What happened? I…I can't move! I can't see anything! There's something covering my eyes, I can't hear anything thing! I have something covering my ears. There is a mask covering my mouth and nose! It has tubes going down my throat so I can still breathe. That helps calm me a little. My arms are restrained to something. My legs are strapped down on this chair, and I can't move. Did Trent's criminal friends grab me?!
The last thing I remember is chasing Trent before—Suddenly, my train of thought is immediately broken. It feels like the room I'm in is being pulled down, straight down! What's going on?! Am I in an airplane?! Am I going to die?!
The room hits the ground, crashing against it. Everything shakes and it feels like all my bones broke from it. I wait a few seconds to gather the courage to try to move my fingers and toes. I count them all to make sure they all still work.
That impact feels like it broke everything around me. My legs are free and I get an arm loose which lets me pull all this stuff off my face and get my other arm off this broken metal pole that goes from one wall to the other. Someone strapped my arms to it.
Just standing is painful. Every step is excruciating. At least my bones didn't break. I thought being able to see would help, but the room I'm in is pitch black. I start feeling around for a door or light. The wall feels like it's made of metallic, square tiles. How long was I out? My nails feel long and pointy. What I think is a wall, suddenly opens automatically. The exit takes a humanoid shape that is the same size as I am. I walk through it into a bright hallway with shiny metallic, green walls.
I have to cover my eyes while they adjust. I keep a hand on the wall as I walk. I stop, realizing that all the pain I was feeling before is already almost gone, that was fast. Except for this pain in the back of my head. I didn't even hit my head in the crash, so that's strange. I start to hear the faint sounds of shouting from somewhere nearby. Soon followed by the sounds of gunfire! What is going on?!
My eyes start to adjust and I can see a strange symbol on this shiny wall. It's a circle within a hexagon inside a larger circle with six spikes on the inside, blocked by the sides of the hexagon. While looking at this symbol I don't recognize, I notice my hand against the wall.
My skin is gray and I have these white bands running from the top and bottom of my fingers that form claws on my fingertips! I start feeling them, these claws feel real! My left hand is the same. I start rubbing my fingers together, hoping I have some kind of body paint on me, but nothing comes off. I want to see how far these white bands go, but I can't get these clothes off me. They break off like a stale gel, but instantly reform. Where did I get these? Why am I wearing clothes made of this stuff? I quickly notice that the parts around my shoulders and waist are solid and not gel. I notice that when I make a fist, these claws retract into my finger tips on their own.
I then look at the wall, my face is sort of reflected in it, it's just really blurry. I can make out that my face is also gray! I have two of those white bands coming down from my forehead, down the sides of my head and onto my face! My hair is red, actual red and the whites of my eyes are the same red color. I don't have any irises anymore and the shape of my pupils look stretched vertically! I notice my ears, they're long and pointy with pointy earlobes! I'm feeling my teeth with my tongue. They're all sharp and pointed!
I start screaming and yelling. I've been turned into a monster! My thoughts are racing. I can't stop thinking about what's happened to me. How will my family react to me? Will Cyn stay with me? How can I save my business like this? While screaming and shouting the wall in front of me flashes purple, turns to dust and collapses.
Looking up, I accidentally inhale some of the wall dust and start coughing, hacking, and spitting out as much as I can. Opening my eyes, I see the craziest sight I've ever seen. Two monster people are fighting a bigger monster person. There is also some large black cat monster, bigger than a horse with bat-like wings. Its neck is stretching out trying to bite the other two monster people.
These people have tails, one has orange skin, horns and resembles a human man. The other has blue skin, blonde hair and looks like a human woman. They're fighting a big yellow monstrosity. It has no neck, thin black lines running horizontal across its body, bushy red hair on its shoulders and forearms, five-inch-long claws, and a large eye in the center of its body!
There are other people wearing full-body chrome armor. I can't see their faces their helmets cover their heads. "Shoot them down! Kill the revolutionaries!" One of those guys in the armor shouts.
The blue skinned girl gleefully yells at the armored guys. "It's over Saiten! We're Third Savior and we can't be stopped!"
"Kirimi! Pay attention, this is Hade we're fighting here!" The orange man monster shouts at her, he's holding some strange, gun-like weapon made of rectangles that's shooting red pellets?
"Relax Anansai, Dreonis already predicted we'd accomplish this mission!"
"But he didn't predict Hade being here!"
"For the leader, you're not doing very well at instilling confidence!" The blue monster, whose name is Kirimi, I think playfully says back at him. She sounds like she's having fun before throwing a metal ball that hits and grips the floor around those armored guys. The top half breaks into several hundred little petal-like bits that are blown around by the lower half. The metal petals are able to cut into the joints of the armor, causing them to fall to the floor in pain.
I need to get away from this! I run past the fight in the other room and run down the hall. I pass a couple of doors and see in the middle of the hall a large metal cord, four feet thick that's pierced through the floor and up through the roof. I ignore it and keep running, going as far as I can until I get to the end of the hall, it turns to the left, and at the end is a door that looks important. It has a round handle that I have to turn and then a lever I pull down and the door bursts open.
My mouth and eyes open wide as I jump down from the doorway, finding myself outside. The dirt is a light orange color. The sky is a light shade of purple; I'm in a field of tall black grass curled like springs that are bouncing up and down. There's a forest of thin wiggly trees with orange leaves nearby. Wanting to get away from those monsters and their fight, I start to run towards it to hide, but I stop to look back.
The place I was just in looks like a giant ship! I can't see all of it from here, but it's like some sci-fi spaceship with three large engines on the back, I jumped out of the left side near the bottom. Under the ship, I see some machine that's been crushed by it. I can see at least two giant harpoons stabbed through the top of it. Did that machine use those to pull the ship out of the sky?
I need to keep running! I run into the forest to keep from being seen. Once there the wiggling trees knock me from side to side, but I keep moving. I run for what feels like hours. While running, the thought creeps in that I may not be on Earth. Could I be on an alien planet? I need to calm myself down. There has to be some explanation.
I soon come out into a clearing, there isn't any grass here, just dirt, rocks, and a few larger dark blue trees that have no leaves. The purple sky turned yellow without me noticing it. Looking into the sky, I see a large red sun with a thin black ring around it starting to set, directly above me is a smaller blue sun. I squint up at it and it looks like it's getting smaller.
I look back at my surroundings to see that there is nothing here and that I'm alone. I start shouting and yelling! I'm losing it! What just happened?! Trent was using our business to launder money for a gang and we were about to get arrested and now I'm here! What happened?! What is this place?! "Why did my life fall apart?! Why is everything getting worse?! Who did this to me?! Where are you?!" I shout and of course, no one responds.
I fall to my knees, the hopelessness overtaking me. How can this be real? It can't be! "This isn't happening!" I shout out to no one. This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real! I keep saying to myself, hoping I'll be home the next time I open my eyes.
I see I'm still in this strange world and I snap. I set my sights on one of the few trees here and I run straight at it. I swing my leg hitting the trunk which then breaks apart instantly. How weak is this tree? I place a hand against what's left of the trunk and it feels fairly sturdy. I punch the trunk to test it and nearly break my hand on it. How did I break that with my leg? I can't tell, but also now that I'm thinking about it, I ran all the way here, for hours and I'm barely winded. That's pretty cool, but it also terrifies me as I wonder what's been done to me. For all I know my body could melt into goo any second!
The thought of that really scares me, I can't stand still! I start running. I'm terrified and I run to another tree, prepared to break it like the last one. If I destroy everything around me, maybe it'll shatter this illusion and I can go home. I now focus on destroying everything I see, hoping it'll do something. I'm so desperate I'll believe in anything. I jump and kick this other tree, but it doesn't break. I land on the ground with my leg in agony. I was able to dent it and caused several fractures in it.
While writhing on the ground I notice some dark blue roots raising out of the dirt and surrounding me, trapping me in a tunnel made by the roots interlocking. I'm forced to crawl to the end, hoping to find a gap I can squeeze through, but I can't get out. A large mouth on the trunk of the tree opens and this tunnel now becomes a net, pulling me towards the mouth. This tree mouth is full of tree teeth! They're red, so I don't think they're made of wood! Is this even a tree?!
I start to hear something. Something big is coming this way. Turning around I peer through one of the small gaps between the roots and to my shock I see about four giant, hovering vehicles. They look like trucks. I try to scramble down the tunnel, hoping to find an exit, but I don't get far enough before the trucks smash through the wooden tunnel.
I'm flung into the air, landing on the back of one of the trucks. I roll across the top, falling off the side near the end. I'm desperate to grab anything to help keep me from hitting the ground. I manage to grab a handle, I think to a door, but it bends and breaks almost instantly. With the handle broken the door opens and someone falls out! The two of us hit the ground, rolling across it for a few feet until coming to a stop.
I can see and feel my cuts and bruises healing almost instantly. Wow! That's amazing and creepy! Too bad the pain is still there. I can see the other person, hurt on the ground and it helps distract me from the strange things my body is doing.
She's sitting on the ground with her legs crossed. She has this dull, almost gray lavender skin and long, dark purple hair that just passes her shoulders. She has six white marks on her face, three on each check, lined up from longest to shortest. She's scraped up a bit but seems fine. Her glaring at me is making me uncomfortable, it feels as if she wants to attack me and the only thing stopping her is the restraint clasped around her torso, binding her arms and tail. I should say something, she may think I'm a threat.
"Hi, sorry about the fall, but at least we shared it together, right?" No response, no change, I should move on to the introduction. "My name is Vayne. What's yours?" …Wait, that's not my name! Why is it that when I try to think of my name Vayne is the only thing that comes to mind? My breath starts racing, my eyes widen, but I regain composure when I see the look this girl monster is giving me. I think I'm scaring her. I need to explain to her what I am, that'll calm her down.
"I may not look it, but I'm a human. I just want to get back home. I'm from a planet called Earth?" Hearing me say that makes the realization set in again. This can't be Earth, so where am I?! What is all this?! I start breathing heavily, feeling my eyes widen again. I notice this actually gets her to stop glaring at me, but she's now scootching away from me.
I'm about to walk towards her, but our attention is drawn to the hovering truck that has turned around, heading back towards us. It pulls up and stops in front of us and one of these demon-looking people gets out, he has this dull yellow skin and dressed in a dark blue uniform. "See, I told you one fell out," this guy says to the dull orange-skinned one who's in the driver's seat, wearing the same uniform.
"So just hurry and get her back in, we're already falling behind," the orange guy says, sounding very anxious.
"Hey, what about this thing?" Yellow asks, referring to me, talking about me like I'm an animal.
"If you don't know what it is, don't touch it," his friend tells him. Yellow then proceeds to reach out to the girl before turning his head towards me.
"You know I can't help but wonder what this is. Do you think it's valuable? It looks expensive, we may be able to get a lot for it," this monster man is looking me over like I'm property.
"Hmm, I don't know, it could have a poisonous touch. Remember the burrlados?"
"It doesn't look poisonous," he says as he reaches his hand out to touch me.
"Dude, back off," I say knocking his hand away with mine.
"It talked! Hey! This thing can talk! I told you it has to be worth a lot!"
"Who are you people? What are you doing?" I ask, hoping to gain an understanding as to what these two are and are doing.
"You hear that? It comes with questions too," why does he sound so excited about that?
"Well, if you can't get it in the craft, leave it! Just get the other so we can catch up with the rest!" The yellow one takes a good look at me before turning back to the girl. I really don't like people ignoring my questions, I reach up to put a hand on this guy's shoulder and turn him back to me even though he's over a foot taller than me.
"I asked you some questions, don't ignore me!" I ask angrily, hoping that'll get him to cooperate.
"You're an interesting little thing. I'm Ruga and he's Nowado, we gather and sell inferiors to be used as slaves or whatever else they can be used for," he's way too happy about being a slave trader.
"Are you serious?!" I shout in disgust.
"I've never seen that reaction before. We run a legitimate and useful business. Just what are you? Who are you to judge us?" Sounds like I offended Ruga with that response, but I don't care. I won't let him intimidate me or take her back.
"I… I'm a human," I awkwardly respond since I wasn't sure how to answer that. I don't really have any authority. I see Ruga's face turn to one of fear. I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction.
"A human? Here?" Nowado says as if he's confused about something. "Ruga! It's an FBW! We need to get out of here now!" Nowado shouts, terrified about something.
"But it's talking and it's out here alone," Ruga responds looking all around at the open wilderness.
"How can a human be out here all alone?! There must be some Saiten troops, an officer, or even an agent out here somewhere! I'm not dealing with that!" Nowado starts up the engine and Ruga hurries to jump on the giant hover truck and they drive off leaving me with this scared and grumpy woman creature. Though, I don't think woman or man are the right words to describe these people since they're clearly not human.
"So that just leaves the two of us," I say, turning to face her, trying to lighten the mood, but she won't stop giving me the silent treatment. "Guess you're having a bad day too," I say, attempting to build a rapport with her. She doesn't react at all. "Maybe you're just like me? Someone who's lost it all and has nothing and no one. It doesn't feel good, trust me, I know," she still isn't looking any friendlier. "I don't know about you, but I had it all: friends, family, my own business a girlfriend…" I start to tear up as my head lowers.
I stare at the ground for a few moments. Thinking about everything I lost. I'm biting my lip. I feel like I'm about to have a breakdown. Hearing this person clear her throat snaps me out of my despair. "How about I get that thing off you?" I ask, just wanting to get my mind to think of anything else.
I walk up to her and crouch to get a closer look at that metal device clasped around her body. She swings a leg up at me. I move my head back, but not fast enough to avoid the claws on her toes that cut into my face. "Ah! Geez, come on, I said I was going to take it off! What? Do you want to wear that forever?" Her lashing out at me, got me a bit frustrated.
I can feel the cuts on my face heal and I can tell from her expression that she noticed that. "Did the cuts just instantly heal?" I ask at her and she just nods, now looking shocked herself. I walk around holding my face, hoping that nothing else happens. "Is my face changing in any way?!" I desperately ask her and she just shakes her head. I pace back and forth for a few minutes and nothing happens. I know this just happened a few minutes ago, but anything could happen to my body at any moment for all I know. I soon start to calm down, knowing my body can repair itself makes me feel better as it seems less likely that my screwed-up body will spontaneously melt, I guess. Continuing to worry about what could happen to me won't do any good. I'll wait and see if I can find who did this to me.
I notice her expression changes, she now seems intrigued or at least, not angry. She shifts her position so now she's on her knees. "If you're being honest then go ahead and take it off," she spoke to me! She certainly sounds like she distrusts me. I lean in to get a look at this thing, it doesn't have a key hole, dial, or any sort of number combination.
I start walking around her to see if there is anything on the back. She then asks me with an exasperated voice. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to figure out how to unlock this thing. It isn't obvious?" She sighs heavily before replying.
"It's on the front. You have to move and slide them, so the five red spots all line up in the middle," I look at the front and there are five rows and columns with gray, white, black, and red spots. It's like a puzzle. I start moving the spots with the tips of my claws. Some of them have to be flipped around. It's starting to take some time. "You know it isn't supposed to be this difficult," I can tell she's getting annoyed with how long I'm taking and I'm starting to get pretty frustrated with this. I was never good at solving complex puzzles I never liked them. Eventually, I get the red spots lined up in the middle and the whole contraption falls off her. She gets up by doing a backflip, her tail almost hits me in the face, and I have to lean back to avoid it. Was she intending to hit me?
"A… Alright, that's better. Like I said, I'm Vayne and you are?" I ask, hoping she'll tell me, but honestly, I'm freaking out about what's happened to my name. First my body and now my name, I feel like everything's been taken from me!
"…," she's just standing there, staring right at me. Does she really need to think about whether or not to introduce herself? "...Kuiga," she says quickly and quietly, but I heard her.
"Kuiga? Nice to meet you," I extend my hand to her, happy to meet someone I can be on friendly terms with. She looks down at my hand and ignores it. She turns to walk away and I follow her. With her here I feel better not being alone.
"Hey, where are you going?" She doesn't respond, so I chase after her. "Hey, come on you can talk, right?" She just stares at the ground as she walks. "I was hoping you could answer some questions like where am I? I mean what planet is this? I'm supposed to be on Earth and this isn't it. I'm lost, and trying my best to not freak out… again," she glances back at me over her shoulder. Why won't she just answer the freaking questions?! "Why won't you answer the--" Before I can finish shouting at her, I hear someone shouting at me. I spin around and notice that up in the sky, something is flying towards us.
"Halt! Cease all gesticulations!" It's that big, muscular, yellow, no-neck monster I saw fighting those other two back in that ship I woke up in! He lands in front of me, riding that giant, winged cat creature. "Requiting you back to Saiten will be a soothing roborant for my wounded amour propre!" Huh? Wait! Saiten? That's what the people who were fighting him were against!
"You stay away from me!" I shout to this horrifying… person? "I don't go with strangers or monsters to places," from what he said, it sounded like he wants to take me somewhere.
"You have no other recourse! I was retained to effectuate your advent in Saiten at the Origin Tower," the monster man seems really passionate about this.
"Huh?" I can't tell if he's using those words properly. His weird face expresses exasperation before reaching out to grab me. I quickly move back to avoid him.
"Hey! I'm not going with you! Who are you the guy people hire to abduct people?"
"No, Predominantly I kill. I am Hade! The most august mercenary on Mektra for the last millennium!" He shouts with pride sounding as arrogant as possible.
"A millennium?! How long do you whatever you are live?" I then look back to Kuiga. "Are you two even the same species?" There's a brief moment of silence.
"We are both krivadels, but I have become something superordinate. I've been gifted immortality and the quintessence of destructive power like no other! Behold!" The eye on Hade's chest starts to glow purple before firing out a cluster of purple orbs that fly towards us, trailing tails of purple light behind them.
Several orbs strike the ground around us. Each orb having a different effect on the dirt. Some causes the dirt to burst into sand, or pebbles, or mud. The remaining four just hover, several feet above Kuiga. "Now watch what I can do to the krivadel body!"
The four orbs dive down towards Kuiga! She isn't moving! Why isn't she trying to avoid them?! I run over to her and shove her out of the way, saving her from getting hit by these orbs. I try to move, but there's no time! The orbs hit me in the gut!
I can feel my abdomen stiffening; I'm struggling to breathe! My lungs aren't working anymore! I fall to the ground and am about to pass out! I'm dying! My eyes start to close as death comes over me, but my eyes suddenly snap open! I'm able to breathe again! I stand up while taking deep breaths and a huge, rock falls through my strange jelly outfit.
"That's impossible. I was given nuncupative information of this but never thought my power would be rendered useless," I see Hade looking at me, devastated. Hade's misshapen mouth is left wide open. I've never been in a fight in my life, but I'm feeling a huge rush of adrenaline driving me to knock this guy over. I throw myself at him, and in this moment, I feel like I did when I kicked that first tree.
Hade goes down, but he now looks enraged. He gets back up and he starts swinging those long claws at me. He thrusts his arm at me, stabbing me in the neck! I freeze, paralyzed with fear that I'm going to die! I can feel the blood run down me and I don't want to look. I keep my eyes closed.
As soon as Hade pulls his claws out, I can feel the bleeding quickly stop. "Confounds! What sort of weapon are you? Just what has Udo concocted?" Wow, I was able to heal from that? I quickly put a hand on my neck and I don't feel any wounds. Hold on, I'm a weapon?
I'm soon pulled back to current situation with Hade standing over me and I realize there is no way I can beat this guy! Hade is two feet taller than me! I don't know how I'm going to even hurt him. That is until I see the obvious solution; the giant eye on his chest has to be a weak spot. He tries to protect it with that armor he wears on his upper body, covering his sides; it makes attacking the eye from anywhere but straight on difficult.
Hade fires another cluster of orbs at me and they fly around trying to hit me while Hade tries to stab me again. While evading I start to notice how light my body feels, how easy it is to move. I actually start having fun with this. Hade spins and hits me in the head with his tail that he kept hidden behind his purple cape. I quickly get up and try something I've always wanted to and really feels like I can do it now.
I jump up several feet and over Hade who looks to be eight feet and actually do a flip for the first time! I always wanted to do that. When Hade turns to face me, I attempt to stab my claws into that big ugly eye. Unfortunately, Hade's pet, stretches out its neck, biting my leg and pulling me to the ground! Not expecting that, the orbs that were flying around, trying to hit me, fly over me and strike Hade! "Aaa—Aaa-- AAAHH!" Hade shouts, before falling on his back, rolling around, screeching in pain.
The cat monster lets go of my leg. It looks concerned for Hade. How intelligent is this thing? I can feel the wound on my leg heal right away. I also notice some black mist or ash coming off where the wound was.
"You incautious mongrel!" Hade angrily yells at his pet. "I've spent several cogitations, believing your tetchy attitude was drubbed out of you," Hade staggers to his feet, needing to grip the wing of his pet to help him up. He then looks up at me. "I was apprised you could be minacious. I didn't think your speed would be that inordinate," Hade angrily says to me as the smoke rises from the purple burn marks on his arms and face. "These events have not concluded a thing! My quintessential record may be munted, but I will find you once more and I will bring this task to fruition," Hade slowly climbs onto his flying cat. "Home Piter, I need to repose. I can feel my strength wane," he then flies away and now it's just me and Kuiga out here in the middle of nowhere.