Chapter 2: Web of Lies
Unfortunately, escaping the facility was easier said than done. For one, Nier couldn't abandon Yonah, so he had to find a way to transport her stasis pod somehow. For another, the facility seemed to be under some sort of a dimensional lock. And finally, he had no idea what the outside world was like anymore.
Nier stayed quiet and compliant, choking down his rage. Subterfuge was the only way to survive.
He studied the dimensional barrier that should be possible to bypass with teleportation as well as the schematics and structure of the stasis pod (entirely self-contained with a maso-powered generator to keep it running, small enough to teleport with).
He scored the facility for any scrap of information about the outside world, going so far as to ask the androids, pretending it was idle curiosity (the only information they offered was a warning about UV radiation being deadly to Gestalts, which he knew already).
The results of his search were… discouraging to say the least. The entire planet was tilted on its axis, forcing half of it into eternal night and freezing temperatures and another half into the boiling heat of eternal day. It was only possible to survive close to the equator, but it was always light there, and while Nier, as the only stable Gestalt in existence, might be able to survive for a while, the direct sunlight would kill even him.
Another worrying problem was the severe lack of information about Replicants. The oldest reports assured that Project Replicant was progressing as normal and yet… the information flow cut off a few centuries back, leaving only a few mentions about programming glitches.
All this meant that while Nier could escape with Yonah, he had no idea what they would be running into. It was a hard decision to make, but eventually he decided to move slowly and gather more information.
He could risk his own life but never his daughter's.
At least one of his questions was answered. Stable maso did seem to be still necessary, even if there was a large stockpile of it, gathered over the centuries, since for some reason the awakened Gestalts weren't returned to their bodies.
Unfortunately, it only raised more questions. If White Chlorination Syndrome was no longer a threat, then why didn't humanity return? What possible reason could there be for them to still exist as unstable Gestalts, always running the risk of relapsing?
Nier kept digging through the reports, but the information was far too scarce, almost suspiciously so. Everything seemed to come down to Replicants…
Was the process of returning to their bodies just as faulty as Gestaltization? Did the constant destruction and recreation of Replicants over the centuries damage them somehow? Nier didn't know and the crumbling paperwork offered no answer.
Nier stared incredulously at the ancient document in his hands, reading it aloud, "Among the 417 volunteers, provided with the copy of Grimoire Noir, 153 relapsed in the first 10 minutes of contact. The remaining subjects-"
The paper crumpled in his hands. "Volunteers?!" he snarled. "We didn't volunteer for anything! We only wanted to survive! They promised food and shelter and instead they turned everyone into monsters!"
His hands shaking in rage, Nier straightened the paper, reading through the rest of the document. It was just as inaccurate, completely omitting the fact he was pretty much blackmailed into becoming their lab rat to save Yonah.
Nier suddenly felt cold. If this document was so biased, then so were the rest of them. He couldn't trust a single word he read. He sat down, holding his head in his hands. The documents were lying, the androids were lying… He couldn't trust anyone and anything in this place.
He had to get out.
Nier paced back and forth, his wings flaring out. He had to stay calm and think rationally.
The documents he read were biased and inaccurate, but they could still provide an overall idea of what happened. He couldn't afford to leap blindly, so he needed to stay cautious and keep an open mind.
He paused and rubbed his temples. This… wouldn't be easy. Nier was well aware that he tended to hit first and ask questions later but… for his daughter's sake that would have to change.
Nier nodded to himself, mentally reviewing the meager scraps of information he managed to gather.
One: White Chlorination Syndrome was no longer an issue.
Two: most Gestalts were awakened but hadn't returned to their bodies yet.
Three: the apparent reason for this was a sudden and unexplained emergence of sapience in Replicants.
…Nier didn't buy it for a second. Even if Replicants did develop sentience, he doubted it would stop their reintegration with Gestalts. The kind of people who developed Gestaltization didn't care who they hurt in the process, so Nier highly doubted they would suddenly decide to risk their life and sanity for the sake of their creations. No, there had to be another explanation that he would have to find for himself.
And, perhaps, see those supposedly sapient Replicants with his own eyes.
It was time.
Nier felt strangely calm as the androids approached him, saying they needed another dose of maso.
Well, they weren't going to get their grubby hands on it anymore.
Nier gathered his magic and teleported away, right into the place his careful snooping pointed to being their office. He swiped all the documents from their shelves, throwing them into the subspace pocket where his sword resided, and teleported again.
This time he appeared deeper underground where his blood was stored and processed, the demonic element extracted and purified. He grabbed several containers, hearing the alarms start to blare, and teleported once more, not having the time to search for purified maso (pity, it was a powerful substance).
Nier reappeared next to Yonah's stasis pod. He quickly opened one of the containers and poured the blood all over the pod, feeling it crackle with power. Nier gathered and shaped his magic, preparing to breach the dimensional barrier, when the overseers caught up to him, rising from the glowing portals in the floor.
"Please, stop," one of them said. "You are making a mistake. You are needed here. A lot of people depend on you for survival."
Nier growled, trying to work faster. His magic was weaving around the dimensional lock, the amplification his blood provided making up for his lack of knowledge and skill.
"You are safe here," the other said. "It is dangerous outside. The Replicants are at war with us. They are merciless and they will kill you both."
Almost there…! His magic stretched past the dimensional barrier, tracing a path for his teleportation.
"…We don't want to fight you," the first android said, pointing her staff at him. "But we cannot let you go."
Nier only smiled grimly and activated the spell, vanishing from their sight.