A/N: Warning, this fanfiction contains spoilers for Lifeline 2 Bloodline as well as Lifeline 3 Silent Night. If you have not completed these games and do not wish ruin your experience playing them, I'd highly advise you to discontinue reading this fanfiction.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Lifeline games, seeing that they were written by Dave Justus (and others)

~*~Chapter One~*~

Awkward Student Meets Noob Mage

Arika

The night was an inky black, and the wind washed over me relentlessly, spreading shivers throughout my body. My teeth chattered as I tried to steady my trembling hand and attempted to inscribe an intricate insignia of the sun onto the back of my left hand with my Fabula dagger. Beside me, my trusty lantern emitted a soft, orange glow, and its candle persistently withstood the wind. The flame swayed to and fro with the vicious gale, but never once did it flicker or die out. Unfortunately, the nearly imperceptible heat my lantern gave off was my only source of warmth.

I should have gotten a thicker, windproof cloak... but this flimsy excuse of clothing was all I could afford (in other words: nothing). It was the only thing that was free at a yard sale I just so happened to pass by about a year ago. Plus, who wouldn't want a kick-ass cloak? Although it's not the best piece of clothing to keep me warm, it is sure velvety and comfortable - not to mention the color is nice.

Another blast of wind obnoxiously bellowed from my back, and I cursed loudly as my cloak whipped up from behind and blinded my sight. After furiously struggling with the annoy piece of fabric, I had to blindly stumble after my lantern, which the wind had so kindly knocked down and sent rolling away from me.

As I made my way back to the recess of the dark forest, I wondered why on Earth this was the only locus of concentrated magical energy I could find. Honestly, why do sites with vast amounts of magic have to be in the most inconvenient of places? Couldn't the ancient mages have chosen a more ideal place? Like, I don't know - a nice, sunny meadow with prancing ponies and butterflies instead of an eerie forest with biting wind? No matter. The wind could throw a tantrum like some bratty child for all I care. But... I guess that I understand why the ancient mages chose such a seemingly inappropriate place to enchant. They probably only wanted people who really needed the help of powerful magic, not careless fools who only went to places with concentrated magic for trivial things. I know for sure why I'm here, and I know that I'm not some careless fool. Nothing is going to stop me from pulling my brother out of the Quintessence.

After painstakingly carving the insignia into my left hand to the very last detail, finally, the inscription was complete. With my legs crossed and my hands resting on my knees, I took in a large breath and filled my lungs to the brim with air. Then I exhaled, chanting under my breath the incantation I had memorized from the old lady who had given me my Fabula dagger. I had went to her again for more advice about my brother, and she taught me this supposedly powerful conjuration that would help me in my quest to haul my brother out of the land of the living and dead... where I had accidentally placed him in to protect him ten years ago... good times...

The last verses of the spell were the easiest to memorize, and I sang them out.

The thread that interlaces us all

Will prevent our greatest fall

Through this bond I reach

And across the veil I breach

To unite with the one I need the most

A whirlwind of dust and fallen leaves swirled around me, and my emerald cloak rippled in the air like a flag in the wind. A perfect circle of azure illuminated around me, and as breathtaking the sight was, I wasn't too hyped about dirt or bits of dried leaves flying into my eyes, so I squeezed them shut.

Rand... Mom, Dad... Everyone... I'm coming...

Suddenly, I felt like I was plummeting through empty space, with nothing to grasp onto. I scrunched up into a small ball, and I repeated to myself: I'm not going to die, not going to die, notgoingtodienotgoingtodie, OH GOD, I'M GOING TO DIE.

Then after what felt like an eternity, I hit solid ground, and the wind was knocked out of me. Blinking open my eyes, all I could see was pitch black. As much as I disliked the vicious wind in the forest, this air was unbearably stale and stifling. I tried to pick myself up, but it felt like a huge boulder was crushing me, preventing me from lifting a single finger. Great. Just great.

Trying to call of help didn't work out too well either. My mouth wouldn't open, and I couldn't get my vocal cords to work. I couldn't see anything either, just complete darkness. My eyes wouldn't move, they just remained in the same position, like a statue. It was a complete nightmare. This was probably the cost for using too much dark magic.

Laying on the cold ground paralyzed, I started to panic. What if I was immobilized permanently? What if I slowly wasted away here and died a slow, agonizing death by starvation or dehydration?

A flood of "what ifs" surged into my mind, and I spent a good thirty minutes thinking of the worst possible ways I would meet the end of my fate. After a while, the gush of ideas gradually became more of a trickle, and my eyes started to droop. The chaotic flurry of thoughts settled to the bottom of my mind, and I was lulled to sleep by silence.

As I was sinking into my state of unconsciousness, I felt someone... or something poking my arm, however, I was too exhausted to bother throwing a fist at whatever the nuisance was. Hopefully it wasn't one of the Greens out to get revenge.

Taylor

Ok... Man... where do I start? I was lazing around as usual, trying to construct a cathouse out of one of the many cardboard boxes on what remained of this ship, when all of a sudden, a blinding flash of cobalt light temporarily left me sightless. Then some human-shaped being appeared out of nowhere just inches below the ceiling, and crashed onto the floor. Strangely enough, the thing that had just fell didn't look like it had fallen a few feet - at the speed it had fallen, I would have guessed that it dropped out of the air about 65 miles per hour (which is... 1... 10... ah, screw it, I'm not going to convert this to kilometers). For thirty minutes, I didn't try going over to whatever that was. In fact, I didn't try moving from my spot, or breathing for a few minutes. I was terrified that it if I did, it would curse me with whatever voodoo magic it had. When the humanoid form didn't appear to show any sign of being a possible threat, I shuffled over to its side and poked it with a strip of cardboard box for five minutes. There was no response, so I started to relax. Examining the figure, it was a girl (I assumed she was not some sort of monster/alien). She wore a mud-stained green cloak, a ratty plain shirt, and soiled, slightly torn jeans. Whoever she was, she looked like a wannabe wizard (which she probably was, since she did just appear out of nowhere in a flash of bright light).

Anyways, this leads me to the present.

I not entirely sure who this chick is, but I've checked at least a gazillion times - and I can confidently declare that she is not a green-eyed alien freak. Pretty sure that prying open her eyelids and shining my flashlight into her eye fourteen times to inspect any signs of "greeness" is a great way to make sure she is, in fact, human. Rest assured, her eyes are brown, and they have absolutely not trace of bright green in them.

Well, I guess it would be nice to have some company in this darn empty ship in this darn black hole. I'm tired of talking to myself, although who wouldn't want to talk to me?... That sounds stupid and makes utterly no sense when I say that aloud... Anyways, I still wish that I had my pal to talk to with my speech-to-text gadget... I miss my friend, wherever he or she is in the universe...

Suddenly, the girl stirred, and I reflexively stiffened and warily eyed her. Then her eyes fluttered open, and she groaned softly.

"Wha - where... where am I?" she said groggily, blinking drowsily.

She didn't look too good, her face was deathly pale and her lips looked dried and cracked. I reminded myself to offer her water and food later on (but only after we answered each other's questions).

"In a ship in the middle of nowhere. Literally. Welcome to Taylor's humble abode, a ship in the mist of a black hole," I said dryly, gesturing at the sparsely lit room filled with a few empty boxes and canned food. "It's a Utopia," I added sarcastically, still trying to get used to actually talking to someone (real).

"Um... that's great. Nice to meet you ma'm."

I internally flinched at the unintentional use of the word "ma'm."

"Yeah... about that - I'm actually a dude. Biologically I'm female, but I'm transgender..."

"... Oh... Oh... Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

"... It's OK... Actually, you're the first person to call me ma'm," I finished weakly, trying to break the awkward silence. It didn't work.

I self-consciously ran my hand through my fringes. This is why I preferred my pal. There were no complications like this when there was only speech-to-text communication, no one to judge me based on the way I looked.

Being referred to as female isn't something I have to deal with from a day-to-day basis anymore, since I can pass off as a dude most of the time, however, shrewd, observant people like Colby, Bos, and Mari notice, but they approach the situation sensitively.

But... I'm not too sure about how to deal with this awkward scenario, especially since I'm with someone presumably a few years younger than me... and I currently suck at having a decent conversation with someone, since I haven't talked to anybody for about a good month or so (in all honesty, I still have no idea how much time has passed, considering how black holes warp time-space continuum).

Good going Taylor. Way to make the best out of this situation.

"Uh... your name's Taylor, right? I'm Arika, spelled A-R-I-K-A, but pronounced ARR-uh-kuh, not Erica," said the girl, coughing awkwardly.

I congratulated her for her valiant attempt to break the silence and start a decent conversation. She offered me a handshake, and I took it graciously.

"Nice to meet you, Erica," I said, earning an eye roll from her.

I knew I was being rude, but I couldn't help it.

"Yeah, well I guess I deserved that, didn't I? It's OK, I've gotten used to it," she said sheepishly.

"That's great Erica, because that's what I'm going to call you from now on," I replied cheerfully. I had a feeling that although she looked a little younger than I was, she was ultimately the more mature one here.

"Anyways, what's this about a black hole?" asked Arika, sitting up and squashing the cardboard mattress I had made specially for her.

For a few moments, I struggled for words. When they finally came out, I began, "It's a long story... but long story short, I had to blow up a ship filled with green-eyed monsters to prevent them from spreading their infection to Earth, and viola! Here I am!"

Arika stared at me like I was some kind of strange animal that had just appeared before her eyes. Then, a look of horror suddenly dawned on her face.

"Wait... did you say green-eyed aliens?" she sputtered, her eyes widened and she tensed up considerably.

"Yup! I know it seems like a pretty far stretch, but - " suddenly I paused mid-sentence and glanced at her. "Considering that you appeared out of nowhere on this ship, maybe it isn't too far of a stretch for you..."

Ha, now it's time to switch roles. I'm the interrogator now.

Arika went quiet, and she seemed to be contemplating something. Then she finally spoke up.

"That's right - you caught me, I'm a mage. But I'm more powerful than I look, I could turn you into... a hamster! Or a guinea pig..." she threatened, ending on a rather weak note.

"Man, and I thought I was being rude, but threatening to turn me into guinea pig, seriously?" I scoffed, but then I realized that sadly, that wasn't the craziest thing I've heard or seen over the past two weeks.

Arika seemed to relax a little more. I guess that she decided that I wasn't much of a threat to her.

"I would give you a magic show to prove I'm really a mage, but unfortunately I'm "magically drained" as of now... I was trying to reunited with my brother and family, but the spell that the old lady gave me transported me to you instead," she muttered a bunch of swear words under her breath, and something that sounded suspiciously like "Fabula dagger"... whatever that was...

"So... what exactly have you come here for? Have you come here to grant me three wishes like a genie? 'Cause if you are, I'm opting out of this black hole."

Arika let out a little sigh.

"I wish... but I guess that I should start with my story, which is also a long story, but requires more explaining."

Ouch. Now I feel stupid.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then looked me in the eye.

"Ten years ago, my village was taken over by this family that went by the name, "the Greens," which is pretty ironic now that I think about it," Arika laughed humorlessly before she continued. "Anyways, when the Greens first came to my village, they seemed pretty normal at first, but then after a while, I started to notice something was off... Not about the Greens, but the other villagers..."

"Oh God, don't tell me they had green eyes..." I choked.

The way Arika looked at me was enough to let me know that... they did.

"... So, when my family and I found out, it was already too late. My mom and dad sacrificed themselves to save my brother... and me, and somehow, I managed to tear a hole in the fabric of our world's reality... Erm, Earth, if I haven't mentioned where I'm from before, and I placed my brother there for safe keeping, in the Quintessence. For ten long years, I tried to find a way to get my brother back, so a couple months ago a went to visit an old mage lady, who told me how to reach my brother. It was definitely more complicated than I expected, but anyways, in the end I managed to find a way to step through the portal that separated reality from the Quintessence to reach my brother... However, the only problem is that although I could temporarily stay with my brother, I was drawn out of the Quintessence in a matter of a few days. The reason why, I'm assuming, is because the Quintessence is something like the intersection of the borders of life and death. Since my brother was wandering around in the Quintessence at a young age, it has come to accept him. However, since I'm much older and I am more connected to life, the Quintessence won't accept me permanently, like my brother... And... and he's just stuck there between this conversion of life and death..."

"Wow... that's a lot to take in..." I uttered, staggered by Arika's long explanation.

"Ha, I know. Most of what I told you is mainly speculation, but I have a strong intuition that's what is really happening," Arika gave me a weary smirk. Only just now, I started to notice how tired she looked. She had dark bags under her eyes, and they were slightly bloodshot.

"I went back to the old mage who told me how to meet my brother and asked her how to return my brother to reality, however I guess that what the old lady told me to do is much, much more complicated that I thought it would be, too," continued Arika thoughtfully. "I guess that in order to find out how to get my brother back, I have to get you out of this black hole first, since you're probably going to help me in one way or another... So I suppose I'll have to conserve my energy in order to find a way to cast a tremendously tasking and complex warp and weft spell to get us out of here."

I didn't bother asking what the heck was warp and weft spell, but it all sounded great to me.

"Count me in, Arika."

"Oh, it's Arika now? Not Erica?"

"You've earned my respect, just don't lose it."

A/N February 18, 2016

Wow... I didn't expect to continue writing this for about three to four hours straight... (which is not doing a favor for my eyes). Hopefully this is a somewhat interesting start. I already planned out the entire story in about an hour or so (which is a first for me, I've never actually managed to plan out an entire story, so let's see how this goes)... so from here on out, it's just a matter of fleshing out and refining it. Arika's explanation of what happened to her brother, Rand, is still rather convoluted, and I haven't managed to word it in a less complicated way that is less difficult to follow (I'm currently working on that).

I'm open to any constructive feedback, since I wish to improve as a writer. However, "feedback" that mainly consists of "your story sucks" without any explanation why or utter transphobia is something that I won't bother with.

Speaking of which, since I am not transgender, I apologize if Taylor is not portrayed accurately as a transgender male. Since I have a friend who is transgender and I know a few classmates who are, I decided that it would be interesting to write about someone who is (considering that there aren't many fanfiction about transgender folks. Sure, there are fanfiction about gay and lesbian couples, but there isn't a lot for transgender people). I imagined that Taylor looks a little like the YouTuber TheRealAlexBertie, but that's just me I guess...

It's really late over here, and although I've read over this chapter for any typos, I'll reread it tomorrow just to check for any grammatical mistakes that I haven't caught, and I'll also try to refine my word choice (please bear with me folks, and I apologize to those of you who aren't reading the final draft).

Hopefully you guys will stick with me to the end, and thank you so much for reading!

-ShootingStar103