Digital Waltz - Part 2

(The Court House)


"Coffee? At a time like this?" Emerald softly giggled: "You're more crazy than I am.

Wait, did I slip up?" She paused a moment, then a wide smile slowly spread over her lips:


"Ah... it seems I subconsciously replied to my name" she gracefully jumped off the spiders head and began slowly walking across the lobby. She was slowly circling Angelo, keeping a fair distance between them:

"I didn't think you'd uncover my real identity..." her smile slowly faded, her expression became grim:


"...yes, I am Sophie Gunther... the girl who vanished, 44 years ago... the girl, who's future was stolen..." her voice came off harsh and bitter, as she continued to pace.

She seemed to grow self conscious of it and shook off the emotion, returning to her usual carefree smile:



"I'd love to have coffee with you, Angelo, but we've just indirectly assisted in the murder of a Digital Waltz member. The other, surviving, members are probably... not, very, happy... to say the least.

I'm not a prophet but I think its safe to assume, they'll be sending every available unit, to come here and blast us into oblivion.


Perhaps, we could have coffee another time" Emerald released a smile: "For now, its best we faded back into the shadows.
I'll get back to what I was doing, and you'll get back to what you were doing, safe guarding Madelyn.

A little bird told me she's heading toward the penthouse of one Lei Yan, at the moment. Perhaps its best you met with her there.

I'm sure the meeting will be.. enlightening... and if you manage to restore Maddie's memories, who knows, maybe I'll have a word with Clopin, have him release all the hostages" She grinned a little, slowly walking around Angelo.

"Do you know how to dance maddie... Also standing attop a giant robotic spider is quite the experience... Do we know how much these things take to build?" she purrs.

She imagines having giant metal spiders smashing against an enemy beach, rockets ripping through the air her batponys huddled behind large armored vehicles with layers of sheilding on each side as they push an enemy line. Bunkers falling, hostiles dropping, ripping and tearing through enemy after enemy, giant metal tanks. Her soldiers tearing from their cover no longer needing to avoid bow fire and cutting down any and all in their trenches. Breaking their lines and shattering their command.

The thought makes her grin.

She hums quitely, "I could teach you~"

(Naomi)
"Dancing to hack? Fuckin' really?" Naomi shakes her head "Does this Emerald showing up everytime you needed help feel too convenient for anyone? It's like they planted the robots and have been showing up to save you guys just in time.


(Frost)
"You all seem awfully lax just speaking about this out loud" Frost finally speaks up, her voice cheerful but also slightly obscured. A sandwich in her hand and already partially eaten. She takes another bite seemly to be perfectly fine with talking with her mouth full. "Considering you have no idea who I am"

Radiance/Naomi wrote:(Naomi)
"Dancing to hack? Fuckin' really?" Naomi shakes her head "Does this Emerald showing up everytime you needed help feel too convenient for anyone? It's like they planted the robots and have been showing up to save you guys just in time.


(Frost)
"You all seem awfully lax just speaking about this out loud" Frost finally speaks up, her voice cheerful but also slightly obscured. A sandwich in her hand and already partially eaten. She takes another bite seemly to be perfectly fine with talking with her mouth full. "Considering you have no idea who I am"

"Well it's not like any of our enemies need an insider at this point anyway, so whoever you are, i reckon you can't do much more damage with us than they've been doing so far..." Rogue replies to Frost as he floats back down to the ground and removes the illusion spell over him, before offering a handshake to Frost "So who are you anyway? I'm Morpheus, he's Neo" he indicates to Angelo "That's Cypher" points at Tomas "Over there's Trinity" waves in Sophie's general direction "And here we have Agent Smith" looks at the spider robot.

Kaylee Brown wrote:(The Court House)


"Coffee? At a time like this?" Emerald softly giggled: "You're more crazy than I am.

Wait, did I slip up?" She paused a moment, then a wide smile slowly spread over her lips:


"Ah... it seems I subconsciously replied to my name" she gracefully jumped off the spiders head and began slowly walking across the lobby. She was slowly circling Angelo, keeping a fair distance between them:

"I didn't think you'd uncover my real identity..." her smile slowly faded, her expression became grim:


"...yes, I am Sophie Gunther... the girl who vanished, 44 years ago... the girl, who's future was stolen..." her voice came off harsh and bitter, as she continued to pace.

She seemed to grow self conscious of it and shook off the emotion, returning to her usual carefree smile:



"I'd love to have coffee with you, Angelo, but we've just indirectly assisted in the murder of a Digital Waltz member. The other, surviving, members are probably... not, very, happy... to say the least.

I'm not a prophet but I think its safe to assume, they'll be sending every available unit, to come here and blast us into oblivion.


Perhaps, we could have coffee another time" Emerald released a smile: "For now, its best we faded back into the shadows.
I'll get back to what I was doing, and you'll get back to what you were doing, safe guarding Madelyn.

A little bird told me she's heading toward the penthouse of one Lei Yan, at the moment. Perhaps its best you met with her there.

I'm sure the meeting will be.. enlightening... and if you manage to restore Maddie's memories, who knows, maybe I'll have a word with Clopin, have him release all the hostages" She grinned a little, slowly walking around Angelo.

"That dancing, it's how you hack, isn't it?" Rogue asks Sophie "Something to do with the subconscious running processing tasks in the background whilst you're distracted, right?"

(Frost)
Frost accepts the handshake, then goes back to her food. "Call me Frost. And I have to say, it's nice to see a fellow mage. Everyone's a little too high on science for my taste."

Speaking of that, would any of you" she speaks to the group now "be alright with me joining you? I have a friend I'm looking for and If I'm so bold as to assume. You could use an extra bit of help."

// Hey guys, sorry about the delays, computer still being fixed >.<


(The Bakery)


"If Emerald was tasked to act as our bodyguard, then it would make sense. She was likely shadowing us the whole time" Mira said, thinking.


"Come on Maddie! Times a wasting!" The Spider cheerfully called.


"But.. I don't know how to dance!" Madelyn called, looking at Rain and the Spider: "I'm not exactly a dancing kind of person, you know?"


"Come on Maddie, you gotta dance" Mira said with a smirk: "The future of the world somehow depends on it"


"God" Madelyn slightly hunched over: "I suppose I can shuffle in place for a bit" She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then broke into some kind of bizarre motion.
It vaguely reminded you of a hip disco dance style, that was popular over 50 years ago, before it was quickly forgotten.


Mira's expression changed to that of slight horror: "...oh my god, I thought my dancing was bad"


"Dude, shut up!" Madelyn bit her lower lip, staring daggers at Mira: "Did it work? Can I stop now?" she called, looking at the Spider.


The Spider remained silent for several long moments, before it quietly said: "...you didn't activate your computer Maddie... you havta concentrate"



"Dear god, again?" Madelyn loudly exhaled and closed her eyes again. Standing still, she slightly rose her arms, as if she was trying to move some sort of invisible object.
Her eyes opened again and her stare became distant:
"...this isn't working, I've no idea what I'm-..wow..."


Madelyn began staring into space, looking at things only she could see: "...I... think I have it..."
She quietly said:
"...different monitors, showing data... subway schedules, security cameras, police networks.." she began waving her hand in the air, as if flipping through invisible pages. Her eyes hazy, staring into empty space:

"There... that's what I need to edit... okay, activating wireless communication"


Two pale green holograms suddenly projected out of the palms of her hands. Madelyn recoiled slightly, as the holograms turned into ribbons and began to envelop her. Her stare became frightened, overwhelmed:

"N-no.... no... its... too fast... There's... too much data! I can't concentrate!" She grabbed her head with both hands, closing her eyes shut, as the holographic ribbons began wildly flying around her:

"Make... make it stop... its too loud!!"



"Maddie!" The Spider called: "..use your heart"


Madelyn froze up for a moment, then slowly spinned in place, the holograms slowing down and fluently following her hands motion.
She began some sort of a slow dance, again something that was popular 50 years ago. Her movements were incredibly rigid and lacking confidence but she continued.

The holographic ribbon projecting out of her palms, was roughly the same color as her pale green hair. After several moments, she stopped and stood still, her eyes closed.

The hologram flashed and blinked out of sight. Madelyn slowly exhaled.



"Wow" Mira quietly called: "That was actually not that bad"

"You better not tell anyone about this!" Madelyn said, zeroing in on Mira and squinting at her.


"Alrighty! The subwaaay should be clear now" The Spider happily called and began moving across the street, toward one of the larger subway entrances in he vicinity:
"Lets go guys! We better get out of sight, fast!"

(The Court House)


"Don't tell anyone" Emerald grinned to Rogue, before waving to everyone, like she was leaving a stage:
"If there's nothing else, I will be taking my leave.

Oh, but do stay tuned for my Premier this evening" Emerald meaningfully smiled:
"...today is the 7th of November you know.. I heard, the 'Hunchback of Adelheid' dance adaptation will be showing tonight" she said, winking and blowing a kiss in everyone's general direction.


Tomas raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.


Taking a few steps back, Emerald gracefully turned and leaped out of a broken window. She was clearly augmented with some sort of heavy cybernetic upgrades. No person could jump so high or so fast.


As she faded from view, Tomas flexed his fist a few times, making the concealed blade disappear back into his arm, then looked at Frost:

"Ma'am, my name is Sergeant Tomas Kohler, of the Adelheid police department. I'm sorry, but we're in the middle of a very dangerous police operation.
I can't permit you to join, before we know who you are.

There have been several assassination attempts and acts of sabotage. We need to clear you, before you can take part in the mission.

Could you show us your ID please, and state your occupation?"

Rain sits happily on the spider her legs crossed as she enjoys herself, "you looked great maddie... I was afraid I would have to waltz you into it." she laughs. As she bounced slightly with each step.

You can almost swear you can see tears from her eyes as she sits atop the big metal death machine..

The childish spider brought back memorys... Reminding Rain of her sister when they were young. She couldn't explaim the feeling it was like a prick to the heart but it made her sour attitude feel joyous.

The Mage and The Mechanic wrote:(Frost)
Frost accepts the handshake, then goes back to her food. "Call me Frost. And I have to say, it's nice to see a fellow mage. Everyone's a little too high on science for my taste."

Speaking of that, would any of you" she speaks to the group now "be alright with me joining you? I have a friend I'm looking for and If I'm so bold as to assume. You could use an extra bit of help."

"It does feel like we're going out of style somewhat" Rogue nods.

Kaylee Brown wrote:(The Court House)


"Don't tell anyone" Emerald grinned to Rogue, before waving to everyone, like she was leaving a stage:
"If there's nothing else, I will be taking my leave.

Oh, but do stay tuned for my Premier this evening" Emerald meaningfully smiled:
"...today is the 7th of November you know.. I heard, the 'Hunchback of Adelheid' dance adaptation will be showing tonight" she said, winking and blowing a kiss in everyone's general direction.


Tomas raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.


Taking a few steps back, Emerald gracefully turned and leaped out of a broken window. She was clearly augmented with some sort of heavy cybernetic upgrades. No person could jump so high or so fast.


As she faded from view, Tomas flexed his fist a few times, making the concealed blade disappear back into his arm, then looked at Frost:

"Ma'am, my name is Sergeant Tomas Kohler, of the Adelheid police department. I'm sorry, but we're in the middle of a very dangerous police operation.
I can't permit you to join, before we know who you are.

There have been several assassination attempts and acts of sabotage. We need to clear you, before you can take part in the mission.

Could you show us your ID please, and state your occupation?"

"Would we ever?" Rogue waves Emerald goodbye.

(Frost)
"Then I'd have to ask for your ID as well" She pulls her own from her wallet and passes it to Tomas "Anyone can put on a uniform and act the part."

As for what I do, it's really not important."

(The Penthouse)


"Thanx" Madelyn shyly smiled. You were walking through a poorly lit underground tunnel, following the tracks, as Dr. Zarovee periodically looked at his phone and tried to verify if everyone was headed in the right directions.

The necessary subway line was cleared surprisingly fast. By the time you went down the escalator and descended underground, the subway station was already empty.
Mira quietly wandered aloud, how easy it would be, for the Digital Waltz, to edit this type of information on a daily basis, skewing the facts and subtly shifting the worlds public's opinion, to fit their own agenda.
How easy it would be, to come up with a lie on national television, and most would likely believe it.


After some time, you finally emerged from the depths of the underground. It was hard to tell how much time has passed and Dr. Zarovee verified on his watch, that the current time was 21:13 in the evening.

The sun had finally set, enveloping the city in a blanket of darkness. Countless miniature lights, sparkled at you from a distance, as you looked toward Adelheid's center.
You seem to have emerged on the outskirts of the city.

A long street of villas and penthouses covered both sides of the road. There weren't many people around and only a few street lights worked.





As you slowly emerged out of the subway tunnel, the Spider slowly scanned the area and pointed to a penthouse with one of its claws:

"There, that's the one" she quietly said, her digitally distorted voice but a whisper: "Engaging Stealth Mode, Cookie"


"You have a Stealth Mode?" Madelyn quietly asked.

"Nop!" The Spider happily replied: "It just means I will tip toe and stay low to the ground"


Mira cautiously looked at both sides of the road, then quickly crossed it, attempting to stick to the shadows.
Lei Yan's penthouse was a large three floored building, with a short wooden fence. A single light in one of the living rooms and a moving silhouette inside, indicated that someone was there.


"I will stay outside and scan for suspicious stuff-Cookie!" The Spider excitedly whispered, as it crouched really low and began slowly moving across the lawn, next front of the penthouse.



"Are we sure Lei Yan can help us?" Madelyn wearily asked, starting to clumsily climb over the wooden fence.


"Lei Yan is one of the worlds leading scientists, in the field of Tilerium based cybernetics" Dr. Zarovee quietly said: "She was the one who designed the Spider Tank model, for the Union Police Force.
Its hard for me to believe that she doesn't know what's happening here. But, even if she isn't involved, she should have a basic cybernetic workshop at home, at least to perform maintenance on her prosthetic arm.

Please, just, don't harm her. She may be innocent and she's a fellow colleague in the science community.." Dr. Zarovee wearily said.

(The Court House)


Tomas tapped the golden police badge, pinned to his chest, then pulled out his wallet and passed it to Frost.

Inside, you could see a large ID card, with Tomas' picture on it.

The card seems to claim that this is Tomas Kohler, 22 years of age, a Sergeants in the Adelheid's police department, assigned to the special tactics unit called 'Zerber'.
It also had an attached permit, to carry concealed cybernetic weapons and indicated that Tomas had a concealed blade in his right prosthetic arm.



"...your occupation is, not important?" Tomas quietly said, looking at Frost: "You're really not helping your case here.

First you draw attention to yourself, pointing out that you may be a potential adversary. Now you don't wish to share basic information, as to where you work.
And you want to help us escort a VIP, and that's all you're willing to share?

You're acting, kind of suspicious here. And you're asking to tag along? Its not a reasonable thing to ask"



Tomas looked at Frosts ID and carefully studied it, then pressed a finger to his earpiece:

"...HQ, I need all available info on someone named Frost. ID number is the following-" he read aloud the ID number on Frosts card.

//For those wearing the glasses, the following is displayed//
Gwendolyn Frost
Frequently plays Tabletop RPG's
Age: 25
Occupation: Bouncer


(Frost)
Frost passes the wallet back and waits a few moments before responding. Appearing to be thinking about what to say

"Not unreasonable, but kind of pointless considering I don't really think that everyone, aside from you, here is officially part of the police. It's more like a ragtag group of people just teamed up. But since you brought up the mention of a VIP, something that I wasn't even aware of I'd say it's only fair you get your answer.

I work as a bouncer at one of the smaller clubs in the city."

(The Court House)


"The background of everyone else was checked and cleared, Miss Gwendolyn, before they took part in the mission" Tomas said, looking at her ID: "We already had a run in with a mercenary that tried to assassinate the VIP. I'm not taking chances"


He waited a moment, listening to someone on the earpiece, then handed Frosts ID back:


"Her file checks out" he said, looking at Rogue and Angelo:


"Sorry for the inconvenience, I'm just doing my job ma'am" he said, looking at Frost:
"If you want to tag along, that's fine, but I'm afraid I won't be able to guarantee your safety. I'll try to protect everyone all the same"



He waved everyone to follow and headed towards the exit, at a brisk pace:

"..Madelyn seems to be headed toward the home of Lei Yan, one of the leading researchers of Tilerium based cybernetics. If I understand Madelyn's hunch correctly, she seems to believe that Lei Yan may have some sort of technology at home, that may help Madelyn restore her memory.

We should move fast, no telling if they'll get attacked again"


He looked at Frost, as he walked: "The friend you're looking for, who is she? What's her name?"

Rain huffs hopping off of the spiders head and flying to the roof of the penthouse looking for. An entrance just in case they needed to sneak in, "So this Lei... If we knock on her door you think we could just talk to her? If we just hide the giant spider?" she speaks through her radio, "Why dont we try being polite for once?"

"Maddie can you prepare to hack a possible phone... If she decides tp deny us... We need to deny her of contact." she clears her throat, "we'll be polite... But we wont take no for an answer."

(Naomi)
"Yes, let's be civil about this. I've had it with people dying around me" Naomi responds in a sharp whisper

(Frost)
"Her name is Serena, she was supposed to meet me for coffee this afternoon." Frost responds "After that whole fiasco this morning I figured that she'd be caught up somewhere. But after things settled down a bit she never showed up or tried to contact me. So she either forgot or is in trouble"

"And knowing her, it's the latter"

(The Penthouse)


As you examine the rooftop, you find a small horizontal hatch. It appears to be locked.
You also spot an old chimney. Faint smoke is slowly rising from it.


Madelyn nervously shuffled her feet:
"I should be able to cut off her wireless and landline communications if necessary" she quietly said, sounding extremely unsure of herself"



"I've uuh... actually interviewed Lei Yan on several scientific conferences in Soren" Mira slowly said:
"She seemed a very polite person, kind, concerned for her patients.
Though, to be more objective.. I don't know her.
She's the head of a major corporation, she has to maintain a good public image.

Its hard to predict how she will react, though it can't hurt to be polite." Mira said, squinting at the penthouse, through the nights darkness.



The Spider quickly crawled along the lawn, moving toward the side of the penthouse that had no windows. Its head with large, wide open eyes, kept moving back and forth, vigilantly scanning the surroundings:
"I'm not detecting any explosives or suspicious packages-cookie!" she excitedly whispered over the radio.



"Okay" Mira called: "Time to move...... So uh... who's ringing the doorbell?"

"Don't look at me, I'm on phone duty" Madelyn said, taking position behind the nearest tree.

(The Court House)


Tomas' expression became grim, as he returned to the car and started the engine:

"...what was her full name? What did she look like?" he asked, staring at the road ahead.

The vehicle rolled off the parking spot and began rapidly moving down the streets of Adelheid.
The sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon, enveloping the city in a thick blanket of darkness.

(Frost)
"Her full name is Serena Lockhart. Pale fur, black hair, green eyes. Usually liked to wear dark colours."

Frost, while she responded was slowly rotating a small ice crystal in her hand. Whether or not she had noticed Tomas' expression she appeared not to.

(Naomi)
"I got it" Naomi said cracking her neck

Rain rolls her eyes and walks upto the door motioning for Mira and Naomi to follow, "come along.." she brushes off any dust and dirt she can and adjusts her jacket so she looked decentish, she rings the door bell and waits patently with a smile.

(Everyone)


As the bell rang, you heard some sort of movement inside. Then a pair of footsteps, slowly approaching the door.
Mira silently tip-toed forward and stood behind Rain, peeking at the door over Rains shoulder.


As you wait for someone to open the door, you notice a familiar wreck of a car, slowly pulling next to the Penthouse.

Angelo, Rogue and Tomas slowly emerged. You also notice an unfamiliar woman, sitting in the car with them.


Tomas squinted through the darkness, trying to make out everyone's silhouette, then silently waved.
Madelyn energetically waved back.


As the occupants of the car began approaching the penthouse, Tomas grimly looked at Frost and quietly said:

"A woman named Serena was traveling with us. Her appearence matched your description. I don't know if its the same person you're looking for, but..
I'm sorry, there's.. no easy way to say this..
The woman named Serena, who traveled with us, died... she was murdered, by the same people we're fighting right now...
I'm sorry. I don't know if its the same person you're looking for.."




The main door to the penthouse slowly opened and a young mare with a snow white pelt, appeared in the doorway. Her silhouette was illuminated by a fireplace, peacefully sparkling inside her living room.
Her shiny prosthetic arm was holding a cup of steaming tea, as she sleepily leaned on the doorway:

"Yes?" she strictly asked, hazily looking at the group gathered before her.


As her eyes slowly caught focused, she began turning pale. Her cup slightly tilted and some of the tea spilled on the rug, as she stared at you with wide open eyes.

You get a vivid feeling that she recognized you immediatelty and knows exactly who you are.

Her eyes darted left and right, scanning her lawn with a haunted expression, before she looked at you and loudly whispered in fear:


"Have you lost your mind! Why did you have to come here!!!"

"Well... Seeing as you know who we are im guessing we can skip introductions... We need your help and currently we are pretty desperate." she stands up streight, "we are... Very... Sorry to bring you into this but im pretty sure you can guess why we are here." she looks back at the tree maddie was behind, "come on out..." she says over her radio

(Everyone)


"Are you insane? I work for them!" Lei exhaled in a terrified whisper: "They've been blackmailing me for a decade! If they find out that- oh god"

Lei turned sickly pale and took a step back, as Madelyn slowly emerged from behind the tree.


"...you brought her here?.. she's marked for death!" Lei's voice became choked and she took another step back, trembling:
"Oh my god, I'm gonna die... they're going to kill me..." she closed her eyes, covering her mouth with a shaking hand.



"Miss Yan, please, we can protect you" Madelyn nervously began, slowly approaching the doorway. Lei only emitted an ironic, neurotic laugh, staring at Madelyn with eyes full of terror.

"Miss Yan, we don't know where else to turn, please!" Maddie desperately begged, coming closer to the trembling woman.



"I can't help you!" Lei shouted, backing away into her living room and holding the cup of tea, next to her heart, as if it could shield her:
"Madelyn, whatever they did to you... It can't be undone... I can't give you your body back!..
I can't give you, your life back, I'm sorry!!" Lei loudly cried, a trace of tears in her eyes.