first log． [ VIDEO → TEXT ]

[silentexe]

[ the feed clicks on, coming to focus on a figure whose face is obscured by a helmet. he leans a little closer to it, as if examining the thing curiously, head tilting just slightly as a finger comes up to tap the screen. there's a few moments where the view shifts suddenly while he turns it over in his hands, then focuses again on him, briefly,

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permavideo!;

[the_very_last]

[for a second, when she looks into her device, an expression flickers across her face that makes it seem as though she may have just seen a ghost.

for all she knows, she just has.

you derezzed.

i saw you.

her voice is tiny when she opens her mouth to speak.]

.. Anon?

permavideo forever since she understands anon-ese!

[silentexe]

[ he flicks the video feed back on for her; after all, she can understand him, even without the voice, even with his face concealed. so his relief is an easy thing to see when he sees her, sees that she's all right - after all, in his last memory of her (his last memory in general, really) her systems were flickering rather dangerously.

he gives a little nod, raises a hand in a small wave. he's honestly not surprised at her reaction. he's kind of confused as to how he's here himself.

but hey quorra. it's good to see you're okay. ]

[the_very_last]

[there's a very strange feeling in her chest. it's like it tightens, and she can't breathe properly - she opens her mouth to respond, and when nothing but a small, distressed-sounding noise comes out, she immediately clamps it shut.

there's a lot that she wants to say.

oh my user you're okay. you're okay. you're okay i imagined the whole thing -

except she knows she hadn't, and that just makes this whole thing that much more confusing.

but she does smile, wave in return, though it seems a fragile thing.]

Hey, you. How are you feeling?

[silentexe]

[ that little distressed sound gets concern from the monitor, making him lean closer to the device, head tilting a fraction to the left. the fragile feel to that smile and wave is still concerning, but the gesture gets him relaxing a bit anyway.

he's feeling all right... much better than before, certainly, if confused. how are you? have you been here long? ]

[the_very_last]

[she's okay. really, she promises. she'll get over this in just a minute.

maybe.

user it's so good to see you.] I'm okay - I haven't been here very long. Actually .. someone else just showed up that I think you might like to know about ..

[and here, she gives a genuine smile. at least she can tell him about gibson.]

[silentexe]

[ well... as long as she's okay. he can't help but be worried a bit. technically flynn's directive to get her back in one piece may have been completed, but he considers it opened up again since they're both here. even more than being important, as flynn said, she's a friend. he wants to watch out for her.

and you've got him properly curious now, quorra. really, someone else? who? ]

[the_very_last]

[she hesitates in telling him right off the bat - it had been a shock for her to see gibson when he'd first arrived. what is it going to be like for anon? not .. that it'll be any worse than having both of them show up, pretty close together, when she'd known both of them had been derezzed.

she's at an impasse. she wants to tell him about gibson - wants to let him know that he's okay. that he's here. but she doesn't want it to shock him so badly that it damages his systems.

oh, well. she's already said something, so she might as well let the proverbial bomb drop.]

Gibson. [pause. a breath in.]

He's here, too.

[silentexe]

[ well. it's not enough to damage his systems, but there is definite shock to be seen there. gibson? there's one thing to know he was derezzed and an entirely different one to have been the one to do it.

there's concerns. (is he still infected? is he okay?) there's guilt for having done the deed, for having been indirectly responsible for gibson getting infected in the first place. (he was protecting me.) his mind's running a mile a minute, and...

he honestly doesn't know what to think right now. the idea of seeing gibson again causes a conflict. on one hand, he's overjoyed the ISO is getting a second chance like him. on the other... well. on the other there's the guilt of it all. maybe gibson had asked him to do it, but he's always thought that there should've been more he could do. it was his duty to protect, after all. maybe he couldn't protect every program, but

[the_very_last]

[she can all but read that concern in the tilt of his head. such a simple gesture, but with anon? it can mean so many different things. she's long since learned to differentiate between all the subtle little differences, and with this? she's quick to reassure him.]

He looked okay - I haven't spoken very much with him yet. He showed up not long after I did, and I haven't had the chance to gauge everything - [it feels like she's rambling, which she probably is, and she promptly shuts her mouth. licks her lips in a nervous kind of gesture that doesn't seem very much like her in the slightest.]

He isn't infected. He looks just as good as you.

[silentexe]

[ and that brings him visible relief to hear. that's good - no, that's better than good, that's... he doesn't know a proper word for it, really, but he's happy to hear that nonetheless. very much so. because, seriously, he doesn't think he could bear to go through with all of that a second time.

and he arrived after you? ... it kind of feels like they're following each other. the thought brings some amusement. ]

[the_very_last]

[she's glad he seems to have calmed down a little bit .. and it's actually rather endearing how much just hearing that gibson seems to be okay has an affect on him. it makes her smile .. he's really going to perk up once gibson finally shows his face around here.

she knows he needs to see him to be sure. just hearing it from her won't be enough - well, it will be, but confirmation never hurt anyone, did it?]

I'd say .. about a week after I did? It hadn't been long at all. He and I both are still trying to get a feel for this place. Not to mention .. being off the Grid.

[silentexe]

[ it never hurt anyone, and right now he would really appreciate. not that he thinks she would mess with him like that, but... the principle of it.

that last part has him perking up a bit, though. so this isn't the grid? then where...? ]

[the_very_last]

I don't know a whole lot about the place yet, myself, but .. so far, it doesn't seem very exciting. [not that .. she wants a lot of action because .. well, quite frankly, she still doesn't know what to do with herself here.]

You know the name - Icarus. This is the real world, Anon.

[silentexe]

[ real... world wait what. like. flynn's world? the world of the users outside the grid? that world???

that doesn't make any sense, he wasn't even anywhere near the portal when he derezzed! it'd explain why he can't locate where icarus is located on the grid and why he's never heard of it, but... how? how are they here? ]

[the_very_last]

[that's right, kiddo. the real world. flynn's world. and now .. well, she supposes it's their world, too. since they've been brought here, anyway ..

she knows it doesn't make much sense. at least she'd been going through the portal when she'd been brought here, so in her case, it could be a simple navigation error or something - but she doesn't think it's going to be that simple.]

Pretty weird, huh? It's taking me a bit to get used to, myself. Gibson, too.