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REVISED: 8/12/11
~~ Chapter 12 ~~
Shelke plummeted through luminous streams of colour at the speed of light. She landed with a jump on a hard surface and gazed at the familiar seamless walls of the circular room. Flexing her body, she practiced her breathing, giving her constructed body time to settle. It had been awhile since she had been in the Transference Bay, and it hadn't changed at all. She was the one who was different.
A tranquil generic voice filled the room. ~SND Complete. Voice Analysis Active~
Shelke spoke. "Equip; Communication Port 3S1B." From the side of her high collar an inflexible luminous band popped out and sat near her mouth. "Com. Dive Successful. End." She spoke clearly, knowing her voice would be converted to text for the real world. "Avatar, Shelke, The Transparent."
A beautiful elongated entity appeared at her command. The asexual being glowed and shimmered in various shades of ivory and aqua. Long strands of gleaming cerulean were its hair, and not having feet, it floated on tentacle fibers of multi-layered blues.
Her avatar had taught her everything she needed to know. Avatar was programmed to guide and assist her while in the Net world. The IT creation was her superior and at the same time her servant.
Round pools of pure blue, representing its eyes, observed Shelke with unemotional curiosity. It spoke; its voice smooth, almost ethereal. "You have been given no directives."
This was the first time Shelke had been in without a command task from The Restrictors. The first time she was completely free. Now it was Shelke's turn to give the commands. "You have a new directive. Lead me to History Archives. We'll start there. First, Equip Data Storage." Shelke's hand tingled and she watched them spark momentarily. "Equip Combat Attire." She looked down at her black and blue skin-tight uniform and felt her energy sabers appearing, strapped to the back of her legs.
She walked towards the wall. It slid open and they left the chamber. "Com. Avatar summoned, gear equipped. Begin Search now. End."
Outside was a wide street, open to the dark nothingness of the virtual world above. Stretching on both sides were columns of rows of vivid scrolls of colour. On looking closer it was millions of lines of data. The text however was not moving.
As they walked the street, she noticed the motionless text and how quiet the Net City was. In times past countless landscapes could be accessed through a command, and multiple applications would be moving through the conversion lines amid a myriad of processing transcripts that would radiate every street and data quarter. "Com. Barren blocks everywhere. End." She didn't know why she was relaying the unnecessary information except that Denzel would enjoy knowing.
They travelled away from the built up programs to the blocks less used. Parts of the scenery were completely missing. Whole buildings and chunks of records were simply gone. In their place were black holes of nothing.
Shelke stood by such a hole and stared in wonder at the void. "Avatar, what happened here?"
Avatar swayed gently and looked upwards at the twenty foot hole. "After the Exodus, Security purged countless files unto obliteration. Now there is only lawlessness."
So efficient was Deepground's destruction, that files were utterly diminished. She wondered if she would find anything, even a remnant. "I need data that I thought would be found in History."
"History was the first to be purged."
Shelke looked at the gaping pit opening up to an abyss. "Com. Trailing lost files will be difficult. End."
Avatar continued, "There are many dangers here now. These holes are one of them. They appear to be expanding as time passes."
"What other dangers?"
"Avatars have defaulted to Prime Directives to eradicate foreign programs. Rogue dumps that have escaped deletion roam at will. Viral alarms attack—"
"How have you survived?"
"I am Avatar of Shelke, The Transparent." It raised its arms that disappeared before Shelke's eyes.
Sensing movement behind her, Shelke glanced around, already suspicious something had been following them since leaving the Bay. She asked, "And the Ghosts?"
"One follows us now."
Shelke spun around completely, surveying the shadowy roadway.
A robed and hooded figure, only a head taller than her, came out from the shadows and said with surprise, "You?" He would have been a couple of years older than Shelke's body. "Are a RL?"
"I am Shelke."
"Shelke, I remember." He threw his hood back, revealing spiky black hair and piercing green eyes. "I'm Fixer."
In that instant, she thought she knew his real name. There were many children back then. The trauma of her life had wiped the memory of most of them. Back then it was a matter of survival. Even the people she did get close to she never saw again. Over time it was best to be attached to no-one. She discovered that early on. "Com. First contact. Proceed with caution. End." To the boy she said, "I have come seeking information."
Fixer shrugged. "This is an empty world. Nothing here. We're all starved for data."
"We?"
"The Rogues, the Avatars – they're always fighting for the warmth, and us Ghosts, well, we try to keep out of everyone's way. Now the holes… that's different." He paused, "Let's go from here."
"Where?"
"Somewhere safer."
Avatar said, "Ghosts have no known directives, they cannot be trusted."
Fixer raised himself up to the Avatar. "That's because we make our own directives." He pointed at Avatar's shimmering robed chest. "Avatars are the ones who can't be trusted."
Shelke looked between the two. They were both right. In the world of data processing, facts were never what they seemed and always controlled by someone outside. But in this situation she had to take anything she could get. Time was of the essence.
Suddenly an elevated screeching blasted the air behind them. Tearing and crunching along the street was a hulking red and black machine. With agile spider type legs it crept towards them as it shot multiple bolts of red energy.
Avatar flew towards Shelke, covering her in a crystal force shield. A flare of energy exploded on it, protecting them both from its charge.
Fixer shouted, "We've been here too long." He pulled her arm, making her run. Avatar followed close behind, shielding them both as they darted down a covered laneway. Shadows loomed around them. The only light came from Avatar and Shelke's fluorescent blue stripes on her uniform.
Flicking up an undersized door on the ground, Fixer started to climb down. "Come on." He touched the wall and it lit up with faint green light.
Shelke looked at the tight space and ladder with hesitancy, before descending. Above her, Avatar floated down, not having a need for steps. In silence they arrived at a lit corridor. It led them to a warm cluttered room, which lacked the radiating light of the corridor, however even in the darkness it was still a few degrees hotter than the cool passage.
Out of the shadows, a man's deep voice surprised her. "Why is there an Avatar here?"
Fixer halted and peered into the corner of the room.
From out of the dark a man sauntered forth. His sleeveless black shirt exposed a muscular physique and his glowing blue eyes stared the adolescent down.
Fixer stuck a thin arm out from the folds of his robe and pointed at Shelke. "It's with her."
Shelke was uneasy at the man's blatant staring. She knew the type he was, she had fought men like him before. "Avatar is under my directive."
He looked her up and down, ignoring Avatar completely. "And what is that?"
"I am searching for Deepground data—"
Fixer said, "Heet, I'm taking her to Collector-"
Heet turned on him. "Can't you see what she is? She's from up top. The Restrictors."
Obviously confused, Fixer creased his brow
Shellke put her hands on her hips and looked up at the tall man. "Restrictors are gone. Neither does Deepground exist here anymore. I operate under my own directives."
Heet stood back with his arms crossed, appearing troubled as he studied her. "And you, a RL, have come back here for information?"
"It must be very important information." A wispy voice spoke from the shadows. A slender girl, with long jet black hair and gossamer robes to match, glided out from the dark.
"Shade!" Fixer cried, "Haven't seen you in a while."
"I have been wandering the wastelands with others of our kind." She floated back into the shadows as she spoke and Shelke could hardly distinguish where she was.
Heet continued, "What will you give for this information?"
Shelke sighed. But she must not forget what she came for, even if it was going to cost her something. "What do you want?"
Fixer piped up, "We want to go to a Live land—"
Shade said from the shadows, "This world is dying. You are a Command Vessel, you should have the ability to open the Barricade at the end of the Byway Circuit."
That seemed an easy request. She did know Command Keys but that was a long time ago now. "I can try, but – I want the information first, or see if you have what I'm looking for." The Byway circuits were along way to travel.
Heet said, "How can we trust you?"
"I still need to upload to RL from the Transference Bay," Shelke told them.
"I see," Heet replied. "You cannot get away that easily."
That wasn't technically correct, but Shelke wasn't going to tell them everything.
"We'll go see Collector," Heet said.
Shelke walked behind them and spoke into her communication band. "Com. Possible link to files. Avoid adverse blockage. End"
They all went down lower still, until they came out on a platform of a massive chamber. Shelke couldn't see the end of it for the streams of digital text. Rows upon rows of vertical and horizontal text overlapped and intermingled in an unruly jumble, spanning for miles. She walked down the stairs and through data, touching the translucent text as she went. The energy rippled through her fingers.
"He's shoving more and more in here," Fixer commented. "It's crazy, but he can't stop."
A boy in a blue jumpsuit walked through a wall of text to greet them. He stood the same height as her and his sandy blond hair was a disorderly mess.
Shelke gasped. In a far pocket of her memory she knew him.
Fixer said, "You remember Collector?"
This wasn't his true name, she remembered that much. Collector's untainted blue eyes shone with unexpected cheer. "It's you."
Shelke frowned with thought. "I'm… trying to remember…"
Collector's face fell. "Maybe she will help you remember." Through the text and racing to catch his hand was a small child half his size.
Shelke inhaled sharply at the tiny girl, dressed in an SND Regiment uniform like her own; her scooped bobbed hair was also deep red like hers. Even her eyes had the same soft blue.
"She's Baby," Collector said. "She doesn't talk much."
Shelke's eyes went between the two in bewilderment, trying her hardest to salvage some memory. Her mind gave her nothing.
Baby stared at Shelke with trepidation and clutched onto Collector's arm even harder.
Shelke said, "But… she's…me?"
"You really don't remember?" Collector said forlornly, and he put his hand on Baby's head. "I guess they did a good job at wiping your memory." He took a deep breath. "Something terrible happened here. You fragmented bad-"
Fixer butted in, "I fixed you, but—"
"We collected what we could find and the pieces formed her," Collector finished.
Shelke blinked at the child. "I can't remember." So many things about her disjointed personality made sense now. She wished she could remember what happened, remember these people.
Heet spoke over the top of them. "It's a nice reunion and all but we want something from her as well."
Shelke also wanted something. The deeper she got into Net territory the more difficult it became to retain purpose as the mind began to abstractly wander and analyze its new surroundings; the real world started to fade into forgotten pathways. Now that she had no governing authority, she had to compel herself. "I want information on Deepground or the Tsviet's current plans, and something called a Purification Program that might be related to Cetras. Anything on Tifa Lockhart or Strife."
Fixer turned to Collector and said, "There's no more Restrictors."
Collector's lip quivered. "They're gone…?" He wiped tears from his eyes. "Finally over."
Baby cried and held onto him in a tight hug.
Collector whispered, "Tell us what happened?"
"I… I haven't time," Shelke said. "Right now." She knew she should be feeling some emotion but it eluded her. It was good Deepground had been brought down and the Restrictors who ruled over all of them were no more however their injustices would last forever.
"Are you on a special mission?" Fixer asked.
"Yes, to find Deepground. They still exist, just not here."
Shade said, "She's going to open the Byway for us."
Collector's blue eyes glowed. "You can do that?"
A few years ago Shelke could definitely do it, but now, she wasn't that certain. "I have some keys I can try. But I need the data first."
Collector nodded as he started to rise above them all, following the giant scroll of luminous text. He rested his palm on the data rolling through his fingers.
As Shelke watched the boy, Baby took her hand. Startled, she glanced down at the child, staring up at her. Her delicate hand was hot, yet her eyes were red with tears, as if crying was all she did. Confusing emotions assaulted Shelke and she didn't know whether to push the child down or hug her. After a moment, she realized she could do neither.
Heet appeared beside her. "These kids don't have the memories of the world outside as I do. I remember my life being stolen from me. Tell me, is Shinra still running things?"
He was tall and Shelke looked up at his shoulder length brown hair and hard chiseled face; he also had the bright blue eyes. She eyed the sword at his back. "Shinra no longer have the power they once did."
"There's freedom in the world?" He turned, staring down at her, making Baby hide behind her sabers.
"Yes, but not if Deepground continue with their plans."
Heet looked away in thought, appearing satisfied with her response.
Shelke eagerly awaited Collector's descent. When he landed he held out his hand, showing her a glowing white disc. "This is all I could scavenge. It's fragmented, and it doesn't really exist, as you probably know."
"Thank you…" As she took it, she wished she could remember his name. For some reason it seemed important.
"Don't give it to her yet," Heet cried.
Collector frowned at him. "I trust her. She will find a way, won't you, Shelke?"
"I promise I will get the Byway open for you." She closed her hand over the data chip and absorbed the information into her Data Storage. In the same instance, she felt a stabbing pain in her side. Looking down she saw the faint reflection of a transparent rod of energy, barely missing her solar plexus. Stumbling in pain, she fell to her knees.
Avatar collapsed behind her, still holding the rod. Through Avatar's middle was a rod of red energy, wielded by Shade. "I've never trusted Avatars."
Avatar's blue-silver form wavered and frizzled, then expired into a million tiny particles and was gone.
Baby clamored over Shelke as she breathed hard, trying to reconstruct her Mind Body from the attack. She muttered, "Com. Files attained. Avatar corrupt. Injury incurred. End." Avatar must have been programmed to kill her if she came across any pertinent data. Who would have known such a thing, except Weiss?
After some moments, Shelke stood slowly, still feeling the ache and said to Shade, "Thank you."
"We need you to get us out of here." Shade slid off to hide in the shadows once more.
/
Out on the street they decided to move at Max Speed. It would tire Shelke out, but speed was needed now; she only had so much time left to spare.
They sped along huge stretches of pallid light, through barren quarters and stark wastelands. Baby did not let go of Shelke's hand even though Shelke tried to unhook her fingers from her own. A couple of times it felt like Shelke held her own hand. She glanced down to see the child, her eyes glossing over with innocent fear. Shelke spoke. "Com. New mission directive. End."
The more she looked at Collector, the more she recognized the memories of a time when they knew each other, when they played in the Data world. It frustrated her that the memories were so unclear yet the feelings of friendship were so strong.
They halted at the end of the road and a giant gold gate. Beyond the transparent energy field was a colourful iridescent world of Data resplendent with activity. Shelke placed her hand on the Gold Barricade of a superb technical design. The others stood staring through the fence, a hungry look in their eyes, except Baby who never left Shelke's side.
Shelke spoke. "Tsviet Alpha Code Directive Open."
A voice boomed from no-where. "Denied."
"Tsviet Command Override. Default Key."
"Denied."
Shelke had a bad feeling. If her Avatar was programmed to kill her then why would she think she would be able to get in here…
"You can do it, right?" Fixer ran to her.
"I…" If her Avatar was programmed to kill her on receiving data substantial to Deepground's purposes then that would mean it was possible to get through here and find the information. The data she received from Collector by all rights and purposes should not exist… Weiss must have assumed she would come here.
Heet shouted, "She can't do it! They don't want her in."
That was true, however… Shelke spoke. "Activate Locked Box." A small screen opened in front of her and she read, "Command Mode 7B301533-STEALTH\KEY."
The loud melodious voice boomed across the empty land. "Shelke, The Transparent Denied Access."
"No way!" Fixer pounded both his fists on the door.
Heet had armed himself, and pointing his sword at her face, cried, "You've been lying all along."
"Com. Hostile interference. Energy low. End." Shelke responded quickly, stepping away from his weapon. She was still tired and didn't know if she could manage combat. "It's because it's my voice. I can give you the key," –she indicated the pop up screen – "it's here—"
Heet slashed at her, knocking Baby down to the ground. The child scrambled up again and held onto Shelke's leg.
Shelke, dodging from his strikes, shoved Baby from her leg and reached for her weapons. Her energy rods lit up with a hum.
With tears in her eyes, the child scampered away and into Collector's embrace. He yelled, "Why are you fighting? Shelke can give us the key."
Shelke spoke into her com link. "Com. Mission has been compromised. End."
"You have a good fighting body." Heet came at her with swift strokes.
"Stop fighting!" Fixer screamed and pulled on his hair in distress. "Don't kill her."
Shellke didn't hear, indeed she couldn't stop. It wasn't about the Gold Barricade, no, she was fighting for her life, because he wanted it; her life. "Com. Download current files. End."
He swung at her com link, purposely aiming for it. "She's been communicating with them."
Finally he managed to hit her com link, it burst into sparks and disappeared.
Now she had no more contact with Denzel, she was on her own. She said loudly, "Attachment. Portal." It was her last and only chance to get out, but whether it was her mind leaving was another matter. The run across the wasteland and the wound had impaired her significantly. He was an exceptional fighter. She would expect nothing less from an ex-SOLDIER who was intent on taking over her body.
His sword switched to a luminous blue as he thrust it into her leg, in an attempt to transfer himself into her mind.
As if from a distance, she heard Baby sobbing. "No!"
A fog of darkness blurred her vision and disorientated her mind, which she sensed collapsing as she tried to focus her will on the fight.
... memories ...
... ... Shelke had finally reached the top of the tallest tree on the hill. She looked out over her village and miles of countryside. The day was sunny and perfect. Below her, her sister rustled through branches and at last came to sit beside her.
"I'm the best climber, Shalua."
Shalua hugged her tight and then tickled her ear. "Maybe, but I'm the best…" and she started running off what Shalua was good at – everything else.
"Am I the best sister?"
Shalua kissed her cheek. "Yes, you win."
... ...
... ...Shelke sat at a booth in 7th Heaven. The sun streamed through the large open window, warming her skin. She relaxed in its comforting glow, pleased to feel a real light again. Across from her sat Cloud and next to her, reaching for her hand was Tifa.
Tifa's warm brown eyes glistened with affection. "Shelke, you know we are all orphans here so you can feel at home with us, okay? We consider you to be one of our family and this is like your home. Right, Cloud?" she gave him a sharp nod.
His blue eyes shone with acceptance as he nodded towards her. "That's right. No matter where you go just remember you can always come back whenever you need to. The door's always open."
Before, she didn't know why they showed her such kindness, but she knew it made them happy when they did so. Now she realized that it made her happy too.
... ...
... ...Heet sat in the SND chair. The Restrictor hovered over him and said, "You will receive more directives once the load is complete."
Heet had done this before but still it made him unsettled–every time. He had no choice. After the slaughter of his team by the Tsviet SOLDIERS the Restrictors placed chips in their minds to make them obey. To the Tsviets it was just a game. They seemed driven by bloodlust and an evil hatred. He wondered if he would end up the same.
The Restrictor continued, "Operation White-materia underway in 5. 4. 3. 2. 1."
... ...
... ...Shelke watched Marlene stare out the window as if in ponderous thought. They shared a room, like sisters do, so Marlene would tell her. Shelke never had a lot to say to Marlene or anyone, but Marlene never seemed to mind.
Marlene turned to face her with tears in her eyes. "Just now, I was thinking of you and your dreadful childhood."
Shelke realized Marlene had been crying. She replied, "I…yes… it was bad."
"I'm so sorry." Marlene rushed to embrace her, and sobbing, she said, "I'm here if you ever want to talk about it."
Shelke tried to hug her back, but her arms couldn't budge – wouldn't budge. They remained rooted to her sides.
... ...
... ...Shelke sat at the bar, typing into the laptop Reeve had given her, amongst other gifts.
Denzel sat beside her and leaned against her to read the screen.
She shifted away from him, also moving the laptop along the bench.
Denzel creased his brow. "Will you teach me how to use that?"
"Anyone can teach you that."
"No, teach me the stuff I'm not supposed to know."
She had met Denzel when he was twelve and watched him grow into a teenager of fourteen. Grow like Shelke would never be able to. He had just recently told her, without any embarrassment whatsoever, that he had a crush on her. Initially, she had no idea what he meant, but as he became more intent on hanging out with her, as he referred to it as, she became increasingly unnerved by his attention. He was a good kid and a great friend, and it didn't help that he viewed her as his peer. Her harsh experience of life outstripped his innocent years by decades if not a life-time and yet - there was something about him that made her smile.
"Are you allowed to know?"
"They won't mind." He whispered close to her face, "But we won't tell them ok?"
... ...
... ...Shelke sobbed under her coarse blankets. The cold unfamiliar room was quiet and still, and lonely.
The boy, about her age, lifted back the covers and peered at her tear stained scared face. She hid her eyes from his inquisitive stare. His confident voice brought comfort to her, as he whispered, "We can be friends, right?" He glanced around, making sure no-one was listening. "Don't cry 'cos they'll find out. I'll look out for you and you look out for me. My name's Nate."
... ...
Shelke muttered through the darkness enveloping her thoughts and hoped it was heard somewhere. "I remember your name, Nate. I remember…" Her hands clutched tightly onto something, she wasn't sure what, as she spun away into a world of nothingness, wanting desperately to say goodbye one last time.
RL means Real Life.
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