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(Setting) Old subway system, Terminal 3
| "Well then, I'm surprised this stayed hidden for so long."
>He walks up to the table with the terminal, choosing instead to focus on the papers for the moment
| >A woman appears after you cross the door, in the corner of the room using some kind of cloaking device apparently
"No one really wonders here, we were lucky enough to have A-9 with us to track it down"
>She extends an arm to CN
"Designation Alpha ten, pleased to meet you"
| >>175521
>He extends his own arm to meet the shake
"Nice to meet you as well. I guess that's all three of you then huh?"
| >>175532
>A-10 nods, and moves back towards the door while A-9 goes towards the terminal's servers.
"Yes, this is all of us here in GC, though we have outsider help in the form of Delta-4, but he is a busy man so he wont be able to assist us today, he was the one who told me about you, seems he heard stories of what you did, something about a ranch too..."
>A-20 says and shakes her head
"Any questions before I brief you in on this thing?"
| >>175574
"Well yes actually. I'm pretty curious about the whole circumstances involving this whole thing. Who made this stuff and Why? Also who are you three as well?"
| >A-20 nods and crosses her arms
"I'll answer those, so who are we huh? I guess we are what you would call recovery specialists. We are a private force of ICHIKA, our boss and they decides where we go and what we need to recover, may it be personnel or technology."
>She takes a step forwards and raises a finger
"This time our mission is to get rid of that IBM terminal, because its outsider technology related to a certain dangerous company called AUCR"
| >A-20 smiles
"Well, we are global, but our leader is a single person and they give their order on a personnal basis, for exemple no other Alpha agents know what we're doing here, only the four of us know. As for AUCR, they are indeed our main antagonist think of any conspiracy and they had some kind of hand in it, they trade in arms, mind control, human experiments, Bio soldiers, Augments and so much more"
>A-20 turns to A-9 and nudges her
| >A-9 scowls
"Th-Their lastest project is what we are trying to stop, something called Project Ghersh, a follow up to the Burrow Experiments, which I'm sure y-you've heard of ze~"
>She then hides behind A-10
"This terminal and the others are all related to that project and the expirements of a m-madman"
| >>175632 >>175638
"Hmm... I think I understand. Those were in the files in the terminal as well yes? I think it also mentions something about a code 101..."
>He nods along with the explanation
"Y-You don't have to be so shy... you gave a nice explanation of the situation."
| >Alpha-10 laughs loudly
"Don't mind her she's a fan of yours, as well as deckers who match her skill in general"
>A-9 seems scandalized and starts hitting A-10's back 'stupid stupid stupid'
>A-20 just sighs
"We dont yet know the implications of that project, which is why when we found a database linked to it we were so overjoyed. That was also why we sought Element one, also known as F, she has knowledge of this project and worked on it at one point"
| >>175658
"Oh okay, you put me at too high of a pedestal though, I'm just one guy. Anyways though, I think I understand the gist of the situation."
| >>175693
>A-20 nods, while A-10 continues her laughter
"Good, the I'll begin briefing you on what we know about this terminal and the decking we need you to do"
>A-9 goes over and activates some kind of holographic projector
"What would you say the Matrix looks like whilst diving inside of it?"
>A-20 starts with a question
| >>175719
"Hmm... I always just used a minimalist grid based style when using an avatar and such. Kind of like that really old trideo movie."
| >>175732
"I see"
>She turns to A-9
"You use a really simplified voxel grid based on that shooter game you played dont you, A-9?"
>A-9 nods
"You see I'm asking this because this particular system seems to override things like perception, sense and the likes, basically what I'm saying is this: It looks almost too real you can almost feel like you are directly into the system, like you're directly in another world"
>A-20 says, deadpan
"Thats the first thing thats weird about it"
| >She lifts another finger
"As for the second thing, that defense system, the one I talked about. Its apparently relentless and chases you around as soon as you try and access anything or override any program, and it doesn't only affect your body, it also targets the psyche."
>She puts her finger down
| >>175749
"Well I don't even have a datarig so I don't really connect to the Matrix directly in general, so would it still affect my perception? As for protections I just upgraded some of the parts so I have a few ESPs that I can rely on."
| >A-20 starts thinking
"I-it would i'm sure, this is some fucked up machine ze"
>A-9 answers, before fidgeting
"We're talking Alien Tech here, probably"
>A-20 looks at CN
"So she says, as for protection I think as long as you aren't completely naked you should be fine"
>A-20 sighs
"I'm no expert in this whole techy thing, I usually just let A-9 take care of it, my talents lie elsewhere"
>She looks at CN
"You still up for this?"
| >>175771
"Hmm... Well people don't call me a shounen protagonist without good reason, I can't just ignore something like this if it can hurt people."
>He takes the deck off his back as he talks
"Besides... a tech that messes with perceptions... I feel this experience might just give me the eureka moment I need to finish this prototype..."
| >A-20 lets out a sigh of relief
"Thanks, I guess Delta was right about you"
>She turns to A-10
"Go get the server port, and the machine that we found"
>A-20 looks at CN
"A-9 said the best thing to do if sickness or anything settles it is to think of it as VR, whatever that means."
>She gives a resolute salute
>A-9 gets her own deck, and installs it on her arm, lights blinking and getting ready
"This'll be a cinch, dont worry, But the first dive into it is really weird ze"
| >A-10 comes back carrying a large trolley, on it several servers and devices are found.
>The main server looks like a solid block of Obsidian, black and with a sheen. Several wires and connectors seemingly pop out of its base, and red light surrounds it.
>A mark on the front reads: ACRAS UNITY CORPUS RESEARCH, NODE F.A.L along with warning mesaages and a symbol representing a brain surrounded by waves.
>Its pretty goddamn spooky
| >>175796
"H-How do you not know what VR is... actually nevermind, you don't have to answer that."
>CN looks down at his deck as he starts turning it one and activating programs.
"Well I'm sure we'll be fine, I got another good decker watching my back in there."
| >>175801
"Why did they even design like that? Couldn't they had organized the wires better? Jeez maintenance on that thing must have been a bitch in a half..."
>CN is seemingly unfazed by the actual aesthetics of the server
| >A-20 blushes
"T-That was a common sense thing and I flubbed it, right..."
>She says, for the first time in her actually voice, it sounds incredibly cute.
>A-9 looks at CN
"We havent opened it up yet, to be sure we dont mess it up or something, S-So I dont know"
>A-20 then goes over to the power switch, her mouth now unmoving.
"We are under time constraints, so you'll have twenty minutes more or less to get in there, grab what we need and then run away as fast as possible"
| "Is that good? tell me when you're ready"
(I reccomend just waiting if you're going to sleep anytime soon... -Hige)
| >>175821
"This kind of makes me curious what you're gurl's upbringing is but... I guess we'll say that for later. Let me just do some final checks and I'll be good."
>He seems to be typing up something real fast on his deck
(I had passed out right before orz. Yea, let's stop for now.)
| >After a few more minutes CN looks up from his deck and pulls out a cable from the bottom of it.
"Okay, ready and willing."
| >A-20 nods
"I wish you luck, if you take more time than needed, we can hold off for a few, but you better do this quickly"
>A-9 looks at CN and raises a thumbs up
"This'll be a bit weird, but you'll get used to it in time ze"
>A-20 pushes the power button and the terminal whirrs, a sound like grinding metal is heard throughout the room.
>On your Deck a fast succession of code appears, it's... almost mesmerizing, like you can't look away...
"Any words to say now?"
>You hear a voice
| >You feel a sickening impulse, you lose control of all your senses, images form in your mind, your body is seemingly gone from your grasp, you feel terrible and lost, the Code gets faster... and faster
"Don't be afraid, just keep calm"
>The voice says again, it sounds soothing
"Wake up now, you are inside us"
>Another voice resounds, suddenly you feel in control again, the sickness is receeding
>Your surroundings have changed... you've never seen something like this before
| >You appear to be in some kind of room, A-9 is by your side, panting and heaving
"I hate the feeling, how are you holding up ze?"
>She says, Through her teeths
| >>176150
>CN closes his eyes and breathes deeper as he accommodates to his new surroundings
"Yea I'll be okay, I think, how about you?"
>He punctuates the question by patting her head a little
| >She sighs deeply
"I-I'll be fine, I just need to get used to it"
>She says, looking around and slowly stabilizing herself
"You might wanna take a look outside, it's pretty impressive, Dunno how the whole thing works, but it's creepy, and amazing daze"
| >>176167
"Yea the word creepy definitely makes me want to check it out."
>He chuckles as he checks for the entrance to the room and peeks outside
| >You stand in some kind of... city? But all the buildings around you are in the shape of gigantic obelisks pointing to the skies, their top nowhere to be seen as they rise even above the clouds...
>This feels real, too real, you can almost feel it, smell it...
>The city is oddly Silent, with only sounds of machinery and trains being heard in the distance, not a single soul in sight
>A-9 arrives next to you, looking better now
"This feels realer than Fulldive it makes my skin crawl"
| >>176182
"This reminds me of one those horror stories you read online right before bed despite your better judgement... ugh, no use worrying about it. Let's focus, where do we need to go?"
| >A-9 points to an obelisk in the middle of town, it looks just like the server you accessed, albeit a lot taller
"This is the nexus, that's where we'll find the data"
>She says
"Let's get a move on"
>She starts going down the street
| >>176206
>He follows after her
"So what exactly are we getting from the nexus anyone? Is it the source of that voice I heard?"
| >A-9 seems a bit confused
"A voice?"
>She scratches her head
"I'm not actually sure, the only thing I managed to steal from the databanks on my own was some emails and reports, so we might find some Secret plans or what the terminals mean, what i'm hoping to find is the Ghersh project files"
| >>176233
"You didn't hear it going In? It said something about remaining calm, you're going inside us now. A-anyways, are those files why you need two people then?"
| >A-9 shakes her head
"I didn't hear anything?"
>She then nods decisivly
"The systems in there are designed to only be accesible by two people, for some reason, which is why I needed another Decker in here with ze"
| >>176269
"Well something tells me we'll figure out what the voice meant inside there... I wonder why they designed it as such anyways..."
| >>176285
"Maybe one of their researchers liked obelisks and chutulian nightmares"
>She shrugs
"The man who designed this was probably mad, if i'm right about who made it"
>You arrive at some kind of Tram station, after a little bit of walking, and a small wagon shows up before opening its doors, inside it what you could only describe as silhouettes of people seem to be waiting and sitting around, while a voice on the radio sings some old country song
"Okay, that's a first..."
| "It was empty, there was no sound or whatever those people are, maybe it's because we got two people in, no that makes no sense ze..."
>You can hear the disgust in her voice, and well, it IS pretty creepy, one of the 'person' turns towards you, he's wearing some kind of conductor helmet
"Where are you going?"
>He says, his voice gruff and rough
| >>176336
>CN jumps in surprise at the "conductor"
"O-oh uh... over there..."
>He points a finger over to the obelisk
| >The Conductor turns around and just stands there, as the wagon begins moving, heading straight towards the main obelisk
>A-9 Still looks creeped out
>You can see the cityscape going by as the Wagon picks up speed, the sounds of machines growing ever stronger as you get closer to the nexus
"So why did you agree to just throw yourself into this, you know it could be dangerous right..."
>A-9 Asks
"I'm not saying I dont appreciate it, but I was wondering"
| >>176365
>He shrugs
"Just cause it's dangerous doesn't mean I should back down from it. There isn't enough people doing the right thing in GC so I want to try and change that. I know my impact probably wouldn't make the biggest difference in the end... but I at least hope I can help a few people by being that example. I don't blame them, we've all gone through terrible stuff, but only by learning to get past that and learning to help each other out can GC get better."
| >>176373
>A-9 smiles
"You sound like Twenty, I guess there are still optimists like you and her left in the world... That's a good thing, you gotta have hope to make it out of difficult situations"
>She laughs a bit
"I don't know much about GC, but it's similar to where I was born, so I kinda liked it, I felt at home somehow... So I hope you accheive your goals!"
| >>176401
"Heh, not enough sadly, but hopefully I'm working on that. But yeah, that's why I keep getting into all this dangerous stuff, how I keep getting through them without even a gun I'll never know. GC isn't the greatest city in the planet, but it's still my city... besides it has some good points. Where's your home?"
| >A-9 fiddles with her hair
"I was born in Burrow, you must of heard about it, that whole mind experiment city controlled by AUCR... It's not the best place to live and the corporations are vicious, but I really liked it, It had something special about it, Something I can't really describe, much like GC has. But I had to leave after I got into some trouble, and that's when I joined this team, they needed a Hacker, and I knew my way around firewalls and cameras"
>She says
| >>176432
"Sorry to hear that... hope you'll be able to go back one day though. Can you say you're at least happy being part of your team?"
| >A-9 Nods her head vigorously
"Yes, I enjoy it quite a lot, although it's very dangerous, I get to be with Twenty, Ten and Thirteen, although she isn't with us right now, its enjoyable"
>She says, a smile on her face
>The tram suddenly stops, and the conductor turns towards you
"We have arrived, please get out"
>His voice is even more gruff now
"Good luck kids..."
>The other passengers 'look' at CN and A-9
| >>176473
"As long as your happy that's what really matters."
>CN almost trips at the sudden stop of the tram.
"Er... thank you sir."
>He walks out of the tram
| >A-9 follows along
>You stand in front of the huge tower, it really is tall... There are some weird looking carvings just about everywhere, along with tons of people, and what appears to be armed guards standing in front of the entrance.
"Alright, I know where to enter from, follow me"
>A-9 grabs CN and drags him along towards an alleyway
"There should be a vent around here somewhere, it was open last time I was here"
>She starts looking around
| "Hope it's big enough to fit me as well..."
>He looks towards where A-9 is searching and starts searching along the wall with her.
| >You find the vent still opened up, its quite large but with your height it might require more effort than you would like it to
>A-9 goes towards the vent and carefully dives in, you can hear her falling down to the floor as she does.
"Its clear, nothing in sight for now"
>She beckons CN to come inside
| "Okay... but you're gonna have to give me a minute here."
>CN slowly climbs into the vent and slowly makes his way through... you can easily tell he's not used to this kind of thing and it looks a little sad almost.
| >A-9 looks at CN, her look is a mix between pity and nervousness
"Y-You really are tall, aren't you..."
| "Being 6'3" is both a blessing and a curse..."
>He sighs as he catches his breathe a little.
"S-So uh... where do we go from here."
| >A-9 makes a gesture to follow, and starts walking along the oddly large vent
>You can see several missing fliers, and information notices on the walls some seem very familliar, you can swear you saw something about riots...
>You arrive in some kind of shaft and A-9 climbs up a small service ladder
"The entrance should be around here"
| >CN climbs up the ladder after her and looks up to see how far the ladder goes
"There's something about this place that's bothering me..."
| >A-9 turns to CN after reaching some a platform, the ladder still goes on for a bit after this.
"What do you mean?"
|
| "It just, I know you said things would feel real but this is going beyond that. Those 'people' in the train had their own autonomy in a way and I swear those flyers were talking about the riots from December. How would the terminal know about that?"
| >A-9 looks at you confused
"the flyers talked about the Gherr incident, did they not? And the missing case of Sumeriko?"
>You've never heard of both of those before, atleast never directly.
| >>176602
"No, I saw missing persons reports and stuff about the riots... could it be that this thing can access our memories somehow?"
| "That's... actually possible, I dont know how this thing was built, but maybe that's what it's doing"
>A-9 looks nervous
"I hope it doesn't affect the success of this mission, but as I said, this terminal can target the psyche, I just hope you dont have any trauma or anything like that, that could be a huge mess"
>She resumes ascending the ladder, beckoning you to follow her
| "Hehehe... yea uh..."
>He just nervously chuckles at your statement
"W-Well it seems like it's working off of more recent, surface memories for now, so we should probably hurry while we don't still have time."
| >A-9 checks a small clock on her wrist
"We still have 15 minutes, I think, time isnt quite the same inside here it seems"
>She continues climbing, albeit a bit faster
"But we should hurry, the faster we do this, the less risk A-20 and A-10 will have to face"
| "Wait what risk would they have to face when time is up?"
>He climbs up after her
| "Major Legate would be the most pressing danger, I guess. You see AUCR used that 0 day war distraction to smuggle in some agents into the city, much like ICHIKA did, and they want to find those terminals too, for reasons unknown."
>A-9 continues
"They have three agents and one of them can sniff out EM waves emmited by their technology, that's how they discovered the IBM was in this town to begin with"
| "Well don't these guys sound more and more chipper. Let's make sure we finish before that happens."
| "Aye, Aye, lets do it ze!"
>A-9 says, arriving at the top
>You can clearly see a change in the scenery, huge fans and vents are visible all around the platform you are on, A-9 starts moving towards a door, and opens it slowly, revealing the interior of the tower
>Most walls are just white, with lines of different colors running along their surfaces and the floor is covered in some kind of black carpet.
"Lets get in"
| "Right."
>CN heads inside the hall with A-9
"Someone needs to talk with their interior designer, I was always more partial to blue."
| >A-9 laughs a bit
"You're not wrong, this place looks immensly boring, but you'll see the top floors are something else"
>You walk along the hallways, not a sound is to be heard, nor is anyone else roaming around the halls, A-9 takes a turn and opens a door leading to a stair case, she enters slowly and then motions CN to follow her
"This is weird, last time there were more of those guards persons here"
| "This feels too easy, do you get the chance we're walking into a trap?"
| "I can assure you we are, I can feel it"
>A-9 says
"This wasn't this easy the first time, I had to deal with guards, some kind of monsters and cracked through most of the doors... this is way too fishy, I would prepare myself to run or escape, we can't do much more in here..."
| "I'll get my ESPs setup with actions just in case."
>He types some commands up on his deck as he continues walking
| >A-9 nods and opens up the door at the top of the stairs.
>The walls are covered in black scrawlings and notes, and lights glow in successions inside small dents in every surfaces. The whole decor seems alive, almost like its breathing...
>A large poster is put up right in front of the door
>It shows a very recognizable set of armor along with the word "EDEN", it almost looks like some kind of propaganda poster...
"What the hell?" >Says A-9
| "EDEN...? That's something from even farther last year..."
| >A-9 turns around
"All i'm seeing is an outbreak poster warning people about the Falschen disease, that was almost five years ago in Burrow..."
>A-9 clenches her fists
"Bastards messing with me, let's go and find that info fast, I dont want to spend any more time than needed here"
| (I'll pick this up tommorow, I need to head off for now, sorry. -Hige)
| "R-Right..."
>He looks back at the poster as he walks
"I'm not gonna make my own secrets that easy to find, that's for sure..."
>He mumbles to himself
(Okie doke, no prob bob)
| >As you advance down the halls along with A-9 you notice some more posters and notices, along with newspaper clippings, all of them talk about the 24 hour war and its implications, you feel like the floor feels different all of sudden, red water now covers it and makes a sloshing sound everytime you move around
"The water is normal... Finally something I recognize"
>You arrive before a closed off door as you A-9
"This is the data node, and this is where things get complex"
| "Red water.... er, right. What do we need to do?"
| >>177164
"This is where we need to access and get rid of the gate that leads to the center of this"
>You notice some kind of glowing circles, looks like you need to place your hand on those
"This is why we needed two people, it requires two people to access it at once"
>She raises her finger
"But as soon as we do it, the system will recognize us as hostiles and it will chase us around"
| "So basically I should pop out my ESPs now then right?"
| "That would be best, yeah"
>She goes towards the door and places her hand on the circle, taking out her deck
"This is just a basic override, so lets do it when you're ready"
| >CN types some things on his deck before 4 different ESPs appear nearby: A large Shield ESP flanked by 2 Assassin ESPs, with an attacker ESP forming the spear of the group.
"Okay, I'm ready."
| >A-9 nods, and activates some kind of barrier around her
"Lets do it then"
>She places her hand on the glowing circle and prompts you to the same
| >CN walks over to place his hand on the other circle
| >A jolt of elecricity goes through your body, and you can feel the override happen, you start sweating and then you hear a click, this doesnt feel like anything you've done before, almost as if something was checking inside your mind...
"Lets go, now!"
>A-9 screams, as the door opens and sirens start resounding all around
| >CN hurries inside after A-9 with the ESPs following him
| >You run after A-9 sirens blare all around you as you run
>Soon you encounter some kind of person, his arms and eyes glowing an odd red light
"That's an enemy!"
>The red armed monstrosity rushes towards you
(I'll be a bit busy, so expect slow responses orz)
| (Its fine)
"I got this!"
>CN loads a stun program on the enemy while the Assassin ESPS rush forward to attack the enemy.
| >The enemy stops for an instant but pushes forward with a cry of pain, but it seems that instant was all it took, the assasin ESPS tear the beast apart with well timed strikes and it delivers a last cry of pain before falling and dissolving into dust
"Those are pretty strong huh, maybe I should get a few ones myself"
>A-9 says jokingly while running
| "Better be with all the tech and software I installed and designed in this thing. I can't do much in headspace but the Matrix is where I really rule!"
>The Assassin ESPs return and continuing flanking him as CN keeps running
| >A-9 skips around the corner
"Well, lets hope I dont get outmatched, that would be embarassing! Tango ahead!"
>You can see one figure similar to the grunt you took care of and some big looming powersuit coming from down the hallway, they seem eager to pummel you down.
"Distract the big guy and i'll take him down!"
>A-9 says, rushing ahead
| >CN quickly sets some commands on his deck as the Shield ESP goes to push back the big guy to buy time, as CN loads another stun program on the other enemy, letting the Assassins take care of him as well
| >The Guardian tries to get rid of the shield and seems distracted enough, opening up a window for A-9
"Thanks! Lets get blasting~daze"
>A-9 seemingly blinks forward and strikes the Guardian with an open palm, pushing him backward as an explosion strikes him head on, but he still rises up after a few seconds
"Tch, he's tough"
>As for the grunt, he is paralyzed by your stun program and gets easily taken care of by your assasins, letting out a blood chilling scream before dying
| >The Assassins returns to CNs side as the Shield ESP pushes the bigger guy again, letting the Attacker ESP to ruin around the Shield to attack him from the back while A-9 strikes from the front
| >The guardian tries to rush forward, but is kept in check by the Shield who pushes him
>The attacker ESP makes his way towards the back and strikes the guardian who lets out a cry of pain and agony
>A-9 takes the chance and strikes Again, this time taking time to strike the face of the monsterous being, which then explodes in numerous fragments as flames consume it.
"Whew, that was a good fight, lets just hope they dont have hundreds of those after us"
>A-9 says and resumes running
| "Well why you got to jinx it like that?"
>CN says as he chuckles and runs right behind her
| >A-9 takes a second to realize and then screams
"Oh fuck! Why did I do that?"
>You arrive in front of a traditional door, and she busts it down with a powerful kick
>The room beyond the door is very wide, with tons of servers and flashing lights reaching the ceiling, two lifts seem to lead further up.
>Some kind of drop ship is attached to the ceiling, looming menacingly, it seems oddly familliar.
"Lets get up, the data is at the top"
>A-9 Says
| >He looks up at the ship but quickly pulls his view away given the circumstances.
"Well let's hurry then, to the lift!"
| >You hurry to the lift and A-9 overrides its system quite easily, prompting it to jerk and then start ascending towards the ceiling
"What the hell is that thing on the ceiling" >A-9 says
"Is it the same for you, i'm seeing.. Oh fuck... What the hell"
>A-9 averts her eyes, and looks realky sick for a second, she leans over the lift and starts vomiting while gasping in pain.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck"
>The lift ascends again
| "W-What is it? It just looks like a dropship to me?"
| >A-9 heaves hard
"Nothing, just an oddly terrible memory, this thing looks like, that thing I saw back in burrow... Whatever it was i-its disgusting, and painful to look at"
>She seems to have trouble standing and falls to her knees
"Dont worry... I'll be up soon, but I cant help and have a bad feeling about this"
>She says, her voice stabilizing slowly
| "Even so, we're a little bit too deep by now to stop. We're just going to have to push through whatever happens. -CN
| "Yeah, we cant just stop now, or else we'll all be in trouble... Thanks"
>She gets up to her feet and slaps her face
"I'm fine now" >She says
>The lift arrives and you are greeted by an awe inspiring sight: you can see the whole cities obelisks, rising slowly above the clouds, looks like you're cloae to the top
"We got ten minutes left, lets do this"
>A-9 says, walking up to the next hallway
| "Right, we got each other's backs after all."
>CN jogs to catch up and keeps moving
| >You see all around the corridors paintings of locations you've seen before, Neko Park, Murphy's Ranch, mostly harmless locations, rendered in fine and minute details
>No ennemies in sight for now
>As you arrive to the end of the hallway, a gigantic painting is present, it depicts a smiling man holding a bloody knife, with his own neck sliced open, his eyes gleaming a strange blue light.
>You hear a phone ringing
| "Huh? Who's this...? Wait more importantly that phone sounds like the one from the stream."
| >You turn around and see a phone booth, covered in blood, the phone inside rings
>A-9 turns towards you
"What is it?"
| "Tch, a bloody phone booth, just like last April. I didn't experience this firsthand but this was the mess that started it all for my team."
| >The phones rings violently and you can hear a knocking sound coming from within
"Huh, shouldn't we pick it up, or keep moving"
>Says A-9 seemingly a bit reluctant
>The choice is yours
| >CN seems a little bit unnerved by the sight
"Good thing Merc isn't here..."
>CN slowly starts walking towards it
"I'll answer it, just cause it knows what this phone booth is doesn't mean it can replicate it's real effects, it's trying to freak me out. It won't work."
>He walks up and answers it
| >You hear a gruff voice on the phone as you pick it up, it makes your head hurt just to listen to
"So you picked up, good. Trust me I want to help you, and that boy KN too, I just want to be set free from all this pain"
>The voice says, distorting itself more and more
"You wont be able to kill the master of this world, nor his disciple, not yet, you should just grab what you came for, and leave"
| "And what are we missing that will let us do that?"
| "The right moment is what you're missing, at the moment they start to awaken, that is the moment when you should strike"
>The voice says, you can feel pain slowly... licking your brain, as if a fire as ignited within your mind
"I've seen this happen so many times before, reliving it again and again, please just make it end for good, half measures wont release us from the crucible and its flames"
| "I-I see..."
>He instinctively hold the back of his head in pain
"Anything else I should know?"
| "Fear KS, do not listen to his lies, never bow down before him"
>The pain flares suddenly and the phone clicks brutally, ending the call instantly, you feel terrible and its hard to remember what you just heard
"A-Are you okay CN?"
>Someone says next to you, A-9
| >He puts a hand up to let her know he's okay.
"I-ill be fine, things are just a little fuzzy right now. Come on let's get moving, I'll explain later."
| >A-9 nods and you resume your advance towards the top
>The paintings get moreand more creepy and exotic, depicting people burning in amazing details or a man seemingly stiching himself to someone else, a warm smile on his face.
>A-9 seems disgusted and creeped out
>Suddenly four grunts drop from the ceiling along with two Guardians in powersuit and a weird female individual wearing a hood.
| "Oh come on now... *sigh* guess I can't slack off and let my ESPs do the work for me..."
>CN starts setting up a large scale program as his ESPs begin to move. The Shield ESP move to cover him while he works, while the Assassins move to take care of the grunts, finally the Attacker ESP moves to keep the Guardians and the hooded figure suppressed with a Blaster program.
| >One grunts gets hit by the full blunt of your assasin's strike before slumping down to the ground, but the one the other assasin was targeting dives forward and avoids the strike before trying to get back up
>The two Guardians start barreling towards CN but are cut short by A-9 who launches a wave of fire in their path, forcing them to back up
>Your attacker takes the chance and blasts one of the guardian causing him to scream and fall into the flames, still burning on the floor
| >The two unatacked grunts try and attack your assasins and while one manages to land a decent hit, the other fails miserably and ends up falling to the ground, pinning down his ally who was trying to get up
>The hooded figure watches and starts approaching slowly
| "Almost done..."
>CN keeps typing on his deck as his ESPs continue doing the designated tasks
| >A-9 takea a steo back, evaluating her options
>The Assasin who was attacked shakes off the grunt and slices his head open causing it to dissapear
>The assasin who was attacked but didnt receive any damage takes the chance offered to him and stabs deeply into both grunts on the ground, making them scream in pain and agony as they die.
>The two guardians are still kept at bay by the flames but for how long?
| >The attacker decides to blast the damaged guardian who just had gotten out of the flames causing it to scream out again and rush ahead, ignoring its pain and the fire in its path
>The other Guardian stays, unsire of what to do
>The hooded figure starts chanting in an ominous voice
| >The Assassins now done with the grunts moves to target the Guardians. The Shield ESP now begins to rush forward at the hooded figure to break their concentration
"And done! Let's see how much these programs can do when they're being slowed by a DDOS!"
>A large field appears under the enemies, which begins to rapidly bloat and slow their proceedings with junk data.
| >The rushing guardian screams as the program affects him and he slows down to a crawl, his already low process speed slowed down even more
>The second guardian just turns around and faces the Assasins but can't react fast enough, he is slashed from two sides at once and falls to the ground in a loud bang
>A-9 blinks forward, close to the hooded figure and delivers a fireblast from her elbow straight onto her
>The hooded figure backsteps before being touched by the flames
"Tch"
| >The shield bearer rushes the hooded figure but she raises both her arm and fires some kind of projectile, which causes cracks to form into the ESPs shield and for his rush to be interrupted, she seemed to have been distracted though
>The last standing guardian gets picked off by the Attacker ESP, he never had a chance.
| "You're AI seems a little bit smarter than the rest, it's 6 on 1, why don't you just let us pass and we'll be on our way."
>He begins loading another program as he says this, the 4 ESPs moving to surround the past enemy
| >The hooded figure speaks with a heavily distorted voice
"Do you think all of this is a simulation? That we are mere AIs? We listen only to he who guides us, past the mirrador, past the Divided delta, he will make us whole"
>She starts raising her hands and claps them together
>The grunts rise again, this time their whole bodies glowing brightly
"You are no friend of mine, decker, begone to whence you came"
>The grunts rush forward once again
| "So much for diplomacy then."
>The ESPs attacks her all at once why he quickly turns around and fires an area of effect blaster program at the reanimated grunts
| >the ESPS approach the Hooded and strike her, she smiles and lets herself be hit, dying in an instant
"Ahh, sweet death~" >She says and falls to the ground
>The grunts rush towards CN, and dont seem to be affected by the blaster, apart from two of them seeming to be in pain for an instant
>They are closing in on you, fast
| "T-The hell!?"
>CN quickly loads a weak firewall program in front of him as he backs up to meet his ESPs
| >A-9 clicks her tongue and strikes the ground with her hands, causing fire to errupt under the grunts
>They dont even make a sound, even when burning alive, and keep rushing towards CN at breakneck speeds
"Those aren't normal! Get away from them QUICK!"
>A-9 screams
| >CN keeps the firewall up as he backs up even further, his ESPs now passing him to fight the grunts
| >The grunts slam into the ESPs and instantly detonate with a loud scratching noise
>The shield survives, but his shield is baddly damaged
>The attacker survives, being a bit farther away
>The two assasins are done in
>A-9 gets to CN
"You okay, what the hell was that even!?"
| "Hell if I know!? They all became suicidal all of a sudden."
| >A-9 looks back
"Those weren't normal, they looked like they didnt even feel any pain and weren't affected by our processes, I've never seen that before"
>She checks her watch
"We have time left, lets go now and we can ask about it later"
| "Y-Yeah you're right..."
>He quickly brushes himself off and gets moving.
| >You arrive in a long stair case, climbing up on the side of the Obelisk, the city scape and the clouds stretch out below you as both of you make your way higher, towards the top
"Lets hurry up, and find that data as soon as we arrive"
>A-9 says looking a bit frightened by the sheer height of the building
| >All you hear is a small grunt of acknowledgement and a barely audible
"I hate stairs..."
| >You arrive at the top after lots of climbing stairs
>The area seems almost empty, apart from a large stone slab and a small chair, with someone sitting on it
>You have a terrible gut feeling about this
>The slab has several access ports and writing that reads: Failure of Artifical Life, main frame.
| >CN whispers to A-9
"Who is that?"
| >A-9 shakes her head
"I have no idea, but I dont feel any AI or pulse, its a cadavre"
>She starts walking towards the Slab
"Still we should be careful"
| >CN carefully follows as well, being flanked by his remaining ESPs.
"How can something like that be in this place though?"
| >A-9 shakes her head
"I-I dont know, this is getting weirded by the second, this is something straight out of Thirteen's mind at this point"
>She says, continuing her advance
| >CN carefully looks around the room for any danger
"Look we can think about it later, let's just get the data and get out of here."
| >A-9 nods and approaches the slab, but just as she does, you hear something coming from the corpse, rough breathing and heaving
| "T-The hell!? Careful!"
>He turns towards the slab and A-9
| >The corpse slowly rises from the chair and turns towards both of you
>They have no face, no body to speak of, if asked to describe it, white noise would be the best definition one could give, it looked on at both of you
"You have arrived here, I was expecting you"
>Its voice says
| "Well this is unexpected... I take it you're not head of security?c
| >The thing laughs
"Funny, most persons would of simply bowed down, your bodies must lay elsewhere"
>It gets close to the slab
"The information you seek is here, and I am willing to give it to you, I am a benevolant god after-all"
>The being looks at you and your deck is now filled with information, logs, and project reports
"But whatever shall you do upon reading it, I wish only for you to struggle and try to stop it, as you have done before, and will many times again"
| "Before? How many times has this happened before?"
| >The being looks towards the sky
" A thousand perhaps, maybe twice, it doesn't matter really, the cycle resets memories too"
>The being sits down in the chair again
"I am not yet fully awakened, but I know I will come alive this time again, its always been so, but that is not something you should concern yourself over, for you see, my preparations are now over"
| "P-Preparations...? Are you KS? Just what *is* this place?"
| "I am not KS, I am but a fragment of his, a splinter that lives to serve one purpose: Lead the ritual to its completion, and get this terminal into AUCR's hands"
>The being laughs audibly and slaps his knee
"For you see, I have prepared a little surprise, I have a little control over this world, this conscience, and I decided to alter a little something when you came in, namely time perception, you know where I'm getting at, don't you?"
| "W-Wait, are you saying it's been longer than 20 minutes already!?"
| >The being laughs loudly
"Indeed, it is so, although my power is weak, I created a gap, you have been in here for 25 minutes, and your enemies are getting closer by the second"
>He then raises his arms
"So you have two choices, either you stay here and delete the data on this terminal, which contains a direct map to the IBM, cutting it off from AUCR's grasps, or you can get out now, leave me here and save A-20 and A-10, but allow AUCR to access this data, the choice is yours"
| "Isnt't this peak excitement! The thrill of a life time, sacrificing your friends, and possibly your body, but putting a stop to the Evil machinations of AUCR, or saving your friends, escaping but allowing them to finally have access to this data! The choice of a lifetime, the expression of FREEDOM"
>The being screams, in a dramatic voice
| >CN simply smiles at the ultimatum
"I choose neither. I'm picking my way, I'm getting out of here with all the Alphas and the data, and I'll stop the AUCR as well. So what if they get the data too, that just mean we got another chance to stop them. You sound all high and mighty but right now you seem pretty pathetic if you think I'm gonna pick an 'ends justifies the means' option. Fuck that, you can shove it down whatever orifice you got left."
| "Come on A-9, let me show you exactly why people call me a shounen protagonist and let's get out of here."
| >The being doesnt stop laughing
"Ahaha, truly you continue to amuse me, you really are a special one, CN, I knew that since I first laid eyes on you"
>His voice drops to a low tone, almost challenging
"Go on then, futile as it may be, this will potentialy make for good entertainement, I wish you luck, although it serves no purpose"
>A-9 turns to CN
"We need to get out of here, if what he's saying is true, then we don't have much time to escape!"
| >The sky turns red all around you, and the being chuckles
"Looks like this is it, see you later, geekboy"
>A gigantic eye in the sky opens and looks over the city, you are then disconnected by force. The sickness washes over you again, along with the vertigo and pain.
>You are back into the shelter where the terminal is, and you can see the door being torn open by some kind of Powersuit wearing person
| >CN instinctively holds his head due to the passing nausea
"W-We're done, I got the data! Come on let's break this thing and get out of here!"
| >A-20 turns towards you
"Eh? Oh thank god finally you're back"
>She's interrupted mid sentence by the door hitting the wall and the power suit wearing man barreling inside the room
"I don't think we could break it even if we wanted, kid, that thing's way too though, like it doesnt want to break! And we have this guy to deal with"
>A-10 says, a large rifle propped up against her shoulder
>The powersuit is followed by robotic soldiers holding rifles
"Shoot them, now!"
>He screams
| >A shield is deployed around A-10 as A-9 throws a small device to the ground
"We have to leave NOW, we can't deal with Legate right now!" >A-10 says, running towards a small hatch
>Bullets whistles over head as the robots start shooting around the room, tearing equipement and paper apart
| "Everyone shut your eyes!"
>CN shouts to the Alphas as he pulls out a blue vial and throws at right at the man's face, causing a flashbang-like effect to occur as soon as the vial shatters.
| >The robots seem unafected but the large man, Legate curses loudly
"Fucking kids and their tricks... continue plowing the room with bullets mongrel!"
>A-20 busts open the hatch with the help of A-10
"We need to leave before Sirka gets here, quick!"
| "Maybe learn how to react better next time asshole!"
>CN jumps behind the obelisk to use as cover as he retreats to where the hatch is. Just as he nears it he throws a second blue vial at the man before he can fully recover from the first.
| >The Man covers his eyes this time, and gets a huge rifle out, aiming it, but clicking his tongue
"Fuckers, chase them they're running away!"
>A-20 turns toward them and takes a deep breath, before pushing both of her arms forward, unleashing some kind of wave that topples over a few robots and throws Legate into the wall
"That's for Beta-12, scumfuck!"
>She shouts before jumping into the hatch and closing it after everyone got inside
"Lets get the hell out of here"
>A-9 says
| "Hey, you won't hear any complaints from me. We got to looks at this data ASAP anyways."
| >A-10 looks at CN and whistles in amazement
"You also got the data? Kid we were right to consult you for this!"
>The long hallway leads straight to a small parking lot, where a totally nondescript van is located, A-10 gets the keys out and gets behind the wheel, whilst A-20 opens the back and helps A-9 to climb aboard, she then extands her hand to CN
"Lets get the fuck out of here"
| "Unfortunately they will now as well but we still have the lead on them."
>He grabs her hand and climbs in
"This is a lot more complicated than we thought."
| >A-20 closes the door behind you, and screens light up the darkness, this looks like some kind of mobile information center
"What do you mean?"
>She asks, sitting down next to A-9
| >CN immediate sits on the floor. Although he hasn't moved much in the real world, he still feels exhausted.
"Well basically..."
>CN summarizes the best he can from what happened inside, including what happened with the phone booth, the lady, and the entity at the end.
| >Alpha-20 listens to everything and closes her eyes
"I think we may have stepped on a land mine here, a very dangerous and explosive land mine"
>She looks at A-9
"Get ICHIKA on the line, as soon as possible, this is urgent"
>She turns to CN
"Meanwhile let's take a look at this data you got"
>A small chord extends from the central holographic display, and she passes it to CN
| >He connects the cord to the deck as he begins to look through the data as well
| >You sift through many reports and emails, before finding and opening up a document, titled: "The Ghersh project, and crucible theory"
"That must be what we're looking for, let's see what's inside..."
| "Why does this seem like more and more of a creepy cult thing?"
| >The document seems to be an outline of what the project is, and its goals, it reads as follows:
>"Throughout the Burrow experiments, lead by the now deceased proffessor Leonhardt we unveiled something he was most keen on hiding from us, he had delved into ritualism and had found something most interesting about the 08' incident, it was a ritual that was probably conducted to prepare for something much greater, and he could use this, and perhaps even repurpose it"
| >"He had started hiding code inside two hand made custom terminals, with the help of Professor Fiarjkarrk, hereby reffered to as Element One, and he begun to create the outline this project now follows.
The goals of the project are as follows:
Learn to control the Greater beings inside the terminals, and use their power to accheive the loss of mortal sin, death.
In brief, the project is to be conducted as a research for imortality using the crucible as a means to an end"
| >This project will operate in two stages
>The half sized test
>The regular full crucible ritual
>The half sized test will serve, theoretically to "activate" the slumbering AI known as KS, the sacrifice to be paid, is in human lives, and according to calculus, Five millions should do the trick. The location of the experiment has been decided to be Glitch city, as transporting the second terminal after retrieval would prove most difficult, the means will be a Matrix Virus"
| >A-20 looks at the pages in Awe
"Holy shit, what in the fuck?"
>She says, in her actual voice
| "What!? That makes no sense! How does genocide equate to the activation of AI!?"
| >A-20 shakes her head
"I-I dont know, and even with my knowledge of Alien technology I can't say I've ever seem something quite like this, except once"
>She sits down and ruffles her hair seemingly at a loss
"But this is a big deal, even if it doesnt work, even if the whole thing was bullshit and just some crackpot scrawlings, they're planning on testing it for real, here, in Glitch City, and people will die, lots of people"
| "Well we're obviously going to stop it!"
| "Definitely, but we'll need some help, this isnt a simple smash and grab anymore, this is total carnage, and I wont stand to let it happen, not while I still draw breath"
>She gets up
"Anyone you know who may be willing to help us? We also need to find F, she's our best bet and probably knows how to stop this whole mess if worse comes to worse"
>A-9 gets closer to the table
"ICHIKA wants to speak with us, now"
| "Well I could try talking to a few members of my team but I can't guarantee availability. Even then this is definitely bigger than what my network is used to, we'd need some outside help."
>He turns to A-9
"Oh uh, I assume this is a private meeting thing right?"
| (the classical cliffhanger! I have to leave for now, I'll be back later tonight)
| (Okie doke. No prob Bob)
| >A-9 turns to CN
"No he wants to speak to you too"
>A-20 nods
"Just asking is more than enough, thanks, let's not make our boss wait now"
>She presses a button, and the room turns dark
(Had to atleast respond, see you later!)
| (See ya)
"Oh, well aren't I popular."
>He stands as the lights dim
| >The lights turn off and darkness settles into the room
>A figure appears in the middle of the room, displayed by the Holographic display, its face is covered in shadows and you can only see two glowing eyes in the dark
"Hello world, ICHIKA speaking"
>The person beyond the Holographic display speaks in a lightly modulated voice
>A-20 salutes and reports the situation just as CN did, ICHIKA looks on and sighs
"This is certainly a problem, I've read the reports, we must stop this"
| "Well I'd say that much is obvious, yes."
| >ICHIKA looks towards CN
>His eyes glowing brighter
"Yes, its quite obvious after-all, I've heard much about you CN, and that optimism of yours, and I hope we can rely on your help this time around, I'll give you anything you desire in exchange for this service, and I am not hyperboling, I mean it"
>ICHIKA says, dead serious
"I am also sending Thirteen to assist you, as her project is over and could be useful to the mission"
| "Well I guess I can't say no when you're giving such a generous offer. I will say though, how long will it take for them to arrive? I'm sure it goes without saying that time is of the essence here."
| The tropical sunsets is a natural ghotic feel
| >>178600
"Thirteen will be in GC by sundown, I'll see to it, as for you and the other Alpha units, you should get to finding that terminal and that crucible thing, from what I've seen in those files, they have to use a special location to start this 'ritual' and finding it is our best bet at stoping this whole mess"
>ICHIKA ponctuates his words with air quotes
"I'll try and get this data analyzed by Delta-4, good luck in the meantime"
| "I'm already on it."
>CN is already looking down at his deck as he says this, beginning to look through the rest of the files for any clues
| "Then lets hope you find it, I will be in touch, call me if anything happens"
>His eyes turn to A-20
"I also have got word from D-4, He has found Element one, you should detain her as quickly as possible before AUCR gets her and eliminates her, we need her knowledge."
>The transmission ends, and the lights turn back on
"Alright, lets do this, A-10 head for where F is, as for A-9 help CN process those files and find that crucible location, I'll be getting in touch with Thirteen"
| >He glances over to A-9
"At this rate it seems we're gonna be inseparable."
>There's a playful tone to his voice as he says this, although he doesn't slow down his work for a moment
| >>178625
>She flashes a grin as she sets up
"Don't slow me down too much"
>She says with a playful tone of voice
>As you two start combing the files and data, getting rid of superfluous documents and reports, you start noticing a phrase that is repeated a large number of times 'Site G, the deepest end'
| >>178628
"Hmm... site G... could it mean a district... that might be too broad..."
>CN keeps combing to the files as he mumbles to himself
(*cough* https://discord.gg/xsux4bz *cough*)
| >>178630
(Invite expired?)
>A-9 looks at the data and seemingly picks up on your mumbling
"It has some descriptions, but nothing too conclusive, although I found several times where the 'deepest end' was mentionned, any idea on what the deepest point in Glitch city is? Maybe that's where that site is"
| >>178636
(Rip hold on)
"Well if we're quite literally speaking like depth wise maybe the Flooded District? It's also where everyone, their mom, and their dog keep secrets."
| (Try this one https://discord.gg/UJjmfRA)
| >A-9 gets a map of glitch city out and lays it on the table
"So... The flooded district huh, that seems likely... I guess, what kinda secrets are down there anyway?"
| "What *isn't* down there. I've heard everything from literal acid blood aliens to secret firing squads to goldfish with laser eyes... although admittedly that last one was true. Officially it's an abandoned district that houses a lot of old tech from the turn of the century and stuff."
| >A-9 perks up
"Old tech? Then what we're looking for must be close to there, you can't get much older than a 5100, modified as it may be"
>A-9 turns to A-20, who was talking on the phone
"Can you ask Delta to look into it at once? The deepest place inside the flooded district, that's probably where they are!"
>A-20 nods and starts typing on some kind of portable computer
| "Well that was easier than I expected... which all my enemies keep their hidden base locations in simple to solve riddles. "
| >>179101
>A-9 chuckles nervously
"I'm sure they're waiting for us, and that'll be the tough part... Or if we just show up and find out they were somewhere else all along... But lets hope that doesnt happen"
>As she says that, A-20 turns around and faces CN
"I let Delta know, he'll check it out Asap, but for now we need to find F, and I need you to do it, she would probably run at the mere sight of me and the others after-all"
| "Well how does this F looks like? Gonna be honest I've barely even seen them on the boards so I don't know much."
| >A-20 smiles
"This is where we have the advantage over them, you see, F is something akin to a shapeshifter, if she touches someone, she can become exactly like how they look, but one day a Vigilente by the name of Falschen decides he had enough of her bullshit and cut off one of her arm, the right one, right in the shoulder, and crippled her, she can't regenerate parts she's lost you see"
| "And Delta-4 found out what appearance she has right now and where she is, so it'll be a cinch"
| "Hmm... alright. What do we got to work with then. Also what should I even do when I run in to her, she doesn't sound like the talking type."
| >A-20 scratches her head
"I-Huh, A-10, you're good at that whole conversation thing right?"
>A voice comes in from the driver's seat
"Huh? Well yeah I guess I got nore action in my lifetime than you ever did, ahahah"
>A-10 says laughing loudly
"but yeah, I would say just tell her you aint with AUCR and that you wanna help her, if she helps us. she's not dumb, she'll realize thats her best bet"
>She then says, more seriously
| "Well I'll give it a shot. Too late for me to start getting cold feet now."
| >A-20 nods and hands you a data chip, containing the wereabouts of F
"Lets just hope you can catch her if she runs, I'll have A-10 assist you if that ever happens"
"Aye Aye Hackerman, lets do this!"
>says A-10 while laughing
>The van goes straight for the Chapel 1-3 District, leaving a trail of dust in its wake
| (I'll create another setting thread later today, for now sleep is law)
| (Kk)
| >The van stops in front of a bar, and A-10 gets out
"Let's go, I don't wanna make A-20 wait too much"
( https://dangeru.us/cyb/thread/179934 )
| "Got it."
>CN hops out behind her and walks along with her
| "You go in first, i'll wait outside and provide support if she tries and run"
>A-10 cloaks herself
This thread is permanently archived
| >You arrive in a room completely filled with old servers, devices and computers straight out of an historical sci-fi movie, a small terminal rests upon the central table, along with several sheets of paper covered in nebulous writing.
>The door was clearly hidden, but it was busted down with some kind of heat based device
"We're here"
>A-20 leads CN inside