Emit Sparrows…
A man of many names. Grand names both feared and loathed and sometimes even known to authorities perhaps, but in the end just a man… with determination. An accumulation of wealth by many means, starting fairly legal then boarding on illegal and into straight blackmarket- and yet it wasn’t enough. Not anywhere near enough. He still recalled his childhood where he was told he must settle for… whatever was given to him. Like he was some kind of pet- that wasn’t him. He was nobody’s pet.. not the state, nor to any ‘normal’ person.
He was ridiculed for his deficiencies… his… disability- whatever word seemed applicable. The same thing was always said: Despite all his wealth he could never walk. The sphinx had offered him a chance to walk again if he turned down all his wealth… and many years ago Emit might just have agreed… after all he could build it up again right?
That was then though and this is now. He may not have realised himself how much he had changed. From his first business ventures, being actively praised as an example to others by the media… but then quietly angered at becoming an object of pity. To them he was a dog that could do an interesting trick- aping humans and that was all they saw him as. That burning fire inside lit into a quiet anger that drove him higher and higher but still bound.. shackled to the form he was given.
The worst thing anyone could do to him- that of pity… he hated that emotion to the depths of his heart. Those who pitied his birth.. his existence be they his own family, teachers, friends, business associates.. and then there was the mist- one possible ticket to achieving the impossible.
The sphinx was wheeled into a lift Dominique on a trolley. He opened a key to the hidden basement floor and set the destination there. He placed a heart monitor onto the mythical beast and nodded as Emit entered the carrier. “She’s stable.” He looked at the sleeping face of the woman with a lion’s body with a neutral expression.
Slowly the lift descended going down several floors… well past the ground floor…
The doors opened. Dominique looked around at the sterile walls and clinical look of the hidden basement. It was not an area he had seen much of.. one of the more ‘sensitive’ areas of the hotel- besides the back end of the Casino anyway. Normally he would expect drugs but.. Emit didn’t seem to delve into that at all. He was not to ask of course. He didn’t want to get too involved in anything more then protecting his boss and occasionally roughing up the competition for some extra perks. He continued his job securing the creature to the sides of the trolley with a chain against her back.. and front legs. “She’s secure.”
The mob-boss gave a curt nod. “Very Good Dominique… Now, I’d like you to patrol the outside… you saw nothing of course. Get the van ready to return her home once we’re done.”
“Right Boss.” Dominique nodded as he rode the lift back upstairs. This might be ‘one of those’ days. He wondered if a body bag would fit that monster as he took the lift up.
Emit pursed his lips as he looked at the sphinx.
“Mr sparrows!” An excitable woman clasped her hands together looking up trom the lobby. “What have you brought for me?” She appeared to be human- though one might suggest her eyes seemed a bit strange with a shining green edge to them with a softer blue hue. She had white skin, and dark brunette hair. A pretty woman in her twenties. She had a lab coat on and was busy working on some strange machine within the basement. Various samples of vials were on a table each with a number.
“Doctor Clare,” Emit smiled. “I believe I have the means to further your… research.”
“Oh really?!” She looked even more excited if that were possible. “A real actual manifestation of a mythological being of legend?!” She looked Biff over with a grin.
“If that’s what you call a sphinx- or something that looks a lot like one.”
Doctor Clare squealed excitedly as she ran to the sleeping creature taking out a measuring tape. She pulled it open and recorded every part of her- from the claws on her feet to the span of her wings. “Oh My God!” She gasped. “She’s beautiful! Such a wonder- Oh wings! I must catalogue all this. This- yes! This will help my modelling of the Mist! Uh, why is she asleep?” She tilted her head awkwardly. “Such a cute thing to be sleeping! I want to talk to her.”
“She’s not exactly here voluntarily my dear,” He smiled faintly.
The scientist made a soft gasp in response. “Emit! You didn’t knock out such a beautiful creature just for me did you?” She started to stroke Biff’s head feeling her hair. “Oh she even has cat ears! I know scientists that would have a field day with her! So many tests we can do! It’s the best present I can have.”
“Heh, you know me. I always know what people want...” He looked to the machine. “… is it ready? Does it… actually work?”
The woman gave a light grin. “Hey! You’re the only one that took my theories seriously. Of course it works.” she pointed to a chamber which looked like a pod. “To recap the theory, I can excite the energy that creates the mist creatures… process it through this system here… and then direct that energy to create a new changed being- under our complete control of course.”
“and… what becomes of the.. donator?”
“I don’t know! I need to figure that out.” Clare giggled. “It’s just- there’s so much craziness in higher dimensional theories! Reality is so much deeper then we think- we’re beings of higher dimensions ourselves and just can’t see it!” She started to scribble some numbers. “I had some of the mist changed in my ancestry but I’m not a changed. Weird huh? I would love to have been one myself- fortunately being human lets me imagine a lot of weird theories anyway. I researched and researched but my theories took me to places no scientist can ever understand or believe- but I know the secrets now! I can unlock the mist!”
Emit shook his head. Clare might be deluded but.. there was no mistaking her curious brilliance. There was so much insanity to her… but it somehow seemed to work. She had created artificial mist beings… though they were temporary- a full effect required someone severely changed… someone like Biff. “I want to use the machine with her. Restore my body and.. give me her powers to perceive the future… ”
“Oh! Tall order. Eh, sure. Wheel her in boys!” Clare pointed as the pod door opened. A set of small crude looking robots began to obey her command pushing the trolley into the pod with the door sealing shut. She haphazardly put on some safety goggles- followed by a blast shield for her face. “Okay Emit, you get in that other pod there and we’ll see what we get. Try to hold your breath when the gas starts coming in- it’s a bit rough on the lungs.” She flipped a switch as the hum of power began to increase. Something akin to a tesla coil at the center started to activate.
Emit held his breath… and closed his eyes. This was it… He had personally funded Clare’s efforts and she had become quite significant in understanding the Mist. There was good reason to think Doctor Clare would one day be among the forerunners to cure the Mist… one day.
“Okay! Turning it up! If you feel a tingle it’s normal! I’m finding her resonance frequency!”
Emit saw the strange golden light pour in. He waited.. watching to see if he could move his legs.. but nothing was happening. He waited patiently..
“Increasing the power!” Clare shouted. “you should be feeling something now!”
Emit clenched his hands. Why wasn’t this working! Come on.. Come on…
Biff woke up suddenly. “Huh-” She gasped.
She was outside… in some kind of park. She slowly got up from the grass.. looking very confused. How- where- how did she get here? Her ears twitched at the sound of children playing around her.
‘Tag you’re it!’ A voice called out. A young girl?
The sphinx looked around in confusion. Images of ghostly children started to manifest around her. They seemed to be… wait- a lot of them appeared to be changed. It was an entire playground of changed children! She blinked a few times staring at the surreal scene. Had the Mist got that many kids? It seemed so rare that there was only one class in her town- which seemed to be the highest concentration by coincidence but.. this was nuts! She could see a slug boy.. some kind of demon-girl- was that a centaur?! Then a flying unicorn seemed to be looking over at the top.
She watched the game of tag as a young boy was ‘tackled‘ by a small fairy resting on his head. The little thing had sneaked onto him quite easily. There was a soft glow as the boy suddenly sprouted wings! The boy didn’t seem to mind it all that much and began to fly as the game of tag continued.. indeed above the park there were more ‘flyer’ types continuing this strange game of humans playing with the mythological. A strange dance between the mortal children and… the others?
“Oh.. I’m dreaming,” Biff relaxed. That made sense. Though it sure was surreal..
“Becca do you want to play more?!” a voice called out. It seemed to be a cat-girl?
“Uh- I can’t right now Sandra-” Biff blinked. ‘How- wait- how do I know...’ She looked around again. She knew many of their names. She knew these kids… she played with them. This was a playground… “I… used to play here… I was here...” she dreamed it? When the mist had age-regressed her… It was so… weird! She started to walk on her four legs to just ‘understand’ the situation. Then she saw someone and gasped. “No way...”
“Hello Becca. Can I be of assistance?” A monotone voice asked cautiously.
The sphinx had to sniff the creature to be sure. “...Elliot?”
“I do not have a name m’lady.” The robot girl seemed a bit stiff- she tilted her head with a light click of her mechanical body.
“Yes you do! You’re Elliot! Do you.. know me?” The sphinx was getting more agitated. Why couldn’t she snap him out of it!
“Oh. I see. Yes. However I am not Elliot here m’lady. He is not ready yet to see this part.” The robot girl looked blankly. “You are Becca. Current Guardian of the Sealed temple. One of the protectors of this realm.” The robot-girl said quite calmly. “You seem in some distress. Is everything alright?”
“I- well- no...” She muttered. “What’s going on? Who are you- and who the heck am I and what am I even doing here and how do I get back home!”
“Processing...” the robot girl started. “I’m afraid I can not answer those questions. You do not seem to be ready to know. How are you here m’lady like this?”
Becca groaned. Even here Elliot was an absolute jerk- or was it Elliot? The girl didn’t act like her… “Arn’t you playing .. tag?” She asked.
“I finished my game. I’m content with the results.”
“uh… huh… well.. I’ll just be heading home- how can I leave this place- aaah!” she winced. She felt a strange headache and pain go across her body. The ground began to rumble as the sky turned a burning red.
“Someone has found your temple… they are trying to awaken.. it… we don’t want it in the game miss Becca. If it goes to Earth there might be some problems.”
Becca growled as she felt the strange pain burn her very soul. It was intense. She felt the ground suddenly open up as she fell into the dark abyss… “Elliot!” She cried out with a flap of her wings as ghostly hands seem to grab her. She was being dragged into the darkness!
