Infinities Edge

[Elle Joyner]

"I'm not sure if it's funny or sad that that's what sets us apart from others. The ability to show humility... compassion. This world, it's gotten so dark over time, and it's only getting darker. The qualities that used to be praiseworthy are now mocked... We're the fools, for doing what human nature used to dictate should be inherent. It's frustrating..."


A soft sigh escaped and Gemma reached up, laying her own hand over the one resting on her shoulder, "Thing is, though, Elias... This isn't my world. Deities and immortality... monsters and magic. I've seen more today than I even knew possible, and I'm exhausted from it. I couldn't imagine a lifetime of that, let alone an eternity."


Smiling faintly, she turned from the window to face him, "...You are, quite literally, the only thing that makes any of this worthwhile. Everything else is just noise and chaos."


Looking back to the window, she fell silent for a moment before a soft smile appeared, "...Make it better, you say?"

 

[Kazanna]

With a light laugh, Elias nodded his agreement to the chaos. He smiled quietly and gazed out at the stars, his vision saw something entirely different from what most saw, progression charts, data that slid past, and massive amounts of cataloged astral data, he knew exactly where he was then, when he was, it confused his nanites for a moment, but they cataloged it as an anomaly until his brain was able to convince them of the time hop.


In all honesty, it gave him a severe headache. He sighed and rubbed his head slightly. He'd not calibrated his senses to the star charts before with the nanites after a time jump, he'd always done so with the nanites having had their time calibration reset first.


"Well... There's something new..." He muttered, rubbing his head still, "Nanites don't handle recalibration after time hops well."


The headache was slowly passing, but it not only irritated him, it worried him slightly. He'd never had an issue with his nanites in the past, and now they were directly arguing with him, furiously displaying that the information was wrong, that everything he was seeing was fabricated. They had begun to cycle his different spectrum of vision, which would show visually in his eyes as his irises adjusted for each switch, the colors would shift, and a small amount of visual light would flash with each shift.


Elias took a few steps back from the window, murmuring, "As interesting as this is... Nanite command, Executive override, Command Line Seven, Manual Vocal shutdown. Time-frame Ten hours, Reboot with mainframe update starting from core position alpha. Argument deference, Logical Brain, High Command line ten. Orders Execute, Recognition mode, Elias Grim, The Jericho Reaper." Elias said with a flat tone in a hurried voice.


A moment later, he collapsed, not the usual collapse where someone tried to catch themselves, his entire body simply gave out, his knees gave from under him, his ankles no longer supporting his weight, his hips pivoted, his spinal column shifted and allowed him to fall in a heap. He fell backwards, slamming into the floor with a great deal of force, as tall as he was, and as much as his muscles weighed, he had a great amount of falling weight.


Elias eyes closed as he went down, falling momentarily unconscious as his systems flat-lined. He opened his eyes when he was on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, muttering, "Been... a long time... since I turned them off..." He lay there, feeling the delphi armor around his body move to his wrist, and collect there into a sort of bracelet like manacle. It displayed a time code for how long until his nanites would reboot.


Then, he felt how cold the floor was, and let out a sigh. It had been a long time since he'd experienced this.

 

[Elle Joyner]

She'd turned to respond, her lips curved in a smile but as the words formed, he spoke again and then, quick as a blink, he collapsed. When he dropped, Gemma's eyes widened and she moved, quick as she could. She couldn't reach him fast enough to keep him from hitting the ground, but sliding beside him, dropping down to her knees she reached out, hands on his shoulders, "Elias!?"


It was a long, desperate moment before his eyes opened, and she could have sworn in those few seconds her own heart had stopped. After everything that had happened that day, after everything he had been through, she could only imagine what was affecting him, and the thoughts that cropped up into her mind were more and more terrible, the longer it took him to recover.


But he did, and with a gasp, she launched forward, arms wrapped tight around his neck. She held him tightly for a moment, before pulling back, eyes glaring down at him as she smacked her hand into his shoulder, "You... I... You can't do that to me, Elias! I thought..."


Letting him go, she sat back, shaking her head, "...You scared me..."

 

[Kazanna]

Grunting slightly, Elias sat up, releasing a sigh, he shook his head, his vision clear, he glanced around and muttered, "Gods... It's like being blind... And deaf... And really really sensitive."


Elias pushed himself to his feet, his muscles functioning on their own for the first time in years. It was a strange thing for him, to feel basic aches and pains. He nodded to Gemma, "I'll try to give you some warning next time, but my Nanites were going nuts, so I had to act fast. I apologize for startling you."


He turned towards Gemma again, "Without the Nanites regulating my internal systems, everything feels goofy, I can't feel my organs anymore." He said with a wry grin on his face, "Odd as that must sound, I'm unused to not being able to regulate my entire body and it's functions..."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Smiling faintly, gingerly, Gemma shook her head, "Well, yeah. How long has it been? Most people don't keep them active for that long. And even then, yours are considerably stronger, and more complex. You really ought to give yourself a break more often."


Rising as well, she put a hand on his arm, gentle, but firm, in case he toppled again, "...And it's fine. I just wasn't expecting it. The last time I saw someone crashed out on their Nanites like that, they didn't get back up. Of course, they also wore a mesh that wasn't customized for them. It was a PR nightmare. We spent months have to convince half our clients that the meshes were perfectly safe, when used properly."


Rubbing her brow, she returned to the chair and sat, "...You're just like me, now. Imagine that, your organs having to work all on their own. I can imagine that must be frustrating." Chuckling softly, she looked up at him, "...At any rate, you've got the chance to enjoy a bit normalcy... It might be nice."

 

[Kazanna]

Nodding slowly, Elias closed his eyes for a long moment, his face calming visibly. He turned towards the horizon and gazed out, he wanted to close his eyes reflexively, but he kept his gaze on the last remnants of the setting sun. He smiled lightly, muttering, "You've... no idea... what this is like... Seeing the sun... for the first time in ten years... without statistical data feeds, filtering, caution flares, the entire mess that the nanites run through your eyes endlessly..." He watched as the very last bits of light escaped below the horizon and imbued the sky with deep orange and purple glowing hues.


Elias sighed quietly, and turned towards Gemma, muttering, "It's a much... different experience, not knowing how much ultraviolet light is coming at you. It leaves... so much to actual mystery, allows a different perspective on the world..." He laughs lightly, "It's actually quite terrifying really... with what I usually see."


Moving back to the chair he'd been in before, he sat down heavily with a sigh, muttering, "In all honesty, I expected to go sensory blind for a few hours after the shut down, but instead, it's like waking up without the extra data... and all the rest of the world still there..."


Elias watched the twisting hues of the sunlight, fading from their visual plane, it would last a few more moments, before the stars would begin to tear through the darkness of the atmosphere. Elias smiled lightly, muttering, "There's another fun one... I used to be able to see a full sight map of all the constellations... I kind of miss that feature... though... I don't miss the satellite feed feature... Dizzying amount of them up there you know."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Gemma chuckled softly, shaking her head, "I used to take it for granted... Then the domes went up over the city, and I realized how important it was to appreciate those things while we still have them. Here, though... it's definitely much better than back home. The skies are clearer... brighter. The colors... It's like seeing it for the first time, all over again, for me, too."


Watching him as he sat again, she smiled and shrugged, "...The world doesn't go away. I think we just forget how it used to work, with all the technology we've got. It's frustrating sometimes, and I know that sounds ridiculous, considering what I did for a living... but sometimes I wish we could go back. Back to what it used to be, before all the advancements."


Biting her lip, she followed his gaze, leaning back to see the sky, clearer, "...Incidentally... I have a pretty good grasp of the constellations, myself. When I was little, my mom used to take me out on our roof... It was flat, and just big enough for the two of us. We've put out a blanket and laid down, looked up at the stars... and she would point out which constellations we could see. And in the winter, she'd bundle me up and we'd go out really late, keep our hands warm with cups of hot chocolate... and she'd show me Gemini. It was cold, but it was always the best time to see it... It's been way too long since I've done that."

 

[Kazanna]

With a laugh, Elias sat back heavily and let his head lay back. He sighed and shook his head, "Aquarius, did the same thing for me, My mother would spar on the roof with Carlith, and Aquarius would tutor me on ancient mythology, explain the stories that most of the populace doesn't even know about... battles between gods... why they did what they did, and how it's changed everything."


He nodded to her, and smiled lightly, "You know one of the programs that Aquarius is going to release next year, or rather that he was, it was going to be something he was going to implement into your company, something he was going to approach you with." He looked up to the ceiling, "Internal construct house, run software program Rapture, display concordant to all files regarding the New Genesis Program related to the Neo Nanite program."


A moment later the houses built in holographic display emitter shimmered to life, it showed schematics for a new strain of nanites based off of Elias' nanites. They were replicating actuality engines that were designed to re-balance Earth's Ecosystem and rebuild the planet from a core basis. Elias motioned to it, the display was a shimmering masterpiece of engineering physically, but it was lacking a core software component. Elias reached out towards it and the display changed slightly, the software required was displayed, with letter blocking that made it impossible to read.


"I'm allowed this far, then the system locks me out, I've tried hacking it for years now to no avail. The separate parts have slowly unlocked themselves, but... Apparently..." He motioned to the lines of code for the software, "This is the part that someone else has to invent, that I'm not allowed to see yet, Aquarius already knows how it works, but he knows if he simply introduces it, there will be sections of the code that don't get used for other things. It's... part of the connection, it's why he doesn't just give the world all the technology he's experience..."


He motioned to the bottom of the code, "The bit that I was able to figure out..." He muttered, "Was which company was going to make it... It's why I was so angry when I heard you were supposedly involved... Your company was meant to save the world Gemma. Not destroy the tenuous peace we barely managed to broker after years of war..." His eyes grew bitter, "It's why I've taken such a personal interest in this... It's why the Templar plots infuriate me so much... they created an issue that has set back the cleansing of the planet by years, if not decades..."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Gemma smiled faintly, "Your childhood and mine... very different things. Everything you've seen and done, I'm sure it's amazing... incredible, really. But I can't help but wonder what you've missed out on. All that training... Wasn't there anything else?" Shaking her head, she shifted, "Sorry, never mind. It's not my place."


Sitting back, she listened intently as he continued. At the appearance of the Hologram, her eyes widened and slowly, she rose, absently from her seat. It was, without a doubt, the most spectacularly beautiful display she had ever seen. An idea that was unreal... unimaginable, and yet, there it was, staring her in the face, perfectly reasonable... perfectly achievable.


"...It's incredible. I couldn't... in a thousand years come up with something like this. Not on my own. But with this much of a head start... with the information already processed in..."


Looking to Elias, she shook her head, "...I quite literally could have changed the world." Sinking back down onto the chair, she lowered her gaze to the floor and for a moment, felt inexplicably like crying, "...So much... so much was taken from me. And I still... I don't understand why. To get to you? It makes no sense."

 

[Kazanna]

Clarity was a funny thing, it struck at moments when you didn't expect it to, that, was probably why it was clarity. Elias suddenly had figured something out, it had slapped him in the face, as hard as any scornful mother could her disobedient child. He sighed and shook his head, his eyes closing he brought his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes in a tired fashion.


"No... it makes perfect sense... They just screwed up..." He raised his hands up to the ceiling and stared at it exasperatedly, "Why don't you ever tell me anything I need to know! Why must it always be hard!" He shouted at the ceiling in an accusing way.


Elias turned to Gemma, "We're compatible, We make sense, the rest of this does not. My meeting you should have occurred sooner. They rushed things. If I had met you prior to the entire scandal they could have added me to the list of the guilty and Aquarius would have reacted the way he always does, he would have risen to action and become the monster the universe needed to fight. He's done it a thousand million times." He looked up again, "But he never let any of us burn for it, not ever. This was something outside of his calculations..."


He turned back to Gemma again, "You, Your the key to this. It has nothing to do with the conspiracy, that war was never meant to happen. They're staunching YOU." Elias said firmly.


Motioning to the Hologram with an exasperated motion he growled out, "Imagine, just for a moment, if you had not been implicated, if the merger had finished, and this project had begun. Imagine what would have happened to Earth on a natural level. Then imagine how that would effect the beings that live on the island... Gemma, They targeted you, because they knew you would save not only the earth, but ALL of it's inhabitants with this, human, and inhuman..." he spoke with emotional strain he'd yet to display, "They did all of this, to keep their own sort of fucked up balance, and you were the key to that equation."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Trying to follow, Gemma looked at Elias, shaking her head slowly. It was a lot to take in, but considering everything he had just revealed to her, it made sense. It didn't seem right, however... and it certainly wasn't fair. Working with the future... using it to move reality the way you wanted it to go, to shift what was meant to happen, to prevent it from happening. Her life had been ruined, and it wasn't even because of anything she had done, but because of the possibility of what she could do.


"I think I liked it better when I was just a means to an end." She said softly, lowering her gaze, "All those people that got hurt... It's like it's my fault, and I don't even know why, other than because they were afraid I might have done something to do with a potential change... A positive change, that could have..."


Rising from her seat she ran her hands through her hair, "...I hate this, Elias. It's like being punished for something I haven't even done yet. I haven't thought about doing..."

 

[Kazanna]

Elias' face dark as he nodded in agreement with her, he motioned to the holographic display that showed the designs for the project, closing it down, he motioned towards the holographic controller and it pulled a menu up in front of him. He tapped several points on it's display, motioning towards them he brought up the details on the Templar's themselves. He motioned towards it all.


"This is their history, this is who they are, what they've done to us. Why we fight them... becomes very apparent, because this..." He scrolls through the data, they were mostly in video form, with accompanying text. "This is the historical data collected from not only our eyes, but theirs as well. Aquarius harvests their memories when he defeats one of the legionnaires or one of the clerics, it allows us to... learn things about them that we would otherwise never know... They are... overzealous monsters... Aquarius can fight them, can repel them, but..." He shook his head, "There are shadow agents within WFI that have been working their way into the Templar organization, forces that fight them on their own grounds... It is a war we cannot seem to win. The depth at which they have dug into the universe infrastructure, is maddening. We fight them tooth and nail, and it feels like we lose ground with every victory..."


He pulled up one of the memories that involved Aquarius assaulting a Templar complex. He was moving faster, and more powerfully then any being should have been physically capable of, there was electricity arcing off of his form as he created massive amounts of molecular friction in the air around himself, he slammed through the front doors of the complex with enough force to destroy the massive hydraulic framing. He was instantly assaulted by the Templar legionaries, who moved as fast as they could to intercept him, they moved as fast as Elias ever had, blades at the ready. Aquarius didn't fight with firearms typically, he used melee weapons, in this case, talons that extended from his hands. He tore through the first of the Templars as though they were tissue paper before a windstorm. It was beyond savagery, it was a butchering. Aquarius was systematic. No one go past him, no one came close to him without getting at least disabled. It took them less then a minute to bring forward the stronger of their guard, and these too, were brushed aside, like so many leaves in the wind.


Elias sped the film up to the important positioning, there was a scene, where Aquarius was using nanite technology to extract the memories of the grand cleric of the base. Aquarius experienced the man's memories, the genetic data flowed through him as he held the man by the throat. He gained the memories of countless atrocities, war crimes, the use of chemicals in war, gas bombs, and other horrific attacks that damned the Templar in Aquarius' eyes.


Elias nodded to her and muttered, "This is the monster that we fight. It has been a millenia since they acted in the name of god... We will be fighting them from now, until the end of time as it goes..."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Gemma frowned again, shaking her head, "...I don't think I can deal with this right now. All of this... this whole day. It's like the nightmare inside of a bad dream, and I can't get away from it, even here. I don't want to deal with this. I just want to shut it all down... shut it off, and not think about it. Just for a few hours, pretend my life hasn't been completely trashed, probably beyond total repair."


Rubbing her forehead, she looked out the window. The last vestiges of sun were now gone, the sky an inky purple, bleeding upwards into a deep, dark blue. Stars popped out among the color, little dots of light, brilliant in the clear, clean heavens. Wrapping her arms over her chest, Gemma shivered.


"...I've spent my whole life trying to help people. I don't know what to do, if I can't do that anymore, because of this. I wanted, more than anything, for this to be some big mistake... Even a coincidence would've been better. But to be the target? The reason...? How do I recover from this? Even if I clear my name with the rest of the world... how can I look myself in mirror and not feel like I'm the cause for all those people who died... all those people who are suffering, because of what happened?"

 

[Kazanna]

Looking down and away, Elias sighed quietly, his features were pensive. Her question struck close to home. He'd killed hundreds, if not thousands of people and he had always kept in mind, that they were the husbands, wives, parents, and children of other sentient beings. He had never relished killing anyone, never enjoyed it. The process had appealed to him, but he had never enjoyed that he was ending a life.


As the darkness within the house fell, Elias motioned the hologram away, muttering, "I asked my mother a similar question when I was ten years old Gemma... I'll tell you now what she told me..." He brought his gaze back to her, "Even if you are the reason that something happened, does not mean that it is your fault. You cannot take on the weight of those deaths. You cannot allow those souls to haunt you. You must seek the greater justice in the universe, find that which balances the negative acts..."


Elias paused and then said calmly, "If this hadn't happened... We'd have never found out about this cell. They've done so little so far... There is still time to set things right Gemma, Still time to put things back on track. You will redeem yourself, You will look into the eyes of those that have caused you the pain and loss you have experienced, and you will see with your own eyes as they are judged for the crimes you feel guilt for."


Elias stepped towards away from Gemma, towards the kitchen, he glanced back at her before he did, "Even if... things seem crazy right now Gemma... I promise, there is light at the end of this very horrible darkness... Look at the good that's happened... You've become a part of the clan... In more ways then one..." He smiled lightly, "Even if it's of little consolation to you... you have opportunities open to you now that will make the rest of your life interesting..."


He stepped into the kitchen, and glanced around. Much as he had guessed, there were the remains of the giant chicken everywhere. Blood, Feathers, and some of it's parts, as well as the entire skeletal structure. Elias sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, staring at the mess, he muttered, "Crap..."

 

[Elle Joyner]

Shaking her head, Gemma listened to what Elias said, appreciative of the words but ultimately unswayed in her opinion. She hadn't done anything, certainly, and directly, she couldn't be held responsible and therefore should not have felt at fault, but ultimately, they had done what they'd done because of her and she had to take on at least that much of the blame.


She'd wanted to change the world, and she had, but not for the better and that much, at least, was simply unfair. And the fact that there was little she could do on her own to fix it was frustrating. Still, it was reassuring to know he had felt the same way, that he struggled with his own actions and that she was not alone in how she felt, "...I just can't wait for all of this to be over. To wake up and have something of a normal life again. It's exhausting."


As he started for the kitchen, she made to follow him, pausing midstep at his last words, a soft smile forming again on her lips, "...In more ways that one, hmm? And what ways are those, Elias?"


Stepping into the kitchen with him, her brow rose and she stared at the mess, "Oh, goodness. You weren't kidding, were you. She certainly did leave quite a mess."

 

[Kazanna]

Staring at the mess, he looked up, at the ceiling, and released a sigh, there was blood, and chicken feathers lodged against the stainless steel ceiling as well. He had no idea how in the world the midget of a Calonian managed this ever single time she caught some wild animal. The last time it had been a deer, the antlers had some how managed to lodge themselves in the tile.


"I'll... get the hose... Everything's waterproof anyways..." Elias murmured as he stepped back out of the room and towards the garage.


He opened the door, reached inside, and pulled the hose off of it's mount on the wall. He was used to this, it was just part of his life. Cleaning up blood, gore, messes of untold proportion. He'd learned early on how to deal with it without his nanites, though it had been a long time since he had done so. He moved back to the kitchen, and waved the nozzle of the hose around, it was a complex tool, something Aquarius had devised on a bored day, it had a built in targeting system when switched into cleaning mode, and a pressure adjustment algorithm for watering plants or other things.


"Uh... You can either suit up, get wet, or wait just outside the kitchen." Elias said with a shrug, his armor folding up around his form, covering him.


The Delphi armor had a lot of uses, one of them, was anti-water gear. So as he thumbed the hose on, and began spraying from the ceiling down, the mess dripped away harmlessly. It would take him seconds to clean the entire mess, the pressure of the hose was dramatically stronger then it really needed to be, and the targeting system guided him as it synced with his armor, giving him a HUD and target assist function.


When the entire mess was on the floor, he thumbed off the hose, and dropped it to the floor. With a turn and a flick of a switch on the wall, the floor began to release tiny nanite storms that consumed the chicken bones, blood, feathers, and bits until the floor was sparkling, the water steamed off of all surfaces as they warmed functionally.


Elias shrugged, "I have to admit, I did go overboard on designing this place, but it comes in handy... Oh, and I meant that your basically viewed by the others in the clan as my partner, even if were still tip-toeing towards a semblance of a relationship beyond hostage and hostage taker." He said as his armor slid away, he had turned towards Gemma, regardless of where she was, a cocky, almost arrogant grin on his face.

 

[Elle Joyner]

It was a mess... and it couldn't be fun, cleaning it up, but Gemma was, nonetheless, grateful for it. It was a much needed distraction from their previous conversation, even if it would do her little good, refusing to accept the circumstances for what they were. She was content, for the time being, not to think about her situation... even if it wasn't for the best.


When Elias disappeared and returned a moment later with the hose, Gemma stepped out of the kitchen. She could hear the water, splashing across each and every surface and chuckled to herself, shaking her head. It was an improvement, at least, from having to scrub on hands and knees... Particularly a mess like that.


The water turned off, and she entered the kitchen again, taking an appraising look around. It had done the trick, for certain.


"...It's hard not to show off, when you can. I know I had a habit of doing it, with my designs." She smiled, and the expression grew as he continued, her cheeks flushed with color as she turned her gaze away, "...Oh. That. Yeah. I had wondered if that might come up in conversation." Looking up again, she met that cocky grin and shrugged, "...Though there's no need, you know... to tip-toe."

 

[Kazanna]

Elias sighed slightly as the quiet, small fans throughout the kitchen automatically cleansed the air of any smells that didn't belong. He moved to a cabinet and pulled out a few cups, the cabinets released a hissing sound when opened, like they were hermetically sealed, which, they were, and when he closed them, there was a suction to it. He opened several other cabinets, pulling out the one thing she'd asked for, the ingredients any ways. Hot Chocolate, as gourmet as was possible, Marshmallows and all. He smiled lightly as he set the ingredients next to the stove top, which was a thermal induction unit, and turned to Gemma.


"As per your request..." He pulled a small pot out, and set it on the induction unit. He added water, and then the other necessary ingredients, and within moments, the room would be permeated with the smell of warm chocolate. He was quick with his movements, pausing only when necessary.


Shifting his actions, he added another pan, and then set out dinner, it was simple, pan seared vegetables with a few spices for added flavor, grilled chicken breast, all cooked in one pan, and then he pulled another pot out, pulled ingredients from the fridge for it, and filled it up, creating a light clam chowder within a few minutes.


"It won't be as good as it could be if it was slow cooked... but..." He shrugged, "It'll still be alright." He paused, considering her words from a moment before,"I... am not very good with women Gemma. I know the game is on, but I've not got the faintest idea of how to play... I was taught to be a warrior, a spy, and I'm able to seduce a woman with charm, but I do not know how to properly romance a girl, especially one that I like... or how to react when she tries to do the same with me..." He admitted flatly as he finished adding ingredients and setting everything to a simmer. He turned to her, and shrugged, "Just wasn't in my training... I blame my mother. She didn't give me enough time with my father to learn how to romance a girl..."

 

[Elle Joyner]

"One of these days..." She began, taking the mug from him, "I want to go somewhere that doesn't have a scrap of technology. I want to sit by a real fireplace... Drink a cup of hot chocolate that took a full ten minutes to make... I know it sounds crazy, considering this is what I grew up knowing... it's what I've always done. But I hear stories of how it used to be and sometimes, I just wish I could experience what it was like..."


Tapping one of the marshmallows, floating on top of the light brown liquid she smiled, "Still... this is better than nothing."


Chuckling softly, she took a long, slow sip, leaning up against one of the freshly cleaned counters with a soft, contented sigh, "Oh yeah. It's been too long." Watching out of the corner of her eye, she smiled, as he busied himself with dinner. As he spoke, she nodded, setting her cup down for a moment, allowing her mind some time to wrap around those words.


"I think that's just it, though, Elias. It's not something you need training in... It's not something you learn. It just happens... And as it so happens, you aren't as bad at it as you think. I just thought you should know, is all... that if it's something you want... that is to say, if I am something you want... you won't have to work very hard."

 

[Kazanna]

With a light laugh, and a shake of his head, Elias smiled at Gemma, the irony of who she was and her near abstinence from technology was amusing to him. Elias took a moment to pull out plates, and then plate the prepared food, setting it on a serving tray he seemed to make appear from nowhere.


"Someday, We'll take a trip to Aquarius' summer retreat, borrow it for a week or two, It doesn't even have an old age phone line, totally remote. He used it when he was younger for his transformations... You can still see the scars on the trees from where he lashed out." Elias said slowly.


He paused at her last words, mid-step, he caught himself, as he nearly tripped. He stood there for a long moment, his eyes gazing off into space. Elias honestly didn't have any idea how to react. He wasn't sure if she was serious, or if he was being toyed with. So far, she'd not said anything that would suggest that she was toying with, or going to toy with him, so when she had said those words, it had shocked him slightly.


"I shall... keep that in mind Gemma..." Elias said carefully. He felt a slight chill run down his spine, as though he was deep enough in enemy territory that his head should be on a spike. It was all he could compare his experiences to, war and combat, it was all he knew. Romance was confusing, strange to him. He glanced at Gemma, and asked, "What... How... do I..." He stumbled over his words, then glanced away, "I do not know how to proceed with that Gemma..." He murmured.

 

[Elle Joyner]

Smiling gently, Gemma nodded, "That would be nice. My parents had a cabin in Vermont, when I was a child. They insisted everyone leave their phones at home... Of course, everyone complained, but in reality, I don't think anyone really minded. It was nice... Peaceful. And Lord knows we could use a little peace these days."


She'd moved to help him, but as she did so, he stumbled and Gemma raised a brow. It wasn't like Elias to be caught off guard, at all... but especially not so thoroughly. It was funny, in a way, to see him so thrown. And by something so simple and innocent... But then, romance and all it's factors had been the contributing factor in a lot of men's downfall. Still, his sudden transition from so powerful and strong a figure, to what could only possibly bring to mind a young teenaged boy, was amusing, to say the least. He was a warrior, through and through, and thus far there had been nothing he'd seemed incapable of doing... it was a sight, indeed, to see him so flustered, so out of his depth.


Chuckling softly, she shook her head, "You're over thinking things, Elias. There's no game plan or strategy that you've missed along the way. There's... intuition, sure... and decisions to make, but ultimately, there is no diagram you've got to follow. Really, the most difficult part is over. You've hooked me, Elias. The rest is just... instinct, I suppose. For now, though... dinner sounds lovely. I'm starved..."

 

[Kazanna]

Elias paused again, his face took on the appearance of someone arguing with themselves. He developed a slight scowl before took up the food and plated it all. It took him only moments, every movement was mechanical, until he pulled open a final cabinet. Within it, was supplies that no normal bachelor should have, firearms, explosives, all high grade, all technology designed to fight the Delphi unit. He slammed the cabinet shut a moment later and froze. A moment later, he opened the cabinet slowly again, and then slammed it shut again, he'd seen the same objects. He frowned and turned to Gemma, a confused look on his face.


"That's supposed to be a full of glasses... the long neck one's... and the shorter ones for water... and..." He trailed off, his shoulders slumping. "I somehow doubt this was Jenassa's doing... considering she doesn't do English well enough to barter for any of this... My mother has only ever been here once... and Carlith doesn't come around anymore..." He rubbed his head, and then paused.


Glancing at the ceiling, he muttered, "Dolly..."


The servitor AI from Aquarius' house appeared, she shimmered into reality with a bow of her head, and a polite curtsey. She glanced between them, and then shrugged. "History files state they'll be needed Elias... I know you don't generally keep weapons in here but..." She glanced towards the wall, she began scanning the house and the wall itself pulled back and slid away.


Elias frowned and glanced over to it, his head turning slowly back to Gemma a moment later, after he scanned the weapons, "No rest for the wicked it seems..." He murmured.


The AI, Dolly, shrugged, "Seven hours fifteen minutes, and thirty-two seconds actually. Give or take..." She glanced away, as though she knew what was coming, "I unlocked Imperius last week, he wasn't amused... but... it turned off a lot of my limiters..." She tried to look further away, the hologram was twisting her neck in owlish proportions, "I was concerned..."


Elias didn't even look to the AI's projection, he kept his gaze on Gemma, "Shall we eat in the living room, maybe watch a movie or something? I have all the old classics. The really old classics." he asked her calmly, as though none of the events that had just occurred had transpired."


He took up a serving tray, placed the plates, bowls, and cutlery on it, then started walking out of the room. Dolly released a puffing sigh, and turned her gaze to Gemma with a shrug, "Questions Miss Livingtree?" she asked quietly.

 

[Elle Joyner]

Gemma watched with curiosity as Elias spoke to the AI. It was nothing new, really, but somehow she was concerned by the tone of the conversation. She overheard the words weapons, and with that limited information and the comment from Elias that followed, she imagined there was nothing good coming in the future.


They couldn't catch a break, it seemed. Hard as they worked to get away from it all, they were still facing dangers... and what might have been a comfortable, relaxing evening was now burdened by whatever was coming. Was this destined to happen for the rest of her life? It was more than a little frustrating...


"Yeah..." She said to Elias, trying not to let her irritation seep into her tone. She smiled, nodding her head, "I'd like that..." If she understood correctly what the AI had suggested, they had at least seven hours before they had to worry... That was something, at least, and she was determined not to let the inevitable future ruin the rest of her night.


When the AI addressed her directly, Gemma turned away from Elias, "...Yes?"

 

[Kazanna]

Dolly, as she went by, frowned lightly, she shook her head, "No, Gemma, Do you have any of me I meant." She shimmered slightly, and looked down and away, muttering, "The future... it's never quite certain... all we know..." Her tone became double masked, like two people saying the same thing at the same time, the voices were that of Aquarius, and Carlith in a single tone, oddly, their voice patterns were very similar, "Is that the future must continue to happen, regardless of the outcome, despite the infinite number of horrible possibilities, it must continue to happen." She shimmered again slightly, as though she was becoming slightly emotional, "I'm sorry... Old... Old data sometimes causes partial rampancy, I have..." She closed her eyes a moment, then reopened them, a very humanoid expression, "So many memories... You cannot begin to fathom how hard it is to strain out the present from the past, and the past from the future..."


Elias meanwhile had paused at the door, his face set like a cold, stony mask of neutrality, but when the AI spoke of rampancy, he glanced back, and muttered, "You should really reinstate Imperius, Dolly. He was there to help, even if he does hold you back a lot."


Dolly took on an expression akin to that of someone with injured pride, like she was quite miffed by his insinuation that she needed help, but she soon sobered up as she shimmered again a moment later.


She turned to Gemma again, and regarded her once more, "Questions... Miss Livingtree, Have you any for me before I reinstate Imperius?" she asked, strain showing in her features.


Elias nodded to Gemma lightly, "Worlds at your fingertips Gemma, Dolly is like an oracle when Imperius isn't in place... I would ask her questions but..." He glanced at the AI, "She's addressing you... She has something she want's to tell you, but you have to ask the right questions... generally have about five minutes tops... if your lucky... from the original requisition of questioning. So from the first time she asked."

 

[Elle Joyner]

It was a little like being handed a gift, but one which might explode if you opened it the wrong way. She'd never been big on spoilers, and she didn't imagine it would be as easy as asking whether she would get her good name back... The AI wasn't a Fortune Teller, and Gemma was certain there'd be consequences to asking the wrong question, or the right question the wrong way. Just knowing something you weren't supposed to ... or having the wrong information could be extremely dangerous.


A part of her wanted to say nothing. To tell Dolly she had nothing to ask and walk away. But she would regret it. She knew she would. She would be forever aggravated, knowing she had the opportunity, but hadn't taken it.


It was only a matter of what to ask...


Funny how questions seemed to stream in endlessly, until she needed to ask them, and then there was nothing in her mind but static. Looking to Elias, she frowned softly. "Everything feels like a test." She murmured, softly.


Turning to the AI she considered for a long moment, before speaking, "The New Genesis Program. Will it be successful?"