Corei
Legacy Name: Corei

The world used to be a happy place. Corei wanted to know where that place went.

The ash had to be the worst of all the chaotic factors to the entire messy equation. Soot and debris hung in thick clouds, blocking out any sort of light to be had. Rain poured constantly from these clouds, but not the clean, clear rain you would expect. It was murky, muddy droplets that thumped against the cracked pavement harder than usual, ominous and dreary. The streets were hushed, no sounds to be heard for miles. No jabbering birds, no rumbling traffic, no...anything. If you looked hard enough, you'd be able to find a few bodies here or there in the rubble of destroyed buildings, in the muss of the falling city. And if you looked behind the crushed remains of the old clock tower, you'd spot a body, broken yet barely alive, just waiting to be saved. But this woman knew help wouldn't come, and the ghastly war machines would wipe the last of her life from existence. She was prepared to go; she had fought her hardest in the deadly war that had all began in 2047. A year later, this is what had come.

But wait. What was that noise? Footsteps? Really? They're...hurrying toward the mass of fallen rubble where that poor woman was slowly facing death. A quiet handsome man dashed from behind an upturned trash bin and fled to the tower. He knelt low over the woman's body then, with surprising strength, lifted her easily and hurried back to the bin. From out of seemingly nowhere sprung a staircase leading into the pavement...or an underground room, perhaps?

A short journey through winding tunnels and caved in barriers led to a very interesting room. It was pristine white, full of strange noises and smells. It was brightly lit and several pieces of heavy equipment lined the walls. How Corei had hated those vile machines, how she had fought her hardest to destroy every one she laid her eyes on. But these hunks of metal didn't give the atmosphere of threatening. It was more of a helping sense. Maybe all machines weren't bad...preposterous, of course they all were.

Various pieces of unfinished projects were scattered here and there, but something very much completed lay on a polished metal table in the very center of the laboratory. A glossy metal...skeleton lay stationary on this pedestal, waiting to spring to life with the power of a fresh mind. The machine did not look rough and jagged, cruel and foreboding, like every other machine Corei had encountered. She loathed the contraptions, but this device seemed more accepting, not as steely as other machines. That's a first. And Corei's disgust would be apparent the minute she woke up from the transplant, as she soon would become the life inside the skeleton. Slightly jumpy, the doctor began his procedure, hoping with all his heart that nothing would go wrong.

~

You know something is very wrong when London is dead quiet, especially during these troubled times. The streets were spotless, but that was all that was left--streets. No buildings rose in high towers, no shadows cast from their monstrous forms onto the cracked pavement below. No crushed metal skeletons of machines littered the ground, no heavy rubble of various buildings were heaped into untidy piles. Everything was just clean, and that is what made this situation so eerie.

A woman lapsed into view with the subtle sound of quiet footsteps. She strolled down the chipped sidewalks slowly, drinking in the interesting scenes around her. She had never known a life in London without buildings following her everywhere, bridges trailing her, and people crowding in around her on every side. Corei simply had never seen such a big change in a place like this.

But here she was, calmly venturing down the street in her new body. The new form was not metal, as it had appeared, but some unknown matter that molded to her mind's wanting. The matter had connected to Corei's delicate nerves instantly and basically had given her body back. But this body was "improved" which could only mean that it was faster, stronger, and had quite a few tricks up its sleeve. And something in Corei's gut told her that she would need those tricks.

She remembered the time before she had shut her body down, the total chaos. She had left her body dormant in an exiled location for 40 lengthy years, hoping to outlast the terrible wrath that was consuming the entire world. And now, in the new time of 2098, Corei was quite baffled as to what was actually going on. There were no people bearing news, no bulletins to be seen, no way of communicating with anyone. Corei even mulled over the simple thought that what if no people were left? Pausing mid step, a small frown creased her new face and she thought. Where could there be survivors? Could anyone have survived this war? Wondering stronger than ever, her curiosity took over and Corei changed her route. Instead of traveling deeper into this deserted skeleton of London, she took a direct street west and started to leave the city. Corei was wondering what she'd find.

~

Years of traveling had led Corei to...nothing. Time had progressed to a very different 3023, and Corei had yet to meet any hint of life. Her new body wasn't technically human, so she didn't even have much of human needs anymore. Of course she still had to eat, sleep, drink, and such, but she could go much longer than before without these things. The journey would have been delayed further if she would have had to fulfill these needs more often, so Corei was beginning to like this body. She had spent the last few lonely nights scouring the countryside for some kind of life. She had found a interesting tag-along in a destroyed city somewhere along a sodden river bank in Whales and taken him with her on her search. Pelle was his name, and he was quite a spirited young man. Intelligent and cheery, Pelle was a great addition to Corei's team, always offering up some new tidbit of information when the silences stretched long. Along the way, two strange little creatures appeared and began to follow Pelle and Corei. They decided to keep them as pets.

As she was approaching Chemsford, Corei began to worry.. If no one was to be found here, then there was no doubt that everyone had just vanished other than herself and Pelle. She had been traveling the world for years and years now, and she had almost given up hope of ever finding someone other than her quick-witted companion. Despair had overcome her long ago, and now she was slowly making her way back to London, stopping in an neighboring eastern town to probably find nothing yet again.

On a particularly clear night of traveling, something seemed vaguely odd to Corei. Not knowing exactly what could be any different than normal, her senses perked up and she became just a bit more watchful. Pelle tagged along as usual, noticing nothing as he was still just an average human. Corei's body, however, was alight with shivers, tingling through her supercharged veins. Sucking in a sharp gasp, she turned in a wide and and shoved Pelle out of the way, then crouched low, waiting. With a cruel screech, a machine launched out of a nearby clump of weeds, several ruby-red lights flashing a staccato rhythm. With a metallic whine that knocked Corei's new fine-tuned brain senseless, the machine sprung forward and swiped ferociously at her. Catching the hem of her dress, the machine pulled violently and sent Corei flying as the fabric tore. Stumbling for a moment of the dirt path, she ducked down and spun around and delivered a blow to the metal skeleton. Her body was more efficient at fighting, but one good hit would never be enough. Barely scratched, the hunk of metal rose into the air again and zipped straight at Corei's face. Bending back as far as her spine would allow, Corei felts the heat of the machine graze her clean skin. A small abrasion could be felt on the once completely smooth face, but no blood leaked out. Corei decided it was time to let out her special tricks.

There were no special buttons to push of anything to activate these perks, just the simply fact that you had to concentrate extremely hard on what you wanted. If she thought about it long enough, Corei could make her hands shoot ice, per say. But ice wouldn't do a thing to this old rustbucket. Fire? No. Water? Not a chance. But what about...lightning? Damaged circuitry would almost guarantee a victory. But how would she find enough peace to summon the power? An idea sparking into Corei's mind, she turned hurriedly to Pelle.

"Pelle, run around in some wild circles for a few minutes, will you? And don't let that machine touch you!" Corei breathed to an eager Pelle. At once, her accomplice took off, and as Corei had hoped, the machine whizzed off after his sprinting body. Settling nervously onto the ground, Corei emptied her mind of every mundane thought except lightning. She thought of it crawling over her skin, charged into her palms, a forcefield of electric around her. All was going well when a scream thick with fear echoed through the silent night. Pelle was in trouble.

Racing across the knotted path, Corei scanned the fading horizon. A tiny speck, hundreds of yards away, was Pelle trapped in the clutches of the metal machine. He was limp now, not fighting back in the least. Darting forward, Corei sprinted hard, running desperately through the countryside in hopes of reaching her companion in time. Fear seeped through her veins; she couldn't afford to lose Pelle now.

Corei reached the scene just in time. Pelle was draped across the machine's metal arms, cold and lifeless. Corei could hear the gentle thrum of his heartbeat, so she knew that here was at least a sliver of a chance both of them got out of this alive. The previously red light that had been flashing were extinguished, leaving Corei to adjust her eyes to the falling dusk. Stars glimmered overhead, watching over the little group. If only they knew what fatal destiny lay in store for the hunk of steel that had terrorized two weary traveling companions. Looking the full bulk of the machine up and down, Corei summoned every last ounce of power she had, hatred and all, and punched the evil being so hard she felt her knuckles break. Electric filtered from Corei into the machines circuits and it erupted in fits of spasms and motions. Within moments is lay twitching on the ground and finally, it was defeated. Pelle had fallen onto the slippery grass in the chaos, and Corei bent to study his condition. Powering down the deadly surge, Corei hoisted Pelle into her arms and carried him away from the crushed metal skeleton that lay dormant on the hillside. Within a few minutes Pelle awoke and easily regained walking and speech abilities, and eagerly told Corei what happened. Her scowl deepend with every phrase he spoke, and by the time they could see the rubble of another town, she was sporting a grimace.

She and Pelle were just reaching the deserted outskirts of what was thought to be Chemsford when Corei heard something that made her positively freeze; a yell. Not believing her highly-sensitive ears, Corei drew in a sharp breath and listened with all her might. What was that noise? Laughter? Cheery laughter? This couldn't be true, no one so far had survived except Pelle and herself. It had to be her mind playing tricks on her. But nevertheless, she shakily began walking again, trying desperately to find the source of the impossible noise. Pelle followed, looking slightly fearful after his encounter with the cold-blooded machine.

Just nearing the heart of the destroyed city, Corei saw what she had been searching for. A mellow golden light shone from the undamaged windows of a small cafe. After so long of searching, years of hunting that yielded nothing but one survivor, right in a town next to her starting point, she finds life? Not letting herself fully believe what was going on, Corei dragged Pelle with her up to the rough wooden door of the cozy little shop. Throwing caution to the wind, and not fully knowing if it was a good idea, she knocked lightly on the crudely cut oak. The door swung open and there stood a group of people, all gazing at Corei and Pelle with mild interest. She had found the survivors.

Without hesitation Calleigh introduced herself as the cafe owner. Talis was her young spirited and gentle husband. And Directory, an elderly gentleman, called himself a historian. All three had lived here, in a ruined town, for years. Corei listened quietly to their stories. Pelle was beside himself with interest. Finally, they may have found a permanent home.

Part 2