Welcome to Gaia! ::

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.

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.

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 out Mysatism 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.}

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...

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.

Immediately Odessa threw out her arm, and a barrier formed infront 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...

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.

((So, what do you think of Odessa's fighting style?))

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

Odessa whispered something in that ancient tounge 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.