Demon World

Fransisco scowled at the demons as the German called for everyone to get moving. He walked swiftly, not running, he wouldn't run from these demons and was one of the last ones to make it aboard the small ship. He chose to sit by himself. Sat down and opened up his bible and flipped to one of his favorite passages, the Gospel of Matthew 6:9–13.

The lords prayer, always a good passage. Certainly good enough for the moment.

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Joseph waited for everyone to finally get into the ship then spun around quickly running into the ship, hitting the close on the door. It snapped shut firmly. He wasn't actually supposed to be going with the group but he didn't really have anywhere to go. That and the pilot was no where to be found. He walked to the front, got into the pilot's seat shouted. "Hold on tight." And then began hitting buttons quickly and skillfully.

A moment later the hatch below the ship snapped open, and the ship dropped like lead into the rushing water. Another moment and the engines snapped on and the ship lurched forward under the ocean like a stingray. Joseph cranked up the speed more, neatly avoided a swiming Snapper that tried to latch on to the ship and then launched the ship out of the water at a 40' angle. The ship flew started to stall and a flick of a switch the purpellors stopped and the power shifted the the jet engines inside of the 'wings' and Joseph smiled, it had actually worked. He flipped the switch to the speaker. "Ve vill be ariving at our destination within a half an hour. In case of an emergency kiss your ass good bye. Thank you for choosing prototype air, pray that ve don't die horribly... Oh and I think i broke a rib or two, is their a doctor on the plane?" With that he switched it off. Smiling to himself.

Only the Scottish man answered Meav, murmuring "Yes," with a nod towards the carnage outside. Meav was unsure whether he was actually injured himself, or if he was simply referring to the dismembered bodies of the guards that were quite clearly beyond help. If it was the latter, Meav wasn't laughing.

Before she could ask him to clarify the statement the Spanish priest and the CO bundled into the ship. They were the last, and the CO quickly sealed the hatch and made his way to the pilot's seat.

A brief moment later the ship dropped like a stone into the water. Meav's stomach was suddenly in her throat and the queasiness remained for a few more minutes as the ship lurched into motion, smoothly gaining speed until it broke the surface. There was a stuttering as the engine nearly stalled, but soon enough they heard the roaring hum of power transferring from the propellors to the jet turbines. Soon after was a crackling of static electricity, and then the CO's voice came over the speaker.

".... I think I broke a rib or two, is there a doctor on the plane?"

Setting down her rifle, Meav picked up her bag and got to her feet.

"That's my cue," she muttered as she made her way to the front of the plane. The CO was sat casually in the pilot's seat, smiling nonchalantly. Not something she'd expect if he had fractured his ribs.

"You called for a doctor?"

Joseph was happy to see that the medic made her way quickly up front. "Yes." He replied and unbuttoned his jacket shrugging it off and standing, the 'plane' on auto pilot, he set it over the chair and then did the same with the collared shirt, and then again with the white T-shirt and pulled that over his head. "Military loves it's layered uniforms." He anounced as he folded the shirt and set it on the seat. Being a military man he had little shame of having to show his body, which he shouldn't, chivled and rock hard, abbs to pecks, would have been impressive if it wasn't for the red sore looking mark on his right side that was begining to swell. He waited paitently for the woman's medical advice and service.

He took the moment to go over what he remembered about her. Meav Stewart 25 year old doctor. So she was obviously inteligent, from what he had heard she was a genius at what she did. Combined that with her slender yet strong build and her beautiful long hair Joseph was certainly impressed.

While the CO removed his jacket, shirt and tshirt, Meav rummaged through her bag to pull out her medical-kit. She probably wouldn't need it if it was a rib fracture but it never hurt to be prepared.

"Military loves its layered uniforms." Glancing up, Meav realised he was ready for her medical inspection. He had a lean build for a military man, albeit still a muscular one, and close up she realised he was younger than she had taken him for. In fact he was probably even younger than her.

There was a clear red swelling on his right side; painful looking, certainly, but not proof of a fracture. With her fingertips Meav began to apply gentle pressure to the area, carefully watching the CO's reaction.

"Take a deep breath in for me," she instructed, "And let me know if and where it hurts and how much."

Ava had retracted inward, keeping only half a mind in the small room, scanning for orders, letting the other half retreat to a place of colourful chaos. She stared blankly at the person opposite of her, or rather, trough the person, ignoring her surroundings until she was spoken to, like she had done many times before.

She could give a second to second account of what had transpired before they had entered this moving room, but in the true meaning of the word, she did not ‘remember’ it. A living surveillance system, there was so much she had witnessed without being there, the boundaries had faded, or rather, never been installed. She had witnessed it, but the emotional meaning, the way she had felt, it was not relevant, and had not been stored.

Mentally, she had reached her list of things she liked and of the things that were calming, perhaps the only two emotions HERA had taught her to be relevant. Or rather, the only two things Vivian had told her. Her caretaker was on the ‘like’ list, as well as the ‘calming’ list. Ava tried to add the voices of several of the party to the ‘calming’ list, but her mind had already erupted again into a colourful chaos.

Alison remained calmly glued to her seat as the sub dropped, dove into the sea, then rose into the sky. Inwardly she had wondered how a sub would get them into New York. Surely, the docks would be swarming with demons? Coming in by air was a better idea, though still very dangerous in its own ways. And the way their CO described this sub gave her the impression that demons were the least of their worries. Boys and their toys. He was almost as bad as the cube lady, who was now seated across from her with that weird device on her lap.

But weirder still was that little girl. She was also sitting across the aisle from Alison, almost directly across from her, blankly staring straight ahead. Alison followed her line of sight, but it seemed the girl was just staring at the wall, not the window. Ummm... okay... she must be bored or something, she thought and tried to mind her own business, but it proved to be more difficult than expected.

It wasn't her style to care much about other people, but it also wasn't her style to go demon hunting with little kids, especially ones as as strange as this. Maybe she's an orphan or maybe she was dropped on her head as a baby. She could be retarded or something. Alison took a deep breath and exhaled, then leaned forward in her seat slightly, eye level with the child, and spoke slowly. "Alice," she said, pointing to herself. "You like butterflies?"

"Take a deep breath in for me," she instructed calmly, "And let me know if and where it hurts and how much."

He followed the directions wincing slightly as she gently proded his wound. "Right their." He replied as she hit a soft spot. "Feels like getting beat vith a bat." He added, hoping that all that was needed was a simple wrap. He had been forced along with this group and wasn't about to be dead weight. "I just need a patch job to hold me over, nothing that might slow me down." He added, he would not allow himself to be dead weight.

Something dropped into her line of sight, but in truth, it mattered little. Orders were to be spoken, unless they were written down, in which case she would first be ordered to read the orders out loud. Usually. Then again, this wasn’t like any other mission Ava had participated in. The people saying words she did not understand or asking question she could not answer.

“Alice.” Ava’s eyes focused on the woman, finding the woman’s eyes and staring straight into them before noticing the finger. At HERA, they had pointed when they had wanted her to see something, but what this woman was pointing at, she couldn’t see.

“You like butterflies?” Did she like the butterflies? It was an odd question, like “Do you like your hand?”. She did not like the butterflies the way she liked Vivian, who was calming and made her feel warm, nor did she like them the way she liked cucumber sandwiches, who made her feel good, but only during the process of eating them.

But yes, she ‘liked’ the butterflies; the butterflies were what she used to complete orders, and she ’liked’ the way Vivian treated her when she had completed orders. The butterflies led to completed orders, which led to Vivian and cucumber sandwiches. So yes, she liked them. “Yes,” she said, face still blank.

Directly after answering the question, she raised her hand in the air.

The others collected their belongings and they headed onto the decks as intended swiftly losing the naval staff. Clearly they hadn't got much training in this kind of combat situation all of them but the captain had been killed and it looked like they were taking him along for the mission opposed to his short term delivery plan. At least he knew how to handle himself, might prove an asset if not he'd act as a distraction.

The group seemed to have a skill to piss away ammo the only one he could give credit to was the one with the sniper rifle. Once again he remained inactive. He was probably the only one who hadn't acted yet. Perhaps they'd pull him up on it in the transport if they weren't to caught up in the heat of the battle. He didn't need to be told twice to get on the transport and neither did some of the others. This wasn't the kind of way he wanted to travel as it lurched into the air and the announcement was hardly reassuring.

"I just need a patch job to hold me over, nothing that might slow me down."

Meav glanced briefly up at him, but said nothing until she'd finished examining the swollen area. When she was satisfied, she stood and took the few steps back to her bag. She pulled out a notebook and pen and jotted down a few notes; not a proper medical chart or record by any means, but efficient enough for the purpose.

Finally she looked back up at the CO.

"No patch job," she said firmly. "Bandages don't really do any good for broken ribs. It looks like a clean fracture with some bruising, should heal fine by itself in a few weeks as long as you're careful. I'll give you painkillers that you must take regularly."

As she spoke she pulled out small bottles of paracetamol and ibuprofen. "You can take them together, but try to space them out and take them regularly. If you're still in pain even with both I can also give you codeine."

Turning to look at him she added, "Don't try and put up with the pain. It's stupid, pointless and dangerous. If the pain stops you breathing and coughing it can cause chest infections and other complications. Now just a couple more things - is there pain anywhere other than the fracture site? Shoulder, back or lower abdomen?"

He listened to her instructions intently nodding occasionally. "You're the doctor." He anounced before slowly rolling his shoulders and then slowly flexing his back. His muscles tightening one at a time. "Just some brusing I think." He commented. Everything felt like it was ok.

He looked locked eyes with her for a moment thoughtfully then quickly pulled his fitting white T over his head and glanced over at the rest of his uniform thoughtfully, before deciding to stay with just his T, it'd allow him better movement. The dress uniform was not something designed for actual combat.

He paused and looked her over decideing that he would like her oppionion. "What do you think of the little girl Ava?" He asked suddenly, he still hadn't managed to get his own oppionion of her. The woman was obviously smart, maybe she could decifer the child.

The little girl stared for a rather long time before she finally answered the question. Alison studied her face during the long pause. She didn't light up with delight or frown with dismay at the question, like an ordinary child would. She turned it over in her brain, bombarding it with cold epressionless logic. the question wasn't confusing -- that would've shown up on her face too -- it was simply in the wrong format.

She's processing it like a computer, Alison concluded just before the girl responded. One word: "yes." The girl certainly wasn't stupid; Simple maybe, but not stupid. And she wasn't 'damaged' either; whatever had been done to her brain (and the rest of her) was intentional, not accidental. She thinks like a machine, but has 'likes' and 'dislikes' like a human.

But just when Alison thought she understood, the girl raised her hand. She had a question of her own. "You have a question?" Alison said. Then, remembering that meeting a question with a question probably wasn't the right 'format', and could cause 'errors', she added "go ahead and ask."

The sub lurched downward and that caused a bit of discomfort, the negative G forces rolling up on her stomach making her want to expell food particles. Great she was thinking like a scientist on simple matters, she really didn't need to do it, but years of habit had caused her to do it. The sub then lurched up, nearly stalled and took off like a jet.

The CO had given an announcement that added to the discomfort. He also requested a doctor, which was answered by one of the women grabbing a bag and heading up to the cockpit. She took a brief look around her, others were thinking, staring, or something else. The girl with the sniper was conversing with the child who, after digging around and finding nothing, was even stranger than Erika had anticipated.

She gave simple answers, and had long thought processes, she also had emotionless features and spoke only when spoken to. Common signs of two things, she had autism, or she was some form of an android. Erika couldn't tell of either, and decided it best to study the facts later. For now her cube needed attending to. She would have to replace the power source with another vial and she would have to recharge the empty one, in the meantime she would tinker with it and give more examinations, while writing notes.

Erika first grabbed her bag and pulled out an arc-lancer, a miniscule electro-welder, a tiny probe, and a hover light. Pressing a button on the hover light it immediately lifted up, the tiny object lighting her hypercube. She pressed a button and the cube opend up like a box, reaveling wires, circuit boards and power conduits. Taking the probe she began to examine each area, her TC sunglasses giving her detailed information on each of the sections she examined. Every now and then she would take up her arc-welder and do some well needed tuning on the cube in particular sections. She couldn't afford for the cube to have a malfunction or jam on the battlefield, the real battlefield, not a training simulation or firing range, the real deal. It seemed somewhat tense on the little sub and she hoped someone would pipe up and talk to her, but for now she needed to concentrate on the little 4X4 inch cube.

Mack had been jolted out of his small reverie when the craft dropped from its perch and plunged quickly into the depths. He gripped the sides of the chair, and then his rifle as it threatened to bounce off his lap. Some propulsion engaged and things became steady again. His sober expression had changed to a bit of grin.

That was fun.

He glanced about at the others as some small conversations formed. The sniper who had covered him so well had decided to speak to the little girl; whose face was blank and emotionless. Odd indeed.

Meanwhile, the lovely highland lass had gone off to attend their superior.

Mack noticed that everyone still seemed to be very tense and tight. Understandable, all things considered. They were all sort of thrust together and then put on board a reconaissance mission that would take them into the heart of the demon city. Even so, they wouldn't last long there at all if they couldn't lighten up and maybe learn to trust one another. Even a little.

Best to start near home. He looked over to see the Cube Lady opening up...her cube...for work. Intrigued, he leaned closer and glanced at the complex electronics contained within.

"Damn..." Mack said in wonder. "What is that?"

"Damn..." Mack said in wonder. "What is that?"

Erika looked up a bit startled by the abruptness, she nearly dropped the arc-welder. She had been hoping for a conversation, but she hadn't expected it to be so soon.

"Oh this, its a little invention of mine, I call it, the "High Intensity Powered Emitter of Resources Compact Utilities Box Extroardinaire" or "Hypercube" for short."

She looked at it to make sure nothing was damaged from the abrupt happening, "its still a prototype, I've tested it a lot, but it still malfunctions, I'm trying to work out the kinks so it doesn't malfunction like earlier. Is there anything you want to know about it?"

She took off her sunglasses and gazed at him expectantly, there was nothing more she loved than talking about Magick-Technicianry and the MT physics.

"Oh this, its a little invention of mine, I call it, the "High Intensity Powered Emitter of Resources Compact Utilities Box Extroardinaire" or "Hypercube" for short."

Mack blinked.

"That's...quite the mouthful." He said, letting a grin tug at the corners of his mouth.

"its still a prototype, I've tested it a lot, but it still malfunctions, I'm trying to work out the kinks so it doesn't malfunction like earlier. Is there anything you want to know about it?"

She removed her sunglasses and looked at him with a smile. Pretty eyes; pretty face framed by brown hair. Young; like everyone here. He glanced back at the weapon.

"Well, I can't say as I'd understand all the details. But, you could start by givin' me a rundown on what she can do." He looked back up at her eyes and grinned.

"Well, I can't say as I'd understand all the details. But, you could start by givin' me a rundown on what she can do."

He grinned at her with that comment, she held up the cube.

"I don't want to bore you with the facts, but essentially its a box designed to carry multiple objects by scanning them, using magick-tech the box can store the object schematics and, when the user wills it, can transform into said objects. Unfortunately since its only a prototype I can only carry three weapons at a time."

She stared at it in awe for a moment,

"Its quite interesting actually, normally a large object of matter compressed into such a tiny space would make the object dense and heavy. Because of magick though it literally breaks all laws of physics. Just imagine, an object as large as a skyscraper compacted into such a tiny form, but so light weight that it can be held in a pocket with ease. However, once it transforms back into its original form, the object regains the laws of physics causing it to return back to its original density and weight," she stopped herself and looked at the scottish man, "I'm sorry, I tend to wander on thoughts, I really need to stop doing that."

Ava tilted her head somewhat before she spoke. “What is ‘Alice’?” Perhaps if she knew what ‘Alice’ was, she could deduce what the woman had been pointing at. And since they were not in a combat situation, now was the time to ask. These facts could be vital for successful completing of the mission. Although in truth, Ava felt that far more than that, she would ‘like’ to know.

Mack listened as she explained the functioning of her weapon. Whetever had been done with the gate in New York had indeed opened the world up to a new kind of combat. One that, like ancient mythology, was accessed in many ways. For Mack, it strengthened his link to his God, and this granted him his gift. For others, like the pale woman and the child, it manifested in stranger forms.

"I'm sorry, I tend to wander on thoughts, I really need to stop doing that."

"No, it's alright; I asked, after all." He smiled. "It makes a lot of sense, really. I'd have no idea how to go about melding magic with machines. Best I can do is pray for a straight shot and steady hands." He paused for a minute, examining the features of her face again. Then he realized that he hadn't accomplished his original intent.

"Oh, Saints above, my apologies." He stuck out his hand. "I'm Sean Mackenzie. Most everyone calls me Mack."

The CO didn't answer straight away, rolling his shoulders and flexing his back muscles. That he could do that suggested to Meav that there wasn't anything, as she expected. "Just some brusing I think."

"Good." She nodded slowly, the abruptly flipped her notebook closed and slipped it back into her bag. "If you suffer any shortness of breath, worsening of the pain or pain anywhere other than the injury site, tell me immediately. Immediately."

Joseph locked eyes with her briefly in acquiesence, then began donning his uniform again. Meav turned away and returned her medical kit to her bag, leaving the painkillers out for the CO. As she slung the bag back onto her shoulder, she said, "Take a couple of paracetamol now. Try and leave the ibuprofen for a couple of hours though, unless it's hindering your breathing."

She turned to leave the cockpit, but as she reached for the door handle Joseph spoke behind her. "What do you think of the little girl, Ava?"

A little taken aback, Meav looked round at him.

"The child?" She thought for a few moments. After a pause, she replied, "I can't really say for sure until I speak with her more but ... she seems very detached. Almost emotionless, even. She wasn't disturbed by what happened out there. More ... confused, as though she didn't know what she should be doing."

Joseph nodded and paused quickly taking the recomended medicine. "Thank you for your oppionion, I have been trying to figure that girl out, she does not act human." He said calmly and sat down in the chair turning ot face him. "How about yourself. I've read up on everyone coming onboard my ship, so I know your an exelent doctor, but why would you come on this trip?" He asked motioning for her ot take the copilot seat.

Joseph didn't know most of the people's motivation to come along on this trip, but it would help him understand them, and trust them to do what they must. The girl still bothered him, though he was begining to think that she would be the easiest to keep in line. He doubted any of the group where to dangerous. Most seemed to have no problem with athority. Joseph was certainly not supposed to be on this mission but he certainly wasn't going to let anyone not capable get in the way of it's success.

“What is ‘Alice’?” the girl asked.

Alison sat back in her seat. She had been leaning forward, speaking to this child at eye level, but she was losing interest fast and losing her patience along with it. Dumb kid. Wasting words was almost as bad as wasting bullets and this kid seemed determined to make her waste her breath. She sighed and began fiddling with her iPod, seeking out something better to listen to than the stupid litle girl.

But there was a conversation going on between the demolitions man -- Mack -- and the lady with the cube. They seemed to be getting along well enough, speaking to one another like normal human beings. She sighed and decided to take one last shot at this.

"I'm Alice," she said, pointing to her face again, with extra emphasis this time. "Alice is my name. That is what people call me. Alice. What is your name and what do people call you?"

What did people call her? ‘Call’. She was Avalon. Her name was Avalon. The girl gave the woman a worried look. Everyone knew she was Avalon. Still, the woman had apparently presented her with a format. “Avalon is my name. Ava is my name.” She hesitated for a moment. But if people pointed at her, they had ‘called’ her three things. “Subject number 00279 is my name. That is what people call me. Avalon. Ava. Subject number 00279.”

Had she answered the question properly? The way the woman looked at her made her wonder.

“Avalon is my name. Ava is my name,” the girl replied. “Subject number 00279 is my name. That is what people call me. Avalon. Ava. Subject number 00279.”

Alison watched her curiously. Did she break her? The girl was spouting out nonsense; two names and a serial number. She seemed to be malfunctioning. "Umm... okay," she said after an awkward silence. She removed her iPod and tucked it away in her backpack. Somehow, this was more interesting. She started to worry that she might actually give a d**n about this little girl. The thought of that sickened her... but it didn't stop her from asking what she had been dying to know. "Where are your mommy and daddy, Ava?" she said. "Your parents."

‘Mommy and daddy’? ‘Parents’? Ava was lost now. The words she used were words Ava knew, but they had no connection to her. ‘Where were her mommy and daddy’. She didn’t understand the question. Raising her hand into the air, she let it fall back, before raising it again. She repeated the movement three times before dropping the arm to her side, frowning and staring at the woman.

She did not understand, but she could not formulate a question either. She knew what ‘parents’ were. ‘Mommy’ and ‘daddy’, she could explain. But ‘where’? Still staring into the woman’s eyes, still frowning, she carefully raised her hand again.