Hi! Animic here! I just got a random inspiration to write a story about how Blank got his name and a little bit on how he joined Tantalus. But I don't reveal much as...well...I don't know much. I don't normally write stories this short but this was a random burst of inspiration that I wanted to write quickly. Enjoy!

Fill in the Blank

My mind is a blank

The only thing I remember is sheer pain. The high-pitched screams. My high-pitched screams. (What chance of survival does he have, boss?) I heard one of the people around me say. The voice was muffled. As if I was inside a bubble hearing them talk on the outside. I shifted and groaned which seemed to surprise some of the doctors. (He's awake?) one asked. They put something in my mouth, some kind of juice that caused me to go to sleep.

The pain remained as I wakened from unconsciousness. My head felt empty. Blank. There was a mirror across from me that I looked into. A large belt was strapped to my head. As my trembling hands reached up to take it off, I heard a voice.

"You don't want to be doin' that, boy," he said. I was surprised, to say the least. The man resembled a giant pig with a pink beard. A race I had never seen before.

"Where am I?" But I didn't dare ask the question I wanted to ask. What are you? Though, I was very tempted to.

"My boys just saved your butt, kid. I don't think yer in a position for questions," the man said. I stared up at him, confused, but just nodded my head.

"Don't expect a thank you," I replied, rather rudely.

"Bwa-ha-ha-ha!" the man laughed. I raised my eyebrows and was about to say something else but the man left, closing the door with a bang.

The pain in my head wouldn't go away. It was just like someone was beating my head with a hammer. I felt like an oglop getting the juice squeezed out of me.

There was a window in the room that I was enclosed in. As I looked out the window, I realized whatever I was in was in the air. In the sky I saw a lot of gray smoke arising from a very dark town. Parts of the town were red with anger.

I didn't understand. Something tells me I should have remembered something. Anything. But the truth was I didn't know who I was. My name. My address. Family? Did I have any? Friends? Where did I live? What was this place? I felt like a blank canvas trying to fill in the blanks of the life that I did not remember.

I looked at my hands. They hurt too. They were dirty and red. Parts of my body, I noticed, looked like a doll. As if I had just been patched up by someone. What happened to me?

The door opened to my room. I turned expecting the fat pig-man but instead a boy about my age entered. He looked like a wannabe pirate.

"The slums of Treno, your home, just suffered a bad fire. We went to save a few of our people and found you alive but only just. Everyone around you was already dead. What's your name?" he asked.

I looked at my hands. "I do not have one."

"Do you not remember anything?"

I looked out the window. This town. This smoky, half-torn apart town…was my home? I lived there. He said the people around me were dead. They must have been my family. Possibly. "My mind is a blank."

"I'm Marcus," he said, putting his hand out. I shook it, firmly. "Can I call ya Blank?"

Hope you liked it a little bit! Tried to get my characterization as good as I good with the little dialogue I had. Review?