Author's Note: Back again for another chapter! And as for the reviewer "somebody", your question was not entirely understood by me. Do you mean if this really belongs in the Grandia fandom? It actually does, but it takes place long before the events of the game and gives a bit of a backdrop on it. That'll be visible later in the story. And with saying that, enjoy chapter two!
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Shortly after Feosol's departure, the two professors, Sanarg and Ramlav began their tests. Sanarg was first to approach the machine. He flipped a switch near the bottom, and the gadget slowly dropped out of the air onto the ground. Ramlav stood near what looked to be a door made of the same silvery metal that covered the outside of the machine, which had no door handle. The metal seemed to pulse faintly like a heart beat. Both scientists stood in awe and gently rubbed their hands against the corners.
"There is no way Ubi workers could have made something like this... it's incredible." Sighed Sanarg.
"They made it alright, no doubt in my mind. They've had blueprints on this machine since I worked there at the beginning of my career. That's how I learned of it. It has immense potential. I-- WE can do anything with it." Ramlav squirmed a little as she corrected herself. Sanarg had given her a funny look. "We shouldn't waste time. Get going with your work. And don't bother me while I'm doing mine. We have to find out how to operate it." With that, they both were silent.
Sanarg was investigating a keypad beneath a blank screen, and tapped a few buttons. The screen turned a dark green and numbers and letters popped up, which he scrolled through and read barely outloud, to himself.
"...A maximum power level of 42% must be used for temporary Transfusion. If the power exceeds this level, a chance of permanent damage to the natural body may occur, resulting in full time life within the Transfusion state. Although the changes would then be irreversible, the user would now possess these powers until their soul is Shattered by tremendous pressure, weariness, or long term battle. This is not advised..." He continued reading, this time silent.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the mysterious device, Ramlav was also at a keypad, but she was trying to find a way to open the door she had been looking at previously. She tapped numerous symbols into the keypad, to no avail. As Ramlav began to get impatient, one more button press slid the door open sharply. In she walked, threw a short hall, maybe eight or nine feet in, the middle of the machine. The door behind her closed and everything went completely dark. Not even her own hand could be seen infront of her face.
Sanarg's reading was interrupted when he noticed a monitor flashing yellow next to him. He looked onto it, and saw an outline in green lines of Ramlav, obviously inside the machine. A power bar beneath the image was filling. It slowly added percent after percent, and was approaching the double-digit percent range, when Sanarg pushed a large orange button beneath the grid.
The room Ramlav was in glowed dark purple, as did the metal on the outside. She felt a cold, piercing wind move through her entire body, and her skin darkened to the same dark purple as the rooms. Her body became transparent and she let out a high pitched scream as her body seemed to rip apart. Everything went black again, and when light was restored to the room, dark purple gas filled the entire chamber within the machine. Ramlav was no where to be seen.
The expression on Sanarg's face after witnessing this on the monitor was one that could make anyone laugh. His eyes were wide open, his jaw hanging. A hissing snapped him out of it, as the gas spoke through what must be a speaker inside the machine. "It's wonderful! I've never felt this way! I'm free... I can feel power coursing through my entire essence... Hurry, open the panel. I want to test my strength."
Fumbling with the controls, Sanarg managed to open the door, and out shot the gas form of Ramlav. She flew through the air and flung right out the bay doors into the outdoors, away from the laboratory. The gas hovered thirty or forty feet up in the air and all was silent for a moment or two as she concentrated on a large rock beneath her. Purple tendrils whirled away from the gas body and slithered along the ground. As it went over the herbs and plants they grew for projects, everything withered and turned gray, lifeless. When the dark tendrils reached the rock, it exploded in a terrible bang. The long, thin, tendrils drew back into the gas cloud that was Ramlav. She cackled tremendously, very pleased with herself.
"Excellent! I couldn't be more pleased! What power was the Geist Maschine at when you initiated the sequence?" she demanded of Sanarg.
Geist Maschine? He thought to himself. Even he had not been told much of what this was supposed to do. Ramlav had just said that it was very powerful, very important, and priceless. She had also said she'd need his help uncovering the mysteries even she didn't understand about it.
"Only eleven percent of its full capabilities. There was also a warning about putting the power too---" He didn't get to finish his word of advice to her, as her laughter rang out reaching the mountains and forests nearby.
"I possess the most power in the world! No one can stop me!" She yelled shrilly.
"What do you mean, 'me'? I thought it was us?" Yelled Sanarg so he could be overheard by her. He wasn't answered though, as she flew away from him, leaving wispy dark clouds behind. She soared high into the air, testing more. She dodged between trees as she entered the forest. Each thing she passed turned a dull gray and died almost instantly. She didn't stop as she flew straight up out of the forest and right into a flock of birds. They all dropped lifeless into the forest canopy.
"Come down here right now! You aren't taking precautions! We need to test this out more! You're killing everything!" Sanarg yelled as loud as he could. Ramlav didn't even respond. She kept flying over everything she could find and an occasional tendril crept out of her and blew objects into tiny pieces. Sanarg's eyes continued to follow her, until almost an hour later, she seemed to be forming back into a solid. The gases clumped together and she stopped in mid air. Out of the ball of gas burst her solid, human body. Ramlav's skin turned back to her normal pale color, and she fell out of the sky, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
Sanarg rushed out to the field over to her. He checked her over and helped her sit up. "Broken shoulder... pity, Ramlav... should have listened to me."
"Don't you dare tell me what I should have done!" She winced slightly and held her broken shoulder with her good hand.
"Come on, let's get back to the laboratory. I'll get you all mended up and you'll be good as new." He replied to her kindly. Sanarg lifted her up, and they both walked solemnly back to the bay doors. He closed the doors behind them and took her to a small closet near an office inside.
Out of it he took a pack of what looked like red ice in a plastic bag, and some gauze wrap. He cracked the red ice and it almost instantly turned to thick goo, which he poured onto her shoulder. She let out a small yell, and complained how she hated this, as it always burned. Then when the goo hardened into a thick wax, Sanarg wrapped her shoulder with the gauze tightly.
"There you go. Should be better in days."
"No kidding." Was her only reply, without a thank you whatsoever.
"Its getting late... dark outside. We should let the testing continue tomorrow. You need your rest." Sanarg smiled at her as he said this.
Ramlav scowled, but walked up a spiral metal staircase to the second floor, where she opened a door to her quarters and slammed it behind her. She soon fell asleep, angry at the world and her old body.
Sanarg sat down on a box and gazed at the machine intently for a good half hour before he shook his head and muttered, "Geist Maschine...." He stood up, walked up a different spiral staircase, and into his own room. Minutes later, he was dreaming.
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Author's Note: There you go. Not long. What is the machine capable of? What is Ramlav planning to do with it? What about Feosol? Where did he go? Find out in the next exciting chapter of "Die Geist Maschine!" *corny super hero music follows*
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Shortly after Feosol's departure, the two professors, Sanarg and Ramlav began their tests. Sanarg was first to approach the machine. He flipped a switch near the bottom, and the gadget slowly dropped out of the air onto the ground. Ramlav stood near what looked to be a door made of the same silvery metal that covered the outside of the machine, which had no door handle. The metal seemed to pulse faintly like a heart beat. Both scientists stood in awe and gently rubbed their hands against the corners.
"There is no way Ubi workers could have made something like this... it's incredible." Sighed Sanarg.
"They made it alright, no doubt in my mind. They've had blueprints on this machine since I worked there at the beginning of my career. That's how I learned of it. It has immense potential. I-- WE can do anything with it." Ramlav squirmed a little as she corrected herself. Sanarg had given her a funny look. "We shouldn't waste time. Get going with your work. And don't bother me while I'm doing mine. We have to find out how to operate it." With that, they both were silent.
Sanarg was investigating a keypad beneath a blank screen, and tapped a few buttons. The screen turned a dark green and numbers and letters popped up, which he scrolled through and read barely outloud, to himself.
"...A maximum power level of 42% must be used for temporary Transfusion. If the power exceeds this level, a chance of permanent damage to the natural body may occur, resulting in full time life within the Transfusion state. Although the changes would then be irreversible, the user would now possess these powers until their soul is Shattered by tremendous pressure, weariness, or long term battle. This is not advised..." He continued reading, this time silent.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the mysterious device, Ramlav was also at a keypad, but she was trying to find a way to open the door she had been looking at previously. She tapped numerous symbols into the keypad, to no avail. As Ramlav began to get impatient, one more button press slid the door open sharply. In she walked, threw a short hall, maybe eight or nine feet in, the middle of the machine. The door behind her closed and everything went completely dark. Not even her own hand could be seen infront of her face.
Sanarg's reading was interrupted when he noticed a monitor flashing yellow next to him. He looked onto it, and saw an outline in green lines of Ramlav, obviously inside the machine. A power bar beneath the image was filling. It slowly added percent after percent, and was approaching the double-digit percent range, when Sanarg pushed a large orange button beneath the grid.
The room Ramlav was in glowed dark purple, as did the metal on the outside. She felt a cold, piercing wind move through her entire body, and her skin darkened to the same dark purple as the rooms. Her body became transparent and she let out a high pitched scream as her body seemed to rip apart. Everything went black again, and when light was restored to the room, dark purple gas filled the entire chamber within the machine. Ramlav was no where to be seen.
The expression on Sanarg's face after witnessing this on the monitor was one that could make anyone laugh. His eyes were wide open, his jaw hanging. A hissing snapped him out of it, as the gas spoke through what must be a speaker inside the machine. "It's wonderful! I've never felt this way! I'm free... I can feel power coursing through my entire essence... Hurry, open the panel. I want to test my strength."
Fumbling with the controls, Sanarg managed to open the door, and out shot the gas form of Ramlav. She flew through the air and flung right out the bay doors into the outdoors, away from the laboratory. The gas hovered thirty or forty feet up in the air and all was silent for a moment or two as she concentrated on a large rock beneath her. Purple tendrils whirled away from the gas body and slithered along the ground. As it went over the herbs and plants they grew for projects, everything withered and turned gray, lifeless. When the dark tendrils reached the rock, it exploded in a terrible bang. The long, thin, tendrils drew back into the gas cloud that was Ramlav. She cackled tremendously, very pleased with herself.
"Excellent! I couldn't be more pleased! What power was the Geist Maschine at when you initiated the sequence?" she demanded of Sanarg.
Geist Maschine? He thought to himself. Even he had not been told much of what this was supposed to do. Ramlav had just said that it was very powerful, very important, and priceless. She had also said she'd need his help uncovering the mysteries even she didn't understand about it.
"Only eleven percent of its full capabilities. There was also a warning about putting the power too---" He didn't get to finish his word of advice to her, as her laughter rang out reaching the mountains and forests nearby.
"I possess the most power in the world! No one can stop me!" She yelled shrilly.
"What do you mean, 'me'? I thought it was us?" Yelled Sanarg so he could be overheard by her. He wasn't answered though, as she flew away from him, leaving wispy dark clouds behind. She soared high into the air, testing more. She dodged between trees as she entered the forest. Each thing she passed turned a dull gray and died almost instantly. She didn't stop as she flew straight up out of the forest and right into a flock of birds. They all dropped lifeless into the forest canopy.
"Come down here right now! You aren't taking precautions! We need to test this out more! You're killing everything!" Sanarg yelled as loud as he could. Ramlav didn't even respond. She kept flying over everything she could find and an occasional tendril crept out of her and blew objects into tiny pieces. Sanarg's eyes continued to follow her, until almost an hour later, she seemed to be forming back into a solid. The gases clumped together and she stopped in mid air. Out of the ball of gas burst her solid, human body. Ramlav's skin turned back to her normal pale color, and she fell out of the sky, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
Sanarg rushed out to the field over to her. He checked her over and helped her sit up. "Broken shoulder... pity, Ramlav... should have listened to me."
"Don't you dare tell me what I should have done!" She winced slightly and held her broken shoulder with her good hand.
"Come on, let's get back to the laboratory. I'll get you all mended up and you'll be good as new." He replied to her kindly. Sanarg lifted her up, and they both walked solemnly back to the bay doors. He closed the doors behind them and took her to a small closet near an office inside.
Out of it he took a pack of what looked like red ice in a plastic bag, and some gauze wrap. He cracked the red ice and it almost instantly turned to thick goo, which he poured onto her shoulder. She let out a small yell, and complained how she hated this, as it always burned. Then when the goo hardened into a thick wax, Sanarg wrapped her shoulder with the gauze tightly.
"There you go. Should be better in days."
"No kidding." Was her only reply, without a thank you whatsoever.
"Its getting late... dark outside. We should let the testing continue tomorrow. You need your rest." Sanarg smiled at her as he said this.
Ramlav scowled, but walked up a spiral metal staircase to the second floor, where she opened a door to her quarters and slammed it behind her. She soon fell asleep, angry at the world and her old body.
Sanarg sat down on a box and gazed at the machine intently for a good half hour before he shook his head and muttered, "Geist Maschine...." He stood up, walked up a different spiral staircase, and into his own room. Minutes later, he was dreaming.
---------------------------
Author's Note: There you go. Not long. What is the machine capable of? What is Ramlav planning to do with it? What about Feosol? Where did he go? Find out in the next exciting chapter of "Die Geist Maschine!" *corny super hero music follows*
