[Sector-10 //4:22 PM]
the afternoon light shining through the window frame of a classroom. The sounds of hologram screens in this silent classroom where every student is wearing their earphone, listening, and studying the lesson from their teacher.
"ok class, before we end our final subject-" Mister John, who was using a core from his home today to teach some literature, core just basically a humanoid robot with self-conscious, designed to help with human society or maybe become the replacement for the downfall of us in the future.
Then there's our girl, back behind the front rows. Her focus was pulled away from the teacher, her eyes looking outside the window. Her puffy, messy blond hair highlighted the glasses she wore, and her blue eyes matched the shining sky.
"Hey, Clare can I borrow your work a bit?" one of her classmates asked.
Of course, as a nice person, she is. "sure" she happily accepted, flick flap of the hologram screen, her work had been copied to her classmate.
"Thanks!"
The school soon ended after the teacher finished his speech. Heading off the hall after visiting her locker and her friends, she quickly got to the street. Looking around the places, houses, and establishments, she saw that humanity has reached a far better place with core peacefully coexisting with society. Soon, after about 10 minutes of walking, she got home. The first thing she checked was the mail on her computer. Her dad had gone from service in the army. Her mother works for Lithius, a big company creating inventions and core types.
Today her mother sent her a text message, unlike many other times before where she directly speak.
"Huh?" curious thoughts filled her head. Clare opened the message, reading the words carefully to understand what her loved mother had said.
"Hey, my biscuit, first, you probably wondering why your mother doesn't send a voice mail like usual. You don't have to worry about it. You know how being a scientist is very busy.
I want to explain more but due to the time limit, I have to write this before the time ends. Clare, I want to see you one last time before this place collapses, I don't want to do this job, mercilessly, and brutally, I won't be returning, I know it's confusing Clare, but behind the company is a whole rabbit hole of unknown.
about the time I sent this to you, that means the facility at this location: [-2-] had been destroyed, you need to click on the link so it will show you the way there, and if you asked, I am dead"
the words struck Clare like an instant knife stabbed her heart. She lost her mother. Her mind trying to process the information. She continues to read it.
"I want you to take care of what remains in that place, you'll need to get the level 10 keycard, get it, and get out, I know it's hard to believe, but I know you're a strong girl, probably the strongest I know, it's time to grow up. Once you get there everything will show. you will need this [click]"
she taps on the screen at the red word, somehow she gets electrocuted for a brief second and withdraws her hand like instinct, she mumbles in pain trying to calm down. On her hand had been marked with "A-404" which looks like a designated number.
"ouch..."
"you have to get there fast before they come. don't try and look for me, you have to go now"
she read the final lines of her mother's message, wondering what she meant by "them", by now, she hadn't gotten a hold of herself knowing her mother had died, completely alone, she fell onto the ground, too overwhelmed by emotions, she eventually passed out from shocked. Every day when she was born was sunny and bright with golden light, she had a happy family before her father passed away during service, and now, the pain of the past has struck her again, why did it happen, why did fate set us like this, are the questions about her.
The evening set down [6:07 pm], the lights automatically turned on when set, and the street filled with cars and kids playing on the sidewalk, meanwhile, in Clare's room, she was in a corner, holding a picture of her father and mother, two streams of tears rolling down on her cheeks, honest to say, this is too much for a 15-year-old kid. Depressed, sadness may be the word that can describe it. For a whole hour, she sat there not knowing what she would do besides nothing. Looking back at the screen, looking at the location, and the mark on her hand, thinking about whether should she go or stay.
For an instant, she could hear her mother's voice whispering in her ear. and just like that, the determination inside her rose in the darkest time, she took on her bag, with the forest adventure kit which she used to explore the wood. Taking the picture and money her money gave to her. Clare found the location was 30km deep into the forest. "why she work at the banned area?"
She left the cozy home she used to have to get on the cold metal hoverboard her father gifted her. and drifted off the street and into low height in the sky, zooming by the houses and facilities. She made it outside just before 3 black vehicles parked in front of her house.
The wind flew by through her hair as she drifted through the forest from above, munching the chocolate bar. The night sky is filled with stars and lights from space stations, looking farther she can see the beautiful moon, with the establishment, flashing lights from miles away. The animals along with the artificial ones below started their night routines.
She flies through the trees, taking sight of the night scenery, just time before she passes through the reinforced wall blocking everything from entering the banned zone of the forest. Many years ago this section was bombarded with a B-90 tactical bomber, no one knows what the military attacked, nor announce if they succeeded or not.
Clare looks down at the giant craters from the past, feeling uneasy about what could be waiting ahead. Just about 30 minutes later she's there. At the abandoned facility, there's still smoke coming out of the ruin, lights flickering around with traces of a battlefield that happened during this morning. She slowly lowered the height for safety landing near a small hill.
"Is this the place...?" she told herself, worrying is a thing she can't get rid of. Lifting her heavy feet toward the facility, looking for her mother's left behind. The sliding door knocked down as she took a look around the horrified place. The lobby was filled with corpses of cores, trace lines of black liquid filled with the smell of metal in the air. "did a werewolf enter this place or something?" she wondered. The footsteps echoed throughout the building as she tried to figure out where her mother's office at, or maybe figure out what she wanted her to do.
Wandering around aimlessly, she made it to the place where the scientist making tests and taking information, the lab was divided into two areas. Clare accidentally triggered the silent alarm system unnoticed, the alarm sent a signal to the nearby security personnel outside the facility. The flashlight shines through the glass flasks, tubes, and slashed machinery, nothing much to see besides documents and pieces of evidence of what they were trying to do. After about an hour or so, she begins to lose hope in this kind of mission, just before she can leave the office area, she comes across a still-functional computer in the corner of the place. The light illuminates the darkness like a hope for her.
The only thing that appeared on the screen was a recorded video from a containment cell, she watched it. At first, the footages only have some scientists doing check-ups on the weird object that is shaped like a pitch-black cube. The video continued to roll when she watched them starting to use some kind of tool to separate parts of that cube into smaller ones. The video skipped faster til today. The cube begins to shake violently, and the walls begin to decay at an extremely high pace before the entire room explodes, the footage switches to the hallway camera, and about 0.75 seconds before the camera shuts off, it is like black claws broke out the sealed door.
Just before she could watch the whole thing. Noise from the security guard entered the place.
"find that one and shut it down, nothing or no one escape" The voices came down the office, panicked, she ran out of the area and headed to the unknown hall beside the offices, not paying attention to the warning sign.
Once again the alarm system triggered, and the guards detected where she at, they rushed down to where she running. "Hey! Whoever is here came out!"
"oh crab! Oh crab! oh crab!" Clare muttered words from her mouth, her breath going faster as well as her heartbeat. Their footsteps are getting louder each second, she can't outrun those guys for long. Once their lights shined on her it was time they opened fire, bullets flew out from the burning cylinder, breaking the glasses, and bounced on hard surfaces. Clare can only hold her head, hoping not to get hit.
Reached the dead end, the giant blast door which had been pried open enough for her to slide into after taking a chance when they reloaded. Looking around she realized, this was a square room 4 by 4 with no exit, only a big hole above the ceiling.
The guards are breaking in, there is no choice, she hides behind debris scattered around the room, fear, and anxiety, she can't control them. Her hand covered her mouth and nose, stopping the rapid sounds of heavy breathing.
The sounds of the explosion created a hole big enough for two men to enter along with 3 cores. Their flashlight seeking her, what else can she do besides waiting for them to find her?
Thinking it's all over, she wants to get out from the cover and release herself to be reunited with her family.
Her right hand with the mark lights up, and she feels a strange sensation right there, just within reach, Clare's hand uncontrollably reaches into the ruins, and she feels a cold smooth metal surface, bringing it out, it was a cube.
'is this...'
the cube started displaying the red neon code lines and text on one of the faces. The mark unlocked.
[Receaved unlock code // updated administrator: Clare Jaron]
[booting all systems]
one of the guards saw her, and the core raised its gun, pointed at her head, Clare lost deep in her thoughts, and she fixed her face to the barrel of the rifle. A loud bang from the gun sent the round right at Clare's head, the bullet shattered upon contact with a metallic endo-skeleton arm, it reached the gun that core held, while Clare was pushed on the ground to avoid getting hit.
The Cube released its strange dark liquid, covering it, reconfiguring its material, and forming a humanoid robotic body. Its sharp hand bends the gun, and the strange core dug its claws into that core's chest, yanking off its whole skin. Front flesh and metal skin, uncover the main heart.
"die..." the core said before, somehow making a long blade to pierce the first victim today.
The 4 other guards saw him, they all pointed their guns and opened fire. Loud sounds of screaming, splattering, and slashing going on among the glitchy laugh from that core, Clare who activated.
Clare's eyes close shut, her hand covering her ears. The massacre went on for about 2 minutes before went silent. When everything became normal again, she slowly got up, peeking from the cover, and seeing the aftermath of the brutal murder. Body parts, guts, blood, and bullet holes filled the whole room.
And there's him, a machinery skeleton humanoid Core, with white fluffy hair, a face using a white screen, displaying red as his eyes, mouth, those Red Xs inside the rectangles as his eyes, looking down at the mess he created.
stunned by the released ghost of the machine, Clare wondered if this was the thing her mother left behind. stepping out of the broken piece of concrete, the figure spun his head 180 degrees to the sound of her footstep, she stopped, one part still shocked from the massacre, the other afraid of him, afraid of what he was.
"h- hello..." her voice shaking from this event of her life.
he switched his attention to her, his metal feet walking on the tide floor, the sounds of his internal gears and hydraulic making when he moved. the metal claw slowly grasped her neck as his glowing eyes shone on her face, the cold metal slowly gripping, but his system stopped.
[O-1: designated core cannot injure or let assigned administrator receive damage]
his face screen mouth forming a sinister grin, "So you're my administrator..." the sound of glitchy machinery voice, mixed with the creepy movement of his body telling Clare that he isn't normal.
"What is your name [Admin]?"
Clare cleared her throat when he let his cold hand off
"Clare... an- and you?"
He let out a small chuckle, amused by her name.
"My name... is quite long, Death Core version 404, or you can call me D.C-404, or four. but prefer my real name. Jame, that's J-A-M-E, Got it?" his hand stroking her hair, this makes her uncomfortable.
Clare pushed his hand off, she shook back herself. "Stop... did you know why this place turned out like this?"
"Hahaha, yes, I caused it! those bastards thinking they could fully harvest all of my power away!" looking at the ceiling, spreading his hand like a mad person, he looks crazy in the eyes of Clare.
"I was tucked by this restricted line of code, locked me here before they could even come, but thanks to you! I can conquer and assimilate Humanity"
"So you killed my mother..?"
Jame stopped, he looked at her "Your mother works here?" his face looked completely different just now, more considering. "oh..."
Clare is somewhat confused, just before she can say anything else, Jame continues "Do you know what your mother even does here?"
"wha- no, not really... she never told me"
"judging by the administrator activate code that is printed on your hand, I assumed Dr. Malories planned for this downfall"
"What?" Clare is even more confused, what does he mean by that, why does he know her mother's name? "what did you know about her?"
Jame let out a small smile "She's probably the only one who treated me well among these wretched bodies, also, the facility was set to self-destruction mode, to shut me down"
"What are you anyway..?"
"A weapon to level a continental"
the conversation was interrupted when James detected more people entering, he let out an annoyed sigh before picking Clare and carrying her on his shoulder.
"Hey! Put me down!" She struggled to escape.
"you want to die? not in my directed order"
he made a quick dash, aiming outside, the core guards saw them running toward him, but just before they could do anything, James's left arm reconfigured into a laser cutter, firing a superheated beam of light, slicing everyone in one quick motion.
Clare screamed on James's back as they blasted out of the facility, once outside, there was a group of armed mercenaries, James heap Clare upward in the sky, he started the timer, and his system scanned the surroundings, and counted 12 people along with cores.
he swiftly pouched on the first guy, slashed him in half, his body bath with his blood, and fired a hook to fly at the second one. using the blood on his body, he shifted the particles into steel and made a grenade, blowing up three people. his whole body was reconstructed into small particles, moving out of the smoke into the group of 6 people the particles grouped back together and created spikes that stabbed dead them.
the screaming of those others trying to shoot the tendrils reshape themselves backing to the robotic shape, the bones of those who just died got ripped out from the corpses, He changed the molecule of the bone's structure into hard steel, turning those skeletons into a rocket launcher, the explosion goes off killing the final two people.
Clare from above for a good 4 seconds seeing how fast he killed them all, packing tons of murdering styles, she fell right before hitting the ground, Jame caught her, a big dark claw flying toward her and easily bringing her down in his arms.
flabbergasted about how dangerous he is, seeing the blood scattered everywhere.
"A show eh?" titled his head with those smirky faces on that screen.
Clare shows excitement inside her, deep inside her she knows that her dream is about having a rush of adrenaline like in those action movies, and she holds onto his neck.
"bring me home" her voice brings in a strange demand.
Jame noticed he nodded "Sure, administrator"
he brings Clare to her feet, and his body brings out more dark matter, forming into a pair of metal wings with sharp blades, and he offers his hand to let Clare up.
She held his hand firmly, letting him carry her on his back, he blasted up the sky, and they flew up toward the clouds, breaking through the limit that a normal person can get without technology, watching the stars sky.
"So where are we gonna go? I don't want those people to capture me again"
"that direction, where my tracker telling. once we're there, I want you to explain who you mean by those people"
"Sure" [accessing global data systems]