[>> Earth to Terra - NAXA Rogue Net.]
"Sorry you didn't get to see much, Terra. I just want you to be safe," said Scarlet, as she sipped the last of her coffee, looking at the small projected screen of her PET display Terra's image, safely within the local network once more. Terra responded with a small smile.
"It's all right. I've made you worry for me enough," replied Terra. "Do you need to suspend my execution for the analysis?"
"Yeah, it shouldn't take too long, hopefully. You can head back out once I'm done," said Scarlet, already pulling up a few more holo-windows in her vicinity to start off.
"... All right. Good night," said Terra, closing her eyes as she prepared to enter standby mode.
Scarlet lingered for a moment, watching the serene look on her Navi's face. Somehow, it felt like just yesterday that she saw just the same face in her own room in her Yumland home, ready to start up for the first time. "... Good night, Terra," she said, starting the standby mode and causing Terra's image to disappear from the screen. She stared at the blank screen for a few moments, before getting up, and heading towards the coffee table next to her bed to dial a number on her phone. A few curt words were exchanged over the phone, before she put down the handle.
Soon after, a knock on the door revealed a hotel staff member, whom Scarlet unceremoniously dumped a few chips and a zenny card onto, before nodding silently and closing the door.
Second Home
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Scratching her head in frustration, Scarlet stopped her long session of poring over the data that she could lift from analyzing the odd data remnants Luke had found in Terra's processes. She knew they were doing something, after all, they were taking in and feeding data at a huge rate. However, it seemed to do little more than provide data of the same type as her geosensitive processes, except now it wasn't limited through the ground; she could now sense more things through the air itself. What was more puzzling was that it integrated so well into her systems such that it demanded no additional resources, but how it did so was that it reconfigured itself to slot right in between her normal operations, and so had essentially zero overhead.
In all respects, it was a deeply rooted exploit that could, by all rights, completely take over her system and crash it spectacularly. Instead, it did nothing of the sort, and provided a straight upgrade to her fighting capability while also exposing itself just enough that one could simply disable it with a simple user-level command. Which, of course, she did right away, but it was still puzzling to her. In the middle of her puzzlement, she heard a knock at the door, which she was quick to answer. The exhausted-looking hotel staff there poured out the tiny pile of chips that had resulted from her earlier request, and she nodded with a satisfied smile before leaving a small credit chit to the stumpy young man.
Sorting some of the new chips into her folder, she started booting up Terra at the same time, with her face appearing on the PET screen soon after, blinking a few times after being roused from the standby mode. "Hey, Terra. How do you feel?" she asked.
Terra closed her eyes for a moment before answering. "... Good, same as always," she said, opening her eyes. "Did you find out what was bothering you?"
Scarlet tilted her head, scratching the back of her ear with an irritated twitch of her lips. "No, I haven't quite finished it yet. I'll have to ask Luke what he thinks about it when he wakes up. That said, I've disabled the relevant things, so if you want to head back out, I'm free to operate. You could get another one of those bounties from last time."
Terra's expression seemed concerned at the start of the statement, sensing her operator's worries, though she still managed to show a slight smile to the latter part. "Yes, I'd like to continue. Send me in."
"Alright," said Scarlet, waving her Navi off as she disappeared from the screen and into the network.
[>> Assistant to the Regional Manager - Netfrica Net.]
In all respects, it was a deeply rooted exploit that could, by all rights, completely take over her system and crash it spectacularly. Instead, it did nothing of the sort, and provided a straight upgrade to her fighting capability while also exposing itself just enough that one could simply disable it with a simple user-level command. Which, of course, she did right away, but it was still puzzling to her. In the middle of her puzzlement, she heard a knock at the door, which she was quick to answer. The exhausted-looking hotel staff there poured out the tiny pile of chips that had resulted from her earlier request, and she nodded with a satisfied smile before leaving a small credit chit to the stumpy young man.
Sorting some of the new chips into her folder, she started booting up Terra at the same time, with her face appearing on the PET screen soon after, blinking a few times after being roused from the standby mode. "Hey, Terra. How do you feel?" she asked.
Terra closed her eyes for a moment before answering. "... Good, same as always," she said, opening her eyes. "Did you find out what was bothering you?"
Scarlet tilted her head, scratching the back of her ear with an irritated twitch of her lips. "No, I haven't quite finished it yet. I'll have to ask Luke what he thinks about it when he wakes up. That said, I've disabled the relevant things, so if you want to head back out, I'm free to operate. You could get another one of those bounties from last time."
Terra's expression seemed concerned at the start of the statement, sensing her operator's worries, though she still managed to show a slight smile to the latter part. "Yes, I'd like to continue. Send me in."
"Alright," said Scarlet, waving her Navi off as she disappeared from the screen and into the network.
[>> Assistant to the Regional Manager - Netfrica Net.]
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[>> Navi Net-Shop - Commercial Area.]
Returning to the PET, Terra reappeared on Scarlet's PET display, her eyes closed as she took a deep breath. Exhaling for some time, she opened her eyes, and shook her head slightly. "I'm back," she said.
"Welcome back," replied Scarlet, resting her cheek on her hand. "How was that trip? Did you feel anything off when you were fighting, compared to before you met that thing in Okuden's network?" The hint of worry that had been there since the Okuden encounter had not left her voice, and she was also glancing at some of the status readouts that passively recorded Terra's systems. Nothing out of the ordinary thus far, she noted.
Terra raised her hands and turned them about, clenching them tightly before unclenching them. She generated a lump of earth in her palm and rolled it between her fingers for a few moments, before allowing it to disappear. For a few moments, she didn't say anything. "Physically, nothing feels any different. The virus battles didn't feel any different at all, and I've been able to fight as I've done before," said Terra, focusing on her hand. Her fingers kept moving, as if the lump of earth was still in her hand. "But aside from that, now that I'm back from going around, it feels like there's a small nagging feeling at the back of my mind, that makes me want to move out and explore again again."
Her fingers stopped moving, and she stared at the empty space between them. "It's like the feeling I had in that trip in the Okuden network, searching for something. But it doesn't feel like I'm looking for something in particular. It almost feels like... like I just want to experience 'searching around'," she said.
After Terra's explanation, Scarlet looked a little more relieved. "Well, that does sound like something that your core might do."
"My core?"
"It's based on a search program that I was using as a base, when I started programming you. You'd be naturally inclined to explore and search, scoping out data patterns from different networks and such. Those patterns are what shapes your terrain modification subroutines. I named the core the 'Archive', since you'd be collecting these patterns and learning from them," explained Scarlet.
"I see... That does make sense," muttered Terra.
"Does it bother you?"
Terra shook her head. "No, I don't really mind it. I've had you at my back all this time, and my experiences have been interesting. Still," she said, stopping momentarily as she began to fidget. "I don't want to bother you to operate me all the time... I haven't gotten strong enough to explore by myself safely," she said. Looking to her side, Terra spotted Carbide, still asleep in her homepage area. "I don't want to put Carbide in danger either."
Covering half of her face, Scarlet exhaled slightly. Behind her hand, her expression seemed conflicted. "That's true, I wouldn't want to see you put yourself in danger either..." she mused, idly scanning over the readouts. "Oh, but the upgrades you've gotten recently should help with sustaining by yourself. If you keep to the less dangerous Normal layer of the network, rather than the Rogue layer, it should be more than enough to deal with any threats you might find. I think you've proven that you can handle yourself pretty well." Her eyes lingered back to Terra's face.
"How about it? Do you want to try heading out by yourself?" asked Scarlet. Terra's expression seemed somewhat complicated, and she didn't answer immediately. Scarlet continued, "It doesn't have to be right now. If you want to give it a try, I'll leave the connection online, and I can leave the operating hands-off, to see how you feel about it. Maybe walk around one of the Electric-aligned networks, so you can handle any of the nasty things that might pop up."
Terra nodded. "I'll think about it."
Returning to the PET, Terra reappeared on Scarlet's PET display, her eyes closed as she took a deep breath. Exhaling for some time, she opened her eyes, and shook her head slightly. "I'm back," she said.
"Welcome back," replied Scarlet, resting her cheek on her hand. "How was that trip? Did you feel anything off when you were fighting, compared to before you met that thing in Okuden's network?" The hint of worry that had been there since the Okuden encounter had not left her voice, and she was also glancing at some of the status readouts that passively recorded Terra's systems. Nothing out of the ordinary thus far, she noted.
Terra raised her hands and turned them about, clenching them tightly before unclenching them. She generated a lump of earth in her palm and rolled it between her fingers for a few moments, before allowing it to disappear. For a few moments, she didn't say anything. "Physically, nothing feels any different. The virus battles didn't feel any different at all, and I've been able to fight as I've done before," said Terra, focusing on her hand. Her fingers kept moving, as if the lump of earth was still in her hand. "But aside from that, now that I'm back from going around, it feels like there's a small nagging feeling at the back of my mind, that makes me want to move out and explore again again."
Her fingers stopped moving, and she stared at the empty space between them. "It's like the feeling I had in that trip in the Okuden network, searching for something. But it doesn't feel like I'm looking for something in particular. It almost feels like... like I just want to experience 'searching around'," she said.
After Terra's explanation, Scarlet looked a little more relieved. "Well, that does sound like something that your core might do."
"My core?"
"It's based on a search program that I was using as a base, when I started programming you. You'd be naturally inclined to explore and search, scoping out data patterns from different networks and such. Those patterns are what shapes your terrain modification subroutines. I named the core the 'Archive', since you'd be collecting these patterns and learning from them," explained Scarlet.
"I see... That does make sense," muttered Terra.
"Does it bother you?"
Terra shook her head. "No, I don't really mind it. I've had you at my back all this time, and my experiences have been interesting. Still," she said, stopping momentarily as she began to fidget. "I don't want to bother you to operate me all the time... I haven't gotten strong enough to explore by myself safely," she said. Looking to her side, Terra spotted Carbide, still asleep in her homepage area. "I don't want to put Carbide in danger either."
Covering half of her face, Scarlet exhaled slightly. Behind her hand, her expression seemed conflicted. "That's true, I wouldn't want to see you put yourself in danger either..." she mused, idly scanning over the readouts. "Oh, but the upgrades you've gotten recently should help with sustaining by yourself. If you keep to the less dangerous Normal layer of the network, rather than the Rogue layer, it should be more than enough to deal with any threats you might find. I think you've proven that you can handle yourself pretty well." Her eyes lingered back to Terra's face.
"How about it? Do you want to try heading out by yourself?" asked Scarlet. Terra's expression seemed somewhat complicated, and she didn't answer immediately. Scarlet continued, "It doesn't have to be right now. If you want to give it a try, I'll leave the connection online, and I can leave the operating hands-off, to see how you feel about it. Maybe walk around one of the Electric-aligned networks, so you can handle any of the nasty things that might pop up."
Terra nodded. "I'll think about it."
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For a while, Terra kept to herself, and spent her time about her PET's homepage. The space was modeled after a small forest clearing in the middle of an impassably dense forest, with some elements carefully selected to blend in with the environment. Carbide seemed to be sleeping on a bush of leaves, using a thick branch from a nearby tree to rest her head on, but anyone lying down on it would feel the same feeling of sleeping on a normal bed and pillow. It was no wonder, then, that she was snoring away on her stomach. Of the time she spent not walking about the area, Terra spent the time sitting next to Carbide, watching the little one sleep as she propped her arms up on her legs, and rested her head on her hands.
Eventually, her gaze trailed over towards the homepage's exit transfer pad. The transfer area was tucked away in the corner as an archway made out of a pair of trees, branches, and vines, forming a sort of tunnel that led into "the rest of the forest".
Scarlet had went out for a walk, saying that she had strained herself too much on trying to figure out what had affected her earlier. In all likelihood, it was most likely to leave her alone to think about her proposition. Intentionally going out by herself would definitely be a first. There would still be a safety net in the form of her emergency jackout, but the loss of her battlechips would certainly feel a bit different, and there was the risk of a malicious party erecting a jackout barrier.
As she continued to think, some movement caught her eye; Carbide yawned as she roused herself awake. Noticing Terra next to her, the girl sleepily murmured a "good morning" to her.
Terra turned her gaze back to Carbide, as a smile crept onto her lips. "Did you sleep well?"
Carbide propped herself up to sit on the bed, rubbing at her eyes sleepily with a rosy expression. "Yeah," she said. "Anything happen while I was asleep?"
"Exploring through a couple of networks," answered Terra matter-of-factly.
"What, really?!" Carbide's eyes shot open, and her body immediately straightened up on the bed. Terra replied with silence as she turned away, but the amused smile on her face was all that was needed for Carbide to hold her head in exaggerated anguish. She then allowed herself to fall back onto the bed.
"Ahhhh, I wanted to come too!" she exclaimed, stretching her limbs out and waving them about in a mock tantrum.
"I thought you might have needed a break after the extended trip in Okuden," explained Terra. Her gaze went down slightly as she paused. "Given, well... what happened towards the end."
The younger of the two halted her antics and sat back up, frowning. "Are you still worrying about that?"
Terra turned her head away further, covering more of her face with her hand. "I just don't want to see you getting hurt..." she murmured through her fingers.
Exasperated, Carbide pouted. Balling up a fist, she began growing a rocky ball around it, and swung it about with wide swings at nothing in particular. After a few swings, the rock detached from her hand and flew across the room, landing on the ground with a pronounced impact. As the ball landed, Carbide let out a sigh. "I like exploring with you, Terra. That includes the fighting part, too. It's not like I'm forcing myself to do it," said Carbide. "I'm gonna get stronger so I can help you fight better."
Terra closed her eyes, not replying for some time. Carbide sat quietly, waiting for her Navi's reply; she knew that Terra often took some time to respond to things. After a minute of silence, Terra opened her eyes, and stood up, sitting on the bed next to Carbide. "Scarlet mentioned that I could head out without her operation. It could be dangerous. What do you think?" she asked, turning to Carbide.
Eventually, her gaze trailed over towards the homepage's exit transfer pad. The transfer area was tucked away in the corner as an archway made out of a pair of trees, branches, and vines, forming a sort of tunnel that led into "the rest of the forest".
Scarlet had went out for a walk, saying that she had strained herself too much on trying to figure out what had affected her earlier. In all likelihood, it was most likely to leave her alone to think about her proposition. Intentionally going out by herself would definitely be a first. There would still be a safety net in the form of her emergency jackout, but the loss of her battlechips would certainly feel a bit different, and there was the risk of a malicious party erecting a jackout barrier.
As she continued to think, some movement caught her eye; Carbide yawned as she roused herself awake. Noticing Terra next to her, the girl sleepily murmured a "good morning" to her.
Terra turned her gaze back to Carbide, as a smile crept onto her lips. "Did you sleep well?"
Carbide propped herself up to sit on the bed, rubbing at her eyes sleepily with a rosy expression. "Yeah," she said. "Anything happen while I was asleep?"
"Exploring through a couple of networks," answered Terra matter-of-factly.
"What, really?!" Carbide's eyes shot open, and her body immediately straightened up on the bed. Terra replied with silence as she turned away, but the amused smile on her face was all that was needed for Carbide to hold her head in exaggerated anguish. She then allowed herself to fall back onto the bed.
"Ahhhh, I wanted to come too!" she exclaimed, stretching her limbs out and waving them about in a mock tantrum.
"I thought you might have needed a break after the extended trip in Okuden," explained Terra. Her gaze went down slightly as she paused. "Given, well... what happened towards the end."
The younger of the two halted her antics and sat back up, frowning. "Are you still worrying about that?"
Terra turned her head away further, covering more of her face with her hand. "I just don't want to see you getting hurt..." she murmured through her fingers.
Exasperated, Carbide pouted. Balling up a fist, she began growing a rocky ball around it, and swung it about with wide swings at nothing in particular. After a few swings, the rock detached from her hand and flew across the room, landing on the ground with a pronounced impact. As the ball landed, Carbide let out a sigh. "I like exploring with you, Terra. That includes the fighting part, too. It's not like I'm forcing myself to do it," said Carbide. "I'm gonna get stronger so I can help you fight better."
Terra closed her eyes, not replying for some time. Carbide sat quietly, waiting for her Navi's reply; she knew that Terra often took some time to respond to things. After a minute of silence, Terra opened her eyes, and stood up, sitting on the bed next to Carbide. "Scarlet mentioned that I could head out without her operation. It could be dangerous. What do you think?" she asked, turning to Carbide.
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Carbide's eyes sparkled in excitement. "That sounds exciting! I'll use everything I've got to back you up," said Carbide, pumping her fists in front of her.
A small smile crept onto Terra's face. She then suddenly drew Carbide into a tight embrace. "I'll be relying on you, then," said Terra.
Taken by surprise, Carbide had frozen up briefly in bewilderment, but then relaxed as she returned the hug. "Thanks, Terra. I'll do my b--" she said, before her sentence abruptly cut off, and she slumped over onto Terra's shoulder. Terra lowered the small girl's body onto the bed, which was now quite different from what it was before. Carbide's body was now completely bare of everything she had before--her clothes, her rocky growths, and even her hair tie had all vanished. Instead, now in Terra's hand was a sharp blue-grey shard of rock, of the same color that Carbide had had on her person just moments prior. She turned it around in her hand and inspected it for a few moments. Then, reaching behind her with it, she impaled her own back with it, directly in between her shoulderblades.
Her eyes glowed a dim blue briefly as the shard sunk into her skin, leaving a short spire jutting out of her back. Terra then flexed her body slightly, causing the same rocky growths to suddenly extrude out of her body in lines radiating out from her back. Down her arms and legs, the rock grew out rapidly like spines, before she took a deep breath, and retracted the spines back into her body. Looking down at her hand, she clenched it tightly; a large tower shield made of stone immediately produced itself out of her forearm, causing her to lose her balance slightly. She tested its weight for a moment, swinging it some couple of times before allowing it to crumble away.
Afterwards, Terra turned towards Carbide, passed out on the bed. Her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed in conflict, as she stood silently and stared for some time.
"Whoa, that's kind of trippy."
Terra's eyes widened as she recoiled from the voice. Immediately looking down at Carbide, Terra saw that she was still down for the count, but the voice she had heard was clearly Carbide's. "Y'know, I look pretty cute when I'm asleep. Heh, I guess I know why you made me like that," Carbide's voice said again, its origin still unclear. Terra's eyes darted around, before she stopped for a moment, and called out to nowhere in particular, "Carbide?"
"Terra! This is super weird... I guess I'm inside you somehow? At least I think so. Can't think of any other reason why I'm looking at myself," Carbide's voice said, ringing inside her head like a persistent thought. Suddenly, Terra felt something like an electrical spark run through her. Her body was then caught off balance abruptly by a huge weight that grew out from her forearm--a large tower shield. The rocky spines that she had retracted earlier burst out again, this time without her own will driving them.
"Oh, my power's attached to your body now! That's weird... Sorry! Hang on..." said Carbide, as all of the rocky implements disintegrated as quickly as they arrived. Terra looked down at her own hands, and moved them slowly, as if to confirm her control over her own body. Halfway through clenching her own fist, her hands halted, tensing up as she suddenly lost control of them. "Crap, uh, sorry, didn't mean to do that..." muttered Carbide, and Terra once again had control of her fingers.
"... This is going to take some getting used to," said Terra.
"Yeah... it's a new experience, for sure," said Carbide. Terra nodded to herself, and began to assert control of her body once more, trying out her previous terraforming abilities. In the middle of her trial, however, she was interrupted by Carbide's excited voice. "Hey... hey, wait! This means I can come with you, right? Since my body's left here, I don't have to risk myself, I can help you defend yourself... I can probably even learn how you do your attacks and stuff so I can get stronger! This is awesome!"
Terra's eyebrows raised for a moment, before she came to the same realization. "... That is true," she murmured.
"Well, what're we waiting for, let's go, come on!" the girl's voice in her head yelled, as Terra suddenly abruptly lost control of her own body once more, her legs unwillingly stumbling over to the exit of the PET's homepage at a rather hurried pace, before vanishing into thin air.
"Wait! Carbide!!"
"W-Whoa, they're kinda heavy, crap."
[>> Imaginary Space - NAXA Net]
A small smile crept onto Terra's face. She then suddenly drew Carbide into a tight embrace. "I'll be relying on you, then," said Terra.
Taken by surprise, Carbide had frozen up briefly in bewilderment, but then relaxed as she returned the hug. "Thanks, Terra. I'll do my b--" she said, before her sentence abruptly cut off, and she slumped over onto Terra's shoulder. Terra lowered the small girl's body onto the bed, which was now quite different from what it was before. Carbide's body was now completely bare of everything she had before--her clothes, her rocky growths, and even her hair tie had all vanished. Instead, now in Terra's hand was a sharp blue-grey shard of rock, of the same color that Carbide had had on her person just moments prior. She turned it around in her hand and inspected it for a few moments. Then, reaching behind her with it, she impaled her own back with it, directly in between her shoulderblades.
Her eyes glowed a dim blue briefly as the shard sunk into her skin, leaving a short spire jutting out of her back. Terra then flexed her body slightly, causing the same rocky growths to suddenly extrude out of her body in lines radiating out from her back. Down her arms and legs, the rock grew out rapidly like spines, before she took a deep breath, and retracted the spines back into her body. Looking down at her hand, she clenched it tightly; a large tower shield made of stone immediately produced itself out of her forearm, causing her to lose her balance slightly. She tested its weight for a moment, swinging it some couple of times before allowing it to crumble away.
Afterwards, Terra turned towards Carbide, passed out on the bed. Her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed in conflict, as she stood silently and stared for some time.
"Whoa, that's kind of trippy."
Terra's eyes widened as she recoiled from the voice. Immediately looking down at Carbide, Terra saw that she was still down for the count, but the voice she had heard was clearly Carbide's. "Y'know, I look pretty cute when I'm asleep. Heh, I guess I know why you made me like that," Carbide's voice said again, its origin still unclear. Terra's eyes darted around, before she stopped for a moment, and called out to nowhere in particular, "Carbide?"
"Terra! This is super weird... I guess I'm inside you somehow? At least I think so. Can't think of any other reason why I'm looking at myself," Carbide's voice said, ringing inside her head like a persistent thought. Suddenly, Terra felt something like an electrical spark run through her. Her body was then caught off balance abruptly by a huge weight that grew out from her forearm--a large tower shield. The rocky spines that she had retracted earlier burst out again, this time without her own will driving them.
"Oh, my power's attached to your body now! That's weird... Sorry! Hang on..." said Carbide, as all of the rocky implements disintegrated as quickly as they arrived. Terra looked down at her own hands, and moved them slowly, as if to confirm her control over her own body. Halfway through clenching her own fist, her hands halted, tensing up as she suddenly lost control of them. "Crap, uh, sorry, didn't mean to do that..." muttered Carbide, and Terra once again had control of her fingers.
"... This is going to take some getting used to," said Terra.
"Yeah... it's a new experience, for sure," said Carbide. Terra nodded to herself, and began to assert control of her body once more, trying out her previous terraforming abilities. In the middle of her trial, however, she was interrupted by Carbide's excited voice. "Hey... hey, wait! This means I can come with you, right? Since my body's left here, I don't have to risk myself, I can help you defend yourself... I can probably even learn how you do your attacks and stuff so I can get stronger! This is awesome!"
Terra's eyebrows raised for a moment, before she came to the same realization. "... That is true," she murmured.
"Well, what're we waiting for, let's go, come on!" the girl's voice in her head yelled, as Terra suddenly abruptly lost control of her own body once more, her legs unwillingly stumbling over to the exit of the PET's homepage at a rather hurried pace, before vanishing into thin air.
"Wait! Carbide!!"
"W-Whoa, they're kinda heavy, crap."
[>> Imaginary Space - NAXA Net]