The glow of thousands of lights below them glistened as they flown through the night sky. Captain was controlling the vehicle and gradually pulled his wheel upward, causing them to fly the opposite way through the city they were in, hovering just above waters of a river which trailed through.

"You good with a gun?" Captain asked as he grabbed the handle of a blocky gun.

"My father taught me how to shoot a rifle when I was young." Lorisa answered in a hesitant tone.

"Here," The man tossed the gun into her arms, "If you see anything chasing us, shoot it. Go to the back and keep an eye out."

"But- well, alright." She rolled her eyes and took a seat at the window in the back. Hopefully she was doing well hiding her legitimate terror.

So many buildings. Hundreds of them. One could only imagine how many people live in them. And yet, the only thing on her mind was how insane she had become. Obviously this was all a dream. She's gone mad. The only option was to just go with it because she knew she would just wake up soon. Until then, she could just enjoy the excitement. CRASH. Her head slammed against the black metal.

"We've been hit! You just gonna sit around?- Blast 'em!"

She tried to pull the trigger and shot the pane of the window off the vehicle and the wind gushed her hair into her face. Charcoal black creatures with dark feathered wings that slashed the air approaching the aircraft. They held broad and dark blades in their hands which radiated a shadow aura. Holding the gun to her eye, three of them were shot in a row and she would pretend to have done that on purpose.

The vehicle began to sink into the river in order to escape and Lorisa watched as a pane of glass slowly rose into the broken window. Captain was not concerned the slightest about any sort of leakage. At this point, going from inside a lab to flying in the sky to submerged in water was way more than she bargained for.

"What actually is this?" Lorisa asked.

"A resistance battle helicopter. One of my proudest creations." Captain answered, half paying attention, "We're pulling in, hang on to whatever you can find. This is not going to be a smooth landing, seeing that we got shot four times. We're lucky this is still operational.

She braced while wrapping her hands around the chair in front of her. Surely he was right. The "helicopter" was able to travel at a decent pace through water currents. The vessel shook and jolted back and forth until they were able to make it into a well guarded headquarters.

A group of agents escorting Lorisa to a small table in a dimly lit room. All she could keep her attention on was the posters scattered on the wall. One of them had one of the creatures with the swords she saw. Why were they after them?

Captain Codwell had been preoccupied with speaking to many of the other agents. The name gave off some authority and she knew it. He dismissed them and came into the room with Lorisa.

"Good gosh, they are terrible with lights. Gotta remember to get that fixed before long." He said as he took his seat in front of her, "So here we are. HQ. Now that our necks aren't being threatened, I can explain things more clearly."

She glared him straight in the eye, "Sir, why on earth was I brought about here? I was peacefully in my favorite bookshop in my hometown when all this madness started happening. Have I been poisoned?"

He paused, "...Yes, you have been. And I just got you out. You have been in a blood testing facility. You were found in the lucid chambers."

"Now, whatever foul joke is this?" She scoffed.

"No, now you listen to me if you want to know anything." His tone dropped, "This is the Lucid Resistance. First off, unlike in your world, things work differently here. For example, blood. Blood grows darker the more evil deeds committed by the beholder. If your blood reaches the color black, there's no going back." 

"What does this have anything to do with this lucid madness?"

"That's where you let me talk. The blood testing facility is where we are able to test one's innocence. If something goes wrong in the process, they take you to the lucid chambers. Where you're held in captivity for who knows how long until they can prove your innocent."

"...So you're claiming that I went through this very process?"

"I'm not claiming. I know."

"Your banter must be impressive, sir. But I can hardly believe that I go from my hometown to a...lucid chamber in the matter of twenty seconds."

"Manner, your hometown doesn't exist."

Something in Lorisa shook. He's lying and she knows that.

"Who told you my last-"

"It was engraved on your capsule. Your world doesn't exist, none of the people are real. According to the documents, you haven't seen your parents you were three years old, and you have been recorded to have been imprisoned for at least four years."

She was speechless.

He continues, "They have, in fact, been pumping a lucid poison in your blood the entire time and the only reason you woke up is because I broke you free. Those black creatures? They're Daptive. Short for Maladaptive Monsters. Results of Lucid residue.They will destroy us at all costs."

"Oh, that explains the assortment of posters."

"Miss Manner, what year was it in your world? You mentioned a bookshop."

"1798."

"You have got to be kidding- well that would explain the speech. I don't have time for this- this is a matter of reality shattering in our hands. Will you join the resistance to bring an end to all this?"

She froze and they held eye contact. The cold stare meant he was not kidding.