FSE

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I followed Dave through the streets of this city. It was all so bewildering. First of all, there were so many other people here. Some of them stared at me as I passed, making me uncomfortable. Was I not usual in this place? I supposed not. I must have passed by so many of them walking, just living their lives.

The next thing I noticed were the buildings. These anthro-made structures were foreign to me; my kind lived in the caves of the mountains. And these boxes of concrete and glass were so vast to me; they must all have been at least 50 stories high! They had so many lights at night; the dark blue of twilight was peppered with so much white and orange.

Dave led me through streets both large and small, taking me to a safe place. To make sure we didn't get separated through the large crowds, I noticed he could put a hand on me and lead me, ducking and weaving, through crowds. I don't know what would have happened if he lost me in the sea of people the larger streets brought.

Along the way, we talked when we could.

Dave spoke first. "... Faul. Have you ever seen an anthro city before?"

"...No." I said hesitantly.

"I suppose this is pretty new to you, huh?"

"There's so many things you anthros have created here... So you live and work in these structures?"

"Well, if you want to call it a life." Dave chuckles. "Yeah. This is where we do everything."

"And you built them all from nothing. That's amazing."

"Mhm." Dave nods. "We've made lots of things."

"I see! Like these lights of yours. They're so bright... But I don't see any fuel source." I say, looking at a streetlamp. It flickers as I talk.

Dave laughs. "The fuel's called electricity. We make it in things called 'plants', and then send it via tubes to the entire city."

"Plants? So is this place flower-fueled?"

He chuckles. "No, we don't use plants in our plants. Actually, I don't know what we use..."

"So maybe you do use plants after all." I, myself, begin to laugh. Just a few hours ago, I didn't know if I'd ever laugh again. But look at me now...

Eventually, the streets got smaller, until we reached an end. Dave stopped and gestured towards a building on the left. I turned and followed him. He led me through a door into the building. The walls were a dirty white and the floor was composed of a short carpet, the hairs feeling odd against my claws. It was dimly lit, which concerned me. Where was he taking me?

Dave lead me to a set of doors. Dave pressed a button on a panel next to the doors, and they opened slowly, pulling apart. Dave led me into a very small room; doors closing behind us.

I turned to face the doors. Why had they locked us in here? When I felt us moving upwards, I decided to voice my fears; Dave was the only thing that could help me understand the world of the anthros.

"What is this?"

Dave grinned. "An elevator. It elevates."

"But... Where is it going?"

Another grin. "Back to my place."

The elevator doors opened.

* * *

I led Faul to my apartment. The poor thing looked like he'd seen ghosts after getting on that elevator. I suppose he's never seen one before... But considering I'm on floor 20, I wasn't going to use the stairs.

I got him through another door and into my home. It looked like usual; the walls were bare, the floor was carpeted, and the furniture was old. I walked in ahead of Faul into my living room. It had what every room of the caliber needed: A couch and a TV. To get all of Faul's body inside, I had to push the couch back against the other wall. I didn't mind; I wasn't planning on using the couch to watch TV any time soon. There's nothing but Oculus sponsored propaganda on these days anyways.

I beckoned him into my place. He came in slowly, unsure. After a few steps, he apparently decided that this was okay and stepped all the way in. There wasn't much room for him, but I tried my best. Where else could I hide him from EE?

"Just make yourself at home. Until I get you out of here, this IS your home." I said.

He laid down at the center of the room, facing me. "Thank you." he replied.

"I'm going to the other room. Holler if you need me."

I hung up my lab coat on the living room's coat hook, and then went out of the living room and into the hall, which connected that room with the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. I went into the bathroom. After a long day of doing illegal things at work, I needed to wash up a bit.

I entered the small room and stared at my face in the small mirror. The mirror was cracked; I didn't really need to fix it. I just sort of... Stared at myself. And I thought.

I didn't know if I could go through with this. If I could finish my plan. I thought about Faul, and how scared he looked when I watched him get injected from behind the window. I thought about how I grafted the tubes under his skin. I thought about his hopeful expression when I told him he would be freed.

For a moment, I wanted to take all my plans back. But I knew I couldn't, for the good of us all. I did the right thing by freeing Faul.

I forgot to wash up in there. I just sort of stared at myself until I got the wherewithal to continue with caring for Faul. At that point, I just wanted to talk to him. I tore my gaze away from myself and opened the bathroom door. I walked back into the living room, but Faul wasn't there.

I panicked for a moment. Did he just up and leave? I decided to look in the other rooms. I walked quickly from the living room to my bedroom, looking around for him.

I found him inside my room. He, too, had found a mirror to evaluate himself in.

* * *

I sat down in the center of this room. I didn't know what else to do, really; what was the function of all this anthro technology? Dave told me to holler if I needed anything, and then left into the recesses of this place.

After a while, I grew curious of the functions of these things. What was that large black rectangle in the room? Why was the block of cushions near it? And where did that doorway lead?

I decided to answer the latter question. I got up and padded towards the doorway. Across the barrier, I was in a hall. Two other doors and a doorway connected to this hall. I decided to go to the door at the end of the hall first.

I was met, of course, with a closed door. I watched Dave open a few doors, so I thought I knew what to do. I grabbed the doorknob with my teeth and twisted my head. I heard a soft clicking noise. I pushed, and the door fell open. I walked in.

There was a very large cushion in the center of the room, held up by metal poles. A wooden block with handles sat in the corner. And there was a mirror on the wall.

It was long and rectangular. I saw myself in it, and I draw breath. I didn't realize I looked so different.

The first thing I noticed was that I was leaner than I recalled. You could more clearly see my muscles beneath my flesh. The next thing was my back. There wasn't spikes there before; now, long pieces of dark cobalt material jutted out of my back. I looked, on a whole, more threatening.

I didn't know if I liked that. I wasn't a threatening dragon. I was always the one to help out my kin when in need. I wasn't a fighter... But the changes they made to me made me look like one. Was I going to have to fight to get out of here?

I must have looked at myself for a long while, because the next thing I knew, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned my head to find Dave looking at me.

Having him here made me want to ask a question. "What did you do to me?"

Dave sighed and closed his eyes for a second. "I had... To do many things." He walked forward and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

He continued. "We gave you mutagens to make you stronger and tougher. We improved your immune system. The spikes were a side-effect of a drug giving you harder bones."

"But... Why?"

"You're a weapon, Faul."

"A... Weapon. Of destruction?"

"You see those tubes of yours? They were installed to give you a use for the methane your stomach now produces. So you can breathe fire."

I lowered my head. "I see. So I suppose things are different for me now."

"For me too, bud. And we'll deal with these changes... Together."

I raised my head to face him. "Thank you."

We moved back into the living room; I didn't want to look at the mirror any longer. Dave sat on the couch, while I laid in the center of the room.

Dave was talking to me. "You were supposed to be a weapon to kill Oculus detractors. Oculus runs everything, and they're corrupt to the core. They'd kill innocents."

"I would never do that."

"Well, you would if I didn't get to you."

"Perhaps."

"But I'm here for you now. It's going to be a long ways to get you back home. We'll have to get you through the checkpoint out of the city. I'll have to bribe the guards, and..."

At this point, I started thinking rather than listen to Dave's plans. How could I ever go home if I knew these people of Oculus were suffering so? I felt like, because I was a weapon now, that I was strong enough to make a difference.

Yes, I wanted to make a difference. I didn't want to be the dragon who selfishly let others fall to go home.

I interrupted Dave. "I... Don't want to go home just yet."

He stopped and paused. "What?"

"I... Want to help you. Help YOU get out of this place."

"Well, I'm no terrorist..." Dave said somberly. "But do you want to end the Oculean reign?"

"I want to help you all. I'm a weapon. I can do this."

Dave blinked. "I would be honored to have you help. I would like us to be free."

"So it's settled then. We defeat Oculus."

"If we can."

"I would like to believe that-" I was stopped by a sudden noise.

It came from my stomach. It was a low growl of a hungry belly. At that point, I realized something- I had not eaten since I was captured! I must have been starving.

Dave heard my stomach, and smiled. "Well, for now, it seems you're hungry."

"What can we eat?"

"Don't worry. I think I have food for you."