By: Todd Harper--lina@inverse.org
C:\> C:\>cd slayers C:\SLAYERS>cd virtual C:\SLAYERS\VIRTUAL>dir
Volume in drive C is CEE Volume Serial Number is 186D-18F1 Directory of C:\SLAYERS\VIRTUAL
IMPRO EXE 10,002 05-20-99 6:14p FANFIC ZIP 584,874 05-20-99 11:17p PRESENTS TXT 2,591 02-26-98 3:02a -------- --- 2 02-26-98 3:02a CHAPTER 1 ??????? 05-22-99 1:09a CHAPTER 2 ??????? 11-16-99 1:50p FILE_ID DIZ 411 05-22-99 1:09a 7 file(s) 597,890 bytes + 2 dir(s) 9,192.05 MB free
C:\SLAYERS\VIRTUAL>type file_id File not found - file_id
C:\SLAYERS\VIRTUAL>type file_id.diz @X0F SLAYERS VIRTUAL CYBERPUNK ELSE [01/0?] @X0C컴컴컴컴컴컴컴| |컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 @X09 .---------------------------------. @X09 | this episode by lina @X09 | cracked by stefan gagne @X09 | indie distro by improfanfic @X09 `---------------------------------' @X0E컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� @X0B @X0E[wIN95/98/NT/DOS]컴컴컴컴컴컴컴[Nov 1999] C:\SLAYERS\VIRTUAL>type chapter.2 (Slayers Virtual, Part 2: Serial Experiments Lina) It was quiet. The quiet of the grave. The quiet you sense shortly before the monster looming behind you decides to make "nature red in tooth and claw" the most literal of statements. The red light, Zelgadis reflected, was the worst part. He had never been an overly religious person, so the decor hadn't bothered him so much. It was no worse that warez lusers making sites full of that looked like a field of traffic lights on crack. However, the combination of crumbling Transylvanian cathedral - sterotypical but tolerable - and the dim, blood-red light filtering in through the windows was simply too much. It chilled his blood, and anything capable of that was worthy of dread indeed. However, Zelgadis had never been the type to show emotions easily, especially when they were so obviously evoked. In truth, he hated himself a little for letting his "benefactor" get to him; the hate was probably more directed at Rezo more than anything. "Why do you insist on this nonsense?" he asked, indulging in some assumed physicality to make a point, crossing the arms of his cloaked persona program and leaning back against a crumbling wall, glancing disapprovingly toward the room's altar. His gaze was directed at a chair, situated like a throne where the altar of the Church would have been. Nothing fancy, simply a high-backed chair to accomodate a tall man. The visual effect of the man's persona, however, was impressive to say the least. Tall and stately, with wide sweeping wings of violet hair and swathed in a dark black cossack, almost like a Catholic priest would wear, but streaked through with dark red highlights that made the cloak look like a flowing carpet of blood. The lips thin and bloodless, the eyes closed. Zelgadis was always impressed with the sheer quality of the Red Priest's imagery; such attention to detail was usually reserved for MUDers with too much time on their hands.A MUDer he was not, however...this much was clear. "There's something to be said for imagery, isn't there? It's all in the presentation. People buy Mazokusoft mapping software for their personas to make them look good, but you never get the quality out of them that a hand-done job can give, don't you think?" the velvet voice asked calmly, unperturbed. "But then, I suppose such things would mean little to you, wouldn't they?" Zelgadis clenched a fist without thinking about, and hmphed, turning to leave. "The girl has read the message. Lina Inverse doesn't not have a reputation for stupidity; I'm sure we can give her the agreedupon price and be done with this." With his status report given, the figure swathed in white left through the church's front double doors, fading as the user behind the mask logged off. On his throne, Rezo the Red Priest merely smiled, curling a finger in a beckoning motion. A figure appeared, a stark caucasian figure in a black suit...or what remained of a black suit. Damage to the figure's programs was evident, the nature of the imaging software making the changes evident: bloody, pixelated-edged gashes ran across the body, the suit torn to shreds and lying raggedly on the mauled body. The eyes never once opened, but the head unmistakably turned to the hanging, grotesque doll, addressing it in a quaint, friendly query. "So...you know of it too. Are you afraid of her? Or are you afraid of Her?" he asked, the capital coming across nicely in the digital medium, voice imprint synth or no. "I'd love to see what happens when she arrives. Don't you think that will be amusing?" "Don't make me wait...Lina Inverse." --MORE-- "It's so...so..." "Quaint? Cute? Lovely?" Amelia supplied, trying to be helpful, adjusting the heavy bag slung across her shoulder, inside which was contained one seventh of the doom of the world. "I was going for 'suburban', actually," Lina replied, shaking her head and raising her voice as the bus pulled away noisily. "I couldn't believe it the last time I was here and I still can't beleive it now. How can he afford this? He's just a tennis instructor!" Amelia shrugged as she bounded down the driveway at the speed of cute. "But Lina-san, it's a very refined sport! Tennis instruction is very big in Saillune. Besides, whoever these people are probably won't think to look for us in a big suburban house, right?" Lina sighed and nodded as she followed Amelia up the bush-lined driveway, noting Gourry's economy car sitting idly in front of the garage. "True. Gourry probably doesn't even have a computer, let alone get online...we're probably safe here, for now." << If he'll take us in, anyway >> Lina thought to herself, grim flashbacks of her exit yesterday morning playing over in her head. Amelia rocked back and forth on her heels as Lina stepped up and rang the doorbell once. When there was no answer, she tried again, pressing the bell more insistently, and then immediately backing off, grumbling to herself. Lina Inverse wouldn't panic and assume there were MiBs hunting her down this very second. And even if there were, Lina Inverse wouldn't be praying her tennis instructor and his Hikari no Racket would be showing up again to pull her bacon out of the fire, spouting stereotypical lines like... "Hi, Lina. Isn't our next lesson tomorrow and not today? Or have I got the days confused again?" No, not something like that. Lina blinked out of her reverie and looked up to see the muscular blonde figure of Gourry Gabriev, standing in the door of his split-level ranch, perfectly dressed and carrying a glass of what appeared to be orange juice. Ah, domestic luser bliss. "No, you're right, it's not till tomorrow." She paused, then glanced back at Amelia, who had stopped bouncing and was staring, slack-jawed, at Gourry. "Ahem. Gourry, this is my friend Amelia...I'm sure I've mentioned her." << I'm sure you've forgotten. >> "Never heard of her. But it's nice to meet you, Amelia," Gourry replied, extending a hand. Amelia promptly grabbed it and pumped it like a car jack. "Wai! It's so nice to meet you, Mr. Gourry! Especially since you saved Miss Lina from those evil, nasty men who threatened her!" Amelia bubbled, letting go of Gourry's hand. The tennis instructor wobbled up and down from aftershock for a few moments. Lina breathed a sigh of relief. Knowing Gourry, he'd probably forgotten all about the... "...Fireball! And then she blacked out, so I brought her here but she didn't stay all that long." Gourry blinked. "Ano, Lina, are you alright?" "WHY would you choose NOW to have a good memory?!" Lina ranted, kicking Gourry in the shin. Gourry, already shook up from Amelia's greeting, went down like a sack of potatoes. She put a hand to her head, and felt another headache coming on. She turned to glance at Amelia, who was staring at her dumbfounded. "Ano, Lina...what is he talking about? Fireballs? Monsters?" Lina sighed and gestured into the house. "Come on inside and I'll explain." She then surreptitiously stepped over Gourry and into the house, careful to pick up the fallen glass of orange juice as she did so. No reason to leave a mess after all. Amelia took a few moments to recover, then headed inside after Lina, knocking Gourry down again as she stepped over him (or attempted to, anyway). A look of curiosity and confusion was etched across her cute little face, however. She'd never seen Lina act like this before. After a pause, she scratched that. She'd never seen Lina BERKOWITZ act like this before... --MORE-- Lina sighed, putting the coffeecup down in the immaculate saucer. She had to hand it to Gourry; for someone who apparently knew nothing but tennis, he kept a fairly neat house, had a fairly nice life. His china was spotless, for example. His house was more or less well-kept...well, well-kept compared to Lina's rent-control rathole or Amelia's plush adolescent den. "So that's the whole story, Amelia," Lina said, glancing over to see her protege staring at her like a deer in headlights. She put a hand to her forehead and grumbled. "I didn't tell you because I knew you'd do THIS! Even Gourry took it better, and he was there!" She looked to her host to have him confirm this, and found him giving her a similar glassy-eyed stare. The impact of Lina's deadly sneaker against his forehead snapped Gourry out of it. "Huh? Oh, sorry, Lina. You spent such a long time telling the story, I kinda faded out in the middle somewhere." He rubbed a hand against his brow, a large red mark left in the wake of Lina's wrath. "You sure are touchy today." Lina glared at Gourry at a wattage usually reserved for lighthouses or electromagnets the size of small moons. "WHAT? Gourry, there are men trying to kill me! Maybe they're not even men! Of *COURSE* I'm touchy!" Amelia blinked, leaping up and pointing a finger into the air. "Nevertheless, Lina-san!" she bellowed, the sonic force of her conviction strafing through the argument easily, all eyes on her. Amelia's eyes sparkled as she looked to the sky, despite the fact that Gourry's ceiling and second floor were rudely getting in the way. "There's a message in this! You were obviously called to defeat these awful data thieves! Don't you understand?" the young girl queried, grabbing Lina by the shoulders. "The power of Justice flows through your code, Miss Lina! That fireball trick proves it! The people need a hero...Lina Inverse, the bandit killer!" There wasn't a single indication that Amelia wasn't buying this story at all, or that she doubted for a second that Lina had broken several important and fundamental physical laws the previous night. Lina sighed, shoving Amelia off of her and looking down at her coffee forlornly. "Amelia...it was probably just a hallucination. It was dark...maybe one of them had a gun that went off and I saw a muzzle flash or something," Lina glibly rationalized, picking up her coffee cup. "The people need better lives, not saving from some mystery force." Gourry blinked. "But from what you said, this Shabbywhatsit virus could cause a lot of people to suffer, right? Doesn't that include you, Lina?" Amelia nodded her support of Gourry's idea at relativistic velocity. The red-haired girl shook her head, looking out the window as she spoke. "So what? I'll survive. If you want a hero, hunt down my sister. She's the hero in the family." Amelia blinked. "You have a sister?" She sat back down, zealous fire of justice momentarily quenched in the cool water of curiosity. "You never told me that." Lina sighed. "She and I don't get along," Miss Berkowitz mumbled, turning back to face her friends. "But she's one hell of a hacker. One of the best. There's rumors that she's one of the folks responsible behind the scenes at DracoNix, and helps update the Ceipheed Solution every few years...but then, you can never tell with her." Amelia ahhhed. "She sounds like quite a person. But if she's such a recluse, how are we going to get her to help us?" she asked innocently, then eeeeep'ed as Lina's hands came down on the table with a loud *bang*, shaking the china which Gourry's hands dove for in a flash. "We are *not* asking her for help!" Lina snapped, her eyes glazing over and staring at Amelia with a look of such utter horror that she shrank back in her chair, eyes watering. "I'd sooner die!" There was a moment where she seemed to seriously consider this option, then with a sigh sank back into the plushness of the couch, holding her head with both hands. "We probably will, at this rate." After a moment of silence, she stood up. "Gourry, I didn't mean to bother you," she said, the meekness of Lina Berkowitz the fry jockey slipping back into her voice. "Just let me use your data line for a bit and this'll all be over." She knew Gourry's completely backwoods electronics setup would have at least a data jack; they were standard in new houses like his. Before Gourry could so much as reply, Amelia immediately got back up from her chair, blinking. "Lina! You promised! You said you weren't going to let them win!" She sniffled a little as her esteem for her idol began to waver on the Justice-O-Meter. "Would Lina Inverse do this?" "Yes!" Lina shouted, shooting a scathing glare at Amelia that made her cringe, eyes blazing. "Things change! Lina Inverse is a greedy, vicious little brat who only cares about money, good food, and her *reputation*!" She paused a little, thinking what Eyrie might say if he knew the legendary Lina Inverse had just caused the cyberspace equivalent of World War 3 and armed the Axis with an orbital laser the size of New Jersey. She sighed and stopped. "I'm just sick of living for her. You can't be two people your entire life. You've got to live in the real world, too." Gourry made a hmm'ing sound in the back of his throat as he grabbed up the dishes to clear the table. "I don't know who this Lina Inverse is, but she sounds like she's at least having fun with her life." He paused for a minute. "I wonder if she plays tennis?" Amelia stared at Gourry, dumbfounded, but it was Lina who responded: "She doesn't want to, Gourry, but she does. After all...if you've got something and you don't use it, what does that make you?" Noting Gourry's confused expression, Lina shook her head and glanced at Amelia. "Come on. We'll go back to my place; we can use the backup machines, since you're coming too. We'll have to meet this Zelgadis guy anyhow so we might as well get it over with." Lina's turn to glance at Gourry as she finished speaking was rewarded with the hunky blonde giving her a look as if she'd just turned into a cockroach and asked if there was any moldy bread handy. Amelia cheered, grabbing Lina in a surprise hug. "Yay! That's great, Miss Lina. Thanks for not giving up!" She paused, then aaaaghed!, running the emotional gamut in just under five seconds. "We can't go back to your place, remember? There might be CREEPY MEN there!" the apprentice emphasized, making spooky motions with her hands. Lina hmmmed. "Yeah, you're right. But the only computer we've got here is mine, and we're NOT using that," she said emphatically. Frustrated, she pulled at her hair a bit, grumbling. "Just when I get my mojo back, and now we can't even DO it." Sighing, she threw herself back on the couch. Gourry blinked as he came back into the room. "I've got a computer," he said brightly, and unmindful of the scornful gaze Lina shot him when he said it. "It was one of the things Dad left me when he died," the blond said, no hint of sadness in his cheerful voice. "You can use that if you want." Clapping her hands, Amelia ran over and shook Lina's shoulder. "See? At least you can go meet him, ne, Lina-san?" "Are you kidding?" Lina snapped. "Look around you, Amelia! It's probably WebTV or something!" Scoffing, she got up. "Still, we might as well see it. Where is it, Gourry?" "Hold on a sec," their host responded, and opened up a cabinet. Inside was a medium-sized rectangular carrying case, like had been used for laptops in the early 90's, and set it down on the table. "There. Maybe you can use it. I don't know anything about this kind of stuff." Shaking her head, Lina pushed Amelia off her and down onto the cushions of the couch, then reached out and unzipped the bag. "Honestly, some old relic with an OH MY GOD!" she said, the last turning into a practical shriek as she stared at the sleek, laptop-shaped object lying inside the case. "It's...it's..." Amelia's eyes were as wide as dinner plates also. "It's a DNOS-5A!" she yelled. "Only DracoNix fanatics use this series, because they're so EXPENSIVE!" Her little adolescent eyes glazed over, shining as she stared at the machine. Lina was dumbfounded. "And your dad LEFT you this? When did he die?" she queried, too wrapped up in the moment for things like protocol. Gourry blinked. "Maybe ten years ago? I don't remember the exact date. I try not to think about it," he said solemnly. Lina and Amelia's heads turned toward Gourry at supersonic speeds, faces completely unbelieveing. "WHAT?!" they chorused. "Gourry," Lina continued, staring. "These things didn't EXIST then! How did you..." She paused. "Even if I ask, you're not going to remember, are you?" "Remember what?" Lina sighed. "Exactly. Amelia, get your 'trodes, we could probably handle sixteen people jacking in at one from this damn thing. I'll try to set something up with Zelgadis in the meantime." Amelia nodded. "Yosh! Let's do some good!" --MORE-- The landscape was a little too pastoral, Lina decided. Zelgadis' original message had been video, but in a Star Wars "Help me, Lina Inverse, you're my only hope" kind of way. The forest extending around her was just a bit too much...and, if she thought about it, a little too real. Usually only pimply graphics wonks had the time or the inclination to sit down and make this level of detail WORK for a virtual simulation, but somehow Zelgadis had gotten ahold of one, and nothing in his demeanor said "pimply graphics wonk" to Lina. As usual, wandering away from her body and into the electron horizons had emboldened Miss Berkowitz just a tad; she stood impatiently, foot tapping, as she and Amelia waited for the arrival of their mysterious contact. Amelia, however, was far more impressed than her companion was, and stroked a hand over the seemingly perfect wood. "Sugoi ne, Lina-san! This must have cost a FORTUNE!" she gushed, giggling as she played in the leaves briefly. Lina sighed and shook her head, perturbed. "This isn't the time to be impressed! Besides, you should know better, Amelia. None of this is *real*." Not as real as her headache anyway, Lina mused, the growing pain a bright red warmth spreading across the far-away sensations of her physical body. Maybe it was Gourry's system, something she *still* couldn't understand but was grateful for. As long as the ruby-shining DB cell was trapped on her machine, her access to it was cut off for good. Amelia sighed. "Come on, Miss Lina! We might as well enjoy ourselves while we can," she responded, picking electron leaves out of her persona's white cloak. "What's the plan?" Lina shrugged. "We're going to get some information, is all," she responded, her "voice" dropping into a whisper as she attempted to keep her conversation with Amelia secret. "I don't have any intention of handing over a seventh of Shabby to someone who didn't think I'd figure it out. But we can at least pump him for info." Amelia nodded, whispering back, "Yosh! Alright," and flashing a V for victory with her fingers. She glanced around a bit, then blinked and pointed. "Ne, Lina-san! Look!" The redhead's eyes followed the pointing finger of Justice to its designation: an approaching figure far clearer than the grainy video she'd seen of him before. "You must be Zelgadis," she offered, stepping forward. The gothboy persona nodded, hands where she could see them. It meant nothing more than a psychological reassurance in a world where physical reality was a moot point; he wasn't going to attack her. Lina made much the same gesture as he drew closer, then stopped, and he nodded. "And you must be Lina Inverse and Amelia...the Slayerz, correct?" Lina flinched, but Amelia nodded her head vigorously. "So ne! That's us, the Slayerz!" Before she could continue (or, in fact, say another word), Lina stepped forward. "Yes, we have the 'item'. Not here, however. A suitable arragement should be made first. I, for one, would like to know what it is." Zelgadis hmphed. "You can't be serious. Why would I tell you what it is? If it's important enough, you'll just raise the price. I think what I offered you is more than fair for such a triviality." Lina raised an eyebrow, secretly appreciative for an intellectual match after a day dealing with thick-as-a-brick Gourry and happy-go-justice Amelia. Her lips curled into a delicate smile. "Or you could keep me in the dark, and I simply destroy the 'item' and you never get it." The gothboy shrugged his shoulders. "That's entirely possible." He paused for a moment. "It's a program, something developed by someone...close to me," he said neutrally. "Other than that, it is of no use to you or anyone else, but it is of use to him. I thought that appropriate recompense for your trouble finding it and for the attack on your person, which we didn't orchestrate." Lina grinned. "Scout's honor?" she asked jokingly, holding up her hand in a boy scout salute. Zelgadis frowned. "I'm not here to play games, Miss Inverse." He moved his arm slightly; the flicker of the long trenchcoat of his persona as he did so revealed, of all things, an archaic sword included with it. The glance was fleeting, however. "Either we conduct some business, or I'll be forced to take...steps." Amelia seemed about to say something, but Lina immediately clapped a hand over her mouth, and when she was sure Amelia would stay silent, the redhead stepped toward Zelgadis once. "Oh, alright. Girls just wanna have fun, right? First, could you tell me what you think of these boots?" she asked innocently, holding out one leg slightly. "Then we'll do business, promise." Zelgadis sighed and leaned down, glancing at the boots. "I have no idea why I must do something so stOOOF!" His wearying diatrabe was cut off as Lina's entire leg came up with a vicious kick to the midsection, her programs trying to knock Zel's connection around, the visual effect knocking the goth back more than a few steps, catching his breath. When he looked up, Lina was staring at him angrily. "You apparently missed the 'your ass here' sign on them, luser," she snapped viciously. "I'm not a newbie and you know it. That's more than just a program. It's a virus. It's THE virus. And if you think we're just going to hand it over, you're out of your mind." Amelia nodded her assent, taking a power pose that cleanly knocked the serious attitude out of the air like King Kong swatting a plane. "In the name of Justice, the Slayerz won't forgive you, cyberfiend!" She pointed at Zelgadis, who simply smirked, then turned to Lina. "I promised that our first meeting would involve no violence. I meant it. This place is locked down tighter on attack programs than you could imagine...even mine. But remember this, Lina Inverse," he said viciously, eyes narrowing. "After today, we are enemies! Your flesh has no such dampening protection as this place. Your final warning." Lina smirked. "Whatever, luser. See you on the flip side, gothboy. Try not to wear yourself out on porn sites before we see each other next." And with that, she turned to go, Amelia following after. As both disconnected, their personas disappeared without a trace. After a moment, a flash of red could vaguely be seen in the many trees of the setting. "The trace was effective?" Zelgadis shook his head. "No. Somehow their hardware blocked the trace attempt. It's possible that they may be siding with an unknown factor who's giving them technology." The flash of red was seen again as the Red Priest emerged from the trees. "It's of no consequence. Ruby Eye calls to me. I will search him out myself, if need be. For now, ready some kind of defense if the others looking for him get involved. *She* isn't clumsy, but her creations can be." Zelgadis nodded once. After a long pause, he added hesitantly, "She may be more than we bargained for. Legends don't build themselves overnight." Rezo shrugged, the sightless eyes of his persona staring into some unknown void. "Oh, no. Her legend started far before now. Maybe she'll realize her link to Her soon...that would be absolutely delicious." The red-clad form smiled as he dismissed Zelgadis, who vanished without further comment. "Delicious indeed..." --END OF FILE-- --------------- Author's Note: Wow. I kinda feel good about this. ^_^ I wish I'd had the inclination to give Gourry a better part, but hopefully the setup about his Dad can be useful to future authors. I hope I didn't mangle the cyberpunk feel too badly, but like I said...Slayers is my forte, not cyberpunk. Thanks to all the #Improfanfic people for encouragement and ideas. I've still got some things that didn't make it into this part I was considering; if you want to use them for your own part, lemme know. >Todd (Lina)
C:\SLAYERS\VIRTUAL>type chapter.2
(Slayers Virtual, Part 2: Serial Experiments Lina)
It was quiet. The quiet of the grave. The quiet you sense shortly before the monster looming behind you decides to make "nature red in tooth and claw" the most literal of statements.
The red light, Zelgadis reflected, was the worst part. He had never been an overly religious person, so the decor hadn't bothered him so much. It was no worse that warez lusers making sites full of that looked like a field of traffic lights on crack. However, the combination of crumbling Transylvanian cathedral - sterotypical but tolerable - and the dim, blood-red light filtering in through the windows was simply too much. It chilled his blood, and anything capable of that was worthy of dread indeed. However, Zelgadis had never been the type to show emotions easily, especially when they were so obviously evoked. In truth, he hated himself a little for letting his "benefactor" get to him; the hate was probably more directed at Rezo more than anything. "Why do you insist on this nonsense?" he asked, indulging in some assumed physicality to make a point, crossing the arms of his cloaked persona program and leaning back against a crumbling wall, glancing disapprovingly toward the room's altar. His gaze was directed at a chair, situated like a throne where the altar of the Church would have been. Nothing fancy, simply a high-backed chair to accomodate a tall man. The visual effect of the man's persona, however, was impressive to say the least. Tall and stately, with wide sweeping wings of violet hair and swathed in a dark black cossack, almost like a Catholic priest would wear, but streaked through with dark red highlights that made the cloak look like a flowing carpet of blood. The lips thin and bloodless, the eyes closed. Zelgadis was always impressed with the sheer quality of the Red Priest's imagery; such attention to detail was usually reserved for MUDers with too much time on their hands.A MUDer he was not, however...this much was clear. "There's something to be said for imagery, isn't there? It's all in the presentation. People buy Mazokusoft mapping software for their personas to make them look good, but you never get the quality out of them that a hand-done job can give, don't you think?" the velvet voice asked calmly, unperturbed. "But then, I suppose such things would mean little to you, wouldn't they?" Zelgadis clenched a fist without thinking about, and hmphed, turning to leave. "The girl has read the message. Lina Inverse doesn't not have a reputation for stupidity; I'm sure we can give her the agreedupon price and be done with this." With his status report given, the figure swathed in white left through the church's front double doors, fading as the user behind the mask logged off. On his throne, Rezo the Red Priest merely smiled, curling a finger in a beckoning motion. A figure appeared, a stark caucasian figure in a black suit...or what remained of a black suit. Damage to the figure's programs was evident, the nature of the imaging software making the changes evident: bloody, pixelated-edged gashes ran across the body, the suit torn to shreds and lying raggedly on the mauled body. The eyes never once opened, but the head unmistakably turned to the hanging, grotesque doll, addressing it in a quaint, friendly query. "So...you know of it too. Are you afraid of her? Or are you afraid of Her?" he asked, the capital coming across nicely in the digital medium, voice imprint synth or no. "I'd love to see what happens when she arrives. Don't you think that will be amusing?" "Don't make me wait...Lina Inverse." --MORE-- "It's so...so..." "Quaint? Cute? Lovely?" Amelia supplied, trying to be helpful, adjusting the heavy bag slung across her shoulder, inside which was contained one seventh of the doom of the world. "I was going for 'suburban', actually," Lina replied, shaking her head and raising her voice as the bus pulled away noisily. "I couldn't believe it the last time I was here and I still can't beleive it now. How can he afford this? He's just a tennis instructor!" Amelia shrugged as she bounded down the driveway at the speed of cute. "But Lina-san, it's a very refined sport! Tennis instruction is very big in Saillune. Besides, whoever these people are probably won't think to look for us in a big suburban house, right?" Lina sighed and nodded as she followed Amelia up the bush-lined driveway, noting Gourry's economy car sitting idly in front of the garage. "True. Gourry probably doesn't even have a computer, let alone get online...we're probably safe here, for now." << If he'll take us in, anyway >> Lina thought to herself, grim flashbacks of her exit yesterday morning playing over in her head. Amelia rocked back and forth on her heels as Lina stepped up and rang the doorbell once. When there was no answer, she tried again, pressing the bell more insistently, and then immediately backing off, grumbling to herself. Lina Inverse wouldn't panic and assume there were MiBs hunting her down this very second. And even if there were, Lina Inverse wouldn't be praying her tennis instructor and his Hikari no Racket would be showing up again to pull her bacon out of the fire, spouting stereotypical lines like... "Hi, Lina. Isn't our next lesson tomorrow and not today? Or have I got the days confused again?" No, not something like that. Lina blinked out of her reverie and looked up to see the muscular blonde figure of Gourry Gabriev, standing in the door of his split-level ranch, perfectly dressed and carrying a glass of what appeared to be orange juice. Ah, domestic luser bliss. "No, you're right, it's not till tomorrow." She paused, then glanced back at Amelia, who had stopped bouncing and was staring, slack-jawed, at Gourry. "Ahem. Gourry, this is my friend Amelia...I'm sure I've mentioned her." << I'm sure you've forgotten. >> "Never heard of her. But it's nice to meet you, Amelia," Gourry replied, extending a hand. Amelia promptly grabbed it and pumped it like a car jack. "Wai! It's so nice to meet you, Mr. Gourry! Especially since you saved Miss Lina from those evil, nasty men who threatened her!" Amelia bubbled, letting go of Gourry's hand. The tennis instructor wobbled up and down from aftershock for a few moments. Lina breathed a sigh of relief. Knowing Gourry, he'd probably forgotten all about the... "...Fireball! And then she blacked out, so I brought her here but she didn't stay all that long." Gourry blinked. "Ano, Lina, are you alright?" "WHY would you choose NOW to have a good memory?!" Lina ranted, kicking Gourry in the shin. Gourry, already shook up from Amelia's greeting, went down like a sack of potatoes. She put a hand to her head, and felt another headache coming on. She turned to glance at Amelia, who was staring at her dumbfounded. "Ano, Lina...what is he talking about? Fireballs? Monsters?" Lina sighed and gestured into the house. "Come on inside and I'll explain." She then surreptitiously stepped over Gourry and into the house, careful to pick up the fallen glass of orange juice as she did so. No reason to leave a mess after all. Amelia took a few moments to recover, then headed inside after Lina, knocking Gourry down again as she stepped over him (or attempted to, anyway). A look of curiosity and confusion was etched across her cute little face, however. She'd never seen Lina act like this before. After a pause, she scratched that. She'd never seen Lina BERKOWITZ act like this before... --MORE-- Lina sighed, putting the coffeecup down in the immaculate saucer. She had to hand it to Gourry; for someone who apparently knew nothing but tennis, he kept a fairly neat house, had a fairly nice life. His china was spotless, for example. His house was more or less well-kept...well, well-kept compared to Lina's rent-control rathole or Amelia's plush adolescent den. "So that's the whole story, Amelia," Lina said, glancing over to see her protege staring at her like a deer in headlights. She put a hand to her forehead and grumbled. "I didn't tell you because I knew you'd do THIS! Even Gourry took it better, and he was there!" She looked to her host to have him confirm this, and found him giving her a similar glassy-eyed stare. The impact of Lina's deadly sneaker against his forehead snapped Gourry out of it. "Huh? Oh, sorry, Lina. You spent such a long time telling the story, I kinda faded out in the middle somewhere." He rubbed a hand against his brow, a large red mark left in the wake of Lina's wrath. "You sure are touchy today." Lina glared at Gourry at a wattage usually reserved for lighthouses or electromagnets the size of small moons. "WHAT? Gourry, there are men trying to kill me! Maybe they're not even men! Of *COURSE* I'm touchy!" Amelia blinked, leaping up and pointing a finger into the air. "Nevertheless, Lina-san!" she bellowed, the sonic force of her conviction strafing through the argument easily, all eyes on her. Amelia's eyes sparkled as she looked to the sky, despite the fact that Gourry's ceiling and second floor were rudely getting in the way. "There's a message in this! You were obviously called to defeat these awful data thieves! Don't you understand?" the young girl queried, grabbing Lina by the shoulders. "The power of Justice flows through your code, Miss Lina! That fireball trick proves it! The people need a hero...Lina Inverse, the bandit killer!" There wasn't a single indication that Amelia wasn't buying this story at all, or that she doubted for a second that Lina had broken several important and fundamental physical laws the previous night. Lina sighed, shoving Amelia off of her and looking down at her coffee forlornly. "Amelia...it was probably just a hallucination. It was dark...maybe one of them had a gun that went off and I saw a muzzle flash or something," Lina glibly rationalized, picking up her coffee cup. "The people need better lives, not saving from some mystery force." Gourry blinked. "But from what you said, this Shabbywhatsit virus could cause a lot of people to suffer, right? Doesn't that include you, Lina?" Amelia nodded her support of Gourry's idea at relativistic velocity. The red-haired girl shook her head, looking out the window as she spoke. "So what? I'll survive. If you want a hero, hunt down my sister. She's the hero in the family." Amelia blinked. "You have a sister?" She sat back down, zealous fire of justice momentarily quenched in the cool water of curiosity. "You never told me that." Lina sighed. "She and I don't get along," Miss Berkowitz mumbled, turning back to face her friends. "But she's one hell of a hacker. One of the best. There's rumors that she's one of the folks responsible behind the scenes at DracoNix, and helps update the Ceipheed Solution every few years...but then, you can never tell with her." Amelia ahhhed. "She sounds like quite a person. But if she's such a recluse, how are we going to get her to help us?" she asked innocently, then eeeeep'ed as Lina's hands came down on the table with a loud *bang*, shaking the china which Gourry's hands dove for in a flash. "We are *not* asking her for help!" Lina snapped, her eyes glazing over and staring at Amelia with a look of such utter horror that she shrank back in her chair, eyes watering. "I'd sooner die!" There was a moment where she seemed to seriously consider this option, then with a sigh sank back into the plushness of the couch, holding her head with both hands. "We probably will, at this rate." After a moment of silence, she stood up. "Gourry, I didn't mean to bother you," she said, the meekness of Lina Berkowitz the fry jockey slipping back into her voice. "Just let me use your data line for a bit and this'll all be over." She knew Gourry's completely backwoods electronics setup would have at least a data jack; they were standard in new houses like his. Before Gourry could so much as reply, Amelia immediately got back up from her chair, blinking. "Lina! You promised! You said you weren't going to let them win!" She sniffled a little as her esteem for her idol began to waver on the Justice-O-Meter. "Would Lina Inverse do this?" "Yes!" Lina shouted, shooting a scathing glare at Amelia that made her cringe, eyes blazing. "Things change! Lina Inverse is a greedy, vicious little brat who only cares about money, good food, and her *reputation*!" She paused a little, thinking what Eyrie might say if he knew the legendary Lina Inverse had just caused the cyberspace equivalent of World War 3 and armed the Axis with an orbital laser the size of New Jersey. She sighed and stopped. "I'm just sick of living for her. You can't be two people your entire life. You've got to live in the real world, too." Gourry made a hmm'ing sound in the back of his throat as he grabbed up the dishes to clear the table. "I don't know who this Lina Inverse is, but she sounds like she's at least having fun with her life." He paused for a minute. "I wonder if she plays tennis?" Amelia stared at Gourry, dumbfounded, but it was Lina who responded: "She doesn't want to, Gourry, but she does. After all...if you've got something and you don't use it, what does that make you?" Noting Gourry's confused expression, Lina shook her head and glanced at Amelia. "Come on. We'll go back to my place; we can use the backup machines, since you're coming too. We'll have to meet this Zelgadis guy anyhow so we might as well get it over with." Lina's turn to glance at Gourry as she finished speaking was rewarded with the hunky blonde giving her a look as if she'd just turned into a cockroach and asked if there was any moldy bread handy. Amelia cheered, grabbing Lina in a surprise hug. "Yay! That's great, Miss Lina. Thanks for not giving up!" She paused, then aaaaghed!, running the emotional gamut in just under five seconds. "We can't go back to your place, remember? There might be CREEPY MEN there!" the apprentice emphasized, making spooky motions with her hands. Lina hmmmed. "Yeah, you're right. But the only computer we've got here is mine, and we're NOT using that," she said emphatically. Frustrated, she pulled at her hair a bit, grumbling. "Just when I get my mojo back, and now we can't even DO it." Sighing, she threw herself back on the couch. Gourry blinked as he came back into the room. "I've got a computer," he said brightly, and unmindful of the scornful gaze Lina shot him when he said it. "It was one of the things Dad left me when he died," the blond said, no hint of sadness in his cheerful voice. "You can use that if you want." Clapping her hands, Amelia ran over and shook Lina's shoulder. "See? At least you can go meet him, ne, Lina-san?" "Are you kidding?" Lina snapped. "Look around you, Amelia! It's probably WebTV or something!" Scoffing, she got up. "Still, we might as well see it. Where is it, Gourry?" "Hold on a sec," their host responded, and opened up a cabinet. Inside was a medium-sized rectangular carrying case, like had been used for laptops in the early 90's, and set it down on the table. "There. Maybe you can use it. I don't know anything about this kind of stuff." Shaking her head, Lina pushed Amelia off her and down onto the cushions of the couch, then reached out and unzipped the bag. "Honestly, some old relic with an OH MY GOD!" she said, the last turning into a practical shriek as she stared at the sleek, laptop-shaped object lying inside the case. "It's...it's..." Amelia's eyes were as wide as dinner plates also. "It's a DNOS-5A!" she yelled. "Only DracoNix fanatics use this series, because they're so EXPENSIVE!" Her little adolescent eyes glazed over, shining as she stared at the machine. Lina was dumbfounded. "And your dad LEFT you this? When did he die?" she queried, too wrapped up in the moment for things like protocol. Gourry blinked. "Maybe ten years ago? I don't remember the exact date. I try not to think about it," he said solemnly. Lina and Amelia's heads turned toward Gourry at supersonic speeds, faces completely unbelieveing. "WHAT?!" they chorused. "Gourry," Lina continued, staring. "These things didn't EXIST then! How did you..." She paused. "Even if I ask, you're not going to remember, are you?" "Remember what?" Lina sighed. "Exactly. Amelia, get your 'trodes, we could probably handle sixteen people jacking in at one from this damn thing. I'll try to set something up with Zelgadis in the meantime." Amelia nodded. "Yosh! Let's do some good!" --MORE-- The landscape was a little too pastoral, Lina decided. Zelgadis' original message had been video, but in a Star Wars "Help me, Lina Inverse, you're my only hope" kind of way. The forest extending around her was just a bit too much...and, if she thought about it, a little too real. Usually only pimply graphics wonks had the time or the inclination to sit down and make this level of detail WORK for a virtual simulation, but somehow Zelgadis had gotten ahold of one, and nothing in his demeanor said "pimply graphics wonk" to Lina. As usual, wandering away from her body and into the electron horizons had emboldened Miss Berkowitz just a tad; she stood impatiently, foot tapping, as she and Amelia waited for the arrival of their mysterious contact. Amelia, however, was far more impressed than her companion was, and stroked a hand over the seemingly perfect wood. "Sugoi ne, Lina-san! This must have cost a FORTUNE!" she gushed, giggling as she played in the leaves briefly. Lina sighed and shook her head, perturbed. "This isn't the time to be impressed! Besides, you should know better, Amelia. None of this is *real*." Not as real as her headache anyway, Lina mused, the growing pain a bright red warmth spreading across the far-away sensations of her physical body. Maybe it was Gourry's system, something she *still* couldn't understand but was grateful for. As long as the ruby-shining DB cell was trapped on her machine, her access to it was cut off for good. Amelia sighed. "Come on, Miss Lina! We might as well enjoy ourselves while we can," she responded, picking electron leaves out of her persona's white cloak. "What's the plan?" Lina shrugged. "We're going to get some information, is all," she responded, her "voice" dropping into a whisper as she attempted to keep her conversation with Amelia secret. "I don't have any intention of handing over a seventh of Shabby to someone who didn't think I'd figure it out. But we can at least pump him for info." Amelia nodded, whispering back, "Yosh! Alright," and flashing a V for victory with her fingers. She glanced around a bit, then blinked and pointed. "Ne, Lina-san! Look!" The redhead's eyes followed the pointing finger of Justice to its designation: an approaching figure far clearer than the grainy video she'd seen of him before. "You must be Zelgadis," she offered, stepping forward. The gothboy persona nodded, hands where she could see them. It meant nothing more than a psychological reassurance in a world where physical reality was a moot point; he wasn't going to attack her. Lina made much the same gesture as he drew closer, then stopped, and he nodded. "And you must be Lina Inverse and Amelia...the Slayerz, correct?" Lina flinched, but Amelia nodded her head vigorously. "So ne! That's us, the Slayerz!" Before she could continue (or, in fact, say another word), Lina stepped forward. "Yes, we have the 'item'. Not here, however. A suitable arragement should be made first. I, for one, would like to know what it is." Zelgadis hmphed. "You can't be serious. Why would I tell you what it is? If it's important enough, you'll just raise the price. I think what I offered you is more than fair for such a triviality." Lina raised an eyebrow, secretly appreciative for an intellectual match after a day dealing with thick-as-a-brick Gourry and happy-go-justice Amelia. Her lips curled into a delicate smile. "Or you could keep me in the dark, and I simply destroy the 'item' and you never get it." The gothboy shrugged his shoulders. "That's entirely possible." He paused for a moment. "It's a program, something developed by someone...close to me," he said neutrally. "Other than that, it is of no use to you or anyone else, but it is of use to him. I thought that appropriate recompense for your trouble finding it and for the attack on your person, which we didn't orchestrate." Lina grinned. "Scout's honor?" she asked jokingly, holding up her hand in a boy scout salute. Zelgadis frowned. "I'm not here to play games, Miss Inverse." He moved his arm slightly; the flicker of the long trenchcoat of his persona as he did so revealed, of all things, an archaic sword included with it. The glance was fleeting, however. "Either we conduct some business, or I'll be forced to take...steps." Amelia seemed about to say something, but Lina immediately clapped a hand over her mouth, and when she was sure Amelia would stay silent, the redhead stepped toward Zelgadis once. "Oh, alright. Girls just wanna have fun, right? First, could you tell me what you think of these boots?" she asked innocently, holding out one leg slightly. "Then we'll do business, promise." Zelgadis sighed and leaned down, glancing at the boots. "I have no idea why I must do something so stOOOF!" His wearying diatrabe was cut off as Lina's entire leg came up with a vicious kick to the midsection, her programs trying to knock Zel's connection around, the visual effect knocking the goth back more than a few steps, catching his breath. When he looked up, Lina was staring at him angrily. "You apparently missed the 'your ass here' sign on them, luser," she snapped viciously. "I'm not a newbie and you know it. That's more than just a program. It's a virus. It's THE virus. And if you think we're just going to hand it over, you're out of your mind." Amelia nodded her assent, taking a power pose that cleanly knocked the serious attitude out of the air like King Kong swatting a plane. "In the name of Justice, the Slayerz won't forgive you, cyberfiend!" She pointed at Zelgadis, who simply smirked, then turned to Lina. "I promised that our first meeting would involve no violence. I meant it. This place is locked down tighter on attack programs than you could imagine...even mine. But remember this, Lina Inverse," he said viciously, eyes narrowing. "After today, we are enemies! Your flesh has no such dampening protection as this place. Your final warning." Lina smirked. "Whatever, luser. See you on the flip side, gothboy. Try not to wear yourself out on porn sites before we see each other next." And with that, she turned to go, Amelia following after. As both disconnected, their personas disappeared without a trace. After a moment, a flash of red could vaguely be seen in the many trees of the setting. "The trace was effective?" Zelgadis shook his head. "No. Somehow their hardware blocked the trace attempt. It's possible that they may be siding with an unknown factor who's giving them technology." The flash of red was seen again as the Red Priest emerged from the trees. "It's of no consequence. Ruby Eye calls to me. I will search him out myself, if need be. For now, ready some kind of defense if the others looking for him get involved. *She* isn't clumsy, but her creations can be." Zelgadis nodded once. After a long pause, he added hesitantly, "She may be more than we bargained for. Legends don't build themselves overnight." Rezo shrugged, the sightless eyes of his persona staring into some unknown void. "Oh, no. Her legend started far before now. Maybe she'll realize her link to Her soon...that would be absolutely delicious." The red-clad form smiled as he dismissed Zelgadis, who vanished without further comment. "Delicious indeed..." --END OF FILE-- --------------- Author's Note: Wow. I kinda feel good about this. ^_^ I wish I'd had the inclination to give Gourry a better part, but hopefully the setup about his Dad can be useful to future authors. I hope I didn't mangle the cyberpunk feel too badly, but like I said...Slayers is my forte, not cyberpunk. Thanks to all the #Improfanfic people for encouragement and ideas. I've still got some things that didn't make it into this part I was considering; if you want to use them for your own part, lemme know. >Todd (Lina)
However, Zelgadis had never been the type to show emotions easily, especially when they were so obviously evoked. In truth, he hated himself a little for letting his "benefactor" get to him; the hate was probably more directed at Rezo more than anything.
"Why do you insist on this nonsense?" he asked, indulging in some assumed physicality to make a point, crossing the arms of his cloaked persona program and leaning back against a crumbling wall, glancing disapprovingly toward the room's altar.
His gaze was directed at a chair, situated like a throne where the altar of the Church would have been. Nothing fancy, simply a high-backed chair to accomodate a tall man. The visual effect of the man's persona, however, was impressive to say the least. Tall and stately, with wide sweeping wings of violet hair and swathed in a dark black cossack, almost like a Catholic priest would wear, but streaked through with dark red highlights that made the cloak look like a flowing carpet of blood. The lips thin and bloodless, the eyes closed. Zelgadis was always impressed with the sheer quality of the Red Priest's imagery; such attention to detail was usually reserved for MUDers with too much time on their hands.A MUDer he was not, however...this much was clear.
"There's something to be said for imagery, isn't there? It's all in the presentation. People buy Mazokusoft mapping software for their personas to make them look good, but you never get the quality out of them that a hand-done job can give, don't you think?" the velvet voice asked calmly, unperturbed. "But then, I suppose such things would mean little to you, wouldn't they?"
Zelgadis clenched a fist without thinking about, and hmphed, turning to leave. "The girl has read the message. Lina Inverse doesn't not have a reputation for stupidity; I'm sure we can give her the agreedupon price and be done with this." With his status report given, the figure swathed in white left through the church's front double doors, fading as the user behind the mask logged off.
On his throne, Rezo the Red Priest merely smiled, curling a finger in a beckoning motion. A figure appeared, a stark caucasian figure in a black suit...or what remained of a black suit. Damage to the figure's programs was evident, the nature of the imaging software making the changes evident: bloody, pixelated-edged gashes ran across the body, the suit torn to shreds and lying raggedly on the mauled body.
The eyes never once opened, but the head unmistakably turned to the hanging, grotesque doll, addressing it in a quaint, friendly query. "So...you know of it too. Are you afraid of her? Or are you afraid of Her?" he asked, the capital coming across nicely in the digital medium, voice imprint synth or no. "I'd love to see what happens when she arrives. Don't you think that will be amusing?"
"Don't make me wait...Lina Inverse."
--MORE--
"It's so...so..."
"Quaint? Cute? Lovely?" Amelia supplied, trying to be helpful, adjusting the heavy bag slung across her shoulder, inside which was contained one seventh of the doom of the world.
"I was going for 'suburban', actually," Lina replied, shaking her head and raising her voice as the bus pulled away noisily. "I couldn't believe it the last time I was here and I still can't beleive it now. How can he afford this? He's just a tennis instructor!"
Amelia shrugged as she bounded down the driveway at the speed of cute. "But Lina-san, it's a very refined sport! Tennis instruction is very big in Saillune. Besides, whoever these people are probably won't think to look for us in a big suburban house, right?"
Lina sighed and nodded as she followed Amelia up the bush-lined driveway, noting Gourry's economy car sitting idly in front of the garage. "True. Gourry probably doesn't even have a computer, let alone get online...we're probably safe here, for now." << If he'll take us in, anyway >> Lina thought to herself, grim flashbacks of her exit yesterday morning playing over in her head.
Amelia rocked back and forth on her heels as Lina stepped up and rang the doorbell once. When there was no answer, she tried again, pressing the bell more insistently, and then immediately backing off, grumbling to herself. Lina Inverse wouldn't panic and assume there were MiBs hunting her down this very second. And even if there were, Lina Inverse wouldn't be praying her tennis instructor and his Hikari no Racket would be showing up again to pull her bacon out of the fire, spouting stereotypical lines like...
"Hi, Lina. Isn't our next lesson tomorrow and not today? Or have I got the days confused again?"
No, not something like that. Lina blinked out of her reverie and looked up to see the muscular blonde figure of Gourry Gabriev, standing in the door of his split-level ranch, perfectly dressed and carrying a glass of what appeared to be orange juice. Ah, domestic luser bliss. "No, you're right, it's not till tomorrow." She paused, then glanced back at Amelia, who had stopped bouncing and was staring, slack-jawed, at Gourry. "Ahem. Gourry, this is my friend Amelia...I'm sure I've mentioned her." << I'm sure you've forgotten. >>
"Never heard of her. But it's nice to meet you, Amelia," Gourry replied, extending a hand. Amelia promptly grabbed it and pumped it like a car jack.
"Wai! It's so nice to meet you, Mr. Gourry! Especially since you saved Miss Lina from those evil, nasty men who threatened her!" Amelia bubbled, letting go of Gourry's hand. The tennis instructor wobbled up and down from aftershock for a few moments.
Lina breathed a sigh of relief. Knowing Gourry, he'd probably forgotten all about the...
"...Fireball! And then she blacked out, so I brought her here but she didn't stay all that long." Gourry blinked. "Ano, Lina, are you alright?"
"WHY would you choose NOW to have a good memory?!" Lina ranted, kicking Gourry in the shin. Gourry, already shook up from Amelia's greeting, went down like a sack of potatoes. She put a hand to her head, and felt another headache coming on. She turned to glance at Amelia, who was staring at her dumbfounded.
"Ano, Lina...what is he talking about? Fireballs? Monsters?"
Lina sighed and gestured into the house. "Come on inside and I'll explain." She then surreptitiously stepped over Gourry and into the house, careful to pick up the fallen glass of orange juice as she did so. No reason to leave a mess after all.
Amelia took a few moments to recover, then headed inside after Lina, knocking Gourry down again as she stepped over him (or attempted to, anyway). A look of curiosity and confusion was etched across her cute little face, however. She'd never seen Lina act like this before.
After a pause, she scratched that. She'd never seen Lina BERKOWITZ act like this before...
Lina sighed, putting the coffeecup down in the immaculate saucer. She had to hand it to Gourry; for someone who apparently knew nothing but tennis, he kept a fairly neat house, had a fairly nice life. His china was spotless, for example. His house was more or less well-kept...well, well-kept compared to Lina's rent-control rathole or Amelia's plush adolescent den.
"So that's the whole story, Amelia," Lina said, glancing over to see her protege staring at her like a deer in headlights. She put a hand to her forehead and grumbled. "I didn't tell you because I knew you'd do THIS! Even Gourry took it better, and he was there!" She looked to her host to have him confirm this, and found him giving her a similar glassy-eyed stare.
The impact of Lina's deadly sneaker against his forehead snapped Gourry out of it. "Huh? Oh, sorry, Lina. You spent such a long time telling the story, I kinda faded out in the middle somewhere." He rubbed a hand against his brow, a large red mark left in the wake of Lina's wrath. "You sure are touchy today."
Lina glared at Gourry at a wattage usually reserved for lighthouses or electromagnets the size of small moons. "WHAT? Gourry, there are men trying to kill me! Maybe they're not even men! Of *COURSE* I'm touchy!"
Amelia blinked, leaping up and pointing a finger into the air. "Nevertheless, Lina-san!" she bellowed, the sonic force of her conviction strafing through the argument easily, all eyes on her. Amelia's eyes sparkled as she looked to the sky, despite the fact that Gourry's ceiling and second floor were rudely getting in the way. "There's a message in this! You were obviously called to defeat these awful data thieves! Don't you understand?" the young girl queried, grabbing Lina by the shoulders. "The power of Justice flows through your code, Miss Lina! That fireball trick proves it! The people need a hero...Lina Inverse, the bandit killer!" There wasn't a single indication that Amelia wasn't buying this story at all, or that she doubted for a second that Lina had broken several important and fundamental physical laws the previous night.
Lina sighed, shoving Amelia off of her and looking down at her coffee forlornly. "Amelia...it was probably just a hallucination. It was dark...maybe one of them had a gun that went off and I saw a muzzle flash or something," Lina glibly rationalized, picking up her coffee cup. "The people need better lives, not saving from some mystery force."
Gourry blinked. "But from what you said, this Shabbywhatsit virus could cause a lot of people to suffer, right? Doesn't that include you, Lina?" Amelia nodded her support of Gourry's idea at relativistic velocity.
The red-haired girl shook her head, looking out the window as she spoke. "So what? I'll survive. If you want a hero, hunt down my sister. She's the hero in the family."
Amelia blinked. "You have a sister?" She sat back down, zealous fire of justice momentarily quenched in the cool water of curiosity. "You never told me that."
Lina sighed. "She and I don't get along," Miss Berkowitz mumbled, turning back to face her friends. "But she's one hell of a hacker. One of the best. There's rumors that she's one of the folks responsible behind the scenes at DracoNix, and helps update the Ceipheed Solution every few years...but then, you can never tell with her."
Amelia ahhhed. "She sounds like quite a person. But if she's such a recluse, how are we going to get her to help us?" she asked innocently, then eeeeep'ed as Lina's hands came down on the table with a loud *bang*, shaking the china which Gourry's hands dove for in a flash.
"We are *not* asking her for help!" Lina snapped, her eyes glazing over and staring at Amelia with a look of such utter horror that she shrank back in her chair, eyes watering. "I'd sooner die!" There was a moment where she seemed to seriously consider this option, then with a sigh sank back into the plushness of the couch, holding her head with both hands. "We probably will, at this rate." After a moment of silence, she stood up. "Gourry, I didn't mean to bother you," she said, the meekness of Lina Berkowitz the fry jockey slipping back into her voice. "Just let me use your data line for a bit and this'll all be over." She knew Gourry's completely backwoods electronics setup would have at least a data jack; they were standard in new houses like his.
Before Gourry could so much as reply, Amelia immediately got back up from her chair, blinking. "Lina! You promised! You said you weren't going to let them win!" She sniffled a little as her esteem for her idol began to waver on the Justice-O-Meter. "Would Lina Inverse do this?"
"Yes!" Lina shouted, shooting a scathing glare at Amelia that made her cringe, eyes blazing. "Things change! Lina Inverse is a greedy, vicious little brat who only cares about money, good food, and her *reputation*!" She paused a little, thinking what Eyrie might say if he knew the legendary Lina Inverse had just caused the cyberspace equivalent of World War 3 and armed the Axis with an orbital laser the size of New Jersey. She sighed and stopped. "I'm just sick of living for her. You can't be two people your entire life. You've got to live in the real world, too."
Gourry made a hmm'ing sound in the back of his throat as he grabbed up the dishes to clear the table. "I don't know who this Lina Inverse is, but she sounds like she's at least having fun with her life." He paused for a minute. "I wonder if she plays tennis?"
Amelia stared at Gourry, dumbfounded, but it was Lina who responded: "She doesn't want to, Gourry, but she does. After all...if you've got something and you don't use it, what does that make you?" Noting Gourry's confused expression, Lina shook her head and glanced at Amelia. "Come on. We'll go back to my place; we can use the backup machines, since you're coming too. We'll have to meet this Zelgadis guy anyhow so we might as well get it over with." Lina's turn to glance at Gourry as she finished speaking was rewarded with the hunky blonde giving her a look as if she'd just turned into a cockroach and asked if there was any moldy bread handy.
Amelia cheered, grabbing Lina in a surprise hug. "Yay! That's great, Miss Lina. Thanks for not giving up!" She paused, then aaaaghed!, running the emotional gamut in just under five seconds. "We can't go back to your place, remember? There might be CREEPY MEN there!" the apprentice emphasized, making spooky motions with her hands.
Lina hmmmed. "Yeah, you're right. But the only computer we've got here is mine, and we're NOT using that," she said emphatically. Frustrated, she pulled at her hair a bit, grumbling. "Just when I get my mojo back, and now we can't even DO it." Sighing, she threw herself back on the couch.
Gourry blinked as he came back into the room. "I've got a computer," he said brightly, and unmindful of the scornful gaze Lina shot him when he said it. "It was one of the things Dad left me when he died," the blond said, no hint of sadness in his cheerful voice. "You can use that if you want."
Clapping her hands, Amelia ran over and shook Lina's shoulder. "See? At least you can go meet him, ne, Lina-san?"
"Are you kidding?" Lina snapped. "Look around you, Amelia! It's probably WebTV or something!" Scoffing, she got up. "Still, we might as well see it. Where is it, Gourry?"
"Hold on a sec," their host responded, and opened up a cabinet. Inside was a medium-sized rectangular carrying case, like had been used for laptops in the early 90's, and set it down on the table. "There. Maybe you can use it. I don't know anything about this kind of stuff."
Shaking her head, Lina pushed Amelia off her and down onto the cushions of the couch, then reached out and unzipped the bag. "Honestly, some old relic with an OH MY GOD!" she said, the last turning into a practical shriek as she stared at the sleek, laptop-shaped object lying inside the case. "It's...it's..."
Amelia's eyes were as wide as dinner plates also. "It's a DNOS-5A!" she yelled. "Only DracoNix fanatics use this series, because they're so EXPENSIVE!" Her little adolescent eyes glazed over, shining as she stared at the machine.
Lina was dumbfounded. "And your dad LEFT you this? When did he die?" she queried, too wrapped up in the moment for things like protocol.
Gourry blinked. "Maybe ten years ago? I don't remember the exact date. I try not to think about it," he said solemnly.
Lina and Amelia's heads turned toward Gourry at supersonic speeds, faces completely unbelieveing. "WHAT?!" they chorused.
"Gourry," Lina continued, staring. "These things didn't EXIST then! How did you..." She paused. "Even if I ask, you're not going to remember, are you?"
"Remember what?"
Lina sighed. "Exactly. Amelia, get your 'trodes, we could probably handle sixteen people jacking in at one from this damn thing. I'll try to set something up with Zelgadis in the meantime."
Amelia nodded. "Yosh! Let's do some good!"
The landscape was a little too pastoral, Lina decided. Zelgadis' original message had been video, but in a Star Wars "Help me, Lina Inverse, you're my only hope" kind of way. The forest extending around her was just a bit too much...and, if she thought about it, a little too real. Usually only pimply graphics wonks had the time or the inclination to sit down and make this level of detail WORK for a virtual simulation, but somehow Zelgadis had gotten ahold of one, and nothing in his demeanor said "pimply graphics wonk" to Lina.
As usual, wandering away from her body and into the electron horizons had emboldened Miss Berkowitz just a tad; she stood impatiently, foot tapping, as she and Amelia waited for the arrival of their mysterious contact.
Amelia, however, was far more impressed than her companion was, and stroked a hand over the seemingly perfect wood. "Sugoi ne, Lina-san! This must have cost a FORTUNE!" she gushed, giggling as she played in the leaves briefly.
Lina sighed and shook her head, perturbed. "This isn't the time to be impressed! Besides, you should know better, Amelia. None of this is *real*." Not as real as her headache anyway, Lina mused, the growing pain a bright red warmth spreading across the far-away sensations of her physical body. Maybe it was Gourry's system, something she *still* couldn't understand but was grateful for. As long as the ruby-shining DB cell was trapped on her machine, her access to it was cut off for good.
Amelia sighed. "Come on, Miss Lina! We might as well enjoy ourselves while we can," she responded, picking electron leaves out of her persona's white cloak. "What's the plan?"
Lina shrugged. "We're going to get some information, is all," she responded, her "voice" dropping into a whisper as she attempted to keep her conversation with Amelia secret. "I don't have any intention of handing over a seventh of Shabby to someone who didn't think I'd figure it out. But we can at least pump him for info."
Amelia nodded, whispering back, "Yosh! Alright," and flashing a V for victory with her fingers. She glanced around a bit, then blinked and pointed. "Ne, Lina-san! Look!"
The redhead's eyes followed the pointing finger of Justice to its designation: an approaching figure far clearer than the grainy video she'd seen of him before. "You must be Zelgadis," she offered, stepping forward.
The gothboy persona nodded, hands where she could see them. It meant nothing more than a psychological reassurance in a world where physical reality was a moot point; he wasn't going to attack her. Lina made much the same gesture as he drew closer, then stopped, and he nodded. "And you must be Lina Inverse and Amelia...the Slayerz, correct?"
Lina flinched, but Amelia nodded her head vigorously. "So ne! That's us, the Slayerz!" Before she could continue (or, in fact, say another word), Lina stepped forward.
"Yes, we have the 'item'. Not here, however. A suitable arragement should be made first. I, for one, would like to know what it is."
Zelgadis hmphed. "You can't be serious. Why would I tell you what it is? If it's important enough, you'll just raise the price. I think what I offered you is more than fair for such a triviality."
Lina raised an eyebrow, secretly appreciative for an intellectual match after a day dealing with thick-as-a-brick Gourry and happy-go-justice Amelia. Her lips curled into a delicate smile. "Or you could keep me in the dark, and I simply destroy the 'item' and you never get it."
The gothboy shrugged his shoulders. "That's entirely possible." He paused for a moment. "It's a program, something developed by someone...close to me," he said neutrally. "Other than that, it is of no use to you or anyone else, but it is of use to him. I thought that appropriate recompense for your trouble finding it and for the attack on your person, which we didn't orchestrate."
Lina grinned. "Scout's honor?" she asked jokingly, holding up her hand in a boy scout salute.
Zelgadis frowned. "I'm not here to play games, Miss Inverse." He moved his arm slightly; the flicker of the long trenchcoat of his persona as he did so revealed, of all things, an archaic sword included with it. The glance was fleeting, however. "Either we conduct some business, or I'll be forced to take...steps."
Amelia seemed about to say something, but Lina immediately clapped a hand over her mouth, and when she was sure Amelia would stay silent, the redhead stepped toward Zelgadis once. "Oh, alright. Girls just wanna have fun, right? First, could you tell me what you think of these boots?" she asked innocently, holding out one leg slightly. "Then we'll do business, promise."
Zelgadis sighed and leaned down, glancing at the boots. "I have no idea why I must do something so stOOOF!" His wearying diatrabe was cut off as Lina's entire leg came up with a vicious kick to the midsection, her programs trying to knock Zel's connection around, the visual effect knocking the goth back more than a few steps, catching his breath. When he looked up, Lina was staring at him angrily.
"You apparently missed the 'your ass here' sign on them, luser," she snapped viciously. "I'm not a newbie and you know it. That's more than just a program. It's a virus. It's THE virus. And if you think we're just going to hand it over, you're out of your mind."
Amelia nodded her assent, taking a power pose that cleanly knocked the serious attitude out of the air like King Kong swatting a plane. "In the name of Justice, the Slayerz won't forgive you, cyberfiend!" She pointed at Zelgadis, who simply smirked, then turned to Lina.
"I promised that our first meeting would involve no violence. I meant it. This place is locked down tighter on attack programs than you could imagine...even mine. But remember this, Lina Inverse," he said viciously, eyes narrowing. "After today, we are enemies! Your flesh has no such dampening protection as this place. Your final warning."
Lina smirked. "Whatever, luser. See you on the flip side, gothboy. Try not to wear yourself out on porn sites before we see each other next." And with that, she turned to go, Amelia following after. As both disconnected, their personas disappeared without a trace.
After a moment, a flash of red could vaguely be seen in the many trees of the setting. "The trace was effective?"
Zelgadis shook his head. "No. Somehow their hardware blocked the trace attempt. It's possible that they may be siding with an unknown factor who's giving them technology."
The flash of red was seen again as the Red Priest emerged from the trees. "It's of no consequence. Ruby Eye calls to me. I will search him out myself, if need be. For now, ready some kind of defense if the others looking for him get involved. *She* isn't clumsy, but her creations can be."
Zelgadis nodded once. After a long pause, he added hesitantly, "She may be more than we bargained for. Legends don't build themselves overnight."
Rezo shrugged, the sightless eyes of his persona staring into some unknown void. "Oh, no. Her legend started far before now. Maybe she'll realize her link to Her soon...that would be absolutely delicious." The red-clad form smiled as he dismissed Zelgadis, who vanished without further comment. "Delicious indeed..."
--END OF FILE--
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Author's Note:
Wow. I kinda feel good about this. ^_^ I wish I'd had the inclination to give Gourry a better part, but hopefully the setup about his Dad can be useful to future authors.
I hope I didn't mangle the cyberpunk feel too badly, but like I said...Slayers is my forte, not cyberpunk.
Thanks to all the #Improfanfic people for encouragement and ideas. I've still got some things that didn't make it into this part I was considering; if you want to use them for your own part, lemme know.
>Todd (Lina)
