AN: Something of a soft reboot/experiment with my current main fic. I'm still trying to get my footing and find a way of writing that I like and can sustain. Any thoughts you have I'd love to hear, good and especially bad, gotta grow as a writer after all.

My predictions were right on the money, through my binoculars, I saw an office building collapse. It's hollowed out skeleton finally giving way with a groan I could hear all the way from my perch up in the mountains west of my old hometown.

"There it goes..." I said, to myself. Anything I said was to myself, there was no one, anywhere, to hear. Surrendering to gravity, the building fell in on itself, kicking up irradiated dust in a massive cloud that covered most of downtown. I took out a notebook from a pocket in my radiation suit, and crossed out the building's name. So far, I had a ten streak, predicting when the next building would come crashing down. Leaving the ruins one step closer to being reclaimed by the surrounding desert.

I loafed, there wasn't any point in hurrying. It's not like there was anyone waiting on me. Not in this life at least. Sure, the bulky suit made me sweat like a pig, but at least I could pretend to enjoy the outdoors; it beat re-reading the same books in my home's library again.

The afternoon crept on. I sipped water from inside my helmet. A wind off the mountains on the opposite side of the city picked up fallout from the city. A little flag I planted at my hangout spot clued me in. A few seconds later, my geiger counter told me it was time to pack it in. Fine, I was getting hungry.

Standing up to leave, I goofed. My perch was the edge of a cliff. Though I often questioned why, I was always careful. Keeping clean, making my food last, watching my footing, never staying too long out when the wind kicked up fallout. For years, I persisted. A relic of a dead world. But always, as I knew, I was one mistake away from my life ending.

So, I knew my number as up when, in standing, I overbalanced, tilting forward, and failing to catch myself as I tumbled off the cliff. Funny, I thought I was sitting further from the edge. Gravity, the cruel bitch, had me in her grasp, and flung me down to the rocks below. "Oh...SHIIIIIIIIIT" I cried. Even now, knowing it was game over, I tucked, trying to break the coming fall in a roll. Dusty, brown earth rose up to meet me. I never even got to crack open the jug of mead I was saving. Stupid last thought, at least it was over.

So I thought. I...couldn't see. Nor hear, didn't smell anything either. That, at least, I was thankful for. I'd been in a rubber suit all day, so anything I did smell would be my own ball sweat. No sensations, nothing. Just my own thoughts. If I was dead, then it meant the afterlife was real, and it fucking sucked.

I'd just settled in to distract myself from my situation when I...felt, or simply, knew, a presence, speaking to my mind.

Took you long enough.

Couldn't you have done that sooner?

Yeah, this was hell, of course the first person? Entity? Sapience? Whatever, the first guy I met was annoyed I didn't die earlier. Asshole.

You've wasted enough time, it might actually be too late.

So get a move on, soldier. Try not to fuck it all up this time.

This time? Hell no, you're not sending me back! Leave me alone!

Suck it up, mortal. I'm not happy about it either.

We need a hero, but you're what we got.

Fuck you! I'm not doing it, I don't care what you are, no half ass god is going to draft me into his half ass scheme.

Why'd it have to be you?

I'm only going to say this once.

More than comprehend is at stake.

Now go. Restore the Cycle.

Would it kill you to be less cryptic?

Yes, actually.

Brace yourself.

This is going to hurt like hell.

What was? Hey! Answer me you prick! What's going to hur-

Pain. Every nerve in my body was alight with pain. Light. My eyes seared in blinding light. I had senses, and every single one was overwhelmed. I was dead, I had no senses. Is this what happened when you suddenly start to have flesh again?

I flailed, my empty stomach heaved up bile. I would have, should have, pooped myself. Small mercy. Eons passed as I writhed on the ground in a maddening cacophony of torturous sensation. Slowly, my body got used to existing again. Or perhaps for the first time, if God, or, whatever that douche was gave me a whole new one. The first stimuli to be distinguished was my own screaming. That was annoying, but I wasn't in any shape to stop...so I buckled in to ride it out.

By the time I recovered, my body was sore all over. I'd smacked myself against the ground enough for it to feel like an extra vigorous ass whooping.

I didn't care. My eyes were glued straight up. It was...breathtaking. Trees, vibrant and alive, with right autumnal red. I breathed, sweet, woody scents of a living forest. Birds called, a music incomparable. Even the uncomfortable forest floor, wet leaves, rich soil, a breeze of clean, fresh air against my skin. I bawled my eyes out.

Years of staring bleakly out at ruined cities. Sun bleached bones. Listening to empty airwaves. Years of living death. It was...released. Here, was a living place. Had somewhere on earth survived the war? Was my failure, not so complete as I had always thought? Were there humans? There could be! The thought stirred me up from my reverie. There might be someone else out here! I got up, groaning. It's then, I noticed, I wasn't myself.

It was my voice, first. Lighter, not raspy from years of drinking and smoking the pain away. Was it even my younger voice? I'd forgotten what I used to sound like. Looking down, I took stock. I think I was about as tall as I was, but my body was lean and strong, and young. Gone were scars, callouses, blemishes from years of struggle and war. My beer gut was gone to...the bonuses just kept coming.

I ran a hand over my hair, it'd been years since I was acquainted with the wonders of shampoo, so long, dirty blonde locks, soft as can be made me giddy. The prick who dragged me from the void at least set me up in a body that wasn't worn down to the nub. He could have afforded to give me some gear, though. "Eh, at least I'm not naked." I remarked, noting a (mostly) clean set of olive fatigues and black boots. My rolling around on the ground having dirtied them some.

As I patted myself down, I felt in my pants pocket a leather wallet. Curious, I pulled it out. Nothing useful, a few credit card looking doodads, no individual numbers though, weird. An an ID card. My own face, thirty plus years shaved off, stared me back. "Hey you handsome devil" I grinned, if I wasn't too rusty for the last ten of those years being spent in isolation, I was set to break some hearts. Now that's odd, it was my face. But not my name. "Lanius...Draco. Huh. Not my first pick, but I dig it. New life, new me." Chuckling, I tucked the wallet back into my pants and picked a direction at random.

It was noon, and I hadn't payed attention, so direction was a crapshoot. I figure if God gave me a new name and an ID card, it meant I'd have some need of it. Where the hell was 'Vale' anyway? Was I somewhere in Europe? Trouble for later, I supposed. Better act like I'm not totally lost when I meet the locals.

I...never met the locals. The locals met me. I'd found a stream to drink from, food could wait, but I drank enough that later it was time to take a leak. Not my proudest moment, I was busy watering a tree when a rustling from the nearby brush. The edge I put on my instinct was dulled by how much everything seemed to be going my way. Or maybe I was never as slick as I thought. The first sign of trouble was a blow like Thor rocking my shit upside my head. My head slammed forward, into the tree, busting my nose. Croggled, I stumbled and fell. And then my new buddies got unpleasant.

There were two. One big, built like a brick shithouse, he was going easy on me. I'm pretty sure he'd have kicked me to death if his heart was in it. The other, a scrawny twig of a man, was making up for his buddy's gentleness. Raining blows down on me, somehow hitting like he was built like a linebacker instead of the runt he was. "Fuck! Stop! Ah, guh!" I'll spare you the play by play of my attempts at diplomacy.

I never had a chance, they'd gotten me good, and in seconds I was curled up trying to keep my head from caving in as the runt kept stomping me. The only thing that made this less embarrassing was, I noted, the two were in uniform, military looking. So I told myself they were professionals and I hadn't just been jumped cause I let my guard down.

Strange uniforms though, black pants and boots, matching...hoodies. With bracers and greaves, some kind of white jerkin, a flak jacket? And masks. I thought the masks were cool. Later, I did. Too busy getting the boots put to me to notice. They suggested a beast, without being too tacky about it. They had big blocky pistols tucked into duty belts. Those came out once scrawny got tired of wailing on me. Crap.

"Ha!" The runt cried. "We got his ass! Didn't we!?" His voice was nasally, sounding like a whine.

"Sure did man." the big guy replied, in a deep baritone. "What now?"

"Hell you mean what now? We got him, let's blast him and report back!"

"Hol on, you never said we was gonna kill him," Big man sounded the gentle giant type, here's hoping he won this little debate.

"What'd you think we were going to do? Invite the shithead over for tea?" Tea sounded great right now, mostly to wash down pain killers.

"Come on, you know that ain't what I meant. He didn't do nothin to us, let's just let him go, bet he's learned his lesson."

"Hey! I ain't explaining to the boss why we let a human get balls deep into our patrol zone, and just let him off with a spanking." Human? Huh?

"Okay, okay. Man, let's take him back, let Taurus decide what to do with him."

"Pussy."

"Dickhead"

"Fine, bag his ass, maybe boss'll let him go if he don't see nothin." Thanks, runt, love you too.

The bruiser produced a black bag, picking me up by my jacket to fit it over my head. I chose to comply. Not because they'd kicked the shit out of me harder than I ever remembered. I was just...waiting for an opportunity. Yeah. I'd even started to believe that when they got me on the march, the runt's pistol jabbing by back now and then to keep me moving.

Talking, earned me a swift kick, and the runt rifling through my pockets; no doubt returning my wallet several cards lighter, for my trouble. So I stayed quiet. My earlier excuse of these two being professionals got shoddier as they bullshitted back and forth. I got their names. Runt was Ermin, and the brick shithouse was Arctos. Old buddies, it seemed. Obviously joining whatever outfit they rolled with together.

I still didn't have the faintest what was going on. Their uniforms and guns weren't anything I recognized. They called me 'human' like our species' name was a slur. And Ermin, despite looking like someone I could fold in half, hit like a truck and manhandled me as easily as I guessed Arctos could. And brother, Arctos looked like some freak super soldier program's finest subject. Fucker had to be coming up on eight feet. This was weird, understatement of the year.

Eventually, the two marched me into what I guessed was a camp. I heard noises enough. People greeted Arctos, everyone's favorite big brother coming home for dinner. Ermin was tolerated. 'Brother so and so' or 'Sister what's it' as a common address. Were these freaks in a cult? The cultists, I'm sure they were, herded me into a tent, where they tied my hands and staked me to the ground on my knees. The two chuckle heads got told off, and volunteered to babysit me until a 'Commander Taurus' got back from his mission. Hungry, thirsty, and with a nice crop of bruises and I think a cracked rib, I settled in to wait for my execution. This Taurus character sounded like a hardass. I hoped the two who jumped me got latrine duty till the end of time for bothering him with me.

Hours crawled by. I quietly tried to rub my bindings against the metal stake. I succeeded, in fraying it a little, and bleeding all over it as my wrists were rubbed raw. It was getting depressing. Everyone knew I was getting a bullet in the head the second their boss came home. Or, I'd get decapitated. Ermin bet twenty 'Lien', the local scrip I guessed, on Taurus chopping my head off with one of his buddies that came to relieve Arctos while Arctos relieved himself. Said buddy thought Taurus would march me out, make me dig my own grave, and then shoot me. Or, make someone called Blake do it. It feels nice, being this liked.

"Nah man, boss isn't gonna waste that much time with this bitch. Dude's ice cold," Ermin concluded. His buddy chuckled.

"You don't get dude. You ever actually been on a mission with the commander yet?"

"No, somethin keeps coming up whenever it's time to go on runs." Sure, Ermin, 'something'

"Yeah, well, you'll see. Once Taurus gets going, he'll tear any humans in his way a new one. And you can bet he'll be pissed at you two for fobbing that poor bastard off on him."

"Sh-shit, don't tell me he's gonna..."

"Hey, easy Erm. He don't take it out on us." I could hear a smug, grin on the unnamed cultist's face as he spoke. "And that's why, when he gets back, your prisoner's in deep shit."

"Hell, too late to change my bet?"

"Yup! Thanks for the money, in advance."

"Asshole."

Maybe they were running their mouths to scare me...well it goddamn worked. Only keeping myself quiet enough that they wouldn't look in on my feeble attempt to free myself kept me from letting out a cry as I started to despair.

Arctos returned, Ermin went off, promising to bring back snacks. I waited, I cried, silently. Ermin returned, went back to yapping with Arctos. Taurus, never came. My executioner was late. First fashionably so, and then inexcusably so. Rather rude, not showing up to man's execution when you're the asshole who's supposed to do the executing. The dorks outside were discussing what the holdup was when a gunshot echoed through the camp. Far, and quiet, it nonetheless ground the bustle of the cult's camp to a halt. Then, another. Joined by more. Closer. And closer again. Movement in the camp picked up. I heard Ermin and Arctos draw, and charge their pistols.

A scream, long, and filled with pain, sounded, close to the camp. That lit a fire under the cultists' collective ass. They hustled, shouting orders. It sounded like they'd drilled for...whatever was coming their way. Someone ran up to the tent, gruff voice barking. "Leave the human, dammit, get to your places on the line!"

"Yes sir!" The two shouted back, rushing off, and leaving me alone. I redoubled my efforts. Rubbing my restraints against the spike in the ground. Finally, with no one to maul me for trying anything, I got my feet under me and started to push, straining to stand up and pop the stake loose. Grunting, huffing, I focused on my task. Somewhere in the camp, a shrill voice called. "CONTACT! OPEN FIRE!" And all hell broke loose.

Blind as I was, my imagination conjured worse horrors than anything that could exist for real. That's...what I told myself. I heard growls, howls, primal roars issuing from scores of inhuman throats as gunfire, orders, and battle cries joined in a chorus. The creatures, whatever they were, were on the defenders in an instant. There were powerful legs, digging up earth as monsters charged in among the cultists. Pained howls as they were shot or cut down. My captors were giving the monsters hell it sounded like. Then, they began to fall. Snippets of screams, cries for mercy, or help, cut off by wet tears and crunches. Not more than thirty feet out from my tent, I heard a man scream his life out, two beasts had him by different ends. I heard something splatter to the ground as his screams cut off and the creatures stared to eat nosily.

Panting with equal parts fear and effort, I tried desperately to free myself as more and more the battle outside devolved into a brawl. The things attacking were relentless. And I was meat for the first of either side that decided they wanted me. With a final push, I yanked the stake out, and toppled right onto my face again. With a huff, I started wriggling on the ground, trying to work the bag over my head free. Bullets tore through the tent somewhere above me...low enough to pass through me if I was still kneeling. Shaking, I lay there for a few moments, before starting up again. When the bag was finally worked loose, I got my first look at the camp, and the battle. Immediately I wished I hadn't.

In my focus to regain my sight, I missed the fight turning from merely chaotic, to sheer mayhem. From a wedge opened in the tent, I saw hell unfolding out there. Cultists ran like headless chickens. Firing wildly, lunging with swords, making stands...and being torn apart. The monsters...horrible, lupine shapes. Black fur, spines and platelets of bone sprouting from their backs, masks of the same bone on their faces, and red eyes, glowing bright with some unfathomable hatred. Their nightmare assault had broken the cultists' defenses. Men and women were being gutted, savage claws taking limbs off, opening chests and bellies. Holding sobbing cultists down as the monsters ate them alive. I shied away from the opening, crouching in the side of the tent, paralyzed.

Before I could do anything stupid, like run out there with my hands tied, a figure ducked into the tent an joined me in cowering. It was another of the cultists, a slip of a woman, with...were those ram's horns sticking out of her hood? Was that some kind of symbol of rank? The illusion that she was some kind of badass died as she shied away from me, back bumping against the opposite tent wall. A sword, single edged and wicked looking, shook violently in her hands.

"St-stay back!" She shrieked, voice shrill. Uh oh. Needed to play this cool.

"Jesus!"

"Huh!?"

"Hell...I meant, easy, I don't wanna get killed either lady!"

She looked like she was weighing her options..."Alright...keep it down." The girl sank to her haunches, muttering to herself. "No no no no...I can't take it...need to get out of here!" Her voice rose as she worked herself back into a panic.

"Woah, hey, I got a plan. Listen, we're getting out of this." I spoke low, voice firm to catch her attention, it worked. The cultist quieted down, nodding for me to continue. "We're at the edge of camp right?" She nodded, confirming what I guessed from the lack of noises behind me as I waited. "Okay. You can the tent open and we'll slip out before any of those freaks notices us." I was proud of myself. A decade out of practice and I still had it. That, or she was desperate enough to follow anyone who promised a ticket out of this clusterfuck.

"y-yeah." She agreed, moving to go before I spoke up again.

"Wait.." I hissed. "Cut me loose, we'll have a better chance together."

I couldn't see, but it looked like she was fish eying me. Took a tentative step forward, "T-turn around. Don't try anything!"

I complied, wondering if she'd stick me in the back instead of cutting me loose. Thankfully, she didn't. I rubbed my bleeding writs, slowly turning around again. I stooped to pocket the stake that fell loose, and the bag that used to be over my head, might come in handy. Ram horns looked apprehensive, but didn't comment as she turned around to go cut our way out.

My plan, bare bones as it was. Was still a plan, and so the old adage applied. My dubious partner in escape had turned her back, and hadn't even taken a step toward our would be exit before a black blur rocketed in, past me, and tackled the woman to the floor with a scream of sheer terror as she lost her blade. I got a way better look at the monster than I ever wanted to. The werewolf looking freak hadn't noticed me, it had the screaming woman's head in it's jaws...oh God. It was taking it's time with her! Pinned to the ground with clawed feet, the monster was pulling up on her head, slowly, I saw teeth digging into flesh, but not closing in as it pulled. Transfixed, I would have crouched there like a deer in the headlights if the woman's screams hadn't gone from, general terror and agony to directed at me, specifically. "HUMAN! HELP...GODS, GET IT OFF! KILL IT! PLEASE"

I looked down at her fallen swords, silently reaching over to scoop it up. My would be partner punched weakly at the monster, who still hadn't noticed me. "HURRY! IT OH GOD IT HURTS! ITS TEARING MY HEAD!" I...backed away, no way I could do shit to that monster with a glorified pig sticker. Inching back, I felt sick to my stomach as the woman called out "WHERE ARE YOU!? HELP ME! DON'T DON'T LEAVE ME YOU BASTARD!" I was already out, creeping along as I heard a sickening tearing noise, her screams cutting off. Not wanting to stay there a second longer. I sprinted into the forest. No monsters were on me that I could hear, but I was chased every step of the way by the woman's screams, damming my cowardice as I fled.

TN:And there we have it, the exciting and not so heroic beginnings of Lanius' journey in Remnant!