For your reading pleasure it is suggested you play: Spaced Out Beats from the Steven Universe Soundtrack, followed by Rose's Room.
Begin Anew Part 1: The Nameless
Chapter One: Awakened
For a moment, there was only darkness. Shadows drifted by, slowly at first, then swooping across a swath of red, agitated by a sudden, irritating cackle: "HAHA! HAHA! HAHAHAHAHAH! Not this time! Now you will…"
The shadows began to race about madly, dipping in and out of sight as the voice faded away, only to pick back up a few seconds later, somehow even more irritating than before, being joined by staccato rattling. "Yes! YES! Success! This World will be mine! I will be—" Sudden, hideous pain erupted, even as the voice began to shriek in dismay.
"W-what!? NO! This can't be! How could this've happened? I did everything right… W-wait! How are- What are you doing? Stay back! Back I tell you! AIEEEEEEEEEEE!" The shadows tore themselves apart, the screech forcibly cut off with a crack. The redness began to flicker, oscillating wildly from bloody crimson to pitch-black. Finally—
I woke.
I blinked owlishly against the glare, and then got to my knees. Ugh, my head, was my first thought. My second was Wait, where am I? I managed to clamber to my feet, fighting off a wave of nausea. I kept my eyes focused on the far wall of the structure I was in, waiting for it to pass; structure because… I wasn't entirely sure where I was. A detailed frieze of Fae creatures wrapped around the dome-topped walls, and lush grasses carpeted the ground. Long rows of bushes as tall as my head wound through the area, with small spaces between them at irregular intervals for passage. It looked like an indoor… "Hedge Maze". The name drifted out of my subconscious and easily sprang off of my tongue. I stood stock still as I realized: "I… I've been here before!" I couldn't remember when, though. In fact… I can't remember anything.
A cold, empty feeling washed over me. My breath caught in my chest, and I fell to my hands and knees in shock. I racked my brain, trying to find anything, remember anything about who I was and how I got here. But the earliest thing I could remember was the dream, and before that, nothing.Absolutely nothing. Anger boiled up within me from nowhere. Flickers of red darted across my vision, as the grass underneath me began to blacken and smolder. Acrid smoke tickled my nose, alerting me to the small fire that sprung up around me. Quashing my rage with an amount of effort I knew couldn't be normal, I batted down the flames, wincing at the sting. I stared in shock at the still smoking patches. "How did I… do that?"
I shook my head. I can't answer that, not now, I thought.There has to be someone who can help me here, though. They might be able to point me to someone who can help. All I have to do is find them.
I began to walk through the maze, picking my way through the hedges, the reassuring earthy scent in the air ironing out my nerves. Trouble, however, was literally around the next corner in the form of a… Fairy? No, she's a Sprite. She has brown hair. Of course, this dropped one or two or three thousand new questions into my head, the biggest being: How do I know that? Fairies aren't real- wait. Of course they're real. How could they not be if I … if I… what, exactly? What is happening!?
At that point, the sprite finally realized I was there. Her reaction was immediate, and unnerving: Her eyes went wide with terror, and a shriek tore itself free from her mouth, even as she dropped a basin of water I hadn't noticed. I jumped back, stunned, and reached my hand out to her, trying to calm her down. Bad idea, I thought, as she went completely silent, petrified at the sight of my hand only a few inches away from her. I was blind to her plight, though, as I was completely taken in by the sight of my arm: slender and well proportioned in regards to the rest of my body, with smooth, unblemished skin, it was nevertheless wrong somehow. I didn't even notice the sprite darting off as fast as she could, shouting something in her high-pitched voice that I couldn't be bothered to figure out. There was something wrong with my body: specifically, the fact that it wasn't my body.
My skin was a silvery gray color, and cast a faint glow. My fingers were long and delicate, with short, sharp black nails. Looking down, I saw that I wore purple knee-high boots, the toes curled like a jester's, and a tunic and skirt the same shade of purple with a red trim, that looked like it was made of leaves, layered over each other to provide some protection from the elements. My gaze drifted upwards, to rest on the puddle of water the sprite left. I walked over and peered at my reflection, with an unpleasant suspicion of what I would find. What I found, while not surprising, was certainly upsetting. The first things that caught my eye were, in fact, my eyes; large orbs with dull, washed-out red irises and cat-like pupils that only served to make my already pale face look almost ill. My ears were pointed, but were at least proportionate to the rest of my face. Together with a button nose, small, pearly teeth, pert lips, and raven hair in a bun, I made a rather pretty Dark Fairy. However, that couldn't really distract me from the main issue: the fact that it definitely wasn't my body. I had no memory to speak of, but I somehow knew that whatever I was, this wasn't it. I pulled away from the puddle, eager to find someone who could set me straight before I went crazy.
But for some other reason, something about my reflection didn't rub me the right way. I went back to my reflection, trying to find out what was wrong. Suddenly, I saw the problem: If I was a Dark Fairy, where were my wings? Turning slightly, I caught a glance of my wings, folded up against my back, gossamer constructs of scarlet and jet. With some effort, I unfolded them, the alien feeling of foreign limbs making me feel slightly giddy. Focusing hard, I began to flap- well, flutter- my wings. Within moments, I was hovering a few inches off the ground. Now airborne, and going much quicker than before, I followed the path the sprite took, going towards the center of the Hedge Maze, to find someone in charge.
Not to mention I need to show everyone here that I'm not a threat. That part nearly slipped my mind. A Dark Fairy in the Hedge Maze? There would be a riot, to say the least. Dark Fairies were almost always causing trouble, either swindling Unicorn Way's residents or else attacking Wizards new to Unicorn Way. Hold on, if all Dark Fairies are like that, then how come I'm not? At least, I'm pretty sure I'm not. Either way, if I didn't explain myself quickly, there would be a small army after me within the hour.
I halted for a second and scratched my head. "Okay, so I can't actually remember anything about myself, but I can remember information I already knew? How does that even work?" Is that even what's happening right now?
So I searched my mind again, not for memories like before, but just for general things I knew. I know I'm in the Hedge Maze in Unicorn Way, and I know that's in Wizard City, the center of the Spiral, the collection of Worlds made up of fragments of the First World, torn apart by ancient titans eons ago, etcetera, etcetera. I know what Fairies (and Co.) are, all the names of the streets and the types of monsters in them, and the name of the school at the top of the World. I also know that there are other Worlds, though I only know the name of one of them, Krokotopia, and even then I don't know anything about it. And…yeah, that's all that's relevant for now. It was as I expected earlier: I knew all of these things as well as… actually, considerably better than the back of my hand. However, I had no memory of actually being in any of those places, or of any actual people. The information was there, but the context, how I actually obtained the information-
"PPPPLLLBBBBBBBBBBBBBBTT." My raspberry bounced off the walls, ringing out across the Maze. I continued flying, irritated by my increasingly convoluted issues, until I turned a corner into a short path that led to the center of the maze. I saw dozens of Fairies, Pixies, and Sprites flying erratically around a floating sculpture of an angel with a sword in the middle of the clearing; apparently, the Sprite told the others about their visitor. Beyond the cloud of swirling greens and browns, I saw a set of double doors, most likely leading outside. I didn't see anyone even trying to lead the various Fae, so that particular plan was a bust; so my next course of action would be to go to Ravenwood School's Headmaster in order to find a solution.
…The how would be tricky though. A Dark Fairy strolling into the Wizard City Commons, intent on entering the Headmaster's house? A Doomsday scenario would be the most likely end to that mess, and there was no way I was going to sneak past the crowds of students and residents. I supposed I could convince a wizard that I was friendly, and wanted to travel with them. I could slip away when we got near the Headmaster's place. First though, I had to get through this fiasco. I cracked my knuckles, readying myself for a fight; I wasn't sure if the fairies would turn violent when in large enough groups, but I definitely wasn't going to stick around to find out.
Aiming for the statue's right, I burst out of the maze with a whoop and a holler. The fairies immediately bolted, tearing off into the maze shouting words I couldn't make out in my haste. Unimpeded, I zipped past the statue and just got to the stairs in front of the doors when a hidden worst-case scenario made itself known: a sudden explosion threw me back, and I hit the ground at the feet of the angel statue. Blinking away stars, I leapt back into a hover, looking around wildly for the attacker.
But there was no one there but me and the statue.
Still looking around, I backed away from the statue and towards the stairs, I did my best to probe for any traps or mines or sensors I may have triggered. But the stairs were completely clear. Either the blast cleared everything else away, or I was indeed attacked.
Or I was actually insane, but that line of thought solved nothing, so I abandoned it.
I looked up, scanning the area above me. A stained glass dome washed the Maze in honey and turquoise light. The highest friezes depicted many strange scenes of flaming wheels with eyes around the rim and men with swords for tongues, among others I couldn't quite comprehend from the ground. My eye drifted to the statue's face, and I had to marvel at the skill of whoever created it. It was otherworldly beautiful, with vibrant blonde hair with a gold tiara nestled in it, a proud, sun-kissed face, and enormous sapphire eyes that seemed to follow me. It wore a white robe with a golden cord wrapped around the waist, as well as an expression of mingled confusion and curiosity on its face. I didn't know if the sculptor had a model, or if they were just that good; kudos either way on the effort put into it. The smoke slowly rising from its sword was also a nice touch, though it seemed to be fading away- at that, I jerked right the hell away from what I now saw wasn't a statue at all, but rather an actual angel.
Seeing that it- SHE still didn't move to attack, I composed myself with some difficulty. Holding my hands up in peace, I looked the angel in the eyes, marveling at how dense I was to not realize what she was the moment I got into the clearing; the power emanating from her was incredible, itching at the back of my mind like a sixth sense. The angel seemed to look into me, judging if I was a threat. After a few seconds, she smiled kindly and said to me in a clear, gentle voice, "Peace, little one, you have nothing to fear from me. I am Lady Oriel, the protector of the Hedge Maze. What is your name, and how did you come to be here?"
Affable: Hello, lads and lasses! Welcome to the show!
Rattles: Where the Hell were you? It's been years now. Not that I was complaining...
A: What, did you not notice the fire?
R: Fire? What fire? You started a fire?
A: No, I didn't start a fire. It was some electrical or heat thing. Anyway this was a year ago now. Before that I was dealing with an injury.
R: Right, THAT I remember. Did you lose that foot or is that cane just for show?
A: No on both counts, I'm happy to say! Still got a hell of a limp after that mess.
R: ...You're happy you have a limp.
A: I'm happy I'm not carrying a cane for show. Miss me with that fake shit.
R: SO, why are you back after all this time? Writing this, I mean; its not like anyone's going to read though it all again, they barely read it the first time around.
A: Indeed, it was quite poorly written. Still is, in fact! But, I really just wanted to smooth it out, rewrite a few bits that bothered me the first time around but I didn't know enough about writing to fix, fix a few potential (and existing) plot holes, and just update it so I didn't cringe every time I looked it up. My tastes changed drastically these last few years, y'know?
R: So you're just starting this up again after two years? Isn't that kinda crazy?
A: Sure, but whatever I lack as a writer, balls ain't one of 'em.
R: Well, at least you skipped the leash this go-around.
A: And with that, you may now proceed!