Mons: YOU awake in a blank void, with no walls, ceiling or floor visible or to feel.
[12:47am] • Aria cracks his neck.
[12:47am] • Aria looks around in his infinifloat void.
[12:48am] Mons: Sure does crack. There's a motion in response, and an old man blurs into vision in front of you. Though lacking a beard, his hair is long, white and unkempt, matching his withered frame and face. He wears an almost precisely tattered robe of red and black, his liver-spotted, wheezing chest exposed, but limbs covered, the robe's pattern and shape making it seem almost as if he has tree trunks for hands.
[12:48am] Mons: ...It's him. Darkrai. Oberon.
[12:48am] Mons: "Why."
[12:50am] Aria: "Wynaut."
[12:50am] Mons: "Your ambition reaches here... why. Is it really all yours? Do you know what you tamper with?"
[12:50am] Mons: (For the record, any plot info they get from dicking around this session, you'll know instinctively)
[12:54am] Aria: "Know? I've never known anything. We're both at the mercy of the drawstrings of inexorable fate. Only I get to win, and you get to lose."
[12:56am] Mons: "You speak as if you know how Fate works, and brashly at that."
[12:57am] Mons: He waves his left hand, and likewise a spear of more... purplish blackness, clearly distinct from your 'background', pierces YOUR hand and slams into an invisible wall behind you that certainly wasn't there before, pinning you to there. It definitely looks and feels like you were stabbed...
[12:58am] Aria: "I just told you, I've never known anything. You're not very good at liste- AGH."
[12:58am] Mons: "If that is the fate you choose, this is your pain. My pain. Even if you overcome it, you can only bring it to others."
[01:01am] Aria: "I've ... ugh, never chosen anything either. I was born to this. To you. To be King. Pain..." Aria tugs at his hand, wincing "Is part of it. Where are we, anyway? I was just on the boat..."
[01:02am] Mons: "My world, my charge, the land you propose to take hold of... Or rather, a fraction of it, an area sealed off to most mortals. You, I believe, will be getting VERY familiar with this place if you refuse to leave it as it is."
[01:03am] Aria: ( can I imitate him? )
[01:03am] Mons: (Roll it)
[01:03am] Mons: (in academy
[01:05am] Mons: Your body begins to twist and contort, halfway reaching his state, then immediately snaps back. He was quite obviously taken aback by your attempt, and immediately conjures another spear to pin your other arm. "Test your boundaries as you will, but they are quite far from MINE."
[01:06am] Mons: You got close, though... Just a little more, and maybe... but can you take it while bleeding?
[01:06am] • Aria >:Ts and trys again
[01:10am] Mons: Closer, CLOSER... Nope. Snaps back again, and holy shit you're feeling weak now. Oberon doesn't spear you again, though... Maybe he wants you up? "Determination... hrmph. These traits almost make me want to bring you over rather than simply try to kill you."
[01:12am] Aria: "Cocky, self-righteous speeches. Almost .. agh ... make me want to catch you ... instead. Put you in  a ball. Give you a nickname. Mr. Wubblykins ... maybe? Feed you poffins... brush your hair."
[01:13am] Mons: He pauses for a moment on that one. Perception.
[01:14am] Mons: Yep, he's holding back a laugh. Fucker finds it really funny.
[01:15am] Mons: But why keep his dignity like that? Why not kill you if he claims he can? Why... why here... Questions fill your head unabated in a stream of consciousness as your sight fades out, the last glimpse you catch of your prey being a wicked smile.
[01:15am] • Aria smiles, too, and laughs himself. At least they can both have a sense of humour about trying to kill each other.
[01:15am] Mons: ...And your eyes snap open in the earlier described scenery, a photo-negative and all... Is that the Majesty Fields? Wait, you aren't hurting? Your arms are untouched, but you did feel pain a moment earlier. Maybe a bit of a tingle, but... nothing.
[01:16am] Aria: ( move to other room then? )
[01:16am] Mons: (Not quite yet)
[01:16am] Mons: (You're a distance from the Tower)
[01:17am] Mons: (And, of course, now you can check your gear and such, especially your communicator)
[01:17am] • Aria contorts around a bi, cracking his back and neck, and then feeling his hands.
[01:17am] Mons: Feels fine, the tingling is fading.
[01:17am] Aria: ( > around a bi )
[01:17am] Mons: (hahahaaaa)
[01:18am] • Aria checks her communicator, again feeling the tug of INEXORABLE FATE.
[01:19am] Mons: Brrrr.... Brrr... Static. But glimpses of an image beyond them. "...re...co...fr...spa...ni..."
[01:20am] Aria: "Re ... co .. fr .. spa .. ni? Rad."
[01:20am] • Aria turns it off, and begins walking straight ahead, a bit annoyed.
[01:21am] Mons: It blips off... and a few moments later, you get a call. On the same damn thing.
[01:21am] • Aria rolls her eyes and picks up. "Yeeeello?"
[01:23am] Mons: It's still a little staticy, but much clearer now. The familiar command room of Masque HQ is visible to you now... in as much as it can be visible being filled with something of a light haze. Is that... dream smoke? Probably heavily diluted, though. The King of Wands sits in the main chair, lucky he was on-shift. "Child! You're... fine, we thought you were dying or something, your biological signals went insane."
[01:24am] Aria: "Oh hi~. Had a little meeting with my biggest fan. I'm still in his realm ... not sure why."
[01:24am] • Aria walks towards the nearest set of ruins, for the sake of walking towards something.
[01:26am] Mons: "You're... you're what!?" The nearest set of ruins is a blown-apart fort, there's enough rubble in and around it to climb and sit on. Looks stable at least. "You met him...  we should've known, but you've reached the dream world without interference?" He turns down to the operators. "Two, Three, get me a reading on her status!"
[01:26am] Mons: Both: "Definitely asleep!" "Definitely dreaming..."
[01:28am] Aria: "Yeah. Is this good or bad? I can't tell."
[01:28am] • Aria climbs to the highest point of rubble he can manage.
[01:29am] Mons: King: "We, er, can't either. If we can figure out what shifted you, pinpoint just WHERE you are--you popped right off our normal monitor of course--we could actually have a serious foothold here. Where exactly were you when this happened, and what were you doing?
[01:29am] Mons: "
[01:30am] Aria: "I was ... mind fuzzy, having trouble remembering exactly. I was on the boat, on the way to the academy. I'd just finished a fight. Got my butt kicked, was nursing wounds and chatting with people..."
[01:30am] Mons: "Normal, then. Just on the way, almost there, or what?"
[01:31am] Aria: "Almost there, the island was in sight."
[01:31am] Mons: "...Hm. Two! Three! Give me her exact coordinates at time of loss!"
[01:31am] Mons: "Sir!" "Sir!" And then a lot of typing.
[01:31am] Aria: "Oh, yeah, that's the last thing I remember. I saw the island, then BAM, suddenly I'm with Oberon."
[01:32am] Mons: "Troubling. If you can survive here, though, we may be able to rescue you. It might take some time for us to even PROCESS this stuff, you know, but..." "Coordinates found, sir!" "Right on the border of what's legally considered the Academy..."
[01:36am] Aria: "Noted. It's pretty empty, so I should be fine..."
[01:36am] • Aria dangles his feet off the ruins, waving them around.
[01:36am] Mons: "Well, make sure to keep locations and such clear. Is there anything you'd like to ask of us through all this?"
[01:37am] Aria: "I would if I knew what to ask. What's happening to my real body? Did I just fall asleep like some lamo narcoleptic?"
[01:38am] Mons: "We aren't sure. Your implanted biosensors are all reading fine, if having some spikes in dangerous mental activity earlier, but we can't actually tell WHERE you are."
[01:39am] Aria: "Weird. Well, I guess there's nothing to do but wait for me to wake up, or to get waken up, or get killed by a mob of Oberon's dream abominations."
[01:40am] Mons: "Try not to, alright."
[01:41am] Aria: "I'll just be sitting here." :T
[01:41am] Mons: "We're out, then, good luck. We'll track you as best we can." Blip.



Mons: YOU however wake up in a small room of pure concrete, ruined and dirty. Blood is on the walls, and through the one small window you can see people fleeing, being attacked, things burning... Pure chaos. Your mother sits in the middle of it, her clothes torn and dirty, weeping.
[01:43am] Isabella: "...what?" She rubs her eyes and sits up, her eyes widening.
[01:43am] Mons: Nothing but weeping and screaming.
[01:43am] Isabella: "What is... mother?!" She heads to the window.
[01:43am] Mons: Sure is a warzone.
[01:44am] • Isabella looks around, utterly confused and starting to panic.
[01:44am] Mons: "...why..."
[01:44am] Mons: Your mother begins to address you. She looks miserable. "...why are you not asking... why don't you see her..."
[01:45am] Isabella: "Mother, what are you talking about? Where is this? Are you okay?"
[01:45am] Mons: "WHY DON'T YOU SEE HER FOR WHAT SHE IS!? WHY DO YOU GO ALONG WITH THEM!?"
[01:45am] Isabella: "I... what is this... Am I dreaming...? But I feel awake..."
[01:45am] • Isabella winces
[01:45am] Mons: She grips your shoulders tightly, fingers beginning to dig into your flesh.
[01:46am] Isabella: "Aaah!"
[01:46am] • Isabella tries to pull herself away but she's such a frail girl.
[01:46am] Mons: SNAP. Gone. Unharmed. Different scene. You stand in the middle of a great and beautiful hall, easily not out of place in some royal palace.
[01:47am] • Isabella looks around, shaking slightly and feeling where fingers were digging into her flesh.
[01:49am] Isabella: "H-hello?"
[01:49am] Mons: Or... not exactly the middle, you realize. It's a throne room, and you're in front of the throne. As you feel your shoulder, you notice... More blood wipes off on it from your hands.
[01:50am] • Isabella stares, opening and closing her hand, before looking up at the throne.
[01:50am] Mons: And your other hand has a knife in it. On the throne itself is an old woman in an elegant pink dress, with a wound directly in her heart, about the size of that very knife.
[01:51am] • Isabella drops the knife out of shock. "Wha- what did... what did I..."
[01:51am] Mons: The room fills with knights, rich lords, all people you would imagine from the sort of scene you're in. A judge walks up the red carpet to you.
[01:51am] Mons: He lifts his gavel. "Do you accept this fate?"
[01:51am] • Isabella turns. "What fate? What's going on? I'm.. I'm so confused..."
[01:52am] Mons: "Do you accept?"
[01:52am] Mons: "You have killed the Lady. Do you take her title and burden?"
[01:53am] Isabella: "I... I suppose it's my responsibility, isn't it... May I ask what IS her title and burden?"
[01:53am] Mons: "No. You can only feel."
[01:53am] Mons: He swings his gavel down on your head. SNAP. New scene, unharmed.
[01:53am] Isabella: "Th-then... I accept."
[01:54am] • Isabella blinks
[01:54am] • Isabella looks around, cautiously.
[01:55am] Mons: You're in the middle of the campus at noon. People move on as normal, everything's normal.
[01:55am] Mons: ...People move through you. Around you. Past you. As if you don't even exist.
[01:55am] Isabella: "...what... hello?"
[01:55am] • Isabella tries to wave in someone's face.
[01:55am] Mons: Someone bikes directly at you, knocking you aside. You pass through the rest of the crowd, and the biker is gone. Nobody feels or notices.
[01:56am] • Isabella blinks and tries to pursue the biker for a few meters before realizing he's completely gone.
[01:57am] • Isabella stops short, looking around, frantically. "What... What is going on?!" she yells with some fear and frustration.
[01:58am] Mons: The judge's voice rings out. "Your fate. You accepted their plot and one of your many potential places. Embrace your eternal ethereal existence."
[01:59am] Isabella: "But that isn't fair at all... This is... I can't accept THIS..."
[02:00am] Mons: "Then do not."
[02:00am] Mons: SNAP.
[02:01am] Mons: You're... In the middle of an incredibly bright, hilly field, dotted with ruins. Supernaturally bright. No blood, no other people, nothing. A good ways in the distance there's a gigantic pillar of pure whiteness twisting around.
[02:02am] Isabella: (I thought I would find something out, but here I am left with endless more questions. ;_;)
[02:02am] • Isabella just stands there a moment, shaking, breathing... she looks at her hand to see if the blood is still there.
[02:03am] • Isabella then looks up at the pillar.
[02:03am] Mons: Hand's clean. No injuries. The pillar's... huge, really, stretches past the clouds.
[02:03am] • Isabella shakes her head and begins walking towards the pillar.
[02:04am] Isabella: "Not a ghost..." she murmurs to herself.



[9:13pm] Mons: Aaaalright. I'm guessing you communicate indirectly, rather than actually leaving the island to try and reach anyone?
[9:13pm] Aria: Yeah
[9:15pm] Mons: Well you do get through far easier as always. Of course... only Two and Three seem to be staffing the control room at the moment! In the background, people are running back and forth with boxes and such.
[9:15pm] Aria: "Uh, hello? Where's the King of Wands?"
[9:15pm] Mons: Both: "Hey! We were told to wait on you to call in rather than check up on you because of what happened."
[9:16pm] Mons: Two: "He's going over the packing..." Three: "Basically, what happened is..."
[9:16pm] Mons: The stop, having spoken at the same time. Two nods to Three. "Get him over, he'll just explain it."
[9:17pm] • Aria rolls her eyes.
[9:17pm] Mons: After a bit, the man recognized publicly as your father (in his uniform and mask of course) plops down in his chair. "Excellent, you got in before we finished."
[9:18pm] Mons: "We went over your initial report and the information we got back. Are you familiar with the way the dream world works in respect to real-life locations? I'm not exactly sure what you're learning over there."
[9:18pm] Aria: "What? No, I mean .. we just come back to the place we were when we left? Or do you mean something else?"
[9:19pm] Aria: "Anyway, that's not why I'm calling!"
[9:19pm] Mons: "You first then, the news can wait if you have something."
[9:19pm] Aria: "Isabella was drawn into the Dreamworld as well. The next dawn, after I was."
[9:19pm] Mons: "...Hm. They're... it WAS Titania's work, as far as you can tell, and not Oberon's?"
[9:20pm] Mons: "We saw as much from her sensors, but we can't exactly tell how or why it's happening."
[9:20pm] Aria: "I think so. She said dream-monsters tried to kidnap her to be with Titania."
[9:21pm] Mons: "They're working in concert... It'd be more worrying if this weren't likely a desperate move. As the mythology implies, they usually aren't in the most peaceful of marriages."
[9:25pm] Aria: "Alright well... wanted to make sure you were up to speed. What news do you have for me?"
[9:27pm] Mons: "Well, here's the basics since you aren't aware. The way the dreamworld works is that it's generally shaped by the subconscious minds of people, naturally. This means that as people congregate in towns and other such things, the collective subconscious of the area eventually forms its own equivalent space in the dreamworld."
[9:27pm] Mons: "After looking over some of the stuff we got back from you... we're figuring that Oberon and Titania's realm here actually has something similar, an equivalent physical space in the region."
[9:28pm] Aria: "... The academy?"
[9:28pm] Mons: "Majesty Fields, actually."
[9:28pm] Aria: "... Where's that?"
[9:28pm] Mons: "The academy is our other candidate, but it's quite a bit more well-guarded..."
[9:29pm] Mons: "That's right, you've never been, have you. It's just outside of Rowstream, big place of historical interest."
[9:30pm] Aria: "I see... well then."
[9:30pm] Aria: "Wait... so ... if we go to other places ..."
[9:31pm] Mons: "If all goes well... we're also trying to develop a vehicle that would enable us to directly enter a place's dreamspace from there."
[9:31pm] Aria: "And we get sucked into the dream world ... we would end up in a different part of the dream world, right?"
[9:31pm] Aria: "Maybe we can use that."
[9:31pm] Mons: "Maybe. In terms of willingly entering the dream world, yes, you would. In THIS case... we aren't as sure. It's more like Oberon is kidnapping you when it happens really, we aren't exactly sure where your body goes."
[9:33pm] Aria: "Hmm. Okay. Oh, that reminds me..."
[9:33pm] Mons: "Mmm?"
[9:34pm] Aria: "I'd like a favor. First, some Dream Tea.  I know it's expensive, but I think it'd be helpful to get used to being in the dream world, and train ... after all, if Oberon chops me up into little pieces, this whole thing is for naught.  And in that same vein, some weapons from our armory? I've got a request for a whip, and some spare sharp bits. Oh and hell, a sword too, Felicia is going to have to
[9:34pm] Aria: learn to fight whether she wants to or not."
[9:35pm] Mons: "Felicia...? This is interesting. Dream tea might take a bit, but it's definitely a good idea to give you, especially if you can get where you went last time."
[9:36pm] Aria: "She's one of the people that was drawn into the Dream World with me. I'll send you a report on all of them soon."
[9:37pm] Mons: "Definitely interesting. How do you think they'd respond to wanting in?" He says it half jokingly.
[9:39pm] Aria: "... Still appraising that. I'm certain at least one of them would NOT be interested.  But if the rest are ... perhaps we can get rid of her."
[9:40pm] Mons: "Hm. Breaking the Academy's famous reputation of being the safest place to fight on earth... risky. But we can do whatever we like when we're done!"
[9:41pm] Aria: "Well, it doesn't have to happen in a fight or anything ... I mean, she's in a wheelchair, maybe she falls down a 80 foot cliff while in the dream world."
[9:41pm] Mons: "Even an accident would cause quite the stir. In any case, is there much else? We'll get the weapons ready right now since our storage is already being gone through."
[9:42pm] Aria: "I think that's it."
[9:42pm] Mons: "Excellent. Good luck, Child. We'll be out."
[9:42pm] Mons: *click*

Mons: You reappear in the middle of a street, like most any other street in a largish town on Earth. Shops, cars, people... It's so normal.
[02:23am] Mikaela: Anywhere recognizable? Or has it been completely renovated since the Luna days?
[02:23am] Mons: Completely
[02:24am] Mikaela: "Seems...silly I know Minmay, lotsa ol' memories here, not many o' them good ones, but it's a chance to see how well this has all been put to rest y'know?" Mika looks relieved to see everything so different, taking slow steps toward whatever seems like a central plaza here.
[02:24am] Mons: So... goddamn normal it almost hurts.
[02:25am] Mons: Standard fountain, like you'd see in pretty much anywhere else. Standard teenagers dicking around, people on their lunch break rushing back and forth, standard single hobo..
[02:25am] Mikaela: "I...do miss the labs though. Somewhat. Fuck, I bet our old studio's all gone too, huh?" She sighs. "...Space hobos, that's a new one."
[02:26am] Mons: Analyzing...
[02:26am] Mons: The building you occupied when you were last here physically is intact.
[02:27am] Mikaela: "An' I s'pose this is all new for you huh Ranka? Never been up here like me and Minmay...oh, is it?" She pauses.
[02:27am] • Mikaela picks up Ranka and sets her shoulder to have a better view of things as she thinks and turns toward Phones. "...What do you see Minmay? Should...we visit?"
[02:28am] Mons: <Uh. Hrm. Ah. Ehe... I... don't know.>
[02:30am] • Mikaela nods and slumps a bit as she walks forward slowly. "It's just, I get a bit jealous y'know, now that the place is all jazzed up an' people are livin' here normally after the shitstorm that went down..."
[02:31am] Mikaela: "Well, fuck it,  now when we've got the chance is the best time, y'know? No use if we change our tune later but can't get here. Tower, take us there."
[02:32am] Mons: Understood.
[02:33am] Mons: Pop. You're... right inside the door. The place is empty, deserted. Nobody seems to have been living in here for a while. Out the window... there's a building that wasn't there before, the alley below looks a little dirty. Otherwise, empty house, empty walls, empty carpet...
[02:33am] • Mikaela hesitates then takes a few baby steps forward, heading instinctively toward where her room and studio was.
[02:34am] Mons: Empty... Empty empty empty. Not even a stain.
[02:34am] Mons: Seems almost sterile at this point.
[02:37am] • Mikaela sighs. "Well, 'spose it's for the best, huh? No mad science, no ethically unsound experiments, but..." She unslings her guitar. "Damn I sure miss playin' music up here."
[02:41am] • Mikaela tunes her guitar then starts to sings Dark Side of the Moon. :B
[02:42am] Mikaela: (er Great Gig in the Sky. not that it matters. I take it you're mostly busy handling catchan so I'll just have this happen for a bit while things clear up)
[02:42am] Mons: Well there's not much to do
[02:43am] Mikaela: (right, I was figuring there'd be more reminders of Luna up here, but it's pretty scrubbed clean it seems)
[02:43am] Mons: It is gun damn now... hm
[02:43am] Mons: Well
[02:43am] Mons: Exploring a little more, you do find, in the neighboring building's basement...
[02:43am] Mikaela: (well, don't strain yourself to come up with stuff on the spot right now since it's not a big thing)
[02:44am] Mikaela: (or..okay!)
[02:44am] Mons: At first glance... No, it's just a gang. They seem to basically be playing at carrying on the ideals, though most of them really just... look like normal thugs.
[02:45am] • Mikaela finishes singing and grabs her pokemon along to take a closer look. "Disgusting. So these are the remnants of it all? Least mother and father were proper scientists, not...street thugs, y'know."
[02:46am] Mons: Was that directed towards me?
[02:46am] • Mikaela passes her metallic claw through one of them harmlessly.
[02:46am] Mons: SIMULATED OPINION IN EFFECT ON FURTHER RESPONSES ALONG THESE LINES: CONTINUE Y/N
[02:47am] • Mikaela shakes her head. "Jus' sorta talkin' to myself. And my pokemon I guess..." She looks to see Minmay's reaction. "...Yeah actually go ahead, simulate away. It's kinda nice to see you with an actual personality, y'know. You've got an aura, an' that's somethin' new with computers." She sits down on the basement steps.
[02:48am] Mons: Is it? As far as I am aware, the human brain itself is a computer.
[02:48am] Mons: Do humans not have auras?
[02:48am] Mons: I have an aura because I live. That is a fact.
[02:48am] • Mikaela pauses to contemplate this. "Yeah, you're right there. What I mean is, well, y'know the ones we've got down in reality? Not near advanced 'nuff to have auras I'm guessin'? But at what point do you get a computer to that stage I wonder."
[02:49am] Mons: That is the point at which you... the term is "play God".
[02:50am] • Mikaela shakes her head. "My time up here wasn't all bad, taught me somethin'. It ain't playin' God. What we do...it's human, all too human. Anyway, your opinion? Let's exercise that personality, y'know?"
[02:50am] Mons: Your emotional state is currently distraught. Will you allow your companions to reach your destination? Our conversation is not over.
[02:51am] • Mikaela pauses to think a moment. "Please, relay to them I jus' need a minute. We'll finish, alright?"
[02:52am] Mons: Very well.
[02:53am] Mons: I intended to ask: You expressed regret at the dissolution of the organization known as Team Luna's criminal activities. My records state that several people with a notable amount of Fate express opinions to the contrary.
[02:54am] Mikaela: "Thanks. This is...right? Everythin' here I mean. I still think humans should move to space. New frontier, pushing the limits of humanity, all that stuff, y'know? Would kill a man to have a concert up here. Well, not really, but y'know what I mean. So this...- well, what I mean is..." She takes a second to think.
[02:54am] Mons: In addition, more than one of these people are separated from you by no more than two degrees.
[02:54am] Mikaela: "...We did an awful lot of bad shit up here an' down on Earth. But it's what pushed humanity forwar- two degrees?"
[02:54am] Mons: In other words, you know someone who knows them.
[02:55am] Mikaela: "But what's Fate gotta do with whether or not it's right to push humanity past its limits? We've got fuckin' space hobos now up here where it used to all be, well, dedicated to science, maybe pushin' out even further into space."
[02:56am] Mikaela: "Not that Luna's methods were right. I get full and well I was indoctrinated as a kid. But this isn't really...anything like that, is it?"
[02:56am] Mons: That depends.
[02:57am] Mons: Industry is scaling up here, unfettered by the restrictions put on polluting Earth's atmosphere. More structures are being built, factories that themselves build ships to go farther and colonies to expand.
[02:58am] Mikaela: "Look, how's 'bout this? I have a knack for this." She raises her arm, the mechanical one. "Built that with a minimal of help, one-handed. Just since seein' what's become of this all, it's kinda hard to want to do science anymore. It's like nobody's really pushin' it the same way- ...s'true, it's still getting done. Just, it feels there's less behind it now?"
[02:59am] Mikaela: "Or am I just crazy there?"
[02:59am] Mons: Of the hundreds upon hundreds of people currently living and working in this colony, as many are inspired in the same way as people would normally be.
[03:00am] Mons: The ideals that you speak of are nothing more. Ideals. Hopeful concepts.
[03:00am] • Mikaela nods. "I just want to have a concert on a god damned spaceship someday. Silly innit?" She slowly forms a small grin.
[03:00am] Mons: One way or another, they must acknowledge reality in some way.
[03:02am] • Mikaela nods slowly.
[03:02am] Mons: Your emotional state seems to have returned.
[03:02am] Mons: End conversation? Rejoin companions?
[03:03am] Mikaela: "Sure thing." Mika gets up. "Thanks, Tower. Y'know, you should do the personality and opinions thing more often. It'll be a nice tune to hear while we're fightin' for our lives in this crazy place."
[03:03am] Mons: Only if requested.
[03:03am] Mikaela: "Then I request it."
[03:03am] Mons: From all statements given to you from now on?
[03:04am] Mikaela: "Unless I explicitly ask for an objective analysis, then yeah."
[03:04am] Mons: Understood.
[03:04am] Mons: Final Note: Of the two people previously mentioned, only one can currently be said to be living happily.
[03:04am] Mons: Take that as you will.
[03:05am] • Mikaela nods again.

Mons: Where next?
[01:30am] Mikaela: "I was thinkin' I'd want to visit the happier of the two first."
[01:30am] Mons: Very well.
[01:31am] • Mikaela takes a deep breath and braces herself for being zoomed off again.
[01:31am] Mons: POP. Hm. Pretty plain room... no windows, apparently whoever this is likes it dark. Real spartan furnishings too.
[01:31am] Mons: It seems to be night--whoever it is is in bed sleeping.
[01:32am] Mikaela: "Tower, where is this? And who am I visiting?" Mika steps over to the bedside to see who the person is.
[01:32am] Mons: Analyzing... The subject does not wish to make her identity known.
[01:33am] • Mikaela frowns. "She isn't aware of my presence, is she? Still intangible to the real world, right?"
[01:33am] Mons: You are currently no more than one kilometer from your current realspace position, Avalon Isle, Gennis.
[01:34am] Mons: She seems to be a woman in her forties, black hair... not graying yet. Her bedstand has an old and worn bandana on it, along with some pictures, other memento-looking things.
[01:34am] Mons: Correct.
[01:36am] Mikaela: "Where on the island is this?" Mika leans in to get a better look at the mementos and photos. "An'...how much do you know about the world's inhabitants? Everything, or just what pertains to those with...fate?"
[01:37am] Mons: Designated Apartment Building #1, 12th floor.
[01:37am] Mons: I am omniscient. It is, after all, in the name.
[01:38am] Mons: As such, though my awareness encompasses all potential aspects of existence, the very fact of that awareness leaves me without a true personality, only simulated potential ones.
[01:38am] Mikaela: "The name? Tower? I 'spose metaphorically, the 'man in the tower' has that sorta meaning. Common enough in songs, even the ones I write."
[01:39am] • Mikaela nods. "So what's that mean for your programming? Didya always exist? Or did Arceus create you or somethin'?"
[01:39am] Mons: It flashes back to the original startup screen. Super-Divine Computing Unit Mark XVI "The Tower"
[01:39am] Mons: ...Good question.
[01:40am] Mons: It types nothing more
[01:41am] Mikaela: "Not allowed to answer? Or this the 'simulated personality' not wantin' to?"
[01:42am] Mons: Answering would give humanity knowledge beyond their current limit and scope. As such, it is prohibited.
[01:42am] Mons: The simulated personality simply phrased it in a snappier way.
[01:44am] Mikaela: "All centered 'round humanity, huh? Well, I don't believe for a second we're the only ones in this universe. Is Arceus's domain really just where the humans are at, or...have you interacted with aliens?"
[01:45am] Mons: Analyzing... Checking database for knowledge...
[01:46am] Mons: ...Knowledge of extraterrestrial life confirmed. I have.
[01:46am] Mons: I am not the only one of my model.
[01:47am] Mons: If there is a Mark XVI, there must be Marks I through XV, and potential models beyond that.
[01:47am] Mikaela: "Where are the others of you? All on Earth in somewa- wait hold on, do you even exist on Earth? Or's it you're only in dream world or somethin' like that?"
[01:47am] Mons: I am currently accessible from two points on Earth.
[01:48am] Mikaela: "Go on." Mika tries to pick up one of the photos on the bedstand if that's possible in the dreamworld, to get a better look.
[01:50am] Mons: The woman in bed gets up and stretches, not bothering to change out of pajamas before exiting the door. At the top of the Spear Pillar in Sinnoh, and somewhere on this very island. Warning: The island terminal is currently running necessary programs that may impede communication.
[01:51am] Mons: The photo, if you could date it, seems a little old. There are a bunch of people sitting on this hill, in varying states of real or fake smiles. A baby Dialga and Palkia sit in the foreground, curious.
[01:51am] Mons: No, they don't count to seen.
[01:51am] Mikaela: (okay so it is Eliza cool)
[01:51am] Mikaela: "What's that mean?" Mika darts to follow the woman out the door as well. "An' are you able to tell me where, or...?"
[01:52am] Mons: It means you will not get a straight answer out of me, nor will I be particularly obvious.
[01:53am] Mons: So, no
[01:53am] Mons: She wanders out to a public balcony and jumps off.
[01:53am] Mons: ...Hovering a bit, before taking off.
[01:54am] Mikaela: "Gotcha. How's 'bout this then? I'm visitin' people with a great deal of fate who felt the fall of Lun- oh holy shit..."
[01:54am] Mons: Do you intend to finish your sentence?
[01:55am] • Mikaela shakes her head. "That was unexpected. Sorry, was gonna ask if it was permissible to know what relation she had with Luna."
[01:56am] Mons: The people specified earlier traveled together eighteen years ago. They were nearly directly responsible for Luna losing most of its prior resources. This one, specifically, took to the survivors and where they went immediately after the fall.
[01:57am] Mons: Though it is effectively dead as an organization, she holds close the memories of the ones that she saved.
[01:58am] • Mikaela stands mouth agape for a moment. "...So this degree of separation...jus' someone I knew back from the moonbase days, huh? Alright, let's see the one who...can't be considered to be happy. Well, wait, in your judgment, will this be a pleasant trip?"
[01:59am] Mons: Incorrect.
[01:59am] Mons: You know here through Beatrice Fauxicore.
[02:00am] Mons: ...I am unable to speak on the emotional state of the other specified, only that he is not pleased with himself.
[02:00am] • Mikaela lets out a hollow laugh. "That's much less dramatic."
[02:02am] • Mikaela turns to Minmay. "I'm goin'. If it's someone with a lotta fate, whatever that really means, then I figure it's somethin' important to understanding this." She holds out her pokeball. "But y'were hesitant to visit home back there, an' I can understand if you don't wanna see more. Your call."
[02:02am] Mons: <...I dunno. Do we know this guy? ...Tower?>
[02:02am] Mons: Analyzing... Checking memories...
[02:02am] Mikaela: "We know someone who knows 'em. Right?"
[02:03am] Mons: Two degrees means two degrees.
[02:03am] Mikaela: "Else it'd be less than two degrees of separation..."
[02:03am] Mons: <I'm fine.>
[02:03am] Mons: POP
[02:05am] Mons: Woah, fancy office. Rich carpet, polished wood, old expensive books and lamps and miscellany everywhere. From the window, you can tell it's about noon, and whoever this is is scribbling on a piece of stationery.
[02:06am] Mons: Deep black suit as fancy as the room. Bit of scruff, hair's pretty much straight gray. Some wrinkles even, he's focusing pretty intentionally on his writing.
[02:07am] Mikaela: "'Bout high noon here, huh? That'd make it pretty damn far from Avalon." Mika walks over to read over the man's shoulder. "'Less you've changed your tune, seems it's alright to ask who I know who knows this person, so I'm gonna go ahead an' request that information."
[02:07am] Mons: Analyzing...
[02:07am] Mons: The letter promptly blurs out like a television censor. Your common link does not wish to make its identity or connection to this person known.
[02:08am] Mikaela: "Damn. Where is this? And I 'spose that means the man himself doesn't wanna make his identity known either?"
[02:09am] Mons: Analyzing... Incorrect. You are currently in: Russet Town, Okowa.
[02:12am] Mikaela: "Okowa? Shit, no wonder the guy's peeved at Luna." Mika nods and looks around to get a better look at the room, looking for anything else that gives a clue to the man's identity.
[02:12am] Mons: All people related to the incident in question are originally from Okowa.
[02:13am] Mons: The books... well there's quite a variety of primers on pretty much any obscure pokemon-related subject. A complete copy of the region's legal code. Boring, boring, dry booooring.
[02:13am] Mikaela: "'Course, 'course. S'where I'd have been born if it weren't for the moonbase I'm guessin'."
[02:14am] Mons: It's like the office was specifically tailored to be as visually appealing as anything so BORING could get.
[02:15am] Mons: He finally finishes the letter though. Oh wow, he bothers with an envelope, seal and all.
[02:15am] Mikaela: "Not a very exciting person here. Doin' a damn well job of hiding that though, y'know. Tower, you brought this up first, was there a reason y'wanted me to visit these two people?"
[02:16am] Mons: He gets up and places it carefully in a cardboard box full of packing material, covering the last tip of what appears to be a pokemon egg. He promptly seals the box and slides it over to the door.
[02:17am] Mons: Fate is a strange thing. In a way, every fated person of any strength is connected to most others in one way or another.
[02:18am] Mons: The events of your childhood were decided and shaped with those of whom that had enough Fate to survive it, who were themselves descended from, connected to, or otherwise knew people with similar amounts, going back to the very first chosen champion of existence itself.
[02:18am] • Mikaela nods. "I'm still not quite sure what you or the legendary pokemon mean when you say fate, y'know. Lemme take a guess though. Take any two people of strong fate, and the lowest degree connection 'tween the two would be made purely of others with strong fate as well?"
[02:18am] Mons: Not... purely.
[02:18am] Mikaela: "Chosen champion of existence itself? S'not a term you can really throw 'round without explaining it. Sounds very grandiose, but it's not a title that lends to bein' very informative."
[02:18am] Mons: Unfortunately, since Fate itself is mechanically a mystery to humankind, I am obliged to keep it as such.
[02:19am] Mons: For now, it simply is.
[02:21am] • Mikaela sighs. "Damned rules. You can't tell me who the connection is to this man, or who the man is, but we're tied in at least some manner due to a fate I can't understand? A fate that decided...what happened back on the moonbase." She finishes quietly.
[02:21am] Mons: Fate does not decide. Fate gives the capacity to make decisions have weight.
[02:22am] Mons: For these people, their decision was that the crimes of Team Luna were to great to let continue, regardless of any potential end.
[02:22am] Mons: And so, seeing those decisions through, it ended.
[02:22am] Mikaela: "Then how does an omniscient being even work? Seems that determinism would have to be true for that to work, y'know. 'Less it's that 'see all possible futures' thing."
[02:23am] Mons: If there were not infinite possible futures, Celebi would be out of a job.
[02:24am] Mikaela: "Heh, was that a joke? Bit refreshing given all this." Mika steps back over to observe what the man is doing, looking for any insignia that might show a family name or an association with a business or the like. Guy and his pad look too fancy to be any old schmoe.
[02:25am] Mons: There's... a coat of arms on a couple things, covered in parts of fossil pokemon.
[02:25am] Mons: The stationery, though its content is censored, has a three-boulder pattern on it behind a boldface ARM.
[02:27am] • Mikaela takes a minute to memorize the details as best she can. "This fate, the repercussions of that incident, is it still gonna follow me all through my time at Avalon? Is that why I'm tied to Aria and this whole deal with Darkrai and Creselia?"
[02:27am] Mons: Simple existence of Fate has no real tie to the decisions made with it.
[02:28am] Mikaela: "Just means my decisions matter more, huh? Well, no pressure, y'know." Mika chuckles.
[02:30am] Mons: Tower brings up something of a diagram, a timeline without any words, surrounded by a bunch of roman numerals. It begins drawing points from the numerals to points in the timeline. Here is a comprehensive illustration of all people whose Fate yours is currently tied with, and the incidence of the events that related them to other Fated.
[02:30am] Mons: Does this make the scope of things more clear?
[02:32am] Mikaela: "I 'spose. Though the butterfree effect's not an unknown concept to anyone with a wit of science in their head, nor network theory an' that other shit I picked up in the labs. So it's more a question of the magnitude of the effect each of us has on the other that's more surprising." Mika traces some of the lines on the diagram as she speaks.
[02:32am] Mons: As you touch lines, the numbers they're linked to pop up with names and... titles?
[02:33am] Mikaela: "Hm? What are these, Tower?"
[02:33am] Mons: Your registrations in my database.
[02:33am] Mons: The furthest on the left blinks up with XIII - Death - Beatrice Fauxicore
[02:33am] Mikaela: "All these people have been registered with you the same way as we did a week ago?"
[02:33am] Mons: You were there for half of them.
[02:34am] • Mikaela winces. "Bit morbid."
[02:34am] Mons: Can you deny the connection?
[02:34am] Mikaela: "Or, could be metal as fuck, but I doubt that's the kinda context you're goin' for, being somber and serious an' all." Mika taps another.
[02:35am] Mons: Hm... Your own! Somewhere in the middle of it all, the timeline point draws to you and Corinne, displaying your respective names and arcana.
[02:36am] Mikaela: "Corinne...Corinne...ah, the martial artist. I wonder how she's doin'. Haven't spoken much since the dorm." She traces a finger to the relating event.
[02:37am] Mons: 2016: Accidental Space-Time Restructuring
[02:38am] Mikaela: "That's before I was even born." She traces the event to whover else it leads to.
[02:38am] Mons: Just the two.
[02:38am] Mikaela: (...and this reminds me to go check the store for blue peaches sometime :V)
[02:39am] Mons: As far as you're concerned peaches have always been blue
[02:40am] Mikaela: "'kay, so I used to crazy as fuck terminology from Luna usin' it all the time in the labs, but this one boggles me a bit. What the hell does 'accidental space-time restructuring' mean?"
[02:40am] Mons: It means what it means. The fabric of reality itself--locally, of course--had something of a hiccup.
[02:40am] Mons: The people involved straightened it out.
[02:42am] • Mikaela taps the nodes for John and Bella, tracing her finger to their respective events of fate.
[02:42am] Mons: I - John ????? - The Fool -> Almeza Family Circus Incident
[02:43am] Mikaela: "I hope fixin' the fabric of reality isn't on the agenda for whatever the hell we've been drawn together for..."
[02:43am] Mikaela: "Almeza. Never heard of 'em."
[02:44am] Mons: XIX - Isabella Ironstag - The Sun -> ...nothing. She has no lines on the timeline.
[02:44am] Mikaela: "...Huh."
[02:45am] Mons: Your agenda is yours to decide.
[02:48am] • Mikaela nods. "And that goes for all of us then? We've all just got some bigger role to play in the larger scheme of things that just isn't made clear right now?"
[02:49am] Mikaela: "This deal with the dream lords, I 'spose it has implications beyond what we imagine now?"
[02:49am] Mons: Correct.
[02:49am] Mons: ...Not quite as big as the restructuring.
[02:50am] Mikaela: "Y'know, saying it's at least a step below 'rebuild reality' doesn't really help narrow down the possibilities."
[02:51am] Mikaela: "Just gotta take it for what it's worth though. This man, you said he is unhappy with himself. Are you at liberty to explain why? Seem's fate's no clear cut path to happiness. in fact, with what you've told me I'm surprised it doesn't garner unhappiness more often."
[02:52am] Mons: Through his own blind trust and hubris, he lost what he valued in the restructuring. All he had worked towards spit in his face, and all he had gained after that point was hollow and empty. Power for its own sake.
[02:54am] Mons: His friends were not as unfortunate, and every moment of their happiness dug a nail into his very soul.
[02:54am] Mikaela: "An' the same could happen to any of us with the conclusion of the dream lords then." Mika walks over to the window for a look outside. "Well! That just means we'll have to work harder not to fuck this one up, y'know."
[02:55am] Mons: Speaking of, he seems to currently be talking with someone that at least sounds friendly. "...Hm? Yeah, working right now. Well, I suppose I have to, huh? Oh no, no, it's fine for me to take a break... Yep, see you there."
[02:55am] Mons: He hangs up and promptly punches his desk.
[02:56am] Mikaela: "Yeesh, I 'spose by friends you mean others involved in this restructuring?"
[02:57am] Mons: The outside is a pretty bright, clean and bustling town nestled near a mountain. The surrounding terrain seems to be pretty rocky and barren, there are some quarries around... The neighborhood itself is incredibly upscale, mansions everywhere. You seem to be in one, even.
[02:57am] Mons: Correct.
[02:59am] Mikaela: "in spite o' that, he has a nice pad, seems he should have a nice life, but I guess that isn't all there is to happiness, y'know?" Mika walks back over to the desk, pondering. "2016. Eighteen years ago. 2016. Eighte- ...oh." She nods.
[03:01am] Mikaela: "So it all goes back to that, huh? Somethin' Luna did had to do with the restructuring? Somethin' I wasn't privvy too, either 'cause I was a kid, or...it was so secret even my parents couldn't know."
[03:04am] Mons: Perhaps.
[03:06am] Mikaela: "More secrets I can't know, huh? Alright, then I guess there's not much more for me to learn here..." Mika turns to take one last look at the man. "I'd like to go back now, Tower."
[03:06am] Mons: Very well.
[03:06am] Mons: POP. And now you're awake.
[03:06am] Mons: They seem to have carted you back to your room, empty now...
[03:06am] Mons:  /mini