Tag Archives: AD7 (person)

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #033

Keyanna stopped walking and thought for a bit to correct herself, “Well, Building is a thing.  It’s just not an official Talent Set, more of a side skill.”

AD7 stopped just as she reached Keyanna trying to think of a good reason her favorite Talent Set would disband.  None came to mind.  Building was never the strongest of Talent Sets.  It was mostly used to surprise opponents with tricky gadgets or aid those that lacked fighting skill.  AD7 enjoyed planning her machines and seeing what she could do with the gadgets.

She only used what she built to create wonderful cities and tower style defenses.  Of course, the only real limit was what the Builder knew how to build.  With eyes wide and mouth open she couldn’t believe what she had just learned.  Her Talent Set, what she used to define herself for all her life was no more, “But… Why?”

Keyanna stood at the entrance to the Talent Square and scratched her head awkwardly looking at the mossy ground.  She wanted to think of a good answer other than the obvious reason AD7 was famous, or infamous.  She finally gave up and spoke her way around the issue, “I’m not really sure exactly what happened.  I wasn’t around.  I do remember something about it causing problems.”

AD7 listened intently and thought.  Unsafe?  That was possible if someone abused machines, it would cause problems.  Regardless of what she thought of her favorite Talent Set, it was gone now.  She had to choose another one or come up with something close to it.

“All the old designs were destroyed,” Keyanna continued, “only a few plans have survived.”  She glanced at AD7 and started walking.

AD7 followed Keyanna suddenly realizing why she was so important to Pure in Sanity.  She was the only one that still had plans for the old style machines.  Granted, they were buried somewhere in her mind, but she used them before they were never really forgetten.

The two ladies looked into the Talent Square and its restless activity as they passed.  There were a few targets made of wood in the center of the square.  Most were broken, burning or otherwise destroyed.  Champions continued to strike at their remains though.  Other Champions sparred in the open field.

There were two sparring Champions that seemed out of place.  While lacking none of the fighter’s spirit, they were far less talented than others.  Their clumsy attacks and awkward movements made AD7 giggle a bit.  She could only imagine herself as one of them when she started training.

“I’m sorry if I interrupted you before,” Keyanna said beginning to meander towards the equipment sellers, “We really are happy that the two of you decided to help us.  But we’ll have to act fast to get your friend out of Rubin’s Trail.”

AD7 followed Keyanna taking the hint of their next destination.  The two of us, she thought.  AD7’s mind went back to the hanger entrance.  Was she talking about that guy?  He was kind enough but something about the way he looked at her was just plain creepy.  “No.  It’s perfectly fine.”  The way AD7 spoke said more than her words could have.  She was quite happy to be away from Cyd.

“I thought so,” Keyanna smiled as she spoke.  Looking at AD7’s clothes and the fact that she had no possessions, Keyanna decided to start with the basics, “We’ll need some good equipment for you.”

AD7 followed Keyanna’s gaze to her clothes.  She was still wearing the simple brown shirt and pants from the Rejuvenation Center.  She picked that particular shirt for the fitting dark humorous message.  The words “I Live Again” were printed in bold letters on the front while “Why is everyone older” was printed on the back.

The clothes did their job well enough, but she’d need a bit more if she was going to survive an adventure, “Sure, where are we going?”

#1 – Awakening #32 – Awakening #34

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #032

As the two walked the smooth stone path, it became clear to AD7 how much the citizens trusted and respected Pure in Sanity members.  The message wasn’t posted on propaganda posters or giant statues of Tirzah, the ultimate leader of the clan.  Not one street or park was named after a person or a team in the clan.  The message was on the faces of the guards and common folks they passed.  AD7 smiled at being recognized with a member of such a respected clan.

She and Keyanna continued briskly along the path.  About a decimeter above street level, people on hovering vehicles sped around on their own business.  AD7 continued to be more and more impressed with the city.  Its unique structures were all well-kept, only a few stories tall, and easily climbable.  ‘Climbable?’

AD7 had to look closer at the buildings to make sure she was seeing things correctly.  She was not mistaken.  Every building had small hand and foot grips built into their walls.  A few buildings had several places along a wall that a person could climb.  Obviously they wanted to ensure any building could be climbed at any time.  AD7 turned to Keyanna and had to ask, “Footholds?  Why?”

Keyanna following her gaze to the concrete walls and simply answered, “Parking.”

Parking?  That made a little sense.  Having been a Builder and had planned out an entire city, she understood that unorthodox provisions were often used to prevent a reoccurring problem.  Simple but effective, these provisions would often seem bizarre to a newcomer.

The climbable architecture took nothing away from the city.  With more time to look, AD7 saw what had to be the distant boundaries of the city.  A large wall of thick hedges occasionally came into view when the zooming lamp droids flew near enough to it.

AD7 gazed into the cloud of lamps that lit the city.  As she wondered just how many of those little there were, four of them separated themselves from the cloud.  In an instant the droids stopped directly in front of her blocking her path.

They were no larger than her hand.  However, their lights were too bright for her to see what they looked like.  A half second later, two more appeared behind her warming her with their light.  After circling around her a few times, they flew back into the cloud of light carrying droids.

AD7 looked at Keyanna and had to ask, “What just happened?”

“Oh,” Keyanna gasped just now remembering.  Apparently this was something she had meant to say but had forgotten, “When the light droids spot something unusual, say a new person in the city, they alert the guards and try to identify it.”

“Do those droids do that a lot?”

“Only for new people and odd situations.  The light droids continuously send messages to the guards; very helpful if you get hurt or stuck somewhere in the city.”

AD7 looked back up at the cloud of lights as she walked along the streets with her guardian.  The two ladies turned a few corners but AD7 couldn’t stop thinking about the droids, “Shouldn’t they have recognized me.  I was on the posters all over town.”

“Well, yeah.  But a photo isn’t the same as a full body portrait.”

AD7 nodded and thought it best to change the subject, “What kind of training am I going to get?”

“The absolute best.  We’ll start with your Talents,” Keyanna said pointing at the entrance to the Talent square they had just now reached, “What Talent Sets do you remember using?”

“I was a Builder,” AD7 said with pride.  She had built an entire city and also a wall to defend it from a continuously attacking force.  She liked the Building Talents.  There was little she could think to do other than that.

“Hmm,” Keyanna grunted and thought, “Building isn’t a thing anymore.  Think we could try something else?”

#1 – Awakening #31 – Awakening #33

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #31

The group exited the ship and walked through the hanger.  The hanger’s halls were long and somewhat confusing but different colored lights lined the wall above everyone.  The lights lead the way out to the street.

Cyd, in a rush to see what was around the next corner, found his way to the front of the pack.  AD7 lagged behind GarDNAnge1 marveling at the technological wonders all around.  She barely managed to keep the group in her sight range.

Message boards appeared and disappeared on the walls as they passed.  When active, a message board was bright as any lighted sign.  When inactive, the wall that held the sign looked the same as any other part of the wall.  Confused, AD7 tapped the wall to make sure.  It felt like any other bit of concrete whether or not there was a message on the wall.  This only confused her more but she knew not to dwell on it or she would be left behind.

There were so many messages; AD7 couldn’t help but skim through some of them as she walked by.  Oddly enough, some of the stories were about her.  They celebrated her arrival and boasted in the new hope of their victory in the upcoming trails.

It was unusual being the topic of news but nothing about her situation was normal.  There was a whole operation dedicated to reviving her.  The fact that she was there to read the story was proof of the successful mission.  While she was happy that they found success, they had already made many magnificent things that she had only dreamed of.  Why did they need her?

After a few more turns through the hallways, GarDNAnge1 reached the exit with Cyd and AD7.  The team members walked into the city without caring for the wonderful sights.  This was their home.  Everything was perfectly normal for them.  To AD7, this all was brand new.

She stared wide eyed at the city, trying to take everything in.  The first thing she noticed was the city’s utter cleanliness.  There was not a speck of significant dirt, grime, or dust anywhere that was not acceptable.

There were small gardens lined with small flowers.  There was dirt in the gardens but that dirt was formed and shaped, stopping where the walkways began.  Buildings were covered with the same type of concrete that she saw in the hanger’s halls.  AD7 guessed they could also become the message boards she saw in the hanger.

The next thing AD7 saw were tall trees strewn throughout Sanity.  She naturally mistook the nearest one for an oddly shaped wall.  Instead, it was the thickest tree she had ever seen.  She tried to lift her head high enough to see the top.  She found herself bending backwards.  Long bridges connected the trees far above the city.  She could only guess they were for guards.

As AD7 looked up, she also noticed small droids flying above the city between the canopy and the city paths.  There were hundreds of them each with a bright light flying much faster than she could follow.  They were bright enough to provide light for the city; she could only guess that they had a second purpose.

“I like this,” Cyd spoke naturally as he walked over to AD7, “It’s like a hidden mystical-techno-ninja-sniper village.”

Interrupted, AD7 looked at the not-so-young man that seemed familiar with her, “I’m sorry?”

“Oh my mistake,” he said extending his hand, “My name is Cyd.  I worked at the Rejuvenation Center you stayed at.  I’ve seen you in stasis for so long.  It’s nice to see you up and about.”

“Yeah,” AD7 reluctantly agreed as she shook his hand.

“There you are,” Keyanna interrupted.  She and Tirzah returned from the group to retrieve the stragglers, “I thought I’d lost you.  This way.  Let me show you around the city.”

Keyanna lead AD7 left down the walkway while Tirzah walked with Cyd in the opposite direction.

#1 – Awakening #30 – Awakening #32