Chapter 1: From the Start
So you want to know my story? I don’t know why, it’s not the most prettiest of stories ever, it’s sorta like a rags to riches story but the riches were dirtier than the rags ever were. Still interested? Well I warned you.
For as long as I could remember, I’ve lived out in the streets with my parents and it was… fine. It wasn’t great but also not soul. But when I was ten, my mom gave birth to my baby sister, Nayli and while I wasn’t all that fond of her at first, as most single children are of their new siblings, I grew to love and care for her… even when our parents were taken away by the city guard… I never saw them… nobody could ever tell me what happened to them or what happens inside the looming fortress of the guard that casts a looming shadow over the slums.
I didn’t want my sister to grow up out in the streets, where guards abducting random people was the norm. I didn’t want her to experience all of the bad that I have. So I did what I thought was right, I began to steal from others.
Wallets, money, belongings and food, anything to keep us going. Anything to help bring a roof over our heads. For a good while things were looking good, we had food, warmth, everything we needed just to get by. Then someone by the name of karma decides to say ‘fuck you’ when I decided to pickpocket one person that if I knew before hand I shouldn’t have; the boss of the underground crime syndicate. I honestly thought I was dead right then and there.
But… he didn’t off me like I expected. He told me that I had some guts trying to take from him, that he wouldn’t mind his own goons having the same level of confidence I had with my pickpocketing. So he gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse. He’ll provide me and by extension, my sister a place to call home. In return I work for him as his thief within the streets. Obviously the offering itself was scary, especially for the kid that I was at the time but… I couldn’t just say no to having a place to sleep so… yeah I accepted.
What follows is years worth of hard work, climbing up the ranks and up to now.
“Wow… that’s a lot for someone like you.” My partner said after I told him about my life as we waited. “Starting out as a simple thief to where you are now.” I simply gave him an odd look while yeah… it seems like a lot in one go but I lived through it. I wasn’t a common thief nowadays as I outgrew that part of my life. I’m a full time smuggler these days and pretty good at it too. And for the longest time I ran solo but the boss said I needed a partner so… yeah. Aerav here is that partner. He looked pretty simple, short brown hair, white skin, wearing some clothes as well as having some bags with his equipment. We were sitting at the bar which was own by the boss, though from the looks of it the place looked dead. No one other than us was here and that’s on purpose as it was a front, good thing it’s actually a bar so we got some drinks. Aerav finished his glass and shook his head from the alcohol before asking.
“So… what are we smuggling anyway?” He asked me with a side glance. “I think I missed the last bit of what the boss said.” I groaned and rolled my eyes at him as he was known to be forgetful.
“It’s Ether, like usual. You should know this, my department is Ether runs.” I said to him simply with an annoyed grunt.
“Hey, you don’t know, maybe it’s for something else.” He said with a shrug which made me groan. Honestly, I wonder if he’s just dumb. I looked down at my drink as Ether came to mind. Heh. I can never help but wonder why ether itself is such a sought after item in the underground. It’s well… magic! Magic is ether and ether is magic.
Ether was, in simplistics terms, crystalized energy of different colours. It’s used for basically everything you can think of. It’s a very sought after thing that, if one has enough of it, one can do basically anything they want. It’s also very illegal to distribute commercially as its importance to industrialization in general, being able to power heavy machines and factories when then. It’s why the practice of magic is banned here actually.
“Right, how much Ether are we smuggling? A few barrels full or?” Aerav asked after finishing his drink. I let out an annoyed sigh, seeing that he really did forget everything that was told. This is why I like to work alone.
“A package. We don’t do barrels.” I said to him simply before he looked at me oddly at this as I arched a brow back. “What now?”
“I’m trying to wrap my head around the idea of a package of Ether is so valuable to a few barrels of Ether… also how can a package hold Ether, doesn’t it like… ooze out or something?” Aerav asked, sounding confused as I shook my head, realizing the confusion for him. He’s used to the liquid Ether. I didn’t say anything as someone came in to the bar, holding today’s delivery. The guy in question was the usual guy, works at a mining rig outside the city. He saw us before making his way over and planting the package on the table.
“Here. It’s all there as usual.” The guy said with a little frown as I chuckled and tossed him some credits.
“And there’s your usual payment.” I said to the man before he left without another word, not wanting to be caught selling some ether. After the doors closed, I opened the package to inspect it just on case and that’s when Aerav’s eyes grew wide.
“Holy shit.” Was all he could say as inside the package was Raw Ether Crystal, glowing a vibrant purple glow as we stared at it. “That… that explains the no leaking part…” Aerav said which made me snort a bit as I closed the package.
“We only deal in crystal ether. You know how valuable these things are.” I said as I got up from the booth and he followed suit.
“Yes… no… kinda.” He said which made me frown as he continued. “I don’t know the full details, but… are these really worth more than a large tank full of liquid ether?” He asked, still a bit dumbfounded as I rolled my eyes at him and began to walk towards the door before he began to follow suit. Upon exiting, we were greeted with the humming of passing hover vehicles and distant boat horns. The bar, simply known as “Dead End” was located near the city harbor, the only place with fully functioning gates to the outside world.
“So… how are we going to do this?” Aerav asked as he walked beside me as I reached into my pocket and pulled out a key that, upon doing so, made my ride drive up beside me. It was hovering inches above the ground, its engine purring beautifully. Oh yeah. Aerav let out a whistle as he saw my ride. “Damn… nice ride. Better than what I got.” He said with a chuckle as I put the case in a secured place that’s out of sight to anyone looking. I then opened the driver side door and got in as Aerav got on the other side.
Once we were both seated, I flicked a switch to put us up on the hover lanes above, which did anger some drivers but I didn’t care as the hurling of insults and profanity was the norm in the city. Just as I was about to drive away from the bar, someone zoomed by everyone in the lane, which was soon followed by several guard hover bikes in hot pursuit. Aerav sighed and shook his head.
“It pains me to see people breaking the rules like that, good thing we’re law abiding citizens aren’t we?” He asked in a playful sarcastic tone. I gave him a simple unimpressed look before pulling out the stun baton from between the seats.
“Anything like that come out of your mouth again and I’ll hit you with it.” I said as I made the baton zap to make my point. I took my job seriously and really was never one for jokes. Aerav put his hands up defensively before saying.
“Okay okay, I’ll keep my mouth shut.” He said as we stared at each other for a few moments. “Really.” He added on quickly. I drove us away from the bar and headed towards the meeting spot. I reread the reminder of the meeting spot and groaned as it was in the farming sector. I hate it there.
“Ugh!” I groaned in pure annoyance as I slammed my head against the steering, making the horn honk to the people in front. This caused some others to honk back at me as Aerav looked at me with a jump.
“Uhh… what’s wrong?” He asked me as I growled a bit in annoyance.
“We’re going to the fucking farms. Ugh! It’s horrible there!” I said with an annoyed groan as the hoverlane did most of the driving.
“I… see. I uhh, never really been there so I don’t really know but… I’ll take your word on that… at least we’re not there for long.” Aerav said to me with a reassuring smile, trying to be helpful as best as he could. I simply shook my head as we were soon stopped by the sector checkpoint, where multiple guards were arresting the person from before and the rest were checking the civilians.
We waited for a few minutes before we got to the checkpoint and the guards did their work. I wasn’t worried as the package was well hidden from sight and if one was to search for it, they wouldn’t find it. After they finished they waved us through and we pulled ahead.
“It doesn’t feel right that they keep upping security like this.” I said idly as they detained someone behind us with great force.
“I know what you mean, they detained over like… thirty people this week alone.” Aerav said with a frown as we rode further away from the checkpoint. I glanced through the side mirror to see the checkpoint officers as they brutally subdued the would be aggressor.
The Canterlot City Guard. There isn’t a group of thugs more merciless and cruel than them. They enforce the rule of the Empress of the city and those caught breaking the rules are met with the rough end of their stun batons. Some have the worst of it and get hauled off to their headquarters, the giant eyesore of the slums that is The Citadel.
The guard’s themselves were hard to mistake them for some mercenary thug with their high tech armor acting like a sort of second layer of skin. They all had the same color palette in armor, a dark blue with yellow linings. It was their signature colors, even having them on their hover bike and patrol ships.
I deviated from the hover lane, heading over to wall side of the farmlands. The wall that kept the outside world at bay stood over most of this side of the sector like an unending obelisk. I eventually sighed when I lowered down to ground level much to Aerav’s surprise as he bumped his head on the ceiling. I took a deep breath and grabbed the package just as someone knocked on my window. I looked over to see a man wearing some fancy clothes standing outside my door. I lowered my window so he could speak.
“Hello there miss… you uhh… you’re the one with my personal delivery?” He asked as he coughed into his hand.
“That depends.” I said to the well dressed man before reaching for the package and asking. “Would said order be one of these babies?” I asked him as to my side was my ether blaster just in case. The well dressed man’s eyes lit up with glee upon seeing the crystal.
“Yes, I believe that there would be the thing I’ve asked for.” He said with a smile before pulling out a small thin card in his hand that had a blue led light and held it up to me. “Your payment, all here.” he said to me. I handed the chip over to Aerav who was quick to scan for the amount inside before he gave me a nod and I handed him the package. The man took the package and gave it a quick peek before nodding happily. “Thanks again, this will do perfectly.” He said more happily as we saw him walk off. As he walked off Aerav watched him go with a frown.
“I don’t like what he has planned with that.” He said, which made me look at him. “I did some research before this job and learned that he wanted to make his land more automated so he can fire all of his workers. That isn’t right, some of those people need their jobs to get by.” I had to hold back a groan at this, great I got a partner with a bleeding heart as well.
“You shouldn’t care what he ends up doing with the crystal. You shouldn’t care what anyone does with it.” I said to him with a disinterested and annoyed tone. This was the last thing I needed from anybody. Especially my assigned partner.
“Well… fine then.” Aerav said with a frown as he crossed his arms. I could tell that it still bothered him but he wasn’t going to push it any further. “Anyway, we did what we needed to do, guess we head on back?” He asked me. I didn’t say anything and simply drove us back to Dead End. He was quiet the whole ride, glancing back at me every so often. At first it was him glaring at me but as time went on he has been looking at me more and more, trying to be sneaky about it but failing to do so. I held back the look of disgust of seeing him ogling me but when we abruptly entered the hover lane back to portside, I made sure the sudden lurch made him back his head.
“Ah!” He yelled out as he held his head as I kept driving on as if nothing was wrong. He didn’t say anything afterwards but he did shoot me a glare as he rubbed his head where he banged his head. I didn’t say anything as I was focused on what’s ahead of me, the sector checkpoint which seemed to be on a higher alert.
We were soon stopped and pulled over like those before us and I was quick to hide away any of my weapons which was simple. Upon getting out of the hover car, they patted us down and inspected the hover car itself. After a few moments I knew things were going south when the guard patted Aerav a bit before finding something, which of course was a blaster. Aerav closed his eyes and silently cursed as the guard held the blaster which caused Aerav to chuckle nervously.
“It’s uhh… extra protection officer, you don’t know who you’ll bump into.” Aerav joked, though this time it was out of fear of what’ll happen next.
“We’re hired guards for the bar down by harborside.” I said simply to which the guards looked at one another before giving back the blaster as one of them said.
“First and final warning.” The guard said as they shoved the blaster back into Aerav’s hands before signaling us to go on. The both of us got into the hover car and drove off. I glanced at Aerav who shook his head and frowned. He didn’t say anything at first as we drove away before he finally spoke.
“I know I fucked up back there, I panicked and thought they wouldn’t find it.” He said with a sigh to which I simply rolled my eyes at as we entered the harbor sector, Portside. It’s what most people call it. We were closing in on Dead End before I got a holocall to which I simply pulled up on full display. The display showed a man that screams rich crime boss with the most expensive suit he wore, a number of rings on his fingers. He had short salt and pepper hair and shows his age with some wrinkles but that didn’t stop how threatening he was with those piercing gray eyes.
”Hey there baby girl, hope your drop off went well.” He said simply as he smirked a bit as I felt my body twist in anger at his words, especially ‘Baby girl’. He knew I absolutely hated those kinds of names and he didn’t care. He chuckled as he saw me look at him and pulled over before continuing. “Getting to the point, I have another job for you. It’s simply getting a big package of crystal ether down in the industrial zone. Pick it up and get it back to the Dead End. One you finish I’ll make sure my sweetums is well rewarded.” Rowen said with a smirk towards me before the display disappeared as he cut the call after he spoke. I growled a bit at the word ‘sweetums’ at me. Aerav looked at me as I was practically fuming at this point, luckily though he kept himself quiet as I vented out in silence. After a few long minutes of silence between the two of us Aerav broke that silence with a question.
“So… you going to drop me off at a corner or at the bar?” He asked me before adding on. “This job seems more like a solo gig.” I sighed and nodded before lowering down by the bar as soon as I saw it. He left without another word and I drove off towards the new meeting point. If the boss calls me it’s usually a big score with the ether dealer, a rogue miner who’s willing to make some quick credits.
As I rose up back into the hover lane and laid back on my chair, I simply left the autopilot to do the navigating the hoverlane. It wasn’t long before the peace was interrupted once again. I looked up to see that someone was calling and as I answered I was faced with a smiling face.
”Heeeey Dax!” Nayli said happily as her face appeared in front of me. She was wearing some nice clean clothes, ones that one wouldn’t think someone who was homeless, she had a bright innocent smile on her face that was clean and her hair was brushed back. Out of everything in this damn city, Nayli is the only pure and innocent being here. She was in her mid-teens with brown hair that’s tired back in a ponytail, sun-kissed tanned skin with some freckles around her nose and soft green eyes. She had that look that was happy and bright, something that the city hasn’t ruined and if I had any say to it, will never ruin.
“Hey sis, what’s up?” I asked my sister with a smile, the events of earlier that brought annoyance and anger being forgotten almost instantly. Talking with Nayli always made my day, no matter how shitty.
“Oh you know… just getting ready for school.” Nayli said as she held up her bag in view. “Was about to leave before deciding to give you a call.” She added happily. I smiled back at this before saying.
“Well, make sure you have that assignment of yours packed.” I said before she displayed it smugly, the product of several days worth of homework all within a small memory stick. “Good, listen I’ll talk more later. Work.” I said to her suddenly as I noticed the scenery begin to shift from harbor to industrial machinery and factories. Nayli was saddened by this before I gave her an apologetic smile and hung up before sighing. I can’t have her see me work. Ever.
“Now… where’s this asshole meeting at?” I asked aloud to myself before moving to pull up the meeting spot only for a loud thunderous boom to be heard even from inside the hover car. Not moments, mine and several other hover cars and bikes fell from the hoverlane. I let out a yell as my hovercar fell onto the ground, luckily nothing broke but I was stunned from the sudden… everything. I shook my head and looked around, wondering what the fuck just happened. It wasn’t just the hovercrafts that died, everything else went dark and then some as screens and projections turned off and sparked a bit. I saw others getting out of their hovercars and off their bikes and looked up. I opened my door and looked up as well, just to see that the clouds up above were swirling around and acting oddly. I have never seen anything like it as this has never happened before. Everyone was either in awe or shocked at this, or both as the clouds continued swirling.
“What the…” I said to myself as the center of it all seemingly… tore open!? It was like a wormhole, one that chucked out flaming balls that were… heading right for us! Me and the others nearby all quickly ran from our respective vehicles as balls of flaming rock fell from the skies itself. The sound of cars getting smashed and destroyed as well as buildings getting hit by the flaming rocks as I ran with everyone. What in hell is going on?! I kept running forward, unsure if the destruction was moving outwards and I wasn’t going to stick around and find out.
Everyone of us tried to run underneath the upper walkways before a flaming boulder of what seemed like melted metal crashed in front of us which then lead us up to the walkway as we wanted to get as far away as we could but when we all reached the top… it stopped. The training of hellfire was done but the thunderous booms continued before the clouds above swirled once more and the vortex spat out something else… something… alive looking? What the-
And before I knew it, all went black. Whatever came down, came down hard and onto me. I didn’t even see what it was with how fast it was coming down. When I tried to open my eyes all I saw was blurry shapes as my head was still spinning and my ears were ringing.
“W-what…” I managed to croak out in a raspy voice as my vision returned slowly, where I saw the crowd of people from before quickly dispersing. I heard someone speak and with my vision still blurry I managed to make out two girls... I think. I could only make out the color of their hair.
“W-We have to go! We can’t stay here!” A voice said in a panicked tone and by the looks of it, I think, it belonged to the one who had a head of bright pink hair. I heard some shuffling before another voice spoke as I managed to catch what little of a glimpse I had and noticed the color of her hair as well. Light blue.
“Sorry miss.” A timid voice said before I heard the sound of running as I groaned and sat up only to see several guards around me with several more heading off to chase after the two owners of the voices I heard.
“Forget them. This one looks like a prime candidate.” Spoke a sinister yet well known mechanical voice as the loud thumps of his hulking frame made it clear he was here. It was the head honcho of the guard himself, Viktor Zakaang. He truly towered over me and anyone around him. His body was made out of reinforced plates and had enough power to break a city guard in half. He has also proven to be a massive thorn on my boss’s neck with his constant interfering his businesses, illegitimate or otherwise. He was known to be brutal, not just to the citizens but his own men as well. But to top it all off… he was the one who took my parents. “Bring her in. Leave the other two brats be.” He spoke simply with a dismissive wave as he turned away before one of the guards beside him walked up to me before smacking me on the side of the head with the but of their gun, knocking me out cold.
Author's Note
Eyyy. New fic? Yup. Co written with ExodemonG.
Let us know if this is a worth while project to continue. We really hope you all like it.
How long have I been here? I don't… it's all fuzzy. I just woke up in this blank… small room. There was nothing to note of it, no window, no typical cell door… just a bed and toilet. I was alone with my own thoughts with this throbbing headache. The only thing I could say for certain is that I must've been here for a while as I was starving. I had tried banging on the door to see if someone was out there but either the doors were too t hick or they just didn't bother. Knowing the city guard… it was probably the latter.
I could faintly hear noises from the outside, others in here like me but the sounds were faint. I could've heard some guards outside. I pressed my head against the door, hoping to find out what was going on and why I was here.
Suddenly the door let out some mechanical hums and creak as it slid open to reveal two prison guards. Their armor similar to the ones that patrol the city only black and white. Without a single word, they pulled me out of the cell and had me at blaster point before shoving off.
"Move it." They growled as I was forced to walk down the gigantic corridor… no… not a corridor. It was a cell block! I've never… the halls were enormous, seemingly endless, each inch of wall had a door that hid a cell. I was shoved forward after lingering too long at my surroundings.
"All inmates of Cell Block A and C are to not interact with those of Cell Block B and D. Failure to do so will result in immediate punishment." A womanly robotic voice droned out loudly through the hall, the voice echoing on before my attention was brought towards a couple of guards beating two inmates with stun batons. I was shoved forward once more before I saw a large elevator platform with many other inmates, some wearing prison garbs with a large A on the back on others a large C.
"Get on the platform." I was told before being shoved forward yet again and with a huffed I did so before the guard signaled some unseen person before the platform began to lower down. As the platform headed down I was able to hear chatter around me, mostly it was grumbles.
“Fucking finally, haven’t eaten anything for three days.”
“Any longer and I was tempted to eat my own leg.”
“Damn place, I don’t think there’s a damn system here… it’s just a coin flip on who’s getting food.” more and more people around me complained about this as the lift continued down. As I looked around at everyone I noticed one of them stood out with bright rainbow coloured hair. She didn’t stand as tall as everyone but between the arms of the other inmates I saw the bright colours of her hair. I mean, sure one can have bright coloured hair, but one with bright multi coloured hair is very eye-catching.
"Inmates must proceed to the mess hall for scheduled meal." The same monotone womanly voice spoke out, no doubt the intercom. Suddenly we were flashed by some waiting guards that moved us along and out into a large mess hall. I was still staggering about so I was shoved by almost every other inmate. This continued until I bumped into one of the inmates that actually grab a hold of me.
“Hey hey, if you don’t want to be a bumper car you have to watch where you’re going.” one of the inmates said and I turned to see I was getting held by the multi coloured haired woman from before. She arched a brow at me before adding. “Come on, today is meal day and I want to make the most of it.” She said. I stared at her for a moment before nodding, my head was still hurting from before… I think I had a concussion earlier… I think it was earlier?
"Sorry I…" I clutched at my head with a single hand as a throb of pain hit me, confirming that my altercation with the guards that brought me in gave some sort of concussion. "Ugh… my head." I said as I winced.
“Yeah yeah, well it doesn’t help you’re getting bumped around. Come on.” The woman said as she took my hand and led me forward with the group of other inmates. I allowed her to do this as it was much better than me bumping around as everyone made their way. The large group soon turned to a line up with the rainbow haired woman standing in front of me as we were given trays to hold.
For a while I was just waiting for the line to move up with there being so many in front. The woman from before got so bored she turned to look back at me, no doubt wanting to strike a conversation.
“Alright so… what are you in for?” The woman asked me which made me blink as I got a good look of her, she was about chest level of me with her rainbow hair tied back in ponytail. Her skin was a tanned colour as she wore similar clothes as everyone else is wearing. And after a moment or two of thinking, I simply shrugged.
"Don't know, last thing I remember was seeing Viktor Zaakang himself order his guys to take me in." I said to her which seemed to surprise her as we moved forward a little.
“Viktor eh? I know of him… kinda got stuck here because of him…” She said with an angry frown and grumbled a little. “Kind of an ass if you ask me.” she added quietly. I glanced around, seeing some nearby guards posted around the mess hall, some even patrolling the place. It wasn't that odd though with how giant the place was.
"Name's Dax." I suddenly said to the woman which brought her gaze back up to me.
“Hey, mine's Dash.” The woman said with a smirk as I blinked at this. Dash? Isn't she a big star athlete?
"Aren't you supposed to be some big time athlete?" I asked back as we got closer to where they served the food. Dash herself huffed at this before she spoke.
"I was but one day the guards stormed my place and took me in, saying that I was caught using illegal augments to win my races." She said to me and I arched a brow before she frowned once again. "I didn't do anything like and I'd rather be shot dead than to cheat!" She exclaimed suddenly.
"Right…" I said almost quietly as the rest of the wait was spent in silence and when we were served our food… or whatever this stuff was… Dash led me a table with a large man sitting alone. Dash sat down before saying.
“Hey Ox.” Dash greeted the large man who simply nodded at her.
“Dash.” He greeted before looking at me as I sat down. “Who’s she?” He asked Dash who started eating.
“Another one that got screwed over by you know who.” Dash answered bluntly as she continued eating her food. Ox simply nodded at this as he continued eating as well. I looked at the two of them for a few moments before looking down at the… slop, that was in front of me.
“Ya better start eating, nobody knows when the next meal will be.” Ox said as the two continued eating. I blinked at this and looked at my food before starting eating as well… oh gods. I gagged a bit from the taste of the food as it tasted fowl. I looked at the other two who are still eating before Dash looked at me.
“Yeah… yeah it tastes like shit but it’s better than nothing.” Dash said to me as she continued to eat. “Really, it’s better than nothing.” She added grimmly. I looked down at the… questionable slop before me and ate a bit more, trying my very best to keep it down. As I ate I looked around and saw everyone was simply shoving food down their throats, trying to get every scrap of slop in them as the guards watched on like vultures.
After a few minutes of eating what I could stomach, I simply stopped and looked at others who looked desperate as they ate. I could only dread to think of what I'll experience here. My wandering gaze seemed to have gained Dash and Ox's attention again.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" Dash asked me, looking around at where I was looking. Ox simply looked at me as he ate his food as if it was any other day.
"I don't know… I guess I'm still taking it all in. I've been caged up for what I think is two days… I couldn't tell and all with this freaking headache." I said to her with a shake of my head and sighed. "It's just all settling in." I said, sounding more somber as the realization that I won't be coming back to my sister any time soon, fully hit. Dash and Ox didn't say anything as I looked down at my slop after what I said before I felt a pat on my back from Dash.
"Yeah… yeah we all went through that." She said softly before adding. "Sorry." With that she continued eating. Ox simply shrugged with an apologetic look on his face as he continued on eating, the both of them close to finishing their food as I still had quite a bit left. I wasn't going to stomach it all so I didn't bother.
"I'll take my chances with starving." I said mostly to myself as I could already feel some kind of damage being dealt in my stomach. Suddenly and very abruptly a loud beep was heard.
"Inmates must conclude their meal related activities and proceed to recreation hall." The monotone voice of the intercom spoke out. I was surprised to see almost everyone hurryingly get up from their seats, those who didn't were still eating and were being approached by guards. I felt Dash nudge me before saying.
“Unless you want a beating you need to get moving.” Dash said as Ox stood up as well. I stood up and followed the two as I started hearing some yelling from some of the inmates that were still sitting. The three of us headed into a large room where the other inmates were able to do things and talk to one another, and mostly they talk to other people. I also saw the guards were patrolling around us and there were a few more than in the other room.
“Man, good thing we were picked for today.” Dash said as she was doing some stretches. “Don’t know how long I could take it in my cell.” This made Ox nod a bit in agreement. I hummed at this as I looked around again, it wasn’t just a large empty room with people in it, there were a number of equipment and things around that are able to be used. It was like we went outdoors… yet we were still inside. A little odd but not the worst thing. What didn't help though was the constant presence of guards looming over us.
"So… what now?" I asked aloud not really knowing why myself but Dash turned back to look at me.
“Wow… I just realized you’re that new to being here. Like, really new.” Dash said in awe of herself as I stared at her. “Look, a little advice for you right from the get go; this place is hell and when you get to do things like this, you better squeeze every little ounce of it when you can. Else you’ll be stuck in your cell for a number of days.” She said with a serious look.
“Some inmates go crazy because of not being able to do this.” Ox added which made me look at him and saw that he was serious. I nodded and looked about, seeing a typical prison yard, exercising equipment, a game court and a place to just lounge. Though as I expected, all of these were in poor but still usable conditions.
"So… what you want to do first Dax?" Dash asked me which kinda surprised me, I expected her to go off and do something else, though Ox had other plans as he headed off. Dash saw this and spoke. "Don't mind Ox, he does this every time we come out here. He simply makes sure no fights happen, else the guards come in and make things worse." Dash said with a little wince. I nodded before we both headed over to the seating area where Dash then asked.
"So what did you do before being put in the slammer?" She asked me quite bluntly and I wasn't so sure if I should tell the truth or lie. With a sigh I looked over and was about to answer her before some ass hole came up to us.
“Hey bitch!” The ass hole said as he glared at me. I… have a feeling I know who he is but… who? “Don’t look at me like that you damn bitch, you’re in deep hell for what you did to me!” He yelled out at me as Dash looked at me confused before back at the ass hole.
“Hey, how about you quit screaming.” She said annoyed as the man huffed a bit.
“Like hell I will, I’m here because of her!” He yelled as I started to remember… kinda. I was doing an ether run some time ago in which I was jumped by some competitors of Rowen. Long story short a whole fight between me and them broke out, I was winning and able to flee without issue, the gang was then caught by the city guard. With that in mind I looked back at the pissed off guy as he was cracking his knuckles as he was about to clobber me. Dash step up in front of me and yelled.
“Hey! Back off, I don’t know what she did to you but really it’s not-” Before she could finish the ass hole pushed her out of the way.
“Fuck off you damn brat, I’m dealing with this bitch!” He yelled which caused Dash to get pissed.
“Hey! Who are you calling brat?!” She yelled back angrily. I rubbed either side of my head as their yelling was not helping my headache. So not wanting this to escalate, I have this asshole the same punch that knocked him out cold the last time and well… he fell like a bag of bricks. Dash was surprised by this, eyes wide before she looked at me.
"Holy… okay have to say that was some punch." Dash said as he looked at the now groaning man. "Out in one punch too…" she added in awe.
"Guy never did learn to shut up." I said with a little groan as now my hand hurt. Great… not only that but I might have more enemies in here. Dash looked at me with a little worry.
"Hey, maybe it's best if you sit down somewhere." She said before grabbing my hand and added. "You look like you're about to fall over."
"I'm fine. It's just this damn headache." I said as I pulled my hand back from her and continued. "Ether Trafficking." Was all I said to her which took her by surprise.
"Ether traffic- shit really? You did that?" She asked which I nodded simply. There was an awkward silence between us before she spoke. "Wow… that's… honestly I thought you would be doing something else." I arched a brow at what she meant by that but didn't push into it and simply shrugged.
"Not my first job choice, I'll tell you that." I said back to her as we finally sat down somewhere a little less noisy. "Go ahead. Ask your questions." I said to her as I knew those who hear about Ether trafficking usually want to hear what it's like and stuff.
“So… uhh, the whole Ether trafficking… how is it? What's it like?” Dash asked, stuttering with her words as I rolled my eyes and sighed. It wasn’t the most graceful question but all the same in the end; same questions, same answers. "Is it as life threatening as others say it is?" Dash added which made me blink at her before glancing at the guy from before, which was being pulled away from some other inmates.
"Yeah, for the most part it is. I mean… sometimes you get those risk free runs but those are few and far between." I said before moving towards the subject of the different crime families I had to deal with. She was interested with what I had to say which was… weird. I've never really met anyone who cared much about the dirty work.
"Wow… that actually sounds really cool, minus all the danger and life threatening part but hey, that kinda makes the adrenaline keep pumping." Dash said with a chuckle. She then looked around a bit before sighing. "Hey, if there's any chance we ever Get out of here… you think you could get me a job? Doubt I could ever go back to how I used to." Dash said with a sad sigh. I arched a brow and I sighed as well, not even knowing if I was ever getting out.
"Maybe." I said to her, unsure of my own answer that I would or even could. "I'm no-" A loud siren blared our through the hall, making most if not all the other groan in annoyance as the monotone voice spoke out.
"All Inmates must return to their cells. Failure to comply will result in severe punishment." The voice spoke out which got Dash to get up instantly.
“Damn it, where did the time go… anyway, better get going. When they say severe they fucking mean it.” Dash said in a serious tone as she helped me up as well to my feet. I nodded at this as I saw everyone else making their way back where we all came from. Which meant back through the mess hall and up the lift.
"Right." I said as we both followed the others with Ox not far behind with guards making sure we don't stray from the path. After crossing the mess hall and going up the lift, we were all put back into our cells which soon left me alone… again.
What was I to do but get on my bed and just… wait… and hope I get out of here soon. I sighed and laid on my bed and closed my eyes... only to open them again as I heard something inside my cell, hissing… like a vent or a bursted pipe. My vision soon clouded in green and my whole body became numb until… darkness.
I opened my eyes to the same roof of my cell as I always saw it every time I’ve woken up for the past week or so. It's just as blank and bland as ever. I don't know what time it was… despite my polite asking for a clock, the guards have refused to even let me know what day or month it was. I've been tallying the days I've been here on the wall beside my bed.
My stomach grumbled, signaling my hunger after three days or so without food. Ox was right about food… it was something to look forward to even if it was just putrid sludge. I let out a big sigh as I sat up in my bed and stretched a bit, hearing some popping coming from my back. I stood up from my bed in the same outfit I wore yesterday… and the day before… and so on, which wasn’t the normal jumpsuit that I had on the first day, it was now a two piece suit of a sleeveless vest with my number on it and some pants. The guards allowed me to have them as it was still my uniform, even have a shirt underneath the vest. They allow changes to my clothes but a simple clock is not allowed? I grumbled at this as I tried to think of something to do for today other than waiting to see if I can go get food.
As I was trying to figure out what I should do next I heard my cell door open and the guards were there, looking down at me expectantly before I got up and followed behind before grouping up with the masses, where Dash waited for me at the edge of the lift. Dash looked at me and gave me a smile.
“Hey, how are you?” She asked with a kind smile. I gave her a smile back before letting out a sigh.
"Tired. Like before." I said to her as since the first time we've met, we've managed to meet up only one other time after that miraculously… wait did we?
“Yeah… same. Nice to get out and stretch again though.” Dash said with a stretch as we continued down the lift before finally getting to the bottom. “Also good to get some grub.” Dash said with a cheeky grin.
"Yeah…" I said with a little smile as she was really the only good thing about all this. Ox too even if he doesn't say much, guess that's the benefits of having a social circle… of sorts. Never really was a very social person. The two of us soon went through the line up and got some slop, which looked the same the last time we’ve gotten food. The two of us soon went over to the table Ox was sitting at as he was eating food. Ox was here before anyone due to some deal he has with the mess hall staff, simply he comes down to help out and get some food first though it was the same stuff like everyone.
“Hello you two.” He greeted us as we sat down.
“Hey Ox. How goes?” Dash asked which Ox simply grunted his answer which the both of us took it as is. Dash started eating her food and I did the same, this time I wasn’t going to be picky with my food, since I won’t know when my next meal will be.
This time I ate without nearly chucking up my food. It was nice knowing that I won't be losing my meal all of a sudden. As we ate we could hear the folks behind us talk amongst themselves.
“Hey you going into the Pit today?”
“Maybe, want to see if I can get top spot.”
“I doubt it, there’s a number of guys here that can kick your ass.”
“I have bets on that guy over there.”
“What can you bet with? You have nothing!”
“I do have stuff! I have… rocks.” They went on and on as the others talked amongst themselves, mostly about the Pit. The Pit was a fenced off area in the recreation area of the place, which was made for anyone who wants to fight one another without getting into trouble. When it was built there was a fight to see who was the so-called ‘Top Dog’ out of everyone here. So far everyone is trying to get said spot at the time. As we ate I felt dash nudge me to get my attention.
“Hey, you should be a part of it.” She said as she nodded to the others talking about the Pit. “Who knows’ maybe you'll get to be top dog?” She said with a smirk.
"I don't know… sounds like a dumb idea to me." I said to her as I was unsure of it myself but Dash thought otherwise.
“I don’t think it’s dumb, it actually sounds really awesome. Think about it, you Top dog in the Pit, no one would dare mess with you afterwards!” Dash said happily as Ox continued to eat his food. I ate mine in thought at what she said while Ox gave me a curious glance, no doubt waiting to hear my decision. I let out a sigh as I looked at Dash, who looked unable to contain her excitement.
"I'll do it but I doubt I'd win." I said to her which got Dash to pump her fist excitedly.
“Yes! This is going to be so awesome!” Dash said happily as I arched my brow at her. “And don’t sell yourself so short, I think you’ll do awesome!” Dash added happily. Ox snorted a bit and chuckled at Dash's reaction to my reply. We continued to eat until the buzzer rang out and the guards took us to the recreational hall again which, upon arriving I got to see what they called the pit and it was quickly crowded as a couple of smchucks were trying to round up contenders for the whole thing. As I watched them one of them saw us and quickly came over.
“Hey there, think one of you is up for a few rounds in the Pit?” He asked with a smirk on his face as Dash smiled and nudged me.
“She’s up for a few rounds, hell she’s going to be the next Top Dog!” Dash said with a grin which made them laugh a bit while I gave Dash a side glare at this.
“Yeah, sure she will.” He said with a roll of his eyes before looking at me. “If you’re ready follow me.” He said to me before I followed him, elbowing Dash as I walked by her.
“Ah! Hey.” She cried out at me which did get a chuckle out of me as I followed the man to the Pit. I saw a number of other people that were going to fight to, was surprised that it wasn’t a large marsh pit of people beating the crap out of each other.
“I know that look,” The man said to me, getting my attention. “Sure we’re fine with having the Pit but better not push it with an all out brawl else we get the guards in on this.” He said before nodding to a few guards which from the looks of it most of the guards were keeping an eye on the Pit. They had their weapons beside them, standing overheard to have a view of the whole area.
"Right." I said before looking at the guy, probably the orchestrator of this whole thing. "So does this work off normal tourney rules or?" To answer my question, he pointed over towards the wall, where an event board was drawn up with the inmate ID's. From the looks of it the system the Pit is running is the normal tournament system; two people walk in, fight, one wins and moves on to the next fight, repeat this until the last one standing is the winner, and from the looks of it there were quite a few inmates, meaning if I were to to win it'd be a bit. Not saying I could but leaving some room to say that I could probably.
I looked down at my prison id numbers and saw that I was in the third fight of the first round. So I went back to Dash who was eager to hear the news of my involvement.
"I'm in the third fight." I said to her simply which did deflate her excitement a little. I held back the urge to roll my eyes at her.
"Aww man, I got to wait two rounds to see you fight? Lame~!" Dash said annoyed as she slumped over a bit. "Hope the first two fights are quick. I really wanted to see you fight before the time is up." Dash added with a sigh as we went over to see the first fight take place. It was… something. The two of them were too afraid to throw the first punch but eventually one of them decided to take their chance, fail and give their opponent the win with an easy knockout. There was a few cheers and clapping from this but everyone wasn't very impressed by the lackluster first fight.
They had to drag the loser out as he was out cold but once he was out, the next two combatants entered with one of them being this massive woman, literally all muscle. Her opponent being a bulky guy but just a couple inches shorter. When the makeshift bell rung, the guy charged like a raging bull only to be picked up mid charge, tossed up and quickly slammed down. The woman walked a little away to let the guy get up to charge at the woman again, only for the woman clothesline him hard, knocking him down again which caused the crowd to cheer out.
“Oh damn… this is awesome!” Dash said with a big smile on her face as I watched as this woman was beating this guy hard, and when I mean that she was beating him, I mean she was trying to beat him to death with how hard she’s fighting him. It got so bad that some of the guards had to get in there to stop the fight as the man was now bloody as hell, making her a clear winner in the fight. Oh boy…
"Next combatants to the pit!" Yelled out the ref, holding a whistle… how did he get a whistle? Whatever, I got up and was immediately stopped when Dash grabbed my arm.
“Hey, good luck out there Dax.” Dash said with a smile on her face which actually got me to smile a bit. I saw Ox look at me and simply nod at me as I turned and continued to walk into the Pit.
Upon entering, I came face to face with… that guy… that guy from my first day. The one I knocked out in one. Wait didn't I… ugh my head's starting to hurt. Whatever the case, he grinned maniacally before speaking.
“Well well well… looks like I can finally get you back for putting me in this joint~” He chuckled as I rubbed my head a bit before looking at him with a frown.
"Again with this… can't you just take a hint." I said to him and he simply chuckled and pulled out a knife… a knife!? What the fuck!? The cage door locked behind me and I could hear the crowd get excited while Dash was the only one vocal about the knife being an issue.
“Whoa! Hey what the fuck?! Ref, that guy has a knife! That has to be against the rules?!” Dash yelled out angrily towards the ref. The ref looked at this and simply shrugged.
“I don’t see an issue with this.” He said which pissed Dash off more.
“This is bullshit!” she yelled out angrily as Ox frowned at this as well. It was too late for me to back down now and I've been in plenty of knife fights… none of them ever in my favor but hey… nothing I haven't seen before. The ref blew his whistle which signaled the knife guy to charge towards me. I back up as he slashed again and again.
“Come on you bitch! It’s time for you to die!” he laughed out as he kept slashing at me as I dodged his attacks. I winced as a few of the slashes did hit and I could feel them bleeding. I finally grabbed his hand, his knife in the very same hand I grabbed. I reeled back a good punch and…
Two week later…
I gasped out as I sat up in my bed in a cold sweat. I panted a bit as I looked around before noticing a few things. One was that I was topless but more importantly I saw that there was a scar on my abdomen… what the hell happened? I put my hand on my head, feeling that my mind was a bit foggy at what happened… what did happen? All I could remember was fighting that prick from before but… after my first punch everything went fuzzy… like really fuzzy. What- ack!
My head throbbed painfully, vision blurring almost whitening even but it soon left as quick as it came. I scanned my cell, finding it… different. For starters there was stuff written up on the walls, gibberish for the most part and random numbers for the rest. What the fuck?
I looked down at the ground by the door, seeing my top, missing the blood I expected from the fight but found that it was clean… new even. I felt the shirt first, it felt brand new more so than whatever I wore… I was quick to put it on as the room got cold. Then came the best which did have some blood still on it. Dried up blood but it was there.
"What the hell is going on…" I asked myself out loud, mind filling up with unsolved questions. No matter how hard I tried to recall the events… its just… ugh. I sat back down on the bed and just… laid back down. I didn't know what was going on with my head, maybe I'm losing it?
Walking down the prison halls was two figures, one was the terrifying cyborg man Viktor Zakaang and the other was a tall and regal woman wearing a royal dress of black and green. Her skin was a dark brown colour and had long green hair that runs down her back. She walks with an air of control about her that all the guards could feel as she passes them.
"Your words better ring true Viktor, it's been quite tiresome funding your facade of a prison." Spoke the regal woman as the hulking mass of cybernetic perfection chuckled and spoke reassuringly.
“I assure you my Empress, everything is going perfectly.” Viktor hissed with a smile as the two continue to make their way down the long hallway of cells and guards. The two soon stopped at one of the cells. The door opened and the Empress walked into it, followed by Viktor in which they saw the man that was in the cell laying in bed in a sorry state; the man looked like he got into a fight with a train, many bruises and bones broken as he was laying in his bed in a full body cast. As he saw the two he tried to speak but started coughing.
“Gah!... damn… I didn’t fucking… signed up for… for this damnit…” The man said angrily as Viktor huffed a bit before looking down at the Empress.
“This one is the one that faced off with the new one.” He informed her which caused the Empress to hum a bit.
"And I am to assume he was promised his freedom?" Asked the Empress with a bemused tone and a look of disgust towards the man while Viktor himself nodded.
“A pardon from her royal majesty herself. To be free from his time here.” He answered simply which caused the Empress to hum a bit.
“Damn straight!” The man yelled before coughing some blood. “And I damn well deserve it after trying to kill that bitch!” he added angrily. The Empress arched a brow at this before looking back at Viktor who looked at her.
“Again, I did promise.” he said with a half hearted shrug. The empress simply shook her head and said.
"And I suppose it's fair I go do that but I'll be right back, I need to sign the official documents." She said to the bed ridden man, giving the latter a glint of hope for freedom as the Empress left the cell with Viktor in tow. The door closed shut and the Empress huffed as she pressed a large red button beside said door. Almost immediately, the sounds of roaring flames could be heard through the door.
"I would gladly appreciate you not bringing me down into this cesspool so often." The Empress spoke to Viktor with disdain and annoyance.
“My Empress I assure you that this one is the one perfect specimen for your new project. After all, I had that inmate try to kill her with a knife as a test and look where that got him.” Viktor said with a chuckle as he looked at the Empress. “As for the other two candidates, I have plans to deal with them.” He added while the empress began to walk back the way they came, annoyed for having to come down here in the first place.
"Whatever your plans are, just remember to keep the project I assigned you as your main priority." She demanded of him with a side glare back to him. Viktor chuckled and bowed his head to the Empress.
“As you command my Empress~.” Viktor said with a smirk as the Empress nodded at him with a frown still. With a snap of her fingers, two guards flanked either side of the Empress and escorted her out, leaving Viktor to himself. The mechanical menace smirked, his project nearing completion. "Soon… I'll have a worthy successor… and she'll take the throne." Viktor thought to himself with a little chuckle before leaving the large prison halls.
Author's Note
Hope y'all are enjoying this as much is we did making it
