Ugly Story

Everybody had problems, but Vanessa was sure that nobody had it worse than her.
Running from an evil robotic orb with her best friend was not how she intended her morning to
start, but then again, nothing went to plan lately.
The jupe trees branches hung quite low, some already were already touching the ground,
which made it incredibly difficult to run for the two to run for their lives.
Some days, Vanessa thought while jumping over the thick branches. I feel like the entire
universe is against me. Which actually isnt far from the truth.
Vanessa looked behind her to see her best friend, Rosie, carefully climbing over each and
every branch, careful to not touch so much as a sliver of bark.
Frustrated, Vanessa stopped and shouted to Rosie, Hurry up, Rosie! I saw the boys about
a mile back! They were running back to Florian! She didnt want to remind Rosie that they were
being chased by a killer robot. That would only make her worry more.
Rosie looked up at Vanessa, her bright, orange hair standing out like a beacon in a forest
of deep jade, her face, just the epitome of fear. She had opened her mouth to say something, then
realized that now was not the time to strike up a conversation. Vanessa motioned her to run and
then took off, not looking back to see if Rosie got the message.
Behind them, Vanessa heard a loud droning sound, which made her legs turn to jelly.
Being blinded by her fear, she tripped over a jupe branch that had already rooted itself in the
ground. She fell face first into the mud and pain shot up through her nose, spreading through her
entire face. She lay there for a few seconds, questioning why she even bothered to run. Its just
going to find us anyways. I dont know why we bother. Theyll be dead, well be captured and
then we will be turned into heartless warriors.

Suddenly, Vanesa felt someone tug her hair and pull her up on her feet. Rosie grabbed
Vanessas hand and together they began to run through the forest again.
You know I would never let you give up, right? Rosie shouted, her enchanting voice
echoing through the empty forest. I saw it in your eyes when I pulled you off the ground. You
were ready to just give up. After all we have been through, after how far weve gotten!
Vanessa stayed silent. She felt ashamed. She was a crucial part of this group and she was
just about to let them lose. She wiped off the blood dripping down her face from her nose. Soon
the drone that had been haunting them for several minutes died away and the two girls halted.
Do you think its gone? Vanessa asked. She surveyed the forest, only seeing the pale
white of the jupe trees bark and the sea green of their leaves.
Of course not. Its advanced Cloven technology. Just be glad that we have a few minutes
of peace. We should head back to Florian, considering thats where the boys went. Rosie jabbed
her thumb over her shoulder in the direction they just came from.
Vanessa rolled her eyes in a teasing way. Fine. Lets go save those two turds before they
somehow end up hurting themselves by tripping over a ladybird. The two girls shared a small
laugh over the inside joke before heading off towards Florian.
About a mile from where the began to turn back, Vanessa found out where the boys had
run off to before the robotic monster began chasing them. They followed the fading footprints of
the boys through the brush and stumbled upon a gravel road. Before they even had time to react,
the all too familiar droning sound roared from the forest.
Vanessa grabbed Rosie's arm and pulled her into a nearby bush and hushed her. Rosie
clung to her left arm with her right hand and covered her mouth with her left hand, trying to keep
her breathing down.

"Ness, is it out there?" Rosie asked through her palm. Vanessa looked through the brush
and scoped out the area.
In front and to the left of them a large forest began, and to their right was the ruined town
of Florian. She saw no sign of danger, but she did see two pairs of footprints that were left in the
mud from the downpour that had stopped only about an hour before. They led into the ruins.
"So you see it? Is there even anything out there?" Rosie asked, cold sweat dripping down
her face.
Vanessa shook her head. "No. Vanessa whispered, relieved. Nothing of danger
anyways." She watched as a harmless floin emerged from the forest and began to nibble on the
grass. She turned her attention away from the forest and sat down next to Rosie.
"Are the boys out there somewhere?" Rosie asked, the fear in her eyes dying down.
Vanessa looked her in the eyes and thought about her scared friend. Rosie was a pretty shy
character, she rarely talked to anyone besides her friends and when her friends were feeling
down, she was the first to be by their side. She cared greatly for them and she never expected
anything in return. So, if her friends were in danger, she was incredibly worried.
No, Vanessa answered the question. But, I do see where they went. Vanessa steadily
stood up, revealing herself from the bush. She pointed to Florian. They went into the ruins.

The clouds rumbled above them, a dull gray sheet covering the sky. The sky reminded
Vanessa of her eyes, a dull gray with dark secrets within, thundering to get out.
The deeper she and Rosie went into the ruined town, the more dangerous it seemed to
become. Houses were destroyed, buildings crumbling. Weeds and vines grew everywhere, and
small jupe and rapple trees began to poke out from the chinder sidewalk. Soon, this ruined town
would be a forest of forgotten memories.

This place is terrifying. Rosie said, walking around a large chuck of chinder that had
fallen from a building ages ago. But, it used to be a beautiful place. I dont see why the Clove
destroyed it. It had a very nice quarry, with very skilled miners. Also, judging by the structure of
the buildings there mustve been good builders that... Vanessa let Rosie ramble on about how
beautiful the town mustve been before the Clove destroyed it, not really listening to her. That
kind of stuff didnt interest her.
They walked on for six more minutes or so, still following the muddy tracks left by the
two boys. At one point there was a big skid in the mud, which mightve been one of the boys
falling down.
Suddenly, Vanessa heard a loud but faint whispers. She immediately stopped and slowly
turned towards Rosie, and judging by the way that she stood as still as a tree, she had heard it
too. The two girls ran and stood flat against the side of a building and began to sneak around it,
the mud squelching underneath them. As they got closer, they heard the whispers die off and
shushing replaced it. Eventually all was quiet, and Vanessa looked at Rosie and motioned her to
go around the other side of the building, where the noises were coming from. Rosie shook her
head and mouthed that she was too scared.
There wasnt enough time for Vanessa to be annoyed at Rosie, because all of a sudden
she was tackled by an invisible force. Vanessa and the invisible force wrestled around in the mud
for while, Vanessa grabbing dusty gray gunk from the ground and throwing it at the force, when
suddenly another figure pulled the invisible force off of Vanessa. Vanessa immediately stood up
and wiped mud off of her face before stomping over to where the invisible force and the figure
had landed.

Are you crazy! Vanessa vented in a very harsh whisper. Do you not remember what
were hiding from! She stared down the mysterious figure that had pulled the invisible force off
of her. "Gah! You two always ruin everything. We could've died!" She could feel her face
becoming extremely hot with rage. The figure began to laugh.
Geez, Ness! We were trying to protect ourselves. We didn't know it was you! The
figure stood up and brushed of mud off of his pants and turned to a spot on the ground where
there just seemed to be a whole bunch of mud. Clem, dude. the boy chortled. You owe me
one. My sister would've beaten you to a pulp, even if you two didn't have powers.
And just like that, where nothing used to be, sat a boy with piercing purple eyes and
chilly white hair. His white teeth flashed from behind his coral lips. He always had a beautiful
smile.
Clem would've been appealing to many people if it weren't for the fact that he had large
gills on his neck. When near him, a squelching sound could be heard from htm. Nobody knew
why they made that sound, not even Clem, and nobody wanted to find out. But regardless of his
gills, there were still people who loved him, and that was good enough for him.
Rosie, who was frozen in fear from the incident before, rushed over to help Clem get up,
only to shove him back down in the mud.
That's for giving me a heart attack, Augustine. Rosie whispered, as she turned away
from him. Rosie always tried to sound intimidating, but failed miraculously.
What ever trace of a smile that was on Clem's face before, was long gone as he realized
how much he scared Rosie. Even if Rosie was bad at being mad, Clem hated it when she was
upset in anyway, especially if he caused her to be hurt.

Rosie wait. Clem reached out to Rosie's shoulder and turned her around so he could
look her in the eyes. Im sorry. I know we were being foolish and stupid. But honestly, we were
pretty jumpy from just being chased by an Arc. Im so sorry. Clem sighed, pulling Rosie in for a
hug. Rosie hugged him back and they broke off and smiled at each other. Oh, and by the way, I
prefer it when you call me Clem. Clem winked at Rosie in a playful way and Rosie giggled and
snorted.
Yeah sure, whatever you say, Augustine. Rosie joked, emphasizing his name in a
sarcastic way.
Oh, now youre just teasing me. Clem smirked. The two broke off into their own
conversation. The boy that Vanessa normally despised to call her brother tapped her on the
shoulder. He held out his arms, as if he was welcoming a hug.
Can we make up too? he asked. Pretty please, Ness?
Vanessa rolled her eyes and kicked loose a chunk of chinder from the ground. As if,
Hunter. We wouldnt even be in this mess if you didnt distract me while we were Galajumping. A large gust of wind swept through the ruined town, blowing her long, black hair
along with it. Her twins hair only ruffled a little, with it being two inches long and all.
He put his arms down and his hands slid into his pockets. Man, you really hold grudges.
That was what, one, two hours ago? Just be glad were okay.
Vanessa put her hand on his shoulder. I am glad. Its just, you two dont seem to get the
idea that were running for our lives. And lets not forget whose idea that was. Vanessa noted,
staring sternly at Hunter.
Hunter looked extremely offended by this statement as he puffed out his chest and began
to rant in a very loud manner. Hey! I was doing it for the sake of you and Clem! This sudden

outburst had caught the attention of the other two and they began to listen from a safe distance.
I am not going to go through all of this trouble to save your butts just to be accused of being
irresponsible! I have tried my best to save my best friend and little sister-
By two minutes. Vanessa muttered. Hunter ignored her interruption and ranted on.
From evildoers who want people like you two to serve them for all of eternity so that
they can take over the universe! I tell you that I did not give up the safety of my planet just to
have my sister tell me that shed rather have stayed and been captured then get her precious
hands dirty!
Now it was Vanessas turn to be angry. WHAT?! I did not say that! she shrieked. She
opened her mouth to say more but then a loud droning noise echoed throughout Florian.
Oh no... The statement came from Rosie, panic creeping into her voice. Your shouts
attracted the Ar-
Before Rosie could even finish her sentence, a large, metallic arm snaked out of a ruined
building and grabbed her by the waist. Rosie screamed as she was dragged across the muddy
ground and into the building. After a few shocked moments of silence, the building Rosie was
dragged into, exploded as a huge, white, pristine, metallic orb emerged from it.
The Arc was a creator of nightmares. It didnt look intimidating, but it didnt need to.
Everybody knew what these monsters did to anybody that got in their way. The rumors alone
were enough to make even a member of the Ordinance of Nuexons tremble in fear. It was a white
orb that had an electronic blue eye right in the middle. Clovens were told at a very young age to
never look one in the eye though, for if you do, itll melt your innards. Nobody knew how or
why and nobody ever tried to experiment. The Arc had over fifty retractable arms knotted inside
of it and, even though they preferred to hover, they had retractable metallic spider legs that they

used to cover rocky terrain. This Arc was special though. It was larger than most because it had
to hold its prisoners inside of it and those two unlucky to-be-prisoners were standing less than
ten feet away from it.
Everyone was taken aback, still not processing that their friend was just taken away by a
monstrous creature. As the dust settled, the trio could see a metallic arm snaking out of the Arc
that was latched around the waist of their unconscious friend.
Rosie looked like she was near death. She was coated in mud and blood, and her arms,
head and legs were limply hanging as the Arcs claws were clenched around her, squeezing the
life out of her. An android voice was propelled out of the orb. Targets acquired. Capture targets
and eradicate all other life forms. With the last word spoken, the metallic grip around Rosie
squeezed tighter. Another arm snaked out of the Arc and reached towards Clem.
Time seemed to slow down as the retractable arm reached out closer and closer to her
friend. A surge of rage boiled inside of Vanessas body and she could feel her emotions envelope
her, changing her. She was not going to see her friends die or be captured, especially when they
were so close to freedom. She felt the tingle in her eyes, the shots of pain in her back, between
her shoulder blades, and her teeth change into fangs as sharp as knives. It was only milliseconds,
but it felt like her change couldve been forever.
The arm was only inches away from Clem, when Vanessa ran in front of him with
excellent speed, only taking a fraction of a second to get there. These few seconds of new power
almost made her invisible, and she knocked the metallic arm back with just the flick of her palm.
It snapped off and crashed into the demolished building that the creature emerged from earlier.
With energy renewed, Vanessa felt as powerful as ever, and let out a throaty snarl. Well big boy,
lets dance.