Patchwork

Cascade

Lyra ran. From who or what, she had no idea, but if her future self risked her computer getting encased in rosethorns to get her away from that place, then it was something bad. As she ran, she wondered where she was. The planet of the elementals? Sounded insane. But then again, so did a mecha planet or a planet full of pirates.

Lyra wasn't paying attention to where she was going now. Wondering about- well, everything- had made her absentminded, prompting her to trip over a rock.

"Ouch!" She cried.

"Oh yeah? OH YEAH?" The stone shouted indignantly. So quickly she would've missed it had she blinked, he morphed into a boy, just a little shorter than her. He had sharp horns that extended six inches above his head. Take off the horns, and you had a guy who was about 5'2".  And he was handsome. Gog dangit, why are all the guys I want to hate really hot? Lyra wondered as the stone boy shouted her ear off.  "Are you even listening?!" He exclaimed. When Lyra didn't answer, lost in thought, he called up the earth, which obligingly formed a small hammer.

"BACK TO EARTH YA IDIOTIC HUMAN!!!!" He yelled, slamming it down on her head. When the dust had settled, Lyra stood, blinking in surprise, before the Earth elemental.

She grinned as though nothing had happened. "Hi! I'm Lyra." She pumped his had vigorously up and down, which he took as some human greeting custom. "What's your name?"

"My name? MY NAME? You just insulted me in the highest way possible, and you are wondering what MY FRIENDS CALL ME?! Is this some sort of human joke? Do you folks delight in thinking you're all high and mighty because you and you alone can save this tiny universe where we'll all die anyways? Really?" The elemental took a deep breath to gather steam, where Lyra seized her chance.

"Yes!" She said emphatically. "No! And No!" She added, answering his other two questions. "What's your name?" She repeated.

"Fine. Fine. You obviously have no idea of what's going on," the sprite grumbled. Turning to face the bright-eyed human, he said, "My name is Andesine. No, you may not call me some odd human "nick" name, for if you do I shall not only turn straight back into a rock, but I will trip you at every opportunity and hope that your coplayers can deal with your death. I'll even buy some flowers for you."

"That's rude," Lyra replied. "I am not going to die, no matter how many rocks you put in my way. Now, if you please, where am I?"

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Author-sama: switch points of view to keep the story focused on all the players.

I pause from my purusal of the arrow flung at me to quickly change points of view. Boy, being an author-sama and an adventurer at the same time is hard!

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Roxy ran. Behind her, mecha guards gained. She really did not want to get caught by them. They had been shouting something about justice and death, and a king. And theft. Roxy definately heard someone yell "THIEF!"

She glanced back at her pursuers. They had gained another yard... were they speeding up? No. They were going the same speed. She was slowing down. She was glad she'd taken Cross Country for four consecutive years... otherwise, she would've fallen to the ground by now.

Taking a sharp left and then a right, Roxy sucked in a desparate, burning breath and plunged into a sprint. Her muscles and bones ached and groaned, but Roxy ignored the pain and ran as fast as she could, heart pounding, adrenaline squirming through her veins like a squirrel on coffee. Ducking into an alley and then skidding to a halt, Roxy dived behind a barrel just as the machines chasing her swerved into the alley.

"Refugee. Not. Found. The Search. Begins." The leader intoned. Immediately, the guards began kicking aside barrels. The clanging, banging sound rang out on the cold alley's metal floor. Roxy crouched in the dark, eyes squeezed shut, body tense, waiting for the right moment.

"THERE YOU ARE," one boomed. Roxy's eyes sprang open as a giant claw hand lifted a struggling girl-robot out of a mound of barrels.

"I didn't do it!" She cried in a surprisingly human voice. Roxy peeked over the lid of her barrel to see a doll-like girl. Wires showed through the cracks in her skin, and small, but visible, cameras hidden in the center of blue button eyes darted around the alleyway. They stopped on Roxy's immobile figure. "There!" She shouted, pointing at Roxy. "She's the one that did it!"

The robo-cops turned towards Roxy, casting white spot-lights on her pale face.

"Illogical being." One said.

"LIFE SCAN: HUMAN." Another added.

"Human?" Exclaimed the girl, clearly frightened.

"THIEF IN QUESTION: MECHA."

"What? No!" The mecha girl insisted. "It's her, right there!"

"Liar." The first mecha-cop said certainly. "Sentence: ten years in prison."

"No!" The girl wailed as the other mechas carted her away. Roxy remained in the shadows, her knuckles white from gripping the edge of the barrel.

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Author-sama: switch viewpoints again.

No!

Author-sama: obey prior command.

No! I am in a boss-fight right now! So get your head on straight or I'll cut it off!

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AUTO-VIEW SWITCHER ACTIVATED. WHICH VIEWPOINT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE FIRST?

((Go to the chapters next time I update. Read whichever one you like first!))