➤The ✭ Perfect ✫ World ➧➧➤

[Hiddochi wolf]

Eva thought this through for a moment, then winced as another twinge of pain rolled up her side, "Well...I rather dislike pain. Couldn't we migrate to the further one afterward?"

~~~

They were near the storeroom when they heard Dante's question. The computer terminals were across the hall, adorning most of the wall space of the dark room. It was cold, too, to keep the electronics from overheating. Devon peeked his head around the corner, holding up the full syringe, "Nothing new, but we've got a good supply of the serum finally. Oh, and watch out in there," He warned, heading over to one of the illuminated screens, "they've got the 'bots uploaded. The little one was tracking me late last night, before I exited. And there was a hole in the firewall earlier, which I tried to bypass...apparently they patched it up already, though. Would've been a quick and easy way to access the coding."
Chris's attention was drawn to the proximity sensor, which displayed a couple of approaching dots, "Ah crud. Something's approaching from the south pretty fast. Might be more of those Caretakers. I'm heading back up." The boy removed his gun from his shoulder, instead gripping it tightly in his hands. He followed the walkways back to the staircase, returning to the surface. He crouched down low, gun pointed in the direction of the approaching figures, eye peering through the scope. Devon was at his side again, grenades readied.  

[Okami Ameras]

I still had my hammer in my left hand when I tasted the scent of metal-- and flesh. We had been detected.

I think they know we're here...

Ah crud. I fell to one knee, lowering Eva to the ground and dropping the hammer, before standing upright again, holding my hands up, palms out in a peaceful pose. I slowly turned my head, making no sharp movements as I turned my head to pinpoint the location of the people targeting us... I tasted the air again. Assault rifle. Grenades. Probably resistance members. Best not to get into a fight with them.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Chris saw that they were both human, and lowered his aim when Scarlet made the peace gesture. Devon also relaxed, his bombs retreating to the inside lining of his coat. "They're human...still wearing their bodysuits. Either Resistance or Incidentals..."
"Do you recognize 'em from Southeast's faction?" Devon asked with caution.
Chris took another quick glance from his scope, then lowered the gun altogether, "Nah. SE members always wear their uniforms. Always. I think they're just Incidentals, or NWs. Why else would they be out here so far?"
The two of them approached Scarlet and Eva, stopping a mere 20 feet from them. It was Chris who spoke, "Which faction are you two from? And what's your business with us?"  

[Okami Ameras]

I am from the Northwest faction. I was captured and thrown into the VR a few years ago, just finally got out. We were... heading home.

I kept my hands up in the peaceful gesture. I wonder if they knew of the Noerthwest faction.

My friend is an incidental who was attacked by the robots. She needs medical attention. I looked down at my stomach growled loudly. I smiled weakly.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Chris nodded once, "Just as I thought...alright, c'mon in." He motioned for them to follow.
Devon approached, helping Eva back onto her feet. It took him only a brief moment to realize something familiar about the woman, "Hey! You were next to me in line! That must mean..." He trailed off, seeing the confusion in her expression. He shook his head, "Never mind. We'll figure it out later."
They were led down into the Undergrounds, which seemed to span off in an infinite number of directions. Chris took them onto the path veering off diagonally to the right, which, unlike the rest of them, actually had metal-plated walls and a floor. It ended in a surprisingly deluxe medical center, well lit by florescents, filled with cabinets and tools and a couple small beds. A woman stood up from behind her desk in the corner, already examining Eva's wounds as she put on her gloves.
Devon released her once the nurse was at her side, then felt his coat bump against something. He looked spooked for a moment, "I, uh, guess I should put my bombs away now... Hehe~ ♥" He grinned widely as the silence grew awkward, then sped off down the hall.
Chris looked back to Scarlet, "If you're not injured, I can take you to the kitchen. You're probably starving by now, since they're too cheap to feed people."

Eva settled back into the bed, mind racing as she pondered everything that happened. The nurse injected her with some kind of pain-numbing sedative, which immediately made her think of Nemesis and that awful place. She couldn't stand the thought that such a place was real, and that Raowan had something to do with it. Her heart sank, again threatening to throw her into that pit of despair. She turned her face away from everyone as the tears flowed silently down.  

[Okami Ameras]

I had scooped up my very large hammer and slung it casually over my shoulder again as the pair helped Eva up and lead us into the underground. I looked around as we walked, and was eventually head to the medical bay. I watched as the nurse immediatly started looking Eva over, and I could smell the salt in her tears. I then looked to Chris. I glanced back at Eva. Let's see if I could remember how to cook in the real world...

Eva, would you like something from the kitchen? I asked kindly before nodding at to the boy with the pale red hair- but I held up a hand telling him to pause for just a second. Some food, I think, might make you feel a little better, at least?  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Eva nodded weakly, still refusing to turn around, "Alright...sure." She felt something get extracted from her side with tweezers; the bullet. The initial pain was followed by more numbness, then the constant pin-pricking of a needle. All the more reason to look away.
Her watery eyes focused on a strand of her hair, her real hair. It looked odd to her, unnatural. This whole body made her feel uncomfortable with its realness. Gravity was heavier, the air was sharper, movement was more awkward and not quite as graceful. She was trapped in this reality, ripped from everything that gave her any sort of comfort. And even if she did return...it would never be the same. As she heard Scarlet and Chris leave, the tremors of sobs released.

Chris walked along with the most confident of struts, as if he knew these tunnels like the back of his hand. In fact, he did. He didn't even glance back to Scarlet to see if she was following; he knew it. "So...what's it like? The simulation, I mean. I've never been inside it myself — just watched Devon and them on a monitor."
They headed down another walkway, which branched off from the main one into a very large kitchen. It had all the necessary appliances, along with a good variety of pans and utensils. The pantry was another large room in itself, with full shelves spanning back into the darkness.  

[Okami Ameras]

I pondered the question as I found myself in the kitchen and looked around.

It is... less real, if you can understand that. You're lighter. Things don't feel as solid. My eyes shifted playfully from green to blue. There is so much... stuff everywhere. Like buildings, cars, plants, animals. But one is not quite as... sharp there. It's too perfect. One gets soft in there if they don't keep themselves on their toes. Not to mention the lack of 'aging' they put in. I always felt awkward and unnatural, wandering around in a 20 year old's body.

I wandered into the pantry and collected a few things, before rummaging around in the fridge. I started to cook, first by coating some chicken in flour and putting some rice in a rice cooker.

For another dish I collected chocolate and milk and creams and cherries and all this other stuff. Soon the kitchen was full of the smell of delightful delectable smells.  

[omgIisonfiyah]

Dante had postponed his dive when he heard about visitors. He headed down to the medical bay to see if anyone was in there, as luck would have it there was a newcomer. "Those gashes, did Nemesis do that?" Dante asked calmly, having lost his eye to the diabolical mechanical monstrosity before.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

The nurse had finished up stitching and bandaging Eva's bullet wound, and started on her face. That's when Dante came in. She nodded, "Yes. It was that same machine. They told it to." Her voice was oddly level, toneless. As if she'd frozen over inside. She stared mindlessly at the tile floor, not even sure what she felt anymore. Pain? Sorrow? Betrayal? Regret? Not quite any of those. Just emptiness.

Chris listened intently, then scoffed at her last statement, "Pfft. That's just wrong on so many levels, putting a kid in an adult's body. It's like they're trying to encourage ***** or something. And they think it's helping humanity? God save us all..."
He watched curiously, the smells making him hungry. He grinned, "We should keep you around here. We need a good cook. The closest we've ever gotten to cooking is instant mac-n-cheese with hamburger. Say...what's your name, anyway? I'm Chris."  

[Okami Ameras]

Down the halls there was a loud ringing that echoed through the tunnels... it sounded like a video call from one of the other Factions...  

[Okami Ameras]

Yeah. If humanity wants to survive they need a good dose of reality. This reality.

When I heard his comment about Hamburger with mac n cheese I gave a laugh. The food was quickly shaping up to be a large dish of Asian style Lemon chicken, with steamed white rice and peas. For desert there was now a Chocolate Creme Pie cooling in the fridge. I held out a hand for a handshake.

I'm surprised I'm not burning anything. It's been a long while since I cooked real food. I wasn't sure if cooking in there was any different from cooking out there. I'm Scarlet.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Devon was the one to hear the ring. He entered the computer terminal with haste, rushing over to the monitor. He clicked the 'Accept' button, then put on the most ridiculous of smiles with his mouth twitching and eyes bugged out. Surely that would scare whomever was on the other end. He spoke in his telemarketer voice, "Hello! This is Western responding to your call, how may we help you~? ♥"

The boy shook her hand, "Yeah, well, no matter what world they live in, people aren't any different. They all make mistakes, and then try to hide from 'em. The simulation is just another mistake, though. I hate to think what's coming from it..."  

[Okami Ameras]

On the other end was a older woman, with emerald eyes and long pale blonde hair. She gave Devon a weary look as she saw his bugged out eyes and twitching smile, before sighing. She wore a tight blue vest with flared white sleeves, and she wore a sapphire pendent on a silver chain.

Hello. This is Isabella Ameras of Northwest. Have you seen a young girl, about 12 years old, with crimson hair and witch-hazel eyes wandering about your territory?

((Random tektek time! This is what Isabella looks like! ))

~~~

Yeah. Humanity needs to learn from it's mistakes. And living in a fake world isn't going to do that.

And... The food was ready, and I loaded two plates with lemon chicken, rice and peas. I took a bite and savored the chicken in the lemon sauce. There was plenty left over.

Mmmm... Even if I'm a little rusty at cooking, even the best chef in the VR can't beat real cooked food. I mixed the peas and rice up some before picking up the other plate, to take to Eva.  

[omgIisonfiyah]

"I see, then you know how it is, to be dragged out, interrogated and tortured. I was lucky I even made it out, you're lucky too, I hope you make it to wherever, too many people get to where you are now and stop moving." Dante said with a sad smile then left, he had some mayhem to cause in the VR, a little unfinished business. If I find Nemesis I'll pop it in the eye, like the old saying goes. Dante thought darkly as he continued down the hall.