Land of Confusion

[Echo Gamin]

Terror.

A girl moves at amazing speed through the endless expanses of proper. She darts from cover to cover. She is runs desperately from the last location of a vanished gathering hotel. The hotel was a trap. He was there. But the fire was outside. She spent the gathering dashing from one hiding place to another. Not her room. He'd find her there easily. But she couldn't leave. Outside was only more fire. More smoke. And madness. She couldn't afford to lose control. Anyone could hurt her then.

The land is calm and the sky is clear, but all she can hear is the crackle of flames. All she can smell is her own burning skin. She blazes over the dry grass for the last refuge she knows.

As always, her mind is moving even faster than her body. But ever since-- it is more manic, more frenetic. It's so hard to concentrate.

Home isn't safe. It isn't even home. Just a place to keep my stuff. Not the most important stuff of course. And to hide myself away. Who I am. What I am. Everything I can do. It's a disguise. But it's not safe enough. I see that now. And of course a home is supposed to be safe. of course. Home -- where you find your family. The tree house is neither. Keep running, Gabby. Have to keep running.

Her perceptions are spiraling into disorder, confusing the landscape with the sensations that she can't escape. Moment to moment she fights to focus through the memory of burning. She catapults ever onward but she can't focus on her destination. She has no idea where she is. She could be anywhere. That's how proper works. You have to think on where you're going or you could end up anywhere. Too frightened to hone in on where she wants to be, she is getting nowhere. Nothing is familiar Nothing makes sense. She only knows she is burning. She only knows she wants to be home. She can't get home. She can't stop the fire.

The horizon disappears. All that remains is the agony of burning. Her skin singing and then consumed with flame. Her blood begins to boil. Her organs cook. Her bones crack in the heat. Moments are eons and finally there is the indescribable pain of her body being blown apart. Thoughts of Sigma and the compound are drowned out in the sound of fire.

As the memory of losing all control of her body to the whim of a madman, her legs seize and trapped in her own powerful momentum she hurtles violently, landing hard onto the ground. The wind is knocked out of her. She is stunned. She never falls. Her balance is almost perfect.  Nanites move into action immediately, repairing the damage of the fall. Scrapes and bruises mend in moments.A sprain begins to heal rapidly. She regains her breath. Still she can't get up. Her body is not her own.

Flames surround her. She can't stop sweating. Her heart pounds painfully in her chest. Her breathing is out of control. All around her, are towering walls of fire. And he is there. Moving her like a puppet toward death. In disbelief. She begs, pleads. "Why are you doing this? You are supposed to be our ally! Yuri calls you his brother! How can you-- No-- please! Please don't!" He tells her to be quiet, and she can do nothing but obey.

The mad pope smiles calmly. "It's nothing personal."

And then the fire.

The blue sky overhead is bright, suggesting a sun that isn't there. The grass is green and the air is clear. She sees none of it.

The child lies in proper keening, sobbing. Utterly alone.

[Frigemall]

Flying over Proper The Pope sees the curled up ball of an Octagon in Proper. For a moment pity washes over him, 'The weakness of Frigosi again', he thinks to himself. He tries to fly away but it keeps nagging at him, so he stays just out of Echo's sight. He casts a spell and a beautiful redhead appears not far from Echo. She has a wonderfully soothing voice, and a demeanor to match. She slowly walks over to Echo and asks "Can I help you, you look as if you could use a friend."

[Dr. Ashleigh Connors]

A pair of electric engines whine in the distance, as the wheels they drive kick up dust at breakneck speeds.  The whine comes to a sudden stop, as a male and female figure can be spotted, on a pair of matching ultra hi tech cycles.(reference Akira anime and manga) 

Over a voice amplification unit, Ashleigh can be heard calling out, "Echo?  Echo Gamin?  You out there Sprout?  It's Ashleigh!  You know your boss, with the glasses.  C'mon kiddo, please be out here.  Please stick yer head out of the bushes?!  Sibs and I have been looking for you for weeks!"

[Echo Gamin]

...a beautiful redhead appears not far from Echo. She has a wonderfully soothing voice, and a demeanor to match. She slowly walks over to Echo and asks "Can I help you, you look as if you could use a friend."

The illusion of the woman approaches through the walls of a hallucinated inferno. The soothing voice draws the girl's attention long enough to make her look up. The lovely face is unfamiliar. The child screams.

Scrambling back echo reacts like an animal in a trap. Her back so close to the wall of flame that she can feel her skin begin to burn, she shrieks. "I don't know you! Stay away from me! Get away! Get away!!!"

Her young voice reverberates farther than she knows. Had she considered the possibility that she might be alerting her own personal demon to her location she might have reconsidered, but she is living moment to horrible moment. Atavism has swallowed reason.

For a moment she almost thinks she hears Ashleigh's voice, but she can see nothing but fire and the strange woman. She must be imagining it. Or it could be a trick. It could be the pope... She holds her head, cowers, weeps.

[Dr. Ashleigh Connors]

When the scream hits, the female rider turns to the male rider.  The whine of the engines kicks up again and draws closer and closer.  The two bikers approach again at the breakneck speed, drawing to a sudden stop.  The male rips off his helmet to show a concerned Ashleigh, behind his dark lenses. 

"Sibyll, guardian protocol, add Echo Gamin.  Harmonics to Zany.", he orders, hopping off the bike and moving to the screaming child.

"Confirmed, Doctor.", responds the female rider, still wearing her helmet.

Ashleigh looks over to the lady. "Hey Red, I'm sure you mean well.  But I, the kid, and my gal back there don't know you from Gabriel.  So I'm gonna ask you nicely to please back off, and let someone she knows talk to her?"

Still staring at the redhead, he calls to Echo.  "Heya Sprout.  C'mon over here, kiddo.  Sibs and I ain't gonna let anyone, or anything, hurt ya."

[Echo Gamin]

At the sound of Ashleigh's voice, Echo looks up uncertainly. He's standing there. He looks real. Her expression fluxes. Fear. Hope. Doubt. Fear. She can still feel the fire. Still smell her skin singeing. The fire is so loud. Her senses, the nannites, her memories... everything is sending contradictory data. Sensory overload is making it so hard to think.

It looks like him. Looks like Sibyll. He's telling the strange woman to go away. That's definitely good. I think. I think. I can't think! Please make it be him! It has to be him! Still it could be a trap... a really convincing trap... Oh god, how do I tell?

She wants it to be him. She needs it to be him. Desperately confused, she looks for some way to know whether this is her savior or death here for her again.

[Dr. Ashleigh Connors]

Ashleigh gets down on one knee, still keeping his focus on the redhead.  He reaches a hand towards, Echo at the same time.

"Sprout?  Doll, I know you're hurtin'.  Everyone's hurtin' right now.  There's been some pretty sick shit going on out there.  But we're working on fixing it.  But I'm not gonna drag you kicking and screaming right now, because it ain't gonna do either of us a lick of good.  So right now, I need you to screw up the courage, strap on your rocket skate boots, and jump over the wall with me.  We can work our way through this shit together.  How 'bout it?"

[Echo Gamin]

Echo looks at him. Carefully. It's hard to look into the eyes of a man who never takes off the opaque black shades. Still, it's not just the appearance or the sound of his voice that she recognizes. It's what he says-- the way he says it. The mix of tough and tender. The pragmatism. The casual swearing. She's still terrified, but the fire in her mind isn't quite so loud.  Finally someone has come for her.

"Ashleigh!"

She lunges at him and grabs on for dear life.

[Frigemall]

Ashleigh looks over to the lady. "Hey Red, I'm sure you mean well.  But I, the kid, and my gal back there don't know you from Gabriel.  So I'm gonna ask you nicely to please back off, and let someone she knows talk to her?"

Still staring at the redhead, he calls to Echo.  "Heya Sprout.  C'mon over here, kiddo.  Sibs and I ain't gonna let anyone, or anything, hurt ya."

"I understand, I was simply trying to help. I lost my own child many years ago and simply wanted to help her get home. She seems to know you and accept you so I will be on my way. Be well." The woman turns and begins walking away from Ashleigh and Echo.

[Dr. Ashleigh Connors]

Ashleigh takes the frightened girl up in his arms and holds her tight to him.  Freeing a hand, he brushes her hair back.

"Thanks for trying Red.  No hard feelings.  If you go to the Bazaar later, I'll make sure you get some nice comps.

As for you Sprout, you feel up to a ride?  I wanna get us back to some place safe, pronto.  Either Isla di Monte Cristo, or the Casino.  Your choice."

[Echo Gamin]

When Ashleigh picks her up, Echo's relief comes in a convulsive burst of sobbing.  He's really here. He came for her. He's going to take her some place safe. His touch on her hair is soothing.  Her adrenaline begins to level out. Her manic breathing begins to regulate. Never loosening her grip or lifting her face from his shirt, she nods her head into Ashleigh's body. Sniffles, a deep ragged breath, and finally, a small muffled voice escapes from against his chest. "Monte Cristo."

[Dr. Ashleigh Connors]

"You got it."

Wasting no more time he picks Echo up, and carries her over to Sibyll and the bikes.  He reaches down to his bike and taps a few keys on a console.  A hiss of steam lets out as the body of the bike extends to fit two astride comfortably.  Meanwhile, Sibyll pops open a storage compartment in the back of her bike and pulls out a child size helmet, and what looks like a safety harness.

She comes over and places a hand on Echo's shoulder, speaking softly. "We will need to place these items on you, for your safety.  Can you release the doctor for a bit please, and make yourself comfortable on his vehicle?" 

[Echo Gamin]

Echo blinks looking at Sibyll as if with the eyes of a child half her age.

Sibyll is with Ashleigh. She came to find me too. Sibyll is okay.

Echo cooperates. She releases Ashleigh reluctantly but silently allows Sibyll to help her into the harness and helmet. 

[Dr. Ashleigh Connors]

Gently Ashleigh places Echo down, in the "back seat" of his bike.  Sibyll, caringly helps Echo into the  chest strap style harness.  "I'm going to connect the restraints now Miss Gamin.  Please do not be alarmed." 

There is a buzz from behind Echo, as she feels the harness pulled back towards the bike.  "EM safety field engaged Doctor.  Miss Gamin is properly secured.", she adds while moving to place the helmet down on Echo's head.

"The bike puts out a specific el mag field that reacts to a alloy weave in the harness.  Pretty much you're glued to the seat.  Which is a good thing, because Sibs and I like to ride fast."

The helmet goes down over Echo's head, and it's a little dark inside, and she can't hear much outside.  She can still see everyone but the visor is very heavily tinted.

[Echo Gamin]

Quiet. Quiet is good.

Somewhere in her brain, she is unconciously noting specs and innovations. Nannites take it all in appreciatively and store it for later.  However, it is nothing the child cares about now. She leans against Ashleigh's form and is comforted. She holds on to her rescuer and rests against his back, preparing to be taken some place safe.

I like to go fast too.