// ζ ─── ＺＥＴＡ .

[ʞ ɔ ǝ ɹ ʍ d ı ʞ s]

Better make it electric

[ʞ ɔ ǝ ɹ ʍ d ı ʞ s]

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The seven of them spent most of the half hour they had in stunned silence. Electra rejoined them after the time was nearly up, not wanting to be caught outside the room though she didn't doubt they had cameras watching her anyway. When she returned, hostilities had died down and everyone sat quietly.

Not long after that, an officer had come in to usher them from the building. Being just outside the camp, it was easy to walk into the desert without anyone seeing.

That's when Ezekiel snapped.

"No!" He shouted, turning to face the two officers that trailed them. "I am not taking another step without my sister," he growled, his posture rigid and his expression that of someone who meant what he said.

"Gretchen Lewis does not qualify," one of them said.

"I wouldn't give a rat's ass if she had every illness known to man, I refuse to leave her alone!" He demanded, jerking his arm in a brash gesture.

The two men exchanged glances before the other spoke. "There will be no room for another person on the aircraft."

"I'll make room," Ezekiel snarled dangerously.

The two guards reached around to put their hands on the guns that resided in their belts.

"Zeke," Cassy squeaked from behind, eyes wide as her hands flew to her mouth.

"There will be no need for that."

The heads of all the company turned to look at the man who had been standing in the front. He held himself with a superior air as he approached the three trailing in the back. "You," he said, gesturing casually to one of the other two. "Take him back to camp and make sure he speaks to no one else." The man's brown gaze flickered to meet Ezekiel's hazel glare. "Retrieve his sister." Looking back to the other two, he continued. "He has a strong will, and that is not something we kill. Perhaps his sister will also offer more than we intended." He glanced at Ezekiel once more before turning to head back to the front of the group. Reluctantly, the rest followed, save for Ezekiel and the officer that was to guard him.

"Come on, then," the man grunted, taking his hand off his gun and turning to head back to camp.

Ezekiel straightened up and let out a calming breath, adjusting his jacket and glancing over his shoulder before following.

Back in the group, the majority of them were visibly shaken. "They were really about to shoot him," Cassy whispered hoarsely.

"Didn't you know?" Electra snapped, feeling her ring bounce against her chest as she passed the blonde at a hasty speed. "That's what they do."

--

Ezekiel did not utter a word as they walked through camp. In fact, he did his best to keep his eyes on the path ahead whether than look around at all the faces he knew to be doomed. He had no doubt if he tried to tell them about what was happening, he'd have a bullet in his back before he could finish a sentence and there would be no hope of getting Gretchen out of there.

He choked down the nausea that began to rise in his chest.

Soon enough, they reached the uncomfortably small barrack that he and Gretchen shared. Guard standing behind him, Ezekiel opened the door to find a familiar figure sitting on her bed reading, only too look up a develop a wide grin upon the arrival of her brother.

"You're back!" Gretchen shouted, swinging her legs off the side of the bed and placing her book beside her, dark blue eyes watching as he walked in with a slight smile. "What did they want?" She asked curiously, then looked twice at the guard standing by the door, her smile fading. She looked back to her brother and pinched her brows together. "Ez, what did they want?" She repeated in a more grim tone.

With a nervous glance at the statue-still officer by the door, Ezekiel let out a breath and knelt before her. "We're just being relocated," he told her with an attempt at a smile.

Gretchen paused. "That's not all," she said cautiously. "Don't keep things from me," she demanded, growing increasingly nervous.

Ezekiel hung his head and sighed before looking back up with a more determined expression. "I'll explain later," he promised. "We have to go now."

"Now?!" She screeched, eyes growing wide. "What do you mean now? Where are we even going?!"

"I guess you'll see when we get there, won't you?" He retorted, rising to his feet.

She quickly stood in turn, pressing her lips together and craning her head back to glare at him, the bow holding back half her curly hair bouncing much like the skirt of her dress did. "Tell me!" She demanded.

Gritting his teeth and drawing a breath in an attempt to keep calm and quiet enough that the surrounding barracks would not hear, he answered. "South America."

Gretchen stopped and the color drained from her face as she looked at him. "South America?" She repeated, her words a mere squeak.

"Yeah, so, probably bring some of your books," he told her in a low voice, turning to walk away.

Gretchen did not move, still with thought. "Will... Everyone here die?" She asked quietly, making Ezekiel halt in his tracks.

"Don't forget Shakespeare," he said flatly before walking out the door to wait for her there.

Despair engulfed Gretchen's face, but though tears reached her eyes, she quickly snatched a messenger bag off the floor and haphazardly scraped all of her eleven books of the single shelf and into it before scrambling after her brother.

--

It was a long, dull trek across the desert to the small private aircraft that resided on an abandoned runway. Ezekiel ended up carrying Gretchen's bag of books for her, stuffing his jacket into it before slinging it over his shoulder, cursing silently as he wondered why she insisted on bringing all of them.

The small plane's engine was already running by the time they got there, blowing strong gusts of wind in their faces as they climbed up the rolling stairs. When Gretchen hesitated, Ezekiel ushered her on. They were greeted by a voice that made Ezekiel cringe the moment they walked into the isle.

"Ey!" Electra shouted from the front left row from beside Cassy. "The prodigal son returns! How does it feel to cheat death and save a life in one day?" She mocked.

"Shut up" Cassy groaned, half-heartedly shoving the black-haired woman against the window by the shoulder.

Ezekiel pressed his lips together and sighed before glancing around, his hands on Gretchen's shoulders. "There's only one seat left, so-"

"She can sit with me," Maggie called over from the second right row, pulling up the arm rest that separated her and Azure, tapping his arm with the back of her hand as a gesture to get him to scoot closer to the window. He jumped slightly, having been half asleep already, and readjusted his glasses to comply. Maggie then moved as close to him as she could to make room for another body and smiled, patting the space beside her. "Come on, sweetheart."

Gretchen smiled and bounded forward, relieved that there was someone else there she recognized. "I didn't know you would be here, too," she said as she slipped beside her, the two delving into hushed conversation.

That just left Ezekiel. Arvie smiled up at him from from the left third row, where the last open seat was. "Don't be a stranger," she insisted cheerily.

Ezekiel pulled Gretchen's bag over his head and lumbered forward, swinging it onto the floor in front of the empty isle seat beside sitting heavily in it.

Arvie leaned over and tapped his forearm so he looked over. "Vincent sat with the officer so you wouldn't have to," she whispered to him with a slight nod, gesturing across the isle with her eyes.

Ezekiel winced inwardly, feeling a slight pang of guilt when he followed her gaze over to where Vincent and the guard sat. Vincent merely glanced over and shrugged before pushing his glasses up and looking forward again.

"Ez!" Ezekiel's attention was snatched elsewhere when he heard his sister call his name. She was twisting her torso around her seat to face him. "Can I have my Grimm?"

Ezekiel cracked a small grin, feeling a tad safer with her there and the way she acted so casual despite the fear he knew she held. Reaching down, he rummaged through the bag until he found her copy of the dark fairytales and and leaned forward to hand it to her. She snatched it eagerly before sitting back again hastily, speaking excited to Maggie in a low voice, no doubt explaining the Brothers Grimm and pointing out her favorites.

Suddenly, there was a voice over the intercom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We will be taking off momentarily-" the whirring of engines outside began to grow louder as the plan started to inch forward. "- in the meantime I'd like to draw your attention to the screens in front of you." The small screens on the back of every chair flickered to life. "What you will find is your names paired to create the best possible combination for the next generation." Upon the screen, their names were paired as followed:


Azure Hubble and Margrette Clermont
Vincent Fellows and Arvia Brimlad
Ezekiel Lewis and Cascade Glendower
Ezekiel Lewis and Electra Weeks

"Ugh," Electra scoffed from the front, wrinkling her nose in disgust and speaking loud enough to make both Cassy and Ezekiel blush. "You can have him."

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[ʞ ɔ ǝ ɹ ʍ d ı ʞ s]

Oh look, I wrote a filler chapter.
I'm hoping to spread the focus around a bit more with the next chapter.
Debating adding all of their interviews to the beginning just to get personality across but that might be a bit much...
Hopefully the next one will be better xD

[Asherwy]

ohmygosh <333
I'm loving it more and more, I especially love your writing style, I can't wait for the third chapter!
//fidgeting violently

[ʞ ɔ ǝ ɹ ʍ d ı ʞ s]

Ahh thank you!! x]
I'll probably be doing the third chapter sometime today, as I have a good idea.
Also, I'm going to make it so that Maggie and Azure don't actually know she's pregnant yet.
So that will be a change
And then Ill probably stop tweaking things...

[ʞ ɔ ǝ ɹ ʍ d ı ʞ s]

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It was a long, quiet plane ride. The only thing on the minds of the passengers was the last thing they wanted to hear spoken out loud. Some of them fell asleep and the rest took up one of Gretchen's books. The one exception was Maggie, who was back and forth between her seat and the lavatory every time there was a little turbulence and she grew nauseous. Now, as the craft made its descent, she slumped, pale-faced, against Azure, hastily silencing any attempt he made at verbal comfort.

Meanwhile, Arvie stared wide-eyed out the window at the vast expanse of green that touched all the way to the horizon, where the sun was only just beginning to rise. She had always been mesmerized by the vast expanse of the ocean, but this was entirely different.

Then, suddenly, something obstructed the solid sea of green.

The building was massive, even from the height they were at. The solid white walls formed a startlingly perfect honeycomb pattern with one large hexagon in the midle. Arvie tried to count the glass-topped cells, but quickly gave up, buzzing with anticipation. Quickly turning, she smacked her hand against Ezekiel's arm.

He jerked up, having been half asleep hovering over a collection of Jules Verne stories. "Huh- what is it?" He muttered, closing the book and placing it in his lap.

"Look!" Arvie hissed excitedly, pulling him towards the window by his jacket collar.

Ezekiel lurched towards her, still in a drowsy daze. He narrowed his eyes, squinting out the window, though they widened considerably when he saw what she was referring to. "Oh my god," he nearly gasped.

"What is it?" Maggie groaned from the other side of the plane, but soon enough, her own question was answered. The plane began to veer to the right, the craft tilting sideways in the air. At that moment, she could see the structure from where she sat and it took a moment to register. Maggie's mouth went agape, but she could find no words. Quickly, however, she shook Gretchen's shoulder gently, urging her to wake up and look before the view was gone.

Gretchen stirred and blinked her eyes open. "Wha-" she began, but was cut off when she followed the direction of Maggie's gesture. However, instead of growing awestruck, she pinched her brow together. "Why is the roof flat if it rains so much?" she murmured, making those who were conscious pause.

"They're not," Azure pointed out, reaching over Maggie to gesture himself. "They're slightly domed. I assume rain runs through a filtration system in the walls," he explained. "And do you see how reflective the top is?" Gretchen nodded. The rooftops were indeed reflective, as they mirrored the orange sky perfectly. "Solar cells in the glass," he said, retracting his arm and pushing up his glasses, his own voice growing an air of amazement the more he noticed. "The building is entirely self-sufficient."

"That's amazing," Vincent breathed, still holding a Sherlock Holmes collection open in his lap. "And so is the architecture- building it like a honeycomb low to the ground would make it as structurally sound as possible despite the limited resources they must have had."

Meanwhile, in the front row, Cassy and Electra slept soundly. However, when the plane began to tilt, Cassy slumped against the brunette beside her, the side of her face pressing against her tattooed shoulder. Electra stirred, but did not wake until the momentum of her limp body brought her head against the window. Shooting up with a groan, she brought a hand to her head for a moment before glancing over and frowning before shoving Cassy off.

The blonde mumbled protest, but as soon as she blinked her eyes open and realized the close proximity between them, she shot upright, eyes wide, and the two exchanged horrified glances.

"Cassy," Arvie called. Since the isle separating them was an exit row, the obstacle in front of her only mimicked the back of a seat- for the purpose of the screens, she supposed. Nevertheless, she tucked her legs under her and leaned over it until she saw her friend crane her neck around to look at her. "Look out the window," she nearly squealed, bouncing a little as she pointed to the pane of glass beside Electra.

"Arvie," Vincent hissed worriedly. "We're about to land- you should be wearing your seat belt."

The blonde looked at him curiously, arms hanging off the other side of the false seats. "There are seat belts?" He merely sighed heavily in response.

The two women in the front glanced at each other before looking out the window. "Damn," Electra muttered, examining their soon-to-be home. "Is that where well be living?"

"I guess so," Cassy murmured.

Electra raised an eyebrow and pressed her lips together. "Not bad, but-" she continued, slumping back into her chair, "I hope there's more color on the inside."

The wide turn of the plane made the view of the building end up on the other side, but from there it was not visible for long. The plane his the runway as smoothly as a plane could and screeched to a flawless stop. It took a few minutes after that for the plane to be driven further along the paved pathway, becoming shrouded in trees more so than before before coming to a stop.

Once the pilot's voice over the intercom made the ok, they filed off the plane ad down the rolling stairs one by one. The air outside was hot and humid, and the forest was alive with the chatter of animals- something none of them had heard in a very long time, and Arvie lingered in the back, attempting to hold back her giggles at the squiggly sounds that shrouded her vision.

This, they were informed, is where they would part ways with the officer that had come along. They were told to follow the painted outline on the ground that marked A7, and so that is what they did.

The path led to the very building they'd seen from the sky, far from the runway and down a forested path until they came to glass doors that slid open upon their arrival. The eight of them shuffled into the small room that followed. It was oval and completely white, the wall directly in front of them being a semi-clear shade of blue, making it hard to see what resided on the other side. In the middle of that wall was a vertical tube stretching from the ground to the ceiling- about eight and a half feet up.

"So... What now?" Electra mused aloud, shoving her way to the front of the group.

Hello.

They all jumped as the sound of a computerized female voice echoed through the room.

Welcome to the New World Sanctuary. I am the Universal Simulation Interface, or USI. To proceed to the A7 common room, please step forward and prepare to be scanned.

No one moved.

Too many life forms detected in scanning range. A single unit may step forward and prepare to be scanned.

When the silence continued, Ezekiel let out a sigh and stepped forward before looking over his shoulder. "Back up," he instructed, everyone taking a few steps back before he looked to Gretchen. "Follow right after me. Remember the code you were told to put in to get through." He waited for her to nod before facing forward again and walking towards the keypad beside the tube. Once he stopped, it took only a second for a blue laser grid to sweep over him and he forced himself to remain calm and steady while he waited for the interface's response.

Identified: Ezekiel Bradley Lewis
Disadvantage: none
Status: alpha
Access granted. Please proceed to the A7 common room.

The tube slowly spun around, revealing an opening that had been hidden away on the other side.

"What does it mean by alpha?" Gretchen asked curiously. "Are you like... The alpha dog?"

"Dear god, let's hope not," Electra mused from the back, arms crossed.

Admittedly, Ezekiel was not a fan of the idea either, cringing inwardly. However, he shook it off and decided it'd be better dealt with at a later date taking a deep breath before stepping into the tube. As soon as he did so, the cylindrical walls rotated and the opening- and Ezekiel- were on the other side once more.

The rest waited expectantly for Gretchen to step forward, but she did not. "Go on," Maggie pressed gently, giving her an encouraging push.

Stumbling slightly, but only because her knees had been locked, Gretchen approached the scanner, clutching her book bag to her chest. The blue grid of light shown again, but stopped this time at her neck.

Unit unidentified. Please state your full name.

Hesitantly, she complied. "Gretchen Rosemary Lewis."

After a pause, the laser continued to scan her body.

Heart murmur detected. Gretchen Rosemary Lewis does not qualify. Please leave the premises or enter an access code.

The screen on the wall flickered, displaying a numbered keypad. Inching forward, Gretchen reached out and poked in the number she was told with shaking hands, waiting with anticipation once she had done so.

Access granted. Please proceed to the A7 common room.

Gretchen breathed a sigh of relief when the entrance showed itself once more, a smile coming across her face as she bounded inside and disappeared as he brother had.

"Who's next?" Electra asked no one in particular.

"I'll go," Arvie offered, skipping forward and waiting patiently for the scan.

Identified: Arvia Nyneve Brimlad
Disadvantage: severe synesthesia
Disadvantage: ADHD
Status: beta
Access granted. Please proceed to the A7 common room.

The process continued on like clockwork.

Identified: Vincent Oliver Fellowes
Disadvantage: corrective lenses
Status: beta
Access granted. Please proceed to the A7 common room.

Identified: Cascade Gail Glendower
Disadvantage: none
Status: alpha
Access granted. Please proceed to the A7 common room.

Identified: Azure Cruxe Hubble
Disadvantage: corrective lenses
Status: beta
Access granted. Please proceed to the A7 common room.

Identified: Margrette Jeane Clermont

The scan stopped when it reached Maggie's legs, making her heart leap into her throat. Frozen to the spot, she stood nervously as the scan went back up her torso, then continued to the ground before flickering off.

Fetus detected.

Her brown eyes grew wide. "What?" She shouted in near hysteria.

Fetus detected.

"I heard what you said!" She snapped at the lifeless interface.

Electra frowned from behind her. "You mean you didn't know?"

"No, I didn't-" she began, turning to face the only other person left in the room, then stopping and growing pale. That must have been what she was referring to back at the camp.

Genetic mutation detected.

Whipping back around, Maggie noticed that a thinner laser had reappeared, directed at her lower abdomen. "What do you mean genetic mutation?" She asked with growing panic, looking around the room. "Explain!"

Genetics of Margrette Jeane Clermont and Azure Cruxe Hubble detected.
Alexandria Genesis mutation detected.

"What the hell does that mean?" Maggie shouted back.

There was a pause.

Information not available in receiving area.

"Oh my god," Maggie said flatly, running her hands through her hair.

Access granted. Please proceed to the A7 common room.

The tube slid around.

"Not until you explain this to me!" Maggie replied, her heart racing.

Information on the Alexandria Genesis mutation can be found in the A7 library.
Please proceed to the A7 common room.

Before Maggie could continue to hound the interface, Electra walked up behind her and pushed her forward by the shoulders. "Didn't you hear what it said? You can find it in the library," she insisted, guiding her to the tube. Once she was inside, Maggie turned around to protest but Electra merely smile and waved with her fingers as it slid shut.

She was now alone.

Expression falling, she slowly turned and walked back to the scanning area herself. As soon as the laser flickered, she held her breath subconsciously. She had insisted on being the last to go, as she was afraid of what she might hear.

Identified: Electra Galaxy Weeks
Disadvantage: emotionally compromised
Disadvantage: bipolar disorder
Disadvantage: chronic depression
Disadvantage: previous miscarriage

Immediately stiffening, she cut off the computerized voice with a low hiss- nearly a whisper. "How the hell do you know that?"

There was a pause before a reply came.

Information not available in receiving area.
Status: gamma
Access granted. Please proceed to the A7 common room.

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[ʞ ɔ ǝ ɹ ʍ d ı ʞ s]

Admittedly this is going a bit slower than I intended...
HOWEVER comma hopefully it'll be speeding up once the introduction of the facility and some new characters is out of the way c:

[Asherwy]

uuuggghhh this is really good
electra is such a complex character!
so excited for next chapter
//on the verge of exploding

[ʞ ɔ ǝ ɹ ʍ d ı ʞ s]

Oh man I know I keep gravitating towards her without meaning to x.x
I guess I have an affinity for the bad girls with a tragic backstory?
Electra, Scarlet, Eirian...

[Asherwy]

nothing wrong with that!
peeps with tragic backstories are more fun -3-
omg their names are amazing tho