Katana Rift

Katana Rift didn't really have faith, she more or less willed her way through life and its challenges to find victory. The man she had been looking for however was exactly the opposite. He let everything come to him without much resistance, and it was his faith that allowed him to conquer life's obstacles. He was rumored to have gone to North City where Katana was searching. It had been months since she last saw him.

It wasn't that she hated the presentation of a challenge, but ever since she was a little girl, the trauma of losing her parents and watching Civilization crumble before her innocent eyes forged her into what she is today: A Killing Machine.

She didn't enjoy killing, she simply found it to be the easiest way to dispense of human opposition, directly so to speak. One might ask; did she believe in any spiritual consequences of her life style choices? While she didn't necessarily think of decapitating and dismembering as good spiritual karma, lets just say she has been working on exercising alternative methods for problem solving.

Trillions Unfounded on the other hand did everything in his power to not take a life. Again; polar opposites.

She carried a sword, he used a gun, she believed in finality while Trillions more than believed in a God in the sky that could change anything in a heartbeat. That broken little girl inside of her will always romanticize about such an idea, but the woman she is today does a very good job at hiding such ideals. Katana at the very least does carry compassion though. She was quite human in a very real sense and would not relinquish her memories of old Earth and its ways of living.

In the present world she was finding that humanity was quite cold, artificial, and addicted to experiences rather than appreciating the journey to rewarding ones. She could easily see that human beings in North City were addicted to instant pleasure. Everything was instantaneous. Whether it be in the flesh or in a illusionary world the mind became immersed within.

North City's wealth was embodied in the glow of the geo-dome, with buildings and towers that were hundreds of stories tall. The streets held a neon green glow at night and appeared to move like liquid. In contrast during the day they were as hard Emerald.

Robotic Drones flew day and night projecting advertisements that appeared as real as flesh. The City boasted the rich that were ever connected to Cloud 9 Virtual Reality. The days of bulky virtual reality technology were long gone, the people of Mars were equipped with Sky 9's Brainstem Emulation Artificial Simulation Token or B.E.A.S.T for short.

B.E.A.S.T was developed to be implanted in the back of the brain stem with minor invasive surgery. It allowed for people who were equipped with a microchip, to be permanently engaged and bio-linked with a mega computer and servers. Ultimately, one Giant computer was introduced to Humanity called 'The Father' which is back on Earth, and on Mars the Mega-Computer is called 'The Son.'

Katana Rift did not bear this mark nor did she want to. She vehemently opposed such a thing for many reasons.

She moved at this very moment with the backdrop of night and its infinite stars like glittered dust above the city and her. The city itself was like one giant computer motherboard, surging with light and power. The people all around her were "plugged in" and stood still in place, swiping with their hands, mouths agape, and when they did move they moved slowly without direction or any physical sign of purpose.

If a person could experience it in real life, they could surely do it in the virtual realm that was like a giant web of human experience. The experience was digital and not tangible; this was Cloud 9. Nothing was off limits in Cloud 9, any type of game, hobby, sport, or life-style was obtainable, from pleasure to sin, and often times there is no distinction between the two when it comes to the individual carrying out the act.

Neon-Juice was a green glowing pouch of nutrients that was essentially required to survive. No one cooked anymore because everyone smelled and tasted their meals in the virtual realm. The neurocybernetic development of the B.E.A.S.T system was so advanced and sophisticated that it was able to interact with the 5 senses. Of course eating was a bit of an illusion, though there was taste for the mind in the virtual realm, the physical body obviously needed real sustenance.

Countless human beings perished by lacking the sense or discipline to un-plug and step away to eat and provide self care. This resulted in more regulations with the Coalition monitoring use, and requiring sign off time to consume Neon-Juice.

Neon-Juice glowed in the dark, was distributed in clear pouches and resembled green ooze. Nobody questioned what was in it, and people stuck a tube in their mouth and sucked away like new-born babies. Like most things, it was provided by the Coalition, which is essentially the grand authority and military arm of the One World Leader called the Ascended God.

To Question the Coalition meant questioning the Ascended God. To question the Ascended God meant death, to put it simply. Anyone who questioned authority and opposed the B.E.A.S.T implant was labeled a dissident.

Katana was certainly a dissident and a prolific one at that. Largely in part due to her penchant for leaving headless Coalition militants slumped over or lying on the ground, lacking their heads attached to their bodies. She also enjoyed stealing their military vehicles and driving them until she ran out of fuel. She liked the thrill of driving fast.

She came to North Capital for two reasons though, and neither one of them involved beheading anyone or stealing a military vehicle for thrills. She needed to find her good friend Trillions Unfounded, a dissident like herself and probably the most famous dissident in all of Haven's Valley. The second reason was to also locate a young girl who was manipulated into joining the Intrigue Ministries.

The Intrigue Ministries was a massive church dedicated to the Ascended God and headed by a gentleman who goes by the name; Intrigue.

Katana's biggest motivation was to locate young Ella, she promised Ella's mother who resided in the town of Cross in Heaven's Valley, that she would return safely with her.

It was a task she did not like undertaking for a few reasons. One of which being it is quite easy to be caught and exterminated in North City. Though she excelled at stealth, she was all out of Dummies.

Dummies was a term used to describe fake B.E.A.S.T chips, they were developed by a brilliant scientist in Crater Town, far south of the city in Heavens Valley.

There was a bit of a resistance established against the Coalition that has basically been done away with, but the use of such fake implants was detrimental.

They tricked Drone Sensors into green-lighting dissidents. It was the benefit of having the B.E.A.S.T implant without actually having one. The benefit being the ability to register as Cloud 9 linked, or marked, without actually using Cloud 9. Being marked meant you weren't drawing any attention to yourself so to speak, or to put it simply, a person who was marked was following the law.

If some one was in Mars North Capital City without a brain stem implant, they would be sentenced to death, as it was unlawful to step into the city without one. The poor towns in Heaven's Valley and all of its people were not allowed to have them.

Katana was sticking to the lower streets and actually snuck in through the sophisticated sewer system below. the lower portion of the city was full of what she called; the Bottom Feeders. They were people by the droves that were seeking one thing; the pleasure of the virtual realm. Rarely was anyone motivated to find any dissidents in lower city, so she felt this was safer.

Katana wore a simple gray cloak that was thick, worn and beaten. It covered her slender yet muscular frame and gave her concealment. Within her cloak she tucked away her prized possession; a Katana blade that was her trademark as a dissident. She had certainly left her signature with it in various places over the last year.

While moving through lower city she made it to the vendor sector where people were selling Neon-Juice, Cloud 9 coins, clothes, tattoos, and cigarettes', amongst other things and services. It began to rain a little as the rain drops appeared to dissolve upon the Neon green streets.

Katana started to move more quickly which was her anxiety surfacing. She did her best to keep herself calm and cool, but it was hard knowing she could be caught at any moment, either by Drone or Coalition elite guard.

As she moved with ever increasing discomfort, a hand snatched her leg from below. This startled her immediately as her hands gripped her blade hilt within her cloak. She looked down to find a half-naked pale-skinned man whos eyes were sunken into his head. He had on skin tight black leather pants, was bald and was picking at the back of his skull, he wore no shoes. He looked almost like a ghoul, a living dead man whos bones were nearly protruding out of his body.

He was on his knees, his other hand still managing to grip her right ankle. "Spare me some Neon-Juice!" The man's head twitched a little bit as he chocked the words out of his throat. He struggled to look up at her, he lowered his face back to the Neon Street and began to lick it profusely. The streets appeared as if they glowed with ooze within, teasing the man. After he did this he looked right into her eyes, struggling to lift his head again.

Katana couldn't believe what she was seeing, she allowed for the distractions of the vendors to lower her guard so the man took her by surprise. She had only been to Mars North City twice, this being the third time, and had never seen such a site. The humanity in the man was dissipated, she felt powerless to do anything for him. He eventually let go of her ankle and he began to scratch at the Emerald like street that glowed beneath them. He continued to lick and gnaw at it desperately.

Katana was startled by the site but knew she had to keep moving. As she proceeded to walk, she looked around pulling her hood back a little to clear up her peripheral vision. She could now see street vendors eyeing her suspiciously.

One woman was large, maybe three hundred pounds, dark skinned and sucked on a pouch of Neon-Juice right by her vendor stall. She stared at Katana without hesitation. Her stall revealed she was a street surgeon and provided breast implants for men and women alike. The woman wore a white apron covered with blood stains, various instruments and tools also surrounded her. As Katana kept moving, she noticed another stall twenty feet down from that one, with a tall man who had various cages stacked up one upon the other. His sign read 'Orphans for sale'.

Katana was angry and disturbed but needed to get ahold of her emotions. This section of lower city buzzed with eyes and antics, and what she referred to as 'Halfers'. People who spent half their time in Cloud 9 and half of it out, still seeking to satisfy pleasures of the flesh. They were not fully addicted to the virtual world like many others.

She was in the midst of thousands of people, and her top priority was to find Ella. The young girl she came here to locate and rescue. She didn't consider that Ella might be getting trafficked, but she felt that if she left her home with a Ministry member, then she had to be at the Mega-Church. So she didn't allow for this particular vendor to slow her down or distract her.

She knew she had to sneak into the Church District, which conveniently was not far from lower city. She heard rumors of Intrigue Ministries manipulating people in Heaven's Valley, tricking them into believing they will go to a higher Heaven, with the permission of the Ascended God.

The people of Heaven's Valley were being groomed by the Intrigue Ministries at all times, as the Ministry works intricately with the Coalition and almost seems to have a superiority to it. Intrigue appeared to be the right hand of the Ascended God. And the commoners of Heaven's Valley all believe that they were raptured from Earth, not even aware of where they truly were. With their poor antique towns surrounded by the vast and red rolling sand dunes of Mars. As they awoke in this strange place a few years ago, being told they were in the lowest form of Heaven and that they needed to earn their way into the higher levels. The people of North City believe they are in the Mecca of Heaven, or its final destination.

A very interesting time to be alive no doubt, two different extremes between North City and Heaven's Valley as the people in Heaven's Valley must work everyday for food and water. Technology and Antiquities of Old Earth both existing in this place with two groups of humanity separated in each. The entire charade was perpetrated by a fake rapture, carried out upon the Earth by advanced technology of a very secretive power structure.

The Intrigue Ministry seems to have a unique interest in the people of Heaven's Valley, and its churches seem to promise passage to North City or Mecca if they work hard enough in their spiritual worship of the Ascended God.

Trillions always warned her that there was more to their world than meets the eye and to not underestimate Intrigue or the Ascended God. Trillions had a very logical conclusion for the horrific wonders Intrigue and the Ascended God were capable of; he deemed them to be Devils.

Katana wasn't sure what she believed to be true, or what she would encounter at the Mega Church. The rain was falling very heavy now and she was approaching the Church district, arriving at its open gates. There was two Coalition guards posted outside of the large gate. They were clad in black and green Bullet proof Carbon armor, from head to toe. Their rifles were in hand and they stopped Katana. She was prepared for this.

"Miss Rift" One of the guards spoke ominously through the rainfall. "Mevigan of Intrigue Ministries is awaiting your arrival inside the church." The guard's face was hidden by his large helmet with a metallic face shield. They were intimidating to say the least, but they did not bother her, they only waved her forward.

Katana was expecting to have make up a lie about how her B.E.A.S.T chip was stolen and beg to be shown the mercy of the church, to which she desired membership. This scenario was unforeseen and more frightening.

The guards let her be, they did not search her which she knew was odd. She walked through the marvelous courtyard of stone structures, ranging from pyramids and spheres, to Angels and Demons dancing about.

The church was gigantic, it bore double doors that were over twenty feet in height, made of silver, and bore ancient engravings. The Courtyard was lifeless, she was the only one present as she walked up the steps leading to the large doors.

Katana pushed them inward and inside she could hear an organ playing, it was dark and candles were lit everywhere, the flames gave off a green hue. They were on the walls, pillars, and on large standing Candelabras.

This is not at all what she was expecting, she was hoping to be escorted in. The church did not like to mix its dealings with the Coalition very much and had its own authority, a sort of separation of Church and State if you will.

Katana stepped upon the rug with her boots and it felt soggy and damp. This was strange because it was surely dry in here, no rain could get in. The rug was plush and thick, red and deep. Sniff Sniff. She sniffed the air.

"Blood" she whispered to herself, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she looked down at the carpeted stone floor and pattered her feet a little on the moist and soggy carpet some more. She was going to be sick she felt.

The church was all open concept. From its incredibly high ceiling hung chandeliers with candles. She was disgusted but not surprised, she heard rumors of the Ministry's practices, from human sacrifice to cannibalism. She then began to notice that there were no pews, no where for anyone to sit, pillars lined the open church that stretched onward hundreds of feet. Up ahead she could see a giant black cross on the far back wall, faintly lit by candles of red. It was upside-down. She then began to notice people.

They were all on the ground and wore black robes, they were not lifeless, but were behaving strangely, kicking their feet and waving their arms and hands, their heads shaking back and forth. All of them began to mumble, it was incoherent.

"What in the fuck is going on here?" Katana mumbled slowly. She gripped her blade within her cloak, her arms and hands hidden, her hood dropped revealing her striking blue eyes and messy brown hair that fell past her shoulders. Her face was cut like a beautiful Diamond, unscathed through all her troubles.

"Kathryn Rift." A calm, chilling, yet charismatic voice that was crisp with ease reached out to her from the shadows ahead. It was clearly a man speaking to her.

"Welcome to the Intrigue Ministries Capital Church, I hope you were not planning on meeting Intrigue here today, he is not available unfortunately."

Katana stopped and kept her hands firm upon her blade within her cloak, it still covered her entire body.

"Stories of you are quite impressive, it would seem you have gained some fame in your ventures through Heaven's Valley Kathryn." The tone of the mysterious man carried amusement.

"How do you know my name?" Katana looked around still taking in all of the people now who were behaving so oddly, all on their backs, crying and calling out in gibberish.

"Would you believe that these people before you are not plugged into the virtual realm, no, no Kathryn. They are having a very human experience." The voice now sounded closer, the mysterious man chuckled a little.

"That is what the human experience is all about isn't it? Spirituality, Kathryn. I think you should join them."

Kathryn took a couple steps forward, fear and adrenaline were coursing through her veins now. "Who are you?" She asked with a trembling in her voice. "How did you know I was coming here?"

"Oh Kathryn, the darkness reveals all things to me, it has given me a seat upon human flesh to witness the destruction of humanity. That is after all, what the end goal is Kathryn." The man cackled madly as he stepped out in front of her from behind one of the large stone pillars.

The man was intimidatingly tall, he walked toward her briskly and was clad in black armor, similar to what the Coalition wore, providing a great level of invulnerability. Upon his shoulders were large pauldrons, but draped over them was a eccentric purple robe with glowing esoteric symbols.

The man held youth upon his face, he was devilishly handsome, his eyes were black as the Abyss, they swirled upon his smooth and chiseled profile, his hair was short and black.

"I am Mevigan, Bishop to Intrigue, and minister of the Abyss here to the people who need life. As you can see many are enjoying such benefits currently."

All around them people began to scream horrifically now in unison. The men and women that were rolling around on the ground began to claw at their faces, tearing out their eyes, clawing away at their stomachs, rolling around madly while some were even laughing with insanity.

"They have been given the claws of life Kathryn."

Katana wasted no time in drawing her blade in a flash, her sword was glowing with an intense white light now and this made Mevigan smile excitedly.

"Ah yes the sword of the Angels, dropped to you from the true Heavens, but can you truly wield it?" Mevigan walked a couple steps closer to her.

"Where is she!?" Katana asked with vigor. Her robe was open revealing that she wore no protective gear or armor. Just a carbon belt draped over her thin waist and muscular hips. Her shirt and pants were tattered and worn.

"You are looking for Ella?" Mevigan smiled. "Ella come here, darling."

A little girl walked out from the shadows and joined Intrigue at his side.

"Ella!" Kathryn yelled, "Your mother sent me here to take you home, you have to come with me!" Katana yelled desperately.

Ella was clad in a black robe, her eyes were also black, something that was very off putting to Katana, she was not feeling very hopeful in the moment now.

"Go on Kathryn, use your sword, swing it at me and free Ella of my influences." Mevigan's voice was smooth and influencing. It almost cast a spell upon Katana, and she began to feel light headed.

She didn't know what to do and felt powerless here. She knew she put herself in an impossible position now, she was furious with herself.

"I, I surrender, just let her go and you can have me." Kathryn threw her sword to the ground before Mevigan's feet.

"Well that was not what I was hoping for, this little encounter had me excited, and yet what a disappointment."

"I am at your mercy, exchange me for her, release her and take me!" Katana yelled.

The people all around them were still screaming and tearing into themselves.

It was at that moment a single gunshot rang out, perfect and powerful within the Mega-Church.

Another white glow similar to Katana's sword, which was no longer glowing now, was evident from the side. A figure on the ground covered in a dark robe, similar to all of the people who were going mad on the floor, stood up with a bright glow in his hands.

Mevigan yelled in rage as he touched his face, he was bleeding from his cheek.

Mevigan's eyes were no longer black and betrayed his Demonic form now. Ella fainted and Katana reacted swiftly.

Katana knew who it was, and she never felt so happy in her life.

Katana scooped up Ella as Mevigan screamed in rage.

"Quick, there is an underground tunnel that leads out of the city from here, follow me! C'mon!" A Heroic voice who fired the single bullet called out as the figure began to run toward the back of the church.

Mevigan began to speak in an odd incantation, regaining his focus, he spoke Abyssal and his eyes began to shift back into deep nothingness.

By now Katana had already grabbed her sword and had Ella in her arms. She ran after the man she knew, the man she was desperately hoping she would have found before even being in this predicament. The man she thanked a God she wasn't even sure existed for.

Katana followed Trillions Unfounded, the man who saw himself through trillions of perils and would see himself through Trillions more. Katana was no longer alone and it was time to get Ella home.