_Essex_

"Mmf!"

Suddenly surprised by Midas' quickened step, she clung to him, her arm retreating back into the blanket. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

Seraphim 666...If they find me, I'm....

"Run, sir...!" her soft voice urged Midas Phillis on. A soft green glow surrounded him as he felt his adrenalin pick up to astonishingly high levels...

"...Yes sir." Essex's voice chimed out from the bundle. It was strange. Something within her was afraid of Midas, but...for now, he was protecting her.

The outside world was so dark and dreary. She couldn't even remember it before her time in the cell. Though something within her remembered blue skies and a city of colorful allies...it all seemed so far away now.

Luckily, no-one seemed to disturb them as they headed back to the bunker...

"Nnh..."

Essex blinked in surprise as she felt herself scooped up in a protective embrace by Midas.

Midas Phillis would notice with some surprise how incredibly light the girl was. Most of her mass was the blanket she wore, after all.

After a moment, a white arm snaked out of the blanket to cling to him in turn. The child buried her head fearfully into his chest as they made their way to his bunker.

I'm cold...and I'm frightened. This is real fear...

"I...." Essex began softly, timidly, holding her toast and looking up at Midas with large, frightened green eyes.

Then the police burst in.

"Everyone out!" the bartender yelled compliantly. He had no business interfering with the Army of Life.

As the vagabonds hurriedly shuffled to the door, Essex looked....lost. She huddled, frightened, into her blanket, letting the plate of toast clatter harmlessly to the floor.

The restaurant owner's eyes were fixed on the little girl. The huddled little thing, with a cut across one cheek that contrasted with the pale, ivory white of her skin, looked truly pitiful wrapped in the grey blanket, her white shift barely peeking out from underneath.

"....Here you go, kid." he said, offering the girl, as promised, a couple pieces of dry toast and a glass of water. Essex's eyes lit up. There was a bit of grape jam on the toast!! Just the tiniest bit...but she could smell it.

It struck her. She could smell it. It didn't seem like such a big deal, but ...she never could have smelled anything before. And while she had always had a sense of smell in this strange world, she had never smelled anything but the sterile hospital/laboratory smell of her cell.

Squirrelling her prize to a dark corner, she sat on the floor, nearly disappearing into the shadows as she munched on the toast like an eager mouse.

She didn't notice the form of Midas Phillis among the others, who seemed to make room for the tiny girl. She made some of them nervous...though others, when they looked at her, couldn't help but feel the smallest twinge...

...of hope.

((Only because you left, Soviet.

))

Essex stumbled through the alleys. Her white-skinned feet were bare, and the gravel of the ground tore at them.

....I should be able to...

Her feet gently lifted off the ground at the merest thought. A bit surprised at her magical ability, she hesitated.

...At least my capabilities are not wholly different than I'm used to...

Testingly, she attempted a nanite pulse to heal her cut and bleeding feet. To her satisfaction, a pulse, not of nanites, but of magical energy came to her aid, quickly healing the skin completely.

...Two sets of memories. I distinctly remember being a robot...and yet....I know my mother's face. I have been in that chamber for...I don't recall how long. But didn't I go to the store yesterday? ....How curious.

The little girl's stomach growled miserably. She hadn't eaten much of her gruel that morning - and her memories informed her that she was only allotted one meal per day.

She had no money. All she had was her blanket and the white shift.

Essex moved up to a small restaurant, just as the owner was dumping garbage out the back. The man stared at her for a second.

"You lookin' for a meal, kid?"

Essex bit her lip and nodded.

"Can ya sing?"

Essex paused.

"I..."

"Whatever. C'mon in. We need some entertainment. Usually we get the drunk homeless guys to sing, but a little kid should be pretty entertaining. If you do well enough I'll give you some toast, all right?"

Essex was glad that her blanket reached to the ground as she carefully touched down and took the man's hand. She was shocked at how white her skin was...

...and then wasn't. She had spent the last several years of her life in the underground room, she thought with certainty.

Thrown up on stage, she stumbled a bit, her bare feet making light patters on the splintered wood. Leering eyes stared up at the little girl as she took down the microphone carefully.

Pausing to wet her lips uncertainly, her voice softly began to form a tune.

...Sillhouettes above the cradle,
Hold me down,
They won't let me go the wrong way.

My mother taught me all the fables,
Told me how,
In the end, all the sinners have to pay.

And I don't wanna live like my mother,
I don't wanna,
Let fear rule my life,
I don't wanna live like my father,
I don't wanna,
Give up before I die...

He worked so hard, his bones are breaking,
He wore them down,
Long ago he lost the feeling...

His good intentions leave me shaking,
Show me how,
I don't ever want to end up like he did.

And I don't wanna live like my mother,
I don't wanna,
Let fear rule my life,

I don't wanna live like my father,
I don't wanna,
Give up before I die..."

Essex's voice was clear and soft, and a strange feeling hung in the air. There was something about her song that was...disarming. The sharp eyes of the men in the bar seemed...not as sharp. They almost seemed lost as they rested on the tiny girl with the wispy blonde hair and the pale white skin.

((Nah, it's not dead. :3 I just need my co-GM. T_T))

((OH.

...

I'm not rewriting mine. XD))

"[censored]!" Pariku cursed. He didn't know much about the gases of this world, but this one raised a red flag, mentally.

Nena was one thing - she was a Paladin, and as such was immune to poisons. But she was injured and loopy. And Pariku had no protection against poisonous gas.

"Hurry out!!" he called. "Someone get Nena! We need to get out, NOW!"

"Heeeeey!" Rosie protested as she snatched her orange juice off Toy's head just before he shifted out again. Sitting down to enjoy her overly meaty omelet, she pouted.

Essex in the meantime, handed off the last crepe to Kaloa with a big smile. "Thank you for helping me!" she chirped. "I put extra raspberries in yours!" With that, she began to clean up, humming happily.

((Khell, tell me if this is out of line and I'll re-evaluate. Since the entire world is deciding to be magic-origin, I'm thinking extraneous technology would be frowned upon.))

Awakening.

Essex wearily came back to herself. The walls were steely grey and inhospitable. She was cold.

The sound of footsteps hurrying down stone stairs pounded against the metal walls.

Wait...I'm cold. What-- Rubbing over her hands dully, still groggy from sleep, the girl noticed with some degree of surprise that she was...organic. It wasn't as much of a shock as it should have been - and the fact that she wasn't surprised surprised her more than the change.

The door unlocked and creaked open with a flash of sigils. A familiar, though haggard face greeted her. Dr. West stood there, bloodstained labcoat and hands dyed with chemicals. He carried none of the tech that he usually kept with him at all times, and Essex realized with some surprise that it was because he was a magibiologist.

But ...wasn't he a roboticist? ...And wasn't I a robot? she mentally asked herself, confused. No...He's a magibiologist...and has always been. Of course...

"...Breakfast, Selene." West said, bringing in a small tray of food. It was gruel...but there was a pinch of sugar in it, to Essex's delight (which she was promptly surprised at).

"Good morning, Dr. West." Essex murmured, standing on her feet.

"Hah..." West said, his eyes reflecting the sadness that seemed latent in them already. "...Have you abandoned calling me 'father' already? I cannot say I blame you. Your stepmother would be pleased...though I refuse to reduce you to a serial number. You're not just another experiment...you're my daughter."

Essex was lost as the words seemingly brought themselves from her lips. "No...I'm sorry, Father."

"...You're my last joy, Selene." West said, looking into the little girl's eyes as he rifled his hand through her blonde hair. "I won't...let anything happen to you."

"Daniel!" a voice called from behind. "What are you doing? You know you're not supposed to touch that monstrosity."

"Ah...coming, Gretchen." West called back. Looking back down at Essex, his eyes were dull again. "Don't worry, Selene...my little Selene. Even though I must keep you hidden away...Even though your stepmother despises you and the whole world would rejoice at your destruction...I will protect you."

With that, the doctor hurried out of the cell, leaving Essex to wonder at the entire situation in puzzlement. She could hear Gretchen and Daniel in the hallway, not far away.

"What were you doing in there?"

"...Feeding her. She needs to eat, Gretchen."

"Tch. Let her die, already. If the Overmagus finds out, we're both dead. I don't know why you insist on keeping her. She shouldn't be alive anyway."

"....She is a valuable research subject, daughter or not."

"I wish you would abandon the Seraphim 666 project."

"They will KILL her, Gretchen. I won't let that happen to my daughter!!"

"Oh, so you ARE still harboring paternal feelings for that ...thing! Mark my words, Daniel, if you don't get rid of her, -I- will. And I will bring her blood to the Overmagus as tribute. But you...you, liebchen, will die in the gutter."

"....Yes, dear."

Seraphim 666? Essex thought absently, itching her back. She was surprised to suddenly be in pain.

There was a mirror over the small sink in the cell, and she hurried over it to look at her back. There were two long, vertical scars between her shoulder blades.

What...is going on? What's happened to Dr. West? Who's this...Overmagus?

The door opened again. Dr. West stepped through again, a revolver in his hand and a look on his face that epitomized grief and defeat.

"Come, Selene." he murmured. "We are going out."

A blonde woman stood behind, watching smugly. Dr. Gretchen Fleischman-West. Her stepmother.

--------------------------

There weren't many unattended areas in the world, but there were enough back alleys where murder and illegal activity was rampant. Clothed in a white laboratory shift and a mottled grey blanket around her, Selene tagged beside her father, looking around with her soft green eyes at the despondant world. The air was thick with magic...

West walked, his head down and his steps heavy, arm around Selene to hurry her along. Slowly, he led her into a back alley near the edge of town.

"Close your eyes, Selene." he said, in a dead voice that was not a suggestion.

"....Yes, Father." she replied quietly, closing her eyes and bowing her head. She knew what was coming. Selene only hoped her death would make life easier for her father...

She felt a wet hand pressed to her forehead, then fondling through her hair. She felt the slow fall of blood trickling down beside her nose, and couldn't help but sneeze.

"Run."

"Ah?"

"Run, Selene. No....not Selene. You mustn't be found. ....Seraphim 666....Selene... S....666... ....S6. ....Ess-six. ...Essex. Your name is Essex."

"Father?"

"I've placed a sigil on you. If they find you, they will kill you. They will hunt you down and destroy you utterly. Or worse. They will harvest you."

Essex's eyes opened and she looked up at her father. A glowing rune slowly retreated from his hand...the shape of a tiny butterfly. She couldn't know, but the mark was also on her forehead, framed in a circle of her father's blood.

"Look for the resistance." he murmured. "It's too late for me. I cannot escape them. Gretchen will never allow me to stand against the Overmagus...Now run."

He lowered the revolver to point at her, his eyes stormy.

"Run, damn you. RUN!!!"

A shot passed her cheek, slicing a thin stripe of blood across the child's white flesh. She remained there only a moment longer, green eyes wide and frightened, before she clustered the grey blanket more tightly around herself and took off running as fast as her thin legs could carry her.

"Haha....hahahaha..." Dr. West's broken laugh echoed through the alley, tempered with sobs as he raised the revolver for a final shot.

Essex didn't look back to see her father lying dead in the alley, gun barrel still clenched in his teeth.

"You are one smooth criminal." Rosalind teased as she balanced a glass of orange juice on Toy's head.

"Are you all right?" Essex cried, all concern.

"I'm actually not a very good cook." Essex replied cheerfully to Toy. "I only really can make these, because they're sweet and I can taste the-"

She turned to face him and froze, not realizing that she was talking to someone invisible and intangible.

"....sir Toy?" she murmured in despondant bepuzzlement.

Rosie in the meantime was all too eager to help Acid. "Don't forget the peppers!" she called out, grabbing some red and green peppers and beginning to shred them. "And some salsa - and extra cheese - and - and - and --"

The were-human was more than happy to be an extra set of hands for the lizardlike fellow.

[ QUOTE ]
He didn't really like blueberries,

[/ QUOTE ]

((HERESY. The angel averts her eyes. XD))

"Uaagh!!" Nena was blown backwards by the negative energy, completely overwhelmed. Instantly a stack of Rikti were on her, aggressively slicing at the paladin's flesh with their weapons.

The wounds were not as bad as they should have been, however, and though she screamed bloody murder, kicking and flailing and slashing with her sword, it was more of an angry scream than one of pain.

"Nena!" Pariku shouted, the mage's gaze darkening. Curses, man, Lord Apollo will never forgive you if you let his sister's Paladin fall. he thought disconsolately.

Magical energies washed over the group in front of the portal, stabilizing and strengthening them, bolstering their health.

"Get up, moron!!" the young man snarled.

"Ancestor? To who, foo?" Rosalind laughed. "Sure, I'm almost freakin' 200 years old, but that ain't nothing to some spirits. And I haven't had a litter or anything. Sheesh." Heading over to Acid, her tail's wag intensified. "Now what are YOU up to?" she asked, her eyes growing large and watery at all the meaty goodness. "This is more my speed."

Essex smiled down at Hal from where she hovered at the stovetop. "Oh, don't be so depressed." she said cheerily. "They're crepes. I made you one special, see?"

She hovered down a bit, holding out a plate to Hal with a crepe on it - the half-folded circle of pastry on half the plate, full of fruit, and two strawberries and a blueberry making the whole production a smiley face.

"Tada!" she chirped. "But I don't know what kind of fruit you like best."

"Oh, you!" Essex scolded Kaloa laughingly, waving the spatula. "That one was for sir Acid! Oh well. They're easy enough."

"Then you won't care if I finish this one." Rosalind smirked as she scooped up the plate and wolfed down the contents. She winced a bit. "Damn, girl, how can you make this stuff? It's like a cookie got with a lollipop and had a freakin' sugar baby. Gew. Give me meat, any day."

Nevertheless, her tail was wagging, and she licked her lips.

Cheerfully, Essex got to work, using the remnants of the first batch of batter to keep making crepes busily. "Sir Lyden, would you like one?" she sang, tying a little white apron around her waist. "And good morning, Hal-chan, sir Moonscribe! It's good to see you."

"Hey, Moonie." Rosalind teased a little. "So go over that with me again. Was that... Pharaoh, Priestess, Pharaoh, Pharaoh?" she asked, pointing to Acid, herself, Kefetasura, and Tomanton, "or Pharaoh, Priestess, Pharaoh, Pharaoh?" now pointing to Kaloa, Essex, Hallucinogen, and Helper.

"I ain't no Priestess, ya know." she said with a toothy grin.

"Watch and learn." Essex chirped.

Mixing some sugar, the eggs, some milk, and a few other ingredients in a bowl, she made a very thin batter. Grabbing up a spatula, she put a very thin layer at the bottom of the now-hot pan, the resulting object turning into a thin, delicate, flat and sweet pancake. It was more like a tortilla than anything else.

Essex carefully slid the crepe out of the pan and onto a nearby plate, piling fruit inside carefully in a line. On a thought, she mixed some sweet cream cheese up and added it to the inside, folding it over and topping with whipped cream.

"This, sir..." she said to Acid with a bright smile, "...is a crepe."

((Uh? I like this thread...

Don't worry Leo - it's just hard, as a GM, to get a handful of unpredictable players to think and go exactly how you want them to. :3 I, myself, am really dense. Sometimes I don't even get clues if they're mashed in my face. XD; ))

"No, nothing..." Essex said with a shake of her head. "I didn't really expect to find anything, though... my scanners are pretty limited."

Scootching over closer to Naga and Ian, she fidgeted.

"W-what do we do now?" she asked.

"Hell yeah! Couldn't be better!" Rosalind cheered as she came in one of the sliding glass doors. She was wearing long workout pants and a white sports bra, white tennis shoes and a old-fashioned cassette player in her hands, the earbuds up a little far to be placed in her canine ears. The were-human had gotten up at 7 sharp for a jog, as was her tradition, and she had greatly enjoyed the view of the grounds as she ran.

"Beautiful day out there." she said, a white towel she had grabbed from the poolside about her shoulders as she wiped the sweat from her face. Flushed with exercise, she seemed in a very good mood. "Got some clouds on their way, though, which may or may not give us trouble."

"Oh, I do hope not." Essex said quietly, hovering down the stairs, dressed neatly in her usual uniform. "I don't generally do well with electrical storms."

Stopping at the kitchen, she bowed her head politely with a smile. "Good morning, Helper, Sir Kaloaten, Sir Tomanton, Sir Kefetasura, Miss Rosalind, Sir Lyden. I hope everyone had a pleasant night."

With that, she began to rifle through the refrigerator, pulling out some eggs (regular, not the ones for the challenge), flour, some fruit, and some whipped cream.

"If anyone would like some breakfast, I will be making crepes." she said, hovering up a little higher to grab a frying pan and turning on the stovetop.

((Take your time, Nin. :3 We'll wait. *waves little flag*))

Hehe. ^^;

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm usually either gone or in game for the weekend. Sometimes both, when I sneak onto a friend's computer.

I get petulant and fussy when I'm waiting on a reaction and it seemingly takes forever to pop up - but that's just because I'm a brat. XD

"Nnh..." Essex sighed a little in her 'sleep,' squeezing the toy a bit closer. "...Mma...laser beam...Miss Earth....golf cart..."

Her hard memory always took the time to defragment when she slept, resulting in some pretty wacked out dreams most of the time.

----------------

Rosie stopped kicking her legs in the air and looked over at Toy upside down, rubber newspaper in her teeth and her ears flopped open in large triangles.

"Arf!" the dog replied with a satisfied wag of her tail.

Rosalind yelped in surprise and the border collie tumbled down the stairs, limbs flailing.

When she impacted the ground, she poofed back into humanoid form.

"Holy crap, you scared the bejeezus out of me!" she gasped. "Yeah, [censored], boy, don't use that one again! [censored], I orally fixate at night, so you woulda had some nice tooth marks in ya if y'weren't careful."

Dusting herself off, she trotted up the stairs with a last ruffle of Hal's hair. "Night kid."

Reaching her and Toy's room, she flounced onto the bed, and rifled about in the backpack she'd brought until she brought out a small rubber newspaper, the squeaker taken out (for politeness' sake). Transforming back into border collie form, she rolled over on her back, kicking her feet a little as she chewed the toy.