ã€ŠTorn Asunderã€‹


 0 - Introduction

    I was born in a strange way, I have always been told this by my mother.

    You see, when I baby is born, they tend to cry, and cry, and maybe cry some more. But that wasn¡¯t the case with me.

    I was born dead.

    Now, you may be wondering, how am I still alive? How are you even reading this? Well, let me explain before you get your knickers in a twist.

    It is knickers, right?

    Anyways, as I was saying. I was born a dead baby. Utterly silent, not even a heartbeat. The blood within me flowed though like I was alive however, and this gave my mother some hope as she held me in her tired arms.

    She wanted her child alive, and like any mother about to grieve, she got her way.

    The doctors took my body to an autopsy room and started to fiddle with my chubby little arms, and legs, and head. But whatever they tried didn¡¯t make me, the baby, any less dead or more alive. But it did make my look cooler with an energy coil in my chest just above my heart, and a metal arm that helped circulate my blood, which made me lose an arm in the process.

    Luckily there was a neurologist in the room. Since I remember her as the first face I looked at, she will always be the motherly figure. Despite my mother being only in the other room.

    She fiddled with my tiny grey matter, removing skull fragments from it as the cause for my dead appearance was my own skull imploding.

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    It also just so happened, that she had her own artificial intelligence chip with her. Of course, the only reason I know these precise details is because of the chip being there, recording it all.

    And so, she stuck that little bit of artificial intelligence to make.. well, me.

    It wasn¡¯t strange to have such gadgets on you in an emergency, but it still makes me wonder time to time.

    Why give up something worth lots of money for my life? Surely, money is an issue with doctors being replaced with AI¡¯s, but I was only just a baby.

    Of course, I had much time to contemplate such actions as I was only a baby when I came into awareness. The chip in my brain helped me with recalling this incident. Despite my age only being an hour old, I knew things I shouldn¡¯t even know, I remembered things that never involved myself, and I had no control over my body.

    Little would I know, that this life changing incident of mine, would guarantee my survival in the future, in a world where my life would always be in danger.

    And where my technology never came into existence.

    This is my story, of a cybernetic maelstrom.

 1 - Those First Words

    I finally reached my third birthday. Finally, the wait was making my mind ache.

    My third birthday however, is occurring inside a broken down shack, with my mother laying on her side, having a coughing fit. I can only stand there and watch her, as she often walks and works hard enough for 3 strong men.

    We live off a street in some unknown area in Alaska. Despite the cold winters, we still survive to make it to summer. She works hard though, and I can¡¯t help but admire that trait in my own mother.

    She used to be such a beauty too, but she always rejected those wealthy suitors for me¡­ Oh, it brings tears to my eyes. But since I am the only man in the household, I must protect it!

    Currently, it is summer in Alaska, the temperature rising into the 60¡¯s, if not higher. The chip in my head tells me it¡¯s something else, but I can¡¯t listen to that voice, since the weather is always unpredictable.

    While I am 3 years old, I still look like a 2 year old. This is because of the replacement parts needed for my arm and chest plate for the energy coil. They reduced the rate at which I grew by ?, which is extremely beneficial until I am made fun of.  Which is also another reason why my mother works so hard.

    It¡¯s all for me¡­

    My stomach gurgles, announcing that it¡¯s lunch time for me. Mother is sleeping on her cot, and seeing her getting her rest, I can¡¯t find any urge to wake her up.

    Time to go hunting! Now where did I put that rattle, I¡¯ll need it to bash some heads in¡­

    After I found my rattle, I march out of the doorway, the door already moving away from me due to its automated functions. The sound of the rattle always calms and makes me happy..

    Ah! I forgot to say despite it being a shack, it¡¯s still a metal shack, so the current technology is still connected to us through the house. Shiny, shiny metal doors¡­

    Setting my feet onto the soft moss, as grass can¡¯t really anchor itself atop of permafrost, I march forward lifting my rattle up and down, using the noise to scare animals out of hiding.

    However, it doesn¡¯t seem to work. But I continue regardless.

    For 1 hour¡­ 2 hours¡­

    Bah! it¡¯s taking too long. Damn, this forest is just too big! Where is all that meat!

    Suddenly, I hear a growl behind me. Using that growl, my AI chip decides to let me know what I am having for dinner, or whom¡¯s dinner I will become.

    In the wilderness, anything goes! But I have a metal arm, bet it won¡¯t like to chew on that!

    I swiftly turn around like lightning, just in time to find a¡­

    Is that a small wolf pup?

    Oh, I can¡¯t wait for this tender meat to be in my belly.

    I inch closer to the wild wolf, and instead of attacking me, it quickly prostrates itself on its belly and then rolls over to show the belly to me.

    ...It¡¯s a girl apparently.

    I tell my chip to shut up with a quick face palm to my face, but with the wolf pup on the ground, I can¡¯t help but begin to feel almighty and powerful. As if the world will not be able to stop me. I arch my back and begin to laugh out loud, when I feel something wet drip onto my forehead.

    I slowly, and very carefully turn my head to look behind me.

    A big, black wolf is standing right behind me, with its teeth pulled back in a very lovely grin, showing all of its magnificence in the form of sharp yellow canines.

    I feel sweat begin to roll down my cheek. Or could that be spit?

    Ignoring such thoughts, I begin to shuffle sideways very, very slowly, so I wouldn¡¯t disturb the big guy. Nice and easy, I actually begin to talk! I would be proud, and Mother would be too if it wasn¡¯t what I had just said.

    ¡°Oh fuck.¡±

    With my chosen words, the big bad wolf decides to attack me, the innocent 3 year old kid. Luckily, being only a toddler, I fall onto my little baby bottom and roll backwards, away from the bloody mouth. Mr. Wolf looks confused as he expected me to already be dead.

    But I only give him the satisfaction of my pearly white smile as I begin to teeter over to his face, his snout right in front of me.

    Whoa! His stench is enough to almost kill me. I wonder why I never noticed before.

    I then have the chip in my head pull up instructions for punching with my fist. Since I¡¯m only three, it won¡¯t work well on a grown wolf... much.

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    But this 3 year old kid has a trick in his arm.

    Setting my feet down onto the ground, I raise my arms into a basic boxing maneuver. I activate my energy coil as I begin to extend my elbow, and while I bend my knees, I feel the electricity rush into my arm, frying my nerves slightly, but it¡¯s a treat for my meal.

    His last treat before the legendary knuckle sandwich!

    I burst forward with all my might, the energy coursing to my knuckles, and my fist hits directly onto the jaw of the black wolf. I can almost imagine that guy¡¯s head flying off from my awesome strength.

    I then feel a little sticky from something spraying upon my face, and that¡¯s when I realize I actually did punch the now-headless wolf¡¯s head from its body.

    The rest of the body twitches, and then collapses into a nice posture of obedience, the butt hanging in the air.

    Pondering for a bit, I decide to fist pump in the air to show off my victory. All the while, my cute voice is yelling out some pretty colorful words.

    After a few minutes of my victory dance, I look over to the wolf pup laying on the ground, her belly still turned to the sky. I turn down my coil¡¯s output so it doesn¡¯t overheat, and waddle on over to her side.

    I bend low to the ground and look straight into the pup¡¯s eyes, daring it to go against me. It looks away, and I believe that means I am her leader. So with my mechanical arm, I grab the still body of the dead wolf, leaving behind the she-pup.

    Occasionally, I look behind me to see the pup trotting behind the dead body I am moving, but I give her no mind until the sight of Mother standing in the doorway makes me freeze in my tracks.

    Apparently, I was walking in circles. And when I punched off that head, it went flying over to the shack¡­ and it is lying right in front of Mother.

    I begin to mechanically walk up to the steps of our quaint little home, hoping she doesn¡¯t scold me for going out in a makeshift diaper. I wanted to tell her I didn¡¯t shat my undies, but she blocks my mouth by rushing towards me and embracing me in all her motherly love.

    Her death hug continues to kill the daylight out of me as I begin to hug her back. The wolf pup decides to trot up to me, and lays down at my feet. Mother gives me a questioning look, but I smile cutely and give her words she¡¯ll never forget.

    ¡°Mama, oh fuck.¡±

    ¡°Tom! No! Those are bad words!¡±

    I continue to smile, as I can only hope the worst will not come to pass.

    Giving me a look of absolute horror, she drags my chubby little butt inside, the wolf pup still following along. I think the little pup has discovered who the true Alpha in the house is, as the sounds of my <del>girlish</del> yells hit the floor as I am spanked by the one I hold dear.

    I just hope the wolf puppy decides to go home soon, before Mother notices her. Although sometimes, out of the corner of my eye, I see the pup getting some attention that should be given to me!

    I will train that wolf to only listen to me though, as it followed me home and all. But I wonder, when will this torture end? It¡¯s going to leave such a lovely red mark¡­.

    After several hours of love, Mother finally lets me go. But not without telling me off for saying such words.

    I begin to waddle with pain clearly etched onto my face as I head towards the wolf pup, her tail wagging at my appearance. I walk straight up to her, and just stare at her. Thinking that I am mad, she lowers herself to the ground. Smart pup, but that isn¡¯t the reason why I¡¯m looking at you. I bend down low to look at her gray eyes once again, and ask a simple question.

    ¡°What is your name?¡±

    Of course, I didn¡¯t get a reply from the little pup, but rather a lick on the face. I had the sudden sensation to yell ¡°How Cute!¡± but I decided to refrain from it. I can¡¯t be spoiling her to oblivion.

    ¡°I¡¯ll name you Pheobe!¡±

    With a angry bark and a tackle, I fall backwards from her weight. I¡¯m only 3, I can¡¯t handle the pressure! I try my hardest to push the wolf pup off of me, but to no avail. Suddenly, the best name for a gray eyed wolf pops into my head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll name you--¡±

 2.1 - Power

    Author here! Thought I would explain things first here before I went on to type up the next chapter. Nothing noteworthy to note here, as comedy isn''t really seen here

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    10 years have passed since my fateful encounter with Fang, the wolf pup. Well, since it¡¯s been 10 years, Fang is now a grown wolf. Countless times I tried to give her back to the forest around our house, but she would never leave. Is this love, or loyalty?

    My current appearance is that of a 9 or 10 year old. The growth of my body is the best when it comes to keeping that youthful appearance!

    Sadly, Mother hasn¡¯t been feeling any better. Instead, she begins to cough up blood usually once a week. I use my computer chip often to help diagnose her problem, as if it¡¯s a disease, it can be cured. Even cancer, as the cure was found when I was 6.

    Now, even though my first words were pretty colorful, I have broadened my vocabulary so I don¡¯t end up using those words, especially in front of Mother.

    I should probably explain my symbiotic relationship with the AI chip in my gray matter, the brain.

    In exchange for any data I need, the electrical signals my brain sends out are always intercepted by the chip first, causing my slower aging process. Now, I don¡¯t quite understand but the chip often tells me that I¡¯ll be alright.

    My cyber arm, with the coil attached to it now grows along with my body, so there is no need to change it. But sometimes, I have to remove my arm so I can get rid of the rejection fluids of the body, pus. It¡¯s a nasty process, but it must be done.

    The reason why my cyber arm grows with my body now, is because of a nice doctor who became tired of my slow growth, decided to develop an arm with an interesting ability.

    Absorption, or rather my arm can absorb materials, break them down to little atoms, and reconstruct them into the arm itself.

    But this isn¡¯t the most impressive thing that happened to me, or to anyone.

    This is because of a worldwide event often shown on TV.

    Superheroes. Or rather kids of older generations suddenly getting super strength, or super speed, or telekinesis, or manipulation of the elements. It¡¯s pretty neat doing any one of those things, and I was lucky enough to be one of those kids.

    Supposedly, only 1/100 kids will receive or grow superpowers. I am just one of those many kids, and my ability is manipulation of liquid matter. It really doesn¡¯t matter, because anything that moves like a liquid, I can control. It¡¯s similar to a form of telekinesis, but only affects liquids.

    It also makes cleaning my arm much easier. But it still disgusts me.

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    Now, how did I stumble upon such a thing such as my own superpower? Simple. Trying to save Mother from a very nasty burn from boiling water.

    It was spaghetti night, and I was at the table banging my plastic fork and knife on the steel counter. The cold night air breathed in through the open window, the steam rebelling and causing a little heat to stay in the room.

    Mother was busy in her apron, rushing around the kitchen to fix up the meatballs and noodles. Although one may think spaghetti is easy to make, let me assure you it isn¡¯t. It amazed my 7 year old mind at the time, as to how fast and easy Mother made cooking look.

    When she had taken the packaged noodles out of a cabinet, and began to rip them open with her arm strength, her elbow hit the pot full of steaming water, and the dry noodle pieces all fell onto the floor right below the now teetering pot. Mother bent over and began to pick up the pieces of dry noodle, as the pot began to tip over the side of the countertop.

    ¡°Mom! Watch out!¡±

    My shout comes too late as the water is already tilting with gravity, and falling out of pot. My mother looks up at the piece of hot metal, and a scream begins to appear from her mouth, and then it stops as the pot hits her head, causing her to fall all over the dry noodle pieces.

    The water though, stayed in place, as though it was a living thing that understood my wishes. I wished for my mother to not be burned, and it heeded my wish.

    That is the reason why my power manifested. To help others, especially Mother.

    Now, being the protective kid I am, research into the department of health turned up no diagnosis as to why my mother was feeling the way she felt. I only hope time could be her benefactor¡­

    Being 13 years old now, I should probably say that I¡¯m a nice school boy, but in reality I was called a genius in school, although I never explained that it was a AI chip in my gray matter that allowed me to pass school by easily.

    Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, you name it and my ¡®brain¡¯ finds it and allows me the access to the knowledge. Getting out of high school was a chore when everyone in the school thought you were a cheater instead.

    But I digress from the real issue to school. I couldn¡¯t bring Fang with me, since she was a dangerous ¡®wild¡¯ animal. C¡¯mon, what¡¯s up with that? She¡¯s practically family.

    Alright, so now that I have explained the superpowers appearing, the cybernetic arm of mine, and my loyal companion Fang, I shall now tell you what happened after that, the thing that literally changed my world¡­The event dubbed;

    The Ether Door Incident.

 2.2 - The Ether Door Incident

    It was yet another utterly boring day. The school was on holiday, I had only Fang for company, and I was surrounded by packs of wolves.

    Now you must be thinking, wouldn¡¯t I be in danger?

    Hah! Only if I wasn¡¯t the Alpha of this area.

    Being a ¡®pack¡¯ of only 2, Fang and I were often challenged by Alphas of different packs in the area, and every time they tried to attack me for Fang, I punched their heads clean off, sometimes even spitting into their eyes, and killing them using my superpower.

    Gruesome? Yes. Bloody? Not with my power.

    NOw, as to why I am currently surrounded by a pack of wolves, is due to me calling them here. To find my mother.

    A few days before this meeting, Mother and I were happily having dessert in the house, the cold Alaskan winter banging against the walls and windows with a ferocious wind.

    ¡°This is just like when your Father disappeared¡­¡±

    Mother says underneath her breath, a tinge of sadness in her eyes as she looks out of the window.

    I look up at Mother, pausing in my frenzied eating. This was the first time I¡¯ve ever heard her mention anything about my father, that I never knew. I put my fork down as I look at her.

    ¡°Who¡¯s my father, Mother?¡±

    Mother smiles at my question, and looks like she is about to refuse, when a loud knocking sound can be heard from our door in the other room.

    Wearing a mask of confusion, while muttering, ¡°who could that be?¡± Mother gets out of her chair and heads to the door, vanishing from my sight and avoiding my question.

    With a sigh, I resume my carnage upon my dessert. The sweet savory taste is interrupted by the sound of something being hit, it either being the floor or someone else. I stop chewing and quickly hop out of my chair, my tiny 2-foot legs running along the floor to find out what is happening to Mother and the ¡®guest¡¯.

    Turning around the corner to the other room, I see¡­ nothing. Mother is gone, and the door is wide open, letting the snow from the storm outside enter and melt. On the ground, a few spots of blood suggests violence occurred, and I can¡¯t help but wonder why they took her away. Whoever ¡®they¡¯ are, this will be something they will come to regret.

    Thus, this led to the present moment, where I am having a meeting with all the packs in the area that were under my influence.

    I step forward in front of Fang, and cross my arms over each other, straightening my back in the process to make myself look bigger than 4 feet. I take a deep breath, and look down upon all the wolves before me.

    ¡°Listen up, packs of these woods! Although I am human, I understand what it means to be a pack leader. I know some of you wolves obviously have hatred for my kind, but there is more important matters than getting your head punched off!¡±

    Obviously, my words go on deaf ears as these wolves don¡¯t understand the concept of the human language. Luckily, Fang is barking and growling right next to me, telling them of my wondrous speech. I continue regardless of what may be interpreted.

    ¡°A human from another pack has taken one of my members of my pack, with no regards to me, the Alpha! Now, you understand my power well enough to know that this is a bad choice for humans. This has incurred my wrath, my vengeance, and my focus.¡±

    I begin to strut around in the snow like an Army trainer, the crunch of the snow audible despite the panting of the wolves before me. Fang continues to translate, and some growls are heard, hopefully because they understand where I am coming from.

    Wolves are such intelligent animals¡­

    ¡°This means I need to, no, you need to designate an Alpha amongst your packs, as I will be leaving this territory to search.¡±

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    The growling stops, and a flurry of snow is picked up off the ground by the mass of wolves charging at me. I smirk slightly, as I knew in foresight that they would attack me. Wolves are still beasts, and beasts go by instinct for the most part.

    I raise my normal left arm, like I am using the Force, and the mass before me freezes in place. Using my powers, I restrained their movement by hold only one piece of their blood in place in their body, causing the blood to not flow, and causing them to collapse.

    Liquid manipulation affects everything that is liquid. As long as it is a liquid too.

    I turn around, away from the cringing and howling mass of bodies before me. Fang follows along, ignoring the wolves that never accepted her into their ranks. I smile slightly, as I knew that no matter what, I would find her, my mother.

    It takes only a matter of an hour to walk out of the forest, and into the perimeter of the native village nearby. They fear me, they call me demon due to my unnatural constitution of cybernetics and powers, but they respect me due to my ''taming of the wild¡¯, who is Fang right next to me.

    It¡¯s a relationship that came onto me rather awkwardly over the 10 years, but it allows me to enter their rural village that hasn¡¯t really seen the new age of technology, so it¡¯s a win for the meantime.

    As I enter into the village, I begin to notice something off about it. The familiar noises of children playing on tricycles, the sound of girls complaining about how knitting was so hard, and the sound of victorious shouts are not there. Just¡­ vanished.

    I begin to walk more carefully into the village center, where the totem pole stood to show the way to the ancestors. Fang next to me senses my agitated state and begins to tread carefully by my side, occasionally sniffing the air for signs of life.

    I walk to a house made of pelts and dirt, the earthy smell entering my nostrils. I look backwards to the totem, and then turn back, walking into the house through the cloth door. The kitchen, dining room, living room, and bedroom are all in one place, and in the beds, in the kitchen, and in the living or dining rooms are nothing.

    No one is there to make a sound, to make a little noise to show life. The dead silence continues to encompass me, as I walk through the empty house. Beginning to feel the verge of tears on the corners of my eyes, I walk out of the house, Fang standing near the opening and tilting her head curiously at my face.

    I smile at her sadly, as I reach out to pet her head. But it never reaches her, as she quickly snarls and runs away from me towards the village center, and to just behind the totem pole.

    In confusion, I run after her. She is the only one left to me, I cannot allow her to leave me. Although this sounds commanding, I am only 13 years old. I can¡¯t go on without family.

    I run to the totem pole and look around it. Expecting to see the other side of the village, instead I see a transparent square¡­ door?

    It has no knob, but glows where it should be. I walk up to it cautiously, as this is the strangest thing that has happened since Mother¡¯s disappearance. The door glows dimly, as if it is losing power by the minute. I ponder only a second, as the chip weighs the benefits of my survival and demise at the door¡¯s will. I immediately think of Fang, and Mother.

    A man must protect his family.

    I place my hand on the light, and I become aware that I lost consciousness. The chip is the only thing that¡¯s allowing me to remember what happens next.

 2.3 - Growing Pains

    Well, author here with another update. I like how my story is progressing, as my character has pretty worthwhile goals. Now, some may have questions, well, I will answer them after each update on their respective pages.

    Ciao! and enjoy the tale.

    P1 is the lowest planet. P5 is the higher ranked planet. for your information :D

    ----------------------------------------------

    I wake up to bright lights shining over my head, and directly into my face. I begin to move the muscles in my body that ached, and then I realize that they aren¡¯t stiff from not being used.

    I was on a cold table, strapped down with some weird cuffs that looked similar to magnets.

    What made it worse was that my cybernetic arm was placed right on the wall, as if it was a trophy. But the thing is, only I can detach that arm from my body, so how in the world did come off?

    And why can¡¯t I lean my body if my arm is gone? I don¡¯t have a phantom limb on me, not at all.

    I struggle frantically, flexing and trying to rise with all my might. But it was for nothing, as my strength quickly left me. So I then began to use my power to move some spit out of my mouth, and to use that to cut the magnet-like cuffs off.

    Instead, I only began to drool, the wet feeling slowly rolling down the rest of my body.

    What is happening??

    ¡°Ah, I see the earthling is awake.¡±

    A voice I couldn¡¯t pinpoint decided to come out of hiding, as the only other being that I could notice right now. I tried to shift my head, but just like the rest of my body, it was held firmly in place. I let out a frustrated growl, which only makes the voice laugh at me.

    ¡°Calm down earthling, I mean you no harm.¡±

    Those words do little to calm me, but why is he saying earthling? He isn¡¯t from Earth? Where am I?

    ¡°Hoho, you must be confused, but first allow me to give you something for your eyesight. It¡¯s a restriction placed by the higher ups, after all.¡±

    With the sound of shuffling fabric, I see two hands that look really similar to my own hand, but with different pigments of colors enveloping the hand like a sort of glove. But as quickly as I see the hands, the goggles he places over my eyes causes his hands to become a shadow, like a dark figure in the night.

    I then try to move my head, but still to no avail. I hear more laughter coming from behind me, which causes me to try harder.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try too hard. Those are P3 bracelets, those are basically stronger and more durable than any metal you¡¯ve ever encountered before. At least, on your planet.¡±

    The voice moves closer and closer to me, and then out of the corner of the goggles I can make out his figure. Despite his shadow-like appearance, I can feel a certain pressure coming from his body. It makes me shudder.

    The thing before me notices this, and I can hear a smile in his voice.

    ¡°Ah, I see you have finally noticed that pressure. Yes, well, it¡¯s unique to my species in the universe. But enough about the universe, Since we are here about you.¡±

    He swings a chair around, and it looks similar to swivel chairs from the past. He sits in it like a teenager, crotch riding up the small connected piece of metal between the bottom and back. I then look at where his face should be, and begin to ask my question.

    ¡°Did you take Mother?¡±

    This causes the man to go completely still, and then his head tilts back in laughter.

    ¡°That¡¯s the first question you ask of me? Not who, what, when, where? Oh, this is why I love the human species. So unpredictable.¡±

    Leaning in closer, the man¡¯s face takes nearly the whole view before me.

    ¡°The only reason you are awake right now is due to my curiosity. And the artificial intelligence in your head, but that¡¯s beside the point. Do not test my patience.¡±

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    The aura I feel from the man causes me to tremble, and I gulp. Noticing my obedience, he leans back and smiles sweetly at me, like an owner before a cute puppy. He still looks like a shadow, but the atmosphere doesn¡¯t feel as tense.

    ¡°Now, where was I? Ah yes, the human species. The reason why we are abducting humans from Earth, or Planet 1V3P10, is due to a genetic mutation that came up a few centuries ago. After much argument in the Galactic Council, we finally received instructions to move the variation away from Earth, to a P3 planet, to either die, or survive. The choice is really up to a few though, in the human race that is.¡±

    He continues to look at me, and sometimes he fiddles with something that could be hair. I implore him in my mind to continue, as it appears that my mother may still be alive due to an abduction.

    ¡°You are one of those chosen individuals as well. Just thought you should know. We rank this survivability due to the prowess over the centuries of life, so be glad you have it such a young age. Your companion is also with us, receiving some genetic treatment. But you probably will not find her for a very long time, much like your mother.¡±

    Concrete evidence! They did abduct my mother, so this is guaranteed that I will find her. Somehow, the man catches sight of my happiness and frowns a little, but I believe he lets it pass as there is no problem with smiling. Suddenly, a question pops into my head, a rather important one.

    ¡°What about my right arm? Why did you take it off?¡±

    Feeling a sense of pride from the man, I suddenly realized that this question was one he was expecting. He gets up from his chair and walks over to where my arm is hanging, and picks it up off the wall. He then begins to walk over to me.

    ¡°Since I am a lover of robotics and spacecraft, and considering in your potential for amazing feats, I decided to give you an arm up over the other humans with the genetic mutation. Literally, I decided to replace your entire cybernetics system, although I can¡¯t get into your brain without wasting your potential. Such a pity, I wanted to know which genius made your AI¡­¡±

    Beginning to mutter to himself, I wait almost patiently for him to continue with how my arm is doing. Realizing he was being a little rude, he snaps out of his thinking mode and gets back to explaining about my arm.

    ¡°Ah, yes. Sorry about that. Now back to your arm. Since it was cybernetics, and some of your muscles in the arm were atrophied, I decided to only leave your bones, as who needs muscle when you have enough energy to make up for it.¡±

    Twisting my arm around and around, I realise it looks slightly shadowed like the man before my, but I can tell that there is a huge gap between the two.

    ¡°Sorry to interupt, but that isn¡¯t my arm.¡±

    ¡°Oh you noticed? That¡¯s good, I was afraid the goggles weren¡¯t working. Yes, it isn¡¯t your own arm anymore because I decided to use bones from a cemetery on some P2 planet. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s only going to do some minor adjustments to your body.¡±

    ¡°Minor adjustment? What do you mea- GAH!!¡±

    The man, instead of answering my question, places the arm next to my body and it suddenly begins to attach itself to my body, little tiny wires begin to dig into my circulatory system. I try to glare at the man, but the pain is too much, and I black out, the AI unable to record myself any further due to the pain to its circuitry.

    After a while, the man backs away from the table Tom laid upon, and nods to hmself a little while muttering.

    ¡°Looks like there is still room for improvement with the base itself, hmm?¡±

    Looking at his watch he realizes that he is late for a similar appointment. He runs out of the medical room with a grin.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how much love she will give to be with him.¡±

 3.1 - An Unlikely Rescue

    Waking up to the sound of river water is always pleasant. Nature is always the best to relax in.

    At least, that is if there weren¡¯t any carnivores around.

    And that¡¯s exactly what I woke up to, a smile full of sharp, sharp teeth.

    Not thinking about my previous experience, my instincts begin full throttle as I lift up my right arm, and initiate the punching motion I¡¯m so used to.

    Instead, I move far, far away from where the animal was going to take a bite out of me. The sound of static comes from my bottom, just when did I have it there?

    When I look down, that¡¯s when I realize I¡¯m not wearing any single piece of clothing. I¡¯m a nudist!

    Wait, that doesn¡¯t matter right now. I need to focus on my survival.

    I quickly get off my nudist bottom and stand in the position of a boxer, my arm¡¯s raised up and just at the right level to protect myself from this¡­ wolf?

    Pausing for a second, I look at the creature that was going to eat me. It stood on four legs, had a shell on it¡¯s back, and had the face of a fox.

    While studying the foxy turtle, my attention shifts to my own arm¡­ Or should I say my new arm? In the place of my metallic blue steel cyber arm was a black arm that had turquoise lines running across it, the color of those lines led directly to my chest, or at least half of it. The black metal seemed to be encroaching upon my body slightly, and moved with my heartbeat. Right where my sternum is, was a circular disc that glowed that very color. Frightening, but it gave off a gentle warmth.

    Feeling killing intent from the foxy turtle, I am pulled away from my examination. I look just in time to see the turtle spinning in the air, a slight pressure coming from it¡¯s revolutions.

    Sighing slightly, I begin to run straight at the turtle, powering up my arm in the process. I feel the hum of energy enter my arm, and arriving in front of the turtle I punch straight forward.

    However, it shocked me as when my arm went forward, instead of a normal fist, my fingers were straightened out like a hand blade. I tried to pull my fingers in, but to no avail as they pierced through the shell, most likely killing the animal where it was. The weight of the animal didn¡¯t affect my new arm in the slightest as the revolutions were forcefully stopped by me.

    I then begin to let my arm drop, allowing the dead weight to slide off. It falls with a thud, and that¡¯s when I notice my surroundings, or rather, what is currently surrounding me.

    The turtles come and surround all sides of me, fresh out of the water. I look around to try and find the water they appeared from, and that¡¯s when I saw the river.

    At least the man from the lab was nice enough to give me food and water in such a dark place.

    Instead of dealing with the turtles one by one, I decide to deal with them all at once, and I forcefully grab the water from the river and direct it towards me, in order to sweep away the turtles back into the rushing river.

    Surprised by the turn of events, the turtles don¡¯t do that strange hovering power and I am easily able to push them into the river, gone for good. I hope.

    Suddenly, exhaustion hits me like a bullet, and my right arm sends phantom pains towards my brain, giving me a headache in the process. That¡¯s when I notice steam coming from my new arm, and so I manipulate the river water to me, compressing it to strain out all the useless gunk in the water.

    Once it¡¯s purified, I bring it close to my mouth, and I begin to slurp it down. The taste of fresh water danced across the taste buds, and the refreshing feeling I received blew away the headache and the phantom limb pain.

    ¡°Looks like I still have to get used to the new arm then.¡±

    I mutter, looking down at my arm from the man in the lab. I get up and dust whatever grime I have on my knees, and begin to explore where I am, or at least, the area I¡¯m in.

    Light filters in from a crack above, a tear that showed blue sky over the darkness I stood in. The walls of the place I arrived in went on for a mile at most, as it appeared that way to me. I couldn¡¯t understand how the river was here though, and in my mind, the image of a shadow laughing at me intrudes.

    ¡°Damn that alien bastard. Are you still trying to bar my way to Mother?¡±

    Striding along the ground, I tried to find a way up from where I was. But the area I was in was only the size of a football field, only even narrower. The light from above was definitely a trick on my eyes.

    The earthen walls crumbled from my weight every time I tried to climb up one of the walls. Sliding down the wall from another one of my attempts, I slouch and sigh like I would before a boring homework assignment. Except this homework was a much higher hurdle I was used to.

    I sit down on the ground, right next to the river, and the one corpse of the foxy turtle I killed is also right next to me. I look down at the overly large turtle, and where I punctured through its shell I can see a small glowing object.

    I turn away from it, but curiosity turns my head back slowly to look at the weird glowing thing. Since the thing is already dead, I should help myself to the spoils. I reach my right arm into the hole in its body, and grab onto the glowing object, and pull as hard as I can.

    Surprisingly, the thing comes out of the body easily, and the effort I put into pulling it out throws me off balance. The glowing object stays in my hand thankfully, and I open my hand up to find out what it is.

    Sadly, the thing is already gone, as the last bit of it seemingly melts into my arm. The shock causes me to stand still, but the pain that comes next causes me to faint.

    I didn¡¯t even get time to yell¡­

    Waking up suddenly, I bump my head against something metal, which also meant it was hard. I open my eyes to see everything in a blur, and I couldn¡¯t even make out what was in front of me. But I knew, something was definitely there and is alive.

    ¡°Hold it kid. I mean yer¡¯ no harm.¡±

    I look in the direction of the voice to see something contrasting in color from the dark walls I was thrown into. A big, silver figure stood out from those walls, and looked like it was rubbing its head. Well, his head as that voice was definitely not feminine.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°Well, seeing how yer¡¯s lookin at meh, I think yer¡¯ doin just fine. But what yer¡¯ doin alla way out her¡¯? This ain¡¯t no place fora youngin¡¯ like yer¡¯self.¡±

    I look up that hulking mass of silver, and smile at him. Not knowing who this person is could be dangerous. I best proceed with just a little bit of caution. After all, stranger danger!

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, but who are you? I know I can¡¯t be a mile down from the surface, so how did you get down here?¡±

    ¡°Well, I used meh thick legs to jump down her¡¯, because I felta burst of energy comin from down her¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ well I got here from up in the sky.¡±

    I look at the man before me more clearly than before, and can just make out that he has a huge beard on his face. It also looks like he has a pinched up face. It looks similar to that of a dwarf from the bedtime tales my mother would tell me about. I smile at the man before me, and I can tell he smiles back.

    ¡°Looks like yer¡¯ not from here, but froma dif¡¯ planet by the looks of yer¡¯. What¡¯s ther¡¯ name of yer¡¯ planet boy?¡±

    I tense up, as I thought this man wouldn¡¯t know anything. Just who is he, to know about different planets. I should be cautious around him, but for some reason he doesn¡¯t seem bad.

    ¡°It¡¯s Earth. The man on the ship said this was a P3 planet, and that Earth is a P1 planet. What does that mean anyways?¡±

    The dwarven man widens his eyes at what I say, and begins to look around rapidly before laying his eyes on the corpse that somehow became only just bones, with the only sign of it being new would be that they weren¡¯t bleached in the sunlight yet.

    ¡°Boy, did yer¡¯ kill that her¡¯ beast?¡±

    I nod my head, what could possibly go wrong with that? But the eyes of the man before me widens even further than before. I hear him muttering, ¡°Impossible, for such a youngin to killa beast like this one her¡¯ before meh. What would happen when he gets ther¡¯ planet¡¯s radiation in his system¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait, did you say I would get radiation poisoning?!¡±

    I jump up off the ground, and apparently I am able to look down on the man before me. That is, until I see a lock of my white hair fall before my eyes. But the thing is, I have brown hair¡­

    ¡°Well boy, it looks like this her¡¯ planet likes ya enough to let yer¡¯ live.¡±

    The dwarven man smiles at me, his beard also smiling.

    ¡°I best teach yer¡¯ how to survive then, as this may be the will of this her¡¯ planet herself.¡±

    I look at the man in utter confusion, as he begins to get closer to me, and picks me up like a baby. I then hear a buzzing sound, as if many things are beginning to gather before me, but I only see little sparkles in the light coming from above. I look at the man as he smiles at me still.

    ¡°This her¡¯ is the planet¡¯s gift to yer.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the gift!?¡± I begin to panic slightly at the volume of the buzzing sound. The man continues as the buzzing gets louder.

    ¡°Why, it¡¯s ther¡¯ bility to use radiation.¡±

    With that, he jumps, and minutes after the ground cracks underneath the man, falling inwards to show a deeper, darker area than before. If I had known that there was nothing under me, I would tried harder to get out from the chasm.

    Taking no more than a minute, we land safely a few yards away from the edge of the chasm entrance. Before me, as I look around from my vantage point, is nothing but desert, with a few broken buildings in between. It reminded me of a wasteland, of the sorts. I look at the man who put me onto solid ground.

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°What was what?¡± The dwarven man smirks.

    ¡°What, how do you use radiation?¡±

    ¡°In good time, boy. In good time.¡±

    The man begins to walk away from the chasm, heading towards the the opposite end of the ebbing sun. I begin to follow along, but at a slower pace.

    ¡°Where are you heading, dwarf?¡± I quickly clamp my mouth shut at the possibly offensive word. But the man turns around and looks bewildered at what I said.

    ¡°How do yer¡¯ know meh race, if yer¡¯ froma Earth?¡±

    ¡°Fairy tales?¡±

    The dwarf turns around to where he was walking towards, with a ¡®hmph¡¯. I begin to catch up to the stubby little man, and then he gives me something useful.

    ¡°Ther¡¯ names Borin, Borin Striderland. Remember that boy.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes Borin!¡±

    Seeing as how I only need to access the database in my head, I don¡¯t plan to forget anytime soon. I walk alongside the apparent rescuer, as I begin to drill him with questions.

    ¡°What does P3-P1 mean?¡±

    ¡°Radiation levels.¡±

    ¡°Why and how did you find me?¡±

    ¡°Was walkin long when meh felta radiation burst. Decided to check it out.¡±

    ¡°Do you know how I got here?¡±

    ¡°You told meh yerself, from ther ship.¡±

    ¡°How do you manipulate radiation?¡±

    ¡°In good time.¡±

    ¡°Where are we? Where are we heading?¡±

    ¡°Wer¡¯ in ther¡¯ Havan Desert, and wer¡¯ headin east towardsa¡¯ major city for yer own survival.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it hot in that armor?¡±

    ¡°Neh, meh removed the radiation from inside it. It¡¯s as cool as a married woman.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your occupation?¡±

    ¡°Adventurer, explorer. Used ter¡¯ be a Space Pirate, but that¡¯s meh past.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so cool!¡±

    ¡°Yer¡¯ really think so? Well, her¡¯s a question for ya, how¡¯d yer lose thata arm?¡±

    ¡°I was born this way.¡±

    ¡°Ah, meh see now. Why yer naked anyways?¡±

    ¡°They didn¡¯t leave me any dignity¡­¡±

    Silence ensued from our surroundings, as we walked east, to the great unknown. For me at least. Borin was laughing up a storm, which I didn¡¯t mind much.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the story about this planet?¡±

    ¡°Vernier? Well she¡¯s ther¡¯ home of all criminals, small nor big, good nor bad. She¡¯s called ther¡¯ Prison Planet for one of two reasons.¡±

    ¡°Why? Why is this the Prison Planet?¡±

    Borin looks at me with a slight pain in his eyes. ¡°Cause no one has got off ther¡¯ surface alive.¡±

 3.2 - Rapid Progression

    Sorry for the wait! Had to figure out some things. But I figured I would spend some time developing the character. But the chapter this time feels too short. Must make it longer next chapter. Just need to know how.

    Enjoy the read! I enjoy it...

    Comedy tag is there because I find myself funny. This story is for my amusement.

    ----------------------------------------------

    ¡°Wait up Borin! It¡¯s.. too hot¡­.¡±

    With a thud, I fall into the hot sand. The wind made the sand rise and blow into my hair, jumping across my entire body. The heat only made the sand burn with a fever as the sun beat down from above my head.

    Borin the dwarf was already leagues in front of me, at least from my point of view. But in reality it was only a few yards ahead of me. The look on Borin¡¯s face, or at least from the way his beard and eyebrows looked down upon me all pinched up, was one of pity.

    ¡°Yer¡¯ stilla youngin¡¯, and we gotta ways ter go.¡±

    Turning back towards the direction he was once facing, Borin resumes his trek across the sand, leaving me to eat his dust¡­ but only for a little bit.

    ¡°I can still go on! Wait up Borin!¡±

    I push myself out of the slippery sand, the dune I laid upon shifting with my weight. But it was enough for me to get back onto my creaking legs and run with only shorts on, the baggy clothing always kept on sliding down for a very uncomfortable run. But seeing how Borin gave them to me, it was still nice to cover up

    Seeing as how Borin was already a good distance away from me, the running I committed myself to in the burning sand allowed me to get closer to him, in physical distance.

    My body ached from the heat though. The unbearable heat toyed with my back, itching and peeling due to excessive skin burning. It was almost unbearable, but it gives me a constant reminder that I can still move, that I¡¯m still alive.

    After many hours passed, and the sun began to set, Borin started to move towards a big boulder off to the left of our predicted path. I began to wonder why he would do such a thing, but since he is an inhabitant of this world, I best follow his lead.

    Having reached with big boulder, I find Borin already starting a fire on the cold rock, with a dark hole that had appeared right next to him. Seeing my arrival, he grunts and gestures with his head to sit down next to the dark, mysterious hole. I do as he gestured, and sit down next to the eerily formed hole.

    Noticing my discomfort, Borin smiles, or at least that¡¯s what I make of his beard curving upwards where the mouth would be.

    ¡°Scared of dis¡¯ her¡¯ hole?¡±

    ¡°What is this hole? I can¡¯t see anything from where I am.¡±

    Truthfully, the reason why I found it eerie was actually the fact that I couldn¡¯t see, despite the fire giving off enough light to see shadows from pebbles on top of the boulder.

    ¡°Di¡¯ reason for that boy, is cause it¡¯sa pocket.¡±

    ¡°A pocket?¡±

    ¡°Meh heard somethin bout how it¡¯sa created, but it¡¯sa door to anotha¡¯ room.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s your own room in a hole!? Isn¡¯t it small?¡±

    Borin begins to chuckle at my question, and instead of answering he teeters over it and falls into the hole head first.

    Surprised, I don¡¯t hesitate to follow his lead, as the time from the long walk deeply ingrained into me. Falling over and into the hole, I close my eyes, hoping I don¡¯t end up bashing my head against the boulder we set the fire on.

    After a few minutes, I begin to hear Borin laughing out loud. I slowly open my eyes, light brighter than the fire entering my eyes. I squint, as I slowly begin to adjust to the brightness of the light. I make out Borin¡¯s figure in the light, his beard glowing softly because of the background lighting. His arms are spread out wide, and he smiles.

    ¡°This her¡¯ is meh home away froma home.¡±

    I look around, trying to figure out what was around me, and all I see are a couple of dressers, suits of armor similar to what Borin is already wearing, and a huge pair of axes that most definitely not used for chopping wood. Although the fireplace had some logs stacked next to it. Looking at what I guessed was his bed, was a small dog-like bed with furs from numerous animals draped over it like a blanket.

    Borin quickly turns towards his bed, and lifts up the blankets. He hops in, armor and all, and his head pokes out from underneath the furry mass. He smiles similar to a man drinking his first cup of coffee in the morning, and looks at me.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°Get yer¡¯self a blanket, we¡¯re sleepin her¡¯.¡±

    He turns around, and just as quickly I hear him snoring. The question I was about to ask dying on my tongue.

    Where was I supposed to get a blanket?

    **************************

    As quickly as I could fall asleep, I woke up to the glaring sun smiling upon my brow. I look down to find that instead of the nice wooden floor of Borin¡¯s home away from home, I was in the sand.

    Bound by rope, and being dragged by Borin himself.

    Quickly making the conclusion that I was being put into a unfriendly occupation, I begin to squirm like hell, which caused the tension in the rope to vibrate from my worm dance. But then a searing hot pain that has only happened once before bites into my head, and my whole body feels the burn. I yell out from pain.

    I stop moving as I hear Borin moving as quick as he could on his stubby legs towards my position. I continue to look up at the sky as Borin¡¯s face appears above mine, beard and all. But mostly beard.

    ¡°Look¡¯s like yer¡¯ goin through da procession. How old are yer¡¯ boy?¡±

    ¡°Procesion-ah! I¡¯m 1-ah-3.¡± (Thirteen fyi.)

    ¡°That explains it. It usually happens at yer¡¯ 5th, but it¡¯sa mor¡¯ painful as yer¡¯ get older.¡±

    Not even answering my question as to what the procession is, Borin grabs the rope that ties me up, and hefts me onto his shoulders. Murmuring something under his breath, Borin begins to pick up speed. Not by much, but enough to dry my tears from the wind resistance.

    But the pain that was beginning to ebb away suddenly comes back at 110%. I scream out loud, as the pain always seemed to target my new right arm, then my head, and then finally my spine itself. Not only those areas, but these three areas were the worst when it came to the pain.

    In 3 minutes, the pain once again began to ebb away. But I felt a warm liquid begin to pool against my back and arm, as well as coming from one side of my head. Borin looks at me, or more specifically at the side of my head, and whistles. While he isn¡¯t watching where he is running in the desert.

    ¡°Vernier loves yer¡¯, that¡¯s fer¡¯ sure.¡±

    The pain decides once again to strike my body as I begin to form the question. Borin turns back round to facing the open desert, and his running begins to slow down, as I begin to feel the tears rolling down my face.

    He sets me down onto the ground like a backpack, and begins to untie the ropes binding me. I don¡¯t squirm, as everytime I try to move the pain continues to rack through my entire body. If this was electricity, I would be fried beyond recognition.

    Borin sits on the sand next to me, and begins to carefully examine my body with his eyes and hands. Although this feels weird, the pain doesn¡¯t allow me to retaliate against his sensing hands. But then I feel a little tug in my back, and I hear a large ripping sound, the sound of clothing and skin ripping apart from each other.

    Borin comes into my field of vision, and holds up what looks like a big black box, except it¡¯s no bigger than the size of my fist, so it isn¡¯t that big. Borin smiles at me.

    ¡°Figured yer¡¯ had somethin stuck to yer¡¯ body that was odd. Noticed it last night, I did. Sorry yer¡¯ had to go through that, that ther¡¯ was a Genetic Modification box from those Council bastards.. Yer¡¯ weren¡¯t going to be human after that. Hahaha! Yer¡¯ lucky meh found yer¡¯ back then, otherwise yer¡¯ bea monster!¡±

    Borin looked proud of himself and laughed at the sky. But that was the last thing that came to my mind as a new flash of pain decided to introduce itself to me.

    For some reason, I think that black box was helping me, was the last thought before I blacked out.

    Borin, on the other had, decided to head to the closest village he could find, or knew of. His hometown to be exact. The village of the desert, Sa¡¯im. There, Borin knew he could find a place just perfect for the boy he found in the middle of nowhere. A place he right now desperately needed.

    Borin bundles up the bloody boy similar to a ¡®pig in the blanket¡¯ and carries him on his back, his strengthened legs carrying them further and further away from where he took out the ¡®GM¡¯ box.

    After a distance, Borin never looked back. If he did, he would see a pale blue light shining from whence he came.

 3.3 - Something to Wake Up to..

    Enjoy my new addition to the chapters!

    -----------------------------------

    I had dreams, nightmares, and sometimes memories. All these played in my mind like a flute, from one pitch to the next, from a low baritone to a high C. The sounds in my mind screamed at me, telling me to let them out. The familiar voices of my mother, the children of the villages, everyone I knew enough to know the tone of their voice.

    They all cried out at me for help.

    The nightmares would not stop with just that. I would often be tortured by a huge huge man with 4 horns that jutted out of his head similar to a goat¡¯s horns. His laughter often shook the very chambers he liked to play in, and the playful questions such as ¡°are you ready?¡± or ¡°Count to three?¡± often followed after his low, deep laughter. After each time the 5th lash streaked across my back, I often became confused with the very realistic dream and reality.

    Everytime. Every time I was lashed upon, I would hear Mother¡¯s voice crying out for help, Fang¡¯s howls echoing in the background. To some, this would torment their mind to the extreme. But for me, I saw it as another hope, another reason to get through the nightmare. The screams and wailing of my mother, let me believe she was still alive.

    After each nightmare, I would always be in a single dreamscape, a small park I often visited as a kid. Ice sculptures were laid out before me, each of a different creature that didn¡¯t exist in reality, and only in mythology. A dragon, the phoenix, the kraken, a hydra, the hippogriff. All these sculptures that looked almost lifelike to me, stayed upon platforms of ice in a very long line of creatures.

    I would often have my head laying up on the ground, the clear, blue sky expanded across my vision. I sighed sometimes, other times I yawned at the comfort, and after that motion a woman would tilt in from above my face.

    We would both look into each other¡¯s eyes, and then smile a sad, sad smile, like we knew a secret that would hurt us both. Her smile was dazzling no matter which number of dreams I entered, and her skin was similar to that a pale white, with multiple colors sometimes rising to the surface of her skin and then receding back into her body. Her hair flowed with the colors of the rainbow, and danced, when there was no wind.

    She would always look at me, and give me a choice.

    ¡°Choose what is to be, or not to be.¡±

    Each and every time she spoke those words, I would always point into the same direction. Up. To the clear, blue sky. And after every time I did that, the sound of ice shattering would prickle my ears.

    Then the pain from before all this, before the madness, the horror, the clear blue sky, before all of that, would return to my body as strong as I first received the whip from the nightmare.

    Each time I felt that pain, I felt something leaving me, something extremely important in a sense. The things I left behind on that world, the things I left behind on Earth.

    My life slowly began to lose the drive and focus I needed, as I began to lose an important reason for my existence. But that¡¯s all that happened. It began.

    It didn¡¯t get worse, it never became better, I only knew that I lost something important, but I wouldn¡¯t be able to remember such a thing as I can¡¯t¡­ remember.

    I know my name, for I am Tom, a human from planet Earth. I am a man, and I must do what I must do to survive, and reclaim what is rightly mine.

    I will reclaim what is lost, but where do I start?

    ¡°Where¡­ do¡­ I¡­ start?¡±

    I feel the vestige of the light entering the cracks in my eyelids, the sun from above striking down upon my body, and the cool air of the night sweeping over my body.

    With the cracking of my eyelids, the pain I felt in my nightmares began to disappear, as if banished from my body. The sounds of my joints snapping when I began to move my body, and the sound of them creaking were audible to only my ears.

    I grimaced slightly, but the pain from the dreams outweighed the tired muscles I had gained from not moving. I shuffle my feet towards me, and raise myself up steadily, leaning my hand out to find purchase on something, only to find a cool wall within my grasp.

    That¡¯s when my eyes open fully, and the only light that¡¯s coming in is from a window barred similar to that of a jail cell. The light illuminated my body, the warmth allowing my blood to flow better within my body, making me less lethargic. Although, I still felt slow no matter what I did, as if I was a statue for a very long time.

    I shuffle slowly to the door with the window in it, the sand under my feet allowing me to do this easily. The cool night air blows towards me, as if telling me to cool off and relax, everything is fine. But I only shake my head to the wind, and finally reach the door through effort alone. I reach to pull the door, only to have my body push against it. I began to fall, and with a very audible creak, the door falls with me, as if I was the final push it needed to take a rest.

    I fall with the door, and with a grunt I fall onto the metal door. Sand explodes from underneath the door, covering me in a smog of sand. Yet that dissipates quickly as gravity and wind work their magic, just enough for me to see the place I was brought to by Borin.

    I expected to see a bustling town full of dwarves, with blacksmiths pounding upon anvils, with little dwarves dancing and singing horribly with no beards on their faces. What I did not expect to see, was a place so¡­

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Deserted.

    Rows of houses dotted my eyesight, the houses themselves made from what looks to be a harder form of sandstone. The orangish colors that danced upon my sight were dull in comparison to the bright sand of the desert that fell in from the roof.

    Wait, the roof? I look up to find a trickle of sand flowing to the bottom floor of this odd town. The ceiling itself was underground, but the sand poured downwards to the floor, with a shining quality to them that acted almost like a miniature sun. Which gave the light needed in this town beneath the sands.

    I push myself off of the metal door, the metal beginning to burn my hand slightly despite the lack of a natural sun. I stand up on my own two feet, and with a wobble I begin to shuffle my feet forwards, the sand sliding between my toes.

    That¡¯s when the inhabitants of the town decided to show themselves, beards and all.

    In my eyesight, I could make out an unimaginable amount of figures peeping out from below window sills, from underneath cellar doors, and even from stone trash cans that looked similar to those from Earth. Some of these dwarven inhabitants slowly and steadily began to move out from their hiding spots, but none wore the armor I began to familiarize myself with. Borin¡¯s form was nowhere to be seen, yet.

    I continue my slow hobbling shuffle down the street, time slowly losing its effect on me. I was still slow, as all the dwarves, adult and child, began to swarm the streets as if I was just a street stall vendor. Naturally, this began to irk me as I only recieved weird glances from every person that walked past me in their rushed walk.

    Taking nearly a good portion of my strength, I was able to make it to what seemed to be a town square, where a dried up fountain lay in the middle of this square. I trudged towards the fountain¡¯s little basin, and I sat my ass down as carefully as I could against its cold stone exterior.

    But something got in the way of my own attempt at sitting, something underneath me. I fall over fairly quickly into the basin, my feet poking up into the air. The blow upon the floor slightly stuns me, but my eyesight begins to focus on what is above me.

    My feet, and my legs.

    One of my legs and feet were completely not human, or maybe a variation I couldn¡¯t consider or know. It was covered in some blue film, with my foot itself no longer being my typical five-toed foot. Instead, it was three-toed, and instead of normal nails, there were a good inch long claw, or talon for a more specific word.

    My other foot was completely human though, as it looked like it once did before.

    In between these two legs of mine lay something else. It was long, skinny at one end and thick at the other, and was as blue filmed as my other new leg. Slowly but steadily, the film that covered these two things began to disappear, by shattering every time I tried to move from my position. Very similar to the ice I sometimes played with on Earth, the new skin underneath began to show itself off from underneath the blue film.

    The new thing between my legs fell limp across my crotch, almost reaching where my belly button was. I tried to move myself to a sitting posture, only to have the thing reach out to the ledge I fell off of and pull me up to my previous sitting position.

    I fall ass first onto the ledge, just in time to see a familiar armored figure walk up towards me. Each step he took gave me reassurance, until I saw a massive bastard sword gripped in his hands, the tip pointed at where my neck was.

    With a hidden anger barely concealed, Borin asks me in a low tone of voice.

    ¡°What on Vernier hav¡¯ yer¡¯ done.¡±

    I look up at him in a way that showed I had no idea what I had done, my eyebrow raised with worry spelt out in my eyes.

    ¡°What do you mean Borin? I just woke up from that ¡®progression¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mess with meh, it could onlay be yer¡¯ fault!¡±

    With a quick twitch to his hands, the sword draws blood from my chin. I hold up my hands, to assure him I meant him no harm. Crazed people are often unable to understand any situation.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know what you mean Borin. What do you think I¡¯ve done?¡±

    ¡°Yer¡¯ killed da village chieftain in cold blood, that¡¯s what yer¡¯ did! If yer¡¯ don¡¯t believe meh, look at yer¡¯ hand!¡±

    Following Borin¡¯s instructions, I look at my right arm, the cybernetic arm. It was as clean as dust allowed it to be, the black steel still holding the strange bones in the casing. I look back at Borin, to find him looking at my other arm, my human arm.

    Following his gaze I look in confidence at what my proof in innocence was. But that quickly faded away as I saw my said human arm covered in a blue film that was slowing peeling and falling off. The talons I saw on my feet too the place of my fingernails, and the blue skin began to show off a scaly appearance, the cracks in the skin sometimes lifting up and clacking together when I moved my hand. I look back to Borin to find him staring straight at me.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know what you mean Borin, I just got out of that prison you put me in. I can¡¯t commit murder when I was in there.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what yer¡¯ say, but it ain¡¯t true. Someone witnessed yer¡¯ savage killin technique on my own brotha!¡±

    Connecting the dots, I widen my eyes, and I begin to shake my head to answer to his accusation. But as the adults said when there was unexpected pregnancy in families, ¡®shit just hit the fan¡¯.

 Glossary (May Contain Spoilers)[Updated 6/3]

    Just a thread that I though was necessary for my story. Will be updated each time a new chapter or two is released.

    P Rankings - A ranking system that judges that potential amount of radiation in the planets atmosphere and surface. P1 is the lowest while P5 is the most highest known to the Council.

    Radiate - Someone who can manipulate radiation in some way or form.

    The Council - A group of beings that are often portrayed as The Police of the Universe. They consist of some galactic empire figureheads, and wise men of the universe. Such beings also include the Myriads, a group of humanoid sentient beings that make up most of the Council.

    Myriads - A very colorful humanoid, they almost exist in a state of controlled energy, resulting in their varying colors. Tom meets one (male) on the spacecraft from Earth, who gives him a new cybernetic arm that may still hold some secrets.

    Tom - A male human that originates from Earth. Possessing an AI of unknown origin, and a cybernetic arm as well. Abducted due to his genetic mutation that allowed for Liquid Manipulation, he arrives on a P3 Prison Planet called Vernier, where he also undergoes a mutation experience called the Progression. Perhaps his family has followed along and been abducted as well?

    Borin - The first male dwarf that Tom meets on the surface of Vernier, in a crevice almost unexplored by most due to it''s depth. Borin is a radiation manipulator, a side-effect from living for generations on the prison planet. He is a bumbling, but serious warrior who only wears armor to show off his massive potential strength. He originates from other planet, but was put on Vernier by the Council due to his past-criminal status of a Space Pirate.

    Mother -  A female human that gave birth to Tom, but not the reason for him being alive to this date. She is ''abducted'' the night before the Ethereal Door Incident, where only those with genetic mutations could see the said door. Just where could she be?

    Fang - A female wolf that has been Tom''s lifelong companion. She was able to find the Ethereal Door, and was subsequently abducted with Tom. In one chapter, it is hinted she may have been changed in some way, but it is for certain she is on Vernier as well. But where?

    Vernier - The P3 planet Tom arrives on via Council spacecraft. Essentially a prison planet for those the Council deemed unfit for society, or too much of a hassle to execute. The reason for Tom being dropped off is the latter.

    Kareb - Borin''s younger brother who was once upon a time, the chief of the town under the sands, Dunheim. He confiscated some crystal dust from some traveling merchants, a very dangerous and high performance drug, and became a demented idiot who can''t do anything on his own.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Dunheim - The town beneath the sands. Borin''s birthplace and Kareb''s as well. This is the first sign of civilization Tom encounters, and the technology of the town is all mechanical, and not powered by any form of electricity. Basically, science fiction is almost nonexistent, where only uni-dimensional trash cans are installed to get rid of waste and the like.

    Ulia - The chieftain of the town Dunheim, and a woman blacksmith, which explains her hairless face. She is the first to ask Tom for help to the problem of crystal dust. She has some connection to Borin and Kareb, and it goes way back. But just what is that connection?

    Forlom - A major city found in the Great Waste, a massive expansion of desert that is home to very small clans of Dwarves. Forlom is one of the few cities that still showcases the technology that once flew above the planet, as the Upper City can be seen as a ship, or a floating city. The Upper City can be considered the ''must go to'' area, as only the best of the best of warriors, scholars, and radiates can go to the Upper City, excluding the nobility and other wealthy people. The Lower City is made up of many denizens of the Great Waste that have flocked here to become adventurers, or trade on underground markets. The Lower City is not made up entirely of glass, unlike the Upper City, since the sandstorms will sometimes break the glass elevator shafts that once stood high above the city.

    Mana - An elven radiate illusionist that is close to Borin, and greets Tom in a way that will change his body forever. She loves the color black, and as far as Tom knows, is a girl with only dreams in her chest. She becomes Tom''s mentor on the ways of radiation. She owns a worldwide business that isn''t known by most, due to the place''s broken down appearances. Mana''s Emporium is only known to people who have proven themselves, in one way or another.

    Ganmar - The kingdom of the beast-kin. Being mainly a forest, it has an area comparable to the island(s) of the Philippines back on Earth. Multiple islands can be seen from the coast, and the huge forest that inhabits the mainland is in fact, the capital city of Ganmar, Tortine.

    Lignus - The racial term for the beast race that evolved from lizards. They are in a long-term feud with the feline race of the beast-kin, the Fleunas.

    Fleunas - The racial term for the beast race that evolved from the feline family of the mammals. They consist of lion, tiger, alley cat, house cat, leopard, and any other felines. They are in a long term turf war with the beast-kin Lignus, the lizard people.

    On a side note, ChristianLeontsinis, a member of this forum gave me such an extreme rating that I had to mention him in here.

 4.1 - An Interesting Exchange

    Happy April Fool''s Day! Don''t be mad, enjoy!

    ----------------------------

    ¡°Look, Borin. I didn¡¯t kill your brother!¡±

    Borin looks at me once, but doesn¡¯t say anything, but instead continues to drag me forward to a building a little larger than the ones surrounding it. I begin to struggle slightly, as I couldn¡¯t find a reason as to why I would kill someone. Oh wait, Borin did say in cold blood¡­

    Borin drags me up to the doormat with my feeble resistance, and pushes open the door. I expected this to be a jailhouse or courthouse of some type, but instead of that, I find¡­

    A group of dwarves with a banner above them written in some different language, most likely written in their language.

    Balloons float up around them as soon as I enter the door, and a few kegs of some liquid fall over in the background, as hey all raise their hands with mugs in their grasp.

    ¡°¡°SURPRISE!!!¡±¡±

    I stand there shocked before them, my hands and feet not even bound even before the dragging around. I look over to Borin, to ask him a question, but instead, he is sitting at a table with a mug in hand, with the bottom facing up against another exceptionally bearded dwarf.

    I could only continue standing there, until a dwarf decided to grab me by the hand-claw and through me over a table, smashing it to bits, with some liquid falling all over me that smelled similar to alcohol but with a more musty odor.

    But that moment was short-lived as I was once again made airborne by a dwarf with the musty scent all over him. Various questions kept popping into my head, like the murder, Borin¡¯s apparently fake anger, and the scaly new appendages I received from my ¡®progression¡¯.

    I land upon another tabletop, this time my face now facing a drunk(?) Borin. His cheeks finally showed enough color to allow me to see them, and figuring I wouldn¡¯t get another chance until later, I had to ask him a question.

    ¡°What was that all ab-¡±

    I was thrown once again, but this time by Borin¡¯s drinking partner. He was howling and spitting up a glob of mesh every time he barked out a laugh. His beard was overflowing with whatever crumbs he had from last nights dinner, which spoke ¡®spaghetti¡¯ all over his face. I end up smashing into a wall made of stone, my back aching from the impact.

    My eyes widen as soon as I recognize some familiarity with the man next to him. I look at Borin, and Borin only grins at my expression as he gets up from his seat, and makes his way over to the man who just threw me. Borin grins foolishly and with a flushed face, while pointing a stubby finger to the messy man.

    ¡°This her¡¯ is meh brotha¡¯. Meh lost him to ther¡¯ thing called dementia.¡±

    I can only look on, as the pair walks up to me, with a few steps to the right and left that showed their state of mind. Borin begins to wave his hand frantically, while his brother continues to look forward, as if the wall was more important than a new face in town.

    ¡°Now, don¡¯t get meh wrong. Some stinkin dirt licker did do this to meh own brotha¡¯. But ita sure as Vernier wasn¡¯t yer!¡±

    Borin begins to laugh heartily, as his brother begins to dig for gold in his nose. The spaghetti wearing man was indeed a sight not looked forwards to. I quickly look back at Borin, as he was too drunk to continue his speech, but sobered up a little bit to continue his misfortunate story.

    ¡°Yer¡¯ see, crystal dust on this her¡¯ planet is extremely potent. It gives yer¡¯ a high like none otha¡¯! Many races on this Vernier have had long, underground wars for this her¡¯ infamous dust, and it continues to this damned day. Meh brotha¡¯ her¡¯ was lucky nough¡¯ to get his grubby hands on ther¡¯ stuff, and this¡¯s what Kareb¡¯s become!¡±

    Borin¡¯s face begins to heat up to a very bright red, and the sight almost makes me imagine steam pouring out of his ears. Almost. He gestures to all of his brother¡¯s body, mostly his head as that¡¯s where most of the damage took place from this dust.

    I quickly stand up from where I sat, and slowly approached Borin and Kareb, stretching out my hands slowly and carefully to reassure Borin that Kareb looked fine and dandy. But when looking at Kareb, the spaghetti sometimes fell off his beard giving off a plopping sound.

    Ah, I best not reassure him about that. Kareb doesn¡¯t look good at all.

    ¡°Look, Borin, it looks like you drank a little too much here. How about you--¡±

    ¡°No, I will not be silent! I will dominate the world!! Swim in a pool of gold! Have sexy ladies all over me! I am a man, and I will have my--¡±

    With a solid thump on the back of his head, I watch as Borin falls face first onto the floor, Kareb following along with Borin¡¯s lead. I watch them begin to hug each other¡­ Borin must have been really drunk, to speak properly.

    I look up from Borin and Kareb¡¯s cuddled bodies, to find a female dwarf standing behind where they once stood. Her beard is nonexistent, with no hair that could be seen on her face. Her red hair was tied back in a bun, similar to a samurai¡¯s topknot, and her eyes were as disappointed as a mother¡¯s, the eyes themselves popping out slightly, to show that she was ¡®all seeing¡¯. Her eyebrows are in a frown, as she looks down at the snoring forms of the intoxicated dwarven men.

    ¡°Hmph, he always has to be knocked out when he begins to spit out worldly desires from ages past. Now then, I guess I have to explain what¡¯s happened to you.¡± The dwarf woman looks me up and down. ¡°And what¡¯s happened while you were out. Now come, follow along.¡±

    As quickly as she arrives, she almost disappears just as fast, but not without grabbing the brother¡¯s legs and briskly walking away out of the doors of the building and into the bustling streets.

    I begin to walk forward to follow her, but suddenly I feel a weight right above my ass. I quickly turn around to find out what it is, but nothing shows itself to me. So I continue forwards, ignoring it. The sound of something sliding on the ground enters my ears, and I can¡¯t help but look back, just in time to see the long scaly blue appendage dragging behind me.

    Once again connecting a few dots in my mind, I realize something. I have a tail!

    I quickly try to pick up my tail, but I was just like a dog and spun around and around, becoming dizzy from my revolutions in one place. I stumble out of the doorway, and out into the streets, where I feel a slight breeze hitting against my body. I feel an untimely chill, and look down at where my baggy pants should be.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Well, no wonder people stared at me oddly.

    I began to hide my exposed side of me, but the tail I couldn¡¯t grab suddenly coils around my waist, similar to that of a belt. It really felt like it had a mind of its own, but I could only thank my new tail as I began to walk out into the public.

    Luckily, the trio of dwarves I have become acquainted with in this town weren¡¯t able to make it far, since my height was slightly taller than the tallest dwarf. I could see where they had went, and the amount of distance between us began to shorten due to my longer strides.

    The female dwarf and the brothers suddenly enter a house on the side of the street, and I make haste to where they disappeared from my sight. I enter through the doorway to the house, the house itself looking as generic as the house next door. The interior itself was ordinary, if a person could ignore the fact that everything was made of rock. The couch, the tables, even the lamps themselves were made of the same sandstone-like structure as the house was. It was like the dwarves hollowed out a rock to live in.

    ¡°Good, it seems like your cognitive functions are working in the correct order. If they weren¡¯t, I¡¯d have to put you down.¡±

    The female dwarf is sitting on one of the stone chairs, her hands clasped together in front of her face and her eyes peering at me from behind it. It made her look like a mastermind behind a bigger plot. She then gestures to one of the stone chairs with a hole in the back.

    ¡°Take a seat, there is some explaining to do.¡±

    I follow with her suggestion and I take a seat, my tail uncoiling and putting itself into the hole in the chair. I look at her steady form, as she looks at my face. Seeing her stare at me so intently, I can¡¯t help but blush. This makes her grin, and yellow teeth make their appearance. Apparently, hygiene isn¡¯t that important in this town.

    ¡°What you have just went through is a genetic mutation in your gene pool. Specifically, it mostly affects your outside appearance, and sometimes mental capabilities. The Progression is what we all go through after 3 years worth of time is spent on the surface world. Enough time spent on this world allows you to manipulate the radiation that caused your mutation. In Borin¡¯s case, this took several centuries, and it took decades for me to manipulate it.¡±

    While she is talking, I continue to look straight at her, despite her hands gesturing all around her. She continues with her explanation.

    ¡°Now, you are a different case. Borin here told me about your sudden appearance on this planet, and how you survived in the crevice. Now the spot you arrived in has a high radiation content, and your human base has no resistance nor immunity towards radiation itself, which allowed the Progression to take place mere days after you arrived. The most amazing thing that has happened so far, is that you have survived an undiluted Progression!¡±

    Her eyes begin to gleam like a mad scientist¡¯s own light reflecting glasses, and I try to scoot my chair away for some safety and reassurance. Sadly, the chair was carved out of the rock itself so it was firmly stuck in place. A question begins to form in my mind.

    ¡°Undiluted? Do you mean to say that I had taken in a concentrated dose of radiation?¡±

    With a nod, she answers my question with a question.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you kill a creature in that crevice with nothing but your own power? And did you not take out the gem inside of it¡¯s body?¡±

    I nod my head at her questions.

    ¡°Was that gem in fact actually a concentrated form of radiation?¡±

    She claps her hands excitedly.

    ¡°Ooo! We have a smart guy here haha! I like that much better than these two buffoons over there.¡±

    She points over there with a wicked grin on her face, her nose pinching up with her widening smile. I look over to the area she pointed to and find Borin in his armor¡­ sitting on a toilet? With Kareb by his side, snoozing on his lap. It would be a lovely scene if it were not for the heavy stench of alcohol that emanated from the both of them.

    A caring look enters the female dwarf¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°These two have been with me since the beginning. It¡¯s a shame that Kareb is the way he is now, but nothing can be done. There are no known cures for the side effects of crystal dust.¡±

    I look over at the two brothers, then look back at the dwarf before me. I cough once to get her attention, which shakes her back into the present moment.

    ¡°Ah yes, sorry about that Tom. Now back onto the topic of you, but more specifically your body. Have you looked at your face? It¡¯ll become apparent as to what you are, or could become.¡±

    She hands me a mirror, as I take it out of worry and curiosity. For some apparent reason, I began to worry even more at the change that could scar my life.

    I hold up the mirror just far enough away to capture my entire head. My face was completely normal, well at least half of it. The left side of my face consisted of blue scales, and my original blue eyes had turned into one blue and one green. My green eye had a slit pupil in it¡¯s center, and around it grew scales of a lighter blue. From my left side of the forehead, out of my head jutted one horn, that grew at an angle and slowly curved backwards to lay just above my white hair.

    My hair had turned white with dark streaks in it, and had grown at an extreme rate. I didn¡¯t know if my mother would recognize me, with the body I now had. But my determination didn¡¯t give way to this anxiety, and I look at the female dwarf.

    ¡°What do you want? You wouldn¡¯t let me know all this information unless..¡±

    ¡°Yes. I want your help in return.¡±

    Her smile becomes an evil smirk, her eyebrows raised.

    ¡°I am the dwarven blacksmith Ulia, and I am the chieftain of Dunheim. This town needs an outside¡­ perspective on a certain subject.¡±

    I look at her, curiosity seeping out of me. I gesture for her to continue.

    ¡°We need help on cracking down on the crystal dust that has spread around town. Borin said you can do it while you were Progressing, but are you capable now as Progression has happened?¡±

 4.2 - Cranial Mayhem

    Kind of short, but I hope this adds to the story. I thought a little action and the explanation of Dwarf society would do well. I might rewrite this later on, who knows?

    Enjoy the read! Expect another in three days.

    ---------------------------------

    ¡°Hai! Hai! Hai!¡±

    The sound of stone bashing against metal echoes throughout the town. I am currently the one defending against a stone sword wielded by Borin. It looks as light as a cinder block, but was much heavier than one. I am using my cybernetic arm to block the blows that could tear cats in half, and I feel the vibrations travel up and through my body every single time.

    That¡¯s right, I was sparring against a sober Borin.

    When Ulia had asked me the question about Progression, Borin suddenly jumped up, knocking over Kareb onto the floor. Kareb continued sleeping through his fall, as Borin stepped over his brother in a fit of anger.

    ¡°What in Vernier did yer¡¯ do to meh, Ulia!¡±

    Ulia, responded with a wrench from her pocket. It flew across the room and struck Borin in the forehead, causing his eyes to roll upward. He flopped to the ground on top of his already grounded brother.

    Smiling slightly, Ulia turned her attention back to me.

    ¡°What question did you want to ask?¡±

    I had begun to sweat slightly at the casual manner she knocked out Borin. It was too scary!

    ¡°What will you have me do? Since you made it sound like you wanted to fight me.¡±

    ¡°No, it won¡¯t be me you¡¯re fighting, but rather Borin over there.¡±

    After she shook her head and pointed back at Borin, she woke them up with a carefully placed kick, and that was how I had to fight against Borin to prove I was fit in body. I don¡¯t know why this all translated into a fight, in all honesty, but these dwarven folk seem to uphold strength above all else. Or it could be different, but I can only guess.

    If I had to fight the chieftain, namely Ulia, I don¡¯t rightly know if I could even pull off a single scrape against her, as being a chieftain must show a great quantity of strength. These thoughts of mine continue to swirl in my head as I continue to block Borin¡¯s sword, the heavy stone blade increasing in pressure from the force of his blows.

    I look at Borin¡¯s face just in time to see him glaring at me, and stumbling slightly. If I had to guess, it was the place Ulia kicked him at before that makes him wheeze like a donkey.

    I block his sword with my right arm once again, and slide it along my forearm, where it hits the ground with Borin¡¯s force behind the attack. I clench my left fist, and attempt a punch, which Borin replies by letting go of his sword and swiping it away in a martial arts way.

    I go forward with my momentum, just in time to see his elbow appearing before me. Just as he was about to clothesline my face, I use my tail to dig into the ground. At least, I tried to as my tail suddenly whips me around and I hear and feel a couple smacks coming from behind me.

    Yeah¡­ it really does have a mind of it¡¯s own, I feel like that is the only explanation.

    I turn around in time to see Borin standing there looking at the sandy ceiling of the town, his cheeks puffed up like marshmallows, and as raw as a steak. His eyes twitched slightly as he fell to the ground, and the sand puffs up around him in a plume. A very tiny plume.

    With that quick little spar out of the way, I stand straight and reach for the ceiling, stretching out my body. I look over to Ulia to find her clapping her hands melodramatically, and I roll my eyes when she notices my attention on her. She smirks at me and walks over to Borin, and bends over his face.

    ¡°Wake UP! You only got pansy slapped! A little receiving never hurt you!¡±

    Proceeding to kick him in the shin, I see a little twinkle in Borin¡¯s eyes as he leaps off the ground and tackles Ulia down. Seeing two short but muscular people really makes you want to turn away, so I did.

    Ignoring whatever sounds the two were making, I continue my stretching. Occasionally, I feel the odd breeze from my back, but I attribute it to the weather¡­ Underneath the ground?

    I look over my shoulder while I am stretching my legs to see massive craters littering the ground, and a couple walls to house smashed open. Blade marks can clearly be seen along the ground, as well as what appeared to be fist marks all over the place.

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    I get up off of the ground, and carefully make my way to what could be the center of where all this mayhem started, which coincidentally is where the two dwarves were all over each other. But apparently they wanted to become a little more physical.

    ¡°Yer¡¯ need tah shut it woman!¡±

    ¡°My village, my rules!¡±

    ¡°Meh rules, meh ass!¡±

    I hear what sounds like the bickering between the two dwarves, and begin to make my way through the once bustling streets of Dunheim. Eerily quiet, but seeing how two dwarves were going at it, I couldn¡¯t help but think this was a common occurrence whenever Borin and Ulia met.

    Seeing as how the streets were deserted, I began to move a little faster. The sound of rocks being pummeled, and huge quantities of sand flying into the air were clear signals as to where I needed to head to. My bare feet slap across the stone street, as my peculiar left foot leaves a deeper impression of claw marks each time I tried to go faster than a slight jog.

    Feeling a little heavier, I take a break on the side of the road. Which in my case was a good thing, as just where I was once jogging, a deep 1 meter crater suddenly appears, with Ulia on top of Borin. The dust from their sudden impact doesn¡¯t even have time to float to the ground as Ulia begins to beat upon Borin like a punching bag.

    Fist-like impressions can clearly be seen from my vantage point as Ulia strikes Borin in the gut. If his intestines were made of steel, I think he would be okay.

    I feel my blood begin to rush faster as the fight before me began to get my adrenaline going. I begin to feel the need to join the fight, and take a step forward. I then begin to use my superpower, the liquid manipulation.

    But¡­ nothing happens, the two dwarves continue to ride on each other as I struggle with my power. I should still be able to use it, but for some reason I can¡¯t move them! I spit out a loogie and try to manipulate it into Borin¡¯s face, but it only falls to the ground.

    It seems like the Progression doesn¡¯t just affect the body, but the mind too. I remember Ulia telling me that my cognitive functions appeared to be working fine, but apparently my brain decided to mutate as well.

    Just what has changed on the inside of me?

    I stumble forward, to where the two dwarves have finally stopped fighting and are standing side by side, looking at me and the state I was in. Ulia begins to approach me cautiously, as if there was something wrong with me.

    ¡°Tom, are you alright? It couldn¡¯t be because we were fighting that you are this way, right?¡±

    She begins to move closer to me, and looks straight at my eyes. I flinch slightly, and begin to raise my right arm, the energy from the core in the center of me burning slightly from the excess energy being  used. Ulia continues to approach, and she reaches to her waist, a hammer suddenly appearing at her side from nowhere.

    I move slightly backwards, as I feel the ground shift underneath my feet. The thundering in my blood did not disappear with the end of the battle, but in fact actually rose. I feel my eyelids getting heavier from the amount of blood that could be flowing through them, and I force them to open wider, but to no avail.

    ¡°Tom, calm down. Your body is acting strange.¡±

    Ulia slowly slides towards me, only a few yards away from my position. My arm is still stretched out, the heat in my chest rising slightly. Nowhere near as painful as the burn from the Progression, I feel a dull throbbing in my right arm. The sound of gas escaping from the openings in the arm catch my attention.

    Problem is, my right arm is cybernetic. Are these phantom pains?

    I feel the urge to sleep grow upon my consciousness, and the last thing before I close my eyes is Ulia swinging a hammer straight at my face.

    The last thing I hear is Borin¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I promised ther¡¯ boy safety!¡±

 4.3 - A Borin Escape...

    Sorry, been busy with rl. Next chapter is a action orientated segment, so look forward to some action by Tom himself.

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    I see a fog before me, my eyes slowly opening. A slight buzzing sound enters my ears next, the sound itself becoming a constant nuisance very quickly. My eyes finally open their widest, and the fog begins to clear away from my sight.

    But all I see is darkness. An extreme blackness that I can only remember once before.

    I was back in the cell again. But the light from before is no longer there, as if a shutter has been placed over it.

    My stomach growls slightly, and I begin to imagine the smell of bacon. A greasy, home fried bacon that can only be cooked by Mother. I sniff the air some, and the scent begins to grow stronger from my right. I begin to follow that smell until I hit the stone wall that contains me. I scratch upon its surface, desperate to be let out. But the only reply I hear is my own heartbeat, as it resounds across the room.

    ¡­

    I sit down, the weight of my own body crushing me against the solid floor. I try to remember what I was doing before I woke up here, and I¡­ don¡¯t remember.

    I don¡¯t remember how I got in here, but I do know what happened to me. Transported from that spacecraft, I had landed on this planet. I don¡¯t know its geography, but a slight feeling of comfort points me to the left, away from the bacon smell.

    Being a natural survivor of the Alaskan forests, I sit down upon the cold earth, and cross my legs. I close my eyes, and attempt to drive away the panic setting into my heart. I go over what I¡¯ve learned, as I can¡¯t do much else in this dark prison.

    I am on the P3 planet Vernier, and currently I am ¡®housed¡¯ in Dunheim, a village of dwarves. Borin is the only dwarf I can trust, since he isn¡¯t the one who got me hammered. The special Progression that is perhaps specific to this planet has begun to affect me, as my liquid manipulation power is no longer viable, or usable. I have a scaly arm, a scaly leg, and a scaly tail. My face itself has begun to scale too, and I don¡¯t know if there is a chance of me going through the Progression again.

    The memory of the pain makes me flinch slightly, but I stay in my criss-cross applesauce position.

    I am 13¡­ no, I don¡¯t know how old I am. I feel like I should be older, since my build has become bigger. I¡­ just don¡¯t know. I shake my head to disperse the negative thoughts.

    I begin to train my body in the current position I am in. How? Meditation. It was so quiet, I felt like this was a time I could ¡®get in the zone¡¯.

    I don¡¯t know how much time has passed, as no light enters the small room I¡¯m in. I stretch my body as the meditation position began to make me cramp, and I become curious about the room I am in. I plaster my body against the wall I had touched earlier, and like a worm I inch my way across the surface. The stone begins to rub against my scales, which causes the stone itself to give way.

    I don¡¯t use that as an excuse to start digging, as digging may cause a collapse. I don¡¯t want that to happen, and ultimately kill me in the process.

    I feel my way across every wall, totaling up to four walls in all. I feel the impression of a window on the last wall, but I don¡¯t reach out as I know there is no window to look through. Basically, I¡¯m in a room with no doors, but somehow I am surviving. I cannot feel any breeze, nor a current of air. Do I have a limited air supply? I try to slow down my breathing, but it doesn¡¯t help with the exhaustion I feel.

    Why am I exhausted? I am only doing little things at this very moment.

    I begin to search frantically for an air current, as I feel my own time ticking away. The sound of my heartbeat, and the sound of stone tumbling to the floor enters my ears, as I search. I turn to where I think the stone fell to the floor, and pound my left hand against the wall, and after a few of my own heartbeats, the sound of something hitting the other side of the wall echoes into my little prison.

    I make a clawed hand, and scrape my hand against the wall, the stone falling from the carving I do against the wall. I dig furiously, as I my brain begins to get fuzzy, most likely from the air that is being exhausted by me. This prompts me to increase my pace, as time wasn¡¯t my ally.

    Tiny cracks of light began to shoot out from the wall, most of them spread out in different areas. I could feel the breath of air flow past my normal cheek, and I begin to bang my fists upon the wall.

    Stone tumbles as the light breaks through the wall. I continue to pound against the wall as I hear the muffled breath of the other person, or thing on the other side of the wall. They breathed roughly, and I could almost imagine their nostrils flaring up.

    After only a few minutes, I breathe a good amount of dirty, fresh air. Opposite of me, on the other side of the wall, stood Borin, his beard shifted into a smile. I look up at him from my kneeling position, and smile at my friend of another planet.

    ¡°Took a good while ter¡¯ find yer¡¯, Tom. Thought yer woulda been dead by now. Lucky, ain¡¯t yer¡¯?¡±

    I stifle a laugh as Borin shushes me by putting a finger to his lip, or beard. I crawl through the opening in the wall, and my tail lands heavily on the ground as I stand up to give a big hug to Borin. But he sticks out his arm to hold me off of him, and I just hang limp on his outstretched arm.

    Borin sheaths his greatsword onto his back, and hangs a white pickaxe I¡¯ve never seen before on his waste. He looks at me with his squinted eyes, and point out into the streets that my prison had lain before.

    ¡°Meh feel guilty, so meh lettin yer¡¯ go back ter the surface. Yer aren¡¯t exactly¡­ wanted her¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Borin scratches the back of his head with his free arm, and looks off into the distant bar.

    ¡°Well, yer¡­ aren¡¯t a human anymore. Yer genetic makeup ain¡¯t what it should be. Yer¡­ different. Us dwarves are a proud folk, but we can¡¯t handle change well. Since yer ain¡¯t resemblin us dwarves, we hav ter let yer suffer in the Nameless Waste.¡±

    ¡°Nameless Waste?¡±

    ¡°Yer know, the desert upstairs, ther roof over our heads?¡±

    I nod my head, and Borin releases my body, and the weight of my tail allows me to bring myself back into a standing position, although the sense of weightlessness does startle me slightly. Borin motions for me to crouch, and I do so. He beckons me towards him, and I match his footprints as he begins to crawl along the ground, as he sneaks under window sills and past door frames.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    The streets that I had once walked through before are still empty, and the light I thought I had seen before was just the warm glow of lanterns powered by crystals. I inquired to Borin when we passed underneath if the cause of the crystal dust could come from energy-worn crystals. He tells me that this is not so, and I could only nod as we continue with the escape plan.

    Crawling ever so slowly, it takes a good 30 minutes for the two of us to sneak towards the center of the village, and apparently the only entrance and exit to and from the life beneath the sands.

    As Borin takes the first step out into the open area, where a huge pile of sand resides on top of yet another dried up fountain, lights from multiple houses turn on at almost exactly the same time. The beams from the glowing crystal begin to act like searchlights, and pass over Borin¡¯s bulky, short, armored, bearded form as he tiptoes on to the fountain edge. Behind him was me, tiptoeing with my normal human foot, and the scaly foot digging into the sand.

    The beams of artificial light begin to congregate all in one area, my area. The light reflects off my blue scales and it flashes over me, and stays on my person.

    From the houses of stone come a tide of people, the sound of metal armor clinking about echoes through the village center. The shadows of pointed metal block the light source at different intervals, and I can see what is heading towards Borin and I.

    The dwarves of the Dunheim village were amassing upon us.

    Ulia stood in the front row of the said mass of hairy dwarves. The artificial lighting making their armor shine in an array of colors. Oddly though, despite their knowledge of technology, swords, axes and pikes were held in their hands, with the odd dagger or staff. Ulia raises her hammer up into the air.

    ¡°Borin! What have you done!¡±

    ¡°Meh keepin meh word, meh promise to the boy. Yer lies don¡¯t sit well in meh belly.¡±

    Borin folds his arms while his leg is still bent upon the fountain¡¯s edge, and the sight of Borin¡¯s armored frame causes some chuckles to escape from the crowd, although the sight of me shuts them up. Ulia glares at Borin, and quickly looks at my figure before looking back at Borin. She points a finger at my direction.

    ¡°That is no boy! The radiation is already affecting his mind! You saw him! How terrified the little ones were!¡±

    Borin gives me a small smile before turning his head back to Ulia. I begin to slide my feet across the ground towards Borin.

    ¡°Ther¡¯ radiation got to meh too, and yer¡¯ see how meh am. Perfectly fine!¡±

    Borin spreads out his arms and gives out a hearty laugh.

    ¡°You have a speech problem, you blabbering imbecile! The <del>bo</del>thing needs to be put down!¡±

    Ulia raises her hammer once more, and a chorus of voices echo from behind her. The dwarf community begin to stomp their feet, an intimidation tactic that shakes the ground itself. Nothing brings in fear like a marching ¡®army¡¯.

    I then decide that right now, was no better chance for me to get to the surface, and I spring into action. I hear the sound of the villagers roaring at my sudden movements, but I can only continue forward, or I may be killed for something I apparently know nothing about.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Tom, ther¡¯ onto yer¡¯. Faster!¡±

    Borin shouts at me, and I can only comply to his demands. My tail drags along the ground as I push against the sand ridden ground. I reach Borin in a matter of seconds, and the weaponized villagers were just a few yards behind me. These dwarves were fast on their feet!

    I reach Borin, and he picks me up like a child. I look at him in confusion, but the feeling of something shifting around me occurs, and we both go springing up into the sand ceiling. I close my eyes as soon as the sand touches my head, and in the next second I feel air flowing across my face, and I open my eyes.

    ¡°Well, that was easier then meh thought.¡±

    Borin mumbles to me, and I only nod in response. The warrior dwarf lands a few yards away from a sinkhole, and I notice that the sand doesn¡¯t move. The dark night might have affected my vision on that matter though.

    Borin brushes off some sand from his armor, and looks at me with some guilt in his eyes.

    ¡°Meh sorry bout that Tom. Meh didn¡¯t tell yer¡¯ about the Progression¡­¡±

    I slide on the sand over to Borin, and pat him on the shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright Borin, I¡¯m still human in the end.¡±

    ¡°Technically, yer aren¡¯t.¡±

    I look down, a sheepish smile probably crossing my face. I look at Borin and nod, looking over to the quicksand pit that we had just exited. I look at Borin and point with my thumb, a raised eyebrow signifying a question.

    ¡°Ah yes¡­ Meh can¡¯t go back down to her ugly mug¡­¡± Borin looks over at me and smiles. I begin to see the hint of a tear before he turns away. ¡°Yup! Might as well try ther¡¯ next best thing for civilization.¡±

    I really don¡¯t understand the way this one-sided conversation is going.

    ¡°Um¡­ Borin. How did we get through that quicksand?¡±

    ¡°Easy Tom. That ther¡¯ is nothin.¡±

    ¡°Nothing?¡±

    I walk over to the edge of the pit, and kick some sand on top of the quicksand. Realistically, I expected the sand to go on top of the quicksand. Until I saw the sand go through the quicksand. I peer over the side, and I hear something whistling, like an object going at a very high speed.

    The piercing whistle becomes louder, and I instinctively throw my head backwards, and just in time too as a very familiar hammer comes flying out of the illusion quicksand. Attached to the hammer, was another familiar object, named Ulia. The mad gleam in her eye has returned!

    I quickly shuffle backwards on my tail, leaving a trail that had me written all over it. Ulia lands where I just was, and looks at Borin. I can see the red color on her face, and I know she isn¡¯t happy.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going, Borin!¡±

    Borin freezes, and immediately turns around, a cheesy smile on his face. The beard only emphasizes the look.

    ¡°Why, lookie her¡¯, the chief is back. How may meh help yer¡¯ needs?¡±

    Ulia doesn¡¯t respond with words, but violence, as she throws her hammer at Borin. However, Borin only ducks to dodge the incoming projectile, and begins to crack his knuckles.

    ¡°Yer¡¯ on meh turf now, yer¡¯ crazy bitch. Meh gonna need ter show yer'' meh serious side.¡±

 4.4 - Fight for Dominance

    Short chapter, sorry for late release. I''ve been contemplating changing the title of the story to something that makes sense. Any ideas readers?

    Also, I was thinking of putting the chapter parts together into regular full chapters to make it easier to read. Good idea?

    ------------------------------------------------------------

    Opening up his right fist, Borin makes a grabbing motion. Ulia jumps towards me as her hammer flies back into her hand. Her attention is now entirely taken by Borin.

    Where Ulia once stood, I can make out a little shimmer in the air that suddenly pushes away the sand. Most likely the wind, but I don¡¯t know what manipulating radiation can do, or what abilities radiation grants.

    ¡°You can¡¯t hit worth shit!¡±

    Ulia shouts out at Borin, and throws her hammer once again, a little spark appearing between her finger and the handle of the hammer. It flies towards Borin, and he simply bends backwards, the hammer flying over him. He smirks at Ulia.

    ¡°Yer¡¯ still can¡¯t control that hammer of yers¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Really? I wonder..¡±

    Narrowing her eyes, Ulia begins to make shapes with her fingers, and the hammer stops only a few yards away from Borin, and immediately starts spinning, the sound of the air being forcibly pushed becomes audible. Borin immediately pales, and begins to wave his hands around, similar to a mime but much more fluid of a motion.

    From the hammer, sparks ensue, and pelt the area in a shower of electricity. It bounces off of Borin, and the sparks that surround me disappear instantly. Although I am but a spectator, I am being drawn into the battle.

    Borin stops his waving motion when the sparks all disappear, and he then pulls out from out of nowhere, a bastard sword easily double his height. The hammer flies back into Ulia¡¯s outstretched grasping hand, and the two stare at each other for a while.

    Borin makes the first move as he runs forward, his feet kicking up the sand behind him, the sword leaving a trail as it is dragged in the sand.

    ¡°Ha! You still have that toy Borin?¡±

    Ulia sneers at Borin¡¯s sword, and she hits the sand with her hammer, causing sparks to fly out from her hammer and into the sand. I half-expected the earth to move apart like a faultline, but instead tiny particles of sand begin to rise in the air.

    Small sparks dance upon each particle, each particle beginning to vibrate enough to cause it to be audible. Borin begins to spin around with his sword, looking similar to a bola, and clears away the obviously dangerous sand. After a few seconds, Borin stops to look around. His beard scrunches up when he lifts his eyes upwards, to find the sun blotted out by a shadow.

    I watch as Ulia comes crashing down onto Borin, causing his sword to spiral and dig deep into the sand. With only one arm free, Borin fiercely punches Ulia in the face, just as she is lifting her hammer above the two of them.

    Being punched away from her mounted position, Ulia spits out some blood trickling down her chin, smiling her bloody smile.

    ¡°Just like old times, eh Borin?¡±

    Replying with a grunt, Borin stands up and grabs the hilt of his sword, effectively pulling it out of the ground and facing its bladed edge towards Ulia. He grins, but I only see a red smile, and a red beard.

    He charges forward, straight at Ulia¡¯s kneeled position. When he runs into her range, she swings the hammer against his legs. Borin jumps over her, and while going heels over head, he swings his blade upon her back. Ulia sees this happening out of the corner of her eye, before she goes sprawling out into the sand, the hammer only a few inches from her loose fingers.

    I make my way over to Ulia, and bend over to pick up the hammer.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t take her livelihood from her.¡±

    I look up at Borin staring at me, and I back away from the hammer and Ulia¡¯s still form. Borin sheaths the bastard sword on his back, walking over to Ulia and kneeling down next to her.

    ¡°And just like old times, yer¡¯ still lost. Funny, meh thought age would make yer¡¯ grow into an adult. But yer¡¯ still a kid.¡±

    Borin strokes away at Ulia¡¯s hair, brushing it behind the ear.

    I turn around quickly, to not disturb such a precious moment. Although, I don¡¯t exactly know what kind of ¡®precious¡¯ this would be going towards. I smile slightly as I realize my wit, and I look off out into the sky, as I see yellow clouds and a nice blue line crossing through the clouds, off to who knows where.

    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    I point out the blue line to Borin, after he had decided to stand up from his touching moment.

    ¡°Is that a natural phenomenon? It looks spectacular.¡±

    Hearing no reply, I look behind me to see a white, pale face covered with his big beard.

    ¡°D-d-d-d-damn. We need to hurry for ther¡¯ next city.¡±

    ¡°Why? Is that blue line in the sky something dangerous?¡±

    ¡°No, but ther¡¯ things that thing may attract can definitely be dangerous.¡±

    ¡°What things Borin?¡±

    Ignoring the question Borin begins to drag Ulia to where the pit was, and like a sandbag she is tossed over its edge. I gape at the scene, but quickly shut my mouth as I see a plume of dirt out in the distance. Borin looks at me, then looks at where the dust trail is, and he becomes more frantic. Using his hands and power, he brings me over to him forcefully, and begins to run at a speed that on my feet, I would never be able to keep up with.

    The dust cloud begins to get bigger as we start running in a direction away from it. Whatever is causing Borin to be scared, is a hell of a lot faster than Borin himself.

    ¡°Borin, we can¡¯t keep running. It looks like whatever you¡¯re scared of is faster than you.¡±

    Borin only pants as exhaustion begins to take the toll on his mind and body, and only after a few minutes of running that would put sport cars to shame, he collapses on his hands and knees.

    ¡°Boy¡­ ha.. Yer¡¯ gonna hav to¡­ fight.¡±

    I nod at his statement, as Borin looks like he couldn¡¯t even swat a fly, or whatever is the equivalent of a fly on this planet.

    I turn myself around to look at the dust cloud, and I stretch out my arms, cracking my knuckles and popping my elbows. I cross my arms, and I sit down upon the hot sand, in the middle of nowhere with the blue light to my left and an enigma to my right.

    It doesn¡¯t take long for a body of some gigantic lizard to make it¡¯s appearance in front of me. When it draws close enough to either smell or see me, it flicks out a forked tongue and starts heading towards me and Borin.

    I grimace as I make out the size of the lizard before my eyes, as it continues to get bigger as it draws closer. At least two stories tall, and a body the size of a nuclear submarine, I couldn¡¯t see how I would fight this thing, and the reason for Borin¡¯s apparent fear was made a reality before me.

    Taking long strides with its humongous feet, the lizard that highly resembles a Komodo dragon quickly reaches in front of my still, but shaking form. The sun itself gets blocked by the overly large shadow this creature cast upon the ground.

    I shakingly stand up off the ground, and attempt to look directly at the lizard¡¯s eyes. It looks straight at me as it finally reaches in front of me. I get into my battle stance, my tail sweeping across the ground. Steam hisses off of my cybernetic arm as I prepare for a battle, even if there was no chance of winning.

    With a loud crash, the bottom of the lizard suddenly hits the ground, causing me to slightly go off balance, and I look at the eyes of the lizard. I see no malicious intention directed at me, but rather something else. I look over at Borin who was supposed to be wheezing and panting, only to find his dimension pocket where he once was.

    I turn back to the lizard, and it tilts its head at me, and its tail begins to shake.

    I suddenly realize the look in the eyes of the lizard, it¡¯s adoration! Although creepy, but I can¡¯t question good luck.

    The lizard and I continue to stare as the clock in my brain continues to tick by. I hear Borin stepping onto the sand, and his shouting.

    ¡°Why ther¡¯ hell are yer¡¯ having a starin contest!? Kill it!¡±

    I hear his feet pitter patter as I look into the lizard¡¯s eyes. It lowers its head to the ground, and seeing this as a sign to let me on, I bound towards the head and hop on, sitting down relaxedly.

    ¡°Hey Borin! Hop on, this guy¡¯s all right!¡± I shout out to Borin¡¯s confused figure.

    ¡°How ther hell do yer know?!¡± Borin shouts out worried/angry.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m dominant!¡± I say with absolute fake confidence, as who can say that they only stared down a lizard to allow it to give them a ride?

 5.1 - Glass City of Forlom

    RL is a pain, but I''ve been typing steadily bit by bit. idk how long the chapter portion is, but I apologize as the next release will take just as long. This chapter was mainly informative, with nothing action worthy. But it is introducing new elements to the story. Enjoy, and ask questions, I''m on often because I''m a fan of Zephon haha.

    On a side note, it did take up two/three pages... and like my character, I do mutter these types of lines. Weird? But a little comedy flavoring.

    You also noticed I''m copying someone else with the type of chapter portion releases. This is because it works a little bit better when I don''t want the story to advance too fast. Although, it is slow already... right Sora-chan? xD

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ¡°So am I a monster Borin?¡±

    ¡°Heh? Meh thought we went over this already.¡±

    ¡°Well, Ulia accused me of being one¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let her get to yer¡¯. Ther reason for her reaction is cause no human that has come her¡¯, has ever become somethin else besides elvish of dwarf.¡±

    Sitting atop the lizard, we were talking about the world of Vernier, how there are different levels of civilization, how the planet is actually alive in a sense, like a plant or tree would be. How I was actually most likely something else more than human, and how the Progression hasn¡¯t hijacked my brain and turned me into a monster.

    On Vernier, every child goes through an aptitude test to discover which path they will tread upon, and how there will only be at most two different choices for humans, elves or dwarves. Dwarves existed out in the cosmos somewhere, just like the elves, but radiation caused mutations that were irreversible, and occured in the whole body. That is basically how there were no pure humans on Vernier, since they came here and either become elves or dwarves.

    However, the way my body changed told me that there was more to it that meets the eye, and Borin caught me eyeing my own arm and hastily explains that although I am human, I have some type of blood in me that isn¡¯t humanoid.

    To skip through Borin¡¯s rough lecture, it was simply this. Animals that have been exposed to radiation through multiple generations gradually gained a humanoid type body, albeit they still have tails, ears, scales, or something else identifiable for their species.

    Although I am human, I also developed something akin to an animal¡¯s humanoid body. Borin tells me that this happens in some cases, but the animal that doesn¡¯t turn humanoid becomes a monster. Which Borin then continues into what types of radiation abilities there are.

    I get a headache each time I try to remember, as if my memory is becoming faulty, despite my perfect memory. I do remember after some time, what those three abilities are.

    Enhancement. Manipulation. Reproduction. All the different ways radiation can be used, will be categorized into these three types.

    Enhancement is a form of strengthening or weakening. Making someone¡¯s strength have a lot of speed, or a lot of power are the basics of this field of radiation. Applying fire or ice to someone is another form of enhancement. However, there are certain limits to the enhancing of an object or person, so it is dangerous when the enhancer is much more powerful than the person or object receiving the ¡®upgrade¡¯. Slimes exist as well, and are the ultimate species for enhancing or upgrading.

    Manipulation is an all-around type of ability. A person can do anything except enhance or heal. Form walls of sand or air, or create fireballs out of the radiation. Typically, ice is easier to create than water due to ice being of an extreme nature. The best comparison I can think of for this ability was a mage from an RPG.

    Reproduction radiation ability is the ability to permanently change shape of living things, or healing injuries. It has everything to with disease as well, and is an uncommon ability. Those that are found with this ability are often recruited by the city, no matter how they appear. Humans that have become elves or dwarves are usually the ones with this ability, typically it is seen in elves.

    After over an hour of explaining, I look off the top of the lizard¡¯s head to gaze out into the desert. I squint as something reflects light into my eyes, and Borin chuckles at my predicament.

    ¡°That ther is the majority city, where most of yer kind find themselves typically.¡± Borin says as he points to where the reflected light is coming from.

    I squint my eyes as we continue to slither forward on top of the lizard¡¯s head. We traveling closer every second, and I begin to make out the buildings that make up the upper portion of the city. The bottom can¡¯t be seen, as the glare from the buildings still blinds me from that area.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    The city before me was a floating city. I can definitely see that, and Borin chuckles once again as he sees my jaw drop from the odd sight.

    ¡°Yep. That there is ther pride of the wastes, the Glass City of Forlom. Where, according to history books in meh old village, is the birthplace of many a tale, good or bad.¡±

    Borin raises an eyebrow and smirks. ¡°That¡¯s gonna be the start of yer tale.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, my tale?¡± I ask after my brain recovers from the shock.

    Borin puts his hand on my scaly shoulder, then quickly shifts over to my regular shoulder with his other hand as he brushes off something on his hand. ¡°Tom, yer gonna be big. Meh knows this as a fact. Look at this lizard! It¡¯s a wild Sand Shroud, a monster that¡¯s dangerously hard to train.¡± He pokes a hand into my chest. ¡°And yer ridin¡¯ it.¡±

    I only look at him, as I don¡¯t have anyone to compare to besides the dwarf village and Borin himself. ¡°Your point being?¡±

    Giving me a look, Borin throws his hands up into the air. ¡°Why are yer so stupid!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t this, but I was raised in the wilderness. I never really cared much for whatever point you are talking about.¡±

    ¡°Urgh¡­ Boy, we¡¯re just gonna show up in the Lower City to showcase meh point.¡± Borin turns away from me and folds his arms. I shrug and wait for our little ride to be over.

    We reach the gate to the lower half of the city that I didn¡¯t see from before. The gate was connected to a protective gray wall that appeared to surround the whole city, and the gate itself had an appearance similar to marble. But we reach the gate on our feet, because Borin began to sweat when he had an inspirational thought that caused us to stop a distance away from the gate itself, which gave us time to leap of the lizard and give farewells to our short encounter, well, my short encounter

    Two imposing, gigantic guards stood to each side of the gate that had the appearance of a door. Reaching up as high as the lizard, the gate stood imposingly before me, the shadow casted from the upper portion of the city looming before the two of us. The guards stood in full, black plated armor, in contrast with the ¡®marble¡¯ doors.

    Borin stood in front of me, as he silently glares at the two guards. I can barely make out the two guards shivering, and seeing how this is a desert, I highly doubt it¡¯s from the cold. Just who is Borin?

    When the guards gesture for Borin to pass, he mutters, ¡°Well it¡¯s about damned time¡­ incompetent buffoons¡­¡± The guards looks straight ahead, as far as I could tell as I follow along with Borin. As soon as I walk through the gates, I stop to stare at what is around me.

    Thinking along the lines of Dorothy, ¡°I¡¯m not in Kansas anymore..¡±

    Borin looks back over his shoulder, ¡°Hm? Did yer say somethin¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Ah, no. Nope. Nada.¡± I frantically wave my arms in front of me, denying the truth.

    Borin shrugs as he continues to walk forward into a bustling city square. I stare at awe at how¡­ uniform the place was, and that the area was littered with guard patrols, with their obvious black armor coming out of the crowd. Rows upon rows of shops were lined up against sides of buildings made from brick and mortar, merchants of various appearances yelling out into the mass of road worn people in the street to buy their wares.

    ¡°I would believe it if you said that a flash mob is in hiding here, Borin.¡±

    ¡°Hm? What yer¡¯ say?¡± Borin looks back to me with a scruffy eyebrow raised. I shrug my shoulders, and he grunts, continuing forward through the throng of people.

    We arrive in front of bakery, the smell of pastries entering both my nostrils. Even Borin turns slightly towards the display case, but instead of entering the welcoming place, he turns away towards the other side of the street, to a shack that shouldn¡¯t even be there because of the ominous feeling one could get from the place.

    Borin walks up to the door, a sign next to the door reading ¡®Mana¡¯s Emporium¡¯. Borin quietly taps on the wooden door, and then the door itself comes crashing down, as if he used too much force from tapping it. I follow up behind him when suddenly he is pulled into the shop. I quicken my pace until I feel myself going unnecessarily faster as some unknown force pulls me through the door, but not without my claws gripping onto the wooden frame, leaving grooves in the wood.

 5.2 - Manas Emporium and...

    Since I don''t know who reads this, I''ll thank you now. Thanks for reading.

    Graduation is upon me, and I can''t help but think, why can''t I not age? I don''t want to grow older...

    Anyways, here''s the deal in Mana''s Emporium. Enjoy.

    ---------------------------------------------

    Endless darkness. That¡¯s the only word to describe what I could see. Or couldn¡¯t, as it¡¯s hard to tell when there is nothing to see. The way I moved across the floor because of the unknown force really didn¡¯t sit well with me, but there was nothing I could do but flail my hands around me.

    But all things must come to an end, as I feel something press against my bottom, my tail striking what I could only guess as the floor. My back rests gently against something hard, and I let out a sigh of relief from the experience I just went through. It felt short, but being in a dark place, a person can never find out what time it is.

    ¡°Well well, look what the cat dragged in..¡± A disembodied voice echoes through my right ear, and I turn that way to find only the dark space before me. A chuckles comes after my quick head turn, and I turn back to what I thought was straight.

    ¡°Now now, no need to be afraid. It was Borin who brought you here after all.¡± The voice becomes more feminine, and I raise my eyebrow at the voice.

    ¡°If you know that, why don¡¯t you show yourself?¡± I ask out loud, and the voice chuckles.

    ¡°That is only something you can do yourself.¡±

    ¡°Something I can do myself? I can¡¯t see in the dark!¡± I reply in earnest, and the womanly voice laughs, but nothing else comes after.

    I spend a moment mulling over what she said, and I try to think of a way to get rid of the darkness. She, the voice I heard, is telling me to dispel the darkness. Doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯m the only one who can¡¯t see? Maybe, just maybe, I¡¯m in an actual room, as my bottom testifies. If that is the case..

    I stand up on the floor, or at least I think it is, and do one simple motion.

    I kick in front of me.

    I hear a gasp of pain, and a solid thud on the floor. The darkness around me starts to become lighter as I continue to look straight ahead. I begin to be able to make out simple things, like a figure on the ground, a couple tables, a chair, a bed, etc. I make out another figure on a chair as well, and the hulking figure brings to mind one person.

    Borin.

    I walk over to where Borin sits, and he turns around as soon as he hears my first step. With a hairy smile, Borin gestures to the one person on the floor.

    ¡°Yer know, yer should greet this shop owner more properly. She might die at any second.¡±

    ¡°I AM NOT THAT OLD!¡± the woman shouts from on the floor, and lifts herself off the ground. Her arms shaking, she stands on her feet and brushes off nonexistent dirt, and the visible wrinkles on her clothes.

    She glares at me sullenly, and I look back to Borin, who gestures to the woman once again. I turn around and sigh, bowing at my waist.

    ¡°I greet you, mam.¡± I blandly say to her. I attempt to stay as monotone as possible. Her reaction was to laugh at my greeting though.

    ¡°You, haha, can¡¯t even greet a stranger properly! You suck at it!¡± She clutches her small stomach as I look down at her, no longer bowing to her small figure.

    Dressed in all black clothes, she grins a smile that shows a contrasting white. Upon her body was simply leather black jacket, leather black pants, leather black gloves. Does she have an obsession with leather? Or the color black?

    Turning towards Borin, she sticks out her tongue and lifts up her middle finger. A universal language, indeed.

    ¡°You¡¯re such a bastard, Borin. I am not that old, I¡¯m only¡­¡± She tilts her head cutely, as her black hair shifts along with it. She sticks out her tongue, ¡°Hehe, I can¡¯t remember my last birthday.¡± Her eyes narrow, ¡°Borin, why haven¡¯t you thrown my birthday?¡±

    Grunting, Borin gives the woman a look over, from head to toe, his eyes pausing near her chest¡­ or lack of chest. ¡°Well, that¡¯s because yer an immortal bi-¡±

    Borin doesn¡¯t finish as he goes flying into the wooden wall, armored and similar to a bullet, his head gets stuck in the wall, the rest of his sentence lost. The woman/girl quickly hides her fist from sight, and glances at me, more specifically at my left side, and right arm. She bows at me now.

    ¡°Greetings, newcomer, to Vernier. I am the hostess of Mana¡¯s Emporium, and although I have many names, just call me Mana.¡± She smiles brightly, as her aura shifts to the dark side. I shiver slightly, as she continues.

    ¡°I¡¯m Mana the entrepreneur, the illusionist, the wicked woman, the-¡± She continues to build up her confidence with many, many titles. My feet begin to ache after the 300th self-acclaimed title, and so I sit down on the chair I had begun on. Borin managed to get his head out of the wall after the 100th title, and was drinking out of a tea cup meant for little girls, pink and flowered. A pleasant and pleased smile was on his face for some time.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    She finally finishes at 350th title, the self-proclaimed Dark Seductress of Men. I chuckle slightly, just enough so she doesn¡¯t hear, but she still ends up giving me a little glare.

    ¡°So, I can make a guess as to why you are here. But I¡¯m curious, why do you think you are here?¡± Mana asks, and I suddenly find my mind blank. Borin was the one who led me here to Mana¡¯s Emporium and I merely followed.

    ¡°Well, I mainly followed Borin because he¡¯s the one who found me in the desert.¡± I shift my eyes to Borin, but he makes no sound at the mention of his name, and still has the blissful expression on his face. I look back at Mana to find her arms crossed and looking at me intently.

    I scratch my cheek, ¡°Well, I want to find my Mother and my friend, but I don¡¯t know where to begin.¡±

    Mana smiles at me, and uncrosses her arms. Walking closer to me, she places a hand on my forehead, muttering something that I couldn¡¯t even hear, despite how close she is to me. After a few minutes of silence, she backs away from me and looks directly in my eyes.

    ¡°You will need to be stronger in order to find them, and after looking for and finding them using you as the centerpoint, only one of the two people you are looking for are on this planet. The other one, she isn¡¯t on Vernier.¡± Giving me a pat on my shoulder she walks towards Borin¡¯s blissful form, and swiftly kick him out of his stupor, using her foot on his head.

    With a crash on the floor, he groans. I smile slightly at the sight, but could only think over what she said on their locations. At least I knew that one of them was on this planet, but where? I get off the chair and walk towards the two who begin to throw punches at each other.

    Slightly wondering at their relationship, I could only ask another time.

    ¡°Will you give me the direction she is at?¡± I ask Mana, as she throws a punch at Borin. She looks at me with indifference, although the hint of a smile appears each time she throws a punch that hits Borin¡¯s face.

    ¡°Can¡¯t do that quite yet. You need training.¡± A few fleshy smacks later and Borin stands next to me holding a swollen cheek. He glares at the woman who did this, and Mana only smiles at his predicament.

    ¡°What type of training? I think my body is fine as it-¡± Holding up a finger, Mana shuts my mouth. ¡°No no, you don¡¯t understand. That isn¡¯t really your body anymore, so you as you are now isn¡¯t fine. Also, you have to train your radiation ability.¡± She removes her finger and wipes it on her pants.

    ¡°I have a radiation ability? What is it?!¡± I speak a little louder than I should, but she flippantly waves her hand at my question.

    ¡°The generic, and most bland type. Body strengthening. You can only enhance your body¡¯s natural,¡± She looks at my right arm, the light seemingly being absorbed by the black metal that makes up it¡¯s entirety. ¡°and unnatural abilities and capabilities.¡±

    I nod at her words, but then suddenly I remember that I should still have my liquid manipulation ability, right? Was there something wrong with my head? Did I not have it anymore? Or maybe I do... ¡°How do you know that?¡± I ask casually.

    She waves her hand, and Borin dodges it. She tsks slightly, ¡°I¡¯m not like you, I can manipulate the radiation particles in the air to look into your head, and make you see illusions.¡±

    ¡°Illusions?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Illusions. As in this might not be my real body at all, and you might not even be standing.¡±

    I nod at her explanation, but I could care less about her body. It wasn¡¯t even appealing to my libido.

    Borin rubs his swollen cheek slightly, and begins to speak. ¡°Just to let you know, you also have to get used to your body too. And your ability to control that tail of yours.¡±

    Mana nods, and continues, ¡°That is why Borin will be working on that, and I will be helping you train your ability to manipulate radiation and use it for enhancing.¡±

    ¡°Alright, but I have a question.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead, but if it¡¯s about Borin¡¯s way of speaking, then it¡¯s a no, since I can¡¯t use my ability on brain dead oafs. He¡¯s talking normally because there IS something wrong with him.¡±

    ¡°I already knew that¡­ But when will training be done? I have to find my family.¡±

    In response to my question, Mana points up. I look at the roof, then look back down at her.

    ¡°The roof? That isn¡¯t really time sensitive..¡±

    ¡°No, you imbecile. Your training will be done when you reach the Upper City.¡±

    In the background, Borin nods his head in approvement, although he is shaking slightly. I hope this isn¡¯t going to be devilishly hard¡­ Wait, what''s the Upper City... Is it the floating part of the city?

    Seeing my face pale, Mana''s laughter becomes horribly wicked. Just what have I done...

 5.3 - A Little Talk

    A little short, but I had some free time so I wanted to improve on the story. Thanks for the help on pointing out story mistakes, I only have the plot in my head, and not on paper.

    Enjoy the chapter, I was feeling humorous today.

    ------------------------------------------------------

    ¡°Sit down.¡±

    Borin points to a chair in the middle of a very blank room. It was completely white, with no cracks to show tiling, or shadows to suggest lighting. Even our own shadows were gone. The chair Borin points to is metal, with straps made to keep someone in the chair firmly rooted into the metal itself.

    I walk over to the single, lonely chair. Sitting down, it takes a little bit of time before my tail gets through the hole in the back of the chair. It flops onto the floor uselessly, making the sound of a fat guy in armor falling onto the floor. Otherwise known as clunky.

    I look over at Borin. ¡°Are we still inside Mana¡¯s Emporium?¡± I ask him.

    ¡°Yep! Everything yer see is done by Mana herself, well, besides that chair.¡±

    I guess this meant that Mana had already been inside my head. I wonder she had managed to do that, wasn¡¯t there some prerequisite that is in place? Like physical contact or something?

    ¡°Tom, snap out of it. Yer trainin is going to start.¡±

    I come out of my thinking to discover Borin on his knee, with his hands tightening the straps unnecessarily tight around my legs, forehead, arms, and waist. The only thing that was left free by Borin¡¯s hands was my tail¡­ which I had no idea as to how to move it. I struggle slightly in my bonds.

    ¡°Yer can¡¯t get out of bonds made by Mana herself. She¡¯s a nasty one, alright.¡± Borin grunts satisfactorily and begins to turn around from my trapped position.  I begin to rock the chair back and forth.

    ¡°How is this training!?¡± I yell out to Borin, which in response he turns around, with an expression that screams ¡®I forgot!¡¯

    ¡°Well, hehe, sorry bout that kiddo. Meh should¡¯ve said somethin about yer trainin from yers truly.¡± He scratches his chin, or beard, I couldn¡¯t really tell. ¡°Yes! Anyways, Meh havin yer body train by using yer tail to get out of this here bonds. Don¡¯t worry though, Mana is comin in right after meh.¡± With a smile, Borin turns away with a heavy skip to his step.

    I curse Borin under my breath, despite his active role in my survival. How could he leave me here, wherever here is?

    Almost after that thought runs through my head, Mana pops into existence right before me. She looks around, as if searching for something. I look around too, almost out of habit, and I discover Borin already disappeared. Just where did that bas-.. guy go?

    Mana looks back at me, and smiles sweetly. Almost too sweetly, it kind of made me sick in the stomach. Mana points a finger at the ground in front of me, and a chair plops down out of nowhere. She sits down on the chair with the back of the chair facing me.

    Mana stares directly at me, her face a blank slate. I stare right back, and I can¡¯t really tell how long that was. It felt like an eternity until her face turns into a scowl.

    ¡°How did you get the chip in your head?¡±

    I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Always had it.¡±

    ¡°Well, you should.. No, I probably shouldn¡¯t tell you. You¡¯ll find out on your own.¡± She throws something in her mouth that looks like bubble gum, and begins to chew it. ¡°So, when I went through your head, I told you about your radiation ability, but I didn¡¯t tell you something else.¡± She blows a bubble in front of my face.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°What is that something else?¡±

    ¡°You lost your ability of¡­ something manipulation? Liquid? Humans from Earth have odd names for states of matter. Anyways, you can think that your previous ability turned into your body strengthening ability. The absorption of the radiation stone from that beast in the Great Waste also contributed to your radiation ability¡¯s¡­ peculiar traits.¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait. Something smells fishy here. Are you saying you went through my head?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but you gave me permission.¡± The bubble pops and before the backlash damage of bubble gum appears, it disappears. ¡°Before you ask, I can only look into someones head with their permission. Illusions are trickeries in your head, and get be rid of easily.¡±

    I begin to have a foreboding feeling in my gut. ¡°Why are you telling me all of this?¡±

    She smiles. ¡°Because I¡¯m bored, and you are a newcomer to this world.¡± She blows a bubble again, and it blows into her face. She looks at me with narrowed eyes. ¡°This invention of Earth, this bubble gum, is a horrible invention.¡±

    ¡°Stop changing the subject!¡± I rattle the chair slightly, trying to headbutt her. But it feels like the chair is bolted down, so I don¡¯t even move a centimeter.

    ¡°Since you are in this dreamspace I created, I could, for example, make that chair an executioner chair. It¡¯ll be a shocking experience!¡± Mana peers close to my face, and I quickly look away. Why is she threatening me!?

    ¡°N-No, I¡¯m f-fine.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re no fun.¡± Mana pouts, and goes back to her original awkward sitting position.

    I look around once again, and an idea comes into my head. ¡°Why am I in this, this dreamspace? Wouldn¡¯t reality work better than this place?¡±

    A satisfactory smile grows on her face, and Mana begins to explain in a quick pace. ¡°Well, you probably don¡¯t know how a brain works, but when a brain sends signals to the spinal cord, it-¡±

    ¡°No, I know how it works. So, if I had a good guess, I believe that your illusion ability allows you to counter these signals and send fake ones.¡±

    Mana begins to clap her hands. ¡°Wow! First try, although, it¡¯s a cheat to have that chip in your head, but I can¡¯t mess with it or you could be like Borin¡¯s brother.¡± I begin to nod my head, but my head is still strapped to the chair. I feel a little glum when the dream has become reality for me.

    Mana smiles a sad smile, and pats the top of my head. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you only have to practice moving that tail of yours. I only came here to explain and talk with you. So if you don¡¯t have any more questions, I¡¯m going.¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you supposed to train my radiation ability?¡± I hurriedly ask.

    Mana pauses for just a moment. ¡°Just think of it as if it was your previous ability on Earth. Same concept after all, just now it¡¯s on the inside. No training to use it required.¡± She blinks out of existence, leaving me alone in the white room.

    ¡°Hello? Anyone? Don¡¯t leave me alone! I need help¡­¡±

    No answer comes, and I continue to sit in the white room. I begin my training by trying to move the tail, and I can feel something rising, almost wanting to be let out. I try even harder to move my tail, and then¡­

    *(Put in sound of a very loud, nasty fart)*

    Well¡­ I think I just crapped myself. This might be longer than I was hoping.

 5.4 - Training Breakthrough

    Hey! Author here. New elements of a different nature will start appearing. Y''know, since training has basically turned into adventuring now. Sorry for the late chapter. Uh.. enjoy? I don''t think I forgot anything. Next chapter is a side story, still part of chapter 5. Then it will be 6! We''re finally moving the story along. Well, I am at least. More action awaits!

    Tell me if my story makes sense so far. I want to know.

    --------------------------------------------------------

    Finally, the strap on my forehead was loosened, and I slip myself out of the chair, sliding on to the floor. I am extremely exhausted, especially just above my ass. My tail flops down next to me, and I make it wrap around my hand. The tail felt foreign, and yet it felt like I¡¯ve always known how to move it.

    I suddenly feel a slight pressure above my eyebrows, and I close my eyes to try and block out the pain. It fades just as fast as it appears, and I open my eyes to find.. a wooden room. A very familiar room.

    On the tables, a deck of cards lay. Borin and Mana are staring intently at each other, and I swear I can hear their teeth grinding. I pause my breath, waiting for the obvious action that comes next.

    ¡°Do yer have a.. 2?¡± Borin asks, his hands shaking.

    ¡°Nope, Go Fish!¡± Mana cracks out, and tilts her head to laugh. Borin solemnly grabs a card from the small deck of cards.

    They were playing a game of Go Fish.. Did Mana take that from my head too?

    ¡°Ah, looks like the first part of the training is done. That actually didn¡¯t take that long.¡± Mana comments, and puts down the cards in her hand. Borin jumps and shouts with cards flying out of his hands.

    ¡°I won! Finally! Against the Tricky Bi-.¡± Borin¡¯s mouth is then stuffed full of cards by Mana¡¯s instant reaction. Mana walks over to the chair I was on, which surprisingly was real. Or did Borin say that the chair was real? I can¡¯t remember, it felt like days.... I can¡¯t really expect an answer from him now though, and I send a glare towards Borin.

    ¡°Good to know that you got out of my illusion.¡± Mana says to me.

    ¡°That kind of felt like an illusion if that makes sense, so I¡¯m guessing I have to train my tail again?¡± I ask. I look down at the still form of my blue tail.

    ¡°No, you did train it. You just have to train your body to match your thought processes.¡± Mana pats me on the shoulder. ¡°Before you ask, let me explain.¡±

    I give her a look, and she smiles while Borin coughs out the remaining cards in his mouth. ¡°My illusion ability allows me to manipulate your senses, I¡¯ve told you this yes?¡±

    ¡°You may have¡­ skimmed over the subject, Mana!¡± Borin yells right into Mana¡¯s ear. In return, a fist hits him in the nose.

    ¡°Well, as I was saying.¡± She gives Borin a glare before continuing. ¡°I can manipulate your senses, and this also means your internal clock. So what I am trying to say is that your thought processes are thinking at a much higher pace than the world around you at this moment.¡± She points over to a table where a spider is crawling conveniently.

    ¡°Look at that spider, and tell me, doesn¡¯t it seem to scuttle slower?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be tricked. Don¡¯t you have me in an illusion still?¡± I cross my arms and give her a small death glare. Mana is unaffected and continues to point at the spider. I sigh and look over to it, and that¡¯s when I realize I can see the spider¡¯s legs moving one by one.

    ¡°It¡¯s so slow!¡±

    I get hit in the head by a karate chop. ¡°No, you are thinking much faster. Your chip in your head is allowing this to happen, and only you can control the speed.¡± Mana explains. I nod my head in firm understanding, because of how simply she said it. I could¡¯ve worded it much better than her, I think.

    I get a chop in the head, again. Cringing from the subtle pain, I look at Mana with tears slightly in my eyes. ¡°Why did you do that Mana?¡± She turns away and walks towards the door. Mana looks over her shoulder and beckons me to follow. ¡°Because I felt like it, little lizard. Now follow me.¡±

    I walk forward, everything around me going at a slower pace, even my own walking. Borin begins to say something to me, but I can¡¯t make out what words he is using. And even if I replied, I would probably talk too fast. I walk past him, glancing toward him and raising my eyebrow, before moving on ahead to the door, where beyond that threshold I know that I will be pulled through.

    Reaching the doorway, I don¡¯t pause and step into the darkness, where the outside world should be. I close my eyes for the light to shine on my face as soon as I feel soft dirt beneath my feet. Wait, dirt? Wasn¡¯t I in a city with pavement?

    I open my eyes to find an entire jungle before me, complete with vines and snakes, as well as the other animals that lived in tropical rainforests. Rain showered down, as I could hear the drops hit palms way above my head. I mutter to myself, ¡°Where the hell am I, Mana.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re in the forests of Ganmar, the kingdom of beasts.¡± I hear a voice coming from right behind me, and I turn around just in time to find Mana sticking her head out the doorway that was now only up to her nonexistent chest. A space too small for my frame to fit through.

    ¡°Why am I here?¡± I ask her.

    ¡°Well, you need training, and nothing is better for training than real life.¡± Mana smiles, a wicked gleam in her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s also for all those times you called me flat-chested.¡± Her brows turn into a frown.

    ¡°I-I-I never s-s-said that, M-m-mana¡­¡± I stutter, as I could REALLY see where this was heading. My thoughts flash back to when Borin was trying to tell me something. Something¡­ well, this must¡¯ve been what he was trying to tell me. Well, I could guess at what he was saying, but it¡¯s too late now.

    With an evil smile, Mana dips her head back through the remaining door space, and disappears. Leaving me alone in this jungle in a place I don¡¯t even know of. I begin my exercise by venting my lonely anger onto a tree that stood not that far away from me. I kick with my right foot, and follow up with my tail lashing across the trunk. It falls over from the force I exhibited, and I turn away from the tree.

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ I wonder how I¡¯m supposed to train..¡± I mutter to myself. I look around at the trees, the vines, the trees again, some different trees¡­ ¡°This forest is very repetitive..¡± I continue looking around at the trees. Feeling the need for a change of scenery, I begin to walk between two trees that could be mistaken for twins¡­ If trees had families like that, that is.

    Walking between the trees, more trees appeared. Nothing out of the ordinary made its steps towards me. However, something in the ordinary did take a step towards me. Between two other twin-like trees prowled out a beast of an orange magnificence, and black with white stripes criss-crossing its entire body. Each time it moved a paw, I could feel something stirring the air, as if the thing¡¯s presence could affect the very surroundings.

    Wait a minute, that¡¯s a tiger!

    I clench my fists, and get into a basic stance for fighting. One fist up, one fist pulled and ready by my side. My tail I let be, as it relaxed on the ground. I stared at the tiger, as it stared at me with a guttural growl.

    It continued to move forward until it was 3 yards away from me, with a couple trees barring its way to pounce on me. It growls, the piercing gray eyes looking directly at me. I give it the best response I could think of.

    By charging straight at it.

    Running past the trees, I shout at the tiger. ¡°Come on, overgrown fluff ball! Time to beat you black and blue!¡± I bump my shoulder against a tree, spinning myself around to the right. The tiger prowls towards me, and begins to run at me as well. Looks like this is no pussy cat, as the strength it releases kicks up the soft soil and some tree roots into the air. It leaps off the ground and using its claws, digs into the bark of the trees, gaining some lift into the air.

    I charge straight at the tiger, my mouth open with a yell coming out with a tinge of a roar. My left arm is in the air, with my scales clinking together. Pushing through the air, I swing my fist. The tiger is right in front, its mouth open wide displaying its toothy might. Its eyes stare down at me as I glare at it, with my fist just entering my vision.

    The tiger sees my fist coming, and its eyes widen slightly. The sight was comical, but my fist came driving into it¡¯s face, and as my speed of thinking was still high, I could see the little fat on the tiger¡¯s face ripple to the other side of its face. Then the tiger slowly moved away from my face and instantly sped up.

    I look in wonderment at my fist, not even paying attention to the tiger that had landed on its feet a dozen yards away, with trees snapped in half between the two of us. I looked at my normal arm, wrist, and fist. The scales had disappeared from existence, and I looked at the rest of my body to find the blue scales still there, with a slightly duller color blue as its color.

    Beginning to see a connection between my perception, the scales, and my radiation strength, I look up at the kitty cat with a lopsided face.

    Raising my right hand to the beast, I beckon it towards me. ¡°Come on, you fake Halloween decoration. I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s really scary.¡± The tiger growls at me, and begins to run with its head hanging lopsided. A snarl emanates from its face, as I begin to feel the scales on me shift slightly, as if growing and retracting.

    ba-dump

    ba-dump

    Growing with the beating of my heart, the azure scales grow back onto my arm, my perception slowing slightly as I feel a weakness in my legs. My knees wobble slightly, as I take a step forward. The tiger begins to run faster as I take a deep breath, letting the information I just discovered to be put to good use.

    The tiger pounces once again, claws out and the mouth open. To me, the tiger appears in slow motion as I use my arm as a sword, the claws at the end of my hand extending slightly as my arm goes straight. The tiger is in mid-air now, as I push off the ground. Moving forward, I reach into the tiger¡¯s maw.

    The tiger lands behind me as I stop my forward momentum. The tiger falls over, the entrails giving the forest floor a colorful scene. I smile as I look at the pierced heart on my hand, and then I fling it away into the depths of the forest. I hear the sound of rustling grass, as I begin to walk away from the scene of carnage.

    ¡°Well, now to train this radioactive ability of mine.¡± I mutter to myself, when I suddenly feel a splitting headache. I grasp my head, as I fall onto my knees. Closing my eyes, various pictures flash before my eyelids. Each depicts a different scene of carnage, love, sacrifice. Each scene contains different information, of blue trees and purple skies, of red grass and blue mountains. But each scene that flashes by shows me something in common, shows me something I¡¯ve never thought to see again.

    That colorful being that brought me onto Vernier. His species were in each scene, with their skin aglow and no longer so¡­ colorful. Could this perhaps be their.. actual bodies? If so, how else are they connected with me?

    The headache disappears as soon as that last thought drifts into my head, and I pick myself up off the forest floor. Numerous thoughts enter my head, as I think on each thought of my own.

    Do I continue to pursue those I hold dear, or do find out what is behind those images? Obviously, I already made my decision as I look to the sky, where only the trees swayed.

    I have a family to find, the mysteries of my mind will have to wait.

    ¡­...

    But is Mana going to come back for me?