Chapter Text
Maria sighs as she stares up at the building in front of her. It’s bigger than she expected for a dormitory but the Academy itself is also quite large so she shouldn’t be too surprised. It isn’t called a mansion for nothing, she supposes. She knows she’s lucky to have gotten a place in both. She huffs a smile and then drags her suitcases inside. Her dorm room is on the second floor, way in the back. She’s pleasantly surprised when she opens the door and finds a single bed there, not two. She’s not in the mood to deal with a roommate, period, so this is great. She doesn’t start school until Monday, which leaves her plenty of time to unpack and make herself at home.
All considering, Maria doesn’t have a lot of things. She packed up absolutely everything she owns, safe for her furniture. It’s not like she plans on returning home. Once she’s done with school, she’ll find somewhere else to live. That’s still two years away so she plans on finding work and start saving up. Her scholarship is covering the cost of school and accommodation and she’s never been a big spender for anything but essentials. She’ll be just fine. What’s important to her now is being away from her father and being able to focus on her education.
She puts her clothes away in the closet, organizes her books in the various shelves around the room, and then sets up her desk. It already feels more like home than her old room. Maria sits down on her bed to test out the mattress and then checks out the window. She has a pretty nice view of the yard behind the dorms. It’s empty right now but she expects it’s a good place to relax and unwind after school. She’ll keep it in mind. It’s going to be a busy year.
With nothing else to do for the rest of the day, Maria opts to just take it easy. She’s not planning on exploring the campus yet; there’s time for that later. The move has been kind of exhausting, even with her few possessions. She just wants to chill for the time being.
The next day, Maria heads out to explore some of the nearby city. The Academy is situated far enough from the city center that she’d need to take the subway to get anywhere truly interesting. There’s nothing she really wants to see there though, so she sticks to the neighborhood. There isn’t much around here but it’s still buzzing with fellow students. Maria checks out the coffee shop near the campus, as well as some of the smaller shops around. There’s a kiosk with necessities not five minutes way from the dormitories, and a snack bar close to the Academy itself. Maria files them all away for later. She doesn’t have a lot of cash to spend on extras but it’s good to know what options she has.
Monday has her starting early. It’s her first day at the Academy and she doesn’t want to be late. She almost forgets to wear her uniform. Her last school didn’t have one but she’s sure she’ll get used to it quickly. It looks nice too. Maria likes it. She doesn’t actually know which class she’s in yet so that’s another reason she wanted to get up early. She makes her way to the Teacher’s Lounge on the third floor, as instructed in her acceptance letter. One of the teachers there is going to show her to her class and make the introductions. Maria isn’t big on that but people tend to ignore her in school anyway so she doesn’t think it’s going to matter.
It only takes five minutes to get everything sorted out and Maria escorted to her classroom. There aren’t too many differences to her previous school’s classrooms but it still shows that this is an elite Academy. It makes her feel a little out of place, if she’s being honest. Half her class looks like a bunch of rich kids and she knows that she doesn’t. Still, she’s here on her own merit and she’s proud of that.
The teacher introduces her to her new class quickly. Maria doesn’t have much to add so she keeps it short herself. There’s a free seat next to a boy in the second row and she goes there once it’s pointed out to her. It’s a good spot, as far as she’s concerned. The boy looks nice, too; quiet and without that air of superiority she feels coming off of the rich kids.
“Hi, I’m Phil,” he smiles as she unpacks her books.
“Maria.”
They don’t talk much more beyond that since class is starting but Maria decides right away that she likes him. He has a calm way of speaking. She could do much worse for a bench neighbor for sure.
Class itself isn’t overly interesting but Maria pays attention anyway. It’s only after the first lesson that Phil talks to her again. Nobody else in the room seems particularly interested in chatting with her or getting to know her, which is just fine with Maria. One person at a time is perfect.
“We don’t often get new transfers, least of all during the school year.” He says. “If you need anything, let me know. I’d be happy to help.”
“Thanks. I could probably use some notes on previously covered topics.”
“Sure. I’ll bring what I have and we can go over it together. If you’re not too busy, maybe Friday would be good?”
Maria can’t help but smile and nod. Phil is a really nice kid and she appreciates his willingness to help. It’s not like she has any plans for the rest of the week. Outside of seeing more of the city, there isn’t much she really wants to do. She doesn’t know anyone here yet and she really only planned on focusing on school for a while. Maria isn’t too worried about catching up with whatever she’s missed. She assumes at least the basics have been covered by her old school and she’s pretty quick on the uptake in any case.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I know it can be difficult to switch schools.”
Maria asks a few more questions about classes and the school itself, until it’s time for their next lesson. All in all, she feels pretty good about this first day. None of her classmates are giving her any trouble and neither are the teachers. The few times she is struggling to keep up during class, Phil is quick to help her. She has a good feeling about him and their budding friendship.
The next day starts like any other, right up until Maria heads into the mansion’s yard to take a breather after school. There’s a weird tingling sensation in the back of her head that makes her feel really uneasy. She looks around but doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Maria frowns. She finds a tree to rest under and closes her eyes for a moment. The tingling only gets worse though.
When Maria opens her eyes again, she finds herself in unfamiliar surroundings. She bolts upright and takes in the area. There are high buildings everywhere, and Maria can’t say she’s ever seen architecture like it before. Actually, none of this looks like it’s from Earth. Even the road looks like it’s made of a weird metal — or is it glass — she’s never seen before. Maria feels her stomach drop. The fact that the streets are empty doesn’t help the matter. Something is really wrong here. More importantly, Maria would like to know where the hell she even is, and how she got here.
“What the hell…?”
With no apparent way back, Maria opts for taking a look around. There has to be somewhere she can return. Or maybe this is just a really weird dream. She sighs and shakes her head. Whatever this is, she doesn’t want to be here.
There is a massive block of a building obstructing the skyline straight ahead and it immediately catches Maria’s attention. It looks quite a ways away but she has no better idea at the moment. It might be easier to assume that an exit is somewhere nearby but hopefully going further into the city allows her to find someone to talk to. She follows the road, looking at the buildings on her way. There’s yellow light coming from practically everywhere which makes it difficult to see. Still, even the buildings look empty inside. It feels like everyone just vanished and it only adds to Maria’s discomfort.
She makes it a couple hundred meters inside the city before anything happens at all. There has been nothing going on whatsoever, not even animal noises. The silence creeps her out almost as much as the deserted state of the city. There’s a man ahead of her, tall enough to be noticeable even from this far away. Maria is hesitant to step any closer, despite looking for someone to ask for help. Something about all of this makes her wary.
Before she can think about what to do, the man turns around and Maria freezes in place. Whatever bad feeling she’s had before, it’s amplified now. She glances around her to see where she could possibly run to quickly if the need arises. There aren’t any alleys or side streets. Her only options are going back to where she started or running past this guy.
“Well, well, well… Who do we have here?”
Even with all the distance between them, his voice carries like he’s standing right next to her. The snap that follows rings just as loudly in her ears. The tingling gets worse once again. She’s on edge and, worse, suddenly surrounded. Maria has no idea where these people came from. It’s like they just materialized out of thin air. There’s a strange black shimmer around them too, like they’re draped in shadows.
Maria doesn’t even get to try to run from whatever this situation is turning into. Two of the new people grab her and restrain her, and no amount of struggling makes them loosen their hold. She watches the tall man approach and tries again to get free. She has such a bad feeling about this. He stops when he’s right in front of her and takes her in. It makes Maria’s skin crawl. She takes the chance to get a better look at him while he studies her. It’s his blue skin that freaks her out the most, even with his weird goons around. The strange, green clothing isn’t helping her feel better either.
“Interesting. Where did you come from? What do you want?”
“Can’t say I know,” Maria returns.
“Hm. I will find out, one way or another. Bring her along,” the man says.
Maria has no interest in going anywhere with him or his people. She can already feel some bruises forming on her arms and the thought is enough to kick her into gear. She’s over getting hurt by people; she’s over being covered in bruises. Maria’s anger flares and she tugs hard enough to take the men restraining her by surprise. She manages to free herself long enough to put some distance between herself and these people, if she can even call them that.
“You can’t outrun us, girl. You’re not going anywhere.”
“Screw you,” Maria glares.
There’s a pounding in her head suddenly, strong enough to bring her right down to her knees. She grabs her head between her hands in hopes of alleviating some of the pain but it doesn’t help.
“Finally,” Maria hears in her head. “Took you long enough to stand up for yourself. All this time, and you just let it all happen. Are you finally ready to fight back?”
“What are you—?”
“I shall lend you my strength, if you so will it.”
She has no idea what is going on exactly but that’s an easy choice to make. She can’t get out of this mess by herself. Whatever power the strange voice inside her head is offering, Maria is willing to take it to get back.
“Yes.”
“Good,” the voice chuckles briefly. “I am thou, thou art I. Thou who wouldst bring about the end of thine oppression, call upon my name and claim my power for thyself.”
Maria screws her eyes shut against the pain that spikes in her head. The name is on the tip of her tongue, even though she’s never heard it before. She forces herself into a standing position and opens her eyes to glare at the people surrounding her.
“Come. Commander!”
There’s a whirlwind enveloping her with the words and she feels a new strength flowing through her. The wind is enough to knock the people around her off their feet. The only one who remains standing is the tall one whose name Maria still doesn’t know. When Maria glances over her shoulder, she sees a big form come into shape behind her, swathed in a light blue shimmer. It looks humanoid, wearing a uniform that reminds Maria of the military. She grins and turns back to the others. She’s ready to fight.
“Commander.”
It nods and then light engulfs the knocked over men. They’re gone in an instant, leaving only the first man behind. Maria really wishes she had a weapon of some kind to deal with him. She feels like that would be okay. The thought is enough to materialize something and when she flexes her hand next, she takes hold of a sword. Maria doesn’t understand what exactly is happening right now but this turn of events is much better than it was when she got here. She feels ready to deal with this.
“I shall see you again,” the man simply says.
He snaps his fingers and disappears into thin air. Maria curses. She doesn’t know whether she prefers this or whether she might have preferred a fight. Either way, she’s content to be done with this. The tingling has eased now and Maria feels like she can breathe again.
She decides to go back the way she came, in hopes of finding a way back. Clearly, the city isn’t safe. As strong as she feels now, with this strange new power at her disposal, Maria doesn’t want to risk anything.
By the time she makes it back to her point of origin, Maria feels strangely exhausted. Luckily, this time she does find something. She can’t tell whether she just missed it before but there is a small tear in the fabric of space-time, at least that’s what Maria supposes it is. She wouldn’t know how else to describe it anyway.
Touching it sends her tumbling back into the yard behind the mansion, right next to the tree she was resting under earlier. Now Maria is stuck trying to process what just happened. She doesn’t feel that strength anymore, at least not as strongly as before. The tingling is still there though and it’s enough to make her recoil from the tree. She does not want to end up back in that strange city.
Nobody else seems to have noticed anything strange going on if the casualness of everyone around her is any indication. That doesn’t make Maria feel any better. She’s pretty sure she isn’t crazy and she’s also pretty sure she didn’t dream this whole thing up. Maria scrambles to her feet and makes a mad dash for her dorm room. Not only is she exhausted, she’s also feeling a little queasy.
She’s only been here for four days and already things are going like this. It’s certainly not how Maria thought her new life was going to start. At least she doesn’t have to go back there. She can’t help but wonder about the city though, and the man and his people. It was all so very strange. Maria decides on an early night. With some luck, this will all be forgotten in the morning, like it never happened in the first place.