What Remains of the Old World

Chapter 11: Katashi

 After a couple of hours, Serenity makes it to Katashi, only to see that it is in ruins. "Huh. Well, this certainly isn't what I expected." Serenity says. She drives a bit further, and the area around her changes. She then sees a man and a woman in front of large wall and a gate that had been overcome by nature. She could just barely make out a depiction of an oak tree that was colored red on the wall. This was the seal of Katashi. "Who are you?" The woman says, as they ready their guns. She then takes her helmet off. "Name's Serenity. I was told to come here." She says. They then look at each other and the woman brings her wrist up to her face. "She's here." She says. She then looks back at Serenity. "Go on in." She says flicking her head toward the gate. It opens and she drives through. She then parks her motorcycle and walks through the streets for a while. Despite its visible age, the inside of Katashi was well kept, and the houses were in good condition. A lot of people seemed to live in them, as well. A man then walks up to her. He had metal and wires throughout his body, his arms were visibly electronic, and his eyes were emitting a faint glow. Despite all of that, she could still recognize him. "Lucas..." She says. "Good to see you finally made it, Serenity. I've been waiting so long for this day." He says. She then walks up to him and embraces him. "Woah! Are you sure you're the Serenity I knew?" He jokes. Serenity lets out a small laugh. "I'm just so relieved to finally see someone I knew who isn't dead or under Abrianna's control." She says. He then smiles as he hugs her back. "You and me both." He says. They embraced for a moment, but Serenity breaks the hug. "So... what happened to everyone else?" She asks. Lucas sighs. "Isaiah was the first to go. He said he had to face Abrianna himself. Then, reckless as ever, Reign followed. And finally, Althea... Grief and anger caught up to her after Isaiah never came back, so she left to hunt down Abrianna as an act of closure..." He says. Serenity looks down slightly as she processes that information. She then looks back to him. "What about you? How did you end up like... this?" She says, gesturing to his cybernetics. Lucas is silent for a moment. "After everyone left, I was alone in a world infested with automatons that could kill me at any moment... Eventually, I managed to find this place and set up a home here. As the years went by, my age started to catch up with me. But, I knew I couldn't let myself die. Not when I could help people... and not when I knew that you would come back one day. I gathered everything I could and built a machine. It was barely functional, but it managed to attach cybernetics to my body without killing me. It was so painful at first, since I didn't have a drop of anesthesia, but... at least I'm still here. And I'm glad that I am. Not just because I get to see you, but also because I gave all these people somewhere to go." Lucas says. "Why haven't you just started another resistance?" Serenity asks. "I may be a strategist, Serenity, but I'm no leader. Besides, until recently, my cybernetics were too unpredictable and obsolete. They kept me alive, but leading anyone into battle would have been a death wish." He says. He is silent for a moment. "But um... I think that's enough dwelling on the past for right now. Why don't you get to know some of the people here? After all, they've heard a lot about you over the years." He says. "Hope I don't disappoint." She says with a smirk. "Disappoint? You? Never." He says, shaking his head slightly. Serenity chuckles. "Alright. I'll get going, but before I do..." She says. She then puts her hand on his shoulder, pulling him into a hug. "It really is great to see you again." She says. "It's great to see you too." He says, hugging her back. After a moment she breaks the hug and gives him a slight smile before walking away.

 After a while of walking and getting to know people, Serenity notices a man sitting on a bench playing a guitar. He had pale skin, kinky ginger hair, and blue eyes. He then notices her. "Serenity, I assume?" He says. "Mhm." She says with a slight nod. "My name is Zephyr. Nice to meet you." He says. "You too, Zephyr. I take it that you like to play the guitar?" She says. "Yeah. It's uh... it's a hobby I picked up when I got here a couple years ago." He says. "Hm. Mind if I sit down?" She says. "Be my guest." He says. She then sits down on the bench next to him. She is silent for a moment as he plays his guitar. "Why do you play here of all places?" She asks. "Well... it's a nice, calming spot." He says. "Hm... I guess it is..." She says. Her eyes then start to wander, and she notices an automaton kneeling in front of a gravestone in a nearby garden. "What's with that thing?" She asks, pointing at the automaton. "Oh that? It's been here since before I got here. It just kinda... stays there all day and night. Rarely does anything. I've only ever heard it... softly singing... It's kinda eerie." He says. "You ever tried talking to it?" She asks. "Yeah, but it never responds. Just... stares at that gravestone." He says. "Hm..." Serenity ponders as she looks at the automaton. "Um... Well, I'm gonna keep on going. You're pretty good at the guitar. Keep at it." She says, patting his shoulder. "Okay. Thanks. Stop by any time." He says, continuing to play. Serenity then gets up and walks to the automaton. As she gets closer, she notices that the gravestone in front of it has a worn scarf tied to it. She inspected the automaton and noticed that most of the color on its face and body had faded, and vines had grown around its legs. She waves her hand over its face, but it didn't react. Just as Serenity was about to walk away, it slowly lifted its head up to look at her. Its eyes shined a bright blue. "Serenity Clemente. How miraculous... Tell me: what is it like up there in the stars?" The automaton says, looking up at the sky. Serenity was speechless for a moment. "I, um... I wouldn't know. I never actually died." She says. "Of course. Just another one of Ms. Millicent's lies." The automaton says. The automaton is silent for a moment. "Ah, forgive me. My name is Dawn." The automaton says. "Nice to meet you, Dawn. Um, why do you wanna know what it's like up there, anyway?" Serenity says. "Because that's where my little Ollie is." She says, slightly caressing the scarf that was tied to the gravestone. "I wanted to know if he's still happy. I always loved to see him smile." She says, looking down at the gravestone. Out of curiosity, Serenity looked at the name on the gravestone. "Oliver Jolette" was carved neatly into the stone. "I loved him so much. We spent hours talking in that old house of his. That is, until Ms. Millicent realized I had an "abnormality" in my system. His parents tried to prevent them from taking me away, but... they failed. After that, I took his hand and ran. One day, we heard of a safe place. We always talked about what we'd do when we got here. Unfortunately, those dreams never came to pass. One terrible night, I noticed that automatons were after me. I quickly woke Ollie up and ran with him. They attempted to shoot me, but they missed, and my little Ollie got shot instead. I took hold of his body and continued to run until I got here, but by then, he was already gone. Now, it's just me... I miss him... I miss my Ollie. My sweet, precious little Ollie..." Dawn says, resting her hands on the gravestone. She then goes silent for a long moment. "Dawn..." Serenity says with concern. "I still remember the conversation I intercepted that night..." She says, letting her head hang low. "Ollie always used to say that there's good in everyone." She says. She then looks back up at Serenity. "Do you believe there's good in Ms. Millicent, Serenity Clemente?" She asks, tilting her head. "No. If there was, it died a long time ago." Serenity responds. "Good." She says. She then looked back down at the gravestone. "Then that means I can end her without regret." She says, gripping the gravestone tighter. "Slow down there, Dawn. We do that part together." Serenity says. "Together...? Of course. Me and Ollie always did everything... together." Dawn says. Dawn then pulls at the vines and manages to stand up. "So, where do we start?" Dawn asks. "Honestly, I'm still trying to figure that one out myself." Serenity says. "Oh... well... like you said... we'll just have to do that together, right?" Dawn says. "Right." Serenity says with a nod. Dawn is silent for a moment. "So... do you have any idea where else I could go in this place? I haven't really seen much of it because I've been in this spot for so long." She says. "Well, first off, maybe you should go see about getting yourself cleaned up." Serenity says. "Oh... yeah... Maybe I should." She says, examining herself. "Don't recommend you go jump in a river, though. Come on. I think I know someone who can get cleaned up." Serenity says, as she starts to walk away. "Okay, Serenity Clemente." Dawn says. "Just call me Serenity." Serenity says, looking back at her. "Oh... Okay, Serenity." She says.

 Serenity had brought Dawn to Lucas, who was in the castle, and he managed to get her cleaned up. "Hm... Well, you're exterior is clean, but I'm still not quite sure about everything underneath. Think you can run a system scan, Dawn?" He says. "Of course." She says. She then stares blankly for a moment. "All of my systems are fully operational." She says. "Now that's astounding." He says. "My model was designed to last for decades and sustain severe weather." She says. "Hm. Impressive. I'll give Abrianna one thing. She has a gift for making tech." He says. "Hey, don't cut yourself short, Lucas. PAM is still pretty damn impressive too." Serenity says. He then lets out a slight chuckle. "Yeah, I suppose so." He says. "You two seem really close. It reminds me of how close I was with my Ollie. I miss having that closeness and if it wasn't for Ms. Millicent I still would." Dawn says, clenching her hand into a fist. "That's one thing we all have in common here, Dawn: Abrianna has taken at least one thing away from all of us. Be it freedom, loved ones, or whatever else." Lucas says. "But... at least we can find comfort in each other, right?" Lucas adds, putting his hand on hers. Dawn is silent for a moment. She then slowly places her hand on his. "Right." She says. "And one day we'll make Abrianna pay for all that she's done, I promise." Serenity says. Dawn smiles slightly. "Thank you, Serenity." She says. "Don't mention it. Abrianna's taken a lot from me too." Serenity says. "I can only assume so." Dawn says. "Um. Let's not focus on the depressing stuff anymore. How about you go look around, Dawn? Maybe you could even meet some people." Lucas says. "Oh, well... um... I guess I could do that, but... it's quite late. Who would I be able to meet?" Dawn says, turning to Lucas. "You could go see Zephyr. He's usually up at this hour." He says. "Oh, you mean the man who plays the guitar?" She asks. "Yes. Him." Lucas says. "Okay. I can do that. Thank you, Lucas. It was nice to meet you." Dawn says. "And you, as well, Serenity." She adds, looking to Serenity. She then walks away. "So, um... got anything else for me to see, Lucas?" Serenity asks. "Well, how about I show you around the castle? It may be centuries old, but I think I've kept it in pretty good shape." He says. "Sounds good to me. Lead the way." She says. Lucas then starts to walk away, and she follows him.

 As Serenity was walking around the castle with Lucas, she notices a large portrait and stops. The portrait was of Frieda and her parents. "Why do you keep this up?" She asks. "Out of respect. Frieda's the reason Katashi is still here. Abrianna ordered her to decimate what was left of Katashi, and she followed that order blindly... until she saw this. Something inside her was... reawakened. After that, she told me that she'd keep the state of Katashi a secret. Before she left, I asked her if she could promise me that she'd get you here and she did. I guess she's good at keeping promises, huh?" He says turning his head to her. "I guess so." Serenity says, staring at the painting for a little while longer. "Well, um... I'm gonna go get some sleep. It's been a long day for me. Got any place for me to stay?" She says. "Well, the house in front of the castle gate and to the left is free." He says. "Great. See you tomorrow, Lucas. Night." She says with a wave, as she walks away. "Goodnight, Serenity." He says.