5033/Christmas Party

Christmas Party
Date of Scene:	20 January 2017
Location:	The System <TS>
Synopsis:	Christmas hosts a party to celebrate her success since escaping the System Tower.
Cast of Characters:	Lexicon, 619, Deelel

---

Lexicon has posed:
    Early evening in Britannica. To those who haven't been to the Drive before, it probably looks as one would expect any town to look at this time of year: Snow is piled up against buildings, on roofs, and in the trees dotting the streets. The roads and walkways themselves are nicely cleared. Pulsing white lines run to and fro, or crawl up the sides of structures, radiating light and energy as they transmit the lifeblood of the System's Silver Drive.

    The particular area marked off for tonight's event encompasses the entirety of the street on which a little curio shop resides, System Tower Souvenirs. Colored lights on strings run between buildings to form a triangular criss-cross pattern, and the other shops on the road have gotten into the festivity as well to add their own flavor to the evening.

    Devoid of patrons after closing for the night, the theater's performers are lined up in front, playing festive music. A few doors down, an arcade has wheeled some cabinets out under their awning for easier access by revelers. The restaurant next door has kept their outdoor cafe open, welcoming visitors with warm cider and snacks. Even System Tower Souvenirs has rolled a cart out front filled with knicknacks gathered from the Tower. Plush toys, keychains, commorative cups, and winter hats with Poochooze ears on them.

    It's all presided over by the Virus who, herself, was recovered from the System Tower: Christmas. A two-dimensional panel displaying a static image of a girl in winter-wear, against a wintery backdrop. Floating beneath the 'screen' is a separate blue box displaying her name and, for lack of a better term, her dialogue.

CHRISTMAS
    Thank you for everything! This time it is on me.

    "Sure, I'll accept it," Lexicon states with a bow of her head. Glancing down to either side, she adds, "What do we say?"

    "Sure, thanks!" A smaller, brown-haired girl in pink chimes with a grin. With one hand holding on to Lexicon's sleeve, she holds up a plushy Patty Cat dangling by one arm.

    "...Th-thank you," the other, clad in pale blue, murmurs. She tightens her arms around the similar plushie hugged to her chest, refusing to make eye contact.

Sanae Kochiya (619) has posed:
The Wind Priestess wasn't expecting a fight today, in either Duty Space or that ornery tower that keeps shattering the peace of Britannica. (And other places of somewhat less importance!) Accordingly, she's dressed casually but warmly, a cardigan over a modest blouse and skirt, though she wears a pair of black tights and a scarf to further insulate from the cold. She's come to visit an old friend, you see, amid the winterscape of a city that, even out of season, is decidedly temperate. The segway made of solidified light isn't much use, and flight has a way of distancing her from the sights and sounds, so for the moment her booted feet are actually walking around in the light crowds, which are quickly dispersing about to the various attractions, that had similarly gathered to appreciate the lights, performances, and of course, those amazing deals! Hard to argue with 100% off.

    It's also a chance for unsolicited advertisements. And as Sanae is about to head over to inspect the arcade cabinets, she's approached by a mysterious twin-tailed stranger. "Excuse me," the remarkably unseasonably dressed girl says, though upon closer inspection she seems to be flickering vaguely, as though she were a hologram even in the context of this digital world. "Please come visit Cadenza in a couple of weeks. I'll be singing from my debut album!" Hmmm, some kind of virtual idol, maybe? Sanae scratches at a cheek sheepishly, before giving a kind smile and accepting a flyer that had all but been shoved into her hands, anyway, "Okay, I might come check it out." The priestess glances down at the paper with more images of the purple-themed girl. "Matsune Hiku...what a weird name," she says more bluntly, once they flicker off to pester some other patron.

    That break in her concentration does leave her free to notice the actual organizer of the impromptu festival. It's none other than Christmas, still in her 2D window. She'll pace right on over like she owns the place, though at least respects merchant space vs. customer space conventions, and addresses her directly. "Christmas! This was all your doing? You've definitely proven our instincts right!" Just look at all this popular merchandise from previous dungeon clears. She doesn't seem bothered at all with speaking to a hovering Visual Novel heroine in her own element. She also side glances toward Lexicon in the same vicinity. Hmmm, those two that are with her...could it be? She'll get to that in a moment, though. For now, she picks up a Poochooze-shaped beret, placing it upon her head to test fit. "I love the Poochooze! At least the small ones."

Deelel has posed:
Deelel had been invited to the party and was more than happy to come see how Christmas was doing. She had got the idea they would need watching, but hey they helped them solve the problem previous and had so far as Deelel could tell. She was in good spirit sthough cna varyring a few thing as she looke to arrive a bit late to catch up with Christmas and see how she was doing. Deelel takes a moment as she's able to spot them and calls out to both Christmas and Lexicon.

"Hey it's good to see you both."

Lexicon has posed:
    Amidst the bustle, Lexicon hears a familiar word, glancing over her shoulder towards a departing twin-tailed hologram, "Candenza, huh... So even they've gotten wind of the party today?" Eyes closing, she lets out a laugh, "Heh.. Good." Though it's a bit troublesome that the idol is advertising in her Drive, Lexicon decides to leave it alone. No sense messing up the atmosphere with unpleasentness.

    While Lexicon considers the presence of this Matsune Hiku person, the girls hanging around her glance at one another, nod silently, and slip away.

CHRISTMAS
    Miss Kochiya! Hello! I recall you clearly from the Tower.
    Lady Silver Soul was nice enough to let me stay here.
    So I decided to give something back today.
    Though Lady Silver Soul really helped make it possible.

    Christmas' window image shifts as she speaks, first displaying happiness with a bright smile and sparkling eyes, then a more subdued, pleased expression. At the very end, she turns thoughtful with a finger on her cheek while the 2-dimensional window tilts slightly towards where Lexicon is standing. Turning back to Sanae, the pleased image returns.

CHRISTMAS
    Please take it if you like it! For today my wares are free.
    Hello, miss .DLL!

    When addressed, Lexicon snaps out of her thoughts, glancing from Hiku's soliciting to Deelel, "Ah, welcome. Good to see you." She glances down, "You two, say--" pause, and she lifts her arms, glancing around herself, "...Damnit, where did those two run off to?!"

    "You like Poochoozes?" A small brunette in pink pops up near Sanae, "They're okay I guess but the cutest viruses are totally Kupokittys."

    "Hmm.." A quieter blue-clad girl pops up on the other side. Despite her shorter hair and different color, the two are clearly twins, "They look like pillows... but they're all slimey..."

Deelel has posed:
Deelel looks to Chrisma and LExicon nand really seems to be quite in a good mood as Chrimas gfreets them she grins a litlt ebit as Christmas is the first being off the Grid to get her name right! Theis gets a big smile on her face.

"It's good to see you both and that you seem to be doing as well Christmas I heard your operating a shop now!"

Sanae Kochiya (619) has posed:
The strange holographic idol doesn't seem to be troubling anyone for more than a few moments. Though she does seem to be at least vaguely known, considering a few pause to take autoscreens with her, or whatever the local vernacular of a selfie is. Once she's reached a certain level of critical flyer mass, she seems to leave without further incident...perhaps having sensed to not overextend her welcome in Britannica, under the watchful gaze of Lexicon. She served her purpose, after all: Apparently, secondarily, as a distraction for Lexicon's two young charges!

    Quite obviously a fan of a certain warrior of digital justice, Sanae smiles brightly in response to Christmas' dialogue. "That was kind of you, Miss Christmas. Yes, Lady Silver Soul really is quite remarkable. I'm certain that, if she were around to see all this, she would be quite pleased with your progress." Though Lexicon had shown little restraint in transforming in front of both her and other Elites, she decides to err on the side of caution as regards to the actual, mundane residents of the System in that respect. Well, as mundane as a visual novel virus gets. "So people are treating you okay, then? I worried a little, but it seems like you've really done well for yourself!" As Sanae gets excited, the internal mood sensing of the Poochooze beret causes its ears to flap excitedly, the goofy face getting a pleased expression.

    As she was distracted with that conversation, though, she didn't notice the two youngsters from before approaching her. It's probably best that Kanako not hear about her letting down her guard like this. It's not quite enough to cause her to jump, but she does blink for a moment, before turning to the two, glancing between them in turn. Her face soon turns to that same warm smile, which is again mirrored in the hat, "They're both quite cute viruses, that's true! And now you can take them home, in a safer form." She of course means the merchandise. "I saw you with Miss Lexicon a bit earlier," and she takes a stab of a guess, "Are you her little sisters, perhaps? What's your names?"

    She's also probably kicking herself for not figuring out the DLL thing herself, at some point...though she wasn't *too* deep into computer nerdery, so maybe she just never had file extensions turned on.

Lexicon has posed:
    Christmas's expression changes again to that big, warm smile of hers. Each time her expression changes it's just a simple fade transition, adjusting the static image displayed on the 2-dimensional screen. Just like a virtual novel.

CHRISTMAS
    Yes! Everyone has been quite kind and I have had no trouble.
    I was worried that I wouldn't be accepted, too.
    As you can see, that's not the case!

    The pink-clad twin reaches up, poking at Sanae's hat when it responds to her state of mind. Delighted by the wobbling, she pokes it some more, "It's like Jello! And not sticky at all like the real deal! No fair being cuter than the virus, hat!" When addressed directly, the shorter-haired twin puffs out her chest and thumps it with bravado, using the hand that her Patty Cat plushie dangles from, "My name? It's Index!"

    The other twin with longer hair is content to keep her hands to herself, simply hugging her own plushie to her chest. While Index's is wearing a suit of knight's armor made from shiny cloth, this one is firmly in Silver Soul cosplay. Timidly, she offers, "...Codex," while avoiding eye contact.

    "You know Lexi?" Index leans up towards Sanae's face, "She's our big sis, yup! If you know her than you must be strong." One eye closes and her tone turns teasing, "Or are you weak an' did'ja need to be rescued?"

While these antics go on, Christmas turns her panel more towards Deelel, wearing her pleased expression, the girl's hands folded primly in the virus' image.

CHRISTMAS
    That's right. I run this curio shop. For today's party everything on display is free.
    If you see something you like than please help yourself.

    The image changes again, the depicted character holding her hand out to gesture to the cart beside her 'screen'.

Sanae Kochiya (619) has posed:
Hopefully Christmas will understand the situation. She'll simply speak with her a bit more later, once things are a little less busy. It was still encouraging, though, to know that she's not being discriminated against, at least by most. The text displays and simple, static image transitions were really quite charming, in their own way, and it's not a big surprise that a VN heroine has found a niche selling wares; her kind are naturally designed to be appealing, and sink hooks into your emotional centers! "Ahah, please excuse me, Miss Christmas," she does speak, as one final word, before she turns her attention fully to the younger girls.

    The beret does spring about lightly, when poked as it is. It gives a pre-recorded 'Poochoo!' of alarm. "This thing just keeps getting better," she says, holding back obvious joy. It's almost as if it were made from drops of a *real* Poochooze! Hopefully the real one she hid won't get jealous. "Look at it this way, though," she explains, "If the merchandise is good enough, it will increase the popularity of what it's based on, so even actual Poochooze will benefit." That's sort of questionable logic, really, but it made perfect sense to Sanae as she was formulating it.

    She patiently lets them tell her their names. They're obviously twins, but somehow their personalities seem incredibly different. It's cute, though...kind of like they're covering for one another's strengths and deficits. "Index, and Codex. It's a pleasure to meet you both! I'm Sanae Kochiya, but just Sanae is fine." If she's offput to any degree by Index's teasing, instead laughing it off kindly, "Well, I don't like to brag, really." That's a fib, she does so quite often! "But I've been challenging the Duty Space and the Tower for a while now. I even actually ran into Patty Cat. It's always an adventure." The two seem a little young for it, maybe, though she does wonder, by way of humoring them, "Do you two ever join your sister on her adventures?" Index is obviously the melee tank, and Codex the support healer.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel looks to The strnge idol but seem to be in a good mood after all she loves music and the like right? Art's generally a good thing in her experiance and why she exsits after all She does seem to be izing her up, but not looking like she's judging she's just curious about the design of their clothing. She now turns her attention to Chrismas and nods for a moment.

"You are the first virus I have ever seen that can coexist with others to be honest, I'm glad that i can still be shocked at my age and in a good way too."

She looks to watch the antics for a moment with a bit of a grin and she looks to take a bt of a look at what Christmas has about.

"If I do I shall, and I'll be back once and a while to check out your new stock too."

Lexicon has posed:
CHRISTMAS
    Ah, no problem! Please have a great time here.

    Christmas' image shifts to a polite wave and then she turns to the next person addressing her. Her image fade-transitions to a polite smile once more as she chats with Deelel.

CHRISTMAST
    You're from a digital world too, aren't you? I can see the signs.
    If that's what you expected from me, it may be that viruses where you are from work differently than here.
    A virus like me is more like a monster in a video game than anything else.

    Not that she would know anything about that.

    "oh!" Index leans forward again, "So you're a super adventurer, huh? Awesome! Codex and I are totally awesome, too!" Leaning back, she thumbs her nose confidently, "I like spells that make the bad viruses blow up, an' Codex likes healing spells." So they're both casters, apparently.

    "...But," Codex glances down, turning the plushie around in her hands to look at Plushie Patty's face, "...We're too small. So Lexicon doesn't take us on adventures." After a moment, she glances up, at last making eye contact and holding the stuffed toy up for Sanae's inspection, "...You met Patty?"

    Index leans in again, "I bet she was super cute an' funny! Her TV show is all we watch on Saturdays." Wait, there's a TV show?

    "...It started up around the time we cleared Floor 31," Lexicon's voice speaks up. She seems to have her usual impassive, tired face on so apparently losing the twins didn't stress her out too much. In reality she's just coming down from getting pretty angry, but seeing the two near a trustworthy friend has her calming down, "I don't really understand it, but it hasn't caused any problems and it's child-friendly."

Sanae Kochiya (619) has posed:
Both magic users, huh. That's not what Sanae expected, but it does still fit their personalities well enough, and compliments Lexicon. "I do some magic, myself. I'm a Priestess of the Wind you see! Maybe I'll show you both some tricks I know, sometime, if your big sister allows it." She also seems understanding of them not being invited along, just yet. They are still rather young, after all, especially considering that Lexicon herself looks not too deep into her teenage years. So young to be demanded so much of! "Sorry to hear it, but she's just looking out for you, you know? I'm sure that in a few more years you'll be ready to help her protect Britannica from all sorts of things!" Come to think of it, she's not certain if there are any time dilation effects at work within the System, if time flows in a predictable way at all. For all she knows, they might be grown up by the next time she comes back.

    "Ah, yes. It was..." She thinks of how best to put it, since these two are younger kids, and the actual Tower floor featuring them was ultimately not very kid friendly, despite the initial presentatio. "Strangely, in a pizzeria and arcade, and it had lots of merchandise like that doll. There were some traps to avoid." Lexicon, now approaching, will notice she's skipping the parts about how the traps were the signature characters as vengeful, haunted, killer(*) robots. "A television show," she wonders, now glancing to Lexicon as she further speaks up, her eyebrows twisting slightly in a mix of confusion and an attempt at puzzling it out. The poochooze hat mirrors her expression, before she seems to get one of those notions of hers, "Ah, of course! The Tower must have held their 'concept' in a mangled form, and defeating that floor restored its true self!" She is almost certainly completely wrong, but she and the hat have a look of satisfaction, as though they solved a great mystery.

    "Hey," she wonders mostly to Codex and Index, "Do you two like crane games? I think I saw one over by the arcade cabinets, and I bet it's full of cute figures, too! I could try to win you some." Though then she remembers the look Lexicon had before it softened upon seeing that the twins were safe, and she glances up to her with a smile, "That is, if your big sister says it's okay."

Lexicon has posed:
    "Huh!" Index props her hands on her hips, "If you wanna try and teach me something, it'll be really hard, I already know lots of magic!" Kid-boasting, but it's hard to tell how true that is without a demonstration, "You can show us if you want!" She gestures, Patty Cat flailing wildly in her hand, and a wand shaped like a stylus appears in her grip with a flash of digital, pixellated light.

    "Ah," Codex speaks up, "...Doing magic at a party would be bad." Eyes closing, she offers, "..Let's do it later." Eyes opening again, she looks up at Sanae, "...So you...set Patty free?" After a moment of, presumably, processing this, the quieter twin offers a smile that would melt all but the coldest, darkest heart, "...Thank you~."

    "Looks like you have a fan," Lexicon comments, placing a hand on Codex's hat, "I don't mind if you want to show them some magic later, just be sure they're safe. Schedule it with Stylono if you really want to." Directly at Sanae, she adds, "I don't mind if you spend time with my sisters. I'm not so protective that I can't trust someone like you with them. You're pretty good-natured, I've noticed."

    "UFO catcher!" Index, dismissing her wand, throws both hands over her head in a cheer.

Sanae Kochiya (619) has posed:
Index is obviously a bit more compulsive, and less cautious...as expected of an attack magic wielder. "Ah, wait," she says, appreciating the kind of youthful enthusiasm she once had (and sometimes, still does), while also seeming to agree with Codex and Lexicon on the poor timing. "Practicing magic here might injure someone or damage something. So, yes, let's wait until we have a good place." Arranging something with Stylono does seem the appropriate step to take, in this case. Sanae imagines, rightly or wrongly, that a world such as this probably has a cool cubic pixel holoroom, where you can train without worry of damaging anything.

    While she can't be certain that's what they did, Sanae herself seems convinced of it, now. "Yeah, that's how it seems," she smiles to Codex, rubbing a hand behind her head lightly. Ah...oh gosh, that smile. Codex is shy, but when she does emerge from her shell, what an absolute sweetheart! In Sanae's defense, she does manage to not just heft the twins over her shoulder and pack them off, though she did promise time at the UFO Catcher, and Lexicon seems to be agreeable with it. "Alright. I'll show you this one weird trick for winning prizes; arcade managers hate it! It was passed down to me through a long line of UFO Catcher experts. I suspect it has its roots in ninjitsu techniques..."

    It's going to be a full evening, but at least it seems Lexicon now has a capable babysitter.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel says "I am Chrsitmas, I am a multi media program. With a focus on audio and visual." She grins wider for a moment at the virus who seems to get and she nods. "This is true but still even in my travels beyond my system . Still its good to learn and travela nd my kind of program is known as a Basic."

If she only knew how bad of a joke her species name was, but thankfully she's never caught on to it.

She also takes a glance to Index Codex who also seem to be having fun too with the strange Idol who Deelel has no real idea who she is but she'sbeen pretty interesting to pay attention on and off from talking to Christmas.

Lexicon has posed:
    "Oh," Lexicon's eyes slide towards Sanae, her face remaining impassive, "Is that so? Then I'll watch as well. You've made me curious. Come on, you two, let's watch Kochiya at work."

    "UFO catcher!" Index runs a quick circle, then leads the charge across the street, arms held out, Patty Cat flailing in her hand.

    "...Okay. Miss Sanae.." More sedate, Codex nods once and moves along at a slower pace, with Lexicon following along as well.

    Back at the store, Christmas' portrait shifts to one of thought, touching a finger to her chin.

CHRISTMAS
    Is that so? How interesting your System must be!
    I couldn't tell what kind of program you were. I'm not very good at it.
    What is a virus like where you're from?

Deelel has posed:
Deelel Says "It was interesting when it was in better shape, right now we sadly have a lot of problems but it was amaing when i was younger and that's all right, we tend to look just like humans for the most part unless we're heavily injured normally as for that? I'll not go into too much detail as this is a party. It infected other programs and made them lose thier mind with an urge to infect others. To use a human term it was like a zombie plague."

Lexicon has posed:
    Christmas' image shifts to one of concern, leaning forward with both hands bunched up under her chin.

CHRISTMAS
    How terrible! I can't imagine a worse kind of program.
    I hope you're able to fix your System soon. It must be a horrible feeling to have your home in such a condition.

    Her portrait shifts to the thoughtful pose once more, touching her finger to her chin.

CHRISTMAS
    It makes me want to help, but I'm not a fighter by any means.
    So I'll just pray for your success, miss .DLL.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel says "I thank you for that and I can only hope? My user is still listening...well my orginal user. I have not heard any signs of her in a veyr long timebut I won't give up. I stil have faith and ... I'm going to do what I can to fix it." She pauses for a moment a thought comes to her mind. Tron Lives, it doesn't matter if it's true or not Tron had become more than an idea. Christmas had reminded her in a veyr odd way she needs to do something for her home.