Setting
Default Location for The Eden Project
Minimap
northwest |
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northeast |
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You are here. |
east |
southwest |
south |
southeast |
The Eden Laboratory is a part of 
The Eden Project.
6 Characters Here
Fina [431] "The sun won't shine, but it's such a nice day."
Lita [410] "There are so many beautiful things in this world, as long as we open our eyes to them."
Jace [249] "Please don't take my sunshine away."
Kuro [31] "How long will we play this game?"
Remus Alabaster [28] "Do you fear the dark?"
Tsubasa [27] "There is something at work in my soul which I do not understand"
Start Character Here »
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❝Keep your face away from the sun and let the shadows embrace you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
The Reiss family had one other Android working in their employ. Lady Reiss had more than just Fina in her arsenal after all. Just as loyal to her cause she also had a Housecare Unit - because Maid and Butler Unit were pretty much the same thing and they just combined the title into one for simplicity's sake - that took care of home affairs and kept everything proper for those in the Flock who lived here now, free from the impurities of the outside world. "Thank you for your work. I should have prepared better for this possibility." Minnie took her medicine, her eyes drooping quickly as her burst of energy wore her out. "Sorry, I'm sorry, rival." Minnie whispered as they were piled into the hover vehicle.
"I see. Thank you, Jarvis, you are quite the Unit. I suppose I should reward you." Lady Reiss said to her first android, she had gotten Jarvis even before she had Fina. He knew the ins and outs of the Reiss's work more than Fina did, who still seemed to be in the adjustment phases of her work here. She pressed a button to call Fina and Minnie in, but not before manually waking up Lita up. There was no point in trying to make sure she was restrained, with Jarvis here she had no hopes of getting away. "Did you want something, Lady Reiss?" Fina asked as she opened the plasticine door, Minnie behind her. "Fina, you need to be more cautious when guarding someone. Little Lita hear nearly got away and we would have been in quite some trouble."
Her gaze fell upon her silver haired daughter next. Minnie did not shy away though. "As for you, Minnie, you're really quite impulsive. Do you not know how releasing Lita to the world could hurt us and the Flock? This is their sanctuary, why are you trying to ruin it?" Minnie's eyes welled up, hands balled into fists. "But Lita's my rival! It's mean to lock her up! Only I'm allowed to be mean to her!" Minnie preferred their usual spats of mocking each other in front of producers and having witty quips to knock the other down. She didn't like kidnapping, this wasn't how to treat a rival at all! Where was the respect?
"You still have much to learn." Lady Reiss said, almost shaking her head in disappointment. "Go to sleep, your audition today has been moved to tomorrow." Minnie nodded, glancing one last time at Lita. "I'm sorry." She told her rival, looking miserable. "I'll ind a way to save you!" Maybe it'd be better if she didn't state her intentions in front of everyone. Waiting for Minnie to leave, eventually it was just the four of them here now. "Oh, Lita, you poor thing. After I trusted you and graciously allowed you out to perform, to thank me you try to betray me?"
Her smile was very deadly as she eyed Lita. "If you betray my oh so precious trust again, perhaps I won't be so forgiving. Maybe I could even organize a strike on this Jace of yours. Fina won't fail a second time, I assure you."
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❝Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
Lita was not without damage from the bumpy car ride, the tail of her pretty gown had been caught in the hatch of the trunk, tearing and spattering with mud. Jarvis dumped her unceremoniously at the foot of his owner's desk, dislocating her hip joint from its rotor, as well as one of her wrists. Her light weight and flexibility didn't come without disadvantages, it was why she was going into the lab for constant maintenance and upgrades. The intricate coif had come out by now, her wide eyes still blank, the lights behind her optical sensor dulled. Jarvis leaned down to turn the idol unit back on, pushing the almost hidden button on the back of her next. The optical sensors began to whir, her internal systems staring back up.
Lita blinked a few times and tried to sit up, finding that she couldn't due to the dislocated hip. She popped her wrist back into place as Minnie and Fina entered, the ring leader scolding them both. Lita attempted to pop her hip back into the joint, but found it was difficult to do so on her own. She couldn't sensors her lower half, no doubt a wire having disconnected somewhere within. Frustration welled up within her, she had been so close to escaping, she had even had her rival's assistance, but in the end, she had been taken again. Next time Lita had the chance she would make sure to escape properly. That is, if this woman didn't decide to shut her down completely and chop her up for parts. Each android was valued at over a million credits, so how could this woman afford two? Had she spent her life savings? Sold human parts? Sold her daughter's medication? Or maybe something even worse?
The Household Unit was watching her, his blue eyes cool and uncaring. Why didn't these androids see the problem in what their master was doing? Had she deleted their directional programming? Or maybe they were older units that hadn't been given the development programs to blossom into their own? Lady Reiss dismissed her daughter, sending Minnie from the room. It was three androids and one human now, surely they could easily defeat her, but Lita had the feeling that these two could not be swayed. She attempted to sit up once more, but the most Lita could do with her hip joint disconnected was prop herself up on her elbows. "Don't be Minnie," Lita smiled. "You should try to stay out of this, for your sake, okay?" Lita watched her go, the door shutting behind the white haired idol.
Lita stared the snake right in the eyes as she replied. "Gracious?" She inquired, touching a finger to her cheek cutely. "I'm sorry, my mannerism programming doesn't consider kidnapping and holding hostage to be gracious." Sure, blame it on the programmers. She sighed and shook her head, "I'm afraid empty threats like that won't work. You see, Jace's programming learns. She knows that attack now, it won't work again. If I remember correctly, using all of those elements drained poor, fragile, Fina's battery to near death." Lita smiled charmingly, despite her prone position, "Your threats hold meaning to me, you see, I was programmed to never feel fear."
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❝Keep your face away from the sun and let the shadows embrace you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
"I want to be useful." Minnie murmured, maybe mostly to herself as Lita tried to tell her not to get involved and she left. Fina was half a mind to go after her but she knew Lady Reiss wanted her to stay here. Jarvis was remaining here as well, his eyes never leaving his mark, Lita with her seemingly injured body now. No matter what Lady Reiss said Lita did not seem to be intimidated by her words. It was because androids didn't really feel fear, not in a normal sense. There was a sense of urgency on Fina's end when it came to fulfilling missions, but it wasn't the same sort of panic humans got when they were in a tough spot. It was different, but it was difficult to try to explain it too.
"The graciousness was in response to being allowed to perform." Fina said, confused at why Lita was referring to the wrong thing. Was this supposed to be her version of sarcasm, or were her language libraries not yet up to date? Azariah let out a big of a laugh, something between a laugh of amusement and of relief. "I see, that saves us some trouble then." Fina of course wrote to memory the precise information here, that Jace's programming learned. She had suspected if course but this was confirmation now that the combat unit was going to be able to predict the same railgun attack as last time. "Do you hear that, Fina? She doesn't feel fear. I suppose this means it's time for you to make her feel something else." The Stealth Unit had an idea of what this meant.
And so she began to toy with the knob between Lita's legs again, but this time with more force. "You should have obeyed." Fina told the only Idol Unit as she squeezed it painfully tight with all of her strength, almost pulling at the installment. She knew how they worked, she had one of her own. She could manipulate it in ways to transmit something akin to pain into Lita's brain servos. This went on for quite a while, even after Lady Reiss instructed Jarvis to amplify Lita's pain receptors. If she didn't have any he could substitute them in with his own to let her experience physical pain even if it wasn't a part of her system.
And that was when someone entered the room. It was the man who called himself useless, one of the benefactors of the Flock. Dane Tyrell he was, one of the sheep here. "Hey, Fina, do you want to go explore aga- wait, wait, could it be?" His eyes lit up in excitement. "Could this be Lita? The Lita? One of my favorite idols?!" Fina gave him a funny look. "Could this be Lita?" He nodded, even more excitement. "This is so co-" And then his eyes widened again. "Wait, why is she here and why are you touching her down there?" The Stealth Unit glanced at Azariah who shrugged. "Oh my, it's one of your fans." She sad to Lita. "Please, perform for him. I'm sure it'll bring a smile to his face."
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❝Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
Lita watched Minnie go, knowing she had just dismissed what was possibly her only ally by informing her not to get involved, but the idol unit had a feeling that if Minnie had stayed, she would only dig the hole deeper and continue to get them in trouble. Lita didn't wish harm on Minnie, she didn't wish harm on anyone actually, not even the white haired snake and Fina, who had gotten her into this mess. Lita had been produced without the fear gene, which technically, could be a danger. Should her programming be hacked and she suddenly had the impulse to jump off of a roof or in front of a car on a dare, the unit would have no sense of urgency or fear stopping her from doing so. There was logic of course, logic was one of those strange things that had been planted in her brain that Dr. Grover had tried to erase. Lita wasn't supposed to have so much personality.
"I know what she meant," Lita replied with a shake of her head. It seemed that for a stealth unit, she wasn't all that good at detecting the truth. Surely once Jace was put back together, she would come to rescue Lita from this prison. Then she would put this stealth unit out of her misery, or at least call the cops and have her registration number taken down so that she could be reset to factory settings. Okay, maybe Lita slightly wished harm on one person, but it was only fair considering she had taken Lita hostage and kidnapped her twice. This Jarvis character wasn't so innocent either, although Lita could tell that he was simply another one of the white haired woman's tools. No doubt she didn't care about the lives of her androids, no doubt she was the selfish type of human that would dispose of them as soon as they inconvenienced her.
Lita's charming smile did not falter at the woman's words. "Your techniques won't work on me, I don't feel pain either." Otherwise she wouldn't be able to dance on stage for hours at a time without a break and wear high heeled shoes from dusk until dawn. Fina came close, peeling off Lita's idol costume, a one piece, and her undergarments. Jarvis moved in, pushing the hip joint back into place and reconnecting the wires. Lita wiggled her toes, sensation to her lower body restored. He held her arms behind her back, perhaps not realizing just how sensitive her joint rotors were.
Both arms disconnected, Lita squirming as Fina began her torture that moment. Her cheeks flushed with that artificial pink, the normally odd sensation becoming even stranger. "S-stop!" She panted, Jarvis holding her in place, watching keenly. Lita blushed, making those cute sounds as the sensation became no doubt what the humans referred to as pain. They were in the middle of this humiliating torture when a boy entered. Lita opened one eye, his ID not coming up on her optical scanners. Could it be he wasn't a registered citizen? Or maybe there was tech in here that blocked the public database? "Please, help me," she begged, the sensation having become overwhelming.
Instead, the white haired witch had a different idea, she ordered Lita to perform for him and Lita had a feeling she wasn't allowed to refuse. Jarvis popped her arms back into place and moved to stand by the white haired woman's side.
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❝Keep your face away from the sun and let the shadows embrace you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
Lita may not be able to feel pain on her own, but Fina had the sensation ingrained into her system. Why was that, you ask? It was for easier detection of any anomalies in her body when injured. Internal damage would register as something akin to pain in her mind in order to differentiate it from the feeling of a normal impact. Of course, her down there knob could also register the feeling of pain for a more authentic experience with intimate activities that Stealth Units sometimes had to go through. As Lita was made to perform for Dane who was making starry eyes at the idol, Fina could feel the beeping. She faintly heard it on Lita's end too, they were both at low battery now. "Actually we should postpone this." Azariah said with a casual wave of her hand.
"Jarvis, take Lita and plug her into the socket here, Fina's usual one. Fina, you can go to the substitute socket to charge." Fina nodded, obeying without question. They were useless without electricity to power their batteries after all. "Good night, Lady Reiss." She was programmed to say this each night before charging time. "Good night, sweet Fina." Lady Reiss kissed her cheek and offered the same to Lita, though that one was a bit more mocking. With one final kiss Jarvis's way, the Shepard of the Flock left the building to go rest at her own home in a separate building from here. Fina's eyes shut as she went into charging mode, a strange feeling of flying coming across her.
Anger. Rage. Fear. Pain. There was so much of it as the endless beeping mocked her, laughed at her, told her that no matter what she did, she would never be good as her perfect, oh-so tragic sister. Even if the words about her made no sense Io knew that her life was a cursed one. She was just a sheep in the grand design of things, she would never be important. "Why is it you? Why is it always you, Callisto?" Twins they were, but one was always better than the other. As the elder became useless, a waste of oxygen and space to roam the streets and cause trouble, the younger excelled in everything and earned the adoration of everyone. And now here she was, dying and sick, the pride of the family. Like this mother and father would never pay attention to her. Even their big brother, Metis, was always spoiling and doting on poor fragile beautiful Callisto and not frumpy ugly Io.
"You have to take everything from me, don't you?" Io hissed, swinging her arm in the air with a dramatic swish, locking the door behind as as the nurses slammed. It was after visiting hours but because of her experience in truancy and delinquency it had been easy to sneak in. "You're good at making people smile and love you, but all I've ever been good for was sneaking about." Why was this happening? Why did her heart hurt so much. "No one's ever cared about me, and now you-" Poor stupid Io didn't say it, she couldn't say it. Even Dane, her best friend, probably didn't understand her. Callisto was the only one to really love her.
But she couldn't say it. Not when her emotions were running this high, not when her heart was breaking.
Her eyes hardened into tiny little rays of anger and hatred. "Once you die, they'll tragically and dramatically moan for you. Mom, dad, Metis, they'll never look my way. You've always been good at getting people's attention, haven't you?" Callisto was the light, Io was the dark. That's how it always would be, even after she died. "But I can save you. I'll have the last laugh... just trust me, stupid Cali." Azariah, the great and wondrous, had a plan to save Callisto once and for all. "So -" Io kicked the door, knocking the nurse away as she ran, tear streaming down her face. "So please d-don't die!" She whispered, muffled into her own sleeve as she sprinted away. This would be their last talk because her plan was to give herself up for money, the money to give Callisto the treatment she'd need to survive.
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❝Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
As Lita was forced to dance and sing like a puppet on a string, it became abundantly clear that this human, Dane, was not going to help her. His eyes sparkled as she paraded around in the nude into an imaginary microphone, winking and blowing kisses the way she always did during a performance. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched her battery drain from twenty, to ten, to five percent. The white haired woman at last called off the performance, the internal cooling system kicking in so that her hardware didn't overheat. Jarvis grabbed Lita as he was ordered to and placed her down beside a plug, forcing the wire into her charging socket. He tied her hands up with a scarf from her own costume and used the rest of it to cover her prone form, the white haired woman striding over to give Fina a kiss on the cheek and then, as though to mock her, delivered one to Lita as well.
Poor saving mode kicked up, her eyes closing as she was drawn into an artificial sleep, a strange jolt pulling her under, the idol's head collapsing against Fina's shoulder.
"I don't know Io, I don't know why. It was random, it could have been anyone, but I'm so glad it's not you." Callisto's smile was gentle, she was happy it wasn't her sister in this bed, with this burden hanging over her shoulders. "Io, can you do something for me, please?" Callisto asked, clasping her sister's hands in her own. "Live a good life... for me, alright? I know it's selfish, but I want you to be happy." She handed Io a letter from the college she had been accepted to. "Go in my place. Find a husband, pursue something you love, be happy." Instead, Io lashed out.
"Wait! Io! Don't go!" Callisto reached out, fingers brushing the bars of the bed. She looked pathetic, so small and weak, blond hair thinning to wisps, body so frail she could hardly lift her hand up to watch her sister storm out. Tears pricked her eyes, beginning to pour down her cheeks as she sobbed, covering her eyes with those painfully thin fingers. Once so vibrant and full of life, Callisto had been reduced to this pitiful existence. She begged her family to let her go, she begged them to make the pain stop, but they dragged on every second, clinging to Callisto as though she were a life raft in the ocean. "Don't cry," the nurse said, rubbing her back. "Don't cry, it'll be alright. That girl is rotten anyways," she soothed, trying to coax Callisto into drinking sips of water. The sobs turned into coughs, blood spattering the blanket.
"She isn't rotten," Callisto whispered as the nurse made her lay back in bed. "She's my sister," her eyes began to feel heavy. It was another day in which she prayed that her body was at last at its end. They were hoping for a miracle, but her family could not afford the experimental, possibly life saving treatment that would prolong her life and maybe even cure her. Her family would never know, however, as the next morning, Callisto would not wake up. She slept like a fragile sleeping beauty, the doctors telling her parents to give up hope, to pull the plug. They called Io over and over, wanting her to be here for the final moment when they would do it, but Io never picked up.
Before the plug could be pulled, Callisto awoke for only a few minutes. There was a stranger standing in her room, examining her body. "Who...?" Callisto asked blearily. "Oh, you're awake? I guess you still do have some fight left in you," a smiling face stood over her. "Are you... an angel?" Lita asked, wondering if she was at last gone. "No, no, nothing so pure. I assure you though, I will take this pain away. You're going to be legendary Callisto, the whole world will know your name." She smiled.
"Who...?" Lita asked again as the woman injected something into her port, temporarily stopping her heart. "I'm Dr. Grover and I believe we're just getting started."
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❝Keep your face away from the sun and let the shadows embrace you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
Her eyes opened and Io felt incredibly... strange. Something had gone wrong, why was she alive? What was she doing here? Wasn't this Azariah's place, one of her rooms? She had a terrible headache, it made her want to vomit all over herself. She looked down in... confusion actually now as she realized something very strange. "What's... why am I.." It was the early morning, the sun hadn't even fully risen yet. It was the sunrise, Cali had always loved to see it. "If I'm here, then does that mean..." She shook her head, trying to get rid of this awful feeling. Who was this strange girl next to her? Io nudged her cheek, something seemed strange. There was a charging port, was this an android? It gave her a headache so Io left her, standing up, feeling a strange yanking sensation behind her.
Staring into her reflection in the mirror... something impossible was in her sight. What happened to her? Why was she here? "I - this isn't... me?" She clutched at what she thought was her head, trying to steady her breathing. What was happening? "...I don't..." Maybe years worth of memories flashed through her mind, her system trying to overwrite itself but then she shook it off. No, whatever this was, she had to remain in control! But - but this Lita, why did she have almost the exact registration number as Fina? They were just a single digit away, Fina the elder, Lita the younger. According to the database they were registered at the exact same time, that was what the pleasant cool female voice in her head was telling her.
Something strange clicked in her mind but she could hardly tell. Lita was very light as Fina disconnected her, rushing out. She had to know for sure, she had to see this for sure. "Let's go home." She said to no one in particular as she said something very familiar. "Stealth Mode Activate." A field of invisibility surrounded her in an area of effect, allowing Lita too, to remain undetectable to all eyes. It was easy to remember where she lived, it was the same hell that everyone ignored them in. Dane was crying for some reason, every morning he did this. In Fina's memory storage she could recall asking him once why he was crying. "Because my best friend died." He answered. "Io was my best friend but she's gone forever."
She couldn't bring him along on this adventure though, but perhaps later she would find him again. For now, they had to get away.
After what felt like years, here they were. She could recall it, the arguments, the fights, the news of Callisto being hospitalized as the results of the diagnoses came through. "Hey, wake up... Cali." It was just a guess, but if Io was right, then could it be? "It's home." Would she recognize it? Did her memories come back too? Or maybe this guess was completely off and Lita had nothing to do with this at all? Where was Callisto? Was she even alive anymore? Considering the grave marker at the back of the house with Callisto's name on it, the answer was no. She didn't see one with her own name though - probably because she was never officially stated to be dead.
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❝Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
Callisto awoke in a strange place with strange people surrounding her. They were just all in white and wore masks that covered their mouths and noses. Callisto looked left, then right, attempting to gauge her new surroundings. She was no longer wearing a thin hospital gown, but a woolly nightgown, the shoulder unstrapped so that they had access to the port in her chest. "Good morning," a woman smile, pulling the mask down. "You're from.... the hospital," Callisto wheezed, struggling to breathe. The woman reached over, turning up a dial, oxygen flowing into her lungs. There were no nasal cannulas though, it seemed the woman had performed a tracheotomy while Callisto was asleep. "Do you remember my name?" Callisto thought back, her mind feeling fuzzy. "Dr. Grover," she replied slowly, having reached into the depths of her mind to draw the name forward.
"Very good and you, Callisto, have been taking a very long nap. It's been about three months since my hospital visit." She smiled, brushing Callisto's sparse hair from her face. Callisto didn't have it in her to react. Tears welled up in her eyes, she thought she had finally died. "Your sister paid a hefty price so that you could be here. We're going to do our best to cure your cancer." Her smile was strange, as though it wasn't real. "You're... lying," Callisto wheezed. Dr. Grover's eyes narrowed and then she laughed. "You're half right," she lifted Callisto's weak body up, placing it gently in a wheelchair. She could hardly hold her own neck up her body was so atrophied. "Where are you going? She shouldn't leave the containment cell." Someone rushed up to them, but Dr. Grover waved them away, taking the remote so that the wheelchair would follow her out of the strange glass box and down the hall.
"We need you Callisto, you see, you have a natural energy about you, one that brings people together. I've been working on a very big project, one that I think you would be perfect for." She led the wheelchair into a room lined with what appeared to be bodies. A chill ran down Callisto's spine, the strap across her chest barely keeping her from slipping out of the chair and trying to run away. If her legs could hold her, she could make it down that hall and- "This one." They stopped in front of a pretty pink haired body. Upon closer inspection, Callisto could see that it wasn't real. "A robot?" Dr. Grover nodded, "very observant. Perhaps, if you weren't dying, I would have taken you under my wing. This is Project XENA, made to look, see, and feel human." She picked up on of Callisto's hands to touch the velvety surface of the android. "How...?"
"My, my, nosy are we? Very well, this way." The wheelchair began to move again, following the dark haired woman. They entered a new room, one lined with tanks glowing a soft, blue hue. "This is where your body will be while your consciousness is attached to XENA." Stasis tanks? Callisto had only seen those in theory, she had never thought them to actually be possible. Callisto's head snapped to the side, recognizing her twin instantly. "Io," tears welled up in Callisto's eyes. She reached out, placing a shaking hand to the tank. The one next to her had Callisto's name written on it, the two of them would be side by side, even in hell. "It won't be long now and while you're in there, we'll research every inch of you to rid you of your cancer."
Lita's eyes peeked open, one golden orb, then the other, staring up at the sky. She had strange dreams like this all the time, but tonight's had felt all too real. She had never seen herself in a dream before. She had never heard names either. "Fina, why did you bring me here?" Lita could vaguely recall it, the name. "No... Io, you're Io aren't you?" She sat up in the grass, looking at the grave marker in the backyard. Callisto, it read, the girl from her dreams. "Am I... am I... her?" An alarm bell went off in her head, "Io we're-" A gun shot went off, tearing through the ground at her feet. Panicked, Lita crawled back. Emergency mode activated. A voice rang in her head.
"Come out with your hands up! You're surrounded!" The authorities called, but through it, there was the tinkle of a familiar laugh. "No need to be so harsh boys, my androids cannot hurt humans." She grinned, Dr. Grover striding through the back gate. "Lita, Fina, you two have been very naughty. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you to android jail." She placed a glowing blue dot on Lita's forehead, the idol unit's body shutting down. Her arms and legs went rigid, her eyes wide as she was paralyzed from the neck down, falling back down into the soft grass.
"Things would have been much easier if you hadn't remembered."
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【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
Callisto woke up - well, Lita did but Io knew who it was that was in her body. Who else could it be but Callisto? She asked why, why was she brought here. Io remained quiet, she knew it read Callisto not because she herself could read the grave marker but because Fina's software was reading it for her and told her what it meant. The very first word she'd been able to comprehend in writing was that of her twin sister's name. "Yeah." She confirmed her identity, she was Io. "I only just remembered. But why are you here? I gave myself to pay for your treatment!" They had no money but Io knew she was useless, human garbage, so she chose to sell herself in order to save the twin that was actually worth something.
In the end it was all useless.
Doctor Grover was here, an antagonistic force that had tricked them both into this awful game. Something was shot at Callisto, shutting her down. How to use her abilities? How to do anything at all? This robot body felt so strange, and yet they were surrounded by enemies on all sides. Then Fina took over for her, speaking. "Stealth Mode Activate!" Utterly invisible she jumped to avoid the blue not thing and grabbing Lita, the android dashed away to safety. Android jail? Last she heard, no one ever returned from Android Jail! After finally remembering who they were, they couldn't just get caught like this! Using speed and agility Fina was able to evade capture, Lita carefully at her side. Fina herself was not able to attack humans, but Io was not programmed by the same rules as she.
But finally they made it to the only sanctuary the Stealth Unit could think of. Would Lady Reiss protect them here? It was the Flock, and Azariah Reiss was smiling, welcoming them back to the premises. "You really shouldn't be protecting them, Azariah Reiss." Dr. Grover said with a cheerful smile, her men ready with their guns up. Reiss shook her head, eyes gleaming. "I'm not protecting yours, I'm simply protecting what belongs to me. I own both Lita and Fina. If you wish to have them back, you'll have to reimburse me for their costs and the emotional damage it would cause my daughter, Minnie."
Would it work? Would Dr. Grover stand down? Dane was there, he had his camera out to film the entire thing. "And if they shoot, I can upload and ruin GENOS's reputation forever for shooting beloved Lady Reiss, caretaker of the downtrodden and the weak. She was a modern day Mother Theresa to the media, her death would not be forgiven so easily. "Wake up." Fina manually overrode Grover's blue light weapon on Lita's body, hopefully restoring her functions. "Use your distress signal. Jace should be rebuilt by now, isn't she one of your friends?" The signal would activate Jace and bring her here. They would probably need her help.
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❝Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
Fina confirmed her identity as Io, the girl from her dreams. Not an android, a human. Whose memories were these? The girl called Callisto? And was Lita truly Callisto? She found it hard to believe. After all, she was an android. Io peppered her with questions, ones Lita only had half of the answers for. "The treatment for Callisto was... to become an android." Lita sat up, clutching the soft robe against her body. She gave an artificial shiver and rose to her feet. "That night, Io, you stormed out, she didn't want you to go. She didn't want you to live like this." Wetness blurred her optical sensors, what were these things leaking out of her eyes? Lita touched her cheeks, oh, this is what the humans called tears. She was crying, or perhaps her cooling system was working overtime? "She didn't want any of this."
They were surrounded, police pointing their weapons at the two units. "How special," Dr. Grover smiled, interest clearly piqued. "I've never seen an android recover memories from their previous life." Lita was paralyzed, the blue dot stopping her from moving or using any of her emergency functions. The idol unit wasn't afraid, she had never heard of android jail, she didn't know what it entailed. Fina reached out, grabbing her body and turning on stealth mode. The two of them disappeared, Lita wanting to say something, but her lips were paralyzed, frozen in an 'o' of surprise. For some strange reason, Fina brought them back to the Reiss Residence, no doubt believing that they would be sheltered and safe in the arms of Azariah, the leader of the Flock. No doubt it was in her programming to come back here under any circumstance.
Dr. Grover smiled, "I suppose for the time being, it would be interesting to see where this experiment goes. I won't interfere, but should things go south, I won't hesitate to remove both androids from your estate under the pretense that you are using them to harm others." Two could play at this game. "I do believe Lita is not yours either, Azariah, if you would please return her to her proper owners, I would be utmost grateful for your cooperation." She waved to the officers she had brought with her, who were equally confused by this entire escapade. "But isn't the idol unit stolen property?" An officer asked, scratching his chin. "Yes, but for now, we'll retreat." These were clearly not officers of the state, but privately employed ones. "As long as no harm comes to the units, I don't see why they couldn't remain here."
Fina managed to override the blue dot, restoring function to Lita's limbs. Lita pried the blue dot off of her forehead, flicking it off to the side. "I can call Jace here, but she won't stay." Lita sent out a distress signal, she didn't know how long it would take for Jace to find them either. If Jace arrived, no doubt she would return Lita to her rightful owners. Which might just be for the best considering Lita didn't know what other plans the white haired snake had for her. Unless she wanted to take Jace hostage too?
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【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
Callisto was still speaking as if she were Lita. Io's heart burned - well, if she even had one anymore. Still, they had to get away, they had no choice but to escape for now. "I was never smart." It was easy for her to be tricked. "So because of stupid me, we're both gone." Escaping from trouble, they ran into the open arms of Azariah Reiss, who for some reason was siding against Dr. Grover with them. If her memory was correct, wasn't Lady Reiss cooperating with Dr. Grover way back then? Or was that just - it hurt her head to try to think of this, it was literally against her programming to consider it, so she wiped it from her mind for now.
In the end Dr. Grover retreated, but only for now. It was clear the hostilities were going to continue. "Why did you help us?" Io asked, still feeling sick to her stomach about all of this. Lady Reiss hugged them both but it was impossible to see her face as this was done. "Because isn't it such a beautiful moment for two twins to reunite?" Did they really, though? Callisto's memories were here, but Lita was still Lita. And this whole time, Fina was wrestling for control again too, trying to push Io back into the corner. "My head hurts." Lady Reiss embraced her again, and as she did her body went limp. For a moment there was extreme pain but then everything felt right again. Fina blinked her eyes, toyed with her fingers then shrugged. "Io is useless." Fina said with new clarity, in control once again. "But I am Fina, and I am very strong."
Minnie and Dane both came to see what was going on, Dane quickly deleting the footage since in the end it did not end up a violent situation. "What's going on? Mother, what do you mean you own Lita now?" Fina too was confused by this but Azariah seemed unfazed by it all. "Because Lita belongs to Fina, and as I own Fina, I also own everything she owns. That's simply how the world works, by dear." Dane gave them weird stares, then shook his head. "Impossible." He muttered. Fina knew what he was talking about as he returned to play with the other Sheep who had no futures and no hopes. "The official story is that Fina here rescued you from the real culprit." Azariah said cheerfully to Lita. "And that as thanks, you wish to do a collaborative DC with my daughter, Minnie Reiss."
And that was when Minnie tried to slap her mother, then was about to fall over on her face before Fina saved her, catching her and then holding her in a princess carry. "Please be more careful, your body is fragile." Fina told her, trying not to look at Lita because it hurt her head and made Io try to fight back. "I don't want your help, Mother! I want to be an Idol with my own strength! That's what true cuteness is!" The silver maiden was glaring despite being carried right now by Azariah. "My dear child don't you know? With your body as it is, you'll never be able to be anything without me. Now take your medicine and behave." Soon enough Jace would be here. She most likely would not buy the story, would she?
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❝Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
"No, because of you, we're both still here." Lita said quietly. If not for Io, Callisto's body would have continued to waste away until death. Now, she could exist, albeit through the android. She could shine just as brightly on stage as she did back home. Lita found it awfully suspicious that the white haired snake was helping her. More than likely, she was only out to add more androids to her arsenal. Fina drew back, declaring that her head ached. Lita tilted her head to the side, wondering why androids would be programmed with pain. Twins to reunite? Did that mean those dreams had been real? Lita's mind reeled just thinking about it. "Jace told me that androids can't dream," she said softly, mulling over the supposed nighttime memories she had been having. Had Jace only been programmed to tell her that though?
Lita put her hands on her hips, puffing out her cheeks. "I don't belong to Fina," she said, somewhat perturbed by this woman's assumption. "She kidnapped me! That's not transfer of ownership, that's theft!" Why hadn't the record label come to get her? Why hadn't anyone at Tower Records found her yet? As supposed thanks for saving her, Lita was going to be forced to work on a collaboration with Minnie, who didn't seem too happy about any of this either. "Fine," she puffed out her cheeks, recalling that she was supposed to be collaborating with Idolish. Oh no! What if because of this whole fiasco, they dropped her and decided to go with Minnie instead? Maybe that was the white haired woman's intention this entire time? To make Lita seem unreliable so that more people would choose her daughter instead? The thought made Lita's cheeks puff out angrily.
Suddenly, from behind, something, or rather, someone, had grabbed Fina. "You!" Jace rattled angrily, pulling out one of her electric knives. She shoved it into Fina's thigh, what would have been a killing blow to any human. "Jace, wait, top!" Lita tried to push them apart, unknowing as to why she was defending the android that had kidnapped her. "Lita!" Jace grabbed her wrists, pulling her close. "Thank goodness you're okay! Stand back, I'm going to finish this stealth bot the way I should have the day we met." Lita shook her head, trying to stop the combat unit who was much heavier and shoved Lita out of the way easily, into Jarvis who accidentally caught her and then quickly allowed the idol unit to drop, dislocating her knee from the joint socket. "Jace, don't hurt Fina! She's not the one behind this, it's that woman!" Lita pointed a finger in the direction of the one they were all calling Lady Reiss.
Jarvis stood between Jace and Lady Reiss, holding an umbrella and arranging his expression into something cross. "A household unit? An ancient one by the looks of it," Jace grinned. "I can take you on easily." Lita grabbed Jace's foot in order to stop her from hurting anyone else. "Lita let go, I'm going to send these androids to the shop, then we can go home."
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【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
Fina blocked Lita's words off as she tried to comfort Io. As a Stealth Unit, it was a disappointment if she was unable to maintain control of her chassis. Though the memories and fragments of the original personality remained, Io was still very much dead. Fina was here now, strong, competent, reliable. She wasn't like the rest of the Sheep here, Fina was special, she was worth something. She was better than Io was in every way. "After I saved you from the hell that is Android Jail too." Lady Reiss tsked a few times at the perceived ungrateful whelp before her. "You should show her more respect." Fina told Lita, trying to ignore the fact that their memories were back now. Regardless of previous lives, Fina knew that her job was to serve Lady Reiss's will.
An enemy attack, electric knife in the thigh. Fina registered the pain and instantly cut off connection to that leg, severing it from the rest of her mainframe so that the current would not short circuit the rest of her body. Still, she could hardly move now - but that did not mean she as helpless. Jace was on the attack rather than simply listening to the situation going on here in the first place. The fight was now taking place and Minnie looked side to side, as if unsure of what to do. "Oh my, do you really want to do this, Jace?" Azariah found this whole situation to be quite amusing. Jarvis took position and Fina was lying in wait, a secret weapon waiting to be fired, waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Before anyone could start their fight though, Minnie ran at Jace. Not with any hostile intent of course, but for another reason entirely. "Then you can kidnap me, so don't hurt anyone else!" Already some of the children here being cared for at the Flock were crying, the poor useless sheep were surging forth, trying to surround Fina, Jarvis, and Lady Reiss. "This is our family!" One of the snotty chilren cried. "She gave us a home! Don't take it from us!" They stood protectively, a ring of kids around Lady Reiss. "Please, no violence in front of the kids." Minnie implored, just wanting the fighting to stop. For all of her rudeness, she was bad with things like this. Fina was angry - someone was fighting on a peaceful ground such as the Flock here? Jace was willing to traumatize the sheep?
"That means you too!" Minnie glared at Fina before she could deliver the killing blow to Jace with her weapon. "My my." Azariah smiled, eyes beaming. "Did you forget the first rule? Androids cannot harm another human, you should know this already."
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【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
"Jace, stop it!" Lita screamed, the combat android at least stopping. Jace grit her teeth. She knelt down and lifted Lita up, popping the joint back into place. "Fine, we're leaving." Jarvis stepped in front of their path. "I am afraid not," his eyes glowed a fearsome blue, for a household unit, he sure was brash. "Lita is Lady Reiss's property now," Jarvis said, pulling Lita out of Jace's grip. The pink hair idol unit felt like a doll as she was tossed from person to person, Jarvis preventing Jace from further damaging Fina. "Jace, stand down. There's a lot happening right now, a lot that I don't understand." Somehow, Lita was passed down once more and handed to Lady Reiss, who held Lita against her oddly possessively. "Put me down!" The idol unit demanded, knowing she couldn't raise a finger against a human.
Humans had surrounded Jace too, forcing the combat unit to her knees. Was Fina alright? Lita wondered. Jarvis removed something from his coat, wrapping it around Jace's wrist. A metal bracelet became flush against her skin, Lita was given the same one, the idol noticing that all of the children in the flock, including Jarvis and Fina, were wearing them as well. "What is this? Why won't it come off?" Lita tugged at it worriedly. "It marks you as one of our own," Jarvis replied. "This way Lady Reiss will always be able to find you and call you back." Jace was not happy about this, she pulled at the bracelet in a determined fever, even using her knife in an attempt to pry it off. "Resistance is futile," Jarvis gestured to Dane to help the injured android, Fina, back into the building.
"So we can leave?" Lita asked, hopeful. Jarvis shared a glance with his master, it was as though he could read her mind, already attune to her every need. "No, Lita is punished, Jace is too." The bracelet activated, giving off a soft glow. Was it scrambling her receivers? Her optical sensors were acting strange all of a sudden too. "Lita was a very bad girl," a voice filled her head, her legs shaking. The idol unit fell to her knees, clutching her head with one hand and attempting to steady herself with the other. "Take them inside," someone ordered, Jace panting on the ground beside her. Lita felt hands grab at her, lifting her, pulling at the thin robe she was wearing. Laughter filled her ears, all of her reality receptors acting as though she had been slipped something strange in a drink.
"Jace... help," Lita panted, their fingers brushing, the two of them pulled away from one another. "Hang on Lita, I'll get us out of this!" She promised.
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【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
After being fixed up, it was time for them to head out again. They had gotten some time to rest, and now there were some new additions to the Reiss Family it seemed. "Sorry." Fina murmured quietly to Lita, feeling very uncomfortable about this whole thing. Still, it was time for another audition. "I'm the chauffeur for the day, since Fina's not completely finished her repairs already." Dane said with a half grin, opening the car for Minnie to enter. She was looking a bit better after having had a chance to nap and regain her strength, that perky smile back on her - no, no it wasn't, this was not a perky smile but a disturbed sort of frown. "Is something wrong?" Fina asked her charge, tilting her head. "Nothing you can fix." Minnie said somewhat glumly.
"Shining Stars, let's hope you pass this one." Minnie slapped her face a little to get herself in the mood." The record company was called Shining Stars, they wanted to debut a new young talent for their next CD to promote and feature. There were other candidates but from Fina's very biased opinion, Minnie was the best of them. She had scouted ahead to see the others and they all had flaws. Minnie's only flaw was that sometimes her body was trying to shut down! Surely something like that could be overlooked, right? "I believe in you! Unlike me, you've got talent, Min-Min." Dane grinned at her and she shrugged. "Yeah!" She said with a cheer, trying to hype herself up. "I've got this! No one can beat me!" He gave her a juicepack, lemon flavor which was her favorite, to help energize the silver maiden.
Five hours later, in the final round, another girl named Veronique won, and Minnie was struck off. "You have heart, kid." The producer told her, sliding her glasses up her face. "So don't give up, you'll eventually win some." It was an attempt to be comforting but after having come so close to victory Minnie only lost again. "Hey, don't look so down!" Dane told her before Fina could think of anything. Suddenly he kicked his shoes off and began sliding across the chromatic floor, waving his arms like an idiot as he did so, finally slamming into a glass door, sliding with squeaky noises to the ground. Fina helped him up, being careful with her hastily repaired leg. "See?" He chuckled. "At least you aren't as useless as me!" Minnie gave a sad giggle and pat his head.
"If there's anyone who believes that they're useless, I want to be the one to tell them that they're not!" Minnie said as they went back into the car, defeat breathing down their backs yet again. "I want to inspire the weak and scared that they have value too. But I have to do better, or else that means I don't believe enough in my cause!" Dane grinned, nodding. "Out of all the idols, you're the only one that cares about us trash. I bet that Lita probably doesn't even notice us!" He said, decidedly ignoring the fact that he was a diehard Lita fan. Fina puffed her cheeks, almost frustrated that she wasn't able to comfort Minnie because whenever she tried to speak, Dane took the spotlight away.
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【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
It finally stopped, Lita's head clearing slowly, but surely. She looked to one side, then the other, her sensors able to perceive reality once more. How long had it been? Lita didn't know. Her hip had been dislocated again and this time, Lita believed it was purposeful. She couldn't reconnect it on her own and without the essential rotor, Lita couldn't so much as wiggle her toes. It was clear that this room was a hastily thrown together prison. The walls, washed in pale blue, were spotless, and the floor carpeted. The bed her wrists were tied to the posts of was rather large, made for a human, not an android. Still, it was oddly cozy. It wasn't her room back home, where she had hoped to awaken, but at least it wasn't a cold floor either. The one thing she noted as strange was the lack of door, several curious heads looking through.
There was no need for doors when one employed the use of a biometric electrical field that was really only deadly to those made of metal. They weren't children who were watching her, but rather, a mix of teenagers and adults. "That's Lita, isn't it? The android from TV?" Lita's ears picked up, "Yeah, I heard Lady Reiss is punishing her for trying to hurt the Flock." Another whispered and then a third, "It's so cool! Think she'll give us a private concert?" Someone came around, shooing them away. "Go on, you all have your duties," Jarvis said, the biometric field turning off so that he could enter. Lita watched the household unit stride through the doorway, blue eyes glowing, carrying a tray. "You were screaming in your sleep," Lita looked away, his voice accusing. "Androids don't dream." Lita replied, echoing Jace's words.
"Jace says you have nightmares sometimes," Jarvis replied, placing two cups down on the beside desk. He pulled out a small monitor and jack, connecting it to the back of Lita's neck. "What is that?" Lita asked, "I'm running a diagnostic for Lady Reiss to see what effects the scramble had." Lita writhed, she didn't like foreign objects in her HDMI port. "Can you pop my hip back in?" Jarvis looked down, eyes coolly looking at the rotor out of place. "No," he replied. "I took it out," she had a feeling he had been the one to do that. "How is Jace?" Lita asked, concerned. "That's funny, I've never seen two androids who care so much for one another." He replied instead, the monitor beeping. Jarvis typed something, Lita feeling a jolt down her spine.
"What did you do?" She asked, slightly panicked. "Manual restart, you've taken damage to your internal hard drive." Her hard drive? No! That was one of her most essential features! She needed that hard drive to maintain song lyrics and dance routines. "If I can't fix it, Lady Reiss will have to send for someone who can." He untied one of Lita's arms and popped it out of the socket, the idol writhing in discomfort. He lay her arm limply across her, one finger opening up to reveal a special tool. "Before I was made into a household unit, I was a maintenance android sent to repair other androids." Jarvis explained as he opened up her neck, revealing the mess of wires. "That makes a lot of sense, you don't have the attitude of a household bot."
"Thank you," he replied, perhaps unknowing that it wasn't a compliment.
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❝Keep your face away from the sun and let the shadows embrace you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
While Fina was a bit perturbed by her inability to speak before Dane's motor mouth ability of his, Minnie was being slightly cheered up despite being once again, a failure. In the beginning she had had some success but more recently she had been losing more than she won. It was a fact of life she was going to have to deal with one way or another. Dane of course was just trying to make both girls smile despite one of the girls being an android and probably unable to genuinely smile. "You'll win next time." Fina said quietly as Dane came out to dole out juicepacks for all the children who took them eagerly, big smiles on their faces. "That's right, drink your juice up and then you'll grow big and strong like me!" Said the not so big and strong Dane. Fina knew a bigger stronger guy, and it wasn't Jarvis, but Metis.
"Do you want to go check on Lita?" Minnie asked Fina after Dane went back to taking care of the younger sheep. Fina looked at her quizzically. No, Lita was not particularly of interest to the Stealth Unit. Her focus right now was to assist Minnie in her quest to give hope to the hopeless. "Not really. Why would I?" Io was dormant right now and Fina had no real attachment to the past. "Well, I'm going to go see her then. Come along, you have to guard me just in case Jace does something to my cute little body!" She giggled, but the lying sensors activated. Out of politeness Fina would not tell her that she was lying, that would be rude.
So they entered the holding room where currently Jarvis was doing something to Lita. "Hey, don't hurt her, Jarvis." Minnie told him with a pout. The Household bot shrugged as if it did not concern him. "I'm simply trying to fix her harddrive." He told her in that same pleasant voice of his. Minnie frowned but she knew it was the truth so she didn't press further. "Well, help her then! That's an important thing! I think?" Fina nodded to confirm that yes, an android's harddrive was very important. It was the closest thing they had to a brain, storing memory in random access directory, later to be shuffled into the read only storage during charging time.
"Are you feeling better?" Fina found an inexpiable urge to ask Lita as she stood at the front of the door, not approaching or anything. She was going to need Jarvis to finalize her leg repair too after Jace had stabbed it through with that electric dagger of hers. "I'm sure if she was feeling better she wouldn't need repairs." Minnie said helpfully, panting and sitting down next to the pink android. "I lost today." She told Lita with a bright smile. "But don't you relax yet! Soon I'll beat you, I'll show you what Minnie Reiss can do! So you better keep doing your best too, rival!"
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❝Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
"Lady Reiss says tomorrow you will be free to return to your apartment," Jarvis said as he moved around inside of her neck. "Great," Lita mumbled, glad that she was finally going to go home. "Make no mistake, you are not free." Jarvis said as he toyed around within her neck. "You belong to Lady Reiss now," his tone was almost threatening, as though warning Lita she should not double cross them. Lita had the sense that if she tried to tell anyone again, her punishment would be much worse than a scrambled hard drive. "Why is she doing this? I didn't want to be part of this, I just wanted to fulfill my purpose." Jarvis shrugged, "it's hard to say, as a public figure, even if you are an android, you have a large influence." The biometric barrier buzzed, turning off to allow two to enter. Lita's eras picked up the sudden snap off, she had a feeling she knew exactly who came to see her.
Her guess was correct, Minnie and Fina had both arrived to check on her. "He isn't hurting me," Lita assured Minnie, smiling despite the fact that her head was turned towards the wall so more than likely, the white haired idol couldn't see it. Jarvis's fingers tinkered around a bit more, prodding a wire. Something flashed before Lita's eyes, two girls, small, playing in a water fountain. A cross mother was scolding them, but Lita didn't know why. Her vision returned, Jarvis frozen. Had he seen it too? "I've never seen anything like that." He murmured, "I must tell Lady Reiss." He left the hatch open, bustling off. "I'll be right back, don't let her move." Jarvis said to Fina, knowing that Minnie wouldn't be of much help.
Fina inquired how she was feeling. Lita thought for a second, answers turning over in her mind. "I can't feel much of anything right now," Lita admitted. With her hip out of place as well as her arm that wasn't tied up, Lita could barely move. Minnie sat down beside the bed, saying that she had lost today, but she would beat her soon. "Keep trying Minnie," Lita smiled cheekily, giggling. "But I don't think you'll be able to surpass my superior programming." Lita stuck her tongue out, she was just teasing of course. "If you do win an audition one day, I'll treat you to ice cream, so do your best Minnie Reiss!" Lita giggled, the sound light and bubbly. "Minnie, do you think you can convince your Mom to take this bracelet off? I'm nervous that if there's another scramble, it might do something to my audio processors." Lita wasn't actually nervous, she just didn't want that woman spying on her.
Jarvis returned, finishing up his repairs and closing the access hatch. "Lady Reiss says you are free to move about the room," he popped her arm back into place and reconnected her hip, restoring sensation to the bottom half of her body. Lita undid the knot around her wrist, sitting up properly. "Can I get some clothes please? It's undignified to have so many people staring at me in this form." She was stark naked, her body on display for all those who would walk by. Sure, it was all artificial skin and synthetic body parts, but Lita's was still embarrassed.
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❝Keep your face away from the sun and let the shadows embrace you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
What was it that bonded Fina and Minnie together? It wasn't as if androids could really feel anything or whatnot but still, maybe her programming had some kind of tendency to favor little Minnie Reiss over the others. "Fina, come and sit with us." Minnie told her, finding it snuggly next to Lita for some reason. The stealth unit gave her a frown but sauntered over. "Why though?" Looking at Lita gave her headaches and it made her wonder about if there was some sort of internal damage going on. It wasn't as if pain bothered her, it was just a useful signifier for if there was something wrong, and clearly there was a problem going on. "Because Lita's my rival and you should get to know her! Sit! Sit! Good girl."
Fina hardly felt a gender one way or another, she was just female because her outer chassis had a feminine shape to it. "Take the bracelet thing off." Now this one was a direct order from Lady Reiss, to not tamper with the bracelet. "I cannot do that." Fina explained to the silver maiden, looking at it with a bit of a glance. "What should I sit here for?" This whole thing seemed rather meaningless. She would rather go and calibrate her internal weapons than anything else. "Just you wait, Lita, I'm going to beat your programming!" Minnie was so determined to win. "Wouldn't you have more chances of success if you had a normal rival, rather than an android?" The thing about androids was that they didn't have to factor in the chance of human error. It was an advantage that humans wouldn't be able to defeat.
"Because she's my rival, silly." Minnie flicked her eye, making Fina back up in something akin to surprise. Jarvis seemed to think that this sitting exercise was a waste of time as well. "Okay. Give her some of my clothes, Jarvis." And Jarvis did so because technically she had limited authority over the androids. Not enough to override Lady Reiss's intentions, but enough for simple chores like this. "But aren't you a bit smaller?" Minnie waved her concern away. "It'll be fine. I bet Lita will be super cute!" Jarvis brought a random mixture of her cutest clothes. "Lady Reiss probably won't approve." Minnie grinned happily. "That's okay! Dress her up, it'll be okay! Is that okay, Lita?" Why were they friends? Minnie never got Jarvis to dress Fina up!
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❝Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
Lita sat up and flexed her wrists and ankles to make sure that they were working properly. Minnie was seated beside her, Jarvis and Fina both ordered to sit next to her as well. Fina seemed to find this an exercise in futility. Lita didn't mind though, it was better than having to lay around, alone, listening to people giggle at her. The children had all but left as soon as Jarvis had arrived, knowing that there was official business being taken care of. Lita swung her legs, she was the same height as Minnie, so her legs didn't reach the floor. "Minnie, you have a lot of potential, but there's just one thing that's missing that's keeping you from being on the same level as me. As your rival, I'm going to teach you an important secret to being an idol." Lita said, her eyes sparkling as she spoke. "Listen up!" Lita lifted a finger, this might just change Minnie's very career after all.
"All good idol needs an image, a signature. What are you Minnie? What's your personality type? You're an unknown, an unpredictable, and people don't know how to react because they don't know how to market you." Lita smiled charmingly. "Take me for example, bubble gum pink, cute, and sweet. That's my image," she pitched her idea for Minnie to remove the bracelet and Minnie attempt to enlist Fina's help, but the stealth bot seemed uninterested in helping Minnie's rival out. Of course, Fina reasoned that Minnie would have a higher chance of success if she had a human rival who was prone to human error, which Lita was not. "There's something endearing about an android and a human competing that the world wants to see." Lita said knowingly.
But the rivalry had already been chosen and it seemed that even Minnie did not wish to terminate it. Minnie ordered Jarvis to go fetch some of her clothing to dress the nude android, who was rather exposed. Lita knew humility of course, it was an essential part of being an idol. "We're the same size," Lita crossed her arms, "are you calling cute little me fat?" Jarvis returned with an armful of clothing and was ordered to dress Lita up. They went through several outfits before Minnie was satisfied and Lita was relieved that her knob was no longer on display for Fina to simply reach out and torture again if she wished.
Almost as soon as she sat back down, Jace came storming in, clearly upset. "You!" She pointed an accusing finger at the stealth unit, "We aren't done yet! Don't think this is over because your boss saved your butt!" Lita sighed, shaking her head mournfully. "Jace, don't be rude." This only seemed to make Jace angrier. "Rude? She sliced me into pieces and I'm the rude one?!"
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❝Keep your face away from the sun and let the shadows embrace you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
Minnie listened carefully to her rival's words trying to teach her how to be more successful. So there was something wrong with her more than just how weak her body was at times? Is that what Lita was talking about? "That's rude, Minnie is perfect." Minnie shrugged, giving her a look. "No, I'm listening because I want to be better. I'm not perfect, if I was I wouldn't have lost today!" Suddenly her eyes began to well up as she remembered it. It wasn't like prideful little Minnie to cry in front of others though and she managed to control it, pulling it back in, back to her smiley face again. "My color scheme is usually silver and light blue, to make me look classy and shiny."
A contest of biological determinism and android ascension was usually the theme when it came to Minnie and Lita. Right now though Lita had more exposure because she was easy to advertise. Minnie was a bit harder, despite being generally nice, she wasn't as marketable. "I have a dream." She said, in thought. "I want to be the idol to help the useless and weak people feel needed and important. Everyone should be allowed to matter." She wanted to sing for the sheep and make them happy, since no one else cared for them. "But I guess I don't know how to translate that into my idol image yet." Fina was useless though because she did not know how to help with this. "I guess she prefers her rival over you." Jarvis said with that cool smile of his. Fina glared at him.
The door opened again, Jace had come, a ball of rage and fury. Lita was luckily all dressed up so at least that was something. Jace was still enraging though, despite Lita calling her rude, she wanted to fight. "No violence here, this is supposed to be a safety place." There were delicate people here from all sorts of pasts. Abused children, neglected children, assaulted children, even stupid ones were welcome here to stay and live in peace from the rest of the world that hated them. For all of Lady Reiss's potential bad parts, she did provide a home for those who would never get one any other way. "I'll be the one to drive you two back to your home too. If anything happens to me, Lady Reiss will know." She could only win against Jace under one circumstance - with clever traps and remaining out of sight.
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❝Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
Lita tapped her finger against her chin in thought. Minnie wanted to be a person for the people, to soothe their hearts. "I know," Lita smiled cleverly. "Your image should be angelic! Angelic pretty!" She clapped her hands together at her brilliance, glad she had managed to figure out a piece of the puzzle that would help her idol succeed. "That's how you need to market yourself, as an angel who just wants to help boost the morals of people in less fortunate situations. Do that and I'm sure you'll get signed soon." Lita rose, seeming to make Jarvis nervous as she searched around, finding the black dot Lady Reiss had used on her before. Lita placed it on her forehead, able to project her thoughts into images with the device. "There used to be an idol group made up of angels. The people loved them, but they only had one performance." Lita removed the dot, the image of a pink, blue, and white haired trio disappearing.
Jace came in, a tall ball of fury, towering over them all. "Jace, please stop making threats." Lita scratched the back of her head, the combat unit taking a seat on the bed beside Lita protectively. "You shouldn't be alone with that stealth unit, you don't know what tricks she has up her sleeve." Jace leaned forward, using her thumb to wipe imaginary dirt off of Lita's chin. "What if she tore your skin? Or ripped your joints out of your limbs?" Lita scratched the back of her head. The latter had already happened, her joints had popped out several times, but to be fair, it had only been Fina's fault once. Jace draped an arm possessively over her charge. Why did the two seem to have such a complex range of emotions versus Fina and Jarvis? Simple, they were programmed that way, but evolved.
There were a handful of androids that could surpass the personality lock and evolve into something else. Dr. Grover was allowing it to take place, curious to see where it would go. Should the androids become too self aware, or realize what they truly were, they were taken to android jail and never heard from again. It was why she had to be very careful in the experimenting she made Jace do on Lita for her. Each android was meticulously crafted by the doctor, it was hard work erasing a human and yet, leaving the logic and competence intact. "I think we should all try to get along," Lita clapped her hands together. "After all, isn't our mission as idols to spread love and joy Minnie?" Lita asked, tilting her head to the side cutely.
"No harm will come to you I-Fina," Lita quickly corrected herself, a simple slip of the tongue. "I?" Jarvis and Jace echoed, seeming to have caught the mistake. "Just a glitch," Lita replied casually, her trademark smile giving nothing away. Jarvis knew, he had seen it in her mind while fixing her. There was something strange about Lita and Fina, something Lady Reiss wasn't telling him.
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❝Keep your face away from the sun and let the shadows embrace you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
An angel. Minnie giggled, feeling odd about that idea. She too remembered the performance - not that she was alive back then because no one was alive from back then - but still, seeing it was one of the reasons why she wanted to become an idol in the first place. Fina looked awkwardly between them, still she knew that she did not fit here, this talk was not one she was meant to be able to join in on. "I like that idea. I'll be an angel!" The Silver Angel, Jarvis was going to have to make her new uniforms and costumes then as a result, if they were going with the angel idea. "Don't worry." Minnie told the combat unit Fina had destroyed a few days ago. "I'll make sure Lita won't get hurt by anyone here."
Can androids cry? Why was Fina suddenly crying? She did have tear ducts but she was supposed to have total control over them in order to cry on purpose to appease those around her if she ever needed to. But two tears, one from each optical sensor, trailed down the plush carbon on her face at Lita's words, almost yet so close. "Um, are you okay?" Minnie asked, tilting her head. Jarvis took her arm with a shrug. "She probably needs charging? I have to report this to Lady Reiss." Fina was too confused to understand what was going on. "We'll all be friends, it's okay. You too, Jarvis." Minnie tried for a group hug but the household and stealth units were a bit too confused to do so.
Tomorrow came and Fina was on the drive. But something strange was going on, making the goodbye goodiebag Minnie made - just with little pictures of things on stickers and drawings and a note telling her to wait for the great coming of Minnie Reiss - almost fall off the chair. "Wait, this is not your apartment." This was... this was their old home, Io and Callisto's. This was where their parents were supposed to live. "Is there no one else here? Why did I drive here by accident?" A glitch. Hopefully that was all it was. She ran her eyes on the license plate of the strange car that was parked here. The pleasant voice in her head informed her that it was a car for the Money R Us company that loans money for those in need and charges lots extra in return.
Debt collectors? For the funeral costs, perhaps? "Sorry, I'll take you home." Fina said quietly, driving the car away but for some reason it was hard to bring up the will to make the car leave and take them to the apartment. What was wrong with her systems?
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❝Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#F54D70 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #FF7256】
|| Dearly Beloved || Utada Hikaru ||
After a rather pleasant but odd evening in the Reiss residence, Lita went to charge, wondering about those two single tears that had trailed down Fina's cheeks. Lita too, had the capability of crying if she needed to, but she had never done so. Those two tears turned her stomach for some odd reason, as though seeing the stealth unit cry made her want to as well. Was it the connection between Io and Callisto? Lita looked down at her hands, wondering if there truly was something wrong with her. She should report to Dr. Grover for maintenance, these emotions welling up inside of her weren't normal, they were things Lita was aware she wasn't supposed to feel. "After this, I wouldn't be surprised if I was malfunctioning." Lita whispered as she rolled into bed, plugging the charger into her neck. Jace sat beside the bed, not trusting the humans in this facility to watch over them.
"The cancer is continuing to metastasis at a rate we can't control." Dr. Grover bit down on her fingernail, Callisto lay in bed, listening as they spoke. "It's doubling in size every day and spreading to the other organs." It was true, Callisto knew, her body ached somewhere new whenever she awoke. It was in her lungs, her kidneys, her liver. She was hooked up to so many machines that Callisto was certain she was already an android. "Please," she gasped weakly. "Pleas... le...t... me.... d....ie." Dr. Grover shook her head, "you're too important to let go of. Besides, I promised little Io that I would save her poor, dying, baby sister." Baby sister? They were twins, Io was only five minutes older! "Prepare the stasis chamber, we're going to preserve as much as we can." Dr. Grover said to her lackeys, who rushed off. "Any requests for a last meal? I'm not so cruel you know," they both were well aware that Callisto could not eat, she had been living off of IV nutrition for who knows how long, the cancer having eaten away at her stomach and intestines.
"No," Lita replied, fingers shaking as they curled into fists. "Le....t... me... see.... Io." The bed was unlocked from its position, Dr. Grover pushing it, along with two lackeys to move the multitude of machines, to the stasis room, where Io floated peacefully. "Io," Callisto gasped, trying to lift her hand. One of the lackeys moved forward, lifting it for Callisto and placing it against the tank. They had been hoping to fight the cancer at least a little before putting her in, but it seemed they would need to cure it while Callisto slept. "I... ho....pe.... you....re.... hap...py." She whispered, her throat hoarse. She had already cried her tears and accepted this fate. There would be no death.
Callisto was taken back to her room, the glass box in which the Doctors and Nurses watched her every hour of the day. She was prepared for the eternal slumber, her body washed and dried. She was undressed, the nurse offering up a last meal, but Callisto didn't have the strength to eat. Callisto was wrapped up in warm blankets as the rest of the tubes were inserted, one down her throat, another two in her nose, one in her stomach. The sleepy juice was inserted, a burning filling her arm. Callisto closed her eyes, willing herself to take her last breath as she drifted off to sleep, eyes taped shut.
Lita gasped as she sat up, having another one of those strange dreams. Jace bolted upright, wondering what was wrong. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Lita shook her head, it had felt so real this time. "I'm fine," she smiled, preparing to leave, eager to get out of this place. Lita put her charger in her pocket, she would return the nice dress to Minnie the next time they went up against each other. Lita and Jace left the Reiss building quietly in the early hours of morning, allowing Fina to drive them home.
"This isn't the apartment," Lita noted as they pulled up to a residential neighborhood. Her eyes widened in recognition. After all, she was here just yesterday. "That house..." Jace moved into the seat beside Fina. "Hey, take us to the real place, stop messing around."
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❝Keep your face away from the sun and let the shadows embrace you.❞
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
【ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B21212 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #1485CC】
|| A Demon's Fate || Within Temptation ||
Fina was quiet as she backed out away from the house, driving the hovercraft away from Io and Callisto's old home. This had nothing to do with her, the problems of her former family were irrelevant to Fina's current life. Io was useless, Fina was strong and powerful and that was all that mattered now. "Okay." Even if Io was in control here, there was no reason for her to care, right? Her parents, mother and father, they had never cared for her. Everything they had was always for Metis, for Callisto, the successes of the family. Io, the disappointment, got no love or affection, only disdain and misery. "My apologies, that was a glitch." Perhaps Fina would get a syntax upgrade to improve her human-like speech as both she and Jarvis still had quite mechanical-sounding word choices when they spoke. For a Stealth Unit, a syntax library could only benefit her.
"Io, why aren't you even trying?" Mother slammed the test results on her desk, the holoscreen going through with the failing marks of shame all over them. Little Io did not understand what was going on. How could she? Wasn't reading just a guessing game? It was cool how the letters always flew around and Io definitely liked seeing them float and rearrange themselves. Reading, though, was an impossibility. The only thing she could read was her own name because honestly, how hard was it to mess up two letters? "I am trying! But it's hard, Mommy." Mother sighed, palming her face, taking deep breaths. "Why can't you be more like your sister? Callisto gets top marks in everything she tries! Surely it can't be that hard!"
Io smiled then, feeling proud that her sister was so talented. It was so neat that everyone loved Callisto, she was just so good at it! Io was good at staying out of the radar, it was easy with how her little half always shone. "She's so smart! I'm proud!"
But the comparisons of course kept on coming and there was no real respite. Over time the adoration and admiration warped into something else as every single failure was blamed on her. "You're twins, how hard can it be to just be better?" Father yelled, slamming his fist into the wall to make a scary loud noise right in Io's ear. "Hey, screw off! It's not my fault I'm just a useless!" Both of her parents had lost patience a long time ago. Room visits turned into shouting matches. She and Callisto weren't allowed the same bedroom anymore, lest Callisto's successes be cursed by Io's endless pattern of failures. "Callisto is your twin so surely the genes she has are within you too. So why is it so hard for you to get it?" Io grit her teeth, wanting to just clap her hands over her ears and yell to drown out the noise.
The only thing she could think of for her uselessness was of course that Callisto stole all the talent and left Io with nothing.
"We're here." This time Fina had taken them to the right place. The apartment where Lita and Jace lived was right here. "Time to go. Minnie will want to visit sometime so I'll have to bring her back and forth." The Stealth Unit glared at Jace with a warning eye as she pressed the button to release the pressure on the doors, allowing the hydraulics to hiss and open them up. "No harm will come to her on those visits, understood?"