Dimension of Perfection (And Its Flaws)

Chapter - 5 - Stretching Emo Legs

I stretch as I uncurl from the ball I was sleeping in, and sit up to see the same room I had seen just before I dozed off.

The pictures are still in their place, everything is still, and 4663 sitting is slumped against the wall, snoring loudly and looking straight up, with her mouth wide open.
A book is still in her hands, stopped a page with a map of somewhere, and it looks as if she was in the middle of turning a page before she succumbed to sleep as well, with her hand underneath the next page.

I'm not sure what I should do from here. I've been sitting here for hours, just staring at the wall, deathly terrified that 4663 will throw me at the robots outside like a bone to a dog if I do the slightest annoyance.

Do I keep sitting here for longer? I don't even know what time it is, or where I am.
I don't even really know how to get out; I've looked around the whole room about 7 times, and I haven't seen anything close to a door just yet.
That actually makes sense, I sort of just appeared here after having a close call with an entire army.

I decide to get up and explore around, if only just to get a different angle to this place than what I've seen for several hours.

The posters on the walls look familiar, but yet oddly different. One of them I recognise from the fight club that disappeared. It's an old poster from years ago of Sirius Oculus' Single: 'Reaper', made to draw attention to the Carnivalian Siege, a celestial event that I think everyone remembers from just how little sleep they got when it glowed at night.

The poster itself isn't different, no continuity errors here. Except now, the poster seems to be repaired after someone stuck a big red stamp over it.

Another poster on the wall seems much older, because of the dirt and grime on it. It's of the Progress Emporium's marketing campaign, back in 2006, of the Big Toaster Van. It too also has the stamp on it, but it hasn't been fixed and reads: 'VOID'.

These don't make any sense as to why the big stamps are on them, but I'm sure they were just trying to clear the streets of old junk. Although, wouldn't it be smarter to just take them down?
Eh, who knows. Maybe the government just likes red paint.

With new clues from the walls of this box, I now need to figure out what's going on. Did I get transported to the past, the future? Or is this some big practical joke the entire city is in on? Y'know, personally that last one makes the most sense to me, but I'm not going to trust my gut anymore.

I look around everywhere to see if there is any way out.
I scan the room, and past a cardboard model of some claw looking thing, there is a tiny little panel with a screen on it.

I tip-toe over to it, making sure not to break to anything that might cause this b*tch to flip, and I take a good personal look at the device.
All that's on it are two buttons, one with a swirly graphic engraved into it, and another that says "SET".

The screen has a crude map of the city of Loom, with tiny little text displaying the names of the districts.
There is Sciend, in the place of the Gardens, Mavopolis, Centorium, Avalonia, which is unchanged, Oniacipality, Tinsel Town, The Factory, and one final name that reads: Loom.

I select the Mavopolis option, and it zooms into the area. From all the things I've seen, it has sort of the same layout of the Metropolis, where my friend Ze Dude hangs out.

I tap the button that says SET, and nothing happens. I then press the other one, and the room starts shaking violently.

The shaky floor brings me to my knees as I fall over into the pillows. 4663 snorts awake, and looks toward me, and then to the panel, before yelling.
"HEY! LEAVE THAT ALONE!"

The room then disappears, and I am again surrounded by swirling colours, and then, darkness.

I crash onto a stone surface, and find myself in an alleyway.
I look behind me, and there is no trace of the cavity I emerged from, just a stone wall with very little imperfections.

Still confused, my eyes dart around my surroundings, and find no explanation for the teleportation I just did.
I scramble to my feet, and see that there's something wrapped around my foot. It's a little cardboard mask with a forward facing drawing of a Sackbot.
"Huh, couldn't hurt.." I say, as I put it on.

I creep out of the side street and pop my head around the corner. I look out upon a large city road with tall buildings surrounding it. At the end of the visible length of the street, there is a roundabout, and past that, a view of the waterfront.

I step out of the darkness of the alley, and see that all of the buildings look the same as they usually did, but with strange additions, such as blue highlights and white tech that cover some of the more substantial skyscrapers.
The front doors all seem clean and inviting, featuring fancy door mats, with funky colours and friendly messages.
Even though I definitely recognise this place as a more unruly part of the Metropolis, you probably wouldn't be able to tell.

All the people on the street are also well-kempt and respectable, and a couple of them actually wave to me as I pass.

Wandering around, the warmth in the air is complemented by fresh smells of food in houses and apartments just recently cooked, and the aroma is almost irresistible.
Though, I know now that breaking into someone's house to eat their apple pie probably wouldn't be a great idea considering the reaction from last time I tried that.

This version of the Metropolis makes no sense, it's almost like someone competent got put in charge of the sh*t show it used to be.

I have to find a reason for this, I need to find Ze Dude!

Only he'll know what's gotten into this place...

I kick off to start flying, but before I become properly airborne, I notice a gigantic billboard in front of me, floating in the sky above the road.

It's a blurry picture of me, with a big sign above it saying: 'WANTED-DEAD'.

So it turns out apparently I'm a wanted fugitive for hitting that lady from before.

I hide my face an extra amount and ascend into the sky, where I head for the very western side of the Metropolis; this is Ze Dude's home. I've been there all the time!

Whether invited or not.

I fight the high winds and pass by skyscraper after skyscraper, before rising up above the Metropolis itself and now being able to fully observe the city.

The Metropolis extends far off to where I remember, though, as mentioned before everything looks as if a dash of glitter was thrown everywhere.

I twist around to look back at the impressive view of Loom in its entirety.
From the lake Creatoa, to the island in the centre, to all of the roads and bridges leading in, it looks all the same, except everything else...

The Progress Emporium looks completely different, with most of the city now sitting on the ground, when before it was several hundred metres suspended in the air on stilts.

The Gardens also no longer has its signature style. No castles; it's now just a suburban neighbourhood with all the traits of the other surrounding Districts.

Suspiciously, Avalonia now seems to be the focus of the city, because now its buildings are extending past where they belong, and tower over sections of the Metropolis and Progress Emporium.
As well, the Winged Pyramid in the middle seems to be about a half a kilometre taller than normal.

This whole sight is so mesmerising that I almost forget what I'm doing, and have to quickly dodge a plane currently whizzing by. After getting the horn laid on me, I turn back toward the edge of the Metropolis and out into the Mid-West's Suburbia.

Drifting past road signs and through the various buildings that have been in progress for years, I come up to the neighbourhood most infamous in the community.

And find it completely destroyed.