Monica awoke face down on a beach. The sands were powder white and felt rough on her face.

"Sand...Sand...Sand...Adio mios! All we ever do is find ourselves face down in a pile of sand!" The swords woman muttered to herself. She rose up and squinted up at the sky. "Wait...why is it ..all blanco when I look up?"

Pushing up off the ground, she found she was encircled by a thick mist that was thick and white as the sands. It seems they had made it to Hideaway Island, but she couldn't be sure this was truly where they were. The sword on her belt loop could never dice through this fog. It swirled thicker than a dense white pudding.

"I swear," Monica growled. "I love that old hombre Abacab but he needs to steer the ship better. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in such a mess."

Though she wasn't feeling groggy, the fog had a disorienting quality and she walked the sands carefully, plotting each step like it was her last. This was the perfect place for a villain like Django the Slasher to hide because any authorities searching for him would be immediately lost at sea...and even if they made it to the shore, they'd be lost at land. Monica certainly was.

"Hehehe!" went a high pitched giggle in the mist. "Wee hee hee!"

Monica drew her sword faster than a gun. "Who's there?!" she shouted. "Show yourself!"

"But why?" the voice taunted implike. "I'm an illusion! An illusion or possibly a delusion!"

Monica took a step back and gasped as the fog slowly parted to form a pair of eyes, a nose and a mouth. Like a hollowed out skull, it moved up and down when it talked. "My name is Mirage! Wee hee hee!"

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Mirage?" Monica said, raising her eyebrows. "Pretty obvious name. I suppose I just whacked my cabeza on the boards of the ship and now I'm seeing all sorts of crazy things!"

"Relaaaaax darling," the fog faced answered. "I'm just the spirit of the island. But everyone sees me differently...get my drift?"

The fog face drifted through the mist to illustrate the nature of his pun. "Wonderful," Monica muttered. "What do you want with me?"

Mirage shook his head. "It's not what I want with you, but what you want with me. You have come to this island seeking someone from your past. And you might find him...or more about yourself....in the process!"

The face swirled before turning into the petrified visage of a middle aged woman with a brown skinned face similar to Monica. She wore a similar white fleece and black pants to Monica but an apron hung over her body.

"Monica!" the woman screamed.

"Mama..." Monica said to her mother's panic stricken face. She was not met with a response, but a repetition of her name.

"Monica...find him. Find him...he killed your father and your brother!"

Monica's fist tightened around the blade of her sword. She recalled the exact words and when they were said to her. They echoed through her brain so often that they taunted her. The day she left the village, she only had one thing on her mind...revenge.

"I will...Madre..." Monica said, holding the sword across her body.

But soon, her mother's face swirled and reverted back to the foggy face of Mirage. He laughed his irritating "wee hee" laugh that was beginning to drive Monica crazy.

"What kind of Diablo magic is this?!" Monica demanded as she slashed at the fog.

"This is magic mist, darling and it interacts with your brain in ways you might never have imagined."

Monica already knew she despised this island. Even if she could finally get her vengeance it would be like finding justice in a corrupt city.

"As I said," Mirage said with a hazy smile. "You came to this island to find someone else, but here, in this fog of grand illusions, you may find yourself instead."

The spirit began to giggle in his highly annoying laugh before disappearing. But as he did, he imparted a final lesson with the vengeful swordswoman: "Sometimes you may find that illusions are the most honest people you know. After all, illusions never fake their lies! Keep that in mind in case you lose it!"

And with that event in dense fog, he left Monica standing alone in the mist.