A shining star, all alone in its own section of the sky, as though the stars had left it, going into other patches. The star never moved, it continued shining brightly, it was the only thing it could do...wanted, to do, along the way, the star had lost its shine, it was still bright, it still had something, but not all of it. It was missing something, something important, something that made it shine once, and never again, a reason, a purpose...its purpose...was to shine, yet it couldn't...it couldn't do its own purpose.
My eyes opened, still staring at the ceiling, no HUD with messages greeted me, though I didn't expect it to. I laid there, the vision I had...was more of a story than vision. Crescent had moved from its wall, instead being on the wall, no support, no stand, yet it was perfectly there without struggle. My revolver, having no sentience, sat there on the bedside. Someone began knocking on my door, I let out one more yawn before walking over and opening it.
"So Nicholai was wrong" Kenneth stood there "You've been in bed for a bit now, worried something happened."
"No...no, just another vision"
"What was it this time?"
"A...star"
"Aaaand?"
"That's it...just a star...yet, i could feel all these things, it's hard to explain"
"Don't really think the books we got mentioned anything about stars, so it's not corruption related." As my vision unblurred from just having woken up, I noticed Kenneth looked a bit tired.
"You didn't stay up all night on that car did you?"
"Not all night...will admit I spent some more time on it than I should have, but it's working now, Dave was good help"
"Even so...I may not understand it all that well...but I can help"
"mmh...maybe...regardless, you said you were briefing this time around right? If so we should get to it while it's still early."
"Understood" I walked past Kenneth to the room, Sam, Kaz, and Nicholai were already waiting. "Alright everyone, this one is simple, we're going after those robots that we encountered last time we were there, we'll be trying out the handler thing too, Kenneth and Nicholai, will be around to give me, Sam, and Kaz things if we need them, considering the weather, if it's possible Kenneth, I'd like you to make something to counteract that"
"If there's anything in this city that can provide a kind of heat using magic, I might be able to, just gonna take a while"
"That's fine, we'll be going mostly in a straight line, hopefully taking this route" I whipped out the map of the place, it was mostly darkened but I was still able to mark it. "It's away from where that base went under so we don't have to worry about falling into a pit. Any questions?"
"Nope" Sam responded first.
"We're good to go" and soon the others.
"We'll try to draw attention to ourselves if it takes too long, other than that, let's go" Raising my sword I cut open a portal as always, Sam and I snapped, changing into winter gear, Kaz seemed fine with the cold, standing right beside the portal. "We'll be back, hopefully soon" We hopped in and were met by the same unwavering cold, Kaz leapt up to my shoulder and stood, almost like a scanner. "Looking for them already?"
"Yewp! The faster we get it done, the less chance everyone gets sick!"
"Aww" Sam patted Kaz "Onward then!" We, like Sam said, went onward, trudging through the snow. A few minutes of empty walking, Sam spoke again. "Hey Lee! Got any stories?"
"uhh...well, I think I got one from a few months into the outbreak, when I went on my own...right, I recall it now"
? months into the outbreak
I of course, didn't know the exact date...nor how long it had actually been, all I know is that it's been a few months.
"I'll be back, I promised didn't I?" I was leaving Sam by herself, I had to, she had gotten sick and we needed things, taking her risked not only me but herself. "Look on the brightside" From my bag I took out two walkie talkies, a faint smile formed from Sam as I handed her one. "If you need me, I'll always have it on, I got spare batteries" She nodded and rested her head back, focusing on recovery. Now then... I thought to myself Sooner I'm back the better. I stepped outside the building we were held up in, through the window, taking the front door was a risk, I grabbed a sturdy plank leaned against the wall and laid it out, so I could walk from rooftop, to another, picking up the plank I set it down, that way no one would see the route I always took. It was always a long walk, going down too soon was into a horde of infected, even after a few minutes, you'd still encounter a lethal amount. I looked down and proved my point, if I slipped or for whatever reason jumped down, I'd be torn apart instantly.
Everyday was more or less the same, though today was an exception, when I was about 70% through the route, I saw smoke. Every fire would be snuffed out by now...cars and buildings...this...It had to be someone else, that was what I wanted to say. Taking it from my shoulder, I brought a rifle to my hands, it was the only good thing the mall people left behind, everything else, either broken, inoperable from the misuse, or just flat out useless. This rifle however, it reminded me one message. Not every leader is a good one. If they were cocky, they made a mistake, if they were too cautious the stress makes them falter, there needed to be a balance, every group up to this point only added to that message I learned. This one has to be different. It was a risk, trusting unknown people, yet I couldn't manage this, leaving Sam alone too long meant stress and the lack of safety, yet, I couldn't stay either, food, medicine, water, all of it needed, all of it scarce, I couldn't manage alone. I aimed down the makeshift scope I created, it was horrible of course, made out of a spyglass with marker as the lines, and while it couldn't really be zeroed, I had come with a solution, if the head is smaller than the lines, aim two lines above, if it's the same size, aim on the lines. It didn't always work, but enough to be my solution, Sam's training with a rifle didn't require a horrible scope anyways.
I began aiming towards where the fire should be coming from, and saw a group of people around a fire, some within the group were decently young, even younger than I am. They had a jeep as transport, and within it, my mission, a box with a medical sign, it was like striking gold. There were seven people in total, I checked my rifle, 10 rounds, then took my revolver out, 6 rounds, 3 reserves... I wasn't going to kill or steal, but if needed to, I would defend myself. Though risky, I kicked down a ladder and descended onto street level before making my way to the group. From inside the buildings I could hear groans of undead, that, or whispers, people who had taken refuge on the higher floors like we did, yet, I decided to ignore them, I had one goal. I had gotten somewhat into the forest where they were, I was getting closer, yet, with one misstep, I was hoisted into the air, dangling upside down after a painful tug on my leg. The group looked my way in surprise, I had dropped my rifle, yet still had my revolver.
"Well, ain't this an iffy situation" One of the adults spoke out from my sudden hoisting, this man seemed strong, a stern voice that could intimidate anyone, and what looks to be the strength of someone who could tear steel in half. A few others walked over as well. "What're you doing sneaking up on us?"
"I was going to ask to borrow some medicine"
"What for?"
"What do people normally need medicine for?"
"Okay smartass" Though his comment sounded like they were annoyed, he smirked while saying it, like a way of respect, it confused me. "Well, listen, gonna be fairly honest with ya, we don't need it, but we can't just give it to ya, however, I don't think any of us mind if we take you to a place where we left some behind, we've been meaning to clear it out for some time to set up a little outpost there, simply speaking, you scratch our back, we scratch yours, and considering you got two guns, I take it you know how to at least use them."
"I don't really have ammo to spare"
"But we do, we just lack the guns themselves" With a swift cut from a knife I landed painfully before standing up. Not too cocky...he admitted to needing help...not too cautious either...yet not so trusting, they won't give me stuff for free. I picked my rifle back up and slung it around my shoulder...the sling itself was also makeshift, Sam and I never really got cut, we had clothes and rags to make makeshift tourniquets as well as such...the sling was tourniquets, quite a few too... "I'll carry the rounds for now, just let me know if you need some"
"Fair enough"
"Everyone!" He spun his fingers around in the air, it brought a sense of nostalgia somehow, and I understood what it meant a moment later as the group rallied around him. "This gentleman over here has agreed to help us clear out that prime outpost spot, and all he's asking for is medicine, helluva deal if you ask me" The entire group talked at once after, yet I could tell they agreed. "Alright lad, let's get to work" The group piled into the jeep, however, seeing as it's a bad idea to just be in a car with a bunch of random people, I grabbed onto the side, keeping my feet raised by resting them on certain parts of the jeep. After everyone was in, the Jeep started up and soon started driving. It was a long ride, but I made sure to remember certain landmarks, it would take a while to get back if they aren't generous enough to bring me, but I at least could if I tried. Eventually, the Jeep pulled up to a building, they turned and parked before everyone started getting out, with the exception of the youngest, and one to stay behind and look after them. The others had weapons, most of them bladed, yet a few of them blunt or just not sharp. We all walked to the front door.
"We ready for this?" Another member of the group spoke up
"Of course, that's why we're here, the man spoke and soon opened the double doors, I could already see the horde. I was worried, it seemed like getting bit here would be unavoidable yet, everyone seemed to be wearing heavy leather, I turned back seeing no more reason to worry. I tried to look around the place for any prime spots, one being atop of some scaffolding.
"Hey, mind a boost!?" I yelled out to any of them while running to my spot, the man quickly slid over before cupping his hands together, the moment I stood on them I was thrown up, when the momentum ran out and I began descending, I used my hand as a little more oomph to get where I wanted to, now being out of range, I crouched down, resting my left elbow on my knee, while my other leg was on its knee behind me. I took off the scope and looked around, mostly for anyone in dangers way, and whenever someone was about to get ambushed by a zombie, a loud bang, and bullet, from me prevented it. The zombies overwhelmed by the sounds of echoing shots in this near empty building turned over to me as they began to shake the scaffolding. "Goddamnit..." I mumbled to myself, there weren't many places to go, but I did notice one of those liftable ceiling panels above me, the dull ones, I couldn't go on them, but another idea struck me, using my rifle I moved the ceiling panel, after it was moved, I rested my rifle against the wall, leaning on it, then I stood atop it, I could hear it shift, so the moment I could, I leapt off the rifle and grabbed a hold of the bars the tiles were on, a few seconds after the scaffolding fell atop the zombies, yet some managed to crawl out, I did also manage to notice that one of the group's members were trapped under it too.
"Damnit! Help!" The person trapped seemed young, older than me, but not as old as the rest. The zombies that managed to avoid getting trapped began crawling over to him. I took out my revolver, aimed, and fired at the closest one to them, the recoil made my arm wobble slightly especially after hanging on for this long. I pulled the hammer back and fired again, the others were too busy, yet I could see a clear attempt to help each other. I began contemplating my choices, until I sighed, I fired off my remaining bullets at any zombie I could before letting go of the bar. When I landed, the pain in my legs made it clear, any higher and they'd be broken, yet even at that moment, they wobbled for a while before I could run over and pistol whip one of the undead, the impact knocked them to the ground, they struggled to get up but before they fully could I stomped their head in, they were long gone, no saving them, even if it was possible, it would torment them. Sam, me, Kenneth, and Nicholai, we were fine with killing them with this idea in mind, even if saving them was fine, if zombies are sentient, aware of what they were doing, they'd be tormented from that alone, so killing them was their only mercy, even Sam was content with it, so long as she reminded herself of that. I loaded the three extra rounds I had in my revolver before putting it away.
"I got ya, on three start pushing alright?" I crouched down near the trapped guy, grabbing onto the broken pieces of the scaffolding. "one, two" I could see their grip getting tighter. "And threee" I gave my best attempt, yet it only barely nudged up. "Again!" Once more we tried, it was even worse, but when we were close to stopping, the burden of all the weight lifted ever so slightly. I saw the man in the corner of my eye giving his best go, so I would try mine again too. Giving it all we had we lifted up, giving the trapped person just enough time to get out. The scaffolding was dropped with a loud echoing thud.
"How's that ammo count kid?"
"Three revolver, 7 rifle, the calibers a-" Before i could finish, I already had exactly the ammo I needed being handed to me. "Alright then" I had 12 revolver rounds now, and 15 rifle, I quickly reloaded any mags and my revolver before taking my rifle back out. When I raised my head back up from reloading, I had noticed a broken chopper crashed through the very top of the building, along with a few cars in the walls, yet, there were hills outside, so as much as I wanted to question it in a more unreasonable way, it had an answer already.
"Let's keep it going!" The group kept pushing through, slashing through anything, while any opportunity I got, I covered their advance, shooting any undead that gave them even the slightest trouble. I could see how having no guns would be an issue for this, my rifle rounds tend to pierce through undead, even if it didn't kill 2 at once, it crippled at least 3, making their movement more sluggish than it already was. Even if one got close to me, I simply hit them with the end of my rifle before stomping their head in, the more I did it, the easier it got, and the less I felt bad about doing it. It became more of an annoyance if anything. The sound of one last bullet echoed again before the silence took over, the only noise left was a body dropping. Blood covered a majority of the floors, and we had to walk over bodies to get anywhere
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"What a massacre" One of the members spoke as they looked around.
"All thanks to our sharpshooter over here" The man gave a firm pat on my back. "Didn't miss a shot did you?"
"I missed a few, don't go singing untrue praise."
"Alright then, well, we're gonna get cleaning up, you see that van over there?" He pointed to one of the vehicles jammed in the wall. "That's where your medicine should be"
"Alright, good luck with your outpost" I left them, and began the ascent up the stairs, it was easy and simple, just up the stairs, any standing zombie was stomped on by my heel or shot, nothing on the way proved to be any issue. I could however feel fatigue on my legs, there most likely was some damage from the fall, just not any to permanently bring me down, either way, my feet started burning up until I got to the back of the van. I reached to the handle and pulled, with no resistance it opened, and inside, boxes stacked on each other, some with bullet symbols, some with the medical cross on it. "Alright..." I went in the van and felt everything shift. "So it's gonna be like that huh?" I had to reach over to any boxes I wanted pulled out, yet, before pulling any out, I checked them, expired...expired...Do I even know what I'm looking for? I barely did, the same color, similar name as the stuff any kid our age took when we were sick. All of it was expired...except for two, two things out of the whole bunch, but they were filled, at the very least half way. I sighed with relief, yet, the ammo was enticing...I needed it, not a want, there are too many zombies, and if those guys aren't going to be driving me back, I need stuff to defend myself. I knew this van would probably fall if I did, so, filled with greed, I lunged into the van and right as I grabbed onto the box everything started turning over, the van began tipping and soon had left the wall completely, I saw the boxes were clipped, so I unclipped the expired medical boxes and clipped myself, though it was hazardous, I didn't have anything that was meant to be hooked onto after all.
Everything went black soon after, only returning to the previous sight of the van soon after, I felt weight pulling down on my head and soon realized the clip had forced me to hang upside down. At least...I'm alive. I felt bruised everywhere, but nothing I couldn't deal with, I reached up for the clip, once I noticed I can't reach it, I swing back, then forward, back, then forward, until I grabbed onto the hook. I moved my thumb around, waiting to feel that button, and when I did, I pressed on it and once more hit down painfully. I checked myself and the medicine I needed, it was okay. I sighed once more before opening the box of ammo. Most of it was empty, most of it didn't have what I needed, but I still found a few bullets I needed, but certainly not enough to make it back.
Current Time:
"Surprised you recall all this" Kaz spoke on my shoulder, yet they didn't sound surprised, maybe she always acted this way, either way I had omitted certain parts of the story, yet still wrote them in here, even if i told others otherwise, the real events have to be mentioned.
"I have a journal for a reason, I always had this feeling that I'd forget things...it was incredibly nagging"
"But...you haven't forgotten anything...right?" Sam asked a question I couldn't answer with full honesty...or confidence, those unknown memories I can't recall, those visions that seem connected to me in some way, the change in events...had I just written them wrong? Or, did they ever happen to begin with?
"I...can't answer that"
"So...does that mean you have? I nodded slightly as my only answer. I stopped as I heard something through the blizzard. When I did, Kaz perched up again, trying to see through the falling snow. Then I heard it again, much clearer, though still muffled, crunching of snow. None of us were walking now, nothing could explain how the sound of someone walking in the snow was being made when we weren't moving. We readied our weapons but just faintly, the outline of a person started moving towards us.
"Put... away...your...weapons, there's...no need for...such violence" We waited a moment more, until we decided to listen, we put our weapons away and the outline of the man soon became just the man. Not an inch of him was uncovered, goggles covered his eyes, while a scarf and gasmask covered the lower portion of his face, everything else was bushy and warm to the point just us being in his presence gave warmth, and his hair, clearly long as it reached the middle point of his back. "Thank you... for your cooperation" He spoke slowly, it wasn't unnerving however.
"What're you doing in this cold?" Kaz spoke in a weird way, the man slowly looked up to Kaz.
"Y-...hm...the question...could go to...you all as...well" I pondered on what the original question was going to be, but soon threw it out of my mind, rendering it pointless to think about any further.
"We're looking for some robot animals, you seen any?" There was a pause, before the man slowly spoke again.
"Yes...I kill...any...nearby"
"Well...we're looking for the commands or directives they were given, you think we can borrow them for a while?"
"of course...I...have plenty" He soon started walking back into the blizzard, and we followed.
"So...you, didn't really answer the question"
"I have...always lived here...I've been here...many years now...5...maybe 10...I do not...keep much track...it has always been winter."
"Must be difficult...the cold..." Sam tried to empathize with them.
"It...is nothing...winter...was much harsher...back then" A cabin's outline began forming through all the snow, the lights acting like a guide. When we got close enough, the man rustled through the puffy jacket, taking out a key, unlocking the door. We all stepped inside, and instantly, we were back to being warm, the cabin felt safe. I looked around, empty seats to the side, an armchair by the crackling fireplace, bookshelves on either side of it, filled to the very top with books, some had a red label, yellow label, and green label. "That's to mark what I have and haven't read yet" The man spoke much better when we were inside.
"ah...was...that an act or...?" Sam was confused enough to ask.
"No, it's a certain technique I've learned in this never ending winter, speaking too fast ruins it, as such...well you heard"
"So it's second nature to you" The man looked at me.
"Yes..."
"What?"
"Your hair...is it...meant to be that color?"
"Yeah...?"
"I see...well...let's get back to what you're here for" Many dangerous things were laid out in the open, no defenses or anything, is this guy the only living soul in this world? The question entered my mind. He put one of the robots on a workbench. "You recall where it is?"
"Yeah" I stepped forward, Kaz got off my shoulder and went to the ground. "Should be..." I felt around before I pressed a button, just a random button. The jaws of the robot opened, and once more, the audio played.
"You understand your role right? We don't have a choice here" It seemed to have recorded an irrelevant conversation.
"I get that...but, we can't have things falling apart"
"They wouldn't have fallen apart if you understood what orders mean, you follow them, and it's final!"
"Understood...I'll...I'll try my best" The audio cut soon after.
"Hm..." The man stood there, watching. "He seems rather bothered by whatever order he was given. I don't think they'd have the same mission as the robots...otherwise the robots would just be told to do it...then more will be made for the same reason"
"Agreed...so what could it have been."
TTS Active
Lee: Ken!
Ken: We got it already
Lee: What?
Nicholai: The audio recording, that was what you were referring to yes?
Lee: Yes, it was...but how?
Nicholai: Seems any documents or recordings you intend to share will be put into the team files...which we weren't told about it by a random popup in the middle of my work.
Ken: We'll be looking into it, take care
TTS Deactive.
The man looked at me, surprised.
"Did...your magic just work?"
"Yeah, What's the problem?"
"I uh...can't get mine to work" Sam spoke behind me, making me understand the man's point.
"Why can mine then?"
"Snow..." He looked back to my hair. "You're not affected by the snow..."
"The snow can cancel magic?" The man nodded at my inquiry.
"Yet...you're not affected by it..."
"Do you have more robots?" Kaz spoke to the man.
"I have more...but they're damaged"
"I'm sure we ca-
"Heavily, damaged"
"Oh..."
"If I may, can I just get the recordings from them? I have a friend who might be able to mimic the robot's play feature"
"Alright...if you so wish" Following my request the man went somewhere, I could hear metal tearing before he came back with 2 more audio hard drives. "Here"
"Thanks for the help" I took the hard drives and stored them away. The man went to sit on the chair beside the campfire.
"Um...if I can ask...how did you find us" Sam walked to the man.
"Your friend, is corrupted, people have ways to find those kinds of people."
"Like those hunters" The man winced at my words.
"I, was one before, we weren't meant to kill them...they were just outlawed...to be contained...they killed them with no mercy, I couldn't be in a group like that" He looked to the floor. "They swore they'd find me...solitude, was my only solution"
"You can't even be in Eaxura?"
"Eaxura...outlaws the corrupted too...your friend...I do not know why he is exempt from this"
"Well...it's been years right? You've been here so long you consider it your whole life...things may have changed"
"Maybe...but I cannot be so sure they'd spare me, you've gotten what you've come for yes? I have some reading to get to" From the arm of the chair, he grabbed an unfinished book, flipping the pages before perfectly recalling where he was. I cut open a portal and we headed in.
"First mission I didn't get brutalized in, hopefully it stays that way" I rolled my neck while holding it.
"Well, we didn't really get to do much as handlers" Kenneth, pushing himself from the desk, flew by on a swivel seat till he was in front of us.
"Why're you in the main room?"
"Figured I'd greet you all when you got back" I looked over to where the computer was. "...alright, actually put my stuff here so Dave and Nicholai could work peacefully."
"Much more noble goal" Sam commented.
"Right...so?"
"Here's your so" I handed him the two drives. "If you can...can you get these going?"
"I can probably just find the type of file and make a program to play it, much better than recreating the whole damn robot vocals." He pressed his foot on the floor and kicked off back to his PC. "I'll have it done in a bit, come back then"
"Alright, gonna visit Nicholai then" As I said, I walked over to the corner room and entered, the Humvee like vehicle was much better than before, it seemed more sturdy and ready for conflict, I could also see the frame of another car hanging from the ceiling. And in her section, now with walls, I could see Nicholai working on things through the window. I walked over and knocked, resulting in the door opening a few moments later.
"Back already?"
"As you know we didn't have to go killing them ourselves"
"Right" She turned back to her work.
"What're you working on?"'
"Something Kenneth wanted"
"Oh?"
"It's a contact lens, it'll hopefully connect you to Dave, that way, you can see what we see if you have one of those false visions again, or so we can see those false visions with you, it'll probably also let Dave help you better"
"So why're are you making it?"
"Do you see technicians prescribing medication?"
"Fair enough, so how's the progress?"
"Kenneth has Dave working on that stealth car hanging from the ceiling, so it's harder to work with stuff involving him...but...I'm managing, I find it unlikely it'll be done soon though"
"So that's what the car was?"
"Huh?"
"I saw it hanging up there, didn't know what it was though"
"Yeah, and he's killing my damn budget alongside his."
"Well, if you need some extra, I haven't really bought anything...I'm surprised you even managed to get all this"
"I appreciate the over, but I don't like owing people things"
"I wouldn't say you'd owe me anything, if anything I owe you for all the times you beat safety into our heads" She placed a vial in one of those vial holders, that can hold many at once, before looking at me.
"If I'm low and really need something, I'll consider it"
"Alright, I'll leave you to it" I headed back for the door before she spoke.
"Actually, before you go, sit down" I turned back around, and took the closest seat I could. "Just a minute" While I waited I looked around, everything in the room looked like it costs thousands, devices that are spinning, three monitors for a single PC, cabinets filled to the brim with marked things, stuff I've never heard of. She got up from her chair with a flashlight. "I spent some time looking in that book, you can typically see how far along it is and when we need to overdrive it" With no warning she flashed the light in my eye, it was overwhelmingly bright, yet I powered through and kept my eyes open. "Look left" I followed her order. "Right, down, up" I listened to every order she gave the moment she spoke them, and without warning, with a curved hammer she hit right under my kneecap, forcing my leg to kick up. Soon later the light clicked off.
"How is it?"
"Barely anything changed, your leg reflex was just very slightly different"
"You know that?"
"Need I remind you the fact you couldn't go to the hospital or you'd get put in a foster home?"
"I...see your point"
"I'm the team doctor for a reason, don't contest me"
"Well, maybe if you were nicer I-"
"Oh no, Corruption is spreading, here, have this vial, disgusting medicine"
"Alright! Alright! I'm sorry" Nicholai wasn't very amused. She walked back over and sat down, her seat turning slightly.
"You're good to go, if anything happens give me a holler" She went back to the vials while I stood up and left. Hearing that Dave was working on the car, I looked up back to the hanging vehicle and squinted, and just barely, I made out the faint blue lights from Dave.
"Hey Dave!" After finishing what he was doing, he floated down.
"Hello sir"
"How'ya holding?"
"I..." He registered what I meant for a moment. "I am...holding...well, the vehicle is progressing well too, though I am unable to estimate the time of completion"
"That's alright, we don't mind working on foot, make sure not to push yourself"
"I will be okay, I would not be good help if I could not be as capable as you all"
"Still, we don't want you breaking something while we're not here"
"Understood, I will do more to tend to myself"
"Good, take care" Dave tilted forward, mimicking a nod, before he ascended back to the car.
TTS Active
Ken: Lee, it's good to go
TTS Deactive
I rushed back over to the main room, Sam was beside Kenneth while he typed away, and a moment later, Nicholai joined us.
"Ready?" He stopped typing, hovering the mouse over the play button.
"Yeah" He clicked, and the audio played.
"We can't manage in this small space, we need somewhere bigger"
"Do you even have any ideas in mind?"
"Not at the moment...well...actually...a few ideas...but I haven't checked myself" Their voices were stern, a woman and a man speaking to each other.
"Well get to it then if you wanna bitch about it so much, this is the seventh time this day"
"Because we're having things explode, like that reject" Even though there was no video, I could assume they pointed at the robot currently recording. "We need better machinery"
"Well...I may have a planet in mind" The audio cut.
"This next one is from the same robot, so" He clicked play again.
"How's that planet checking going?"
"Perfect...a perfect place...it's far from Eaxura, yet in the same multiverse, though, The Lillies are there too" I could hear a small breath from everyone around me, especially Sam and Kaz. The Lillies...the same from earth?...No...No...that can't be right..yet, that's when the outbreak happened, that was when people got more hostile...this...could actually be real. "We'll have to compromise with them, but I already have an idea."
"Care to elaborate?"
"They're working on something, I say we give them a little help with it"
"Heh, alright...where's this supposed perfect planet?"
"Marivo, Marivo is the planet they're on." An unrivaled rage went through me, The Lillies caused it all...there was a small suspicion of it, but now it was there...and the same people who caused it, are now working with Corruption hunters...the only reason we lived is because I had multiple chances...
"What's the plan" Kenneth turned his chair to face me. "We can probably get in without getting noticed, I don't think Raymond would mind helping"
"Yeah...the people who caused the outbreak deserve the hell that's gonna be coming" Nicholai had a glint in her eyes. I took a breath, I understood something, we couldn't win if we went to face them head on.
"We sabotage" I spoke. "If they caused the outbreak, and they have killer robots, we get them to turn on their creators, I think Kenneth can manage when the audio files weren't even encrypted...and Nicholai is our doc for a reason"
"So we have our plan?" Kaz hopped up onto the table.
"Yeah, Marivo...here we come" As much as I wanted to think about it rationally, and how I managed to for a while surprised me, yet, a different feeling took over and I could hear the faint sound of glass cracking as the thought came to me.
That life of suffering...they'll feel all of it, I'll see to that