The Utopia Project: Dawn of the Phantoms

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===[Chapter 17: Interloper]===

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He awoke startled. Sunlight stung his eyes. His mind raced in circles. Words formed in his brain with some ideas attached behind them, though it was nothing coherent. Omar. Death. Glassface. Attack. Cato. Poisoned. Mask. Omar. Glassface. Death. Poison. Cato. Mask. Attack. Misfit…

When his brain calmed from the dream, he found himself in a dimly lit room. The light seeped in from an open window that just so happened to be placed right where Eli’s face could gaze into the afternoon sun. He sat on what had to be the floor. His entire body was sore from either overexertion, them getting their asses kicked repeatedly, or a mix of both. When the memories of last night flooded into his brain, he supposed the last one was more likely.

His breathing slowed as he looked around. The smell of farm animals permeated through the room, lingering in his nose as he tried to breathe in the stuffy air. He noticed there were loose grains of straw on the floor, and stacked against the walls were shelves and boxes full of equipment one might expect in a barn. A rake, a shovel, a hoe. A window built in high near the ceiling let in traces of daylight. From what Eli could tell, it was around noon from the bright blue skies outside. Somewhere, birds were singing the familiar tunes they always had. Even on Earth.

Eli swallowed hard, unsure of where he was, and completely lost as to the whereabouts of Misfit. He mustered himself to stand, yet it was only when his right arm reached out for balance – and they couldn’t move at all – did he realize that he had been chained. He observed his hand. A hand cuff had ensnared his right wrist, connected to the wall by a rusted iron chain that jingled ever so slightly with the sound of rust scraping against rust. His free left hand reached over to try and assist, but the cuff was key locked. He tried to force his hand to break free.

The chain thudded, screeched as metal rubbed against metal, and clanked as his arm tried to pull itself free. But ultimately, it would not budge. Eli prepared for his second go at it, but he stopped when his ears picked up the sound of something growling.

It was the intense low rumble of a lion about to strike its prey. His eyes widened with fear, afraid to even turn back to find the source. Whatever creature made the sound was in the room with him. He could hear it surrounding him.

Slowly his eyes scanned the dim interior. He spotted movement out of the corner of his vision and when his eyes landed on it fully, his heart nearly shattered with fear.

Staring him down from the far side of the room was a creature the size of a horse . Piercing golden eyes that stared into his soul, an imposing figure with the face of an eagle and the rear of a lion. Its tail hung low behind it, and it leaned forward, beak slightly agape, mere moments from striking.

A talon pushed forward and Eli scrambled backwards. Kicking the ground for traction as the beast advanced onto him. He felt the cold pressure of the wooden wall on his back with no other means to escape. Another talon from the beast landed right in front of him, mere inches away from his feet.

Eli balled into a shaking mass of fear, bracing himself to take his final breaths and to receive a fatal blow from the creature.

One which never came.

After a while of cowering, he mustered up the courage to open his eyes again. He found that the half-eagle half-lion thing, was only watching him with its golden yellow eyes. He wasn’t sure if he should look back at it. There was a tidbit of information lodged in his brain somewhere about what to do in the case of a bear attack, and looking a bear right in the eyes was a surefire sign of provocation. His eyes darted back to the ground rather awkwardly, but after a few moments of uncomfortable nothingness shared between the two they rose once more.

“Uh…hi?” He clumsily asked the creature.

The creature did not seem impressed by his self-introduction, and if anything it had slanted its eyes in a manner that seemed eerily “human”. As if it were trying to say, ‘Did you really think that would work? Idiot.’

It took a step backwards, and for a moment it seemed non-hostile. Only watching him, but with no clear intent to attack. Yet it spread its wings, opened its beak, and unleashed a loud chirp that echoed between the walls of the building and undoubtedly into the outside world.

At first there was nothing. But soon there were footsteps from outside. The sound of boots crunching against leaves and stone floors trickled in from outside. The creature perked its head up, small bundles of feathers which Eli assumed were ears stood upright. It raised its beak into the air, smelling something. It expected that they were coming, and sure enough, they arrived.

A door opened letting the full light of the outdoors filter into the room, illuminating it. Two people stood in the doorway. Both wore clothes that Eli could only describe as ancient in appearance. Leather skins, colorful beads hanging from their necks, they carried a vague resemblance to the native Americans in fashion at least. But their painted masks… the same masks that he saw yesterday…

The one with paint on their mask looked slightly taller than the other one. Their silver hair was braided rather elegantly behind their terrifying “tribal” gear. They carried a spear, walking over towards him and holding it out cautiously as if Eli would try to attack. But he wouldn’t. Especially not with that giant eagle-lion, thing staring him down. What were those things called again? Griffons?

He watched as they walked towards him. The smaller one without paint on their mask peeled off and moved towards the creature, reaching a hand to caress its feathers.

Eli said nothing as he watched the other carry a leather sack in their hands. They approached Eli, opening the sack to drape over Eli’s head. He struggled at first, but was inevitably restrained. Blinded and put once again into total darkness, save for a small tear in the bag that Eli was able to peer through.

They unlocked his wrist, freeing him from being tethered to the wall, and stood him up to walk. The language they spoke sounded familiar, almost like either French or Spanish, both of which Eli knew bits and pieces of from his travels across Europe during the Resource Wars. Yet, the words were all strange. Foreign to his ears, and likely to the Earth as a whole. They seemed annoyed if anything at having to lug him around, and judging by the tones of their voices, unbothered by the fact that they were essentially kidnapping him.

They patted him free of the dirt which clung to his prisoner’s uniform, and they began walking into the outside world. Eli tried to keep track of where he was being taken by the two through the hole in the sack. It was just tiny enough for him to make out objects and get a general understanding of what was happening around him.

They passed by wooden structures. All strange in their designs. The roofs were topped with green foliage, while the architecture looked almost tribalistic in design. The buildings had their walls made of logs, windows of glass, sometimes standing on stilts while others were firmly planted on the ground. The doors were covered by alien writing, and most were flanked by growing plants that looked like intentional decorations. There were several of these buildings – homes. They were spread out through the jungle, as the stone path crisscrossed through a village. Palm trees shot through either side of the pathway, or in the gaps in between homes.

But the thing that caught Eli’s eye most, were the people. The inhabitants were, for lack of a better word, inhuman. Literally. Their eyes were glowing a bright blue or white and they lacked either an iris or a pupil. Instead, slight discoloration sat in the center of their eyes, distinguishing it from the colors surrounding the patch of glowing flesh. Their skin was vibrant and in an array of impossible colors – crimson red, electric blue, candy pink, and a mirage of other colors in between. And it wasn't just their skin, their hair came in hues only possible if they were dyed. Some wore clothing that resembled tribal clothes from the ancient Aztec or Mayan empires. Colorful feathers, beads, jewelry, sandals and slippers. Those were the fascinating parts.

But the town around them was anything but tribal. The strangest part was how the village looked... modern. Blocks of brightly colored buildings were stacked on top of each other, a colorful city of apartments that sparkled in the sunlight. The people went about the town doing a variety of activities. Carrying water, delivering packages, farming, bartering, talking to one another. There were even vehicles. Old diesel trucks carried goods through the road while engines whirred in the distance. It was, if nothing else, bizarre. He had to blink hard to make sure he was seeing right. But knowing everything he had seen on Planet Narva so far, he definitely was.

The town was a strange blend of a native tribal kingdom and an industrialized city in the early 20th century. And that was without accounting for the fact that the people here were clearly not human. They were human-like, but not quite. They were like… elves. Something out of a book or movie.

The elven locals would drop whatever they were in the middle of doing, just to look at him. Almost accusingly. A sense of shame burned hot onto Eli’s face. He wasn’t supposed to be here. And they knew it. He was but an interloper, trespassing in their homes. An intruder within their world.

He managed to steal a look at his two captors. The one on his left had deep-blue skin, white hair that reached down to their shoulders. They wore a pale hide tunic, with a variety of geometric shapes stitched into it with blue or red colors lining them. Their face obscured by a mask, the red slash cutting across the left eye. The same figure that simultaneously saved Misfit from the wolves were the ones that attacked them last night. Or at least, Eli thought it had been last night. He wasn’t too sure of what had transpired since he fell unconscious to waking up. All he could remember was his dream, and that strange ‘thing’ in it… glassface.

Eventually, they carried him right up to the gates of a large building that sat in the middle of the city. It was large, built with a balance of stone and wood that complimented each other as they held up the impressive three-story structure. It was tiered, each floor of the building was offset, creating a step-like structure as it tapered to its highest floor. Surrounding the building was a massive stone wall that ran around the perimeter. Two masked guards stood at the entrance to the wall, an iron gate with flaming torches on either side to illuminate the area. Eli’s captors said something to the guards, and they stepped aside to open the gate, allowing Eli to be dragged further in.

They passed through the entrance of the building – something Eli figured was a palace or castle – skirted their way past more masked guards, elegantly dressed creatures who looked like some form of royalty, rooms and chambers hidden away behind closed doors, until they approached a central hall. A cavernous chamber. In the ceiling was a skylight that let the sun in through the several floors of the palace in its entirety. The upper floors wrapped around the circular skylight of the roof with balconies facing the interior, where an audience had gathered to watch him being brought to the chamber below. On the circumference of the room was an assembly of more elves who were busy conversing and arguing with one another in the same language that he could not understand. There were rows of seats surrounding the chamber, resembling the layout of a sports stadium. It was full tonight.

At the center of the chamber was a collection of wooden seats, each of them was decorated with a tunic on the spine of the seat that corresponded to a different color. There were seven seats in total, which all looked more like thrones than normal chairs. One red, one blue, one yellow, one white, one black, one purple, and the throne at the center of the seven was a forest green. The thrones were seated upon an elevated platform that required a few steps to get up to, but Eli’s captors held him in a space before the platform.

An instrument sounded in the back of the room, a flute-like sound. The conversation in the audience immediately died down as people took their seats. Eli looked around him to see what the deal was, but one of his captors hit him in the back of the knee forcing him to kneel. He struggled as he attempted to stand up again, but a hand was placed on his head that forced him to bow his head in submission.

The captors, likewise, knelt at his sides, with their heads bowed to the thrones. Eli tried to get a look at what was going on, but the hand of the captor on his left kept his head locked into place. Just barely - through the hole, he could make out doors opening on either side of the elevated platform. And from them, seven elves wearing dresses that matched each of the seven thrones walked out. Their dresses were flowery and elegant, bright and colorful, some wore crowns of various materials on their heads, some wore an ensemble of colorful feathers that matched the colors of their dress, others wore jewelry and face paint. The one in green – who Eli presumed to be the leader – walked in ahead of the others.

They had a lavender blue skin tone, with white-grey eyes. On their head was a crown of what looked like duck feathers, white face paint swirled in markings on their cheeks, forehead, and the bridge of their nose. They carried a tall wooden staff as they walked, which ended at its top with a flower carved into its head. They took a seat of course in the green chair at the center, as did all the others.

“Tami! All mia casyuz inove!” The green one called out to the assembly. The captor on his left raised her hand.

“Hor, isana kewo ja koralada, ino timet. Se nans scripit Kiote.”

“Za, iracu!”

The captor on his left laid her hand out flat, her dark palm raised towards the ceiling. A ball of blue energy formed in her palm that eventually grew until it encompassed the entire room. Eli watched everything unfurl before his eyes, bewildered.

And then, he could hear English…

“Can you understand us now, Human?”

Eli looked up. In a moment one of his captors ripped the sack from off of his head, exposing him to the light and forcing him to squint. They all saw his face. Hundreds of eyes beaming down on him like heat rays. Glowing eyes. Behemoths. All of them looking at his exposed face with ill intent. He was sweating so hard he thought he might die. It was the green one who had spoken to him, her voice sounded raspy and withering, like that of an older person. Eli didn’t know how she knew English, but he figured that it must’ve had something to do with the strange ball of energy. Somehow.

“Y-yes. Yes, I do,” Eli nodded, fearful if he was saying the wrong words. He felt the eyes of hundreds of elves on him and him alone.

“Then tell us, stranger, who are you and how did you end up here?” The voice of the leader boomed in his ear.

“My name… my name is Eli Freeman. We were attacked out in the jungle by these… wolf monster things,” Eli looked down, quite ashamed at how childish he sounded speaking about the attack. Surely, he could’ve found a better phrase to use other than ‘wolf monster thing’. Then again, he was sweating profusely. His nerves were all frayed. His brain was completely overwhelmed by… well by everything!

“Warrior Otaes, does that story sound true to you?”

The elf on his left bowed her head further, “Yes, Mother Ani. I cannot confirm why they were out there, but while Temetet and I scouted the border, we found them being mauled by Howlers.”

“I see,” Chief Ani said.

“Clearly, they’re Commonwealth Marines. One of the Ostralanders. It should be in our best interests to release them back to the Ostralands,” Said another of the chiefs.

“And let them get away with starting another war against the Avonians? It’s clear that the Ostralands deliberately attacked the River Republic’s forces in Canau to trigger an aggressive Avonian response! Why else do you think he’s here?” Said the red chief.

“In case you’ve forgotten, Zee, the Ostralands are our allies! They have no reason to trigger a war in the jungle so long as we remain aligned to them. It’s the Empire that wants to take the Peninsula, The Belford Alliance has no reason to kickstart another war,“ Said the yellow chief, “It wouldn’t make any sense for them.”

“I believe we should ask the human, directly. If he lies, we can find out through our envoy to the Commonwealth,” The blue chief said.

“Well then, human,” Chief Zee – the red one apparently – narrowed his eyes. Hissing the term as if there were venom on his tongue, “Identify yourself. Are you from the Ostralands?"

And of course, Eli was absolutely confused. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came to mind except for more questions. Though he was terrified of asking them. His face scrounged up and he could only shake his head.

“Speak, human! We are waiting!” Zee repeated himself.

“O-Ostralands?”

“Yes! The Ostraland United Commonwealth. Are you not from there?” Finally, Chief Ani again asked as she closed in onto him.

“N-no- “

“Perhaps he’s a Colly. From Oceania?” The yellow elf suggested, scratching her chin.

“No, what would a Colly be doing here in The Kiote Peninsula?“

"The Ostralanders have their colonial subjects deployed here in their stead. The 31st airborne is an Oceanian unit, they're all Collies-"

And with that, Eli had enough, “I’m sorry, but I genuinely do not know what is going on.”

“It is rude for you to speak out of turn, human. And what do you mean you don’t know? What country are you from, that’s all we’re asking you!” Chief Ani asked, now she was confused.

“America!”

“America?” Asked Ani, “What?”

“I’m not from-“ Eli was about to explain himself before he was cut off once more.

“He’s delusional,” Zee said rolling his eyes, “Warrior Otaes, how hard exactly did you hit him when you captured him?”

“I didn’t!” Otaes, the female masked warrior on his left pleaded, “I only used a knock-out spell.”

“His mind must still be recovering then, I’ve never heard of a place called America in my life and I’m almost Ninety,” Zee chuckled, causing the other chiefs to giggle in response – save for Ani. She kept her eyes narrowed on Eli.

“I’m not from this planet! I’m from Planet Earth!”

And like that, silence. The looks were coming in. Everyone was staring as if he’d said something absolutely insane. To be fair, in hindsight, it was absolutely insane. Beyond insane in fact. So insane that Eli had begun to doubt if his own story was true. Maybe Earth was never real. Maybe he was delusional and he’d been living on Planet Narva this whole time as some kind of bizarre psychosis victim. It would make more sense than the truth. An alien interloper on this bizzarro new world…

“What!” Zee shouted out from almost pure disbelief after what felt like an eternity of stunned silence.

“Are you hearing this, Grand Chief?” The yellow chief asked Ani. But instead of looking bewildered, Ani seemed to understand?

“Yes, I do… and it makes sense,” Ani said, staring Eli down with the eyes of a hawk who’d locked onto its prey. Somehow, she saw through Eli. Straight into his heart.

“Yes. Right. The human captured near the Republic’s border calling himself an alien is perfectly normal,” Chief Zee sarcastically mocked, “I must ask, Chief Ani, what exactly about… any of that, makes sense to you?”

“You’ll address me with respect, Zee,” Ani sneered, “But besides that, it aligns with everything! Warrior Otaes’ scouting report, she couldn’t identify the faction causing the disturbance near Canau! The way the Imperial Garrison was effectively destroyed! The Commonwealth has no idea what’s happening because that’s not them!” Ani said, “The interlopers are from another world…”

“What?”

“How?”

“Impossible!”

“Excuse me?”

The chiefs went up into bickering between each other trying to find any other possible explanation. The audience behind Eli had also erupted into chaos as they whispered rumors behind his back. Even Warrior Otaes who’d brought him here, who’d kept a strong arm locked on his back up until this moment let her grip falter, as in her own bewilderment, she turned around - lost.

“This could still be some sort of false flag operation drummed up by those psychopaths in the RDI, you know how the Commonwealth’s spies are,” The Blue Chief tried to persuade Ani.

“Perhaps,” Ani shrugged, “But there’s truly only one way to know for sure.”

“You don’t mean… we look inside-“ The blue chief was immediately cut off by Ani who profusely shook her head.

“Only as a last resort!”

“Soul searching is banned by international treaty, Chief Ani. We can’t do that…” Said the yellow chief.

“It is an extraordinary circumstance,” Zee said, “Anything to get to the bottom of what’s going on here. At least if we’re to prevent another war.”

“There are other humans! We don’t need to resort to soul searching yet. Warrior Otaes, please bring the others out,” Chief Ani said.

“Yes, Mother,” Otaes bowed further before pushing herself up until she was standing tall on her two feet. From the corner of Eli’s vision he could spot Otaes’ blue glowing eyes glancing at him from behind the mask. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought. But then, the others. Misfit? Were they alright?

“Do not lie to us, Human,” Chief Zee again accused him, “We have ways of making liars talk. Or, if you feel particularly uncooperative, we have ways of making sure that you won’t talk ever again.”

“I’m not!” He said through gritted teeth, “I’m not lying to you! I swear! I’m just lost! And confused!”

“Well, he’s certainly right about the ‘lost’ part,” He could hear the blue chief quip.

“If you aren’t from this world, then tell us. Who are you and from where do you come?” asked Ani.

“My name is Eli Freeman. And I’m from Earth. Planet Earth. If you want answers as to why, or even how, we got here – I couldn’t give that to you. I’m only a convict. You’d have to ask my commanders-”

“A convict? As in a prisoner-soldier?”

Eli nodded slowly, “Sorta...”

“What are your crimes?”

“Desertion,” Eli mumbled with a low growl. His eyes looked down from the chiefs to the floor on which he knelt. There was a symphony of murmurs from the audience, whispers between the chiefs.

“You can’t possibly tell me that you’re believing this!” Zee cried out.

“It’s the only thing that makes sense! It explains the new base near Canau- “

“I’m telling you; this is a clear and deliberate attempt by the Commonwealth to try and instigate a conflict in the Peninsula!”

“If it is, then they’ve already succeeded, the Avonians are moving forces into the Peninsula as we speak, and there’s already fighting breaking out along the Republic's border. What do you suggest we do if they are really Ostralanders?”

“Punish them!”

“Our only ally? Are you insane? We have had a difficult time enough fighting the Avonians and Republic as it is, do you mean to drive away our only useful ally in the fight?”

“They have repeatedly treated us as an expendable pawn to their own goals! We are Warrior Elves for heaven’s sake! We are proud, mighty, and strong people! They need to learn that we aren’t just vassals for them to use in their diplomatic game!”

Suddenly, again from the rear, there was the sound of struggle. The doors opened and Eli turned to see his squad. His eyes widened with joy to see that they were all still alive. Mostly that is. They looked beat up and worn, and he suddenly became self-conscious of how bad he must’ve looked. They were escorted by guards who lacked the masks that Otaes and Temetet wore, though at their side were long wooden sticks with holes in the middle. He recognized it as some form of a rifle, a very dated one.

As they came out, Eli counted them all in his head. Dutch, Matteo, Omar, Badger, and finally Rafael. But his heart sunk when the final one was absent… Cato was missing from the group.

As the rest of his squad drew near, his mind jumped to the worst thought. A disaster. Despite Cato’s foul temper, he didn’t hate him. After what Badger told him, he barely disagreed with his decision to flee into the jungle. Cato may have been an asshole, but he was right even if his plan had ended in failure. He did what he thought best to keep at least some of the squad alive. Maybe if Eli and the rest of the team left with him, they all wouldn’t be in this predicament to begin with?

The doors closed, and Eli sighed as he saw no sign of Cato anywhere. One of the guards walked up to the Chiefs and whispered something into the Grand Chief’s ear. Ani nodded in response.

“Get off of me you filho da mãe! Don’t you fucking touch me!” Rafael struggled against the guards as he was brought in line to kneel with the rest of the squad. He mean mugged one of the guards, who forced him to drop to the ground. All in line with the rest of Misfit, as they knelt alongside Eli one by one before the seven Chiefs. Otaes and Temetet emerged from the rear and took positions behind Misfit. Misfit looked worse for wear, they all had scars and obvious looks of exhaustion. Whether that be from the fight against the wolves or from being captured, Eli couldn’t tell. But he hadn’t been tortured, at least not while he was awake. They seemed relatively fine. A relief.

“Eli! What the fuck is going on, man I’m freaking out!” Dutch whispered to him after Otaes forced him to a kneel.

“I don’t know! Why the hell would I know that?”

“Like gee, I don’t know dude, one second, we’re being attacked by killer wolf cyborgs, and the next I’m being interrogated by the blue motherfuckers from Avatar! What the hell is going on man?”

“Just stay calm! Alright? Stay calm!” Eli frantically told him, but in all the chaos he didn’t know if he was speaking more to Dutch or to himself.

“Who the hell are you people? And why are we here!” Badger bravely spoke out once she was brought to kneel right between Eli and Dutch.

Chief Zee – who Eli was beginning to think had a serious bone to pick with humans– snarled, “You do not speak unless spoken to, Human,” His eyes narrowed as he shot an accusatory glance at all of them.

Grand Chief Ani meanwhile raised her hand to silence him, “Be quiet, old fool. I’m talking to them now,” She looked down at the squad, eyeing each and every one of them. Carefully looking into their faces to see which one would lie, and which would tell the truth, “Now, I will ask you all a series of questions. The Free Man will not answer, the rest of you will. Do not lie to us, there will be severe consequences if you do! Understand?”

Misfit looked at Eli, he shrugged, “Just tell them the truth. Roll with it. Trust me.” He whispered back to them.

They looked at each other for a moment, and then it was Matteo who spoke on behalf of the squad, “We’ll tell you the truth.”

“I hope so. So, from what country are you all from?”

There was a pause from Misfit. And then, individually, they all answered.

“Italy.”

“Korea.”

“Canada.”

“Bangladesh.”

“Brazil.”

“Look! The answers are all different! They’re lying!” Zee sighed. Ani was unconvinced, but ultimately it was Eli who spoke up.

“We aren’t from one nation. On our world, nationality doesn’t matter! At least not anymore. We’re Phantoms. We’re just refugees from across our planet!”

“Refugees from what?”

“Natural disaster, war, famine,” Matteo answered, “Some of us haven’t seen our homes in years.”

“And you’re prisoners?”

They all nodded, “Tell us where you’re from. One by one. Starting with the young human,” Ani pointed at Omar.

Omar shook when he was addressed but with a gentle prod from Matteo he spoke.

“M-m-me? Uh, my name is Omar. Omar Shaya. My home city in Bangladesh was flooded by a storm. My family ran and tried to cross the border into India, but we were kidnapped by gunmen and I was sold here as a… as a prisoner.”

“My city, Seoul, was destroyed by war. They’re still rebuilding it today. After I deserted the army during the war, I was captured and brought to the Penal unit as punishment for my crimes.”

“Brazil fell into civil war. I used to be in a paramilitary on the streets of Rio De Janeiro to defend my family from the gangs and government forces that fought each other in the streets. But… I was also captured. Taken into the Penal Unit.”

“I was a rebel, fighting the government in Canada. We used to hijack trucks, take the food inside and use it to feed the people. But eventually we were defeated during a firefight in Alberta. Obviously… I was well, imprisoned.”

“The Italian government collapsed after the economic destruction of the 2040s. I was a medic in the Italian Coast Guard, but after the collapse I joined a group of Phantoms on a refugee crisis ship that operated on the high seas. I provided medical assistance there. Eventually though our ship was marked as carrying illegal passengers and they raided our ship, I was separated from my daughter and thrown into the Penal Unit.”

The Grand Chief listened to each of their stories carefully. She looked over to Eli, “You. The Free Man. What is your explanation?”

“I’m an American. My neighborhood was completely destroyed during a storm in the 2030s when I was a kid. When I was 18, I was drafted to fight in a war. But I deserted, was found, and then imprisoned,” Eli told her, honestly, looking into her eyes for a moment before they sunk back down again. He listened to the stories of his squadmates. He heard the stories of Badger, Omar, and Dutch, but the reasons as to why Matteo and Rafael were in the Penal Unit were mysteries to him. But if they had told the truth – which Eli didn’t doubt they had – those backstories were mysteries no longer. Their crimes sounded justifiable. He should’ve known they would be, the prisoners in Misfit were not bad people. Not at all.

“Five years is the standard sentence for prisoners, and for a lot of us this mission into Planet Narva came at the end of it all. Please, we’re just Phantoms. We were caught in the crossfire.”

“You have no idea what is going on, do you?” Chief Ani asked, rather sympathetically.

They shook their heads.

Ani sighed, closing her eyes. She raised her staff up high above her head, and then called out to the audience, “The meeting is concluded. I want them in my chamber, I’ll continue questioning them by myself.”

“Grand Chief Ani, why are you even bothering to hear them out? With all due respect they’re-“

“Chief Zee, I assure you that I know what I am doing. I can handle it,” Ani said, “Otaes, come with me. Temetet, you can go back home.”

“Yes mother,” The two said in unison. Otaes stood up, and with a wave of her hand, beckoned Misfit to follow. The assembly around them burst into chatter as they got up to leave the hall. Meanwhile, Misfit again looked to Eli for direction.

“Follow the elves,” was all he could think to say...

They were freed of their restraints and allowed to settle into a rather cozy room somewhere within the upper floors of the palace. Provided, it was guarded by two warriors standing on the outside, and two more on the inside with guns. The guns were odd. They resembled a few from Earth but they were different.

Aside from that, it was certainly an improvement to how they had been treated previously. Especially Eli who apparently was alone in his experience being kept locked inside of a barn with a giant mystical creature watching over him.

They were allowed to sit on couches and sheets that separated them from the wooden floors. Their room was illuminated by a colorful blue ball of energy contained within a glass bottle at the center of the room. Sunlight trickled in through a large window at the end opposite of the sole door leading out. It gave them an impressive view of the city and the surrounding jungle around them.

Despite the comforts though, they hardly spoke. And Eli knew why. He felt it, just the same as they did. Not only were they being held as captives in a foreign place, but they were being held by creatures they had never seen before. They looked alien, something ripped straight out of a movie or a video game. The ones Eli remembered from when he was a kid, before the Space Wars and the global Resource Wars. Before the apocalypse.

Eli shuddered. The knowledge that they were leaving Earth and everything they knew for certain behind was impossible to come to terms with fully. Whenever he awoke from sleep, he awoke to the idea that he was still on planet Earth. Like everything was back to normal. Like the chaos and entropic disorder of the past four days were just a vivid dream. Nightmarishly long, and all too real emotionally, but at the end of the day just a figment of his imagination. None of it felt real.

Nothing except for Misfit.

He looked over at his squad, their faces were dark. He noticed one of his squad mates, or rather, the lack of their presence. Cato. There was still no confirmation on if he was dead or not. Eli didn’t want to hold his breath for an answer, he was in really terrible shape the last time Eli saw him. Matteo said it himself, if he didn’t get to a hospital soon, he was a goner.

Nobody said a word to each other. They sort of just sat there, scared. Badger and Rafael had their arms holding each other. Eli noticed the bandages over her leg where the “Howler” sunk its teeth into. They weren’t bloody, but her pants had been tattered near the calf where she was bitten. Rafael also looked in better shape. Though his face had been cut and bruised, he was no longer bleeding the same way he had when Eli first saw him in the jungle. In fact, if Eli remembered correctly at all, he stopped limping too. If they were fine, they must’ve been tended to by someone, which meant that hope for Cato’s life remained.

He turned to his squad, “I know things look bad now, but trust me. We’ll get through this. That’s all that matters,” he said to them, not really expecting a response from the group, which was fortunate because they didn’t give him one. Only a few slight nods, but the eyes were still distraught. If only there was a way to lift their mood, but it was impossible when he felt hopeless too…

There was something at the door. They looked up to see the door open, filling the entrance was the masked warrior. Otaes. Her mask was almost impossible to forget, the green and grey, the red slash over her left eye. She only carried a spear and no other weapons, and yet she was still threatening. Both her size and demeanor were enough to freeze them all in fear. She had effortlessly taken them down once, and her unusual silence didn’t help the off putting feeling that followed every move she made.

When she walked in, she acknowledged the guards inside of the room, conversing in her native language. The guards bowed, and promptly left the room. Leaving Misfit alone with her. When the door closed, she opened the palm of her hand. The same blue energy surrounded it, and then it expanded to encompass the entire room. Misfit looked around at it – and her – bewildered.

“Can you understand me?” She asked. Her voice steady and calm.

The squad looked at her, disoriented but following on, “Yes… we hear you,” Eli answered.

“The Grand Chief will be arriving shortly. I was asked to see if the accommodation is fitting for your tastes. You will be interviewed in this room before the Grand Chief Matriarch Kae Ani.”

Dutch shrugged, “It’s alright, but I’ve seen better motels…”

“What?” Otaes’ head craned to one side, her eyes showing visible signs of confusion.

“He means that the room is good,” Eli interjected, shooting a mean glare at Dutch who looked away , “This will do.”

Otaes nodded, looked as if she was about to leave, but then stopped and turned back around, “I’m sure you’ve already heard my name, but I am Otaes. If it isn’t a problem with you, I’d like to ask… are you really all from another world?”

“Yeah. Earth. That’s our home,” Matteo said.

“And you are all prisoners, right?” She asked.

They nodded.

“Why would your nation – or whoever you serve – send prisoners to another world?”

“We’re expendable. Back on Earth it’s hard to recruit anyone to join the military, regular forces are expensive. We aren’t.”

“Huh,” Otaes’ glowing eyes drooped to the floor as she pondered the thought, “I see…” It looked as if she wanted to ask another question, but another figure approached through the door. The Grand Chief.

She walked in quietly. Her face was warm, and instead of the serious gaze that she held during their initial meeting, she wore a rather pleasant smile. The door behind her was closed by the guards outside, leaving her, Otaes, and Misfit alone.

“I’m so sorry, but I do apologize for our earlier introduction,” She began, “I don’t believe we’ve properly introduced ourselves. I am Grand Chief Kae Ani of the Warrior Elves, and sitting representative of the Kiote Union. You’ve caused quite a stir in our land, and as such we’ve had to remain extremely cautious when dealing with foreign soldiers. It’s incredibly difficult to tell who our friends are, and who are our enemies.”

“We caused that?”

“Your faction has,” Otaes said, “Ever since your fortress appeared in Canau, a war has broken out between the Kiote Union and the River Republic. They blamed us for the attack.”

“About that. I am afraid that we can’t proceed any further until I prove for sure that you are who you say you are. In order for that to happen, I’ll need one of you to hold out their palm for me,” Said Chief Ani.

There was some hesitation among Misfit, but Eli was the first to stretch out his hand. His palm faced upwards to the ceiling upon Chief Ani’s suggestion. She took his hands into her own calloused elven hands carefully, “It will be over in a moment,” She whispered. Eli was startled by the words, his mind raced to wonder over what they could mean. But then he felt a cold sensation shoot through the tips of his fingers, racing up his arm, shoulder, neck and eventually mind.

He froze, Ani’s face paint was glowing blue. He felt his vision fade as his body tensed into place, a hot searing sensation burned into his brain. His body jolted back. Misfit immediately jumped out of their seats, yelling screaming trying to pull Eli away from her, but they were held back by threat of being killed by Otaes – who held them away with the point of her spear and a cold stare. Otaes barked at them to back away, pointing her spear at Rafael, Badger, Omar, anyone who tried to make a beeline for Eli – but they resisted. Yelling, screaming for Ani to get off him!

To him, the outside world began to crumble around him. He was being separated from it, pulled away…

Suddenly he found himself inside a house. The lights were off except for the television which was glowing red. A low-pitched alarm sounded from the speakers, which sent shivers down his spine as he remembered them from his childhood very well. A message scrolled across the screen, and it read in plain white text: “Hurricane Alert! A Hurricane Warning has been issued by the governor of New Jersey for the following counties: Ocean, Monmouth, Middlesex, Union, Essex, Hudson. Residents are advised to evacuate coastal areas immediately…”

Eli watched the screen, horror crept into his body. He could feel himself freeze. Just like he did when he was there. Wind roared outside, the wind blowing so fiercely that it sounded like the screams of tortured souls. The house buckled under the force of the wind, rain splattered across the walls and the glass window, casting shadows of the storm across the dark walls. Lighting illuminated the interior of the room often, and thunder sounded like bombs echoing through the storm. He scurried into a gap between the wall and his childhood bed. holding his knees up to his chin. It wasn’t until then that he realized that he was in blue pajamas instead of his prisoners uniform. He looked down at his hands, they were younger. Various scarred wounds that he’s picked up through battles fought were missing. He was smaller, thinner, and even more terrified than at any point he could remember. He was eleven years old again…

Suddenly, there was a massive gust of wind even more powerful than all the ones that he’d seen before. He heard something bust downstairs, and the sound of glass shattered in his own room. Quickly, his room was filled with rushing air, and he screamed. The door was kicked open, and a man appeared. His face darkened by the lackluster light. He searched through the room, but his eyes landed on Eli. He ran over to pick Eli up into his own arms.

It was his dad.

He didn’t say anything, only looking around for someone else that he couldn’t find. When he cleared the room, he left. Eli could see over his shoulder that his window had exploded, allowing rain and wind to storm inside. Eli was carried further upstairs until he could hear the sounds of a loudspeaker outside and the blades of a helicopter hovering somewhere nearby. His father held Eli tight to his body, climbed up a ladder, and then they were on the roof. In the middle of the storm. A bright light shone on them from above, his hands shielded his eyes from the light of the rescue helicopter. The blades of the helicopter was almost deafeningly loud. The wind and rain scratched his skin, making him nearly blind. Their roof was difficult to hold on to, and his father was forced to stay low. He put him down on the roof, and Eli held on to the tile.

“Stay here, Eli! I’m gonna find her! I’m gonna get your mom! I’ll be back!” His father said, planting a kiss on top of his head. But he didn’t reciprocate, instead he screamed. Yelling for his father to come back. The whole neighborhood had been flooded, waves crashed against the walls of homes just nearby, it was too dangerous to go alone. But his father ignored him, and in a moment, he was back downstairs out of sight. Eli wanted to chase him back inside the home, but the wind threatened to blow him off of the roof, so he held on for dear life. Tears strained down his cheeks. The light of the helicopter grew brighter, and brighter as it descended closer…

[“Eli Freeman… your home was taken from you by forces beyond your own control…”] A voice echoed into his mind.

The light shined away. His eyes opened. He felt hot. Sweat trickled down his face. The air he breathed in was suffocatingly damp. The world was dark. His body was resting against the wall, and he hurt all over. A face appeared through the darkness, holding the light. A man dressed in army combat gear held out his hands, he was yelling something, but Eli could hardly hear him over the ringing in his ears. Soldiers were around him with their guns drawn, they were shooting at something out of sight.

“Freeman! Freeman! FREEMAN! ON YOUR FEET GOD DAMMIT! COME ON!” The soldiers grabbed Eli and stood him up onto his feet. Bullets flew all around. Soldiers left and right fired down a dark tunnel. An abandoned subway car sat on damaged rails in the center. Soldiers were hit, a man not too far away was shot in the throat. Blood splattered, he fell to his knees, and then died. The gunfire trickled in, booming, banging. An explosion rocked the air somewhere not too far away. He was terrified, again. He clutched his rifle near his chest and scurried behind the subway car, Korean text still displayed on the screens facing outwards on it.

As he sat behind the subway car, he could feel his body shaking. Quivering, he could hardly breathe air into his lungs. He felt like he might explode. Dying soldiers were all around. Another soldier was hit in the stomach, and she yelled out as she went down. Others tried to push further up but weren’t able to. In that moment, he was eighteen years old again. A draftee into the Army. He swallowed, his eyes dodged around. Blood was on his uniform and gear. He knew that it wasn’t his.

A soldier charged out from the darkness, POA. Their eyes set on him. Reacting off of flight-or-fight alone, he raised his gun and took his first life. And then he dropped his gun onto the floor, as the dead body of the POA soldier dropped to his knees. He struggled, kicking as a pool of blood formed around him. Right at Eli’s feet. But he was already a dead man. A tear escaped Eli’s eye.

“Fall back! Fall back! It’s too hot! Get the fuck out of here! Go-“A sergeant cried out but his orders were interrupted by yet another explosion, that blew Eli back down to his feet, and his eyes curled into darkness.

“You were made into a soldier to fight in a war you didn’t start…” The voice in his mind echoed again. It wasn't Ani's.

The darkness was again replaced by light. Suddenly, Eli was cold. Freezing in fact. He looked around. Snow covered the destroyed ruins of city streets. Abandoned cars sat along the sides of roads. Garbage cans turned into fireplaces for the homeless. Signs in Korean barely hung onto their hinges, threatening to collapse onto the snowy concrete floors below. The skies above were grey as a blizzard came through. He had escaped the nuclear strike on Seoul. But as a fugitive, he ran the risk of freezing to death, or starving. He could feel the hole in his stomach, an aching pain.

He was twenty again. Marching through the snow-laced hellscape that the war had left behind. His legs were weak and he could no longer feel his feet. And yet, he carried out. One step after another. His boots sunk into piles of snow and cold water. His tattered army coat flapped in the wind. His face was numb. He was going to turn himself in. He had to. He saw soldiers. Wearily, he tried to get their attention. He knew what the consequences would be if he were captured, but it outweighed what would befall him should he remain hidden as one of the homeless out in the ruinous city.

He tried to call out to the soldiers patrolling, and he did manage to get their attention. His words were slurred, and he couldn’t speak all too well. But he asked them to help him. To save him. He knew his squad was dead, all the soldiers he was with had been vaporized in the nuclear bombing. He was the last one left. Alone against the world.

“You ran away from the battlefield. Surviving on your own for almost a year until the blizzard froze everything in your path… So you let yourself become a prisoner. Running back into your final fate as a convict-soldier…”

He was again surrounded by darkness. Vision returned as the image of the room materialized in his eyes. Chief Ani was kneeling in front of him, her staff was in one hand, and his right hand wrapped by her other free hand. She was looking down at him somberly, while the rest of Misfit was silent “It would seem that you have told the truth, Freeman.” Eli frowned. He looked away from her glowing eyes until he was staring down at the blank floor. An indescribable feeling of sadness had encompassed him, like he had lost something of immense value that could never be returned.

"Soul searching..." Ani shook her head, "It's a violation of the rights of all sapient creatures... but we had to... I had to... just this once."

Bit by bit, the world around him was restored. The room, Misfit, Otaes, they all came back as they watched Ani and Eli. Their struggling to get back to him had stopped, and they only watched with curious eyes. His hands were being held by Ani, and he was still staring at the ground by the time he awoke into the real world. He blinked a few times to ensure that he was fully there, and then looked around.

“You have no idea what is going on. Do you?” Ani asked not just Eli, but the rest of Misfit.

“We don’t know what is going on, or why. We know nothing about you, or anything else. All we know is that we were taken from our home planet and assigned here,” Rafael spoke.

“I know,” Ani sighed, “I’ve checked your leader’s memories, you are telling the truth it would seem.”

“Mind reading?” Dutch asked, "That's what that was? I thought he was having a stroke for Christ's sake!"

“It was the only way we could know for certain if what you claimed was true or not. Judging by his memories, it looks like our skepticism was wrong.”

“Yeah, but you read his mind. I know we aren’t from the same planet but… does that not sound weird to anyone else?” Misfit nodded in agreement with Dutch.

“It was a magical spell that she used. Us elves have access to natural magic, does that not exist in your world? Earth?” Warrior Otaes filled in the blanks.

“In stories, and movies. Sure. But magic isn’t real,” Badger said before backtracking, “Wasn’t real," She corrected herself, "Magic wasn’t real until we crossed the portal.”

Otaes and Ani looked at each other, confused, "Well. It's real here," Said Otaes.

The two looked as if they were about to say something more, but there was a rattle at the door, “We’re busy!” Ani called out to whoever it was, but the messenger was insistent.

“Apologies Grand Chief, but our scouts have reported back. They’ve spotted an Imperial Army formation crossing over the Republic’s border and closing in on Raritan! They are hours away!”

Ani quickly rose up, turning her back to answer the door. She opened it to reveal another guard kneeling at the side, he immediately rose when she opened it up, “An attack? Where?”

“They’re approaching here! Our Home Defense Army was destroyed just five miles to the north, the enemy will be here at any moment!”

The coming realization of the situation hit them all like an invisible sledgehammer slamming into a wall. Eli felt his heart skip a beat. The Avonians? Were those the same people who attacked them at the Nexus? With the giant robots?

Ani cursed something in her native language, “Send everyone to the nearest shelter! Rally the Kitchi immediately and send a dispatch to the rest of the Union that we’re being attacked! If you can, message the Ostralands for support!”

“Yes, Chief!” Said the warrior, and without further delay he sprinted down the hall.

“Otaes, keep an eye on the humans. I’ll continue our investigation later!” Ani said. Otaes bowed allowing Ani and the messenger to leave in a frightening hurry.

“Wait! We’re missing one! Where is Cato?” He called out, trying to slow them down.

Ani stopped in her tracks. In a brief gesture, she turned to Otaes, “Take them to the healers! Don’t bother with restraining them. We have bigger concerns.”

Otaes grabbed her spear and wrapped it around her back, just as Ani fled the room to attend to the matter of the imminent attack. Otaes looked at them, “Alright, aliens.." she sighed, "Follow me.”

>>>[Verifying...]

>>>[Loading Emergency Report...]

>>>[Going through File Directory]

>>>[Standby...]

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==The Revolutionary Department Of Intelligence==

==[FOREIGN FRIEND]==

==[DIRECT IMAGE LINKS FOR CLEARER RESOLUTION]==

>>>[FOREIGN FRIEND]

>>>[FF: MISSION DETAILS]

>>>[STRATEGIC MAP OF REGION R7B]

==[END TRANSMISSION]==