A Memory, Shared
[Server U-16Ø, Binary Interior]
[R&D Facility #10 - SciLabs]
[Before]
You're taller and broader than him, now. You're not sure you'll ever be used to that. Still, you can spot the minutiae that mark your man if you look closely: the set of his shoulders and the straightness of his back; the way he folds his arms like he expects them to be twice as thick around. It's reassuring to know which one to grab by the arm without having to listen, nevermind that both the other acolytes have women's voices.
The moment you pull Aven across the transporter's threshold and onto island soil, he goes slack. A breeze sets the trees to singing, loud and startling enough you almost the quiet, "Oh my..." as he looks up, and beholds the bubble-world of U-16.
There are islands in the sky. Rather, the ocean, Their ocean was the sky, after a fashion. The bubble drifts through Their depths, large enough for small landmasses to dot the round white sea. A small yellow star sits cupped in an unburning stone cradle at its centre, which spins in accordance with the cycles to give U-16 a mirror of the human world's day and night. Swirling clouds blanket the surface, calculated to evenly distribute that just-right amount of shade for when one's island paradise was getting a little too toasty. The horizon curves up on all sides, giving a curious sensation of standing in a colossal bowl - the horizon is far enough away to simply fade out of sight, far enough away that at night, the lights of the far side bouncing all the way across look like clusters of stars.
That's just what you've gathered from your eyes, your ears and the stories you've been told. Not for the first time, you wonder what it's like for Aven to be connected to it so completely, what he'd say if you asked him what he could see. The other side of the world, for all you know. He's volunteered little insight into his new perspective in the days since, but you can be patient for him, for this.
"Did you plan on spending your whole vacation standing there?" The playful words and your hand twining with his are enough to snap him out of the trance - it's not the first time you've had to. He gives you a small nod of apology-but-thanks, and then you're walking. Soil fades into sand underfoot; you take your boots off and relish the feeling of curling your toes into the fine grain. Nona waves to the two of you, slapping at the waves where they tickle at her ankles and shrieking with uncomplicated joy. The ocean cups her in a safe, shallow bowl even as it breaks well overhead to either side, cradling Their progeny as lovingly as her own parents. She flings herself forward and hugs the ocean back spread-eagle, even as it ruffles her short hair and takes care to stay out of her nose; she could not possibly be safer. Beside you, Aven makes a happy sound, like a faceless smile. You wave back.
You stop once you're just up the beach from Nona, patting the sand beside you. Watching Aven figure out how to make his avatar sit is both fascinating and a little heartwrenching. "Sometimes I miss your old body," you muse as he offers you his hand to hold. You study the fingers a moment: acolytes' fingers, the universe in the shape of a man. A beloved voice in an unfamiliar body...but familiarity would come in time.
Aven'mutz hums, following your gaze across the shore to where Nona plays in the sand. When he speaks up again, blithe as you please, you can hear that damnable smirk clear as day, nevermind you could no longer see it, "Truly? I can't say I expected to hear ambivalence from you, going off your words last night."
"Great Builder, could you not?!" you sputter - you can feel your face blush silver, even more-so when Aven'mutz fluid-shifts and reels you in for an obnoxiously close side-hug. You bat ineffectually at the tentacles, making his translucent chest rumble with laughter against your face. He seems to take this as an invitation to wrap the two of you up several times over and complete the hug. Giving up, you lean in and enjoy the cool daybed of his arms. Rivers of rootcode jangle in his chest like bells in a breeze.
"I do miss it, though. You've wanted this for so long, and you know I'll always support you no matter what. Still, you can't deny it's a lot to get used to." You prod at his chest, feeling rootplasm squish where there had once been broad, solid muscle. "This form is wonderful in its way, but...oh Aven, you were so warm and sturdy, and you gave such good hugs. It's hard not to miss that..." your thoughts begin to wander. Now it's your turn to leer, trying on the other side of playful, "...and your face was a lot more useful before."
"Ohhh reeeeeally?" His tone is an ear-to-ear grin, but Aven'mutz says no more, just lays back and lets the moment pass. A band has kicked up down the beach, playing something bubbly and bouncing. Human music, if you had to guess, but then your husband is talking again, voice low and thoughtful, "I just...the more I learned, the more I wanted, no, needed to do anything I could to help." You're surprised - you thought he was long past needing to justify his choice, but then for once in his life he doesn't content himself with a one-liner and keeps going, and that more than anything stills your tongue, "Grandroot Binary is so vast, and always growing. Even this far down, I can feel it, Dreisskr. It's like...like watching a forest grow in fast-forward, and it's always getting faster. There's more new growth today than yesterday, and there was more yesterday than there was the day before that."
There's nothing you can say to that, at least not yet, and anyway he seems incapable of stopping the words now that they've started to spill out. "Did you know, in our last communion with the Server Lab, one of the Superiors said our last census put our population almost on par with Earth's? They can barely keep track of us anymore, let alone Their outer limits. There's that much." He looks down at his hands, a relic from a life of binocular vision. You squeeze his forearms and try to imagine what else, how much else he's seeing, but he isn't finished, "It's on us now to make up the difference. The bigger Grandroot gets, the more resources the Server Lab need to maintain Them, the harder it is for the humans to communicate with us, the more attendants and acolytes we need to make up the difference, the bigger Grandroot gets...it's a cycle. A vicious cycle, and I don't know what's going to happen if..."
"Hey, hey." You can't take any more in, and have to give his arms a shake for the words to putter out. "Look at me, Aven, just - just at me. I know there's a lot but you - you can look away, right? You don't have to be all of it, you'll only lose yourself out there if you try - you have to know that if you're gonna do this. You're you, and you're here." You're talking as much with your body as your words, and your punctuation are fingertips ghosting over rubbery knuckles, and the stare he'd once told you had been what first set his mind ablaze with hold on. You don't need to see his eyes to feel his world shrink down into the space you inhabit. "I'm here. Your daughter's here. Please, my heart, be here with us too."
The white receded, rearing its stems back and up and flowering anew: crawling from its depths were ears with fingers, ears with toes, ears that gaped and ears that gnawed themselves to tatters. A village, a city's worth of skin and cartilage, sewn into a veiny tapestry. The unlight, having spread its taint to Hex's taste, had flourished now into an organ-like growth off the Egomorph-lump. Lung-like, the monstrosity started pulsing like a mockery of breath. Virtual atmosphere was pulled in and harvested, and with each exhale the Conduit started to echo with song.
Images, sensations slithered into one's ears and chest the longer one listened: a memory shared of toes curling into white sand; a warm embrace; a loving whisper 'be here with us.'
So too did it recede from out the Conduit. Bloody light flickered and died down to sparks as its fuel withdrew itself - the siren song dimmed but kept playing. Egomorph was flung back into her body, insensate, boiled for too long in Hex's cauldron. In a last desperate grasp for sanity, her awareness of self winked out. Didn't need to see what had become of her body; didn't need to feel her progenitor chewing the inside of her belly. She didn't need to be here for this, so she wasn't.
You closed your eyes instead, and let your head fall back against the sand. The lap of waves, the interplay of hot sun and cool sea breeze, the presence of others - others? For some reason you were expecting to see Vasilia, though you could not see her. Perhaps you were Vasilia, in this moment? Or was Vasilia you? It didn't seem to matter here. You looked up to the islands in the sky, hoping she could appreciate this beautiful place with you all the same.
A hand in yours. Familiar children's laughter, though you don't know from where. You look around for your daughter-
(Whose daughter? What was daughter?)
You - who were you again?
Where was this?
[Vasilia? VASILIA!]
"h̶́n͜͡n̕n̡ ̵-́ ̢g͘ḩ͘h͘ḩ͢͏k̶k̸ " Ego slammed herself into the madness and forced herself to feel. Boneless limbs flailed and snapped. Vasilia was close, far too close, her mouths were full of a sickening savoury-sweet taste it wanted more more more of she was an armless, legless tumour with too many so many faces and everything was moving but she couldn't stop it couldn't even move there was just too much her that wasn't her just more reaching white-
c̷á̧̛ ͟͡-̶͡ ҉̵n͘͟'̶͢͟t͝ ̕-̢ ͜st̴ ̡͠-̸ o͏ -͢ ̡̛͢p̷͞ ̵̀-̸ ̡̛͘i̧͠t͞ And it was all white inside her, she understood now, she was just - something to carry its brain around. Every syllable was a battle, when she only wanted to curl up and scream until it took her away because she was its brain, she was it was she was it was -. "̢̕i'̸̀͡m ͝-̸ ş͘͝ơr̀̀͡ ̵͢-̡ ͞͡r͟҉y͠"̴͡
Arms weren't working. Arms weren't arms, just coils full of hunger that wasn't hers, reaching in ways she didn't understand. Still, she fought to keep still. Even if it felt like trying to hold back the tide, water rushing past uncaring (over and over and over again), something wasn't letting her cave in. She would destroy herself trying, surely...but was that such a bad thing to hope for?
She just wanted it to stop.
It didn't.
Everything went white - Hex had lunged, through as much as around its puppet. The Conduit was inert; with triumph close enough to taste, there was no further need for thought. The ooze that had fed its cerebral access point was rerouted, repurposed to simply crush its prey instead. There were no tangling snarls or gardens of grasping hands this time, just a single misshapen cudgel of a mass, and all the force the surging pool could bring to bear.
All at once the obscenity was slurped back in. The hungry ocean feasted on its own offspring, bulging, bloating. Nothing was safe from consumption: the roof shingles, its own corpse-husks, even the atmosphere itself was caught on a waving carpet of tendrils and digested into more slurry. Another white pillar stretched tall, swollen full of wretched thoughtless intent.
She felt it fall. Heavier than the last one, it sent tremors through Ego's body that threatened to drown her voice outright. She might have been on the arm when it smashed down to the roof - it wasn't as though she could held it back if she was. There wouldn't be enough of Vasilia left for one of the white's trophies, if it got to her. "̹̻͈ͦ̇ͫ͛ͭ̋̔P̲̪͇̩̩̖̆̑͋͂ͅl̞̟̪ͨ̓͆̈́̊ͨ͐e̪̫̭̾̓a̮̟͉͓̮̥̠̒̑͂ ͓̬̀ͬ-̘͙̫̏̄ ͖̊̀s͉̈ͫ̔̍̒̋̃ė̥̜̮͎͖́͆ͮͯͅ,̀̈̔ͤ ̦V̗͓͛á͇͎̝̩̃̔ͅ ̯̼͉̠-ͦͨ͋ ̹̳̹̹̱̳͙͂ͧ̔̆̉̈́s͕̻͔̦̆͂͒i͙̘̦͙̖̹͎ͥ ͯ-̩̜͍̫̬̆ ̣͎̬̣͎͉̯ͥ̄l̒͂ͬ͂̅̾i͚̳̭̟̔ ̜̫̲͎̆ͦ͂-̠͐̾̽̋ ͚̖̯͈ͨ̾ͦ͐ͫ͂͗a̯̿̑̽̀̅ ̬̯̯̠̲͇̐̃͊ͬ͊̀̿.̟ͥͅ.͈͉̳̳̭̘.̞ͭ̏̎̆"̲̘̭̜̥ There was too much, just too much. It writhed once, twice more, and then -
- vanished.
Snapped back into the pool like a stretched rubber band, forceful enough to splatter the window into a low creep of ooze. She could feel, now, the white columns that stretched from the main body into this space. The skittering shreds belied what lay on the other side of that deceptive puddle: there was never going to be an end, not when there was a hungry white ocean <beneath/behind/below> leeching at the Net World one horrible hunt at a time, burrowing-
It was burrowing, Ego knew a second before it happened. In the last instant of quiet before the tide came back in, she called out to her friend.
"͞S̵̡͞U̸҉̶R͘͏̡ ̡-̡ ҉͢V̧̛IV̷̡̡E͘"̛͢
Like rust, like rot, it sank into the roof itself, and drank deep from its structure. Tunneling, tearing and gorging without heed, truss and beams were torn from their fastenings and devoured in seconds. The screech of tortured framework could be heard from blocks away - from inside the building, the noise was nothing short of apocalyptic.
And it rose, once more, higher and higher still, tipping under its own weight at its peak. A wave breaking without a sea, Hex made no move to send more appendages after Vasilia. They were past that. Now it just charged, throwing its entirety in her direction even as it tore the ground out from under her feet. Egomorph was screaming, but there was no way to hear her over the calamity. Whatever part of the building it had exposed would be flooded, all that lay within ripe for the taking, and at the epicentre of the madness was a little puppet that smelled of heartwood and fractals and something forgotten but familiar. And it was that last note, that tingling feeling of once-known the white desired more than any other, and it would render its prize down to pulp for another taste.
-Ḑ̴͌̋̊ͦ͂̈́̆͊̍̾ͯ̍̀͜A̴̴ͮ̓͗̆ͭ͐̇̋͟N̷̛̛ͣ̉ͯ̊̆̅ͦ̎̉̽̅͆̈ͭͩ̎͘̕Ģ̵̌͌ͬ̄̂ͣͥ͗͂͛̎̐̔͗͋̀̚͝͝E̶̸̛̐́̅̌͛̆ͭ̀̚͠Ȑ͋̒ͤͨ̏̓ͯ̋͝ ̸ͫ̈͛҉͢/̧̧̡ͩ͆ͨͥ͂͑ͫ́͐/̷̢̍͗ͯ̎̋̋̋ͬ̌̈̊̉ͬͫ̚͞ ̴̓̿̆̑͗̈͐̑̽̄̉C̶̵̡̈́ͧͥ̈̏͛̿̏͝O̡̿̀ͨ̏̊̊ͣ͊͌ͩ̓́̊͋̔̋̉͒҉̨͘N̑ͯ̽ͭ̀̕͠͡T̡̢͌̑̉̅͌̽ͯ͑ͦ̽ͦ̈́̉̀͟A̵̧̛ͥ̎̊ͥͥͫ̽̃̇̓̄̔͌C̴̸̒ͫ̋͋ͤ̋̑͝T̷̢̆̿ͥ̍ͤ̆̕͞ ̸̧ͬ̒͆̔̍͗̒͌̽ͭ́̃̃͌ͥ̈́ͨ͂I̢̛̿̾͊̒̐̃ͬ̒̍ͣͮMͩͫ͗͌̂͛̈ͩ̓̄̔ͦ̒̿̇́҉̴M̢͛ͧ̒́ͭ͒̕I̢̿͐ͫ̓͋̿̄̋͋̑ͨ̔̕͝N͒̀͗̍͑̀͝Ėͤͥͮ͟Nͦ̊̌̍̑ͨͭ҉̶̧̢̛T̵̵̷̵̑̿̊̅̓͐͂̀̒̓̌͌̔͋ͬ̂͋̚ ̶̴̨͒̇̌́ͨͯ͒ͥ̋̅̓́̈͘͞/́̇͑̔́͟/̡ͮ̓ͥ̇̅̅͂͐̚͢͡ ̨̔͋̿̑̊ͭ̓ͧ̂̊̿ͫͨͭ̀D̶̡̨ͦ̂̾͑̐ͮ̒̿̕Âͮ̅̽̂͌ͮ̾ͨ̅̕͞N̨ͧ͆̃͑ͬ͐̉̋̎ͫ҉͟G̛͗̋̓ͯͬ̈́ͣ̑̀̂̚͏̨E̽̒̏ͨͭͬͤ̌ͨ͊ͭ̆͆̈́̍ͧ̎̍̊҉́͞R̢̨̅ͫ̇͗ͦ̂͊̌͆ͨ̄̈̈͋ͫ̋̌ ̵̡ͤͤ̈͌́̋ͨ͂́/̶̸ͯ̌ͫͮͦ̑̕/̴͆̎̄̉͌̿͐͛̚̕ ̴̨͒̿̽̓̓͂̀̃̓ͯ̋͌̊̿̄͢͏C̡̛̔͑͊̋̊̅̾ͩ̿͏̵͜Õ̴ͪͩ͊͌͗̒̀̚̚̕N̨̨̢͆ͪͮͧ͘͜T̶̵̡͛ͦ̃ͯ̀͜A̵ͭ͊ͭ̈ͨ͌͘͘C̴̐̓ͭ̆̄́̚T̵̷̛̅̿ͯ́͑͋̓̄̀̆ ̄̅̍̐̑̌̿͐ͭ̑̚͘͘I̴̢ͯ͗ͭ̓̓ͬ͊̊̇̏ͩ́̆ͧ͂M̨͛ͯ̏͑̇̀̐̑͋͐ͪͥ̌ͯ̇͢͞͡M̵̡ͥͣ̿͆ͯͥ̆̆͜İ̽̂̈́ͣ̄͗̍ͤ̾̉̎̋ͬ̓ͦ͌̾̀͢͜͏̡N̴ͦͭ͂̿͑͒̅ͫ̓͆͢Ẽ̡̎ͦͯͪ̉ͮ̈͟͠N̷͑̓̓̒͑͊̏ͥ̊ͨͥͭ̚͘T̸ͣ̇͐͋̅́̽͊̇ͣ̾ͯͦ͛̒ͯ̈̋͜ ̡̀̓͒ͩͯͮͥ͒̽͐̓͛̈́ͥ/ͣ̈́ͦ̊͑̄ͧ͆̓͋ͮ̆̎̂́͝/̸͒ͣͨͨͤ̊̅̌ͥ͒̔̀ͪͭͣ̓͘͜͝͡ ̔̈̿͂ͩ͊̏́̈ͤ̃̌̈́̃ͦ̾҉̷͟D̏ͣ͆̃ͧ̒͂̉͏̧͝A̵̶͛̂̉̎̄̋̃̏͐̾͟Ņ̢͗̇̏̅͌ͧ̑͋̓̐̒͗͛͐͒͊̐̀̚͜͡Ǧ̶ͬ̎̀̌̔̀̕̕͢E̵̡̨̐͒̐ͯ̆ͯͧ́̚͜R̎ͥͤ͌̈̾҉̷͝-
-FastArmour [over Hex]
-Glitch Eater (indiscriminate target)
E1. Grapple Vasilia
E2.
1. Half Charge Shot: Vasilia [60 Null {A}]
2. Buster Charge
- Apply Strengthen 20
3. Half Charge Shot: Vasilia [80 Null {A}]
4. Dodge
5. Assembly [Buster Charge x2, Large Broken Terrain under Vasilia, Self-Slow; 3TCD]
6. Charge Shot: Vasilia [120 Null {A}]
