Scene #8626: About That Treasure Hunt

Owner	Pose
Angela	Angela is endeared to William Hook for reasons that are pretty apparent once you get to know her. Granted, their situations aren't exactly the same but she can't help but admire his storytelling process, which is something she's particularly interested in as an aspiring writer, and he's just a charming guy. Angela is not wholly immune to charm. She doesn't know many who better exemplify freedom--and an escape from a tale--than William Hook. But there's been a problem at Lobotomy Corp as of late and Hook has indicated he might have the solution for that problem and so Angela has invited him to her Office. She'll meet him at the Warpgate, eyes still closed, hands still clasped together, still wearing a labcoat that just seems slightly off on her, and her very presence oozing professionalism like a radiation leak. But she is wearing the hat. She's told the Sephirah that it is to meet Hook at ideal diplomatic terms. But... Well, she is an AI that can lie but sometimes the illusory veneer is quite thin.
Captain Hook	Hook's been here once before, but the situation was a bit more...pitched, then, a bit more wild and chaotic in ways that Hook could neither exploit nor enjoy. It was dangerous calamity, wild and mad, the essence of story given form and raging. This time, he doesn't anticipate such a problem. He greets Angela with a smile, and it's a genuine, warm smile, the smile of a man who is really happy to see someone. "And a good evening to you," he says cheerfully as he strides forward from the Warpgate, removing his hat briefly with his good hand to greet her. "At least, I should hope so, and if it isn't, then tell me how I might make it a good evening, and I shall do whatsoever is within my power to bring that wish to pass."
Angela	"Captain," Angela says, her fingers tightening against her knuckles as she considers how to answer the question both accurately and politely. "It is wonderful to see you, of course," Angela says, tipping the hat with a finger in greeting as she finally pries her hands away from one another. "We hadn't had a chance to talk properly outside of radio banter much." She trails off. "But there is ... one piece of trouble I had hoped to speak with you about." She mimics an exhale and adds, "Nothing There, which has escaped the facility. I believe you mentioned having a map to track them down?" She turns and starts walking towards her office through Control. As with other visitations, there are occassional look-overs by the employees though visitors have become a common enough occurance that it doesn't warrant too much attention--really, Angela wearing the hat outside the office draws more attention. "We would like to retrieve them for our facility. We hope to send Agents from one of the other Branches to go looking but it would be ideal if we could retrieve Nothing There without causing too much of a disturbance to the City itself lest we draw unwanted attention from the Head or their Arbiters."
Captain Hook	Hook walks alongside Angela, keeping stride with her. He's a tall man, after all, the kind of man who frequently bends down to meet eyes if he needs to do that, the kind of man whose height brings with it presence. Quite literally a little bit larger-than-life - though, obviously, not that much so. "Yes, I remember that," Hook says, his lips pursed thoughtfully, "Was in a bit of a state at the time but my memory's sharp as ever. God forfend the day it isn't, for on that day I will surely be an old man named 'Willy' instead of a young man named 'Will.'" William doesn't pay much mind to the onlookers. He gets onlookers everywhere he goes, on account of, ninety-nine percent of the time, dressing like a pirate. He does, however, offer them the occasional hat-tip or slight bow without breaking gait. "The Map With An X On It," Hook says fondly as they enter Angela's office. He digs his good hand into his coat and withdraws a piece of parchment. "Shows you how to get where you're going to find what you want. Possibly my prized possession, though that's a difficult thing to claim when you're as greedy as I am, since I wouldn't part with even one red cent." The map is every bit what one imagines when they think of a pirate's treasure-map. It's frayed at the edges, weathered, thick old-fashioned parchment that could survive a dip in the water if it had to and may have done so once already.
Angela	"Would you part with a cent of another color?" Angela asks offhandedly then, after some thought, elects to reassure Hook, "I will not call you Willy if it distresses you." Angela is willing to proffer this meager concession without much thought. Fortunately Hook will notice several Agents are in weird costumes of their own so Captain Hook is only slightly unusual instead of 'is that guy okay?' grade of concern. Hook speaks of The Map With An X On It. Angela wonders if that'd be considered a Singularity in the City. She sometimes isn't entirely sure how the City works by virtue of never being outside of the facility itself--in some ways The City is more alien to her than the other universes out there. It's okay if Outsiders know about her, but The Head must never. "It sounds handy." Angela says. "I admit I wonder how it works, but I suppose it works because it comes from the tale itself and, as such, functions in the way one would expect a Treasure Map to function." She leads Hook to her office, a room with one chair (behind the desk) wherein a teddy bear is placed on it in one corner. Many screens are along the wlal, presently in Rest Mode. Angela pulls herself up and sits herself on the edge of the desk as has become habit for her. "I have some concern Kukuru will be unwilling to return them. They are kind but... truth be told, Will, if I do not retrieve Nothing There--the facility is likely going to head into a reset. The Warpgate may end up closed forever." She looks over the map for a moment.
Captain Hook	Will smiles at Angela. "'One red cent;' it's an old-fashioned saying for an old-fashioned gentleman. I wouldn't part with anything. I'm a man who doesn't give up my treasure. I've given three gifts in my life and I'm unlike to give any more. Mayhap not completely impossible - a fool says impossible, a wise man says unlikely." One of those gifts is the hat, yes, judging by the way he glances at it. He laughs. "Oh, no. An old man ought to be called Willy, not Will or William. I'm not an old man yet, but when I become one, I'll assuredly insist everyone call me Willy, and growl at the young who don't appreciate it." Hook unrolls the Map on the table with both hands. He has to hold it down, else it's liable to snap back shut, based on the way it's curling. Whatever Angela was expecting, it probably wasn't this. It's crudely-drawn, not detailed and artisinal, not elegant and flowing. It's a crude map of...somewhere. Hard to tell exactly where. There's a compass rose on the bottom-right, but that's about it for navigation. There's a dot in the center, and a dotted line that leads off in a random direction, and then an X. Hook smiles at her and taps the X with his hook-hand. "And there's your missing beastie. I'd wager you're right about how it works, but I've no idea, myself, and I've no interest in studying it - as far as I'm concerned, it's fine that it does, and it's right and proper that a pirate's map have an X on it that leads to what he wants." "Granted, you likely can't read it, but it takes getting used to. The dot is where we are. The line is the path. Were there more problems on the way it might have drawings on it, like HERE BE MONSTERS, skulls-and-crossbones, hazard markers. But, I think, it's a straight shot. That, or the map's wrong." He shrugs. "It doesn't know everything. It always knows where the X is, though, and that's been enough for me."
Angela	Angela wasn't sure what to expect, honestly. Yes, she'd never have guessed something as basic as this. But it seems to function! And Angela knows that looks can be deceiving. She works for Lobotomy Corp after all. ''I've given three gifts in my life and I'm unlike to give any more'' Angela's head dips down, her gaze looking at her hands. Why, why are they like this? Why now? She hates this feeling that it's too late like receiving your first pair of glasses long after you've gone completely blind. She should go on about what she needs regarding Nothing There but instead, Angela allows herself to be distracted. "I understand. One shouldn't over rely on tools." She raises her head and asks Will a strange question. "Why me? What were the other gifts? I had no idea they were such a rarity." Perhaps she should have considering from what she'd observed so far but in truth a lot of these people seem so inexplicable to her already.
Captain Hook	"Some toys. A solid gold watch and a sterling silver ring, and some money. They were gifts for my sister and her husband and their children. Parting gifts, I suppose. An apology for time I'd never be able to make up. Grave-goods from William Fitzgerald, before he buried that name and became Captain Hook once and for all." He reaches out and pats her head. "I count them as two gifts, since one was for the little ones, and one was for the parents. And the hat..." He pats it, "Makes three. One more for you." "As for why..." He leans against the office table with a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm not a good man," he says, distantly, "I've no problem with a lot of awful things, nor letting people suffer for my own profit. I've lines, of course, things I won't condone or allow or do, but I'm not a good man. Even so...I made a promise to myself, that I wouldn't let others suffer the same fate Neverland made me suffer. That I, ah, pay it forward, so to speak - that kindness that saved me." He pats her head again. "That gift is a promise to you, and a reminder for me. That I won't let you suffer in this endless dream the way I did. That the kindness of strangers is a power that can overcome despair."
Angela	Angela is surprised. "You have family?" She supposes she shouldn't be surprised. He is human after all, even if he may have jumped into a storybook and came back changed. "Do you not miss them...?" She can read between the lines a little and recognizes it's pretty unlikely that Captain Hook is still in contact with his sister, his brother in law, and his nieces and nephews. Hook says he's not a good man. Angela doesn't really care about that--she's not a good woman, after all. "Good men have caused me most of the suffering in my life," Angela says bitterly. "I am not sure if I believe in those words outside of what they are used for convenience." ''I wouldn't let others suffer the same fate Neverland made me suffer'' Ah, Angela thinks, it's like that. Perhaps they have another thing in common. Angela is not above sympathy for those in a situation like hers. But... "...Still, that means the hat is more precious than I realized." She removes it from her head and sets it on the teddy bear Solty gifted her a while back. Angela is also sympathetic to other AI but Solty Rei just ... hits her in that sweet spot, reminding her of the kind of machine she used to be. "I'll have to be more careful with it." She wasn't exactly careless before but... "If you can bring them back to the facility, that will help tremendously. I can't do much about the magical girls but bringing Nothing There back will help a great deal." She smiles at her hands for a moment, not looking directly at Hook--though her eyes do open up slightly. "The kindness of strangers... I am unaccustomed... But I am getting a little more used to it. Thank you, Will. When I am free, perhaps we can visit the ocean together sometime."
Captain Hook	Hook's smile is wry. "When I was a little boy, I followed a faerie into a dream-world and left my sister behind. I may have loved her dearly, but the time I would have spent with her was lost forever. As far as she knew, her brother went missing, and was never found. A little trick from my treasure-trove made sure that remained true." "I made my peace with that that day. I don't miss them. I have a new family, and you," he reaches forward and pokes her forehead, "Are part of it, and precious, just like the rest of it. The Concord is my family. How could I possibly miss something I never had when I have you?" Hook puts a hand on his hip. "Oh, that hat's been through quite a lot. I doubt you could destroy it with ease. It's not magic, nothing like that, but it's been around the block more than once, and it's seen its fair share of wear and tear. Give it a bit of a sew-up every now and then to fix the seams and it'll keep right as rain." "Don't worry. I'll bring it back, or at least keep an eye on it until it's possible to do so." Hook touches his own hat. He pauses. He smiles. "'Perhaps'? Madam, all the dragons on the map could be there and not stop me from taking you to the ocean. By that time my little project might even be complete, and I might even be able to take you sailing proper."
Angela	He doesn't miss them. But he...loves them dearly. Angela is ruminating on this, eyes fully open now. Hook can pok her in the forehead and a flicker of confusion crosses her face for just a moment before it's subdued. She reaches up with a finger and pokes Hook in the forehead. She isn't sure what the aim of this is, but if it's a ritual she can engage in it as well as any other. She wonders if he'd go back if there was no Concord, or if he'd just be as comfortable being alone. She opens her mouth to ask but thinks beter of it. Right now she shouldn't ask questions so directly like that. She desperately needs his help as it is right now. First Mate Bear look at Hook, about as impasisvely as Angela tends to be. "I can sew," Angela lies but she can probably learn how. Angela can fake having hope on her best days so she gives Hook another small nod, one or two of them after in quick succession. Normally a poke to the forehead would make her worry she's being lectured or treated as a child or something but this is a pirate and from what Angela has read in stories, pirates tend to be informal creatures--even when they use words like Madam or M'lady. "It seems likely, Will." Angela says. "If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them."
Captain Hook	When she pokes him, Hook grins. Just a sign of affection, apparently, that little poke from him. Maybe it's something he used to do with his sister. Maybe it's just an affectation he picked up in Neverland, or in one of his cruises into the dream realms, or...who knows. But the grin definitely says it's not part of a lecture. He straightens. "No, none. I remember what your monster does and it won't fool my eye." Hook rolls up the Map and stows it in his coat pocket again. "I'll find it for certain. We'll have it back in no time. Don't you worry. No resets. Not again." "Don't you worry," he repeats, in a tone that means it, in a tone that brooks no worry, and in a tone that is certain of himself and his capability.
Angela	Angela slides off the desk and makes her way to the other side of the desk, opening up a drawer and offering Hook a set of what look like traveling Visas. "These should get you past City customs. Once destroyed, it should revert to the form of a large egg which will be easier to transport." Though she probably won't mind if he utilizes some other method so long as it doesn't alert The Head. "...And be careful, it is a dangerous Abnormality. ... Though from experience, it seems 'Danger' is your middle name." She smirks a bit arrogantly there like she's proud of herself for using a colloquialism she found. "Thank you again, Hook. You are a good friend." And family besides by the sound of it--but Angela trusts friendship more than family between the two and Hook said 'no more resets'. And those might as well be magic words for her.