[02] Age of Wyrms!

[Celena]

Xenia stepped out of the green portal and appeared into a brand new landscape. Despite the negative aspects of Gamer’s game show, he could have at least given her a briefing on the event she was about to partake in.; that was logical instead of sending her into a random environment without a clue of what to expect. Fortunately, she instantly came across a number of people that were gathered against the wall of a mountain opposite her. There were six people and a dog. They were all clad in silver armour with matching helmets. A few of them were holding their shields and swords while the others left theirs on the ground near them. The only exception was the dog of course who barked at the incoming stranger. Logic told her that she would be involved in a battle one way or another. The only thing she could not figure out was whether they were allies or enemies.

The dogs barking got the group to notice her, while she was easily able to notice something out of place about each of them. The man to the far left looked fat in his armour, there was no getting around it. He seemed to be more interested in consuming a roast turkey leg that anything else. The man next to him was the opposite and definitely looked as if he needed the turkey more than anyone else. No amount of armour could hide his physique. Xenia had to look down to indentify the third man. He was a dwarf of a man, or perhaps actually one, standing roughly around four feet, five inches. Either he was putting on a mean face to make up for his puny size or he wore a permanent frown. Unlike the other two, he had his sword and shield in his hand which made her instantly have more respect for him than the other two. The fourth was a youth who looked in his late teens. He had one foot against the wall and also leaned his back against it. His posture was as if he was too cool for school. He twirled his sword constantly against the stony ground while his shied was flat on the floor. As a scientist, Xenia had a very accurate understanding of the body languages of living organisms and by studying his demeanour; she predicted that he was an arrogant child. The fifth was the only one without a helmet and also the only female in sight, besides Xenia. She had long and luscious purple hair with an attractive young face that looked a tad bit older than hers. Her sword and shield was on either side of her. The item inside her hand had nothing to do with combat; as a matter of fact it was completely the opposite, an item of glamour, a pocket mirror. She frowned at the quarter saiyan and shut the mirror, and then tucked it under her armour. It made the hybrid suspect that she was expecting someone else to have come out of the portal, probably a handsome prince charming. The last man looked large in his armour with broad shoulders. “Who’s a good little doggy?” he said in a babyish voice, laying on his back while he tickled the stomach of a blue retriever. Xenia could not decide what was more bizarre, the fact that an overgrown grown man was acting like an infant or that a retriever came in blue.

“A girl?” wondered the youth. “You’re kidding me right?” he wondered, turning to the skinny, lanky one. “We’re being led by a girl.”

“Am I the only one who doesn’t know anything about why I’m here?” Xenia asked.

“I’m just glad there’s another girl here besides me,” said the purple haired female, even though she had had a funny way of showing it a moment ago.

“Don’t mine me,” said the hybrid, sarcastically.

“Gamer brings a girl out here who knows absolutely nothing about the situation ahead of us and expects her to lead us into that very situation. Well it’s obvious that Gamer wants us all dead.” Since the dwarf appeared to be the most intellectual of the group and the only decent one among them, she devoted her attention o him. “That doesn’t surprise me. ...Well since he’s at least briefed you all, mind filling me in?”

“No-”

“Sure, why not?” wondered the dwarf before frowning at the youth.

“Why explain it to her? We don’t need her; we can do this without her? She’s just a liability to us.”

“She wouldn’t have been chosen for the game show if she were a liability now, would she?” replied the purple haired girl. “I’m Eliza by the way,” she continued, smiling while she extended her palm towards the blonde.

“Xenia,” the hybrid replied, joining hands for a brief moment.

“I’m Derik,” said the skinny one, shaking her hand, “and that’s my dog Sparky playing with the big guy,” he said, “whose name is...” He placed his long and frail index finger on his head, trying to remember the behemoth’s name.

“Charles,” said the dwarf, next to greet her with his hand. “The big, playful one is Brock as I remember.”

“Barnsley,” said the fat one with an English accent, bits of turkey flying out of his mouth, travelling towards Xenia’s face. She winced, jerking her head backwards and then used a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe her face, and then discarded it.

As he brought out his free hand to shake hers, she refrained. “Right.”

And then there was one...

She gazed at the teen who frowned at her. “You haven’t earned the right to know my name.”

“The right? ...HA!” replied the dwarf turning to him with anger. “Nobody knows anything about you. For all we know you could be the weak link of the group.”

“Just because you’re a dwarf doesn’t mean I won’t slice you up.”

“Big words, kid,” said the dwarf, raising his sword towards the kids chest, but within a blink of an eye, found a hand on the blade of his broad sword that did not belong to the youth. Nobody had detected Xenia’s movement which had left them all in shock.

“How’d...how’d she move that fast?” asked Derik to nobody in particular.

“I didn’t even see her move,” replied Eliza. “I didn’t think it was humanely possible for anyone to move that fast...but she just moved that fast.”

Xenia removed her hand from the blade. “It’s time someone briefed me on the situation.”

“Lance,” said the youth and then turned away from her.

“Alright, I’ll tell you everything we know, captain” replied the dwarf.