Master of Macabre

Unassuming (3)

THE WHITE NAVI’S EYES FLICKED FROM THE MESSAGE BOARD TO SHADEMAN’S FIGURE BEFORE LOOKING WORRIEDLY BACK AT THE BOARD. SHE FROWNED AS THOUGH SHE WERE UPSET THAT SHE MIGHT HAVE MISSED SOMETHING, THOUGH TO BE HONEST THERE WASN’T MUCH OF AN UPDATE. IT WASN’T THAT SHE MEANT TO BE RUDE TO THE DAPPER NAVI STANDING NEXT TO HER, SHE JUST DIDN’T WANT TO MESS UP HER FIRST ASSIGNMENT. SHE WAS BRAND NEW, AFTER ALL, AND SHE WANTED TO IMPRESS HER OPERATOR VERY MUCH.

“I WOULD ACTUALLY APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.” HER VOICE WAS QUIET, ALMOST PAINFULLY SO— THOUGH WITH SHADEMAN.EXE’S BAT-LIKE PROGRAMMING, IT WAS DOUBTFUL THAT HER VOICE WOULD BE DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO HEAR, AT LEAST. WHEN SHE SPOKE, SHE DIDN’T MAKE EYE CONTACT. IF SHE WASN’T LOOKING AT THE BOARD, SHE WAS EITHER LOOKING AT HER OWN DRESS’ TRAIN OR SHADEMAN’S FEET. IT SEEMED THAT SHE WAS JUST AS TINY IN CONFIDENCE AS SHE WAS IN STATURE.

“MY OPERATOR SENT ME HERE TO SEE IF SOMEONE HAD RESPONDED TO HER BATTLE CHIP INQUIRIES. IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THERE’S ANYTHING HERE SO FAR. IT’S BEEN A SLOW DAY FOR HER… OR MAYBE I JUST MISSED A MESSAGE. I HOPE NOT, I DON’T WANT TO GET YELLED AT ON MY VERY FIRST ASSIGNMENT…” HER VOICE STARTED TO TRAIL OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF HER WORDS, AND IT WAS BARELY ABOVE A MUMBLE BY THE TIME SHE HAD FINISHED.

“IF YOU DON’T MIND WAITING FOR JUST A MOMENT LONGER, SIR… I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY SOMEONE WOULDN’T WANT TO BUY THIS…”

“Did I hear you correctly?” He showed an exaggerated look of surprise on his face. “Your operator sent you all the way down here on your first assignment? Well, I imagine they must have an incredible amount of faith in you.”

Before he attempted to pry any more words from her, he realized it’d be best to wait until the navi was finished with their work. She didn’t seem to be particularly fond of speaking at all. This gave him time to address those nagging thoughts still floating around in his head. “She mentioned something about selling a Battle Chip…nothing too peculiar about that, it’s a common topic discussed on the- Wait a minute.”

He noticed a reply had appeared on the bulletin board. It was regarding the battle chip that the white navi was so preoccupied with, but what grabbed his attention so suddenly was the name of the original sender.

“Rose? Short for…Rosalyn? That name sounds so oddly familiar. No, it couldn’t be…”

A wave of uneasiness flowed over him, as he pulled in a strained gasp of air. His original plan of: “Graciously lead away the pure-white navi to a more isolated area and invite them to dinner” soon came crumbling apart. If his assumptions were correct, the seemingly powerless navi standing to his side had now become the largest threat to his own existence. Should anything happen to this navi, all fingers would be pointed at him.

“I should have known Laserman would have tried to get back at me for that. That elusive bastard.”

His thoughts returned back to his previous offer of escorting her out of the Undernet. This still seemed like an excellent idea, as it would allow him to confirm the identity of the navi’s operator and secure the return of this fragile package.

He relaxed himself and attempted to return to his calm, inviting nature before he spoke to her: “Well, I am ready whenever you are. Simply lead the way miss…ah, I don’t believe I ever caught your name.”

((OOC: Still struggling with the capslock rage. This is getting to be slightly humorous, I must say.))

Unassuming (2)

THE UNDERNET WAS A SCARY PLACE. DARK, FORBODING, A WEB OF DARK FILTH SURROUNDING A PURITY UNSEEN SINCE THE FIGHT FOR THE TITLE OF UNDERKING.
THAT PURITY HAD VANISHED, GOING INTO HIDING IN ITS SANCTUARY, LEAVING BEHIND AN ANARCHY FOR DARKLOIDS TO FROLIC.

UNDERNET SQUARE WAS NO DIFFERENT, HAVING DEVOLVED FROM AN ORGANIZED SYSTEM INTO A FROTH OF PRIMORDIAL DATA THAT REVOLVED AROUND A BBS. HAVING AN ELEVEN YEAR-OLD’S NAVI AS THE UNDERKING WOULD DO THAT.

A SMALL, WHITE NAVI WAS READING THE MESSAGES. SHE STOOD OUT AGAINST THE DARK BACKGROUND ENTIRELY EXCEPT FOR HER AMBER EYES THAT SCANNED THE MESSAGES. IT WAS SURPRISING HOW ONE AS WAIF-LIKE AS SHE HAD EVEN ENDED UP IN THE UNDERNET, MUCH LESS THE CHAOTIC UNDERSQUARE. HOWEVER, IT LOOKED LIKE SHE WAS ON IMPORTANT BUSINESS.

Shademan had been in a reclined position for the past few hours, staring at groups of flickering screens floating about, his focus drifting in and out. Each had been monitoring a different area of the net, and nothing particularly interesting had been happening. “I can’t believe this is what some navis do all day…it’s so painfully dull.”

However, once the screens had switched their focus onto the multiple sections of the Undernet, his head lifted and his eyebrows raised in surprise. Within a gigantic crowd of dark, drifting figures, a lone white navi stood. It was seemingly transfixed by the bulletin flashing different messages laid out in front. He couldn’t quite make out any defining features of the navi, simply it’s color and size were all he could determine, which only intrigued him even more. Instead of waiting for a moment to sort out the different possibilities, whether it was a trap or a pitiful disguise, he had darted out of the area and took the nearest path connecting to the Undernet.

The Undersquare was still just as crowded after Shademan had arrived, with boisterous chatter coming from each of the Heel navis. This did, however, make it much easier for him to approach the white navi without catching it’s attention. He slowly crept behind it, and then stood to it’s side and pretending to browse the bulletin. Quickly he glanced to the side, and then back to the board.

“Well, well, this is quite the surprise. I don’t think I’ve seen a female netnavi down here in ages, and especially not one that appears so….frail.”

He eventually stepped beside the white navi and cleared his throat in order to grab her attention.

“Please excuse me. I couldn’t help but notice you were here all by yourself. I don’t believe you’re lost, but once you’re finished with whatever you needed to attend to, would you like to be escorted out? The Undernet is certainly not the place to be wandering around unprotected.”

((OOC: I apologize that the text from your post is all caps. I’m not quite sure how to change that.))

Finishing Business

Was Shademan really going to attempt to shove his blame on someone else? So many retorts were filtering through his programming: “It isn’t their fault if you can’t keep your fangs in your mouth.” “You’d best reign control over your primal urges.” “You are an idiot.”

These were the words that came out of his mouth, however: “I will not cut deals with you so that you follow orders, Shademan.”

He could understand why that human woman would rely on generic Navis. They didn’t arouse suspicion; they were simple Navis that every run-of-the-mill fool had. Still, they were obnoxious.

“… However, you do have a point. Nebula needs competent Navis. Fine. If that’s what it will take for you to follow orders, then I will play your game.”

Convincing the woman to get a customized Navi would be easy. She had a few obvious weaknesses that Laserman would have no trouble using. One was a desire for money— she shared that weakness with many Nebula operatives. The other was a touch more… delicate. For some reason, Rosalie would do almost anything to get in contact with his operator. Laserman couldn’t fathom why, but he was certain he could use that to Nebula’s advantage.

“Don’t think that you’re out of this mess, Shademan. I will be keeping in contact with you.”

A pained smile crept it’s way onto his face before he added in, “Of course. Hopefully, we won’t have to each other again anytime soon.” He then turned on his heels and quickly left the area without another word.

On his path back towards an abandoned sever, connected to a previously owned radio station, he still felt slightly agitated about what Laserman had told him. “I’m going to have to be a lot more sneaky from now on. He knows my patterns far too well…and he’s going to scrutinize my every move.”

After reaching the main area of the server, he sighed heavily and leaned against one of the speakers meant to amplify radio waves. “But, I will not allow myself to be degraded to the level of being his servant.” He thought to himself. “While I may have to lay low until that man’s plan begins to reveal itself further, that just means I’ll be even more eager to add in my own bit of chaos when the time comes.”

Conducting Business cont. (2)

“When I summon you, Shademan… you will come. Do you understand me?” He did not stand, but the threat in his voice was obvious. “You’ve wasted far too much of my time already.”

Laserman waved his hand and his view of ACDC Square dissipated.

“You’ve been drawing attention to us, Shademan. Those BBS messages are meant to draw in potential Dark Chip users. They are not your personal dinner bell! We need as many people as we can to spread them. The reaping of the weak will come later, I assure you. Then, you may dine as you please.”

He was about to snap back with a response about how he really didn’t give a care if he wastes anyone’s time, but he kept his mouth shut. Now was not the time to test Laserman’s patience. He needed to find a way to shift some of the pressure onto someone else. He adjusted his posture, cocking his head to the side, and folded his arms.

“Come now. Don’t make me out to be the bad guy here. I know why you’re angry, and it’s certainly not because of a few generic netnavi’s that I’ve destroyed,” he said.

He looked him square in the face and continued; “It’s because some of those navis were owned by some of your pawns, isn’t it? That human you call Rosalie was one of them, correct?” He couldn’t help but grin widely. “It must be a real inconvenience for her to have to repeatedly replace them.”

“Well, I’ll make a deal with you. You tell that human to get herself a real netnavi. One that can be useful to us, to this organization. Then I won’t be as tempted to eliminate her tasty- ahem, useless companions.” He took a step forward, bringing his arms out in front of him, before adding, “In fact, I won’t attack anyone unless they’ve become a threat. How does that sound?”

Conducting Business cont.

Laserman.EXE overlooked ACDC Square from a secure network, his optic humming softly as he scanned the potential “customers” that might seek out Nebula.

They would have had many by now, but one of Laserman’s minions had been… rather selective in his choosing. At the beginning stages, Nebula couldn’t afford to be too picky. Their goal wasn’t to find their elite, but to spread. The great Dark Navis would come in time, but they could never be discovered if they were deleted before they had a chance to grow and writhe in power.

That’s why, after receiving numerous complaints from human and Navi alike, Laserman.EXE had summoned that picky minion to his throne room.

It was quite a few hours until Shademan finally arrived to the location in which he was summoned to. He had been busy tracking down his next meal, and didn’t have the time to be scolded like a child. He slowly approached Laserman, who was sitting in his throne tapping his fingers. It didn’t take more than a moment for him to sense his annoyance.

“Well, what do you want from me? Come to ask me to shine your pretty little throne?” He sneered. He didn’t need him to explain why he was annoyed. However, he could care less about his little schemes and their nuances. What should it matter to him that he was eliminating a few ignorant netnavis here and there. There are thousands of them littering the net, with hundreds being bought each day. There certainly isn’t a shortage of possible “customers”.