I never dreamed such a thing could even exist...
I've seen alot. I've traveled more of this shattered world than most even realize exists. I guess there's something to be said for being one of the best killers on the planet. Oh, sure, some folks give it a special name: assassin -- but that doesn't mean anything, really. When the chips are down, I'm a killer, plain and simple. Being a killer, though, keeps me fed, keeps my gear in order and takes me places.
I never dreamed it would take me here. I never imagined that this job would wind up in someplace that I'm now pretty sure isn't even on Earth at all... I knew I should've avoided this job. It sounded way to easy. Oh, it sounded simple enough. Clandestine group contacts me and says the want a thorn pulled. The thorn's this bookworm-type, apparently. Some L'na named Oru who knows too much about said Clandestine group and has swiped some of their private property. Clandestine group says to eliminate the rat...monkey...thing, recoup and return the property.
Simple enough, right?
Yea. Right.
Well, long story short - everything was progressing according to plan until I discovered why said Clandestine group wanted their missing bauble so badly. Oru activated the thing -- honestly, it looked like something that one of those blasted Klik might've come up with -- and everything around us....just...changed....
I know it sounds nuts, but I'm telling you. One second we were in the middle of a fight in the ruins of an ancient city, the next, I'm standing on the edge of a cliff that's several thousand feet high. Not to mention that said cliff, in its entirety, is INSIDE a massive cavern that seems to stretch into infinity. Hundreds and hundreds of cracks, crevices, and caves honey-comb the place -- everyone of them, the perfect spot for an ambush, or to hide an army. Arcs and waves of pure Flux flash across the cavern in a chaotic, almost gleeful dance. Titanic pillars wind and warp their way from the walls and the ground, undulating towards the ceiling like petrified puke worms. Oh, and did I happen to mention the cavernous, gaping maw in the floor filled to the brim with bubbling magma and poisonous gas?
It's like Hell, come to life, with a really bad attitude.
Joy.
The next thing I know, I see Oru spider-climbing around one of the massive pillars. He's about twice as far away from me now and there's something about his body that tells me I'm not going to like what happens next. He laughs, activating the device. He yells as the blue light spills from the whirling, egg-like thing, "Good luck, Crimson, you'll need it here, with all the Externals prowling around! Oh yes, welcome to the Beyond, my dear, welcome to Fuego!"
Then, the little rat...monkey...thing is gone. Just. Gone.
Now, I curse myself for being so stupid. I spent all my time researching the target and not the prize. I should've known that Oru was not really what my "employers" were looking for, but rather the device that the blasted rat had absconded with... And now, I'm stuck in this blasted inferno, pinched between the burning, sicking lava, the broiling rocks, the warping Flux, and the damned Externals. They're the worst part, I think, never attacking -- always watching from their dark holes. I hear them, speaking in their slimy, slippery tongue. It's like their waiting...waiting for something...I really don't want to know what.
I really -- really need to get out of here.
"Fuego" art by Brett Bean...be sure and check out his blog and his deviantart gallery!