Part One
It was a lazy Saturday afternoon. After a few games and feeding time, I was dozing in my favorite corner of my tank. I thought back on the day. I had received a water change earlier, and was calming down from the stress of it. As the hours passed, the room got darker. It was bed time soon. The ceiling lamp was turned off and the lava lamp was turned on. I watched it across the room, slowing falling asleep. Visions of bloodworms and ping-pong balls and my stress coat addiction was passing through my head...tomorrow was going to be a good day...I would get up early and hope my feeder does too and open the shade so I can watch the sunrise and...
CRASH!
I regained alertness with a snap. The room filled with a bright write light.
BANG!
Loud helicopter noises were in the room. I hid behind the anubias.
CREEEE-UNK!
The hood to my aquarium flipped open. My tank filled with bright light. Some sort of liquid was dropped in my tank. I slowly dozed off...
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When I awoke it was bright. I wasn't in my tank. It was some sort of bowl, ten gallons at the least. It was a perfect sphere. There were no plants. I looked down. No gravel or stones of any kind. It seemed to be suspended in mid-air. I was about 6 feet off the ground. It seemed impossible. I swam of it and looked straight out. The walls were solid gray concrete, and the one in front of me was about 10 feet away, and behind me it was only about a foot away. I looked to my left. A large black board extended out past the bowl, down to the floor and up to the ceiling, about 20 feet up. I looked to my right. I saw one, but it appeared to be in the distance. Then I looked up.
A tube! Not more than four inches across, circular, and heading up! My curiosity got the better of me. I swam up to it. It was about a foot long, and then it turned into another bowl of the same size that I was in. I didn't see anything until I looked down. Another betta! Another male! I started to flare and panic. But then I realized something was wrong. My fighting instinct was gone. Something in that liquid that they had dumped into my tank altered my brain. I didn't know what to do. I decided to talk. It would be the first time I had talked to another betta personally.
"Hi."
The other guy looked up at me. He was sitting on the bottom of his bowl. A crowntail.
"Hey. I'm Mike. You must be the new guy..."
"Sonic. Why am I here? What is this place? What's going on? Why don't I want to fight? How did I get here? When did I get here? Who else is here? Wha-"
"Whoa, dude, slow down. Shut up as well. I'm gonna give you the run down. You are in BFLC 1, Chapter 67, Building 5, Floor 2, Row 9, Hall 17, Room 8, Structure 3. 1675291783 is your location code. You're number 6 in this structure I'm assuming, so your number is most likely, oh, 6752...ah, I don't know anymore. I've lost track of numbers. You arrived here last night. You don't want to fight because at the time of your abduction, they put you out with a liquid that also slightly changed your brainwaves. In this structure, there are 6 including you. It is a system of six 10 gallon bowl hooked together with a filter in the top bowl. Food is delivered in packets that float down from bowl one to you that open up with your four pellets at 8 AM and 8 PM sharp. On Saturdays you get bloodworms. The BLFC is the International Betta Liberation and Freedom Confederation. They are revolting against humans. You are, as of this point, a rescued prisoner who will begin soldier training in a month. You will learn more about that soon, when the chief of chapter comes to brief you. Which reminds me: ALWAYS BE IN YOUR BOWL WHEN CHIEF ARRIVES! You are allowed to socialize like this, but when the red lights and announcements come on, get back immediately. You are under constant, surveillance by him, so when he comes to brief you he will not repeat anything of what I already said. Don't talk smack about him. You arrived here by bettaircraft I'm assuming, with inter-chapter vehicles inside the complex. In this structure, there's me, Mike, like I said, next to me is Max, our braniac, up the tube from him is Jack, the thug, next door to him is Jitters, our inter-species translator, and in Bowl 1 is Rivers, who in theory is in charge, but doesn't really enforce it. I'm the lazy. What's your quality?
"Speed. And brutality."
"Excellent. Water changes are on Wednesdays and are always 100%. At that time, proceed to bowl one where you will be placed in a holding tank until the change is done."
An alarm sounded. Red lights flashed. I knew what it was before Mike had to tell me.
"Quickly! Back to your bowl! It's the Chief!"
I dashed back to the dead center of my bowl and looked straight out. I heard a thumping and swishing noise of a door opening. The room shook. A fantastic contraption, with tires, a pole, and a platform with a large tank rolled in front of me.
"Hello Sonic. Your number is 67487. I am the Chief."
End of part one.
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