THE MOMENT
Lee was confused, and slightly hopeful when he became aware. He opened his eyes to find a sealed white room with the walls glowing with gentle light. He was alone, but only for a brief moment as he spun around to take in the location. When he was about to make a second revolution, he stopped at the sight of someone new.
"Whoa, a minotaur!" It was his only guess; the creature wore a crimson suit with a polished metal tie, and it had the head of a cow but normal human hands, as far as Lee could tell.
"Hello, Lee; my name is Annabelle, and I represent Chroma Corp. Congratulations, you've been summoned as a familiar for a notable elf wizard. Humans don't normally exist on their Earth, and you'll be considered a legendary summon. Would you like to explore your Ability options or simply let fate decide?"
How did he get there? Why did this feel normal? Those were the questions he wanted to ask her.
"Fate got me here, I think it can safely get me a bit further," Lee smiled as the answer came out. It wasn't what he wanted to say, but his mouth seemed to have other ideas.
"Then, you are now a ....," he watched her study him for a moment. It was the head of a talking cow, no two ways about it. Her blue eyes moved up and down his frame. "... tanking familiar." Lee chuckled when he realized she was acting as fate and assigning his Abilities. She was pressing buttons on a clear glass card.
"How attached are you to 'Lee'?" she asked.
"It's my name," he laughed and nodded. Except, her smile vanished.
"What?" Her gentle eyes turned stern. "Who told you that?"
"You called me Lee," he replied.
"I called you Lee... I didn't say that was your name..." she said. "What's your favorite number?"
"34!" He blurted it out instantly even as he wondered what the question was about. What was wrong with knowing his own name?
"Okay," she sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, this is bad timing because I'm trying to accomplish something. Follow me, please," she said. She walked toward one of the white walls, and a black doorway appeared, leading to nowhere. He followed her through it and emerged into a spacious, polished silver hallway. A gold automatic door closed behind them, and the rest of the hallway was lined with more of the same doors on both sides. Without breaking stride, but while pressing buttons, Annabelle walked across the hall and through another gold door.
Lee followed her into another white room, and the door disappeared behind them once they were inside. But, he didn't notice that, he was focused on the person already in the room; it was him.
"Hello, Lee; my name is Annabelle, and I represent Chroma Corp. Congratulations, you've been summoned as a familiar for a notable elf wizard. Humans don't normally exist on their Earth, and you'll be considered a legendary summon. Would you like to explore your Ability options or simply let fate decide?"
"Fate got me here, I think it can safely get me a bit further," the new Lee replied with a broad grin. Did Lee look that ridiculous?
"Great, you're a tank. How attached are you to 'Lee'?" she asked.
"Never met 'em," Lee shrugged.
"Wonderful, take this," she gave the new Lee the glass card she'd been using, then gestured at a black portal on the nearest white wall. "And go through there."
"I'm on the job!" he accepted the card and marched through the portal before it closed. Lee had questions but, he was too stunned to voice any of them. The biggest problem was,.. it felt like he was the only one of him, who noticed there were two of him.
"Let's get you to a Mundo," Annabelle nodded. Her voice sounded more relaxed, and even warmer than before.
"How did I get here?" Lee asked as Annabelle led him out of the white room again and down the long hallway.
"I'm really sorry, and I'm not trying to be rude. But... there's a lot going on right now, and I kind of don't have the energy to deal with all that," she sounded apologetic. "I promise I'm taking you to someone who will answer all your questions, and we'll be there in a couple of minutes," she gestured further down the hall. "But, I understand you're going through a lot too. The best I can do is answer one question for you. No matter what question I answer, it'll give you a million more, so think about it a little bit. Which question do you really want answered before I drop you off with someone who will answer all the rest?
She seemed reasonable and sounded sincere. They passed several doors in silence while he considered other questions. Where was here? What was Chroma Corp. exactly? Alternate Earths were mentioned briefly, and elves. But, in the end, he felt one question was more important than all that.
"That's it," he nodded. "I want to know how I got here." She laughed and shook her head.
"You were born here," she said as she gestured at the doors left behind with her human thumb. "About five minutes ago."