The Society 8 (Role Play)

Above the world, just above our planet’s atmosphere, lies a grand, white building. Shielded by old magic from all environmental harm and undetectable through normal means, this building houses the single most important object in all of Earth and the members who govern the laws of nature. This building houses the Society Members and the “Balance”.

The members are individuals selected by previous members of their affliction. Each selected for any of their prominent characteristics or personalities. They once were regular beings carrying on their daily lives until they were given the power and crowned as successful heirs to rule over the laws. These members represent Magick, Knowledge, Good, Evil, Dream, Nightmare, Nature, and Time.
With the member of Time being the head of the members, the members govern their respective affliction, settling down conflicts, and keep a watchful eye on Balance, the object with no fixed shape, in order to maintain natural harmony throughout earth.

But what happens when the Balance is lost? The most powerful object in the world suddenly disappeared. Who did this? What will happen next? What if a human being gains control of this object? The Society members will race against the clock to find the lost Balance and attempt to retrieve it, all while trying to find the person responsible for causing all this. And so, the story begins...-------------------------------------

A servant walked along a semi-dark corridor, lit by the flickering lights of the candles. The corridors of the Society Building followed the rising and setting of the sun, brightening its rooms with its crystal chandeliers and dimming its lights to make way for the magick candles littered along the inner walls.

She walked at a fairly brisk pace, as if she wants to finish what she was assigned to do early. Her footsteps echoed along the dark walls. After turning a few corners, in front of her stood a large, grey door with a black iron-wrought design. That door’s design marked the most powerful known being on Earth, the head of all members within the Society, and the Overseer assigned to watch over HER TWO DOMAINS according to Lore. The door shaped almost like an iron-wrought clock face…belonged to the member of Time.
The servant was hesitant to knock on the door, but that feeling passed. She curled her hand into a fist and knocked lightly once. A soft but audible voice replied, “C’mon in.”

Inside, a girl in a white night gown was sitting on her bed, facing what seems to be a giant TV screen on one wall. The TV screen was flickering through multiply shows because of what the girl was holding in her hand: her cellphone. The servant was a little nervous because of the amount of power she was entrusted, but remembering her job, she said, “Miss, you called me to send a message?”

The girl sitting on the bed turned off the TV, revealing the “screen” to be a massive window with the view of Earth. She turned her head and responded with a wary expression, “Oh yes, can you please tell all of the Society Members to attend an Emergency Meeting within the hour? I know it is early in the morning but this is urgent.”

The servant bowed and responded, “Right away Miss, I will also alert the servants assigned to them to speed the delivery.”

“Thanks you,” the girl barely said before the servant left the room. The girl got up from her bed and walked slowly to the window. The view of the earth was beautiful and would often send her leaving the room with a small smile, but none of the sort happened today. Looking at the small island nation of Japan and with the sun almost striking it, she thought of the new problem that has risen. “Ooooohhhh Xena,” She said to herself, “what have you gotten yourself into?” She flung herself back onto her bed and groaned.

“It has been just over a year and already, a problem that concerns the destruction of the world…why did they pick me?” She said, her voice muffled.

Code:

-...
-...
-INITIATE BOOT SEQUENCE
-WELCOME TO C.F M.O.S
-MCF-TX204 SHALE, INITIATING BOOT SEQUENCE...
-INITIALIZING VISUAL...100
-INITIALIZING AUDIO...100
-INITIALIZING MOTOR CONTROLS...100
-INITIALIZING HUD...100
-INITIALIZING PASSIVE SYSTEMS...100
-DONE. AWAITING COMMAND...
->Disengage MB Connection.
-DISCONNECTING FROM MAINTENANCE BAY...
-ARMS: OFF
-COUPLING: DISENGAGED
-SUPPORTS: RELEASED
-CONFIRMATION OF DISCONNECT: AFFIRMATIVE
-READY FOR OPERATION
-NEW OBJECTIVE: REPORT TO MEETING ROOM FOR EMERGENCY MEETING


Shale disconnects from the Maintenance Bay, with a large, mechanical hissing of ejecting power cables and grinding metal. As his visual sensors engage, he finds himself in his quarters; a square, grey room with various panels displaying various bits of information; mostly relating to the current situation. One of the panels has a different display than what it would normally; It says, "Please report to the meeting room immediately. -Xena".
"It seems we have a matter to attend to." Mutters Shale under the exhaust of his face vents. He exits the room with loud clanks in each step, and proceeds down the main corridor to the meeting room.

"...An emergency meeting?"

The nervous servant bowed, finicky and edging closer to the door. Society's Nightmare reclined between the silken, ink-black sheets, his hair an equal shade pooled around him as his cattish garnet eyes adjusted to the light.

The windows were already draped in black. Everything in his room was a shade, a variation on the lack of colour. Absolutely nothing in the room--and from all versions of the room prior to his ascension as Nightmare--contained any hue or colour, a tactic used so that the highest concentration of power could be achieved. From the mirror at the small vanity in the corner to the black-marble floors, the dim firelight eminating from the black-stoned fireplace to the black canopy above his large bed... all of it was a vain attempt at absorbing whatever light would come in and sting him. Silk and satin and cotton and polyester... whatever fabric it was, if it was dark enough, he had it.

And the light still came through, a little.

He scowled.

Lale was anything but a morning person.

"Y-Yes sir," The servant swallowed evidently, nervous. Immediately, Lale yanked his aura back, and the servant continued. "M-Miss Xena... She requested every S-Society member a... arrive promptly."

Pitiful. The servant was probably new, with all his stuttering. "Go," he dismissed, gently, with a nod. With relief, the young servant sprang through the doorway where more natural light poured in.

Lale swung his legs over the side of the bed, swiftly braiding the mass of hair tangled around him. Those strands would never stay short; why was it that the job of Nightmare had so many odd quirks? Perhaps it was just the earliness of the day that irked him, but every little detail of the world that he saw in sharp relief was unbelievably harsh, and he gritted his teeth together. He avoided where the beams of bright white clamboured in from outside, carefully adjusting his sight and edging his body into it slowly. The man made his way to a dresser in the deepest partition in his room.

Then there was a quiet cough from the door. "Lale?"

The little girl kept her voice quiet, hugging the door so as not to make any more light pour in. "Lale, are you up?"

The man glanced up from where he was redressing himself, relaxing when he recognized the owner of the voice. She tip-toed in, dressed in something light-coloured and equally light-weighted. Her hair was it's usual mess of fragrant curls, and her green eyes gave off a soft glow in the darkness. The child was careful enough to gently nudge the door shut so Lale could have more privacy, and he spoke to her as he tightened a belt. "Up is not the right word. How are you, Isabella?"

She laughed, lightly, keeping her distance as he dressed. It took all of the time that Lale dressed for her to even adjust her sight to his room, but by then he was clothed--dark coat, white gloves, his usual clean and groomed attire. Sable even turned off her wings, retrieving them so Lale could relax without the shining.

"Good. Kinda. Xena called us," she said, giving him a bright smile. Though she had a good feeling he already knew, mentioning couldn't hurt.

"Did she," he remarked, dryly.

"Can we go together? The servants sounded kind of scared..."

Nightmare paused. He looked down at the girl-child--Sable was only about up to his waist in height, with himself being so tall and her being miniature--and nodded.

(^Guys this is the longest RP post I have ever written, ever. May we shorten average posting length a little? XD)

As Shale walks down the corridor, he sees messengers and servants scurrying about with a worried look on their face; they seem to be either frightened of his menacing form, or what the other members might do if they were not welcome. As he reaches the end of the hall, he finds himself facing two grand steel doors; elegantly engraved with 2 golden handles. He pauses to reflect on the craftsmanship, and then proceeds to open the doors to the meeting room.

The meeting room is a grand hall, with a silver table in the center. The rectangular table has three chairs on each long side, and one chair on each short side. Each chair is elegantly crafted to resemble a Victorian-style chair, with pads and screens built into the arm-rests. Each chair also has the owner's name and position engraved on a golden plate on the headrest. As Shale makes his way to his respective seat, he passes by the member of Dream's seat, as well as Magick's, before coming to his own. To his right and at the head of the table would be where he member of Time would sit, opposite to the member of Nature. Each member would sit opposite of their counterpart; Shale would sit opposite of Sable, the member of Good, Dream opposite of Nightmare, and Magick opposite of Knowledge.

Shale looks around; it seems no one else has arrived yet. The hall is as eerie and silent as it was before servants were rushing about, delivering messages to other members and taking care of business. He decides to sit down, and wait for the other members to arrive.

Xena ran barefoot along the now lit and empty corridor, her light, satin, one piece dress flowing like the wind behind her. It was a force of habit and if she knew anything about the Society members, they would never be on time. Still, she ran like she would always do when she slept in because of her frequent late-night anime watching. She clutched in her hand her cellphone.

The sudden situation that may involve the destabilization of Earth was thrust upon the member of Time once again; like the member of Time before her mentor, like her mentor, like her. It seemed almost like a destined thing. It scared Xena; she has never dealt with anything as large of a scale as this! It was surreal just like an anime!

A few minutes ago, she heard and felt the telltale stomps of the member of Evil. Xena had no problem calling the member “Gundam” rather than his…its real name. “If Shale was a few stories tall, stored in a large warship, and was piloted by a cute boy...well, you could see where I am going,” she ranted to a random, bewildered servant once. She also thought of the idea of a “Gundam” governing all the evil in the world funny. It just didn’t suit her ideals of evil, but still she felt a little bit worried when around Shale simply because of its inability to express emotions.

In no time, Xena reach the grand doors of the Building’s meeting room. Out of breath, she grasped the door handle and opened. Inside was bare and the chairs around the massive table abandoned, spare for a massive gundam-like person occupying an equally massive chair to compensate for its size and weight.

“Hello Gundam,” Xena muttered while closing the door behind her in a tired stance. She walked the last bit of distance before collapsing onto her chair at the head of the table. “Well, since everyone is never early…I might as well start my prayers. I need maximum access starting today now.”

She leaned forward and rested her elbows onto the table. Clapping her hands twice, she held them on the second clap and began her prayers to She Who Created Everything. The prayers are often lengthy according to human standards but to the member of Time, those minutes will pass by fairly quickly while they are in this trance-like state.

“Who could have done this? Where could the Balance be now?” She thought as she entered the trance.

She had been enveloped in golden light, but she awoke to the sting of cold marble.

"Where exactly am I?"

Vivaldi could not remember how she had passed out on the floor. She slowly picked herself up while pulling the robes that had sprawled across the floor back onto her body. Now fully aware of her surroundings, a flood of questions troubled her: where was she? How did she get there? But most importantly, where was her maker? Had She abandoned Vivaldi now that the Balance was gone? At this thought, Vivaldi began to draw long sobs in grief. Her voice echoed in the large room.

She had failed her duty to protect the Balance as Her guardian. She had shamed her love for her maker. Vivaldi's growing concerns were hushed as a weak light began to flicker in the distance. The soft glow of her crystal staff became a comforting distraction. She hadn't noticed the staff earlier in the darkness and it had rolled far from her body. The glow illuminated a small path towards a large and heavily embellished door, and with renewed optimism, Vivaldi made her way outside into the bright halls of the Society. In her naivety, Vivaldi convinced herself she may redeem her honour in Her eyes by retrieving the balance.

She did not know why she went there, but something about those doors called Vivaldi to them. In a trance, she turned the handles of those doors and revealed those who had reached the room before her. Here she saw darkness, from whom she sensed a strange chill emanate. And in stark contrast, light, who was familiar to her. She looked towards the girl, but in overwhelming fear of rejection, she decided to quietly take a seat.

Something was wrong, and the two of them could feel it even before they entered the double doors.

Sable had been rubbing her arms all morning, ever since she woke up to the stars outside her window. She took three hours, prior to the servant delivering Xena's message, just to stare at the glowing form of Earth, slightly silhouetted from the sun. Even though she had practically imprinted the glowing orb of her old home into her memories, there was something off about it today. Something was amiss. Something felt wrong. Each person in the society could feel it, but none of them could pinpoint what it was.

Lale frowned, rubbing his neck. After he eased out into the hall, a few feet behind the child, he felt tension and static about his body that he hadn't felt before. He hadn't felt that ill or that stiff in ages. The two glanced at one another. Sable had a worried expression on her face; she took a peek into Vivaldi's room, and when she saw nothing, swallowed.

Swiftly, Lale pushed open the doors to the meeting room, and glanced around. Shale at his seat in the table, eyes aglow and mechanical fingers flexing; Xena's eyes closed, obviously in prayer, her body eminating a sorrowful light; Vivaldi huddled, a small form in her seat at the end of the table opposite of Xena.

"Vivi," Sable called softly, pushing past Lale's legs to go to the girl's side. Concern shone in her eyes as she lightly raised a hand to brush Vivaldi's arm--why was she so pale? "Vivi... are you okay?"

Meanwhile, on top of the building, Aelthal was lying on his back, staring at the sky just like any other day. It was a cloudless day so there was an abundance of sunlight. Theoretically, this should be a happy day – a perfect day, actually, or at least as close as it can get. But, then, what is this ominous scent that lingers in the air? Aelthal’s musings were interrupted as a servant who appeared uneasy approached.

“Uh…Sir Aelthal, Miss Xena has called for an Emergency Meeting. But the thing is…well, uh, I couldn’t find you before so…erg, you will be late soon. Please forgive me!” The servant exclaimed.

“It’s fine. No one arrives on time anyways,” Aelthal stated plainly, reflecting on the time when he arrived a bit early and waited for nearly an hour before everyone else arrived.

“Then I will now take my leave. Excuse me,” said the servant, bowing before climbing off the roof.

The serious atmosphere that accompanies these Emergency Meetings does not go well at all with the peaceful sky. Aelthal thought as he sat up. The sun was in front of him. It was more red than it was yellow, which was weird because at that time of the day, the sun was usually bright yellow. Or, maybe I’m just being paranoid after hearing that there is an Emergency Meeting, oh well. He told himself as he stood up and teleported into the meeting room.

Upon arriving there, he saw Vivaldi crying with Sable comforting her. This is quite usually as Vivaldi does not usually cry. If Vivaldi, the guardian of the Tree of Life, is in distress then... Aelthal reasoned. Seeing Shale sitting across the room, Aelthal walked over and asked, “Why is Vivaldi crying?”

"Such a matter is not of my concern, nor do I know the cause of it," Shale replies. "You would be better off trying to interrogate her yourself".

Shale addresses the members currently in the room: "It seems we still are waiting upon 2 other members to show up; Although we probably already know the purpose of this meeting. Even I can sense that the Balance is missing...

Though she was comforted by Sable's kind words and intrinsic good, Vivaldi's anxiety continued to unravel her composure. She looked to the girl in prayer again. Xena's prayers continued as Society members entered the room. She was connected to She Who Created Everything. Once, Vivaldi had the ability to connect to Her as well, but that was lost along with the Balance. Was this punishment for failing to guard The Balance?

Shale's cold and systematic voice broke her pitiful daze. "Ah, so there are others who know that The Balance has disappeared," thought Vivaldi. "So Dream and Knowledge have yet to arrive"

Vivaldi was familiar with the man who governed dream. She met him when she explored his heart as he was sleeping, to tend to The Tree, and was surprised that he was conscious of her. They were deeply aware of one another and so she knew he was asleep at this moment, hopping from dream to dream to reach the meeting room.

"Dream is on his way," she announced. "He can not be here physically...but he will be here."

While Sable hesitantly wrapped little arms around Vivi's shoulders, Lale took his seat. He glanced from Shale to Xena to Aelthal, his gaze last resting on the elven man, and closed his eyes.

He was sensing Dream, coming closer. It was a habit of his, as they were opposites, to always be aware of where Dream was. Silently Lale tipped his head down and counted the seconds.

Lale was not as sensitive to the presence of the Balance as the rest of them were... that fact he was painfully aware. Even Sable, who arrived at the ripe age of nine, had immediately stated she felt a buzz of something important though it took Lale nearly a year to discern what the familiar, eerie presence was that ebbed through Society's walls. Vivaldi always spoke of She Who Created Everything, lovingly and obsessively, and Xena would mention Her during anything important. Shale rarely spoke to him at all, whereas Sable sometimes would stare down as if saddened by the mention of the Creator.

"So it's gone?" He stated to no one in particular, eyes still closed and feeling.

"Balance is missing? No matter Vivaldi is in distress," Aelthal smiled, Shale will always be as aloof as had always been.

Taking a seat, he began to think. To think that Balance would simply be gone like this, completely without warning. No, no, there were signs of it, the crimson sun indicatint that blood had been spilt and odd sense. But why would anyone want to steal it? What good will it do for them anyways?

The lights in the meeting room began to flicker and the occupants of the room were enveloped in darkness.

And then it was bright.

"Was there a black out?" asked Sable. Vivaldi froze at the brief darkness, but sighed in relief when she spotted the man who had joined the table in Dreams seat.

"Oh, Micah."

"Sorry," he announced, while scratching the back of his head apologetically. "I passed out because of a fever and couldn't make it to the meeting physically...so I brought all of you into my dream." He had forced all of the members into sleep and meticulously recreated the meeting room with perfect accuracy, down to the last arabesque in the scroll work of the chairs. He decided to make the scenery outside the window fake, in order to assure Society members that they are indeed dreaming. "Although we are in my dream, and this environment is an illusion, I have not tampered with anything else. Everything that is said in this room is real."

As he finished explaining the nature of his appearance, he noticed that Xena was still deep in prayer.

He introduced himself to the Society Members as he had never seem most of them before. He smiled at Sable. "Poor kid probably doesn't get to play much", he thought. He brought his hand above him, finger pointing towards the ceiling, and had flower petals rain down in an attempt to amuse her. The petals promptly dissipated to light, to prevent disruption to Xena's prayers and other Society members. Sable let out a laugh and much of Vivaldi's worries were temporarily eased.

Micah looked towards Lale as though wanting to say something, but he hesitated and nodded his head instead.

Code:


-SYSTEM ERROR: REBOOT? (Y/N)
->Y
-SYSTEM REBOOT INITIATE, STANDING BY...
-INITIALIZING VISUAL...100
-INITIALIZING AUDIO...100
-INITIALIZING MOTOR CONTROLS...100
-INITIALIZING HUD...100
-INITIALIZING PASSIVE SYSTEMS...100
-DONE. AWAITING COMMAND...


Shale finds himself in the same room, but with the exception that everyone seems... asleep. Unsure of the reason, he decides to try tuning into their brainwave frequency to find out what they are seeing.

Code:


->Tune brain frequency (180.65-190.78)
-TUNING, PLEASE WAIT...
-CONNECTION CONFIRMED. TARGET: LALE
-VISUAL INPUT SWITCHED TO INT MODE


When Shale regains vision this time, everyone is awake, just as if the flickering of the lights never happened. There seems to be a new person in the room this time, as Shale recognizes it to be the member of dream, which would explain why everyone was asleep, and why he couldn't join them without tuning into someone's dream.

Micah felt a slight chill. Someone had entered his dream. He knew he had the upper hand in his dreams, but Micah could not help but feel nervous whenever someone or something tread on his territory announced.

It was then that he humoured the possibility of a Society member who could not dream. He had encountered similar beings before, but they were very rare and he didn't expect to see one here.

"My bad," he nodded towards Shale.

Lale blinked, feeling the opposite force engulf him. The feeling was similar to sinking into warm, room-temperature water--conscious but subtle. He let his mind ease and then restrained it so as not to infect the stability of Micah's dream, and then restrained it again when he felt Shale's consciousness slip inside. He looked to the younger man and nodded; Sable gently eased off of Vivaldi's shoulders and smiled at the member of Dream, whom she had never met before.

"Xena's prayers are taking a while," she quipped lightly, moving so that she was beside Time's huddled form. She basked in the warmth of the positive energy flowing off of Xena's statuesque posture and then decided against giving her a hug.

“I don’t about that OK? The Balance is gone! It can take shape of anything from a small car to a tiny gem! It could be possible that some human infiltrated the Society building- I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!” ranted Xena. Her trances not only serve to maintain her power but also as a very powerful mental self-reflection. All members of Time have this ability and as leaders, they more than often have to settle down on one decision before informing others. After all, who relies on a self-conflicted leader to make decisions for them?

Unfortunately, her psychological manifestation of her inner-thoughts was far from calm. In her thoughts, she was kneeling on a “floor”, tired, agitated, and despairing. Very soon, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“The loss of Balance didn’t happen the first time Xena,” said the manifestation of the calm, collective Xena. “All previous members of Time had the same problem; all of them fixed it. It’s gonna be ok…”

Xena then felt a hard yank as the hand on her shoulder was taken off forcefully by another. She heard her own voice mocking her. “There is no way she would be able to recover Balance! The previous members of Time were all experienced, powerful, and wise; she is just a teenager!”

“Awww don’t be so pessimistic Xena,” said another in a happy voice. “She’s a good girl and she has friends! This won’t be a problem or her!”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The Xena on the floor screamed, silencing the others around her. “So much for self-reflection…” And after that thought, she broke her trance, completing her prayers on time.

She woke up, or at least she thought she “woke” up. No yawn whatsoever, no stretch, just a simple opening of the eyes. She felt that something was wrong until she saw the scenery outside the windows. Not the usual blackness with stars of space, but something else.
“What happened- oh…” Xena started before catching herself. She looked at the member of Nightmare before setting her sights to the member of Dream. “no wonder this feels so light and dreamy…” she muttered to herself. Lastly, she glanced at the member of Knowledge’s seat and sighed. “I guess it can’t be helped.”

“Members of the Society, I call for your attention!” Xena announced bravely and waited until all the members are settled. “We shall begin the emergency meeting now.”

“There is an important matter I have to discuss with you all and it concerns the society and the entire world.” She looked around once before continuing, “I’m sure all of you can feel the effects right now so there is no need for me to delay the subject. The Balance is lost. The most powerful object in the world and our regulator of natural harmony has left this building and is right now presently on Earth.”

“We are in a very dangerous situation and I have gathered all of you here to brief you and plan our next course of action. I know it is rare for members to work on a single assignment or mission together, but this is of utmost importance! First off, without the Balance present to regulate the Natural Harmony, the earth will soon destabilize until it destroys itself. Second, if a human gets their hands on it, it is like giving them a bomb and it will only be a matter of time before they figure out how to use it.”

Xena paused for a few seconds to let the information sink into each members before asking, “So does anyone have any bright ideas to retrieve back Balance? Vivi, I know that you are more connected to the Balance than anyone else here so can you give us a hint on where Balance might be on earth?”

"Intelligence reports indicate that The city of Osaka, Japan is a likely first location. There have been reports of abnormal activity; most likely a result of Balance making first contact there. There is also a maximum operational time limit of 120 hours before adverse effects begin to occur. The recommended course of action in the report would be to send 6 of us to the planet's surface, pairing off with our counterparts. That way, the remaining two members can monitor the situation and send an emergency dispatch if necessary."

" I see," Micah started, "120 hours...is a laughable amount of time. Any chance we could pause it? We could take full advantage of that time if we forgo sleep and continue to search within a dream...but..." He continued, "Furthermore, who would you elect to go to Earth? You seem to be the most rational one here, Shale, so I'd like to hear your opinion."

Vivaldi began to sob again.

"Ah," Micah looked worriedly towards Vivi and turned to Xena. "Although I couldn't see the balance, I could sense it...but I know that Vivi recognized it as a physical object. Before we get too in depth with this discussion, could we all share how we perceive the Balance? Or at least our personal connection to the Balance? It might give us some leads as to where it may be hiding."

"The tree...I tended to it everyday..." began Vivaldi between sobs, "and I dedicated all of my magic to protecting it. Half to preserve the wall around it...and half to defend it against enemies...but it was strange how it disappeared. Everything was peaceful, but when I turned around, there was a black hole where the tree once was..and now She refuses to see me..." she looked down to her hands, "that said, if I could find the person who is keeping the Balance, I would certainly see it if I could enter their psyche."

"It really depends on who is able to go, really. It would be wise to partner off with our counterparts, to help balance out the teams. That being said, It would seem that Knowledge is not ready to embark yet, leaving Magick here to monitor the situation, and be reinforcement if necessary. It would be wise to choose the drop zones one kilometer away from the city, so we can search the surrounding area and zero in on the point."

Osaka. Home.

(It wasn't really home. But it was Earth.)

Sable's breath hitched. As the other members spoke, she felt her hands start to shake, and she hastily hid them by running back to Vivi and wrapping arms around her. She glanced around at the members of the table, each eminating an aura of power or dignity, and she lowered her head. Vivi's pure, light aura soothed her, if not just a little.

"The Balance," she said suddenly. "Micah is right... we should share. I see the Balance as my doll... the one I carry around." She was thinking about Margareta, the victorian doll she usually held, the one that she had "stumbled upon" when she first entered the Society. Immediately she had known it was something special, and didn't like to part with it since her initiation day.

Then, she swallowed. It was increasingly hard not to panic when the effervescent glow of the Balance wasn't near her. "This morning I woke up and I couldn't find her anywhere..."

"Micah," Lale said, after Sable fell silent, burying her face into Vivaldi's shoulder. He shifted, ready to stand. "When will you be ready to go? We should leave immediately."

In a far corner of a large library, Michiko finds herself slowly waking up. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she looks around at where she is.

"Oh right, " she mumbles quietly to herself, "it's morning already."

She had fallen asleep the night before to an intriguing book that tied various things that was once thought to be science fiction into reality. String Theory. It was a relatively new theory that the world contained 11 dimensions, and that the world was all made up of tiny circles of energy called strings.

Michiko shook her head and stood up, regaining her composture. Enough of that. She had to figure out how to get back home. And for some reason, she couldn't shake off the feeling that perhaps she had something to do.

Looking around, she hears the quiet shuffling of feet coming from the main entrance of the library. Curious, she decides to walk over to see who it was.

As she walked down the staircase to the entrance, she found herself facing a flustered panicking servant who was slightly out of breathe.

"There you are!" the servant exclaimed. "Everyone's waiting for you! There's a meeting, right now, I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Michiko's eyes widened, "Oh my goodness, is there?" She started off towards the door, "I better be off then. I hope I'm not too late. Thank you!"

The servant watched as Michiko walked brisquely towards the door. Thank goodness she found her, she was scared to think what would happen if she couldn't. Why did their library had to be so big. She thought Knowledge would be easyy to find, after all, she had to be in the library. Too bad that thing was like a labyrinth.

Michiko's walk quickly turned into a sprint as she found herself at the meeting room in record time. She takes a moment to regain her breath before she decides to slowly step in.

"I hope I'm not too late! What's up?" She cries, before quickly noticing the atmosphere. Immediately quieting down, her face turns completely serious as she walks in slowly.

"I'm sorry for being late. This is about the balance isn't it?"

Shale replies: "That is indeed the case. Either way, we should prepare fo-"

Code:


-ERROR: DISCONNECTED
-AV INPUT SWITCHED TO STANDARD MODE


When Shale regains vision, he is still in the meeting room. "Strange," ponders shale; It is only when he notices the small flashing data panel in front of his seat does he understand what happens. He runs to the window, and then quickly goes back into Lale's dream.
"I suggest you wake up and look out this window," announces Shale to the rest of the members. "The situation has changed. Awaji Island... The island was hit by a nuclear weapon."

As Shale returns to the real world, a faint glow emanates from the window he is staring out of with disbelief. Although it cannot be made out for sure, the distinct mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion can be seen hovering over Japan in the general area of Osaka.

CALVIN

Calvin heard a distant rumble to his right and a bright flash. He looked up from the building top of a condo and saw a fiery explosion before forming into a distinct mushroom cloud representing a weapon of mass destruction. He knew that he was at a safe distance from the explosion but seeing something go off at that caliber frightened him. He grabbed his MX communicator in his pocket and shouted, “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR? I’m seeing a nuclear explosion within 10 miles of my location!”

“Whoa there Calvin! It’s me, Aris,” a voice replied. Calvin took a short breath before continuing on.

“I am near the city of Osaka, searching for the object I was assigned. I come here just doing my job when suddenly- BOOM! A nuke goes off and scares the hell out of me! What the hell just happened?”

He heard some rough sounds of the receiving communicator being passed to someone else before a different, more feminine voice replied, “Calvin, are you there?”

“Yeah, would you mind explaining to me what just happened?” Calvin asked.

“The Japanese branch of MX Corp. just told us some sort of weapon was fired there. They also said they have it under control. Look Calvin, you have to find this object and return with it. The quicker you do this, the less of a hassle there would be.” The female voice spoke.

“Return the freakin’ object…you sure this isn’t stealing tech?” Calvin complained.

“It’s an unknown object of great power, or so the reports and witnesses claim. This order came from the higher-tops ok?” The female voice spoke again.

“Hmpf…higher-tops…who knows what they are planning…but sure, I’ll finish this job as quick as I can.” Calvin said and cut off the conversation. He looked back at the fully formed mushroom cloud before jumping into the next building top. From there, he stomped his foot, sending a pulse of energy into his surroundings and trying to interpret the echoes.

“It’s somewhere here…I can feel it…” Calvin thought before jumping onto the next rooftop.

Timmy heard a large explosion but paid no attention to it. Not until he felt a large surge of energy from a stranger. Intrigued he decided to check it out. At that point he was afraid when he saw the horrifying scene he witnessed far in the distance. But he mustered all the courage and decided to explore this mystery, running towards the sign of destruction...