FSE

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Kay was dragged by chains to the lair of the alien overload. In front of her, a mutated slime monster held the end of the chain, flanked by a monster who was wearing priest clothes. The chain was made of the hide of her best friend, Vormund, but Kay felt no remorse for her traitorous friend. The mere thought of him betraying her sent pangs of rage through her body.

Glancing around, she saw the dracidons were shifting into monsters. The once blue sky was now a shade of purple. The sun was larger than normal and red. When her claws hit the ground, it felt warm and dry. Dust swarmed swirled into the air.

Kay had been captured after stealing the crystal from the slime monster, who was going to use it for his sinister experiments. For her, she was just gonna use it to reflect the red light. It was just an innocent use. Yet, she was betrayed by her friend, Vormund, who exposed things about her and was now wearing him. It almost felt like he was still alive.

From the looks that they kept shooting her, they were evidently trying to communicate with her. "Jhsaw iadjgl guh guh!" the slime monster said to her. Kay just narrowed her eyes and looked for an escape. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the monster disguised as a priest lean in and talk with him.

"Ghkjag ohc."

"Ko."

Kay bolted when they were distracted. However, before she could get far, the hide suddenly squeezed her like she was prey. Tripping, she grinded against the floor and the two monsters wasted no time in catching her. They flipped her over and starting speaking.

"DON'T COME NEAR ME, ALIENS! I CAN SEE WHO YOU ARE!" Kay shrieked, resisting their attempts to grab her. Eventually, something clanked her over the head.

--

"Is she always like this?" Illthian grumbled as Kay rubbed her head. Vormund nodded slowly.

Slowly blinking, she realized that her imagination was acting up again. The slime monster was Illthian while the other was Nalda. Vormund was not dead, but rather alive, peering at her with concern. Kay knew that if he wasn't used to it by now, disappointment would be mixed in. Eyes darting to the crowd, Kay slowly indicated to Illthian and mouthed 'alien'.

"You'll get used to it with time, Illthian," Nalda said, "We all have. Just don't be so upfront with her or you'll run into these situations all the time."

"Hmm..." Illthian held his claw under his chin, "I wonder if her actions could be explained if she has had any trauma. There are cases that this occurs when something triggers it. Was she attacked by aliens or something?"

"Oh, don't feed her imagination with aliens..." Nalda scolded.

"It's possible. There is scientific evidence." Illthian shrugged.

"Show me!" Kay suddenly announced to Illthian, peering into his eyes. Did he really say that there were signs of extraterrestrial life? Oh, how she wanted to blow them up if they planned on invading. Maybe they were friendly and flew in crystal ships.

Kay noted that he looked at Nalda and Vormund. Vormund nodded his head while Nalda did the opposite. Seeing both their reactions made Kay want to try and nod and shake her head at the same time. That thought made her ask why she did half the things she did, but who cared? It was fun.

"I believe it is Kay's call," Vor said after a moment. Kay's eyes widened like a puppy, begging Illthian to show her.

"Alright, I'll show her if she remains calm and doesn't act up when near something shiny."

"You are asking the impossible." A small smile tugged at Nalda's muzzle.

Kay growled at bit at her, but slowly brought herself up. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm herself down. It was a lot harder than it looked so she tried holding her breath. Feeling her heart pound like a hammer made her want to gasp for breath already, but nearly suffocating herself should exhaust her. Soon, she felt her heart start to slow.

Soon, she stopped holding her breath. Her heart was calm and her adrenaline wasn't trying to kill her. Looking up at everyone, she nodded. So long as nothing shiny went by, she would be fine. As much as she hated to act calm, if she got something from it, it was well worth it. Then, she could turn into a jumping ball of hyper. Glancing at Illthian, she hoped he wasn't lying; he'd regret it if he was.

When moving once again, she made sure to listen to his clawsteps. Again, they sounded like nothing organic. It was as if metal was hitting the ground instead of scales. Slowly trotting closer, she was able to hear a bit better. It was as if someone had taken a machine and planted it inside of him. Maybe she could figure out what the energy source was and build her own.

The way back was almost torture. They could have been there by now if they flew, but Illthian had insisted on walking. Now, she had to hear the metal clang over...and over...and over... again. It was irritating. Kay leaned to Vormund, motioning to lower his head.

"I think Illthian really isn't alive. Listen to his clawsteps." Kay jerked with her head to his legs.

Vor floated over to Illthian. Why he couldn't just float around Kay and listen was beyond her, but it completely threw her off guard when he started to slither on the ground like a normal snake. After a few seconds of that, he drifted back to Kay.

"I can see what you mean. His clawsteps...they feel like an armored guard's, yet there is no armor on him. Most peculiar..." Vormund stuck his tongue out again. At first Kay thought he was being rude, but then she instantly remembered that that's how he smelled.

Illthian made no indication that he heard them. Kay was thankful of this, as she really didn't want to be put on the spotlight. For some reason, she expected him to turn into a giant robot out of nowhere. It would have been so amazing that she would have flailed in excitement before running.

On the subject of robots, she knew that they existed, yet had never personally met one. She wondered what they knew. Maybe they could explain how they were made so she could make one. Kay would have loved to have a personalized robot, but then she would have felt like she was neglecting Vormund. Perhaps asking about more crystals would be logical...

Soon, they reached the place where the crystal originally was. The guards instantly leapt to their claws and went to apprehend Kay. To her surprise, Illthian stuck his wing out to guard her. There, she got a good look at it. It looked like any normal wing, yet she couldn't help but notice that it seemed...off. Instinctively, she reached up to touch it. Unfortunately, Illthian moved it away.

"Sir...why are you defending her? She could have ran off and sold it!" the guard who had the luck to have Kay bounce off of his head asked. She glared at the bat.

"I would not!" Kay stormed forward and poked the guard in the chest with her wing. "I don't have a use for gold. I just wanted it because it was shiny."

Faster than the sun reflected the light off of one of her crystals, the guards had surrounded her. Confused, she turned to Illthian, who was pushing them aside. Vormund glided to her, his body shaped like a circle to stop anyone from getting close. Nalda just kinda...stood there. Then again, she was old and likely couldn't take the guards.

"Enough. I've heard enough about her to understand she has no dark motives." Illthian stood in front of her, "She's actually the one I've been looking for."

A gasp from the guards puzzled both Kay and Vor. Exchanging glances, they turned to Illthian. Nalda looked a bit surprised as well. Illthian was the only one who seemed to know what was going on. Motioning her to follow him, Illthian walked over to a piece of machinery that looked like a pillar twice the size of her (width and height).

Curiously, Kay raised her claw to touch it, but pulled back. It felt weird to even be near it. The way that it hummed sent shivers down her spine. Searching for reassurance, she saw Illthian nod. Vormund gave a slight one as well. If he didn't sense any danger from it, then touching it shouldn't kill her. With a sigh, she reached out and touched it.

As soon as her claw touched the cold metal surface, a tingling feeling shot up her claw and to her spine. Was it trying to identify her DNA? If that was the case, maybe she could learn what happened to her family. Aliens could wait; if she was close now, she was gonna get that answer.

"REGISTERING...ZYRNOTH I. PRIDEWING." The machine suddenly said to the confusion of Illthian, Vor, and Kay. Nalda was behind them, so Kay couldn't see her reaction.

"That's not right..." Illthian grumbled, pressing a small nub on the side. Suddenly a screen appeared and asked for a name. "Say your full name out loud."

Kay was half tempted to forget the 'la' part of her name, but decided set a good picture into Illthian's mind. "Kayla J. Pridewing."

While the machine processed that, Illthian approached her. "Are you really a Pridewing? I thought that family chain died out hundreds of years ago."

"Hundreds...?" Kay whispered to herself. She couldn't have been out this long. What happened to make her family chain just...vanish? Shaking her head, she didn't dwell on it. There was no possible way that she could be over a hundred years old. Nothing scientific worked that way. Maybe if he had more of these machines, she could ask them.

"REGISTRATION COMPLETE. WELCOME KAYLA J. PRIDEWING." the robotic voice beeped. Suddenly, it opened itself up and seemed to beckon her inside.

Once again, she looked at the others. Illthian encouragingly led her inside, Vormund wrapping around Kay once more. The machine didn't seem to pick Vor up. However, Nalda remained still, waving with her wing. "I can't come with you, Kay. Don't worry, I entrust Illthian will take very good care of you. He and I go back a long time..."

Before Kay could reply, the machine shut and everything went dark...

--

When Kay could see again, she felt like she was in the future. She was in a place where machinery ruled, plants grew in tubes, and everything was metal. Stepping out, Kay saw that it was reminiscent to a giant laboratory. She had been in one once, but nowhere as sophisticated as this. The green floor was cold yet warm; the sensation made it feel awkward on her claws.

"You like?" Illthian asked, stepping out from behind her.

"Where are we? I don't remember moving anywhere..." Kay asked in wonder. At the same time, she felt sad. For some reason, she felt like she was far away from home.

"I transported us to where I work." Illthian walked past her, "Do you have a guess how we got here if we felt no movement?"

Kay felt her body freeze for a moment. There was only one logical way that they could have came here; "Your alien technology made our molecules disperse so we could travel faster and put us back with no injuries."

Illthian blinked before laughing, "I was right in selecting you..."

"Selecting me for what?" Kay inquired.

"You see, this laboratory is quite large and I can't be two places at once. I need someone to aid me in a few...issues I need taken care of. More or less, you are now my apprentice..."