City of Amnesia

Zell looked at the screen a bit shocked, "Ah, what a wonderfully useful item to have in your line of work. I guess you don't get as well known as you do by doing what you do poorly." Zell said, still looking at the screen, "I'm glad my first time going down will be with someone as experienced as you."

*Because it's wicked hot outside and wicked hot inside the giant robot, Vega goes about exploring the interior of the clocktower.*

"What a terrible plot twist." Luna sits down, waiting for something to happen.

*She closes her briefcase, handing it back to Lilith, & reattaches her cuff links.*

T"You should know, shouldn't you? We should get back in the car. We have a ways to drive yet."
=================================================
*Nothing happens.*

<Umm...may I ask what you're doing?>
=================================================
*As he should have seen about 400 times now, there's nowhere to go, because it's a solid wall of gears & debris. What he sees next is electricity arching off of said wall in places.*

*Vega stares at the wall of gears.*

[There's a door outside which one would think would lead inside and to a way up here. Either this isn't a regular clocktower or someone doesn't know construction and architecture.]

"If you say so." Zell said, turning back for the car.

"Uhh..." Luna groans, "Just go and call base- tell them that if we want to dig this place out we'll need more people. I'm just going to wait here."

OOC: Or you destroyed the path to the stairs when you poked out the clock face, you fucking idiot.
=================================================
*He departs & returns an hour or so later.*

<They say they can't justify the manpower or expense, ma'am.>
=================================================
*When they near the subway, Thiera steps on the gas & heads straight for the entrance. The occupants bounce up & down as the car travels down the stairs. Once at the bottom, Thiera slows to a stop long enough to turn the headlights on & keep going down the tunnel.*

T"Sort of creepy down here, isn't it?"

"Whatever.... let's just have a bit more of a look around this place" Luna is really annoyed by now, "Then we will just go back to base, I guess."

*Topaz is wandering around trying to figure out what to do.*

Zell was not expecting to take the stairs in a car and subsequently grabbed a hold of any and everything her hands could reach to keep her secure. Once the car stopped its decent, and started heading into the tunnels Zell let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Maybe next time you should warn the girl in the back seat before you throw your car down the nearest staircase."

*Vega sits about waiting till' nightfall.*

T"I figured you'd realize what the plan was when I said we 'wouldn't be taking the tunnel on foot.'"
===========================================
*Vega recalls the clock had said it was 2 o'clock when he smashed it, & it's only been a few minutes since then.*
===========================================
*He looks around.*

<Are you sure we have the right room? Maybe we should just go. It's not safe to be poking around underneath the city, you know. Really, it's a wonder you managed to get any of us to follow you down here.>
===========================================
*Topaz passes a broken-down church. An old guy on a ladder is retiling the roof, another old man is measuring the window frames, & an old woman approaches Topaz, holding out a pamphlet.*

<Want one?>

"I guess we could wait outside the tunnel, but you can call my dead again and ask them to reconsider sending more people to help out"

"Nothing short of, 'I'm going to drive down the stairs', is an adequate description." Zell said, looking out the window, but only seeing darkness. "It is creepy down here though, you were clear on that."

*She takes the pamphlet and takes a look at it after staring at the church's remains for a few seconds.*

*Having read the books a few times, drank some tea, changed her bandages, ate some cereal, and read the books some more, Hitomi decides to take a trip down to the book store.*

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

[It's going to be a long wait.]

*Vega leans sits down against a wall and falls asleep.*

*A male clerk of about Hitomi's age is outside, apparently on break. He sees her & groans.*

<Oh great, it's the creepy chick. Do you actually have MONEY this time, or do you still not have any because you spend it all on books?>
==========================================
*Dreaming, Vega sees a night that's lit only by a raging inferno. What's on fire seems to be the library & the buildings around it. He sees a building collapse as it's hit by what looks like a giant cannon shell. A second later, he realizes that he fired it from Gelu Charybys. He also realizes that he's on the ground. Out of the smoke comes a giant, black face with a stony expression. It has 4 bolts in its head & a red, roughly triangular "crown" of sorts. A giant fist comes out of nowhere & punches Gelu, causing it to shake violently. Another impact occurs a fraction of a second later & multiple "Damage!" warnings appear over the robot's chest, neck, & stomach.*
==============================================
<That won't help. The order came straight from the Paradigm Head Office.>
==============================================
Many buildings did not survive the disaster of 40 years ago. Of those that did, buildings of this type (some know them to be called "churches") are among the most under-repaired. It seems the new generation holds no interest in them. The newly instated Paradigm Office of Religious Revival would like to change that.

Facts about Churches:

1. There are many types, distinguished primarily by their rooves.
2. All churches in existance today are outside the domes. Those few that were in the construction zones of a dome were levelled for building space.
3. Churches exist to give reverence to the divine creator of the world & beseech him or her for salvation from disaster.
4. Though some memories of religion prior to 40 years ago have resurfaced, this is the first attempt to unify & release this information to the public.
===============================================
*She parks next to a large pile of rubble & turns the car off. Getting out, she lights her flashlight & begins examining it.*

T"The wall wasn't load-bearing, so there's no danger if we begin to excavate this pile."

*She removes her cuff links & drills them into 2 rocks about 10 feet apart. Lilith opens the briefcase & checks the data.*

L"The image is fuzzy, but there's definitely a large, solid object coiled up in there. It could be anything from a rubber hose to a giant worm. But worms with a diameter of 3 feet do not exist, as far as I know."

T"Frankly, anything could be down here. I have a hunch that most Megadeus weren't built for construction purposes. Could you come here & help me?"

*Lilith closes the briefcase, sets it down on the car's hoot, & begins chucking large rocks aside.*

"What other reasons would I have for being here if not to purchase books?"

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

*Vega wakes up staring straight ahead.*

[If I didn't know any better I'd say that was an omen.]

*After glancing around at the clock faces to do a time check, he goes back to sleep.*

Zell got out of the car with her flashlight, and pointed the beam of light down towards the ground until she found the other two females. Lilith seemed to be talking about works, and launching large rocks out of the way, so Zell leaned on the car and simply waited until the path was clear. "So, what made you want to come down here in the first place Thiera? Archeology doesn't seem like an average career choice."

[Religious crap.]

Topaz: <Hum. Thanks. I guess.>

*She looks away from the woman and the church and walks off pretending to be reading the pamphlet again.*

<But do you actually have MONEY this time?>
============================================
*This is pointless, as there is only one face, & it was smashed in. The next dream he has is of a Megadeus's shadow looming above his battle. His enemy disappears. Then the Megadeus he's in. Then the buildings around him. Soon, he's standing alone in a computer grid of some sort. He begins to see his bodyparts vanish randomly.*
=============================================
T"Everyone wants to know about the past, but they're too frightened to come down here. As a result, memories are highly valuable. It's as simple as that."

*Some of the rocks fall aside, revealing an off-white metal carapace with gold bands along it.*

L"It appears to be a Megadeus."

T"Hmm...a snakelike Megadeus...Leviathan? Hydra? Serpent? Python? Anaconda?"

L"What. Are. You. Doing?"

T"My research leads me to believe that most machines just prior to the disaster were voice-activated. In the case of a Megadeus, it would probably be activated by saying its name. Viper? Oroborus? Medusa? Gorgon? Basilisk?>

*A mechanical whirring sounds & the machine starts to move. The tail spike protrudes out of a nearby wall. The coils start to bunch up & the drills whir, the machine squirming around in the mound so that more & more of it is visible. Meanwhile, Thiera's watch undergoes a radical transformation. The time & compass portions move apart as a mechanism elongates the face. In the new space that is created is a series of buttons & a screen.*
==============================================
*Topaz reaches the south sea. She quickly realizes why this is not a tourist destination when the beach randomly starts to collapse under her. Sand pours into a large sinkhole as a skyscraper in the water nearby falls over. It pulls her towards the ocean, which is advancing of its own accord, & soon the water is above her head. The pamphlet falls out of her hand & disappears in the current. As she's pulled out to sea, she sees that entire blocks of the old city are essentially perfectly preserved, save for the fact that they're completely under water.*

"Only if there's something worth purchasing."

"Fine. Let's just get out of here then." Luna leaves.

Zell steps back a bit, trying to find a safe place to not get crushed by a falling rock. "A Megadues, aren't these things dangerous?" Zell asked, more than a bit startled by the rumbling and moving. "Hey, what is going on with your watch?" Zell added, as she caught sight of its transformation.