Take a Stand

The word hero has three definitions. One of them, that’s usually used doing English lessons, means to be the main male character in a story, he doesn’t have to be completely good, just the main male character. The other two definitions are, in fact, a like; they mean a man who is distinguished for his courage or ability, he has done a noble act and is regarded as a model, or ideal.

Sometimes these definitions are combined, because there is no way a hero can exist, in any world, today without committing a crime so he can be distinguished for his courage. Take Kickass for example, yes I know it’s a film but just hear me out. Kickass believed he could fight crime without killing anyone, he was proved wrong when he turned up at Razul’s place and Hitgirl came along and saved him by slaughtering everyone there. Kickass wasn’t prepared to face the truth: life isn’t like the movies, you have to adapt the movie to what the real world is like to become a hero. That or just get over the fact that Batman probably isn’t knocking out all of those enemies and instead killing them.

You may be wondering why I’m telling you this. You may already know why I’m telling you this and you’re thinking “Just get on with explaining so we can find out your story!”. Well, my story is the reason why I’m telling you this, so you have to keep reading on. I’m considered the hero that Kickass and Hitgirl are, except I’m not someone running around in a wetsuit hiding my identity. No, everyone knows my identity. What’s the point in hiding it when I have nothing to lose? Besides, it’s not like I stay in the same place for very long. I mean, I am the famous Dimension Traveller after all.

*

“You’re not from around here. Why are you helping us?” It was the same question asked by a similar person every time; some inexperienced kid with no talents whatsoever asking why I would risk my life for something that I don’t have: a family.

I answered with the same reply that I always do. I don’t even realise I say it, I’ve said it so many times, "Because it is my duty to do so, and always will be my duty. Good will always prevail, so long as shall I live." There were other reasons as well, for example I don’t want other people to be like me, with no one, nothing to care for, nothing to be cared by, just yourself with the occasional scrap of food.

This mission was a success, as per usual. Just some guy was just threatening the world and the freedom of its people. This mission is actually quite regular if I do say so myself, almost every dimension has an evil form trying to take over the world. I’m going to assume that you, the reader, are from the dimension with the world that Earth belongs to…we’ll just call that dimension “Earth” to save time, so, assuming this, I will have to give you an example of a power hungry man from your history. One that is known worldwide on Earth (I’m going to assume you are from that planet also because at this current moment in time, when I’m writing this, aliens do not exist). Let me think…aha! Adolf Hitler. For all of these power hungry people (because not all of them are men) just imagine Adolf Hitler…the equivalent of the killings of the Jewish, the gays, the gypsies, etcetera, is maybe every one in ten, that I’ve come across. Not every evil leader is as homophobic and racist as that, but many have come close.

This particular Evil Leader was one of those close people. This guy (who was a guy this time, Christ I don’t want to be getting genders wrong again…that dimension was awful!) was sexist I’ll tell you that. You know how in Earth’s past certain women worked even though women weren’t necessarily meant to work? Well, this guy performed an appalling act upon a woman that even so mention the word “Work”. He didn’t kill them, oh no, killing was too light a punishment he said. The sentence of guilty victim was humiliation, pain, and finally being sold as a slave. The humiliation and pain can be anything the judge deems worthy. The judge sentencing you usually refers to his personal favourites so which ever judge a woman ends up getting is based on pure luck. The women were sold to the highest bidder, of course, and her starting price was higher depending on one of three things: her virginity, her looks (not just her face but her whole body, so breast size and weight), and how “broken” she was. An “unbroken” woman was worth more because the men actually had fun “breaking” them, and of course a goddess with her virginity still intact increased that price as well.

But we’ll get off the subject of the dimension I’ve just saved now and get right back to current time.

The person who sheltered me, Pheus, was walking beside me to his home. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for a bit longer? Help us establish control and make sure no one like Orsher rises to power again?” he was, in fact speaking about Onis Orsher, the Evil Leader that I was just telling you about.

“Onis Orsher, or anyone like him, will not return. Not for a long time anyway. It will be long after both of our bodies are thrown into the ground that there is a chance of this event happening again,” Pheus knew I spoke knowledge, after all everything I’ve already told him has been true so there was no reason to argue with me, but he did anyway.

“But Rei! Our fight has only just ended, you must be tired. And you have wounds that must be tended to. It was not a pretty fight,” Pheus was a war medic. He was amazing. If I could only stay in this dimension for the rest of my life and was fighting in a war, I’d insist on having Pheus in my team. His speed in assessing the injury was almost inhuman, as was his speed for patching up the injury or rescuing their life. With his knowledge of the human body also comes along handy techniques for faking a death and other useful things you might need when in a battle with someone that needs to believe that at least one of his opponents is dead. I turned my head to him, my eyes glancing through my fiery bangs, reluctance held within them.

“I’ll let you patch me up,” his body seemed to slouch, as if sighing in relief after the tension held within had ordered him to be held in a military-style posture. He cracked a miniature smile, the corner of his lip upturned, “And then I’m moving on. The pull I told you about is returning, stronger than ever this time.”

To distract you from the time it will take for Pheus and I to return to his temporary home, a red tent built for eight but only holding four…now two, I’ll tell you exactly how it is I came across travelling dimensions.

I was made into the person I am today on Earth. I grew up with no purpose in life. I had no one. No one relied on me and the only person I relied on was the person buying and making me food. Until I turned eighteen. I was kicked out of the only home I’d ever known and sent on my way. It was during the time of the recession in the 2000’s so jobs were not as easy to come by as they were ten years ago. I’d met a pack of homeless people, just like myself. They’d been made redundant by their boss’ and, because they had no source of income, were kicked onto the streets by their landlord. They taught me how to survive by shoplifting and keeping warm, but that was all. I’d soon left them and just kept to myself. It was late at night, I was sitting curled up, crying because I had nothing, if I was to die that night from frostbite who would care? I had no one. I’d only wished that I could be someplace where someone needed me at the same time I felt the bizarre pulling sensation from deep within me. I’d moved. At first I believed my body had gotten so cold that it went into coma or I’d became delusional because of the extreme cold, but after I’d saved the person who needed me (a small child whose parents were arguing - not one of the best stories I have) I realised I had no purpose once more, and was in the same position as before. As soon as the pulling feeling happened again and I was wishing that I was someplace where I was needed that I realised it wasn’t the cold from where I was sitting. I was doing it myself.

I’d later begin finding myself in places with more danger, forcing me to learn how to fight with skill. I’d picked it up rather quickly and pretty soon, I made a deadly assassin and an amazing fighter against injustice. Eventually I found myself where I am now: a city called Elkis that had a slight resemblance towards Ancient Greece. The occupants of this world stepped on the bone dry, dusty ground. There was no tarmac or cobblestones. It was a relief to all when, on the rare occasion, it rained. The majority of the world’s workers were farmers and people who worked in shops selling the produce that was made by the farmers. The doctors, like Pheus, were usually from a higher class of people, it was only these people that could afford the education after all. The Law Enforcement was chosen by the Government, Orsher usually ordered his men to go out and find some high class citizens and he chose whoever he thought would intimidate the citizens the most. As you can see, this world was in dire need of saving.

Pheus sighed as he finished bandaging my wounded body. Most likely he was aggravated with me for being so stubborn on wanting to move on. “You can’t live the rest of your life like this Rei,” he tightened the knot for the bandage on my right hand, red already seeping through.

“I can and I will,” my teeth were gritted, I was getting sick of him trying to tell me to stay, “Who else will help all of the people I have helped?” He shook his head while packing up his medical things, “If it wasn’t for me billions of people will be suffering, the women here would still be slaves and money will be hard to come by, even for you! And that’s just in this dimension! Imagine what has happened here but worse, a thousand times worse than this and you will understand why I do what I do. You should understand anyhow Pheus, you are a doctor, I’m assuming you became one because you don’t like it when people suffer,” I was standing by the tent flaps, ready to leave. The pulling sensation had gotten stronger, it was a bizarre feeling this time, and it had never felt as intense as this before. “I hope you have a good life Pheus, and I’m sorry for the arguing and all of your losses.”

I returned to the spot I had appeared in when I first came to this world. It wasn’t far from where Pheus’ tent was, he was the one who found me, almost dead on the floor from particular that teleportation. The last time I had felt the pull I had teleported immediately, I knew my mission was done so there was no point in sticking around. I was severely injured and had no rest from that previous fight and teleporting can take up a lot of energy, I’m assuming that it can even kill you if you’re too out of it.

*
The birds were chirping in the luscious green trees that were clustered together in gigantic packs. I was in a forest. For some reason I felt like I was home, like after being lost for so long I had found my way back, there was a huge hole inside me, that I hadn’t known about until now, and it had filled itself mostly. I knew why it wasn’t completely full, that has something to do with the fact that I have no-

“Umph!” I landed on my stomach. A heavy weight lying on top of me.

“I have it!” A man was near me, most likely the weight that decided to make itself comfortable on my back, “It’s a female dressed in clothes similar to that of the Sand Village citizens. Should we bring her in?” I was struggling underneath him, trying to throw him off, but it was no use it felt like a house was on top of me. He’s obviously received some sort of answer from whoever he was talking to (imaginary friend no doubt – unless they have gadgets like walkie-talkies here) as he stood up from me, but only after grabbing both my hands, and hauled me up using my hands after him.

There was a strange sensation before he let go, I couldn’t, however, move my hands from their position. It was impossible to move them apart or even keeping them touching but with one higher up my arm than the other. Damn it he’d tied them together. But how? He’d been holding onto them the whole time and there was no one else here with him?

I sighed, aggravated that this had happened again. It was very rare but the teleportation thing controls where I go, I don’t have a choice, I can only wish to go somewhere where someone needs me and I go there. I don’t know if it puts me in the right place at the right time or not – I am the only person with this thing¬¬ – but I usually manage to get out of the situation I may be stuck in. “Look-“

“Silence,” I was shocked, no one had ever ordered my silence before…well Onis Orsher had but he was a controlling, sexist pig. I turned, my hair whipping into my eyes as I did so – I wanted a look at this guy. He had shoulder length brunette hair and bangs, he had purple circles under his eyes, Christ does he have insomnia or something. There was an ear piece attached to him (so he doesn’t have any imaginary friends, well at least I hope this grown man doesn’t), what interested me most were his clothes, no I’m not a fashion diva or anything (man wouldn’t that be good, me fighting in like designer clothes and stuff?), it’s just the symbols on his clothes, I’d seen them before. He had a navy turtle neck shirt on with long sleeves. He had navy trousers on also with a small holster thing on, as if to hold a weapon of some sort. On top of his shirt though was a military green flak jacket with small pockets on either breast. He wore trouser wraps (great a hand-to-hand combat dimension! Not) and sandals (I’ve only been here five minutes and I’m already sweltering in my fortune-teller-like dress that was designed specifically with the heat in mind). What intrigued me most was the red swirling pattern on his shoulders, I had a birthmark on my right inner wrist that had the exact same design.

It was now that the exhaustion had finally caught up to me. I hadn’t slept in a week and had lost a lot of energy and blood with our battle with Orsher during this week and the teleportation before rest had not helped my situation. It was here, after seeing the symbol of my birthmark on this man’s military uniform, where I collapsed from exhaustion. I was unconscious before I hit the floor, my only thought being: Please don’t leave me out here, I don’t care if you take me as your prisoner right now just don’t leave me here to die.