5582/Visitation Rights

Visitation Rights
Date of Scene:	23 November 2017
Location:	The System <TS>
Synopsis:	Theurgus invited Tanya and Asterios to visit. Something went Horribly Wrong in the SCIENCE! quarter. The problem got solved.
Cast of Characters:	1103, Tanya Degurechaff, 1137

---

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    It's daytime in Locus, the skybox if lit with the facsimilie of a sun hanging high, a smattering of cloud skudding on nonexistant winds. The System Bus terminal is host to a small, two-foot tall being sitting on a floating book, waiting for the visitors to arrive. She's humming softly to herself, legs lightly kicking back and forth while she waits.

Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
    Tanya von Degurechaff probably should make more time to get out and ingratiate herself with her Concord allies and their respective home worlds. And this is one of those times where she has done so. The day's reports for the battalion have been properly delegated to a trusted subordinate officer, which has opened the evening to an earlier promised visitation.

    Somewhere in Paris, Second Lieutenant Viktoria Ivanovna Serebryakov stares at a stack of forms with big, watery eyes.

    Here in Locus, a small girl in an olive green military dress uniform disembarks from the System Bus, tucking her hands behind her back. It may take an extra moment for her far larger companion to extricate himself, so she takes in the architecture while patiently waiting.

    Of course there's also someone here even smaller than she is, in itself something of a feat, and a relatively neutral look of curiosity fixates on the figure floating on the book a few paces away.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Somewhere in his enormous heart (at least as large as a child's head!), Asterios felt a pang of guilt and regret. For once, though, it wasn't for anything particularly awful. It's just, the sight of Serebryakov's poor face seems to have struck a chord. Oh, were he able to read and write, maybe he too could help with those huge stacks of paperwork...!

Oh well. Illiteracy is a pretty decent excuse, at least.

The System Bus rocks and creaks as the enormous bull-man draws himself out of the vehicle. Doors, it seems, give him a certain amount of trouble. It's always hard to tell whether you've cleared a doorframe when you have a set of horns as large as the minotaur's. He has to duck pretty far to make it through, and even that's only after leaving a few dents in the strange cybermaterial.

But soon, he's free. And relatively well dressed, too! Tanya had probably insisted that he be... presentable. Or at least not walking around in a cast-iron loincloth.

So he's wearing his uniform! It only seemed appropriate.

He looks from his Master to the tiny book floating nearby, and then back. The Minotaur cants his head slightly, blinking. Did butterflies come in people-shaped bodies? Weird.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Charta watches the large man trying to extract himself from the Bus, giggling softly behind a hand until the pair look over. She clears her throat and puts on her professional face. "Welcome to the Diamond City of Locus. I am Charta, Oracle and assistant to Lady Diamond Soul." she says, floating over, bringing herself down to eye level with Tanya. "I take it you are Major Degurechaff? And your large companion must be Mister Asterios, correct?" she floats up to a more middling height between the two. "I have chartered an airship to take us directly to Locus City and the Cathoderal... unless you would like to take a tour of the outlying settlements before that?"

Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
    "Ah, that's right," Tanya straightens her orientation to Charta with a nod. Her eyes wander back to Asterios as he extracts himself at last, though there's no real amusement on her face in contrast to the bookfairy oracle, "Major Tanya von Degurechaff and Asterios, invited by Theurgus." There's no salute, though she has a compulsion to do so. This is, after all, not a military operation nor a military contact in front of her.

    "I see no reason to tour the outskirts," the young girl comments, "You no doubt have plenty you'd like to show us already. Let's adhere to that plan for now, Charta."

    Towards Asterios, she casts another glance. A hand adjusts her cap's bill, pushing it back so she can see his face more easily, "From what I understand, this is a bit of a fantasy world. You'll probably see people or creatures that don't look normal, but try not to think too hard about it." Like fairies riding books, or slimes that are also dogs.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Asterios...

Asterios was staring at this little, floating book-person. It's perhaps a mildly unnerving experience, to have a pair of great, big, crimson eyes burning a hole through your face. To look back and see only pits of darkness where there should be the white of sclera, and bright, blood red where others would have less ominous hues to their irises.

Asterios was staring.

Asterios lifted a hand.

Asterios brought it down.

...To pat the little, adorable creature's head. "Aa. It is. Okay!" The Minotaur says with a grin that was equal parts innocent and unnerving. Clearly he needs more Smile Practice. "Am used to. Strange things. Home was full of... Strange things."

Like him!

Also chimeras.

Chimeras are pretty damn weird.

"Am Asterios. Nice to. Meet you!" He... hasn't stopped patting her head.

This might be an odd experience, considering she could probably /fit/ in one of his hands.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Charta nods to Tanya's opinion. "Then to the city we go---" She's being headpatted, by a giant hand. "Why did it suddenly get so dark? It's not night cycle yet." It takes a few moments for it to register, and then the little fairy whips out a stern tone. "PLEASE STOP PATTING ME ON THE HEAD! You are messing up my hat and my hair, and it is also rather rude!" She flits out from under the hand, then floats up... and up... and uuuup, oh dear this is really high...

    The indignation gives way to vertigo, and Charta just up and topples over, plummeting back down toward the ground with little swirly symbols in her eyes.

    Like seriously, her eyes are swirlies now. This is a thing that's happened.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
"Uwah--" Asterios grimaces as the little book fairy suddenly suffers from a bout of Too Much Headpattage and plummetts to the ground! Well. Almost. She was floating up, but not away. That means she ends up dropping... Right into the waiting hands of a very large, very gentle minotaur-man. "So...rry. Not used to seeing. Something so small. You, okay?"

Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
    Tanya nods once, but before she can say anything out loud in response, Asterios reveals his more childish, innocent side. The confusion Charta blurts out actually turns up the corner of her mouth in the hint of a smile, though whether it's a 'what the hell is going on' sort of tic or a sign of actual merriment is left up to the beholder.

    Inward, it's the sort of look that tends to accompany Tanya accepting something just happened while unsure of what to do about it. She just stares at the Oracle disappearing under Asterios' hand, up until she frees herself and ascends. Presumably to scold him.

tWhen the height proves too much, though, Tanya reaches out to catch the plummeting bookfairy with both hands. Asterios beats her to it, however, and she lowers them again. Glancing up at Asterios, she admonishes, "You mean well, but you shouldn't be so physical with people you've just met."

    He's already apologized directly, and so Tanya feels no need to do so on his behalf. Instead, she grabs on to the Minotaur's thumb and hauls herself up, sitting on his forearm to address Charta directly, "Do you need anything? Space? A drink?"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Charta sits on the hands, on her book, kind of wobbling back and forth a little bit. "Too, high..." even thoug the Base Code is many many meters below, the atmosphere seems to be largely 'normal'. She does manage to shake herself out of it eventually, and looks at the pair. "Ah... that was embarrassing. But yes, please do not do that again." she says, floating off the hands... and nearly falling off her book as her entire body begins to vibrate. "ABABABABABABA!" She taps on her 'headset' once, and her eyes gain a static synewave pattern. "This had better be important, I am entertaining guests of Lady Diamond Soul right now." A phone call? Is she a phone as well as a book?

    Her expression neutralizes. "I see. Thank you." blip, turn. "It appears one part of my tour is being cancelled. There was an explosion in the science quarter, not unexpected, but one of the Poochooze viruses being experimented on in that wing managed to escape and is now running amok through the district."

Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
    "Yes," Tanya folds her arms, nodding lightly, "Quite tall." An eye opens and she regards the fairy again. Both open with a blink at the sudden, unusual shaking and noises. The result has her immediately making connections to the vibrate function of a cellphone. But inside a person? An eyebrow lowers. It is a digital world, as she understands it, but who programs something like that into a person, instead of a handheld device? It certainly looks inconvenient.

    "A virus," Tanya repeats, "If you wish to cancel that section of the tour, than I don't have any objection. I'm certain you already have countermeasures in place to quarantine and contain." The other eyebrow lowers, "Though if we're at risk of some sort of infection, would it be better to return at another time?"

Asterios (1137) has posed:
"A-aa." Asterios bobs his head at his master's scolding words. "Yes. Sorry. It's just... She is small." And so he must pat her head. This is just how the world works. Asterios speaks as if it were the most factual thing in the world.

But then...

A buzzing!

Bees!? No. Vibrating book fairies? How scandalous! Asterios has no idea why little fairies should be shaking like that. Is she cold? What kind of kingdom does not provide their adorable book fairies with book fairy sweaters and--

Oh. It was a phone call.

"Vi...rus?" The Minotaur cants his head again, then frowns. "If need, can contain. No problems. What is... Poochooze?" Beat. "Can help, if you want help."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "Virus in this world refers to a type of program that is, often but not always, hostile to the System and its Drives. Think of them as 'Monsters' if that makes more sense to you. Poochooze are the most common, they form from fragmented junk data and are largely harmless. Some have even been tamed as pets." explains Charta, as a catchy little jingle starts up from somewhere. The Bookfairy doesn't seem to notice it. "Meanwhile, the Locus Defense Force should easily be able to contain and destroy if necessary. We have recently augmented their forces with Type 4 Securotron robots." She holds herself with a mild smile, her left hand raised with one finger extended and eyes closed as she speaks, like a teacher making an opening lecture to a class.

Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
Tanya cradles her chin in one hand, kicking her feet lightly as she considers the information provided. The jingle is largely ignored-- she simply accepts it as likely connected to the apparent 'is also a cell phone' trait Charta just demonstrated. Perhaps an alert is going off, or she got a text message.

    "So it's a monster, not a disease. In that case," She glances up, "Asterios, I only have my pistol. When we arrive to assist with the creature, you'll be doing most of the heavy lifting." Eyes returning to Charta, she nods once, "If you have no misgivings about it, we'll assist."

Asterios (1137) has posed:
A jingle from nowhere!? Asterios glances around, trying to find the source of that strange, unnaturally catchy music. What is that? Is there an icecream truck or something?

Well. Doesn't matter much.

He takes the most important lesson from the speech, anyway.

Viruses are Monsters. Monsters are things that die when they're killed. Asterios vocalizes a soft grunt as the atmosphere around the giant seems to shift. One of his tremendous axes grinds sharply against the ground where he allows it to rest. Where did he even pull that thing from? "There is. No objection. There is nothing so heavy that I can't lift!"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Charta blinks a little bit. "Oh no, nonono, absolutely not. You are guests here, I could not ask you to assist with this matter." she says, the tune fading away to a natural conclusion. "The LDF has it well in hand." The city in the distance does indeed seem pretty normal. There's a column of smoke rising from one of the sectors, but there was just an explosion, so the fire is probably still being dealt with. But then the form of a large, blob, with dog featured seemingly stuck to it appears between two buildings. The thing is massive. "Oh dear."

    Charta signals the airship pilot. "Change of plan, take us over the alert zone. Alert Lady Diamond Soul as well... I believe she is out training with Miss Arcana right now." The fairy flits over to the airship and settles into a seat, shifting from the book to the seat itself, while the book closes itself and rests beside her. It's a large airship, open top and suspended via crystals mounted into the hull, instead of by a derrigible or other air lift device, so nothing to bang heads (Or horns) on.

Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
    Boarding the vessel, Tanya opts to remain standing, supporting herself with the railings. She immediately moves to the opposite side in order to get an eyefull of the emerging Poochooze. Blue eyes widen as she starts to comprehend the scale of it. A look is shot over her shoulder at Charta as the fairy settles in, "I thought you said these were mostly harmless! What kind of experiment was this?!"

    A question the girl immediately knows the answer too, when she recalls the mad laughter of the self-titled Mad Magician. Her shoulders slump slightly when this realization hits. It doesn't really matter, because whatever it was...was mad science.

    With a soft growl, Tanya casts a look back at the enormous Poochooze, though her next words address Asterios, "It's big. I have no doubt you can take whatever it can dish out, but we'll be at it all day trying to defeat it head-on..."

    ...

    "Charta," A glance shot back to the bookfairy, "What do you have on board that's explosive?"

Asterios (1137) has posed:
That.

That is a big slime.

"U...uwaaaaaah~" Asterios gapes, wide-eyed at the enormous, squishy blue... Thing. Poochooze? Is that what they're called? They had slimes back in the Labyrinth, too, but this thing is just double extra ultra large. How much water must that thing be made of? How many people would you need to drink it all? More importantly...!

"Aa. Aa! Slime. Skin. Good for eating!" Asterios yells, looking... giddy? Apparently at some point over the countless years he's lived in his Labyrinth, the massive bull-man has... learned how to cook monsters?

Look. When you've come back to life and all of a sudden the human sacrifices stop coming and more importantly you don't /need/ to eat human sacrifices anymore... You start getting bored. Boredom, apparently, leads to trying exotic cuisine.

"Hmn," the minotaur scratches his chin, then. "But. Problem. Have axes, but slime might just... split. Bullets no good too. Hmn. Will need... fire."

"Or just very, very much time. Can fight, can kill. Will just take a while, like you say."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Charta looks to Tanya. "By the look on your face I need not answer that." replies the fairy to Tanya's question about 'what experiment'. "As for explosives, I believe the spare lifting crystals could be persuaded to detonate in a rather spectacular fashion, Locus is the City of Magic, but that does not mean it is entirely stable." She looks to the pilot, who nods. "Spare crystals are in the cargo bay, hatch is at the back there." they say while bringing the craft over where the Giant Poochooze is.

    Charta looks oddly at Asterios. "You would not want to eat this one, Besides, Viruses lose data cohesion when they are destroyed and simply shatter apart into code fragments to recoaleace later.... this one may in fact become a new Swarm, which Lady Diamond Soul recently had to put down with the assistance of Lady Silver Soul and her little sisters."

Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
    "Good," Tanya nods once, squaring her shoulders and pushing off the railing. Spare lifting crystals. The remark about stability is earmarked to ask about later-- but again, the answer is probably more obvious than she wants to admit. She distracts herself by crossing the deck, kicking open the indicated hatch and simply dropping down into the cargo hold proper.

    What a day to decide against wearing her usual equipment. A diplomatic visit became something decidedly undiplomatic. Then again, Tanya reasons as she hefts up a net-sack of glowing crystals, wouldn't assisting in keeping the peace still be diplomatic? There may still be some leverage to be had, here.

    After a few moments, she tosses a couple of those netbags of crystals out, then climbs back out, "Asterios, here. All we need to do is incite some instability and get them into the slime. Then we let the explosion do the rest."

    That seems straightforward enough.

    Part of Tanya's mind is trying to figure out how this could go from a relatively mundane solution to something crazy, though.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
You can't eat it?

Aw.

Asterios doesn't seem /too/ overly put-out though. That just means he'll have to track something down later to eat! Delayed gratification is the best kind of gratification. The giant makes a soft grunt as he stares down at the enormous goo still squished between those two buildings. It won't take long for the thing to get free, and then... Hm.

A swarm doesn't sound tha great either. What is a Minotaur to do?

"Aa," Asterios grunts as he catches hold of those volatile crystals and...

...Crushes them with one hand?

The now cracked and powdered sack full of magical power shines brilliantly, dangerously. It flashes like some kind of video game explosive about to cook off in a big, potentially airship-crashingly way.

"I have," Asterios says moments before he /leaps off the airship/ "A PLAN!"

Oh no.

What does a plan entail when a Minotaur is involved?

...Apparently, judging by the strange, violet patterns weaving like lines on a circuitboard into a dome around the Poochooze, it involves... Weird magic. Tanya would feel a tug on her own magical resources, whatever it is Asterios has planned, it's evidently a little resource intensive.

The patterns turn solid. Stone weaves across the space between them, before a strange, vaguely bowl-shaped maze appears in place of the lines of violet light.

The Minotaur is leaping up across the top of the bowl, before abruptly dropping the still flashing crystals inside a little hole right at the top.

And then the Minotaur... Turns and runs? Well. Probably for the best.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    The LDF on the ground are firing their weapons at the Poochooze in an attempt to wear it down. Their 'rifles' are more like giant crystals with gun parts attached and a lens where the barrel would be, and they emit bright lances of laser-like energy that cycles through various colour patterns, like light being passed through an ever turning prism. They're supported by large, hulking metal creatures whose arms are little more than artillery cannons attached to the domed, but boxy looking torso with gears and cogs seemingly sticking out at random, and a pair of large dragon-like creatures who're trying to roast the Poochooze into a vapor before it can escape.

    That's when Asterios drops his Maze on the thing and tosses in explosive crystals. The LDF back off as the Maze forms, threatening to trap some of them inside, before they're tosses back by the golems, leaving some of the autonomous units trapped with the Poochooze inside what's probably about to become a giant pressure cooker.

    The shattered crystals finally cook off, and a giant pillar of multicoloured flame erupts from the hole at the apex of the dome-like Maze... followed by a stream of particulate code fragments and stray voxels, accompanied by a deep 'Ooooooooooowwwwww' sound from the now rather discombobulated Poochooze.

Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
    "Ah, good," Tanya nods once as Asterios crushes the gems, cracking them against one another, "Now--"

    Oh no.

    Asterios leaps off the airship. Tanya throws her arms out to either side for balance when the airship bobs from the jump, then darts to the railing. Steadying her hands there, she stares wide-eyed as the bull-man descends on the poochooze and... "What?"

    The faint tug at her magic store prompts her to straighten her posture with a little 'nn' sound, her blue eyes lighting up with that intense blue glow that happens when she's typically using her powers. She observes the bowl formation, eyes narrowing.

    At least he has the sense to run away instead of tank an explosion with his face. When those crystals go off, releasing their energy, Tanya shields her face with one sleeve, then peers down over her own forearm.

    After a moment, she glances back towards Charta, "Problem solved, I would say. Should your force be able to wrap up the remainder?"

Asterios (1137) has posed:
The magic crystals cook off and explode spectacularly. Brilliant, prismatic energy shoots into the sky. Asterios leaps just in time to catch the shockwave. His enormous back acts as a makeshift sail, propelling him upwards, upwards, upwards.

"MISSIIOOOON--" Asterios yells as he soars, landing with a sudden WHAM and possibly the cracking of several deck planks. "Complete! Hmn."

There's a beat as Asterios turns to examine his work. The Minotaur nods, content, but...

His eyes are... darting furtively at his tiny Boss Lady.

He's trying not to be too obvious about it, but...!

Well. He is very eager to please, after all.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Charta says, "Solved indeed. Repair work can begin immediately.. the code won't reform for some time, so we will just have to monitor for any increase in activity." The fairy floats near the railing, peering over it at the carnage. "I must say, your companion is quite unique. A little simple in mental terms, but certainly earnest in resolve." she comments, gesturing for the airship to descend. Which is aided as Asterios comes slamming back oonto the deck, sending the Airship into an impromptu dive for a few seconds until the pilot can right it again.

    The LDF forces get themselves back into positions, checking their numbers. "Lady Charta!" one calls. "We're missing three of the new golems, but all other response forces are unharmed... what happened?"

Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
    When Charta confirms the Poochooze is down for the time being, Tanye folds her arms with a slight nod, eyes closed, "Not the cleanest solution, but certainly effecient." With her eyes closed, she's not ready when Asterios slams back down onto the airship's deck, throwing out her arms with a noise and struggling to stay upright when the ship in turn reacts to his presence.

    The tiny Major manages to win the battle for balance by reaching out, grabbing on to the railing beside her. A look is cast to the monolithic Minotaur responsible for her near-spill, eyebrows forming a straight flat line across her face. Was that strictly necessary? But then, he probably just wanted to return to her right away. Her expression shifts to neutral when those little tics of his glances are noted. Ah. He wants recognition.

    After a moment, Tanya releases the railing and steps up beside Asterios, peering down at the smoking result of his Phantasm and following explosion. Arms are folded behind her back, and she puts on her best appraising face, "You improvised that on the fly? It caught me by surprise but it was very effective." Head tilting upward, she adds, "Good work, Asterios."

    When troops call out about what happened, she turns her head towards the formation on the ground. She considers the various responses she could make, and then picks one that stands out. Leaning over the railing, she calls out, "Asterios happened. Good to see you're all in good shape."

Asterios (1137) has posed:
There! There it is. Tanya says the words. Asterios... Sparkles?? Maybe not literally, but considering the expression on his face, it's impossible to say that he's not ecstatic. It seems to be taking everything he's got not to scoop his master up in the biggest ever hug. He can do that later! When they're not in public. It won't be embarassing then, right?? Right!

...Asterios vibrates slightly.

"Aa! Was. No problem. Mazes," Asterios says with a cheerful noddle of his great, extravagently maned head, "Are good for more than just. Getting lost." There's a beat. "Hello!" Asterios waves down at the soldiers. He didn't even have to use his axes! He tilts his head, then. "Mmn? Golems got... stuck in maze? Mmmn, might not be good."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Charta is glad she's able to float, as the airship rocking from Asterios' landing doesn't really affect her all that much. "Well, that was certainly not part of the tour... and it seems I am needed to help restore order here..." she sighs. "I apologize for this Major. Please, you are free to stay in the city as long as you like, and take in the sights at your leisure. I can have accomodation prepared for you, if you like."

    To Asterios' comment. "They likely got caught in the Resource Blast. And even so, without their charging platforms, their internal power supply would run down in a few days."