New World Order Re-Written (TNE)

Chapter 12 - The Unknown

The bar in The Botanist's Village was nearly empty. Alastria had spent the majority of the day cleaning every surface, at first with a scaly mop, but then with a much more durable sponge that seemed to suck up sodas, beer, and various liquors that had been shipped the day before to the village. Shipment dates were given out clearly using the PA system across the entire town at the beginning of the week, and there were some who merely waited outside until the full shipment. From the dramatic increase in customers, Alastria had to work double time. She tried her best to make sure that nobody had to wait for too long, but her only coworker only visited very briefly. He was busy with a project of his own that he had started that should allow him to harvest the dormant energy core in The Botanist's Village to achieve much faster internet speeds. The entire concept seemed utterly absurd to Alastria, why would anybody want faster internet in a time like this?

Seeing everyone else in the world living their normal lives outside of Prism City was disheartening to say the least. While there were a few sightings she had found online about others who had experienced the gas first hand, it seemed closer to an urban legend. The monster population of Prism City was considered to be "The Others" and therefore a legend that those with a degree in ethics enjoyed telling their most recent social media account. Alastria just felt done with it all, waking up every morning to see the local news outlets bash her sworn village to the ground with a couple words. It was such a simple act on their side, but it made her burn from the ground up. Every muscle in her body tensed with the thought of yet another radio host grabbing their microphone and-

Alastria broke a glass between her hands. She shook her head from side to side and blinked her eyes hastily, she looked from side to side. Nobody seemed to be there.

"What's gotten you so tense all of a sudden?" Ms. Yamaha asked from the back of the room. She was in a corner where the light broadcast from the windows could not hope to reach. Her satchel was cloaked in a decadent ray of dark, and her midday makeup was coated in a perfume that seemed to mix negatively. The makeup may have been applied midday, but she had worn it for far too long. Ms. Yamaha through all of her fancy outfitting seemed honestly concerned for Alastria, which surprised her.

"Just work, you know. Busy day and all that," Alastria lied between sliding teeth. Her blue body was made up of a numeric coating that seemed to place her somewhere in the digital world, while being entirely real.

"Sure was, I saw one guy earlier–the one with orange hair–had a small knife in his back pocket. With his transformation he seemed to gain the ability to split objects into segments–or something like that."

"Yeah, I think I saw that guy."

Alastria pushed open the side door to behind the counter, seeing as the place was practically empty there was no point in serving drinks. She pulled up a chair and sat beside Ms. Yamaha who impeccably still looked quite human despite her robotic alterations. There are quite a few strange pieces that seemed to sit in Ms. Yamaha's body. Notably, the bullseye eyes were jarring with her otherwise human face. The black wings that intersected into her back were neatly tucked up behind her back, in the same fashion as a picnic basket before one heads out for a nice lunch out with friends. There was a degree of calmness that Alastria felt when around Ms. Yamaha. She had been around to the bar quite a few times before, but had never ordered anything. It was clear that she was there for the sport and observing the scene, sometimes they would share a glance as a bar fight occurred. It was a stable statue in the midst of warring factions, they were pillars to rely on for one another, and that comfort was necessary for life in the village.

"What do you think he did next?" Ms. Yamaha asked. Her hands were stapled to the table and her back was hunched over. She looked into Alastria's eyes as if she was an audience of hundreds.