/ Welcome to Omni Network News! "Giving you all the news of Rubi-ka. Your world, our world, Omni-Tek's world." We now take you to Borealis live with Irik Kiremba/

"Tensions are high here in Borealis, only a scant few days since the destruction of Rome and Athens." Tired and wary the reporter, unsuccessfully trying to look nonchalant, gave a quick glance over his shoulder. "Even in this supposedly neutral city, brawls and scuffles have been taking place frequently over the recent violence."

For reasons unseen, people scramble frantically in the background creating a great commotion. "With the Clans surprising blitzkrieg capture of large swaths of notum rich fields and territory it's only a matter of time before this war comes to Borealis and many are wondering how to react."

Kiremba's eyes grow to saucer size as an air raid siren begins its sad wail. He whirls around as the report of gunfire echoes behind him. The camera rocks violent and crashes to the ground as an explosion throws the unseen cameraman.

"Oh my god! Dave, you alright!?!" The camera lying on its side captures the image of Kiremba from the waist down. Kiremba starts to head for the cameraman but halts turning to his left. A sound of heavy armor clanks against the hard-crete street heading toward Kiremba.

"Wait! I'm just a reporter! I have fami-"Another report of gunfire accompanied by the sound of splattering flesh. A disturbing thud is Kiremba's last sound, now only his feet and spreading pool of blood and urine are in the camera's field of view. Two feet clad in Clan-colored armor clank into view, one foot raises slowly out of view toward the camera.

"Omni-scum" The transmission ends.

Anarchy Online/EverQuest

Reality Storms

Ch.3: Steps of Madness

The Holo-map floated serenely in front of Chairman Ross. It was the only thing serene this day. The Clan's advance was breathtaking. Hundreds of kilometers now fell under there grasp. Untold billions of credits worth of notum now under the Clan's grasp...the bloody CLAN!

Omni-Tek projections were never wrong, not in the all the years since their inception. However unknown variables did change the scenario. The Clans were Omni-Tek institutions to control the moral of the population; they had no real power that wasn't Omni-Tek provided. That meant the clans were receiving outside help, a blatantly obvious conclusion.

The real question was who; who was aiding the clans? The ICC customs garrison of Rubi-Ka and the Rubi-kan system was a joke; it was a simple matter to get around it. The Omni-Tek blockade...well that was a different matter. Even so, it would be foolish and downright stupid to think it was perfect; the Clan's advance flew in the face of that.

So, who was adding variables to the equation? Sol-Bank? En-Gen? Inodyne? The list of corporate enemies was too numerous to contemplate. In any case, that wasn't really possible. The technology, the style, the intangible feel, of the Clan advance was not corporate, it was almost alien. Yes. That was it. The Clans had another race or type of beings backing them. It was the only logical answer, a conclusion Chairman Ross had come to at the start of hostilities.

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Surprisingly, it took almost all of Karasir's considerable muscle power to hold back the angry ranger. Even though his shoulder was severely injured by the foreigner's weapons, the ranger's rage filled his body with incredible strength. Fueled by an intense fury the ranger's shouts filled the halls of Felwithe Castle.

"Out of my way, Karasir! I'm going to put that wench out of her misery!"

"Hold yourself!" Karasir growled, throwing the elven ranger back. "That girl is the clue we need to discover what's going on in our lands!"

"What does it matter? We will drive them off with our might! Have you faith in the Rangers of Faydwer?"

Karasir's features softened as grim thoughts came into his mind. "In normal times my faith in the rangers is unshaken...but did you see what they did to Crushbone? In a mere night they devastated the Orc population. That girl could have killed you and the rest of the party if she chose too! She purposely chose to disable rather then kill. So hold your anger, for those that really need it. "

The ranger let a roar of frustration and struck the marble wall with a furious fist. He gave Karasir a final scowl, then exited the room. The cleric tending to Cliri, let out a relieved sigh. "Can't say I blame the lad."

"Neither do I Shedemei. How is our guest anyway?"

"The wound from the arrow was healed easily with Tunare's light, but her mind... It is a different story. This poor girl... I couldn't even fathom what nightmare she suffers to make her thrash so."

Cliri's body writhed in agony, the leather restraints cutting into her flesh; so hard she thrashed. She screamed horribly in her delirium, her foreign tongue making it all the more painful for Karasir and Shedemei to listen to.

"LEAT MEEY GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" the cry begged echoing throughout Felwithe castle.

Shut up you little bi- The shock from the blow muted his cursing from her ears. Not that it made any difference, more blows fells on her face and chest. Then, she felt that terrible searing pain ripping through her groin.

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The Holo flickered then stabilized just in time to catch a glimpse of a decidedly round, bare feminine rear scampering out of the pickup. A man in his early 60's growled unhappily into the pickup "Who in the blue hell- Ross? You old Reet, I have a good mind to come down there and thrash you. You know this channel is highly restricted and not to mention for emergencies only."

"This is an emergency Darith. So put on your pants and behave like an Admiral should."

"Tsk. That Clan thing has certainly got a burr in your saddle."

"Yes, so much so that I am calling in my marker"

Admiral Darith's eyes grew wide and he smiled. "'Bout bloody time, I was getting tired of you holding that little 'incident' over my head."

"All the data you need has already been transferred to you computer. I expect you to get to work within the day."

Darith's fingers ran over the holo-keyboard as he glanced over the mission files. "You're insane Ross! I know I owe you but, this is type of action requires the authorization of Omni-Prime!"

"You and I both know that as long as I reside here on Rubi-Ka, Omni-Tek is mine. He who controls the notum, controls the Galaxy." Ross said with a sly smile.

Darith frowned "You have been reading way too much classical literature" Despite the joke, the statement was true. Notum was the lifeblood of the Galaxy, regardless of what the ICC declared. Without it all the colonies would revert to corporate feudalism.

"Alright, consider it done."

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(Music fade in: "Dope Nose by Weezer")

Code streamed up the holo display, a small girl of Asian descent giggled at the flow of symbols and notations. To the rhythm of the blaring music from the computer, her fingers fly through the display, code sections being deleted or being overwritten. The girl smiled with satiation and saved the newly compiled code. The file name "Enfraam's Perfected Fortification...with new Izgimmer upgrades!" blinked several times in the upper corner signaling transmission.

(Music switch "Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm")

"File Received by EnfraamJobeLaboratories.sci.rk" The computer spoke in a rich baritone. The door chimed and an equally deep voice came through the greeter. "Bronto Burger!"

The girl cheered, it was time to celebrate with her favorite victory meal. Two all Bronto patties, mayo lettuce, cheese, tomato, pickle, onion all on sesame seed bun with dash of cinnamon! Her mouth watered as she dashed for the door and triggered the dilator. In her mind she could smell the burger already, so much so she never smelled the chloroform invading her lungs.

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(Music Cue "Yeah!" by Usher)

The music blasted through the air, it throbbed painfully through the Clan warrior's power armor. The youth surrounding him writhed hypnotically to the beats. With Borealis just recently pacified, things were slowly returning to normal, if there was such a thing. A hash driven rave spilled out from alleyways onto the main streets, multi-colored strobes and careless pyro adding to the driving sensations. A particularly attractive Opifex female flowed toward the Clan warrior, sliding and pressing against the cool metal. The Clansman seriously debated abandoning his post for this seductive creature. His helmet released its anchor to the suit; the air was permeated with the sweat and musk.

An immense flash filled the night air, a corridor of light streamed from the heavens carving through the land outlying Borealis. The light carved the earth, scorching all it touched. With a thunderous crack, a supersonic aerospace fighter boomed across the sky, a small object detaching. The rave was definitely finished, youth scrambled to and fro in understandable panic. As they trampled each other seeking shelter, the small object began to speak in a highly amplified bass.

"This is Admiral Darith of the Omni-Tek Dreadnought 'Return on Investment' as ofthe conclusion of this broadcast, all Clan faction members are hereby ordered to surrender. You have 30 minutes to comply or face annihilation. Your free lunch is over."

(Music Switch: Fly by Loudmouth 'Varsity Blues Soundtrack')

Miles above Borealis, just scraping the Rubi-Kan atmosphere the kilometers long craft hovered. Bays as large housing projects, opened along the dirtside-facing bulkhead. Inside the scamper of techs dissipated as the mammoth humanoid machina began to 'wake'.

Soon, only one tech remained, testing the last few clamps and diodes of the squad leader's machina. The squad leader took these last few moments of peace to reflect, before boarding the elegant monstrosity.

"Chu think de will listen to de Admiral, mon?" the tech asked through his heavy accent.

"I hope not. I hate to be the one that has to put away all the gear they crammed in." He said shoving miscellaneous junk out of his control seat.

"Tink de packed extra socks?"

"Heh, yeah and the family Christmas picture." They both laughed and knuckle to knuckle touched gloves.

"Crash and burn, mon"

"Crash and burn" With a thumbs up from the tech, the last machina was rotated out into position over the open port.

Time passed lazily, as the warriors waited, observing the scenery meandering beneath them. Then the speakers crackled with a heavy accent.{Metal Warrioraz! Chour express elevator to Rubi-Ka iz going down!}

With a sharp clank and the last umbilical of safety to the 'Investment' was cut. The machina hovered in free fall for a few glorious seconds and then gravity gave them a fresh rush of adrenaline. The machina's were engulfed in flames as they punched into Rubi-kan atmosphere.

From the streets of Borealis, it looked like a spectacular meteor shower. Dozens and dozens of the fireballs coursed from the sky. Just a scant distance from the surface, the meteors abruptly slowed and changed direction before slamming into the earth. As the dust settled, it became obvious to all the inhabitants that whatever was done unto Omni-Tek was returned ten fold.

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(Music Cue. "Cliri's Requiem" Melody from 'Stan' by Eminem and Dido )

The lock to the room as easy enough to pick. Whether they were really trying to keep Cliri prisoner or not, never concerned her. Her mind pulsed in agony, things long suppressed returned out of the dissipating hash-haze. The rain outside the castle was coming down in a steady torrent; there was sharp crack of lightning.

"LEEEEET MEE GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Lightening flashed outside the room, seemingly in time to his angry blows. What did she ever do?

"Shut up you little bi-"The shock from the blow muted his cursing from her ears. Not that it made any difference, more blows fells on her face and chest. Then she felt that terrible searing pain ripping through her groin. She screamed and screamed until he beat her to unconsciousness, her face mangled, teeth shattered.

Another flash of lightning and a sense of disorientation as Cliri fell down the stairs of Felwithe Castle. With a terrible crash she hit the bottom.

Everything was a blur of red and black. One eye swelled shut the other leaking with blood. It was all she could do to keep upright, nonetheless she fell down the fire escape stairs. Even as she felt another bone snap, the girl felt relief that she had escaped that dark warehouse.

Felwithe Castle passed by in flashes as Cliri stumbled through. Bottles clanked and cracked their contents spilling as Cliri lurched into the wine cellar, cool smoky liquid flowed across her lips.

Years passed in the form of one thing or another: Alcohol, patches, stims, anything to take it away. The pain never left; always, that face was ingrained into the front of her mind. She wasn't entirely sure if it was real or a delusion when that face filled her scope. Older and without that foul, scratching beard but it was him.

He stood outside a large generic OT housing project, smoking, loitering around. As he took a puff, he thought he had just been punched terribly hard in his groin. Doubling over, his mouth fell agape as both sight and pain of the bloody hole in his crotch registered in his mind. Even from a half a mile away his scream was like a cool wave upon the girl's ears.

He tried to stand, to seek help but a second bullet exploded into his left shoulder. The impact collapsed him against the building in so much agony not another gasp escaped his lips. There he lay propped up as a figure slowly approached out of the distance. She was Asian, long black hair passing over her shoulders just covering her bust. As the girl came closer she removed a pistol from her cloak and fired two silenced shots. His screaming was refreshed as the rounds severed a foot, blood gushing from his ruined leg.

She mounted him, feeling the blood on her thighs as it spewed from his groin, before shoving a hand into the gaping wound. Flashes of memories, that terrible tearing, bloody pain as she was ripped open. His screams sounding like echoes in her mind of that day, she returned every agony to this man.

The girl removed a small holo-disk, the label of Omni-Insurance emblazoned on it. Her eyes linked with his shrouded in coldness. The man could barely take it all in as the girl crushed the disk, his backup and any chance of surviving gone.

"Who are you!?! Why are you doing this! " He croaked through his agony.

"Who am I!?! WHO AM I!?!" She roared, her pistol smashing into his face, bone and teeth splintering under the blows.

"I am all of the girls you raped and murdered you bastard!" His one good eye grew wide with shock. "Cassandria!" "Lorelei!" With every girl's name she struck him hard and harder. "Irulan!" "Renee!!" "IZGIMMER!" C.l.i.r.i. drove another fist into his groin.

"That is who I am!"

He was delirious with pain as he begged for his life. Spinning tales about how he'd changed and was atoning for his past sins: becoming a priest among the local Jesuits; a daughter in school, how he was to pick her up. Lies, all lies, said to save his pathetic life. Regardless, something seemed to touch Cliri. She stood up staring at the blood on the ground and on her clothes. He pled again for his life. She gazed down at his ruined form almost staring through him. "I'll spare you" and Cliri began to walk away.

Even with his destroyed and pain wracked body, he was grateful and thanked her as she grew more and more distant. Then she called back to him. "I lied." The bullet snapped through his head and sprayed blood and gore one final time upon the building wall.

The pistol fell to the ground as Cliri walked away in a daze of mixed feelings. Behind her, her ears registered the sound of a school bell ringing and doors opening. Children screaming in horror, then above it all a girl's shrill voice cut through the noise. "PAPA!!!"

Cliri continued walking away.

It wasn't until the cooks where about to prepare the King's midmorning cocktail that the foreigner was discovered. Amidst dozens of drained bottles of spirits and mead, the foreigner lay collapsed, her face impassive in drunken sleep.

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End of Chapter 3

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Melody for Cliri's Requiem "Stan" by Eminem and Dido"

My tea's gone cold i'm wondering why i..
Got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window..
And i can't see at all
And even if i could it'll all be gray,
But your picture on my wall
It reminds me, that it's not so bad,
It's not so bad..