I do not own Chaotic nor anything related to it. It belongs to TCDigital.

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The First Time

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I open my eyes, confused. My surrounding are unfamiliar. I'm standing in a large tunnel. The walls, the ground, everything looks like it's been carved from brown stone. The are torches in the walls. Not torches, I discover as I take a closer look at one. Instead of a flaming head, each "torch" has a glowing jewel embedded in it.

I hear a stifled scream, and I turn around. There are three other people here. Two women and a man. One of the women is covering her mouth as she looks around. She's probably the one who screamed.

The man asks, "What the hell is going on?" as he looks around.

The same question is on my mind, too. It doesn't matter, because before anyone can say anything we all hear an inhuman voice. "Intruders!"

We all turn to see a... something. It stands on four legs, and its two arms are pointing some kind of spear at us. Its orange skin looks smooth and hard, and its wearing what looks like leather armor, red trimmed with gold. Its face looks, well, bug-like.

I know where we are now, and I'm excited. It's Perim! The creature in front of us is a Danian, probably a mandiblore by the look of it. We must be in Mount Pillar!

The mandiblore's antennae are buzzing. My excitement fades, and now I'm nervous. If the show is at all accurate, then that's a hive call, the lights-and-sirens emergency button of the Danians. It won't be long before more Danians come.

The four of us stand very still as more mandiblores rush to us, spears and swords and various other weapons leveled at us. Not long after that, I hear heavy stomps approaching. A larger Danian appears behind the mandiblores, who part to let him pass.

I already know this creature's name. Odu-Bathax. His head has a display of frills and teeth, with two large red eyes at the center, where eyes belong, and two smaller eyes above those. He has four thick ars, two with metallic blades almost the size of his torso. His two legs each end in a pair of claws. Two long red limbs sprout from his back. Antennae? Probably. His body is covered in shiny blue armor. Or maybe it's his exoskeleton, I can't tell.

Odu-Bathax stops a few feet away from us and puts his lower pair of arms on his hips while cracking his knuckles with his upper pair of arms. "Well, well, well..." he says with a deep voice. "What do we have here?"

While the other three humans step away from the Danian, I hold my ground. I can't make myself say anything, though.

Odu-Bathax tilts his head at me. "You aren't afraid?" He lowers his arms and rolls his shoulders. The huge muscles of his chest and stomach flex and relax. He's probably not wearing armor. "You mistake idiocy for courage, strange creature."

I say something incredibly stupid. "Or maybe you just aren't as intimidating as you think you are, Odu."

I don't even see him move. One moment, Odu-Bathax is flexing his muscles, and the next, the point of a sword is pointing at my face. The Danian snarls, "Odu-Bathax, intruder." Then he sneers. "Maybe a few days in a cell can teach you manners."

Of course, I'm deluding myself into thinking that he can't hurt me. Out of the corner of my eye I see a mandiblore stepping closer, not quite holding his sword correctly. I dive to the side and wrench the sword from his grip, then point it at Odu-Bathax with one hand. "Maybe you could show us the way out, actually."

Odu-Bathax adjusts his grip on his sword. "Or I kill you and throw the other three in cells."

The sword is a lot heavier than I expected. I grip it with two hands as I steel myself, foolishly expecting to win. I raise the sword and swing it down.

Odu-Bathax blocks the blow effortlessly, then steps back while laughing. "Do not interfere," he commands the mandiblores. "I'll deal with this upstart."

I rush at him with a horizontal slash, but the Danian is too quick. He lazily deflects my sword with a flick of his own weapon, then chops down at me. I throw myself to the side, and his blade bites into the floor instead.

I stumble around Odu-Bathax before swinging again, this time at his back. He turns, and I barely miss severing one of the antennae sprouting from his back, instead slicing a thin line into the exoskeleton surrounding the muscles on his chest.

Odu-Bathax takes another step back, but the humor is gone from his face. He flexes his antennae, checking if they are still attached, then glances at the cut across his chest. I run towards him with sword raised above my head while Odu-Bathax's attention isn't on me.

...Or not. Odu-Bathax thrusts his weapon at me as I run forward, and the point pierces my stomach, just below the ribcage. The air rushes out of my lungs as the pain comes.
The sword I have raised swings down, carried by gravity, and Odu-Bathax dodges it easily as he thrusts the sword forward again, pushing the blade all the way into my body. There is a snap, and suddenly I can't feel my legs. Odu-Bathax pulls his sword out, and I crumble to the ground.

It hurts. Oh dear god it hurts. I can't move it hurts so much. I can hear Odu-Bathax's voice, but I can't process the words. A mandiblore's leg brushes against me, and the pain intensifies. And then the pain gradually fades away, along with my hearing and vision...

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Coming next: The Mipedian King

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Like I said before, Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

I can see you scratching you head in confusion. Well, okay, I can't, but I'm imagining it.

Follow and review!