Life is unpredictable, and by the time you know something is going to happen, it is usually too late to act. That was the case for 26-year-old James Cutter and his teenage daughter Abigail Cutter, as they were walking home after celebrating her fifteenth birthday with dinner at her favorite restaurant. The two of them were laughing, chatting away, having a great time, then, just as they were crossing the street, there was a screech of tires, a horn, flash of bright light, then... nothing. Darkness soon crept into their vision and they drifted off.

That was all James could remember as feeling returned to him and he became more aware of his surroundings, as well as the form that was laying off to his side, “ABIGAIL!” The man staggered to his feet only to collapse back to his knees, where he started to crawl to the girl's side, worry ever present in his eyes. Being former military had its benefits as he pulled out a small pocket flashlight he always had on him and checked for injuries, and finding none, he breathed a sigh of relief. Her pale skin had no cuts or bruises, the pupils of her jade green eyes were responding correctly, indicating no concussion, and her breathing and heart rate were normal.

“I could have told you that she was alive.”

James shot up in an instant, hands up in a defensive posture and eyes glaring at the source of the voice, but he saw nothing, quite literally as he could barely see anything. The room, at least he assumed it was a room, was pitch black, with a multitude of shapes visible in the darkness. Suddenly, one of the walls to his right started to split along its length and opened to a starry sky, high above the ground and overlooking a vast forest, “What the... there aren't any forests this size near home.”

“That's because you're not at home.” A figure made of orange light suddenly appeared before his very eyes, the one that had been talking to him if he had to guess. The stranger took the form of a young woman, no more than thirty, wearing a white tank-top over a brown shirt and khaki trousers bloused over a pair of black work boots. She was not short by any means, but he was definitely taller, standing at a solid 1.8 meters in height compared to her shorter 1.7. Her messy red hair and unblemished fair skin gave the woman an appearance that was pleasing to the eye, but Cutter was more focused on the plethora of questions that were buzzing around his mind.

“Who are you,” he demanded hotly. “What is this place?”

The woman walked over to a nearby table, its surface lighting up with a multitude of information, some of which made no sense to his eyes, “My name is Isabel. I am an artificial intelligence, created to monitor the functions of the airship you and your daughter are on, the Spirit of Fire, a Phoenix-Class Aerial Habitation Ship, modified as a support ship for the former Human Republic, now United Holy Human Empire.”

James could only look at her in bewilderment and disbelief, which only grew as she continued, “I see you were not aware, so allow me to clarify. This planet is Equis Terra, home of a multitude of species that are both familiar and unfamiliar. Beings that humans from your world once though of as myth, such as griffons, unicorns, pegasai, and more familiar creatures, such as dogs, cats, and so on. But, the inhabitants of this world are intelligent, to some degree, with those on par with human understanding being almost human in shape, but maintaining their mythological components. Life for them was good here, but then came an evil, one of which that the Traveler himself brought.”

“Who's the Traveler,” entered a familiar voice, and both turning to see a now awake Abigail leaning against a control station, trying to keep herself steady.

“Abby,” James breathed out, relieved that his child was up. He walked over to her, careful to maintain his own balance, and embraced her in his arms. She too returned the gesture, before they both turned back to the machine given form.

“The Traveler,” Isabel began, “is an entity, unlike anything we will encounter here. His kind are powerful, able to command space, time, matter, and energy at will. Entire universes are their play things, and the Traveler as he calls himself has taken an interest in this world. He brought a large number of humans from your world here, long before your people grew into their current state of mentality, and built an empire that was technologically and numerically superior to any other on this world, and they soon spread from there. One by one, the individual nations and species fell to them, becoming little more than cattle, toys, and a disposable work force for the ever growing human population. They now control a major portion of the world, with only the Griffon Kingdoms, Dragons, and Changelings being able to remain independent. The rest were either killed or turned into slaves.”

“What does that have to do with us,” the younger Cutter interrupted. “Why are we here.”

“He wants us to fix his problem,” answered James. “That is either because he is unwilling or unable to do so himself, correct Isabel?”

“Yes,” she answered. “His kind have certain rules about meddling in the affairs of 'lower lifeforms'. Those they choose as their 'champions' or 'pawns', whichever you prefer, have to either be a single, large group of people whose disappearance would go unnoticed, or a small group that could also have their fate be hidden. You two fit that criteria, you most of all, mister Cutter. As you are a military veteran, you have the training, combat experience, and leadership skills necessary to take on this endeavor, and should you be successful, he will return you home if you desired.”

“And if we fail, we aren't going anywhere, correct?”

Isabel's reply was a curt nod. Knowing that he needed to process the information they had just been given, James walked over to the large window at the front of what he was assuming to be the ships bridge and stared out at the forest below. This was a habit he had developed when he needed to think carefully about anything. Isabel was right about his past, as he had served two tours as a Marine before retiring so he could use the skills and college he earned while in to better support his daughter, who had been begging him to leave and come home for good. He finally did after months of internal debate, but had decided to enlist in the reserves so that he could still get some benefits from them. That was pretty common knowledge one could find anywhere if they wanted to look, but what was convincing him the most was the events before waking up here, the car that was trying to swerve to avoid hitting them. He remembered the horn, the smell of burning rubber, and the screeching of the tires as the car came closer. He remembered holding his little girl in his arms as he was about to shove her to the side, in an attempt to save her, but never got the chance to before he blacked out, just as the car was inches from them.

They should be dead, and he knew it wasn't a dream. That wasn't all. He could clearly see that the technology around them was far beyond what Earth had, and the hologram, as that was the only thing he could think of that would even explain Isabel's form, was also beyond the current models. There were experimental ones, projections on walls, but never anything this detailed or lifelike. It was all pointing to one thing; this was real, and his choice to help or not may be the difference between freedom for this world or dooming it to a fate that is arguably worse than death, as well as eliminating their only chance at getting home.

He felt a hand grasp his arm, and turned to meet Abigail's green eyes, ones that knew what he was thinking and conveyed understanding at what he planned to do. No words passed between them as they turned back to Isabel and James spoke once more, “Isabel, get me a full situation report. I need to know what I'm up against if I'm to help these people.”

A bright smile lit up the A.I.'s face as she snapped a crisp salute, “Yes sir!”

Author's Note

Hey! Thank you for reading my first chapter, and I hope you liked it. Next time, we delve a little more into the past of this world and then we get to finding out the soon-to-be revolution's first target. Please leave a comment, and happy reading!