Okay, he was off the rail, that forsaken vehicle of man. For some reason, he felt like going up to his apartment today. Harke walked up to the building adjacent to the SciLab building, found the security panel and entered his code. Immediately, the front door swung open and he walked inside. Waiting for a bit, he hummed a little tune he found on the internet surfing while on the rail.
One, two, one, twelfth floor, announced the elevator's monotone voice. The door slid soundlessly open, and he walked into his home for his Electopian visit. Being the son of a Navi researcher has its benefits, he thought as he walked up to his father, who was quietly reading the paper on his PET holo-display.
Hey, Dad. I'm back, Harke greeted his father as he shook the paternal figure's routinely outstretched hand. His father looked at him and smiled. Had a good day?
Not much, really. Busted a little, met a girl, got a couple new chips..
A girl? Hrm, interesting. She about your age? his father asked as he changed his normal smile to a mischievous one.
Yeah. Uh, Dad, I'm gonna go at the Net again. Mind? Not at all. Go ahead.
Thanking his father for the brief conversation, he went into his room and jacked into his PC without a word. Let's go, Et.
Science Residence
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Taking out the jack cord, Harke sprinted out of his room and towards the door. Byedadgoingshopping.
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Walking into his room, Harke plopped down onto the bed, pulling up the sheets. He'd become very tired after all that running, and he wanted a nap.
Good night...
============
Waking up, he noticed that it was a bit bright, and looked at his watch.
8 AM?!
Now that was unusual. For weekdays. He got up, showered a bit and went straight for the fridge. Hm, there was this nice lasagna. He took a spoon and stuffed some in his mouth before heading for the computer. Jacking into Electown Net, he sat back and tried to look at his books with interest, failing miserably.
Good night...
============
Waking up, he noticed that it was a bit bright, and looked at his watch.
8 AM?!
Now that was unusual. For weekdays. He got up, showered a bit and went straight for the fridge. Hm, there was this nice lasagna. He took a spoon and stuffed some in his mouth before heading for the computer. Jacking into Electown Net, he sat back and tried to look at his books with interest, failing miserably.
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Yay, now he was almost out... he needed to open that door.
(Door open, Harke out.
Door open, Harke out.
Door open, Harke out.
Door open, Harke out.
DOOR OPEN!)
Harke sprinted in and pushed the ground floor button with much fervor as the elevator doors slid ever-oh-so-slowly.
(Door open, Harke out.
Door open, Harke out.
Door open, Harke out.
Door open, Harke out.
DOOR OPEN!)
Harke sprinted in and pushed the ground floor button with much fervor as the elevator doors slid ever-oh-so-slowly.
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Harke entered the residence from the elevator, PET in hand.
Okay, so I've installed your upgrades and modified your systems a little to match. You feel alright?
I feel like I can blast something to pieces, Eternalis said, cocking his arm-output up in a mock gun-loading act.
Please try not to, we're trying to deliver something, not break it to tiny little fragments, Harke said as he jacked Eternalis into the Beach Network.
(( SP Mission: Beach Net, GO! ))
Okay, so I've installed your upgrades and modified your systems a little to match. You feel alright?
I feel like I can blast something to pieces, Eternalis said, cocking his arm-output up in a mock gun-loading act.
Please try not to, we're trying to deliver something, not break it to tiny little fragments, Harke said as he jacked Eternalis into the Beach Network.
(( SP Mission: Beach Net, GO! ))
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Running back into the residence, Harke immediately went up to his PET and installed the upgrades he had bought.
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Burning the data into a disc, he ejected it and held it loosely, whirled it around carelessly. Thinking about it for a second, Support Programs were kind of like compressed versions of Navis. They didn't have a primary chip input process, but they did have the same personality core as a Navi has. He mused on his myriad of choices for Eternalis to use. Anything too large and unseemly might satisfy him, but it wouldn't be practical in any case. Anything small, and he'd refuse it outright.
Harke, the choice is simple. Tanks are the way to go! C'mon! Get me a tank so I can blast through those puny viruses like cheesecake! Eternalis pestered his operator without success, as the training programmer shot down every inane suggestion his Navi gave him. Eventually, the aquatic Navi decided that his chatter wasn't going to affect Harke, and decided to give up. Finally having some peace, Harke decided that he could ask for advice from his father, and left the room, bringing the disc with him.
Reverus was calmly eating a rather large submarine, reminding Harke's stomach that he hadn't had a bite since he woke up. Walking by his father, Harke put the disc on the plate and sprinted towards the refridgerator. Lo and behold, a large slab of delicious French bread stood majestically before him. He immediately took it in his hands and began to munch on it.
So, a Support Program base file. Any plans for it, I suppose? Reverus asked as his son walked in from the kitchen.
Mrf, not mrfxactly burf I thougrt you courd herp mrf nom.
Slow down on that piece of pastry, son. You'll choke on it.
Harke complied to his father's suggestion and put the bread down from his mouth, swallowing what was left in a gulp. He sat down on the table next to his father as the grizzled man began stroking his stump of a beard for inspiration. Then, he snapped his fingers.
Ah, yes! I had something in store for when Eternalis got himself one of these things. Hold on, lemme go get it, he said as he walked up to the living-room computer, sat down in the blue swivel chair and booted it up, searching around for something while munching his sub every now and again. Then, he found what he was looking for, and spun around to meet his son's watching eyes.
My own SP code. Human form, electrical element, designed to work well with other programs. She has some of my trademark experimental weaponry code in it, well out of the beta stages, and she'll reconfigure herself over time to suit Eternalis. What do you think? That okay? Reverus asked Harke. The operator was dumbstruck. Wow, this is way more than I asked for. No objections. Any on your part, Et?
Eternalis projected himself on Harke's shoulder and stared at his operator's father. After some seconds passed, he let out a guffaw and said, Yeah, go ahead, Reverus. Give me your best shot. Reverus replied in kind and asked for the PET, which Harke gave him obligingly. He plugged in the PET into the computer and started a program in the computer. Typing in some procedures, he finished up what he started.
Well, there you go. Should be done in about a half hour or so. It puts Eternalis in standby mode, so he might be a bit groggy when he wakes up, given the alignment rewriting procedure's methods. Wake me up when she's done, I'm taking a nap. And with that, Reverus swallowed the last of his sandwich and took off in the direction of the master bedroom, leaving Harke to sit down at the computer and stare at the program's mockingly slow progress bar.
DING. Harke was jolted from his short nap on the table with the alert, signifying that the installation was complete. He quickly unplugged the PET and restarted the terminal. Some prompts later, Eternalis appeared on the screen, rubbing his head.
Crap, my head feels all wrong. That SP really knocked the life out of me... Eternalis said, clamping his eyes shut for a moment.
Hiyas! a voice interrupted his monologue.
Gah! The Navi stumbled backwards in shock, falling on his back. He sat up immediately after, supporting himself with his hands. He then looked up at the surprise visitor. Before his eyes, stood a lithe female figure about five feet and something tall, clad in a white bodysuit from neck to toe. The Ezarith emblem was stamped on the chest part, and her yellow eyes stared into his. Her long, flowing white hair was let down as she smiled at the Navi. Hi! I'm Aurora. What's your name?
Uh, what? Oh, my name? Er, my name is, er, Eternalis, he replied in between stutters. His sky-blue face was beginning to turn slightly red at the edges, and he forced himself not to turn away. Harke saw this change and teased, Et, are you blushing?
W-w-what?! N-no! You're imagining things!! Eternalis said as he turned away and tried to hide his face. Hearing the operator's snide remark, Aurora turned to look at the boy, and asked, Who are you, then?
Hearing the question, Harke introduced himself. Hey, Aurora. I'm Harke, Harke Ezarith. I'm Eternalis' operator. You're his Support Program for now, so I hope we can work together fine! he finished with a smile. Aurora replied in kind, Thanks, Harke! I hope we can do that!
As they were laughing, Harke's father came in, as if on cue. So, you've met Aurora, then, I suppose? he asked.
Yeah, we like her. ...Et, especially, Harke quipped, chuckling at his remark, with the Navi grumbling slightly.
That's good. Anyway, I'll explain to you her mechanics. Aurora's SP base allows her to upgrade herself using Bug Fragments, or just BugFrags. You can get 'em with any old virus battle. Stronger viruses mean more frags. To get you started off, I've also installed a little program inside Aurora. To activate it, you'll have to run 100 BugFrags. Sound like a challenge? Reverus said, smiling all the while.
You bet! Harke replied enthusiastically as he grabbed his father in a quick hug, then raced out to the elevator while Reverus watched on and shook his head with a small chuckle.
Hope they get better use out of Aurora than I did...
Harke, the choice is simple. Tanks are the way to go! C'mon! Get me a tank so I can blast through those puny viruses like cheesecake! Eternalis pestered his operator without success, as the training programmer shot down every inane suggestion his Navi gave him. Eventually, the aquatic Navi decided that his chatter wasn't going to affect Harke, and decided to give up. Finally having some peace, Harke decided that he could ask for advice from his father, and left the room, bringing the disc with him.
Reverus was calmly eating a rather large submarine, reminding Harke's stomach that he hadn't had a bite since he woke up. Walking by his father, Harke put the disc on the plate and sprinted towards the refridgerator. Lo and behold, a large slab of delicious French bread stood majestically before him. He immediately took it in his hands and began to munch on it.
So, a Support Program base file. Any plans for it, I suppose? Reverus asked as his son walked in from the kitchen.
Mrf, not mrfxactly burf I thougrt you courd herp mrf nom.
Slow down on that piece of pastry, son. You'll choke on it.
Harke complied to his father's suggestion and put the bread down from his mouth, swallowing what was left in a gulp. He sat down on the table next to his father as the grizzled man began stroking his stump of a beard for inspiration. Then, he snapped his fingers.
Ah, yes! I had something in store for when Eternalis got himself one of these things. Hold on, lemme go get it, he said as he walked up to the living-room computer, sat down in the blue swivel chair and booted it up, searching around for something while munching his sub every now and again. Then, he found what he was looking for, and spun around to meet his son's watching eyes.
My own SP code. Human form, electrical element, designed to work well with other programs. She has some of my trademark experimental weaponry code in it, well out of the beta stages, and she'll reconfigure herself over time to suit Eternalis. What do you think? That okay? Reverus asked Harke. The operator was dumbstruck. Wow, this is way more than I asked for. No objections. Any on your part, Et?
Eternalis projected himself on Harke's shoulder and stared at his operator's father. After some seconds passed, he let out a guffaw and said, Yeah, go ahead, Reverus. Give me your best shot. Reverus replied in kind and asked for the PET, which Harke gave him obligingly. He plugged in the PET into the computer and started a program in the computer. Typing in some procedures, he finished up what he started.
Well, there you go. Should be done in about a half hour or so. It puts Eternalis in standby mode, so he might be a bit groggy when he wakes up, given the alignment rewriting procedure's methods. Wake me up when she's done, I'm taking a nap. And with that, Reverus swallowed the last of his sandwich and took off in the direction of the master bedroom, leaving Harke to sit down at the computer and stare at the program's mockingly slow progress bar.
= SUPPORT PROGRAM INSTALLATION =
Identification: Aurora.SP
Alignment to: Eternalis.EXE
Duration Left: 5s
Total Progress: 99%
Progress:
Core Base: 100%
Mental Base: 100%
Memory Base: 76% - Write Error (Action: Overwrite Base)
Overwrite Memory Base: 100%
Physical Base: 100%
Combat Base: 100%
Network Base: 99%DING. Harke was jolted from his short nap on the table with the alert, signifying that the installation was complete. He quickly unplugged the PET and restarted the terminal. Some prompts later, Eternalis appeared on the screen, rubbing his head.
Crap, my head feels all wrong. That SP really knocked the life out of me... Eternalis said, clamping his eyes shut for a moment.
Hiyas! a voice interrupted his monologue.
Gah! The Navi stumbled backwards in shock, falling on his back. He sat up immediately after, supporting himself with his hands. He then looked up at the surprise visitor. Before his eyes, stood a lithe female figure about five feet and something tall, clad in a white bodysuit from neck to toe. The Ezarith emblem was stamped on the chest part, and her yellow eyes stared into his. Her long, flowing white hair was let down as she smiled at the Navi. Hi! I'm Aurora. What's your name?
Uh, what? Oh, my name? Er, my name is, er, Eternalis, he replied in between stutters. His sky-blue face was beginning to turn slightly red at the edges, and he forced himself not to turn away. Harke saw this change and teased, Et, are you blushing?
W-w-what?! N-no! You're imagining things!! Eternalis said as he turned away and tried to hide his face. Hearing the operator's snide remark, Aurora turned to look at the boy, and asked, Who are you, then?
Hearing the question, Harke introduced himself. Hey, Aurora. I'm Harke, Harke Ezarith. I'm Eternalis' operator. You're his Support Program for now, so I hope we can work together fine! he finished with a smile. Aurora replied in kind, Thanks, Harke! I hope we can do that!
As they were laughing, Harke's father came in, as if on cue. So, you've met Aurora, then, I suppose? he asked.
Yeah, we like her. ...Et, especially, Harke quipped, chuckling at his remark, with the Navi grumbling slightly.
That's good. Anyway, I'll explain to you her mechanics. Aurora's SP base allows her to upgrade herself using Bug Fragments, or just BugFrags. You can get 'em with any old virus battle. Stronger viruses mean more frags. To get you started off, I've also installed a little program inside Aurora. To activate it, you'll have to run 100 BugFrags. Sound like a challenge? Reverus said, smiling all the while.
You bet! Harke replied enthusiastically as he grabbed his father in a quick hug, then raced out to the elevator while Reverus watched on and shook his head with a small chuckle.
Hope they get better use out of Aurora than I did...
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Taking the direct Metroline into the Science Labs complex, Harke walked through the front entrance, giving a small acknowledging nod to the receptionist. Strolling nonchalantly into the side cafeteria door marked 'Staff Only', he quickly surveyed the area for his father, whom he quickly found at a corner table. Dumping his bag on one of the two free chairs, he sat down and shook hands with his father.
"How's that head feeling? All right?"
"It's fine, dad, thanks."
"I sure hope so. Wouldn't want you to go off like that, now would we?" joked Reverus, reaching out with a hand and fussing up Harke's hair, as well as inspecting the boy's head discreetly as he did. The younger of the two merely grinned widely and enjoyed the little gesture of paternal affection. Then, his father retreated his hand, and remarked with a hint of a chuckle,
"Now, were we eating?"
"..Oh, right, yeah, we were." Harke looked down at the table, which he hadn't gotten to inspect yet. In front of his father and himself were two moderately large steel boxes, looking kind of ominously creepy. He poked it curiously, and got a shock when his finger recoiled in pain; the exterior of the steel box was incredibly hot. Reverus merely smirked, and put up one index finger that said, "Wait." Sure enough, some seconds later, a beep ensued from the box, and some unseen seam cracked open, releasing a cloud of steam into the air.
Harke waved his hand through the steam as it cleared, trying to peer down into the opened box. His eyebrows raised visibly as he saw the contents: a pile of completely gross-looking mush. He was about to reject it outright for some weird joke when he took a whiff of the scent the mush expelled. With eyes widened, he felt the aroma of whatever it was work its magic on his olfactory senses. It smelled like nothing he'd ever experienced before.
"What the heck is this?" the boy blurted out.
Reverus grinned, and replied, "It's some kind of new food replacement thing the guys in Life Sci cooked up. The food's designed to be the best thing you could eat, nutrition-wise. The taste and smell's made so that it takes your mind off its, uh, unsettling look. Don't worry, it won't jump out at you."
Harke looked down, seeing the unpleasant colors the food was turning. ".... And it's safe?"
"Yeah, it's safe. Pretty much everyone in their department has been eating this stuff for some time. They're as healthy as ever. It's only now they're putting it on the manu." As the researcher said so, he took a spoon set to the side, jammed it into the soft pulp and stuffed his mouth with it. Eyes closed, Reverus churned around the food in his mouth for a bit to reassure his son.
"G'won," he said between bites.
Hesitantly, Harke took his spoon, and did the same, only with a smaller dose. He mulled over it for a bit, before slowly taking another scoop of larger size, and another, and another. Soon, the box was taken away, and he was ready to leave. Suddenly, just as he and his father reached the elevator to the residence, he realized that he had forgotten something. "Er, dad, you go up without me, I've got to go get something."
"Sure," Reverus said, watching Harke speed down the road, then clutch his stomach in a cramp.
"How's that head feeling? All right?"
"It's fine, dad, thanks."
"I sure hope so. Wouldn't want you to go off like that, now would we?" joked Reverus, reaching out with a hand and fussing up Harke's hair, as well as inspecting the boy's head discreetly as he did. The younger of the two merely grinned widely and enjoyed the little gesture of paternal affection. Then, his father retreated his hand, and remarked with a hint of a chuckle,
"Now, were we eating?"
"..Oh, right, yeah, we were." Harke looked down at the table, which he hadn't gotten to inspect yet. In front of his father and himself were two moderately large steel boxes, looking kind of ominously creepy. He poked it curiously, and got a shock when his finger recoiled in pain; the exterior of the steel box was incredibly hot. Reverus merely smirked, and put up one index finger that said, "Wait." Sure enough, some seconds later, a beep ensued from the box, and some unseen seam cracked open, releasing a cloud of steam into the air.
Harke waved his hand through the steam as it cleared, trying to peer down into the opened box. His eyebrows raised visibly as he saw the contents: a pile of completely gross-looking mush. He was about to reject it outright for some weird joke when he took a whiff of the scent the mush expelled. With eyes widened, he felt the aroma of whatever it was work its magic on his olfactory senses. It smelled like nothing he'd ever experienced before.
"What the heck is this?" the boy blurted out.
Reverus grinned, and replied, "It's some kind of new food replacement thing the guys in Life Sci cooked up. The food's designed to be the best thing you could eat, nutrition-wise. The taste and smell's made so that it takes your mind off its, uh, unsettling look. Don't worry, it won't jump out at you."
Harke looked down, seeing the unpleasant colors the food was turning. ".... And it's safe?"
"Yeah, it's safe. Pretty much everyone in their department has been eating this stuff for some time. They're as healthy as ever. It's only now they're putting it on the manu." As the researcher said so, he took a spoon set to the side, jammed it into the soft pulp and stuffed his mouth with it. Eyes closed, Reverus churned around the food in his mouth for a bit to reassure his son.
"G'won," he said between bites.
Hesitantly, Harke took his spoon, and did the same, only with a smaller dose. He mulled over it for a bit, before slowly taking another scoop of larger size, and another, and another. Soon, the box was taken away, and he was ready to leave. Suddenly, just as he and his father reached the elevator to the residence, he realized that he had forgotten something. "Er, dad, you go up without me, I've got to go get something."
"Sure," Reverus said, watching Harke speed down the road, then clutch his stomach in a cramp.
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With the afternoon coming to a rather definitive evening, Harke ran down the street, exiting the Metroline from ACDC. Stupid late train... I promised dad I wouldn't be late... he thought as he ran down the walkway leading towards the Science Residence. Slamming down his finger on the '12' button as soon as the elevator doors opened, he fidgeted and twiddled his thumbs, watching the number display depicting the current floor go up slowly, slowly, slowly...
"121, 12th floor," the robotic announcer said.
"Sorry I'm late!" said Harke as he sped through the entrance hall into the residence. Stopping to catch his breath, Harke stood propped against a wall as Reverus swiveled around from his position in front of the living area terminal. "It's all right, Harke. Took me some time to find the reference, anyway," his father said, a medium-sized tome in his lap. Taking it in one hand, he lifted it to hand it to Harke, who took the opportunity quite enthusiastically. Glancing at the title, "Support Program Builds, Fourth Edition", he smiled.
"Hmmm... yeah, this is okay. Thanks, dad," said Harke as he stood up and flipped through random pages, scanning bits of information here and there. Then, he put the book to his side, and hugged his father quite suddenly. Reverus said nothing but to chuckle. As soon as he was released, he remarked, "You're welcome, Har. Have fun."
"I will," said Harke, smiling as he opened the door to his room.
-------
beep beep beep bee-WHACK
The alarm clock's duty done, it went silent as Harke woke up from his position on the table. Groggy, he rubbed one of his eyes and glanced at the time. Exhaling, he stood up and stumbled off to the bathroom. Minutes later, bright-eyed and fleet-footed, he walked out, a backpack over his shoulder. As he went to leave, he greeted his father, who was also heading out for the day. "Hey, Har. How was yesterday?" his father inquired.
"It was okay, but I've still got to fix up some other things. Thanks for the help, dad," he said as the elevator doors closed and headed for ground level.
"Anytime," replied Reverus.
"121, 12th floor," the robotic announcer said.
"Sorry I'm late!" said Harke as he sped through the entrance hall into the residence. Stopping to catch his breath, Harke stood propped against a wall as Reverus swiveled around from his position in front of the living area terminal. "It's all right, Harke. Took me some time to find the reference, anyway," his father said, a medium-sized tome in his lap. Taking it in one hand, he lifted it to hand it to Harke, who took the opportunity quite enthusiastically. Glancing at the title, "Support Program Builds, Fourth Edition", he smiled.
"Hmmm... yeah, this is okay. Thanks, dad," said Harke as he stood up and flipped through random pages, scanning bits of information here and there. Then, he put the book to his side, and hugged his father quite suddenly. Reverus said nothing but to chuckle. As soon as he was released, he remarked, "You're welcome, Har. Have fun."
"I will," said Harke, smiling as he opened the door to his room.
-------
beep beep beep bee-WHACK
The alarm clock's duty done, it went silent as Harke woke up from his position on the table. Groggy, he rubbed one of his eyes and glanced at the time. Exhaling, he stood up and stumbled off to the bathroom. Minutes later, bright-eyed and fleet-footed, he walked out, a backpack over his shoulder. As he went to leave, he greeted his father, who was also heading out for the day. "Hey, Har. How was yesterday?" his father inquired.
"It was okay, but I've still got to fix up some other things. Thanks for the help, dad," he said as the elevator doors closed and headed for ground level.
"Anytime," replied Reverus.
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The elevator's doors whizzed silently to close as Harke pressed the "Close" and "12" buttons. Humming a little tune in lieu of the elevator's nonexistent ambient music, Harke thought to when he last met his sister, Karen. The months felt like years to him, as he longed to see the cheerful woman his father had as a lab assistant. There would probably be something in that pink rucksack for him, and it was always something he could look forward to. Wonder what it is this time around, the boy thought. Well, I'll soon find out.
An electronic bell signaled the arrival of the elevator at Harke's destination, and he walked out of the sliding doors. The room number "121" stared back at him as he fished around for his keycard. "Nnnnrgh, where the hell is it," mumbled Harke, digging around in his pockets. Great, he probably locked himself out again like that one time, and oooh boy, there goes the stomach a-rumblin'. Desperately, he turned out his pockets, coming up empty.
"Harke, it's in your bag," commented Eternalis.
The Navi had hologram-ported himself up to the operator's shoulder, where the latter turned to, making a poker face. "I-I knew that," he said, pulling out the blue "Science Residence" keycard from a side pocket and slotting it into the designated slot. Beep, went the door, unlocking itself. "Coming in," said Harke as he walked in, even though he knew that the house was empty. Sighing, he placed the bag on one of the couches in the living room, and strolled into the kitchen. Harke then threw open the fridge, rummaging around for something to soothe his roaring appetite. "C'mon... c'mon...."
Eternalis looked over Harke's shoulder for a bit, then flashed out of sight, landing on the counter's edge. Taking a seat on the edge of the counter, Eternalis waved his legs around freely. "When did Rev say your sister was coming again?" asked Eternalis, as Aurora teleported in behind him without him being aware. Sneakily making her way towards the blue Navi with a silent tiptoe, she stuck her hands out. With a mischievous grin, Aurora then leapt onto Eternalis' back quickly.
"Boo!" "Wha- hey, whoa-whoa-WHOA!"
Waving his hands about was the only thing the Navi could do, before falling over the edge, along with Aurora in tow. However, just as they reached the halfway point between the top and the ground, both programs blinked out of existence, and back again, at the top of the counter. Harke looked up from his rampage through the refridgerator to see Eternalis mockingly reprimanding his Support Program. "In about an hour, I think-- Oh, awesome, curry," replied Harke, before being distracted by a small plastic container containing cold beef curry. Licking his lips noisily, he took it out, and set it on the stove to heat.
"C'mon, c'mon, it was just a joke," said Aurora, putting up her hands to her shoulders in surrender. "Oh, a joke was it? Ha, punishment!" Eternalis replied with a playful mess-up of her hair, to which Aurora reacted with mock anger. "Don't mess it up--!" she laughed, pushing away the offending hand. Harke watched the little scene with a chuckle, swirling around the curry and humming a little made-up tune to himself. The smell wafted up, and he inhaled it with satisfaction as he ladled it into a large bowl.
"Yeah, that's the good stuff, heheh," said Harke to himself, looking around the kitchen for the bread to complete his smorgasbord that was lunch. However, just as he did so, the doorbell buzzed. Harke looked up, muttering a curse under his breath as he walked to the door, ladle in hand. Looking through the peephole, however, ceased his swearing as he hurriedly opened the door. A grinning woman with a huge traveling bag rolled up behind her greeted Harke.
"Oii, you are going to let me in, right? Stop gawking like an idiot," said Karen Ezarith, laughing as she pushed her way through the door in defiance of what she had just said.
Walking into the spacious apartment, Karen set her traveling bag near a wall, and stretched. She had cast off her thick, nasty winter attire for a more suitable red jacket over a light pink blouse and a long white skirt. Carried on her back was a pink rucksack, filled to bursting, which she carelessly threw on the large couch. "What's up with my little Harkey-warkey then, eh? Oooh, don't tell me you're cooking lunch. There's no way you're cooking lunch. You cook lunch, I'll eat my scarf instead," she said, laughing as she took off her jacket.
"Saw right through me, didn't you, sis," replied Harke, smiling mockingly. He snatched up Karen's jacket from her hand and hung it up on the rack. "Nah, was just heating up some curry Dad made. You were early, and I didn't think to get any- Oh wait, there's a fair bit there, and Dad won't be here for a while. You want some?" Pausing for a bit, he added, "... And don't call me that, sis. I'm not five," furrowing his brow at the last bit.
Karen shrugged. "Sure, why not. Lead the way, Chef Ezarith."
Sighing and slumping his shoulders in defeat, Harke lifted his ladle and whirled it around as he led Karen into the kitchen. The elder female of the two smiled widely as she poked her head in and inhaled the aroma of the curry lingering around in the place. "Smells delicious in here," she commented. Looking around, she noticed two smaller figures pushing each other around on the kitchen counter. Both of them had their backs turned to her, and were laughing and having a grand old time just teasing each other around.
"These your Navis, I assume, Har?" asked Karen, bending over to examine the two little holograms.
Eternalis and Aurora looked up from their messing around, noticing the new voice. Karen raised an eyebrow at the sight of one of them. "... Aurora?"
An electronic bell signaled the arrival of the elevator at Harke's destination, and he walked out of the sliding doors. The room number "121" stared back at him as he fished around for his keycard. "Nnnnrgh, where the hell is it," mumbled Harke, digging around in his pockets. Great, he probably locked himself out again like that one time, and oooh boy, there goes the stomach a-rumblin'. Desperately, he turned out his pockets, coming up empty.
"Harke, it's in your bag," commented Eternalis.
The Navi had hologram-ported himself up to the operator's shoulder, where the latter turned to, making a poker face. "I-I knew that," he said, pulling out the blue "Science Residence" keycard from a side pocket and slotting it into the designated slot. Beep, went the door, unlocking itself. "Coming in," said Harke as he walked in, even though he knew that the house was empty. Sighing, he placed the bag on one of the couches in the living room, and strolled into the kitchen. Harke then threw open the fridge, rummaging around for something to soothe his roaring appetite. "C'mon... c'mon...."
Eternalis looked over Harke's shoulder for a bit, then flashed out of sight, landing on the counter's edge. Taking a seat on the edge of the counter, Eternalis waved his legs around freely. "When did Rev say your sister was coming again?" asked Eternalis, as Aurora teleported in behind him without him being aware. Sneakily making her way towards the blue Navi with a silent tiptoe, she stuck her hands out. With a mischievous grin, Aurora then leapt onto Eternalis' back quickly.
"Boo!" "Wha- hey, whoa-whoa-WHOA!"
Waving his hands about was the only thing the Navi could do, before falling over the edge, along with Aurora in tow. However, just as they reached the halfway point between the top and the ground, both programs blinked out of existence, and back again, at the top of the counter. Harke looked up from his rampage through the refridgerator to see Eternalis mockingly reprimanding his Support Program. "In about an hour, I think-- Oh, awesome, curry," replied Harke, before being distracted by a small plastic container containing cold beef curry. Licking his lips noisily, he took it out, and set it on the stove to heat.
"C'mon, c'mon, it was just a joke," said Aurora, putting up her hands to her shoulders in surrender. "Oh, a joke was it? Ha, punishment!" Eternalis replied with a playful mess-up of her hair, to which Aurora reacted with mock anger. "Don't mess it up--!" she laughed, pushing away the offending hand. Harke watched the little scene with a chuckle, swirling around the curry and humming a little made-up tune to himself. The smell wafted up, and he inhaled it with satisfaction as he ladled it into a large bowl.
"Yeah, that's the good stuff, heheh," said Harke to himself, looking around the kitchen for the bread to complete his smorgasbord that was lunch. However, just as he did so, the doorbell buzzed. Harke looked up, muttering a curse under his breath as he walked to the door, ladle in hand. Looking through the peephole, however, ceased his swearing as he hurriedly opened the door. A grinning woman with a huge traveling bag rolled up behind her greeted Harke.
"Oii, you are going to let me in, right? Stop gawking like an idiot," said Karen Ezarith, laughing as she pushed her way through the door in defiance of what she had just said.
Walking into the spacious apartment, Karen set her traveling bag near a wall, and stretched. She had cast off her thick, nasty winter attire for a more suitable red jacket over a light pink blouse and a long white skirt. Carried on her back was a pink rucksack, filled to bursting, which she carelessly threw on the large couch. "What's up with my little Harkey-warkey then, eh? Oooh, don't tell me you're cooking lunch. There's no way you're cooking lunch. You cook lunch, I'll eat my scarf instead," she said, laughing as she took off her jacket.
"Saw right through me, didn't you, sis," replied Harke, smiling mockingly. He snatched up Karen's jacket from her hand and hung it up on the rack. "Nah, was just heating up some curry Dad made. You were early, and I didn't think to get any- Oh wait, there's a fair bit there, and Dad won't be here for a while. You want some?" Pausing for a bit, he added, "... And don't call me that, sis. I'm not five," furrowing his brow at the last bit.
Karen shrugged. "Sure, why not. Lead the way, Chef Ezarith."
Sighing and slumping his shoulders in defeat, Harke lifted his ladle and whirled it around as he led Karen into the kitchen. The elder female of the two smiled widely as she poked her head in and inhaled the aroma of the curry lingering around in the place. "Smells delicious in here," she commented. Looking around, she noticed two smaller figures pushing each other around on the kitchen counter. Both of them had their backs turned to her, and were laughing and having a grand old time just teasing each other around.
"These your Navis, I assume, Har?" asked Karen, bending over to examine the two little holograms.
Eternalis and Aurora looked up from their messing around, noticing the new voice. Karen raised an eyebrow at the sight of one of them. "... Aurora?"
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Harke turned around to see Karen standing akimbo, looking pretty pleased with herself. Sticking out her hand, she handed a pocket terminal drive to Harke, who immediately plugged it into the PET. A progress bar blinked in and out, and the holographic image of Aurora presented itself near the other two currently on the coffee table, with Sparky hiding behind Eternalis' boots. Some changes were quite apparent, however. For one, Aurora's bodysuit was now compounded with some new armor, which looked slightly similar to Sparky's. Eternalis watched gladly as his companion looked to be restored, and nothing major had changed.
That was about to be disproven.
The smile that was usually on her face was replaced with a pained look. Putting a hand to her hip, Aurora pressed on her brow with two fingers of her other hand, massaging her forehead. "So, I assume this idiotic-looking shrew is my Navigator," said Aurora. Her visor analyzed the statistics of the Navigator in front of her, and a disgusted twitch of her lips followed. "Not even Rogue-qualified. Tsk," she said, laying on the insults with her pointed tone. Shifting her gaze towards Karen, she raised her eyebrows slightly. "So I assume I'll have to put up with this... what's his name?" she inquired, gesturing towards the blue Navi.
"Eternalis. And being a little more courteous wouldn't hurt, Aurora," replied Karen.
"Any reason why I would be obligated to do that? I'll just have to do what my duty was programmed to be. Support the Navigator in battle situations," retorted Aurora with a haughty air. Then, she walked towards the Navigator, stuck out a hand to shake. "Reintroduction. Aurora, Support Program. I-- look forward to working with you," she said. The Navi was a bit stunned at the sudden shift. Who was this new, unfriendly, stark-sounding Aurora? This wasn't his Aurora. Wait, of course. It wasn't even supposed to be my Aurora. This was the original Aurora, he thought. Who was he to expect otherwise?
"Um, l-likewise," he stuttered, grasping the hand. Aurora took back her hand robotically and looked at the Navi in front of her with a passive glare.
Harke was similarly stricken. He turned towards Karen for an explanation. "What did you do, sis?" he asked, his expression and tone demanding. However, his sister returned his question with a confounded face, which took the former off guard. "You... don't know?" he whispered. His sister replied, "I have no memory of her being this much of an asshole. I was sure I restored her core to full. No doubt about that. Checked, doublechecked and triplechecked."
"What're you two whispering about?" asked Aurora, turning to face Harke and Karen.
The two looked at Aurora's leering face, Karen returning the glare equally with an analytic gaze of her own, Harke sitting with a worried look on his face. "Nothing of your concern," retorted Karen. "Harke, I'm going to recheck my work again. Deal with her however," she muttered to Harke, before walking back into the study. Harke reached out for her desperately, but without result. "Tsk."
Aurora turned back to her Navi, and was about to say something, when she felt something at her foot. "Eh?" It seemed that Sparky had placed himself at Aurora's feet, wagging his tail happily as he looked upwards at Aurora. The female Support Program's eyes changed from fierce to confused. What... what is this? she thought, as her forehead creased. Picking up the puppy, Aurora was greeted with an enthusiastic licking. She recoiled for a bit, then resigned to simply staring at Sparky. This did nothing to abate the gleeful dog, and served only to add to the amount of saliva on her face.
".... You're a cute one, aren't you," said Aurora, soon after Sparky ceased his licking. Briefly, she wore the faintest smile on her face, but it didn't look dark or cynical. Instead, the smile looked sincere, something that contradicted her previous behavior. Holding the dog close to her, she asked, "What's this little guy's name?" Strangely, it didn't occur to her to check the Support Program's network tag.
"Uh... Sparky," said Eternalis. What, was the newly-born dragon lady about to steal his dog, too?
"Mm," mumbled Aurora, that little smile quietly reappearing again as she stroked Sparky's head. "Inform me when we're about to depart into a network. I'll be retreating into the PET."
With that, she then disappeared, holding Sparky tightly to her chest. Harke and Eternalis only stared at the place where she had been, then at each other. The latter's eyes looked up at the operator with unmasked concern. "Hey, Harke, just... what happened? What did your sister do?" asked Eternalis. Harke exhaled visibly, and slumped over in his seat. Looking his Navi in the eye, he grasped the front of his fuzzy hair in frustration. "Seems sis... made a mistake or something. Which is weird. She never makes mistakes. Not in her entire career, she hasn't made one mistake that she hasn't caught first," he said.
"... What're we supposed to do about Aurora until she figures it out?" said Eternalis, walking to the laptop and taking a seat beside it.
"Well... I guess you'll just have to bear with her for now. I'm sorry, Et. I'm really sorry," said Harke.
"It doesn't really matter. It's still Aurora, and she still remembers me. And it's not your fault. Not your sister's fault either," replied Eternalis, sighing heavily. Clearly, he was affected by it, judging by the tone of his voice. "I'm just going to take a break, too. Tell me if we're heading out anywhere."
After that, the Navi too disappeared from his holographic form, taking his rest in the PET. Harke was left alone on the living room couch, feeling a little worse for wear. Standing back up, he closed the lid on his laptop after shutting it down. Sighing, he stuck his hands in his pockets, muttering to himself as he meandered into the kitchen. "Time for some comfort food," he mumbled to himself as he scooped up some of the curry.
That was about to be disproven.
The smile that was usually on her face was replaced with a pained look. Putting a hand to her hip, Aurora pressed on her brow with two fingers of her other hand, massaging her forehead. "So, I assume this idiotic-looking shrew is my Navigator," said Aurora. Her visor analyzed the statistics of the Navigator in front of her, and a disgusted twitch of her lips followed. "Not even Rogue-qualified. Tsk," she said, laying on the insults with her pointed tone. Shifting her gaze towards Karen, she raised her eyebrows slightly. "So I assume I'll have to put up with this... what's his name?" she inquired, gesturing towards the blue Navi.
"Eternalis. And being a little more courteous wouldn't hurt, Aurora," replied Karen.
"Any reason why I would be obligated to do that? I'll just have to do what my duty was programmed to be. Support the Navigator in battle situations," retorted Aurora with a haughty air. Then, she walked towards the Navigator, stuck out a hand to shake. "Reintroduction. Aurora, Support Program. I-- look forward to working with you," she said. The Navi was a bit stunned at the sudden shift. Who was this new, unfriendly, stark-sounding Aurora? This wasn't his Aurora. Wait, of course. It wasn't even supposed to be my Aurora. This was the original Aurora, he thought. Who was he to expect otherwise?
"Um, l-likewise," he stuttered, grasping the hand. Aurora took back her hand robotically and looked at the Navi in front of her with a passive glare.
Harke was similarly stricken. He turned towards Karen for an explanation. "What did you do, sis?" he asked, his expression and tone demanding. However, his sister returned his question with a confounded face, which took the former off guard. "You... don't know?" he whispered. His sister replied, "I have no memory of her being this much of an asshole. I was sure I restored her core to full. No doubt about that. Checked, doublechecked and triplechecked."
"What're you two whispering about?" asked Aurora, turning to face Harke and Karen.
The two looked at Aurora's leering face, Karen returning the glare equally with an analytic gaze of her own, Harke sitting with a worried look on his face. "Nothing of your concern," retorted Karen. "Harke, I'm going to recheck my work again. Deal with her however," she muttered to Harke, before walking back into the study. Harke reached out for her desperately, but without result. "Tsk."
Aurora turned back to her Navi, and was about to say something, when she felt something at her foot. "Eh?" It seemed that Sparky had placed himself at Aurora's feet, wagging his tail happily as he looked upwards at Aurora. The female Support Program's eyes changed from fierce to confused. What... what is this? she thought, as her forehead creased. Picking up the puppy, Aurora was greeted with an enthusiastic licking. She recoiled for a bit, then resigned to simply staring at Sparky. This did nothing to abate the gleeful dog, and served only to add to the amount of saliva on her face.
".... You're a cute one, aren't you," said Aurora, soon after Sparky ceased his licking. Briefly, she wore the faintest smile on her face, but it didn't look dark or cynical. Instead, the smile looked sincere, something that contradicted her previous behavior. Holding the dog close to her, she asked, "What's this little guy's name?" Strangely, it didn't occur to her to check the Support Program's network tag.
"Uh... Sparky," said Eternalis. What, was the newly-born dragon lady about to steal his dog, too?
"Mm," mumbled Aurora, that little smile quietly reappearing again as she stroked Sparky's head. "Inform me when we're about to depart into a network. I'll be retreating into the PET."
With that, she then disappeared, holding Sparky tightly to her chest. Harke and Eternalis only stared at the place where she had been, then at each other. The latter's eyes looked up at the operator with unmasked concern. "Hey, Harke, just... what happened? What did your sister do?" asked Eternalis. Harke exhaled visibly, and slumped over in his seat. Looking his Navi in the eye, he grasped the front of his fuzzy hair in frustration. "Seems sis... made a mistake or something. Which is weird. She never makes mistakes. Not in her entire career, she hasn't made one mistake that she hasn't caught first," he said.
"... What're we supposed to do about Aurora until she figures it out?" said Eternalis, walking to the laptop and taking a seat beside it.
"Well... I guess you'll just have to bear with her for now. I'm sorry, Et. I'm really sorry," said Harke.
"It doesn't really matter. It's still Aurora, and she still remembers me. And it's not your fault. Not your sister's fault either," replied Eternalis, sighing heavily. Clearly, he was affected by it, judging by the tone of his voice. "I'm just going to take a break, too. Tell me if we're heading out anywhere."
After that, the Navi too disappeared from his holographic form, taking his rest in the PET. Harke was left alone on the living room couch, feeling a little worse for wear. Standing back up, he closed the lid on his laptop after shutting it down. Sighing, he stuck his hands in his pockets, muttering to himself as he meandered into the kitchen. "Time for some comfort food," he mumbled to himself as he scooped up some of the curry.
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After lunch, Karen took Aurora out to her laptop, extracting her from Eternalis' support temporarily. She requested silence, and walked into the study with her laptop. That was fifteen minutes ago, and the other two were getting antsy. "Hey, Harke, isn't there anything we're going to do while we wait? I'm getting shaky here, and I can't take my mind off of it," said Eternalis, who was now just rolling around the living room coffee table, while Harke lounged around on the armchair.
"Ah, now that you mention it, there was something I wanted to do," said Harke, getting up from the armchair. Eternalis watched his operator walk into the kitchen, and back out with his laptop. Plugging it in, he booted it up, and hooked up the PET to it. "Whaaaat are you doing," said Eternalis, leaning over to look at the screen. Harke ignored his Navi for a while, and brought up the analysis program for Eternalis he had up for a while now. Except now, instead of Eternalis' original model rotating around on the screen, it was an entirely redesigned armor he was wearing. The operator turned the screen towards the Navi, who was now kneeling down at the design in wonder.
"That... that looks awesome," said Eternalis, whose jaw would have been slack with awe, if he had had one. "Can I wear it now oh my god that looks so freakin' sweet."
Mission accomplished, thought Harke, as he turned the screen back to himself again. After some clicks and typings, he sat back, and watched Eternalis' hologram refresh itself from the bottom up. Some flashy transformation sequence went undescribed, and the liquid Navi was twisting and turning, trying to get a better look on his refreshed outfit. Harke smiled faintly. "So I assume that you like it," he said.
"YES."
"Oh, right, one more thing," said Harke, turning back to his laptop and working on it some more. A couple minutes later, and Harke turned the screen towards his Navi once again. This time, a much smaller 3D model was spinning around. It looked to be a small toy dog of some sort, clad in what Eternalis assumed to be some sort of whitish battle armor. The design reminded him of Aurora for some reason. The liquid Navi examined it with a puzzled look for a few moments, until he saw the title bar displayed on the modeling program: "Sparky.SP V1.0 Final".
"W-Wait a sec," started Eternalis. "You got me... a dog? Like, this tiny puppy, even? How's that going to help me any in battle? Yap annoyingly at them?"
"You'll see in a bit," said Harke, wearing a cryptic smile as he initiated the program's installation. The log that appeared during the installation seemed much smaller than that of Aurora's, however. It was probably because Aurora was a previously-used model, and this particular one was new. Eternalis blinked out as the progress bar came into view, rocketing up to its full state. Smooth-running, error-free. Harke exhaled relief. That book he had borrowed was extremely helpful. Of course, debugging the little bugger had taken him more than a few days, but hey, here was his actual fully-running Hikari AI-driven program, about to be birthed into the world.
Eternalis reappeared in his usual hologram form, and looked around. Not seeing the little critter meant for him, he turned around in puzzlement. "Hey, where's this Spark-WHOOMF!" he started to ask, before being suddenly falling on his back forcefully. Shaking his head, the Navi looked up to see a wagging, drooling, barking little wonder on his chest. The brown dog in his white armor barked happily as he started licking his master's face. "H-Hey, boy. Down, boy, down," said Eternalis, trying to push away the tiny dog away from him for a bit.
Sparky went on relentlessly, denying the Navi's attempts to extract him with a happy flurry of licks. Eventually, however, the blue Navi won over, and he was standing up with the animal in his arms. The operator had a nice big idiotic grin as the Navi struggled to cope with the hyperactive little dog. Then, just as he figured the dog was under control, Sparky struggled out from his grasp, and began to run around at a dizzying pace.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hahaha, he's a little rocket," said Eternalis, who now gave up on keeping his eyes on the blurring Support Program.
"Yeah," said Harke, setting up his PET to suit the new Support Program's preferences into the system. "Oh, right, here's something interesting," he said, as he pressed a button on the terminal's screen. Immediately, Sparky froze up, and his white armor plates began to glow. Suddenly, a brilliant light surrounded the SP, akin to that of Aurora's transformation sequence. The light obscured the figure for a few moments, making Eternalis shield his eyes for a couple of seconds before it receded.
Eternalis retracted his arm covering his eyes, causing him to then retract himself. "Bwah! What the hell!" he exclaimed, pointing at the Support Program in front of him. The head was now detached from the body... and onto what looked like a surfboard. The head barked happily just as it had before as it zoomed around its master with the same blinding speed it had before. The Navi could only look at his operator with slumped shoulders and a look of suspended disbelief. His operator could only hold his sides, trying to hold his contained mirth in check. After that, Sparky shifted back to his own form, and his master sighed in relief. That form was going to need some getting used to, he thought, especially with Aurora. And speaking of Aurora...
"I'm done."
"Ah, now that you mention it, there was something I wanted to do," said Harke, getting up from the armchair. Eternalis watched his operator walk into the kitchen, and back out with his laptop. Plugging it in, he booted it up, and hooked up the PET to it. "Whaaaat are you doing," said Eternalis, leaning over to look at the screen. Harke ignored his Navi for a while, and brought up the analysis program for Eternalis he had up for a while now. Except now, instead of Eternalis' original model rotating around on the screen, it was an entirely redesigned armor he was wearing. The operator turned the screen towards the Navi, who was now kneeling down at the design in wonder.
"That... that looks awesome," said Eternalis, whose jaw would have been slack with awe, if he had had one. "Can I wear it now oh my god that looks so freakin' sweet."
Mission accomplished, thought Harke, as he turned the screen back to himself again. After some clicks and typings, he sat back, and watched Eternalis' hologram refresh itself from the bottom up. Some flashy transformation sequence went undescribed, and the liquid Navi was twisting and turning, trying to get a better look on his refreshed outfit. Harke smiled faintly. "So I assume that you like it," he said.
"YES."
"Oh, right, one more thing," said Harke, turning back to his laptop and working on it some more. A couple minutes later, and Harke turned the screen towards his Navi once again. This time, a much smaller 3D model was spinning around. It looked to be a small toy dog of some sort, clad in what Eternalis assumed to be some sort of whitish battle armor. The design reminded him of Aurora for some reason. The liquid Navi examined it with a puzzled look for a few moments, until he saw the title bar displayed on the modeling program: "Sparky.SP V1.0 Final".
"W-Wait a sec," started Eternalis. "You got me... a dog? Like, this tiny puppy, even? How's that going to help me any in battle? Yap annoyingly at them?"
"You'll see in a bit," said Harke, wearing a cryptic smile as he initiated the program's installation. The log that appeared during the installation seemed much smaller than that of Aurora's, however. It was probably because Aurora was a previously-used model, and this particular one was new. Eternalis blinked out as the progress bar came into view, rocketing up to its full state. Smooth-running, error-free. Harke exhaled relief. That book he had borrowed was extremely helpful. Of course, debugging the little bugger had taken him more than a few days, but hey, here was his actual fully-running Hikari AI-driven program, about to be birthed into the world.
Eternalis reappeared in his usual hologram form, and looked around. Not seeing the little critter meant for him, he turned around in puzzlement. "Hey, where's this Spark-WHOOMF!" he started to ask, before being suddenly falling on his back forcefully. Shaking his head, the Navi looked up to see a wagging, drooling, barking little wonder on his chest. The brown dog in his white armor barked happily as he started licking his master's face. "H-Hey, boy. Down, boy, down," said Eternalis, trying to push away the tiny dog away from him for a bit.
Sparky went on relentlessly, denying the Navi's attempts to extract him with a happy flurry of licks. Eventually, however, the blue Navi won over, and he was standing up with the animal in his arms. The operator had a nice big idiotic grin as the Navi struggled to cope with the hyperactive little dog. Then, just as he figured the dog was under control, Sparky struggled out from his grasp, and began to run around at a dizzying pace.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hahaha, he's a little rocket," said Eternalis, who now gave up on keeping his eyes on the blurring Support Program.
"Yeah," said Harke, setting up his PET to suit the new Support Program's preferences into the system. "Oh, right, here's something interesting," he said, as he pressed a button on the terminal's screen. Immediately, Sparky froze up, and his white armor plates began to glow. Suddenly, a brilliant light surrounded the SP, akin to that of Aurora's transformation sequence. The light obscured the figure for a few moments, making Eternalis shield his eyes for a couple of seconds before it receded.
Eternalis retracted his arm covering his eyes, causing him to then retract himself. "Bwah! What the hell!" he exclaimed, pointing at the Support Program in front of him. The head was now detached from the body... and onto what looked like a surfboard. The head barked happily just as it had before as it zoomed around its master with the same blinding speed it had before. The Navi could only look at his operator with slumped shoulders and a look of suspended disbelief. His operator could only hold his sides, trying to hold his contained mirth in check. After that, Sparky shifted back to his own form, and his master sighed in relief. That form was going to need some getting used to, he thought, especially with Aurora. And speaking of Aurora...
"I'm done."
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"Ah, yeah. Blue's my Navi, white's his Support Program. Eternalis and Aurora, respectively. Guys, meet Karen. Vice versa, et cetera, yadda yadda," said Harke, not bothering to look in their direction. Searching around for the breadbox, he found it, and began to set up the table.
Eternalis and Aurora waved their hands in greeting. Aurora in particular, looked at Karen's face curiously. "Umm, excuse me, but have I seen you before...? You look kind of familiar, miss Karen," she asked. The image of Karen's face triggered something in her memory, but that particular memory eluded any sort of connection to any other memories. It sat there alone, unsolved. An anomaly, she thought, considering that they were programs, able to retrieve and link memories within microseconds.
"... Miss... Karen? Aurora, what's with the formalities?" laughed Karen.
"I'm sorry, I just thought it was okay," said Aurora, tilting her head slightly and scratching her head. "Like, for greeting new people."
"Hey, hey, what's going on?" said Harke, walking over to the counter. "Anything the matter, sis?"
The woman's face scrunched up in thought, then turned to her younger brother. "Harke,how did you get Aurora? Did you code her yourself or something?" asked Karen, pointing towards the white-clad Support Program.
"Oh, ah, no. Dad brought her out from somewhere on the comp last week today. I assumed he'd coded her a while ago, and just happened to stumble on it. Why do you ask?" replied Harke. "Is there anything wrong with her or anything? I looked through her systems and everything looked to be fine."
Pursing her lips, she looked back at Aurora, and at the Navi beside her, then at Harke. "Looked fine, my ass. I'll have better eyes for that. Lemme see her compilation log," requested Karen, though it sounded more of an order. Puzzled, Harke picked up her PET, motioned for the two programs to follow, and led her sister to the main living room computer. The latter booted it up, and expertly combed the computer, finding the log in a minute. Scrolling through the various details that made up Aurora's composition, Karen mumbled to herself for a bit, before stopping at one particular line inside the log.
"Ha!" she exclaimed, pointing to the line.
The two programs watched the screen over Harke's shoulder. Everyone else except Karen stared blankly at the line. Cluelessly, Eternalis crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, saying, "Eeehhh, what's that mean?"
Before any of the others could do so, Karen took it to herself to explain. "Means Aurora had previous memory. Just corrupted, is all. I knew Aurora from before she was... let's say hibernated, in Dad's computer. I know she remembered me immediately before that, so she would have remembered me. She didn't. That's an impossibility for programs," she said bluntly. Turning around in the swiveling chair, Karen looked absently at the ceiling. "Now, I could see what I can do to fix that memory core. Years in one of Sharo's Net-Research facilities should give you some confidence in what I can do," said Karen, crossing her arms.
"S-Sis, I don't want to bother you..." said Harke, putting up a hand to protest.
"Naaah, I don't care. Just so long as those two are okay with it," replied Karen, thumbing at the two programs currently perching on the boy's shoulders. Eternalis and Aurora looked at each other, both with different looks on their faces, though a similar worry showed through them.
"Although, hrm. I am a bit hungry. Pay me back with lunch. Curry would be nice, I think?" the elder Ezarith added, grinning as her grumbling stomach reinforced that statement.
----
Scooping up the curry hungrily, Karen chomped down on her lunch with the happiest face, while Harke watched, amused at his sister's antics. His appetite was suppressed by this recent development, as he tilted his head slightly to look at his two companions, sitting together at the edge of the counter as previously. This time, however, they weren't as jovial, and were quietly contemplating the decision. "Soooo, Elly, what do you think?" said Aurora, swinging her legs about at the edge of the counter, looking down at the far-off floor.
"I don't know. Harke's sister said it wouldn't wipe out your current memories, just add to them," said Eternalis, patting Aurora's shoulder. "Hey, if you do decide to do it, I'm still here."
"Thanks, Elly," said Aurora, smiling faintly. "... Yeah, I think I'll do it. It'd be nice to remember what I didn't before."
"Y-You sure? I mean, you can still say no. She said so," said Eternalis, speaking quickly.
"What's with the sudden change in your stance?" chuckled Aurora, her face turning to show a mix of amusement and questioning.
"N-No, I mean, what if-"
"It'll be fine. She looks like I can depend on her," interrupted Aurora, before warping out of sight. The Support Program reappeared on the dining table in front of Karen, who was busily trying to grind through a tough piece of meat. Standing her ground with a determined face, Aurora faced Karen and nodded. The latter rested her head on her hand, propping the elbow on the table while she chewed. After a few seconds of looking at the tiny hologram, she swallowed, and smiled.
Eternalis and Aurora waved their hands in greeting. Aurora in particular, looked at Karen's face curiously. "Umm, excuse me, but have I seen you before...? You look kind of familiar, miss Karen," she asked. The image of Karen's face triggered something in her memory, but that particular memory eluded any sort of connection to any other memories. It sat there alone, unsolved. An anomaly, she thought, considering that they were programs, able to retrieve and link memories within microseconds.
"... Miss... Karen? Aurora, what's with the formalities?" laughed Karen.
"I'm sorry, I just thought it was okay," said Aurora, tilting her head slightly and scratching her head. "Like, for greeting new people."
"Hey, hey, what's going on?" said Harke, walking over to the counter. "Anything the matter, sis?"
The woman's face scrunched up in thought, then turned to her younger brother. "Harke,how did you get Aurora? Did you code her yourself or something?" asked Karen, pointing towards the white-clad Support Program.
"Oh, ah, no. Dad brought her out from somewhere on the comp last week today. I assumed he'd coded her a while ago, and just happened to stumble on it. Why do you ask?" replied Harke. "Is there anything wrong with her or anything? I looked through her systems and everything looked to be fine."
Pursing her lips, she looked back at Aurora, and at the Navi beside her, then at Harke. "Looked fine, my ass. I'll have better eyes for that. Lemme see her compilation log," requested Karen, though it sounded more of an order. Puzzled, Harke picked up her PET, motioned for the two programs to follow, and led her sister to the main living room computer. The latter booted it up, and expertly combed the computer, finding the log in a minute. Scrolling through the various details that made up Aurora's composition, Karen mumbled to herself for a bit, before stopping at one particular line inside the log.
"Ha!" she exclaimed, pointing to the line.
Memory Base: 76% - Write Error (Action: Overwrite Base)The two programs watched the screen over Harke's shoulder. Everyone else except Karen stared blankly at the line. Cluelessly, Eternalis crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, saying, "Eeehhh, what's that mean?"
Before any of the others could do so, Karen took it to herself to explain. "Means Aurora had previous memory. Just corrupted, is all. I knew Aurora from before she was... let's say hibernated, in Dad's computer. I know she remembered me immediately before that, so she would have remembered me. She didn't. That's an impossibility for programs," she said bluntly. Turning around in the swiveling chair, Karen looked absently at the ceiling. "Now, I could see what I can do to fix that memory core. Years in one of Sharo's Net-Research facilities should give you some confidence in what I can do," said Karen, crossing her arms.
"S-Sis, I don't want to bother you..." said Harke, putting up a hand to protest.
"Naaah, I don't care. Just so long as those two are okay with it," replied Karen, thumbing at the two programs currently perching on the boy's shoulders. Eternalis and Aurora looked at each other, both with different looks on their faces, though a similar worry showed through them.
"Although, hrm. I am a bit hungry. Pay me back with lunch. Curry would be nice, I think?" the elder Ezarith added, grinning as her grumbling stomach reinforced that statement.
----
Scooping up the curry hungrily, Karen chomped down on her lunch with the happiest face, while Harke watched, amused at his sister's antics. His appetite was suppressed by this recent development, as he tilted his head slightly to look at his two companions, sitting together at the edge of the counter as previously. This time, however, they weren't as jovial, and were quietly contemplating the decision. "Soooo, Elly, what do you think?" said Aurora, swinging her legs about at the edge of the counter, looking down at the far-off floor.
"I don't know. Harke's sister said it wouldn't wipe out your current memories, just add to them," said Eternalis, patting Aurora's shoulder. "Hey, if you do decide to do it, I'm still here."
"Thanks, Elly," said Aurora, smiling faintly. "... Yeah, I think I'll do it. It'd be nice to remember what I didn't before."
"Y-You sure? I mean, you can still say no. She said so," said Eternalis, speaking quickly.
"What's with the sudden change in your stance?" chuckled Aurora, her face turning to show a mix of amusement and questioning.
"N-No, I mean, what if-"
"It'll be fine. She looks like I can depend on her," interrupted Aurora, before warping out of sight. The Support Program reappeared on the dining table in front of Karen, who was busily trying to grind through a tough piece of meat. Standing her ground with a determined face, Aurora faced Karen and nodded. The latter rested her head on her hand, propping the elbow on the table while she chewed. After a few seconds of looking at the tiny hologram, she swallowed, and smiled.
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After a while of stuffing his face, Harke leaned back in his seat, smiling as he patted his filled stomach. His mind wandered off from all of the sudden developments that popped up and into dreamland, where he ran about the towers of meringue and hills of cake. And he would have for a few more hours, had a roaring voice not wakened him from his sleep. "Oi, Har, if you're going to sleep, go do it in your room," the voice boomed, causing Harke to flail about in his seat.
Almost losing his balance, Harke managed to hold on to the table in front of him just in time. "Dad, don't jump on me like that!!" he retorted, shaking his head to clear the fuzzies from his eyes. Rubbing them for extra fuzzy-clearing power, he looked up at his father. "Nnngh, when did you get back?" he asked in a less annoyed tone of voice, scratching his head.
"Just now. Where's your sister?" his father replied, grinning widely at his successful surprise attack.
"A-Ah... I don't know, maybe in the study," said Harke, getting up to clean his dish off the table. Too light-headed to actually wash the plate, he simply dropped it into the sink, wetting his face a bit in the process.
"The study?"
"Yeah, she said she was going to be in the study," answered Harke, trying to evade the link to him.
"She works way too hard. Can't even take a break every now and then," said Reverus, gulping down a glass of water.
"E-Eh, yeah. I'll go check on her," said Harke, shuffling out of the kitchen.
Walking towards the study, Harke rapped lightly on the door. "Sis?" he called. "Siiiiis?" Repeating his call a few more times, he knocked on the door for a bit until he got tired of it, after which he simply opened the door. Quietly, of course. Behind the door, he saw, the light was turned off, and the only source of illumination was the lit screen of Karen's laptop. In front of the laptop was a dozing Karen Ezarith, probably exhausted from her trip.
"What, did she fall asleep?" asked Harke's father, looking over his shoulder.
"Yeah, seems so."
"Poor girl. I guess I won't bother her any. If you need me, I'll be in my room, all right?"
"Sure."
Closing the door again, Harke sighed. Looks like it would be some time before he'd be able to get anything from his sister. He didn't want to bother her any more than he already had, anyway. Looking at the PET on the coffee table, he put his hand up to massage his temples. For now, they were just going to have to deal with her. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too hard. Harke walked towards the armchair, and plopped himself on it. Okay, all he had to do was hang tight until Karen had a solution to the problem.
"Hey, Harke."
Unexpectedly, Aurora had reappeared on the coffee table, sitting cross-legged on the glass surface. She had Sparky in her lap, both were quietly looking up at the operator. "Hm? What is it, Aurora?"
"I'm bored," stated Aurora simply, crossing her arms.
"What do you want me to do?" said Harke, looking away from the SP. He didn't really feel like a quarrel. Not after a meal.
"Send us out somewhere. The battles before didn't even feel like battles. More like small sparring sessions."
Oh. Hey, that wasn't so bad. "Lemme recall Et," said Harke, picking up the PET and waking Eternalis from his hibernation. The blue Navigator reappeared from his sleep, and stretched. "Et, Aurora wants to go out somewhere."
"Mmn. Where to?" his Navi responded.
"The remote Hades Island network sounds like a good challenge. It is also mainly of opposing affinity to Eternalis' element, which would make it somewhat easier. Send us there," said Aurora, cutting off Harke before he could respond.
"Hades, hrm," muttered Harke. Sure, it was a pretty popular network for sending high-level Navis. Eternalis had gained quite some power in his travels, especially with his healing processes jacked up into overdrive. Harke couldn't remember how many times those healing processes had managed to jumpstart his Navi's way out of a lot of troublesome situations. He had also programmed something else into the new armor Eternalis now wore, but he'd leave that for later.
"Alright, we'll go for that. Any objections?" asked Harke, to which there were none. "Okay, ready up for transmission," he decided. Maybe some battling would loosen up Aurora a little. As Harke tapped the PET's screen, the three holograms on the coffee table were reduced to sparks of light and disappeared.
[Hades Net]
Almost losing his balance, Harke managed to hold on to the table in front of him just in time. "Dad, don't jump on me like that!!" he retorted, shaking his head to clear the fuzzies from his eyes. Rubbing them for extra fuzzy-clearing power, he looked up at his father. "Nnngh, when did you get back?" he asked in a less annoyed tone of voice, scratching his head.
"Just now. Where's your sister?" his father replied, grinning widely at his successful surprise attack.
"A-Ah... I don't know, maybe in the study," said Harke, getting up to clean his dish off the table. Too light-headed to actually wash the plate, he simply dropped it into the sink, wetting his face a bit in the process.
"The study?"
"Yeah, she said she was going to be in the study," answered Harke, trying to evade the link to him.
"She works way too hard. Can't even take a break every now and then," said Reverus, gulping down a glass of water.
"E-Eh, yeah. I'll go check on her," said Harke, shuffling out of the kitchen.
Walking towards the study, Harke rapped lightly on the door. "Sis?" he called. "Siiiiis?" Repeating his call a few more times, he knocked on the door for a bit until he got tired of it, after which he simply opened the door. Quietly, of course. Behind the door, he saw, the light was turned off, and the only source of illumination was the lit screen of Karen's laptop. In front of the laptop was a dozing Karen Ezarith, probably exhausted from her trip.
"What, did she fall asleep?" asked Harke's father, looking over his shoulder.
"Yeah, seems so."
"Poor girl. I guess I won't bother her any. If you need me, I'll be in my room, all right?"
"Sure."
Closing the door again, Harke sighed. Looks like it would be some time before he'd be able to get anything from his sister. He didn't want to bother her any more than he already had, anyway. Looking at the PET on the coffee table, he put his hand up to massage his temples. For now, they were just going to have to deal with her. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too hard. Harke walked towards the armchair, and plopped himself on it. Okay, all he had to do was hang tight until Karen had a solution to the problem.
"Hey, Harke."
Unexpectedly, Aurora had reappeared on the coffee table, sitting cross-legged on the glass surface. She had Sparky in her lap, both were quietly looking up at the operator. "Hm? What is it, Aurora?"
"I'm bored," stated Aurora simply, crossing her arms.
"What do you want me to do?" said Harke, looking away from the SP. He didn't really feel like a quarrel. Not after a meal.
"Send us out somewhere. The battles before didn't even feel like battles. More like small sparring sessions."
Oh. Hey, that wasn't so bad. "Lemme recall Et," said Harke, picking up the PET and waking Eternalis from his hibernation. The blue Navigator reappeared from his sleep, and stretched. "Et, Aurora wants to go out somewhere."
"Mmn. Where to?" his Navi responded.
"The remote Hades Island network sounds like a good challenge. It is also mainly of opposing affinity to Eternalis' element, which would make it somewhat easier. Send us there," said Aurora, cutting off Harke before he could respond.
"Hades, hrm," muttered Harke. Sure, it was a pretty popular network for sending high-level Navis. Eternalis had gained quite some power in his travels, especially with his healing processes jacked up into overdrive. Harke couldn't remember how many times those healing processes had managed to jumpstart his Navi's way out of a lot of troublesome situations. He had also programmed something else into the new armor Eternalis now wore, but he'd leave that for later.
"Alright, we'll go for that. Any objections?" asked Harke, to which there were none. "Okay, ready up for transmission," he decided. Maybe some battling would loosen up Aurora a little. As Harke tapped the PET's screen, the three holograms on the coffee table were reduced to sparks of light and disappeared.
[Hades Net]
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As soon as the programs were out of the network, and their little holographic representations appeared on the coffee table, Karen already had Harke's PET in her hand, and a strange-looking chip in the other. It looked like a blank battlechip, but had the markings of an upgrade chip, the kind that Suitachi usually sold. "Okay, disconnect Aurora for a bit," she said, crossing her arms. Eternalis gladly did, and Karen immediately inserted the chip into the PET.
"Wait, what--" started Aurora.
"Might feel a little prick or two, Aurora, but shouldn't be too bad," interrupted Karen, starting up the installer.
"Hey--" the SP said, before suddenly feeling a rather strange fluttering through her body. Contrary to Karen's warning, she didn't feel anything at all, but merely stood on the coffee table, blankly staring forward. After a while, the hologram seemed to stop refreshing. Harke and Eternalis watched closely, their eyes narrowing. "Hey, is she gonna be all right? What'd you do?" said Harke, puzzled at the freezing graphic in front of him.
"Don't worry too much about it, it's not drastic or anything like that. It's just flipping a certain switch," said Karen, after which she pulled out the chip stuck inside the PET. Aurora's graphic immediately unfroze, and the SP exhaled visibly, as if she had held her breath for some time. She didn't really feel anything different, though for some reason she felt really light, as if something had been lifted off her shoulders. She also felt less of an inclination to insult something. Examining herself with her visor's analysis processes didn't really reveal anything.
"Ehhh, what'd you do, Karen? I feel a lot less... heavy-headed, or something like that," commented Aurora, her tone of voice much less commanding.
"Switched off your automatic battle routine execution process. It's been building up stress for quite a bit, and that memory swap triggered some rush of it. I just flushed out the buildup," explained Karen, whisking away the chip into her pocket. "Anyway, have fun, you're welcome, don't mention it, I'll be going off to bed, now." And with that, the elder sister disappeared off to the guest room before another word could be said.
Aurora turned around to Eternalis, who was mentally bracing himself for another onslaught of insults. "... So, do you think we should head back into the network?"
"... Eh? ... Ah, sure, I guess."
Another 180-degree turn. The day was just filling up with these, and it didn't look like it was going to stop. "I think we should take a bit of a break from battling, though," he suggested. "Sparky, what do you think?" The dog in his arms barked once in response with a happy sort of face, so one could assume an affirmative.
"Sounds all right. Some walk around Internet City?" inquired Aurora.
"Uh... sure."
"Harke?"
"No objections. Sending you in, have a ball," replied the operator, who really didn't have much to do at that point, other than to take up a book and lounge around.
[Jack In - Internet City]
"Wait, what--" started Aurora.
"Might feel a little prick or two, Aurora, but shouldn't be too bad," interrupted Karen, starting up the installer.
"Hey--" the SP said, before suddenly feeling a rather strange fluttering through her body. Contrary to Karen's warning, she didn't feel anything at all, but merely stood on the coffee table, blankly staring forward. After a while, the hologram seemed to stop refreshing. Harke and Eternalis watched closely, their eyes narrowing. "Hey, is she gonna be all right? What'd you do?" said Harke, puzzled at the freezing graphic in front of him.
"Don't worry too much about it, it's not drastic or anything like that. It's just flipping a certain switch," said Karen, after which she pulled out the chip stuck inside the PET. Aurora's graphic immediately unfroze, and the SP exhaled visibly, as if she had held her breath for some time. She didn't really feel anything different, though for some reason she felt really light, as if something had been lifted off her shoulders. She also felt less of an inclination to insult something. Examining herself with her visor's analysis processes didn't really reveal anything.
"Ehhh, what'd you do, Karen? I feel a lot less... heavy-headed, or something like that," commented Aurora, her tone of voice much less commanding.
"Switched off your automatic battle routine execution process. It's been building up stress for quite a bit, and that memory swap triggered some rush of it. I just flushed out the buildup," explained Karen, whisking away the chip into her pocket. "Anyway, have fun, you're welcome, don't mention it, I'll be going off to bed, now." And with that, the elder sister disappeared off to the guest room before another word could be said.
Aurora turned around to Eternalis, who was mentally bracing himself for another onslaught of insults. "... So, do you think we should head back into the network?"
"... Eh? ... Ah, sure, I guess."
Another 180-degree turn. The day was just filling up with these, and it didn't look like it was going to stop. "I think we should take a bit of a break from battling, though," he suggested. "Sparky, what do you think?" The dog in his arms barked once in response with a happy sort of face, so one could assume an affirmative.
"Sounds all right. Some walk around Internet City?" inquired Aurora.
"Uh... sure."
"Harke?"
"No objections. Sending you in, have a ball," replied the operator, who really didn't have much to do at that point, other than to take up a book and lounge around.
[Jack In - Internet City]
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Eternalis and the crew beamed back into their PET, appearing on the holographic display as lying down on the coffee table. "Well, that was a to-tally exciting mission, ten out of ten," said Aurora, making sure to lace her tone of voice with as much sarcasm as possible as she sat up. "Yeah, I'd imagine stewing in a stuffed coffee shop doesn't sound very fun," agreed Eternalis, who was currently recovering from the rush of the battle. His processes were running in overdrive, somewhat like the Navi equivalent of adrenaline. He hadn't felt this charged since... Momograve.
"How's it feel to be a NetPolice member, Et?" chimed in Harke, beaming with all that he was worth. Eternalis gave his operator a thumbs-up in response, saying, "Hey, if I could grab a look at whatever fancy weapons they're making, I'd take it. Maybe even tank it." Thumping his fist onto his abdomen, which rippled about in response, he stood back up. "Man, that battle was way too short. Got me all fired up and everything and now I'm just sitting here," he said, throwing some shadow punches.
Aurora stood back up as well, stretching out. "Yeah. Harke, any chance for another run? Please?" she pleaded. Harke scratched his head idly, thinking about the proposal. "Man, you guys don't give up--" he started, before being interrupted by someone suddenly grabbing onto his shoulders. He nearly leapt out of his seat before looking back to see his surprise companion. "... Oh, hey, dad."
Reverus smiled warmly as he peered over Harke's shoulder. "Finished your recruitment thing already?" he inquired. "Yeah, we're done, Reverus. I'm still pretty pumped, though, we didn't get much action," replied Eternalis, jumping about in place. "Same here," said Aurora, crossing her arms. Reverus chuckled, and snapped his fingers. "Well, they just recently opened NAXA's network up with a public link. Got a jumplink installed on the homepage portals if you want to check it out," explained Harke's father.
Both of the programs perked up upon hearing Reverus's announcement. "NAXA's network? Is that all like, space and stuff?" asked Harke, whose interest was also peaked. "Well, I don't know, I haven't seen it yet. Why don't you go ahead and I'll just take a peek at it right here?" said Reverus, a cryptic smile peeking out just at the edge of his lips. "All right, all right, fine," relented Harke, sighing as he placed his hand over the jack-in button on the PET's screen. "You guys up for it?"
"Ready."
"Raring to go."
"Sending... Jack in, Eternalis.EXE, Transmission," announced Harke, transferring Eternalis and Aurora into their homepage, who blinked out of sight. Reverus turned to look at the observation screen when he noticed the presence of a tiny one just next to it, fast asleep. "... Hm? Who's this little guy?" asked Reverus, pointing to the exhausted little armored puppy displayed in holograph on the coffee table.
[Jack In - NAXA Net]
"How's it feel to be a NetPolice member, Et?" chimed in Harke, beaming with all that he was worth. Eternalis gave his operator a thumbs-up in response, saying, "Hey, if I could grab a look at whatever fancy weapons they're making, I'd take it. Maybe even tank it." Thumping his fist onto his abdomen, which rippled about in response, he stood back up. "Man, that battle was way too short. Got me all fired up and everything and now I'm just sitting here," he said, throwing some shadow punches.
Aurora stood back up as well, stretching out. "Yeah. Harke, any chance for another run? Please?" she pleaded. Harke scratched his head idly, thinking about the proposal. "Man, you guys don't give up--" he started, before being interrupted by someone suddenly grabbing onto his shoulders. He nearly leapt out of his seat before looking back to see his surprise companion. "... Oh, hey, dad."
Reverus smiled warmly as he peered over Harke's shoulder. "Finished your recruitment thing already?" he inquired. "Yeah, we're done, Reverus. I'm still pretty pumped, though, we didn't get much action," replied Eternalis, jumping about in place. "Same here," said Aurora, crossing her arms. Reverus chuckled, and snapped his fingers. "Well, they just recently opened NAXA's network up with a public link. Got a jumplink installed on the homepage portals if you want to check it out," explained Harke's father.
Both of the programs perked up upon hearing Reverus's announcement. "NAXA's network? Is that all like, space and stuff?" asked Harke, whose interest was also peaked. "Well, I don't know, I haven't seen it yet. Why don't you go ahead and I'll just take a peek at it right here?" said Reverus, a cryptic smile peeking out just at the edge of his lips. "All right, all right, fine," relented Harke, sighing as he placed his hand over the jack-in button on the PET's screen. "You guys up for it?"
"Ready."
"Raring to go."
"Sending... Jack in, Eternalis.EXE, Transmission," announced Harke, transferring Eternalis and Aurora into their homepage, who blinked out of sight. Reverus turned to look at the observation screen when he noticed the presence of a tiny one just next to it, fast asleep. "... Hm? Who's this little guy?" asked Reverus, pointing to the exhausted little armored puppy displayed in holograph on the coffee table.
[Jack In - NAXA Net]
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[Random shit about jacking out from NAXA Rogue here, going out to the shop, etc.]
The clock on the wall beeped twice at the start of the new hour, and Harke rolled over in his bed. Okay, so it was already 12 AM, and he was still restless. Grumbling at his predicament, he wandered mindlessly to the kitchen, and forced down a glass of water. One hour later, he repeated the motion, if only to quench a dry throat and wet his lips. It didn't really help any. His eyes wandered over to his desktop, and seconds later, the screen lit up. For a moment, he wondered about something, and checked his PET.
"... Oh, hello," his Navi said, surprisingly also wide awake, considering the long day that he and his companion had. Harke only managed a lifeless stare, and they did nothing but that for about five minutes or so. Eternalis made a little gesture towards the lit-up screen besides Harke, and put up a single finger. "Just you?" his operator whispered, to which he nodded.
... Maybe some busting would help him let off some steam to get some sleep. Eh, why not, he shrugged, as the command was sent to jack in, headed towards their last destination.
[Destination: NAXA Rogue Net]
The clock on the wall beeped twice at the start of the new hour, and Harke rolled over in his bed. Okay, so it was already 12 AM, and he was still restless. Grumbling at his predicament, he wandered mindlessly to the kitchen, and forced down a glass of water. One hour later, he repeated the motion, if only to quench a dry throat and wet his lips. It didn't really help any. His eyes wandered over to his desktop, and seconds later, the screen lit up. For a moment, he wondered about something, and checked his PET.
"... Oh, hello," his Navi said, surprisingly also wide awake, considering the long day that he and his companion had. Harke only managed a lifeless stare, and they did nothing but that for about five minutes or so. Eternalis made a little gesture towards the lit-up screen besides Harke, and put up a single finger. "Just you?" his operator whispered, to which he nodded.
... Maybe some busting would help him let off some steam to get some sleep. Eh, why not, he shrugged, as the command was sent to jack in, headed towards their last destination.
[Destination: NAXA Rogue Net]
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While the Emergency Jack Out transfer was finishing, frantic clicks and taps could be heard through the darkened room, with its only occupant being a mess of emotions. The emergency diagnostics screen on the PET was duplicated on the computer's monitor. Nothing seemed to be working as he tried to test several of Eternalis' functions. Even worse, when he tried to do a second run of tests, the modules screamed accusations of "invalid references" and "corrupted files", in dialog boxes that displayed big, red stop signs. The only thing running, as if to mock his efforts, was Eternalis' damage regeneration module, which was "backing up" and "restoring" parts every time he looked at the screen.
"No, no, no! Argh!" he exclaimed, angrily yanking the PET cable from his computer. Scrambling to get out of his room, Harke crashed off his chair and onto the ground. Managing to break his fall with his arm, he then limped out the door. "Ugh... ow..." he groaned, having twisted his ankle in his panic. One hand clutching his leg and the other on his PET's handle, he hopped towards the living room. With both his hands occupied, he thumped his head against the wall several times, finding the light switch on the eighth try.
Letting go of his leg, he hopped over to the main PC in the middle of the living room, and slumped into the chair in front of it. After he jammed the startup button with his pressing, every second was spent quietly cursing the loading screens that the computer had to give him. He could feel the bile in his throat rise, his mouth was dry, and he could feel his ragged breathing raze his lungs. He was so focused in front of him that he couldn't hear the sliding door open behind him.
"Harke? What in the hell are you doing at three AM knocking down furniture?"
Harke looked over at the first aid kit on the coffee table and the bandages in his hand, and leaned further back on the hard wooden chair. The constant tapping and clicking of the keyboard and mouse from the main computer droned into his ears. He looked up again at the multitude of monitors set into the wall. From what he could understand, there was a rogue process within Eternalis' self-healing program, causing it instead to write up a bunch of dead-end code everywhere into the Navi's systems. Fair enough, Reverus had said, all they had to do was force close the process. A simple /kill would be enough.
Except every attempt he'd had at sending the command, even though Eternalis was clearly at zero HP integrity, wasn't going through. Instead, it simply force closed a different part of the Navi's processes, plenty of which, by then, had been overrun by errors anyhow. The Sharo researcher clicked his tongue almost every minute. Harke had tried to offer his help at least twice, but simply received a shake of the head. With dark circles under his eyes and a suspicious-looking smile on his lips, he had said, "Go get me some coffee."
The mug on the floor near his feet had been refilled four times on Harke's count, give or take one or two, thanks to him nodding off almost as many times. As he leaned back further into the chair, his tiredness finally gave out, and he was out cold. Reverus glanced for a moment to his side. After scowling for however long at the screen, the father smiled as he shook his head.
"Haaaaaa... you two sure look chipper."
Reverus didn't have to turn his head for this voice, as he heard Karen yawn and shuffle over behind him. His daughter propped herself up by the back of his chair as she sleepily scanned the screens in front of her. His notes were all over one of the screens, messily scattered about in several windows. She peered down to meet her father's gaze, and held a staring contest for a few seconds before poking his forehead. "What, do you expect me to do something about it?" she said, gesturing with her head towards a corner of the room.
Reverus blinked, and stood up in a huff. Stretching out his body with some joint-cracking to spice, he hobbled towards the kitchen. "Scrambled eggs and rye, cheese--"
"The usual, AND I want the good cheese you stowed behind the guacamole," interrupted Karen, twirling her finger with a mischievous smile.
Her father's eyes went wide, and he leapt towards the fridge. "Oh, come on!" he yelled indignantly, as Karen let out a giggle. She turned back to the screen, and cracked her knuckles. She'd had enough rest, and it seemed like something interesting happened while she was sleeping. "All right, let's hope those scrambled eggs are extra special!"
"Yeah, so I dismantled him, and it turns out it's rebuilding an entirely new program inside of the poor guy."
Karen shoved a mouthful of toast into her mouth as she explained her findings, with Reverus nodding periodically like a bobblehead. She had taken the blitzkrieg route and stripped Eternalis of all of his application container, bit by bit, until barely a few remained that were hard-linked to his core emblem. The end result was that she was able to freeze the rogue healing process indefinitely, being unable to infect any more processes to synthesize its new form.
"Still, I thought it was writing gibberish. It was actually just overwriting it with actual code?"
"Yep," replied Karen. "Seems we can't extract the little bugger without letting him take over the entire container, though. That seriously sucks. It's like having ingrown hairs." Reverus grimaced at the comparison, downing a mug of tea instead of coffee. "Do we really want to do that? That sounds horrific."
"Ironically, yes, if we don't want to irreparably screw up Eternalis' personality core. Once it takes over enough, it'll have to let go of its control to overwrite the core properly. We'll just have to beat it up a bit just before that happens, then yank it off," explained Karen, with her hand gesturing a claw to illustrate her point. Reverus nodded slightly, then started up in his seat.
"Wait wait wait, hold on, we're not outright deleting it? Seriously?" the man said, his brow furrowed incredulously.
Karen looked off to the side, somewhat conflicted. She knew her father was more in the right. What she found, however, was incredible, and she could not let it go without a fight. "But, I mean... I've never seen this--"
"Karen, you can't do this. We're not keeping a specimen or whatever you're cooking up," retorted Reverus firmly.
"..."
The young Sharo-born prodigy daughter pouted as she hugged herself. She thought of how Reverus described her brother's frantic explanations, and stared down at the orange juice inside her glass. Swirling it around reminded her of someone as she wondered how they were handling the issue.
"Uh... excuse me?"
Both of them looked to the side, as a petite figure appeared before them, flickering as the hologram began to stabilize from the PET display. Clad in a white and cream-colored armored bodysuit, she raised her hand.
"Can I just say something?"
"No, no, no! Argh!" he exclaimed, angrily yanking the PET cable from his computer. Scrambling to get out of his room, Harke crashed off his chair and onto the ground. Managing to break his fall with his arm, he then limped out the door. "Ugh... ow..." he groaned, having twisted his ankle in his panic. One hand clutching his leg and the other on his PET's handle, he hopped towards the living room. With both his hands occupied, he thumped his head against the wall several times, finding the light switch on the eighth try.
Letting go of his leg, he hopped over to the main PC in the middle of the living room, and slumped into the chair in front of it. After he jammed the startup button with his pressing, every second was spent quietly cursing the loading screens that the computer had to give him. He could feel the bile in his throat rise, his mouth was dry, and he could feel his ragged breathing raze his lungs. He was so focused in front of him that he couldn't hear the sliding door open behind him.
"Harke? What in the hell are you doing at three AM knocking down furniture?"
Harke looked over at the first aid kit on the coffee table and the bandages in his hand, and leaned further back on the hard wooden chair. The constant tapping and clicking of the keyboard and mouse from the main computer droned into his ears. He looked up again at the multitude of monitors set into the wall. From what he could understand, there was a rogue process within Eternalis' self-healing program, causing it instead to write up a bunch of dead-end code everywhere into the Navi's systems. Fair enough, Reverus had said, all they had to do was force close the process. A simple /kill would be enough.
Except every attempt he'd had at sending the command, even though Eternalis was clearly at zero HP integrity, wasn't going through. Instead, it simply force closed a different part of the Navi's processes, plenty of which, by then, had been overrun by errors anyhow. The Sharo researcher clicked his tongue almost every minute. Harke had tried to offer his help at least twice, but simply received a shake of the head. With dark circles under his eyes and a suspicious-looking smile on his lips, he had said, "Go get me some coffee."
The mug on the floor near his feet had been refilled four times on Harke's count, give or take one or two, thanks to him nodding off almost as many times. As he leaned back further into the chair, his tiredness finally gave out, and he was out cold. Reverus glanced for a moment to his side. After scowling for however long at the screen, the father smiled as he shook his head.
"Haaaaaa... you two sure look chipper."
Reverus didn't have to turn his head for this voice, as he heard Karen yawn and shuffle over behind him. His daughter propped herself up by the back of his chair as she sleepily scanned the screens in front of her. His notes were all over one of the screens, messily scattered about in several windows. She peered down to meet her father's gaze, and held a staring contest for a few seconds before poking his forehead. "What, do you expect me to do something about it?" she said, gesturing with her head towards a corner of the room.
Reverus blinked, and stood up in a huff. Stretching out his body with some joint-cracking to spice, he hobbled towards the kitchen. "Scrambled eggs and rye, cheese--"
"The usual, AND I want the good cheese you stowed behind the guacamole," interrupted Karen, twirling her finger with a mischievous smile.
Her father's eyes went wide, and he leapt towards the fridge. "Oh, come on!" he yelled indignantly, as Karen let out a giggle. She turned back to the screen, and cracked her knuckles. She'd had enough rest, and it seemed like something interesting happened while she was sleeping. "All right, let's hope those scrambled eggs are extra special!"
"Yeah, so I dismantled him, and it turns out it's rebuilding an entirely new program inside of the poor guy."
Karen shoved a mouthful of toast into her mouth as she explained her findings, with Reverus nodding periodically like a bobblehead. She had taken the blitzkrieg route and stripped Eternalis of all of his application container, bit by bit, until barely a few remained that were hard-linked to his core emblem. The end result was that she was able to freeze the rogue healing process indefinitely, being unable to infect any more processes to synthesize its new form.
"Still, I thought it was writing gibberish. It was actually just overwriting it with actual code?"
"Yep," replied Karen. "Seems we can't extract the little bugger without letting him take over the entire container, though. That seriously sucks. It's like having ingrown hairs." Reverus grimaced at the comparison, downing a mug of tea instead of coffee. "Do we really want to do that? That sounds horrific."
"Ironically, yes, if we don't want to irreparably screw up Eternalis' personality core. Once it takes over enough, it'll have to let go of its control to overwrite the core properly. We'll just have to beat it up a bit just before that happens, then yank it off," explained Karen, with her hand gesturing a claw to illustrate her point. Reverus nodded slightly, then started up in his seat.
"Wait wait wait, hold on, we're not outright deleting it? Seriously?" the man said, his brow furrowed incredulously.
Karen looked off to the side, somewhat conflicted. She knew her father was more in the right. What she found, however, was incredible, and she could not let it go without a fight. "But, I mean... I've never seen this--"
"Karen, you can't do this. We're not keeping a specimen or whatever you're cooking up," retorted Reverus firmly.
"..."
The young Sharo-born prodigy daughter pouted as she hugged herself. She thought of how Reverus described her brother's frantic explanations, and stared down at the orange juice inside her glass. Swirling it around reminded her of someone as she wondered how they were handling the issue.
"Uh... excuse me?"
Both of them looked to the side, as a petite figure appeared before them, flickering as the hologram began to stabilize from the PET display. Clad in a white and cream-colored armored bodysuit, she raised her hand.
"Can I just say something?"
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"I still don't agree with this."
"Don't be such a stick in the mud, pop, c'mon," grinned Karen as she typed in the last of the configuration on the migration software. A few clicks on some confirmation screens and a progress bar began to fill up rapidly on the screen. Both of them watched wwth trepidation as the process completed itself. Meanwhile, someone murmured something and shuffled around on the couch behind them. They heard an audible ping after the bar filled, and Karen loaded up the holographic display.
A human figure flickered about, with blocks of color loading in cycles. The figure defined itself shortly as Aurora, who shook her white hair about after being loaded. Reverus raised an eyebrow. "Well, that looks different," he commented. The support program examined herself; her new appearance intrigued her. Her cream-colored armor was entirely replaced by a blue version, with greyish trim. A cursory glance would tell anyone that it looked extremely similar to Eternalis' armor, except for a few key differences. For one, his blue countenance was replaced by Aurora's whitish bodysuit, and from the top half of the armor, an entire chunk from her right side was missing. The emblem that had been on that side was now on the left, as was originally on Aurora's previous appearance. Its shimmering gold shine pumped Aurora's spirits as she looked back up at Karen.
"Told you I could do it," laughed Karen as she leaned back in her chair.
"Yeah, it feels pretty nostalgic. You disabled the signature attack protocols, though?" said Aurora, raising her buster and mimicking a few shots to test out her ability.
"That thing's why we're in this mess in the first place. You're still using his NetNavi container, y'know. Should be able to receive battlechips just fine, though, lemme test one," the older sister said, pulling out a Cannon from her pocket and sticking it into the laptop she was working on. The green camera-like cannon immediately materialized on Aurora's arm, and she pointed it at the floor. Crack went the barrel, and she let the cannon dissipate with a smile.
"Well, I'm good to go over here if you two are done," said Reverus, spinning around in his swivel chair at the main terminal. Karen and Aurora both looked up at the screen, where their main efforts were being focused. The former put up a hand to her mouth, while the latter continued to stare. A gurgling mass of purple was shown on the screen, surrounded by tight bands of light. They could vaguely make out a hulking human form being made out by the thick goo. Various tubes, tendrils and tissues snaked in and out of the mass, with most of them centering around two appendages on its left and right. The thing appeared to struggle periodically, but when it touched the bands of light, immediately retracted.
All three of them were mostly focused on the front, where a person's chest would be. Within the dark purple recesses of the slime, a small blue light pulsed periodically. Eternalis' emblem, holding his core programming, was still visible. Every few seconds, the purple mass around it would attempt to engulf it, but somehow, it would always resurface somewhere else. A weak gurgle could be heard every time it did so. Aurora stared resolutely at the screen, and clenched her fist.
"Break a leg, you two," said Karen, jabbing her younger brother's shoulder.
Harke rubbed the spot with a wry smile, and glanced down at his PET's screen. "Ready, Aurora?"
"Whenever you are," the SP-turned-Navi replied back.
The operator turned back to the screen, currently displaying his former Navi. Closing his eyes, he drew a deep breath. "Jack in, Aurora.EXE, Transmission."
[Jack In - SciLab Net/Private Area]
"Don't be such a stick in the mud, pop, c'mon," grinned Karen as she typed in the last of the configuration on the migration software. A few clicks on some confirmation screens and a progress bar began to fill up rapidly on the screen. Both of them watched wwth trepidation as the process completed itself. Meanwhile, someone murmured something and shuffled around on the couch behind them. They heard an audible ping after the bar filled, and Karen loaded up the holographic display.
A human figure flickered about, with blocks of color loading in cycles. The figure defined itself shortly as Aurora, who shook her white hair about after being loaded. Reverus raised an eyebrow. "Well, that looks different," he commented. The support program examined herself; her new appearance intrigued her. Her cream-colored armor was entirely replaced by a blue version, with greyish trim. A cursory glance would tell anyone that it looked extremely similar to Eternalis' armor, except for a few key differences. For one, his blue countenance was replaced by Aurora's whitish bodysuit, and from the top half of the armor, an entire chunk from her right side was missing. The emblem that had been on that side was now on the left, as was originally on Aurora's previous appearance. Its shimmering gold shine pumped Aurora's spirits as she looked back up at Karen.
"Told you I could do it," laughed Karen as she leaned back in her chair.
"Yeah, it feels pretty nostalgic. You disabled the signature attack protocols, though?" said Aurora, raising her buster and mimicking a few shots to test out her ability.
"That thing's why we're in this mess in the first place. You're still using his NetNavi container, y'know. Should be able to receive battlechips just fine, though, lemme test one," the older sister said, pulling out a Cannon from her pocket and sticking it into the laptop she was working on. The green camera-like cannon immediately materialized on Aurora's arm, and she pointed it at the floor. Crack went the barrel, and she let the cannon dissipate with a smile.
"Well, I'm good to go over here if you two are done," said Reverus, spinning around in his swivel chair at the main terminal. Karen and Aurora both looked up at the screen, where their main efforts were being focused. The former put up a hand to her mouth, while the latter continued to stare. A gurgling mass of purple was shown on the screen, surrounded by tight bands of light. They could vaguely make out a hulking human form being made out by the thick goo. Various tubes, tendrils and tissues snaked in and out of the mass, with most of them centering around two appendages on its left and right. The thing appeared to struggle periodically, but when it touched the bands of light, immediately retracted.
All three of them were mostly focused on the front, where a person's chest would be. Within the dark purple recesses of the slime, a small blue light pulsed periodically. Eternalis' emblem, holding his core programming, was still visible. Every few seconds, the purple mass around it would attempt to engulf it, but somehow, it would always resurface somewhere else. A weak gurgle could be heard every time it did so. Aurora stared resolutely at the screen, and clenched her fist.
"Break a leg, you two," said Karen, jabbing her younger brother's shoulder.
Harke rubbed the spot with a wry smile, and glanced down at his PET's screen. "Ready, Aurora?"
"Whenever you are," the SP-turned-Navi replied back.
The operator turned back to the screen, currently displaying his former Navi. Closing his eyes, he drew a deep breath. "Jack in, Aurora.EXE, Transmission."
[Jack In - SciLab Net/Private Area]