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zozo-01 · 2 months

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"i want it to last forever. (all the magic and fun at sea.)"

This was supposed to be a prompt fill for our lovely @autisticempathydaemon, but alas! School and work caught up to me and I couldn't finish it, but I am making up for it know! As always, all the thanks to our lovely @gingerbreadmonsters to making sure that even if I can't get an Aussie accent right, I can at least get the British one accurate! There will definitely a sequel of sorts where I explain the lore and magic of this world, as well as expose everyone's dark past!

CW: Alternate Universe, My beloved Siren/Mermaid AU, Alexis and Christian are so stupid and in love, Sam and Darlin' being Mother Hens separately, The Pack is here but they are not important (as of right now) I.E. Darlin' is a Solaire, Christian feeling guilty over Darlin' (not romantic), Light Mentions to Darlin's past (Specifically Quinn but he is not mentioned by name), This is small fries compared to my actual Siren Fic, Eventual Sam and Darlin' but that's not why we are here!!!

click here for the ao3 link!!!

Press your shirt flat, comb your hair down and check your breath. Daily things that Christian should be doing to maintain his appearance, but never found any reason to. He’s a special breed, one can argue a dumb breed, of humans who don’t care about what others think of him. Given that fact, he doesn’t need to maintain his looks. Who gives a shit about what others say?

But she wasn’t just anyone and he needed to treat her as such. And he’ll try his best with his limited abilities.

He doubles, and triples and quadruple checks himself in the mirror. Ok, so far so good. He doesn’t look like he just rolled out of bed which is a general improvement from his status quo. It wasn’t like simple improvements were good enough for her. Although, if she asked him out while looking like a drowned rat, then maybe she didn’t care for his looks.

(Or at least he thinks that's what she said. To be quite frank, he hasn’t even heard this girl speak. She could definitely understand him, so it wasn’t a language barrier on her end, she just refuses to open her mouth. So far, they have only been able to communicate with nods and what he thinks was sign language. It looked more like flailing hands to him, but it got the job done. Now all he needs to do is not get stood up by the most ethereal woman he’s ever laid his eyes on.)

(Cool. Absolutely no pressure at all.)

He grabs his keys and walks out the door with the nonchalant attitude that has gotten him this far in life. Surely if he treats this tangible Venus like she was a normal girl, then she’ll fall in love with him in no time!

Or punch him in the face and spit on his grave. Either or work.

The rest of the drive was silent. He didn’t bother to come up with creative nicknames or smooth pick up lines because why should he? She decided to ask him out for him, not some casanova. This is what she asked for and this is what she’ll get.

He parked his car by the bridge, and waited for her signal that she’d be on the bridge. She said that when he sees a bright blue light, that will be his que to get on the bridge. A weird signal if you asked him, but hey who was he to judge-

A flash of blue erupted from below the bridge, followed by the sounds of rapid waves. Was Christian going to question the near mystical light? Not by the seven oceans he wasn’t. All he knew was that’s probably his signal so he exited the car and walked onto the bridge.

And low and behold, there she was in her glory.

(Christian did compare her to Venus earlier, and it is his nickname for her, so you can see how much horseshit his earlier thoughts were. But it bears remembering now. There was seafoam under the part of the bridge where she stands. Her midnight hair flows in the wind, moving the same way waves ebb and flow in the ocean. Even her dress had something otherworldly about it, from the way it hugged her body like wet fabric, despite it looking dry as a bone, and the shells and gems that adorned it. There was something off about her in the most tantalizing way possible.)

He cleared his throat, blessing her with his presence as much as she’s blessing him with hers and causing the young woman to snap out of her daze. “Hello, Venus. Excited to see me?” Confidence and borderline cockiness were dripping from his voice. It all came from a place of genuine care, whether she knew it or not was up to her.

Venus smiled at the arrogant boy, moving her hands to sign to him. It still looked like gibberish to him, although if he stared hard enough and paid enough attention, he’ll be able to understand her…

The girl shook her head, not in disgust or apathy, but in amusement. Like she found the miscommunication on his end cute. She pulled out a notebook and a pen from her pocket and began to write down what she was trying to say. Quite a large book from a small dress, but he’s seen weirder.

She flips the notebook over to reveal the message. Thank you for meeting me here.

Christian puffed his chest up, pride filling his tanned body. He ran a hand through his golden hair, replying, “I’m just doing a favour for you.” Please don’t focus on how fast his heart is beating or how he wiped his shirt to get rid of the excess sweat.

Or the strange feeling of being watched from a distance.

She rolled her eyes, and usually it would insult Christian. Lord knows he doesn’t like being made into a joke, but if making himself a fool is what keeps Venus smiling, then he’ll become the butt of every joke from here on till the day she dies. (A long time away that day is.)

Venus opened up her notebook and continued to write in it. How has your day been, Christian?

Ah ha! An excuse to talk about himself. It’s what he excels at the most! He opened his mouth, ready to go on about his day. “Well the waves and weather were nice today, so I went surfing. Taught some assholes what it really means to shred it on the water. Like, seriously, do you want to know what these little shits did!” He then went on a tirade about these teenagers and how they wouldn’t listen to any of his warnings as to why not to ride a monster wave. Lo and behold, Fred and Bright wiped out hard and he has no sympathy for them.

She covered her mouth, muffling the angelic laugh that Christian was convinced she had. It’s a little weird that he’s never heard a sound from her, at least he thinks it is. Even non-verbal people let out sounds, heavy breaths or quiet sighs, to prove that they’re alive. But Venus hadn’t done any of that. He wonders what’s preventing her from letting out any sounds. He's known about how trauma can cause people to go mute, he's seen it happen with Bright. But dare he be crass, Venus seems quite well adjusted to society.

(The two bodies in the water with scales down their bodies say otherwise. Neither of them wanted to be there, but what the Ocean demands, the Ocean receives.)

"Let me guess, you're into surfer boys?" Brash and overconfident was unbecoming of most men, at least that's what Darlin' used to say. But they're dead and therefore, their advice and words don't matter anymore. Somehow it works for him and it's working on her so he won't lead the dead dictate his actions.

Returning to her notebook, Venus scribbled down some words. She turned it over, revealing the words she wrote down. I've never spoken to a 'surfer boy' before. Are they all as haughty as you?

Ouch, that was personal. She didn't have to call him out on his attitude like this. She didn't need to mimic the ghosts he lives with all that accurately.

Ignoring the accidental jab to his heart, he rolls his eyes and lets her words leave quiet wounds on his body. "Well I'm sure that you'll be begging for me later, princess." Assuming that Venus would ever beg. Voice aside, she doesn't seem like the type to beg.

Christian dropped his bravado and leaned back against the bridge. "How about you? How's your day been?"

Venus looked back at her notebook, taking her time to write down every detail of her day. Once she was done writing, she flipped her notebook back to Christian.

It's been good. I went out with my brother, his partner and one of my friends to get some food. We had some beignets and they were really good! I haven't had good ones in quite some time. Plus, my brother got powder sugar all over himself and he looked like he failed to smoke some cocaine, so that was amusing.

"An eventful day," he chuckled. He tried to picture a younger, male version of Alexis covered in powdered sugar to make himself feel better for the fact that he'd be the fool doing the same thing. "Maybe you can take me there one day? I've never had a beignet before."

Venus smiled and nodded her head, and he's planning to message Milo about a styling intervention. It would be worth it to look good for her.

The same blue light from earlier flashed again, and Venus's eyes widened. She frantically looked between the ocean and Christian, her face puzzled and brain working to come up with an excuse. Realizing that she was looking for an excuse, he decided to free her of that burden.

"Look, I get if you need to go." He watched her face relax and kept going. "I have work the next day, anyways." He fiddled with his car keys, trying to find a way to stretch these seconds into eons. "It was nice seeing you again. I hope it won't be the last time?"

She shook her head while writing in her notebook. We can grab some beignets tomorrow if you're free? Meet me here again at noon and we can go together.

"Perfect!" His smile bloomed at the thought of spending more time with his girl. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

He turned back to go to his car, not paying attention to the large splash from behind him. Heart lighter than air, he danced his way back to his car. There was no person worth more sleepless nights and tired mornings than Venus and he can't wait for more time with her.

The drive back home seemed shorter while he was lost in his head. But the minute he parked in his garage, he knew he had to focus in order to stay silent. While Sam never cared about what Christian did with his time, the fact that he came back later than what he promised was all he needed to fear the coming of the Southern Mothern Hen.

Creeping his way inside, he was relieved that the lights were turned off and not a soul was in the living room.

Until a single lamp was turned on and Sam was sitting on the couch.

"Mate-"

"Do you know what time it is, young man?" He didn't give Christian any time to respond. "I'll tell you what time it is. It's damn near midnight, when you said you'd be back by 10 PM." The southern man got up and started pacing around. "I thought, 'you're a grown man, you don't need me to follow you like a mama duck, even after you're meetin' some mysterious woman.'"

Sam stopped in the middle of the room and gave Christian a death glare. "But nooo, you had to stay out longer and make all of us worry over your sorry ass!"

"Uh, who is us-"

"Not the point, Christian!" He rubbed his temples and let out a fatherly sigh. "I know you love this girl, but seein' her on a random night by a bridge? I'm just worried that you're going to get caught up in some stupid shit."

Despite only being three or so years older than him, Sam always spoke with the wisdom of a man who's lived a thousand lifetimes. He should really listen to his advice before he does end up like Darlin'.

(He can't help but think of the parallels between his situation and Darlin's. Guilt still fills his body when he thinks of them, and he's left to wonder what would happen if they had a Sam in their life to step in. Sometimes he feels unworthy for Sam's care because he doesn't deserve it. They did. But they'll never get that help because they're gone and it's no thanks to him.)

Christian sighed, letting go of his defensive guard. "Alright, I'll be more careful. But like, fuck…" He fell onto the couch in desperation. "I really like this girl, Sam. I don't want to mess it up."

"And you won't." Sam sat down to pat Christian's back. "I'm just askin' you to exercise a level of caution. I mean, last time you mentioned her, you didn't even get her name."

"..."

"You got her name this time, right Christian?"

"I'll get it tomorrow?"

"Oh my Lord, you love sick fool."

–

Thank God Christian turned his back to Alexis just in time for him to not see three figures appear from the water onto the bridge. Bless his oblivious heart for missing every sign.

"Chrissy? The mysterious human man was Christian? Alexis Solaire, you are better than this." Of course Darlin' was the first one to speak. It made sense, they knew him back from when they were human, so they had the most opinion. Which is exactly why she didn't want to tell them about her little date.

"Oh come on, he's not that bad. He's… interesting." Interesting was code for an asshole that has caught her attention. But it wasn't her fault that they were both assholes who gravitated towards each other.

"He's interesting alright! Interesting enough to shove a knife into!" They paced up and down the bridge, the waves beneath them moving wherever they did. "Oh my lord, now I know why William made us follow you. I thought it was because he was just being a worried bitch but no! He had actual reason to worry!"

Finally she found an opening to speak her piece. "Great point, why on Earth are all three of you here? And what gave William the right to send three of his sirens to follow me?" She couldn't help but feel patronized. She was a grown woman, older than the three in front of her in both human and siren years. If there were any of them who can take care of herself, it's her.

Vincent yawned and rubbed his eyes. "None of us want to be here, so William said that if we didn't, he's going to station us in the Drake Passage to sink some ships." He shivered at the thought, and Alexis couldn't blame him. The last time she was there, her human skin matched the blue shade of her scales.

"And like, I would send an army after my daughter if I knew her man was Christian," they shuddered. She wonders if Darlin's hatred was because of an unfinished past with him, anger and resentment brewing inside her friend over how they died.

"Oh, don't be so ridiculous, Darlin'," Porter chuckled. She was waiting for him to pipe up with some smart comment. "He's... quite the character, certainly, but if that's what it takes to get Alexis's head out of her arse, then..." He crossed his arms and laughed at the dark glare she gave him.

Darlin' smacked the backside of his head, ignoring the faux pout on his face. "Porter there are better men to teach that lesson." They all raised their eyes at Darlin', wondering who would be a 'better lesson' for their dear princess.

Not appreciating the confused yet amused stares from their friends, Darlin' just mumbled about how she could have learned from their mistakes rather than making her own. It was fair game, but that was assuming that Darlin's 'mistakes' were their fault. They were not.

"Can we go home? Me and Lovely have reservations at a restaurant and I need to go." He yawned, a telltale sign that Vincent was tired and needed to recharge with Lovely. It was sickeningly adorable, and she was happy that he found someone to spend his eternity with.

Darlin' wasn't having any of it. "Shut up, Vincent! Some of us have actual problems like making sure our friends don't end up with mediocre men." Harsh words aside, it was clear that they didn't mean to sound rude, they were just angry over the situation.

"Well, at least this 'Christian' won't be able to kill her," Porter mused. He made a dramatic turn towards Darlin', ready to push them to their absolute limit. "That was why you came, wasn't it?"

For fuck's sakes Porter, that was low blow. Even for her.

Rightfully so, Darlin's claws and fangs appeared, eyes sharpening like a shark. "You absolute fucking asshole!" They tackled Porter back into the water, and thankfully, Porter's head hadn't floated back to the surface. Yet at least.

"Do you really like him?" Vincent asked from beside her.

She thought about it. Christian was definitely the man who's made her feel more… she didn't what he made her feel. Alexis Solaire (formerly known as Alexis Getty) didn't feel love. For as long as she could remember, the most she would feel was a strong 'like'. But love? She wasn't sure she was capable of that feeling.

But that was until William and Vincent sparked the familial love she didn't have towards her own biological family. Or how Porter and Darlin' bonded over the platonic love they all share for each other.

Maybe Christian would be the person to teach her romantic love.

"I don't know Vince, but I think we should check on Darlin' and make sure they haven't mauled Porter by now."

Vincent's demeanour perked up with realization. "Shit- We can't have them rip his arm off again!" He jumped back into the water, trying to stop the coastal line from becoming shark-infested again.

Alexis looked up at the moon. She still doesn't believe she deserves this chance of a beautiful second life. All of her mistakes and regrets always prevented her from living in the present. But with how Christian carries himself, being able to let things bounce off him, it inspires her that maybe she can do the same thing.

She smiled. She can't wait to see Christian messy with powder sugar all over his mouth.

#redacted asmr #redacted fanfic #redacted christian #redacted alexis #i have so much for this au #my poor deity au is crying in the back ground #hehehehe #zo writes tingz #this is zo speaking

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clumsiestgiantess · 16 days

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Chapter 22 of The Other-world Universe; it’s villain time, baby! >:)

all chapters listed here

[Round two: Knockout]

A blaring horn woke me with an awful cacophony of noise. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep, but I was sure that there wasn’t an alarm clock for me in the other-world. “Ahh! What’s going on!?” I yelped, sitting up in an instant with my hands over my ears. “Finally, she’s awake,” an exasperated voice grumbled nearby. Looking to my left, I found a truck parked right beside where my head lay a moment ago. No wonder its horn had been so loud.

"Wh- Why are you here?" I asked Mr. Stoll as he paced a bit further away from me, "I thought you said I could have some time off." "Well, that was before I knew about this," he grumbled, messing with something in the truck. "We received a radio broadcast this morning. At first we thought it was more refugees, and in a way I guess it is, but.. well.. If I could just get this thing to-" I saw another figure inside the truck do something to the machine Marcus was messing with, and soon a harsh voice played out over a speaker system inside.

This is Nicholaus Albane, head overseer of the Inter-reality Multiuniversal Research Division. We know a human of our own size is with you. She has displayed extraordinary power. Unfortunately, it has been used against my scientists and has hindered my progress towards our goal. I cannot allow that to happen again.

There was a brief pause as static rippled over the radio. Anxiety built in my stomach, making me nauseous. If she is not present at our camp, or you fail to bring her to us at 34.5 degrees latitude and 28.4 degrees longitude… Terrified cries suddenly burst through the speakers — too faint to be anything but other-worldian. Everyone in this town will die. Then it will be your turn.

My message to the unnaturally-powered human: Do not resist. You can not overpower the twenty or so staff present here. Your tricks are amusing, but this isn't a game; no one's laughing. There are lives at stake. Come within the hour and the people here will be spared. If you don't show up, I can personally guarantee that after every one of those little creatures dies, you’ll be next. There was a sudden click, then the radio cut to static.

My stomach churned awfully as I realized what the scientist was saying. They were holding an entire town hostage just to capture me. If I came, they would undoubtedly drag me through a portal and lock me away somewhere, but if I fled, thousands would suffer the consequences. Before either of the other-world people could say anything, I promptly rushed into the woods behind me and threw up. There was too much going on, and way too suddenly; I was terrified. Everyone’s lives depended on me. But you already knew that. Their lives already have depended on you.

I desperately didn’t want to turn myself in. I.. can just.. leave. All I had to do was concentrate on a thought and I’d be home — far far away from anything here. The people from the portal wouldn’t be able to find me to punish me for not coming. But what would happen if I really left? I'd be leaving so many people to die if I did. I couldn’t do that. What kind of awful coward of a person would that make me? Not the kind I’m willing to be.

Eventually, I returned to the field where Mr. Stoll stood, slightly startled. The other person cautiously stepped out of the truck and looked up at me pityingly. It took me a moment to recognize it was Ivan. “We have no choice,” Mr. Stoll began, “We have to send you to their camp. Not to comply with their orders, of course. You’ll go there to fight them off with your gun, and whatever you need him for,” he said, nodding towards Ivan.

That’s right, with Ivan here I’ll have intangibility. I can escape with that. I took a shaky breath of air to calm myself and think straight. I have to at least try to help them. I don’t want anyone to die on my behalf. But if worst comes to worst, being intangible can help me avoid getting hurt or captured. “Alright,” I agreed solemnly, my voice shaking slightly. “I’ll go.”

Mr. Stoll immediately shoved a paper of sorts at Ivan and said something along the lines of ‘don’t screw this up’ to him. “This map has the camp’s location and the route there plotted on it already. The kid will take you.” “Wait, we’re leaving now?” I asked, confused. “I haven’t gotten ready. Erica isn’t here, and-” “They said come within the hour. Forget about her and get going,” Mr. Stoll growled the same time Ivan said “We don’t have time; we have to leave now.” I guess they were both right; I had to get there before it was too late, but I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of longing. I wanted Erica there. Her presence would be one small comfort in the midst of all the chaos, but there was no time.

Carefully, I let Ivan settle onto my hands before lifting him up to give me directions. I strode with as quick a pace as I dared with my small companion. Every once and a while he would give me new instructions. Otherwise, the trip was deathly silent. Fear and anxiety kept a capsule of quietness in the air at all times, only further increasing the tension.

My heart broke a little as I left sight of the Cavern Town. My magnetic sixth sense was pulling me back the direction I'd come. It was a somber trip, just me and Ivan wandering towards the faint smell of machinery and upturned earth that grew stronger with each step. The moment the scientist's camp appeared on the horizon, I hid nervously with my invisibility. If there had once been a town there, it was impossible to tell. The entire area had been cleared to stake the base of the scientist's tents.

What will they do to me if I’m taken? If this is how they treat defenseless strangers who aren’t even taller than their hands, I don’t want to know what might happen to me — the person who can possibly stop them from doing it. "Hey," Ivan said softly, looking up at the empty space where I'd been a moment prior. "I'm really sorry about all this. I don't think it's right for these people or mine to put this much pressure on you. The only reason I'm here is, well.. Ok, Mr. Stoll forced me to come to the field, but I came with you because I knew you would want your intangibility. Unfortunately for me, that means I need to tag along." Though I couldn't hear it, I felt him chuckle lightly, "In all honesty, I wanted you to have at least one reliable getaway plan, because I knew you'd be a lot more scared without one."

Despite our dire situation, I managed a small smile. Ivan actually cared about me; he wasn't here simply because Mr. Stoll or the overseeing scientist had frazzled him with the threat of annihilation. His presence guaranteed a small piece of safety for me, even if it was at the expense of his own.

I tried to calm my breathing like Erica had told me the last time I got scared by the scientists. "So, do we have a plan?" Ivan asked hesitantly. "Let me see if I can scout things out a bit closer. I am invisible, after all." “But I’m not...” he replied nervously. I thought for a moment, “I’ll have to stash you in my pocket, but I’ll be sure to let you out before I go intangible, alright?” Ivan nodded slowly, looking like he already regretted his decision to come along.

Slowly, I slid him into my pants pocket and headed silently towards the scientists’ camp. This one was a lot bigger than the previous setup I’d walked into when I first introduced myself. There were three large tents about 20 feet long set up in a row along a small river. On the other side was a huge tarp structure that looked like a circus tent, only it was a dead grayish-white color and seemed much more foreboding. As I slunk into the edges of the campground, I peeked under tent flaps as people walked between them.

The first tent held a plethora of strange machinery. There were towering sets of humming boxes that flashed with blinding light every so often, and racks of glowing tablets lined the back wall. Some things were still fairly recognizable, like a water dispenser and monitors showing the charted region of the land the scientists had discovered. I held back a shocked gasp and waited a moment for someone else to walk through to give me another look at the monitor. The amount of land pictured on the screen was worrying. Is that a map of the land they’ve discovered, or the land they’ve already taken for themselves? I hoped it was the former.

Moving on to the next tent, I found some sort of storage room piled high with crates. It was empty of people. These tents didn't seem all that impressive. If I wanted to find out what was really happening, I'd have to get over to the large tent on the other side of the river. I call it a river only because it would be that size to the other-world inhabitants. To me, it was easily traversable. The scientists hadn't even bothered to build a real bridge across. A few slabs of rubbery plastic material were thrown across it to form a path just wide enough for one person to walk over.

I couldn't go over the makeshift passage, though. If someone were to walk across at the same time, they'd probably bump into me, and there were people crossing it constantly. Workers zipped in and out of all the tents across the field. They weren't even donning the 'hazmat giant' attire, just plain clothing — like they were simply going about a normal job.

Once I made my way over the river with a large step, I crept up to the main tent's entrance. The tent flaps were held wide open, but I couldn't see much of what was happening inside. I waited until the coast was clear, then slipped through the empty opening. My mouth dropped open in shock as I took in the massive space. I thought they'd flattened the town that was here — cast it aside to make room for this camp — but that wasn't the case. The entire town was corralled in the large space beneath the tarp ceiling. It looked like a model train exhibition, or something similarly fake. I mean, who would corral a real city full of people behind a glass pen built for displaying things?

One quick glance around the gigantic room and I spotted eight or nine scientists working on various projects involving the town, which was fenced in on all sides by thick waist-high glass panes. There were divots for people to step into the town, and clearings where scientists could examine the buildings more closely. However, the barriers around the openings were still far too high for any other-worldians to even dream of getting over them.

I stepped over one of these openings and knelt down inside. I'd assumed the other-world people were caged up somewhere, lying in wait as bait for me. However, as I peered at the tiny town, I could see small figures dash by windows, boarding them up in an attempt to keep the giants out. Everyone and everything was left pristinely untouched by the scientists. I doubted it was out of kindness. They wanted a perfect replica to study, and that was all. The moment they finished whatever it was they were doing here, everything would probably either be torn down or taken away through a portal somewhere, never to be seen again. I shuddered at the images that drifted through my mind.

While I knelt there, one of the scientists wheeled a machine over and hooked it to a track that sat on the rim of the glass wall. After a few moments, it flared to life and began making a slow circle around the entire ring. What is that thing? I didn't have a clue what most of the scientists’ machinery did, but as the flat metal piece drifted in my direction, it let off a blaring alarm.

The scientist who'd placed it on the track examined it for a moment, then looked directly at me. I hesitantly stood up, unsure if I'd been spotted. They then called over a few of the others in the room, and soon everyone was staring at the invisible spot where I stood, looking back and forth between me and the machine. My pulse quickened; I could feel it in my chest. Easing my hand into my pocket, I slid Ivan out and hid him behind one of the buildings as soundlessly as I could. I had a feeling that I was going to need my intangibility soon. Suddenly, one of the scientists cried out. "It's her! The anomaly is here! Get the overseer!"

I slid into intangibility and raced out of the enclosure to an empty part of the tent as everyone stampeded out. As much as I didn’t want to get any closer to where the scientists would be, I really didn’t want to stay in the little town. I could all too easily flatten it trying to fight or run from the portal ‘giants’.

Just as quickly as the scientists fled, a new team of 'giants' appeared. This group wore distinctly armored clothing. A few were equipped with futuristic weapons that looked somewhat similar to rifles. There were a lot more people here than I thought. I turned hesitantly to visibility, but clung tightly to intangibility — latching onto Ivan so desperately I would’ve been clinging to him if he were still physically with me. The crowd parted, revealing a tall, thin man with taunt muscles and eyes that were unmistakably golden-yellow.

He sized me up for a moment, then smiled almost welcomingly. "I see you got my message," he observed, gesturing to my arrival. His voice was undoubtedly the same one I'd heard over the radio. The overseer looked between me and the captured town for a moment, then laughed haughtily. "You were trying to save these tiny creatures? How sad.." he mused, "That's just not going to happen. But you'll be joining them on their trip through the portal very soon." I tried to shake off his subtle threats and focus on what I came there to do. I had to put a stop to this.

I made my way in front of the captured town in a slow, decisive march, planting myself between the group of ‘giants’ and the glass walls behind me. “This isn’t right,” I announced to the crowd, “Trust me, I’ve been in denial myself. I didn’t even believe this world was real. But I know better now; these are real people, these are real lives you’re destroying. It has to stop. It’s not right for you to do th-” “That’s where you’re wrong,” the man from the radio cut in, putting a hand up to silence me.

“We have every right to be here. We discovered this world, so why shouldn’t we take it for ourselves?” I huffed, “But there are already people living here!” “Too bad for them,” he replied nonchalantly. “Do your people know the expression ’survival of the fittest’? Surrender or die? Kill or be killed? Don’t your people also claim land from others for themselves?” “Well.. yes,” I stuttered. “That’s all we’re doing,” he explained calmly. “So pick a side. Before we decide for you.” “But that’s not-!” “Pick. A. Side.”

I know who I’m going to stand with. I have to help the people of the other-world. But if this becomes an all-out war over land, am I ready to stand in the middle of it? I inhaled a deep breath to calm my nerves, steadying my position in front of the town. “I’ve already made my decision,” I remarked coldly. The cruel overseer only sneered. He turned swiftly on his heel and stepped to the threshold of the tent. “Capture her,” he ordered, “and slaughter the town.”

The tent became a blur of motion as the group fanned out. Some people headed into the town through the glass openings, while others advanced towards me. I pulled out of intangibility and grabbed my new weapon — immediately firing at the people who tried to attack the captured town. Dodging the oncoming shots, I rushed around the side of the glass barrier. I flinched as bullets of glowing hot metal stuck fast in the glass. Thankfully, the enclosure barrier seemed thick enough to protect me.

As the three people with weapons reloaded, I quickly switched to multi-shot mode and decimated one side of the glass wall to allow everyone from the other-world a potential escape. Turning on my pursuers, I fired off another round and they all scrambled out of the way as explosions tore open the sides of the tent. The other ‘giants’ clearly hadn’t anticipated that I could fight back with a weapon of my own.

Someone gave a signal and those without weapons disappeared out of the torn opening. As I held off the rest of the group, a flood of other-world townspeople made their way out the shattered hole in the barrier. Tearing open the side of the tent with a few explosive shots of my gun, I followed the group from behind, still facing my oncoming attackers.

Once everyone evacuated outside, the ‘giants’ tried to surround us, but I stopped them with a shield smoke bomb. By the time the haze cleared, I’d cast a protective dome over the whole group, trapping them inside. Just as I turned back to the other-world civilians, a keening noise split the air — sounding like a higher-pitched gunshot. I flinched expecting to be hit, but nothing happened. Then, a shocked cry echoed inside the barrier.

Turning back around, I saw one of the people lying on the ground inside. They’d tried to shoot the barrier to escape with a smaller firing weapon, but the bullet, or whatever the weapon shot, had ricocheted off the wall and hit him instead. The others inside began panicking as they realized that there was no way out. Before I could address either of my problems, another one emerged.

The group that had left earlier returned, armed with lightweight shields and more of those strange futuristic guns. I fired off a few quick blasts as the new group charged me, shields raised. My light bullets seemed to have no effect on the shield material. The force of the multi-shot explosion caused my attackers to falter, but that was all.

I put the gun away and went intangible and invisible. Come on Alexis, think! What else can you do to- Oh! Of course, my abilities! Racing forwards, I began taking them out one by one, using invisibility to attack unexpectedly and intangibility to dodge anything they threw at me. I was doing fairly well until one of the ‘giants’ figured out my strategy. He slid past my invisible arm as I aimed my weapon, grabbed it, and threw me to the ground, knocking it out of my hands. I lay there stunned, shock chasing away the powers I'd clung to a moment prior. The force had knocked all the air from my lungs and all the thoughts from my head.

Gasping for breath, I couldn’t stop two of them from hoisting me up to drag me off. When they did, I was able to see the group of other-world people I’d saved, giving me some much-needed encouragement. The Cavern Town truck fleet had arrived. All of the survivors were being loaded onto the vehicles, headed safely back to the protected town in the valley. Despite my dire situation, I’d managed to save them.

My body surged with new life once I realized that my job was complete. I slid into intangibility so I could escape the men's grasp. However, they still held me fast. What’s worse, they’d also seen the other-world civilians escaping. I tried again to switch over to intangibility, but I realized that I had been dragged too far away from Ivan or anyone else I could latch on to; I had no way to get out. Panicked, I jabbed one of them in the ribs as hard as I could. He let out a surprised yelp of pain, and I tried to writhe my way out of the second person’s grasp, but it was no use. The second man stuck his leg out beneath me just as I broke away, and I fell face first into the ground.

Blood dribbled out of my nose, but before I could do so much as wipe it away, I was dragged upwards again. I thrashed in their grasp, but it only earned me a violent kick to the stomach, sending me right back into the dirt. My fight to escape became a desperate animalistic struggle. After a few more escape attempts where I was immediately thrown back to the ground, the butt of one of the men’s rifle-like weapons struck the side of my head — ending my struggles. I was still half conscious, but my vision had gone black for a few minutes as the men continued dragging me off.

Once I could see and think again, I glanced back over my shoulder to see the other-world people. The caravan was speeding away. I'd distracted everyone enough that they no longer cared about them, but I noticed with a pang of terror that I'd almost been dragged all the way to the river crossing. One of the tents on the other side had a portal inside it.

Digging my heels into the ground, I tried desperately to get away. If I could just find anyone to latch onto, I could escape. However, I could barely stand anymore. All I could do was try to slow my captors down, but that was starting to annoy them. Finally, after my fourth or fifth attempt to get free, the man I’d hit turned on me. His hands suddenly wrapped around my neck with a crushing grip on my throat. I gasped fearfully, clawing at his fingers. Faintly, I heard the other person comment: “We’re supposed to bring her back alive, Rowan.” “I’m just putting her to sleep,” he growled in reply as more pressure forced my windpipe closed. Seconds away from passing out, I thought ruefully of my family back home — how they’d never know I died here. The force on my throat vanished, and I fell onto carpeted flooring.

It took me a long while to recover enough to figure out what happened. My thoughts had taken me home. The house was empty. I vaguely remembered my family planning to go somewhere without me after I turned them down.

I sobbed in relief, hesitantly sitting up from my spot on the floor. How am I so stupid? I chided myself internally, I could’ve escaped to my world any time I wanted! Laughing numbly at my mistake, I yelped at the pain it caused me. I couldn't make a single noise without my throat closing up or burning like it had been rubbed raw. Slowly, I got up, nearly stumbling back down to the ground, but I grabbed a nearby chair for support. I made my way to the basement kitchenette and gulped down water. It hurt my throat, but I was desperately thirsty. After my more primal needs had been taken care of, my adrenaline high wore off, and I quickly spiraled into fearful recognition.

The scientists, the townspeople, the hostages — it was all too much. I had barely escaped with my life even with my gun and my powers. The people from the portal world attacked in a group too big for me to handle; I couldn’t defend myself from all of them at once. My first fight was a fluke. I only won because the scientists hadn’t expected me. This time, they called me there. This time, they wanted me to fight them. I should’ve known that they’d figured out a way to subdue me. I’d only escaped because I remembered I could return to my own world with a thought. If it had taken any longer, I would’ve been choked unconscious — stolen away to the scientists’ world. And Erica had to watch everything happen.

I saw her out of the corner of my eye after getting thrown painfully onto my back during the fight. She stood in the middle of the field, closer to me than the group of fleeing other-worldians but still far enough away that none of the soldiers could easily get her — staring in horror as I was thrown down again and again. Weak and barely able to stand, I fell onto the couch feeling like I was dying. Maybe I am dying. I would disappear from the other-world never to be seen again. Everyone would think I abandoned them, but in reality, I was just dead.

For a few hours, I lay on the couch in agony, finally managing to get up for some pain reliever across the room before heading right back to lay down some more. I can’t fight the people from the portal. I have no choice but to leave. I’ll run away and never go back. The other-world residents can’t convince me to return if they can’t get to me. My stomach sunk with guilt, but I reasoned that if I went back to fight, I would either get kidnapped, end up dead, or both.

Wait, I can’t leave Erica! I’d already made the mistake of abandoning her along with the other-world. I’ll have to separate the two… I’ll have to take her with me. Surely she’ll also want to get away from her apocalyptic world. Especially now that the 'giants' are on the path of destruction. I moved to lay on my side, staring at the empty spot where the table once stood. The noises of my family returning home sounded from the floor above me. My dad came down to see me, so I hurriedly covered as much of myself as I could with a blanket, trying to hide all my injuries. I made an excuse that I wasn't feeling well, and he left me alone. I was internally shocked at how sick I actually sounded. My throat was still rugged after the forced attempt to squeeze it shut.

Several hours later, after the pain subsided to something more tolerable, I returned to the Cavern Town. Well, a cutoff of the valley near the Cavern Town. I couldn’t bear to go back there and be expected to keep protecting it.

Sitting there in subtle secrecy, I thought through what I would say to Erica once she undoubtedly found me. My brain kept thinking in circles from I can’t leave to I have to leave over and over again. About a half-hour later, I felt Erica’s presence begin to get closer. Sure enough, a lone truck turned down the cutoff to face me, stopping just short of where I sat. Erica stepped out and looked me over, agony distorting her features. Both of us faced eachother in silence before she finally spoke.

“Alexis, I’m so sorry…” I shook my head, stopping her from saying much else. “Don’t apologize Erica, none of this is your fault. It’s neither of ours.” “You-” “I’m leaving.” “What?!” She blanched, stepping towards me slightly, almost pained. “I- I mean I understand why, but.. You’re really leaving?” "Yes. I can't keep living here like this. I'm leaving, and I'm taking you with me." Erica suddenly halted in her gentle approach. "Wait, but.. this is my world, my home. I don't know if I can just.. run away with you."

"Of course you can! It's not like you have anything left here to care about. Just come with me, then we'll both be safe!" I begged. Erica's expression clouded over in a mixture of emotions that passed so quickly I couldn't read them. "And what then?" she asked tiredly, "I can't live in a world that's at least thirty times my size. You get to go back to your normal life, but what about me?" I flinched as I heard more trucks heading down the cutoff. "Please, we’ll figure it out later, but we have to go now." I reached out to scoop Erica up, but she sidestepped my outstretched hand and backed away. "No! Stop it! You can't just grab me and take me off to your world, that's kidnapping!" Clouds of dust sprawled out near the entrance to my little ravine. The trucks were almost there, I had to run before they forced me to stay. Anxious to flee the world and its people, I cornered Erica with both hands and held her tight — disappearing quickly into the air just as the trucks came into view. The next thing I knew, I was kneeling in the basement, Erica still trapped in my hands.

#Alexis… you poor thing #she has no clue how to fight #weapons and powers can only get her so far #have fun with the cliffhanger :)#g/t #giant/tiny #other-world universe

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