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"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."