//------------------------------// // Nobody's good to bad day pt2 // Story: Life of a Nobody // by Xinrick //------------------------------// The wait for our captors was long, boring, and really uneventful as me and Mike just sat around waiting for whoever the fuck we were supposed to wait for. “My god this is boring.” I grumble. “Welcome to jail.” Mike said. “You, Zeke, whichever, have been in jail before?” I asked. “Nine times, three times I… er, we? We I guess, broke ourselves out. FIrst self breakout, classic laundry shoot jump, second, stole a guard's keycard, and last time we managed to knock out some guards and caused a riot as we made it to the parking lot… delivering an armored swat car to the family while we were at it. Heh, dad and mom were proud. We called in a favor to a makeup artist and managed to go to Disneyland.” “Now while breaking out of prison is a bad thing that actually sounds hilarious.” I chuckle. “Yeah. Looks the guards had when the last time it was Solitary I broke out of was the best laugh I had. Thankfully, being a Ventral, with red eyes no less, gave me a rep without needing to earn it. So some trades and… a few stolen bullets later I managed to blow the lock off. Since no guards usually checked on solitary, most I alerted was the smoke detector… that’s how the riot started. Smoke alarm triggered some safety protocol and the cell doors everywhere opened up.” “That’s basically the best way to get out, during a massive riot.” I chuckle. “But it’s a double edge sword if any ‘break out’ movies told me anything.” “Oddly enough I wasn't in a car chase after that though. Not sure how, I know guards saw me hijack the truck so maybe they thought the riot was more important than an escaping prisoner?” “They probably thought ‘again?’.” I say, pretending I was a guard that was tired of having a Ventral, yet again, breaking out of prison. “To be perfectly honest you’d think the police would just stop after the first few times you break out...maybe they just found the definition of ‘insanity’ after the hundredth time a Ventral broke out.” I joke “We don’t get arrested that much. Only, myself included… Zeke too I guess, nine Ventrals in our family history have been arrested. Four of which were the only ones to be executed after arrest.” “I think I remember one Ventral that got arrested with a smile on his face, went to juvie and then proceeded to kill guards, than warden, and went straight back to being a jack hole.” “Was likely my brother Dillen… psycho takes the term megalomaniac to a whole other level.” “I think it was someone different because the place was still standing and too many people inside were still alive.” I say, trying to remember that one person’s name. “Ah fuck it. Who cares right now…” The door to our ‘cell’ opened as a…a…a Nage male slithered in here. “So you two were at the scene of the power surge?” He asked. His human half was armored, and his snake half was half covered in some type of armor. “And who might you be? Cause it’s not everyday a Naga appears while two people are being held against their will.” “Naga?” He asked. “It’s a word for your kind on various worlds sir, likely during your kinds early space travels.” A guard outside the door replied. “Ah. Well I’m Doctor Grethic. And you two are here for questioning because we need to know what that power surge was?” “Okay...everything that I explain is the hundred percent truth okay?” I ask. “You sure you want to hear the...rather absurd happenings?” “My race was a predator one, I can hear your heartbeat so I’ll know if you’re lying.” He replied. “Okay so those power readings you just so happened to get was because two god like beings were fighting.” I say. “Absurd right?” “Not really. On my world we worshiped a whispering bolder for thousands of years before it finally broke open. Whispers were a god like being trapped in it. Let’s just say I’m plantless cause of the red and black eyed bastard.” “What ‘red and black eyed bastard’?” I ask worriedly. “Cause considering my line of work, I have seen...at least two people that would be happy to do such a thing.” “She was my race, but her eyes were black with red pupils like a felines. Her body was tattooed in some runes, wrapped in chains. When she broke out of the chains her tattoos practically evaporated away. It was Genocide.” “Congratulations...you’ve met a ‘Psychopath’. Now those people are actually completely different from your regular crazy people…” I sigh out. “Remember those energies? One of them was a Psychopath, the other was a man who goes out and tries to stop them…” I explain. “Well, as relieving as it is to hear someone can fight those beasts and live, this is disappointing.” “Yeah…” I sigh out. “And the two of us did about the middle ground of ‘fuck’ and ‘all’ against the bad guy. Sorry you didn’t get to meet the person that can actually fight the bastards.” I shrug. “So, what are you doing here on Equis? Seems random to find a spaceship in the middle of nowhere.” “If it wasn't obvious from the logo and the view from outside, were a hospital ship. Any ship with injuries or things of the such call out to one of us, we send out a rescue ship, treat them here and then we send them off to where we took their ships. Typical protocol.” “Makes sense.” I nod. “Mike? Any questions about this whole...situation?” “Just wondering, what made a ship this big crash?” He asked. “That is a curious thing. Did you happen to get shot down by something?” I ask. “Well, yes and no. We spotted someone, a humanoid drifting in space WITHOUT any gear. We took the body aboard but to our shock they were somehow alive. When they came too they explained someone was after them then suddenly the alarms rang. Strange sliver creatures appeared. The person of they were after managed to evade them, but they wound up in sector four C. During the fighting the primary and secondary engines blew, we only have the backup and it’s only enough to provide power, not fly the ship.” “Well...shit.” I say worriedly. “Yes, that is accurate of the situation. We were hoping this suprise energy spike was something we could use to help build a new engine and jump start the ship.” “Well sadly no.” I say. “But I know a lot of people that are willing to help you out in your time of need.” “That would be grand, but I do have a favor to ask of you two.” “And that favor would be?” “As I explained, the person who we brought from their space floating managed to hide somewhere in sector four C, but we can’t contact, nor dare we go in there.” “Right then, so we have to go into possibly Sliver infested territory to find a random person we have no idea about...what did this person look like?” I ask. “Female, brown hair with green eyes. Human, mostly, she has strange symbols tattooed on her arms and hands. Also, she seemed to be able to somehow summon a strange key looking weapon.” “Got a name?” I ask curiously, getting up and readying myself for the search. “We didn’t get the chance before those Sliver beasts appeared. But they have largely left, only reason we won’t go into sector four C is because it’s quarantine. When the ship crashed and the power was restarting, the computer reported the patients with… Necragilver, escaped.” “And that’s a deadly disease?” Mike asked. “Yes, by spit or blood the infected seem to die, then walk around with reduced brain functions. They have slowed heartbeats, so they are not the story book zombie, but it’s close.” “There fucking zombies.” I frown. “No matter if you say ‘it’s close’, or ‘it’s a fungus’, no it’s a fucking zombie and everyone knows it.” I say, still hating how people say that a ‘zombie’ can be somehow different when they are the exact fucking same. “Sorry for ranting...but anyways, want us to just cleave through the zombies and find the person?” “They are our patients, not some undead. There is a cure for them, but our ship didn’t have enough so we were going for a resupply when we found the woman and crashed.” The guards behind him gave him two futuristic looking rifles. “These are stun rifles, they’ll paralyze them patients, but I warn you, the patients despite lacking large brain functions, are fast. And no, they only bite or attack when hurt, they’re more likely to run away from you rather than attack you on sight.” “Well good to know that.” I nod while grabbing the rifle and checking it over. “Uh...Mike? Mind showing me how to actually use a rifle properly? I...never used a gun before.” I say nervously, which is funny because I use thirteen different weapons. As we were walked over to the entrance to quarantine, Mike showed me how to fire the rifle as it was not much different from a regular rifle. Once we got to the entrance we walked through a decontamination chamber and then we were in quarantine. It was still very well lit, no blood or dead bodies like in zombie games. We saw one ahead of us and when they spotted us they bolted away from us. “Huh, so the doc wasn’t lying.” Mike said. “They are fast. Think you can keep up?” I ask, knowing I could keep up with that speed surprisingly enough. “This isn’t a shoot-em up Ben, they’re just sick, scared people. Let’s find this woman and get out of here.” “I was just asking in case we had to actually fight.” I say simply. “But yeah, let’s just hurry up and find her…” I say, moving carefully through the place. As we walked we came across more and more of the sick people, who tried to run or hide from us. We found one locked door, to which Mike managed to break down. Inside was a rather ransacked looking room. “This was the only locked door so far.” Mike said out loud. “Hello?” I call out, hoping someone was in there. “W-w-who’s there?” A female voice asks shakily, the fear in her voice blatantly obvious. “We’re friends.” I say gently. “Come on, you can come out.” “Fine.” She answered, but to my surprise she dropped from the ceiling, she knocked the wind out of me before yelling “Stop!” I managed to look up, Mike had the stop spell clock over him and she was pointing…a Kingdom Key at my face. “Talk or I’ll gut you.” She threatened. “Here we are, trying to get you out of a zombie infested area, and you immediately decide to attack us…” I frown, summoning Reunion and readying it. “As I said, we’re friends.” “That’s what the one with the blank face mask said, then he kidnaps my son and kills my husband.” I groaned, pulling back my hood and showing my face. “See? No weird mask being worn by an asshole.” I say. “For the third time, we’re here to help you out. Who are you?” She removed the Kingdom Key from my face, and let me get up. “Name is Skyla.” “Nice to meet you Skyla, the names Ben. The person that you just stopped is Mike, he’s a friend of mine. But who was your husband and son?” I ask honestly. “My husband was named Greg, and my son is named Sora.” “Oh...shit.” I frown. “Um...maybe that’s….” I take a deep breath. “Fuck.” I groan before pinching the bridge of my nose. “Can we get out of here first? I think it would be best if we talked without there being zombies around here.” “Sure, let’s wait for your friend to come off the spell first.” After Mike was no longer under the Stop spell Skyla, Mike and I were in the mess hall, eating some pizza, surprisingly, and I started asking Skyla questions. “Okay before all of this.” I start, while motioning to the ship we were in. “What do you last remember?” “Running from those silver creatures in this place that looked like a rocky, sandy place where it was always night time.” She replied. “I heard them as 'Slivers’ but you say 'silver’. Also this is a space hospital.” I say to her. “I figured. All I know about them is that the man in the mask can make them appear, along with some dark creatures, and some more colorful but still dangerous ones, each seem to carry a symbol on their bodies though.” “That sucks…” I sigh out. “But you're thankfully safe now.” “My safety is unimportant. I need to find my son.” “About that…” I say nervously. “I don't know if this is true but either three things happened to him…” “If you know anything, talk.” She spoke, a touch of anger in her tone. “This is all a guess but it's either, A, he joined that blank masked bastard. B, he's long dead, or C, he is somewhere with friends and being a hero.” I explain. “First off, the blank masked man kidnapped him, I saw it. Second, that better not be the case… it can’t… and lastly he’s only six.” “You weren't with him after he was kidnapped. I hope he's not dead...and time is a finicky bitch.” I say. “Kinda hard when a fat monster is holding you back. All I know is that after this, dark portal thing the man dragged him into closed that fat monster was about to kill me, then this light appeared and it was gone, I was alone in my son’s bedroom holding this.” She summoned the Kingdom Key. “A bunch of other monsters started attacking everywhere. I managed to kill some, but was knocked out. When I came too, I was in this place called Joto.” “Okay then.” I nod. “Well you certainly have a story...Mike? Any questions?” “How did you end up in space without a suit?” Mike asked. “I met someone in a dream my first night on that other world. He was… unique.” Skyla said. “How so?” I ask curiously. “He was… rather old, spoke about the fact my world was taken by darkness and that this… Keyblade, he called it, could help me fight it. He wore a blue robe and had a long white beard.” “Did he also have a pointy hat?” I ask. “It was crooked at the top, plain blue same as his robes and he did have glasses.” “Well...you might have met Yen Sid...but I don't remember him wearing glasses.” I shrug. “Whoever he was, he told me how to use the Keyblade to travel between worlds, and I did. For the past two months I’ve been searching and finally I run back into the masked man, I wind up in some everlasting night world and am attacked left and right by monsters.” “Did you see a sign saying what town you were in?” I ask, feeling like she went to Traverse town. “There was no town, only rocks, sand, a series of roads, and monsters everywhere.” “Oh dear…” I mutters. “Please, continue.” “I found some kinda jail looking place, so many people… I searched for Sora but guards and monsters found me, then some small person in a black version of your cloak jumped me, opened a dark portal and threw me in. I woke up on this ship when I came too. Not even sure when I passed out.” “Damn…” I frown. “That sucks...well at least now you're on a world where 'sunshine and rainbows’ is more in the literal sense.” I say honestly. “I’ll consider moving after I find my son.” She said sarcastically. “I have to find him… he’s all I have left now…” “I hope I'm wrong…” I sigh out. “But anyways I'd recommend settling down for a bit okay? You need rest even after...all this crap.” “I’ll rest when I’m dead….and even then, I’ll haunt the mother fucker for stealing Sora.” “Oi vey…” I sigh out. “But dying would be a bad idea.” She sighed, looking me dead in the eyes. “You can’t understand… you’re not a parent, and if you are, then you’re not a good one if you won’t die to find them when they’re lost.” “You know, if I didn't just become a father I would have slapped you really hard and you wouldn't be able to stop me.” I frown. “Then start learning how to care.” She got up, opening a DTL with the Kingdom Key. “When you’ll die for your kids, smiling the whole time, find me.” She walked into the DTL, it closing behind her quickly. “That was a massive waste of fucking time.” I frown. “Good to know Sora’s mom is alive but...Sora’s kind of...dead.” I sigh out. “I don't know a hundred percent but Ventus is awake...so him being alive is kind of slim.” “She’s a parent.” Mike said, patting me on the back. “She’ll refuse truth till the end. She’s not wrong though…” Mike got up. “You are a father now, right now to kids, one in law and one adopted, you felt guilty for her mother's death, so imagine how she feels, failing to protect her son, the most important part of parenting.” “Well I wouldn't know because one is legally about 30 mentally, and the other is a part of a family of mass murderers.” I say simply. “Was.” Mike corrected. “She’s yours now, treat her as such.” “Listen how about I get passed the bajillion things alright?” I sigh out. “Got too much shit to do and less time to do it.” “One thing at a time then.” Mike said, walking off. I sighed out. They’re not wrong either. I still need to master the rest of my weapons, get hitched somewhere along that road, and now it seems learn how to be a dad properly…might wanna talk to Zeke about that one. “One thing at a time? Fuck you.” I grumble bitterly, knowing that, even if he was right, it was fucking impossible for me. “Not in my life.” I sigh out before heading off, readying myself to just head on home and try to think about the fuck load of things I have to do. To be continued...