➤The ✭ Perfect ✫ World ➧➧➤

[Hiddochi wolf]

((Risky: Haha, that's just 'cause we're so EPIC. cool
Everyone: Also! A new info sheet for the factions can now be found on the 1st page. ))

"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..."  

[Okami Ameras]

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!"  

[Hiddochi wolf]

"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.  

[Okami Ameras]

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.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

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?  

[Okami Ameras]

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 intil 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...  

[omgIisonfiyah]

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.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

((I'll post for Eva tomorrow — I have to go soon, so short post...))


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?"  

[CrypticCat]

[[ Questions! so guardians and corrupted can't use their powers in the real world, right? only in the virtual world? and when they go back to the real world, they look different than they do in virtual reality? from what I've read, the Corrupted are people from the real world trying to destroy the VR or something? one last thing... right now, who is in the real world and who is in virtual reality, and how do people travel between the two? sorry for so many questions, I'm just very confused, and I don't want to post before I know what's going on... ]]

 

[Okami Ameras]

RiskyCricket

[[ Questions! so guardians and corrupted can't use their powers in the real world, right? only in the virtual world? and when they go back to the real world, they look different than they do in virtual reality? from what I've read, the Corrupted are people from the real world trying to destroy the VR or something? one last thing... right now, who is in the real world and who is in virtual reality, and how do people travel between the two? sorry for so many questions, I'm just very confused, and I don't want to post before I know what's going on... ]]

((Yes. The corrupted and guardians can't use their powers in the real world; simply because the guardian and corrupted powers are essentially hacking the VR world. Since the VR isn't real, everyone has a real life appearance compared to their VR one. (unless the person happen to be rather practical, and there's only one or two changes) The Corrupted are technically revolutionaries, wanting to overthrow the VR and restore normal society. The corrupted travel between the two worlds via a microchip that they have. When they sleep in the real world, they appear in the VR world.))

 

[Hiddochi wolf]

((Currently in the VR: Raowan, Dante, Virgil, Devon (Kinda...he's in its coding right now), Januff, Leiara, Camilla, Metamorphosis (AI), Genesis (AI).
Real world: Eva, Scarlet, Odessa, Chris, physical bodies of the Caretakers (including Nemesis — the hardware wasn't destroyed).
Might have forgotten some people... sweatdrop ))


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.  

[Okami Ameras]

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 eet 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, comon, let Scarlet breathe!

But I want to give my daughter a hug!

((Sorry, I had to xd ))

 

[Hiddochi wolf]

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.  

[Okami Ameras]

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.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

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.