Chapter 1: Beginnings

"I'm... gonna die now."

A girl with long white hair, face red and tears building up in her eyes softly cries as she laid on the ground, her arms and lower legs broken, her bones almost crushed to powder.

The terrain is filled with debris and rising ash, like that of a city which was just swept by a powerful tornado. It was like a barren wasteland of jagged hills and slightly arched stalagmite like structures, with a large mountain in the distance. This was a place largely referred to as the outlands.

The girl is surrounded by multiple heavily breathing creatures. Each standing at a towering height of 12 feet, with none uttering a single word, only staring at the girl with bloodlust in their eyes. They have a similar stature to werewolves from old folktales.

"I don't want to die now... please..."

The girl cries as a small stream of tears run down her cheeks. Nonetheless one of the creatures raises up its arms, about to deal a killing blow.

FWHSSHH!

Before the monsters could move another inch suddenly a dark figure dashes by blowing holes through each of the creatures. They all flop to the ground with their impacts kicking up a considerable amount of dust into the air.

There's a moment of silence as the girl's vision blurs and fades as she sees the dark figure right in front of her, staring down at her with eerie white eyes that pierce through the veil of dust which filled air.

'G-grim reaper...' She thought.

Barely conscious and being too weak to open her eyes anymore the girl could faintly hear sounds and barely put together images of what she thought was going on in her head.

She could hear sounds of a brief scuffle happening right after closing her eyes before everything goes silent again, being able to hear nothing else but her heartbeat slowing down more and more.

Moments after she feels her body getting picked up from the pool of blood she was laying in. She could hear the footsteps of whoever or whatever was carrying her go on for what felt like an hour, as the unimaginable pain she felt began to reduce gradually.

After what felt like hours the girl could feel the atmosphere getting colder, like she was being carried up a mountain.

Not long after, she fully goes unconscious succumbing to her wounds. Her mind goes blank, her heartbeat slows down to a crawl, her last thought being "what's happening?"

Everything goes pitch black for a while before the girl slowly opens her eyes again. She finds herself in a fairly spacious room with various computers and machinery on the walls, ceiling and even on the floor.

She sits up, confused, slightly disorientated and very anxious. A minute went by as she just kept looking at all the different machines around her, most of which she had never seen or heard of before.

There was also a small couch and mini fridge placed near the walls that looked incredibly out of place for a room so technologically advanced.

Just then a door a couple feet away by her side opens up and a robot walks in. It was towering over her at a height of 1.98 meters.

The girl's expression changed from confused to anxious.

"W-wh-where am I, who- what are you?"

"You are in the dome. More specifically my lab."

"Wh- what's the dome?"

She asked with a whimpering tone.

" It's a remote facility I built." The robot replies.

The girl instinctively takes a thorough look at herself.

"What did you do to me?"

"In order to save your life, I had to replace your arms and lower legs with Bionic parts that I built. Your original limbs were broken beyond repair when you were attacked."

"I'm... going to be like this forever...?"

The girl asks anxiously, but the mysterious robot doesn't respond to her.

"Why are you looking at me like that... I.. want to go please let me go!"

She covers her face with her hands as she begins to cry.

Right then a shadowy figure sighs as he gets up from the small couch across the room and walks towards the crying girl. He keels with his left knee down in front of her.

"Hey. What's your name?" He asks.

The young man didn't seem human. Infact, he was completly pitch black, the only differently colored part of his body being his white face with eerie black eyes. He was like a living shadow, wearing jogger pants and a not so white t-shirt.

Elena moves her arms from her face and gradually stops her crying. Trying to get a read of the strange man or thing kneeling infront of her and looking her in the eyes she stares at him.

Unable to get a read on his feelings due to his blank expression she reluctantly answers his question.

"My name is Elena, I'm 16 years old."

He didn't ask for her age but she felt the need to tell him, with the thought of this strange man doing something bad to her subconsciously at the back of her mind.

He gets up and outstreches his hands

"My name is Adam. I'm.. atleast 18 years old.

This is Rex"

He says as he points at the robot in the room.

Elena was too anxious to properly process what kind of answer that was. She looks at Adam and Rex for a while before she reluctantly takes Adam's hand. He helps her get down and steady her new feet.

"You saved me from the monsters. Thank y-"

"You're human. What are you doing in the outlands?"

Adam asks with a slight scowl as he cuts her off. He seemed annoyed for whatever reason.

Elena instinctively takes a slight step back.

"I.. I lived in luna city with my parents. We were taking a short route through the outlands when travelling before we had an accident. The monsters came and attacked us and my parents told me to run while they fought them off. I ran deep into the forests but I was chased down by three other monsters. They caught me and almost killed me... until you saved me."

"..."

"Thank you for saving me... I know my parents are already gone and I have nothing left now."

Adam squints his eyes in anger seemingly because of what Elena just said.

"Rex will teach you how to use your new limbs. You can leave here anytime you want to" He explains before he turns to walk out the door.

"Wait... I-" Elena wanted to try talking with Adam more to get a read on him but he ignored her, walking out. She wasn't sure what to do next. It seemed her saviours were annoyed to have her around and she still wasn't sure if she could trust them or stay with them any longer.

She turns to Rex.

"I.. want to go. Can I go..?"

"You're free to leave whenever you'd like. Although I'd recommend eating something first. Your glucose levels were very low when I checked."

Rex gestures towards a monitor beside him. But Elena declines.

"No thanks. I just wanna go."

The Dome was a hemisphere like structure at the top of a large mountain in the outlands. Rex showed Elena the exit where she left through. He offered to fly her down the mountain but she declined.

An hour passes by as Elena descended from the mountain through rough roads and long slopes before she finally reaches the bottom.

'That was a long walk down... yet.. I don't feel even a bit tired. I guess that's a perk of being a cyborg now. Hopefully those guys won't change their minds and ask for the parts back' She thought.

Elena tried calming herself down by taking deep breaths as she kept going in a straight line for the next hour. Unaware she was being followed by something or someone lurking in the shadows.

'Maybe I'll stay under one of these hills for the night...' Elena thought before she goes into the near pitch black cave. It was a bit damp but surprisingly warm and spacious. She leans back on the walls thinking of what to do next, not yet noticing the two set of red eyes piercing through the shadows from above.

Elena could feel the heavy breathing of the creature above her. As she turns to take a look the creatures swiftly jumps out from the darkness tackling into her.

"AGHAHHHHHHH!"

Elena screams as she lays under the massive monster growling at her. It was like an anthropomorphic bat creature. Even hunched over on all fours it was still 8 feet tall, as large as a truck.

The creature slowly opens its mouth revealing its Gigantic fangs and jagged teeth.

'I guess I was born to suffer... He won't save me again. I'm all alone now.' Elena thinks to herself as she closes her eyes seemingly accepting her fate as the hostile creature leans in, mouth opened wide.

THOOM!

The explosion of air around her causes Elena to forcefully open her eyes, she is met with the sight of Adam kicking the monster in the face.

He hit it so hard it's sent hurdling through the terrain, its body ripping through dozens of stony structures and boulders in its path much larger than it is.

"Whether you trust me or not is irrelevant. You have only two choices, take the chance with me or die out here by yourself."

"..."

"Only one of those choices hold a chance of you not losing your life. Are you gonna take it?"

Adam gives Elena his hand kneeling in front of her like he did earlier.

Without saying anything Elena takes his hand once more as he helps her get up.

She looks him in the eyes trying to get a read on him again.

"..."

"...."

"...why do you keep staring at me like that?"

Adam asks leaning closer to Elena's face as he squints his eyes annoyedly.

"Uh.. nothing I just... why did you scowl at me earlier?"

"Huh-"

BOOM!

A Sonic boom echos throughout out the outlands interrupting Adam and Elena's conversation as the now furious bat creature rockets towards Adam at the speed of sound, claws up.

Adam quickly raises his arms to guard as he's tackled into the ground, the impact carves a large crater into the ground causing a plume of dust to rise up instantly.

"Adam!"

Elena exclaims worriedly, surprised by the creature's speed and power.

Hundreds of blows are exchanged between Adam and the creature within each passing second as the shockwaves generated blow away the dust and debris around them, pushing Elena back more and more.

"HHRRRRRRRAWARR!"

"Really? I thought we were really starting to get along."

The creature growls as they clash fists generating a large shockwave that pushs them away from each other.

'Is he... talking with it?' Elena thinks.

"The girl's already been through a lot. She's not on the menu"

The creature ignores Adam before letting out an intense sonic scream, forcing Elena to cover her ears.

Seconds after, a dozen scrawny bat like creatures from the sky, all a bit smaller than their summoner but still much taller than the average person, land around the battlefield surrounding Adam and Elena.

"Why don't we calm down for a second..." Adam says to the creature which seemingly understood him. It angrily replies with a growl as it stomps one of its large hands forward.

"Wait! I- I didn't mean to bother you I just didn't have anywhere to go! I'm sorry for disturbing you I promise I won't do it again! Please stop fighting!"

Elena apologises as she gets on her knees putting her hands together to beg before the angry creature, hoping it would somewhat understand her.

"You!..." The creature exclaims as it grits its large teeth at her.

Elena quickly raises her head up in shock, confused. She just heard the monster talk.

"...I hate when my prey begs. Leave this place at once and never come back."

Elena tilts her head in disbelief.

"...eh?"

"Leave before I change my mind human filth. The same goes for you Adam."

The seemingly out of control feral creature suddenly stands upright with perfect posture, proudly covering itself with its wings.

"We won't bother you again."

Adam says as he walks towards Elena and holds her by the wrist.

The now composed creature walks up to Adam as they stare each other in the eye.

"And if you do, that will be the last time."

As if instinctively the other creatures called fly away, back into the sky as their leader returns to it's cave.

"...Did that monster just talk...? And how does it know your name?"

"I've known him for a while. He calls himself Kura."

"Kura?"

"Yeah. I stumbled upon this place too in the past and he tried to kill me."

"You think he's a mutant? Or disaster born?"

"He's disaster born.. according to Rex. It's strange. He's more self conscious than any disaster born I've come across. Ever since we first met and he saw I wasn't a threat to him, he hasn't tried to kill me since then. Even now I could tell he was holding back. The first time we fought I could barely keep up."

"How did you get him to let you go the first time?"

Elena asks curiously.

"I can be very persuasive." Adam says as he tried to look smug. It was pretty hard to tell as he lacked a mouth but Elena managed to decipher.

She looks at Adam in disbelief and as he stares back at her.

"...We fought for hours until I just left."

"That sounds more like you."

Adam stares at her annoyedly again.

"So. What are you going to do now?"

"It's like you said. The only chance I have to stay alive is if I trust you. So I'll trust you. Even if it means I only get to live a little longer than I would out here by myself."

They look each other in the eye for a moment.

"You can let go off my arm now"

"Sorry."

Adam says as he let's go and walks past her.

"Let's go. It's getting late. We wouldn't want to get caught by a pack of Razor hounds"

"W- wait up! What are razor hounds?"

Elena asks anxiously as she runs towards Adam's side to walk by him.

"They're like wolves but 10 times uglier and faster. Don't worry, even you could fight off a pack with your new bionic parts"

"Me?! I don't know how to fight...."

"I could teach you if you're up for it."

"..."

"You can do anything if you give it your all. Trust me."

Elena doesn't respond for a moment.

"I.. I guess I could try. Fine. Teach me how to fight. Teach me to be strong like you."

Adam crosses his arms behind his head.

"Great. We start tomorrow morning. You can rest for the night."

Elena's stomach rumbles loudly, it suddenly hit her, she hasn't eaten anything all day.

"Rex could make you something to eat when we get back."

"The robot?"

"He may not look like it, but he makes great lasagna."

"I... love lasagna."

"You can have lasagna for dinner everyday if you want."

"Uh... thanks"

Adam couldn't tell, but Elena smiled for the first time in a while.

"... so uhh why did you scowl at me earlier?"

Elena asks as she looks at him. Adam could tell she was angry despite her still smiling.

"You don't hesitate to ask awkward questions it seems."

"Nope." Elena replies proudly.

"I wasn't scowling because of you... when you mentioned your parents it reminded me that I don't really have any."

"Oh... sorry."

"You don't have to apologise. I have a lot of issues."

"Well if there's ever anything you want to talk about... you can tell me. I'll be your Mommy."

Adam suddenly stops.

"What's wrong?"

"...thanks." Adam replies as he lowers his head.

Elena instinctively lightly hugs Adam as he lowers his head even more to hug her back with one of his arms. They stay like that for a while in silence.

Elena slowly stops hugging him.

"You oddly smell like lemons... and peaches." She says as she pokes Adam's chest.

Adam's eyes slightly widened in shock.

"...did you sniff me?"

Elena puts her hands behind her back.

"Let's go!" She replies, completely ignoring his question.

Adam stares at her for a bit as she walks towards the sunset before he shrugs and joins her side.

The sun sets as they head towards the dome.