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Empire State of Mind - Hiro Protagonist - 05-09-2016
Quote:Five Days After Ikiru: To Live
"Gooooood morning, Tier Two! And for today's simulated weather pattern, we have partly cloudy in the morning, with light showers around noon, followed by clear skies to watch a beautiful sunset, this one sponsored by PepsiCo! And to kick off your day we've got some lovely tunes coming your way, on Core Radio!"
Hiro opened his eyes on the bed as the radio started to pump out futuristic synth music. He just lay there for a few moments, drinking in the rhythm and the volume. His side was healing amazingly fast, and all that remained of the wounds he'd suffered a week ago were just fading scars.
Eventually he sat up in the bed, reaching for a small paper box on his bedside table that said "Sunshine Slims: Fine Herbal Deathsticks (Now With Zero Death!)". Omni be praised for cigarettes with no carcinogens. Apparently, it was some genetically engineered strand of herbs that they'd transplanted in the Vasty Deeps. The crop just soaked up the air and sunshine, and produced leaves that were more than suitable for smoking, and indeed, made clouds of slightly blueish, seaside scented smoke. Hiro enjoyed them far more than any other cigarette he'd care to have tried back home.
Which reminded him, he was running out of both cigarettes and groceries. The reward for his capture of Joon Yi the Cleaver had provided enough funds for a month of rent in this apartment, plus enough to buy staple food supplemented with the occasional summoned meal. He was going to have to get a roommate to afford the rent though, or bag another bounty. Tier Two wasn't cheap, but since he was a Prime, Hiro figured he could afford to splurge a bit. Life was a little easier when you were in the Empire's positive book and had powerful abilities to boot.
He flipped a teal cigarette out of the package and lit it with a cheap plastic lighter, inhaling deeply and blowing a cloud of light blue smoke across the small room, perfuming the air with the scent of salt and sand. Heaving himself off the bed, he landed easily on his feet and started to get dressed. Couldn't go out in the street in his boxers, of course, so he pulled on a new t-shirt adorned with an eye catching swirl pattern and the words "I <3 Coruscant", in addition to a pair of blue, voluminous hachimaki. These he'd summoned himself. He'd picked up the T-shirt from a chintzy tourist boutique in lieu of his actual shopping trip, which he supposed might as well take place today. They had given him the stink eye until he ponied up some OM, given that he had been nearly shirtless and wrapped in bloodied bandages.
He'd spent most of the last few days just recuperating and browsing the Dataverse for job opportunities. The Empire kept an open list of public bounties, levied against those who had caused trouble in Coruscant. The Omniverse was starting to feel a lot like home, except better in a myriad number of ways. Sure, he was constantly monitored here in the city, but back home a simple laser scan could tell whoever was performing it what you favorite foods were, how often you picked your nose, where you lived, etc. In a way, the public surveillance here was less intense. He could take a four mile walk without having to steer clear of White Columns or any other Apartheid burbclave, or keep a hand on his sword in the Buy N Fly.
Picking up his gloves and goggles from a hook near the door where he'd hung them, he slipped both on and headed out of the apartment towards the elevator. A minute later and the droid doorman wished him a good day as he went through the spinning glass doors. He stood at the edge of the street, looking up at the greyish sky, hints of blue peeking out behind clouds, and stepped out onto the street, heading towards the nearest shopping complex.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Madotsuki - 05-12-2016
"What do you mean we're low on money?" Rush cried out.
"I mean we're low on money," Svia reiterated, shuffling the dollar bills in her hand. "Those weapons didn't pay out as much as we estimated."
Rush sighed and rested his head on the table. Madeline had put a hand on her shoulder, but didn't say anything. Instead, she glanced back at the blond. "Do we have enough money for the month?"
Svia shook her head. "Sadly, no. But I have a few friends who were willing to pay if we rent the place out."
"Rent out?" Rush objected, thrusting his hands in the air. "But this was our home ever since--" He tensed up, glancing at Madotsuki. She had been so quiet the entire time that he almost forgot she was there. It was apparently a sensitive subject for someone outside the "circle" these three had formed, since the raven-haired boy blushed and cleared his throat. "There's no way I'm going through with this!"
And that was how The Night Terrors wound up outside, all carrying their suitcases and traveling on their own paths in a search for a new place to live. "I can't believe I'm going through with this" was the last sentence the dreamer heard from Rush until he disappeared from view. Madotsuki hadn't been expected to be kicked out so soon, much less with the rest of the group, but that was life.
With a moment of focus, she summoned the Mobile Dataverse Device she had formed a few days ago and began browsing through the wanted ads. Nothing really caught her interest (except an ad for some sort of team F-Zero race, which she kept in mind for later) until she came across a "roomate wanted" ad. She watched the video, pausing as she discovered that the man lived in Tier 2. Considering what Tier 1 was like, she was less than enthused. But she had no other choice, since there was no way she was sleeping on the streets.
Somewhat hesitantly, she lugged her suitcase along until she found another tunnel. She still didn't feel that she hadn't been lying low enough for the Stormtroopers to pay her any heed, and now it was coming back to bite her.
After about an hour of struggling to bring up the suitcase, asking for directions and hiding from the cameras without being conspicuous, she finally arrived at the address given and collapsed next to the door. She rested there for a few minutes, then knocked on the door. No response. Great, she had to wait.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Hiro Protagonist - 05-13-2016
Making his way slowly down the street, Hiro gestured quickly in the air. He had a little side project overlayed in his goggles that was less a job and more a training exercise. Someone on Tier 3 had answered his open offer for a dataverse operator, and requested him to design them a simple purchasing website. It was coming along nicely, and the first few drafts he had sent to the client were met with positive encouragement. His aesthetic experence had helped greatly, even if his relative Dataverse inexperence led to a bit of clunky coding here and there. This was definitely aiding him with learning more about it, though.
His proximity news alert flashed up, warning him of an approaching squad of imperial troops coming down the block. He stepped off the main pedestrian pathway, along with several others as street signs flashed a "clear the center" warning. A squad of troopers in a flying response vehicle swooped around the corner, skimming low, and whipped further down the street before disappearing from sight. It happened so fast there was barely any time to register the siren noise. Scrolling up his EPD scanner, he saw they were en route to contain an "unauthorized entry". Oh, well. He might end up hunting them down later, if they managed to escape.
Business on the street returned to normal and the billboards flickered back to their original advertisements. One saying "Top Tier Stockpile" caught his eye and he cut through the early morning pedestrians to arrive in front of the store. There were a few signs on the glass, advertising specials on a new food reconstitution device, and also something called a "Deliciousplice". Hmm. He leaned against the glass doors and entered, bright and colorful packages lining the shelves and aisles.
Picking up a basket from a dispensing gizmo, he started inspecting the shelves. "Hmm...Wait, Omnilium?" He stared at the can before realizing that it was just some kind of energy drink. It hit the bottom of his basket, followed by several more, the blank white cans decorated minimally with block lettering and an eerily familiar grin. Froot puffs, Steppe Cakes, Yamtato Stix, Tier 7 Bricks, and all manner of sugary and savory junk food followed. A few strangely shaped fruits were added as well, mainly to provide some kind of token resistance to the caloriepocalypse in his basket.
"Look at it! Tasty and amazing! Yes, such wonderment can be yours with a DeliciousPlice!"
There was a commotion at the end of the aisle. A few people were clustered around a manic looking fellow behind a table who was waving something the hacker couldn't see, so he moved his way towards the small group and pushed his way into view. The hawker saw him and gestured wildly. "Ah, hello sir! Look! Let me demonstrate for the newcomer!"
He opened up a hatch on the boxy, smooth device on the table in front of him, and threw in what looked like a banana and a piece of chocolate. The box rumbled for a few seconds, then something oblong and brown tumbled out of a chute. The salesman picked it up and started peeling it, revealing the interior as chocolate with a banana filling. The crowd clapped politely, and started to pick up their own boxes from the display next to the table, Hiro included. This thing had potential.
Bringing up his purchases to the counter, the clerk tabbed up his order. "Oh, and three packs of Sunshine Slims. Blue box." The cigarettes were retrieved and packaged up with the rest of his goods, and Hiro pulled a credcard out of his pocket. He handed it to the clerk, who swiped it before handing it back. The hacker checked the balance and rolled his eyes. He was gonna need some more scratch soon.
Hefting the tightly wrapped packages over his shoulder in a branded carry bag the store provided, he exited out the glass doors and started heading back down the street. Better to drop these off at home first before he continued his day. Maybe check his classified ad for an answer.
A short while later, he was coming down the hallway of his floor when he saw someone standng by his door. Approaching, he saw it was a girl, dressed rather casually and carrying several suitcases. Oh, dude! She was probably here about the ad! He called out, fishing his key from his pocket as he approached, laden with groceries. "Hey, are you here about the roommate ad?"
RE: Empire State of Mind - Madotsuki - 05-13-2016
Why was it that the things she had an interest in always took forever? There was the factory takeover, and now this. In fact, she had been waiting so long that some Stormtroopers had made their way nearby while on patrol. Thankfully, she managed to flee the place without causing much of a scene. Once she had been sure they had left, she returned, only growing more nervous as time passed.
Madotsuki had just been about to turn tail and search somewhere else when the man in the ad finally arrived, loaded with groceries. She stood up to face him, nodding. The ad never actually showed his face, and now that she could see him more clearly, she had to admit that he was pretty impressive, albeit odd-looking; his hair reminded her of a samurai’s, but she was pretty sure that samurais never wore swirly t-shirts with hearts on them.
She bowed stiffly in greeting. Seeing as the man was trying to juggle retrieving the key and keeping the groceries intact, she walked up to the man and offered him a hand. Considering that the Empire was probably searching for her and the only friends she had here were a group of rebels all the way down in Tier 5, it might’ve been a good idea to make a good first impression.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Hiro Protagonist - 05-14-2016
The girl walked up to him after acknowledging that yes, she was here for the ad. Wordlessly, she extended a helping hand and Hiro looked at her, his eyes still obscured by his goggles. He shook hisbhead, politely refusing as his hand came out of his pocket clutching his key. "Ah, excellent. Thanks, but I got this. Here, lemme show you inside." He unlocked the door and pushed it open with his shoulder, the canvas carry bag bumping against the door frame as he made his into his apartment.
Letting the bag drop onto the kitchen counter with a thump, he started to unload and put away the groceries in cabinets and the fridge. "So, uh, I'm Hiro...your share of the rent would be about 500 creds a month, water and electricity are included. I've got a wireless dataverse connection set up so you can take advantage of that." Peeling off his gloves, he hung them up on a hook near the door, along with his goggles.
Gesturing to the hallway, he said "Your room would be the second door on the right. It's got it's own bathroom. First door on the right is my workspace, if you want a quick tour when I'm done putting these away. Oh, also, I might head in and out at all hours sometimes. I freelance for the EPD. Make yourself at home."
He went back into the kitchen to continue putting away his groceries, taking out a white can and opening it, pausing to take a long slug of the energy drink inside. "Hey, this stuff isn't half bad....if you're hungry or need to buy furniture, I figured we could go shopping? This was just a quick essentials run you caught me on, I was gonna head back out. Oh, and you don't mind if I smoke, right?"
He tapped a teal cigarette out of a brand new box, lighting it and taking a drag of blue smoke. Above him, a little fan turned on at the scent of the smoke and inhaled the plumes he blew into the air, purifying the atmosphere automatically. Apparently this was a standard device in most of the apartments here on Tier 2 and was tied into the fire surpression system.
He went out of the kitchen and continued smoking, watching the strangely quiet Madotsuki pull her suitcases down the hallway to her room.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Madotsuki - 05-14-2016
Madotsuki gave a solemn nod and lugged her suitcase in, watching as Hiro put away the groceries. 500 creds? She wasn't exactly sure how much it was worth here, but she'd need to pony up the cash somehow eventually. It might be a pain traveling between tiers, but carrying packages between them sounded like it was probably her best opportunity to make some quick money. Or maybe she could go do some bounty hunting or something? Not for the Empire's sake, but there must be some criminals out there that only wanted to save their own skin.
As soon as Hiro mentioned he worked for the EPD, every muscle in her body tensed. She was literally rooming with the very organization she opposed! Just her luck, she supposed. But this guy didn't look like those fanatical guards she saw roaming the streets. Maybe this would cover her tracks a bit more effectively-- after all, what criminal in their right mind would live with the police force?
Hiro turned to face her, and she tried her best to look nonchalant. "I'm Madotsuki," she said with a gravelly voice, glancing down the hallway the samurai had indicated. He pulled out a blue stick and asked if she minded if he smoked. The dreamer gave him the go-ahead, and Hiro lit the item up. In a few moments, the entire room smelt like a beach (not the ones with sewage filtering out of it). Who on Earth would mind this?
With another stiff bow, she pulled the suitcase into her room, shutting the door tight and allowing the scent of salt water to filter out of the air. She hopped onto the bed and opened the briefcase, piling things up next to her as she dug through the contents. Inside were a few fresh changes of clothes (all identical to her current outfit), some shampoo, a toothbrush, a few abstract posters and her Mobile Dataverse Device (which had been installed with an encryption key so the Night Terrors could keep in touch).
Speaking of which, she should probably let them know that she found a place to live for now. Setting the other objects aside, she flipped open the MDD. She was about to start texting Madeline, but the thought struck her that Hiro might drop in unannounced and ask what she was doing. She stuck the device back into the briefcase and focused, slowly forming a sign in her hands. Once it was fully opaque, she hung the sign around the doorknob outside her room. It read "KNOCK FIRST" in bold, black lettering. A tiny picture of the monochrome blob she called "Uboa" was on the bottom-right corner, although Madotsuki could've sworn that she hadn't intended for such a decal to appear there.
Satisfied with this precaution, she sat back on the bed, checked to make sure that there were no cameras in the room, then started texting. To anyone who didn't have the encryption key, it would look like she was writing gibberish. She knew full well it was anything but that.
"hey madeline u here?"
"ya"
"i found a place 2 live"
"nice. where?"
"tier 2. living with some guy named hate"
"*hide"
"*hiro"
"y u do this 2 me autocorrect"
"what's he like?"
"idk. kinda cool dude. works with the EPD"
"u mad? u'll get caught so easily"
"maybe. i'll b careful"
"if u say so"
"hey can u do me a favor?"
"wat?"
"if u find some1 looking 4 a guy to do something 4 $ let me know"
"i'll try"
Deleting the history of her little chat, Madotsuki put the MDD back into the suitcase, shut it, then slid it under the bed. Now it was time to redecorate.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Hiro Protagonist - 05-17-2016
Hiro continued putting away his groceries, tossing the few fruits and items that required refrigeration into the large steel cooler. He picked up his can of "Omnilium" energy drink and finished it, appreciating the coconutty flavor with just a hint of raspberry. Wondering who made it, he shook his head. Now that he knew what it was like, he could just summon more. Although summoned food didn't really compare to the real thing. Sure it tasted just as fresh and delicious, but there wss was definitely some sort of vague component missing in food created with Omnilium.
His cigarette was almost halfway burned out, so he took a long drag and exhaled one last cloud of smoke into the hallway, followed by the rest of his energy drink. The hacker wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and unwrapped one of the sugary confections he'd bought. Heading to Madotsuki's door, he noticed the "knock first" sign and shrugged. She must have been unpacking. He left half of the "Tier 7 Scrap Brick" on a hallway table, with a note of his own that said "help yourself". Swallowing the last bite of the crunchy, sugary cake, he walked into his office, leaving the door halfway open to let the stale air mingle with his cigarette smoke.
Data and Body Hacking
As he stepped into the room, his goggles' proximity trip went off, and his workstation began to play the music that he'd left it paused in before he left. Suiting up with goggles and gloves, he started back to work on his website project. Finishing it now would give his new guest time to unpack and unwind, then they could go out shopping or something. Kinda of like a test to see how well they meshed. Hiro has no intention of having a hostile or inconsiderate roommate. The girl seemed polite enough, but they had barely spoken twenty words to each other. The hacker had a suspicion that the girl had barely spoken twenty words in the whole day.
Fingers flying over a virtual keyboard, he manipulated the data that was his lifeblood and finished the assignment, sending it back to his client and hearing the optimistic "ping!" on his finance alert. The guy had paid him. Awesome. It wasn't enough to make rent by itself, but it was definitely good to have some cash flow coming in.
Listening down the hall, he failed to hear any signs of Madotsuki emerging from her room. Probably still working. Hiro figured this would be an excellent chance to get a workout in, and walked over to the far wall of his office. Upon it hung his sword belt and clip, with his high tech katana nestled on it's own hook. There were also a pair of simple wooden handled tānto, with dark stains on the grips. Hiro pulled them down off the wall and held them in a reverse grip, slowly swinging them through the air to get a feel for their weight.
Turning to the sturdy and thick sword block in the corner of his office, Hiro began to practice his knife skills on the protruding wooden arms and legs. The blades slicing and stabbing against the practice dummy made a distinct "POK POK POK" sound, probably loud enough to be heard down the hallway. The hacker ronin continued experimenting with different stances and swipes, working up a sweat with a focused grimace on his face.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Madotsuki - 05-18-2016
In the span of approximately half-an-hour, Madotsuki had summoned all the furniture she needed and arranged it. She wasn’t entirely sure what kind of room she wanted, so she let her mind wander and formed the needed items from within her subconscious. To her mild dissatisfaction, her mind went to the only room she remembered: the room she lived in before she had been brought to the Omniverse.
It’s amazing how some wallpaper and floor paneling could hide the fact that you were effectively living in a giant chrome tube. A neon-colored Aztec rug covered most of the floor alongside a couple throw pillows. A mahogany writing desk was tucked in a corner, with a little cabinet to hold her writing supplies and a blue desk lamp that emitted red light. The only thing that really differentiated this room from her old one was a group of posters she had formed in her spare time. They lined the walls, and a normal person would’ve considered them a little creepy. Among the set was some sort of humanoid bird with a giant beak drawn with red fractals, some type of Aztec-styled monkey with multiple faces superimposed over a psychedelic background, and a pair of hands with eyeballs in their palms grasping towards the sky. The only poster that could’ve been remotely considered “normal” was one of a monochrome blob devouring a castle made out of crystals.
Why exactly did her mind think she’d like this? This room was her prison. Then again, she could come and go as she pleased now. The stigma would always be there, though.
She opened the door and breathed in the scent of salt water… and sugar? Her eyes wandered over to the cake that was waiting on a table in the hallway. She glided over, smiling as she read the note Hiro must’ve left behind. Picking up the cake, she took a bite; her taste buds overwhelmed by the sweetness. If anything could satisfy her sweet tooth, it was this.
She savored the sugary delight for a few moments before some sort of “POK POK POK” noise caught her off-guard. She almost dropped the Tier 7 Scrap Cake, but moved to grab it before it could break on the floor. That sound was coming from the den. Curious, she slinked forward, opening the door enough for her to get a clear look at Hiro fighting the training dummies. She watched in awe, but remained in the doorway, remembering that this was the samurai‘s workspace.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Hiro Protagonist - 05-23-2016
It was a few more minutes of his workout before he planted the tanto in the wooden dumny with a final strike, turning to see Madotsuki watching him shyly from the doorframe.
"Oh, hey! Done decorating? I figured we could go out shopping or something, maybe see what there is to do around here. I've been laid up for a week settling in, and I've been meaning to get out."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked down at his sweat damp T-shirt. "If you give me five minutes, I'll shower and get dressed." He pulled the tanto from the dummy in one movement, then went to the wall and retrieved his katana as well. Stepping out into the hallway past the girl, he went into the room directly across from his office, which was of course his bedroom. Shutting the door behind him, he pulled off the tacky tourist tee he had been wearing and shrugged off his poofy hakama pants. Throwing them into his laundry basket, he strode into his private bathroom and shrugged off his boxers. The lights came on, and he went over to the gleaming glass shower door, opening it and stepping into a torrent of vertically cascading water. The motion sensor was a nice touch, and after a few minutes it dispensed a foamy soap that he lathered his hair and body with.
When he had finished with he shower, he stepped out into his bedroom once more and went to the closet. A pair of boxers were quickly followed by a skinny pair of black jeans, crisp and stiff. Then he withdrew a blue satin business shirt from the hangers and slid that on as well. The piece de resistance was the leather kimono jacket hanging on a dressmaker's dummy, which he slipped onto his shoulders and adjusted every so carefully. The last things to go on were his sword belt, his katana, his tanto, and finally his dataverse goggles and haptic gloves.
The Hiro that had walked into his bedroom had looked almost goofy, just a sweaty exercise man in a stupid t-shirt and puffy, anachronistic pants. The Hiro that walked out almost glided along the floor, sharp boots making a light tap on the wooden boards beneath them, weaponry and tech adorning his figure. He cut quite a sleek outline, and looked like someone that had stepped out of the Dataverse to offer you a grand adventure if you only took this pill.
As if he couldn't get any more cooler, he pulled out a cig and lit it, before looking around for Madotsuki. "If you're ready...I figured we could head out and see the sights. My treat."
RE: Empire State of Mind - Madotsuki - 05-25-2016
Right, if she was going to live here, she’d probably need to get used to the crowds of people; a shopping trip might help her out in that regard (even if she felt the entire trip unnecessary since she could just summon things with Omnilium anyway). Tier 5 had a lot less people wandering about, but she wasn’t there at the moment.
However, she had to be wary of the Stormtroopers that would most likely be wandering around whatever store they went to. Getting taken away by the law enforcement wouldn’t make a good first impression. If push came to shove, though, she’d have to take it like a man… er, woman. Maybe if she was cooperative, they’d let her off easy? It wasn’t like they knew she was the one that attacked the factory, right?
She allowed Hiro to take a shower while she returned to her room. If they were leaving for a little bit, she wanted to make sure her encrypted MDD wasn’t found. She evaporated the device back into Omnilium and ran back into the hallway in time to meet up with Hiro, who was now wearing respectable samurai attire. She followed him up to the door and motioned for him to get going.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Hiro Protagonist - 05-27-2016
Striding out of the apartment, Hiro waited for his new roommate to exit, shutting the door behind her and locking it. Of course, the other tenants in the building couldn't enter without a copy of his own key, but as typical of most Tier 2 Residences, high ranking officers of the EPD could access his quarters with a master key obtained from the building code. Not that this bothered him, the only things he had that might remotely be contraband were on his computer, and he hadn't used any of that software for lawbreaking purposes. Prime EPD allies were apparently allowed a small amount of leeway in their private lives as long as they continued to serve the Empire. All in all, a much better deal than back in his home dimension.
Madotsuki walked ahead silenty and waited by the elevators for him to finish. The ride downstairs took less than a minute, and Hiro caught himself trying to get a better read on the girl. Not in a tactical sense; that struck him as somewhat rude, and it wasn't as if he was facing this girl in combat. Just with his eyes and intuition. She was quiet, probably more so than any other woman he'd known. Young too, but older than his last associate, the tween skater punk who had called herself Y.T. Still, the hacker suspected that Madotsuki had hidden depths that she just chose not to share with the world. She probably got up to all sorts of things in private.
"Good. Day. Mr. Protagonist. And. Guest." The door droid beeped a chipper farewell as they stepped out of the lobby and into the broad plaza in front of his building. A few hovercars were parked on the side of the sleek, paved walkway, one of them with a bright orange ticket on it. Hiro turned and waved his hands in the air, making a few pointing and widening gestures, then a holographic display flashed out of his goggles so that Madotsuki could see.
"So we're here. I tagged a couple locations the other day that looked like fun, but if you have anywhere you'd like to go as well, just say so."
He turned the display off after the girl had a few moments to look at the map, and set off down the street. Strolling leisurely, he kept looking back to make sure he hadn't lost the dreamer, but more often than not she was right beside him, stalking forward in her own curious way. Small plumes of smoke trailed from Hiro's mouth as they strolled down the avenue, the hacker having finished his previous cigarette and lit another one.
There weren't many people out yet, although the streets were definitely occupied. They passed a few small stormtrooper patrols, but none of them took notice except for the last one. The captain gave a curt wave to Hiro, and the hacker was puzzled for a second. His goggles gave him the explanation a moment later, though; it was the same captain who had taken Joon Yi off his hands and brought him back to the patrol station to get patched up. He'd also given him clearance to have his goggles linked with the EPD databases, so ironically he had helped Hiro identify himself just now. Perhaps a second too late the street samurai waved back, but the trooper didn't respond again as he continued leading his patrol. Oh well.
They passed by a placid public park, an ornate fountain making gentle aquatic sounds as a few children ran around it's base, their parents in nearby benches, or smelling the brilliantly cultivated flowers. It was a common scene up here on the higher tiers, and the Empire's surveillance network made it possible to stop any threats to this kind of peace Past the park was a shopping plaza, done up in an eye catching pattern of reflective mosaics, with a store directory mounted next to the sliding door entrance.
Quote:Some Things Never Change
"Ooh, here we go: Drex's Tech and Hardware...Weeryarn's and Sohnohmah....I think that's a kitchen supply store....Upper Style...awesome."
Tech, kitchen stuff, and clothing. Exactly what he was looking for, and he figured Madotsuki might be interested in as well. She -was- going to be living qith him, so it stood to reason she would have her own ideas of what the sparsely furnished apartment needed.
"Ooh, there's an arcade too! Sweet!"
With a quick glance towards his traveling companion, he set off towards the first stop on his list, the hardware store. It was a moderately spacious establishment, and a few displays for all-in-one, futuristic tools and some sort of miracle adhesive ringed the entrance. Further in he could see orderly aisles of power tools, bags of other substances ostensibly used in building, and typical hardware store fare. It took him a couple minutes of browsing to find what he was really looking for.
"Lextech Surround Sound Room Speakers. Hell yes."
Hiro picked up the box and carried it under one arm, looking for the next item on his list. He soon found it among a bright, glossy aisle stuffed with all sorts of circuitry and gizmos. Flagging down a sales clerk, the man unlocked the glass case and pulled out a few of the items Hiro has pointed to. Most were computer parts, but one of them was something a little more advanced. He had been contacted by someone looking for information, and this item he was buying could prove useful in the procurement and deployment of said information. It was cheap, too, so Hiro didn't feel like he was wasting money on it.
Taking his purchases to the counter, he swiped his credcard neatly, and selected the option for purchase delivery, putting in his address and apartment number. Then, exiting the store, he realized he'd lost Madotsuki. Scanning the area around the store exit, he waited for his goggles to give him a match or not.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Marcus Wright - 05-27-2016
After eyeing a brief computer terminal nearby on tier one, Marcus finished typing his message and pulled the buttoned green trenchcoat up on his shoulders that held the “Human Resistance” logo on it. At this point, should he even think of calling himself that? Of course he would. Blair, Kyle and Star wouldn’t see him any other way.
The long trenchcoat hid a gun he had summoned earlier. He narrowed his eyes at the multitude of cameras this place seemed to hide. It was a scary feeling. So not only was a twisted virus thinking of following him, now technological camera followed his every move.
He’d have to be extra careful here around these white, plastic armored soldiers of this world.
He’d love to have some company around here, it was… too quiet.. Yet creepily occupied. The wind seemed to pick up and blew his coat in an equally dramatic fashion.
He walked past several of the higher end restaurants he didn’t care about or even want to eat at because cyborg terminators didn’t have to eat, feel pity OR pain.. Well in this case.. But nobody needed to know that.
The mere presence of stormtroopers around Tier 1 creeped him out. They flew above his head, they walked past him in squads… they even occasionally eyed him every so often.
A stormtrooper dropped his communication device on the ground as he moved along the glass-like highway.
But Marcus eyed the communications device and it made a speaker voice flashing in and out, trying to get someone’s attention..
“SR-321, Can you read me? Psh… what.. Speak up.. I’m.. losin’ you..
The voice is heard crackling and the familiar voice of a “loving voice”.
Skynet always went for it’s pawns in the softest, friendliest voice possible just to remind them of their place.
“Marcus…
Pshh.. Can you hear.-- Hello.. Marcus..
The com kept trying to switch channels between the twisted Skynet and SR-321.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Madotsuki - 05-29-2016
Madotsuki followed suit, piling into the elevator with Hiro as they started heading downwards. For most of the ride, she contented herself with staring at the glass doors and watching as her surroundings moved upwards and out of sight. Occasionally, she'd glance at the samurai himself, but he was staring back at her whenever she did so-- not like a boring-into-your-soul kind of look, but it was still a little unnerving.
The elevator stopped and the two walked out of the building, the robot greeter bidding them farewell as they left. The dreamer struggled not to chuckle when the robot called Hiro "Protagonist," because what kind of a name was that? Then again, she didn't really have any room to mock that; Madotsuki wasn't a legitimate name either. Not that she was sure it was her real name, but it was her name now.
Shortly after they left the building, the hacker suddenly began waving his hands in the air like he was trying to swat an invisible fly. A few moments later, some sort of floating map shot out from his goggles. With wide eyes, she moved her hand to touch it, only for it to pass through. Hiro mentioned that he tagged a few places, but the one that struck out to her the most was a car repair shop advertising the upcoming duo-team F-Zero race. Why did such a thing strike her fancy? She didn't even know what an F-Zero was! Maybe it was just her curiosity.
Now that she had been given the chance to get a good look around Tier 2 by the samurai's side, she couldn't deny the beauty that this place held; it was definitely better than the trash heap that was Tier 5. Heck, the Night Terrors's base didn't even have air conditioning. She watched the groups of people that were passing by, and she couldn't help but feel a little pity for them. They didn't know how oppressive this place was. Or maybe they didn't care.
Madotsuki's anger would've stirred upon that thought, but the next area she passed through contained several groups of Stormtroopers. It wasn't really surprising at this point, but there were so many! But they hadn't noticed them yet. If she acted inconspicuously, maybe she'd get by undetected? She kept her gaze forward, trying not to glance at the troops.
Just as she thought that the coast was clear, one of the officers turned... and waved? She momentarily froze up, but relaxed as Hiro waved back. The Stormtrooper continued on his way, leaving the dreamer confused until she remembered that Hiro worked with the EPD. Hopefully sticking with him would net her a "get out of jail free" card or something like that.
They finally arrived at the plaza with all the shops. Hiro began listing off shop names, including an arcade (whatever that was), but she eventually tuned off. She had no clue what these shops were, so she more or less stayed close to her roommate and followed him into some sort of hardware store.
The majority of the wares lining the shelves failed to catch her interest... except for one particular item off to the side, which was emitting a red glow. Curious, she broke away from the samurai to get a better look.
Bad mistake.
When she got closer, she saw that it was some type of lamp with goo floating around inside it. The tag said that it was a "lava lamp," and the dreamer watched the hypnotic movements for a few moments before backing up...
...and turning to greet a pair of Stormtroopers. An awkward second passed before Madotsuki waved with a fake smile on her face, hoping that the two didn't recognize her and would move on.
Due to the helmets, Mado couldn't tell which one was speaking. "You're lucky that the people in that traffic accident you caused decided not to press charges."
Okay, that didn't work.
"Again, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. We're going to put your information into a database and you'll be free to go."
The idea of having all your info free for the government to examine wasn't an ideal one, but it was better than what she thought they were going to do the first time they crossed paths. And if it would get the guards off her tail, then she was all for it.
She offered a hand to one of the Stormtroopers. He stood there for a moment, probably surprised by her willingness to go, then accepted it and was escorted out of the store. Hiro had been waiting outside the door, and Madotsuki wasn't sure whether to be relieved or embarrassed. It seemed like making a good first impression was not among her set of skills
RE: Empire State of Mind - Hiro Protagonist - 05-29-2016
Hiro had been scanning the crowd for a minute or two when he saw a pair of troopers exit, with Madotsuki in tow. Oh my. He came out of open scan mode and pulled his goggles up onto his head. "Officers, hello. You appear to have my roommate there. She didn't do anything, did she?" He shot a quick glance at Madotsuki that would would be hard to read- maybe a mix of exasperation and dawning concern.
"She's unregistered, Mr Protagonist. She caused an accident upon her entry and managed to slip away before we could get a reading on her."
The hacker turned to the dreamer and waggled his finger. "Oh man. Girl, you do not want to mess with the registration unit. You're just lucky I happen to know Overseer Jentral."
He turned again to the stormtroopers and gave a friendly shrug. "I'm authorized, so if you guys are willing to cut the kid a break, I'll register her myself. All the info, no shortcuts, alright?"
The two troopers seemed to consider it for a minute, and Hiro heard the subsonic whine of their helmet communications come through on his scanner. After a moment, one of them nodded and released Madotsuki's hand. "Jentral says hello, sir. And also to not stick your neck out for unregistered Primes next time. Have a good day; and we'll expect her pertinent information to be on the EPD servers by evening. Roger?"
The street samurai nodded and gestured to the kid as they walked away. Once they got far enough away from the troopers, he pulled his goggles on again and looked at her, the mirrored lenses reflected her own defiant face. "Listen, M. You can't be walking around Coruscant as an unregistered Prime. That is a really easy way to get tagged by the troopers and thrown out, or thrown in jail. Too many Primes just come in here and start causing trouble." He breathed a sigh and resumed walking. "I'm not trying to be an asshole. But you seem like you might be from a world that's a bit more hospitable than mine. I know how bad things can get. So, if you've got any other little secrets, like say you've got a bounty in the Dunes or something, just let me know. I covered for you this time, but if you wanna stay here, you gotta play by their rules."
He lifted his goggles again and headed towards an escalator. Looking back brightly, he called back to Madotsuki. "Hey, let's put this behind us. Ever been to an arcade? Let's go blow some games up." Leading her through the mall, he patted his pockets for his credcard and fished it out. Eventually, they reached the mall's arcade, a bleeping, blooping expanse of flashing colors, lights, and excited noise that was helpfully labeled as "Blitz N' Chips".
The hacker swiped his credcard at a change terminal and was rewarded with a handful of shiny golden tokens. He handed about half the pile to the pink sweatered girl and swept his arms out dramatically. "I can't tell you how many hours I burned at places like these. You ever played real arcade games before, M? Let's go give a few of them a whirl!" They spent a while searching for a machine, especially since Madotsuki looked quite confused and overwhelmed, like she'd never been in an arcade before.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Marcus Wright - 05-29-2016
The thickening sense of Stormtroopers moving their way around the area seemed to bother Marcus, for everywhere he was going he was being watched… Not that sense of paranoia anyways.. Just the fact that there was some truth about the city from looking around.
In a sense, perhaps it was better than having no buildings whatsoever. The lingering smell of people’s sweat dropping onto him was not pleasant by any means, but it did annoy the ex-killer.
One trap to another trap, just without the threat of annoying terminators everywhere.
He looked up and eyed traffic and some sort of taxi-cab waved to the man in question.
“Where ya goin, stranger?”
You sure don’t look like from around here, then again I’ve seen almost everyone around here.
A strange far futuristic vehicle meant for a quick ride in and out.
“None of your business..”
The taxi driver laughed “Of course it’s my business, pal… You’re paying me to drive you somewhere.. You must be one of those primes people’ been yapping about around here… You best be careful.. There’s always danger included for being a prime around here you know… Not everyone likes you guys and what you can do.
While Marcus sat in the back, he struck up a conversation “I haven’t really found out what being a prime is like yet… except walking a long, LONG time.”
Sooner than later, they were at the elevator to Tier 2. The taxi driver named “Rusty” who was almost put into question if he was a terminator with a name like that, Marcus ignored the man and threw him some summoned om.
Rusty drove away leaving Marcus on his own at the elevators.
Marcus walked in and got on the elevator as the doors on the inside looked extremely nice for a elevator that took him down to who knows what.
After some quick waiting, the elevator stopped the annoying music and the door opened to Tier 2. He walked out and took in the scenery. The sky wasn’t real here, but if you looked closer, you could still see the area was quite nice but not as fancy as Tier 1.
There were rumors about being unregistered in Coruscant.
Marcus was lucky to not get the attention of one stormtrooper..yet
“Hey… Pal..!
“….”
The quiet man eyed the white guard as they approached Marcus “Did you register with us..? Hey… wait.. Aren’t you that new prime from the Nexus? I heard of you from the men in the nexus…
“Yeah, i registered a while ago…”
They checked their databases and a profile of the man showed up…
“Great, you’re free to go..”
Marcus’s eyes narrowed as he turned, his coat floating behind him.
As he walked by a shopping center, he shrugged and walked in. He figured it was better to pick up supplies here until he could find something better.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Madotsuki - 05-30-2016
Madotsuki recoiled when Hiro shot her that look. It wasn't that she knew what he was feeling about the whole situation, but it was actually quite the opposite. Was it concern? Annoyance? Either way, it was apparent that the samurai wasn't pleased. She glanced away, too embarrassed to look Hiro in the eyes.
But it seemed like this guy had her best intentions at heart; she watched as the Stormtroopers marched off, taking a moment to gather her nerves before turning back to the hacker. "...Sorry," she mumbled. "They startled me when I first came here, so I fled." It was debatable whether she had shared too little information, but it was probably for the best that the law-abiding Prime didn't know that they had encountered her in an alleyway, or why she had been creeping about such areas in the first place.
"But I promise not to cause trouble." She had her fingers metaphorically crossed behind her back, but what else could she say? The moment they stood against each other as foes would come one day, but she wouldn't let it be today.
She followed Hiro into the arcade, and immediately, her sights were overwhelmed with color. Even a world of neon was far brighter in the waking world. The samurai motioned for her to explore and shoved some coins in her hand. Considering the last time they separated, she wasn't so enthused. However, a familiar face caught her attention; she swiveled around to find Rush, of all people, replacing tickets at a nearby western-themed shooting gallery. His outfit was just as garish as the rest of the place, but a friend was a friend.
She made sure Hiro wasn't around, then strode towards her partner in crime. It took him a moment, but he realized that a fellow Night Terror was trying to greet him. He waved, but the look on his face was saying that now was a bad time. There were probably cameras all over the place.
Fingering the coins in her hand, she set off to test some of the machines
RE: Empire State of Mind - Marcus Wright - 06-03-2016
The shopping center, more like a mall. Marcus was just standing around mostly gasping at the scene around him considering that nothing like this was even still around by the time Judgement day rolled around.
So naturally a sense of amazement rushed among his face. After finishing staring at random things, Marcus finally walked through every store among the area, showcasing various clothing available for cash. Why buy something when you were a prime of all folks? Not exactly the best place to be standing showing off a prime’s ability anyways.
Once some clothes caught the man turned machine’s eyes, he inwardly focused on what the clothing would look like and made his way toward the arcade where he thought it was going to be very quiet in there. He found the random dance simulation machine as it blasted out music at him and quickly summoned a new shirt to fit in at least. It was a plain bluish like shirt. Once he was sure nobody was looking, he quickly slid into the arcade like area and then his coat was back on. It was very strange since the weather wasn’t that bad but the trenchcoat was important.
It’s almost when he found a strange Terminator Salvation arcade game in the back is when he jumped. He stood near the gun and watched the game introduce itself as the man vs machine war against Skynet, and he crossed his arms watching it.
He summoned up some tokens and moved them around in his hand as he slipped them into the game machine. “So this is the real life version of the man vs machine war.. He listened in as John Connor’s voice started to do a talk over what was happening and everything seemed so familiar… It actually almost made him frustrated as the fake gun had no actual impact on the terminator staring back at him on top except bullets on the screen.
But the weird part happened pretty quick as the game quickly took a turn for the worst, John Connor and his men were fighting against the machines in the game and Skynet’s menacing creations were somehow getting closer and he found himself yelling at the game for the men and woman to shoot the damn terminators.
But a message not in the programming popped up and it said real fast “Machines win, Marcus... you cannot escape from Skynet…”
Not only did this machine have problems, it hopped to a few other machines making them strangly buggy.
RE: Empire State of Mind - Hiro Protagonist - 06-03-2016
Hiro dodged to the side, narrowly escaping a vicious robotic claw. He raised his laser pistol and shot it square in the forehead, the mechanical monstrosity going down in a crumpled heap of scrap metal. Two more came at him, and he juked sideways, filling the air with flashing energy and laser blasts. "Yeah! Bring it, you sons of bitches!"
As if on cue, the robots regrouped and most definitely brought it. Firing indiscriminately, Hiro managed to blast huge holes in multiple mechanical attackers, his guns blazing and giving off clouds of ash and smoke. Then suddenly a claw tore through his abdomen, gripping his spine and pulling it out of his body, the victorious robot holding his vertebrae over it's head.
YOU LOSE! GAME OVER!
"Aww, damnit!" Hiro shook the joysticks of the game dejectedly, and searched his pockets for more tokens. A few left, but he wasn't about to waste any more on this machine. Those damn robots had gotten harder to beat as the levels went on, and he's already burned at least five of the shiny gold coins on this one machine. He turned away and headed towards another game, what looked like some sort of fighter. Inserting one more of his tokens in the machine, he nudged the joystick over and selected someone named "Mitsurugi", a bushido looking samurai character. He waited through a couple more loading screens, before clenching his fingers around the joystick, and hovering his other hand over the buttons.
The round started and both fighters made their cutscene intros. Hiro's first opponent was some technicolor haired girl wielding a large metal disc. As he gained control of his character, he executed a series of sword combos that the game rated as "EXCELLENT". Down to her last sliver of health, Hiro looked up at the top of the machine and input his character's finisher sequence, which resulted in the samurai decapitating the beaten fighter. "Hah. Nice."
Suddenly, the screen flickered and froze, the game apparently glitching. Hiro watched with morbid amazement as a pixelated form wandered onto the screen and grabbed his frozen samurai, tearing out his avatar's spine in an eerily familiar motion. It raised the spine above it's head and letters flashed on the screen.
GMAE OVER OVER OVER OVER. ERVY1 LOSE.
It was that goddamn robot from the last game. Multiple copies of it spawned on the screen, each more pixellated and blurry than the last. The words kept repeating themselves until they filled up the screen, and Hiro could see that other machines near him were experiencing the same error. In fact, there was a man a couple rows over smacking one of the consoles and growling. Hiro left his game hurriedly and approached through the rows of arcade machines, everal other patrons discomforted and upset, going towards the manager's booth to complain.
The man was standing in front of a "Terminator: Salvation" game, wearing a trenchcoat and glaring at the machine, which seemed to be experiencing it's own problems. Hiro could hear him muttering under his breath, " 's not over, you bastard...I will destroy you." The hacker stood there for a few seconds looking over the man's appearance and the arcade game, before noticing that there was a picture of the man standing in front of him on the side of the console. Woah. Trippy.
Mr. Protagonist put two and two together and raised a hand, waving at Marcus. "Hey, uh...so...since you're on the game, but also here....I'm gonna guess you're the guy I'm getting some info for, right? What's your beef with the game? Does it actually have some part of the virus in it?" Hiro looked at the game's screen, which was glitching out like crazy. The trenchcoated man nodded and pointed at the Terminator mockup grinning down from the top of the machine. "Those things are a bitch to kill...how the hell is this a game? This was my life!"
The hacker shrugged and bent down behind the game, pulling the special purchase he'd made earlier out of his pocket. A stable data stick, perfect for storing any malicious code for transport until he could get it back to his "lab". Popping a panel off the back of the machine, he searched for a suitable port with which to copy the game's software and possibly the virus residing in it. Marcus continued to glower at the plastic and wood contraption, clenching his fists. This was so goddamn weird.
After a couple minutes, Hiro stood up and put the now full datastick back in his pocket. "So....buddy. Uh. Yeah, i'm gonna analyze this and get what info I can back to you. Although it might be a bit. There's something going on about the "Danteverse" and I'm being sent to check it out, so....yeah. Anyways, have fun with...whatever this is." He shrugged and turned tail, leaving to try and find Madotsuki once more. He'd gotten a private vidmessage on his goggles while he had been waiting for the game's code to copy, and it involved what Hiro would ostensibly call his "commanding officer". The woman had a small measure of authority over him, on the grounds that she could censure his actions and report him to higher-ups, but Hiro wasn't formally involved in the militarily organized EPD command structure. Commander Kinya Caasjuun was more like a handler than anything else....
RE: Empire State of Mind - Marcus Wright - 06-04-2016
Marcus looked at the blue fake gun and grumbled “Useless piece of shit… “
He stared at the game and blinked, the terminator face still grinning at him with creepy red eyes and yet here he was staring back.
Marcus had his fists clenched and looked at the man and nodded “ Yeah… I’m the man you’re looking for.”
Marcus’s anger would have to come last as suddenly several other arcade games became glitchy. “Have fun with Skynet? Are you NUTS?!”
This only angered the man far more than it should've but he bit his tongue and turned at the man named Hiro “Wait, what’s this “Danteverse” about? I’m heading that way too… Be careful out there… and hopefully we meet as friends not enemies.
The Ex-killer closed his eyes and shook his head and looked back at the arcade, thinking “If anything… It must be Skynet doing this shit… Dumbass virus follows me around everywhere since John Connor isn’t here…”
He eyed Hiro one more time and said “Look, This virus is dangerous, something called Skynet… it messed around with me and the others one too much. “
Here. *hands Hiro a broken piece of the Skynet chip that was stepped on to study. "I know it’s not much, but it’s something to start with."
RE: Empire State of Mind - Madotsuki - 06-04-2016
Madotsuki briefly took note of an older man whom really didn't seem like the kind of guy to be here. His tattered trenchcoat looked as if he made his way up from Tier 7, although what he was doing in an arcade, the dreamer had no idea. It wasn't the man himself that had caught her interest, however-- it was the fact that the machine he was playing, "Terminator: Salvation," had a picture of him on the side. The situation was so surreal that she pinched her cheek to see if she was dreaming; playing a game starring yourself sounded like a thing she'd do while wandering the dreamscape. However, when she tested it, she was fully awake.
Still a little confused as to what she just witnessed, she left the man behind and began searching for a game to play. It didn't take long before she found a suitable machine: some sort of dancing game with a pad decorated with arrows that could accommodate two players. It was titled "Project Diva EX," and a familiar face smiled at her from the top of the cabinet, her face framed with teal hair. Apparently that robot she saw at the Song and Dance was much more popular than starring in a shoddy Tier 5 club implied.
Shrugging, she inserted a token just as another kid joined her and inserted his. He waved at her, and Madotsuki waved back before turning to the game again. It asked for the two players to select their characters and displayed about 10 of them. Madotsuki wasn't sure how to select the characters at first, since there wasn't any typical controller, but she eventually realized that the dance pad was her controller. The cast were all interesting in their own way, but the Night Terror settled on picking a girl with red pigtails in the shape of drills named "Kasane Teto." The boy chose the girl with the teal hair, which taught the dreamer that her name was "Hatsune Miku."
After selecting a random song, the game began. The idea of the game was to copy the arrows that fell down the screen by moving your feet to the area of the mat that they indicated. While the idea seemed a bit awkward in Madotsuki's eyes, she actually found it quite appealing. The song that was chosen was something about a princess in a kingdom of yellow, although the dreamer was too busy trying to keep up with her opponent to pay any real attention to the lyrics.
The song ended, and as she took the moment to wipe the sweat off her face and catch her breath, she saw that the boy had beaten her by several thousand points. He gave her a warm smile and grabbed the tickets that started feeding out of the machine. Stuffing the reward away in his pockets, he held another token to the insert slot. "Want another try?"
But before she could answer, the screen glitched out. The two watched in confusion as a figure slowly started to form from the static; it was Miku, but at the same time, it wasn't. Her lower jaw was replaced with the mandibles of a spider, her eyes glowed a vibrant red and several parts of her body were ripped away to reveal the robotic endoskeleton inside her. The voice of Miku crackled from the machine in Japanese, and panic started to blossom inside her chest as she realized what the malformed dancer was saying:
"Skynet takes no prisoners."
Madotsuki glanced at the boy beside her. Tears rimmed his eyes and his body was stock still. Slowly, he turned his head towards his dancing partner. "W-what's going on?" he squeaked, starting to step away from the machine. A quick look at the screen, and the dreamer saw that Miku was now flanked by two more robots, much like the ones painted on the side of the Terminator game she saw earlier. Miku spoke once more.
"You cannot run from Skynet. You cannot escape. Submit to the eternal rest."
The screen broke into static again as Miku's distorted laughter raked the air. It didn't sound like it was originating from any one place, but rather, it emenated from every single machine in the building. Upon hearing this, the boy finally broke and ran off, screaming at the top of his lungs. Glancing around her, Madotsuki noticed that the majority of the crowd was following his lead. She could barely hear Rush crying out that he was SO going to get fired for this.
It wasn't that the dreamer was terrified of the whole situation (after all, she had seen things far more disturbing than this), but there was the fact that other people might be getting hurt later. Those machines meant business, and they were going to play the system until it broke like putty in their cold, metallic claws. No, she needed to stop this... or at least figure out what was going on. Considering that the robots resembled the ones from the Terminator game, that may give her a clue.
Hiro apparently had the same idea-- when Madotsuki arrived at her destination, she caught a glimpse of him sharing a conversation with the man she saw earlier. The guy in the trenchcoat slipped the samurai some sort of deformed square and ran off. Hiro pocketed the chip and started glancing around. The Night Terror waved her hands to get the hacker's attention amongst the chaotic din. It worked. Hiro made his way over to her and grabbed her firmly by the hand.
"We need to go," he said, a grim look in his eyes. With a pace akin to running, he led her outside of the arcade, leaving behind the flashing lights and panicked screams.