Enter! Uh wait...what's your rad name again?

   “Hmm, is that really so…?” Coneye queried suspiciously as we walked along the hallway of…well wherever we were.

“Honest to goodness sir, that tag is just a representation of sorts…o-of where the garment was made.” I tried to stay on my feet by telling the truth as earnestly as possible.

“And you say this ch-ina is a great nation? In comparison to who? Are you from this nation?” He asked earnestly

“N-no, sir. It compares probably only to America, or Russia in size.” I said quickly.

He stopped in his tracks.

“Are you a Westy?” Coneye turned to me and said with such seriousness and thought provokedness my mind almost left my body.

This guy is taking me dead serious.

“What is a Westy?” I replied.

He looked at me with that serious look again and just kept walking with his face still in place, until he then gestured for me to follow him.

“Byrd, open up this instant!” Coneye exclaimed.

After a quick rustling, the door we stood before opened up, and a young man about my age came out. He looked at me before then looking at Coneye. Then back at me again.

“ What is it captain…, Rauex told me if you guys had battled a huge monster, that's rad man! She was way tired though,” the man said, yawning through his words.

“ Yes, I called you dozens of times, but you chose not to answer and joined the fight, only answering to Rauex. But, I suppose, yes it was rad.” Coneye said almost insecurely and yet also cordially.

“Rad means terrible in his dialect.” Coneye said to me matter-of-factly. Byrd turned to me sharply with eyes that could only mean “don't screw this up for me…!”

“This man here tells me made-in-china is a tag used for manufacturing purposes, and it seems to trace back to your planet of origin.” Coneye continues, resting his arm around Byrd as if he were good buddies with him.

“So, is he being truthful, Byrd?”

“Y-yes, he is. And yeah, he is likely an Easter not a Westy.”

Typical American.

“So you are trustworthy, then. Then one more question, Easter man: does rad truly mean terrible?”

Dang it.

“Unfortunately, it does not. Instead it means awesome, and is said in terms of enjoyment of something due to its sheer awesomeness or coolness.” I can’t say I didn't enjoy that.

How dare you take advantage of the kindness of this innocent stranger; no matter if it's some kind of fantasy asylum?

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!

“Ahhhhhhhh! No don't, don’t throw me off ship, I only lied to protect my own arse I know but it's hard being in a new place all alone and when people start treating you like some special entity you kind of have to take advantage no?!”

Coneye held the American man from his armor over a ledge of the structure we had been moving upon called Skulkors. Below were what seemed like large metal stakes connected to the craft or caravan of sorts.

The outside was dark, cold, barren and desert-like. I don't know if it was just outside but the surrounding presence also smelled really bad, much like the vomit I had previously been covered in. I would be lying if I said I wasn't glad I spoke the truth.

I don’t like being held upside down.

“You will pay for your crimes. I hate nothing more than a liar.” Coneye said coldly.

“Psh. It's because of people like yourself who aren’t even worth remembering that the empire continues to thrive and prosper; People like you who pass yourself off as something you aren’t.” He continued, exclaimed angrily.

“Please spare me!” Cried out Byrd.

“Please captain, I think he’s learned his lesson…spare him!” I added half-heartedly for fear of losing my own life.

“Who says he is the captain; there is no captain on this Skulkor.” a voice said from behind, causing Coneye to quickly drop his head.

I turned around to see who had just graced this murder scene with their presence. There were two women standing along the battlement.

Seeming by the voice, the older one was who had spoken.

But for myself I couldn’t take my eyes away from her counterpart. She was wearing similar padded armor to that of the others, however she was slender, with a long torso. It seemed like she would be a lightweight in any supposed battle in this world. Excuse me; that is a bit off color for this world.

Hold on, she has caught me and stared back. I resign my stance. She could be scary!

“H-hey Raeux, you’ve gotta stop Coneye, he is going nuts…, this is too rad for comfort!” Byrd continued to crawl at the wall of the ship, trying to get hold of something in case he were to fall.

“I heard everything through the intercoms. Someone has been a very rad guest.” Rauex responded.

“I vote we turn him in for profit. There are a lot of people who would buy a slave of his capability.” The scary chick added.

“That's true, Navel, but he is still necessary to keep around…a part of three cannot man this ship, and this new lightweight…we don’t know if he can fight, now do we?” Rauex said matter of factly, scratching her head.

“But he's likely a wielder just like Byrd. But even better, he can be trained properly. Plus…I have no idea what you’d want this Westy around for anyway besides eye candy, because his personality is skeevy and dishonest! Hmph!” The scary, but principled girl named Navel added, answering back without a bit of trepidation.

They continued to bicker, and I turned my head to and fro following their argument. All the while Byrd screamed on for dear life.

What a charade.

“Shut up!” Finally Coneye boiled over.

“This is why I am, forever and always, captain.” Coneye raises Byrd’s shirt up high, readying to drop him. At the instant he was about to let go of him-

*Sccrwaaaaarrrrrrrr*

Everyone of us who were upright turned to face where that enormous sound came from. It seemed only I had no idea what it was.

“The Gargermin…, It followed us.” Coneye stated blankly, and almost like manner

Suddenly the two ladies ran back into the ship and through the other side.

“No…it marked us, with you!” Coneye said, targeting his gaze towards me. Hoisting Byrd up from the depths and dropping him on the battlement deck, he began pacing towards me.

*Sccrwaaaaarrrrrrrr*

“Stay as close to me as possible, Mr Honesty,” he added.

Turning his head he shouted towards Byrd, “Get to your post! You live another day…don’t take it for granted.” to which the man scurried off.

*Creak-a* *Creak-a*

Suddenly, the Skulkor booted up, creating a large, whirling sound. From a distance I could see those metal stakes starting to move almost like legs. Within seconds, it began to escalate; and I with it.

You mean to tell me Byrd slept through this?

We ran across the rocky ship and up a set of stairs to reach a wide platform atop the Skulkor. The rest of the party was there, with even more unexplained likely useful elements present.

Rauex held some sort of weapon, which I believe resembled a large lance. As for Navel, she sat atop a large animal, similar to a mountain goat with a huge mane. Her weapon was a cross bow…, but where were the arrows?

*Sccrwaaaaarrrrrrrr*

*Maaaaah-maaaaaah* The goat bleated as it began to step erratically, readying itself to move.

“I’ll protect the perimeter, alongside the guns” Navel responded before they ran around the side of the ship diagonally.

That is one way to get around.

I could see something closing in on the horizon like a large dust cloud.

“Get ready to toss and turn.” Coneye said coldly before turning an eye to me.

“Huh?” I asked, confused.

Within quick succession, he grabbed me like a rag doll, and started running. Suddenly, there I was, face to face with the dust cloud, and what was to emerge out of it. I had been thrown into the air, spinning like a marionette.

“Gahhhhhh! Put me down, put me down, put me down!” Funny how one who had purposefully trekked in the freezing, numbing snow wishes to choose how he’d die.

Ready to be eaten. That's how it felt when I met eyes with it. The monstrosity they call a Gargermin. It looked as if a deep sea animal had been supersized and given legs.

“Hyacck!”

Coney jumped again to grab me.

*Tuck* *Tuck* *Tuck*

Arrows were being flung in the air inches past my body in places I'd dare wish to keep unpierced. Below I could hear stabs through the flesh of the creature.

I was beginning to see that I was the bait.

*Sccrwaaaaarrrrrrrr*

I had been thrown in the air a second time, this round the beast is closing in with its serrated teeth. I met eye to glowing eye with one side of its enormous face, only for my view to be blocked as Navel and her ox jumped atop of it and continued to deal damage directly.

She would then go back to running around the Skulkor.

I caught a small glimpse of what seemed like arrows made purely of energy being shot through her crossbow.

After being thrown in the air the third time, I began to think about the situation only as divine comedy. It was still bone chilling, but absurd and comedic nonetheless.

Perhaps if this was a late night anime, ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ would be playing as I dramatically flopped like a fish through the air to my death as others fought so matter of factly around me.

The Skulkor suddenly revealed a large gun near the back of the ship on the level they had been fighting from.

“Get back, Coneye, take the bones with you…!” Since when was I a pile of bones?!

The ship was now face to face with the monster after circling it a few times. As the heat of the gun began to charge, Raeux jumped a level below to get underneath it.

She then dipped her Large lance into the energy of the gun. Half of it was now imbued with heat, giving the weapon a red hue.

“Full Throttle, Byrd!” The woman yelled, tapping the side of the gun hard.

*Brrrrrrrr*

The ship moved at an alarmingly fast rate straight ahead, as if it were running from the beast. Clearly, however, that was not the case.

Jumping back up to the top of the ship, Rauex ran towards the front of the Skulkor. I watched as Coneye then began to stretch as well.

With a pacing first few steps, She started to dart across the plane, straight towards the front of the ship, almost as if she were an olympian.

Suddenly, she jumped right where Coneye had positioned himself.

“Hyup!” He yelled as he used his body to throw the moving target to even further distance. Are these guys a theatre troupe or something?

The acceleration and propulsion made her like an arrow herself. And aiming herself like one, she dove speedily towards the Monster, which was now just several meters away from the back of the ship.

In a final, stylish act, she let go of the lance, having done all she could to prepare the projectile for its attack, and fell below towards the ground.

*Sccrwaaaaarrrrrrrr*

*Sccrwaaaaarrrrrrrr*

*Sccrwaaaaarrrrrrrr*

Like a light show, the Gargermin became bioluminescent as the weapon went straight through its body. It began to puff up, and in a slow delation, its life came to an en-

*SPLAT*

“Aww man, this is why we didn’t kill it last time. Now we gotta clean all this up.” Coneye exclaimed.

The ship was covered in the goo and guts of the Gargermin. So was I. It was warm and burning, and I think I licked some of it.

But, you know…, at least I’m alive. I may have gotten tossed around here and there, but there's no way I can stay this expendable forever. That girl, Navel, said I could be useful to this team.

I have to survive. Survive, and make that trek in the snow worth something in the end. After all, it brought me all the way here; to this fantasy world.

“Good work out there, young man.” Coney said as he walked in on me from behind as I stared out the window on the bridge of the ship. The Sun’s of this world were coming up.

“T-thanks, sir. But all I did was be bait…” I responded.

“Hahaha, hey, that's worth something, isn’t it?” Coneye laughed.

I paused.

“Where is this place, Captain?”

“This land…the nature of this land is one of hope, and one of personhood. That is what they call, ‘Sanctuare’.” Coneye explained. He began to peer at me with those same smiley, innocent eyes that I couldn't read.

“What is your name, young man?”

“My name? It's…, Keiji.”

Coneye's eyes quickly hardened.

“Keiji Sato.” I said.

“Is that so…” He said.

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!

There I was, once again at the edge of the battlement of the Skulkor, except now I was the one upside down.

“All I did was tell you my name!”

“Yeah right, you and I both know You shouldn’t know that name. How dare you lie to me about your origins!” Coneye responded harshly.

“You probably aren’t even an easter!” He added, almost betrayed sounding.

“I swear I’ve been telling the truth all this time! You have to trust me!”

“I Simply cannot. Such a thing is absurd. To think that you could have any connection to that man can be nothing short of astronomically impossible…!”

“W-what man…?!”

“Don’t act coy like you don’t know! The Emperor of Sanctuare…Keiji Sato!”