---
SUMMARY:
In the 25th century, the countries are at war. Japan and the United States, in an attempt to protect themselves, create a huge, indestructible dome to hide themselves, stretching across the sea that was the Pacific. The western and eastern states begin to feud over resources, and New Tokyo and Great America create friction themselves.
Inside the dome, the world is dead land, litter, and machinery, ruled by the Council. Young Vae, the son of one of the Council, runs from the Citadel, leaving behind the duty to be a Council member when his father falls.
On what used to be the Californian coast, he finds a video game head set, and instantly begins to play. Video games are sedatives at this time and age... a way to escape the hell that is reality.
Vae takes full on the saved file of an already high-level Eliwood called Phoenix 419, who has a reputation as one of the best. Hoping Phoenix will join the team, Vae meets a team of a Saria, Fox, Link, and Daisy. Before accepting, he completely embarrasses himself. Other players, seeing this as an opportunity to gain some major EXP, begin to challenge him at an alarming rate. He joins the team for protection, before telling him that he has "amnesia" and is downgraded from an Eliwood to a Roy. Eventually, he is sought down by four, extremely high-powered players.
Have fun, Vae. It's just a game. ...or something like it.
---
Konichiwa! TOBF-chan here! (I might be changing my pen name soon, to SK or something of the likeness.)
Thanks, everyone who's supported me. I love you!
It was the latest review (from VG-Junky) for UberSSBM that kicked me back into fashion. I hope you guys like this story better than the other. I might be re-doing that one, hopefully I can get to it.
See, I stopped writing because:
Don't have the time.
I'm lazy and uninspired.
I was watching Red vs Blue.
Although, depending on your opinion, I may or may not have great ideas, I cannot tell stories well. Plz bear with me.
...
This is the BRAND NEW UBERSSBM! It's totally and completely different. Well, except for Jax and Silver, kind of. They have new names and origins, but I think that's it. I got rid of all the other characters, including Forte. The new main character is a boy in which I'm playing 1st person, solely because a boy is better at playing Roy and because 1st sounds better for this type of medium. I'll be 3rd person every now and then.
Anyway! Hope you like. The beginning sounds nothing of SSBM, but you'll see in Chapter 3: Chapter 2.
NOTE 01: Kaibutsu means, in Japanese, wicked creature of abnormal form.
NOTE 02: Hope no one is insulted by me insulting Great America and New Tokyo. But wait! It isn't me! It's Vae! MUAHAHAHA.
NOTE 03: I do not own Super Smash Bros. Melee.
NOTE 04: I hope this doesn't sound like .hack//SIGN, Evangelion, or Big O. But it does, according to my friend.
NOTE 05: I do not own .hack//SIGN, Evangelion, or Big O.
NOTE 06: But on the contrary, I DO own j00, esp. at SSBM.
---
::Prologue::
Great America is shit. Just shit. Ugly, stupid, lying... shit.
My nails had broken after I had gratified the Citadel's wall with the words, "THE COUNCIL MUST FALL" with a rock. Truly, I meant Galend must fall.
Galend is my father. Or at least, that is what everyone says; my so-called mother, and my younger sister. He is never with us, unlike the other men of the families, who work from the break of dawn to sunset trying to rebuild our world, then return to their families. Often times we would get calls from the Council saying my father is missing and wondering if we knew where he could be. Hell if I know. But Galend doesn't work only in daytime. He works at nighttime as well. Therefore, he never returns, and no one ever sees him, excluding my sister.
And the Council.
The Council is the collection of five people that fail to run us properly. My father is one of the Council, actually second in charge. Everyone hates him because he makes very rushed decisions. Well, everyone hates the entire Council. Especially those of us that aren't from Great America.
Great America was once called the United States. But that was a while ago, before, around the 23rd century, we began receiving similar threat notes from various countries, from Europe to Asia to Islands. We confronted them, but they denied all charges, and instead declared they received threat notes from the US, and from other countries as well.
Even countries like China, all though refusing to take any side, were thrown into mayhem. Everyone thought the other was lying, and the world became an arguing bunch of dogs, barking and growling at each other, until somebody's leash broke.
The countries warred for at least ten years. Japan and the US seemed to be on top of everything, but were still in great panic.
They became allies. Together they were stronger, but still scared of what mutinous plans other allies might have decided upon.
Together, they built a dome. The dome that stretched across the sea that used to be the Pacific Ocean, from the western coasts of Japan to the eastern shores of the US. Using the most advanced technology the US and Japan had to offer, the dome was nearly indestructible. We had renamed ourselves; Great America, and New Tokyo.
We lost the allies we kept out of the dome, as well as Alaska and Hawaii state. However it seemed like "Well, we still have each other" was the only thing going through our president's head.
My personal tutor had always said that war was the instinct of man. For a while, I didn't believe him. Men aren't animals. However, he was right.
The loss in imports caused a feud for natural resources between the eastern and western states.
New Tokyo and Great America lived harmoniously and in peace for a while, but wars began erupting again. New Tokyo seemed to have evidence that Great America had made a treaty with China and were going to attack New Tokyo. The Japanese knew the rule of war; that traitors could not ever be trusted. But because the Japanese and the American had built this dome together, they merely insisted that all their people in Great America returned to New Tokyo, and all the Americans in New Tokyo return to Great America. The announcement was agreed to, and although the Council still worked with New Tokyo officials, their remained a thick friction in the air.
Not that the air needed more friction. I mean, honest to God.
Here we come to our next reason why I live... in shit?
Yes, there's more - trash, smoke, and radioactive toxins. Back when bio- degradable trash was put into the earth, un-biodegradable trash was cremated, and the rest was recycled. But now, we have much more limited space, and we are running out of land to bury bio-degradable trash, because they the herbage to replace the trash isn't growing fast enough. Why aren't they growing fast enough? We have a fake sky with artificial sunshine and rainstorms... The un-biodegradable litter we burnt now resides as smoke at the top of the dome, slowly becoming thicker and killing off foliage, not to mention animals. Radioactive toxins are now wasted into the water, as well as more trash.
Yes. That's why Great America is shit.
And now, I've just run way from the Citadel, the governing building of Great America. But I suppose I'm not quite away yet. I can still sit on this rocky, grainy sand-and-trash mound and see the black looming neck of the Citadel. They must have known I'd disappeared, I can see black figures dispensing from the bottom of the Citadel.
Just two days ago I had heard that tomorrow, I would meet the rest of the future Council. More tight-wads with a passion for reading million-page documents. I'm not allowed to have friends or love-interests. I'm just allowed to have partners. Equals. The Council.
Because I am the son of Galend is why they keep such a tight leash on me, and it is that same reason why I'm running away. I'm sick of rules, I'm sick of technology, I'm sick of the servants. I'm sick of seeing my mother and my sister fade away from uselessness and boredom. I'm sick of the duties I must learn to take my father's place.
They'll send dozens of men to find me. I've wasted 13 years of my life memorizing laws and scenarios; precious time to them. Imagine the destruction they could have made in 13 years.
I can only imagine what their saying, in all their insecurities, that I'm running off right now to meet with New Tokyo spies and explain to them everything I've seen. That would be lucky. What am I doing? Let's just say, I'm gonna be doing a lot of swimming. In Kaibutsu- (as the Japanese calls them) infected waters.
Heh... The Council had once told us that the Japanese were training Kaibutsu to attack us from the sea. Heh heh...
Idiots.
I dusted the grainy sand off my pants and ran. Our fake moon, a bright rhinestone gem in the sky, gleamed like a searchlight through the smoke fog. I knew the Citadel was awaiting my capture. The men, though far away, would make quick time. I tried to make it down the sand-and-trash dune upright on my feet, but I met with rocks and tumbled face forward.
There were a lot of sharp, pointy stones on that hill.
My eyes, which were already filled with smoke, were accompanied by a mouth filled with sand.(I hope.) I was thrown forward and went tumbling down. I closed my eyes and put my hands over my head for support.
When I hit (rock) bottom, my arms were deeply cut, they had been covered by a long sleeve blouse, but there were so many rips now, I did nature and ripped one side off. I was cut all along my back and my pants. The wound that hurt the most was a bruise on the back of my head.
Both dazed from the hit on my head and nauseated from the unfiltered air, I limped towards the coast, that seemed only a mile away from the hill. Whomever decided to make the Citadel so far from the coast was a complete and total jerk.
---
::Chapter 1: Escape::
*The moon was a searchlight. Black-dressed men shouted orders and information through pollution fog, scratching and bruising themselves on large rocks and stones as they barely managed to slide down sand dunes, only to land on piles of litter.
A young boy scrambled past what was left of a desert bush and deeply gashed his hand against a sharp boulder. Sand filled his mouth, smoke filled his eyes. His heart beat loudly as he heard men not far away stumbling over rocks. The shone flashlights all around him. Stumbling through the grainy sand, he flung himself over the next sandy hill and tumbled down, receiving thin cuts all over his arms and face. They ran pass on the other side, their guns rattling. He was sure the thunderous beating of his heart would give him away, but his heart stayed loyal. After the noises seemed to disappear, he climbed back up, hoisting himself over rocks. There he sat down, blood leaking onto his sleeves, staring back from which he ran. A dark, eerie building seemed to await his capture.*
I shouldn't have stopped. They're right on me! The citadel... it's so far away right now. But really not far enough. The Pacific sea is getting close...
Suddenly, I hear thunder, and I look up. Our sky is a series of panels displaying the same consecutive weather... it's like a checkerboard, with broken panels that display only black. Faulty or not, it still rains.
And rain hard it does today.
The footsteps were disappearing, and I waited till they faded completely before I began to move. Helicopter blades still whirled, but they were far away.
So I continue walking. Yes, it's dark.
I'm cold. Maybe I should try and knock out a soldier and... Yeah, like I could knock out a soldier. But I need dry, warm clothes, I need something to protect me from whatever's in the sea, and for crying out loud, I NEED THE FLASHLIGHT.
The rain has really soaked through all my clothes. The soldiers will probably give up searching for me and continue tomorrow. Maybe I'll still be alive.
I can barely see in front of me, but the moon gleams on the waters and reflects everywhere. It's coming up, and I begin running, holding my arms for warmth.
I'm gonna get ill.
But I hear more thundering, louder than that of the rain on the sea. It sounds like droplets on... metal. I run up to the peak of a hill. I'm sure that since I'm so high up I could almost feel zephyrs, but we don't bother recreate wind in the dome.
Across the sea, I can just barely see New Tokyo. It's dark, but bright lights from the highest skyscrapers light the waters. It's pretty bright here, to be honest, and finally I can see.
As I search the coast for a place to rest from the rain, I sneeze, loudly. Something grumbles in the water, making bubbles rise to the surface, pushing away trash.
I move.
In the near distance, I see a dark looming... shack. Oh God, thank you.
As I near it the thundering gets louder, from the droplets on the metal roof. It was half hidden by a sea cliff side, and had the same color as the dirt. Camouflage, maybe?
Who cares. I'm cold. My nose is running, and rubbing it with a wet sleeve only makes it worse.
Something about this shack is very simple. It's small, without windows. I try the handle, but something beeps three times, almost angrily. Locked.
I pulled down my left-hand sleeve to beyond my elbow, so it would stay put. It was wet, and the cuff ripped, but I figured since my other arm's sleeve was completely gone, it didn't really matter.
On my forearm was my Assistant, a long band with a screen. "Astra." I had named her after my 'sister'. "Astra." The signal was fuzzy and the screen was wet, but she was okay.
"Hello, Vae. You've got mail from your mother." I re-programmed Astra so I could only receive mail from my mother and my sister, as well as took out the chip that lets the Council track my Assistant.
"Save it for later, Astra. I've got a job for you." I only cared if it was from Astra. Only she would understand. That's why I love her so much.
"Oh really? Hacking? You know that's ille-"
"Take a second to look at me right now." I said, pushing away heavy, damp hair from my eyes. "Do you think I care?"
"No, not really. Okay, what is it?" She began opening up files in windows.
"It's a lock." I pulled out her cord and hooked it up with the number pad below the handle.
"Oh, that's not too hard. Is it banded by handle or banded by door?"
I stepped closer to look. It was in shadow, so I couldn't really see, but I could feel where the strength of the weak door was focused as I knocked it at four intervals.
"Looks like only handle. The handle is... 46f." I said, peering behind the bar handle.
"Okay... Please wait." Below her appeared the loading bar, filling with green quickly.
"Done." With that, the door swung open with a satisfying click. I pulled her cord out recklessly and ran in, shutting the door behind me.
"Lights." I commanded, and the lights went on, with a familiar whirr of motor. The room was almost completely empty, excluding a single office chair in the back corner, and a large box on the floor next to it. I was glad to be out of the rain, but I kind of expected more in there. It may be unrealistic, but maybe a blanket, maybe food.
"Find anything out about the room?" I asked Astra.
"It's been opened lately, without hacking." She reported, making sure to bring forth the hacking prospect. I chose to ignore it.
"Yeah, yeah. I don't want to be disturbed, so change the password. Put it on full security, as well." I hooked the cable to the light control, then went across the room to sit down in the chair, stretching the cable.
This would have to be home for now. It was lucky that I had a sufficient shelter.
"Alright. Done." She said. "Do you want to view the message NOW?"
I hit a button and the cable slapped back, then waved my free hand. I sneezed, and wiped it on my pants. "No, leave it. I know what mom has to say. That she loves me, that she wants me to come home. That if I make it to New Tokyo, I should be careful."
Astra looked away from my gaze. "I wish you didn't leave the Citadel. What about food? Hygiene? Who knows what New Tokyo will do to you."
"If I stay low, I may be able to blend in. Silver hair is popular with the Japanese these days. Maybe I'll say I'm half Japanese, half American."
"But what about the Pacific sea?"
There, I had lost. I didn't know what to do. I kicked back the chair, so it creaked at the accordion joints. I closed my eyes and rubbed them. From the exhaustion, I began to laugh. Astra looked at me like I had gone insane.
"Maybe I'll find myself one of those Kaibutsu and ride it to the other side." I rubbed my eyes, and bundled up. I looked down to the floor. I really had no idea what to do.
There was the box.
It was open, and even cardboard. How old was this thing? I picked it up, and pulled something out.
It was a video game visor. "What is this doing out here?" I asked, looking over it.
There was already a cartridge in it, so I pulled it out. 'UberSSBM', it said. It was old, and the label was ripped and worn.
"Doesn't..." Astra began, looking over it.
"...Astra play it?" I ended the question.
I remember, when I was younger, when I was done with studying and Astra was home from work, we would play together. Sometimes, when we would play Prince and Princess, she would pretend it was snowing. Astra always wanted to see the snow. Along with wind, there is also no snow. "Wind and snow is pointless. It does not bring us any product, like rain and sunshine." My tutor would say. But then Astra would argue, saying that snow would bring us joy and entertainment. She would get angry and cry, then hide in the closets and play UberSSBM.
"I'm gonna play it." I decided.
Astra shook her head. "I can't let you. You don't know what's in there."
I shrugged. "Come on. If Astra played it, it must be okay. She used to hide for hours, so it must have been fun."
"I think you should get some sleep first." Astra scolded. What was she, my mother?
"Oh come on, it's just like sleeping." I said, as I had already had the visor on my head. I kicked back, placing the base of my feet against the wall.
"Fine, but I'm coming." She demanded. I pulled the cord and hooked it up with the visor.
"Okay, okay. But make sure to stay half here, so you can pull me out if somebody comes." I don't think Astra heard me... she was already gone, as I was soon to follow.
SUMMARY:
In the 25th century, the countries are at war. Japan and the United States, in an attempt to protect themselves, create a huge, indestructible dome to hide themselves, stretching across the sea that was the Pacific. The western and eastern states begin to feud over resources, and New Tokyo and Great America create friction themselves.
Inside the dome, the world is dead land, litter, and machinery, ruled by the Council. Young Vae, the son of one of the Council, runs from the Citadel, leaving behind the duty to be a Council member when his father falls.
On what used to be the Californian coast, he finds a video game head set, and instantly begins to play. Video games are sedatives at this time and age... a way to escape the hell that is reality.
Vae takes full on the saved file of an already high-level Eliwood called Phoenix 419, who has a reputation as one of the best. Hoping Phoenix will join the team, Vae meets a team of a Saria, Fox, Link, and Daisy. Before accepting, he completely embarrasses himself. Other players, seeing this as an opportunity to gain some major EXP, begin to challenge him at an alarming rate. He joins the team for protection, before telling him that he has "amnesia" and is downgraded from an Eliwood to a Roy. Eventually, he is sought down by four, extremely high-powered players.
Have fun, Vae. It's just a game. ...or something like it.
---
Konichiwa! TOBF-chan here! (I might be changing my pen name soon, to SK or something of the likeness.)
Thanks, everyone who's supported me. I love you!
It was the latest review (from VG-Junky) for UberSSBM that kicked me back into fashion. I hope you guys like this story better than the other. I might be re-doing that one, hopefully I can get to it.
See, I stopped writing because:
Don't have the time.
I'm lazy and uninspired.
I was watching Red vs Blue.
Although, depending on your opinion, I may or may not have great ideas, I cannot tell stories well. Plz bear with me.
...
This is the BRAND NEW UBERSSBM! It's totally and completely different. Well, except for Jax and Silver, kind of. They have new names and origins, but I think that's it. I got rid of all the other characters, including Forte. The new main character is a boy in which I'm playing 1st person, solely because a boy is better at playing Roy and because 1st sounds better for this type of medium. I'll be 3rd person every now and then.
Anyway! Hope you like. The beginning sounds nothing of SSBM, but you'll see in Chapter 3: Chapter 2.
NOTE 01: Kaibutsu means, in Japanese, wicked creature of abnormal form.
NOTE 02: Hope no one is insulted by me insulting Great America and New Tokyo. But wait! It isn't me! It's Vae! MUAHAHAHA.
NOTE 03: I do not own Super Smash Bros. Melee.
NOTE 04: I hope this doesn't sound like .hack//SIGN, Evangelion, or Big O. But it does, according to my friend.
NOTE 05: I do not own .hack//SIGN, Evangelion, or Big O.
NOTE 06: But on the contrary, I DO own j00, esp. at SSBM.
---
::Prologue::
Great America is shit. Just shit. Ugly, stupid, lying... shit.
My nails had broken after I had gratified the Citadel's wall with the words, "THE COUNCIL MUST FALL" with a rock. Truly, I meant Galend must fall.
Galend is my father. Or at least, that is what everyone says; my so-called mother, and my younger sister. He is never with us, unlike the other men of the families, who work from the break of dawn to sunset trying to rebuild our world, then return to their families. Often times we would get calls from the Council saying my father is missing and wondering if we knew where he could be. Hell if I know. But Galend doesn't work only in daytime. He works at nighttime as well. Therefore, he never returns, and no one ever sees him, excluding my sister.
And the Council.
The Council is the collection of five people that fail to run us properly. My father is one of the Council, actually second in charge. Everyone hates him because he makes very rushed decisions. Well, everyone hates the entire Council. Especially those of us that aren't from Great America.
Great America was once called the United States. But that was a while ago, before, around the 23rd century, we began receiving similar threat notes from various countries, from Europe to Asia to Islands. We confronted them, but they denied all charges, and instead declared they received threat notes from the US, and from other countries as well.
Even countries like China, all though refusing to take any side, were thrown into mayhem. Everyone thought the other was lying, and the world became an arguing bunch of dogs, barking and growling at each other, until somebody's leash broke.
The countries warred for at least ten years. Japan and the US seemed to be on top of everything, but were still in great panic.
They became allies. Together they were stronger, but still scared of what mutinous plans other allies might have decided upon.
Together, they built a dome. The dome that stretched across the sea that used to be the Pacific Ocean, from the western coasts of Japan to the eastern shores of the US. Using the most advanced technology the US and Japan had to offer, the dome was nearly indestructible. We had renamed ourselves; Great America, and New Tokyo.
We lost the allies we kept out of the dome, as well as Alaska and Hawaii state. However it seemed like "Well, we still have each other" was the only thing going through our president's head.
My personal tutor had always said that war was the instinct of man. For a while, I didn't believe him. Men aren't animals. However, he was right.
The loss in imports caused a feud for natural resources between the eastern and western states.
New Tokyo and Great America lived harmoniously and in peace for a while, but wars began erupting again. New Tokyo seemed to have evidence that Great America had made a treaty with China and were going to attack New Tokyo. The Japanese knew the rule of war; that traitors could not ever be trusted. But because the Japanese and the American had built this dome together, they merely insisted that all their people in Great America returned to New Tokyo, and all the Americans in New Tokyo return to Great America. The announcement was agreed to, and although the Council still worked with New Tokyo officials, their remained a thick friction in the air.
Not that the air needed more friction. I mean, honest to God.
Here we come to our next reason why I live... in shit?
Yes, there's more - trash, smoke, and radioactive toxins. Back when bio- degradable trash was put into the earth, un-biodegradable trash was cremated, and the rest was recycled. But now, we have much more limited space, and we are running out of land to bury bio-degradable trash, because they the herbage to replace the trash isn't growing fast enough. Why aren't they growing fast enough? We have a fake sky with artificial sunshine and rainstorms... The un-biodegradable litter we burnt now resides as smoke at the top of the dome, slowly becoming thicker and killing off foliage, not to mention animals. Radioactive toxins are now wasted into the water, as well as more trash.
Yes. That's why Great America is shit.
And now, I've just run way from the Citadel, the governing building of Great America. But I suppose I'm not quite away yet. I can still sit on this rocky, grainy sand-and-trash mound and see the black looming neck of the Citadel. They must have known I'd disappeared, I can see black figures dispensing from the bottom of the Citadel.
Just two days ago I had heard that tomorrow, I would meet the rest of the future Council. More tight-wads with a passion for reading million-page documents. I'm not allowed to have friends or love-interests. I'm just allowed to have partners. Equals. The Council.
Because I am the son of Galend is why they keep such a tight leash on me, and it is that same reason why I'm running away. I'm sick of rules, I'm sick of technology, I'm sick of the servants. I'm sick of seeing my mother and my sister fade away from uselessness and boredom. I'm sick of the duties I must learn to take my father's place.
They'll send dozens of men to find me. I've wasted 13 years of my life memorizing laws and scenarios; precious time to them. Imagine the destruction they could have made in 13 years.
I can only imagine what their saying, in all their insecurities, that I'm running off right now to meet with New Tokyo spies and explain to them everything I've seen. That would be lucky. What am I doing? Let's just say, I'm gonna be doing a lot of swimming. In Kaibutsu- (as the Japanese calls them) infected waters.
Heh... The Council had once told us that the Japanese were training Kaibutsu to attack us from the sea. Heh heh...
Idiots.
I dusted the grainy sand off my pants and ran. Our fake moon, a bright rhinestone gem in the sky, gleamed like a searchlight through the smoke fog. I knew the Citadel was awaiting my capture. The men, though far away, would make quick time. I tried to make it down the sand-and-trash dune upright on my feet, but I met with rocks and tumbled face forward.
There were a lot of sharp, pointy stones on that hill.
My eyes, which were already filled with smoke, were accompanied by a mouth filled with sand.(I hope.) I was thrown forward and went tumbling down. I closed my eyes and put my hands over my head for support.
When I hit (rock) bottom, my arms were deeply cut, they had been covered by a long sleeve blouse, but there were so many rips now, I did nature and ripped one side off. I was cut all along my back and my pants. The wound that hurt the most was a bruise on the back of my head.
Both dazed from the hit on my head and nauseated from the unfiltered air, I limped towards the coast, that seemed only a mile away from the hill. Whomever decided to make the Citadel so far from the coast was a complete and total jerk.
---
::Chapter 1: Escape::
*The moon was a searchlight. Black-dressed men shouted orders and information through pollution fog, scratching and bruising themselves on large rocks and stones as they barely managed to slide down sand dunes, only to land on piles of litter.
A young boy scrambled past what was left of a desert bush and deeply gashed his hand against a sharp boulder. Sand filled his mouth, smoke filled his eyes. His heart beat loudly as he heard men not far away stumbling over rocks. The shone flashlights all around him. Stumbling through the grainy sand, he flung himself over the next sandy hill and tumbled down, receiving thin cuts all over his arms and face. They ran pass on the other side, their guns rattling. He was sure the thunderous beating of his heart would give him away, but his heart stayed loyal. After the noises seemed to disappear, he climbed back up, hoisting himself over rocks. There he sat down, blood leaking onto his sleeves, staring back from which he ran. A dark, eerie building seemed to await his capture.*
I shouldn't have stopped. They're right on me! The citadel... it's so far away right now. But really not far enough. The Pacific sea is getting close...
Suddenly, I hear thunder, and I look up. Our sky is a series of panels displaying the same consecutive weather... it's like a checkerboard, with broken panels that display only black. Faulty or not, it still rains.
And rain hard it does today.
The footsteps were disappearing, and I waited till they faded completely before I began to move. Helicopter blades still whirled, but they were far away.
So I continue walking. Yes, it's dark.
I'm cold. Maybe I should try and knock out a soldier and... Yeah, like I could knock out a soldier. But I need dry, warm clothes, I need something to protect me from whatever's in the sea, and for crying out loud, I NEED THE FLASHLIGHT.
The rain has really soaked through all my clothes. The soldiers will probably give up searching for me and continue tomorrow. Maybe I'll still be alive.
I can barely see in front of me, but the moon gleams on the waters and reflects everywhere. It's coming up, and I begin running, holding my arms for warmth.
I'm gonna get ill.
But I hear more thundering, louder than that of the rain on the sea. It sounds like droplets on... metal. I run up to the peak of a hill. I'm sure that since I'm so high up I could almost feel zephyrs, but we don't bother recreate wind in the dome.
Across the sea, I can just barely see New Tokyo. It's dark, but bright lights from the highest skyscrapers light the waters. It's pretty bright here, to be honest, and finally I can see.
As I search the coast for a place to rest from the rain, I sneeze, loudly. Something grumbles in the water, making bubbles rise to the surface, pushing away trash.
I move.
In the near distance, I see a dark looming... shack. Oh God, thank you.
As I near it the thundering gets louder, from the droplets on the metal roof. It was half hidden by a sea cliff side, and had the same color as the dirt. Camouflage, maybe?
Who cares. I'm cold. My nose is running, and rubbing it with a wet sleeve only makes it worse.
Something about this shack is very simple. It's small, without windows. I try the handle, but something beeps three times, almost angrily. Locked.
I pulled down my left-hand sleeve to beyond my elbow, so it would stay put. It was wet, and the cuff ripped, but I figured since my other arm's sleeve was completely gone, it didn't really matter.
On my forearm was my Assistant, a long band with a screen. "Astra." I had named her after my 'sister'. "Astra." The signal was fuzzy and the screen was wet, but she was okay.
"Hello, Vae. You've got mail from your mother." I re-programmed Astra so I could only receive mail from my mother and my sister, as well as took out the chip that lets the Council track my Assistant.
"Save it for later, Astra. I've got a job for you." I only cared if it was from Astra. Only she would understand. That's why I love her so much.
"Oh really? Hacking? You know that's ille-"
"Take a second to look at me right now." I said, pushing away heavy, damp hair from my eyes. "Do you think I care?"
"No, not really. Okay, what is it?" She began opening up files in windows.
"It's a lock." I pulled out her cord and hooked it up with the number pad below the handle.
"Oh, that's not too hard. Is it banded by handle or banded by door?"
I stepped closer to look. It was in shadow, so I couldn't really see, but I could feel where the strength of the weak door was focused as I knocked it at four intervals.
"Looks like only handle. The handle is... 46f." I said, peering behind the bar handle.
"Okay... Please wait." Below her appeared the loading bar, filling with green quickly.
"Done." With that, the door swung open with a satisfying click. I pulled her cord out recklessly and ran in, shutting the door behind me.
"Lights." I commanded, and the lights went on, with a familiar whirr of motor. The room was almost completely empty, excluding a single office chair in the back corner, and a large box on the floor next to it. I was glad to be out of the rain, but I kind of expected more in there. It may be unrealistic, but maybe a blanket, maybe food.
"Find anything out about the room?" I asked Astra.
"It's been opened lately, without hacking." She reported, making sure to bring forth the hacking prospect. I chose to ignore it.
"Yeah, yeah. I don't want to be disturbed, so change the password. Put it on full security, as well." I hooked the cable to the light control, then went across the room to sit down in the chair, stretching the cable.
This would have to be home for now. It was lucky that I had a sufficient shelter.
"Alright. Done." She said. "Do you want to view the message NOW?"
I hit a button and the cable slapped back, then waved my free hand. I sneezed, and wiped it on my pants. "No, leave it. I know what mom has to say. That she loves me, that she wants me to come home. That if I make it to New Tokyo, I should be careful."
Astra looked away from my gaze. "I wish you didn't leave the Citadel. What about food? Hygiene? Who knows what New Tokyo will do to you."
"If I stay low, I may be able to blend in. Silver hair is popular with the Japanese these days. Maybe I'll say I'm half Japanese, half American."
"But what about the Pacific sea?"
There, I had lost. I didn't know what to do. I kicked back the chair, so it creaked at the accordion joints. I closed my eyes and rubbed them. From the exhaustion, I began to laugh. Astra looked at me like I had gone insane.
"Maybe I'll find myself one of those Kaibutsu and ride it to the other side." I rubbed my eyes, and bundled up. I looked down to the floor. I really had no idea what to do.
There was the box.
It was open, and even cardboard. How old was this thing? I picked it up, and pulled something out.
It was a video game visor. "What is this doing out here?" I asked, looking over it.
There was already a cartridge in it, so I pulled it out. 'UberSSBM', it said. It was old, and the label was ripped and worn.
"Doesn't..." Astra began, looking over it.
"...Astra play it?" I ended the question.
I remember, when I was younger, when I was done with studying and Astra was home from work, we would play together. Sometimes, when we would play Prince and Princess, she would pretend it was snowing. Astra always wanted to see the snow. Along with wind, there is also no snow. "Wind and snow is pointless. It does not bring us any product, like rain and sunshine." My tutor would say. But then Astra would argue, saying that snow would bring us joy and entertainment. She would get angry and cry, then hide in the closets and play UberSSBM.
"I'm gonna play it." I decided.
Astra shook her head. "I can't let you. You don't know what's in there."
I shrugged. "Come on. If Astra played it, it must be okay. She used to hide for hours, so it must have been fun."
"I think you should get some sleep first." Astra scolded. What was she, my mother?
"Oh come on, it's just like sleeping." I said, as I had already had the visor on my head. I kicked back, placing the base of my feet against the wall.
"Fine, but I'm coming." She demanded. I pulled the cord and hooked it up with the visor.
"Okay, okay. But make sure to stay half here, so you can pull me out if somebody comes." I don't think Astra heard me... she was already gone, as I was soon to follow.