The Cabal of Aeothune: Episode 1

*Dark... dark... light... dark...*

Karlson, half-alive, was floating inside a stasis chamber within a test chamber.

As people continued their daily tasks well below the rafters, a red-eyed scientist observed them carefully, tapping upon the keyboard, inserting commands of sorts.

*Dark... horrifyingly dark... light... still dark...*

Karlson woke up from his stasis sleep, in a room he did not expect to be in again.

"Well. You're alive. I've been running some tests on you and it seems that you've been undergoing another... what should I say... incident. Abnormal brain waves are-" The man started, when he was abruptly interrupted.

"Just cut to the f\*\*king chase, Jeremy. I try to get some milk, and now I'm hated all over Aeothune *and* am currently being hunted down. Meanwhile, *you've* been running experiments on me and you get nothing." Karlson seethed.

"Maybe it's because I'm not you," Jeremy laughed.

Karlson rubbed his head in pain. He did not want to see Jeremy or be part of his experiments. But he did want to share something.

"All I have to say is, about those brain waves? Crazy stuff can happen in the other place." Karlson walked towards the door. It was completely blown up, and so were the windows. Could the GMCN really have...?

*No. There's no way.*

"Have a good life," Karlson retorted to Jeremy. "And you may want to fix up your house a bit."

*Now, where was Freddy?*

*Now, what exactly are you doing?*

The mercenary, at this point, was creeping along the beam to an intersection, moving along the rafters until he was right above the cliffs overlooking the ruins of Aeothune City. The mists were more potent at this point, and his ears were perked as whispers began to be audible - but it wasn't the people whispering, it was the mist.

They didn't seem to notice it, and maybe that was for the better as he angled his ears to hear more clearly. Among the whispers were words such as death, insanity, harm, destruction... the usual around this particular valley. Continuing to listen to the disembodied voices, he could pick up a few more... *fresher* voices, ones that carried the force of more recent actions. Anger, hurt, neglect, loneliness...

*Hmph, nothing interesting.*

Karlson promptly padded away, balancing on the rafters and leaping across a few of the beams, this time making his way towards a more... *diverse* group. She kept going until reaching a group made up of assassins, cyborgs, hybrids, and mercenaries, a very mixed variety of soldiers surrounding them. Around an older person was an overwhelming dark mist, bearing so many whispers that the younger was forced to block them out. Around a blond-haired man was a very light gray mist, notably quiet in comparison. Then around the older cyborg... now that, *that* was interesting. Their mist was more of a gradient, darker in some points, gray in others, and then incredibly light in others - not to mention it had an intriguing hue, being tinted purple or dark blue in some parts. A red-haired man had a similar dilemma in his mist, but was tinted reds and oranges instead and had very few dark spots.

As for the whispers... the variety was simply astounding, speaking of so many fates and dilemmas that the fairy had to hold back a purr of excitement. Oh, how he loved to play with those whispers, seeing all those things happening... yet it was just so *difficult* to get a hold of these whispers. Did they somehow know Karlson could see them? Make sure they got what they deserved? They always left whenever he started playing with them, and it was so painstaking to try and untangle *one* whisper only for them to leave before she finished.

Yet he kept trying, it was just so... *tempting,* those little whispers being attracted to her, beckoning him to mess with them... but he knew he shouldn't. Yet he could.

This entire ordeal had broken Karlson, somewhat. And that was when he noticed something.

These people weren't doing anything.

A faint purple glow emanated in the distance, goading Karlson to come closer.

Karlson ignored it, and saved it for another day.

The glow brightened, and what looked like a stream of light punctured through Karlson's abdomen. It pulled him back into the source of the light.

It was the Catalyst.

Karlson knew that this had caused the horror he had experienced recently.

*Good. More lives to play with. More subjects to take over Aeothune for me.*

Karlson knew he couldn't stick around. He punched the catalyst smack in its middle, forming a large crack, before promptly running away. His hand and chest were now starting to glow purple.

More people were slowly being fed on. Karlson knew he had to dispose of them before they did any harm. to his beloved Aeothune.

Meanwhile, some GMCN agents were moving towards Jeremy's house, with the knowledge that Karlson could have been there. Jeremy promptly threw a grenade, which bounced back towards him and blew up in midair. The agents had swarmed him when they were stopped. Frozen, it seemed.

Karlson, now growing more purple-magenta and sporting a glitch in front of his eyes, was wielding a Mossberg 900. He rapidly fired at the agents, whose souls seemed to be absorbed into his body. Along with some other infected.

The more lives the Catalyst, now within Karlson- the Katalyst, I should say, took, the more it grew. Soon, it was welded into his hand.

More agents spewed in, with some robots. Karlson shot and cut down any robots or agents that came to attack them. Karlson tapped out the word "live" in Morse code on his thigh as he stabbed people in the chest and head.

"Who taught you Morse code?" Jeremy asked.

"Taught myself. My classmates and I shared answers to each other on tests that way," Karlson began. "It was only so we wouldn't have to study."

"You are willing to learn a full-ass language to communicate-"

"We used to speak Korean and Japanese to each other."

"*Three* languages to cheat on tests just so you wouldn't have to study?!" Jeremy screeched, indignant.

"Hey, man, it's hard work being a slacker," Karlson casually responded before straightening and looking around.

Karlson could hear footsteps. They sounded a long distance away, but his instincts told her to run. She felt a chill go down her spine, like a predator was stalking her. "Hello, targets number 0214 and 3487! Unfortunately, I have been given the burden of ending your lives. Please come out and surrender to me!" An unfamiliar voice called out to them, beckoning them to come out.

Karlson flew out- that was new. He then used his rifle arm to impale the person.