Orange

The sound of dripping, the sound of faint breathing, and the sound of whatever bugs reside in the cave is all that could be heard at the moment.

On the cold, wet ground is an unconscious man, with his face in the ground. Next to him, a strange, black rock, covered in what seems to be blood.

Suddenly, a small yet noticeable movement could be seen in the man's hand; his fingers slightly twitched. The small movements then escalated into bigger ones, and in no time, the man had finally woken up.

He tried to get up, but failed a few times. When he finally managed to get onto his trembling knees, he put a hand on the back of his head, and let out a quiet sob as he noticed the blood when he saw his hand, covered in blood.

"Fuck..."

As he looked at his bloodied hand, he tried to sigh, but everything hurt so bad, he barely was able to do even that.

A body full of cuts and bruises, a bleeding head, a dizzy mind...

"Am I gonna die for real...?"

...No. No way. He... He couldn't let that happen... He wouldn't! He got a second chance at life, and he wasn't gonna let it slip through his fingers so easily! Not happening!

He attempted again to fully stand up, only to fall to his knees once more.

"Fuck..."

He attempted again, only to fail again.

"Fuck...!"

His knees were trembling horribly, and his body was shaking. He once again attempted to get up.

"Fuck!"

Another failed attempt. He only fell to his knees again, with a "Thump!"

But that's not stopping him!

He tried again, his knees trembling worse than ever, his body barely listening to him. He screamed at the top of his lungs, as he started rising.

"Fuuuuck!!"

And... He did it. He was standing on his feet once more. Barely, but he was standing. He was wobbling like crazy, but... He was standing.

The man let out a huge sigh of relief, then he started looking around.

After all, something flew at his head, meaning... He wasn't alone, right?

But, that was the case. He actually was alone. He continued looking around, confused.

"Wha..."

I mean, to be fair, it was pretty dark in the cave, since the Fragment wasn't shining anymo–

Wait, the Fragment wasn't shining anymore?!

His eyes bolted straight to the altar, but... The altar wasn't there. Not anymore, anyways... This only confused him further.

"What the... Fuck...?"

He began searching the floor. Maybe it was, uh, something that went into the floor or anything like that...? Surely...?

Yeah, no. No signs of the altar anywhere at all. It just... Disappeared into thin air or something. Then, he began looking for the next logical thing; the Fragment. Or, supposed Fragment, anyways.

The realization then hit him like a rock... No, literally.

"Then..."

He looked straight down at his feet, and there it was. In all it's "glory."

Just that, it didn't look the same...

He picked up the bloodied black rock, and started examining it.

"Was this... The one that hit me? No, no..."

Definitely not, he clearly remembers the Fragment hitting him.

Wait... Then...!

He brought it closer to his eyes, and started examining it further.

"Is this a Vessel?!"

He wiped the blood off it with his already bloodied sleeve, and looked at it closer.

And, his theory was true. The strange black rock had a faint, orange hue.

He looked at it in a mix of shock, disbelief and awe, then his hand fell to his side.

"Did I..."

He raised his hands once again and looked at them.

"...What kinda power'd I get?!"

He pondered the subject for a bit, even tried extending his hands and concentrating, but nothing worked.

Well, only time will tell, I guess.

He put the Fragment in his pocket, for uh, keepsake, or something... Then began making his way deeper into the cave, looking for a way out.

He didn't know how he got in there in the first place, but he intended to leave, and as soon as possible.

So... He kept walking, and walking.

Of course, barely, because of his injuries.

But, after what he felt was like hours of walking, he finally reached a...

Wall. It was a, uh... A wall.

And no signs of other paths.

He looked around, but he knew the only way back was where he came from. And that meant even more supposed hours of walking.

...Yeah, fuck that.

He turned around, walked a bit, then turned again, to face the wall. He was quite far from it... Heh. Perfect.

He then began running towards the wall, with all of his left power and one hand prepared to punch.

He did what seemed most normal and natural at the time; he began yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Aaaagghh!!"

Step, step, step, step, step.

"I... I was...!"

He was closing in on the wall.

"I was The Guardian!!"

His hand started glowing a familiar, blue glow, before switching to a weird, distorted orange.

It began leaving a trail of orange light behind, and as he prepared to punch the wall with all he had left, a set of words ran through his mind, over and over again.

{Blue. The Guardian.}

Right before he punched the wall, the orange light switched back to the usual blue, and as his fist made contact with the wall, it began switching like crazy before remaining on a mix of blue and orange.

Then, a gigantic series of loud noises could be heard, and the wall... The wall came crumbling down.

He stood there, shocked, with his arm still extended.

"...What?"

He was surprised, shocked, in awe... Fuck, he was basically flabbergasted.

It... It actually worked?!

He looked at his hand, yet his position remained basically the same. He turned it around on all sides, but not even one extra bruise was on it. Just the ones from earlier.

"...What did I... Do...?"

He straightened his back, and looked around.

"D-Did anyone see that?! Okay, obviously not..."

His eyes finally got captivated by the light coming through the... Well, from where the wall used to be.

Beyond the now-gone wall was a forest, full of life... Literally! Animals, and everywhere!

He looked around, confused, then stepped out of the cave, and the rays of light suddenly and finally hit his face.

He teared up a bit, and looked down, before suddenly yelling out and jumping around.

"I'm fucking aliveee!! Woohooo!"

Well, uh, he quickly stopped jumping.

"Shit, that hurts... Ouch..."

He looked around at the now empty forest, because the animals ran because of the weird screaming dude, and he scratched his head.

"...Where am I?"

He never left the city his whole life, so... He had zero idea of where he was. I mean, obviously, in a forest, but that's where the known information stops...

He laid down on the grass, and took some big breaths.

"This feels nice though..."

He remained just like that for a while, before getting up.

"Enough slacking off. I need a hospital. Fast."

He once again looked around, and saw what seemed like the outline of a building in the distance... Perfect. Maybe someone can call 911 for him from there!

It seemed quite far from him, but he had the energy and the spirit for the trip!

And so, he started walking, to the best of his capabilities. Well, it was more of a limp... But he was determined!

***

Back in the cave...

***

Near the old, forgotten and tore up mask, three sets of footprints could be seen forming on the ground from thin air...

Then, the air itself seemed to be... Bent. Meaning, something was camouflaging...

As expected, two men and a woman all slowly but surely appeared, all looking down at the Guardian's old mask.

The first man spoke. He was a big guy, both tall and bulky.

"...You think this was a good idea, Purple?"

The thin, slender, very short women sighed, then was the next to speak. She could easily be mistaken for a child if not for... Nevermind...

"Obviously, Cyan. Don't forget it was me that chose him, after all."

The third man remained in silence, not speaking a word. He was a... Normal looking guy. Sitting at exactly six feet tall, he wasn't fat nor skinny. Just somewhere in-between.

The woman scoffed and then laughed, before nudging him with her elbow.

"See! Black agrees, right? Y'do, no?"

The third man grunted, then turned around and turned invisible once again.

The woman remained in silence for a second.

"...I'm sure he does! C'mon, Cyan."

With a sigh and a giggle respectively, the man and woman also turned invisible, leaving the mask on the ground, forgotten. Forever.

***

A few hours of walking later.

***

A bunch of tree branches being broken could be heard, then a very... Angry looking man emerging from the forest, wearing all blue. Though, they had a lot of crimson red stains.

He scoffed and grunted.

"What is this fucking forest! Dude!"

He was slowly but surely getting closer to the building, and as he did so, the thought crept up on him... What if it's abandoned? It looks... Well, to be honest and fair, it looks shit. Broken windows, falling apart...

He signed, and continued walking. If not for a phone, then something, anything to help him patch himself up.

Well... He'll figure it out when he gets there!

"Aaagh! Fuck! Snake, a snake, shit!"

...Well, if he gets there, anyways...

He continued walking and walking, hoping and praying that it isn't abandoned. He was hungry, thirsty, tired, sleepy, and overall, fuckin' done!

Eventually, after what seemed like tens of hours but in reality being just short of three hours, he got to the building... It was in an area where there weren't any animals or trees around, just out in a field.

He looked the building up and down, and, unfortunately... It looked abandoned. No lights, no people... Nothing. Just a dumb, tall building in the middle of nowhere.

"...This sucks."

He began making his way inside, looking for anything at all. Clothes, blankets, possibly a medical kit... He was gonna need them all.

He walked up to it, and pushed the door open. Whatever was left of it, anyways... It was a broken glass door.

As he was just about to put his foot inside, he took it back. His eyes jumped to the floor, and he chuckled.

"...No glass shards, huh? From this big ass broken glass door?"

Something wasn't making sense. The inside of the building felt way too well kept for it to be abandoned.

...Well, either way... He needs supplies.

So, he took a step forward, and walked in.

He looked around, looking for another soul, but he didn't find anyone.

He just walked in deeper.

His eyes were looking around at all times, bolting from one corner to another, looking for someone, anyone.

Then, he heard a sound from a higher floor... Something that sounded like a faint footstep.

His hand immediately jumped on his face as to pull his mask down, but...

He let out a small, inaudible "Fuck." and continued walking, carefully.

Before that... He actually stopped, and took his shoes off, and softly put them down. He didn't want to alert the person upstairs by making loud footsteps.

He began making his way upstairs, barely making any sounds, since he was in socks.

The only reason he did this was because he knew there were no shards around.

He used to be weak... Not stupid.

He continues making his way up the flights of stairs, but each and every floor is empty... Until he found one that wasn't.

The very last floor is, in fact, not empty... But it just as well might be.

There is a wooden box in a corner, and right in the middle of the room is... An elevator...?

He looks around and makes sure he's alone before speaking.

"What is this thing doing here...?"

He went and circled it, but nothing is out of the usual... Except for the elevator in the very middle of a room.

"Okay, that's... Normal... Uh-huh..."

Then, his eyes jump to the brown, wooden box in the corner.

Since this whole building was absolutely empty except for these two weird things, he saw an opportunity... To get anything! Literally! He walked for hours, and for nothing?! No way!

He slowly approached the box, and attempted to open its heavy, wooden lid.

...Wait, heavy?

"Hnng...! Why is this so... Goddamn heavyyy..!"

After much struggling, he still couldn't open it...

As he was panting, he looked at it again, closer. He let out a deep sigh.

"This ain't wood..."

And no, indeed it wasn't. It was an iron box, with an iron lid, simply covered in wood. The iron was visible through some big cracks in the wood.

He stood up, and put both hands on the box's lid. He took a big breath and tried using his powers again.

The usual, blue glow appeared on his hands, and he began pulling. Yet it didn't move not even an inch.

He let go, and started panting again.

"Pfuu... This is stupid... Pfuu... Sooo stupid..."

Then, he noticed that no orange glow appeared this time. That was even weirder, right?

He sat and thought about it for a second, before finally getting up.

"Okay then... Round two..."

He placed his hands on the lid again, and took yet another big breath. He started pulling again, and the usual blue glow appeared, but...

"C'mon... C'mon, weird orange light...!"

But, unfortunately, no orange appeared once again. But he wasn't gonna give up just yet.

"Come on already...! Shiiit...!"

He kept pulling with all his might, to no avail.

"Fuck...! Respond to me, you little annoying ass night light! I was... The fucking Guardian...!"

As if it was a queue, the second the words left his mouth, the light started distorting into an orange, then a similar set of words started running through his mind over and over again.

{Blue. The Guardian.}

After that, the light faded to blue, and remained as a combination of blue and orange, and...

And as he pulled, the lid immediately flew off its hinges and landed somewhere behind him with a loud "Bang!"

"...Woah."

Well, uhm... Indeed, woah. His eyes bolted from the broken lid back to the insides of the box, and...

Jackpot.

Inside the iron box covered in wood was a medical kit, some spare clothes and a... A button?

By button I mean an actual button. The ones that you press. Though, he didn't know where it was originally from...

He picked up the button first, and turned it on all sides.

"...Well, uh, okay."

He put it in his pocket, alongside the Vessel, and pulled out the medical kit and the spare of clothes. It included a black and orange hoodie, some normal looking pants and... And underwear he wasn't gonna touch...

He took everything out of his pockets first; the Vessel, the weird button and a few coins. Then, he put them on the ground nearby, and completely removed all his clothes. Except his socks and underwear. He had standards.

Then, he used the medical kit to patch himself up to the best of his abilities. Bandages all around, then he used... Whatever liquid is usually in a medical kit on the open wounds, including the one from the back of his head.

In ten minutes tops, the floor was filled with blood filled and stained cotton balls, tissues and bandages, alongside some empty alcohol bottles, and he was wrapped like a mummy.

Well, that's one thing off his checklist. Next up... Clothes! He put on the change of clothes, and weirdly enough, they fit him... A bit too well, actually.

Oh, whatever, he needed them. All uh, all but the underwear...

As he switched into them and looked around, he realized...

"Shit! My shoes! Dammit!"

He ran down through the empty building, got his shoes, put them on, then went back up. They looked like they went through three or four World Wars and were stained with blood, but it was the only pair he had available, so...

Once he got back to the last floor, he put the button and coins into his new pants' pockets and stuffed his old clothes and bloodied bandages inside the iron box.

One thing left... The elephant in the room. Or, uh, the elevator in the room.

He went up to it, and pressed the "Open" button. To his surprise, it was still powered, and the doors opened wide.

"...Huh. Ain't that... Something."

When he went in, it had a panel, but... Absolutely no floor buttons.

"No surprise here, huh... No other floors had an elevator after all..."

He looked at it better, and... A hole was down at the very bottom of it.

"...Are we sure this is an elevator?!"

...Maybe. Anyways, the hole was perfectly sized for his... Button. The button in his pocket.

He pulled out the button from his pocket, and put it in there. As he did that, a little "Click!" could be heard.

Above the button was written "Basement," and that was obviously the only option available, so...

"Well, sure, I guess..."

He pressed it, then the doors closed, and the elevator suddenly shook a bit, then started descending.

As to the how, he had no idea. If this wasn't on the other floors, where was this even traveling through...?

Well, not that it matters. Whatever the case, it's descending. Too late to chicken out now, is it?

***

As soon as the elevator started descending...

***

The same sets of footprints from earlier appeared, looking down at the descending elevator.

"You think he figured out how it works yet, Purple?"

The woman scoffed.

"Obviously not, dummy. He probably thinks it's a normal elevator. He didn't even notice his missing Vessel. Now we can see if he dies!~ That's great!"

The bulky man sighed, then looked at the box.

"...Heh. He didn't take the underwear. I won the bet."

"W-What?!"

The woman quickly checked inside, and scoffed again.

"Dammit! I even went out of my way to take them from his house...! And I even held back on sniffing them!"

"Weird as ever, huh, Purple...?"

Suddenly, the man known as Black stomped the ground, making the two shut up. He gave them both a death stare, before turning around to leave, and speaking in a cold, dead sounding voice.

"We're going."

Cyan quickly followed without a word while Purple sighed, as she reached into the box and took out the pair of underwear, before following the two as well.

|The Guardian. |Hero.

• Real Name: Unknown.

• Aliases: "Loser," "Weakling," "Waste of Air."

• Powers: (Mediocre Blue Killium Fragment) Super Strength.

• Description: A local hero, who the locals actually hate. Usually helps with unimportant tasks around the city, but doesn't do that good a job. His fights have a win-rate of 35% on average, all throughout his career.

• Location: Unknown.

• Status: Deceased.