misfits dream of mechs,magic and chaos

prolouge

Lila beamed as she walked through the hallways, cradling her new books in her arms. After saving up for two months, they were finally hers. She was so absorbed in her joy that she barely noticed the sneers from a nearby group of mean girls.

"Hey, look! It's that nerdy girl with her nose always stuck in a book. Stay in your lane, loser," one of them taunted. Lila just ignored them, her heart too full of excitement to care. She'd been waiting for this moment, and no snide remark could ruin it.

After class, she headed to the gym to find her brother, Jaxson. "Hey, Jax! Come on, it's time to go unless you want to be locked in for the night!" she called out, leaning against the doorframe.

Inside the locker room, Jaxson was getting dressed after his shower when one of the jocks approached him. "Hey man, how about you ditch your loser of a sister and come hang out with us tonight? There's a rave—it'll be wild."

Jaxson shot him a look. "No thanks. I've got dinner to make, and I'm not interested in getting kicked off the team over some drugs." His tone was sharper than usual, the jock's comment about Lila striking a nerve. Slinging his duffel bag over his shoulder, he headed out to meet his sister, now clad in his usual sweatpants and a graphic t-shirt featuring a basketball logo.

As they walked to the parking lot, Jaxson glanced at Lila. "How do you deal with people insulting you all the time? Doesn't it bother you?"

Lila shrugged, her gaze still glued to the novels she was flipping through. "I just ignore them. It's not like they matter anyway."

Jaxson wasn't convinced, but he let it go. "You're driving," she announced, tossing him the keys. She was already too engrossed in her new books to be bothered.

"Are you planning on cooking dinner?" Jaxson teased, smirking.

"Cooking? Me? You want the house to burn down?" Lila shot back with a grin. As they started the two-hour drive home, she dived into the first book, her mind fully absorbed in the fantasy world unfolding in its pages.

"Did you get those graphic nails you were talking about last week?" Jaxson asked after a while, mostly to make conversation.

"Yep! Got 'em already, so you don't have to worry about me bothering Mom and Dad." She gave a satisfied smile, not looking up from her book.

When they finally pulled up to their bungalow, the house seemed quiet. Too quiet.

"Hey, where are Mom and Dad? Last I heard, they were in Egypt or something," Lila asked as she packed up her books.

Jaxson hesitated. He had been dreading this moment. "Look, sis... Dad's dead. And Mom... well, she's staying in England. She's sending us money, but... she's not coming back."

Lila blinked, taking in the news. Then, with an unnerving calm, she said, "Oh. Wow. That's... typical. Anyway, I'm gonna try out that new series that just dropped. See ya!" She dashed inside, heading straight for her room, leaving Jaxson standing there, dumbfounded.

He shook his head. "How does she just brush that off like it's nothing?" he muttered. But he let it slide. There were more pressing matters to deal with—like dinner. "Hey, Lila! I need your help bringing in the groceries!" he called out as he entered the house.

Lila eventually reappeared, still in her mismatched animal-print pajamas. "What do we need?" she asked as she grabbed the grocery list.

Jaxson handed it to her. "Just the basics—lettuce, potatoes, wine, chicken, carrots. We need to head down to the basement pantry."

The basement was dark and musty, cobwebs dangling from the corners of the ceiling. As Jaxson flicked on the light, they made their way towards the pantry room, but something strange caught Lila's eye.

"Uh, Jax? Why is there a random door down here... with roses on it?" she asked, her voice tinged with nervousness. The door radiated a strange, unsettling energy that made her stomach churn.

Jaxson, seemingly entranced, walked straight towards it and reached for the handle. "Jaxson, wait!" Lila yelled, but it was too late. He opened the door, and a blinding flash of light filled the room.

When the light faded, Jaxson snapped out of his trance, only to be met with a sharp slap to the face. "Ow! What the hell, Lila?"

"You went all zombie-mode and opened the creepy door with an even creepier library inside! And now there's a book on an altar just sitting there like it's waiting for us!" Lila snapped back, clearly rattled.

They cautiously stepped into the eerie library. The shelves were lined with ancient, dusty tomes, and the air smelled of old parchment and something... darker. At the center of the room was the book, resting on a pedestal like it was some kind of offering.

"Do you think we're supposed to take it?" Jaxson asked, glancing nervously at Lila.

"Do we have a choice?" Lila replied, rolling her eyes. After a moment's hesitation, they grabbed the book, slowly backed out of the room, and slammed the door shut behind them.

Back in the living room, they sat on the floor, staring at the book in silence.

"So... do we open it?" Lila asked, a hint of excitement creeping into her voice.

"Of course. I need to know what kind of demons we might have just unleashed," Jaxson joked, trying to mask his own apprehension.

As Lila opened the book, another blinding flash of light erupted from its pages, knocking them both unconscious.

A few hours later, they woke up to the smell of smoke. Groggily, they turned towards the kitchen, where a strange mech robot was busy stirring a pot filled with... oil and bolts?

"Why the hell is that robot smoking up the kitchen I just organized yesterday?" Lila thought in irritation, watching the robot fumble with the stove. "And why the fuck is there a robot cooking in our kitchen?"

Jaxson's eyes widened as he spotted something else—an enormous dragonoid man sprawled out naked on the floor. His face flushed. "Wait... is he naked? And... pretty big too... No, focus! Why is there a naked guy knocked out in our house?"

As his eyes darted around the room, he noticed even more bizarre figures scattered about: an experimented-looking chimera in a tattered jacket and ripped jeans, a demon boy slumped against the wall with bruises covering his body, an angelic vampire loli passed out on the table, and a witch floating in mid-air, fast asleep.

Lila and Jaxson exchanged a glance, both speechless.

"Well," Lila finally said, "this is... new."