- AU -

Scott was squirming against the floor, twisting and grunting as he attempted to break loose from his bonds. But Daniel, thanks to his militaristic past, knew how to tie prisoners very well.

Daniel was waiting patiently by the desk with the controls; he knew the siblings would be here soon. He also knew Scott had most likely alerted Abraham, Randall and Ysadora of his betrayal...

"Why, you filthy traitor?" Scott hissed, as he paused to regain his strength.

Daniel turned to him impassively, his grey eyes showing no emotions.

"The mission you assigned me was not in accord with the Society's purpose, Mr. Johnson."

"You follow orders! So follow them, you empty-headed machine! Resume the simulation, and unbind me."

"I cannot follow your orders, Mr. Johnson."

"Do it, or I split your useless head in two!" Scott hissed, contorting his body in a hopeless attempt to get loose.

"Your threats are useless, Mr. Johnson. The strength required to split my useless head in two would be fifty-three pounds and eight..."

The door to the office opened, and a brunette and a dark-haired man entered briskly, Scott hissing at them.

"Can I?" Madzistrale asked Tom, her eyes pleading as she glimpsed toward the orange-haired prisoner.

"No!" Tom admonished her. "You're a pacifist Christian, remember?"

Madzistrale grounded her teeth in protestation. Daniel walked over to them, and extended his hands.

"Madzistrale, Tom, my name is Daniel Fitzgerald. This prisoner is Scott Johnson. We are the remainder members of the Shiakar Paradigm Society. Three more members are currently..."

The door opened again, and this time, Robert Bohm, John Carrie, and Frances Bohm stormed the place with a dozen soldiers. From the ruckus in the stairs, they knew more were on standby. The soldiers hurried to tackle Scott, and three surrounded Daniel to immobilize him. The rest surrounded Madzistrale and Tom, and the siblings raised their hands.

"Take them to the truck," Frances ordered.

"You're a detective, not a captain," Carrie cut; he turned to the soldiers: "Leave us, the android, and the siblings here."

Frances challenged him with her stare, but Robert gave her a nod.

"What is going on is not something we can yet allow to be spoken of officially," he told her softly.

She tensed, but conceded.

"The soldiers will be covering the exits. They're ordered to shoot if they leaves this room without us," she warned.

"Thank you, Mrs Bohm," Carrie simply replied.

"Get your hands off me, you dirty vermin..." Scott's protestations were cut short as a soldier hit him in the head before dragging him out of the room.

When the soldiers left, Carrie turned to the siblings, his deep set eyes boring through them.

"Explain exactly who you are. Bohm told me of your... peculiarities, but they are hard to believe."

"We're travelers," Tom said.

"Travelers carrying guns beyond even what our military have come up with," Carrie coldly replied, revealing Tom's weapon in his hand.

Bohm looked at Tom with an apologetic stare; the brother simply nodded his understanding.

"I should throw you in jail just for that," Carrie continued.

"Great way to thank us for trying to stop a genocide happening under your nose," Madzistrale burst angrily.

"I am aware of the unusual situation. Robert's been warning me, but I didn't listen," Carrie replied softly. He turned to an impassible Daniel, and looked him over. "Such an amazing work. How come we never knew?"

"I was deemed a failure until Mr. Redspear brought me as an assistant, Vice-President Carrie," Daniel explained.

"So you can tell only the truth, correct? It's a decree in the International Committee."

"Correct, Vice-President Carrie."

"So what exactly happened?" Carrie inquired.

"From which event do you wish that I begin, Vice-President Carrie?"

Bohm and Frances looked puzzled; Carrie hesitated.

"Well... I wouldn't know. Why don't you summarize from when you were acquired?"

**********************

The small group was all seated or leaning against a wall or table. The frowns of the faces of Bohm, Frances and Carrie were clear indications of how they took in the information Daniel had revealed.

"So basically, the Society planned to bring humanity to brink of extinction, just so it can resume evolving... and you thought they were benefiting the greater good? That it was worth killing 9.5 billion people for 'evolution'?!" Madzistrale incredulously accused Daniel.

"They did not inform me this was their intent, or the true numbers of victims," Daniel replied. "It was only when your transmission was aired that I realized what their plan truly was. You are right in saying that I do not see the justification. It is simply mathematical. A greater number of individuals working on a same goal will do greater good than a handful of individuals."

Bohm sighed heavily.

"So how do we fix this?" he asked; jerking his head toward the window, he continued: "There is still fighting out there, even though the false invasion was exposed."

"The people want a fight nonetheless; the invasion just gave them an excuse," Madzistrale bitterly answered. "They've given up believing there is anywhere a good person stepping up to fix things."

Carrie raised his head and walked to the windows.

"Then it's time we change things around. We've tried variations of the exact same system for centuries; should we wonder why it's the same result over and over again?" He turned to the room. "It's time we step up to present a new system. Everything is already chaotic; now's as a good time as any to introduce change."

"The population won't like it," Frances doubted.

"They already don't like anything presented to them," Tom reasoned. "What do you have to lose?"

"It's great, but what about the Society?" Bohm asked, turning to Daniel. "How do we know exactly who is a member? How do we know they won't manipulate again?"

"Because this time, I'll be in charge, and I'll be damned if I allow their shenanigans to reach such a high authority," Carrie intervened, his clear eyes fierce. "Beside, interrogating Daniel, and the other orange-haired freak will yield us answers."

"I am at your disposal," Daniel simply replied impassively.

"And Randall, Abraham?" Bohm asked. "We need to find them."

"I doubt you'll get them," Madzistrale interjected. "Abraham is... unique. I doubt you'll catch him."

"As for the old man, he not only looks like someone who will rather die than be taken prisoner, but his daughter will protect him. Possibly kill him," Tom added.

"His daughter?" Madzistrale asked, an eyebrow raised.

"The blond gal that you find cute..."

"Annoying as hell," she cut him.

"... I know enough about our relationship with our dad to figure it out. A man like him doesn't rescue his bodyguard as he did during our fight."

"Is that true?" Carrie asked Daniel.

"I do not know, Vice-President Carrie. She presented herself as Ysadora Dawn. The Presidential Counsellor is Randall Redspear."

Carrie sighed.

"We have a long road ahead of us."

"We all do," Tom simply replied. "But although people can be quite stubborn and pig-headed, there are a lot of people who simply want it all to stop. Want the future to be bright and free of the past. You need to focus on these people. And luckily, your city is full of such hopeful people."

"I hope you're right," Carrie softly said. He turned to the siblings. "Now it's your turn. I've probably seen it all today, so why don't you tell me how come you single-handedly stopped something no one suspected even existed?"

Tom and Madzistrale smiled.

"Well, see, it all started with a little project by our friend and nicknamed after a spider..."