Author's Notes: Well, hello there! I'm Jagsrule5 (otherwise known as Claire) and I am a beginner in the fanfiction world. This would be my first story, and yes, it is a self insert (gasp!). I know, it's pretty typical in the ToS fandom, but I'll try to make this story enjoyable for everyone.

Don't worry, I've spent a lot of time making plenty of flaws for poor little OC Claire, so she shouldn't be a Marysue in any way. But if she gets a little sueish, please tell Kratos so he can cast some Judgement up in here XD. Anyway, please read on and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own ToS, and I never will :'(


The stabbing pain had long since subsided, and left me with a dull ache in the back of my head. I was tired. Too tired to try. What was the point in struggling? I couldn't seem to remember why I was fighting in the first place, but I couldn't shake the feeling of dread. In the end, I decided, forgetting was most likely a gift. Yes, that was what I wanted to believe. And so, firm in my resolve, I succumbed to the blanket of unconsciousness that was fast approaching…

The sunlight shone faintly through my eyelids as I willed myself back to sleep. It smelled wet and humid, like the day after a summer shower, and birds chirped obnoxiously somewhere nearby. But I didn't have the will to go and shut my window. Or maybe I was just lazy… Yeah, that sounded more plausible.

I internally debated whether I should get up, or just try to ignore them. I mean, I was used to birds flocking to the large tree in my yard, waking me up at ungodly hours. This was nothing new… but there was something off.

For one, the birds near my house had a very distinct chirp, and these birds sounded very different than the ones I had always heard. Secondly, it was winter, and winter in Michigan was usually too cold for birds to come. And… why was my back so stiff?

"Nnngghh…" I tried rolling to my side, and noticed for the first time that I had no pillow, or bed for that matter. No bed? That's odd… My eyes shot open. Now somewhat aware of my surroundings, I noticed that I was, in fact, lying on the ground… outside. I was outside. I was outside.

I blinked. Outside? Looking around, I saw that I was on some sort of hilly forest trail, on a downward slope. The forest was thinned on either side of the road, showing a rugged pathway that led downward. "The hell…?" I whispered in disbelief.

Had I fallen asleep outside again? That did seem to happen to me a lot, especially with beautiful weather like this.

But that still didn't explain why it felt so warm here. It felt at least eighty degrees outside, and yet, as far as I could remember, it was winter. And there were no mountains in this area… Where the hell was I?

I tried thinking back to when I fell asleep. Everything felt hazy, almost as if I had been drunk at the time. But I wasn't the kind of person that got drunk like that. I had only been drunk once in my life, and I'd never want to do it again.

Jesus, I couldn't even remember what happened before I fell asleep! I remembered going to the mall with my friends on Sunday, but how long ago was that…? I felt my grogginess wash over me. It was always like this in the morning; it would take me a couple of minutes to fully wake up.

A stray thought popped into my mind. Had I been… kidnapped? This was obviously not Michigan, as I remember only a week ago my family and I had gone sledding at the local park. My sister and I were so excited to see the first snow of the season, we were practically jumping up and down… but there was no snow here whatsoever. In fact, it felt more like summer. Maybe I was out-of-state? As I pieced the information together, the idea that I was kidnapped was starting to make more sense, which is why it scared me the most.

So, where was my captor? Did he just leave me out here for kicks? I could just imagine some sick man sitting in the bushes fighting a fit of laughter because of my misfortune. Maybe they left to get something… like a chainsaw… or a bloody ax.

Shut up, Claire. This is why mom cut you off from the horror movies.

I needed to organize my thoughts.

Okay, so someone had likely kidnapped me, taken me out-of-state, and left me out in the forest, and would probably be back in a little while to do… whatever it was these people do to unsuspecting teenage girls.

Shit.

That didn't help. Okay, calm down Claire. Freaking out would not help the situation; I had to think rationally. My heartbeat was already starting to race as I started to stand up, my first thought to find a place to hide before whoever-it-was came back and found me.

For all I knew, it could be a psychotic mass murderer who only targets seventeen-year-old girls. Though I've never heard of such a thing, the thought alone made me get up a little faster. Maybe I was being paranoid, but I wasn't taking any chances.

It was then that I heard footsteps coming from somewhere up the path.

The cogs in my head started to turn. There was a fifty-fifty chance that this person-or people- was dangerous or not. A kind stranger or a kidnapper… I hesitated. This could be my ticket home.

"…that fighting with two swords …double the power…"

It was a man talking… Did he say swords?

Swords. As in sharp, dangerous swords? I broke into a cold sweat, in which I sprinted at full speed down the slope. No, I was not going to become mincemeat. Not today, thanks.

My mind was filled with images of my possible near future. I was going to be caught by some maniac, destined to become one of those horror stories you see on the news. Or maybe it wouldn't make it to the news. Maybe they would get away with it, and I would just be another missing person. My parents and siblings would mourn for a while, maybe carry some emotional scars. And then the world would move on, like it always has. Oh Lord, I was about to start hyperventilating.

While musing my possible death, I managed to nearly make it to the bottom of the mountain. I noticed that I had only been running for a good two minutes, which meant that whoever put me here left me fairly close to the bottom of the slope. How thoughtful.

I slowed to a jog, listening for footsteps. I couldn't hear anything, so I decided to take a rest. I never was the 'physically fit' type. In fact, I usually avoided running like the plague. My feet throbbed from the workout, and I was panting heavily. Well, at least I wasn't running uphill.

At the bottom of the mountain was a small clearing that I deemed the perfect place for a break… although that gigantic wooden board leaning against the cliff looked kind of unstable. Ah, well. At this point, I really wasn't asking for perfection.

I eased my sore muscles into a sitting position, where I took off my boots and massaged my aching feet.

Now that I was in a somewhat stable mindset, I had to think of a way to get back home; or maybe finding out where I was would be a good place to start. I looked down the road.

If I followed this dirt path, maybe I would eventually come across a town. And where there's a town, there may be a police station. And some deodorant… I was kind of sweaty. Either way, I had to move soon. Whoever those footsteps belonged to was coming this way, and I didn't want to stick around and have a nice chat with my captor.

I groaned from the throbbing in my legs as I attempted to stand up. Okay, I knew I was out of shape, but seriously? I hadn't realized I was so tired.

I shook my head. There was no time to complain about sore feet. It was time to go, and I knew it. I looked up at the path to see if there was a town within walking distance. When I saw nothing, I turned to the forest.

It was then that I saw a little blur of white making it's way over to me from out of the surrounding shrubbery. I tensed and squinted my eyes, still too far away to make out what it could be. I sighed. Now I was definitely wishing I had my contacts. Sometimes being nearsighted sucked.

As the blur came closer, the imaged sharpened, and I found myself a few feet away from… a bunny? It was a rabbit. I had never seen one so close before, at least not in the wild. Whenever I tried to get near the ones at home, they would race off before I even had a chance to see it clearly. But this one wasn't afraid. In fact, it was getting closer.

I smiled and knelt down, holding my hand out to pet it.

Now standing only a few inches from me, I could see this wasn't a normal bunny.

It looked… possessed. It had bright red eyes and… was that foam coming out of its mouth? "Woah!" I screamed as I snapped my hand away. This was quite a predicament. Did I have my rabies shot? Just in case, I backed away slowly, not wanting to startle the creature but still trying to get as much distance between us as possible. "Uhh, nice bunny. You don't want to hurt me, right? It's okay…"

That was when it lunged.

Now, I know what you're thinking: 'Wow, getting your ass handed to you by a rabbit? It's a new low.' But this rabbit bit freaking hard! It tackled me to the ground, gnawing and the left sleeve of my t-shirt with razor sharp teeth. Wait, razor sharp teeth? This was insane.

I probably should have screamed for help. In fact, I should have said anything other than cuss words, which were the only words that would form.

I waved my arm around frantically, still yelling out profanities, but the demon rabbit stayed glued to my arm.

I cried out in pain as the teeth broke into the skin, and I could see that it had drawn blood.

That was when I heard shouting coming from further up the hill. I groaned in frustration. I had a pretty good guess as to who it was, even without looking. Oh joy, the kidnapper had joined the party. This must be my lucky day.

A horrified, decidedly more feminine cry was heard from the same direction. So he had friends? Well, whatever. I had more important things to worry about, like getting this psychotic rabbit off of my arm.

I was still lying on the ground, waving my arm around like a lunatic, when the man ran up next to me and promptly swung a thin blade down on the animal, wounding it's leg and spraying blood everywhere.

He was saving me…?

I couldn't think straight, and I felt slightly nauseous. The blood loss was obviously taking its toll as I felt my legs buckle from and my form slide sluggishly to the ground. The rabbit looked between us for a second, contemplating if he was more angry or hungry. I guess the anger won out, because he loosened his grip on my arm and dropped to the ground, turning toward the man in an aggressive stance.

A young blonde with large, compassionate blue eyes ran up next to him and looked at my arm.

Her eyebrows creased… did she have that twin a second ago? And why was the ground rotating?

"Professor, can you heal her arm? She doesn't look so good…"

"No…get… away…" I mumbled wearily.

She gave me a concerned look, and turned her head to a blue haired woman walking up behind her. The woman's face was stern and professional as her eyes analyzed my condition. "She's obviously delirious… do you… we… to Izoold"

Her lips moved but nothing was being said. Did she ask me something? I was too distracted by these pretty lights moving around the sky. And I could have sworn I saw a giant green puppy dog just a minute ago.

I hope I get to pet it.

"Get yo…ill assassin… away"

Her words were fading out as I shut my eyes. I lost my chance. I could have run. I could have made it to the next town and called for help. It was too late. I could feel the consciousness slipping away fast, and I struggled against it. But my efforts were futile.

Why did I have to pass out now? These people had me in a vulnerable position. And they had weapons. How could I defend myself if I couldn't even hope to escape a stupid bunny? My arm still stung as I felt my body go limp and gave in to the darkness once again…


Well? How was it? I felt this chapter was a bit rushed, but I'm trying to put more detail into my work from now on. :) Reviews are encouraged!