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Darcia

"This one awaits command input."

0 · 5,334 views · located in Earth || 3020

a character in “A Garden for Sinners”, as played by Ion

Description




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Darkness
⌈This one would like to know
 what is a sinner?⌋




|Theme|

Vienna Teng || Landsailor
Florence + The Machine || All This and Heaven Too
Daughter || Smother
AFI || Love Like Winter
AFI || Silver and Cold
Blue Stahli || Ready Aim Fire




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⌈To be human
 this one wonders what that might be like. All it has ever known is being as it is.⌋




⌈Nickname⌋
[ Technically, even Darcia (pronounced DAR-shuh), is a nickname, as she has no proper name at all, but rather a number. Those who are privy to her nature will often refer to her as Project Zero, or even just Zero. Also sometimes called the Red Lily. ]

⌈Age⌋
[ 2 ]

⌈Gender⌋
[ Female ]

⌈Species⌋
[ Android ]

⌈Role⌋
[ The Prototype ]

⌈Face Claim⌋
[ Aika Fuwa | Zetsuen no Tempest ]




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⌈A veneer of flesh to hide the mechanical expanse beneath. Was it for their comfort, or the comfort of this one?⌋




⌈Hair Color⌋
[ Wheat | Golden Brown ]

⌈Eye Color⌋
[ Amethyst ]

⌈Skin Tone⌋
[ Porcelain ]

⌈Height⌋
[ 5’2” ]

⌈Weight⌋
[ 110 ]

⌈Physical Description⌋
[ No aspect of Zero’s design was neglected, and that most certainly includes her exterior. Modeled after the most enduring and persistent ideals of femininity, it is easy to see that her designers were attempting physical perfection in her design, and if they did not succeed, they were certainly exceptionally close. She is small, and constructed of very lightweight, but exceedingly strong materials, making her nearly unbreakable down at the very core of her construction. Unlike many other androids, however, she was extensively modeled after humanity, and has many of the same features as organic species, including synthetic skin, hair, and nerve endings. She is entirely anatomically human, really, save that her synthetic blood is more violet than red, and of course she does not need to eat or drink to survive.

Why make her capable of most human functions without making them necessary? The answer to that is rather simple—Zero was designed to be mistaken for human. Only under very close observation will it become apparent that she isn’t one. For example, her hair, rather than being human hair, is actually a synthetic compound mostly woven from silk and spider-threads, giving it an unusual tensile strength, but also an unnaturally-soft, liquid texture. It is colored within the range of human possibility however, a shade just dark enough that it can’t really be called blonde. Rather, it is the lightest of browns, with hints of gold running through it. It is trimmed neatly and precisely, giving her the impression of someone meticulously well-kept.

Her eyes, slightly almond-shaped and framed by exceptionally thick, long lashes, are a deep purple color, like an amethyst held up to the sun, and seem always to be studying her surroundings with a sort of innocent curiosity. They can be used telescopically or as infrared vision devices, but to do so produces a backlight in them that is unnatural, and so she is discouraged from doing so when there are humans about. She was built quite small, but shapely, the false flesh around her reinforced skeleton given a woman’s curvature, but retaining the overall impression of great delicacy, something quite misleading considering what she is. Her skin is of course flawless, given that she is not subject to genetic mars in it, but it retains the warmth and suppleness of human skin. Though a few things about her might seem a bit unusual, and certainly uncommonly striking, it is very difficult to guess that she is not human at all, and this was the intent. ]




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⌈This one is the first of its kind. It is unsure if it will be the last.⌋




⌈Potential Interest⌋
Dubious: Though anatomically close enough to human and indeed possessed of a limited degree of emotion, Darcia is at best what one would term an ingĂ©nue or an innocent—such things are not even within her realms of thought, let alone those of her experience.

⌈Skills
⌋
    ★ Processing || Darcia has better processing speed and memory than most top-of-the-line computers, which is perhaps not unexpected, considering the resources that were put into her creation. Practically, this means that her reaction times are unnaturally-quick, and her propensity for calculating probabilities and the mathematics of motion unparalleled. She’s likely quick enough to duck a bullet, though there’s really very little reason for her to bother.
    ★ Domestic Programming || Built with the two main android functions in mind, Darcia is designed to essentially be the perfect companion. Part of that means having a wide range of domestic skills aimed to increase the comfort of the humans around her. To this end, she can cook, clean, garden, treat injury, and a wide range of other miscellaneous skills.
    ★ Bodyguard Protocols || The other half of her programming was primarily oriented towards combat and aggression, but she is at her very best when there is a target to protect from outside harm, and threats to eliminate while doing so. That’s a different skillset than straight-out fighting, because it’s a much more complicated task, with more factors to weigh. She is very, very good at it.

⌈Abilities⌋
    ✠ Enhancement || Being at core a machine, she does not suffer from human limitation. She is faster, stronger, and capable of greater athletic feats than humans are, and that’s just the truth of the matter. She also does not need to eat or sleep, and as long as she doesn’t run out of power, she will never tire.
    ✠ Durability || Her skeleton is made of an extremely lightweight, but incredibly strong metal, and her inner circuitry is protected by much of the same. Because of the parts of her that were meant to replicate humanity, she can feel pain through her nerve receptors, but is also capable of shutting off this function in an emergency, meaning that she can in fact become impervious to injury. If she loses a limb or tears her synthetic flesh, she knows how to repair herself, though naturally it take s some time and resources to do so.
    ✠ Cloaking Mechanism || Of the same sort as one sees on especially-official vehicles, Darcia can activate her own cloaking mechanism to bend light around herself and render her form invisible to ordinary eyes or even night vision. She still gives off heat, however, and is thus visible to infrared sensors.




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⌈It does not mind questions, but it regrets to inform you that it has very few answers to give.⌋




⌈Habits⌋
    ☁ Self-Reference || Darcia refers to herself in the third person, as either “this one” or “it.” It seems to be part of her programming, though if she is asked to refer to herself in the first person for the sake of blending, she can. Her default setting, however, seems to be third-personal.
    ☁ Tidying || Her domestic protocols are the ones active when nothing else in particular is going on, and so she habitually neatens things, and will engage in more thorough cleaning if time and circumstances permit. Given that she has no need to sleep or eat, they usually do, and any dwelling place she ever lives in is generally immaculate when she leaves it.
    ☁ Sketching || Given that Darcia’s image memory is perfect, she has a lot of subjects to choose from when drawing or painting, and will often do so as a way to reflect on the data she has accumulated. Anything that has made a significant impression on her, whatever the reason, usually makes it into her sketchbook.




⌈Likes⌋
    ჩ Plants || Plants are very rare under the domes, but Darcia is very enamored of them, especially flowers. The way they smell and feel is of much interest to her, and she has been fortunate enough to visit the actual botanical garden in the government’s inner sanctum, where more varieties of plant grow than anywhere else. Her creators made gardening part of her domestic protocols, and so she likes to do it, and will often visit the gardens when there is nothing else presently needing her attention.
    ჩ The Sun || Though the sunlight through the domes is diluted, she likes it all the same. Darcia’s primary energy source is solar power, though she does have alternative methods of gaining energy should she be deprived of it. In some sense, she herself is much like a flower, or so her creator was fond of telling her.
    ჩ Her Creator || The man who crafted and designed much of Darcia is deceased now, assassinated by rebels before his project could ever yield more than one specimen—Darcia herself. She remembers him well, however, and feels affection for the memories, and the person in them.

⌈Dislikes⌋
    ✘ Violence || Designed in no small part to be a weapon, it is a strange quirk of Darcia’s programming that she doesn’t like it much, and will in fact often go out of her way not to hurt people. That said, she is under the control of the government, and bound by her very makeup to follow orders, so there isn’t much she can do about it.
    ✘ Dirt and Disorder || Well, it’s in her protocols to be neat and orderly as much as possible, not to mention efficient, so it makes sense that she naturally abhors disorder and grime, as well as more insidious chaos, like collateral damage. She is a weapon, yes, but more akin to a scalpel than a sledgehammer—precise and with no wasted effort.
    ✘ Inhuman || Darcia is a bit of a lonely creature, being possessed of humanlike thoughts and even some degree of emotion, without actually being human herself. It has made her sad for her status, and wishful that she, too, could be a human being. This, of course, is entirely impossible, and she knows it, but she is just close enough to feel sadness at that.




⌈Strengths⌋
    ♩ Android || Though she would not say so, there are those who would claim that what Darcia is is more than or beyond humanity. Her strength, speed, precision, and intellect are all far above ordinary human levels, and this is a serious advantage when doing the kinds of things the government has her do.
    ♩ Data Processing || In addition to the raw computing power of the world’s most advanced technology, she can also interface with government databases and other sources of information at any ordinary technological control board, such as those found integrated in most homes. If she so desired, she could probably hack most, if not all, of that information, but due to standing orders, she is restricted from doing so.

⌈Weaknesses⌋
    ☯ Obedience Protocol || The biggest weakness of any android is that it must do what its master commands of it. Darcia’s override codes are known only to a few, but temporary ones are often handed out to anyone she has to do missions with, for instance. In this sense, she is always the subordinate entity in any situation of importance, and bound to the commands of other people, rather than her own will. Most androids lack the ability to care about this, but Darcia’s strange manifestation of emotional capability means it can sometimes cause her stress.
    ☯ Inexperience || Being only two years since her inception, Darcia is still very ignorant of much of the world. She is an exceptionally quick learner, but one does not learn without exposure, and she has had precious little of that.




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⌈This one does not think it was supposed to have a personality at all.⌋




⌈Personality⌋
Quiet | Gentle | Naive | Tactical


It is a well known fact that all androids are sociopathic—incapable of feeling any empathy whatsoever. Beyond that, they simply don’t have emotions. They exist for the comfort and benefit of humans, their highest priority the execution of any command given. Most such creations are simply for the maintenance of households or the running of certain more dangerous public services. They are simple in that sense, and without personalities, metal shells for walking computers, more or less.

Project Zero is different.

Created to be as humanlike as possible, one could argue that her creator, Solomon Engels, was attempting to play God. He gave her not only a fusion of the two main functions of any android—protection and domestic maintenance—but also a humanlike skin, human nerve endings, and, whether intentionally or not, some degree of human emotion. Some suspect that he must have known what he was doing in programming Zero, for why give a creature tear ducts if it was never meant to cry? Regardless, she does have emotions. They are not especially overt, but they are present. She can feel affection and happiness and melancholy and even some degree of anger, though she lacks the most extreme version of each. That may not be the case forever, though, because it seems that she is actively growing as an entity, her emotions and sentiments developing as she is exposed to more of the world, and more people.

Of course, she is still sorely lacking in such exposure relative to anyone else. She spends most of her time in a central government facility, with minimal contact with anyone. It has left her very ignorant of the workings of the wider world, a place she only sees for brief periods of time on missions. When she does get the opportunity to interact with humans, she is as subservient as any other android, save that she seems to have the independent inclination to speak or ask questions without being spoken to. She won’t do so if it’s rude, of course, but nevertheless, she seems to be capable of independent thought and even concern. On missions, this is somewhat useful, should her handler be indisposed or otherwise incapable of issuing orders, for she can act without being directly commanded to do so. She is highly strategic, tactical, and precise in instances such as this, and executes her mandates with a surgical excellence that betrays the quality of her craftsmanship.




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⌈Its history is very short, it thinks, and very uninteresting.⌋




⌈History⌋

The red lily will bloom in winter.

It was something Solomon Engels was fond of saying, as one would recite a proverb or similar piece of wisdom. It was also the premise upon which Darcia was created in the first place. Though to most everyone in the government who knew about her, she was Project Zero, to her designer and creator, she was always Darcia Engels, the closest thing to a daughter he would have, and in some ways, vastly preferable to a human child. She was the Red Lily, the epitome of the skills of the most brilliant engineering mind in a century, and the first and last android he would ever build. Of course, that was not the government’s plan—they wanted an entire fleet of beings like her. But Engels deviated from the plan on several accounts and then destroyed his notes, leaving only Darcia behind—imperfect, flawed, and singular.

Nobody is really sure if his assassination was the work of the rebels or the government, and in the end, it probably didn’t matter. The government ws afraid he’d take his brilliance to the other side, and the rebels were afraid he’d get around to making that android army eventually, so perhaps both groups wanted him dead, and who got to him first is only a technical detail. Whatever the case, the whole of his legacy is Darcia, and for that reason, she has ben extensively studied, in an attempt to replicate her without her flaws, thus far to no success. She is therefore employed by the government, for at the very least, her obedience protocols are still in place, and that makes her quite useful.

Less useful is her curiosity—her stated desire to know more of the world. She wants to see what is beyond her walls and cages, but she lacks the ability to do so on her own, at least for the most part. As it stands, the only time she is allowed to leave the government buildings is during her missions, and those are seldom. Why use a grenade when a bullet would do, after all?




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⌈They do not say it out loud, but this one sees the ways they look at it. It is flawed, they all think so, because it can feel. Is it ironic that this realization makes it feel even more? It feels
 sorry, that it has disappointed them.⌋



So begins...

Darcia's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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⌈Everything is really simple, the only complex thing is...⌋

Solla was not really the kind who remembers all the difficult stuffs. Moreover, she does not like thinking about complicated things too much. Plus, she has no idea what Dietrich was saying about. Why is there a tree? Or even a fruit? Is it delicious? All the statements he had stated was not computing in her thought process at the moment. Then, there was about good and evil. How did her saying that she was Eden lead to that conclusion? Truly confusing, she would not even waste time of being concerned about it. However, Dietrich was confirming it to her. This was harder than she had expected.

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She pouted noticeably at this and looked at Dietrich dejectedly. "I don't understand what you're saying." To further prove this point, the portion between her eyebrows was scrunched for thinking really hard what he exactly meant. "Can you speak more plainly?" She requested with her big golden eyes imitating what most would call puppy eyes. There was also a light pinkish color staining her cheeks. She was indeed a bit embarrassed about saying that. Because right now, it seemed that she was not helping at all especially when Caine told her that she was here to help. "Anyway, what I can I help you with?"

Her eyes landed on Ilyana as she had noticed a folder handed. She was aware what it was about as the important facts had been encoded into the most secured database of the Network. So, there was no need for her to be oriented. She knew well what it was about and what it could possibly be for. To say the least, it was very interesting to do and acquire the needed ingredients as she had labeled it. "Am I going to help Ilyana with it or I'm going to help you with another?" She asked as her attention had now returned to him. If he is concerned about secrets and confidentiality, there was no problem with that. She can keep secrets as long as it is needed. Rather, she was really an expert on it. "I can keep secrets well! So, don't worry!" Yep, she could assure him of that.


⌈the factor known to many as being human...⌋

There is the feisty girl he knows well. Uno could not help but have a small smile graced his lips. It was neither mischievous nor was it arrogant. He was just content with her being able to retort with him like that again. This was more fitting for the both of them. Although, the pinkish tone of her face did not go unnoticed by him. This made him smirked. "Oh, but you liked to be twisted by me really don't you?" After saying that, he leaned on the headboard and looked at Stella who told him to sit for she will be the one to look for what he needed. Well, he would let her to do that.

When she returned, he looked at the needed medical tools and medicine which he needed. His eyes looked at it and nodded with approval. She could be a good nurse and medical assistant. There was no need for him to dictate what was needed. She then commented about his resistance to drugs. Well, there was true behind the points she stated. However, there was also a plus to it since his current choice of profession. There was nothing for him to be worried about dealing with poison which he often dabs with as it is helpful with his methods. He shrugged at this notion.

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"Well, everything has a downside. Just have to live with it like everybody else." He removed the initial bandages wrapped around his wound as he stated that with a non-consequential tone. "Plus, I don't need it that badly. I heal fine." His flesh was now fully revealed along with his injury which had opened through his constant moving. But, it was not looking as badly as it should be judging by how the android stabbed him thoroughly. Normally, a person should have instantly died or could not even move since it had only been just a day. She then asked if he needed her help with it. Well, there was nothing wrong with that. Moreover, he did have her help him with putting on a splint. Although, he did not like being helped in his own medical recovery. Well, he could allow her for the second time around. He grabbed hold of the bioadhesive and placed it on his wound. After that, he took the bandages laid out before him. "You could wrap this around me then."


⌈However, I am no longer human. Yet why am I complicated?⌋

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The Madame could not help but smile at Darcia. She was more perceptive than Crux. Well, the boy was being hindered by his necessity and strict adherence to rules. "You're really are a splendid child, less with what I can say with him." Upon hearing this, Crux did not avert his eyes from the discerning look from the Madame. He was used to it already. There was another sigh from the older woman as she focused her attention to Darcia for now. "The question which should be ask is why." She stated with a sincere tone. There was certainly more to this mission than the two of them could ever know at this point. Furthermore, this scenario was created.

"Teleus would gain more benefits from allowing EDEN to prosper. Did it not occur to you that perhaps someone else is behind of this?" Crux stood from his seat. "There is no need for that. All we need to do is finish the mission given to us. No questions." Yes, he is firm advocate of orders from the looks of it. This made the Madame shook her head and stand from her seat as well. "I will say this because I care about you Crux. You are needed and you will be given an order which will endanger you soon enough." She then looked at Darcia thoughtfully and then back at him. "You will say you will follow it no matter what. But that is blindness. You of all people should clearly see. So, look. Both of you."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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#, as written by Ion



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“I’ve never really cared much for other people, to be perfectly frank.”



Dietrich was thoroughly unimpressed with the girl’s expression of uncomprehending puzzlement. He wasn’t here to tell stories; this was supposed to be an aid to his research. And it was, but not because she was helping him in any fashion, at least not in the way she seemed to conceive of it. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he glanced over at Ilyana, who had been following the conversation while also beginning the initial mathematical calculations required for the project he’d just handed her. She looked back at him, and for a moment, they were having an argument without saying a word, at the end of which she sighed.

“You can help me, Solla,” she offered gently. The girl seemed hopelessly naïve and narrowly-educated, but Ilyana had a feeling she would do better with math than mythology anyway. “And I’ll explain the story to you, if you like.” Standing, she drew Dietrich’s chair over to her desk, raising an eyebrow over her glasses at him as if daring him to protest. He considered it, but in the end, decided not to. It was enough of a concession that he would be free to look over that data—in light of what he had just inferred, there were other Network readings he wanted to cross-check.

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Ilyana, on the other hand, smiled softly at Solla and patted the desk chair beside her. “How much do you know about theoretical maths, Solla?” The calculations would go much faster if they could both do them, because it wasn’t anything that their computers were yet sufficient to handle. She supposed Darcia might be able to do it, but then Darcia understood theory better than a mere computer would. She was interested in learning how much Solla understood as well, and she would certainly be able to explain Dietrich’s metaphor as well.




“They never keep their promises, and they always betray me in the end.”



It was definitely true that the wound had healed better than she would have expected after only a day, but then she was a girl who recovered from a broken bone in a matter of a couple of hours, so it wasn’t that difficult for her to accept. It did make her wonder though—normal people really shouldn’t be capable of that. But then
 she wasn’t sure she knew any normal people anymore. Her world had been forcibly narrowed to Violet, Cass, that Ringmaster guy, and the two who were trying to kill her. Everyone else was completely extraneous to her at the moment, probably because what was going on was so far outside reality as most people understood it that she doubted she’d ever be able to relate to anyone normal again.

It was a rather sad prospect, she thought, picking up the bandages indicated and sitting herself down on the side of the bed so she could reach. Belatedly, she realized she felt a little weird about this, and cursed her stupid hormones. It was ridiculous really, but there you had it. She was barely eighteen, and sometimes she actually remembered that. Shaking her head slightly, she suppressed the weird little twisting in her stomach at the sight of so much skin, and focused on the wound, which made her worry more than anything. There was a feeling she was okay dealing with right now.

With a sure hand, she wound the bandages around his torso, long practiced at this much at least from doing something similar to animals. Actually this was easier—he struggled less, even the few times her fingers accidentally brushed bare flesh. At least she never touched the wound itself. That might have made her actually feel bad.

She was tying them off when her thoughts were interrupted by something. Quite suddenly, her HUD device and Uno’s both flared to life, displaying a screen with an unfamiliar logo. The same happened to every other visible screen in the house, and Stella’s eyes went wide.

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“My apologies; I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” The voice was unfamiliar and masculine, but sounded neither hostile nor threatening, but rather quiet and almost paternal. It reminded her of her uncle’s voice, just a little. Despite herself, Stella jumped back, standing from her spot on the bed and backing up several paces. There was evidently no intruder in the house—the voice was coming from the communicators. Apparently, whomever was on the other end had a visual of them, because when her head turned towards hers with a puzzled frown, he spoke again. “Ah. I suppose you might be wondering how I’m able to speak to you through a non-Network device. Very clever, by the way; that’s not easy to do. Suffice it to say that these things are a hobby of mine.” She could almost hear him smiling, and true to form, Stella was on the defensive immediately.

“Yeah, okay smartass, now tell me who the hell you are.” She crossed her arms over her midsection and glared as hard as she could at the screen projecting from her HUD device.

The voice chuckled softly. “A friend, Miss Iaret. That I promise you. But I don’t expect you to take my word for it. Unfortunately, you don’t have much choice. If I can find you, I could certainly tell the government where you are. As it happens, I won’t. I believe Cassius may have mentioned me to you—he told me you wanted to meet me. Please, call me Prometheus.”




“And people die.”



Darcia was not quite sure what to make of what the Madame told them in the wake of her question. She was, perhaps, a little more curious than her partner by nature, perhaps because her adherence to orders was simply a given. She had no other choice, not even the illusion of one—her obedience protocols ensured that. So, she was sometimes permitted to ask such things as why, because even if the answer did not satisfy her, she was not able to do anything about it. Still, enough people had discouraged this in her that she had almost given up on it.

Madame Blossom, however, seemed to be encouraging it, and everything she said seemed to be correct. The government had much more to gain from Project EDEN than to lose from it, and yet
 at every turn, the project had been culled. Why continue to attempt it then? It didn’t make any sense. She was not sure it mattered for her, but
 maybe there was something she could not see. Perhaps she really was blind, but would her programming even allow her to open her eyes? The answer to that question was one she simply did not have.

Regardless, the talk seemed to have concluded, as the Madame left them, or more specifically Crux, with a warning. Darcia rose from where she was sitting, and bowed politely. “Thank you for your time and information,” she intoned in her melodic voice, and then she turned to her partner, as if to ask if there was anything else they ought to do or ask before they took their leave.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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⌈To reach new heights and break limitations...⌋

Without much of a hesitation, Solla looked at Ilyana happily. She was going to help her out and that made her very excited and quite pleased. It was in her nature to make people happy and that is the driving force of everything that she does. "Okay!" She went towards Ilyana and then sat on the chair given to her. Glancing at Dietrich, she wondered why he can't be the one to explain to her. Isn't he supposed to be super-smart and the leader of the Science Division? Well, Ilyana was offering so, there was no harm learning about it. Although, she did have access of similar wordings and matches to the holy scripture or bibles. "Ilyana can tell me what Dietrich meant? Then do it!"

Then, she was asked about theoretical math. The current technology and computer AI are not enough to comprehend this analyzer that Caine had proposed. Yes, she was well-aware what it was for. A formula must be created to enter into the main processing unit and from that, it would be able to closely predict at most humanity's penchant to do crime.

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Her eyes narrowed as all the available monitors or screens were overtaken as numerous mathematical equations of unknown origins were being integrated into a digitalized codec into the Network. This rather boosted the performance of current process of the computer immediately. "Creating something new from the old or even from out of nothing, the formulation of equations which could solve calculable factors or even those who are yet to be given measures as identified by humans." After stating that, she took a deep breath and then looked at Ilyana with her usual bright smile. She seemed to be more attuned with those who had defined values and meaning than those kind of facts which could be interpreted in many ways. "So, what did Dietrich meant?"


⌈One will create a way from the discarded half-baked lies...⌋

Uno watched Stella wrapped the bandages around his wound. It was from that angle that he recalled that she was barely called an adult based on her age. She was young and was now thrust into a world that she clearly does not want any part of. Well, he could say that it was because of what she really is. But now, how can anyone blame her for that. It was not like she had a say on who she is before her birth. No one really has that. In the end, they are coughed up into this damn thing called life and they had to simply deal with it on their own way. That was pretty much how he viewed his life until now. There was no use thinking or moping about something he could not change.

Anyway, silence continued on. He did not mind others touching or even seeing much of his skin in any way. After all, he did have his own excursions in regards of work and of pleasure. Her unintentional touches were normal at all cost. However, he could sense a degree of uneasiness about it. This earned his curiosity. He could attribute it to the fact that she has a nil experience with the opposite sex. Well, she did say that he was her first kiss. From that, a lot could be explained. The corner of his lips turned upwards as he wanted to tease her a bit. But before that could happen, they were interrupted by a digital guest or if that what they can call it.

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"So, you're the hacker friend then." He stated with wariness reflected well in those sharp orange eyes of his. Well, he could say he was impressed on how he entered the system which he had personally crafted. Prideful as he is, there was no way he would admit that loudly. "I can see your skills is as Cass spoke of. Then, we would like to use your skills." He encoded the four cards appearance into the his HUD knowing that this guy who calls himself, Prometheus, could see. "Are you familiar with them? Also, we would like for you to hack within the Network in regards of the truth behind this so-called EDEN Project."

This guy introduced himself as a friend. If that was so, then he wouldn't mind some things for Stella. "Just to make a point, if you do tell the government where we are. Then, please be certain that I will make it my personal mission to find you and then kill you." True that this guy maybe great with hacking and also probably great at hiding his whereabouts and identity. However, he holds a grudge and there is no way he will never have his revenge no matter what. "So, what do you think?" He was upfront and direct to what is the reason for looking for him. Now, what would the other guy's move be?


⌈Only then shall I determine the purpose I seek...⌋

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"All that matters are orders." Madame Blossom knew how ardently stubborn Crux could be. It was probably why he was able to survive such an experiment done to him without any mental retardation or damages. "We will be taking our leave then. Thank you." He stated with his usual poise of indifference and distant politeness. In any case, Darcia had also bid their farewell as well and was waiting on him. He went towards the door knowing that Darcia will follow. At the same time, there was nothing left for him and the Madame to talk about. "Do you still think that your life is simply a chain of orders until you die?"

Crux was about to open the door as he stopped in midway and slowly turned around to face the Madame. "I exist for orders to be done." He stated with a firm holding to that fact. And then, he looked towards Darcia as he recalled the wish that she had asked of him. It was something he had intended to hold true. "Yet, I will not die. I have a promise to keep." After hearing that, the Madame looked at Darcia and could imagine what had transpired between the two. It might be unthinkable, but this connection was fine for now. "I see then, Good luck to you both. Come and visit me again and at that time bring me a red-feathered bird."

Once that was said, Crux gave a bow and existed the room and soon enough the cafe with Darcia. It seemed that the Madame did give him at least an identity then.

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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“Once, they say, there was a beautiful world, a paradise on earth.”



Ilyana watched the numbers appear rapidly on the screen, scanning over the mathematics for correctness and finding that the vast majority of the formulae would be usable. As it stood, she took Solla’s philosophical point about the nature of mathematics to be incorrect—not even math made things from nothing. But that wasn’t especially important, and she let it pass, calling up a projected keyboard at which she tapped away, moving subformulas and lemmas around into a schema that would get them where they wanted to be. She paused, however, when the girl spoke again, asking after an explanation of what Dietrich had said.

Humming a contemplative note, Ilyana swiped away the keyboard for a moment and fixed her attention on Solla. “Dietrich was making a reference to a very old story,” she explained. It was, she supposed, one of his many quirks. Solomon had shared it, back when he was alive. “As I’m sure you’re aware, EDEN stands for Earthen Defense and Enhancement Network, but the acronym also references the mythical, primordial Garden of Eden.” She’d mentioned being Eden, so it seemed somewhat likely that she at least knew the term. Ilyana folded her hands in front of her thoughtfully.

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“By most accounts, Eden is depicted as a paradise—a place where people were free of burdens of any kinds, where they were innocent and without sin. But if one thinks about the story, the only reason they were innocent was because they did not know what sins and virtues were. They were ignorant of the outside world, or even some features of the world they lived in. In other words, they had no knowledge of good and evil. They were innocent by chance, not by choice.” Or, to put it another way, they did the right thing because they didn’t know any other thing to do, not because they recognized evil and resisted it successfully.

“Dietrich was disparaging circumstances like that, in which people are only happy because they are blind to the truth. As scientists, after all, it is only natural that we continue to seek to understand the world around us, not simply go along blindly, even if that knowledge in the end exposes us to bad things. Some people think that the knowledge is worth the loss of Eden, the loss of our blissful ignorance. So when you called yourself our Eden, he was pointing out that if this was so, then he would be the kind of person who would rather not be kept in ignorance by you, even if the consequences of his knowledge would be harmful in some way.” Or at least, that was a rough translation of the metaphor.

“Does that make sense?”




“But then humans, in their greed and their vainglory, were cast from that paradise, to wander the earth in sin and shame.”



There was a moment of silence while Prometheus examined the images, and in the end, she could hear a huffed exhale on his end, almost like he was holding off a gentle chuckle of amusement. “I’d wondered where these had gotten to. Actually, it is good that you’re the one who has them—they may serve you some use.” The word and symbol covering the screens faded away, leaving them presented with the cards, in order of strength of suit, from spades down to clubs.

Before their eyes, several features of the faces highlighted, converting into segments of code and converged, the images superimposing over one another to form something coherent. Stella wasn’t an expert in computing, but she thought she knew enough to basically recognize what she was looking at. “It’s a
 program?” If so, it was far and away the most complicated program she had ever seen. She could barely decipher the first few lines. It was no wonder even Violet hadn’t been able to put it together—it would have taken a serious genius to even begin to assemble this.

Outside, the sky had gone overcast, and a light drizzle was now hitting the windows. It stole her attention for a moment, and she wondered if it was Cass’s doing, but then recalled that such a thing had been planned for today. Turning back to the screen, she couldn’t say she was all that surprised to hear what came next.

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“It’s part of one. Part of one I wrote, actually. The last part of something very important to me. But the significance for you is actually quite simple—this is administrator-level access to the Network, free from all interference. Or at least all interference that isn’t me, but I don't plan to try and stop you, so there’s that.”

Well. It was no wonder the Ringmaster had wanted to get his hands on it so badly. “And the EDEN project?” she asked, bringing them back around to Uno’s second question. She heard Promethus sigh. “There are many kinds of truth,” he said softly.

“So tell me the one about why the government wants to kill me,” Stella replied, pressing her lips together. Of course, they wanted to kill Violet, too, but mostly because he was helping her. Usually aiding and abetting was not a capital offense, but apparently this situation was different.

“Because you were never supposed to exist in the first place.” There was silence for a long moment, but then Prometheus picked up his own thread, perhaps reading from her expression (however he was doing that) that she wasn’t really sure how to respond. “Make no mistake, the founders of the project and even the scientists working on Phase Two wanted a Flower, a great deal. They believed that if there were more like you, then the world could be restored before it is destroyed. But
 you are more than just a Flower, Miss Iaret. You are the Heir. And there is someone who does not wish to give up her crown to you.”




“To what lengths will they go, to regain what is lost?”



A bird with red feathers? The phrase was somewhat cryptic, but given her hypothesis that the madame would not say anything without a reason, she took it to be important. Metaphor was not the android’s strong suit, but she had read enough literature to have a guess of what was meant. As soon as she and Crux were outside the cafĂ©, she brought it up. “Of the subjects that may still be alive, little visual data is available. However
 Dr. Golikova has red hair. Given the rarity of the genetic trait, it is most likely that her brother, Mikhail Golikov, is the person who has been aiding the targets.” There was a black-and-white rendering of him in the Network, but it was from his years as a child—he was only ten during the initial phase of the EDEN project, and therefore that was poor data to go by for finding him now.

But it seemed almost certain that he was the one the madame was referring to, and so he was most likely the person they were looking for as well. How they were going to go about finding him was a different matter. He was completely nonexistent on the Network, and so it seemed that, unless they could either find someone that knew him or else ran into him randomly on the street, they stood little chance of being able to track him down. Still, she initiated a search program on Network surveillance data, looking for red-haired men who appeared to be in their late twenties or early thirties, as Mr. Golikov was, according to his old files, thirty years of age this year. She added in that she suspected he would be at least six feet tall, because Dr. Golikova was five feet and ten inches, suggesting that the genetic code of their family tended to produce people of above average height.

“Now searching Network data for subjects of approximate physical descriptions. This one will let you know if anything is discovered.” In the meantime, however, they had but a few options. One was to return to Vie and question Dr. Golikova, but Darcia doubted they would learn much. The other was to keep looking, since this was the dome Mr. Golikov was likely to be in, but
 without anything more specific, they would have a problem. Perhaps one of the other GHOST operatives had come up with something in the meantime?

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⌈The land was not as promised and so man created a paradise of their own...⌋

A small nod was Solla's answer to Ilyana's query if she understood. In truth, she did slightly comprehend what was being explained to her it seemed consistent with what she had gotten from the Network. "A bit... So, Dietrich wants to know about me?" Her golden eyes looked at the older woman with concern. What was the sudden cause of that? "But, if he does... he will die." And there was the point of her worry. It would appear that deciphiring her very existence and purpose will lead to a very dangerous end. However, there is a prevalence for her statement. She is a secret which is only for the Prime Minister and Supreme General's confidence before Dietrich had been authorized. As such, it will be of no surprise if those who unravel her are given fatalistic consequences.

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"I don't want that. So, he should not try to get to know me." Her eyes were filled with plead as she did not want to see someone die because of the need to know about her. "Is it because of my name? I called myself Eden, because I'm Solla C. Eden." That is the truth of the matter. Furthermore, there was a bit more to that. "Well, the EDEN Project or the seeds had been conceptualized from me... So, there is that." She suddenly stood from her seat and went towards Dietrich as she was able to place both of her hands on the side of his face. "Why do you want to know me? You don't have to know anymore about me than my name and things I can do to help in your work."

Her hands were trembling in saying that. She was begging him not to dwell anymore about her. "I don't want you to die." It was rather odd for her to say such things as it is firmly established that they had only met just now. So, her concern could also be seen peculiar. Perhaps, she is simply kind and innocent. Someone who does not like seeing anyone suffering or in threat of such matters. "You just do what you are able to do and don't seek anything more to it. When people do, it leads to so much hardship. So, isn't this better?"


⌈On top of many sorrows and millions of corpses, this kingdom was founded upon...⌋

Uno listened to the explanation and gave a nod of understanding upon the analyzation of the cards he asked for. Well, it does sting his pride a bit of losing someone else was more skilled in regards to the manipulation of technology and the Network. In any case, his eyes are transfixed on the cards. Everything about the desire of the Ringmaster obtaining these things now makes sense to him. They would be useful tools indeed in the very near future. For now, he will keep them as an ace of his under the sleeves.

Anyway, his attention was soon taken by the notion of a her. The Prime Minister was a male and from the looks of it the orders of their extermination came from that man. "So, you have an evil stepmother or stepsister, huh." He noted as his eyes glanced on Stella's form. It would seem that the tale of Pandora was becoming more relevant in a way. "From the way, your saying it. You know who really was the cause of the order of killing her." This question was directed towards Prometheus. "Is this person a Flower like you guys are calling her?" His focus was now on Stella. From this point on, they were getting ideas that makes sense. There was truly indeed more to this.

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The rain falling served as a fitting background for the questions they had earlier being answered like a flashing flood. "If this person could influence the most powerful man in the government, then that person is very important and valuable." He had a thoughtful look on his face as he tried to assess who that person could be. But then again, they could just hear the answer from Prometheus. Because right now, the best scenario for those agents to stop chasing after them was to make that person retract the need to eliminate Stella. "So, who is this person?"


⌈Still, they are satisfied with a rose-tinted glass cage.⌋

Crux nodded in acknowledgement in regards to Darcia's initiative. It seemed that there was no need for him to state about the identified living seed. Her comprehension and perceptiveness are getting sharper by the minute. It was good to know that. For now, he assessed inwardly what would be their next step. To go back to the Vie would yield little result, he had no doubt that Ilyana Golikova does not know the whereabouts of her own brother. It is true that he had personally met her. Dr. Golikova was the one who had mentored him with the use of guns. Still, any information will be a good thing for them. He would have another operative interview the doctor for now.

Then, there was rain falling down on them. He looked at the crafted skies and narrowed his eyes. There was no report of having such weather condition. He looked towards Darcia and then to the canine. They were getting wet and somehow, he does not like that. He removed his jacket and placed it over her head. "Come." Afterwards, he guided her and the dog across a nearby awning of a store. They could stay there for now. "Are you two cold?" Then, there was minute sound of beep coming from his comm.

"Crux, this is Cecil reporting." He tapped the comm to allow the flow of communication. "Go ahead." From that permission, Cecil delivered his report that there was an anomaly with the weather patters. There had been no scheduled rain for the day in the Dome 167. At the same time, there had been no intrusions of any kind in the system. This was happening beyond the capacity of the program. "Activate the Third Eye System." There was an affirmation on the other end. He only need to wait for the findings. If this was not a phenomenon created by technology, it would only be right to find readings of abnormal conditions within the Dome's atmosphere which cannot be defined by the Network as normal in its capacity and ability.

Soon enough, the cause has been detected. "Crux. The source has been identified." With a nod, he glanced at Darcia the coordinates should have been given to her. "Lead the way Darcia."

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“I don’t really have time for people who can’t accept the consequences of their actions.”



The nuggets of useful information were couched in useless words. Hot air, if he were being honest. Dietrich, having retrieved several of the files he desired to cross-reference, had pulled them up on his screens, only half-listening to the conversation between Ilyana and Solla, at least until it reached the point where the girl started rambling about how he was going to die and she didn’t want that, or something of an equally ridiculous nature.

He felt strongly his lack of his brother’s patience at times like these. Her demeanor was beginning to annoy him, to say the least. He wasn’t sure why Ilyana didn’t seem to mind it. “Well then it’s really quite simple,” he said, cutting a sideways glance to the girl, his eyes narrow. “If you really don’t want me to die, don’t kill me. It’s easy enough to see that those two spoil you, so even if they wanted to, you should be able to stop them, shouldn’t you?” His tone was so indifferent as to be cutting in its own way, and indeed, Ilyana seemed surprised to hear him talk in such a manner.

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“Don’t speak to me of what I am able to do. The thing about humans is, when you tell them to give up, they are much less likely to actually quit, and in this, I’m no different. I won’t stop searching for the truth, because that is what I do. So stop wasting time. If you think I deserve to die for that, then kill me now, if you think you can. Otherwise, stop telling me not to.” If the metaphor held, then Adam didn’t care if the price of the fruit was death—he was determined to eat it anyway.

“Dietrich!” Ilyana interjected sharply. She was not yelling, but she was also clearly not pleased with what he was saying.

He snorted. “It’s not like I’m going to go telling everyone else. I simply desire to know. And regardless of anyone else’s opinion of my intellect or ability, I will not stop until I do. That’s just who I have chosen to be.” He shrugged, then when back to his documents, ignoring them both entirely. Ilyana sighed, reaching up to massage a temple with one of her hands and adjusting her glasses.

“Please forgive him, Solla. Dietrich is not very good with people.”




“Because, no matter whether it works out for good or ill, I always own up to what I’ve done.”



There was a slight tapping from the other end of the line; presumably, Prometheus was typing something, or looking something up. In the end, he spoke again, his tone solemn. “I wouldn’t call her a flower, no. More like
 a spore, if you like the plant metaphor. Something was taken from her genetic code, and a few other things were refined and added, and from that germ, the Seeds were made. And from the Seeds
 there was you.” Stella pursed her lips, knowing it was to her that he referred. They both seemed to be speaking to her more than each other, though considering she was the common factor here, she supposed it wasn’t all that shocking.

“As for what she is
 it would take hours to explain what I know, and I imagine I still don’t have all of it worked out. The important thing is that the Network is fully accessible to her unless you’re protected by what I just showed you. So be careful.” there was a pause, and more sounds of typing, and when Prometheus returned, he sounded somewhat distracted by something. “Ah, sorry to cut this short, but it would appear I’m needed elsewhere. One more thing before I go though—it would probably be physically easier for you to kill the Prime Minister than to get close to her. She’s kept at Central at all times. Be careful, though, whatever you decide
 Teleus is a Seed as well.” Before so much as a word could be said about that, Prometheus continued. “If you need to contact me, let Cassius know. Until next time. Stay alive, you two.”

With that, the screens dimmed and returned to normal, leaving the two of them in the room with only the sound of the rain outside.

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Stella sighed, sitting down on the sofa and leaning her head against the backrest. “Great. We’ve got government agents trying to kill us, all because some idiot doesn’t want to share. Don’t suppose I can just go explain to them that they can keep whatever I’m heir of, can I?” That would make things so much easier. All she wanted was her damn bookstore back, and her piece and quiet with it. Right?

Cracking her eyes open, she glanced over at Uno. “So
 any brilliant ideas on what we should do now?” If that person was really under such protection, and had full access to the Network besides, they couldn’t just walk right in and find her, no matter how good he was at disguises. This was such a nightmare, and the weak part of her just wanted to curl up into a ball on the sofa until it was over or she was dead, whichever came first. Fortunately, she was not in the habit of letting her weak side have any say in what she did. But even Stella had to admit


“I feel lost,” she confessed in the softest of murmurs. This was all so much bigger than she was, so far beyond anything she’d ever had to deal with before, that she wasn’t even sure what to do with herself. Maybe she really was just an immature child, like Violet had suggested once or twice, but if this was what it meant to be an adult, then she’d happily be a child for the rest of her life.




“Anyone who doesn’t is only lying to themselves.”



Cass looked up at the clouds over his head, hands shoved deep into his pockets, the light rain falling onto the skin of his face, dampening the brick-red hue of his hair. He’d always liked the rain—reminded him of better times. Simpler ones, certainly.

Hey. You said you’re a seed, right? Well, what’s supposed to grow from you then?


It wasn’t a storm—nothing like what he’d generated the night before, to knock out Project Zero. No, this was something different. It was only intended to be a lure, an obvious piece of bait that, even so, they would not be able to resist following. He was the red herring for this little investigation, and that was okay by him. These two agents were formidable, he knew that, but then
 so was he. Even if he wasn’t really the only one left, he was certainly the only one living outside the law this way, the only one who’d had to remain hidden for so long. It was actually kind of nice to be revealing himself like this. At least he wouldn’t be pretending he didn’t exist anymore. Something about that had been too painful, in truth.

Hell if I know. Why do you care anyway?


He could feel the air shifting overhead, the way the individual components of it—Helium, Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Ozone, and many others, danced around one another in a milieu that somehow translated into life. He could isolate any of them, heat or cool them by increasing their speed in tightly-controlled patterns—everything about them was known to him. Every breath he took was like a tiny revelation, another piece of the universe in his lungs, another step closer to what he’d been seeking all along. “She doesn’t remember, you know,” he said to nobody in particular.

Then
 you can be the seed for a bird of paradise. They’re my favorites right now. Someday, you’ll have to grow into one of them, because you’re kind of scrawny looking. So when you do, come back and show me, okay?


The sound of incoming motion was not strictly necessary to alert him to their presence—he could feel the disturbances their motion caused in the air long before he could hear them. Dropping the cigarette he was smoking onto the sidewalk, he ground it down with his heel, then cracked his neck to either side, his eyes still aglow with the residue of his power. Cassius was not like Stella, still young and hardly practiced at his abilities. No, he was rather the opposite of untutored.

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They came into sight about five seconds later, Zero’s violet irises alighting on him immediately. “Mikhail Golikov,” she said confidently, and he smiled slightly.

“That man’s been dead for a long time now,” he replied, apparently not at all worried by their presence here. It probably made it clear that he’d been expecting them, but he didn’t mind if it did. “You can call me Cass.” He paused, flicking his glance fro one to the other. “And I’ll call you Darcia and Crux. None of us is really using the first name they were born with, now are we?” He shrugged, then heaved a short sigh.

“So
 how are we gonna do this? You can try shooting me now if you want.” His tone suggested that he didn’t think it would work especially well.

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⌈See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil. For reality as you know will perish..."⌋

Dietrich's outburst completely silenced Solla. She reintegrated all of his words inside her personal thought bubble. The hands which held his face retracted sharply as if he was in all sense was an infectious disease needed to be avoided at all cost. Her eyes were widened to a great degree as it was transfixed upon him. She was truly in all sense shocked by how he had spoken to her. His conviction was fine and dandy but to speak to her in such a tone was incomprehensible to her. Even Teleus and Caine had not addressed her in such a manner despite the indicated troubles she had caused to them.

She was only taken back from her stupor when Ilyana had told her about forgiving Dietrich as he was not good in dealing with people. However instead of wallowing or moping in the corner like a child would when told off, this initiated a reaction within Solla. A switch had been flipped. "You are like your brother." Her tone was now void of her cheery and gentle demeanor and was replaced with that of a deadly and cold raging hurricane. Her head was now lowered as those big golden eyes of hers were now hidden from anyone's sight. Yet, it was noticeable that all devices were flickering eerily. "Humans are truly selfish creatures. Never learning."

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Raising her head, those golden eyes were now hazed over with something very dark. It was much like the sun shining so brightly without limitations burning everything underneath it. "Know your place, human." A white thick glow surrounded her form. At the same time, the atmosphere within the entire laboratory became very heavy. The flickering of the devices became faster than before. "Death will render your knowledge nothing more but garbage." Upon stating that, the entire Network shut down along with any of its back-up initiatives. There was simply no power. Of course, this included the life-system protocols which made the Vie habitable and functioning as a living environment.

On another location, Teleus looked up from the documents he had been reading. The sudden lack of power and the shutdown of the Network grid had made his conclusion to a reality. This was probably the doing of Solla. He knew that Dietrich will without a doubt trigger such a respond, knowing the scientist's personality. Although, this would also be good for the doctor in regards of him finding the answer. "Sir! The Vie is reaching critical levels before becoming completely inhabitable. We don't know the cause of the termination of the network as well as the failure of back-up reserves." Hendrew appeared before him in a controlled panic. It was to be expected after all, they will die if something is not done. The Dome had become a concrete death trap. "I will be going to Dietrich."

With that said, the Prime Minister stood from his chair and proceeded to leave his office as Hendrew followed him with confusion but with confidence. And this is why, Teleus and Caine practice patience with Solla.


⌈Even so, I will face the ugly realities letting take its hold on me...⌋

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Well, that gave them a lot of angle to work on. Really, there was not much they can do. It seemed that whoever wanted Stella out of the picture was more likely the origin of this EDEN Project. It also meant a very important person kept in the most secured area of all the domes. Saying they had a better chance killing the Prime Minister proves its difficulty along with the fact, that man was also a Seed. So probably similar to that of Cass and Stella. Well, no wonder that man was able to do that to him. In summary they had a better chance to throw a snowball in hell. It was fitting that it was raining it really reflects how much of a downer their current situation is.

Her question of what to do was a good one. Well, there was really not much they can do as he had said. Although, there is that risky plan to think about. "Staying alive would be the best course of action." He noted and suggested by that Prometheus guy who was now out of the loop of their communication devices. Taking a strand of his hair, he twirled around his index finger. He was now in thought of what they should really do to get ahead of this chase. At every corner, those agents were always there. This time, they must do something which they would never predict or even think about. Still, he knew that would be rather hard knowing the resources of those government hound dogs.

He heard her softest of murmurs. Certainly, she was not alone on that thought. "Same here." Uno took a deep breath and rethought everything he had done up to this point. He did what he had to do in order to attack the government and make them pay for making it personal with him. In a sense, he felt lost in a different way. She was probably pertaining to everything happening to her. All of these do not mean anything to her before and he knew that she didn't want it as well. But, she was suddenly thrust into a world bigger than herself. "We could just get lost together then." His eyes looked at Stella but instead of the usual teasing, it held a steady gaze. "Though, we could just find a map."

Once more, he began busying himself with his HUD. "Killing the Prime Minister would do us little as far as I can see for now." Taking a deep breath, he looked at Stella and spoke again. "If she is kept at Central, well, wanting to kill you badly and not wanting to share makes me think this person has spoiled princess syndrome. So, it is possible to lure her out." He looked at Stella with an assessing look and nodded with approval. "You'll be bait." Announcing this simple fact, he had that trademark smirk on his lips again. Although, it was quickly changed into curiosity. His HUD picked up something or rather someone. "Huh?"


⌈Holding on to it tightly as I ripped it apart for my own design.⌋

It did not take long for Darcia to pinpoint the location. He had a notion that this was pretty much an invitation for them. Judging by how well, this Seed hides himself. From those details, he could assume that this was no slip-up. It was for all intent and whatever it could be. He will find out once they are there. Soon enough, they were at the indicated coordinates. Darcia had already identified the red-haired man as Mikhail Golikov. One of the people involved in the EDEN Project and the one abetting fugitives.


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As such, it did not surprise him that this person now preferring to be called as Cass knew about them. It was something he could account for since it meant that running from government authority and steering clear were high on this supposedly deceased individual's cause of action. In addition, he could see that his previous conclusion about this rain being a lure was also confirmed. "We are here to ask you a question. " Diplomacy had always been taught to him that it would better to do so. A common show of courtesy as to say. "Where are Stella R. Iaret and Uno Summus?" He went straight to the point. Cass was of no use to him as there are no orders. But, it would be a different scenario if there are certain mission parameters involved.

If he was not mistaken, this individual was probably the cause of that lightning hitting Darcia. This only meant they would be having a rather arduous fight with Cass. Regardless, this is part of their objectives and so it will be done. "If you do not comply, it will be considered as a show of criminal activity. As such, you will be punished." His eyes glanced at Darcia which meant with that simple gesture for her to prepare for the worst. "So, what is your choice?"

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“So easy.”



Though perhaps a lesser man would have been terrified at this point, what with the atmosphere in the lab rapidly changing, and then the foglike glow surrounding Solla, Dietrich Engels was not a lesser man. In fact, this seemed to be exactly what he’d wanted, if the expression on his face was anything to go by. His lips were twisted, lifted into a little smirk, even as everyone felt the Network and indeed the power source of the entire Vie, shut down around them. There was little light left in the laboratory, and the rumbling of thunder over their heads seemed to grow more ominous with it, a fork of lightning arcing across the sky and the light of it filtering in through the window, throwing everyone and everything into sharp relief.

“My place?” he echoed softly, his voice carrying a hint both of condescension and malice. “Am I supposed to bow to you then? Grow so scared by your little display of sociopathic temper? Am I supposed to feel threatened?” He snorted softly through his nose, the sound trailing off into a dark, almost strangely-gentle chuckle. “Should I be cowed by the mention of my dead brother, or simply take that as the admission that it really was your doing that he’s dead?” He shook his head more in amusement than anything else.

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Perhaps, had he cared overmuch what happened to the domes or the rest of the people in them, he would have been panicking now, as Ilyana seemed to be doing, switching on the Network-independent backup generator that nevertheless would not be enough to even hope to power more than this room. All she could use it for was to take further readings of the environment, and already, the air quality of Vie was starting to change. “Dietrich, what are you doing?! Stop provoking her!” It was obvious to Ilyana at least that the best thing to do here would be to try and calm Solla, so that she would restore power to the domes. It was hard to believe that one person, human or not, was responsible for the entire thing, though—and she supposed that this was exactly why Dietrich had pushed her. This data was incredible.

But the risk it came at
 it was not a risk Ilyana was willing to take, even if her superior was.

Dietrich only looked at her coolly, and for just a moment, a strange, darkly-tilting moment, she wondered if their friendship, active since childhood and tighter than any other bond she had left, mattered at all to him, or if she was simply another pawn on a chessboard. No
 he’d probably call her a knight. Useful, but not indispensible. A man with eyes that cold did not have friends. But the moment passed, and she found herself looking at her friend again, even if he was acting strange. It left her entirely unsure of what to do. “I’m only asking questions, Ilyana. If the feeble-hearted are offended by them, that is certainly no fault of mine.”

“This has gone far enough, Dietrich! You know what you wanted to, so knock it off!” Her tone was desperate, pleading. He might not ultimately care much about whether he lived or died—she knew he didn’t; they’d discussed it before. But all those people who depended on the Vie to survive
 they had to matter. They had to. “If the Vie doesn’t get its power back, tens of thousands of people will die.”

Dietrich shrugged. “And? What do you expect me to do about it? I’m not the one who can shut it on and off at will. If those people die, it has nothing to do with me—she’s the only one with the choice. And if she really ‘doesn’t want people to die,’ she’ll turn it back on before anyone does.” He shifted his eyes back to Solla.

“We’re all just lowly humans compared to her, after all.”




“If you think that’s all it will take, then...”



Stella huffed an amused breath. “Easier said than done,” she replied. Still, she supposed that it was technically an answer to her question. Leaning to the left, she landed sideway on the couch, pulling her legs up as well. She was definitely still lethargic from the day before, and wanted to conserve her energy in case she needed to do something important today. Not that she had any idea what that something would be. She wasn’t sure how those people could find them, but
 they were the Government. They could probably find anyone, given long enough.

She held his eyes when he also admitted to feeling a bit lost, and though it wasn’t exactly what she’d wanted to hear, there was something reassuring in it. Lost together, huh? Well, there was no mistaking the fact that it was nice to have allies. Cass was one. Prometheus
 she was less sure about him, but at least he hadn’t sold them out or anything. But definitely, most of all, the person she was glad to be beside was—

“Bait?” she echoed. Oddly, and perhaps in contrast with how most people would take a plan like that, she didn’t seem upset about it, only thoughtful. “It would have to be pretty enticing bait to get someone like that all the way out here. Should we go on TV and call them out or something?” Being obvious might serve them better than being subtle right now. The Government sure wasn’t being subtle about trying to kill them anymore.

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“Who knows? Maybe that Prometheus guy could get us on screens. I can't really think of any other way to get through to them without being found and shot immediately after.” Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when her HUD also went off, and she reached for it, fumbling with the interface for a second before she screen showed her what Violet was seeing. Her eyes widened at the sight of Cass juggling the two government operatives, seemingly with ease.

“Holy shit. How did they find him?” She couldn’t think of how they might, unless
 he’d volunteered to be found. From the looks of things, he was handling himself pretty well, but her heart was in her throat anyway. It really sucked to watch your allies in danger and not be there to help. Probably at least as much as it sucked to get hurt helping.




“There is, in this moment, no reason to refrain from acting.”



Cass tilted his head to one side slightly, the atmosphere overhead darkening as the clouds thickened, flickering at intermittent points with contained lightning, jumping between one black mass of condensed air and another. He blinked slowly for a minute, as if considering the question, and then shrugged. “By now?” He took one of his hands from his pockets, but for no grander purpose than to scratch absently at the stubble on his jawline. “Hell, they could be halfway to Vie for all I know. Haven’t seen ‘em since this morning.” He didn’t bother pretending like he had no idea who they were talking about, because all three of them knew better than that.

“Then where were you keeping them?” The follow-up question was Darcia’s, and Cass glanced over at the android girl. Such a marvel of technology, really—made of metal and flesh in equal parts, and for all that, he at least figured she was probably just as human as anyone else. Certainly just as human as him. Maybe all those in Project EDEN were not quite human anyway—he wasn’t convinced it was an especially good thing to be.

He sighed. “Sorry,” the half-smile on his face and the gleam in his eye indicated that he was anything but. “It’s a secret.” He raised a finger to his lips in the universal gesture for something which was to be kept quiet, than ducked the first bullet shot towards him. “Hasty, aren’t we?” He said, and then the air around him began to change, shifting and roiling until he was surrounded by a hazy red aura, snapping like fire but not hot.

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He shifted and compressed the air molecules around him, and lashed them forward with such force that the concrete beneath his feet was pulverized, leaving a large crevasse in the ground as it headed towards the Ghost. He wasn’t especially surprised when Darcia jumped forward to intercept, holding her arms before her in an x shape and taking the hit full on. Ever her heels dug into the ground as she was pushed back, the gale-force wind tearing at her hair and clothing, though for the moment, everything remained intact. Then again, he was only warming up.

“Come on, then,” he told them both, raising an eyebrow and letting his smile widen until it was a grin.

“Show me what you’ve got.”

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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⌈I will do anything and everything for one cause...⌋

This human was defiant and twisted by his own selfish whim. Such display only provided wood to a burning fire within Solla, those eyes of gold darkened with anger even surpassing a sun's blazing light. "Filthy. Tainted." She muttered with such softness but it effectively confirmed her disgust. The aura which surrounded her only intensified and the status of Vie was now dropping into critical levels. Panic of the people was surely an acceptable result as the citizens of the Vie were hurled into a scenery of chaos and confusion. Why not? Their solace, their sanctuary, their home, was falling apart before their very eyes. It was betraying its purpose as it was now delivering death.

"Join all of them to death. Unsightly things must be purged." Once that statement was delivered. Her hand was around Dietrich's throat. It did not take too much effort for her to lift the physically bigger individual from his seat as her hold tightened without consideration. The glow which surrounded her was now emanating brighter in the hand wrapped around his neck. A sensation of a slow rot as if coming from the very inside of the flesh could be felt from her touch. The tearing and the sharp reaping through the sensory nerves should reverberate all over his body. The people within the Vie should now be gasping for air as the atmosphere was now receding to nonexistent. They were ultimately going to die.

"Enough." The deep and strong voice of the Prime Minister echoed throughout the room. He stood at the doorway without much of a difference. It appeared that whatever happening to the Vie was not affecting him directly. On the other hand, Hendrew who followed his employer was keeping himself from falling by sheer willpower. It was clear that Vie was not conducive for anyone who has life to be in it. Hearing the familiar voice, she looked at Teleus and narrowed her eyes in retort. "This man slighted me! He must be punished along with everyone else!" Calm as always, his lone eye went towards Dietrich. Well, he would say the man was a great provocateur. In any case, this should be enough data for him. He could not allow any further damages to the Vie or even to have it ripple to the other domes. "I am not pleased anymore, Solla." Hearing that tone filled with stern authority wrapped with dangerous deliberation, she threw Dietrich away much like trash being thrown in a bin and made her way to Teleus.

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"Please don't get mad at me, Teleus." Her voice mellowed to a great degree as she reached her hand towards the Prime Minister's face. Normally, Hendrew would have prevented such a gesture. However, he was not in a good shape much like the rest of the people. Her hand was now gently caressing that of Teleus' eye-patch. "Forgive me... You've done so much for me... This eye..." Her sentence lingered as her hand went under the eye-patch and lifted it. Only, it remained unseen as her hand covered it in return. "You sacrificed for me, don't hate me, please." Her lips awfully closed to his as she whispered those words like a lover's pledge. Still, Teleus was completely stoic about her approach even when his covered eye which he would never allow anyone to come close was now being touched."Restore it."

With a small sigh and a pout, the power within Vie was now back online. The Network as well was being booted up. Life protocols were being restored for sure. "Are you happy?" Teleus nodded his head with an expression which also speaks that he is satisfied. This made her very happy as the terrifying pressure around the room disappeared. She also appeared to have returned to her cheery self as there was a bright smile on her face. "So happy!" It was then that Teleus placed a hand on her forehead and instantly, she lost consciousness. However, he prevented her from falling to the floor while the eye-patch simply returned to its former position when her hand had been removed. He looked at Solla for a while before carrying her into his arms.

"You are done with her for today." He stated while coldly looking at Dietrich. There was nothing wrong with procuring information as much as the scientist desired. The one thing he does not like is the collapse of the domes. Dietrich could put anyone in risk if that will render results. However, once it has gone over the line, he will expect for the man to own up for all consequences of his action. "Do not interrupt me again." Well, he was indeed taken out from his office and pulled away from his work. Because, Dietrich was not refined in his methods of analyzation. Perhaps, he overestimated the scientist which was delivered with a look of disdain and disappointment. In any case, he exited the room with Solla in tow. He would have Helena handle the people's questions due to this mishap. The Scientist can continue with his research some other time.

Just like that, the Vie was returning to normal.


⌈For it is worth anything and everything...⌋

His eyes narrowed at the video feed flooding his screen. Yes, Cass had pretty much summed up his willingness to bite back at the government and keep Stella alive. He will admit that the guy was pretty much a storm in the battlefield literally. Plus, he was more well-versed with his powers than Stella which makes him a very difficult enemy to face against. The android chick was probably going to be able to at least fight on somewhat equal grounds. But, he could not say the same thing to the Ghost. Indeed, the man was a good combatant and a peerless assassin, still the guy has limitations like him, that's being just human. "Tsk." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. It was not because he hated the situation presented before him. This was more irritation of having another favor with the guy literally. "Let's go."

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Uno turned of his HUD for now. He then stood from the bed once more with such an unrestricted speed that his recently cleaned wound acted up again. "Idiot." He muttered to himself more than anything he really hates being vulnerable like this. Anyway, they need to get cleared from this place. "Gather anything we can use." He ordered as he grabbed the things he placed on the nearby table. It was clear in his movements that he was in a hurry and with urgency. "You drive the bike." He stated as he did not want to aggravate his injury any further. From that point, he grabbed a jacket and wore it. Then, he stepped outside not minding the pouring rain. "Hurry!" He called out to Stella. It was understandable if she was getting confused. So, it was probably fine to give a few words of explanation.

"He is bait. He lured them out." The details were not given out but, that should give her a picture why such a thing would be done or even why the feed was seen by them. They need to get out because this place was not safe anymore. It might be a precaution but, he would not be betting on that knowing now that the government is persistent. For now, Cass will be buying them time until they are probably somewhere out of range. Once, they were both on the bike and was moving away from the place. He took out the bullet that penetrated Stella from his pocket and looked at it warily. It was probably the same one which created such an impact with the barrier which protected him at that assassination attempt of his. Perhaps, the ghost was not completely outgunned. Cass better be careful.

As they gained enough distance, smoke could be seen coming from the safe house they were in earlier.


⌈Even if all I can really do is just one thing.⌋

A red-feathered bird, Crux is not certain why such a description was referred to this person. At this moment, this individual was an obstacle of pouring magma to him. Moreover, this Seed as those in the Science Sector tagged him seemed to enjoy this moment. When an answer was not provided aptly, he fired a warning shot. In retaliation, Cass showcased his control over his genetically-altered ability by landing a hit which was blocked by Darcia promptly. He noticed the tears that she had taken from the attack and with a beep from his comm line, he attended to that. "Crux, we located it. We're moving in." From that statement, this trap set for them was becoming clearer to him. This guy was buying time.

"Obstruction is punishable by death." Now in his hands, he was equipped with two guns retrofitted for his design and intended purpose. He had already loaded with a special type of bullet. After all, he had already seen the effect of the prototype during the moment he had served as a Warfelt. Thus, he had it modified for in the end, he would need something to fight against these so called seeds and flowers. "Darcia activate full combat mode." Raising both of his hands as he aimed his guns at Cass.

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His blue eyes narrowed as it focused on his target. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger but instead of the bullets propelling towards their target. They hovered and exploded in various areas at midair, forming seemingly transparent panel in circular pattern. Such things surrounded Cass and soon enough, they caused varying intensity of explosions, rippling with one another creating a torrent of bombardment. He will not let his guard down knowing what this individual is capable of. Regardless, they must remove him out of the way. That was the only way they would be able to move forward. At the same time, he would not let anyone prevent him from carrying out his orders. For, it was the only thing he could do well.

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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“Just what the Hell are you trying to prove?”



After the Prime Minister, Warfelt Captain, and Solla cleared out of the room, Ilyana rounded on Dietrich, who, despite having been exposed to bad air and tossed at the wall, had landed lithely on his feet and appeared mostly unperturbed. Indeed, he was looking at his hand, flexing his fist open and closed with an expression of intent concentration. Well, that was just too damn bad. He didn’t get to go into science mode and pretend that none of that had just happened.

Still feeling woozy herself, she nonetheless found the energy to march up to him and hit him across the face. This was no poor excuse for a slap, either—Ilyana had been a top officer in the military, and she hit like it, her closed fist connecting with his jaw and snapping his head sharply to the side. “What the Hell was that, Dietrich? Do you have any idea what you just did? If the Prime Minister hadn’t shown up, we’d all be dead right now! I know you don’t seem to care much either way about that, but did it ever occur to you that maybe I like being alive? That maybe those people out there in the entire Vie like being alive?”

Slowly, he straightened, raising the fingertips of one hand to his jaw, probing delicately at the injury. She might have felt bad—she was fairly sure she’d at least cracked his jaw—but she was still far too angry to bother with guilt. He didn’t seem to be nearly as fazed by the hit as he should be, though, and indeed he glared at her coldly for a moment before his expression changed, softening just slightly. Of course she hadn’t understood. She was still too bound up in her emotions. She wouldn’t understand that this had been the most efficient way to test all of the things he needed to test in a short period of time, and neatly rid himself of the annoyance that would only speak in childish riddles and self-important drivel. The Prime Minister’s annoyance was of no consequence to him—because in the end, it had only provided him with more data, more of the complete picture of what he was looking at.

Rather than respond directly to Ilyana, then, he glanced over at the computer she’d been using during the incident. “That was taking readings during the confrontation, was it not?” The rotting sensation in his body had already receded, pushed out by other, competing processes. She looked back at it, then over to him again, and her eyes narrowed.

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Lighting a cigarette with a still slightly-trembling hand, she returned to her desk chair and removed her glasses, shaking her head slightly. “Yeah, it was. And I’m gonna classify them as military unless you tell me what’s going on here, Dietrich. What could possibly be worth risking the lives of all those people? Risking my life?” She was understandably still a little sore about that.

To her surprise, Dietrich actually smiled. “Your life was never at risk, Ilyana, that I promise you. And if I’m right about this, the risk to everyone else was quite minimal also. Now, I’ll explain everything if you show me the data.” With a sigh, she complied, bringing up the readings she hadn’t been paying attention to, too distracted by what was happening in the room. When she did, her eyes went wide at the numbers.

“This
 this is impossible.” Her tone was flat, heavy with disbelief. “How on Earth?” Her eyes moved up to Dietrich, illuminated with her shock and confusion. He moved behind her, scanned the numbers himself, then nodded slightly.

“It’s pretty simple, really,” he said, the pernicious glee of earlier returned to a much more sober demeanor, one she knew much better than whatever he’d been a few minutes ago.

“Everything we’ve ever believed about the Domes is a lie.”




“The only thing I’m interested in proving is that we have what it takes to stay alive, even with everything arrayed against us.”



“Go?” Stella echoed dubiously. She was all in favor of trying to help Cass, but surely they were too far injured to be of any help whatsoever in a situation like that. Surely, if anyone could go two on one with those guys and survive, it was probably him. He wouldn’t have picked a fight without at least a reasonable amount of confidence that he’d be able to handle it, right?

Of course, on further clarification, she understood that what they were actually doing was fleeing, and while Violet threw on a jacket, Stella finished dressing too, pulling on some socks and shoes and a light slicker coat of her own—it was raining pretty hard, after all.

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She was up on her feet in the next seconds, grabbing as many of the still-useable medical supplies as she could fit into a small backpack and slinging it over one shoulder, hurrying to follow him out the door. The bike’s cloaking disappeared as they got close enough to it, and she opened the still-dented side storage compartment and threw the supply bag in, but not before she noticed something unexpected in the compartment. Well, for now it didn’t really make much difference, and so she ignored it, swinging astride the front of the hover bike and initiating the engine. Her fingers moved furiously to bring up the safehouse locations Cass had programmed into the things, and she set the HUD device into a slot designed for it in the bike itself. It seemed, however, that there was a problem.

“Uhh
 all of these safehouses are in other domes.” The funny thing was, when she chose one, there was a prescribed route to it
 but of course all of those routes involved taking a brief jaunt outside the domes. Was that something Cass did regularly? That would explain the item in the storage compartment, but
 why only one? Well, it didn’t matter. She trusted that he had a reason for the things he did, and she was just going to have to deal with that for now.

After Violet was on, she kicked off, flipping the cloaking mechanism on immediately, which was just as well, because not more than a mile out, they passed by several official-looking vehicles headed in the direction of the house. She gave them a wide berth, following the directions to the closest safehouse, this one located in Dome 83, more commonly called Specter. It was definitely one of the less-regulated domes, and the government had a comparatively loose hold on the people there, so she figured it would be for the best.

Eventually, though, they were approaching the boundary of the dome. The map showed a viable secret exit, but it wasn’t getting out that she was most worried about—it was not dying when they did. “Hey,” she said, turning to look over her shoulder for just a brief moment. “There’s a gas mask in the storage compartment. You should wear it before we get out there.”




“That’s a tall order—you’d better be willing to put in the work, or you’ll just be left in the dust.”



Unfortunately, Crux was not authorized to command full power output from Darcia, mostly because such an expenditure was significant enough to interfere with Dome power systems, at least in theory, but she followed the order as well as she was allowed to by her standing protcols. “Understood. Aggressor Protocol Override Initiated: Genocide Mode Engaged. Power Output: Sixty-Five Percent.” The ambient air seemed to crackle around them, and in each of Darcia’s hands appeared a manifestation of raw energy that took the shape of a large blade. She held these out to either side, her red eyes finding and locking onto her target even as Crux fired his specialized bullets.

Cass would admit that those damn things were pretty impressive, and well-placed so as to allow him a minimum of reaction opportunities. Indeed, he had little doubt that, as far as human beings were concerned, that Ghost was at the very pinnacle of capability, quite possibly by himself. That was no small accomplishment, to be sure. But Cass knew a thing or two about what especially-sharp humans could do, and as it happened, he was related to one of the government’s best marksmen, so in some sense, he wasn’t startled by the efficiency of the agent, and that enabled him to react, containing the explosions by manipulating the air molecules around each one, forcing them to remain still rather than move and allow the force to continue forward. It was no simple effort, not with so many things to contain, but he did it, his control certainly nothing to be trifled with.

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Unfortunately, the concentration required enabled Darcia to get in close, and when she swung at him with one of her blades, blurringly-fast, he was only just able to save himself from decapitation, by applying a blast of air to accelerate his own motion. The lash of air he sent at her in return diverted the trajectory of the second sword, but it still caught him across the cheek, and she was relentless, pushing forward with a kind of single-minded determination that was hard to handle. Combined with the teamwork she had with her GHOST partner, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to continue like this for too much longer without risking massive destruction that he’d specifically been told not to cause.

So he had one choice left. “Darcia. Initiate override code Gamma. Authorization confirmation number four eight two Charlie Foxtrot six. Password: Lilium candidum. Stop.”

The code was correct, and did what it was meant to do. Immediately, Darcia halted in the middle of her motion, the blade poised to pierce his chest disintegrating into nothing. She held her position, however, because she had been ordered to by someone with higher priority command inputs than Crux had. The expression on her face was one of great distress, and it was evident that she was fighting against the command input, trying to make her body move despite its stubborn insistence on following the order. “Release it. Let this one go.”

In contrast to his earlier grin, Cass did not look particularly happy. He glanced over her shoulder at Crux. “Unless you want me to initiate her self-destruct mechanism, put down the guns,” he said slowly. “I have something to say to both of you.”

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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⌈The game is set and the prize is a mystery...⌋

Caine was aware of what had happened. It was to be expected when Solla and Dietrich are combined together. This result is within the normal parameters in his personal opinion. The method was at best questionable, but effective. Furthermore, it had revealed a bountiful of information to the revered Scientist of the Government, no doubt. In any case, there had been no permanent damages to the Domes or even to the Vie. So now, he found himself within the office of the Prime Minister again. "Sir! The General is here as requested." Hendrew announced his presence as Teleus nonchalantly lifted his head and gestured for the Warfelt Captain to leave them alone. It was done without fail as he approached his superior who had a rather stern expression.

Image"Solla has been secured within her chambers. She is sleeping soundly." Yes, he had been tasked of returning the blue-haired maiden to her room afterwards that hefty presentation of hers. "There had been no permanent damages to the Vie. The other domes were not affected. The Network is working fine as well. It would appear she simply focused only here. There had been no reported casualties, although; the medical facilities did report an influx of unconscious people being admitted probably to the failure of the oxygen-support system. I believe that Ms. Ashworthy is already on top of things of what would be generally stated to the public. I have already sent her a briefing packet about it. The situation would be contained soon enough."

Stopping, the report was already done. There should be little concerns as long as Solla remains stable. Of course, that would depend entirely on the factors which will be introduced to her. Well, it will be a problem that shall be addressed at some other time. In the end, there was not much he could do.

ImageTeleus nodded after he had heard the entirety of the situation and leaned on his chair as he had a faraway look on his face. "Are you concerned?" Upon hearing this query, the Prime Minister did not bother meeting the inquiring eyes of his General. "This is your suggestion." Caine gave a certain nod at that statement. It is true that he was the one who had advised this course of action.

"I believe in Dietrich's ability. He will be able to continue Solomon's work." It was then Teleus glanced at him with a doubtful look in his eye. "They are brothers. They will have the same instinct, more or less. You agreed to this because you too want to look pass Solla. He will be able to do what we cannot for now." Despite the desire to find out more, they cannot agitate Solla so recklessly or to damage the trust which the girl seemed to harbor towards him and especially towards Teleus. They are fully aware what the implications of that to the citizenry and without a viable solution or countermand, there is truly little they can do. "Until, she is it. There is little to be done." Teleus stated with a rather unimpressed tone while touching his eye-patch.

"The things she hates the most are the things we absolutely need." Mauve eye casts a sharp look towards Caine who was unperturbed by this. "He is a smart man. It will be figured out soon enough. As for the others, adversity is needed to be strong and that is an utmost requirement." Hearing this, Teleus released a grunt at this. He seemed unconvinced by the beliefs of his General who held people's will at such a high pedestal. "They have your confidence. It better be worth it." A small smile played upon Caine's lips as he lowered his head in a bow. As implied, they were gambling with such an irreplaceable stake. The consequences were fatal as well with one wrong move. Regardless, everything must be done for the future as they do say. "They have yours as well, isn't that right, Prime Minister?" Teleus simply shrugged at this and returned his attention to the documents on his desk. It seemed this discussion was over for now.


⌈Even then, I will bet all that I have...⌋

Well, that was understandable. It would be more efficient to have safe houses scattered throughout the domes. He would do the same thing if he had the funds. But from that point, he could see that Cass is either miraculously rich or have someone else backing him up. Whatever it was, he would get into that later. All that matters now were for them to get as far as they can from those people who were after them. He would have to take each matter one at a time, because he was no super-computer that can process many things all at once. "Choose the nearest one." He suggested as they went on their way.

For the most part, the journey was silent and he contemplated on the fact that the government was getting rather persistent in their attempts of catching them. It was going to make them always on their toes; however, that also meant that the ones issuing the orders to the foot soldiers are being impatient. That is why he has this gut feeling that everything will be tossed up in the chaos in the near future. If that was so, he needs to get prepared for that. He glanced at Stella’s form from behind. It seemed the favor he asked Cass' about would be fulfilled as long as that guy still lives and breathes. But he has high hopes for that guy, after all, to be able to dodge the eyes of government is not an easy task. There is also the point that the guy was not much of a normal in the human aspect.

His inner musings were interrupted when Stella addressed him about wearing a gas mask. Cass did mention about a pathway to other domes without the need of the expensive trains. In short, they were going to go outside. He opened the compartment and saw only one of those gas masks. They had always been oriented how dangerous was the land outside the domes. How inhabitable. How terrifying it was. That they will die upon stepping out of these glass fortresses. Taking a deep breath, he took the gas mask and placed it on Stella instead without any ceremony.

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"Don't stop. Don't look back." He stated with his confident streak and matching with his trademark smile as he whispered it to her ear. The notion of the poisonous atmosphere outside did bother him and he really doesn't plan on dying. However, from the looks of things, he had a greater chance of surviving judging by his personal resistance than Stella. Ever since he was young, he had the knack to be resistant to various toxins and chemicals known to man. It would only strengthen more when he is exposed to them making rather immune at some point. So, he would be testing his body's natural defenses and what better way than to step out of the dome. "Go. I'll be right here behind you." As if to prove that point, his arms wrapped around her torso. It was time to test his theory. Yes, theory.


⌈To have that chance which truly matters.⌋

It is true. This conflict was difficult to end in such a short-amount of time. This should be expected as the opponent is that a Seed. Clearly, the man has a great grasp of his abilities which on his observations of Stella Iaret was lacking of. Although, he could also see that the finesse in the control was to ensure that destruction would be at a minimum. He, as well, share that sentiment as any physical damages to the dome could allow the hazardous elements from the outside to threaten that of the populace. Despite the priority of his orders, he had also been specifically told to make certain that his activities will not cause any kind of breech upon glass walls which encircles the domes.

With that in mind, his actions had always been subtle yet effective. It was only during with Stella Iaret and Uno Summus that his preferred methods required to be a bit louder. Nevertheless, he still has his trademark anonymity. His accuracy and precision with his aim was truly remarkable along with his reading of plausible trajectory. All of this made possible through the manner how his brain processes information. He can effectively reroute his aim on the dot and it also added that he is also physically capable of manifesting his actions without hindrance. As his body is honed and trained for such actions. Moreover, the sync in his attacks with Darcia provided a good vantage point. It seemed that their actions were fluid in a sense.

Until, this Cass did something which should be strictly impossible unknown to the public even to members of the government. It was stopping Darcia by inputting the restricted codes. This carried another possibility.

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Crux's expression was an odd mixture of calm, distant, yet sharply dangerous. He was not pleased at the current situation. Normally, he would just make the man prove the validity of his threat by initiating the self-destruct mechanism. At this point, it would be of no consequence to him for Darcia to be lost. She will not be considered a casualty as she is not human. After all, even humans are replaceable what more for machines. So, that kind of decision will be serving more logical response as it would also allow him an opportunity to eliminate Cass during the explosion scenario if the threat was made real. However...

His guns were returned to their holsters. The distress in Darcia's face or the thought of seeing her broken body again were not acceptable to him. So for now, he will relent. "Darcia. It is fine." He stated to her as he did not want her to fight the command input any further which causes her woe. His ice blue eyes were now upon Cass with stern scrutiny. He was uncertain what the man has to speak about, but whatever it is. He will hear about it as there is no other options present. "Say what you have to."

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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“Knowledge is power. Therefore, controlling who knows what is the height of power. Secrets are devices of control.”



Of course, the disturbance in the Vie had not failed to reach the office of Helena Ashworthy, and needless to say, when the air support systems started to fail, many of them went for the emergency gas masks stashed under their desks. They were, after all, the Secret Police, and she was, after all, Helena Ashworthy. She was never unprepared for anything, it could be said with no exaggeration. The news that Dietrich Engels was to meet the girl Solla had crossed her desk—and that, too, was a secret that Helena knew. Helena knew all of the secrets, really, because it was her job to know them. Vital to keeping all the information where it needed to be was having all of the information, and fortunately, it was obvious that she wasn’t going to do anything with it but that which was most beneficial to the government, as judged not by her, but by Teleus. Of course, she offered her advice and opinions when they were asked for, but she never questioned the judgement of the Prime Minister. Why that was was something only she knew, and it had been that way for the duration of her service. Nobody else needed to know, after all.

After the panic had died down, one of Helena’s aides entered her office. “Ma’am, we are being told to make a statement to the public about what just happened. Where would you like the conference to be set up?” The aide looked mildly panicked, but he was already learning to hide it, a skill that he would need to master if he was to continue any further in their line of work.

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Helena considered the question for a moment, in the end sighing slightly, sharp eyes finding the aide. “Set it up in the botanical gardens.” This statement caused about as much shock as she had expected, which was to say a lot. The botanical gardens were in the very inner sanctum of the government complex; reporters were routinely denied access to such places for the security of the Domes, or so it was said. To hold a press conference in such a place was a most unorthodox move.

“B-but madam—” the aide, perhaps not wrongly, started to protest, but Helena cut him off by smiling gently. The expression conveyed such sincerity and confidence that it was basically impossible not to be convinced by it, which was, of course, exactly what she intended.

“Just trust me, Thomas. Let the reporters into the inner sanctum, and tell the Third Division that they will be on guard duty for the duration of the event.”

The reporters were, as expected, completely flabbergasted, not just because they’d been allowed access to the inner sanctum, but also by the amazing plants to be found within. They were really flourishing this year, Helena had to admit. Tending them would seem to be a hobby of Solomon’s little doll-child. Wearing a sharp suit and an expression that at once conveyed utter certainty and also an appropriate amount of contrite apology for the inconvenience of the residents of Vie, Helena mounted the podium and stood in front of a lectern with a microphone attached. When she spoke, her voice was at once soft and utterly steady, like steel covered over in a thick coating of luxurious velvet.

“Citizens of the domes, it is my prerogative to report to you that today, approximately two hours ago, the Vie experienced a temporary system interruption that resulted in a short-period disruption in its climate control systems. We would like to reassure everyone that this service interruption caused no significant or permanent damage, and extend our sympathies to those who were adversely affected, for however short a duration.” Admittedly, it took a little while for anyone to get the first question in, as most were still fascinated by their surroundings. And why not? Most of those who grew up in the domes would have been lucky to encounter a greyed-out weed once in their lives, let alone something of such magnificence as the botanical garden.

At last, however, one reporter raised her hand, and Helena nodded for her to proceed. “Deputy Prime Minister, you have to understand that the citizens of the Vie were shocked by this event. The domes have been stable for generations, hundreds of years, and then all of a sudden there’s a malfunction? Why did it happen, and are we at risk for further episodes of this nature?”

Helena folded her hands on the lectern in front of her and appeared to take a polite amount of time to consider the question before answering. “Your apprehension is entirely understandable. It is true that there have never been any malfunctions in the domes on a registerable scale since the domes began, but it is necessary to understand that all improvement comes with a certain degree of risk.” She paused to let that sink in, and then, when every set of eyes in the entire garden was solely upon her, she continued.

“You can all see this garden around you, can you not? For so long, life in the domes has been one without plant life, and only very few animals. This is certainly nothing like the way our ancestors lived, and I can see from your expressions now that these surroundings have instilled in you a sense of wonder. This is as it should be. Human beings are made to live surrounded by such natural things, such beauty, and we as your government are always thinking of the quality of your lives. This garden itself is an experiment in changing the very formulation of those lives. We would like to one day see an environment like our ancestors had—one at once safe from the dangers of toxic air and also surrounded by the beauty of the natural world. To this end, we have also been attempting to optimize the atmosphere control in the domes. It has led to some unexpected phenomena—unexpected weather events, for example—but we assure you that this project continues only with your safety in the forefront of our minds. Today’s incident was the unfortunate result of a test undertaken too soon, but backup systems were in place and initiated as soon as the consequences became evident.”




“And so the discovery of a secret is a little piece of liberation, for better or worse.”



Stella would admit, at least to herself, that she was a little terrified by the prospect of going outside the domes. Doubly so when Uno put the mask on her instead of himself. She could hardly be the one who needed it more, considering she was supposed to be resistant to this kind of thing. They’d designed the EDEN Project to reform the dead earth, after all, and he was only—

But no. He wasn’t only anything. She recalled his inability to get drunk, and the resistance to drugs and poisons which had proved the source of her vexation on more than one occasion. If anyone could survive exposure to the outside air, it was him. Pursing her lips together, Stella lifted the mask for long enough to say one thing:

“Don’t let go.”

Following the directions that had been programmed into the HUD, she accelerated, until they were flying past buildings and people and other vehicles, Stella piloting her way between them with aid of the sharpened reflexes and processing times that were partially her natural gifts and partially the result of whatever they’d done to her parents’ genes. It would appear that this process was going to take some skill, and entailed a fair amount of risk. But Cass had done all he could to prepare her for it, and, reading down the rest of the instructions, she knew what she had to do.

Turning the handlebars, she leaned her body into the somewhat-sharp veer that followed, righting them again in just enough time to spot what she was looking for: a downward slope led to what seemed to be a small service door, no bigger then two people across. It was locked, but the HUD she carried interfaced with it wirelessly, hacking the door lock and swinging it open on electronic hinges, and Stella pointed the nose of the hoverbike right for it. She ducked down as closely over the bike as she could, given that the instructions now said watch your head, and hoped that Violet had enough sense to do the same, because there was no way she could communicate that at sufficient volume through this mask and over the whistling of the air past their ears.

Angling down, they cleared the service door just before it slammed shut behind them, and they were plunged into almost utter darkness. At this point, it became necessary to remove the cloaking device from the bike, but there were no Network cameras down here anyway. The pathway they took was narrow, and would not have fit two bikes across, nor one above another, and from the smell, she knew they were definitely underground. The headlights of the bike were all they had to see by, but the instructions on her illuminated screen were clear: don’t slow down. So she didn’t.

After a while, the ground began to slope up again, and she could hear the mechanical click as the service door on the other end—this one multi-layered and including a filtration chamber—was forced open by whatever had auto-hacked the first one. At the last second, she wrenched the nose of the bike upwards, wincing when it just barely scraped concrete, indicating what would have become of them if she’d been even a moment later.

All of that was soon forgotten, however, as they emerged into bright sunlight. Stella was glad the mask she wore included a visor, else she might have been temporarily blinded. Suddenly, Cass’s tinted lenses made a lot more sense. When her eyes adjusted, though, she gasped.

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It was absolutely beautiful. Stella had honestly been expecting a ruined wasteland, barren dirt and stone, and a polluted yellow sky, as the historical accounts had told her was the case when the domes were first constructed. But that wasn’t the case at all. It was a thousand times more verdant than even the abandoned temple garden had been, and the color green was everywhere. Patches of wildflowers grew sporadically throughout, and in the distance, she swore she could even see a tree. A real, honest-to-goodness tree.

Glancing down at the HUD screen, she read something else, isn’t it? The air should be fine for you, but be careful if you start to feel dizzy. Oh, and
 take a breather. Next door probably shouldn’t open for half an hour anyway, so enjoy.

Somehow, she wasn’t surprised by the words. “Idiot,” she muttered to herself, but she did slow the bike, reaching up with one free hand to divest herself of the gas mask and shake out her hair. “Cass says we have some time before the next door should open. Is everything okay?”




“And the telling of a secret
 that is either mercy, or cruelty. Because some people aren’t ready for freedom yet. Are you?”



Well, now. That was an interesting result. By all rights, the GHOST should have refused his terms and continued trying to kill him. If so, he would have just dealt with him while Darcia remained incapacitated. But it would seem that he was willing to listen now that she had been removed from commission. Or perhaps, now that she had been threatened in such an undeniable fashion. Cass wondered about that. Prometheus was sure that this agent could be saved, not that he would ever use that word. But Cassius wasn’t so sure. Nevertheless, he’d give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

Darcia herself did not seem so pleased with the situation. “No,” she argued, “it is not fine. This one must not be a liability. This one must not allow harm to come to its partner!” the emphatic declaration was followed by what appeared to be more struggle against the physical form that simply would not obey the commands of her will. That, Cass had always thought, was the cruelest part of how she had been made—that her will ultimately did not and could not control her actions. That control must always come from orders. It was something, Solomon had told him once, long ago, that he regretted having to do. But without that very same separation, she would have been ordered destroyed a very long time ago. A machine with that much power, controlled by its own mind? No
 that would never be allowed. Not when she could interfere so profoundly with the operation of the Domes themselves, something he doubted she really understood about herself.

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Cass sighed. “Relax, Darcia. I ain’t gonna hurt him unless he tries to attack me again.” This seemed to assuage her only somewhat, and he suspected she could detect the absence of a lie, but wasn’t sure how her partner would choose to handle the situation. Fair enough—Cass wasn’t exactly sure, either, which was why he wasn't going to waste his time. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew an object, small and circular, and reached out for one of her hands, turning her palm upwards and dropping the object into it, closing her fingers over it.

“This is not your purpose, Darcia. You were never meant to be enslaved to the whims of other people. You were never meant to take life, only to protect it and save it when nobody else could. If you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe what’s on that. As for you—” He stepped back several paces, hands back in his pockets, and met electric-blue eyes with forest-green ones, currently aglow with the bright magenta-red light of his powers. “You’re not going to get very far unless you start asking questions. Maybe that doesn’t matter to you, but it should. You’re being entrusted with something precious, so I hope you’re ready for that. Prometheus thinks you might be. Me, though
 I don’t. I’d be happy to be wrong about you, but I doubt I am.” Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, raking the dark red strands back with his callused fingers. “And that’s about all the time we have for today, I think. Darcia: Cancel Gamma Override. Until next time.”

With those words, Cass drew the air around him and launched himself skyward, jetting with impossible speed upwards, towards the very ceilings of the domes, until he was no longer visible to even Darcia’s telescopic vision. Freed of her protocol-enforced bonds, Darcia looked down at the small object in her hand, then lowered it, turning to Crux. “This one put you at risk,” she said dejectedly. “This one is sorry.”

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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⌈Everyone lives by a certain principle, a specific code, I am no different, but then again, we make exceptions for certain reasons...⌋

Well for most of the part, the ride was smooth-sailing. This entailed that Stella's skills with the hoverbike was rather impressive to a point. It seemed that Cass has trained her on various things not just with the means of her abilities. There could also be the reason of her being what they call as a Flower. Plus, he did notice that she is well-adept on following instructions. In which left a lingering question within Uno, why does she never listen to him most of the time? It was interesting though. But, when she does listen, there will be a banter between them first. Perhaps, it would be a good method to use a HUD next time.

In any case, the directions were specified which brought them to a service tunnel. This structure should be understandable as it could imply the time when the domes were being constructed. So, it should be fine if the path was strictly underground. But, this was not the situation. They were going upwards and it means one thing in his own conclusion, they will be going outside soon enough. Cutting it a bit too close, they managed to get through the closing service door. And soon, they were greeted a scenery which was not to be expected. After all, the outside lands beyond the domes should be a cold and barren wasteland.

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What welcomed their sight was a vibrant stream of colors produced by flowers and grass. There were living things outside the domes which should not be possible. Moreover, the air that he was taking in was not something he would classify as dangerous or poisonous. It was breathable and normal. People could live here. His attention was taken when the bike came to a full stop and he was asked by Stella if everything was fine. He glanced at her for a while with a thoughtful look on his face. "With me yeah. But this is something else." He got off the bike and walked a bit ahead. His eyes wandered around and noticed something more peculiar. "Very odd..." He muttered to himself as there is this feeling in the air which was unnatural. The problem, he could not identify it.

"Anyway, the government is definitely keeping secrets." The publicized data about the outside world was taken from the readings taken by the Network. Thus, it should be authenticated without fallacy. However, that was not the case as it would seem. He approached a patch of flowers and herbs nearby. Lowering himself to the ground with one knee, he checked what kinds of plants were living. Since he had taken to liking reading medical texts, he had added to his preference about old medicine which heavily rely on plants. "It seems the air is still not completely viable." He noted after identifying the currently living flora. "These plants grow only in toxic areas."

Standing on his feet again, he felt a sharp pain on his chest. It was fine to have bit of strain now and then. "But, it should not be a problem. They survive to filter the air around them. Hmmm... With our level of technology, we could come up with something like that." After saying that, he took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders. "I'll just add this to a list I should take a look at." He then looked at Stella. There was truth in what Cass had said. This was bigger than what they had anticipated. But what can they really do at this point? "Normally, I would not think anything about this. I don't care what the government does as long as I get to make a living. But, as I said, there's no going back now."


⌈Still, it is a choice which I vow shall never be made by me. Because, it is a code that should never be broken and should never be bend.⌋

The point of conversation reminded him of the one he had with the Madame earlier. It was implying that he should start asking questions, specifically why. He should not blindly follow his given directive so swiftly. There had also been conclusions that he will die if he continued with such belief. However, he does not see any reason to do such things. Concern about other people or the notion of the domes being destroyed, they were inconsequential to him. He does not possess such strong emotions to create attachments of any kind. A brief interlude of irritation quickly passes like the wind. Sadness was just mere acknowledgement to him. Happiness does not linger but just a tool. There was nothing binding him but his orders and without them, it defeats his entire existence.

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"We will settle with that for now." Crux noted about the object that was given to her by the felon. As for his expression, it held a small smile which appears to be a means of comfort. His eyes as well held a softness which could also be attributed as being gentle. "We wanted information. We have it." He then placed a hand on her head lightly as he was not going to reprimand her. There was no need as he would not allow his life to be in completely danger. In the end, he would make certain he will live. So, there should be nothing be concerned about it. "There is no need to apologize. He will be dealt with as well in the near future." He stated as he removed the hand on her head and focused his attention to an incoming communication.

His expression returned to its usual distant and calm expression. A fellow GHOST operative had reported that Stella Iaret and Uno Summus had escaped them from the spotted safe-house. In the end, the diversion worked well. "I see. Expand the search to the other domes now." There was a compliant response before he looked at Darcia. "Darcia, examine and show me what it is." That was his instruction as he waited for her analysis and what it could possibly contain. Still, he would not break apart with his orders because at the end of that day, that is the only thing which would validate his purpose.

So, whatever it may show him. There was still one sure thing he will do and that is to Kill Stella Iaret and Uno Summus.

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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“There’s an exception to every rule, I guess.”



“But
 why?” Stella asked, her eyes moving over the colorful plants and fixing on the tree. It was only maybe a hundred yards away, but she was inexplicably drawn to it. She wanted to see it up close—to touch this thing that was not supposed to exist anywhere in the world. “Why keep this a secret? If the government announced that life outside the domes might be possible again sometime soon, that it was within our reach if only we could wait a little longer for some kind of machinery to be built to filter the air and water
 wouldn’t that make people even more loyal?” Certainly, she could foresee heavy praise being given to the people who designed and built such a thing, as well as the officials that had put such a project in motion.

And then, when it was done and humanity ready to crack open the shells over their heads and see the sun, the real sun and stars, for the first time in centuries
 would it not be their government they thanked for that, for leading them out of the monochrome world and into this profusion of color? Where was the downside for anyone? It didn’t make any sense to her.

Looking down at the plants beneath her feet, Stella thought about what he’d said. So they bloomed only when their environment was poisonous? There was a pretty convincing metaphor in there somewhere, she was sure. That something so beautiful could exist even in such a corrupted, rancorous world. Crouching and hugging her knees with one hand, she used the tip of a finger to delicately stroke the petals of one of the flowers. Was this what she was meant to be? Something that bloomed even though the world around her was toxic? Someone’s hopes for her were too high, she thought. If she was any kind of flower at all, she was still just a bud at best. Other times, she was certain she was just a weed that looked like a flower—a dandelion, she thought they were called in the old botany textbooks.

Standing again, Stella made her way across the small field to the tree that stood in its center.

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It did not dwarf her the way some of the taller buildings in the domes would, but she could swear all the same that she had never felt smaller than now, standing under its boughs and looking up, at the sunlight filtering through the gaps in the emerald-colored leaves. It was warm on her face, in a sort of way that the filtered light that came through the domes never was. Reaching out a tentative hand, she pressed her palm to the bark of it, finding the texture rough in an unfamiliar way, but not unpleasant. This
 this whole thing was a world she’d never seen, never known, and this whole time, it had been out here, and she’d never had even the slightest clue. It was like something was unfolding in front of her, and she could not help but be compelled to look, to watch and see what came of it.

And not only that. “I want
 I want everyone to see this,” she murmured. “I want everyone to know this.” What it felt like to touch a tree, to feel the warm sunshine on one’s bare skin. But more than that—what it felt like to live in a world that was theirs, not a construction of someone’s artifice, however necessary or beneficial. It wasn’t that everyone had to be outside all the time, but she wanted everyone to be able to. To choose what balance of this and that was best for them.

But when had she started caring about everyone?

Perhaps the better question, though, was when she’d stopped. Somewhere along the line, life had trodden her so far down that she had become convinced that there was no use caring too much for anyone but herself and her family, few though they were. It had taught her that there was no use in wanting the best for everyone, because she could bet that they didn’t want the best for her, and she had to look out for herself because nobody else would. She didn’t think she’d been born thinking that way, and her parents certainly hadn’t raised her that way, but somewhere, she’d decided that they must be wrong, because their generosity had earned them nothing but burdens that regularly threatened to drown them. The world was just filled with too much evil for anything good to survive long.

But somehow, seeing this, what should have been a cold, dark, barren reflection of what happened when the evils of humans took deep root in their surroundings, so beautiful and transformed, even if it wasn’t done yet
 that gave her hope. Hope that it could be done, one day. Hope, dare she think it, that she might be able to help it be completed, somehow. She knew she wanted to, at least.

And she understood, then, that getting her hope back was just like this: it wasn’t something that was done yet, or could be accomplished with only one thing. It was a process, a gradual construction of something. A blooming, like a flower from a little seed of something that refused to die in her. And she was not doing it alone.

Stella was not the sort of girl who cried. Not about anything. So it was quite something that her eyes were wet with unshed tears when she turned back from the tree to face Uno. Perhaps it said even more that she was smiling anyway. “I’m not sure I ever said it,” she admitted softly, “so I’ll make sure to say it now, so there’s no misunderstanding.” The smile inched just a fraction wider.

“Thank you.”

For saying that he wouldn’t abandon this, abandon her, no matter what the words were that he’d used. If it was just a grudge he bore for the government interfering in his life, then so be it. She would take that too. For helping her, however aware or not either of them had been of it at the time, find that little tiny seed of hope that she’d never known she still kept. Because she had a purpose now; a bigger purpose than only staying alive—and without his help, she was sure she would not.




“But
 should there be?”



Darcia seemed reassured, if not especially happy still, at the words Crux spoke, and per the instructions, turned her attention for a moment to what she had been handed. She could tell it was technological, but as far as could be seen, it was simply a device, about half the size of her small palm, circular in shape and flat, or perhaps no more than half an inch tall. Bringing it up closer to her face, she turned it over in her palm several times and tapped it with a finger.

“Voice identification required. Please state your full name.” The voice was synthetic, neither masculine nor feminine in character but occupying an androgynous middle. It seemed unlikely that she would have been given a device which would not respond to her, so she attempted to do as it asked.

“This one is Project Zero.”

There was a momentary silence, and then: “The name ‘Project Zero’ is not found. Please state your full name for voice identification.” Darcia frowned slightly, and was about to ask Crux if he would try when something occurred to her. Full name


“Darcia Engels.”

A ring of lights lit around the edge of the device in sequence, then all of them flashed green. “Voice identification complete. Please remain still for retinal scan.” Darcia didn’t move, and a light issued from the device, running over the surface of her eye with precision. “Retinal scan complete. Identity: Engels, Darcia, confirmed. Initiating program sequence.” From the device issued a holographic projection, stretching to a full six feet in height. Life sized, for the man it depicted.

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“Hello, Darcia.” His tone of voice was warm, affectionate, and despite knowing it was only a program of some kind, she could not help but smile. “Hello, Dr. Engels.”

The hologram was evidently quite sophisticated, because its facial expression reflected his usual slight disappointment when she addressed him formally, and she could hear the sound of a sigh. Nevertheless, the projection refrained from commenting, instead answering her next question. “The date of this program’s creation is March 15th, 3019.” That was more than a year ago now, and only shortly before Dr. Engels had disappeared. But still, before
 she wondered if it contained any information about the other program he had left, the one that had activated when she was rendered unconscious. She refrained from asking until now, because it was still speaking. This part seemed to be a prerecorded message of some kind.

“If you’re seeing this, Darcia, then it means I am no longer with you. I hope that you will come to realize in the days and years ahead of you that this was never how I intended things to be. In a perfect world, well
 it does me very little good to describe how things would be in such a place, for we are so much further from it than I ever could have imagined.” The hologram paused, as if to collect its thoughts, lending credence to the idea that this was definitely a recorded segment of the actual Dr. Engels, rather than just a program written by him. “I am afraid that
 things have gone terribly wrong. I left this with someone I trust, and if he has given it to you now, I can only take it to mean that I really have left you, and more than that, I have left you unfinished. I’m sure that by now someone as perceptive and gentle as you are has realized that pieces of you are missing, or somehow different than you feel they should be, and I am afraid that is my fault. I did it on purpose—I built flaws into your systems to protect you. But you were never meant to stay that way.”

He paused again, and a red light issued from the device, scanning the whole area. “What I am about to tell you may remove those protections. I will be burdening you with something you should not have to carry by yourself. This is dangerous knowledge, Darcia, but it is imperative that someone have it, and I trust no one more than I trust you. I hope you will agree to hear it. This program detects another presence in the proximity. If you do not trust that person or that person does not with to hear what must be said, then this would be their opportunity to leave.” The hologram stopped speaking, the image turning to face Crux, waiting with an impassive expression on its face.

“This one trusts him,” Darcia said firmly, and then she too looked to her partner. “But what he does or does not wish to hear is his choice to make.” She would not be the people who told him what it was better for him to do, because to her, everything about him was just fine as it was.

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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⌈I'm beginning to think that this is not fair for me...⌋

Inspire loyalty? Well, it could be seen at that angle. Uno looked at the flowers beneath him. This was definite proof that the their world was slowly rehabilitating itself. A healing process has been started naturally which could be aided by their current technology. But this time, it would be used wisely unlike the mistakes of the past which lead to such a desolate and barren scenario that had been implanted throughout the hundreds of years that humanity had been protected by their glass fortresses. In any case, there would be more to gain if the government just publicized this fact. That was a simple analogy really. However, there was another face to this part.

As implicated by this Prometheus, there was someone who is wearing a crown. From the looks of it, this could not be the Prime Minister. It was a her, a spore, compared as a plant metaphor. A bratty queen who was did not want to share and to retire from the position whatever it could entail. But judging her influence and her importance to be placed at Central, it was very large. After all, it would appear she is able to influence the leader of the Government. Personally, his meeting with the Prime Minister had given him an impression that indicated that the so-called Black King was really a man who has power and wields it with authority. Someone who cannot be influenced. So, that queen was rather vital which meant that Stella was also a clear impediment.

His thoughts were slightly interrupted when she stated the desire for everyone to see and to know this scenery. Now, that was a rather tall thing to say. It was a gigantic thing to do even more than the tree she was currently touching or even the tall buildings encased by the domes. Before, he was simply certain at that time. She was propelled by her drive to avenge the lost of the people she had called her family. It was something he was very familiar at that time and so, he reached out his hand to her. But now, her purpose was now meshed with the feelings of caring. Mind her, it was towards a populace who most do not even care of her existence. Perhaps, it is why he had at some point did not want to involve her too closely with his underhanded and tainted dealings. She still has a heart to care.

As for him, he had lost that a long time ago and the last thing that kept him grounded was also taken. There was nothing essentially beating inside his chest. "So, you're not just going to be just a victim anymore, but a rebel?" He noted with his casual goading tone. "Not bad at all." There are times that one can't just standby or cower. At some point, one would need to uphold something and she has found that. However, his stoic and uncaring demeanor was thoroughly tested as his eyes landed on her. Those watery eyes and that smile which reminded him of that one she gave her half-consciously when she woke up earlier held him in place. But what completely taken him in was...

Did she just say thank you to him?

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There was no doubt about it that his face was changing into a shade of red. He could feel it and his cool and collected exterior was diverted into something completely out of character for him. In an effort to hide that side of him, he turned away from her but still his cheeks were stained with the colors similar to that of roses. Eyes closed, he hide his uncool side as he deemed it with an irritated statement. "Whatever, let's go." He managed to formulate as he began to make his way to the hoverbike. What happened to him? He had seen countless smiles of women and heard those words directed at him either elicited or not by him. So, what was this? It would seem he had placed himself in a pinch here. His eyes subtly looked over his shoulder for Stella as if assessing something and quickly returned his attention forward. Yeah, he definitely did.


⌈Because, I could not help but want to know more about you now.⌋

The object left in Darcia's hand was a recording of Dr. Solomon Engels, her creator and the brother of Dr. Dietrich Engels. This was truly something else. On official records, Solomon Engels had been classified as MIA. Deep beneath it, the man had been categorized as deleted. Of course, Crux was not the assigned operative who had done the erasure. Actually, the detailed report of this mission was completely blacked out. It was a mystery as the order to kill Solomon Engels was not even verified yet had complete access and clearance which could only equate to that of a Prime Minister. Yet, there was something odd about it. However, it was not in his nature to be concerned about a life of another especially the ones deemed as an obstacle to the government. There was simply nothing concrete within him to take hold of anything about it.

Regardless, he noticed that Darcia was happy at the sight of her creator. It was natural that much he understood as he did hear that Dr. Solomon Engels had dotted on her like a daughter.

The conversation continued and he simply listened and observed. After all, if there is any viable information that could aid in his orders. It will not be taken as dispensable or worthless. However, it would appear that program instilled in the recording device had instilled confidential protocols. Darcia was being asked either he could be trusted and was even addressed indirectly that if he has no desire to hear it, he could leave at his own decision. It was also clear he was the identified unauthorized body as Solomon Engels looked at him.

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He did not waver and met the gaze of the hologram head-on. Then, Darcia's answer revealed that he was being trusted. Glancing at her, their eyes met as she continued that it would be his choice whether to stay or not. In truth, what he had heard will not depend on his own personal discretion if that they were assessing. For him, it was simply a matter whether it is usable or not. Because, he has no emotions which could affect his logical premises of following his orders. "I will hear it."

Although, he did feel fulfilled upon hearing Darcia trusts him. But then again, is that not simply a program as he is currently his handler and partner? Yet, it was not his concern. So, why should he bother with that. For now, he would determine what is the importance of this information and from that he will choose the appropriate course of action. Still, he has a sense that he is simply covering for something more simple. And that was, he simply wanted to know about her.

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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“I’d like to say I think the idea of fate is just a fool’s platitude...”



A rebel, huh?

She supposed that fit, the way she was talking. Stella reached up, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand to clear them. It hardly seemed fitting for such a person to be stuck on the verge of tears, after all. She had more important things to worry about right now than her own emotions. If she was going to do what she wanted to, there was a lot of work she had to accomplish, and apparently it started with flushing that person out of hiding. Part of her wondered if she could ever be ready for that, but in the end, whether she was ready or not, she had to do it.

She had to fight not to laugh at his reaction to her words though. Oh, to be sure, he turned away in short order, but she didn’t miss the color of his cheeks beforehand. She wondered if anyone had ever thanked him for anything before—it didn’t seem that likely, if he really lived in the selfish way he seemed intent on convincing her he did.

“Hey Violet,” she asked as they both headed for the bike, about to set off for Specter.

“Have you ever had a friend before?”

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It was maybe a strange question to ask at this juncture, but if so, Stella gave no sign that she knew it, swinging onto the bike and waiting for him to climb on behind. She’d had a few, very few, in her life, but all of them so long ago now she was sure she’d forgotten their faces. She seemed to remember one just barely, from when she was a small child with her nose seemingly permanently buried in books most adults would never read. A teenaged boy, maybe. But she couldn’t remember anything about him.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, if she let herself have one now.

Kickstarting the bike off the ground, Stella settled into a moderate speed, skimming the edges of their current dome and setting a path for Specter. Of course, this plan about friends was all well and good, but she was left to doubt it a little when she registered the distinctive feeling of being held from behind. Entirely necessary of course, and something she’d not even stopped to notice when they were running for their lives. But now, when there was no chance of pursuit from behind
 well, now she noticed, ad it was her turn to be a little pinker than usual, something that she would adamantly put down to the sting of the wind if asked. This was definitely not the time to be considering anything else. She had a job to do, and he
 well, to him she was only a child anyway.




“
but sometimes, this one wonders if it is real after all.”



Their answers evidently satisfied the parameters of the written program, because the hologram of Solomon Engels nodded slightly. “Very well.” Darcia supposed this must still be a recording, because the hologram-figure removed something from his pocket and lit it up. A cigarette—definitely a habit of his, from back then. She remembered the distinctive smell of them. They were made in replicators like anything else, usually, and bereft of the negative health effects that smoking an actual plant was supposed to have had, but they still carried a distinctive scent, like ash. Exhaling a cloud of equally-illusory smoke, the hologram rocked back on his heels.

“It’s hard to even know where to begin. I suppose I should start by saying that everything is connected. And it begins with what the Network has told us of the outside world. It was based on those predictions that the EDEN project was even started—my parents and the people they worked with though that eventually, the world would begin to swallow itself as it deteriorated, and the Flowers would be needed to stabilize it, or at least to survive it.” He seemed to stare into the middle distance, as though remembering something.

“But I’m afraid that simply wasn’t true. The Earth is stabilizing on its own, and the moment any of the Flowers were sent out to try working their powers on it, they’d be able to tell. The Network has been feeding us false data this entire time.”

“That should be impossible,” Darcia pointed out. “The Network is not itself sentient.” It could not have self-conscious awareness, nor motivations, and therefore, excepting systematic, pervasive error, it should not be able to produce false readings.

“No,” Solomon agreed thoughtfully. “It isn’t. But its mistress is. Think of it this way: what would things be like if there was a being that contained all the power needed to run the domes, that interfaced with the Network on such a profound and basic level as to be able to control what went into its systems? Everything the EDEN scientists received, everything anyone ever read from the extranet, everything in any way connected to the Network or even just Dome electricity?”

He didn’t need to make his point any more sharply. Darcia could see the implication. If such a being existed, they could manipulate the Network in such a way as to feed false information to anyone or anything, at any time they should so desire. The Network was so pervasive in daily life in the Domes as to be almost ubiquitous. It was also so trusted that hardly anyone bothered to keep any records apart from it. Everything, from mundane extranet searches to highly-sensitive government documentation, could be changed to suit that being’s purposes.

“There is in fact such a being,” Solomon continued. “And you, Darcia, were made to save us all from her.”

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Abruptly, a second projection joined the one of Dr. Engels himself, and Darcia recognized, well
 herself. In her basic, skeletal form, anyway, the metal casing that covered her wires half-opened so that they could see what was happening in her innermost pieces. Solomon’s projection looked at this new one, and smiled softly. “Within your systems is a way to completely extricate yourself from the Network, but you yourself possess every bit of the processing power and ability to store data that the Network does. It is also within your parameters to handle the expulsion of all the energy that powers the domes, indeed to absorb it if necessary. Not now, not as you are, but as you were meant to be.” The projection waved a hand, and several of the wirings and systems on the projection of her changed their formation, moving to new places and settling there.

“In such a state, you would be able to enter the Network from outside of it, see where it had been changed by this being’s will, and revert everything. You would be able to give us back the truth of things.” He looked back at her, tilting his head to the side. “But I knew, even when I was making you, that something was wrong with the EDEN project. That the Seeds and Flowers were being killed for a reason that had nothing to do with the Prime Minister personally. He knows the being exists, but he is as trapped by her nature as any of the rest of us. He cannot risk her ire, lest the domes themselves cease to function. I may be wrong, but even to this day, when I know they’ll soon come for me
 I do not think it is his desire to see what I have discovered completely erased. But there are so few people who are capable of figuring out what needs to be done, to bring us out of these domes once again.” The hologram sighed.

“I made you because the EDEN project was failing for reasons we could not discern. You are as much a Flower as anyone can be, and I was afraid that they would destroy you for it, and so I destroyed my notes. You are safe now only because nobody understands what you are. But
 when the time comes and you must choose which path to take, there will be no going back. She will know who you are. What you are. And their ignorance will keep you safe no longer.”

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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⌈I saw it once...⌋

His emotions had rather settled well when he heard her question. An inquiry about having a friend. There were many types of that especially in his kind of world. But based on her intention, she probably meant those better off in books. That was then at best an idiotic thing to be asked of him. A sardonic smile was worn upon his lips. "Of course, they have their uses." His tone dripping with manipulative and dangerous intentions. More or less, they are tools for him to use in his ploys much like how he had described kisses are for him which got them in that twisted bet.

There was nothing else said by him as he waited for her to start the bike. Once, it was operational. He took his seat behind her. His arms snaked around her waist which is normal to be done especially in his current position. Such gestures, did nothing to elicit any profound response from him. That was because his mind was now drifting towards a hazy memory. It seemed that Stella's question of having a friend had more meaning for him than anyone could perceive.

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"I like this scarf very much, because you gave it to me."

Yes, there was a very stupid girl who believed deeply that they were friends. She was ditsy in every way. He could not help but watch her every move as she often gets herself hurt. She was also vibrant yet meek on the side. Not the kind to retort, she endures everything with a smile on her face. The kind who always looks forward to a future even it was bleak or nonexistent. It was annoying to even stay by her side, so suffocating. His orange eyes reflected irritation trickled with something akin to melancholy.

"Don't you know? We're friends!"

It was a good thing that Stella would not be able to see his expression. He lowered his head as his eyes were now hidden from anyone's prying observation. It was frustrating in a sense that the idiotic girl still holds a piece of his thoughts. When he had explicitly did and stated, she was disposable. Moreover, he was reminded of her when Stella inquired if he ever had a friend. Never once did he acknowledged that fact nor did he confirm that even to that moronic woman. So, why is he being flooded by memories of her? Perhaps...

"I saw a dream" Uno murmured softly more to himself as his hold on Stella tightened by reflex. That was right, he managed to stay by that girl's side not only for the purpose but also, it felt like he was in a dream. Something he does not want to wake up from. "Anyway, why the question? Don't you have friends?" He aired a question towards Stella as if wanting to divert his wandering mind from the thoughts of a hazy past. It would be great if they were at the Specter. His memories would probably stop being a bother as he would focus instead of what to do next. But really, it was impossible. Because, that stupid girl is the reason why his hair is like this.

"My favorite color is violet!"

⌈But, it was never to be my reality.⌋

A mistress... Dr. Solomon Engels is implying that the power source of the domes was not something converted by mankind from the existing resources of their world or at times, create something entirely new from mere theories. It was more than a clash of reactions to produce an effect. The power was a sentient being who held desires, whims, and emotions. There was also the accusation of falsity in regards to the information being given by the Network more specifically to the readings of the lands beyond the perceived sanctuary of the domes. From that point, he could understand why his elimination was sanctioned. But then again...

His mind wandered to the deployment of the Desolator at the Den. The Prime Minister never once stated that the military had sent such a dangerous weapon into the middle of the populace. There was also the authentication access which is given to the leader of the government, but there was an existing record of a usage with same credentials. Someone with such free reign equal to that of the Prime Minister. Those traits seemed to match what Solomon Engels was talking about a someone being a power source.

Then, there was the point in which Darcia was created to countermand the interactions of this source. A truly dangerous position to be in for certain. Even if it had been stated that the Prime Minister is not the primary aggressor but was simply being manipulated with a very effective bargaining tool, the domes. Still, he could not confirm such data as true. As much as he is concerned, this is simply gossip and nothing else. Thus, this is just additional information for him to use in the future. His orders had not be lifted, changed, nor was it finished. So, he will continue with his given parameters.

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"Darcia." His ice blue eyes looked at her with its usual demeanor. "It is your choice." That is right. From this point, he could not do anything for her. Solomon Engels had truly aspired for his masterpiece to live as much as possible by humans and even to be a savior of humanity. There was indeed irony present as well as blurring with the definitive line. However, he had never been the kind nor did he have the desire to ask anything beyond his set of orders. Thus, this will be the same. Yet, there was one thing for certain that he will be doing if ever she does follow the purpose of her creation. She will become an enemy and if that was to happen and orders are given to him. He will stand before her not as a partner nor a fellow government tool.

They will face each other as enemies and somehow, this is his truth and a feeling of something heavy weighed on him at that scenario. But much like what he had done, Crux simply set it aside and waited for Darcia's answer. Because whatever it is, he will allow her to do it by her own decision. This much he can do for her.

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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“The funny thing is, deep down I think all I’ve ever wanted is for someone to give a damn about me.”



Stella was no longer so willing to believe that he viewed everything so carelessly, but she still frowned when he insinuated that he used his friends for their utility only. She suspected that he was being dishonest or facetious with her, but then, it was slowly becoming normal, to try and see around the immediate words and tone, at least to a point. They made for a very strange duo, honestly, each of them a strange mix of straightforward and evasive.

The rest of the answer, though, was a bit more illuminating, if still vague. Maybe the matter itself was poorly defined. What did it really mean, to call someone a friend, anyhow? “A dream, huh? Sounds nice.” Of course, the question was eventually turned back around on her, though the complicated entrance into Specter prevented her from answering for a few more minutes, and when they were through, she immediately guided them to the safehouse Cass had told her was set up in the area. It was in the middle of a very quiet area, and their entrance was not noticed due to the relative sparseness of residential homes in the area. Her communicator, detached from the bike dash, served to automatically unlock the doors, and they stepped inside the foyer of what was actually a very nice house.

“How much money does he have, anyway?” she muttered, shaking her head. She found it hard to believe that even a doctor made this much if he was not able to practice openly, and she got the impression that most people had only volunteered for the EDEN project if they were a bit destitute. But who knew—he seemed to have a lot of allies.

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Allies, friends
 Stella sighed through her nose. “I don’t really know,” she admitted at last, making an inspection of the immediate area partly out of necessity and partly to have something to do with herself while she tried to decide how she wanted to talk about an uncomfortable topic. “I’ve known people I didn’t dislike
 the bookstore used to have some regular customers that would talk to me whenever they came in. But other than that
 if I did, it was a long time ago, and I don’t remember their faces.” She couldn't say she hadn’t, because she felt like she had had at least one, but
 did it really count if she couldn’t recall?

Finding the kitchen, she rummaged through the fridge until she pulled out enough ingredients to make something decent, laying it all out on the nice marble countertops. She figured they could probably plan and eat at the same time, and cooking might count as a nice way to distract herself while they did.

“Anyway, I guess it doesn’t matter. But you were thinking we need to draw the ugly stepsister out somehow, right?” It was his fairytale metaphor, but it was as good a way as any to refer to whomever or whatever this mysterious Spore was, no? “Any ideas on how to go about doing that?” Even bait was useless if the fish didn’t know it was there, after all.




“But it seems that no matter what this one does, it will always be alone in the end.”



Truly, it was difficult for Darcia to conceptualize. In all honesty, the part that was sticking with her the most was not what her function was meant to be—for she could accept that it was any number of things. She was just a machine, made for someone else’s design, and she understood that it would never be her choice what she was to do. What really puzzled her was that he said she was not as she was supposed to be. That she was meant to be something else.

“Does that mean that this one is a failure?” she asked cautiously, almost afraid of the answer. Certainly, many other people seemed to believe so, but
 Dr. Engels had never seemed to be among them. She wasn’t sure what it would do to her to find out that she was wrong about that, but she did not look forward to the discovery. Fortunately, it did not come.

He looked at her kindly, a sympathetic expression clear on his face. “No, Darcia, it does not make you a failure at all. What it means is that, like any other person, you have growing to do, and only you get to decide how.”

The sentiment echoed what Crux had said, about it being her choice what she did, and frankly, she wasn’t sure she understood what that meant. To be able to choose her fate? No, surely that was something reserved for human beings. It was not a luxury for something like her—something that could not even truly command her own body, as she had been so poignantly reminded earlier. A faint breeze stirred through the dome, and she smiled sadly.

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“How could this one choose, when this one can be commanded by anyone who does not like its decisions?” It had been the very hallmark of her existence since she was made—obedience protocols were mandatory on every android, no matter how advanced, and the overrides at the highest level were registered only with the government. Well enough if she desired to continue doing as they demanded of her, but
 if she wanted anything else, then they would be able to stop her with nothing more than a word.

“I cannot simply answer that for you, Darcia,” the hologram replied. “Except to say that, when it matters to you most, you will be able to do what you need to do. You only have to believe that you can.” She appeared unconvinced, tilting her head to the side and regarding him steadily. The image of her creator seemed to sigh, and then shook his head. “But perhaps it is not yet time for you to make that decision. In the end, I cannot tell you what to do, only what you were created for. But I at least never intended to leave you without a choice.” He smiled, and then his image flickered and disappeared.

“Program contains no further data.” The androgynous voice picked up again, and Darcia nodded, tucking the flat cylinder away in her pocket. For a long moment, she said nothing at all, only thinking over what information she had been given.

“This one
 this one does not think it has enough information to decide anything right now,” she said at last, turning to face Crux. “It knows who you are and what you must do, and it realizes that someday, if it chooses a certain thing, it may
” she paused, evidently uncomfortable with what she was saying. Whether it was just a conflict of her program and her thoughts, or something deeper than that, she could not say. “It may force you to confront it. But it
 may this one stay by your side, at least until it decides?” She knew one thing, and that was that she simply had no desire to leave right now. Darcia liked being here, liked being with her partner, in a way that had nothing to do with her obedience protocols and everything to do with her flawed, humanlike processes. Everything to do with the warmth she felt, being in his company. It was irrational, she knew, and in this way it would never make sense, but some things, perhaps, didn’t have to.

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Character Portrait: Crux Character Portrait: Darcia Character Portrait: Uno Summus Character Portrait: Stella Iaret
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⌈I preferred being hated as it is the easiest thing to do...⌋

The duration of the ride was at best frustrating for him. Reason? Uno truly did not like being bombarded by memories he knew was better gone from his mind. Ironic, though. His actions right now had been dictated by past events despite his preference of never looking back in time. Complicated isn't it? Yeah, he believes it as well. But, that is how life becomes interesting despite the occasional trouble he has once in a while. As it would appear, his comment had been heard. However, he did not expand on that topic any longer. There was no need which was his personal preference.

In any case, his question had not been answered as his appointed driver appeared to have been preoccupied with the rather complex entrance to the Dome labeled as Specter. He had been there a few times to do some jobs and even use his connections when applicable. After all, his profession does give him travel opportunities more than he could want. So, it would not be an unfamiliar setting for him. Although, he has no idea where is Cass' safehouse. It was no problem as Stella's HUD had been installed with the necessary information.

Soon enough, they had arrived at their intended destination. He does agree on her commentary about the money thing. It is true that he at times earn a few more bucks. That is why he gets to make and own those nifty devices he has. But, it would not be enough to splurge which will make him have a lot of hiding places in various domes. So, this is indeed surprising which makes him wonder what kind of connections Cass truly have. It was intriguing along with the hacker named Prometheus.

But then, he finally heard the answer to the question he had thrown back at her earlier. So, she was a loner type without any strong bonds to anyone. Well, she did have her customers but there was nothing more to that. But, she was trying to recall a time long ago where she has one. It was uncertain as she couldn't get a clear picture. That was good for her in his opinion. It was far better not to remember anything especially faces. It will save her the grief in the near future. "That's for the better." He noted as he took a sit on a nearby couch and assessed his injury. There was a bit of blood on the bandages but, it should be expected. Still, it was good.

Standing from his position, he checked on his companion who was making some noises at what appears to be a kitchen. As it seemed, she was making some food. He leaned at the doorway and looked at her. She asked about how they will be luring her stepsister out. True, he did say that she will be the bait since that so-called spore wanted this flower dead at all costs. Probably why, those two government hounds are after them, the best of the best. So, they definitely needed a plan. "Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained." He shrugged as he pulled out something from his pockets.

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"We'll be using this." Uno stated with a confident smile on his face. He showed the four cards once more. They were now identified as access cards which will allow them a limited window of entry to the Network without any kind of restrictions. "You did say, you want every one to see what's happening outside right? I bet that your stepsister wouldn't want that." This was his conclusion and the effective method of having someone come out was... "Make her really really mad and feel that everyone around her useless." His eyes looked at the cards with intent and had an approving nod. "One thing I'm really good at is pissing someone off. Don't you think?" This time he looked at her direction and winked.


⌈It is for the best to stay away, yet I want you to like me more.⌋

Failure... It is a word which had commonly been attached to Project Zero. Crux was well-aware of that. It was due to her humane traits which should never have been incorporated as she had been intended as a military arsenal. This was with basis as he who is essentially human had undergone a procedure where his emotions will never interfere, as they were viewed as a flaw. However, he does not see Darcia in a comparison to that word. A peculiarity but never as something that should be deleted due to being deemed as useless or worthless. All attributed for being a failure.

It was stated by her creator who implied that she simply needed to grow much like any human being does. This will be a rather challenging concept for someone who is classified as nothing more but a unique machine, an android. Even more so when it is a given that her will can be commandeered anytime needed or required. So, how does the process of a choice shall work on her? She can always be meticulously controlled with but a simple word even if, she has no desire to do the given directive. It was something she could not fight against.

The program was finally finished leaving them information damaging to that Government's Facade. A key, if he would be metaphorically describe it. They are now charged with a choice whether to open the door, keep the key, give it away, or destroy it. His choice was rather clear from the very beginning, but he is not certain with Darcia's. Then, the answer soon spoken as it was directed to him. She cannot decide with just the snippet of information given to her and was aware of a future possibility where they might be placed in conflict with each other. Such scenario made her uncomfortable, it seemed he was not alone on that. Then, she asked for his permission to let her stay by his side.

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He gazed at her for some time before finally expressing something. Closing his eyes, he released a sigh which is more akin to relief. A small yet whimsical smile decorated his lips. "Of course." He started as those ice blue eyes were revealed once more as her form was reflected upon them very well. "Darcia, until you make a decision. You may stay by my side." He placed a hand on her head once more and gently patted her much like one does to a child who had done good. "You are my partner." He stated with a hint of stern sincerity in his voice. The moment was only interrupted with a call from the GHOST team. He excused himself and answered.

"Crux. We lost them." Acknowledging that, he soon ended the comm with just a few words to create an official report. "It is time to go back to work." He looked at Darcia as he reached out his hand to her. This time, there was no dance. He simply offered it for one fact. Her hands are nice to hold and he likes it.

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“I remember, when I was little, that someone told me a storm was coming. What I never realized was that I could be the storm.”



Stella dug through the refrigerator, which was as well-stocked as its predecessor. Kind of weird when she thought about it; if Cass just used these places as needed, then who made sure the food didn’t go bad? But all of it was fresh, actually, and she wondered if maybe there weren’t more people helping them behind the scenes or something. She supposed they had no way of knowing how many people were in on the big secret. That Prometheus guy seemed like the well-connected type—maybe he had something to do with it?

Well, in the end it didn’t matter much. Returning to the counter with her discoveries, the washed her vegetables in a sink installed in the island she was using and selected a knife from the wooden block of them. To use wood for something so mundane—that really was the sign of someone with money to spend. While she got everything organized, Uno remained in the foyer, she assumed to check his injuries or communications or something. When he entered, though, she looked up, a troubled expression crossing her face.

Better not to remember? It seemed a very unconventional way of thinking about friendships. Even she, with all her cynicism, wouldn’t necessarily want to forget if in fact she’d ever had one. “Is it?” she asked softly, glancing down at the tomato in her hand. Well, apparently whatever dream he’d seen hadn’t ended very well. Maybe it had turned into a nightmare, and that made it something it would be better to forget? Why did the thought make her so sad?

“Well
 that’s too bad then. Because I’m pretty sure that no matter what I do, I won’t be able to forget you.” She glanced up briefly, her eyes sincere, then covered it with a light smile. “It’s not every day I meet such a big jerk, after all.” But, well
 he was as much her friend as anyone ever had been, she supposed. Whether either of them liked things that way or not. Shaking her head a bit, she went back to slicing vegetables.

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The idea was a radical one, there was no mistaking that. Stella’s lips pursed for a moment, the steady rhythm of her hands at work providing a metronome for her thoughts, a steady, regular sound like the beating of her heart. “I’d like to see them try to cover that one up,” she admitted with the hint of a smirk. The government had some seriously good press people, including the Deputy Prime Minister herself. But it would be really hard to explain that to everyone. “If you really think it would draw her out, and you are the expert at making people mad
 then I think we have to do it. But we should make sure to make it obvious where we’re broadcasting it from, so they don’t tear down half the dome looking for us.” The idea of collateral damage was not appealing to Stella at all.




“But will it nurture the ground beneath the rain, or only visit destruction upon the very things it desires to save?”



It was, in truth a lot to take in, even for someone with processing power like that belonging to Darcia. That was, in part, why she had chosen to give the matter more time and thought before she made her decision. But also
 it was not a straightforwardly logical decision, not for her. She acknowledged that her emotions would no doubt become involved, both her feelings for her creator—respect, affection, perhaps even what some people might call familiar love. Her feelings about whether or not it was good or right to lie to the human population of the domes. About herself, and what she was worthy or capable of doing.

But most of all


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“Yes.” A simple affirmation, but she was hardly one to waste words when few would express most elegantly what she desired to convey. Agreement, both with the fact that they were partners, and also with the notion that it was time to return to their duties. This tangent had certainly not yielded them nothing, for now they knew with certainty the identity of the Seed helping their targets, and understood more of the background of their mission, which may prove to be helpful down the line. But now they needed to find Stella and Uno again, and they would be in effect starting from scratch to do so.

A gentle smile on her face, Darcia reached forward and took the proffered hand. Most of all, it was her feelings about her partner that would need to be deciphered before she could know how she was to act. Because, even if she should find a way to circumvent her orders and also decide that doing so was the right course of action, a further question remained. Would she be able to stand facing this person, and fight him? The thought made her uncomfortable, in a similar way to how she had been distressed when she had wanted to go to his aid against Cass, but her obedience protocols would not allow her to move. This was a person that she desired would continue living. He was not a perfect person, and she did not believe that they always agreed, but
 to her, he was important, and she did not wish to see him become hurt. She wished even less to be the cause of that hurt.

So for now, she would make sure he wasn’t. “This one thinks
 if the targets have some of the same information as we do, then
 they might attempt to make it more widely known.” Which meant that they would have to make another appearance of their own volition eventually. In the meantime, it seemed that the best course would be to try and determine from where they would be doing so, so that they could be there when it happened and respond in time.