First time in the yellow room - 1774, JULY 10th
From the dark, shadowy scratches slowly began to reveal reality. In this place stood an old box television set; complete with giant antenna, dials, and fabric covered speakers. The channel it was stuck on had vertical bars of colors with monochromatic black and white squares below; producing a loud high pitch. The television sat on an old black table, and behind it was wallpaper similar to that of President Edward’s room. There was no purple on this wallpaper and at its bottom was a wall strip with little boats engraved into it.
Following the wall westward, behind the television, lead to a archway. Beyond this archway was a blue room similar to the kitchen were Noche and her mom had a cookie dough fight so long ago. Eastward, one would find a suit of black armor designed for a knight; hidden in the corner. A giant lance even bigger than the armor resided next to it; with an anchor chained to its hilt. In front of this television was a table which had the red ushanka hat from when Noche’s childhood. Beyond this table was a red couch where Noche herself currently sat.
Wearing an eggshell blue medical gown, she was covered from chin to toe in bandages, and her hair was shortened to below her chin. Behind her was two figures that appeared to be her mother and father, except with one difference. Upon their faces resided not an expression, but a perfect copy of the image presented on the tv. From the color, layout, light, and high pitch noise. These two beings were intently staring at Noche, who sat motionlessly on the couch as her glazed over eyes stared distantly into space.
Hung upon the wall behind Noche, and the parental figures, was a collection of items. A lighthouse nightlight, a portrait of Professor Grim, a skin mask of Edward’s face, a page ripped out from the Creeps chapter in the fairytale book, the lighthouse bookmark, a letter from Noche’s parents, a black rectangular sword with a golden lighthouse themed hand guard, a family Polaroid photo of Noche as a toddler with her parents, and a little table stool that had the green fairytale book resting on top. Following the wall to the south side of the room led to a long hallway which gradually changed from yellow to blue. Here at its end was a door very similar to Noche’s room as a toddler and above this door was a water stained ceiling; still dripping copious amounts of water as if it was holding back a flood.
"BZZZZZTTTTTT"
This sound reverberated throughout the yellow room as Noche's remaining hair fell off in heaps; slowly leaving her bald. Time passed by rapidly as Noche sat still. At near supersonic speeds, her hair grew back as the TV parents moved behind her in a blur; Noche was motionless all the while. Endless time passed, Noche grew taller and taller, changing from teenager to adult. Her hair was strong vibrant gold and it curled up like spikes near the back of her head. She had two long bangs on the side of her face and they sharply curled at their ends like fish hooks. Noche’s neck looked weak and her shoulders were slightly broad. Finally her iris, though slightly blurred, was the same intense color as her hair.
"R E T A Y S F O V E R"
This sound echoed throughout the world... Just before the fake TV parents instantly vanished and the entire room transformed from energetic yellow to somber blue.
"This world lies."
These words were barely visible in the corner of the room; outside of Noche’s eyesight. They slowly drifted around the corner, across the collection of assortments on the wall, and towards the side of the room not yet mentioned; the side with a front door. This door had a half oval window at its top, with a sun beam themed metal engraving holding each pane of glass. Underneath the door's oval was two intense looking waves, almost in the form of tentacles. In the midst of these waves was a peep hole. Bottom of the door was an old mail-drop flap. Next to the door was a large living room window. Near this window, leaning against the wall, resided a yellow rowing oar with black handle. From this window a ray of light was slowly approaching.
You’re not sleeping.”
These words appeared faintly between the ceiling and the top of the wall behind Noche. A wave of blinding light appeared from the window and it awoke Noche from her stupor. She threw herself across the couch with a scream and covered her eyes.
“But are you awake?" Replaced the previous words.
Leaning up to look at the fading light, which shone faintly through the door window, Noche stood up curiously. She did not notice the two mysterious beings standing behind her. On the left was a being that appeared to be a combination of a street lamp and a grim reaper. On the right appeared to be a monster that constantly changed form; but always maintaining a big grinning maw full of jagged teeth.
Noche walked towards the door, right as the light came round once more; basking all in its ray. Approaching the door slowly, the light passed by her a third time as her left hand hovered above the knob. The door was flung open and before her was a wide, cardboard like, ocean that appeared almost like a small planet. Despite the paper cut out appearance, it roared and crashed among the shore like normal waves would.
In the center of this blue marble stood the origin of the light source. A massive gold and black lighthouse, residing on a small island. A dirt path surrounded by cattail plants lead directly to it from the door. The cold sea salt wind caused the fuzzy flowers to sway around it. Stars above appeared similarly to a simple five-pointed kind a child would draw out of glowing chalk; rather than motes of light. The cosmos were a blend of vibrant pink wisps and deep violets; the only natural thing to appear normal.
At the base of the lighthouse was a ancient door made of warped wood, with nearby planks extending into the stone of the lighthouse; as if replacing its existence. Before more could been seen by Noche, the golden beam of light came round once again and encompassed her; turning all that could be seen into a blur of white.
"Hits LoRwD ELiS"
"Ku Wape"
"Noche".
Noche wakes up in tube - 1774, JULY 10th
Noche floated in a tube of glowing blue Grim gel; an oxygen mask attached to her face. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide as the liquid drained rapidly. The glass doors slid open and she fell out. Prone on the ground, she coughed and adjusted to the atmosphere. After her coughing fit, she gazed about the monochromatic room. Nearby was a room-flooding light, coming from a wide-open doorway. As she stood, legs shaking, she began to walk towards the door; her few small injuries visibly healing slowly.
Alarms blared loudly mere moments later. Noche raced down the hallways, not knowing where she was going or what was happening. She stumbled into an elevator as the doors closed around her. It zoomed up, and when it opened again she ran out in a confused panic. Not noticing how massive this room really was. Its ceiling could not be seen and her gut feeling told her it could probably be 100 miles squared. Another strange thing about this room was it felt like it has been left in disrepair for years. Rotting banners and light filled gaps in the wall were everywhere. Crumbling, fallen, pillars were scattered about the room and covered in plant life. The air was stagnant and dusty, yet there was a slight smell of activity nearby; like oil, metal, and leather.
As Noche ran throughout this room she didn’t notice how massive the elevator was in comparison to this room. It was a giant cylinder about the size of a skyscraper. Above it was three stained glass windows that made the elevator look tiny in comparison. Lastly, stuck on top of the elevator was what faintly appeared to be a massive crow feather.
Entering the nearest open hallway in the 100-mile room, Noche ran past various cells. Each one showed the status of the occupants within; most of which were labeled as scientist, engineer, or hostage. Below these labels were more information such as the person’s name, the numerical identification, and their health status; few were dead.
While the alarms blared and Noche ran without any real direction, elsewhere, inside a security room was various drained bottles of sun-e drink and a yellow coffee mug with the inscription GROSSLY PRAISIN. Near the same table, the mug and bottles resided on, was a nice red office chair that sat before many various monitoring screens. The desk itself was barren except for the mug, keyboard, mouse, and microphone. The stranger who sat in this chair took a sip from the mug as he looked at the screen. Spitting out its contents immediately, he stared in shock at the blonde-haired girl running throughout the base.
"Wait..." He said, "That’s TODAY?!"
He panicked
"I thought I had more time!"
This man had brown hair, wore an intensely vivid pair of yellow goggles with sky blue straps, and a bit of growing chin hair. His scientists jacket was white, but it contained yellow stitching and buttons. On the left side of his shirt’s collar was a small sun themed pin. With great hesitation, he reached out for the microphone... His thumb hovered over the button, but he refused to press. Then the sight of marching DeathTech soldiers, broke him from his stupor. He slammed his fist on the desk.
“DAMN IT GRIM… FINE!” He hesitated, "I'd rather another life escape, if I myself can't".
His trembling halted. He pressed the microphone button.
"NOCHE GO RIGHT!"
He shouted over the intercom. She listened.
“NOW GO STRAIGHT, WRONG WAY, LEFT, NOW RIGHT AGAIN!"
Noche blindly followed the instructions of this mysterious voice. Before she knew it, she had found herself in a room with a T shaped intersection. Directly in front of her, between the left and right intersection, were three vertical windows. Underneath them was a lump of C4 explosives. On its bright neon green screen was the word HELLO.
“SEE THAT BOMB AHEAD,” The mysterious voice yelled, “IN A FEW MINUTES IT WILL EXPLODE! WHEN IT DOES, YOU NEED TO JUMP OUT THE HOLE IT FORMS!”
Just as he said that, a familiar form turned the corner. A massive DeathTech soldier with a Gatling gun on its back, the words MOM KILLER engraved on its stock. Noche was stunned. So much so, that she didn’t notice the shadow of an anglerfish on the ground. Its shadowy jaws behind her and the antenna’s light coming from the three vertical windows… And the bomb below them.
“T-THE ANGLERFISH SOLDIER?!” The intercom shouted, “NOCHE YOU HAVE TO RUN!”
Those words did not reach her ears, as all sound slowly faded into silence; from her perspective. All she could focus on was the entity before her. She stood dazed as the anglerfish soldier raised its arm. Similar to long ago, weird energy started to form around its hand. Greens, cyans, and aqua colors swirled about and began to form mass and shape. A pistol was formed in its hand with the carving of an anglerfish upon it. With a simple pull of the trigger, a bullet whizzed right past Noche’s cheek; drawing blood.
With that, trauma began to resurface in her mind and a pinhole began to develop in the pupil of her left eye. Noche screamed in agony as she clutched her head. She made a tight fist with her left hand, causing the old bullet scar to become all the more visible. Opening her fist, energy began to swirl about the palm.
Throwing her left arm behind her, she swiveled it forward like a cannon and took aim of the being before her. A ball of energy formed an inch away from her palm, and this energy slowly became an unfathomable spinning orb of compressed water, intense winds, and crackling lightning. These three elements compressed to the size of a baseball and were shot forward with the force of a cannonball.
However, as it sped across the room, it lost much of its initial momentum. By the time it had reached the anglerfish soldier, the orb had no more speed than a mere butterfly. The anglerfish soldier paid no heed to the weak attack; instead aiming its pistol at Noche. The orb was unnoticed as it landed directly on the explosives. Similarly to the concussive force of a large firecracker, the tri-element orb exploded in a 15ft diameter. This caused the soldier to lose grip on its handgun. However, instead of falling to the ground, the handgun instead floated in mid-air. In fact, the gun began to levitate straight up, alongside with tiny orbs of water. Then suddenly, an intense vacuum force took place. It sucked in the nearby pistol, all the nearby orbs of water, and caused the the original baseball sized orb of water to reform.
Half a second later, lightning exploded from the core of this re-formed orb. The sparks struck the lump of C4, and the LED screen changed from a green HELLO to a red GOODBYE. The resulting explosion destroyed all the cameras and flooded the hallway with heavily obscuring dust; making it impossible to see anything in the chaos. From the cloud of dust the anglerfish soldier, with half its organs and a missing left arm, lunged towards Noche.
“JUST JUMP!” The intercom shouted.
Noche leaped out of the smoldering hole in the wall. The force field was fast approaching and soon she would splatter against it. However, gaps began to appear as she fell rapidly closer. They didn’t last long though, as the forcefield was already repairing itself. Tucking herself into a ball, only a few strands of hair didn’t make it as the forcefield snapped shut; barely missing her neck.
From above, the anglerfish soldier could only watch. Its eviscerated extremities, colored an alien orange, began to heal at a rapid pace. From the exposed muscle, ripped organs, and fractured bones these glowing antennas appeared and quickly knitted its body back together. With a new, perfectly repaired body, the soldier turned away from the smoldering opening and walked back into the darkness of DeathTech.
Isolated in the monitor room, the man who assisted Noche stared at the static filled monitor. He broke out a smile, with a half-hearted chuckle. A tinge of sadness hidden on his face, along with a smidge of envy and concern.
“Go see the sun…”
Behind him the doors opened. With the silence broken by the creaking metal, he turned around to see the silhouette of a humanoid with bull-horns. Meanwhile, Noche had already fallen several dozen stories and reached terminal velocity. Ocean was fast approaching, it seemed like she would land in its emerald waters. That was, until the tides retracted and revealed an array of bedrock below. The last thing she saw before impact was the massive flat rock before her.
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