You're too busy having the flesh torn from your entire body.
That's exactly what it feels like, anyway, when the inhuman woman lifts one of the silver cords she wrenches from you, through you, clawed, bronze-skinned hands somehow managing to pass in and out of your torso without leaving behind a single blemish. It'd be fascinating if it didn't feel like every single nerve running along the underside of your skin was connected to that cord. If it didn't feel like you were being flayed raw.
And really, that is what's happening; she's taking your skin. Not the one you're in now, but your metal form, force-shedding thick titanium layers that were never meant to come undone. You can feel it coming away with the cord, a tight-wound cable pulling everything at first where it pierces your chest, but the sensation travels outwards. Invisible flesh peels away, up to your head and down to the tips of your toes, leaving equally invisible blood that soaks you.
Somewhere within the red static of your pain-wracked mind, you remember a similar feeling. At the time, it only lasted for a fraction of a breath -- the speed of a bullet train running the Seibu Ikebukuro line -- but it was the kind of pain that was so intense, you couldn't bring yourself to scream even if you wanted to.
You manage a whimper that dies halfway in your throat.
It's only when she cuts the cord that everything changes. It still hurts (dear god, it hurts), but there's another sensation that's comes through even stronger.
You feel... hollow. Empty. Like whatever she took from you somehow made physical space in your body.
Your body knows it before your mind does, aware of the approach of... something. Something different, something off. Maybe it's because of your own unnatural origins, maybe because you're so closely tied by instinct to the other side that you're sensitive to the presence of Strange Things. Maybe it's the way that the blossoms in your dreams suddenly start turning grey as they fall, crumbling and disappearing like fine ash before they ever touch earth.
Whatever it is, it's enough to pull you from the depths of the coma-like sleep you've been in for the past few days. You can hear voices, snatches of conversation through a ringing that somehow far away and deep inside your own head at the same time. Something about payment and things owed. You don't like it. You also don't like the sensation of unfamiliar hands on you; it sets you on edge even before you can open your eyes.
"Dirk...?" You croak, voice thin and raspy from disuse, but even as the word leaves your mouth, you know you've made a mistake. Dark shapes blur into focus, and you feel yourself go cold in a way that's not entirely physical. The tall one that's clearly a robot doesn't bother you much; even without your true form, even if it ends up being a threat, the most basic kinship is still there.
The other one though, the one in the mask... it has the same air about it as the Bridhe-thing, the thing that made him leach rust and decay. Human-not-human. Like you, except not at all. Noiz didn't quite get it, at some level still too much a robot and lacking that primal instinct, the one that fears the Unknown. But you, with all your kept memories of a human boy who lived long enough to know better... the thing in the mask triggers something in the far corners of your mind, something that understands how fundamentally wrong its presence in your home is.
It takes you a few minutes to realize that for once, neither Dirk nor Sawtooth-aniki are there. That it's just you and... whatever this is. To your credit (or maybe not, because the truth is your body is already at its limit), whatever quiet panic you're experiencing inside never reaches the surface. You stare at the strange pair, swallow thickly until you can find your voice, and try again.
You don't even have to open the door to get inside. Just as you have been practicing a quick focused step flashes you through the door. Right through it. No damage. The strange sensation of your molecules rearranging remains, however.
You are about as close to livid as a bot like you with your chilled out nature can get. Or at least... you were.
Finally the stir-crazy madness drove you to leave in the middle of the night. You couldn't stay still and stay put. It wasn't like you and some inkling of a notion deep in your quartz told you that your inertia would damn well kill you in some fashion or another.
Nightmares return and you are fighting your own demons in backalleys and culverts and abandoned worlds left to rot to their skeletons outside of human development. Much to your dismay and amazement these damn things are real, they leave nasty coolant dripping from your fingers and hoodie when you bust them up.
You bring the dripping eye fixture of one home to prove it. You also have something else to prove, and you recite your way around it in the back of your head.
-- dactylicMasamune [DM] began pestering ironicRobotic [IR] at 19:12 --
[07:14] DM: FUCK MY LIFE, I WAS RIGHT.
[07:14] IR: About what?
[07:14] IR: Please, just - for one second, no insults, no anything, just explain to me what's going on.
[07:14] IR: Then you get free reign to berate me all you want.
[07:15] DM: TCH, DON'T WORRY, WE'RE WELL PAST THAT POINT.
[07:15] DM: ACTUALLY, I TAKE THAT BACK; START WORRYING A FUCKLOT MORE.
[07:15] IR: I don't think that's possible. What's wrong?
[07:15] DM: SAWTOOTH'S CODE WAS CLEAN, JUST LIKE I EXPECTED IT TO BE.
[07:16] IR: Why is that a bad thing?
[07:16] DM: NOIZ'S IS TOO, EXCEPT FOR THAT RANDOMASS ONE-FIVE LINE IZURA FOUND.
[07:16] DM: THE "VACCINE" WE CREATED IS USELESS.
[07:16] DM: THOUGH I GUESS YOU ALREADY FIGURED THAT OUT.
[07:16] IR: I was beginning to suspect.
[07:17] IR: Whatever. It doesn't matter. We don't need it. We can fix them another way.
[07:17] DM: FUCKING HAVE TO, BECAUSE DESPITE THERE BEING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TRACEABLE ABOUT WHATEVER THE HELL THIS THING IS, GUESS WHAT I DID FIND?
[07:17] IR: What?
[07:18] DM: NOIZ'S SPECS ARE RESETTING THEMSELVES OUTSIDE OF SET PARAMETERS.
[07:18] DM: LIKE, HIS AUDIO SETTINGS?
[07:19] DM: I MENTIONED THIS TO THAT PEACHY SPACE-LOOKING ROBOT EARLIER, BUT HIS SUBWOOFER IS DESIGNED TO MAX OUT AT 150DB.
[07:19] DM: THAT BLAST THAT SHATTERED ALL THE WINDOWS WAS 182DB.
[07:19] IR: Fuck. Alright. Well. That's okay as long as we keep him calm, right?
[07:19] DM: AS IN, IT SHOULD BE PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO HAVE DONE THAT.
[07:19] DM: HA, CALM, RIGHT.
[07:19] DM: REMEMBER WHAT I SAID ABOUT MY BROTHER?
[07:20] DM: YOU -DO- KNOW THE STORY THERE, DON'T YOU?
[07:20] IR: I know what you told Noiz.
[07:20] IR: I know that N01 killed someone.
[07:20] IR: I also know that Noiz won't do that.
[07:21] DM: NOT QUITE WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO, BUT THANKS FOR STICKING YOUR FINGERS RIGHT INTO THAT WOUND.
[07:22] DM: LET ME REPHRASE THE QUESTION.
[07:23] DM: NOIZ'S SETTINGS AREN'T CORRUPTED; WHATEVER THIS THING IS IS SOMEHOW DOING A HARD RECODE OF HIS BASE SPECS. PROBLEM IS, IT'S NOT CHANGING HIS FAILSAFES TO MATCH, MEANING HE HAS NO CONTROL OVER HIS NEW SETTINGS.
[07:23] DM: SO FAR IT'S ONLY THE AUDIO. NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES IZURA OR I FIX IT, IT KEEPS CHANGING BACK AFTER A WHILE.
[07:24] IR: So we keep him calm.
[07:24] DM: N01 WAS A FAILURE BECAUSE HE COULDN'T CONTROL ZATO'S PERSONALITY SCAN.
[07:24] DM: ARE YOU SEEING THE PATTERN HERE?
[07:24] DM: HE GOT WORSE AND WORSE UNTIL YEAH, HE KILLED SOMEONE.
[07:25] DM: MY SWEET, DERPY BABY BRO KILLED A GUY IN COLD BLOOD BECAUSE HE HAD NO CONTROL.
[07:25] IR: Yes, I understand, but - Okay, I've interacted with Sone. If that's somehow the personification of Zato's scan, then we don't have anything to worry about.
[07:26] DM: OR, WHATEVER THIS IS IS USING THAT AS A JUMPING POINT TO REPEAT WHAT HAPPENED TO N01.
[07:26] DM: WHICH, SEEING HOW THINGS HAVE BEEN GOING SO FAR, SEEMS A FUCK LOT MORE LIKELY.
[07:26] IR: How in the hell would a virus know that in the first place?
[07:26] IR: That doesn't make any sense.
[07:27] IR: You're talking about it like it's thinking.
[07:27] DM: WHO THE FUCK KNOWS? NOIZ ISN'T SUPPOSED TO HAVE ANY OF ZATO'S PERSONALITY LEFT EITHER. I HARD WIPED IT LIKE FIVE FUCKING TIMES BEFORE I BUILT NOIZ.
[07:27] DM: I STOPPED QUESTIONING SHIT LIKE THIS A LONG TIME AGO.
[07:27] DM: YOU'D DO WELL TO READJUST YOUR PARADIGM A LITTLE HERE, GLASSES.
[07:28] IR: I - Ugh. Fuck. Okay, I'm trying, I honestly am, but if I give up on logic then what the fuck is next? Without rules that means that everything is just completely fucked. Arbitrary.
[07:28] IR: I can't accept that.
[07:28] IR: There's got to be a method to this madness. There's got to be reason.
[07:29] IR: And I don't think it's - Fuck, even if it is some kind of magic sentient robot biovirus, it has to have some sort of...something. Fuck, anything, that's keeping it rooted here. It has to follow rules.
[07:29] DM: ONE WOULD HOPE.
[07:30] IR: Someone messaged me today. I don't know who they are. They said they know what it is.
[07:30] DM: WHO?
[07:30] IR: I don't know if I trust them - I dont' know. They didn't say.
[07:30] IR: I don't know if I trust them but I also don't really care so much at this point. I'll take what I can get.
[07:31] IR: They said something about a game. And something about treating the symptoms but needing to destroy the virus at it's core. Then they said I needed to get as many creators as I could together.
[07:31] IR: So far that's you and Izura, so that's what I'm doing.
[07:31] DM: FUCKING YAY.
[07:31] IR: I'm just a thrilled as you are, but are you honestly willing to shoot down any potential leads at this point? Because I'm sure as fuck not.
[07:32] DM: FUCK OFF. DON'T EVEN PRETEND TO QUESTION WHAT I'M WILLING TO DO FOR MY BROTHER.
[07:32] IR: Trust me, I understand.
[07:33] DM: JUST DON'T EXCEPT ME TO BE ALL SMILES AND RAINBOW PUKE AT THE PROSPECT OF MYSTERIOUS STRANGERS AND MAGICAL VIRUS-CURING GAMES.
[07:33] DM: I'M FROM BUKURO, I KNOW WEIRDASS FUCKERY WHEN I HEAR IT.
[07:34] DM: SHIT LIKE THIS ALWAYS RUNS WAY, WAY DEEPER THAN YOU WANT OR EXPECT IT TO.
[07:34] IR: I know. I figure, at least. I don't care, though. I'm not going to let anyone get hurt.
[07:35] IR: I'll do whatever I have to.
[07:35] IR: So until this mysterious fucking benefactor spills the details, I say we just - We just keep going, yeah? We keep Noiz calm and we keep going.
[07:36] DM: //sighs and looks... tired. just really, really tired.
[07:36] DM: THERE'S...
[07:36] DM: FUCK, OKAY... THE VACCINE PROGRAM WE MADE ISN'T COMPLETELY USELESS.
[07:37] IR: //Perks up a little at that
[07:37] DM: AT LEAST, IT GAVE ME AN IDEA FOR HOW TO SLOW DOWN THE PROCESS IN NOIZ, MAYBE SAWTOOTH TOO.
[07:37] IR: yeah?
[07:37] IR: Okay, good. How do we do it?
[07:38] DM: ESSENTIALLY IT'S A ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES, ALL HANDS ON DECK, HARD LABOR FIX.
[07:38] IR: That's fine.
[07:39] IR: What do we do?
[07:39] DM: THE ORIGINAL VACCINE WAS DESIGNED TO TWEAK NOIZ'S CODE AT INTERVALS, JUST ENOUGH SO A VIRUS WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO LATCH ONTO BUT NOT ENOUGH TO MESS UP ANY OF HIS FUNCTIONALITY.
[07:39] DM: SINCE HE ALREADY HAS IT, IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT.
[07:40] DM: BUT LIKE I SAID, IZURA AND I WERE ABLE TO RESET HIS AUDIO, AT LEAST TEMPORARILY.
[07:40] DM: BASICALLY, IF THERE'S SOMEONE WHO CAN MANUALLY RECODE HIS PROGRAM, IN THEORY YOU COULD OUTPACE THE VIRUS.
[07:41] DM: BUT YOU'D HAVE TO KEEP IT UP CONTINUOUSLY.
[07:41] IR: I can do it.
[07:41] DM: SO CAN I, AND SO CAN IZURA.
[07:41] DM: PROBLEM IS IT'LL ONLY WORK FOR SO LONG.
[07:42] DM: YOU KNOW ABOUT ALL THE TESTS IZURA WAS RUNNING, RIGHT?
[07:42] DM: IT TOOK A WHILE, BUT EVENTUALLY A PATTERN STARTED TO DEVELOP.
[07:42] IR: What kind of pattern?
[07:42] DM: THE LONGER HE RAN THE TESTS AGAINST THE ALGORITMS, THE MORE THE RATE OF DECAY EVENTUALLY INCREASED.
[07:43] DM: EVENTUALLY IT ACCELERATED TO THE POINT WHERE IT WOULD EAT ANY PROGRAM INSTANTANEOUSLY.
[07:43] DM: LIKE, IT LEARNED HOW TO TAKE THEM OUT FASTER AND FASTER UNTIL NOTHING COULD KEEP UP.
[07:43] DM: ...NOIZ IS GOING TO GET WORSE.
[07:43] DM: IT'S INEVITABLE.
[07:44] IR: Okay, so we do our fucking best to be unpredictable, we hold it off as long as we can, and in the meantime, whoever isn't doing that, works on solving this bullshit once and for all.
[07:44] IR: Inevitability and I don't get along very well.
[07:44] DM: ...
[07:44] DM: TCH, YOU REALLY ARE SUCH A KID.
[07:44] IR: What's that supposed to mean?
[07:45] DM: CONSIDERING HOW MUCH SHIT YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH, YOU STILL MANAGE TO BE SO GODDAMN OPTIMISTIC.
[07:45] DM: IT'S... ENDEARING. ALMOST.
[07:46] IR: I don't know if it's optimism. I think I've just failed too many fucking times to accept it anymore.
[07:46] DM: HA, TRUST ME, I KNOW THAT FEELING WAY TOO WELL.
[07:46] DM: LOOK, DON'T WORRY ABOUT NOIZ FOR NOW. IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, IZURA IS A FUCKING WIZARD AT CODING AND I'M NOT HALF BAD MYSELF.
[07:47] DM: FIND OUT MORE FROM THIS CREEPER DEUS EX MACHINA ABOUT THIS GAME SHIT.
[07:47] DM: AND LOOK AFTER SAWTOOTH.
[07:48] DM: HE SEEMS TO BE DOING BETTER BUT I DOUBT THE VIRUS IS OUT OF HIS SYSTEM.
[07:48] IR: Considering I don't know what the hell 'cured' him in the first place, I wouldn't find that hard to believe.
[07:49] DM: //sighs again, rubbing her temples.
[07:49] DM: LOOK, IF...
[07:50] DM: I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO FUCK UP NEXT, BUT IF NOIZ'S PERSONALITY STARTS CHANGING, JUST... BE READY FOR THAT, OKAY?
[07:51] DM: BEFORE... BEFORE N01 WAS DEACTIVATED, Z GOT ANGRY. VINDICTIVE.
[07:51] DM: IT WOULD COME IN BURSTS, BUT WHEN IT DID, IT WAS REALLY FUCKING BAD.
[07:51] IR: I will - I'm not - //Sags a little for the first time in the conversation, actually looking worried instead of stressed// I'm not worried about that.
[07:52] DM: ...
[07:52] IR: He - //bites lip, looking away// I know this is stupid, it sounds stupid, but I don't doubt for a second that he really does love me, okay?
[07:52] IR: So. Whatever bullshit the virus pulls. Whatever happens. I can take it. I know he won't hurt me on purpose.
[07:53] DM: //laughs quietly, without any humor.
[07:53] DM: YEAH... WELL, I HOPE YOU CAN KEEP TELLING YOURSELF THAT IF SHIT GOES SOUTH.
[07:53] DM: NOT BEING SARCASTIC, EITHER
[07:54] DM: BEFORE HE DIED, ZATO SAID A LOT OF THINGS THAT I'D LIKE TO THINK HE DIDN'T REALLY MEAN.
[07:54] DM: BUT HONESTLY?
[07:54] DM: I'M STILL NOT SURE.
[07:56] IR: I never knew your brother, but //looks up, hesitantly shaking his head// I do know that anger does stupid shit to people. And if the lengths you've gone to preserve his memory in Noiz are any indication at all, you loved the fuck out of him. I understand that. That kind of love doesn't get to exist when people don't return it. So...
[07:57] IR: So, I never knew Zato, but I'm pretty confident in telling you that whatever the fuck was said, if he could, he'd take it back.
[07:57] DM: ...
[07:57] DM: TCH, WELL APPARENTLY THE STUBBORN FUCKHEAD IS STILL HANGING AROUND, IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING.
[07:58] DM: NOIZ HAS BEEN TEACHING YOU JAPANESE, RIGHT?
[07:59] IR: Yeah, kind of accidentally. I just pick it up.
[07:59] DM: GENIUS BRAINS, GOTTA LOVE 'EM.
[07:59] DM: ANYWAY, THE NORMAL WAY TO PRONOUNCE NOIZ IN JAPANESE IS JUST "NOI-ZU."
[08:00] DM: BUT THERE'S AN ALTERNATE READING FOR THE SAME WORD, LESS USED BUT SAME EXACT MEANING.
[08:00] DM: "SOUN."
[08:01] IR: //blinks// So that's where it came from. The name, I mean.
[08:01] DM: //shrugs.
[08:01] IR: What does it mean? Does it mean anything?
[08:01] DM: LIKE I SAID, IT'S JUST AN ALTERNATE READING OF THE SAME EXACT WORD.
[08:01] DM: THEY'RE BOTH NOISE.
[08:02] DM: INTERPRETE THAT AS YOU WILL.
[08:02] IR: Sone said - He kind of explained it like that. I don't know. It was fucking bizarre.
[08:03] IR: He was like a completely different person, but...not at all?
[08:04] DM: YOU SAID HE WAS BASICALLY NOIZ'S BATTLE MODE.
[08:04] IR: He was.
[08:04] DM: YEAH, THAT'S ZATO.
[08:05] DM: BEFORE HE GOT SICK, ANYWAY.
[08:05] DM: STUPID SUNSHINE CUNTLICK.
[08:05] IR: I liked him. It was just - It was weird.
[08:06] IR: And apparently other things happened that I've just now been made aware of today, so, that's a thing. Whatever. //makes a face// Doesn't matter.
[08:07] DM: WHAT, YOU MEAN HOW NOIZ GOT THE VIRUS IN THE FIRST PLACE?
[08:07] IR: //pinches the bridge of his nose// Yeah, I guess. Apparently.
[08:07] DM: TCH, YEAH, THAT'S A "THING" ALRIGHT.
[08:07] IR: //Shoulders sag// I don't really want to talk about it.
[08:08] DM: BELIEVE ME, NEITHER DO I.
[08:09] DM: AS A MATTER OF FACT, I'D REALLY, -REALLY- APPRECIATE IT IF IN THE FUTURE YOU'D GIVE ME SOME FUCKING WARNING BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO GET IT ON WITH MY BROTHER.
[08:09] IR: ...
[08:09] DM: YEAH, EXACTLY.
[08:10] IR: //Squeezes eyes closed for a second, groaning// Your fucking livefeed.
[08:10] DM: //slow claps.
[08:10] DM: WAY TO THINK WITH YOUR DICK, GOKU.
[08:11] IR: //Covers face with palm// It wasn't - Fuck that, I had weeks of not having to think about that shit.
[08:11] DM: I FIGURED.
[08:11] IR: //Face slowly turns red// So. Uh. Sorry. I hope you deleted whatever was recorded.
[08:11] DM: //eye roll.
[08:12] DM: DON'T WORRY, I NOPED THE FUCK OUT THE SECOND I FIGURED OUT WHERE THAT WHOLE THING WAS GOING.
[08:12] IR: //Scrubs his face with his hand// Alright good. Sorry about that. I uh. Yeah, I'll figure out some kind of warning next time.
[08:14] DM: WHATEVER.
[08:14] DM: VIRTUAL SOCKS ON THE DOORKNOB AREN'T EXACTLY HIGH ON OUR LIST OF PRIORITIES.
[08:15] IR: I know, I know. //Shakes head// Just embarrassed now. I don't think any sex is in my immediate future regardless, so don't worry. Too much shit to do.
[08:18] IR: //Drops hand, blinking// Oh. Right. I don't know why I just thought of this but - Whatever you do, don't talk to Noiz about taking him back to Japan. Or...anywhere, that's not here, okay? I don't know why but that was his biggest fucking concern the other night.
[08:19] DM: WHAT, THAT I WAS GOING TO FORCE HIM TO LEAVE?
[08:19] IR: Yeah.
[08:19] DM: WOW, OKAY. I KNOW I'M A RAGING BITCH, BUT I'M NOT -THAT- FUCKING COLD.
[08:20] IR: I never said you were, but he's got a hair trigger right now. So I just thought you should know.
[08:20] DM: WHAT WOULD EVEN BE THE POINT OF THAT?
[08:20] DM: HE'S ALREADY INFECTED, IT'S NOT LIKE TAKING HIM HOME WILL MAKE ANYTHING BETTER.
[08:21] IR: He seemed convinced that he'd be taken away because he was 'broken'. I don't know. I tried as best as I could to convince him otherwise. I think I did, but, even if it just comes up in casual conversation, he might freak out.
[08:22] DM: GREAT, SO HE'S ALREADY PARANOID THEN.
[08:22] DM: FUCK EVERYTHING.
[08:22] IR: He was just upset. I don't know if it's really that bad.
[08:22] IR: He was upset about a lot of things.
[08:23] DM: YEAH, AND HIM BEING "JUST UPSET" MADE HIM INTO A WALKING SONIC WEAPON.
[08:24] DM: IMAGINE WHAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED IF THERE'D BEEN PEOPLE AROUND WHEN HE BLEW OUT THOSE WINDOWS.
[08:24] DM: HELL, MY EARS ARE STILL FUCKING RINGING.
[08:24] DM: AND I JUST CAUGHT IT SECOND HAND.
[08:25] IR: I know, I know. But no one was, so it's alright for now. He didn't know what he was doing and then he was really upset about it, too.
[08:26] IR: He was mad that he couldn't defend me, I think. I'll try to not put myself in a situation where that's a reaction he could have again.
[08:29] DM: YEAH, WHATEVER'S LEFT OF MY HEARING WOULD VASTLY APPRECIATE THAT.
[08:29] DM: I'M GONNA GO TALK TO IZURA ABOUT SETTING UP SOME KIND OF SYSTEM FOR TACKLING THE RECODING SHIT.
[08:30] DM: NOIZ SEEMS TO BE FEELING LESS COMPLETELY FUCKING TERRIBLE NOW. HE'S PLAYING WITH RILAKKUMA.
[08:31] DM: SOMETIMES I FORGET HE'S TECHNICALLY ONLY THREE, CHRIST.
[08:31] DM: HE'S CALLING THE ONE WITH THE TOP HAT "DIRK" AND I THINK HE MADE IT MARRY THE OTHER ONE.
[08:32] IR: //Laughs a little at that, genuinely for the first time this whole night//
[08:32] IR: I'll check on him after I get some caffeine.
[08:34] DM: //nods, cracking her neck in the same way noiz does.
[08:35] IR: We're going to handle this, Set. It's going to work out.
[08:36] DM: //sneers, resuming her normal, semi-hostile attitude towards him.
[08:36] DM: I DON'T REMEMBER GIVE YOU THE GO AHEAD TO CALL ME BY MY FIRST NAME.
[08:37] DM: SHUT UP AND GO CHUG YOUR GO GIRL.
[08:37] IR: Alright alright, sorry, //waves hand dismissively, turning to head back towards the kitchen
there's gotta be something in this fuckin mess that tells what happened to me and noiz... there's nothing in the code but the dreams aren't supposed to happen either.
we're gonna have to think a little abstract is all, pick up clues from what i did while weird and figure out what dirk did that fixed me.
