Recently in Episode 1: The Escape Category

"I can't believe we made it to the gate!"

That was my good friend Jonathan, a "down to earth" kind of guy.

"Calm down, this is the hardest part, remember?" I reminded him.

"Yeah, but once we're through this gate, we're free!"

He was right, of course. While there was a certain level of uneasiness about venturing into the unknown, it did free us from that Hell we escaped from. That… genetic farm. The "Center for Human Advancement" they called it. What a joke. They weren't evolving the human race, they were mutilating it. We were a perfect example of that.

"Yukari, the code isn't working," he said, uneasy.

"Well, that's to be expected. Who knows how old that code is. You'll have to melt it down."

"Oh, right, that won't be suspicious," He rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Just do it. I want to get out of here as soon as possible," I said, glancing around nervously.

He placed his hands on the gate, and the hard steel began to glow red hot. Slowly, the gate began to melt down. It had to be over a foot thick, and seeing something as dense and strong as steel melt like butter was a sight to behold. It created a strange large mound of steel, but it served our purpose, leaving a hole where the gate used to be. This was a part of his ability. He could decompose and create any non-living thing, provided he knew how to make it.

"That's it, Yukari. We're breathing open air now!" he exclaimed.

I was happy to see my skin wasn't bubbling up, and I wasn't passing out from radiation. The rumors were true after all; the outside really wasn't dangerous anymore.

"Alright, let's go find Michael. I'm sure we set off enough alarms to call in the entire army."

"Michael… You think he's gonna be here?" Jonathan questioned.

"He said if he made it out alive he'd be here. So he'll be here." I replied.

Michael was another former resident of the genetic farm. He attempted an escape a year ago, with two others: Sienna and Scott. We had decided before the escape attempt to meet here, today, outside Eternal Gate 31. Of course, the guards at the genetics farm told us they'd been killed, but we weren't going to believe that.

Keeping in mind the looming threat of more guards, we scurried out the melted gate. It was then we saw the sailboat. Not a water-faring boat mind you, but one that sails on air. We stood at the lip of the port, while the boat suddenly thrust into motion.

"I hope that's Michael sailing that thing," Jonathan remarked.

"You and me both," I replied.

A moment later the sailboat drifted sideways into the port, hitting it with a loud clang. A few tense seconds passed, as we stood awaiting the revelation of the captain of this small boat.

"You're 3 hours, 4 minutes and 27 seconds late, Yukari," a voice called out.

I knew who it was instantly. The smartass remark, the mathematical accuracy, and the slightly odd vocals were like heaven to my ears. It was him. Michael, as mentioned earlier, was another subject to the testing done at the "Center for Human Advancement." He was one of the first people subjected to the new DNA modifications. However, the scientists failed miserably with him. Slowly his body began to fail, despite the amazing abilities he was demonstrating. Of course, rather than to toss him out like a piece of trash, they decided something even better, even more sinister.

Michael's power was his insane reaction time. It was almost as if he was moving on a completely different time scale than us. Thus, the scientists thought up a perfect use for such an ability. They created a robotic shell, and interfaced his brain with it. From what I heard, it was incredibly painful, and took months of work and training.

Somehow, though, Michael survived, and his brain learned to interface with the computer inside his new robotic body. With his incredible reaction times, he was able to "keep up" with the speed of the computer inside him, granting him the ability to continue life, although behind the eyes of a robot. They developed a skin for the body which looks absolutely human and lifelike, so that he would fit in with his surroundings. Make no mistake, Michael was now a cyborg, but his memories, thoughts, and soul live on.

"Shut your mechanical pie hole Michael. You know damn well how long it takes to walk that distance," Jonathan yelled.

Michael stepped out of the cabin area and waved. We jumped onto the ship, and ran over to meet him.

"It's been a long time…" I said tearfully.

"Yeah, it has. But you made it!" he replied with a grin.

"Where's Scott and Sienna?" Jonathan asked. "I don't see them in the cabin."

"Sienna stayed back at the refugee center," He said quietly.

"And Scott?" I pressed.

"He… didn't make it out. Sienna worked on him for quite a while, but after being shot during the escape, he didn't have a chance. It's devastated her." He said solemnly.

"Damn it! Those government bastards!" Jonathan ranted.

"Look, we've got to get out of here ourselves, Michael. We didn't exactly leave undetected." I warned.

"Right, let's move then."

"By the way, Michael?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"You said refugee camp… there's a whole camp of refugees out there?"

"You have no idea. Come on inside, I'll tell you everything I've learned over the past year."

We ventured back inside. Michael took the wheel, and then began to tell us about the refugee camp, and the rebellion. He told us how the impoverished and sick were thrown out of the dome city, secretly, by the government. It was covered up to make it look as if the city was simply a wonderful place to life. After all, there was not a single homeless, sick, or disabled person to be found in the city. These people did not give up, however. They set up a new life outside the dome, living off whatever could be scavenged from the dome's trash.

"There's also something… rather, someone else I wish to tell you about." Michael said.

"Someone else?" I replied.

"Anna! You can come in now!" Michael called, in the direction of the rear of the cabin.

A door opened up, and out stepped a young girl. She had a sweet face, and a ragged, but warm dress. She bowed, and stepped up to the table where we were sitting.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully.

"She's another subject of the genetic farm. Scott found her on the way out of place, and grabbed her. He gave his life to save her. Sienna and I have looked after her since." Michael said quietly.

"I see! Well hello to you, Anna! My name is Yukari, and this is my good friend Jonathan. How old are you?" I asked.

"Just turned 10!" she said, still beaming.

"Wow! So, since she was… does she have any… you know?" I stuttered.

"Abilities? Indeed she does. She's a gifted child, raised under the wing of her father, Senator Riggins. While impressive, her genetic ability is… strange."

"I can read minds!" She exclaimed.

"What?!" I said amazed.

"Well, not exactly. She can feel the presence of those around her, and can feel their emotions. She's also pretty good at telling when you're lying or not." Michael corrected.

"I'll have to watch my words then," I said with a smirk.

It was then that Jonathan, who'd been sitting quietly for the past few minutes, decided to speak up again.

"So Scott saved Anna from the genetic farm. However, didn't you mention that she was the daughter of Senator Riggins?" he questioned.

"Yes, I did," Michael replied. "It seems even the senators aren't truly aware of what goes on in the deepest levels of the military."

"That's a bit disturbing. Still, wouldn't they go after a senator's daughter?"

"You've no idea. Anna, why don't you step outside for a second, see if anyone is out there?" Michael suggested.

Anna's face suddenly became far less cheerful, more depressed. She knew Michael was going to talk about something sad, she could feel it. She slowly walked to the door, however, and stepped outside.

"They came after us, without a doubt," Michael explained."The Senator himself came in an assault ship after us. The government wanted to just kill us, erasing any evidence that we exist. The Senator, when he discovered their goal, turned his ship upon the rest of the military vehicles chasing us. A battle ensued. He established communications with us, as we fled. He told us that he suspected the government was doing something to his daughter, but he didn't want to believe it. He was deeply saddened that he couldn't keep her safe. He asked us to take her to the camp, and to raise her as our own. The communication cut out at that point, and there was a loud explosion far off, in the direction of the battle. He gave his life to get Sienna, myself, and of course Anna the time to escape. I've many misgivings with the government, but Senator Riggins taught me something."

"What's that?" Jonathan asked, taking the bait.

"He taught me to remember who our enemies truly are; not the people, not the government itself, but the ones in the shadows," Michael answered.

Michael began to explain the refugee's defense force, when Anna suddenly clambered inside.

"It's them! The military! They're coming!" Anna cried.

"Took them long enough," Michael said almost casually. "How many are there, Anna?"

"I, I think there's… there's four people." She replied.

"Four people. That means either two attack skids or one really understaffed destroyer. As long as it's not the latter, we should be alright," Michael said.

His remark about the size of the forces didn't do anything to settle my stomach, however. I headed to the door.

"Hold up Yukari, I'm coming out with you. Anna, take the wheel. Take us towards the first defense line outpost. Looks like we won't make it to base," Michael said.

"She can navigate this thing?" I asked.

"Yes, I can." She said in an annoyed tone.

I stepped outside. Jonathan and Michael followed. I looked around at the horizon, in the direction of the city dome, but I couldn't see the dome or any war ship.

"Jonathan, there's a converted TURING cannon in the back of the ship. The AI is damaged so you'll have to aim and fire it manually. That's all this boat has in terms of weapons," Michael instructed.

Jonathan nodded, and headed to the back of the boat to warm up the cannon. I turned to Michael. He was looking intently at the horizon, and then finally turned to look at me.

"Well, crap," He said abruptly.

"What's wrong now?" I asked uneasily.

"Seems it was the latter. We've got a damn destroyer bearing in on us."

"We… do? How do you know?"

"Mechanical eyes, remember?" he said, tapping his temple.

"Oh, right."

Jonathan sprinted back over to the wheelhouse door, opened it, and told Anna to do something. I couldn't quite make it out what he said. Moments later, however, the sails of the ship began to retract themselves. Jonathan walked back over, while fumbling with something on his arm.

"You're going to want to hold onto something," Michael told me bluntly.

Not seconds later the ship suddenly lurched forward, increasing speed rapidly. The force of the acceleration threw me flat on my rear.

"Damn it Michael, would you mind giving me at least a little more warning next time?"

"Sorry! We're going to need all the speed we can get now. There's no way we can take on a destroyer ourselves, even if it is understaffed. It'll burn a hell of a lot of our fuel, but I think living is more important at the moment,"

I grabbed Michael's now-outstretched hand and pulled myself off the cold steel deck. I brushed myself off and took another glance around. In-between repeated efforts to keep my hair out of my eyes as the ship raced, I began to see this destroyer Michael had been talking about. It was obvious that despite our intense speed, it was catching up with us, and quick. I looked at Michael again, and I could tell by his expression that he was well aware of this.

"They're catching up," I said cautiously.

He remained silent. After a few moments, he lifted his right arm. The underside of his forearm popped open, revealing a long cylindrical tube.

"Is that…"

"A gun? Sort of. It's a high caliber rifle chamber. The genetic farm put all sorts of crap like this in me. Not often I get a chance to actually use it though."

"So you think we're going to have to fight them?"

"No, I'm thinking we're going to get shot all to hell before we even get a chance to do that. But just in case we don't, I'm getting ready."

All this talk of imminent destruction was not helping my stomach, so I decided to get far away from Michael before he managed to talk me to death. I figured I'd check on Jonathan, in hopes that maybe he had a solution.

"Jonathan, do you think—"

"This cannon isn't going to do anything to that destroyer, if that's what you were going to ask."

"What the hell is it with everyone interrupting me today?" I asked angrily.

"I guess you're just predictable," Jonathan replied.

"Fine, fine. Whatever. Then do you have a solution? I'd prefer not to get killed just hours after escaping."

"I wish I did, Yukari. That thing has a massive engine on it, an artillery cannon and four weapon turrets, thick armor, and four highly trained soldiers. We're screwed, for lack of a better word," Jonathan said plainly.

"You know what? Fine! You all give up and prepare for death. I, however, am going to do something about the damn situation."

Before Jonathan could even say a word, I ran over to the side of the deck, flipped over on the other side of the rail, and lowered myself as much as possible. I looked at the oncoming terrain, estimated the speed we were traveling at, and I jumped off.

Okay, so it wasn't the brightest move I'd ever made. What was I supposed to do? I wasn't going to stay on that boat and become a sitting duck.

I hit the ground with my hands first. I tucked my feet down and threw myself into a controlled roll, taking most of the impacts on my hands and feet. After rolling for a good hundred feet, I sat up and examined myself. I had a lot of cuts and bruises, but I managed to avoid breaking anything.

I looked over to the oncoming destroyer. It was going to reach me in a matter of seconds! I didn't have any time to sit and recover. So I took a deep breath and stood up.

Unfortunately, getting on the ground was the easy part. Now I had to figure out how I was going to get on the destroyer. I started running in the direction the destroyer was traveling. The ship came closer and closer. Then, it was time to let loose.

I picked up speed, running faster and faster until I matched speed with the destroyer that was now alongside me. I looked up and down the side of the ship in hopes of finding a ladder or something to grab onto. Finally I noticed a hatch near the aft side of the ship. I grabbed it, and swung myself up. I opened the hatch, and climbed inside.

At the genetic farm, I gained the ability to move at tremendous speeds. It wears me out quick, but it's effective. There's other consequences also, as there always is with anything the genetic farm does to us, but we were still learning the extent of our abilities.

Inside the destroyer, I ran down the multiple hallways until I finally found the wheelhouse. I burst in, to the surprise of the captain navigating it. He reached for his pistol, but I had already drawn my wakizashi and had it against his throat.

"How did you… who the hell are you?!" he asked furiously.

"I don't think you're in any position to ask questions," I answered.

"So, what do you want? You gonna kill me?"

"I might. If you don't do exactly what I say, that is."

"Please, a girl like you giving me orders? Go ahead, kill me."

That did it. There was one thing I couldn't stand, and that was being underestimated because of my gender. I grabbed him by the collar, smashed his head into the wheel, grabbed his hand, and slammed it down on a console. I then took my wakizashi and thrust it right through his hand, into the console.

He screamed in pain, of course. He tried to grab the sword to pull it out, but I wouldn't let him. After he settled down somewhat, I asked him again.

"Will you do exactly what I say, now?"

"Yes! God yes! Oh God it hurts!" he cried.

"Good," I replied casually, as I pulled the wakizashi from his hand. "Now, turn this ship around."

"I can't do that!" he said frustrated.

Not the answer I was looking for. I began to move my wakizashi towards his hand again.

"Wait, wait! Okay! I'll turn it around. But the military, they'll just send someone else!"

"That's fine."

"If I go back again empty handed, they'll kill me!" he cried.

"Again?"

"Yes! I was the one who chased after you escapees last year! They told me if I don't kill you all this time, they'd kill me!"

I was shocked and speechless. This was the same patrol responsible for killing Scott last year! It was then I did something I didn't think I was capable of.

I took my wakizashi and thrust it into his chest. I pulled it out, and immediately left the room to find the others. I found one manning the main gun. I didn't even give him a chance to turn around. I drew my katana and cut him deep in the stomach in one fast movement. Not bothering to clean or sheath the blade, I ran out onto the deck, where I found another man who was apparently aware of what was going on.

"You murderous scum! You won't leave this ship alive!" he yelled from across the deck.

He aimed his rifle at me. Unfortunately for him, by the time he'd started to pull the trigger, I was already slicing at his right forearm. As the rifle dropped from his hands, I kicked him square in the gut and he tumbled off the side of the deck.

As the guy fell, I heard a gunshot. I reacted on instinct, twisting my body sideways and diving to the ground. The bullet still caught me in the left shoulder, but it hardly phased me in my adrenaline-driven rage. I caught myself with my right hand on the deck, and dove at the final soldier who had shot at me. We collided and tumbled over some machinery on the deck. He tried to aim his rifle at me, but I moved faster and thrust my katana down with my right hand. The katana entered his upper chest area. The man stopped moving.

I sat there for a moment, my hand still gripping the handle of the katana tightly. All of the sudden, the emotions held back came flooding out. The pain of being shot, the loss of my friend, and the fact that I had actually taken the lives of four people. I just cried, and cried.

I don't remember how long I sat there, but I finally heard what sounded like Jonathan's voice. I raised my head and turned around in the direction of the voice. Our boat was there, sailing next to destroyer. Jonathan was waving and calling out.

"Yukari, you crazy bitch! Hurry up and get on, we can't match speed with this thing for much longer!" Jonathan yelled.

I finally snapped out of my haze, and pulled my katana from the fallen soldier. I ran over to the starboard side of the destroyer, and jumped over, careful not to jar my injured shoulder any further. As soon as I was on the deck of the boat, the boat decelerated and turned sharply starboard. Once again I fell flat on my ass.

"Oh, sorry again Yukari, I meant to warn you about that," Michael said.

"What the hell did you do, Yukari?" Jonathan asked.

"I… I…they're dead," I managed to tell him.

"That's enough, she's injured, let's get her inside. We can talk about it later," Michael said.

As Jonathan helped me into the wheelhouse, I heard a loud explosion from the port side. I glanced over, and saw the ship had sailed right over a cliff.

"…How close was I to—"

"You don't want to know," Michael said.

I was going to make another snide remark about everyone interrupting me, but I felt dizzy, and passed out.