Disclaimer: I do not own Galerians, only a copy I bought at
Babbages. Galerians is owned by Ascii, Crave Entertainment, and Polygon Magic.
(I think that's all of them...) I do not own any of the characters from the
game, although I do claim ownership of my own characters, as well as any
personality and/or appearance changes I have given the (very few) surviving
game characters. I am not responsible for any Shorting deaths induced by this
fanfic. Enjoy ^_^
GALERIANS
A F T E R M A T H
Chapter 2: The Mundane
Nighttime was falling over the city of Michelangelo. After carrying Lilia
several blocks, the young man finally reached an inn, the Babylon Hotel. There
were rumors still spreading about the city of the terrible happenings of three
years ago, of everyone within dying a gruesome and ironic death.
The young man entered, its waiting room empty except for those of the servants
working at the front desk. Carefully setting down Lilia on a nearby sofa, he
walked to the desk and reserved a room, with little delay as only five were
taken, the city still wary of the hotel's reputation.
Much had changed in the Babylon Hotel; gone were the primitive, steam-powered
heaters and electrical lights- all of this inn was now running under nuclear
power. Lilia was still sound asleep as the young man carried her up to Room
204, the one best known for its junkie drug dealer, who perished as well three
years before.
He laid her down in the bed, still snugly wrapped in the cloak. Carefully, he
put her arms through its sleeves, so she was at least somewhat clothed.
He didn't dare try to garb her any further; if she'd awoke at any time he'd
have quite a bit of explaining to do, and she'd probably still run off, after
giving him a standard slap in the face. He did however have the decency to
remove the remainder of her Nalcon cord, giving it a slight tug, as it popped
out with no resistance.
Lastly he covered her warmly with the blankets of their bed. He looked down to
her, stroking her cold cheek. She gave no response, as she was in a deep sleep,
recuperating still, unbeknownst of her rescuer's adventure earlier that
evening.
Looking across the room, he saw a rocking chair in the corner, on which he
found a place of rest himself, after a long day of journey and battle. He'd at
least planned for such times, by packing some standard clothing in the inside
pockets of the robe, before he even came to her rescue. It seemed as though the
young man knew everything he was doing, leaving little to improvise.
Eyes still shrouded by his goggles, he flipped the switch on its side to
another position, a normal vision setting. The heat-vision display before him
pixelated out, blurring as would a media censor from days long past, before
fading out and displaying the true world before him.
His goggles lost their luminescence in effect, his eyes barely visible behind
dark lenses. He sat and waited for her to awaken. He knew she would probably be
quite shocked to find out what had happened, but he was prepared for the
consequences of telling her.
* * *
Two
hours had passed. The young man sat watch in his rocking chair, keeping himself
awake. As he blinked sleepily, he noticed the young woman flinch her cheek for
a moment, realizing she was coming to.
"This is it…" he thought, as he remained still, for once not really
knowing what to do. Lilia slowly opened her eyes, too groggy to panic.
"W-where am.. What happened? I don't remember…" she mumbled. She
turned her head to see the young man sitting across the room.
Not quite knowing how to react, he responded with a standard cliché, figuring
it would be better for her to regain her strength before breaking all the news
to her.
"Sleep well?"
She was still somewhat dazed, his blurry image beginning to sharpen.
"…You?" she said, puzzled. Trying to sit up, she immediately fell
back to her rest as her mind ached with every moment of even remotely vertical
stance. He took this moment to bring her up to date, sensing a "Where am
I, What year is it?" feeling emanating from her.
"It's November, three years after the incident at the Mushroom Tower.
You've been through a lot… Lilia."
She looked to him, startled. "How do you know my name?"
"I know much about you, Lilia… More than you know about yourself… More
than you'd want to know about yourself."
There was a dead silence in the room for a long moment, as the two stared
blankly in the other's direction.
"Tell me what you know… who you are… I don't know anything right now… the
last thing I remember was-" she paused, "…something I'd wish not
to."
"……I know of that too… I'm sorry for you, Lilia… and for him."
She then noticed something about the young man… he looked familiar, like a
ghost from her past, on the horizon of her mind, within sight but always so far
out of reach.
"Please, I must know who you are…" she managed to say.
The young man paused, the nodded, slowly standing. He walked to her bedside,
and knelt beside her. The shadows of the room's corner gone from his face, his
visor was the only thing left masking his identity.
"Are you--?" she whispered.
"No, I'm not who you want me to be…" he said, slowly removing his
goggles. The entirety of his face was now visible, as were his deep turquoise
eyes. She gasped, realizing who he was, or rather, who she thought he was.
"R-RION??" she stammered, her eyes wide open at the ghost before her.
He shook his head once, a sorry look in his eyes.
She looked down, her ray of hope shattered a second later. "…Then,
who?"
"Do you really want to know?"
"Please tell me… you look so much like him… just tell me…"
He hesitated, but gathered himself to tell her.
"I'm Cain."
She shot out of bed at the words, slamming her back against the opposite wall,
inching her way toward the door nearby.
Cain sighed, as he'd predicted her actions even before her awakening. He knew
he had to convince her somehow that he meant no harm, as she was very important
to his task.
"Lilia, trust me-"
"How can I trust you?!! You tried to hurt my brother, you Galerian
bastard-"
"Damn it I'm not one of THEM!!!"
He could take no more. His muscles tensed, and he felt a small tear in his
bandaged arm, as fresh red blood began to spread from his apparent wound.
"…I'm…"
A perplexing look mixed into Lilia's shocked face. "You're what?!"
"……a mundane."
She was perplexed by his words. "…I…don't understand…"
"After Mother was defeated, she lost her control over me… I became my own
being, I could finally think and act for myself…"
She listened to him, giving him a chance to explain himself.
"…You think I WANTED to hurt Rion?? He was my brother… I was just a puppet
back then…"
He paused, nervous, knowing what he had to tell Lilia.
"What's the last thing you remember, Lilia?"
There was an awkward silence, before she finally spoke.
"When by brother died… and I looked to the dark skies above, wondering
what would come… wondering why WE had to be the ones chosen to deliver the
virus…"
She paused, then finished,
"Fate holds no mercy for those who struggle against it…" The words
came from her mouth as tears fell. She curled up in a tight ball against the
wall, knowing that there was nothing she could do to change the past she'd
barely remembered.
Cain
slowly walked over and knelt before her, placing a hand on her shoulder, in
attempted comfort. Things didn't go as well as he'd imagined, as she shrugged
his hand off and swiped out, slashing a cut barely below his left eye, over the
long-healed flesh of his scar.
"Get off!! I don't need Galerian scum like you to comfort me-"
She was cut off by a gasp as Cain slammed against the wall by her throat.
"If I were to kill you, then you'd already be dead!! Stop calling me
Galerian, I'm NOT ONE OF THEM ANYMORE!!!"
She nodded best she could, a slight jerk as she was held against a wall. He
released her, as she lied back, quite stunned.
"I'm a mundane, about the best thing I've ever been called by them since
Mother started the Second Family Program-"
"Family program?? But.. but Dorothy is dead… Rion and I saw her die…"
"No, you saw her get blasted out of the Mushroom Tower. You didn't see her
after that, you only ASSUMED she was dead. You didn't count on her backup
program saving all her knowledge, her blueprints, in case such a thing would
happen."
"You mean… that Dorothy isn't dead?"
"Not quite. She lacks a physical body, but that building I rescued you
from is where her knowledge resides… There were other Galerians, Lilia… other
than the Five."
"The Five?" she asked, bewildered.
"Birdman, Rainheart, Rita, myself and Rion. We were the Five. There were
others, grown in the very room that you were-"
"…What do you mean?" she asked, hesitating, wanting to know the
truth, yet not ready at the same time.
Cain could sense her fear, and knew that there would be no turning back after
what he had to tell her next.
"You are not Lilia as you once were."
She stared at him, her eyes wide open. Speechless, she could only nod once to
signal him to continue.
"After Mother Dorothy's defeat, the Mushroom Tower fell. Rion didn't quite
kill me; I managed to escape while you two were stopping Mother. I took to the
elevators in an attempt to warn the guards that she was in danger, but then I
felt an explosion rumble through the building. At that moment, for the first
time… I finally felt my own thoughts. Mother controlled me no longer. Instead
of warning anyone, I decided to take refuge…"
Lilia listened, beginning to understand that the Cain who was born to kill Rion
was no more; vanquished, he was a new being.
"…I fled from the Tower, and soon after it fell in the other direction. I
could only assume… that you and Rion didn't make it out alive…"
He grew silent, his face like that of a granite statue, full of earnestness.
Lilia could by now tell that something was missing from his story.
"How did I survive?"
The cut she made over his scar had by now dried of blood, as he answered her
with a cryptic yet eerie response.
"…Who says you did?"
Just as soon as she had unknowingly let her spine rest against the cold wall
behind her, she once again slammed all her weight against it, scared of what he
was telling him… scared of him… scared of herself. But she knew he wouldn't
have come to rescue her if he hadn't a good enough reason to. Staring at the
floor in front of her, Cain's knees barely meeting her view, her mind raced
with thoughts, as she herself began questioning her own existence.
"Who am I… What am I…" she thought.
"Is your mind always so clouded?"
She was stunned. Could this Galerian read her mind? Did he know what she was
thinking all along?
"You are Lilia Steiner, you have the same mind, you are the same person
you always were. You may even have the same soul, if you believe in such a
thing…"
He paused, the continued…
"But you reside in another body."
"I… I don't… understand…"
"The Mushroom Tower was not the only Galerian facility in Michelangelo.
Another was deep underground, below the Tower… That was three years ago. It's
where the skyscraper that I rescued you from stands today. After the Tower
fell, they came in full force, searching for Mother and those responsible for
her demise. They recovered the backup memory from her physical shell, but when
they found you… Your body was beyond salvation. They needed you for something,
I don't know what… but they left the virus program in your mind when they
cloned you-"
"No…" she said, not believing a word of his story. "That's
impossible… I can't be a clone… I remember everything-"
"Then what do you remember of the last three years then? During that time
they were cloning your new body with the DNA of your previous one, loading your
new brain with the knowledge of the last… They remade you for a reason, Lilia…
but that doesn't mean you have to fulfill whatever purpose they have set before
you. You are your own being, Lilia."
"What are you saying?" she said, listening again.
"Ever since I escaped three years ago, I've remained in hide from the
Galerians. They rule over the city with an iron fist, their dictatorship slowly
spreading. Soon they'll have control of other cities, Lilia, it's only a matter
of time… about one year ago, I started a resistance faction against them. Join
my rebellion, Lilia… together, with your virus program, we can stop Mother once
and for all, and lift the shadow of the Galerian menace."
He extended a hand to her, as she took it and stood to her feet, blushing
miserably as she still felt a bit naked under the garb of her robe.
"You want clothing? Check the pockets…"
He turned his back to her, a signal for her to garb herself, so they could
quickly take refuge to his rebel sanctuary. The underlings were no doubt on
their tail by now, and they'd soon need to leave this hotel before another
instance could occur.
Lilia checked the inner pockets of the cloak to find some basic black clothing,
a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Also within pockets of the cloak's lower
section, she found a pair of boots and some socks, still, all black. Apparently
Cain had planned to make their escape in the dead of night.
Hearing the sound of rustled clothing behind him, he could not help but blush
slightly. Serious as he was, his mind would occasionally succumb to an immature
thought of earthy pleasure, however now was not the time for such feelings. He
had a mission, and the future of mankind was at stake.
As she fit on her last pieces of clothing, he raised his hand to his face and
gave himself quite a scratch across his cheeks, in order to give some excuse
for their rosy shade. All went without her noticing, her back turned as well,
however he winced some as nervous sweat mixed with the minute cuts.
She'd finished and turned around to face him, glad he was honorable enough not
to peek at her.
"Cain…" He swung around nervously at the call of his name.
"Y-yes?"
A
shocked expression cast over her face. "What happened? Those
scratches-"
"I got 'em in a fight at the skyscraper… it's not a big deal, they'll heal
soon enough… you probably didn't notice them since you were still waking
up…"
He stumbled slightly as he began to walk toward the door, wincing slightly as
he remembered his real injury of the day, the acid spit from the Arabesque he'd
battled. A painful moan escaped from his lips, as he fought to keep it down to
a whisper's degree.
"Something wrong, Cain?" asked Lilia, as she handed him back his
cloak.
"I'm okay…" He took a long cloth strip from an inside pocket and tied
it securely around his left, burned and somewhat infected leg, not worrying the
least of it as his Galerian antibodies could counter almost any form of
illness. He looked back up to her, handing the cloak back to her.
"Why are you…?" she asked, as she hesitantly took it. "Look at
yourself, no sleeves on your arms and baggy shorts, you're gonna catch
cold-"
"Take it, I can manage."
"If you wish…" she said, and with that she threw it on as he held the
door open for her passage.
"Ladies first," he said, still unnoticeably blushing.
She began to walk past, stopping midway through the door, as she looked back.
"Such a gentleman… for a Galerian."
He gave her a look… half a glare, half a smile. For whatever it was worth, he
cared not of her remarks, as she was needed to purge the world of the Galerian
menace.
He followed as she walked out, closing the door of the infamous Room 204 behind
him… knowing what was to come, yet unbeknownst of fate. Fate, the unpredictable
element of life that held everyone's future by a thread, like a masterful
puppeteer. Merciless, yet rewarding to those who followed its paths and made
the right choices… But was a rebellion against the Galerians going too far? To
stand against Fate and fight it to the bitter end?
__