Scene #6213: Emerald.EXE wants Admin

Owner	Pose
Alea	The day has come and Alea's taking the cable towards the System Hub, Ludare in tow. "Now now, this will be a friendly competition that I expect to win." comes Alea's voice, "I can't help but to be slightly nervous though. It's been a while since we've done this hasn't it?" Ludare nods, "You'll be fine, Lady Emerald Soul. She will not know what hit her once you're out there. I believe in you!" Ludare scoots a bit closer towards Alea, "I promise to help if you need it, but I don't think you will against Her." "That's good. Ah, send word to Orchid, let her know to meet us in the Hub, she should know where it is, if not, please give her direction." Alea totally misses out on the praising from her Oracle and nods... it's gonna be a moment before she gets to the Hub.
Orchid	So a contest between two of the Drive Core Controllers that rule the part of the multiverse known as the System. Sounds like something interesting, if nothing else. And who knows, maybe Orchid will gain some better understanding of this place where data is reality, and programs rule. So she's on her way, a bag in one hand, a spider on one shoulder, walking the last chunk of the distance to the area around the Spire.
Theurgus	Theurgus is perched on one of the little outcrops of the central System Spire, legs crossed as she watches the world tick by around her. It's always invigorating, being in control of so much raw power. Blue eyes shift to the Arcade bus station. "Not long now." she muses to herself, then glances over to her Oracle. "Inform Arcana. I want all major experiments put on hold, just in case. It would not do to have anything delicate damaged or destroyed if we suddenly lose the extra Resource flow." Charta nods. "I have already instructed all divisions to cease high-level projects and secure all delicate equipment, Lady Diamond Soul." replies the little fairy-like Oracle program primly. "All we can ever do is our absolute best. Good luck, I will be officiating along with Lady Silver Soul." Theurgus looks over to the Britannica bus station at the mention of her friend. "It's amazing how peaceful The System has become lately... how we all drive each other to become stronger." she smiles wistfully. "Maybe we do have a chance against The Organization." A sigh, and the DCC kicks off of her perch, transforming mid-fall and summoning her staff to stand ready as System Core Controller to meet her challenger.
Stella	Stella had imposed herself on Theurgus. Not maliciously, but largely out of interest of watching an ally fight, but also out of interest to help an ally protect their turf if it came down to it. And of course, not knowing how to ask for that by the books, she just... showed up. And stood very still for entirely too long, like a glimmering human-colored crystal statue. Her head shifts slightly when Theurgus finally announces it's time and leaps off, Stella simply looking down from the same perch, curious as to what'll happen. Maybe itching for a fight of her own, one of the rare things she can feel actual longing for. The oddest thing about this place, though, is how different the ground feels. At least it's still ground, but when you're connected to minerals like Stella is, it's an odd feeling regardless.
Krusty	A group of men wearing similar uniforms, clearly outsiders, are walking through the hub towards the cablerail terminal. Most of them look quite excited, talking amongst each other about a new business deal of some kind. One of them doesn't appear quite as enthused though. He maintains a pleasant smile, of course, but his eyes behind his glasses betray his boredom. Agreeing to participate in the meeting is something Krusty will always regret.
Lexicon	The Britannica cablerail flares. Moments later, the white-garbed Lexicon disembarks. As she approaches the spire, the girl's wreathed in pixellated light, stepping forth in her red-eyed, white-haired Digital Divinity. As Processors wink in around her shoulders and hips, Silver Soul ascends, arms folding. "We don't often have an audience when we fight," Silver Soul announces as she circle-strafes the Hub's central tower, "So I'll be officiating. Specifically," A hand unfolds and she lifts a finger, "My job is to keep you chuckleheads from jumping in and interfering! This is not an interactive performance! I don't care who you're rooting for, I'll kick your ass outta the ring if you jump in!" She rotates then to face the tower itself, raising that same gauntlet-clad hand, "Now, you two! I want a good clean fight!" Pointing accusingly at Theurgus, "No insane inventions!" And then at Alea, "And no fucking around!" Fingers clenching, Lexicon jerks her fist downward. "LET'S GET IT ON!"
Alea	Arcade's Bus pulls into the station and out walks Alea. Slow, steady steps and behind her, Ludare is doing her 'I have a big sis, look how cool she is' type faces, that's totally getting ignored by Alea. "Greetings." she calls out, blinking at the audience, "Oh, this was slightly unexpected. I'll have Ludare make some tea when we get back to Arcade once we're done here." Alea flips her blonde hair back and smiles, "Well then." With Britannica's cablerail flaring, that can only mean one thing. Lexicon's here. Good. Pixellated light surrounds Alea as she moves towards the spire, only dissiapting once Emerald Soul is released into the view of everyone around, her spear is twirled and held with one hand and one smile is given. "Shall we? I'll even allow you first blow attempt since you own the hub to show how sporting I am on this." Emerald Soul looks towards Silver Soul, "Of course, it'll be all fair." pause "I promise."
Theurgus	Charta floats down beside Silver Soul. The little fairy nods to the DCC, then shifts off out of the way. DCC Battles can be intense, after all. Charta floats down near to Krusty, giving a floating-on-a-book curtsey. "Welcome to The System." she says pleasantly. Diamond Soul, meanwhile brandishes her staff, letting the marble suspended within the impossible geometry at the head lazily cycle through the different elemental colours of The System. Her Processors have a distinct red glow to the gems and the metal itself, seeming to radiate heat. "How very generous of you." she states with a grin, lifting her free hand to cover her face as she strikes a pose. "You know me, the Mad Magician, and yet you grant such boons?!" she looks between her fingers, then with a flourish, unleashes a barrage of ice shards at her rival. "So be it then!"
Orchid	Orchid sets down the bag, pulling parts apart so it deploys into a chair. She's here to cheer Alea on, but Lexicon's warning changes things. Slightly. Well, she might shout a warning if she sees something Alea might need to know, but for now simply sits to get her watch on.
Krusty	Desperately trying to find something to turn around the day, Krusty's prayers seem answered as he notices Alea getting off the bus, recognising the DCC. Seeing her head towards the spire, along with other cues to suggest something is happening at the structure, Krusty asides to his fellow Adventurers, "I'll catch up with you later. I have other business to attend to." He nods to them all in parting, before heading over to join the audience watching the competition. As Charta floats down to him and provides a welcome, Krusty gives her a smile in returning, "Thank you..." He looks at her for a moment, recalling back, then continues, "Charta, wasn't it? It's been quite some time since my last visit." He looks out as the battle commences, "Would you be able to tell me the purpose of this event? I'm unfamiliar with it."
Alea	"While all is fair in love and war, I didn't figure you'd be the one to offer me first blood." she floats a bit off the ground and brushes a bit of her hair out of her face and there's an ice shard coming her way... /a lot of them!" Alea dashes through them like a bullet hell protag, getting clipped by a few of them, it doesn't slow her down as she dives right into the fray, get close to Diamond Soul, easier to say hello. And by hello... "Sylhet Spear!" She dashes to the side as a magic circle comes... and shoots out a large spear with a tree trunk behind it straight towards her rival, "Come on, Diamond Soul, don't tell me that those ice shards are everything." Meanwhile, Ludare moves towards Krusty, "A DCC fights for the system hub to obtain a large amount of system resources to help further projects and other things at their host drive. Fighting between DCC's for the Hub also allows them to keep in battle ready state, in case a major Virus decides to try and infect the system."
Theurgus	Diamond Soul cackles as Alea closes. She then lets herself drop out of the air, the Sylhet Spear streaking across her shoulder, leaving a large gash of damaged code in its wake. The Diamond DCC rolls out, then tucks her wing-like back processors in, erupting away on a aurora of energy. "Just the tip of the iceberg!" she calls back, spiralling out as she begins to chant. "Darkness beyond void. Red of Corrupted Code. Caught in the everflow of time, in thine great name. I summon thee from the darkness. Grant destruction to those who stand in my way... a merging of powers, Creation and Devastation. INFERNAL DIVIDE!" At the apex of the rising spiral, Theurgus rolls out, brandishing her staff as the marble turns a dark red, almost like an eye about to open. Energy gathers into it, visibly sucking lines of force through a growing 'bubble' into the central orb. Charta nods at Ludare's explanation. "It drives each DCC to become stronger, also. Each victory shows them their current ability, and each defeat displays their flaws and weaknesses. It is as much a ritualized sparring match as it is a battle for dominance. Far more civilized than it used to be."
Orchid	"It makes sense to me," Orchid says, having pulled out a camera to catch footage of the contest. She's sitting near Charta, Ludare, and Krusty. "It can provide a way for them to 'fight' each other that is so much less destructive to what they want to win. My first time watching such, but it's certainly fun."
Alea	Sylhet Spear lands, but not in the way she wants... then she starts chanting, "Well. This isn't going to turn out good." She jumps back and takes aim, "I'll do my best!" she bounces a bit forcefully, then twirls her spear, "MIght as well try to interrupt it!" She dashes towards Theurgus with her spear, then rushes right past! Soon, a localized tornado whips around the area as she makes a pose, "Kyuu~"... Ludare sees this and immediately makes a noise unbecoming of an Oracle, "Aaaah, that was so cute, Emerald Soul! Do it again, do it again!" she bounces in place like a happy child, "Charta is right, they try to gain strength and only learn more from defeat. I'm sure my DCC will win this though."
Lexicon	Lexicon, to her credit, is maintaining a perimeter at a respectful distance, her hands resting on her hips as she observes the battle between Magician and Lancer. The question-and-answer session going on behind her bends her ear, and she glances back towards Krusty, "Before we started doing it this way, the Hub was something we fought over with military strength. Though--" She gestures, "Neither of these two were actually around for that. I wasn't, either. You'd have to ask Artifex about how things were like back then." Eyes returning to the duel, she nods once, "I'm rather fond of the way we do things now. It's a lot more convenient when you can rely on each other outside of duels like this." With a gesture, she indicates Theurgus' spell, "I mean, this is also a great time for us to cut loose."
Krusty	Krusty is of course paying attention to the fight, but also sparing enough for Charta and Ludare as they explain. He also nods in agreement with Orchid, "An efficient method. I wonder if some of it could be adapted to Akihabara's situation..." It's not like Adventurers don't already participate in competitive battles. But looking at Ludare, Krusty hmms, "I don't think we met on any of my previous visits." He places his hand against his chest and gives Ludare a slight bow, "Krusty. Round Table Alliance representative and Guild Master of D.D.D. A pleasure." Krusty smiles at Ludare's enthusiasm, glancing back down at the battle, "Based on my previous experience seeing her fight, I think I'll have to agree with you."
Theurgus	Theurgus can't move while charging up her spell. She would notmally have knocked her opponent down or otherwise incapacitate before bringing out such a big spell, but she has an audience, and they deserve a bit of flash and fanfare. As Alea comes swooping in, Theurgus erects a hasty barrier against the wind-powered strike, gritting her teeth as the razor winds cut at her body, leaving rends of damaged code in their wake. She skids back in mid air, wounded but managing to not lose her focus on her spell. Turning, she brings the tip of her staff around like the barrel of a cannon. Once she has Alea in her sights, the magic releases, firing a potent beam of flame magic out at the other DCC. The 'barrel' of this flame cannon expanding out in concentric rings of magical seals. Krusty might feel familiarity with how Sorcerors fire high level spells in his own world. Charta huffs a bit. "It could go either way, in my opinion. Lady Diamond Soul may not be as potent at close range, but her magicks are the stuff of legends."
Krusty	Krusty watches Theurgus unleash an obviously devestating spell, admitting, "I see you point." He rubs his chin for a moment as his more analytical nature briefly shows, "It would appear that your Lady has pulled ahead in this competition. But... I can still see some possibilities for Lady Emerald Soul to recover."
Orchid	"I can't say I know either well enough to really bet on the outcome," Orchid admits. "And... Yeow, that looks nasty," she adds, watching the blast of fire from Theurgus. "Anyway, I'm Orchid. Maverick Hunter and Paladin," she adds, introducing herself to Krusty. "I've seen Lexicon in action, so that gives me some idea of what to expect."
Alea	"Lady Emerald Soul! Watch out!" comes Ludare's shout, Emerald Soul, however, is turned around and giving a small laugh, bouncing slightly. "Eh? Ara?" She turns around to see the magic released towards her, the beam of flame is too close to even remotely try... but she does anyways and launches herself away from the laser, her body just eats it all and sends her flying away, tumbling into the ground and skidding to a halt. "O... ooof... so that's... that's the power of all those resources." she croaks out and slowly starts floating up. "Okay, I see you mean buisness, Diamond Soul..." she ponders, she could get close and try to get range advantage but, she has a trick up her sleeve. Dashing past Diamond Soul, Emerald Soul moves to create a few more portals, sending energy spears towards Diamond Soul, with one more large spear being thrown right at her! "I still have the advantage, I'm still up! Now, the system hub will be mine~" "Oh no..." Ludare mutters, "That was too painful to watch, I'm going to have to get some healing done for her soon..." there's a look towards Charta, "Your DCC has grown exceptionally powerful, I'll give you a compliment on that."
Theurgus	Diamond Soul smiles a bit at the compliment. "I am not the little waif you once knew. I have been out into the Multiverse. I have seen things you wouldn't believe." She strikes a pose, eyes closing as she begins to ramble. "Attack ships on fire in the shadow of the tennhauser gate. Lasers scintillating through miles of ice, a sea made of stardust, through which travel ships of light and gossamer." she doesn't see the portals opening, and only as Emerald Soul speaks up, does she open her eyes and see the trouble she's in. Much like the opposite, the DCC finds herself unable to dodge in time, though she does try. Wind spears slam into her, gouging chunks out of her body and sending sprays of damaged code out, like blood to the untrained eye. The final large spear slams into her midriff, hurling her backwards to smash into the side of the spire, though she doesn't even make a dent in the structure. Whatever it's made from, it's immensely tough. Picking herself back up, the Diamond DCC lifts back into the air, as the swaths of red damage begin to fade little by little. "Was that the best you could do?" she asks, lifting her staff above her head. "Scintillating fulmination, rend upon this world your fury, crack the void with your might and sunder the basecode. THUNDER HAMMER!" This has no charge cycle. As she chants the skybox begins to writhe, the very core component of the code beginning to crackle, arcing energy between the upper code and the lower. Then as she brings her staff down, a crackling bolt erupts and heads straight for the Emerald DCC! "Despite her flambouyant missive, Lady Diamond Soul has thrown herself fully into exploring the Multiverse. Learning as much as she can from various worlds, bringing back trinkets and baubles, writs and scrolls, tomes and grimoires of information, magical and non... in fact, it is the most focussed I have ever seen her." remarks Charta as the battle rages on.
Alea	Once again, she's put upon her maneuvering as the bolt of thunder erupts and smashes into her, sending her right back into the ground with a thud... whatever that ground was made of, it was just as sturdy as the pillar. Knowing all the DCC's, it's probably a very, /very/ good thing. Emerald Soul is panting hard, a smile is still on her face, "I believe you, Diamond Soul, I whole heartily believe you and I look forward to seeing what's all out there and any little sisters I can pick up." Ludare pouts, "But I'm right here..." "All the games I can create, all the sprites and musical inspiration, all the worlds I can create from what I see... from what you see. It's going to be a good thing, isn't it?" she looks at the floating DCC and smiles, just right where she wants her. "But here is where I make my stand, I may play games for hundreds of hours at a time and survive off Cyan Cow and little sleep..." Ludare pouts, "And ignoring me..." "But I am still as strong and smart as you. I'll show you the power of Emerald Soul and Arcade!" She kicks up off the ground, spear first, to try and run through the rival DCC, only to turn around and come at her in many other directions, each strike trying to land upon the mage DCC, to punish her for being in the air with the last, eleventh strike, creating a green energy X that blows up either on or near Diamond Soul!
Orchid	Orchid moves over, and gives Ludare a hug. "Still an amazing fight," she comments, holding the hug from behind.
Theurgus	Theurgus isn't as fast as Alea, not by a long shot, so those savage blows at high speed smash through her body, cutting out large chunks of code, and eventually hitting close enough to the Drive Core code kernal to shut off the Diamond DCC's Divinity Form entirely. This normally wouldn't be a problem, except that she's quite high up in the air and is now plummeting to the ground without any control.
Alea	Theurgus is falling... and Emerald Soul dives down, scooping the DCC up out of the air before she can hit the ground! "Oh no, you're not going to hit the ground like that, I'll make sure of it." she moves to land then set Theurgus down upon the ground gently so Charta can come to her. "Mmm, you're as strong as ever, thank you for the pleasure. However, I'll be taking over the Hub for now, feel free to come to Arcade, I'll make some tea."
Krusty	Krusty nods approvingly as Emerald Soul is able to bring about a last second victory and upset, "Very impressive. Both of them." Maybe today's trip wasn't such a big loss after all. He doesn't notice poor Ludare's situation.
Theurgus	"This will set back our Resource Crystal project significantly... oh well." says Charta as she floats away from the onlooking group toward where Alea puts Theurgus down. The Diamond DCC is in bad shape, but is recovering the damaged sections of her code fairly quickly. It's not enough that she could resume fighting right away, but after a few minutes, she opens her eyes then makes a tutting sound. "I guess I got careless. I shall have to rethink my strategies for next time."
Orchid	"The difference between a rival and an enemy," Orchid muses, watching how Emerald Soul catches Diamond Soul. She's still holding onto Ludare. "So it looks like you'll be assistant to the master of the Hub now.
Alea	"Mmm." Ludare leans a bit into Orchid, "I will. The resources will help improve the Drive and let us do some expansion work in a few places. It'll also allow us to take better control over the Malvader presence." Ludare makes a content sigh as Alea drops her DCC and offers her hand, "You did very well, I felt each and every one of your abilities. I couldn't even use my speed to dodge them properly, so this was a very well fought battle, Theurgus." She looks up towards Silver Soul, giving a smile, "Perhaps, the next fight will be very... very interesting."
Lexicon	Lexicon's arms fold as she observes the fight ramp up, her eyes narrow. Both fighters are carefully observed-- until the final blow and the sportsmanlike rescue. Silver Soul's eyes close, then, nodding once. She lowers to ground level, her processors and transformation disappearing. Back to her regular brunette self, the soft-spoken DCC nods once, "Well fought, you two." She turns a bit towards Krusty, "You've seen us fight before..but you haven't seen us fight each other. So I hope that was educational." Her eyes glance towards Orchid, who the statement also clearly applies to. When she glances back at the two other DCCs, though, she meets eyes with Alea briefly. Her gaze turns very hard, flat-eyed, "Don't count on it."
Theurgus	Theurgus takes the offered hand, getting back to her feet and smiling that half-mad smile of hers. "Next time will go differently." she strikes her pose, covering her face and peering through her fingers. "For I am The Mad Magician!" And then, she turns with a flourish. "I should attend to my Drive." she says, pulling a can of something out of her inventory, cracking the seal and taking a drink from it as she starts to walk. "I will take you up on that offer later."
Orchid	Did Orchid really just make her way off with Ludare, holding the oracle over her head? Yes, yes she did. Release won't be that hard, but that may be an event for another day.