6911/We're all MAD here.

We're all MAD here.
Date of Scene:	06 December 2019
Location:	The System - Locus
Synopsis:	Mikoto comes to Theurgus for advice and possible training.
Cast of Characters:	7002, 1103

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Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto entered the world with a cell phone with directions written in an email to her.  Looking up, the world was...well it was certainly something!  Unlike The World, this was meant to be a living and breathing world (in a sense) and not just a fake world real enough to fool the mind for hours at a time.  The System Bus gets a giggle out of Mikoto because she knew enough about computers to get the joke.  

Arriving on the center island, a young woman in an emerald-colored blouse with a pair of professional, but still classy dress that accentuated the emerald color.  A pair of nice shoes adorn her feet, as her black hair is tied up into a short pony-tail behind her head.  Though there is not much there, as Mikoto tends to keep her hair shorter.

The Cathedral was a sight even from the entry port.  She whistled at it, taking a moment to take all of the sights in.  Sure it was a computerized world, but there was so much that seemed in line with a medieval world.  Then again, if you could control data like this you could make it look like anything you wanted, she supposed!

Still, it was a sight to the magical girl, arms held behind her back as she started walking towards the Cathoderal itself.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Programs mill around the streets of the city surrounding the impressive Cathoderal tower, they offer greetings to the magical girl as she passes. They look like any other person, really, though some have a monitor for a face that shows an ACCSI face emoji, with a tinny voice, some others just seem to float along without any visible means of propulsion. Then there's the LDF troops, uniformed human-likes wearing combat armour and usually accompanying a large construct of some kind. These give the foreigner a weather eye, but don't intercept her. The local DCC often has oddballs visiting her.

    At the entrance to the tower, a fairly unassuming door set into the monolithic walls. It opens and out steps a young woman, not much older looking than Mikoto, and a small fairy sat on a book.

    The fairy bows her head in greeting, offering a smile. "Miss Shimizu, I presume?" she asks, her voice holding a matronly quality to it, like she has to be stern more often than kind, though holds qualities of both. "I am Charta, Oracle of Locus; and this is Arcana, Lady Diamond Sister and Drive Core Candidate of the Diamond Drive." she adds in way of introduction.

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Unlike most from home, she rather enjoys seeing new places, trying out new things, and just generally getting out.  The people were colorful, but it was an adventure for her to throw herself headfirst into.  Finally, however, her steps took her to the tower, and from it came both Charta and Arcana.  

Mikoto, of course, gives a polite bow.  She knows how to properly greet others, especially those who are letting her into their house.  "A pleasure to meet you, and yes I'm Miss Shimizu.  I must say, this has been quite the walk!" She says and looks up towards the tower.

"So please tell me there is an observation deck at the top?" She asks, perhaps off-topic.  With a smile on her face, however, she followed up with: "Though I guess this is not why I am here.  So maybe after?"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Arcana giggles a little bit, whle Charta covers her mouth with a hand. The fairy says, "Lady Diamond Soul's workshop it at the apex. She likes to look out across the vista while her experiments run. It seems to calm her." The pair step aside, and gesture within. "Straight across the foyer, take the lift to its top, then take the stairs across from the lift door to the laboratory. Lady Diamond Soul is expecting you."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
"Well that's convenient," Mikoto says with no attempt to suppress her grin even a little.  Nodding at the directions given, she walks inside at the word of her hosts and follows the simple directions.

Mikoto, of course, takes in the sight of the Foyer before pushing the button to open the lift.  Once inside, pushing the button to take it to the top.  

Now for Elevatorstuck.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    The foyer is opulent. It affects a church, as befitting a building called a 'Cathoderal' The ceiling is tall, and the vaulting is decorated with important events in the Drive's history. Battles against Viruses, the disconnection from the rest of the System, the reconnection, the System Tower, fighting Caerbanrnog and rescuring the Sapphire Drive from deletion. One seems to be 'in progress' showing the untransformed state of Topaz Soul, Bellum, leaning on a railing and looking pensive. It's fuzzy and indistinct... that story hasn't been completed yet.

    The lift ride is mercifully short... it's almost like it's not even a lift and just a 'loading zone' of sorts. The lift car whirrs briefly, then pings and opens the door, allowing Mikoto out into a nicely appointed corridor with a path left, and a path right, and a door with a stairwell beyond it directly ahead.

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
This was certainly interesting, it was like the data was being imprinted into a decoration.  The fuzzy and instinct one causes her to give it some extra attention.  That's something, but now she was going up up uuuuup.

Stepping off, she has three choices, but Mikoto is a fan of the direct approach.  She moves towards the center door and opens it, aiming to walk the stairwell beyond it.  

"I mean, I don't know what I was expecting besides more stairs.." she says, to herself.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    The stairs platform every thirty four steps, a door leads out into another corridor. This goes up about five floors, before the stairs open out into a large, semi-open plaza atop the tower. The beam glows in the center, a torrent of energy being pulled downwards from the skybox into the Drive itself. The plaza is littered with documents, files, half-completed gadgets and automata, a few serverbots try to sift through the debris and make some order from the chaos...

    Theurgus is deeper in the chaotic mess that is her workshop, chuckling to herself about something or other, talking to herself about how The Organization will not get one over on her this time.

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto is up the stairs fairly quickly, she's a fit young woman with the stamina to spare.  At the top, she pushes through and to see...

A goddamn disaster area.

Wandering through the mess, pass serving robots and of course, looking at any particular half project that seems to catch her eye along the way.  Finally, she reaches Theurgus, who is seemingly mid-rant about something.  

She's been around the internet slash Concord slash lair to know when someone is mid-rant.  She waits for it to get to an apex and then speaks up.  

"Don't mean to interrupt, but hi!"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus is about to unveil her Ultimate Plan(tm), when Mikoto speaks up. The Mad Magician turns, blinks, then breaks into a full belly guffaw. "WAHAHAHAHAH! Mikoto! Welcome, welcome, I didn't hear y9ou come in. Pardon the mess, I don't usually bring guests up here!" she says, nudging something aside with her foot as she steps away from the large workbench... the item returns to its original position immediately afterward, but Theurgus doesn't notice, nor seem to care. "You wish to learn how to control and expand your magicks, yes?"

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
"Well, I think your servants let me up here because I was excited to see things from the top of the building...soooo that's on me I guess!" Mikoto says with a slight laugh.  She watches the moving object with some interest, and then back to Theurgus.  

"Yeah, something like that.  This one's going to need some explaining if you're not familiar with what I am.  So long story short, I'm a Magical Girl who made a wish on a talking magical bunny-cat thing.  It took advantage of my situation, so for said wish, I got magical powers, and have to fight witches so that I don't die.  OF COURSE, it didn't tell me the whole truth."

"We turn into witches when we run out of magic, so we need to hunt witches to keep our magic up..."

"So the long and short of it is...that I need a way to be more efficient with my power, and see if there are other ways we can cheat the system."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus, for all the theatrics and pomp, she's actually very attentive. While Mikoto explains herself the Mad Magician's face shifts to an impassive mask with just a slight narrowing of eyes. She nods, then takes on a thoughtful pose.

    Tapping her chin, she considers her options aloud. "A finite energy source, only replenishable via exterminating former peers who have already 'run dry'... Perhaps a Resource Crystal could serve as a substitute, though that would be an imperfect replacement at best." She begins to pace, various projects actively avoiding her footfalls, like a semi-sapient sea of junk parting around her as she walks... no wonder she doesn't tidy up, it never inconveniences her, so why bother? "There's endurance training, but the finite supply would make such training very dangerous... hmmm. Would it be possible to teach other methods of magickal casting, using ambient energy rather than the internal storage..."

    Pace pace pace. Mutter mutter mutter.

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
"I don't know...there is a lot I don't know.  Lezard may have the information you need to better answer that question.  That is the other part of this, I need someone I can trust to help me learn more about what I can and can not do," Mikoto says.

Mikoto moves to poke at one of the projects at random, seeing if it'll respond to her touch, or if it's just Theurgus.  

"I made some mistakes, but...I really don't want to end up a witch.  It's...awful.  I wouldn't just die, I'd be...not me anymore.  The only thing Witches do is destroy and hurt for no reason.  There is no way back, either...so..."

Mikoto shrugs, "I guess time is of the limit.  Eventually, bad luck might catch up to me."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "Bad luck is a myth. Only your own determination matters." says Theurgus, turning to the railing and looking out across her Drive. The area that Mikoto tries to touch shys away from her... it's almost like the junkpile is sentient, if not sapient.

    "Like this place. I was tasked before I was really ready, with protecting and governing the Diamond Drive... but I've made that task my own, taken it into myself and created it anew as the very core of my being. The Drive is my Life. And my Life is the Drive." She looks over her shoulder. "Perhaps something like that could help anchor your own 'self' and stop you from becoming a 'Witch'."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto looks a tad crestfallen as the junk moves away from her, but oh well.  Standing up she turns towards Theurgus.  She does not immediately say anything, considering what she was saying and considering her situation.  

"It might be a start.  I do not think it would prevent the witch thing...at least if I run OUT of mana...but it would prevent the other way from it occurring," She muses.  

"Though I really don't have anything like that to latch on to."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "What you don't have, create. Conjure into existence with your own hands, will it so, and it shall be." says the Drive Core Controller. She then makes a sweeping gesture across the cityscape expanding below, out into the smaller townships, outposts, and single buildings on distant floating islands. The airships flitting about the skybox, and the far distant flashes of gunfire and magic in the darkest reaches of the Drive, where the day/night cycle has already shifted and the growing darkness slowly creeps closer. "I and my predecessors all created this with our own will. One building atop the other. This tower, this city. These walls, the airships. Everything you see here, was fashioned by pure determination and drive to succeed... to make the memory of our forebarers proud."

    Theurgus then places a hand over her drive core. "I think about her... MAGUS., every day. She deresolved to save us, sacrified her source code to stop a virus from destroying what we had worked so hard to achieve." Eyes open, and look to Mikoto. "Even that memory is a powerful thing. That gives me strength to push beyond my limitations and achieve greatness." She reaches over, and touches fingertips to Mikoto's sternum. "I believe you can do much the same. You only need something to believe in with all of your being."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
There is a wider look in Mikoto's eyes when Theurgus finishes her story, more out of surprise than anything.  The touch to her chest causes her to look away.  Something to believe in...with all of her being?  That's something tough for a seventeen-year-old girl to really conceive.  Then again, this was all a bit much for a normal girl.  

"You say it like it's so easy.  That something like that will so easily come around...the only thing I want, more than anything in the world..." she says, with a sigh.  That wish, despite everything, still burns in her.  "A family."

She turns, taking a moment to wipe her eyes.  "That's the problem...my real family was taken from me.  I was abandoned by what was left...and then my second one was destroyed by a witch."

"As long as this is a thing that will happen to me...what hope is there for something I want?  I have to find a way to overcome this problem.  A way to NOT be a witch."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "I never said it would be easy." retorts Theurgus, turning and lifting herself up to her full height. She's really tall when she's not hunched over scheming. "Anything worth having must be fought for, tooth and nail, bit and kernal. You want family." she kneels, looking up at the young woman. "Let the Concord be your family. No mere Witch will destroy us." She grins, an almost unhinged expression, showing the true Madness within the digital goddess. "That I can promise you."

    She makes a gesture, and a small box appears in her hand. She brings it to center, opens it and extracts a single, prismatic gemstone. "This is a Resource Crystal. An invention of my own. It stored condensed and refined System Resource for use outside of The System. Resource allows all my magicks, my Drive Core Control Node and all my other powers to function... I have no proof, but I believe we could adapt this design to act as a pseudo Grief Seed, replenishing your mana." she looks up from the faceted jewel. "I will liase with Lezard, since he is taking point on that particular front."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto was actually surprised to learn that Theurgus was taller than she appeared.  She just thought that being a hunched over thing was just part of what she was.  The idea of the Concord being a family was...not a foreign idea.  There were people who did a lot for her already and in the end, Theurgus was here doing for her.  

A release of breath and a smile returns to her face.  "Yeah...I know.  I just worry that it's not a random witch to hurt anyone here, but...well me.  I'm really frightened of that, hurting those I care for and care for me...but Lezard was right about one thing.  I just can't wait sitting to wait for the inevitable."

Her eyes focused on the crystal.  "It's worth a shot, I imagine we'd need to collect a Grief Seed..." she considers.  "I mean, I like you and Lezard, but I'd rather not let you experiment directly on my soul crystal."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "Understandable. It is you, after all, correct?" she says, standing once again and returning the crystals to her inventory. The box vanishing in a flurry of little blue cubes. "Fear is a natural response. Some would even call it healthy. My only advice is to not let that fear control you, the Concord is full of the best minds, and most powerful warriors. Even if you did become a Witch, we would bring you back. No matter what it takes."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
"Well, self-preservation rather than fear.  I'd rather not die, if at all possible.  Some call that greedy, but what do they know?" She says, shrugging.  Though, to the declaration that they'd bring her back, she is not sure what to say.  

"It's never been done," she says, at first, "But I guess if you guys decided you wanted to do it, it'd be done," she says with a wry smile.  "Alright, I'll...but that faith in you.  Just, one thing?  No more of that thing Lezard did?  Having others turn into witches for me is probably just as bad as becoming one myself."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    THeurgus nods. "It will be more dangerous, but I will impress upon Lezard that we should capture those who have already turned for reseasrch purposes... if we can bring one of them back, then the method can be refined and adapted." she says. "You are a valued member of the Concord."

Mikoto Shimizu (7002) has posed:
Mikoto nods, "The ones that were...used are no more, the grief seed that is there is in the hands of Lilian of the Paladins...though she let me use it to restore my mana.  Then jammed it into her neck.  She's not a witch, which is weird..."

"There is a lot we don't know, but hey...we learn little by little." A beat, "So do you mind if I look out the window some more?"