Xena grunted and shifted in her sleep, disturbed for some reason she couldn't quite name.
Was it the sheets, damp and sticky against her skin? Or was it the strange coldness that encased her body like a cocoon?
She didn't know.
There were a lot of things that she didn't know nowadays.
The unanswered questions loomed over her like shadows, growing larger with every passing day. Xena tried to focus on one problem at a time, but they all seemed to press in at once.
The never-ending darkness of her sleep and the wrongness within her body at the same time.
Her breathing hitched and fell when the sensations refused to leave, obstinately remaining despite her actions.
It was like falling down a well, except there wasn't any water at the bottom to catch her.
A slight tingling near her ear grew into full-on voices, so loud and urgent, yet the words spoken made no sense whatsoever.
"One must come..."
"...To rule them all..."
She couldn't make out the ramblings, but knew there was a voice talking down her ear, as she could literally hear the breaths between each sentence. Yet only darkness surrounded her, no sign of anything else in sight. The sounds grew louder, and more intense.
The more she searched for the exit, the more she realised that there wasn't one. But it was her dream, so why couldn't she just conjure one?
The thought of being stuck in her subconscious sent a jolt of terror down her legs.
When her heartbeat jumped higher, and just when it became too much for her mind to handle, a sudden shaking on her shoulder knocked her awake.
Groaning, Xena blinked blearily at the person next to her. Sandra's worried face came into full view seconds later, eyes frantically scanning over Xena's sweaty and pale face.
"What is going on!"
"Hrmmm?" Xena barely mustered up a response.
"What just happened to you!? Your skin looked like it was glowing."
'Glowing? What is going on?!'
Thinking fast, Xena mustered up an excuse to calm Sandra down.
"You were just seeing stuff. It's so early, that's probably why."
Sandra didn't buy the excuse for a second, but couldn't be bothered pushing since it was actually very early. Waiting for a few more moments, her observant eyes scanned Xena up and down once more before dismissing her unease.
A breath of calming fresh air was the first thing Xena took when she noticed that Sandra had dropped the issue.
'What. The. Hell. Was. That.'
Her heart was still racing from the myriad of emotions, but the adrenaline faded quickly. Dragging a hand over her face, she tried to ground herself—and froze.
For a split second, she could have sworn she saw the outline of someone standing in the corner of the room.
She blinked.
Nothing.
"…I need more sleep," she muttered under her breath.
Dragging her body out of the sheets, she trudged down into the bathroom and lit a candle for some light. In the cracked mirror, her pale reflection stared back at her.
It wasn't like what Sandra had described at all, and actually seemed cold to the touch.
'Weird.' Xena thought as she returned to her friend's side and fell back into the peaceful embrace of sleep.
After that, time blurred. The sun rose and the night faded, breakfast passed in a haze, and only when Sandra mentioned the manuscript did Xena snap back to reality.
"Huh. What was that again?"
Sandra gave her a quizzical look before answering.
"I was just saying that I'm sure we can find a buyer for that manuscript at the night market. What's up with you today? You've been distracted all morning."
"Nothing. Just been a bit out of it, I guess."
The twilight manuscript slightly heated in her pocket.
"...Okay. Anyway, I think now is as good a time as any to go find those brats I talked about yesterday. Shae and Arie."
Xena nodded vaguely.
With a frown, Sandra led them out of the house. Mimi, who was immersed in the contents of the daily newspaper, looked up from her seat as they left.
To be young again, she thought wistfully.
The two girls swiftly jumped through rooftops and alleyways, stopping at one of the main roads.
It was the area Sandra usually managed, mainly because it was plentiful with merchants and richer folk, but also for the easy access to some of her favourite shops.
In the middle of it all stood the wreck of a statue. Long ago, it had been shiny and strong, but now, it was reduced to little more than a pile of rubble. It was forcibly bent forward, with chips in its stature and broken limbs hanging off at awkward angles. The sun shone on those imperfections, as if highlighting them for all the world to see.
Whoever it was had perhaps once ruled almost all of the Undercity.
Shouts rang out from every direction, merchants boasting about whatever new thing that might catch someone's attention. Some men sold pots of food, others shiny silks. There was no shortage of beggars either, with at least one lining every corner.
Cages rattled somewhere deeper in the crowd, their contents hidden beneath a tattered cloth. A man with a wide grin waved passersby closer, his voice dropping into a mischievous whisper as he promised 'Rarities you won't be able to find anywhere else' to whoever spared him a glance.
People brushed past one another without apology, shoulders knocking, coins clinking, and arguments sparking and dying in the span of a breath.
Above it all, tattered banners hung between crooked buildings, their colours dulled by soot and time.
It truly was a diverse city. Whether that was a good thing or not, she didn't know.
Sandra and Xena weaved through the masses quietly keeping an eye out for the two troublemakers.
As they approached the statue at the centre, Sandra spotted one of the unregistered thieves. It was the boy, Arie. He swept down the roads, subtly swiping wallets and purses so expertly it made even Xena raise a brow.
Just who is this boy? She thought.
When he wasn't able to carry any more, Arie made his way into one of the empty alleyways. Xena and Sandra silently followed after him.
"5,6,7,8....Not bad." He mumbled.
"Care to share on watcha doing?" Sandra called out in a sing-song tone.
Arie froze.
Ever so slowly, he stuffed the valuables back into his jacket, then turned to face the shadows that had been trailing him.
They stood at the entrance of the alley, looking down condescendingly and sizing him up. Uncomfortable with the scrutiny, his eyes darted between the two fierce-looking girls, unsure of what to do.
"Sooo. I dunno if you knew this, but you need to register before doing this sort of thing." Sandra gestured to the contents in his pockets.
"Uh, right. Network? Never heard of it. So, maybe you just let me slip out, yeah?" He jerked his chin toward the busy street.
"Ha! Let you go! That's funny. I like your humour. But no. If you don't enter the network, then we will be required to...deal with you." She twirled a gleaming knife that had been previously stashed in her back pocket.
Arie gulped.
"..G-get rid of me? But..I'm only 15. Please, my lady, I didn't mean any harm!" He exclaimed, the previous attitude nowhere to be found.
"Calm down, calm down. Gosh, you're jumpy. Just do what I told you and you'll be fine. No big deal."
A bit of tension left his face at that.
"...You do know where to go for that, right?" Sandra asked suspiciously.
The tension returned.
"Uh. Er. No?"
Xena, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke up. "Listen up, we're feeling a little generous today, and so we'll take you personally."
His eyes brightened in relief.
"We don't do charity though, which means in return, you owe us a favour of our choosing. Sounds good?" She added.
Arie hesitated, eyes flicking between them and the alley ahead of him.
He swallowed again.
"…I don't really have a choice, do I?"
After a beat, he nodded.
'This guy doesn't know what he's signing up to.' Sandra and Xena shared a gleeful look before turning back to Arie.
"Alright then, let's go!"
The colourful stalls and lively chatter were soon replaced by boarded-up storefronts, crumbling walls, and the occasional figure watching them from the shadows.
With every pivot, the streets grew narrower and the buildings more tightly packed together, blocking out what little sunlight had somehow managed to reach the Undercity.
After several more turns, they finally reached a particularly gloomy section of the Undercity.
It reeked of death and desperation.
Arie's face crinkled up at the smell, as his nose was not yet accustomed to such horrid stenches.
"Get used to it, kid. This is gonna be your life from now on." Sandra caught his reaction and let out a chuckle.
They strode forward, ignoring the smell and vast amount of people living on the curb. A few minutes later, the group arrived at a massive apartment building filled with alcohol and smoke.
As they entered, Arie noticed that it was eerily silent except for the occasional bit of small talk. At the front desk stood a jittery man who gave Xena a long, suspicious look, but let them pass.
'Weird.' He thought when they climbed a long staircase that led to the top levels of the building. Sandra and Xena led him into a dimly lit office room, a muscular figure barely visible behind the desk.
"...."
The man looked up from a bundle of papers and at the visitors. Two of them he recognised well, Sandra and Xena.
"Who have you brought me?" A deep voice asked.
"Fresh meat. He has a bit of talent, and I thought to send him directly to you." Sandra replied casually.
The man's gaze turned to the boy in the middle of the group. His eyes silently travelled down Arie's scrawny body and then back.
"Very well. Take him down to Sebastian," he said while focusing on his papers.
A short conversation with that man was to be expected. Unbothered, the girls walked back out of the room and went down a level in the building.
As they entered a new office, the one named Sebastian greeted them with a tight, white shirt that outlined his broad chest, something Sandra secretly drooled over in her free time.
But she would never tell a soul about that, or she might die from the embarrassment.
He cocked his face and looked at Arie before moving to the two other people accompanying him.
"Another one?"
"Yep. This one's Arie. Make sure to add him to the B group." Sandra spoke quickly, with a flushed face.
Seb raised an eyebrow but got to work straight away nonetheless, scribbling down Arie's information, his rough handwriting almost illegible.
The dry scrape of a quill filled the atmosphere, and Xena fought the urge to cover her ears. It was one of the few noises that she found unbearable.
Deciding to spare her eardrums from this torture, she reached out to Sandra and began to move towards the exit, but not before words from behind made Xena stop in her tracks.
"There was a brawl down on Clarks Street recently. Apparently, it was for some sort of magical artifact. You girls wouldn't happen to know anything 'bout that?"
Xena turned sharply over her shoulder, fixing him with a glare.
"No." She gritted the word out before slamming the door shut.
Arie glanced worriedly at them leaving, since he wasn't familiar with anyone else in the building, however, the girls didn't have the slightest bit of hesitation and left him in Sebastian's hands, as they had their own urgent business to handle.
Taking a new route, they set off for the Night Market.