It must have been nighttime because there was darkness in the room when Aisle opened her eyes. The window's curtains were still drawn back and the moonlight shone into the room, illuminating the scene that was in front of her. Where was she? A quick look around and she saw she was in the bedroom. How had she gotten here again? That information was a bit sketchy. She had a head splitting migraine that only made itself known when she sat up.

Something was wrong.

Why she thought this?

Well, first of all, the watch on the bedside table said it was thirty three minutes past seven o'clock. She had never slept in, even on a day she was completely free. She did next to nothing in this place but look after the house so there was no need for her to nap if any.

The second indication was that she was naked. And not semi or wearing-just-the-lacy-item naked. No, she was all-the-way-birthday-suit naked. She never went to sleep that naked. Call her old fashioned but Aisle wanted to have some fabric on her body in case of an emergency at night. By emergency she meant anything that could cause her to leave the warm comfort of her bedding.

So what the hell happened to her?

She glanced around her and noticed the trail of clothes on the floor. They weren't just hers. There was a pair of pants there next to her very pink, very lacy item. She had never been this much of a sloth. I mean sure, Aisle was not a very pro active person, but she generally picked up after herself. So why did she leave her undergarments on the floor if she had come to have a nap? And more importantly, why were the Governor's son's pants next to her underwear?

There was a sound from the bathroom.

A flushing toilet, she thought.

What came out of that room was almost knocking her out with surprise again.

"Should we get something to eat or would you rather just have the main course in bed?" The Governor's son spoke as he wrapped the towel around himself. Aisle was just starting to understand why exactly she was tired and sleeping at seven in the night.

The Governor's son turned to face her and almost immediately noticed the change in his wife's eyes. His father had said that this was likely going to happen. He said that the code was not perfected yet. But even with that, there was no way an Individual was supposed to 'wake up' after it was administered. That was what he had been assured. Now what was happening here? His Connector blared to life and he answered without looking at the caller ID. He already knew whom it was.

We have a situation. The Individual is to be taken to the Capitol in the Upper Division.

The line went dead even before he could speak. This was not good. He knew that Aisle was a different kind to her species... but enough to have the Capitol request for her transfer to the Upper Division? He knew that none of the Individuals who went there ever came back. He knew what they were going there to do. And he did not want that kind of life for his wife.

"Get dressed."

Aisle was still in shock when she saw her husband going about the room looking for something to put on. She was remembering everything now. She was remembering just exactly what she and he had been doing in that bed. How could she even consent to doing such a thing? Did she really not care at all anymore? But she did not understand herself anymore. There were... parts in her head... parts that did not feel... human.

"Aisle! Get up and get dressed!"

The Governor's son's voice roused her from her thought process. What was he doing? It looked like the call he had just gotten was not a good one. He was behaving like something was coming for him.

"What's going on, Vance?"

That was the very first time he had heard her calling him by name. Yes, he was right about this Individual being different. That was the only explanation why his father and the General would want her.

"We do not have enough time to explain. You need to get dressed now and leave!"

He threw some of her clothes at her and left the room.

Aisle was still shaking as she pulled on the pants and blouse he had given her. She was just grabbing her jacket when Vance was back in the room, a firearm in his hand.

"Take this."

Aisle had never had practice with weapons in her life. I mean, where in the world would she need to use it? And she had known that acquisition of weapons by citizens in this New World was prohibited. There was no need to own weapons in the least bit. So why was Vance giving her a gun?

"Listen to me, Aisle. My people are coming for you. I know that you will not understand this, but you must run. If they find you here, you will never see him again. At least not while you are still you."

Aisle was confused. Nothing Vance was saying made any sense to her. His people? Wasn't she a part of his culture having been born in the Controllers' world? Or what exactly was he talking about. But that aside, never see him again? Aisle needed confirmation on that statement even if she already knew whom he meant. She was just about to ask him to explain himself when the doorbell rung.

"They are here," he said and brought out his Connector. A few keystrokes on it saw the bathroom door open behind Aisle and the M.A.I.D coming out.

"Follow it outside and into the car. I have programmed her with coordinates to a safe distance. She will answer any questions you have for me," he thrust the Connector into her hand and then as an afterthought turned to look at her, "If only you weren't different."

The next moment he was out of the room. Aisle was calling for him but the M.A.I.D's grip on her arm was iron tight as it led her out the door and down the hall away from Vance.

"Let go of me!"

"I am sorry, ma'am. My programming does not allow this at the moment."

The machine half led, half dragged Aisle until they were in the kitchen where she told her to be silent. Aisle didn't need to ask why. She could hear the men talking with Vance at the front door.

"Where is it?"

"I don't know. It was gone by the time I was coming back to check on it," Vance spoke with a slight shake in his voice. Aisle knew that her husband had never been a very good liar. There was a few seconds of silence until she heard footfalls and the creaking of that bottom stair that she had asked him to fix a million times now.

"I will ask you again. Where is it?"

Aisle was sure that these men had come for her. At least that's why Vance had told her to run. But if they really were after her, why did they keep referring to her as an 'it'? Like she was no different from the machine that was tagging her arm to exit the kitchen through the backdoor?

"I told you that it's not here."

The M.A.I.D carefully opened the door and made her way outside the house, still keep its hand firmly closed on Aisle's wrist. It was just about to open the door to the fence when it paused. It peeked its head up the fence and cursed.

"There are six more at the entrance to the grounds. We will need automotive assistance if we will have an acceptable percentage of survival odds."

Aisle was not sure what the hell it was talking about but she just followed it when she got a glimpse of the men dressed in black suits. Each of them had a firearm in their hand. These were not the Authorities. Sure, they wore the standard attire for the sector. But Aisle had seen the Authorities before, the never had firearms that were glowing green. That was Neos tech in their hands.

The M.A.I.D tagged her around the yard to the garage. She was about to enter when they heard footsteps inside.

"I shall unhand you only for the purposes of subduing the Individual in the garage. Please do not move from this position as that would reduce the percentage rate of a successful escape."

Aisle nodded her head. It's not like she had an option. Her home was filled with armed "Authorities" who were probably trying to kill her. The M.A.I.D nodded and opened the door. It waited for the man to round the car that belonged to Vance before it launched at him. It had him pinned in one move and incapacitated with another. Aisle didn't know the machines were skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

"Please enter the vehicle, ma'am."

Aisle walked into the garage and stared at the unconscious man on the floor.

"Is he dead?"

"No, ma'am. I have merely altered a genome in his body using site-directed pressure to his brain."

"What?"

"I have knocked him out."

Aisle nodded to this and got into the car that the M.A.I.D was holding the door open to. It rounded the length of the car and got into the seat next to her. Aisle had never seen a car like this in her entire life. It looked like a relic compared to the models she had used.

"For safety reasons, I request that you wear your seat belt first, ma'am."

Aisle looked baffled by the machine's comments but she did as she had been asked. It then backed the car all the way to the very end of the garage and asked her to brace herself for any collation and possible shooting before it floored the accelerator and the car went bursting through the garage door. It was chaos as shots came at them from all directions. The M.A.I.D seemed to be very adept to driving this weird machine. The car had something that resembled a ball on a metal rod that the machine kept moving back and forth. There was also a circular thing where Aisle knew the counsel for directions was supposed to be. If she didn't know any better, it seemed as if the M.A.I.D was the one controlling the car using that circular wheel she kept turning this way and that.

Aisle ducked her head as the M.A.I.D run down the gate to her home and sped down the street. It was after a few moments had passed that Aisle ventured a look up to notice they were riding down the highway at a blistering speed, several windows of the car broken.

"Are you injured, ma'am? My scanners are detecting levels of anxiety spiking in your being."

Anxiety? She was beyond being anxious right about now. She wasn't sure how she had not just lost her mind right about now.

"Wait, what about Vance?"

"Your husband was shot in the head in the events that followed our escape from the compounds. I have footage if you would like to verify this."

The machine took one of its hands off the circular wheel and placed it palm up between them. There was a soft clicking sound as Aisle watched the hand mechanically morph into a screen and footage of not five minute ago being displayed. There was the lunatic driving of the machine and the men spraying the car with green laser beams from their weapons. She saw their car ram the gate and disappear from sight before the men went back into the house.

Vance was pushed out a couple of seconds later and he fell to the ground. He looked bloody and beaten. Were they torturing him just before she and the machine came out of the garage? The men in black suits didn't even speak to him. There was only a green haze and Vance lay on the ground, a gaping hole in the middle of his head.

"Enough," Aisle said weakly and the M.A.I.D pulled back its hand back to the wheel when it was back to normal.

They had just killed him. Just like that. Aisle was right about these men not being the Authorities. If they killed the Governor's son just like that... something else was working here. Then she remembered that Vance had mentioned something about programming her M.A.I.D.

"Where are we going?"

"Your husband has left coordinates to a place in Sector 32 in my programming, ma'am. I am to take you there without fail."

"When did he change your programming?"

"The first day you brought me into the house, ma'am."

Aisle was surprised. Vance had never been against her having the machine in the house because it was a contingency plan.

"What did he do to you exactly?"

"Your husband inputed files into my memory. He considered placing a Neural inside me but was sure that would only draw the Surrogates to you both sooner."

"Neural?"

"Yes, ma'am. That is the device that is placed in machines to make them more human-like."

Aisle nodded. She knew about this Neural device then. She had heard about it from her father when he was designing the Facilities in their hometown.

"Do you know who those men who killed Vance are?"

"Yes, ma'am. They are Individuals, same as you."

"Individuals? What the hell is that?"

"An Individual is a human born with the assistance of the Neos technology. They are developed from human tissue and deoxyribonucleic acid which is bonded with the Neos technology at a cellular level."

Aisle was frozen stiff with the M.A.I.D's words. Was the machine she had brought to her home to help her in doing chores now calling her a machine as well?

"I don't understand. I have a Mother and Father..."

"That is incorrect, ma'am. The machines you referred to as Father and Mother are Surrogates. They are machines, much like me, that are created to facilitate the smooth transition of an Individual into the Eco System. Your memories are nothing but a mere by-product of clever programming from the Facility that created all seventy five of you three years ago."

"Seventy five? There are seventy four more of 'me' out there?"

"Not anymore, ma'am. Your predecessors all developed malfunctions to their coding when they attained the age of seventeen years in the human life cycle and ceased to exist. You are the only one left."

This was a bad dream. There was no way that she was a clone... machine... cyborg.... Whatever it was that she was being called here by a machine she was supposed to be in control of. But that was an interesting thing to think on. Was she truly a machine too?

"Wait, three years ago? You mean I was born three years ago?"

"That is not the correct term to describe your cause for existence, ma'am. You were created as you appear now since inception of your existence. But yes, your existence has spun for three years now, ma'am."

It couldn't be true. She was positive that she was human. She had human feelings. She even cried and bled just like all humans are supposed to. But that could just be a result of the tissue and DNA in her. She had never been to the hospital before. Come to think of it, she had never seen a building in her town that was supposed to be a hospital.

"How many Individuals are there in the world?"

"I have no files on the numbers in the Lower and Outer Division, but the number is estimated to be in the millions as of now."

Millions! There was only an estimated six million people in the world if the recent survey on population she had read was accurate. Did that mean that half the world's population was filled with machines? Was that even the correct term? Her mind snapped back to that first day Clew had called her a Controller. It seems it was not just an insult after all now.

She had thought about him again, but she didn't object to it. She was actually longing for it. Where was he now? Did he know all these things about her? Aisle gasped slightly and the M.A.I.D turned to look her way?

"Is there a problem ma'am?"

Aisle was just starting to understand. The nine word message he had left her that day. It seems that his numerous tests about why she could displace for an unlimited amount of time had finally given him the results. He must know that she's a freak of nature. That she was part Neos and part human. But that was not the real problem for her. All she wanted to know was something very simple and important to her.

Was that why he didn't love her anymore?

"Ma'am?" Aisle heard the maid's voice and it seemed far away. This was too much for her mind to bear. She was starting to feel dizzy just from the information she had heard. She felt a pain in her midsection and the nausea feeling coming before she could tell the M.A.I.D to stop the car. She lowered the window as the bile rose to her throat.

"Ma'am!" the car was now at a standstill along the road but Aisle didn't notice it. Her head was still spinning too fast for her to even try and stay conscious.

Rath Nation, New Earth 0015 A.N, 2056 O.E

Time: 11:20pm

Clew was moping the sweat from her brow as he finally put the tools in his hand down. He had not slept for more than six hours for the past two days since he came back to the lab. He knew the importance of the machine now. If anything, he understood the necessity of why the machine was needed now. There was nothing that could be done for the unfortunate misfortunes of his past. He didn't want to admit the motivation for his work had been due to the fact that he was heartbroken.

No. He did not want to believe that was it at all. He could simply sum it all up to be the fact that he wanted to be of some help to Commander Nico and his forces. Yes. That was it. Nothing of a hazel eyed nature was included in his desire to see the machine work at all. Even Papa would vouch for this now.

Crap. He remembered that he had exiled the voice in his head. There was nothing that could be done about that now. He would just have to trust that his judgment was equal, if not better, than Papa's.

"Working late again?"

He turned around to find Nico standing there, a tray of food and water in his hand. His stomach growled immediately at the smell of steak. At the mention of the word late, Clew stood up and went to open the curtains to the window he had not drawn since he came into the lab. The moon was already up in the sky and seemed it had been there for quite a while. He had completely lost track of time.

"It would seem so."

The older man chuckled as he entered the room and placed the tray on the table that didn't have bits of machinery on them. Clew could see the first signs of age starting to show with his hair turning gray here and there. He still had the strength to start a fight, but not the stamina to sustain it.

"They told me that you had completed the machine yesterday. What are you doing here then?"

Clew didn't really know what he was still doing in he lab. He had already enhanced his earlier model to be able to facilitate displacing Nico's entire army. In fact, he had done more than that. The machine was now a gateway. You simply had to pass through it and you'd arrive at your desired destination without any fuss.

The problem had been that he could not understand why anything that he displaced only lasted in the other space for only twenty nine minutes. That had been his worry here. Everything he did was a failure to extend the period. He had been working on it for close to eighteen hours straight when he realized that one difference to this time limit. He dug up the old files from Individuals from the archives and the results were exactly what he had expected.

The reason for Aisle's unlimited displacement period was because she had Neos tech embedded deep in her genealogy. In fact, half her body was made up of the green stuff. It took so long for him to accept this. The way she felt in his arms was not mechanical. The way she looked at him when they both had the best nights of their lives was not programmed either. She was half human... and that was the half that Clew had loved.

But there was no such thing as loving someone half way. That was not how it worked. He knew that he loved every single inch of Aisle whether it was human or Neo. There was simply no other way to put it. That was when his mind had struck the idea that she had told him long ago. She had suggested it as a joke but now it was worth a shot.

"I'm still working."

"And what exactly are you working on with that?" Nico asked him when he noticed the green liquid that he was drawing into the syringe.

"A new discovery."

This was reckless. If Clew had any brains, he would drop the syringe and go be with his siblings. But he didn't have the luxury of doing that when another invasion from the Controllers could be just minutes from reaching them. He had to be sure that his machine gave them all a fighting chance. He had to make sure he saved the lives he valued most in his life now.

"There must side effects to this discovery of yours."

Clew knew that his godfather was not as slow as everyone in this place when it came to the science of their world. In fact, that was the main reason he accepted his help in the first place when they had been in the Outer Division.

"That is a risk I am willing to take."

"Well, I am not," he came closer to him and pulled up his sleeve, "But I am prepared to trust that you know what you are doing."

Clew knew what he was doing. He was daring him to know if the Neos tech was really fit for human interaction. The problem was that even with all the testing that he had done on it to understand its properties, he still had to have a guinea pig to really know the answer to that question.

"I still don't know what happens afterwards."

"Then take notes."

Clew was not prepared to lose another parental figure in his life, let alone be the cause this time round. But he needed to know if this could work. It might just be the reason Elena, Mihaela and Luca will grow up not having to look over their shoulders ever again. But Nico... he had so many people depending on him. If he were to die... what would he tell them happened?

What would he tell Dani?

But this was science. Science was defined by the risks that one took. He almost nodded to that statement as he injected the green liquid into Nico's arm. He could see it spreading up his arm until it went straight to his brain. There was a moment that Clew was sure he had killed him when his head suddenly fell forward and he didn't move at all.

"Nico?" he shook him but there was no response. Clew was just about to start a full scale panic when Nico's shoulders begun shaking. So he was still alive. But he looked like he was having a seizure. He was just about to check his pulse when he recognized the sound coming from him. It was laughter.

"Gotcha."

"That wasn't funny, man"

The old man burst out laughing earnestly and Clew was almost swearing at him. He had no idea the amount of fear he had just induced in him.

"Haha... you need to lighten up, Clew."

"How are you feeling?"

Nico stretched his arms, waving them around to see any effects.

"I feel fine."

Well, death wasn't instantaneous. That was one diagnosis. He gave him the Space Displacer bracelet so he could monitor his progress. He displaced a few feet away from him and Clew asked that he not move an inch until twenty nine minutes were up.

"Do you think it will work?" Nico asked him and he didn't have an answer as he stared down the clock. They needed it to work.

Six minutes left.

He was as anxious as ever before, every few seconds turning to ask Nico if he was feeling funny at all.

Three minutes left... One minute...

The timer chimed and he turned to look at the chair that Nico had occupied. But he was not there.

"You did it Clew!" Nico said as he came walking to where Clew stood, "This will really help us tomorrow!"

Clew was excited about the progress, but he knew that observations were needed to know for sure how long it would take for the pull on the machine to cause everyone to displace back. But Nico was right. This was really going to help them tomorrow. And that both excited and horrified him to no end.

Unknown Location 0015 A.N, 2056 O.E

Time: 4:20pm

There were rays of sunlight shining on her face by the time Aisle opened her eyes. She must have been asleep for a long time because her entire body was sore from being immobile for so long. She felt so crappy about herself that she didn't really understand what had happened to her. Why was she in this bed again? Oh, she remembered now. Vance was killed and she was on the run from the Government.

No. That was two days ago.

She was in this bed right now because Anna was away. The M.A.I.D had told her that she had christened herself that name because she needed to sign in at the desk of the motel. The owner didn't asked question when the two girls, one passed out, the other looking like she was had never smiled in her life, asked for a room. Apparently he was used to it by now.

Right now it was the second day they were here and Anna was starting to calculate the risks it passed to Aisle's life. It had told her that the moment it reached sixty, they were packing. She hopped that the machine was getting food. She might have been part machine, but that human part of her body must have been her stomach because she was so hungry.

The fatigue, however, was what she didn't understand about herself. She was so tired all the time nowadays. Was something broken in her that had caused this? Anna had explained that the Government had tried to control her when she was at her house. That was why she and Vance had matted in the first place. But the effects were supposed to have worn off. Why was she still this fatigued?

Maybe it was her heart now completely crushed and weighing her down. It must be. She had just lost another man who had loved her. Maybe she was not meant to be loved. Like she was some sort of alien that just caused death to anyone who dared to have feelings for her. She was so tired that she couldn't even continue this theory in her own head. Speaking of which, he head was also hurting.

Aisle was just making her way out of bed when the door opened and Anna walked in. Well, at least the machine that Aisle thought was Anna. Apparently the machine had done a complete overhaul of its appearance that only its face was recognizable.

"Good afternoon ma'am. I purchased sustenance and medicine for your body and..." Aisle didn't hear the rest of Anna's words as she raced straight for the bathroom. The taste of bile was still in her mouth even after the wave of nausea passed. What was wrong with her? Was she getting punished now that she had once thought she couldn't get sick? This would be the worst time for her body's immune system to fail her.

"Sorry Anna. What were you saying?" she said from the sink when she saw the machine's reflection in the mirror.

"How often have you nauseated in the last two days?"

"All two of them. Why?"

Aisle didn't know machines could express emotions, but the look on Anna's face was nothing if not shock.

"We are leaving."

"What?" Aisle had to follow her into the room as she was already gathering up the few things that Aisle owned, "Why are we leaving? I thought we had until the threat reached sixty percent."

"And it has surpassed that by an extra sixty percent."

Aisle had been right to know something was wrong with her, but for the machine to act like this... it seemed super serious.

"What do I have? Diabetes? COPD? Cancer?"

"Worse,"Anna said as she came to stand in front of her, "You are pregnant."