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Karma
Aug 14, 2011 21:54:13 GMT -6
Post by dancingassassin on Aug 14, 2011 21:54:13 GMT -6
Light stumbled off of the bus, missing the last step, and crumbling to the ground. He groaned as the fall aggravated his already present injuries, but shook it off and pushed himself to his feet. He glanced up at the sky. It was blue. A deep blue. He had never seen it in person; for as long as he had been alive the sky had been an angry orange color. It was beautiful.
"Allegro...do you feel that presence?" Light asked his AI.
"Yes, I do. Piano wasn't lying, whatever the presence is blocks me from speaking to any of the other Opera AIs."
"Alright, Light. Lets start making our way towards Kaliedoscape. You need to meet Lady Coraline."
Before he could protest, Aria had lifted his weight up onto her shoulder and had started carrying him down the street. ______________________________________________________
Aria breathed in the smell of Night City as she hopped off of the bus. She had missed it. She gazed up at the unblemished night sky and smiled. She glanced over at Light, he was barely standing up due to exhaustion and injuries. She had checked him over on the Underground and the bus, his injuries could wait until after they met with Lady Coraline. She wasn't going to make that mistake again.
Light struggled against her hold and she rolled her eyes. Typical. She was trying to help and he was being resistant. It took her longer than normal to get to the Kaliedoscape Cocktail Bar because of his flailing. Aria entered the bar and smiled at the warm, comforting colors and classy Victorian decor.
"Hey Sebastian, is Lady Coraline busy? I've got a visitor, I want to make sure its okay for him to be in the City."
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Karma
Aug 14, 2011 22:04:22 GMT -6
Post by Coraline on Aug 14, 2011 22:04:22 GMT -6
The red-eyed demon behind the bar looked up at the two, and then at the clock on the wall, tapping his chin as if to remember what the lady upstairs was doing. He glanced at the two again, looking over the newcomer carefully before shaking his head.
"I do not believe she is busy. Go right up, I will let her know that you are coming," He said, picking up the phone from behind the counter to ring the upstairs and let the occasionally volatile phoenix know that there would be visitors, "Just be sure to knock before you enter, or your chances of being burned alive will increase significantly."
Of course, that never helped. Coraline was just as likely to burn someone she trusted for years as she was some stranger on the street. It made her dangerous and it made people fear her, but she liked it that way. It kept her grip on the Underdark firm, and even the human world understood that her word was indeed law.
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Karma
Aug 14, 2011 22:16:58 GMT -6
Post by dancingassassin on Aug 14, 2011 22:16:58 GMT -6
Aria smiled at the demon and tossed her currently blonde hair over her shoulder, "Thanks Sebastian!"
"What the hell did he mean about her burning us alive?" Light asked, his voice a few notches higher than normal.
"I've told you many times that the city is full of supernatural beings," she said while setting Light down and making sure he was steady on his feet. "This is her city. Think of it like a meeting with Stratton, except that Stratton can light you on fire."
"I think Lady Coraline is nicer than Stratton," Piano said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Yeah, so do I, but she's way more intimidating."
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Light watched as Aria led them up the stairs. She paused in front of a door and almost seemed to hesitate before knocking. He could feel power in that room, being an Opus allowed him to do that. he had felt quite a bit of power in his days - there had been an incredibly powerful Adept scouting outside his fortress. That Adept had nothing on the power in that room. He felt more nervous than he had in years; if things went sour he wouldn't be able to defend himself because of his injuries. He swallowed his nerves and fell back onto his Opus training. Moments like this made him grateful he had been chosen for the program.
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Karma
Aug 14, 2011 22:31:23 GMT -6
Post by Coraline on Aug 14, 2011 22:31:23 GMT -6
"I know you're there, come in." Came the voice from the other side before Aria had a chance to knock, the door swinging open on its own.
The room was a large office, one large window at the far end and the walls lined with books. Seated at the desk on the far end of the room, before the window, was a woman with long black hair, with three red-orange feathers held high. Her fingers were interlocked, her eyes fixed on the doorway and her expression not a pleasant one, as if she had done this many times before, and she was not pleased with it in the least.
However, there was someone else in the room. A tall, lankey figure wearing what could only be a skin-tight bodysuit, but the figure underneath the gray did not look right. His 'skin', if it was a 'he' at all, was a pale gray, his short hair a dark gray, with metal 'ears' jotting out of his head. His joints creaked and clicked as he turned to the door, his joints themselves being rods and balls and wires. His large, green-and-black eyes fixed on them, his head cocking to the side with a notable click.
"Subject analysis: human. AI detected: scanning intentions.... Greetings: Piano. Aria. Secondary scan at 50%. Second AI detected: scanning intentions. AI: Allegro. Mandatory alternate encoding required..." He said, his voice jerky, not keeping in a consistent tone, full of stutters and pitch changes to make him far more terrifying than he should be.
"I believe you remember PerSEuS, Aria. Here he is in person... he seems to have decided your.... friend there requires some... 'invasive surgery'."
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Karma
Aug 14, 2011 22:48:30 GMT -6
Post by dancingassassin on Aug 14, 2011 22:48:30 GMT -6
Light took in the office with a mixture of clinical examination and wonder. The woman behind the desk was beautiful and he had the feeling that the feathers in her hair weren't decorations. The expression on her face wasn't pleasant by any means, for some reason, he felt much more nervous than he had in years.
He turned his vision to the other being in the room. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he could tell it was not human. Light brushed his hand through his copper colored hair. ______________________________________________________
Aria tensed when she heard the harsh voice of PerSEuS, but calmed herself quickly, "Good evening, Lady Coraline, PerSEuS. This is my friend, Light. He's an associate from the program I was in. I had to run and save him earlier this week, I wouldn't have brought him here, but things are a little crazy where he lives right now. I was just wondering if he could stay with Babylon and I for a bit. What do you mean by invasive surgery?"
She was caught off guard, but trying very hard not to show it.
"Didn't you and Babylon joke about this a few weeks ago?" Piano demanded, his power slapping her mind more aggressively than he usually did.
Aria grasped at her head reflexively after the mental shock. She jabbed Light in the ribs, egging him on to introduce himself, "Hello, Lady Coraline, PerSEuS. I'm also curious as to what you mean by 'invasive surgery'."
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Karma
Aug 14, 2011 22:58:34 GMT -6
Post by Coraline on Aug 14, 2011 22:58:34 GMT -6
"Invasive surgery: Sarcasm. Mandatory removal of AI in master node required. Will schedule an appointment... AI in master node disrupting information flow, termination of AI required." The machine said again, its eyes no longer green and black spheres but lines and lines of binary scrolling over the surface, calculations going on and highly visible in its lack of expression.
Coraline seemed to chuckle at that, and she would have almost let the machine do so.
"PerSEuS, stop that. They will not be in your master node, you can block them from it and move on." She said, causing a jerking motion to come from the machine.
"Blocking... AI status: shut off from outside communication... Central information hub accessible. Outside nodes shut off. All information will require request for rerout...[/color]
"Or they could watch tv and read the paper."
"....yes. I suppose they could.
The woman behind the desk stood up, rising to her full - short - and yet rather intimidating height. Her city took in strays, sure, that was customary. It happened. Two strays was a curiosity. She had half a mind to just let the userdrone rip into them both.
"He can stay, if he is useful to me."
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Karma
Aug 14, 2011 23:16:23 GMT -6
Post by dancingassassin on Aug 14, 2011 23:16:23 GMT -6
Aria struggled against the reflex to grab her head as Piano yelled and thrashed around in anger. The second they heard Coraline almost-chuckle, the battle stopped. She knew that PerSEuS was being serious, but she was very glad that Lady Coraline had stopped him. She could feel Piano sulking.
Light, on the other hand, was petrified at the thought of losing Allegro. Even after the situation had cooled, his face was frozen in shock and he was barely breathing.
"Thank you Lady Coraline," Aria said, bowing her head slightly. "I can make Light useful. We used to work together in the program. If you need information, we make a rather good team for infiltration."
"Aria, what about what we noticed when we were back in our horizon?"
"Oh, right. Piano reminded me. Babylon pointed me towards a weak spot in the veil so I could get back to my horizon when I needed to help out Light or work. When we were near Light's city, we noticed a weak spot on our side. There's been an obscenely powerful Adept hanging out in that area. I'm pretty sure if he wanted to, he'd be able to get into this horizon."
She paused for a second to whack Light on the back so he would remember to keep breathing.
"What's worse, is that I'm pretty sure he's a government sponsored Adept. If he gets through, the government in my horizon would know of Night City."
She wasn't worried for herself or Light. She was worried about government Adepts discovering that there were more horizons than the one they existed in.
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Karma
Aug 14, 2011 23:26:28 GMT -6
Post by Coraline on Aug 14, 2011 23:26:28 GMT -6
She listened to Aria carefully, a small hint of irritation on her face. However, it seemed that PerSEuS was already on it.
"Initial scan of the veils indicate there is something moving beyond point 18999. Further analysis required. Secondary scan reveals natural shifting in Horizons. Charts subject to change when calculations are complete.
"PerSEuS will keep an eye on it. If something comes through with malicious intent on my city, I am sure my Deputies will be there to handle it." She said confidently. She had Nemo. What else did she need to worry about, save for the Event Horizon and perhaps megacorp interference.
Coraline waved her hand dismissively, sitting back down, and seeming to lounge in her chair a bit. "You are free to go. Babylon should be back in his apartment, go pester him before I let PerSEuS go rooting around in your brain."
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Karma
Aug 14, 2011 23:29:14 GMT -6
Post by dancingassassin on Aug 14, 2011 23:29:14 GMT -6
Aria nodded, "Thank you for meeting with us, Lady Coraline," she turned to Light. "C'mon, time for you to go and meet Babylon."
She guided him out of the room, he was still in shock. She didn't need to be told twice to leave when PerSEuS was involved.
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