Disclaimer: All rights to the characters and settings used in this story belong to Team Ninja, Koei Tecmo, Project Soul, Bandai Namco and their respective affiliates.
This is just a passion project to show my love for the Dead or Alive and SoulCalibur franchise. So I will happily take down and destroy everything if asked. Just please do not sue me.
Author's note: This is my first attempt at writing prose, much less publishing it. I hope anyone who stumbles upon this can find some entertainment, even if it is laughing at my ineptitude (the text editing proved a bit challenging) xD
Chapter 1
There was a feeling of intense coldness, as though someone has laid her on ice so cold it almost burned and made her skin feel numb to any other sensation. Through the haze of darkness consciousness slowly began to creep in. The loud creaking of metal and the stench of burnt materials as well as a smell she couldn't place assailed her. Her lids slowly opened to reveal a blurry kaleidoscope of colors. After a few moments the image began to sharpen, and she could make out what looked to be the remnants of a laboratory of some kind. Various glass containers lay broken around damaged pieces of various technical equipment and strewn about chemical containers. The roof must have collapsed in an explosion as there were burnt and deformed structural pieces everywhere. One crossbeam had fallen right above the section she was lying in, preventing her from being crushed by the falling debris. After assessing her surroundings, she looked down at herself and noticed the odd greenish liquid all around her. It felt cool to the touch with a sort of jellylike viscosity. Her body was completely naked, covered in the liquid, broken glass and the soot of the debris. She gingerly pulled herself up to sitting position, only now noticing the large cylindric container still oozing liquid onto the floor. It was a huge glass contraption with a cornucopia of wires and tubes sticking out. One of the larger metal pieces of the ceiling must have damaged it in the explosion.
"Epsilon: Phase 4, No. 312. Model: Organic/Stem." it read in large letters across the top of the glass. Suddenly, a barrage of memories assaulted her. She saw the blurry images of people in white coats walking around the container, then some dark figures fighting bluish and greenish creatures, then there was a rumble and a violent explosion before everything turned to black. There were also other memories, ones she couldn't place and that felt strangely detached from herself, as though they didn't belong.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts and slowly stood up. There were scratches and bruises all over her, but none seemed to severe, although some scrapes were still bleeding. She slowly made her way to the center of the room avoiding the sharp pieces of metal and glass strewn about. From there she once again scanned the room. From this position she could see into the night sky illuminated by a bright full moon, that cast an almost ethereal light onto the still partially illuminated appliances around her. Looking around she found a few slightly singed towels commonly found in chemical labs and a lab coat that surely had seen better days. Cleaning off most of the greenish liquid, she put on the coat and started looking for a way out. All the exits on her level had been cut off by the fallen ceiling or had collapsed completely. The only way out would be to climb nearly 30 m to the top of the shaft-like structure.
Seeing no other way, she made for the crossbeam in the section she had come from. On her way she saw a body crushed and almost bisected by a large metal tile. The body looked to be a female in her early twenties. She walked over to the figure and closed her staring eyes in a show of compassion. She truly felt for the poor soul but walked on. At the beam she began to carefully map out a way to the top of the structure that would hopefully not kill her in the process. Gripping the edges of the cold and slippery metal beam tightly she made her way up until she reached the far wall. There she held on to the various tubes and cables that protruded from the walls to slowly ascend to a small platform on the next floor. She continued that way, gripping the cables and climbing to the next small remnant of a hallway or platform until she was nearly at the top.
The constant climbing proved very taxing on her body causing her to rest a few minutes between platforms. Still her arms and legs grew tired. After a particularly long stretch of climbs she was almost ready to keel over, but she refused to give up and continued after a short rest. As she was reaching for another cable. Her grip suddenly weakened. She'd lost purchase on the metal beam she'd been standing on and plummeted. It can't end here. I won't end here. I will find my purpose, my life, out there, she thought as the ground rushed towards her. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind, her body was enveloped in dark green smoke and she suddenly blinked out of existence.