"The" Story

Chapter 3: Explosion. North

2004-12-11T01:19:00.000+08:00

Angelo drove as quickly as he could, following whatever signs the Sulegna could throw at him. It never dawned upon him that he was running out of gas, until Tryk and Lilia pointed it out. He looked at the gauge. It said empty. They were coasting on reserves now.

Fortunately, a gas station was nearby. They stopped there for fuel. Angelo busily dealt with refueling the car, while Tryk and Lilia raided the station of any food. They ran a high bill. A really high bill. They quickly left the station after paying. North of them, they could see an explosion cloud. Something was happening there, but they already knew what happened. GTX was under siege. Nowhere was safe any more.

Chapter 3 : Myriad

2004-11-10T21:23:00.000+08:00

A myriad of emotions hit her. She was uncontrollable.
She sat there, circuits of her brains fried. Too many emotions to handle at once. Too many colors too, she later surmised.
She sat there. Her eyes blank and a thousand miles away. And yet, it was close to her.
The dank dark area she was in sank in around her eyes.
And her body sank down on the stinky floor, full of dark shiny liquid of unknown origin. (Actually, Darkness manifested itself in that liquid to ravage Yuriko)
It cannot be already.
She would die.
Yes, she would have the courage to take her own life.
She had to. It was too great a humiliation. Even in this alien town. If it was a town that is. More like a giant sprawling underground city.
She had never been humiliated like that before. Not in front of an entire courtroom made of people who looks about the same.
Wait... they looked about the same. That thought never occured to her in the room. Only now.
But where was she in the first place?
UnderCity City of LesBif. It was a sinister place. Now, she bet she was in some ancient dungeon in an ancient castle (her imagination never left her, even in her very dire state now)
But clearly she was not.
With some difficulty she buried her head in her hands (her hands were sorta chained to the wall kind of thing you see in movies)
And she cried. She bet the ethereal beings were happy now. meh.
And she continued crying. The impact was too large for her to handle. She missed her home. And this city is probably run by crazed kidnappers ready to kill, or worse, rape.
She cried..

Chapter 3: To Do

2004-11-03T22:08:00.000+08:00

The Sulegna flooded Angelo's mind. It told him what to do next. Everyone in the car noticed the Sulegna was glowing.
"Looks like someone just learned something new," Tryk said jokingly.
"What is with you guys and this glowing balls anyway?" Lilia said, irritated.
"We shouldn't go over the border. She's still here." Angelo told them.
"So we're getting bad information from HQ? Maybe it's part of the old man's plan. Either way, let's go save her before something bad happens," Tryk replied.
"And how do you suppose we find her?" Lilia asked.
Angelo replied with this: "Let me drive."

Chapter 3 : Verdict

2004-11-02T13:25:00.000+08:00

The Prosecution stated :
"The accused was caught thinking of escaping the UnderCity City of LesBif, of which, under no circumstances, shall a kidnap victim escape, lest the victim is threatened of life. But clearly this is not the case. The Accused managed to get out scoot free from her kidnapper's den, naked and all."
At this point, the prosecuter rolled his eyes and stole a look at the still naked Yoriko in the cage.
"The Accused was picked up by the UnderCity City of LesBif Thought Police Department, Also known as the UCCLTPD, and was transported here via the UnderCity City of LesBif Bereau of Slavery Bus. Court Scribe, please note that down"

***

Yoriko stated her case. Or at least, tried to. The prosecution (known as Mr. Toaf, but often mistyped as Mr. Toad) always had an objection. And it was NEVER Overruled, whereas, Yoriko's objections had ALWAYS been overruled.
Finally, she came to her last thing on her mind.
"Your Honor, " she started
"That's Your honor, of high disembowelment and high praise to you, the accused" Judge Yduj told her sharply
"Your honor, of high disembowelment and high praises, I am not from here. Just... just let me go!" Yoriko pleaded.
"That all for your final statement, Accused?" Judge Yduj enquired.
Without waiting for a reply, she continued,
"Of course it has to be. Jury, make your verdict now."
The jury discused for a while, and simultaneously, they pronounced the word : Guilty as charged. And Guilty as NOT CHARGED as well.
Judge Yduj cleared her throat.
"Yoriko Noda, aged 16, is found guilty of trying to escape being a kidnap victim. For this, I sentence her to lifetime slavery in the UnderCity City of LesBif." She said in a clear voice.
"Thank you for your appearence in Court. The UnderCity City of LesBif is proudly sponsored by The Onidraco Corp. For all your biological needs." She pronouced clearly, and slowly.

Chapter 3 : Court Order! (Not)

2004-11-02T11:36:00.000+08:00

The Courtroom materialised in front of her eyes* (and in front of the cage mesh, of course)
The judge was a woman. And the jury was made up of four men, and four women (which is a weird thing, in the case should they come up with a 50-50 agreement, but then again, in the UnderCity City of LesBif court, the chances of that happening is about the chances that Socrategoras, the great Greek Philosopher skiing down Mount Everest on his head in a second, which was never, since Socrategoras has been dead, and his body trampled upon the many Greek and Roman sandals of time, in his grave, of course)
Once the court room finished materialising (it had to finish, as it was materialising an atom at a time), the Judge, whom we shall call Judge Yduj (as opposed to Judge Judy, and is pronounced YEE-DOOGE)picked up her notes from the table and started speaking.
"Yoriko Noda, aged 16, is found guilty of trying to escape being a kidnap victim. For this, I sentence her to lifetime slavery in the UnderCity City of LesBif." She said in a clear voice.
"Wait! I did not even get trial! And there is nothing wrong with escaping a kidnapper!" Yoriko cried in indignance. She slammed her fists on the doorless mesh-cage, causing it to shake
"I demand equal rights, and a fair trial!" She continued shouting
"Oh well, I suppose this has to come to pass, but we've been through this already. Alright. Let the trials begin. Yoriko Noda shall represent herself, pro se" Judge Yduj sighed.
"Will the Prosecution state their case?" the Judge asked

"Yes, your honor, of high disembowelment and high praises" said a rather squeky man sitted on a table, wearing a silly bowler hat that looks as though it was made of hair
And he read the prosecutory statement, whatever that may be.

* Actually, in front of her eyes would not be a good description. around the cage would have served a better description

Chapter 3: Kyori, Missing

2004-11-01T19:56:00.000+08:00

The phone in the car rang an hour after darkness had spread through Hito. Lilia picked up her phone.

***

"Hello?"
"This is headquarters. Something's happened."
"What kind of situation are we talking about?"
"Kyori is missing. It disappeared off the map about fifteen minutes ago."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Your orders have changed. Head straight over the border."
"Why?"
"(background)Let me speak to her, you're being too robotic.
Lilia, I have bad news. Kyori is not longer existent. It is no longer there. We don't know how to explain this, but I suggest you take a look for yourself when you pass through that area. Trust me."
"OK, move over the border to where?"
"Take cover in GTX for a while, OK?"

***

Tryk immediately asked what happened. Lilia explained the new mission. I saw what went missing. More like we all did. The place where Kyori used to be was now an empty space, with on a main road in the middle.

Chapter 3 : The Bus

2004-10-29T17:10:00.000+08:00

The bus arrived. It was exactly like Yoriko had imagined. Yellow, and cute, and empty, like those in the movies. Empty where EVERYONE had seats. On the bus, bold black words proclaimed the bus : UCCLBS, which she supposed stood for UnderCity City of LesBif Bus Service.
But what she did not expect was the bus would appear as fast as she thought, neither did she expect the bus to appear with for smalled vehicles escorting it. The four smaller vehicles looked like police vehicles, with the words : UCCLTPD emblazoned on it.
Perhaps it was the bad security in the UnderCity, that is the reason why a bus needed four police escorts (well, UCCLTPD obviously would mean UnderCity City of LesBif - The Police Department, right?)
Yoriko boarded the bus. It was empty (as were the grass plains and everything else). The boing-boing oddball bounced up the bus as well.
Once aboard, the doors automatically shut and the bus sped on. Yoriko was flung right to the back of the bus, where there stood a cage-like structure. Yoriko fell into it and knocked her head on one of the ledges and blacked out.

***

Yoriko awoke to unfamiliar surroundings. Right in front of her was a mesh of wires. Towards her sides too. Behind her, she felt a mesh too. She was enclosed in a cage of sorts, standing.
She tried pushing against the cage door (which was in front, she supposed, since there were no visible hinges anywhere), but it did not budge. She was trapped (again!?)
Two men appeared (seemingly from nowhere, as she cannot see any door). They wore black and had face masks on. (as usual, what do you expect from kidnappers)
With much ease, the glided (well, it seemed like they glided) towards her cage and lifted it up without even breaking a sweat. They carried it down a certain stretch of white marble tile (that's the floor), and set it down.
Then a courtroom materialized.. (at least, it looked like a courtroom)

Chapter 3: Visions

2004-10-28T20:24:00.000+08:00

"Apparently, we found that you were more attuned to the Sulegna than most of us normal people. So ,we decided that it was probable Dr. Cardino would drag you from your country to capture you here and started a plan that involved the highest level of government. I think you should already know by now, Mr. Yao is in league with us. The Sulegna should have hinted you on that. OK, now Mr. Yao is running the show and the person he replaced is already taken care of.:
"What about Dr. Cardino?"
"She's already dead. Somebody killed her. We don't know why, but she's already dead."
"Dead?"
"There are a few dead bodies left by another organization."
"Everyone is trying to get hands on you people with extraordinary mental capabilities. We've got to get you guys off the planet. We have enough resources and connections to do so."
"Get off the planet?! Are you nuts?"
"For your safety and the rest of the world, yes."

Darkness filled Hito, the capital of Reito. The whole thing was coming to a different place and different situation in three minutes.

Chapter 2 : Scream

2004-10-28T17:56:00.000+08:00

Yoriko was screaming all the way. And banging her fists on OddShaped Man's body, hand, whatever she can land her fists on.
Well, if you were held sideways (and naked) and carried around (especially, if you are under someone's stinky armpit), moving very quickly, wouldn't you scream too?

The OddShaped man seemed to have the uncanny ability to move very very quickly, despite being in an odd shape (Yes, his arms are bulkier than most giant bodybuilders, and his legs face and move parallel to the width of his body, so basically, he walks like a crab.) Perhaps the oddest thing about the OddShaped Man is that his feet are so tiny. From a look above, Yoriko estimated his feet to be smaller than those bound feet of the women of ancient China... more like 3 centimetres in length.

***

Sore Throat was an ailment. And yet, he liked being an ailment. Now, he's creeping up to Yoriko's throat. Then, his wife, Husky Voice will take over.
Carefully, and most like a bomb defusal expert, he crept up Yoriko's throat, dodging the saliva that will kick him out of the system.

***

Yoriko's voice became husky. She felt her throat being very sore. But things were still moving in blurs. Oddshaped Man did not seem to want to slow down, which was odd, as he should by now, (and by humanly standards), be very tired, and stop.
Then, immediately, the Oddshaped Man stopped.
And put her down on the floor.
Then, the OddShaped Man turned into a sphere.
Yoriko shivered and looked around. This place was NORMAL LOOKING, for ONCE!
She was sure she is now out of the UnderCity City of LesBif.
It was a grassland kind of thing. There was a road nearby. A tar road, by the looks of it. She walked towards the road in her bare feet. When she reached the curb of the road, she saw a sign : It was a bus stop! She was saved!
Boing!
Boing!
Boing!
(No, these are not the sound of boobs bouncing)
The Oddshaped Man - turned sphere bounced and followed her. For convinience sake, we shall call it the Oddball from now on.
"Go Away!" She cried at The Oddball
Boing! Boing! The Oddball bounced on its spot.
"Fine" She huffed
Boing! Boing! Boing!
And so, Yoriko waited, for the very bus that could change her life.

Chapter 2: Discovery

2004-10-27T21:38:00.000+08:00

"Something's wrong," Tryk said.
Yoriko was awake already, and nothing was happening.
"What's wrong?" a puzzled Angelo asked.
"When a person like Yoriko is awake when the Sulegna is around her neck, it's supposed to glow," Tryk explained in his usual lack of detail.
But there was no danger from this person, who was obviously verified as not being Yoriko.
"I'm calling HQ."

***

Tryk: Hello? This is Tryk. I need some information.
HQ: What is ti you want to know?
Tryk: I thought I was sent to extract Yoriko Noda, a known *ahem*.
HQ: Plans were changed. She's already safe.
Tryk: Then, who is this?
HQ: An imposter sent by the team. You no longer need to worry about her. Just get back to Kyori with the imposter and we'll meet up there.
Tryk: This is really odd. It's like you tricked us into making them think they lost the girl.
HQ: As odd as it seems, it's better that everyone comes back alive, including the imposter.
Tryk: Understood. So who is this actually?
HQ: The girl you have in custody is Lilia Type.
Tryk: The shapeshifter. No wonder you wanted her back.
HQ: Get here by nightfall. Spindark will be activated again as you requested soon enough.

Chapter 2 : In the Dream. Or Not?

2004-10-27T17:10:00.000+08:00

She really must be dreaming. Really. No, thank you for that chamomile tea, but she really must get out of her dream soon, she told Darkness and Silence.
Darkness protested.
"But we're not in a dream! We're real! Right. If we were in a dream, you could just will me and Silence away. Champagne?" Darkness said, while pulling out 2 glasses and a bottle of Champagne from the glove compartment of his sports car.
"Go away! You're disturbing me! NO! I am underaged. NO CHAMPAGNE!" Yoriko cried out, voicelessly.
"You know, this is non-alcoholic champagne-" Darkness began slowly.
"You see? You cannot WEEEEL us away." Silence screeched, in a screechy whispery kind of voice.

Weird was, that in the silence, she could hear Darkness' and Silence's voices. Well, not voices. Thoughts more like. But where was she?
Weirder was, that she was in the nude. But then again, Darkness probably is blind and Silence was probably like some snake headed medusa thingy (at least it sounded so)

She was also acutely aware that she is now STILL in the STEEL ROOM.
So, where was she?
"YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN SOMEWHERE. THIS PLACE IS CALLED SOMEWHERE. " A new voice said.
Somewhere... that was comforting.

***

All of a sudden, Darkness revved his engines and left the area. Silence was gone too (maybe Silence went with Darkness, in the car). Yoriko found herself back in the steel room, still very much naked, as she last had been.
She had not been asleep. Nor had she been hallucinating. (FORGET THE PINK HIPPO IN THE BACKGROUND DANCING A BALLET OK?)
The door opened as she imagined. Light streamed into the dark room (wherever Darkness went, he always left a trail. That dirty brute!). The light hurt Yoriko's eyes, and she shielded them.

"Come, Yoriko, there are people trying to kidnap you. We must leave. We gave them a decoy who looks exactly like you" said the man, whom Yoriko saw to be oddly misshapen.(he certainly does not look greek, or even like in her fantasy, where the dashing Mr. Nerezza came and save her)
"Wha-?" Yoriko was surprised.
"I thought you all were the ones that kidnapped me!" Yoriko cried in indignantly, while shaking off the hand that held hers. Her hands automatically went to her breasts and privates.
"Oh no, I think you got us confused. We took you from your house to protect you. Now let's GO!" OddShaped Man said, and pulled her out of the steel room. (Yes, to you ecchi lovers, she was werily naked)

Chapter 2: Awake

2004-10-27T13:11:00.000+08:00

Angelo woke up about three hours later in an unfamiliar room. Tryk was nearby. "What happened?" "You passed out, apparently you couldn't take the pressure of gating out." Yoriko was also alowly coming back to her senses. Apparently, they had put some gas on her. "She's still unable to feel or do anything at the moment, but we have got to start moving, at least out of Hito city. I'm pretty sure Mr. Yao already has a team assembled to sweep the city to find us with the Spindark prototype."

Angelo wondered about what to do. "We've got to make sure she's OK." "My friend already gave her a shot. She should wake up in about an hour. A car is already waiting outside. Let's go." Angelo pondered about what to do again. He quietly followed behind Yoriko, which was walking unconsciously following Tryk."

Tryk dialed a number on the phone. "Hello? It's Tryk. We're heading for the Kyori hideout now. Send somebody to fire a Spindark module in a two hours. We need a bogus message sent to Control Headquarters. They all got in the car with Tryk driving. Yoriko's eyes were beginning to open.

Chapter 2 : Hazy Dreams

2004-10-27T10:14:00.000+08:00

Yoriko had the impression of being carried away by two men. And yet, she was very much aware she was stark naked in the steel room with no doors.
Basically, with nothing better to do, she sighed and went back to sleep. (This was extremely uncommon for kidnap victims, who constantly look for an exit, but not this kidnap victim.)

One would suppose she has gone mad (and deliriously hallucinating), but then again, you can disregard that statement. You can also disregard the pink hippopotamus in the dominatrix costume, whipping cfgt2001. No, you could attribute that to the heat in the steel room.

Slowly though, she began to disappear.

***

I am certainly NOT hallucinating. I cannot find myself. I've lost myself. I mean, I can feel the body, and all, but I cannot see or feel them. It's like I am concious of my body, but it's not anything my 5 basic senses can feel.
In fact, I can see the black steel walls changing into black... melting into the blackness.
Then, everything went BLACK. Total Darkness.
I heard his car. Darkness' car. It sounded expensive. Then Silence came.
In Darkness, I cannot observe Silence...
I tried shouting... But Silence was overpowering me. Nothing came out of the shout/scream.
No, I am not dreaming either.

***

Darkness drove his new sports car around Yoriko, as Silence silenced her (and the engine noise)
It was in this space, nothing can reach Yoriko. But neither can Yoriko reach anything.
It was a lose-lose situation.

Chapter 2: Unstoppable

2004-10-26T23:20:00.000+08:00

Angelo and Tryk were unaffected by the blast. Of course, neither was Yoriko. She was still asleep, much to the amazement of Angelo and Tryk. "Angelo, we have to go now, follow me. We won't be returning to Dr. Cardino. She'll kill both of us and take the girl." Angelo didn't know how true this was, but the Sulegna didn't ring a warning which probably meant he wasn't lying. "Come on, the Sulegna prototypes have a certain ability not documented. We can manipulate the circuitry to form a portal between two places. However, there are certain conditions but you don't need to worry about the details."

They both ran as quickly as they could to another room in the complex. Before anyone knew it, they had disappeared off all the scanners. WhiteCoat was not happy any more. Something beyond expectations had occured. Mr. Yao walked into the room. "I told you and Altha this wouldn't work. We're wasting time doing this. The gates are untraceable and leave no more than an electromagnetic anomaly in the vicinity of the it. Step down. They've given orders for me to take over." WhiteCoat left the room and Mr. Yao quickly gave new orders. "OK, people, we've lost the primary subject. I don't think we should waste any time scanning the place for them or making half-baked attempts to tell where've they've gone. Bryan, call the R & D Department. We need the Spindark project on the road again." A person in the dark nodded in agreement. "Jay, I need the reports on the limitation of the Sulegna prototypes. We need a way to override what Dr. Cardino foolishly gave them."

"Sweep the entire city. They can't be too far away. Hito will be in darkness again tonight."

Chapter 2 : Sleep, Wake, Sleep, zzZZzzZZzz..

2004-10-26T20:52:00.000+08:00

Yoriko was asleep. Little did she know of the hullaballu that happened above her. Way above her. Even above the UnderCity City of LesBif. Above the downward pointing buildings and wildly running pipes.
In a babylike smile, she awoke, and stretched herself.
She looked about her. It was exactly like that of in her dream. Dark room, made of steel. No door or anything. Hot too.

Her bra and panties were feeling rather constricting, and she was sweating like mad. She hurriedly removed them and lied down on the floor, waiting. Only the man called Angelo Nerezza never came. And so, she waited, confident that her foresight was accurate.
And so, she waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Until she fell asleep again, not noticing the faint pinkish gas that floated gently down towards her from the (supposed) ceiling.

Chapter 2 - Rampage with a Nailgun

2004-10-26T20:02:00.000+08:00

The car stopped. "We have arrived, gentlemen," the driver informed us. I grabbed my weapon. The Sulegna told me something. It was time. I took my weapon and popped a few into the driver. "What do you think you're doing? No point popping our ride home," Tryk complained. "You take orders way too seriously."

I aimed it at him. He knew what I was going to do. I emptied my magazine. He wasn't dead. "Mr. Nerezza, I think you shouldn't try to kill me yet. I can use a Sulegna too." I could see the bullets stop in midair. It wasn't long before they fell to the ground. "Since you've emptied your ammo, why don't you take the nailgun in the boot?" I took the nailgun from the boot. Apparently, the Sulegna project involved more people than I had expected.

"If you're wondering, I'm on your side. I would have killed the driver anyway. Don't let the Sulegna confuse you." I held the nailgun firmly. We were going to storm in. "Fire a few rounds through the door. You should know where." I fired wherever the Sulegna directed me. I heard a hits. Tryk fired at the lock and it opened. I could see a few dead bodies strewn along the floor. Something told me to fire at the cameras. I did as my heart told me. We were going in blind. I hoped the kidnappers would be blind too.

"I believe we're being watched. Leave the cameras here alone. They can see us, but they can't hear us. Yoriko is further down, about ten doors to your right.I'll keep watch here. You go grab her." I was about to go when he grabbed me again. "Wait, take this." He handed me a Sulegna. "Give it to her. We'll make a run for it once she's free." I swiftly moved down the corridor. I finally got to the room. I saw her, sleeping peacefully. She seemed to be having fun. For some reason, she was wearing what looked like a lab coat.

I put the Sulegna around her neck and put her on my back. As I walked out, I could hear some people coming. "Angelo, they've been hiding! Activate your device!" I was startled. I didn't know how to activate it. Suddenly a person came and emptied her magazine. She ran off. The bullets merely stopped in midair about a metre away.

***

"RUN!"
A loud explosion could be heard from a kilometre away.
The kidnappers were well prepared.

Chapter 2 : Hammering the Hentai-sha

2004-10-25T21:08:00.000+08:00

It has been really confusing for me. I have no idea where I am now. But I know, definitely I am not awake. Or am I?

***

Yoriko Noda lay curled up in the the steel room, breathing slowly, but surely breathing. (Now, you would not want to deprive her of breathing would you?)
Well, at least, from her face you know she was breathing... the rest of her body melted into darkness, as the room was ill-lit.

***

I woke up. It was dark and hot. Did I say hot? No, it was VERY VERY VERY hot. And my clothes (I mean UNDERWEAR) was constricting...
Aware that there are no exits (No sign of door, meaning no sign of escape until the ransom is paid), and that there are no other persons around (how can there be other people around anyways?), I begin to take off the bra, to cool off my chest a little.
Then off came the panties.
As I lay there on the steel floor, cooling off, I saw light emitting from the wall opposite me. The door opened (yeah, there was no door there a while ago, but since light can be emitted through it, I assume that there is a door now, which, anyway, is illogical)
A man came in. The man had a very Greek look.
I quickly tried to hide my privates and my chest.
He looked at me in a very wolfish manner, and introduced himself as a Mr. Angelo Nerezza, and that he was here to save me. And then the LOOK again. And again.

Irritated, I shouted : HENTAAAAAAAAAIIII! and took a Hammer (which, is from Hammerspace) and laid the Giant Hammer on the man's head. The strike left him a gigantic welt (which was not uncommon, since the hammer was probably bigger than his head)

***

Yoriko lay there, sleeping, still unmoving from the previous position. The monitors flickered. WhiteCoat was happy. The almighty Gas in the Aerosol Can was working. She's still sleeping. Probably with some naughty dream of her own, he later surmised.

Chapter 2: Light

2004-10-23T20:12:00.000+08:00

Angelo Nerezza woke up the next morning. The sun was blazing into his room. A man shouted through the door. "Are you awake? We need to go now! Quickly get dressed up. We'll get your equipment from the armory for you.

***

I looked out the window. A car was already waiting. I quickly dressed up and put on the Sulegna project, which I had neatly crafted onto a necklace. A man was standing at the door. "I'm Tryk, your partner for this mission. You awake enough to go?" I told him I was fine. "Here are your guns." He handed my an equipment belt with a few weapons attached to it. "We're going to go rescue Yoriko today." We walked down the stairs. I could feel the Sulegna projecting thoughts into me. Something was seriously wrong, but it wasn't time to act yet. I thought about what to do. The Sulegna was warning against Tryk, but it was also warning against doing anything for now. I would have to wait patiently for my chance to solve this dilemma.

***

Control Headquarters Hito, Reito
"The subject is already in the vehicle. They are currently heading towards the objective," a man in green reported.
"We'll have to wait and see," Mr. Yao's voice echoed from the shadows.
"These kidnappers are amateur. They aren't doing anything to evade our scans," a man in front of the monitor commented.
Mr. Yao picked up the phone. It was time to report to the Reito government.

Chapter 2 : UnderCity City of LesBif

2004-10-23T16:34:00.000+08:00

Pipes ran everywhere.
Yoriko stumbled as she was pushed around by the two men.
She cautiously stepped over a rusty thin pipe (Or rather, she hopped over, since her legs were tied)
The people around the UnderCity City did not even lift an eyelid to her, even when she shouted for help. (That shout for help actually resulted in her being gagged, with a warning to cut her face if she shouted or attempt to later. Yoriko being possesive over her exotic face, obviously complied.)
She was being led across a few buildings (facing down of course), and pipes that went overhead, on the ground and basically everywhere else. Every building looks similar, and the only way, she surmised, is to remember the location of the pipes.
But even the pipes look the same.
The 4 men wearing face masks (ever since Sight returned to her, she realised that there were 4 men), who oddly reminded her about scuba divers, stopped a building, of which has a verily thin base and a super-wide top. (The buildings were after all, pointing downwards)

***

One of the men started singing (Oh No!)
My ears HURT!!
Spots appeared before me.
"Ole man ale. Die in a gale. Before we can set sail. Before we set sail." the man continued singing..
His singing is really atrocious.
OW!
Darkness encroaches me.

Chapter 2: Truth Behind White

2004-10-22T21:51:00.000+08:00

The man in white had come at night. Angelo had been training for hours and was now enjoying some beauty sleep. Dr. Cardino opened the door. It was raining heavily. "I think we have a few matters to discuss." "Come in, Mr. Yao."

***

"Well, as my intel reported, she has been kidnapped."
"And do we know where she is?"
"It won't really matter would it? The sleepyhead upstairs should know is she's in danger."
"I don't think he'll master the technology so early. It took our scientists 10 years to figure out how to activate it, let alone duplicate it."
"Well, you'd never know what would happen. He is one of those who can operate the devices."
"We've already found a few others while searching for him actually. They were unfortunately not so willing to cooperate."
"How long do you think it'll take for him to find out the truth?"
"He shouldn't know until he rescues her. She will unlock the true forces of the Sulegna project."
"How sure are you? She won't even notice she did it."
"What about possible intervention? The you-know-which organization will not sit back and enjoy the show."
"Why would they intervene? Doesn't concern them. We should have no problems completing this task."
"When will this operation proceed?"
"Who would you like to do the job? I can have it done very soon."
"I think Tryk would be excellent."

***

Mr. Yao Teh Wu left soon after that. The plan was in action.

Chapter 2 : The Message in a Bottle CF Card

2004-10-22T21:35:00.000+08:00

"Mr. and Mrs Noda. Please do not be alarmed. We have your daughter. But we will not harm her. We only need something from her. And do not worry. It has been found that a human being can still survive with the spinal cord intact, but sans the brain"
The shadowy figure said.

"But as a guarantee, in this message in a bottle, I mean, message in a CF Card, there are guidelines for you to find your daughter. She will be alright. I assure you of that. And please do not worry. The part about remvoving her brain was just a joke"
The man laughed a high pitched evil laugh.

"Yes, you do not find it funny, but I find it extremely tickling." The man continued.

Standing in front of the screen, a man in a white coat flickered off the screen.
Then he inserted the CF card into another machine.

After processing for a while, (a few technicians did it. The upper class management never get their hands dirty) the man removed the CF Card from the slot, and relabelled the Red CF Card : YORIKO HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED. OPEN IMMEDIATELY.
White Coat handed the CF Card to another man.
"Make sure you leave it on the table like where they left it. Make sure her parents find it" WhiteCoat told Minion.
"OK" Minion said

Chapter 1: Future

2004-10-20T22:06:00.000+08:00

Angelo knew what he saw came true. The Sulegna project was far more powerful than it had seemed, packaged in a small metal ball. The man thanked him for saving his life. We then later had a game of chess. Chinese chess. Of course, having the Sulegna to guide him through some of the way did help him, but he still lost the game anyway, not knowing much about the game.

The Chinese man gave him a lot of information about the Sulegna project and handed him a weapon. It was shaped like a gun, but it had the most unique trigger. A button. It was supposed to be a simplistic laser weapon or sorts. "It's a prototype as well. The Reito government is running a lot of secret weapons programs. Actually, it's for preparation of a possible invasion by a non-human force, but I think that's all a ton of crap. Use this and the Sulegna project well. You should live a long time before dying," the man in white chuckled.

They both well knew that Dr. Cardino was hiding something. They talked about it, but eventually gave up and moved on. Angelo was still fooling around with the Sulegna project. He had to if he wanted to know more about what was going on.

Chapter 1 : Of Kidnapped Meat and Meat

2004-10-20T10:10:00.000+08:00

I cannot believe it! How long had past I wonder.

***

"Less Beef, please" the First Voice said
Yoriko felt the inertia on her back increasing. The truck (or whatever vehicle) was moving faster.
Metalic clunks (or rather, thuds) told her that one of her captors was coming towards her. But she did not feel like doing anything.
Why this apathy?! She silently screamed.
Then the truck stopped. Suddenly.
She fell forward (head-first, and yes, you can still fall if you were sitting in that truck) towards the ground.
"Ah. Less Beef. Good" said the First Voice
Then, Sight returned to Yoriko like a river that has been dammed up for a long time. (In the first place, Sight is not a river, so it cannot flow, Sight has a rather humanoid form, and no, it is NOT a NON NEWTONIC FLUID)
And the first thing she saw was Brightness. Brightness was holding up a sort of white blindfold, looking as if it had been made of light. Then Brightness disappeared, seemingly eaten by Darkness who then took precedence.
"Milady, welcome to the UnderCity City of LesBif" said the towering man (if you were lying down on a bed, and someone were to stand on your bed, of course he'll look towering!)who took off her blindfold.
Through the darkness, Yoriko could make out lines that indicate a city. But the buildings of the UnderCity did not point upwards. Instead, they pointed downwards...

Chapter 1: Complaints

2004-10-19T16:41:00.000+08:00

I looked at the complex and difficult manual. It was written in such a roundabout way, that I could rewrite the manual in about 300 pages down from 3000 pages. The installation instructions took up 10 pages just to tell me that I could either wear it around my neck, keep it in my pocket, or hold it in my hand. I was grumbling to myself, reading the stupid manual. Then, I thought about the Sycic project she was talking about. I grasped the shiny metal ball in my hand. I was thinking about how stupid it sounded. A metal ball being a secret government project where they've only found about two people who could use it. It felt terrible. I was thinking about this Yoriko Noda girl. She obviously resided in Reito, being able to activate the Spindark project. I was still clueless as how to use this shiny metal ball. She could activate the Spindark project without even knowing about it, and I'm still here sitting down with a ridiculous manual trying to do something with the metal ball.

I thought about what was going to happen tomorrow. The ball suddenly glowed for a while. Then it became transparent and emitted a blinding light. I could see what was happening, but when I opened my eyes, I saw what was going to happen tomorrow. I could see myself walking through the front door. I was talking to someone, but the face is blurred. I can see the Spindark project working its magic again, sending darkness through the Reito capital, Gawa. I fell into darkness too. It felt like I was getting weaker and weaker...

Then, I felt something hit me. I woke up. There was a person behind me. "Wake up, it's already morning. Ah, I see you've finally learnt how to use it." I looked at the sphere. It was projecting a small image on the wall of her speaking to me. "Is it supposed to do that?" I asked with a sleep and puzzled face. "The Sulegna project has the Sycic project integrated, but only if the user needs that information to protect him or her self from danger," she replied calmly. "Dr. Cardino, is it supposed to be some sort of danger for you to speak to me?" I asked a little more. She said with a cool, calm voice, "Of course it is. The Reito government has ears everywhere. Of course, the Sulegna project isn't exactly clever enough to differentiate real danger from inherent danger."

I got up from my seat. The transparent sphere turned opaque again. It was shiny and metallic like before. I could see my hair was in a mess from my sleeping position. I didn't fix it and went directly down through the front door. Someone was waiting there to see me. I remember seeing the whole scene. My messed hair, the white coat he was wearing.

"Well, Mr. Nerezza. It's good to see you up this early in the morning."
"Cut the jokes. What did you come here to tell me?"
"Let's play a game of chess while we talk things over."
Then, I remembered that something would happen. I ducked together with the man in white. A few bullets flew overhead.

Chapter 1 : A Game of Chess

2004-10-19T11:15:00.000+08:00

It was a game of Chess.
A nearly perfect art of the game was being played.
The girl tapped the clock. It was Yuriko's turn.

Yuriko sat, looking at the multicolored board. Every square was a different color in the known (and unknown) spectrum of colors.
She observed a thousand steps ahead of her. Observed the silence in the room full of people, sitting in a circular manner, watching her make a move. A single wrong move could be a fatality to the otherwise perfect gameplay.
She moved her knight to D5.
And she tapped the clock. It was Yuriko's turn.

Yuriko sat, looking at the space in front of her. It was fulled with plenty of faceless faces. Unknown people. At least, unknown to her. Her opponent had played a perfect offence, by moving her knight to D5.
Yuriko moved her rook to D13.
It was a perfect defence.
And the girl tapped the clock. It was Yuriko's turn.

Of course, such a perfect game could only be played by the perfect. Such a perfect offence could only be mounted by a perfect player of the game. The game, in which is so artistically perfect, could only be defended by another player who was THIS perfect.

Yuriko looked around her. She knew the game would end in a draw. She was hoping for it.
And besides, playing against yourself is one mighty boring thing to do.
But alas, there was no other player who could go past her 7 steps.
She gave up them game, and left the arena.

***

Slowly, Touch returned to her, and so did Hearing. Taste would be back in a while, and had left a message with Smell. Smell would inform Yuriko of the soon-to-return Taste.

At first she heard mumblings.
"Spin the duck, dude" or something like that. It involved spinning a green-silver duck. Weird.
Then, she started Feeling.
Her skin felt cold (she was still in underwear). A metallic cold. And so were her wrists.
She still could not see. But she is now awakened, still in the Huge Blackout caused by the Floating of The Planet as A Ballon, she supposed.
But she could feel the roughness across her chest. And she heard noise. As though as she was on the road. But it could not be. Maybe she was just in bed?
Then Touch resumed his function in her body. She felt the blindfold being tightly tied across her eyes.
Then Realisation took a metal staff and struck her hard.
She was being kidnapped (?)
But she was feeling a sort of Apathy. Felt like she did not even care about her kidnaping. She tried to scream, but Voice failed her.
Internally, she cursed.

***

"You know, Spindark is awaiting. 't'll be a great day, when one day, the ultimate she-weapon gets released." A man said
"Yeah, and you are nothing but a puny minion" Another voice.
"So? At least I am in the know even a little bit of Spindark. I know, and you don't." said the first voice
"But I do the balancing of the budget, see!" the Second Voice said.
In the shadows, a man, in poise of a balancing person, both hands stuck out perpendicularly to the body, stood up. There was something on his head. It looked like a pile of Money being gingerly balanced on his head....