➤The ✭ Perfect ✫ World ➧➧➤

[Hiddochi wolf]

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."  

[Okami Ameras]

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.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

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."  

[Okami Ameras]

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.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

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]

In a world that never understands you...

"((Fun fact: Earth's gravitational acceleration is 9.8meters/second squared, and the moon's is 1.63 m/s squared. However, the VR's is closer to 6.2m/s. Therefore, everything feels so much heavier to Eva because the real world's gravity is accelerating downward by 3.6 m/s more than what she's used to. biggrin )) "

...the machines will always understand your pain.

 

[Okami Ameras]

((Meanwhile, Scarlet and the revolutionaries are so used to it. xd Imagine if Eva randomly thought about how heavy Scarlet's hair must be-- it goes down to her ankles because is hasn't been washed or cut in 4 years. And Scarlet doesn't seem to even notice.))

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.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

((Or better yet, imagine her if she were able to stand on Jupiter — its gravity is 25 m/s squared. xd I think Scarlet's hair would be her downfall on that planet... LOL ))


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.  

[Okami Ameras]

((It would drag her to the center of the planet!))

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?  

[Hiddochi wolf]

"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.  

[Okami Ameras]

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?  

[Hiddochi wolf]

"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?"  

[Okami Ameras]

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.  

[CherishTheLostMemories]

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.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

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.