Clarity. Purpose. And yes.. Vengeance. It's all so clear now. I remember everything. And they will pay!
I was found as a cub on an island. I was injured, they said I had fallen off a cliff. But I don't remember what happened before that. The man-creature who found me took me to his laboratory, to heal me.. or so he said. In truth, he wanted to study me, and to do "things" to me which I still find horrific to dwell upon.
He called me Arcs, which I discovered was really A.R.C.S., and meant "Animal Recombinant DNA Control Specimen". At first, the man-creature was kind, and helped me to regain my strength and heal from my injuries. But my memory never returned. Eventually though, the experiments began. I was injected with various "formulas" and given "treatments" which I do not remember clearly. The end results, however.. were nothing short of miraculous.
Months passed me by, and I became stronger than ever before, I was faster, and began to develop a few interesting "abilities" which caused a great deal of excitement in the man-creature and his other scientists, as they called themselves. I also began to understand things more clearly, my intelligence increasing daily. I could understand the man-creatures and their strange form of speech. I could read. And sometimes.. I could hear their thoughts.
Eventually, as my abilities and enhancements went far beyond what they had hoped for or imagined, I decided I had had enough of the "formulas" and "treatments". I tried to escape, but they gave me something to put me to sleep. I refused to come out of my cage, which only seemed to anger the once kindly man-creatures. It was not long before I began to read what was written on their ever-present clipboards. They said I was becoming "unruly" and "untrustworthy". One of them had even written the word "dangerous" across my chart.
It was not long before I overheard them one day, discussing what to do about me. The man-creatures were arguing over it in another room, but their thoughts were loud and clear. It seemed they had decided to "destroy the specimen". I knew what that meant. They thought they could kill me.. but they thought wrong.
When they finally came for me, I pretended that I was in a good mood, and was cooperative. Until they got me out of the cage I lived in. It was then that I took action. I lifted one massive paw and swiped at the nearest man-creature, gouging through his flesh like it was warm butter, and he fell to the floor, dead. The smell of it threw me into a frenzy and I went for the next one. The man-creatures lept to action, trying to inject me with something and also they used their stunners on me, but it only served to enflame my rage. I tore into them, rending them limb from limb. As I was killing them, I at last felt some modicum of peace. I would be free.
It was then that the man-creature who had found me on the island arrived. He walked in and saw what I had done, and he pulled a thing from his pocket, a small metal thing, but in his mind I could see it was a weapon called a gun. I turned and leaped at him, intending to rip out his throat, but he managed to pull the trigger. I fell, and he escaped.
The pain was intense, and I could feel my blood leaking from the wound. I scrambled away, looking for a way out, and keeping low in case the man-creature should shoot his gun at me again. Eventually I found a large window, and jumped through it, adding more wounds to my already damaged body. And then I ran.
For days I wandered in a vast barren land, bloody and weakened. I could find no food, no water, and no shelter. I am not sure how long this went on, but eventually, I saw trees. With one final burst of strength, I ran with all my might, until I found myself inside a calm and peaceful looking forest. I came to a clearing, and it was there that I collapsed, falling into what I thought was the final oblivion. This saddened me, for I still desired to avenge myself against the man-creature.
I do not know how long I slept, but I awoke to some strange creature bouncing in front of me and babbling nearly incoherently.
"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! I found a big bloody kittty mommy! come and see, come and see! Mommy!" The strange creature bounced up and down, excited beyond reason. I lay very still, watching through slitted eyes to see what "Mommy" was.
"Hold on, Graendal, I'm coming!" I heard a female voice call from somewhere off in the trees. I also heard the sounds of conversation from other voices close behind it. I tensed, waiting to see if I would have to fight my way clear to freedom once again.
Soon I saw the souce of the "mommy" voice. It was a man-creature, only not. It was female, and though it "looked" like a man-creature, it smelled "different" and it - no, she - FELT different, as well. Something about her energy just felt.. right. I lay very still as she approached me, pretending to be unconscious.
"Oh, Graendal! You did good calling me. This poor thing is hurt badly! We've got to help him. Xiraxis, Zemeron, come over here and help me lift him up. We'll take him home and clean his wounds, and hopefully we can heal him."
I saw other strange creatures come from the trees, all with that same "Right" energy about them. And then I saw HER. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And then I fainted.
Again I slept, and don't know how long, but I awoke in a clean room, on a soft bed, covered with a soft silky sheet. My wounds were bandaged and I felt stronger than I had in days. The room was quiet, and had a pleasant fragrance, which I soon discovered came from the creature sitting next to me. It was HER. She saw that I was awake, and spoke.
"Hi there. I was wondering when you'd wake up. My name is Ezmireena, but you can call me Ezmi." She smiled, and it was radiant. "How are you feeling?"
Before I could answer, I heard that strange creature's voice, the one called Graendal, come from another room. "Is he awake? Is he? Is he?" I heard the patter of feet come running, and there she was in all her annoying glory. She was obviously very young, and cute in a strange sort of way. "MOMMY!!!!!!! He's awake!" She yelled, right before jumping onto the bed and swatting at my tail in a playful manner.
"Graen, why don't you go make our new friend some soup?" Ezmi said to her. Graendal grinned and leaped off the bed, running from the room, to make the soup I guessed.
"I feel better, thank you." I told Ezmi. "Where am I?"
"You are at our house. Mother brought you home so we could help you. Don't worry, you're safe here with us." She smiled again, and the reached over for a glass of water and handed it to me. I took a drink, realizing how parched I was. A few minutes later, "Mother" came into the room.
"Good, you're awake. And you look much better. Graendal is making you some soup, you'll need to eat if you want to get your strength back. My name is Kishara, and this is my home. You're welcome to stay with us as long as you need or want to." She smiled kindly, and sat down in a chair next to the bed. Soon, Graendal came back with the soup. "Well, looks like your soup is here. But one thing first.. What is your name?" Kishara asked.
"I was called ARCS by the man-creature who harmed me. It was an acronim for Animal Recombinant DNA Control Specimen." I grimaced as I said it.
Kishara frowned, and anger tinged her energy. "Animal experimentation. How disgusting. I detest such things! Thank goodness you escaped. When and if you feel up to it, you can tell me what happened, but for now you need rest. And food. Graendal, leave the soup on the table and go play." She stood, and went to walk out, then turned back. "We will NOT call you that name. I think we shall call you Arkanus. It means "powerful wisdom". Much more pleasant, don't you think?" And with that she walked out.
The days went by slowly, with Ezmi tending me, and Graendal pestering me. But I had other visitors as well, Kishara's other "children". They were all very kind, and we talked a great deal about many things. And then I met Xiraxis. He was a dragon, a member of the Rreign species. And his story was no less interesting than mine. He told me that once he had been dead, but had been forced to return to the world of the living, to seek vengeance against evil doers. And he was very interested in my story. He was the first of them I told. And he agreed immediately to help me seek my vengeance. After that, they all came to my bedroom daily to talk with me and get to know me. But Graendal seemed to always be there. Ezmi was there a great deal too, and I cherished the moments we spent together. I realized I had begun to fall in love with her.. not that I would ever tell her.
Eventually I was able to get out of bed and get exercize. Each day, one of them would come and help me get up, and walk with me outside in the woods around our little house. None of them ever questioned how long I would be staying, and sometimes they would comment on how "our brother" or "our sister" did this or that. I understood that they had adopted me. Kishara would walk with me as well, and we would have long conversations about a great many things. I got to know them all. I felt closest to Xiraxis, who had sworn to aid me in my quest for vengeance, and I considered him a brother. I also felt a strong sense of kinship with Zemeron, who told me had been in an accident involving some sort of radioactive waste, but much like myself, had been found by Kishara, and was now a part of the family. I really began to enjoy the daily walks and conversations.
One night, Graendal came in carrying a stack of books. She blinked at me shyly and sat them down on the table next to the bed.
"How did you know I liked to read?" I asked her.
"Um.. I didn't know.. but I hoped you did. And.. I was sorta hoping.. you would read to me?" She smiled and blinked innocently.
With a sigh, I patted the bed next to me and she hopped up. And that began our nightly reading ritual. I discovered I was attached to her, and to the rest of them. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had come home and had a family.
But I will still seek my vengeance! Only now, I have help....
Bloodred Celinox
Kishara
