➤The ✭ Perfect ✫ World ➧➧➤

[Okami Ameras]

The first thing Isabella pulled up on her computer was a music playing program... Which made the whole room rebound with the sound of pumping, heart pounding music.

By now Lukas had finished building the protein vats... well, Vat. It had been constructed out of the two large vats Lukas had brought with him in his carts. It had to be at least 26 feet tall, and 13 feet wide. He now went to his computer. The screen that the computer had came with blinked. He waved me over.

Scarlet. A bit of your DNA, please.

I came over, and held out my arm as my father inserted a needle into my left vein. A small amount of blood was withdrawn, and as soon as the needle was removed the blood stopped leaking from the tiny wound as I went to my forge.

Isabella retrieved a long length of steel and looked it over.

Good alloy. But needs to be denser, and purified more. Scarlet, this would make fine start to the spine.

I looked to her, my witch hazel eyes shifting rapidly in color. I held out my hand and took it from her, and with my bare hands shoved the entire length of North's best steel into the flame of my olde style forge.

As I pushed it in, the flames started climbing up my arms, but I didn't seem to notice. They reached my shoulders and stopped, my arms wreathed in flames. The fire roared more, reaching ten feet tall and becoming white hot. My long hair, which for the moment had been braided, whipped around in the massive rush of air needed to keep the massive fire going.

I pushed the beam straight up so it towered over me by a good 6 feet. It was already glowing red hot. I climbed onto the edge of the forge and wrapping my hand around my other fist slammed my hand down into the flame. I kept doing this, bashing the steel as it slowly turned to the consistency of putty.

As I did this, my mother started throwing other, similar beams into the fire. Then long pieces of metal of other types and alloys.

Lukas was looking over the main screen of his computer. The screen was filled with letters.

"GATAGTTGRGTATRGGTA..." and so on.

He then slid on his holographic virtual gloves. Infront of him, a holographic keypad with seemingly random letters appeared, as well as an accompanying screen. He started typing away like crazy, his fingers moving so fast they were a blur.

The screen started to fill with a similar type of sequence that was growing a rapid pace...

Meanwhile, I was crouching now, knees whide as I continued to pummel the steel beam into a solid puck shape. I then picked up the glowing now white hot item and punched a hole into it, before grabbing it and starting to shape it with my hands. Finally I tossed a white hot flaming vertibrae out of the forge like a discus, sending it rocketing twaords Odessa's area. It hit a wall and clanged off of it; despite how hot it was it still held it's shape perfectly, it was that dense.

Might as well get rid of the armor Scarlet. You'll get the inner skeleton done faster if you don't have to worry about wrecking your royal armor.

Good idea. Put it somewhere safe, and for now go help Odessa set up the stand in which we'll put this thing together. I have enough pieces for the spinal column and the ribs. I’ll need at least 12 of these each to make the collarbone and shoulders, and the hipbones.

I stripped myself of my armor then, but the fire was so bright it did well to maintain my modesty. And with that I leapt into the white hot fire and vanished completely from view.

Isabella picked up the discarded armor, which didn't have a single scorch mark or ounce of soot on it's clean white, gold, and crimson surface-- not even the cloak was marred. She took it over to Rey, and handed it to her.

Please keep My daughter's
Scarlet's
My friend's,
Lukas's daughter,
Armor Safe.

It was as if Isabella had spoken one thing, and many things, with many voices at once.

With that she walked over to Odessa who was now working on putting up a tall skeleton stand, and was gingerly looking at the now red hot Vertebrae bone.

We are not suited for such heat.

Then let us handle it. We are the ones of fire and stone.

Odessa climbed down the ladder now that the rack was complete, and just as Isabella climbed up with the red hot vertebrae under her arm, out banged another one that bounced across the floor like a stone skipping across water.

~~~

Lyra nodded, before gliding out of the room. By the time Lara and the purebreds left the room, already a good group of the mutants had gathered at the Northbound entrance...  

[Hiddochi wolf]

The bustle of extreme activity had Rey captivated at once. The young Northerner watched, mouth hanging agape and eyes wide, as Scarlet worked amid the flames without so much as a scuff. She carefully accepted the bundle of armor from Isabella, "Of course, ma'am." Regretfully, she tore her attention away from the family and left the garage, heading for Scarlet's bedroom. She set down the armor on top of the large canopy bed and left immediately, only to be met by Eva in the hallway. The woman appeared lost.
"Are you looking for something, Eva?"
She shook her head, "Ah... Not really. I'm just getting in their way if I stay in there. I have no technical skills whatsoever. Really, more like no skills at all, of any type." Eva scratched at the back of her head, "Actually, are there any nearby bakeries or restaurants? I haven't eaten in over a day, and I suppose I should do something about it before I pass out."
Rey gestured for Eva to follow as she walked down the main stairs, into the palace's lobby. They headed down a passageway to the left, "No need to go into town — we've got the faction's best kitchen right here! Here, take a seat, and I'll be right back."
She ventured into the kitchen and emerged a few minutes later with a platter of various dishes. She set it down in front of Eva on the table, and after a moment of indecision, sat down across from the woman.
"I'm basically useless right now, too," Rey explained, "My main duties come in once they've got the frame setup and the armor pieces ready for assembly. I'm intrigued by how they're forming a realistic skeleton for the frame; we've attempted very similar designs in the past, but they failed due to the 'bones' not being stable enough to bear all of the mech's external weight."
Eva listened as she bit into a warm pastry. It was a very buttery, flaky crust stuffed with cubed meat, carrots, potatoes, and dried fruits. She paused after a few bites to speak, "How did North become so technologically advanced? I've only been to a couple other factions before now, but this one is by far the closest to the simulation's world."
Rey twirled a lock of her hair around her finger as she thought, "Out of necessity. Like I said before, we're physically smaller and weaker than the other factions, so we must rely the most heavily on machines to survive like everyone else. For some of us, it's even a spiritual connection. If your mech is destroyed, it may feel like a part of yourself has perished in the process. Every machine serves a purpose, and no machine is evil."
"But what about the Caretakers? Aren't they your enemy?" Eva asked, raising her eyebrow.
"The Caretakers themselves aren't the least bit evil. It's the people who make and command them that we must blame. The robots are mere puppets — could you really hate a puppet for the things its master forces it to do, while it has no say in the matter? I think that's kinda unfair for the poor puppet... what if it actually opposes what its master wants, but it lacks the willpower to disobey?" Rey took one of the two glasses of juice on the platter and sipped from it, then looked at her own reflection as she set it down, "Layla was jaded because of some traumatic experiences involving the Caretakers. She learned to hate them as if they were human. But I'm a roboticist, and I understand them better than most people. All they desire, like any of us humans, is their parents' love and approval. And they'll do nearly anything, no matter the cost, to satisfy their creator."
Eva swallowed hard, as if something in those last two sentences resonated with her. Rey didn't pursue the subject, and instead waited silently for the other woman to finish her meal. She cleaned up the debris and returned the dishes to the kitchen, then led Eva back out into the main room.
"Do you enjoy the theatre, Eva?" She inquired casually. When she nodded, Rey smiled, "Then I have something to show you."
They walked down a set of stairs into the basement, where a large stage and many rows of seats stood. The curtain was currently down, so anything beyond was hidden from view. Rey snuck behind the stage while Eva took a seat in the first row, pressing many buttons on the enormous control panel. The room's overhead lights dimmed, and music began to play as the curtain slowly rose. A holographic background depicted an abandoned laboratory, and in the stage's midst was a robotic character slumbering within his pod. The machine startled awake, gazing around the lab with confusion in his expression, "Who...am I? Why do I exist?"
Rey sauntered back out to the audience section and took a seat beside Eva, watching as her creations acted out the story that she and many others wrote about a machine without a purpose.  

[Okami Ameras]

If anyone was there to watch the four, it would have been an awesome sight to watch. I got faster and faster in banging out the inner skeleton's bones as Isabella was constantly up and down that ladder. Occasionally she would throw a bone back, which would be tossed back a moment later with whatever was wrong corrected.

The mech’s skeleton was starting to take shape. The spine was done already, and the shoulder bones were fitting together neatly, and now I was pounding out the rib cage. It would be longer then normal human porportions, to make fit for not only the heart and lungs, but also be the cavity for the pilot.

Now that Rey and Eva were no longer there, we had all stopped speaking altogether.

As the skeleton took shape, Odessa was mapping out the nervous system, which would be both electrical nerves and organic nerves, to allow for both to interact with each other. Her mapping would be sent to Lukas, which showed up as holographic windows around him. He would read them, close them and alter the structure of the DNA coding as per the alterations and information given by Odessa.

~A couple hours later~

The skeleton was almost finished now. As the last little toe bone bounced out of the fire, Isabella placed it onto the skeleton’s foot before heading back to the forge, in which she started piling in more and more fuel for the fire. Then she started to throw in more and more metals, this time pure ingots.

Around this time, Odessa finished mapping the nervous system. She sent the last of her notes to Lukas, who finished up the sequencing.

With the skeleton finished, Lukas picked up the rach in which the skeleton dangled, and with not even a grunt walked it over to the vat. He hefted it high into the air before plunging it into the protein vat which had taken this long to finally fill.

He then returned to his computer and pressed a button.

Odessa went to help throw more ingots and fuel into the forge, while Lukas remained at his lab.

His computer pinged after a few moments, and in front of him appeared a holographic version of the skeleton. He moved his hands apart, and it grew in size, zooming in to the upper center of the ribcage, where the first muscles were starting to form. With his hands he guided them to place themselves, though it was with minimal guidance.

And then...

Out of the forge shot the first piece of the Mech's armor. It clanged up against the far wall, glowing white hot, and already starting to cool. As more and more pieces came clanging put of the forge, Isabella started to arrange them according to the design of the mech's outer armor/exoskeleton.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Time flew by as the robot's tale played out before them. Naer, the robot from the intro, went on to search the city high and low for his creator, Dr. Aberley, to discover his purpose. But alas, Dr. Aberley had passed on many years prior, and Naer's awakening was a miraculous incident. One day, he encountered a homeless man on the street corner who told him, "You serve us all, brave machine, for Aberley was just as much human as humanity itself. By extension of our existence, we are all your creator, and you may obey us as such. But do not allow us to lead you astray, pure being, for humans are most prone to destroying themselves..." Naer considered this as he searched for a master, and chose a young girl to serve. Her parents were never home for her, and so she valued objects more than the love which she truly craved. She became greedy and instructed Naer to bring her all of the toys in the city, and sent him away when she found herself still dissatisfied after obtaining her prized possessions. Next, the robot served a business CEO, who was spiteful and intent upon claiming revenge on the men who mocked him years ago. Eager to please his 'creator', Naer obeyed and killed dozens of innocent people, leaving their families to mourn. When Naer questioned whether his actions had been right, the businessman banished him. He continued to serve many wicked people, and each of them led him on a path of self-destruction until the day he met a lonely teen. The adolescent boy was thoroughly depressed, and when the robot inquired why, his answer was thus; "The world out there is ill. Material things have so completely enchanted us as to lure us to emotional detachment, and that is the beginning for total disaster. Everyone has left me behind for their gadgets or their money, and we're all rotting inside from the loneliness they seek to solve with things. Here is my command to you, Naer: Fix this world." Without another blink, Naer left in search of how he could accomplish this. As he travelled, he considered all of the bad things he had done to so many people, and thought of his own existence — he was an object. One morning, Naer walked to a remote spot along the riverbank, and sat amidst a pile of junk to contemplate what he was about to do. "I have hurt so many creators to please a few... I have done wrong. Creators depend on me for happiness, and I am just an object... Objects are hurting creators. To fix this world...? I must be destroyed." The robot slowly reached into his own head and tore out his black box, his body falling limp to the ground in his chosen grave of junk. As time passed, one by one the 'creators' died of their own faults; greed, vengeance, gluttony, hatred, jealousy and loneliness. All of their bodies fell around Naer, until Christmas Eve when the teen committed suicide to complete the circle around their slave. In the final scene, as the background grew dark and snow poured down upon the lifeless circle, the homeless man cried out in desperation to the robot's body, "Oh, foolish being! You have been tainted by humanity, and now you, the last with a conscience, have left us behind to die by our own hands!" He, too, finally died of hypothermia, and the image of the city collapsed to ruin behind them as the curtain rolled slowly downward.

Rey stood and stretched, glancing to Eva for her reaction, "So? What'd ya think?"
Eva was intrigued by the holographic snow flakes floating all around them, pretending to catch them in her palm and watching as they 'melted.' She smiled wide, "It's amazing. I can't believe all of this is done with robots and programs... this is better than any of the human plays I saw in the simulation. Excellent story, too."
The Northerner beamed with excitement, "Thanks! Yeah, it took us years to make all this stuff... I built and programmed all of these actors myself. Sometime I'll take you backstage to see the rest of them." She looked at her watch and nearly panicked, "Oh! It's time we get back to them..."
They hurried back to the garage, and Rey examined their progress. She saw the armor plates being stacked against the wall and nodded to herself. She grabbed the large magnet and waited by the plates for them to cool, until she was able to rub the magnet along every exterior edge of the plates, alternating which polarity she would give each side.  

[Okami Ameras]

The Northwesteners continued to work around Rey, as more and more eternal exoskeleton plates continued to clang past. Occasionally Isabella would grab Rey and push her aside; just as another plate would come barreling right where Rey had been.

The muscles had taken root on the inside of the rib cage, and the muscles continued to grow all on their own. The heart formed the side of a small human being, nestled between two larger lungs. Veins and arteries formed, and below all that formed a womb like cavity, all cradled within the ribcage. Organs formed, below the cavity, there for the sustainment of the pilot and the mech itself.

In the hollow bones, marrow had started to form, as well as nanobot nests.

Soon the entirety of the rib cage down to the hips were filled with muscle.

The outer exoskeleton is almost finished?

One last piece.

Start putting it in. Start from chest out. We need them in place now to graft the muscle tissue to the outer exoskeleton armor. We will guide them to their proper places.

With that, I stepped from the fire with the last piece, still on fire, over my shoulder. Now that my body was no longer shielded by the light of the flame, it revealed the scars weaving through my skin. They were smooth like the rest of my skin, almost as if they were not scars but tattoos or skin patterns. But I showed no shame of them as I dropped the last piece in the arrangement that Isabella had made; Ready for Rey to do her thing.

With that I headed up to the first chest piece, a large curved piece shaped in a triangle. I picked it up and spun around once, before sending it spinning towards the top of the vats. It landed in the protein solution with a splash, and started to sink.

As it sank it’s path seemed to move, settling itself on the very center of the mech’s chest. IT stayed there, as muscle rapidly formed and formed to it, locking it into place. I picked up another one, spinning on my toes to send it spinning like a Frisbee towards the top of the vat. It too landed with a splash and started to sink, before moving its place and grafting itself there almost instantaneously.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Rey finished rubbing down the last piece with the magnet, leaving a thin layer of metallic dust on the plate's edges. She returned to her table and retrieved the large sphere, noting how the armor plates began to shake and rattle even from across the room. She held it up for Scarlet to see, "Once you have the plates situated, we'll need to install this in the machine's core. It's a powerful multi-polarity magnet, and will hold all of the metal components firmly together without the use of nuts and bolts. It'll be more flexible this way, simulating more closely the movement of skin while retaining the protection of metal. Plus, if a part is somehow torn off of the mech, the magnet will instantly guide it back to its normal spot. The balance of attractive and repulsive polarity on each piece will ensure that the magnet does not crush the flesh underneath, either. We've only used this system on a couple units before and it's proven to be highly effective, but we lack the resources to switch over our whole fleet..."
She thought fondly of her own mech that was currently sitting in storage; it had the magnetism assembly as well. Hers wasn't much of a combat model as it was meant for speed, and was extremely lightweight to enable low-altitude flight. On the battlefield it was certainly a sight to behold, as Scarlet would later find out, due to Rey's homemade paint-job.

• • •

Lara led the small group of humans to the surface, and through a winding path of destruction. All around them, the buildings creaked and groaned with the misery of past tragedy. Occasionally a mutant would poke his or her head out one of the windows to watch them go, perhaps wishing them luck in their own strange ways. The center of the city was a dilapidated park, with long-dead remnants of grass and blackened trees, and the rusted children's play equipment screamed with the wind's every gust. They walked right through the park and continued northward, dodging between the frames of fallen hovercars and domestic robot corpses. The orb-bearer sensed a mixture of wonderment and disgust originating from Chris as they walked through this historic wasteland.
The infinite darkness of the looming city waded away as the northbound entrance came into view, where Lyra and the others awaited. There was another orb-bearer there who the humans would not recognize; a humanoid male with silver scales and long blonde hair. Unlike the sisters, he had a full face underneath the red luminescence of his orb, with eyes the shade of blood. He was clothed in a skintight bulletproof suit and combat boots. This was Kiros, the unofficial co-leader with Lara.
"We're ready, any time you are." Lara told the other mutants.
Kiros immediately approached Chris, circling around the boy like a shark as he surveyed their new companion. He slowed his pace until stopping directly ahead of the human, eyes flaring a bright crimson while he stared into the boy's very mind and soul. When he spoke, it was both verbally and telepathically, "You are frail of heart due to past sorrows, and you house many insecurities beneath your brave exterior. You try to kill your problems by shooting them without restraint or consideration. You worry most about personal loss..." Kiros tilted his head, "...Yet, despite your impulsivity, I see potential for growth in mental and emotional strength. You have strong intuition, which leads me to suspect an emotionally-conscious pattern, though I also detect a certain precision of thought that's characteristic of physical-consciousness. Perhaps you're no specialist at all, but instead will possess weakened traits of each of us... How interesting."
Kiros quickly turned away and headed for the desert beyond, "Lara, keep your surveillance sight active and alert me if anything dangerous appears. I'll follow along in my mist state and will reform as an ambush if necessary. Lyra, keep your mind open to any presences that may be lurking out there, especially machines."
Without another word, the male mutant began to glow intensely red, before he suddenly dissipated into trillions of molecules in the air and disappeared entirely from sight. Lara focused her mind ahead of them, drawing an imaginary trail in her sight and projecting her consciousness a good 50 feet ahead of where she physically stood at any given time. Onward they ventured, into the vast nothingness of the Wastelands, heading Northeast toward the ring of alliances. The sun was already on the verge of setting, and thus it was too late to return to the Western convoy.  

[Okami Ameras]

We looked to the sphere with curiosity; it had quite obviously been multi polar magnetic. We turned and shouted to Lukas something in our native language. He called back something that was unidentifiable as a confirmation or rejection to Rey.

Lifeweaver Vine already took the sphere into account. Thank you.

I took the orb and tossed it around and spun it in my hands. The place he designated for it would be... right above the pilot cavity. I spun and sent it flying up into the tank as well, before following it with another piece. It floated down to the bottom of the rib-cage where it slid itself through the muscle and tissues to settle itself above the pilot's cavity. It fit there neatly.

More and more of the plates were tossed in as Isabella joined and they cooled enough for Odessa to start.

~~~

Finally, the last plate anchored itself onto the bottom of the Mech's left foot. The protein vat was now completely dry, and it stat there... Almost as if meditating in the lotus position; Legs folded, one on top of the other, middle finger curled to touch thumb and red of fingers played out, resting on mid thigh.

Lukas looked to Rey and smiled.

We Northwesteners feel our greatest tools are our own bodies. But just this once we decide to make one to show you.

He laughed then, as we all did. Our laughter shifted and changed, going from deep to high, childlike to maniacal, demon like to angelic, all sorts were heard in that chamber. it sounded like thousands of people were laughing in that little chamber all at once...

Then the four of us stopped, our heads bowing and eyes closed.

The first one to return to normal was myself. I stirred from the silence, almost as if waking up. I rubbed my forehead and my eyebrows furrowed, before opening my eyes and beholding the mech before me.

I gasped, my eyes going huge, as if seeing it for the first time. My eyes almost seemed to get stars as I approached the tank, and with a leap catching a ridge on the outside of the tank to climb onto.

I was halted by a hand grabbing one of my feet.

Nou nou. Ooce yew make ah pie, yew goot ta let et sit on ah windew sill ah while teh cool.

Lukas dragged me down, and held me in his arms as I started to kick and thrash.

It calls! It sings! NO! SHE ROARS IN MY HEAD! MY HEART! MY SOUL! I MUST SYNC! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!

It was the first time anyone seen a Northwestener in a long time throw a temper tantrum. But I was shaking and twitching, my eyes still locked on the mech as it seemed to grab my attention, all of my attention, and wouldn't give it up. In my heart, mind, spirit and soul the mech sang a raging chorus... This mech was based off of my DNA. It's silhouette would be one I myself would bear one day, if it hadn't been for the elongated ribcage.

Lukas did not let go. Infact, he dropped me then sat on me, and I continued to squirm and scream underneath him.

The tantrum didn’t last long before I broke down crying, still shaking slightly from the effect the mech had on me.

~~~

lyra followed along with the group, staying near her sibling, as well as Chris.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Rey was enchanted by their finished product, albeit nowhere near as hysterical as Scarlet became. It took her a long moment to find the simple phrase she meant to speak, "This is...amazing."
When the young monarch started to scream and thrash, Rey knew exactly what the cause was. Every Northerner felt some weaker degree of the same emotion in their hearts; the partnership, the connection which they yearned for within something just beyond inanimate. But with something this powerful, this alive... she could only imagine the agony of separation which Scarlet now writhed in.
"What's wrong with her?" Eva asked worriedly.
"It's...something I don't think you could quite understand without experiencing it," Rey's brow furrowed, "It's part of the Cooperative Consciousness concept — when you build a machine with your own two hands, and you depend on it to protect you while inside of it, you form this inexplicable bond. It's like the machine becomes a part of you, and separation from it can feel like losing yourself. Since Lady Scarlet's machine contains flesh of her own body, the CC is extraordinarily sky-high, far beyond anything we've ever seen... It's so strong that any injury the machine receives would no doubt be felt by Lady Scarlet herself..."
Both of them fell awkwardly silent as Scarlet burst into tears.

• • •

The settlement of South was hardly impressive to the ten approaching robots. It was a sprawling and low encampment, with every building topped by a turret, gun or missile launcher. Large trucks and other vehicles cluttered the narrow alleys between houses. A barbed wire fence surrounded the property, and a single gateway allowed for vehicles to enter.
A siren blared at the faction's middle, and seconds later a missile was sent toward the machines. Nemesis dodged easily with a simple rotation of her body, and the war machine directly behind her took the full impact, emerging without a single scratch. Two of the war machines responded in kind, releasing their own explosives on the outermost turrets which caused the buildings to fall into total ruin. Nemesis propelled herself over the fence to tackle a human soldier to the ground, releasing him only after his hands were restrained by his own belt and he was knocked unconscious. She repeated this with each of South's sentries, their bullets merely flying off her armor. Behind her erupted a massive explosion as the bulky robots disintegrated the fence entirely, signaling her to move onto the next section. She ran between the houses, snatching up each person she passed by their shirt collar and striking them once in the side of the head to knock them out. Nemesis left behind a trail of bodies on the ground as the larger machines crippled the faction itself. Near the very center of the faction, the fembot adapted hover units in the soles of her boots, and vents opened up along her sides that spewed a toxic vapor into South's air as she flew over the entire breadth of the camp. Below, citizens rapidly began to wheeze and collapse. She landed atop the tallest tower once her supply of toxin was depleted, watching the war machines tear down every single establishment in glorious fire. South stood no chance of survival whatsoever.  

[Okami Ameras]

Lukas stood up, lifting my sobbing form over his shoulder.

We should get some food, we both need it. I took the brunt of managing all those minds, and Scarlet was the one who had the most of them in her besides me.

Isabella and Odessa nodded, and they both ran off. Odessa to the kitchen, Isabella to my rooms.

Lukas settled me down on one of the carts as I continued to cry. Isabella came back with a simple white bathing suit and a belt, and my topaz pendent and tossed it to me before covering me with a sheet. Once could see me rummage around under it as I slid on the garments.

I finally just pulled the sheet off of me and sobbed for a while, still shaking ever so slightly.

H-How long?

A good 8 hours should give her enough time to settle into a normal life state.

Odessa returned now with a big platter of food in her arms. Lukas smiled wide, and watched her put it next to me.

Lukas and Isabella had to coax me to eat then; I just wanted to go to my mech and get in. Curl up inside and sync, be one with her.

Luykas ate some himself, and he nodded. Odessa had picked well; Spaghetti with a delicious red sauce, ravioli in a white sauce that perked himself right up. Then there was chocolate desserts, probably grown from Northwest itself, infact, it had been grown from northwest itself. And coffee too. He slowly fed all this to me.

He smiled when I started to perk up a little. He wrapped his arms around my head, hugging it gently, before sitting down next to the cart.

Odessa turned to Isabella. We should get started on the accompanying weapons to go with the mech.

I’ll get the mini mercury generators.

I’ll start drawing up the plans on my computer.

Isabella looked to Lukas and Scarlet. You tw---

Both of us were sound asleep. Lukas leaning against the side of the cart, his head back, mouth open, snoring loudly. I was curled up inside the cart in a cute little fetal position.

Isabella sighed. Ah love... you deserve the rest. She went over to him and kissed him softly on the cheek. She smiled at Scarlet, who was curled up on her side, before leaning in and giving her a kiss on the cheek too.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

The last of the towers was decimated by an explosion, the building's final collapse rung out as the only sound across the entire faction. The dust settled. Nemesis headed for the tower's ruins, lifting and discarding a heavy chunk of concrete that blocked the entrance to an underground facility. Two of her companions accompanied her down the stairwell, weapons readied. The facility was devoid anyone, and was a large laboratory. What caught the robot's attention was a deluxe setup in the furthermost corner of the room; upon the long table sat the beginning of an empty bombshell, along with carefully-sealed canisters and tanks of numerous chemical compounds including processed uranium. Nemesis sent a transmission to Shane regarding this find. The Admin's response arrived immediately: Maintain your position. I'll send a group of chemists along with more Caretakers to secure the area. They shall arrive in about an hour.
Nemesis relayed the message to the war machines in their simple language of binary, smirking all the while. They would craft the first fission-fusion hybrid bomb this world would see after 25 years of crude combat.

• • •

The following morning...

The majority of the group was resting at the base of the slope which separated the Wastelands from the alliances, except for Lara. She was patrolling the area, constantly searching for any potential threats. The sun hadn't yet risen, so her dark complexion was optimal for stealth. She crawled her way up the steep incline on all-fours, returning to her usual stance immediately upon reaching the crest. Ahead of her by a few hundred feet loomed a radiant city bordered by high walls, surrounded with tall mechanical figures armed with numerous weapons each. Lara crouched lower, approaching the figures with caution. She didn't get very far before one of the mecha turned toward her direction. Both she and the machine remained motionless for a long moment, until the mech initiated an attack by launching a small missile.
Lara's orb emitted a bright blue aura, forming a wall of matching color between her and the explosive. When the missile impacted, the force of it was absorbed and redirected in every other direction. She dismissed the wall and scurried forward, using her telekinetic energy to propel herself further and faster as she leapt at the mech. The machine tried to swat her out of the air, but Lara twisted herself just barely in time and seized the mech's head, swinging herself onto its massive shoulder. To her energy sight, the entity she now stood atop was a chaotic blur of electrical currents...and something organic at its core. A human body. She clutched tighter onto the head as the pilot within tried to shake her off his machine. Lara focused her telekinetic energy around her right arm, forming a sort of needlepoint that she punched down into the metal with, striking the man in his real shoulder. She withdrew, a gaping hole remaining in the mech's armor afterward, and struck once more at what seemed to be the suit's main powersource just above the torso. Sparks flew within the mech, and with a final violent shudder, the machine tumbled to the ground, sending Lara down with it.
The mutant rolled herself into standing, only to be met by two more mecha now looming over her. One of them swung a blunt blade right into her side, tossing Lara a good distance before she slammed to the ground on her back. She writhed in pain on the ground, feeling that a couple of her ribs must have been broken by the impact which would have killed any ordinary human. Her comrades would no doubt feel her pain as well. She heard the pounding footsteps of the machines as they approached...
As if on cue, Kiros suddenly materialized out of thin air in front of the machines. He invaded the mind of the pilot of the mech with the blade, influencing the woman to strike her ally's machine in its middle. The sheer force of the attack split the mech cleanly in two, killing its pilot likewise. He faced a good deal of resistance from the woman's mind as she realized what was happening, both he and the mech quivered as they fought a mental battle. Kiros released his grip on her then, focusing his efforts into a telekinetic push that sent the suit fumbling backward. While the mech flailed and danced on one leg to regain balance, Kiros manipulated the molecular structure of the air directly around the machine into a highly flammable gas. The instant the pilot righted herself and fired off a bullet at him, her own weapon ignited the gas and caused her suit to explode.
He wandered nonchalantly to Lara, kneeling beside her, "Are you able to walk? I expect more of those machines to arrive shortly, and my orb is beginning to overheat. I cannot continue to take them down alone, maybe two more at the most."
Lara shook her head, though it almost appeared to be a continuation of the shaking in her limbs, "I don't know. Something is broken; I can feel it. I'll set up a barrier around us while we wait for the others to come..."

• • •

Chris had been in hibernation until a phantom pain rolled up his side and through his body, as if he had been kicked in the ribs by a steel-toed boot. He jerked awake only to find all of the other mutants in some degree of similar pain. Brief images of Northern mecha flashed at the back of his mind's eye, each from different vantage points as if the photographer was constantly moving. He glanced around, only then noticing Lara's absence. The boy stood suddenly, "I think Lara's—"
"I'm on it." Kiros interjected the second prior to dematerializing.
Chris looked to Devon, who was completely oblivious to any of this telepathic stuff, "I'm seeing Northern mecha, and I think they're attacking Lara. We need to get up there ASAP and stop it all."


((Just as a brief explanation here — Kiros is also a physically-conscious type, but he's what they would consider as hypersensitive due to the fact that he even has some manipulation over molecules themselves. Lyra would also be hypersensitive, since her empathetic abilities are so strong that it causes a consequence to herself. Kiros's faults are that his stamina drains faster than Lara's, and if he tries to change too much material at once it'll kill him from the effort. That's why he didn't just change the mech's molecular structure into something nonconductive of electricity, and why he cannot take anyone else with him when he teleports.))  

[Okami Ameras]

20 minutes earlier...

I woke in my bedroom, and I considered the place for a moment. Oh, right, my new home. I was now a monarch of an entire City Faction, of evolved humans who didn’t recognize their own strength. I had a luxurious palace, with metal trees, huge walls, and my own mech—

My Mech.

I got up and hurried out of the room, only stopping to grab my hairbrush on the way out. I was still wearing my small white swimsuit and belt, which I had slept in. My braid had come undone, becoming a mass of curly/wavy tangled red strands which consisted of my hair.

By the time I reached the garage, I saw my sister and my mother finish up their various projects. Isabella was pulling a massive cross between an arm brace and a punch dagger off the forge, which would fit the forearms of the mech neatly and have a neat extension that flowed up the back of the hand to go past the knuckles as three long sharp claws.

I meanwhile just stared at the Mech for a long moment. Odessa was just starting to finish up on a massive sniper rifle, which was as long as a bus and shining white.

The two greeted me and promptly made me eat a very large breakfast, all the while my mech taunted me with its irresistible-“pilot me” begging. I nearly inhaled my food several times in my attempts to eat it quickly enough to get eating out of the way.

When I finally finished, I stood and approached the tank, in which my mech still sat. She moved her head, looking at me, watching me as I approached. I smiled.

With a swift movement I vaulted up onto the side of the tank, and with a deft swing of my body weight flipped me up onto the top of the tank. Then I dropped down to land next to it.

The Mech’s head rose and fell as I climbed the tank to reach her.

I stood there, infront of her, watching her blink at me.

What shall I call you? I mused aloud, taking in her shining platinum silver plates and 12 pointed star-like golden joints. No paint job required—that’s just how the alloys turned out as I had hammered them into shape from pure ingots. The stars showed up on the head, above the eyes, the shoulders,elbows, the stomach area just above where the ribs ended, the hips, knees, and ankles. I closed my eyes and listened to her sung in my mind, heart, and soul.

Ahh… You wish to be named after Venus, the shining planet that twinkles in the sky every morning before dawn? Yet… Venus is not your name. Ahhhh! Morning Star! That is your name!

With a giggle I started climbing up her folded legs, still folded neatly in the lotus position. As I approached, I heard her chest, just above where the ribcage stopped, start to click and pop like a complicated lock coming undone. The plates slowly started to open, revealing a silver cavity with soft, velvety skin lined flesh within. I reached up to run my fingers along the inside, feeling it was warm and slightly moist. From what I knew, the cockpit was right in the center… this couldn’t be it…

The Mech, getting… slightly impatient, slide a hand under me and literally tossed me headfirst into the warm crevice.

The plates started to close after me, and I felt them clock and pop closed, sealing itself tight and as defensible as any other part of the armor. There was no way anyone was getting at the entrance, that’s for sure. But anywho… it was dark.

Then I felt the muscles start to press down on me. I squirmed as the muscles started pushing me deeper and deeper into the mech, until I reached a hard muscled ring, which I was promptly pushed against. I felt around with my hand, and felt the ring quickly engulf my hand. And then it pulled me hand first beyond.

I gurgled as I found myself encased in a liquid filled space, blacker then a starless night. I pounded my chest hard as the liquid too filled my lungs… wait… it’s not water? Oh… it’s oxygenated liquid. I found myself floating there, robbed of all sensation and stimulation.

I closed my eyes, and curled my legs underneath me into the lotus postion. My hands rested on my thighs, and I could barely feel my own flesh pressed against flesh.

Instead… I opened my eyes.

I was in the lab again. I felt HUGE! And I saw… energy. Raw and flowing, through the lab and beyond it out the windows. I slowly stood, uncoiling and stretching as if I had woken from a long sleep. Morning stretched silently; there was no sound of the metal plates rubbing together, though I was aware of the metal bones popping and cracking almost silently as they moved under the stretch.

I reached up and vaulted over the 26 foot tall tank, like I was jumping some mere fence. I then walked straight out of the garage.

It was almost twilight now, and I could see Morning Star’s namesake in the sky above, twinkling almost mischeviously.

Morning did something no mech ever did before.

She smiled.

She walked through the buildings of her… my… our dominion. She is me and I am her, and together, we walked among the great buildings of North, gently touching banners and making them rustle in our silent passing, cause when we stepped, no sound came, no rumble of machinery of quaking of the earth.

I turned when I heard the sound of combat—the whistle of missiles through the air, the sound of explosions. There was a fight going on outside of my factions walls.

I sauntered towards the sound of the fight, and watched the exchange of energy through the wall as I silently approached.

I vaulted over the great wall that shielded North, and landed in a crouch in a thunderus earth-quaking crash next to them. I tapped the barrier with my knuckles.

The mutant that put up the barrier would feel that her barrier felt like it popped due to a huge firey explosion, not a tap from a great mech.

I snatched up the wounded one, ever so carefully holding her—I understood the possibility of misunderstandings, but still, these mutants killed three of my people just now…

The other one I flicked onto his stomach and pinned him with my palm.

Lara would feel that strangely, in the hand of this mech, her breathing start to ease a small amount and the pain fade just enough; It was as if the mech could tell that she was injured… and was holding her in such a way as to not harm her further…

~~~

Lyra perked up the moment Lara was injured. Her wings unfolded and she flapped them wildly as if to warn Kiros not to go—too late, he’s gone. The little white mutant shook her head and gave an annoyed cry that sounded like it should have come from a bird of prey, before taking flight and heading in the direction that her sibling and friend hurt from…  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Eva startled into consciousness for the fifth time that night; she'd had nonstop nightmares since she first drifted off. Her eyes traced over the room around her, a small guest bedroom the palace attendants had designated as hers in the meantime. Much like everything else Northern, it was heavily gilded and as far opposite of decrepit as was possible. Bells chimed from the metallic trees outside her window.
She pondered her dreams as she sat up on the edge of the bed, rubbing her eyes sleepily. The nightmares all involved the simulation, and some kind of battle in the fields. She saw Raowan fade from existence right before her eyes, and in his absence stood a shadowy, inhuman figure. It had no details in her mind, but just the outline, the presence of that being was enough to paralyze her with fear. The shadow spewed pure darkness that consumed everything around her — the fields, all of the people, her friends. And she couldn't move, because she was frozen while trying to repair the simulation. She let everyone down, she let them all die. She was all alone in a world of absolute nothingness. Those same events repeated each of the five times, with slight variations in the order and how the world was destroyed. Sometimes it was a violent, fiery ending, and sometimes it was a dark, lonely one. But each time, the ideas behind the dreams were what haunted her.
She wandered into the guest bathroom and took a shower, then dressed herself in the stack of clothing that had been left at her door by the attendants. The outfit consisted of a silken sleeveless shirt, a flowing skirt, and a pair of flats. All of which were, of course, red and gold. Eva headed for the garage to check on Scarlet and the others.

• • •

Lara and Kiros were caught off-guard by the massive mech, especially as her barrier melted away with such little effort. She was lifted by the machine, her eyes as wide as saucers as she beheld the energy of the giant — it was less electrical than it was organic, with a human body housed deep inside the machine's own flesh. And it had an enormous consciousness that seemed to radiate power. At the back of her mind, she could feel Kiros's animosity toward the large being and his concern for her, but she made no move against the mech. Instead, she tried to communicate with it; her own consciousness would feel feeble and odd to the massive being. She showed the other being her home in the Wasteland, the Caretakers they fought against, a glimpse of the Westerners and a fast-forwarded replay of their trip here. Lara tried to give the impression of not intending harm, and made it clear that it was the mecha who initiated the conflict.
Kiros, on the other hand, dematerialized underneath the machine's palm and reformed himself close to the slope's crest. His orb burned at the center of his forehead, but he still emitted a warning glow of crimson as he waited for the others to arrive. Seconds later, the group of non-bearer mutants scaled the hillside and surrounded him, their focus on Lara who remained so absurdly still in the machine's hand.
Chris and Devon ran with the others, stopping around Kiros as the rest did. The huge mech took them both aback.
"What the...? That's not a Northern mech..." Chris trailed off, swallowing hard at the sight of it.
"No. The craftsmanship of it is different. It's far too large, too human-proportioned. Not to mention the color scheme doesn't fit Northern pride. But why would it be guarding North's borders?" Devon mused aloud. His hand instinctually strayed to his coat pocket as he and the boy proceeded forward, as if his measly little explosives would do anything to such a machine.  

[Okami Ameras]

The I looked to the dark mutant and tilted my head, listening to what the little creature told it. Just then, the little white mutant flew up and landed on my hand, next to the black mutant. The I peered at her before the Westeners arrived with the rest of the mutants. I gave them a passing glance before getting a series of images from the small white one as well. Their minds were so tiny! I could easily absorb both of their information as the same time.

When they were done I rocked back, still in my crouching position, the silver-platinum and gold fingers of my free hand spread out on the grey soil. I opened my other hand, and the little white one hovered for a moment before landing next to the dark one. She hovered her hands over the dark mutant’s wound and injury, starting to heal it while I looked to the remaining mutants and the Westeners.

Let’see… there was Devon, and Chris. Ah! It was nice to see Chris was alright. Seems he has one of these odd little orbs now. Hmmm.

Ah! Devon! Chris! Good to see you two again. I spoke through my mech, in a voice that would sound strangely familiar. My voice was booming, but did not feel threatening... just loud.

I settled the little white one and her darker sibling down (I instinctively knew they were siblings) so she could continue healing her sister. I stood with a flourish; I then put my left hand over right fist as I dipped into a signature Northwest bow…

~~~

Isabella was now sharpening the blades that she had forged, running a whetstone along the pale gold blades. the bottom three blades were colored gold, which flowed into a star shaped gold patterning on the platinum silver bracers. She plucked a hair from her head and let it fall on the blade, and it neatly cut it in half.

Still not sharp enough.

She went back to sharpening.

Odessa saw Eva enter and smiled, and waved her over. She was standing next to what looked like a massive sniper rifle, as long as a bus. It was silver/platinum on the handle and flowed up into the golden barrel.

How was your sleep, Eva?  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Both humans recognized the pilot's voice, though her name completely eluded Devon. Chris, however, knew instantly; it felt like all of his memories and thoughts were amplified with a newfound clarity. Perhaps it was a positive effect of his orb. He gestured for the mutants to follow as he approached the mech, "Hello Scarlet. What are you doing here? And when did you get a mech? I could've sworn you were with Northwest..."
"Has something happened to Northwest in our absence?" Devon asked, "I believe our survivors who remained in the base migrated to your faction, and I would hate to discover that something tragic has occurred to them. We've, uh... I guess you could say we've been through hell and back for the past week. Got our asses kicked by Southeast, fled East when some kind of pathogen wiped out their populace, ventured into the Wastelands and got attacked by a giant spider-bot, found an abandoned city and got captured by these lovely fellows," He pointed over his shoulder to the mutants, one of which growled at him, "So yeah... we're kinda out of the loop."


Lara could feel her bones shifting and setting back into place as Lyra healed her. It was really quite a gross sensation, and a bit ticklish. She gingerly sat up, and after experiencing no pain, she stood. She silently thanked Lyra before walking to join Kiros and the others.
"That was a bad idea on your part to challenge the pilot of that thing. Had I not been explaining the situation to her, she'd have decimated you in an instant." Lara commented to Kiros, narrowing her eyes at him as if to express disapproval.
"Just as you would've been eradicated by those smaller, less impressive machines had I not shown up." He grinned teasingly at her for no apparent reason to those non-telepaths around them.
She telekinetically slapped him on the arm, which caused him to chuckle.
"Being a bit juvenile, are we?" He crowed humorously.
She smacked him again.

• • •

Eva headed over toward Odessa, eying the huge rifle as she considered the question, "Awful." She responded simply, then looked to where the mech once stood. It was gone. She turned back to the two women, "I'm assuming Scarlet's out having fun in her new toy?"
The faction relations officer, Kamil, burst urgently into the garage just then, "Where is Lady Scarlet?"
Rey leisurely entered past him, yawning. She spoke nonchalantly, "She's out on a test-drive. I saw her mech walking through town on my way here. Why?"
Kamil pulled up a screen on his holographic computer showing distress alerts, "South was destroyed by government machines last night. I received their final transmission around midnight, stating that all of their defensive turrets had been terminated and the machines were rapidly approaching the central tower. They went offline immediately afterward..." He paged through his screen's content to a map that was color-coded with timeline items, "See how it's all of the main directional factions that have been targeted in these most recent attacks? First it was West, then a day later East was taken out with a bioweapon. Now, about a week after East's demise, South was destroyed. Going by this pattern... who do you think their next likely target is?"
Rey's expression grew grim, her skin paling by a shade, "...Us."  

[Okami Ameras]

Actually, Layla didn’t return to North. She didn’t desire to continue leading it. North couldn’t decide who they wanted to be their leader, and they know how good leaders Northwesteners are, so they sent a request to Isabella to return, but she couldn’t because she was married to Lukas. So they sent one of the two people with both North and Northwest blood; Me. I am now the leader of North.

I smiled at them, smiling sweetly. Unfortunately, it showed the whiteish-steel teeth that was in my mech’s mouth (this mech actually had one. The first two teeth, the central incisors, looked pretty much normal… but the four teeth behind them, on both upper and bottom jaw, were sharp and pointed like daggers. I looked to the ruined pieces of mecha, and sighed sadly. I’ve only been monarch for one day and already three people dead…

I didn’t know North burial customs, so I started gathering the pieces of exploded, cut in half, or mostly intact mech. With them all gathered in my arms, I bowed again. I looked like I was holding broken robotic toys compared to my impressive stature.

You are welcome to enter my city and home. I thought to Lara. But please refrain from attacking anyone… And please get that message across to all of your friends. If I hear of any more deaths or of any fights in my city I will be forced to take action… Which you do not want.

With that I turned and lead them towards the Gates of North.

Lyra followed her sister, and her eyes glittered with internal mirth as Lara smacked Kiros. When the great mech walked away, she decided to follow towards the gate. She flew herself, and landed on the great mech’s shoulder, and perched on it like a little white bird.

I strode in and looked around, before deciding to take the mechs to a hospital. I noticed the little white mutant, and I winked at it. I could hear her internal giggling.

I found one as I wandered around, carefully stepping over pedestrians and watching them as they went about their daily lives. I set the mech pieces down in a set pile and bowed, seeing the medical personnel rush out.

I do not know North burial customs… so please, make sure that these three brave guardians see a fitting burial in Northern tradition.

With that I stood fully and headed back to the group, and lead them slowly and easily to the Palace.

The moment I got there, as I stood looking at the balcony and just as I was about to turn to the garage…

The mech suddenly sat down. Inside I squirmed inside with confusion as she sat down as neatly and quietly as you please, folding her legs into the Lotus postion, like before. She rested her hands on her thighs before…

Click click pop click…

I found myself ejected from Morning Star, rocketing towards the doors of the palace, bouncing on my butt like a stone skipping across water. I came to rest a second before I collided with the front door.

I sat there for a second, before my eyes started to cross. I was slightly damp from the oxygenated liquid, but my skin was incredibly pale, white as a sheet, and my lips, fingertips, and toes were starting to turn blue. Frost was starting to glitter on my skin as areas of my body started to blush from the cold. Steam came from my breath and came off my skin in waves.

Whoa… Sensory overload….

Everything was still as I saw it in the mech… for the moment… before that all faded away and the cold hit me like a ton of bricks. I immediately started to shiver violently, shaking so badly I couldn’t get up.

The little white mutant flew down to land next to me, confused as to why the big silver and gold person just spit out the little redheaded purebred and what was wrong with the little redheaded purebred…. It was something the little white mutant had never seen before, and thus did not know how to heal...

~~~

Odessa and Isabella looked to eachother, before back at Rey and Kamil. The two then exchanged glances; Isabella seemed almost amused, while Odessa raised an eyebrow at her.

Odessa frowned and looked up at the ceiling for a second, before shrugging and nodding with a barely suppressed smirk. They had Scarlet, who has a massive amount of stamina in the first place... and now Morning Star... Anyone who tried to attack North now would be the stupidest people alive-- not to mention screwed three ways from Thursday.

A loud snore came from one of the carts. Yep, Lukas was still there, still out like a light.