The Experiment of Argavid Re: MIX

Chapter 1

The cold, dark, almost empty room did not phase her anymore. She has been in this room for almost four years. She hasn't seen light since she was taken in by that monster. She should've been dead at this point, but her body has proven too resilient for that. Bounded against a metal bed, she watched as the door to the room opened gently, a pair of yellow eyes gleaming from the shadows.

"Ah, my sweet little girl! Ready for your next test?" The figure shuts the door and walks into the light. An old, Germanic-looking robe covered his body. She never got a good look at his face as a plague doctor mask rests atop it, but the glowing eyes know that he meant business.

"..."

"What's with the sorrow? Your fifth birthday was great, wasn't it?"

"..."

"...oh right, you can't talk. Well, I finally got you a birthday gift. You want to know what it is?" He procures a syringe from a box located in the room. Inside the syringe is a translucent, dark red liquid that seemingly moved on its own. Her eyes panned the entire length of the syringe. It's longer than normal, but she's dealt with worse. He straps on a pair of red gloves, bloodied and tarnished from previous experiments he has done to her before he begins. The needle glistens in the light as he lifts her arm.

She didn't dare try to resist, for she knew it was a bad idea. He probed her arm, looking for a vein. She mentally prepared herself for the shot, which came not too long afterward. She gasped as he inserted the needle into her bloodstream, injecting the fluid into her. He did not remove the syringe from her arm until every last drop of the serum was inside her body. He placed a small bandage on her arm to prevent any leaking fluids that could leak the serum from her body.

He sat down in a chair next to her, waiting for the serum to take effect. They waited...and waited...and waited some more. He slowly grew more impatient with each passing hour. She had gone to sleep in that amount of time, not wanting to look at him anymore. Her peaceful nap, however, came to a swift, agonizing end. Pain shot up all across her body. It was a pain she had never felt before, and that's saying something. She may not be able to speak, but she can sure scream.

Her agonizing screech drew his attention. She could not scream before. It seems its finally taking effect. He stood up, observing her as she began to shake so much she could've been possessed by a demon. He tried to hold her down, but a sudden burst of energy flung him across the room and through the one-way glass. Sparks erupted from every machine in the compound as the walls around them began to warp. He got up just in time to see a bright flash erupt, blinding him.

And just like that, the entire mountain was gone.

Her eyes shot open once more, waking from a nightmare that kept on repeating in her mind for who knows how long. She pushed herself onto her knees, but the pain from before was still present. She kept her face looking at the ground as she coughed up blood, only realizing something was off from the grass when she wiped her mouth off. It didn't look like the grass she grew up with. It looked...alien.

She clambered for something to hold her up, and she felt the soft bark of a tree with her hand. She pushed herself against it with all her might, managing to stand up for a few seconds before her legs buckled beneath her, causing her to face-plant the dirt. Her vision, blurry from the agony, looked to the sky. It was unfamiliar to her. Instead of the peaceful blue, it was a light red. The clouds were thick, but at least they were normal. This didn't feel like home.

And to make matters worse, the footsteps of a mysterious being grew louder with each passing second she laid there. Was this it? Was this where she was going to die? She imagined the maw of a demonic bear wrapping itself around her body as it dragged her into the dark, but reality soon hit her. There will be no bears here...if that thing has anything to say.

The creature looked surprisingly humanoid, six muscular limbs ending in claws, six white eyes lacking pupils and irises, no tail or nose, a circular mouth filled with teeth, and a body covered in grey scales. It had an aura of gentleness in its stance. She tried to get up and run, but the pain was unbearable. She could only lay against the trunk of the tree as it tilted its head. Her hazel eyes, widened with fear, kept their gaze on the creature.

Neither made any plans to move. They just kept staring at each other, wondering the same things. Was this thing a friend or foe? Gentle or dangerous? She was scared, and the creature was curious. If she had her voice, she could scream to get it away from her. However, she did not take into account what it would attract.

The ground shook ferociously. The creature, looking away from her and into the forest, noticed the source straight away. Instead of running away, it quickly approached her, grabbing her with two of its four arms. She tried to scream, but all that came out was too quiet for even the creature to hear. It ran as fast as it could, and, despite carrying her, it is rather fast. Deeper into the forest it went until it noticed a log, which it got under, bringing her with it.

She would've tried to sneak away, but the surprise appearance of another, much larger creature made her realize the creature that brought her here meant her no harm. The giant monster, as she described it, almost looked like a dinosaur. Long, croc-like jaws with the lower one split down the middle, four arms, with one pair ending in large, sickle-shaped claws, and the other pair being more vestigial and covered in a large dewlap, two thick, muscular legs to keep its bulk up, ant-like antenna, and a long tail ending in dolphin-like fins. It looked vaguely familiar, but at the same time, looked very much alien.

Each step it took created a dent in the soil matching its large feet. It sniffs the air, trying to pick up a scent. It scans the area, closing one pair of eyes, then its second pair, and lastly its third. Thankfully, it did not see her. It lets out a loud, menacing roar, its lower jaw splitting in two as it strutted off. The grey, as she calls it, crawls out from under the log before looking down at her. Despite its pure white eyes, she could see that it was confused.

By this time, the pain has somewhat subsided. She could finally crawl out and stand, much to her relief. She still had no idea where she was, but she knew for a fact it wasn't the cold tundra of Russia or the forests of Germany. No, this place doesn't even seem like Earth at all. And, judging by the creatures she saw, it most definitely isn't.

The grey soon left, seemingly looking for something. She, however, did not know where to go. She rested against the log, wondering where to go from here. Now that she's free from that monster, she can finally have a normal life, with normal people, in a normal place. But there are no people here, only animals she thought only existed in fiction. It made her angry, and she began to tear up.

She rested her head against her knees. She wanted to call out to her mama and papa, but she knew they were not here. She was alone, stuck in a nightmare that has lasted for who knows how many years. Even now, she doesn't feel truly free. What's a little girl to do? Maybe, if she shut her eyes, she could awaken back home with her family. Shutting her eyes, she prayed to be home, and she fell fast asleep.

When she opened them again, instead of a nice little cabin, she's instead in a large cave. Rain battered the cave entrance as she rubbed her eyes. How long has she been asleep? Turning to her right, she suddenly noticed a large circle of dirt and leaves. It reminded her of a nest, but of what? She slowly crawled to check it out. She let out a silent yelp before crawling away when she realized what is inside.

Its a new creature, but it's different from the rest. It has two long, praying mantis-like arms, wings with what seem to be feathers, two legs with weird feet, a long tail, four spikes on its neck, ant-like antenna, six eyes, and the dinosaur-like maw with a split lower jaw like the other, much larger creature she saw earlier. It freaked her out, despite it being most likely a baby.

She was about to get up and run out of the cave. The grey creature, however, was already there. It didn't seem bothered by her or the other creature. It went to the smaller one and watched it carefully as if it was taking care of it. This confused her a bit, for she knew they are from different species. The grey then turned its head towards her. They stared at each other for a moment until the grey did the unthinkable.

"So you're not from this world, huh?" She couldn't even give the creature her normal, silent stare. How!? How can she understand this creature!? Better yet, how does it know how to speak anyway!?

"..."

"Oh yeah, that's right. You can't speak. Your friend told me everything I needed to know about you," the grey said.

"..."

"Right, I forgot about formalities. I'm Saey. And your name is?"

"..."

"Bella? That's an odd name to have around here...yeah, that confirms it. You're an alien," he replied. Wait, what? She isn't even speaking to him! How is this animal able to understand what she's saying despite not even speaking!?

"..."

"Oh...uh...I don't know. I bet your friend has something to do with it, however!" Friend? She doesn't have friends!

But then she realized something. She only got to this place after that monster injected her with that red serum. Maybe the serum is allowing her to understand the creature, as well as allowing it to understand her even though she cannot speak. That's her answer to the problem, but what if the creature can understand her anyway without any sort of connection?

"I suggest you go back to sleep. The day is coming to an end and you need the rest. The nearby forest is a dangerous place full of dire situations. Without the proper health or guidance, sine your friend told me you are young, you most likely won't make it in there," Saey told her, patting the smaller creature before going back outside. She couldn't help but agree with him. If the giant monster she saw when she first met Saey meant anything, then that forest would most likely kill her. Maybe the grey could give her some help in navigating this place since it looks like she'll be here for a while.

Resting herself back on the grass blanket that she woke up upon, she rested her eyes. Maybe...just maybe...this place has a lot more to offer than she thought?

Whoever this "friend" of hers is, she is going to find out.

Rough start, I must say. I thought I was doing good with the beginning, but as I got to the end, everything went kaput! Eh...like I said, its a start I guess. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of a much darker remake of my Spore side-project that I hold dear to my heart. Leave a review, if you want.

There are going to be a bunch of changes to this, so be prepared when you see something totally different than what the original had to offer.

This is Sporedude135, signing off...