Journey into the darkness (closed)

[JadeKnight]

He gave a little smile as she turned away whispering. He didn't see others as a single challenge, but rather multiple challenges. That was why he found other humans so interesting to go after. Unlike objects, people had depth and mysteries to explore. He laughed for a moment as he pulled away from her.

"As a singular challenge, perhaps. However people are always providing each other with endless challenges to each other everyday. That's what I like, a good challenge."

Just before he turned to head back to the car, he gave her a light smack on her ass.

"Let's get going."

He was in the car first. As he waited on her to get in, he quickly pressed a few buttons. He turned on a little defensive feature that would start pumping sleeping gas into the car ten minutes after they were underway, since he didn't want to reveal the location of his base/home yet.

 

[Drobabes]

Her expression only became more pensive as he answered, as it didn't really explain it well. At least, to the degree she would have liked. However, she also acknowledged that she likely just didn't understand what he was talking about because she had such a small worldview; such a limited amount of experience with life.

When he reached out and smacked her ass, it startled her out of her thoughts rather harshly and she let loose with a little gasp. It hadn't been a painful swat, but the fact that he did it all surprised her, and...made her angry.

She came to the car and got in, but once she was inside, she simply crosses her arms and glares at her captor.

 

[JadeKnight]

He chuckled for a moment as he looked over at her as they lifted into the air.

"Come now. No need to be so angry. We're almost there and things will fall into place."

He took a deep breathe for a moment before leaning back as the autopilot took over. The sleeping gas was odorless and tasteless, so Suki wouldn't be able to notice much except she was getting sleepy. He was going to feel the same effect, but they would were off much faster as the nanites in his system would deal with waking him up sooner. He gave a little yawn as he felt the drowsiness hit him, covering his mouth for a moment.

"I guess I'll take a nap, what about you?"

He stretched his arms in front of him for a moment before folding his arms over his chest. He grinned as he watched and waited on her to sleep. It was nearly an hour before he woke up, yawning once more. He smiled seeing her asleep, wondering what she was dreaming of. On a whim, he turned on the radio to see what was planning.

"-finished shifting through the rubble and finding any remaining survivors. It was by a miracle that no one was found dead, but there were a handful of injuries to take care of. Rebecca Gebetty returned safe and sound from the family vaction home. When reporters asked why she was listed as missing, Robert Gebetty answered that he was afraid enemies would try to take advantage of the situation. In other news-"

Jacob laughed for a moment as he turned off the radio and looked over at the sleeping Suki.

"Well, well. Two can play at this game Gebetty. Let's see who wins."

He wasn't really upset at being tricked, but he was going to take care of things his own ways. He leaned back as he watched the scenery go by will it was time to land.

The underground base was connected to the surface by a half mile elevator between. The base was a three story layout, a half mile square layout. The top floor was the residential area, the second area was the laboratories, and the third floor was made of an armory, vehicle garage, training grounds, and a large in ground pool of all things.

After landing, Jacob left Suki in the car to move about on her own. However, the only area she would be able to wander would be the residential area.

 

[Drobabes]

Suki had narrowed her eyes at him, her glare only deepening as he simply chuckled at her like it was all just so funny.

"You can't just slap my ass, Jacob, I'm not a toy. And if you do it again, I'll...well I'll..."

But what would she do, really? Say some nasty words in anger? Frustrated, she let's out a little noise of anger and turns away from him, not deigning to look at him as he mentioned a nap.

"No, I don't think I will. I don't trust you, you perv" she grumbled. Even as she said it, however, she could already feel her body becoming heavy and her eyes fighting her will to stay awake. Soon enough, she was deeply asleep.

When she awoke, she immediately noticed that same strange cotton mouth feeling as when she had first woken up in his car. For a few moments, she simply tried to orientate herself and wake up a bit, but once she was awake enough to step out of the car, she quickly became hot headed again.

He had knocked her out. Again! Despite her proclamation that she wasn't a toy, she was sure feeling like one with how easily he had control over her. Although, he didn't have control over her mouth. Not yet, at least.

"Where did he go? I'm going to give him a piece of my mind..." she growled, starting to walk away from the car on somewhat wobbly feet.

As she walked, she finally began to notice that she was in some kind of building, and despite her anger, her curiosity was much stronger. Crossing her arms in front of her, her steps begin to slow as her eyes start to look over everything, her expression softening and being replaced by wonderment.

 

[JadeKnight]

The first area she walked into was setup like the front of a professional office building. There was a large, black emblem on the floor with large slanted letters that spelled out "NASA" with a large circular ring around it with several words like 'United States Government', 'United States Military', 'Central Intelligence Agency', and a few that were faded from time. A few faded leather couches were placed against the walls, along with several potted plants. A large wooden counter was placed along the length of the far end, behind which stood a metal person typing away at a computer.

The android looked up for a moment at her before resuming it's typing on the computer. There were several non-descript doors around the room, the placards on them telling what they were, including two sets of bathrooms. A pair of glass double doors were off to one side of the counter, leading back into another hallway.

Along either side of the hallway were more unlocked doors that were furnished living quarters for the former scientists and workers that had lived here. Clothes, pictures, and other items left behind were placed neatly around the rooms. The hallway soon led to a very large dining area, where Jacob was enjoying a drink as he waited on Suki.

 

[Drobabes]

Suki could not read the words on the floor, but it was nonetheless impressive, and she spent some time simply looking at it. When her curiosity was sated, she kept going, only to come to a full stop when she saw the robot.

For a few moments, she simply stood there, staring at it. She had never seen something like it before, and it was almost a bit intimidating. Suki had the urge to go up and touch it, to see how it worked and what exactly it was, but for the moment, she was more afraid of it than anything. So instead, she finally moves along, thinking to herself that she would have a closer look at it later.

When she got to the hallway, she took her time, exploring almost every room. The pictures interested her the most, wondering who these people were and where they had gone. The building seemed awful big to be so lonely and quiet, and she wondered why she had yet to see anyone else.

Walking over to a particular photo, she turned away from it and instead reached out to touch the clothing, lifting it up with care. It looked to be fitted for a man, and she once again wondered where they had gone. As she is sitting it down, she sneezes, and decides that it's probably time to move along.

At last she comes to the dining room, and when she spots Jacob, she makes her way over to him slowly and sits down in front of him.

"Where are we?" she asks quietly, her earlier anger temporarily forgotten as it was replaced with quiet wonderment. She felt as if she had stepped into some type of fairy tale world; a place forgotten by time.

 

[JadeKnight]

"A place time has forgotten, erased from all records. This, is my home."

He smiled to her for a moment, raising a hand for a moment and wiggling a finger. He lowered his hand once more, picking up his drink. Nothing seemed to happened for a few moments until a door swung open at another end of the dining room. A andrioid like the one she saw came in, carrying a small tray with glass filled with a vanilla milkshake on it.

It didn't say anything as it carefully placed the glass and a straw in front of Suki. It placed the tray under it's arm before walking out once more. Jacob smiled as he watched how she reacted. Since he knew her secret, he was wondering how long she would try to play things up before cracking. After all, he would have to plat on his end as well.

"I am the only living person here, except for you now."

 

[Drobabes]

She tried not to let her fear show as the android came out, but when she saw what it was bringing her, her expression changed to a little smile and she felt a little less tense. When it took the tray and left, Suki hesitantly reached out and took the shake, taking a small sip.

"I am the only living person here, except for you now."

Her emerald eyes stare at him for a moment before she sets the shake down and a little frown touches her face.

"That seems very lonely. What happened to everyone?"

 

[JadeKnight]

He gave a little shrug of his shoulders for a moment.

"I've lived here alone pretty much since the war. I'm used to it."

Upon her asking of where everyone went, he shook his head for a moment. Though it happened before he woke up, the security system had captured it all on the system. He had to delete some of it, but enough remained to show what happened. It had been some of the bloodiest massacre that he had seen, which all happened pretty quickly as well.

"Let's just say some secrets were buried and leave it at that for now."

He looked toward the door the android had disappeared through, shaking his head once more before looking at her.

"So, I have to ask, are you hungry?"

 

[Drobabes]

She was quiet for a moment, thinking about what he had said. She was curious of course, but the way in which he had said it would imply that something very bad happened.

Her eyes looked towards the door from which she had come in. There had been so many rooms and so many photos. What happened to all those poor souls?

"So, I have to ask, are you hungry?"

"Hmm? Oh, I suppose I could eat something. It's been a little bit since... Hey, wait a minute" she says, her voice suddenly becoming angry.

"You knocked me out again, didn't you?"

Her eyes were like two little green flames, the spunky little hellion glaring at Jacob once more.

 

[JadeKnight]

He gave a little smirk at seeing her get angry once more. She had spunk, he gave her that. He also wondered if she actually gave any thought to why he had done it.

"Yes I did. Do you really think I was going to let you see where I was taking you openly? True, you won't be able to really run away from here. However, I really don't want any uninvited guests either."

He took a sip of his drink for a moment before smiling again.

"So what does my captive princess want to eat?"

 

[Drobabes]

The fight seems to leave her very quickly when he explains why he did it, and her expression changes to a bit of a dumbfounded look. It was so obvious now that she felt quite silly. Although, on the other hand, she still really didn't like being forced to sleep. It left her feeling way too vulnerable.

"You couldn't have like...I don't know, blindfolded me or something?" she grumbles. At his next question, though, she bit the inside of her lip a bit. She really didn't know what to ask for.

"That hamburger earlier was pretty good..."

That was a safe suggestion, right? Although, there cane that guilt again, trickling into her mind.

 

[JadeKnight]

He chuckled for a moment at her grumbling, though he did nod at her request of a hamburger.

"A hamburger? I think something can be arranged."

He pulled over a small tablet that was sitting near him. He touched the surface of it, changing it from a black screen to one with many icons. He tapped one and then touched a few more buttons before smiling to her.

"One hamburger coming up. It will be ready shortly. Now I guess I need to determine some living arrangements for you since you might be here at least a day or two. As you saw, there's plenty of bedrooms to pick from."

He knew it probably would be longer than that she would be with him. He also could have her share his room that was further down, but that could come later.

 

[Drobabes]

Her eyes watched his movements with curiosity, finding the tablet to be pretty interesting. She had seen a few old world gadgets here and there from the Gebetty's, but she had never gotten her hands on anything before. She wondered if Jacob would let her play around with them at some point.

"Now I guess I need to determine some living arrangements for you since you might be here at least a day or two."

Two days, possibly even only one. Was that really all she had? How was she going to bring that conversation up? Should she just do it now? But what if he took her back to the mansion? She didn't know if she could go back to that life of scrubbing floors and walls.

Suki found herself biting her lip and fidgeting with fingers as she simply waited for the food to arrive, her anxiety about how to approach the dilemma eating away at her.

 

[JadeKnight]

He watched her for a moment as she fidgeted in her seat. He tapped the screen of the tablet, turning it black once more. He shifted and stood up, moving around behind her. As he had at the park, he laid his hands gently on her shoulders.

"There's no need to be nervous about anything. I am sure we'll have you home in no time at all. Think of this as a mini vacation for you."

She could have reached out and touched his tablet if she wanted, the device just within finger's reach. He just stood over her, looking down at her.

 

[Drobabes]

Her light green eyes looked up at him as he stood, and then as he came behind her. His size comparative to her shorter and slimmer frame made him a bit intimidating, but for some reason she found it calming when he put his hands on her shoulder like that. Similar to when he would pat her head. Why she found it calming, she really couldn't say though.

"What if I don't want to go back there?" she asked quietly, keeping her eyes trained down at her hands. The tablet was interesting, sure, but right now she was a lot more focused on something else.

 

[JadeKnight]

He raised an eyebrow for a moment at her her words. His fingers gently squeezed her shoulders for a moment as he looked down at her.

"Is that so? And why would the princess not wish to go home for? I mean, what would I do with a runaway princess? Wouldn't daddy coming looking for you, my captured princess?"

He knew that the Gebettys wouldn't be coming after her on their own. They probably had already written her off in whatever scheme they had devised, he was quite sure.

 

[Drobabes]

Suki bit her lip again, the anxiety building to a new level. She had a choice to make here-either tell him now, or risk him finding out later and possibly becoming quite angry. Well, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't be angry anyway, but at least this way, she had some choice in the matter.

"No. No, I don't think he would come looking for me. In fact, at this point I'm not even sure if he would care if I came home at all."

She swallowed hard and then reached up to gently brush his hands away from her shoulders, finally looking up to meet his gaze.

"I-I'm...I'm not the real daughter Jacob. I was propositioned by Mr. Gebetty to fill a role, after he found out that you planned on taking her. I'm... I'm sorry..."

 

[JadeKnight]

He was quiet for a moment as she made her little 'revelation', letting her brush his hands away. He made a face as if pondering her words before he just grinned and chuckled. He cupped her chin gently before running the pad of his thumb against her soft lips lightly.

"I had figured as much, but I wasn't completely sure you were hiding something until after you went to sleep on the way here. I do have to say that you did pretty good at trying to hide it from me."

He grinned for a moment as he pulled his hand from her as he continued to speak.

"It was actually Robert Gabetty who decided to out you by announcing on the radio his actual daughter was vacationing. And don't worry, I'm not mad at you. It was impressive."

He grabbed another chair and pulled it up beside her now.

"I see three options for you, but you don't have to decide now. The first is sending you back to the Gebettys, but that is probably dead on arrival now. Second, I can give you some money and drop you off in the nearest town to fend for yourself. Or..."

 

[Drobabes]

There was an extremely tense moment after she had told him the truth, in which she simply waited for his reaction. She still had only known the man for a day, and thus far, while he had been kind, she hadn't seen much of a reaction from him besides amusement and flirting. So when he cupped her chin and gently touched her lips, for just a moment, she had been scared that the shoe would drop and he might slap her, or do something else equally as cruel. He didn't, though, and this left her reeling a bit.

"Impressive?" she repeats, her eyes looking away as he grabs a chair. It wasn't so much a question as just her brain seemingly trying to catch up with what had just happened. She had worked herself up into such a state of worry; it was a little hard to come back down to earth.

As he sat in front of her and started going over her options, her light eyes looked up at him through her lashes, and she knit her brows a bit.

"So...wait... You're...not mad? Like, at all? It doesn't bother you that I was pretending to be someone I'm not, and it doesn't bother you that you didn't actually steal the thing you set out to steal?"

She sits back in her own seat a bit, her arms coming up to cross in front of her chest.

"You're kind of freaking me out. Does that good humor of yours never falter?"

 

[JadeKnight]

He smirked a little and shook his head, leaning back as well.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. It does upset me at being fooled of what I planned on stealing, but I don't have a real reason on getting completely mad at you. Since you played along as you did, I am sure there was something in it for you as well. Right?"

He raised an eyebrow for a moment before he continuing.

"I do get mad and angry, like you. However, I have learned to control my anger and channel it in other ways when needed. After all, becoming angry or upset at the wrong time can cost the job to go wrong. Like I said, I was impressed by your acting, even if you need more work."

He looked away for a moment as the android came into the dining room, carrying a large tray. It placed a plate with hamburger and fries in front of her while he got a plate with steak and mashed potatoes.

 

[Drobabes]

"...Since you played along as you did, I am sure there was something in it for you as well. Right?"

She looked down at her hands a bit guiltily, but she nodded yes. Sure, there had been something in it for her, but oh how foolish she felt now for falling for it. She also was angry at herself, for not sticking up for herself better. When that old man had told her of their deal changing, she should have put her foot down and threatened to back out. Instead, she had let him cut into her with his words, tearing her down like she was nothing. She had certainly felt like nothing, too.

"After all, becoming angry or upset at the wrong time can cost the job to go wrong. Like I said, I was impressed by your acting, even if you need more work."

"I suppose I should take that as a compliment" she said, giving him a bit of a sad smile.

"I do feel a little guilty though..."

Suki was interrupted from that train of thought as the android came out once more with their food, and instead of continuing, she simply distracted herself from his gaze by taking a better look at it, curious of how it worked. Once it was gone, her eyes just lingered on the food until she finally reached out and picked up a fry, toying with it a bit before taking a small bite.

"Well...you were giving me options as to what I can do now. What was the third option?"

There was no way she was going back to that mansion now. If Mr. Gebetty had so obviously outed her, all but throwing her in the trash, then she imagined she would only have an even lower status than a maid, were she to return. The idea of taking Jacob up on his offer of taking a bit of money and trying to make it on her own in town intrigued her, but also scared her just the smallest amount. She would have to start fresh, in a town where she knew no one, and she couldn't even read. She would likely have to take a simple job, like working in a kitchen, or being a maid again, and although she believed that she could make it work, she wanted to hear her other option first.

 

[JadeKnight]

He took a few moments to cut a piece of his steak, chewing it and swallowing it. He was curious as to what she would think of his offer to her. He didn't plan on turning her into a maid or the like. That was partly what his androids were for. He took a breathe for a moment before looking over at her.

"The third offer is something you might want to consider carefully. I don't know your full situation, but what I will offer is probably going to be much better than the first two."

He took a sip of his drink before continuing to cut up his steak and take a bite of potatoes.

"The third option is where you stay here with me. I can train you, make you better prepared for the world. I do get the feeling you have been quite sheltered most of your life, ill-equipped for life on the outside."

He smiled for a moment before continuing to eat. He was pretty sure she would think he had some sinister motive, which he did truly. However, he wasn't planning on revealing that to her till later.

 

[Drobabes]

She chewed slowly, thinking about what he had just offered. He was right in that she wasn't prepared for life out in that big world. There was a lot she could learn, although she did wonder if she wouldn't be better off trying to simply learn it on her own. Still...

"Why do I feel like there's a catch?"

Suki gave him a small smile, looking up from her meal to meet his jade eyes.

 

[JadeKnight]

He smiled for a moment at her question. He reached over with one hand and laid it gently on her head. He ate another piece of steak for a moment before speaking.

"You catch on quickly princess. I could say there was a catch to the offer, but everything has a price of some sort."

He rubbed her head softly for a few moments before pulling his hand away.

"I won't say what the catch is, but it's something that will come later. No harm to you, little treasure princess."