Wow, I've been really inactive lately. Sorry for not being able to update, school's been pretty harsh lately, and my parents just put a password on my comp. Well, I've tried out switching between different perspectives to write the story, so tell me how you like it. If a lot of people think I should stick with the style I used for the other chapters, then I'll switch back:
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The darkness slowly draws me in as the last of my senses slowly siphon out of my body. Is this what it feels like to die? My whole body begins to feel numb and I can't even see anything. If I was missing a limb right now, I doubt that I'd notice a difference.
Does everyone go through this just before death, humans and reploids alike? There's nothing I can do to stop this now, I suppose that I can say I have no real regrets. There's nothing here, no sound, no light, and the only thing real to me is my thoughts right now.
Should I try to fight this? Is there any way to fight this? There's nothing left for me here anyway. I'm sure that everyone will be alright without me. Perhaps they'll even be better off. I was just a replacement for Ciel, but she's back now and there's nothing I can do. One hundred years ago, when reploid outlived their use, they become unnecessary, defect, useless. When that happens, they are just left out to die.
That was how I met Ciel. She saved me after I was deemed useless and took care of me. I was ready to die back then and I'm ready to die now. The only thing I want right now is to be able to see everyone one more time…
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"… Prairie… wake up…" I slowly become aware of the pain in my body and all my other senses return to me in a flash. I'm lying onto something soft and very flexible, most likely a bed. I snap my eyes open and wish that I didn't when the bright light temporarily blinds me.
"You're alright!" I feel arms circling around me and my eyes slowly adjust to the lights and I see Ciel's the person hugging me. I look around and notice that Vent, Aile, and Rose are there as well. "We thought we lost you for a moment there."
My head really hurts right now and I clutch it in pain. Ciel backs away for a moment and looks at me with concern written all over her face. "It's alright. I'm just feeling a little bit feverish…" I look at Rose. "How did I get here?"
"After Zero and the others came back, I tried to contact you but I was worried since you didn't reply. Zero found you unconscious and carried you back here." I nod and notice something very sticky on my clothing. I look down the below my blanket and notice that I'm still wearing the same clothing I wore back then and it was soaked in blood.
The others notice me looking as well and Ciel pulls out some new clothes for me. "You know where the changing room is. Can you move?" I move my legs a bit under the blanket and test out my arms as well. I give out a weak nod and Ciel gives me the change of clothes.
I slowly lift myself up and move to the changing room and quickly throw off the bloodstained coat and any other clothing that had bloodstains. Blood doesn't wash off no matter how hard anyone tries, so it's best if I burn it later. After finishing, I open the door again and find the others waiting for me.
Rose clears her throat for a moment. "There were some strange changes found in your system that we couldn't fix. It is best if you remain in your room and rest until we find a cure." Changes? Does that mean that Shademan did succeed in controlling me? I feel fine right now other than a minor headache, so probably not.
"I'm going to my room." The others leave the room and I walk to mine which was almost next door. I sit down on the bed to think. Now I can't help anyone, I just have to remain in my room and wait until they find a way to cure me of whatever irregularities there are. What if there is no way to cure me? Will I have to remain useless everyday?
Wait, I think I hear something… I stop thinking for a moment and hear a thumping sound. I turn to the door last after looking around the room. "You can come in." The door opens and I catch a glimpse of brown hair first and then Aile becomes fully visible.
"Prairie, I was just wondering if you could tell me…" Aile pauses for a moment, probably thinking that the question she's about to ask will offend me or something. "What happened back there?"
They didn't know yet? Well, I suppose that they didn't feel that it was appropriate to ask questions while I was on the edge of dying. Should I tell her the truth and let her worry? I guess there's no point in lying, besides, I can't make up an excuse for that situation anyways. How often do you find someone lying on the streets in a pool of blood?
"Shademan attacked Innerpeace while all of you were away." That's all I'm going to say. She doesn't need to know what he did to the civilians or me. Besides, it can't be that hard to figure out. Wait, what happened to everyone else? "Did anyone else survive besides me?"
"The others who were attacked have all been buried in Innerpeace. I was worried that the same would happen to you." Why didn't I die along with the others? I feel like there's something important that I'm forgetting, but what could that be?
"I'm alright now, there's no need for you to worry about it anymore." Well, I think I'm alright. Shademan's gone and I'm still here, why would there be any reason to worry?
Aile mutters something that I can't pick up. "What was that?"
"I just wanted to say… I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me." Oh, that's what she's worried about. Why does everyone feel that the world is on their shoulders all the time? Am I really that weak?
"It's my fault for not… UGH!" I cringe for a moment and Aile puts her hands on my shoulders to steady me. "It's nothing. I just felt a bit of pain in my neck for a second back there. I need to rest for a while. You should go and take care of more important things."
Aile looks at me for a moment to make sure I'm okay and then she leaves the room reluctantly. After she leaves, I lie down on the bed and I pull the blanket over while tossing and turning. My neck is burning for some reason… What's going on?
I feel my consciousness slipping away and a gust finds its way to the room through the door that Aile left open. The sound of the wind becomes louder and louder, until that's all I could hear. I feel cold sweat on my face as I try to keep my eyes open. The sound of the wind changes and it slowly becomes almost like a voice.
"I may still have a use for you, so I'll let you live for now."…
-----------POV Shift: Ciel-----------
Now that Prairie's resting, I guess I'll just have to fill in for her until she gets better. What Rose said about Prairie's condition bothers me, though. Is she really alright now? Knowing her, she probably wouldn't admit it though.
I guess we'll just to keep an eye on her to make sure she's alright, there shouldn't really be any prob- I fall down on my knees as I bump to something. I slowly rub it to make the pain go away.
"Ciel, are you alright? I wasn't watching where I was going." I bumped into someone? I look up and see Aile. What's she doing here? I thought her room was in the other direction. Hey, the door to mine and Prairie's room is open right now.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I wasn't watching where I was going either." I stand up and brush the dirt off my skirt. "You visited Prairie?" Aile replies with a nod. Well, that explains why she's here. I didn't expect to bump into anyone here. "Was Prairie alright when you visited her?"
"She seemed okay…" That's good to hear. "…at first." I take that back. Aile pauses for a while. "Just before I was planning to leave, she…" Aile starts moving her hands around, probably trying to find the right words to explain. "…well, she just suddenly cringed for a bit and said there was a small pain in her neck. I have a feeling that it bothered her more than she let on."
"I'll go check on her. You don't need to worry about this any more than you have to." Aile opens her mouth to protest, but I cut her off. "You won't be able to get Prairie to admit there's anything wrong if she thinks it'll be a burden to anyone. If you come along, it'll be harder to get her to admit anything."
Aile thinks about what I said for a moment and nods. "Tell me if you find out anything." She walks past me to wherever she was going before she bumped into me. Well, I guess I should go in now and check on Prairie.
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Ciel and Prairie's Room
The lights are off… I put my hand on the wall and start moving it until I find the switch. I open it to get a good look around. Prairie's asleep right now in that bundle of bed sheets over there, so I shouldn't question her and wait until she's awake.
Where's that book I was reading? I move some piles of finished paperwork aside until the cover of a novel appears on the bottom of the pile. Wow, I haven't read for fun in weeks, but I suppose there's nothing better to do.
I flip through the pages until I find the bookmarked one and settle down on the armchair that's rarely used. I prefer to sit on stools or wooden chairs when I'm working. I flip open the book and begin reading.
That's strange… I don't remember any characters with these names… Wait a second, what the heck is going on right now? I let out a sigh and flip back to the first page. I suppose I'll have to start from the beginning. I can't remember a thing about this novel right now.
After about five minutes, I finally remember what the story was about. I flip back to the bookmarked page after my memories refreshed and I start reading. This is pretty relaxing. Maybe I should do this a bit more often.
After twenty minutes of action packed page flipping, I hear a slight groaning sound. Wow, my brain even creates noises based on what I'm reading. The groaning is followed by some banging sounds. That's weird, there's nothing about banging sounds on this page.
I put the book down and realize that the sound is Prairie tossing and turning on the bed. She must be having a really bad nightmare right now… I go up to the bed and put my hand on the blankets over Prairie. I look at the pillow and noticed that it's soaked with sweat. This doesn't seem like a normal nightmare.
"Prairie, wake up!" I try shaking her, but to no avail. She starts turning violently and I remove my hands so that I don't get pulled down. She turns her back to me and lets out another groan and completely stops moving. Is she still asleep?
"Prairie?" She doesn't respond and I try to shake her. Her head turns to me and I immediately back away. Her eyes are open but her iris changed into a pale sickly white color. Is she even awake?
"Kill… everything…" Prairie's body makes a sudden movement and she jumps up. Prairie goes to the desk and gets a nearby dagger. Oh, this really isn't good. I go over to the door and try to punch in the password to open it. Let's see, 5-0- OW!
The dagger is lodged into the panel and the electricity shocks my gloved hand. I bang on the door but it doesn't open. Prairie grabs onto the dagger again and I slowly back away. Has she gone completely insane somehow?
"Prairie, stop this." Prairie doesn't show any signs of paying attention and she moves forward. I don't have any weapons with me. I'll just have to try and hold her off until she gets back to her senses. Come on, Prairie. I know that you're still in there.
Prairie prepares to slash and I kick a nearby stool in her direction. The stool gets in her way and she trips. I cringe as the dagger creates a small cut beneath my shoulder and I move to the other side of the room.
Prairie stands up again and walks forward. I move backwards, not taking my eyes off her or else I might get killed. I bump into something and I quickly glimpse backwards to find that I've just cornered myself. Oh, this is just great. There has to be something that I can use…
Prairie lunges at me with a downward stab and I quickly hold onto the novel I was reading with both hands that I left on the armchair. The book shields me from the tip of the blade as it pierces through the cover. Prairie starts pushing downwards as the tip of the blade gets closer to my face. I let go and duck as pages fly in the air.
There has to be something that I can use…. My hands desperately search around for something, anything, that would help, but there's nothing. Prairie rips the pages out of the dagger and prepares to strike again. Is this really going to be the end for me?
There's nothing I can do now. I've cornered myself. I've never expected this to happen. I'm sorry, Zero. The blade touches my neck and I scream in pain just from the contact of the cold metal touching my skin. I look at Prairie and notice that she's shaking. Is she hesitating?
"Prairie…" The blade leaves my neck and drops onto the ground. Prairie's eyes start to change back to their blue color and she continues shaking.
"I'm sorry… Ciel…" Prairie's eyes close and she falls forward. I grab onto her and to support her up again. Things are going to be okay now… Prairie…
-----------POV Shift: Normal-----------
Medic Wing
"Is she going to be alright, Rose?" Vent looks at the unconscious Guardian Commander after Rose injects her with a needle.
"We were able to develop a temporary antidote that should make Prairie alright for the moment. All we can do now is wait." Prairie slowly opens her eyes and she immediately sits back up.
"It's only been a few hours and I'm back here already." Prairie lets out a sigh and looks around to see Ciel, Vent, Aile, and Zero all sitting down on different chairs looking at her. Rose is busy putting away a needle and other medical supplies. "Maybe I shouldn't be here after all. It's going to be dangerous for all of you if I'm around."
"We managed to take a closer look at what was wrong while you were unconscious." Ciel went to the screen and points at a diagram of Prairie's body. "Your neck is where Shademan bit you, and he seemed to have infected you with something. From time to time, that infection will spread throughout the rest of your body, with sharp pain as the first sign that it's happening. We managed to seal off the infection in the neck for now, so you should be fine." Ciel cringes and grasps her shoulder in pain.
"You shouldn't push yourself, Ciel." Zero helps Ciel onto the chair and Prairie notices a small band-aid on Ciel's neck. I remember now! I was the one who attacked her. Why are they still treating me like a friend even when I lost control like that?
"Do you feel funny?" Rose looks at Prairie worriedly. "If there's anything wrong, please tell me and I'll try to make things better." Prairie nods and sits up on the bed. She inspects herself for any injuries and to check on things.
"I feel alright now. I'll tell you if anything comes up." Prairie pauses for a moment. "Is it safe for me to resume the role of Commander?"
"There shouldn't be anything wrong with that, but you shouldn't push yourself… just in case." Rose adds the last part in as an afterthought and Prairie begins getting up.
"Just in case what?" Vent looks at Rose, then at Prairie, then back at Rose. "Should we be worried about anything?"
"This is the first time that I've had to work on anything like this, so I'm not sure if there are any harmful effects of the antidote. Even if you were completely fine, Prairie, I'd advise you to not push yourself anyways."
"I see that everything's fine here. I told X that I'd meet him right now." Zero leaves the room and the others slowly start to follow him. Prairie and Ciel leave together and head for their room.
"You don't need to feel bad about what happened." Ciel starts off a conversation as they walk in the hallway.
"I didn't say anything."
"Well, it's obvious that you're thinking that. The important thing is you managed to stop yourself at the end, and nobody got seriously injured. Rose is right. you do need to stop pushing yourself so hard."
"That's a lot coming from you. You push yourself harder than the people who are battling." Ciel shrugs at Prairie's comment.
"I guess that's true, but I usually get Zero to help me out when I need to." Ciel enters the room and Prairie follows her. "This place would fall apart without you, so everyone's naturally worried. I'm always here to help if that's what you need."
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"Are we ready to strike yet, Iris?" The hologram of Model W sits on a throne as a brown haired reploid starts typing at a computer.
"Almost, Master W," Model W nods and Phantom enters the room.
"Prometheus is ready to see you as requested." Prometheus appears and he bows down to Model W.
"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Model W replies by tossing two pictures on the ground in front of Prometheus. Prometheus looks at the pictures and sees that one is Vent while the other is Aile. "I don't quite follow what you're trying to show me with this."
"I've noticed that Pandora hasn't been acting quite like herself lately. She hasn't been as efficient doing some simple tasks that I assigned her. That's why I want you to get one of the Chosen Ones and bring them here as a replacement."
"You want to replace Pandora with one of them!? What makes you think that they'll be any better?" Prometheus looks at the Chosen Ones with disgust. "They've been trying to stop us ever since they first came in contact with the biometals. I doubt they'll just willingly join us like that."
"That's why I want you to make them join us. If they prove to be a lost cause, then finish them. If they don't, we'll have insurance in case Pandora turns out to be defective. Either way, it's a win-win situation."
Prometheus stares at the picture again. "How am I supposed to do this with Pandora as my partner? She'll get suspicious if I tell her that I want to capture the two Chosen Ones."
"Just say that I ordered you to capture them for a specific purpose." Model W stops for a moment to think. "Actually, it'll be better if you only get one of them. If those two are together, then they'll have hope. If they have hope, they're useless to me."
"Which one do you want me to get?"
"It doesn't matter. Choose whichever one you want." Prometheus looks at the Chosen Ones to make his decision. In the end, he puts his scythe through the picture of Aile.
"Since I want to finish off Vent personally, I'll just go for her." Model W nods and Prometheus exit the room.
"Oh, by the way, Prometheus…" Prometheus turns to Model W again. "Pandora isn't the only one who's been failing lately. Fail me again and I won't hesitate to remove you permanently."
"That's fine with me since I don't plan on losing to them anytime soon." Prometheus exits the room and Iris turns to Model W.
"The preparations are complete. Everything's ready on your command."
-----------POV Shift: Pandora-----------
The more I look around, the more this place seems like a prison to me. I guess I haven't really noticed this before because I wouldn't know anything thing to compare it with. I'm starting to wonder exactly what I am in this. Am I just a disposable pawn with no purpose other than to kill?
Lately, killing on command hasn't been as easy when Model W found stray reploids or humanoids. Prometheus still revels in violence, probably because that's the only thing that feels real to him now. Model W now has Phantom and that female reploid to do his bidding, which means he's free to readily toss Prometheus and me away.
I'm living on the edge of life and death. If I fail, I move closer to death and if I succeed, then I stay alive. Has all of this been predetermined by fate before I was born? When I was with the Guardians, I actually felt free from Model W's control.
My life wasn't in danger because of failure every day, and I was no longer a tool that had to prove its effectiveness. Now, I'm back here again, and I doubt that I have anywhere else to go. I'll just have to keep fighting for Model W, and hope that one day in the far future. I'll be able to earn my freedom once he gets what he wants.
Would I even get freedom if that happened or will he just eliminate me? If he does achieve his ultimate goal, then I'll be obsolete, unnecessary. How far do I have left to live? Is this life even worth living in anymore?
I don't get the same thrill of fighting that Prometheus does. He revels in the pain of others, and feeling pain is the price to pay for that. To him, that's what life is all about. What if that isn't what life is about for me?
Will I have to be stuck here all my life? If I attempt to escape, then I'll no doubt be terminated. I fought for Model W at first because I believed that the humanoids, reploids, and humans alike were all fools fighting in a cycle of power and Model W would be able to open their eyes.
Still, after being with the Guardians. I'm not sure about that anymore… Wait, is Prometheus coming back? I listen to the footsteps and Prometheus sure enough walks back in. "What did Model W want to talk to you about?"
"He wanted me to tell you that we'll be targeting the Chosen Ones and bringing them back." That's what he wanted to talk to Prometheus about? Why didn't he just send me with him as well? I guess it doesn't make a difference in the end.
"Which one are we talking about? Vent or Aile?"
"He said either would work, but I prefer to target Aile. That way, we'll be able to finish Vent off once and for all." Figures that he'd want to kill him, but I doubt that's happening any time soon.
"Why does Model W want to capture one of them?"
"I'm not sure. I don't concern myself with small details like that. Get all your equipment ready, we'll be leaving soon." Prometheus exits the room, leaving me behind. What could Model W possibly want with her?
That's one question that perhaps I won't know until we actually capture them. One thing I do know for sure is that if I fail, then I'll seem more defective to them and I'll become all the more disposable. All I can do now is follow orders, one after the other.
-----------POV Shift???-----------
Innerpeace
Things are becoming harder and harder for the Guardians. Sooner or later, they'll be wiped out trying to fight for a lost cause. I watched Shademan attack Prairie and bite her. Perhaps I could have stepped in and helped, but in the end, I didn't.
I walk a different path than them. It's something that they'll never be able to understand. The Guardians continue to fight and defend the inhabitants of Innerpeace, even if the inhabitants aren't worth protecting.
What they're trying to achieve is nothing but a fairy tale. There is and will never be a happily ever after for the world now. The humans built reploids in search of more power, and that search lead to conflict and wars.
The Guardians want to make this a world free of conflict and protect the inhabitants of Innerpeace. Those are two completely contradictory goals. It's like wanting to be both hot and cold at the same time. If humans, reploids, or humanoids continue to exist, someone will always seek power and that will always lead to conflicts.
The earth has been around for a long time, but in the short time that humans have inhabited it, the earth became a shadow of its former self. Humankind has become a dead race. They won't be going anywhere and will ultimately lead to their own demise no matter who tries to stop it.
If history isn't a perfect example of this, then I don't know what is. Sigma, Dr. Weil, and all those others who have came so close to taking over the world were seeking power. They just happened to have the means to do that. In the end, the only thing that we seek is power. Some think that they do it to protect those around them, and others seek power to rule. The answer to any conflict is always power, and that's why earth has become a dead planet.
I won't try to fool myself. I seek power just like everyone else, whether they admit it or not. I'm not even sure why I seek power anymore. Right now, it's nothing but a base instinct. It's the only way for me to survive and the only way to feel complete. Everyone has the need for power and the Guardians can't change that no matter how hard they try to fight for peace.
I don't have the same illusions as them about peace, and that's why I don't want to be involved with them. Even if they do manage to stop Model W and Shademan, there will always be more people seeking power and some will become a threat.
That's why all I do is watch them struggle for their unachievable dreams. Why do they continue fighting? Can't they tell that it just isn't worth it? To find the answers to that, I'll just have to keep watching and maybe one day I'll understand, or perhaps they'll finally understand that what they wish for is impossible.
Watching… that's all I plan to do. I won't throw myself into this mess by trying to help them. No matter how much my instincts tell me to help them, I'll just watch. This is all I can do to survive now. The world is struggling just to stay alive in this war zone. There used to be a perfect cycle of life before the humans came, but now, this world has become… defective.
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Well, it feels good to be writing again. I'll try to get this story back on track in the next week or so. Anyways, remember to R&R if all of you are still looking at this story.