“It is becoming very cold, Mackenzie… Are we there yet?”
Kizana’s voice echoed quietly as she swiftly scaled onward, up the steep, immeasurable vertical shaft, just behind the teenage boy who had taken point. Her words were long overdue, having come after much contemplation over weather or not to interrupt her creator. But as their climb slipped further into infinity, she had figured it was in her best interest to ask, and besides; curiosity, on her part, would be welcomed.
“Almost there, Kizana, we’re just taking the scenic route.” He replied jokingly, as it was rather obvious there was nothing readily scenic about the dank and chilly maintenance passage. It served as Zero’s own, private means of access to the abysmally kept, but thankfully, much more spacious streets of Prague. While it wasn’t the most luxurious itinerary, it was the best alternative. The tunnel - which was rather ancient, even when compared to the several shoddily made lifts that the other attendees of the Chatrani complex used as transport to and from the surface – was a well hidden secret of his, only now shared with his android companion. While there were two other, larger, non-mechanized pathways only to be used in case of emergency, this one was seemingly unknown of, and most likely, not present on any of the layouts of the Chatrani that others went by.
Of course, finding it had been rather difficult, time consuming, and a complete trial and error experience involving the multifaceted ducts of the area, but since its discovery, it had proved rather useful. Mainly because it didn’t involve somehow slipping past the net of security that veiled his ‘home’, and its defense systems that went by the code of ‘shoot first, don’t ask anything’.
As always, there was one major downside: It was one hell of an ascension, which was just putting it lightly. Mackenzie had yet to actually measure the sheer distance it took to cover the length of the aging, perpendicular channel, it was safe to say the eight-minute climb was insanely long, and an arduous journey, as well. Not to mention unsafe; Zero was pretty sure that if the Chatrani had some sort of safety code, the rickety, rusting steel ladder steps that protruded from the wall, and the rest of the murky passageway’s overall condition was definitely unfit for anything, let alone traversing all the way to the top.
His hands wearily pulled onward, his eyes peering up along the rest of the stretch needed to be covered, blinking at the cool, damp air. The pair continued to navigate their way to the surface, Kizana having a bit less trouble than Mackenzie, who had to deal with the problem of fatigue. Instead of focusing on climbing, she took in the little details of her rather confined and dark surroundings. The cracked, concrete surface of the walls stole her attention for a moment. They were stained and covered in portions by who knows what; obviously having gone unpreserved for quite some time. Any further observations proved challenging, as lighting wasn’t so great. The only thing giving visibility were the cheaply made and tackily strung together pairs of barely luminescent lights ran along either side of them, every other fifteen or so feet.
Kizana frowned, speculating if the outside world would be a bit more interesting, and that her wait to see it would be over soon. Fortunately, it was, and moments later, the blonde boy just above her proclaimed that they had reached the end. He pulled himself up over the last few steps of the ladder and into a short concave that ended in a door. He hurriedly moved to it and began to slide it aside, its wood and steel base chipping and scrapping against the ground, and Kizana quickly leapt to his side, smiling animatedly and turning to look at him under the hood of her shadowy, ragged cloak.
“Mackenzie, you’ve been to the surface before, am I right?”
The messily haired blonde slowed his exertion against the door midway, his hands rested against it, already noticeably fatigued. “That’s right, Kizana.” He wiped his brow with the sleeve of his jacket, showing a smile at her promising curiosity and hardiness. She seemed to have not expended a single ounce of stamina, even after the long haul to reach the exit to the interconnected catacombs that lead out to the city streets.
“What’s it like?”
“Not much to look at, actually. Most of the time, anyway… It can have its moments.” He nodded, ending his sentence with an involuntary inhalation that Kizana took careful note of. The fact that he had not been sleeping much had somehow slipped his mind; but the occasional, lengthy yawn served as a reminder that eventually, he’d have to find a bed and stay there.
He sighed, looking at the edges of his reddened palms, pressed against the side of the door. They were swelling, noticeably, but it was to be expected: they were doing a hell of a lot of work, and the climbing marathon that had been the past fifteen minutes had only worsened their pain. His gaze darted over to the android Kizana, still smiling eagerly watching him with deductive eyes hidden behind bangs of crimson and violet.
His hands tightened as they pulled away from the door, and he spoke again. “Give me a hand with this, Kizana.”
She paused for a moment, as if unsure what to do, before nodding in partial understanding. “Do you want me to open it?”
“Yeah, just… Give the door a good push.”
“Affirmative, Mackenzie.” Zero swiftly backed away against the stone wall at his left, and watched her step in his previous place. She slowly pulled the hood on her cloak down, firmly planted her hands against the center of the door’s side. Effortlessly, Kizana heaved it forward, swiftly grinding it roughly along the granite at its base and out of their way. “Better?”
“Nicely done, Kay.” He started ahead of her, only to slow as he took the lead, looking back at her. Kizana had tilted her head oddly in wonder, as if ready to ask a question, which she soon did.
“It is morning, Mackenzie. Are we almost there?”
“You’ll see, Kizana. Follow me.” His hands clenched and relaxed at his sides, inflammation wreaking havoc on them, as he resumed striding ahead of her into the gloomily lit, spiraling stairwell.
Kizana walked casually after Zero, trailing him to some extent. She lifted to hood of her cloak over her head, eyes hidden under the shadow and bangs and the overall lack of light. In a detached – and almost, sly - tone, she replied quietly, “I was made to.”
* * *
The man sat motionless in his seat, as footsteps chanted consistently, the feminine figure moving closer, but staying at a distance.
The vehicle she had ridden in on her way to meet her newest – if not vague – employers had died halfway into Prague.
Just her luck; it meant she had about a mile or two of walking to do, and she didn’t much like Prague. She didn’t much like the atmosphere of Czech period, actually. It was a dead country, in both spirit and just about everything else, wasting away slowly, just like its inhabitants, and sooner or later nothing would be left but dwindling memories of the past that some could not let go. They would even go as far as to kill and strive to preserve that which has already been long ruined.
And now she was asked to be a part of it. Well, it paid, at least. Her line of work was beginning to lose its novelty. She was tired of killing cheating wives, conglomerate spies, and the occasional loose cannon psycho that owed a debt she herself could pay off with her clothes. This was the first time she had ever found herself engaged in a petty street war, and the environment was noticeably different from her previous few travel opportunities, the most recent being France. It was quiet.
The nameless man looked at her questioningly, his eyes dark and weary. Her style of dress was casual and deliberate; noticeable, but easily forgettable, appealing, but nothing breathtaking. She looked attractive, young, but well out of her teens, blue eyes and brown hair that didn’t quite reach her shoulders and a sense of style that seemed more western, despite her European heritage. She had a thing for denim, which was the majority of her attire: jacket, jeans, and a tan undershirt to complete the ensemble.
There was a sense of normalcy about her. That wasn’t something he liked. Instead of a warm reception, he merely presented her with a blunt statement that was obviously uncaring that she was on time, despite having trudged a respectable distance through fogbound streets. “You’re not exactly what I was expecting.”
Her response was fairly uncaring to his attitude, “I’m capable, that’s all you need to know. Do you want this job done or not?”
“If you can make it happen. You have the conditions, right?”
“One dead motorcyclist and…Some sort of mercenary?”
”She aided in killing Priest. I’ve told you about that. Can you handle taking them out?” The woman didn’t much go for his sense of humor. Mainly because the dark haired person in charge of what was left of this group wasn’t exactly kidding around.
“Should be simple enough; even if this Evelina is as hard to kill as you say she is.”
“…If you make it quick, I’ll double-”
The denim clad woman abruptly cut him off, turning around and headed to the other end of the room; which looked like every other in the horribly furnished, horribly kempt building complex. “No changing the deals, at all,” She stopped and looked over her shoulder, watching him closely and silently reaching into her jacket, brandishing a finely crafted handgun that seemed to glint, despite the eerie and dark conditions of the structure’s inside. “We’ve gone through this, my terms. Give me a week, tops.”
He laughed grimly, shaking his head. “You actually plan on wasting one of the Nightriders with a revolver…? What, do you have a knack for ancient museum artifacts? How very amusing…”
The woman slowly turned to face him, seated in his single chair at the end of the room. Her steps echoed quietly through the room, heels knocking against its surface, and the eerie calm in her look caused him to reach at his side, fingertips sliding along the end of his own gun. She raised her weapon consciously, slowly and rested its side against her temple, pondering and slowly curving her lips with a snide smile. She continued to walk in his direction, watching him intensely, with blue eyes that did not blink, incessant in their piercing stare.
She tapped her finger against the side of the revolver’s barrel, the steps of her feet increasing in volume as she neared. The look on her face, and in her eyes, began to darken and the rhythmic click of her heels against eroding wood flooring became a devious mantra. He was the condemned man, this was the last mile.
Her footsteps were his last rights, and the revolver, now extending toward him, directly in place with her gaze on him, was his priest.
“Six bullets and I only need one.”
He quickly pulled his own gun from his jacket and aimed it at her quickly, the nameless employer who had been so secretive about details other than the catch, up to this point, trying to show he came prepared. “What the hell are you-“
The revolver fired, an explosion that calculatingly jolted the weapon from his hands, and her other hand came to rest alongside the one that was pulling the trigger, and bang after volatile bang rang out.
Every round of the gun had been emptied around him, and he watched her with rather pissed off eyes, as she leisurely turned away once more, slipping the gun back into her jacket.
“So I would lower that tone of yours. No job has ever taken all six bullets. This will be no different,” as she neared the door to exit the area, several others entered through it, wondering what was going on and obviously on edge. They were the last members of Lux Divina, the followers of Priest still left alive and it seemed they were expecting to have found another massacre, but a gesture of the man she just spoke to, and fired at, told them differently. They pulled away from the brunette, and she rested a hand against the open doors handle. “Such a nice morning, by the way… Isn’t it?” Grinning inwardly, the woman known as Skye aptly walked through and shut the rickety door behind her.
* * *
Through illusionary eyes that stared off in idyllic wonder, Kizana stood absolutely still, her head tilted back and lips parted, and against soft, delicate skin that looked real, felt real, and in many was, was real, a lavender glow was cast down on her. Torn away was the roof of the highest level of the abandoned building, and drearily draped remnants of its ceiling hung down, a shadowy, jagged curtain now circling the breach to the sky. And such a delightful sky it was for her to behold. The information having been given to her and stored deep inside her mind, pictures and electronic information, fragments of what the world had been and what it was now seemed nothing like this. The tiny bit of infinity that she could see beyond the aperture was not scarred and chaotic at all. Instead, in this morning, overcast sea of violet, there was serenity. The sunlight could not penetrate the mauve haze, but despite this, its struggle was valiant – not futile.
Kizana continued to stare in silent intrigue, wondering if perhaps, the sunlight would pierce the sky, for even just an instant.
And moments became seconds, and seconds became minutes, and through illusionary eyes that stared off pleasantly at the indigo mist that would be her first gaze at the world beyond - much like a child having first awakened – she blinked. It was an involuntary and unnecessary movement; but when her eyes came to focus once again, she noticed something. She noticed that the intrepid effort of the sunshine to break the reign of the foreboding and ominous darkness was beginning to weaken. And the lavender began to fade; the foggy mist soon ready to lift and the glimpse of violet sky over the streets of Prague, the illusionary girl’s first glimpse of the world beyond, would soon end.
“Hey, Kizana,” she blinked once more, having been roused from this state of thought by her companion. “Are you okay?”
Kizana lowered her head and rubbed her eyes slowly, nodding, and pondering about the incessant need to close her eyes for short periods of time. ‘This is beginning to become a bit of a habit…’
She slowly turned to face the blonde male, Zero, who sat crouched at the other end of the area, now watching her with much interest. His goggles sat atop his brow, as always, his right arm rested over his knees as he squatted. He had previously been busy tinkering away at a wrist bound ‘laptop’ that was half the length of his forearm and some peripheral device that was in some way connected to her, but had since stopped that, instead spending the last minute or so watching her observations of the sky. She replied a bit quieter than he expected.
“I am fine, Mackenzie. I want to see more. Is there more like this?”
“Like I said, Kizana… It can have its moments.” He slowly stood, smirking and looking down at the flat panel screen, typing diligently along the keypad connected to it on the back of his wrist. She watched him, pulling her hood down, enjoying the strangely peculiar feeling of forty-three degree weather along her neck. After a short while, he glanced at her momentarily, before nodding to himself. “Alright, Kay, this might sting a little… Don’t worry about it. I’m just connecting to you and starting this little… feature.”
She complied with a thoughtless nod of the head and began beaming at him once more. The reflection of the screen, which resembled a translucent sapphire plastic, shone brightly in his eyes, and he concluded his session of typing with a final press of the soundless, soft keypad.
Immediately, her entire body shook to the core as a violent, shrieking, mind numbing sound brought her to her knees. She tried to clasp her ears, in an attempt to silence it, but its source was indeterminable. It felt incredibly horrible, as if every single inch of her body was burning away, her eyes fluttering about uncontrollably. Though she tried to scream amidst the screech that could be heard by no one other than herself, voice, not the slightest verbal acknowledgement of the assault on her ‘senses’ came. And as quickly as it came, the sound, as well as the agony, passed, dissipating instantly.
It took her a few moments before she opened her eyes, mouth still hanging open from her noiseless scream. She had just experienced extreme sensory overload and irritation, and she did not like it one bit. Her lip quivered for a few moments, before Kizana found herself twitching and coming to a swift stand, her hands suddenly running over her body, trying to figure out what went wrong. There seemed to be nothing visually wrong with her, yet her eyes began to flicker about in an odd panic. Zero quickly dashed over to her, sensing the extreme agitation of the feminine android and apologizing and looking her over. His methods of comfort seemed rather awkward, however, as soon after he pinched her side, hard.
Kizana emitted a strange vocal sound and jumped back, looking at him with a distressed and weary glare. It was comical, and at the same time, she seemed eerily on the verge of actual anger. “Mackenzie, what are you doing? Why does…”
“It’s called pain, Kizana. It’s the closest thing you have to it, right now, at least. If it ever extremely discomforts you, your systems have the option of turning the operation off. I just figured… You know, it’d help you learn to keep from getting hurt and you’d seem much more…” He trailed off, not sure how to continue.
“…I’d seem much more human?”
“…Like I said, you have the option of turning it off.” He repeated, trying his best to figure out if there was anything else he should tell her. Kizana quickly replied, smiling once again after a rather tense moment, and nodding elatedly.
“…Pain. My apologies, I was unaware it… Hurt to such an extent.” She grinned with odd enthusiasm, not quite sure if that sounded logical.
The room began to darken, the morning sky now falling victim to the gray, dreary spell it knew all too well. Zero, seizing this moment and being reminded of his reasons for coming to the surface in the first place, hurriedly pulled her deeper into the housing. Kizana, once again donning her hood, kept close to him as they weaved through the dirt stricken rooms and hallways that had once been places of livelihood in times past. As the two came across a worn, rickety window sill that was spaced only a short distance away from the next building over, Zero began to approach it slowly, looking out beyond its splintered and cracked frame into the darkened room opposite.
“Are your joints working alright, Kizana?”
“They’re working fine… Was I supposed to experience problems?”
“Nope, you’re just going to have to jump.”
Zero stepped back, an adventurous grin forming on his lips, as he quickly sped over to broken and aging balcony. He leapt, pushing off of the end of the building and landing inside the one across, spilling into the room in a rolling haze of dust. After a moment, the cloud of gray began to settle, and he came to a stand, dusting himself off and walking around a bit. He looked back towards the hooded girl watching him cautiously, “Come on Kay, we need to get going. Can’t stay gone long.”
“Alright.” She stated simply.
“Just be careful not to-” He pulled his goggles from his head, wiping them clean on his jacket and stepping back slightly.
There was a creak, and foreboding and loud snap that caused him to raise his eyes from his goggles over to Kizana, and without further warning, he fell. The rotting and weakened wood flooring beneath his feet suddenly gave way, and Mackenzie was sent crashing through the floor in a billowing miasma of dirt and crumbling lumber. The event was sudden, sending him to his back on the level below, his goggles slipping from his fingers and landing on his face moments later.
Zero let out a groan, and then a sigh, pain shooting through his back momentarily. He peered upward, pulling away the pair of goggles on his forehead and grasping them tight.
‘Smart move, genius, way to go.’
And laying silent – completely still – when he realized the groaning noise did not stop, long after he did. The floor under his back was giving way.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
He hit the ground level hard. Dazed, confused, and most importantly, hurting, he quickly tried to bring himself to his feet, wafting away a wispy cloud of filth and coughing sporadically. Kizana wasn’t anywhere to be found, and he was hoping she’d stay put, because if not…
“She better not get hurt… If she can’t regulate that…”
He stumbled about in near absolute darkness for a few moments, before gathering enough sense to lift up his sleeve and bring his arm-bound personal computer to life. It hummed softly and illuminated the surrounding area with a soft, blue aura. Mackenzie exhaled thankfully, somewhat relieved that it had not suffered any damage in the fall.
Stricken with a decent amount of pain in his legs, but not caring to stay in the building’s floor level that seemed boarded away from the little daylight there was around, he slowly moved forward. As he wandered about through the bleak and shadow drowned halls of the accommodation, he did his best to use the glimmering panel not only as a source of light, but as a means of locating Kizana as well. It seemed his connection to her, however, had been jilted by the crash just prior.
His foot steps slowly came to a halt, and he peered upwards as his boots sorely rested their movement. He heard something; noises from above, wherever he had managed to get himself to in the last few minutes time of stumbling about.
They were gunshots, not a great deal of firing, but enough to get his attention. Not to mention make him extremely worried, suddenly.
“…Oh no, Kizana-”
“Yes Mackenzie?”
He spun around instantly, looking at her wild eyed. His heart had literally jumped and done a few flips for good measure, before he finally realized who he was staring at. “Christ, Kizana...? How’d you…”
“Are you hurt?”
“No… Listen, we have to…”
“Mackenzie… I came down to find you and I overheard… I mean, this group is looking for a woman from the Chatrani. I think your friends might be in danger…?”
The blonde blinked, and suddenly, his legs didn’t hurt anymore. He wasn’t paying attention to them. He was eyeing her carefully.
‘Natalie…?’
He needed to get back.
“…What did you hear, again?”
* * *
Through eyes that feigned life yet shone brightly with curiosity, Kizana stood still amidst the benevolent sheet of raindrops. The sky showered the stone streets of Prague, bestowing its gentle pour endlessly and sprinkling the young man at her side and washing around the protective cape of her hood. They were in the middle of the road, the android having come to a stop; eyes enamored with pure, adoring mellowness, as she watched the rainfall wash away the grime that had been so evident before.
She enjoyed the sight of the Chatrani. Like Mackenzie, it was her home. It was the only place she could really call home, and she only wished to see more of it. She wanted to protect it, just as the Nightriders did, because nothing was to disturb the magnificent scene before her.
She was beginning to feel the same appreciation for Mackenzie. He was her caretaker, and without him, she would have never have been able to witness this. Her eyes would have never gotten the chance to watch the spectacle of downpour from the heavens with the extraordinary glee that she had now. She would watch over him, much like he watched over her.
Kizana slowly began to smile, and she titled her head back, pulling down the hood of her cloak and keeping it down, slowly letting her hands rest at her sides as the flood of rain spilled across and throughout the fibers of her hair and gently caressed her cheeks. And she could feel it, and it was unlike anything she had ever known to exist before. It felt wonderful. The clear liquid ran across her cheeks and against her eyes, causing them to sparkle soundlessly every once and awhile at the contact. It ran down her chin and smoothly slid across the cure of her neck and coursed along the rest of her elegant body.
She focused her eyes against the soft, melancholy sea of gray overhead. She slowly let them close, and Mackenzie spoke to her quietly.
“We have to go, Kizana.”
She turned her head to the side, eyes glimmering once more at the rain, and she smiled even brighter. She looked happy.
“Alright, Mackenzie. Let’s go.”
As they continued traversing down the long streets of Prague to their home, one conscious thought remained in the android Kay-RX11’s mind.
‘I was… I was made to know… To know beauty…
I was made to be human.’
* * *
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