➤The ✭ Perfect ✫ World ➧➧➤

[Okami Ameras]

Hey Eva! I said loudly, seeming to have suddenly appeared behind Eva. Odessa tells me you want to learn our arts?

~~~

Lukas lead Genesis and Layla through the main lab, into the living halls beyond. He lead them to a medium sized room, and bowed. He had heard the entire conversation, but didn't want to butt in. But he did think to himself: We work so well together because we have accepted who we are, and we have accepted others. We accept pain, and we grow our awareness. We have become content to live and work, to peruse our goals. I wonder when humans will realize that to truly repair the human race, and the Earth that has been given us, we need to accept who we are and not let our predatory instincts control us...  

[omgIisonfiyah]

Virgil walked into the armory and began looking through the various weapons. While there was nothing on par with what he was used to, Virgil settled on a Fuel-Injection Sword and a Revolver. "This will be interesting." Virgil said with a grin as he revved the blade.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Eva saw Genesis across the lab, following after Lukas while aiding some unknown woman. She vaguely wondered if that lady was involved in the distant conflict. Then, Scarlet nearly scared her out of her skin with an abrupt appearance. She turned toward the girl and greeted her with a nod, "Hey, Scarlet. Um, yes..." Eva hesitated, "I mean, I'm just so tired of having to depend on others in battle... I want to rely only on myself. Like everyone else here."

• • •

He was awoken from his slumber by a violent prod on the shoulder. Devon grumbled a few slurred curses as he sat up, then nearly stumbled over his own feet as the Easterner led him outside. The polluted rain had ceased, but a sickly fog now hung heavy upon the city. A strange silence permeated the faction; no machines tolled, no voices spoke, no other footsteps sounded on the gravel besides his own and the other man's. He gestured toward the buildings as they walked, "Why's it so...empty, all of a sudden? Where're we goin'?"
"That doesn't concern you right now. However, we have received a transmission from Northwest intended for you."
They weaved in between the dilapidated buildings, followed new streets to the very heart of the city. This was a single large dome, constructed of rusting metal and guarded heavily by tired soldiers. The Easterner led Devon through the dome's interior, into a central room housing the computer monitor. They were instantly met by Isabella's face.
"This is Devon from Western reporting in, how may I help you, ma'am?" He asked the woman on the other end, his voice laden with fatigue.  

[Okami Ameras]

((I will be controlling what Eva sees and senses as a mystic.))

Very well, I will teach you. But I will have to warn you... our arts are NOT for battle. It helps in battle yes, but not truly a pure battle technique. Ours is a way of life. Using it just purely for battle will just get you hurt.

I then grabbed Eva's arm and dragged her though the lab.

As we walked through the lab, one of the blacksmith's called out to me. They tossed a couple things in my direction.

I let go of Eva and caught both items. One was a brass ball, and the other was a knife. The knife was a long bowie knife with a wicked sharp plain edge, and the brass ball fit neatly in the palm of my hand. It was about 2 pounds lead to brass to brass, respectively.

And both were glowing red hot; both glowed the color of sweet cherries. Yet I held them both easily in my hands as if they were room temputure. I smiled and tossed the ball in the air for a moment, then dumped both of the items in a nearby bucket of cool water. The water boiled rapidly for a moment, and there was a great deal of steam. And yet my hands were fine, smooth and unblemished for holding red hot objects. I smiled.

Jared the blacksmith smiled at Eva and I. "We'll have them ready for you in just a few minutes. They just need to be polished and one sharpness check for the knife."

I nodded and waited. I also watched Eva carefully, to see her reaction to me handling red hot metal in my bare hands... if SHE had noticed, Jared did it all the time...

~~~

It was Isabella again. She smiled at Devon sweetly.

We of Northwest would like to invite the West Members staying at East to a festival we are holding in our forest.  

[omgIisonfiyah]

((So what am I supposed to be doing again?))  

[Hiddochi wolf]

((That's fine; it'll be easier on my end that way. ^_^
OmgIisonfiyah: I'm sort of postponing this side of the story a bit, as I've kinda gotten ahead of myself. I want more to occur in the other aspects before I continue with this one. But basically, you'll be trying to hunt down Alena when it comes time for that. Also, your Westerner character could be trying to contact the others, or maybe he's already heading toward Northwest.))


Devon scratched the back of his head, "A festival? At a time like this?" He frowned as he thought, eyes lingering from the screen temporarily. His focus drifted back to Isabella after some time, "We appreciate the offer, but I'm not sure how wise it would be for us to traverse such a distance while vulnerable. Open space makes for a wounded animal's demise. And with Southeast still so close in proximity..." He trailed off; the ending of his sentence needed not to be spoken. Northwest would certainly be a lot more pleasant for everyone, and a festival of any sorts would raise morale. He began to regret his own words.

• • •

Eva trailed along with the girl in silence, a sort of solemnity hung about her. When Scarlet mentioned how their mysticism was a way of life, Eva found herself questioning her own motives. She was still new to this world; an infant in every sense but physical. She was helpless, needy and perhaps even a burden to those who cared for her. What she wanted was self-reliance. A nurturing home can only do so much for a child, for even as they grow up, they rely upon the people which once sheltered them. She already had a home and family, but desired the means to no longer need them.
It wasn't quite as shocking of a discovery for her when Scarlet held the burning objects. Of course this phenomena was very unusual, but so was this culture. All around them was oddity. People spoke in a long-dead language, they practiced outdated combat and used medieval weaponry, and most of all... everyone was content. Content merely to live, at peace with the world unless so provoked with danger. Eva wanted to understand these people.

• • •

Genesis led Layla over to a chair within the room, releasing her only after she was firmly seated. She watched with cold eyes as the robot retreated to the opposite wall. A bitter grin crept onto her face, "If that is true, then I have no reason to continue existing. My purpose must be done, for all that remains is meaningless revenge. A meaningless life is left better un-lived...isn't that right, Vine?" She questioned the Northwesterner, glancing in his direction only briefly, "Why not just kill me now? Nothing would be gained or lost. My faction should already be suspecting that I am deceased, based on how long I've been missing. Not a single soul would regret my absence. It's difficult for the world to mourn the death of someone who's already become a ghost."
Tension buzzed through the stagnant air, amplified by the noise of silence in their ears. Layla let her previous statements float around a while before she looked back to the machine, "I hate you. I really do. Not for who you are, but what you are. I've lost everything at the hands of machines..."  

[Okami Ameras]

"Vine" stood there for a moment, then raised an eyebrow.

A meaningless life, I would think, would find it to be best to search for meaning.... And I will not take your life. No one here will. It would have been a waste of energy to revive your mech for anyone of my family and people to take your life. Do you realize, Layla, how much you do matter? Do you? You mattered enough to make this entire faction stop dead in it's tracks, to revive and repair your mech. Even now, your own faction is waiting for your return. And Suicide... such a selfish notion. Throwing away one's life because they feel nothing truly matters anymore, without thinking about the people they left behind.

He stared at Layla, eyebrow raised. It was a deep soul piercing stare. He seemed pissed off now.

Just then there was a squeal, and a young woman ran into the room. At least, at first glance she looked like a young woman. She had wavy blonde hair that fell over her left eye, and she had golden eyes and tanned skin. She wore a simple white dress, with a pair of simple white slippers. Over the white dress she had a familiar black cloak.

Something was off, however. She had joints, like a doll. A tall, oddly graceful, beautiful doll.

Genesis! Genesis! Look what I made with some of Gerald's nano-machienes! She squealed, running up to the robot and running around him like a grown up child.

Lukas blinked at the new arrival, who was giggling and spinning around now, enjoying the swooshing of her white dress and black cloak. Her voice was eerily familiar, and her face was one he had never seen in Northwest before. The cloak was a dead giveaway.

Nova?

((And a pic of Nova as she is now. ))

~~~

The smith retrieved the bowie knife and sharpened it, while an apprentice polished the brass ball. The smith stuck it in a sheathe and handed it to me. The ball was tossed in my direction and I caught it before dragging Eva away from the smithing area and out of the lab.

Then I lead Eva through the forest.

We passed the Watcher Tree, the greatest tree in the entire forest, and I smiled and looked up at it. It was one of those things that gave you a surprise every time you looked at it. And this time I saw a new surprise; ivy vines grew up all the length of the trunk in sections, like the patterns were a single great ivy vine itself.

I smiled and looked at the waves of purple and white verbena around me, and I nodded to myself. Then I continued to lead Eva on.

Eventually we came to a small place, in a little part of the forest. Little orange poppies grew everywhere. I veered from the course, to a little tree, which was barely taller then Eva. It had little gnarled branches, and few leaves. I gestured to her to come to me.

Come; sit under the tree. Lotus position, if you please.

~~~

Isabella tilted her head, looking at Devon. Even over the webcam, she sensed his uncertainty.

Are you sure?  

[omgIisonfiyah]

((So the West HQ is no longer safe or was it just blown to hell.))

Dante panted as he entered the forest bordering the Northwest Territory. "Finally...made it...God damn it." he said tiredly as he sat and leaned against a tree. "I am way out of shape, doing physical work sucks." Dante said to himself with a sigh.  

[Okami Ameras]

((Probably no longer safe))

Dante did not get into the territory unnoticed. It was about 5 minutes until someone came to greet him.

It was a young man, about 15 years old, who approached him while he sat under a tree.

"Greetings. Are you one of West's members?" He asked.  

[omgIisonfiyah]

"Yeah, please tell me you're friendly and not planning on shooting me, blowing me up or setting me on fire." Dante said, the exhaustion seeping out of his voice.  

[Okami Ameras]

The young man smiled.

"I have no intention of the sort, as long as you have no plans to do the same."  

[omgIisonfiyah]

"Buddy, I'm too tired to even think about it." Dante said with a chuckle.  

[Okami Ameras]

He nodded.

"Very well then."

He sat down next to Dante, clearly seeing that the man was extremely tired. He would wait until the man caught his breath before he brought him to the lab to meet up with the West members already located in Northwest.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Devon reconsidered, mentally drawing out possible paths they could follow. It would be foolhardy for them to take the normal route within the ring of alliances, however, if they could loop around behind the boundaries... It would still be risky due to the leftover radiation of the Wastelands, but that was the precise reason why no other faction would attempt to ambush them. He sighed, "Well, I'll see what I can do. We might be able to make this work, after all. I think Northwest's atmosphere would be a lot more beneficial to faction morale."

• • •

Layla sat completely still, face angled toward the floor and shadowed by her white hair. Her heartbeat felt heavy and sluggish in her own chest, her skin burned with shame. She spoke so low that it was almost inaudible, "...I never asked to be saved. Had this faction left my machine at its grave, I really would have ended myself within East's walls."
Her words were quickly drowned out by the commotion of the female android, and her expression froze over into cold indifference. It was another Caretaker. It mattered not to her how joyous or whimsical Nova acted; she was still a machine, and was therefore evil of intention.

Genesis smiled and followed after Nova with his gaze, "That's wonderful, Nova! Now you have a unique identity in both worlds." He instinctively glanced down at his own body armor with curiosity. It was a bit ragged from his battle with Nemesis, but overall had held up well. He was rather fond of the purple-accented halter, no matter how effeminate it may appear. Robots didn't need to defend their fragile egos, as they possessed no definite gender to begin with.
He looked back to the Northern monarch with a peaceful grin, "See? Not all machines are wicked. Some of us defy that which our brethren do. I hate not a single human, regardless of their opinion, alignment or intentions. I blame only their ignorance for the evils of this world, and I serve merely to protect humanity from its own mistakes."

• • •

Eva admired the forest they traversed. It was a young forest, but seemed so perfectly natural that it could have been there for hundreds of years. A hidden utopia amongst the waste. This was the real utopia which no computer could ever adequately simulate. She stepped very carefully, trying not to harm any plants as they walked. When they came to the small tree, Eva did exactly as Scarlet dictated, and sat beneath its tendrils.