It was just hours ago when Neeva left her enclave...

She did not care who would take her place. She trudged along down the road, under the growing rain, refusing to look back. She wanted to convince herself that there's nothing left for her back there; that forward is the only way left. She refused to stop, fearing that somebody was looking for her.

The rain continued to grow heavier. Her clothes gradually became drenched and caused the wind to chill her to the bones. She wrapped her arms around her chest and rubbed her shoulders as a feeble attempt to warm herself.

She had to stop, however, when the small stream that crossed the road became a raging torrent. There was no way for her to cross without getting swept away. She looked around for shelter _ A large tree or a cave would do. She couldn't be choosy in this circumstance. But her eyes caught a less welcomed sight.

From the woods that surrounded the road, another creature approached her. He was an ascarus, but devoid of any colour; draped only in black, white and grey as if he stepped out of an old film. He was shirtless, but wore the hovering rings along the length of his tail that allowed him to hover above the ground and swim in the air. He wore a strange headdress that covered his eyes, and in his hand was an artifact that resembled an amalgamation of a sword and a key. To her, his kind might very well be an alien merfolk, but this one in particular is no stranger to her.

This... Thing _ Is he an avid stalker? A demon? A god? Something beyond mortal comprehension? _ Had been watching her for a long time. Always in many different kinds of faces and forms, but she knows it's the same thing. Every time she sees a hooded human, an eyeless baxxid or a black and white yinglet roaming around in her own enclave, she knows it's actually him. Sometimes he's content with just watching, but rarely does he speak with her directly, usually giving senseless riddles, but also showing in-depth knowledge of her past, told as innocent stories and tall tales, and ridiculing the decisions she makes. This time, he was in the mood to chat.

"Planning to run away with the circus, dear?" He asked with a friendly voice.
"I'm just running away in general..." The yinglet replied. "From my mistakes, from my own creation... From myself..?"

Neeva had never liked this being. She has tried to kill him many times, but every attempt had somehow failed spectacularly. When she followed him down an alley with a knife for his back, he always disappears when she turned the corner. When she thought she learned his movement pattern and set a snare, he never shows up. When he tried to attack him directly, she found the blood of her own enclave member on her hands instead. And he always seems blissfully unaware of her attacks, as if he himself is unable to perceive her attempts to harm him.

"Ahh, so comes the point in your saga that tells of the classic 'run away from your past' troupe. I've heard of this story quite often. You would be surprised," Said the merfolk. "You have a problem, dear, and I offer a solution."

"What, are you going to sell me a nice, warm cottage to wait zhis storm out in?" Neeva answered. Usually, she would react to him with great aggression. But perhaps it is her broken spirit following her departure from her home, or the cold making her irrational, that she's mirroring his usually sarcastic nature.

The ascarus chuckled. "No, dear. Though tempting even for me, I have something better, just for you. You are looking for a fresh start, yes? What better way to start over than somewhere where your very legend is just an outlandish tale? Somewhere... New? Unfamiliar?"

Neeva raised her only good eyebrow. She doesn't have a clear clue on what exactly is he offering. But the very implication of her old nature being forgotten was tempting to her. If she accepts, she would be taken somewhere even she can't begin to imagine. But if she refuses, she would be left out in this rainstorm. It is fortunate that she is able to find a small cave to hide out nearby if she chooses not to accept.

"No rush, dear. No pressure," He continued. "That is how people accept deals they regret. But know that as one door closes, another opens. Your road divides hear. This is a question of which turn will you take."

"...I accept." Said Neeva after a moment of hesitation.

A grin shined on the merfolk's exceptionally small mouth. "Wise decision. Now hold your breath..."

She was not given enough time to consider what he meant by that when the ground under her feet opened up to a watery sinkhole. Her survival instinct kicked in and she clung to the dirt, struggling against the undertow. But the ascarus kept his smile as he coldly watched from his place. Eventually she was pulled down, but not before she was able to take a gasp of air, and held it as told.

Then there was nothing but blackness and ringing silence...

Until the shrill beeping of an alarm clock pierced the silence. Neeva groaned and instinctively slapped her spindly hand on the device to silence it. She felt as if she had been rudely awoken from a deep slumber. Before rational thoughts were able to wake up as well.

Then it did. Her eyes shot open, realizing that she had never heard that awful sound before. What is this noisy contraption beside her bed, displaying a set of four numbers in glowing, flashing runes? Then she felt the bed itself. It was much more comfortable than what she was accustomed to. Then she felt her clothes. They were more tight-fitting to her body, but is luxuriously comfortable and made of a material she had never felt before.

Then she realized that her eyes were seeing things differently; half in normal light, but half in an infrared-like tint. Her prosthetic leg was also different; made of a strange glistening metal, and she could somehow move the foot as if it was her own.

Overwhelmed by all these foreign experiences, she stumbled out of her miniature, but luxurious bed, and stared into the mirror...

---

"New world... New life... Yet still zhe same lost soul..."
-Neeva


Neeva here mostly belongs to http://www.furaffinity.net/user/shizameakanzatsu/ but I once asked if I could have her when he thought about leaving the yinglet fandom. He declined but allowed me to co-own her instead. From that, I spun her off into a whole different version that resides in the space age instead. Thus the result before you!

Compared to her old-age variant, which still belongs to Shizame, Neeva reigns over a new enclave of yinglets that reside in a derelict space cannon/space station. Through her leadership, they get by as mercenaries and brigands. Neeva herself has not lost her affinity for explosives, and the tech advancement of this age only empowered this. Her main weapon is that backpack of hers, which is a grenade factory of its own, and comes with two robotic arms to throw them for her. She wears an omnitool on her left arm, and a micromissile launcher on her right.

Her appearance also changed in that the burnt side of her face is now covered by a graft mask, the same kind worn by Handsome Jack. She also has a cybernetic left eye instead of a glass one, and a much more sophisticated prosthetic leg.

I am prepared for any mentions of Doctor Ock that you will bring up -w-