Creators of Storycraft: Tears In My Fabric

Chapter 3

"The diplomats of Frame Cast... Are dead." Collective gasps where heard echoing through the room, while the High Queen looked on with a grim expression. Raiden lowered his head and continued solemnly, "Assassinated on the way here. I was there myself, and almost got killed. Yet, one of them managed to tell me their dying wish: for me to take this message back to you."
Raiden took out an envelope slightly stained in blood, seal still unbroken and glimmering with a protection enchantment. "I believe that it was a letter declaring peace...."
~Pixel~
Pixel sat on the edge of a cliff, watching his sun rise and silently brooding. He remembered the last time he was on this particular cliff overlooking the Nightdream forest: it was his favorite spot, and Ghost somehow found him here....
"Where has she gone this time...." Pixel muttered sadly, "She closed off her mind...."
Shaking the thoughts away, Pixel focused on one thing: There WAS a way to spy-er-locate her, but he was reluctant to use the power Order granted him while he was still.... Pure.
Shrugging, Pixel closed his eyes and began to concentrate. 'After all, it never hurt to try....'
Slowly, he felt his mind leave his body, and saw himself sitting motionless down below. 'Astral Scrying.... It never ceases to amaze me' Pixel thought as he traced the Astral source of Ghost.
'Aha! Found-' Pixel's thought got interrupted, as he found himself forcefully shoved back into his body; causing him to nearly fall off the cliff in surprise.
"The name of the Light just happened?!?!" Pixel exclaimed, a panicked look him his eyes. 'This has never happened before!'
The world shifted, becoming more chaotic: the trees and foliage twisted and distorted, the wind whipped around, and the stones seemed to shift from under Pixel's feet . A male voice called from behind, sounding very familiar. "Don't panic, boy. I stopped you from Scrying."
Pixel shot to his feet, inclining his head respectfully. "Chaos, it is an honor to meet you." He said, but didn't really seem to mean it.
Chaos sighed, eyes downcast and studying the chaotic pattern on the dirt. "I have come to tell you something important, by the request of Order."
Pixel raised his eyebrow, "Order? Why would she want to tell me something?"
"You see boy," Chaos began, looking slightly guilty. "The prototype creator had a problem that we tolerated for a long time, and it was time that I fixed it."
"Prototype? You mean Ghost?" Pixel narrowed his eyes, "Fix her? Don't tell me you released her taint...."
"No, you misunderstand young one." Chaos shook his head, "She loves you, correct? And you love her back. But, her feelings for you weren't.... Genuine, for the lack of a better term."
Pixel widened his eyes; the Overseers did lots of things, but they never once strayed from the truth. "N-not genuine? But.... Who or what could have caused them in the first place?"
Chaos looked down to meet Pixel, eye-to-eye. "You see boy, I used to have.... Feelings for Order. But I could no longer keep those feelings in check, so while creating her I funneled them all into her consciousness.... But I never expected it to cause her to love you."
Pixel stood as still as a statue, mouth open in shock. Emotions flashed across his face; Shock, disbelief, denial, worry, and then a blank expression betraying his numbness-merely a buffer to help him cope with the shock.
"S-so that means...." Pixel whispered, wrapping his wings around himself. "All of it.... Was a lie? All the talks, the battles, the hardships, Marcus, Alex, Crystal.... Me.... It was.... All a lie?" Pixel seemed to grow a few thousand years younger; helpless and close to tears.
Chaos put a hand on Pixel's shoulder, much like a father would do to a young child. "Her love may not be genuine, but you boy, felt true love. And I.... Envy you for the time you had, no matter how short it was."
"And Ghost?" Pixel sniffles slightly, "Does she know?"
Chaos let his hand slide off of Pixel, saying in a sympathetic voice. "I corrected her software boy, she would no longer love you."
Pixel hanged his head, eyes flickering and Astral energy fluctuating. "I..."
Chaos sighed, "You are young yet; find a better girl to be with, one that won't make you betray your Loyalty...."
"But.... The children. What of them?" Pixel asked, worried that they would be cast outside the borders of SC.
"It is up to them to decide their fate. But be warned: The rebellion draws nearer every day."
Chaos patted his shoulder once more, before the world shifted and he disappeared.
~Ghost~
Ghost sat against the base of a tree, ears down and eyes downcast. There was a hurricane of thoughts occupying her mind, and she thought back to what Chaos did to her a few minutes ago....

She was standing there, sword drawn and gleaming in the sunlight. Chaos was standing a few feet in front of her with a mask of guilt, and he looked like he was reminiscing one of his own past experiences.
"You leave me no choice," Chaos sighed, shaking his head in slight exasperation. Raising his hand, he snapped his fingers.
Ghost felt something inside of her shift, and her expression changed along with her thoughts. Widening her eyes, Ghost staggered back-nearly dropping her own sword in shock. "What have you done to me!?!?"
Chaos pursed his lips, "I will go tell Pixel the bad news...."

Ghost growled in frustration, shaking her head as if it could clear the cobwebs in her mind.
'I just don't understand anymore....' She thought, 'Chaos said that I don't love Pixel.... And I'm starting to think that he was right.'
A single thought flashed in the back of her eyes, demanding absolute focus: 'But what of the children?'