White Tower

An ivory tower, only a couple stories tall, rested in a small grassy knoll. A Gate rested less than a digital mile from the more populated area of the NetSquare's outer rim. People were able to purchase small plots of space in the NetSquare for their own use, usually to set up shops. Destin Obscura had placed his shop within the tower.

[Link to DragonierMan's Chips.]

[Link to Destin Obscura's Homepage.]
[From ACDC Net.]

SINNBAD appeared at the Gate and began to head towards the tower.

"I'll have you wait at the Tower for the moment. I am not sure when the Neo-Shogunate will hold their meeting. I'll keep you updated."

"As you wish My Lord."

~Sometime much later.~

Marble walls, pale like the dull white of a skull, surrounded the inner sanctum of White Tower. Surfaces fitted together seamlessly, unblemished by cracks or uneven spacing. A soft light radiated throughout the sparse, uniformed circular room. The light bled off a large, glowing tear-shaped crystal of ivory hue. It hung suspended in the center of the circular room, floating without supports. Two wide marble rings surrounded each end, not touching the tapered edges. They glowed with the same intensity as the crystal, highlighting engraved runic markings in blazing glory for all to behold.

A single individual was silhouetted against the light of the crystal, standing in front of the only door in the room. The program was draped in a bulky, fully-body gray cloak. Heavy robes enshrouded what was left. The person even wore a bone-white, featureless mask. No mouth or eye holes. It stood there unmoving, seemingly enchanted by the crystal, its head drawn toward the light.

[Program complete. Downloading Magistrate.DLL files to ProgramCore.EXE.]

The crystal hummed as sparkling dust began to peel off the crystal and swirl out toward the cloaked individual. It pierced through every fold of the statue's clothing and injected itself within the figure, bringing it to life. Finally its head began to move and the sound of breathing could be heard, though the robes were too bulky to show the in and out of its chest. The crystal went dark then, enshrouding the program in darkness.

[Download complete. Magistrate.EXE online.]

Magistrate made slow, jerky movements as it got accustomed to its new form. Then the room lit up from the program's mask. Glowing code crawled across the featureless mask.

[Transmission Incoming...]

Transmission Code
UHJvY2VlZCB0byB0aGUgZm9sbG93aW5nIGNvb3JkaW5hdGVzIGFuZCBhd2FpdCBmdXJ0aGVyIGluc3RydWN0aW9ucy4=

[Orders received. Activating portal.]

A few bright sparks came off the ground near the darkened crystal before exploding into a doorway of light. Magistrate immediately stepped into the vortex, and disappeared.

Appearing in the populated area outside the NetSquare, Suzume entered the White Tower and walked over to the console. With the press of a button she connected the vid-screen to her PET. "Hey guys, I'm back. Everything is fine and I am at the White Tower. Everything was recorded, so I'll upload what I got to the PET. I'm just going to take a breather here and meet up with you after you review the logs. Suzume out." The link started downloading from her memory banks as she walked over to a nearby couch and laid out on it and went to sleep, tired from the day's festivities.

START OF NIGHTSHADE.EXE AND DRAGONIERMAN.EXE.


Magistrate arrived at the White Tower via portal-link from DragonierMan's PET. She raised her hand and a part of the floor parted, revealing a lift that raised a large glass cylinder up from below. When the glass tank settled, a door on the surface of the glass opened, ready for something to be placed inside. Various electrically charged rods extended out of the ceiling and walls nearby, surrounding the tube. "We are ready to begin."

She then sent a message to all the dragoniers.


Moments later a portal appeared a few meters away, with DragonierMan stepping through. Magistrate greeted him, and Nightshade if he followed right away, from a nearby control console. "The device is ready for Nightshade's SP Core. All he needs to do is place the Core inside and we can begin the modification." Various vid-screens popped up around the tube, showing various stats and lists of information, and one that was currently blank. "This one can be used to design its appearance." She produced a small band of metal that could sit on the head like a crown. "By wearing this control band Nightshade will have the ability to render his thoughts about its appearance onto this screen. This will be more efficient than him just relaying that information verbally," she explained.

Nightshade timidly hopped around the place, part of him curious, part of him wary of the new environment. Keeping himself always at arms reach from the Dragonieer he offered up his core to Magistrate. He didn't know about this whole thing. It looked really complicated.

Looking up to Drago, then to Magistrate, then back to Drago, then to the machine, little Nighty seemed a bit confused. "So uh. That's it? Wear the weird head thingy and think?"
"That is correct. All you have to do is put on this headband and then visualize your ideal SP configuration. The machine will do the rest," Magistrate confirmed again, patiently, while placing the SP Core into the large glass cylinder. DragonierMan patted him on the shoulder. "Just like you told Suzume. Think about what you want your dragon to look and sound like. I think you said something about a tiger shark?"

Quote (SP CORE STATS)

Name: UNKNOWN
Element: UNKNOWN
Subtype: UNKNOWN

Level: 0
HP: 40
Attack: 10
Actions: 1

List of actions:
  • Attack [Action] (Your SP attacks an enemy you command. Attack is either your SP's element (if it has one) or Normal.)

  • Defend [Action] (Your SP blocks one attack that your Navi, fellow SP, or ally would take, taking the damage onto itself instead.)

  • Subtype Ability [May or may not require an Action] (Your SP uses its subtype ability. This ability acts just as a normal subtype ability would, with the exception that your SP can use it through your Navi, so a Break Subtype SP could add Break to its master's attacks the same way Break Subtypes add Break to their attacks.)

  • Dodge [Action] (Your Support Program attempts to dodge attacks by dodging in some way or form.)

  • Equipping [Action] (Your Navi, fellow SP, or Ally and Support Program enter a state where they are acting together. If an SP is carrying, lifting, holding, riding on, or other direct supportive action for the Navi/fellow SP/Ally, they are considered Equipped. If the Navi/fellow SP/Ally is likewise carrying, holding, wielding, wearing, or riding the SP, the SP is considered Equipped. Note that the SP functions the same as if it was not Equipped, so it still has HP, actions, attack power, an element, a subtype, and so on.)

  • Signature Attack [Action] (Your support program uses a signature attack that was created and registered for its use. Your SP's signature point cap = its Navi's cap. All signature attack rules apply.)

  • Magistrate's brow furrowed in question, but decided against asking and turned to her controls. She began to press some buttons and powered up the machines. Bolts of electricity shot out from the various apature arms and struck the container, lighting it up. Various screens started to glow brighter and data began scrolling on them. She watched the controls as Drago stood back and watched the screens. He had a front-row seat to Nightshade's SP creation show.

    Nightshade immediately followed Drago, wiggling into the old navi's arms. It seemed he wasn't ready to do the sculpting yet. The little kitty wished for Drago's undivided attention. He had missed him during the mission.

    The little cat literally jumped onto Drago's lap, knowing full weel the other navi was strong enough to hold up his rather light body. From there, hand paws circled around Drago's neck as the feline kid refused to let go of his dad figure for a good few minutes.

    The longer he stayed close to Drago the longer Nighty's energy seemed to shift. Every second passing Nighty was feeling his signature shift closer to Aya's own.

    He looked at Drago, knowing exactly what was happening to his body. He could feel a distinct bond between himself and the navi in frontof him.

    "Dad...I..." he was waiting for an invitation. As soon as Drago would place his emblem on Nighty's chest the catboi's body would shift and his power spike immensly.

    There he stood, Nighty's feelings now given form. Stronger than ever.

    DragoCross Nightshade.
    DragonierMan hugged Nightshade back. He held him across the back with one arm, while the other arm swept under the legs to provide a shelf for him to sit. They embraced like a father and son for sometime.
    example


    Magistrate exhaled slowly, clearly irritated about the delay, but kept silent and turned to her control panels. She pressed a 'hold' button on the console and busied herself with some basic configuration notes in the background. Moments passed until Nightshade wiggled out of the embrace and stood on his own feet. He had activated, unconsciously or not, his new DragoCross. DragonierMan himself took a moment to appreciate the design alterations to Nightshade. "It looks good on you," he commented.

    Nightshade hugged once again, reveling in his new powers.

    "I can feel you...within me. " Nighty chimed, trembling lightly. He wasn't used to the immense power spike. He squeezed himself onto Drago, sonehow feeling the need to remain as close to the old navi as possible.

    "Dad..." he mumbled. "I love you."

    Slowly, the new dragonier turned around and looked at Magistrate. He'd wait for her to settle the ring around his head to begin the SP creation process.
    Magistrate picked up the control headband again from its resting spot on top of the control panel and walked over to Nighshade. "Good, now hold still," she said as she began to work. With Nightshade's assistance she placed it on his head and made some minor adjustments to its size so that it sit comfortably around his crown. "There we go, that should do it." Satisfied, she gave a slight smile that everything was going to plan now, and then composed herself and walked back to her controls. The main screen glowed brightly again as it was activated once more.

    Quote (Support Program Registration)

    Name: (Your SP's name.)
    Gender: (Your SP's gender.)
    Appearance: (What your SP looks like.)
    Personality: (How your SP thinks, acts, and speaks.)
    Element: (Fire/Aqua/Elec/Wood/Normal.)
    Subtype: (Sword, Wind, Cursor, Break, Recovery, Melee, Speed, Summon, Shadow, Ground, Guts, Shield, Bug, Team or Variable.)

    "Good, everything is still a go. Now, if you would please concentrate," Magistrate said, hoping to get through the process without more interruptions. DragonierMan came up behind Nightshade and placed his hands on Night's shoulders. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," he assured his 'son'. "Relax. Take your time. Fashioning a life-long partner shouldn't be rushed," he said. "Don't worry about any mistakes either. We'll make sure that you are fully satisfied before your partner comes out of that tube."[/b]

    Nighty seemed pretty grateful of Drago's precence, considering how as soon as the other navi placed his hands on the youngster's shoulders the young dragonieer just glued himself to the elder navi. He gently removed his helmet, letting his black hair floof out as Magistrate placed the ring on him. With a long sigh, he exhaled. Then, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

    Data started flowing in as Nightshade shaped his new partner through various mental images. He wanted someone fierce looking yet not completely animalistic. It should have Suzume's care, Aya's pride and Drago's power.

    Dark blue fur all over, then darker scales with purple shades. Streaks of red here and there trailing from around the eyes to its pointy ears. A beak like snout yet rows sharp fangs. Two large wings protuding from its forearms and two strong legs. Large paws with sharp claws. A long tail ending in a spike. It wasn't technically a dragon and more of a wyvern, but Nighty hardly knew the difference between the two species. Besides, he didn't consider them different by any means. From the more petite shape, one could tell Nighty was imagining this new being as a female. It was no bigger than Nighty himself, if it stood on his hind legs maybe she'd be taller than Drago, but that'd be a stretch. Was his adoration towards Aya and his incessant need for her attention driving him to create his SP this way? Perhaps she'd grow bigger with time or once out of the tube?

    Nighty finally opened his eyes after he was done thinking about a companion, looking up at Drago. "SPs are linked to the navi, yes?" He asked him. "H-how does that feel like?" He was cautious about it. A little scared in fact. "Does it hurt? Making the link I mean... linking yourself with your SP."

    He didn't image Magistrate's weird techy stuff could reproduce his thoughts to such fidelity. Thoughts to matter no less. Granted, digital matter, but still impressive.

    There it was in the tube. Nighty could still see the pulsating energy of the SP core inside the new being. Technology sure is crazy.

    "Yumi..." the little navi mumbled, looking at the wyvern.

    Through the Cross, Drago could probably sense Nighty's bubbly excitement but also his uncertainty and a twinge of fear, not that he couldn't guess from Nighty's posture and expression either way. The old navi seemed to be able to understand Nighty's mood with ease all the time without relying on the relative new bond they now shared between them.

    ===============

    Name: Yumi
    Gender: Female
    Appearance: See above
    Personality: (How your SP thinks, acts, and speaks.)
    Element: Aqua
    Subtype: Shadow
    As Yumi took shape in the tube, Magistrate adjusted dials on her control panel. "Status is green. Core imprint is stable. Everything looks good so far." DragonierMan squeezed Night's shoulders in continued reassurance, his eyes glancing to the screen. "Look at her." He moved around Nightshade and put a hand on the glass. "Yumi huh? A solid name."

    He turned back to Nighty, beckoning him over, and motioning him to touch the glass. "Linking a Navi with an SP is a simple process," Magistrate commented. "Most do not feel any differently after the joining than they did before they linked. The level of involvement between a Navi and their SP differs between partnerships." She furrowed her brow a little. "I am aware of your little tryst with Aya. Be assured that most Navis and SPs do not share minds as a standard effect of the link. That would be something you would need to initiate later."

    She tapped some buttons and another vid-window popped up, showing black silhouettes of Nightshade and Yumi, without any details. A variety of signals bounced between the two shadowed figures. "You may communicate together on a special encrypted line regardless of distance involved. This signal comes directly from the link between your two cores and is mostly unbreakable." She gritted her teeth slightly. "Unfortunately, as we have seen, it can be jammed with sufficiently advanced technology."

    "More importantly, the cores can communicate abilities between them. As you have experienced with Aya, Yumi will be able to support you in battle with her own unique abilities as she acquires them." Magistrate tapped another button and the screen listed the Shadow Subtype. The words: [Clone Technique] appeared inside the silhouette of Yumi and then transferred over to the silhouette of Nightshade on one of the signal lines. Then the silhouette of Nightshade split in two, with one of the Nightshade's labeled as [Decoy]. "As you can see by this simulation."

    Drago placed a hand on Night's shoulder. "Your partner will rely on you for its strength, just as mine do. Take care of her and she will be able to exist as long as you do." The vid-window showed the silhouette of Yumi being hit by a cannon shot and beaming out on a simulated ejection beam. The silhouette of Nightshade then went on to delete a few viruses, while a [Battle Count] ticked off. Once it increased from 1 to 4, three battles after being EJO'd, the silhouette of Yumi reappeared, ready for Battle 5.

    "Now it's going to be slow going in the beginning," Drago warned. "A new partner is going to need a lot of experience to get stronger." The vid-window continued with a demonstration of some viruses being defeated and rewards left behind. The silhouette of Yumi begins eating some rock-like bits left behind that are labeled on the screen as [BugFrags]. "But eventually it will be a capable companion that can hold its own, and make your life richer for the effort," he added, glancing at Magistrate. Magistrate just rolled her eyes.

    Nighty avidly absorbed all the new information. So that's how it worked. He smiled sheepishly at Magistrate's mention of his fusion with Aya. The little navi glanced down at his black armor. First symbol of Aya's care for him and now also herald of his bond with Drago.

    "Are you jealous, big sis?" Nighty asked with a snicker. "That Aya merged with me? Sharing body and mind wasn't that bad, I truly got to undesrtand why sis is the way she is. I wouldn't mind doing it again." He raised his hands forward, showing his gloves and black armor. "It was a little overwhelming at first, her energy pool is just so massive, but the longer we stayed fused the better my body accustomed to it. At one point I could feel her presence directly latched onto my core..."

    He turned to Drago and gently placed a hand on the tube. "I wonder if Yumi can merge with me too...for whatever reason as a Hybrid I feel so much stronger...

    He looked at Magistrate for answers, even though he was much more convinced now. One glance at the small furred wyvern, then back to the egghead. "Link me." He pleaded. "I'm ready. Link me."
    Magistrate tapped some more buttons and the silhouettes came together, forming a composite silhouette. "You are referring, of course, to Equipping. This can take many forms." She tapped a button and the composite silhouette moved to the left side, and a few silhouettes popped into being, one after another to its right. One silhouette was of Nighty riding Yumi, similar to how he rode Aya when she was in her dragon form. One silhouette showed Yumi turning into a suit of armor and then Nighty donning it. And a third showed Yumi turning into a greatsword and Nighty grasping it up and then swinging it around.

    "Suzume and Aya, as a part of their core purpose of being DragonierMan's shadows and bodyguards, tended to favor hiding in plain sight." This time a silhouette of DragonierMan appeared, casting a shadow as if he was facing the sun. Twin silhouettes of the same girl rose out of the shadow like reverse waterfalls, and then imploded in on themselves to form a dagger each. The silhouette of DragonierMan reached out and grabbed both daggers, sheathing them at his hips. Magistrate tapped another set of buttons and all the silhouettes disappeared from the screen.

    With her demonstration done, Magistrate nodded to Nightshade's request. "Just be aware that Yumi's personality has not been created yet, so when you link she will be a blank slate. It may be eerily silent and alien to you, who tend to wear your emotions on your sleeve. I would suggest attempting to either make something, or draw out what is latent inside once you are in there," she said as she tapped a few buttons and then put her hand on a lever.

    "Initializing..."

    Nighty relaxed, dropping DragoCross and reverting to his normal self. Then, he deactivated his GMO to return to his default look. It had been a while since he last donned his grey armor. It wouldn't be for long though, as he quickly took his stuff off tossing it aside where it disappeared into a stream of data.

    With nothing but his undersuit on, he walked over to the tube. The navi's tail swished slowly as he placed a hand on the glass, admiring his companion for a moment. He waited for the tube to open so that he could access it. He glanced towards Magistrate and Drago once, then gave em a thumbs up. Everything was going to be alright. He probably didn't need to fuse with his SP to make the link happen, but it felt more symbolic and meaningful this way. Commuting with what he could be his companion for life. Kinda sorta some imprinting animals do.

    The little wyvern sat upright and blankly stared at Nightshade. Like Magistrate had said, right now she did not have any semblance of emotion. Well, it was up to little Nighty to share some of his own with her. As he got closer, the navi could feel a similar yet slightly different energy radiating from the SP.

    "Hey there..." He greeted. "You look kinda blank right now eh? Don't worry..."

    He turned around and gently waved at Drago and Magistrate to turn around and give him some privacy. When he was sure they did so, he lifed a hand up to the bridge of his nose and pricked the elastic mask always covering his mouth. He pulled it down and left it hanging around his neck.

    "I'll let you have mine." He reassured the Sp with a smile, reaching out to pet the wyvern's snout. She was...extremely silky to the touch.

    Just like when Aya equipped herself to him, the wyvern phased away into a stream of bright data, wrapping around Nightshade. The little navi could feel his body squeezed a little as he felt his SP's code embedd itself within him. In seconds he could feel it make its way inside him and reach his core. Aya's code seemed satisfied by wrapping tightly around Nighty's heart, Yumi seemed to want a bit more out of the little cat navi.

    With Yumi's presence within his core, their link was finalized. Nightshade stepped out of the tube after he no longer felt changes happening to his form. "I think...I think it went well." He stated, pretty much allowing Drago and Magistrate to turn back around.

    The older navi and egghead SP could finally take a glance at the result of the link event. Nightshade was standing there wearing a new, unseen armor and radiating a slightly darker feeling energy. Aside from helmet and tail, which hadn't changed much at all, one could find his bodysuit had been shortened to a half suit as various elaborated gear pieces covered his body.

    A beige scarf covered his mouth instead of his usual undersuit, his shoulders and arms were exposed, if it werent for two metallic shoulder plates hooked around his arms with leather straps and two long sleeves made of Yumi's dark blue scales covering black gloves underneath. On his chest, over his undersuit, the same blue scales formed a chest and belly plate, the rest of the navi's torso covered in what looked like some sort of fish net material.

    Another bit of armor, this time dyed the smae blue as the scales, hanged on the navi's sides, secured with a beige belt mimicking in style the one used by martial artists. From there, Yumi's scales formed two baggy pants trailing into tight ninja boots around Nightshade's feet. Red strips of cloth were scattered around everywhere, predominantly on Nighty's baggy pants, where a cutout showed the undersuit beneath.

    "This feels...great...but also...really weird." Nighty commented. He seemed much calmer than usual. Considering how he used to jump around squaling all excited at the top of his lungs every time he wore a new outfit, it was quite the visible change seeing him all composed and quiet.

    "I feel...powerful." He declared.

    Magistrate blinked. "Well, I probably should have seen this coming, but it is still a strange way of 'linking' with one's SP." She glanced over to DragonierMan, who shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me. I didn't do that when you became my SP." Magistrate nodded and pressed a few buttons on her control panel. The tube, various electrodes, and machinery retracted into the wall, leaving the area pretty stark and spartan once more. Drago and Magi stood back and watched as the process of linking continued for Nightshade.

    Then another portal opened up and Suzume popped in, carrying a small bag of upgrades from the shop. She took a moment to look around and noticed that the SP Core was gone and Nightshade was sporting a new look. "Cool look. It looks like you finished while I was out running errands. Aya's up and about and is still at the hub taking care of Pe-"

    "They came and picked her up," Aya said as she appeared from another portal, interrupting her twin. "Oh! Well nice of you to join us," Suzume added. "Whatever," Aya grumbled, scratching her head. It still throbbed a little and she was still a little irritable. "So what'd I miss?"

    "Nightshade has completed the construction of the SP's body," Magistrate said, displaying what Yumi looked like on a nearby vid-screen. Suzume and Aya took a moment to watch the screen as the model rotated around, then back at Nightshade. "They are now in the process of initializing the link between the Navi and SP cores," Magistrate continued. "Though the way he does it is not the most standard way of doing things." Suzume chuckled and Aya glanced away.

    Nighty let out a soft happy giggle. "I mean...it feels the right thing to do. Merging with my Sp while we go through our link together."

    He walked over to Suzume to give her a nice big hug, his feet making absolutely no noise whatsoever. It was probably due to Yumi's shadow abilities. For as long as Night kept wearing those boots, it would probably be impossible to know if he was sneaking up on them for a hug on sound alone.

    Nighty lost no time in letting Suzume to be the first one to snuggle with him after he had merged with his new SP. He squeezed himself onto her, quite happy of finally being with her again.

    Then, once he had his fill of Suzume Cuddles, the little navi wiggled free and moved to Aya with trepidation. He stopped right in front of her, looking up with a world of hope in his eyes.

    "Big sis..." he called for her attention. Once he had it, Nighty twirled on the spot to show her his new form. "Do you like it? Hm? Hmmm?"

    Nighty yearned Aya's approval and pride. There was nothing he seemed to cherish more at the moment. Pleasing his big sis was certainly something he prioritized.

    He walked one step closer. From the way his tail lowered one could tell that Aya's powerful presence and dark energy was quite soothing for the young navi. Even Yumi was reacting positively to her presence. Nighty's new ninja armor squeezed tighter around him and its scales turned far more shiny and polished looking as the small navi's power increased by a rather impressive amount. Both navi's and Sp's energies were resonating with Aya's own.

    "Sis Magistrate told me you were a ninja too. You...you'll teach us, right? Teach us how to do things with these- he points at his ninja boots- and teach us how to be a shadow, right?" He asked, very hopeful.
    The others watched as Nightshade's attention became fixed on Aya, the younger twin of the SP sisters. "... Well, um, you look the part," she stated cautiously, looking him over from her unmoving position directly in front of Nightshade. She wasn't the most touchy-feely person. She looked to Magistrate, then Suzume, then back to Nightshade. "But, yeah, we could teach you how to be like a ninja. I guess."

    "Before you continue," Magistrate interrupted. "I would like you to complete the creation process. I have other things that require my attention and would like to conclude this exercise." Magistrate walked over to Nightshade with a flashlight and began trying to shine it in his eyes, similar to how a doctor might while giving a check up. "So has Yumi been given a personality so she can stand on her own, or do you plan on just summoning a doll every time you transition somewhere in the NET and donning it like a second skin?"

    "You're a blank doll, egghead!" Nightshade shouted in a completely different high pitched voice. The navi covered his mouth with a hand, chuckling nervously. "I...I think you've got your answer. Eheh."

    Nighty's armor dematerialized from his body and flopped onto the ground like a formless blob, before solidifying into a very grumpy looking wyvern. Well, rather than grumpy, one could say she was pouting at the old Sp. "You are way stiffer than a wooden log. " The wyvern squealed straight into everyone's mind, leaning towards Magistrate

    Nighty, snickered. Perhaps he gave her a little too emotion. Well, she was prideful alright. He gently petted her head as the Sp started grumbling all grumpy and offended. "Yumi...be nice. She helped create you. You should be grateful."