Chapter 2: The Unforeseen Arrival

The mother sighed as she paused at the beginning. It was going to take some imagination to come up with words to replace the ones no child should ever hear in their lifetime. Especially from their own mother.

"Are you okay, Mama?" asked Eveline.

"I'm fine, sweetie. Mama just needs to gather her thoughts." the mother replied to her youngest daughter. Eveline was so sweet, yet so mischievous, but also naïve. The mother took a deep breath and began her story again.

"It was just another day at the village…," spoke the mother as the children watched with intent, "Another day of running errands and doing my part for the village."

Her heart sunk a little bit. Her 'errands' and 'part for the village' were something she had come to regret in her life. But what had happened couldn't be undone. Only made up for.

"Or so I thought." added the mother.

Her mind raced back to the beginning of that day. And it was a day she would remember for the rest of her life.

Monday 7:30 AM January3rd 2000, Unknown Village, Carpathian Mountains, Romania

12 years earlier…

She awoke from her slumber. Inside her bedroom. Inside the house she had inhabited for countless years. Rising up from her bed and standing in her nightgown, the woman sighed.

It was going to be another boring, pointless and guaranteed fruitless day in the domain she ruled over for decades. But the goal that dominated her mind for so long was the only thing that made her keep on going.

'I promise, my daughter, that I will bring you back,' thought the woman to herself, 'One day. Very, very soon.'

After assuming her ceremonial gown, a dress of black and gold, she decided that a little natural lighting would help out her homestead. Approaching the nearby bedroom window, she soon heard the howl of the wind from behind the decades old wooden shutters.

"Oh, don't tell me-" the woman muttered as she unhooked and opened the shutters.

And a powerful gust of snowy wind rushed past her face and into her bedroom. The village was being consumed by a snowstorm that the woman hadn't seen in years. The woman grunted to herself as she watched the storm progress. It looked like she was going to be stuck indoors for today.

She was Mother Miranda, the High Priestess and ruler of this valley.

"After I got ready for the day and opened my bedroom window, there was a dangerous blizzard going on that greeted me." spoke Miranda solemnly, "People were staying indoors so they wouldn't freeze."

"Like the one going on now?" asked Rose.

"Yes, but much more dangerous." replied Miranda, "So dangerous that it can cause people to fall out of the sky."

"People to fall out of the sky? What does that have to do with the story?" giggled Eveline, "But it was funny."

"You'll find out, Eveline." chuckled Miranda. She regained her composure as she continued the story.

"With the blizzard sweeping the valley, I couldn't go out and go about my day. So I decided to stay inside like the other people in the village. I was about to close the shutters when a new sound filled the air around me," spoke Miranda, "It wasn't coming from the village. It was coming from the sky."

"What was the sound, Mama?" asked Eveline.

Miranda looked at her youngest daughter with a smile.

"It was a helicopter, sweetheart." replied Miranda, "And because of the blizzard, the pilot was in great danger."

Miranda was halfway to closing the shutters to the bedroom. Miranda looked up at the source of the sound. Even through the blizzard, her eyes were still keen.

"What on earth?" muttered the priestess to herself as she looked for the source of the sound. After a minute of searching, her eyes finally caught the culprit. At first, she couldn't make out the shape, but once it got closer, she recognised it.

It was a helicopter. She had seen these before on the old television set in her home. One of the outside world's modes of aerial transportation. One used extensively by the military and the wealthy elite.

But something caught her eye. There was smoke coming out from the exhaust vents underneath the rotor blades. And when there was smoke, there was fire. And where there was fire… there was danger! Which meant whoever was piloting the helicopter was in serious trouble!

"Flying a helicopter in the middle of a blizzard? That's kinda dumb." said Rosemary.

"Indeed, Rosie," agreed Miranda, "But I guessed the pilot didn't expect a blizzard. But it was too late for them to realise their mistake."

"What happened next, Mama?" asked Eveline, "What happened to the pilot?"

"You'll see, sweetie, as the story continues," replied Miranda, "It soon began to spin out of control in mid-air…

Miranda continued to intently watch the helicopter fly closer. Pretty soon, it had reached the outer limits of the village so it was clearer to see, despite the snow blowing everywhere. There were no identifiers on its body that she could see. No logos, no names, and no numbers. It was like whoever this was didn't want to be known.

The smoke continued to thicken from the exhaust vents. And it was just as quickly assimilated into the blizzard's winds, vanishing without a trace. But the helicopter was still flying in a straight direction, ignoring the relentless winds that crossed paths with it.

Until the helicopter itself began to spin in circles, indicating it had suffered a mechanical failure. And while it spun, Miranda noticed it was beginning to get closer and closer to the village grounds. Pretty soon, it flew directly over Miranda's home, leaving the sound of failing engines closer to her than ever.

The pilot, unless they could pull off a miracle to survive this situation, was plummeting to their sure demise. Miranda stuck her head out the window in an attempt to predict where it would land. Or crash. Through the snow, she could just make out the path that the helicopter was making. It was headed out into the eastern highlands of the valley. Where it elevated closer to the sky. But Miranda knew there was a distinct about that part about the valley.

The helicopter was headed right for the scrapyard of the Heisenberg Factory.

She grabbed the ornate golden mask that lay on her bedside table. Wing-like appendages extended from her back and covered her body like a cloak. Running downstairs and out the front door, she burst into a flock of black ravens.

In this form, Miranda took flight in the direction of the valley, intent on investigating and assessing this strange phenomenon that had befallen upon the valley. She wasn't expecting to find any survivors.

"…and it began to lose altitude as it plummeted towards the village." continued Miranda.

"Mama, what does altitude mean?" asked Eveline.

"A little hard to say. Basically the distance something is in the air from the ground." replied Miranda, "Anyway, I saw it was headed directly for Uncle Karl's factory grounds."

"What did you do?" asked Rose.

"I followed it." replied Miranda, smiling warmly, "And I'm glad I did."

By the time Miranda had arrived and transformed back to her human self, the crash site was a pandemonium of a mess. Pieces of metal were strewn all over the place, cutting scars into the snow. The helicopter must have continued to skid after the crash because it left a clear path of dirt in the snow. Whatever fires were supposed to have been present were now gone. Extinguished by the blizzard winds and leaving behind smoke. The helicopter was in a complete state of disrepair. The tail had been torn off, the glass on the front was broken, dents and tears were present in the hill and the rotor blade were bent downwards.

"What the hell?" a voice spoke up next to her.

Miranda turned to face the source. A man wearing thick winter clothes rapidly approached her. He wore vintage sunglasses on his face despite the lack of sun and a hammer made of what appeared to be car parts was slung over his shoulder. Despite how heavy it appeared, the man was not at all bothered.

This was Karl Heisenberg, the owner of the Heisenberg Factor and one of the Four Lords of the valley.

"Hm, haven't seen this model before," mused Karl, "Must be a new one developed by the outsiders."

But Miranda paid no mind to the man's musings. She was more focused onto the crashed helicopter. For some reason, there was a disturbing atmosphere surrounding her. Like the helicopter brought something…unnatural or unusual with it. She could sense a presence within the metal beast, but it troubled her mind.

"I'll get it open and check who's inside." said Karl.

But as Karl was about to approach the downed vehicle, the door on the side suddenly slid open. Both the valley's inhabitants stood back, not knowing what to expect.

And out fell a lone man. The snow crushed beneath his body as he struggled to stand back up, but he didn't seem to have noticed Miranda or Karl. He was dressed in a pilot's uniform. But this was unlike any pilot uniform either of them has ever seen before. If this mysterious man was a pilot at all.

The man wore what she presumed to be a combat outfit, but not like anything she could recognise. The overall body uniform had strange hexagons patterned all over it and they seemed to be connected to a device on the back that she could barely make out. The coat of the same design went down to the middle of his thighs and was kept from flapping around by a utility belt, which held several pockets.

The boots he wore had no laces, but instead looked like they were covered in a leather-rubber layer. Guards were strapped to his knees and elbows. His hands bore gauntlet-gloves that looked custom made with some layers of protection. And a vest was on top of the uniform with even more pockets and a handgun holster.

A hood that was supposed to cover his head was instead pulled down, but his face was completely obscured. A seemingly unique gasmask, which extended to the rest of his head like a helmet. There was a single circular filter where the mouth was and the eyepieces were lit up in blue light. Thin wire grills were layered on top of them in the shape of a frown. The mysterious man finally managed to get back on his feet and, sensing a presence in the area, looked their way.

And in his hand, a handgun was clutched.

To most people, especially the ones living in the village, he would have passed off as highly intimidating, but neither Miranda or Karl were intimidated.

Instead, she was curious and intrigued. Most people would die from a helicopter crash from such an altitude as the one that just happened, but this man had just managed to survive with minimal-wait a minute! Miranda got a closer look at the man.

There was metal sticking out of his body. Piercing him in vital areas. The left shoulder, the lower right abdomen, the right thigh, the left forearm and-

Beneath her mask, Miranda gasped.

-and one near, if not, piercing, his heart. But he was still alive and moving. But before he could get a step towards them, he instead fell backwards. His back hit the body of the helicopter and he dropped his handgun next to him. Small pools of blood began to form around his sitting figure.

Miranda was bewildered by what she was seeing. The man had pieces of debris puncturing places where his vital organs and arteries are. Just the one in his chest was enough to kill any normal man, but this man was still alive. Although his movements, judging from his attempt to stand and walk, were in excruciating pain and extreme difficulty. Miranda's mind was racing. Just who was this individual? How was he still alive when he had all that metal in vital places? Did he have something in him that was keeping him alive? Was he more than a mere man?

Then another though entered her mind.

'Can this be some kind of sign? Can this man be the key to resurrecting my daughter? Can he be the answer to my problems?' Miranda thought.

She needed to know more about this man.

"Survived a helicopter crash and still alive with metal ravaging your body?" Karl spoke to the man, "Just who the hell are you?"

But the masked figure gave no response, like he was too exhausted.

Electricity began to crackle around the stranger's body, like he was some kind of machine going haywire. But what happened next shocked Miranda and Karl. Sections of the stranger's body…disappeared. And reappeared again in an instant, like some kind of cloak of invisibility. It continued on like this for a few more moments until his entire body was visible again. Whatever was causing this function was now seemingly gone. Burnt out.

Looking up tiredly, the mysterious man's gas mask caught on Miranda's mask. She could somehow feel that, despite both wearing masks, there were gazing into each other's eyes. Like nothing around them existed.

"Miranda, what should we do with this guy?" asked Karl.

The man seemed to sense danger from Karl's words because he reached for his handgun, although weakly and moaning in terrible pain as he did. Karl was about to approach the man with his hammer, but Miranda stopped him with her arm. Gently, Miranda moved the man's hand away from his pistol and into the snow next to it. The resistance she felt was very minimal, showing his how depleted his strength was from his injuries.

But then something caught Miranda's eyes as she let go of the man's hand. On the man's sleeve was an awfully familiar emblem. It was in the shape of an octagon that was split into eight triangles. The triangles were red and white in a pattern,

It was the same as the crest that united the Four Houses of this valley. This raised even more questions. Questions that only this man can answer. But she asked the man the first question that came to her mind.

"Who are you?"

But there was no response. No response because the man was not moving. Quickly, Miranda pressed on the underside of the man's right wrist. She sighed in relief when she felt a pulse, even underneath the suit, but knew if the injuries weren't dealt with, whatever was inside him wasn't going to keep him alive much longer.

"Karl, help me get him back to my laboratory!" ordered Miranda, "I want him alive!"