Fighters for the Gods

[Treasure]

Asher woke with a sudden start. He'd had the strangest dream! He'd been walking down the street trying to avoid attention, and then something... what was it? He couldn't remember exactly, but there had been a thing in the sky that had snatched him into some sort of alien room and then... he'd been washed and dressed and met someone... it was all blurry and fuzzy. He let out a sigh. At least it was just a dream, and here he was, safe and sound in the inn room.

He sat up and looked around. This... was not the inn.

A bare, neutral, sparse room greeted his eyes. A tan rug the same color as the walls covered most of what looked like a dull wooden floor. A small window in the center of one wall with some sort of filament over it let in a surprising amount of light while fuzzing out anything that might be on the other side. A desk with a wooden chair sat under the window with a neat stack of papers and two pencils. The bed he sat on stood in the corner with a trunk at the foot, and an identical bed stood on the opposite wall. Two doors broke the monotony of the walls. One looked like maybe a closet door, and the other had no handle on the inside. Beyond that... there was nothing.

He rose slowly and slipped out of the bed, standing on the cold floor. He was wearing what felt like a thin, breathable shirt and grey trousers with an elastic waist and no shoes. He felt like he was wearing some kind of sleepwear. His foot knocked something, and he looked down to see a pair of thin, indoor shoes waiting for him. He ignored them for now and padded over to the smaller door and opened it. A water closet. Not what he'd been expecting, but it looked functional with a small toilet and a showerhead off to one side. Not at all glamorous, but functional.

And none of this answered... where was he??

 

[Jas]

Zane struggled. He had no idea where he was or how he got there. After the first wave that Zane electrocuted, men in rubber suits had come into the shower to wash and dress him. Now they had him pinned down under the stream of water, and the boy was simply overpowered. But still he refused to give up.

That is, until he was hit over the head from behind by a club and his body fell limp.

---

The door to the room opened and two men in rubber yellow clothing tossed an unconscious boy on the mattress across the room from Asher's. They turned and shut the door without acknowledging the blood mage's presence.

It wasn't for another half an hour that the newbie started to stir. He shot up in the bed and looked around for his assailants. Not finding them, he found Asher instead.

"What the hell do you want from me!?" the elemental screamed at the mage.

 

[Treasure]

Asher sat on the bed with his knees drawn up to his chest, arms looped loosely around his legs as he watched the sleeping form. When the newcomer shot up after an eternity of silence, Asher started violently then calmed only to have the newcomer scream at him, demanding answers from him. He waited for a moment, expression calm, as his heart beat wildly in his chest.

"Why do you think I want anything from you?" he asked, his quiet voice a sharp contrast to the other's screaming. He did not want to get on the bad side of this one, but until he knew a little more of what was happening, he dared not give anything away.

 

[Jas]

Asher's calm demeanor disarmed Zane. He took a moment to look around and realized he was no longer in the shower. Instead, he seemed to be in a just-too-small dormitory. The boy across from him (are those elf ears?) was probably about the same size as him, maybe slightly bigger, and seemed to be wearing nondescript clothing--enough to cover his need of clothing, but with no bells nor whistles. He looked down at himself and found that his school uniform, which he'd been wearing when he was... abducted? Or, no... Was that a dream?...

Zane visibly slumped and shook his head sharply.

His school uniform had been replaced with identical garb to the elf's.

"I'm sorry," he finally offered, rubbing the back of his head. His fingers traced a bump, likely from where he was knocked unconscious. "I can get a little out of control sometimes. And last thing I remember before waking up in this bed was fighting some orderlies or something in the shower. I guess my natural reaction was to assume I was still in danger.

"We got off on the wrong foot, I'm afraid." The younger boy stood and offered his hand. "My name is Zane."

 

[Treasure]

Asher did not take the hand. It could be dangerous to touch an unknown being. Still, he inclined his head, trying to appear respectful. "Greetings, Zane. I am Asher." He glanced toward the window. "It is good to meet an..." An what? Ally? That was a bit much to presume on Asher's part. "To meet someone who does not wish to instantly kill me," he decided on. "Once you have established that I have no desire to kill me, that is."

Slowly, he unfolded from the bed and stood, still keeping his distance from Zane. "I do not know where we are or how we got here. Do you have any more information than I do?"

 

[Jas]

Zane felt a bit foolish still holding out his hand and withdrew it, looking down at it with the barest hints of a scowl. In fairness, he had basically tried to attack Asher right before, so maybe the elf was still apprehensive about his intentions. He decided to let it go.

Zane responded to the elf's initial statement. "Everyone who meets you wants to kill you? That must be hard." He knew he shouldn't, but he let the borderline suicidal comment slide to try to ease some of the awkwardness.

"I am afraid I don't know much either. I remember... I think? I was in school. Either gym or lunch. I don't really recall anymore, but I vaguely recall being outside. It's slipping from me. Like a dream. And there are already so many holes. I remember they bathed me, and I fought back. Then I met you."

Zane offered an apologetic look. "Sorry, that's all I've got."

 

[Treasure]

Jim? What did someone name Jim have to do with anything? Then again, this "Zane" person was likely trying to accurately remember what had happened, so obviously, he would speak on things that had no bearing on Asher. Asher shook the thought and questions away, focusing on what mattered. What mattered was they both had holes in their memories.

"I was walking, I think," he said slowly, concentrating. "That, or perhaps I was asleep at the inn? I am afraid I cannot remember much, but I believe they bathed me, as well." He shuddered violently and turned away from Zane. Such an invasion of personal space!

The window caught Asher's eye again, and he carefully stepped around Asher, walking over to stand next to the desk, leaning over to try to see the window better. After a moment of awkward bending, he tried to shove the desk aside so he could get a better look at the window. The desk did not budge. He looked at it, puzzled, and tried to move it again, but it wasn't budging. He gave up and reached up to tap the window. Why could they not see out?

 

[Jas]

"Looks like it's bolted down," Zane offered. "I wouldn't be surprised if it all was. Such is often the case in a prison cell." Sighing, the boy tried to follow the elf's gaze through the window.

"Not exactly the best view, is it? Looks...fogged, perhaps?" The glass did not appear to have the texture of fogged glass, of course, but it was diffusing the light from outside in much the same way. He shook his head and crossed back to his (bed? rack? cot?).

Taking a seat, he tried to look for more information. "So you've been here longer than I have. What do you know of our predicament?" The teen feigned a smirk. "Can't devise a way out without knowing our enemy."

It wasn't a bluff, exactly. The boy did want to get out. But he was less than confident in their odds.