Chapter 1: Legacy

Aches and pain.  That and an undeniable chill was what he felt as he first woke up.  His groggy mind heard voices and rustling as he was waking up however.

The last thing he remembered, he was on his day off, walking down the street with his son, when suddenly...the rain and everything became weird...and then there was the light, and that was it.

However, that was when he remember his son, and he jolted awake.  However, he found himself unable to get very far, as metal shackles bound his wrists and ankles to the cold, stone tablet he was laying on.  He could feel it pressing against every inch of his skin, as for some reason he had been completely undressed.  Furthermore, he couldn't even move his head very well, a metal collar or shackle was around his neck and kept it bound to the table as well.

He could turn his head though, and saw something strange.  Across the room, several hooded figures were standing around a young boy, of maybe ten years old perhaps.  Like himself, he was also naked, though he was laying with his chest against the stone rather then his back.  The figures were all wearing long cloaks and robes, the kind you might see some people wear for cosplay, and the boy for some reason had animal ears and tail, though he couldn't exactly see what kind from his position.

And he certainly didn't have the calmness to focus on it either.  However, no matter how much he struggled, metal rubbed against his wrists and ankles.  As the boy was beginning to wake up though...

"Papa...papa, where are you?" the boy cried out, using wording and tone that struck a tone of familiarity to him.

"He is awake...but why is he calling out for a 'papa'" the man asked in a language the man both did not recognize, and yet could understand completely.

"Perhaps its some resonance of whatever soul we summoned when piggybacking off of that one spell.  No matter, if we wipe his memories, it should be fine".

"Dont do a full wipe.  We still need to use him for our plans after all.  That said, since he is meant to be a puppet, you dont have to be gentle..."

"Ahhh....ahh!  Get away from me!  Papa!  I need you papa!" the boy said, trying to get away, but was stopped by the collar around his neck that was chained to the table.

(See image below but upset and afraid and without the shirt)

[https://i.pinimg.com/564x/14/b3/1e/14b31e6365bd50643a6a5850da98e4dc.jpg]

That voice...it sounds like...my son!

Hearing the familiar voice, the man felt a rage overcome him as crackling was heard.  He thrashed to get free, but this time the shackles broke off almost easily.  He could hear the crackling sound of electricity, as he seemed to charge over and kick one of them so hard, he went flying into a wall.

"The prototype!  Its gone berserk!" one of them managed to say, before being picked up by the man and thrown at another.

"Stay away from my son!" he shouted in rage, as one of them seemed to chant something and summon a fireball into his hand.  However, in the next moment, before he could use the attack, he charged right in and gave an electrical kick into his gut, sending him flying.

"Papa?" the boy questioned.

"Son, is that you?" he asked.

"Papa, you look different...you are smaller!"

The man didn't realize it before, but when he looked down at his own body, he realized that he had no body hair at all.  Furthermore, everything was smaller.

"You have red hair now..." he commented in shock, causing the boy some confusion.  He adjusted some of his hair from his side into his front, and saw it was indeed red.  He also noticed the existence of his ears and tail at this point as well.

That was when they spotted the mirror to the side of the room.  After searching them for a key, they finally found one and undid the collar around his son, as well as some of the shackles still holding on to his own body.  And then, they moved in front of the mirror.  The man, who was thirty eight years old with black hair and black eyes, now was a ten year old boy with blonde hair and golden eyes, and rahter then an average appearance, he had an appearance that would attract gazes, even for a ten year old.

As for his son, he wasn't even human, at least not fully.  He stood a bit shorter then his father, and instead of also having black hair and eyes, he had red hair and red eyes.  He also had red animal ears and a red animal tail.  

For some reason, both of them had vastly different bodies then before.  It would be shocking, however not as shocking as something else.

"Papa...I cant remember my name...or your name...or any name".

"Neither can I" he replied, realizing that fact.  "But, it doesn't matter.  We need to get someplace safe..."

"We need some clothes" his son pointed out.  They looked around, but the room they were in seemed like it was full of strange lab equipment and strange ingredients.  Because of that, he decided to take two of the cloaks the strange people had, and wear them for now.  Their shoes were far too big for them, as well as the other clothes, and they didn't have the time to strip the bodies and make them all fit somehow.

The cloaks dragged along the ground, but it was some protection from the chilly temperature at least.  As a result, they made their way up the stone steps that led down to that dungeon area, the cold stone stinging their bare feet a little.

"Oww...this is really uncomfortable...papa, how are you okay with all this chill?"

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"Hmm?  Its bothersome, but not that..." he started to say, when he saw his son shivering.  He decided to take off his own cloak, and give it to them, rather then take the extra time to go back and get another.  "Here.  We need to stay moving".

"Right" the son replied, as they made their way up the stairs.  "...it feels really weird calling you papa though when you look the same age as me".

"...yeah, its kinda weird for me too.  But we cant stop and think about that right now" he mentioned, as they reached a door.  However, for some infernal reason, the handle was placed higher up on the door.  Impossible for either of them to reach.

"Here, let me climb on top of you" he mentioned, already grabbing on and starting the climb.  The man, or rather, the blonde haired boy, adjusted himself to make it easier, which let him reach the handle and pull it down, allowing the door to open.  He quickly climbed back down, and the two made it up there.  However, the wind came by and practically blew the cloaks off of the boy.  Even though they were inside a hallway, they could see the moon through the window on the other side, and it was chilly and dark.  It was so cold it stung, causing the two to huddle together for warmth.  "You are very warm".

"Yeah...come on, lets search one of these rooms.  They kept us here for a reason, they have to have clothes that would fit us somewhere" he mentioned, as they headed for the first room that was close to them.   When they opened it though, they felt even colder, and understood why it was so cold in here.  On the opposite side, there was a giant hole in the stone wall, letting even more brutal and colder air in.  Not only that, but the sound of thunder was heard again.

"By the way...back there, was that magic?" the red haired boy asked.

"I think so...that man summoned fire from nowhere".

"No, I meant what you did...did you not notice?"

"Wait, did I use magic?"

"Yeah, your legs were clad in electricity and it was really cool.  And at one point, your whole body was" he mentioned.  "Electricity...lightning....Arc..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your new name!  We cant remember our own or each other right?  So, I shall name you Arc!"

"I see...red...passionate...flames...Pyr.  That can be your new name" Arc said, as they had finally established names, at least temporary names, for each other.  They then finally glanced around the room, but saw it appeared to be an armory for swords and weapons of that nature.  No clothes, but there was something that drew his gaze.  A metal rod, about quarter of a meter long, and a few centimeters in diameter.  In the center, it had a button.  He pressed it, and each end extended about half a meter outward, creating a sort of bo staff.

"Cool...but it would be cooler if you were wearing some cool adventurer's clothes as well" Pyr pointed out, and while keeping the staff, the two decided to keep searching.  They hoped the next room would have something, or at least be warmer.

That said, the next room was something stranger.  It was a room that only had a large metal wooden bin, a few brushes, and a few smaller wooden containers.

"What is this place?"

"...a bathroom from an era before plumbing and pipes existed" Arc mentioned.  "Do you have to..."

"Not right now!"

"Just checking" Arc said, closing the door.  "I guess either, wherever we are doesn't have modern plumbing, or this place was at least build before it".

"I just hope they invented child sized clothes" Pyr mentioned.  "Im kind of getting used to walking around naked, but...its still really cold".

While saying things like that, they opened the next room, and it was a large, lavish bedroom.  There were no holes in the walls either, so it seemed fine.  And furthermore...

"We might find something here" Arc mentioned, slipping into the room with Pyr.  

"Ah, yeah.  That would just about do it" Pyr mentioned, looking at the giant painting in the room as the door slowly closed behind them on their own.  It was still cold, but at least it was not as cold.  However, the painting was that of a child, sitting naked on a rock looking out onto a lake with a sunset over it.  What was significant however was that the boy in the painting looked exactly like Pyr...it may have even been Pyr.

"If only we had a flame or something to keep us warm..." Pyr said, rubbing his hands together when suddenly a tiny flame appeared in front of him.  It was just floating there, but it radiated warmth.  "Hey, I can use magic.  I can..."

"Search everywhere!" a voice shouted, echoing across the mansion.  It sounded like it came from the direction they had come from.

"Quickly, under the bed" Arc told Pyr, grabbing his hand which caused the flame to disappear, as he pulled him towards the bed.  The two quickly went to the floor and crawled under it, with there just being enough space for both of their bodies.  Only moments later did a man storm in, searching around.  They didn't dare get too close to the edge and be spotted, so they only saw his boots, but he saw him rush over to the wardrobe and swing it open.

"Oi, you" a man with a gruff and dangerous sounding voice growled as he entered the room.  "Whoever found our lab here and stole our work would obviously know better then to run and hide inside one of these rooms.  That said, they are carrying one modified child body and one lifeless humonculus, so they cant have gone far".

Realizing what was said, the knight followed the captain out, satisfied with the search of the room, the two left in such a hurry the door was slammed shut behind them.  After waiting for a minute, the two finally crawled out.

"Lets stay silent and in here for now...and look, it seems like we hit the jackpot" Arc said, as the two stood up and headed to the wardrobe.  There was a dresser and a mirror, as well as a desk and chair, that were sizes where a child would be able to sit at them easier and use them.  Which meant this was likely a child's room, which meant a wardrobe would have child sized clothes.

As they opened it up, it was revealed that it did indeed have a large collection of child's clothing.  That said, a few of the outfits looked a bit girly, and a few were actually dresses or gowns of some kind.  However, there were also clothes that looked more everyday and sporty.  Rather...

"I feel like the fantasy theme that we have seen so far is a bit stranger now" Pyr mentioned, taking out some nice looking underwear.  There was also a white shirt that was kind of T shirt like, black shorts as well.  No long pants, however there was nothing that looked exceptionally warm to start with.  In fact, all of these things looked like summer clothes that one might find in a department store, although the design and style was a bit different.  It was like a combination of modern and fantasy clothes.  

That said, they seemed comfortable to wear, and something was better then nothing, so they decided to get dressed all the same.  There were at least some things to put on.  Arc put on a short sleeved blue hooded jacket, an orange shirt, brown shorts, and blue shoes.  Pyr put on a white T shirt and black shorts, as well as some black shoes.  Both them also found a pair of white socks to use as well as some underwear for them both, so they were both sufficiently dressed.  That said, it was still cold.  But Pyr was able to recreate the small flame he made before.  However, he noticed that Arc was radiating a bit of electricity.

"Arc, are you okay?"

"No.  Sorry.  I am rather upset".

"At what?"

"They said we were stolen...not kidnapped, stolen.  Like property...I really want to bash that guy's head in".

"Oh wow, the situation has brought up a violent side of you".

"Err...well, I guess now that I say it out loud...that said, we should get back under the bed" Arc said.  "If they come in here again for some reason, it would be best to be hidden ahead of time".

"How long do you think we have to hide for?" Pyr said, as the two crawled under the bed again, this time fully dressed.

"Who knows...but for now, we wait".

And so, the first day on what could be said to be the rest of their lives had begun with a rather shocking and surprising turn of events.