Infinities Edge

[Kazanna]

Elias snorted and blinked at Gemma, laughing, he shook his head, "You, My dear, are an odd one, your standing hand in hand with death itself, being offered the world on a platter, and you choose hot chocolate." He paused, and shook his head, "No, Never mind, It's perfectly cliche. What woman wouldn't ask for chocolate." He laughed lightly, and sighed.


The AI bowed lightly, "As you wish." she said before she vanished.


Elias took Gemma's hand and asked, "Have you been in a Transmat before? Most people haven't, what with the cancer scares back in the early years of it... Transmat doesn't cause cancer... It used to leave particles behind, and... clones..." He made a curious face, and shrugged.


Within seconds, the transmat activated, there was a shimmer that wrapped around them as the system aligned. It reduced them to data streams, there would be a flash of light as far as they could see, and a moment later they would be reformed in the darkness of a warehouse. Elias let out a breath and sighed.


Elias glanced around, there beside them was the motorcycle he'd used in the past on earth-relate missions. "If you can believe it, I used to have a really nice car... had to use it as a defense shield..." He shrugged, "The Bike is faster though..."


The motorcycle was an old earth bike, Elias motioned towards it, "Before you ask, Yes, It runs on Gasoline, no, I don't know where they get it. I know it's illegal, but it has a carbon converter where the old Catalytic converter would be. It's a late model, just before the Cortium revamps. It was my mothers bike. But she just... shifts now..." He nodded to her, "You can shift on a helmet with the Delphi Armor. Makes it useful for stuff like this." He straddled the bike, and started it up, the engine roared to life, then quieted down slightly, the muffler on it kept it quieter then it's original model would have been. "Its a ways to Anchorage from here. We don't have a transmat location there, so were going by vehicle."

 

[Elle Joyner]

She had indeed heard of the concerns of Transmat travel and had wondered herself if the rumors were justified, but she trusted Elias and his judgment more so than anyone at Magistrate and was certain he wouldn't lead her astray. With a flash, the lab was gone and they reappeared in a darkened building. Gemma glanced around, her eyes falling on the bike, a small, slow grin forming.


As Elias began to describe it, she released his hand and walked around it, looking it over with a glimmer of appraisal. The grin broadened and she paused, shaking her head, "...She's gorgeous. My dad had one... a vintage Harley. Didn't run... He couldn't find gas for her, and besides... Mom would've killed him anyways. But she was beautiful. Ever Sunday, Dad would take her out of the garage and shine her up. I loved that bike. Always wondered what it would be like, actually riding on one." Biting her lip, she looked up from the bike to Elias, "...You are just... so damn appealing right now..."


With a laugh, she stepped around the bike, slipping behind him. After she'd shifted a helmet into place, she adjusted her position before wrapping her arms around Elias's middle, one hand cupped over the other for a tight grip.

 

[Kazanna]

With a nod, Elias smiled lightly, his Delphi armor slowly covering his body, but leaving his head uncovered, "My mother used to take me on rides through Anchorage, when I was a baby, we were between there and the island. It's why I had my home built there... Though I'm never there..." He shrugged slightly, and motioned towards the door. His nanites sent a slight electrical pulse towards it, the control switch activating. The door slid up, opening to the Canadian wilderness, so far out it was still beyond the signal range of human technology.


Elias pulled back on the throttle, shifting the bike into first gear, he cruised them out onto the concrete driveway that stretched between the local road,he revved the bike up and made his way along the driveway. He was a skilled driver, and as he pulled the throttle back further, they tore down the road. He glanced back at Gemma and smiled, "Hang on."


They shot down the road at a speed faster then most humans would be able to navigate at, Elias' enhanced reflexes and reaction time made the entire event amusing to him, it wouldn't take them long to reach the low land traffic that was nearly unseen anywhere. With the advancements in technology land vehicles were nearly unused on earth, so as Elias hit traffic, he weaved in an out between the vehicles on the road.

 

[Elle Joyner]

"I haven't been home in a long, long time..." Gemma said, her voice soft... a trace of pain behind the words. She'd never gotten the chance to explain the situation to her family. They, like everyone else in her life, assumed the worst of her and would, until she'd cleared her name. Even after, there was no guarantee they'd even believe it. She was alone in the world... Or at least, she had been...


Smiling faintly at his warning, she tightened her grip and leaned against his back, preparing for the jolt as the bike took off. It was much faster than any road vehicles she'd been in before, and handled beautifully, though she had suspicions that was entirely because of the driver and not the bike itself. It wasn't long before they reached traffic and as Elias weaved between the vehicles with the precision of a seamstress on a hem, Gemma leaned back, grinning beneath the helmet.


It was intense and wonderful, and considering the day they'd had, entirely the distraction she'd been hoping for.

 

[Kazanna]

They had exited the warehouse in the late afternoon, near Mount St. Paul and had been cruising through the outskirts of civilization on the I-97 until it intersected with the I-1 He had followed it through the Canadian wilderness, skillfully dodging


As they finally reached traffic, and stop lights, Elias blew through them all, he bypassed street signs, and caution signs, looping up through the Canadian countryside. They traveled on the more remote road, the less traveled one, and brought the bike to speeds that would normally be not be handle-able by the usual driver. But he'd been here before, he had integrated nanites across the entire road, he knew literally everything that was between him and his home, and because of that, he could do this run in his sleep.


As they continued through the wilderness, and the day began to wear on, the cold air would have chilled them to the bone with the added wind chill level from the high speeds, but their armor would compensate. Elias, who wasn't wearing the full helmet, resisted the cold simply, his nanites compensated, keeping his blood flow appropriate, his skin temperature slightly higher then usual. They induced a slight fever to keep him warm, and effectively passed heat to Gemma as well.


He used the neural link between his suit, and the communicator within hers, saying, "Were only a few kilometers from the American and Canadian border. I almost guarantee that we'll be stopped and detained... If we stop. So As it stands, Care to add illegally crossing a country border to your rap sheet?"


He grinned lightly, and a series of command sequences would show up in her HUD, "I'm just kidding, Don't worry. I'm a registered WFI member, and your armor is linked to mine, They'll get my ping when I'm a mile away and open a lane for me to use." Elias said, looking back at her, the grin still on his face. He did so as he took them around a turn in the long interstate.


He was right, within a few moments, the border crossing was in sight, vehicles and trucks, airborne and otherwise, were visible in the distance. Elias took them off the main road, into the gravel, the bike lost little speed as it tore across the compacted gravel bed of the northern Yukon. During this time of year, the gravel was half frozen, but not as slick as if it had rained. Still, Elias maintained control as they shot back up onto the road-way, and through the border, the guard on duty barely registering them as his bike shot through at nearly five hundred Kilometers per hour.


Elias sent Gemma's HUD a display of where they had started, and where they were headed. He used a simple Sim Avatar to point out details. The Avatar was a tiny reaper, with a pointing stick shaped like a scythe. "We started here. Were here. And were heading here." He said as the avatar pointed to each location.


The journey would be a little less then two thousand kilometers, Elias could push the bike over eight hundred kilometers per hour, but he kept it within reason on the curving areas. Despite his reaction time, his body could only compensate for vibration so much, even with his enhancements. Still they would make the journey in under three hours. Elias gazed ahead, and murmured into Gemma's helmet, "Watch for the Sunset my dear. It'll be ahead of us as we near my home." He pulled back on the throttle and kicked on the gyro-compensators in the bikes axis to enhance the handling.

 

[Elle Joyner]

She hadn't considered it until they road had widened into a highway, what direction they were heading. From that point on, while she said nothing, she had been increasingly concerned about the border. She was a wanted fugitive... and for no small crime. The last thing either of them needed was an encounter with border agents...


But then, she was with Elias and she should have figured he'd have a plan. He wouldn't have brought her the way he did, if he wasn't prepared to handle the risks... big and small. Still, as they blew past the check point, Gemma ducked her head, concerned even in the helmet that something... anything could still go wrong.


No one followed, however, and when they'd gone a good mile or two she looked up, noting the display, chuckling softly at the image on the screen, dictating where they were headed. It wasn't long yet... not at the speed they were going. She leaned her head against his back again, waiting until he spoke again a few minutes later to look up.


As they came nearer to their destination, she folded back the helmet to get a better view. In parts of the world, particularly those most adapted to modern living and overpopulation, there had been such a drastic increase in pollution and free radicals, so much so that biospheres had been constructed around entire cities... in some dramatic cases, encapsulating entire states in a thick grey fibrous material, thin enough that natural elements could still make their way through, without further damage caused to the dangerously think Ozone layer. The domes were affective, but ugly, giving everything the appearance of overcast, even on the sunniest of days.


In less populated locations, however, the biospheres were unnecessary, the expense unwarranted. The benefit, of course, was the free reign of a natural environment, unfettered by an unattractive screen. Blue skies, stars and the most magnificent sunrises and sunsets one could fathom. This far up, so removed from cities and crowds andd light pollution, the view was incredible. Orange hues spilled out across the sky, a splash against the fading blue, so bright and brilliant it hardly looked real, the light of the sun stretching out lazy rays like fingers, in all different directions, bleeding behind clouds so white and fluffy they were more like wads of cotton.


Leaning back, Gemma breathed out softly, shaking her head, "Stunning..."

 

[Kazanna]

As they raced along towards the Coast, Elias pulled into anchorage easily, but as he reached the edge of the city, the Securis Patrols aimed in on the sound of his vehicles engine. They increased speed and came up alongside them. One of the officers sent Elias a message, "Please send your craft's specifications, you are suspect to breaking the Environmental act in multiple formats. Pull over Immediately."


Elias sighed, muttering, "Securis... I forgot about these guys..."


Securis was the multi-planetary wildlife protection agency. Their field agents were charged with protecting the environment above all else to secure the worlds they protected for future generations. Their duties included checking the vehicle specifications of any craft, land based or otherwise, to make sure it would meet the specifications required to clean the environment.


Elias took a moment to gather the specifications and send it in a loose data file to the Securis officer. He was visibly frowning beneath his helmet before he nodded and motioned to his partner. They both pulled away and Elias sighed, shaking his head.


"I wish uncle would require better training for them, or at least instate Middian scanners. It would make things easier on them as well." He paused, and glanced back to Gemma, "Anchorage used to be in a dome, up until about forty years ago, my mother cleaned the area up. She said Anchorage had been one of the more beautiful areas when she was young... Even if she still looks like she's twenty... she was born a long... long time ago..." Elias said gently, "She got the place looking so good they were able to remove the dome. She did the honors, absorbed the carbon into nanites, and those nanites now cleanse other areas of the planet. They're specialized, Were working on the super-cities, but even with advancements with Cortium, there are still a lot of vehicles that use emission fuel, even after the gasoline was all used up."


Elias continued along the highway, passing the city by, it was beginning to glow in the dusk light, and they traversed along the coast and back into the woodlands until they came upon a rural road that seemed as though it had not been used once in decades. The road itself was covered in leaves and pine needles, but was in perfect condition. He'd slowed down considerably, cruising up the rural road until the house was in sight.


The house itself was a two story building with an observation deck that stretched out from the second story towards the coastline. The whole building had floor to ceiling windows throughout, with a modern edge appearance to the architecture, the forward slant of the roof gave the building a higher ceiling towards the back with vents that could be opened in the summer time. internally there were only a few rooms, a living room, a humble kitchen, a bathroom on each floor with a full bath and surround shower system. There was a large garden that wrapped around the house in wooden boxes, they were managed by tiny drones that watered them and removed pests physically rather then using pesticides. The drones were hand built and custom


Elias pulled onto the rear parking structure, that was conjoined to the upstairs, the entire house was implemented into the side of a hill, so the second story was the entry, the lower story was at a lower elevation and the garden boxes lined the area beyond that. The upstairs contained the kitchen, a sitting room that gave to the majestic south-western view of the bay and the island masses beyond as well as a good view of the driveway and the forest around it. The downstairs contained Elias' bedroom, a guest bedroom, and towards the back was a small lab with an armory filled with more modernized weapons and a few relics of times past. The only extravagance throughout the house, was the trophies.


There were thousands of trophies, from successful missions, reminders to Elias that there were challenges he had overcome in his life, rewards as well from his time spent with his tutors. The walls were lined with not only these, but art from various time periods that were so ancient now, they would require hermetically sealed frames to keep them safe. The sitting room was humble, but large enough and well furnished enough to entertain a few guests.


Elias brought the bike to a halt and turned it off, stepping off of it, carefully, he offered Gemma a hand down before he said, "Ah... there's one thing I forgot to mention..." He said quietly, his armor folding away entirely, "I have a housekeeper, She's sort of live in... I... have no choice really. She needed somewhere to live after... Well..." He rubbed the back of his head, "She's kind of a historical figure, Just not from Earth... She spends most of her time outside, sleeps in a tree if things haven't changed. If you hear anything weird, or see a Calonian... wearing basically nothing... She's the first Empress of the current empire... She's technically four-thousand years old, but I rescued her when she was thirty, she started the empire up, and her daughters took over properly, but she was... assassinated... or at least she was supposed to have been. The assassins supposedly made off with her body, and it was never located... Reality, Aquarius was teaching me the effects of Time Travel... I couldn't leave her to die..." He shrugged slightly, "She's a good friend, but she doesn't speak anything anyone can understand properly, the assassination attempt kind of... addled her, she's been like that ever since." He grinned slightly, "But don't worry, She doesn't come inside often."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Looking up at the house, Gemma was somewhat awestruck by the size of the structure, drawn immediately by the stunning architecture and the floor to ceiling windows. Taking Elias's hand, she slipped down from the bike, her eyes fixed, unmoving from his home. The home she had left was a small one bedroom apartment... the view had been decent, for a place in the city, but it had very little character, beyond what she had put into it. They wouldn't have much more than a day to spend there, but she could tell even before setting foot inside it wouldn't be difficult to relax...


As Elias spoke, Gemma tore her gaze away and chuckled softly, shaking her head, "Elias Grim.. You could tell me there was an axe murderer living in the basement. Nothing could keep me from walking through those doors. It's stunning... I honestly don't know how you ever managed to leave. If I lived here, I'd never walk out the doors."


Biting her lip, she looked back to the house again, smiling gently, "But for the record, I think it's wonderful, what you did for her. Everything that we've been through, I know it was a necessity, but it's just been so dark... so... forgive the pun... grim. It's nice for a change, hearing some good came out of all the horrible things that have happened."

 

[Kazanna]

Elias smiled, and nodded slightly, he paused though, his nanites inside the house showing him a scene he didn't quite understand. He frowned, and muttered, "Wait... What.."


Elias pushed the doors to the entryway open, and there in the common entryway, was a female Calonian, who couldn't have been more then thirty, still well within her younger years, wrestling with what appeared to be an overgrown chicken. The animal clucked dramatically as Elias stood in the doorway, not knowing quite what was going on, or how to react. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door sill, staring at the situation as the Calonian continued to wrestle with the bird.


After a few trying moments, she found purchase, and tied the birds feet together with a bit of string she'd torn from the carpet she was on. She'd repeated the process with the birds wings until the struggling animal could no longer fight. It was about then she noticed Elias, her ears perking up in a very catlike way, her tail swaying back and forth, she smiled at him, her fangs very visible, She wrapped her arms around the bird and held it aloft, presenting it to Elias with little more then a large smile.


Elias nodded at her, and gave her a gentle pat on her head. He motioned to Gemma, "Gema Livingtree, Meet Jenassa Soreno, The first Empress of Cal Droma, Tenika and Zenika's... very great grandmother. Apparently... She's caught us dinner... I think." He looked to the bird and then tapped his mouth, nodding towards it.


Jenassa nodded gleefully and dropped the bird, bouncing up and down she clapped her hands together with a half meow half squeak that hinted at how bad off her communication skills were.


Elias nodded, "Yeah... Dinner... Huh... Guess were having... whatever that is..." He motioned to the bird, who just clucked in response.

 

[Elle Joyner]

Following Elias inside, Gemma covered her mouth to keep from laughing at the side of the giant catlike woman, wrestling a massive bird. She could only imagine what the scene might look like to someone who had never seen a Calonian. Even with her brief experience, it was strange. Even to Elias, who surely had seen a number of unusual things in his days, seemed to find it bizarre.


When he introduced her, Gemma smiled gently and bowed her head. She was aware the woman could not respond, but if felt important that she say something, her voice soft and reverent, "...I'm honored to meet you. And thank you. I'm sure it will be wonderful."


Looking to Elias, she chuckled softly, nodding, "...Good thing I haven't eaten anything since leaving the desert planet. I'm starving... and that looks like it will make quite a meal."

 

[Kazanna]

With a nod Elias motioned to Jenassa, "She... Will probably serve it to you raw... I'll cook it if she'll let me. She's weird..." He gave Jenassa a pat on her head, right between her ears. The short Calonian smiled happily and nuzzled into his hand with an audible purr. Elias sighed and stepped past the Calonian, into the threshold, who picked up the giant chicken, it was a comical sight to see, a tiny cat woman, carrying an over-sized chicken through a door far too small. She forced the bird through with a grunt and a squawk.


As Elias entered the house, a stream of nano-particles shimmered off of his form, the house was taking samples, recording his memories from the last time he had been home. It would begin displaying on the walls, Jenassa slowed her pace as her tail slowly swayed back and forth, she stared at the wall, her ears twitching, the events were in snippets, crucial moments, slow moments, all moments displayed on the walls around Elias. Gemma would recognize the technology, it was something that few people could afford, a Memory Wall. Jenassa watched as Elias past two years played out in every gritty detail. She glanced to Gemma, and motioned to the images that were of her, that were of her expressions, her reacting to Elias, their first encounter at the bar, and all the way up to the current moments.


Jenassa hugged her chicken to her and let out a strange, low murmur in ancient Calonian, Elias Translated it instantly, and Jenassa shot him a look of slight shock, "Gemma Livingtree... The False Betrayer. That's what she called you." Elias smiled lightly and glanced back to her, "She has access to my houses' mainframe, Around the time your case initally came up was when I started teaching her computer sciences, So that's Her opinion. For her to speak it, means a lot." Elias said, giving Jenassa a curious look. The Calonian looked to Gemma, and motioned to her, then to herself, before she thumped her fist against her chest.


Elias raised a brow, and smiled,"That means Were the Same in her sign language. I guess she feels like you were wronged the same way she was."


Elias moved away from the memory wall, and it fell back to it's normal routine, displaying his lifes memories, a few years at a time in still frames. He motioned to the sitting room, "Please though, Gemma, Make yourself at home." Elias said with a smile.

 

[Elle Joyner]

Gemma laughed, watching the woman dragging the giant bird through the door. She wasn't sure if it was just the exhaustion from a long day, but she was sure it was one of the funniest things she had seen in a long time. It was nice to laugh, and nice not to feel ... even if it were only temporary, like the universe was out to destroy her.


Following Elias, she watched the walls, paying close attention to those moments that flashed, like a window into Elias's mind. It felt a little like prying, but it wasn't as if he hadn't known the wall was there. When the memories of their first meeting cropped up, she paused, shaking her head as she watched the exchange. It seemed so long ago, though it wasn't more than a few hours in reality. It was strange, the way time worked when you were out of your element entirely.


As Janessa began to speak, Gemma turned to her, then to Elias as he translated, blinking at the words.. She didn't need much translating for the next bout, and a soft, sad smile appeared on her lips, her eyes filling with tears and she shook her head, "...And we're both very lucky to have a friend like Elias." She said, quietly, smiling at the man beside her, reaching down to take his hand, "...Come on. You're supposed to be resting... Point the way to a couch. The comfiest you have."

 

[Kazanna]

With a childish grin, Jenassa hauled the bird away, her comparably tiny form bouncing away. Elias shook his head, muttering, "We won't get a single bite of it... I guarantee you, she's going to make a mess of the kitchen eating it too... It'll be just like the last time she caught one of those things... Goddess only knows where she caught it..."


He stepped into his living room, and sat down in one of the chairs that overlooked the view of the forest and the bay beyond, he sighed, and relaxed visibly for the first time since he had met Gemma. His body flinched here and there as his nanites repaired damage and small muscle tears from his fight with War and his earlier fight in the docking yard on Cal-Droma. He motioned to the chair, and it physically extended in several directions, giving him a place to rest his feet, a place for Gemma to sit, and it shifted, allowing him to lean back.


"The... Kitchen is automated, it'll clean up after her, then It'll cook dinner. Shouldn't take long she's a fast-" He was cut off by the sound of the chicken's death caw. Jenassa could be heard a moment later, savaging the creatures body with a blood lust that was well known amongst her kind.


Elias nodded, and shrugged slightly, "Yeah... We won't get a single bite of that bird..." He snorted and chuckled lightly.

 

[Elle Joyner]

Following him into the living room, Gemma took a seat by Elias, curling her feet up underneath her. It was amazing how, once you stopped moving, you began to realize just how much everything hurt. Her feet were aching, from being on them for so long, and her hip and elbow, where she'd hit the floor were bruised and a little swollen, her palms scraped. The fingermark bruises around her neck were less sore than irritating, but her throat felt raw.


It was certainly more physical activity than she was used to, and her body was not thanking her for it, for certain.


At the sounds from the kitchen, she shook her head, chuckling softly. It was a little like listening to the slaughter of a chicken, except that the chicken was roughly the side of a farmer... "I'm not so sure I mind, to be honest. I can't imagine whatever was left would be terribly appetizing at this point, anyhow. Besides... with how she was wrestling that thing? All that work... she deserves it."


Shifting, she leaned back, letting her eyes all closed, "...It feels spectacular, just sitting down. Never thought I'd miss it so much. How are you feeling? All things considered, you've got it a bit worse than me..."

 

[Kazanna]

With a light shrug, he looked over at her, "I'm alright, Just another day in my life Gemma. In all honesty, other then the run in with war, and becoming Death itself... today has been quite mellow." He said, smiling almost sadly, "I do not know what should be viewed as normal in all honesty."


The house's lighting system shifted and the house dimmed slightly as the sunset took full effect. It was one of the features of the house, to extenuate the natural beauty of the surroundings. Elias smiled and nodded out towards the bay, "Aquarius told me once... that I'll never be too busy, or too caught up in the chaos to enjoy moments like these... I agree with him. Funny old man that he is..."


Elias paused slightly, and snorted, "That was fast..." He heard a thump and the sound of a window closing firmly. Jenassa had exited the house and was now outside, off on her own exploratory adventure as she was most days. Shaking his head, Elias nodded towards Gemma, "How are you adapting to the Delphi, Any muscle damage or pain?" He asked gently.

 

[Elle Joyner]

"Sounds to me like you might be in need of a vacation, when all of this is over. A long one. Because I can promise you, Elias... none of this is even remotely mellow. I feel like I've gone half mad, and it hasn't even been an entire day, yet." Smiling gently, she turned her eyes to the window, staring out at the sunrise. It was, indeed, stunning...


The colors seemed unreal, they were so bright... like color splashed on a canvas, radiant oranges and pinks, deep purples and blues... the sun a massive ball of light, half hidden by the horizon. "Aquarius has his moments, I suppose. It is beautiful..."


Looking back to Elias she smiled faintly, "Nothing too terrible... Just a few bruises, here and there. I don't think that had as much to do with the suit as it does our friend with the anger management issues. Considering the day I've had, I'd say coming out of it relatively unscathed is a pretty big accomplishment."

 

[Kazanna]

With a light smile and a shake of his head, Elias turned his gaze back out to the sun as it sank into the tide beyond, there was a split in the islands that was just enough for them to view it. He motioned to the break in the land, and said quietly, "That was Aquarius, Thirty years ago, during my training. It was one of the first times I encountered the Vatican and it's Templar. One had... somehow managed to capture my mother. She was barely alive when we got there. I pulled her out of their lander, and Aquarius... well..." He kept his gaze on the sun, "He did that... without even meaning to... he was so furious, so desperately angry at them for having taken her... Fate is one of his Primes, one of very few people who will inherit his empire should he fall. She, like his other primes, mean a lot to him, they are his family." Elias glanced to Gemma, his arms crossed over his chest, his face looked tired, strained, "It was like watching a god unleash hell... He burned them alive with... a power akin to fire, but there were no flames, their armor... and their skin... and everything... it was insane... I was ten years old at the time... I was... Really not ready for that..."


The Memory wall reacted, showing snippets of that moment, Elias Glanced back to it, and nodded, "Yeah... That memory..." He shifted it out a moment later, before the gruesome scene played out.


Elias was scarred, beyond what most people would be able to retain sanity through, but for him, this was all normal, it was par of life's great expanse. He didn't view it as unreal, or crazy, because it was all he knew. So as he contemplated mellow, he honestly had little vision of what that would entail. He'd assumed, for years, that his life was mellow, at least compared to that of his mother, or his aunts and uncles. Each of them was constantly having some life endangering adventure or going on a mission that would decide the fate of a great existence for many thousands of peoples.


Looking Gemma over, he muttered, "Mellow... huh... a Vacation might be nice..."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Gemma frowned as Elias recounted the story. She could only imagine what he must have felt, knowing what had happened to his mother. She partially understood now, his anger towards the Templar's. They had attacked his family, nearly taken his mother and she was certain that wasn't all they'd done, but she hadn't the heart to press him for more information.


Leaning to the side, she rested her head gently on his shoulder, her gaze falling again to the dying sun and the beauty being created with the last brilliant rays, "It's hard to believe that after everything you've been through, you can still find it in you to be a good man. I don't know how I might have turned out in your place, but I don't imagine most people could endure all that you have and be anything but broken..."


Smiling faintly, she shrugged, "If nothing else, you've earned a vacation. When all of this is over and you're free from babysitting me... Somewhere further away even than this... where no one can reach you. Of course, knowing you, you'd be bored within the first hour and go looking for trouble."

 

[Kazanna]

Elias nodded and laughed at what she had said, to anyone else, it would be a humor, a joke, something to laugh at in a genuine air. To him, it was a sad truth about who he was, about who the people in his clan were. After they'd gotten themselves out of trouble so many times, they now fed off of the terrible amusement that it was to be in those situations. With all the power they had, they went looking for the darkness, they chased it away, they became the boogeymans nightmares, and they did it very well. Elias was no exception to this, he was, for all intensive purposes, a righteous hand of justice.


He may have broken laws, and galactic rules that most people would have been in a great deal of trouble for, but he always did it for very noble reasons. So it would come to no surprise to his clan when he had sided with Gemma against her case and against the universe as a whole. For all the rest of the galaxy was concerned, Gemma Livingtree was a traitor to peace. But Elias did not care, he had found out the lies within the case, had found the truth that lay deep beneath, and he meant to expose it. He gazed at the stars on the horizon as the sun faded away and they began to twinkle into view.


"To think... if it had been left to them... this world would have been destroyed before we even gained automobiles... The Templars created a spell seal, a long time ago, Aquarius showed me the history about it, he and Carlith used their memories to write the details down, it was... really scary stuff, the seal had originally gone off, ended the world... Aquarius and Carlith... it's complicated, not my place to tell really, but... basically they set things right, they damaged the seal, so when the Templar tried to set it off... It just sort of fizzled, that's just... one time this has happened too..." He said, shaking his head, "I'm sorry, it's just... so hard to focus on anything anymore but what were fighting against... In the public eye I'm this... cold hearted, fucked up bounty hunter that's ruins entire townships when I land near them chasing a bounty... I know people are scared of me, people hate me even, I've got bounties on my head, but no one is stupid enough to try to collect them... But..." He waved to her, "When I see someone like you, in your situation... It just... drives my focus even more."


Elias let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes, "Just... something that comes with the territory I guess... sucks you in..." He glances at her, and raises a brow, "Which makes me want to ask, Why don't you have a nano-mesh? I mean, the Delphi is just an outer-layer, once your done with it, you can literally will it off yourself, and it'll just fold away, But you've done so much for the nanite community, why don't you have an advanced mesh?" He asked. He was genuinely curious.

 

[Elle Joyner]

Straightening upright, Gemma bit her lip, concentrating as she mulled over the question. It wasn't really the first time she'd had to answer it, but Elias deserved more of an explanation than her usual brisk retort. All things considered, it wasn't really as easy to answer in depth as she might have imagined. It was an incredibly personal reasoning, and putting it into words was far easier said than done.


"...I suppose..." She started softly, "I suppose you could say it's a matter of principle. I helped build Magistrate into what it was because I was tired of hearing stories about men, losing arms, legs... sight... in wars, mother's stuck in wheelchairs after being hit by drunk drivers... children with diseases, whose families couldn't afford the cost of medicine. I wanted to give the world something... something that could change all that. I knew Nanite technology existed, but before Magistrate, it had been so... inaccessible." Frowning softly, she shrugged, "But I suppose the problem with things being more accessible is people can use them for whatever they want. Meshes... augments... Being used for esthetic alterations, athletics..."


A soft sigh escaped, as Gemma leaned back in the chair, "...I saw my hard work turned into nonsense. Up until that point, I'd always thought maybe some day I might give the mesh a shot...but after that, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It seemed wrong. I don't know... I guess I just figured I should be happy the way I was... I was healthy, whole... I didn't need it."


Smiling faintly, she looked over at him, "Besides... I'm of the popular opinion that the rumors are true... that the Nanite meshes dull the receptors. I mean, obviously they're designed so you don't feel pain as intensely as you might otherwise, but there's so many other receptors. I can't imagine they aren't all affected. I've felt everything to the fullest since birth... I wouldn't want that to change. Not for anything."

 

[Kazanna]

Elias nodded slowly, and muttered, "I think... that's what my mom was talking about... the dulling sensation... before the advancements, and the struggle from Generation Zero to Generation five. She said it was... what made her decide to ask Aquarius for immortality. She was in her forties when he figured out Gen Five... The experiments killed her multiple times. I don't know if you've ever heard of the Alpha Nanites, the ones made during the earlier two thousands. Made people go insane and things like that. My mother, she was the first test subject, for every new batch until the patent for them got released into public archives for technological sharing. That was after they were safe, years before you would have been born even."


Elias Shrugged lightly, "Probably... should have mentioned that my mother's an immortal being... Kind of an awkward thing to take in... considering I'm not." He smiled and raised his brows, "I'm just very durable." He said with a proud air.


Elias wasn't joking either, he wasn't immortal, he could die, had come close to it several times in his life, so wheres death was a joke to his friends and family, to him, it was entirely real, he got an actual adrenaline rush when he was in combat. "I wonder... If becoming Death will cause anything to happen... concerning that..." He said with a frown.

 

[Elle Joyner]

"I've read stories... about the early testing. It was something we needed to look into, in order to prevent any recurrences. Still, working with something so unpredictable, it wasn't easy. Without the information, we probably would have made a lot of the same mistakes they'd made. There's always risk, when you're pioneering something to do with genetics... but because of those studies, we were able to avoid a lot of ugly mistakes. I guess in a way I have your mother to thank for that. I can't imagine it was easy for her."


Shifting in her seat, Gemma looked to Elias, frowning softly, "Is... Is that something you would want? Immortality? To live forever?"


Biting her lip she let her gaze drift to the windows again. The sun was barely the width of a fingernail over the horizon, the sky darkening to a pearly blueish black, bleeding into rich purple, "...It can't be easy. Watching the world pass by... never aging, never changing... The people around you, people you care about, dying... and you can't do anything but watch. It seems lonely. Sad..."

 

[Kazanna]

With a slight shrug, Elias shook his head, "I'm not sure honestly, Immortality is a dicey subject within our circle. Most of them already are... so they don't talk about it... My mother asked for it because she... crossed over once, it was a bad moment, Aquarius brought her back but..." He shook his head, "In all honesty, she shouldn't be alive. My father knows it, I know it, She even acknowledges it. But that's just how it is, she's alive, even when she shouldn't be."


Elias nodded towards the Horizon, "I suppose they don't think about it much because Aquarius has a life partner, and Mother... well... She's been one of his retainers for almost a thousand years now. She said it doesn't feel like that much time has passed... I asked her about all of this when I was younger, She said I'll figure it out when I'm five hundred years old and still alive, where all other nanite bearers will die just a few years after their two hundredth birthday, and well..." he gazed at her, "People in your position, are estimated to live until their hundred and fiftieth, At most." He shrugs lightly, and smiles quietly, "As things will go Gemma, I'll probably attend your funeral, Grim as that sounds, I say it in all the honor I can."


Elias' eyes shone almost sadly, "In truth, I've watched hundreds of friends die in battle, lost thousands of allies in war, I understand the futility of it all, but I'll keep pushing forward, If this... New power I've attained grants me immortality..." He shrugs lightly, "Then I shall bear the responsibility that will come with it." He nods at her, "So what would you do with it, if you were immortal?"

 

[Elle Joyner]

It was a hard question to answer, but harder still, given his response. It made sense, really... He would live longer than most, just based on his circumstances. He had already lost so much, and he was built for destruction... It only made sense, then, that he shouldn't fear something like immortality as much as she did. He was as close to it as one could get, really without actually experiencing it.


What hurt, what made it hard, was his understanding... That immortal or not, he would outlive her by many, many years. The idea that he cared, that he would even assume to be a part of her life by the time she brushed off the moral coil... it was terrifying, sobering and all at once heart warming a notion.


"Me?" She asked, softly, before shaking her head, "I don't imagine I'll ever get the opportunity... but I guess if I did... If I had the chance, I'd want to do something worth while. Help people, as much as I could." Biting her lip, she rose, moving to the window. The horizon had all but swallowed up the glowing light and the first few stars had begun to weave their constellations in the heavens. Putting her fingers to the glass, she traced the path they'd made, "...And I'd stay... with you."

 

[Kazanna]

With a light laugh, Elias smiled and shook his head, his eyes shimmered slightly, as he replayed her words in his mind with the help of his nanites. He leaned back against the chair he was in and sighed quietly. It was strange, those that did not seek it were always the best candidates for immortality, and those who sought it were often the worst. Elias stroked his chin thoughtfully. It was devoid of a beard, as he had never wanted one, so his nanites had prevented it over the years per his desire, but the motion would nevertheless look as thoughtful.


He stood up after a moment and moved to stand beside her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Gemma, Long ago, Aquarius came to me, and asked me if I wanted the gift of immortality. He asked me because during an engagement with the Trinian's at Solus, after I had slaughtered their legion there, I showed humility, and shame for my actions, I showed my humanity, I broke down on the spot, and cried. He told me, that those who deserve Immortality, that they might continue to act, that they might reinforce the will of the universe, and keep things moving in a positive direction, are often struck down, long before they could ever attain it. I refused him, at that moment, because I was so torn apart by what I had done... as I had done it with my bare hands. I had killed sentient life, life that was not evil, or demonic, life that was fighting for its empire, for the preservation of it's own way of life. I had taken the lives of those who were against my own way of life, and I mourned that. I still do. His offer is still on the table to me. I do believe, you are one of the few living humans, not directly within his circle, that he would offer that gift to, you have, from what I always saw of your exploits within your business, endeavored to push mankind and the rest of the galaxy in the proper direction." Elias' speech was almost long winded, would seem partly rehearsed, but he had spoken off the tip of his tongue, allowed the words to flow out, to explain where he stood as far as attaining immortality.


"However, he did say the process of becoming immortal required choosing how one wanted it to be done. Most of them seemed painful, and I was... still kind of fragile then. I didn't know how to control my emotions or my pain receptors yet. My nanites work in reverse you know..." He grinned lightly, "Sensation, pain or pleasure, it's all enhanced, I can dull it, or make it better." He chuckled lightly, letting the obvious tease hang in the air.