[POV: David Wilson]

 

“Fine, it was a shitty place to live anyway!” David repeated to himself, as continued to drive down the road.

 

He was a young man in his 20's, his black hair was matted in sweat, his blue eyes were red from holding back his tears. His shirt was a white button-down with short sleeves, he wore black slacks and boots on his lower body. In the back of his car were various boxes rattling around, they were filled with clothes and random odds and ends.

 

A few hours ago, he had received a message from his landlord. They had condemned the apartment building he was living in, it had been the cheapest place in town.

 

“Why is going to college, so damn hard?” David said, shaking his head.

 

His parents had him late in life, he was an only child and they had just retired. They didn't have the money to support their son who already suffered from severe asthma. Their retirement was already meager, they lived in a cabin off the grid. Solar panels, a well, wind generators, and a small farm. That had been his parent's dream ever since he was a child, his mother was supposed to have been unable to have children.

 

Puff!

 

David took a hit of his inhaler, as his emotions were setting off an asthma attack. He instantly felt his constricting throat start to loosen, and he sighed in relief.

 

Ring Ring!

 

David reached over and grabbed his phone, with a shaky hand.

 

“Hello?” He asked into it after he answered.

 

Driving and talking on the phone was illegal, but he was desperate to talk right now.

 

“Hey, Dave. It's Trey.” The voice on the other side answered.

 

“Did you get my message?” David asked, he was becoming worried by his friend's distant tone.

 

“I did. I talked to Amanda about letting you stay, but she said no.” Trey told him with a sigh. “I'm sorry you got kicked out, but I can't help you.”

 

“Alright, I understand.” David replied, but he didn't hear anything.

 

Looking at his phone he noticed it was already on the home screen.

 

“Wow, he hung up on me.” David said with some sorrow.

 

Setting his phone back in his cup holder, he sighed out sadly. Trey was a friend he had grown up with, but they had started to drift apart when he went to college. Outside his windshield, he could see a highway build along a slope. Tall trees were sticking up everywhere, and a light dusting of snow was just starting to fall onto the land. This was a normal Colorado fall going into the winter

 

His car was a beater he had gotten when he was 16, it was held together by duct tape and a college student's hopes and dreams. His parent's cabin had a guest room he could stay in, but it would be hell for him. It was also a 4-hour drive to his campus one way, not to mention the gas costs.

 

I can't find a job anywhere! This is supposed to be a college town!

 

All he had heard about was how incredible Boulder, Colorado was if you were a student. The only things he had experienced were being mocked for being poor, and not being able to afford to go to any of the parties. His dented, beaten car ensured he never got any dates, and he was only able to get a job working the line at a fast-food restaurant.

 

“We don't even flip the burgers! That might ruin them! No, we just pour them into a rack.” David said angrily.

 

This job has also ended a few weeks ago, they were shut down for health violations. The unemployment that he received wasn't even enough for him to afford his rent.

 

“Thank god it got condemned before I had to worry about it. I dodged a bullet with that one.” David said as he vented his frustrations behind the steering wheel.

 

A briefcase sat next to him, it was filled with his law textbooks. David was trying to become a lawyer, and he was in his second year of law school. Until he was BAR'd he was as good as useless. The BAR was the exam that one needed to pass to become a lawyer, and without passing 3 years of law school he could not sit for the test.

 

Riiiiiiinnnnnnggggggg

 

A loud vibration seemed to drill its way directly into David's head, making his brain start to rattle.

 

What the-

 

This vibration suddenly turned into a head-splitting pain, and he suddenly started having issues controlling the car. Images were begging to overlay his vision, he was now no longer able to see what was in front of him.

 

***

 

[POV: Machine Lord, Edgar Crowe]

 

A man sat on a large chair casually, it looked like a metal throne that had been broken into four separate pieces. The back of the chair was tall and featured a red embroidered cushion that depicted the image of a dragon. The metal supporting this cushion was a rusty golden color that was covered in shining blue runes. The seat was a dark blue that depicted the image of a sea monster with long tentacles. The metal supporting it was a silver metal covered in icy blue veins. Etched into this metal were numerous small runes connected with lines. The armrests looked like a set of metal bars, that were wrapped in thick brown leather.

 

These disjointed pieces floated in the air as if they were one solid piece of furniture. The man's legs were crossed casually, his pants were a type of black silk that seemed to absorb the light that hit it. His shoes were a brown loafer style without laces, the leather seemed to reflect a crimson shine. He wore a white silk shirt that seemed to produce its own light, it felt almost holy and sacred. Over this was a white lab coat that seemed to be a thick and sturdy material.

 

His legs were crossed, and he held a clear crystal tablet that was displaying information using various symbols.

 

“Mother, approve all of i-” The man began to say when he suddenly stopped.

 

The man froze as if someone had hit the pause button, but various lights began to shine on him from different angles of the room. The man began to start fading like he was made of static. Before the man could completely disappear, he seemed to stop fading and maintain the semi-transparent state.

 

What once were smooth walls made of dull gray metal or screens that displayed scenery of the fantasy world outside. Split open and folded away to reveal various types of sensors attached to mechanical tentacles, all covered in shining runes. They moved around the man on the throne and some even passed right through him like he didn't exist. After close to three minutes, the fading began to reverse, and the man became solid again.

 

The man instantly began to breathe rapidly, cold sweat pouring out of his skin.

 

“It happened again! Mother, report!” He called out angrily.

 

[REPORTING: the onset lasted 3 minutes and 16 seconds, it was 3% longer than the last incident. We were unable to observe you on anything but a visual spectrum, you produced no other observable signature but light readings.”

 

“Like a hologram...” The man said as he began to tap on the armrest of his throne.

 

The man didn't take long to catch his breath, and all of the sensors began to tuck away neatly behind the walls. The walls were a dull gray, and very clean. Instead of windows in the large room, some screens displayed tall forests with large dinosaur-like monsters walking around, it would also display massive gardens filled with herbs and plants, as well as giant pools filled with exotic creatures swimming around.

 

[CONCLUSION: at the current rate you will completely disappear in 7 years, 5 months, 13 days, and 4 hours.]

 

“That is concerning, send the Annihilator Fleet into the void and begin hunting Void Trappers, I want to research them.” The man said with a smile. “7 years is plenty of time.”

 

The man raised his hand to the right, and a small dinner plate-sized coaster flew over with a small cup made of plastic on top of it. The man took the cup that was filled with water and took a few sips of it, before tossing it onto the metal floor, cup and all. The metal was a black type of steel that seemed to absorb the light that hit it, much like the man's pants.

 

***

 

[POV: David Wilson]

 

The pain was all that David was feeling, his head felt heavy, and his body was numb. Opening his eyes he saw dense foliage and part of a tree trunk. His car was upside down and he could smell smoke coming from the vehicle. His windows were all broken, and his possessions were scattered across the ground. It felt like he had just woken from a long dream, and he was incredibly groggy. Reaching for his seat belt buckle, he pressed in the plastic release, but it wouldn't let him free.

 

David tapped on the plastic twice, and suddenly the internal workings of the catch seemed to appear in his mind. He pressed the button down sharply with his thumb, using his index and middle finger to tap sharply on two different spots on the body of the seat belt.

 

Click!

 

David felt his body lurch towards the ground, and he felt the air driven out of his lungs. Trying to suck in air, he realized he could smell gasoline all around him. A sharp pain suddenly assaulted him and caused him to near blackout.

 

“AAARRGGGGHHHH” He yelled in pain, as a sharp pain tore through his leg.

 

Looking up at his body from the roof of his upside-down car, he could see his bloody, mangled left leg. It was broken when his door was dented from the wreck. David began to slowly pull himself through his broken windshield, his exposed arms getting cut on the glass. Tears were streaming from his eyes, and the smoke was starting to suffocate him. The pain in his leg caused him to whimper, as he dragged himself through the weeds and broken glass.

 

“What's going on! Why am I seeing someone's memories?” David said in horror.

 

It wasn't just the memories, information was pouring into his brain and causing him a splitting headache. Thoughts, scenes, information, and even sensations, it was all being driven into his brain.

 

“Ahhh!” David yelled, as his broken leg was dragged through the broken window and over the frame.

 

Fear of dying in an exploding car was driving him forward, and the constant torrent of information that didn't belong to him was causing him to chant a mantra to himself.

 

“I am David Wilson... I am David Wilson...” He began mumbling; his eyes taking on a distant look, as he put one arm in front of the other, and continued dragging himself through the weeds and bushes.

 

I can't die here! Not like this!

 

Through the flood of information that was assaulting him, he tried to conjure images of his mother and father. These images helped ground him, as he felt himself slipping away into the torrent of memories.

 

***

 

[POV: Machine Lord, Edgar Crowe]

 

The man known as Machine Lord sat on his floating throne, an army of hundreds of thousands stood before him. All around him was a giant desert made of crushed stone and ashes. Behind the throne was the Iron Citadel that the Machine Lord called his home.

 

“Monster, we have come to subdue you!” A female voice called out in rage.

 

Leading the army was a woman with pink hair and full plate armor. A holy sword cast light in every direction, as she rode atop a griffon like some holy Valkyrie. Behind her were thousands of these griffon-mounted soldiers, and plate mail of various types of make adorned the soldiers.

 

“Oh princess, Princess! Do you think this is enough people to even make me stand up?” The man called from the throne, laughing like a maniac.

 

He clutched his stomach, and kicked his legs in the air, as he laughed madly. He reached up and wiped tears from his eyes, as they flowed out from his laughter. He reached up a hand and snapped his fingers. A bright light issued from a gem near the top of his throne, it was what the dragon was flying for. The light was red and looked like blood, and the sand below the ground began to boil.

 

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

 

The sand erupted into pillars, revealing large hulking creatures that looked like metal humans. Each one stood at 265 feet(~80 meters) and was covered in heavy plates of armor that were covered in dense runes.

 

“Titans!” some of the soldiers called out.

 

“Look at its feet! Spider tanks!” Another soldier called out.

 

8 long metal legs held up a large frame that looked like a spider. The thorax contained a large main cannon, and the front mandibles were a flame thrower. An explosive cable sat on a roll attached to the back of the enchanted golem, and machine guns were mounted where the eyes were normally located. The large humanoid golems had been curled up in the sand, and tunnels were exposed from the ground they had climbed out of. From these tunnels, thousands of spider tanks were crawling from holes that honeycombed the walls of the craters they made.

 

“That's right! But it isn't all!” The man on the throne said as he clapped his hands twice.

 

Clap! Clap!

 

The claps were magically enhanced and spread loudly across the entire battlefield like thunder.

 

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!~

 

The large towers that were made of a dull gray metal began to rise from the sand, a honeycomb lattice was all that comprised the walls, and they seemed hollow inside. A dense network of runes slowly rose from the base of the tower and rose to the top. The moment the runes finished climbing the 1200 foot(~365 meters) tower a shield began to form in a massive ring around the people. With the giant steel citadel that looked like a castle made entirely of steel and various metals as the center, a giant dome-shaped barrier trapped everyone like an arena.

 

“What the hell is going on?” Some of the soldiers began panicking.

 

“Calm down! We outnumber them still-” The woman on the griffon was calling to her men to calm them when she was interrupted by the man on the throne.

 

“This isn't everything, not even a percentage of a percentage.” He said with a flat tone.

 

A loud, dull roar began to issue from the towers, it sounded like bellows being pumped. Suddenly lights began to flash out of the honeycomb-shaped openings. These lights turned into shining sword-shaped drones that had indentations around their hexagonal-shaped body. These indentations issued thrust in the form of magical force, and they were incredibly nimble. The front of these drones held large cannons, machine guns, or rocket pods. Hundreds of thousands of them began to swarm out of the towers.

 

“Alright, this is about 0.01% of my current army. I originally had no interest in destroying you savages, but I am almost out of lab rats.” The man on the throne said with an eerie smile. “Since you came all the way here, why don't you all stay?”

 

Opening his arms wide, the next transformation was from the iron citadel itself. The iron citadel was shaped like a + sign, but the roof extended out to the ground forming a giant hexagon. This large hexagon-shaped building sat inside of a massive bailey that was elevated on a massive square partial pyramid. Hundreds of round pillars that decorated the building, all began to shift, and swivel. These turned into hundreds of cannon barrels that were all aimed at the enemy army.

 

The men in armor, holding spears, swords, bows, axes, and shields saw the sky darken from the countless drones. The titans and the spider tanks began forming a tight perimeter around the people. A massive barrier trapped them inside, and the citadel was aiming massive cannons at them. The man on the throne watched all of this with his eerie smile, he extended his arm and after a minute, a small drone went flying up to him holding a glass of water.

 

“Well, why aren't any of you moving yet?” He asked as he took the cup.

 

The pink-haired women grit her teeth angrily, as she drove her heels into the griffon's flanks. This caused it to angrily charge towards the man on the throne.

 

“Oh?” He murmured happily.

 

This throne was not just a stylish seat, it was his weapon. Raising his right arm the various bars that made up the floating armrest shot off like lightning. The armrests were made of 8 bars with a slight curve, and covered in different colored leathers.

 

“Turn!” The woman yelled out at the griffon, as she yanked on its reins.

 

“It's too late for that, have a nice trip.” The man said flatly.

 

The 8 bars all positioned themselves to form a loose ring in front of the women, a purple line extended out and rapidly connected the finger-thick bars forming a large circular portal. The woman was unable to halt in time before she passed through the purple gate. The moment she made contact with it, a strong pulling force began to suck her into the portal. Her image began to elongate to the observers, as she was violently pulled through the portal with her mount.

 

“Princess!” A man yelled out in horror, as he watched the portal close behind her.

 

“Don't worry, you'll be seeing her soon!” The man on the throne said, as the bars flew back and formed his armrest.