Prism sat within the cold, well-lit exam room atop a blue medical bed. The room was strangely spacious for a place for mere examinations, with an assortment of tables and equipment lining the walls that could allow for almost any sort of experiment to be run. Energetic pop music played from a small radio that sat on a nearby table. The melodious voice and bombastic beat contrasted with the otherwise sterile environment. Prism glanced at the two beefy security personnel that stood near the door that they’d led him through. He was unsure how long he’d been sitting in the room, but he knew that he was sick of waiting for Dr. Liam.

“Excuse me, but do you know when the doctor will-“ Prism began to ask.

He was interrupted by the sound of arguing outside of the door. He could make out Ursun and Dr. Liam’s yelling voices. Before he could decipher what they were arguing about, the exam room door swung open. The doctor rushed in with Ursun following close behind.

“I told you that you were needed elsewhere!” Dr. Liam yelled behind him.

“If I knew that you’d be wasting all of our time, I would have called in another doctor to do the damn exam!” Ursun barked.

“Well lucky for me, that doesn’t exactly fall under your purview.” Dr. Liam said coolly. His tone suddenly became calm and dismissive, which seemed to further infuriate Ursun.

“Well go on, get to it!” Ursun said with an angry wave of his arms. Prism thought that Ursun might strike the doctor.

Dr. Liam rolled his eyes as he approached Prism. Ursun leaned against a table near the door, crossed his arms, and didn’t take his eyes off of the doctor.

“So, Prism, was it? I’m sorry, but it looks like you and I won’t be getting any privacy.” Dr. Liam leaned in close and said to Prism. Prism couldn’t tell if he was truly being apologetic or simply sarcastic.

“That’s okay…” Prism said with an awkward tilt of his head downwards. He’d gotten used to walking around in only the grey briefs that’d been put on him; he’d never been modest about his body, anyway.

Prism spent the next hour having a range of scans and tests run on him. He did not let Liam take his blood or any other physical samples, but Prism allowed nearly everything else to be done to him. Ursun watched Dr. Liam’s extensive and sometimes odd probes of Prism’s anatomy with a hesitant curiosity.

Ursun would tell the doctor to back off when he saw Prism in obvious pain, and Liam would reluctantly move on to the next task on his list. Prism could scarce believe how protective the commander had become of him in such a short amount of time. The bald alien worried that the others would think that Ursun was under a mind control spell, despite the Red Wolves not being aware that such magic even existed.

“And with that, we’re done. I hope you enjoyed it all as much as I did.” Dr. Liam said after wiping the sweat from his brow and placing a small medical device on the table beside the bed that Prism laid on.

“Err…I hope that this isn’t a regular thing that you do here…” Prism said tiredly while sitting upright on the medical bed.

“Oh, I wish! But no, I’ve gotten plenty of data from you for the time being.” Liam said with a big smile. “I will report my findings in the coming days.” He then turned to say to Ursun much less enthusiastically.

“Let’s go. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.” Ursun said while walking over to help Prism back onto his feet. Prism simply nodded to the much larger man.

“Oh, and before you go…” Dr. Liam yelled to Prism while he and Ursun headed to the door.

Prism turned around and saw the doctor presenting him with a pair of blue slippers with bumpy grips on their bottoms. Prism tilted his head apprehensively before accepting the footwear and then putting them on. The slippers felt soft and warm on Prism’s feet, which he didn’t expect.

“For some reason, your feet appear to have suffered no ill effects from walking and running around barefoot. But I’m sure that you could still benefit from wearing shoes of some kind.” Dr. Liam said in a kind way.

“Thanks.” Prism said with a faint smile. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the cold room that reminded him of A-Lab.

Ursun motioned to the two security officers standing guard at each side of the door to let him and Prism out.

“Dill and Dy, with me.” Ursun said to the same two security officers.

“Yes, sir!” The two men yelled in unison before walking alongside Ursun and Prism.

As Prism followed behind Ursun down the long, quiet hallway of stone, he was reminded of how empty the base seemed. It was just as uninhabited as it had been when they’d taken him to the exam room. From his quick mind-reading of Jaik and his team when they freed him, Prism was sure that the Red Wolves had hundreds of mercenaries and even more civilian wards in their organization.

“Where is everyone? This place seems too huge to be this deserted.” Prism asked Ursun. Ursun looked back at him and nodded.

“You’re still too much of an unknown to reveal to the general population just yet. You’ll stay here in this auxiliary base until we figure out our next moves” Ursun said bluntly.

Prism nodded slowly to himself. Ursun’s words made him uneasy again.

“I’m grateful to them for freeing me, but am I actually free?” Prism thought. “I guess it doesn’t matter too much for now. I just want to make sure that Jaik is okay, and then regain some of my strength. Then I can leave.” Prism silently reasoned while he walked.

It didn’t take long before Prism was shown the room that he’d be staying in. It was rather spacious, and followed the same brown stone construction that he’d seen throughout the base so far. He had a bed, a desk, a couple of other pieces of useful furniture, and a bathroom. There was also a large map of Æba that took up a large portion of the wall across from the door. Other than those items, the room was just as barebones as he’d expect from a military facility.

“You can relax and get yourself cleaned up. For everyone’s safety, Dill and Dy will be outside your door for now. If you need anything else before I come back for you, just let them know.” Ursun said kindly.

“I appreciate that…” Prism said meekly. “Can I see how Jaik is doing?” He raised his voice and asked.

“In time. I’m sure that he’s resting from whatever procedure our doctors used to treat his wound.” Ursun said with a strangely blank expression.

Prism could tell that he was hiding something, but Prism didn’t have the strength to peek into Ursun’s mind undetected.

“Alright.” Prism nodded slowly as he looked at the ground between the two of them.

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“Get some rest.” Ursun said to Prism before turning around and leaving the room.

Prism was left alone in the windowless room, but he was sure that he was still being monitored. He looked at the stone walls and simplistic furniture around him, searching for cameras and listening devices. He knew that the world and people that he found himself among had more sophisticated technology than he was used to, but he was not completely naive to how it functioned.

After completing his search of the room, Prism’s eyes went back to the world map that he’d noticed upon entering the room. It was the first time that he’d seen Æba and its lands depicted with labels of each of its countries. He walked up to the map and ran his fingers along its textured surface. He traced what he believed to be RED-1’s path from the island he’d been on to where they currently were. He then became acquainted with the names of Æba’s nations.

The World of Æba [https://i.imgur.com/oRHvqct.png]

Ruskeda, a mountainous nation in the northwest hemisphere, looked to be the biggest nation on Æba. It was also where Prism believed he was currently being held. From the texture and coloring of the map, it looked to be a largely frozen nation with many impassable mountain ranges running through it. The far-more-verdant United Republic of Etrysia was south of Ruskeda, seemingly cut-off from Ruskeda by an extensive mountain range. Etrysia looked heavily wooded, with a large island territory to its east.

South of Etrysia was a nation called Disdüt. It was largely a desert, with a mountain range that ran down its western coast. A fertile crescent wrapped around its eastern coast, where Prism guessed most of its population lived. And to the west of Disdüt, a smaller island nation called Esdegon was quite close to its coast. Esdegon looked like a dry, harsh place, with small swathes of grassland. It had a few mountains in its northern region, including a symbol on the map that indicated that there was a large volcano there.

A vast ocean rested to the east of those four nations. It was called the Eizic Ocean, one of the only two oceans that Prism could see labeled on the map. In the middle of the Eizic Ocean was the nation of Vadam, which consisted of several smaller islands that surrounded a larger island. Vadam’s islands were right on the equator, providing a tropical climate with plenty of greenery. Prism thought that it was interesting that such a nation existed at the center of Æba, and figured that it had been a place of extensive trade and cultural exchange.

Æba’s second-largest nation was east of Vadam, and was labeled The Holy State of Sguvi. Just the name of the northeastern nation was enough to impress Prism. Like Ruskeda, it had extensive mountain ranges and a frozen northern region. But unlike Ruskeda, Sguvi was full of forests and jungles. Its southeastern coastline marked the border between the Vobic Ocean to the east of Sguvi and the Eizic Ocean to its west.

Three smaller continents sat below Sguvi, in Æba’s southeastern hemisphere. They were all labeled as one nation, The Kingdom. Prism felt uneasy as he ran his fingers over the trio of continents, especially when he read out the name of the nation’s capital, Castle.

“How surprising…the Queen is a minimalist…” Prism said aloud in an attempt to lighten his mood with sarcasm.

And beneath The Kingdom was Æba’s final nation, Rvljse. It existed on a peninsula that extended up from a southern continent of ice that rested at Æba’s southern pole. A shiver ran up Prism’s spine when he imagined how cold such a place must be. There was a small segment of tundra along the coast of Rvljse, which was especially close to The Kingdom’s southern shores. Prism wondered how such a small area of habitability could support the populace of an entire nation, though he didn’t know how big or small Rvljse’s population was.

After finishing perusing the nations on the map of Æba, Prism looked over the map in detail on last time. It was a normal planet to him, lacking any strange or remarkable features from what he could see. Prism was sure that there were many details that the map lacked, details which could reveal greater insights into why the people of Æba seemed to lack any magical ability.

Prism walked over to the large bed in the sleeping area of the room. He saw that a set of clothing had been neatly folded in a stack on the edge of the bed. There was a thick, black, cotton tank top with red leatherine pants, along with a pair of black woolen socks and new grey briefs like the ones he was wearing. When he looked down at the floor near the clothes, he saw a pair of black leatherine boots that looked to be just his size.

“The doctor must’ve sent for these after he got my measurements.” Prism thought to himself. He was impressed that the Red Wolves had been considerate enough to do so.

Prism looked over at the nearby partitioned area of the room that contained the shower and sink. He smiled when he realized that it was a good idea to bathe after his naked fighting in the forest. He let himself enjoy the warm water for quite a while, indulging himself for the first time in a long time. And when he put on the clothing that had been left for him, he felt a renewed sense of dignity as well.

With nothing more to do, Prism laid in bed on his back with his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes and focused on his surroundings.

“Let’s see what they’re all up to.” Prism thought silently to himself.

His eyes turned blue behind his eyelids as he directed what little mana he still had within his body to expand his perception. The room he was in became visible to him, despite having his eyes closed. He then moved his perception outside of the room, seeing the two men standing guard outside his door. His sight moved down the hallway, peeking into each room along the way.

When he saw how empty the facility actually was, he expanded his vision down the other hallway within the hangar that he hadn’t been taken down, where he’d seen Jaik taken instead. It was along that hallway that Prism began to see others. He saw Jaik lying in a medical bed with his leg in what appeared to be a heavy metal cast. Jaik peacefully slumbered, with no sign of pain or worry on his face. Prism couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

After lingering on the sight of Jaik for a little while, Prism then directed his expanded vision further down the opposite hallway. He saw several security officers standing guard at junctures to other hallways that led to several elevators. Prism figured that those secured places led out of the facility, to other locations that Prism’s projected perception couldn’t reach.

He could see a small prison-like area that was just within his perceptive range. The area was down a short elevator that led to a lower floor. There he saw a perturbed Leanna, who was pacing about within a small caged room. Prism frowned when he saw her locked up. He blamed himself for her punishment. He wished that he was strong enough to unlock her cell and let her go free, though he knew that such an act would be foolish.

After a further probe of the area within his vicinity, Prism couldn’t find Lorias, Srell, or Ursun. Prism figured that they must have gone to the main Red Wolves base, which was too far away for him to extend his weakened magical sight. Just the act of exploring the auxiliary base was enough to wear Prism out again. He let out a tired yawn before drifting off to sleep for the second time that day, just when the sun had begun to set on the mountain that he found himself within.

****

Prism was awakened a few hours later by a knock on his door. He wiped his face, rolled out of bed, and walked briskly to answer the knocks. When he opened the door, Prism was surprised to see Lorias holding a tray, with Srell standing right behind him. Upon the tray sat a white plate with a simple meal of steak, peas, and mashed potatoes. There was also a glass of water beside the plate. Prism smiled; he was glad that such food was so common across all of the worlds he had been to.

“Dinner’s here.” Lorias said plainly before brushing past Prism to enter the room.

When Srell also walked into the room, Prism noticed that the two security officers that had been at his door were gone. Srell closed the door behind him and gave Prism a menacing look.

“We got assigned to guard you since Dill and Dy’s shift is over. It’s really irritating. I wanted some private time…” Srell complained loudly before plopping down in a chair in the room’s living area.

“We don’t know if you even eat, but Liam says that you have a stomach, so…” Lorias began to say while he placed the tray on a wooden table at the center of the room.

“I eat! Thank you the food!” Prism said excitedly before rushing to the table. It took him no time at all to begin wolfing down his first meal in a century.

“And I thought that you ate like a wild animal…” Lorias said to Srell, who laughed heartily at the sight.

Prism looked up embarrassedly after devouring the meal. When Srell and Lorias both burst out laughing, Prism couldn’t help but laugh too.

“We’re surprised that you’re still here,” said Lorias after the three of them had calmed down. “Considering that you can teleport.”

“I can’t do that now. I’m too weak.” Prism said softly, not wanting to reveal too much to two men that he knew didn’t care about his wellbeing.

“So you’re just here for the free place to stay, then? Can’t blame you. We’ve got a pretty sweet setup. I mean, once you’re free to see the rest of the place.” Srell over-shared, earning him a nasty stare from Lorias.

When Srell finally noticed how Lorias was looking at him, Srell let out a nervous cough and stopped talking.

“Wh-when will that be? When will I be able to explore this place and meet more of your people?” Prism asked earnestly.

“When Pack Command finishes its assessment of you. They make decisions pretty quickly, so I’d say in about two or three days. That’s what Ursun told us to tell you, anyway.” Lorias shrugged, seeming nonplussed.

“They didn’t expect you to be a friendly alien, that’s for sure. If you’d been a gene freak, they’d have just vivisected you before dissecting your dead body.” Srell said with a creepy smile that made Prism shudder.

“Gene freak?” Prism managed to ask squeakily.

“Yeah. It’s a creature that’s bioengineered to be a weapon. Tough bastards, but hard to control. The Queen’s been known to make ‘em, but nowadays she relies more on her metal-tech than her bio-tech. Lucky for us, since our bio-tech gives us an edge.” Srell explained. He seemed to take pride in the fact that someone was asking him about something for a change.

Prism looked fearfully into the empty glass of water that he’d drank from. He knew how much more dangerous it was being on a high-tech world in such a weakened state. He hoped that his new captors weren’t ruthless enough to cut him open.

“With Ursun in your corner, you’ll be fine.” Lorias said reassuringly. Prism was surprised by his shift in tone.

“Not sure I believe it. You don’t look like an alien…” Srell said with a raised eyebrow.

Prism tilted his head curiously while he looked up at Srell. “Do I even care what he thinks?” Prism thought to himself.

“Without his DNA, we won’t know for sure. But Liam said that he only looks human. His internal anatomy only vaguely resembles our own.” Lorias said to Srell while gesturing scientifically. He pointed to various parts of Prism’s torso as if he was speaking of a diorama.

“The doctor said that it would take days for him to prepare a report about me…” Prism said with a smidge of confusion and irritation.

“He briefed us on the gist of his early findings, since we’re in charge of you for the time being.” Lorias explained with a light shrug.

“He looks kind of like a cousin of mine.” Srell said while leaning down close to get a better look at Prism’s face.

“Idiot.” Lorias sighed while running his long, slender fingers through his thick blonde hair. “The only thing the two of you have in common is brown skin.”

Prism let out a light chuckle, which was followed by an involuntary yawn. He realized that he was still tired despite all of the sleep he’d gotten. He was concerned by his slow recovery speed, and chose to listen to his body instead of fighting the urge.

“I’d like to go back to bed now.” Prism said while raising his hand.

Srell furrowed his brow while Lorias smiled.

“You’re like a child. No need to raise your hand; this isn’t a school. We’ll let you get back to sleep.” Lorias said in a brotherly way.

Lorias looked at Srell and nodded towards the door. Srell huffed in irritation and walked over to it. Lorias then picked up the tray and carried it out. Shortly after Srell opened the door to leave the room, Lorias turned around while in the doorframe to look at Prism. Prism looked as if he would fall asleep in the chair at any moment. Lorias’ ordinarily hawkish eyes softened at the sight. He closed the door behind him without saying another word.