➤The ✭ Perfect ✫ World ➧➧➤

[Hiddochi wolf]

In a world that never understands you...

"((We now have 80 pages of content, and 38,643 words. xd )) "

...the machines will always understand your pain.

 

[Okami Ameras]

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 Annlyse 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 intgo 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 mesurements for a few moments, before asking me a few questions. Then I continued to lead Eva on, towards the living quarter caves.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

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!"


((TekTek avatar of Layla, for armor reference:

And her mech looks similar to this, except the purple areas would be gold.
*Too lazy to make a profile for her. xD* ))  

[Okami Ameras]

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.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

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?"  

[Okami Ameras]

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.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

In a world that never understands you...

"((Just as a forewarning, I might not post as often anymore, if at all. At least for a little while. My damn laptop charging cord broke again, I don't have warranty, a replacement costs $100, and I have to save up for vacation in three weeks. gonk

Also...writer's block. >_< Better log off soon to preserve my charge... )) "

...the machines will always understand your pain.

 

[Okami Ameras]

((Ok. Don't take too long. This is just getting good.))

 

[Hiddochi wolf]

((Apparently dad is going to buy me a replacement this weekend... out of what money, I have no idea. Oh well. At least this reduced posting time period will only last 4-5 days. I'm also trying to make it work with taping it place, so hopefully there won't be much difference at all.))


"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.  

[Okami Ameras]

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.  

[omgIisonfiyah]

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.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

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."  

[Okami Ameras]

I sighed.

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

((Note: This is a real path of Mysticism. I've seen this stuff, (and got hit by it once or twice. Needless to say, OW!) And that was only the beginnings of my own path... ))

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.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

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..."  

[Okami Ameras]

((Another Note: I'm showing all this to Eva so no one calls bullshit on me later. xp ))

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.