The Regal Rper
Mad Scientist
For no reason at all, out of the blue really- you get this powerful urge to go outside. It nags at you for several seconds and the next thing you know, you're out the door. No place really in mind. The moment you are out in night or day, sunny or rainy, cloudy or not- one thing becomes quite clear; the moon is closer than it has or should ever be. Hovering in the air like a giant disc in the sky, its purple form radiating an eerie white light.
As odd as this is, nothing strikes you as strange, even if it is clearly visible in the daytime it is not a strange occurrence- so you initially brush it off. Your world is strange, and you yourself aren't exactly normal either, so there's nothing to really judge. Just as you are about to go back in, you feel a tap on your shoulder. The thought crosses your mind that you should look up.
You do. You look back at the moon- and in that instant one of the moon's craters blinks. It blinks, then a literal second after, the light around the moon begins to turn the sky black. Like ink flowing outwards, the sky becomes an abyss of darkness. Clouds, stars, the sun-- everything. The sky is devoured, replaced by darkness where all that remains is only the moon. There is a sound, faint yet sharp-- a scream, one you can't even begin to understand as metal clashing against metal echoes in your ears as this darkness spreads to devour the entirety of the sky and then drips down to the ground, spreading like fungus towards you. With each clash there is a new white line that etches itself into the dark. Not one or two or a few, but hundreds. Hundreds of lines cut themselves into existence, open and become hundreds of eyes that just exist now in the sky.
Eyes of different sizes, different shapes, different forms. All of them looking around in different directions, circling the moon like planets circling the sun--
--Only for the eyes to suddenly stop. Blink. Widen. Then turn, to look directly at you. When you shift, they follow, when you move, they watch. They don't blink the whole time. They just watch you. And when they do blink at last, the air itself vibrates all around you. The inky black spreading like mold, now rapidly rushes towards you.
That scream of one syllable gets stronger. Louder. More desperate as the sea of black rises to crash over you. One moment you can see, the next you world empty, dark, murky--
"That," a voice appears, "is quite enough." No sooner are these words does all go silent.
So, you blink just to find yourself in a room soothing red. The thing keeping you company, a goose.
"Better you don't stare too long, hm? Quite rude to do that when we saved you back there." Says the goose, or at least that is your thought till you turn your head to see a creature to your left, a very short one you note, beaming with far too many teeth and far too many sharp teeth to be a human.
In a moment of panic, falling back on training- you do the only sensible thing to do when confronted with a supernatural situation. You make some distance, and prepare for what could most definitely be a fight.
As a Mage, and Caster of the Guild- you call upon your magic. It comes to you as easy as breathing, there is a tingle, a glow that dominates your body, then your hand- now all you do is cast and throw the spell.
As a Demon Weapon, you shift a limb into your supernatural form. A flash of energy, bending of light- and now a piece of you is invincible- indestructible, to anything of normal science. A single precise strike and these two monsters are history.
As a Meister, you channel the gift of Death itself; a rush, like adrenaline fills every cell as you strengthen your body beyond normal feats of your race and now- not even a monster like this or the ones you just saw could easily get the jump on you. You are beyond normality, and as such, one good blow should do these two in.
Yet all this really does is make the short, ugly monster in silver, smile and shake his head. "Tsk tsk" he wags a finger. "Haven't you ever heard that human saying?" He chuckles, each laugh going an octave lower. "You don't shoot the messenger." He snaps his fingers, something flashes right in front of you, instinctively, you move away. But when the monster does not approach or do anything more you take a test run, launching a small attack in front of you.
Immediately, your attack is pushed back.
"A shield, fun things those are." The monster beams. "Judging from your reactions its clear to me you've never met a pure fiend before- or I suppose what some call us, demons." You tense. "Ah, ah, ah" the demon assures with calm finger wagging. "I won't hurt you child. I like my head where it is, besides, It's not how I was raised. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Arty the Gremlin, and this here," he points to his companion, "is my friend, Artemis." The goose nods her head low.
"Good news," Arty continues, those serrated teeth flashing, "the results are in. You passed!" An explosion of smoke and now there are hands, applause, hooting, cheering; Arty's voice calls out from the noise: "Congratulations Agent, you have been welcomed to the Elite Status! Finally, amiright? After years, all that hard work has paid off!"
For a time the applause is all you hear. Till a spotlight appears on you, and slowly, the praise fades.
"But," Arty's voice deepens again, darkens, echoes- "I'm afraid your graduation isn't the only reason I'm here."
Without thinking, instinct, training lessons kicking in, you go on the defensive. Before you can do much though- a glow flashes over you and now all you can do, is struggle. Steps echo from the dark and Arty appears on top of Artemis. Smiling. The goose now taller than you, much more different in appearance, horns, fangs, talons, feral--and a comfortable seat for Arty the Gremlin who sits on her skull cap.
"Well, I'm pleased to see you take your training so seriously." Arty responds in a friendly manner. "But, I'm afraid you don't take it seriously enough. Else I wouldn't have to do..." He snaps, a baseball bat appears in the same hand, "this." He jumps, and he swings.
The bat doesn't smash into you, you don't feel wood or metal crash into your face, there's no explosion of pain either- it actually bends oddly as it hits you. But the swing, when it lands, it still somewhat disorients you- leaving you sore all over as a flash of light burns itself onto your forehead. Arty titters as you regain your senses. The toxic sludge color of his eyes glowing with delight in a odd way as he watches you.
Taking the paper baseball bat he throws it into the air- only for Artemis to gobble the whole thing up in one bite with one precise head snap to the left. "There, one part of the job done. Your demerit delivered, and now, part two. See, in the past thirty or so years humanity has been getting closer to the supernatural. You'd think that's good, right? You'd think humans showing an interest in the supernatural would be a good thing. Magic. Powers. The works. We both know it's not." The bitterness, not at all hidden as Arty goes on. "All it takes is one stupid experiment and now people think just because a few humans got lucky and found a way to give a few people magic, then everyone who wants it is entitled to have it. Was never a problem when it was just people from DWMA or those of the Guild, like us" he flicks his claw between you and him, even the goose "but now you have idiots who have gotten greedy. Sure, not everyone wants it, but there's always that marginal few who don't take 'no' for an answer, even to beings that could crush them like paste." Arty sums, looking up at you as he approaches.
"When you are a liability child, you give us more problems than we need. Which needs to change because we need people with your skill. It's a hard job that you've chosen, and I get acting out now and then, ensuring the balance of the supernatural world in exchange for fame and wealth isn't easy, but you're old enough to make smart decisions with the gifts you were born with or attained, so" his milky eyes twinkle, "don't blow this chance, okay?" He grins.
"In July, when your year starts as a true professional hunter of supernatural anomalies, you will be entering the Paean Program. It's designed specifically for entities with your track record. You know," he waves his clawed digits flippantly, "ruffians. Property damages, repeated unprofessional behavior on missions, foolish endangerment or unnecessary escalation, etcetera etcetera. You won't be alone of course, there will be others- and when you wake up from this dream you'll see that on your kitchen counter there are a series of files for those that will be joining you. I'm sure you have questions buuuut--" Artemis honks.
"Right, we have other places to be. Other minds to invade. Dreams to walk in on, the good stuff." He grins, fixing the human skull on his suit. "So any questions you have, you can ask at an office. Buddy?"
Leaning down and picking Arty up in her now hooked beak at the collar, Arty raises a hand to stop as he is lifted above you, and leaning forward just a bit, he flicks your forehead.
"Wake up child," his voice fades as your vision blurs, "it's about that time of day for you in the physical world anyway."
"Oh...and one more thing..." His voice echoes as darkness ensnares you. "If you see the moon in your dreams?"
Don't look at it
