Somewhere in the deserts of Arizona was a small "resort town" called Handler's Corners. It contained a Diner, some buildings, and stores for everyday commodities. Located in this town was a stretch of sand and canyons called the Salt Flats, a test track, and a living quarters that doubled as a garage for cars and other vehicles.
The garage happened to be empty save for a purple motorcycle with black handles and saddlebag on it. A bulletin board was on a wall with a calendar stuck to it by a pin tacked to the board. Next to it were two markers colored red and black. The mahogany door on the left opened, and down from the steps came a woman talking on her white smartphone.
The woman was short in stature with long, brown hair done in a low ponytail and grey eyes. Her clothing consisted of a short sleeved blue shirt with a white heart symbol over a pink tank with a support bra, blue jeans, and blue and white sneakers over white socks. She walked over to the calendar while she talked with her friend on the other line.
"You want to come over?" she asked.
There was a pause while she listened to her friend.
"No, it's okay! Really, there's nothing interesting going on here, anyway. Some company would be nice," the woman told her.
Another pause while she got the black marker ready.
"The twenty-ninth of August, right?" she asked, circling the date. "Great! I'll see you then!"
She put the cap back on the marker before ending the call. Letting out a cheer, she held her arms in the air.
A few minutes later, she had swapped her sneakers for black riding boots and put on a denim jacket over her body. The woman had given her violet motorcycle a tune-up earlier and wanted to test it out. Putting on a blue helmet, she secured the strap before cracking her knuckles.
"Let's do this!" she declared with determination.
Once the garage door was opened, she hopped on the motorbike and started it up. With a final check, she revved out of the garage for a spin on the stretch of barren ground.
She loved going for rides like this. The wind in her hair, the rocks and canyons that were just blurs when she rode...
The sound of a police car's siren coming next to her.
"Pull over, Pryce," the town's Sheriff instructed on speaker. "Yer speedin'."
All she did was point to up ahead before going off.
The Sheriff turned to the road and had to hit the brake, but it was too late, for he crashed into a cactus and came to an abrupt stop. He opened the door and looked to the speck with dust trailing behind it in the distance.
"Sapphire! Yer goin' nowhere fast!" he yelled in anger.
Following losing the Sheriff, the woman's eyes stumbled upon something out of the ordinary in the terrain. The female rider, Sapphire Pryce, came to a halt and raised up the helmet's visor.
There was an electrical blue tornado a few feet away violently rotating and kicking up dust. Sapphire deduced that this was no ordinary tornado quickly and tried to get a closer look.
She ended up getting a closer look when her tires glowed red and she was lifted into the tornado. Sapphire had to keep her speed and maneuverability up, lest she fall out and get hurt or worse.
A flash in the distance came at the eye of the storm and she shielded her eyes...
A blue vortex opened up in a lava based area with rock formations and deposited Sapphire and the motorcycle in it. Once she was confident she came to a stop, the woman removed her helmet and looked around.
"Where am I?" she asked in awe. "It looks like something out of science fiction..."
She heard something behind her and got off the bike. Running to what was behind her, the portal closed up and vanished.
"Great," she muttered.
Getting back on her bike, she decided to ride along the roads and investigate the area.
Her answer to getting out (though she didn't know it at first) took the shape of a key like item at a cliff. Stopping her motorcycle, she got off and took off her helmet. There was a pause while she looked at the floating item.
"Well..." she said, approaching the key.
Right when her hand touched the key, a second, more alien hand touched it as well.
Said alien hand jerked back and the two got a look into each other's eyes. The alien hand belonged to a translucent blue female humanoid alien with dark hieroglyphics decorating her figure. This contrasted with the white blue energy that flowed through her body via the mechanism that served as her brain, or so Sapphire guessed.
"This Battle Key belongs to me," the alien informed, her gaze on the human's. Despite an automated voice, she sounded tired.
Tired of what was the question.
"I do not know who you are or where you came from, but this key belongs to my people," she added. "I cannot let it fall into the wrong hands."
When she heard that statement, a part of Sapphire felt fear. However, another part of her had a gut feeling that she needed help.
"I don't intend to hurt you," Sapphire stated. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I have a feeling you need this."
She approached the Sentient and offered the key to her.
"I'll gladly leave you with this and find another way out of here if that's what you wish," she compromised.
The alien examined her for a moment before accepting the key.
"Thank you," she began. "And unless you have a Battle Key, you will be unable to leave the Battle Zone. In thanks for giving this to me, I can assist you in returning home. Where is your vehicle of transportation?"
"It's right here," Sapphire told her, gesturing to her bike a couple of feet away. "Oh, I'm Sapphire, by the way."
"I am Sage, a Sentient," the alien, Sage, introduced.
Sage got to examining the bike when a war horn sounded in the distance, making them look up.
"What was that?" Sapphire asked in surprise.
"While a sufficient vehicle, it will not withstand an attack from Kalus," Sage noted, making Sapphire turn to her.
The Sentient turned to her, a frown on her face.
"He and his hunting party are nearby," she said. "Quickly, we must leave the area. There is an emergency shelter nearby that we may take refuge in and upgrade your vehicle."
She held out her hand, and a hologram of the terrain came up from her palm. A dot of red light served as the destination point, glowing in a small valley only a few miles away.
Sapphire took a good look at the map before gaining a determined look on her face.
"The ride might get rough, so hold on tight," she warned.
Sage nodded and the two got on the motorcycle. Her grip was not strong, but it was steady while the Sentient wrapped her arms around Sapphire's waist. Once Sapphire's helmet was on, she started the bike up. With Sage's grip on her waist felt, she was off through the Zone.
A few miles into her ride, a lot of questions began to pop up into Sapphire's head. But she had to ask those later, for she not only had an escort to make, but she also had to watch out for that Kalus fellow and his hunting party.
Something attempted to hit her vehicle, and her rear view mirror caught sight of an anthropomorphic liger on a primitive gold chariot and a crustacean like creature on a skeletal themed vehicle.
"Shit," she cursed under her breath before accelerating.
When Kalus made his entrance, Sage tightened her arms around her waist.
"We are almost there," she called into Sapphire's ear. "Look there!"
Down in a valley sat nothing at first, but when Sage waved her hand, an enormous white vehicle flickered before stabilizing into existence.
"This is where you must go," she told her.
While she spoke, a ramp lowered itself to the ground, the lights flickering on.
"Got it!" Sapphire complied before making a sharp turn and heading straight into the vehicle.
The vehicle's ramp raised back up and the doors closed, the vehicle disappearing. Kalus roared in frustration when it seemingly vanished.
The inside of the vehicle was like a technological garage. This was the first thing Sapphire noted when the vehicle came to a stop and she took off her helmet.
"Feels like something out of science fiction," Sapphire noted.
With a lurch, Sage disembarked from the motorcycle and floated to a raised platform. As she hovered, the interior of the garage seemed to come to life.
"This is a Mobius Command Center," she explained. "This one is damaged, but it will fulfill our needs to upgrade your vehicle. Stand back, please."
Various instruments came to life while she spoke, and a platform lifted Sapphire out of the way. Sage's hands shined with a Sentient blue and she pulled from the hieroglyph on her chest a triangular microchip that was black with a cyan heart that had a jagged symbol in the center of it.
"This self-contained power cell will allow your vehicle to upgrade and sustain the Sentient technology without collapsing on itself," she added while typing figures into her data screen. "I'm afraid the cloaking device will be deactivated the moment we begin. You must be prepared to escape the moment you have named your vehicle."
The Sentient looked to her.
"You are prepared?" Sage asked.
The human took a deep breath while she processed the information. It seemed like much, but she was told by her Mother to help others out no matter what their situation.
"I'm ready," she told her in a firm voice.