Welcome to Gaia! ::

Texas looked over at Mirai as she stood up. He already knew what she was going to do. Yeah, the Hell with that, he told her telepathically when she gave them her proposal. Captain Schifo looked down as Mirai handed him the binder, taking it without a word. His eyes widened as he realized what it was. But before he could ask questions, Mirai started healing Lieutenant Laurell. All the Machinists watched wide-eyed now as Mirai brought Lieutenant Laurell back from the brink of death.

Lieutenant Laurell could feel her life slipping away. It seemed as if everything was going dark for a moment before she suddenly felt a soft, tingling warmth throughout her body. Her vision slowly returned and feeling began to seep back into her arms and legs. She blinked in surprise at first as she felt herself becoming stronger. She propped herself up on one elbow, turning around to look at Mirai wide-eyed as she saw the poison slowly coming out of her. Once Mirai had finished healing, Lieutenant Laurell looked like she wanted to say something to her, but thought better of it. She turned to Captain Cross again quickly going to her side and pulling her into her arms. "Belle, I'm sorry!" She sobbed as she squeezed her tightly. Captain Cross was nestled in between April and Laurell who were both holding her. Captain Cross lowered her head, burying it in Laurell's shoulder. "P...please....don't tell anyone..." she replied, her voice barely audible. "We won't," Captain Schifo promised quickly. No one reacted to Mirai's healing abilities but everyone saw it. Surprisingly, this was how it remained the rest of the flight. No one spoke but the air was tense. The Osprey returned to the Refugee Camp without incident, the scene of the ruins changing to wilderness before changing once again to the endless rows of dirty white tents. The aircraft spun around slowly before lowering itself until it hit the ground with a soft thump, bouncing the passengers slightly. Even as the engine of the craft was slowly dying down Captain Cross quickly got up and stepped off the ramp heading straight for the showers. Captain Schifo jumped off after her. "Wait! You should probably see a med-" April punched Captain Schifo hard in the shoulder before she and Lieutenant Laurell rushed off after her.


Texas got off the aircraft and looked around. Captain Cross, April and Laurell he could understand, but it was bizarre that the others didn't seem to be saying or doing anything about what they had just seen on the ride back. Cassie was talking with Kiea, Betsy was no where to be seen and Captain Schifo was flipping through the pages of the binder Mirai had given him, not so much as glancing in their direction. Texas gave a confused look to his three teammates before walking slowly up to Captain Schifo. "Umm..." "What?" Asked Captain Schifo, his tone firm but completely neutral. He didn't look up from the binder. "Well...uh...where do we stand?" Texas asked hesitantly. Captian Schifo still didn't look up. "Where do we stand?" Schifo repeated. "Why don't you tell me?" Texas didn't like where this was going. "Well I...think we should-" he was cut off as a nearby civilian walked up to the two of them. The civilian bowed slightly. "My condolences on what happened to Captain Cross," he said sincerely. "It must have been awful." Captain Schifo's eyes widened in shock in anger. he spun on the civilian, forgetting all about Texas for the moment. "WHO told you about that!?" He asked, enraged. The civilian looked completely taken aback. "W-well I....it's...it's just been going around the camp. What happened. I don't know. Lots of people were talking about it." For the moment shock overtook anger on Schifo's face. "What...? How? We've barely been back five minutes," he said in disbelief. The civilian shook his head slowly, backing away. "I don't know! I just heard it," he insisted. Captain Schifo turned away from him, walking quickly back to the Osprey. The civilian took the opportunity to hurry off. Texas looked back and forth between Schifo and the civilian as they headed in opposite directions. While he was definitely concerned about how the Machinists seemed to be ignoring what Mirai had done, he too was wondering as to how the camp could know about this before they even landed. He shifted uneasily. Something wasn't right here. Far from the relief he had wanted to feel once they left the ruins of the mobile headquarters, he felt a slowly growing sense of dread.

Captain Schifo got back onto the Osprey just as the pilot was walking out of his cabin into the passenger room. He grabbed the pilot by the neck and slammed him hard against the wall. "You radioed ahead to the camp?" Captain Schifo growled, looking like he was two seconds away from strangling the pilot where he stood. The pilot was clearly shocked, unsure what was happening. "I...yes, of course I did!" He replied. "We always radio ahead! It's standard proce-" "You told them didn't you?" "...told them what??" "About Captain Cross." A look of confusion came over the pilot's face as he stared blankly at Schifo. What...about Captain Cross?" He asked. Captain Schifo stared back at him for a moment, realizing that the pilot honestly had no idea what he was talking about. "...nevermind." Captain Schifo released the still confused pilot and walked off, disappearing into one of the tents with the binder Mirai had given him. The pilot looked at Texas and the others in confusion before turning around and heading back into the cockpit, closing the door behind him. Whatever the heck was going on he didn't want to be a part of it. He had more maintenance to do anyway.

Texas watched Schifo leave before turning to the two remaining Machinists. He walked up to Kiea and Cassie. "Hey guys, um..." he still wasn't sure exactly how to ask what they thought about the situation without flat out admitting that they weren't Machinists. "Oh...eheh, hey!" Lieutenant Kiea replied, her cheeriness all too false. Cassie didn't respond. "Yeah. I figured you guys would want-" "Actually I just thought of something we need to do!" Lieutenant Kiea cut him off suddenly. "Come on Cassie. We'll talk to you guys later!" She promised before the two of them made a quick retreat. Texas watched them go before turning back to Mirai and the others. "I don't like this..." he muttered to them. Their utter lack of reaction to what they had witnessed had thrown him off enough, but now they just straight up left them there standing in the middle of the camp completely unguarded. Were they still under the impression that the were all Machinists too? No, their lack of reaction had been just as telling as if they'd called them out on it right there. In fact, he'd have much preferred for them to do that than this. At least they would know what was going on then. And then there was the mystery of how people had known about Captain Cross before they even landed. Texas slowly let out a breath. "What now?" He asked his three teammates. His sense of dread was only growing.

Texas walked back to Mirai and put his arm around her. "Hey, don't apologize," he told her. "You did the right thing. I'm behind you 100%." He glared at Despair when he spoke. "Shut up," he told him simply, dropping any pretense now that The Machinists were gone. "No one asked you." He then looked at Lily and nodded. "Yeah...that might be best," he muttered. Though he didn't want to leave just yet. While their mission for The Machinists was complete, he knew that wasn't the reason they had been sent here. For twenty minutes they waited while seemingly nothing happened. It took a few more minutes for Texas to notice the change. Machinist soldiers hurrying off to different parts of the camp on some mission or another was a common sight among the tents, but it seemed that there were quite a few more running around than usual. They ignored the DWMA team completely, not seeming to be the slightest bit interested in them but their movements and expressions clearly showed that they were on some kind of mission. There was a hum of activity in the air but it was subdued, certainly not a celebration of their return. The soldiers continued to rush around as Texas watched.

Behind them the pilot had exited the cockpit again and was cleaning the blood out of the passenger compartment with a rag. He paused as his earpiece buzzed before slowly standing up. "Yessir?" There was a pause. "Say again?" He glanced at the DWMA team. "Roger that sir." He dropped the rag and walked back into the cockpit, closing the door behind him. Several moments later the engine of the Osprey that had been powering down started up again and the rotors began to spin. Texas grit his teeth before looking back at the others. This wasn't looking good at all. "Okay, the mission is blown. We need to get out of here. Now." Whatever was going on he definitely didn't want to stay in the open. Their best bet was probably to disappear among the rushing soldiers who genuinely didn't seem to be the slightest bit interested in them.

Texas went with Mirai and the others, following the soldiers through the tents and doing his best to blend in. This went on for several moments though some of the soldiers broke off in other directions. Still none of them seemed to be paying any attention to the DWMA group. Texas paused as he felt a familiar soul waiting for them ahead. What was she doing here? In a few moments she came fully into view.



Her expression was grave and she had clearly been waiting for them. "Ms. Weinbaum, if you would please," she said, taking Mirai by the hand and leading her into the tent she was standing next to. Texas had a look of concern on his face but she was literally only several feet away from them, the only thing between them was a tent tarp. Besides, she could have something important to say and if that was the case he didn't want to scare her away before she could share it with Mirai.

Once they were safely inside the tent, Princess Auria let Mirai go. Her expression was still grave yet she also seemed nervous. Without saying a word she reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out a small device. It was a tape recorder. "I couldn't say anything earlier," she began. "Prince Damien was watching me. I'm sorry." With that she pressed the play button on the recorder. There was a brief crackle as the tape began to play, then another familiar voice was heard. "So then, you understand?" It was the voice of Prince Damien, the leader of the Gene Children. There was a pause before another, all-too-familiar voice replied. "Yes, I believe I get your...plan." It was Tod. "Though why you go so far for this little doll of yours is...beyond me." Another pause. "Well you see, Belle Cross is a special kind of doll. Lovely, intelligent, loyal, courageous, but not very...." "Compliant?" "Willing to bend the knee, so to speak." "Or get on her knees." "Quite. So therein lies my predicament. But for that trait, she would be the lynch pin in my plan of....monopolizing control over the current situation." The conversation seemed almost casual, as if they were discussing evening plans. "But there is a solution. You see, women like that....you must break them. Like a horse. And that is where I need the aid of someone with your qualifications." "I see. So "fix" your doll and return her to you. And in return, I am free to do with other survivors as I see fit?" "Yes, any Machinists not under my command are yours for the taking. Just stay away from my territory, and my subjects. Does this plan and reward meet with your approval?" "With a stroke, destroy her confidence, self worth and willpower, then make sure everyone knows about it so all she will receive is pity instead of praise for her "successful" mission. In addition, remove as much of her support system as possible leaving her nowhere to turn except for..." "Me." "And remembering your offer of acceptance, she'll come crawling to you for validation. The only person who won't see her as a victim or a failure. You'll accept her as your...Princess. Correct?" "Correct." "A bold plan. But you should not underestimate the lengths her friends will go to save her; from herself and from you." "Which is why I would like you to eliminate as many of them as you can. All of them if possible." "And if some make it back?" "Think nothing of it. I will take care of them in due time. What matters is Captain Cross and the BAMID instructions." "Very well. I'll deliver your doll and your instructions. Just don't forget our deal." There was another click and the recording ended. Texas and the others who were standing outside would be able to hear nothing but muffled voices. Is everything alright in there? Texas thought to Mirai. Princess Auria stared steadily at Mirai. "He is the one behind this," she told her. "I'm sorry. I wish I had been able to tell you sooner..." she trailed off as her eyes welled up, unable to contain the sorrow in her voice.

What??? Texas thought back in surprise as he heard Mirai's explanation. He paused a minute as he absorbed this new revelation. Where the Gene Children in on all this? Well, at least one wasn't. He presumed Princess Auria was the one who had given her this information. He wasn't surprised that Mirai wanted to stay after learning all this. She wasn't the type to leave things half done. Still they had a lot of other problems to deal with. This thought was only reinforced by the sound of the Osprey they had ridden in once again lifting off.

"I chose you because you seem level-headed and since you're a newcomer, I assume you'll be more emotionally detached from the situation and able to think clearly unlike Captain Cross's friends. I don't trust the Guardsman at all. The Kitsune can't do anything about this on her own and I assume you'll tell your partner Fields everything." She slipped the tape recorder back into her pocket as she gazed at Mirai. "I won't tell you what to do, but surely you understand the gravity of this situation. Please, you must do something to end this: I've no doubt Damien will not stop here. He will continued to remove anyone whom he feels threatens his power." With that, Princess Auria stepped out of the tent, disappearing into the maze of makeshift buildings and tents leaving the DWMA team alone once again.

Meanwhile, Texas shifted uncomfortably as he waited, only glancing at Princess Auria as she left and she in returned paid him no mind. He looked back at Lily when he heard her telepathic message only to realize that Despair was no longer with them. Great. He had obviously wandered off on his own somewhere. Well there wasn't anything they could do about that now. It was then that he realized he hadn't seen any soldiers come by since the last batch they had been following. In fact, aside from the beating rotors of the Osprey the whole camp seemed strangely quiet. Mirai, hurry up. We've gotta go. Like right now. He looked back at Lily. "We'll have to decide about that later. Though you're right, I don't think anyone would believe us at this point. Still, I don't feel right letting this go either." One thing was clear: whatever they were going to do, they had to do it fast.