➤The ✭ Perfect ✫ World ➧➧➤

[Hiddochi wolf]

Layla listened as she examined the robot's face, but her attention was quickly diverted, "Wait... they're sabotaging East? That's where West's survivors are." She said with some hint of alarm. Silence fell over the group for a moment as she considered the rest of what they'd said. Genesis remained at her side, patient and helpful as usual. She wondered if those traits were something he had gained from Aerilo's essence.
"Heh. Only at Northwest would anyone even consider holding a festival amidst tragedy." Layla gave a wry grin, "I've lived in sorrow and death so long that I doubt I even remember what joy is." She felt Genesis shift slightly, a sort of tense motion. As if he could detect a remnant of the despair she'd been consumed by for so many years. She focused onto the two mystics again, "In all seriousness, though, I wouldn't mind attending. I'm just...concerned, about the other factions. How everything seems to be falling apart."  

[Okami Ameras]

Lukas nodded. It is understandable. idea, don't we, Scarlet?>

The man laughed his laugh again; it sounded like the devil's laugh ringing from the gates of hell. I laughed as well, but my laugh sounded more like a cross between the wicked Witch of the West and a sugar pixie. We then smiled together, and while our teeth looked human, they suddenly looked very... sharp.

Lukas then bowed and swept his hand in the direction of the entrance to Northwest, for Layla and Mord to enter at their leisure...  

[omgIisonfiyah]

"No fair, you never said anything about tests." Virgil pouted, he wanted to have Orpheus and Hades, or their equivalent, again and go blow some stuff up or something, not take tests.  

[Okami Ameras]

(( cat_ninja ))

 

[omgIisonfiyah]

((omg batman ninja! ))  

[Gyzvx]

Mord had been listening the whole time. While a lot of it went over his head he got the notion things had gotten bad but also some good had survived to continue on. He still had plans of his own to think on though. He saw an angle he wanted to see out. He was paitent though about it. "I guess rest might do some good. I can get the stink out of my clothes at least. Maybe learn a little more about all this."  

[Okami Ameras]

(( cat_ninja ))

 

[Hiddochi wolf]

Alena dashed through the halls, seemingly little more than a shadow. She moved with purpose, with precision. Many times had she explored this path in a non-physical existence. The vibrant colors of electricity danced all around her, seen only by her third eye. She could also see the outline of a human not far ahead.
The experiment halted mid-step, assumed her usual defensive crouch, and waited for the man to enter the intersection. He barely managed to let out a yelp of surprise before Alena's talons sunk into flesh. She slashed across his throat only once, a fatal but relatively quick wound. As his last breath shuddered to nothingness, she continued in silence down the walkway.
Then, the ear-splitting alarms chimed in overhead. Everyone would know of her presence.

• • •

Layla, with Genesis's aid, followed the path to which Lukas gestured. The man's laugh still failed to faze her, just as it had in their youth. She was more concerned by the automaton beside her. Every fiber of her being wanted to lash out at Genesis, to destroy one of the countless machines which made this hellhole of a planet, to attempt to avenge her brother's and mentor's deaths. But her body had betrayed her. She wanted to scream and thrash and fight, recklessly abandon all hopes of safety and peace. Yet she could only remain silent and weak and brooding. She wanted to destroy and be destroyed.
The trees loomed far above, foreign and slightly unnerving to the Northern monarch. Such growth was a positive change, but she found no consolation in it. She knew that it couldn't last, and that something incredibly tragic was bound to soon occur.
Layla bit down on her lip as a sense of despair washed over her. The flavor of fresh blood filled her mouth. She followed the grid of roots beneath her feet with her eyes.
"Holding onto all of that negativity is unhealthy. It's like a toxin — it slowly overtakes everything, the mind included, until its iron grip finally claims the life itself." Genesis spoke with gentle concern. He could feel her angst; it was like a foreboding cloud that hung heavy over the woman.
"What is it that ails you so? How can we dispel that poison from your mind, Layla?"  

[omgIisonfiyah]

((What about the tests hmm? XD))  

[Hiddochi wolf]

((They're gonna be postponed due to this ultra-deadly cyborg escaping her pitiful confinement. xd ))

The noisy alarms reached the furthest depths of the facility at last. Raowan face-palmed, "You have got to be kidding me..." He looked around for any signs of a Caretaker, but none were to be found. The admin glanced briefly to each of the guardians, then nodded once to himself, "Alright, it seems we're facing an internal crisis at the moment. Not even I know the nature of this emergency, but we'll just have to assume the worst until I do. There's an armory not far, and I'll leave it to all of you to choose your own methods of defense."  

[Okami Ameras]

Isabella waited, searching the factions for the remaining West members.

~~~

Lukas guided everyone down into Northwest's Hq, and they were greeted by the exited hustle and bustle of people working on their own various projects for the festival coming up.

I looked around and went off in Search for Eva... I had gotten a telepathic message from Odessa saying that she wanted to learn our mystic arts.  

[omgIisonfiyah]

"Come on, be a little more specific than that, you know how bad I am with directions." Virgil said with a chuckle.  

[Okami Ameras]

(( cat_ninja ))

 

[omgIisonfiyah]

((Burp))  

[Hiddochi wolf]

((Sorry for the major post-delays, guys. I barely have any free time nowadays... @_@ ))

Raowan nodded, then led the group down several walkways to a locked door. He entered the password and gestured for them to enter. As he waited for the guardians to pick out their weaponry from the vault, a violent shiver rolled down his spine. It was clear to anyone, mystic or not, that something very ominous lurked within the facility.

• • •

Layla looked upon the active society with emptiness. She barely recognized any part of it, and any that she did only brought back the pain of her lost past. The whole time, she mulled over the robot's questions. They bothered her, actually, the more that she thought about them. She knew the answers, and they were troubling.
"...I think I'm too far gone, Caretaker. I know a hopeless cause when I see one." She started slowly, "It's not any one single problem; more like an accumulation of everything tragic that's happened in my thirty-four years of life. This world is truly depressing and tiresome. The wars, the death, the pollution, the constant fear... I'm exhausted, and no amount of rest will ever restore me."
She watched the Northwesterners as they worked, so light of heart and carefree. Genesis was still uneasy, yet remained supportive at her side. Layla's tone almost held a hint of fear, "A whole society depends on me, and I never wanted that responsibility to begin with. They look to me with such high expectation, yet I'm falling apart at the seams... I'm old, broken and alone. My physical youth may not be entirely gone, but my livelihood died long ago. The only reason I persist on living is the dwindling hope that I could avenge some of the wrongs done unto me."
Just then, Genesis wiped away the tears which even she was unaware of. They surprised her; she hadn't cried in so long, so many years. But more than anything, the robot's reaction had caught her off-guard. He acted so human and displayed feelings of empathy.
"Please don't say that. Nothing is entirely irreparable, not even people or planets. Just look at that forest outside — it may be minuscule in comparison to the world, but it's a rapid step toward recovery. Your recovery is dependent on your mindset, just like these people as they restore the world." Genesis said sternly, his hand returning to his side. His attention was focused almost solely on her, yet he managed to flawlessly maneuver his way through the lab to wherever Lukas was leading them. The Caretaker's eyes obtained a remnant of that bluish-pink color, "A life based on revenge is a meaningless, insubstantial existence. Pain is what assures us that we are alive, but one cannot live until they have learned to let go of that pain."

• • •

Eva had returned to the main lab, unsure of what to do. The activity shifted so suddenly and drastically, it was almost alarming. One minute, these people are crafting weapons and armor and war supplies... and the next, they're preparing for a festival. She thought it seemed rather surreal.