Tag Archives: Royal Qiu

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #18

AD7 stared at the empty lot in disbelief.  She walked slightly inside the lot and then to the right.  Turning around she looked to the left.  Besides the large restaurant, the sky line was unmistakable.  The buildings were worn and the sidewalk was missing but this was the place.  This is where her seat would have been.  This is where she was when it happened all those years ago.

With all the changes to the city, AD7 couldn’t expect the shop to go unscathed by time.  Even so, there should at least be a shop here, a boarded up building, something.

Oyintsa turned away from the bounty posting.  Seeing AD7 he saw the disappointment in her eyes.  “It was here then,” he asked.

AD7 said nothing but nodded a positive response.  She was still unsure what type of business was here.  But it had to be incredibly important and convenient for her to remember the way even with her fragmented memory.

“It’s been a really long time,” Royal said still looking at the restaurant.  She was getting really hungry, “Your place could have gone out of business.”

“Of all places, I only came here,” AD7 spoke almost to herself.

“Bosstown is pretty ragged these days,” Oyintsa commented, “They could have moved out.”

The scent of the spiced meat was really getting to Royal.  AD7’s struggles were real and if anyone could relate to her problems it was Royal.  Of all the members of GarDNAnge1, Royal was the most familiar with the side effects of rejuvenation.  Things change suddenly.  Life skips over an unknown period of time.  Important matters occur that everyone else knows but spend little time talking about.

She felt AD7’s pain.  Right now though, Royal was hungry.  “The best way to sort out any problem is over a good meal,” she said still staring at the large restaurant in front of her.  The hint was obvious enough for both AD7 and Oyintsa.  Wasting no more time, they went into the noodle shop.

Opening the door, they were all shocked and impressed.  All signs of despair disappeared at the door.  Inside the door was luxury: polished stone entranceway, thick hardwood floors, generous lighting, and live music.  This had to be one of the remaining tourist attractions in the city.  Either that or it was easy to keep clean.

Inside the door was another bulletin board with even more bounties.  The server showed them directly to their seats, stealing Oyintsa’s chance to read them all.

The place was fairly busy.  It had the greatest concentration of people that the three had seen in Bosstown.  Within minutes they had ordered and sat waiting for their food.  Their seats were on the second level of the restaurant with full view of the street and the vacant lot.

Oyintsa saw AD7 sit in quiet contemplation, staring sadly at the lot.  She was the one they had come for, the only one that could help them with the trails.  If she was going to help them, she would need a clear head.  Oyintsa decided that even if the news was bad, AD7 should get the whole story about her missing shop as soon as possible.

Seeing the waiter again, he asks what happened to the vacant lot across the street.

“Oh the old lot,” the waiter replied with pleasant shock, “you know a lot about our cities history.  That is where this store used to be.”  AD7 took a sigh of relief when she heard that.  She turned to the waiter giving him her full attention as he continued, “It blew up and burned down about fifty years ago.”

#1 – Awakening #17 – Awakening #19

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #17

AD7, Royal, and Oyintsa walked deeper into the populated areas of Bosstown.  As they approached city center, things became cleaner and more organized.  People walked the streets going here and there.  They were polite and seemed to want the visitors to stay as long as they needed but were also occupied with business.  They were not looking for handouts.

The hope was clear.  They knew that the city could be something again.  They had the will power to rebuild and defend.  As they walked by the broken abandoned buildings, functioning shops started appearing.  They had little to offer, but the best goods were displayed to draw travelers in.

AD7 had calmed down a bit and was taking things relatively well.  There were a few little but definite bits she remembered about her city.  Though her thoughts were so very outdated, she designed and built most of it with immense care.  After a while, she was able to take the lead as they walked.  She walked with purpose.  Her pace suggested that she knew where she was going, most of the time.

She guided the others through the city square.  There was still so much of the city she didn’t recognize, but that was understandable.  Every now and then she would pause with a puzzled look, still a little unsure of where she was going.

“Where’re we going,” Royal asked first.  She knew Oyintsa wanted to ask the question as well.

“This is the path I always take through the city,” AD7 answered, “or took.”  She questioned the reality of it all.  Almost fifty years of change happened in an instant for her.  She was half hoping that all this would be revealed as a cruel joke.  The city was the same but … not.  Every time she turned the corner she wished things would be the way they were but; no.  The world is the way it is now.

Royal and Oyintsa continued following AD7’s path.  They had no idea where AD7 usually went when she came into town.  They only knew that they were walking closer and closer to the Mech Fortress.  Oyintsa in particular didn’t like this, but all reports said that there was nothing dangerous coming from the fortress these days.  Besides, they had nothing better to do.  Tirzah was also clear that she wanted them to help AD7 reclaim her life any way they could.

By now they had walked through the city square and the ruined buildings became more prominent again.  All the same, AD7’s pace increased.  She recognized all the buildings.  They were run down, but everything was run down these days.  She turned to a lot and stopped.

They were all confused but none more than AD7.  The lot was empty.  Only this lot was empty.  There were small buildings all around, but the small building that would have filled this lot was not there.  The lot was cleared and clean.  Only the foundation remained.  A concrete wall on the far side revealed just how large the lot was.

On the wall there was a poster with bounty.  Apparently, families of rats moved into the area some time ago and were causing trouble.  Oyintsa was excited about it, he liked to hunt, but they had little time to stay in this city.

“Well, um,” AD7 said a little embarrassed and still confused, “that was fun.”

“Yeah,” Royal chimed in.  She turned around from the vacant lot, trying to help AD7 save face.  This had to be very embarrassing for her.  “Is anyone hungry,” she asked.  Strangely, there was a relatively large noodle and sandwich restaurant right behind them.  Its signs boasted “The best noodles and subs in Bosstown for the last forty seven years.”

“Yes,” AD7 said still thinking.

“Sure,” Oyintsa said as well.

#1 – Awakening #16 – Awakening #18

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #16

AD7 returned to the group after the most important of tasks.  Her body signaled a short while ago that she drank quite enough water.  Walking back to the others, she had a little trouble moving naturally.  Perhaps it was a side effect of her recent reanimation.  However, she moved far better than the average champion would after rejuvenation.

GarDNAnge1 still waited for Cyd to finish working.  His shift had less than an hour left.  Oyintsa and Royal seemed the most tired of waiting, but wait they must.  Cyd was a rare find.  He knew much more than they ever could about rejuvenation.  He had studied the particulars of all the talent sets.  He also hated his job and wanted to go somewhere else.  They had this one chance to make sure he went with them.

As AD7 reached the couch, Tirzah made a suggestion based on her team’s complaints.  “Oyintsa, Royal, why don’t you take our friend outside and show her around while we wait,” she said.

They both stood up immediately; more than happy to do something, anything other than sit around.  AD7 was anxious to see what was outside as well.  The rejuvenation center was dark but nice and very clean.  She wanted to see the city that housed such a building.

As they reached the door, Royal tucked her hair back into her cloak preparing to raise her hood.  Oyintsa lifted his hood then turned to AD7.  “Just so you know friend,” he said in a solemn tone, “the city has changed a lot for the worse.”

AD7 heard him but didn’t listen.  She had already reached the solid metal doors eager to see what was on the other side.  The doors opened quickly as she pulled with surprising strength.

She was not prepared.

She walked out, staring in disbelief at the sight that assaulted her.  Weed stalks grew through cracks in the street.  Dead leaves and other debris were scattered everywhere.  The buildings that used to be houses and shops only served as fences for random plants growing through them.

However, she saw much more than what was apparent.  She also saw the city as it once was.  The weed stricken streets, every gutted house it was all hers once, hers and beautiful.  She could hear the echoes of children playing.  This city held great beauty but it was gone, all of it gone.

The memory hit her hard.  She had planned these streets and built them.  Her machines cut each pebble in the gravel road to fit together perfectly without the use of mortar.  The road she had finished was perfectly smooth.  She used to look at it in awe every time she went into town for supplies.

She had designed each house and shop personally.  Each was designed to the specifications of the owners.  Each of them was colorful and clean, as individual as the people that lived in them.  This city was beautiful, once.

A tear forms in her eye.  How long had she spent designing all the houses, the streets?  Enough time to drive the normal person crazy.  Perhaps she would have been crazy if not for her helper.  It was all for nothing.  Everything she had built was destroyed by time and neglect.  Now crying at the remains of her lovely city, she asked “How long was I out?”

“About forty five years,” Oyintsa replied.  He remembered Tirzah telling her that.  Perhaps she was so swamped with the new information that some of the minor details slipped from her.

“How did this happen,” AD7 continued, “M.. my wall… should have protected them.”  Then she remembered.  The wall!  She looked to the right, the general direction it used to be.  When she had left it, she could barely see it over the houseline.  Now, it was a dominant piece of the distant sky line easily towering over the distant trees.  Still, it too was in disrepair.  It even had a few missile-explosion sized holes in it.  “How long did it hold?”

“It lasted for a really long time,” Royal said.

“The fortress only fell about ten years ago,” Oyinsta added

AD7 thought of thirty five years of fighting.  She had no idea her helper was capable of the inhuman battling that must have taken place.  “My helper must have fought hard,” she said finally.

“Your helper,” Royal asked.

“I built her to help me build,” AD7 answered.  “She was a like part of me…or part of me,” AD7 stammered for a bit.  “It’s hard to explain,” she said finally, “She helped me talk to the machines but, she wanted… I can’t remember,”  AD7 said, truly wishing she could.  She tried hard to bring up the memory but it refused to appear.  She knew it was important but could not remember the simple fact.

At that, the three of them walked down the stairway and headed towards the populated areas.  They passed by what passed for a market it held little that was worth buying.  There was little here to attract bandits, much less keep them away.

As they walked, AD7 realized that Bosstown’s glory was far beyond reclaiming.  It would be best to stay with GarDNAnge1 and help them as best she could.  Wait, did he call my wall a fortress?

#1 – Awakening #15 – Awakening #17