Desperate

Desperate
Date of Scene:	12 December 2012
Location:	Hollow Bastion
Synopsis:	Hired to find an answer to Avira's cursed existence, Angantyr consults the Shadow Lords' information broken, LEXUS. He reveals what he knows, and offers Angantyr a deal in exchange for his help...
Cast of Characters:	LEXUS, Angantyr Vespar

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LEXUS has posed:
Hollow Bastion is a sanctuary for the Shadow Lords. Neutral ground that all can gather in and join together in their evil. The majority of it is a baroque, ancient castle in a mystical area.

LEXUS gave Ang directions. They give him a path into the depths of Hollow Bastion, that leads to a strange, technological place. Some of it might not unfamiliar to him. Other parts might be alien to him. There is a room full of monitors, a computer bank and console, and a strange device that takes up one wall. A sealed room beyond shows massive arrays of crackling databanks and devices.

There is no immediate response as Ang appears.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr reaches Hollow Bastion...

It is not a pleasent journey, it was a hell journey for the man, who was not a shadow lord. He did not have control over the Heartless, he could not summon them to his will...in these places closer to darkness. Things are wilder, heartless more hungry and darker.

However, he arrives, finally, a corridor of darkness opening, before finally he steps out. Slowly, he walks towards the meeting destination, entering the room with another cooridor, the room sealed from physical entry, as Angantyr looks around. He clicks his tongue for a moment, slowly moving towards one of the monitors, resting a hand on his mace. It was more out of a defensive move than an offensive one...

"LEXUS?"

LEXUS has posed:
Surveillance is the essence of gathering information. If you cannot /see/ what you wish to gather information upon, you cannot gain that information. It is simple.

This is why the depths of Hollow Bastion are heavily monitored by the one who controls the entrypoint into that section of the Dataspace. Having long ago found an alternative exit to the one in ENCOM, LEXUS has taken to using this as his personal gateway.

SNMP TRAP: DARKNESS INFLUX ABOVE 12%.
ALERT: MOTION DETECTED WITHIN PRIMARY GATEWAY._

Camera lenses studding the area turn slightly, tracking the arrival.

HUMAN, DARKNESS-USER, DESIGNATION: ANGANTYR VESPAR DETECTED._

Several monitors, sizzling with static, flicker as a series of purple concentric circuit patterns form in the screen against a black background. The perceptive would remember the same design is upon LEXUS's eyes.

DIGITIZATION PROCESS INITIATED. PROCESSING..._

There is a sizzling crackle from the large device that dominates this room of the computer databanks, and a bolt of light fires down, building a wireframe up from nothing as thousands upon thousands of tiny blocks fill in, rezzing into the familiar form of LEXUS.

DIGITIZATION PROCESS COMPLETE. CORE SYSTEMS ENTERING STANDBY MODE. END OF LINE._

Slowly, LEXUS blinks, and then jerks slightly, looking towards Angantyr. A black cane rezzes into existence, and he taps it on the floor before him, leaning on it with both hands casually. "What do you need, Angantyr?"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr watches all of this...this is something unfamilar to him. Technology isn't unfamilar in Ivalace, but this was beyond anything they had without magitek. He watches, a bit impassive, but his hand on the mace drops. He takes a breath, and crosses his arms until LEXUS finally spoke to him through his own mouth...well, the mouth of the program made flesh.

"I need to know what happened to Sevarius. I understand you had a hand in the stuff that went down in Manhattan, and it has come to my attention that the thing that he was being transported in was attacked by Heartless..." he says.

"To a man, and normal heartless wouldn't be as efficient as what was found. Hell, I don't know many people who could organize something like that."

LEXUS has posed:
LEXUS watches Ang, unblinking, as he makes his request. This is not an intimidation tactic; anyone who would come into Hollow Bastion without an army behind them is steeped enough in the Darkness to not be swayed by such paltry things. But because this is something of who and what LEXUS is.

Presently, he considers Ang's request for information. "You are correct. Sevarius was taken from police custody by myself. However, I do not understand why this is a concern to you." A leather chair also rezzes in, and LEXUS sits in it, relaxing. "Why do you wish to know?"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"I got a job to get information from him about possibly reversing whatever he does to people." Angantyr tries to keep the twitch of disgust out of his eye...but it is hard. He is not a machine like LEXUS is.

"Basicly, I am after a cure, or information to obtain said cure. If I were here to kill him, I'd attempt subtler means to attempt and..." he looks at that machine, "Actually, I'd outsource completely. I'm not from a high tech world."

LEXUS has posed:
LEXUS waits for a moment, considering Angantyr's admission of his job. "Interesting." He watches Angantyr, studying him for a moment. "Perhaps you would be interested in an alteration of the deal. I will pay you more than you were hired for in order to report the failure of your operation. I can manufacture whatever proof you require."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"That's not how I work, LEXUS." Angantyr says, with a twitch. He keeps his eyes focused on LEXUS, right on him, trying to hold his gaze. He displaces his emotion, going deeper into his will power. It was not something he could fail in, and he continues to speak, growling colder.

"I'm here for the cure, not to play with the hopes and dreams of my employer, LEXUS."

LEXUS has posed:
LEXUS will win a staring context. He doesn't need to blink.

"It is against my interests to assist you in acquiring a cure for the woman... Avira's alterations." He gestures. "Her changes have come from the research Sevarius has engaged in to using the Darkness inherent to the Heartless nature, infusing it into a person much in the same way that I have done to myself. The process is fascinating. I wish to continue the observation of her further progression."

He gestures. "Therefore, we seem to be at an impasse. Is there no way we can negotiate this? We have conflicting desires. Is this woman so important to you? I have an assessment of her monetary capabilities, she cannot be paying you much."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"Let me put this on no uncertin terms." Angantyr says, his tone colder by degrees.

"Is your continued use of my services, worth the loss of a simple experiment that could be completed on someone else? There are many more, probably better subjects you can use for his sick experiments." Angantyr offers, "Surely he was not so dumb as to not have back ups?" he counters. "So as I see it, we are not at an Impasse, if you think about this logically." Angantyr continues to keep himself in check...trying to murder LEXUS here was...a death sentance to say the least. Worse, it would ruin any chance at getting a cure.

Angantyr had everything riding on his ability to keep himself in control. No matter how much he wanted to rip LEXUS' head off.

LEXUS has posed:
"Must you truly resort to such brutish threats?" LEXUS replies. "Your browbeating is tiresome. If there were other subjects, logically if a cure was produced and supplied to one person, you would find a way to reproduce it and distribute it to anyone else who was willing to pay you for the privledge." He tilts his head, considering. "Why do you seek to stand in the way of my research? You refuse to answer me. Is this woman so valuable to you that you are willing to put yourself at such a risk for her?"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"Yes." Angantyr finally says, he didn't have a counter for that, so to make things perfectly clear for LEXUS he is going to be honest.

Fml.

Angantyr keeps himself calm still, it is a testimate to his willpower that he hasn't crushed LEXUS between his hands yet. His darkness hasn't started wafting from his body yet, he simply sits, staring right at LEXUS.

LEXUS has posed:
LEXUS ceases to feel the need to continue the staring contest with Angantyr. He turns, discarding the rod in favor of folding his hands together. He leans slightly in the chair, thinking as he stares into the multitude of monitors, each with an eye that twist and turn, ticking over and around.

Finally, he asks, "Do you love her, Angantyr Vespar?"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
There is a twinge of hatred that flashes in his eyes for just a brief moment. It is gone within a moment, it's hardly even noticable, that his right hand clenched for a fraction of a second...unless of course your a program built around noticing all that stuff.

"Yes." he finally says after the long silence between LEXUS and Angantyr.

"Are you dealing, or am I being screwed with?"

LEXUS has posed:
LEXUS can tell what Angantyr is feeling. His systems are monitoring Angantyr's physical stance, hear rate, body temprature, and most importantly, his Darkness control level.

He draws it out for another several seconds after Angantyr speaks. At a time perfectly calcluated, LEXUS asks again, his voice ringing hollowly through the room.

"What are you willing to give in exchange, Angantyr? What is worth the price of a life?"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
There is another long silence...

"If you are willing to give a cure.." he pauses...

Angantyr was over a barrel here, "I'd be willing to do anything." he says. D'oh, he regrets the worlds before they even leave his mouth.

LEXUS has posed:
Do you yet know regret, son of Vespar?

LEXUS replies, pleasantly. "Anything."

He turns back, slowly, staring at Angantyr once more. However, this time LEXUS' eyes pulse with an inner violet energy, as if in anticipation.

"Are you willing to take her place?"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"...Yes." Angantyr finally says. He sighs in defeat, he knows Avira would scream at him now, but it was his responsibilty to undo what he had done...and...

It doesn't matter now.

LEXUS has posed:
"Excellent. We have a deal." LEXUS replies.

A panel is opened in the wall, and a syringe is provided, filled with an ingly, swirling black liquid. "This is the same serum used upon Avira." He floats it into the air before Ang. "Inject yourself with it, and a cure will be provided."

That's right. He's leaving your damnation in your own hands. Just the way it ought to be.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr takes the vile, but...

"And the cure?" He looks at LEXUS. "I wasn't born yesterday, I want it first, and given to Avira."

LEXUS has posed:
"As soon as I have it synthesized, I will ensure that it will be delivered to Avira." LEXUS replies. "I promise I will have one made."

He smiles. "But only one."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr looks at the Vial again. It is also the vile.

"Then we have a deal." he says, and injects himself with the vial.

LEXUS has posed:
"A pleasure doing business with you, Angantyr." LEXUS says. He stands up, and walks towards the man, putting his palm over Ang's forehead. There is a flash of crackling light before an violet circuit-like mark appears there, and then vanishes. "I will be keeping track of your progress and watching your development from here. I will inform you as soon as the cure is manufactured and delivered." LEXUS turns away and sits back down in his chair, kicking up one foot and folding his hands. "Is there anything else?"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr doesn't hide the look of hatred this time, already the thing was vaining up his arms...his darkness was stronger than Avira's by leagues and miles...the mutation was already having an effect. The mark on his forehead, crackles a bit, but Angantyr wasn't feeling the strength to resist right now. Gritting his teeth, he doesn't respond to LEXUS...instead he vanishes into a dark corridor...

This is the last place he wants to be...

LEXUS has posed:
Angantyr is left to vanish into the Darkness as he wills. LEXUS' tracking mark will keep a bead on the poor boy, no matter where he runs. After all, he will need to continue observation of the process...

Once he is alone, the beam fires from the laser, and LEXUS vanishes back into the grid as he laughs, his voice echoing through Hollow Bastion long after his return to his native realm.

This experiment will be fascinating.