. He looked as though he had several more questions, but he set them aside.

"What does the Heartroot require?"

"Healthy soil and clean water. It also needs enough space for the Central Heartroot and the sanctuary around it to unfold without destroying whatever is nearby."

"How much space?"

Lauren pictured the central trunk, the terraces packed with refugees, and the roots enclosing them.

"I never measured it. The surviving sanctuary was larger than this facility before we left, and we don’t know how much it will expand once it reaches living soil."

Shaw glanced toward the ceiling.

A faint pressure touched the connection in Lauren’s chest. She went still, afraid that moving might make her lose it.

Then a weak pulse reached her.

Luke was still there.

Lauren closed both hands around the destination mark. "We need to move now."

Shaw checked the monitor above Luke’s capsule. "His heart rate is elevated, but it hasn’t crossed into a critical range. His neurological activity is unusually high."

"He has one hand against the Heartroot’s core," Lauren said. "He promised to answer when I planted the mark."

Shaw lowered his tablet. "What happens if the site you choose cannot support it?"

"The Heartroot only has enough strength to attempt the transfer once."

The change in Shaw was immediate. He turned toward the control room before asking anything else.

"Lock down this chamber. No one touches the connected capsules, and no one attempts a forced disconnection. Contact Red Hound and report a physical manifestation from Powerforge with several hundred lives at immediate risk."

Before allowing Lauren to leave the capsule, Shaw carefully released the headset. She held her breath while the device lifted away from her face and searched for Luke through the bond.

The thread remained unchanged.

"It’s still there," she said.

Shaw watched the branch for any reaction. "Then the transplantation bridge is no longer dependent on the headset or capsule."

Rhea slid off her own capsule. Her knees bent beneath her, and she caught herself against the frame before a nurse could reach her.

Shaw turned toward her. "You need to be examined before you leave this room."

"You can examine me on the way." Rhea pulled the final sensor from her wrist and looked toward the sealed capsules. "My team is still inside. I’m not staying here while someone decides which form we need before we can move."

Shaw seemed ready to argue, but the facility doors opened.

Red Hound entered wearing black training clothes rather than his usual suit or combat gear. His short red hair was damp, and he had clearly been called away from whatever he had been doing without much explanation.

His attention moved across the sealed capsules before settling on the branch in Lauren’s hands.

He drew in a slow breath through his nose.

"That smells alive."