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

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The Hero of the Other Side

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How long have we been riding? I have no idea. It's given me a long time to think, but with Phelphor right there, able to peer inside my head at any moment, it's hard for me to concentrate on any deliberate thought.

The cavern is widening. There's a soft glow on the ceiling, and a school of those bizarre air-swimming fish flit by overhead. It's actually quite beautiful. I wish the circumstances were better...

I hear a trumpet. Pherphor lifts his gaze from the pile of my armor in front of him, and he turns around to look at the sound. I hear a shaky gasp from him. "M'arr," he whispers.

So... we've reached the city.

Phelphor stands and waves his hands over the walls of the chariot. They start to shorten, shrink into the floor, all except the wall I'm chained to. Phelphor's chair disappears, as well.

A loud voice in the distance shouts, "Our savior has returned! The Opener of the Doors approaches! Phelphor has come!"

Phelphor's chest starts to heave. "They remember my name," he breathes. "Two thousand solans, and they remember my name..."

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"Phelphor... Phelphor... Phelphor..."

We aren't even through the gates yet, and I already hear the chanting of a crowd. The voices are hushed and reverent, so to be able to hear it from this distance means that it must be the entire city's worth of M'arrillians chanting the name.

"Phelphor... Phelphor... Phelphor..."

The same name I spat with disdain and disgust, the same name that filled my heart with terror... Hearing it like this is... I can't even describe how it feels to hear it this way! The best I can think of is that it's like something has gone very wrong with the world.

Phelphor glances at me. His face is full of confusion. "Have they really been waiting for two thousand solans?" he wonders aloud. "Or did they only start to exist when he fell asleep?"

The gates to M'arr loom in front of us, made of a bizarre mixture of coral and rust. The chariot pauses, and there's a deafening screech as the gate begins to sink into the ground.

Lower and lower, and I see the tops of round buildings. Lower and lower, and I see the glow of what could be streetlights. Lower, lower...

There's a tremendous crowd. Otherworldly creatures that look as if they're made out of light. Blobs of jelly with mouths and eyes. Jellyfish, octopi, creatures made of coral. They all stand or hover beside a road, a path for the chariot between them. Every creature, every M'arrillian, turns to face Phelphor, and at once they let out an earsplitting cheer. "Phelphor! Phelphor! Phelphor!"

The chariot is quickly swarmed with creatures. Hands and tentacles are reaching out to touch Phelphor, and expressions of worshipful joy and delight are on everyone's faces. Phelphor looks around in open-mouthed shock for a while, shock that slowly turns into delight. He spreads his arms out and raises them a little above his shoulders, and the crowd cheers.

...They love him... Everyone here absolutely loves Phelphor... He opened the Doors, he had set them free...

The chariot continues, and creatures crowd around the chariot every chance they get. Most everyone's eyes are on Phelphor, though a few curious and wary looks are directed my way as well.

One small jellyfish points a tentacle at me, and a high voice says, "What's that, Mother?"

A similar but larger jellyfish wraps its tentacles around the smaller one. "Don't look at it."

Apparently it's possible to feel even more naked than you already are. My pulse rises, and my palms feel sweaty. My muscles are starting to cramp. These stupid chains! I can't move at all!

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The chariot is drawing close to a castle. There are several creatures on a balcony, looking down at the crowd. They're too high to see clearly, and I can't even turn my head up to take a better look.

I hear voices say, "The Oligarchs speak! The Oligarchs speak!"

Oligarchs? I feel ice crawl down my spine. One of those creatures up there has to be Aa'une, the leader- or rather one of the leaders of the M'arrillian tribe.

The crowd falls silent, and everyone's eyes turn up to the balcony. The chariot slows and stops. At the edge of my vision I see a figure, I can't even tell what color, spread its arm.

I don't hear anything. Instead, a deep, powerful voice sounds inside my head, probably inside everyone's heads. {My people, my tribe, my brother and sister M'arrillians... Saint Phelphor has returned!}

Saint Phelphor? Saint?!

The cheers again, but Phelphor looks befuddled.

{Two thousand solans past, the creature before you took on a dangerous task. While your ancestors were being forced here into the Deepmines, he allowed himself to be frozen in time, so that one day, when Perim had forgotten us, he might awaken and free us!}

That has to be Aa'une. My memory of his voice in the show is fuzzy, but it feels very similar.

There are cheers from everyone again. Phelphor's confusion has vanished, and now he's drinking up the praise.

Aa'une's "voice" becomes soft. {Great God Cothica, we praise you... Our most humble prayers flow forth to find you...}

Everyone else immediately joins, saying, "For long we have languished in the pit of Perim... Now with your grace we shall all be free... Bless us to once again feel the currents and the tides... Bless us with the warmth of the sun and the spray of the sea..."

Phelphor's smile is fading, and he glances back at me as everyone else chants. His expression tells me exactly what he's thinking: are they praying to you?

No, they are not. I'm not God.

Phelphor's brow furrows, and he turns away.

Aa'une "voice" shouts, {'Tis time for celebration! We feast! We drink! We dance!} I see the indistinct figure give a sweep of its arm. {Open the storehouses! Prepare the kitchens! The brewery! The slaughterhouse! Now is the time for a celebration that time itself has seen no greater!}

The responding roar of joy is painful to my ears. A coral creature grabs Phelphor and lifts him onto its own head. Phelphor wheels his arms to catch his balance, and the coral creature marches. The crowd follows Phelphor, and soon I'm alone in with the chariot.

...Hello?

{it's certainly a joy that phelphor has returned}

{yes it certainly is, but we cannot shirk our-}

{duties, of course not, so let us bring in the chariot}

What the-?

A small set of doors open up. Behind them are two light blue... worms, that's exactly what they look like, huge earthworms the size of small cars colored light blue. They look exactly alike, and they float about a foot off the ground. They approach the fish that had been pulling the chariot.

{who's a good fishy, who's a good fishy}

{that one is, such a good fishy pulling phelphor's chariot}

{oh, is the fishy tired, it needs its rest}

{the fishy is-}

{female, the fishy needs her rest}

The worms somehow manage to take the chariot off of the fish, and the fish swims through the doors.

{let us move the chariot, oh it's so amazing that we can touch the vehicle-}

{he rode in on, you do realize that phelphor is-}

{male, yes i do, isn't he-}

{dreamy, but you are also-}

{male, no, today i am female}

{is it that time of the month again}

{did you even-}

{check, i did not, and now that i have, i see i am also female now}

{seriously, sister, must you always forget the day}

{you forget-}

{as often as you, yes}

{do you ever wonder-}

{what that thing is in the chariot right now}

{that was not what i was going-}

{to say, yes, but there is something in the-}

{chariot, yes, i see}

Both worms are staring at me, or they would be if they had eyes. Who knows, maybe they do.

By the way... What. The. Hell?

The two wormlike M'arrillians stare at me, and I stare back. Not like I have much of a choice in the matter. Soon I "hear" one of their soft psychic voices again.

{what is it}

{phelphor brought it with-}

{him, maybe for something-}

{in particular, should we ask-}

{him, i think not, we're not allowed-}

{to speak to anyone, so what do we do}

I try to think at them the same way I'd been thinking at Phelphor. Would one of you... lovely ladies unchain me?

{let us put our heads together and think}

{good idea, sister}

The two worms swing their heads at each other, and there's a light slapping sound as they collide.

{well, first we must determine-}

{what it is, and whether it is friendly-}

{or not, i think not}

{why}

{look at that head, it's-}

{scary and doesn't look like the rest of its body, but i-}

{disagree, yes, but see, when has anything with mismatched body parts ever been-}

{friendly, well that Kha'rall was friendly}

{until it tried to eat us, remember}

{ah, yes, but maybe it isn't-}

{attached, let us see}

I feel my helmet lift off my head. So the worms are telekinetic? That's amazing, I'd be more excited if I wasn't so freaking scared.

{it's not attached}

{told you it was friendly}

{it not being attached does not mean-}

{that it's friendly, correct, might as well put it back on}

My helmet slides back on my head. This is so incredibly bizarre.

{i don't like the word it, let us-}

{find the creature's gender, i say female}

{it's most definitely male}

{but i'd like it to be female}

{look, it has a penis}

Yeah, sure, I'm completely okay with the direction this conversation is going. Not.

{perhaps it's-}

{something else, true, but i think i'm right}

{it could be an egg-laying part of the body}

{well how do we tell}

{i know, we'll-}

{see how it reacts, that's brilliant}

Hey! Whoa! Can't you two hear my thoughts?! No touching! No touching! No-! Gyah!

{it got harder, definitely a penis}

{looks like i was right}

{i was the one to say it was male}

{was not}

{was so}

{was not}

{was so}

{i'm telling mother}

{i'm telling father}

{he's a she now, actually}

{then i'm telling other mother}

{by the way, are you actually mad at me}

{of course not}

{thank you, i'm telling other mother first}

...Maybe I've just gone insane. That's a possible explanation for what's happening right now. I try to shake the chains, but I still can't move. Stop touching me there!

Whether from my mental shout or something else, the worms back away.

{maybe he's the sacrifice}

{the sacrifice, him}

{look, this armor looks the same as-}

{his helmet, ah yes, he could be the sacrifice}

The sacrifice? Yes, please, kill me so I get out of this mind-screw.

{what if he's not the sacrifice}

{how about we prepare him for it and then let-}

{phelphor see it and see how he reacts}

No! I'm the sacrifice!

{that's a marvelous idea}

{let us go}

I feel my stomach jolt as the entire wall I'm chained to is lifted up, and the worms drag me through the small doors.

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Up next: The Oligarchy

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Like I said before, Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

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