--Seira--

The year is 3056 in the country of Syntoria. Most of the planet has been taken over by man-eating monstrosities known only as the mutants. To ensure the survival of humanity, Sytoria and many other countries like it created colonies: areas with high-voltage fences that surround the perimeter to keep out any mutants that may think of intruding. Nine of them exist in Syntoria: Raima (my home), Electix, Minthré, Nobi, Shakyoro, Zakroth, Vezlar, Anthorak and Thurin. Each one is slightly different, but it's not freedom.

The place where I live, Raima, is the stereotyped 'poverty' colony. Almost everyone is below the poverty line and very few buildings are left in a good condition. Many kids are orphaned like me, but there are a few rich people from Minthré that have moved here recently.

I haven't met a single person that doesn't want to have the mutants eradicated and the fences torn down. The government sends out soldiers periodically to try and destroy them, but few ever end up coming back alive to their families. What we need more than anything is a hero.

And who am I? I'm just an orphan. You can call me Seira. This is the the story of how I--and my friends Mia, Seth, Ravenna, Blake and Eli--changed forever.

***

It started out just like any other day. I got hungry, dug through the trash, and found something half-decent to eat before the cops assumed I was up to no good and started chasing me. I kid you not, this happens pretty much every day for me.

"Seira Stardale!" The lanky cop yelled at me, barely looking authoritative enough to arrest a stick for being dropped in the wrong place. "Stop immediately and drop the stolen merchandise!"

"No!" I immediately yelled back, "It's trash! No one wanted it!"

"We...didn't ask...you what it was." The pudgy one said between breaths. I looked back and smirked. This guy's face was covered in a sheen of sweat and was lagging behind his partner after only five blocks, waddling like a toddler that had only recently learned how to walk. Looks like fatso here had one too many doughnuts.

"If you refuse to comply, we'll have to use force!" The twig guy threatened, a voice crack prominently ringing through the air.

I saw an alleyway up ahead and chuckled, then taunted, "If you can even catch me." I darted into the alley and began to take the most confusing path I could think of. Alleys were a pretty bad place to get lost in. If you weren't careful, you'd end up walking in circles with no sense of where you were-which was what I wanted the cops to do. It was actually surprisingly easy since this particular alley had no distinctive ways to tell where you were.

I lured the cops in and ran around the loop as fast as I could, their footsteps getting farther and farther away from mine. When I could no longer see them, I took the opposite forked path and didn't stop until I saw a familiar heap of torn fabric and various other things. At least it was home.

I sat down and held out the bread scrap at arm's length. All this for a burnt piece of food--if you could even call it that. Weird. Without a second thought, I quickly scarfed down the bread and curled up in my rags. Those guards were so clueless. Just like them...I could get away with anything I wanted to back then.

My head throbbed as I tried to remember, but I had no such luck. I had just ended up giving myself another unbearable migraine. Great.

My hand absentmindedly drifted to my bag and dug around until I had found the familiar, circular make-up pact. One of the only clues to my past. Memories of the day I awoke came flooding back.

***

It was a white room flooded by bright incandescent lights that almost seemed to blind my just-waking eyes. I was laying in a bed with wires hooked up to my arms; which were in turn hooked up to various machines. Nothing except a thin blue gown covered my body under a scratchy blanket. Various unfamiliar faces were staring at me. The scariest part: I had no idea who I was. I had no idea where I was. How old was I? How long had I been here? I wanted to cry in frustration. In fact, my eyes were starting to water.

"Poor thing," One of the men cooed, "She's got amnesia."

"Here, let me talk to her." Another man--who appeared to be in charge of the others--said. "You can all leave for now."

Just as he had told them, all of the others walked out of the door, leaving the two of us completely alone. I was restless. I needed to know.

"Who am I? Where am I? Why can't I remember anything?" All these questions flew at him like arrows, faster than either one of us could track. This man had to know something. Maybe this continuous throbbing would go away if he told me.

"Your name is Seira Stardale. Say-ra. You're in the hospital, and I'm Dr. Mason. I've been studying your case and watching over you for about two weeks now." He said calmly.

I looked closer at him. Dr. Mason had thinning salt and pepper hair and a kind face with warm brown eyes behind a pair of glasses. "Why am I here?" I pressed, desperate to know.

Dr. Mason's eyes filled with grief. "Well, Seira, you were riding with your parents and...a car came along...I'm terribly sorry. They're gone, Seira. You're extremely lucky to still be alive. Few people ever survive an accident like that. You've just awoken from a coma."

I didn't cry. I had no reason to. I didn't know who my parents were, so it was useless to shed tears for them.

"What were they like?" I asked.

Dr. Mason sighed, removing his glasses to rub his eyes ."If I knew I would tell you." As he slipped his glasses back onto his face, he reached behind his back and pulled out a leather bag, which he carefully set on my lap. "This is all that the police were able to save from the crash. I know it's not much, but I hope it can give you some answers."

I nodded and reached into the bag. There wasn't much in there save for a few empty notebooks, some pencils, a silver tiara and a golden make-up pact with the letters Y.M.S. engraved on the lid in a calligraphy that had obviously taken a lot of care and time to get right. In fact, this was the very make-up pact that I was holding at the moment.

***

This bag was the only connection that I had to my past. That's why I never let it out of my sight. It had some sort of link to my parents; who I really was. From the contents of one of the notebooks, I was able to find the name Yuki Madoka Stardale written in one of the pages that I had previously assumed was blank. That was my mother's name. I was sure of it.

A shuffling in the distance caught my attention. I buried myself deeper into my sheets and scraps, hiding from whatever might have been out there. I couldn't risk getting caught. They'd take away my things.

I was surprised to see a young girl walking into my alley--she appeared to be about twenty-two years old or so. Her hair was bright pink and covered with a baseball cap, which didn't really fit with the long lab coat she was wearing. Her bright green eyes were sparkling with interest as she looked at a small device in her hand that continuously beeped. Who was she?

"Tacchi paneru no pure botan wo...don't know what comes next odorou." She sung absentmindedly. As she turned in my direction, the beeping became more intense; louder and faster. "Holy Mother Theresa drunk on holy wine! I've found one already!"

I hid deeper under what little protection I had. If she was a cop, there was absolutely no way that I could allow her to find me.

"Please come out." The woman plead. "I don't want to hurt you."

I didn't make a movement save for my shallow breathing. I even had my eyes screwed shut so I wouldn't blink. I couldn't afford to give the slightest hint at my hiding place.

"My name's Amanda, but my friends call me Mandy." She quickly added under her breath, "If I had any, that is." She sighed. "Can we talk? I promise I won't hurt you!"

I poked my head up a little bit and slowly opened my eyes. She was directly in front of me with a wide smile on her face and excitement in her eyes. Mandy pointed her contraption at me, and it stopped beeping; glowing aqua blue.

"What's that?" I asked suspiciously.

Mandy looked around confusedly until she realized what I was talking about. "Oh, this thing? Well, you see, I'm a scientist and this is one of my many inventions. It's part of a project I'm working on called 'Team Animalia'."

I scoffed. "Yeah, okay, but that doesn't explain what it is."

"The only way that I can really explain it is I'd have to tell you the entire project and what every bit is. It's kind of long and complicated and pretty boring." She explained.

I snickered. "Try me. I've got all the time in the world. I'm an orphan. No parents, no rules, no time limits."

Mandy gasped, that annoying look on her face that almost everyone got when they heard this information. "Oh, I'm so-"

"You say you're sorry and I'll run you through with the closest long, sharp and pointy object that I can find." After seeing that I had scared her, I held out my hand and smirked. "I'm Seira by the way. Seira Stardale."

"Amanda." She quickly returned, shaking my hand.

I sighed. "You already said that."

She cocked her head. "I did? Oh, well." Was she really this ditzy and airheaded or was it just some act? I really hoped it was the latter.

"Anyways, are you going to tell me about this project of yours, or are we just going to sit here with our pinkies in the air talking about the weather?" I asked.

"Oh, right." Mandy adjusted her glasses and smiled. "Well, you see, I've come up with a solution to the mutant problem."

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

Much to Mandy's annoyance, she asked, "What?"

"That's funny." I replied.

She narrowed her eyes in a way that said she was deadly serious and far from joking. "Do you want to hear about it or not?!"

I stopped immediately and waved my hand in a 'go on' gesture.

She took a deep breath, visually settling down. "My project, Team Animalia, operates on a simple principle: injecting DNA of animals into humans to give them enough power to stand up to the mutants. There's a bit of a downside to this, however. Only certain people can withstand having that DNA in their bodies. That's where this machine comes in." She told me, holding up the contraption.

"Let me guess," I started. "I'm one of those special people."

Mandy nodded. "Yep."

"If I say no?" I challenged.

"I'll call the police and the social services." Mandy said quickly.

Geez. Why did I have to tell her that? Now I had no choice but to accept.

"Fine." I said with a groan. "What do I have to do?"

Without saying anything else, Mandy shoved something into my forearm. Before I knew it, the world went black and my body had drifted into unconsciousness.

***

I assumed I was in some sort of dream. I was completely surrounded by this heavenly blue light that even wrapped itself around my body. It felt warm and tingly in a way that I couldn't even begin to describe. It was a completely unearthly feeling, yet comfortable in a way. I instinctively hugged myself and let out a small sigh.

My attention was brought back by a whimper. I turned my head around to see a small orb of concentrated white light hovering in front of me. It was so brilliant and pure that I couldn't look directly at it for long without my eyes burning. It felt comfortable, though. It was like a long lost friend calling my name and running towards their open arms. I felt the need to touch it; which I did.

Suddenly, the orb of light zoomed into my chest and filled me with an infinite sense of love and calm. I was happy and peaceful. Nothing had ever felt this good in my life. It tempted me to close my eyes, and as they got heavier, I could feel myself coming back to reality. A sad farewell to this beautiful world.

***

I woke up in an unfamiliar room on an unfamiliar couch; an unfamiliar blanket covering my body. It was a fairly small apartment with only one other person in the room with me. I saw bright pink hair and a white lab coat. So it wasn't a dream. To add insult to injury, I had another splitting headache.

I moaned and sat up, drawing Mandy's attention. I looked out the window to see moonlight streaking through. Wait, moonlight? I looked to the nearest clock. 8:27 PM.

"Morning." Mandy chirped. As she turned around, I realized that she had a tail and two animalistic ears growing from her head.

"What's with the ears and tail?" I teased

She smirked and flicked an ear as she tossed me a mirror-which I caught "What the-how'd you-"

"Why don't you take a look at yourself?"

I gazed into the mirror and nearly had a heart attack when I saw the reflection that stared back. My silver eyes had turned ice blue and my once cinnamon brown hair was now shock white, slowly fading to silver at the tips. If that wasn't enough, I had two white fox ears atop my head and a fluffy tail growing from my butt. In fury, I threw the mirror across the room and watched it smash to pieces as it made contact with the wall "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" I roared

Mandy just set a plate down in front of me with that cheery grin still plastered on her face. The plate was piled with bacon, pancakes and hashbrowns; recently made, too. I tried to resist, but my hunger gave in and I scarfed down the food like...an animal.

"The Injection gave you animal parts along with a few other minor changes in your DNA. Along with these obvious physical changes; your physical strength and mental capacity have increased as well. You also have some attributes of an Arctic Fox, or Vulpes lagopus." She sighed and adjusted her glasses "I know I should have told you beforehand, but I really need you-no, the world needs you, Seira."

I looked at myself. Could I, Seira Stardale, really make a difference? Maybe this was my chance. I could be that hero that Syntoria-no, the world needed.

"Fine." I said.

Mandy bit her lip and let out a squeal so high and loud that I was pretty sure I had already lost some of my new hearing "It's begun! Project VLA-073 has been a success!"

I threw my hands up "Whoa! What do you think I am, a machine?!" I exclaimed

Mandy gave me a quizzical look "Well, what do you want me to refer to you as?"

I thought for a bit until something popped in my head "Well...this is sort of like being a superhero, so I should have a cool superhero name. Something like...Arcia!" I liked the name. It settled nicely on my tongue and fit with my whole Arctic Fox image.

Mandy nodded and began to jot down something onto a yellow notepad "First member: Arcia."

I stayed quiet for a little bit before asking "So, how many other members are there?"

"Five." She answered.

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped "What!? You're kidding, right?"

"Nope." Mandy looked up and grinned "And you're going to help me find them."

So much for being a hero. Somehow I had a feeling that this was going to be more work than it was worth.