New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

01/16/14
Out of the Shadows
I am in a strange place. I look around to see where I am. I am immediately lucid and I am just wondering where I am and what I might be doing there. I survey the area. It is a very unpleasant place, it looks like a dark and backwards version of a normal forest. Trees are large and leafless, they look dead. The sky is a dreary gray that casts the landscape into a permanent state of twilight. The land is also shrouded in a thin mist. I start walking through the trees, not really sure where I'm going, but I need to figure out why I am here. There are strange things moving in the misty shadows that I can't quite see. I look behind me and I realize I am not alone. There is a man there with me. I have to get a bit closer to him before I can see who he is, but I recognize him as soon as I'm close enough to see. Alex Mercer follows me through the bleak landscape. He asks if I have seen any sign of Dana. I tell him he is the first one I have seen here. I didn't even know I was there looking for Dana. I ask if I am looking for Dana then why has he come, I thought he wasn't speaking to her. He says no, he's not speaking to her. But there's a big difference between not speaking to her and letting some freak from a parallel dimension kill her. He says we should find her.

I turn to head off in the direction that feels right. Alex follows me and then he pauses. He says he thinks it will be easier if Dana doesn't even realize it is him. He changes form into Dante from the Devil May Cry series of video games. He says he is ready now. So the two of us continue searching through the mysterious place. After a bit longer of a search I hear a commotion in the distance. Alex has clearly heard it, too. A scream… and some cursing. A woman is screaming and yelling expletives at someone. Alex says that sounds like Dana. We both follow the sound. We find that between two particularly large trees there is an even larger spider web. About the center of the spider web there is a woman tangled up in it. She is struggling to get free, but her attempts just seem to be getting her even more hopelessly entangled. She drops some more loud expletives before calling to no one in particular to help her get loose. I can recognize from here that it is Dana Mercer, Alex's sister. She doesn't seem to have noticed that Alex and I are there, and of course she wouldn't recognize Alex even if she had noticed us. She struggles some more and then finally seems to give up on that at least for now. She looks down and sees Alex and me. She says she is so glad to see friendly faces… please help her get free. Alex gives her a dirty look and says no one has said we are friendly… maybe he's not friendly at all. I elbow Alex and tell him to cut it out, calling him Dante. I tell her we'll have her free in just a bit.

While Dana's struggles haven't attracted any of the local inhabitants to help her they have attracted the owner of the web. A large spider crawls out onto the web from a tree. The spider has the tail of a scorpion and is about the size of a Great Dane dog. When the spider gets closer to Dana she screams again. The spider is about to drive its stinger tail right into Dana's abdomen when Alex reacts. He yells at the spider thing to get the fuck away from her and calls it a few creative things. He may look like Dante, but he is using Alex Mercer abilities as he jumps up into the air and forms his arms into a claws, cutting through the web between the spider thing and Dana. The spider turns to attack Alex. Alex grabs the thing's stinger as it is about to impale him with it. He rips the stinger right off of the spider creature and then consumes the spider thing. I am thinking if he was trying to keep her from knowing who he is then he hasn't done a very good job hiding it. I climb up into the trees in a more normal manner and cut her free from the webs, lowering both of us safely to the ground. It turns out she has a number of injuries on her that I go ahead and use healing energy on. Dana is soon fully healed.

Dana doesn't seem to be paying much attention to me, however, she is looking at Alex. When he comes over near us she addresses him as Alex, though she does so in a questioning way. "Alex?" Alex gives her a bit of a dirty look and says no, it's Dante. Dante Sparda. As if it's an afterthought he transforms his claw arms back to normal human arms. Dana seems puzzled and says he's clearly infected. Alex says he's not infected with anything. He just happens to be part demon. His father was a demon… so if she has a problem with that, then fuck her. Dana points out the obvious and says Alex is clearly still upset. Alex says so he's tired of people assuming the worst about him just because he's a demon. It seems that Dana doesn't really have any doubt that she is speaking to Alex. She asks how she was supposed to know there was a fake running around. It seems Alex, on the other hand, has gotten a bit better at faking being Dante. He asks a fake what? A fake demon? She says a fake him, calling him Alex. "A fake YOU, Alex!" He repeats his name is Dante. She says she knows he's Alex, so cut the crap. He is annoyed, maybe at her for seeing it or maybe at himself for not hiding it better. He says forget it. He can't be Alex… Alex is dead. And then before anything else can be said he disappears through a portal.

Damn it! Dana looks around and curses loudly. It seems she's forgotten I'm even here because she calls after Alex asking how she's supposed to get out of this nightmare. I ask if I'm a pile of chopped liver… I can open portals, too, you know. She looks over at me as if noticing me for the first time and says sorry, she was a bit distracted. Thanks for helping her out. She adds that she has no idea what is wrong with Alex… or maybe he really told me his name is Dante? No… I knew it's Alex, though he could definitely use work on his undercover skills… She asks me if I know what his problem is. I find I'm not happy about the way she has behaved, either… it seems to me that she abandoned Alex in the second game, so I find myself quoting song lyrics… "And I watched as you turned away, you don't remember, but I do… you never even tried." Dana thinks I am being weird, but finally asks tried what. I say to figure out what was going on when she thought Alex had gone completely around the bend. I comment that I guess I can't speak for anyone else, but if someone I care about goes bat-shit crazy for no apparent reason I'm going to do whatever I can to find out what happened and get that person back. She asks who says she didn't try. I tell her Alex. And the clone, too… because when Alex consumed the clone he got all those memories, as well. So I remember when she said, "I understand that I had a brother once; a boy named Alex, a boy who used to play games with me and go skating with me and watch scary movies with me. I understand that Alex is dead now." The only problem with that was he wasn't dead… he was right there just wanting her to hear him out, but no… Now even I have that memory etched in my mind and it never even happened to me, but after being consumed by Alex repeatedly all of his memories are mine… and mine are his… Dana looks at me strangely when I say I have been consumed by Alex repeatedly, that no doubt sounds pretty crazy.

Ok, well I figure I will be waking up soon so I open a portal leading back to Dana's home world. I tell her that is the way home, so she might want to consider not taking any more unplanned excursions into parallel dimensions in the future. She looks at the portal and says no. I say that's good, because unless you know what you're doing you can end up a lot of places that make this place… which I have determined to be some part of the Shadow Realm… seem like a fantastic vacation opportunity. So take care. Dana says no again. No what? She says she isn't going home. She wants to see Alex. I tell her it's pretty obvious to me that Alex doesn't want to see her, so the answer to that one would be no. She asks if I know where Alex is. I say I don't specifically know where he is at this very second, but I know where to find him, where he will eventually come back to, or at least I hope he doesn't decide not to come back… She says she doesn't see why he should be mad at her, she's the one who thought he had turned against everyone he cared about! I tell her that there is part of the problem. Until he knows that you get the gravity of what you did when you told him he is dead, he will never, ever, ever be anything but the picture of pain you saw before. Sorry, but there's no way he will be able to heal until you get it. My Penticon chip projects a hologram of a Simpsons clip… the one where Laura Powers, a girl Bart had a crush, on rips out his heart and throws it in the trash. "You won't be needing this!" It's a short clip and it plays on a loop. Well, look at that… because that's what you did! I find myself getting upset at Dana, and I force myself to calm down… after all, it wasn't me that she did it to… but still, betraying someone I care for is the same as betraying me and I want to call her a backstabbing bitch… But I say nothing. I finally tell her if she ever gave a shit about Alex, leave him alone now. If he gets to a point where he is ready to talk to her, he will find her. I transform the portal to Dana's home world from a regular portal to a vortex portal. The portal creates a vacuum and pulls Dana through it and into her home dimension. As Dana is pulled through the portal I hear her saying she never meant to… but then her voice is cut off as the portal closes. It doesn't really matter what she said, I still plan on continuing to heal Alex… he needs to let go of the past not for Dana, but for himself. One does not forgive others for them, one needs to forgive others for themselves. That is the thought in my mind when I wake.

12/03/13

A Father's Betrayal
I am standing out in a parking lot at night. I am not myself, and I am completely non-lucid. My name is Amelia. I keep thinking about mistakes I made. I shouldn't have gone outside the safety of the walls of the military base. But I'd just felt so cooped up. I'd longed to feel the ocean breeze instead of smelling the stagnant exhaust of the military vehicles. And the zombie infestation had been cleared from the area. So what could be the danger? I'd forgotten about the biggest threat of all... Alex Mercer. But even if I had thought of that, what interest would he have in a 25 year old college student? I was supposed to be off at school, but I'd gotten stuck here when I had been visiting my father at the time of the outbreak. Yet here I was, in the middle of a parking lot with a strange tendril wrapped around my waist like a tether, waiting for my father's response to Alex's terms for my safe release. Alex just wanted some dumb serum. Of course my father would turn it over, I was the most important thing in his life. Sure, he had been preoccupied with his work lately, but nothing would come between us. Wow... if Alex keeps his word and releases me I will get hell for leaving the base. I'll never hear the end of it. I am mindlessly playing with the tendril on my waist, secure but not uncomfortable, interesting texture, wondering what is taking so long. What if they don't have the serum Alex wants?

Then I hear my father responding, I'm sure not much time has really passed, it just feels like that. My father is saying someone will be right out with the serum... but that's not what he said! Did he just tell Alex to go fuck himself? For a bit there is no response from Alex. My father must have a plan. That must be it. I can tell Alex isn't happy with the response. The tendril around my waist tightens uncomfortably, but only briefly, then it relaxes again like it was just a reaction to Alex being annoyed. Alex asks my father if he really wants to watch his daughter die. My father responds that Alex can do whatever he wants with me. Kill me… eat me… fuck me if that's what he wants. Alex would get nothing from him. He wouldn't turn over last week's shopping list. I am in shock… did my father just say he doesn't care if Alex kills me?

I feel like my knees are about to give out, but before I collapse I feel the tendril around my waist pulling at me, pulling gently, though. Soon I am standing beside Alex. Somewhere in my mind I am thinking he's probably going to kill me now, hoping he will at least make it quick, but the foremost thought in my mind is how could my own father betray me like that. I am silently crying, my knees give out completely, but I don't collapse. Alex is holding me up. The tendril around my waist is withdrawn, now I feel Alex's arms around me. Is he hugging me? No… he must be consuming me, that's how he's going to kill me. But nothing happens. I am crying on Alex Mercer's shoulder. I hear his voice in my ear, but it sounds distant and I don't understand what he is saying. What I do realize is that he is speaking in a comforting tone. Maybe he's not going to hurt me? Then I hear him talking to my father again, saying maybe my father would reconsider when Alex started sending me back to him piece by piece. So much for not hurting me… Immediately after he finishes saying that, however, it's back to the comforting whispers again. I strain to hear what he's saying. He doesn't mean it. He'll keep me safe. He promises. He keeps repeating that while he holds me close. I hear him mutter something about sending my father pieces of a dead body, but that won't hold up if they test DNA. Damn, he'll have to get the serum some other way.

Then my father's voice drowns out Alex's whispers. He repeats that he doesn't give a shit what Alex does to me. He says I am of no use to him. Maybe he thinks if he convinces Alex I am worthless to him that Alex will just release me and go away? That seems like an awfully risky thing to assume… My father is yelling at his own people now. He asks them what they're just standing around for? Mercer is right there in the open! Kill him! There are some voices that aren't loud enough for me to understand what is being said, then my father yelling again. What part of "she is of no use to me" did you not understand?! Open fire! I feel a quick movement as Alex turns away from my father and the base, bending both of us over and standing hunched over me. I look and see a shield has formed on his back that looks a bit like a spiked turtle shell. Bullets are ricocheting off of the shield. There is a lull in the gunfire, they are probably reloading… or preparing larger weapons. Alex is muttering some expletives and I think they are about my father. He tightens his hold on me and tells me to hold on to him as tight as I can. I wrap my arms around behind his neck. He seems to be tensed up as if about to spring, but he says to hold on tighter, as tight as I can manage. So I do, holding on so tightly that I would think it would be hurting him. But he doesn't seem to notice. Then he launches into the air, practically flying up the side of a building as I hear more gunfire and explosions around us. A couple more jumps and we are well out of range of any weapons at the base.

Alex has stopped running and jumping, so I let go of him. I try to pull away from Alex, I really just want to get away from him and find someplace I can be alone. Alex holds on to me. Of course. What had made me think he was going to just let me go? My father had failed to meet his terms… flat out refused to even consider it. I try a bit harder to pull free, but it's clear I won't be able to do it. Alex holds me closer and says to just relax, he's not going to hurt me. He says the things he told my father he would do to me was all talk, trying to shock the bastard into cooperating. It hadn't worked. He says not to worry, though, he is not going to hurt me. He says I had better stick around, though… there have been some zombies moving back into the area, but they won't get anywhere near me as long as he is there. He lets go of me now, and then paces around the roof we are on for a few minutes. He seems to be thinking about something very hard. He stops and looks over at me. I don't like the look on his face. But he quickly looks away, shaking his head and muttering something, I hear him say there has to be another way. He seems very upset about something.

I can't help it any longer and I ask what the serum he wanted is for. He looks over at me as if surprised I'm still there. He then says he needs it to cure his sister Dana. He says without the serum she will die. He goes back to pacing around the roof. Oh… his sister is sick… I guess maybe a lot of people would do whatever it takes to save a loved one. I stand there in silence for a bit. So it looks like both Alex and I will be losing someone we love. Without the serum Dana would die, and I as I feel right now my father is dead to me. I hear his voice in my mind again saying I am of no use to him. I think about it a bit longer and then something occurs to me. My father has always been a bit paranoid that someone would steal or sabotage his work. To prevent that, he has always kept a backup copy of all his data on a hidden hard drive on his home computer. Surely he has the data on the serum Alex needs. I ask Alex if the chemical formula for the serum would be helpful. My father has always said as long as he has the chemical formula, the samples are just extra insurance. Alex stops pacing and looks over at me again. He asks if I have that formula, I see a glimmering of hope in his eyes. I tell him I don't have it, but I can get it. I just need a computer with wireless capability. Alex says he knows a place and comes over to me. He crouches down and says I should get on his back and hold on at tight as I can. I put my arms around his neck and hold on. He is holding onto my legs so I am riding piggy-back. He says to hold on tighter. I hold on a little tighter, but after all I have my arms around his neck… He asks if I am actually concerned about holding on too tight… because if I am, don't be. It would take someone much stronger than me to choke him. Ok… so I hold on as tight as I can, and he launches into the air for what turns out to be a very exhilarating ride.

A short time later Alex lands on top of what looks like an apartment building. There is a hole ripped in the wall of one of the apartments and we go in through there. There are several computers along one wall along with bulletin boards filled with notes and maps. The notes and maps mean nothing to me. I sit down at the computer and turn it on. It boots quickly since it had been in standby mode. Whoever had used it last had left it on when they left. Once online I go to the wireless connection. I wonder at first if I'll be able to access the network. But I needn't have worried, Blackwatch has turned all of New York into a wi-fi zone so they can communicate. And there aren't many civilians left who would know how to access it. Once on the network I have no problems navigating to my father's personal computer. As long as he isn't in the office, he won't notice the computer receive the remote power-on command. And he is surely still on duty. There is a password to get into his computer. I think about it for a bit and then use my mother's name. Access denied. I enter my mother's name and birthday. Access denied. No, he wouldn't make it that easy. So I enter my mother's name backwards and then her birthday. Access granted. Yes! Now to access his hidden drive. Finding the drive is easy, but it has another password. I use the same password… access denied. I guess it couldn't have been that easy. Then I realize it is just looking for a number. I use my mother's birthday. Access denied. Her birthday backwards. Access denied. Shit! It says one more failed attempt results in the system being locked down. Gotta make this one count. I am a bit too aware of Alex looking over my shoulder. Even though he hasn't done anything to hurt me and it doesn't look like he will it makes me uneasy. And I need that password…

I fiddle around on the computer. I find a C# compiler. I fiddle around with code. Too bad I haven't studied code… But I find I know it anyhow! Somehow the information is just there, in my mind, like I've known it all along. (I know programming in my waking life, so that is probably where the knowledge came from.) I write some code quickly to sequentially search through numbers to identify a password. It then compares the number with the password in the database to determine if it is correct without submitting it and counting it as an attempt. I run the program, keeping my fingers crossed that it'll work. After a pause that is too long for my liking the computer finally flashes up the Access granted message. There is a list of directories that I don't understand. Alex points at one that says Batch 250 and says that's the one. I click that and he points at one that says 256b. I click on that and it opens up a list of files containing all sorts of information from the chemical composition of serum 256b to the results of experiments done with serum 256b. There is a final note on the bottom that said 256b was being terminated as a failed experiment. I stare at that word for a bit. Failed. Alex says something but I don't hear what. Right now I am thinking how my own father was willing to give up my life to protect a failed experiment. A fucking FAILED experiment! Alex carefully rolls my chair to the side and pulls another chair up to the computer. He types a quick email to a Dr. Ragland and sends off a couple of the files.

Alex leans back in his chair and sighs. He says he hopes that will allow Dr. Ragland to create an antidote for Dana. I tell him I hope she is ok. An email comes back from Dr. Ragland. It says that the files Alex sent are exactly what he needs, he will create and administer the serum right away. He says he will send another email when she is awake. I look through the broken wall into the night, which is now brightening into dawn. Now that the action of hacking into my dad's computer has passed, I am just depressed again at the way he betrayed me. I slump down in my chair, feeling like crying but no tears actually come. Alex moves his chair closer and says if it means anything, he'd never had any intention of hurting me. It doesn't mean much… I say there's no way my sperm donor could have known that. I don't want to call him my father. He gave up that title when he told Alex to go ahead and kill me. I look over at Alex, right into his blue eyes which look a lot more caring than I would have expected after the horrible things I have heard about him. But it's looking like maybe I can't believe everything I hear, especially from sources such as Blackwatch and Gentek. Alex puts his arms around me and holds me close, trying to comfort me in my depression over my father's betrayal. And it is helping. It feels nice to be held. I somehow feel safe here, and suddenly very tired. I drift off to sleep in Alex's arms and wake up in my own bed.

09/13/11

EVE: War Sucks
I am in a game of EVE Online. I am flying my drake in low security space, I know I am looking for trouble. I wonder if maybe I should've brought a smaller ship. Griefers might be afraid a drake might fight back. But I'm looking for a specific griefer. Back Hoe is his username. I finally find the system he is in. I call him out in local. I say I challenge him to a fight, my drake vs. whatever he has. He agrees to a one on one. I arrive and find there are somehow three of him all out there at the same time. So much for one on one. Well, I also got a secret. I launch my Fire Valkyrie from my drake. He can't seem to hit that no matter how many of him there are. I blast all three of his ships and then triple pod him when escape pods launch. Ha! The joke is on him. 3 vs. 1 but it was him that didn't have a chance!

EVE: Betrayal
I am in low sec space in my drake, looking for someone to fight, preferably some asshole who likes to pick on those weaker than themselves. I scan the system and locate a tengu. That's a pretty powerful ship so I warp to the location to see if he attacks. It turns out the player is Xenoace, who is a member of a friend corp. Oh, well. No fight there. But I was wrong. He attacks me and blows up my drake, this took me by surprise. My Fire Valkyrie ejects instead of my escape pod. This clearly surprises him. That's a fancy pod, he says. Now it go boom. He's trying to warp scramble me, but I don't have any intention of running. I attack Xeno's tengu an blow it up. His pod ejects. I hesitate just a bit too long and it warps away before I can pod him. Why was Xeno attacking me???

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09/15/11

I Am Sailor Moon
I am Serena Usagi, also known as Sailor Moon . I am meeting with the other sailor scouts and we are discussing how to keep the silver imperium crystal safe. Every time I start an idea Rae says it's a dumb one. She follows that by insulting me a lot. No one is objecting. I get pissed. I finally throw the crescent moon wand at Rae and tell her fine, if everyone there hates me so much, I quit. Rae can be leader, she can be the new Sailor Moon. I'm out of here. I leave in a huff, almost in tears. I am near a plant shop when I hear something. I follow the noise. A weird mutant plant woman is attacking Rae, who is in Sailor Mars form now. The plant woman has Rae cornered. Hey! Double ugly weed bitch! Over here! She glares at me then comes at me. I turn and run, I have no wand to transform with. I go to the plant shop. Where is your weed killer? A shelf of Weed-B-Gone. I take several. Plant bitch is here. I spray her with weed killer. The weeds all over her die, leaving a disoriented woman. Rae comes. She says that was the second dumbest thing I have ever done... the first being when I left... I interrupt. The dumbest was ever thinking I could have a real friend. Fuck off, I'm still out of here. I leave, I am still pissed. I ignore Rae calling me to stop. I wake up feeling so very isolated, so alone.

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09/17/11

EVE: Revenge
I am once again in a game of EVE Online, I am in my Fire Valkyrie. I am hovering outside a station where I know there are several assholes holed up. The list on my screen shows Back Hoe, Menardii, Draco, Marley... and a couple others. They are all showing as war targets. I wait for a bit and finally Back Hoe tries to leave. I blast him... ship and pod. I wait some more. Draco tries to leave. I blast him, too. Ship and pod. This is amusing. They are cursing at me in local chat. I don't respond. I warp away. One of them tries to leave again. I warp back so fast. Boom, I blast Menardii... ship and pod. You guys are screwed. Whenever you step out of the safety of that station I'll be here to pod your asses! I will be here and POD YOU every time! How do you like it, assholes? It sucks to be you!

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9/19/11

Pokémon Hunt
My mother and I are in a forest searching around for pokémon, my mother is looking to catch herself one. My mom says what she really wants to catch is a pikachu. I remind her we already have a pikachu back at the house, in fact we have several of them. She says one can never have too many pikachus. We have pokéballs and my mother asks me where she should look. I tell her most of the pokémon will be in the tall grassy areas and in the bushes, most of them will be hidden from sight. They don't realize we aren't there to hurt them. My mom and I look for a while longer, I really want to find a feline pokémon. My mom surprises me when she throws her pokéball. It opens up and successfully captures a pokémon, though I don't get a good look at it before it vanishes inside. She asks how she's supposed to convince it she will be nice to it. I tell her she has to be friends with it. She opens the pokéball and reveals the pokémon she caught. It is about the size of a house cat, but it is a bug type… it looks like a lady bug with iridescent spots. The pokémon flies around my mother a few times as if assessing her, deciding if it will trust her. It apparently decides it likes her energy because it lands beside her and seems relaxed. My mom is ready to go home even without a pikachu. I say I'm going to keep looking for a feline.

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Summer Gift Day
I am at school, it is like a high school, and it is the last day of the year before summer break. The entire school is participating in a secret gift-giving event. Everyone will draw the name of another student and then give them a modestly priced or homemade gift. I figure that since I am so extremely popular (NOT!) I'll probably get someone's dogs shit wrapped up in a brown paper bag. But I'm not going to do that. I don't know what the person would like… I get a name of someone I don't know. Gloria. I decide to get her a gift card from somewhere that her money might go a bit farther than with new items. I will get her a gift card from Bookman's. If she likes books, she's set. Music, movies, video games… Alicia is there with me and she thinks that is a good idea. We are leaving for Bookman's when someone tells us not to be late for graduation.

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09/28/11

Cleaning House
I am in a large house, more of a mansion than a regular sized home, and I am exploring the place. The entire house is really creepy, it looks abandoned and haunted. But I somehow know it isn't supposed to be like that, there are people who live here, or there are supposed to be. I wonder if they are still here with the mess. I start cleaning up some of the mess I find around, doing so seems to brighten the place up a bit. I open a door that is on the third floor, thinking I will find a room. But instead the door leads to empty space, an exterior door on the third level of a house that doesn't lead to a deck or a stairway, just to a three story drop. Well, that seems odd, I wonder if I should put a warning sign on the door or maybe board it up so no one opens it and strolls through… only to find themselves in mid air. Outside it is dark, there is a breeze blowing through some large trees. A rather nice view if someone would just put a deck there. I go inside and continue cleaning the place up, I am actually making some decent progress. I wonder where the people who live here are… have they left? Will they come back?
Note: After I woke up I got the feeling I had been inside MoSh's inner world.

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09/29/11

Save Me
I am in MoSh's inner world, this is something I do not question at all, and it doesn't lead me to do a reality check. It seems perfectly normal for me to be there. I look around, trying to get my bearings, wondering where MoSh and Asuka might be… and their kids, too. Right now I don't see anyone… but wait… I do. There is a strange woman standing alone in an open area of dirt. I can hear her crying. She says she only wanted a safe place to hide, she didn't mean to cause any harm… really… she just wants to be safe… I wonder what she is talking about. Is she somehow responsible for the problems going on in here lately? Could it be an accident? She says she needs help, someone to save her… but she's not sure if she is worth saving. She says probably not. Some weird things erupt from the ground at her feet, wires and such are forming all over her body, it makes her look like some kind of strange robot. She is screaming the whole time that happens, then she suddenly attacks me. I am forced to fight her, and I finally use a water based spell that is shorting out the robotic circuits. The wires retreat, pulling back into the ground. The woman is also gone, now there is a little girl huddled on the ground sobbing. I try to approach the little girl but she disappears before I can reach her.