Digital Waltz - Part 2

Rain steps up, her gaze and her voice just as stern as his. Her voice booms off the walls, "We are here to gain information. As much as I would love to be helping my troops and my soon to be wed. I deemed it nessisary to come here for information. We need prisoner Audrey Swan released into our custody for the time being. She is holding critical knowlage that could save the city at this particular moment if you need more information I or Commander will Inform you." One hand falls behind her back and one on her heart and bows slightly as she gives the director a nyx salute.

Fire steps up behind her sister formally, hands behind her back as her amber eyes flick from person to person. Her mechanical fingers interlocking behind her back.

Violet looks at her, "that emerald lady... she... lost it?" She blinks, "but i dont understand. Sh-she was so nice, so kind... pure even... even as a rumba im having trouble believing she could cause something so terrible..." she looks out her window, "you think... I..." she looks down, "I... you think we... could go to her... and convince her otherwise?... Mabye she needs someone level headed... like... one of the injured... me, you... or whoever else is in here..."

Frost grunts as she stands back up, her ears ringing. She glances around the cabin taking in as much as she can as fast as she can.

"Looks like I pissed her off!" Frost calls out "Kill that thing while it's out for my blood!"

With a flash of steel, Radiance dives at the griffon making a flourish of strikes at the shoulder and neck. Pushing everything he can out of his cybernetics and enchanted clothing to gain every ounce of speed he can.


Naomi stands at rigid attention. Despite her sarcastic and generally asshole like nature that has sprung up, she's able to keep her comments internal. Bitting her tongue lightly to keep her own silence as it is.

(Moon)

Moon climbed out of the truck and looked around, staring at the guards and then the grumpy looking man. Sure, she could have said something snarky, but deicided now was not the time. Moon instead took another sip from inside her flask and watched.

(Mist)

Mist looked around at the chaos and shuddered. She was no use fighting, she had no wings. “We need to hurry up then!”

(Prison Team)


"If the prisoner is holding critical information, you are free to talk to her, inside the prison" the director said firmly. His arms were crossed and his expression remained unchanged:
"Audrey Swan will not be leaving this prison"


Kaylee stepped a bit closer: "Please, its important. Audrey will be safe in our custody and its only temporary, we'll return to the prison once this is over"


"No" the director firmly said, drilling you with his eyes: "Audrey Swan organized a fanatical cult, dug up the Mirror of Toruviel and used it to unleash a demon invasion. I will not allow her to prance about the city"


"But.. she helped us destroy the Mirror, in the end!" Kaylee called.


"Which is why she didn't get the death penalty" the director firmly replied: "Audrey Swan will not be leaving these walls"


Kaylee bit her lip in frustration. Thoughts are visibly swirling in her head, but she can't seem to find what to say.












(Tower Team)


Inside, the maintenance cabin looked mostly featureless, only a single chair and an old control panel stood against the far wall. The controls looked like they weren't used in years, covered in layers of dust and spider webs. But some lights still flickered over its panel, indicating that it was still active.

Before you could make out any more details, a giant metal paw suddenly ripped through the door frame and grabbed you whole.


The griffon was ignoring everyone, the strikes over its neck and shoulder bounced off its thick armor, doing no visible damage. The armor plates were so thick, they looked like they could withstand a direct shot from a tank.



"LOOK FOR A WEAK SPOT!" Madelyn yelled: "USE CYBERNETIC EYES IF YOU HAVE THEM!" She flew by and smashed her axe over the griffons beak, to no effect.


The griffon loudly shrieked and pulled Frost out of the cabin, then slowly detached itself from the tower and began gliding down to the ground.
It remained uninterested and largely ignored everyone else. Its metal wings releasing brief shots of jet engines, to stabilize its descent.


Frost was held firmly in its grasp. The griffons paw was so massive, it covered Frost entirely. The razor sharp claws were right next to her face, but they didn't squeeze. The grasp was tight, restricting movement, but not enough to cause pain.

The griffon simply held Frost in its paw and slowly glided towards the ground, away from the tower and everyone else.


"...you're not going to die, Frost..." a quiet, distorted voice echoed out of the griffon:
"You're going to have a very long life... I can promise you that..."

(Violet)


Mira sighed slightly: "Emerald is.. human... if she's poked too many times, she snaps, just like everyone else"

She looked at you, worry and sadness reflecting behind her eyes. After a few moments, her expression changes to determination:


"...you're right. I think it could work.
All we need to do, is figure out where she went.


Lets analyze everything we know. Everything Emerald said or done today. If we can figure out the pattern behind her actions, we may be able to deduce where she went"

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Prison Team)


"If the prisoner is holding critical information, you are free to talk to her, inside the prison" the director said firmly. His arms were crossed and his expression remained unchanged:
"Audrey Swan will not be leaving this prison"


Kaylee stepped a bit closer: "Please, its important. Audrey will be safe in our custody and its only temporary, we'll return to the prison once this is over"


"No" the director firmly said, drilling you with his eyes: "Audrey Swan organized a fanatical cult, dug up the Mirror of Toruviel and used it to unleash a demon invasion. I will not allow her to prance about the city"


"But.. she helped us destroy the Mirror, in the end!" Kaylee called.


"Which is why she didn't get the death penalty" the director firmly replied: "Audrey Swan will not be leaving these walls"


Kaylee bit her lip in frustration. Thoughts are visibly swirling in her head, but she can't seem to find what to say.

"We might not have to take her away with us" Rogue goes up to Rain and Kaylee and whispers to them, "We could set up a video link and then have her talk to Emerald remotely."

(Prison Team)


"You're right!" Kaylee said, nodding: "We can set up a video link!"

She looked down, thinking:
"...a meeting in person would have a bigger effect, but if we can't convince the director to let Audrey out, we'll set up a video link.

I guess, the main problem now is finding Emerald"



She grimaced a bit, rapidly thinking:

"...okay, lets review everything we know from the beginning.
Everything Emerald said or done today.
If we can figure out the pattern behind her actions, we may be able to deduce where she went"

Burner is leaning against the back of the truck keeping her mouth shut... how was she to get herself out of this one. Shes a wanted mare. Her mind pauses. They have no idea what she looks like without the mask! She takes ahold of it but pauses... what if they search her and find her belongings. The mask is the only thing preventing them from knowing anything about her. If they search her they will find all her bombs, she'll be stripped of defenses and airtanks.

Rains ears perk at rogues alternitive option. She would let her first suggestion stand and continue to convince him and use the secondary as a fallback, she nods at rogue and holds her stance. Her eyes remain stone as she thinks, there is a sudden spark in her eyes. She takes kaylees shoulder and pulls her closer, "I say we trade Burner for Audry..." she whispers.

(Prison Team)


Kaylee grimaced. She spent several moments in tormented silence, before she spoke:

"...do we really want to do this right now? Burner admitted to arson and unintentional murder of two innocent people. Those actions are... wrong... there have to be consequences.. that's true, but, right now, she's helping us save innocent people.

This is a difficult situation. There's no right answer here. I just.. though.. maybe.. it would be best to give her a chance to redeem herself, in some way.
Do something good, before she has to face the music.

Give her an opportunity to do a good deed, and feel better... before she has to stand trial..."



Kaylee grimly looked at Rain: "...do we really want to do this right now? Burner isn't the only one who has a pending trial hanging over her" she looked back, in Clopins direction:



"...are we just going to arrest them now? Before they had a chance to redeem them selves, before consulting them or hearing their thoughts? When they're trying so hard to do something good..


They will have to give themselves to the police eventually, once this is over, that's true.

I just don't know if this is the right time...


It.. feels wrong... or.. maybe I'm just stupid.." Kaylee looked at her shoes with sadness. Torment reflecting over her eyes.

(Frost)
"Why do you hate me so much?" Frost asks "You're basing a decision to change an entire like by decades if not centuries based on less than a day worth of conversation. And what about those you've just decided deserve this? The Seven I'm not debating, they're getting what they deserve, but what about the other families you're going to rip apart in this blind rage?

But moreover, what do you think Audrey Swan would think when she learns what you are doing?"

(Tower Team)


"...you must have mistaken me for Emerald. She is not here" a quiet voice echoed out of the griffon, as it glided towards the ground:

"Several million people live in the city. She can't go after each one in person. There's just too many."


The griffon briefly paused, before it went on:

"I am called Bertha.
And you are right, one cannot fully know another, in a span of a single day.

But sometimes... a single act, is enough to understand a person.


... In the Opera House, there was a girl, a labyrinth victim, mind controlled and sealed in a prosthetic body.
Her chassis was remodeled to fit Serena's description. And she was ordered to kill you.

By then, you knew about prosthetic bodies. You knew about Plumes of Dusk and you knew about Neurochips.
The girl did not lash out at you, out of malice. She lashed out, because she was mind controlled.

Your friends restrained her and removed her Neurochip, setting her free...
And then you killed her.


She was someone I knew."



The griffon's released a low, rumbling shriek, its massive wings releasing screeches of metal, as their joints moved with the wind:

"...'There is no saving her... give us a reason to help'... --Those are your words, are they not?

Frost... what kind of conclusion could I have drawn from these words? From these actions?"


The griffons voice became quiet and harsh:
"Fifteen thousand victims were sealed and mind controlled in the labyrinth. Do you believe us to be beyond saving? Do you find it emotionally easier for yourself, to kill us, after you remove our Neurochips? Do you believe there is no reason, to help those who are suffering?


Well now you're going to become just like us. Tormented and mind controlled, at the mercy of a random soldier that may or may not fry your consciousness on a whim.

Maybe then you will understand, what you've done, what's been done to us...
Maybe then... you'll be able to feel empathy.



...that is Emerald's wish.

We are mind controlled by her, but some of us began to agree with her views. Some of us are doing this willingly, even though we have a Neurochip in our heads.
A great many selfish people live in this city. For reasons unknown to me, they walk through life, spewing venom and rudeness to all those they see.

Emerald wishes them to feel the suffering they inflict upon others, and many agree with her...


I do not"


The griffon emitted a low, blood chilling shriek:

"... you murdered my friend...
Pray your friends do not disable my Neurochip, for it is the only thing restraining me now. If I am set free, I will squeeze my paw so hard, there will be nothing left of you, but a red smear...

... do you understand my feelings now.. Frost?"

(Frost)
Frost remains silent for a moment considering Bertha's words. She answers with two words.

"I'm sorry"

"Well shes obviously an arsonist and a mercinary... though I guess your right in this case. Also I think burner is a nutcase... I truely believe she is only helping us so she can stay in buisness." She shrugs. Rain clears her throat her voice loud once more, "As I said director. This prisoner has important information. If she is not given into our custody how many more innocents need to be harmed director. Dont be stuborn with me because we need to move onto the next step of our mission."

Rain glances to kaylee and hands her the phone she uses to contact Harle, "Text Harle and ask her if we can recruit people to the military directly from inside a prison... and if we have permission to." She whispers, "tell her this is very important."

(Tower Team)


"Yeah... I'm sorry too" The griffon quietly said, making a landing on an empty street. Its claws loudly clattered over the pavement.


"The tower's undefended!" Councilor Mercer shouted over the earpiece.

"No! Wait!" Madelyn called, hovering over the skyscrapers: "Everyone! Don't use the tower yet! You heard what the griffon said! If we destroy the Neurochips now, Frost will die!
We have to figure out Emeralds location! Its the only way to minimize bloodshed!!"











(Prison Team)


"I do not wish to throw my team mates under a bus like this" Kaylee whispered:
"Not during a mission.

We are a team, gosh dang it! We may have skeletons in our closet, but at this very moment, right now, we're striving towards the same goal! Saving lives!

We are a team, and a team looks after each other! We must stand as one and trust each other, if we are to succeed. And if some will have to face justice in the end, then I will stand by them and make sure the world knows they helped us!

Whatever their fate, I'll make sure the world learns of their deeds, both good and bad.

But right now, we are a team and we will save lives together!!!" Kaylee's voice grew gradually louder as she spoke, until she shouted the last words aloud.



The director visibly resisted rolling his eyes: "What are you nut jobs on about"


"We need to take Audrey into our custody, please" Kaylee called looking at him.


The director slowly frowned: "...what is so important that couldn't be done inside the prison..." he exhaled, frowning:
"...I will consider letting her go, under a heavy escort of my men, but only if I know exactly where she's going"


"Right.." Kaylee looked down, then shifted her gaze to Rain: "...I'll text Harlequin.
In the meantime, everyone, we have to deduce where Emerald went"

"How trained are your riot police might i ask director?" She says stepping away from the vehicle and towards the Director, "extra men to our group never hurt as well..." she nods, "if you accept that offer then I do as well. I will bring Audrey back as soon as the mission is over." She nods.

(Tower)

"Well crap." Angelo mutters.

Arnold's gaze hardens. "Toss us inside and help her!"

Twilight nods, throwing them both in there, their landing not soft. She then flies down, readying a peculiar amount of energy on her hand.

"Please let this work..."

She swings her hand, the energy released. It seems to drop like a guillotine to the Griffon body.

(Oboro)

She looks down. She seems to mull things over.

"Maybe... You can take my job..." She sighs. "It can be interpetated as a punishment for what you, and perhaps your father, have done."

She looks at her left arm. "Besides, I think that fight in the sky left this appendage useless. Even with cybernetic implants. I'm not able to fight anymore. Maybe it could be used for cutting veggies or sowing, but I'm a fighter no more."

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Prison Team)


"I do not wish to throw my team mates under a bus like this" Kaylee whispered:
"Not during a mission.

We are a team, gosh dang it! We may have skeletons in our closet, but at this very moment, right now, we're striving towards the same goal! Saving lives!

We are a team, and a team looks after each other! We must stand as one and trust each other, if we are to succeed. And if some will have to face justice in the end, then I will stand by them and make sure the world knows they helped us!

Whatever their fate, I'll make sure the world learns of their deeds, both good and bad.

But right now, we are a team and we will save lives together!!!" Kaylee's voice grew gradually louder as she spoke, until she shouted the last words aloud.



The director visibly resisted rolling his eyes: "What are you nut jobs on about"


"We need to take Audrey into our custody, please" Kaylee called looking at him.


The director slowly frowned: "...what is so important that couldn't be done inside the prison..." he exhaled, frowning:
"...I will consider letting her go, under a heavy escort of my men, but only if I know exactly where she's going"


"Right.." Kaylee looked down, then shifted her gaze to Rain: "...I'll text Harlequin.
In the meantime, everyone, we have to deduce where Emerald went"

"Right" Rogue nods "Well Clopin already shot down my suggestion that she might be at the theatre, so here's another thought - she's been playing what look to be home videos on all the big screens throughout the city, now i'm guessing those're of her, and they must've been taken a long time ago because she's still a child in them, so they'll be stored on like VHS tapes or something to that effect, so she'd have to've gone to get them personally from maybe her old home perhaps, or maybe one of the clubs she danced at earlier?"

Violet looks at her with sad eyes, "get me a cane... and some pants... just some clothes would be nice." She huffs looking down at her hospital gown, "and a metal cane..." she leans back.

(Prison Team)


The director gasped, a step away from foaming from his mouth. It seems his pride has been wounded:

"M-My men are the most ELITE collection of skilled operatives, in this hemisphere!!! They were trained under the harshest conditions, to overcome the most catastrophic scenarios in this worlds history!!! Whatever the job, we will do it and we will succeed, by god!!!"


"Okay" Clopin briefly replied, not paying too much attention to him: "...the home videos of Sophie... Emerald... they were filmed on VHS, yeah" he looked at Rogue:
"I.. had a few left, at home... I guess she must have gone there to get them. The question is, is she still there.."




Kaylee looked at Rains phone for several moments, then called:
"..Rain, Harlequin texted back. It seems she doesn't have jurisdiction to recruit foreign prisoners into her own military.
The prison is located on Union soil and Nyx still isn't part of it yet. The prison falls under Union jurisdiction and Harlequin doesn't have the authority to overrule a courts decision.

She says we can talk to Audrey and submit an appeal to the Unions high court later though, ask them to shorten her prison sentence, in exchange for some kind of community service that will benefit mankind.
If the courts deem her to be no longer dangerous and that she served an appropriate amount of her prison sentence, they may release her early.

But, there's no way to know for sure. Its gonna be a long process, we'll have to do it after the mission. For now, we'll have to just take her into our custody and return her to the prison at the end"




She gave the phone back to Rain and sighed:
"Alright. About the mission, lets analyze all the data we have"

Everything Sophie did today, was symbolic to her. From the alias she chose, to the date she chose.

Today is 7th of November, the date of her premier, 44 years ago.
And she chose to call herself Emerald, or Esmeralda, the name of her character in the ballet.

Now, when she left the Opera House, she said: 'My Premier is about to begin'.
And we know she's controlling fifteen thousand people at this time. And the only way to do it simultaneously, is to utilize her hacking sequence.

In other words, she is dancing somewhere, right now" Kaylee said, looking at everyone:



"I believe, she would choose a very specific location, to begin her premier.
Something very important to her. Either on a symbolic, or on an emotional level.

We need to figure out, what this place could be. And I don't believe we can fully rule out anything.


Her old theater was demolished and a factory build on top, but the area itself may still hold symbolic importance to her.
She must also have a deep emotional bond to her old home, the place were she grew up and lived a happy childhood.

There may be more places like these.


We need to outline all the possible places she might have chosen, and pick the most likely one. I believe its our best bet of finding her"


Your earpiece briefly crackled with static and Madelyn's voice rang in your ear:
"G-guys! We have control of the tower, but we can't wait forever!
If we can't figure out where Emerald went, we'll have to activate the tower!"

(Tower Team)


The griffon emitted a startled shriek, as the force of the spell fell on her back. The griffons body became briefly pinned to the ground, the spell leaving cracks and bending the armor plate on its back.

"Warning" a loud synthetic voice echoed out of the griffon:
"Self Defense Algorithms Active. For Your Safety, And The Safety Of Others, Please Refrain From Attacking This Unit"


The griffon turned its massive head towards Twilight and shrieked, slowly getting back up on its paws.
The armor plate on its back seems to be relatively weakened with a few small cracks showing up.


Madelyn zoomed down, leaving a trail of smoke from her jet engines and hovered next to Twilight.


The griffon suddenly shrugged and four sets of ballistic blade launchers unfolded out of its back. The launchers moved, aiming at Twilight and Maddie, but didn't fire.

The griffon waited a moment, then began slowly stomping down the street, still carrying Frost in one of its front paws.

(Oboro)


"..you mean, become Twilight's retainer?" Tom asked, in surprise then looked down with a sad smile:

"I don't think Twilight likes me very much. My plan included taking her hostage.
It was all a bluff of course, she was never in any real danger from us, but, she didn't know that.
For her, it was real..

I don't know if she would trust me to protect her life"


Tom sighed, then looked at you after a moment. His eyes became sad:

"...I'm sorry about your arm, Oboro" He sent a hand over his hair, subconsciously touching the bandages on his forehead:

"..hey... listen.. if you.. ever need to talk to someone.. I'll listen. I'll help if I can. You don't have to go through this alone. Okay?" he looked at you and released a small smile.

(Violet)


"Right" Mira said, looking around and rapidly thinking: "..I'll see what I can do"

She quietly moved out into the hallway, looking left and right as if she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. Then she disappeared out of sight for several minutes.

For a while, you only heard the distant wailing of sirens in the city and muffled echoed of combat.

When Mira returned, it sounded like the combat zones were getting closer to your current location.


"Here, I found your old clothes" Mira said, passing you a plastic bag and a walking cane. She kept looking back towards the hallway, every few seconds:
"..listen, we gotta move fast. You're not supposed to be checked out of the hospital until after tomorrow. If a nurse spots you leaving, we're gonna get an earful"

(Moon)

“We don’t have time for all this. She could literally be anywhere, and we’re running out of time. Let’s activate the tower now before we lose the chance to do so.” Moon frowned, looking at the others. As far as she was concerned, death could be accepted if more were saved.

(Mist)

Mist looked at all that was happening with the giant griffin, not doing anything at that moment.

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Prison Team)


The director gasped, a step away from foaming from his mouth. It seems his pride has been wounded:

"M-My men are the most ELITE collection of skilled operatives, in this hemisphere!!! They were trained under the harshest conditions, to overcome the most catastrophic scenarios in this worlds history!!! Whatever the job, we will do it and we will succeed, by god!!!"


"Okay" Clopin briefly replied, not paying too much attention to him: "...the home videos of Sophie... Emerald... they were filmed on VHS, yeah" he looked at Rogue:
"I.. had a few left, at home... I guess she must have gone there to get them. The question is, is she still there.."




Kaylee looked at Rains phone for several moments, then called:
"..Rain, Harlequin texted back. It seems she doesn't have jurisdiction to recruit foreign prisoners into her own military.
The prison is located on Union soil and Nyx still isn't part of it yet. The prison falls under Union jurisdiction and Harlequin doesn't have the authority to overrule a courts decision.

She says we can talk to Audrey and submit an appeal to the Unions high court later though, ask them to shorten her prison sentence, in exchange for some kind of community service that will benefit mankind.
If the courts deem her to be no longer dangerous and that she served an appropriate amount of her prison sentence, they may release her early.

But, there's no way to know for sure. Its gonna be a long process, we'll have to do it after the mission. For now, we'll have to just take her into our custody and return her to the prison at the end"




She gave the phone back to Rain and sighed:
"Alright. About the mission, lets analyze all the data we have"

Everything Sophie did today, was symbolic to her. From the alias she chose, to the date she chose.

Today is 7th of November, the date of her premier, 44 years ago.
And she chose to call herself Emerald, or Esmeralda, the name of her character in the ballet.

Now, when she left the Opera House, she said: 'My Premier is about to begin'.
And we know she's controlling fifteen thousand people at this time. And the only way to do it simultaneously, is to utilize her hacking sequence.

In other words, she is dancing somewhere, right now" Kaylee said, looking at everyone:



"I believe, she would choose a very specific location, to begin her premier.
Something very important to her. Either on a symbolic, or on an emotional level.

We need to figure out, what this place could be. And I don't believe we can fully rule out anything.


Her old theater was demolished and a factory build on top, but the area itself may still hold symbolic importance to her.
She must also have a deep emotional bond to her old home, the place were she grew up and lived a happy childhood.

There may be more places like these.


We need to outline all the possible places she might have chosen, and pick the most likely one. I believe its our best bet of finding her"


Your earpiece briefly crackled with static and Madelyn's voice rang in your ear:
"G-guys! We have control of the tower, but we can't wait forever!
If we can't figure out where Emerald went, we'll have to activate the tower!"

"Could we track her hacking signal, find out where it's coming from?" Rogue suggests.

(Prison Team)


"I don't think we can" Clopin shook his head: "Emerald controls the Digital Waltz now, even if we could track her signal, she would sabotage our attempts by sending us a thousand false leads..
The only way to find her, is to deduce where she went"


Kaylee nervously bit her lip and began rubbing her fingers in anxiety:

"...Moon's right... we can't wait forever.
Lets... lets make an agreement. If we can't figure out her location within the next five minutes, we're activating the Tower. Is everyone okay with this course of action?"


Madelyn's voice chimed in through the earpiece: "Hey, does anyone still have a copy of Emerald's premier poster we found in the Labyrinth?
I think I remember someone taking a copy in his pocket.
It might hold more clues"