Disclaimer: What do I own? Do I own my shoes? My knowledge? Myself?
Prologue
The girl jumped, like leap frog around the room, grinning maniacally. Her appearance was curious. Long hair was piled into a mound atop her head with bits spiking out, her bare feet slapped on the floor as she continued jumping. A headband across her forehead sporting dangling feathers, rolled up jeans with a shawl wrapped around her waist and a simple white tank-top; her semblance complete with a live snake on her wrist. Her eyes were a warm, yellow-brown, her skin tan, and her tied hair brunette, streaked with sun-bleached blond. She was golden.
The room was itself was covered in shiny chrome, quite a futuristic one of sorts. Flashing buttons lined the walls. A lifeless figure slumped against a panel of switches. The body was odd and quite large, with a bulbous head and short, elephantine blue hairs covering the skin, but had no clear sign of injury.
There were two exits to the room, one on each side. An increasing amount of ruckus was heard coming from one, the sound of heavy footsteps and angered shouts. The girl stopped her movement and her features dropped into a cold, menacing snarl as she twirled around to face the aforementioned door.
And yet, as voices got closers and bodies filled the door, as a warrior's scream flew from the girls mouth and a brilliant wave of gold light rippled outwards from her form, as bodies dropped to the floor and the girl's features remained a cruel mask, her golden eyes showed sadness. Sadness beyond measure. Sadness, empathy, pity, hurt, pain.
She let out a broken, mournful sob as she too crashed to the floor, the room left quiet and still.
A well trained eye scanned the scene. It saw death, no life from the scattered figures in the room. Stepping over the masses blocking the door, this man walked to the center of the room. He could feel it. The skeleton of the once-energy, much like the ring around a bath. His let his senses feel around for the center point and found himself drawn to the middle of the room.
Hands thrust in pockets, he strolled towards the center of the room, coming to a halt a few feet away. He looked down and his eyes became soft and pained as he fixed his gaze at the center. Kneeling down, he put his arm out to stroke air. His hand hovered until his fingers grabbed purchase and he pulled up.
As his arm lifted, a shape shimmered into focus, that of a girl sprawled on the floor. The man looked at the object in his hand before tucking it into the inside of his coat. He looked back down at the girl. Her face was relaxed, her eyes closed, and she emanated of the bittersweet. She was beautifully innocent in sleep. A trickle of bright red blood trailed down the side of her mouth, and the man wiped it away with his thumb.
"Ksi", he whispered, trailing off and shutting his eyes tightly. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and leaned over the girl, gathering her petite frame in his arms and stood up. Eyes ahead, he once again stepped over the lifeless forms and walked out the door.