There I stood, inside a room I've been in a million times before. The air feels cold and heavy. The room is so empty that the silence roars louder than all else. The only things you can see is darkness and a small spotlight.
Within the light is one figure, a humanoid machine. It's eerie to look at when you first step in. It looks like a person, but the skin is replaced by a rough surface reminiscent of asphalt. They told me that the machine was made from the most durable metal known, but it was now worn down by the years of usage.
The machine is named Mann, short for Power Measuring Mannequin. It was designed to take all the damage from an attack and calculate how much force was exerted from that attack. It has always been reliable and it's always given the most accurate measurements anyone can get. So this will be the key to my training.
The only items I brought with me to this room is my sword and the bitter taste of defeat. I want revenge, and I need to get stronger to get it.
With this in mind, I steady myself, preparing to attack. I unsheathe my sword, aim the blade towards the Mann, and rush towards it.
That's strange, has the distance between the door and the machine increased? The machine seems so far away. I haven't even started yet, so why do I feel so enervated? It feels like I just fought a decade-long war. I can feel how tired every part of my body is. I know now why my arms gave up holding my sword; why my legs gave up moving; why my body fell to the floor; more importantly, I know now why I'm losing consciousness...
***
What happened? Where am I? I can't open my eyes. I can't move my limbs. Wait, why is the ground so...damp? It feels so different from the ceramic floor that the Training Room had. What are these ropes I feel between my fingers? It can't be...It is! It's grass! I'm in grasslands? How did I get here? Was I kidnapped? Was I in a battle I don't know of? Was I killed and my soul is trapped in my corpse? What happened to me?
What's that? Footsteps? It's light, it doesn't seem to be an adult person, but it surely isn't an animal. Damn it! Eyes, open!
My eyelids slowly rise up, allowing the light to meet my eyes. The skies, they're crystal clear, no cloud in sight. The only thing you can see is the blue colours of the atmosphere and the sun shining brightly.
"I see you're awake now," a soft voice speaks. I scan around to see who it was. When I saw a figure, I was surprised, it was a child. A small boy in the middle of a wide and empty yet beautiful prairie.
"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know?" the boy tells me as he holds out his hand, "give me your hand."
I accept his offer and lend him my hand. That's odd, it seems to fit perfectly in his.
"I thought he was just a small boy!" I thought to myself. That's strange, he's taller than me! What's happening? Why am I short? And why the hell does he look so familiar? Well, I should at least thank him for helping me up.
"Hey, thanks for that," I tell him, rather shyly.
"Don't mention it," he says as he turns around and smiles, "what's your name?"
"My name? It's Silvia."
"I'll definitely remember that," he extends his arm once more as if to shake my hand, "It's nice to meet you, Silvia, I'm Valdus."
At that moment, my heart stopped. It's all coming together now. That's why it's so familiar, I'm in the past. I'm where I first met my greatest friend. That is, before he became my strongest enemy...
His hands grasp my shoulders and start shaking me violently.
"Captain! Captain! Captain!"
My eyes burst open and I see someone unfamiliar.
"Thank goodness you're awake," says the person who woke me up.
"Wh- where am I? Who are you?" I'm so confused, a second ago I was with Valdus.
"You're in the station's Training Room, ma'am." I scan around and see that he was telling me the truth. "We thought something might have happened to you."
"Wait, 'we'?"
"Ma'am, a meeting was issued a while ago and you were nowhere to be seen, everyone thought you either got erased or kidnapped."
"What? A while ago? How long was I out?"
"You were gone for a month or two."
THAT long? How worn out was I? More importantly, how is that even possible? How did they not find me if I was out that long? Everyone knows I'm mostly in this room.
"Thank you for informing me," I think I'll try to process my thoughts later, "I don't think we met before, what's your name?"
"My name is Einar. I'm a relatively new recruit so that may be why."
"Einar, that's a nice name."
"Why, thank you. I got it for my birth day."
Despite my confusion, I couldn't help but chuckle at what he said. It's nice to be able to laugh like this again, I never really had the chance to because of all the commotion that's been happening.
"Alright, I need to go meet with the other leaders."
"Go ahead, captain. I'll be h-" he pauses for a second, "I guess I can't say I'll be here since I've got duties but I'll come to you if you need me!"
"At ease. I'll see you around." I turn around and start walking towards the door. I'll need to look into his file, he doesn't seem normal. I sense something powerful within him. I don't know what it is but I can feel it, the small aura is almost overwhelming.
As I rushed out of the room, I was met with a wall that blocked my path. That's strange, I don't remember a wall being so close to the door. It was as hard as steel yet it's made with a different material, it's slightly rough. Leather maybe? Wait. Steel...leather...oh no.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A captain lost in time. No one has seen you in a while," explains the person towering above me.
"General Ironhyde, just who I wasn't looking for." I really am not looking forward to anything that comes out of his mouth.
"Where were you, Silvia?" he asks me, glaring as if this was my fault.
"Training." I'm already getting annoyed.
"Training where?" he gets louder, he may be getting serious but I can't take it right now.
"The Training Room, numbskull!"
"Captain, that is no way to address a General." I can't even look him in the eyes at this point, he will burn a hole where my pupils used to be.
"I..." deep breaths, Silvia, "I apologise, General. I'm just feeling confused." Confused doesn't even begin to describe it. I mean, I was suddenly transported to a prairie in the past? How is that even possible?
"So was everyone else, especially me."
"Why?"
"It's concerning your disappearance, more so, your answer to where you've been," he scans the area as if what he'll say can't be known to anyone.
"What about it, General?" I'm genuinely concerned now. What is he going to say that can't be known to anyone?
"I had my men search the entire Station, especially the Training Rooms. No traces of you were ever found, not even the heat sensors in the Training Rooms registered anything for one and a half months."
"W-what?"