Author's Note;

Welcome! This is the beginning of what will be a large multi-chapter Chaotic fic; only the prologue is in first person. All chapters after this will be in third person. Not centered on any character in particular; all will get their spotlight.

My sincere thanks to my wonderful Betas, Kat and RyoseiHime. They caught all my epic fails.

I hope you enjoy this story, and please leave a review : ) Critiques welcome.

Life is an unyielding and often cruel mistress. We are born, we fight and struggle through the life presented to us and then we die and are forgotten. As the truth behind old legends is forgotten in time; as the meager lifespan of a worm is barely even noticed by its fellow creatures. By this perspective, what is the point in even trying? If living is just a constant and often futile struggle, why must we keep fighting? The simplest answer is just that; because we must.

But, I think this is a pessimist's point of view. It is not life itself that makes living worthwhile; it is the world lived in.

For, if one chooses to stop and look around them, they will see that the world is truly a strange and wondrous place. All around you are fellow creatures and beings that have grown over centuries to make living possible, wherever they may find themselves. Even said environments are not static. Ever changing, ever shifting to add yet another struggle to living; we fight the world, we fight each other, we fight the impossible. The struggle for survival against the impossible is perhaps the most beautiful thing in the world.

No matter what world you may be from; mine, or that mysterious place the humans come from.

Perhaps I should explain; I am from a world that you humans seem to find fascinating, perhaps as fascinating as I find you tiny creatures. Our world is vast, untamed, wild; Perim. In truth, it is the ultimate master. Despite how we may flaunt our power, or control the elements, or start skirmishes against another for territory, Perim itself is in control. One may master the element of Earth; Perim has but to open up and swallow you whole in a chasm.

You humans started to appear a while ago. At first it was alarming, infuriating. You should be glad your 'Codemasters' soon came to give a late explanation to the Leaders of the four tribes; had they come any later, many of you would have been captured, questioned, killed.

But, I digress.

Those things you hold; scanners. They let you appear and disappear at will, transporting you between your world and ours. Many creatures were jealous, at first; more ambitious ones wanted to know how they worked, how those scanners could be used to our advantage. If we could go to your world...you can imagine how that would end for your species.

I observed a few first timers 'port' into Perim for the first time. You were flabbergasted; some happy, the more sensible scared out of their minds. And yet, none of you even knew I was there, or paid attention to your surroundings at all! You frail, largely idiotic little creatures didn't even have the sense to keep an eye or ear out for danger!

Though, as I found through observation, you do have an extraordinary capacity for bouncing back, as they say.

I was fascinated.

But, that faded quickly. Why? Because you were disgusting. I live amongst scum, at least according to the opinions of the other three Tribes of Perim; I know greed, I know treachery, I live amongst thieves and thugs and I have my whole life. And you, of all other creatures I have known disgust me the most.

Even the most cruel, cold-hearted warriors have a sense of dignity and honour.

But YOU! You appeared in our world, and wasted no time in using anything and everything you came upon for your own ends! You pitted creatures against each other, you stole, you backstabbed, you abandoned even your own Tribe; I have seen all this before. I have seen backstabbing, even done so myself. To live where I live and survive, it is a necessary skill.

But never have I seen such a disgusting display of superiority and lawlessness. Even thieves have a code.

Perhaps you did not realize; our world, our lives, our wars are NOT a game. They are a struggle, a fight. Every life is. I started to wonder...did you truly have it so good? Did you truly never have to worry if you would live another day, if you would see those you cherish killed before their time, if you would see your home decimated and not be able to do anything about it? Did you really have a life so easy?

Do you not realize how easy it would be, even for one such as myself, to rip your heads off your fragile little necks?

You play a game here. And it is far more dangerous than you seem to realize.

In truth, those of you whom I observed in those first few days should be glad it was I and not one of my Tribemates. I am an odd one in my tribe. I am not strong, fast, often times I am the cowardly cautious type. I have a defect in my spine, causing a debilitating hunch to develop and get much worse over time. I cannot fight; I need to be defended in a crisis. In my Tribe, I am the epitome of undesirable. The only thing I have going for me is my mind; among my fellow Underworlders, wisdom of any kind is a rare thing.

And wisdom is the only reason I survived in the Underworld; the need to learn and ability to think in more than one direction is what got me to the highly respected (and well protected) position I enjoy today. Advisor to the Lord of the Underworld, currently the fierce warrior known as Chaor, who I hope with all my heart will remain so for a very long time. His father created the position of advisor for me, thanks to a lucky fluke; but that is another story.

Getting back on track, I found it most enjoyable watching you pathetic worms get yourself tangled up in my Tribemates webs...no other Tribe of Perim knows self-serving deceit like the aptly named Underworlders. You get what you give; and you humans would get your just rewards here, that much I knew. I almost felt sorry for the other Tribes; particularly those gullible Overworlders. Oh, the damage you could have done to them...

I began to hate you. I never hated anything in my life, until you. Chaor, thankfully, listened to me; he avoided you. Hid himself away. Attacked if one of you came near, tried to scan him. Of anything else, I absolutely REFUSED to let you hurt Lord Chaor in any way. We have enough trouble with Von Bloot without you aiding the infidel.

He will never rule the Underworld. I will die before that happens! I-

...

Perhaps that statement is in poor taste, considering. Excuse me...I lost my temper. Please, sit. My bark is much worse than my bite, I assure you.

You humans...capable of so many things, so much more than my jaded mind had thought possible. And it was one boy that started the change; first the change in my own mind, then the change in the Underworld, and eventually I believe he and those other three will change all of Perim. Everything happens for a reason, however far down the line...and those four, a Tribal mix, it's so peculiar...

Hm? Oh, I'm sorry. I got a little distracted and drowsy there. Pass me that fruit; thank you. This should give me some energy back. Now where I was I? Ah, yes. The boy.

To say the very least, the boy was a strange one. Kazdan Kalinkas is his name but he was generally called Kaz, as I would learn later. At this time, it was just another human that had appeared where I was. I hid myself quickly; to this day, I don't know why I didn't just leave, as had become my custom when you humans appeared. But, perhaps, I was bored. There isn't much to do in the Lava Pond's passage ways, after all. Except dodge rocks.

This human was scrawny, with a strange plume of orange hair that almost resembled fire. He was holding his scanner out in front of him, mouth hanging open stupidly. And then he let out the most high-pitched, ear-piercing squeal of what I can only assume was delight, and proceeded to hug a superheated rock.

Well. Wouldn't be long until this one was picked off. Perhaps Magmon was hungry today?

The scrawny human was talking to himself; at a mile a minute, no less. Most of the words I caught were 'it's real,' 'the Underworld,' 'I can't believe it,' and things akin to that. Once, I caught the word Chaor...I had to fight a snarl. Another human after Lord Chaor's secrets.

He was near some lava. It wouldn't be hard to push him in, before he even knew what was coming. But before I could give that more thought, a tremor started up; a pillar likely fell into the lava flow. To my surprise, the human actually dodged into a more sheltered area; what do you know, some of them can think fast.

I could still see him from my protected vantage point. He was looking out into the treacherous area, flinching when a particularly big boulder fell from above and smashed near him. Predictably, he pulled out his red-toned scanner and prepared to port out; I sneered. How lucky for you, little human, that you can just escape the merciless perils that we fight against every day with the touch of a button.

We both heard the yelp of distress. I tore my eyes away from the human to the source of the sound, and cursed under my breath. H'earring! What the hell was he doing here? The little gremlin was supposed to be on a mission to the Overworld, spying on- well, that was a secret.

Insolent little...that was a mission direct from Chaor! What a fitting punishment a fall into a lava flow would be...but, still. He was the Underworld's most valuable spy. I would have to save his hide.

"H-H'earring!"

Or, so I thought.

It was my turn to let my jaw drop stupidly, half hanging outside my hideaway. I had expected a flash of blue, a vanishing human; I had even expected H'earring to lose his grip before I got to him, fall to his death. I might even have died myself, though that percentage was low. Self preservation and all.

What I had not expected was to see a streak of orange and green as the human made a beeline for the crumbling edge of what was once a bridge, dashing out into a hailstorm of rock and dust. I watched, unable to move out of sheer surprise, as the human became a living stepladder for the panicked H'earring. Once on solid ground, H'earring began to calm down right away; only to get scooped up as the human let out an alarmed yell.

And to my complete surprise, the human launched them both across the gap in the destroyed bridge just in time to avoid getting crushed. The ledge they had been on crumbled; I watched as H'earring and the human landed unceremoniously on the other side. Kaz had managed to land right on his head, rendering the fragile human unconscious. H'earring only had to shake his head to clear it.

To truly understand the enormity of what happened next, you must understand how I knew H'earring. Before this moment; before he began to change.

As far as a self-serving agenda goes, H'earring's was one of the most self-centered ones I had seen. And where I come from, that is saying a lot. He has perhaps the best developed sense of self preservation I had ever seen in an Underworlder; he took what he needed and gave only what he had to. He only served Lord Chaor out of fear, and what little protection being a valued spy got him. He was a loner; he sweet talked and used whomever he came by. Many humans had fallen victim to his schemes, though his were comparatively harmless. Humans, to him, were fodder; and annoying. One had tried to use him as a pawn, once.

That human disappeared, and I have not seen her since.

My mind snapped back into action, wheels turning at one hundred miles a minute. I watched them closely; it was not hard to register the confusion on H'earring's face. He got up, slowly. He walked, gingerly, over to the human. He reached out, just barely touching the fiery orange hair, and drew his hand back as if bitten.

And there it was; just what I was waiting for. His eyes darted to an obvious escape route; his body was poised and ready to dart. He was contemplating it. Escape with your life, live another day; no one will miss a human anyway. He's led one to their death before. He turned slightly, he took a step...

And he stopped.

A play of expressions went across what I could still see of his face, and out of the corner of his eye he looked back at the human. He twitched toward him, and then looked away. He twitched toward the exit tunnel, and he stopped completely. His tiny hands flexed.

And faster than I had seen him move before, H'earring did a 180 turn and grabbed the human under the arms, slowly dragging them both to safety. Not a second after they cleared the overhang that lead to the tunnel, the platform they were on collapsed and hid them from my view. I wasn't even sure they survived; but, it was time to look out for number one, now. I turned and made my own way out of the precarious area.

Not even two days later, I learned they had survived. This in itself wasn't that shocking, but the way I found out was. H'earring was a loner. He used people.

He did not go skulking around the city showing a human all the secret passageways, he did not tell humans where he lived, and he absolutely did not tend to their wounds. Granted, it took a long while for H'earring to start trusting Kaz; but for an Underworlder, any small bit of trust given is truly a precious gift.

Perhaps the subject of humans deserved a little more research.

Over time, I learned more of this Kaz. H'earring was always easy to find, what with his stench; and, as repulsive it might seem to some Underworlders, the two became almost inseparable. Kaz would bring disgusting treats like Dractyl Scales for H'earring, and in return H'earring would tell him an Underworld secret or show him a good scan. Really, I should have had them both apprehended and the human destroyed. Humans were a danger when they knew too much.

But, logic usually takes a back seat when it comes to the pursuit of knowledge.

To my surprise, the human boy was almost desperate to know more of Chaor and the Underworld in general. H'earring told him all he knew, both of the past and present. This riled me to no end; I was put at ease just a tad when he expressed his great hatred for Von Bloot, amused when he made jokes out of the Overworlders . But still...who said we can even trust this human? What would make him or any other different?

I had watched Kaz and H'earring interact on and off, when I had time between my usual tasks. But, there was only so much I could garner from being a silent observer. It was a lucky day when I found Kaz alone; I had been feeling restless that day. Perhaps it was time to reveal myself.

He looked different that day; sullen. His hair wasn't as lively as I remembered it looking; his sleeve was ripped. On closer inspection, the boy was sporting a bleeding lip and a black eye. He had just ported in; he walked forward stiffly, hands clenched into fists so tight that his knuckles were white. He started to shake slightly, and I jumped back as the boy let out an angered, almost feral cry, grabbing up a rock and launching it at nothing in particular.

Letting out a heaving breath, he fell back against the dirt and stone that formed the caverns of the Underworld. I slithered down from my hiding place; for time's sake, I will cut this to the chase. If you wish to hear the story, I will tell you another time; I don't have much time left, myself.

He was surprised, a bit scared but tried not to show it; in my youth, I could have related to this. He knew who I was right away, and after a moment scrambled up into a standing position. I circled him; I wanted this human to know that despite my lack of physical prowess, I had power over him. I was in control.

For his part, he stayed fairly calm. I asked the right questions, and he got excited and started blabbering; then I asked why he was bleeding. The human sobered up completely.

This may come as a shock to you, but I have almost overdeveloped parental instincts; I have never had a child myself, but a long while ago I was entrusted with the care, protection and upbringing of the most precious ward in the entire Underworld. The human was a child still, I could tell.

And my strategy worked. He would not look at me, but he told me everything. Answered any question I posed. I could feel him grow sad, angry, wishful at the mention of another human he called Tom. Perim was real; this, of course, I knew. But not every human knew of Perim's existence, apparently. Perim was make believe, the creatures in it just part of a card game. But it was real.

Everyone thought he was crazy.

Curious, I asked why he didn't just lie about it. Ha, the reaction! It is not wise to get angry at a creature. I would have warned him off with a growl, had I not been so shocked by the reason. Perim was real, that was a fact. He knew it was a fact. So why should he lie about it? Perim was real. H'earring was real. I was real. To say that we were all fictional was a horrendous betrayal.

He was an outcast; he had very few friends, the only real one being Tom. He said he liked it that way. I knew it was a lie, but I didn't press that subject. He told me what had happened; some fellow humans had thought it would be a fun idea to trap the boy in a corner and pick on him. This would have ended eventually, once they got bored and left...well, it would have, if Kaz had remembered to keep his mouth shut.

The injuries would have been a lot worse had this Tom not come to Kaz's aid, tackling the main offender over and proceeding to punch him right in the nose. I fought a smirk as Kaz recalled this, wearing a shameless pleased grin of his own.

We talked for a lot longer than I had thought would be possible. I learned of his world; war. Natural disasters. Tribes – known as communities on Earth – coming together in times of peril. Laughter. Family. Everyday trials of a much different society.

He told me of a life in which there is death, poverty, hatred, war. A life in which just living is a struggle, perhaps not as much a physical struggle as ours is but a struggle still. Some have a life easier than others in many ways, and yet worse than others. In an instant, all of it could be swept away. And yet...

There was love. Laughter. A chance, hope; hope for something better. Hope for a happy ending. A hope that, in some small way, at least one life might have meant something. Humans are strange, contradicting creatures; you can hate, and yet forgive at the same time. Even I, the avid thinker, had not considered anything like that.

I learned of a life.

A life...in a vastly different world, inhabited by vastly different creatures.

A life...not so much different from our own.

Humans. Creatures of Perim. We spend ours fighting each other tooth and nail, for territory, for power, you for resources you can't even see and us for a mythical, all-powerful item called the Cothica that we don't even know exists. We kill mercilessly; we struggle day in and day out just to stay alive, keep a float in a world that fights against us. We hate, we love, we are born and we die in this constant cycle of struggle in which there is only one outcome. We fight so hard, and yet in the end death will get you one way or another.

I wonder, sometimes, does Perim laugh at our struggles? Perhaps your world does too.

I truly wish I could see it, your world. One human started a change in me, just as he had H'earring and later Lady Takinom and Lord Chaor; as I would learn later, something similar was going on with three other humans in the other tribes. Kaz's friend, Tom, would singlehandedly save the Overworld in the future. I wonder what I could learn in your world; I wonder if my presence could change anything the way yours had here.

I wonder; is it beautiful like Perim is? Is it full of life and splendour around every corner? How beautiful is your struggle?

I'm going to tell you a story. But, I won't be telling you; not in the conventional way. Not like I just had. You, my dear, are here for a reason. As am I. My greatest hope was to be able to tell this story to someone; to be able to change them somehow. The story itself needed to be told. Their story needed to be told. So please, come closer, settle down and relax. I'm not going to tell you the story.

The story is going to tell itself to you.

Take this; it will let you see what happened, from start to finish. And thank you, sincerely, for listening to me all this time. For, now, I am out of time.

I grow tired; my now sightless eyes start to close. I feel that presence in the room; the seconds tick away. I feel a gentle pressure on my throat...

I lived over 70 years. I started as a mere street urchin, and became the advisor to the Lord of the Underworld. I watched as mistakes were made, I celebrated great glorious victories, I shared in solemn moments. I watched as Lord Chaor grew into the proud and powerful warrior he is today, and the Underworld with him.

I lived.

My name is Agitos.

And I just died.