➤The ✭ Perfect ✫ World ➧➧➤

[Hiddochi wolf]

As the center came nearer, the rows of civilians began tapering off into gradual circles rather than lines, all facing into the circle's middle. A black, metallic cylinder reached up high from the ground, emitting a dull blue light from slits toward the top. And, to those with the keenest of eyesight, the ghostly image of a second earth floated 50 feet above the peoples' heads, diverging from the cylinder's light.
Nemesis approached the tower, searching the metal-plated circular ground for something unseen. It halted in one spot, opened a cavity within its chest, and withdrew the glowing sphere from its own body with its free hand. The robot knelt down to the smooth metal, finding a recess in the maze of cracks, and placed the sphere. After a moment's hesitation, the innumerable circular floor pieces stirred to life, shuffling in each direction like a puzzle, forming an entrance. As the parts came to an abrupt halt, the walkway revealed a set of stairs reaching far into the earth's body. Nemesis descended with unerring steps, and the surface's maze again shuffled closed behind the robot.
It was a half mile down before a solid floor opened up into a series of hallways, but Nemesis again took a staircase even further into the depths, by a full mile this time. The walls and flooring all consisted of grey-black metal, mimicking the color of hematite, with round LEDs mounted in the ceiling for light. Humans in the facility would notice the gradual decline in temperature as the path wound further in, until it reached a steady 45° at the base level. The bottom floor again opened into a set of hallways, each spanning off in different circumferences, creating a network that would appear like a crop circle pattern from a birds-eye perspective.
The robot followed several identical loops, each time turning to the left. The path ended at a sealed doorway, which opened upon the entry of a numbered password. The room beyond was a strange hybrid between a medical lab and a meeting hall, tinted a sickly green by the overhead lights. A long desk stretched down the right side, with five middle-aged men seated behind it, two of whom were currently unconscious in their spots. The left side was occupied by horrendous machines and tools, framing a single pod-like chair at its core. Nemesis glanced over to the conscious men, speaking with a toneless and genderless voice, "I have retrieved a Corrupted, as upon request. Shall I place it?"
The man at the very center nodded once in approval, "Yes, and please notify Raowan. He should not miss this."
The android cooperated, motioning over to the chair, and strapped Eva down into it. She stared ahead blankly, completely oblivious to the world beyond her subconsciousness. Nemesis stepped back and stood motionless, instead occupying the ethereal reality.

• • •

Eva stood to leave, remembering her daily supplements she hadn't yet taken. She entered the bathroom upstairs, removing the vitamin bottles from the cabinet, and took only the few she needed with a swig of water. She halted in front of the mirror, taking a moment to examine herself. A flash of something rippled across the mirror's surface, a brief glimpse to something darker. Eva blinked, unbelieving of her own eyes, staring at the reflective surface. Then came the pain, the unbearable pain. It seared all the way down her spine from her head, reaching out to every bone, every cell in her body. A scream tore from her throat as she fell blindly to the tile, vision changing from a pixelated blur to pure black.  

[Okami Ameras]

((Raowan is gonna be so pissed xd ))

I paused, and pulled a half made pancake off of the hot burner and put it onto cool one before heading out of the kitchen towards the stairs. Odessa was already far ahead of me, I could see her red kimono flickering ahead and around corners as she followed the sound of the scream. Soon she had reached the bathroom from where Eva's scream had resonated... and so had I. We both stepped inside, looking around, tasting the air for danger, looking for Eva.

((Is Eva's body still there?))  

[Sardonic Excitement]

Januff bit into the apple, her expression neutral as she looked out over the civilians. Where was he? She hadn't seen him today. It was possible that he had perished in the time that she had pursued him, but that was highly unlikely. He seemed like the type that valued his life very greatly. Agitated, she threw down the remains of her apple, stepping out onto the side walk and fingering the hilt of one of her daggers. Her superiors would not be happy with her if she did not catch him soon. But, she was reluctant to run all over the city just to find him. She had to figure out a way to lure him in.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

((Ohhh yeah. xd And yes; the dormant body always exists in the VR, even when unoccupied. Unless it gets erased by a Caretaker, which is not the case here...))

She became halfway aware of the cold climate, of the metal solidly molded around her body, of the light focused on her from above. She heard voices, at least three, all speaking above one another in wild tempers. A robot whirred off in the distance. Another shock of electricity pulsed through her, pain consuming any reasonable thought, tearing through the woman's haze.
Eva awoke with a violent gasp, eyes rolling back and forth, limbs seizing within their restraints. She couldn't control herself. The robot approached, finger transformed into a needle, and injected her with the blueish fluid. She fell back into the seat limply, completely numb of any feeling. Only then did Eva notice her surroundings, and panic set in deep. She wanted to thrash, to resist, to fight...but her body betrayed her and remained motionless.

• • •

Nemesis descended from the sky; elegant, dark and wicked. She landed before the guardian with unmatched grace, stopping him in his tracks. She towered a full foot above him, yet Raowan was not short in the least. Her crimson eyes flickered with a hint of amusement as she spoke, "It's time, sir."
Raowan sighed heavily, "Already? Alright. Take this body back, please."
Nemesis nodded once, "Understood."
Within moments, the man's consciousness left, his body falling into the hands of the robot. She took to the skies again, carrying the guardian back to his residence...

• • •

"Who sent you? What is your motivation?" The bearded man in the middle asked, "There's no sense in hiding it; we've got you captured. None of your comrades will even know who ratted 'em out."
Eva shook her head as best she could, "I don't understand. I wasn't sent to anything — I don't even know who you are or what this place is!" Her own voice sounded foreign to her. Deeper, huskier.
He grimaced, as if expecting that response. His eyes batted from the robot to Eva, "Don't make us hurt you again. Nemesis has many built-in...functions."
The robot again approached, arm now melded into a smooth blade. It pressed the tip gently against Eva's cheek, just enough to draw a few drops of blood. She watched Nemesis the whole time, eyes full of fear, "I don't know!"
The blade slashed across her face, all the way to her nose. Eva shut her eyes tightly, facing away from the robot, tears and blood running down her skin in silence. The bearded man just sat back in his chair, watching her with boredom evident. Suddenly, the unconscious man beside him stirred, slowly awakening. He was slender in build with just a hint of muscle in the shoulders; his face was angular, with pronounced cheekbones and minimal wrinkles in the brow; his hair was a rich brown, slowly turning grey at the tips and toward the front; his eyes were still a shockingly light blue. This was Raowan.
The guardian leaned forward on the desk, face burrowed in his palm while he waited for full consciousness. He looked up to the captive for the first time, not recognizing her appearance initially, "So...we finally got one."
The bearded man nodded with pride, "Of course! She's not behaving, however. Oh well. More fun for the 'bots."
Raowan's eyes strayed to the woman's nameplate...Eva [2]. In that instant, he leapt to his feet, knocking back his chair, expression confused and bewildered, "Eva...!?"  

[Okami Ameras]

Odessa and I found Eva's body on the floor, and we looked at one another. Odessa picked her up gently and we carried her upstairs to the master bedroom, where we tucked her into bed.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my tail curled around me as I waited. Odessa wandered over, dragging a pair of armchairs. I wandered over and settled into one next to my sister. Eva was out like a light, but we still spoke our dead language... just to be safe.

{So... how is mom and dad doing?}

{Their lives are interesting, like always.}

{Dad still trying to get the soil to grow food?}

{Oh! He actually succeeded in that! Mom finally found a way to be-rid the soil of radiation. With that it was a simple matter of planting plants that restore the necessary nutrients in the soil.}

{Awesome! One step closer to restoring the real world, yes?}

{Yes. They actually managed to capture the two a few months ago.}

{Are they okay!?!}

{HA! You know those two. Dad shorted out the caretaker that found them just by breathing, and mom destroyed the thing's circuit boards with that nifty ability to manipulate electricity. They're fine; the thing didn't even have a chance to send back their location. How much of out Mysatism do you remember, sissy?}

{Most of it. I'm probably really rusty tho.}

{Do you still remeber how to destroy electronics via breathing?}

{Yes. In through my nose with my diaphragm, out via my chest and mouth.}

{Good. It's an easy way to get out. It makes a glitch around you that eventually forces you out of the VR. If you end up getting attacked by a Caretaker, do it. It'll hurt like hell tho.}

I nodded at that. {Okay.}

{Then, by I Am, get the ******** outta there before they track you down.}

I grimaced at the thought. {Yes.}

{Good news is, you'll have a weapon. I found where your body is located Thankfully it's on one of the edges of those huge lines. I hid a good old dead-blow mallet nearby, under a pieces of rubble. I check back on it every once in a while, it's still there.}

{Okay! I will have to look for it then.}

Odessa nodded. She then lowered her head, putting her palms together.

{May He who is known as I Am guide us on these coming few days... we will need it with the war that is surely to come.}

{Is this war really necessary?}

{They will not give up the VR. Not without force. The number of insane corrupted grow everyday. This war will either save lives... or destroy what is left of humanity.}  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Eva gazed up to him blankly, neither his appearance nor voice familiar to her. He stood, frozen with internal conflict, visibly frustrated. Raowan turned to his colleague, "She's—" He stopped abruptly, glanced back to Eva. He couldn't let her know who he was; it would hurt her too deeply. The guardian leaned back against the wall, hand stroking his forehead, tone more level, "She can't be a Corrupted. She just...can't."
The main speaker let out a mocking laugh, "She can't, eh!? Where's your proof? According to the unerring Genesis, a microchip was sensed within her skull. And Metamorphosis also spotted her within the security breach between matrices. Such things are only possible to those Revolutionists!"
"But I know her!" Raowan shouted at his highest volume, pounded a tight fist upon the desk. The others now stared at him in disbelief, some even frightened. His breathing came in tense huffs, gradually calming again into a normal cycle, "She doesn't act like one. Eva couldn't even kill a spider if she tried..."
"Pfft! It's all an act! How can you not see the truth? Are you afraid to see it?"
Raowan grabbed his chair and sat back down, resigned. He nodded weakly, focused on Eva the whole time. "Yes...I am afraid of the truth."
Eva saw the pain in his eyes, the true hurt. She, too, felt that pain deep within.
"So! Are you willing to answer us yet?" The central man questioned her.
"...I already said that I don't know." She responded.
Nemesis again slashed her with the blade, perpendicular to the original cut. Raowan flinched, eyes retreating to the desk beneath him.

• • •

The Caretaker landed outside the sliding glass door, on the balcony. She held Raowan's body over her shoulder, reaching to the door with her free hand. The glass folded away with ease, letting the robot into the room. She immediately spotted Scarlet and Odessa, each vibrantly red in her eyes, and the unconscious Eva. Nemesis smiled ominously, crimson eyes gleaming with a playful light, "Do not worry. Just returning Raowan to his home — he had a little...accident out there, as you can see." She gestured to her occupied shoulder, "Might I ask who you are? I do not recognize you two as being occupants of this property."  

[Okami Ameras]

Odessa and I turned to look over at another Robot, who now stood with Raowan over her shoulder.

I am Scarlet. Eva offered to let me stay here.

Odessa nodded. She never had been comfortable around the Caretakers.

I'm Scarlet's sister. I was just stopping in to say hello to family.

Odessa eyed the Caretaker. She knows something... She thought to herself...  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Nemesis considered this response, nodded once. She carried Raowan over to the bed and set him down beside Eva, then smiled again to the guardian and the girl. She spoke in a coaxing tone, "I see, that's nice. And...are you two aware of your microchips? They do raise suspicion amongst my kind..."
Meanwhile, the Caretakers were communicating wirelessly:
Nemesis: Targets within range. Initiate combat?
Genesis: Request denied.
Nemesis: Resending request, top priority...
Genesis: DENIED.
Nemesis: ... Deleting connection. 56%... 92%...
Genesis: Abort action, connection unstable. Losing sig—

• • •

The robot displayed no signs of this development to its creators, merely standing at attention, blade still dangerously close to Eva. If it had a face, however, it would have been grinning with victory. Genesis could no longer control its actions.
Eva glared at the bearded man, feeling what was probably her first exposure to hatred. Her right eye was swollen partially shut, likely due to the irritant on the knife. Yet still, he persisted, "How did your group obtain the microchip?"
This time, she refused to answer. She just glared with as much anger as she could muster. Nemesis shifted beside her, but she ignored it. An electric shock was sent through her this time, causing her muscles to seize and spasm with pain.
"Why don't we just extract and read the chip?" Raowan asked the others, and received a few nods in response, "She obviously won't answer, so we can at least figure out the encoding..."
Even the man in the middle agreed to that plan, "Now that sounds reasonable, Raowan... Nemesis: Extract the microchip."
Eva had barely heard it, but she heard it nonetheless. Raowan. He was up there, he had betrayed her...
The robot pushed Eva's head back further into the pod, until a visor slid down over her face. She kept staring, unbelieving of her ears...
The sounds of machinery filled her ears, deafening her to anything else. It was dark, it was cold. A needle pierced her arm, filling her with more numbing agent. But it wasn't enough to numb the heart ache. She felt something enter her head from behind, like a wispy limb just beneath her skin. It was reaching further and further up her skull, until it found something, then swiftly tore back out. She felt the warmth of blood spilling out of the tear.
Light suddenly blinded her as the visor was lifted, her vision blurred, hearing obscured. A robotic hand grabbed her, but she kicked out with her leg. It stumbled back, releasing her, and she hit the floor. Someone exiting the room whispered "Leave her" to the robot, and it did just that. It left her lying there, bleeding, crying, hurting...
He had betrayed her.  

[Okami Ameras]

Microchips? What microchips?

I blinked at the robot, puzzled. I glanced at Odessa, who gave me just as puzzled a look. I glanced back at the robot. I have a microchip? I thought. When did I get it?

Odessa looked at me.

You have a microchip?

Do I? I scratched my head.

Where did you get it?

I have no idea. You?

Same here. We don't know what you're talking about, miss...? Odessa looked totally surprised to hear such news... I looked at the robot again, and she was slowly starting to gain a neon green tint... in Odessa's eyes it turning was a bright orange.

Both of our danger colors. No one else would see them, but I started to get goosebumps, and I shifted uneasily in my chair. Suddenly the comfy chair felt too confining. I stood and stretched, my tail flexing slowly.

Odessa did the same, slowly stretching as well.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Nemesis watched the two for a good amount of time, trying to determine the context of their actions. She could see the unease of Scarlet's stretch, the very slight nervous quivering. The robot tried to mimic a nonchalant demeanor, leaning all of her weight on one leg, fiddling with her hair, "Oh, it's nothing, really... most Corrupted have microchips in their skulls. I thought I sensed them in you two. Apparently, I was..." She paused, lifted her arm towards them, and waited as it shifted into a cannon of sorts, "...correct."
 

[Okami Ameras]

Immediately Odessa threw out her arm, and a barrier formed infront of both herself and Scarlet. Her eyes flared with a pale blue fire, so pale it was almost grey. She unwound her Meteor hammer from her waist. I meanwhile had dived behind the armchair.

Really? You have to, Caretaker? We both have done nothing wrong. Scarlet here has taken no lives, and I have defended the people of this world from the Corrupted for years. A simple microchip says nothing of intent.

She started to circle the Caretaker, starting to swing it-- she kept the barrier up.

The Meteor hammer in her hands was a simple weapon, but while it may be simple, that makes it no less deadly. It was a small, heavy ball on a length of rope-chain. She swung it, around and around, it's speed picking up... she swung it around an arm, her shoulder, her waist... making it go ever yet faster... soon that little ball would pack more punch then a bullet... capable of ripping a normal human in half. All the while she was doing this keeping her eyes on the Caretaker.

Meanwhile, I was sitting behind the armchair, mostly defenseless. All I had on was some underwear and a large soft cotton robe...  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Nemesis again smirked, an unholy spirit clear in her crimson eyes; much like the devil's own. She followed the guardian with her eyes for the semicircle in front, then with sensors as the woman was behind her. She lowered her weapon, but did not dismiss it.
"I care not of intent, but merely preserving what I was designed to. Unlike Genesis, I do not have to spare human lives to achieve my command. I shall destroy endlessly until I know it's safe." The Caretaker answered oddly human. Panels began to fold out from inside her figure, creating a second, tougher armor above the smooth skin. Suddenly, the scenery around the three of them changed, fading from the bedroom to a grassy field far out from the mansion. Nemesis then leapt high into the air, easily 60 feet, and shot her cannon down into the ground around them three times.

• • •

They had left, all of them, including the robot. Except for one. Eva heard the automated door slide shut behind them, then the gentler steps of someone who'd stayed. He came closer, knelt down beside the broken woman. His hand rested upon her shoulder in reassurance. She refused to look at him.
"Eva, I am so, so sorry about this... I didn't know they would—"
"You betrayed me. You let them do this to me." Eva retorted between sobs.
"I had no choice. I couldn't just up and smack the man; not only was I outnumbered, but they also had a Caretaker present. To have acted in such a way would have been to sacrifice everything..." Raowan spoke softly, pulling Eva closer to himself. She finally turned to face him, misery visible. He withdrew a cloth from his pocket and wiped away her tears and blood, "So there's my Eva...her real face. Even more gorgeous than the simulated one."
"Except for the cuts. Those can't be too pretty..." Eva responded jokingly, and couldn't help but smile.
"Even with." Raowan insisted, then kissed her once upon the lips. Her face flushed with color.
The sounds of voices approached from outside the door. Raowan quickly stood, helping Eva to do the same. He spoke over his shoulder in a hurry, "You have to get out of here — whatever it takes. Leave through this door, and keep making right turns until you get to the elevator shaft. Once you're out of the facilities... run. Run faster than you've ever gone before; the Caretakers are a bit slow. Don't let them capture you, Eva. If they get you, it's game over," He paused right in front of the door, eyes frantic, "I will find you again, when it's safer for the both of us."
And with that statement, he was gone. The voices outside rose, then vanished off into the distance. Eva hobbled over to the door, her knees weak from both the medication and the current events. She felt herself trying to slip back into despair, to let herself wallow in the pain and regret... but something held her together. She took a deep breath, then charged out into the hallway.  

[Okami Ameras]

If that is so... then how do you know that what you are destroying isn't just going to make it more dangerous?!? Odessa demanded of the robot.

Odessa spun the Meteor hammer hard, and the sheer momentum sent her twirling out of the way. She kept her eyes on the Caretaker as she swung hard again; this swing of the hammer rose upward to meet one of the outer blasts... and both connected. There was the sound of a hiss and a CLANG as it sent the cannon ball straight back up at the Caretaker...

When I found myself now no longer protected, I looked around panicking. I saw a cannon ball and threw myself out of the way. There was some tree cover nearby, and I ran to it to take cover.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

The cannon ball impacted with the Caretaker's side, sending her veering off to the right. She twirled in mid-air, landed upright, then back-flipped several times rapidly to further distance herself. Nemesis adapted away the cannon, instead turning her left arm into a large gun, and her right into a wicked blade that pulsated with electricity.
"Because I am all that this world will ever need."
She took off running at top speed, starting a wide circle around the guardian. The gun began to fire, sending out hundreds of bullets into the circle's middle, stirring up dust and ripping the ground. After completing the circuit twice, Nemesis launched herself straight to Odessa, blade lunged forward and humming with its lust for blood.  

[Okami Ameras]

((So, what do you think of Odessa's fighting style?))

A barrier formed around Odessa, and the bullets plinkled off of if harmlessly as she spun the Meteor hammer ever faster.

Odessa whispered something in that ancient tounge again. The ancient, dead language was not one to be found in any database left on the plant... well, save for those who could speak it, of course. She had closed her eyes and she swung faster and faster... the hammer was whistling in the air, and starting to glow red hot. She listened, listened to the gunfire, and waited...

For the right moment. Eyes still closed and senses open, Odessa leapt upwards and forwards into the air. She spun in mid air, the hammer flashing in a vertical circle... if she had done this right... it would strike the foe right in the back...

I was pressed against, a tree, panting in panic. I gulped and closed my eyes, listening to the gunfire and to the whistling of the hammer. I had heard Odessa's message.

Well, let's see if I really do have a Microchip... I unfocused myself and it all went black.

~~~

I blinked lazily as I awoke for the first time. I found myself standing in a neat concentrically placed circle, next to other people, who seemed completely out of it. i rubbed the back of my head, feeling a very fresh but recently healed wound. Someone had given me a microchip without my knowledge.

How...?

I stepped out of the circle and looked around. Odessa had said under a piece of rubble...

The ground was dead and lifeless. I saw a small ruin nearby, and I headed for it. I found that, for the 4 years I had been in there, my natural crimson hair had grown dark and oily without washing, as well as now coming down messily past my knees. My joints felt stiff and hurt when I moved.

And they wonder why some people don't want to live in there.

I said that to myself, and I flexed and stretched, hopping, jumping, skipping, as I attempted to flex some life back into my body. Soon I had reached the run of a old house, and I carefully shifted through the rubble until I found... a very large dead-blow mallet.

I grunted as I hefted the weight. I heard a thock thock sound inside as the heavy brass ball within shifted in the heavy but hollow mallet-head. The shaft of the hammer was as long as I was, and the hammer head itself was half as large as my torso. I slung it over my shoulder in a casual fashion and I started to run, away from the fields with it's blank occupants... I tasted the air as I did so, and a dry dead wind blew. My course then veered off to the Northwest.