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

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The Twelfth Time

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I open my eyes and immediately race to the edge of the roof, crouching low the the ground as I approach the woman hanging there. I stop a couple feet away, lay on my stomach, and grab a hold of her arms.

The woman is no longer falling, but dang, she's got a set of powerful lungs on her. She's screaming and wailing as loud as she possibly can. "Pull me up! Pull me up!"

I shout back, "I can't! There's nothing for me to brace against!" That's what made me fall last time I was here, trying to pull her up.

The woman is screaming again. "Oh my god! Please! Someone help!"

"Someone will come!" I shout. "Just stay calm!"

The woman screams again and starts kicking her legs. I feel myself sliding. "Stop kicking!" I bellow. "You'll get us both killed!"

The woman's body goes rigid, and she starts sobbing. "Oh please, somebody help, please!"

I know I should be worried for her safety, but all I can think about now is how long it's going to take before Frafdo or another creature gets to us.

Oh dear god, I just looked down. Gyah, somebody please come quickly!

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It's a long time before anybody comes. I feel my fingers cramping up, and my shoulders hurt horribly, but I am not letting this woman go until she's safe.

"Found another two," a screechy voice says, "top of the palace." I feel the woman's weight disappear, and Frafdo carries her to a safe place on the roof. Frafdo speaks into a crystal, "One was in danger of falling off. She's not in danger anymore."

I scramble away from the edge. Frafdo looks at me quizzically.

"Good," says a deep male voice from the crystal. Maxxor's voice. "Check for weapons, then bring them down."

Frafdo slips the crystal into his belt and turns to face the woman, who is staring up at him and trembling. Frafdo crouches and says, "If you make any sudden movements, I have to assume you're attacking me."

The woman opens her mouth and screams in terror. Frafdo staggers back and holds the sides of his head.

Well, this may take a while.

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I'm safe on the ground at the plaza where everyone is being held. I did not pass out this time, thank goodness, but I'm still shaky. I don't have time to relax, though. I need to find somebody.

I make my way through the crowd. None of these faces are familiar. I can't even ask whether anybody has seen who I'm looking for. We're all strangers here. I begin to worry that I'll never find him.

"Get your hands off me, you f***ing aliens!"

That makes finding him a ton easier. I rush to the sound of the man's voice. He's shouting at the top of his lungs while trying to wrestle away the pyroblaster of a lone soldier.

Oh no you don't. I run up to the man and clobber the side of the man's head with my fist. He crumbles sideways to the ground. He looks dazed for a couple seconds, then tries to sit up, but the Overworld soldier forces him to lie down again by pressing the barrel of the pyroblaster against the man's chest.

The soldier glances at me. "Thanks," he mumbles.

"Not a problem," I say as I examine my hand. Ouch, the skin of my middle finger's knuckle is split.

The man on the ground moans. "What the hell...? What hit me?"

I shouldn't say anything, I really shouldn't, but I'm feeling mean right now. "Apparently some kind of alien robot drone collided with your head and injected a microchip through your skull. The alien here," I gesture at the Overworlder, "told me that the microchip will fry your brain if you become violent again."

The man pales. The Overworld soldier gives me a befuddled look.

I look at the Overworlder. "I think it's a smart idea, really. Frees up the alien to attend to other matters while the microchip supervises."

The Overworlder's eyes light up as he catches on. "Well, thank you. We've never received compliments about that particular weapon before." He raises pyroblaster and nods to the man lying on the ground. "Now stay out of trouble."

The poor man stays very still on the ground. I'll have to find a way to break the truth to him, but for now, I just want to watch him squirm.

...Am I the bad guy right now?

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Sometimes life decides to go easy on you. It leaves little pleasant surprises in your path. Other times it decides to give you a hard time by leaving pitfalls. And occasionally life decides to grind your face in the dirt.

It's been three days or so after we arrived in Kiru City. We're finally being released after Maxxor determined that we weren't a threat. At least we were treated well in captivity, with three meals a day and relative privacy. True, many Overworlders came to look at "the strange new creatures", but that's really to be expected.

I was wandering the roads when life had one of those face-grinding decisions. The outer wall of Kiru City cracked and came tumbling down.

I'm now pinned under a mass of broken stone. My leg feels like it's on fire. Probably broken. I feel pressure on my back, and a creature comes into view from above me.

A Mipedian. There's a Mipedian inside Kiru City, and he came in via knocking the walls down. His scales are yellow with a hint of orange, and he;s wearing a tatter red cloak.

Oh crap. He's a conjuror.

The conjuror turn around and looks at me. The pupils of his yellow eyes are shrunk to the size of pinpricks, and his tongue is hanging out of his mouth. He's wearing a necklace made out of teeth, and there are golden bracelets on his wrists. Aside from the cloak, necklace, and bracelets, the Mipedian is also completely naked. I've never seen this guy on any Chaotic card, neither in the show.

The conjuror spreads his arms at me. "Isn't this wonderful?" he asks with a blood-curdling laugh. "I've succeeded where every other Mipedian before me has failed! I've penetrated the outer wall of Kiru City!"

Yes, the conjuror is scary as hell, but I know it wasn't the conjuror who knocked the wall down.

I hear a mighty roar. The ground shakes until the sound dies.

That is what knocked the wall down.

The Mipedian raises his arms and cheers. "Come, my child! Let us wreck havoc upon the Overworld!" There's insane glee in his voice, and he skips away with a bone-chilling laugh.

A shadow blocks out the sun. I can't maneuver to see which enormous creature, which warbeast, is entering the city. All I know is that its foot is above me and coming down fast. It presses down on my body, large enough to completely cover me.

I pass out from the pain is less than a half second. I'm nothing but a smear by the time the warbeast steps off a moment later.

Huh, that face-grinding was more literal than the ones life usually hands out.

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Up next: The Pains of the Past

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Like I said before, Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

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