Alex is one of the characters from a story I wrote called Fly on the Wall. The story got stuck after the first chapter, but then there was a little thing on DeviantArt called the Project Minotaur Original Character Tournament. This was my audition. I got kicked out after round one, but I think this is good enough to post and perhaps continue on my own.

Enjoy!

The first thing Alexandros Papas noticed was the sky was on fire. That wasn't unusual here; this planet had no cool green forests, and its atmosphere was filled with chemicals. Only his breathing mask kept the thirtysomething human from inhaling the more dangerous ones, the stuff that was too heavy to burn.

Why was he here? Alex had something to steal, of course. Not precious stones or metals, though, oh no. This time he was after a computer. He had heard about a small spherical device that was capable of hacking any system known in the galaxy, and naturally…he wanted it. It was practically his job to want it. It had taken him weeks to track down the proper information, dodging false leads and several forms of law enforcement the whole way. Now he was here, on Pallas, so close to his goal he could practically taste it.

It took time to find the proper house. The locks were electronic, though when plugged into his wrist unit, it gave after barely a minute. Too long. Alexandros heard the distant whine of alarms as he sped deep into the building. No other traps, which he found extremely odd. He opened a door at the end of the long hallway carefully. He was nearly bisected by a drilling laser, but the lack of other traps had left Alex on high alert: He dodged it easily.

The alarms switched off. Alex waited with bated breath for the sounds of footsteps, of sirens, maybe the hissing of gas. Nothing. Now he was very nervous.

The sphere was sitting on a small cushioned pedestal in the center of the room. Close enough to grab from the door, so Alex could assess any further traps from where he stood. Nothing. At least, nothing he could detect…

"Ah, so you've made it."

Alex jumped as a holo of a strange woman flickered into view. It seemed to be coming from the sphere.

"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"My name is Athene, and I have a proposition for you. This I can promise you the biggest prize you could possibly imagine: A puzzle worth your while. I'm sure stealing things is becoming very boring for you." She did not smile, like a dealer would at this point. This made Alex feel that she was sincere. "If you accept, press the button on the Yarn Ball in front of you. If not, you are free to leave and forget everything you've seen. The choice is yours." Athene's image vanished.

Alexandros stepped into the room and picked up the Yarn Ball, looking it over critically. Athene…yarn ball…it seemed awfully familiar. Not information he'd needed, but the memories darted just out of reach, teasing him.

The device appeared to have a crack running through it. After some quick experimentation, he opened it carefully. Inside were a few electronics obviously used for the hologram. The rest were a mystery.

Alexandros screwed the device shut again, chuckling. "As if I could refuse." Then he pressed the button. The room vanished around him, to be replaced by stone walls and metal bars.

He sat on the floor and smiled. "Well," he said with a small smile, "Let the adventure begin."