Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing with the exception of the storyline.

POV: Experiment "X"

I heard various sounds around me, some of which were pleasant. The sun was shining brightly against my closed eyelids. I bent my knees, flexing my fingers. One hand was resting on my stomach, the other near my head. The sounds around me grew louder. I turned over onto my left side for a moment, placing my head on the palm of my left hand. As the sounds grew closer, I threw my arms out beside me and stretched my legs.

I tried to go back to sleep, but the sounds around me felt like they were right next to me. I shook my head, trying to force the sounds into silence.

"Wake up!" a feminine voice called out.

I opened my eyes and gasped, lurching into a sitting position. I moved my hand up to my face, covering my eyes and rubbing my forehead that began to throb. Once I pulled my hands away, I saw an area that resembled a meadow. I looked around, seeing the nature. I slowly stood up and walked to the small stream.

I knelt down and leaned closer to it, seeing my reflection. I had brown hair that was just above my shoulders, blue eyes that were a little darker than this pool of water, and a scar over and below my right eye. I saw gloves covering my hands. I removed my right glove and screamed. My hand was mechanical. I quickly replaced the glove, cautiously removing the other one. I sighed in relief to see a flesh hand. I traced the scar on my face, cringing at the small amount of pain that it caused me.

"Turn around."

I did as I was told. I gaped at the sight, before me stood an elevated, large, dark building. I grew curious, seeing as though the journey to the top would take a few minutes if not hours. I sighed, deciding to begin my trek quickly. I ran through several tree infested patches, nearly getting myself lost. I did stumble and trip over a fall tree. Somehow, I'd managed to catch myself instinctively and prevent an injury.

I stood up once again, running out of the tress. I had finally reached the base of the building. From the base, it looked like a fortress. There were no guards of any sort, so I cautiously made my way toward it. I ran up several flights of stairs until I'd reached the top. There was a bright, inviting entrance that called to me. I stared into the light, glancing around. I moved forward and kicked something.

I glanced down to see a silver rod. I raised my eyebrow and I bent down to pick it up. The way it fit into my grip felt familiar. I felt the handle with my thumb and an azure blade erupted from the tip. The sounds from the blade were similar to that of an electrical current's hum. The noises reverberated through the empty hall, bouncing off of the walls. I made the same motion with my thumb and the blade vanished.

I looked down at my waist and, oddly enough, there was an area on my belt to hold the weapon. I clipped it on and shook my head, beginning to carefully move further into the mysterious building.

As I moved down hallways, the lights began to grow dimmer. I bumped into several crates, knocking a few over in the process. I heard the buzzing of a light above me. I heard a different buzzing noise and immediately stopped moving. I heard faint footsteps approaching me. I decided to use my voice, actually hearing myself speak for the first time. "Who's there?"

I was shocked at how deep my voice sounded. I stared in confusion as a man, covered from head to toe in white, slowly stalked forward. I pulled the weapon from my belt, holding it firmly in my right hand. I ignited the blade, holding it in both hands, one hand clasped over the other.

I heard a mechanical cry and the man in front of me was thrown. I ducked to the left as he flew past me. I glanced forward to see a spider-like machine. It had several red eyes across its front and along the sides and it was screeching at me.

I relaxed into a standing position, standing firm. I swung the blade backwards as the creature quickly crawled closer to me. I swung forward, severing one of its legs. The machine skidded behind me. Once it regained its ability to fight, it threw several heavy crates at me. I flew backwards, crashing onto my left side. I clutched my side in pain, wincing as I tried desperately to find the weapon. I glanced to my left, seeing as though it had flown out of my hand, and saw it clattering across the hard floor.

The machine screeched again, moving even closer to me. "Hey, kid, we're here to help!" Several lights shined against the machine. Blasts flew over my head, pushing the spider back until it collapsed. I turned my head, seeing several men that looked similar to the dead one lying against a crate. "Good to see ya, X."

"X?" I asked, standing up.

"That's your name. We're glad you came back. A few of us got worried."

"Why was I gone?"

"You got scared on your first day."

"Oh, well, if I'm X, who are you?" I asked, walking towards my blade. I bent down and picked it up, attaching it to my belt.

"I'm Rex," he answered, removing his helmet. His name did sound familiar to me, but I'd never seen this man before. The others took their helmets off and had the exact same face as Rex. I stared in horror, my eyes moving rapidly over each man. Rex moved forward, gripping my shoulders. "I know you're confused and afraid, but you'll get used to it, kid."

"Am I the only one who doesn't look like you?"

"The Mistress, the woman who saved us, is different. You're the only man that looks different, but she's the only woman in the entire facility."

"Can I see her?"

A few of the men laughed, but Rex glared at them. "Only if she requests your presence. She's always busy."

I sighed and nodded. "So where are we?"

"Nobody really knows. Only the Mistress does, but she keeps it a secret. She keeps us here for our own safety. We've been here for as long as we can remember."

"How long have I been here?"

One of the other men shoved me backwards. "You ask too many questions."

Rex smacked him and laughed. "The kid's allowed to ask questions. We all did when we got here. Anyway, I've only seen you walking around the place for a week, before you disappeared anyway." I bit my lip, nodding. Rex smiled and motioned for me to follow him. I cautiously passed the other men, resulting in a single glare from the one who said I was asking too many questions. Rex kept glancing at me from time to time. I grabbed my mechanical wrist, rubbing the glove with my thumb slowly. "He's Cody. He's been here for a few years. Much longer than the rest of us anyway. He hates all the shinies."

"Shinies?"

"New guys like you. Just relax. With that saber, you're unstoppable."

I grabbed the weapon, pulling it off of my belt and holding it tightly. "This is a saber?"

"A lightsaber."

So many things sounded familiar. My appearance, these men, the lightsaber. I just don't believe that this is my life. I feel like something's missing. I replaced the lightsaber on my belt. "You all right, shiny?"

I sighed, continuing beside Rex. He led us out of all the dark hallways until we reached an extremely large and blinding room. I couldn't even count the men in white walking through the room because they all looked identical.

I got several stares and heard several whispers. I bit my lip again, casting my gaze down at my boots.

Several horns began to sound loudly. I raised my head to see everyone kneeling, eyes closed, with a hand balled into a fist on their chest.

Seeing as though I was the only one standing, I quickly mimicked the others. I knelt beside Rex, keeping my eyes open. I bowed my head slightly and glanced around the room.

A voice similar to Rex's echoed throughout the room. "Good morning, men. Today the training groups will be rearranged. You will receive your schedule change on the datapads in your quarters. The Mistress apologizes for the short notice and prays that you all will forgive her."

"We forgive her," everyone echoed. My eyes widened as I realized that I was the only one with absolutely no idea what to do.

"Rise," the voice boomed.

Everyone stood, including me. With given directions, I could easily follow the others, but when it came to something routine like the kneeling, I couldn't keep up. At least I'd understand next time.

"Where is the man who goes by the name of 'X'?"

I turned my head and stared at Rex, receiving his own stare. He nodded toward the man, telling me to speak up. I moved forward, raising my hand. "I'm X."

"The Mistress summons you to her personal quarters. Come with me."

I turned back to glance at Rex, seeing his eyes widened. He relaxed and smiled. "Get going, kid. I'll see you when you come out. I'll be in the room. Just look for this blue marking," he said, pointing to his shoulder.

I nodded, running up to the man who seemed to be in charge. He looked like Rex, but had a patch over his left eye. "You're X?"

"Yes."

"That would be 'Yes, Sir.'"

I bit my lip for a moment. "Yes, Sir."

"Are you new?"

"Yes, Sir."

He nodded, waving his hand. He spun around and led me down a narrow hallway with several doors lined along the sides. I glanced into one and saw some sort of alien. It didn't look like the others or me. It looked… female. I stopped to gape at it, but it growled at me, charging in my direction. It hit a force field and I instantly jumped backwards, slamming my back against the solid, metallic wall. "X!"

I turned my head to the left, eyes widened. The man was glaring at me, his teeth giving off a menacing appearance. "I'm sorry."

"Stay away from those rooms. There's nothing but failures within them." I nodded, running to catch up to him. Once I was behind him, he began walking again. I glanced into another room, seeing a body crumpled up against the far wall. From the back, it looked human, but I couldn't be sure. It was definitely a male though. "When you enter the Mistress' quarters, you are not to speak unless spoken to. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Sir."

"You will do as she pleases. If she tells you to kneel, you will. If she tells you to perish at her hands, you will. You are not to feel superior to her, for she is your superior."

"Yes, Sir."

"You will address her as Mistress and you will not stare at her for more than five seconds at a time. She doesn't like eyes roaming. Keep your eyes locked onto hers and you should be all right."

He stopped abruptly outside of a large, elegant door. I stared at it in awe, seeing as though it was made from pure gold. He opened the door and motioned for me to enter. I slowly walked passed him, hearing the door slam behind me. I froze in the entrance, seeing a large chair before me. "X?" The chair spun around and a human woman appeared, smiling at me. "How good it is to have you back with us. We missed you, my dear. Have a seat." She motioned toward a chair that suddenly appeared. I stared at the chair. "Do not be afraid of me, sweetheart. Relax and come to me." I nodded, biting my lip, and forcing my feet to move across the room.

A/N: This was created as a "free-time" project. It may not be updated for a while. I'll update it when I have nothing better to do or I get some ideas. Anyway, I hope you liked the first chapter to The Experiments!