Re: Megaman Z(x) RWBY

Mon Nov 25, 2019 12:35 am

"Copy that. I'll be there before you know it!" She proclaimed. "...I have no clue how I'm gonna do that."

Taking stock of her bizarre surroundings, she backed out of the door, noting that there was really only one other path to follow that headed in the direction of her brother. "Model X, can you tell me if we're getting close?"

I might be able to put up a display. Here; you should be able to see on the radar what your relative positions are. The topography, however, won't be displayed beyond your immediate area. Sorry.

"That's plenty." Aile said, the new door sliding open in front of her. She stepped through, immediately feeling lighter. In fact, this whole area was different. There was color. Everything was still lined with green, betraying the nature of their location, but it seemed more like an actual corridor than before. To the left was a massive row of windows.

As the door hissed shut behind her, the Mega Man stepped up to the nearest one, putting a hand on the glass and gazing out. Stars twinkling over the darkness of space, with the Earth's blue peering out from below. A space station? Breaking away from the breathtaking sight, she continued through the corridor as is curved to the right. She ran for a good while before coming upon another door. "...Model X, are you sure this is right? I can see where he should be from the window; he isn't floating out in space right now."

Remember that this isn't exactly real space. What you've been seeing in this room is probably an illusion.

Just like that, it began to flicker and fade around here, disappearing into static distortion before vanishing entirely, leaving her looking back at a perfectly straight, relatively short hall. "But- I- We were turning to the right!" Consulting her radar, she found that their relative positions were still the same.

Don't dwell on it too much, Aile. Model X advised. Focus on finding Vent.

Nodding with no small amount of confusion, Aile continued on, looking for her brother. She'd found herself in a less-rigid looking area, one larger, with bumpier land. According to the radar, Vent was in here. Jumping up and air-dashing to the top of one of the hills, she called out for him. "Veeeent! You in here?!"

Mon Nov 25, 2019 12:50 am

Every instinct Vent had was screaming at him to move, and suppressing them was difficult. Vent was a laid-back individual, but when he was out in the field so to speak, experience had taught him that staying in once place was very often a dangerously bad idea. But this was unknown territory - those instincts were emotional deadweight to him here.

At the sound of Aile's voice, however, he perked up a bit. Looking around, he tried to zero in on her location. "Wait a second..." Looking directly up, he saw her... standing on the distant ceiling. Or was he the one standing above her? Vent jumped and waved both hands, shouting as loud as he could. "AILE! I'm here, look up!"

Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:05 am

Complying, her heart sank as she saw Vent far above her. "Awww, come on... how are we supposed to pull this off?" Looking around, she noted that there was a wall, stretching out above the door she'd come in from. She made wide, sweeping gestures, trying to indicate her plan to her brother.

Model H made a sound, like he was clearing his throat. Somehow. You could just use your comms.

"Ah, uh..." After an embarrassed pause, she put a hand to the side of her helmet, opening a link. "Vent, can you get over to where I am? I bet that you can climb the wall to get down... up... ...to where I am!"

Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:18 am

Holding a hand to his own helmet, Vent looked back to where he had initially entered. He noticed that the wall indeed stretched to Aile's current location. Running up to the wall, Vent dug his claws into its digital surface and began to clamber his way... up? Down? ...towards Aile. "Gravity is shifting now," he said, closing in on the halfway point. "Shouldn't be much long-"

There was a flash of green light as Vent crossed the zenith, before he vanished from Aile's sight instantaneously.

"-...er." He only had a moment before crashing down onto what looked like pavement with a thud. Looking up and around, he saw a very... unique scene. It was a town, and a very small one at that. There was a roundish house with a red roof, not far from where he lay, which just so happened to be upon a sidewalk. Standing up, Vent rubbed the back of his head and looked around. "...where am I?" he said, before he was interrupted by an explosion. A building adjacent to the house up the hill had its roof burst open, and a weird flying machine that looked like a UFO out of a kid's show flew off, it's occupant laughing manically. Underneath it swung 6 metal crates, each roughly the size of a human.

Vent, you need to keep moving. The longer we stay in here, the more convoluted this is going to get. Shaking his head to snap out of it, the Mega Man nodded and ran down the sidewalk, before eventually coming back to the digital green realm. "...Model X, where am I in respect to Aile right now? I... think I got sucked through the wall or something."

Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:28 am

You're sixty feet below, and about twenty feet behind her current location. Model X supplied. ...Here, I'll just put up a radar display for you, too. And just like that, Vent was given his own HUD. Despite the fact that he had no visor or anything similar. Unless the mask counted.

So, he was to go up several stories, somehow. This didn't bode well. At this point, there were no walls. Just paths, winding and spreading out across an endless void. All the while a strange pattern moved in that emptiness, repeating itself. At least the walkways were easily visible and fairly wide, even if they were strangely-shaped. And this area had almost zero relation to the actual space he had just been in.

Aile stood on one of these pathways, higher up. She peered over the edge of the platform. "How'd you get down there?"

Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:35 am

Even if she couldn't see the gesture, Vent gave a confused shrug. "Honestly Aile? I've given up trying to explain anything at this rate. Hold on, lemme look around." Walking around the pathways, Vent found some sort of oddly designed panel towards the end of one such path. Stepping onto it, he found himself transported instantly to the area above where he had just been. "Warp panels? Aile, I think I found a way forward, gimme like... five minutes to figure this all out."

A couple of dead ends, several warp jumps and a few mishaps later led to Vent appearing on the platform where his sister waited. "Finally! This place is getting more and more ridiculous. Is it reading our subconscious thoughts? I swear, this entire section reminds me of... some game I played when we were kids."

Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:40 am

"It would." She rolled her eyes. "Things only started getting this weird when we separated, so let's be careful to stick together this time, okay? Model X, do you know how to exit this area?"

Try the arrow-shaped path.

"It... it doesn't go anywhere. It just ends."

Try it anyway. There aren't exactly any good alternatives.

Incredulous, she threw her hands up. "Alright, I guess we're just taking a leap of faith this time." Walking about ten paces over, the moment she stepped over the arrow, she vanished. She definitely didn't fall, she simply... left.

Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:46 am

Sighing, Vent followed after the equally frustrated Mega Man. In one instant, he was still in the strange, isometric reality. The next? He was standing behind Aile.

In the room with the giant pit.

Where they had originally gotten lost.

"...y'know sis, I dunno if there's any one thing that controls this place, but I'm starting to think that someone was trying to screw with us."

Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:49 am

"I second that." She mumbled. "We're still no closer to finding our friends, all we did was get lost down here! We can't explore this place when we don't know what's going on or how it works. What happens if we find an enemy down here? We're probably lucky we didn't run into anything hostile. Or anything at all, really. It's so empty in this place."

Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:57 am

"...well, at the very least, we know we can't continue from where we are. ...er, metaphorically speaking, not just literally." Placing a hand on her shoulder, Vent offered another wry smile. "C'mon sis, we've gotta report back to Fleuve and get a line to Prairie up and running. Something tells me she's gonna wanna hear about this."

Surprisingly, the door back out of the room led the duo to the main hall in which they first entered the digital maze. No surprises or tricks, just a simple path back into reality. Vent sighed out of relief as he felt himself beginning to re-establish his being in the material world, pulses of electricity replaced with the warm, familiar sense of a pulse and oxygen in his lungs. "I'm never taking fresh air for granted again." Looking up the shaft as they entered its bottom-most reaches, he readied his claws. "Normally I'd race ya up, but I get the feeling we should... probably take this slowly."

Tue Nov 26, 2019 8:36 pm

The jets on her back flaring up, Aile shook her head. "I want to get out as quickly as possible if it's all the same to you."

Kicking off the ground, she began to sprint up the side of the defunct elevator shaft, propelling herself up and keeping herself from falling away from the surface with her wing-jets. For a few seconds, she was unable to see, hear, or feel anything, only assuming that she was even still moving before she broke free of the suffocating darkness of the lower-level ruins.

Thu Nov 28, 2019 1:37 am

Utilizing the claws his armor provided, Vent took his time in ascending. They had gotten a lead, only to bed led around in circles in some crazy alternate reality for who knows how long, and then unceremoniously dumped back out where they had started. The fact that not a single sign of Ashe, Grey or Model A had shown itself only rubbed salt into the wound. It was not guaranteed that we would locate them, Model P said. And there is little sense in worrying over what you cannot fix. For now, our next best move is to report our findings. I am sure that Prairie will be able to find us a new lead.

By the time he arrived at the apex of the shaft, it seemed that Aile had already informed Flueve of their misadventure, as the short researcher was overseeing the setup of a comms array. Demerging, Vent pulled out his unconsumed energy drink, casually draining it of its contents as he walked over. "So. How'd he take the news?"

Thu Nov 28, 2019 1:55 am

Aile shrugged. "He freaked out and immediately asked the guys to set up long-range communications. I think he wants HQ to send all the reference files they have on that Cyber-Space thing. ...I dunno, I'd never heard of it before. Had you?"

Un-merged, she finally took her drink out and started on it, looking just a little worse for wear. Nothing serious, but experiencing something like that without warning was a shocker. Meanwhile, the others worked quickly in setting up the array. Another group came over to the elevator shaft to set up sensors around the edge.

Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:13 am

Vent shook his head, finishing off his drink and recapping the bottle. "Nope, can't say I have. Then again, we can't really be blamed there. Outside of our fight with Serpent, how many times can you recall seeing Cyberelves? Not exactly common phenomena nowadays. Kinda makes sense, not hearing much about this whole Cyber-space thing."

As the researchers all scrambled about to finish their new observation outpost near and around the elevator's entrance, Fleuve waved the two over. "You two, come quick! Prairie is on the other line, she wants to speak to you two directly!"

Giving his sister a sympathetic look, Vent strode over to the comms station. "Hey Prairie, lemme apologize right now if I ever slighted your aesthetic choice. Pink is a lovely color compared to neon green. ...please don't paint anything in the Grand Nuage neon green."

No doubt Prairie's face was mirroring Flueve's own flabbergasted expression.

Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:36 am

"...I'll make a note of that?" She said, sounding just slightly crestfallen. "Um, I was told that you had an encounter with something especially strange in those ruins. Could you explain in more detail? All Fleuve would say was that it was urgent."

Aile came over, stretching a little. "Well, where do we even begin? Once we dropped down to the lower levels, it was... well, things just got weird. Everything was all see-through and dark at the same time, but we could see clearly. We called out for Grey and Ashe, but nobody answered, and we didn't see any signs of them when we went further in. Then we, uh... got lost. It was like space was warping around us; we ended up in impossible spaces, got separated even though we were side-by-side, and backtracked only to find things different than when we'd initially been through. Model X called it 'Cyber-Space'."

"Are you sure that's what he said? Cyber-Space is a sort of pseudo-space that's inhabited by Cyber-Elves. I remember there was an incident a long time ago that caused it to become accessible by gates in the real world... that was when Omega returned from exile. If that's really what's down there, then there's no telling what happened to our friends. In fact, we have very little surviving data on what Cyber-Space is or how it works, let alone how to safely traverse it. Please, you can't go back in there until we know more."

Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:51 am

In a manner rather uncharacteristic of himself, Vent remained silent, thumb and forefinger on his chin. His eyes were narrowed as he frowned, focusing on the ground as the gears in his head churned. "Wait, hold on a second... Prairie, your sister - the former Commander of the Guardians - she designed the Biometal, right?" After their Reploid friend nodded in the affirmative, Vent snapped his fingers with a grin. "Aile, I think we've got a way forward here! It's a long shot, but remember when we first went into Cyber-space? Our Biometals weren't solid, like us. But! They looked like those Cyberelves we saw in Areas H, I and inside of Serpent Inc's headquarters!"

With dawning realization in his voice, Model X chimed in. Yes... yes, of course! Our very consciousnesses function on a level similar to Cyberelves, enabling us to take that form in Cyber-space. And since that is the case, then our creator must have had substantial knowledge on Cyberelves.

"And on Cyber-space by proxy!" Vent exclaimed. Turning back to the station, he was practically radiating excitement. "Do you remember anything about your sister's research dealing with Cyberelves? It could be key to this whole shebang!"

Thu Nov 28, 2019 3:11 am

Taken aback by this sudden leap in logic, Prairie thought about it for a minute. "...I'm afraid I don't personally recall much. Sis always kept her research closely-guarded, too; Cyber-Elves were a focal point in a previous conflict that devastated the world, so it's understandable that she wouldn't let that knowledge fall into the wrong hands. However, it means that we don't have access to the information."

"You mean she never gave you her password or anything?" Aile asked.

"Well, actually, she would tell me from time to time, but she changed it frequently for security reasons. However, whenever she took a research team out for a mission, she'd make sure everyone knew her current password so they could review any information they needed. However, I did notice that it hasn't been updated since that mission all those years ago. Serpent must not have taken the time to reset it himself. We still have all the files, we just can't see them without access."

Thinking carefully, Aile tried to avoid saying anything directly about the previous Commander. "...So, how can we get access? There's nobody who knows the current password. Is there anyone who could crack the security?"

Prairie shook her head emphatically. "Absolutely not. I don't know if I've ever told you, but Big Sis was a certified genius even from a young age. I doubt that even today, there's anyone who could match her in any scientific field she professed." There was a note of pride in her voice. "The only way to gain access is to get her password."

Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:09 am

Pounding a clenched fist into his upright hand, Vent's face was one of confidence. "Then we regroup aboard the Grand Nuage, and then head out for Area F to search for that password immediately!" It was clear that the discovery of a possible new lead, however small, was all Vent needed to get re-energized. Or maybe it was just the energy drink kicking in? "The longer we wait around, the more of a chance those Mega kids could get into more trouble."

It would seem we are once again on the move, Model X said, watching as Vent began to make a bee line for the exit. Despite your biological link, it never fails to surprise me just how different you and your brother can be, Aile. The Biometal almost sounded amused by this observation.

Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:20 am

"You think one of the people on that mission would've written it down somewhere?" Aile asked. "...It's not a bad idea. Morbid, but it could work. And if there's a chance it'll help us find those three soon, it's worth taking."

"Then there's no time to lose. Head straight for Area F; we'll try to support you from above, since the topography will have changed since your last mission there." Prairie declared. "...Vent's already got a head start on you, Aile. You should hurry."

Turning red, she waved to Prairie before taking off. "Alright, see you when we've got something!" She sprinted after Vent, embarrassed that he'd gotten one up on her this time.

Fri Nov 29, 2019 5:34 pm

Later that day, Remnant, Beacon Academy library...

After having settled into their new dorm room, Grey made his way to the academy's library, Model A in tow inside of one of his pouches. The Reploid was sporting the coverup that Ruby had managed to obtain for him - an orange hoodie with a conspicuous white band around its bottom half. Ashe had barely been able to contain her laughter at the sight of the outfit, claiming that he had looked for all the world like a walking traffic cone. Slightly red in the face at the memory, Grey groaned as Model A continued to talk about it.

I mean, she's got a point Grey. I don't think Ruby tried to pick out the worst possible sweater that she could find, but let's be honest, that thing is almost as bad as you walking around without one!

"She tried her best," came the feeble counterpoint, Grey's own voice rather downtrodden, knowing full well that Ashe and Model A were right. But it was a gift, and something Ruby didn't have to do, so he was forcing himself to be grateful. ...despite looking like a roadway construction implement. Thankfully, as he approached the library's entrance, he had his attention turned to a familiar voice calling out from behind him.

"Grey!" Turning to look over his shoulder, the Reploid saw Penny, Ruby and Weiss approaching, the latter of whom had a small stack of books with her. "I am glad we ran into you, Grey! Ruby and her friend Weiss are here to study, and I decided to spend time with them! Are you going to study along with us?"

Not entirely sure how to answer the question, he gave Ruby a slightly confused look. Probably not the best person to be subtly asking for assistance, in retrospect.

Fri Nov 29, 2019 5:49 pm

"Um, uh... learning is good!" Ruby said, nodding. Weiss just looked at her like she was from another planet. "Oobleck said it was really important in Mountain Glenn. So, why don't we all sit down and learn together?"

"I don't think Grey will help much with our homework, Ruby." Weiss said dismissively. "In fact, shouldn't you be focused on figuring out how you got here?"

"C'mon, Weiss, we should all be coming together! It's not like the answers are going anywhere. Besides, uh, won't it be easier to figure things out if he knows more about Remnant?"

Fri Nov 29, 2019 7:01 pm

"Yeah, that what I was-" Grey had barely said anything when Penny rushed up to the door past him, practically bouncing in place. "Oh, I would like to help you with that, Grey! Do not worry, I will keep your secret safe!" As she practically bolted inside, Model A watched from just underneath the hem of Grey's sweater. Sheesh, hopefully the rule of quiet in libraries applies in this world, too. She's gonna cause a scene if it doesn't.

As the other two girls approached, Grey offered to carry some of Weiss' books for her, before leaning over to Ruby. "So, uh... what's up with Penny? She wasn't like this at all before we saw the Headmaster. Does she even study here?"

Sun Dec 01, 2019 1:52 pm

"She just really wants to ask you stuff." Ruby mumbled to him as Weiss handed off a couple of heavy tomes to Grey. "Wuh- Weiss!"

"If he wants to learn, those are some of the most comprehensive materials available!"

"But they're huge!"

Mon Dec 02, 2019 12:55 am

Exhaling a bit in surprise at their weight, Grey stumbled just a tad before he caught himself. Grasping the small stack of books with both hands, the Reploid continued up the staircase with Ruby, following behind Weiss. "Well, if that's all she wants, I don't see the harm in it," he replied to Ruby's answer.

Soon the trio had found a small table near a window, and Grey immediately got to work, Model A occasionally peeping out to see if anything interesting was in those books of his. Not halfway into the first one, however, there was quite the loud thump as a large stack of books landed on the table next to where he sat.

"I found some books that might be helpful, Grey!" Penny said, peeking out from behind the 17-book-high stack of tomes. With each book almost as thick as the titles that Weiss had lent him. He blinked a few times then shook his head, before offering her a wan smile. "Uh, th-thanks Penny, but how did-"

She sat down in a chair opposite of him, the smile never leaving her face. "I have been training a lot, that is how! Now, let us get to reading! I think this book may help-" here, Penny reached into the massive pile of books, producing a five-sheet-thin document. ...it looked more akin to a tourist brochure than an actual sourced work. In fact, as Penny opened and unfolded the thing, that was precisely what Grey felt he was looking at. He started to correct her... "Uh, Penny? That's a... um..." But she looked so proud of herself, a smile still beaming on her face. How could he? "That'll be a big help. Yeah."

For about an hour Grey poured over historical records, notable events and what few scientific journals he could get his hands on, trying to locate any information relevant to returning home. Penny did her best to assist, despite not knowing much of what they were looking for. Aside a few mentions of people capable of generating portals from one point on Remnant to another, the sheer lack of any mentioning of wormholes or their ilk was starting to frustrate him. Even the scientifically oriented texts proved rather fruitless, focusing on engineering rather than any kind of theoretical physics. Letting another book fall back on the table, Grey sighed, rubbing at his hair underneath the sweater's hood. Giving the now disorderly pile of books a withering look, he began to stack them back up properly, when-

"Sup nerds!" Pulling up a chair in a noisy fashion, Ashe plopped herself down, one arm over the chair's back. "Any luck finding anything yet?"

Was everyone out to give him the jumps today? Grey rolled a shoulder and rubbed at it, frowning. "Not much. Ozpin wasn't kidding when he said that this whole thing was unprecedented. There's some records of people with that kinda power, like the Headmaster said, but other than that..."

Ashe's mouth twisted into a half frown, clearly unhappy with this result. "Sheesh. Not like we were expecting much, really - I mean, this Remnant place sure hasn't impressed with its tech research yet - but still. I was hoping you'd find something."

Well, you said it Ashe, Model A's voice pitched in. This place ain't the most technologically advanced. I doubt they've even thought up the idea of wormholes existing! Well, aside from those portal like things Ozpin mentioned.

The trio sat in silence for a bit, with the occasional sigh of either disappointment or resignation coming forth, before Penny decided to broach a subject that had been on her mind for some time. "...well, if you two do not mind, I would like to ask some questions about you! ...oh, I meant you three! Sorry, Model A!"

Heh, at least she remembered me, the Biometal said, his snarky tone doing a poor job at hiding the semi-flustered reaction he showed. Tell her I said thanks, but it's cool if she doesn't mention me. Gotta keep things on the down low, remember?

Ashe snickered at Model A's reply, while Grey gave Penny a smile. "He says thanks, but you don't have to address him. For now at least, he's got to stay hidden." As Penny nodded her affirmation of that fact, Ashe then spoke up, raising up a hand in a laid back manner. "But hey, if you've got questions, feel free to fire away, kiddo. And you two've been awful quiet," she noted, looking over to Ruby and Weiss at the table nearby, the former of the two nose-deep in what seemed to be her tenth comic book. "Why not join in? Grey's learned all he can, so why not ask something of your own?"

Penny looked absolutely ecstatic at the opportunity, practically bouncing in her seat. "Oh, thank you Grey and Ashe! For my first question, I would like to know... what is life in Innerpeace like?"

"Well, it's a really big city, for starters," Ashe said. "So it's as busy as you might expect. A lot of the traffic is air-based though, so the sidewalks and streets are usually pretty clear. It's all pretty efficient. A lot more high-tech than Vale seems, and probably more than Atlas too, I'd wager. ...that feels weird to say out loud."

Grey picked up where Ashe left off. "From what I read, yeah. Innerpeace's technology level is far above what you'd find anywhere here in Remnant, and is what you could classify as a megametropolis. Over eighty percent of the humans and Re... er, the world's population lives inside of Innerpeace. Most of the dangerous work is done by machines that aren't sentient, and they aren't all controlled by a single hub, so that another Maverick uprising can't occur easily."

Psst, don't forget the warp points!

"Oh, right. There's also a transerver system set up throughout the entire city. They function like teleporters, but without tearing you apart from your base atoms and rebuilding you upon arrival. Given how huge the city is - I think it's roughly a hundred miles in radius from the center - it was deemed pretty much mandatory for getting from one place to another rapidly."

"As for life itself," Ashe spoke up, leaning back a bit further, "it's really quiet. Like, excepting the whole Ouroboros thing that went down, Innerpeace is a pretty safe place. Its why I don't live there!" she said with no small amount of pride, placing a hand on her chest for emphasis. "A bounty hunter's job is to hunt down dangerous Mavericks anyway, so why would I wanna just sit on my butt all the time? Nah, there's no excitement in that. No pay either, unless you're a nerd." Teasingly, she lightly jabbed Grey's shoulder with a wink. "But yeah, the populace of Innerpeace generally gets along pretty well with one another, in spite of the... ahem, differences," she concluded, not-so-discretely doing a double air quote with her fingers.

Mon Dec 02, 2019 2:44 am

"Mavericks?" Ruby intoned with wonder. If she knew what she was asking, given present company, she might have thought to stay quiet. "What are those?"

"And this one city holds four-fifths of the world's population? Ha! Your world probably just doesn't have as many citizens as Remnant." Weiss touted, snooty as ever. She made a fair point, though. Neither world had as many warm bodies as it could sustain, courtesy of the endless wars, uprisings, monster attacks and other incidents. That was a thread they held in common.