Chapter Text
She couldn’t see, hear, nor breathe. Darkness permeated her static world. Whatever thoughts she could have had at being constricted like this were nonexistent. Any feelings she would have experienced didn’t arise. As in her beginning, so was her end. Landscapes of nothing. Another inevitable victim of Death.
If this was the end, why could she experience? She couldn’t think. Except, she knew there was a barrier closing in, like a bedsheet going over a corpse. The feeling pushed against the veil of nothing. This entity welcomed themself into Death’s victim like an old friend.
Because… Because it was an old friend. Wasn’t it? Somebody old and new at the same time. This friend… Her. Her consciousness. Somehow… Someway… Against all odds… Her body braced itself against the heat. She, too, focused on this as her first thought arose.
I don’t understand.
It’s alright. You don’t have to.
No. Please…
You’re alive. You’re safe.
I…
Silence fell. The transition back to nothing… No, something… She shivered. No. They couldn’t…
Wait! she screamed into the void. What is this? I can’t see. Is this the afterlife? A dream? When no response was offerer, she found herself adding, Don’t say it’s… A nothingness in which all you had was your mind? Because you were not virtuous nor vile enough for other realms? Horrible concept for an afterlife. She would rather have been lost in a blank void. Uncaring of the wider world and needing nothing.
Forever stuck. Rendered insane from nothing happening. Never breathing. Never seeing. Nothing ever again.
Except the void spoke back. Laughter. Deep in sound. Light in tone. Seemed tinted with warmth.
Her breathing hitched. Okay. She could not have been imagining that earlier voice. Especially since she could sense her chest rising and falling. Maybe… Maybe this could be a test of some sort. Somebody needed to know the afterlife she would best fit. Heaven? Hell? A permanent stay in this void? Or! A dream? Had to be. There couldn’t be an afterlife. Just wasn’t logical. There wouldn’t be so many scientific theories and religions if they knew the aftermath of death. Which had to mean that when you died, you were gone. You, and all the knowledge and memories you ever accrued, were forevermore nothing.
Except, despite all her reasoning, she fixated on the void. If she was not imagining this… Or if this were some kind of weird dream… If somebody was here with her… She had to ask.
Are… Are you… God?
For her mixed bag of emotions, she got a soft snort.
For a moment, she forgot to breathe. She had questions, yet this voice treated her panic like…
No, the voice said. I’m in no way divine. Nor do I want to cause you alarm. You can relax. Alright?
Somewhere to her side. A silky…? Those things that gripped at her… Yes, her hand. She got feeling in a… Hand. Her left. Still there.
Wiggling her right foot tensed the expectant muscles. Relief slammed her like a heavy ocean wave. Her body moved. Meant she couldn’t be dead. She went straight to thinking she was a goner like an idiot.
Now, the things grabbing her left hand? Digits. Five of them. The palm behind them squeezed hers. They were contained behind silk. The ease it slid across her palm gave her pause. Most silk she came across liked to snag on skin. Static, or something to that effect. Never felt nice. This silk? Rubbed smooth, like butter. Not an inkling of hostility. Like curling under a heated blanket despite simply being a hand in fabric.
She felt herself being swallowed by a surface as pliable as that silky palm. Her eyes wouldn’t open, yet she couldn’t care less. Because… Because the voice. They meant no harm.
She… She could…
You’re not an idiot. “Cease.”
She couldn’t place what landed her in this predicament. Right now, finding out maybe didn’t matter? They… He… Whoever those lower tones belonged to. They went out of their way to make her comfortable. Her mattress conformed perfectly to her when she shifted. A singular pillow sat under her head, firm enough to not cause neck strain. Weighted fabric clung to her front side.
Sighing, she couldn’t help burying herself further. She always wanted a heavy blanket. Plus, this mattress… She spent years wishing for one that hadn’t meshed with its well-meaning, but old and pointy springs.
The silky palm remained holding hers. Probably sensing her focus returning there, the entity squeezed her hand. Their voice and much larger palm surface perhaps belonged to a man? Didn’t explain the telepathy. So, yes. This must be a dream!
“I don’t think do.” His voice. Wasn’t much deeper than what she heard in her head. Reminded her of a lizard?
She gasped. Wait-
You were clinging to life when you came to us. We had to induce a coma.
Her chest heaved. For how long?
A year.
What?!
The silky palm twitched. A response expected from someone your age. I… Would express my condolences for you losing a year of your rapidly-waning youth-
I’m twenty-seven, now?
Tongue clicking, in her head. You didn’t let me finish. I would feel sorry for you missing a birthday were it not for how we brought you back from the brink of death. You’re not twenty-seven.
You’re twenty-six. You’re staying twenty-six for the foreseeable future. You may never suffer the effects of hitting middle age. Because, when you came to us, we-
I’ve been made immortal? Wow, you’re doing a poor job of convincing this isn’t a dream. Living forever isn’t scientifically possible!
The silk slipped from her grasp. We’ll give you a comprehensive rundown later.
Her hand fell to the bed, limp as a kitten being dangled by the scruff of their neck. No, you’re going to explain what’s going on right here and now! I don’t care if I can barely move, can’t open my eyes, or… She faltered. Of all times for her to feel useless, it had to be now?!
Your mind is strong! the man exclaimed. I haven’t felt a presence so dominating since… Creaking came from an object being pushed. Sounded to be a chair going by its scraping of a wooden floorboard. Unfortunately, we’ll have to reinduce sleep until your physical body cooperates with the rest of you-
Are you kidding me?! First, you… Then, you…
Her left hand was scooped up again. The same silky palm interlocked its fingers with her bare skin. A now-familiar smoothness overwhelmed her palm. Overcame her senses. What fabric softener had he used? Could she borrow it? Actually, what clothes would she have access to-
“Cease.”
One word. One little word overcame her mind. In an instant, it silenced the panic rising within her. One word she didn’t realize had been planted in her head, using a technique requiring consent in real life, worked itself through her head. Sensing the nagging side of her get smothered, she freed the breath she had not realized she held. Her body settled into her sheets and mattress. Oh, did the pressure feel nice against her back! She could get used to this.
Feel better? asked the man.
She couldn’t help it. She spoke the truth. Yeah… Anxiety? Voided. No need to worry. No need to question. Simply listen closely. Speak if spoken to.
I must admit, I’m as fearful of you as you’ve been of me. Your revival is unprecedented. You are unprecedented.
This fuzzy feeling in her chest… I’m not special enough for someone to…
His grip around her hand wound tighter, shaking their connection like a rattlesnake’s tail. How wrong you are!
For the first time since awakening, she sensed things happening above her neck. Teeth were clenched. Face hot, and probably red. Why me?
Because I willed it. Because our technology could. We’ve spent months reeling you in from the brink of death. But in all that time, we never got to know you. You had a handful of identifying documents and items on your person when we brought you here. I only couldn’t read your mind- The best source of who you are- Until we reconnected your soul to your body. So, I must ask a better question.
Who are you?
She hesitated. Why should she tell this stranger anything when he hadn’t identified himself? Maybe he could elaborate on who saved her? Shouldn’t information flow both ways?
Indeed, it should, he said.
Wait, what? Did you just-
I’m with an organization not of your world. Our name? Prismatic Luminosity. PrisLumi, if you feel that’s a mouthful. We’re human, like you. We seek better futures for everyone.
Now will you answer me? His silky fingers laced tight once more with hers. Tell me who you are.
She swallowed air, and held it hostage.
Finally, a straight answer! If only he had led with that, or given his name, or…
He squeezed her hand.
Alright. Yep. This wasn’t the time to loiter in her head. Got to stay in the present. Tackle one thing at a time. Here went nothing.
She exhaled. Leaving with it was, My name is Samantha.
Ah. One of the most popular names of your birth year. I should’ve guessed.
Oh, she said as her face flushed. I mean… My mother’s wanted to name her first daughter Samantha since she was a girl…
…Hold on.
Her shoulders jumped. Where’s my mother? My family? Anybody I’d know?
The man’s grip on her palm loosened, and was accompanied by an exhale.
She swallowed. Was nice to feel her body in action. She could have the strength to sit up at this rate… Yeah, and? What good would moving around be if her eyes wouldn’t open? Why wouldn’t they open? Trying to regain one of her better senses felt like a toddler trying to lift a garage door.
Meanwhile, the only other living thing she knew of being nearby brought his hands back to his person. At least he was here, playing the relieving part of a sign of life. He seemed alright, for somebody she couldn’t yet see or even been told much about.
I’m afraid you’re far from home, Ms. Samantha, he said. Not only are you in the care of an otherworldly organization-
Sike. Think again! I’m in another world?
Yes.
Oh, this could not be happening. She would admit she didn’t have much of a life back home. Yet, the people there. The things there. The… The… Everything she had been made to leave behind!
Why?!
“Cease.”
That word. Again, that word. He couldn’t possibly have…
Her breathing slowed. Her attention fell to the bedsheets she still couldn’t muster the strength to see. Wow, were they soft. Whoever paired them with the heavy blanket made an excellent decision.
Ms. Samantha, the man said. I promise you, you’re in good hands. Following this, his palm grabbed hers once more. Rich, non-sticking silk on her skin. It held her with the daintiness of a shovel carrying sand. We don’t want to hurt you. “Cease.”
While her body once more complied with the order to stop, her mind hovered on his words. Good hands, like… His? Ugh. His presence kept her from… What, exactly…? Plus, “cease”. Cease. There was… A phrase to describe that word, isn’t there? One for the one that keeps getting in her head?
Trigger word.
…Oh.
Oh.
Oh, no. The palm the man wasn’t holding- Her right hand, her senses could finally tell her- Grabbed at those soft sheets beneath her. This could not be what she thought it was.
She snarled. Her jaws clacked together. Another feeling. Good. Maybe if her body kept this up, she could open her eyes and… Maybe do something? Anything. For the love of all that’s holy, this couldn’t be it. She refused to be condemned to whatever horrible fate these trigger word-happy weirdos had for her!
Meanwhile, the man loomed overhead. All these feelings and actions of hers were met by him with…
A sigh?
She growled.
I was right, he said. You’re quite resistant to hypnosis.
Wh-why are you trying to hypnotize me?! I don’t know you! I don’t appreciate you messing with my head! My mind is mine, and you, a stranger-
He laced his fingers in hers.
She went stiff. All throughout her life, she had had small hands. Now she could tell they could get swallowed in the stranger’s grip.
We’ve conducted this test because no one would believe me. In our world, there are few cases of status conditions being nearly ineffective against humans. Safe to say, you’re one of those few.
Furthermore… Until now, I could completely influence your mind and emotions because your soul was still in the process of resettling. I’m impressed with how fast you could regain control.
She gritted her teeth. Yes, well… Don’t. Do it. Again.
Noted. I hope this doesn’t affect our future ventures?
I’m supposed to trust you after you’ve held my mind in your metaphorical hands? Who even are you?
I would like to go into detail… Hesitation? Good. He better be afraid! You’re overwhelmed. You need rest. I shouldn’t have had to put you through a mental test for these nitwits.
Did the mental test include telling me I’m far from home and the people I knew? Since you’re apparently not some god in hiding, you couldn’t have… Sent them a message? Some sort of sign?
I’m sorry, he said. Sincerely. He followed this up with a squeeze of her hand. We haven’t reached out to them. You see, I’ve been waiting to speak with you for a long time. You’re mostly still a stranger to us despite our efforts to rescue you from the grave.
Let’s tackle things one at a time, yes?
Heat emerged from backside of her left palm. The suddenness, having come from what had previously been all cool air or silky touch, made her gasp. This new feeling stuck to her skin, distinguishing itself from his touch by getting in between them. Like a light wind, the warmth pushed against and past her. Some hard shape, reminding her of a triangle- No, multiple triangles. A diamond? Certainly a physical object, smooth like that glove yet hard to the skin. Distinguishing it from his warmth came down to the temperature. Bit cooler, like touchcing a mirror. Almost as if the mirror was…
Me?
Correct. Your second being, a form your people know in concept, locked in crystal. You wouldn’t be who I’m speaking with had we let it escape. We would be left with a pale imitation. I… We… Nobody wanted that, as much as it would…
Finish the sentence.
Wouldn’t you agree it would morbid for us to keep your body alive for our uses while you were reincarnated elsewhere?
I don’t know. What does this “PrisLumi” you represent do? Kidnap dying people to drop into other worlds later? Do you need bodies to throw at some evil overlord? Like, your typical high fantasy story with swords and magic-
I’m afraid not.
Oh. She already lamented the loss of a magic staff capable of blasting an enemy to pieces. What good would there be in a second chance if she had no purpose?
You’re wrong. The stranger’s digits prodded her crystalized soul, like a hand patting a shoulder. You do.
Her arm twitched slightly at each poke. Each corresponded with a wave of energy radiating through her being, loosening muscles she hadn’t realized tightened… Slowing a breath she hadn’t realized quickened…
Yeah.
That’s right.
One thing at a time…
You’ll find out what you’ll be doing in due time. For now, we’ll have you rest. You’re safe here. The next time you wake up, you should have full control over yourself.
We’ll speak again soon, Ms. Samantha, her mysterious savior said, removing his presence from the crystal. And as he withdrew, an invisible line of energy coursed through her body. Maybe he could have snapped his fingers and achieved the same effect…
Regaining that precious mental control of herself, her attention rocketed skyward. Hey, wait! she fired back.
Welcome to the world of pokémon.
Some period of silence followed.
Uh.
Wait.
Um.
Huh…? Her heart had not begun to thump like crazy out of nowhere, right? Were she more able, she would be measuring its speed. Seemed as if it could rival the speed of light. She wouldn’t put herself through a marathon, then run all the way back to the start from the finish line. Like, her mental ears did not fail her there. Couldn’t have.
Did she really…?
Did he truly…?
Excuse me?
“Cease.”
Darkness returned like a light being switched off. Though now, it came armed with comfort. This benefactor who steadied her slip back into sleep. The knowledge of being safe. His briefest mention of…
There was nothing left. No side thoughts. No other voices. No outside warmth. Nothing left for her to experience, but hope. Driven by a buried instinct, she sunk into nothingness’ welcoming embrace. This peace it offered? Everything and more she could have asked for.
Wh-whoever you are… she said, fighting to get the words out through a bout of void. Th-thank you… Upon putting those stuttery words out there, she let herself be returned to the darkness. No reason to fight. No reason to speak. Simply sleep. Whatever waited for her beyond here could keep waiting.
She smiled. In her descent to a now near nothingness, she almost didn’t notice herself getting more comfortable in this heaven-sent bed. From back, to stomach, then a cheek nestled into the single, folded pillow cradling her head. Oh, Samantha. Cease your worrying. Who cared if these PrisLumi people had access to her brain? She certainly couldn’t, given their tampering could keep a full-blown freak out at bay.
Her past could stay in the past. Her future could take care of itself. All was right with the world.
I’m happy to know you’re comfortable.
Yeah, she said. I am, too.
Nothingness consumed her, mind and all.