*Tang* *Tang* *Tang*. The hallway's metallic floors ring—her legs pushing her onward. The paths feel like a maze, the sounds of the Sector's Core echo from every direction at once. Her breath quickens as she's forced to turn back, arriving at yet another dead end. The red alarm lights make it difficult to parse where she's already been. She pushes onward, the sounds of screams intermixed with loud crashes growing louder and louder, closer and closer.
A double door stands at the end of this hall, her breath holds as she prepares herself for it to be locked, for all this to have been in vain.
'hssss', the doors slide open at the final moment. A colossal room stretches out before her eyes. Flower stumbles as she forces herself to slow down. A gasp escaping her as she takes it in.
The cylindrical room stretches dozens of feet high. Metallic catwalks trace the outline, jutting out and meeting up throughout like a web of steel—normally teeming with engineers and scientists. The most striking feature sits at its center. An enormous machine, a sculpture of wires, switches, and steel, stretches from the floor to ceiling. Housed within, a massive green crystal hums with power—a green aura glowing around it.
Flowur's eyes refuse to wrench from the machine. Its crystal hypnotizing, its hum drowning out the ring of gunshots and screams of the monsters around her. Her body feeling charged with power as she looks at it, all her worries and feelings fading around her. A sudden grip yanks her back to reality. She blinks—just as it forcefully pulls her to the ground.
"Kid, watch out!" her savior shouts, pushing her head downward as they begin to drag her. Massive pieces of shattered concrete shoot just above her; narrowly missing her head. Concrete debris and jagged metal dig into her thighs and back as they yank her behind a metal barricade.
"Regular, what the fuck are you— Flowur?!" As Flowur sits up blinking the dust from her eyes. Her breath catches as she recognizes the gaze of one of the men from earlier—Icce.
"Flowur, what the fuck! Are you doing here!?" Icce's voice a mix of confusion and anger, yanking her head downward as she scrambles to her knees. "You can't-, you choose-, now-" Icce's mind swims with insults but he drops each of them, knowing they wont improve the situation. "Flowur. Get the fuck out of here. Go to the shelter." His eyes narrowing, his voice colder than his own name.
Flowur's mind swims with what to say, any response. Why is she here? She can't be of any help—she has no training. It's not like she could just grab a gun and shoot monsters. She isn't awakened. She has no value. So why did she feel such a rush to come here? A pull that said she's done merely existing, a pull demanding she act.
"No." she responds before she can process her own thoughts. Both pausing, surprised by her response. "I'm going to help. I don't care how" her limbs charged with energy, her mind clear.
"Seriously, you-" he stops himself, now isn't the time to argue. "Fine" his eyes dart over the barricade, scanning the room. "Fine. Just… grab injured people and pull them behind barriers."
He exhales sharply, yanking the latch of his holster and pulling the pistol from it. Shoving it into her grip. The message unspoken, yet clear.
Her arms tremble as her eyes drop to the weapon in her hands—cold steel symbolic of the power it has. She takes a deep breath as she peeks over the barricade, her eyes widening as her stomach sinks like a rock.
The concrete of the far wall has been smashed open. An enormous worm-like being writhes and thrashes through it, its body squeezing through as it swings at soldiers around it. Contorting unnaturally as it moves. Its body is covered in enormous colorful crystalline shards. It's head encased crystalline armor as it swings at people around it, seeking to crush them into bloody pulps.
Throughout the rest of the room other smaller, albeit still large, monsters cause havoc. Their bodies otherworldly. Enormous heads or many appendages, they twist and move erroneously. Some have enormous jaws. Others wield claws sharp enough to shear through steel.
Flowur's stomach spins and dives, suddenly thankful she ate so little. She swallows hard, trying to steady herself by focusing on the task she's been given. Bodies lay scattered throughout the room, blood pooling all around them. It's impossible to discern whose alive or dead.
Her mind echoes her orders over and over. Pull them to safety. Pull them to safety. Her body trembles with shaky breaths as she dashes out from behind the barrier to a nearby body. She can't even tell if they're alive, gripping the back of their shirt, she yanks—hard. Her feet sliding uselessly against the debris covered floor. She's too small. Her shoes fail to grip with all the dust and debris, her feet inside sliding uselessly as she tries to pull them backward.
Over and over her shoes slide. Her resolve wavering. I can't even do this right. Doubts she had been silencing creeping in. You are a failure. She grits her teeth as her eyes begin to water. Nothing but a stain on his legacy. The thoughts feel like knives sinking into her heart. Please! Her thoughts cry out. I have to do this! As if asking for help from the divine. I can save one person. Please! Just please, just. GRIP!
Her hope teeters on the edge of vanishing—until suddenly, her shoes begin to grip. A force shooting through her limbs. She takes another step, the ground holding firm. Step after step, her shoes gripping the ground beneath them. Her muscles scream, begging for her to stop—but she cannot stop. All her doubts gone silent. Her limbs tremble, as if flowing with an unknown energy.
With one final push she wrenches the body behind one of the metallic barricades. Releasing her grip, she falls back. Her muscles should be aching. Instead, they surge with a newfound power, thrumming with an energy she can't yet explain.
A new resolve flows through her. The pistol slips from her hand. Useless. She needs both of her hands. She stands—the fear she felt having vanished. Looking across the battlefield, the nausea forgotten.
Across the room, their chest rising and falling weakly, a person lies. She takes a deep breath, steeling her nerves. She ducks her head and dashes across the room towards them. Stepping over fallen debris and narrowly avoiding crashing into anyone.
She's almost there— then her foot catches on a piece of debris—falling forward. She throws her hands forward as she tumbles. Pain flaring as her palms burn and her chest aches, the scattered debris digging into her flesh. The pain is overwhelming. She can feel water leak into her eyes. She forces it away, rubbing her eyes with a sleeve. She won't cry. She has to help.
Crawling to the injured man, she grips his shirt as she sits up. Planting her feet and gritting her teeth. GRIP. She screams the thought again. Yanking him backwards, her shoes push against the ground. Her legs feel as though an energy flows through them once more. Step by step, she pulls the unconscious man across the battlefield—littered with debris and strange crystals.
Her head swivels to look behind her, scanning the chaos, she's close to the metal barricade now. "Come on we'r-" Her words die in her throat as she freezes. Her body stiffens, her heart begins to race. Marcus stands before her; rifle in hand, firing at a massive, gaping-mouthed monster.
As Marcus's magazine empties, he looks to the side to grab another. His eyes meet Flowur's—freezing.
A hundred different things run through his mind, worry, fear, anger, confusion. He wants to scream, to run over and drag her off this battlefield. To save her from going through what he has; but he can't. His body is frozen, he can't will himself to move. He can only keep staring.
Of course he's here, he ran off in this direction. Her mind races, she doesn't know what to do. All the energy, all her resolve, sapped in an instant. Back to the scared, quiet girl she was when she woke up. The one who wanted to stay in her bed and rot.
The monster Marcus had been shooting at rises. Marcus's shots no longer pinning it back. It lurches upward, its head swinging upward as it zeroes in on Marcus. Steps forward, the concrete cracking beneath its feet—launches itself toward him.
She releases the unconscious man, his weight slipping from her grip as she dashes toward Marcus, her hand outstretched. Seconds feel like hours as she watches the monster dive forward at Marcus. I have to reach him! Her legs forcing her forward with every drop of strength they can. The monster's enormous maw hinges open—revealing a set of enormous jagged crystalline teeth. He's so far away! Her arms thrown out in front of her, reaching as if her she could extend her arms to pull him to safety.
The skin of her arms begins to shimmer, as if the bright colors of the creature are reflecting off them. Flowur's thoughts too erratic and preoccupied to notice.
Move faster! The thought screams inside her mind and yet she has no action to take. SOMETHING! ANYTHING! PLEASE! The words rattle inside her like pained sobs. The beast looms mere feet from Marcus, its maw widening, teeth glistening. Ready to tear him in two. I CANT LOSE ANOTHER! The world around her drowned out by her begs. All but one, *Crack*
Like a thunderbolt, her arms begin to change. Her hands shrink and her skin hardens, the surface gaining a texture like diamonds. Her arms flatten, the edges growing sharper and sharper. Her hands and fingers are gone as the end of her arms thins, the ends sharpening to a blade-like point. A deafening *CRACK* rips through her body as the blades launch forward, the rest of her arms stretching behind them, resembling a goo-like liquid.
The monster's thoughts are silenced in an instant. The blades pierce through its hardened skin. Passing easily through its soft interior, piercing the skin on the other side of its head. They shear through the air for a moment, finally stopping as they embed into the wall behind the monster—its dead.
The blades glisten a light brown. Shimmering like polished gemstone. The bright colors of the monster's teeth glinting in their surface, its body disintegrating around them. The blades extended at least twenty feet forward as the crystalline structure stretches from Flowur's forearms to the wall. Rigid, the edges sharp as a razor.
The battle rages on around them, but all who had seen this happen stand frozen. Stunned by what they witnessed. A beast with skin hard enough to deflect bullets, felled in the blink of an eye.
Flowur's breath settles, her heart-beat slowing. The blades begin to retract. Pulling themselves from the wall and past the now disintegrated monster, a few Monster Crystals all that remain. The blades shrink, as if being slid into a sheath. Stopping suddenly, their length just longer than Flowur's arms.
As Flowur stares down at the blades, she feels a new level of understanding—of control. Her limbs like fluid, longer bound to their original shape. Able to be changed, molded, shaped into whatever she wishes.
"I'm an Awakened" her realization a faint whisper. The weight of her new transformation slowly becoming clear.
Marcus blinks rapidly, shaking off his shock as he runs to Flowur, throwing the rifle onto his back. His hands drop onto her shoulders as he falls to one knee. Meeting her at eye level. "Flowur you're a-." His mind struggling to process the realization.
"I'm an Awakened" she repeats, louder this time. Her arms feel electric, her mind awash with new information. A new control. It feels like she can feel everything within her limbs, down to the individual cell. Her mind flooded with new sensations and knowledge, feeling both old and new at the same time.
Marcus is jolted back to reality as the room trembles around them. Crashes echo as the massive worm-like creature smashes into walls. Its body massive enough to shake the entire room. His shock is replaced by worry as he recalls the danger their both in, "You need to get out of here Flowur." He says, his tone carrying a sense of authority.
Her eyes widen as she looks up at him. "What? But… I can help" she responds, pushing away the sting she feels from Marcus's order.
"Flowur, you can't be fighting monsters. You're not trained." he says, meeting her eyes.
"But- but- I can help, I just killed that monster" She refutes. The blades shimmering faintly as she recalls the moment.
"Getting a lucky hit on a monster doesn't mean you're ready for battle, Flowur." His voice stoic and calm as he lets one hand slide off her shoulder, continuing to stare into her eyes. His heart straining as he's forced to extinguish the enthusiasm, he had been desperate for her to find.
"I'm- I'm- strong now. I have these… I'm Awakened." She murmurs, Marcus's words feeling like a gut punch. His reasoning sound, her eyes drop to the blades. The fire of power and strength that had been burning within her beginning to dim.
"Being Awakened doesn't mean you're suddenly ready to fight monsters." His voice softening, as if speaking to a young child. "I know you want to be like him… But this place is too dangerous for you"
Flowur's head sinks. Her eyes misting, the weight of Marcus's words becoming clear. The surge of energy that had flowed just moments ago feeling like it had drained away. He's right, but… but I want to…
A memory rises from the ocean of her mind. Her brother sitting next to her, his face plastered with a signature smile, "I wouldn't hesitate if it meant even one more person got saved." He told her. "It isn't about the danger, it's about helping. No matter the risk." Even one more person. As she looked back up to Captain Marcus, blinking rapidly to clear her tears. She gave him a soft smile. "Sorry," she ducks out of his grip; her legs pushing her toward the nearest monster.
Marcus's hand grips uselessly out at the air, Flowur slipping from his grasp before he could even react. He lets out a deep sigh, his hand remaining outstretched. He wasn't sure why, but a part of him knew she would do that. The same part of him that is sure she'll be alright.
Flowur steadied herself as the monster grew closer. Focusing on the control of her new ability, the power. The strength she had felt before returning like the force of a gunshot. The fire booming into an almighty blaze.
She weaved past a pair of soldiers. Emptying her mind of all thoughts but the creature before her. Its body swaying back and forth as it lumbered forward on stubby legs. Spikes covered it from head to toe. Arms wielding razor sharp crystalline claws. Soldiers diving out of the way as it swung towards them.
The creature loomed before her, leaning to the side she held both the blades out to her right. She aimed to cut the monster's legs clean through. With a small *clink* there was no slice. Instead, the blades crashed against spikes, harmlessly bouncing off. The force running up her arms with a stinging sensation.
She spun on her heels, sliding to a halt. Her head tilting up as the monster loomed over her. Its attention now centered completely on her. Its massive claws reaching out beside it, its beady eyes bore into her.
Flowur raised her blades up, hoping for protection against the claws swinging toward her. Sealing her eyes she waited for the pain. A pain that never arrived; a gust of air rushed across her hair. Pushing it to the side as the beast's claws swung harmlessly over her head.
As she reopened her eyes and looked up, the creatures eyes had begun to glow unnaturally white. It's claws reaching up as if trying to block out the light as it stumbled around. "It's blind! Go now!" a voice called from behind her.
Flowur didn't bother looking back to see who called out. Seizing the opportunity created by its sudden blindness she pulled her arms back. Crossing the blades over her chest. Planting her feet she grits her teeth, slashing the blades across the creature's body. Aiming for the bases of its arms. This time, hitting her mark. Easily cleaving through its flesh.
It screeched—letting out a gut-wrenching wail. The severed arms falling to the floor with a loud *thud*. Flowur jumped backward as it flailed helplessly. Its arms no longer stabilizing it, it crashed to the floor. Now harmless, soldiers began peppering the beast with shots as it twisted and flailed against the floor. Only as a bullet punched cleanly through its head. A final twitch, before going limp.
The hiss of the monster's disintegration rung in her ears as Flowur scanned the battlefield. Across the battle a few other monsters were slowly disintegrating, having been beaten by other Awakened, only the massive worm remained. Its colossal size shrugging off any attacks thrown at it.
She stepped toward the worm. The noise of the battlefield fading from her mind. The writhing beast stilled as she stepped forward. its massive head turned, locking eyes with her—silent. Perhaps…calculating. Seconds stretched like minutes as they stared. Its gaze carrying an intelligence as it studied her. Almost as if it could recognize her. As she stood silent, a sense of calm washed over her. As if she could be sure of exactly what to do. With a sudden roar, the worm launched itself towards her.
Her body seemed to move on its own, each motion fluid, elegant—effortless. She pressed her arms together, the blades liquifying into a crystalline liquid as the formed together. The shape twisted, stretching—growing as she lifted it above her head. A single enormous blade taking shape. Within it a blue light shone with an intensity that caused even the crystal armor of the worm to shine with its light.
She held there, the worm closing in, its colossal size towering over her. Soldiers diving out of the way as it continued its single minded charge toward her. She took a deep breath in, her mind was quiet. Her body held steady. It was like she was in perfect mastery of her new abilities.
With a final lurch the worm reared its head, its shadow engulfing her. Then, falling forward like a collapsed building, it crashed forward. Aiming its armored head to leave her as nothing but paste. She let out a short exhale, swinging the blade downward. *Crack* A rupture splits the air, like the swing of a whip. In the blink of an eye, the worm had been severed, its crystalline armor seeming useless. A massive gash cut through the concrete floor in front of her.
The beast crashed to a halt. Its head splitting open. A blackened ooze leaking out, hissing and boiling as it reached the concrete floor. A hiss beginning as the worm's body started to disintegrate.
The room was silent. Awakened gawked and soldiers stared in shock or awe. This enormous beast felled in a single slash. The slow hiss of the disintegrating worm reverberating throughout the room.
As Flowur stood there silently, a wave of exhaustion washed over her. The massive blade wavered, then liquified. A light brown liquid seeping out of the gash. Slithering along the floor toward her—alive, purposeful. The liquid slid up her body, sliding to her arms, as if sculpting clay backward it reshaped. Flowing seamlessly, its color returning to that of flesh, until her arms had returned to normal. Their liquid nature completely disguised.
Flowur's body ached. Forming coherent thoughts felt like treading through mud. Her limbs felt like ten ton weights. All she could think of doing was returning to her room and falling asleep.
A thundering voice shattered her haze. She flinched, whipping around. "Enough standing around all of you! That hole is still open, so we are still at risk! I want that barrier set up NOW!"
Behind her stood a towering man likely in his sixties. Slicked back gray hair and a well-groomed mustache giving off an air of authority. His blue uniform, covered with many insignia Flowur didn't recognize. The scrambling of footsteps she could hear behind her confirming her suspicion of this man's importance.
His gaze dropped to meet her own. His expression was stern, as if he was always ready to bark out an order. His hands clasped behind his back, his posture tall and focused—exuding both intellect and authority.
As his gaze flicked between the disintegrating monster behind her and herself; His stern expression seemed to deepen. "You took down this beast Awakened?" His tone left no room for doubt. It wasn't a question, it was an order to follow. A command to confirm or deny his claim.
She blinked slowly. All she wanted was to return to her room and fall asleep. The idea of her bed feeling very inviting. Hoping that answering his questions would make him leave, she nodded her head.
His gaze bore into her, his expression unreadable. "State your name Awakened." Another order… Her dreams of collapsing into her bed slipping further from reach.
Her head turned slowly as she noticed Marcus approaching the two of them. "Flowur" she replied wearily. The word dripping with exhaustion.
Marcus stepped up to the conversation. With a single look to her he could tell. Flowur's expression and body language screamed exhaustion. Eyes drooping, arms hung lazily at her side. To most it wouldn't seem out of the ordinary for the girl, but he knew better.
The man's sharp gaze flicked to Marcus, narrowing his eyes as he offered Marcus a curt nod—acknowledgement. "Flowur huh… Are you aware of who I am Flowur."
Flowur sighed—no escape without answering these questions. She shook her head. Her gaze locked onto the man's shoes. Hoping that it could stimulate her senses enough that she could avoid collapsing.
"I am General Yantuili. Head of Sectors five, six, and seven." He clarified, looking down to her. At any other time, she might've been impressed. Right now? Her thoughts focused solely on keeping her awake. Mustering as much movement as she could, a weak head nod.
For a moment his expression deepens to a scowl, whether from impatience or scrutiny, it was hard to parse. "When did you become awakened Flowur." The tone returned, once again a command. His eyes bore into the top of her head. Flowur couldn't respond. Thoughts slipping away like water through fingers. Her legs grew wobbly as the weight of her body seemed to press down on them.
Marcus stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder, gripping as he saw her begin to lean forward. "If I may speak on her behalf sir." Marcus requested, feeling Flowur dip in and out of consciousness beneath his grip. He tightened his grip, not wanting her to fall over.
The general narrowed his eyes for a moment, "Proceed" he acquiesced with a wave of his hand.
Marcus gave a nod and explained "I believe her ability first revealed itself a few minutes ago, sir—I witnessed it… However, it is plausible that it first developed last night, following patterns of other Awakened"
Yantuili placed his hand to his chin as he took a moment to think. "This morning… Very well, follow with protocol and escort her to the lab for preliminary Awakened Testing" He ordered, turning away.
Marcus nodded as his gaze drifted to Flowur. Her head hung limply and her eyes glued shut. He gave a soft smile as he lifted her up, settling her on his shoulder. Noting how she seemed abnormally light. He began carrying her toward the science lab.
The last thing Flowur felt was being thrown over someone's shoulder. Her mind blank as the exhaustion of this short excursion reached her and she succumbed to sleep.