Hook, Line, and Sinker (Verus)

[VeraC]

Farron carefully treated the long corridor carefully. While it was only 20 meters or so, it felt like 100; his senses in overdrive now that he was alone and serious. He held his rifles in a lowered position, keeping the butt close to his shoulder should the need arise. He tried to keep his footsteps as quiet as possible, though completely muting them was something beyond impossible at the time. Though as he came up on an intersection, another set of footsteps echoed out from in front. They were rather light… lighter that his steps anyways. He held position and couched, taking aim, sights trained on the intersection.

What came was nothing of the sort he was expecting.

A petite… girl? Came walked out from the intersecting path. He had his finger heavy on the trigger, but upon seeing her, he immediately relaxed and lowered his gun.

What’s she doing here? What is she? Why is she here? Questions bombarded his mind, unable to comprehend this turn of events. She looked fairly young, maybe somewhere in the late teens to early 20s, and was much shorter than him, Shorter than Eris even. Anyways, he stood up and relaxed, this girl seemingly harmless.

“I could ask the same of you. Who are you and why are you here?” He shifted his weight to his right leg, put his right arm on his hip and scratched the back of his head with his left arm. “Ah… Sorry, let me introduce myself first.” He took a knee and extended his arm palm up, as to grab her hand. “I am Farron Longninus, and as to how I got in, well… I blew a hole in the entrance.”

He bowed his head and grabbed her hand and kissed the top of it, though in the moment, taking a discreet sniff of her skin, trying to figure out if he could smell anything strange. He well knew a girl’s scent, so he could tell if something was different. Between the previous alarm, the journal entry, and the appearance of a seemingly young girl from the depths of the facility, things seemed too coincidental.

 

[GEAR]

Eris rooted and fumbled her way through the Barracks, disappointedly finding little of use as she upended whatever she came across - even the rations had managed to spoil, so she quietly began thinking of various ways of cooking Farron as she trotted back out into the intersection…

In an emergency, of course.

The yellow overhead emergency lights cast her in a dull light as she walked hurriedly down, following after Longinus. She was thinking about that Doctor, the one who had written the note. What had happened to them? For that matter, what had happened to everyone here? Were they sealed in and... Infected? She didn't want to stick around long enough to find out, and her pace quickened. Annoying as he was, at least Farron made for some manner of company, even if she would have preferred the fairer sex-

Ah, she thought as she noticed the other man bent over ahead of them. Ask and ye shall receive. Sure enough, he had managed to find another survivor... From her guise she had to wonder if she was a scientist. Perhaps, she thought, the very same as the one who had written the report? Only one way to find out.

"...Doctor Ren Tong?" She asked as she approached, an eyebrow raising as she nodded towards Farron, indicating she had found little of use in her excursion.

 

[XekuZwei]

This male, he made things almost too easy, literally walking right into its grasp. But it was too early; it needed them both. The other would no doubt appear in time...humans had a tendency to stick their noses into things. That much it had learned from experience.

"Excuse me." The woman's nose wrinkled as Farron suddenly grabbed her hand and made to kiss it. Eris would be gratified to see her place the butt of her free hand against the man's bowed forehead - holding him back in much the way one would ward off an overly affectionate dog - as she pulled her captured hand from his grasp with surprising strength before he got too intimate with it. "I happen to work here," she continued, turning her nose up at him, apparently regarding that fact as obvious. "And I assume that you must be responsible for all the commotion, then." Farron, for his part, would detect nothing amiss with his target. The act was without flaw, even the tiniest detail drawn directly from the source material and replicated precisely.

It, of course, was not experienced in the mechanics of human interaction. But what it did have access to were the memories of a certain unfortunate researcher - the one whose form it had assumed - and she had been quite popular with the male population of the station. This had left it with a multitude of preserved records of rejected advances, and it was a simple matter for the thing to disect those memories and splice the pieces back together in real time to fit the current situation.

She sidestepped hautily around Farron, instead approaching Eris. The cool smile that shifted across her features hid a hint of legitimate surprise; where had she learned that name? No matter, it was inconsequential in the grand scheme. A hand extended, proffered to the other woman.

"My apologies, but Doctor Tong is no longer with us. She retired some time ago." Not factually incorrect...for a certain use of retired.

"I am Doctor Ayatane, the current...," there was the most minute pause, "...director of Anemone Station."

 

[VeraC]

Farron frowned slightly at her disallowing of his greeting gesture. He stood back up and looked down on the small girl. He took a step to the side and leaned up against the wall of the corridor. The young lass seemed to take a greater liking to Eris, so he accepted this defeat and let Eris do most of the talking. Though he kept a close look at the ‘doctor’, to make sure nothing was out of place. His suspicions weren’t quelled yet.

 

[GEAR]

Ayatane…!

Eris' expression remained carefully neutral, but her internal anxiety immediately rose sharply. Ayatane, according to the report, was the very same that had supposedly been tossed into a incinerator for being... Infected. And now here they were, offering their hand. Still, she was a professional - Eris Pseudea had bluffed her way through worse situations than this, though none not nearly as... Otherworldly. Smiling, she reached out and shook the... Doctor's hand.

"Pardon us, Doctor Ayatane." She said, giving a disarming smile as she did, her mind racing for explanations.

"We came aboard after our ship was damaged by space pirates, looking to make repairs. We had no idea this station was still manned."

The blue-haired woman folded her arms behind her back, subtly slipping off her gloves as she did, letting them drop silently to the floor as she explained. In the event that the infection mentioned was real... She wasn't about to take any chances. There was always the chance that this Ayatane… Was in fact someone else who had adopted the moniker, after all.

"The containment procedures must have tripped by mistake... If you're able to release us, however, we'll happily be on our way."

 

[XekuZwei]

"Space pirates?" The doctor tut-tutted, shaking her head softly in disbelief. "What is the world coming to? We'd have never heard the like back when the station was busier. But now..." She trailed off with a shrug, her smile apologetic. True enough, Eris' associates - well, now former associates - would not have dared step foot in this sector of space in ages past, much less approached the base directly. The Directory would have seen to that.

The woman turned on her heel suddenly, striding briskly back the way she'd come toward the depths of the station. An invitation to accompany the good doctor was distinctly absent. "I'm afraid there's not much that can be done about the alarms and lockdown. After all...," she stopped in her tracks quite abruptly, already half a dozen meters down the passage, but did not turn back toward the pair; there was a rather pregnant pause before she continued, "...they are quite legitimate."

She - it - was almost too quick to follow. A high-pitched screech echoed deafeningly from the metal walls as the doctor's form seemed to erupt sickeningly, with something far more monstrous bursting forth from 'her' flesh: the same bestial visage the entity had assumed before. Brutal claws and fangs flashed and glinted even in the stark lighting as the thing launched itself back down the corridor at them with a tremendous leap. Long-fingered hands extended forward, aggressive, grabbing, reaching for the closest target...

Farron.

 

[VeraC]

Farron kept his eye on Ayatane, her manner of talking was slightly.. ‘Off’. He wasn’t quite sure what, but it definitely didn’t sound like a normal person. And would someone’ve been able to live down here for 30-some odd years in solitude? Doubtful. As she began walking away from them, Farron replaced his index finger on the trigger of the gun, and tightened his grip on it. The situation grew more and more tense.

Then it happened.

Correct to Farron’s suspicions, Ayatane wasn’t who she said it was. This thing or whatever she turned into was her true form, and must be what the containment alarm was about before. As the thing began transforming, Farron stepped back and took aim with his gun, firing off four shots, the sound of gunpowder exploding ringing out with a ferocity similar to the creature’s scream. The .50 Beowulf round was much more powerful than a normal-sized bullet, capable of knocking a regular human on his ass if not outright killing him; in the past people used it for hunting elk, deer, and bears with great success. Driving down 2,900 ft-lbs of force at the creature point blank, it would surely bring a lot of damage; though if nothing else, knock the creature back.

Should they hit that is.

 

[GEAR]

"After all... They are quite legitimate."

Oh, Hell.

Eris carefully crafted façade gave way to wide-eyed shock as, before her eyes, "Ayatane" melted away into... Something ghastly. She had never seen anything like it in all her life, and watched with a kind of... suffocated awe and rising fear as it took form. What transpired in only seconds felt like a lifetime of horror, as fangs sharpened and fingers extended, the... creature... for lack of better term, lunging through the air - towards Farron.

A hundred calculations ran through her mind at that exact moment. Farron was far from her favorite person at this point - but if he were to die, she would be unlikely to find any mercy from the crew of the Valstork… And the idea of being tracked through the galaxy by vengeful members of his cartel was enough of a threat to stay her hand. There was a difference in killing over business... And leaving a man for dead.

Dropping her container, she reached into her belt - and darted forward towards Farron and the monstrosity, what appeared to be a long hunting knife being torn free and spun expertly into a reverse grip. It wasn't quite an ordinary blade... But she only hoped she could get some use out of it before Farron fell prey to Ayatane's clutches.

 

[XekuZwei]

The thing's charge was cut short as Farron's shots struck it true mid-leap, a great spray of bracking-green fluid - blood? - splattering across the wall of the corridor as the rounds punched deep holes in its flesh. It tumbled from the force of the impacts, striking the floor with a series of echoing thuds that suggested it was far denser than it appeared as it bounced and slid to a halt at their feet. The same grayish liquid oozed from the thing as it lay face-down in a crumpled heap. It was still and silent save for the drip-drip as its lifeblood ran loose and free; had they really killed it?

DO NOT RESIST, HUMANS.

The words would reverberate through Farron's head with impossible, mind-numbing intensity. They were not heard, but seemed to originate from somewhere in the back of his own skull, a telepathic message that speared its way directly into his cerebrum. Try as he might, the man would find that his body was no longer his own to command - his fate had already been sealed, for when he had touched the good doctor, the creature had put a bit of itself into him through the contact. The 'corpse' seemed to liquify as it broke down into a featureless gray puddle. The creature's form rose anew from the mass, whole and uninjured, its face mere inches from his. Eyes like bottomless crimson pits, uncannily human, stared into Farron's own.

But the creature had made a mistake. Its command was intended to halt both victims, but Eris - warier than her erstwhile partner - had been savvy enough to avoid direct contact by skin. She would be their only chance as the thing slowly raised an alien hand toward its paralyzed victim, too focused to realize that the woman was still in control of her faculties.

 

[GEAR]

Eris' panic momentarily subsided as Farron's bullets sent the creature tumbling, with a few more holes than it had previously. She was so happy, she could have hugged him... Almost. The Freelancer came to a halt in mid run... But then took a couple of steps back, her jaw hanging open, head shaking in disbelief as it... Melted... And then reformed, inches from Farron. She saw the man's hand come up, shakily, in her direction, brandishing the pistol-

"....Dodge!"

Farron's anguished cry snapped her out of her fear-induced paralysis, and she dove hard as his barrel lit up, pulverizing the wall behind her. Rolling, she suddenly sprang forward with renewed purpose, straight behind the two of them, knife flashing in the emergency lights. It was do or die.

Her hand came down in a blur, driving the blade down into the creature's back. As she did, the handle snapped open, revealing a red inner trigger.

"Die, you fucking freak!"

Eris screamed as she pulled the handle flush, sending jolts of plasma rattling down into the monster's frame - if she was so fortunate as to hit it.

 

[XekuZwei]

"Die, you fucking freak!"

The thing's head snapped around at Eris' shout, blank expression not betraying the measure of surprise - or whatever substituted as surprise in that alien mind - that it felt. It seemed as though the female had somehow defeated its control. Curious, as none of the humans it had encountered had so far succeeded in doing so. And now she was lunging forward, weapon in hand, in a desperate last bid for survival. These two were rapidly becoming a nuisance, and it was beginning to second-guess allowing them to live in the first place. It was a stance that would be heavily reinforced a moment later.

The blade sunk in as it struck; the tissue around the point of impact seemed to harden into something far tougher, physically winding itself up around the weapon in the process in an attempt to halt its penetration. While the combination of inertia from her lunge and surprise granted Eris enough advantage that she still buried the thing halfway to the hilt, the strike caused the creature little real harm. That was, until one factored in the blade's secondary function.

A keening cry echoed through the corridor for the second time in as many moments, but it was different than the first: this was pain, Eris presented point-blank with a mouthful of finger-sized incisors as it let out the involuntary howl. The plasma discharge bit into the thing's flank with vigor, with the 'flesh' that surrounded it bubbling and melting, sloughing disturbingly away from the wound. Whatever was happening, it was working.

The thing's heavy tail whipped up with blinding speed, whipping up from where it had lay on the floor to smash into the woman from the side. Should she fail to avoid it, the strike possessed enough power to lift someone of her size bodily and send them crashing violently into the opposite wall.

 

[GEAR]

Eris gripped the blade as plasma lashed across the surface of the beast, holding it firm, her teeth grit in fury. While Farron was certainly no Prince Charming, the poor bastard certainly deserved better than... Well, whatever this thing was going to do to him. Something twitched at the corner of her vision - but, perhaps on account of the plasma flashing before her eyes, she was just a second too slow to react.

The beast's tail slammed home into her chest - hard, sending her careening away with a yelp. She slammed into the wall, sending cracks across its surface... And slid to the floor. She raised her head slowly, one eye screwed shut as pain coursed through her body. One hand gripped the wall as she tried to rise to her feet, the other fumbling at her belt for her pistol, fingers shaking...

 

[XekuZwei]

ENOUGH.

The prehensile tail shot toward Eris a second time, slithering snakelike along the floor as though it possessed a mind of its own. It rose in great coils from the woman's feet, twisting and elongating as it wrapped itself tightly around her petite frame from neck to toe. It was as though she was trapped in the embrace of a great serpent, though no mere reptile would have been so cruel as to purposefully leave her head exposed to witness their fate. Try as she might to struggle, miss Pseudea would find herself immobilized by the tremendous, squeezing pressure of the thing's grip.

The plasma blade clattered to the floor as the entity ripped it free of its liquefied flesh, left to spark and sputter against the metal deck plates. To their dismay, the 'wound' began to close near-immediately; careful observation would have revealed a network of thin, deep green strands knitting themselves in a lattice across the opening as the damaged material started to regenerate. Its gaze twisted back to the paralyzed Farron, and the thing calmly placed one odd hand to his forehead, a thin feeler of material branching off from the coiled tail to do the same to Eris. Horrifyingly, the alien flesh seemed to meld with their own as it made contact...

We are...the progenitors. The voice again, inside their heads, though now it was less deafening, less commanding. Almost...conversational, if still overwhelming. Having come into contact with the creature, Eris could hear it now as well. We are the...origin. All life...begins with us. All order...begins with us. Humans are...a disruption. Humans are...chaos. You upset the...natural...order. Every word was crystal clear, but the thing's 'speech' patterns were strange and halting, as though it struggled to communicate in their language.

I am...the director. Whatever the thing truly was, it at least seemed to have some semblance of self. I will...show...you. You will...understand.

Images would flash through the minds of Eris and Farron, seemingly injected directly into their heads in much the same fashion as the thing's words. Vague, fuzzy pictures that depicted far-away worlds - places mankind had not so much as dreamt of, much less discovered. Many were not even of this plane of reality. Legions of beings like the one that had confronted them here on Anemone Station, entities of every shape and size imaginable...their brilliant crimson cores seemed to stretch beyond sight, infinite in number, a force overwhelming and unstoppable. Now you...see. We are...peace...keepers. We preserve...order...in...this world.

There was a sickening mental lurch as the visions vanished and it fell silent. The feeling that replaced them was that of being violated to one's very core; it was clear - somehow - that the thing was reaching deep into both their psyches, dredging through their collected thoughts and memories as though merely riffling through a rack of files. It examined each bit of information in turn, categorizing it, storing it away for the greater consciousness to later peruse.

The thing had been trapped, frozen, for many years. Originally, its mission had been to evaluate humanity, to judge their place in the greater multiverse. The balance must be maintained. And if mankind proved itself to be a scourge on the universal order, it would be eliminated. It would not be the first, nor the last. But things, it seemed...had changed. Fortuitously so for the duo and their race, as it so happened.

Both humans would suddenly find themselves unexpectedly - miraculously - free, the thing's tail uncoiling from around Eris and the paralysis fading from Farron's body. It turned away from the duo, slinking toward its original destination of the hangar bay. It almost seemed to have spontaneously decided to ignore them, all signs of aggression absent. Yet the mental link between the three seemed to remain.

I...see. The balance...has...changed. Humanity is...no longer...the greatest threat. It had seen into their minds, observed the bevy of dangers that threatened to wipe mankind from the face of the galaxy: Lamalice, DAMON, and whatever other unspeakable horrors lurked in the shadows. It held no ill will toward any of these beings, but it had a task to complete. I will...assist...you. Assist...humans. The balance must...be maintained. There is...a name for us...in your language. Given to us...by humans. It is...suitable. You may...use it.

They called us...Einst.

 

[VeraC]

As if having awoken from a long dream, Farron finally snapped back to his senses, taking grasp of the situation around him. Instinctively, upon seeing the alien, Farron took aim again with his gun, though hesitated to fire. He looked as second time at the two people before him, and noticed there was seemingly no aggression between the two of them. Keeping his aim trained on the alien, he spoke to Eris.

“...What is going on?” His eyes shifted to her, expecting a reasonable answer. Though he would find his answer not from here, but the Alien, calling itself an ‘Einst.’

As it walked away, he moved close to Eris, speaking quietly to her. “What happened? Are we letting this thing free?”

In actuality, Farron had little clue of what DAMON or Lamalice were, he had skimmed some reports mentioning them, but knew little other than their name. He still saw this thing as a threat, and doubted its intentions.

 

[GEAR]

Eris gave a yelp as the thing's tendrils coiled about her. She waited - waited for the horrible sensation of it crushing her bones, smashing the life out of her... It wouldn't have been the first time, she thought. Yet, the certain destruction never came - no, what happened was arguably worse. She was bombarded by visions as Ayatane's fleshy protrusion pressed against her forehead, the information forcing its way into her head as she cried out in shock.

She saw... an entire other universe. A history, of watchers, of other worlds. She began to understand what she had heard about - of Black Knowledge that drove men mad as they became aware of their insignificance in the cosmos, of the true nature of the uncaring, horrifying world above. In that moment, she had never felt so tiny and alone before, not in her entire life... and as it ended, she sunk to her knees, in stunned silence.

And yet... Such an exchange was not one way.

For Ayatane, to navigate the internals of Eris Pseudea's mind was... Unusual, compared to the normal human being. It was comparable to a maze of sorts, an MC Escher like prison of darkened hallways and stairways, where curious red eyes peered at visitors from the shadows... And ever present marauding corvids watched from the eves. Seams and cracks riddled every portion, as though it had at some point been shorn asunder, and then carefully, yet imperfectly, reassembled. Doors and passageways seemed to lead nowhere, looping in on themselves, almost as if... It had been designed to prevent its owner, or any potential visitors, from understanding their own true nature. One thing stood out in particular - two words, written in black lettering on the walls, like a mantra of madness.

"VOID MEMORIES"

"Einst…" She said slowly, as she recovered her senses, following after Farron as she rose to her feet. She had newfound understanding for their... Visitor, as it were.

"Farron… I don't think it... She is our enemy, strange as it may sound."

 

[XekuZwei]

Eris' words would be underscored by the extradimensional being pausing its stride, head swiveling back toward the pair. You...seek... Its features shifted - the first time they had done so until now - brow and nose wrinkled, mouth turned down at the corners, eyes tightened. It was a bit like someone had once had a look of frustration described to them, and was trying to replicate the expression without ever having actually seen it. Clearly the creature was experiencing some sense of annoyance with its inability to communicate effectively. Its face morphed in a far more literal fashion as the two humans were treated firsthand to the bizarre spectacle of its shape shifting back to that of Dr. Ayatane over the course of several seconds.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat as though nothing odd had just happened. "That's better. You seem to be seeking something...both of you. Unfortunately, they must have been after my time," the odd turn of phrase was of course referring to the grisly fate of the original Ayatane, "as I have no knowledge of either. I can provide you with directions on navigating the station, but you'll have to do your own exploration beyond that."

Perhaps there would be things worth discovering, even for one such as the einst, before they departed this place.

 

[VeraC]

Farron took a breath, and relaxed his body. He was more doubtful now whether he’d find what he was looking for here anymore, and honestly felt more like leaving then spending another second exploring this place. But, It was always when he gave up that things would be discovered, so he figured he may as well hold on for a while longer. Though, he wasn’t exactly sure just what he was looking for. He thought maybe ledgers or documents pertaining to the underworld trade, but he nixed that idea after they broke into the sealed off area of the place. The idea of finding a person was nixed after the pirates got chomp’d by the fish, so Farron was shit out of ideas.

“...Well, Eris, what exactly are we looking for here?”

 

[GEAR]

"...Let's go."

Eris nodded to Farron and Ayatane as she walked ahead leading the group deeper into the facility, down the sloping path, past half-lit flickering telltales that cast the aging iron in an eerie glow. Occasionally the hulk would give a grinding shudder - though it could just as easily have been the Flatfish giving the facility yet another love tap, it quickened the woman's pace considerably.... There was no telling how long the place would hold together.

At length, they reached a two-way intersection - but rather than wait, Eris immediately hung a left, towards an area marked "RESEARCH PLATFORMS". A set of several clear security doors had been set up - presumably some manner of decontamination apparatus... But, perhaps in the aftermath of the facility's devastation, it now appeared dark and grimy, knotted with thick, silvery ivy that was anything but natural. With some effort, the group were able to shift aside the doors, wrenching them open... And proceeded within.

The inside opened up into a wide hangar-like area beneath them, a network of catwalks and research stations before them. The scent of plantlife and chemical preservatives filled the air, and more of the silvery-grey substance had spilled out across the floors and walls, corroding everything it touched, or sprouting into gnarled twists of metallic quasi-foliage that crawled over whatever was in reach. Several large... What could charitably be described as vats that stood almost 40 meters tall dominated the surroundings, wires and cables spreading into their interior... Yet, they were full of an orange-like liquid that was almost opaque in nature, only shadows alluding to their contents, giving the room the strange sense of a sunset.

"...This must be the place."

Eris unslung the container on her shoulder, speaking as she walked forward, scanning the area for... Something.

"Spread out." - She shot the two a look over her shoulder as she did, levelly.

"And... Don't touch anything."

 

[XekuZwei]

The good doctor followed Eris' lead, falling in a few paces behind the woman as she took off. The einst tracked their path, superimposing it over the map it had constructed from the data in the terminal earlier. There were a number of slight discrepancies, but nothing too significant. That was, until they made a seemingly innocuous turn and entered a section of facility that was completely absent from the layout. Either it had been constructed after the last time the connected database had been updated, or it had been intentionally omitted. And it didn't take a hyper-advanced extradimensional bio-mechanical organism to figure that one out.

"...hm." The brief noise was unusual for the quiet Ayatane, something that hinted at curiosity, but also deep concern. They were strange, these humans; the thing felt vaguely...strangled when it took the doctor's form. Shackled, like it was thinking through molasses. The transformation was far more than skin-deep, and the human brain was an inferior organ compared to its own non-centralized mental facilities. Yet it was finding that the change in its thought processes was proving a great help in trying to determine human feelings and motivations. When in Rome, do as the Romans do...or in this case, rather, think as the Romans do.

She leaned in close to examine one of the silvery bits of foliage as Eris advanced further into the cavernous room, the vine-like plant? having wound its way up one of the catwalk's supports. It was almost as if... She extended a hand tentatively, one finger extended to just barely brush against a platinum-clad leaf...only to snap the limb back as if shocked, letting out an animalistic hiss, face contorted into a look of anger and disgust.

No. It cannot be. They could not...mere humans could not do this!

 

[VeraC]

When the group reached a branch in the catwalks, Farron went the opposite direction of Eris, following her idea of ‘spreading out.’ On the surface, this place had nothing of interest, Farron couldn’t see how any of these vats could be something he was looking for. Nothing to do with the missing package anyways.

He continued deeper into the facility, and while he hated to admit it, he had gotten lost in the labyrinth of the facility.

“Eris? Ayatane?” He called out to the other two, but no response. He must’ve gotten too far away from them. He folded his arms and looked around, thinking if he could backtrack his way… Though he was hardly paying attention to which was he was going.

“Oh well, it’s an adventure.” He shrugged nonchalantly and continued walking along, going deeper down the rabbit hole.

…

It had been several minutes, But Farron was still walking. Was he going in circles? He looked around for something familiar, but in honesty, nothing really stood out in the facility. Farron proceeded down several flights of stairs, before arriving at a large door. It was twice his height, and were sealed by what looked like several maglocks, as well as large bars jutting from the sides. To the right, there was what looked like a keypad, and a scanner of sorts.

“It’s worth a shot…” Farron walked up to the scanner, and placed his hand on the scanner. He felt a prick as he did, and a droplet of blood oozed out from his finger. He was greeted by a robotic voice.

Scanning…
Longinus Blood Confirmed…
Opening Doors…

“What?” Farron questioned.

With a great shudder, the bars began shifting away from the door, moving by way of massive gears. The maglocks as well disengaged, and the door slowly slid open. What was inside, was completely different. The layout and architecture didn’t match the rest of the facility one bit. This area was also much cleaner, albeit dusty.

Farron carefully walked into the room, as lights began flickering to life, now better revealing the interior of this place. There were various electrical cords lined up the walls, all leading to what seemed to be a ‘coffin’ of sorts in the middle of the room. Steam exited the sides of the coffin, as the ‘doors’ to it slowly opened, revealing a… girl? Inside. He was taken aback, and grabbed hold of his gun, preparing to aim.

“Systems… Online.” A feminine voice spoke out. The girl in the coffin rose to her feet, looking down at Farron. “Are you my master?” She asked monotonously.

“Who… What are you?” Farron replied.

“Scanning… Longinus DNA: Confirmed.” She stepped down from the coffin, now level with Farron. She was rather tall, almost as tall as him. She had short brown hair and blue eyes. On the surface, she looked completely human, though her voice was not human-like at all. Though, she was in the nude, wearing nothing in the way of clothing.

“Statement: I am the Human Interaction Interface Doll… Codename Z1.” She bowed to Farron. “I was built by your great-great-great grandfather to serve the Longinus Family... It has been… 289 years, 4 months 10 days, 17 hours, 57 minutes, and 24 seconds since my last start-up.”

“My great-great-great grandfather?” Farron knew his dad, and heard stories about his, but he knew very little of his ancestry beyond. He was confused at this situation, but figured it might be best to save questions for when he got back to the Valstork.

“Confirmation: I assume that you coming here means that all prior heads have ceased existing, correct?” She spoke bluntly.

“...Right.” Farron frowned at the wording of that statement.

“Statement: Then I shall use my all to serve you.” She stood back up, taking no mind of her completely visible body. And a nice body at that too. This view was the best. However, Farron felt his other companions might be a bit more sensitive to that so he pulled out a jacket from his backpack and tossed it to Z1.

“Put this on… I can’t have you running around the place bare.” It was for Eris’ sake really, though he might have trouble concentrating elsewise. Z1 slipped on the Jacket, the thing barely long enough to barely reach the top of her thighs.

“Proposal: If you take me to the Valstork, I can update my systems and become sync myself with the current happenings of the world.”

“What’s with your lingual system?”

“Explanation: It was how I was programmed. Does it displease you?” She tilted her head.

“...” Farron hesitated. “It’s fine.”

“Affirmative. Let us proceed to the Valstork then.”

“I need to link up with some companions I came her with before that… Though I got lost.”

“Statement: I understand, I shall scan the surrounding area for other lifeforms.” Z1’s eyes began glowing a fluorescent blue, as she turned herself in a circle, scanning the area.

“Statement: I have scanned the layout of this facility and found two lifeforms near us. One Human and one… Unknown Lifeform. Suggest proceeding with caution.”

“...That won’t be necessary.” Farron figured that the four of them were the only things left in this facility anyways. “Lead the way.”

“Affirmative.” Z1 took the lead, and Farron followed behind, letting her guide him back to his companions.