Around you, there's a swirl of colors, mainly blue and green, as well as colors in between.  Around you, there are small robots on toy tanks circling you on railroad tracks, even though there are no trains.  They continue to circle you, then you see one open its mouth.  "I wonder if he's awake."

Then, you wake up face down to feel someone over you going through your pockets.  There's someone next to him looking at the street, and he says, "Shh, he might wake up!"  They don't seem to notice that you're awake yet, or that you have the gun in your hand underneath you.

I jump up as quickly as I can, gun at my side, ready to bring it to use if I need to.

When you jump up, the two back off.  You're in an alleyway, but you see a lot of light out of it, past the two theives.

Your things are on the ground next to you, other than the gun in your hand.  The two of them raise their hands in the air.  The man that was going in your pockets says, "Uh...We were just making sure you were all right.  You didn't look like you were breathing."  He puts his hands down and approaches you slowly, his hand extended.  "Are you okay?"  His hand is going towards your gunhand.

I jerk my gunhand back a little instinctively and shake my head. "Well, I'm fine." I say, shaking my head. I grimace at the two and bring the gun up a little, ready to fire if need be. "Where am I?" I ask.

He backs up some, the concern on his face now gone.  "You're in Chicago.  What's with a question like that, do you have amnesia or something?  Tch, this is a waste of time..."

He grabs his friend's shoulder and the two of them start to walk away.

"Wait, sorry," I say, shaking my head, moving my non-gun carrying hand to my forehead, "Just, the last thing I remember is being attacked, then ending up here, didn't mean to be rude."

"We're not interested, but I suggest that you get out of here before something big happens..."

After that, the two of them start briskly walking, and you think you see him start to run as they turn the corner away from the alley.  Not ten seconds later, you look around and the power's out.  It's dark as night outside now, and you can barely see anything.  At the end of the alley, you think you see a group of people run by carrying flashlights.  They look as if they're in uniform, but you can't tell more in the current light.

I check the gun, putting the safety on if there is one. I then hostler it in the back of my pants, pulling my shirt over it to conceal it. I then shake myself out a little bit and start moving to the end of the alley, attempting to get a better grasp on my surroundings.

As you approach the group, you hear them talking about terrorists, and that bad things might happen if they don't find them, quick.

Then, as you get closer, one says, "Hush, I think I heard something."  Your eyes are more adjusted to the light, and you see one looking down the alley, moving the hand with a flashlight towards you slowly.  It isn't on you yet, but it'll be there in moments.

I stop, stand still for a few seconds, then raise my hands in the air, palms open and face out. "Hello?" I say, hesitantly, "I woke up here, a few men were standing over me, I'm not exactly sure what's going on." I stand still, trying my best to be non-threatening, waiting for a response.

The guard puts a hand to his side and pulls handcuffs off of himself.  "There he is!  It's Daniel!"  The group all proceed to pull out clubs and run towards you, clubs raised.

You think that you hear a wisper behind you, but there's a wooden fence that way, seperating the two sides of the alley.  Then, you hear it again, "Hey, Dan!  Get over here!  You weren't supposed to be around here right now...just get over here!"

My eyes go wide in surprise and my head turns to the whisper. I pull out the gun and let off a few shots in the direction of the guards, not really attempting to hurt them, more trying to cause them pause. After quickly letting off a few shots I attempt to jump the fence.

You fire your shots horribly, and even end up hitting one of the guards.  Then, there's a hail of bullets approaching you from their direction as you jump the fence.

As you're jumping the fence, you're hit in the leg and skimmed along your neck.  The neck injury just feels like a scrape; however, your leg hurts, especially when you put weight on it.

Then someone grabs your shoulder.  The voice sounds increasingly familiar, then you finally reckognize it when you see his face.

Tyler Brand.  He's you're age, but you haven't seen him since the two of you were in highschool.  He has military boots on, a gray jacket, and a black shirt.  He's carrying a crowbar.  There are three others behind him, all with weapons like bats and golf clubs.  "Cmon, we have to get out of here!"  He offers you support for walking.

I react with surprise, "Tyler!" I say, "Man, you wouldn't believe the day I've been having," I lean on him for support, "How 'bout I tell you all about it when you get me someplace safe?" I take a quick glance backward towards the fence as I start moving, wherever it is that he wants to take me, "And maybe tell me why those guys were so hot to get me?"

Tyler looks at you with a smirk and a raised eye.  "Really, now?"  He doesn't sound like he fully grasps what you're saying, and replies.  "We can talk about it when we get to the base.  For now, we have to focus on getting there.  Cmon."

With his assistance, the two of you make it to the opening of the alley, where a blue car, about 1.5 times the size of average cars, pulls up.  It's sleek and has tinted windows.

When Tyler opens the door for you to get in, the insides look much larger than the average car.  There's plenty of seat room, and you even see a computer terminal in the back seat.  "Quick, get inside, and run that program you showed me last night.  That should let us lose them."

The others quickly take their own seats inside the car.

I get in the car and take an open seat, but give Tyler a blank look as I do. "Program, what program?" I shake my head, confused, "I haven't seen you since high school man, that's been what, five years? Last night I was going to a party, when this whole messed up event started."

I stare blankly around the car, "What exactly is going on here?" I ask, beginning to recognize the signs of 'freedom' fighters.

The car starts and Tyler puts a hand to his chin for a second.  You reckognize it as one of his nervous habbits.  Sitting next to you in the back seat, he opens the computer terminal.  "I'm hoping that their radio firewalls aren't that good.  Your tunnels are way better than mine, but my program will just have to cut it for now."  He types quickly into the computer.  It has a map with what seem to be sound frequencies on certain scattered places.

Tyler pulls out a book from his pocket, and flips through it to a small CD, which he then inserts into the computer.  You see each of the frequencies on the screen start to scramble.  They aren't the same anymore.

"I don't know what happened, but your group must've been hit hard if you don't remember any of this."  He takes the CD out and continues to talk.  "Back in highschool, you were expelled for acts of terrorism after you crashed the National Bank's record files.  You convinced me to drop out from school and join the FIM with you.  That was all six years ago.  You're not messing with me, are you?"

I stare at Tyler for a few seconds, jaw moving but saying nothing, "Messing with you? You think I'm messing with you?" I shake my head, saying a few choice words under my breath, "I don't remember getting kicked out of high school and I have no idea with the FIM is, nor do I think I could crash the National Bank's record." I let out a deep sigh, "Though it's par for the course so far, last thing I do remember is getting disemboweled by a giant gargoyle because a ghost told me to free his soul."

I shake my head, "I don't know if I've gone of the deep end or what, but I'll do what I can to help you out, seeing as what I do remember is that you and I are friends, just fill me in on what's going on."

"Well, it seems like our current mission's failed.  Your group was involved in deep infiltration into a government information warehouse, while others drew away their forces and tried to confuse them.  Seeing you, I thought you withdrew the information from their computers.  You're a genius with computers-which is why your group was the one to get the data, for the FIM, the Free Information Movement."

He looks out the window.  "We'll be at the hideout soon.  We'll get everything worked out then-don't worry."

He smiles at you again, then looks through his book again.  "I'm sure I have those viruses you lent me for this mission in here somewhere..."

I nod, somewhat solemn, "Free Information Movement?" I ask, not really expecting an answer, "That does sound like something I'd join," I shake my head, "I haven't studied computers in a long time though, I gave that up a couple of years ago."

I study the book for a little, "I'm sure I can learn to pick up whatever," I pause for a few seconds, "I forgot, though." My eyes narrow and my face goes quizzical, "You really think they did something to me? And, who's they?"

The book is full of CDs.  They have various names on each of them, but he says, when he sees you looking.  "They aren't anything compared to your viruses.  Ah, here they are."  He hands you three small CDs, all of which are in plastic paper-thin cases to fit their size.

They each have names on the fronts: "Miranda", "Susan", and "Cherry".  All of the names are in your handwriting.

"The likelihood that they erased your memory isn't that high.  I don't think that even the government could cover up that kind of technology.  I'm thinking maybe you got hit in the head when your group was attacked on the way to the base."  He looks at you, confused, now.  "But it doesn't look like you have any injuries..."

I shake my head, frowning, "No, I can account for the years since high school, so it isn't a simple erasure, or amnesia," I say, "I can even remember my graduation, but nothing lines up with what you've told me." I look at the CDs, my eyes narrowing, "This is my handwriting though," I say, "Were there any particular reasons I picked these names?"

"We'll get things solved soon, don't worry."  He smiles, and replies, "I don't know why you picked those names.  You generally either picked girls' names or food for your viruses and programs."

Then, you feel the car slow down as it enters a garage.  "We're here.  I suggest that you put that gun away before we go inside.  Where did you get one anyway?"

I look down at the gun and frown as I stuff it in the back of my pants, careful to make sure the safety is engaged. "A guy in a house gave it to me," I said, "They were trying to summon a ghost, but apparently I called him or something. He's the one that had me destroy the gargoyles, but I failed at that." I shake my head, confused, "At least that's what I remember."

I look out the window of the car, looking for anything that might jog my memory. "So," I say, somewhat nonchalantly, or at least attempting to sound nonchalant, "Who are the bad guys in this tale of political intrigue?"

You feel some sort of pull that you've never felt before.  It's not physical, but there's a sensation in the direction of your car door.

Someone opens your door from the outside.

You instantly reckognize him-he's you.  He has on a bland gray uniform and is freshly shaven, with slick hair.  He looks less ragged than the others.  His eyes are squinted with a broad smile and in mid-sentence, "Mission accomplished, Tyl-"  Then, he grabs you by the front of your shirt and pulls you out of the car.  "What is this?!"  He shouts.

You can tell from his ease of throwing you out of the car that he is very strong, and his muscles would probably be showing if not for the uniform.  He shouts again, "Who is this?!"

You still feel the strange pull towards the group of people behind the other you, who are watching the fight.  One of them is looking at you calmly, even with a smile, while all the rest are confused.

My eyes go wide and my mouth drops open as my doppleganger appears. I stare at him, but also cast some glances in the direction of the pull. My attention is rather focused on the other me, but I take quick mental note of the calm man, he seems out of place for the situation.

"I, I'm not too sure anymore," I say, looking at myself, the other myself, "As far as I'm aware I'm Daniel Cooper, age 22." I shake my head slowly, "What Tyler was telling me didn't make sense," I say, somewhat quietly, "I didn't do the things he said I did, I don't know how to do the things he said I did."

As you speak, your doppleganger is pacing.  He doesn't seem to be listening and seems awefully angry.

When you look at the smiling one, you make out his characteristics.  He has a young face, perhaps in his late teens.  Still, his eyes make you feel like he has years of maturity beyond his teens.  he has blonde hair and blue eyes, a jacket and jeans on.  You can see a clear pistol strap accross his shirt, a pistol probably hidden by his jacket.

Also, he has a belt and shieth for a sword.  The hilt of the said sword is black.  He winks at you once, still smiling.  He mouthes "Don't worry" to you.

Then, your Other charges you randomly when you finish.  In an instant, the man who was smiling is in front of you, between you and your doppleganger.  You can feel clearly that the direction of the pull changed from his former location to where he is now.  Between the two of you, he faces your Other and puts a hand on his shoulder.  "Another time, let me talk to him for now, Danny-boy."  Your Other looks somewhat infuriated, but he still walks away, the others following, all but the one who protected you.

And he smiles, saying, "Nice to meet you.  For a second, I thought all I could learn here was about computers and stuff.  I'm Logan, but my friends call me Pollux."  He offers you a hand, both to help you up and to shake.

I frown for a few a seconds and stare at him, my jaw working. "So, what should I call you?" I ask, "Logan or Pollux?"

I look after my Other as he storms off, "I don't suppose you have any idea what's going on here, do you?" I ask as I shake my head, "Because I sure don't, it has been one crazy situation after another lately."

I turn to face Pollux and frown, "And why do I feel this..." I pause for a few seconds trying to find the right word, "Pull towards you?"

Pollux is taken back for a moment, then looks disappointed suddenly with you.  "Bah, I guess there is only tech stuff to learn here..."  He mumbles under his breath, but then addresses you.  "Call me Pollux.  I have all versers call me that."

He addresses your confusion, "That's what happens, friend.  Not everywhere will be the same as home, but I suggest that you make the best of this lifestyle.  You have the opportunity to learn numerous things and meat the most facinating people."

"That 'pull' that you feel towards me is a vector.  It tells you the direction, if any versers are around.  Depending on certain circumstances, they could be nearby or miles away.  Are you on the level with me right now?"

I nod slowly, frowning slightly. "Right, vector," I say, confidently, as if I have any clue what he's talking about, I cross my arms and tilt my head a little to the side and ask, "But, one question, what's a verser?"

He smiles at you still, comforting.  You almost feel a peaceful presence hit you right smack in the face.  "We're versers.  We travel through the multiverse; however, our means of travel requires death in the world that we're in, and we are sent to a random universe.  I don't know the specifics of how all of this happens.  So, did you learn anything interesting in your past worlds, or get any interesting devices?"  He asks, hopefully.  "I'd be willing to trade."

I nod, understanding passing through me, "OK, I think I understand a little," I say, then shake my head, "I've been to one world so far, and I only lasted about a half hour, if that, before a giant gargoyle decided to check my intestines for fleas. Only got a gun," I frown, "Wait, we get the items we had in the past worlds?"

"Of course, even your first world."  He points towards the things that you had on you in your original world.

"You keep the knowledge, skills, strength.  You just lose the injuries.  I've even seen multiple people versing togeather, people with pets too.  There are infinate possibilities as a verser.  It seems like the more dangerous worlds are, the more rewarding they can be sometimes."

I nod, though it all would normally seem quite unbelievable the evidence was inescapable. "Well, I wished I'd lasted a little longer on my last world then," I say, "Though I'm sure this one will be interesting," I look to where my double had walked off to, "Do you have any idea how I should deal with my other? He doesn't exactly seem the trusting type, and do you have any idea what's going on in this world?"

Pollux looks to where your Other went as well, which is just in the next room with the others.  "I don't really have any advice to give on meeting your Other in a world.  I haven't met any of mine yet.  What I've gathered about this current conflict is what I've heard around here."  He almost says what Tyler had word for word to you, but he also adds that the people in the country look down on this organization as terrorists because of the publicity.  "Don't worry about Daniel, if you want to stick around.  I'll make sure that he doesn't kill you, unless of course you want to move on."

I nod slowly, taking in all the information Pollux was giving, but shake my head as he makes his suggestion. "No," I say, vehemently, "No dying, not yet. I'm just starting to get a grasp on things, and I think I want to know how things turn out here."

I start walking towards the room, stopping to wait if Pollux doesn't follow, as I near the room I turn towards Pollux and ask him, "So what do we tell him, how do we explain this so that he doesn't think that I'm a trap set up by the government?"

"Hrm..."  Pollux puts his hand to his chin for a moment, then opens his eyes wide, smiling.  "I have an idea-You're a doppleganger of him that I built so that he doesn't get caught.  You're just a robot that simulates personality.  You're simply a decoy, just in case Daniel gets into trouble."

He walks with you into the next room.

Daniel looks over to you, and he charges you again.  Once more, Pollux steps in the way and puts a hand on his shoulder, immobilizing him.  "Hey, cool down!  I already had to make repairs from your rough treatment a second ago!"  At that, he explains you to the others.  Although they find it odd and unrealistic, they believe him for some reason.  He wispers to you, "So, you want to join the fight then?  You don't look like fighting material, no offense, so do you want to get some training with the computers?"

I shake my head, "No, no offense taken," I say, "I'd probably enjoy some computer training, and it'd probably help me seem more robot like." I pause for a few seconds and look from person to person, then say, "But I would like to get my fighting abilities up, be able to do a little more damage if needed, maybe I would have survived the last world if I'd been a little more fit."

To the rest of the room I look at them, and nod. I don't say anything though, and try my best to be taking cues from Pollux.

Pollux manages to get you a room in this 'base' here.  It resembles a large closet with a mattress inside.  There's almost no room to even move.

He then clasps your Other on the shoulder and says, "It's about time we take the data to HQ, right?  I'll escort you there myself."  He turns to you.  "You stay here and learn what you can.  I'm sure Tyler would be more than willing to teach you over the next few weeks.  We'll come back with orders then.  for now, everyone needs to train up so we can be successful."  Everyone in the room listens to him closely, and salute him when he's finished.

In just a couple minutes, they're gone and Tyler comes up to you.  "Okay, I'll teach you some basic programming tomorrow, but it's late now.  I'll see you in our computer room then.  You should be able to find your way there with no real trouble."

I nod and say, "Thank you, I will be there." I leave the room and walk around the best, doing my best not to get into any trouble. I make an effort to find the computer room and then just try to familiarize myself with the new setting. When I start to get a tired I head to my room and go to sleep.

In the morning, if all goes without a hitch, I go to the computer room and meet with Tyler.

You look around the complex.  A few doors are locked, but you're able to easily find the computer room and it's open.  You also find a large room with a few circles drawn in red.  They each have two chairs, on opposite sides of the circles they're next to.

The next day, you get to the computer room before anyone else.  There are plenty of people that come in, Tyler being the last one.  He brings two sandwitches, one of which he's holding in his mouth.  He takes it out to speak.  "I don't suppose that you get hungry, do you Robo-Dan?"  You can feel hunger pains right when he says it, and the sandwitch looks quite appealing.

I grin, "Robo-Dan," I say, "I like it." I look longingly at the sandwich and think up an excuse off the top of my head to why I would want to eat the sandwich, "Actually Logan designed me with a  pseudo-digestion system that mimics a humans need to eat, he felt it would help me better simulate Daniel." I smile, happy with my explanation, "So yes, I do get hungry, and am in fact quite."

He raises an eyebrow at your explaination, but gives you the sandwitch regardless.  "Logan gave me instructions to teach you personally about constructing and defending from viruses.  I'm going to teach you to program everything from simple file-extracting viruses to stealth and tunnel viruses.  You can learn combinations through experience.  Okay, now let's get started."

Your already decent computer skills help you understand some of what he's saying, but he does explain some things to you.  By the end of the day, you understand the basics of simple viruses, and you think you'd be able to write one if you tried, but you're not sure.

OOC: Computer Programing skills +@1

Virus Writing 1@1

I thank Tyler for helping me learn, and ask if he wants to meet back here tomorrow for more instructions. I ask him about the room with circles, and what its used for. I also ask him if there is anyway that I could practice my virus creating skills.

Realizing the need for physical ability in this guerrilla world, I also decide to start working on a semi-regular to regular work out routine, and look for a place in which I can do so. Also if possible I'd like to get some marksmen training in.

He tells you that the two of you will work on writing viruses the next day.

The room with the circles is a room to practice combat, but Tyler tells you that there is no way for you to practice marksmanship unless you were to waste your own bullets.  Guns are a rarity.  Although he knows that some people have them, you and Pollux are the only two he's seen.

Even the police just carry batons.  Tyler tells you that you're free to do some basic exercising in the combat room, but seems concerned as to why you need exercise if you're a machine.

I smile and thank him for his assistance. I decide to wait until Pollux gets back for the firearm stuff, maybe he can give me some pointers and tips. I get an hour or two of exercising done, and if there are people in the combat room practicing combat I watch them, but not joining in quite yet.

OOC: Didn't I get shot up by the police when I jumped the fence? Speaking of which, how is my leg doing?

You had heard gunfire from the direction of the police, but never saw them firing or with guns.  Your leg hurts a great deal, but it seems that the bullet made it all the way through, and you were shot in the lower part of your leg.  You can't imagine running any time soon.  Miraculously, the wound didn't bleed much at all, and your pants were enough to stop it.  Upon examining your leg, one side of it is red and getting puffy-signs of infection.

When you observe their fighting, you can't really decipher any form of martial arts.  It seems to be just taking opportunities and brawling.

I try and find some way to disinfect the wound, without having to try and explain why the robot man has a wound that has gotten infected. I do my best to get a little bit of a work out in, as much as my leg can stand, and then go to bed, dreaming of computers and viruses.

In the morning I'll head to the computer room to practice on what I've learned.

When you're looking for a way to treat your injury, you come accross their makeshift infirmary.

Inside, there's a man working at a desk in the room.  This seems to be the only really clean place throughout the complex.  There's a cabinet in the corner of the room, and a back-room.  The door was already open, so you didn't make any noise upon your entrance.  The man hasn't noticed you.

I do my best to move quietly into the room, and towards the cabinet. I check it for any sort of disinfectant and then move to the back room to clean the wound. If the man notices me, I do my best to appear like the Other me, with an authoritative bearing and stance.

The cabinet makes a long, creeking sound when you open it.

The man at his desk is then completely turned around and looking at you, "Excuse me, but can I help you?"  You think that you recognize him, but can't place from where.

"Yes," I said, "I was looking for some disinfectant, I seem to have suffered a serious wound." I show him my leg and say, "Bastard police did this to me on the last mission. You looked busy, so I didn't want to bother you.

He nods at you and calls you over to the bed inside of the room.  "Lay down, Daniel, and let me investigate that leg of yours."

He follows with a makeshift surgery, which is simply digging out the bullet.  It hurts immensely, but you're able to handle yourself.  After he's finished, he dresses the larger wound that he just made and says, "Okay, just keep off of that leg, robo, alright?"  He winks at you and shows you the door of his office, seeing you out.