Chapter seven: Day one: Arriving on not-exact destination
Have you ever wondered what it's like to be in a submarine before?
Sinking down to the deepest depths of the ocean, fueled by the mysterious wonder of darkness engulfing you in a field of dense blue?
Well, I Know a way to simulate this.
Jump into a dustbin and stick yourself in a lightly heated room for about ten hours.
Yeah, it was not comfortable. Not one bit.
Although there was breathing room, we were advised against moving too much, since the ships tiny frame would wobble ever so slightly when we stood.
“Well, at least you had a good view, right?”
Yeah, if you consider pitch black water a view, then sure!
Miu Shizuka: ‘*Moaning* Garghhhhhhh, this is boring!’
Lewis Sterge: ‘How long do you think we have left?’
Driver: ‘We still got a few hours. You might wanna get some sleep or something.’
We all groaned.
X.D: ‘I should have brought a book.’
Lewis Sterge: (Lying down on his back, with his knees up) ‘Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.’
Miu Shizuka:(Huffing) ‘You said that a couple of hours ago.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Does that change my point?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘….’
She placed her head against the wall, closing her eyes.
The two went into a light sleep.
X.D: ‘Do you think the others will be fine?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Hmm?’
X.D: ‘I said, do you think the others will be fine?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Yeah, of course! They don't need us to keep everything in check.’
I nodded, before my gaze trailed off out one of the small windows. The dense, pitch black water spread for miles on end.
Miu Shizuka: (Mockingly) ‘Awhh, pumpkin! Are you worried about Atsuko?’
X.D: ‘....yes.’
She was surprised I gave her such a blunt answer.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Nawwhh, she will be fine! After all, she’s stronger than you think. *wink*’
X.D: ‘Yeah, I know.’
Again, we returned to silence. It's actually harder than you think to make pep-talk when you’ve been stuck in the same place for a while.
So, we waited.
And waited.
Aaaaaaaaand waited.
It felt like a long, long time until we finally began drifting upwards.
Lewis, who had been sleeping , woke up as soon as he slipped off the seat and onto his head.
Lewis Sterge: (Tired, scratching his head)) ‘Whats going on?’
Driver: ‘We’re almost at your drop off point. I just need to surface, then you're all high and dry on land.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Where are we surfacing?’
Driver: ‘Were coming out at Hamburg.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Alright, why couldn't we have just walked?’
Miu Shizuka: (Getting drowned out by the noise of rushing water) ‘Don't worry, I will explain it to you once we surface.’
Excelling at incredible speed, the light from the surface broke through the water, until we pierced the surface. Located in a small, of side dock, we were able to quickly get out, before our ship disappeared under the surface.
We were now alone In germany.
The buildings around us seemed to clot together, just like a miniature city. We could see hundreds of people walking around the busy streets, accompanied by a few IWEC soldiers and mechs.
Lewis Sterge: ‘You were going to explain Miu?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘We needed to go on this ship since the IWEC has completely bordered off each country. Because of our little raid, they have set up incredibly large defenses around the surrounding countries, so we would have been killed before we could even cross.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Then we slipped in from behind them then? Nice!’
Yuuto Ito: (Through our earpieces) ‘Are you all done yapping yet, or can I jump in and tell you all where you're going. You know, the whole point of you going to germany.’
X.D: ‘Go ahead Yuuto.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Right, you're all heading for a facility located at the center of Berlin. I can't exactly tell what they are doing in there, but they seem to transport allot of different medical equipment to and from the site. Be on your guard though. Looking at the staff count, the facility isn't very guard-heavy, but the security on the sight is one of the highest out of all of the ones documented. Trust me, if that doesn't scream caution, nothing does.’
His voiced dimmed, and he was gone.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Did he just cut the signal?’
X.D: ‘I think so. It's probably to stop us getting tracked.’
Yuuto Ito: (Reconnecting) ‘Oh, and by the way, I need to keep cutting the signal off because…’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Yeah yeah, we know.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Alright then, i’m out. Good luck!’
The signal cut again.
Miu Shizuka: (Stroppily) ‘Great, now we have to walk to Berlin!’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Ehh, Same drill as always. Let's get a move on.’
Making sure they had all their belongings in check, the two started ascending the slippery cobbled steps leading up to the main streets.
Following from behind, We blended into the crowed as much as possible, trying not to stand directly next to each other. As soon as any IWEC member approached our area, we made sure to remain as stealthy as possible.
Lewis Sterge: (Nudging me) ‘Xyro, wait a sec.’
At first I was confused, but then I had realised that Miu was staring into a window of a shop.
X.D: (Unimpressed) ‘I thought you said we were heading to Berlin….’
Miu was staring at the vast amounts of dresses and shoes in the window.
Miu Shizuka: ‘We all have more important things to worry about sometimes Xyro, and this is one of those times.’
She opened the door and went into the store.
Lewis and I gave each other the same exact glance.
X.D: ‘*sigh* Are we going in after her or?’
Lewis Sterge: (Mockingly) ‘No. we have no other choice but to wait. I mean, you can go into an all women's dress store…. If you're brave enough.’
X.D: ‘......’
I thought about it for a second.
X.D: (Shaking my head) ‘No. I'm not brave enough.’
Lewis Sterge: (Placing his hand on my shoulder) ‘Don't worry kid. No man alive is!’
Awkwardly, we stood outside for half an hour, Until Miu emerged with two large bags.
Lewis Sterge: (Sarcastically) ‘Did you get everything you desperately needed?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Yes. Now stop standing around and lets go! We don't have time to be doing nothing!’
She handed Lewis both of her bags, before walking slightly ahead.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering) ‘How do we manage to cope with her?’
X.D: ‘We don't. That's how.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘You know, it's rude to whisper behind a girls back!’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Whatever Miu.’
The day seemed to be approaching it's end. And yet, we had only made it outside the town and onto a main roadway.
Yeah, we are extremely efficient!
The sun had started setting behind the horizon, dying the lip of the world a bright orange.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Are we seriously going to have to set up a camp soon?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Unless you want to be walking in complete darkness, it would be a good idea.’
Since we were next to a nearby forest, we went off road into the treeline. Finding a small clearing between the shrubs, we cleared out any dead leaves and twigs, before creating a rock circle for the base of the fire. Just as the sun had disappeared, Miu set a bunch of twigs ablaze in the centre of the rock formation, which we constantly fed with the dried leaves we had gathered.
Miu Shizuka: (Constantly pinching at the flames of the fire) ‘Well, we didn't make it very far today.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘I wonder why!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Yeah…. You and Xyro have been slacking. I expect a bit better from the two of you!’
Lewis gave her a death stare.
Miu Shizuka: ‘I'm kidding! Geez!
X.D: (lying on my back) ‘At least we aren't stuck in that tin can. Just relax a little.’
The two of them went silent. Then, slowly, they laid down onto their back. We were lying in a triangle-like formation.
I could tell that they were beginning to stay relaxed after they saw the same sight as me. Just breaking past the treeline, the backdrop of space stayed permanently fixated, and yet every element of it seemed alive. Each individual star danced, every planet aligned and the moon cast a bright cloak downward to the earth below. We were just three specs, staring up at the vast reaches of infinity.
Miu Shizuka: ‘I wonder what it's like in space.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘*Sigh* me too.’
X.D: ‘We will do soon. Trust me, once Atsuko has those devices, we will be out there!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘That reminds me. What the hell are we supposed to do once we get out there? We can't exactly survive in a vacuum! Plus, where do we go? Find another planet like earth? How long will that take?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘I'm sure the kid and Atsuko will figure something out. We got to get these devices before we worry about the other wrinkles in the plan.’
X.D: ‘Yeah. Have faith in us Miu!’
Miu Shizuka: (Giggling) ‘You think I would have followed you all this far if i didn't have faith in you?’
I didn't want to admit it, but I still had doubt in the whole thing myself.
What if the devices didn't work?
I couldn't help but ponder on the idea.
X.D: ‘Hey, Lewis, you have faith in the group, right?’
He was silent.
X.D: ‘Lewis?’
I shuffled a bit to look at him. He was sound asleep.
Miu Shizuka: (Rolling her eyes) ‘So much for us not being able to get any sleep at all on this mission.’
She also closed her eyes.
Miu Shizuka: *Small yawn* ‘Goodnight Pumpkin. Sleep well.’
X.D: ‘Goodnight.’
...
Back in paris, the day had seemed to go quickly for the group.
With the immense amount of building work, rehousing and much, much more, everyone was issued a job that they had to carry out. (With a few exceptions, such as Ryu, Atsuko and Crystal, who already had their jobs.)
Since it had finally reached the end of the day, everyone had returned to their dorms to rest.
Well, almost everyone.
Still awake in her lab, Atsuko was tinkering away at a large hunk of metal.
Davis Drafter: *knock knock* (Awkwardly, without any real care) Hey, erm, Crystal told me to tell you to come up when you can.’
Atsuko was shaking immensely.
Atsuko Viola: ‘N...no, it's f...fine Davis, I...I still n...need to get this d...done.’
Her stutter seemed worse now. More than ever.
Davis was about to leave her, but even he couldn't leave her in such a state.
Davis Drafter: ‘Hey, are you…. Feeling ok?’
Atsuko Viola: ‘Y...y...yes, i’m f...f...fine….’
She slowly tried to push herself up off the table, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Finally breaking, she placed her head into her arms and cried.
Davis sat beside her.
Davis Drafter: ‘Hey, listen kid…’
She looked at him with tiny beads in her eyes.
Davis Drafter: ‘I know that you're worried about them, but you don't need to be. They are pretty strong people. They will be fine!’
Atsuko looked to the ground.
Atsuko Viola: ‘C...could I t...tell you s...s...something please Davis…’
Davis Drafter: (With a moderately caring tone) ‘Go ahead. Im listening.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘H...how do you stop w...worrying about p...people so much. I don't mean to be r...rude, but you are, w...well, you know…’
He stared at her blankly, before finally sitting back on the chair.
Davis Drafter: ‘*Sigh* Once, I did care about people. A little too much if you ask me.’
He seemed to be gazing off into the distance.
Davis Drafter: ‘The only reason I ever applied for that Job for the IWEC was to protect my hometown. You see, you don't realise how bad things can get in two years. The town was so low on payments, that they offered us jobs in order to keep the income in.’
A tiny smile spread on his face.
Davis Drafter: ‘For once, I thought I had caught a break from it all, you know? Maybe we had a shot at keeping our home, our farm....’
He seemed to sink a little deeper into his chair.
Davis Drafter: ‘Then, you don't realise how much you miss those days. When all your friends die. When you watch your town burn. Your family...’
He went silent, reached into his pocket, pulled out his flask and took one large swig.
Atsuko was staring at him in dismay.
Davis Drafter: (Trying to lighten the mood a bit) ‘But look, Don't ever become like Me. For fuck sake, i'm an alcoholic with less fucks to give then a government official. Stay the way you are. Being worried about them means you actually care. It's a hell of allot better then reaching the stage i'm at. Besides, they will be fine. If Xyro can kill a giant bloody mushroom, he can get past a few scrap pieces of metal and police officers in modified spandex!’
He patted her on the shoulder, and made his way towards the door.
Atsuko Viola: (Calm) ‘*Sniffle* T...thank you Davis’
Davis Drafter (Finally smiling for once.) ‘...no problem.’
He disappeared up the flight of stairs, leaving a much calmer Atsuko to tinker her workpiece. Reaching for a different screwdriver, she took a single glance out the window at the night sky.
Atsuko Viola: (Speaking aloud) ‘....please stay safe…’
Chapter seven: Day Two: Thick fog falls forward on fools
Nothing beats the feeling of a fresh start in the morning, when you wake up completely rested and feeling good.
I sat up from the dirt and brushed the grains off my arm. It's surprising how soft regular dirt can be if you sleep on it just right.
The other two couldn't agree with me though. Clutching their backs, they tried to stiffly sit up, which they found to be quite the chore.
Lewis Sterge: (Sitting up stiffly) ‘We should have brought a blanket or something. My backs going to kill me.’
Miu Shizuka:(Laughing at him) ‘Well, who’s fault is that then?’
As she went to stand, her back made an excruciatingly loud click. Her eyes showed the pain more than anything.
Miu Shizuka: (Speaking silently) ‘....Right….. Let's make a move then….’
Waddling forward, she headed back towards the main road.
Lewis Sterge: (Nudging me) ‘Hey, finally something to match her stiff attitude, am I right?’
Miu Shizuka: (Sarcastically) ‘Yeah, very funny. Now help a girl out and carry me.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘You can't be serious Miu.’
She was.
Hoisting herself onto his back, Miu held on with her arms around his neck.
Miu Shizuka: (Demanding, bossy) ‘Now march!’
She dug her boots into his side, just like you would to a horse.
But Lewis didn't start trotting forward.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Do that again and I’ll drop you!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Ok, ok, just… walk that way please.’
We started making our way down the long paved road. Since the sun had arrived, the early morning dew had evaporated into a rather light mist, which seemed to glisten ever so slightly as each ray of light passed through its crystal-like mesh.
The only problem I found was that my eyes kept on steaming up, so I had to wipe them every so often.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Ugh, why do these walks have to be so tiring.’
Lewis Sterge: (Drenched in the morning condensation, finding it hard to breathe) ‘Maybe if you tried….walking…. You would actually have something to complain about!’
Miu Shizuka: (Thinking) ‘Hmmm, nah, i'm good.’
X.D: ‘Hey, Lewis, think you have some room for me?’
He stared with fire in his eyes at my soul.
X.D: ‘Ok, maybe not then.’
Luckily, I think there was too much moisture in the air to keep the fire in his eyes alight.
As we walked along, Miu pulled out a phone from her sleeves.
Miu Shizuka: ‘According to the GPS, we need to keep following this road for a pretty long time.’
Lewis immediately put Miu back onto the ground.
Lewis Sterge: (Finally able to breathe properly.) ‘No….Im not walking with you on my back….I mean…. Why is a girl like you so heavy!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘I'm not fat! I'm just carrying allot of stuff with me. Besides, this dress Atsuko made doesn't help either.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Yeah, I know that, but you weigh more than Dakota! What the hell do you carry around?’
Miu Shizuka: (Turning around, walking away) ‘Rule number one Lewis, never ask a girl about her belongings!’
Lewis Sterge: (Following after her) ‘Really, but Me and leona always knew what we had on us at all times.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘ Rule number two: Never compare one girl to another!’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Are you just making this up as you go along now?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Rule number three: A girl has the right to express creativity through the usage of rules, even if they are made up on the spot.’
Lewis Sterge: (To me) ‘Does any of this seem even slightly true to you kid.’
X.D: (Taking Miu’s side for the fun of it) ‘Of course! A girl is always right Lewis.’
Miu Shizuka: (Jokingly) ‘How did you know rule four Pumpkin?’
We both started laughing, which tempted a smile on Lewis's miserable face.
X.D: (Trying to make conversation) ‘What do you think were going to have to deal with this time?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Were probably going to have to get through some mechs and guards at one point or another. So thats one thing on the list.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Another thing we can't forget is that this place seems to have a limited staff, but allot of high level security protocol’s. That means whatever they are doing in there, has to be either incredibly expensive, or incredibly dangerous.’
Lewis Sterge: ’How can you tell?
X.D: ‘Well, think about it. Remember our facility? It had allot of staff and security, but that was to keep us in check since we are weapons after all. In this place however, the staff is kept to a minimum but they have way more security. So, whatever it is thats in there, has to be monitored by a limited amount of staff, but also has to be protected from the external world from the security protocols…’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Your forgetting the other possibility though…’
She paused, and smiled at us in her eerie way.
Miu Shizuka: ‘....What if the security is in place to stop whatever is on the inside from getting out?’
I hadn't thought of that.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Whatever the case, we can handle it, right?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘We can, and we will. Now lets at least get to another town or something. I don't know about you two, but i’m feeling rather peckish.’
In agreement, we made haste onwards.
But with every passing minute, the mist started to grow thicker and thicker, until eventually we couldn't see further than an arm’s length in front of us. Stepping in the blind, we tried our hardest to follow the paving underneath us.
Lewis Sterge ‘Hey, do you see that?’
Just ahead of us was a whole set of lights. By the way they were positioned, they seemed similar to those you get outside of shops.
Cautiously moving towards them, we found with relief that they were indeed from a building.
A hostel, to be more exact.
Stepping inside, the place was incredibly warm. Although tiny, the front room had enough seating space to hold us and a few others, but there was also a TV and a fireplace for good measure.The interior design was made to look like everything was formed from mahogany.
As soon as the three of us had entered, a young man at the front desk greeted us over.
Man: ‘Welcome to the woodside manhanna hostel. I guess you three want to get booked in then?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Yeah, please.’
Man: (Checking through a book) ‘...Alright, we have two spare rooms, so you may take those for the night. That will be a hundred and twenty please.’
After paying upfront, we were lead to our rooms and handed two keys.
Then, he wished us a good evening and went on his way. Oh, and he also told us that we could go down to the bar at any time, but none of us drink anyway, so it didn't matter.
Lewis Sterge: ‘RIght, so who’s sharing a room then?’
Miu Shizuka: (Jokingly) ‘I wouldn't mind spending the night with you, pumpkin!’
X.D: ‘Not a chance Miu.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well, in that case...’
She snatched the keys from his hand.
Miu Shizuka: ‘I will see you both in the morning. Have a pleasant rest.’
Before Lewis could say anything, she had already locked the door behind her.
X.D:(laughing internally) ‘Just dont think im sharing a bed with you.’
Lewis unlocked our door, so we headed inside.
For a hostel, the bedroom was rather spacious. With a TV and a small fridge, two beds and a bathroom, we were completely set for the evening.
Lewis Sterge: (laying on his bed) ‘Ahhhh, this is so much better than the ground.’
I went to my side of the room, where there was a set of four cups, each with a selection of tea or coffee with them. Boiling the small kettle on the left, I poured out a cup of tea for me and a coffee for Lewis.
Lewis Sterge: (Being handed the coffee) ‘Cheers kid. *sip*.’
X.D: (Thumping down onto my bed) ‘Urghhhh, we still have a long way to walk.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Yeah, and tomorrow, you're carrying Miu on your back and not me.’
X.D: ‘Sure. But can I drag her instead? I cant be botherd to put too much strain on my shoulders.’
He laughed at me.
Lewis Sterge: ‘You know, kid, what do you think we're all going to do after this blows over? Hmmm?’
X.D: ‘What do you mean?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘You know, once we do get the devices. I know we have already been over this, but what do you want to do?’
X.D: (Lying down with arms folded behind my head) ‘Well, I kind of have a plan, but i'm not quite sure if it's practical or not…’
I gazed out of the window at the thick grey fog.
X.D: ‘...I firstly want to find a planet we can claim for our own, then build it up to what we want it to be. After that, well, I just want to explore the universe.’
At first, I thought Lewis might make a passing joke at me. But, he remained silent.
Lewis Sterge: ‘You know, I think if I heard what you just said a few years back, then I would have laughed at you kid. But now, after what's happened, I think I want the same thing too. Having a place for our own would be good, since there will be nobody there other than us to ruin it. And better yet, if we want, we can just go planet to planet and explore to our heart's content…’
He kind of trailed off in thought. I could see the hope he had in his eyes. Even now,I still always had doubts about what I do. Weather it is right or wrong, good or evil. But I can never let myself fall to that stage if I have friends like Lewis to rely on, who also rely heavily on me.
Lewis Sterge: ‘...Kid, even if everything hits the fan, I just want to say I will be there for everyone. If it gets to that stage, then we all go out together.’
X.D: ‘Same here!’
He finished drinking his coffee, so he laid back with his hands together on his stomach.
Lewis Sterge: (A small laugh) ‘Look at me being all soppy. I'm a man, not a teenage girl for fuck sake.’
He wiggled around until he reached a comfy position.
Lewis Sterge: (Switching off the light) ‘Goodnight kid.’
X.D: (Finishing off my tea) ‘Goodnight.’
Placing my head down onto the pillow, I felt like I had not slept for a hundred days.
I was out before I could even yawn.
Chapter seven: Day three: Part one: lights go out, but have no fear!
Whelp, I'm writing this at about…. Three thirty in the morning, since, well…..
Ok, I have very few things that can annoy me in this bloody multiverse, but Miu always seems to find a new thing to add to the books.
Want me to tell you why?
She set up a couple of hundred different alarms in my room, and one goes off every five minutes.
What's worse, is that It's hard to find them all though, since each of them are about the size of a fingernail.
So yeah, i'm up now because I can't be arsed to go back to sleep and wake up every five minutes because of a dumb alarm.
I mean, I could go sleep in another room, but then I would have to clear out all the alarms anyway.
I would set of an electromagnetic pulse in my room, but it's too much hassle to remove all my other stuff.
Whelp, no sleep for me. Again.
The joys of living with Miu!
…
I will be fair, the morning was pretty nice.
Sitting up from my bed, I found that I felt more relaxed than ever before. Slight rays of light shone through the open window, although a thick amount of fog still remained.
But I only noticed that Lewis had disappeared as soon as I got out of bed.
With an idea of where he had gone, I went downstairs.
I expected to find him seated at the bar ordering breakfast, but he wasn't. Instead, He was standing outside on the porch next to Miu.
X.D: ‘Why are you two out here then?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Waiting for you, kid.’
Miu Shizuka: (Kicking a wooden beam) ‘Lewis Tried to wake you up, but you didn't respond. So, we decided to have breakfast and wait out here for you.’
Again, i'm terrible at waking up when i'm needed too (Unless someone activates hundreds of alarm clocks in my room.)
X.D: ‘Oh…’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Eh, don't sweat it kid, I saved you some toast.’
He was holding a plate with a few pieces of unbuttered toast on it. Thanking him, I ate.
To be honest, I have never really been the subconscious type. I never really cared much about what my actions really meant to people, unless it meant I was going to get into trouble.
However, at that moment In time, I had realised that people started staring at me.
Im positive that it was nerves, because instead of pulling my faceplate down to eat, I just handed the plate back to Lewis.
X.D; ‘Dont worry, Im not hungry.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Are you sure? Oh well…’
He took the pieces and ate them for himself.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Let's get moving. I want to get this over with already. This country smells weird.’
Handing the empty plate back to the man at the front desk, we headed on our way. Back on the main road to Berlin….
…
Roughly five and a half hours of walking later (Yeah, I know. That's why I skipped a bit there. Don't worry, you didn't miss out much. Unless you want to know about a few awkwardly short conversations about trees.) The road we had been following started to narrow down into a much more civilised state. Rather than being paved, it seemed to be made purely into slabs, which were colored in a yellow texture, just like sand.
Just off in the distance, was a much, much more technologically advance Berlin then I had seen in my history books.
Unlike london, every building was completely transformed into a futuristic model. Dressed in bright neon colors, each one gave a distinct impression of the person who owned it. Then again, even from this distance, I could still see that the entire city population was just IWEC forces and families, rather than the general public.
Even with this sight, Miu was still focused on one thing in particular. The road.
Miu Shizuka: (In Disgust) ‘Blargh, you would have thought they would have gone for a less ugly color!’
Lewis Sterge: ‘I mean, I guess it stands out allot.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘But so does red! Or purple! Or turquoise!’
X.D: (Ignoring the useless talk) ‘We will definitely make it to the city today, but I think it's in our best interest to lie low rather than go straight in.’
The two weren't really listening to me. They were stuck in a conversation about the road being changed to red or lime green.
X.D: ‘*Sigh* You two go ahead, I need to talk to Yuuto for a second.’
As the two kept on arguing, I switched on my headpiece.
X.D: ‘Hey, Yuuto, you there?’
After a brief moment of silence, I heard the click of the receiver on the other end.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Hey Xyro! You made it in yet?’
X.D: ‘No, not quite… Listen, I need to ask you something.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Fire away.’
X.D: ‘From here, I can already tell that berlin is a chokepoint for the IWEC. I mean, the buildings are a dead giveaway. Once we get to the city border, is there anyway into the city other than just walking the backstreets?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Hmmmm, let me check….’
He went away for a second, then returned.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Good news and bad news. The good news, Is that I managed to find a direct root the the facility, plus it's location.’
X.D: ‘Wait, really?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Yeah! There's a transport hatch near the outskirts of Berlin that can take you directly outside the facility entrance. I even have acess code’s you can enter to be able to activate each of the trams.’
X.D: ‘Great! And the bad news?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘....I may have accidently activated one of their satellites to do so, and now they know your location….’
X.D: ‘...’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Yeah, if you can look over that “tiny” mistake I made, then get your arses moving as quickly as possible before they start sending troops your way.’
I switched the headset off quickly, and shouted at the others.
X.D: (Catching up to the other two) ‘Look, we need to move, now.’
Miu Shizuka: (Tapping her headpiece) ‘Yeah yeah, we heard.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Their bound to come after us through the main road, so it's best if we stick off the main path.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Better yet, there's a large sewage outlet we could follow, which leads right outside the city.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘How'd you know that?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘*Pulling out a map* A girl always comes prepared for everything Lewis. And I mean everything. *Wink*’
She was looking at me with a rather funny stare.
Lewis Sterge: (Looking back and forth between Miu and myself) ‘What's that supposed to meen?’
X.D: ‘Look, can we do this later? Right now we have bigger problems!’
Leading us from the main road, Miu took us around to a large concrete structure, which lead to an incredibly large concrete tube leading deep into the ground.
Sliding down, we dropped into a pool of slow moving “water”
Well, that's what I hope it was.
Miu Shizuka: ‘It's a straight path from here to the main sewage outlet just before Berlin. As always, Ladies first.’
Treading lightly in the water, it was almost as if she was walking on top of it, as every step she took barely created a ripple on the surface.
Step after step, we struggled through the dark tunnel of the sewer.
Trust me, the smell was the most unbearable thing. Out of everything else in my past, that's one I don't really want to re-live.
Miu Stopped at a hatch that leaded directly up.
Miu Shizuka: ‘This is it.’
I was pleasantly surprised, as it hadn’t felt like we had moved too much. Then again, I think on long journeys, I started to lose myself in my own mind, so I always had something to do.
Finally stepping out of the water, i used my hand blades to lever open the sewer grate above us.
Fortunately, Miu was right. The sewer had landed us directly on the outskirts of the city, along with the entrance to the underground transport leading to the outside of the facility.
Lewis Sterge: (looking over at a building, reading the sign) ‘Oh, phew, that's alright then.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘What is?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘The pipe we just walked through was all processed water, and not sewage.’
He chuckled to himself.
X.D: ‘Yeah, I would still wash your shoes if I were you. Processed doesn't always mean clean in a sewer.’
Making sure that no one was watching, the three of us slipped through the back entrance of the building.
Following the stairway down, we found ourselves in, what looked to be, a train station. However, instead of trains, there were weird pods connected to tracks that lead down in an angle. Oh, and instead of ticket officers, you had IWEC mechs and troops roaming around, armed heavily with weaponry.
Moving around to the back of a piller, we watched as a group of people (scientists, to be exact) got on one of the pods, and were sent at quite a high speed down.
Lewis Sterge (Whispering) ‘What are we supposed to do?’
X.D: We can't use the pods manually, as they are controlled somewhere else. I think we're going to have to fight this one out unless you have a plan Miu.’
Ronnie Manning: (in his typical, “no care attached” british accent) ‘You know, this situation reminds me of the time I had to get past a hundred security guards to an exit which was nearly a mile away on an open field. They never would have expected me to just run the other way and lock them all out of the facility.
X.D: ‘Where the hell did you come from!’
He shrugged.
Miu Shizuka: (Trying to ignore the fact that Ronnie had appeared from nowhere) ‘Maybe we should just wait and see if they change their shifts.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Thats a good idea, but then we could be waiting here for a while.’
X.D: ‘I don't know. Ronnie, what do you…’
He had disappeared again.
Suddenly, the lights in the room shut off. It had turned pitch black.
Within the darkness, I could hear each guard screaming as they were taken down by the sound of skull meeting cutlery.
As the lights turned back on, ronnie was stood right next to a lightswitch in the office at the front of one of the exits.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Hey, I guess it's lights out for them, huh?’
Ignoring the worst pun in the world, a pod had just pulled into the station.
Getting into it, the four of us were told by someone through the intercom to enter some codes into the device at the front. Using the ones Yuuto told us through the headset, we were granted access.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Ha! So much for high security! Suckers!’
All in one hit, the pod shot off, sending Me, Ronnie and Lewis falling backwards. Miu just stood in place and rolled her eyes.
As the pod came to a stop, she tutted us.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Men. No balance at all!’
Standing up, I brushed myself off.
All of us went out to find ourselves at another one of those large metal doors that every facility has.
Every facility you say Xyro? But, what about the one back in paris?
You ask a very good question, random reader! Fear not, for it shall be answered later….
...Maybe….
Removing the tip of his finger, Ronnie inserted the memory stick into the panel on the side of the wall in order to open the door. However, this facility was a little different. It required a net of one hundred and fifty different codes, each with an individual stamp and signature.
So, in our terms, it meant that Ronnie hit the machine three times with a spoon until it smashed, therefore opening the door.
Maths everyone!
Once the huge metal doors had moved out the way, we were able to enter.
Trust me when I say, from the moment we entered….
... I knew it was going to be bad.
Chapter seven: Day three: Part two: what does this button do?
The very faint smell of something horrendous wafted its way down the hallway towards us. Although incredibly mild, it still made Lewis go a pale green color. Ronnie and Miu didn't seem to mind.
Miu Shizuka: ‘That smell…. It seems….familiar…’
Lewis Sterge: ‘It smells like rotting meat!’
Ronnie Manning: ‘Do you think this is a butcher joint? Could we get a couple of pieces of steak?’
X.D: ‘Not the right time Ronnie.’
Moving slowly down the hallway, I realized just how protective this facility was in comparison to the other three we had seen before it.
Instead of the polished white walls and minimalist decorations that I was used too, every wall was layered thick with metal plating, which could easily block out an immense amount of force. Moreover, the floor was a bland, grey color, which seemed to be cracked in many different areas.
Needless to say, this facility clearly didn't get much in the way of traffic through it, as everything was striped down to it's bare essentials apart from the security elements.
The first corner we turned, we found ourselves confronted with a large, airtight door, with an array of hazmat suits aligned in a neat row, all encased in airtight bags.
Miu Shizuka: (Sarcastically) ‘This is looking promising.’
X.D: ‘I thinks it's best if we get into a suit before going in. They are here for a reason after all.’
Groaning, everyone put on a hazmat suit, including me. They were rather uncomfortable, but I couldn't imagine how Lewis felt with all those blades on his jacket.
All of our voices sounded incredibly muffled every time we spoke.
X.D: ‘Right, when we go in, we stick together. As far as i'm concerned, this place is in no-way safe.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘*Crackling* Hey, can you all hear this?’
X.D: ‘Yep, your a bit static, but it's an improvement to your normal voice, so don't worry about it.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘(Ignoring me) Right, the terminal you're looking for is actually located on the top floor section of the facility. So you should be able to just walk in, get the Intel onto a memory stick and go. Should be child's play!’
Because he said that, I knew we were going to screw it up in one way or another, but oh well.
Stepping through the airtight chamber, we walked into a small lab with many, many operation tables. Each table by itself seemed to have, what appeared to be, a cloth covering a human body.
Yet, nobody was present in the room.
Miu Shizuka: ‘The console is just past this room and down a hallway. Let's move, because I can't stand this stench anymore.’
She made her way to the door on the other side of the room, whilst the rest of us had a bigger curiosity in the bodies.
Lewis removed one of the white clothes from one of the body's. The man underneath was dead, and yet, he was being fed through a drip with blood, which seemed to make no natural sense to us.
That is, until Miu stuck her head back in through the doorway.
Miu Shizuka: (Coldly) ‘Hey, I think I may have found where the smell is coming from…’
Cautiously, the three of us made our way out into the room she was in.
Now, for those with a nervous disposition, please, do yourself a favor and don't read the bits between the line.
Trust me, it's to save your lunch from making a reappearance.
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The room we entered was incredibly large. We had entered in from the top, and was standing on a mesh bridge, which lead from one side to another.
Directly below us, swarming in their masses, were human corpses.
Yes, I mean zombies.
Bloated, infected, rotting zombies. Each with it's own horrifying appearance, disgusting attitude and vile smell.
As we had entered, they formed a mosh pit underneath the bridge, reaching up to us with desperate hands. And no, they weren't looking for help. They were looking for a meal.
In fact, some were so excited, that they started to eat each other. Both limbs and stale blood was sprayed across the floor and walls, only adding to the rotting infected pills that each of the zombie stumbled over in their blind hunger.
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(Just in case you did skip the text, just think lots of zombies in a big room. See, not so bad on the old stomach, hey?)
I have never seen a bunch of people with such pale faces.
Ronnie Manning: (Waving down at them) ‘Hello! (Turning to us) They seem nice.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Zombies. Why do secret government facilities always have to have zombies!’
Lewis Sterge: ‘That explains the low staff count. Just to try and keep contamination as low as possible.’
I shook the bridge way we were stood on slightly. It shook rather violently, even with a little tug.
X.D: ‘I don't think it's safe to go this way. This bridge feels like it will collapse any second now.’
But, before I had finished my sentence, everyone had already made it to the other side.
Great, so much for my advice.
We entered the only available room, which contained the console and two workers.
Miu took care of the workers, by simply telling them to get out in a polite and courteous tone.
Or, as it's commonly know, as kicking the two individuals into the pit full of zombies.
That wasn't a pretty sight either, so I won't go into detail. She enjoyed the show though.
X.D: (Unimpressed) ‘A bit harsh Miu!’
She shrugged, and skipped happily back inside the room.
In no time at all, Lewis used the memory stick provided by Yuuto to upload all the relevant files to it. We were already done, and had everything we needed…
...Until Ronnie's curiosity took over him.
Staring at a large, red button, he knew what he had to do.
He pressed it.
All of a sudden, a loud siren sounded, along with the groaning sound of moving machinery. In a quick panic, Ronnie started to press more and more buttons.
Then, everything went black.
Chapter seven: Day three: Part three: What's a zombie's favorite food? YOU!
In the darkness, we tried to find a way to see.
Luckily, Miu was able to flip on her lighter.
Ronnie Manning: ‘.....oops.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘(Glaring at him) ‘You know, there are worse things than zombies to worry about Ronnie!’
Suddenly, Yuuto’s voice sounded in my ear.
Yuuto Ito: (In a calm, collected voice) ‘Ok, can someone explain to me, what the fuck is going on!’
X.D: ‘Does saying Ronnie cover it?’
He sighed deeply through the speaker.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Look, I don't know how he managed to do it, but he ended up activating the facilities entire defense matrix, before cutting all power, locking you inside and freeing every cell in the whole facility.’
He let out a half arsed laugh.
Yuuto Ito: ‘In other words, you're now trapped in a pretty bad horror movie situation. Well done!’
Miu Shizuka: (Unimpressed) ‘Great. Just, great.’
X.D: ‘Is there any way out Yuuto?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘We'll, yeah. The front security door has emergency backup power just in case of these situations, so you should be able to unlock it and turn of the security protocol to let yourselves out.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Oh, so that's simple enough.’
Again, something you should never say in this kind of situation.
Exiting the room with Lewis in the lead, we started to cross the metal grated bridge.
With no surprise at all, and a loud snapping sound, it collapsed, sending the four of us plummeting into the pit full of…
Nothing?
After the four of us got to our feet to brush ourselves off, we were surprised to find that every single one of the zombies had vanished, leaving behind nothing but blood and unused body parts.
Miu Shizuka: ‘*Almost gagging in disgust* I got blood on my new dress. It's ruined now!’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Blood can wash out, you know!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Even so, I don't think the smell will!’
I noticed where all of the zombies had gone. Of to one side of the room, a large hole in the security glass had been smashed wide open, leading off deeper into the facility.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Right! This way men! Charge!!!’
Before any of us could stop him, he disappeared deeper into the facility.
Miu Shizuka: ‘The idiot does realize we could have just climbed back up to the door, right?’
X.D: ‘Yes, but we need to go after him. He’s our only way out after all.’
Miu Shizuka: (Groaning) ‘Fine, but so help me, if he gets us killed down here, I will make sure he doesn't have fun in the underworld.’
Trying to give pursuit, we all climb carefully over the glass and down a large stretch of rooms, each filled with cages of recently killed animals.
And yet, no zombies.
Turning a few hallways, we came across what appeared to be a bunch of cells, each inhabited by, well, corpses at this point.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, a man in a hazmat suit started walking towards us.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Hey, Ronnie, is that you?’
The man in the suit didn't say anything, apart from moan.
Miu Shizuka: ‘He’s infected, get him!’
Since I was in a hazmat suit, I couldn't use my blades, as the gloves were built in to it. So, rearing my arm back, I slammed my fist with full force into the Zombies head.
Of course, with no head left, the body of an undead fell to the floor.
This was not Ronnie, but it did have me scared for a second.
Lewis Sterge: ‘We need to keep moving. Otherwise we will all end up like this guy. Well, except you Xyro.’
X.D: ‘Who said I can't? I could still get infected by breathing it in!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Are you two really arguing about this! Not the right time!’
She was right. We kept on moving.
Through long corridors, empty rooms and cell after cell, we were greeted with nothing more than zombies, blood and carcasses.
And yet still no Ronnie. He must have charged with immense speed into the facility.
Soon, we found ourselves walking through another block of rooms. However, this one seemed allot different than the others.
Unlike the others, this one seemed relatively clean, with a much higher advancement in technological advances than the past few rooms.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Hey, Kid, I think I see Ronnie!’
Surely enough, just at the exit of the room, Ronnie was making his way out, still yelling at the top of his lungs.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Come on, let's go!’
We went to pursue him, until we realized that Miu had vanished.
X.D: ‘Miu?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Where did she go?’
X.D: ‘Forget about her, she will more than likely find us later. Come on, or we will end up losing him.’
With a slight hesitation, we made our way after the lunatic know as Ronnie.
For a man with a brain the size of a peanut, he must have had lungs of steel, as he never stopped once for a breath of air.
Me and Lewis on the other hand, had to eventually call it quits.
Lewis Sterge: ‘*Panting* How….can he….run….for so long…’
X.D: (Only slightly out of breathe) ‘I don't know… but we need to catch him soon, or…’
Suddenly we heard him again, but this time, he was running towards us.
Screaming as he ran, he was being chased by a massive hoard of zombies. It was so big, that each one had to climb over the other to move forward slightly.
Ronnie Manning: (Running past us) ‘Retreat! Retreat!!!’
With our tails between our legs, we followed. This time, to get away from the many hands that kept reaching out towards us.
Falling back, we eventually reached something you would have never expected when the main characters of a story are running away from Zombies.
That's right, a dead end.
(No pun intended)
Ronnie Manning: ‘Quick! Hoist me up to that air-vent! You two won't survive, but at least I will be safe!’
The two of us stared at him with the same, hard stare of disapproval.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Eh, it was worth a shot.’
The hoard started approaching in its mass. I couldn't even count the sea of overlapping enemies that came in it's onslaught.
But, I wasn't going to let this be our end.
Removing the hazmat suit, I unsheathed both my hand blades.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Kid! What are you doing! We still don't know if it's airborne or not!’
X.D: ‘Well, right now, it's either us or them!’
He knew I was right. Removing the hazmat suit, he drew every blade he could.
Leaping into action, the two of us went to work, slicing with precision through each of our enemies necks, whilst Ronnie bravely sat in the safety position against a wall.
Unlike the creatures we met in that alternate reality, the zombie’s kept on pushing us closer and closer to the corner. We were outnumbered immensely.
Lewis Sterge: (Still fighting) ‘It looks like this is it for us kid. For what it's worth, it's been an honor.’
That's the one sentence I never want to hear being spoken out of any of their mouths. The sentence of an inevitable end.
Shoving a group of zombie back, A wave of heat washed over my body.
Within a second, my back opened up, revealing some kind of rocket launchers.
With no real control of my body, I unleashed the hell of fire onto them all, creating nothing more than piles of ash.
Once I had come back to my senses, my whole body felt weak.
Collapsing to the ground, I found it a struggle to breathe.
Lewis Helped me back to my feet.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Are you alright kid?’
I sat on the ground clutching my chest for a while, until I eventually got my breath back.
X.D: ‘Yeah, i'm…. Fine…. What happened exactly?’
Yuuto Ito: (Crackling, suddenly) ‘I can tell you exactly what happened. You just used those rocket salvos in your back, right?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Wait, how do you know that?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘I'm guessing from the sound of explosions and the fact Xyro passed out afterwards, since his head hit the ground like a melon!’
X.D: ‘Right. But… why did I…’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Collapse? Well, your “Rockets” use the same source as your bullets. That's right, you just killed zombies with an array of blood. Well done.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘So he used up allot of blood?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Bingo. But he should have regained it.’
X.D: ‘But why haven't I been able to use them until just now?’
Yuuto Ito: ‘What do I look like, some kind of answer machine? I don't know. But don't worry, We can run some tests when you get back.’
X.D: (Still a little fatigued) ‘Right, well, we got Ronnie at least. Let's head back and climb out of this hell hole.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Agreed.’
In a slow, worn out stumble, we made our way back to the entrance. Just before reaching the main room, we still hadn't found Miu, but we kind of expected her to be waiting for us.
That is, Until I felt something following us.
I turned quickly and was confronted with another zombie. Natural instincts kicked in, and I went to swipe with my hand blade.
Miu Shizuka:(Screaming) ‘Stop! She’s friendly!’
I stopped suddenly.
Calming down, I looked at her in more detail.
She wore a pair of rather neatly laced black shoes, which seemed similar to those for business attire. Around one of her legs, she had a wrapped bandage which went from the bottom all the way to the top of her leg. It was completely clean though.
With a skirt and a top with a sleeveless jumper made of denim, she had yet another bandage wrapping around her left arm from hand to shoulder.
In fact, she seemed almost like a normal, everyday human. Her hair was only slightly longer than Atsuko's, and flowed outwards near the end. Her facial features were pretty sharp like Miu's.
However, her skin was pale and cold. Her right eye was completely missing, and in it's place was just a black hole. The other eye seemed perfectly normal. In fact, it's bright green shade seemed more lifelike than any other I have seen before.
Yet, her entire mouth was forced shut with a huge face-plate, that was bolted rather messily into her top and bottom jaw. It was similar to mine, but much larger, and in place for a reason.
X.D: ‘Oh, my apologies, ehm….what's your name?’
I could tell that she was smiling, since her expressions showed it more then her mouth. But, instead of speaking, she started using her hands instead.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Her name is Lucia. She says that it's nice to meet you and that she is sorry for startling you.’
X.D: ‘Yes, I know. I understand sign language.’
Ronnie Manning: (In disbelief) ‘Wow, you can speak with your hands!’
Miu rolled her eyes.
Lewis Sterge: ‘I don't know about this. No need to be rude, but you are still a zombie.’
She did more sign language.
Miu Shizuka: ‘She says that she is a zombie, but she's different. She promises to do no harm to anyone.’
All the while, I didn't want to be rude, but The faceplate really didn't give me any reassurance.
Lewis Sterge: ‘And how can you be so sure of this Miu?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well, when I let her out, I read through each of the individual files, and she’s both non-infectious and does not require the need for eating human flesh.’
She handed Lewis the file, just for reassurance.
But I couldn't help and oversee the fact that she does require a fresh source of blood every few weeks.
Neither did Lewis, but he wasn't too worried about that, since it even described alternatives, such as specific kinds of embalming oils.
Not only that, but I couldn't help but oversee other facts about her.
Such as her being a trained, professional doctor.
X.D: ‘Well, I don't know about you, But welcome aboard Lucia.’
I went to shake her hand, and she accepted with a rather weak grip.
Soon, we had climbed our way out of the pit, and made our way back to the main front door of the facility. Lewis and I decided to use the weird machine at the front just to make sure we weren't infected, and surely enough, we had no trace of infection.
Meanwhile, Ronnie used his memory stick to get the door to re-power the whole facility. Removing the mainline security, we got the door open, which wafted the scent of fresh air back into our lives.
All the while, Lucia was rather busy looking at her surroundings, enjoying every little thing she could see. Luckily for me, she seemed to enjoy my company.
Lucia Ais: (just so you know, everything she “says” is in sign language, so i'm going to use ^ to represent sign language.) ^Why did you come here in the first place Xyro?^
X.D: ‘Oh, it's a long story. I'll let Miu explain it to you once we get back.’
Lucia Ais: ^back?^
Miu Shizuka: ‘Were heading to Paris, since we took it over from the IWEC.’
The girl paused on the spot.
Lucia Ais: ^So we’re going outside?^
She seemed a mix of timid and overly excited. As if she was both going to explode from excitement and cower away from fear.
Miu Shizuka:(A dawn of realization) ‘Have you ever been outside of the facility before?’
She shook her head.
Lucia Ais: ^I was born and died in here. So I have never seen what it's like outside. Is it just like what they said?^
Miu Shizuka: ‘What did they tell you?’
She looked down.
Lucia Ais: ^They told me that the outside world was destroyed, and that it's full of evil. Is it true?^
X.D: ‘Of course not. The world is amazing, trust me!’
She still seemed rather hesitant on joining us. She just stood on the platform next to the pod as we got into it.
I could see the conflict going through her brain. Imagine living every day of your life in a box, and never understanding what the outside world looks like, only for someone to tell you horrifying, untrue stories to keep you thinking you were safe.
So, I did what I would do for anyone.
I held onto her hands.
Her hands were cold and trembling, but my grasp seemed to stop that.
X.D: ‘Everything will be fine Lucia. You have so much to look forward too.’
I tried smile, but, like always, my face-plate blocked it.
Nevertheless, she seemed to grasp my hands and smiled anyway.
Lucia Ais: ^Thank You Xyro. let's go.^
Hopping rather giddily onto the pod, we started making our way up. A direct call came in from yuuto into our ear pieces.
Yuuto Ito: ‘I see you made it out!’
X.D: ‘Seriously, how do you know this. You're freaking me out!’
He laughed, and returned to the topic on hand.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Look, we have a bigger problem than you think. Since you left, the facility no longer has any security and is open to allow the infected to come out.’
He paused for a second.
Yuuto Ito: ‘Well, Once you're all out of the area, I can activate the facilities manual self destruct. Don't worry, it won't affect any of the buildings above ground. Just give me a call, and boom.’
X.D: ‘Ok, roger that Yuuto.’
He signed off.
Arriving back to the first station, we hastily made our way outside.
I hadn't even realized the time.
Night had fallen upon us, and the moon had risen high into the sky. In Fact, the moon was fully out, clearing a huge field of cloud in it's wake, allowing for every individual start to shine brightly down onto us. From the position we were, we could see the bright orange lights from every building shining a warm light to carpet the earth's surface.
Then, I heard a sniffling sound behind me.
There, with a trickle of tears from her eye, was Lucia.
Miu Smiled.
Miu Shizuka: ‘It's truly wonderful, isn't it?’
Lucia nodded.
Lucia Ais: (Still in a flood of happy tears. To be fair, I never expected the undead to be able to cry, so it was weird to see.) ^It's more beautiful then I have ever imagined.^
Just as we were about to head off, I gave Yuuto the signal through the headset. A sudden burst of energy shook the ground beneath us, but it was so subtle that nobody else noticed.
As time went by, the five of us started to walk back the way we had started. Through the sewer system, and back to the woods.
Which is where we decided to set up camp for the evening.
Lighting a fire, Miu sat beside Lucia, and chatted in sign language for most of the evening.
The two talked about what the outside world was truly like.
I found it rather sad that such an educated young women like Lucia was oblivious to what the things around her were. Although they had taught her how to use and make different medicines, they hadn't taught her anything about typical civilisation, such as what houses where.
It made me feel so sorry for her.
Truth be told, the only monsters in that facility where the IWEC. all the zombies may have seen grotesque, yet they were once living, breathing people, with their own lives.
The IWEC had no right to bring them back as mindless killing machines.
Anyway…
While the girls talked, the rest of us were practically about to fall asleep.
So, setting down in a much more comfortable position, we slept to our heart's content.
Chapter seven: Day four: only room for three.
A loud snapping of twigs awoke me from my sleep.
Although the sun was coming over the horizon, it was still incredibly early in the morning.
Checking my surroundings, I noticed that the fire had died. Also, Miu was fast asleep.
I guess even she has her limits at times.
Even in the dim light, I could see the origins of the snapping sound.
Lucia was sat next to a tree on the other side of a rock outcrop. She was staring out at the rising sun, whilst snapping small twigs that she kept picking up off the ground.
Every little thing she touched seemed to fascinate her. Even the leaves from the trees surrounding her seemed other-worldly.
Making sure not to startle her, I made sure to approach as loudly as possible without being too loud as to awake the others.
X.D: ‘(Taking a seat beside her) Good morning.’
Lucia Ais: ^Good morning Xyro.^
X.D: ‘Did you sleep well?’
Lucia Ais: ^I don't sleep. I am dead after all.^
She laughed a little.
X.D: ‘So, is the surface as bad as you thought it was?’
The pure excitement that fueled her, flooded her face all at once. I have never seen anyone so excited to talk about something before in my life.
Lucia Ais: ^It’s so much better than I ever would have imagined. There are so many colors and patterns, and everything looks amazing…^
She kind of trailed of into a frenzy of sign language, which was so fast I couldn't even begin to understand what she was trying to say.
I think she realised this too, as she stopped herself and giggled from under the face mask.
Lucia Ais: ^ Well, all i'm trying to say is that it's wonderful. I can't wait to see more of it.^
X.D: ‘I guess Miu told you about the plan.’
Lucia Ais: ^Yes, she did. I don't think I can be very useful to your team though, since i'm not very strong. But I can help in other ways!^
She paused, and showed me her papers.
Turns out, rather ironically, she is a qualified doctor, and has mastery with most modern day medicine.
Lucia Ais: ^There's just one concern though…^
She paused for a bit, and seemed to fall into a guilty mood.
Lucia Ais: ^Will the others be ok with me joining? I mean, I am a Zombie after all, and…^
X.D: ‘*Stopping her mid sentence* of course they will be! I mean, if we can withstand having Ronnie on our team, we are more than delighted to have you!’
Ronnie Manning: ‘What's that supposed to mean?’ (Sadly, he had just woken up)
Miu Shizuka: ‘It means your an idiot Ronnie.’
Ronnie manning: ‘Oh, ok! *falling back asleep*’
Miu Simply rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to us.
Miu Shizuka: ‘I think you'll fit in like a glove Lucia. Just stay away from Dakota and Ryu. they are weirder than you would think on first glance.’
Lewis Sterge: (Just woken up) ‘Oh yeah, what about me and Davis?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘(Smiling) At least you two have taste in jackets!’
Speaking of clothing….
X.D: ‘Wait, what happened to those dresses Miu bought?’
Lewis went red in embarrassment.
Lewis Sterge: ‘....I think I left them next to the console of the facility.’
The bottom of Miu’s left eye started to twitch.
Miu Shizuka: (In that scary, calm way) ‘You….did….what?’
Lewis Sterge: (Scratching the back of his head) ‘Look, if you want, we can go back and get them.’
X.D: ‘No. No we can't.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Why not?’
I reminded him swiftly of the evacuation plan.
Lewis Sterge: (Wide eyed) ‘Right.’
Then, she did something I never would have expected…
Miu Shizuka: ‘*Smiling* Well, it's only clothes after all.’
She stood up, and started stretching out.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well? What are you all sitting around for? We have a long walk back!’
Awaking Ronnie, we all followed her back the way we had came.
Lewis Sterge: (Whispering to me, staring at Miu in horror) ‘I'm dead, right?’
X.D: (Nodding) ‘Oh, totally.’
Ronnie patted Lewis on the back.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Cheer up! She will probably make it quick and painless anyway.’
Lewis Sterge: (Sarcastically) ‘Yeah. thanks!’
Ronnie manning: ‘Any time Lewis, any time.’
…
Eventually, after a long day's walk (and a couple of wrong turns) We arrived back at the original town we had started at.
Since it was dark, every street lamp tried it's hardest to illuminate the streets around the Riverside.
Luckily, there were next to no people out, as the cold air must have deterred them. Those who were out, however, seemed to take next to no notice of us.
Moving down the stairway from before, we waited around on the dock area for our transport. Sure enough, after a few minutes, the ship...sub...whatever it is, arrived and opened it's top hatch.
Same driver from before: ‘Your all early. I weren't expecting you for another two or three days.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Well,we didn't exactly want to hang around.’
Lewis sat down onto the same seat as before.
Driver: ‘Whoa, wait, where did the other two come from. Ronnie sir? How did you even get here?’
He shrugged.
X.D: ‘Is there a problem?’
Driver: ‘Well, yes. I can only fit three of you in here at a time. Two of you will have to wait for me to drop the others off and let me come back.’
X.D: ‘Can't we just go to one of the other evac points and…’
Suddenly, a sharp pain raised from the back of my leg where Miu had kicked it.
Miu Shizuka: ‘What Xyro is trying to say, is that we should stay here and let the other three go back.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Are you sure?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Certainly! Take care of Lucia please Lewis. Don't let Ronnie say anything to her on the way back.’
Driver: ‘Thats fine with me. Right, hop in you three. Let's get going’
The three of them got into their seats.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Well, see you two back at base.’
Driver: ‘I will be back in about a day or so. See ya then.’
We waved as the doors to the vehicle shut. Soon, it had dived deep into the water, fading into the murky depths.
Smiling, Miu turned to me.
X.D: (Expectantly, kind of annoyed) ‘Well?’
Miu Shizuka: (Playing it dumb) ‘Well what?’
X.D: ‘What's your plan here Miu?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Awh, can't I just be nice and let the three of them go first like a good person?’
X.D: ‘You and me both know that you don't operate on “Niceness”.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘*putting both her hands up* I wouldn't be so sure of that pumpkin!’
Ok, let me explain why she calls me Pumpkin: Miu calls me names depending on my eye color at the time. Pumpkin is when i'm feeling slightly angry, since my eyes turn a shade of orange like a pumpkin. (she also calls me it when my eyes go pink, but that's because she knows the name winds me up anyway)
Miu Shizuka: ‘I was actually planning on re-buying those dresses that Lewis forgot….’
She paused, and smiled brightly at me.
Miu Shizuka: ‘...But, I mainly want to spend some time with you!’
She went to wrap her arm around my arm, but I stepped back. She giggled.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Besides, you think I would pass this opportunity to spend some time in a place like this? Have you seen the amount of shops we can visit!’
I have to admit, taking a break is fine and all…
But by that point I already missed everyone. Still, maybe it was alright to spend a day just looking at things. To clear my head and all.
X.D: ‘Seriously, why me though? Wouldn't you rather have Lewis? I'm not the best with shopping-things!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘So he can lose more of my dresses? *pshhhh* naaa. Anyway, I saw something that might peak your interest.’
She pushed herself up onto the wall beside her.
X.D: ‘(Doing the same) And what would that be?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘You will see in the morning.’
We both stared off at the sea. The moon lightly rippled off the surface, reflecting it's silver aura onto the surrounding coast.
Silently, Miu drew the same, tiny blade from her boot.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Nights are dark, days are light, merging the two may cause blight…’
She slit the tip of the same finger as before, and watched as the black blood swirled upwards to join the night sky.
Miu Shizuka: ‘..But the two always merge into conflict. One after another, the two fight for the same sky. Without one or another, the two become obsolete. With no darkness or no light, everything would just die.’
The cut on her finger healed much quicker this time.
X.D: ‘What's it with you and cutting the tip of your finger?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘*Giggle* it's a lesson you will one day learn Xyro. One day, you will understand.’
After that, I suppose the rest of the evening was rather bland.
As clouds blocked the moon, we were left with just a calm ocean to watch over us.
With nowhere to sleep, I went into a deep meditation.
Chapter seven: Day five: Why so happy?
A piercing light filled my eyes, as the droning noise of the ocean started to become more apparent to my sense.
I must have meditated well into the morning, as the sun was already high into the sky.
Funnily enough, I was no longer seated on top of the high wall. Instead, I was now on one of the steps leading up to the main street.
Seated besides me, whilst stacking stones on parts of my body, was Miu.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Oh, you're awake.’
X.D: ‘What are you doing?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well, you stay incredibly still when you meditate, so I decided to experiment.’
She had ended up making five pillars of stones on my legs, shoulders and head. Each one had a minimum of ten stones resting on one another.
To her dismay, I shook them all off.
Miu Shizuka: ‘*Sigh* I knew you would do that. Anyway, I pulled you down here because I found this lying around!’
She handed me a newspaper. The headline featured an image of us, with a fairly large bounty on our heads.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well, I don't think they're happy with us.’
She smiled.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Still, this doesn't dissuade me from what I had planned today. It does mean we will need to get a disguise for you though.’
X.D: ‘Fine. Let's go already.’
I may had acted miserably, but in actual fact I was looking forward to eat something.
Following her up the stairway, we headed straight back to the same clothes store Miu had entered before.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well? Aren't you coming in Xyro?’
Gulping , I took a step inside
.
Dresses. As far as the eye could see.
This was no place for me. Then again, what was?
Miu went over to the till, and rang the bell. A lady came rushing over to her immediately.
Lady: ‘Ahh, welcome back. What else can I do for you young lady?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘I would like to re-purchase the same dresses I bought a few days ago please.’
Lady: ‘Oh, where they not the correct fit? Because you can return them and I will happily give you the required size.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘No, it's fine. I just had a little “incident”.’
Lady: ‘Ahh, say no more. I will have the two of them ready for you in a few minutes.’
She rushed into the back room.
X.D: ‘Well, the staff here seem very nice.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘My thoughts exactly.’
Miu Looked around, and something seemed to catch her eye.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Say, Xyro, what fabric and color was that ribbon Atsuko had again?’
I had forgotten all about the tattered ribbon. Removing it from my arm, I showed her the torn red fabric.
Miu started looking through a selection of threads, until she picked out the exact same colors of the ribbon, including the outer white and gold rim.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Here you go. If you purchase these, then we can repair that thing for her.’
Miu Could see the joy in my eyes. For some reason, the idea of seeing Atsuko’s reaction to receiving the repaired bow made me feel supremely happy.
Guess that's….*caugh*.... Well…. is it hot in here or just me?
Anyway,
As soon as the lady had arrived with the dresses, Miu purchased both those and the thread (with a large bar of gold. No wonder the woman was so nice!) and made me carry the bag out the store.
Miu Shizuka: (In almost a song) ‘So, what should we do now?’
I looked at the surrounding stores, but only one really took my interest.
Still, Miu had already made up her mind.
Miu Shizuka: ‘let's go to all of them. That way, we don't miss out on anything. Come on!’
Yanking me by the arm, she dragged me to shop after shop.
Although tiring, it was still rather enjoyable. We joked around, bought stuff. Miu seemed to be having fun, and that's all that really mattered. After all, I was more looking forward to just getting back to see the others.
I think it must have been about ten or eleven shops worth of items later (I also bought myself a Turquoise hoodie to disguise myself, With some money I “found”) Before Miu Finally decided to call it quits for the day.
Miu Shizuka: (Beaming) ‘Wasn't this swell Xyro?’
X.D: ‘Yeah. it was OK.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘So, was there anywhere you wanted to go before we find somewhere to eat?’
X.D: ‘Actually, there is one thing I wanted to get. Could you…. Wait here please?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘*Confused* Sure, I guess.’
Handing her back her bags, I rushed over to (Shop I will not name, since it will give away my purchase with ease)
After five minutes of waiting around, Miu was happy to see me emerge.
Miu Shizuka: ‘What did you get?’
X.D: ‘Nothing at the moment. I need to wait a few hours for it to be finished.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘*Poking me* What did you order then?’
I blanked her deliberately.
X.D: ‘Oh, look, they have a restaurant open over there. Want to grab something to eat?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘(looking at me suspiciously, but eventually agreeing) ‘Sure. Lets just hope the food arrives quickly. Im famished!’
Entering, we were quickly seated at a table next to the windows. The restaurant itself was incredibly clean, laid out with a rich look. The dim light allowed for the two of us to look out at the deep ocean, which now seemed more like a sheet of rippling velvet being blown in the wind.
It wasn't long before we were served with fine cuts of steak (I had mine medium rare, and I think Miu may have had it close to raw.)
After our meals, it had already grown as dark as the night before.
I noticed that Miu wasn't really focused. She was staring out into the distance.
Then, she let out a deep sigh.
X.D: ‘What's the matter? Something keeping you down?’
Miu Shizuka: (looking off into space) ‘it's just….nothing.’
X.D: ‘You really expect me to believe that? Come on, i'm always happy to help.’
She looked at me, then back at the window.
Miu Shizuka: (Pausing, then in a serious tone) ‘I feel torn. I was always told as a child to stay strong and be like my father. And yet, I always wanted to be more like my mother. I was told to keep correct posture, maintain correct phrasing and attitude. But all of that doesn't matter to me. Xyro, you understand that I was born into a rich background, but my mother raised me to be the girl I am today. Not my father.’
X.D: ‘So why are you torn?’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well, over the last few days, I have found myself having more fun then I have ever had in my whole life with you all. And, well, I haven't maintained anything my mother taught me about posture, and above all else, spending money. My point is, I broke my promise, and yet I feel better then I have been my whole life.’
She leant on the table with her head in her hands.
X.D: ‘You think your mother would look down on you because of how you act? Miu, As far as I'm concerned, you are an amazing person. Give or take the whole eating people thing.’
Again, she sighed. This time falling deeper into her own arms.
Miu Shizuka: ‘You always try to help Pumpkin. Don't you ever get tired of helping people?’
X.D: ‘Tired? How would helping anyone out be tiring?’
Miu Shizuka: (Slowly leaning in closer as she spoke) ‘For starters, I don't believe for a second that you don't feel upset after hearing everyone's problems. Let's be fair, you never complain about things. Yeah, you are sometimes lazy, but I have never seen you back down like everyone else has. How?’
She realised that near the end of her speech she was beginning to grow hostile, so she sat back and took a deep breath.
Miu Shizuka: ‘...look, i'm sorry, but…’
X.D: (In a silent, serious tone) ‘I don't mind telling you.’
She stared at me with nervous interest.
X.D: ‘What all of you don't seem to realize is that this is everything to me. I lived most of my life alone. In fact, I didn't really live a life! Every waking hour of my existence was me wanting to just quit it all.’
I did the same as her, staring hard out the window.
X.D: ‘But after all of this, after meeting you all… I have something to live for.’
I smiled to myself more than anything.
X.D: ‘So that's why I never complain. That's why I want to keep going. Because without this, there's nothing left.’
I looked back to Miu. I had moved her close to tears.
X.D: ‘Are...you OK?’
Miu Shizuka: (Wiping her eyes, pretending to be natural.) ‘Yeah, i'm completely fine. Why do you ask.’
X.D: ‘Nothing, don't worry.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘...anyway, I think it's about time we take our ride back.’
Miu could just see the sub resurfacing from the water's edge. She had been deliberately watching it all day.
Promising we would never talk about this again, we payed for the meal and headed over to the sub.
Driver: ‘Good to see you two are fine. The others are worried sick about ya.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Well, let's not keep them waiting for too much longer than.’
She sat in the only comfortable part of the submarine.
As I went to get in, I realized something.
X.D: (Rushed) ‘Oh, one sec, I will be right back!’
With no time for an explanation, I ran back to…. Ehh, I will just tell you, the jeweler shop.
I walked through the door, which rung a little bell as I entered.
A rather scraggy looking man was seated at the counter. He knew who I was as soon as I went in.
Jeweler: ‘Ahh, here to pick up the trinket, are we?’
I nodded.
Reaching under the counter, he pulled out a small box.
Jeweler: (Handing me the box) ‘She must be very special for you to spend this much on her. She must be one in a million.’
X.D: (Smiling) ‘Nahh, she's worth so much more to me.’
Wishing him a good evening, I left and hopped into the sub.
Driver: ‘What did you forget?’
X.D: ‘Oh, nothing, don't worry.’
Driver: ‘Whelp, let's hope you didn't forget anything else, because i'm not coming back here. They already have ships patrolling because they know we are using the submarines.’
Closing the bay doors, we dove deep under the water's surface. The light started to fade into darkness around us.
Miu Shizuka: ‘*Whispering* What did you get?’
X.D: ‘You will see. Be patient.’
Sulking, she remained silent for the rest of the journey.
Which was a very…. Very long time.
As in, it took about twelve hours since we had to stop a few times.
Chapter seven: Day six: One after another.
The light was blinding as we resurfaced. The sheer mass of the ship forced the gushing waves of the ocean underneath our vessel.
Releasing the side doors, both I and Miu rushed out onto the dry gravel dock. We both stretched and took a few deep breaths.
Driver: ‘i'm sorry about that… I just get a bit gassy on long trips.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘A bit gassy? You could have killed us with that!
X.D: ‘I'm so happy this body has a filter.’
Driver: ‘Anyway, You two stay safe now!’
Closing the doors, our driver dove back under the water's surface.
Miu Shizuka: ‘I liked him before he tried to kill me!’
X.D: ‘Miu, he farted. It's not that big of a deal.’
As we passed all the shipping containers, we were shocked to see the level of progress on the newly transformed city.
The walls surrounding the entire area had all been raised and fortified, allowing nobody in except a few entryways. The entire thing, although not incredibly tall, could have held out entire armies with its sheer length and width.
Miu Shizuka: ‘The fortifications look promising. I wonder if the civilians have been tended to yet.’
X.D: ‘let's hope so.’
Dakota Way: (Shouting excitedly) ‘Yo! Guys!’
A rather excited Dakota rushed over to us. He had been waiting by an old bus stop near the entrance to the new wall.
Dakota Way: ‘(Punching me around the shoulder) Dude! How have you two been! It's been ages!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘*tut* It's only been a week Dakota.’
Dakota Way: ‘Really? Man, it felt like ages!’
X.D: (looking over towards the new walls) ‘I see you've been making a lot of progress.’
Dakota Way: ‘Yeah! We all worked hard to get everything up and running man! Come on, let me show you around!’
We approached the wall with Dakota in the lead.
Although small in height at a distance, standing right beside it really gave me a perspective of the sheer scale. I had to rear my head just to see the top.
As we approached one of the main entryways, a bunch of Anti-collective guardsmen noticed us almost immediately and stood with a salute.
Dakota Way: ‘I already told you guys, you don't need to salute when you see us.’
Guards: (Saluting as they said it) ‘Yes sir!’
Granting us passage, we entered the new and improved Paris.
Everything was laid out so neatly! On one clear side of the district was for the civilians and marketplace, on the other was military and medical, and in the middle was the facility we were based in, plus all of the new Anti-collective mech production. But, you obviously already know about the facility. In fact, the only “new” thing I could see was yet another internal wall surrounding the base of the black pyramid. (let's be honest, I could call it the Eiffel tower, But it’s just one huge black pyramid.)
There was still clearly a large amount of construction taking place, the outline of a new community was there in plain sight.
I was more than happy to see civilians taking a role in the construction too. Paving streets, placing light posts and rewiring them, improving buildings and above all else helping one another to get these tasks done.
It's kind of weird to think that people band together when they want something badly. And yet, in less dire times, When people have all the time in the world to make the projects they want to build a reality, people would rather do anything but help each other.
Strange, but I guess that's just procrastinating in a nutshell. You just end up doing the things you want when you feel you don't have much time left.
Miu Shizuka: ‘Impressive.’
X.D: ‘Agreed.’
Dakota way: ‘You think that's impressive? Wait until you see the new place! It’s awesome!’
X.D: ‘How is everyone, Dakota?’
Dakota Way: ‘Everyone's pretty chill. We're all either working on our own things really. Actually, I haven't seen much of everyone. I kinda miss em.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘What happened to Lewis and Lucia?’
Dakota Way: ‘You mean the Zombie chick? She went with Atsuko to do some tests.’
Miu Shizuka: ‘Tests?’
Dakota Way: ‘Yep. She said something about research. I can't really remember.’
Again, at this wall, we had the same procedure with the guards. As soon as we were given permission to enter, I kind of ditched Dakota and Miu. I noticed the elevators were fixed, But I guess I must have thought that taking the stairs would have been quicker.
Boy was I wrong!
At the fiftieth floor, I felt as though my legs were on fire.
Going straight down the hallway, I got rather excited as I approached the lab door.
Scanning my eye against the retina scanner, The doors hissed open.
The lab, as I could now call it, had been completely changed. Full of many different types of machinery, scientific equipment and diagrams, it really suited the environment I expected Atsuko to thrive in.
Sure enough, sitting at a desk at the end of the room was Atsuko.
She was monitoring Lucia who was wired up to a tiny machine which was placed on the desk behind her. It had wires leading out of it, which attached to the back of her neck.
Atsuko Viola: ‘...and p...please r...remember to tell me if you f...feel any d...discomfort, Lucia.’
Lucia nodded to Atsuko, but she was also staring at me.
I signalled for her not to make my presence aware, so she returned her main focus to Atsuko.
Atsuko Viola: ‘(looking down at a small screen on a device.) ‘Ok….T...these were as I e...expected t...them to be. T...thank you so much for allowing m...me to run these t...tests Lucia.’
Atsuko unplugged the device from the back of the girls head.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Oh, a...and if you f...feel any tingling, p..please come and g...get me right away. I'm a...always here if you need me.’
Lucia Ais: ^Thank you kindly Atsuko.^
Atsuko Viola: ‘(Embarrassed) ‘I r...really wish I k...knew sign language. I...i'm so sorry. It w...would make t...this a whole lot easier.’
X.D: ‘...Well, I can happily translate for you...’
Atsuko hastily turned on the spot.
X.D: ‘...I mean, if Lucia doesn't mind me speaking through her on…’
She rushed over and wrapped her arms around me tightly. She nestled her head gently against my chest.
Atsuko Viola: (Head against my chest, muffled) ‘I m...missed you so much…’
I hugged her back.
X.D; ‘...I missed you too.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘(Breaking from the hug) W...when the others came back w...without you and M...miu, I got so worried.’
X.D; ‘(Rubbing her hair) I was more worried for you. I hope you haven't kept yourself cooped up in here all week.’
She looked down at the floor and rubbed the back of her head with her hand.
Atsuko Viola: ‘W...well...I...er...I s..spent allot of time w...working on the m...machines and…’
X.D: (Crossing arms) ‘I’ll take that as a no then.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘I...i've just been so busy , I…’
I patted her on the head.
X.D: ‘Come on, let's go out for a bit. Lucia, would you like to join us?’
Lucia Ais: ^Thank You for the offer, but I wouldn't want to intrude. Go and have fun!^
X.D: ‘Very well then.’
Atsuko grabbed her coat from the coat rack next to the door, and we headed out. This time, to save me the effort, we did end up taking the elevator.
Once we made it outside, Atsuko put on her little woollen coat. Although it was rather sunny, there was still a nip of cold in the air.
X.D: ‘(Walking side by side with Atsuko) So, has anyone opened up a coffee shop whilst I was gone?’
Atsuko Viola: (Giggling) ‘No, Coffee s...shops aren't e...exactly everyone's first p...priority.’
X.D: ‘Hmmmm, in that case, follow me.’
We strolled along the cobbled paths of the village. As we went, we both admired the new buildings. Even in it's newly formed state, the small district seemed more elegant than most other buildings I have ever seen.
But, all of this came at the cost of constant noise, and crowds of people. Although we didn't really speak to one another due to the crowd, I could feel that Atsuko wanted to say so much. So, I did my best to make her feel more comfortable.
X.D: ‘Want to go somewhere a bit more quiet?’
She hastily gave me a clarified nod.
I knew exactly where to go to relax. Somewhere I had noticed on my way back.
Backtracking from this morning, I arrived back at the exit of the wall with Atsuko behind me.
Atsuko Viola: ‘(Tugging my arm) W..where are w...we going Xyro?’
X.D: ‘You'll see.’
Moving back outside the walls, I followed the path back towards the dock. But, as we reached half way, I turned and went off the main road, down a footpath.
Along the way the two of us noticed the abundance of decaying wood, shattered concrete and ash left behind from the previous fight. Even though days had passed since then, everything still remained as vile as the day it happened.
Turning around a small bend, I could see exactly where I wanted to go.
In the centre of this town was a rather large hill, and at the top, a great oak tree. Even though the war, it stood strong. Watching as the inevitable doom swept beneath it.
So, tracking up the hill, I seated myself under its shade, stretching my arms out under the back of my head.
Atsuko Seemed hesitant to sit, but she finally found a comfortable spot beside me.
Atsuko Viola: ‘T..thank You for b...bringing me here. It's n...nice and quiet.’
X.D: ‘(Calmly) No problem.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘(Staring out over the devastation) ‘It's tragic to t...think that we were the c...cause of all this. These w..were people's homes.....n..now they're nothing…’
X.D: ‘Then again, where these truly homes? I mean, everyone seems happier building the place up from scratch, since there making it to how they see fit. Atsuko, we may have caused this, but we are also to thank for the beginning of a rebellion...’
I paused.
X.D: ‘...although to be honest, that's not what I care about.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘ (Remaining silent for a while.)....I understand.’
X.D: ‘You do?’
She nodded.
Atsuko Viola: ‘W...we all want the same thing Xyro. W...with the devices, we can m...make it happen. We can l...leave this all behind us.’
Not exactly what I meant, but she got the bigger picture.
Atsuko Viola: ‘Xyro, c...could I ask you s...something?’
X.D: ‘Sure. fire away.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘W...when Yuuto finds the n..next location for the i...information we need, c...could you stay h...here, please? It's just, I n...need you.’
She kind of paused realised she had paused, blushed, and then went back hastily to talking.
Atsuko Viola: (Blushing deeply) ‘I n..need you to t...translate Lucia for me. It w...would help out allot.’
That right there was a true save.
X.D: ‘Of course. I would be happy to help.’
Although that mission was rather short, It had knocked every last bit of energy out of me. All I really wanted to do was rest for a few days. But, like me, the sky was growing tired too. The sun was already beginning to settle behind the horizon, and the clouds were set alight with a golden outline.
X.D: ‘Atsuko, could you do me a favour?’
Atsuko Viola: ‘Oh, s...sure.’
X.D: ‘Close your eyes for a second’
Atsuko Viola: ‘(Confused) ...O...Ok…’
She closed her eyes. Taking the item out of its box, I carefully placed it around her neck and made sure to fasten the ends so that it wasn't on too tight or too loose.
X.D: ‘Ok, you can open them now.’
As she opened her eyes, she went into a stunned silence.
I stood in front of her with a small mirror. Around her neck, was a necklace which had every precious gem on earth moulded into a music note. The carving was made with such elegance, that the welded gem’s seemed as if they had been formed together naturally.
X.D: ‘Do you like it? I even made sure to get your favourite song etched onto the chain links.’
She remained staring into the mirror in disbelief.
Atsuko Viola: (Close to tears) ‘It's….so beautiful…’
She then stared up at me.
Atsuko Viola: ‘I….I don't know what to say…’
X.D: ‘You don't need to say anything.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘X...Xyro….I….’
Lewis Sterge: ‘(Just off in the distance) ‘Hey, kid!’
Lewis rushed up the hill, red-faced. He seemed completely out of breath by the time he arrived next to us.
Lewis Sterge: ‘(Panting, hands on knees) ….man...I'm out of shape…’
He took in a few deep breaths and stood tall.
Lewis Sterge: ‘Kid, Yuuto scanned the info and found the next drop off point for the teleportation devices. They were last reported being shipped off to new Japan.’
He looked at the both of us.
Lewis Sterge: ‘*Awkwardly* did...I interrupt something?’
Atsuko Viola: (With obvious disappointment in her eyes)‘N...no, it's f...fine. But, w...what's new japan?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Well, turns out the world's a bit more different than we originally thought. A few places got blown to smithereens, so Japan took to the sky…’
X.D: ‘I don't follow you.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Japan got rebuilt on floating, islands. The whole place is just a floating city.’
Atsuko Viola: ‘b..b.but...how is that e...even possible?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Don't ask me about this kind of thing, cause I have no clue. You should ask Yuuto yourself Atsuko.’
X.D: ‘Couldn't this have waited until we got back?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Sorry kid, but it's important. We need to send out another team today, so Yuuto told me to come and ask you again. Interested?’
I looked back at Atsuko, who gave me the puppy dog eyes.
X.D: ‘Sorry Lewis, but I'm pooped. I'm going to sit this one out.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Very well. You do realise this means that we are sending out Davis, Crystal and Ryu, right?’
That gave me some time to pause.
X.D: ‘Why them in particular?’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Look, kid, we are in the same boat, as well as Miu. Dakota is too… clumsy…. for this mission considering that they would be mostly walking over bridges in the sky. Besides that, everyone else is busy with other things. In fact, the only person available on Kiri’s team is Ronnie, since the rest of them are on capt’n’s orders.’
I was contemplating switching myself out with Ryu.
But I realised that this would be good for my brother. He wanted some way to prove himself, so this should have made him feel better about himself.
X.D: ‘As long as they stick together, they should be fine. I would make sure to have Ronnie go with them, though. That memory stick would be more than useful to get into the facility.’
Lewis Sterge: ‘Well, everyone’s back in the pyramid at the moment if you want to say goodbye. They leave in two hours.’
With that, he made his way back towards the walls.
Helping Atsuko to her feet, we held hands Until we reached the top floor of the pyramid. Although I didn't see it that day, Atsuko said she smiled all the way.
As we walked through the door to the control room, everyone was gathered around a hologram of Yuuto’s head in the centre of the room.
X.D: ‘Wow. I didn't realise your head could get any bigger!’
Miu Shizuka: ‘*Laughing* That's exactly what I said!’
Yuuto Ito: ‘*Sigh* Do you want the information or not because I'm not here to be made fun of!’
We all went silent to let Yuuto carry on with his speech.
Yuuto Ito: ‘...As I was saying, Since Xyro’s not going, you will be in charge Ryu. Crystal, Davis, Since Ryu is…… Well…. Weaker than a field mouse being run over by a harvester, it's up to you two to keep him safe.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘(Spitefully) I'm not weak!’
Miu poked him lightly, and he made a small yelp of pain.
Yuuto ito: ‘(Under his breath) ...Yeah right… (Normally) ..Anyway, the point is the three of you will be going up there, taking the information from the facility, then cutting off the power to that singular island and letting it crash into the sea. Remember to cut off all connection to the other islands so it doesn't end up bringing the other islands down with it. Got that?’
All three of them together: “got it.”
Yuuto Ito: ‘Great. That's literally all I need to say. Anyone else got any other input?’
X.D: ‘Shouldn't Ronnie join them? After all, he’s the one with the memory stick.’
Yuuto Ito: ‘Oh yeah! Ronnie, get your finger out of the drive!’
All this time, Ronnie had been awkwardly kneeling next to the computer with his memory stick-finger in one of the ports. Removing his finger, he placed the tip of it back on.
Ronnie Manning: ‘Another holiday? You guys are really treating me!’
Yuuto Ito: Well, The four of you have an hour to pack your stuff. We have a low-orbit carrier ship outside to transport you to the city undetected. If everyone's done, I'm going back to playing solitaire.’
His hologram disappeared back into the main console.
X.D: ‘The four of you are definitely ok with this?’
Crystal: ‘(Happily) I'm more than ok! I get to see a floating city!’
Davis rolled his eyes, whilst Mr Wiggles did what he did best.
As the two went to grab their bags, I placed my hand on Ryu’s shoulder.
X.D: ‘Be careful out there please.’
Ryu Jianar: ‘I don't plan on not being careful.’
X.D: ‘*Patting his shoulder* Good. whelp, go get them, brother. I believe in you!’
Placing his gun strap over his shoulder, Ryu and the others were all packed and ready to go within the hour.
As the standard craft arrived, the four of them boarded.
Making sure to keep Mr Wiggles away from the potential danger, Crystal handed the tiny shroom over to Atsuko to keep him safe and sound in her lab.
Although I never really showed it, I was worried allot for my brother. I hate to admit it, but everyone has doubts somehow, and it will make you want to be there 100% of the way to protect them if you can. But, sometimes, you have to let people go in order to prove their worth to themselves.
As the ship flew off into the sky, the rest of us waved after it.
All we saw was the outline of the metal as it faded into the melting canvas of the sky, as it was slowly engulfed by the night.
…
Well, that's where I will end off for the day. After that, all I did was relax by watching Mr Wiggles dance with Atsuko and Lucia in the lab, before eventually going back to bed.
So, I guess you're eager to find out what happens next, aren't you?
…
Find out next time on Me, Myself and the Multiverse!
….
If you can't tell, I'm grinning to myself here.
You all know what's coming next, so, here it is!
(End of chapter Seven)