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Discovery [StarMech and Sigr]

Cain appeared deaf to these emotional words. He cared none for it. He just continued to kick Leon as he laughed in a maddening bliss.

Amongst this sadden scene thegroup found themselves in. The sobbing cries of help from Alex did manage to ring inside Alyssa's ears. Her dazed, out of mind state after so much sex had finally started to ware off. "Alex....?" Her voice softly said.

Her eyes widened, seeing the state in which both her love and friend were standing was rather shocking. leon bloodied and brusied; And Alex handcuffed and roughened up as well, crying out.

A rage started to boil within here. An anger that quickly started to fill through her systems. Something she could not explain...something ancient...forgotten...furious...

...And then a voice ringed inside her mind...


"...You have seen what they done...what they did to them...to him..."

"...Let it out, child...bring what I bestowed upon you and correct everything...."


Alyssa's eye shifted into a deep crimson, a fairy glow of red energy emanating from it. But mostnoticeable, a wisp of fiery red energy was wildly emerging from underneath her eyepatch, from her missing eye.

"Grrr..."

Caina nd Delphynia shifted focus on her. Red energy crackling all around her. Alex could feel a strange powerful energy coming from her. Everyone could!

The fire from ehr eye kept sprouting, a incredible aura surrounding her whole frame. Then a glowing symbol, as if it were floating in the air manifested above her forehead.

The symbol was an α, glowing and crackling with the same electricity as the rest of her body...
 
"Alyssa?" Alex asked, surprised that his beloved finally reacted to what was going on. "Alyssa! Help us-" he pleaded between tears. "Release Leon and-" he continued, but soon he noticed that she didn't seem to be listening to him, as she looked more and more furious, about to lose control once more. At first Alex didn't worry, as the last time it happened she could still separate friend from foe, but as her anger grew he noticed something new about Alyssa's state. Not only her eye was going red, but also a scarlet light poured out her missing one, energy crackling around her to the point he could just feel it.

"Alyssa? Alyssa! Focus please!" Alex begged, but she seemed to just be able to grunt as her power kept growing, seemingly escaping to her control. Alex tried to get up and closer to her, but he was so exhausted physically and mentally and her energy was so overwhelming that all he could do was to tumble awkwardly while cuffed. Making clear that this wasn't her normal angered state, be it because how much energy she had been fed or because the situation was particularly dire, a letter appeared glowing in the air in front of her. Alex could see that it was an Alpha, the letter from the old language that Cain mentioned that seemed to confirm his story, but something inside Alex made him worry about it.

"Alyssa? Can you get Leon and me out of here?" Alex said, his voice just a thread, unsure if Alyssa was listening to him. Deep down worried if Alyssa was even there.
 
Alex's words appeared to fell on deaf ears. Alyssa did not respond; She didn't even look his way. Her eyes appeared locked upon her enemies. Her collar around her neck seemed to sparkle and the crack, unabele to contain such power and turning into nothing but shattered pieces on the floor.

The pirates knew trouble when they saw it, and while Cain was grinning from ear to ear, the rest of his subordinates drew out their weapons and rushed at the android.

She summoned two energy blades out of nothingness, ad red as the color of her eye. Suddenly, like if lightning, she struck through each and every single one who attacked her. Blade slicing through even the shell charm protection or even armor. blood splattered on walls with senseless abandon as the squad sent was left as nothing but corpses on the ground.

She then rode her hand at Delphynia and Cain and a powerful red wave launched the two hard against a wall, yet still surviving.

"Haha, so, this is the power of the Maiden Unit? I like it!!" Cain roared in delight despite being hit.

"Only a fraction..." Delphi corrected, "The Alpha Unit, above all the others, can reach pass the boarders and unlock an even more powerful power within her..."

"She had always been...somewhat special.."
the purple-haired got up from the floor, a slight tone if disdain in her when she said that. As she stood up and faced Alyssa her eyes glew red like hers as a purple glyph manifested upon her head in similar fashion: This one a δ , alongside a powerful purple aura.

The two androids clashed delivering a series of punches to eachother in an endless fashion. Sparks of energy sprouting from each of them with every hit, sending lightning shocks everywhere in the room, damaging some of the stuff inside.

Cain was still groaning after a hard hit to the head, that's when Alex noticed something shinning on the floor: ...the keys of the handcuffs!!
 
Alex's pleas fell on deaf ears, as her collar shattered into useless pieces unable to restrain her might, Alyssa sliced through dozens of guards in a moment, cutting though them with the same ease she helped in the kitchen, turning her surroundings into a massacre. Even if she didn't seem to notice him or Leon, at least Alyssa was attacking Cain and Delphyna, but they seemed strong enough to withstand her attacks. Of Delphyna Alex almost expected it, but what kind of man Cain was that could almost shrug her efforts? To make things worse, it seemed that Delphyna was also capable of such an exalted state herself, powering up to face Alyssa herself.

Seeing those godlike women evenly matched and Cain more affected from the shock than he thought, Alex's eyes caught up on something else. Close to him on the floor and shining with alternate red and purple lights as the androids clashed, there were the keys of the handcuffs. Wriggling awkwardly towards them, Alex managed to hold on them, clumsily trying to manipulate them behind his back. It wasn't an easy task to release himself from those without being able to see how his hands were, but with his handiness and agility, he managed to release himself from them, standing up from the floor.

His whole body ached, sore from the treatment he received, but Leon was much worse. Still naked but with something like that not bothering him given the situation, Alex ran to Leon, struggling with his bindings as he tried to release him. Once he did so they still had to talk some sense into Alyssa and flee, but she seemed beyond their reach so it wouldn't be easy to do so. Now all he had to focus on was on releasing Leon before Cain came to his senses, but the mere idea that such titan of a man could catch him at any moment and punish them more made his hands tremble. "Come on" he tried to cheer for himself, "Leon, we'll be out of here soon" Alex told him, even if he didn't know even if it could be true.
 
The two robotic women continued to fiercly fight eachother. for every hard hit Alyssa delivered, Delphinya responded in tow. Everytime they did, the energy around them sparked, exploding from their position into their surroundings and causing the whole ship to wobble. Thougouht it, their stares were quite locked: Alyssa appeared to be in a wild fury, not really showing focus or restrain; Delphinya, however, didn't seem much diferent. But had an air to her of a more controlled anger, but equally as fierce. She also appeared to be enjoying it, in some twisted way.

Why exactly Alex had no idea...

Their clash appeared never ending. Delphinya continued to keep the fight at a stealmate as she shouted. "So you feel it. The power...that forgotten power...yet you still are limiting yourself." She cursed. She sounded like she knew more on Alyssa than she let out.

"You have more than just that...bring it forth. bring out the Ome--" She was interrupted by a hard punch to the face that send her flying and straight into Cain, who had seen Alex escape his bindigns and was about to pounce and gut him like a fish.

Alex went and freed Leon as well, the two no able to move their arms and get away. Their first thought was to bring Alyssa, but that's when thigns started to happen...

"Grr...Graaaaaaaaahh!!"

Alyssa fell to her knees. The aura around her getting bigger and bigger, even too big and thick for her own well-being. she cried out in a mixture between pain and fury. The symbol on her head appeared to glitch, shifting and twisting into some other symbol, but it wa shard to tell what...
she jerked back in a wild cry.

"GRAAAAAAAAH!!!"

All that energy liberating in a powerful geyser of red aura, which smashed through the cieling of the room, leaving a huge hole that led to the skies outside. Still in her frenzy she shot into the skies like a comet. A trail of red soaring through the skies and disappearing into the seas of clouds.

Alyssa had left...

"We gotta go. Now." Leon was not gonna let the chance slip by, even if their android friend had suddenly gone. They had to escape Cain and so grab Alex by the wrist and elad him out of the chamber and through a hall..
 
Focused on releasing himself and Leon, Alex caught just fragments, glimpses of the fight between the androids, but noticed how Alyssa had punched Delphyna into Cain when he was about to jump on him. Was it just a coincidence or his beloved was still under control? Managing to release Leon, he helped him get up as his friend was more injured than him, even if the two of them weren't at their best moment. Turning to face Alyssa and wanting to get her and escape, Alex stared at how what little control she could have faded, as Alyssa got more and more powerful and scary. She sounded so angry, with so much pain that all Alex wanted to do was to wrap her in a hug, comfort her, but he couldn't even approach her.

After a savage roar, Alyssa was just gone. She tore a hole and just flew away like a shooting star, like she had been just the wish of an adventurous boy. A fantasy, not a reality. "Alyssa..." Alex was heartbroken, a trembling weak hand raising to the sky he could see through that hole. He didn't feel abandoned, as he believed she had gone to prevent losing control and injuring her friends, but he did feel as he had failed her. He had reassured her that things would be fine, but he had ignored her peculiarities, his own strange dreams. And he had failed Leon as well, since he had comforted him without interesting more about what happened to Nero, just indulging in their easy life.

And now, he had paid the price.

Even if injured, Leon was able to keep composure and lead Alex, while the boy felt like a lifeless puppet, abused by their enemy, lost without Alyssa. Who was Alyssa? She still was the quiet girl who liked to help in the kitchen, the one whose smile was like a thousand dawns, the fierce companion that complemented him in both adventure and love. But she was also a surprisingly powerful being Alex knew nothing about, and reconciling both parts of her as she had blasted away into the skies was troubling the boy.

"But... we can't..." Alex protested weakly, still following Leon.
 
"We gotta get back to the Azuria, now!" Leon shouted back while still dragging Alex along. His top priority was his safety now, specially cause they couldn't do anything about Alyssa at the moment but to see her disappear into the sea of clouds below...

As the two continued running, Cain had already gotten up and was very displeased. "Delphinya...you better pick your fucking ass from the floor and follow that android! We can't let her escape, you hear!?" The android simply pick herself up and nodded before charging energy and flying off after Alyssa.

Meanwhile, he had seen his two prisioners escape and he was livid. "AFTER THEM!! NOBODY MAKES A FOOL OUT OF ME!!" He shouted.

The Blood Eye pirates quickly went after them. Leon simply ran, hoping to find something that could take them down to the Azuria, which was still trapped by its energy bindings under Cain's warship.

"Any ideas?" Asked Leon.
 
Alex was still being dragged on, lacking the willpower to do almost anything by himself, overwhelmed by the situation, but Leon's insistence and voice brought him back to being aware. "I... I don't know..." Alex muttered, trying to focus while they ran. "If we want to release the Azuria the only way to do so it's from the bridge of this ship" he said. "You should know it well enough, no?" Alex said. There was no ill will in his words, he didn't blame Leon for what happened nor was he resentful with his friend for not having shared everything with them, but he wasn't at fault. It wasn't like previous knowledge of who Cain was would have saved them from him and there was no way that Leon could have known that he was after Alyssa.

"But we are injured... and unarmed..." Alex realized the difficult situation they were in. "And even if we can detach the Azuria they will give chase..." he said, trying to think. Wait, given the size of that ship maybe they had another opportunity, as painful as it could be. "Maybe we have to leave the Azuria behind for now" he said, clearly sad by having to leave their home behind, but if they couldn't escape with their lives and find Alyssa, little did anything else matter. "A ship this size must have some kind of smaller boats or something... it will be easier to escape unnoticed in one of those than releasing the Azuria" he said. "Leon please, guide us to one, we have to find Alyssa" he said.

"I promise you we will come back. We will make Cain pay for everything he has done, for Nero, we will take the Azuria back, but we can't do it now, not like this" Alex said with the last of his bravado, trying to act courageous for his dear friend. He was on the verge of breaking into tears himself, but Alex knew that if he started he would end up being a mess and would got captured, so he swallowed his bitter feelings and kept on the move.
 
Leon noticed how distressed the young lad was. Almost shaking. He took a deep breath, taking a look at the Azuria before Alex and then softly placing his hands on his shoulders, gazes locked on eachother.

"I understand. But that's why we need to get to the Azuria." He explained. "going after one of Cain's ships is too dangerous; they could find us. But the Azuria has a escape pod we can use and slip too fast for them to get us! then we can search for Alyssa but first we need to be safe."

He took a pause before saying. "You trust me, right Alex?"
 
Leon's strong firm hands on his shoulders did wonders to ground Alex, to help him center and focus. Despite everything that had happened, despite the situation they were in and the beating he had taken, Leon's eyes were locked on his, full of determination. Alex borrowed that strength, got inspired by him. There would be time to lament later, they had to get moving if they were to escape and find Alyssa. They had to warn Millie and Lori too, in case Cain went for them. Alex nodded to his friend's reasoning, his talks about a escape pod.

"I trust you" the boy uttered, completely honest. Then and there, Alex had complete trust in Leon no matter what, his anchor in the middle of all that chaos. With nowhere to go and Alyssa gone mad, Leon was all he had left in that wretched place. His friend. His captain. His lover. "I trust you" he repeated, ready to follow Leon into the Azuria and escape with him in that pod he talked about.
 
Leon smiled. Even in this dire times, it was nice to have Alex on him. His smile basically invigorating him. "Don't worry. I won't let him harm you. Now...let's see how can we get down there, shall we?"

The two quickly searched for some way they could descend upon the captured Azuria. Soon enough, the intrepid captain found a long set of ropes that he quickly one bit to a nearby iron pipe while the other placed around their waists. Slowly he approached the end of the dock, cold wind blowing hard upon their faces. "Ready to jump....alright now!"

And so they leaped off, going down towards the ground until the rope yanked itself tightly, leaving our heroes hanging in the air. The winds were strong, but the rope managed to at least let them reach the roof of their ship with not damage, although leon still winced a bit as his ankle appeared to be broken slightly; Probably from the many hits he got from Cain.

"don't worry about me, kiddo. Now go get some clothes and grab whatever you feel its very important for you. Then, meet me at the back."

He glanced upwards towards the scary battleship above them. He couldn't hear them, but he was sure Cain's guards were searching every nook and cranny trying to find them. "and hurry." Leon added, "I don't think we have much time before we can pull this off..."
 
"He already..." Alex mumbled inaudibly, as Leon's promises of no further harm were nice, but Cain had already made a mark on them. He discarded the idea and just nodded, struggling to paint a smile on his face, helped by Leon's own. The descent into the Azuria was risky and somewhat painful, but it would be worse if they just stood there doing nothing. Leon was more injured than him and probably enduring a lot to Alex's benefit, but more than any physical distress, Alex's spirit was the one that had been battered.

"What's important..." Alex sighed, splitting from Leon to get a few belongings. What was important was their home, their friends, but Alyssa had disappeared and they were going to abandon the Azuria. Alex quickly dressed himself, covering his embarrassing abused nakedness and grabbed his crystal arrow bow and a shell charm in case he could find a spare one. A few basic tools, the last ones from his father completed his gear, and he soon started to run to the back of the Azuria as instructed to meet Leon and escape.
 
He was meet by Leon, already dresed and donning a Shell Charm as well. He seemed to be light of lugagge...like nothing at all except with a case filled with basic supplies and surviving items.

Lodged into the wall was a big hunk of blocky metal with, lifted by two metal tubes that kept it the air and latched to the wall while a closed hatch lied underneath. The huge chamber had a door and quickly snapped open as it came foward with a soft swoosh sound. This was the Escape Pod.

"alright...do you have everything...?" Leon asked, taking a good look at him. "Is there anything you wanted to bring with you? Maybe that sex book I gave you. I put it amongst the supplies just in case, heh..."

He was trying so hard to break the mood, even if it was near impossible. The pod was rather small, they'd have to be a bit cramped inside; Definitely something that was made when Leon was traveling solo...

"Well, then let's get moving. I know it's sad...but sometimes you just have to let go to survive..." The man muttered softly. The two were about to step in when Leon stopped Alex by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"One more thing...I..."Leon said softly. Then quickly leaned towards Alex; His lips encasing the boy's. It wa sa slow but deep kiss. Filled with passion and care. His hands encased him in a hug as he continued, clinbing up his back and caressing his silvery hair.

They were in a rush, but for Alex, it felt like time had slowed down...

...which was the perfect distraction...

Suddenly, Leon gave him a hard push, making our hero fall abck upon the seat of the pod. The captain was quick to throw the lugagge at him then closed the pod's door and rushed to the control panel on the side. Alex could hear the mechanisms happening inside the pod as it locked.

Leon came clean. "Someone has to keep Cain distarcted and without the means to follow you or Alyssa. So i'm setting the Azuria's engine to overchage and explode, spreading though Cain's airship as well..."

"I knew one day my past would catch up with me...Cain taught me everything I know, and everything I didn't want to learn. Made me kill so many people for treasure and power...I'm as dirtied of innocent blood as him...I just...just wanted to escape from it all but I guess one can never outrune their past..."

"You can do it, Alex. I know you can find Alyssa. After all, whatever bond you have with her is soemthing else. Something extraordinary." Leon said. "I know you will before Cain or any other can..."

Some tears started to go down his cheeks, he tried to hide them, but it was difficult to do so while setting commands on the outside console.

"I know this is selfish of me...but I gotta do it, for you two. I couldn't save Nero...but now I have the chance to save You..."
 
Reunited with Leon, Alex wasn't even able to laugh at his joke attempts, feeling dull inside as his friend and captain did his best to raise their morale. "There isn't room for much else..." was all that Alex could sigh, feeling bad for having to leave the Azuria behind to save their lives. "It's heartbreaking it's-" Alex mumbled, but as Leon stopped him and turned the boy around, his sentence was left hanging. With all the love in the world and without concern for the current situation, Alex felt Leon's feelings and returned them, trapped in a kiss that was so fulfilling that almost resembled a promise that everything would go fine. Injuries, troubles and shame seemed to fade as Alex surrendered to that embrace, lost in Leon's expert caresses, making it feel like there it was the first and last kiss of the world.

And then it ended with a rough awakening. As Alex landed on the pod he could do nothing but look at Leon with confusion and disbelief, unable to understand what was going on. "No..." Alex breathed. "No, no, no..." he tried to operate the pods controls, prevent the lockdown, but he couldn't override Leon's instructions from the inside. "No! You aren't him! You don't have to pay from his crimes!" Alex yelled, banging on the door out of frustration, tears flowing from his eyes. He thought himself that he couldn't feel any worse, but this plunged him into deeper ends. "I love you too! Leon please! Don't do this!" he yelled and pleaded. Losing the Azuria was even an afterthought in such a situation, sad, but nothing compared to what amounted to a suicide mission.

"Nero would have wanted to save yourself too! He wouldn't have accepted you dying! I won't accept it!" Alex screamed, desperate. He rummaged through his tools, wanting to find something to open the hatch with, but the tears clouded his vision and his shaky hands lost grip of everything he grasped. "There is still time, Leon please, it's not your fault..." he pleaded, Alex's heart about to break. "I'll find Alyssa, I promise, but you have to survive, you have to!" he shouted through burning tears. "I'll come back for you too!" he finished, ending his sentence with a banging blow on the door that separated them.
 
Leon didn't respond. Simply stare at the door, tears falling down..and smiled. A wide grin in fact, as if he tried to show how much he had enjoyed him and Alyssa's company. The two had managed to touch his heart in a time when all he wanted was to be alone...

He'd remember them fondly...

He waved goodbye to Alex, smile not leaving, before pressing one final command on the console. The hatch underneath the pod opened and the iron poles holding the huge iron box detatched themselves, making the Pod fall down rapidly. Before Alex could even blink, the pod was already on freefall into the sky below.

Looking upwards, the boy could see moments later, right before the clouds consumed him and obscued his view, was the sight of the Azuria; A huge explotion cloud sprouting from its thrusters, which quickly expanded acrossthe ship and beyond, causing a chain reaction that expanded into Cain's flagship...

He was unable to see beyond that, now that the pod had started to descend..

...back to the world below....


===========================================

He dreamed again. Once again a weird one.

A secluded garden, covered by pristine white walls or some kind of unknown steel. The grass short yet soft as an arrangement of flowers stood around him.

Once again, Alex felt like he was riding a body that did not belong to him. Feeling taller and of course noticing how his hand had a completely different tone of skin.

To his side was Alyssa, sporting both eyes and wearing what seemed like a more defined dress than her usual loose clothing, crouching down as she gently tried to touch a flower with her robotic-looking hand. she seemed confused, but also curious. The man Alex was seeing through his eye extended his hand and held hers making the android woman turn to him and smile...

------

- Lucien Wastes - 6 weeks Later -


And so, Alex woke up once again to the sound to rain. It felt it rained a whole more as of late, or perhaps he just noticed said rainy days a bit more now...

A big burrow had been transformer into a shelter for him. Barriers of wood and vine narrowing the entrance while his belongings and makeshift accomodations (Campfire, bed, vine to hang wet clothing, etc..) had been settled there for a while. The pod stood outside, its bottom halfway burrowed in mud and dirt.

It had been six week since the events that transpired, and the memory still stood within him. He had made a new home, a smaller, yes, but new shelter for him, yet...it felt so empty...so lonely...

The Lucien Wastes were vast and rocky, similar to his old home at the valley. Yet a lot of it was msotly just gravel and dirty of white, epanding across the territory. there were some vegetation and a small river, as well as some fauna. but they all were in specific spots that Alex used to gather resources like water and food. Besides that it was mostly just, well, a wasteland filled with climbable rock formations or pieces of ancient architecture left to crumble.

And so begun another day...
 
Memories of Leon's last smile and the explosion of the Azuria mingled with strange dreams where he could see Alyssa again, turning Alex's nights into restless torture as he was reminded of what he had lost. Mornings were always dull and grey, the rain messing the days together into a listless whole as it muddled the dirt of the ground. He had been living, well more like surviving, in a shameful hole that had the bare minimum to keep him heated, even if he felt nothing of that warmth. A home was somewhere to be with his loved ones, no matter the place, and without them even a palace would be lacking.

Alex should honor his promise and search for Alyssa, or at least man up and go back to check on Millie and Lori, but he wasn't just disoriented, also lacked the strength of spirit to do any of those. It was just habit what kept him waking up every morning, it was the fading hope of finding Alyssa the only thing that made his heart beat. Was if after a similar incident how she ended battered where he found her? If so, what chances did he had of finding her again? He was too tired, too defeated to even keep going forward fueled by revenge against the man. He was just dull. Cold.

Alone.

Out of surviving needs, Alex got out of his refuge one day more. One day like any other. Rain didn't bother him much, not anymore, but made it difficult to hunt, so it was maybe better if he got by the river to see if he could get some water and forage a few plants. With the intention to head towards the river, Alex started yet another day.
 
Besides the constant sound of the rain, most of the wastes appeared to be quite silent. Alex included. The few animals and ceratures that he could see were quick to quickly lunge for shelter and hidding to really spend the time chasing them down with this weather.

The dirty roads were now a muddy coat that made traversal in some areas rather slow, climbing and some of climbing spots were made just a atd slippery thanks to the moisture, yet Alex still endured. he was used to it way before his adventure.

The whole wasted possessed quite the unique fauna. Strange types of birds, much more magical than the stuff in the valley. Huge lizard creatures that emerged from the mud (currently halfway submerged into it, amongst others...

Yet the sense of wonder seemed to not manifest upon the young lad due to his loneliness. What was of exploring if he were to do so alone again...

...In a way it was like back when he started. Alone at the valley...but now...it wasn't as pleasant....

Suddenly, a target was seen. A Lucien Deer, according to memories of his father's books; These deer appeared slightly bigger, and had crystals forming upon their horns and hooves, as well as having a green sheen on their fur. People say they tasted quite good so it'd make for a perfect meal tonight!

The Lucien Deer was startled and quickly went into a skipping run, starting to get away as it avoided rocks and puddles. Given not many other eatable animals appeared to be around, he had to gave chase!
 
As he suspected, rain wasn't conductive to hunting, and as graceful as he was, as athletic as he could be, Alex wasn't in the mood to give his best to chase small critters and beasts, even if he needed them for food. He had learned to read the land in those weeks, as those freaky buried lizards could be dangerous if got him by surprise, but he was accustomed now to see the clues their burrows left. The birds were a show of their own, specially without the rain, and Alex would love such a wondrous place like that full of strange animals in other conditions. If he visited it with his friends, his beloved ones.

The boy without a home wanted to get at least water, perhaps some roots, but it seemed that fate reserved him a greater mark. A Lucien Deer, as he had learned from books that were no more, was just in front of him with that strange sheen on the fur, those crystals forming where horns and hooves should be. Alex had crystals of his own, as he could use his peculiar bow for hunting even under the rain, but given the state of the environment the deer was soon startled and started to run, avoiding the danger.

Chasing such prey under the rain was horrible, as either of them could end up in the maws of a lizard if they weren't careful. Alex had learned, for the most part, to avoid them, but a scared deer wasn't as able to keep a level head he figured. Alex's hope was to get a clean shot of him or for the deer to stumble into a rock. If the deer ended being a lizard's menu he wouldn't have many choices but to go hungry or try and turn that lizard into a probably dangerous and likely awful piece of meat. The boy ran under the rain, his instincts focused, any other thoughts left aside for the time being.
 
Alex chased the deer for a while. The creature making sure to avoid any puddle that could slow it down, making it a target for the mud lizards. With skip after skip, eventually the deer seeked the sheltef of a cavern, our heroes having run quite far and not really recognizing this particular one. Regardless the Lucien Deer was now easy pickings...

...That is until his attention was drawn somewhere else. Hidden amongst the faint shadows of the cave he noticed it descended downwards into the ground. Not by a path or a hole but, if he quinted enough, he could made what it looked like actual stairs case going to a lower room.

He felt something on his feet and, if he were to look down, he would find something strange...a cable! Going all the way and down these mysterious stairs.

A lost feeling started to sprout in his heart. that sense of discovery that got him into exploring the world in the first place...the one that led him to meet Alyssa...

Should he follow up? Or just continue with his souless but effective survival...?
 
"I've got you now" Alex muttered between teeth, as the deer had gone into a cavern. The boy didn't know the area, as he was pretty far from his usual hunting grounds, but he should still be able to go back to camp with no trouble. Maybe even move it to that cave, if it proved to be safe. The deer had now nowhere to go, unless the winding path of the cavern lead to another exit, so he stopped for a moment to rest after the chase. It was then when he noticed something very odd on the cavern ground, something that couldn't be a natural formation. "Stairs?" he mumbled to himself, kneeling to inspect them closer. As he did so, he felt something even weirder, a cable that went down the darkness.

"Ah..." Alex halted there, his fingers tracing the length of the cable with his mind lost in the past. Maybe there was something to find down there, maybe something that would rekindle his dormant soul, and yet where would that path take? Alex remembered Cain's words about his assault on the ruins, the same one that destroyed the surroundings including his lighthouse. Nothing good would come from that, curiosity just served to kill the cat, so Alex got up and started to go deeper into the cave, but he could take just a couple of steps. "I'm a fucking idiot" he shook his head, displeased with his own urges, before turning around.

Rummaging through his tools, he found a small light that would illuminate the way in, before starting to go down the mysterious stairs. If there was some old Aeon Crystal around with a bit of charge perhaps there was a way to lit the place. Anyways, even if it was empty, it could make a good shelter, as Alex didn't have hopes of being able to find anything there.

But what if...
 
The air felt a little colder, and the way down felt desolate as his footing echoed with each step taken down. The small light was at the same time enough and not enough to illuminate the whole way. Blankets of shadow still luring, making anyone feel chills of whatever could be lurked ahead, but enough light was there for him to see where he was stepping on and going...

Going further in, the ammount of cables increased, becoming larger and thicker before arrive at a ruined chamber...a very familiar chamber...

It was like Deja Vu. A room with strange markings, a forgotten ruined tomb and, most importantly, an ancient pod machine resting right on the middle, slightly inclided upon a pedestal. From the the glass-like shell of the pod appeared to be somewhat polarized, so it was hard to tell what was inside. However what could abrely be seen as a shillouette was distinguishable, meaning something was inside, at the very least.

The marking of ε was engraved on the Pod...
 
Entering the cold passageway drenched in rainwater was anything but pleasant, yet as Alex went deeper and deeper into the creeping shadows, his focus on the task at hand was enough to keep the chill away. More and more cables snaked around, man made serpents plaguing walls, stairs and ceilings, and Alex could only hope that whatever they were connected to would still work, whatever it was. It felt nothing like recovering artifacts with his friends, and yet something inside him tingled, making him feel back alive, at least a bit.

Once he arrived to the chamber where the cables lead, Alex's knees faltered a bit, leaning against a wall was the only thing that prevented him from falling to the ground. It was... and yet... it couldn't be, right? "A-Alyssa?" Alex muttered unknowingly, his brain trying to think of reasons for her to be there, for her to be back by her side, but the boy soon realized that as weird the situation could be, that wasn't just impossible, it was just wishful thinking. There definitely was a pod, maybe even a working one, and there was someone inside for sure, even if they were difficult to see. Inspecting the machine, Alex found another one of those letters that Alyssa and Delphyne manifested, so it had to belong to someone else, a third android.

But why was it there? And why was Alex there? He had another dream last night, were those dreams somehow guiding him? Why? He had no answers to those questions, but as the practical boy he was Alex could try and answer the ones he could. He didn't bring all his tools into the hunting, but he always had enough in those pockets of his as to do some tinkering. For a moment he stopped, if there was a working android there, should he wake them up? Was that prudent? What if they were a violent one?

All those questions quickly faded as Alex knew two things: One, it was wrong to leave them there, specially if they were injured and he could be of help. Two, Cain was looking for them, so sooner or later he would find that place, meaning that not only he had to help, but also move away as soon as possible. He could hope that Leon's... his heroism stopped him for good, but he couldn't quite count on it. Focusing just at the task at hand Alex started to look for a way to open the pod and see if the one inside could use his help.
 
Alex inspected from side to side, almost his search, he noticed some more encryptions that adorned the side of the pod. He remembered Alyssa's being much more ravaged by time. Perhaps this particular are hadn't been harmed by the elements as much Alyssa's allowing him to notice these many details.

Amongst a series of runes and glyphs he noticed a word he could understand: "EPSILON" appeared to be a word marked on the underside of the machine and, nearby that very word, stood what seemed like a small panel, similar to the nest that he had seen at those ruins he and all his friends explored last. Of course, by the time he noticed it, he had already his hand pressed against it. Suddenly, the markings and lines upon the panel lightened up with a flicker of green light. this caused all the glyphs to suddenly glow alongside it, while the sound of gears and running machinery could be faintly heard.

Suddenly, the pod opened with a woosh sound, a faint mist of dust and cold air expelled from it. From inside, suddenly he could see a figure, who suddenly pushed her torso upwards, as if waking up from a bed. Her back appeared to be plugged in to a series of cables and went into the insides of the pod. She appared to not care, a simply started to rub her eyes, as it it was a mere nap...

That's when Alex took a better look at her. She was younger looking than Alyssa, sorter in height too and around his. Her body was...more petit, as it were. A flatter front with just a small set of around A cup while her body was still somewhat curvy. Her hair was of a dirty yellow, made into a long ponytail. Her eyes, halfway opened appeared to be amber as well. Joins across certain parts were also noted; This mixed with the literal plug on her back made it obvious this was an android. However, what caught Ales by surprise and embarrassment was that the maiden appeared to be naked! Her whole petite body at display to him. He could see some clothing that was stored inside of the pod, acting like some kind of makeshift pillow for the girl, however, it was hard to not pay attention to herself.

The android then stretched with a soft, "Hnnnngh..." before she finally activated her optics fully. she looked around curiously. she appeared to have both eyes two, unlike Alyssa while ehr hands still looked somewhat robotic looking like hers.

"Nggh...huh? Where am I...?" She said out loud. Her tone of voice much..younger, as it were, than Alyssa, but also carrying of a naive and simply attitude. The android stepped out of the pod fully, still naked while looking around. That's when she finally noticed our hero.

"Hm?...hello?"..."

((She looks kinda like THIS and so does the clothes in the pod, but with yellow eyes and slightly more mechanic hands and and part of the forearm like I stated with Alyssa. Most importantly, New Android met! At least!.))
 
Even if Alex was all sorts of messed up by what had happened, he couldn't help but show a brief smile as he managed to operate the machine, although this was in a better condition than the usual, perhaps protected by sheer isolation. Wanting to see the condition of the android inside, and check if he was able to repair them Alex got up to take a peek, only to be startled by the sudden getting up of the figure inside. Stepping back, Alex stumbled and landed on his ass, staring at the figure that now was sitting inside the pod.

The figure was young, lean and short, lacking in bust and the most outrageous curves but she was unmistakably female. More pretty and cute than sexy or provocative, Alex looked baffled at her, as she charmingly rubbing her yellow eyes, an amber tone tad brighter than his darker gold. She stretched like a lazy cat, showing more of her dainty physique, but that was just a step until she finally got out of the pod, looking around while completely naked. Alex's eyes couldn't help but dance along her delicate body, arousal building up inside him. He wasn't in the mood, as plunged into his own misery his libido had faltered, but after weeks of inactivity he wasn't exactly capable of controlling his body with fronted by a naked girl.

Alex managed enough sense as to get up from the ground, something that helped to keep his eyes on hers, since they shared a similar height and thus keep them away from her nakedness. He had noticed some kind of yellow, black and white garment folded on the pod, but the amount of brainpower that fact was occupying was next to none compared to the most obvious presence in front of him. "Hello... I'm Alex-" he managed to introduce himself. He'd have offered a hand to shake, but he just noticed that he was starting to tent his pants, sticking to him since the rain drenched them, so the rising erection was more than obvious. "I... ah... found you and released you" he said, averting his eyes from her to the pod, hoping that the girl wouldn't notice his excitation.

"What's your name?" he asked, struggling to keep his eyes on her face. It wasn't easy keeping them there, but given how pretty she was it wasn't much help either, but it sure was better for his decency that just ogling at those perky little breasts, her lean forms, or even worse, what was between her legs.
 
"A...lex?" The android girl said, head tilting slightly. She took a good look at the young lad. Whatever if she had seen his growing erection was anyone's guess.

She then smiled and said, "Um, okay! Hello Alex!!" Her voice rather peppy, as if happy to be up and about. She appeared to be also filled with curiosity as she looked and moved all around the chamber, almost like a sugar rush but much more controlled; All while still entirely on the nude.

She stopped when he asked her names. She seemed to give it a thought, which lead to her holding her head slightly with a little wince. Recalling seemed to hurt her a bit, but nothing too strongly. But then she gasped when something strucke, abck into her peppy attitude.

"My name...yes, my name!" She said before facing him once more with a cute little skip, "Emi!! My name is Emi!!"
 
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