Reverie

     On the other side of Aquaneo City, the VIP clung closely to Qion as his team and Anda's mobile tomb got off the monorail on one of the platforms within Geta District. She found herself unable to peel her eyes from the sight of what obstructed the group's path to their destination. Beads of sweat formed on the VIP's forehead as this errand by the Zenith began to take its toll on her nerves. Between the platform and Minaret 917 was another mob that carried a far different air from the rubbernecking crowd that was at the central elevator. 

This mob resembled the biblical hellbeasts responsible for the eternal torture of those in purgatory. Their black leather jump suits morphed into their rib cages as if it was their skin. Their eyes were lifeless and protruded outwards. Their teeth were filed. The exposed skin on their faces and hands sunk into every crevice. Some had elongated arms that acted like forelegs. Some had their spines stretched backwards.

Qion noticed the VIP was under a great deal of stress and dropped the Caribbean swag for a more calming tone. "What do I call you, ma'am?" Qion said. "Huh. uh," she stuttered while her gaze was still locked on the sight before her eyes. "Ma'am! look at me," Qion attempted to divert her attention. She finally looked away and saw her reflection in Qion's mercurial eyes. Her symmetrical face that radiated hopelessness of an abandoned child was dampened with regret for jumping on the chance of what seemed to be a harmless errand as ordered by the Zenith himself. Qion asked for her name again. "Jana", she finally answered. "Jana, we're almost there. I need you to calm down."

"I don't want to be here, take me back," Jana said as she began to hyperventilate. "Jana, take a deep breath. They're just like worker bees and their Queen is a Lady Maut who has no intention to harm us," Qion with an outstretched arm offered a hand and continued "Keep your eyes locked to the ground till we get to the elevator and we'll get through this," Qion said as their hands locked. Jana’s breathing began to normalize by the wonders of Qion’s Negotiation program. She clung closely as the team moved first. Qion led Jana, and Anda's corpse off the platform and the hoard looked towards the minaret in unison. As if connected minds in a hive, they cleared a path for the group.

     The double doors of the minaret opened from the inside and two towering ghoulish figures received the group as they entered. Qion and the team assigned to him by Detective Lau have successfully escorted Anda's corpse and the VIP to Minaret 917. On either side of the lobby of the minaret, four giants lounged idly that made a corridor of flesh as their hollow gaze followed the group to the elevator. As they approached the corridor Jana stole a glance at one of the giants. She couldn't tell if it wore an armor or if it had a hardened skin that looked like it was made of bones.

The group entered the elevator and Jana nearly collapsed to the floor if Qion didn't catch her. "You did really well, Jana," Qion said as Jana was cradled in an embrace. "What happened to them? They don't look human," Jana said as she dug her face into Qion's arm. “They were once Wardens who chose to sacrifice their bodies so their minds can wander in limbo,” Qion said as the elevator began to move. “It’s like they sold their souls to the devil,” Jana said as she faced Qion. “Heh, not exactly the devil. She saved a lot of us too from getting blown to bits,” Qion said as Jana slowly gained enough strength in her legs to stand on her own. From the window of the elevator, Jana saw that the legion around the minaret was a mere fraction of their sheer numbers. In between the and on top of the buildings, it was the same from block to block, more and more of those black-cladded mutated beings swarmed around this minaret. The elevator comes to a stop at level 44. Jana peeled her eyes from the window and when she faced the opening elevator doors, her data logger glitched and a prompt ‘DATA RECORDING STOPPED’.

     Qion led his men and their precious cargo through the elevator doors to a darkened corridor that led to the lab. Qion continued towards the lab until a silhouette formed at the end of the corridor and gave a signal to his team to stay put. It was Lady Maut draped in a heavy white fabric and her face was covered by her long jet-black hair. She levitated towards Qion as if her feet never touched the ground. A door slid open to reveal a laboratory. Lady Maut entered first and Qion waved Jana to bring Anda's body in the lab as he followed closely behind. Jana stood frozen for an instant and as if an entity took control of her, the life in her eyes dissolved. A different voice passed through her lips: "Leave me be, Sergeant. Thank you for your service." "Roger that, Prime Monarch Tavo," Qion said in a conceded tone.

Jana whose motor functions have been under the control of Prime Monarch Tavo unlatches Anda’s sarcophagus and proceeds to the center of the lab where mechanical arms transfer the body to the table. Lady Maut and Qion stood over Anda’s body. The lady in white could not take her eyes off Anda’s corpse. She shudders and mutters the words under her breath, “He’s alive.” Jana’s hollowed body turned towards Lady Maut and Tavo’s words come through, “That’s impossible.” Lady Maut unknowingly has her hand raised to touch Anda’s body. Qion readied his hand on a sidearm. Tavo’s words left Jana’s mouth again, “Lady Maut, don’t!”

As soon as Lady Maut’s hand made contact with Anda’s skin, his eyes twitched. A barrage of images passed Lady Maut’s vision in an instant. It started with an image of a crevice within a mountain and going through large metal doors, then a montage of memories that the lady couldn’t completely fathom; from gaining consciousness during a surgery to looking down on a casket being lowered into the ground, from being in space to orbiting near the sun, from seeing cryotubes with immaculate bodies in it to being deep underwater creating a tunnel into the ocean floor and lastly an image that seemed to be of the lush vegetation that used to exist in the previous millenniums.

     Anda’s eyes opened and his body started morphing. His skeletal structure began to unfold itself as his screams shook the room. “What have you done?” Tavo’s voice can be heard before Jana’s body collapses to the floor. Anda’s body grew larger and larger until the operating table bent out of shape unable to bear the weight. His skin never broke and instead stretched to an almost translucent viscosity over the extending bones. His skeletal structure was no longer bone white and turned almost into transparent crystal structures. His head elongated backwards at the lambdoid suture and his facial features disappeared to make a completely smooth surface for a face while his skull turned into a sheer solid crystal. Qion grabbed Jana while his men stormed the room and pointed their weapon at Anda’s body. Lady Maut remained unmoved as she marveled over the spectacular sight of the never before found augmentations.

The ringing of the last scream died off and. His body still twitched from the rest of his transformations that continued on. He rolled off the operating table to lie on his side as his spine was still extending with every cracking sound. Anda’s entire body is nearly three times the size and is almost completely transparent except for the refractions of light through his crystal bones. There are no organs where it should be leaving no biological indications as to how his body functions. His legs are now reverse jointed that provided stability to his now larger chassis. Lady Maut approached Anda and his head turned to face her and his voice transmitted telepathically to her: “Thank you, M.”

In an instant all the armed men in the lab saw the live feed of Anda’s data log on their HUD, then the entire legion within the district, followed by the entirety of the inhabitants in Aquaneo City and eventually the live feed was being broadcasted on every electromagnetic and radio wave at the mainland. Anda has practically hijacked the entire planet’s communication array.

     “Prisoners of Aquaneo City. The earth has been yearning to die for a long time now. The preordained destiny of Man’s extinction was overwritten by man’s desires and the earth never got Her much-needed slumber. I’ve ventured into the stars and became God. My knowledge has grown unfathomable and I have the ability to create pure life. On my return to this planet, I have delved past the deepest oceans and created a haven within the places untouched by man. There, tens of thousands of the new human race have lived with the tools I provided them. Before a new age can rise from the grounds to the West, I implore you, inhabitants of this underwater city, to stand by my side to cleanse the surface. Past this man-made dome and within those dark waters, my armada awaits you to board it and arm yourself with the tools I’ve created for our mission. I will grant you free will and a new world. Join me.”

Lady Maut struggles to believe the revelation the entire planet has just heard. She commands the laboratory walls to open revealing the darkened waters under the night sky. Faint pulses of light can be seen within the waters, then silhouettes can be made out. The figure took shape and revealed its streamlined hull, it was the Trevante that led thousands of large submersible shuttles that resembled the nautical giants that used to roam the waters. The entire fleet made its way to the base of the dome and attached itself to it. The underside of the crafts shone a bright light and made a tunnel through the dome that led into the shuttles.

“What say you, M? Will you be my prophet and lead your legion with my weapons to make a new world?” Anda said as he sat up. Lady Maut looked around to see Qion and his men had already lowered their weapons upon grasping the divine message. Unmanned hovercrafts appeared past the opening of the laboratory and Qion’s men rode them towards the nearest tunnel to board the hovercrafts. Qion still clutched onto Jana who was slowly regaining consciousness. Lady Maut ran her hands from her face to the top of her head and her unkempt hair formed into a tight knot revealing her attractive symmetrical face. The once loose fabric that hung on her, clung to her body and turned into the familiar black attire her legion was wearing. She then stood at the end of the opening to see a larger hovercraft stood by nearby. With her back facing Anda, she answered him, “Let’s clean the surface together.”