[ It's an alarm clock! Even in the future, they make an absolutely infuriating noise. The blackness of sleep gives way to the blurry uncertainty of just coming awake. The room is filled with a pleasant, even balmy breeze; the blinds are down but hints of morning sunlight peek through. It's a nice, spacious room, filled with Zak's personal style. ] [ The chrono says 9:00am on the dot. Time to get up! He can even hear his mother's voice from downstairs. "YOU AWAKE YET, HONEY?!" she bellows. ] * Zak jerks out of bed, tangles up in the sheets, and falls off the side. A moment later he springs up, now completely underneath the blanket, looking around wildly for a moment before beating on and around the area of the alarm clock until the noise stops. After a moment he divests himself of his quilted prison and vanishes into the bathroom. [ It's an awfully nice place. The fixtures are pretty, the rooms are cluttered... perhaps most importantly, other than the sounds of a normal morning in a Martian city it's relatively quiet. The smell of actual, non-nanopaste food cooking is coming from somewhere, too. ] (s/are cluttered/aren't cluttered) (Holy hell.) * Zak emerges from the bathroom a short time later, hair iced straight back, wearing stylistically faded denim and a t-shirt which reads "I SKIED OLYMPUS MONS 2072". It is probably ironic or something. He plunges downstairs, grabbing a backpack sitting by the door on his way out of the room, and skids to a halt on what must be freshly-waxed linoleum right in front of the table in the kitchen. "Hey, mornin', mom. Can I get that in a to-go box? I' (That cut off, didn't it.) (to-go box? I') Can I get that in a to-go box? I've got, like, six articles to edit and typeset this morning." He's practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he stands there. [ His mother hands out a napkin, within which is contained the age-old tradition of the breakfast sandwich: eggs, bacon, and cheese between what is in this case a light (for their culture, anyway) type of sleythin flatbread... not as heavy as a [bagel]. "You think I don't know you by now?" she teases. "Your sister said she'd stop by this morning when she had time." ] (LOOK AT YOUR CLEVER GM. BEING ALL CLEVER.) (HAHA) * Zak grins and grabs the sandwich. "Thanks, ma, you're a saint. Tell Roch she can drop by the office if she feels like it, I'll probably need a break around lunch." He dashes to, of all places, the window, and grabs a snowboard leaning against the wall. "See you later!" He throws open the window, throws out the snowboard, and jumps after it. [ The sight that awaits Zak outside is the glory of Twilight City... presently, the largest and most impressive metropolis on Mars. Rather than being confined to mostly the base, the city now spirals up and around considerably, buildings and even greenery emerging from the red rock like something out of a fantasy novel... an elven city around a massive tree, perhaps. ] * Zak proceeds to anchor a strip of ice to the side of the building, which he then extends underneath the snowboard as he lands on it. Being, as they are, fairly high on the slope of the mountain, Zak proceeds to more or less snowboard the entire way to work, on a custom-made ice trail about a hundred feet above the streets, anchored between buildings. It sublimates into oxygen and hydrogen behind him. Perhaps strangely, this doesn't seem to evo (doesn't seem to evo) (Stupid xchat. Cuts on text, not on /mes.) doesn't seem to evoke much more than waves from people in the streets below. [ Nice day, clean air... can't get much better than an aerial trip to work. And Zak's not alone, either; though it's not exactly Jetsons-level sky traffic, scattered 24s with flight-like abilities freely make their way through the day using whatever happens to be their deal. Some fly superhero-style; others ride winds of their creation, fly on wings, etc. ] [ Zak sets down in the courtyard of a relatively small office building in an obvious office park, featuring big windows looking into open-structured office space... a bit like looking into Google's HQ, in fact. He's greeted at the front desk by a perky brunette wearing holographic barcodes over... strategic areas as clothes. "Mornin', boss!" she offers. ] (Ha!) * Zak kicks up the board as he lands, winding up on two feet and polishing off the last of his sandwich as he does so. "Mornin', Trixie. How's the fort this morning?" [ Trixie smiles and jerks a thumb past the desk into the work area. "Doodlebug's been waitin' for you to ice in, bossman," she says, turning... my, those barcodes are impressive texture maps, with how they move. "He and Groth were up all night tossin' some data freakout they think might be schway story." ] * Zak does the finger-gun-cool-guy thing at Trixie as he walks by. "Good to hear, I've been hoping we'd get a hot page one before we went to print." He strides on into the office, chuckling to himself. "Schway. Kids these days and their slang..." (YOU WILL BE EATEN BY WEEVILS) (:D) (*dies*) [ The inside office is... busy busy busy. Apparently whatever news organization this is, it's pretty popular! Graphic artists, writers, reporters, TVNet gurus... they all contribute to an incessant chatter that makes a pleasant background buzz. Zak's office is at the end of the hall, and waiting for him is... ] [ A businesslike man, a dwarf in fact... he wears a smart black tuxedo with of all things, paintbrushes stuck in the front pocket, and his tie is a swarm of blue and gold fractal patterns. Standing beside him, mostly translucent, is a spectral woman of average height in an artist's smock and plain dress, holding a canvas and easel under one arm. She has no actual face. ] [ The man waves to Zak as he enters. "Databoy's been doing that node thing again," he says in a basso profundo voice. "I sketched it out for him last night. Think it's a hot tip." ] (Yes I just based one of your entourage on Laney from Idoru. Deal with it.) (heh. Which one is the faceless?) * Zak pulls a datapad out from the hands of someone walking by with it, and presses a few keys, eyeing something critically. Finally, he sighs, and tosses the datapad back to its owner. "Arbor's got the brains, Doodle. If he says there's a pattern to the data, it's got to be there. What do YOU think about it?" [ "Easier just to show you. Lisa?" The spectral woman steps to the side and holds up the canvas. Doodlebug takes the brush from his jacket pocket and slowly begins to move it across the canvas, his eyes going fully white in the process. Eventually, an image is produced, photorealistic in every way... ] [ A blond man in a black suit stands before a generic-looking building, perhaps a school. Behind him, it burns uncontrollably... which is pretty damn odd for Mars nowadays. Fire systems keep this sort of thing under control, usually, especially in an ultra-modern, ultra-safe city like Twilight. Doodle turns and looks at Zak expectantly. ] * Zak runs a hand back through his hair. "Whuf, you think it's actual arson? In Twilight?" [ The dwarf shrugs. "Databoy said it had something to do with 'forces converging'." You can hear the finger quotes. A pause, before: "You could always ask the sister unit, you know..." ] If she thinks she'll be useful, she'll be here. * Rochelle comes walking up to the office right about now, speaking of sister units. She knocks on the doorframe before entering. "Hey, Zak." (MIght be kinda slow for a bit, have to explain this whole "haha goodbye funding" scenario to someone.) * Zak is in the process of unceremoniously dumping the contents of his backpack onto the desk. "Speak of the devil." He grins. "Hey, sis." [ You'd think Doodlebug would be surprised, but he doesn't show it. Instead he nods with satisfaction and sits himself down in a chair; 'Lisa' standing behind him and stowing the canvas again as he does so. "What shakes loose, Rochelle?" he asks, waving. ] * Rochelle smiles very slightly at Zak and Doodlebug, but she's never smiled much. It even sort of almost reaches her eyes. "Just figured I'd drop by. Did Mom let you know?" She's also carrying a bookbag - maybe she ran over from class. (For the record, eyes are not cat-slit in this version. Not that it matters generally, but it does to me so hey!) * Zak flips open a small clamshell computer, clearly more powerful than a datapad, and starts rapidly alternating between typing and stroking a touchpad/tablet set into the device - he's clearly begun the work on typesetting and editing. "Yeah, she told me. You tell her I was going to be running fast this morning. or did she just guess right?" * Rochelle answers but doesn't answer with, "It's a pretty safe guess." She walks past the trio to look out of Zak's window. It's really pretty. * Rochelle looks to Zak. "Can I talk to you alone for a sec?" [ Inexplicably, you hear... well. Sirens. Considering where you are, 'inexplicable' about covers it. Whatever ground vehicles were using them must have just driven by this building. ] * Zak looks back over his shoulder. "Yeah, that's why I picked this office on the plans for the place. Great view. Perfect for not getting stuff done.... " He pauses, then turns to Doodlebug. "You heard the lady, Doodles. I'll catch you in half an hour." [ "Yeah, su--" The sirens, however, catch his attention; the Krogstads get a raised eyebrow. ] * Rochelle blinks at the sirens at well. (Well, that's a story?) (Wait, are the sirens stopping here, or are they already gone?) (Dopplered by.) * Rochelle looks out the window to see where they went. * Zak shrugs at Doodles. "See what that's about. If it's what we think it is, see if Arbor got that predicted. Proof will be in the pudding right there." [ You can see a few police vehicles and... well, not so much a fire truck, as what the vehicle looks like that is "we never have fires but JUST IN CASE something spontaneously explodes we need this truck". Like a jet refueling tanker full of fire-retardant foam with sirens and lights." ] (Strike that errant ") Looks like a fire. [ "Can do," he says, hopping out of the chair and heading off to his own cubicle. ] (Lisa leaving as well?) (Yes.) (Yeah, she follows him out.) (I figured, but I wanted to make sure!) * Rochelle watches them go, then looks back out the window. She sighs. * Zak turns to Roch. "What's up, sis? You seem kinda down." Yeah... I'm sorry. This really is a pretty city, but I've got some stuff I need to tell you. Okay, not seeing how tab A fits into slot B, here, but go on... (Babble at each other a bit, the plot will catch up with you.) * Rochelle bites the inside of her lip for a moment, then turns to look at her brother. "This city isn't real. I mean, Twilight City exists, but not like this." * Zak slowly raises an eyebrow. "You sure you're feeling okay, Roch?" As okay as I can be. Listen, some really bad shit happened and I know you don't want to believe me, but you've gotta. What happened? Did you get into trouble at school? No. I don't go to school. And you're not a writer. I mean, you're writing somethin', but it's not for the 'net. (Oh snap, one sec.) * Dicesuke has joined #atc (Okay!) (Roch, make a mind check.) 2d6+5 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Rochelle (2d6+5) and gets a natural 5 for a result of 10. (Oops, used to BESM 3) (Gah) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Rochelle (2d6) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 8. (Fail by three!) (Right, I can DR, so I shall!) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Rochelle (2d6) and gets a natural 3 for a result of 3. (Made by two. ^^) (I think Roch is just working something out in her head before she continues on.) (Yeah, so go ahead and react. She's thinking. ^^) * Zak slowly stands up. "Look, Roch, I know you were starting to get really worked up about colleges and all. Maybe you need a vacation. I know a guy who can get us a good trip to a resort on Io." * Rochelle frowns, annoyed, and folds her arms. "I can't *go* to a college, Zak. I've never gone to any school before ever! Don't you remember? I'd spend all day sitting around and watching the 'net. None of us went to school - YOU sure didn't." 'Sides, I'd bet good creds that you don't know any guy who could actually get us to Io. You just think you do. (Zak, make a psyche check.) (Remind me how those work.) (Average of Mind and Soul, I think.) (Plus a bonus if you took Mental Toughness.) (Yup.) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Zak (2d6) and gets a natural 3 for a result of 3. (Nice roll!) (Made.) [ School? Where DID you go to school? The truth is, Zak, you can't remember that piece of information at all. ] Are you crazy, Roch? I sweated blood to get the dual degree from... from... * Rochelle watches Zak as he tries to figure that out. * Zak blinks, and shakes his head. "'s funny, I can't sc-... can't remember." Yeah, 'cause it didn't happen. We couldn't go to school. Growin' up in Twilight, there wasn't a school to go to. [ To Zak's right is a wall, with a number of awards his organization has received for their efforts in promoting equality and justice. In all of them, a picture of him is involved... looking dapper, businesslike. And totally alien, in the "unfamiliar" way rather than the "zomg tentacles" way. ] (EXCEPT FOR ONE) (NOW ZAKDBERG IS KING) * Zak looks around him unsteadily. "I don't gr... I don't understand, Roch. Twilight's always had great schools." (Psyche roll, -2 bonus!) 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Zak (2d6-2) and gets a natural 7 for a result of 5. (Make.) (SUGOI SOUL DESU) [ No it hasn't. In fact, the resemblence between Twilight and this... "Gattaca"-looking marvel you're standing in has almost no relationship whatsoever. ] [ At this moment, Doodlebug and Lisa walk by, engrossed in something else... and Lisa's canvas shows a dark, grimy city, swathed in shadow. Blood spatters dot the corners of the image. ] Nuh uh. After the corp went under, Twilight'd been taken over by gangs. You were in one of 'em... at least, until the giant hole in the city. * Zak puts his hand to his head and staggers back, away from the canvas, leaning into the window. "Wh... wh.... whhhhh...." He seems unable to get words out, his eyes fixed on the canvas. [ Roch doesn't notice it, but the room is getting hotter. Collars are getting loosened. Zak, however, notices it with far greater immediacy, though perhaps too distracted to make sense of it. In the time it takes Zak to blink, the canvas is empty again and the duo have walked on. ] * Rochelle helps catch her brother as he leans into the window. "I'm sorry, Zak," she apologizes for the second time that day. * Zak makes empty gasps like he's had the wind knocked out of him, gulping at nothing like a fish. * Rochelle waits for Zak to get ahold of himself. [ NOW Roch is noticing it too: this room is getting a LOT hotter. ] Wh... why.... what... * Zak finally takes a deep breath, and steps away from the window... only to turn back to Rochelle, grab her by the shirt, and lift her up bodily, pushing her back against the glass. "WHY?" * Rochelle gasps, her eyes widening in surprise as her head bangs against the glass. She winces. "Zak, you're- it's getting hot." [ It sure is. Why? Multiple cubicles are now on fire. Amazingly, fire suppression systems not responding, either. ] * Zak doesn't really seem to be listening. "I had it to RIGHTS, goddamn it! I had it foursquare! Copacetic! There was GREEN!" (PLAY ON NERO) * Rochelle grimaces, and it looks like she might cry. "I know- I'm sorry-" She squeezes her eyes shut. "It's on fire. Zak, you gotta..." * Zak blinks as the word "fire" seems to actually register. "Fire?" He blinks again, and looks behind him. With a gasp, he drops Roch - just lets go of her and lets her drop - and turns to face the flames. "... fire... " * Rochelle falls to the ground. "Like Eitri." She gets to her feet, gulping for air. "If he's here, I dunno... Kataki was in mine." [ Yep. It's fire. ] [ Gosh, it's hot. Fire. Yep. ] * Zak looks like he's torn between grief and rage, the latter of which flares at Eitri's name. "EITRI." He quickly begins attempting to stifle the fire with sheets of ice. * Rochelle follows, staying some distance behind but clearly not eager to lose sight of her brother. [ It works! Amazingly well. When the... grief haze-ish clears, Zak can notice that the room is empty of people except himself and Roch... and that toward the lobby door stands a blond man in a suit, eyes... well, blazing. An inferno roars behind him. "Hahaha, WOW. Your... whatever this is, is frakkin' WEAK, dirtjobs," he snarls. "Turning shit like Twilight into a theme park or something?" ] * Rochelle looks at the blond dude. "Can't find one of your own?" she asks, calm once again. I don't have to explain anything to you, you pile of shit. (Make one more psyche check, sir. -4 bonus.) 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Zak (2d6-4) and gets a natural 5 for a result of 1. (ZAK ATTAINS NIRVANA) (SWEET) [ Maybe it's just the situation, or maybe it's Roch's response, but the fog in Zak's head lifts. He knows who he is, and the way of things as they are. Just where this place is, that's not clear. But that is obviously Eitri. ] * Zak 's eyes flare with sudden realization and purpose, and he reaches out with his hand. "Fuck off back to whatever dungeon you zoned outta." [ To the blond's surprise, his body actually starts to ice over... from the inside out, starting a point just to the left of his navel. That said, the spread of ice outward is halted by a tide of flame that seems to pour out of his eyes, from his fingertips... much more dramatic than their 'real' confrontations. ] [ "I don't know why I woke up in your fucked up... whatever," Eitri spits bitterly, practically immolating himself. "But god, you're a sad sack. You got mojo, you kept up with me... ha, barely," he adds with a smirk. "And what the fuck are you wasting it on? Fucking Twilight?" ] * Zak redoubles his efforts to freeze the idiot in the most painful ways possible. "A WASTE? Have you SEEN the poor fuckers on the tentstreets at night? Can't fucking get free nanopaste cause the Pipes are busted? Life's not so fucking tough if you stickyfinger shit and burn motherfuckers for pay, is it?" [ For some reason, the flashiness level of elemental combat is intensifying... in time with the screaming, in fact. As Zak's fury redoubles, the ice is no longer just something he controls; waves of it rip forward, destroying the floor, where they meet oncoming flame in a titantic red and blue-white swirl. ] * Rochelle stands way to one side, watching. She is so not getting involved. [ "FUCK THEM," Eitri bellows, hands outstretched. "They can't do shit, so FUCK THEM. Life never handed me anything but shit, 'cause I was a dirtjob just like you sorry fuckers. I took what I needed. Helping people's not worth SHIT!" ] (Roll a soul check afore your pose next0 (For the heck of it) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Zak (2d6) and gets a natural 5 for a result of 5. (made by 2.) 2d6+2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Todd (2d6+2) and gets a natural 10 for a result of 12. * Zak brings the other hand into play. "Fuck, did you ever even TRY? You whine like a scav on a Venus gasfarm but you don't know dogshit from petunias! Building shit's a lot fucking harder than burning it up!" (*scribbles something down* carry on.) [ The ice and fire continue to struggle, but it looks like Zak's getting the upper hand, as the tide of frost is gaining ground. Eitri also brings in his other hand. "MAYBE YOU JUST SUCK AT BUILDING THEN, YOU SORRY SCANLESS JERKFUCK!" he bellows, over the sound of the fight. ] (WHile Roch paints her nails.) (What's the point in doing that? The polish won't stay. :() (Throw some shuriken then! JESUS.) MAYBE I FAIL BUT AT LEAST I'M TRYING, YOU GORMLESS BUGHUMPING [Sleythin reproductive organ]! (That's right, this shit just got multilingual) (SOUL CHECK ONE MORE TIME -2 BONUS) 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Zak (2d6-2) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 4. 2d6+4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Todd (2d6+4) and gets a natural 4 for a result of 8. (Make by 3) * MLINK has quit IRC (Quit: Waugh.) [ "WHY?!" Eitri demands, as he continues to lose ground. "WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?! AND WHAT THE FUCK IS A--" He gets that far before the ice encases him entirely. In fact, it spreads outwards with shocking intensity, coating everything, obscuring it, until all that's left is Zak and Roch standing in a field of clear ice as far as the eye can see, under an aurora'ed sky. ] [ After a moment of silence, the frozen Eitri emits a cracking noise... and then shatters into tiny particles, fluttering away in some invisible wind. ] * Zak blinks and stumbles a little at the suddenness of the transition. * Rochelle watches her brother stumble, and this time she doesn't catch him. Partly because she's farther away, and partly because of what happened last time. * Rochelle does, however, take a few steps closer. "... Zak?" Yeah. [ The ice is... ice-looking, but not slippery. ] Are you... I mean... you okay? (A visual: the background when Alfina uses Absolute Zero at about 1:38 in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Divly1IVSkA&fmt=18 is a good likeness.) * Zak is still looking at where Eitri was. "No. Not gonna be for a bit." He pauses. ".... sorry. About the shirt." * Rochelle shrugs. "Not real anyway." I'm sorry about messing all of this up for you. It really sucks, but... I kinda wanted you to come back with me. (I have realized that Rochelle is left to explain the technicality of this situation to Zak.) Where ARE we? (I am!) In your head, kinda? In everyone's head, I think. I can't... I can't see. The future, I mean. Every time I try, I think I see everyone's at once and I can't narrow it down. This is Ferrion's zany schemeplan? * Rochelle shifts, rubbing at one of her arms. "Must be - Kataki's, is more like it. I think he controlled him. There are a bunch of places like this. Kat broke me out of mine. I was in school. On Earth." * Zak shakes his head and finally turns to look at Roch. Yeah, let's split. Nothin' but wasteland here. * Rochelle sighs. "Yeah." Pause. "Kataki, by the way... he's around somewhere. I think." He showed up in mine and Keith's, and he left before I did. I couldn't hurt him. Then I'll popsicle his dead ass too. * Rochelle nods. "Yeah." Just think about not being here anymore. It worked for me. But uh, before we go? [ Slowly, the ice itself starts to fade too; what's left is eventually the two of you being in... empty space, though the rippling colors of the aurora continue overhead for some time. ] (Ah, that works too!) * Zak looks at Roch questioningly, waiting for her to continue. (You still have time for RPins.) I know what you're doing isn't worthless. * Zak quirks a small smile. "Thanks, sis." (Lemme know when you're ready for iris out.) (Whenever, if ROch is.) * Rochelle smiles a touch back, and she starts thinking about not being there anymore. (Yup!) [ It doesn't take quite as long as it did for Roch alone... apparently, Zak is ready to leave *now*. Soon even the aurora is washed away by white, and the siblings lose their sense of, for the moment, being anywhere or anywhen at all... ] [ TO BE CONTINUED]