access:1 // ACTION

[aida_pursuer]

[A strange player stands floats in the corner outside the Chaos Gate room. His generic Twin Blade outfit makes him stand out a little less than before, but he's still a bit of an odd looking one.

And, y'know, he's been floating there motionless for a few hours now. Since he arrived, actually. Do you approach y/n?]

Comments

[tostayconnected]

[ Haseo recognizes this particular generic Twin Blade. It's not the nicest face to recognize, but then, it could be considerably worse. ]

[ He stops a few steps away from Kite and gives him a suspicious look. ]

It's you.

[aida_pursuer]

[He looks up when he hears the familiar voice.]

.................Nhhh.

[He's about as excited to see Haseo as Haseo is to see him, but at least it's someone he knows.]

[tostayconnected]

[ Well, it could be worse. And besides, if this thing is floating around in the open like this, it means everything here is as bad as he suspected since day one. ]

So.

[ He speaks up as he turns toward Kite. ]

What do you think about this whole thing?

[aida_pursuer]

[He stares at Haseo for a moment, then pulls out his Relic. He carefully types out a short flashmail--]

< systems damaged. possible infection. >

[tostayconnected]

Infection, huh...

[ It doesn't make any sense, no matter how much he thinks about it. This thing and its friends are supposed to be designed as Aura's self-defense system, not unlike a pack of loyal dogs. They should be fighting for her tooth and nail. For one of them to get infected is... ]

[ But wait. If this thing is here, then it should be connected to the main server, right? ]

Can you contact the main server, at least? You know, Aura?

[aida_pursuer]

[He pauses again to process that, maybe try to connect one more time.]

< unable to locate server. > [He hesitates, fingers hovering over the keypad, before slowly typing out another message.] < pc files have been reset to user defaults. system menus are inaccessible. there is no method to identify cause of damage or verify aura's condition. >

[THIS IS ALL KIND OF DEPRESSING but fortunately Kite is bad enough at expressing himself that it doesn't really show.]

[tostayconnected]

[ This might be for the better, because Haseo still believes that Azure Kite is this creepy AI-powered zombie thing. Realizing that it has feelings would leave him all kinds of confused. ]

Hm... So that's how it is...

[ What can he say in response to that? Except, you know... ]

Well, don't worry about it. The culprit is gonna show himself sooner or later. [ He scratches his head as he considers. ] Try to gain a few levels until then. We never know when AIDA might show itself.

[aida_pursuer]

[His eyes snap back up to Haseo's when he mentions levelling. And AIDA. AIDA was also a good reason to level, but more importantly he was instructed by Aura to take orders from Haseo.]

< instructions confirmed. i will increase my level. > [And Kite always carries out orders in the most obsessive way possible. You better keep up, Haseo :|

...He pauses again, makes a slight scowl behind his collar, then sends one more message.]

< you do not have my member address. >

[tostayconnected]

[ Oh, for god's sake, why couldn't Aura design him to be a little less creepy? What is this, a slasher movie? ]

Uh... yeah, I know. You don't have mine either.

Should we exchange them now?

[aida_pursuer]

[Hey, making artificial life isn't easy, you know! Then again those shark teeth seem really unnecessary...

Kite doesn't bother to reply and just flips up his Relic to line up with Haseo's. He just wants to get it over with, really. Haseo isn't exactly someone Kite wants to spend a lot of time with, but at least the feeling is mutual.

Re-acquired Azure Kite's member address!]