Spirit of the Sphere
Chapter One: Another Story
Just another lousy day working at the worst job in all of Varrock. The customers were shady and always complained, and her boss was always, always, riding her to do this, and this, and some of this. She was seriously sick and tired of his bull, that occasionally, she entertained the idea of totally going off on him and then quitting amid a flaming torrent of profanity.
But, of course, she would never ever do something like that. She needed the gold badly if she was to one day own and operate her very own mega chic restaurant that would cater to rich clientele and the latest trendsetters. Then she would become fabulously wealthy, buy up all the smaller stores, and then marry a handsome prince from the East.
Yeah, her goals were extremely high, but a girl has to have her priorities. Her tacky wool uniform on, she grabbed her dirty rag and walked over to the blue, stained tables set tightly against the far wall, close to the restrooms that smelled like day old cabbage with just a hint of sour milk. She hated cleaning the tables, since she almost always felt the urge to toss her lunch when she got near them; however, Kyro would have her hide if she shirked her duties.
So, she put the rag on the nearest table and began to try to get some weird black gunk off of it, though she doubted her success. A customer came in and sat down, even as she was still attempting to remove the gunk.
"Hey!" she protested loudly, stomping her feet. "I am trying to clean here! Get up and sit somewhere else!"
The customer, looking closer she noticed that he was a man, didn't look her in the eye. His face was terribly burned as if he'd walked straight through a furnace. And he had an unkempt black beard that reminded her of a wet dog. Thought at first she missed it, she eventually noticed a slight bulge in his zipped up jacket. To her, it looked like a small ball of some sorts. Now why would a scraggly man like him be carrying around a ball?
Again she said harshly, "Sir, I said get your sorry ass up and sit…somewhere…else!"
It happened fast, even before her brain could register it. One moment the man was seated, and then he was on his feet, his arm wrapped tightly around her neck. He held a knife in his right hand, poised at her jugular. He leaned toward her ear and whispered, with an edge, "Now listen here, sweetie. Jack the Bone Ripper doesn't take kindly to criticism, especially from a skirt. Scream and I cut you, understood?" She nodded stiffly, too shaken to speak. "Good girly. I'm going to let you go, but you so much as whimper and I will kill you."
He let her go like he promised and sat back down at his table. Then he had the audacity to order Sheppard pie and a glass of beer. Of course she brought it to him, but that didn't mean she had to enjoy it.
Not soon after, she heard the heavy footfalls of armored soldiers. She thought this was strange because soldiers never came as far out as the Rust Bucket Café. Even stranger to her was that the sound was of running, not casual marching. The march patrol wandered the city on their daily mission to root out troublemakers, but they avoided the Rust District because several of the soldiers were on the district's mob boss' payroll. So the fact that these soldiers were even in the district, let alone obviously on the trail of some crook, intensified her curiosity.
The door of the café burst open, with dozens of armored guards pouring in. In a heartbeat, they had secured the area and two guards approached the table at which Jack currently occupied.
The senior-ranking officer spoke in a thunderous voice. "Jack the Bone Ripper, you are under arrest for the theft of the Sphere of Varrock! If you do not come along peacefully, we will have to resort to extreme measures."
Jack got to his feet, but instead of going with the guards, he pulled out the Sphere and smashed it into the floor! The sound of shattering glass filled the little café as a shocked awe spread through the guards and customers. She had already been amazed that this lowly thug had the gall to steal the actual Sphere of Varrock, the rarest peace of art ever to be discovered. Now she was horrified to see that he had destroyed it in less than three seconds.
"You are a pathetic man, my dear Captain," Jack said, with a devilish grin. "Not only have you brought upon the wrath of the Twelve, but you have forced my hand. The Spirit shall walk the planet once more, leaving death and disease in its wake. Children will be left orphans, the sky will bleed red, and the streets will be filled with rotting corpses! You have no idea what this means! No inkling, not even a tiny clue, do you-"
Jack was cut off, his eyes widening in fear and surprise. She, and the guards, followed his eyes to the floor where the broken Sphere lay. Snaky, blue tendrils were rising from the glass, looking like smoke as he roved between their legs.
The tendrils thickened until they merged to form a shiny blue figure. She gasped in shock at what she saw. A naked, blue-skinned girl, who seemed to be around Solo's age, with shoulder-length navy blue hair stood before them where the tendrils once were.
Solo couldn't help but stare at this creature's gorgeous body with its amazing curves and bright green eyes that sparkled like emeralds in the sun; her lips were a crimson red, as if she were bleeding.
Solo thought about her own body, just as beautiful, but it could never live up to this creature. The woman glanced around in panic, her mouth moving in some strange language. The guards and Jack found that they were burning hot, like their skin had become as hot as the sun.
She turned away in horror, for everybody but her was melting. Their screams split her eardrums, even when she tried unsuccessfully to drown them out. Soon the café was silent. When she looked up, the otherworldly girl had stepped closer. For some reason she couldn't explain, Solo felt drawn to this girl, as if the girl would hold her safely in her arms and no danger would ever befall her again.
"W-where am I?" the blue girl said, meekly.
This girl's voice sounded like the gentle strum of a harp or the sound of waves crashing upon a beach. Solo felt almost sleepy from hearing her voice. "Uh, you're in Varrock. Are you going to kill me next?"
The girl gasped. "Kill you? Why, you are my savior! You are the one who rescued me from my imprisonment, the one who I am destined to be with."
"Actually, one of the men you killed freed you, not me," Solo said truthfully. The blue girl seemed to have to process this.
The blue girl grinned, showing Solo her perfect teeth. "No matter, you are still the one I am meant to be with. Please, tell me your name."
"Solo, but you killed all these people. Who or what are you?"
The blue girl scrunched her forehead in thought. "Call me Kei, for I am the Spirit of the Sphere. Now what shall we do now?"
"First we get you some clothes since you can't be seen out in public looking like that! After that I have no idea, but I'm stuck with you apparently so follow me."
Review Q: What is your opinion on this first chapter? What do you think of this alternate universe version of Solo and the Sphere?
Credits: Jack the Bone Ripper is this universe's Boneripper who belongs to mainiac97. Like his counterpart he is sexist and a ruthless person, though he seems to lack the finesse that an assassin's life offered his counterpart.
Until next we meet, adieu!
