Prendera IL Primo Volo Verso IL Sole Il Grande Uccello…
Sorvolando IL Grande Monte Ceceri…
Riempendo L'Universo Di Stupore E Gloria…
Una Volta Che Avrai Spiccato IL Volvo…
Allora Deciderai… Sguardo Verso IL Ciel Saprai…
Li A Casa IL Cuore Sentirai…
Chapter 20 = Mythos and Legends
A dark and cloudy sky greeted the sprawling Mega City below, millions looked up as metallic birds of the sky flew overhead in tight 'V' formations.
"No matter how many are saved… it will never be enough…"
Without a signal all of them started letting multiple drop pods below them, letting them fall to the ground to land where they would.
"War is inevitable and forever… as long as there is something to be gained…"
The drop pods pummeled into the ground, into buildings, into parks and even parked cars. As they landed their metal sides burst open revealing metallic canines and metal lizards that walked on two legs. Below the metal birds, which uncaringly flew in circles, continuing to drop more pods as screams and shouts rose.
"In order for one to take… someone must give…"
People tried to run, to escape, but every turn the metal creatures appeared and glared at them, turning their weapons and firing without care with blue bolts of light. Roars of triumph erupted as the day went on, and the blood began to drain.
"Until the cycle is broken… it will continue…"
A metal lizard screamed to the sky as the rain came down, blotting the ground with tiny hopes to wash away the blood, but the stains on their bodies did not go away. So coated were they that their metallic gleams became dulled like rusted copper. It turned and stared with a red eye that pierced with clarity.
"One is all it takes to tip the scale… toward destruction… or creation…"
(Jeremy's PoV)
*Gasp*
His eyes snapped open as he sat up instantly, clutching the standard base blanket his room had in fear as he breathed heavily and looked around.
He continued to breath heavily as he started to calm down from the dream he just had, having had similar dreams to it over the past few days.
"Just a dream… relax Jeremy, it can't hurt you, doesn't mean anything." He muttered to himself. "It's just your subconscious sending strange signals resulting in meaningless images… your dreams mean 'nothing'."
He shook his head and put his feet on the heated floor, his room being given special heating for his needs because otherwise he would freeze in his room at night.
[Good morning Jeremy… you woke up one hour, seven minutes and fifty-two seconds earlier than expected.] Sentinel declared.
"Yea well… it happens… so what's on the agenda today?" He said standing up and stretching.
[The first item involves the maintenance cycle of fifteen drones requesting routine maintenance work.]
"That's not a major priority, skip that, next?" He said while putting his clothes on.
[You are scheduled in seven hours for your weekly medical checkup with the EMA, following your surgical procedure it is recommended you arrive on time.]
"Next?" He said, knowing that Ema wasn't going to let him off the hook.
[AI Aelita is watching a news cast that she wishes you to see at this time… beginning play.]
Instantly the viewscreen turned on and he saw that Aelita was watching a discussion on ZNN, they were still talking about the attack against his carriage even a week after the incident. There were some protests still by some mammals who were 'still' scared by him and his drones, but for the most part mammals were on his side. He had been attacked, and now that the event was in the past mammals were talking in detail about how everything went, like what they were talking about now.
"And despite what 'some' mammals may think, those drones did not act aggressively, far be it they acted purely defensively!" An old Badger was saying wearing what looked like a police uniform with multiple decorations on it. "When you're in the SWAT, there is no time for 'please' and 'thank you', the first thing we have to do is protect the general public at large, evacuate civilians from the area, set up perimeters, and quickly stop those mammals who mean harm and are extremely dangerous. And we see it with how they acted, watch from the moment they first appear!"
He turned to the screen behind him and the newscaster as it showed in slow motion the drones approaching in line formations, before splitting up to establish their own perimeter. Meanwhile a DOG drone walked in carrying a tray of his 'nutritional supplement' for the morning to eat.
[Your breakfast Unit Jeremy.] It stated.
"Thank you…" He replied, taking it and returning his attention to the screen.
"Moment they appear, they instantly go and set up their own perimeter, but unlike ours 'theirs' actually protects 'everymammal' outside, and there is no risk of harm from stray bullets. Now because they are 'machines' they don't have to worry about being harmed, so they can do what normal SWAT and officers can't do and that is directly confront the assailants. Pay attention because this is important… watch how they 'react'… to being shot at."
The recording showed the drones not attempting to dodge the bullets, simply shrugging them off and then activating their weapons while he ate his breakfast. Tasteless as it is, he still had to eat it.
"They draw their weapons, this is normal, officers are supposed to draw weapons 'only' if they must, such as if they are being shot at… and unlike our officers, these drones don't instantly shoot their targets… instead…" The badger said as the drones started firing on the vehicles. "They target the vehicle; they could have leveled that building with their level of firepower. Heck they could have 'killed' the Hostage Takers in the first volley, and they had the right to because they were shot at first, 'and' Jeremy was being attacked. Instead they show massive restraint, only targeting their getaway vehicle and even 'after' being shot at with an RPG, they still don't pull the trigger."
"For all the fear they inspire, for all the damage they can do, they show greater restraint and control of the situation than most officers would have in situations like this. An officer might pull the trigger in this situation, justified or not, and it may cost somemammal their life. But 'even' after they finally decide to go in and subdue the hostage takers, they 'still', restrain their weapons and no matter how barbaric we may see it as… they don't kill them, in fact their medical drone tends to their injuries…"
He sighed as he finished eating and handed the tray back to the drone, which took it and marched out while he headed out of his room.
"Well at least 'most' don't fear the drones." He said as he walked. "Sentinel, anything else on the list?"
[ANTs performing routine inspections have located several obsolete drones in Drone Storage Bay Gama 3, in one of the lower levels. They have also located a cache of utility tools and weapons in the same storage room. As they are all marked for decommissioning ACC is requesting authorization to begin salvaging and decommissioning for materials and components.]
"Obsolete drones? Specify please."
[Unknown, ACC has not finished scanning them to compile a complete manifest for your inspection.]
"Well, let's go check down there after a visit with Ema." He said as he walked to the medical bay, hoping to shock the drone with his arrival.
Five minutes later he walked into the medical bay.
[Oh wow, my optics must be malfunctioning because this is the first time you've ever arrived 'early' for a medical checkup.] Ema said as she watched him enter while examining some vials.
"I know, big surprise… shall we?" He asked.
[Your early by several hours, but it won't make much of a difference to your routine checkup schedule.] She stated as she put what she was doing on hold to step over to him. [Very well, shirt off, on the table…]
He did as she asked, sitting on the table and moving as directed, letting her take vitals and samples to examine all while scanning his body with leg and optics.
[Well… everything is normal for the most part… but your systems are once again out of sync.] She muttered. [Now that your body has grown accustomed to 'solid food and liquids' it's not taking kindly to being forced to intake the nutritional supplements of the base. Your stomach is clenching more often correct?]
"Yes, it rumbles indicating hunger…"
[That will settle down in a few days once your body becomes accustomed to the nutritional supplements again.] She stated before pressing one of her legs into his stomach and injecting him with a pinkish liquid. [This will help calm the urges and relax your stomach muscles. Once you return to living with Gazelle and return to eating solid food and drink again, your body will return to normal. Speaking of your body, your shoulder has recovered nicely from the surgery, as far as I'm concerned you have a clean bill of health.]
"Thanks." He replied quietly.
[What's wrong Jeremy?] She asked almost instantly.
"Nothing." He replied.
Before he could get up, she wrapped a leg around him and turned his face to stare into her optics. [Jeremy, we both know that when a patient replies with 'nothing' it usually means 'something'. Or did you forget your medical class revolving around patient psychology following a traumatic experience both to the patient's body and mind prior to a surgical procedure?]
"It's nothing, alright." He repeated.
There was a moment of silence before she unwrapped her leg and stepped away. [As you say, you're the human after all.]
"It's just I don't know what I should do now Ema." He admitted. "Part of me thinks I should just stay down here… if I keep helping and someone else wants to stop me like whoever hired those mammals to attack me, what's to stop them from doing something else but to mammals who I'm close to? Just to send a message…"
"But at the same time, I want to keep helping, there's so much I can do. Yet if I'm not careful I'm afraid I'll do more harm than good, like what happened before."
He sighed as he thought about that, he was tempted, very tempted to just tell Ema to cure all diseases, catalog the cures and vaccines, send the chemical formulas to Mayor Lioness and then lock up the base so that nobody could go in or out, and just let 'nature' take its course. He didn't want to risk anymore lives with his actions, no matter how good intentioned.
[Jeremy.] Ema said, making him look up. [No matter what you decide, we will obey. The drones will steal enough food to keep you sustained for the rest of your life if that is what you wish, and we will lockdown the facility so that no mammal will be able to enter even if three hundred years pass. Sentinel will even send a message stating that any forced entry will result in retaliation. However…] She said before turning to the vials of liquid she was working on before. [it would be a pathetic end to your species, if you just hid away underground. But don't let me stop you, I'll let you decide our course of action. Until then, I've got to finish analyzing this disease sample that bears a striking genetic resemblance to the Measles.]
He chuckled before turning to leave. "You have a point Ema."
[Course I do, I'm your doctor, now listen to me for once!] She yelled.
As he made his way to the lower levels, he got the surprise sight of Judy and Nick walking toward him under the escort of a FOX drone, with the FOX walking behind them and keeping a very close eye on them.
"Nick, Judy, what brings you two here?"
"Chief asked us to visit you to make sure you were okay." Nick said as he sauntered over to shake his hand. "You've been gone for over a week and nomammal's heard a word of you since."
"As Nick said, we came here to see how you were doing, drones kindly let us in."
"After… they took all our weapons… and tagged us with an escort." He muttered as he nodded at the drone behind them.
"Alright, I'll take it from here FOX unit." He said to the drone, to which it glanced between him and them before nodding and walking away. "FOX drones are always suspicious, don't blame them."
"Yea I kind of figured that, though wondering why they picked a 'fox' of all things instead of a dog or raptor." Nick muttered.
"So, what are you up to down here?" Judy asked as she looked at all of the metal of the base.
"I was on my way down to the lower levels to check something that Sentinel found, apparently some old obsolete drones and a few other things that were marked for decommissioning." He said as he walked toward a lift. "Care to join?"
"And miss checking out the place that nearly killed me and still gives me nightmares to this day?" Nick said with a fake sigh of disappointment. "Sure, why not."
"Say Jeremy… can we see the Solar Core?" Judy asked quickly. "I only saw it through Nick's phone… but can I see it with my own eyes?"
"Sure thing." He said.
With that decided he guided them to the Solar Core room, past the drones guarding it, and entered the massive chamber into the bright and warm room where they could oversee it from the platform. Judy instantly hopped to the edge and stared in awe at the ball of orange and fire below her, while he and Nick joined her to look at it.
No matter how many times he looked down at it, the Solar Core's beauty still made him feel warm both inside and outside. The gentle spinning core as it lit the entire room so that it felt like broad daylight, warming it like a beautiful summer's day with not a cloud to be found. Though he knew the dangers and risks it could bring, should it ever explode, the core's existence gave him a sense of calm and serenity.
It just sat there, warming and lighting the world around it… so long as it was left alone and cared for, gave all his home would ever need.
"It's beautiful Jeremy…" Judy whispered. "It feels like I'm back home in Bunny Burrow."
"Yea… it has that effect." He replied. "My species made it out of desperation… but even as beautiful as it is, it is very dangerous if not taken care of."
"How can something so beautiful be so dangerous?" Judy asked, looking to him in confusion. "I mean, sure you made it sound destructive, but looking at it here it doesn't look like it would hurt a mouse."
"Because it's safely protected by the drones and this facility." He replied. "Before anyone could harm the core, they must first break into the base, and then bypass all of the drones, the turret defenses, the lockouts and other defenses Sentinel would put into effect, get through the drones and turrets that are always guarding the door… break 'into' the core chamber… and then finally threaten the core itself."
"In other words, it would take a lot." Nick said with a smirk. "Or an AI like Sentinel going berserk."
"Yea… but at least that won't happen anymore." He replied as they left.
As they made their way down to the lower levels Judy kept asking random questions about stuff they passed by. She asked about the lifts, asked if the drones were ever cops in the past, asked how he ate down here, how everything was powered and how it was all kept warm or cooled. She filled the time it took to actually reach the drone storage bay.
"Alright ACC, let's see what you found." He said as the door to the bay opened up.
Instantly they were met by a dark and angular head that glared at them silently, with a sharpened beak and large head.
"Gaah!" Judy screamed as she and Nick jumped back in fear.
"Oh, it's an old MK 2 HARRIER Drone." He said in surprise.
The Harrier drone, or 'Homing Aerodynamic Rapid Redeployment Intelligent Engagement Recon Drone, was a large fighter jet that came equipped with a Category 2 AI, but was also capable of being piloted directly, via its cockpit or by a visor which linked up to the drone's AI. The drone itself resembled a bird of prey, specifically a hawk, with talon feet to allow it to walk if need be. Yet where it truly shined was as a deployment carrier, able to release drop pods that could carry drones into the middle of a fight, and engage other aerial units.
For convenience his species designed the MK 2 HARRIERS so that they could be taken apart and put together at a moment's notice, both to replace any damaged sections with non-damaged sections of other destroyed HARRIERs. It also helped that their large wings could fold inward for storage purposes.
"It's offline… right?" Judy asked fearfully.
"Oh yea, it's offline, I knew there were some still down here I just didn't think they would be fully intact. Figured we had dismantled all of em to a degree." He said as he led the way past the drone.
Even unpowered and in standby mode, the drone's massive profile was to be respected. While the head was roughly small the body was hollow to allow people or drones to be carried in the sky, while its underside had clamps to latch onto multiple drop pods. The wings were folded in, so they only saw the ends, but the ends had two built in early magnetic repulsion units to enable it to lift off the ground vertically. The rear were multiple plasma-fusion propulsion units for fast movement, enabling it to reach speeds exceeding Mach Ten.
"These things were used during the war as both fighters and carriers, dropping off forces into firefights and even launching early attacks with drones in Drop Pods." He explained as they passed a second HARRIER. "As things got worse, they developed drones that could be more easily repaired, so all HARRIER drones were built the same way, and it became a common practice to secure any fallen Harriers so that it's sections could be used to replace or repair any damaged section of their Harrier. By the end of the war there were very few Harriers which had all of its sections still intact."
"You humans just love doing crazy things, don't you?" Nick chuckled.
"Nick!" Judy muttered.
As they neared the rear of the storage bay, they found three upside-down spider drones with their legs curled inward for storage and in the form of silvery spheres.
"Well I'll be… it's a bunch of old GPG Spider Drones." He said, recognizing them from his old lessons. "General Purpose Goliath Spider Drones, in case you were wondering."
"Does every drone have an acronym?" Judy asked as she touched the silvery spheres one at a time.
"The Spider Drones were among the more varied type with the various nations." He said. "Ema is an Emergency Medical Augmenter 'Black Widow' Spider Drone, but every advanced nation had their own variety because the spider form was so versatile and useable."
"So, what do these do?" Nick asked now, tapping the spheres with a hand.
"Well… a lot really, but the Goliath line were more often used for emergency response, like say helping with police or firefighters. But they were phased out long before the Solar Cores came to be… I'm surprised my base had even three still sitting around. Probably were marked for decommissioning and nobody got around to it."
"Why's that, they look pretty shiny and new to me." Judy asked.
"For starters they guzzle energy like there's no tomorrow." He chuckled as they left the Goliath Spiders behind. "The same energy that powers a single RAPTOR for three days would only last a Goliath about four to six hours. They needed so much to keep going because they were such early drone designs. Even after being refitted they could only go about eight hours a day before needing a recharge or a power cell swap."
They went to the other section of the bay where there were several shelves sitting. On one were hundreds of visors, while on the other…
"Uh… Jeremy?" Judy asked quietly as she and Nick recognized the obvious.
"Yep… they're firearms." He replied sadly. "Some Plasma Rifles, a few Gauss Cannons, Long Ranged Plasma Snipers, Electro-bolt Pistols…"
"I'm guessing don't go near, right?" Nick muttered respectably.
"Yea, those are to be decommissioned instantly." He said before breathing loudly. "Sentinel, mark everything on Shelf G-T-2 and G-T-1 for decommissioning, alert ACC to begin breaking them down for materials."
[Action confirmed, ANTs will begin deconstruction and salvaging operations within seventeen standard minutes.]
"Good, I don't want 'any' weapons down here." He muttered as they walked over to the other shelf marked G-T-3.
"So, what are these?" Judy asked.
"Visors, they are used for multiple purposes, but their primary role is to directly control the drones' actions." He explained as he picked one up. "Hey Sentinel, can you send a single RAPTOR down here please?"
[Request approved, unit TK-421 en route.]
After he disconnected it and turned it on, placing the visor on his head he smiled as he saw that everything still worked perfectly. He saw the hud that said there were zero active visors nearby to interact with, and that there were no other programs to activate. Everything had been reset to the factory conditions, leaving only the visual sharing feature and the manual drone override control function available.
"Good everything still works." He said as TK-421 marched up to them. "Watch this you two, this is how the visor works."
"Drone, sync yourself with my visor!"
[Synchronizing…] It declared.
He smirked as it began to sync with the visor and then upon completion began to show off the visor's control over the drone to the two mammal officers. "Alright let's give it a test run… I've always wanted to do this!"
He made the drone first crouch down before jumping as high as it's frame could go, then he tucked the drone's body inward and had it cartwheel to a standing position. After that he had them giggling and laughing as the drone started walking on its front arms, albeit with difficulty, and then back into a standing position to do a pose.
"How are you doing that?" Judy asked with mirth as she and Nick were laughing their tails off.
"The visor reads and translates the subtle electrical patterns going off in my brain, enabling it to read my 'thoughts' in a way." He said as he turned to them while the drone started doing, what humans called it in the past, the 'worm'. "As long as I can think it, and the drone's body is able to perform it, I can imagine it performing the action and the drone will carry it out almost in real time."
As he explained the drone stopped doing the worm and began break dancing, spinning on its back before launching itself back onto its feet by use of its tail.
"There's still a slight delay between my thought's being read and the actual action being sent to the drone, but it's still something that the visor permits. Most people used the visors to make the drones perform feats that they wouldn't normally perform during combat operations, actions their combat algorithms don't know for example. But… as you can see… I've always wanted to use it to make the drones do stuff like this!"
Even as he said that, the drone was now doing 'bunny hops', much to Judy's delight.
"And the drones don't mind?" Nick asked.
"They don't care, remember they're drones." He said as the drone continued to hop on its feet like a bunny. "Like I said, the visor controls them, if the visor tells it to do something then it obeys."
"Can I try that?" Judy asked eagerly.
"You can but I doubt it will work." He said. "The visors are only designed to read human electrical brain patterns, not mammal. Even if it does the drone won't obey because… well you're not a human."
"Oh, just one try please?" Judy asked with a pleading look.
He sighed and acquiesced to her demand with an inward smile. He took off the headset and the drone stopped moving. After she put on the headset and readjusted it for her size, he saw her attempt to control the drone, but the drone simply stood still.
"I'm picturing that drone moving but it's not." Judy muttered sadly.
"That's what I figured, the visor recognizes that you're not human and thus the drone won't obey. But the visors do more than control the drones…" He explained as he picked up another visor and turned it on.
He turned it on and looked at Nick before tapping a button on the left side, activating the 'visor share' feature.
"Woaaaah!" Judy said as he showed her what he was seeing.
"What's up?" Nick asked.
"I'm seeing 'you'… but from 'Jeremy's perspective." She said. "Wow… you look 'small' to him."
"Hey Carrots, you're not exactly a giraffe yourself." He smirked.
"It also does this." He said as he focused on Nick and he lit up like a night light. "The visors can lock on and track any heat signature the user focuses on. It can also track it and share the heat signature to other visors that link up to it at a moment's notice. Heck they can even scan for specific items like hidden weapons if they have a base model to go on."
He demonstrated this by having Nick walk behind the Raptor and out of sight, and even to the other side of the room beyond their vision, and 'still' both visors were able to track him perfectly.
"They can do other stuff to like download various programs and activate them at the user's discretion, but for the most part they were used to control drones and mark key targets in battle, primarily for assassination by FOX drones but… you get the idea."
"This is so cool, uh not the 'killing' part the rest of it." Judy muttered as Nick rejoined them and they took off the visors. "Hey Jeremy… do you mind if we take these?"
"Why do you ask?" He asked curiously.
"Well… they 'are' marked for decommissioning, right? And these would be 'so' helpful to the ZPD." She said nervously. "I can't tell you, how many mammals run from officers… or how many times officers have mistaken harmless objects for deadly weapons. I still remember one case Nick and I were on where we almost mistook a squirt gun a hooded cub had while playing near the train yard at night for a pistol."
She held the visor to her chest and looked up at him with trepidation. "If ZPD had these… even a 'few'… it could save so many lives and help a great deal. I understand if you'd rather destroy them or keep them here… the whole technology and consequences… but they could 'really' help us out Jeremy."
"If it's any consolation, we promise to do everything we can to ensure nothing bad happens because of them." Nick said assuredly. "And as you said, we can't control the drones with them, so there's no risk in them turning on you."
"Hmmm." He thought as he seriously thought about their request.
He looked over at the other two shelves where even as they were talking, thousands of ANT drones were now picking up and carrying the firearms out to be salvaged for base materials and components. He weighed his options, if he didn't give them the visors nothing would change. But on the other hand, if he gave them the visors, they 'could' do more good than where they were now.
And it was as Nick said, the mammals couldn't control the drones even with the visors, and if they kept the visors with ZPD officers they wouldn't get into the wrong hands. Also unbeknownst to them all the visors were chipped and tagged so that even 'if' they were stolen, any drone could locate the visor and retrieve it, returning it to the facility if need be.
He was sure Aelita wouldn't mind, she'd probably even agree with his decision.
"Alright, you guys can have all but one of them." He said with a smirk.
"Sweeeeeet!" Judy squealed happily jumping and hugging him. "Thank you, Jeremy! We promise to take good care of them!"
He chuckled as she let him go.
"No problem, they are easy to figure out, button on the left activates the share feature to any nearby visor within a large radius, how close you wish to signal you can set up at your leisure. Same with activating the tracking feature, that activates the moment your eyes focus on a particular target, and also if you have preprogrammed anything specific for it to locate, such as a weapon of some kind, it will automatically flag it for you to see and even where it's located. Button on the right will allow you to upload whatever program you wish to use on it, though Aelita and I will have to figure out how to get that function to work since they are mostly designed to use with the drones and Eden Facility's central computer, and of course Sentinel."
"You can't take them today because Aelita and I will need to work on them, but once they are ready, I'll have a drone deliver them in a container for you."
"I think we can wait." Nick said.
*Ring, Ring*
Judy's phone rang which made her pick up quickly. "Yes Chief?" She asked in a serious tone. "We're needed in the outer district of Sarah Square, what's happened?" She was silent for a moment before her eyes went wide in shock. "A fire's broken out and is spreading from the outer most area and is heading inward? We're on our way!"
She hung up and turned to Nick.
"Nick, we gotta go, a house caught on fire in Sahara Square and now the fire's starting to spread out of control. Fire Department is trying to evacuate as many mammals as possible and they need our help!"
"Oh lovely, as if we didn't have enough problems in Sahara Square with thieves, pick pockets and break ins." Nick muttered as both mammals ran out. "Take care of yourself Jeremy, we'll be in touch!"
"Yea, be safe, we'll stop by later if we have time!" Judy called as well.
"Oh… okay." He replied quietly as they ran.
He sighed as he looked at the Harrier Drones on his way out. One entrance to the base was under Sahara Square while the other entrance was in Savannah Central. He wanted to help, but what could he do to combat a fire?
Then he turned back to the drones and looked at the darkened optics and angular head of the HARRIER. It sat there silently for who knows how long, probably marked for decommissioning since the materials, components, and resources built to make it were more valuable then the drone itself. Same for the Goliath Spider Drones, which sat curled up also waiting for decommissioning. They were too heavy on the energy to be useful when compared to anything else in the base.
"But their Hydra Class water cannons 'would' be extremely effective against the fire… and their personnel containment pods would be good at rescuing trapped mammals. Not to mention their grappling hooks to pull down debris to get at those in need of rescue." He muttered to himself. "Sentinel, send a FOX to my location and inform Aelita I need to talk to her!"
[Unit KL-22 en route.]
Moments later a FOX drone walked into the room and cast a hologram of Aelita for him to interact with as she was still in the command center.
"Aelita, a section of Sahara Square is on fire, and I want to help however I can." He said.
She nodded in understanding, casting an image of a newscast indicating that a fire was ravaging the outer district of the southeast of Sahara Square, just below the oasis lake.
"It looks bad alright, but I think we can use these old drone models to help fight the fire and save lives." He said turning to the drones behind him.
She nodded in approval of the Harrier Drones but looked questioningly at him regarding the spider drones. She created a hologram of the spider drinking a massive cup labeled 'energy' next to four Raptor drones drinking the same cup.
"I know those Goliath Drones guzzle energy like crazy." He said. "But they have the power and the tools to fight massive fires."
She nodded at that and put a finger to her lips to think. Then she nodded with a smile before creating an image of the East and West Entrances, and crossed out the west entrance while pointing at the Spider Drones.
"Yea the Goliath drones are too big and heavy to fit into the elevator, let alone be carried up it." He said looking back at the drones. "But if we dropped them into Sahara Square using these old Harriers, we can deploy them where they're needed."
Aelita nodded in agreement as she brought up the manifest and showed there were still a few drop pods that were serviceable, also marked for decommissioning sitting inside the HARRIERs.
"Alright, then let's get some power cells for these drones and have RAPTORs and DOG drones help carry them to the west entrance!" He said. "I'll start separating the HARRIERs with the RAPTOR already here!"
She saluted him and started typing with both hands.
It took them an hour even with the help of the drones to get the HARRIERs broken down and the pieces over to the west tunnel entrance. After that he had to reassemble the drones and piece them together while DOG drones dragged out the drop pods and power cells were pulled out as well.
Once they were pulled out it took another ten minutes to install the power cells and inform the Goliaths of their mission as well as get them all loaded into the drop pods. He and Aelita chose to man one of the Goliaths and now he was lying on his stomach while his head sat on a rest so he could look forward, and his arms were stretched out to control two arms. His feet and legs lay stretched out and were controlling the eight legs for movement. He also wore a Visor to help him better control and direct any of the drones should the occasion call for it.
"Ready Aelita?" He asked as he maneuvered his drone into the drop pod.
She looked at him from her holosphere and nodded.
"Good, you keep an eye on the heat sensors and give me updates about the news." He explained as the pod sealed up. "We're about to make the news… again."
She nodded in agreement with a shrug.
"Yea, well… if anymammal wants to try and stop me from helping however I can while I make sure not to cause damage, they'll get to see happens when they see what my species technology can really do!"
"HARRIER 1, pick up Drop Pods 1 and 2, HARRIER 2 you take Drop Pod 3."
[As you command.] They declared in low voices.
The two drones stood high and let the clamps on their underbellies latch onto the tops of the pods, and then slowly walked out of the tunnel into the street.
There weren't any mammals to see them appear, but within seconds the roar of plasma engines and the sound of electromagnetic pads filled the air while the HARRIERS took off.
For the first time in over three hundred and fifty years… HARRIERS once again, dominated the skies.
(Nick and Judy's PoV)
"Come on everymammal, move it move it!" Judy yelled as she ushered mammals down the street and away from the rapidly approaching fires.
It was a very cloudy day in Sahara Square as Camels and Elephants, Leopards and Giraffes were all streaming away from the section of the town currently engulfed in flame. Some were screaming and others trying to avoid breathing in the smoke that was coating the sky. This town was very populated, and while not as 'ritzy' as the more populated and favored section of Sarah Square, was still home to thousands of mammals who were now trying to get away from the raging fire that had gotten out of control.
"Come on move!" She screamed, ushering them away.
On the far side near the frontline firefighters were fighting a desperate battle to contain the flames, but despite their best efforts the flames still spread, the heat of Sahara Square was just too much for them to overcome. The mayor had issued a full evacuation of the town while firefighters tried to stop it.
"Come on keep it going, keep it going, this way!" Nick yelled as well from across the street, ushering a herd of Hippos out.
Seconds later the wind shifted and now the smoke started blowing toward them as well as the heat. She coughed heavily as she continued to direct fleeing mammals.
That was when she heard the roar of something high above.
She looked up and saw a large shadow high above, something about it triggered her brain that sent her in a sudden uncontrollable panic. Right then all she wanted to do was to run and hide, there was just something about that shadow that frightened her.
Then another shadow followed behind and she started having a panic attack that wouldn't go away.
*Peeeeeeeeeeeew*
*BOOOM*
A massive explosion sounded, and a dust cloud erupted in front of her dazing her senses and making her fall backward as smoke and debris filled the air in front of her.
"Cough cough cough…" She said trying to clear the air.
Then she looked up as the dust settled and beheld a metallic square object that was five times her size buried in the street. It had landed so heavily that it created a crater around it, with the larger end imbedded into the ground while the narrower end aimed upward.
Then it's four sides each split along seams and opened up to reveal that it was hollow on the inside.
And she stared in shock and fear as a silvery metallic body unfurled itself, revealing eight thick segmented legs, a massive spherical abdomen, a large oval center body, and a roundish-square shaped head with eight glowing blue optics staring at her.
[Goliath Spider… Online!] It declared.
It then stepped forward out of the pod's shape and over her, ignoring her and every other mammal that paused in shock and now fear while it made its appearance known.
It turned toward a fire hydrant and extended one of its legs toward it, slammed down on it and then lowered its whole body to lie flat on the ground.
[Water Source has been located… pressure cannons are at maximum levels, acquiring target…] It stated as it angled its other seven legs toward the fires nearest them which had rapidly gained on the fleeing crowds. [Hydra Cannons ready… OPENING FIRE!]
From each of the seven legs powerful streams of water burst and smacked into the flames.
Steam erupted from the nearest home that was on fire as the water attacked the flames, and within minutes of it bursting into flame the house became soaked, and eventually the fire was put out. There was a cheer from the crowd as the spider fought back the fire on its own.
[Continue evacuation procedures, this unit will hold back the fire!] It yelled.
"You heard the giant metal spider MOVE IT!" Nick yelled, ushering the crowds to get out of the area.
"Come on mammals, leave it to a professional!" Judy exclaimed as she too sprang back into action.
As she resumed helping mammals escape, she smiled as she beheld the 'old drone' that Jeremy's species had marked to be broken down for parts. As old as it was it seemed it still had a place in the world. She was also happy that Jeremy had made such an explosive return to their world, after a week of hiding so many mammals were afraid that he would never come back out after being attacked. Now however, not only had he returned but also demonstrated that his base still had more wonders to show off.
(? PoV)
"My baby's still inside!" A Skunk Mother yelled as she tried to push past the firefighters.
In front of her a massive building burned where on the third floor in their apartment, her child was 'still' in the building, not having gotten out when the fire started, and was now trapped inside.
"Please stay back we're trying to save him!" A firefighter said, pushing her back.
"NO LET ME SAVE MY BABY!" She screamed again.
*Peeeeeeeew*
*BOOOM*
Behind them a massive explosion sounded, and a dust cloud arose.
[Goliath Spider Online!]
Then after it died down and they all stared in shock as what was there, a giant metallic 'spider' stepped forward.
[Warning, life signature detected in hostile zone, extreme heat and low oxygen levels detected!] It yelled, before shoving past them all. [Commencing extraction and evacuation procedure!]
It sped rapidly on it's eight legs and barreled 'into' the building, causing debris to fall as it ran out of sight.
She and every mammal knew there was only 'one' place something that outlandish, futuristic and 'alien' could have come from, the human's 'Eden Facility'. Jeremy had sent help, and she held her paws together as she prayed the human's machine would rescue her baby. Seconds passed, then a minute…
A massive eruption of fire came from the third floor, followed by gasps and her scream of fear.
Then out of nowhere the metallic spider flung itself out of the side of the wall to land heavily on the ground.
[Is there a 'Skunk' in close proximity to this unit?] It asked looking around.
"M… Me, I'm a skunk!" She yelled hopefully.
It turned toward her before turning around, aimed its large abdomen toward her, and then opened it up to reveal a frightened skunk child cowering in fear in a little seat, covered in ash and coughing.
[Is this your young?]
"MY BABY!" She yelled happily, quickly running forward and pulling her little dumpling into a tight hug.
"Mama…" He squealed painfully, coughing loudly.
"Thank you, Mr. Drone… thank you!" She cried happily, holding her child close.
Another burst of fire caught everymammal's attention as another floor exploded into flame.
[All units should evacuate the area, repeat, all units evacuate, evacuate!] It declared loudly as it grabbed a nearby fire hydrant and started spraying powerful streams of water from each of its eight legs. [Evacuate, evacuate!]
(Jeremy's PoV)
"Come on, get in the bird!" He yelled, ushering crowds of mammals into the cargo hold of both HARRIER drones.
"You heard the human, get in, in in in!" Chief Bogo yelled as well.
Once he'd landed in his drop pod, scaring Chief Bogo and every nearby mammal with his sudden appearance, he'd informed the police chief of his intentions and with his aid began helping evacuate every mammal to a save location. They were using the HARRIERS to lift as many species out of the area to safety, while the other two Goliath Spiders helped fight the flames and beat them back with whatever force they could muster.
"That's it, keep it slow, nice and easy, you'll all be fine trust me!" He yelled from inside his Goliath. "Aelita, what's the evacuation looking like?"
She glanced at him and gave him an estimated number of seventy-three percent completion.
"Still a ways to go… Goliath Drones, status updates?"
[Goliath TY-4 reporting in, this unit has encountered heavy fire activity… Hydra Cannon counter measure is achieving minimal results.]
[Goliath PP-9 reporting in, evacuation procedures have increased since dropping in!] The second drone stated. [Fire zones spreading rapidly despite assistance from the locals, additional Goliath Drones are needed to help stop the spread!]
"Sadly, your all there is, do what you can to limit the spread and help the fire department evacuate the mammals to safety!"
[Roger!]
[Roger!]
As they finished loading up the last of the group and the HARRIERS took off, he looked over at Aelita.
"Can you give me an aerial view of how bad it looks?" He asked.
She nodded and showed on his viewscreen of what the town looked like from the sky. Nearly two thirds of it were now in flame, despite the fire department's best efforts to contain it. His drones were also trying to hold them back, and while there were two pockets where the drones had been deployed which showed the flames being pushed back, the rest of the town was still in flame and spreading.
"Is there 'anything' we can do that can help stop it?" He asked. "At this rate the flame will engulf and completely burn the whole town down to ashes."
She shook her head, indicating that they were doing all they could already.
"The drones can't handle this fire; there's just too much ground and we've only got 'three' Goliaths." He muttered. "There's got to be a way to fight this fire with what we have."
She shrugged with a frown before her 'evacuation' percentage reached eighty-two percent now.
"Jeremy!" Chief Bogo called to him.
He turned his spider to look at the bull as he got off his radio.
"There's a family of Timber Wolves caught on the roof of their home, fire department can't get to them in time, is there any way you can help em?"
"Where are they?"
"On the corner of Baker's street!"
"I'm on it!" He said as he turned and ran as fast as his spider's legs could go. "Aelita give me directions."
Instantly she had a minimap for him to follow and GPS directions.
It took him a few minutes to get there, but he spotted the house as police cars had it circled. The building was in flame like every other building around it, he stepped over the cars and launched grappling hooks onto the roof so he could climb up with his spider. As he climbed, he could hear the officers cheering him on.
"Is it just me or is it getting really hot in this drone?" He asked Aelita.
She pulled up the temperature overlay and showed that the temperature was reaching over a hundred degrees.
"All this fire is heating up the drone's body… getting really hard to breathe properly."
Once on the roof he found the wolf family cowering in the center before staring in shock at his spider.
"Over here, I'll get you out of here!" He yelled, signaling them. "It's me, Jeremy the human, I'm inside the spider come on!"
Once they heard his name, they all ran toward his spider. There were too many for his drone to carry in its evacuation pod, so to bring them all he told them to put the pups in the chamber, while the adults held onto his spider's clawed arms. Family in place he walked over to the side just as the roof sank a bit.
"Hang on…" He yelled as he prepared to jump. "This is going to be bumpy, hang on tight!"
The Timber Wolf parents nodded and gripped tighter.
"Three, two… one… Geronimooooooooo!" He yelled as he jumped off the roof.
His spider landed heavily on the ground just as the roof caved in and a burst of flame erupted.
"Are you two okay?" He asked.
"Yes… we're fine!" The father yelled.
He put them down and opened up the pod so the parents could get their cubs.
"Thank you Mr. Human!" The cubs called.
"Get out of here, get to safety!" He called, pointing at the squad cars.
[Unit Jeremy!] One of the goliaths stated, appearing on his hud. [Evacuation procedures have been completed! All civilians have been safely cleared out of the danger zone, only the fire department and police remain to be evacuated!]
[Unit Jeremy!] The other goliath called, appearing on his hud now. [All attempts to combat the fire are failing, the heat being generated by the wall generators to the north has decreased our Hydra Cannons' effectiveness by thirty percent even at this distance! For every building we put out, the fire spreads to two more!]
"Dammit, I thought the goliath's cannons would be enough to combat this fire." He said as he looked around. "We have to find some way to fight this fire or the entire town will be burned down."
[Suggestion…] One of the HARRIER drones said as it now appeared on his hud. [This unit still carries a salvo of plasma missiles, if deployed at key locations could suffocate the flames and destroy the already damaged sections of the combat area, thus eliminating the fire and preventing it from spreading.]
"And destroy most of the town along with the fire, I'm trying to save it not blow it up!" He yelled at them. "I know they're combat drones, but do they 'have' to suggest the nuclear option? And remind me to mark those missiles your carrying for decommissioning!"
It didn't help that his spider was really getting hot, he was starting to sweat badly.
"There's got to be a way… come on brain, think!" He muttered as he looked around. "If only it would rain that would be a great help!"
Aelita nodded in agreement but showed a forecast saying that it wasn't predicted to rain that day.
"Yea that really is bad luck." He muttered as he looked at the sky.
The massive cloud formation that filled the sky high above looked like a perfect candidate to deliver rain, but based on it's type it would take it some time to actually rain, rain that would not come fast enough to save the burning town.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a Nimbostratus cloud?" He asked.
Aelita nodded, indicating that yes it was as he suggested.
"And if I remember my basic meteorology studies, a cloud of that type at this point would be in the later stages of it's Water Cycle… which means all it would take is for the water droplets in the cloud to start tightly packing together for rain to start falling…" He muttered to himself as he began thinking. "I have an idea!"
"HARRIER drones, regroup at my location!" He ordered.
[As you command!]
[Order Received!]
He shook his head to try and clear it, the heat from being inside the drone was getting too much for him to bear.
[Unit Jeremy, the fire department is redeploying toward the unburned section of the town to try and halt the fire's advance, what are your orders?] One of the goliath spiders asked.
"Go with them and help, do everything you can to keep that fire from spreading!"
[Roger that!] They both said in unison.
Within a few seconds he heard the roar of the Harriers flying overhead awaiting new orders. "Alright you two, synchronize your AIs with my Visor!"
[Synchronizing…]
As he and the drones waited for the sync to be completed a squad car pulled up to them, and Judy and Nick jumped out and ran toward him.
"Jeremy, fire department's trying to hold the fire's spread in another section of the town, we need to get out!" Judy hollered.
"Not yet… I have an idea!" He said.
"Jeremy, I get it, your trying to help but this is too big for even 'your' drones to handle!" Nick stated.
"I know but I have an idea that might work, trust me on this!" He said, turning his drone to look at them.
[Synchronization complete… awaiting your commands!]
"Good… now let's get this started!" He said as he turned to the sky now.
As his thoughts took hold the drones turned in unison and took off in a burst of plasma fire, which sent a wave of heat 'and' actually pushed Nick and Judy back a few feet because of their small size and light weight.
"So, what are you planning?" Judy asked.
"Honestly… I have no idea… but I have to try it." He said. "My people never used drones in this manner before… I'm just winging it." He looked over to Aelita. "Aelita, monitor the cloud and the water particles in it, and keep me updated!"
After a few minutes the drones had reached the altitudes he wanted them to and began their long flight.
"Mother nature… if you can hear me… I'm here to apologize for everything my species has done to you and this world in the past." He said as he continued to focus on their flight pattern. "We had a beautiful paradise, a wonderful world you created… and we destroyed it. Frankly some of my people truly believed we deserved to go extinct, I know that nobody was to blame for it… things spiraled out of control. I'm not asking you to forgive us… but if you are listening… I'm asking you to help me redeem my species in 'their' eyes."
With that he angled his spider's arms to the sky to help his mind better focus through the heat in the drone.
"So, mother nature… if your listening, give my species a helping hand… just one last time, not for my species' sake but for their sake." He whispered. "Forgive me for poking you, I've learned from my history classes not to mess with you, but for just this one occasion… I need to poke you, so you get the message!"
The HARRIERS began turning in a long circular pattern, rapidly gaining speed. His mind began to direct them, control them, put them through the movement of circling through the sky high above them.
[Current Speed, Mach 1.4…] One of the HARRIERs stated.
"Not fast enough."
High above the two HARRIERs circled and flew, flying in and out of sight as they continued to soar in an oval shaped flight pattern. One drone flew thousands of feet above the other, matching their speeds per his will. To mammals on the ground they would have looked like dots in the sky with how fast they were going, barely able to keep up with them or even see them through the clouds. Yet his visor tracked their movements and kept them on target.
After five minutes the heat from the nearby fires was baking his drone's body, it was starting to feel less like he was inside of a drone and more like he was getting a suntan directly from the Solar Core.
[Current Speed, Mach 2.6…]
"Still not fast enough!"
*Feeeeeeeeewsh…*
*Feeeeeewsh*
Every time the HARRIERS flew a full circle, they signaled their path with a roar as their plasma engines burned hot and bright. Soon it was becoming noticeable to even the mammals on the ground that they were high above and flying in circles.
Yet still he pushed them to move faster.
He glanced at Aelita who was shaking her head, showing no sign that there was any change in the cloud.
"It's too soon… need more time…" He muttered to her. "They aren't going fast enough… they need to go faster!"
[Current Speed, Mach 4.1.]
*Feeewsh Feewsh Feeeewsh Feeewsh*
"Faster!"
*Feewshfeeewshfeewshfeewsh*
"Faster!"
[Warning, current speed Mach 6.5, exceeding safety limit for visor sync.]
"Just do it!" He ordered. "Increase speed to Mach 9!"
Faster and faster they flew, and as the drones hinted the faster they flew the harder it was for his mind to keep them moving as he wanted. His eyes were having difficulty keeping up with them, the more he tried to focus on their dark shapes the more it hurt his head and eyes to keep them focused.
Yet it was starting to work as they neared Mach 8, he was noticing a definite 'gap' in the clouds formed by the drones as they flew. Aelita showed him that the cloud was beginning to condense, the water droplets making it up were beginning to merge and become heavier.
"Jeremy… what are you doing?" Judy asked as she and Nick stared high above them.
"Something my ancestors 'never' did before… even at our highest point!" He replied, focusing on the drones.
[Attention, Current Speed reaching Mach 8.9!]
High above the cloud began to darken from the drone's movement, their high speed and constant flight pattern creating a vortex of their own wind current twisting and condensing the cloud and tightening its form with each turn.
*Rmmmble*
"Almost there!" He yelled as he heard the rumble of thunder.
He glanced at Aelita and she showed that the first rains were beginning to drop.
(Judy's PoV)
She watched high above as the flying drones moved faster than she could see, yet what they were doing amazed her.
The weather forecast had said it would be cloudy that day but there was no chance of rain.
Yet Jeremy was defying that forecast, using his drones to 'force' the weather to change and make it rain as a thunderstorm sounded up above.
"Now… a Nimbostratus cloud… becomes Cumulonimbus!" Jeremy declared tiredly from inside his drone. "Separate!"
Instantly two shapes moving faster than he can imagine flew through the clouds and split up. They just vanished from sight as she saw their dark shapes soar out of sight.
Then she felt the first drops of rain hit her face.
"I don't believe it… I 'can't' believe it…" She muttered.
She glanced at her fiancé who was just as impressed at what they were seeing, as a bolt of lightning sounded and flashed high above.
*Ksssssthuuuuuuuuumble…*
The rain began pouring down within seconds, wetting and matting her fur down and soaking her uniform, but she honestly didn't care. Around her clouds of steam rose as torrential rain met blazing fires from town.
Thinking quickly, she took her phone out and looked up that one image they had of an 'Ancient Spirit', a story that told of how the spirits could command the weather at will. The image showed up and she saw that, while the spirit didn't even closely resemble a human, with the spirit mostly scaly and with talons, it did show it pointing to the sky and forming a cloud to make it rain in the harsh desert, supposedly bringing life to an otherwise dead landscape.
"You know Sugar Carrots, for supposedly not doing something like this with their drones…" Nick muttered to her, looking at her phone as well. "He sure makes his species look like they could do just about anything they set their minds to."
"You got that right darling." She muttered as she looked up at the sky.
Jeremy turned his drone toward them.
"Uh… sorry if I ruined any mammal's plans for the day." He apologized. "I think I went overboard with the cloud… but I couldn't think of another way to put out all the fires at the same time as saving the town with only the three Goliath Spider drones the base had. So, I thought… since there was already a Nimbostratus cloud in the sky, I figured why not use it?"
"Jeremy… I don't think anymammal is going to complain after what you did." Nick said with a smile.
Within a few minutes the two flying drones returned to Jeremy's position along with the other two Goliath Spiders. Not only that but Jeremy's Solar Carriage also arrived on the scene to take him back to the West Entrance to the base since he was getting uncomfortable inside the Spider drone. It would take the rain a full hour before all the fires were put out, and another hour with the Fire Department confirming everything was under control, but the news media would be talking about his 'miracle' for the rest of the day, but they did so without talking to him as he returned as quickly as he could.
The drop pods were also retrieved by the Harrier drones, and once all the spiders were all curled up and placed inside their pods, they and the Harriers returned to the Eden Facility, where they were all transported back into an empty Drone Storage bay.
While parts of the town were completely destroyed from the fire, the damage incurred was thankfully reduced, and the town as a whole was saved. Those mammals who were interviewed or shared their experience with all of Zootopia described the actions of the drones as heroic, facing off against a horrible tragedy with a fortitude and calmness they didn't have.
Yet what this news did was tell the mammals one thing, that they all had been fearing.
No matter what happened to Jeremy, he was not going to hide away underground and let his species die out in such a pitiful fashion. If they wanted to stop him from trying to help, they would have to try harder than simply threatening his life.
=Bonus Short, The Story of Sun Shine and Moon Light=
(Aelita's PoV)
It was late at night as she smirked while watching a countdown timer tick on her website. A new page was being released that day, and while Jeremy was busy with his surprise to Gazelle, she had to keep her schedule going on her website. Once it hit zero, she opened the page and thousands of users flooded into it to read her newest post, a folk story of human lore and myth.
The story was just one of millions of stories, that told the tale of why it was that the sun rose and set. Where it originated, she couldn't verify, perhaps it was a story passed down in generations of people, or perhaps it was just something a parent made up to tell their child as a bedtime story. Either way it mattered not, she shared it with them…
'In the beginning there were two kingdoms that ruled the world… that existed on opposite ends… in one kingdom a young and handsome prince, and the other a noble and beautiful princess…' She thought.
(Jeremy's PoV)
"Alright, you're to fly low and as quietly as possible to this location, Aelita gave you her exact position. FOX drones you will keep it hidden until you return with your holo emitters."
[This unit is not adept as stealth flights; however, this unit will obey.] The drone declared as it turned around and marched out of the cavern with four FOX drones in its holding room.
As they vanished, he went back into the command center to have Aelita call Gazelle.
'Both the prince and princess loved each other deeply, but their kingdoms did not share this feeling, and so in secret each shared their feelings with the other with the only creatures they could trust, as each befriended a creature of mythical origins… a Pegasus and Unicorn.'
(Gazelle's PoV)
'Moon Light, the noble and prideful Unicorn of the night was friends with the prince, while Sun Shine a calm and humble Pegasus was friends with the princess. Both agreed to take messages to the other, knowing their feelings were true and wanting them to be happy. So in the dead of night Moon Light ran past the kingdom's guards, while in broad daylight Sun Shine soared higher than any could see.'
She just finished watching the news, hearing how Jeremy had made a stunning return, not only saving Sahara Square from a massive fire which started because of poor fire-prevention construction, but also did it with such flare that mammals were now drawing comparisons to his actions as those of their myths and legends about his species as 'spirits'.
*Ring*
She picked her phone up and saw that it was Aelita, meaning Jeremy was calling her. Smiling she instantly answered it.
"Jeremy, how are you doing?"
"Hi Gazelle, I'm guessing you saw the news…"
"Saw it, Jeremy they 'still' are talking about it." She giggled. "What you did was wonderful, helping save all those mammals 'and' showing off your drones abilities, not to mention making it rain."
"Yea… I might have gone overboard… I had an idea and kind of let it get out of hand." He admitted sheepishly. "Anyway, how are you feeling?"
"A little better now that you called." She said with a smile.
Truth be told she had been having it hard with performing since the attack on his life. Wondering if he would return or would lock himself away kept putting her in a bad mindset and that affected her performance in practice. But hearing his voice now and seeing what he did put her heart at ease again.
"Well, I have something that 'might' help you… some of my drones were going through an old storage room, most of it is old items, but we found some things you and other mammals might like." He said. "I've even sent a drone to take it to you, it should be there soon."
"Really?" She giggled. "Should I expect it downstairs or something?"
"No… actually look outside your window."
She did as he asked and looked to see that the window was shaking ever so slightly, rattling as gusts of strong wind battered at it.
In confusion she walked over and opened the window.
Instantly a pair of fox drones appeared holding a metal container between them, and upon appearing they threw the box unceremoniously into her room before vanishing again.
"I'm sorry if it looks… rude… but I didn't want anyone to know who was receiving it… so I told the FOX drones to keep the HARRIER hidden with their holograms." Jeremy explained as she picked up the small box and brought it to her bed.
"It's okay, what is it?" She asked as she stared at the box.
"Open it up, there's a little switch on the top."
She found the switch after some fumbling, and flicked it, making a small seam open and causing it to split apart to reveal.
"Jeremy…" She whispered in awe.
Inside the box was a medium sized plush doll, it looked like a magenta purple 'Horse', with midnight blue mane and tail that sparkled in the night, while on its head a single horn protruded outward. For eyes there were silvery white orbs and hanging from its neck a rusted and dull looking locket hung in the shape of a crescent moon.
"It's called a Unicorn… it's a mythical creature from my species time… it was said that if you ever met one it was a symbol of your purity of soul, or if you were blessed by the touch of it's horn you would be cured of all ailments." He explained. "There's a lot about Unicorns my species made up, but I figured you might like it to cheer you up."
She smiled warmly as she held the toy to her chest, feeling its soft plushy body and smiling happily at the present he sent her.
"I love it Jeremy… thank you."
As she went to bed upon hanging up her phone, she cuddled into her bed with her new friend. The toy was old, she could smell the age on it, and the rusted locket and slightly faded coloring on the plush indicated as such, there were even bits of dust flaking off it.
But she loved it all the more because of it.
(Jeremy's PoV)
'After years of carrying messages between the two, at long last both Prince and Princess finally planned their escape together, and with the help of their friends Sun Shine and Moon Light, both fled their kingdoms together.'
He yawned as he lay in bed after cleaning up, as he did, he looked at the toy he'd kept for himself. In the old storage room of old items from his species' past, he'd found the twin to the Unicorn plush that he gave to Gazelle as a present to help cheer her up.
The Pegasus Plush, an orange colored Horse with white feathery wings, yellow mane and tail with red eyes, was the twin to the Unicorn he'd given her. Both were based off an old story turned into a television show 'long' before the Final War, and he and the drones found both toys lying in storage almost completely coated in dust.
It was actually thanks to the dust that they still had their original coloring.
He'd kept the Pegasus plush because he liked it, having liked the mythical creature during his old Literature and Mythos classes.
"Good night then…" He whispered silently as he lay in bed. "Sentinel, wake me up as usual tomorrow."
[As you request…]
He snoozed heavily, watched over by the Pegasus Plush that silently watched over him, with a rusted lock in the shape of a sun hanging from its neck.
(Aelita's PoV)
She smirked as the drones made their return, even as all the users on her website continued to flood her channel for the story page she posted.
'Freed from their kingdoms, they fled to another land, but both were pursued by those who wished to keep them separated. So, both Sun Shine and Moon Light, combined their strengths and created a special kingdom just for them in the heavens. Formed from the horn of Moon Light, and lifted high above the ground by the wings of Sun Shine.'
'Thus, the kingdom of the Moon was created and forever watched over the world below in the heavens above. Forever in sight, but forever out of reach from those below. It was forever a part of the world, always to be seen even in the day while lighting the world at night.'