He was underwater. How had this happened? Oh yeah, that was right. He had fallen out of the sky like a brick.

One minute his skimmer had been fine (if pushed to its limit) the next he had flown into a storm and then found himself losing altitude at an alarming rate. There had been pain and a moment's blackness. Had he lost consciousness? Everything seemed to be faint and fuzzy around him. His mind was working in slow motion as it refused to yield any information concerning just what had happened to him and how he had ended up in this strange and unpleasant situation.

Well, he supposed he could worry about that later. For the time being, if he didn't do anything he was going to end up feeding the fishes. Forcing his eyes open, he tried to get his bearings. Up above him, he could make out a dazzling light. Now either he was in worse shape than he thought he was or that was the sun. Judging by the pain still radiating through his body, he was going to go with still being alive however as his lungs promptly reminded him that wouldn't be the case for much longer as he less he got some oxygen. Despite his aching muscles, the man clenched his teeth as he summoned both the strength of will and determination to swim up to the surface.

As soon as his head was above the water, he gasped for air. Oxygen filled his lungs bringing with it much needed relief. For a moment, he contented himself with just getting his breath back and treading water to stay above the surface of the pool he found himself in.

It was only after he began to recover that he began to look around and take in his surroundings. He had landed in a deep pool of water, for that he could be grateful. The surroundings themselves were green and luscious. Very different from what he was accustomed to and the sky… The sky was the bluest he had seen it in oh so very long. He couldn't look away for a few seconds, as if compelled to take it all in.

"I've missed you old friend." He spoke softly to the blue kingdom he had once almost called his own.

Suddenly, a painful memory of just how he had ended up in the situation in the first place came back to him. He was far from out of harm's way. Quickly swimming to the edge of the pool, he took shelter under the trees. His eyes surveyed the air for any sign of company. Everything was silent. All he could hear was the sound of water flowing from a spring in the form of a waterfall. The other sounds which came from all around were those of wildlife not skimmers. He would have expected his arrival to have attracted some attention…

He stayed put for a while. He knew how to stay hidden from both above and the same level. Sheltered in a bush under some dense trees, he was as well hidden as he was going to get. It also allowed him the opportunity to check himself over. Given the fire fight he had been in just moments before, he was thanking his lucky stars that he was still alive in the first place. Gradually, a dull pain in his leg informed him that one of the energy shots had made contact leaving him with a rather nasty burn. Other than that, his first guess was mainly exhaustion and a fair amount of bruises. Not exactly pleasant but fortunately not life threatening.

Sitting there, he retraced in his mind everything that had happened which had lead to him sitting here and sheltering in the shade of a tree in some forgotten terra. He was lucky to still be alive. As much as he hated to admit it, they had come terrifyingly close to killing him. Had it not been for that storm cloud which had brought him down but so far at least in such a way that his pursuers hadn't been able to follow or at least locate him, he would likely either be dead or on his way to a good old fashion Cyclonian jail cell. He supposed that he could be grateful for that much.

He spent a good few hours sitting there, recuperating his strength from the battle he had just fought. Although, sleep was tugging at his eyelids, he forced himself to remain awake. The day rolled on and still no signs of any skimmers or other ships. Hunger was beginning to nag him but he knew how to ignore it, at least for a while. What counted for the moment was ensuring that he wasn't spotted. He found it unlikely that his pursuers would have given up the chase so easily. Least of all when he was the target.

Still, as time went by, the more he found himself believing that somehow he had managed to evade them. Perhaps they believed he had perished in the crash when his ride had gone down. Although he would have thought them to be a little more cautious than that: they would want to be certain and for that they would require a body.

Eventually, a mixture of curiosity and the need to know just where he was prompted him to break cover. Very carefully initially, it had to be said. He walked slowly through the forest, taking his time to take in the surroundings. There were some very faint traces of life: trails and paths through the undergrowth which had been trodden down. It could have been caused by a relatively large animal or of course by people. It was the second scenario which concerned him the most. He now had so few allies, the chances of him coming across friends were few and far between. People who would turn him over to Cyclonia in a heartbeat however, that would be more likely.

Ironically, he came across his skimmer. It had crashed in some of the denser parts of the forest. It had taken quite the smashing but still looked as if it might just fly. He headed over to it and picked the machine up, examining it. It would need a little fixing but nothing which he couldn't deal with. At least, he told himself he shouldn't be stuck here for too long. The dense forest continued on for a while until he came out near the edge of the terra which was rather more exposed. It was a pretty place, seemingly untouched. He decided that he would be better off leaving his ride there for the time being, at least until he was certain that he was alone here. He hid it as best as he could in a bush before continuing with his exploration.

His stomach grumbled as he walked along. The burn on his leg continued to sting causing him to limp slightly. Asides from the occasional bird, the skies above him remained empty. Perhaps this place truly was uninhabited. No… His eyes raised themselves to see a small plume of smoke. It wasn't much, likely only the result of a small fire but he knew that where there was fire, you could often count on finding a few individuals capable of making it.

Acting instinctively, he drew his blade. To his surprise, there was not the red glow that he was accustomed to. He tried again. Still nothing, the energy field simply wouldn't activate. Curious and a little frustrated, he checked his weapon's pommel. The crystal was a far duller colour than usual. He'd spent enough time around mages to know when he was out of power. Yet this was the first time he had ever experienced the problem. Whilst it was true that skimmers and ships tended to burn through crystals quickly, the energy required by average weapons was such that it was seldom a problem for them. He had noticed no signs that his crystal was about to give out during the fight that he had been in not all that long ago.

Strange… And worrying…

He would have to trust in his hand to hand combat skills should he encounter any hostiles. As such, he adopted a more cautious approached as he made his way towards where he could see the smoke.

Eventually, a small house came into view in a small clearing. Even from afar, the man could tell that it was rudimentary: made out of scraps and what little its builders had been able to cobble together no doubt. Still, it was a hut. Only one though. Could he have landed on the least populated terra in all of Atmos? Well, this might work out for him after all. Fewer people meant that the odds would tip just slightly more in his favour.

He approached slowly, none-the-less. As he drew nearer, a pleasant smell caught in his nostrils and caused him to sniff the air. That was food. Good good. Fresh food as opposed to the stuff which came out of cans he had been used to. His stomach decided to rumble once more, reminding him that he was very much hungry. Slowing down to an almost crawl, he tiptoed around the house. Keeping his eyes and ears open, ready to either run or adopt a fighting stance he made his way around to the front of the house.

The fugitive spotted a small pen inside of which were locked quite a few chickens. Boiling away under a fire was a pot of some form of stew. That of course was what attracted him the most; the promise of something nice to put in his stomach. He made his way carefully over to the pot. Inside, he could make out what looked like pieces of egg and several other herbs and plants. It was simple, no doubt made out of the limited ingredients which were available to them. Still, the smell… He cast another glance around, nobody seemed to be present.

He took the ladle which had been left to rest in the stew and dared to sample the food. Blowing on it to cool it down somewhat, he took a small sip at first. It warmed his throat and brought a soothing sensation to his starving stomach. He quickly finished it before taking another spoonful.

It was as he helped himself a third time that he found himself stopping dead. He had the distinct feeling that there was a pair of eyes just behind him. He slowly turned to look over his shoulder. Standing right behind him was a young woman with long purple hair tied up in a ponytail behind her. She was carrying on her shoulders a pole and two buckets filled with water. There was a look of shear and utter bewilderment on her face as she simply gawked at him. He got the impression that if her eyes were to open any wider they might pop out.

"Uh… Hi..."

The expression of shock suddenly changed. In a matter of seconds, her brow creased and her face conveyed nothing but pure rage. He made a reach for his sword, not to attack her but simply to make sure he could keep her at arm's reach if the need arose. Before he could do so however, he found himself on the wrong end of a powerful kick.

There was a sharp pain for a moment and then the world simply turned black