You awaken to find that you had fallen unconscious onto the floor of your house. What happened? You can't seem to remember anything leading up to today and your head is pounding like a drum. You sit up, cradling the back of your head with your palm. With a wince you push yourself up to stand as a dizzy spell clouds your vision. You take a glance out your window; with one look at the surroundings, you recall everything that had happened the previous night... and begin to understand what must have happened after you'd fallen unconscious.

Oh, no! They didn't! Please tell me they didn't... How could this... oh, no... you mutter to yourself as you frantically search for a sign that you might be mistaken. You clamber over to the table and pick up the TV remote.

No power.

You throw the remote on the ground in a rage and rush over to where your telephone sits. You pick up the receiver and listen...

No dial-tone.

Your eyes well up with tears as you continue to search for some source of electrical power... but deep in your heart you already know that there is none left to be found.

They did it. They activated the bombs... You didn't think that it was possible for a country to risk the fate of the entire world on one stupid, selfish reason... but they did. And now...

You stop in your tracks and begin to sob uncontrollably. Slumping against the wall, your knees buckle and you fall to the floor. You have no way to reach your family or friends. You don't have any way of knowing if anyone is alive...

For what seems like hours you sit curled up on the floor, your mind blank, your eyes sore, your body frozen in a comatose-like state.

Eventually, you muster up the energy to push yourself into a sitting position. Your eyes take in the turquoise-hazed scene playing beyond the glass panes.

It's hard to think that one mistake can destroy the world like this.

Static. You turn the dial. More static. You haven't heard anything come out of the old transceiver now for over 6 months, but every day you tune into the single remaining station on the air with the simple desperate hope to hear the voice of another human being.

It's been six years now. Six years since the beginning of the Chemical Apocalypse. Six years since you've left the confines of your house. Six years since you've had fresh water and food.

And it's driving you crazy.

You have often pondered whether it was worth living only to be trapped within a single space with no interaction with the rest of humanity for the rest of your life.

You have often desired to simply... end it all.

A mere turn of the doorknob on your front door and you could be free again. Just one... little... turn...

These thoughts have slipped into your mind on countless occasions. Each time the thoughts return to your mind, the urge to carry out the intention it brings forth grows ever stronger...

You find yourself standing at the door with your fingers clasped around the cold knob. Your hand quivers against the metal as your body shakes violently, though your mind is remarkably calm.

A single tear trails down your face as your hand slowly turns the knob.


The thick air begins to seep in and envelop you in a blanket of turquoise smog as you collapse onto the floor, perfectly at peace with yourself for the first time in six years.

Hey! Wake up! you hear a feminine voice coming from somewhere near to you. Lazy old bugger, she grumbles and begins to move away from you.

You peek out of the corner of one of your eyes to catch a glimpse of the person who was talking... but no matter how hard you look, you can't seem to distinguish anything against the darkness of the night. Then you realize; you are not in your house, and it feels like a breeze is blowing...

Hey, you! Where am I? you call out into the gloom.

Ah, so now you finally decide to wake up. About time. You're at my haven, I take everyone I rescue here. Oh and don't worry, you're safe to breathe-- that is, only if you want to, the person speaks in a sarcastic tone from the shadows. A bluish glint catches your eye as you try to follow the sound of her voice with your eyes.

... rescue? How on earth did you even find me? I've been locked in a house for six years. And how is it possible we're breathing? Aren't we outside? you try to keep your questions under control as they flood into your mind.

Look mate, I can tell you're confused, and that you've got a lot of questions, but now's not the time. I'm busy. There are more people I've still to find out there-- you know, ones that actually want to live, she says, the blue glow moving closer to you all the while.

You're not leaving until I get some answers! What is wrong with you, saving people that want to die? I don't want to be here anymore! The world is ending and there's no point in even trying to survive, so why do you bother rescuing anyone? I'm sure everyone thinks that way by now! you angrily yell at her. I couldn't stand one more day wasting away in that prison!

... ungrateful prat. You don't even know what you're on about, the woman's voice cracks in an upset tone. You really didn't mean to lash out like that at someone you don't even know, let alone someone who just risked their life to save yours...

A few moments of silence pass before you gather the courage to speak up again.

I'm sorry. It's been a long time since I've been able to interact with anyone, I didn't mean to blow up at you, you say in an rueful tone. Who are you?

... Lise. You can call me Lise, she says with a sigh. And it's not the end of the world. I'm working on it.

What do you mean?

I mean that the fact you can breathe here isn't a coincidence. I've been working on a way to reverse the mutation in the mushrooms of exclusive areas... and it's held up now for three years. Now, I'm working on a process that will work on a larger scale...

You can do that? Wow... you say, blushing. You feel really embarrassed for yelling at her now. Not only did she save your life, but she's spending her life making the earth habitable again too.

Well, it's only the upper crust of the earth that's been contaminated. After the natural process the land goes through to filter out harmful toxins finishes, the mushrooms return to their original state. I've just found a way to speed it up. Normally, the process can take up to a century. I got this circle of land to filter within a year, she says with a small laugh. And because it's got the original mushrooms on its land, they're repelling off any of the mutated mushrooms' spores with a natural defense system they use. It's pretty incredible.

That's... really impressive! Are you a scientist? you say, still searching for her silhouette against the darkness.

My mother was. I haven't had the training a scientist should have.

You note to yourself that she used the word 'was'. I'm sorry for your loss.

... I haven't seen your face the whole time we've been talking, you blurt out.

You're bright. Don't you think there might be a reason for that? she says defensively. After a short pause, she says, I don't show my face to anyone anymore. They don't understand my condition, and I don't try to explain it to them. I'm fine with it. I'm used to being alone by now.

I don't believe that, you say simply.

Fair warning, then, she says, stepping forth from the shadows. You try to suppress your astonishment, though it proves to be nearly impossible.

Her curls, an incandescent turquoise; her glowing aquamarine eyes feel like they could pierce your very soul; her dark grey, beautifully smooth skin gracefully reflects the light of her eyes; a soft cream-colored coat of fur trails up the sides of her torso, waning away towards the center of her chest and stomach and the tops of her thighs; the semi-opaque pale green wings on her back billow in the slight breeze, and silky white feather-like antennae sprout up from the lush curls on her head.

It's like a gorgeous, terrifying goddess is standing in front of you, completely oblivious to her own beauty.

Disgusting, huh? Hate to say it, but I told you so, she says with a shrug.

No, you're not disgusting. I think you're beautiful, you say sincerely.

B-beautiful? What, has that smog gone to your head? she says, taken aback-- but you can see a slight tinge of pink start to spread across her cheeks as she blushes.

Nope, afraid I'm naturally like this, haha! you say with a laugh. You had forgotten how incredible it was simply to have a conversation with another intelligent being.

A small smile plays across her lips. Thanks, I guess, Lise says gingerly. I'm not really used to having someone treat me so nicely. That little outburst we had earlier was much more like something I'd encounter, and quite a bit more often than you might think.

I'm really sorry about that. It's just--

Don't worry, I understand. These are tough times, I don't expect anyone to act rationally or praise me for saving them, you know? I'm doing it for the greater good. If people keep giving up hope like you had done, there would be no one left when I finally decontaminated everything. And then it would be the end of the world... for you humans, at least, she says, looking down at the ground.

I didn't think of it that way, you say solemnly.

Well, how could you have known? That's why I do it-- save people from themselves, she shrugs.

Lise... what happened to you? I mean, how did you get this way? you say, standing up and looking into her eyes, trying to sympathize with her.

... you really want to know? Alright, she says seriously. It all started at the dawn of the Chemical Apocalypse...

... is that what you were expecting me to lead this story off with? I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this day was really no different than any other. It was a peaceful, blue-skied summer day. The birds were singing in the trees, the condensation on my cup of cold lemonade trickled down onto the coaster it was placed on, the scene on the television played out upon the sun-glared screen...

... I remember it like it was yesterday.

The sound of my mother's voice calling out to me from the garden rings in my ears as clear as a bell, to this day.

Lise? Come outside hun, it's a beautiful day and you're wasting it sitting around the house like that. You can come and help me with this gardening, she finished with a sarcastic tone. She knew I hated being outside-- I wasn't fond of anything that was bound to have me dirtying my hands.

Mom, I whined and stood my ground on the plush blue carpets that hugged the floors of our living room. I told you, I don't want to! Leave me alone.

I was thirteen years old. I had spent the summer feeling miserable about the private high school my mother was planning to send me to.

I was stubborn about many things, even in the dawn of my adolescence. My mother and I once had a wonderful relationship, but we began to grow apart after time brought about the premature death of my father. I resented her for it, and for no reason other than the fact that I loved my father dearly and I wanted someone to blame for his death.

Fine, she sighed. Her voice echoed off of the sun-drenched deserted streets and buildings as she turned to walk away from our back porch.

She never forced me to do anything I didn't want to do, for our relationship was already in shambles. I have since realized her desperate wish to rekindle the bond we once shared, but at that time I was too self-absorbed to notice it. I regret the lack of respect I treated her with very much.

I huffed, threw myself onto the couch, and focused my stare on a moth on the wall. I thought nothing of it-- the windows had been open and it could have flown in at any time. I liked to watch they way they fluttered around so I didn't bother to kill it.

Twenty minutes had passed before I began to feel a strange sensation wash over me. My eyelids suddenly felt very heavy, the room began to spin and the air was thick and hard to breathe. I tried to call out to my mother for help, but to no avail. The room began to tremble, the television screen blacked out and I was all alone, bawling into my shaking hands. Objects thrashed about in the tremors, flying through the air in all directions.

I began to make a desperate attempt for the basement stairs, hoping my mother had already made it to safety. She had always told me to run for the basement in times of an emergency as it was the safest room in the house.

I was bashed in the head multiple times before I arrived at the edge of the stairs. I clambered down them as quickly as I could only to find tanks shattered on the floor and cages with their doors flung wide open. This was terrifying to me. My mother was an entomologist and her lab contained very many dangerous species of insects in these cages that were now of no use.

Mom!! I cried out, Please, mom, I'm scared! I'm sorry! Where are you?!

There was no answer.

Before I could even begin to gather my thoughts about the situation, I was received by a swarm of fluttering moths-- hundreds, if not thousands of them. They looked the same as the moth I had seen on the wall.

A blue haze clouded my vision as I began swatting the insects away in terror. I felt my heart beginning to slow as I hopelessly fought for air.

Pain seared through my forehead as it came in contact with something hard and I lost my balance as darkness swept over me.

I woke with a start; something was tickling my face. As I sat up, hundreds of moth carcasses fell from my body onto the floor. I screamed in terror and frantically jumped to a standing position. Clinging to the edge of the table, I tried to wrap my mind around my surroundings. Everything in the room was covered with a thick layer of some sort of aquamarine dust. My breath came in pants as my heart started to race.

What on earth is going on...? I thought to myself. I looked down at my arms and screamed, then hoped that my eyes were deceiving me.

My skin was a dark grey color. My fingernails looked as if they had been painted the color of the dust that the room was draped in. A tear slid from my disbelieving eyes and fell onto my arm; the spot where it landed glowed blue for a moment before disappearing.

I shrieked at the top of my lungs and covered my eyes. Calm down, calm down! This has to be a dream, just wake up! WAKE UP! I pinched myself, then gasped at the twinge of pain that followed. I opened my eyes once more to find myself viewing the same familiar scene.

I wrapped my arms around my body in an attempt to comfort myself and backed up against the wall, eyes wide in disbelief. No... what...? What happened? Recalling the moment I lost consciousness, my hand instinctively went to touch the edge of my forehead where I'd been hit. I winced at the pain I received as my fingers traced the area around the lump.

... M-mom! I gasped aloud as I remembered that I hadn't seen my mother since my attempt to retreat to a safe place. Was there an earthquake? Oh, mom... please let her be okay...

I stepped carefully through the debris on the floor and made my way up the stairs. The floorboards were turned upright and the room was speckled with deep, black holes. Shattered pieces of glass laid scattered across the remains of the carpet. I picked up the shard closest to me and glanced at my reflection. Beholding the sight in front of me with terror, my eyes began to well up with tears...

I was not myself.

A pair of incandescent eyes stared back at me, emitting an aqua glow. Small spots traced out a semi-circle beneath the glowing orbs, radiating with the same blue color. These features were painted upon a dark grey, smooth canvas, framed with turquoise brows and unruly curled hair. The lips of the reflection parted in astonishment as a glowing tear slipped down the cheek of the face that stared back.

This... this is a monster...! Is this really... me? The shard of glass shattered against a floorboard and my fingers grasped my face as I let out a scream of despair. I fell to the floor and laid there, belting out curse word after curse word until I could do so no more. My eyes were sore and my face bore cuts from the fingernails that had so desperately clung to it. Disbelief haunted my every thought as I laid there, immobile and helpless.

I stared off into space until my mind blanked out every thought I had. It wasn't until then that I pushed myself up from the ground, almost effortlessly, and stepped my way through the wreckage that once was the kitchen. I reached for the handle on the door to the garden when all of my thoughts came rushing back into my mind.

What if...? No... NO... My mind raced as I thought of the possibilities of what I might find beyond the door. My mother... she had been working in the garden. Could it be that she didn't make it to safety? Could she be... out there, right now?

NO!! I screamed as I slammed the door open with all of the force I could muster. What was waiting for me in the garden was a sight I would never forget.

The image is burned into my mind.

I-it... it haunts me, every time I close my eyes.

Every time I see a beautiful flower like the ones she was laying in, I see... her...

My anguish was almost unbearable. It washed over me with the force of a thousand tsunamis and it made me feel like my heart would stop beating. The pressure of that pain was so real. So, so real...

... she looked so peaceful. It didn't look as if she had suffered at all, apart from what I saw in her open mouth. It was so dark, so black. I was terrified... what could have done this to her?

M-m-mommy...? Mo-mom...!! I... I...

The words wouldn't come out of my mouth. I was so stricken with grief that I could not stand. I fell to my knees at her side and threw myself over her body. I remember crying harder than I have ever cried before, that day. Even the death of my father hadn't brought forth the emotions I felt as I stared so helplessly at the face of the last person that understood me, the last person that cared for me... the last person that loved me.

I loved my mother so much, and I never realized it until that moment.

I cried until I could cry no more. I cried and cried until I became completely numb... until everything began to feel surreal. My body was draped across the shadowed, lifeless shape, sprawled out on the ground. I stared off into the sky until it grew dark and the moon rose to blanket me in its soft glow. It was almost comforting to find that the day still gave way to night in what seemed like the nightmare I was trapped in.

I somberly lifted my head from her chest and placed a palm to her cold cheek. One last tear fell from my face in respect for her before I pulled her eyelids closed, then heaved myself up from off of the ground. A sigh escaped my lips as I glanced at the stars, trying to avert my eyes from where she laid.

It was time for me to move on.

I knew I would never, never forget her... but that was no way for me to live my life, the life I was so lucky to have. She always told me I could do whatever I wanted to do in life, if only I had the motivation I needed to push through.

Little did she know, she would be the one to give me that motivation. Her death changed me. I knew I had to be a better person from that point on; a selfless, caring, wonderful person, like she was. I had to redeem myself because I knew that she would be watching over me, from a better place.

Full Name: Lise Ann Decembre
Alias: Cembralise
Gender: Female
Species: Homosapien Actias Luna (human luna moth)
Age: 19
Height: 6'2
Weight: 147 lbs
Nationality: British
Personality: Brazen | Courageous | Resourceful

Appearance: Lise has the characteristics of a Luna Moth because her DNA had mutated from exposure to one of her mother's (an entomologist) experiments when she was 13. She speaks with a British accent!

Her skin is a dark grey color with a slight purple tinge. She has incandescent turquoise eyes, spots under her eyes, hair, and nails. Her hair is extremely curly and as soft as silk. Her torso is covered in cream-colored fuzz, as a moth's body is. She has two taupe antennae which stick up from out of her hair, and pale green wings, which allow her to fly short distances. Her wings are sectioned into four. All four sections have a red eye-like shape imprinted on them, which moths use to scare off predators. She never wears clothing.

She very rarely smiles, and her default mood is usually a sour one. However, when treated with exceptional kindness, Lise will change her disposition to match any kindness you show her.


Character/Story Description: Lise was only 13-years-old when the Chemical Apocalypse began. Her story takes place in the year 2042. A country implanted toxic substance bombs into the ground in various places on the earth and threatened to set them off if their demands weren't met. None of the other countries took this threat seriously and thus lead to the Chemical Apocalypse. The bombs were set off and the chemicals altered the chemical makeup of certain kinds of common mushrooms that grew almost everywhere in the world.

The mushrooms began rapidly dispersing spores into the air after being exposed to the chemical bomb. The spores were fatal when exposed to human beings. One breath of spore infested air would make you faint, and within a half hour you would be killed by mushrooms that grow inside of your body while you are unconscious.

Any electrical device might malfunction as well as a result of the contamination, because the spores emit a certain type of radiation that can short-circuit most modern devices beyond repair. The only way one could remain safe from the spores was to stay indoors and make sure there were no openings for the outside air to come in. Houses had already been equipped with their own non-electrical powered air supply to last up to ten years, and had food and water stored away in case of a disaster (implemented after World War 3).

Lise lived with her mother in England, who was an entomologist. Her father died when she was ten. His death upset her very much. The day the bombs were set off, her mother was out studying in their garden; she fainted and eventually died from spore inhalation. After the explosion Lise became dizzy (not immediately unconscious as she wasn't directly exposed to the spores) and found none of the electrical appliances in the house were working. She went into her mother's lab in the basement of their home to try to find her, and instead found that all of the experiments had been shattered by the earthquake set off by the explosions.

A flock of Luna Moths her mother had been experimenting on swarmed her. She involuntarily inhaled the excess powder from their wings (excessive powder, having been chemically altered by her mother and from exposure to the chemical contamination let in through the open door of the garden), and fell unconscious.

When she awoke days later, her body had been altered into her current physical appearance (though of course, not as mature, her body was age appropriate for a 13-year-old). She was no longer affected by the toxic spores and could leave her house.

She also no longer felt hunger-- a trait of a moth, as Luna Moths do not have the obligation to eat to keep themselves alive. Upon leaving her house she realized that almost all of the creatures of the outdoors had either been mutated or killed by the spores.

She took it into her own hands to restore the world to its natural glory, for she felt terrible about the way she treated everyone in her life and wanted to make up for it. She was the only person left who could explore what was left of the land, and so she set out on a mission:

Bring the Earth back to its natural glory and inspire those who have lost all hope.

You stare into Lise's tear-stained face, your body filled with so much emotion-- yet you find yourself unable to display any of it. It would seem so incomparable to the raw passion that Lise must have felt telling her story to someone for the first time...

But... doesn't that mean... you... you'll...? you stutter disbelievingly, not knowing how to word the desperate question in the back of your mind. Lise simply nods, as if she already knows how you were going to finish.

Lise... you say, taking her hand. You will always have a friend in me.

That means more to me than I can ever say, she says with a forced smile, wiping a tear from her cheek. I guess you'll have to stay here for awhile, though?

Oh... I guess you're right. My house is probably inhabitable by now, you say, matter-of-factly.

I don't mind the company, she says with a smile. But the whole food thing might be a problem. I could probably head back and grab some of your vaccum-packed foods and a water supply for you.

That would be great! But... what should I do here? How can I help?

It'll be figured out... all in good time, she says with a wink and a smirk.

Without another word, she spreads her translucent wings to their full span; and in a twinkle of aquamarine, she is gone.

All in good time, huh... you say with a smile.