-Present Time-
"It's too bad you refused to join us" a man with dull blonde hair chuckled darkly, his stare piercing through me. It just had to be Peta… My clothes were soaked and tattered with blood. It had turned my hair a dark red, and blood filled my mouth. I tried not to scream, knowing it would be just what he wanted. My breaths were shallow and ragged, and my head hung low in defeat.
"You bastard!" I cursed, panting heavily. My hands and legs were pinned against the tree, crimson blood running freely down my body. I felt my strength weaning and my eyes closing, it took all my effort just to keep my head up. Come on, just a little longer! My blood filled the glass orbs that had attached to my body. I knew I was going to die soon... If only I wasn't so reckless! I cursed inwardly.
"Talking won't save your life" Peta smirked, enjoying my suffering. "Not bad, your blood I mean" he spoke again drinking my blood from a small glass goblet he pulled out. He's right... The first part anyways... I thought bitterly. I can't even move... Blood was spread out all across the open clearing, cuts and gashes were all over my mangled body, even if nothing was broken. This guy didn't even have a scratch on him! My entire body wanted to collapse, but I wasn't going to give him that pleasure! A small glow came from the necklace under my shirt, giving me a small hope of relief.
"It's too bad, maybe I should join the Chess Pieces..."
A Few Months Before
"Ugh… What happened? I feel so numb…" I croaked, finding it hard to open my eyes. A cool breeze floated over me, sending dust and debris over me. Cracking them open slowly, I was immediately blinded by the hot sun looming over me. Everything seemed to be blurry as I tried to find my surroundings, but it passed in a number of seconds. I tried to remember how I got this way, how I faced the blue sky, immobilized, and feeling nothing but emptiness. My entire body was numb, and my head spun with confusion.
I tried to move my arm as my body screamed in protest, slowly bringing it into my line of sight when I tilted my head slightly. Everything was so painful; it hurt just to attempt to move any part of my body. My hand was splattered in blood, not fresh since it had turned a slightly brown rusted color and had crusted over. What happened?... Where am I and how did I get here?... I don't remember anything… Millions of questions poured into my head as I tried to figure it out one at a time.
I decided to answer my second question first, looking at the surroundings in my line of sight. There was a sheer cliff towards the right, stretching out towards the sky, scraping past the clouds. Ignoring the screaming pain, I tilted my head towards the left side of me, concluding that I probably fell off the cliff. In the distance, I saw a small group of people walking across this barren dirt land, not even a plant in sight. I only saw shadows of their silhouettes in the distance, a mirage maybe, but something told me they were real. Maybe they can help me here… I stared at the three shadowy figures coming towards, one of them seeming to run towards me. I smiled hopefully at the thought of being rescued, knowing I was saved before I let the darkness wash over me again.
"Hey guys! I think I see someone over there!" Akio yelled. He wore a black T-shirt with two axes crossed on the backside of his shirt with a white line running diagonally through it. To match, he wore khaki pants. He had slightly long jet-black hair that covered his forehead and from the back, stopped just before the base of his neck. His eyes were a strange golden color, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. His skin was light even in the baking sun, in contrast to the people next to him.
"You're imaging things Akio. I don't see anyone" the person next to him replied exasperated. He was clad in dark-green clothes, his pants a dark brown, not very suitable for someone out in a barren like place as they were now.
"Am not! I do see someone!" Akio protested a fake pout on his face as he ran ahead.
"Akio, we're supposed to be on patrol, not chasing after mirages!" the last person yelled after him. He was clad in dark-brown leather, his left eye covered by an eye patch. "Jeez, that guy…"
Akio ran towards the figure he saw regardless of his comrades' protests. As he ran across the bleak landscape, the once silhouette of the person he saw became clear. He finally managed to catch up to the person he saw lying on the ground. It's a girl, he thought surprised. Not that many people would be able to make it this far in this barren landscape alone, and most of people who have were men because of the harsh conditions. This was merely a girl! She looked like a teenager, fourteen, maybe sixteen?
The girl had countless cuts and scratches on her, most of them minor though. She had long black hair spread out beneath her, her head titled toward him as if to face him, contoured in pain. She was covered in so much blood though; he couldn't tell what she actually looked like! Blood seemed to be spattered all over her.
Blood flowed from a wound over her right eye, drenching half her face in blood. The ends of her hair were drenched crimson from the pool of blood beneath her. She looked as if she came straight out of a war! The first wound he noticed though was a long, deep gash running across her entire body, cutting through the girl's white tank top. Another gash was found on her left arm, which was jaggedly cut.
There was a small cut on her left cheek, and her head was bleeding from behind as well. Probably fell and hit her head, he thought looking at the huge puddle of blood beneath her, and the sheer cliff near by. She's lost a lot of blood too… he thought, a serious look on his face. But how in MÄR Heaven did she end up with all these wounds! Akio quickly looked around to see if there were any bandits in sight, then sighed in relief. It would have been idiotic of him to rush to the aid of someone only to be ambushed. Well, the only bandits here are us then, he mused and proceeded to analyze the injured person in from of him again.
Several minor cuts went through her black pants staining it with blood, the crimson liquid still dripping from all the wounds as well. It was the same with her right arm as well, all together a huge puddle of blood. Akio checked her pulse and breathing quickly to ascertain she was still alive, even if the chances were slim. How she was still alive puzzled him. She probably should have died from blood loss alone! Her breaths are shallow and ragged and her pulse is decreasing! I have to do something or else she'll die! Akio quickly scavenged his pockets looking for something until he finally found it. It was a small necklace, shaped as a bandaged sword with wings on both sides.
"Holy ARM, Azumi" he whispered quietly hoping the ARM would heal her wounds, and that he had enough magical power to heal her as well. As the ARM glowed, magical power flowed to the trinket and her wounds quickly closed leaving no scars on her skin, as if those injuries were never there. He picked her up from that pool of blood, his hands dripping crimson. He looked at her quickly checking if she was ok. She didn't stir one bit, resting peacefully in his arms for the moment. I hope she's ok…
"Guys, I found someone injured. Can we take her back to the fort for her to rest? Or maybe stay?" he added shouting at his comrades far behind. He ran towards them at full speed, getting there in just a few seconds and repeated the question again.
"Yeah sure, I hope the boss will be ok with it though when he gets back. I wonder what happened to her…" the one clad in green said, looking at the girl sadly.
"He's still in the War Games though, he won't be back anytime soon." the other one said.
"Besides, when was the last time he couldn't let a girl stick around" he added optimistically, nodding towards the girl in Akio's arms.
"I guess that settles that! Let's go back and let this girl rest, she's kind of heavy you know" Akio said a smile plastered on his face. She actually wasn't heavy at all, practically nothing in his arms but it was important that she was taken back somewhere to rest.
"Dimension ARM, Andata. Take everyone here home" Akio said holding up his ring.
They were instantly teleported back to their base, where many people turned to stare at those who just returned. Their attention automatically focused at the newcomer in Akio's bloodied hands. Everyone there wore the symbol with two axes crossed on a black shield. There were a few murmurs though the crowd, their voices rippling through as Akio set her down on a nearby bench. The girl groaned slightly, but her eyes didn't open.
"She looks pretty weak…"
"Who is she? Someone from the streets?"
"I don't even see a single ÄRM on her!"
"She's just going to hold us back here…"
"I'll give her two weeks for her to last here in the Thieves' Guild"
"Hey, SHUT UP!" A voiced yelled silencing any other voices like a blade cutting through water. Akio turned around to face them all; his golden eyes glaring with enough intensity you would think they were on fire.
"I brought her here cause' she was injured, and cause; I chose to ok! Most of us here were like this too, helpless, on the verge of death, and with no home." He spat out. "So don't go saying stuff until you actually think about your own circumstances!" They all looked at him in silence, comprehending what he said and went on to their usual business. The regular noises started back up again, some drinking, some eating, and some just plain talking, acting as if the scene never even happened. Akio let out a relieved sigh as he turned around it face the girl again.
He looked closely at the girl, and realized she had pale skin in contrast to her jet-black hair that covered her eyes. Akio noted her breathing seemed to be normal now, her chest rising and falling regularly. Akio sat down, next to where her head lay, waiting for her to wake up, a sad look discerning his features.
A few hours later
I woke up quickly, my eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room. I didn't hear any noises except for my own breathing. I was saved then... I let a small smile creep on my face as I sat up, looking at my surroundings. The place looked like a tavern, completely made out of wood, along with everything else. Several round wooden tables were scattered around the room, huge wooden cups left astray on some of them as well. People were around recently, that was for sure.
I surveyed the room slowly, looking for anyone or anything else in sight.
"Hey, you're awake then" a voice said, breaking my thoughts. I immediately turned to the source of the voice, which happened to be right next to me. It came from a guy that looked around my age wearing a black shirt and white pants yawning. He must have been asleep.
"You were injured pretty badly back there, what happened to you? Or may I ask, who are you?" the stranger asked politely.
"I have no idea honestly, I don't remember anything" I said shaking my head, realizing what my voice sounded like.
"Eh? Nothing? Not even your own name huh?" he questioned, surprised. "Weird... Another no-name…" I heard him mutter quietly. "Anyways my name's Akio, nice to meet ya' " He extended his hand as a gesture, but I just nodded and slumped against the wooden bench.
"You don't really talk much do ya'?" he said taking off his shirt. Wait… He's taking off his shirt?! I quickly turned away from him, trying to hide my blushing face. Behind me, I heard him laughing loudly.
"It's alright! You can turn around. Don't worry bout' it" he shouted. I slowly turned around my face slightly red, as I noticed he had an undershirt underneath. It was a plain black tank top, a symbol with two axes on the top left. The black shirt he was wearing earlier was in his hand, extended towards me.
"You might want to put this on instead" he said smirking, nudging the shirt towards me. I looked down at my clothes, noticing rips and tears all over them, as well as a lot of blood. Bandages were also wrapped all around my torso and stomach. I didn't comment on how they appeared there and took the shirt gratefully, putting it over my ruined tank-top.
"I might as well get you some new pants too." Akio said as he got up. "Also… Do you remember anything at all?" he question walking away. I quickly ran behind him to catch up and shook my head.
"I don't remember a thing…" I said as we walked silently through the fortress. We walked for a while silently, until I felt something rustling from inside my pocket.
"Hm?" I murmured quietly as I reached into my pocket and pulled out something. It was a picture… Two people were in it, one a girl, one a boy, the boy a good head or so taller than the girl. He had long blonde hair covering his eyes as it ran down his back, his face in a genuine smile, a sharp tooth sticking out. His arms were crossed, a plain black T-shirt on with a pair of blue jeans on. Kind of like Akio, I thought.
The girl was wearing the opposite of him with a white T-shirt and black pants on, having jet-black hair instead of his blonde hair. Her arms were crossed below her chest, as her hair ran past her back and covered her eyes as well, but one dark-blue eye was visible, shining happily. A smile was carved on her face, the same as the guy next to her, together looking like opposites. They looked like night and day together in the picture, but both of them looked happy.
In the background was something that resembled a street, a few houses behind them, some grass, and the group was covered in dirt. They didn't look like people who would be friends with each other, and they only had a few similarities. They were both in the same position and their skin was pale.
"Hey, why'd you stop walking?" Akio asked curiously, turning around halfway to do so.
"Do you know who these people are?" I asked, holding up the picture. Akio walked up to me and took it from my hand. He glanced at the picture in a mixture of amusement and surprise, looking at me, his eyes glinting.
"The girl is you!" Akio said and laughed. "The guy… Well, let's just say I'll tell you about him later. Now come on." Akio continued dismissing the matter. He handed me back the picture as we continued walking, leaving me even more curious.
"Hold on I'll be right back no-name-chaaan!" Akio hopped cheerfully and left. Is he…? Never mind, I don't want to know… Akio came back a few seconds later, and tossed me a pair of white pants.
"Go and change, I promise I won't look" Akio normally, giving me a small smile to reassure me.
"Alright, but if you look you're dead" I spoke giving him a death glare, while I waited for him to turn around. He only smiled lightly and turned his back to me. Once he did that I turned my back to him and started changing. After I was done, I tapped Akio's shoulder, and let a very small smile go on my face.
"You didn't look did you?" I asked suspiciously, handing him the torn up clothes.
"Nope, I swore I wouldn't" he replied grinning, throwing those clothes in the garbage. "Now in a few minutes the War Games will start, and we'll see our boss fighting. I'll also need to send a message to him too, ASAP."
"War Games? What are they? How will you get a message to him? Who's your boss anyway?" I asked bombarding him with questions.
"Whoa, whoa slow down!" he chucked. "This is Luberia the thieves' guild! Our message system is second to none!" he shouted chuckling loudly. "And you don't know what the War Games are?" Akio asked returning to his normal voice. I shook my head as he started explaining.
"The War Games were created by the Chess Pieces who were trying to take over the MÄR Heaven World. They're very powerful and killed many of our comrades before and very recently too." Akio spoke bitterly. I couldn't help but throw a pitying glance at him, but he shrugged it off.
"They've killed and destroyed many other villages and towns, such as a town somewhat close to here named Vestry. The Chess created the War Games as a way to eliminate all who oppose them, killing the strong and creating fear in the weak. The last War Game was six years ago where the Chess Pieces were first formed, along with the Cross Guard who fought against them."
"Last time there was someone from the other world named Danna, who killed Phantom, who is the strongest of the Zodiac, but also died the same time Phantom did. The Zodiac is made up of the thirteen knights, Phantom as the strongest. All together their ranking goes, starting from the lowest: pawn, rook, bishop, knight, and the king and queen. Is that a good answer for you? No-name-chaaaan!" Akio explained cheerfully, playfully badgering me.
"Thank you for that somewhat overly explained answer…" I muttered, irritated.
"I'm going to send a message to our leader" Akio said suddenly facing the doorway to the outside. "Can I send that picture too?" he asked politely.
"If it's ok, I want to keep it. It'll hopefully restore some sort of memory" I replied softly.
"That's fine; I'll send a message right away!" Akio shouted and ran off.
"I guess it is" I said to myself as I walked outside the fortress itself and sat down, leaning against the wooden building. I closed my eyes as I waited for Akio to come back.
I felt something shaking me as I opened my eyes. It was Akio trying to get me to look at him. Guess I fell asleep…
"What is it?" I muttered drowsily.
"The War Games are what's going on!" Akio replied irritated as he stopped shaking me. "And our boss just finished fighting!" He pointed towards the sun, as I saw it wasn't the sun, but something like a reflection. It showed something like a battleground, in a place I didn't know of.
"He already won y'know" Akio stated still pointing to the figure reflected there. A figure with blonde hair was shown close up covering his forehead, a bright red headband covering his eyes. He wore a red shirt as well a cross running through it diagonally. A huge grin was plastered on his face, probably since he won.
"That… looks like the guy in picture" I said blinking to see if what I was seeing wasn't a mirage.
"It probably is. That's our leader, Nanashi" Akio replied.
"Na…na…shi…" I repeated slowly, looking at the person shown curiously. "No name?"
"That's right" Akio replied. "He's kind of the same as you. You both were found close to Luberia; somewhere close to that same location you were found, the loss of memories and that picture in your pocket. Although, only you had picture" he added.
"Do you think he may have some sort of relation to me?" I asked curiously. "You think he could trigger some memories don't you?"
"Maybe… Yeah, I think it could trigger some memories" he replied. "That's why I sent the message"