Rain World: High Voltage

4: The Friend, Uninvited

Another being, who seemed like himself, Tumbled out of the access shaft in a flash of white light. Perhaps, he was another slugcat? The orange slugcat gawped as the other creature looked up at him with peculiar golden eyes. Those eyes swirled with a strange, yet somehow familiar energy that sent chills down his spine. An ancient light glinted in them, sending his mind into a fit of wonder toward the newcomer.

Grasping at the pole, sparks still flew from the big machine that loomed above him. He began to experience a headache like no other, and slowly, his mind filled with white noise, his ears rang.

The black slugcat opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't hear a single word. The world had grown quiet. But his mouth continued to open like he was shouting something.

Chump?

Ump?

Jump.

JUMP.

Shifting his feet and pressing them off the pole, a whirl of green electricity began to form from his tail. And he pushed off of the pole while simultaneously letting go of it with his hands. Green energy arced through the air, trailing behind him. It sparked and flashed, and he landed with a thump and a roll. The black slugcat dodged the rolling ball of lightning and followed him as he rolled right into the exit shaft. The black slugcat could hear the screech of blue lizards just before he left the room, and as he traveled through the walls, some loud sounds followed by an even louder BOOM.

The orange slugcat burst out of the access shaft, looking back to see if the black slugcat had followed. The marks above the shaft flickered black.

Uh oh.

Before he could move out of the way, a black and golden face appeared and bowled him over. They tumbled across the ground, the orange slugcat landing on his back, with the black slugcat on top of him. 

"Ack!" The orange slugcat started to cough, "Agh!"

The black slugcat saw this and realized that he was suffocating him with his own weight, and rolled off of him, his arms and legs splayed out as a sigh escaped him. "We don't have much time..."

"What are you?"

The black slugcat's eyes widened a bit, then furrowed, as if he was in deep thought.  "Probably the same kind as you... but you are quite different from others." The black slugcat shuffled up onto his feet and held out a hand to the orange slugcat, who hesitantly took it in his and pulled himself up. 

"Can I at least know your name?"

The black slugcat blinked once, then said in a soft voice, "Call me Martyr."

Martyr's eyes twinkled warmly despite a smile not being present on his face as he held out a hand, and the orange slugcat took it, returning the gaze with his own bright smile. "Um, nice to meet you, Martyr."

Martyr gave his hand a squeeze before letting it slip, now looking questioningly at him. "Your name?"

"No, y-" the orange slugcat had thought that Martyr was asking about his own name, but he shrunk in on himself a little in embarrassment when he realized what Martyr meant. His own name? When had he ever...

No, he never did. He never had a name.

"So she didn't even bother with names this time, huh?" said Martyr, a dark look briefly flashing in his eyes. He was speaking like he knew this being he had called by the name of 'Confidence'.

He didn't know how to answer that question either. "I- I don't know. She doesn't tell me much."

The Martyr returned from distantly staring at the far wall, glancing at him. For a split second, he may have looked amused, but the orange slugcat couldn't be sure. "It was a rhetorical question," Martyr said flatly.