The Gate To Existence

The Marauders

When Riley was a child, she was always tinkering with trinkets of all sorts; she was following in her father's footsteps. Each afternoon when she came home, she'd always see him in his workshop adjusting bolts, grinding scrap metal and welding it to a frame. She watched him all the time; it made him happy that his own blood took interest in his work. In Riley's earlier and more vulnerable times, her father was satisfying her mind with knowledge and facts; engineering. One night he looked down to her and gave her some advice that she'd turning over in her mind ever since. 'There's no value in dreams that are easy to achieve.' She always pondered why he told her that, but she was thankful he did. It gave her motivation and ambition, she wanted to achieve her dream and create weapons that would be able to even scratch the corrupted; the mindless humans that only knew to kill.

Riley sat on the balcony ledge, swaying her legs up and down while she sang a peculiar collaboration of songs. "Riley?" Leo leaned towards her, his warmth radiating onto her face. She unexpectedly woke up from her trance. "...what? My bad, I wasn't paying attention!" She pounced off of the ledge and landed elegantly on her feet. "What did you say again?" Her friend sighed and looked over at Kiki with a something on the borderline of a smile and a pout then back to her. "Did you need anything else before we go?" He looked her in the eyes; he had the kind of smile that made you feel happy to be alive and just that little bit more human. She snickered and responded with "Let's go now! I can't wait anymore, I'm starting to get bored." she was determined to make a move to Third Gate and arrive there as soon as possible. She was tired and bored of the life she lived in Fifth Gate, the thought of a new start and a new adventure filled her with passionate excitement.

The two of them helped each other pack supplies into several tattered-leather bags which they placed next to Kiki. Riley adjusted the overfilled bags to Kiki's back and put her cape-coat on over her clothes; to provide her with a little more warmth. While Leo managed to stuff some more food into his satchel, Riley climbed onto Kiki' back and sat comfortably on the saddle she made especially for him. He was like a horse, only faster and stronger. Riley and Kiki watched as Leo shifted the door to close off the building. "Is that all we need to bring with us?" Leo glanced at Riley who was in another trance; staring off into the distance. She stood up on Kiki's back and jumped off and over Leo. "My workshop..." She whispered under her breath and ran behind the old building. "R-Riley!" Leo started to walk to her behind the building into what seemed to be a small shed or garage. She sighed and looked back at Leo; He scratched the back of his head and pondered "well, why not just take your tool set?" she showed a little smile, a smile with a twist to it, like the smile of a child who is determined not to cry. "Thank you!" she tackled Leo and embraced him. He was startled but didn't push her away, instead he pulled her closer "Don't thank me, I know you can't live without those tools." He laughed and stood up, Riley looked at him with her doll-eyes once more "T-then can I bring some of my weapons too?" Leo sighed and put his hand on her head "Well if we run into the corrupted then we'll need something to protect ourselves with." Riley screamed out with joy "OK! I'LL GO FIND SOME OF THEM!" she rummaged through her workshop and tossed one of her own creations at Leo. It was the same shape as a pistol but the make of it was more complex and had various functions. "O-Oi! I don't need a weapon! How am I supposed to use this thing?" Leo cried for an explanation; Riley didn't respond, instead she removed the weapon from his hand and flicked a switch. Leo blinked twice; confusion struck him. The officers that protected the gates weren't experienced in using firearms, instead they were trained in hand-to-hand combat. This system gave the impression that civilians wouldn't be intimidated by the gate officers; people of peace and prosperity. "What did you do to it?" He questioned. Riley laughed and slapped his back "The safety's off you dumbass!" she opened a large crate in the back of the workshop and placed a large weapon over her back and fixed the strap for it. It had a large cylindrical barrel attached to the side of it and a large spring coiling around it; it was made with rusty scrap metal and spare parts. The weapon didn't have a trigger though, instead it had several buttons attached on the other side, like controls of some sort. A large glass-looking orb was centred at the front of the weapon; bolted down in the middle. "All set to go now!" she skipped back to Kiki.