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The girl with metal wings; Anyone is welcome to join in
Topic Started: Nov 26 2006, 01:38 AM (4,218 Views)
dark_nightmare_queen
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A girl with short white hair sat in a medium sized house. She was staring into a cup of tea, but didnt look to happy. She had two large metal wings coming from her back, which was her most striking feature. The rest of her was pretty plain looking. Even her hair was cut in a normal bob.

A tall dark man entered the room to put away a few tea cups when he noticd her. "Whats wrong, Misery?" he asked. "Are your wings bothering you again?"

The girl, whose name was apparently Misery, nodded briefly but said nothing. "I see." He said with a kind smile, "Let me take a look then." He walked over to her and unbuttoned the flap on the back of her shirt and frowned. Her whole back had began to bruise as it has many times before. "You fell asleep on your back again, didn't you?"

Again, Misery nodded briefly. "Hold still, I will apply the creme...." He moved and opened a cabinet and pulled out a small tub and opened it to reveal a white creme. He dipped his fingers into it and began to rub it into Misery's bruised skin.

Misery winced and her fists tightened in her lap. "I know. Almost done." The man said, feeling her flinch under his touch. "There. You will feel better in a few minutes."

He washed his hands and looked at her tea cup. "Let me pour you some fresh warm tea. it will make you feel better." He then gave her a new cup and poured the hot liquid into it.

A few hours later, Misery was out doing errands. She was in charge of making dinner tonight, so she had to go and get some things. She stopped by a vender of fruits and looked them over. "Come for some more fruit again today, Misery?" The lady said. "You never miss a day. Its always nice to have regular customers who enjoy coming back time and time again."

"Yes. Your fruits are the best, Miss Hona. There always perfectly ripened and never picked too soon like some of the other fruit vendors," Misery replied. Once her purchase was complete she made her way onwards.

Deadra
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Alain
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"Hey, Miss Hona. Whatcha got today?"

Asher walked up to the stand just as the other girl was bagging her purcheses and walking away, and though he was a regular here as much as the girl, he stopped with his hand on an apple, and looked after her as she walked away, emerald eyes curious behind his mirrored sunglasses.

"Huh... now isn't that unusual..."

"Sir?"

He looked back to the lady and smiled a little sheepishly, then pulled out a few bills - way more than what the apple cost, and handed them to her.

"Here, keep it."

"But s-"

"Not listening!"

He was already walking away, and waved goodbye without looking back, still looking at the winged girl that had walked by just a few moments before. She looked human by all accounts, but those wings were something else... his mind was already turning, trying to figure out where something like that might have come from, when a stabbing pain hit him, and he pressed a hand to his head, gasping slightly.

"Ah... Hey, Wings, look out!"

He knew she wouldn't figure it out in time though, and so he ran, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back roughly, sedning them both falling to the pavement as a massive crate crashed to the floor right where she had been walking underneath it - the cable had snapped. Asher panted slightly, and let go of her, looking over at her and pulling his sunglasses off, revealing his almost too-green eyes that seemed to glow for just that moment.

"Are you alright?"
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dark_nightmare_queen
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Misery was walking along, thinking only of what she needed to purchase when she heard a shout. She wasn't particularly sure if the shout was directed to her, so she didn’t turn. However, moments later, something had grabbed her and yanked her backwards just as a crate crashed down right where she had been standing.

The contents of her bag spilled out and anything that could roll away did just that. One of her wings crumpled slightly when hitting the pavement and a few of the thin delicate parts snapped. Even though they were made of metal, it seemed as though it was like breaking an actual wing and pain was evident on her face. She sat up though and reached for the fruit that had spilled out of her bag. As she did this, the metal began to return to straighten itself out and the delicate parts seem to melt into liquid and repair themselves.

"Yes. I am fine." Misery said, "Thank you for the rescue." She looked up at him then, for the first time and was startled to see his eyes were glowing, but faded very quickly. She blinked, wondering if she had hit her head. She reached up and put a hand on her head to check, but all seemed well.

She rescued as much as the fruit as she could, then stood and held a hand out to the man to help him up. "You are a lifesaver....literally." She said with a smile.

Deadra
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Alain
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He watched some of the fruit rolling, and he grabbed what he could, but an apple rolled into the street and got crushed, so he looked to the one in his hand and shook his head. So that was why he had bought the apple... could he do anything anymore without it having to mean something? The metal parts on her wing, though, that was what drew his attention.

"Well if that isn't fascinating..."

Self repairing too...? And from the pain they must have been wired directly into her central nervous system, that was a piece of work, wasn't it...? Above all that they didn't seem magical, they seemed entirely mechanical at least at first glance... how very odd... he was shaken from that though as she stood, and then offered her hand to help him up, which he took and stood, smiling.

"Don't mention it, I uh... well I saw that thing about to fall and it wasn't like I could watch you get crushed... Surprised noone else saw it, guess it was just lucky."

That was a lie and if she knew him she would have caught it, but since she didn't he felt fairly safe about it... he handed her the apple, and ssmiled slightly.

"Think you lost one... I'm Asher, by the way. Another person who likes the fresh fruit down here."

He laughed slightly and offered his hand, she obviously didn't worry at all about the wings... still they seemed beyond anything he'd seen...
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dark_nightmare_queen
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"Fascinating? Whats fascinating?" Misery asked curiously. She then gave a nod, "Yes, lucky for me." She looked at the apple and smiled, "Thats alright. One lost apple isnt going to hurt anyone. I do agree about the fresh fruit, though. Miss Hona always has the best selection."

When he offered his hand and introduced himself, Misery looked down at it. She gave a smile and took it with her gloved hand, "My name is Misery. Nice to meet you, Asher." She glanced up at the large clock that was mounted to a tall pole, even though she already knew what time it was. "I have to get my shopping finished before diner. Thank you again for the save, Asher."

Misery turned then and began to stroll along, glancing at a few vendors, but didnt pay any attention to the ones who had low quality things. She paused though, when she saw an old man fiddling with a hovercraft that didnt seem to be working. She thought for a moment, then gave a nod to herself. A good deed must be repaid with a good deed. She approached the old man and knelt beside him, placing her bag of goodies to the side, "Would you like some help, sir?"

"Hmm? Wassat? A young whipper snapper like yourself? You don’t look like someone who would know anything about these confounded contraptions!" He whistled through his only two teeth. "I am tired of messing with the cotton founded thing, so have at it! If you cant get it to work, you can keep the hunk of junk!"

Misery gave a laugh and the old man looked at her though his bushy eyebrows. "Whats so funny?" he asked. Misery shook her head, "Nothing, sir. Let's see what is wrong with your vehicle." She began to rummage around in it, but all she had to do was touch the machinery to know what was wrong. Within a few minutes, she finished and shut the side panel. "There you are. It should be as good as new. Make sure you check the energy output regulator often to make sure its doing it's job properly. Its getting a little worn out."

The old man started the craft and grew wide eyed, "Well! I'll be! Works like a dream. I would have never expected a little lady such as your self to be able to fix it." He climbed onto the motorcycle like craft and put his goggles on and over adjusted them for about two minutes, then zipped off, nearly causing an accident right off the bat, "AHHHHH WATCH WERE YOU GOING YA COTTON PICKIN' MORONS!" He yelled, shaking his fist.

"What an interesting old man." Misery said standing. She looked back, wondering about Asher for a brief moment, then continued on her way. Was she imagining things, or did she really see his eye glow for a brief moment?

Deadra
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Alain
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"Hm? Oh, sorry, thinking aloud."

He smiled and shook her hand gently, then he shrugged, and took the apple back, tossing it up and down with his other hand.

"Misery? A pretty name, but you seem a happy enough girl to me."

He laughed just a little bit, and when she said she had to leave, he waved his hand to her, sort of a sketched salut ehe did, and shrugged.

"Well if you have to go you have to go, perhaps I'll see you around sometime, Misery."

He smiled a little bit as she started walking away. Well she could have stayed and talked a while for that... but then again she had things to do and her assumption was probably that he had things to do as well. Still, he was a little sorry to see her go - she seemed like a nice girl and those wings were still intriguing... he just started walking along after that, sort of aimlessly, though he saw her work on the hovercraft, and laughed softly. Now that's impressive, even I would be hard pressed to fix something like that so quickly... smart or innate? He kept on walking, not exactly following her, but he did keep her in sight. He had a feeling something was going to happen... and his feelings like this were always right. He didn't want to miss it when something actually did go wrong...
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dark_nightmare_queen
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A tall broad shouldered man with black hair and glasses approached Misery from behind. He lay a hand on her shoulder and she turned quickly, then looked up. "You were taking longer than usual, so I came to look for you."

Misery gave the man a smile, "I'm sorry. Did I make you worry?"

"Not too much." The man replied. "Here, I will help you with the rest of your shopping." He bent and took the bag from Misery's hand, then they walked along together, buying this and that. They talked to each other and to a few other people and seemed to be happy together.

Finally, the mans arms and hands where full and they returned home where Misery began to prepare dinner for them. Misery glanced over at the bird cage set up in the corner and noticed one of her birds were gone. "Where is my other bird?" She asked the man.

He looked up from the table he was siting at, "Hmm? Oh, I am not sure. I saw the cage open this morning. It might have flown off.... That isnt very good, you will have to look for it later."

Deadra
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Alain
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He saw the black man, and tilted his head a little bit slightly. What was this...

"AH!"

Suddenly a pain shot into his head, even worse than before, and he pressed his forehead to his head, knocking his sunglasses off his face, and they clattered to the ground as people around turned to stare. His eyes were glowing again, so he kept them covered until the pain passed, then he leaned down and took his glasses up, slipping them on.

"Sorry... hit my head earlier, killing me..."

Noone bought it, he knew, but he didn't care, and pushed through the rest of them, into an alley where he stumbled and leaned against a wall, panting slightly. That man... he's going to kill her... no... what was he doing? She... He shook his head again - this was nuttier than any of the visions he had had before, he didn't know either of them, and that man had been helping her... why would he do anything like that...? It was then, though, that he heard a chirping, and looked up to see a mechanical bird perched on the dumpster, looking at him oddly.

"Those wings..."

He reached out for it, and it hopped onto his hand. He frowned slightly, and took his glasses off, then looked at it carefully. Same as the girl...

"What are you anyways... come on, I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

He tucked it under his jacket, where it struggled a little at first, but then seemed to calm down, and he practically ran the four blocks to the apartment where he did his work, hidden from other people in the basement. He jumped down the stairs, and slid a card underneath a sign that said 'No Tresspassing' - he'd hid the card slot years ago. A portion of the wall suddenly dislodged itself, and slid away, so he slipped through and closed it behind him, before he walked over to a table, and let the little thing out. It chirped cheerily, and started looking around. He shook his head slightly again, and opened a drawer full of tools.

"Sorry little guy..."

He snatched it out of the air as it tried to fly, and then he held it down, keeping it from struggling as he pulled what looked like a scalpel out, and flicked a switch, causing the blade to glow slightly. He put it to the bird, then drew a line down it's chest, but before he got far at all it simply stopped and split apart, revealing inner workings like nothing he had ever seen - it was all blue and silver inside, and while it certainly wasn't alive... there were no discernable mechanical parts... This is nuts... if there's nothing moving, that means nanomachines, but... those are so far ahead of our technology level... even if someone has been conducting illegal expiriments on a level even beyond mine, they'd never be able to get the resources for this, there's no tritium for the manufactruing drones on Aronia... where the hell could these have come from... He put the knife down and backed away slightly, but what really made him jump was when the bird's chest snapped back together and it got up, chirping and flapping its wings just like before, looking only a little dazed from its experience under the vibroscalpel. His face paled, and he shook his head slowly.

"This is insane... Thats why she healed, she's a machine...? But then what..."

He shook his head a little, and the bird landed on his shoulder again, which made him smile slightly - either it was programmed for it or it had developed an affection for him.

"No hard feelings about the knife...?"

After that, though, he pulled a thin phone from his pocket and hit a few buttons before he put it to his ear.

"Hey, it's Ash. I neet to talk to Tagert. Sure, I'll hold..."

He reached up a little, petting the mechanical thing, wondering vaguely what he was doing, but it seemed so alive... and that girl certainly was no robot, she'd felt pain, gratitude, she'd been scared... hell when he touched her she was as warm as any human...

"T? Yeah it's me... look I need to ask a favor. Yeah well I fixed your damn car didn't I? Yeah so shut it or I'll tell em about the supercharger I put in. I want to know about any... unusual deaths. I mean like blue blood."

He paused for a few moments, then he frowned.

"Killed? You're sure? Poison... shit... look this could be very important, I don't want anyone else around that crime scene, understood? I'll be down there in ten minutes."

He hung up the phone, then tucked the little bird back in his coat and opened the wall again, then dashed out.

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

Asher finally got to the top of the stairs, panting slightly, and he saw the big officer standing next to the door, crime scene tape criscrossing it all over.

"Asher, some of the stuff we've found we can't really explain... I'm not sure if this is legal."

"Yeah, neither are the modifications I did on your police cruisers. He live with anyone?"

"Neighbors say there was a girl, but we've been unable to find her. We think the're nuts anyways, said she had wings..."

Asher paled slightly, and shook his head.

"Idiots..."

"Yeah, no kiddi-"

"Not them, YOU! Let me in here."

He pushed past the startled officer, and shoved the door open - the man had already unlocked it.

"Stay out here."

"Hey, this is my crime sc-"

"And my problem right now, Tagert, gods above..."

He walked in, and shut the door behind him - he and Tagert had known each other a long time, and Asher had helped him more than a few times, the cop owed him at least this much... he spent some time looking around the room, there was the outline where the man had been found, things were in some state of disarray, but nothing to suggest a struggle... what caught his eye immediately though was the drawing on the table - a young girl with mechanical wings. Asher swore under his breath, and let the little bird - who was struggling by now - out of his coat to fly around. Somehow, Asher was sure the little thing knew this place...

"What do these walls know..."

He walked over, pulling his glasses off again, and touched the bookcase. All the theoreticians he had read as a child... wait though who was this guy? He reached for one book and pulle dit off the chelf, then he opened it. He'd never heard of this author...

"Theories on man-machine interaction, Gerald Smyd, copyright... 2456!? What the..."

He looked at it in shock for a few moments then dropped it to the floor as the spike drove into his mind again, and he had to bite back on a scream. Tagert burst in, and he quickly put his glasses on.

"You okay, Asher?"

"Yeah, just a headache..."

"You should get that looked at, man... all the time. And whats with the bird?"

"Yeah, I will... oh, that thing? Built it the other day, damaged AI, wont stop following me."

"Oh. Well hurry up, I could lose my job over this."

"Righto."

The man vanished again, and Asher put the book back. Okay... there was a thing here somewhere, a panel... He felt along the wall, then he felt his hand slide into a slight depression, and he pushed it in. There was a click, much like his wall, and the whole bookcase slid aside, revealing a room that made even Asher's jaw drop. There were tools everywhere like he'd never even seen, and at the center, glowing a dim blue, there was a tube, and next to it a wirfreame of a shape he was coming to know very well...

"Misery... she was created after all..."

He stepped over the threshold, and saw a lone envalope on the table, when he looked closer he found that everything was broken, the tube that had obviously contained the girl was all that was left intact. Someone didn't want this stuff being taken... then why leave this...? He picked it up, and untied it, then opened it.

To whoever finds this diary - I cannot explain everything. I've kept secret where I came from, where I learned what I did, and you will have to accept that I hope you never find out. I tinkered with the fabric of space, and for it I was cast to this place. I know not if this was punishment or blessing, but I know that some day more will come... the worlds are more closely linked than you think. Freya holds the key... please, I have seen more than any man should have to see, and I know that another like me will come, and a man from my world shall come later... he will need what Freya has within her. There are others that know this, I was stupid, I was lonely and I created her to be my daughter... but now I know that all I have done is created a creature that will be tormented by what she holds. For what she holds. Please, I know not your name but I know you know who I speak of. Take her and keep her safe. I just pray that you find this diary and her before he does... You'll know who the other is by his armor. Please... you must hurry, they will know I am here now, I cannot keep her safe anymore and my strength is failing... I can only help her to forget the pain of my death. Keep her safe.

Sincerely,
Gerald Smyd


Asher put his hand to his head as he put the envelope down, keeping the letter, then he quickly closed the bookcase again, and ran back to the door, snatching the bird from the air as he did, and grabbing a picture of the old man off the desk.

"Thanks Tagert, gotta go!"

was all he said as he bolted down the door. He had to find her somehow... she came to the fruit stand every day, didn't she...? Well then he had one night... he didn't know why but he believed it, all of it... and he had to do something...
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dark_nightmare_queen
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Misery looked out the window, wondering where her bird had gone. She had cooked diner, then cleaned up afterwards and was free to day dream for the rest of the day. She was worried about the little bird, but it was too late to look for it tonight.

She turned to the chirping birds that were in the large birdcage and opened the door. One jumped in her hand and she closed the door and turned. "I need to go find your friend. He has wandered too far away from home."

The bird chirped and cocked its head from side to side then hoped once and took off out the window. She watched it go, and then decided to turn in for the night.

The birds metallic wings glinted off the twilight sun just before it set. It honed in on its brother and soon landed on Asher's shoulder unexpended. It gave a chirp, and the other bird chirped in reply. The bird that Asher found looked at him for a long moment, and then suddenly flew off with the other one, heading directly home.

Misery left her window cracked open to the bird could return during the night, and then lay on her side in her bed and went to sleep.

The man she was usually always with stood in the shadows of her door way, watching her sleep. He gave a wicked smile, then turned to retire to his own bed.

___

The next morning, Misery woke bright and early and discovered that all her birds were safe and sleeping in the cage. She closed the window then dressed and headed out to the market again.

"Hello, Miss Hona. Do you have any fresh eggs for breakfast?" Misery asked.

"I am a fruit vendor, not an egg seller." Miss Hona said with a smile. "I have some wonderful blueberries."

Misery looked them over and nodded, then looked back at Miss Hona expectantly.

"OH! All right! Yes I have fresh eggs. But dont go telling the chicken seller that, or he will get his under's in a wad." She whispered and winked.

Misery laughed and accepted the eggs and gave Miss Hona the correct amount of money. "Thank you." Misery said.

Miss Hona smiled, "I should be thanking you, dear. My regulars keep me going strong."

Misery looked over the contents in her bag and nodded, "Blueberry pancakes for breakfast. I think he would like that. I better hurry home to prepare it." She waved to Miss Hona, then began to walk off and turned, "Oh, we are out of syrup. I better go get some. I suppose I should get more butter too...."

Deadra
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Alain
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Asher went straight home, or rather to his lab, and as he was getting out of his car - a vehicle that resembled an old Corvette, but was so heavily modified it barely deserved the name - when the other birds came, and then all left him at once. His eyes widened slightly, and he chased after them as far as he could, but he lost them before long, and all he could do was watch helplessly as they flew away.

"Shit..."

He panted for a few moment, then he walked back to the building, almost dejectedly, where he opened his lab room, and slipped inside. So he had no way to find her again... damn birds had to go so fast... he walked over to wall that was covered, and looked at it for a long time before he reached up, took hold of an end of the cover, and pulled. He might not be coming back here...

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

That morning, after he had gotten some sleep - barely any, but for once the dreams had left him alone... was he finally discovering why he had them? Was this why he was not having that problem anymore...? He waited by the stand for what seemed like hours until he saw her - her wings stood out slightly above the crowd. He smiled just a little bit, and moved over towards her, the picture of the old man in his hand.

"Misery? Remember me...? I... well I have something to talk to you about. It's important... do you recognise this...?"

He handed her the picture, taking off his glasses, and then he just watched... hoping...
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