Dawnstar - Mirror World 2

The wind was peaceful and slightly chilly, being offset by the golden sunlight that shone from above. The trees moved softly with the air, nothing else but the sound of the wind in the air. No birds, insects, voices of people. It was void of life except for the trees.

Haley didn't want to go into the forest no matter what. She stood at the edge, staring at the path where it led in, disappearing into the foilage. She gave a soft huff of frustration, folding her arms and turning around, walking back to where Dawnstar had been sitting in the meadow.

The omnious hull of their 4000 foot long vessel was hardly hidden from view in any way shape or form. From her vantage point a low curved hill concealed most of the bottom portion, but otherwise most of the top flat surface protuded, looking like a colossal slanted command building that one would find at a military base.

Buster had apparently followed her quite aways, but didn't venture too near the forest and stayed roughly forty or so feet behind her. His body was motionless, his head turning to examine his surroundings, only moving if she started to move a significant distance away from him. An omnious M-8995G 24mm vulcan cannon was underslung on his right arm, an ammo belt linking the feed port to a large ammo drum on his back. Two additional lithium batteries were plastered on his back on each side of the drum for extended range, and a small high-gain transmitter antenna protruded sixteen inches, stuck to his right shoulder.

Haley smiled a little. Had he followed her out of obligation or curiosity? Probably the former, his primary objective was to protect them, no matter what the cost. He was a combat droid. Buster seemed to just be observing her in case she ran into trouble. She hadn't asked for company of any sort, but Raju had warned her about wandering alone...

She sauntered towards Buster, giving him a nudge on his arm as he went by. "Come on, big guy, let's go somewhere else. I don't see anything useful there."

Buster seemed to stare where she was looking into the forest, his head turning to follow Haley. His joint locks released as he started to lumber behind her, the ground slightly shaking from his 1900 pound 8 foot high form.

She caught sight of Sophia, sitting on a rock that was facing a roughly hewed obelisk they had found before Tamilia was discovered. She had changed out her clothes to a long brown full skirt and a white blouse, a large forest green jacket that reached her knees and had slits up to the sleeves on each sides. A journal was in her hand as she seemed to try to copy the symbols that were engraved on the sides.

That didn't seem to hold Haley's interest either. Sophia seemed to glance at their direction briefly and waved, but continued what she was doing. Haley blew a strand of hair out of her face placed by the wind and reached the top of the hill, glancing to the small base camp created at the foot of the ramp that led into the cargo hold.

About two dozen crates of various sizes were scattered near the foot of the ramp. Novia had one open and seemed to be rearranging its contents. Yorina was busy snapping pictures of any plant she found. Raju had the Barracuda out, appearing to do fine tuning to the large six-wheeled vehicle for an excursion. Shinako was crouched on the top, apparently fiddling with the back end of the 75mm cannon fitted on top.

That seemed somewhat exciting. She doubted that he'd let her drive, but getting to tag along for a drive was usually a treat. The large 24 foot long vehicle was about as wide as a public road in a rural area and barely fit between the lanes on a large six-laned expressway. Soft but angular curves gave it the classic appearance of Earth origins, a dull white paint scheme accented with black and a reddish violet. Haley had floored it to 110 one time back in Cincinnati, and knew it could probably do a bit more.

There was a small 'oof' as Haley snapped around, sighing in relief. Startled was an understatement. It was only Amiria, who had clambered up to where she and Buster had been standing like any 8-year old child would have, huffing and puffing for breath.

"Why'd you have to come all the way up hereee?" She whined, bending forward and placing her palms on her knees. She was dressed similarly to Yorina, except her gown reached halfway up her calves and had a pair of leggings beneath. Her hair was straight but sort of a sandy blonde, and currently was in disarray.

"You didn't have to come all the way up here." Haley answered, stepping over and softly patting her back. She could understand the girl's loyalty; Amira's parents and over 180,000 people lost their lives from the attack on Nost Vostras. As Navigator society provided no individual rights for their young and no adults had stepped forward to take care of her, she had been tagging along with them on their adventures. She was a bit of a genius when it came to technology, at least the hardware aspect.

There was a soft hum as a gray object floated up to them, the size and shape of a medium-sized book, a blue round sensor on the front and a small antenna sticking up the back. It said nothing, following Amiria closely.

Amiria's breaths seemed to return to normal as she sidled closer to Haley for a moment, looking over the scenery with her. "Why's that new girl always by herself?"

"She is? Not again..." Haley sighed in frustration. Tamilia's urge to be alone was risky and had scared them a couple times. She had just wandered off and usually was found underneath the lone tree about a hundred yards from the base camp or walking in no particular direction.

"Don't worry, Iziel, you can rest your power cells so you don't drain them. Let me carry you for awhile."

Amiria cupped her arms, letting the object float to a rest into her grasp. She hugged it snugly, patting the top briefly with a small smile.

"Did you know where she wandered off to?" Haley stared to glance at the tree in the distance, trying to discern if she was there. It was a bit far, but she was certain nobody was there.

"She started walking to where Sophia was, then I think she started to walk elsewhere." Amiria shrugged. "I didn't want to follow her-"

"No, you did the right thing not going after her." Haley touched Amiria's shoulder in praise. She glanced up at Buster, who had seemed to be one step ahead of him. There were whirs as his sensors and scanners focued into the distance, looking for signs of the apparent missing girl.

"Target acquired." Buster droned. His head locked, signifying where he had apparently seen Tamilia. "Distance two hundred yards."

"Let's go get her...come on, missy." Haley clucked her tongue and crouched. Amiria let go of Iziel as she scrambled onto Haley's back, who scooped her legs up and stood.

The four descended the hill and started to trek across the meadow. Haley wasn't really worried that they'd run into trouble. Buster was with them, and if worse came to worse, she had a pistol. Amiria would probably be a liability, but she knew "stay" better than any human child her age would.

Buster's servos whirred with each step, Amiria's soft breaths in Haley's ear. She was disturbed as to how there were no other life forms other than the vegetation; how did the grass stay so short? How come the trees were able to pollinate? She shuddered slightly, which made Amiria tighten her grip.

"Is something wrong?" Amiria asked, slightly worried.

"No, just some self-thought, nothing to get worked up about." Haley readjusted her grip, pasting a smile on her face.

Amiria frowned, looking around to see why Haley might have reacted the way she did. Her expression changed to puzzlement, clearly confused at Haley's answer and what was around them. It didn't make any sense to her.

Tamilia's form was clearly visible at their vantage point. She was standing all forlorn, hugging herself and her head bent down. The wind blew from behind, playing with her skirts and blowing her hair in her face. She didn't seem to care, her dark green eyes staring at the ground.

She perked up as they approached, whirling around in surprise, clearly not expecting him. A short gasp escaped her lips as she nearly stumbled backwards, clearly frightened for a few seconds.

Haley was about ready to give it to her. "Where have you been this time? We told you not to wander off like that without telling us..."

Amiria peeked her head out from behind Haley's own, brow flattened in a disapproving manner. Tamilia's pose relaxed as she hung her head, eyes twitching fearfully at Buster.

"I just want to be by myself...please." Tamilia pleaded quietly. "You can't help me with what I'm going through. Go away..." She started to turn and walk away.

Haley let Amiria slide to the ground as she approached Tamilia and took hold of her arm. She yelped in alarm, turning around with a betrayed look on her face, eyes moist.

"You can be alone if you want, but not this far!" Haley scolded. "We can't help you if something happened to you."

"Nothing's here!" Tamilia snapped, tears starting to roll down her eyes. "Leave me alone!" She yanked herself out of Haley's grasp and bolted towards the treeline, picking up her skirts.

"Oh crap...don't tell me she's-" Haley broke into a run after her. Amiria climbed up onto Buster's left arm and took hold of the edge of the armor plating as he tromped after Haley, Iziel zooming behind them.

Tamilia was quick for somebody wearing bulky clothing, and had a head start over Haley. It was clear; she was going to reach the woods before Haley could even get to her. All she could do was watch Tamilia disappear between the trees as Haley skidded to a halt a few seconds later just at the edge of the woods, hearing Tamilia crashing through the foilage in the distance.

Amiria was two steps ahead of Haley. "I told everyone. They're on their way."

She had to give credit to the Tamilia to know that she wouldn't follow her into the woods, and to Amiria to know that she'd be too busy running to call Raju and the others. Haley clapped Amiria on her arm in appreciation. "Good job, kiddo." Her lips stretched in appreciation, hand sliding away and giving Buster the same treatment.

"Target lost. Unable to track from this vantage point." Buster looked at Haley, head slightly drooped. A low drone in a descending pitch followed, souding like disappointment.

"That's better than any of us could have done." Haley said reassuringly. Her heartrate didn't seem to go down even though she had stopped moving, fearing for Tamilia's safety.

None of them had been in the woods since they had originally found her. And what had happened afterwards warranted them not going back; apparently some "thing" made out of stone had ran them down; bullets had no effect and it moved too quick to be shot at with lasers or heavy weaponry. It hadn't been seen since, but Raju and his group were smart enough not to tempt fate a second time, especially if it was dangerous.

There was the high-pitched sound of an engine as the Barracuda bounded over the hill, having a brief moment in the air before crashing back onto the ground, the suspension rippling from the impact. It skidded to a stop seven feet away from them, pneumatic brakes snapping as the brake pads were released.

Raju and Shinako were visible through the large windshield. He motioned for them to get in as a hatch popped open on the side. Buster clambered onto the back on a platform specifically designed to carry him, everyone else entering inside.

Haley ducked her head as the door closed behind him, the sound of the motor dulling slightly. Novia was seated in a chair on the center, a gunning scope near her face and its blue glow casting itself onto her face. Yorina was crouched behind Novia holding onto a handle on the roof, and Sophia was up against the wall near the back in a slightly hunched manner, not opting to sit on one of the two bench seats that lined the walls of the cargo section of the vehicle.

"She just bolted?" Shinako asked, Haley poking her body between the two front seats to talk to Raju and her.

Haley just nodded, pointing in the general direction that Tamilia had disappeared into. "Sorry I couldn't stop her...should have just wrestled her back."

"Its' fine...not your fault." Shinako looked at Raju. "What now?"

"Novia, launch an aerial probe. See if you can see where she could have gone and get a terrain layout." Raju ordered.

There was a loud clunk and the hiss of a rocket as a thermos sized canister burst out from the rear portion of the roof, a plume of smoke following it.

"Probe away..."

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

Tamila tore through the underbrush, pushing aside branches and whatever was in front of her. Tears were freely flowing down her face as twigs hit her in the face and pulled her hair. She didn't care. Nothing was right. The strangers she was with didn't understand that she was scared of them and didn't want to be with them. They didn't understand that this world wouldn't hurt them and it was lifeless. Why couldn't they just listen to her?

Tamilia cried out as her foot snagged on a root, sending her sprawling into a open part of the forest, her body landing onto the soft but dry dirt face first. She lay there sprawled, not moving, continuing to cry.

Her memories did not add up. Why did those two not recognize her? Why did she remember them? How could they discount not knowing her after all this time? Who were they?

Her soft sobs filled the forest around her, echoing among the trees. Her fists balled against the ground as she struggled to sit on her side in a defeated pose, head towards the ground, tears dripping from her eyes.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME!?" She screamed. There was nothing in response. Just silence. Her tear glands seemed to dry up as her chest continued to heave sobs.

There was nobody to help her. Nothing to comfort her. Nowhere that seemed familiar. Nothing.
There was soft footsteps approaching as Tamilia's head rose, eyes widening into the distance, attempting to see its source. She shivered in fear, shrinking down slightly, knowing that there was no way to defend herself whatsoever.

A brown cloaked figure emerged from the shadows, pulling their hood off their head. A woman's
head was revealed, her auburn hair in a large bun on the back of her head. She seemed to be in her thirties, her face soft and gentle. The cloak concealed most of her clothing, but a small bit of denim from a slightly bouffant skirt peeked out from between the opening on the front.

"What is wrong with you?" The woman asked, a slight British accent in her voice.

Tamilia whimpered as the woman approached and stood over her, expecting an answer. Her head craned upwards to meet the woman's gazed that was directed downwards.

"My..my...memories. My life. Nothing makes sense." Her eyes fell away. "Its like I had a life that didn't exist, or I'm in a dream."

The woman seemed to ponder this then knelt down next to her, touching Tamila's cheek gently.

"You poor thing...I'm not sure how to really answer that."

"So you can't help me?"

"I can only offer what I know. The rest is up to you."

Tamila gave her a blank stare. The woman sighed and tried to brush the dirt off the front of Tamilia's clothes as she spoke.

"This place...isn't your home. Neither is it my home. But those strangers out there and I share one thing in common; we are travelers. Maybe for different reasons, but we wander the cosmos from world to world."

Tamila pushed the woman's hands away at the mentioning of those words. "How could you know anything about what I'm going through if you're one of them?"

"Them? My dear, there is nothing wrong with such travel." The woman ignored Tamilia and rested a hand on their shoulder. "It is a long story. Something that is not suited for this time and place. But you...I am partially responsible for what happened to you."

"What did you do to me?" Tamilia grabbed the woman by the arms, anger starting to burn in her eyes.

"You suffered a grave accident. It was very traumatic and you lost many parts of your memories." The woman started to pull Tamilia off of her. "Whatever was left was horrible. It'd cripple you to your knees and all you'd know to do is cry and wish for some familiar figure to look up to."

"You saved me?" Tamilia asked, her voice cracking. Something seemed to wash over her. As if she knew what was being talked about.

"Yes, I did. I did my best to help you heal." The woman's eyes blinked a few times. "But you were too scarred. Unable to even recognize me as a good person. So I altered your memories."

"You what?!" Her voice raised. Tamila scrambled back. How could this woman do this to her?

"It was the best I could do." She hung her head. "I was unable to do anything else."

"Then why do I remember those two strangers? Why?!"

"They are good people who will take care of you. You had been asleep for months, as I waited. When they arrived, I made sure they were the ones that were the ones that were supposed to take care of you, then changed imprints in your mind so that you may bond to them. But it looks like that I failed in that regard."

Tamilia felt more lost than ever. Her memories weren't even real. She wanted to cry once more

"Please don't cry. I can only do so much." The woman started to stand.

"Why!?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Why wouldn't I understand!? WHO ARE YOU!?!?" Tamilia about screamed.

"I'm the only one that has been living on this world for over two thousand years. The strangers will understand better who I am." The woman gave a sad smile. "I am sorry to hide like this, but this is the only way to talk to you without causing more damage."

Tamila was scared if anything. The woman wasn't making sense at all. She started to scramble backwards away from the woman, fearful of who she really was.

The woman knew this, her hurt facial expession clearly evident. "I am sorry that you fear me. Many visitors fear me and do not understand me as well. I can only touch their mind and nothing else. I am unable to do anything but make them see in their mind."

Tamilia's brain clicked. Something did make sense. "You're...not real, are you? Is that what you're trying to say?"

The woman smiled. "You figured it out, didn't you?"

Tamilia gave a shaky nod. She was still frightened, and still very leery of the mysterious person. But maybe she wasn't here to hurt her.

"A woman brought you here several months ago. This was her form that you see me as now. She asked me to try to heal you and keep you in slumber until a 'trusted one' that she had known will come for you." She continued.

Tamilia felt abandoned and alone as ever, despite the tale that she had been taken care of. Tears fell from her eyes once more.

"Are you even...a person? You said form..."

"Clever girl. You have gifts just as the woman said. Yes, I am not human. I can only speak to you in your mind. But that is all you will be able to understand." The woman stepped backwards. "Give this to the strangers you are with. And tell the young man that your benafactor was someone he once knew and was the one that left the message for him to come here. That is all...."

The woman disappeared as Tamilia cried out in alarm, attempting to push herself back even further. Something pitched itself out of the woods and landed in front of her. It was flat and black, about the size of her thumbnail. All she wanted now was to be out of these woods. She still didn't want to go to the other people, but they were apparently real and she about didn't care at this point. Tucking the object deep into her apron pocket she started to track her way back where she had come.

It wasn't long before she found the open meadow again. Upon her emergence everyone started to exit the vehicle, rushing towards her.

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

"Tamilia! Are you all right?" Sophia took her by the shoulders. "You've been crying and your face is bruised; and your clothes are dirty. What happened?"

Tamilia didn't answer, eyes looking down at the ground. Everyone seemed to give her a bit of room as Raju came close to her.

"Hey. Are you all right?" He asked gently.

Tamilia threw her arms around Sophia once more, starting to sob into her shoulder. Sophia let out a small "oh" in surprise, cradling the girl.

"Awww...." Haley stroked Tamilia's head. Her annoyance at her had diminished somewhat for the time being.

Sophia planted a soft kiss on Tamilia's forehead. "Will you be okay?"

"I...want to rest." Tamilia stammered shakily. "I need to tell everyone something."

"Let's get her back to the ship." Yorina suggested, knowing that it was more of a command than a suggestion.

Sophia tugged Tamilia out of her arms and held the trembling girl to her side, leading her to the Barracuda. "Okay. We'll let you rest..."

Dawnstar - Mirror World

She was just in her little dream world.

Tamilia could almost imagine it. It'd probably be in a dimly lit part of a thick forest with mostly trees and very little leaves. Dark earth pressed down to be smooth and dry. Just laying curled up in a nook between two roots, sleeping peacefully.

But that apparently wouldn't be the case.

There were voices. Most of them sounded female, and some droned and echoed that it was clear they were unnatural. But they were all asking one thing in general consensus; for her to wake up.
It was hard to ignore them. She was too weak to resist their calling; although Tamilia did note that they didn't sound too menacing or haunting.

So her eyes popped open.

Her vision was flooded with white light, forms looming all around her. As her vision began to clear, she could start to feel her body once again. The scent of grass mixed with something unpleasant and unnatural like tar wafted her nostrils. There were birds singing in the distance, loud metallic humming and groans ever present.

She was surrounded by people. One man that seemed just out of his teenage years, four women, two girls and...two things that defied what she knew that could exist. Something wanted to say familiarity, but fear and uncertainy dismissed the thought.

The people were all on their knees, crowded and bent over her; the things standing behind and watching. They seemed relieved that she awoke, some sighing in relief. An awkward moment of silence seemed to follow as her eyes darted to each of them, looking for some sort of answer.

It was when she was doing this two things jumped out of her. The man looked like someone she had seen somewhere before. And one of the women, too. Bits of her memories came together for one second. Two people she knew traveled together. They visited her. And they resembled the people in front of her. The man was a bit different, but the woman looked almost identical.

"Sophia...?"
=========================================================

Everyone looked at Sophia straightaway.

"She knows your name?" Raju asked, clearly surprised.

Sophia was beyond words. "I...I don't know what this means..." She stammered. "I've never met this girl in my entire life."

The girl seemed to have tears welling up in her eyes as she bolted up straight, grabbing Sophia's shoulders.

"You promised that you'd come back...why didn't you come back?!" She started to sob, her face sinking into Sophia's shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" Sophia didn't move for a moment before one hand glided to comfort the girl by gently stroking her back. Her voice was gentle and soothing, but hinted confusion and surprise.

"Analysis clear. Subject believes you have met in the past." Buster droned. The hulking form of the siege driod remained immobile except the head, which turned towards Sophia. The three red circles on the head focused on the two.

The girl's crying started to quiet as she carefully looked up at Sophia, hurt in her eyes. "You promised...you and him." Her eyes looked to the ground, turning her face out of Sophia's body. "I can't remember everything. But...the two of you...were fighting something. He told me to stay put. You told me you would be back. You never came..."Tears ran down her cheeks again.
"Shush...it's all right." Sophia's strokes moved to the girl's head, her fingers running down the raven black hair.

"No, it's not all right! They're gone and I'm in a place with you and you don't even remember anything!" The girl cried. Her hands balled into fists, grasping at the sleeve's of Sophia's blouse.

"It's not all right. It's...not..." She broke down and started to cry again.

"Why not just leave them for the time being?" Yorina suggested. "I'm getting tired of this. We have things we need to do anyway."

"Really?" Shinako raised an eyebrow. "Got bored that fast?"

Yorina shrugged. "I can have enough drama in a soap opera. I don't need it in real life. Makes you grow old." She got up to her feet and started to saunter off. "I'll be back in the server room fixing things."

"I don't think that's right to call this drama. Well...not stressful unpleasant drama to us, at least." Haley's hand slid to her knees as she scooted over next to Sophia, observing the girl.

Haley had still been adjusting to things since she had been reunited with Raju and Shinako and becoming acquainted with his new companions. Dawnstar's controls hadn't made it that difficult to fly, and she welcomed the challenge. It certainly beat carrying pails of water and other various farm work for three months.

She was slender and somewhat well-endowed, with long light brown hair and hazel eyes. She had a snug black pants with gray boots, a white vest and an orange jacket with black trim.

"It's all right, you don't have to cry." Haley tried to offer her consolation, touching the girl's arm. "What's your name?"

The girl looked at her, truly perplexed. "I'm...Tamilia..."