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

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The Sixth Time

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The sands of Al Mipedim again. That same guy who got knocked out last time, and the eight kids. Yeah, this is exactly the same.

When Mr. Potty-Mouth starts yelling at the vanished Mipedian woman, I move away from him and beckon the children to get close to me. They do, getting behind me so that I'm between them and the other man. Not much longer afterwords, the man's head lurches forward with a thunk, and he collapses.

Time to try to change these first few moments.

I crouch and point at the man on the ground. "Did you see that, kids?" I ask while turning to look at them.

A couple of the children are covering their eyes. One kid has an excited look on his face, though. "Awesome!"

The soldier that knocked out the man reappears a couple feet away. He has an obviously confused expression on his face.

I stand back up and turn to the soldier. "Sorry about that, I needed to distract the children so they wouldn't be scared when they saw you."

So far acting unfazed is working brilliantly. I completely threw the soldier off his game. I extend a hand and say, "My name's Michael."

The soldier steps back and aims the spear at me. "Don't move."

Crap. At least I'm not dead yet.

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Prince Mudeenu is taking me to the palace. I'm trying to keep up my unflappable act, and so far, I think I'm doing well. The soldiers looked more confused than hostile, and Mudeenu could only stare at me blankly for a while before telling me to come with him.

We reach the door to the throne room. Last time, Prince Mudeenu left me in this hall with soldiers at watch while he entered the throne room alone. This time, though, he gestures at me to come in. Huh? What did I do to change this?

We walk into the throne room. What I can see out of the corners of my eyes looks amazing... but I can't seem to focus on the room. I'm just staring at Prince Mudeenu's back, like I'm trying to look through him. The Mipedian king is on the other side of him. Theb-sarr was the name, right?

Prince Mudeenu stops, then kneels and says, "King Theb-sarr, this is one of the intruders you were informed of." He gestures to me with a hand, and I step beside him.

Holy freaking crap. That's Theb-sarr. He's a muscular cross between a lizard and a dragon. No wings, but he doesn't need them.

I'm awestruck, staring at the royal Mipedian. He leans forward as if to say something, but I don't hear what he says. He and Mudeenu are talking. I'm just standing like an idiot, gawking at him. Oh boy, I need to stop staring. Nope, still staring. Does Theb-sarr have some sort of ability that makes it impossible not to stare at him?

King Theb-sarr turns to look at me, and I snap out of my daze. Uh oh, he's going to talk to me. Don't say anything stupid, Michael.

Theb-sarr leans forward and clicks his tongue. "He looks more like a lost soul than an intruder to me. What is your name, and where do you hail from?"

Deep breaths. "M-Michael. My name is Michael. I'm from Earth."

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This is the worst night I've ever had. I stay up almost all night, anticipating trouble. I keep expecting the pillow beside me to launch itself at my face. I'm going to look like a zombie in the morning.

At the crack of dawn of said morning, a servant kicks me out of the room so he can tidy it. Is that the Mipedian that killed me last time? I guess I'm not going to find out.

I stand in the hall outside the room, a little confused. So, I survived until morning. What now?

"Good morning, Michael," a voice strains.

I glance in the direction of the voice. It's Mudeenu. He doesn't look pleased to see me. "Your Highness," I say with a bow.

Prince Mudeenu bares his teeth. Did I offend him? He clears his throat and says, "It's a pleasant day. Perhaps you should go outside."

That's not at all what I expected to hear. "Huh?"

Mudeenu slowly walks up to me, stopping about a foot away. He stares down and firmly states, "I said, it's a pleasant day. Perhaps you should go outside." There's a threatening tone in his voice.

Ah. I quickly walk away towards the palace's main doors.

I slow down once I'm outside. What do I do? I should be ecstatic. I'm in Perim! Isn't that the dream of every fan of the show? I should be trying to see as much of the Mipedian city as I can!

In fact, that's exactly what I'll do. I start walking away from the palace-

I feel a sharp blow hit my stomach. The air rushes out of my lungs and I collapse. I'm in pain, I can't move. I feel something grab the back of my shirt and start to drag me.

Whatever is dragging me stops in an alley not far from the palace. I groan and clutch my stomach, but I can open my eyes enough to see the air shimmer above me.

Three Mipedians appear. They're wearing the same armor I saw on the palace guards. One is flexing his right hand. I cough and groan as I try to get on my hands and knees.

"Don't let him get up," a voice growls. "Don't let him speak."

One of the Mipedians kicks me in the stomach, knocking me on my side. It hurts so bad. I try to cry for help, but I can't make myself inhale.

"Again," says the voice.

The other two Mipedians kick me in the stomach, one after the other. Why? I didn't do anything!

The voice sounds like it's enjoying itself. "The face now."

No, please stop! I can't say it out loud, and the Mipedian's foot races towards my face.

The world turns into a cascade of pain and stars. I feel blood on my face. Another Mipedian pushes me so I'm lying on my back, then launches his fist at my jaw. More pain, and I feel broken teeth in my mouth.

"Keep going," says the mirthful voice. Where have I heard it before?

The three Mipedians just start beating me. I curl into a ball, trying to hide my head with my arms. They won't let up, kicking and punching and it hurts so much.

Then they stop, and I'm lying on the ground and I hurt and aches and why are they doing this? Please stop, just go away, please.

An invisible force grabs the front of my shirt and lifts me up. I open my eyes as much as I can, and the air in front of my shimmers. A large Mipedian flickers into view.

It's Prince Mudeenu. He's wearing a savage grin. "You might have my uncle fooled, but I can see straight through you. You're an Overworld spy of some sort. Maybe a creature concocted from one of their experiments in biology."

No, you're wrong, please stop. I gasp for breath so I can speak.

Mudeenu shoves me against a wall and catapults his knee into my groin. Oh god, I can't think, it hurts, please, please just stop this. Mudeenu withdraws his knee, then suddenly smashes it between my legs again.

I'm about to black out. The edges of my vision are fading.

Mudeenu grins wider. "It's too bad you decided to leave the safety of the palace. There was a gang of murderers who saw you, and, in their bloodlust, they decided to see how much pain they could put you through." He punches me in the stomach.

Spare me this and just kill me already. It hurts, it hurts.

Mudeenu draws back his fist and punches me again. I feel blood rise in my throat and pour out of my mouth. Mudeenu glances at his fist as my blood splatters on it. "Ah, I'll have to clean up before I give my report on how I found your mangled corpse." Then he punches me in the throat. I don't even feel it anymore.

Mudeenu lets go of my shirt, and I crumble to the ground. I feel pressure on the back of my neck, and Mudeenu's voice comes from far away. "I'll be sure to include in my report how I tried to resuscitate you, but with a spine that had been crushed into tiny pieces, there wasn't any way you were recovering."

CRUNCH!

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Up next: The Mipedian Foreman

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Like I said before, Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

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