The homepage that Asymptote had been directed to was proof positive of how lucrative the Guess' sisters careers must have been up to this point. The homepage's sole building was a two-story home, designed to look like a beach-house on a secluded island. Thankfully, right now, it was set for darkness. An emblem of a question mark, rotating first to show the number 1, then 2, floated by in the sky in a repeating pattern, though it cast no light, making the area very dark. The inside on the first floor, however, was well-lit. Furthermore, it was almost all serrated glass walls on the first floor, allowing a good look inside, a bit ironic considering the clandestine nature of the work of the two girls. The inside looked lavish, but not particularly surprising for a beach house: there was a fireplace with a big sofa around it and a TV on the wall near the front door, a wooden wall partitioning the front from the back, a kitchen and dining table behind that, and a walled off back area that might be for some kind of storage. They might even be the kind of navis who chose to have a lavatory, even though navis didn't use it, if they were willing to hobby of cooking and eating.
The second floor was much more secluded. Walled off with half-black, half-white, wood-paneled walls, it looked like it would probably hold at least two bedrooms, but it was unclear what else.
Right now, it looked like one figure in an odd, black shroud, very unfitting for the rest of the decor, was currently curled up on the couch. Another, this one in white, was standing near that potential storage room in the back, oddly straight-backed as if they were standing guard at the door. Their house looked so neat and orderly, it was a little weird to think they were on such poor terms with one another that FirstGuess wouldn't mind the death of SecondGuess. Perhaps a lifetime of playing two sides had left them not truly caring about anyone's life but their own?
Finally, and most alarming, another figure could be seen nearby the house. Walking through the darkness towards the building was Spartoi, dressed in her signature black armor, which fit her well but a little skimpy, showing off her small but attractive frame. Additionally, she appeared to be carrying a briefcase in one hand. It looked a good bit like the one that had housed the destructive weapon DesignMan had carried in the previous mission. Was she intending to try to end the mission in record time? Either way, if she got much closer, her approach would surely be evident: she was headed towards the front door to the house, which was, itself, transparent glass. All SecondGuess would have to do was look up in order to see her. At the very least, FirstGuess couldn't, since the wooden wall would be blocking her sight.
It would behoove Asymptote to remember that he could send a private message to Spartoi, rather than speaking to her directly. But if he was really worried, he might want to find some way to physically stop her approach... Or the killswitch might even come to mind. This could already count as the kind of suspicious behavior he was supposed to look out for.
The Guesses' Homepage
last edited by Kemix1006
Asymptote would slowly make his way into the area he was supposed to be in...really dark place at the very least, so at the least he would be harder to detect. Asymptote had decided to make his steps...a lot less noisy at the very least. His eyes making their way to the...extremely open glass house in front of him. He was completely unsure how to go about -this- of all things, but at least he could keep an eye on the sisters. Looked like First was napping on the couch in front of a TV and fireplace...and that meant Second was in front of that storage room, doing god knows what. Then his eyes began to trail down towards the black figure by the house...that was Spartoi alright, he couldn't forget that figure...but that briefcase she was holding onto...what the hell was she doing?!
Moving back a bit to keep half-way hidden, Asymptote continued to keep an eye on everything...before he began to open up his PM systems to Spartoi.
Asymptote.EXE to Spartoi.EXE Private Message
>Spartoi, come in Spartoi. This is Asymptote.exe, you remember me, right? PantheonMan sent me to provide some backup in case something goes wrong in your mission, this is for my own admittance into the Bloodhounds as well. Requesting an explanation on what you're planning on doing, I'm not too far out from the house myself, and I see that briefcase in your hand. I'll say now, I can request a Jack-out barrier if the need arises, but I'd like to avoid having to do that if at all possible, if nothing else than to avoid raising suspicions between the sisters in there.
Moving back a bit to keep half-way hidden, Asymptote continued to keep an eye on everything...before he began to open up his PM systems to Spartoi.
Asymptote.EXE to Spartoi.EXE Private Message
>Spartoi, come in Spartoi. This is Asymptote.exe, you remember me, right? PantheonMan sent me to provide some backup in case something goes wrong in your mission, this is for my own admittance into the Bloodhounds as well. Requesting an explanation on what you're planning on doing, I'm not too far out from the house myself, and I see that briefcase in your hand. I'll say now, I can request a Jack-out barrier if the need arises, but I'd like to avoid having to do that if at all possible, if nothing else than to avoid raising suspicions between the sisters in there.
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Asymptote composed a message while staying concealed in the shadows. Spartoi slowed her walk slightly in order to speak with him; her armored tail dragged in the sand, snaking back and forth in view.
It was hard to tell it this was actually a decent plan or if Spartoi's personality, like DesignMan she'd absorbed, thought it was better at the calculus of the double cross than it really was. After all, she hadn't explained any way she planned to explain how she knew to seek the deserter out. Whatever the case, Asymptote would have to either agree and join in or immediately stop her approach. Spartoi was nearly in the range where you would consider the Guess sister on the couch would see her through the glass, unless that sister was actually asleep like her still body suggested.
Quote (Spartoi)
Hello, Moron. Or would you prefer Assy? One of those two.
We Spartoi received the briefing from PantheonMan already. We deduced the fastest way to get this done will be for me to pretend we're also jumping ship from the Mafia and want to go with her. We'll give her a sob story about how the Mafia has been abusing and trashing us Spartoi since our early production days and we fear for our lives. Then, when we spot a moment's weakness, we will attack and consume.
In our briefcase, we have a peace offering, several of DesignMan's weapons we've managed to reverse engineer. There is no deletion virus like DesignMan stole. Practically, they're more like curiosities.
Would you like to join us Spartoi and enter together? If so, hurry up. I can tell them you're not affiliated with the Mafia. They won't know you, since you aren't officially part or the Mafia yet.
Oh and despite the briefing... let's be suspicious of both sisters. For starters, it is truly difficult to believe that someone could be in a position to inform us of the betrayal, yet suspect the sister would have no particular feelings about it. This makes me suspect that the sister is the one who reported it and that she is in on it. With any luck, the sister has a grudge that will make her an uninvolved bystander in the assassination and she simply didn't reveal her identity so that we would leave her out of it. However, it could just as easily be we are being drawn into a trap, meant to give them a leg up on the Mafia and secure their escape. I'll eat them both if I have to.
It was hard to tell it this was actually a decent plan or if Spartoi's personality, like DesignMan she'd absorbed, thought it was better at the calculus of the double cross than it really was. After all, she hadn't explained any way she planned to explain how she knew to seek the deserter out. Whatever the case, Asymptote would have to either agree and join in or immediately stop her approach. Spartoi was nearly in the range where you would consider the Guess sister on the couch would see her through the glass, unless that sister was actually asleep like her still body suggested.
last edited by Kemix1006
Reading over the PM he had been sent, Asymptote had a quick thought about it, Joseph reading over them in his PET as quick as he could in turn. Think you can trust her, Asymptote? Joseph typed up for Asymptote. Unsure, but I'll keep an eye on her either way. Asymptote responded immediately after as he sent the PM back to Spartoi.
Asymptote had finished off sending the PM in hopes that PantheonMan would get it, but he wasn't sure how far these would go, so he would soon find himself stomping up towards the sisters house, likely next to Spartoi, as light began to cast itself upon his body, rusted and bloody bolts on his neck beginning to show off from the shadows and his freshly grown generator pulsating gently between the metal and flesh, as a pair of cables stretched down across his side and wrapped around his waist like a half-belt as he gave a subtle nod to Spartoi.
Quote (Asymptote to Spartoi)
Asymptote sent the PM as he began to make his way over the sand, leaving deep rivets of his prints in the sand as he began to quickly trudge up towards the house. As he did, he would shoot off a PM towards PantheonMan, hoping it would get to him from where he was at.
Sounds as good as any plan, Spartoi. I'll come along to help sell the story, say I'm hired muscle for protection and keep it at that. Also Assy or Asymptote is fine. I'll be there in a minute and I'll trust your judgement on this, both sisters might be in cahoots with one another despite their differences. Let's try to not absorb or delete FirstGuess before then, hopefully if we have to pop the Jack-out barrier on them, she won't try to do anything incredibly stupid. SecondGuess' absorption is priority here. I do see her at the back of the house near a potential storage room, but for all we know, they could have swapped colors with GMOs or something.
You do have a plan to seek out SecondGuess in case she decides to change her appearance or something, correct? I'm trusting you on this.
Quote (Asymptote to PantheonMan)
Testing, Testing. PantheonMan, this is Asymptote here. I've made contact with Spartoi. She has a plan to get in, acting as though she's trying to escape from the Mafia, give them a sob story and offer up some of DesignMan's weapons you guys reverse engineered. Nothing majorly dangerous like the Deletion Gun, mind you, she assured me they're more or less curiosities, but I'll be entering the sisters house together with her, hopefully we won't have to pop the Jack-Out Barrier, but I'll ready myself for anything that happens regardless. I believe keeping close to her is a better choice if she tries anything than acting as a watchdog from outside looking in is a better choice, in case she tries anything.
Asymptote had finished off sending the PM in hopes that PantheonMan would get it, but he wasn't sure how far these would go, so he would soon find himself stomping up towards the sisters house, likely next to Spartoi, as light began to cast itself upon his body, rusted and bloody bolts on his neck beginning to show off from the shadows and his freshly grown generator pulsating gently between the metal and flesh, as a pair of cables stretched down across his side and wrapped around his waist like a half-belt as he gave a subtle nod to Spartoi.
last edited by Aim
The response was quick enough, as Spartoi paused to read and also to let her ally catch up.
The two would join up together, adopting the role of one looking to leave the mafia and a bodyguard, then brazenly approach the house. Spartoi run the doorbell, rousing FirstGuess on the couch. It must be normal for them to receive strangers, even at late hours, because the girl was merely sleepy and not alarmed as she stumbled towards the front.
Still, she paused at the door, asking through the thin barrier. "Who is it?" came a women's voice from inside the white shroud. They sounded younger than expected and also somewhat drunk. From this distance, it became apparent that the white shroud was something more like a snug sleeping blanket, dotted with black "one" emblems.
"We are Spartoi, allies of yours in the NetMafia. We are here to meet with SecondGuess of an important matter. Please tell her its urgent," Spartoi responded, speaking more articulately than she used to. "This is our friend and companion, Assy."
"Pfft! Assy? That's a *hic* doozy of a name! Though I heard people with names like that often fall into the NetMafia because of it, so I shouldn't laugh. Uuuh... There's a problem, though. SecondGuess isn't uuuuuuuh," she droned, excruciatingly slow in her drunkenness. "Here."
Spartoi cast a glance to Asymptote; the look wouldn't be seen with the door in the way. "Should we...?" she asked, pausing to flex her killer tail. The armor peeled away, revealing a scary black blade, so sharp it almost hurt to look at. Her words seemed more for Asymptote than the Guess sister. "...Come back another time? But what we have to talk to her about is both private and terribly urgent."
"Yeah... yeah, come back another time. She's really not here right now. It's just me and like... three friends," she hiccuped again, making things even more confusing by inflating the number of people inside the house.
Finally, PantheonMan responded to the message.
Quote (Spartoi)
We are pleased that you trust us, Assy. Let's accomplish this mission quickly. We spotted SecondGuess at the back too, but it will be easier to start speaking with FirstGuess at the front. We have no plans to eat her if we don't need to. Hopefully, neither knows to suspect us of anything.
The two would join up together, adopting the role of one looking to leave the mafia and a bodyguard, then brazenly approach the house. Spartoi run the doorbell, rousing FirstGuess on the couch. It must be normal for them to receive strangers, even at late hours, because the girl was merely sleepy and not alarmed as she stumbled towards the front.
Still, she paused at the door, asking through the thin barrier. "Who is it?" came a women's voice from inside the white shroud. They sounded younger than expected and also somewhat drunk. From this distance, it became apparent that the white shroud was something more like a snug sleeping blanket, dotted with black "one" emblems.
"We are Spartoi, allies of yours in the NetMafia. We are here to meet with SecondGuess of an important matter. Please tell her its urgent," Spartoi responded, speaking more articulately than she used to. "This is our friend and companion, Assy."
"Pfft! Assy? That's a *hic* doozy of a name! Though I heard people with names like that often fall into the NetMafia because of it, so I shouldn't laugh. Uuuh... There's a problem, though. SecondGuess isn't uuuuuuuh," she droned, excruciatingly slow in her drunkenness. "Here."
Spartoi cast a glance to Asymptote; the look wouldn't be seen with the door in the way. "Should we...?" she asked, pausing to flex her killer tail. The armor peeled away, revealing a scary black blade, so sharp it almost hurt to look at. Her words seemed more for Asymptote than the Guess sister. "...Come back another time? But what we have to talk to her about is both private and terribly urgent."
"Yeah... yeah, come back another time. She's really not here right now. It's just me and like... three friends," she hiccuped again, making things even more confusing by inflating the number of people inside the house.
Finally, PantheonMan responded to the message.
Quote (PantheonMan)
Sorry there, buddy. Busy with some recreational activities.
Sounds like you have it all well in hand, though. I'd say stick close to her. Don't let her catch on that anything's different. So long as you do that, you can react with the button if you have to. Just do me a favor: don't go into any monologue if you plan to use the button, okay? That tail of hers and that armor are not to be underestimated.
Huh... Hey, stall a while if you can. I have some new intel I need to confirm, but it may be important to your mission. Do what you gotta do, but might be better if you don't attack anyone till you hear back from me.
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A brief moment and a pause as FirstGuess began to ramble on...it might have been prudent to stop her...but he felt...compelled to let her finish her white little lie. Asymptote would gently nudge Spartoi with a cable as she revealed her weapon of choice behind the door, shooting her a PM right afterwards.
Asymptote would let out a slightly belabored sigh at FirstGuess as she finished, sending a second PM off to Spartoi almost immediately afterwards to assure her of his plans.
Asymptote was going to be shooting off PMs quite frequently it seemed, but at the very least he could do so. He would send another to PantheonMan shortly thereafter and begin speaking.
As Asymptote sent out the PM, he would begin talking less than a moment afterwards. I'm terribly sorry. Asymptote spoke simply, an almost...refined...aspect in his deep voice coming out from his nearly immobile mouth. But we REALLY must see her as soon as possible. It really is important and I'm more than willing to compensate her, and you as well, if you are willing to bring her out so we may speak with her. And as a show of good faith... Asymptote continued, the large navi holding out a hand towards FirstGuess as chip data began to coalesce in his hand. If you can somehow bring her to us, I'll give you this RingZap chip. To start. If we can conclude our talks with SecondGuess, I'll give you a rare chip as compensation. He would continue in this...sacrrily suave voice of his...as an image of his GunDelSol1 would pop up next to the RingZap. These two would certainly sell for a nice bit of change should you be willing to get your sister for us. Your sister, of course, will be compensated for her time if she should meet with us. I assure that she would be extremely interested in what Miss Spartoi would have to say. And...it's Asymptote, not assy, that's what Miss Spartoi likes to call me. A sort of joke, as you will.
Quote (Asymptote to Spartoi)
Lets leave violence to be a last resort. I was ordered to try and keep FirstGuess alive if at all possible in PantheonMan's report of the mission. I'll try and see if she is willing to let us in for some "compensation" once we visit with her sister.
Asymptote would let out a slightly belabored sigh at FirstGuess as she finished, sending a second PM off to Spartoi almost immediately afterwards to assure her of his plans.
Quote (Asymptote to Spartoi)
If these three "friends" are Neo Shogunites, then I'll call in for the Jack-out barrier immediately. I'll slaughter the NS if it's them and have you focus on absorbing SecondGuess while playing a bit of support for you, but for now, let us try and play..."nice"...I suppose the word would be in this situation. We'll get this job done, don't worry Spart. You don't mind if I call you that, do you?
Asymptote was going to be shooting off PMs quite frequently it seemed, but at the very least he could do so. He would send another to PantheonMan shortly thereafter and begin speaking.
Quote (Asymptote to PantheonMan)
We're being stopped at the door by FirstGuess. Sounds and looks like she's been drinking heavily, probably at SecondGuess' behest. She says SecondGuess isn't here, that's a lie of course, I saw her on the way to meet with Spartoi by a visually blocked room. FirstGuess says there's three "friends" here of hers...I assume they're NeoShogunites. If it comes to blows, I'll have to get violent with them, but I'm going to try and grease her palms a bit with chip compensation...I just hope she takes the bait and lets us in. Not sure how long I can keep Spartoi from getting violent on FirstGuess, but I'm going to do what I can.
As Asymptote sent out the PM, he would begin talking less than a moment afterwards. I'm terribly sorry. Asymptote spoke simply, an almost...refined...aspect in his deep voice coming out from his nearly immobile mouth. But we REALLY must see her as soon as possible. It really is important and I'm more than willing to compensate her, and you as well, if you are willing to bring her out so we may speak with her. And as a show of good faith... Asymptote continued, the large navi holding out a hand towards FirstGuess as chip data began to coalesce in his hand. If you can somehow bring her to us, I'll give you this RingZap chip. To start. If we can conclude our talks with SecondGuess, I'll give you a rare chip as compensation. He would continue in this...sacrrily suave voice of his...as an image of his GunDelSol1 would pop up next to the RingZap. These two would certainly sell for a nice bit of change should you be willing to get your sister for us. Your sister, of course, will be compensated for her time if she should meet with us. I assure that she would be extremely interested in what Miss Spartoi would have to say. And...it's Asymptote, not assy, that's what Miss Spartoi likes to call me. A sort of joke, as you will.
last edited by Aim
Quote (Spartoi)
"We suppose it's fair if you call us that, given our nickname for you. As for the Neo-Shoguns, we have no qualms slaughtering them if they are here. We are pleased that you are so confident in your ability to assist. We will leave when and where to strike to your digression. It is your recruitment mission, after all.
The armor on Spartoi's tail rolled back up, hiding the sharp edge of the blade, as though she had sheathed it. Pantheon's response came quickly.
Quote (PantheonMan)
I like your gumption, but if you start killing Neo-Shogun officers, our war goes from cold to hot and we're suddenly fighting the Neo-Shogun Empire and the NetPolice on two sides. To me, that state of open warfare sounds like bliss; to a lot of those who you're going to have to make nice with in our other Families, not so much. Remember: even if you leave no survivors, they've got operators; they'll know what happened. For now, consider that a non-option, unless you show intent to kill you. We are, after all, protecting our own interests here.
Unfortunately, you seem to have picked up on the same bad news I was about to convey to you. We've been watching for Neo-Shogun Empire movements, their heavy hitters, specifically anything that we can't explain away. We've got a hit: Neo-Shogun officers Sake and Arch just took off for something or other, nobody knows where to. This is where things get really dicey: there is a possibility that SecondGuess knows we can't take out the Shoguns and just invited them on the pretense of a get-together, but she's going to use her disguise skills to make things very confusing for us. For you.
We can't let this chance slip away, but the mission just got a lot more complicated. Best case scenario, have Spartoi kill her fast, then get the hell out of there. Top speed. The Empire won't like that, but people high up in our ladder will tell people high up in the Empire's ladder we're just handling our own affairs. Worst case, find your own way to kill her, then same thing: escape. There are two scenarios we cannot let play out... we can't kill a Neo-Shogun officer and frankly, we can't let SecondGuess get out alive. We are going to lose all kinds of assets if she goes, and personally, I may just have to jump into the Empire and kill the crafty girl myself. A treat for me, but again, the other Families wouldn't appreciate it.
Pull this one off and you've really made a miracle on your first day, I'd say. I'll see what info I can get on Sake and Arch. Might be something that'll help you if they try to pull a fast one and mix up your target. For now, I'm sending you pictures of all four.
The pressure continued to mount as the situation went from bad to worse. As if to confirm the suspicions, the FirstGuess at the door pulled back the hood of her cloak, revealing herself as a short girl with tan skin, brown hair in a bit of a messy bob, and the flushed face of a drunkard. The photos that Asymptote received would reveal it was Sake, not one of the others. The Guess sisters were both white with black hair, somewhat cocky smiles, jet black eyes, and only the difference of a mole on either sides of their faces: First on the left, Second on the right. Sake, in contrast, was the woman in front of him: shorter, tan, Electopian. Arch looked a bit closer to the other girls, but she was blond, with a resting frown and sandy blond hair.
The girl at the front door put on a big, sleepy smile and waved one hand dismissively. "Naw, you don't have to bribe me! Guess that's a Mafia thing, huh? But I do see you're serious! I thought I'd just uh... *hic* tell you to come some other time cause we're having a party right now. Everybody else is upstairs! Don't worry, don't worry... I'll run tell her you're here. I'll let her decide if she wants to talk to you, m'kay?" she questioned, nodding several times like a bobble-head. "Boy, not bad chips, though! I'm almost tempted to take the bribe, he he he... Alright, Assy-tote, let me go see if she wants to meet you. You thought I was FirstGuess, huh? Figures! I'm wearing her jammies after all."
Spartoi lowered her eyebrows and looked to Asymptote again. She decided to make sure the moment didn't get away from them, then stepped slightly into the doorframe. "No, don't bother yourself. Actually, joining this party sounds like a fun time. We would love to come in for a bit, if we could?" Of course, Asymptote would realize what Spartoi had: if Sake informed SecondGuess mafia people were here to see her on the day before she jumped ship, she'd probably disappear rather than meet them.
"Well... sure! Just uh, wait downstairs while I go get her," Sake offered, gesturing towards the couch she'd been sleeping on. The two needed to very quickly figure out some way to make Sake stay downstairs or at the very least, take them up with her.
Of course, even worse: the Sake in front of them could be First or Second Guess.
last edited by Kemix1006
Asymptote would close his hand at her answer, the navi scanning over the data the bossman had sent him...of course things would get annoyingly complicated. Between First and Secondguess, as well as the Neo Shogunite presense here, he held his tongue for the moment as he shot back a PM to the boss.
PM sent off, Asymptote lumbered into the home behind Sake, the monsterous navi looking about slowly as Spartoi spoke up, a thought crossing his mind. Actually...perhaps we could come upstairs with you? I know we came here to talk with miss SecondGuess...but...Miss Spartoi. Think what we have to say is worth sharing with her friends up stairs? It wasn't strictly a confidential thing, right? Asymptote spoke quickly, turning and creening his head downwards towards Spartoi as he would wordlessly send her a PM.
Quote (Asymptote to Pantheonman)
Hear you loud and clear boss. Gonna have to put a damper on Spartoi's murderous streak again then, she nearly skewered Sake had I not told her to "play nice" for the time being. I'll do everything I can to avoid collateral damage between FirstGuess and the NS troops here, but I can't make any promises. Spartoi's definitely gonna be disappointed, but she'll live...hopefully.
PM sent off, Asymptote lumbered into the home behind Sake, the monsterous navi looking about slowly as Spartoi spoke up, a thought crossing his mind. Actually...perhaps we could come upstairs with you? I know we came here to talk with miss SecondGuess...but...Miss Spartoi. Think what we have to say is worth sharing with her friends up stairs? It wasn't strictly a confidential thing, right? Asymptote spoke quickly, turning and creening his head downwards towards Spartoi as he would wordlessly send her a PM.
Quote (Asymptote to Spartoi)
The boss just sent info to me. Two people from the NS. They're here, but he doesn't want us getting involved with any murder of them. Sorry to make that promise and break it almost immediately. But we can't start a war with them. He also sent me pictures of the two NS girls that are probably here, along with both Guesses. Girl in front of us is Sake, there's also potentially a gal named Arch here too. I'm forwarding them now, but we will probably have to run the second we take out SecondGuess. I think I have a couple chips I can lend you the data of to help with that if you need, but for now, we need to see if we can figure out which of them is SecondGuess.
last edited by Aim
Quote (PantheonMan)
"Don't forget to watch yourself as well. Nobody's got any incentive not to ice you, unfortunately. Not to doubt your abilities, of course. Just stay on the safe side. If you need me to put that barrier up, please be sure you're not the one going down, buddy."
He has the boss's approval. Spartoi might be a little disappointed she wasn't going to have her chance to flex just yet, but she hid it well. "Our friend is right, that would be even better. Honestly, we just want to dive straight into the party," she added.
"Ha, well, ya'll make it hard to refuse! I'll take ya on up then. Follow meeee-!" she encouraged them, walking normally until she reached the stairs, where she collapsed for a moment, then began walking up by sliding one step at a time.
Spartoi gave Asymptote an unamused glare, before shrugging and following along, imitating the girl's goofy movement pattern. It seemed some part of his ally was still pretty impressionable.
To go up the stairs, they would need to briefly pass in front of the line of sight of the cloak that was presumably that of the other Guess sister. He would find, however, that the coat was unoccupied; someone had just hung it there on a coat rack so that it looked like a person standing. Either it was a very convenient coincidence or someone was having fun at their expense.
Asymptote would find that the upstairs was decorated with a sort of beachy theme, like the downstairs, though both felt a little weird in combination with the otherwise mysterious and all-practical design of the two navis. It wasn't kept as cleanly; the hall drawers looked like they hadn't been properly arranged in a while, with several articles sticking out of half-closed closets and dressers. It was a little strange, to see so many sets of dress-clothing in this, the GMO era.
The hallway was a bit dark and a little more compact than the downstairs had made it look. Asymptote wouldn't be able to move very freely, given his height and width. It was clear the upstairs wasn't built for entertaining guests.
The group passed by three doors, all of them closed shut with complete darkness showing on the other side from the crack at the bottom of the frame, before reaching the final doorway at the end of the hall. The small Neo-Shogun girl, I'd that is indeed who she was, grinned big, before opening the door slowly to reveal the inside...
It looked like the group was indeed in the middle of a slumber party. Two navis, nearly identical, were currently locking one another in a headlock, trying to wrestle the other one down onto a bed decorated with white bedsheets, with giant black "2" marks on them. They must be the Guess sisters, sans robes. Each had black hair and a similar body style- largely visible, since each wore only immodest, fluffy white bath towel and a frightening clay beauty mask. It was impossible to use the mole as any kind of tell, since the green clay coating their faces was applied so thoroughly. From their rough-housing, one might speculate they seemed much chummier than PantheonMan made them sound... or else, were pretending, for some reason.
The rest of the room was a typical lady's room, if skewed a little towards the master of disguise theme. There were more closets, more dressers, some mirrors, and various tools like you might see in a disguise kit placed on vanity drawers. Mannequins around the room wore various disguises... at least one of them was wearing a onesie decorated with 2s. Others were dressed like NP or Mafia figures... including large male figures, which seemed hard to imagine lithe girls like these disguising themselves as.
Spartoi's eyes widened as she noticed one of the mannequins was wearing the armored outfit she had been when Asymptote first met her. She tried to put the surprise back out of her face and not question why they had such equipment or when they might have used it.
Notably there were no Neo-Shogun costumes... perhaps that was to avoid having their new sugar daddies cast suspicion on them.
"These are the Guesses... don't ask me which is which cause I dont know. I could only take... a guess.... and then maybe a second one... SecondGuess...? Yeah..." Sake giggled drunkenly.
There were a lot of questions to be answered, but among the chief of them: the blond Neo-Shogun officer, Arch, was either not here or very well disguised as either Sake or a Guess sister. "Ooo, who are you? Let me guess: sleepover enthusiasts?" the upper navi of the headlock questioned, her painted-over face smiling in a way that seemed somehow taunting.
"Ooo, who are you? Let me guess: big fans of ours?" the second one questioned, wearing the exact same expression despite being locked in a headlock.
Spartoi's eyebrow twitched irritably. Her reasoning skills were probably capped at an upper limit of DesignMan's (possibly drunk DesignMan's, since he had been very inebriated when eaten). Right now, drawing any conclusion may be as good as a guess, unless Asymptote could think up a way to flush out the sister he wanted.
last edited by Kemix1006
Quote (Asymptote to Pantheonman)
Trust me, I'm not the same navi you saw back at the casino...in just about every sense of the word. You just worry about us getting the mission done right. I'll worry about keeping Spartoi from causing a two on one war with the Mafia and getting the right target, I'll get outta here one way or another.
Asymptote sent off the PM as he heard Spartoi speak, his eyes going towards her before getting the unamused glare from his partner...and then immediately skipping away behind Sake and imitating her almost to the letter...sheesh, she was a handful. As he began to ascend the stairs his eyes catching the figure he thought had been SecondGuess...was just her...clothes on a standee? Jesus...and he thought he was old-fashioned...though there was a certain amount of charm to the whole thing he supposed, shrugging mentally to himself as he continued upwards into the top parts of the house, his form having to slowly but surely he began to...minimize himself, couching downwards, his back always pointed back where he had been, the generator at his back scraping ever gently against the wood to his sides.
His eyes turning to the closed doors of the hallway, he couldn't see within...so there wasn't a whole lot he could do about peering inside their rooms at the very least, he would keep up behind Spartoi and Sake as well as his frame would allow, his back was beginning to hurt from all the crouching he was doing so far, but that was something he'd have to deal with for the intermediate future...though he could cross and shrink down a bit, but he could wait to do that for the moment. Soon enough, the following of the two girls would wind him up in a lit room, probably "miss" SecondGuess' if the decor and blankets were anything to be aware of at the moment. But...the two sisters? If they were both guesses, they...seemed a lot chummier than expected as of the briefing would have told him. You would be First and SecondGuess, correct? Asymptote would ask bluntly, keeping himself crouched into a ball of sorts, the cords around his waist hooked together like a belt and digging into his stomach as his animatronic mouth moved completely out of tune with his words.
I suppose you could say that, miss Guesses. I am Asymptote.EXE, this is Spatoi.EXE. She asked me to come along with her tonight with something she wished to talk to miss SecondGuess about. But we were not expecting company over, let alone a nice little slumber party, so I apologize for us coming here on business of sorts, but... Asymptote began, the navi quickly feeling a pang of pain in his back. Urgh. Sorry, give me a second here, back's giving me troubles. Asymptote said, holding his back like an old codger as he began to enter his Cross systems.
Asymptote choosing the one he had made most recently, VigilCross, he began to curl up further into a ball, a gentle light surrounding his body as his form...began to not only shrink in bulk and general size, but, he would begin to take on other features on top of that. A white and green robe immediately adorning his body from his shoulders down, combat boots wrapping around his smaller feet as he began to stand up, generator sunken into his body, Asymptote began to grow a full head of hair that would grow all the way to his shoulders, a soft shimmering grey color in the light as the top of his head would immediately be adorned with an opaque visor that covered across his eyes in dramatic fashion (with a "Ka-Chunk" sound on top of it) as a pair of baseball sized, red iris colored eyes began to float next to him. The navi putting his arms behind his back for a moment before giving the girls in front of him a light bow. Very sorry about that, ladies. I don't know why I didn't do that as I was coming up the stairs. Anyways, as I was about to say, we came here to talk to miss SecondGuess about a matter she might not wish to discuss in public with others around. But, it's so hard to tell which of you lovely girls are her. But I do adore what you do with your talents, miss Guess, not many navis would use regular clothing in the GMO era, but I guess that's part of your charm, right? Asymptote spoke, mouth actually moving in time with his words now as he had actual lips to speak through. While he was flattering SecondGuess, he was quick to shoot a PM towards his partner to try and keep her from going off the deep end.
Quote (Asymptote to Spartoi)
Keep it together Spart. I don't know if we're close to finding who's who, but we should be getting close. Once we find who's SecondGuess, we can figure out a quick way outta here without getting deleted in turn. You can take whatever agitation you have out on me...or join me in a bit of virus slaughtering enmasse, if you're so inclined and the boss lets ya have a little fun. Believe me, this shit ain't my specialty either...I'm so much better at murder without the subterfuge.
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“Ooo, you got it on the first guess!” the headlocking sister congratulated him, still looking smug in spite of her congratulations.
“Ooo, guess it’s not that tough,” the headlocked sister reasoned with the same expression.
“As our friend and companion says, we are Spartoi,” Asymptote’s partner spoke up quickly, holding her hand to the small of her back while straightening herself in a mimic of back pain, as though that was a greeting. She watched the other Navi cross with widened eyes, although she otherwise showed no reaction. “This is still Asymptote: his identity has not changed,” she clarified for those present as the other Navi equipped his cross.
“Pretty handy ability!” Sake clapped for Asymptote as though he’d performed a magic trick, a muffled clap as she was still holding her namesake bottle. “I wonder if the other girls’d be able to get smaller if they crossed with me? Me n’ Escort’d be, like… Maybe Archie’s size,” she said with a hiccup after a long pause, apparently doing some mental calculus musing on just how tall her cross would be.
The two continued smiling as Asymptote introduced himself. He’d notice, however, that the lower one had a small twitch of the mouth when Asymptote mentioned who he was looking for. She very momentarily glanced at her sister, who glanced back only as long as she did; the four eyes were immediately back on Asymptote. Neither of them stepped up to acknowledge themselves as the one their visitor was looking for… That might strike Asymptote as a bit odd, giving that FirstGuess, at least, should have a very good idea why her sister would be getting a visit from a Navi like Spartoi about now.
““I guess you’re right!”” both Navis voiced with a delay so slight it was impossible to tell which had been the slower. Both laughed in an odd way at the compliment, their challenging expressions remaining as though determined not to break eye contact with him.
Spartoi may have had the same thought about something being odd. Her eyes narrowed as she jumped straight to the point. “Now would be an appropriate time for SecondGuess to announce herself. That would allow us to deliver our important and urgent message. Or FirstGuess could announce herself,” she added, pointedly. Her tail began to slide idly across the floor as she spoke. That could serve as a confirmation of her intentions to FirstGuess, or a confirmation of suspicions for SecondGuess.
The two guess sisters broke their headlock: in this scenario, the one who had been on top was now on Asymptote’s left, and the one on the bottom was on his right. Therefore, it would probably be easier to start thinking of them as LeftGuess and RightGuess until it got sorted out or some other method of distinguishing became available…
… Which it didn’t seem like would be immediately forthcoming. “”You have to guess!”” the two announced, only slightly out of time.
“… We have to guess which of you is FirstGuess and which of you is SecondGuess?” Spartoi asked, tilting her head and frowning deeply. On someone else, showing that much frustration might be a tell, but on her, it just seemed like her mood. “It would be faster and more expedient for one of the Guess sisters to reveal the other one.”
“Naw, this is the fun part!” Sake announced, stamping over to stand between the two and wave her arms at them in a goofy gesture. “This is the famous Guess Sisters Guessing Game! If you wanna meet the Guess Sisters ya gotta guess which one is which. Everyone has to.”
““I guess that’s it, Guest!”” the two announced, smirking and tittering identically.
“… We suppose we can indulge in a brief party game,” Spartoi acquiesced, crossing her arms. She pointed at the right one with a jab of her armored tail, which was, thankfully, sheathed. “You’re SecondGuess.”
“That’s your guess?” the left asked, hiding her grin behind a hand.
“You guessed… wrong!” the right answered, tittering behind her own palm.
“Unfortunate. You are SecondGuess,” Spartoi concluded, turning to the left with a slightly menacing tilt of her head. Her tail had begun to retract for what could look like either a return to default or the beginning of a coiled strike, depending on the viewer’s understanding. “We are sorry to hear it.”
“Wait wait!” Sake shouted, as if she could tell what was about to happen. That made Spartoi hold her position. “You play until you win! So the sisters do this… Do the thing you did before!”
“I guess I could,” the left announced, shrugging and smirking at Asymptote in particular.
“I guess we should,” the right agreed, matching her expression.
“’Kay, keep your eyes forward…” Sake demanded, holding up one finger each in front of Asymptote and his partner, calling for attention.
As she did so, the two Guess sisters ran behind Asymptote and Spartoi, then began shuffling their feet furiously, especially considering how the two of them were dressed. The effect was something like a cup shuffling game… it was essentially impossible to tell which of them was which from the earlier declaration when they ran back to the front, each making a cheeky grin.
… Unless, of course, one had a secret way of marking them or watching them. Then, it really would be as easy as a cup shuffling game. “”Make another guess!”” the two declared, looking at Asymptote now.
“End the game. We must deliver our message with no further delay,” Spartoi demanded, looking like she really wanted to deliver her “message” to both of the eccentric sisters as she slapped her tail lightly on the ground.
“Ooo, guess it’s not that tough,” the headlocked sister reasoned with the same expression.
“As our friend and companion says, we are Spartoi,” Asymptote’s partner spoke up quickly, holding her hand to the small of her back while straightening herself in a mimic of back pain, as though that was a greeting. She watched the other Navi cross with widened eyes, although she otherwise showed no reaction. “This is still Asymptote: his identity has not changed,” she clarified for those present as the other Navi equipped his cross.
“Pretty handy ability!” Sake clapped for Asymptote as though he’d performed a magic trick, a muffled clap as she was still holding her namesake bottle. “I wonder if the other girls’d be able to get smaller if they crossed with me? Me n’ Escort’d be, like… Maybe Archie’s size,” she said with a hiccup after a long pause, apparently doing some mental calculus musing on just how tall her cross would be.
The two continued smiling as Asymptote introduced himself. He’d notice, however, that the lower one had a small twitch of the mouth when Asymptote mentioned who he was looking for. She very momentarily glanced at her sister, who glanced back only as long as she did; the four eyes were immediately back on Asymptote. Neither of them stepped up to acknowledge themselves as the one their visitor was looking for… That might strike Asymptote as a bit odd, giving that FirstGuess, at least, should have a very good idea why her sister would be getting a visit from a Navi like Spartoi about now.
““I guess you’re right!”” both Navis voiced with a delay so slight it was impossible to tell which had been the slower. Both laughed in an odd way at the compliment, their challenging expressions remaining as though determined not to break eye contact with him.
Spartoi may have had the same thought about something being odd. Her eyes narrowed as she jumped straight to the point. “Now would be an appropriate time for SecondGuess to announce herself. That would allow us to deliver our important and urgent message. Or FirstGuess could announce herself,” she added, pointedly. Her tail began to slide idly across the floor as she spoke. That could serve as a confirmation of her intentions to FirstGuess, or a confirmation of suspicions for SecondGuess.
The two guess sisters broke their headlock: in this scenario, the one who had been on top was now on Asymptote’s left, and the one on the bottom was on his right. Therefore, it would probably be easier to start thinking of them as LeftGuess and RightGuess until it got sorted out or some other method of distinguishing became available…
… Which it didn’t seem like would be immediately forthcoming. “”You have to guess!”” the two announced, only slightly out of time.
“… We have to guess which of you is FirstGuess and which of you is SecondGuess?” Spartoi asked, tilting her head and frowning deeply. On someone else, showing that much frustration might be a tell, but on her, it just seemed like her mood. “It would be faster and more expedient for one of the Guess sisters to reveal the other one.”
“Naw, this is the fun part!” Sake announced, stamping over to stand between the two and wave her arms at them in a goofy gesture. “This is the famous Guess Sisters Guessing Game! If you wanna meet the Guess Sisters ya gotta guess which one is which. Everyone has to.”
““I guess that’s it, Guest!”” the two announced, smirking and tittering identically.
“… We suppose we can indulge in a brief party game,” Spartoi acquiesced, crossing her arms. She pointed at the right one with a jab of her armored tail, which was, thankfully, sheathed. “You’re SecondGuess.”
“That’s your guess?” the left asked, hiding her grin behind a hand.
“You guessed… wrong!” the right answered, tittering behind her own palm.
“Unfortunate. You are SecondGuess,” Spartoi concluded, turning to the left with a slightly menacing tilt of her head. Her tail had begun to retract for what could look like either a return to default or the beginning of a coiled strike, depending on the viewer’s understanding. “We are sorry to hear it.”
“Wait wait!” Sake shouted, as if she could tell what was about to happen. That made Spartoi hold her position. “You play until you win! So the sisters do this… Do the thing you did before!”
“I guess I could,” the left announced, shrugging and smirking at Asymptote in particular.
“I guess we should,” the right agreed, matching her expression.
“’Kay, keep your eyes forward…” Sake demanded, holding up one finger each in front of Asymptote and his partner, calling for attention.
As she did so, the two Guess sisters ran behind Asymptote and Spartoi, then began shuffling their feet furiously, especially considering how the two of them were dressed. The effect was something like a cup shuffling game… it was essentially impossible to tell which of them was which from the earlier declaration when they ran back to the front, each making a cheeky grin.
… Unless, of course, one had a secret way of marking them or watching them. Then, it really would be as easy as a cup shuffling game. “”Make another guess!”” the two declared, looking at Asymptote now.
“End the game. We must deliver our message with no further delay,” Spartoi demanded, looking like she really wanted to deliver her “message” to both of the eccentric sisters as she slapped her tail lightly on the ground.
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It really is...seems all my crosses thus far condense my form, makes doing things that require...precision...a lot more easier when your fingers aren't as large as a smaller navi's arm width. Asymptote spoke, a simple smile on his face as he flexed his now much smaller fingers, of all the things that had happened to him, this was honestly the most auspicious change he could have hoped for, but he digressed as his eyes continued to float, bobbing up and down slightly near either side of his head as he continued to look at the two "Guesses", his new sight taking notice of the bottom Guess' mouth making the twitch, his visor slowly analyzing the two as much as it would allow, a twitch of the eye behind it as he noticed their eyes meeting one another.
He was unsure if he was dealing with first and second guess anymore, but despite that, he leaned into their rouse, feelings meant nothing if he had no evidence to back things up...plus...there was only the three, the two "Guesses" and the single Sake...where was Arch? He continued up his rouse, acting like nothing wrong as he popped his fingers idily as the two piped up almost instantly between the two of them, just ever so slightly out of time...and the way they stared at him...yes, something was going on. A quick PM to his employer would hopefully shed some light.
Asymptote's eyes continued to gather data as one eye stayed firmly on the sisters...at least...until they split off and began to run about to mix themselves up, each eye immediately beginning to spin about on either side of the navi as they attempted to confuse the two of them, even Asymptote was beginning to grow sick of the games, it was getting more and more obvious that this was a distraction tactic and it was upsetting him almost on Spartoi's level. His eyes spinning about slowly to keep up on the two of them, almost in a way to distract him from the task at hand. Of course, Spartoi was wrong in guessing which was which, obviously. She wasn't close to being right if Asymptote's gut feelings were right.
Again, the "sisters" tried to distract them..."play until you win" indeed. They shuffled about, his eyes spinning about on their axis near him (and nauseating him all the more, definitely something he'd need to learn to get used to) as the two sisters settled in front of him, eyes staring dead on the two as he furrowed his brow as he considered his next move. Raising his hand as he sent another PM to his partner
Asymptote proceeded to point at the left "sister" before long, the one that he assumed that was the one Spartoi hadn't pointed at before, his smile returning. You. I can only hope you are the one we seek, sweetie, SecondGuess. Asymptote finally spoke, though his hand a little shaky as he held back his anger at the navis that were looking to waste their time as assumingly SecondGuess was getting ready to make her way towards the NS.
He was unsure if he was dealing with first and second guess anymore, but despite that, he leaned into their rouse, feelings meant nothing if he had no evidence to back things up...plus...there was only the three, the two "Guesses" and the single Sake...where was Arch? He continued up his rouse, acting like nothing wrong as he popped his fingers idily as the two piped up almost instantly between the two of them, just ever so slightly out of time...and the way they stared at him...yes, something was going on. A quick PM to his employer would hopefully shed some light.
Quote (Asymptote to PantheonMan)
Hello again boss, we got inside but there's only three of them. Two "Guesses" and a Sake, no sight of an Arch and the feeling she's posing as SecondGuess... I am gonna try and suss them out, but my feelings of completing the mission without extra bloodshed are going straight down the toilet and fast. Any chance something leaked out about this mission? Or is Arch on par with SecondGuess as far as subterfuge is concerned?
Asymptote's eyes continued to gather data as one eye stayed firmly on the sisters...at least...until they split off and began to run about to mix themselves up, each eye immediately beginning to spin about on either side of the navi as they attempted to confuse the two of them, even Asymptote was beginning to grow sick of the games, it was getting more and more obvious that this was a distraction tactic and it was upsetting him almost on Spartoi's level. His eyes spinning about slowly to keep up on the two of them, almost in a way to distract him from the task at hand. Of course, Spartoi was wrong in guessing which was which, obviously. She wasn't close to being right if Asymptote's gut feelings were right.
Again, the "sisters" tried to distract them..."play until you win" indeed. They shuffled about, his eyes spinning about on their axis near him (and nauseating him all the more, definitely something he'd need to learn to get used to) as the two sisters settled in front of him, eyes staring dead on the two as he furrowed his brow as he considered his next move. Raising his hand as he sent another PM to his partner
Quote (Asymptote to Spartoi)
Be ready for anything, Spart. There's supposed to be a forth here, Arch is seemingly MIA from this little "Sleepover" and I'm getting the strong feeling that SecondGuess is somewhere around the area, looking for a way to escape. We need to play along for the time being until I can get some more info out of the boss. Trust me, I'm real close to just demolishing the house, but we gotta keep up the act I feel.
Asymptote proceeded to point at the left "sister" before long, the one that he assumed that was the one Spartoi hadn't pointed at before, his smile returning. You. I can only hope you are the one we seek, sweetie, SecondGuess. Asymptote finally spoke, though his hand a little shaky as he held back his anger at the navis that were looking to waste their time as assumingly SecondGuess was getting ready to make her way towards the NS.