Alesha wasn't sure where she was. There was no sight in this place, nor were there any smells, but it felt somehow warm, even cozy. Her heart was weighed down by a strange sadness, though. Why was she sad? Why did this non-place, pleasant as it was, make her feel like crying?
Somehow, she knew that her father was nearby. Mark Williams, a kind albeit geeky man, with a classic "dad bod," white-speckled blond hair and understanding green eyes. She had many fond memories of him -- particularly of gaming with him. CT-VR technology had allowed them to experience a lot of cool games together. Kingdom-building, fantasy RPG, racing, even strategy games. She also had fond memories of what they liked to call "daddy-daughter dates." They'd get ice cream, go on walks, or visit the movies, just the two of them.
Such happy memories… yet, recalling them now, they were colored by sadness.
Why was she remembering those right at this moment? Was it because it had been so long since she'd seen her family? Perhaps that would explain her mood; she missed her family a lot. Though she'd been angry lately and used that as fuel to keep herself going, buried underneath that anger was a profound longing. As she acknowledged the truth -- that her anger was just a shell that she'd been using to hide from her sadness -- Alesha felt tears begin to accumulate in her eyes.
When would she be able to see her family again? It had been so long, and so much had happened, which made her feel the absence of her family even more keenly. She deeply yearned for the comfort and familiarity their presence would bring.
Please, please, she thought, let me be able to return home soon; and let them be safe.
"... s okay," she heard her dad saying. His tenor voice sounded grief-ridden, halting and choked-up as it was. "Alesha, it's okay. I wish I could tell you more, but…"
"Dad! Dad!" Alesha yelled into the nothingness, cupping her hands around her mouth. A sense of urgency colored her emotions. "Dad, where are you?!"
How could she hear him? How had she gotten here, wherever this was? She wanted so badly to run towards her father and wrap him up in a bear hug.
"... I love you," he said, sounding farther away. "I'll always love you, Alesha, no matter what. Don't forget…"
His voice trailed off, too quiet to decipher the rest. What had he been trying to tell her? What exactly shouldn't she forget?!
"DAD!!!" Alesha screamed, tears now running down her face without restraint. "Dad, come back!! Please!"
"I miss you," she whispered, then broke down crying. She crumpled to the nonexistent ground and sobbed without restraint.
As soon as she had felt the first tears in her eyes, she'd realized the truth, although she didn't want to. It would've been much nicer if she could ignore it.
However, Alesha found herself unable to deny the fact that this was a dream.
It had to be.
Because in reality, she didn't have a body of flesh and blood anymore.
----
Another planet, somewhere in the Milky Way
A teenage punk swaggered down the busy nighttime street with a scowl, using the pointy end of a half-eaten kebab stick to pick his teeth, the canines of which were just a bit too long to be considered normal. His spiky hair was dyed pale yellow, orange, and blue in symmetrical stripes. He was wearing a rather unusual choice of contact lenses. They turned his eyes into slits, with the color transitioning from deep brown (almost black) at the edges to vibrant yellow by the pupil in streaks. He had his nails done so that they looked like black claws.
His attire was equally outlandish, all garish colors, spikes and "fashionably-cut" lines. It bore some semblance of being stylish only because the colors coordinated with his hair and were somewhat dampened by the dark grey leather vest he wore on top of it. He looked like an over-the-top villain from some sort of cheesy kids show.
A mother tried to soothe her baby, who had burst into tears at the sight of the strange man.
"Heh, try it while you can, human," the punk muttered under his breath.
Though he appeared human, he was in fact nothing of the sort. He hated disguising himself as one, but it was necessary in order for him to really milk this charade. How long had it been since Toltura had really let him go ham on a human-owned planet? All of two hours? Far too long indeed.
He chuckled at himself.
On some level, he understood that what he was excited about wasn't really the opportunity to destroy a planet belonging to the despicable Human Alliance. It was the fact that he could do so in any way he chose. He adored his Goddess, and would follow her every whim; however, true chaos was at its most beautiful when it was allowed to blossom in whichever direction it chose. It wasn't hard to prune his chaos in the ways She desired -- he could do it easily. Yet it was much more exciting (and satisfying) to just let it go wild.
That was what he was about to do.
Well, more or less. He wanted to get back to his hideout and sleep, so he wanted to do this quickly while still satisfying his desire to really go all-out. It was a delicate balance.
After all, he'd just finished destroying a planet's civilization city by city not even half a day ago. It had taken days of joyful, yet tiring, destruction back-to-back without any rest. He was running on empty. So, rather than exhausting himself further by imposing the usual, unnecessary restrictions upon his methods of destruction, Krogor had decided to destroy this one in the most efficient way he could.
Well, more or less.
He'd be spicing up the start of it first, just a bit.
Cracking his knuckles and stretching, Krogor grinned and shook himself, his teeth growing and sharpening as he quickly shed his human disguise. Fur sprouted, his snout elongated and widened, tusks pushed his lips aside, ears lengthened, wings grew and his boldly striped fur markings appeared -- all in the same colors as the clothes he was wearing. His nails became proper claws and his club-tipped tail tore through his clothing.
It wasn't time to fully shift yet… so he took on a form akin to a were-dragon.
Judging by the screams, this intimidation tactic was proving quite effective already.
Krogor chuckled with a wicked grin, then bellowed.
It was time to get this party started!!