Introduction

Author: Seth

"We, are creating an army. We are bringing a legend to life. We have no room for weakness." 

All was peaceful and silent. She twisted sluggishly in her confined pod, her movements inhibited by the greenish fluid that surrounded her. Stray bubbles tickled her as thy made their way upwards.

Suddenly the happy calm was broken as a sucking sound filled the tube. She slowly opened her eyes, blinded by the piercing light that seemed to surround her. The slight tug that she had started to feel earlier grew more insistent as the sluice at the bottom of her chamber fully opened. Rapidly, the liquid that had held her since her 'birth' drained away; taking with it the sense of weightlessness she had known her whole life.

A door on her capsule that she had never noticed before hissed open. Looking timidly up from where she lay, weak and shivering, she saw two dark figures blocking out the burning light she had only recently gotten used to.

"Runty looking one." One of the shadows grunted. "I still think we should have left her for another year; might've had a chance." It reached down and plucked her from the floor.

She didn't even struggle. She just felt so tired…

"Hey, orders are orders." The other shadow clamped something around her neck. "Shiro-san doesn't shell out the cash to keep any of these little guys alive unless he's got a good reason to." Peering down at the collar she now wore, she spotted a bronze tag hanging from it, the inscription 'P23' pressed into the metal, though she had no idea what it meant.

And suddenly the world was moving. Up and down, up and down until she felt as if she'd be sick. The whole while the two shadows, upon whom she could now make out labcoats, continued to make those odd sounds that she couldn't comprehend.

"Take the First, for example." The second shadow continued, gesturing into thin air. "She's still alive because she's the First, no other reason."

"Really?" The shadow carrying her shifted her slightly. "I thought we were saving her until we had specific regimes ironed out."

The second shadow snorted.

"As much as Shiro-san is loathe to admit it, all the regimes in the world wouldn't help our little breakthrough. While she has certain traits that are… curious, she's retarded on a level that renders any skills she has completely useless." The second shadow heaved a sigh. "She's not really much more than a trophy nowadays…" He perked up slightly. "We're here."

The pair of scientists with blue haired baby in tow made a sharp left through an unobtrusive matte grey door.

Inside was a tiny room, covered in various electronic devices, and dominated a large window that looked out over a vast, empty arena. The two men quickly went about their business with practiced ease, one prepping the various apparatus' and the other laying her in a small recess that she had overlooked.

"I always hate this part." The scientist that had been carrying her mumbled as he double-checked and noted down the number on her collar.

"Don't look at me." The other scientist, the gossip made a few final adjustments. "You knew what you were signing up for just as much as I did." He looked over to ensure that his comrade had finished his preparations and pressed a small button.

A transparent, perforated plastic screen slid over her, trapping her in the small space. Despite the cramped area, she actually started to calm down, comforted by the similarity to her old home.

The peace didn't last long. Somewhere off in the distance a tone started up, once, twice, thrice, and the floor fell away. Down she shot, sliding along a smooth, steel chute before flying out a small opening and landing heavily in the immense area she had briefly glimpsed before. The space was unremarkable, a circular expanse of dull grey metal, save for one thing. All around her, other children were flying out of similar holes, placed high up in the walls so that they had no chance of making it back up to them.

Peering through the dizzy haze of her brain, created by the rapid events she had just gone through, she started to make out the other figures. While they were each, in their own way, unique, every single one of the sported the same light blue hair she did.

Her thoughts were brutally interrupted as the sound spread throughout the stadium like an infection. It tore at her ears, poked at her eyes, and clawed at her skin. She fell to the floor, rolling around madly, trying to find a way, any way to make it stop.

And suddenly she stopped rolling. Slowly she raised her head as the eerie concert thrashed about her, and she knew what was happening. This was their doing. They were the ones weaving this hell for her, and the only to get rid of it was to get rid of them.

Every figure, all fifty of them shot forward as one, screaming in rage and pain.

For her, everything blurred into a hallucinogenic tapestry of flying limbs, crackling electricity, burning flesh, and above it the constant harmony of torment that refused to leave her alone.

The slaughter raged on for what seemed like hours, but in reality couldn't have been more than ten minutes.

One of her opponents almost ripped out her throat, their finger leaving a jagged slash across her right cheek as she dodged. Shrieking in pain and hate, she spun around, grabbing the back of their head as an uncontrolled torrent of electricity erupted from her palm.

Quickly letting the corpse fall she looked around wildly for her next enemy only to find none. As she stood amid the bleeding, and burning bodies, somewhere in the back of her head the song of agony slowly died, the soul wracking notes fading away as if they had never been.

A harsh light was thrown upon the grisly scene as a seamless section of the wall parted, and footsteps echoed throughout the bloody arena.

"Well I'll be damned," A familiar voice forced its way through her suddenly dull senses. "She actually made it." Slowly she turned around, and caught site of the scientist that had pulled her from her small incubating pod what seemed an eternity ago.

"I guess miracles do happen." The second followed close behind the first. "Here, catch, you've earned it." He tossed a small, brown shift to her which she caught numbly. "Welcome to the world, P23."