Chapter 4

BRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

An incredibly loud ringing screamed out of nowhere, ripping me out of dreamland and assaulting my ears as if the apocalypse itself was happening right in my bedroom. "WAAAAAUUUUGH!" Naturally, this caused me quite a bit of surprise, before quickly lashing out and turning off the alarm clock from hell.

"Haa...haa...haa..."

My heart was still in overdrive as I tried to figure out what the heck just happened. A black alarm clock had mysteriously appeared where there wasn't one before reading 7:00.

"SEVEN AM?! Who wakes up at seven?! I don't even HAVE an alarm clock!"

While that was incredibly surprising, a quick look around told me a new alarm clock was the least of my worries.

"This...isn't my room." And indeed it wasn't. MY room had clothes and trash scattered about, but this room couldn't possibly be compared to mine. The floor was free of any items and was practically sparkling for Pete's sake! There was an open closet with rows of clothes neatly hung up, the TV which was there before I slept was now replaced by an organized brown writing desk

"Okay calm down, I...did I check into a hotel last night? No, I only left the house to go for a walk." As much as I'd like to remember getting here, I distinctly recall passing out after gorging myself on copious amounts of chocolate ice cream last night. "Please let this be a dream." I raised two fingers to my cheek and...OW, not a dream. If I didn't come here on my own then...this can only mean one thing.

"Someone drugged me and brought me here!?"

What the hell?! Why me?! Not to brag or anything but I'm an unimportant nobody! I can't think of a reason why a big shot would even know my name! Much less kidnap me! Pulling off the covers, I made an even more disturbing discovery.

"They even changed my pajamas! Is nothing sacred?"

Looking around the room, I noticed it seemed...kind of empty. At least that's the impression I got from it. A bed, a drawer, and a desk with a few books on it. That was it. It's like this room only had the bare minimum. While looking around I noticed a set of clothes neatly folded on the drawer. A pair of blue jeans, white T-shirt and socks, black sports shoes and a thick sleeveless vest. Obviously left out for me so I could find them after waking up. "You want me to wear these clothes? Is that what you want Mr. Kidnapper?"

Seeing how I wasn't exactly in a position to bargain, I begrudgingly relented. "And it's a perfect fit...these guys are good."

I was obviously dealing with professionals here. I don't know why I'm their target, but they've obviously done their homework on me. Well...might as well see how I look. Maybe they're a mirror in the closet.

Turning to the other end of the room, there was a closet, but no mirror. However...

"What in the world?!"

There was however a BLADED STAFF leaning against the edge of the closet wall. Who keeps a spear in their closet?! It was an ornate-looking one too... a silver and purple spear with black rubber grips near the center.

"Should I bring this with me for protection? No...I shouldn't act recklessly. Someone who can afford to leave weapons lying around is not someone I wanna mess with."

I gulped putting my hand on the doorknob.

"Okay...here I go!"

I slowly opened the door hoping to try and be stealthy, expecting to see some sort of grand room bustling with guards, but no. Instead, I was greeted by a small dimly lit hallway. Before I could try and make sense of the situation the door next to mine opened causing my heart to clench.

*Yaaaaaawwwwwwn*

Out walked a tired-looking woman with tan skin and denim blue hair. Is it sexist I expected my kidnapper to be a guy? You know, a beefy intimidating-looking dude with a black suit and sunglasses? That kind? Upon seeing me frozen in the doorway she gave me a warm smile.

"You're still here." she said approvingly. "I'm proud of you."

"Uh...thanks?" was all I could think to say.

"Go freshen up, I'll heat up some food while I still can." and with that, she turned around and walked down the hall without giving me a chance to respond. Huh...maybe she's just a maid for whoever owns this place.

Contrary to my expectations the bathroom wasn't grandiose either. It was actually a little cramped. "Seriously, what's going on?" I splashed some water on my face from the sink and looked up at the mirror, only to see someone else staring back at me. "Ah! Sorry! I didn't know it was occupied!"

The person jumped back the same time as I did copying my apologetic expression.

"No..."

I reached up in disbelief and touched my face. The stranger in the mirror mimicking my moves with startling accuracy. "How...how is this possible?" It really WAS a mirror! "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FACE?!" I yelled, starting to lose it again before taking a deep breath "Okay, calm down! You were just drugged, kidnapped and...given plastic surgery..."

The face was tan like my usual one but distinctly different. I reached up grabbing a lock of hair on my head. I normally had small black curly hair. While still black, my new hair was straight and reached my ears. I'm not sure if it's possible to lengthen hair, but it's definitely not possible in one night.

"Aero." A female voice called. "Are you alright in there? Your food is ready."

"Who's Aero? Am I Aero?" Biting my lip, I started to get a sinking feeling of what was really going on.

"Ah, there you are sweetie." The woman in question looked up from her coffee smiling at me as I entered the room at sat at the table. "Hope you like your food."

"Thank you...mom?" I said slowly, watching her reaction.

"Is that a question?"

"N-no."

Not knowing what else to do, I busied myself poking small bites of the eggs that had been placed before me with my fork. My 'mom' going back to her newspaper.

'I don't know how, I don't know why, but SOMEHOW I ended up in another body!'

"Dear are you alright? You're starting to look pale. Are you nervous about your first day at Beacon?"

I dropped my fork. "Beacon?"

Her forehead wrinkled.

"Are you still half asleep? Go take out the kitchen trash, maybe the fresh air will help."

Maybe that's a good idea, I really COULD use a little air to help me sort things out. "Alright then..." I left the table and picked up the trashcan heading outside. As the door clicked open, sunlight poured from the outside forcing me to shield my eyes for a moment, but when I opened them...

"Wow..."

I wasn't in the suburbs anymore, before me stretched a veritable metropolis! Buildings as far as the eye could see, countless people bustling by with each one of them having somewhere to be. My breath caught in my throat as I came to a realization. This place looked familiar, very familiar...but I couldn't quite place it. It's like the answer was at the very tip of my tongue but still out of reach. "I know this place...I do."

Of course, I was zoned out the entire time while walking causing me to bump into someone.

"Hmmm?"

I heard an old grunt in front of me and looked up, when I saw who it was my eyes practically bulged out of their sockets! Right before me was an old man with no hair on the top of his head but with gray hair on the sides. His eyebrows were massive and his eyes were unimpressive black lines. He looked at me and waved, giving what I'm pretty sure was a friendly sounding grunt. "YOU! You're that old man from the show! The one that basically runs every store!"

"Hrmmm?"

He turned his head and let out a confused grunt. I swear, it's like the only way this guy can speak is in different kinds of grunts. I'm...not actually sure if I've ever heard him say a single word. Keeping true to this tradition, he nodded and gave me a small grunt before wheeling some big box into a nearby store.

"I don't believe this, if he's here then...I'm in Vale!?"

No sooner had I said this, when a dark figure walked by. This person was completely black as if they were made out of darkness. Just casually strolling along with no one else paying him any mind as if his appearance was completely normal. It wasn't the only one either. In fact, many of the residents moving along the city were also shadow-like people.

"Ha...ha ha ha..." This...this is crazy right? How is any of this possible?! Like a scene from a fairy tale. "Ha ha ha..." I just stood there laughing to myself on the streets. I probably looked pretty strange but that was the least of my concerns right now.

"That wish I made last night...could that be responsible for all of this?" Frankly, what I was saying was absurd, however, so was my situation. There's no other reason I could think of as to why I was transported to a fictional world.

"Aerooooooo!"

"Huh?" I turned my head to the voice coming from my house.

"What's taking so long? Don't tell me you got lost taking out the trash."

"Ah right..." Though this does raise an important question though. What happened to the REAL Aero, Did he just die when I took over his body? Was my own body empty right now? What about Cameron? These were some seriously troubling questions, but right now I didn't have the answer to any of them. Dumping the trash into a nearby alley I hurried back into the house for a moment and put the trash can back into the kitchen.

"Hey uh...mom, I'm gonna go take a look around the city for a bit."