July 23, 2175
12:14 A.M.
Diana hurried off to the car and drove swiftly to Jack, opening the door for him. He slumped inside, his body sore and heavy from earlier exertions.
"Where to?" Diana asked as she revved the engine at full speed, speeding out of the hospital onto the main road.
"Let's just drive into a hilly forest. I have something awesome for you," Jack said, his voice heavy from exhaustion.
"Go to sleep, you sound like an old man," Diana said, nudging him playfully. "I'll wake you up once we're there."
They had merged into the main traffic and disappeared amongst the crowd of cars, and now they could rest easy.
"Alright, alright, fine," Jack sighed. He leaned back on the seat, and slowly, sleep consumed him away, the gentle purr of the engine lulling him off to sleep.
"It was such a big day," Diana sighed silently as she drove, stealing a few glances at the sleeping form of Jack.
"What exactly did you use? How come your psychic Ikanami is so... advanced?" she muttered to herself as she looked at Jack, her curiosity piqued.
Psychic Ikanami can only be used to grab objects and can only be solidified while enveloping something, yet she had clearly seen him solidifying it out of thin air.
"What other secrets is our lil prince hiding?" she laughed a little as she saw Jack's head bobbing up and down as he slept.
She sighed, marked the destination on the car map, and turned on autopilot. She freed the seat from its fastenings below, allowing her to move the seat around the interior. She settled near Jack. She hesitated for a bit, but when she looked at how uncomfortable it must be for him to sleep like that, she removed his seatbelt and rested his head on her lap.
"Thank you, for always being there for me. I'm so grateful that you are still looking out for me in a time people will go and fend for themselves in solitude. But you are here, still protecting me like always," she whispered as she brushed away a lock of hair from his forehead.
Tears threatened to appear as the past memories flooded her head—even before the terrorist attack, be it when she was being picked on or when she was kidnapped with Jack—he prioritized her safety. Even now, he tore through the abyss of despair she was thrown into by the terrorists and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the depths of despair.
"I will never be able to tell you how much you mean to me, because the worth you hold in my heart can't be described, Jack. Thank you, for everything," she finally said, a smile on her face.
She was pretty tired as well. She leaned against the seat and slowly drifted to sleep. The car's autopilot steered them into the slow lane and slowly drove them to their destination.
July 23, 21752:00 A.M.
The car started beeping softly as it parked itself inside the woods after reaching the destination.
Jack woke up to the sound of the car beeping. He tried to stir but couldn't. He opened his eyes and saw long hair running over his face and a soft weight on the upper side of his cheek. As soon as his senses brought him the news of his current condition, it didn't take long for him to flush through seven different shades of red.
Diana was sleeping as well. She was bent forward on her seat, her face resting on Jack's cheek, using it as a pillow, her hair running all over him. He could feel her soft breath on his ear, her warm lap comforting his head. He knew it wouldn't last long—he would have to wake her up now before he collapsed from hypertension—but he decided he would let the condition intoxicate him for a few more minutes.
"Ummm hey, Diana, wake up," he said a minute later, trying his best to minimize his movements to avoid any unwanted contact.
"Mmmm, yeah yeah," she stirred awake, her eyes opened, but she lay there lazily on his head. But as soon as the situation sank in, she bolted upright, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Umm I'm sorry Jack, I didn't hurt you or make you uncomfortable, right?" a beet-red face spoke.
"Hahaha don't worry. It felt good. Thanks for helping me rest," Jack admitted.
"I see. That's reassuring. Well, what now?" Diana said, glancing out into the dark forest, her face relaxed with relief.
"Ah yes, follow me," Jack said, walking out of the car and opening Diana's door for her.
Diana stepped out, looking around, waiting for what was about to come.
Meanwhile, the Ortho Sapiens had started to swarm around the rubble at the site of battle, investigating for clues and gathering the bodies of their comrades.
The Ortho Sapien people never buried or cremated the people they had killed unless left with no choice. They only cremated their own members. When the Ortho Sapien forces had arrived at the hospital, they were in dismay.
The blast was so powerful it obliterated the nano suit wristbands of people who got caught up in it. As a result, the burning bodies which remained were unable to be distinguished from the bodies of the Kratians. As a result, in order to make sure no Ortho Sapien personnel were left uncremated, they gathered every single remaining body there and cremated them all.
Diana followed Jack a bit deeper into the forest. Then Jack stopped. She did as well, wondering what more Kratian technology the Hauston family might have right now.
"Okay, now let's set up camp," said Jack.
The pocket tents were high-class technology materials from Creta. Jack's grandfather had a total of seven pocket tents, but two got destroyed in the war. Jack put his hand in the item box and pulled out a pocket tent. It was Diana's first time seeing one get used after seeing it in the arsenal for the first time.
It was about the size of a medium-sized cube with a button on top. Jack pressed the button, and the walls of the object withdrew, revealing a slightly smaller device inside that looked like a truncated pyramid-shaped device with a button on top.
Jack pressed the button. A holographic screen popped up:
Pocket Realm Configuration
Theme:
Main Hall / Lobby:
Rooms:
Bathrooms:
Kitchen:
Jack worked on the screen, and when he was done, Diana peeked into it.
Pocket Realm Configuration
Theme: Normal HouseMain Hall / Lobby: 1Bedrooms: 2Bathrooms: AttachedKitchen: 1
Jack, after entering the details, pressed the button again. The tent's holographic window disappeared, and a new holographic window popped up:
Generating Realm…
The window displayed for about a minute and then disappeared. A new message popped up:
Realm Created! Place the tent on the ground.
Jack placed the realm chunk on the ground. A new message popped up:
Back away 4 ft from the sides of the device
Jack and Diana stepped back. Once the proximity sensor of the tent made sure they were out of range, it proceeded to expand 3 ft left on each side. The device, which was about 10 cm in height and breadth, spread into a lid on an opening broad enough for a human to enter inside.
The pyramidal structure was no longer there, and the lid flung open. It looked like a secret door to an underground bunker. The button was still present and shone at the center of the door.
Jack stretched out his hand and looked at Diana.
"Ladies first," he said, beaming at Diana.
Diana climbed in first, not knowing what to expect. Descending the ladder, she reached a small landing with a door.
"Open it," said Jack, who had also now landed behind her.
Diana opened the door. Inside was a main hall with a long sofa on the side. A chandelier was hanging from the ceiling, illuminating the whole room.
Atop a table in front of the sofa on the left side of the hall was a television, which was off at the moment. There were two doors at the end of the hall and an open kitchen on the right side.
"Welcome, users!" the house assistant A.I. said.
"Initiate voice importing and authentication," said Jack.
"To initiate voice importing, say the passkey which was given in the box alongside the product," said the table A.I.
"Passkey: 97AT83@76*#MEK-01," Jack said, looking at his holo watch.
"Authorization successful. Initiating voice recognition…"
Jack and Diana, in turn, imprinted their voices, and when they were completely done, Jack ordered the A.I. to offer master control to both of them.
"Request to offer master control to Lady Diana confirmed. Welcome, Master Jack and Lady Diana!" it said gracefully.
"Initiate security system. Initiate camouflage and set up surveillance cameras to observe the surroundings," ordered Jack.
"Initiating. Requesting layout completed. Surveillance cams have been all set up around the entrance. The entrance has been camouflaged and has been blended with the nearby trees. The footage of the cams will be broadcast on the holographic screen near the entrance to the main hall," it responded.
As soon as the A.I. completed its dialogue, a holographic screen popped up in the top corner of the room. It showed what the cameras were covering.
"You may go sleep now. I still have some work to take care of," Jack suggested to Diana.
"OK… but you should sleep as well!"
"Yeah, I will. Don't worry."
Diana walked off into the room on the right side.
"Yo, house assistant, you don't have a name, do you?" asked Jack.
"No, sir. But you may assign me a name to refer to me easily."
"How about Viora? Do you like the name?"
"Yes, sir. I'll gladly stick with the name you assign me. From now on, you may refer to me as Viora. As for your second question—the name is quite befitting for an A.I. system like me. I am happy with the name you assigned me," it said graciously.
"Great!! Viora, nice to meet you."
"The feeling is mutual, sir."
"Add a broadcast window in a screen of my room as well, just like the one here in the main hall. Note it so that I can observe the footage when I require it."
"OK, sir."
Jack had once entered the pocket hub before. It was when he went camping with his grandpa. His grandpa showed him how to use the A.I. to its full extent.
Jack entered his room. He had already lost a lot of time and energy in the confrontation with the doctor and the officers. He sat down first and started to refill his Kana energy. After his Kana pathways were healed by Diana when he overexerted himself before, Jack had noticed there was a considerable increase in his Kana energy output.
But now, when he was intaking it, he realized he was able to intake more energy in one go, and his Dantian also seemed to have increased in capacity. He finished the act soon and got up with a triumphant grin, humming a soft tune as he went to lay on his bed.
Jack looked around his dimly lit room. A computer was arranged on the table, and there was a chair next to it. The computer was in good condition, but it wasn't looking like it would be able to handle the load when Jack would try to hack into the Ortho Sapiens' network.
"Viora?" he said.
"Yes, Master. Do you need anything, Master?" Viora answered.
"Get rid of that computer. Pull it back into storage. I have my own personal computer set in my item pouch. Arrange the setup in my room."
"Yes, Master."
A door, similar to the hidden door to the arsenal of his house, opened and mechanical hands came out of it. Jack watched as the computer was dismantled and taken away by them into the house's storage.
"Master, would you kindly open your item pouch and connect it to me? Those steps are mandatory in order for me to take out the computer from your pouch."
"OK… let me see."
Jack opened his item pouch. A holographic message popped up:
House Assistant A.I. System 7136112Codename: Viora has requested user consent to access your item pouch.Would you like to continue?YES Or NO
"Yes," Jack answered.
"A.I. Permission granted. Viora will now be able to access your item pouch to put and pull out materials from it. You can revoke the permission by going into profile settings and removing Viora from the list of linked storage and pouches," a holographic message shone lively in the dimly lit room.
"Viora, start arranging the computer."
"Yes, Master. At once."
In the next few seconds, the computer was assembled in the room.
"Good job," Jack praised.
"Thanks, Master," Viora said gratefully.
"Well, that's that. I guess I should sleep now," Jack said, who had been yawning since he entered his room.
For a second, the memories of his nap in the car swept over him.
He lay down on the bed, wondering how his life took such a sudden turn in just a few days. Here he was—a college student who was enjoying his life with his family and friends.
He missed his mom, whom he hadn't seen for a week. He missed how Franklin used to tease him after he would fail in the new methods he found on the web for unlocking his Ikanami. How he wished he could somehow go back in time and live that life again.
A thought crossed his mind—how about 60 hours ago, he was like any other normal person. But now, it had become something else he could never imagine. He had killed without regret. He had lost almost everything.
He was a kind of solo survivor now, with Diana as his only companion. He had lost a lot, but thankfully he still had something he cherished more than anything. And if someone even thought of harming her, he wouldn't hesitate to wipe out the whole social circle of that person.
While he was stuck with his desolate thoughts, sleep greeted him with a soothing embrace, and he fell asleep.