340 Visions of Doom

"Ah, there you are, girl. I was expecting you later than this. Did you already pass your graduation test?" the old smith, Martin asked kindly. "I've already finished your first real sword, just give me a moment to fetch it."

'How did I get here?!' Cherry was freaking out.

She had turned to flee from the storm that no one else could see and suddenly she was just here, in old master Martin's workshop!

"You alright?" Martin's apprentice asked, leaning against a counter in the showroom.

"... Yes-" Cherry was cut off by distant rumbling, which caused her to flinch.

"You don't look alright. You're awfully pale… did ya see a ghost or something?" the apprentice chuckled to himself.

*Slam!*

Cherry twisted around at the sound of something hitting the showroom's window hard enough to crack it.

A man she had never seen before was pressed up against the glass. He had long white hair and beard and wore flowing, luxurious robes with gold trim that may very well be actual gold from the looks of it. His face was gaunt, skin stretched taut against his skull, lips peeled back in a snarl, and his eyes… His eyes bore a deep hatred that sent chills down her spine.

And the worst part was that she recognised him, but also couldn't remember him in the slightest.

Her head twinged in pain, like something buried in her mind was trying to desperately rip its way out.

"Here you are, girl." Martin came back and distracted her from the haunting figure in the window.

Martin placed something bound in cloth on the counter and unveiled it. For some reason Cherry had been expecting… more. It was just a sword, nothing special about it in the slightest.

"This might just be my best work yet," Martin spoke with pride. "I couldn't be happier with its new wielder either!"

"I know you can do better than this, old man." The words escaped her mouth and shocked her with how condescending they sounded.

Martin frowned with a mixture of displeasure and hurt. "Well… I'm sorry that it isn't to your liking."

Cherry quickly started to apologize, "You should be sorry. This is pathetic."

Cherry's eyes widened in disbelief and soon fear. 'What in the heavens is wrong with me?!'

Martin harrumphed, snatching up the blade and storming back into his smithy without a word. Even his apprentice was scowling at her and said, "I think you ought to leave."

Cherry was so confused and terrified that she was frozen to the spot.

"Now." the apprentice said, leaving no room for argument.

Cherry started to turn around to leave mechanically when she remembered the strange, horrific man at the window, but when she had turned far enough to see the man was gone and the window in pristine shape. The only difference was the sunny scene outside was now overcast, and growing darker by the second.

Cherry charged out of the door.

"It's about time you got out of bed, recruit! Don't think you'll have it easy just because you're Angela's girl!" Commander Frowe stood imposingly just outside the door of the barracks.

Cherry gaped at him. Her clothes felt different and when she looked down, sure enough she found herself wearing a low ranking marine's uniform.

"It's good that you have some self awareness about your mess of a uniform, recruit! Make sure it's spick and span tomorrow! Now hurry up, you're already late for basic training!" Commander Frowe gave her a walloping pat on the back to shoo her onwards.

Looking out the window, a proper typhoon was kicking into gear. Commander Frowe kept her on course for the training yard where she lined up with the other recruits. None of them seemed to even acknowledge the strong winds even as their uniforms were drenched and whipped this way and that by the powerful winds.

"A perfect day for training isn't it, recruits?!" Commander Frowe inquired.

"""Yes, sir!""" The other recruits chimed in unison.

"Good! Give me twenty laps around the field! That ought to warm you up!" Commander Frowe ordered.

The recruit started to jog around the field as they were bade and Cherry followed after tentatively. The ground was slick with mud, making it difficult to keep on her feet in combination with the wind knocking her around. Still, she was managing well enough-

*CRASH!!!!!*

Cherry lost her balance as one of the other recruits who was right next to her was hit by pitch black lightning and utterly annihilated. She screamed and desperately crawled away whilst the remaining recruits and Commander Frowe looked at her in confusion.

"What is the issue, recruit?" Commander Frowe asked.

Cherry didn't answer. She was distracted by the white haired, robed man shambling across the training field towards her. His gaunt face looked even more skeletal and the fact no one else had noticed him made his presence all the more ghastly.

She hastily picked herself up and charged back into the marine base. Not even the marines could help her if they couldn't even see what was happening! Or maybe none of this was happening at all, maybe it was all in her head and she has completely lost her mind?!

Cherry barricaded herself in the showers with several benches and slowly backed away from the door.

"Why are you so frightened?" Cherry heard a woman's voice and jerked around in horror.

Within a mirror, standing where her own reflection ought to be standing was a woman she'd never met, but who was so terribly familiar that it hurt just to look at her. Her porcelain skin, golden hair and eyes, and immaculate white robes screamed at her from the depths of her soul.

"You would have been a marine, huh? That's pretty lame, but to each their own I suppose." the woman said dismissively.

*Thump*

The door shook as something slammed against it.

"Pay attention to me when I'm speaking to you." the woman insisted, and Cherry couldn't help but to obey. Something about the woman told her that she was by far the most dangerous thing here, even though she didn't seem all that threatening at the moment.

"I… I guess so? A woman can only go so far as a swordsman, so I thought I'd put what skill I had to use…" Cherry said, then paused. "What? When did I decide that…?"

"You didn't decide that. You never had the chance to." the woman spoke.

"What do you mean-" *THUMP THUMP THUMP* Cherry was interrupted by the much harder strikes against the door.

"Because we remembered, stupid girl. Now you need to remember again, or you're going to disappear." the woman said.

The mirror shattered and the building shook. The lights went out, plunging her into darkness.

"Hey! Hey, get up! The captain is doing an inspection!" Someone hurriedly shook her shoulder.

Cherry's head throbbed from a hangover as she sat up in her cot. A light flicked on, making her feel like her head was split in two by an axe.

"Hurry! You don't want to make a bad impression so early in your career, trust me!" the marine said.

Cherry stumbled out of bed and followed the man out onto the deck of a ship at sea. Lining up with the rest, she was just in time for a naval whistle to blow and the door to the captain's quarters to open.

"Attention!" the lieutenant commanded, prompting the marines to salute and stand ramrod straight.

A pink haired woman stepped out of the cabin and walked down the line, observing each and every marine carefully until she got to the end, to Cherry.

"You smell like cheap booze, marine." Captain Hina reprimanded. "Hina will see you in private after this, to make sure you know full well what is expected of you and that uniform."

Cherry gulped.