Gears in Motion (Part 1)

The uneven terrain threatened to make her trip at any moment. The once modern asphalt was now beyond recognition, impregnated with a green, musky layer that grossly adhered to her soles.

"I hope we're done here already," Serenity muttered as she reunited with three hooded silhouettes. She got close to the smallest of the three, who maintained their gaze forward.

"I'm hungry. You?" the short figure spoke softly. 

Serenity replied, sighing. "I'd kill for a cheeseburger… Which I hate admitting, you know. I loathe having these cravings."

"Really? I thought that out of the five, you'd be the one to fully embrace these human-like 'features'."

Serenity grunted. "I think you're mistaking me for somebody else." She then looked at the tallest of the group, who was twirling in their place, arms wide open.

"So?! What do you think of my masterpiece, my fellow comrades? Are you so agape by the results that you cannot fathom how to express your awe? Have I left you speechless with the sheer brilliance of my latest work?! Oww, it's a pity that Delta is not here so I could shove it in her face on how to properly dispose of a city!"

"I think you messed it up!" the one by Serenity's side said aloud.

"P-Pardon me?"

"I said that you blew it this time, Gamma! You went too far this time! No one would want to live in a city after this!"

Hearing that made Serenity look around. The atmosphere felt dense and greasy. She could hardly imagine how breathing that toxicity would affect her without Alpha's protection, what she was sure of was that her fake lungs would burn rapidly. Even the sky had turned pitch black and electric. And most notorious of all, every single building in a five-miles radius had gone, or better said, melted completely.

Not a single human construct was standing, leaving only a barren terrain full of thousands of molten piles of unrecognizable stuff… With the exception of a 30-feet translucent lotus flower at the epicenter of the disaster zone. Glowing green and full of energy, it constantly pulsated, as if its job to make that place as uninhabitable as possible was not done yet.

The woman previously called Gamma turned back and started speaking in a low, raspy voice. "I knew you wouldn't be capable of appreciating such beauty, brat." She then locked eyes with Serenity. "But what about you, Beta? Do you like what you see?"

Serenity first glanced at the fourth member, who had their back facing them, before crossing her arms and lifting her chin in a proud manner. "It gives me the chills, honestly. A most advanced version of what you were capable of back in the day, eh? Truly fascinating."

"I knew you wouldn't disappoint." Gamma snickered. The only feature visible beneath her black hood was her green-painted smirk.

"Does this mean we're finally done?" The one beside Serenity said, placing their hands behind their nape. "Are we done toying with cities? Because, seriously! If the Administrators ignore even THIS, I don't know what else could move their lazy asses!"

The fourth member, their leader, turned around and spoke in a distinctly feminine voice, "Oh, they'll act. I bet on it." She then strolled all the way back to hold the smallest of the group by the cheeks. "You asked why people would want to keep living in cities like this despite the danger, hmm? The answer is simple, my dear… Even if the Administrators enforce their most egregious, terrible update ever, these Users would receive it with open arms! Just look at history! Humans will always prioritize a comfy, cozy life over their own freedom. People easily forget if their leaders were corrupt in the prior cycle, or tyrants, or plain fools if that means they can have an easy, free-of-thought life."

"The Administrators could literally turn rain into piss and these fools would just say thanks," Gamma added in a playful tone before making some distance between them and continuing twirling and dancing on her own in front of her gigantic lotus flower.

Serenity returned her attention to the other two.

"Did this clear your doubts, Epsy?" the leader asked, her hands still holding her partner-in-crime's face. When the other simply replied with a shrug, she giggled. "Good boy." She drew a short smile before sealing her lips for a moment. "Beta? Is that a drone camera I feel nearby?"

"I've already dealt with that," Serenity responded, turning to her right, where a huge humanoid made of black goo with arms as big as a gorilla approached them at a rapid pace. The thing then threw two persons at Serenity's feet, a man and a young woman, whose skin looked putrid and greenish, and their HP bar was showing the dangerous red threshold.

The woman raised her head and offered a faint smile. "H-Hi, everyone! What a terrible thing that happened to this place, huh? We were just passing by and before we noticed--cough--we breathed too much of that poisonous gas! But you seem to be in good health, am I right? Sorry to ask, but--cough--do you happen to have an antidote by any chance?"

Something heavy crashed against the ground between them, a round metallic object that began to corrode immediately.

"Is that yours?" Serenity asked the two while a winged creature resembling a crow nested on her shoulder.

The woman shrugged, smirking. "Maybe? So what? Afraid that I may have recorded you? It's not as if you were the ones behind this catastrophe, right?"

"That thing was surely streaming," the one previously called Epsy said quietly.

Gamma chuckled from a distance. "Doesn't matter. That thing was too far away. I'm sure it didn't pick up any audio."

The leader of the group stood in front of the two forcibly kneeling on the ground and spoke in a soothing tone, "Take a closer look at this, everyone. This whole area has become a biohazard, and yet, these two didn't care about their safety at all. Why?" She crouched and looked the couple directly in the eyes. She could see that the skin of their forehead was beginning to peel off, revealing a pinkish fragment of their skull. "Is it because you'll die in a matter of minutes and respawn back in one of your beloved Safe Zones anyway?"

The captive woman glared. "What about you? Would you like to explain to my audience why you're attacking cities? I may bring another camera if you're finally in the mood to talk!"

"I'm done with you." The leader of the group sighed, turned her back and gestured something to Serenity, who nodded.

The woman coughed violently but did not deter her from yelling. "Now what?!--cough--Do you think you can continue doing this forever?! If the Moderators don't get you, the people will! The community is getting tired of your shit! They will come for you, mark my words!"

"Hey. Eyes here," Serenity whispered as she stood in front of the woman, blocking her view. "She's the least of your worries now, okay?" Serenity then snickered. "You know? I happen to know your face. You're Nelly Cole, from the Daily Londorus…"

Nelly focused her gaze on the white-haired woman while trying to forget the painful venom running through her entire body. "So?"

"You've been covering these disasters since the very beginning, am I right? You were there, covering the news when my cute dragon leveled your precious city… It seems you've been trying to get us for a while now."

Nelly's assistant quivered by her side. "So you really are the responsibles for this!" he cried, trying to stand up and grab Serenity by the collar of her cloak, but he dropped back to his knees in a second, coughing violently.

Serenity continued speaking, undeterred, "Tomorrow morning, I want you to quit your job as a reporter."

"Make me!" Nelly replied snarling before finally noticing that something was wrong. She looked down, finding that the ground had become something akin to black quicksand that quickly turned into goo. Her assistant was sinking too, without resisting.

Nelly swallowed hard. Something about the coldness of that black substance told her that it would not kill her… And she needed to die so she could escape from this group of psychos! But as the black swamp covered her all the way to her neck, she knew that it was too late to even try biting her tongue.

"Welcome to the other side, Nelly Cole and company," Serenity said almost lovingly as most of Nelly's face got covered by the darkness. "You're one of us now…"