Into the base part 2

Mark could feel his heart pumping in excitement and a little fear. He was finally at his destination and after almost a week of being in hell, it felt calming and exciting all the same.

But it also left an emptiness inside him to think what will happen next now that he is here. What En had said about him being an outside factor and increasing the chances of things going wrong still made him afraid to get inside.

"Mark?" Alan's voice was what gave him the courage to step inside.

The inside was made out of rocks and natural stone, not unlike the cave outside and Mark felt foolish to think otherwise. Why would he assume this place to be some high-tech base like in the movies? This seemed more down to earth.

However, he could still see small traps embedded inside the wall and his system was beeping in a warning. In his arms, he could feel Kuro growl in discomfort and he tried to shield her young body.

Luna was moving in front of the pack, his back tense and rigid but he did not comment on anything that was going on behind him. He was doing small motions with his hands that made the mechanisms surrounding them back away.

"From here on inside you should not talk to anyone. Director Liam said to direct you to him as soon as you arrive. I'll take your companion with me and brief him in the meantime" Luna's voice sounded colder than before and from the look, Alan was giving that was not his natural demure.

"Alan, what do you want to do?" Mark asked the teen quietly. The teen looked to be tense as he looked between his brother and Mark but ultimately he made up his mind.

"I'll go with my brother for now. I'll meet with you once I catch up with him and know more about this situation" Mark felt his heart sank but had expected this outcome. Between family and a stranger, family always won in the end.

And that was what Luna was to Alan - his family. Of course, Mark could not even hope to win in such circumstances. He was out of his depths here so all he could do was to take a step back.

Once they were out of his sight did he realise that he had made a big miscalculation and not asked where Liam was. How was he ever going to find that man in such a new place? It was not like he had any signs pointing him toward Liam.

He could not even ask someone to point him out since he had been strictly asked not to do so. Then he could only rely on his map to show him the way.

The problem was that he had no idea how to distinguish his target from that. Every person was a blink and it gave him no additional information. However, it did somewhat mark the inside of the place.

That was a good way for him to start his search. The informal areas could be ruled out. That left only a few areas that were squeezed tight in the back section.

It took time to head off toward the area since there were a lot more people than he imagined their being and the thought of being seen made him feel afraid for some reason. He wanted to blend in with his surroundings.

Kuro was still tense, her mouth in a constant state of growl and her uneasiness was affecting his mood too. Everytime she tried to escape his arms, he held on tighter to prevent her from being seen at all.

People were still ignoring his presence like a ghost and it sent chills down his spine when one walked past near him without any reaction to his person.

The backside of the base was less crowded and looked much more like the base in his imagination than the front part did. This part had a metallic and futuristic look and clearly looked important just from the presence alone.

The architecture of this place looked completely different from anything he had seen too. The mezzanine floors along with the heavy equipment as well as the backdrop of the doors made it look more like a maze.

But the most eye-catching thing had been the tower-like presence right in the center of the place. It was some kind of structure with liquid-metallic lines flowing upwards, not unlike the network on his own body.

There was something about its power that called out to him and he felt connected to it. There was a vibration inside his head and he felt something click inside his mind and the tower. His feet moved unconsciously toward it and his hand fell on the cool metal.

Fire ran through his body and his mind blazed up in an inferno of thoughts and power. Kuro's growls reached his ear but he could not pay any attention to it at all.

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SYSTEM ERROR - INITIATING REBOOT

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His head was killing him with a hammer made up of pure power and he was sure he could feel it right in the back of his skull at his present level of comfort. But the power running through his veins made him more than up for it.

He had not felt such a rush of things before his graduation as a vet when he had too much coffee in an attempt to cram for his exam.

"Kuro?" there was a light stroke near his leg as the kitten aligned their bodies together. Somehow, Mark felt as if he could hear her voice saying 'stroke me' inside his head and he picked her up to do just that.

Her body melted, then tension bleeding away inside her small form to give rise to satisfaction. Mark could visibly feel it inside his head now.

The sensation was natural and the thoughts flowed almost as if they were his own but he could tell they were a foreign existence inside his mind and felt, unlike his own thoughts.

He liked the feeling they gave him - warm and secure.

"No one was allowed back here, so how did you get here. Identify yourself" the voice was at his back and it felt like it should be threatening.

All Mark felt was himself drowning in his own power and he could not be bothered to be bartering with the human behind him. His senses were connected to nature itself at this point and he was beyond life.

He felt bigger than anything he knew, even bigger than the very atmosphere and his senses could almost sense everything that was going around his person and there was just so much to explore.

"Mark? When did you get here?" Liam sounded spectacle and the touch of his hand drove Mark out from whatever had been possessing him. He felt himself come back to his senses as soon as he had snapped inside it and the fire faded from his mind.

His senses were dull once again and the system dinged inside his mind.

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System updated: version 1.2

New features unlocked. Please check for details

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"Sorry, I heard you come in but I could not respond. Luna told me you wanted to have a talk with me once I arrived" His words caused Liam's eyes to harden.

There was a sudden light there which meant that things were not alright at all and Mark gulped as soon as he saw the look on his face. Kuro's growls at the other did not reassure him at all.

"There was a problem in our plans. You know the little girl you accompanied before, Maya? She was supposed to have a pet as her role but when we went to retrieve it we could not find it at all. Now I see why that happened. Just what are you trying to do?" Liam sounded pissed off and tired.

His eyes burned at the kitten in his arms and Mark turned his body to hide the kitten. Kuro was his and no one else.

"I found her on the way here and we bonded. You'll not take her away" Mark felt uneasy as those eyes looked at him again. Liam's sign conveyed his irritation at him.

"This kitten was supposed to be Maya's pet. That was her role in the story and now you took it. We took precautions, went as far as to remove you from the scene itself but you still messed everything up. You even saved a person who was not supposed to be here at all. Do you want to doom us all?" Liam was almost shouting.

"Of course now. This is my world too and I want to save it too. I should be the one questioning your motives. Why are you so interested in this world? It's a game for you and no matter how much you like it, you won't risk your life for money of all things" Mark restored, his own voice rising up.

"You're right, it's far more personal than that. If it did not concern my own world, I would have let you rot in this virtual reality but unfortunately, it's in my best interest that this world is fixed. I'll do whatever it takes. Now hand the pet over" Lian had one hand on the kitten and Mark felt the urge to shoot him outright.

But before he could, Kuro took the action into her own hands.