Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2012 1:17:08 GMT
On earth, there was a beach that was relatively peaceful. It was winter time, and a weekday, so it was deserted save for the seagulls off in the distance crowing loudly, flying in a grey sky.
The scene is broken by someone who looks out of place, washed up on shore. A girl with long silver hair like starlight and wearing a spotless, though wet suit lay on shore, unconscious and alone. No.482.
As time slowly shuffled by the tide began to reach up further, it was a wake up call as the repugnant smell and grainy feel of sea salt began enveloping her once again. She slowly opened her eyes, which shone a bright red, and began consciously crawling away from the waves. When she was a safe distance away, she turned over on her back and began staring up at the sky. Her eyes were out of focus and she was trying desperately to understand her situation. And herself. She remembered times when her duties had required her to transform into various alien species... but never before had she actually felt what it was like to be alive. She had an odd feeling in her chest, it was unpleasant. She quickly rolled over and was sick in the sand. Most of it was salt water. The salt seemed to invade her senses, it smelt awful and she could feel its taste on her tongue. On the other hand, she was breathing. Calming down, she rolled away from the spot where she just was and spent some time trying to calm down. Where she was, alone in such an odd place, was a shore of timeless beauty in her eyes. A human may call it old, deserted, cold and isolated in a country not known for great beaches. But it had air. It had objects, whenever she shifted her head slightly she saw something new. The clouds above, the seagulls, the sea which seemed to stretch on forever, and as she looked down, the sand. Every individual colour a slightly different shade, and each one worth her attention. They fell between her fingers as she lifted them up, they were so fleeting, she knew she would never see them again however she would remember that this beach, this scenery which had slowly calmed her down, and eased the pain of the cold, the sea and the salt. It was painful, but this beach had been the midwife of her birth, her previous status as an object, a shadow of potential into something that had an identity.
She slowly got to her feet and stared out at the eternity she had come from.
The timeless moment would not last, however.
As she stared onwards, she noticed the sky begin to darken. It was still day, but the clouds had thickened. As the sea began to violently stir and the first dribbles of a torrential downpour fell around her, No.482 saw a figure. He was distant, a mere speck on the horizon. But his appearance had coincided with sudden change of weather, and somehow she felt that she had seen him before. Another shadow, one that surpassed the rest simply due to his ability to think. He chose to follow, it was not merely his innate function.
"No.1..." She whispered, only appearing to mouth the words she spoke.
Lightning struck and No.1 appeared to grow in size as he marched over the ocean. At least, that was how he appeared. The shadow appeared only as a silhouette, masked by the darkness and the distance.
The waves had once again reached No.482, when they splashed around her feet she dashed away from the beach and began running. All there was now was endless concrete road, there was some frost revenged grass to the side of her and the beach on the other, which was now stirring into a torrent as lightning suddenly flashed, turning the water into a classic storm scene as described by an exaggerating drunk sailor recounting his tales. She began to pick up speed as she grew used to running, but it was evident that the road which ran parallel to the ocean wasn't getting her much further. Still, she wouldn't be sure where to go if she took her chances with the grass. As such she still felt the glare of No.1 upon her, which felt like the red glow of a spotlight following her.
The road finally began to swerve in a different direction, and even though her soaked body had began to ache she continued running, working with the adrenaline provided by sheer terror, and her senses had gotten slightly sharper, now that she was awake. Unfortunately, the rain was determined to make her clothes difficult to move around in.
After a while she couldn't see the sea anymore, and collapsed. She lay flat on her back and tried to recall what had led her up to this moment, ignoring the rain.
She knew for certain that she had not been human originally, or even female. She had been previously genderless as a shadow, and presumably male when she had taken on the form of other species at other times, based upon her leader's reaction to her sudden 'physical defect'. Although those times were incredibly hazy, as she hadn't been thinking the way she did now. As she racked her brains further, she realised that her earliest memory was that of when she had just turned human. It hadn't felt any different to any other time, although for some reason her response to her leader's impatient and childish reaction to the transformation he himself had ordered had been met with an order of execution. His hand had been incredibly sticky, unpleasant and painful. Although, looking back she still felt that same thoughtless devotion even as she spoke against him. Her decision to speak against him had been spontaneous and furthermore felt natural, although it was not a conscious attempt at defying him. As such, she hadn't resisted as a man took her away for execution. What had happened there...
Like No.482, he didn't seem to take her away with any thought, and the trip through dark and barely illuminated corridors had been quiet. He had, however, been leading her along by the hand and every so often she had felt a twitch before he gripped tighter.
They had soon reached the execution room, it was a simple room with what appeared to be an airlock, shadows were made from empty space so returning them would be simple. This was the most economic way of making sure that Erebus always had enough energy to work with, but evidently he forgot this occasionally, because otherwise a shadow's death can lead to its energy being dispersed to places outside of his control. No.482 had been placed inside the airlock, however the shadow who had led her had some trouble with the simple act of pressing a button. She could faintly hear Erebus talking from the main room, as he named himself.
The shadow spoke up. It startled her a little.
"No.482, you are now a... defect, correct?" He asked.
No.482 was quiet for a while as she contemplated responding to someone other than her master.
"Yes." Was her reply.
"We may never see another defect... I certainly didn't see one after the change." He continued glumly.
"There will be others on earth."
"Yes, but I am not No.1! I'll still be up here while all that happens, not to mention Lord Erebus will keep any for himself, or just kill them if and when he's bored!" He exclaimed.
She wasn't sure how to respond to that. She walked up to the glass and blinked at him with her emotionless expression.
The shadow before her twitched, and his expression changed from one of bland indifference to that of a humans, changing occasionally to slight changes in emotions. He had conflicting looks of distress, sadness, jealousy and lust.
Eventually, he pressed a button and the airlock opened, however, the door on the inside opened, letting her back onto the ship.
"Why did you do that." She asked.
"I honestly don't know... can I touch you?" He asked, reaching a hand out. He touched her face and worked slowly downwards, onto the lips.
"What a strangely compelling sensation... ah!" He yelped, as he was suddenly interrupted by No.482 grabbing his wrist and quickly twisting it, breaking it within seconds. She did this with the same expression, it was a natural reaction, rather than one that was planned or explainable.
"Why the hell did you do that?" He asked as he began to cry. He hadn't felt pain before, nay, he had never been attacked before. Let alone by one of his own kind.
She thought for a moment.
"I didn't appreciate where you were touching." She responded.
Was that right? It felt like it had been the correct answer at the time.
He crawled up against the wall and continued to whimper in self pity.
"Why are fluids coming out of your body? You must be broken. I shouldn't bother Erebus with such trivial matters. I'll return you myself, maybe I'll see you again sometime." She vocalized as she dragged the male shadow into the airlock and sent him out into space. His body dissolved as he entered the infinite vacuum.
"Tell him his new name is Wiggles... No! Tenebrae." No.482 heard from down the corridor.
From that point her memories tended to blend together, and become hazy. She had moved through the corridors of the ship, searching for Tenebrae, and carefully avoiding doors leading into the main room where Erebus and the other shadows were. Something in her had clicked, and she decided consciously not to show herself in front of Erebus again. He was a danger to her existence, so in her new, human mind her instincts were slowly beginning to make sense.
Tenebrae had a ship that was virtually invisible, it camouflaged well with space and moved at high speeds that made it nearly invisible to the naked eye.
When Tenebrae had gotten in, she climbed into compact storage compartment and closed her eyes.
That was the last thing she remembered before waking up on the beach. When she considered the speed at which she had been moving at such and awkward position, she was worried that she didn't appear to be dazed or have more injuries. The water may have broken her fall, though, and it made sense that Tenebrae would land somewhere safe, not only an area that would quickly decrease his speeds, but also one where there were no people to watch the landing. No wonder she had been sick, lucky her it was just that. She began to feel a chill as she finished, then she slowly got up and continued walking. Tenebrae didn't seem to be anywhere, he could still be out to sea still, after all he had just been a silhouette. Could still mean he was still a long ways off.
Finally, she brushed off her suit and wrung out her hair as he rain finally began to subside, then looked up with those innocent red eyes, and for the first time ever, emoted happiness. Relief that she was alive at last, and was finally breathing her own air. Just beneath her feet, an eye opened.
The scene is broken by someone who looks out of place, washed up on shore. A girl with long silver hair like starlight and wearing a spotless, though wet suit lay on shore, unconscious and alone. No.482.
As time slowly shuffled by the tide began to reach up further, it was a wake up call as the repugnant smell and grainy feel of sea salt began enveloping her once again. She slowly opened her eyes, which shone a bright red, and began consciously crawling away from the waves. When she was a safe distance away, she turned over on her back and began staring up at the sky. Her eyes were out of focus and she was trying desperately to understand her situation. And herself. She remembered times when her duties had required her to transform into various alien species... but never before had she actually felt what it was like to be alive. She had an odd feeling in her chest, it was unpleasant. She quickly rolled over and was sick in the sand. Most of it was salt water. The salt seemed to invade her senses, it smelt awful and she could feel its taste on her tongue. On the other hand, she was breathing. Calming down, she rolled away from the spot where she just was and spent some time trying to calm down. Where she was, alone in such an odd place, was a shore of timeless beauty in her eyes. A human may call it old, deserted, cold and isolated in a country not known for great beaches. But it had air. It had objects, whenever she shifted her head slightly she saw something new. The clouds above, the seagulls, the sea which seemed to stretch on forever, and as she looked down, the sand. Every individual colour a slightly different shade, and each one worth her attention. They fell between her fingers as she lifted them up, they were so fleeting, she knew she would never see them again however she would remember that this beach, this scenery which had slowly calmed her down, and eased the pain of the cold, the sea and the salt. It was painful, but this beach had been the midwife of her birth, her previous status as an object, a shadow of potential into something that had an identity.
She slowly got to her feet and stared out at the eternity she had come from.
The timeless moment would not last, however.
As she stared onwards, she noticed the sky begin to darken. It was still day, but the clouds had thickened. As the sea began to violently stir and the first dribbles of a torrential downpour fell around her, No.482 saw a figure. He was distant, a mere speck on the horizon. But his appearance had coincided with sudden change of weather, and somehow she felt that she had seen him before. Another shadow, one that surpassed the rest simply due to his ability to think. He chose to follow, it was not merely his innate function.
"No.1..." She whispered, only appearing to mouth the words she spoke.
Lightning struck and No.1 appeared to grow in size as he marched over the ocean. At least, that was how he appeared. The shadow appeared only as a silhouette, masked by the darkness and the distance.
The waves had once again reached No.482, when they splashed around her feet she dashed away from the beach and began running. All there was now was endless concrete road, there was some frost revenged grass to the side of her and the beach on the other, which was now stirring into a torrent as lightning suddenly flashed, turning the water into a classic storm scene as described by an exaggerating drunk sailor recounting his tales. She began to pick up speed as she grew used to running, but it was evident that the road which ran parallel to the ocean wasn't getting her much further. Still, she wouldn't be sure where to go if she took her chances with the grass. As such she still felt the glare of No.1 upon her, which felt like the red glow of a spotlight following her.
The road finally began to swerve in a different direction, and even though her soaked body had began to ache she continued running, working with the adrenaline provided by sheer terror, and her senses had gotten slightly sharper, now that she was awake. Unfortunately, the rain was determined to make her clothes difficult to move around in.
After a while she couldn't see the sea anymore, and collapsed. She lay flat on her back and tried to recall what had led her up to this moment, ignoring the rain.
She knew for certain that she had not been human originally, or even female. She had been previously genderless as a shadow, and presumably male when she had taken on the form of other species at other times, based upon her leader's reaction to her sudden 'physical defect'. Although those times were incredibly hazy, as she hadn't been thinking the way she did now. As she racked her brains further, she realised that her earliest memory was that of when she had just turned human. It hadn't felt any different to any other time, although for some reason her response to her leader's impatient and childish reaction to the transformation he himself had ordered had been met with an order of execution. His hand had been incredibly sticky, unpleasant and painful. Although, looking back she still felt that same thoughtless devotion even as she spoke against him. Her decision to speak against him had been spontaneous and furthermore felt natural, although it was not a conscious attempt at defying him. As such, she hadn't resisted as a man took her away for execution. What had happened there...
Like No.482, he didn't seem to take her away with any thought, and the trip through dark and barely illuminated corridors had been quiet. He had, however, been leading her along by the hand and every so often she had felt a twitch before he gripped tighter.
They had soon reached the execution room, it was a simple room with what appeared to be an airlock, shadows were made from empty space so returning them would be simple. This was the most economic way of making sure that Erebus always had enough energy to work with, but evidently he forgot this occasionally, because otherwise a shadow's death can lead to its energy being dispersed to places outside of his control. No.482 had been placed inside the airlock, however the shadow who had led her had some trouble with the simple act of pressing a button. She could faintly hear Erebus talking from the main room, as he named himself.
The shadow spoke up. It startled her a little.
"No.482, you are now a... defect, correct?" He asked.
No.482 was quiet for a while as she contemplated responding to someone other than her master.
"Yes." Was her reply.
"We may never see another defect... I certainly didn't see one after the change." He continued glumly.
"There will be others on earth."
"Yes, but I am not No.1! I'll still be up here while all that happens, not to mention Lord Erebus will keep any for himself, or just kill them if and when he's bored!" He exclaimed.
She wasn't sure how to respond to that. She walked up to the glass and blinked at him with her emotionless expression.
The shadow before her twitched, and his expression changed from one of bland indifference to that of a humans, changing occasionally to slight changes in emotions. He had conflicting looks of distress, sadness, jealousy and lust.
Eventually, he pressed a button and the airlock opened, however, the door on the inside opened, letting her back onto the ship.
"Why did you do that." She asked.
"I honestly don't know... can I touch you?" He asked, reaching a hand out. He touched her face and worked slowly downwards, onto the lips.
"What a strangely compelling sensation... ah!" He yelped, as he was suddenly interrupted by No.482 grabbing his wrist and quickly twisting it, breaking it within seconds. She did this with the same expression, it was a natural reaction, rather than one that was planned or explainable.
"Why the hell did you do that?" He asked as he began to cry. He hadn't felt pain before, nay, he had never been attacked before. Let alone by one of his own kind.
She thought for a moment.
"I didn't appreciate where you were touching." She responded.
Was that right? It felt like it had been the correct answer at the time.
He crawled up against the wall and continued to whimper in self pity.
"Why are fluids coming out of your body? You must be broken. I shouldn't bother Erebus with such trivial matters. I'll return you myself, maybe I'll see you again sometime." She vocalized as she dragged the male shadow into the airlock and sent him out into space. His body dissolved as he entered the infinite vacuum.
"Tell him his new name is Wiggles... No! Tenebrae." No.482 heard from down the corridor.
From that point her memories tended to blend together, and become hazy. She had moved through the corridors of the ship, searching for Tenebrae, and carefully avoiding doors leading into the main room where Erebus and the other shadows were. Something in her had clicked, and she decided consciously not to show herself in front of Erebus again. He was a danger to her existence, so in her new, human mind her instincts were slowly beginning to make sense.
Tenebrae had a ship that was virtually invisible, it camouflaged well with space and moved at high speeds that made it nearly invisible to the naked eye.
When Tenebrae had gotten in, she climbed into compact storage compartment and closed her eyes.
That was the last thing she remembered before waking up on the beach. When she considered the speed at which she had been moving at such and awkward position, she was worried that she didn't appear to be dazed or have more injuries. The water may have broken her fall, though, and it made sense that Tenebrae would land somewhere safe, not only an area that would quickly decrease his speeds, but also one where there were no people to watch the landing. No wonder she had been sick, lucky her it was just that. She began to feel a chill as she finished, then she slowly got up and continued walking. Tenebrae didn't seem to be anywhere, he could still be out to sea still, after all he had just been a silhouette. Could still mean he was still a long ways off.
Finally, she brushed off her suit and wrung out her hair as he rain finally began to subside, then looked up with those innocent red eyes, and for the first time ever, emoted happiness. Relief that she was alive at last, and was finally breathing her own air. Just beneath her feet, an eye opened.