Chapter 8

It was dark and there was something moving in the shadows. It shifted, like an ancient monolith awoken from centuries of slumber. Dirt moved away from it's sides and dust rose up into the darkness as light shown from below.

The light had no real source but it still existed. A terrible erupted from the moving beast, big yellow eyes and gleaming ivory fangs. It was grinning, ready to eat and hungry.

You stepped too far.

It moved again, the ground trembling and shifting as it planted it's massive feet on the ground. One of those claws rose up, the tips glowing. It drew runes in the air, their glow far outlasting the action itself.

You stepped too far. You will fall.

The monster faded, the light faded, the runes faded. Then they pulsed and burned into existence, brighter than any sun.

You have stepped too far. You will fall. You will only land in Darkness. You are not of this world, and no longer of the other. You have no home, no origin, and will travel and seek and fall into Darkness.

/-/-/

I woke with a start, finding the room I lay empty and dark. At first I wasn't totally sure I had woken up but I could hear the ocean so I guessed I was. I removed the blanket over my lower half carefully, finding myself stiff.

At my motion, a light flickered on over the head board. It was blinding at first but I was thankful for the illumination. I sat and moved off from the bed. My legs were a little sore but they held me. I stretched, hearing several joints crack and realign themselves in the proper places.

I found the clothes that Seem had left out for me and removed my torn up undershirt and jeans that I had been wearing. I was thankful they didn't undress me but still felt dirty as I removed them from my skin.

I pulled the clothing on and strapped on the necessary straps of armor. I looked at myself in the mirror once I was done and was shocked.

The last time I was in Precursia, I could never find a mirror, nor was I too intent on finding one. When I did, I felt appalled by how changed I had looked. I had long ears, manageable brown hair, and glowing green eyes. The only thing that was truly different from last time was that the tip of my mid-back length hair had turned snow white. It shocked me a little. What could have caused that?

I examined it for a moment then decided to leave it for later examination. I braided my hair back, still unnerved that the tips of my fingers were still charred looking. At least I could feel this time.

The clothing was standard issue, it seemed. Covering enough to let me feel protected but still complementary to my womanly figure. A black, sleeveless tunic, off-white pants, knee-high metal plated combat boots, and a strap of steel plating around my torso.

Once I was satisfied with my appearance I moved to the door and stepped outside. I was on ground level, next to the ocean, left of the turret. Sparus city was nearly empty at this time of night but there was someone sitting up in the turret. I could see it swivel on it's axis every couple of minutes.

Someone was waiting for me outside the door. I didn't see her until she stood up. She was a wastelander, one I had never seen before. Bright blue eyes and sandy blond hair, she was almost as small as me, which was saying something, and wore a lighter version of wasteland armor, more like what I was wearing except with more pieces.

She smiled and waved, and I decided that she was friendly enough. She looked to be my age, maybe a year or two older. "Hey," she greeted. "I'm Vieres, but call me Vi."

"Tox."

"Nice ta meet ya." She waved me forward as she herself started to walk down the street. "I've been ordered ta take ya to the arena when you woke up. It's still pretty early, so you'll be fighting in the first couple of rounds."

I almost asked what she meant but then in struck me. The Spargan tests, how could I have forgotten! Oh crap, I have to fight big scary muscular guys.

"Do I get a weapon?" They gave Jak a weapon, right? It's been a while since I played Jak 3. I remember all of the story but not all of the gameplay. I know Jak can handle himself without a gun…

"A'course," she laughed a little, like I had said something funny. "You'll get ta choose from the armory, and if ya live, ya get ta keep it."

"That's gratifying…"

"Yup. Used ta be that ya had ta put it back when ya was done, but we lost too many people that way, so His Majesty let us start keepin' the weapons we won."

"I'm not really a fighter," nor am I anything else… and this girl has really bad grammar. Curse my inability to not be a nerd. It was one thing when Daxter calls you a nerd, but another thing entirely when Jak did it…

"Well then, ya better learn fast."

"Can I go back to Haven? I wasn't banished, my transport ship was shot down."

She laughed a little. "Ya obviously didn't come from Haven. From what we were told, Spargus and Kras are the two remaining strongholds now. Ya don' wanna go back ta that shit hole."

True enough. "I know but I'd rather be eaten than beaten." Wow! That rhymed!

She laughed harder this time. "Don' worry. You'll get time ta practice before we throw ya in." She looked at me. "I'd rather have a say in what's been said then be eaten by a metal head."

Wow! She can rhyme, too! I like her already.

/-/-/

It looked like a vault full of weapons. I could take one. But oh, there was so many. Vi was standing next to me, watching me carefully as I picked up one, held it in my hands, then put it back. I went through a few like this, not really deciding. Every time I found one I thought I could work with, I saw something else with more potential.

After about fifteen minutes, I had decided on a wicked looking gun-staff that had the head of a giant cow prong. It was long, had a scythe-like blade on the opposite side of the head. The head itself was made of steel but as I charged it, it glowed blue. The prongs in the front were obviously for stabbing but were too blunt for serious damage. The default was for aim, I was guessing. But they were also made out of steel, a natural electric conductor… I could get creative with this thing (this is where I grin maliciously).

I nodded to Vi when I was satisfied with my pick and she closed the vault with a soft grunt. She motioned for to follow her through the dark halls under the palace and arena. I had yet to see any other wastelanders, but I was kind of glad. I honestly wasn't sure if they were going to have to kill me or if I was reserved for the Marauders.

"Who will I be fighting?"

"Low-lifes and prisoners, as is most of the time the tested's opponents."

That made me feel better. I was going to be fighting demoralized freaks. Yay! No mercy for me! (I am going to die…)

At least they were giving a few minutes to get acquainted with my new weapon, which had conveniently folded up and was slung across my back, before I was forced to permanently part with it.

Vi led me down several halls and into another room. It was empty save for a climbing wall, targets, and stuffed dummies. We walked in together but she stayed near the door. "I'll leave ya alone ta train." She then left me alone in the room, closing the door behind her. I heard a distinct click as the door closed, and it was then that I realized that I was a prisoner until I proved myself worthy.

Something settled in my chest as I realized this, something akin to hateful respects. I growled, feeling trapped but no longer scared. It was funny what anger could do to a person.

If they wanted to lock me up, then I will show them what a caged animal could do. I walked up to a dummy, poked it with the tip of my gun, then gave it a good whack, followed by a swipe from the scythe, effectively decapitating it.

A twisted smile spread across my face, that year in Haven had taught me to kill it before it kills me. I tried not to think about the first kill, the first life I had taken. It was too painful, too real. It had been that moment that the situation I was in had really sunk in. That moment, when that guard suddenly pulled me into the shadows under a midnight moon, and tried to rip at my already torn shirt. That moment when I panicked and tried to get away. The moment he had died, his entire body frying like a cooked rat.

The funny thing about that entire example of Haven's protectors, I was not traumatized because I had almost been raped, but because it had me and not someone else. It could have been the person right before me, or right after me, it could have been someone else, but it had been me. I had been able to protect myself where someone else would not have been able to. I had been able to get away unharmed, someone else might not have been so lucky.

Because it had been me and not someone else told me that I was supposed to protect myself because I had the ability. I could not pity myself because I had been blessed. I had to protect myself, and never stop fighting because there were others that wanted to fight back but didn't have the ability. That was when I learned how to control these powers, when I decided to make a plan, and when I chose not to give up.

XXX

A/N: Sorry about the ending rant but I needed a little more to finish this off but I didn't want to move onto the next scene. Besides, I wanted to give an example of Tox's psychology. I hope you enjoyed.

Broken Wolf/D.R.M.