Chapter 1: Caged

*Purpura*

There was no light, only darkness. There was no sound other than that which came from my thoughts and breathing. There was no radiance. There was no hope... not in this dark prison. The only thing that I had to keep me going were those dreams, the dreams of a woman who bore a striking resemblance to me. Dreams of her and a boy with a warm smile, one that appeared to give off a radiance like that of the sun.

Would I ever be able to smile that warmly? Or at least meet someone who could? Someone who would show me the care and love that he did to her?

I leaned my head against the cold metal cage and snickered.

'Purpura, you're an idiot, relying on those dreams for hope. Your life... it has no meaning. Here you are, waiting for a miracle to happen. An opening to escape through. Alas, there is none. Your chance will be like a ship sailing through the night, you won't see it... nor be able to catch it. So you might as well surrender. Allow the darkness to swallow you.'

My eyes closed, but there was no difference... it was as dark as when I had them open.

***

"I love you!" a voice called out.

I rose up from the cold floor and looked around. Not that there was anything to see. It was still as pitch black as ever.

Clenching my head, I pushed myself up from the cold, hard floor.

'That voice... ugh, why did I just hear a guy say he 'loves' me? The voice, it's the same one from my dreams. Wait, was I dreaming again?'

I shook my head. "Unbelievable!"

"What's unbelievable?" asked a young man from the other side of the door. A panel on the door slid open, allowing blinding light to pour in from outside.

I raised my hand and grinned. I was about to make the agonizing wait worth it! "I was waiting for this!" I yelled as I closed my eyes and saw through those of the stunned youth standing on the other side.

The boy stepped back, stunned by my scream. It had been the first time he had ever heard me speak. In fact, he had previously assumed me to be mute.

"What?" he asked. His body remained still as a purple aura that only I could see gripped it. I moved his head toward the set of keys attached to his belt and raised them toward the chrome door. Using my aura, I scanned the keys and the inside of the doorknob. One could call it an 'extension' of my person.

"Sto...p!" the youth managed to squeak out as I had him insert a key into the doorknob. It matched up with the doorknob's key slot.

I kept my eyes closed as the door creaked open and rushed outside. "Thanks for the meal, but I won't be having any of it today... or tonight. Whatever time it is! But feel free to enjoy it yourself!" I said as I tossed him into the chamber and sealed the door once more.

"Hey!" the youth's scream could be heard from the door opening he had slid the plate of food through. "Mora is escaping!"

"Don't call me that! The name is Purpura!" I screamed, opening my eyes as I continued to run for dear life. The light was truly blinding. It felt more intense than anything I remembered or what I had ever seen in my dreams. But that was likely because those were just that, dreams. Reality wasn't a dream. Oh no, reality was much more. One had the ability to change those outcomes, though sometimes the real world wasn't nearly as majestic as the realm of dreams.

Sirens rang overhead as the stomping of feet resounded like a thousand trumpets playing at once. Well, at least the ones that I had heard in my dreams. Uh, yeah... first thing I set for myself to do was learn more about the actual world. Spending one's entire life in a dark cage wasn't going to help me survive.

Luckily, I was at least trained for combat!

Several heavily armored soldiers jumped toward me without warning but I jumped and kicked the closest one in the jaw. The man fell over the others like a bowling pin, sending the others falling as well.

"Hmph, honestly, think that will be enough to recapture the 'ultimate weapon'?" I asked, chuckling.

I let out a deep breath and grinned. It had been ages since I had last managed to run, punch, and kick an actual person like this. I had feared that I had grown rusty, but perhaps my time in the cage wasn't as long as I had expected. That or my skills were greater than even I gave myself credit for.

The sound of metal clanging-shut vibrated throughout the purely chrome hall. I turned and saw that there were walls where there hadn't been any even before. I turned around and watched as guards poured out of the surrounding rooms and readied themselves to close in.

"Be careful!" yelled one of the soldiers whom I had just knocked unto the floor. I flashed him a smug grin and lifted him off of the ground and moved him in front of the other soldiers as they readied to fire off their tranquilizers.

Their plan was simple. It was to paralyze my body as if I were some escaped zoo animal. I had never been to a zoo, but that was what the soldiers were thinking. Poor animals... being trapped in a cage like that. Why would anyone do that to a poor creature?

"This damn child!" one of the guards shouted at the top of his lungs as he fired off his rifle. I spun around and winced as the thing struck my shoulder.

Damn, I'd dropped my guard. I raised my right hand and slammed the man who had shot me into the metal wall, crushing every bone in his body.

I pushed aside the fallen soldiers and slammed my right hand against the shutter. I focused my energy on raising it.

"Stop right there!" another soldier yelled as he clumsily stood up.

I whispered a curse and ducked as more shots were fired. I slid through the small opening I had made and kept running, not taking the time to look back.

More soldiers though greeted me on the other side.

"I have no time for you!" I yelled, waving my arms, sending the dozens upon dozens of black armored men and women falling like glass bottles when struck by a ball.

Everyone let out an eerie scream as if their lives were being sucked out of them. Though to me it was like a sweet melody. They were feeling what I had felt all these years! All these long years of torture in the name of their sick experiments all for the purpose of creating the 'ultimate weapon'.

Well, they succeeded! This weapon cared not for their insignificant lives. They were in my way so they deserved their punishment.

"Weaklings," I said under my breath as I came upon another shutter. Every single part looked the same as the previous that I had to look back to make sure that I wasn't running around in circles or under an illusion.

'Wait, an illusion...'

My lips crested into a grin. I closed my amethyst eyes and allowed my aura to cover the entire building. It was an odd sensation, penetrating through the steel walls. It was almost as if I were one with the world.

The moment ended as yet more shrieks filled the hall. These came from the other side. I bent the metal walls once more and ran for it as the soldiers curled on the floor, living out their worst nightmares within their minds. Illusions so potent that it was as if they were actually feeling them.

I came to a stop and took a deep breath. I had used up a lot of energy already, I needed to rest... but where? Closing my eyes, I recalled back my aura and focused it around me.

As I ran, I encountered a door with a sign saying 'exit' hanging over it. Just what I wanted.

"Yeah, that works..." I whispered to myself.

When I opened the doors, I was outside the building. It was cold but it wasn't like the snowy mountains. That was the last place I'd been in before I ended up here.

This place was warm in comparison as well as soggier. Rain and wind pelted my entire body, drenching my gray military style clothes. I was too exhausted to create a bubble around myself, so I just ran. It was a good thing that I had, as the echoes of guns filled the air once more.

'Damn, the illusions must've faded. I need to find somewhere to hide and spend the night until I can restore my chakra.'

It was hard to see due to the blanket of thick clouds above, keeping any light from coming down from whatever celestial body was currently out. Regardless, I ran even as vehicles which resembled trucks passed by, some of which nearly ran into me.

One of those was a slim, black limo which would have blended with the shadows if not for the high intensity headlights. It had only been the second such vehicle that I had seen in my life, the first ages ago... I didn't even recall why I was there.

"Hey! Where's the fire?" asked the black haired passenger at the back of the limo as he lowered the window. His eyes were predominantly green but had hints of other colors around the iris.

'This boy, he resembles that man... is he his family member? I got to get away! I got to hide, before I'm forced back into that prison!'

I looked forward and ran with all I had. I ran and ran... Not paying any attention to the scratches that I was getting from the rose bushes which blocked my way.

"Hey!" the boy yelled as I ran down a steep hill. I didn't glance back. The ground beneath me gave way and I went rolling the rest of the way down. I didn't stop until my head struck something hard.

I blinked several times and saw a gentle light pouring down from above.

'Am I dead?'

Suddenly laughter filled the air. It was a boy's laugh. I stood up and saw that I had hit a red fence. Beyond it was a pair of buildings. One of them was orange like one of the rusted swords I was forced to use in a simulation exam. The second meanwhile was deep red like blood and had large doors big enough for one of those truck-like vehicles to pass through.

I stared at the spot my head had struck against, the fence had snapped there. Yet, despite the sound which it caused, the laughing boy hadn't seemed to notice as he didn't even gaze out of his open window.

Whoever he was, he didn't seem to have any sense of self-preservation. I wiped away the shards of wood from my forehead away and pressed my chin against the wet ground and pushed the loose wood away, allowing myself passage.

I grimaced as I bent my left arm. The effects of the tranquilizer were slowly starting to take effect as moving it felt like moving a heavy rock attached to oneself.

'You're almost there, just a little more... you can finally rest... so long as that guy up there doesn't go out...'