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(Setting) Uni's Apartment
| >there is a knock on the door
| "A minute please!"
> A loud crash can be heard behind the doors, and then another. Before then, the sound of footsteps close in as the door open.
"H-hello!"
> The woman greeting is the owner of the apartment, Uni. She wears her usual suit and skirt set, and her azure hair is let loose — not showing any sign of unkempt appearance.
| >>338513
>before you stands a man about 17-2X years old
>the only thing note worth about his appearance is a black hoodie with orange outline and a pair of glasses that look oddly perfect on him
>with him are 5 spherical drones orbiting around him
"hello there i am here to pick up my purchase."
>he bows like a gentleman
| > Uni also bows all maid-like. Perhaps this is a habit this has picked up on.
"Come in! Sorry for the cramped space. That's a problem I'm fixing."
> She gestures the man to enter. There is very little space inside, and items are shoveled to the sides to make way.
| >>338536
"wow...i..i see why you were giving stuff away..
Why do you even buy all this?"
>the drones continue orbiting
| >>338540
"I don't. Some of them are sent to me, some are gifted, some passed down, and some I found when I first arrived here."
> Uni began digging through a pile near her bed, trying to find something.
"—I do purchase a good number of them, but their numbers are insignificant."
| >>338542
"*sigh*guess its best not to ask then no?
If you want i can help clean up or something"
>one drone bumps into him
"ow"
>he mumbles
| "No, no. I like them this way. My eye used to be able to pinpoint item position, but now I'm left with my memory to do it."
> She pulls out a.. crank. And puts it back down. Clearly not what she wanted.
"The books are right over there."
> Uni made a rather loud finger snap with her hand. It opens a cabinet right beside the man.
"I could've sworn one of the Minor Arcana is somewhere around here."
> She continues digging through the pile.
| >>338545
>the man begins peering through the books
"oh nice taste...
..used to? What do you mean used to?"
| >>338546
> Through the many books, some of them are a recognizable title: one about the tale of a young wizard and his fellows, the other of a tunic-clad magical boy, and the rest are all fantasy titles well-known to the older ages.
"It's broken. Or at least, not working as it was intended to."
> Uni answers. This time she had pulled a golden dagger in a shape of a.. key?
"—Why is this here?"
| "Oh, the Shakespeare books you are looking for is in the rack below that."
> Uni sees the opened cabinet, eyeing a few books herself.
"The one on top is mostly fantasy."
| >>338548
"oh hey keysword"
>>338549
"again. Good taste"
>he ducks below and surveys the lower rack
"lesseelessee...
I could probably take a look at your eye then...although i don't know if i could be of any help...my teleporter is definitely different.."
| >>338552
> There is an insurmountable amount of books filling the rack; about two layers of them from what an eye can see. They are relating to studies of Shakespeare's works, as well as ancient literature in general.
"It would be a great help if you do. I had it partially repaired, but for now it only works as an eye — not as anything I intend it for."
> Uni hangs the golden key to the wall near her. It shines, but she doesn't mind much of it.
| "I'll find the Minor Arcana. You can take a seat and read some of the books there."
> Uni points to an empty space in the middle of the room. There is an object vaguely resembling a low table, but a screen is attached on it — Uni is probably pointing to that as a reading space.
".. Wait, maybe I hung it somewhere along the weaponry."
> She turns back to where she hung the key, going through the bladed weapons there.
| >>338559
"well then consider a checkup my payment...outside my actual payment"
>some of the drones scoop up some books
| >>338562
"I did say you don't need to pay. These items you are picking up will probably have another versions of them reappear by the next month."
> Uni insists, but gave a rather odd reason along with it.
"—But I will accept your offer on the help."
| >>338565
"minor disclaimer:
It might end up giving you teleportation instead of clairvoyance"
>he says jokingly
| >>338565
"minor disclaimer:
It might end up giving you teleportation instead of clairvoyance"
>he says jokingly
| >>338575
"T-then, I might be able to finally realize my dream of utilizing my apartment as an hammerspace!"
> There is a glee of wishful thought in Uni's eyes. She seems to savor the idea, very much.
"—That will be an experience."
> She goes back to rummaging the many items, important or not, before finally taking out a tablet-like device.
"Found one of them."
| "Y-yes! Imagine being able to utilize every single item here without needing to go back home, take them out, and use them — and plus, the trip back to put them back."
> Uni is definitely onboard with the idea, as seen on her smile.
"I already have a hydraulic launcher to shoot out some of these items, so using it through spatial teleportation is only a step forward!"
> She acts as though a child who has found a new toy.
| >>338589
"...i...i...i can actually do that b-but it won't be as good as mine."
>he brandishes a small module of sorts
>conveniently it can fit inside ones eye along with whatever else is in there
"it can pull items williy nilly no problem but messing with biological things can only be done once a day."
| >>338590
"Oooh."
> Uni goes over to see the module, interest in it is skyrocketing.
"I'm fine with it not being able to teleport anything but items. After all, I want nothing but hammerspace!"
> She checks the module itself and tries to do an eyeball comparison to see if it will fit on her mechanical eye.
"—So, how much will this cost and how does it work?"
| >>338599
(oh lord you guessed wrong)
"..i can tell you after we work this out"
>he sighs
"alright as for price...how about s kiss"
>he says jokingly and even laughing a little
| >>338602
> Uni visibly blushes before stepping back, continuing to search for another Minor Arcana.
"Y-you know, those rumors might become true if w-we do that."
> She goes through the items, but much slowly this time; looking at them for long, but she clearly isn't paying attention whatever she is holding.
| >>338603
"haha why not.
Just a little kiss."
>he says jokingly
"Why?would you rather me wish you sweet reverie under the moonlight as i whisper sweet nothings into your ear?"
>he sounds oddly romantic
>although still kinda jokey but less
| "Sorry, but I don't plan on making any of those memories here — I don't belong here."
> Uni answers, not at all happy or romantic. Her voice sounds forlorn.
"S-so please—"
> She takes out a second Minor Arcana, this one coated in white. A logo is embossed on one of its side, clearly reading 'SCNPROJ'.
| >>338611
"Definitely not where I wasn't supposed to be."
> Uni smiles as she extend her hands, both of them holding two Minor Arcana — one on the left is white, and the other is stealth black.
"Here are the items you requested."
| >>338615
"hahahaha! Alright im done.
Why is it so easy to mess with you? hahah!"
>he laughs for a bit
"oh im sorry im sorry *wheeze*
Thanks"
>he takes the items
"Still im kinda insulted am i that bad?"
| "No, I reject anyone in advance; I still want to get back home, and if I have too many ties here — then I will never return home."
> Uni says, this time her voice is less depressing and more hopeful than before.
"I hope you understand that."
| >>338620
"nah im in the same situation.
Some day i need to leave GC.
Still, doesn't mean you cant make good memories here right?
And dont stress out the kiss stuff i was joking.
...unless you actually want one~"
>he says before falling back to laughter
| "N-no thanks. The patrons at the cafe is already threarening me with a kiss anyway."
> She giggles as she goes to a lighter mood.
"It's not that I can't make good memories here. I prefer to be recluse and make less impact, one day I won't be able to see Glitch City anymore — mostly because I'm sure it's not yet built in my time."
| "No, if memory serves me correctly, I'm only someone sent here with no means of going back."
> Uni lets her left eye glow, with this, the two Minor Arcana held by the man lights up, writing incoherent pattern all over them.
"—I guess the term 'time traveller's won't fit into the puzzle."
| >>338632
"well then who knows?
Maybe you will find a way back.
isn't it nice to hold onto those thoughts?"
>he gives a feint smile
"anyways-"
>he gives uni a calling card
"its cyrus by the way.
Give me a call, who knows? I might actually be considering giving you teleportation."
>he laughs
"anyways i must be going. thanks again for the 'arcanas'as you call them. Im certain it will be useful for a project of mine"
>and he disappears in an orange flash along with his stuff
| > Uni gave a long sigh, closing her eyes as shut as possible. Thoughts running in her mind, but nothing else compares to what has been surfacing lately.
"—I really need to buy a larger space for my apartment."
> She opens her phone, remembering something; she then immediately leaves her apartment in a hurry, leaving the door unlocked.
| >A firefight happens in a street as two cars crashed into each other and exploded.
>A man in a power-armor and a smaller cat-boomer makes their way to the stairs, and to the front door of the apartment. The power-armor is heavily geared, its gloves glowing green. The cat-boomer then knocks on the door.
>After about half an hour of no response, she opens it wide open.
"Idiot... who leaves their house without locking their doors?"
| > The two are greeted by the many piles of overflowing items, and what very little space there is between the stacked items.
> The inside of the apartment is quiet, only the distant sound of a mechanical whir can be heard.
| "Oh no... What is this workspace? It-it is so unclean! How can anyone live in this?"
>The catboomer exclaims loudly in surprise, while the suit just shrugs
-"Probably she loves to hoard stuff. Anyways, what was the stuff that we're looking for?"
"Typewriters. Well, it is impossible to find them in this mess, so... take everything I guess."
>The suit's gloves glow green, it shoots out tethers that wraps around itself, forming a solid container.
"Let's get to work."
| >They both take whatever is in the piles and put them in the container. The more things they put it, the container appears to get bigger and bigger until, it reached a limit.
"The container is as big as the doorway now."
"Create a second one."
"Roger that."
>True on his word, a second container is created. Soon the apartment is half-filled with containers, the other half is empty and very dusty after cleaning.
"Now what next, boss?
"We go outside and hold the fort."
| > The cleanup did make a significant change. The apartment has now, apart from the containers, only a lonely bed in its corner, a drawer next to it, and still some very messy walls.
> Although not visible at first, pictures and antique items are hung on the walls. The items range from decorative pieces to perhaps real weapons? None of them are guns nor fancy technological marvel, however.
| > The sound of the mechanical whir seems to have become louder. Gears can be heard clicking and rotating, but there isn't any seen around.
| >Before they head out, the cat-boomer notices something peculiar in this dusty room.
"What strange posters and items. What is that sound? *cough* *cough* Damnit, the air in the room is weird. I'm going outside."
>The man in the suit nodded, and now he only remains in the room with the containers.
>First he tries to determine the source of the sound. It sounds like something old and archaic.
| > They seem to originate from the walls, but all of the walls are making the noise — it's even more correct to say that the whole room is making the noise.
> Dust lingers close in the room, and with the items removed, they freely float around. There is a tinge smell of iron, but it's faint.
| "The sound is everywhere, this is unbelievable. And the smell... no wonder why Boss doesn't like this room."
>He goes outside and reports his finding to the cat-boomer outside, which is just staring into the background
"Uh huh. Interesting. It seems like the whole room is also a big machine of something... an uneducated guess."
>She sighs again
"It is very easy to just blow open the walls and start investigating, but we are just here to clean up. I'm going to camp here."
| >The man goes back into the room and tries to look at everything that could help him in his investigations. Surely he must have missed something.
| > Apart from the walls and the item it holds, there isn't much to look at. The room is just that now: an unassuming room that looks to be like any normal apartment.
> Although with a closer glance, there were some cabinets visibly attached to the wall as well. They are secured from prying eyes, however.
> Still, the sound doesn't stop. There is not a single source whence it originates.
| "Hmmm."
>The suit just leans against the wall, thinking, the sounds probably helps him think. His mask then glows red, and it appears to be a scan. He scans the whole room.
"If I scan for air movements inside the room, I can exactly determine if anything is weird in this room. It will help acquire a more accurate blueprint of the room."
>On his hand, a hologram appears. It seems to be the apartment, with all the furniture, except some that fall in the same category as the wall.
| "It seems like there are some spots that air has to go around, huh?"
>He approaches one of the cabinet on his hologram, and checks, it is a part of the wall itself.
"Hah, this is one good escape exit."
>He starts investigating the piece of furniture in question.
| > Behind the furniture, there seems to be a lot of objects but they are neatly stacked, unlike the piles earlier. Visibility is low, and the fact that the objects are all the same shape makes it hard for any scan to go through them.
> Another scan will show a machinery right behind the wall where the cabinets are attached to. It's not clear what it does, as all it is are rotating gears.
| > But before any more check can be made, a voice rang clear outside.
"S-sorry! Are you here for the clearance?"
> It's that of a female. She seems to have come through running, as though knowing she will have guests in her living space.
"I'm Uni, and this—.."
> She was going to point to her apartment, but she realizes the door was wide open.
"... Why is the door open?"
| >The catboomer who was sitting outside notices Uni. She has long, shaggy hair, and she only has one cat ear.
"Because dust. It's not good to keep dust just sitting in one place, you know. Especially after cleaning."
| >Meanwhile the man notices the noise from the outside, and ceases investigation. He starts to tie the containers all together for transport.
| "C-cleaning?"
> Uni is even more surprised than before, she scratches her head in confusion.
"I-I don't recall ever ordering a cleaning service."
> She steps inside her apartment, only to see it appear differently from what she had expected.
"—W-why did you do it?"
> She asks no one in particular, but she surely aimed the question at the two.
| "Uh- Wait..."
>The catboomer is now confused too, as she opens up her phone to a thread on danger/u/.
"Uh... you're giving things away, for free, right? So..."
>The man in the suit just nudges the catboomer
"Did you perhaps misread the title, boss?"
| "I do! What I didn't write was I'm giving half of my apartment for free."
> Uni sighs, looking at the containers packed inside her apartment.
"If I had to take a guess, you are.. erhm—.. 'r'? One of you, anyway."
> She turns to the one-eared catboomer.
"Perhaps it's you?"
| >The one-eared catboomer nodded, her face red with embarrassment,
"Y-yeah, it's me. You can call me Runa, and yeah... I'm sorry I misread it..."
>The power armor then speaks up
"We can restore the room to its original state, with my latest technology, assemblers, miss. So do not worry about the state of your room in disarray."
| "P-please return the room to its chaotic state."
> Uni says, not at all comfortable looking at her apartment being so tidy.
"—So, R-..Runa, I listed some items there. Tell me which ones do you like.. or want."
| *sigh* "Fineee, wait what? Assemblers for this? You must be kid-"
>At the same moment, the power armor lets out a whirring sound, and the mask glows red, before pushing both Uni and Runa outside of the room.
"Please wait a moment, ladies."
>The door is then slammed shut, and some loud noises can be heard inside the room. the cat-boomer just facepalms herself.
"I want your typewriters. Well, that's the most important items that I really want right now."
| "Sure! Which one do you want?"
> Uni recalls what she wrote.
"The 30X, No. 5, and Philia. I wish I can show you what they are all right now, but—"
> She turns to the closed apartment room, it felt weird for her to see her own 'Do not disturb!' when she is locked outside.
"—All of them are inside."
| "Y-yeah... I'm really sorry for the mess, I had a lapse of judgement."
>After apologizing, Runa continues
"I'm just after the Underlog 5, well it's-"
>At that exact moment, the door opened wide. Everything is back where it was. The man leans against the doorway, clearly finished his job. On a closer look, one can see streams of some gray matter flowing back into his power armor.
"All done. It took more colonies than expected, but everything should be back where it was."
| > Uni made no mention of what the man did to reverse back their work, all she can see is her room being back to its dumpster-like layout.
"Thank you! It feels like home again now."
> She enters inside, wary of the small path only made after pushing the items away.
"The No. 5, correct? You have a nice taste in typewriters—"
> She then clicks open the cabinets by snapping her fingers, revealing a long row of typewriters inside.
| >The one-eared catboomer follows Uni inside, but keeps a distance because the small path.
"Mhm! Will have to raid somewhere else for the ink, though... Glad that it's free."
>She looks around at the towering pile of stuff around the apartment
"How can you even live in this place? There's barely space to walk..."
>Meanwhile, the man stands guard outside, but keep wary of his surroundings. His mind drifts towards the room. What is behind these walls? He might never know.
| "Oh, I'm used to it. I won't disagree that it's a piling mess, though."
> Uni browses through the cabinet, even with the long catalogue she has, she still doesn't seem to find what she was looking for.
"It's not here. That's odd."
> She clicks open another cabinet, revealing yet another rack of typewriters. This time, the age of the machines show even clearer; rust have begun taking over the chassis of the machines.
"Maybe here—"
| "Woah."
>Runa exclaims as she touches the old rusted typewriters.
"These things... how?"
>She is completely bewildered at the number of typewriters, and how there are so many of them. She still keep the man's investigation reports in mind, though.
"Uni... how many years did you spend to get your hands on these?
| "I-I don't know."
> She chuckles in response, but she doesn't seem to be joking by her reply earlier.
"These are some of the oldest ones I have. And—.. oh—"
> Her hand stops at one of the typewriters. It's metallic body barely shows any age, only showing a light rust. An encompassing 'UNDERLOG' is written on its carriage.
"No. 3 is here, but where's No. 5?"
> She looks to the far end of the cabinet before shaking her head.
"—I'm quite forgetful, aren't I?"
| "Um... it's okay... I mean with this big amount of stuff to keep track of, it's natural that you would forget some of it, right?"
>Runa says that with a slightly worried expression. She keeps a close eye on Uni, trying to make sense and gather as much information as possible.
| "I used to have an index, right over here."
> Uni points to her left eye, that looks about to be as normal as an eye can be.
"But now I'm left to search on my own—"
> Finally, after the second rack has been thoroughly explored, she goes to open a third cabinet. The third was much more barren, having only half of the numbers of typewriters compared to the previous two.
"Oh, there you are."
> She spots another typewriter with 'UNDERLOG' written on it.
"That's the No. 5—"
| "Oh, there it is. At least it's more well-cared for than the other ones."
>Runa notices her gesture to her left eye, seemingly discovered something worth talking about.
"So your eye used to be an aug that records information. Now it's dead."
>She then touches the No. 5, apparently checking its condition
"Am I right or wrong?"
| "Precisely. You are correct, but that's not the eye's intended function."
> Uni pulls the heavy typewriter, showing its whole frame as she does so. There is no rust nor yellowing apparent in its construction.
"—T-this is heavier t-than I remember."
> She settles the typewriter down on an empty space before lugging it to a table on the center of the room.
"Sorry, I couldn't get the ink ready. I don't have a spare catridge for it."
| "Ah, it's okay. I can find ink, sooner or later. Beggars can't be choosers, after all."
>The man comes in from the door, he opened his hands, and tether-like lasers shoot out and wrap around the typewriter, then it materialized as a easy-to-carry box. He then carries it out of the door.
"He saved you the trouble of having to carry it hehe."
>Runa makes a second remark, grinning
"Is the eye's main purpose is to time travel? You really sound like a time traveler."
| > Uni giggles, after all, the topic has crossed her twice today.
"I wish it was as useful as you said. I wouldn't have any of my problems if I had that much power vested in me."
> She closes the cabinets with another finger snap, they return to their locked position — once again, save from the elements.
"No, it is partially a pattern-processor and a clairvoyance device. It serves neither of those purpose in its current state, however."
| "Oh. it one of those that tries to read the future. It is a very useful tech indeed. I wonder if it can predict itself breaking."
>Runa looks around the mess of the room, confused now
"Wait, so how does taking one typewriter makes the room cleaner? The room hasn't changed a bit, and I remembered you saying something about making more space, right?"
| "Oh, it does make one space on the rack."
> Uni says rather naively, probably used to the heaps of items she has amassed.
"I wish I could show you now, but—"
> Her left eye glows, trying as hard as it can to form a bluish light, but seconds later only white can be seen.
"—This is good enough, I guess."
> She then looks around the room before closing her eyes. As she opens them back, the whole room is suddenly lit up in a varyingly unreadable blue markings and symbols.
| > Shortly after, the items are all covered by the same inscriptions. They glow a sharp blue, reminiscent of the sharp hues of an old television screen.
"All of these are indexed. If one item disappears, that is one less item to index. To me, it's cleaner than ever."
| "Ah, so that's what it is. Memory space, not physical space. But your eye must be an old piece of tech, only be able to store this much of data. But the lights are cool! Take pride in that good old blue goodness."
>The catboomer nodded, as if that is the finalizing sentence. Then she prepares to leave the apartment, seeing as her business is concluded.
"I guess this is it then. It was nice to meet you, Uni."
| > Uni nods and smile in return, her left eye is still glowing as she greets them goodbye.
"Farewell, I hope we meet again."
| >Runa waves back at Uni as she leaves the apartment. Her purple eyes flickered to crimson and back as she winks
"Remember to lock your door!"
>She then closes the door and leaves. Some conversations are still happening outside.
"I hope it's worth it."
"She is one with mysteries."
"But she's kinda CUTE~"
"Boss, did you intentionally raise your volume so she could hear it?"
"Who knows? Well, time to go home."
"We can't."
"Why?"
"The car blew up."
"Damnit!"
>Soon, silence returns.
| "C-cute."
> Uni heard the word and blushes immediately. She dispelled the room's index markings, leaving it to its dark, unlit state.
"Three items off the list then."
> She murmurs quietly.
| > Some time later, the sound of items being moved and dragged can be heard from outside. Possibly hundreds have shifted their position, based from the sound alone.
| > Although the sound is clear from the outside, from the inside it's amplified by tenfold as Uni is digging through a dusty pile, full of metallic scraps and waste.
| >There's a knock on the door, of which originates from a man wearing a Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts. It's John!
"Hey Uni! It's me John."
| "A moment please!"
> A hurried footsteps resonate from behind the door, before it stops and a sound of an unlocked door is heard; the door opens immediately after.
"—John, it's good to see you!"
> She sees the Hawaiian shirt, and couldn't help but comment on it — as evident by her expression.
"So, wearing something less restrictive, hm?"
> She gestures John to enter her extremely cramped apartment.
| >>339730
"Yeah, the vacation clothes became normal clothes, got tried of the suits."
>John squeezes through the cramp apartment.
"Is it just me or has it gotten more cramp here?"
| "If I remember correctly, I have brought in more items than I could have thrown or give away."
> Uni answers, albeit not precisely. The apartment has gained more one pile alone despite the space not getting any bigger.
"—I was going to get the empty spot down in the first floor to store the excess items, but Evening has already booked the place for a bar she is making."
| >>339746
"I beg to differ. It's not my fault the items are coming in at a constant rate."
> Uni either dismisses the issue with a joke, or is being serious with the matter and did respond with honesty.
"—There isn't much space, but make yourself at home."
> She says, completely ignoring the fact that there is very little to call home.
"The IBN is right near the door, but the Proto-EMP.. you'll have to help me through this pile."
| > Uni points to a pile with three stacks of boxes. They all have 'MISC' and 'SCN' written on it, and all of them surely appear to hold a hefty weight.
"The Proto-EMP should be in the bottom box, but I can't risk dropping the two on the top because they have.. well, precious items."
| >>339752
"Let me help you with that."
>John begins to stack boxes from the 3 piles over to the sides.
| >>339774
"W-watch out."
> Uni pointlessly warns, the box would have been possible to lift with more force: something that Uni seems to lack.
"Okay, it should be here."
> The box is sealed with a simple tape going through it. Uni held her hand up, and a switchblade lands perfectly on her palm.
"—This should do."
> She began making cuts on the tape, allowing the box to open by itself. The smell inside the box is similar to that of an old library.
| > Inside the box is what one might expect from the spell: hardbound books. On the top of those books, however, is a small metallic device with legs; akin to a robotic spider.
"These books, if I recall, are the basis and backing theories behind weaponizing EMP. It was a hot topic back then, after all—"
> She takes out the device and scans it herself.
"The ProtoEMP was meant to utilize those theories, but it was too complex to create for mass production in the year it was made."
| "Which is why I have the blueprints right around here."
> She takes out a piece of paper from the box. It is as she said it is; a blueprint with the device's schematics and internals drawn on it.
"You should be able to mass produce it using any 3D printer nowadays. Some parts you can replace for their newer counterparts."
| "That means that this proto must lack all the safety precautions of the current day ones. All the current day ones just disable electronics temporarily."
>John takes the blueprints.
"Also, what was that with the switch knife?"
| >>340207
"Yeah, which is also why I wrapped it in this box. I don't want it wrecking sudden havoc."
> Uni replies, stopping to answer the question John throws at her.
"—This?"
> She shows the switchblade; its shape matches that of old, vintage switchblades from a bygone Noir era.
"It's a switchblade. I don't know what else there is to tell."
> She closes the blade with a flick, showing proficiency — but she also didn't quite answer John's question.
| "There's more to you than the eye, isn't there?"
>John eyes her with suspicion.
"How did you fling the knife in to your hand?"
| > Uni tilts her head, confused with John's remark. She held her free hand open again, repeating the gesture earlier — and like what she did before, a knife lands perfectly still.
"Like that?"
> The knife isn't even a switchblade. It's a dagger, which meant Uni could have accidentally stabbed or sliced her hand — but it simply lands by its handle, leaving Uni unharmed.
"—There is another one."
| "Yeah, that."
>John watches as she does it, baffled, he holds his hand open... and obviously nothing happens.
"Not exactly a normal skill."
| "If that's your question then.. the explanation would be simple."
> Uni walks back, gesturing John to follow her.
"There isn't much space, but try standing behind me. I don't want you lose an arm or two."
| >John follows her, joking as he goes.
"Wait, let me guess, it's all on wires?"
>John stands behind her, slightly crouching at her warning, to be fully behind her.
"Don't worry, I've already lost one, losing a second one won't be as bad."
| > Uni giggles, but before she even finishes giggling, a knife has already landed on a wall right next to her. It landed too perfectly; almost as though someone had planted it on the wall and made it a decorative piece.
"—There it is. I only caught those by hand as they fly."
> She spoke as if it's really an all-common ability to have.
"The items are all from the opposing walls. The walls can launch them and I only need to catch them."
| > With further inspection, it seems true that her walls are lined with various trinkets and items. They are all lined in a way for them to be neither decorative nor utilitarian.
| > John looks in awe at Uni and the walls (Absolute band name...), dodging the knife.
"Just how common do you thing this is?"
>He asks, baffled.
| "How common is hydraulic pressurized launcher in this world?"
> Uni redirects the question before going through and attempts to pull the knife out to no avail.
"—Agh. I knew I shouldn't have launched this one."
> She gives shortly after being completely overpowered by the wall.
"Anyway, it's nothing special. It's literally a throw and catch game!"
> Uni held her hand and catches another item, this time a floppy disk.
"We will need this for the IBN."
| >>340272
"And having a dozen or so launchers in your wall is common where?"
>John grabs the knife, prying it out of the wall.
"I think this is yours, The wall was holding on to it for you."
>He makes a joke, diverging from the very suspicious situation.
| "My, my. Thank you."
> Uni takes the knife. Its serrated blade dug deep to the wall, leaving a visible shape from where it was before.
"—Also, I admit it's not common, but it's convenient!"
> Her naivety is showing to a fault.
"So, back to the IBN. This is the OS disk. It should give the PC more usability."
> She walks to the machine, seeing it unplugged.
| "So it's just a standard IBN, nothing crazy about it?"
>John eyes it curiously, having given up on asking about the wall.
| "Not quite. For starters, I recall using the computer for years, and I have modified it extensively—"
> Uni activates her left eye, powering on the computer — whilst it's still in unplugged.
"It has a reserve battery that could last it for an hour. I have touched the amber screen and made it brighter, and it has a nifty infrared power sensor!"
> It doesn't seem like there is anything outrageous from what she described.
| Harish
| >>340313
"Sounds like a nice set piece. I already have a few ideas..."
>John says, holding up the proto-EMP, smiling.
"I'll take em' both, how much you want for them?"
| "You can take them for free."
> She responds nonchalantly.
"—After all, I promised to give them out without a price attached. Which is also why I don't do deliveries."
> She finishes with a joke, but the rest of her sentence sounds true; she is throwing all this as though they have no monetary value.
| "If you say so."
>John shrugs.
| "Oh, right. One more thing. Do you like guns?"
> Uni asks a question, derailing from the topic they had before.
"—The collector kind, not the 'I love to shoot people dead' kind."
| "Uh... I guess."
>John looks at Uni curiously...
| "That's good to hear, I have this—"
> Uni this time doesn't use her launcher and instead goes to the wall, selectively browsing through its content before taking a somewhat rusty revolver out from the wall.
"I know the gun very well, but I don't intend to use it. It's a Dragoon revolver, it's .44 and it's quite depreciated."
> She hands it to John for him to take.
"I got this along with a saber. I thought it might interest you more than I do."
| "An original Dragoon... my."
>John says, eyes studying every inch of it.
"How about I do something with it, like etchings?"
| "Sure. It's yours now, after all."
> Uni goes back to the IBN, inserting the floppy she held for some time. She had to crouch due to the IBN being stored freely on the floor.
"I honestly don't know what to do with the revolver when I had it. I could sell it, but that would devalue it."
> The IBN boots with a loud creak; a common sound of older machine. As its fan ramps up, the screen began showing terminal prompt.
"—So, passing it down to you sounds better in my mind."
| > The revolver itself shows sign of aging, but one glance can tell it has been kept the best way possible; with minimal rust and wear — apart from the obvious signs of abuse during its duty days.
> There has been etching marked on it, but it's unreadable due to its age. One can make out a vague 'I', but there is nothing left to be read after that.
| "You make it sound as if it's some sort of family piece. Well, next time I'll see you, I'll make sure to gift you something of equal value."
>John puts in to one of his cargo short pockets, changing his attention to the IBN.
| "Well, what if it is a family piece?"
> Uni says, perhaps slightly joking.
"—I guess you can always treat me a Ragnarok. That always work."
> She then returned her attention to the IBN. Typing in commands to make sure the machine is its working condition.
"There isn't much to show. I sold most of my IBN-compatible programs to repair my eye, so I can't quite test out anything but basic operation."
| >>340408
"Ah, well, I think I'll have something better in mind for next time."
>John smirks, an idea forming.
"Well, if anything, there's still plenty you could do with it, right?"
| "Technically yes, but genuine IBN software packaged in floppies are selling an arm and a leg. You have to thank collectors for that."
> Uni scrambles to find something in about every pile inside. She digs through, not finding nor taking much.
"If you don't care about nostalgic value — not that there will any since the machine is modified — you can use this."
> She reflexively throws a floppy disk to John's direction.
| (18)
>John catches it flawlessly, looking at it, then at the IBN.
"Mind if I put it in the IBN?"
| "Sure."
> Uni nods, letting John use the IBN.
"The floppy itself is only an exterior. It's an old ribbon-based system-on-chip retrofitted into a floppy."
> She walks back, closer to the IBN.
"—It should have enough storage to fit a hundred different program. Certainly better than wallowing around floppies."
| "Whaaat? But I love hauling around hundreds of floppies!"
>John jokingly complains, as he crouches down and puts it in.
| > Uni stares at John with an expression that can only be described as 'I have PTSD on this topic, can we please not talk about carrying floppies?'
"You forgot to eject the floppy already inside the system."
> She quickly presses the eject button, sliding the floppy she had already put before.
"—Now, if you may."
| "Thanks, I forgot it was in there."
>John puts the new floppy in.
"So what's on here?"
| "I don't precisely remember, but—"
> The instant the floppy loads, a menu with a title 'LOADER' is shown, albeit rather slowly.
"I don't remember putting all those inside."
> As the screen scrolls to show every single program loaded into the custom floppy. Their names are jumbled and barely readable. Those that do have readable names are cut due to the memory limitation of the computer.
"... Maybe try loading one of them?"
| "Why not. What's the worst that could happen?"
>John closes his eyes, as he picks one, curious.
| "It's probably just address corruption. Older machines tend to do that, you know."
> Uni tries to make light of the situation, still waiting for the program to boot.
"S.. C—Reset prog—.. Waitaminute, don't open this."
> She reacted suddenly after seeing the program, with one swipe she ejected and takes the floppy out, throwing the computer back without fully loading whatever John picked.
"Sorry, give me a minute."
| >John tried to catch a glimpse of what it was, before she shut it down, turning to her.
"Hey, you alright? What was it?"
| "I-it's nothing!"
> She takes the floppy away and proceeds to dig the pile where she found the floppy again. This time, whenever she pulled a similar floppy, she would scan it before dumping it back.
"—Where is it, where is it."
| "Uni! What the fuck is going on?"
>John looks worried for her, trying to see what she is looking for.
| "Please don't ask any question!"
> She sternly replies, her usual demeanor disappears for a brief second, before returning back shortly after.
"Sorry, you shouldn't see what that disk contains. I'll try searching for another of those modified floppy—"
> And she goes back to digging through the pile.
| "Whoa. Gezz."
>John looks Irate.
"Whatever the fuck that was, it's not good for you, so what was it?"
| > She pulls out a similar looking floppy, groggily handing it out to John. She isn't responding to his question, and chose to stay silent instead.
| >>340663
"Uni, come on. Talk to me."
>John looks extremely worried, cautiously taking the floppy.
"Because if it's what I think it is..."
| > She shakes her head, crossing her two index fingers to make an 'X', which she put on top of her lips.
"—D-don't talk about this here."
> Uni gestures John to put the new floppy, hoping it wouldn't have the same content.
| >>340697
>John nods, yet still curious.
"I guess it isn't it. Well, I'll talk to you later, and I'm taking the IBN."
>John shuts it down, and packs it up, picking it up.
| > Uni says nothing, but does give a slight smile, trying to not make the situation any more off.
| "And make sure to meet me about... the gun, yeah."
>John makes up a reason as he goes. Hoping Uni would tell him what the hell is going on, as he leaves out the apartment
| "AnoMeat—.. meet me somewhere else later. It's not something I can say here, sorry."
> Uni spoke, but she unconsciously spoke the name she wasn't trying to remember along with it.
"—Sorry if that worries you."
| >John winces at the name, but nods at her asking to meet, as he leaves.
| > Uni stood, seeing John disappear from her sight. Before his footsteps could fade, she had already fallen to a sitting position.
"—I almost blew everything."
> She muttered quietly.
This thread is permanently archived
| > Close to QUITRID OmniDome is an apartment building, seemingly dilapitated and uncared of. There isn't many going in and out; almost as if the place is abandoned.
> One window on the apartment is lit up from the inside; the seventh room on the second floor. The room it belongs to can be nicely reached by a single elevator ride.
> The apartment's door has a handwritten 'Do not disturb!' sign hung on its door knob.