[Kalli]

The boy followed 48 outside and pulled his hood up over his dark hair, shivering a bit. The moon always seemed so cold and distant to him, but beautiful in its own way. Being used to lots of noise from the nearby city, he didn’t even notice when distant barks and howls suddenly erupted in the darkness. There were other sounds too, beyond the silent dead zone that had surrounded this place since it was demolished- cars honking, people shouting, the occasional gunshot. It was not music to the boy’s ears, usually, but tonight he found the familiar sounds too beautiful to be real.

For a moment, he closed his eyes, feeling a bit faint from the realization that he could, indeed, have perished underground. No one would have come to look for him, either. He would just have been a nameless skeleton, or perhaps he would have turned into some hideous, shambling monstrosity. A shudder ran through him at the thought, so he watched 48 flex its wings instead, mesmerized by the way the moonlight shone off of them.

He was actually a bit startled by 48 asking his name. It seemed like an intimate question for such a logical creature. More than that, he was a little panicked at 48’s stated desire to ‘see this world’.

“I’m Jet.” the boy replied. That was the name he went by, anyway. “And…are you sure you want to do that? I mean…I understand, after being cooped up down there, but if anyone sees you it could cause a lot of problems. They might try to shoot you down or something, because they’d think you’re trying to eat their kids, or them. People out here…well, they’re just not that accepting of anything too different.”

Jet paused, scanning the shadows of the broken buildings around them. “I mean, maybe if you only traveled at night, and stayed away from people and lights.” The thought of 48 getting shot down, or rampaging through a crowd because they had attacked him, played in Jet’s mind like a bad horror movie. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to anyone if it could be helped, least of all the creature that had saved him.

[Kalli]

The boy turned just in time, though the sound of bone and brain matter and blood bursting wetly in the close air, and raining down into the mud, was something he’d never forget. In spite of the fact that he wanted to vomit, the boy held it in, stumbling after 48 and trying not to see the mess of limbs and organs in the muddy water at his feet. Maybe it was merciful to end the Psion’s life, but it still made his stomach twist. At least its suffering was over.

The boy caught up with 48, but for a long while he didn’t say anything, not knowing what to say. They were almost above ground now, and the boy wasn’t sure what would happen then. On the one hand, he couldn’t quite shake the fear of the pale, bat-winged creature, especially after that display. If 48 saw the boy’s fear, he didn’t seem to understand it. At the same time, the boy recognized that 48 could have easily killed him, but he hadn’t yet. The outside world was not a kind one, and the boy knew very well what could happen to 48, and to those around him, if he was seen. That, and some part of him wanted to stay near 48, though he didn’t really understand why. Perhaps near-death experiences had made him weirdly fond of the creature.

At last they came to the front foyer, and saw the broken doors standing on their hinges. The boy was surprised to see moonlight spilling through the doors. Apparently he’d been there longer than he thought. That wasn’t the reason he hesitated, though, feeling afraid to leave the dreadful place behind him.

“Thanks.” he murmured, turning at last to 48 and looking at him. “Thanks for helping me. I would have died back there if it wasn’t for you. You’re…benevolent…to me.” The boy paused, fidgeting, unsure. “What…are your plans now? I mean, what will you do when you get out there?”

It suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t know if the creature ate or drank or slept. It also occurred to him that a ‘responsible’ citizen would report the escape of such a creature into the city, but he didn’t think it would do any good and only get lots of people killed. What should be done? Like he could stop 48 from going out there…

[Kalli]

The boy had to pause, even though his mouth had opened partway to give 48 an answer. Even though the bat-winged creature now loomed over him, the boy felt he had to stand his ground, but he couldn’t think of how to articulate his reasons, his fears. Besides, what 48 was saying was true, in a way. The Psion had hurt him, and it was a dangerous thing to let live. Yet, seeing the pale, blood-covered creature wrapped in 48’s tail, the boy felt a sick sensation in his stomach, and it had nothing to do with being squeamish over blood.

“Law enforcement….” he grunted, looking away. “Those bastards don’t enforce the actual law, unless they wanna repay an eye for an eye. But what kind of law is revenge?”

Not knowing exactly what he wanted to say, he reached down and picked up his discarded gun, holding it loosely in one hand. Slowly, his eyes went from the Psion to 48’s strange, yellow ones. Part of his felt afraid that his own insides would be melted the next moment, but at the same time, 48 seemed to genuinely want to know.

“I don’t know where you learned about being benevolent, or malevolent, but sometimes there are things in this world that aren’t either. Maybe that thing doesn’t understand the difference. Maybe it never learned.” He nodded to the Psion, who wheezed and spat out blood. “You were just trying to defend yourself, and me… and I’m grateful for that. You have to defend yourself, but… I was afraid you might start to like causing pain just for its own sake. After how nice you’ve been to me, I…I guess I couldn’t handle that.”

He looked down at his gun, something he only used for defense. It was dangerous, yes, but it had saved him more than once. “If you have to kill, make it quick and painless as possible. Otherwise….you become just like the people who try to hurt you.” He said this more to himself than 48. The boy still didn’t know if he was right, or if the Psion should be killed or set free. It was probably kinder to kill it now after the damage its body had endured.

[Kalli]

The Psion screeched and gurgled, collapsing to the floor, clawing at its blood-stained, vomit-soaked face as 48 advanced. The sudden pain was excruciating, overwhelming. It couldn’t really hear 48’s words over the hissing inside its ears, or the sounds of its own agony. Its body twitched and writhed, but death would not come fast enough. No, this game was not fun, not at all. But then, none of the games had ever been fun in the true sense. They had simply been all the Psion knew. In some twisted way, it was a true innocent, knowing nothing of good or bad, of kindness or mercy, because it had only ever known pain.

Behind 48, the boy felt his mind suddenly snap back to awareness, and he staggered up, gasping for breath. Hearing screams of agony, he looked through the arch of 48’s wing and winced. The noise from the Psion was unbearable, but he couldn’t look away from what was happening. It was too horrible. In spite of what the Psion had tried to do to him, that seemed as nothing to what 48 was doing now. 48 had saved the young man behind him, had protected him, but now the young man was forcibly reminded of just how dangerous 48 was. Not only that, but it seemed to be prolonging the Psion’s pain for the sake of it. The young man couldn’t be sure, but that thought made his heart sink. Maybe all the talk of benevolence was closer to his core than he thought. The young man had never liked the idea of torture, even if he hated someone, but that seemed to be exactly what 48 was doing. Maybe he was wrong, but the young man couldn’t bear that idea, or the thought that 48 was more a monster than the young man had been hoping. The young man started to look around for his gun. He had to end this…

Several feet away, the Psion’s mouth dribbled blood and sputum, but it was not yet dead. Even unable to focus its powers, it could still project its own pain onto the beings around itself. Waves of agony burst from its tortured form, but they were weak and sporadic, not enough to fell the young man behind 48. Said young man was looking for his gun still, but the water the Psion had been trying to control earlier had flooded its banks, and now spread around them, tainted with pink blood and dislodged dirt and plants, turning to sticky mud. The young man’s frantic search brought about no results, and the Psion’s screams resonated in his head and around the walls. How he could have pity for such a creature was even beyond him, but he couldn’t help feeling it.

At last, in desperation, the young man shouted out to 48, “Please! just end it…it’s suffered enough!” Not that he thought 48 could hear him over the Psion’s wails, which was why he reached out and grasped 48’s long tail, just so there was some contact. Maybe it was a dangerous thing to do, but he couldn’t stand to think of 48 that way. Killing was one thing, but this?

[Kalli]

The Psion, whatever it was made of, seemed to realize what was happening just in time. Almost as soon as those massive bat-like pinions stretched around the human, the Psion’s mind branched out and lifted a strip of metal from the floor almost too quickly to see it happen. The metal curled up between 48 and the Psion, catching two of the three bullets, which pinged off its surface harmlessly. The first bullet managed to get past, lodging in the Psion’s shoulder as it ducked with an eerie sort of grace.

Pinkish blood pooled on the floor under its feet, but the Psion didn’t seem fazed. At least, not that anyone could see. Its attack on the boy behind 48 continued, with only the smallest hitch.

“I like this game.” the Psion told them, yanking the metal up from the floor and sending it hurtling toward 48. At the same time, it began to gather water from the waterfall behind it. Its mind continued to bore into the boy’s, though now it was looking specifically at recent memories of 48, at how 48 functioned.

The boy realized what it was doing and cried out, shaking his head, trying not to think about these things. Luckily, he didn’t know much, but he still didn’t want to give anything away. The only thing the boy could think of to do was push back, and in a way he could never have defined. The Psion’s attack felt like an entity inside him, rooting around, and his mind instinctively tried to reject the intruder. Even as he fell to his knees, the boy fought back, not knowing how long he’d last.

[Kalli]

“What the hell is that thing?” the boy behind 48 breathed, not at all liking the Psion’s look or feel. Its way of speaking didn’t much appeal to him, either, like a child with no emotion.

Pink eyes slid in his direction, making him cringe, but the Psion was busy pushing into 48’s mind, just staying at the edge, like a car trying to merge into the fast-lane of a freeway. The Psion perhaps couldn’t merge with 48’s thought-processes, but it could still read the overall pattern. It wouldn’t have been difficult in any case; 48 was a pretty obvious weapon (but then, so was everything in the Psion’s experience). Being a weapon, and a machine, its brain functions would be set accordingly, which meant it would attack once it felt the Psion was a threat. What the Psion found interesting was how it seemed to determine what constituted a threat. Which was precisely why its gaze shifted to the boy behind 48.

“You’ve been programmed to act as a shield for the human.” it said in its lilting voice. “Either that, or your programming shifted. Self-awareness in an AI…fascinating…”

For a moment, it dipped further into 48’s mind, but even the Psion found it difficult to deal with. It had been created to pull apart the brains of organic beings, not living computers. There were other types of Psions for that.

After a moment, it pulled out of 48’s mind and let out a small humming noise, neither pleased or displeased. “I wish to play.” it said.

Suddenly, the boy behind 48 felt a buzzing in the back of his mind, followed by a sharp pain in the front of his skull. Memories flashed across his tightly closed eyes, in no particular order, accompanied by pain. He didn’t even hear his gun drop to the floor as both hands moved up to clutch at both temples.

“So easy.” the Psion murmured, this time sounding disappointed.

The boy growled- it was almost like having the Psion scream into both ears with a bullhorn. “Knock it off!”

“You mean stop? No. I don’t wish to.”

Recent memories, of finding 48, of the fight with the blue creature, of his conversation with 48, all mingled and mixed and felt like they were being yanked from him by force.

[Kalli]

The thing’s features were smoothed out, like a porcelain doll that had been buffed too much. It had no real expression, either, just the huge, staring eyes. Once in awhile, a quick flit of grey would slide across them, almost like a transparent third eyelid.

“You do not wish to play? Why not?” the humanoid thing asked, tilting its head to one side. As there was no change in its features or voice, its feelings were, for the moment, unclear. It disregarded 48’s questions, either because it didn’t understand them, or didn’t think them important enough.

The boy standing behind 48 certainly thought them important- what did this thing want? A shudder ran through him every time it spoke, as though its voice was something he ought to remember, but couldn’t. Perhaps something out of a nightmare. The porcelain-white humanoid thing kept advancing without any apparent fear, its terrible gaze fixed on them both.

“Your brain is more interesting than a human’s- I want to see inside.” it said to 48, its wispy voice resonating around the walls and in their heads. Somehow, it seemed to affect the air around them, even though the humanoid thing never moved its mouth.

(The Psion is going to attack 48’s mind, but I’ll let you decide how it affects him. It’s somewhat different for each individual, especially for non-humans.)

[Kalli]

Waves of sound passed through trees and foliage, sliding like an invisible wave over every millimeter of the room. Near a small waterfall on one side, the waves curled around a humanoid form that, unlike the two others in the room, was still alive and upright. Its heartbeat and breaths could be heard, but they were not elevated at all. Whatever it was, the humanoid creature remained hidden, but also completely calm. Through the thick foliage, a pair of pale pink eyes watched the young man and the pale, bat-winged creature with almost predatory interest.

Though he hadn’t seen the eyes yet, the young man could feel their intensity, and he looked around, gun safety off. Just as he was about to ask 48 if he detected anything, he suddenly heard another voice.

“Have you come to play with me?”

The voice was young and soft, without indicating age or sex. At first, it sounded like it was ringing off the walls, but there was an inner quality to it, like the way 48 spoke in the young man’s head. The voice resounded inside and outside of him, causing pin-pricks in his brain. It felt wrong, somehow.

Pointing his gun first in one direction, then another, he scanned the foliage to figure out where this new voice had come from.

“Who are you?” he demanded out loud. “Show yourself!”

From the trees near the waterfall emerged a creature that looked human, but only in that it possessed all of a human’s basic build and features. Its skin was pure white, as was its long hair, to the point of almost looking fake. Hints of the palest pink around its lips, cheeks, and other areas of its naked body showed that it probably had blood, in spite of its doll-like appearance. It was slim and androgynous and unscarred, approaching them almost with casual grace.

“Have you come to play with me?” the humanoid thing asked again, seemingly unperturbed by being completely naked, or facing off against total strangers, one of which looked monstrous.

Next to 48, the young man took a small step backward, not knowing why he felt afraid. Those pale pink eyes were creeping him out. They didn’t seem to blink…

(This thing is a Psion- a powerful psychic/telekenetic, even against 48)

[Kalli]

“Acoustics, huh?” The boy wasn’t exactly sure what this meant, but he had a rough idea. Honestly, he was glad the thing was talking out loud because having a voice in his head was too eerie. Like he was going crazy or something. Odds were still in favor of that explanation for all of this as it was. Once he got out, he half expected the creature at his side to vanish “in a puff of logic”, like he’d read in some old book somewhere.

Unfortunately for both of them, their exit would not be an easy one. As both descended a short flight of steps, they came into a large room that looked like an inner courtyard. Though no actual sunlight entered, the walls and ceiling seemed to glow gently with an artificial kind of its own. There were plants here, and somewhere the sound of running water. In spite of this rather tranquil setting, the young man couldn’t help but feel a strange prickling on the back of his neck, like someone was watching him. He had mostly been watching the creature at his side, but now, his blue eyes darted back and forth, unsure.

‘Hey…uh…I don’t know if you can hear me. But do you feel that?’ he thought, hoping the creature could pick up on it. If there was someone stalking them, he didn’t want their conversation to be heard. It wasn’t like he could see anything through the foliage, but there was definitely something there.

(Not sure if the creature would sense intruders, up to you. You’ll see what’s after them in a bit.)

[Kalli]

“Hey… you can talk…like…out loud talking.” the boy mused quietly, then fell silent, too. He got the feeling that the creature didn’t want to answer all his questions at the moment.

They walked on for awhile, going back somewhat by the way they had come, but turning a few more corridors, before coming to some stairs that led down. Not that the boy knew how to get back out; he was trusting the creature.

“I’ve been alone for awhile….a few years, actually.” he paused, something dark crossing his features. “I was down here looking for scrap metal and stuff to sell. Most people topside wouldn’t come near this place…now I kinda see why.”

[Kalli]

The young man followed, having to trot a bit to keep up. His strange companion had a longer stride than he did.

“I’m not sure how to get out of here from this direction, though…” he said hastily. “You shouldn’t follow me. I was following you. What is that noise you keep making, anyway?” Somehow, the fear he had felt toward the creature was starting to melt away, bit by bit.

[Kalli]

“I guess we’re both pretty lost, then.” the boy said, meaning they didn’t know what else was down here.

Then, he thought of the other meaning of that phrase, and gripped his gun handle more tightly. What if they were stuck down here forever? What if the creature had to eat, and its toleration of his presence ceased?

“Uh…do you know how to get out of here? because this is a different way than I came in.” On the other hand, there were plenty of dead bodies for the creature to eat, maybe that would tide it over?

(Do you want me to come up with any of the underground creatures, or do you just want to take care of that yourself? I’m fine either way, I just don’t want you to have to do all the work ^^)

[Kalli]

The boy frowned- he was stumped there. Honestly, there was no immediate reason that came to mind. He had simply acted in the moment, not even sure it would work out in the end.

“I don’t know, to be honest.” he said slowly, turning the incident over in his mind, “I guess…. I guess…. something felt right about killing that thing, but not you. You were just trying to get out, like me.” A deep frown pulled at his brows and lips. This all seemed like a dream, still, and his head ached. Maybe he’d just gone crazy?

“What was that thing, anyway? And why did it try to kill you?”

[Kalli]

“Definitely not from here.” the boy muttered, shaking his head. “As far as my ‘benevolence’….honestly, I don’t think I’m that benevolent. I just have a rule about not fighting if I don’t have to. Mostly because I don’t win a lot of fights against bigger guys, but also it’s kinda counterproductive. We all gotta fight to survive, why waste energy killing each other? Anyway, Mom taught me better than that.”

The boy was surprised at himself for saying so much about what he thought, and openly. These things had been in his head for awhile, but he was so used to being on his own that they usually went unsaid. Nervously, he paused and frowned, blue eyes flickering over at the creature, but it seemed to be watching ahead.

“After you saved me, it didn’t seem right to shoot you.” he admitted this to the creature, and himself. At the time, he had cursed himself for being weak, but that wasn’t the real reason.

[Kalli]

‘Quite well-spoken for a monster’….the boy thought to himself. Monster wasn’t really the right word, anyway, even if by its own admission it was to be used as a weapon. It had been created to be one, which wasn’t its fault, any more than it was the boy’s fault for being a street urchin. He couldn’t help feeling a little sorry that it only had a number, rather than a name. Numbers were dehumanizing…or demoralizing, in a non-human’s case.

Still, as he tried not to look at the bodies littering the hallway, the boy couldn’t help but think that the thing was still dangerous. It might choose to kill him any moment once it decided he was no longer ‘benevolent’. People had a tendency to turn on him, too. Though he held his gun at the ready against other attackers, he was prepared to shoot this thing if he had to. Kill or be killed, even if he actually hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“I don’t know what…what L.R.A.D. or D.S.R. means, but I get the feeling there’s more than one of your kind running around. Or maybe like that blue thing…whatever it was.” He shuddered involuntarily, stepping over a body to stand beside the creature again, peering around its shoulder. Then, looking up, he frowned more deeply. “What are you planning to do, anyway? To escape this place? I mean, I’ll follow you out, and I’m grateful for the help, but I don’t know what you’d do out there. It’s not…” he paused, shaking his head. “It’s not much better up there.” Not much- he’d still rather be there than here.