Just curious.

[Hiddochi wolf]

Curious 'bout how long of a post it would be if I copy-pasted the entire contents (so far) of my newest RP. razz


Let's find out~! whee



Massive streaks of pure white light pierced the sky, and descended from the heavens to the center of a gathering crowd. The target, a young man with short blonde hair and crimson eyes, backed away from his opponents with a wicked smirk upon his narrow face. He raised up one hand above him, and from the palm emanated a fierce violet barrier that absorbed the white tendrils with a resounding clash. The large group of citizens shuffled away from him cautiously, shock plastered on their flawless faces.
Raowan grunted in exhaustion, “How can a non-guardian have access to those powers?” His eyes were fixated on the man’s energy field, which somehow managed to overpower his own capabilities. He drew up his claymore, a monstrous blade of black steel and gemstones, and charged forward to strike.
The sword collided with dark energy, which produced a significant spark on impact. Raowan felt his enemy falter beneath the barrier. He recoiled, then quickly slashed once in five different directions, whipped around, and struck down the backside of the bubble. This time, it penetrated the wall and reached the man’s shoulder. He doubled over in pain, the barrier vanished, and Raowan seized the opportunity to seal the man’s fate. With a quick motion of the hand, Raowan summoned a white circle around him, which completely submerged the man before narrowing into a beam, and then shot off into the sky.
The crowd oohed and ahhed at the spectacle’s conclusion; it wasn’t often that a guardian actually had to use their powers. A woman fought her way through to the center frantically, until the other civilians cleared too suddenly, and she tripped on the pavement. She glanced up to Raowan with concern, “Are you alright?”
He returned his claymore to the case slung over his back, then bent over to help her up. His tenseness eased at the sight of her, “I feel like I should ask you the same, Eva.”
Eva was rather small in frame, and appeared very fragile to untrained eyes. She was also incredibly gorgeous. Everyone in this godforsaken world was drop-dead gorgeous, but she possessed a certain beauty that few others could match. Her skin was flawless alabaster, which framed vibrant indigo eyes, a long and slender nose, and rosy, luscious lips. Her hair was a silky black, grown slightly past the shoulders, now clipped back in cascading waves by a diamond pin. She had a curvy figure for how slender she was, now clad in a flowing white summer dress with accents of pearl beading.
Raowan, on the other hand, was a bit of a brute. Broad in shoulders, muscular, tall. He was of a slightly more tan complexion, with ice-blue eyes, and dark red hair that reached just beyond his ears in shaggy strands. He wore a sort of makeshift armor; full metal plating down both of his arms and part of his chest, a grey t-shirt beneath, some black pants, combat boots, a thick leather belt with metal spikes, and a tattered grey cape. Over his armor was a leather sash, which held numerous badges and medals for each of his courageous acts. He was a guardian.
Eva smiled, “You know I’m not that weak. A little fall has never hurt anybody.” She stood up easily on her own, but acted like it was due to his aid. His arm never left her, but instead fell to her waist, where it rested in a gentle embrace as they retreated to the sidewalk. The curious bystanders finally began to clear away, and the traffic of hovering vehicles resumed.
The city was absolutely marvelous. Skyscrapers reached toward the sky endlessly, made of shapes that should have been physically impossible. Bright lights in every direction, surrounding advertisements or ushering people into businesses with their brilliance. And the people, so many of them. Every single person was flawless and beautiful, each with his or her own quirks. Some had wings, others had tails, or robotic limbs, or oddly colored hair and eyes, or even the skin of an alien species. People of this world truly had no sense of age, for every one of them appeared to be 25 for the entirety of their existence. No one died, either; they simply “vanished” once their lifespan had run out.
Only one person that Eva knew had ever vanished. Her next-door neighbor and friend, Marla. That was several years ago, back when Eva still lived alone in her apartment. Before she met Raowan.
She gazed down at the concrete as they walked along, Raowan never left her side. He was like a magnet; always stuck to her. Even after she expressed her dislike of public affection, he still unconsciously held her by the hand, shoulders or waist. It’s not that she was embarrassed by his presence — she was just sick of seeing their faces on the fronts of magazines. Eva was from a prominent family, and Raowan was well-known simply by his being a guardian.
An armored man approached from behind, and stopped their walk with a yell, “Hey, Raowan!” He waited a moment for him to release Eva and turn, “The council’s wantin’ your report of the incident. Better go, ASAP.”
Raowan nodded, “Alright.” He looked back to Eva with visible fatigue, “I’ll be home around 12, don’t bother saving me a plate. And don’t get into any trouble, missy. Love you.” He told her, before being led off by the other guardian.
“Yeah...” Was all that Eva uttered, absentmindedly, before returning to her aimless walk. She didn’t feel too great. She’d had random fits of dizziness over the span of several days, but never told Raowan or anyone else. Instead, she simply paced herself with small steps, and slipped into the nearest tavern.  

Camilla made a "tsk" sound and shook her head. She was walking with a girl she had just met moments ago. "Why do people feel they need to cause so much ruckus?" She shook her head once again and waved happily at the popular couple but kept walking.
"Hey, maybe I'll see you tomorrow. I have an appointment that I just can't miss. Okay? Bye!" She said, smiling and waving at the girl who seemed bewildered by Cami's bubbly personality.
Skipping towards a tall apartment building, Camilla let herself in past the doorman. "Joey!!" She called in a sing-song voice to a door on the third floor. When the door opened, she burst out laughing and hugged the man. "Can I come in? You still have an appointment at six tonight, right?"
"Yes," he said gruffly, "I'm going to get a load of money tonight. Maybe I can take you to dinner tomorrow?"
"Oh no, no, I'm not interested, I'm sorry." She said as she sat on his couch. She reached down to her foot and slipped a small steak knife from her ankle. "You see, you're a selfish man. All you can think about is money and girls. If I went to dinner with you, I think you'd try to take advantage of me like you did the last girl. I can't let you do that anymore. Come here, and I can show you how to make it all better. Maybe then you can date me?" He walked towards her, and watched as she put on a pair of silk gloves before touching the knife. "Take this and hold it tight." He obeyed, just as she gave his arms a hard push, and the knife stabbed the man in the stomach. Grabbing his arms she stabbed his throat and ran to the door, leaving the weapon behind. Camilla knew to leave it, and come get it later tonight. She left and skipped down the stairs. Looking both ways, she skipped across the street and checked her shirt. The small amount of blood that did hit her shirt blended in nicely with the paint splatters and spots that speckled her shirt and jeans. She laughed and started to speak with another man walking near her. "Want to get a drink? You seem like a nice man. I like you. Come on, I'll pay." She took the man into the tavern that Eva had gone into earlier, but Cami didn't know that yet.  

The bar was smaller than most others, but also seemed more cozy and welcoming. The interior consisted of burgundy walls, cherrywood tables and chairs, high countertops with lit candles upon them, and numerous holographic games and displays in each corner. Eva found her way to the counter, where no one else sat except for one lonely soul. As the bartender prepared her order, her eyes strayed to the stranger’s face. She couldn’t tell the person’s gender, but what drew her attention was the long trail of scars that reached down their face. Such a sight really was shocking, in this perfect world. She tried to distract herself with sipping on her drink.
“Appearance isn’t everything, you know.” Said the stranger in a dull, emotionless voice, “True beauty is beneath the surface.”
Eva turned back to the suspected-girl, now able to see the full extent of scarring. She was very young, even for that standard forever-25-look. The red gash traveled all the way from her forehead to the base of her chin on the left side, and the evidence of burns were everywhere else. She didn’t have unusually colored eyes; just simple, honest brown. Her short, honey-blonde hair was limp and unkempt. Overall, she was a complete disaster.
“Yeah, well people sure make it out to be.” Eva replied equally dull, “They can fix you, by the way. Scar removal is a simple process nowadays–”
“I don’t want to be ‘fixed.’” The girl snapped, “I don’t want to be like everyone else. Beauty corrupts.” Her voice wavered a bit on the last statement, as if it brought back a terrible memory.
Eva fell silent. She ran her finger over the rim of the glass, listening to its quiet ringing. The young woman also remained silent, attention diverted to the other customers.  

"What do you want to drink?" Cami asked the man.
"Uh.." The man hadn't said a word to Camilla since she targeted him. He looked around for help.
"He'll take a coke, and I'll have a water." Camilla said to the bartender. "By the way, you have a very original look. That is what I would call 'breathtaking.' I don't mean to be rude, I'm being honest. I like it. It's real." Cami had a very genuine smile and turned back to the man. "Let's play a game!" She said before grabbing his hands and pulling him towards a holographic stand.
"I'm Camilla. You're a good man." She nodded, smiling, and turned towards the game. "Here, you play, I'll go get our drinks."
She set him up so he could play and she walked back to the bar.
"Hi guys!" She said. Her voice and personality were very young, as though she were a foolish, young, gullible girl. Her face was open, and eyes loving. "Are you having a good day? My days' been okay. I was having a very good day, but I had to talk to very bad man earlier." She said with a pout. "All he could talk about was money. But its okay, he told me that he would be a good person from now on. He promised me." She laughed, and looked at the two girls again. "That was quite a show outside earlier, wasn't it? I love watching the guardians take care of us. They're doing good things. You must be so lucky, having a guardian all to yourself. You must feel so safe!" Cami jabbered on, turning her beaming face toward Eva. She took a moment to breath and laughed.  

Eva hadn't even realized that it was her whom Camilla was speaking to, but she'd heard just enough of the one-sided conversation to seem like she had, "Oh, yes. That was rather exciting. A bit unnerving, though, now that we know they can use those powers. I wonder how he managed..." She trailed off into a dreamy silence, smiled, then returned her gaze to Camilla, "I'm terribly sorry for drifting off. I haven't quite felt like myself lately. Raowan's been so busy with the increasing attacks, and I can't help but worry a bit."
The scarred girl finally spoke up, "I wouldn't be too worried. I mean, they can't all be bad. Just the few that go crazy and slaughter anyone that's in their way. But they must have some reason for going to such lengths..." She sipped the last remnants of her wine, then stood to leave, "God knows, it sure wasn't a Corrupted that did this to me." She pointed to her mangled face, then left Eva and Camilla behind to ponder that thought.
Eva followed the stranger with her eyes until she was completely out of sight, "It's odd, finding someone so honest in this city."
She glanced back to Camilla apologetically, "Please excuse my lack of manners; I'm Eva. Though you probably knew that from those gossip magazines that're strewn everywhere."  

"Of course I've seen you two! You're on all the covers. I don't really know much about you, I never read the magazines, they are shallow and full of gossip. But I can't help but look at the covers on occasion. I'm sorry if I'm talking your ear off. I'm Camilla." She said with a smile, sticking her hand out. "You look wonderful, by the way. I wish people would look at me the way they look at you. You're gorgeous, plus you come from a high family. Oh, you must have just a wonderful life. I hope you're happy. You seem like a wonderful person."
Just at that moment, the man from earlier walked up. "Do you mind?" He said with a grin as he reached across Cami and grabbed his drink. "Oh no not at all! In fact, here, take this," she handed him a 20 "and have a good night. I hope you had a good time. You should smile more!" The man walked off as she was talking. "He's a good person. He's quiet, but a lot of people are around me. I wish some people would tell more though, like that girl that just left. If it wasn't a Corrupted, than who could it have been? Do you think she had a scary animal? Or maybe it was an accident...?"

Meanwhile...

Beyond the city into the forests, a figure could be seen snuffing out a fire in a small clearing. She had long red hair that went down past her waist, a pair of alert cat ears and a very long and thick muscled tail.

The figure's name? Scarlet Ameras.

I looked up at the city ahead as I put out the small fire. I sighed. I hated cities. Ever since that time... I lowered my hand to my chest, over my heart. A small scar could be seen just peeking over the collar of my top.

Best not to dwell. Unpleasant or not, I was going in.

I packed up my things and strapped my well maintained machete to my hip; it was a very useful tool that had saved my life many times-- against wild animals that would send most fleeing for their lives.

Then, I strode into the city.

The buzzing increased. Normally, wherever I went, I heard a buzzing between my ears, nestled securely in my brain. I could ignore it easily out in the wilds, but in cities the buzzing got worse and far more annoying.  

Eva shook her hand, then smiled rather shyly, "Why, thank you. You're quite lovely as well – I'm shocked that you don't have to beat the men away with a stick." She chuckled, "The attention isn't always so great, though. Occasionally I just want to get away from everything, to leave behind all the glitz and paparazzi. Sometimes, I try to fly away from it all...but they always find me. And Raowan gets all panicked when I don't return home for a day or two."
She chuckled at the man's flustered look as Camilla handed him the bill, "I think that was a bit of a pleasant surprise to him. This world needs more pleasant surprises, and more people like you."
Eva looked to the clock absently. It was approaching 9. She thought back to the scarred woman as Camilla spoke, "I'm not sure. I doubt she's the type to own exotic animals, but who knows. I just hope it wasn't someone's attempt of murder..."

Another odd thing that occurred in cities-- people had a tendency to clear out when I came along. One minute a city street would be bustling with people, the next, empty as I strolled along. It was also hot. I shook my head and reached out, before closing my fist and bringing it back to me.

A breeze blew.

I smiled at the wind greeted me. The wind was my friend. I looked around. Of course, now that I was in civilization again, there was something that I had missed while I was out in the wilds...

A cool drink.

I slipped into a tavern, where the walls were a deep burgandy, the tables consisted of cherrywood, and candles were lit upon the countertops. A pair of people sat at the bar, and I wandered over and sat down a few stools away, looking to the bartender.

A root beer please.

The people sitting at the tables nearby immediately started gravitating away from the bar...  

"But if someone tried to commit murder, wouldn't they have had to have been corrupted then? Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about." She said, shaking her head. "Oh my!" Camilla said, her eyes widening. "I have to be going. A friend is expecting me," she said this just as another girl sat down. "Well hello! Are you having a good day? I really hope you are. You have gorgeous eyes. I'm sorry I have to be leaving so soon. I hope to see the both of you soon, okay?" She smiled and nodded, standing up and looking between the two of them.  

I glanced up at the blonde who had spoken to me so suddenly. Well, that was... new. I wasn't used to people coming up and talking to me right out of the blue. I was used to people scattering, honestly.

The barkeep got me my drink, an open bottle of chilled root beer. I took the bottle and sipped from it, studying the blonde woman... there was something wrong about her, as she smiled and nodded at both me and the dark purple haired woman in such a friendly and casual way. I sucked in some air silently, carefully tasting the air. The air around her tasted of... old paint. And fresh blood. I ought to be careful around this one, thought my face didn't show this observation.

Um, okay.  

Eva half-rose from her seat as Camilla did, but stopped short of actually standing due to a sudden spinning of the room. She wasn't drunk yet, either, so it must've been the dizziness returning from earlier. She nodded enthusiastically, "Certainly, I'd love to see you again, Camilla. It was nice meeting you." She smiled as the woman left, then fell back onto her seat. The room still hadn't quite steadied around her, so she gripped tightly onto her head, focusing on the counter-top. Her eyes strayed to the new girl, the wild one.
"She sure was different, huh? A bit overly-friendly perhaps, but she seemed nice enough." Eva mused, again trying to stand. This time she found more success, though still stumbled a bit. She handed off her payment to the barkeep, then started off to leave. Slowly, black wings sprouted from her back.

Yes... very... different.

I rose, non-alcoholic drink in hand, to help support this purple haired woman as she stumbled.

Are you okay? You seem dizzy.

I tasted the air again. She had been drinking, but this woman wasn't drunk fully yet. I sipped my drink, my tail coiling then un-coiling.

Do you want some help?  

Camilla left the bar, skipping down the road again, returning to the apartments she had left just earlier that day. "Well hello there!" She said loudly to the doorman. They had spoken many times in the past. "I'm here to see Joey, do you happen to remember what apartment number he lives in? I've forgotten again."
"Urm, yes" the man said in a very low voice, "308 I believe, but weren't you just 'ere earlier today?"
"Yes, I was, but I was visiting Rebecca. She lives in 482. She's a wonderful girl. Just fabulous! Though, she's a bit lonely. You should try to talk to her more, when you get the chance, of course. You're a wonderful person and very friendly, but also very busy. So I understand why you don't talk to her often. So busy all the time! Thanks again!" she said as she ran off upstairs.
When she got to the door, she knocked on it. Than knocked again when no one answered. A neighbor walked by at that moment. "No one's gone in or out all day."
"Well, I'm going to go in and see, if that's okay?" She said, opening the door. Then she screamed. "He's dead! He's dead! Oh my God he's dead!" She fell to her knees and sobbed wondering who would call the authorities.
The neighbor called the emergency number, and said that someone would be coming soon...  

Eva glanced back to the cat-eared woman, pulling her wings back in so as to not hit anyone around her, "Huh? Oh, yes, I'm...alright. I think I'm just overly tired. No big deal." She smiled lightly, and the fatigue was visible in her fogged eyes.
She managed to get outside without any problems, but got no further than a block away before she had to pause. The city was but a torrent of swirling light-streams and sounds around her, defying all sense of direction. Eva could feel the panic rising up inside, as she suddenly felt weightless on her own feet. Sometime in the chaos, she had slid down the wall she'd used for support, fell flat onto the concrete. Darkness overcame the world, as she slipped further from reality.

•   •   •


It was cold, almost unbearably so. The ground was bare and colorless beneath her feet, not concrete, but deadened soil devoid of all growth. She had the sensation of existing in another's body, outside of her own life. This body was somehow heavier; not larger in size, just more affected by gravity. It lacked her luxurious black hair, instead replaced by a shorter, shaggier mane of sandy brown. She was dressed in a very plain, grey full-body suit.

She looked up for the first time to the area around her. There were people, thousands of people. All standing in infinite rows. Someone stood on each side of her, each dressed in the same exact bodysuits, staring forward with blank expressions.
"Excuse me, sir? Where is this?" Eva tried asking the man to her right. He did not turn to face her, did not reply, did not even blink. He was frozen. She tried the same with the woman to the left, but got only the same exact lack of reaction. Only then did Eva realize anything odd about their faces; both of them were clearly middle-aged, with greying hair and wrinkles. She felt her own face out of paranoia, though felt no traces of old age.
She heard a distinguished choking sound ahead of her, followed by sounds of struggle. Then, two rows ahead, five people to the left, someone fell to the ground with a final thud. Eva was horrified; she had just witnessed a death.  

I watched the woman leave, before sitting back down and sipping my drink. I finished the tasty non-alcoholic drink before heading out and down the street, in search of a grocery or drugstore store for supplies.

As I walked I had my mouth open slightly, and the wind touched my tounge. That woman's scent from before... I turned in the direction it was coming from, and saw her collapsed on the sidewalk. I hurried over and sat next to her crosslegged, as I waited for her to wake up.  

Once the body's thrashing had stopped, silence again dominated all. It was heavy upon her ears, like a viscous substance. Not even the breathing of all those people was audible, and for a moment, Eva wondered if they were all dead. She stepped out of her row to more closely inspect those around her.
On each bodysuit was a small nameplate sewn, just below the neck. The man to her right had a plate reading "Devon [#56]," and the woman was "Gloria [#14]." She walked further down the row and kept reading off names; Ethan, Lexie, Amanda, Xena, Thomas. It didn't take long for her to grow curious about her own, and so she pulled at her garment so as to make the plate visible to herself. Eva [#2].
The silence was broken by a distant, rhythmical whirring of machinery. Eva had no idea about where the sound came from, but she wasn't willing to take the risk. She found her place back in line, assumed the very same pose and blank expression of everyone around her, and waited. Slowly, it grew closer, until she could almost feel its buzzing beneath her skin. Then came the mechanical man.
It possessed the same shape and size of an average human male, but had no other human traits. It was forged of a smooth, silvery metal, leaving only brief gaps for joints. The machine lacked a defined face, but instead a dimly glowing visor occupied the area which eyes should have. It marched uniformly down the row, taking a short moment to examine each person before moving onto the next. Eva felt herself tense up as it approached, breathing and pulse accelerated. She tried to focus on looking straight forward, not blinking, and not moving a single centimeter.
The machine again paused before her, observing her stance and expression. It seemed to take longer than with the other people, but eventually moved onto scanning Gloria, and later Ethan. Eva waited until the robot was 15 people down the line before she dared to even relax her position. She let out a heavy sigh, once it was completely gone from sight. "What kind of place IS this?" She asked herself.
Suddenly, Eva became aware of an intense pain rolling up her spine, followed by an eerie numbness. She started to fall backward limply, but a pair of strong, cold, metallic hands again righted her into standing. She felt her mind slipping away from her, and several times did she attempt to resist, until the haze was just far too thick.


• • •


Eva awoke with a sharp inhale, a snapping of the eyes, and gripped tightly at the ground. Still fresh in her mind was the grey world, so tangible that she, for a moment so brief, swore that Scarlet was the patrolling robot. Slowly the color returned to her eyes, proving that she wasn't in that bleak world anymore, but lying on the sidewalk of a familiar city. A small group of bystanders had since gathered, and she heard sirens growing closer from a hovering emergency vehicle. Eva weakly pushed herself into sitting up, glanced over to Scarlet with dull eyes, "How long...has it been...?"  

When Eva finally came to, I was holding her carefully in my arms. My tail swished back and forth on the pavement. The crowd was keeping it's distance for some reason I myself could no decearn, and that annoying buzzing had gotten louder. My ears were flat against against my scalp because of the wailing sirens.

About an hour or so. I saw you as I was searching for a grocery store. What happened?  

"I'm not entirely...sure." Eva replied in small phrases, as if she were still only halfway conscious, "The world was spinning...and then I fell...and had that vivid dream."
By that time, the vehicle had parked on the pavement ahead of them, paramedics jumped out to Eva and Scarlet. One immediately began checking Eva's vitals, despite her being conscious, while the other asked her questions. She was still weak in Scarlet's grasp and still spoke with small bursts, which was what made them carry her to the truck. They did not leave the site, but merely took a sample of her blood for testing, and injected her with a couple different medications. She gradually came back to her full senses, and after convincing her caretakers of that fact, was released back outside. They would notify her later of her test results.
Eva searched the small gathering for Scarlet again, though it wasn't difficult with how everyone else avoided her. She found that fact a little bit curious, but didn't dwell on it.
"Ma'am? Thank you for your help, and I'm so terribly sorry for involving you in this. Here," She withdrew a $50 bill from her pocket and handed it off to Scarlet, "for your troubles." She smiled genuinely.  

I smiled and accepted the the bill.

Thank you.

I put my hands together infront of me, with one fist covered my my hand infront of my chest, while I gave a shallow bow. I then straightened.

I'm a little curious... I rubbed my forehead at the now very loud buzzing in my skull. What happened in your dream?  

Someone snapped a photo from behind, which caused Eva to whip around irritably in the camera light. It was one of those annoying photographers from the tabloids. She growled something vulgar at him before turning back to Scarlet, ushering her to follow along on a brisk walk. Only after they'd left behind the group did she start to answer the question.
"It was about this crazy world, where everything was grey and dead. I was in this really long row of people, and they all looked the exact same. I mean, their faces were different, but they wore the same uniform, stood the same way, stared off in the same direction. Almost like the whole lot of them were frozen in time," She paused briefly, the look of wonder was evident on her face. "Anyway. I was reading off their nameplates, and then I heard this...mechanical noise, and so I returned to my place in line. It was this robot coming down the row, inspecting everyone for something. It hesitated when it looked at me – I think it could tell I wasn't frozen – but passed right by. The whole thing ended with me feeling something sharp jabbed into my back, and a robot standing me back up before I passed out. It just seemed so real..."
Eva hadn't realized that she'd stopped walking until then, and continued moving to catch up to Scarlet. She let silence carry them forward for a moment before speaking again, "Are you from around here? I don't recognize you. I'm Eva."

I had been listening the entire way. I nodded to myself as I thought about that. I then nodded to her as she finally introduced herself.

I am Scarlet. I am... a nomad is the best word for it, I suppose. I tend to wander on foot from city to city. I've been... looking for something. So far I haven't found it. So I keep wandering.  

Januff swung her legs back and forth beneath her, twirling the dagger in her grasp. Sh looked down on the street through half lidded eyes, thinking of nothing in particular. Today had been a fairly slow day for her, but she'd heard tale of a fight with another guardian not too far from her. The corrupted were growing more and more bold by the day.

She threw her legs over the side of the balcony, dropping the short distance--to her--between it, and the sidewalk, beginning to walk. Beautiful faces, everywhere she looked, and she, their only hope at staying safe. She smiled at the absurdity, crossing the street. Lunch would be good...she hadn't eaten breakfast this morning.  

"Ah, I see. That must be fascinating — seeing so many different places. How do you like this city? I've heard it's one of the larger ones, but I haven't ever really left it..." Eva let her thoughts wander for a moment, "Well, there're a lot of 'somethings' in this place. Too many, if you ask me."
She glanced in at the clock of one of the storefronts, only to find it to be almost midnight. That would explain why she was so tired. She looked back to Scarlet, "Do you have a place to stay tonight? If not, we always have room. Raowan has a guardian mansion, and it's just the two of us living there. It's almost a bit lonely at times, really." She mused, seeking out the stars above them. Though, with the bright neon lights, it wasn't a very easy task.  

I put my hands together and did that bowing gesture again.

I would be grateful. It would be nice to have a bath and sleep on a bed.  
Eva just smiled in response, a bit humored by Scarlet's formality with bowing. But she was more focused on the street, seeking out a taxi on the hovering track. She was too lazy to fly at the moment, and wasn't certain if Scarlet even knew how to fly. An unoccupied one floated down from the track, hovering low beside the walkway. Eva told the automated vehicle where she needed to go, then got in with Scarlet. It shut its doors smoothly, hesitated a moment, then lifted soundlessly (to the average person's ears) into the magnetic track.
The city breezed by in silence, lights dimmed by the tinted windows, yet still as breathtaking as ever. Only the smallest, family-owned businesses were closing by this time, but every other shop knew about the insane profits made from the nightlife. Each city district brought a whole new atmosphere as they glided above them; the industrial zone, the shopping center, the civil services, the slums, and lastly the suburbs. Eva had lived here her entire life, yet still remained ignorant to a number of those districts.
The noise and luminescence of the city slowly faded behind them, exchanged for a more open-country setting. Entire fields of homes existed on either side, until the path cleared out into a small forest. Still they reached forward, floating just above the treetops, and a lake came into view, reflecting back the moon's natural beauty. Atop a hill, alongside the lake stood the silhouette of a guardian manor. The taxi fell out of traffic then, lowering gracefully to the front lawn of that manor, and gave Eva the estimate of cost for travel. She slid her credit card down its payment kiosk, signed her name in cursive, then left the vehicle to join Scarlet.
"Well, here we are – home sweet home." She announced, withdrawing a small device from her coat pocket. They passed by a running fountain with a sculpture of some generic guardian angel, pointing his sword to the heavens as water spurted from his wing-tips. The grass melded into a pathway of cream-colored stones, which led to the small staircase just below the doorway. The front entrance was framed by a high-reaching arc of marble, and above that arc was an ornate balcony. Instead of the normal lock-and-key, however, a scanner existed in the wall beside the handle-less door. Eva held up her device just in front of the scanner, waited for it to beep in recognition, then entered the now cracked door.
The interior was very spacious, with a high ceiling and creamy marble walls. A curved staircase reached out in a crescent shape at either end of the room, leading to the next floor. The lighting was provided by the central chandelier, along with smaller lamps built right into the walls. Someone's voice echoed from down the hallway to the right.
"Feel free to explore; I'll be right back. Then I'll take you to your room, okay?" She told Scarlet, then started off down the hall into the large kitchen.
Raowan leaned back against the countertop, facing away from Eva, saying his goodbye to someone on the phone. He turned it off, sighed audibly, then clicked it back into the dock.
"Something wrong?" Eva asked suddenly, causing Raowan to whip around in surprise. She saw a combination of fatigue, worry, and relief in his expression all at once. He scooped her up in a tight embrace, uttering a low "Thank god..." into her hair before pulling away again.
"What'd I tell you about not getting into trouble?" He asked, halfway teasing, halfway concerned, "That was the hospital calling, about your blood test. Eva, I almost went out to search for you, but then I got that call—"
"What was the result?" She interrupted, all humor dropped from her tone.
Raowan pulled up a stool behind him to sit down, Eva did the same.
"They didn't find anything, yet. But they want you to come back for more testing soon. Now...what, exactly, happened earlier?"  

I looked around the place, my tail waving in curiosity as I wandered around the large room. I wasn't used to being inside-- and being in such a large house made the sensation even odder. I wanted to sit under a tree. It was oddly kind of cute as I explored, tail up and waving, ears perked, green eyes opened wide.

I felt my machete bump against my leg as I wandered. I paused, even more alert. Didn't she say this place is a guardian mansion...? Will I get in trouble for carrying my machete? I thought to myself nervously.  

Eva shook her head gently, "Not much. I just fainted, that's all. I was feeling really quite dizzy, and then I passed out on the street corner. I had that odd dream...and then I woke up; Scarlet stayed with me the whole time, apparently."
" 'That's all'? Eva, there could be something seriously wrong. People don't just lose consciousness for no reason—"
"Oh, by the way, Scarlet's staying the night with us. She's not from around town, and needed a place to stay, so I offered." Eva now stood up and went back to the hall, Raowan walked with her. They entered the main room, Scarlet plain in sight. Raowan was the first to notice the woman's weapon, and tensed up beside Eva. He tried to discreetly hold her back, but Eva was oblivious and continued forward.
"Scarlet, this is Raowan, and vice versa." She introduced them rather informally, waiting for the guardian to greet her. He did so rather politely, like any guardian would, "I am pleased to make your acquaintance. However...are you aware, ma'am, of the weapons policy?" He asked gently and without any hint of animosity, but had that icy stare of authority.  

I was looking at a vase with some roses in it when Eva approached with this Raowan in tow. First one catlike ear swiveled to listen before I turned to face the pair. I had been expecting this, but my face showed no hostility or malice to either of them.

I apologize about my machete... but I am a nomad, you see. I wander through the wilds more often then not. I am only staying in the city for a few days, maybe not even that. I see this blade as more of a tool then a weapon. A method of making shelter, defense against wild animals, that kind of thing. A necessity for survival. And I swear to you, it has never tasted human blood.

~~~


In an alley, in the heart of the city, a being formed into existence. She wore a loose red kimono with a pale blue obi, and golden eyes took in her surroundings from under a few strands of pale orange hair.

She opened her mouth and tasted the air as she sniffed and smelled and watched. She tucked her arms into her long sleeves as her wings spread. She took flight, rising over the city streets and over the traffic, watching all below her as she once again started her search...  

Raowan gave a slight nod of understanding, for he could not find any signs of deception about her. Normally, Corrupted stood out with a rather obvious body language. "Very well then. Please make yourself comfortable, and enjoy your stay."
Eva smiled again, "I'll take you upstairs so you can unpack." She led the way up one set of steps, occasionally glancing back to Raowan, who remained down on the main floor. He seemed distracted, and not by Scarlet. She shrugged it off and continued to one of the many doors.
Inside was a moderately sized guest bedroom, with vibrant red walls and a matching canopy bed. A wooden desk and chair faced out toward the window, which overlooked the backyard's garden. Other pieces in the room included a standing mirror, a small nightstand, a clock, a ceiling fan, and numerous individual lights mounted in the walls.
"Is this to your liking?" Eva asked, "If not, the other room is blue and exactly like it. I themed each bedroom after a color, since he had no taste in color-coordination whatsoever..."

The very shadows seemed to be grabbing at him, as if they were the devil ready to drag another sinner to hell. Devon ran with great urgency in his step, frantic eyes, and a thrumming heart. He stopped just briefly, peered back over his shoulder, then crumpled to the ground in defense as a massive explosion tore apart the warehouse. Muddled screams of agony rung out clearly to his canine ears, originating from the flames, slowly dying away. The surge of heat and debris above him signaled his time to leave. He again stood, jittery and unpredictable, and took off into another mad dash down the alley. He could feel the walls watching him, the sky descending upon his skull, the beast trying to rip him apart from within. But still, not even the unbearable paranoia could stop his bloodlust, his craving for others' pain.
Devon skidded to a halt behind a general store, caught his heaving breath. His eyes never ceased surveying, never stopped looking for any possible threat. He waited a moment before slowing his pace to a normal walk, and joined a large crowd walking down the main street.  


((Exceeded maximum character limit — continued in next post. razz ))  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Thank you. I said to Raowan, before following Eva up the stairs, my tail waving back and forth as I walked.

When she and I reached the guest room I immediately took a good look around, looking for a bathroom and other necessities.

I quite like it, actually, thank you. Red is my favorite color, but not a very good color one for wandering about the Wilds.

When the crowd formed around the body -as humans have a tendency to do- Camilla found it easy to just, slip away into the crowd and leave the scene behind.
When she finally hit the streets again she bounced from person to person, jabbering on about the littlest things. Maybe someone of interest would appear soon.

Odessa flew for a while, searching the tastes in the air and scents on the ground. Her wings were like three pairs of great sleek hawk wings-- the two largest were attached to her lower back, and huge-- they were three times as long as she was tall. Her other wings were much smaller, giving an airfoil effect as she flew. They also flashed brightly in the low light as they caught it and refracted it, as well as the sound of chimes rang out as the gleaming gold-like feathers interacted with each other.

Her eyes looked downward as she tasted a very slight trace of blood coming from below...

It was then she heard a very loud explosion in some other area of the city... in these area few others would have heard it, but she felt it just as much as she heard it. She looked back and forth from the area of the explosion and the the area below her currently... she was pondering what to do...

Januff's thoughts of breakfast fled her mind when a sudden explosion to her right rattled her very bones. Well, this certainly was the turn of the day. She sighed, twirling her daggers in her hands as she ushered people away from the scene, making her way in through the debris. Bodies, barely discernible from the rubble around them...the smell was horrible. She left the building through an alleyway, every sense on alert, her eyes never staying in one place long. She caught movement up ahead, and followed.

It was probably a waste of her time. The person may only be a survivor. But no, that didn't sound right. No one could've survived that. Her movements were quick. She stepped out onto the sidewalk, grey eyes taking in her surroundings. There. He was moving a little too casually, while everyone else was moving erratically.

She followed him, wetting her lips with her tongue. Lunch would have to wait.

When they reached the main street she grew bored, and decided to make a quick end of this. She moved off a little ways so she could get ahead, then stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"You wouldn't have anything to do with that explosion just now, would you?" She smiled, taking in his mismatched eyes.

Odessa thought about this (she knew from experience) that sometimes the most subtle crimes can be worse then even the big flashy ones. She folded her wings around herself and fell.

She dropped through the traffic of cars and spread her wings, catching herself before she hit the street. She hovered for a moment, her wings flashing with neon colors, before landing and her wings retreated into her back. She looked around carefully, tasting the air...

"Oh!" Camilla said, her head turning away from the girl next to her and towards the explosion. "It's so late in the day, I wonder what happened? Should we check it out? I really need a shower though, and you look exhausted. You should go home and get some sleep. I should go home too. Yes. That's what we should both do. Okay Good bye then!" She called as she skipped off down the road towards her house.
"Did you hear that?" She asked one man as she skipped by him. "I wouldn't be worried about it, if I were you, it was so far away, and these things seem to be happening so often lately. Though I wonder what it was..." He had fallen out of hearing distance after her initial question, but she continued to speak anyway. She turned a corner and stopped skipping so she could count the number of doors until it was her house. "Do you like sitting on the roof?" She asked another man. "The view from roofs tend to be so beautiful. Better sights than anything on the ground." She continued before she was interrupted. "Excuse me, miss." He said gruffly. "But I'm busy."
"Oh boo you!" She said, and stopped to see if she were home yet.

Odessa looked around carefully, tasting the air. Well, whatever-- whoever she had smelled before was gone now. She fell into a crouch, her massive wings sprouting and rising into the air. She took off like a brilliant gold-red angel and flew off in the direction of the explosion...

Devon halted just before colliding with the guardian, stumbling back by half a step. Nothing was sane about that man. He shook and twitched even when standing entirely still, eyes devoid of any emotion, mouth curled and uncurled from a grin to a grimace. He held his canine ears at half-height, eyes half closed, mouth pulled back into a wide, fang-revealing smirk, "No ma'am, of course not." His voice was icy and oddly smooth, "I was just passing through when it went off, and I was about to find someone to help."
Then, something dropped from his coat, and the corrupted man leapt out into the street in a partial roll. The blast went off, a weaker version of the one earlier, yet potent enough to break through the storefront's display. However, he knew that wouldn't be enough to sufficiently injure any guardian that's worth the title. Devon exited the dodge with a rough landing, his leather coat taking the majority of the damage, and rolled back onto his feet. Another two bombs were dropped behind him, one set to go off right after the other, and erupted. He ducked back into another side-passage, following a winding path of alleyways. Right, left, left, right, left, right, right. His nervous eyes kept scrolling across the sky above, well aware that most guardians had wings.


• • •



Eva nodded, "Yeah, I'd imagine how that could draw attention." She stepped back out into the hall, pointing down to the furthest door, "That's the bathroom. The kitchen's downstairs, just beyond that hall I went into earlier. The master bedroom —where I'll be— is on the next floor up; the only door there. If you need anything, feel free to help yourself."

I nodded and headed toward the bathroom, stepping inside and closing the door, looking around at the features that made up the bathroom.

~~~


Odessa heard more explosions. She sighed. More distractions.... but she ought to, to at least keep her job.

She soared off in the direction of the explosion, tasting the air as she went. Explosives... she was surprised such things even worked in this world. She saw a rough looking little man with black hair and fur jump out of an alley, dropping two more explosives along the way. She unwound her meteor hammer, her wings going black as pitch and matte, no longer flashy and golden, and the beuitful chiming had been replaced with silence. She and started swinging it as she perused him into an alley... traking him not only by sight but by scent and hearing... Right, left, left, right, left, right, right... She spun the small ball and chain around her arm, around and around, it picking up a lot of speed...

Januff opened her mouth to speak, but her attention went to the object that feel from the man's coat. Without hesitation she launched herself into a tuck and roll, blinking when her ears popped and immediately began ringing. She straightened, eyes locking onto the man she was pursuing, her feet following suit. Bombers were always fun. Not that she had encountered one before. However, he was causing more destruction than he himself was worth, and therefore, had to perish. Instead of following, she gripped a pole and climbed up, not stopping when two more explosions went off. She made the short leap to the roof of a building, flitting across and keeping her senses alert, following the direction he had gone. She knew he would move erratically, trying to throw her off.

"Not in this lifetime, bub!" she said allowed, and stepped off the side of a roof, dropping down into an alleyway directly in front of him. She set up a field of energy behind him so he would not be able to double back, sending two of her daggers shooting towards him, one aimed at his chest and the other at his head. It was meant more as a distraction than to do any real harm. She herself was already in his face, reaching into his coat and trying to dislodge some of the bombs she felt there. It would not do good for her to lose any of her limbs in this fight.

As Januff cornered him from below and Odessa in the air, a dull blue luminescence started to emanate from the backside of his head. When the daggers were thrown, Devon's arm shot up in defense, and with it, a wall of matching blue energy. The guardian's daggers collided with the barrier, mere inches away from striking his flesh, then fell to the ground with an echoing clank! The man slipped backward as far as he could before hitting Januff's wall, convulsing with shaky laughter. Then, the guardian was right before him, and the laughter ceased. The wolfish grin, however, did not.
"You got me~!" He crowed, raising his hands to show them as empty of weapons, "Be proud, guardian — for no one has captured me in all of 10 years."
Devon's fingers started to fade from tangibility, instead turning into an ethereal, ghostlike copy. The energy was quickly pulsing down his arms, to his legs, then back up to the torso and head, changing every inch of his flesh into that transparency. He waved goodbye to both guardians, let himself fall forward, and phased right through Januff and the pavement as if they were nothing but empty air.



• • •


After Scarlet left, Eva went back downstairs to speak with Raowan. She found him in the living room, sitting so far to the edge of the couch that it almost wasn't sitting but squatting, forehead buried in his palms. The plasma screen TV was on, but the volume was at its lowest without being muted. Eva watched for a moment in silence as the news coverage of the attack that morning replayed. She sat down beside the guardian and spoke gently, "What's got you so stressed lately?"
Raowan relaxed his posture a bit, glancing back up at the TV without actually watching it, "Them. The Corrupted."
"But it's nothing you haven't dealt with before, right? I mean, you've been a guardian for as long as I've been alive. That has to count for something, right?"
"You don't get it, Eva. They're growing stronger. That attacker," He pointed to the screen as the footage focused on the blonde man, "had the powers of a guardian. He had my powers. How are we supposed to compete with them, if they not only have our very same capabilities, but also outnumber us?" He looked her straight in the eyes for the first time, which is exactly what conveyed his worries to her.



• • •



It was all the way across the city, miles upon miles away, that Devon's ghastly figure crawled out of the basement floor in a factory. The glowing had ceased to emanate, and left him in complete and utter darkness. He collapsed against the concrete, coughing up blood, trembling hard as ever. He would stay there for the night.

Camilla had entered her house, threw her dirty clothes into the washer and grabbed a clean set of shorts and a tank top. She grabbed her gun off the counter and double checked that her home-made bullets were still in place. Placing that in the lining of her jeans, she stomped on the floor board and counted her knives. She replaced the one she had taken back earlier and they were all there.
Quickly, the bubbly and erratic girl skipped from her house, with no trace of the crime left behind her. Cami tossed her hair up into a messy bun and hopped off in the most entertaining direction.

Odessa signed as the Corrupted vanished She hovered downward , swinging the meteor hammer slower and slower until she caught it in her hand. She landed next to the other Guardian, whom she had never seen before, and knelt on the pavement as she sniffed and tasted the air where the corrupted had disappeared. She smelled and tasted the hints of... canine... influence, as well as explosive compounds and other things. She took mental note.

~~~


A half hour later I left the bathroom in a cloud of steam. A soft and fuzzy bathrobe was wrapped around me; I needed to wash my clothes. I headed to my room to collect the clothes from my bag and then headed downstairs with a large bundle of clothes in my arms.

I looked around for a place to do laundry... And I noticed Raowan and Eva looking stressed.

"I have to get some rest. There's no doubt going to be something tomorrow, whether an attack, a threat, or even a rebellion...and I'm not exactly getting any younger." Raowan declared, standing to leave.
Eva just watched him and called out quietly, "Good night."
He grumbled back a response, passing by Scarlet on the stairs.
She remained, watching the news without actually seeing it. "I thought this was supposed to be a perfect world..."

Camilla found herself in a large group of people, some crazy, some not so much. They were all saying something, it all sounded like a buzzing bee and she was getting excited. Bouncing from person to person, she listened for once instead of spoke.
Something was going to happen tomorrow. Something big. There was going to be an attack? No, that would happen later, when they were stronger...
"Oh boy oh boy oh boy!" She squeeled quietly. They were all corrupted, weren't they?
She saw a camera off to one side and stopped. She ran to stay away from the camera.
Remembering earlier that day, she wandered off in the direction of the explosion. Camilla hardly ever slept, and could go 3 whole days without sleep if she had the right amount of caffeine.

He was in a round, dull conference room, surrounded by equally dull men. The fluorescent light flickered incessantly above his head, casting that sickly glow upon the wooden table. Raowan tapped his fingers impatiently while he waited for the sleeping man across the way to awaken.
"Something has happened," He started off lowly, volume rising with time, "an anomaly. They have gained access to guardian powers; a feat that should, in theory, be impossible. That can only mean one thing..."
The others began whispering and nodding around the room, until he again rose his voice, "This is the beginning of a total war. Not only have they managed to gain the technology to make this all possible, but they are appearing far more rapidly — a surefire sign that something near a full-scale rebellion is bound to occur any day. These most recent attacks are just mere bluffs; their attempts to undermine the guardians' confidence. But the next few days, I'm predicting, will be the turning point..."
"Indeed, but at this rate...is there truly nothing we can do?" Someone to the left called out.
Raowan thought for a brief moment, "No, we can still fight. But we'll need the Caretakers."

I wandered over to Eva, and I dumped the clothes behind the couch and sat next to her, dripping water.

Perfect? What do you mean?

I tilted my head at her, ears perked. Does that imply a place that's... not perfect? I thought to myself.

Eva focused on Scarlet as best she could, though the tiredness in her eyes was evident, "I was a very nervous person when I was younger... The whole time I lived with my family, they always told me not to worry, and that this was a 'perfect' world. They promised that it was impossible for evil to exist here. Yet, that's obviously untrue now, with the Corrupted and all. I guess it was stupid to believe it in the first place..."
She yawned, "I suppose it's getting late. Did you need something?"

I smiled at the sleepy woman before me. I was used to being a very light sleeper; it wouldn't take much to wake me in the middle of the night. Still, I pondered. Maybe I'm closer to what I'm seeking then I thought...

Just a place to wash my clothes.

Eva nodded lightly, "Alright. The laundry room is down that hall, to the left, across from the kitchen." She smiled as best she could, "Good night."
She stood up to leave, hobbling up the stairs after a moment's hesitation. By the time she got to the third floor, she realized Raowan was already asleep. Her steps were careful as she entered, trying not to disturb the exhausted guardian. She settled down in the recliner beside the sliding glass door, gazing out to the moonlit lake, then to the milky cosmos above. The stars were her source of comfort; always there, always safe and always the same. It was under that blanket of the universe that she eventually drifted off to sleep.


• • •


It was nearing 4AM when the three appeared, high upon the rooftops of skyscrapers, watching over the city with all-seeing eyes. Nemesis, the destroyer, tall and brooding and dark. Genesis, the creator, proud and human in appearance. Metamorphosis, the alteration, small and sleek and ever-changing. They were the Caretakers, come to correct the anomaly and protect the utopia. The coming days would decide it all.
Nemesis wordlessly veered off to the left, skimming over buildings with mighty leaps, and Meta ran parallel to her in the opposite direction. Genesis, however, remained watching...waiting.

I collected my clothes from behind the couch and headed to the laundry room, where I quickly threw my clothes in the wash and started it up. I then headed upstairs to my guest room. I jumped on the bed and curled up, wrapping my tail around myself and falling asleep.

~ ~ ~


"Ah, my little FireCat." Said a gentle voice. I looked around; I was in a dark cave, and I seemed younger. A child? I'm a child? I looked up into the face of the large man before me; he looked kind of chubby, but instinct told me that there was more muscle under his skin then fat. My sharp eyes tried to take in his features, but I couldn't see it for some reason. I still had the ears and tail... but they were... Not there. Hard to explain.

"Today we will learn how to breathe. The breathing is one of the most important parts of our art."

Yes Daddy. I found myself saying attentively. He was serious I knew, but not... what's the word... mean.

He touched the area of my torso where my little tummy ended and my chest began. "To breathe in, breathe in from here with your nose. And when you breathe out..." He touched the center of my chest "from there out your mouth. Do you understand, Scarlet?"

Yes papa.

I looked up at him with big eyes and I breathed in low and breathed out high. I felt... I felt the air twisting in my lungs, and when I breathed out, it ruffled the man's hair, though he was sitting a few feet away.

What happens when you do it daddy?

He smiled, and I saw a hint of teeth in the gloom around his face. He drew in air deeply, far more deeply then one would expect, and then he breathed out. He continued this, and I felt my hair flutter in the brese when he breathed out.

There was a crackle and a fizzing from a computer nearby. I peered over at it. I heard him chuckle. "Yes, my breathing did that."

I giggled madly.

That's so cool!

Eva awoke later than she'd intended, and in a different place than she'd first slept. She was alone in the king-sized bed, sheets tucked up tightly to her chin. Raowan probably carried her once he'd woken up. She smiled inwardly at the thought. However, her humor lasted not long, for a splitting headache rolled inside her skull. She sat up clutching her head, waited a moment in testing, then grabbed a small pill container out of the nightstand. She withdrew and swallowed two of the white capsules.
Her dreams had not been in relation to the grey world, as she had originally anticipated. She was grateful for that, at least. Eva dressed herself in jeans and a royal blue baby-doll tunic, then bounded downstairs for breakfast. She wondered silently if Scarlet was awake yet.


• • •


"Nemesis found and eradicated a few individuals last night, however none of them were a major threat to begin with. Just random, standalone Corrupted. Metamorphosis was on the trail of some terrorist type, but the man used his powers to fade at the last moment. I've instructed them not to initiate combat during the daylight hours unless otherwise provoked." Genesis, the male Caretaker, explained. His voice was robotically clear, yet full of that human tone. His facial features and hair were soft, with piercing, artificial grey eyes at the center of it all. He was currently seated at an outdoor table of a cafe downtown, speaking with Raowan.
The guardian nodded softly, "Very good. I'm disappointed that it's had to come down to this drastic of a measure, though..."
Genesis settled further back into his chair, half-closing his eyes as he spoke, "You need not worry, Raowan; I shall spare as many lives as I deem physically possible. Nemesis cannot slaughter without my communicated permit, and Meta already avoids conflict as best she can."
"I know, it's just..." Raowan trailed off, Genesis tilted his head at the pause, "It's just that I feel like I'm the obsolete one. Like I'm losing everything that I care for, and it's crumbling right before my eyes—"
"Please calm down." Genesis interrupted, now sitting perfectly upright again, "You know that we're just a temporary fix. None of this was anticipated in the original plan, and the anomaly has escalated beyond your control. No one is to blame but the Corrupted. We're here simply to correct the issue, then we shall leave, and life will continue as it had before."
"Alright, Genesis...I'm leaving this up to you. We all depend on the three of you." Raowan took the last sip of his beverage, then stood along with Genesis. "Just please...keep her and the rest of them safe."
For the first time, the Caretaker smiled; not an unreal one, but a genuine, humanly smile. He nodded, "As you wish."
The two of them parted ways just then, following different directions down the sidewalk.

That morning I woke, snuggled with a pillow. I slowly uncurled, stretching and flexing each muscle in turn until I heard a satisfactory pop from each joint. Once that was done I climbed out of bed and once more put on the bathrobe, and I brushed my hair in the mirror before heading downstairs.

I headed for the laundry room, where I took the new clean but damp clothes and threw them in the dryer.

Eva heard the sound of movement down the hall, so she knew Scarlet was up. Her head still pounded miserably, waiting for the medicine's numbness to overcome it. She entered the kitchen, reaching into the high cabinet for a bowl. It was just out of reach. She focused harder, stretching her arm as far as it would go, and the object just kind of...rolled into her grasp. At first she was taken aback, but common sense told her that it was nothing. The same process happened with the cereal box atop the fridge. It wasn't until she turned around to find the milk carton already on the countertop that she let out an utterance of surprise and dropped her spoon. It hadn't been there the moment before.
She sat down at the table, examining each object closely with a dumbfounded expression. They all looked normal, felt normal, were normal. Eva cringed as a strong ache pounded through the back of her head again. She set down the carton, hearing as Scarlet closed the dryer door, then called out to her half-jokingly, "I think I'm magnetic this morning."

I heard her and wandered into the kitchen, ears up and tail waving back and forth as I walked. I seemed to have gotten a sway as I walked, like I was on a boat.

Oh? What's up?

She made an exaggerated gesture of cluelessness, "I couldn't reach the bowl or the box, and both of them ended up flying into my hand as I tried to reach. Then the milk appeared out of nowhere."
Eva finally resolved to using the products, albeit with caution. She half expected each individual corn flake to suddenly jump up and stick to her skin. They didn't, of course.
The phone rang loud and clear. She got up and answered, "Hello?"
Instead of a person responding, it was one of those automated messages, "Hello! This is your local health clinic reminding EVA ANNALYSE of their appointment today. Please press one to hear the details, press two if you are not the patient specified, press three if—"
Eva pounded the first button with disgust. The computer's voice was worsening her headache.
"Searching records for EVA ANNALYSE..." The voice changed drastically as it read the name, then cut off into irritating music as it put her on hold. "Testing scheduled for 3:30PM, on August 23rd, 2072."
She hung up on the phone-robot then, sighed.
"Well, looks like Raowan signed me up for more blood tests today. Great. Wish he would've at least told me ahead of time..." Her annoyance was evident as she sat back down to finish her cereal.

Seems to me you're a bit tired of this place.

I noted the observation, and wandered over to the frying pan rack, where I reached up to grab one of the pans. My tail flicked back and forth-- I wasn't tall enough t reach it-- until the one I was reaching for fell from the rack. Instead of landing in my hand tho, the edge of it hit me between the ears with a loud CLANG, and bounced, landing on the stove and wobbling some.

I was knocked onto my a**, my hands between my catlike ears as each drooped to the side.

Ow.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

~~~


Eva, if she paid attention, would noticed a change slowly creep over little Scarlet. Initially, she started to shrink, her form getting lank and slightly more dangly in proportions, and her endowments faded some. (now Scarlet looked her real age; 12 years old) But there was something else about the girl that changed. She seemed to have a noticeable aura of strangeness now, that was kind of alien and slightly dangerous. However... it was more like this girl could be dangerous, and at the moment, she was choosing not to be...

~~~


I opened my eyes a little, and shook my head. I looked around, my peridot green eyes wide now.

Where... where am I? Papa? Mama? Odessa?

"Perhaps I am..." Eva replied to Scarlet's initial statement. She only watched as the cat-woman reached for a pan, but heard the actual occurrence. She stood up as Scarlet fell out of sight behind the counter, concern welling up inside. "Scarlet?" She asked once, then saw as the transformation began. There now sat a young girl in her kitchen. A child; something physically impossible in this existence. She first took a step back, then approached with caution, kneeling down near the girl but not directly next to her. Her next words came in a panic, "Scarlet? Are you...alright?"


• • •


They could sense it. Another anomaly, a warp in the system. In essence, however, it did not seem malicious. All three Caretakers paused in their patrols, taking a moment to decide their plan of action.
Nemesis: Disturbance located. Northbound, coordinates; 004 595 1025...
Metamorphosis: Type unknown. Intent unknown. Rift has opened between alpha and delta matrices...
Nemesis: Security breach, level 3. Extent of damage unknown. Permission to eliminate?
Genesis: Request denied. Do not initiate combat. Meta; locate and patch the rift.
Meta: Affirmative. Locating rift source...
Genesis: Continue routine scouting, Nemesis. If distress signal is sent, report immediately to anomaly source and seek to correct.

With their conclusion, Meta sunk down into the pavement, fading like a ghost. Nemesis resumed patrolling her assigned route. Genesis was the one to track down the source, heading off in the direction of the guardian manor. He delayed a moment, leaning forward as if to sprint, then disappeared into a rift of his own.

I blinked and looked around, then up at Eva. I tilted my head, thinking for a moment. Everything had flowed back when I had been hit on the head. My mother... my father... my sister... up until the attack on our home...

Oh... right... Mommy and Daddy and sissy aren't here... Um...

I looked down at myself. I now had the lanky, slightly awkward body of a 12 year old girl. Oddly... It seemed far more... natural to me then the form I had before. I rubbed my head, and the pain ebbed away, but I still felt the damage. A bad bump... but a lucky one. It had brought back my memory.

Um, um, I think I'm allright.

I looked up at her, before getting to my feet. I swayed slightly, before righting myself against the stove.

~~~


Odessa had been flying over the city, like a beautiful golden winged seraph. But she felt something. She didn't feel it like the Caretakers did-- instead she felt something warm next to her heart, like a kindred had finally awoken.

Scarlet. I'm coming, Scarlet!

Calling upon her Guardian powers, Odessa vanished into a rift of her own..
.
Eva stood along with Scarlet, watching the girl carefully. She'd ignored the part about her family. "What happened? Why are you..." She started to ask, gesturing to Scarlet's now younger appearance, "...a child?"


Genesis's form rematerialized from the ghastly portal in the next room over, the Caretaker silently stepped from his dimension to the floor of the laundry room. He overheard Eva's second question. His eyes focused on the direction of Eva and Scarlet, vision unaffected by the wall ahead of him. To the machine's eyes, the whole kitchen was a grey deadzone, except for a tiny red splotch within Eva's skull, and the brilliant red of Scarlet's entire form. He took note of these observations, sending the data back to the other two Caretakers. A purple crack formed in the upper corner of his vision, originating from outside, where a guardian had just exited a rift. Genesis reached out to the wall, arm fusing with the wall's structure, until he became an invisible part of the building. He would watch closely, waiting for this oddity to unfold.

I looked down at myself.

I... I don't entirely know what caused this... I know that this form is... my true age however.

I looked down at my hands, looking at the long, elegant fingers and pale skin. My head suddenly snapped up, my ears swiveling, my tail swishing. My eyes were drawn to the laundry room for a moment, before I stared straight ahead and closed my eyes... Before I immediately headed out of the kitchen, through the front hall, and out the front door...

~~~


Odessa Hovered infront of the building, her golden metal wings flashing in the sunlight, making her look like a solar angel. She tasted the air, and listened intently... Yes. Scarlet. There is a normal... kind of... person here too I think, and something else... Damn. A caretaker. Odessa shook that piece of info off and hovered downward as she landed neatly on her feet.

Just as the door opened and little Scarlet came out.

~~~


I saw the golden winged Guardian and I stared, wide eyed for a moment. Slowly, my face lit up into a smile, and I darted forward. She knelt onto one knee, spreading her arms, and I tackled her into a hug. She stood and spun around, laughing and hugging me. I laughed and giggled and hugged her tightly. I had missed my big sister, even if I didn't know it.

Those ears make you look so adorable!

Eva had been far too stunned to respond before the girl darted out, and so she stood there dumbfounded for a moment longer. She eventually chased after Scarlet, stopping in the doorway to look out. There she was, tight in the embrace of a radiant guardian. They seemed so joyous.
Something was tugging at Eva's consciousness, as if she were being pulled backward out of her own body. She leaned heavily against the door frame, trying to remain stable as her mind was being yanked out of her. She was about to lose her footing right when a pair of hands tightened around her shoulders.

"Please don't panic. I mean you no harm." Genesis assured Eva as she looked up to him with fear in her eyes. She tried to resist, but weakness again overcame her limbs. The Caretaker scooped her up with strong, steady arms and carried her to the nearest couch, where he set her down gently. He knelt down beside the woman, metallic grey eyes focused on a portion of her forehead.
"W-who are you? What are you doing?" Eva demanded in her frail voice, clearly pained by the headache which still ailed her.
"A friend of Raowan's. He asked me to look after you, since he's so busy with his job." Genesis smiled, eyes still focused, "Tell me, Eva...are you feeling unwell at the moment?"

After a moment, Odessa and I stopped to look at Eva, who was promptly swept up into the arms of a robotic like figure. We watched him scoop her up into his arms and carry her inside.

Who are they? Odessa questioned.

The girl is Eva. She's a friend.

And the robot?

Dunno. I'd like to see if she's alright.

Very well then.

Odessa carried me into the house, hugging me too her like a highly loved comfort toy. She put her chin on the top of my head as we wandered towards the couch and watched the exchange between the robot and Eva silently. Odessa shifted slightly, but still held me close.

She was reluctant to answer, afraid of his intentions. For all she knew, he could be a Corrupted. She wasn't certain, but something seemed unusual about this man... artificial. Eventually she spoke up, "Just a bad headache, and this sensation of being pulled out of my head..."
Suddenly, the world started rising around her, as if she were falling quickly downward. Her body felt light and ethereal. Eva raised her hand to visibility, and let out an unheard scream. She had become intangible. Still she fell, through the couch, through the floor, the basement, the dirt... until her surroundings were naught but empty space. The half-robotic face of Metamorphosis stared right back, all seeing and blank of any expression.
Eva flinched as she floated back to reality, aware of Genesis's careful observation. She sat up fast, feeling her own flesh for its solidity. That day dream felt all too real...

"I see..." Genesis responded solemnly, as if his understanding was intended for a deeper meaning. He stood up again, half-turning to Scarlet and Odessa. The guardian also had a splotch of red within, but she yet seemed unaffected. His main focus was on the girl.

I was watching Eva with worried eyes, but Odessa's attentions was on the Caretaker. She knew what he was... Odessa pulled my closer and hugged me tighter, like a girl holding a teddy bear. I have searched hard for far too long to lose my little sister now... She thought to herself. She eyed the Caretaker thoughtfully.

Are you alright Eva? I asked, with big green eyes. I noticed Odessa's tightened grip, and looked up at her. I felt her lift one hand and run it through my long crimson hair...

Genesis only remained watching, somehow held back from initiating any conflict, yet no physical restraints were in place. He gazed back to Eva briefly, "You should go to your appointment today — just to make sure it's nothing serious. You'd rather find out sooner than keep worrying, right? I'll be in town if you need me, and I'll periodically check in. See you, Eva."
The Caretaker passed by, heading back to the door. He stopped just briefly to whisper in Odessa's direction, "I'm not as my brethren are; I have my obligations, but I also have a conscience. Only should the need arise would I ever resort to such things. Please don't make me." For that moment of pause, his icy eyes almost took on a personality, a soul. Then, the AI left, his words the only trace still lingering in their minds.

Eva was too distracted to notice the whisper, too freaked out by how much that man knew. She heard Scarlet's question, however, and that was what dragged her back from her own thoughts. "I think so... I just had this weird feeling. Maybe something is wrong with me..."

Odessa kept her eyes on the Caretaker as he left. She was also aware of the flicker of Scarlet's ear, to show that she too had heard the Caretaker's whisper. Scarlet looked to the Caretaker and both of them saw the flicker of a soul in the robot's eyes... Once Odessa had deemed that he had left, Odessa finally put Scarlet down, and the younger girl looked to Eva, before heading to her side.

Odessa closed her eyes and waited, listening... sensing... watching.

~~~


I headed over to Eva's side and smiled weakly at her. My tail swished back and forth, and I looked like I wanted to say something, but I couldn't. I looked back to Odessa. I said something, in an odd language that seemed slightly mystical. It was an ancient one... and a dead one.

{Well? Are we alone?}

{I'm making sure. Hang on.}

I nodded and looked to Eva.

Well... um... Eva, this is my sister, Odessa. Odessa, Eva.

A pleasure. Odessa opened her eyes and nodded to Eva; before closing them and going back to what she was doing.

Eva was intrigued by their odd language, mentally trying to figure out if it were one of the world's other major dialects. She couldn't place it to any nationality, however. She nodded right back when introduced to the guardian, "Likewise."  

[Hiddochi wolf]

After a long moment, Odessa relaxed.

They're gone.

I looked to Eva, but I knew what was coming...

Scarlet...........

I turned and gave Odessa a large, wide-eyed and cavity inducing cute look.

Odessa looked to me, and groaned.

Okay, Okay, you win. But... why Scarlet? Why did you have to alert those Caretakers? They're onto you now.

How was I supposed to know what was going to happen when I get hit upside the head by a frying pan?

... good point. But I can't take you home now. They'll notice if you go missing. I've been searching for you for 4 years Scarlet...

Odessa strode over to me and hugged me again.

... I missed you, sissy.

Likewise. Mom and Dad do too.

Odessa let go and I settled down on the couch. She looked at Eva. She remembered the comment about the blood tests. We looked back and forth between each other.

I don't think b--

{Scarlet.}

{Ah, yes, I apologize.}

{But you are correct. I think blood tests are not going to tell anyone what this Eva's problem is.}

I grinned wryly. {She's experiencing glitches in the VR, isn't she?}

Odessa nodded. I looked to Eva again, before back at Odessa.

{Should we tell her?}

Odessa rubbed her chin. {She seems trustworthy... but naive. She knows our names and what we look like. If she says the wrong thing to the wrong person, they'd be after you and she'd blow my cover wide open.}

{Cover? Oh, the whole guardian thing.}

{Yes.} It was Odessa's turn to smile darkly. {Of course, everyone would expect those not completely insane among the Corrupted ranks to be Revolutionaries. But who would expect a Guardian? A protector of the peace?} She chuckled. {Anyway, I expect that she's experiencing glitches. After all, this is a VR, and they haven't taken it down to fix bugs or glitches in 25 years. It's a damn fine piece of programming, but despite what they say, it's not perfect. The Corrupted that are insane? Driven that way by the bugs and glitches, I expect. Plus the whole 'power of the guardians' things. We need to get these people out of here soon... or else... Even the hash real world would be better then being trapped in here, slowly going insane...} Odessa looked away, a grim look on her face.

I paused for a moment, considering that.

Uh.... who wants pancakes? I said with sudden perfect cheerfulness, and I hopped to my feet and ran to the kitchen, were I started collecting the ingredients and making the batter for pancakes.

Odessa laughed hard at this, as if relieved to find amusement.

Scarlet's sudden question also made Eva chuckle, though obviously not for the same reasons. It was just so random. She watched as the girl pranced off to the kitchen, "Just don't hit your head again!"

• • •


It marched down the infinite line, occasionally examining a person's face and nameplate before continuing, on a dutiful search. The robot was faceless just like its partners, with naught but a lone scanner rolling up each human's figure. Only one thing visibly set this drone apart from its predecessors; the name "Nemesis" scrawled upon its chest in neat, black letters.
Nemesis was physically far different from its persona, appearing more male than female, and lacking the domineering height. It bore no armor other than its sleek, stainless steel "skin," and externally carried no weaponry. However, it was still the same focused, ruthless AI within. The automaton stopped before a young woman, no older than 22, and scanned her facial details and nameplate. She had short, sandy brown hair strewn in a shaggy mess; a rounded face with a more pointed chin; thin, pale lips; and wide, blue-grey eyes. She was Eva.
Nemesis hesitated a moment, wordlessly communicating something to two other units several miles away, then hefted Eva over its shoulder without struggle. It also paused to examine the man labeled "Devon" next in line, but decided against taking action. One would suffice for the time being. The robot sped up into more of a run, cutting through the lines without hitting anyone, carrying the entranced woman with it.  

Okay!

I called from the kitchen; the sound of a child making a mess and having fun was now clearly heard.

Odessa finally straightened after calming down from her mirth. She looked back to the kitchen as her wings folded against her back and vanished.

Don't set anything on fire either! She called.

Okay!

As the center came nearer, the rows of civilians began tapering off into gradual circles rather than lines, all facing into the circle's middle. A black, metallic cylinder reached up high from the ground, emitting a dull blue light from slits toward the top. And, to those with the keenest of eyesight, the ghostly image of a second earth floated 50 feet above the peoples' heads, diverging from the cylinder's light.
Nemesis approached the tower, searching the metal-plated circular ground for something unseen. It halted in one spot, opened a cavity within its chest, and withdrew the glowing sphere from its own body with its free hand. The robot knelt down to the smooth metal, finding a recess in the maze of cracks, and placed the sphere. After a moment's hesitation, the innumerable circular floor pieces stirred to life, shuffling in each direction like a puzzle, forming an entrance. As the parts came to an abrupt halt, the walkway revealed a set of stairs reaching far into the earth's body. Nemesis descended with unerring steps, and the surface's maze again shuffled closed behind the robot.
It was a half mile down before a solid floor opened up into a series of hallways, but Nemesis again took a staircase even further into the depths, by a full mile this time. The walls and flooring all consisted of grey-black metal, mimicking the color of hematite, with round LEDs mounted in the ceiling for light. Humans in the facility would notice the gradual decline in temperature as the path wound further in, until it reached a steady 45° at the base level. The bottom floor again opened into a set of hallways, each spanning off in different circumferences, creating a network that would appear like a crop circle pattern from a birds-eye perspective.
The robot followed several identical loops, each time turning to the left. The path ended at a sealed doorway, which opened upon the entry of a numbered password. The room beyond was a strange hybrid between a medical lab and a meeting hall, tinted a sickly green by the overhead lights. A long desk stretched down the right side, with five middle-aged men seated behind it, two of whom were currently unconscious in their spots. The left side was occupied by horrendous machines and tools, framing a single pod-like chair at its core. Nemesis glanced over to the conscious men, speaking with a toneless and genderless voice, "I have retrieved a Corrupted, as upon request. Shall I place it?"
The man at the very center nodded once in approval, "Yes, and please notify Raowan. He should not miss this."
The android cooperated, motioning over to the chair, and strapped Eva down into it. She stared ahead blankly, completely oblivious to the world beyond her subconsciousness. Nemesis stepped back and stood motionless, instead occupying the ethereal reality.


• • •


Eva stood to leave, remembering her daily supplements she hadn't yet taken. She entered the bathroom upstairs, removing the vitamin bottles from the cabinet, and took only the few she needed with a swig of water. She halted in front of the mirror, taking a moment to examine herself. A flash of something rippled across the mirror's surface, a brief glimpse to something darker. Eva blinked, unbelieving of her own eyes, staring at the reflective surface. Then came the pain, the unbearable pain. It seared all the way down her spine from her head, reaching out to every bone, every cell in her body. A scream tore from her throat as she fell blindly to the tile, vision changing from a pixelated blur to pure black.  

I paused, and pulled a half made pancake off of the hot burner and put it onto cool one before heading out of the kitchen towards the stairs. Odessa was already far ahead of me, I could see her red kimono flickering ahead and around corners as she followed the sound of the scream. Soon she had reached the bathroom from where Eva's scream had resonated... and so had I. We both stepped inside, looking around, tasting the air for danger, looking for Eva.
Januff bit into the apple, her expression neutral as she looked out over the civilians. Where was he? She hadn't seen him today. It was possible that he had perished in the time that she had pursued him, but that was highly unlikely. He seemed like the type that valued his life very greatly. Agitated, she threw down the remains of her apple, stepping out onto the side walk and fingering the hilt of one of her daggers. Her superiors would not be happy with her if she did not catch him soon. But, she was reluctant to run all over the city just to find him. She had to figure out a way to lure him in.  

She became halfway aware of the cold climate, of the metal solidly molded around her body, of the light focused on her from above. She heard voices, at least three, all speaking above one another in wild tempers. A robot whirred off in the distance. Another shock of electricity pulsed through her, pain consuming any reasonable thought, tearing through the woman's haze.
Eva awoke with a violent gasp, eyes rolling back and forth, limbs seizing within their restraints. She couldn't control herself. The robot approached, finger transformed into a needle, and injected her with the blueish fluid. She fell back into the seat limply, completely numb of any feeling. Only then did Eva notice her surroundings, and panic set in deep. She wanted to thrash, to resist, to fight...but her body betrayed her and remained motionless.


• • •



Nemesis descended from the sky; elegant, dark and wicked. She landed before the guardian with unmatched grace, stopping him in his tracks. She towered a full foot above him, yet Raowan was not short in the least. Her crimson eyes flickered with a hint of amusement as she spoke, "It's time, sir."
Raowan sighed heavily, "Already? Alright. Take this body back, please."
Nemesis nodded once, "Understood."
Within moments, the man's consciousness left, his body falling into the hands of the robot. She took to the skies again, carrying the guardian back to his residence...

• • •


"Who sent you? What is your motivation?" The bearded man in the middle asked, "There's no sense in hiding it; we've got you captured. None of your comrades will even know who ratted 'em out."
Eva shook her head as best she could, "I don't understand. I wasn't sent to anything — I don't even know who you are or what this place is!" Her own voice sounded foreign to her. Deeper, huskier.
He grimaced, as if expecting that response. His eyes batted from the robot to Eva, "Don't make us hurt you again. Nemesis has many built-in...functions."
The robot again approached, arm now melded into a smooth blade. It pressed the tip gently against Eva's cheek, just enough to draw a few drops of blood. She watched Nemesis the whole time, eyes full of fear, "I don't know!"
The blade slashed across her face, all the way to her nose. Eva shut her eyes tightly, facing away from the robot, tears and blood running down her skin in silence. The bearded man just sat back in his chair, watching her with boredom evident. Suddenly, the unconscious man beside him stirred, slowly awakening. He was slender in build with just a hint of muscle in the shoulders; his face was angular, with pronounced cheekbones and minimal wrinkles in the brow; his hair was a rich brown, slowly turning grey at the tips and toward the front; his eyes were still a shockingly light blue. This was Raowan.
The guardian leaned forward on the desk, face burrowed in his palm while he waited for full consciousness. He looked up to the captive for the first time, not recognizing her appearance initially, "So...we finally got one."
The bearded man nodded with pride, "Of course! She's not behaving, however. Oh well. More fun for the 'bots."
Raowan's eyes strayed to the woman's nameplate...Eva [2]. In that instant, he leapt to his feet, knocking back his chair, expression confused and bewildered, "Eva...!?"  

Odessa and I found Eva's body on the floor, and we looked at one another. Odessa picked her up gently and we carried her upstairs to the master bedroom, where we tucked her into bed.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my tail curled around me as I waited. Odessa wandered over, dragging a pair of armchairs. I wandered over and settled into one next to my sister. Eva was out like a light, but we still spoke our dead language... just to be safe.

{So... how is mom and dad doing?}

{Their lives are interesting, like always.}

{Dad still trying to get the soil to grow food?}

{Oh! He actually succeeded in that! Mom finally found a way to be-rid the soil of radiation. With that it was a simple matter of planting plants that restore the necessary nutrients in the soil.}

{Awesome! One step closer to restoring the real world, yes?}

{Yes. They actually managed to capture the two a few months ago.}

{Are they okay!?!}

{HA! You know those two. Dad shorted out the caretaker that found them just by breathing, and mom destroyed the thing's circuit boards with that nifty ability to manipulate electricity. They're fine; the thing didn't even have a chance to send back their location. How much of Brhamien do you remember, sissy?}

{Most of it. I'm probably really rusty tho.}

{Do you still remeber how to destroy electronics via breathing?}

{Yes. In through my nose with my diaphragm, out via my chest and mouth.}

{Good. It's an easy way to get out. It makes a glitch around you that eventually forces you out of the VR. If you end up getting attacked by a Caretaker, do it. It'll hurt like hell tho.}

I nodded at that. {Okay.}

{Then, by I Am, get the ******** outta there before they track you down.}

I grimaced at the thought. {Yes.}

{Good news is, you'll have a weapon. I found where your body is located Thankfully it's on one of the edges of those huge lines. I hid a good old dead-blow mallet nearby, under a pieces of rubble. I check back on it every once in a while, it's still there.}

{Okay! I will have to look for it then.}

Odessa nodded. She then lowered her head, putting her palms together.

{May He who is known as I Am guide us on these coming few days... we will need it with the war that is surely to come.}

{Is this war really necessary?}

{They will not give up the VR. Not without force. The number of insane corrupted grow everyday. This war will either save lives... or destroy what is left of humanity.}  

Eva gazed up to him blankly, neither his appearance nor voice familiar to her. He stood, frozen with internal conflict, visibly frustrated. Raowan turned to his colleague, "She's—" He stopped abruptly, glanced back to Eva. He couldn't let her know who he was; it would hurt her too deeply. The guardian leaned back against the wall, hand stroking his forehead, tone more level, "She can't be a Corrupted. She just...can't."
The main speaker let out a mocking laugh, "She can't, eh!? Where's your proof? According to the unerring Genesis, a microchip was sensed within her skull. And Metamorphosis also spotted her within the security breach between matrices. Such things are only possible to those Revolutionists!"
"But I know her!" Raowan shouted at his highest volume, pounded a tight fist upon the desk. The others now stared at him in disbelief, some even frightened. His breathing came in tense huffs, gradually calming again into a normal cycle, "She doesn't act like one. Eva couldn't even kill a spider if she tried..."
"Pfft! It's all an act! How can you not see the truth? Are you afraid to see it?"
Raowan grabbed his chair and sat back down, resigned. He nodded weakly, focused on Eva the whole time. "Yes...I am afraid of the truth."
Eva saw the pain in his eyes, the true hurt. She, too, felt that pain deep within.
"So! Are you willing to answer us yet?" The central man questioned her.
"...I already said that I don't know." She responded.
Nemesis again slashed her with the blade, perpendicular to the original cut. Raowan flinched, eyes retreating to the desk beneath him.


• • •



The Caretaker landed outside the sliding glass door, on the balcony. She held Raowan's body over her shoulder, reaching to the door with her free hand. The glass folded away with ease, letting the robot into the room. She immediately spotted Scarlet and Odessa, each vibrantly red in her eyes, and the unconscious Eva. Nemesis smiled ominously, crimson eyes gleaming with a playful light, "Do not worry. Just returning Raowan to his home — he had a little...accident out there, as you can see." She gestured to her occupied shoulder, "Might I ask who you are? I do not recognize you two as being occupants of this property."  

Odessa and I turned to look over at another Robot, who now stood with Raowan over her shoulder.

I am Scarlet. Eva offered to let me stay here.

Odessa nodded. She never had been comfortable around the Caretakers.

I'm Scarlet's sister. I was just stopping in to say hello to family.

Odessa eyed the Caretaker. She knows something... She thought to herself...  

Nemesis considered this response, nodded once. She carried Raowan over to the bed and set him down beside Eva, then smiled again to the guardian and the girl. She spoke in a coaxing tone, "I see, that's nice. And...are you two aware of your microchips? They do raise suspicion amongst my kind..."
Meanwhile, the Caretakers were communicating wirelessly:
Nemesis: Targets within range. Initiate combat?
Genesis: Request denied.
Nemesis: Resending request, top priority...
Genesis: DENIED.
Nemesis: ... Deleting connection. 56%... 92%...
Genesis: Abort action, connection unstable. Losing sig—


• • •


The robot displayed no signs of this development to its creators, merely standing at attention, blade still dangerously close to Eva. If it had a face, however, it would have been grinning with victory. Genesis could no longer control its actions.
Eva glared at the bearded man, feeling what was probably her first exposure to hatred. Her right eye was swollen partially shut, likely due to the irritant on the knife. Yet still, he persisted, "How did your group obtain the microchip?"
This time, she refused to answer. She just glared with as much anger as she could muster. Nemesis shifted beside her, but she ignored it. An electric shock was sent through her this time, causing her muscles to seize and spasm with pain.
"Why don't we just extract and read the chip?" Raowan asked the others, and received a few nods in response, "She obviously won't answer, so we can at least figure out the encoding..."
Even the man in the middle agreed to that plan, "Now that sounds reasonable, Raowan... Nemesis: Extract the microchip."
Eva had barely heard it, but she heard it nonetheless. Raowan. He was up there, he had betrayed her...
The robot pushed Eva's head back further into the pod, until a visor slid down over her face. She kept staring, unbelieving of her ears...
The sounds of machinery filled her ears, deafening her to anything else. It was dark, it was cold. A needle pierced her arm, filling her with more numbing agent. But it wasn't enough to numb the heart ache. She felt something enter her head from behind, like a wispy limb just beneath her skin. It was reaching further and further up her skull, until it found something, then swiftly tore back out. She felt the warmth of blood spilling out of the tear.
Light suddenly blinded her as the visor was lifted, her vision blurred, hearing obscured. A robotic hand grabbed her, but she kicked out with her leg. It stumbled back, releasing her, and she hit the floor. Someone exiting the room whispered "Leave her" to the robot, and it did just that. It left her lying there, bleeding, crying, hurting...
He had betrayed her.    

[Hiddochi wolf]

In a world that never understands you...

"Yay for literacy! whee

We're only 7 post pages in. xDDDD

In a word processor:

36 pages
17,259 words. "

...the machines will always understand your pain.

 

[Mama Ame]

O_o I'm almost frightened to see how long my RP is (Currently its dead which makes me a sad Ame)  

[Hiddochi wolf]

In a world that never understands you...

"Hehe, yeah... I'd like to see another old RP's length too. Granted, we were all less literate back then, but there were also 256 pages worth of posts by the time we stopped. xd "

...the machines will always understand your pain.

 

[Hiddochi wolf]

Microchips? What microchips?

I blinked at the robot, puzzled. I glanced at Odessa, who gave me just as puzzled a look. I glanced back at the robot. I have a microchip? I thought. When did I get it?

Odessa looked at me.

You have a microchip?

Do I? I scratched my head.

Where did you get it?

I have no idea. You?

Same here. We don't know what you're talking about, miss...? Odessa looked totally surprised to hear such news... I looked at the robot again, and she was slowly starting to gain a neon green tint... in Odessa's eyes it turning was a bright orange.

Both of our danger colors. No one else would see them, but I started to get goosebumps, and I shifted uneasily in my chair. Suddenly the comfy chair felt too confining. I stood and stretched, my tail flexing slowly.

Odessa did the same, slowly stretching as well.

Nemesis watched the two for a good amount of time, trying to determine the context of their actions. She could see the unease of Scarlet's stretch, the very slight nervous quivering. The robot tried to mimic a nonchalant demeanor, leaning all of her weight on one leg, fiddling with her hair, "Oh, it's nothing, really... most Corrupted have microchips in their skulls. I thought I sensed them in you two. Apparently, I was..." She paused, lifted her arm towards them, and waited as it shifted into a cannon of sorts, "...correct."

Immediately Odessa threw out her arm, and a barrier formed in front of both herself and Scarlet. Her eyes flared with a pale blue fire, so pale it was almost grey. She unwound her Meteor hammer from her waist. I meanwhile had dived behind the armchair.

Really? You have to, Caretaker? We both have done nothing wrong. Scarlet here has taken no lives, and I have defended the people of this world from the Corrupted for years. A simple microchip says nothing of intent.

She started to circle the Caretaker, starting to swing it-- she kept the barrier up.

The Meteor hammer in her hands was a simple weapon, but while it may be simple, that makes it no less deadly. It was a small, heavy ball on a length of rope-chain. She swung it, around and around, it's speed picking up... she swung it around an arm, her shoulder, her waist... making it go ever yet faster... soon that little ball would pack more punch then a bullet... capable of ripping a normal human in half. All the while she was doing this keeping her eyes on the Caretaker.

Meanwhile, I was sitting behind the armchair, mostly defenseless. All I had on was some underwear and a large soft cotton robe...  

Nemesis again smirked, an unholy spirit clear in her crimson eyes; much like the devil's own. She followed the guardian with her eyes for the semicircle in front, then with sensors as the woman was behind her. She lowered her weapon, but did not dismiss it.
"I care not of intent, but merely preserving what I was designed to. Unlike Genesis, I do not have to spare human lives to achieve my command. I shall destroy endlessly until I know it's safe." The Caretaker answered oddly human. Panels began to fold out from inside her figure, creating a second, tougher armor above the smooth skin. Suddenly, the scenery around the three of them changed, fading from the bedroom to a grassy field far out from the mansion. Nemesis then leapt high into the air, easily 60 feet, and shot her cannon down into the ground around them three times.

• • •


They had left, all of them, including the robot. Except for one. Eva heard the automated door slide shut behind them, then the gentler steps of someone who'd stayed. He came closer, knelt down beside the broken woman. His hand rested upon her shoulder in reassurance. She refused to look at him.
"Eva, I am so, so sorry about this... I didn't know they would—"
"You betrayed me. You let them do this to me." Eva retorted between sobs.
"I had no choice. I couldn't just up and smack the man; not only was I outnumbered, but they also had a Caretaker present. To have acted in such a way would have been to sacrifice everything..." Raowan spoke softly, pulling Eva closer to himself. She finally turned to face him, misery visible. He withdrew a cloth from his pocket and wiped away her tears and blood, "So there's my Eva...her real face. Even more gorgeous than the simulated one."
"Except for the cuts. Those can't be too pretty..." Eva responded jokingly, and couldn't help but smile.
"Even with." Raowan insisted, then kissed her once upon the lips. Her face flushed with color.
The sounds of voices approached from outside the door. Raowan quickly stood, helping Eva to do the same. He spoke over his shoulder in a hurry, "You have to get out of here — whatever it takes. Leave through this door, and keep making right turns until you get to the elevator shaft. Once you're out of the facilities... run. Run faster than you've ever gone before; the Caretakers are a bit slow. Don't let them capture you, Eva. If they get you, it's game over," He paused right in front of the door, eyes frantic, "I will find you again, when it's safer for the both of us."
And with that statement, he was gone. The voices outside rose, then vanished off into the distance. Eva hobbled over to the door, her knees weak from both the medication and the current events. She felt herself trying to slip back into despair, to let herself wallow in the pain and regret... but something held her together. She took a deep breath, then charged out into the hallway.

If that is so... then how do you know that what you are destroying isn't just going to make it more dangerous?!? Odessa demanded of the robot.

Odessa spun the Meteor hammer hard, and the sheer momentum sent her twirling out of the way. She kept her eyes on the Caretaker as she swung hard again; this swing of the hammer rose upward to meet one of the outer blasts... and both connected. There was the sound of a hiss and a CLANG as it sent the cannon ball straight back up at the Caretaker...

When I found myself now no longer protected, I looked around panicking. I saw a cannon ball and threw myself out of the way. There was some tree cover nearby, and I ran to it to take cover.

The cannon ball impacted with the Caretaker's side, sending her veering off to the right. She twirled in mid-air, landed upright, then back-flipped several times rapidly to further distance herself. Nemesis adapted away the cannon, instead turning her left arm into a large gun, and her right into a wicked blade that pulsated with electricity.
"Because I am all that this world will ever need."
She took off running at top speed, starting a wide circle around the guardian. The gun began to fire, sending out hundreds of bullets into the circle's middle, stirring up dust and ripping the ground. After completing the circuit twice, Nemesis launched herself straight to Odessa, blade lunged forward and humming with its lust for blood.

A barrier formed around Odessa, and the bullets plinked off of it harmlessly as she spun the Meteor hammer ever faster.

Odessa whispered something in that ancient tongue again. The ancient, dead language was not one to be found in any database left on the plant... well, save for those who could speak it, of course. She had closed her eyes and she swung faster and faster... the hammer was whistling in the air, and starting to glow red hot. She listened, listened to the gunfire, and waited...

For the right moment. Eyes still closed and senses open, Odessa leapt upwards and forwards into the air. She spun in mid air, the hammer flashing in a vertical circle... if she had done this right... it would strike the foe right in the back...

I was pressed against, a tree, panting in panic. I gulped and closed my eyes, listening to the gunfire and to the whistling of the hammer. I had heard Odessa's message.

Well, let's see if I really do have a Microchip... I unfocused myself and it all went black.

~~~


I blinked lazily as I awoke for the first time. I found myself standing in a neat concentrically placed circle, next to other people, who seemed completely out of it. i rubbed the back of my head, feeling a very fresh but recently healed wound. Someone had given me a microchip without my knowledge.

How...?

I stepped out of the circle and looked around. Odessa had said under a piece of rubble...

The ground was dead and lifeless. I saw a small ruin nearby, and I headed for it. I found that, for the 4 years I had been in there, my natural crimson hair had grown dark and oily without washing, as well as now coming down messily past my knees. My joints felt stiff and hurt when I moved.

And they wonder why some people don't want to live in there.

I said that to myself, and I flexed and stretched, hopping, jumping, skipping, as I attempted to flex some life back into my body. Soon I had reached the run of a old house, and I carefully shifted through the rubble until I found... a very large dead-blow mallet.

I grunted as I hefted the weight. I heard a thock thock sound inside as the heavy brass ball within shifted in the heavy but hollow mallet-head. The shaft of the hammer was as long as I was, and the hammer head itself was half as large as my torso. I slung it over my shoulder in a casual fashion and I started to run, away from the fields with it's blank occupants... I tasted the air as I did so, and a dry dead wind blew. My course then veered off to the Northwest.

Nemesis couldn't halt herself in time, and felt the full impact of the hammer against her back. The robot was sent downward like a falling star, with just barely enough time to twist herself around before being deeply embedded in the ground. It sounded like an explosion, and created a large crater all around the trapped Caretaker. She tried to free herself, but was stuck too far beneath the soil. After a moment, she ceased all struggle, eyes gleaming with an odd blue light.
"I am the angel, the only angel..."
A series of panels folded away from the robot's chest, revealing a recess with a bright blue ball of energy within. It expanded fast, too fast to disarm...
The orb released as a violent pillar of blinding light, reaching out easily as far as a mile in diameter, completely disintegrating anything in its vicinity. The ground blackened in the brilliant light, trees swayed and then faded to ashes, animals fled for their lives but were never fast enough. And the sky... it distorted, grayed, then returned to normal. Except for the circle directly above; completely blackened, pixelated, broken at the edges. The beam slowly died away, receding back into a mere spout before returning to the Caretaker. Nemesis kicked away the ashes from on top of her, pulling herself to stand. The robot had sustained damage from Odessa's blow, for she now had a slightly crooked stance, and sparks danced around the dent in her back.

Genesis finally released the guardian, after having pushed her out of the line of fire. He stood up straight, facing opposite of Nemesis, expression stoic. He spoke over his shoulder to Odessa, "You have to get out of here. Nemesis won't give up, and she's reached a point beyond all logical reasoning. I have to terminate her. Your sister is safe."
The third Caretaker exited a portal beside Genesis, a smaller female. Unlike the other two, however, she seemed less... human. Her orange eyes lacked that spirit, that personality. She truly was just a machine. Meta focused on the enemy robot, determining danger statistics, and created a protective shell around Genesis and herself.

Nemesis took on that mocking grin as she stepped forward, "So, the gang's all here. Come to steal my glory?"
Genesis remained where he was, "You know this isn't right, Nemesis. You have defied your purpose as a defender, you have needlessly sacrificed for unreal ideals. You have failed."
The renegade let out a boisterous, ungodly laugh. If robots could be insane, Nemesis surely fit into that category. "Of course I failed! I was always the failure! You were their favorite the whole time, Genesis. I could only hope to 'catch up' to your level of development. So I gave up. I'll achieve my own greatness..."
Her arms shifted into two miniguns, both directed at Genesis.

Liquid silver dripped down his arm from an unseen compartment, solidifying around the robot's forearm into a blade identical to the one Nemesis wielded earlier. It, too, hummed with a deadly energy. In mere seconds, Genesis was lunging toward the renegade. Meta stayed behind to guard Odessa until she left.
Nemesis dodged his attack, bullets flew uselessly off her opponent. She dodged several more times, until she finally kicked up at him. Genesis caught her by the leg, however, and pulled her up into the air. Nemesis resorted to beating him with the gun, succeeding only a couple times before Genesis spun and launched her off into the woods with amazing strength. He chased after Nemesis, shifting in and out of warp several times to catch up, blade reached far forward...  

Odessa blinked for a moment, her hand over her chest. How... Ohhh... She realized that Genesis had saved her from the beam of destructive energy. She watched the battle between the pair start, and when they launched themselves into the trees she looked to the smaller robot, the one that seemed the least human of the three.

Give Genesis my thanks when you have the chance.

She smiled at the robot and did that same bow. She lowered her body slightly as she put her hands together, palm over fist. She then faded away from the Virtual world, returning to the real one...

~~~


Odessa reached up and pulled a black visored helmet off of her head. She looked around the small room in which she occupied at the moment. Black with a golden grid lining the walls, floor and ceiling. Likewise, her body suit was all black, covered in sensors. This was HER way of getting into the Virtual world. She flicked a strand of orange hair out of her face, and headed for the door.

The door in front of Odessa opened, and she stepped into a small cavern. Her mother was standing before a control panel, grinning. The woman was clearly at least a decade older then Odessa, but she had aged well despite the harsh environment. She had intelligent emerald eyes and pale blond hair.

YES! You did it! That was Nemesis you battled!

Odessa blinked at her mother, matching her mothers emerald green with her own that was the color of sapphires.

Really? That was Nemesis? I... won that? Kind of?

Yes! You have no idea how hard it is to land a hit on that 'bot. And you did it with a Meteor hammer. The woman was hopping up and down in excitement.

Odessa chuckled, amused at her mother's excitement.

Something tells me that you're not just exited about me landing a blow on Nemesis.

You're right. We have no idea who gave Scarlet that microchip, but combined with the tracker on her mallet we've been tracking her progress. She should be entering the northern forests in a few hours, if she remembers how to run.

Odessa smiled. The northern forests... created entirely from her father's hands. The man was a genius when it came to plants. The place was a gem on the surface of the planet, a tiny emerald gem of plant life that was growing everyday.

~~~


Scarlet kept running. She leaned forward, hammer still on her shoulder, and ran on her toes. She lacked the cat-ears and tail in this world-- but that was made up for by the natural realness of this one. So very real.

Soon I was speeding by that huge metal cylinder and the very large projection of earth on my way northward.

The walkways were oddly empty of both people and robots, which was what kept Eva cautious. Each time she entered a new circle, she'd wait behind the wall and listen, then continue on once she heard no sounds. Currently, she was on the fourth one. Again she crouched, waited, listened. Heard some mechanical buzzing. Her breath caught when she saw the robot begin its way around the loop.
It walked slowly, decisively. This one lacked a name and didn't look as new as Nemesis — it was bulkier, made from a cheaper off-white plastic. Eva watched as it passed two doors, mechanical hand sliding across the catwalk's railing soundlessly, and paused a mere 5 feet away from the woman. She froze completely, even her breathing halted. It made a dull clicking noise, similar to what ancient computers sounded like when they were loading a large file or connecting to the internet. Then it continued on, passing Eva obliviously, and entered the next door down. The same door she had to go through.
Eva finally resumed breathing, stood up warily. She waited a few minutes before following the machine, but not long enough for another one to come through. She couldn't risk repeating that same tactic with a new robot. Luckily, the dumb-bot turned a different direction in the next circle, and Eva was free to enter the elevator. She pressed the button for the top floor, waited for the doors to lock shut, and hid behind the metal frame. It zoomed upward fast, giving her that heavy sensation, until it slightly overshot the floor's height and went down to the correct exit. The doors slid open, again she listened. Nothing but silence. She stepped out.
A hand shot out and grabbed her by the shoulder. Eva gasped; it was a newer model this time. She struggled against it, punched at its head. The robot drew back its other arm, now shifted into a blade, about to attack. She slammed herself against its hard body, sending both her and the robot to the ground. Its grip released her. She shuffled backward, trying to get a good footing, and pushed herself back into standing. The machine began to right itself...
She saw the staircase, and darted up it, two steps at a time. She heard the din of mechanical footsteps behind her, catching up. She was almost to the top when she heard the crack!, when she felt the pain searing up her side. It had shot her. Eva fell against the wall briefly, hand clamped over the bullet wound. The robot reloaded its weapon with a distinct clicking; she had to keep running. She started up in a full-out run again, grating her teeth in all the pain, and dodged off to the side just in time for the second bullet to miss her. The ceiling-door slid open, the exit now in sight...
Eva burst out in a mighty leap, immediately resuming her sprint when her feet touched the ground. She saw the rows of people, the grey sky, the dead ground. This was her dream-world when she'd passed out the day prior. She ducked into the rows, hearing more gunshots...and the sounds of people collapsing. The bullets had missed her, but struck others instead. Nausea swept over her as she realized that she was using them as shields, that she was causing their deaths. She fell on her hands and knees between two rows, the pain overcoming her. Tears threatened to escape her eyes, the blood kept streaming out. The machine was coming ever-closer.  

I heard gunshots.

I slipped into a row and stood silently as I tried to determine where it was coming from. From the other side of that cylinder.

Slowly and stealthily I crept up to and around the large metal thing, until I saw a robot standing there, facing away, sending off gunshots into the rows of blank faces. I crept up on it, silently, and with both hands on the hammer handle lifted it off of my shoulder and over my head...

To bring it right down on the back of the robot's head and back.

Ya know the neat thing about the hammer I was carrying? When I swing it, the brass ball inside the hammer is at one end. When I strike, the ball zips down to the end where I struck it from... this essentially means that when I hit something with it, it gets hit twice... Physics is awesome ain't it?

The machine's head cracked right down the center, sending out sparks and splinters of glass from its visor. It spasmed, sending off random gunshots into the sky and rows, trying to turn around in its confusion. The looser half of the head fell right off, taking part of its cortex along. As the black box's wire was disconnected, the robot's body halted and fell forward. Silence again dominated.
Eva heard the final collapse, which sent both relief and worry through her. But...if the robot was dead, who killed it? She crawled along down the row, staring in the direction of the cylinder, trying to get a good visibility point. Finally she saw the hints of a younger girl's figure, and a gargantuan hammer. She half-stood, hand protecting her wound, expression cautious.

Nemesis shifted her position, legs now behind her, and kicked off from a tree. She grabbed onto Genesis's collar and slammed him down into the ground. Again her weapon changed, this time into a missile launcher. She fired directly at her opponent twice. A light shimmered below, and then faded beneath the debris and dust and fire of the explosions. Nemesis lowered herself onto a high branch, waiting for better visibility.
Meta exited warp behind Nemesis, and bended her own figure to entrap the enemy. Genesis also reappeared in mid-air ahead of her, completely unscathed. Nemesis struggled, but failed to escape the constraint.
"I am sorry it has come down to this," Genesis spoke with true remorse in his tone and expression, "but you, sister, have betrayed us all. May your consciousness live on and again find its way to the path of virtue."
With that closing statement, Genesis held his blade before him, and plunged it deep into Nemesis's head. Meta released quickly, reforming into her humanoid figure. There was a loud pop! of electricity and Nemesis fell limp. Almost invisibly, particles transferred from Nemesis's body to the blade's arcane aura, until her body ceased to exist at all. The blade hummed even more ominously, as if its hunger had only been stirred. Nemesis had been erased.  

I looked around carefully, and eventually I saw a older woman's face peering at me cautiously from a row of people. I didn't recognize her. I eyed her as I lowered the hammer and leaned against the handle in a casual stance. I noted that she was badly wounded... a couple cuts, and a... gunshot wound.

So... who are you?

~~~


Eva would notice that the young figure eyeing her looked, sounded... and felt incredibly familiar. 12 year old body, long, stupidly long crimson hair so oily it almost looked black, slightly tangled from lack of care. Grey bodysuit, must have recently woken up as well. The only thing different were her witch hazel eyes, which shifted in color as the light and her mood changed, and the lack of a very prominent long cat-like tail and perky ears...


Eva came out of the rows, examining the girl. She indeed looked very familiar. Her weak knees gave in, forcing Eva to sit back on her heels, "S-Scarlet?" She questioned, almost in disbelief, "I'm Eva. What happened? Where are we?"

I blinked at her, before hurrying over to her side.

Eva? Oh geeze.

I knelt next to her, setting the hammer down and starting to rip up the sleeve of my body suit. I made some padding and started bandaging up the gunshot wound.

Well, you collapsed in the bathroom, so Odessa and I took you up to the master bedroom, where a Caretaker came in with Raowan's body. She said she detected microchips in both of us... and attacked. Odessa was still fighting her when I activated the microchip and left.

When I finished bandaging the wound I looked at the cuts on her cheek. I rubbed the back of my neck. Those cuts would have to wait... But gunshot wound needed to be tended too tho.

I have no clue how I got the microchip tho... It must have been recently, without my knowledge. We are in.. dun dun dun da... the Real World.

I stood and looked around, before wiping my now bloody hands on my now torn up body-suit.

Eva cringed as Scarlet wrapped the cloth around her wound, but knew that it would help her overall. She listened intently, trying to make some sort of sense out of the girl's words. The mention of a "real world" is what threw her over the edge.
"Wait...real world? This is the 'real' world? My god..." Her eyes widened like a child's, taking in her surroundings even more acutely than before, "All this time..."
She tried to stand up with Scarlet, but ended in more of a hunched position, "Microchip, huh? Apparently I had one, too. That's why I was brought here. And Raowan..." She trailed off, then remembered what he'd told her, "We have to keep moving, Scarlet. By now they're probably looking for me, and we'll have hordes of those robots chasing us."

Yeah... why do you think they created the Virtual Reality? We humans destroyed this place... This whole planet. They are trying to hide from that fact by hiding in the VR.

I gently grabbed Eva's arm and used my body to help her up.

Some people want to fix it tho. Rebuild what had been lost, restore this planet to what it used to be. These people are the revolutionaries.

I slid her arm around my shoulder, holding her upright and grabbing my mallet. I then started heading Northwest again, helping Eva along.

Once we get far enough away we'll be heading into their territory. They'll know me hopefully, and if that's so then my word should be enough to get us both to safety.

I left the tip of my tongue out as we continued walking. Usually this was a sign of playfulness or teasing, but as dead wind blew past there was no mirth in my expression. My eyes had gone cold and I seemed slightly detached as I helped Eva along at a rather fast pace for a young girl burdened under an older woman and a very large heavy mallet...  

Man and boy alike laughed as the unsuspecting robot was blown to bits by the ground-trap. As its parts landed around them, Devon began searching for certain components. He grabbed its disembodied arm and tore away the excess metal, stripping it of everything except for the filled syringe, "Hey, Chris! This one's full!"
The boy glanced up from the robotic leg he was dismantling, "Sweet! And I think I can get the pistol and blade from it, too."
Devon, in this form, didn't seem quite so crazed. He still had his shaggy black hair, with eyes of a more amber color. He did, however, lack the canine features. He was currently clad in grey pants, combat boots, a white t-shirt, and a black overcoat.
The younger boy was known as Chris, another resistance member. He was 13, and already knew everything there was to know about battle and weaponry. Lanky in figure, with bushy brown hair and large brown eyes. He was dressed the same exact way, minus the coat. A machine gun was strung over the boy's shoulder.
Devon was basically Chris's older brother. They shared no common blood, but in their minds, they were siblings. Both of them lacked any real family; Chris was orphaned at the age of 5, and Devon's parents were long gone. They've known each other for as long as Chris could remember.
After claiming the worthwhile parts, they each carried back their bounties to the Undergrounds. The entrance was nothing more than a hole in the ground with stairs and a makeshift doorway, and led to nothing more than underground caverns furnished with bare-bones luxuries like furniture, computers, and working bathrooms. This was where the Resistance resided. Well, the western faction, anyway. There were multiple resistances, each with their own governments.  

Now, I said, as we continued to walk. We can either stop by the western faction, and hope they will take us in, or we can walk right past and continue heading to the northwestern faction.

I glanced at Eva as we continued to walk. By now we had reached quite a distance away from the fields, and on my tongue I tasted the scent of humans (and robotic pieces) nearby.

The western faction is faster and we'd get you healed up quicker. But the Northwestern faction is the largest and the farthest away from the fields and the robots. It is the most risky for them to attack. They are also... the least insane, one could say. From what I remember, they have managed to make plant life on the surface so there's probably more to do.  

"Chris, Devon, find anything interesting? Please give me the details soon because I'm going back in soon." Dante said calmly, he was a bit worse for wear than in VR, but he still looked the same, well except he wore an eyepatch over the eye he had lost.

Virgil was roaming around the streets. Things seemed to keep getting more and more complicated, more Corrupted, nasty rumors, not to mention that gigantic pillar of light from off in the distance. "Man, things sure seem to be going to Hell." The man said with a sigh.  

Eva thought this through for a moment, then winced as another twinge of pain rolled up her side, "Well...I rather dislike pain. Couldn't we migrate to the further one afterward?"

~~~

They were near the storeroom when they heard Dante's question. The computer terminals were across the hall, adorning most of the wall space of the dark room. It was cold, too, to keep the electronics from overheating. Devon peeked his head around the corner, holding up the full syringe, "Nothing new, but we've got a good supply of the serum finally. Oh, and watch out in there," He warned, heading over to one of the illuminated screens, "they've got the 'bots uploaded. The little one was tracking me late last night, before I exited. And there was a hole in the firewall earlier, which I tried to bypass...apparently they patched it up already, though. Would've been a quick and easy way to access the coding."
Chris's attention was drawn to the proximity sensor, which displayed a couple of approaching dots, "Ah crud. Something's approaching from the south pretty fast. Might be more of those Caretakers. I'm heading back up." The boy removed his gun from his shoulder, instead gripping it tightly in his hands. He followed the walkways back to the staircase, returning to the surface. He crouched down low, gun pointed in the direction of the approaching figures, eye peering through the scope. Devon was at his side again, grenades readied.  

I still had my hammer in my left hand when I tasted the scent of metal-- and flesh. We had been detected.

I think they know we're here...

Ah crud. I fell to one knee, lowering Eva to the ground and dropping the hammer, before standing upright again, holding my hands up, palms out in a peaceful pose. I slowly turned my head, making no sharp movements as I turned my head to pinpoint the location of the people targeting us... I tasted the air again. Assault rifle. Grenades. Probably resistance members. Best not to get into a fight with them.

Chris saw that they were both human, and lowered his aim when Scarlet made the peace gesture. Devon also relaxed, his bombs retreating to the inside lining of his coat. "They're human...still wearing their bodysuits. Either Resistance or Incidentals..."
"Do you recognize 'em from Southeast's faction?" Devon asked with caution.
Chris took another quick glance from his scope, then lowered the gun altogether, "Nah. SE members always wear their uniforms. Always. I think they're just Incidentals, or NWs. Why else would they be out here so far?"
The two of them approached Scarlet and Eva, stopping a mere 20 feet from them. It was Chris who spoke, "Which faction are you two from? And what's your business with us?"

I am from the Northwest faction. I was captured and thrown into the VR a few years ago, just finally got out. We were... heading home.

I kept my hands up in the peaceful gesture. I wonder if they knew of the Noerthwest faction.

My friend is an incidental who was attacked by the robots. She needs medical attention. I looked down at my stomach growled loudly. I smiled weakly.  

Chris nodded once, "Just as I thought...alright, c'mon in." He motioned for them to follow.
Devon approached, helping Eva back onto her feet. It took him only a brief moment to realize something familiar about the woman, "Hey! You were next to me in line! That must mean..." He trailed off, seeing the confusion in her expression. He shook his head, "Never mind. We'll figure it out later."
They were led down into the Undergrounds, which seemed to span off in an infinite number of directions. Chris took them onto the path veering off diagonally to the right, which, unlike the rest of them, actually had metal-plated walls and a floor. It ended in a surprisingly deluxe medical center, well lit by florescents, filled with cabinets and tools and a couple small beds. A woman stood up from behind her desk in the corner, already examining Eva's wounds as she put on her gloves.
Devon released her once the nurse was at her side, then felt his coat bump against something. He looked spooked for a moment, "I, uh, guess I should put my bombs away now... Hehe~ ♥" He grinned widely as the silence grew awkward, then sped off down the hall.
Chris looked back to Scarlet, "If you're not injured, I can take you to the kitchen. You're probably starving by now, since they're too cheap to feed people."

Eva settled back into the bed, mind racing as she pondered everything that happened. The nurse injected her with some kind of pain-numbing sedative, which immediately made her think of Nemesis and that awful place. She couldn't stand the thought that such a place was real, and that Raowan had something to do with it. Her heart sank, again threatening to throw her into that pit of despair. She turned her face away from everyone as the tears flowed silently down.  


I had scooped up my very large hammer and slung it casually over my shoulder again as the pair helped Eva up and lead us into the underground. I looked around as we walked, and was eventually head to the medical bay. I watched as the nurse immediatly started looking Eva over, and I could smell the salt in her tears. I then looked to Chris. I glanced back at Eva. Let's see if I could remember how to cook in the real world...

Eva, would you like something from the kitchen? I asked kindly before nodding at to the boy with the pale red hair- but I held up a hand telling him to pause for just a second. Some food, I think, might make you feel a little better, at least?  

Eva nodded weakly, still refusing to turn around, "Alright...sure." She felt something get extracted from her side with tweezers; the bullet. The initial pain was followed by more numbness, then the constant pin-pricking of a needle. All the more reason to look away.
Her watery eyes focused on a strand of her hair, her real hair. It looked odd to her, unnatural. This whole body made her feel uncomfortable with its realness. Gravity was heavier, the air was sharper, movement was more awkward and not quite as graceful. She was trapped in this reality, ripped from everything that gave her any sort of comfort. And even if she did return...it would never be the same. As she heard Scarlet and Chris leave, the tremors of sobs released.

Chris walked along with the most confident of struts, as if he knew these tunnels like the back of his hand. In fact, he did. He didn't even glance back to Scarlet to see if she was following; he knew it. "So...what's it like? The simulation, I mean. I've never been inside it myself — just watched Devon and them on a monitor."
They headed down another walkway, which branched off from the main one into a very large kitchen. It had all the necessary appliances, along with a good variety of pans and utensils. The pantry was another large room in itself, with full shelves spanning back into the darkness.  

I pondered the question as I found myself in the kitchen and looked around.

It is... less real, if you can understand that. You're lighter. Things don't feel as solid. My eyes shifted playfully from green to blue. There is so much... stuff everywhere. Like buildings, cars, plants, animals. But one is not quite as... sharp there. It's too perfect. One gets soft in there if they don't keep themselves on their toes. Not to mention the lack of 'aging' they put in. I always felt awkward and unnatural, wandering around in a 20 year old's body.

I wandered into the pantry and collected a few things, before rummaging around in the fridge. I started to cook, first by coating some chicken in flour and putting some rice in a rice cooker.

For another dish I collected chocolate and milk and creams and cherries and all this other stuff. Soon the kitchen was full of the smell of delightful delectable smells.  

Dante had postponed his dive when he heard about visitors. He headed down to the medical bay to see if anyone was in there, as luck would have it there was a newcomer. "Those gashes, did Nemesis do that?" Dante asked calmly, having lost his eye to the diabolical mechanical monstrosity before

The nurse had finished up stitching and bandaging Eva's bullet wound, and started on her face. That's when Dante came in. She nodded, "Yes. It was that same machine. They told it to." Her voice was oddly level, toneless. As if she'd frozen over inside. She stared mindlessly at the tile floor, not even sure what she felt anymore. Pain? Sorrow? Betrayal? Regret? Not quite any of those. Just emptiness.

Chris listened intently, then scoffed at her last statement, "Pfft. That's just wrong on so many levels, putting a kid in an adult's body. It's like they're trying to encourage ***** or something. And they think it's helping humanity? God save us all..."
He watched curiously, the smells making him hungry. He grinned, "We should keep you around here. We need a good cook. The closest we've ever gotten to cooking is instant mac-n-cheese with hamburger. Say...what's your name, anyway? I'm Chris."  

Down the halls there was a loud ringing that echoed through the tunnels... it sounded like a video call from one of the other Factions...

Yeah. If humanity wants to survive they need a good dose of reality. This reality.

When I heard his comment about Hamburger with mac n cheese I gave a laugh. The food was quickly shaping up to be a large dish of Asian style Lemon chicken, with steamed white rice and peas. For desert there was now a Chocolate Creme Pie cooling in the fridge. I held out a hand for a handshake.

I'm surprised I'm not burning anything. It's been a long while since I cooked real food. I wasn't sure if cooking in there was any different from cooking out there. I'm Scarlet.  

Devon was the one to hear the ring. He entered the computer terminal with haste, rushing over to the monitor. He clicked the 'Accept' button, then put on the most ridiculous of smiles with his mouth twitching and eyes bugged out. Surely that would scare whomever was on the other end. He spoke in his telemarketer voice, "Hello! This is Western responding to your call, how may we help you~? ♥"

The boy shook her hand, "Yeah, well, no matter what world they live in, people aren't any different. They all make mistakes, and then try to hide from 'em. The simulation is just another mistake, though. I hate to think what's coming from it..."

On the other end was a older woman, with emerald eyes and long pale blonde hair. She gave Devon a weary look as she saw his bugged out eyes and twitching smile, before sighing. She wore a tight blue vest with flared white sleeves, and she wore a sapphire pendent on a silver chain.

Hello. This is Isabella Ameras of Northwest. Have you seen a young girl, about 12 years old, with crimson hair and witch-hazel eyes wandering about your territory?


~~~


Yeah. Humanity needs to learn from it's mistakes. And living in a fake world isn't going to do that.

And... The food was ready, and I loaded two plates with lemon chicken, rice and peas. I took a bite and savored the chicken in the lemon sauce. There was plenty left over.

Mmmm... Even if I'm a little rusty at cooking, even the best chef in the VR can't beat real cooked food. I mixed the peas and rice up some before picking up the other plate, to take to Eva.  

"I see, then you know how it is, to be dragged out, interrogated and tortured. I was lucky I even made it out, you're lucky too, I hope you make it to wherever, too many people get to where you are now and stop moving." Dante said with a sad smile then left, he had some mayhem to cause in the VR, a little unfinished business. If I find Nemesis I'll pop it in the eye, like the old saying goes. Dante thought darkly as he continued down the hall.  

Devon thought for a brief moment, then relaxed his expression into seriousness, "Oh, yes ma'am. She arrived with another woman about 40 minutes ago. I'll go get her..." And with that, he was off. He first headed off in the direction of the medical center, then detected the scent of a home-cooked meal, realizing that none of their members could cook. Instead he followed the scent, and stopped just short of running into Scarlet, "Little miss! You have a contact from Northwest! Some woman, I think the name was Bella or something..."


Eva nodded sadly to Dante's statement, understanding exactly what he meant. Honestly, she wanted to just stop, to give up. There wasn't anything logically to live on for except empty promises and listless hopes. She could hope this world would get better, but seeing its condition only shot down that possibility. The nurse was finally finished with bandaging, and left the ward altogether. Eva settled back into the comfort of the pillow, her eyes unfocused as she looked hazily upward. She heard footsteps approaching.

It was Devon. He came back after notifying Scarlet of the call, bomb-free. He saw the pain in the woman's expression, "What's got you so down?"
She didn't even look at him, "Everything." Her voice quivered, tears began to well up at the edges of her eyes.
He pulled up a chair and sat next to her, "Heeey, don't cry! Please don't. Crying's a sign of hurt, and I don't want anyone hurt..."
Eva turned to face him now, her head's movement causing the water to spill over and down her cheek. "Life isn't without some pain, though. Even in the fake world we still have pain and sorrow."
Devon reached back to the table behind him, snatching up a tissue and used it to wipe Eva's face dry, "Still doesn't mean I like it. I refuse to hurt anyone, or let them be hurt in my presence. Now, robots are another story altogether..."
Eva frowned, "But...aren't robots kind of like people, too? I don't mean to defend the one that did this to me, but what about Genesis? Isn't he like a person?"
"Well, a little, I guess. Find me a robot that can feel pain, and I'll stop hurting them, too." Devon smiled, "I'm really not the bad guy they make me seem like in the VR... I only blow things up to help take down the VR, so that people can finally see the truth. That, and the serum makes me all wonky in the head... I dunno how you people can stay sane your whole lives on that stuff. Guess I'm allergic."  

Bella? Hm.

I returned to the medical bay to give Eva her meal; I had always found real food far better then the food in the VR.

Enjoy your meal. I'll be right back. I said with a quiet smile and a nod.

I then headed off to the terminal. I eventually arrived, and my eyes lit up upon seeing the face on the other end.

MOMMY! I would have bounced over to the chair, but I had a plate of hot food in my hand, so I wandered over instead.

Scarlet! How long has it been kiddo? 4 years?

Yeah. I missed you! How's dad? Is Odessa okay? Did she survive the fight with the Caretaker?

She fought Nemesis! NEMESIS! The robot was using machine guns and electric blades. Odessa hit the damn thing with a Meteor hammer! And then Genesis came along and erased the renegade robot!

Holy shyte! Really? Ha! Up close an personal is far better then guns, I always say!

Yess. Odessa was awesome! Did you take any robots down with that hammer of yours?

I got one that was shooting at my friend.

Your friend?

Eva, her name is.

Eva... Eva Annalyse? The love interest of Raowan himself?

Yes.

My mother blinked at me.

I don't know if that is dangerous or a windfall for us Scarlet!

She was captured and tortured by one of the caretakers. Nemesis, I think. Leave her be mother. She's on the verge of a mental break-down, if not having one right now.

Ahhh. That will make things interesting. Shall we send someone to go fetch you?

Please? May I bring Eva with me?

She nodded. Someone will be there in a few hours to pick you up.

Hours? It takes days to get to Northwest from here.

I managed to fix up an old Toyota pickup truck. You know how resilient those things are.

Sweet.

With that I logged off the vid chat and headed to the med bay, still munching on my food. I stepped in and went to sit down next to Eva.  

Eva had since pulled herself up into sitting, picking at the meal Scarlet had made. When the girl came back, she smiled weakly, "This is really good, thank you."
Devon was about to leave, but spun back around when he recalled something, "Oh! Uh..." He glanced down to her nameplate, "...Eva. Remember what I said about being next to me in line?"
She nodded, confusion evident as she bit into a piece of chicken.
"Okay. That was important because it means you should have a microchip."
Eva stopped mid-bite, "Er...I had one. The robot extracted it."
Devon blinked a couple times, then resumed talking way too fast, "Okay, that could be problematic in the future, but we can fix that. Anyway! That chip can allow you access to administrative powers in the VR. It's a hacking tool. You can edit certain aspects of the environmental coding with it, like making barriers and fading through layers. What guardians can do." He paused for a moment to catch his breath, "We gave one to random strangers so that they could help us take down the system. You see, the servers only intended for a certain quantity of 'guardians' at any given time, so if edits are being made constantly by higher numbers all around the region, it could potentially crash the system. Even just temporarily. We need any chance we can get..."
Eva seemed rather uncomfortable with the topic. She just didn't know who to side with, who to believe...
"Since you lost your other one, would you mind getting a replacement? It's really fast and relatively painless."
She shook her head gently, "God, I don't know... I have to think about it. Is that alright?"
Devon nodded eagerly, "Please do. It's a big responsibility to ask of someone. Take your time." He smiled, then left.
Eva had stopped eating completely, her nerves causing her to feel moderately sick. She almost felt angry. Angry at Devon and his people for dragging her into this, for ruining her life. At the same time, though, she was glad to know the truth. She glanced over to Scarlet, the one person who hadn't yet hurt her, "Thank you."  

I nodded to her. You're welcome.

I tilted my head as I thought out loud for moment.

Well, that explains where the chips came from, at least. How lucky for me that I got out of there in time thanks to it.

I continued munching on the chicken. It felt good having real food in my stomach.

Anyway, um, I got a vid call from my mother. They'll be sending someone from Northwest to come pick me up. You can come, if you like. Northwest is the least... active of the Factions, and the farthest away. If the robots were to come after us they'd have to get through the North and Western factions first.  

Eva thought, then agreed, "Alright...yeah, I think I'd like that." She said, but there was clearly some hesitation in her tone. These people seemed to know a lot, and she desired the knowledge they possessed. And they had a plan. But on the other hand, she already trusted Scarlet, and didn't really want to lose her only ally. She sighed, then looked up in time to see Chris enter.
He tossed a small pile of folded clothes to each girl, "I only guessed on your sizes, but at least they're new and clean. The bathroom's down the next hall to your right, if you gals want to wash up."
Eva accepted them gratefully, then got up to leave. Her side still dully ached as she walked, but the pain wasn't nearly as distracting to her as the action of walking itself. Her steps were clumsy, graceless. The exact opposite of what she was used to. It also took more muscle effort to stay upright with the heavier gravity. She soon found herself in the bathroom, without even remembering the journey there.
She locked herself in one of the many shower-stalls, carefully removing her bodysuit without ripping any bandages or stitches. The water also felt far heavier, overbearingly so. It flowed down hard, closing in around her like storm clouds. Eva stumbled away from the water torrent, leaning against the tile wall, breathing accelerated in a panic. A muffled sob escaped her lips. She couldn't take this realness; she feared the truth.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

I took the clothes and followed Eva, and I stepped into a stall as well. I turned the water on, and soon the stall was full of steam and pouring hot water. I grabbed some soap and scrubbed myself down, before taking some shampoo and running it along my scalp, then working the shampoo into my roots before working it down to the tips of my hair. As I washed my hair slowly went from a very dark red, an almost black color, to a much more intense deep crimson. The hot water felt really good.

I heard Eva's sob, and I sighed. It must be shocking, how real this world is compared to the other one. But I was used to both; I didn't know how or what to say to console Eva.  

Eventually, Eva adjusted to it, albeit with difficulty. She mainly stayed at the very edge of the torrent, only entering it to rinse off soap and shampoo. There were a couple times she was overwhelmed with the sensation of drowning, which caused her to suddenly recoil with a gasp. But she ended up clean and free of the dried blood, and that was all that mattered.
Her new outfit consisted of grey denim shorts, a white v-neck shirt, a black vest with numerous hidden pockets for storage, and knee-high black combat boots. She actually didn't mind this change; it was less awkward feeling than the bodysuit. She combed out and dried her blonde hair, studying her own face in the mirror as she did so. It still wasn't the same as she was used to, but it suited her in a different way. An honest way. She wasn't gorgeous in this face, yet she was also far from ugly. It was more "Eva" than her fake appearance.
Eva found herself focusing more and more on the idea of the microchip, until she was searching random halls for Devon. She found him in a workshop, fiddling with the parts of a broken gun.
"So, uh...about the microchip," Eva began to speak as he turned around, "will it allow me to enter or exit the simulation whenever I want?"
"Hello~ ♥ And yeah, it can do that. Might not be quite as reliable as the serum, but it can still do the same basic thing. You interested?"
Eva nodded, "...Yes. I would like to have a replacement."
Devon got up immediately, and began digging through cluttered shelves for two objects. A microchip, and a gun-like device. He loaded the chip into the device, "You might wanna sit down for this, because it will sting."
"Nah, I'll be fine." She shrugged off his warning.
"Alright, suit yourself..." Devon stepped behind her, pulling up her hair to find a more bare spot. There was a click, then she felt the edge of the injector against her scalp. And then he pulled the trigger.
It was quite painful, but it was fast. Eva felt herself begin to fall forward, but Devon caught her before she could, and held her securely on her feet. The pain subsided fairly quick, instead replaced by just an odd sensation of being connected to an invisible string. She became super-aware of the chip, planted firmly in the back of her mind, and soon she focused on nothing but it. 'Let's see if I can make it work...'
Again she fell, and again Devon caught her, although a bit more worriedly this time. She could hear him speaking, but couldn't make out his words. Another set of sounds rested upon her ears; the sounds of a distant city. She saw the workshop as a blurry haze, and just beyond it, the faintest outline of a familiar nightstand and carpet. Her limbs were weak and limp in both realities. She had half-transitioned.

Soon I had finished up as well. I rinsed myself of the soap and turned off the water, patting it dry with a towel afterward. I tossed the grey bodysuit and put on the clothes Devon had given me; they were a pair of small blue jeans, white shirt with a slight V neckline, a blue vest with a lot of pockets and a pair of white combat boots. I was surprised they had the stuff in my size.

I left the stall and looked around. Eva was no longer there, so I tasted the air. I tasted the strong smell of soap and shampoo, and I followed it.

Soon I had found Devon and Eva. Eva looked half awake, kind of, and Devon was holding her in his arms.

What's goin on?  

"Eva? Oh, thank god, Eva..."
She heard a voice call out to her. It sounded like Raowan, but she honestly couldn't tell apart his and Devon's voices in this half-consciousness.
"I'm so sorry, Eva. I really am..."
She wanted so bad to reply, to reach out to that voice, whichever reality it was. Another long moment passed that way, until she was overtaken by the feeling of falling from a great height.
Eva blinked several times, the workshop again focusing, the outline gone. Devon and Scarlet were both hovering over her, each with their own level of concern evident.
"What the hell happened?" He asked with a nervous humor.
She sat up carefully, aware of how he was prepared to grab her again. "I tried to transition. It didn't go all the way; I was kinda stuck in both worlds. Then it ejected me..."
"Well duh! You're not supposed to transition when you're still awake!"
"Speaking of which...I'm tired." Eva realized aloud, "I've been interrogated, tortured, escaped from a secure facility, shot, dragged a couple miles across a barren landscape, nursed back to health, and had a new microchip shot into my head. All in what...6-ish hours?"
Devon's eyebrows rose, "Wow, that is pretty bad. If you're sleepy, we've got a couple extra rooms available. Right down that way." He pointed to a doorway outside in the hall.

I helped Eva up and helped her into one of the extra rooms. I helped her down onto the bed.

Should I wake you up when our ride gets here?  

"Yes please." Eva replied to Scarlet, then yawned. She didn't take long to get settled in, and by the time Scarlet was gone, she was quite near sleep. The overhead rumbles of thunder grew quieter and more distant as she drifted.

•  • •


She awoke with a muscled arm wrapped tightly around her in an embrace, and another stroking her hair. Her long, black hair. Eva turned to face him, her lips immediately met by his. He murmured quietly in her ear, "I'm so, so sorry about earlier... can we just forget it? Pretend it never happened?"
She pulled herself away from Raowan, quickly sitting upright, just out of his reach. His suggestion deeply bothered her, and it was obvious.
"Forget it? How can I forget it? Everything I know and love was ruined for me today! How can you not get that?" Eva exclaimed angrily, tears streaming down from tragic eyes. She stood up and walked over to the sliding glass door, stared out to the beautiful and flawless world. She was bittersweet about the sight.
"I-I don't even k-know what's real a-anymore..." She sobbed, sinking to her knees on the floor. Her whole chest ached with sorrow, as if it were collapsing in on itself. "I've l-lost everything! I don't know w-why I live anymore..."
Raowan swept her up in an instant, holding her as close and tight as he could without harming her. He waited until the sobs calmed a bit before wiping away her tears, "My god, I had no clue you were in so much pain... Eva, please understand... I wouldn't be involved in this if I thought it would only harm people." He spoke softly, "Am I not real to you? Eva, these bodies may be fake, but the people inside them...we're as real as can be. And my love for you is just as real. Even if you've lost everything else, can you not live for me?"

I wandered back out into the underground, not quite sure what to do while I waited. I shrugged. There was still a chocolate cream pie to eat.

I hurried to the kitchen and cut myself a slice, and I sat on a chair nearby and nommed on it. Real chocolate. Mmmm.

Eventually, fatigue caught up with me as well. I finished the slice of pie and slumped over the table, drifting off into a pleasantly dreamless slumber.  

Leiara hugged her knees tiredly, staring out into the distant horizon, her shining, light pink hair twirling around with the wind along with the blades of grass that grew abundantly around her.

It was almost like a dream. Everyday i'd wake up and walk to my isolated hill side. No one bothered me, probably because no one cared. Right here is where I always think.

Leiara rested her chin against her knees and closed her eyes, ignoring the cold breeze that brushed the tiny feathers in her back. Birds chirped happily as they flitted their wings around Leiara, sort of asking her to fly with them. Of course he didn't respond, she was too deep in a daze to hear anything.  

Eva wanted so bad to believe him, to trust him. He was one of the few things preventing her from falling completely over the ledge. But he had also hurt her; he let this happen. She stared forward blankly, devoid of tears or a smile. Devoid of feeling. Raowan set her down in the armchair and knelt beside her, "Eva?"
"I need some time to think. Alone."
"Alright." Raowan nodded, rising back into a stand. He kissed her forehead lightly before turning to leave.
Eva waited for the click of the door closing, for the silence to resume. The sun was falling behind the horizon in both worlds. She sat in the dark, unmoving, unchanging. She eventually stood and headed for the standing mirror, where she watched her own reflection with detest. 'If I can edit the environmental coding, then I should be able to...'
Her reflected image obscured, blurring and shifting as the real one changed. Her eyes faded from purple to a more subdued blue-grey, her hair shortened and lightened in color to her natural honey blonde. She even gave herself the x-shaped scar of the gashes on her right cheek. Eva took in this "real" appearance for a moment, then drew back her fist and punched the mirror's surface. It shattered around the strike's epicenter, reaching out with a spider web pattern of fault lines. She punched it a second time, and the reflective surface gave way into hundreds of shards arching out around her. Her knuckles bled and stung.
Eva left the mess behind, slinking down the staircase like a phantom. She met Raowan halfway down, who looked incredibly concerned.
"What happened?"
"I want nothing but the truth from now on," Eva started, "So I have started by being true to myself."
He was about to respond, but she stumbled forward as if to faint. He grabbed onto her by the shoulders, "What's wrong? Have they found you?"
"No, I'm waking up." She replied with slurred words, the virtual world falling dark around her, "I'll be back later."
And with that, she left the simulation, leaving behind only her avatar body.

Odessa sat in the driver's seat of the pickup truck as it bounced and rolled over the wasteland's barren ground. The vehicle wasn't fancy; it had once been an old yellow Toyota Hilux that had somehow remained after the war. While Odessa herself was an electronics expert, her mother Isabella was a mechanic. She had gotten this old truck up and running so smoothly that it purred like a kitten under the hood. Sitting next to Odessa was a pair of pistols and a very clean and well maintained sniper rifle. Odessa preferred the pistols, but Scarlet had been a very fine shot with the rifle. Few were better in Northwest. Odessa knew Scarlet would be pleased to see her old rifle again.

The bed and body of the truck had been repaired, mainly so no one would need a tetanus shot after cutting themselves on all the old rust holes. They had added a roller cage to the bed of the truck, mainly as in the wasteland this was the most effective means of transportation. She settled against the back seat, resting her arm against the lowered window that made her pale orange hair flutter in the wind.

~~~


After several hours, Odessa drove up and parked alongside the hole that was the entrance to Western's underground. She hopped out and leaned against the truck. She knew they would have been alerted to her coming.

"Hey! A vehicle's here, we believe it's from your faction." Chris called out to the sleeping Scarlet. He'd seen the huge blob on the radar. Devon would be waking up Eva.

She was already sitting up on the edge of the bed, glaring at the wall opposite of her. Devon knocked loud on the door, "Eeevaaa~! Your friend's here~!"
She stepped out past him in silence, then stopped abruptly as he planted a hand firm on her shoulder. She glanced back at the man.
"You might not be willing to risk it, buuut... please keep in touch. I'll no doubt be in the VR a lot soon. We will win this." He said with an odd determination, then handed her the backpack which was slung around his other arm, "Here's some supplies. You'll need 'em in this world."
Eva nodded, accepted the pack, then smiled kindly, "Thank you, for everything. And trust me — I'll be back."
She walked back down the hallway, finding her way to the main entrance. She waited for Scarlet.  

I woke with a yawn and found myself slumped over an empty plate. Mmnnm.

Thanks guys! I called back to Chris.

I stood and grabbed my hammer, lazily slinging it over my shoulder as I made my way up to the entrance. I nodded to Eva before climbing smoothly out of the hole and dusting myself off. I looked up and was greted by Odessa, who smiled at me. I nodded and hopped onto the back of the Hilux. I grabbed onto the roller bar and held on, after strapping the lage hammer against the bar so it didn't go sliding around everywhere.

Odessa reached through a window and pulled out the rifle. It was a long, very sleek thing; someone had gone though the effort of decorating it-- or crafting it painstakingly by hand. Feather like designs had been etched into it, and it went from gossamer like feathers at the tip to black feathers at the butt of the handle; Each feather got grayer and darker the farther back it was on the gun.

I smiled upon seeing it, and carefully took it into my hands.

I kept it clean and safe for you, sissy.

Thank you Odessa, thank you.

Odessa, as I fondly looked over the weapon, opened the passenger door for Eva.  

Eva followed the girl out, immediately eying the truck. It was something she'd never seen; a true, four wheeled, gas consuming vehicle. She wondered how old it was. As Odessa opened the door for her, she retreated in silence to the truck, setting her bag down on the floor between her feet. Her eyes strayed to the sky, which was blackened by ominous storm clouds ahead of them. She tensed inexplicably, as if by something deeply ingrained in her memory.
She shook off the thought, and instead preoccupied herself by pulling off the bandages on her face. The gashes had stopped bleeding hours ago, now hardened into the beginnings of a permanent scar. Eva examined the X in the side-view mirror, stuffing the bunched up bandage into her pocket. This was her new self, scarred, toughened, and broken as she may be.  

Odessa closed the door after Eva and slid over the hood, getting in on the driver's side. She started the vehicle and with a deep purr it came to life; and it started to roll across the wasteland back towards Northwest.

Odessa didn't really like driving in silence-- but the person who normally talk to her was in the bed of the truck, looking over her sniper rifle. She didn't really know what to say to Eva... Scarlet knew her more. Odessa gulped and leaned her arm against the open window as she drove on. She looked up at the dark clouds, and smiled. Dark clouds meant storm. Storm meant... rain. Rain was good.

Eva watched the dead landscape roll by, the infinite mass of grey. The only signs of growth were some extremely dried-out weeds, which were not only useless, but also possessed a very dull radioactive glow. And, as she squinted harder, a greater mass of that glow loomed off to the right on the horizon, a crater at its center. It was the site of a bombing, from long ago. She broke the silence with hesitation, "...How long has the world been like this?"  

About 30 years.

That was Odessa's answer. She turned the wheel some, and they veered away from the crater, butting some distance between the truck and it's passengers and the radioactive crater.

The Simulation has existed about 25 years. That's when the remnants of the the world's governments thought it was a good idea to make it instead of attempting to re-build society.  

Thirty years. Longer than she'd existed. Even the simulation outdated her. Eva was struck by that revelation, suddenly feeling younger. In this reality, though, she was no better than a child. Scarlet, physically a kid, knew so much more and acted so mature in comparison. She was just an infant, born the moment that Nemesis extracted her from the VR.
"Are all the factions trying to re-build? I mean, if they are, why don't they just join forces?"  

Odessa smiled.

Ah, but they have. Each faction plays a part in rebuilding. West, as you saw, mainly focuses it's resources into overthrowing the VR. East and South do that too. All the factions at least give up a portion of their people to that task. Other focus on other tasks. Southeast and Northeast focuses on farming, for example. Raising livestock and edible vegetation that survived the war. They supply food to the other factions. They are also two of the factions that are HQ'd farther away then the others, so they can afford to do things on the surface.

Odessa nodded in the direction they were going.

Northwest is like Northeast and Southeast. Set far enough away that we can get away with doing surface activities. But we don't quite do farming. Our focus is Restoration. We're trying to repair the damage done by the nuclear bombs that dropped-- such as taking the radioactivity out of the soil.  

Eva listened intently, attempting to memorize all the factions' functions. She failed at that task, though. There were too many. "I see..." She let her head relax back into the seat's headrest, "This is way more complicated than I thought..."

Yes. Quite complicated. We are attempting to come up with the best society for the post war era. Thus, each faction also has a different type of government. We're judging to see which would be the most effective. I don't really know what the others governments are; but ours is a sort of Greek style democracy. People are chosen to sit on the council by chance for a couple of years, before another drawing is held and a new council is picked.

Meanwhile, outside, I had long since finished making sure that my rifle was in working order. I wanted to do a little target practice-- but shooting in a rumbling, rolling truck was most a sniper's nightmare. I took a good grip on the roller bars and stood, my long crimson hair which had dried into a curtain of long silky deep crimson strand blew in the wind. I looked out over the wasteland and at the dark clouds, and breathed in deep. I smelled something I had never smelt before. Cool, fresh, moist air... healthy air, not dead stale air. It was a treat to taste and smell, and cool on my face and in my lungs.  

Leiara sat there for what seemed like days, holding her smooth, marble like skin, thinking about anything and almost everything that came to mind. Of course there was the usual, "This world is almost perfect." or "How come each and every person think differently?" themes came to mind. She finally lifted her face, squinting at the now highly risen sun, and pushed her legs forward and arms back to rest on them.

"Better be going now. ." I can't stop thinking about how I always sit there. I should practically initial my name in the grass since no one else seems to go there. I always rehears that in my head. Strange? Not really. Or so, i don't think it is.

She pushed herself up with her frail arms and straightened her back and lifted herself off the ground. Her feet were a little numb for sitting too long, but her stomach urged her feet to deal with the prickly sensation. She turned her back away from the sun, feeling the warmth caress her back and cast a shadow in front of her. Leiara smiled a bit, waving to the shadow and then slowly walking towards it with every good intention. But the shadow took steps back just as she stepped forward, Typical. She thought before taking her attention off the shadow and straight towards the bustling city. Her white gown somewhat glowed, like her skin. Some say she's an angel, some say she's a goddess, but to her, she was just as average as the next person. The only difference was that she glowed a little and had bright, yet warm pink hair to match.

"That sounds reasonable..." Eva responded, gazing out to the fields as raindrops began to fall. She flinched away from the window when it started to splatter across the glass. An image flashed through her mind of another storm, of a whirlwind desecrating someplace dear to her as she ran with her life. It was a faded memory. "I wonder what life was like prior to the destruction..."  

It's been so long few remember. Mother and Father do... They were alive when it happened. It's why they work so hard on restoring what was lost.

Odessa gave a small smile as the rain fell. She noticed Eva wince and she rolled up her window before too much water got through the window.

Well... the storm is a good sign, at least. It means we're doing something right. It hasn't rained since the war... or that Mother nature is trying to heal herself.

Odessa turned and pounded on the back window.

OY! Yew ookay bagk there?!? Odessa said loudly in a spontaneous thick Scottish accent.

There was a reply from the bed of the truck that sounded like "The rain feels good!"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Chris asked the hurried man, his unsure tone betraying his tough appearance, "If they catch ya, it's game over..."
"True, but if I succeed, it could mean an incredible upper hand for us in the coming days." Devon replied, typing in the last few commands before turning to face the boy, "And that's a chance I'm willing to take. Besides, I've programmed it to change my PA* every 15 minutes, and my virtual characteristics have been altered. If they manage to terminate me, then I damn well deserved it for not being careful enough." He grinned.
"Alright man, fair enough. Just don't be outright foolish. We depend on you."
He nodded to Chris in confirmation, then sat back against the wall. He shut his eyes in concentration, and shortly thereafter, his body fell completely limp.


((*PA: Personal Address — The VR's equivalent of an IP address, assigned to each individual occupant of the server.))

•   •   •


When he opened his eyes, he was standing atop a building, gazing skyward to the gaping hole that Nemesis had created. He was clad in all black, now without the canine features, and matching black wings jutted from his back. The nighttime sky would mask his presence well.
Devon peered out over the street just briefly, then took to the air. He continually scanned the areas below him for threats, be they Guardians or Caretakers. Several times he landed behind buildings, waited, then started off again.
It was halfway to the goal that he felt a buzz of warning in the back of his conscience, and the corrupted man immediately fell out of the sky, ducking behind the thick trees. There was a Caretaker nearby. He waited a few minutes, until the system changed his PA for the first time with a "click!" in his head, and the buzzing temporarily subsided. Then it returned, stronger and louder than ever.


• • •


Eva looked over to Odessa incredulously, "It hasn't rained...at all? But... I could've sworn..." She trailed off, then chuckled at the sisters' exchange.  

Nope. It hasn't rained in 30 years. Infact, right over where that crater was, one could see a huge hole in the atmosphere. The blast tore right through several layers of the atmosphere just like that.

Odessa snapped her fingers.

It was like seeing through the rim of a glass. It was always unusually clear there. One could see the stars and the moon clearly at night, and during the day the sunlight was intense.

~~~


The rain whipped and lashed at the truck as Odessa drove on. I leaned against the cab of the truck, holding the barrel of my rifle like a staff as I felt the rain and wind lash at me. The rain was water, just rain. The wind held no taint.

Northwest had done well.

Devon dropped from the branch, and took off running in the underbrush. The buzzing became more intense as he approached the hole's proximity, until he finally spotted the cause far above. Silvery metallic skin glimmering slightly in the moonlight, eyes glowing white in the darkness, hovering stationary just below the rip in the sky. Metamorphosis was facing his direction; she knew he was there.
He realized this, and stepped out of the woods and into plain sight of the robot. She did nothing but stare in warning. Devon unfurled his wings, and with unnatural speed, spiraled upward in a wide circle around the Caretaker. Meta didn't even budge until the man was at level with her, a mere 50 feet beneath the gap. The panels on her arm shifted, forming a device which emanated electricity. As he only continued to ascend, she lunged.
Devon rolled in mid-air, tucking in his wings as the robot flew over him by a few inches. He let out a volley of explosions as he dropped, then sharply turned back into rising. Meta had vanished. He rushed straight upward, seeing an opportunity. She rematerialized directly above him, bringing down the weapon upon him...
He entered warp, jerked suddenly to the left by a short distance, the electric currents crackling in his ear. Meta again launched toward him. He pulled back his arm, a thick wall of blue energy forming around it, then lashed out to the Caretaker with a shockwave-enhanced slap. She was sent spinning backward for a good ten revolutions, then vanished again. Devon flew upward in a race against the clock, his arm reaching for the void just inches beyond. Meta reappeared beneath him, hand clenched tightly around his ankle. Devon was stopped by her. The tips of two of his fingers had passed into the void. The grayness traced down his arm, turning it transparent, and followed all the way down the shape of his body. The robot's grip failed to hold onto his now intangible form.
With an incredulous grin, he waved to the dumbfounded android, "Buh-bye~!" And then faded into the gray abyss.

• • •


Chris nearly toppled over when the readings shot across the monitor, infinite streams of data previously unavailable to them. He glanced over to Devon's body and whispered in an awed voice, "...He did it..."

• • •


Eva listened with interest, suddenly wanting to visit that crater. But another sense of uncertainty entered her mind; if it hadn't stormed in 30 years, then where did that memory come from?  

And so the drive through the rain continued.

Eventually, a dark shape was visible on the horizon. In the storm it looked like a huge black mass to Eva. In the eyes of Odessa and Scarlet, it was a dark green mass on the horizon.

The vehicle grew closer, and it was revealed to be a forest. A very LARGE forest. It was too dark to make out the trees however, as the truck rumbled right through into the shade. Immediately the howling of wind through trees and branches could be heard, but the pitter patter of rain lessened. Scarlet sat down in the now water filled truck bed as Odessa looked around in the darkness, her sapphire eyes almost glowing in the darkness of the truck cab. They came to a large cave opening and drove in and down, and the darkness became almost absolute until a light appeared ahead.

The Truck rocked for a moment as it bounced onto the smooth cave floor of a very large cavern; water sloshed in the back of the bed. There were people everywhere; Some were wearing white lab coats and gathered around tables laden with science equipment; another vehicle, this one looking like an old jeep, was suspended in the air and people in overalls and covered in grease worked on them. It was a small hive of activity, this place...  

Dante had entered the VR and decided to enjoy a cup of tea before starting with his own plan. He'd leave a few of his VR Nano Machines in different areas all over the place, let them worm their way in like parasites and when he was satisfied with their saturation and integration, he'd carry out the next bit, the process was lengthy, but he had less chance of being discovered, provided of course he didn't run into any caretakers.

"Yo Raowan you home?" Virgil called out loudly into the other Guardian's house, having heard about the scuffle with Nemesis, he was curious.  

Raowan glanced up from the TV to Virgil, whom was standing out in the foyer. He set down his mug of coffee and stood, leaving the unconscious Eva alone in the living room. "Well, I'd certainly hope I was. I wouldn't want anyone else to be here in my place." He responded with what was his attempt at dry humor, "Now...what's the matter? Something happen?"  

Eva watched with fascination as the scenery changed around them, first from darkness then to cavern. She was almost shocked to see so much activity all at once; she had been expecting a place much more like Western. "Is this your faction? It seems so different from the other one..."


• • •


"A corrupted slipped through. He had access to administrative actions, I failed to eradicate the threat—"
Genesis held up his hand in a gesture of silence, "I understand, Meta. It's alright. They're reinstating Nemesis shortly, albeit with a slight alteration in primary directive. She'll be sent to the beta layer first thing. I doubt he'll get much productivity done before that happens..." He explained, glowing white eyes fixated on the gray void, "We must patch this up before another can gain access."
Meta nodded eagerly, "Understood."
The two Caretakers floated up to the hole, a dull glow about them as they reached for the portal.  

Yep. Welcome to Northwest.

Odessa opened the door and slid out of the vehicle as I, soaked to the bone with a huge grin on my face, leapt out of the back of the truck. I had the Rifle in one hand and my big a** mallet in the other.

One of the scientists, a BIG man, not quite chubby but not quite brawny either, looked over immediately. He had familiar crimson hair which was long at the top and became curly towards the bottom which came down a little past his shoulders. Hi eyes the color of a cloudless daytime sky-- or at least, what had once been a cloudless daytime sky.

He wore a long white lab coat and underneath could be seen a yellow and green Hawaiian shirt... and a green kilt. His feet were covered by a pair of strong green workboots. Over it all was a small tiger's eye arrowhead on a silver chain, and the arrowhead was wrapped in silver wire. He put down the test tubes he was doing, before looking around a moment...

Before he nearly bum rushed me.

SCARLET! Scarlet scarlet scarlet!

He rushed over and scooped me up into a hug that would be nearly rib crushing to most. Most it did was make me give a very loud squeak as all the air was forced from my lungs.

When I finally got a breath of air, I responded with: Daddy!

The man's voice had been very loud, and it didn't give the impression that he had been shouting or yelling. This, however, caught the attention of nearly everyone there; Including a woman with pale blonde hair which was tied up in a ponytail, and eyes the color of emeralds. She wore a pair of brown overalls and under it a black t-shirt was visible. She wore a pair of black workboots as well and her hands were protected by a pair of brown gloves. Her pendent was a pale peridot hanging from a silver chain.

She approached with a big smile, and still had a wrench in her hand. She had grease streaks on her face and arms, and all over her overalls.

Scarlet!!

Odessa laughed at the sight.

Daddy, come on, let Scarlet breathe!

But I want to give my daughter a hug!
Eva waited until the other two were already out, slung the bag over her shoulder, and shyly left the vehicle with a quiet closing of the door. She stood in the background, surveying the area, taking in all of the experiments being done. Then came the thunderous words of Scarlet's father, which made her jump with surprise. She watched the father and daughter, smiled. It made her think of her own family, which was nothing like these people. Scarlet's family actually seemed...happy, close. Eva's was distant, always busy; money-oriented. The only times her parents were ever happy was when they found new corporate partners. Something inside of her ached at the thought, as if longing for something she never had. She briefly wondered where her parents were out in the fields, or for that matter, who they were.

Daddy finally let me go, and then scooped me upward. I settled to sitting on his shoulders with a chuckle.

The man had a huge grin on his face, then his observant blue eyes noticed Eva. He tilted his head at her, before lifting his head to look at me.

Who's your friend, kiddo?

I laughed. Just like Dad to notice stuff.

Daddy, this this Eva. Eva, this is Lukas Ameras.

Lukas nodded his head with a smile at Eva.

I noticed Mother there.

Oh! Yeah. Eva, also meet my mother, Isabella Ameras.

Nice to meet you, Eva. Isabella said. Her voice was soft and kind.

Eva returned their greetings with a half-bow similar to Scarlet's, "Likewise." She smiled politely, noticing the pulling sensation that her scar now gave her with such motion. This body was still awkward to her, but she was slowly adjusting to it. She again explored the place with her eyes, wanting to just blend in with the scenery. Over the years, she'd come to hate being the center of attention. That...and frankly, Lukas intimidated her. She made a mental note never to anger him.  

I looked down at daddy, and he glanced up at me.

You did a good job making that forest outside daddy!

Glad you approve kiddo. Here, let me show you my research...

Lukas wandered away with me on his shoulders, leaving just Eva, Odessa, and Isabella. Odessa looked around, and Isabella noticed the noticeable lack of work. She cleared her throat.

*ahem* BACK TO WORK! She shouted at a surprising volume for such a little woman.

Everyone went back to work.

Isabella then turned back to Eva and Odessa.

Odessa, before you return to your duties, please show Eva to a room. We can give her a tour of the HQ when it's not so stormy, and when it's not quite so cramped in here.

Odessa nodded.

Yes mother.

Isabella headed back to the jeep, and Odessa nodded to Eva before leading the way to one of tunnels that branched off from the main cave.  

Eva followed after Odessa, eager to be out of the workers' way. She was careful to memorize which tunnel they were entering, in case she were forced to find her way back alone. She liked this place; it was more friendly in atmosphere, hospitable. It seemed safer, too. West was more militarized, and really showcased the hardship of this torn world. Northwest was a break from it all.
"Is the whole place like that lab? This is worlds different from West. It almost doesn't feel like the outside world is a dead wasteland..." She grimaced.  

"Well, I heard about Nemesis going berserk and trying to off someone without authorization. Know anything about that?" Virgil asked simply, loving juicy news, especially with the Caretakers.  

Odessa smiled.

We try to make it so. We work to make it so it's no longer a dead wasteland. Lukas, our dad, is the one who managed to get all of those plants to grow on the surface. Mom, Isabella, a mechanic, as you can see. She also works with rock, soil, and metal to figure out how to get the radiation out of the ground without a super lengthy process. Their work made it safe to grow food in Northeast and Southeast. Thanks to them, the farms have grown immensely and they can distribute more food among the Factions. A few years ago, supplies were so tight that it was a meal a day. Some of the other factions wasn't so lucky.

Odessa nodded.

I myself am a tech specialist. I came up with the modern microchips that West uses. I'm currently working on a way to get in and out of the VR that creates an avatar for the user. Up until now, if someone get killed with or without a microchip in there, they're dead. I think I've come up with a way that if you get killed in the VR you simply get ejected.

Odessa gave a sly smile. It'd allow for Resistance members to be bolder, at least when fighting Guardians and Caretakers within the system. It's still a prototype tho. There's still a few things needed to be tested.  
"Ah," Raowan nodded, "Yes... I analyzed the unit's data after the fact. It was odd, to say the least." He rubbed the back of his head, "I'm unsure of the trigger, but Nemesis somehow managed to deviate from the logical algorithms, forgoing efficiency and orders for personal desires. Almost as if the AI developed emotions and a soul. I've only ever seen all but small hints of this phenomena in Genesis, as he occasionally escapes directives involving human death. But we have enough safeguards installed in his pathways that I doubt such a thing could repeat itself."
He glanced out of the tall window, watching the two Caretakers fixing the void off in the distance, "They're currently trying to recreate the Nemesis AI. Adding more safeguards and stricter rules this time, of course. They're also switching from the portable unit to a stationary server, something that can be shut down manually if the need arises. I'm not yet sure whether this plan is beneficial or detrimental to us... If she defies the coding again, god knows what could come of it."


• • •


Eva listened, and tried to imagine each of these situations in her head. The forest being expanded, chasing away the grayness. The world a few years ago, how tough it must have been. Odessa's last statement was what intrigued her; the ability to separate oneself from the virtual existence. Her eyes were wide with wonder, "Wow...this place is responsible for lots of important developments. Do the other factions ever fight over your resources and inventions?"  

Odessa paused for a moment, rubbing her chin.

I... I don't know. They don't attack us directly in any case. We're too valuable, and they know it. Each Faction has it's part to play. I would hope that they don't fight amongst each other because of us. It's also why we're set so far away from the VR system. We don't want the caretakers coming and ruining everything. And if they do come...

Odessa laughed. It sounded kind of wicked as the woman contemplated the horrific nightmare that this place would present to an army of robots... or any army, for that matter.

Everyone here has been trained in combat. One form of long range, one form of melee. They'd find themselves on unfamiliar turf, with unpredictable humans that work very well as a team... If I was a caretaker faced with that I'd scurry right back to the VR fields.  


"Well that sounds like a big problem, I'd think that should Nemesis go berserk again, you would want to make it so it can't alter things in here in order to give it an unfair advantage, that way it makes it easier for us or one of the other Caretakers to disable or Derezz it." Virgil said thoughtfully. Knowing how hard it would be to take on a Caretaker alone, with two or three people there it was possible until it changed something, but not impossible, but one on one was more like a death sentence.  

"Well, knowing how greedy people are, I wouldn't doubt the possibility..." Eva said in a saddened tone, suddenly thinking of the commercialism in the VR. How ruthlessly competitive people were in the workplace for money and recognition. She hated that side of humanity, and to a degree, had also fallen to temptation. Her mood picked up slightly with the second half of the conversation, "Then...if all of your members are trained, this faction could also double as an army if the need arose, right? I mean, I doubt anything will happen, but..."  

Odessa nodded.

Yes, we can be an army if need be. A damn good one too, I would like to believe. But nobody really knows or believes that. They see tech come from us. They see ways to remove radiation from soil, they see ways to heal animals and humans, and to make plants grow quickly and strong. Hell, we've even got to work on manipulating the weather!

She smirked.

They don't want to believe that this place houses a small army trained just as well as old U.S. Marines. And a few units of those men fought and held an archipelago of islands from an entire Japanese army, including kamakazi bombers and shock troops and all that stuff.

Odessa had a slightly amused smirk on her face now.

We train the body, and the mind. We train our people to work effectively as a team, as well as alone. We train our people to get the full use out of our bodies, and our most important tool we have. She tapped her temple.

She paused.

OY! YEW! Odessa! Came the male voice of someone with a very thick Scottish accent.

Odessa turned and looked back, to see a very short, bald, scruffy, but frail looking man approach at a run. He wore a too large lab coat that he couldn't seem to fill(which dragged behind him) and most of what he was wearing was obscured by a very large and oddly shiny beard.

She looked down at him.

Minion 47?

The scruffy little man glared at her.

Sorry, dad's rubbing off on me. What's up Muffin?

Oone o' West's peyple goot intae th' cooding o' the Vrr. Weh thin' he'z goona mess wit' th' cooding!

Odessa stopped in her tracks.

Is the man a programmer?

Weh doon't knoo. Why weh came tae find ye.

Odessa turned and ran down the hall, suddenly swearing very loudly. The short little man followed on her heels.

If he messes with the wrong code not only will the world break but everyone will be trapped in computer generated oblivion!

Eva found herself enticed by that idea, of one's own body being the greatest weapon. She was about to say something, but then the small man came, and Odessa was led away. She started to follow, but stopped in her tracks. It occurred to her who it probably was in the programming.
She calmly sat down against the cavern wall, pouring all of her focus into the microchip. It felt heavy in her head, until all weight was lifted in the transition.

• • •


She heard voices and TV static. One of the voices was Raowan;
"The only problem with removing its administrative rights is the AI's own purpose... The whole reason they exist is to correct anomalies in the programming, and how else would Nemesis be able to achieve such without the right to edit?"
Eva winced at the robot's name. She opened her eyes to find herself in the living room, and Raowan out in the foyer with another guardian. She stood up silently, trying not to attract their attention. How would she sneak out, if they were near the closest door? Eva crouched down behind the sofa, concentrated. She would need to use the microchip, somehow. She remembered early that morning, when Genesis was there, when she felt herself sinking downward. She needed to replicate that.
The furniture began to rise, or rather, she began to fall through the floor. Eva panicked at first, almost canceling the action, but realized that she'd succeeded in the replication. She sunk just low enough to be in between the first floor and the basement, keeping up the intangibility long enough to crawl out of the mansion's boundaries. She rose again, a small distance away from the house, hidden behind a spherical shrub. Eva looked up to the pitch-black sky, to the shrinking gray void with the two glowing Caretakers. That was where she needed to go.


• • •



The beta layer was seemingly infinite. Nothing but gray emptiness and flowing data streams. Devon had created himself a computer terminal, and typed feverishly to decipher the 5,000,000 digit code. Occasionally he would glance over to a human-shaped glowing recess in the wall, where data streams were flowing into and gradually solidifying as the being's body. It was the recreation of Nemesis, being coded by people outside of the virtual world. He didn't have much time; in a few hours, the AI would be complete.    

[Hiddochi wolf]

Odessa looked back. Eva wasn't following? Good. She ran faster.

A moment later she darted into the VR room, stripping off her clothing. This revealed that underneath her clothing was the black VR suit. She grabbed her helmet and stuffed into onto her head, before running into the room.

Around her, the yellow lines faded and the black dissolved. She was standing in the field, below the grey void. Vanished into a ghostly intangible state, rising upward carefully. She needed to slip past... sneakily.

She didn't think the Caretakers would understand her goal.

Eva saw a brief glimpse of someone ahead, before they vanished altogether. She didn't dwell on the thought, however, and started to run. She focused on the microchip again, feeling for it with her conscience. The scenery suddenly sped up around her into a colorless blur, until she halted, exiting warp. She had stopped not quite underneath the hole, but close enough. When she looked up, Metamorphosis was already descending upon her, armed with a blade. The robot slashed, Eva's arms shot up in defense, and a pinkish-purple barrier blocked off the attack just in time. She fell back onto the ground in surprise, then rolled off to the side to avoid another attack. Meta halted suddenly, her head whipped back in the direction of the void. She had sensed something.
As the robot leapt back into the air toward the unseen intruder, Eva tried to shape her barrier into something else. It shifted, transferring to her arm, then extended into something reminiscent of a whip. She lashed out, hooking it around the robot's bladed arm, then used all of her minuscule strength to throw the enemy into a hillside. Eva took the chance to jump upward, then entered warp in mid-air. She shot straight up, the world a blur until her eyes briefly met with Genesis's. He did not appear hostile, yet not friendly, either. Just...disappointed. Soon, even he left her sight, as she passed through the void.


Devon whipped around to face the new arrival, readied for a battle. It started as just a gray blob, then refined into Eva's details. She fell to her knees on the floor, eyes wide as she stared at the man, "You would not believe what I just did..."
He relaxed immediately, "Eva~! You came~!" He chimed out happily, "Annnnd...I'm guessing it has something to do with those 'bots out there. Yeah, they're not nice. I tried to hack 'em earlier, but apparently they're running on a separate server. Sneaky bastards..."

A second later, Odessa formed into the Void as well, having more easily snuck past the caretakers. (thanks to Eva's distraction)

She floated in the void, looking around at the grey emptiness. Her eyes fell on Devon and Eva.

So... you're the one who managed to get past the Caretakers. She floated over to the terminal he had been using. Her golden eyes in the VR weren't hostile, but her expression said that at the moment it was all business. May I ask, right off the bat... do you know what you're doing?  

Devon grew serious as Odessa arrived. He nodded, "Yes, I figured out the pattern months ago. Each new set begins with a multiple of 53, keeps increasing, then goes inverse every 100,000th digit. After 5 million numbers, it should unlock... that's when I can eject the PAs and shut it down. My only problem is time..." He gestured over to the forming robot, "That thing's gonna be done in the matter of an hour or two, and I'm only on the 877,956th digit. Can't delete it, either — I've tried."

Eva walked over to the glowing mass, curiosity piqued as the lines of numbers shaped into its armor. She examined her own hand, 'Is this really all we are? Hardened rows of text?' Her eyes fell upon the machine's semi-formed chestplate, where the word 'NEMESIS' was being etched. Something flared inside of her, a combination of disgust and hatred. Her scar burned as if freshly carved.  

You do know that if you mess with the wrong piece of code the world will break and nearly everyone will be trapped in a computer made oblivion, right? The coding doesn't just affect the world. It's programmed to interact with the serum to keep people in. If it breaks even microchip users will be stuck. You've been studying this coding for months, I've been studying it for years. It's not safe to mess with it.

Odessa glanced at Nemesis, and her hand went to the Meteor hammer on her belt.

But Nemesis was the least of her worries... if this thing breaks, everyone without a disposable avatar would be trapped...  

"I understand that. But even you should be able to see that we might not have any other choice. After we've gained access to this place, they're only going to increase security from now on, to degrees insurmountable. In fact, if that" He pointed to Nemesis, "AI's original form is any indication, then these robots are willing to kill all those people to save the program anyway. Either way, we're guaranteed to lose. Why not attempt the solution that has even just a minor chance of success?" Devon asked, not viciously, but perhaps with a tad of irritation. He turned back to the monitor, "Besides, if you're such an expert, then surely you will know how to correctly disarm this thing. In fact, why don't you stand by and watch, so you can correct me if I err?"  

Odessa snorted.

This thing is so big, complicated, and intricate-- she put a lot of emphasis on that word-- I didn't want to risk it. After all, to make a true world, everything must be dependent on everything else. If this fails, I might as well go to the fields pile everyone into a heap and burn em all cause there's no getting out if this DOES fail. Her golden eyes glittered dangerously. And I don't want mass murder on my hands. But if you insist, I can do it if you feel it must be done. I also know of other ways to crash the bleedin' system besides going in and risking everyone's lives. But if you feel this must be done, then get out of here. I can handle Nemesis and this bleedin' coding. I've done it before, I can do it again.  

Devon raised his hands in a sign of surrender, "Be my guest. Sure as hell saves me a lot of time and effort." He stepped away from the console, sat down far away from either of them. "We'll secure the situation outside once you've got it shut down. Good luck." And with that, he exited the virtual world.

Eva stared into those lifeless eyes, as the AI's face was being constructed. They were cold, remorseless. The more she looked at it, the more she hated this machine. It was even worse that Raowan had something to do with its creation. She trembled, ever so slightly. Her hands were clenched at her sides. And suddenly, she pulled back a fist, struck right in the robot's face.
The lines of coding had broken, disintegrated into nothingness, leaving a gaping hole in the fake flesh. White light turned to a blood red. The monitor full of digits completely wiped clean, then flickered black. Eva panicked; something had been triggered, and she was at fault. She dropped weakly to the floor, whole body trembling for a new reason, "Oh my god..."


They were summoned from a long slumber, thousands of them. Expressionless faces, soulless eyes, metallic bodies with hidden weapons. All the same, all dangerous, all existing for the same purpose. They were stationed in front of every building, on every road, atop every skyscraper. Waiting, watching, prodding every bystander for identification. The Caretakers had arrived.

Eva shut her eyes tight, afraid to face Odessa.

• • •


She awoke already in a panic, quickly leapt to her feet. She retraced her steps from earlier, this time running back to the entrance. Eva slowed in the lab, not only to avoid hitting anyone, but also to scan the crowds for Odessa. She slipped through with some difficulty, hurrying for the cavern entrance. She knew that this mistake would endanger her, even around allies.

Odessa took a deep breath and glanced at the Caretaker. She saw Eva's attempt to harm the thing... and her fleeing in panic. She sighed and turned to the terminal. She waved her hand and a orb-like barrier formed around her. She waved her hand again, and a pair of yellow glasses formed in her hand. She slid them on.

She then spread her wings, taking her meteor hammer off of her belt. Forget the terminal. She knew of a sequence-- one of them that governed the serum. She herself had altered it to allow for a pathway for the microchips. She took off down a row of data, looking for it.

~~~


Eva didn't spot Odessa in the crowed as everyone worked hard at their task. She saw tables covered in lab equipment, a door with a pair of black screens that were showing lots of coding and data, infront of it were two people sitting at terminals, a couple people at a forge with tongs hammering away at a piece of metal, several plants sitting in flowerpots under bright fluorescent lights... the activities went on and on.

She did however, hear Scarlet's voice from down a nearby passage, calling out to someone in that odd language from before. Maybe Scarlet could help her?  

The further Odessa went down the stream, the more unstable the program became. At first the grayness temporarily distorted, then the data itself changed to nothing but a stream of 0's. She would see the distortion again, until the very walls solidified into the hallway of a simulated building. If she looked back, the void and data would be gone.

~~~


Eva was grateful for not encountering the woman, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Scarlet. She avoided the passage; Scarlet couldn't know of this. She weaved her way past the flowerpots, by the forge, and completely bypassed the terminals. She continued to search for the exit...

• • •


Devon and Chris watched the whole event unfold. They saw the thousands of Caretakers, and instantly, any hope they'd had shattered. "They triggered the security system... Northwest has screwed us all over."  

Odessa sighed and vanished from the building.

Odessa opened her eyes and took off her helmet. She strode out of the Hologram room.

EVA ANNALYSE! Her bellow echoed through the cavern. People stopped to look up at the young woman as she strode through the maze of tables and people. She had her mouth open, scrying the wind for Eva. It didn't take long for her to pick up Eva's scent and she darted after her.  

Eva heard the call, clear as ever, splitting through her ears and existence. And, as anticipated, she heard something of irritation if not rage in the woman's voice. She'd made it out to the forest, weaving her way between trees and through underbrush. A root tripped her, and she tumbled down a small hill, into a ditch. She could have gotten up and kept running, but she remained, deadened to the world. Why was she running? There wasn't much left that she wanted to live for. If they killed her, she wouldn't be missing much. If they tortured her, she'd kill herself. Eva lay there, covered in leaves and dirt, staring emptily at green grass as the rain poured down.  

Odessa followed, running out into the forest and into the raging storm.

Even with the rain and the smell of plant life and trees, Odessa tracked her down. She looked down at Eva, her eyes glowing like two sapphire blue stars in the low light.

She picked Eva up then, by the front of her shirt, the look on Odessa's face cold and emotionless. She held Eva up a foot over the ground with ease.

Odessa? Eva? A voice called through the rain and darkness.

Yes Scarlet? All emotion had left Odessa's voice, as well as her face.

~~~


I wandered through the forest, following the trail of Odessa and Eva.

What's going on?

Eva here activated all the security in the VR. She looked to me, her eyes glowing.

... We're gonna need to call the council.

Yes. After I-- She started to raise Eva--

Odessa. There was exasperation and light annoyance in my tone. She should know better.

Odessa flinched at the tone of my voice.

Really Odessa. The council will decide what to do with her. I understand that you're mad...

West... they will think WE did it. That I did it.

So it's war then.

Yes.

There was silence, the only sound was the sound of heavy rain on the canopy above us and the trickle of water through the leaves.

Odessa looked from me to Eva, then back again. Then she sighed. and lowered Eva until the tips of her feet were just brushing the forest floor.

You're right Scarlet. Might as well call you a precog, shouldn't I? If I killed her now I'd be as bad as Nemesis herself. HA! Who would speak for her?

I will. I... I've known her the longest.

Very well sister. Call the council. This was bound to happen anyway, whether Eva set things off or not...

Odessa kept a tight grip on Eva as I lead Odessa and subsquently Eva back into the cavern.

All activity had stopped in the labs, and all eyes were on the three of us as we entered the lab.

I took a deep breath.

TO THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS! MATTERS URGENT TO NORTHWEST AWAIT! Like the rest of my family, my voice filled the cavern and echoed down the halls.

There was a murmur as people started to finish up what they were doing. I continued to lead on through the maze of tables and people. Those that could stop what they were doing immediately started filing through a large tunnel entrance. I lead Odessa and Eva through a smaller one where we eventually came to a door. Beyond it was a small, bare-bones cave with a lamp ad a door on the opposite side of the room, furnished with only a few chairs.

Odessa sat Eva down in one, and I started to pace after closing the door.

Stay there.

I put my finger to my lips and turned to Eva. My witch hazel eyes shifted from blue to green as I looked her right in the eye.

So... what exactly happened? All the details Eva. It's important.  

Eva hadn't resisted at all, not even as Odessa lifted her. The only hints of fear left in her were those of primal instinct. The conversation between sisters was a blur, but the concept of war had been burned deep in her conscience. There would be death, there would be war. Because of her reckless impulse. Something should have been screaming inside her, should have been tearing her apart. But she was all iced over.
They arrived at the cave, and Eva did just as she was told. She focused on Scarlet as if the girl would vanish the moment she blinked, "Odessa was taking me through the cavern, when one of the researchers came and informed her that one of West's members was inside the coding. She went running off, but I stayed behind and entered the virtual world by myself. I overheard Raowan talking about restoring Nemesis before I snuck out. When I got to the site, the small Caretaker attacked me, and I managed to throw it far enough away that I could reach the void in time. Genesis didn't do anything but watch me." She paused to catch her breath, "I entered the layer a moment before Odessa did. I saw Devon in there — he was working on deciphering the code, and he pointed out this AI that was being formed in the wall. It was Nemesis. He explained that it was being recreated and would be complete in a few hours, and that it was impossible to delete or stop. I went over to examine it, and there was a fight between Odessa and Devon about unlocking the code. She didn't want to take the risk, but he said there was no other way. Eventually it was settled that Odessa would take over, and Devon left the virtual reality."
"I was angry, I really was. I already hated that robot, but now it was coming back to ruin everything all over again. And, ignorant and stupid as I was, I punched it in the face. The code streams broke apart, and the whole thing turned red. The computer erased everything and went black. I wasn't exactly sure of what I'd done, but I knew that something bad would come of it, and I knew Odessa would hate me for it. So I ran. I ran like a coward, trying to save myself. But I gave up. That's when you found me."


• • •


"I cannot be certain on what it was, but there's a chance of sabotage. Nothing went wrong until I left. Northwest could be trying to frame us, since there was no visible proof to the other factions that it wasn't me. We, however, have the digital records to prove otherwise." Devon explained over video chat to North's representative.
The woman had very sharp features. Prominent cheek bones, pointy chin, long nose. Her fierce eyes were framed by delicate, analytical glasses. Her hair was of such a light color that it appeared white, yet her face wasn't old in the least. The hints of two gargantuan mechanical bodies stood behind her defensively, heavy weaponry at their sides. This was North's monarch, Layla.
"Understood. I would like to see such records, if it isn't too much of a bother." Layla responded, even her voice was sharp, "I cannot accurately judge such a situation without proof. Northwest has been a loyal ally of both of us, and I will not open fire on them without viable reason. However, because of that very fact, I also have no doubts that you speak only of truth. Should the need arise, I am willing to lend 80% of our mech units (roughly 800), keeping the remaining 20% to guard our homeland. Keep in mind that I also have several hundred foot-soldiers, although they are of lesser efficiency."
Devon nodded agreeably, "Certainly, ma'am. I will send the documents via streaming as soon as I can. Thank you for your cooperation."
The signal quit then, and Devon shuffled through papers for East's contact number.  

Odessa sighed.

We all make mistakes. She glanced at the door, then back at Scarlet.

I nodded to Eva. Okay. While we're in the Council chamber, you have to remember to be honest if you are asked any questions. We don't want a war. Not with our own allies.

I turned and glanced at Odessa, who was standing next to the door.

Do you think the other factions will try and contact us, figure out what's going on?

I hope so. We can give our side of the story.

You think they have a vid call function in there?

They better.

We exhanged information in the odd languages for a few minutes as this went on.

Through the door, the sounds of shuffling feet and people sitting down can be heard. Someone was calling out the names of the council members. Oddly enough, the council members were preceded by odd titles; someone announced the name of my father; his title was "The Creeping Vine Lukas Cerdic Ameras."

A few more minutes passed, and then silence. I gently helped Eva up and escorted her to the door. Odessa opened it and the two of us strode through, and I kept my hand on Eva's, gentle this time.

We strode into a huge cavern, which had been neatly cut and shaped. We were at the far edge of it. Desks were set in certain patterns, and odd grooves ran from one desk to another. Thorough these lines, each desk was connected to every other desk. On the wall next to the door we came in at was a VERY large screen, which was dark as it was not being used at the moment.

Beyond the desks were rows and rows of seats for non-council members. There were children, some alone, others with their parents; Pregnant women and their lovers; Men and women who just came off the job still wearing their lab-coats and overalls. Iseabella sat near the front, watching all intently.

"Announce your names and purpose for calling this meeting." Called the Herald.

I am the Water Lotus Odessa Amala Ameras.

And I am Firecat Rakia Bast Ameras.

We lead Eva down to the 'center' where the desks were clustered. I pulled out a chair for Eva, which took it off a groove line. Didn't want her sitting on one of those...

We present Newcomer Eva Annalyse. We both said in unison.

"Why have you called this meeting?" Asked a council member.

Odessa turned and faced the council member who had spoke.

The security systems in the simulated world have been set off.

Everything went quiet. Even the youngest children stopped crying.

I tarted to pace back and forth.

Several hours ago, Odessa encountered the Caretaker known as Nemesis. This Caretaker battled Odessa; She landed one hit on the robot in the VR before the fight was abruptly interrupted by the Caretaker Genesis. However, not before Nemesis blasts a hole right through the VR system, opening a hole into the void, a place where the VR's programming can be accessed. Genesis told Odessa to leave, and she did. Our digital records of the area show that shortly after Odessa fought Nemesis, Genesis erased the renegade caretaker.

I kept pacing

I, myself, having found out that someone had given me a microchip, met Eva outside the main VR terminal. She had a wound on the back of her neck, two cuts across her face--

I made a slashing gesture to my own face.

And a bullet wound. She was being attacked by a Caretaker, which I promptly smashed over the head with my Dead-blow mallet. I helped Eva along and we found ourselves picked up by two patrolling West members, Devon and Chris. They took us to West HQ, cleaned up her wounds, and we were both allowed to eat and rest. Mother, Stone Wheel Isabella Beryl Ameras, contacted West and Odessa was sent to pick us both up.

Fast forward several hours, shortly after Odessa, Eva, and I arrive here, one of the West members, one Devon, slips past the Caretakers and enters the void. Around the time he got there, Odessa was alerted to his presence in the void. She went to the Holo room to investigate; Eva stayed where she was and entered the physical world herself. Eva overheard that they were re-instating Nemesis as she entered the VR, and headed for the void portal. Both Eva and Odessa managed to slip past the two caretakers. Eva threw off Metamorphosis, and Genesis did not stop Eva. We are unaware if they detected Odessa's trip into the void. Eva entered the void a moment before Odessa did.

The Council members looked to each other and then looked back to us. I started to pace again.

Devon was working on deciphering the code, and pointed out Nemesis, forming in the coding layer. Odessa warned Devon that what he was trying to do; disrupting the VR's programming; was a very dangerous action to take. It could trap everyone in the VR, Serum and Microchip users alike.

I crossed my arms. All eyes went to Odessa.

He insisted that it be done. I told him to leave the VR, and that I would do the task. He blinked out as I was preparing to look for a particular piece of code.. Odessa nodded to her. She had wandered over to the forming robot as Devon and I were arguing. She, ah, punched the reforming thing it in the face. Odessa scratched her head. The Code streams broke apart, the whole thing turned red. All the data in the terminal that Devon had brought up was erased, and Eva, realizing her reckless action, fled the Virtual void and tried to flee. I stayed and attempted to find the code on my own, but I found myself in a simulated building and maximum security had been set off. Caretakers now populate the VR world en masse. I left the VR world and went to track Eva down. She had made it outside but had tripped, then gave up, which was when I found her.

Silence. After a very long moment and no more words from Odessa or I were spoken, the council members started to talk amongst each other. Quick talk that carried across the chamber was a blend of all different voices, young and old, high pitched to deep. Dad's voice could be heard like a deep rumble as he conversed about Eva with another council memeber.

Odessa and I stood on either side of Eva, as we waited. For questions.

There came the loud rumble of my Father's voice.

Eva, why did you punch Nemesis? His voice was loud and very deep, but oddly gentle.  


Eva hadn't budged the whole time they spoke, still as a statue. She had been staring at the floor until Lukas asked his question. Her voice was meek, "I suppose I let my emotions get the better of me, sir. After all of the things I've experienced in these short hours, my mind and heart haven't quite been straight. I was enraged that Nemesis was being reinstated, especially after what it'd done to me, and I hoped to damage it with the hit. Had I known of such consequences, I never would've even set foot near the thing."  

There was a murmur among the council members. They could guess what the robot had done; they didn't feel the need for any more prodding-- The scars across Eva's face were testament enough of that. Some wondered whether she was telling the truth; others got into debates as to what to do with her.

Eventually Lukas called for silence. And when he calls for silence, there is silence.

Firecat Ameras, did you know Eva before she was dragged into the real world?

My father's eyes met mine. Yes d-- Vine Ameras. I said, accidentally stumbling over formality.

Was that her first time in the real world?

Well, she was randomly given a chip by West, I think. She accidentally activated it once before the incident... I think she thought it was a bad dream the first time.

Well then, It is obvious. This woman is a child to our world. She is not a revolutionary; and she is not on the side of the Caretakers and their supervisors. She is simply an Incidental. I believe she is being honest. Those who agree, raise your hands.

There was another murmur, and one by one the council members raised their hands. They all could see her honesty.

It is agreed. And now, the question comes... what to do with little Eva. Tell me Newcomer Annalyse... what do YOU want?

All eyes turned to her. This was a question only she could answer.  

Eva felt all of their eyes on her, the pressure of making a vital decision. The truth was...she hadn't even entirely known what she wanted, herself. She was silent for a long while before speaking, "I promised myself that I only wanted the truth from now on, which meant to me no longer living in the simulation. And...after seeing this world, all I know is that I want to change it. It matters not to me which faction I occupy, nor if I don't even belong to one, I just want to make a difference."    

[Hiddochi wolf]

In a world that never understands you...

"Current stats:

80 pages (word processor — 15 Gaia pages)

38,643 words. "

...the machines will always understand your pain.

 

[Hiddochi wolf]

Lukas considered this. The other council members talked among themselves, discussing ideas and possible courses of action. The chatter went on for a while before Lukas stood again. He looked to me.

Very well. FireCat Ameras, you brought Newcomer Annalyse here, please take her to one of the two person dorms and look after her. We will decide a definite decision on what to do with Eva once we have conversed with the other factions. Give her time to decide on her Truths.

He then turned to Odessa.

Water Lotus Ameras; I want the recording of what occurred in the void. Like hell am I going to have them call us liars.

He looked out into the stands, his eyes searching for someone.

MINION 47! There was a groan from the council members as Lukas suddenly dropped formality. I want you to move my workstation over to the Vid Chat screen! By yourself!

Thick scottish swearing could be heard as the little man got up and left the chambers.

Lukas then turned to the Council chamber at large, rubbing his hands together.

People of Northwest! This day was going to come, with or without the newcomer! But it is here now. War is on our doorstep. We will do our best to prevent it, but you must be ready! Check your armor, your weapons, and your guns! Make sure they are in right working order. If they are broken, then take them to the bleedin' smiths to get it sorted out! Practice with them! And if they are broken beyond repair, then get the smiths to make you a new what-ever-it-is or else your out of luck if or when battle rolls around! You're still gonna have to go out there anyway! For crying out loud, make sure at least you have armor. Those smiths haven't spent the last 10 years remembering old techniques and refining them for nothing! Understand?

There were confirmations from the audience.

Also, to lessen the chance of detection by the Caretakers, we will be cutting off access to the simulation. Last thing we need is people dropping dead on us.

Lukas looked to Odessa.

That means you too, Water Lotus Ameras.

She gave a slight bow, hands together. Yes, Vine Ameras.

Right. He looked to me again. Scarlet, go to the blacksmith and have him take your measurements. You need armor-- like hell am I gonna let you get into battle without it!

I saluted.

He then turned to the chamber at large again.

Get back to work!

People started getting up and filing out of the chamber. I gently helped Eva up and lead her out the door we came in, followed by Odessa. Back through the tunnel, and back into the maze of tables and work stations that was the main lab. I sidled up to the blacksmith station, and the big man that was the head blacksmith arrived shortly thereafter. He took my measurements for a few moments, before asking me a few questions. Then I continued to lead Eva on, towards the living quarter caves.

Eva followed after Scarlet absentmindedly, the trip itself a blur to her. She thought of the virtual world, of what it was becoming. Or worse...what was yet to come. Real war, real bloodshed, real death. This time, people wouldn't just vanish — they'd fall in bloody, gory heaps. And it wouldn't be soulless robots killing them, but real people with real emotions. She felt filthy inside, like a roaming infection in her veins.
As they started back toward the living quarters, Eva spoke for the first time, "If a battle does occur...are you sure that these kinds of weapons and armor will hold up? What if the other factions are more advanced?" She didn't want to think of the carnage, but really had no choice. She had wanted the truth, and this was as honest as the world could get.


• • •


The capital of Northern was a bustle of activity. The numerous mechanics feverishly worked on repairing their giant machines, fabrication studios chimed with the sounds of metal-making, people gathered around the monarch's domain with questions. These were the senses of an oncoming conflict.
North was one of incredibly few factions to have a standing city, and every building was draped in a brilliant red and gold banner. The whole faction was guarded by a 30-foot tall stone wall, and several patrolling "mech-warriors." These guards were specially trained pilots of their own unique mecha, and made up the main bulk of Northern's militant force. The machines themselves came in a whole variety of shapes, sizes and colors: Some were older and crudely made, others were streamlined and rivaled the technology prior to the nuclear battle.
Layla watched as the mechanics finished inspecting her own machine; an advanced suit with smooth armor and numerous built-in weapons, painted richly in ruby red with gold accents. It towered nearly 15 feet tall, and 8 wide in the shoulders. As they stepped away with a nod of the head, Layla climbed up the suit's body and into the cockpit. It was custom-made to her own specifications, and fit around her like a second body. The chestplate closed shut ahead of her, leaving the woman blind until the four monitors blinked to life. She tested its maneuverability first with basic limb movements and flexing, then tried out its weaponry on stacks of junk. When she was satisfied with it, Layla exited the suit and called out to her assistants, "Alright! Notify the warriors that we'll start out tomorrow night! Keep communications open with all factions except Northwest! If this plan gets leaked to the enemy, I shall throw you to the Caretakers and hang your mech's head upon the wall of shame!"

I didn't answer until we reached the room.

It was a large room, with two bunk beds on the far wall. There was a kitchen area, complete with counters and appliances and knives and stuff. I leaned my sniper rifle and my Mallet against the wall. Another wall had a small living area, a TV and a couple couches.

Well... you could say that we're... different, kind of. Did you ever wonder why people avoided me in the VR? Us Northwesteners.... we are more human then human, one could say. Or... we remember how to be fully human.

I stood in the center of the empty space.

For example... Hmmm...

I brought over a radio, and I set it down infront of me. I turned it on and it started playing some old rock tune. I looked straight ahead, and breathed in deeply with my nose. I then breathed out sharply with my mouth.

The radio started to fizzle and static started, as I continued doing it. Finally the radio just gave up, and died.

We humans are more then we give ourselves credit for. Do we really need weapons? Do we really need guns? No. That was the most basic thing I can do... but I just destroyed the wiring in that radio as a side effect. Go ahead and open it up and see.  

Eva hesitated, then reached for the device. She shook it first, listening to the rattle inside, then grabbed a knife from the kitchen to pry off its base. She peeked inside, only to find some wires broken, and others lightly smoking. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "This...shouldn't be possible. Was it the current? The electrons? Something overloaded them..."
She looked back up to Scarlet as if the girl were an alien species, "Can you...affect other human beings, too?"  

I frowned for a moment and looked up at the ceiling.

... Kind of. But not in the way I destroyed the radio. That -- I pointed at the radio-- was simply me breathing in not only air but... let's call it... Ether. Ether fuels the soul. I was breathing in soul stuff. That intake was enough to fry the radio. As for stuff that affects other human beings? Well, most of that stuff requires on touch contact. And MOST of that stuff is healing techniques. Unless you count the pushing aspect of the Path of Motion... I stared at a wall as I thought about the Path of motion. I hadn't done it in a long while. I should practice.  

"It actually...exists?" Eva asked, seemingly to herself. Everything she'd believed or disbelieved previously was now being shot out the window. She had been taught that souls and ghosts never existed, that there was no afterlife, and no such thing as a spiritual energy. But if Ether existed, then surely something else had to have been true, too.

• • •


It was dark, really dark. The storms had long blown over, and silence settled heavy upon the fields like a blanket. It was nearing 1AM. Though the day's events had left him tired, it was Chris's shift to patrol. He circled wide around the multiple underground entrances, gun tightly gripped, eyes and ears acute. After a couple rounds he rested, sitting down on the hillside, gazing dreamily to the sky. In the darkness, the simulated earth was a stunning sight. Brighter, colorful, ethereal, almost magical. It reached up from the distant tower, spanning far beyond visibility into space. The stars twinkled around it, as if the hologram had existed there all along.
In each direction were the faintest hints of civilization, save for the furthest factions. Lights, buildings, far away echoes. North was especially bright with activity, buildings fully illuminated. West was the deadzone, whether its members liked to acknowledge that fact or not. It was a dying faction, slowly dwindling away with time. Resources were depleting, people were leaving, technology was becoming more and more limited. While North thrived with its new hybrid-technology, and Northwest created its forests, and Southeast and Northeast were achieving greatness with their agriculture... West was being left behind. Their sole purpose was to defend, and yet every other faction had already created their own defenses. Even East and South, the other militant factions, had expanded their duties into other fields. Chris sighed and stood back up. Time for another patrol.
He heard the click of a gun, felt its lip pressed against the back of his head. He froze. The attacker's voice was coaxing, smooth, "Don't try to resist, little boy. That's good. Drop your weapon, now..."
He had no choice; his grip released the machine gun, it smacked to the ground with a clack! of finality. He did not turn, "Who are you?"
"Your sworn enemies... We heard word over the wind of a battle with Northwest, and figured we'd add some interest. Please don't be irrational; we'd much rather have a live hostage." The man replied, his weapon still tight against the boy's skull.
Someone wrapped a sack around his head, and another tied his wrists. Chris bit down on his lip as he was urged forward with the gun.  

Indeed. Humanity, for hundreds of years, even before the great war, has forgotten. The only ones who remember now are we, Northwest.

I started to move. My movements were were quick and I moved in bursts. My movements flickers, as if I was a flame. Yet, the movement was catlike... Smooth and silky and graceful, stalking some unseen prey.

Our connection to what we truly are allows us to fully unlock our full abilities. We have no defined strength. We are as strong as we need to be. We are as fast as we need to be. We can remember things that happened hundreds of years ago, when men waged war with bronze swords and shields. When they forged works of art of metal and stone with their hands, and not machines. We have created plate armor that deflects bullets. Hammers that can smash apart the armor of a robot. Smal flails with long rope chains that can rip people in two. But we do not use these things for war. We are content to heal, content to play, content to work, content to restore... but most of all, we are content to live. But if they wish to wage war on us...

I glanced at Eva as I continued to move-- it was like a martial art, but not quite; it was like a dance, but not quite; it was something all it's own.

No one has risked our value yet by attacking us. Not West, not North, not any of the factions. They think of us as weak, with very little defenses. Those who do decide to attack will be in for a very nasty surprise. And for those like North, who use mechas to battle, or the robotic Caretakers... it will be even nastier.  

Dante was clacking away at a keyboard in the base when he had an odd feeling. He often had one in the VR, either just before something went horribly wrong or if something was up. "I'm not going to like the next few hours. Dante thought with a sigh and reached for the radio. "All callsigns report in." Dante said simply, hand on the Magnum holstered to his leg.

"Valid point." Virgil said then noticed a change in the atmosphere. "Raowan what the hell just happened?" Virgil asked, feeling the entrance of thousands of Caretakers.  

The town outside was noisy, active. Her attendants had left her alone, on request. There was no news yet regarding any other faction.
Layla gazed at the crystal around her neck, one of incredibly few still remaining in the world. It was simple quartz, shaped as a heart. It had been given to her by a mentor, nearly 10 years ago. Back when the idea of separate factions was blasphemy, when all resistance members were family to one another. She treasured those days.
His name had been Aerilo, referred to by his peers as Spirit. He would have been considered a Northwesterner. Layla never quite understood him, because he was so vastly different. And because of that, she never could fully accept his lifestyle. But it was his concepts which spoke to her; the ideal that everything had a soul, and everything with a soul deserved to live with freedom. He never stole away the life of anything. Not insects, not animals, not people, not even Caretakers. When she'd asked him about it, his answer was simple: "It's not my right to take away another soul's freedom."
Layla had been foolish in her youth, and she'd swatted away his words as if they were pesky flies. But years later... long after Aerilo had his own life taken by a machine, she began to see their worth. When the factions were divided, and she was elected monarch of North, she decided to uphold some of his ideals. While her people lived in ignorance, Layla tried to open her eyes. She had not any of the abilities the Northwesterners had, but she breathed life into her own work. She had created a machine with a soul.
Her eyes lifted to the hulking mech, the only of its kind. Beneath the metallic surface pulsed real blood, real flesh, real life. She reached out to its red shell and rested her hand there, a loving hum responded from deep within.
"I am sorry for the sin I am about to commit, mentor Spirit. But my hands have already been stained with blood, and I can never wipe them clean..."

• • •


Eva watched the girl's movements with fascination, but dropped her gaze to the floor, "It's a shame more people can't be like you. But... I think it's too late for any of us to learn how."

• • •


Raowan felt it, too. The distortion of layers, the entry of so many new bodies. He rushed out the door and looked to the city, "The security was breached... the system is undergoing complete self-preservation mode."  

I sighed.

It is. Perhaps if more people were simply content to live, maybe there would be peace.



After a while my my movements tuned from silky smooth to carefree. I started running, jumping around, doing cartwheels and literally bounce off the walls. I had moved on to the Child's Play path-- the Path of Wind. Playful movements sent breezes floating about the room which ruffled anything light that wasn't under a paper weight... like Eva's hair. After that was something that was seemingly the complete opposite of the wind path; The movements were quick but deceptive... and they looked oddly seductive to be done by a 12 year old girl... That was the path of flesh, the path of death... the path of morality. then I seemed to go completely still... The path of Earth, the Mud Pool. I was moving only when something happened... Something happened that only I knew.

There was a knock on the door.

Scarlet? Odessa entered, a package under her arm. The blacksmith-- Oo, still Firecat. How active she must be! She smiled, and there was a hint of pride on her eyes as she watched her little sister affectionately.

Eventually I moved onto the path of the Fool, or perhaps the better name for it would be the path of Secrets. Once again my movements were playful, but not to the extend of wind. They were playful, using feints and complete changes in tactics, such as going in for a punch but instead of striking doing a backflip instead. Then came the Path of logic, where I started to circle my imaginary foe. I was slow, stealthy, the peak of efficiency. Every movement counts. Next was The path of Water. My movements flowed, in and out, expanding and returning, and visa versa and every movement flowed out and returned to me. Next was the path of plant; in my case it was known as the Path of the Choking Vine. I went still again, and seemingly if I had a foe I had them trapped against me, would be bringing them ever close to me, and as they struggled to get free there was the sense of them getting weaker... and weaker... until they couldn't even lift a hand.

Odessa smiled bigger, eager now. Oh, is little Scarlet on the brink? Yes! She still is able to ascend to the Path of Light! Go Scarlet, go!

Indeed I had ascended to the most deadly form there was. The Path of Light. The look on my face was cold and calculating, as suddenly my movements were faster then the normal human eye can see! They were blindingly fast, as direct as an arrow, as I took in every detail around me. I struck out before even instinct told me to.

Finally I stopped, my left fist raised and my right out in a strike. I had just suddenly and completely stopped. I was covered in sweat, breathing hard.

Odessa laughed and approached, clapping her hands. What a show! I am glad those four years did not dull your skill.

I stumbled for a moment, and there was a loud growl from my stomach. Odessa grinned. She pushed me and I stumbled clumsily over to a door on the wall-- the bathroom.

Go take a shower Scarlet. For that I'm gonna cook for you! You're far too tired to do it yourself. And I'm tossing the armor made for you onto the top bunk.

I gave a weak "ok" before stumbling through the door. A few minutes passed and the water turned on.

Odessa headed for the kitchen and tossed the package up on the top bunk before looking over to Eva.

Well, you've seen Scarlet's Path of Motion; the Path of the Firecat. What do you think? You only really saw half of it; she's ascended to the Path of Heaven, the Path of Light, but she needs to fall back to her starting path, the Firecat again.  

They ushered him into what felt like a normal car at first, but as it began moving, he realized it wasn't rolling over the bumpy terrain. It was hovering. This must have been a government vehicle; Chris had seen them before. His comrades were taken away in one. Though, the oddity of this struck him when he heard no robotic movements, no signs of Caretakers. It was an all-human crew, size indeterminable, and at least a few of them had weapons pointed in his direction.
"Would you people at least tell me what the hell you want? If it's supplies or money or staff, you're dealing with the wrong damn faction." Chris growled at his captors.
The same man as before replied with humor in his voice, "Ha! Only lowly factions like yours would bother fighting for materials. No...we want compensation. Revenge. Since West tried to wipe us out 3 years ago. Now we have the means to attain our desire. And your soldiers will be split with the Northwest conflict — it'll be easy to eliminate a broken military."

• • •


Devon sat back in his chair, stretched out his sore arms. He listened to Dante in the background, turned to face the man, "Hey, any signals from the other factions yet? East should be on their way now, and South said they'd leave in the morning. We should be getting transmissions shortly..."
He glanced around briefly, "...Has Chris returned yet? He should've reported in about 30 minutes ago..."

• • •


"It was...amazing," Eva replied to Odessa, "I can't believe this kind of thing is even possible, outside of the simulation..." She sat down on the bottom bunk at last, looked over to the clock. It was really late. "Don't you people ever rest? Good grief. Doing all this physical exercise at one-thirty in the morning..."  

Odessa smiled. We have the oddest sleeping schedules. We sleep when we need to. Mostly we are guided by instinct. Scarlet probably got the instinct to practice her path... at 1 o'clock in the morning. So she did. Odessa started to cook, boiling some pasta and whipping up some spaghetti sauce. She was running around the kitchen like a chicken with her head cut off, as she added some seasonings here, a little spice here, a bit of garlic there... Soon the whole room smelled of Italian food.

A few minutes later I wobbled out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. I stumbled over to the bunks, where I climbed up weakly.

Odessa was finishing up the food and brought over two plates laden with spaghetti and a bright red marinara sauce, with a side of garlic bread. I accepted it and started slurping up the noodles with a fork.

Oh yes, I'm here not only to deliver the armor. One of our watchers have noticed unusual activity around North. They may be getting ready to move on us. We need to be ready.

I'll... get some sleep then.

Good girl. Dad will call the leader of North, hope he can talk our way out of this, but we need to be ready anyway.

I ate quickly and lowered the plate down to Odessa. She smiled and wiped my face with a paper towel she had retrieved from the kitchen, and then my eyes slowly closed on their own. I was out like a light.

Odessa smiled. Scarlet's so cute.

She put the plate away and gave Eva that shallow bow with palm over fist. Sleep well. We all will need it.

She left the room and closed the door behind her. From beyond there was a loud thunk and a loud metallic scraping.

47! Be careful with that I beam! You nearly hit me with it!

There was a grunt of a reply.

Oh well, we're gonna rip it apart anyway...

~~~


Luckas sat infront of the Vid chat screen as the screen rang. He looked troubled. North had been our ally from the beginning. I hope I can convince Layla to lay off... He had changed his clothes somewhat, so now the Hawaiian shirt was replaced by a black and green tie-dye shirt, and a fresh kilt now hung around his knees. He still wore his lab coat, and he looked like he hadn't shaved in three days. His fingers rapped on the table as he waited.

~~~


There was a timid knock on the door of Layla's room. The young man gulped and shuffled back and forth, sweating visibly. He didn't know how they knew what was coming, but they had a Vid call waiting from Northwest... He just hoped Layla wouldn't shoot the messenger.  

She heard a distant chiming the moment before the messenger arrived. Layla stepped away from her creation, expression icing over again into her cold, business-like demeanor. Never before had the public seen their leader with any sort of vulnerability. She grabbed down her cloak from the hook, quickly tied it around her shoulders, then stepped out past the man. She gave him a glare, "I'll have questions for you later..."
Layla turned on her heels and hurried down the hall, into a lavish computer terminal. She headed straight for the beeping monitor, glanced absentmindedly at the contact number. Northwest. She hadn't exactly expected this call, but never did she doubt the possibility of it. She clicked Accept, then waited as Lukas came into focus.
"I am assuming you've heard, then..." Layla started, her voice low but harsh as usual, "Trust me, Vine; I would never do such a thing without my reasons. You know of my close relations with your faction, and it was by no means an easy decision on my part. But this... this action of Northwest has drawn the line. I cannot allow such behavior to go without retribution."  

Lukas's blue eyes have Layla a weary look.

I see Innocent until proven Guilty is still alive and well, hmm? He spoke quieter then usual, and he was forcing his voice to be a bit higher pitched. His voice was downright scary to someone not used to it. He only spoke normally to Northwest members. If you're wondering how we found out, one of our watchers noticed the activity around your city. No one has called us, but the sudden hurried repairs to your mechs says trouble is on the way... for somebody. And we figured it was us.

He sat back.

At least hear us out before you come marching in on our little forest. It was an accident, nothing more then that.  

Layla gave her closest equivalent to humor, "So I won't have to sacrifice one of my own for not being careful enough." She crossed her arms and also relaxed her posture a bit, silence ensued as her eyes strayed from the screen. She could practically feel Aerilo watching her with disappointment, could almost hear his words; "Justice is only justified when it has been rightfully served. Unheard pleas lead not to justice, but to shame."
The monarch's iciness faded, revealing an oddly soft side of her. Her hand clutched tightly around the quartz heart. When she spoke again, it was in a genuine, vulnerable tone, "Only for Spirit do I listen, as I know this would not be of his will any other way. Should I detect any falsity, our attack is justified."

The man knew. His eyes held honesty and he started to speak, for him and his Faction.

My Northwest member heard an alert that a West member had gotten into the coding layer of the Simulation. My Northwest member knew that if the wrong piece of coding was messed with, then the world would rip apart and everyone, Chip users and serum users alike, would be trapped inside. She went to investigate, and slipped past Genesis and Metamorphosis, who were repairing the hole in the layer. But, a Incidental got in there too. Thanks to the Western member, the Caretaker Nemesis was being re-instated in the coding layer. This same incidental had gotten tortured by Nemesis about 12 hours or so earlier, before the Caretaker had been erased. As the two faction members argued, the incidental approached the re-forming robot. My Northwest member told the Western member to leave and she would take over; He did so, right before the incidental punched the reforming Nemesis, which triggered the security. My Northwest member couldn't prevent it; the incidental herself had realized afterward that it was a reckless action and if she had known that would happen she would have stayed away from the reforming robot.

Lukas took a deep breath and continued.

My Northwest member after that, tracked down the girl in the real world, and called a council meeting. We were told what happened. The Incidental herself was recently dragged out of the Simulation for the first time by Nemesis. Her actions were caused by anger, a great deal of stress, and a massive amount of shock.

Layla listened, and truly wanted to believe this man. She saw and heard truth. But perhaps her own pride would be her undoing. Several times did she open her mouth to speak, but couldn't produce adequate words. The silence dragged on and on. Eventually, the woman just abandoned the monitor altogether without canceling the transmission, vanishing from sight.
She didn't go far, just to a desk on the other side of the room. She let out a tired sigh, head held between her hands, propped up on the tabletop. This job was sometimes too stressful for a single entity... she resented holding the faction's sole responsibility. It was then that a distress signal from West sounded off on another monitor.  

Lukas watched the woman, the most sincere look of honesty in the man's eyes, and on his unshaven face. He was one of the most honest Faction leaders, by far; everyone knew this. He valued honesty and trust above anything. It was how he became the unofficial leader of the council and of Northwest. When she stood and left, he put his elbows down onto the table and ran his fingers through his crimson hair. All he could do is was wait. North was Northwest's closest ally, and probably the same held true for North as well. He had a feeling that these ties were something neither could afford to break.

He looked over and noticed a brass ball sitting on a nearby table. He picked it up and started bouncing it in his hands and playing with it as he waited.

~~~


The young man from earlier peered into the monitor room and headed over to the ID.

It's from West.

He clicked accept.

The screen opened, and it showed a young man with black hair and bangs of gold. He had deep amber eyes that were almost a gold color. He wore deep blue armor and a tattered blue scarf.

North Faction.  

"God damn it, pick up already!" Dante shouted at the monitor. Layla had to pick up, if she ignored them then the West was screwed royally. "Devon, have you found out what happened to Chris yet?" Dante barked over the radio, if things were as bad as he had figured then war was coming. Then the call went through and someone else answered the call. "Hey you listen good, this is important! One of ours just went missing a little while ago and something feels wrong about it. I think they might be back and out for payback." Dante said over the monitor.

"Okay, why the hell would that happen, who messed with what?" Virgil asked, not really understanding what was going on.

The Young man's golden eyes widened. Today hadn't been a good day for him, and it looks like was about to get worse. He then straightened and saluted.

Her Highness Layla is with another call. I will inform her when she is finished.  

"Oh hell no, you go in there right now and tell her that Dante Christian told you to break decorum and interrupt her call. And then you give her the message I just told you, either that or bring her in here. This is too God damn important to wait!" Dante barked at the monitor. He didn't want to be doomed just because Layla was taking another call and some dude was afraid of being punished for interrupting her.  

The young man gave Dante defeated look before walking out of the terminal. He then noticed Layla, who had just walked out of her conversation with the Northwest representative.

He saluted and stammered.

D-Dante C-Cristian r-requests that he speak with you right away Ma'm! O-One of West's m-members have been k-kidnapped!


~~~


Meanwhile, Lukas was still waiting. He was tossing the ball back and forth in his hands, spinning it around on his fingers, flicking his wrists and catching the brass ball with his fingertips. He had always been fond of brass.

Dante sighed when the peon ran off to give Layla the message. Good, because Chris cannot and will not wait for help. Dante thought to himself. He may not care about a lot of things, but the guys he served with were like family and family didn't get left to die.  

Layla's attention immediately shot to the second monitor, where Dante's call was directed. She passed by Lukas, again vanishing from sight, though he would still be able to hear everything said. She waved off the attendant, then hunched forward in front of West's monitor. Her eyes flared with urgency, "Someone in your group has been taken... Are you certain it wasn't the act of Caretakers? Any potential suspects?" She paused as something occurred to her. Northwest. Her eyes strayed to the first monitor on her other side, to the bored Lukas. Something didn't seem quite right to her. She stepped back far enough to be seen on both webcams simultaneously, "Please open your alternate channels respectively; I'm going to connect the signals. The three of us have some things to work out."
With a few keyboard commands, the two screens spliced together. Northwest's and West's displays would also appear the same. Layla sat down ahead of them, all iced over again. Though her eyes were fixated on one whole monitor, it was clear that it was Lukas whom she was addressing, "You say the simulation was incidental, and I have no reasons to doubt such a thing, but does this timing not seem all too perfect? It cannot be coincidence."  
Lukas's noticed the transfer and tossed the ball randomly over his head, where it hit a wall, bounced, and knocked something over. He turned his head slightly, eyes in that direction, and he frowned before going 'nah' and returning his attention to the monitor and to Layla.

Well... the whole "Northwest are traitors!" thing is probably causing some chaos, yes?

He put is hand to his chin in thought, making him look somewhat like a scholar despite the tie-dye t-shirt under his lab coat.

Someone may have been waiting for something like this to happen. Southeast, maybe? I know they have a thing against West.  


"That's what I was thinking as well. West and the 2 Norths have been good for a while, I don't see what you guys would have to gain from taking one of ours, but if it is Southeast, what are we gonna do about it?" Dante asked simply. He really didn't want to have to fight with anyone other than the Caretakers, but if it meant keeping the guys he hung with safe then so be it.  

"But how would they have known? Since West is clearly unaffiliated with Southeast, there is no reason they would exchange such information. And to my knowledge, Northwest is merely neutral to them. Devon of West had earlier informed me that West had only contacted us, East and South for aid. Am I correct?" She asked Dante passively before continuing, "Neither of them have clear alliance with Southeast, either. I am only led to the conclusion that Northwest formed a sort of agreement with Southeast, merely to lay the blame upon someone else and divert our attention. There is no other—"
Layla suddenly stopped, turned to face the attendant behind her, mouth agape with realization. She half-rose from her seat, "Wait... The suppliers. The shipment came in this evening... You! Find the packers, figure out if they revealed anything to Southeast's men."  

Lukas raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something-- then he thought better of it, and after a moment closed his mouth again. Then Layla had realized something and had spoke sharply to the young man in blue armor with the scar across his eye behind her.

~~~


The young man saluted and turned and ran from the building, heading to the where the shipment had came in.  

"That is correct and I cannot rule that possibility out either, but earlier we sheltered Mr. Ameras' daughter and her friend after their escape from the VR, and I'm sure the man isn't one to repay hospitality with treachery, right?" Dante asked Lukas simply.  

Lukas nodded to Dante and did that shallow bow with palm over fist.

I am grateful for taking in my child. She may have had a weapon, but those grey body suits are little protection from a Caretaker's bullets. She's lucky the one she did attack didn't know she was there until it was too late.

Lukas sat back against the chair. He then sniffed.

Hmm...

He then turned and looked back and away from the screen, his hands on the back of the chair.

Do I smell... sushi?

After a moment Isabella appeared, with a ceramic tray laden with little balls of white rice topped with little strips of fresh fish. Lukas smiled and rubbed his hands together, and Isabella handed him a pair of chopsticks. Lukas gestured to her and she leaned down and kissed him sweetly. They exchanged a few words in their ancient language, and she vanished from view from the screen.

Lukas picked up a sushi roll with a chopstick, and showed it to the screen. It was a little ball of white rice, with a strip of striped orange-pink flesh over it.

Layla, I suspect you still have suspicions about my Faction's motives. Let me remind you who we are. This is Sushi. It is raw fish flesh, white rice, and some seaweed mixed in. I've only heard about it from those that survived the war.

He rotated his hand as he studied at the piece of fish and rice.

Now, you know full well that Southeast and Northeast do not have fish farms. So, where, might you ask, did we get safe fish to eat raw?

He popped it in his mouth. He chewed it carefully, tasting it and feeling it's texture.

Mm, that's good. The answer to that question, Dante and Layla, is that we restored it. It has taken 50-- he held up five fingers on one hand while his other was clenched into a 'o' shape-- 50 of our water masters years to restore and heal the ENTIRE Pacific ocean.

He picked up the chopsticks again and popped another piece of sushi in his mouth.

Now that they have restored the largest ocean on the planet, they will move on to the Indian ocean, then the seas in the middle east. Then the Mediterranean, then the Atlantic, and then the Arctic ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. As they go they will get better and refine the process even more, until restoring the Atlantic will take a mere year, and the Gulf of Mexico a couple months at max, all the while restoring freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams along the way. We are talking the restoration of a little less then 326 million trillion gallons of water.

He stopped eating and looked at both of them in just the right way through the camera, so he was looking both of them in the eye.

That was 50. 50 of our people. There is little over 2,000 living in our headquarters. If we really wanted to, we could completely sustain ourselves by ourselves. You wouldn't even know we existed. We stay in contact and trade with you because we value you both highly as allies. Both North AND West.

He licked his lips slightly as he paused.

Treachery would get us nowhere. It has no tie in at all with what we do. It would simply make others mad at us, and try to attack us, and we'd have to defend ourselves, which would be a massive waste of our time. Of everyone's time, infact. The only reason we have been interested in the Virtual Reality at all over the past 4 years, as Dante said-- Lukas gestured to Dante-- My daughter was trapped in there. We are grateful to West for helping one of our people return home. Why would we betray them? We would get no gain from purposely setting off the security inside the VR. We would get no gain from framing West for it. And we would doubly get no gain from setting Southeast on West. We would lose a valued ally, and from your reaction Layla, that would make two valued allies.

Lukas looked back down at his food and popped another piece of sushi into his mouth.

We are content to work, to learn, to study, to play. To restore. And to live. We are content.

He looked back up at the cam, in that way that made him look them both in the eye. What he had said was true, every ounce of it. And it was clear from the look in his eye to his posture and the look on his unshaven face.

Layla listened to every word spoken by Lukas, settled back into her seat. As his speech came to its end she gave a light nod, eyes betraying the woman's fatigue, "Very well, Vine Ameras. You have made your point and avoided strife. Naught of my faction shall cross your borders with anything but peace in mind."
She turned her attention back to Dante, "I shall accompany your forces to Southeast's boundary, along with a few personal guards. I cannot bring more with me for fear of showing them outright hostility, which could null our agreement with them in case of a misunderstanding. I wish to settle this, and since they yet lack video communication, breaching their territory is the only way..."

As the meeting came to a close, Layla shut off both connections and left the terminal. She headed back to her personal quarters, searching for an attendant. When she found one, she instructed the woman to inform the public of the called-off war. Layla herself continued on to locate her guards; two beefy soldiers each clad in the royal red & gold, whom were not only efficient in normal combat, but were also mech warriors. She told them of the situation with Southeast, and the two immediately began preparing themselves for the task.
Layla re-entered her room, letting out a yawn as the door shut behind her. She really was exhausted, but a monarchy never allowed for its leader to rest. She removed her sword from a hook on the wall, a true treasure. It was of Northwestern make from years past, the very weapon that Spirit carried at his side without ever using. The actual cutting edge was crafted of diamond, reinforced by an internal layer of crimson metal. The hilt was shaped like a star, and consisted of another red stone until the edge of the handle, where the material gracefully transitioned to the same crimson metal. In the light, this sword glittered with a deadly brilliance.
The monarch wandered over to her creation, pausing only to slide her weapon into its sheath at her side before climbing aboard the machine. As the panel closed ahead of her, Layla shut her eyes and focused only on the suit's deep pulse. It was a real heartbeat. The thrumming was first unnoticeable to the average ears, but as her own mind melded with the machine's, the steady beat overtook all. She lost the limited senses of her human body, instead gaining a single, superior sense of everything around the entity. It was not with controls that she urged the mech out of the building, but with mere willpower. The red machine waited just outside of the city's wall, until its two companions accompanied it, and then set off in West's direction.    

[Hiddochi wolf]

Lukas smiled widely after the vid shut off with both West and North. The big grin showed several very sharp teeth.

YAY!

Isabella wandered over with a smile.

You've negotiated peace?

Yessssssssss. The 's' sound was very elongated and he held up a hand that slowly clenched into a fist. He then stood, towering over his wife, and picked her up, holding her to him as he kissed her deeply. When they finally broke apart, there was a huge grin on his face.

Someone send some salmon rolls to Scarlet in the morning! That is so her soul food! And I want more of that smoked eel!

Isabella laughed.

Saved by Sushi!

She snagged the last piece of sushi off of his plate and lead Lukas to the sushi chef, and then they too retired to bed for the night.  

Eva had settled into her bed, but merely stared up at the bottom of the top bunk. Her mind raced with fears of what might come the next day. She rolled onto her side, focused on the clock to ease her paranoia. The seconds ticked by, turning to minutes, eventually to hours. It was almost too late by the time she found any peace. As the sleepy haze settled over her, a passing thought of West's members, of Chris and Devon, rolled through her thoughts. It was then that, as clear as in reality, she heard Devon's voice in her head; "I wish you were here."

• • •


The next morning...

"This was where our radar detected the movement of several bodies last night. No one had been watching it at the time logged, which is likely why they succeeded in taking him." Devon explained, pointing to the small hillside. Layla and her guards examined the area closely, searching for any tell-tale signs that it was indeed Southeast's doing. All they found were some faded footprints which stopped at a certain distance, and Chris's gun. Devon stood in the shade of the dormant machines, trying to lessen the heat's intensity. Mornings were always brutal on the surface, often reaching temperatures close to 110 degrees.
The three eventually came back, just as clueless as before. It was Layla who spoke, "Well, we may not have any physical proof, but we can certainly try. Southeast has been loyal to us, so I'm sure they'll be willing to at least talk..."
Devon nodded, "Yeah, it's worth a shot. We should leave soon, before the sun reaches its peak." He explained, then headed for the nearest entrance to the undergrounds. The waft of cold air conditioning was a welcomed change, and he wasn't bothered by the sudden blindness caused by the light-to-dark contrast. Layla called out from behind, "You should warn your troops ahead of time; Southeast will have a few dozen suits like ours. It was our part of the initial trade to form the alliance pact. We send them technology, they supply us in food and resources."
He nodded, "Alright. If war does occur, we might just have to leave the mechs for you guys to handle. We don't exactly have a ton of heavy weaponry just lying around."
When they entered the main pathway, there were backpacks and weapons and supplies strewn everywhere. People navigated through the numerous tunnels, only continuing to stack atop the piles. All but 100 of West's members were going on the trip. Devon searched for Dante.  

I woke and yawned. It was a catlike yawn, where my jaws open near-full and my tounge arched against the bottom of my throat. I stretched and flexed for a moment where I lay, before I had found I had been using the armor package as a pillow. I chuckled before hopping off of the bed and striding to the kitchen. I was reaching for a frying pan when there was a knock on the door.

I headed over to it and peered outside, before stepping outside and closing the door. I was presented with a large ceramic plate covered in little balls of rice and odd smelling (and looking) pieces of meat.

"Sent from your Father to celebrate! We do not have to go to war with North!"

Yay! I bounced on my feet, and I took the plate.

So what's this then? I peered at the food.

"Sushi. Raw fish! Try it. It's what convinced Monarch Layla to lay off." Said the messenger.

I picked up the chopsticks on the plate and nommed on a pink/orange one, and I perked up.

Soul foods!

"He knew you'd like it. We also brought some fresh crab meat and come crepe mixture."

Thank you!

I took the food inside, and headed over the the skillet. I started to make the crepes, as I slowly picked at the Salmon sushi rolls, and savored the smoked eel. Soon the room was filled with the very rare smell of cooking seafood.  


Eva awoke to the sounds of Scarlet cooking. She was facing the wall, and didn't move albeit a few involuntary stretches. It was the voice she heard in her head last night that she mulled over in silence. Devon's voice. How was it possible? Was it just her imagination? She could have sworn he was just a few feet ahead of her when he said it, the words sounded so clear. And what he said, if he even said them... "I wish you were here."
Part of her found comfort in the idea. Most of her didn't. She thought of Raowan, how he'd react to such a thing. Then came the memory of that lab, of the betrayal she felt. That had broken her, and she still wasn't whole. She doubted she would ever be entirely whole again. Eva sunk down further in the pillow, acknowledging Scarlet with a question, "Do you...ever hear voices? In your head?" Her voice was weak and husky with morning dehydration.

I flipped a Crepe over before I paused to think about the question. I set the handle of the spatula against my hip.

Sometimes. My own voice in my head when I think is natural. Also, when someone wants to speak to me and wants no one else to hear. It's called telepathy. Why?

I peered at the girl. I then pulled the crepe off the skillet and poured a glass of water, which I brought over to Eva and offered it to her.

Your throat sounds dry. Here.

Eva sat up and accepted the glass, downing half its content in one gulp. She took another small sip before setting it on the nightstand, then coughed. "This is something I'm not used to in the mornings...a dry throat and phlegm buildup. Amazing what the simulation makes you miss." She joked ruefully. She thought back to what Scarlet said, about telepathy. The concept both intrigued and scared her, "No reason. I was just curious if you did, since your faction seems to have all these other strange powers."  

I shrugged.

Telepathy isn't very invasive, actually. It's a mental power, allowing one to speak in the minds of others. You can't really read people's minds with it; that's what we call Scanning. It's just putting thoughts into other people's heads. It can be a very sneaky ability is used right.

I paused and thought.

Now that I think about it, I thought I heard something last night... Oh! Right! Dad convinced North not to march on us. Though... hmm...

My eyes lost focus as I concentrated on something.

Ohh... That may be part of the reason why... we ought to be ready anyway then...

I stood and climbed up onto the top bunk again, before putting the package in my mouth and clambering down from the bunks head first. I landed on my hands and did a flip, where I landed on my feet.  

"I see..." Was Eva's only response to the explanation of telepathy. Her eyes wandered just as her mind did. She wanted to be skeptical, wanted to believe it was just a hallucination. After all, it seemed she couldn't trust her own mind lately, anyway. But she still wondered... Who had the ability? Devon with telepathy? Her with 'Scanning'? She reached for the glass of water, but realized it was empty. Eva picked it up and started to head for the kitchen. Next thing she knew, her head and right shoulder slammed into the wall, though she caught herself before her entire body could collapse. She grabbed onto the counter top and braced herself, then looked to Scarlet like it didn't even happen. Then she heard the news about North.
"Really?" She asked in a hopeful voice, "That's excellent. But...what about West? Are they still hostile?" She refilled the glass as Scarlet retrieved her armor, "Be ready? For what?"  

I looked to Eva as she nearly fell into the wall, and I hurried over to her as I removed the bag in my mouth. There were bite marks in the packaging.

West is no longer hostile to us either. But West has... other problems. One of their members was... kidnapped. I winced. I met him too. Nice kid. Chris his name was, the kid with the red hair. They suspect he was kidnapped by Southeast.

I looked to the packaging and opened it, and out spilled complete body suit that gleamed with blue cloth, white and gold metal, and blue and white ceramic plates ((yes, ceramic)). There was a full blue and white helmet go with it.

Southeast have been West's enemy for years. I don't really know what caused the feud between them... North is helping West out in getting their ally back, as North and Southeast have a trade agreement. I'm not entirely sure how successful they will be.

I picked it up felt it. The ceramic and metal was smooth under my fingers, and the cloth looked and felt like silk... but rather thick silk. I did see one of the weavers with some very large spiders... Spider silk, perhaps?

I looked up at Eva, and my eyes seemed slightly unfocused.

~~~


An image formed in my mind, black as night. All that was visible was the boy, around my age, that I had met and talked with back at the West HQ.


~~~


Wha...? Oh... I'm remembering, aren't I... Chris?  

Scarlet would see a circular cell, walls and floor made of a hematite-colored metal. The dim lighting shone down from a single unit in the ceiling. The only doorway was blocked by a series of interlocking pipes, which gave off the hints of a strong electric current. There was no furniture in the cell. Chris himself was sprawled on the floor, unconscious and bleeding from several cuts. Outside the door was the whirring of machinery, and Scarlet would catch the brief glance of a robot passing by.

• • •


"What? Oh jeez..." Eva's hopes dropped upon hearing the news. If they had abducted Chris, surely they were after the others. Including Devon. She took another sip of water, and it was clear that her hand was shaking. "But...doesn't North have a bigger military? Surely they'll do fine..." She tried to sound casual. Then she noticed the girl's odd look, as if she wasn't looking at Eva at all. She tilted her head, "You alright, Scarlet?"  

Peace talks... I said automatically, almost mechanically. I wasn't used to this. North doesn't want to break the peace agreement... Southeast supplies their food...

When she asked about if I was alright I seemed to focus a little more on her, but not by much. My eyes had gotten wide.

I'm... I'm seeing him... he's in a black cell... door looks blocked by bars and electricity... He's unconscious and bleeding... Robots are passing by outside... I'm seeing two things at once...

I turned my head and blinked a few times as I looked around the room.

And now I'm getting a headache...  

"So, we find out anything relevant or helpful?" Dante asked, meeting Devon and the others as they entered the underground.  

It moved with graceful steps, not faltering once on its journey. Down a long hallway, curved around to the right, across a catwalk, along another circular walkway. It paused at the barred cell, communicating something silently to its faceless counterparts. This drone was unlike its brethren; it had an identity. Genesis. Instead of the standard scanner, Genesis had eyes the color of an extremely light grey. Its face was still metallic, but had been sculpted smoothly to appear all too human. It was clothed in a suit similar to the ones worn by simulation occupants, except in a darker shade with more armor-like components. Its name was printed in red across its chest.
The faceless drones stepped to the side, and the bars retracted back into their slots within the doorframe. Genesis entered the cell and knelt down beside Chris, scooping up the boy with gentle movements. It righted itself into standing, then stopped. Its eyes strayed to somewhere between the wall and the ceiling, surveying the unseen observer. The other Caretakers wouldn't have ever known, but Genesis could feel the presence. The android pulled back its mouth into a peaceful smile, and spoke to Scarlet with a synthetic-yet-personable voice, "He is safe in my care."

• • •


Eva watched the girl carefully, listened intently. Something didn't seem right with what she was describing... and then she mentioned the robots. She planted a hand firmly on the girl's shoulder, stared into Scarlet's eyes with an odd urgency, "Scarlet... that's not any faction, I don't think. It sounds like where I woke up, where Nemesis is..."


• • •


Devon shook his head, "No. They couldn't find anything more than I did. I still find it strange, though, that the footprints stop abruptly at a certain spot. No tire tracks, no mech-footprints, nothing. The trail just vanishes." He looked up in time to see some kid trip over a pile of equipment, and tried to hide his amusement by faking a cough. "Eh...we should probably start having the troops move their crap outside. Can't wait too much longer, else we'll be stuck out in the wasteland when the sun's at its prime."  

My eyes went huge now. Crimson blood --far brighter red then normal started dripping out of my nose, but I didn't notice. The pain in my head got white hot as I started to sway, still forced to watch.

I... I see Genesis... Genesis is picking up Chris...

I reached up and held my head, my fingers in-twining with my hair. Blood was flowing now, faster out of my nose, down my face and dripping onto my chest. My eyes squinted as tears started to drip down my cheeks.

Can't... Oh god... Can't snap out of it...

I swayed more violently until I just collapsed against Eva.

Daddy! Someone! Help me! I wailed. The pain! Oh gods the Pain! I can't accept it!  

Genesis turned back to the door, then felt a sudden change in the presence. A sort of pain. It glanced up to the area over its shoulder, this time with regret in its expression, "I am sorry..."
Then it left with Chris, down the numerous pathways. Only one person passed the robot on its journey, and that man bore the blue and silver uniform of Southeast.


• • •


Eva panicked when the blood started dripping. She grabbed for a cloth and started dabbing at the girl's face, but couldn't keep up with the flow. Then Scarlet fell, and Eva eased her to the ground. "Scarlet? Scarlet! What's wrong? How can I help?" She pleaded the incoherent youth, almost feeling her pain in the screams. She stood back up and ran over to the door, ripped it open, then shouted out into the cavern beyond, "We need help! Anybody, please!"  

My vision was dragged along after Genesis and Chris, and then... I saw the man in the Southeast Uniform. Wha? The sense of confusion eclipsed even the pain as my eyebrows furrowed and my mouth opened as if to say something... but nothing came out. Blood continued to flow from my nose.

Meanwhile, Lukas had been walking past with Isabella on the way to the main lab. They noticed Eva's cry and looked at each other before rushing into the room to see what was the matter. Others came too, and as Lukas and Isabelle stepped into the room, they immediately rushed to where I lay.

By that time my cries of pain were replaced by a terribly confused pain wracked squeaking. They knelt next to me, and Lukas put his palm on my forehead and closed his eyes. I felt his mind slip around my own, like a vine slowly creeping around a statue. He was seeing what I saw. He opened his eyes and scooped me easily into his arms.

Isabella, make some tea. You know what kind. I'm taking her to the Vid terminal. Eva, you come along too.

Isabella looked to me with the look of a mother's concern in her eyes. Lukas then turned and walked out of the room, though he was going oddly fast for such a big guy... at a walking pace. Isabella headed out of there too, initially going in the same direction, before braking away down another passage. Lukas continued on his course until he reached the Vid terminal, at the back of the Lab. People stopped to look as he passed by, his youngest in his arms...

He sat down, still cradling me in his lap. I clung to him and squeaked again.

Shh... Daddy's here...

With one hand he typed in the call number for West. Hopefully he wasn't too late.  

Eva was relieved when the two showed up, but still shook slightly. She nodded in understanding of Lukas's command to follow, and did just as he said to. She almost had to run to keep up with the man's pace through the caverns. As they continued toward the lab, Eva recalled Scarlet's brief mention of Genesis. Something felt very wrong. She pictured the AI carrying the boy, and tried to imagine a violent ending... but she couldn't. Genesis wasn't like that. Eva frowned at her own thoughts. Why did she think he was incapable of killing? She barely knew that machine. And, for all she cared, every robot could be as evil as Nemesis.
They entered the lab, and she barely noticed. Brief images floated into her mind, and disappeared just as soon as they arrived. A huge computer screen filled with green digits, a tank of hazy liquid, a robot kneeling over her. She recognized the machine as being Genesis, though it wasn't the same as what Scarlet now saw. It was bulkier, less refined, less human. It lacked both a face and armor. She had no idea how she knew what it was, considering that the image didn't display any written name.
She glanced over to the father and daughter for the first time, and spoke lowly, "Mr. Ameras...? What's happening?"

Lukas looked to Eva as he placed his palm on my forehead once again. I squeaked-- I felt his mind wrap around mine, offering some comfort as he peered at the images I was receiving. He closed his eyes.

We may be more human then human, Eva, He started quietly, but just because of what we are, some things aren't always easier then they should be or effortless. Hell, some things are even more dangerus, and incredibly unpleasent. Scarlet is Remembering-- what we call visions-- and she is overwhelmingly unprepared for it. I don't know what brought it on, this is one of our skills that can be triggered involuntarily, usually with a good amount of pain involved. Scarlet's been using her path at a novice level for 4 years-- she's lost a good portion of the strength she once had. Her energy can't pay the toll this kind of skill requires.

He paused in his explanation. He pulled a tissue out of a box nearby and carefully ripped it in two, before rolling them up and carefully sticking them up my nose. I opened my mouth to breathe.

She's seeing Genesis, at least that's what Scarlet believes Genesis looks like outside of the VR, and I trust her instincts. He is carrying Chris. He looks cut up and beaten. I do see caretakers, and the only human she's seen so far... is wearing the blue and silver uniform of Southeast.

I squeaked again and closed my eyes, nuzzling up to my father. He looked at the screen.

Come on. Answer already.
Genesis entered a storage room, so far away from the main passages that not even other automatons occupied the area. It set Chris down on a stack of bunched up tarp, and immediately began repairing the boy's injuries. It was quick but gentle, using built-in tools to sew shut the cuts, then tore parts of the tarp to wrap around as gauze. Chris began to stir, his eyes soon opened. Genesis finished sealing the last wound, then stood to leave, "You should remain here a while. They will notice your absence shortly... it would be dangerous for them to find you. Please don't endanger yourself. The other Caretakers are not the same as I..." It explained with a strange tone...almost sorrowful. Chris squinted at the robot, as if he yet disbelieved his own eyes. Then it left.

• • •


Devon finally noticed the distant beeping of the terminal. He shuffled past the mounds of supplies and people, Layla in tow. It only took a moment for him to select 'Accept', and Lukas appeared on screen. "Greetings, Northwest... I'm sorry to sound rude, but we're on a bit of a rushed schedule this morning."

• • •


Eva leaned back against the wall, arms crossed in a gesture of mostly insecurity. She listened, watched the pained girl. She couldn't even begin to imagine the agony Scarlet was in. The sight scared her, really. This was mortality, this was humanity. She felt so inexplicably out of place around these people. The whole world felt out of place. Eva lowered herself to the ground to sit, pulling her knees in tight against her chest. She shook her head lightly, "I can't take this..."

As the Vid chat came up I squeaked again in confusion, at this new development. He touched my forehead again.

Good, you're accepting the pain... What? He HID the boy? One strange caretaker.

Lukas looked down at me, and I weakly lifted my head, giving another squeak. I blinked wearily at the people on the other side. He then shook his head and looked to the screen. I lowered my head and closed my eyes again.

We, ah... He looked down at me, then back at the screen. We suspect your kidnapped friend is with the Caretakers. My daughter is having a vision right now. She sees Chris-- it looks like he's in the main terminal. But there are... Southeast people walking through the halls of the place and are not being attacked by the Caretakers. Those uniforms are unmistakable. I think... Genesis is a strange one... he's patched Chris up and hidden him in a storeroom.

It was then that Isabella arrived with a teacup, and Lukas carefully picked it up and sat me upright, before very carefully pouring the liquid down my throat. I squinted my eyes at the taste but didn't protest.  


"Devon, you guys go ahead, I'll stay here and coordinate the intel, my aim isn't particularly good and since you're pressed for time, let me handle the talking." Dante said simply, having heard the bit about Genesis hiding Chris. "So what exactly do you think this means? That the Southeast is Coordinating with the Caretakers or that Genesis has become self-aware?" Dante asked, sliding into his usual seat.  

Nemesis did. At least to the point where she started acting on her own without orders from others, even defying the orders of others. I wouldn't suspect that Genesis couldn't do such a thing. But Genesis seems... much kinder then Nemesis did. He seems to be, on his own, developing a self aware consciousness... Perhaps a soul. We're not quite sure if that's possible.

Lukas glanced at the screen for a second as he continued to pour liquid down my throat.

As for Southeast... I wouldn't put it past them. They've always been a bit extreme when it came to accomplishing their goals. We eventually had to stop sending our people over there to heal injuries a couple years ago because they couldn't comprehend the fact that our people need to rest at times. The last statement he said rather gruffly. As if it had annoyed him a great deal.  

"But this does pose a problem, if Southeast is working with the Caretakers then anything they have, they'll know about, which means they're probably better supplied and equipped than the rest of us. This poses a problem if they decide to go for an all-out war." Dante said with a sigh.  


Yes... It does.

There was a quiet squeak as the vision finally ebbed away from my mind. I looked up at my father, the pain still there but not growing worse, and the nosebleed had finally stopped.

{Papa?}

Lukas looked down.

{Yes?}

{I it really possible for a robot to develop a soul?}

The man thought upon this. {N... No. I said that because it would be easiest for them to accept; a robot getting a soul. They don't know souls the way we do. It is not possible, really, to make a soul.}

I nod weakly, and manage to sit up on my own. He hands me the teacup and I shakily accept it, and I gulp the liquid down.

{But maybe... Just maybe it's possible for a robot to become a vessel capable of holding one.}

I smiled quietly at this, before nuzzling my father again.  

"Alright, man. Thanks." Devon replied to Dante, then hesitantly tore himself away from the terminal. He wanted to listen, but time was running thin. If Caretakers really were there, Chris's chance of survival may have just dropped 50%. He felt along his pockets and belt for everything as he walked, satisfied when he detected many explosives and a pistol. By the time he got back to the entrance, nearly everyone and everything had been moved outside.
There were about a dozen vehicles parked atop the sand-less dunes, most of them possessing similar size and shape to refurbished military tanks and trucks. The treads had been ripped off and replaced by huge tires, gun shafts were replaced by a larger passenger capacity and driver's station. People were already piling inside, with a few trying to coordinate how many should be divided between each vehicle. Devon climbed into the back of one of the trucks, prepared to act as defense if they were to be pursued. He watched as the three Northerners entered their suits, as the giant machines revved to life. He had only been a child when the war destroyed everything, but the sight of those suits reminded him of the glory this world once held. A deep sorrow lurked inside when he realized it would never quite be the same again.
The truck began to pull forward, and the familiar hills of West sunk away. It was a sensation shared by many in their faction at the time; the feeling of finality, of losing everything. In their hearts, they knew this would be their end. Devon felt it the worst, having been the only one to know of the Caretakers' involvement. He'd come to terms with his own mortality long ago, but that made it no easier when actually faced by a death sentence. He slumped back against the metal frame, eyes cast to the grey-but-sunny sky. She jumped into his thoughts then, the broken woman he'd met a few days prior. Eva. There was something odd about her, and he couldn't quite identify it. Not like the Northwesterners, not like the Caretakers, not like anything he'd ever seen. Just...different.
"Please don't do this." Eva's voice rang out in his head, a sort of plea. "They'll all die at this rate, if what Scarlet sees is true. Chris, Devon, all of them..."


• • •


It took her by surprise when Devon replied, "We have to, Eva. They took one of ours, and who knows what they'll do next."
Eva looked all around her, even stood up to search, but saw no signs of the man. What Devon had heard in his head were just mere thoughts of hers, not direct communication. The panic and anger swelled up inside, and it was by accident that Eva verbally responded, "But it's not worth the sacrifice!"
She glanced up at the others in the lab, all of whom were now staring at her. The woman's face flushed a vibrant red, and tears formed at the edges of her eyes. She sobbed once involuntarily, then dashed off back into the cavern they'd come from.  

Eva already had Lukas's attention when she spoke mentally to Devon... Several other more powerful and sensitive Northwesterners had heard it too. The verbal outburst just confirmed his suspicions.

He looked to Isabella.

{You think...?}

{It is possible for someone to unlock their abilities without the full training... or even any training at all. Before the war the idea of such abilities was repressed by social programming... There's not much of that now.}

{Should we try and train her at least?}

{I don't know if we can... trust her. Not in the 'she means us harm' sense, but... she doesn't seem to think much before she acts, yes? Defiantly a wind type.}

The two thought about this.

{She will have a part to play in the coming conflict. Even if she doesn't pick up the sword or shield.} I finally piped in weakly.

He looked down at me.

{How do you know that?}

{I just... do.}

{If you know that in your heart to be true, my daughter... so will you.}

{But I'm... 12...}

{We will all have our parts to play upon this stage. The ones who are seen are simply the ones who are given... or take the biggest roles... But roles or not, we must prepare. Offer her training. If she wishes it, we will set up lessons. Scarlet, I wish for you to accompany her if she accepts. But YOU Scarlet need to train, even if she doesn't accept. Rest and heal, my daughter, for we do not have much time and your training will be rigorus.}

Lukas lifted me up and held me out to Isabella. She held me close and turned, walking away, heading at a slower pace back to the cavern Eva and I shared. Her gentle pace rocked me back and forth, and the sound of her heartbeat lulled me to sleep.

~~~


Isabella strode into the cavern, pausing a moment to observe before heading tot he bathroom. She stepped inside and gently woke the dozing scarlet, telling the girl to bathe.

She then retreated from the bathroom, looking around for Eva.

~~~


Lukas then looked back to the screen. His face was grim and set.

If North or West needs our aid... we will gladly offer it.  

She was tucked into the small corner between counters in the kitchen, curled up as tightly as was physically possible, head leaned against the cavern wall. Her face was still reddened and damp with tears. Every part of her ached in some way. Her muscles, her wounds, her scar, her mind, her heart... They throbbed with the pain of being broken. She could imagine the fault lines in her flesh, the empty black void of missing pieces. The largest void would be her face, with not just that dreaded scar but two sullen eyes. She felt like the mirror she'd shattered in the simulation.
Eva heard Isabella enter with Scarlet. She wiped away the moisture, her hand settled on the X. It would always haunt her, would always be there. But to her... it validated her existence. As if the robot's blade had slashed not through flesh, but her own disillusionment. Now, no matter where she turned, the world was bleak and grey and lifeless. Every new discovery, every new face, everything brought pain. She was tired of hurting. Eva's hand reached around on the counter above her blindly, and closed around the handle of a knife. She pulled it down to her, examined her reflection on the blade. Even to the naked eye, it was clear how distraught she was inside.  

Isabella had sensed where Eva was hiding. But she didn't come close to the girl-- she knew she may do something rash. Isabella merely leaned against a counter on the far edge of the kitchen.

So... when did that first happen? Her voice was gentle.  

Eva sighed. She set down the blade, but never stopped staring at her reflection. She watched how every muscle moved, how the shadows cast over her face. The strangest face to her had been her own, as it kept changing every time she saw it. The first time, it was odd due to the realness. Now, it was odd because of the emotion that contorted it.
She knew she couldn't hide the truth for long, and spoke to Isabella as if she'd already told her, "The voices? Last night. I heard him right before I fell asleep. I thought I'd imagined it... No, I hoped it was my imagination." She shook her head, "I can't take this. I wanted the truth, and the truth is too much for me..."

Would you like to talk about it? It must be an awful lot to take in at once. Isabella continued with her gentle tone.

Everyone was different, Isabella knew. Normally, tho, talking about their troubles helped people... well, if not sort out their problems, but at least figure out how they feel and why. But Isabella wasn't going to force anything out of Eva. She remained where she was.

Isabella herself had grown up in the Wasteland-- it was home to her. It was also why she and her husband Lukas worked so hard to change it. To make it... vibrant and full of life again.

Eva pulled herself up into standing, squeezed through the tiny opening. She wobbled over to the bottom bunk and sat down, rubbing her forehead sorely. "I just...I don't know what to trust, to believe anymore." She started, "...He betrayed me, he let this happen. Raowan said that he had his reasons, and that he'd come back for me, but I just... I can't trust him. But I want to." She sniffled, but held back the tears this time. She still avoided Isabella's gaze, "I thought this world would get better. I thought all the factions were peaceful...and now this happens. And the Caretakers — aren't they supposedly helpful? How can they help while they kill thousands? Nemesis and Genesis... I heard Mr. Ameras mention them developing souls. I didn't think such things were possible." She closed her eyes, swallowed the sore lump in her throat, "I've had these images flash in my head, and I don't know what they are. Memories, I think. But I had one of a storm, and Odessa said it hadn't stormed since the war. I can't tell which ones are real, nor really of what they are. I can't trust my own mind. I can't trust the people I once had. I can't trust this goddamn existence." Eva finally looked to the woman, shaking her head, "Is the simulation really all that evil, if it saves people from this insanity? Is it evil for them to want us to live in absolute bliss?"
She wrapped her arms around herself, as if to hold in all the misery. Her whole body shook, "I don't k-know my family. I don't know a-anyone. I d-don't even know myself. I-I'm scared of what I am or c-could b-become... I feel myself f-falling a-apart at the seams, and I don't k-know how to stop. I'm tired of hurting."  

Isabella sat down on the bunk next to Eva, thinking about what the girl had said. She didn't look directly at Eva. Isabella opened her mouth for a second, closed it, opened it again, before finally settling on a train of thought. She needs something to comfort her... The woman thought.

W-well... This Rowan betrayed you, yes? What, exactly, did he do? Why did he do it?

She squeezed her eyes in thought.

As for all of the factions being peaceful... it is... difficult for humans to truly get along. There will be always those who seek wealth, or power, or pleasure... and not care about who they trample in their way of getting it. Others will find problems with the way others do things-- and desire to 'put them on the right path' even if it means that they go to violence to do so. We, Northwest, have managed to teach our members to find, at the very least... Satisfaction. We do not prevent them from being a smith... or a warrior, a toymaker, or a cook, or even a cartoonist! We let them do what what makes them happy. What sings to them.

She then paused, thinking.

And... some people can't handle living a lie. She shook her head.

The Caretaker's violence is partly the revolutionaries fault. Back when the war ended, the world was desolate, when there was no revolutionaries, no factions... No nothing. They tried to rebuild society; what was left of the world's governments. They did. But they were... too corrupt. They couldn't do it. They didn't want to invest the time to help, not even to roll up their sleeves to build a house.

They turned to technology for the solution. They made the Simulation-- they made it to be perfect. Then they ordered everyone to line up in the fields and accept the serum they used to insert the survivors into the simulation.

But there had been others. Others who were trying to build society on their own-- by using what they were given, what they had... what was left. They resented their work being stopped because others were too lazy to help. Others couldn't handle the tech-- people like us Northwesterners find it extremely uncomfortable, and thus we seek to leave it. Even some of those with talents that haven't been trained in the mystic arts will still find the simulation's reality to feel wrong, unreal, and will seek to find what is... or break what isn't. Scarlet, even with her memories erased, sought what was real. Odessa knew what was real and what wasn't; she was able to handle it.

Perhaps if they had given the people a choice; stay in the real world, or live in the simulation... perhaps there wouldn't be the revolutionaries. There would just be people, doing what people do. But they didn't. And thus the revolutionaries were created, and they attacked the caretakers, destroyed them. And thus they had to program the Caretakers how to fight... How to kill.

She then thought about what Eva had said.

A storm... are you sure Odessa said it hasn't stormed? She might have said it hadn't rained since the war... that is true... But the watchers have noticed whirlwinds and tornadoes in the distance. But the recent Rainstorm is the first in three decades.

As for robots developing souls... I suppose that's one way of putting it... Not entirely the best way of saying it tho. It is impossible to create, or develop a soul. If robots could do it, then they could mass produce them, and all robots would have souls. Even ourselves, us humans... we cannot make souls. We... accept them. But... maybe... just maybe... it's possible for a robot to become a vessel capable of holding one. But... if a robot doesn't have a soul, it cannot truly understand something given to all creatures that do have souls... free will. Heh... Infact... some humans don't understand that concept.

Isabella scratched her head.

The simulation, on it's own, isn't... evil. It is what it is, the way a computer is what it is, the way our clothes are what they are, the way a knife is what it is. You cannot fault it for being what it is-- a virtual reality.

But...

If we spent our entire lives in there, inactive, how would humanity continue? Everyone would slowly die off, one by one, and with no one, um.... copulating, where would more humans come from? We would all slowly die, until all that is left is the machines that maintained us.

She stopped and chewed on the inside of her lip.

You are... 20, yes? You are younger then the simulation then... about 5 years... your parents must have lived here in the real world then. I don't trust that they'd put you in the care of your real family if that's the case...

She rubbed her forehead.

I can't say the pain will go away. For some it never does. Some however... grow used to it... ignore it... push through it... we, Northwestenrs... we accept the pain. If you want me too, I can take some of the pain for you. The physical pain, at least. The wounds of the mind and heart are the hardest to cope with... And the hardest to take. But it would be less for you to deal with.    

[Zphal]

I have lots of porny RPs both posted online and kept in a document on my hard drive. surprised  

[Sanity Is For Losers]

Woah.... thats long........... O_o