Pianissimo glanced sideways at nothing when he heard a private channel open. "What the hell happened while I was gone?"
The assassin made no gesture to indicate recognition or annoyance, concealing his thoughts. What the hell did it look like just happened? Arcaster was lying on the ground and four navis with familiar voices were standing in front of them saying how they needed her power. It seemed pretty obvious what had happened.
Nonetheless, after finally conveying all this to Duke, both of them remained silent while listening to Persephone. Oh I don't know, Pianissimo thought. Maybe the fact that she completely erased a Bladia from existence effortlessly? Or something along those lines. While it would be an interesting ability to have, it seemed rather stupid, the way they seemed to want to try and obtain it. First, they seemed to think they could trust two people they attacked earlier to not...what was the term? Ah yes, throw a wrench in their plans.
The more he listened to her, the stupider Persephone seemed to him. What, you expect me to say something? You're keeping them distracted just fine.
The armor adorning Pianissimo's body began to fade completely to a dull black, losing all traces of dark red trim. He knelt to the ground at the edge of the gravity field, whispering a plan of a sneak attack to Duke. In the real world, Duke nodded in agreement, preparing to send a few chips as backup. Pianissimo didn't notice this gesture but anticipated it nonetheless. Glancing up at Arcaster, he wondered for a second if he should say something to her. Not thinking of anything, he merely let himself sink into his own shadow, which retracted around him until nothing was left.
Topic titles suck.
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"Yes, her abilities. And only that. I require nothing more of this Navi." the lawyer Navi replied cryptically, as if that was all anyone needed to understand.
The dark-garbed Navi responded next, with a low buzzing, casually irreverent "Naaaaahhhh." Then in his usual tone "We do things our way.... Sans their usual incompetence."
Picking up on their conversation where they left off, the lawyer spoke again, in a tone of admiration "Shrewd, aren't you..." Then, in a lighter, more airy tone of voice... "The catch? There isn't one." He inhaled then sighed as he continued addressing Persephone "To be frank, neither of you currently pose a threat to our goals, and eliminating you would be a waste. Thus, you could turn around and walk away right this second, with my personal promissory guarantee that no-one in my organization will harass you or your Net Operators." He paused for a moment, the continued in a more thoughtful sounding tone "Still, you performed admirably against my viruses, and show some future potential. So, I'll offer you both a position within my organization, if you like. But, If you'll pardon me a moment of rude necessity, we will now postpone our discussion until after my men have secured our target. If you're interested, we can discuss the matter after we are done here. Else, you may leave any time you wish." His tone indicated that he considered the discussion closed.
It was at this time that Pianissimo subtly triggered the beginning phases of his Cloak and Dagger signature attack. He had begun to fade into his shadow when the quiet cloth scraping and clicking sounds of a firearm being drawn made it to his ears. This was followed, unnaturally quickly, by the klack-chack of a shotgun round being chambered as Pianissimo began to look at the source of the sound. The assassin fixed his gaze upon the Navi standing at the shoulder of the lawyer, the same one who had been oblivious to the world up until now, with his heavy rifle drawn, prepped, loaded, and... the shotgun-blast shattered the near-silence with with startling suddenness, causing everyone else, the lawyer and his crew included, to flinch involuntarily. Taking advantage of the slight pause, the armored Navi chambered a heavier round into the barrel, his aim already shifted to Pianissimo. The first shot passed by, the second wouldn't...
The moment everyone was focused on Pianissimo and the bodyguard, Arcaster made her move... When Persephone and Piansissimo became aware of her once more, they, along with the lawyer's crew, discovered she was no longer pinned by the now non-existent Gravity Zone. Without hesitation, the dark purple clad Navi extended his arm towards Arcaster in an attempt to reestablish his gravity well below her once again.
Then, something odd happened... namely, nothing. For several seconds, the purple Navi simply stood there before announcing in a strained voice "Ghhh. I'd call this... a really neat trick..." electricity began to flow visibly across the stunned Navi's form "if it didn't hurt... so damn much... Executor, we have a problem..." The Navi, obviously abandoning his hopeless efforts, lowered his arm, and sank to the ground, unable to stand any longer.
Arcaster, meanwhile, began to chant... (None of it made any sense to either Pianissimo or Persephone.) ...and as she did so, a glowing spell circle appeared upon the ground. The area it covered was staggering, easily encompassing the breadth of the battlefield.
The secretary, proving she was capable of more than simply being seen, opened her book, raised her left arm, and began reading an attack command from it. A bolt of energy leaped from her hand...
As Arcaster's chanting continued, everything seemed to slow down. The Navis all began to feel heavier. Movement became increasingly difficult, sluggish, and taxing. Eventually, everything stopped in place (even the energy bolt halted in mid air) save Arcaster, who began to glow in the manner of a Navi preparing to jack-out. Her chanting ceased, and she began to speak in a clear voice "Gate open. Planar Shift: Execute!" Her form lost resolution, becoming a beam-like data stream that stretched from where she once stood to the heavens. Exactly 2 seconds later, a wash of light rose from the ground covered by the spell circle.
Pianissimo and Persephone were left with the vague sensation of being swept up and away by that light as their senses dimmed. They both got the impression of rising quickly... Then of passing trough a wall or barrier of some sort... Then of rapid acceleration through the vastness of cyberspace... or were they above it? They soon reached a waypoint in their journey, and were both given the image of looking trough a camera's lens down at the Earth. The image was fleeting, however, as they once again got the impression of rapid acceleration, only this time, downwards. They both felt themselves nearing... something, perhaps their destination? And then....
Emergency Rerouting
The dark-garbed Navi responded next, with a low buzzing, casually irreverent "Naaaaahhhh." Then in his usual tone "We do things our way.... Sans their usual incompetence."
Picking up on their conversation where they left off, the lawyer spoke again, in a tone of admiration "Shrewd, aren't you..." Then, in a lighter, more airy tone of voice... "The catch? There isn't one." He inhaled then sighed as he continued addressing Persephone "To be frank, neither of you currently pose a threat to our goals, and eliminating you would be a waste. Thus, you could turn around and walk away right this second, with my personal promissory guarantee that no-one in my organization will harass you or your Net Operators." He paused for a moment, the continued in a more thoughtful sounding tone "Still, you performed admirably against my viruses, and show some future potential. So, I'll offer you both a position within my organization, if you like. But, If you'll pardon me a moment of rude necessity, we will now postpone our discussion until after my men have secured our target. If you're interested, we can discuss the matter after we are done here. Else, you may leave any time you wish." His tone indicated that he considered the discussion closed.
It was at this time that Pianissimo subtly triggered the beginning phases of his Cloak and Dagger signature attack. He had begun to fade into his shadow when the quiet cloth scraping and clicking sounds of a firearm being drawn made it to his ears. This was followed, unnaturally quickly, by the klack-chack of a shotgun round being chambered as Pianissimo began to look at the source of the sound. The assassin fixed his gaze upon the Navi standing at the shoulder of the lawyer, the same one who had been oblivious to the world up until now, with his heavy rifle drawn, prepped, loaded, and... the shotgun-blast shattered the near-silence with with startling suddenness, causing everyone else, the lawyer and his crew included, to flinch involuntarily. Taking advantage of the slight pause, the armored Navi chambered a heavier round into the barrel, his aim already shifted to Pianissimo. The first shot passed by, the second wouldn't...
The moment everyone was focused on Pianissimo and the bodyguard, Arcaster made her move... When Persephone and Piansissimo became aware of her once more, they, along with the lawyer's crew, discovered she was no longer pinned by the now non-existent Gravity Zone. Without hesitation, the dark purple clad Navi extended his arm towards Arcaster in an attempt to reestablish his gravity well below her once again.
Then, something odd happened... namely, nothing. For several seconds, the purple Navi simply stood there before announcing in a strained voice "Ghhh. I'd call this... a really neat trick..." electricity began to flow visibly across the stunned Navi's form "if it didn't hurt... so damn much... Executor, we have a problem..." The Navi, obviously abandoning his hopeless efforts, lowered his arm, and sank to the ground, unable to stand any longer.
Arcaster, meanwhile, began to chant... (None of it made any sense to either Pianissimo or Persephone.) ...and as she did so, a glowing spell circle appeared upon the ground. The area it covered was staggering, easily encompassing the breadth of the battlefield.
The secretary, proving she was capable of more than simply being seen, opened her book, raised her left arm, and began reading an attack command from it. A bolt of energy leaped from her hand...
As Arcaster's chanting continued, everything seemed to slow down. The Navis all began to feel heavier. Movement became increasingly difficult, sluggish, and taxing. Eventually, everything stopped in place (even the energy bolt halted in mid air) save Arcaster, who began to glow in the manner of a Navi preparing to jack-out. Her chanting ceased, and she began to speak in a clear voice "Gate open. Planar Shift: Execute!" Her form lost resolution, becoming a beam-like data stream that stretched from where she once stood to the heavens. Exactly 2 seconds later, a wash of light rose from the ground covered by the spell circle.
Pianissimo and Persephone were left with the vague sensation of being swept up and away by that light as their senses dimmed. They both got the impression of rising quickly... Then of passing trough a wall or barrier of some sort... Then of rapid acceleration through the vastness of cyberspace... or were they above it? They soon reached a waypoint in their journey, and were both given the image of looking trough a camera's lens down at the Earth. The image was fleeting, however, as they once again got the impression of rapid acceleration, only this time, downwards. They both felt themselves nearing... something, perhaps their destination? And then....
Emergency Rerouting