• Prologue


    The world of Teragon. It is a massive world consisting of three major Continents and thousands of smaller Islands and nations. The First of the three Continents is known as the Druidian Landmass. It is in a teardrop shape and is easily the longest of the continents. The Second continent is known as Grogahn. It is a very mountainous area that easily has more surface land than any other continent. The Final Continent is known as the Telehan Hourglass. This continent has a rather large chasm dividing it, leaving an old land bridge connecting the two, allowing it to remain one continent.



    Despite all three continents residing on the same world, their inhabitants are incredibly different, with each continent having its own unique race of inhabitants. The Druidian Landmass is home to a race of beings very prominent in the use of magical Arts, known as the Magii. Grogahn is home to a group of being who have animal traits and forms, known as the Animas. Finally, the Telehan Hourglass is home to a to what could be considered normal Humans, except they all have an affinity for technology and machines.



    At one point in time, the three Continents and Races were at peace and were considered to be a shared superpower. This resulted in a long era of peace and harmony among the nations. This peace was represented by each Race placing a settlement on both of the other continents. This served as the ultimate sign of peace and trust. However, these settlements marked the beginning of the end for the world peace.



    With the arrival of these settlements, grew a need among the locals. The locals felt like the other races had to share their skills and secrets. Whereas the secrets were what separated the races maintained the balance of power, many began to seek these secrets for themselves and tip the scales of power into the favor of their own race. Either by using a specific race's skills against them, or by finding an effective way of countering them through reverse engineering.



    Even with the constant threat of war and invasion looming over their heads, those that settled into the settlements didn't seem all too frightened. For they all knew that if any hostile action was taken, it would have been the spark that would ignite the world into war. Instead, armies began to be amassed, as the leaders of each continent feared that the other nations would soon sound the drums for war.

    Not wanting to be the cause for war, or the destruction of their world, the settlers whom lived in the settlements took action for themselves. The Magii Settlements placed an enchantment around their settlements. This enchantment caused a lush forest to grow, surrounding the settlements from view. The forests also trapped intruders who did not know the correct path through it. The Animas Settlements moved their people underground, creating massive tunnel systems that sprawled downward into the earth. This left their settlements to look abandoned and later inhabited by nomads. The Human Settlements used their technology to fortify their walls, becoming miniature fortresses that were next to impossible to enter, or escape.



    Once the Leaders of the continents learned of what their settlements did, they followed in suit, in a way. Grogahn had its waters filled with armed guards of the fish variety to prevent any ships from getting close to the Continent. The Druidian Landmass surrounded their borders with an immense storm, one that would sink anything that was caught in it. The Telehan Hourglass created a series of sentry weapons that they placed in and above their waters to destroy anything that got too close.



    These defenses were all kept from the general public, and resulting in the other continents and their inhabitants to fade into memory. The Settlements and their inhabitants have remained untouched for the most part, as the threat of war was still heavy for the Leaders of the continents. So while Keeping their borders secured against invaders from the other continents, the various races have been expanding their borders to the various islands and countries that littered the worlds oceans, secretly hoping to find a way to tip the balance of power back into their favor.



    Chapter 1



    “A-awak-ken 6C6965”



    There was a small flash of light in a dark room as a mechanical whirling filled the air. The room was in a horrible state of disrepair, this could be seen clearly as a light struggled to flicker to life. The room was filled with what was once high-tech computers and fancy consoles. Now, these things lay in ruined conditions, far beyond repair. The only thing in the room that looked like it still worked was a small blinking light on the floor.



    This was where the voice had originated from. Where the light was blinking, one could see a rough square outline on the floor. The square was about one foot by one foot and looked to have had some writing on it. The Blinking light was in the middle of this square and what had started as a steady blinking had quickly sped up, becoming faster until it was a solid light. Once the light became solid, more mechanical whirling could be heard, only this time, louder.



    The Square began to rise up from the ground, slowly but surly. Unlike the rest of the room, the mechanisms that allowed the square to move weren't nearly as damaged. As the square moved, it looked like a raised platform with a wall traveling down each side, disappearing into the ground below. After a few minutes the Platform stopped rising. The whole thing was roughly six feet tall, and seemed incredibly out of place. On each wall of the platform there was but a single phrase, “J-U 6C6965”



    With a burst of air, three of the four walls fell. Inside the walls and under the platform was a woman. She stood no taller than sixty-six inches and appeared the be sleeping. The platform and the adjoined walls were merely a container for this woman, and had kept her in pristine condition. The woman's eyes slowly fluttered open as if she had just woken up from a small nap. She stepped out of the container as she raised her arms up in the air in a deep stretch.



    The woman was of an average build with an not-so-average chest. Her skin was a milky white that seemed to be flawless in almost anyway. Her eyes were a shade of amber that seemed to flicker on occasion, as if they were little computer monitors on the fritz. Her hair was mostly a silky shade of brown that extended all the way down to the center of her lower back, with the exception of a silver section of hair that seemed to be roughly an inch wide. She wore Blue Shorts that reached down to her knees along with a white tank-top that seemed to fully support her chest.



    The woman was one of a long line of artificially created humans. With the first Letters of “J” and “U” being her series number and the additional letters being her unique serial number. While she looked human on the outside, she was mostly mechanical on the inside. Even now, here insides were still starting up, much like a person's home computer would. But a home computer is nothing when compared to this woman. She could, in theory, do things that no computer or human should be capable of doing.



    Why is this only a theory? Its only a theory because this woman was the last of her kind to be created, with hundreds of thousands of other models ahead of her. The people that had worked on her and her predecessors were aiming to create the perfect cybernetic person. Her creators were looking for a way to improve human life. Make humans live longer, be healthier, and be stronger. In a way, they were working to improve on what humans already had.



    The woman's eyes opened fully as she began to take in her surroundings. She perceived things as a normal person would, taking in sights, sounds, and even smells if they were around. She saw what destruction she had unwillingly stepped into and had quickly wondered what had befell this place. She started to walk forward as she placed her hand on what could have been a chair. She let her fingers slide across it as she continued to walk, allowing herself to feel the course material for herself. She stopped as she looked around, hoping to see any sign of life.



    “Why do I have a sudden craving for Potatoes?” She asked out loud, to no one in particular.



    “Its because of the Potato-heavy vodka-like substance used to preserve you,” Explained a a voice that had seemed to have a bit of some attitude behind it.



    The woman looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. She didn't see any people, well live people, in the room and was starting to think that she was simply a crazy woman who was hearing things. She took a step forward out of her container as she continued to look around. She stopped as she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.



    “Excuse me, but would you mind picking me up off the floor!?”



    The woman turned around to look at the container she had just exited. He looked to the floor of the container to see what looked like a really heavy book, just laying on the floor. The woman knelt down as she picked up the book, and found it to be surprisingly light. She turned the book over in her hands as she slowly examined it. The book was leather bound on the cover, but was not accompanied with any writing. Instead, it had various colored gems embedded into the leather on the face and back, while the spine appeared to have various dark disks on it. Finding nothing written on the outside, she opened up the book only to find it instantly shut on her.



    “Where are your manners?!”



    The voice came from the book itself. The woman almost dropped it when it spoke. After a few seconds of silence, a small red light shot out of the upper corner of the book's spine. It moved quickly in an odd, but circular motion. Once the motion was complete, the red light was replaced by a wide blue one. The Blue Light faded slightly as a figure quickly began to be constructed in the light. Once completed, the figure looked like a human male, but seemed to have literally have been constructed out of ones and zeros.



    “How would you like it if I opened you up without permission?” The male seemed to ask with his voice emitting from the book.



    “I'm sorry, but who, or what, are you?” The woman asked with an obviously confused look on her face.



    “Yes, I suppose introductions are in order... My name is F.R.A.N.C.I.S,” The male said as his figure began to walk away from the book and the woman. “It stands for Fully Responsive Artificial Narrator in Charge of Intelligent Systems. I have encyclopedic knowledge about almost anything and have an ability to learn what I do not know. For example, I know you are designated J-U 6C6965, but what are you called locally? Or in other words, what is your name?”



    “Um, Julie,” The woman said, obviously confused. “My name is Julie. Its nice to meet you Francis?”



    “Your name has been registered in my systems,” Francis said as his form turned towards Julie. “As well as being an encyclopedic computer, I also have a variety of other functions, this 'Hologram' being one of them. But I am sure that you do not want to hear me brag about my various functions, so I will simply cut to the case. My creators believe that you are the best suited, or equipped, to Stop a series of events already in motion.”



    Julie blinked a few times as she looked around the room once more. It seemed like what ever events that were apparently happening had already happened, a long time ago. She let out a heavy sigh as a sign of confusion. It was going to be a very long day. Waking up in a weird place, talking to a book, and the overwhelming urge for potatoes. Yeah, long day indeed.



    There was a sudden shaking sensation that filled the room. It caused what little that remained on the walls to fall and the container Julie had just exited to fall backwards. Francis' hologram vanished as he allowed the room to darken slightly. Apparently, he was either afraid, or knew what was going to happen next. There was a loud crash followed by another shaking sensation. This time, stronger than the last, it almost knocked Julie off her feet. Holding Francis close to her chest, she began to go towards the direction where the crash came from.



    Julie walked through a doorway as the crashes and shakes slowly began to become more frequent. The room she had entered was similar to the one she was just in. It was all but destroyed, but had evidence of glass containers lining the walls. Julie stopped for a moment to study this room, only to be interrupted by another loud crash. This time, bits of the ceiling began to detach and fall. Julie broke into a quick run as she ran for the nearest door.



    “If you are looking for the exit, take the first door on your left,” instructed Francis. “Then you will be in a labyrinth of hallways. Where you will take the fourth right, followed by the third left and the second right. That will take you outside.”



    Julie nodded as she continued to run, and began to follow Francis' instructions. It seemed like the building they were in was starting to fall apart around them. There were powerful shakes and loud noises that didn't seem to be letting up. As Julie ran, she could hear the crashes becoming louder. That meant that what ever was going on was surly happening outside. It was stupid to run towards the danger, but it was possibly a better option than being crushed to death.



    After a few minutes of running, Julie saw the light at the end of the tunnel, the exit. She Continued to run as she burst through the small door, only to slide to a stop shortly afterward. She could now see what was making the noises and shakes. There was a Large humanoid figure sanding some fifty feet away from where Julie and the building were. And a smaller humanoid figure running from the building towards the Large Figure. The Small figure seemed to have gained a burst of speed, only to know back-handed by the larger figure and sent flying towards the building. When the little figure made contact with the building, Julie felt a powerful shake in the ground.



    The larger figure was wearing what looked like a an old-fashioned skin-tight male swimming suit. It was all black in color with the exception of strange red lines in the center of it. Other than that, he was wearing Black gloves with matching boots. The smaller figure seemed to have been wearing less clothing, if it were even possible. He was wearing a hooded cloak that seemed to cover his entire body, even when he was in motion.



    Francis pushed his book body away from Julie's chest for a moment as his cover flipped open and the pages began to turn. The pages stopped turning as an image of the Larger Humanoid figure appeared and floated off the page and became slightly three dimensional.



    “The Larger figure was known as 'G-E 72616C64',” Francis explained as the three dimensional figure began to slowly rotate. “Locally known as Gerald. Part of the 'G' Series. This specific model was a pinnacle of research and had skin that was made out of fibers with the strength of titanium, but still looked and acted as human skin. Although considered a Success, Gerald has since then been deemed a failure and disappointment.”



    Julie watched as Francis flipped a few more of his pages, seemingly looking for the other, smaller figure. While Francis was searching, Julie watched as Gerald continuously knocked the smaller figure away like a fly anytime he got near him. Julie looked down to see that Francis had pulled up information on the Smaller figure.



    “That other fellow was known as 'C-H 61726C6965',” Francis said. “Locally known as 'Haywire'. Unlike Gerald, Haywire was an initial failure. As part of the 'C' Series, Haywire had his bones and blood replaced with an artificial substance that made him incredibly durable and increased his immunity to human ailments to an unknown level. His status as a failure stems from his highly active brain. His bones and blood unknowingly became highly conductive and resulted in electrical surges emitting from his body. Also unlike Gerald, Haywire can be considered a Success, but only depending on how the situation is observed.”



    “So are you saying that those two guys are just like me?” Julie asked as Francis closed himself. “That they were altered in some way to help some unknown and vague 'Greater Good'?”



    “That is correct,” Responded Francis in a matter-of-fact tone.



    Julie continued to watch Gerald and Haywire fight, both were seemingly unaware of her and Francis' presence. It was amazing how strong Gerald was and how much Abuse Haywire could handle. Since they were both somewhat mechanical, it was very unlikely that they would get tired anytime soon. This lead Julie to think for a moment. Should she continue to watch, run from this horrible display of power, or lend a hand to stop the fighting.



    As Gerald knocked Haywire back once more, he looked in Julie's direction. Seeing something out of the ordinary, he focused his attention on what was out of place. His Eyes twisted and rotated as he seemed to zoom in on where he was staring at. Once he focused his vision, a heads up display appeared to him. It identified Julie by her identification code, and labeled Francis as an important target.



    Gerald turned away from Julie as his Heads up display vanished. As he turned back towards Haywire, he felt a tiny fist connect with his jaw. This sent Gerald flying backwards a few feet and onto his back. Gerald quickly stood up as he darted for Haywire. But instead of pulling his fist back for a punch,he pulled his leg back for a kick. Catching Haywire off guard, Gerald's foot connected with his Groin. Haywire fell to the ground instantly.



    With one threat out of the way, Gerald Fully turned towards Julie and started to run towards her. Julie took a step back when she saw Gerald begin his advance and contemplated on simply running away. But it appeared that Gerald was faster and stronger and would have very easily caught up with her. She closed Francis and tapped on him slightly. She really didn't know what to do, or really what she could do.



    “Some advice would really be useful right now,” She told Francis in a worried tone.



    “Oh yes, some slight memory loss... We'll fix that later,” Responded Francis. “You were designed for combat, a rare thing among you Cyborgs. Heck, you even have a wrist-mounted gun stashed in one of your wrists. Quite nice in the design, if I may add.”



    A wrist-mounted gun? Julie thought as she tucked Francis under her left arm and looked at her right wrist. She pointed her wrist at Gerald and concentrated, hoping that simply thinking about it would reveal the damn thing. After a second, Julie felt her left wrist expand and open up slightly. He moved Francis from her left arm to underneath her right arm as she pointed her left wrist at Gerald. Around her wrist were eight cylinders about two inches long. The skin seemed to separate and one could see where they connected to the metal underneath. Now the task was to get it to work.



    “Go-go gadget wrist-mounted gun thing?” Julie asked out loud as Gerald continued to advance. “Um... Fire? Go? Shoot? Work you stupid thing!”



    Julie closed her eyes and concentrated on making the gun work, since it obviously didn't respond to voice commands. Gerald was closing in fast and Julie was just a sitting duck. After a few seconds, Gerald was just out of arms reach, and the cylinders began to rotate around Julie's wrist in a counter-clockwise direction. Small bullets of energy shot out as they all connected with the large target that was Gerald’s chest. Julie held her arm still as she continued to fire, not daring to look up to see if she even hit the target.



    When Julie opened her eyes, her gun had stopped firing. Gerald was on the ground with a rather large hole in his chest. The Cylinders collapsed and retreated back to their hiding place as Julie's wrist returned to normal. She took a step back and let out a loud sigh. She saw the strength of Gerald, and knew that he would have torn her apart if given the chance. Julie was shaking slightly from the whole experience, but was glad to know that it was over... for about fifteen seconds.



    Gerald Slowly stood back up as he used his right hand to feel the large hole in his chest. “J model more aggressive than anticipated,” He seemed to say as he stopped feeling the hole and focused his attention on Julie. “You are more dangerous than most of your kind. Surrender yourself to the Viral Master and your life will be spared.”



    Julie slowly began to take steps backwards as Gerald began to take steps forward. She had damaged him and some of his systems, but only a little bit. He could still move, but with some apparent complications. Julie stopped as she felt her back press up against a wall. She was now too scared to do anything. She shot the guy point-blank, and he was still walking. That was enough to make most normal people fear for their lives.



    “Surrender J unit,” Gerald instructed as he continued to advance, “Do not make me destroy you. D-do not m-make m-m-make m-m-me des-destroy y-you...”



    Gerald trailed off as his body began to twitch and black smoke raised up from his back. Did he take more damage than Julie thought? Now, this was something else. Something different. Gerald seemed to stop moving as he fell forward to the ground. As Gerald fell, Julie could see Haywire being revealed. Julie quickly studied Haywire and saw that he was staring intently on Gerald. Julie could see that his left hand was still in a clawed position and seemed to be smoking as well.



    Gerald seemed to regain consciousness and tried to reach out for Julie. As he did, Haywire brought his foot down on Gerald’s skull, crushing it. Haywire stopped on Gerald's head a few more times, just to make sure he was really down for the count. He looked up at Julie and saw the confused but relived look on her face and the book tucked underneath her arm.



    Haywire removed his hood to show that he was wearing a purple bandana that covered the front of his hear as well as most of the hair on the top. Any visible hair could be seen from the back, and it seemed to be short, but a dark brown color. His eyes were much unlike Julie’s, they were hazel and looked completely natural. Also unlike Julie, his skin appeared to be sun touched, as if he had a consistent moderate tan. He also seemed to have a variety of scars on his face.



    “Thanks for the help,” He said as he stepped on what used to be Gerald’s head one more time. “But these guys are like zombies. You have to destroy the head. Just shooting them in the chest slows them down. Trust me, it won't kill them.