Welcome to Gaia! ::

I was heading for the stairs, but didn't come far. They were blocked. Man, this definitely wasn't my day. I asked some armored woman with black hair standing around and she explained that the stairs weren't usable anymore because the animated had claimed the floor above. Seeing the train unable to move that meant I was trapped down here at the station. My day just couldn't get any better.
I didn't have much hope, but asked the woman for an alternative way. It seemed she did have a map of the sewers, where there were less animated, but without a weapon I still wouldn't stand a chance. She gave me an examining stare. The ring Frank had given me and which I was now wearing on my finger caught her attention.
I was confused what might be so special about it. Until the woman told me the only working weapon so far would be rings. Rings just like the one I was wearing. She called it Solar Rays. Seeing my skeptical look she proposed I should try it out on some trash cans. I am not quite sure what I did, but, like some sort of magic, the trash can I was bursting in rays of light. Miss armor, Dani was her name as she told me just now, was impressed.


"You're a natural at this.", she said. "In fact... how do you feel about the concept of civic duty?"
"What are you getting at?", I asked.
"We need help. Since we're close to the sewers, well...some less-than-savory things have become Animated down there. Stuff that doesn't belong outside the bathroom."
"I don't like where this is going..."
"I wish somebody would get in there and wipe out that mess, so to speak. I have to hold my post at these stairs, but maybe some responsible citizen who's just been given a free ring could take care of it."
"Do I have a choice?"
"Of course! In our free society, all able citizens may choose to serve the greater good in times of crisis and avoid being branded as cowards for the rest of their lives. I just need you to go in there and knock a few of those nasty things out before they cause any trouble. What do you say? Ready to fulfill your societal responsibilities?"
I cocked my head.
"I guess so."
"Great. The sewers are right through that door, behind Barry. Come talk to me again when you're done."


So I went out into the sewers, facing Peelungers and some green hamsters. My greatest surprise was that I wasn't the only one out there. Many kids of my age were fighting their ways through the monsters down there, each wearing one of those special rings. I started wondering where they all got them. Frank suddenly seemed a whole lot weirder to me than just before. But with a bit of teamwork we managed to beat quite a few of them. I returned to Dani.


"How ya doing with those civic obligations?", she asked.
I smirked.
"If I wasn't serious about our shared responsibilities to society, I wouldn't be hanging out by a sewer with an eccentric train conductor. Well, anyway, I'm all done."
"Good work in there. Most people are too squeamish to take action when things get this messy. Let's get you set up with another ring, shall we?"
Were those rings falling from the sky or something? This time I even got a choice of three rings: Bandage, Diagnose and Meat. I didn't say anything though and just picked one called Diagnose, because it sounded neat to not only heal yourself, but others, too.
"Now, before you go out there again, I think you should learn a little about pacing yourself. You don't want to get exhausted in the middle of a fight. Using your rings is tiring. Some rings are more tiring than others. If you keep using them constantly without resting, you'll really sap your Stamina, and when you're completely worn out, you can't focus to channel the energy of your ring."
Now, that didn't sound too good.
"So what should I do?"
"You'll need to rest once in a while. Take a knee and relax for minute. Once you've caught your breath, you can get up and start fighting again. Be careful, though: kneeling makes you easier to hit. I've seen plenty of rookies kneel down to catch their breath in the middle of a fight, only to get KO'd by the first baddie that came along."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Oh, and one more thing: as you fight, you might get a bit angry or stressed out. That's natural. One of the truly bizarre properties of these rings is how they store and release that emotional energy."
"You mean the rings can mess with my emotions?"
"No, just the opposite: your emotions affect the rings. Whenever you use your rings or get hit by enemies, your rings capture your combat stress. We guards call this 'Rage,' since it's usually built up in the heat of battle. You can use this Rage energy to charge up your rings for an extra-powerful burst once in a while. You'll have to focus for an extra moment or two to channel your Rage, but these bursts won't exhaust you any more than usual. If you start to get exhausted, it might be a good idea to use your Rage to smash an enemy with a charged-up hit. With any luck, you might finish off your foe and get a chance to rest."
"Gotcha!", I said, dying to try that out.

Turned out Barry was mentioned railway official.
"Hi, Barry", I greeted him, "Dani said you've been doing some research on rings..."
"I wouldn't call it 'research'", he corrected me, "but I've been playing around with them. These things are really interesting-- it seems like the longer you use them, the more 'attuned' they get to your body."
Upon using my three rings I didn't notice anything like that until now.
"How so?"
"I'm not sure how it works, but it's the oddest thing... after I took a few trips out into the sewers to hunt Gramsters with Dani, I started feeling healthier. Y'know: stronger, faster, more agile. Either I'm crazy, or I'm getting special powers from these rings. Maybe both. Funny thing is, the powers seem to fade away when I'm away from other people for too long."
Yep, you are definitely crazy. But it still sounded interesting, so I went into it.
"So what does this mean?"
"Here's my theory: these rings have some kind of special life energy. We've been calling it 'G'hi.' Using your rings gives you special G'hi-based abilities, but you can only power up these abilities by being around other people. If you wander off alone for too long, you might not be able to use your G'hi powers, but you won't lose them. You just need to go find some people -- join a crew, mingle in Barton, whatever -- and your G'hi energy will charge back up. I suppose when you're around other people, you must be sharing some kind of life force."
"That makes sense."
"About as much sense as anything makes these days. So, yeah, that's the basic idea: use your rings to get G'hi powers, charge your powers up by staying social. Pretty simple, really."
"I get it. Have you learned anything else about rings?"
"Maybe we should keep that between you and me. You know, for... security reasons. So, changing the subject entirely: Looks like Dani's taught you well. Mind if I ask a small favor?"
"What sort of favor?"
"Could you do a quick lap around the sewers and give the shut-off valves a twist to make sure they're closed? If they're not sealed tight, things start overflowing and it makes an unholy mess down here. The first valve is right inside the sewer entrance, and I'll program the quickest route on your PDA map. Just head to each valve in turn and crank it shut tightly. That's all there is to it!"
Now, this didn't sound too hard.
"I think I can handle it."
"Good luck! When you come back, I'll give you the manhole cover key so you can climb right up the ladders into Barton Town. By the way-- don't be afraid to group up with other folks you see down in the sewers! If things get rough, there's always strength in numbers."
"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!"


Now I finally had a map. I first tried alone, but easily got overwhelmed by the lots of animated down there, so I joined two other guys who were up to the same thing. We moved around the sewers clockwise, tightening the overflow valves. Those sewers were larger than they seemed. Without the map I surely would've lost my way.


As I returned to Barry he seemed already to know about my success, which confirmed my theory that the other kids were sent out by those two as well. Seems my teammates got back ahead of me.
"Well done, Gaian. Seems like you can really handle yourself out there -- pretty amazing how quick Dani whipped you into shape. Here's the manhole key. I'm sure you noticed the ladders while you were doing your lap. Just climb up one of those, and you'll pop out right in the middle of Barton Town. Dani and I got you a little going-away present, too: a stack of these Superchargers, which can heal you up a little when you get into a tight spot. If you're too exhausted to use a healing ring, they're your best bet. If you run out, you can always buy more from Nicolae. He runs Back Alley Bargains in Barton Town, and he's got all sorts of useful stuff."
I took the powerup and nodded.
"Thanks a lot!"
"When you get out to Barton Town, look for a guard named Elizabeth. She's got more experience with rings than almost anyone, and she can tell you all about this weird place called the Null Chamber. You'll definitely need to know about that before you can take full advantage of your rings. See you around, Gaian! Good luck out there."
"You too, Barry."
So I climbed up the long ladder and emerged into the sunshine. Finally Barton town! It seemed like an eternity had passed since I entered the train!

As I looked around I spotted my friend waving at me, three rings sparkling on her hand, and walked over to her, smiling.