All she wanted was a chance at redemption... all she wanted was a chance to change everything.

-:- R e B i r t h -:-

Prologue

Pain. The world was pain.

The girl's eyes flickered, fighting against the agony that was brought with consciousness. She struggled against the pain that was like a weight on her shoulders, pushed herself up to a sitting position, then gasped and collapsed to the ground again.

She slowly began to take in her surroundings - or at least, what she could make of them from her positon, splayed on her back and looking at the sky. What an unusual sky.

She had the feeling that she was in a sort of enclosure, but certainly a large one. Purple and indigo clouds covered whatever was above her - they seemed to slip between themselves, like fluid, almost, and they almost appeared to glow. Against her back, she could feel a hard, rough surface. It felt like rock. But the rock itself also felt unusual. It took her a moment to figure it out, but suddenly, she did. The rock was wet. And warm.

Wiping her fingertips across the surface, she lifted her hand above her face. Her eyes widened, and she shuddered. Quickly she dropped her arm - she didn't want to look at the liquid on her hand.

Blood. Lots of it.

She felt sick to her stomach now - positively sick. But she noticed something else. The agonizing pain that she had been in minutes ago had now subsided to a throbbing ache in her back. Though it still hurt badly, she was able to fight her way to her feet. Blood pooled around her feet, staining her white shoes and jacket. It streaked along her legs and arms, and spilled out in a huge blot of red across the gray rock. She stared in horror at the sight around her, then dropped to her knees and threw up.

What happened here?

Finished retching, she moved to stand up again, but stopped when she noticed something beneath her hand. Confused, she picked it up. A toy rapier, completely drenched in blood.

She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling that the rapier... was hers. Even though she had no idea how to use it. In the spot where the rapier had been lying, she noted something else. A bottle. She picked it up too, and opened it.

Immediately an awful, putrid stench hit her nostrils. Disgusted, she attempted to re-cap the bottle quickly, but her fingers fumbled and she dropped it.

Dumbo Decus!

She froze.

Why had she thought that name? Who was Dumbo Decus?

And suddenly, she had another thought.

Who... am I? Who am I? Who am I?!?

Stumbling to her feet, she ran as fast as she could, away from the blood and the clouds and the smell and everything. Who was she and where was she and what on Earth was going on and why couldn't she remember anything??


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