TO: undefined (undefined@undefined.ides)
FROM: Aurora.EXE (HSEzarith@HrSharo.org)
SUBJECT: Re: Safe
MESSAGE:

Hey, Lyntael!

Glad to see you made it home safe. Sorry we didn't manage to reply to the email as soon as we could. Apparently, the power outage ran a lot longer than we thought it would, the power substation that goes to our area straight up exploded for some reason. Like, it actually went up in flames! Seems like it didn't get enough maintenance... It took a few days to get some power restored to our place, but thankfully everyone's fine, and nothing else seemed to be destroyed. We had some emergency power running soon after the initial cut, but not enough to run our servers, including our email server.

I'm really sorry if we worried you or anything! You said you argued with Rogan again? Honestly, I've got to be there with you to give him a talking-to next time. He's lucky to have someone as sweet as you are, but it does sound like he's worrying more about you...

That said, the training area looks really cool! I really like how it looks like it's carved out of the wilderness. I uh, didn't show Eternalis this since you're... a little less dressed, and I pushed him off it, but he's in the room waving to me. Tells me to wish you well, and all that. We'll definitely able to visit you again soon! We're going through everything here to make sure everything in our servers are fine, which should just take today. Looking forward to seeing you again! Kisses!

- Aurora

Looks good, approved. Some sad lines though :(

Sparky's reaction to Lyntael's petting was vigorously licking her cheek, happily returning the affection several fold. "Hey! I try to let everyone share the goo, but not everyone's receptive to it," laughed Eternalis. His mental link received a ribbing from the shared implication, but it was interrupted by their friend's hug. Aurora felt the crackling energy and warmth from the small frame; it was such a difference from when they had first met her. Returning the hug in kind tightly, Aurora gave Lyntael a small peck on the cheek before releasing. Eternalis's response meanwhile was to briefly lift the girl off of the ground with his hug, though his jellylike composition meant Lyntael's body slid down his arms even through the hug.

Her next request earned a raised eyebrow from both of them, with a small nod following soon after. While she poured her feelings of gratitude out, Aurora felt a lump form in her throat, squeezing Lyntael's offered hand in turn. "Oh, Lyntael, you're welcome too, for--" her previous thoughts came to mind, before she shook her head to banish them out of sight, "--for being our friend. My friend." Eternalis watched over them with a wry smile. "Mine too!" he chimed in, before being punctuated by a small yap near their feet--Sparky wanted a part as well, though who knows whether he actually understood.

As they parted, their bodies shimmered with the jackout process starting. "Mail me and let me know when you've gotten back home!" said Aurora, waving back at Lyntael, before they vanished into the ether.

[Jack out.]

[LynFXP > 440]
[Z: 64345 > 68845]
[BF: 952 > 964]

Unsurprisingly, there was little resistance once the ringleader of viruses had been taken out, and the rest scattered to the winds. The Mashy that had thrown in one last angry chittering at Eternalis received an empty swipe gesture towards it, not so much using the blade as much as simply shooing it away. The sudden built-up tension from the fight drained away, as most of them relaxed, save Aurora, who was still scanning the area.

"Well... I can't say I can explain how different it is..." answered Aurora towards Lyntael, scratching the back of her neck idly as she continued to scan the place. "I've been a full-fledged Navi before, so this is just using old routines I haven't used in a while, you know?" Her tongue clicked as there didn't seem to be traces of their quarry. Perhaps they simply had to head further in.

Before she could say anything else, however, she and Eternalis both became aware of something, and jerked their heads in unison. "Wh--the operator connection got severed?" blurted out Eternalis. Shortly after, Harke's voice came in through their comms, broadcasting it to Lyntael as well.

"Hey, everyone, bad news. Power seems to be out in the area suddenly, and we don't have much emergency power running. Like, less than a minute's worth, I think," he said worriedly.

"Wait, what? How long is the power going to be out?"
"No clue, it hasn't gone out like this in a long time--I've got to jack you guys out."

Both Eternalis and Aurora turned towards Lyntael with sadness and worry clearly all over their expressions. Eternalis, however, shook his head, and made an effort for a positive smile instead.

"Hey... You get out safely, all right?" said Aurora.
"She'll be fine. It's just a short walk back," Eternalis chimed in, flashing a thumbs up.

[LynFXP > 432]

"Considering how abandoned this place is, I don't know if there's even anyone to be rude to, but it's probably best if we did take care of it," commented Eternalis. The twisted metal of abandoned park equipment continued forward, with the dimly tunnels going through them branching out into numerous smaller, rather crudely bore through tunnels. Perhaps they were the thoroughfare of some viruses that made the place their home. Wide enough to explore through, but definitely not any kind of intended pathway from deliberate hands. Some of the tunnels were small enough that Sparky had to forego his larger form, and simply trotted beside Eternalis in his puppy size. Amidst the girders and rebar, the little corner of greenery tucked away was a sorely needed change of pace.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like they were going to have much of a reprieve, with the creature that had been causing them some amount of trouble showing up--only to be replaced by a rather territorial pack of viruses. The MegaCorn that dropped down with its entourage of viral ne'er-do-wells threatened them with their posturing, while their elusive stalker slipped away once more. Despite how menacing some of them looked, the Corn was clearly in charge, with the crown atop its head and the rest surrounding it to protect it.

"That creature sure is slippery. I'm going to take out that one in the back... Shouldn't take too much," said Eternalis, tilting his head back slightly towards his comrades. "I'll trust you guys to back me up with the other viruses, okay?"

His arm warped into a long, thin sword, and his body evaporated rapidly, rematerializing into solid form immediately in front of the Corn virus to slash at it with a lightning-quick wide strike. Behind him, Aurora clenched her fists, and breathed in quickly to steady herself, before channeling the chip data that was provided to her. Her hand went out, in front of which a KillerEye's singular eyeball formed, emitting a dim red light in front of it directly at Eternalis's back. Of course, it wasn't aimed at him, and with their unspoken communication between them, Eternalis sidestepped it quickly, starting up his recovery processes to absorb the aggression that would surely come his way.

-- Eternalis: 1 action @ Aurora
[S*] GMO Change: Default

[E1] StepSwordDamage: 120 + Slashing + Wide Attack + Teleport
Accuracy: S for primary target, A for additional targets.
Description: The user warps in front of an enemy, then swings with a strong sword. Can hit up to 3 targets with good RP. Rare
Duration: Once.
Element: Null
Special: Teleport: When RP Quality is excellent, this attack also counts as a free dodge.
Trader Rank: C: 120 + Slashing + Wide Attack + Teleport (Acc: S for primary target, A for additional targets.) @ King!MegaCorn
[A1] Dodge
[S1] Dodge (High Gear: Evasion+10%)

[E2] Dodge
[A2] (All for One) Sensor2HP: 100
Properties: Anchored, ElecBody
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Attack Damage: 130 Elec + Beam Attack + Stun 1
Accuracy: S
Description: Summons a Killereye to search for enemies. Fires an eye-beam when it detects them. It can see through invisibility.
Duration: Until destroyed or until it attacks.
Element: Elec
Special: ElecBody: Immune to Elec damage. Special: Laser TAG: Attack triggers when something moves through the targeting laser beam, no matter who or what that may be.
Trader Rank: C: 100HP Anchored ElecBody Object: (130 + Beam Attack + Stun + Self-Destruct): Laser TAG (Acc: S) @ King!MegaCorn (+15 Elec)

[E3] Influx Aegis: 40 Support Base Heal/40 Support Base Heal (after 3 actions)/40 Support Base Heal (after 6 actions)
[E4-5] Dodge

The fevered pitch at which Aurora delivered her declaration served to convince herself as much as it was for Lyntael, and when Lyntael came in to embrace her, she leaned into the smaller girl's frame. If Sparky hadn't been behind Lyntael, Aurora most likely would have accidentally pushed her down, as heavy as her load felt. Still, that was what friends were for, to rely on each other, was it not? The errant thoughts rattling around her head were forcefully put down, and Aurora took a deep breath before letting go.

Both of them would feel a hand on their heads as they separated. "Everyone alright now?" Eternalis asked. Aurora ducked her way out of the patting, grinning as she did so. "I don't need to be petted on the head like a kid," she laughed. However, Eternalis would feel their mental link reopen, with a message of thanks sent unbeknownst to their friend, who was now asking about her condition. She closed her eyes and drew another deep breath, and looked back at Lyntael. The eye contact assured her that it was right.

"Neither me. I can't say I've never been better, but we'll work it out," she said. "Yeah, let's head out. Let's both try not to push too hard? I don't think Eternalis wants to pull us out of something like that again."
"Given the choice, I wouldn't!"

[Battle 4 - Ready.]

Lyntael's explanation of how she had never been to Yumland's networks further confused Eternalis, with how she went on about her operator's physical circumstances instead. It was almost as if they shared being in the same physical space? That couldn't be right, but it certainly sounded like the case. Every time they met, something new about their friend continued to surprise him. The little detail made him nearly miss the rest of the story that Lyntael was putting out. For the moment, it seemed like the operator-Navi stakeout duo's mission went somewhat sour, but her memory of it was also quite foggy.

He stole a glance at Aurora next to him. The woman appeared to be recovering more and more, she seemed to be focusing on Lyntael. However, he could see her tightening her balled-up fists periodically, and there was little to no shared mental activity between them; she was walling herself off from him. He shook his head, one issue at a time. Was it a similar situation to her voluntary memory erasure? It was hard to tell, since their memories were stored in a much more tangible form than humans, but Lyntael's little quirks here and there made him think it could simply be another thing that made her more "human-like". The other alternative was... simply that she really had no recollection to begin with?

Once the possibility surfaced, it was hard to deny that it was the most likely one. A backup copy would retain memories, up to the point after the backup was made. The spotty memories could simply have been fabricated from listening to her operator speak, or from trying to piece together what had happened by way of circumstantial evidence, or from pieced-together data from... a previous copy. He shuddered; he had not thought of backups much in general, at least not with emergency jackout procedures long been mandated in PETs. Lyntael's distress grew more and more, until it reached a crescendo, peaking at her screaming out her woes, and Aurora was still silent beside him, unwilling to share their usual discreet mental channel. Alone, what was he to do?

...

The cacophony of thoughts inside of Aurora's mind was letting up slowly. However, it wasn't quite like she could simply banish them away, at least not by simply having her thoughts to herself. She looked back at Lyntael, telling her tale of some air-gapped facility in Yumland, and how she felt the rain and wind on her. That's right, she thought, she needed to reaffirm that Lyntael was, through it all, still their, her friend. She focused her efforts on listening to Lyntael's story, and only that; there was to be no interruptions on the side.

Here was a girl who was just as distressed as her, before she had been interrupted by her own selfish experiences. Yelling out at her friends, at the ones she could trust to listen. Aurora gripped her fists, as if to dig her fingers into her own palm. What kind of silly situations had been conjured up in her mind before? Of course they, she was Lyntael's friend, and what else? She wrested herself from Eternalis's arm, who seemed a little surprised, but allowed her free quickly, while she marched up to Lyntael.

Taking hold of Lyntael's shoulders tightly, Aurora realized how shaky her own hands were. Nevertheless, she pressed onwards. "Of course you're Lyntael! There's no one else that could be. You're my friend. Our friend!" she declared as best as she could. "If there's something broken then we'll just find out how to fix it. If you don't know how to help then we can put our heads together to see how we can! If Rogan has something about you that he thinks isn't you then we'll go up and ask him what it is, and we'll be there with you!"

Behind Aurora, Eternalis came up at a walk, giving a nod to his partner's own fevered pitch. A furred nose brushed up against Lyntael's back as well, as Sparky's large head came up from around her.

As Aurora had thought, Lyntael's reaction to her confession of past misdeeds was fairly expected. There was the look in her eyes, that same look that she saw in so much of her "previous life", when someone perceived her as a threat. A knot formed in her chest, expecting a hard rebuke. The proper reaction to someone of her vocation, and the correct one, she thought. Unlike how Eternalis was obviously her partner and would be on her side, Lyntael was just a friend--and one in exactly the kind of position to want to revoke trust in her, and to demand her be chained up, and locked off to the world once more.

The rebuke never came, and Aurora was instead presented with her friend sympathizing with her. Relief washed over her. At the very least, Lyntael seemed to trust her. At least externally, she was putting on a smile, and she wasn't running away. The relief drained away just as quickly, however, sifting away through her like sand between one's fingers. The myriad possibilities of how it could have gone wrong still swirled about in her head, showing no sign of calming down. What if continuing to talk was a diversionary tactic and she was merely stalling for time before she was going to leave? What if, now that she was definitely getting stronger, she was going to turn that strength back on her? Despondency began its hold once more, and she began to shiver despite her surroundings.

However, she then felt a weight around her shoulder, and looked up--it was Eternalis, who had came up to her, and held her close to him. The lack of warmth of his body as she felt a grip on her arm seemed to steady her, and she took some breaths. Eternalis took a moment to transmit a thought to her, and she returned it with a shaky affirmative, before he started talking. "Do Yumland's networks simulate real-life storms? That sounds like it'd be fun to trek through, though I can't imagine a deep jungle having servers out there," he commented, mostly unawares. "Did you really stay out for three whole days straight, or was it split up into visits or something?"

Despite being pushed away, Eternalis stood between Aurora and Lyntael. Of course, any attempt at pulling her down when she was determined like this was going to result in this reaction. Was there any reason why he had pointed out Lyntael's state to her? Surely, the more prudent way was to appeal Aurora's current state, which was more evidently in need of attention. It wouldn't be any good to switch directions now, and now he'd just deal with the fallout and kick himself for it later. Unexpectedly, however, Lyntael sat back down, and asked Aurora herself about what was bothering her.

At this point, Aurora had her eyes closed, trying to block out the world around her, encased in flashbacks of times long past. Her limbs began to shake, the sweltering Kotobuki network's temperatures replaced with the biting frost of the Sharo network in her mind. A female support program, pointing her buster arm at her, whose identity she had long forgotten. Only the vitriol, the rage, and the words cursing her, a chained dog of Sharo. The gunmetal-colored barrel of the anti-Navi weapon in her hand was pointed squarely at the support program's forehead. And in the midst of her memory, the long-forgotten face in her sights slowly melted into a familiar face, of that of a young blonde girl of sixteen.

Aurora pressed her fingers into the bridge of her nose forcefully. It felt slick, from beaded sweat. She sharply inhaled before opening her eyes. The same face was before her, sitting cross-legged across from her, asking if she was alright. "Sorry, I... it's nothing, I'm fine," she replied. Next to Lyntael, Eternalis knelt down; a concerned query reached her mental border. She looked back up at him for a moment, shook her head, and turned back to Lyntael. "No, alright, I probably shouldn't keep it from you."

She inhaled slowly again. The air felt humid. There was no frost against her face. "Truthfully, I... used to work for that part of the Sharo family. Assassinations, against Navis that crossed their interests," she said. She tried to make eye contact with Lyntael, but her eyes darted away just as quickly. "A few things happened, and my operator and I retired, I swear, but... you telling me that just now, and... I just thought, I could have been sent against you, and I... it hadn't occurred to me. You've told us about Rogan before, and we even met him here."

"If we're--I'm here with you, I don't know if I should be here. I'm sorry, it shouldn't be your problem. It's mine." Words were failing her now, and she half-hugged herself with one of her arms.

Eternalis's fears were confirmed as he saw the drawn out response to his outwardly cheerful question, and Lyntael began to expand on what had happened since they last met. From what they had already gotten out of meeting the operator in question, there was no doubt that he was investigating some people that would have no qualms taking drastic steps to keep things under wraps. Knowledge on NetNavi weaponry research was something the Ezarith facility was well-equipped in, and there had been no shortage of incidents in the past where she had been entrusted with prototypes to test out. Still, she knew Reverus, and he had kept live tests out of the equation--until they were to be "field-tested".

Eventually, as Lyntael went on, at the mention of Sharo itself, Aurora shifted in her posture slightly. From the angle she was at, Lyntael wasn't in her line of sight, but she turned her face away from the sound of her voice nonetheless. It was true that she was no longer a part of those kinds of operations, but the more frustrated and angry Lyntael's tone got, the more her inner voice reminded her of memories she had, of those that crossed Sharo's path.

Eternalis's gaze switched between the two girls. Lyntael relaying her fears and thoughts externally, and Aurora to him, unconsciously. It was a maelstrom of emotion that he was caught in the middle of. Before he knew it, Lyntael had stopped talking, and the sound of crackling sparks resulting from her agitated motions had paused. She was stopped in the middle of the area, taking stock of Aurora's condition. By all accounts, Aurora's physical condition had recovered mostly, but as she saw Lyntael bearing down on her, she felt a lump in her throat.

"I-- Well..." her voice cracked. She made eye contact, and her fists unconsciously clenched. "That is-- I'm-- I'm fine to, but..."

Her stretched out stutters were interrupted by someone walking up to Lyntael from behind, and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Lyntael, I'm sorry, but... let's sit back down for a bit. Okay?" said Eternalis, a complicated expression over his simple-looking monster-like face. "I know you think you can handle yourself, but... if you go out looking for blood like you are now, I don't want to see you hurting yourself--or us--being too reckless."

He paused for a moment, looking over at Aurora. The latter nodded, and he turned back to Lyntael, offering a hand to her, which he would take to pull her back down to sit if she accepted.