Losing Mother's Embrace

Four unchosen warriors stood behind the wreckage of city ruins and alleviated Earth. They knew this final journey was impossible, yet they allowed themselves to cast out doubt in order to free the world from Mother’s devastating grip.

“I suppose this is the end of our fight,” a woman spoke looking forward towards the once beautiful city, now a destroyed graveyard for plentiful innocents.

“We just need to get to the center of the city and...” he who spoke heard a slight rattle, “...Novia it’ll be alright.”

Novia’s hands were shaking, making her makeshift axe’s dirty blade rattle.

“No worries Arceus, she is just filled with adrenaline, not fear.”

She takes a deep breath, slowing her shake “do you have it?”

“I do.”

Arceus pulled out a silver heart-shaped locket from under his burlap tunic, the rusted chain staining his neck.

“Do you believe we can make it?” said the silent sheepish boy who hasn’t spoken yet.

Novia sympathized.

“Demeter, hope will carry us through…”

“...this locket will correct everything,” interrupted Arceus, placing the locket back into his shirt.

“Besides, we have my sword as a last resort,” he pointed to his hip.

“5 feet isn’t much when face to face with a Whisper,” murmured Demeter.

“We must move,” spoke Brom efficiently.

The four reluctantly began to move, they all looked at each other with a deepness, as if saying ‘no worries, even in death we will meet.’ Novia passively gripped Arceus’s left shoulder, “we must be careful of the Whispers.” He nodded with a slight reassuring smirk, a faux confidence that urged him to pull out his withering sword from it’s tattered sheath. On this action, Brom pulled up his crudely carved stone club closer to his chest and Demeter pulled from his burlap robe a tiny dagger that looked valuable and out of place.

The four slowly moved into the city, passing several mounds of broken rocks and skeletons; the only beauty being the overgrown scorched vegetation that remained only by sucking the life from the corpses buried beneath. They found themselves on a roadway, damaged from age and past war. “This path… it heads straight to the Foundry,” revealed Demeter. Arceus took a deep breath and began to walk down the road. The four followed, though, a strange noise appeared from behind, a squeal as if a train forced it’s emergency brake. Behind them was an entity, vaguely there, a hologram ghost of destructible data. A Whisper’s screech filled their ears for it found prey, beckoning loudly with bloodlust, for the bad batch that wants to betray Mother needs to be properly punished.

“RUN!” ordered Arceus, so the four’s feet listened.

However, six feet were the swiftest and Brom, with proud Herculean muscles, could not keep up. He stopped to face the ghastly devil.

“Brom!” yelled Demeter.

“Go! You three, don’t be fools. Just go. Time is… just press on!” his deep voice rumbled.

The three acknowledged his bravery, staying their course. However, Demeter could not help but look back from time to time, watching Brom swing his club; it looked as if he was making contact, yet his axe was going through the Whisper’s bodily form. Upon his last look, he only saw a glimpse of a suspended Brom, blood dripping from his lips, with a twinkle in his eye as if free from a nightmare. From this last look, one must pay the price of not paying attention for, unbeknownst to him, the other two unsuspecting heroes had vanished.

“Did I? No… I couldn’t have turned the wrong way, could I?”

Demeter stood with his dagger shaking in his hand. A strange fog began to creep around him, sparkling lightly as it coasted across the broken pavement. Demeter’s fear started to dissuade his mind from positivity’s trust.

“NOVIA!”

He spun frantically.

“ARCEUS!!”

His world was spinning.

“NOVIA!!! ARCEUS!!!”

His vision began to tunnel. He reassured himself, “The only path was forward, so forward I must go.” There was a crack of a twig behind him. He saw a silhouette coming near. They’ve found me. As the silhouette grew closer, he saw that this ‘they’ was not a friend. A Reaper was approaching him with a battleaxe lane on the ground, carving a line behind it; a mechanoid beast, it’s exposed gears on its chest turning as the killer robot inched slowly closer. He took a deep breath and gripped his dagger, he plunged for the beast. As he plunged he felt a sharp pain in his chest, he began to become alleviated; I am now Brom. He looked down to see the sharp hands of a Whisper’s claws gripping his still beating heart, his eyes faded to black as he watched his blood form a puddle beneath him.

...VIA. “There was a shout,” Novia said, looking towards the direction behind them noticing an absence in their sprinting trio, “Where’s Demeter?” ...CEUS. Arceus looked back, slowing his speed, sighing he made eye contact with Novia; his eyes said nothing can be done now. Novia began to tear up, but she knew she must be brave and remain on the course. They finally reached the entrance door of the Foundry, an old building where the doors were covered in moss, yet was made of a rare material, glass. The pair stopped and caught their breath.

“This is it,” Novia sheepishly smiled.

“It is… it will finally be over…” Arceus breathed.

Novia looked at him and put her hands on his shoulder, “hope.”

“Hope.”

They collected their consciousness, pushing aside all emotions and casting only logic in their brains.

“Let’s go,” Arceus led.

The doors struggled to open automatically, they were moving too slow, so Arceus placed his malnourished hands on the middle opening of the double doorway and used what strength he had to assist the doors open. They both walk inside. The lights of the building flicker on to reveal stairs at the back of the room that lead to their dreadful destination.

“This is where it all happened, where she is,” Novia spoke to the air.

Their brief break was interrupted by a familiar screech. Without hesitation, they quickly ran to the stairs. The Whisper moved swiftly upon them, they could see it’s artificial teal jumping in and out of walls, screeching as it drew close. They kept running down and down, in a spiral, counting 5, 7, 9 security lights; there were more lights for sure. The Whisper grew near, Novia sprinting faster than she ever had, Arceus close behind, the Whisper closing in, until it lept from out the wall manifesting a more physical form for it’s teal became more vibrant and grabbed Arceus. Novia looked back and by reflexed screamed, “NOOOOO!”

The Whisper held Arceus by his neck, it’s humanoid vibrating face peering into his eyes. Without hesitation, as the Whisper readied it’s attack, Arceus broke the chain of the heart-shaped locket around his neck and threw it to Novia, “get through the door.” She caught it and began running. Arceus’s torso was pierced by the Whisper’s bladed hand. Arceus fell, but mustered strength to draw his sword turning the hilt upwards; the Whisper oddly appeared to be shocked as he rose. He lifted an opening from the hilt that hid a small button.

“This sword… is an EMP detonator you teal bitch…” he pressed it and an electrical field disrupted the physical form of the Whisper causing it to dissipate. He smiled as his body exploded from the bomb inside him, we are free from this nightmare.

Novia made it to the bottom of the staircase, her eyes filled with tears even though her face casted a severe seriousness. When she reached the door, it opened like magic.

“Come, my child,” a motherly voice spoke to her.

Novia entered to reveal a cylinder room where the walls were chrome and modern. In the center of the room stood a computer pedestal that shone an indigo hologram above it that resembled a human brain, the image shook every time it spoke.

“The Whispers speak so silently to me. My child, they are good children, better than organics.” Mother’s synthetic voice grew more sinister, “Organics never listen, they can’t be controlled, they must learn, you know what I speak?! Disgusting creatures!!”

Mother’s temperament settled.

“Nevermind that though, forget philosophy. I saw that you were running, urgently. Why have you come to see your Mother?”

Knowing she needed to be resourceful Novia brightly spoke, inching closer to the main console, “I apologize for my intrusion Mother. We were only coming to give you an offering. That is all.”

“An offering?” Mother’s voice trembled with anger, “If one has benevolence at heart, child, then why come with aggression? Humans. Predictable. I’ve seen that locket, I know what it is, give it to me! I am all knowing! I am the God that can create a better world, a superior world! A place where the imperfections of organics can be purified! Now, child, assist your Mother and drop the locket and leave! You will be the last to receive purification.”

Mothers voice grew rather kind, “I promise, my child.”

Novia looked down to her hands and opened the locket, inside was a sliding switch. She pressed her thumb against it and slid it open to reveal a USB. She began sprinting to the computer console connected to Mother’s pedestal. A memory revealed itself to her, it was of the four of them sitting around a campfire with Arceus standing, giving his final triumphant speech.

“This locket is shaped like a heart, the heart symbolizes hope. The thing that makes us different from Whispers, the heart, something a synthetic doesn’t have…”

Novia ran as Mother screamed, revealing laser turrets from the walls. Novia’s hand that held the locket was blasted off bouncing on the floor, closer to the console. She fell to the ground.

“... the only thing that makes an organic life exist is the beating of the heart, let it be our final wardrum, the music of hope....”

Novia began to crawl towards her severed hand, her blood staining the floor behind her, she reached for it and grabbed the heart-shaped locket from it’s dead grip.

“...The data in this locket was created many years ago. I don’t understand what’s inside, but…”

She crawled more with purpose, inching closer to the console, gripping the locket tightly in her left hand. In her peripheral vision she saw a deadly red beam coming towards her and, by reflex, she threw the locket towards the console as her other arm exploded from her body. The locket was close, but not close enough.

“...I know it was designed to delete Mother. It’s content is far beyond our knowledge, but we must still fight. We are the last stand for all life, not just for humans…”

Novia cried in pain, hearing the sinister laughing of Mother, her vision was slowing and a blackness embraced it’s rim. Novia used her legs to push her body forward. A laser blasted her right leg off, she kicked with her left leg, using the explosion's impact to project her dismembered body forward. She reached the locket, organizing it’s placement in her mouth.

“...The old language called what’s inside this locket a virus…”

She rolled her way to the edge of the console. She lifted her weight upwards, using her leaning torso to keep steady.

“...but we will call it our hope.”

She pushed her head towards the USB slot, aligning it, with a bit of destiny and luck, into the USB slot. The program instantly disarmed Mother’s weapons. Mother’s synthetic scream vibrated the room, abruptly fading as the hologram brain disappeared.

Novia laid down with her back against the console’s walls. She smiled as the room turned black. The nightmare is over.