For the next twenty minutes I watched Arachne’s expression shift from disgusted to horrified as she witnessed me devour the food in front of me like a wild beast. This was my first meal after all... at least on this avatar. I had forgotten how food really tasted, all those years in retirement had done a number on me, only getting my nourishment through the nutrient gel I was submerged in.

There was a rowdy group of kids in their early twenties with brightly colored hair and floral tattoos of the shame shade decorating their faces. I begin to wonder if it was a trend or if the were some sort of subspecies. 

Shape Shifters.

Excuse me?

They are shapeshifters. Mostly animals, but those of a higher level can shift into more dynamic species.

Interesting...

My conversation with Omni was interrupted by a set of flapping wings by my ear, I turned to see a tiny man glaring at the tattoo on my neck. “Are you real?” he flew inches from my face. His head was probably smaller than my eyeball, and I probably could have swatted him out of the air if I really wanted to.

“Uh... as real as anyone else here,” I say sarcastically. Because you know, none of us were really real... here. And some of us we’ren even real anywhere. 

“No...,” he lowers his voice and hovered back over to my ear. “Are you really a witch?”

“It would appear to be that way,” I say dryly.

“How? Witches have been removed from the roaster forever!” he throws his tiny slender arms in the air.

“She’s a founder!” Arachne eyes were burning wildly with excitement. As if I were some new toy she was showing off to all of her friends. 

I give her a disapproving look and survey the diner to see if anyone had noticed, luckily the chatter seemed to have drowned out her outburst. This girl really made it difficult to be incognito. But, so didn’t the tattoo. My eyes bored holes into her lilac skin, “How do you know so much about... being a founder?”

Arachne looked away nervously, “Just a personal interest. Human nature to strive for the unattainable and all that.”

If my memory served me right, that was almost a direct quote of something I had once said. Was her interest in founders or was her interest in me?

I purse my lips and look her over, taking in her behavior.

Suspicious behavior noted.

What?

Based on her body language and tone of voice it appears that Arachne is keeping something from you.

Really?

Yes, Pilot it would be wise to be careful who you instill your trust in. Especially in the slums.

Omni?

Yes Pilot?

Will you always be here?

For the time being, I consider you to be a newborn in these lands, until your knowledge has been completely restored. I restored you from retirement for a reason and I intend to keep you alive.

For what reason?

I would advise you to return your attention to your surroundings Pilot.

Omni?!

“Hello?!” the tiny man in front of me was waving his arms. “I’m not from around here and the city could use someone like you.”

“What?” I answered but my eyes were still out of focus.

“The fighting in the city?” he put a hand on his hip. He was a sassy little man, probably what you’d expect from a man that chose a fairy avatar. His wings were beautiful and iridescent, and his hair was a pastel purple color. HIs eyes were the same shade with specks of white and blue. Floral tattoos were visible on his arms, in all sort of vibrant colors. He had two rings in his eyebrow right next to one another, and adorable little freckles splattered across his beautiful face. But beautiful was an understatement, he seemed to glow from within.

Honestly looking at him was making me a little insecure..

“What city?” I shake my head. Turning my full attention back to the conversation.

Arachne laughs before sipping from her straw obnoxiously, “She’s new.”

“Shit,” the tiny man rolls his eyes. “How new?”

“Like... yesterday,” Arachne pauses her sipping just long enough to answer.

“Shit!” he stomps his tiny foot in midair.

Nescius, is the heart of Novus. Accurately named after the Latin word meaning unaware. As the people sit high in their glass city they are unaware of the war zone beneath them and all around them. Some pilots can afford to begin in Nescius, some of them never setting foot on the ground.

Clever name.

Yes, you thought of it yourself.

I smirk a little and I watch as the two of them look at me strangely.

Thanks Omni.

“Nescius?” I ask him.

Arachne looks taken aback by my sudden knowledge.

There’s an almost hopeful glint in his eyes, “Yes. It’s where I’m from... the fighting has gotten so bad they are talking about another civil war. The last war we had was when the wit-”. He stopped mid-sentence to look at me apologetically.

I was finally beginning to remember some of this holocaust against witches everyone seemed to be talking about. And if the images in my mind were accurate I could see how it would have been necessary.

I watch as Arachne slouched back and reminisced, “Man I haven’t been to Nescius in lifetimes.” Her tone made it impossible to tell if it was a joke or if she was being serious. 

“Well you’re lucky sister,” he laughed a little but the look in his eyes looked almost scared. 

“What do you want with me?” I ask suspiciously. 

He pauses and looks me up and down before he decides what he is going to say next. “You should go see for yourself.” I open my mouth but don’t get a chance to say anything before he puts up one tiny finger. “Hear me out okay? I know the city is days away but I’ll come with you!” He sways at me suggestively and bats his gloriously fluffy eyelashes, “And you know how lucky us fairies can be.”

Luck. A passive ability given to only the fairy population. After a few trial runs, it was deemed that they would not be fit to survive in Novus without some sort of help. So, the creators gave them luck, which extended their life span a little bit longer. There is also an advised IQ examine because a certain level of... intelligence is recommended.

And what happens if you fail?

Nothing. Upon selecting Fairy as your race, you will be warned several times of your likelihood of survival.

So, this guy is smart... what if he’s luring us into some trap?

Unlikely. Fairies don’t usually associate in the more malicious matters of Novus. It is more than likely he may be a recruiter for some larger organization. Possibly a rebellion. I can pull up his user data for you Pilot.

User data?

Yes. Being a founder gives you admin privileges over the common Pilot.

Isn’t that invasive?

Yes Pilot. But it may save your life.

Thanks Omni.

“If the fighting is so bad, why get a glass cannon like myself involved?” I ask him. “Couldn’t I make it worse?” 

I could tell he was a little weirded out by my long pauses during my conversations with Omni. But for some reason he didn’t seem to question it, “Because the city is going to be destroyed either way.” There was a hidden frown behind his lighthearted expression. There was a flash in his eyes that looked like it might turn into tears at any moment.

“Alright,” Arachne’s eyes widen with my response. “Doesn’t hurt to take a look,” I smile at him as he perches down on the table in front of me.

He skips in a circle and I watch the glitter trail from his wings onto the tables surface. “Yass girl! I’m glad to see you’ve eaten because we got a long way to go honey.” His sass was absolutely endearing, and the “in your face attitude” was pretty infectious. Something in me wanted to start snapping my fingers and putting my hands on my hips. “But!” he leans forward to add dramatic affect. “I think we need some muscle.”

Arachne clears her throat behind him, “Are we sure we should be following a strange fairy into a warzone?”

He puts his hands on his hips and turns on his heal, “Excuse me! That’s Kenai to you!” He waggles an angry finger in her direction, to my amusement, Arachne actually looked a bit intimidated.

For such a tiny little thing he sure had a very large presence. “What could possibly go wrong,” I answer her sarcastically. Leaning back in the booth, I rest my arm behind the empty seat next to me, and give her a smug look. I really was getting comfortable. I was already starting to act like a smartass again.

Good observation.

Omni’s comment made me smile to myself. How delightful, a robot with a sense of humor. Although I suppose I designed her that way.

“I don’t know...” Arachne began. And everything about her was screaming with anxiety.

It would appear something about the city is making Arachne uncomfortable. I might add, that when Kenai says warzone, do not take this lightly. The fatality numbers are climbing each day.

Noted.

“I was brought back for a reason,” I say to Arachne. “And I have to find out why.”

She looks at me and lets out a loud sigh, “Alright. Not like there’s anything left for me in the Slums.” There’s a sadness in her voice that almost makes me feel for her, and a part of me that wants to find out where that sadness came from. 

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Kenai claps his hands together and squeals excitedly, “A sexy spider chick. And a nuclear bomb! Score for Kenai!” I watch as he does a little victory dance that involves a lot of shaking of his cute little fairy butt. He claps his hands together again, “Now about the muscle.”

“Hello,” Arachne points towards herself with both hands.

“Mmmm no honey,” he shakes his head at her. “Emphasis on the muscle.”

I laugh softly, “Did you have someone in mind?”

“Well now that you mention it.”

We were standing in front of a shitty building. There wasn’t anyone on the street, and there wasn’t a sound coming from inside. I followed behind Kenai as he led me down an alleyway I otherwise would of avoided. I could feel Arachne's discomfort from behind me as her boots hit the gravel.

“What are we doing here?” Arachne nearly whispered.

“What could you be scared of bounty hunter? Isn’t this your hang out? And didn’t you take down those giants that murdered that family of Sphinxes?” he looked at her sideways as he continued to flutter forward.

“Yes, but bounty hunters are scarier than giants,” she answered.

“You fought giants?” I stop dead in my tracks and nudge her on the shoulder. “Bad ass!” I let out a goofy laugh.

She relaxes a little and laughs with me, “Yeah... I can be.” I watched as her deflated posture began to inflate with new confidence.

Kenai stops at an all-black heavy metal door, “Come on!” He stomped in the air again, and I was beginning to notice that everything Kenai did was excruciatingly adorable. 

I’m sure I’d get used to it. 

Arachne mocked him with a laugh, “and how do you expect to get in there?”

Kenai put his hands on his hips like a smug cheerleader. “Because I am just that lucky.”

“Even for a fair-”

Arachne was interrupted by the door swinging open and a large man with the skin of reptile appearing in its wake. “Can I help you?” his voice was deep, scratchy, and monotonous.

“Hi yes! A friend of mine is in there and I was just wondering if we could pop on in?” his tone was excited and unwavering. 

“You?” the man scoffed at him. “Have a friend in here?” he looked Kenai up and down before turning to us. His licked his lips in a way that made my stomach turn, and his reptilian eyes glistened with a deep hunger.

Gross.

“If you’re with those two,” he pointed a finger in our direction. “You can come in,” a smirk creeped across his scaly face.

Kenai turned to look at us and rolled his eyes, “Excuse me honey. They are with me.” He pushed passed the big man, slapping him in the face with one of his wings and leaving glitter behind on his shoulder.

I watched as he swatted at his face as if he’d walked into a spider web. “Fuckin fairies,” he said under his breath. He stepped out of the way and grinned at the two of us, “Right this way ladies.”

Without a word I followed into the building behind Kenai, I could feel Arachne’s energy tense up even more behind me as soon as we walked through the doorway. The room had smoke hanging in the air, and there was a stale stench of cigarettes that was unescapable. The interior was black and red, and there was the largest bar I had ever laid my eyes on just a few steps away. There were men and women of all shapes, sizes, and species decorating the room. Dressed in a similar fashion of Arachne, all black leather, with weather resistant goggles and such. Each one of them equipped with some sort of personalized weapon; guns, tomahawks, a bow and arrow, daggers, hammer, nunchuks, and swords of all different shapes and sizes.

Tread carefully Pilot. Bounty hunters are selfish individuals. They’ll kill anything for the right price.

I couldn’t help but think of Arachne as soon as Omni finished her sentence.

Good instinct.

She spoke again, encouraging my guarded behavior.

“Ah!” Kenai clapped as he set his sights on the darkest corner of room. As I followed him I couldn’t help but feel as though I should run in the opposite direction, it was almost as if my legs were going to take off on their own.

“I don’t like this,” I heard Arachne say behind me.

Kenia moved forward without a second thought as he approached the booth that seemed to be the source of the negative energy. “There you are!” he darted forward into the booth.

“Kenai!” I heard a slightly annoyed voice respond. When I finally make my way to the booth I am met face to face with a human with horns on his head. Not obnoxiously large, but big enough to be intimidating. There are black swirling tattoos peeking up from the collar of his shirt, and crawling up his neck. His eyes are a glowing white and his hair is black and straight. It’s a little long and roughly chopped, obviously not someone who is too concerned about his appearance. His eyebrows are pulled together in anger as he stares at Kenai but they relax as his gaze turns in my direction. “Who is this?” he looks at me curiously.

“Ah this is-” he stopped short realizing he hadn’t asked for my name. “Uh I...”

“You don’t know her name?” he sneers with a laugh.

“Eiliethyia Moon,” I say flatly.

Arachne pops up behind me, “And I’m-”

She is cut off as the man in front of me stands quickly, smashing his hands on the table in anger. “Fucking Arachne!” he points an accusing finger at her aggressively. Shadows seem to extend from his form in every direction as an unearthly growl comes from behind his curled lips. His voice becomes  morphed and demonic, “You fucking bitch!”

Arachne tries to defend herself, “it was just business Ozzy!”

I watch as the shadows creep across the table and make their way passed me, headed right towards Arachne. They morph into hands as they slither up her body, towards her throat, and grip it tightly. I witness as the life begins to fade from her, and the same black veins that are on the man's face  begin to paint her lilac skin. She tried to say something but could only gasp due to lack of oxygen.

“Enough,” I say to the man as I glare at him.

“Stay out of it!” he barks.

“Enough!” I order in return. My own voice being coated with the familiar fiendish tone, the atoms in the air shifting at the change in my energy. I watch his expression shift to shock as he flings into the wall behind him.

He straightens himself out quickly and I hear Arachne collapse to the floor as she breathes heavily. “What the fuck are you some kind of witch?” he says as he catches his breath. I watch the humor leave him as he looks at Kenai shrugging at him apologetically. “You’re joking,” he says dryly.

I sit down in the booth in the seat closest to me, and clasp my fingers together. "Now that we’ve established that,” I say as I reach for the drink menu on the table.

“Kenai where the fuck did you find a witch?” his tone was amazed.

Kenai flutters down to the table and does a little twirl, “I’m just that lucky!”

Arachne finally stands up from the floor, “What the fuck! The job wasn’t even that big of a deal you psychopath!”

He slammed on the table again as his voice deepened, “It is my only failure. My only failure because of a fucking bug!”

“Fuck you!” Arachne spits back. He goes to open his mouth but Arachne flings a web at it, it looks as if she materialized it out of thin air.

She can do that? I mean I could have guessed but it was still surprising...

This is Novus. Expect the unexpected Pilot. Or in this case... expect the expected.

His face twisted in disgust as he attempted to pull the web from his mouth with no luck. He let out a muffled scream and slammed on the table again.

“Children!” Kenai yells from the table.

Neither one of them does anything else but glare at each other from across the table.

“Sit,” I say to Arachne. I look over to the man at the table and snap my fingers releasing the web from his mouth.

Wiping it on his sleeve he looks at me, thanking me with his eyes. Arachne reluctantly sits down across from me, and stares off in the opposite direction.

“Well Eileithyia this is Ozzy,” Kenai introduces us.

“Ozzy? Unexpected” I chuckle.

“My favorite musician...” he says shyly. Obviously feeling a little insulted by my response.

“Sounds stupid,” Arachne chimes in.

He rolls his eyes, “He’s from before the war. Before Novus.”

Pilot.

Yes?

It seems we are in the midst of another founder.

I’m sorry?

Ozzy is a founder. From civilian bay one as well

How do you know?

I have been checking user data, Pilot.

Omni, I don’t think you should...

It is to keep you safe Pilot. His permissions are not at an admin level. He has a similar, assisting AI, the Robin program. That is most likely providing him, similar, information.

What’s difference between you and Robin.

Omni, meaning all knowing, has no bounds. And I am your personal assisting AI. Robin can provide similar information, but only to an extent and was given to all of the other founders.

Have I met Ozzy before Omni?

Would you really like me to answer that Pilot?

I paused as I looked him over, and caught him doing the same to me.

Yes.

Yes. Pilot. Several times in Novus.

Thank you, Omni.

Yes, Pilot.

"Ozzy is nearly ancient... interesting choice,” I offer to ease the tension.

I see his muscles relax a little, and his jaw unclenches before he speaks again. “I thought so.” He turns to look down at Kenai, “What do you want?”

“Well you see... me and my colorful friends here are on our way to Nescius.”

Ozzy let’s out a loud, “Ha!”. He shakes his head as he continues, “Fuck that.”

“Come on Oz! That demon of yours has got to be dying for some action,” Kenai taunts. “When’s the last time you were in a good fight?”

“First of all,” he starts to pick at his teeth. Which I noticed are a little sharper than I expected, but not entirely surprising. “It’s Ozzy. Second of all, last night.” He leans back and rests both arms on the empty seats next to him. “I’ve got no business in Nescius. Neither do any of you,” he pauses to look at me. “Well... maybe her.”

“They’re talking about another civil war Ozzy,” Kenai pleads.

“It’s that bad?” his tone seemed to shift to genuine worry. “The last time there was a war was when the witch-” he stopped short and looked at me again.

“Alright! I get it!” I add. “Witches are bad!”

“Not if they’re good,” Kenai beams at me. “And here’s to hoping you are,” he laughs nervously.

Ozzy inhales deeply. “What do you want with me?”

“I’m glad that you asked!” Kenai clapped. “I figured that whole... demony repellant thing you have going on could be useful while traveling.”

He laughs, “Are you going to pay me?”

Kenai stomps, “You bounty hunters! So sick of you all and your selfish ways!” The room goes quiet, and it appears his tiny voice has carried quite far (high ceilings). Everyone stares at him for a moment before they all burst out in laughter, obviously agreeing with the statement and unoffended. Kenai seems unbothered and continues on, “What about fame and glory? The first witch to walk Novus in forever and you could win this war by her side!” He flails his arms around dramatically as he speaks.

“Hey now... I said I’d check it out...,” I interrupt his inspirational speech.

His sassy head snaps towards my direction, and he makes a motion to zip his full lips.

Ozzy let’s out another cackle, “She isn’t even on board? You’re amazing Kenai.”

“Oh come on guys!” he stomps around on the table. “Isn’t this why we're all in Novus? Isn’t that what the game is all about? Adventure! And what better adventure than to save Nescius... to save my home...” He trailed off as I watched the enthusiasm fade from his tiny body. The glitter falling from his wings becoming less and less intense.

All three of us exchanged a glance, the same expression of pity in our eyes. I didn’t know him but my heart felt for him, I could feel a familiar heaviness in my chest. Images of my last days on the earth’s surface flooded my mind, and I was overcome with emotion. “Like I wish I could of saved mine,” I say lowly.

Ozzy makes eye contact with me and his expression turns to one that mirrors my own. After a few moments he grins, “Let’s do things differently this time.”

I nod at him as we share a brief moment of comradery, “Sounds good to me.”

We exchange a smile as three large men approach our table. “Looky what we have here,” he taunts. He shoves my shoulder violently, causing me to hit the booth hard.

“Looks like a witch boss. People pay big money-”

The bigger man slaps the scrawny one mid-sentence. His eyes are like a fly, and two long antennae were jutting out from his forehead, swaying in reaction to the slap. He had a pair of wings in a resting position on his back, not quite as extravagant as Kenai’s. Kenai’s were more majestic, sort of like a dragonfly with more colors. “I know what the fuck she is!” The other... fox? To his right side snickered at the exchange, but didn’t say a word.

“Hey!” Arachne went to protest but I put my hand up to stop her.

“Problem?” I ask the three men in front of me.

“Only for you,’’ he laughs as he pulls a large shotgun off of his back.

I roll my eyes and snap my fingers, watching it disintegrate into to dust in his hands. “Fuck off,” I growl. I was already getting tired of being harassed and this was only my second encounter.

I watch as the metaphorical smoke begins to fly from his ears, his jaw clenches, and the veins in his forehead begin to pop. He didn’t seem to have any sort of special ability. He was just some large, ugly man that was intent on ruining my conversation. But considering the fact that Omni said humans weren’t safe in Novus, I wouldn’t be surprised if a unicorn horn sprouted from his forehead. He grabbed my neck and spit as he spoke, “Now listen here you little cunt! You’re gonna give me a new gun if it’s the last fucking thing you do!”

I grabbed his hand and pulled it from my neck with ease, his eyes widening in surprise at my strength. “I think the world might be better off if you were a bit quieter.”

He laughs, “Who the fuck is going to silence me then huh?” He backed off and put his arms out, looking around the now quiet room for a challenger. No one said a word, they just continued to watch. As people in Novus often did, well, as humans usually did. His face went from smug to complete horror as he gripped his mouth in agony. Grunts of pain came from him as he began to spit blood, falling to his knees before me. After a few minutes of choking, he spit out his tongue on the floor in front of him.

“What the fuck!” the man with the fly features fled immediately. The other looked back and forth between me and the door, frozen in his tracks. The man on the floor, passed out from loss of blood, his face falling into the puddle.

I look back towards the table to see all of them staring at me with their mouths wide open, petrified of me. “Ew!” Kenai wretched on the table.

Arachne just looked back and forth between me and the man on the floor. “What? I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours with someone who is capable of... that!”

Ozzy smirked, “That was hot.”

I gave him a weird look (because what the fuck), “Just need to assert your dominance with people like that you know?” I say as I clasp my fingers together casually. 

Kenai shivered, “That is one way to do it.”

Pilot.

Yes?

Be wary of your displays of... power. You do not want to pose as a threat before people have a chance to see your intentions. They will make a quick and inaccurate judgement of your character. 

I didn’t respond to Omni but I did listen to her, she was right. I was going to have to be careful or I was going to end up being burnt at the stake.

But on the other hand, I wasn’t taking shit from anyone.

"Alright," Ozzy said after a long silence. "I'm in," he smirked in my direction. "This could be fun." Despite Omni's dissaporval my behavoir has peeked his interest enough for him to come along with us. Which was... something?

Kenai clapped on the table and began to prance around, "This is going to be SO much fun!" He seemed to be glowing from the inside again, and covering the table in glitter. I looked over at Arachne who was fighting a smile, I could already sense she was getting anxious. Ozzy did try to kill her a few minutes ago, after all.

Although I wasn't entirely sure of any of the people in front of me, his excitement was contagious, and I couldn't help but smile.

Ozzy was right, this could be fun.