Chapter Text
“Wh-what the—!? Where the hell am I?” Aria had snapped up, finding herself in a… bed? She didn’t recall going to sleep… or did she? No, no, that’s not right, she thought. It was dark, so it was difficult to see exactly what was in the room with her.
As she often did, she spoke aloud to herself, “I was… investigating the Red Queen… Then…” It started coming back to her. She had been on an expedition into the heart of the Red Queen, where they had been so close to gathering critical data. The expedition had needed to be successful for the sake of humanity, and she itched to get back to find out about the results.
Her mind jumped back to recalling taking her helmet off and breathing in the pure air inside the Red Queen, where the Gaia Dust seemed to have little affect, but then… where was her helmet and suit? “Ah! What happened to my gear!”, she exclaimed.
The samples they had collected clearly weren’t here. Aria jumped out of the bed, scrambling in the dark, looking around only to see wooden shelves, stacked books, and simple furniture, like nothing she had seen before, and it seemed very outdated. As her eyes finally began to adjust to the darkness, she ran her hands over the shelves, searching for her gear or any trace of belongings, but everything she touched was completely foreign to her. “Argh, this sucks! Seriously, what is this place?”
She turned around, and froze as she saw a figure laying on another bed across the room. There was a strange shape sticking out of the form of their shoulder, almost like some kind of armor. They had started stirring since Aria had made so much noise. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation in the dark in this unknown place. Panicking, Aria spotted the doorway in the room and the faint glow of light outside the cabin. She stepped into the front room, more quietly now, so as not to further disturb the other person.
The front room was wide, and it seemed like there was more wooden furniture, and some clutter at the far sides of the room. Aria didn’t have time to investigate, she had to get out before the other person got up. She also needed to know where she was, so she grabbed the doorknob and pushed her way outside.
Stepping out onto the front stoop, Aria looked around. There was an odd open field in front of her, with a few scattered boulders surrounded by grass and trees. There were monolites all around, attached to lamp posts to provide light. She had worked with monolite plenty, but hadn’t seen it used in such a simple way. The air was fresh and cool, with the sun low on the horizon. It must be morning, Aria deduced.
As she stepped out into the field, she noticed a bright red glow in the distance, just over a hill that seemed to open up to a view. She started up the path towards a large tree, Where am I? She wondered, How on earth did I get here?
She was so used to being in Astrum Research Facility, working on projects to investigate the Red Queen, to save humanity from the Gaia Dust. There was just so much nature, and nothing in the house that even remotely looked like her world or where she had been before.
She was starting to formulate a theory as she crested the hill, where the view opened up to the bright red, sprawling crystalline object in the distance.
“Is that..? No, it can’t be. A new Red Queen…?”, Aria gasped. It had to be new, it looked slightly different from the Red Queen she had known and studied for so long. Its swirling tendrils were in a different pattern. It was smaller, too. How could there be another? This at least meant that wherever she was, it was connected in some way to where she had come from. Unless this was a dream, of course.
She heard a gentle voice behind her, “You’re awake.”
Aria turned around to face the person addressing her. Their bright blue eyes peered up at Aria, curious and warm at the same time. They had light brown hair with messy side bangs, with a pin in the back as a loose bun.
She wasn’t quite sure if they were male or female, their body was slim and squarish with strong looking legs and hips, but a thin neckline and face. Maybe there was some shapeliness around their chest, but the sweeping white front piece of their outfit made it difficult to tell. One of their arms was bare, though gloved, and the other arm was fully covered with a large pauldron and brace, similar to the odd shape she saw with the other person in the bed.
“You… Weren’t you asleep in the other bed?” she queried. And they wear this weird armor at night…? Aria gathered.
She gave another look up and down this person. The pack on their hip and the pauldron really gave this person an odd shape. They had long, thigh-high black boots that accentuated their strong thighs, where some skin was slightly exposed just beneath a dark skirt. Their clothes looked like they were half armor/warrior-like and half cult-ish, half feminine and half masculine. Aria felt that her eyes had been lingering too long so she couldn’t help but blurt out, “What’s with the getup…?”
The other person opened their mouth to respond, but before they could do so, another woman showed up. Her clothes were very different, too. Her coat was like an eccentric doctor’s coat, but her shoulders were exposed and she wore thigh high stockings that looked like they were out of an old timey movie. The woman said something about a Mayor and ran off, back the way she came.
“I have a bad feeling about this…” she said aloud, before she could continue, Aria felt a tickle in her nose and sneezed. Was that pollen in the air?
She shivered, “Urgh, it’s chilly out here.” She side eyed the other person, who still hadn’t said anything else yet. Realizing though her own shoulders were bare, this person also had a bare shoulder. Aren’t they cold, too? Feeling anxious about the realization, Aria dumbly wondered aloud, "Or maybe my clothes are too thin?” There was still no reaction from the other person, although they seemed on the verge of speaking, she scoffed, “Whatever, I’m going back inside.”
She had absolutely no reason to trust this person, but the house was warmer, and Aria needed to find her jacket. She started down the path back towards the house, leaving the gender ambiguous white-clad warrior behind her.