A Fabricated Lie

3 days after Xandra's departure to the Threshold things have gotten silent. Nero was worried for Xandra and the guards but she has already moved on and continues her life as a Resourcer for his shop. Curiously he attempted to contact them but to no avail. Eventually news got around about how the Dominants now known as Dominators have taken control of the Twilight Core and the Threshold itself. It seemed that the Grand Moderator's ambition has taken to greater heights and now aims to conquer the entire world by making the Dominators do his mad ambition for him. Struck by the thought of war he knew that he needed to escape along with Domina. However, when he left the store all he saw was bloodshed. It seems that the Dominators has already arrived and had begun purging the town of all its inhabitants. There was the loud sound of gunfire, the horrific screams of men and women fleeing from the Dominators bloody metallic hands. The town has become both a battlefield and a graveyard for the inhabitants. Nero quickly returns to his store before they could find him. While in hiding he tries to contact Domina who was still at the house, preparing the food.

"Domina!" he called out.

"Domina, are you there?" He waits for a reply but the firefight was deafening his call with her. He needed to be patient. But there was no time to wait. Both of their lives depends on their escape and if he dies, he would break his duty to Domina as well as her mother as a caretaker and guardian of hers.

Inside the house she was still cooking in the kitchen and making the food. She could not hear Nero's voice until she felt that something was off. Normally he would reply occasionally just to check on her but today seems different. There was nothing but just silence. In a worried manner, she rushes quickly to the communicator and finally replied.

"Nero, I'm here. What's happening?"

"Domina, they're here! They're destroying the town and eliminating every last one. You have to get out as soon as you can!" He explained.

"What about you! You need to get out of there" she says worryingly.

He quickly reassured that he will survive the current onslaught. But she could sense what was coming and eventually the signal cut off. Domina felt silent, her body leaning at the wall, motionless. The person that cared about her and most especially about her mother is no longer with her. Deep within her, she feels that her mother is also responsible for this onslaught. She did create them to watch and protect the inhabitants of the Threshold, but at what cost? How many more will perish until her mother's creation has destroyed most of the world. It was only a matter of time before the Grand Moderator has finally fulfilled his ambition so she made a decision. She needed to find her mother.

Eventually a Dominator broke into the house and started to scan and check for survivors. She quickly sneaked away from the kitchen and towards her bedroom where she could hide. While the Dominator carefully scanned the house, two more of them came and communicated with the one Dominator. As she listened from inside the room, she found something interesting. The Dominators had personalities. It was subtle to notice but as she leans closer to the door, she could feel their personalities brimming within their cold metallic cybernetic bodies.

"So V, have you found anything yet?" the Dominator said.

"Nothing, my scans are showing no sign of life." V replied.

"Well, if you find anything, report back to the Grand Moderator. Our orders are to eliminate all entities." The other Dominator told him.

"Right, I'll keep looking." When the two Dominators left, he began to mock them. Deep inside his metal-engraved heart he despised the two. They were always on the go, making sure that nothing leaves their sight but for him he would always observe the surroundings. Through his built-in scanners, he would scan the objects he sees and touch and learn them as they go. In a way it was a hobby of sort and something to do whenever he was on duty. As he continues to mock them Domina tries her best to hide the joy of her laughter before she could get caught. She could hear V, mimic their voices as he searches the place. She was laughing quite hard that she manages to topple down a lamp. V quickly heard it and blasts his weapon through the door, nearly causing the wall to crack from the blast. Domina falls down on the bed that she was on and onto the floor where V sees her. He points his gun at her, and begins a quick scan to make sure it was something to kill. But there was something odd; the scan read her as human but also as not. It was strange and somehow he felt remorse towards the teenager.

Terrified, she tries to look at her captor; he was tall and seemed about her age. His eyes were very dark but had this metallic feel to it; his body feels human but also machine. As V continues to scan her properties, he noticed something interesting. She had a heart despite the attributes of a machine. His computer tried to calculate such an anomaly but it seemed impossible. Then for the first time he tried to shut the computer down and just look at her instead. He stared at her piercing blue eyes, her black hair and the clothing she wore and the face she had. The face of fear.

Domina also did the same thing; she stared at his soulless eyes as well as the weapon pointed at her, which was a black rifle. She then stared at his face, which was stern yet hid an emotion. The face of guilt. Eventually, V carefully placed down the rifle on the floor and went down nearly at where Domina's face is. He then spoke to her.

"You're not human, are you?"

V couldn't notice it but his voice has more personality now. His voice sounded more human. As Domina heard his question, she was confused. All her life, she believes herself to be a human, just like her mother. But now it seems that she was just living a lie.

"No, I am human. I'm just like them."

She reassured. She wanted him to believe that she is human. A being with a heart and a soul. Yet a part of her doesn't, she knew that deep down there was always something behind the facade of her very existence.

"No, you're not. You're something else."