Disclaimer: I don't own any liscenced thing you see here
AN: This is a multi-author book..based on a RP..I won't tell you yet who each of them are...I want you to pick who you like and not first./ ENJOY!
Threads of gaia part 1
A million flashes, each as intense as the heart of a soaring sun. A billion screams that barely had time to escape from their creators. And then a cruel nothingness that ebbed, throbbed and consumed all.
Even from outer space the world seemed to smoke, it's beautiful blue seas and lush lands overcast by a thick smog that strangled and choked the planet.
Very few survived the horrific fallout, and even fewer survived with their memories intact. Perhaps a meager dozen or two human beings kept their lives on that fateful day. No one fully knew what had happened.
Across no less than a dozen of the world's former great cities, a handful of survivors awoke. Each as innocent and sweet as a firstborn, knowing very little for in a blaze of neuronic activity their memories had been wiped.
And so it was that these survivors would awake as one, their bodies huddled together within the interior of a building set deep underground within the inner city of a place somewhat similar to London. Dust and ashes seemed to fill the air with a sense of imminent foreboding and danger.
Chapter 1: Wake up call
Bright, green eyes flew open. A low moan escaped his half-open lips as pain flooded his body. A gloved hand cam into view as he placed his palm on his brow. Using what little energy he could muster, he stumbled up and took in his surroundings.
The first thing to come to the attention of the man was the lack of natural lighting - of any lighting, in fact; only one small orb remained intact on the ceiling, a small crack running up its curved surface. Checking what little of his memory he did not find in tatters, he came up with a word for it; a light-bulb, or something like that. The walls sported no windows, and appeared to be made of large squares or rock laid together side by side, the pattern climbing up toward the ceiling. The floor was just one large stone slab, cracked and broken at least two times to every square meter of ground.
Satisfied with his inspection of the room, he looked down at himself for the first time. Basically intact...good...
What seemed amazing, however, was that the only injury on his entire body was a small scar running across his right cheek.
Lucky.
His clothes had escaped getting torn, and the v-shaped stick in his left hand still looked polished and shiny. An engraving in the staff stood out spectacularly, it's detail almost haunting..an image of a bird's claw holding some form of flower.
A raven's claw wrapped around a rose. A voice from somewhere deep inside his mind told him.
He raised the metallic stick and flipped a switch on its underbelly, causing the revolving chamber to fly out. He dumped out the empty casings in his hand and looked at them. Whatever they were, they were no use to him anymore. Dumping them on the ground, he noticed more casings like the ones he had dropped strewn out all around him.
He closed the chamber and placed the stick in its holder at his waist, searching for its name. Words like 'Fortuna' and 'custom' flew into his head, triggered by the thought of the small club, but as soon as that eight letter word ran across the train tracks of his mind,he knew what it was called; revolver.
A fitting name... He thought, then turned to look at the currently unconscious bodes of the other people in the room.
Adjusting the strap of his sling-bag, he sat down against a nearby wall, and closed his eyes listening for any sound of life.
G-A-I-A-I-A-I-A
What came to her first was a dull pain, a throbbing in her temples like an overused jackhammer.
Groaning, she opened her eyes and tried to prop herself up on one elbow, looking in a daze about the cement room. It had a damp, earthy smell to it, mildew grew in the corners of the room, and dirty-looking water dripped in from cracks in the ceiling.
Besides the many unconscious bodies, she saw a tall man sitting propped against a wall on the far side of the room, apparently asleep.
It seemed logical to assume he might know something about where they were, and how they got there, so she quickly stood up. However, with a few undignified flaps of her arms, she collapsed once more onto the floor, her legs apparently unable to support her sudden weight.
Confused, she looked down at her legs, in an attempt to discern what was wrong with them. As her eyes met them, she gasped in shock.
Though apparently undamaged, they were a horrible yellowish-orange. Turning her eyes to her arms and the rest of her exposed flesh, she realized they looked just as discolored.
"I...I don't understand...what...happened to me...?"
As she wracked her brain for the answer, her throat tightened in fear...
I...I don't...remember anything!
G-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A
A ray of light spun out like a pinwheel, nearly blinding the two boys as the menacing monster was finally defeated. The gargantuous, shaggy-haired fiend dropped backward amidst the light it emitted, roaring out a venomous defeat.
Both boys dropped to their knees in exhaustion, they'd worked together to deal that final blow, and it turned out to be worth it. The dark haired youth named Chris Harbynn gave a weary smile, trying to catch his breath.
"Good... job... Kieron...! We... did... it!" he panted to his companion. It felt like his entire body would give way, exhausted from the long and perilous battle, but his heart was happy.
They had survived.
"Kieron! Chris!"
Too tired and worn to stand, Chris turned and flopped down in a messy sitting position, laying his proud sword across his lap as he gave a weak grin up at the woman racing in their direction. Her long hair trailed behind her waving like a victory flag, the vigor in her eyes proof that they had won the fight. The woman, Andala by name, reached the boys and knelt in front of them low enough to bring her eyes level with theirs. She was exhausted from the fight as well, but unlike her companions, she was quite experienced in battle.
"You have both been very brave," she complimented, her smile revealing healthy white teeth.
"Yes, and yourself!" Chris laughed. The trio had indeed fought courageous and hard against the creature, but whatever battle experience Chris and Kieron had gathered in the past was gone to them now. It was a mystery whether either of the boys had been skilled and fierce fighters in the past, but novices as they were at present, they had proven at least something today.
Andala, leader of the forest troupe whose care the the two boys had come into some time ago, placed a hand the boys' shoulders, and said in an affectionate tone, "I'm proud of you...You are sure you can't stay?"
"Nah... I'm afraid not! I think we've stayed our welcome in this world," Chris replied. Kieron seemed in agreement with this statement, though he remained silent.
Andala nodded and stepped back onto her feet. "Then it must be done. Kieron, Chris... You are welcome to return to this world if ever you pass it again. But I wish you luck in your journey. Go now!" Andala lifted a graceful hand and motioned toward a swirling white portal only a few yards away. The monster that had blocked it before and refused to let it be breached was fairly defeated, and the way was now clear.
After such a work-out, Chris knew that his body needed rest, and he truly would have appreciated it, but he also knew that the portal would not stay open forever. Gathering his remaining strength, the dark-haired youth pulled himself to his feet, Kieron managing the same.
Swinging their simple weapons onto their backs, the two teens strode forth and and approached the portal. Chris looked aside at his month-long companion, his smile still lingering on his face.
"I guess you were unconscious the first time we did this...I've only gone through a portal once, but I'd like to warn you...we oughta brace for impact, Kieron!" He informed with a cheery smile. This was the moment they had both awaited since starting out on their journey for the portal. The friends who had accompanied them to this world from London were not present, each for their own reasons, but Chris and Kieron had made it.
Their adventure in this world was over.
Looking over his shoulder, Chris called a final sentiment to Andala, their guide and friend. "Thanks for everything, Andala! Tell Horus and Kakan we'll be just fine!"
"Of course. And you do me one favor, you two. Always remember the people you meet on your path!"
"We will!"
And with that, the tattered young travelers faced the portal with confident expressions. They did not know where it would take them or what adventures waited for them on the other side, but they knew one thing... That it was the next step.
Taking a deep breath, the boys stepped into the swirling white light, feeling its warmth, and were immediately taken away from one world to the next...
Going through the white portal had been something like a crazy waterslide. Chris had been rolled and tumbled in all different directions, and although unwounded, it was still a wild experience. To make matters even more alarming, Chris and Kieron were dumped out of the portal about three feet above the straw roof of an old house!
"LIKE I SAID...! BRACE, BRACE!" Chris cried.
The two youths dropped from the sky and crashed through the roof before getting a look at the world around them. The straw easily gave way, not meant for such weight, and Chris crash-landed right onto the wooden floor, landing hard on his stomach.
"Oomph!" The eighteen-year-old was sprawled out on the ground, somewhat injured from the landing, but quite glad the roof had broken his fall.
Mostly.
Kieron, however, had the extreme fortune of landing on a tattered, half-burnt mattress of a bed, sending feathers flying out in all directions. Chris rolled painfully onto his back, looking up at Kieron amidst the feathers.
"See...? Fun... Huh...?" the optimistic youth smiled. At that point, he allowed his head to rest on the floor and closed his eyes, breathing hard with a little grin on his face.
"Paramedic..."
G-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A
There was a change in the breathing among the unconscious, and Jacob looked straight up in the direction of a strange looking woman. His first thought was to leave her be; she would probably walk over to him and ask who he was and why they were here. But, as minds tend to do, he found himself scrapping his initial plan as she fell unceremoniously back to the ground.
In one fluid motion he was up on his feet and dashing toward her, dodging the silent bodies of the others, turning his boots to the side as he neared her, and slid the rest of the distance, grabbing her arm when he came to rest beside her. While his memories were scattered throughout his mind, there was nothing to say hers were in the same condition just yet.
He reached her just as she asked a question; the generic 'what happened to me?', complete with gasps for breath between each word. He grabbed her arm without noticing the strange color of her legs, and spoke the first name he could think of in his sentence.
"My name's Jacob.." He said, moving to help her up. "Can I help you?"
G-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A
She realized only after someone seized her arm, that the blur of color she had seen approaching was a person.
A thought occurred to her that whoever it was might not be hostile, but thought was quickly washed away from her as pain exploded in her mind.
Pain...a thousand tortured hours of screaming...
Sneering faces...cruel laughter...
Pain...so much pain...
Blood...her blood...sizzling and hissing...
An agonized scream...piecing the gloom surrounding her mind...
No! I won't be taken again!
Something inside was screaming, clawing at her mind, driving her to lash out.
A horrified shriek escaped her lips as she tore her arm out of the man's grip. Talons as sharp as razors whizzed toward the man's head, a tingling sensation running along her arms.
Talons...are they mine...?
What a strange, detached thought to occur at a time like this...
G-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A
One of the figures, a youthful boy with shoulder-length blue hair laying in a heap among the dozen or so bodies twitched. It was an unnatural twitch, as if he were a rag doll tied with invisible strings to a mysterious puppeteer.
Darkness.
One word floated through his mind...pain.
A vision of a room floated up to him, of some sort of fight...and then it faded slowly to darkness...More images, things unknown to his mind...Tall things sprouting from the ground...trees?...Not quite right...Buildings. Yes. That was the word.
Feeling began to return to his limbs...he was lying on a cold floor...as feeling began to spread throughout his body, a deep-set aching rushed to fill the emptiness left by his unconsciousness.
At least I'm alive...
He slipped one eye open to examine his surroundings, but was forced to shut it in a moment...the singular light above him was dimmed because of it's ravaged state, but even that was too much for his sharp eyes. Taking a breath, he opened both eyes and forced himself to keep them open to allow his eyes to adjust to the pooling light in the shabby room.
His left eye was a dull green, the right a sickly yellow. His hair was a wavy light-blue that collected what little light spread throughout the room, and reflected it in a dazzling display of sky-blue.
His hand twitched, and he started to move it, but a feminine scream interrupted his thoughts, prompting him to sit up. Much to fast.
Reeling, he caught a glimpse of a tall man holding the arm of a girl. Something in his mind screamed to stop them, but his mind was spinning from his quick and sudden movements, and he fell to his side, retching.
Pain coursed through his body at his every shuddering breath,
G-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I
Jacob almost jumped backwards as the girl attacked, but quickly found his own, bringing his arms up to parry each of her blows. Normally there would be something he would do to stop an attacker and not kill them, but whatever it was had parted his company long ago.
As the girl kept fighting his left hand slowly found the ironwood grip of the revolver at his side.
'Fortuna' spoke out once again in his mind. Faster than sight, he drew the gun and aimed it at the girl. Though it was unloaded he hoped she would remember what the weapon was capable of...that, and that the girl wouldn't guess from the empty casings lying on the ground that his weapon was currently empty. It would not be good if his bluff was called.
As soon as he believed he was dealing alright with the girl, he looked over to the wall where a newly awoken boy had slumped over and started vomiting.
Looks like I got off with the best so far, he thought, exchanging glances between the two currently awake.Of course, I'll be a sitting duck for this girl with my attention divided between the both of these people, but I have to risk it...I don't want that boy attacking me, too.
G-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-I-A
It was coming.
And it was angry.
Oh yes, was it angry. With the almost complete sterilization of this world, the balance had been thrown into an anguishing turmoil unlike any it had known before. Gaia, the spirit of this realm had just suffered the equivalent of a billion amputations of it's limbs, each loss more painful, more devastating than the last.
Eventually the toil was so great that the will of the planet turned from one of benevolence to one of turmoil and psychosis.
Why stop at all but a handful of deaths? We shall eliminate every last life on this world. And then we shall finally know a total peace, as every spirit dies, and the gestalt of spirits which is us ceases to exist.
It was angry.
Oh yes.
And every remaining soul could feel, could sense this disturbance. It chilled and frightened them to the bone, shaking up every ounce of their being. No human being had ever sensed this before, and most likely no human being would since.
CH end
AN: Whaddaya think? Please R&R! It's the whole point I'm posting it! Ya just gotta! Tell us what you think! Who's your favorate?
-Yusagi Sombermoon