[hr][center][h1][color=#4dff4d]Benji Baker[/color] & [color=ffaa00]Echo Montegawitz[/color][/h1][/center][center]Collab between [@beyond visions] and [@Deserted] [hr][/center]
[indent]Benji's fingers unhooked from Echo, while shedding straight eye-contact, staring with lip curling downwards. Yet, his head soon rotated in view of the van's back door, it was open. His bare-feet stepped towards that direction. He wished to say something, anything, but what could save a broken promise? What could restore the truth from a lie? [color=#4dff4d][i]I'm not letting go of you,[/i][/color] that was he truth abolished. Only the risk he took now would atone for such sin. Though, he was close to gaining trust, [i]their[/i] trust. To defy now would be to put in vain all his dedication. But perhaps his plan was not a defiant one. [color=#4dff4d]"Echo..."[/color] He called her by name while his feet advanced back steps towards the exit. He could hear, and slightly understand the voices commanding his presence outside. [color=#4dff4d]"I-I..I--"[/color] There he was again stuttering, choking on his own words, defeated by them. [color=#4dff4d]"...Trust me."[/color]

He stepped into the light, outside. Then, the door once again closed. What was Benji's plan? He came, he spoke, she responded, and then he left. What was his reason? Perhaps those were two questions Echo wrestled with now. Or maybe not, maybe she had already established an answer. 

The quiet ride to whatever destination continued until Echo sensed the van stopping. Now, the door released in opening, this time, for her.  She could hardly stand. That didn't matter. She was roughly grabbed and hauled to her feet, half-walking, half being dragged along. Once departed from the vehicle, she first passed by a special statue made of stone and glass. This creature was the closest thing to human, but strange... utterly [i]strange[/i]. And etched into the pedestal it was structured on read, [url=https://cdnb1.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/001/957/849/large/gilberto-soren-zaragoza-1336682-orig.jpg?1455144680]"Vruari"[/url]. She was only given the allowance of a glimpse as the guards bowed in reverence to the effigy, before being escorted further into what lied ahead, a place of worship. [/indent]
[hr]
[center][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ca/7a/0a/ca7a0ae0db5fd9cbf39c1382a7c7e48e.jpg[/img][/center][hr][color=FFD700][center][h3][i]The First Temple[/i][/h3][/center][/color][hr]
[indent]Gathered around appraised statues located inside the First Temple, were offerings of the many sorts: flowers, gems, coins, candles, incense. And beside those gifts for the Divine, were their devotees- creatures of many colors, most recognizable from the Principality. It was beautiful though, to view extraterrestrials in more dignified and majestic style. The exotic language itself no longer resonated so jarringly, not once sung in exaltation. 

Echo was forced through a pathway apart from the central place of worship, yet she traveled deeper into the First Temple. Stairs... more stairs. She frantically reached out to grab onto her captors to prevent being thrown down another flight. However, there was no need, these were not used as a weapon. They took the steps down to a lower level. After passing by figures clothed in silk cloaks of turquoise and bronze, she enters a special little room. Now, the wood panels of the room were taped by sheets and sheets of paper, scattered among the walls. What was written on these individual sheets of paper could range from plain English to foreign symbols to drawings. That is where she was shoved inside and left, only to be joined by Benji but a moment later.

[color=#4dff4d]"You see, only the Divine Regency can lawfully mark you a Strierot, not the Principality. All it took was a bit of reminding that you're untouchable."[/color] Benji wiped the blood seeping from his nose as a candlelight illuminated his black eye. [color=#4dff4d]"Well, a bit more than that."[/color]

[color=2b2b2b] So, someone knows more about alien legal practices than the rulers do. Sure, Benji, you haven't been tampered with at all.[/color]
Echo made to walk, but found one leg not behaving. She almost fell. Rather than showing such weakness, she composed herself and forced herself to walk normally on her injured hip, wincing at the effort. She helped Benji clean up his bloody nose. [color=ffaa00]"I would hope to leave you unsupervised at least a little while without getting into some sort of confrontation. Tell me that the other boy looks worse off than you. What am I going to do with you?"[/color]

[color=#4dff4d]"Principality loyalists get a bit pissy when you point the obvious power their beloved monarchs lack... Call me crazy, but I wouldn't have done it any other way,"[/color] he gave a crooked smile while wincing through the pain. 

She glanced around at the interior. [color=ffaa00]"You shouldn't have done that, Benji. It's just going to take a moment for some self-righteous demigod to look down his nose at me and say 'shure she looks like she could be a herritic to me.' Now, they will toss you in with my lot. So, thank you, Benji, I..."[/color] Her voice trailed off, she didn't realize she was getting so worked up about a little thing like dying. [color=2b2b2b]Pull yourself together, you idiot! So Benji wants to go down with the ship too. He already did once, just leave it. At least you won't go alone.[/color] 
[color=ffaa00]"I... um, thank you."[/color]
She instinctively reached out as hearing noise from outside. Her hand withdrew, but she caught herself and intentionally reached out and held his. Somehow it seemed fitting that the two that were by all means dead to humanity would go forth into death together as though the simple gesture could somehow act as a tether through the great void.

Benji curled his palm beneath hers, while maneuvering his other hand to hold onto her shoulder. This secured her limping path to his cot. He sat her down, propping her legs onto the surface of the bed. "Tell me what hurts," Benji then bounced directly into doctor-mode, making an inspection here and there on the condition of her health. After a quick examination for major injuries, he did not find anything pressing...

[color=#4dff4d]"Echo, I understand if you might wonder why I know [i]too[/i] much. But see all of this--"[/color]  Benji tore a few of the pages off the wall, [color=#4dff4d]"This is my way of coping when I'm left alone.  It is why I know so much about these creatures. It gives me a peace of mind, to come to terms that in order for me to seem less animal, I nee  to seem less lost. I've been willing to learn ever since I was given a second chance after destroying Principality property."[/color] Benji began attaching the papers back to their former places. [color=#4dff4d]"Echo, if you question what I have become, I don't blame you. But I'm the same man, the same [i]optimistic[/i] man. But it is hard to find the positives alone...and  I [i]hate[/i] being alone."[/color]

Alone... the word echoed through Echo's mind as she sat in back of her flying car heading to her new home in some mansion much larger than anything her family could afford. She had been able to secure far more avarice than all of them combined. All relatives agreed that that they knew she would do the best of all of the coddled youngest generation. She was basically an empress now, with factories and institutions, political entitles and trade companies rooted around the world. She had become nothing less than a celebrity, but it wasn't the public's attention she had caught; she was a celebrity to brokerage companies, and the NASDAQ. She wasn't exactly accustomed to the need for a chauffeur or a body guard. But they had become necessary. Nor did she prefer custom-built vehicles that were laser and ballistic missile proof, and capable of being handled by a human without aid of a computer. Then again, never before had she been more hated by the public, now [i]that[/i] would take some getting used to.
Upon pulling to a stop outside of the estate, she departed, body-guard in tow. It was a little odd, considering that most celebrities went the robotic route without having to entrust their safety to someone who might be bought off. Her shopping was passed off to the servants, and she proceeded through the halls with a prompt click of her modest yet elegant footwear. She entered the study to see a man seated with his back to the door pouring over documents with a glass of scotch. She approached, and slipped her hands down his shoulders and across his chest, bringing him out of his concentration. She kissed his ear gently.

Ailbeart Rend turned to examine his wife of a meager two months. [color=9e0b0f]"I'm a bit busy, Lass."[/color]

[color=ffaa00]"I just wanted you to know that I missed you,"[/color] Echo explained with a smile, [color=ffaa00]"I'll let you get back to work."[/color]

[color=9e0b0f]"Missed me? After one afternoon of shopping?"[/color] He questioned with a half of a smile.

[color=ffaa00]"Well, I must admit that it is entirely my handiwork for dissolving my patience. Since I could not help but be reminded of you while I shopped, and I bought you something. However, you are going to have to drag the answer out of me, for I will not dare tell you what it is,"[/color] She taunted.

[color=9e0b0f]"Oh really, and what is to happen if you have another one of these moments while I am in Baghdad next month?"[/color]

[color=ffaa00]"I will have to distract you, tease you, antagonize you, until you abandon all business and race back to Scotland just to alleviate your suffering. Perhaps I will start a charity in your name, or launch a non-prophet that stomps on your toes in the South African market."[/color] He snuffed out a pleased half-laugh and dove back into his next conquest. Of course she would not be joining him, it was work, and he needed to focus. There would be plenty of time for romancing when he got back. With one more peck on the ear and no further address, she departed the chamber, lingering at the door a moment to look at the back of her husband. Then the door closed without a noise, and she took a brisk walk to the exercise room.

Benji seemed to be tagging along.
[color=ffaa00]"I think I will play some Destiny Rising and contemplate suicide in the process,"[/color] she told him.

Rounding the corner, she climbed into her simulation/exercise system, that was part of FREV-R. Her arms slid into holes, and her feet into others as she was seated. She was encased in a bubble of televisions that promptly displayed the start-up of the video game.  This was the closest to genuine video games that her husband allowed, and she used the excuse for entertaining exercise more than merely amusement. Immediately a fantasy simulation started, and she began running through terrain and obstacles, pulling out a sword in the process. The simulated underbrush began blasting past, and she waved her hand to remove the obstruction.

Benji was somehow inside with her.

[color=ffaa00]"I'm so tired of this! I'm so tired of all of this mess, drama after drama! I have to patch up everybody's stupid, and somehow figure out how to take care of myself in the process. Not only do I have to tend to my siblings and my parents, my aunts and uncles and grandparents, now I have Ailbeart and his wildfires I have to deal with too! Don't get me wrong, he has been incredibly affectionate, and he will make hellfire rain down on anybody that dares say anything negative about me, but I'm just part of his conquest. Every time I show a part of who I really am to him, he gets annoyed. So, now I'm trapped, playing some sort of tease. It's so exhausting keeping up the act all of the time, but what would have been even more exhausting is the constant nagging I would have had from my mother and sisters and aunts and grandma if I didn't throw myself at him. Now, I'm having to protect them from him too. I don't even know how to break it to them that Ailbeart doesn't even want a child (at least I won't have to deal with a kid as well.) I know they are going to pitch a fit when they find out. I can't make any of them happy! Look at me, I have met every single one of their expectations, and I'm STILL not enough for anybody![/color]
Her character stopped all action as she released the controls to palm her face and rub hard. She allowed the enemy to continue assaulting her without so much as a raised hand for shelter. [color=ffaa00]"I just... I'm ready for all of this to end! I'm so tired. I wish I didn't care, but I do! I wish I could just be self-centered like the rest of them."[/color]

 She watched a moment. Finally the game-sprite succumbed to injuries and expired, [color=ffaa00]"I wish this was real..."[/color]
 
 Everything she saw, from Rend's face to the pixels of the virtual simulation, Benji also saw. This was her perspective. And along with that, were the feelings, her emotions were not her own, while Benji remained locked inside her own conscience. 

Could she hear his thoughts? Know why he withstood those two years in total isolation, when he absolutely hates it? Well, he wasn't alone. 
 
[color=ffaa00]"How do I stop this mess?"[/color] She responded in exasperation, [color=ffaa00]"If I just kill myself, it will cause a scandal and I'll disappoint everybody. I've thought about everything! There isn't any way to do it. I was going to go sailing and toss myself overboard. I can't do that, they won't let me sail alone! I was going to just OD on some drugs but the success rate is only 33%, if I survive then I am just the dummy who can't count pills. I thought about a laser pistol, heck I HAVE the laser pistol in my purse, but if I do it, I will never be anything more than the looser that couldn't cope with life!"[/color]

[color=#4dff4d]"Forget coping..,"[/color] He muttered, quietly with his foreign  alien papers grasped by both hands. "Echo, trust me when I say, coping is nothing but indulging in distraction. No, listen--" Benji gave a quick flick of his wrist, thrusting the papers from out of his palm. [color=#4dff4d]"Remember on the van, when you offered your own life to potential execution or torture, so that the crew be saved and you blamed. And I said no-- swallowed the whole freaking message, because I was not going to let anything or anyone hurt you. I took a bloody nose and black eye for you! I'm keeping you alive, forget Humanity, I worry myself about [i]us[/i]! Us, because I know the desperation, Echo! You and me, aren't so much different."[/color]

Echo glared over at Benji as though he had sprouted lobsters from his ears. Sure it was Benji as Benji ever was, but something was radically wrong. He knew what it was immediately. His voice he now held had always been THE voice, tormenting her, coaxing her to dig deeper and deeper into her subterranean depression. Now, suddenly it was speaking as you might expect a person to do. A shiver ran down her spine, and she stood from her encasement to look him square in the eye. [color=ffaa00]"Who, the devil, are you?"[/color]

[color=#4dff4d]"My deepest darkest secret was crawling around on the ship's vents. You know who I am."[/color]

Suddenly things came snapping back into making sense, well... a different sense that is. Sure she had the past years and such of everything that [i]actually[/i] happened instead of all of that fantasy about freezing people and training programs, but she also remembered the Artemis and Benji and the others overlapping each other like sheets of text printed on  transparent paper. Then one key fact struck her, she had fallen asleep in the cell in the temple. At this point she always woke up, always. In fact, it was before that revelation usually, but not this time. Not this time because for the first time in her life, she was not allowed to leave of her own free will. For the first time in her life she was not the dreamer.

[color=#4dff4d]"Well if I'm going to be completely honest about secrets-- there is one last thing. You're not the first to have dreams like this."[/color] Benji marched in way over to a familiar statue, Echo did not have to read its etched title to know what it was. But this time, the Vruari moved, it breathed. She had seen it standing in the background the entire time, however, until Benji pointed it out, she never really noticed it. [color=#4dff4d]"I never mentioned these dreams, because I never knew [i]it[/i] was real."[/color] [/indent]