Disclaimer: this story is a work of fiction based on the characters in the video game: Xenosaga. I make no claims of ownership towards these characters, only the twisted things they do in this story belong to me. If you find this story on any site except Literotica, it has been stolen from me, I would appreciate you letting me know! Enjoy the story, and remember: Feedback is crack for writers!
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Sharp lights reflected off some bit of swaying metal, flashing into his closed eyes.
James awoke to firecrackers bursting overhead. Startled from sleep by the rapid concussions, he failed to recognize his surroundings. His body prepared itself for any threat as adrenalin primed his system. The room didn't look familiar but he refused to dwell on that until a proper threat assessment had been made. He threw himself from the hard, almost industrial, bed and bolted to the door. The noise hadn't truly been in the room with him, but rather invoked a memory from college. Had it even been real? As the metallic door retreated into the wall he knew he had never been here before, wherever 'here' was.
The rapid, popping, explosions intensified as the door slid open. He knew, now, that he heard gunfire, not the controlled explosions of firecrackers. The hallway, to which the portal led, was covered entirely in a white plastic, or perhaps fiberglass. There were no right angles in the architecture, all had been rounded smooth, giving the place an almost clinically safe feel. The strange decor, complete with keypads by each of the many doors along the corridor, reminded James of any of a number of science-fiction movies or shows he'd watched over the years. Always one of his favorite genres, he appreciated the feel of the strange place.
The gunfire was almost to him now. He watched the bend in the hall, the direction which the sounds came from, and waited to see who would round the corner.
I don't know enough to get involved. How would I know if I'm accidentally helping criminals escape or something?
He considered hiding in the room until the fight had passed him by, but his inherent curiosity was too great. He had to witness the fight. All the while he told himself he might be able to identify the just side and lend his assistance.
Two men backed around the corner, firing as they moved. It was an obvious retreat. The two lay down cover-fire as another two men raced around the corner to take up kneeling positions a few doors away from James. Their guns snapped to position the moment the two at the turn dropped theirs to their sides and took off. As they ran towards him, James noticed their uniforms. All four wore the same grey, one-piece outfit which, together with their identical rifles, identified them as security guards.
At that moment James learned, conclusively, which side he was on. A few feet before the running guards reached their prepared comrades, something flew out of the wall, sweeping through one of them. The guard died instantly as the ghost-like creature passed through him, as it had the wall. The other running guard skidded to a stop with a scream of primal terror. James could relate, the thing floating in the middle of the corridor simply didn't
feel
natural and its effect on human physiology was quite apparent. One of the kneeling men fell backwards and began firing wildly in fear. The final guard maintained his composure and simply began shooting with precision, avoiding any target that might hit his fellows.
James, frozen in shock, watched as the bullets passed right through the creature without impediment. Fortunately the random shots from the panicked guard failed to come anywhere near his screaming coworker. Most of these shots hit the walls and ceiling, without ever reaching the hulking beast, although those that did had as little effect as the precise shots of his companion.
The monster, although thoroughly translucent, reminded James of a giant gorilla. It's back hunched forward as it leaned on two massive front limbs. The back legs, equally powerful, were shorter and remained bent at the knee. One of its arms lifted. A single swipe passed through the frozen guard and silenced his screams forever. The remaining two guards began a slow retreat as they fired. The beast turned and James managed his first clear look at it. The head wasn't simian in the slightest. In fact, he recognized it but the exact memory refused to come. The wide lower jaw, slung under a much smaller skull and sporting two tusks, didn't come from any creature on Earth.
James knew he was dreaming.
Another swipe and the goliath's arm passed through not only the collected guard but the wall next to him. That broke the nerve of the final guard who turned and began to run. The still-raised arm came crashing down. It only managed to catch the heel of the poor man, but that was enough. The guard collapsed, as lifeless as the rest, and momentum tore his gun from weak hands and flung it the last few meters to James' feet.
Acting on instinct, James picked up the gun and fired at it. He knew it was fruitless ~he'd witnessed it not moments before~ but he needed to try to fight this killer. After two shots reason regained control of his body and allowed him to flee. A quick glance over his shoulder showed the creature galloping along behind him. It felt strange to see something that big moving so ponderously and to hear no sound coming from it. The distance between the two grew as moving through solid objects seemed to slow the monster, it's lumbering gate often causing one shoulder then the next to shift into a wall.
James was looking back, judging his lead, when he tripped over garbage and scattered it across the intersection he'd reached. He heard light footsteps. A hand slid under his arm, even as he tried to rise, and tugged pointlessly. At slightly over a hundred kilograms, his weight was far more than the hand could move. As he stood, he looked over at his rescuer. He noticed her glasses first, inches from his face, covering expressive green pools. Next he noticed her smooth, round, face. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed in concern.
A quick look over his shoulder and he was running once more, the giant nearly catching him. The woman was already in motion, far ahead of him. She turned another corner, he followed, and watched as she dove through a small door. He didn't know what use it would be but he pursued. The door slid shut behind him as he lay on the ground, panting for breath. She sat with her back against some sort of control console and watched the window, invisible from the hallway, on the wall with the door. James rolled onto his back in order to watch as the beast came through the wall. To his amazement he saw the thing lumber past, continuing down the hallway after its elusive prey.
James rolled onto his knees, he tried to catch his breath as he looked over his rescuer. She was a slight woman, with small breasts and hips. For all of her lack of strength she wasn't even breathing heavily. She wore a single piece outfit with long sleeves and legs that continued into her black boots. The outfit was the same grey as the guards, except her's had yellow and brown stripes running from each shoulder, down the front and back, to her ankles. Her waist was belted, with a buckle that very much reminded him of a seatbelt.
He couldn't believe he had to be saved by a woman this pretty. She wasn't beautiful or gorgeous, simply attractive, in that girl-next-door or librarian sort of way. Now he had gone and embarrassed himself thoroughly in front of her. "Thank you." She was as frustratingly familiar as the beast had been. He had seen all of this before. Of course, he would be dreaming of something he had seen before.
"Have you seen anyone else?" She had a beautiful, mezzo-soprano voice. So enchanted was he by it that she had to repeat herself before her words registered.
