001 [ voice ]

[zenthing]

[There's no fumbling with the Forge before the audio kicks in. The newcomer's tone is equal parts serene and curious; he would have wanted the former, and been unable to avoid the latter. He sounds American and on the older side, with a diluted West coast accent more indicative of education than birthplace.]

Greetings. Namaste.

You would not believe

Comments

Video

[isoalgorithm]

[She knows as soon as she hears that voice coming from her Forge. In her haste and excitement to answer the call, Quorra fumbles the device and it drops heavily to the ground, so Flynn's first view is of the ISO's feet. She crouches, coming back into view as she picks it up again.]

Flynn! You're here! [She turns the Forge the right way up, not even bothering to hide the joy writ large on her beaming face.]

[ video ]

[zenthing]

[This warrants video straight off the bat; luckily, that's not difficult to figure out how to do. He's sitting on his bed, holding the Forge at bent arm's length in front of him.]

Quorra. You're looking well.

[That curious intonation's a touch stronger now, as if this doesn't quite add up with whatever theory he'd begun to formulate. Still, she's happy to see him, and he's happy about that. The lines of his face crinkle into a cautious smile.]

Yeah, it's a recent development. That I'm here is about all I know, so far. Are you... How are you?

[He's got a lot of questions for her, but relatively few pertaining to their location. They'll get to it.]

[isoalgorithm]

I'm so glad you're here. [His fate, along with Sam's, has been preying on her mind ever since finding herself in Anatole. She'd managed to distract herself with other things, but it's always there - a niggling worry in the back of her mind. And some of it remains; she can't see Sam anywhere in the feed.

She ducks her head, almost shamefully. She failed Flynn and endangered them all by sending his son to Zuse. It was a mistake...She can only hope Sam hasn't had to pay for it.]

Did - did you make it to the Portal? Where's Sam?

[zenthing]

[Judging from his expression, he wasn't expecting either of those questions.]

He's not with you?

[Flynn couldn't help the unguarded reply, even if he might have inferred the answer from being asked himself. Quorra should be with Sam. He saw them in the Portal, together, just as clearly as he's seeing this now.]

We got there. [Not untrue.] You don't remember?

[isoalgorithm]

[She gives a quick, short shake of her head, panic briefly visible in her eyes before she schools it into barely-controlled calm.]

The last thing I remember is the fight in the End of Line. [Her voice is quiet; almost apologetic.] I was damaged.

[zenthing]

[He's mastered the tonal equivalent of a hand on her shoulder.] Hey, it's all right. We took care of that.

[They may not be on the same page, but he's out to prove that they have that chapter in common.] How's the arm?

[And on the other subject, his voice softens; affected if he'd let himself be. This is the part he really needs to be true.]

Sam should be out. He should be home safe.

[isoalgorithm]

It's fine now. You repaired me, didn't you? [She doesn't really need to ask, but she does anyway, even managing a little smile. Flynn's calmness has always gone a way to reinforce hers, even when that calmness seems out of her reach.

And speaking of out of reach...]

Should be?

[zenthing]

[He gives a small nod.] We have to be more careful with you. A lot of what you've got going on is beyond me, you know that.

[It's as close as she'll get to a lecture. He got most of that out of his system with Sam.]

That's the best I can do, Quorra. I remember what happened at the Portal. [To say it looked good would probably reveal his perspective.] I woke up here after that.

[isoalgorithm]

[Quorra gathers that's the most she's going to get out of him at the moment. And she has enough respect for Flynn - perhaps too much - to push for more details.

So she just nods, slowly.]

My memory could have been damaged as well. It may return with time. I'm just glad you're safe, now. [She doesn't say it, but they both know that Sam has been alone for long enough to know how to take care of himself by now. She's confident he will be fine, wherever he is, and if Flynn says he made it out, that's good enough for Quorra.

For now.]

[zenthing]

That's one possibility.

[It isn't his intention to withhold information for long. She'll want the truth, even if part of it isn't pleasant. She respected his wishes in the moment, and he's sure she'll respect them after the fact.]

Once I get settled, I'll tell you everything I know. It might come back that way, too.

[Of course, whether Sam's able to make it on his own is beside the point. Flynn had begun to hope for something better than that. He's a little worried, but not for lack of faith in his son's abilities.]

Sure, I'm safe. Just in some pretty uninspired digs. [He leans further back from the Forge and looks around, expressively.]

[isoalgorithm]

[Quorra's got that dangerously thoughtful look on her face that usually means trouble, but fortunately - or perhaps unfortunately, depending how you look at it - Flynn distracts her with the slight change in subject, and she chuckles softly.]

You should have seen the city a week ago.

[zenthing]

You've been here a week? [That's what he takes away from this.] What have you been doing for energy?

[isoalgorithm]

[At that, Quorra breaks out in a little smile, looking almost proud as she offers up her explanation.] I've been eating and sleeping, just like a User! Although I keep sleeping during the day, because I like to be awake for the sunrises. They're beautiful.

[zenthing]

Radical.

[Flynn's awed, even without knowing the exact balance she's struck between what she was and what she would be.]

This I have to see. [He isn't even talking about the sun.] I'm picturing you snoring thunderously into the late afternoon.

You could get up for the sunrise. You don't have to stay up. [But since she's going to do it anyway:] You might have company, next time.

[isoalgorithm]

I do not snore! [As far as she knows, in any case.]

The combination of the mist down here and the clouds and layers of gases in the atmosphere creates some truly beautiful chromatic effects.

It's a shame the mist doesn't have such a nice effect on the rest of this place.

[zenthing]

[He's calling Quorra out on that snoring thing. He used the tonal equivalent of a hand on her shoulder, before, and now it's more like a nudge in the ribs.]

How would you know, ISO?

[Then there's a sudden tension around his mouth, until he's not smiling at all. He can sense a sobering topic, when she's the one talking.]

Someone cursed us to live in interesting times.

So where do they keep the details on the Mist?

[He won't ask her to explain if there's an easier way. That said, he'd sooner ask her than anyone else.]