Chapter 2: Rebirth
*GASP!*
Out of nowhere a deep intake of air could be heard. Not even a second after, a hand burst out of the red sand that covers the land, then another. Quickly digging themselves out. Soon their head was above the red sand, taking in the sights surrounding them, still pushing and digging out the rest of their body.
Violent coughing echoed throughout the area, bouncing and reverberating off of the cave walls, followed by more sharpe intakes of air. Finally dragging their legs out of the sand, they start to process what happened. Where they are, where she is.
As her eyes scanned around, seeing nothing but red sand, white cave walls, and finally, her eyes fell upon a giant black spire, with its glossy surface and top forming an inverse pyramid with the open space.
"The Nail." She said. Eyes slowly widening as her mind caught up with her situation. A smile brakes out cross her face. Shocked that it was real. It was all real.
"I still can't believe it!" Shout the woman in excitement. Freezing a moment later as she noticed her new voice. Reaching a hand toward her throat and feeling around, she starts making different sounds. Getting use to the feeling of having a different voice now.
After getting use to her voice, she looked down and finally realized she was naked. Like a new born babe freshly given life. Taking stock of her new body by cupping her new breasts, feeling around, trying to get use to the new weight that has been added. She move her hand down towards her abdomen, feeling her stomach, then waist, before taking in that she no long has a Johnny between her legs.
"This is definitely going to take time getting use to all this. Especially this extra weight on my chest." *sigh* she says as she gets up and walks around for a bit. Tripping a few times like a newborn calf.
*damn it. Is this what being a baby is like. My motor control is all out of wack."
Taking some more time, she finally got the hang of things and as she was getting use to her new motor controls, she spotted a small pedestal next to The Nail. Walking over to it she comes upon and outfit and gun.
"Isn't this the outfit esseJ wore? Sweet, loved that outfit in game." Jesse says as she gets dress. Looking at herself, enjoying the look, wishing she had a mirror to take it all in.
(Image)
After getting dressed, Jesse looked back at the pedestal and whistled.
"Now that is a gorgeous gun." She says as she reaches and picks up the Prime Service Weapon. Checking it out in her hands, flipping it over and raising it up to aim down the sights. She just couldn't help but take in the beautiful craftsmanship of the PSW. Its sleek blackish gray base, with the lines going through the barrel of the gun, showing the brakes in material that can be fired off. Highlighted by the smooth gold lines that accentuated its beauty. Forming streamline all over the gun forming sharp corners, squares, triangles,and circles in a design that all connect to one another. Combining the harshness of a Burtalist design mixed with the brightness of Art Deco with its golden color design, coming together to make a one of a kind art piece, that can blow a hole through your chest with one round.
(Image)
After admiring her new weapon, Jesse felt an influx of knowledge on firearms. How to shoot, the stances one should use for optimal aiming, and the way to breathe to maintain control of the firearm.
"Wow. That's a lot of information to take in at once."
One would think a headache would accompany that influx but instead it was just a calmness. Like she always knew the information and just got access to it again.
Turning to a cave wall on the far side of the area she's in, Jesse takes aim. Firing a five shots in Grip form, the semi automatic base of the PSW. Jesse hit the same spot, all five dead center of the imaginary bullseye she envisioned.
Taking a moment to admire her new skills, she glanced at the cave wall and noticed no visible damage at all. Understandable since this is The Foundation of the Oldest House. It would take some massive explosion to even scratch the place.
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(POV Change to 1st)
"God that's exhilarating! I've never been that good of a shot back in my old life so I never felt the adrenaline rush of hitting the target dead center 5 times in a row." I said to myself.
Wanting to try my accuracy with moving targets an idea came to me. Finally deciding to try my telekinesis, I close my eyes and try spreading out my awareness around my self. Slowly reaching out with imaginary hands, or tendrils, and grabbing some of the red sand, which I now remember as rust from the low level of radiation that The Nail emits.
Picking up what felt like a baseball size amount I open my eyes. Marvelling at this wonder. People always wishing to have some form of power like telekinesis and I now have it, I just had to die to obtain it.
Focusing on the baseball size rust cluster I mold it into a sphere. Smiling at the new target just hovering infront of me. Thinking of having it move around me, it slowly does. I'm gobsmacked at how easy this is. The innate control I have over this ability blows my mind. It's like I was born to do this.
Before I could try speeding up my new target I started to hear something. Almost like a whisper. Distracted by it the rust baseball falls and rejoins the rest on the ground. Startled, I start looking around at my surroundings. Trying to find out where it was coming from.
I know for a fact that there shouldn't be anything else with me here at the moment. Nothing can live in this part of The Foundation, nothing organic anyways. Well, besides me of course.
Unnerved at the constant whisper that keeps getting louder, as if it was getting closer to me. I start to panicked a bit. Turning around, looking in all directions for the source of it. As I'm doing so it gets even louder, turning into multiple disembodied whispering. Like multiple people all talking at once, at different volume levels, trying to get your attention.
Almost at a full blown panic now, the rust around starts to float and flow around me without my input, almost looking like a protective field. Similar to the way Gaara's sand protected him.
"Is this a subconscious attempt from my abilities to protect me?" Thinking about my telekinesis, and earth manipulation which I forgot about in my excitement.
But then it clicked for me. As the whisperings were making it to a fever pitch, I then realized I wasn't hearing it with my ears. I was "hearing" it in my head. I'm telepathic now. Opening my mind like I did to practice my telekinesis also opened it up to this. This max audio and disorientating noise. But as it finally reach its crescendo, I heard it. As clearly as it can be. Like someone was standing behind me, whispering in my ear.
"Sister." The whisper said softly. Alone.
A shiver went down my spine as I slowly moved my head to look at The Nail, where the Oldest House, and vis versa myself, albeit a part of me is connected to the physical plane.
The second my eyes landed on The Nail, everything went quiet. Voided of all sound like the world was put on mute. The connection I started to feel grew stronger. That's right, The Oldest House is a living entity and I made it so we were the one and the same, yet I never specified how. I just thought it would be my with two bodies type of deal. It never even crossed my mind that we would be separated to this degree. To where he could and would develop a form of consciousness.
Quickly closing my mind off from the outside world, all the sound returned with a slight ringing in my ears. Followed by a small headache.
"I guess I pushed myself to far to quickly." Saying that as I tasted blood on my lips. Wiping it away, I realized my nose was bleeding as well. "Definitely to much to soon."
Staring at the blood on my sleeve after cleaning my face I saw it start to flake off. Like ash maybe? Yeah, that's what it looked like. Is it because of the radiation or is it from my new hybrid existence as a human resonance entity? Stuff to look into in the future.
Getting my bearings back, I walk up to The Nail and place my hand on it. I feel something, someone(?), pushing against my mental barrier. It wasn't aggressive, more like a small handshake, asking to start a dialogue.
Taking a deep breath, thinking this might be a bad idea but I'm gonna do it anyways, I open up my mind a bit. Slowly making a connection and that's when it hint me like a truck. So much information flooded my mind like a dam opening the flood gates.
Yet it didn't hurt. Instead, it felt like I was meant to feel and know everything that was being transmitted to me. It was the Oldest House itself. Twisting, shifting, expanding. An every changing stage, never stopping its growth. It was, beautiful to say the least.
I felt it all. Experiencing everything that the Oldest House was and is. Just as it was experiencing everything that I was. We truly are One yet separate at the same time. Separate consciousnesses sharing the same beginning.
After analysing all that was shared between us I've come to a realization. Something just clicked. I was whole. And could control everything within.
"So this is Innate Control."
Reading it on a stat sheet is one thing, but it's a whole other thing feeling it. Just like my Telekinesis and telepathy, it comes natural to me.
Reacting out, I could form a path straight to the entrance of The Foundation, and from there create a lift to the ground floor. By passing everything.
Yet, nothing is formed yet. Nothing up top exists. More like it hasn't come into existence yet. But it is at this very moment. A sort of rapid expansion.
It is happening so fast that I can barely keep up with it all. Not even an hour out of our creation, and the Oldest House is almost fully form to how I remember it. At least the outside is.
The interior has been shaping up as well. A secondary objective of its growth but still processing as it all should. Surprisingly, the diesign of the FBC was forming up. Which shouldn't be a thing till '64 from my knowledge.
My questioning thought was answered with flashes of images from Control itself. My memories.
"Ahh, so that's how it is. Pulling the architecture and aesthetic from my memory. I take it you know what I'm planning then?" I say and ask with a chuckle.
A cluster of disembodied whispering was the Oldest House's response. One that I completely understood despite nothing truly being said.
"Well since you're already shaping things up, let's change a bit and add some Art Deco vibes to it." I tell him as I pass along some imaginary of Bioshock, Close To The Sun, and Fallout.
"Disembodied whispering"
Getting confirmation on my input, he sets off adding the 1920's-1940's style that I've always loved into the Brutalist style that makes up the Oldest House.
We go back and forth on what was happening. Showing me the changes and me smiling and confirming that that's exactly what I've imagined.
Over all, the interior looks the same as it did before but with added gold and a sleek, linear appearance with stylized, geometric ornamentation. Like added detail to the hand railings, light fixtures, and doorways. Also those faces you'd see high up on the interior/exterior of the walls. Not a lot of them but just in the main entrance of the future FBC, the conference room, and other areas that it would be aesthetically pleasing.
Acknowledging that everything looked good in my mind. I set off to make my way up top. Taking my hand off of The Nail, I turn around and with a thought, a corridor of caverns opened up to me where a solid rock wall was. Making my way towards the opening, I left my mind opened so the Oldest House could guide me till I became more accustomed to its structuring.
Only its connection could get through, all others I made sure to block out. Just in case any should appear in the future.
After walking for a bit, I come upon an open area. Dark yet bright, with massive pillars as far as the eye can see.
The Foundation.
Whistling, I couldn't help but start in awe of it.
"If I keep getting starstruck like this I'll never get to the ground floor."
Looking around, I don't see the cable car that would carry you across. Makes sense since that's infrastructure that the Bureau brings in when they would have discovered this place in 1964.
Taking a moment to think, I figured I might as well give it a try. Pulling on my mental abilities, I grab hold of my body and slowly start to float.
Sadly I also ended up upside down hovering above the ground. Huffing a breathe, I gain back my center of gravity and change my hold over my body. Adjusting myself till I'm up right.
"Not bad." I mumbled.
Taking a few more moments to get situated and the handle of things. I start moving around the platform I'm on, practicing. Don't wanna screw up over that abyss 15 feet over there.
Finally fully confident, I make my move. Following the whispers and setting off through the upper layer of The Foundation.
Starting off slow, I begin picking up speed.
I don't know how fast I was going but it felt at least 75 mph with the way the air was hitting against me. This caused me to break out in laughter as I went for doing some barrel rolls and loops. Having the time of my life playing in the air.
Hardly able to contain my excitement with the idea of flying through the air, exploring the world, and seeing what time it in.
Going back to flying straight, I start to notice a shimmer ahead so I slow down till that shimmer turns into another platform. Coming to the conclusion I'm at the other side already.
Going in for the landing, I go vertical and drift downwards. Hands outstretched for balance, and slowly touch my feet down.
Looking around all I see is solid grey stone with paths wrapping around them into the dark. No light beyond this point from what I could see. Do I really need to go through the whole place first or, I wonder…..
Looking up, I raise my hand above my head, focusing on the ceiling above me. Working with the part of me that is this place. I will it to open up, and it does just that.
Above me a car size hole begins to form and continues for as far as I can see into the darkness. After awhile of willing it to do so, I felt it. The passageway was fully open so I take off again. Keeping my speed moderate as I don't want to smash into the ceiling of the next floor, I make my way up.
Once I've passed through the passageway, I stopped midair and found myself inside the lobby area. Hearing a noise below me I see the floor closing up and forming a perfect ground. Like nothing was ever there in the first place.
I land once again and take in the lobby. With its improvements of course. No longer a two story room. Now it stood as a five story room, with each floor having an open over look like the previous second floor. With the desk at the back like it was in my memory, on the two walls, left and right of the desk, near the top was two faces/heads facing each other looking down. As if to judge those that enter.
(Image)
Looking back to the desk, still set in the dark grey stone work, but now with a gold overlay front piece of sharp lines and geometric shapes.
Instead of the harsh white light from the ceiling, a warm golden white light is emitted instead. While wall fixtures with multiple black gold lines in the shape of a diamond, also emitting the same like.
(Image)
Looking toward the entrance, now at the side of the doorway were two statues, one on each side. They were a greenish grey sitting on a sleek black block with a shine to it. They had wings that were pointed to the sky along with their arms. Reminiscent of the ones seen at Hoover Dam.
(Image)
The floor already has the Federal Bureau of Control logo on it. Looking great with a nice glossy finish on top.
Making my way to the entrance, I can't see anything outside. Which I find odd since this is suppose to be in the middle of New York City. Going to push open the door, I find it locked. Not budging even an inch.
Getting ready to just will it open, the whisperings stopped me. Getting confused from what the Oldest House is telling. Stretching out my senses to feel the Oldest House in its entirety, I started to shiver. When I got to the outside of the building I felt nothing but ice. No heat, just cold.
Even more bewildered, I probed more into this while asking what's going on. Accessing the memories of the Oldest House, I find out that this is all it has noticed from its surroundings which slowly terrified me.
Because there was nothing on the outside.
Just a void.
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A/N:
Here's the next chapter! Let me know what you all think!
I hope it's coherent enough. I reread it and it worked in my mind so let me know.
For the redesign I did for the interior, if you don't like it just imagine the OG look. I mainly did the changes for my tastes and to match the Prime Service Weapon. But I know some of my descriptions make not be the best so I added pictures to help out.
And also how about that ending! Thoughts?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone