Life.

It's a journey that a man can never hope to fully plan for, no matter what schemes he draws up for himself. Chance dictates everything, from the distance that he has to travel, the destinations that he'll visit, and even where his journey comes to an end. Man is just along for the ride, just another passenger on the course of destiny. Try as he might man can neither change his course, nor tell where his travels will lead.

I couldn't help thinking about that as the wind howled around me, chilling me to the bone. I tried to wrap my sweater tighter around myself as I considered my situation.

A mountain.

I was on the side of a mountain, and I had no clue just how in the hell I had got there, or even where on earth this mountain was. As the wind clawed at me, trying to freeze me to my very core, I attempted to piece together the parts I could remember.

{Earlier}

It was a quiet night at The Dragons Stroud Inn, a small place with a bar deep in the city. It's got all the usual features a regular dive; pool table, vlts, and a small place to dance if the mood strikes you. The prices are cheap and it's near a few local attractions, so it generally does well for itself. I was busy cleaning some glasses while the boss, a heavy set man named Jonathan, cleaned the counter top. Jonathan had short brown hair speckled with a hint of grey that betrayed his age, a handlebar moustache, and he always wore a white t-shirt and jeans. He was a kind man, always smiling no matter what trouble rolled through his bar-

*CRASH*

Speaking of trouble.

"Travis, you're up," Jonathan called over to a tall man sweeping up on the other side of the room.

That's me, Travis Steele. I'm Jon's disturbance specialist, as he likes to say. 6 foot 5 and sturdy, which kind of makes me suited to the position.

Sighing I put the broom down and walked across bar running my hand through my shaggy blonde hair. Damn I needed a haircut, it was almost over my eyes.

Looking to the pool table to assess the situation, I saw some drunk bothering a woman sitting alone in the back. A broken bottle on the floor told me what the crash had been, likely knocked over by his stumbling.

"You need to leave, now!" the woman yelled as she tried to push the man away.

"Come on babe. I said I was sorry. Just come back with me to my place. We can work it out there," the man slurred, getting angrier with every word.

"I told you already, we are through. I am waiting for my friends, so leave," she warned in a voice that shook a little as she crossed her arms and turned away from him.

"We aren't done until I say so. Now get up!" he snarled as he grabbed her wrist and tried to drag her out of her chair.

"Let go of me Carl!" she cried, trying to pull away from his grasp.

Before things escalated anymore, I walked over and put myself in his way, crossing my arms and glaring at the man.

"The lady said leave. I'd recommend that you let go and do just that, right now." I said adding an edge to my voice.

He glared up at me while the lady was trying to struggle out of his grip.

"This has nothing to do with you. Tell you what, get outta my way and I might just leave a quarter in the tip jar for ya," he spat while trying to push his way past me, but I wouldn't budge.

"Could care less what's going on between you two, but she's a guest in this establishment. And it's my job to make sure creeps like you don't disturb the guest's. So last warning, let her go and Get. Out. NOW!" I commanded while taking a step forward, fists clenched at my sides.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU-"

"I DON'T CARE! You could be Jesus Christ himself and this still would be unacceptable behaviour! GET OUT before I THROW YOUR ASS OUT!" I cut him off, getting right in his face. I was sick of dealing with him already, but at least he let the girl go, and she had the sense to move away from him while he was distracted.

Before I could react however he threw a quick jab to my gut, followed be a right hook to my jaw that sent me stumbling back a few steps.

"BET YOU WISH YOU LISTENED NOW, HUH?" he whooped as he backed up and took some kind of stance.

I rubbed my jaw as I shook off the blows and gave him an intense stare. Then I grinned, much to his confusion.

"You threw the first punch, now its self-defence," I almost chuckled as I stomped towards him, cracking my knuckles.

He took the initiative again and rushed at me. He tries for another jab, but I saw it coming this time. I dodged his punch, grabbing his wrist as I pulled him forward into a knee to the stomach that knocked the wind from him. He dropped to the ground, arms around his midsection as he groaned in pain. I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him across the floor like he weighed nothing at all.

"Don't come back! And if you don't leave the property in the next ten minutes, we will call the cops!" I threatened as I kicked the door open and tossed him out.

I walked back to the woman that was the centre of all this and I could already see she was scared, most likely of me.

Great.

"Are you alright Miss?" I asked politely, trying to calm her down. No need to make things any worse.

"Y-yeah, thank you. He was always a bit controlling when we were going out, but I never thought he'd act like this," she stuttered, rubbing her wrist as she looked to the door.

"Take it from me, guys are assholes. It's in our nature. And the ones who can rise above it and genuinely be nice, they are the minority," I said as I massaged my sore jaw and looked to the door as well. Bastard could throw a decent punch.

"Well if you're alright, I need to get back to work. So see ya," I nodded, turning around and walking towards the counter.

"WAIT!" she cried, grabbing my arm before I got too far.

Turning my attention back to her, I noticed she was smiling shyly as she still clung to me.

"Do you think you could, I don't know, wait with me? Just til my friends get here? I'm still a bit scared, and you seem nice." She was unable to make eye contact with me as she asked, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she stared at the floor.

I sighed, knowing where this was more than likely going.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get back to work. It's getting close to closing time and there's a lot to do. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not a nice guy. I'm the last person you want for emotional support," I admitted. I didn't want to seem mean, but she seemed like a nice girl. She didn't need the baggage that came with getting to know me.

She looked ready to cry at that moment, and I couldn't help myself. I can't deal with tears.

"Tell you what, if you want to talk until your friends get here you can sit at the bar. I'll do my best," I promised, scratching the back of my head as I tried to figure out just what possessed me to say that. She gave me a small smile and nodded her head, wiping her eyes and walking towards the counter.

As I turned to walk back to the bar, a slight movement from the corner booth caught my eye. There was woman, and by the looks of her she was young. Her long pure white hair intrigued me almost as much as her emerald eyes that seemed to glow in the dim lights of the bar. She was looking at me from over top of a Long Island, if I remember correctly. I raised my eyebrows in question as she put her glass down and shot me a mysterious smile. I didn't pay her much more attention, the night was almost over and I had work to do before closing time.

The rest of the night was quiet. No more trouble from the drunk, and the girl's friends arrived not long after she came to the counter. When two in the morning came, the bar was mostly empty. The woman with the white hair seemed to have vanished when I looked away. I had done most of the cleaning already so Jonathan sent me home, telling me he could handle the rest.

I threw my jacket on and yelled a good night before I left, getting a grunt in return. I locked the door behind me and started the walk home, eager for my apartment and sleep. It started raining about a quarter of the way home, just a light shower but still enough to quicken my pace. As I neared my apartment, I heard a soft meowing from an alley I was passing.

There was a kitten hiding under a dumpster. It's white hair was soaked as it shivered, and it looked up at me with big pleading green eyes. I should just left it and gone home, but i couldn't. Not on this cold rainy night. I kneeled down next to the dumpster, soaking the front of my pants and my arm as i reached in and picked the kitten up. I put her in my jacket, holding tight enough to keep her in place, but not enough to hurt her as I made the rest of the trek home. Thankfully, she didn't fidget too much and the rest of the walk was short.

I walked into my apartment and put the kitten on the floor, giving her a chance to stretch her legs and walk around. I as I hung my jacket up in the closet, I heard a faint noise from the living room. Since my room was that direction anyways I thought I would investigate, already certain of what I would find. I rounded the corner to see my roommate Eric, sitting at his computer watching an anime I hadn't seen before.

"What are you still doing up?" I asked as I walked over, curious about what he was watching.

"I was playing Street Fighter Four online earlier and I got curious about why Chun Li and Cammy hate Juri so much. So I did a little looking around online and found this Ova that explains everything," he said, gesturing to his screen. "Turns out she beat the crap out of this group of girls that were brainwashed by Bison and kidnapped them, which Cammy did not like. She use to be like them and thinks of them as sisters apparently," he added before shaking his head.

I watched as the girl did some sort of energy based kick attack on Guile, taking him out and destroying a jet behind him.

"Don't you wish you could do something to save them?" he asked me, obviously referring to the game storyline.

"Yeah I wish I could, but that's a thought for another day. I'm tired, sore, and soggy so I am going straight to my room and getting some sleep," I said as I patted his shoulder. Walking a few steps away before I remembered, "Oh, if you see a kitten running around, don't worry. I found her in the rain on my way home. I'll take her to a shelter tomorrow." He replied with a simple wave, still transfixed by the events on the screen.

I threw off the wet clothes I had on, but found my room oddly cold so I changed into a pair of sweatpants and a sweater before collapsing on my bed. I was just closing my eyes when I heard the door creak open.

"Eric, what do you want? I am trying to get som-" my words died in my throat as I turned around to find that it wasn't my roommate who had walked into my bedroom, but the woman with the white hair from the bar. She had deep blue dress that went down to her knees, and she was barefoot as she sauntered across my room to the foot of my bed. That same mysterious smile from the bar was once again aimed at me, and I swallowed hard as I tried to process what was going on.

"W-what are you doing in my room? Are you stalking me?" I stammered, confused and alarmed by her presence. I backed away against my headboard as she slowly crawled onto the bed towards me.

"You, Mr. Steele, have surprised me not once, but three times tonight with your kindness," she almost purred as she got closer. I tried to roll off the bed, but when I met her gaze I felt paralyzed, my body frozen in place.

"I have watched you for a while now. You have a kind heart and great bravery, but you hide it from the world. You only let it show for the briefest of moments and that intrigued me, so much so that I have decided you are worthy of a gift unlike any other." She finally reached me, stroking my face with one lone finger before leaning in and kissing my forehead.

"When you wake up, do be careful. It will be a much different world. And remember, you wished for this," she warned, my eyelids suddenly becoming heavy as the world around me darkened and my body felt weightless.