Welcome to Gaia! ::

((hello... I'm sort of stuck right now... ))

((I want EliotJamesRookwood to control Deus X and Ferra to control Salvatio, if that's okay with both of them. I'll need to debrief them should they accept.

Oh, Deus X is some huge monster the Ico have been nurturing and it threatens the safety of the world. This was in a plot I've developed about fifty pages back.))

(Flashback)
"Sir?" The timid voice called out to him. The Architect looked up at a student. The classroom was empty, and it was his last class of the day. "Sir?" Her call brought him back to reality. "Yes?" he answered. The Architect calmly strode toward her, passing the warm seats and tables. His architecture class was a success. Many prestigious students visited the renowned architect and bombarded him with questions about his inventions and designs. "Sir, I was wondering what your lastest project was." She blushed furiously. The Architect smiled. "Why I suppose I can tell you. But, if I may ask, why do you wish to know?" The student's face brightened up and she smiled. "Because I want to be just like you sir! I want to design fabulous buildings and be helpful to society!" "My, you are one bright child." The twenty-year-old's face turned red. "Here, come to my desk and I'll show you."

Together, they proceeded toward his massive desk, decorated with pens, pencils, blueprints...it was a mess. The Architect wasn't organized back then, but at least he knew where everything was. He sat down in his solid chair and pulled his drawers out, one by one. In his top drawer were more writing utensils than he would ever need in his lifetime. The student's eyes bulged from her head. He pushed it back and brought forth the second drawer, revealing all the paper he would ever need in a lifetime. The student blinked repeatedly. He closed that one and opened the third drawer. Drawings and sketches, rolled up into scrolls neatly lined the area. He pushed that one back. The last and bottom drawer he pulled out to reveal a single sheet of paper. He gently plucked it out and, pushing the junk that littered his desk around, placed it on his desk. He took the white band off and laid it near his drawers. "Sir, why do you have a white band?" He smiled and took off his glasses and laid them next to the band. "They were a gift from a friend. He muttered something about luck. But I never wore it. So I used it to wrap the paper together. I needed it anyway. That's what bands should be used for." He unrolled the paper to reveal the blueprint. "Wow! What is that?" her eyes lit up. "I've never seen anything like it!" "Of course, that's because I haven't told anyone." He winked. "But promise that you won't tell anyone, okay?" She nodded.

Sighing, she said "Sir, may I leave?" The Architect laughed. "You don't need my permission to leave class after it's over!" She blushed again. "Thank you sir, it was a pleasure to see your project! I won't tell anyone about it! Bye!" He waved back at her. He watched her skip off and close the door behind her. It slammed shut, echoing off the walls. He let out a sigh and looked at the blueprint. At the top was the title "Salvatio." It depicted a picture of a simple humanoid. It looked sort of grotesque with his ugly head and giant arms and legs, but to him it was a beauty. "Someday you'll save us all," he said aloud. He eyed the masterpiece again. The Architect paused. He reached out with his right hand to grab a pencil. He wrote at the corner, "Size not to scale. Think big." Smiling, he cleaned up his desk and put away the blueprint.
(/Flashback)

The earth trembled. Cries of disbelief swept through the crowd. "Release...it?" "Yes!" cried the Foreman, who was just as surprised as the rest of them. "Let it go!" The huge man cracked his knuckles. This is it. This is the end. The Leader has gone nuts. I've got to get out of here! The Foreman ordered the wizards and blacksmiths, "Open the gates! Run! Save yourselves before he gets you!" The slaves tugged at the chains, raising the gate inch by inch. The Foreman stood close to the gates, commanding them. Just then a mighty roar bounced off the walls. A tremor caused the men to lose their footing. The chain they were pulling slipped from their grip. It snaked its way backwards, allowing the gate to race back down. They cried in despair. They worked so hard to bring it up and have it ruined. The Foreman smoothly barrel rolled underneath as the iron slammed down behind him. He quickly took to his heels, ditching the angry slaves.

Everyone knew that whatever went into the prison never escaped it. What a load of crap, thought the Foreman. Deus ex machina would soon break free from the energy field -- the strongest magical barrier known -- and rampage towards the surface, aiming for revenge to whomever imprisoned it. Boy, is the Leader ever going to get it! What a f*****g retard! I'm going to kill him! His footsteps raced across the cold stone floor, dragging themselves through the maze of hallways and jail cells that he knew by heart. Angry inmates rushed to the fronts of their cells and shook the bars in protest of their innocence. "Let me go!" "I swear, I didn't do anything!" "Why won't you let me free?" "Some guy framed me!" "Please, let me go!" The Foreman ignored the pleas and flew on. He ran like a wimp for the first time in his life.

He saw the light at the end. He used all his energy and spent it into running. One could see a blur bashing through the invisible barrier at the entrance. Shards of magic littered the ground and evaporated into the air, into the ever flowing universe. The blur sped on toward the towering fortress ahead.