What Is the City But the People

[Athena Myaló]

It was a moment of perfect silence. It really is just like a white hole, Athena thought. The familiar feeling gave her a slight measure of comfort before she felt herself being dragged forward and out the other side. Almost instantly, she found herself standing on a metal platform in Coruscant.

The storm trooper was waiting for her as she exited the portal. However, she hardly noticed, as she was immediately overwhelmed by noise. Buzzing, whooshing, zooming vehicles surrounded her, passing through her field of perception faster than she could count them. There were hardly any voices - it seemed everyone was too busy moving to stop and talk. Buildings of metal and glass in all shapes and sizes surrounded her, filled with people that varied just as much. Those that passed by had strikingly different characteristics - there were aliens with green skin and tentacles, burly humans as well as tiny children, and was that a giant mouse that just passed by on a hovering motorcycle? She froze as the drastic change from the calm and silence of the Nexus temporarily overwhelmed her. Then she came back to her senses as she adjusted and blocked out the background noise.

"Miss?" The storm trooper beckoned down what seemed to be the main highway of the town. Athena, along with the six soldiers, proceeded on foot through the bustling crowds. Athena supposed she could summon a vehicle, but without being able to sense farther than 20 meters, the idea made her nervous. Besides, she would have to build one big enough for seven people, which would have been too much of a bother. As they began walking, the man began pointing out important buildings along the street - the government buildings, the popular restaurants (Athena didn't really need to eat, but learning what types of food were available interested her), and such. On the way, a thought occurred to Athena and she turned to the storm trooper leader.

"How many Primes have been banished, that you can remember?" The soldier tilted his head up slightly as he thought.

"Well, it happens occasionally. There have been quite a few. It's one of the most effective ways of disposing of criminals, if you have the right equipment. The most publicized, though, would probably be Violet, by Victor Wolfe on Dante's Abyss."

"Abyss?" Athena echoed quizzically. The storm trooper nodded.

"It was a huge event hosted and televised recently all over the worlds. Sort of a survival competition for Primes. The banishment was one of the most interesting scenes - that Victor fellow betrayed the sorceress and injected her with banishment fluid. It was quite the turn of events. You can read the whole record of the games in the library, if you wish."

"Library?" Athena echoed again, eyebrows suddenly raised in interest.

"Well, yes. It's just to our right currently, actually. We're passing it. It is the biggest center of learning in all the Omniverse." He looked up proudly at the tall spires of the edifice. "The whole establishment is run by Rex Libris, the -" He looked down to his side again, and the Prime was no longer there. The last he saw of her was the tip of a brown cloak disappearing through the library doors.

[Athena Myaló]

A library. Thank goodness. Athena stepped through the great glass doors into a bustling community center, full of people meeting and speaking to one another. This was a popular library, apparently, which only affirmed the storm trooper's claims of its greatness. She avoided the crowds and desks scattered around the first floor and began heading towards the elevator, when she stopped abruptly. Oh no. The last time she had been in a library, she had still possessed eyesight. She couldn't read...

With a sigh, Athena turned back and headed for the front desk, mind churning. There had to be a way to access the information in the books without actually seeing it. But, as nothing immediately presented itself to her mind (she felt that she had little Omnilium left, and doubted it would be enough to create a "seeing device" that she had never encountered in reality), she was forced to... ask for help. She bit her lip and approached the front desk, which was attended by a woman in uniform with a small earpiece. The employee looked up from her computer (which she had been busily typing on and maneuvering tabs) as Athena reached the desk.

Okay, Athena, act like you know exactly what you're doing. Her fingers tingled slightly with nervousness as she noticed the woman peering at her blindfold.

"How can I help you, miss?" asked the attendant.

"Well, I can't see..." Athena began. The other woman didn't seem to catch on, which surprised her. Wouldn't it be obvious that she needed an alternative to reading? "...so I need some way to access the information in the books without sight."

The woman at the desk cocked an eyebrow. "You need something that isn't in the Dataverse?" Again, oh no. Athena felt her face reddening a little automatically.

"What's that?" Athena said softly, almost visibly shrinking.

The attendant grinned, which annoyed her greatly, and said in a rather patronizing tone, "Are you new here?"

Athena nodded tersely, her fear mostly replaced by indignation. The woman at the desk proceeded to explain the Dataverse: how it held all virtual information and could be used from outside or entered directly. Athena had never heard of such a system, but it was awfully convenient. The idea of actually entering a physically nonexistent world was especially unusual, but Athena resolved to try it. Such a thing would be helpful to have access to.

"The interface stations are mostly on the eighth floor. The elevator is in the very back of the library. Do you need someone to guide you there?" offered the attendant. Athena didn't much care for her tone of voice during that last part.

"No, I think I can manage," she responded flatly (but mostly without conveying her vexation), and turned away to find the elevator. It's wasn't hard - she could feel the vertical movement inside the metal column, and it was in the very center of the building's rear wall. Once the door opened and she entered, she sensed which button was eighth from the bottom and pressed it. Soon, she was on the eighth floor and in front of a Dataverse entrance station. Now all she had to do was figure out how to enter it.

She carefully reached out to the edge of her senses, where a human was approaching a machine. She copied his movements and soon felt a humming in her mind as she was transferred into the Dataverse.

Athena gasped as light and colors appeared before her. It took her a few moments to realize that since this was virtual reality, it was hooked up directly to her brain - all this was illusory. It was pleasant to "see" just the same, though. She found herself at the entrance of the library known as the Databanks. It wasn't too dissimilar from the one she was physically in, but here she would find all she needed to know in an accessible format. It was perfect.

Now she simply had to find what she wanted to read.

[Kopaka]

Kopaka was enjoying Coruscant, though no one would be able to tell by the staunch, unwavering glare that his mask held.

Everything was extremely logical and well planned-out, and though Kopaka could not at first read the local language, it quickly became apparent that the individual symbols were a direct cipher to the Matoran alphabet. The Toa of Ice had wandered through the streets for a time, taking in the sights and trying to get a feel for the local culture. Everyone in this city, whether they were biological or mechanical, seemed to be extremely well cultured and polite. The armored biologicals, a group of warriors he had come to know as 'stormtroopers', we generally very helpful when asked, but Kopaka couldn't help but feel as though his movements were being carefully watched.

He could not blame these people entirely; Kopaka was a mighty warrior in their homeland. Hopefully, in time, he would have an opportunity to prove his integrity and sense of duty to the people of Coruscant, but at the current moment it was more prudent to seek out a repository of information as he had originally intended.

In Coruscant, there existed a series of mass transit vehicles that could take the Toa to wherever he needed to go, and even though he was generally considerably taller than the usual inhabitant of this verse, the busses seemed to be designed to accommodate this sort of extra bulk. In due time, Kopaka had navigated to the steps of what was called the 'Coruscant Library'. Kopaka did not recognize the word 'library' in and of itself, but based on what he had been told, it was a repository of information all the same.

The building was vast and ornate, and the Toa of Ice was glad to see that these people valued their information so greatly. Upon entering the building, he looked around at the large banks of information, and was eager to start learning as much as he could about this new universe. As he looked around, however, he noticed that there was a small museum dedicated to the pursuit of information and knowledge. Being that he was in no particular hurry, Kopaka strode into the exhibit and began to peruse the samplings of local culture. Most of the artifacts were of passing interest, but ultimately did not hold the Toa's attention for long. As he reached the end of the hall, however, he spotted something very interesting indeed. Ensconced in a large glass case, set upon a large artificial head, was a Kanohi Rau, the Noble Mask of Translation. It would make sense that such an artifact of power would be contained within a place of knowledge and understanding, but the fact that there was even a Kanohi mask at all within this Omniverse was enough to jar Kopaka from his otherwise placated mindset.

The Toa immediately sought out an employee of the library, a small looking biological who wore a strange mask that was mostly transparent and only lay across her nose and eyes.

"That exhibit...where did you find it?" Kopaka asked, pointing towards the Rau. The librarian looked over at the mask and shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know. Some archeologists dug it up somewhere from the Vasty Deep and brought it here. It's quite remarkable...anyone who looks through the eyes of that mask can read any language at all!" the librarian said, as if this was somehow surprising. Kopaka was not amused.

"I know." he said flatly, walking back towards the mask. The idea of thievery did not even cross the Toa's mind, but there was something...something from within his dreams...that told him that he needed to obtain that mask. He turned back towards the librarian, his face, as always, betraying no expression.

"I require that mask. Is there a way I can compensate you for it?" Kopaka asked, his tone now cold. The librarian adopted a distressed look on her face.

"Oh, well, sir...none of our exhibits are for sale, I'm afraid. This isn't really something I could discuss either; you would have to take it up with our head librarian..." she said in a small voice. Kopaka nodded and wordlessly departed the exhibit hall, following the signs to where the head librarian kept his quarters. There was a strange barrier that blocked Kopaka's path, but after a few attempts, the Toa managed to figure out how the door worked and it slid open. An aged man looked up with a suspicious glance from his studies.

"Can I...help you?" he asked in a droll tone.

"I require the mask of translation held in your library. How might I acquire it?" Kopaka asked in a flat tone. The head librarian seemed taken aback by the Toa's forwardness, but Kopaka's business-like demeanor seemed to intrigue the man.

"You...are familiar with the mask?" he asked, standing up and approaching Kopaka. The Toa was a good three feet taller than the shriveled biological, but the man stood, unabashed, inches from Kopaka's frigid body.

"I am. I suppose...it was pulled from my universe, much in the same way I was." Kopaka said flatly.

"Astounding! Marvelous! Ah...but...yes, I see why you would want it then. Hrm..." the old man said, scratching his stubbled chin. Kopaka waited patiently for him to work out his thoughts, which took almost a solid ten minutes.

"Alright, well...I'm afraid that the mask-"

"Kanohi Rau, for your records." Kopaka interrupted. The librarian raised a bemused eyebrow.

"...the Kanohi Rau is Empire property but...it is within my power to lend it to other scientists for their own research...I tell you what, you perform a small service for the Library and I will see that you are able to borrow the mask for as long as you need it." the librarian said. Kopaka nodded. The deal was acceptable.

"Very good! Well then, the Imperial Databanks have been having a problem with rogue code, as of late. Sentient packets of data that seem to have infiltrated our records and...I don't know...decided to live there. We have devices that allow someone to mentally enter this digital world and dispatch of such nuisances in a pseudo-physical matter. Chase out or destroy this virus infestation, and I will get the paperwork started." the librarian said.

"As is your will, Turaga." Kopaka said, bowing slightly. The librarian was taken aback slightly by such a reverential show of respect, but seemed to accept it all the same. He would have to be sure to pick this prime's brain at a later date; the Empire was always looking for comprehensive information on new universes that were added to the Omniverse.

The Toa made his way to the eighth floor, as he had been directed, and squeezed his way into an uplink booth. There was currently only one other person on this floor; a strange looking biological who had wrapped a cloth around her eyes. Odd, but ultimately inconsequential. Without any further hesitation, Kopaka activated the device and felt his mind pulled from his processor.

...

The Dataverse was a very beautiful place. It was like being inside of the Great Spirit's mind, only with much less profound rumination pervading the digital landscape. Kopaka looked around for a while, navigating the seemingly endless rows of and shelves of data packets. It seemed as though, despite its digital nature, his Kanohi Akaku still functioned...but even with the ability to see great distances and see through objects, Kopaka could find no other being residing within this corner of the databanks...

...save for Athena. After some time, Kopaka happened upon the girl reading a very complex looking archive file. She was so absorbed by the virtual tome that she didn't even notice the towering biomech approaching. Never one to bother with needless social graces, Kopaka spoke directly.

"Have you seen any signs of an infestation within these halls?" he asked, peering down at the comparatively small woman.

[Athena Myaló]

Athena was in her element. The rows upon rows of tall shelves that may have confused the casual visitor presented little challenge to Athena's organization-oriented mind, and she had almost an intuitive sense of where to find the information she required. Her first step had been to gather every source she could find concerning the being "Omni," and after a couple of hours (to her sense, anyway - she was unsure how the flow of time may have changed upon her entrance here), she knew just as much about him (it?) as any other Prime in the dimension.

That was a startlingly little amount of knowledge. No one - Prime or Secondary - had ever encountered Omni out of the context of introducing Primes to the Omniverse, and he was fabled to reside in an idyllic "Oververse," which no one had ever found. Well, that's helpful. He had also allegedly created the Omniverse and everything in it (aside from the Primes' creations, of course), although Athena had to wonder why this was common knowledge if he had never directly told anyone. Perhaps he had written some of this information himself without anyone noticing - she had no doubt in his ability to accomplish such a task if he so chose, if he could pull creatures from every reality.

Speaking of which, this world was becoming more and more puzzling to her the more she was educated about it. Many of the other Primes she read about could have come from her dimension or her clone's (although few from her same corner of the universe), but some others didn't make any sense to her. How could someone other than a God-Soul such as herself just point at something and make it explode, or make time itself stop, or heal others without the use of science? And there were only six God-Souls, of which she was the only one here. These "wizards" and strange monsters, and what they brought with them from their homes, simply were not compatible with any of her preconceived notions. What was especially strange to her was that here, she and the Souls were not supreme or outstanding or even unusual in their existence. There were numerous other immortals, even those that claimed to be gods themselves from their own lands. It made her feel very, very small.

Eventually, she moved on to researching other aspects of the world. She quickly found the full catalog of the recent Dante's Abyss event, but had to put it back after realizing how long it was - such a dense tome wouldn't usually dissuade her, but she had other priorities. She paced along the rows upon rows of bookshelves, and finally pulled down a thick file about the Dataverse itself. Out of a feeling of obligation, she tilted her head down towards it, although she could accomplish the same result by simply training her concentration on the information stored in the file. It was truly spectacular how one could perceive without sensing in this shared imaginary world. That was what she wanted to understand better.

She finished everything that the attendant at the front desk had already told her and progressed on to learning about Digimon (what a peculiar name) and Mount Infinity. She had just begun wondering what a "gate to the Void" was when she was startled by a voice from fewer than four feet away.

Perhaps she had been a bit too focused. She stamped out the urge to pull a weapon or jump back, and instead turned her attention as calmly as possible to the creature that had alarmed her.

It took her a moment to understand what she was sensing. It appeared to be a robot, vaguely humanoid-shaped, very large and outfitted for combat like herself. It also seemed cold - physically low in temperature, which confused her. Usually mechanics emitted heat from the electricity that powered them. Then again, that was in her old world. It suddenly occurred to her that she should probably process what it had said as well as what it was.

"Infestation?" She squinted up at the glowing mask where she presumed its visual sensory mechanisms were located, if it had any. "What do you mean? Everything here is virtual, isn't it?" She slid the Dataverse file back into its place and turned to face the imposing machine. "It's a digital library; it doesn't seem to me that they would have any problems with pests..." She said the last part almost to herself and trailed off as she considered the idea. Maybe it was possible - everything else here seemed real enough that there could be tangible mistakes in the coding.

"Well, in any case, not that I know of. What are you looking for in particular?"

[Kopaka]

"The exact nature of the blight is unknown to me, but based on how it was described, I suspect it to be some variety of sentient creature." Kopaka said quietly, looking around as he did so. The biological at his feet was interesting; she carried with her an aura of distinguishing integrity. The cloth veil she wore piqued the Toa's interest, but he decided it was better left alone. At any rate, it didn't seem as if she could help him in his mission, but perhaps she could be of use in another way.

"You are prime? Have you been in this strange world long?" Kopaka asked, turning his head back to regard the woman...



...meanwhile, certain things were watching from the shadows. The small cracks between strings of code where they could hide while avoiding detection. They were small, larval looking creatures that had yellow bodies and sharp, blue beaks; kunemon. They descended from cracks in the digital ceiling, unaware that both Kopaka and Athena were not only primes...but primes who were not so easily ambushed.

"Eeeelectro Web!" one of the larval digimon shrieked, sending a blast of electrified silk at the pair. By this point, Kopaka had already spun up his shield and held it aloft. The gooey attack was deflected away from the shield as it rotated. Athena, having also detected the kunemon long before they had been within striking range, had already drawn her scythe and was returning fire at the startled creatures from behind the cover of Kopaka's shield.

"It would seem the infestation has found us." Kopaka said. His tone was completely flat, so it was impossible to tell if he was being wry or not. Regardless, the kunemon were maintaining their positions dangling from the ceiling, out of the range of Kopaka's sword. The Toa might have been able to send a blast of ice their way, but he was not sure if the rules of elemental control worked differently in this world within a world.

"We need to lure them down." he said softly, swatting away another incoming strand of electrified web. There were precisely thirteen kunemon arranged at various points on the ceiling. Despite their size, they were surprisingly deft at avoiding Athena's gunfire. There had to be a way to get them down from their vantage point...

[Athena Myaló]

Sentient creature. That still left a lot unknown. It was strange that the robot hadn't been more effectively briefed for his mission. She was still a little uneasy about this whole thing, especially since the machine had approached without her detection.

"You are prime? Have you been in this strange world long?"

"I am a Prime, yes," she said, still mulling over this quick change of subject. The robots she had encountered rarely tended to be the smoothest conversationalists. There was another motive here somewhere, even if it was just to gather more knowledge. There was a chance, after all, that this whole situation was a ruse, and the mechanical creature was trying to distract her while his constituents set up an ambush from behind. Always slightly paranoid, she focused her attention quickly on scanning the area around her... and she found them. Thirteen small beings, approaching quietly from the ceiling behind her. Whether they were working with this robot or against him, she knew it would be best to act casual and stay alert until they made the first move. She continued speaking as if nothing were out of the ordinary (or, rather, further out of the ordinary than she had already encountered): "Not long, only a few hours or so, by my estimation. 'Strange world?' So are you a Prime as well?" The movement of the creatures behind her had stopped. She tensed very slightly. "I had assumed you were an employee of the Empire, given your somewhat similar appearance to the armor of the local guard, but -"

"Eeeelectro Web!"

Athena dove forwards, behind the robot whom she had been conversing with, and tried to stifle a derisive scoff. Her biggest worry had been that her reflexes wouldn't act fast enough once she knew the attack was going to come, but then the conductor of the ambush had the foolishness to verbally announce the first strike? Even as she was still moving, she reached with her right arm behind her cloak and pulled Crescent Gold out, pulling the trigger to extend it to its full shape. She turned in order to make a snap decision. If the robot was now facing her in alliance with these other scuttling monsters, she would run.

Thankfully, she saw that the mechanical being had instead equipped a spinning shield to deflect the attack. She stabilized her scythe and began pulling the firing mechanism, tilting the weapon towards the ceiling. What she saw there were large... caterpillars. Large, talking caterpillars. She took a moment to adjust her reality to the reality of the situation.

"It would seem the infestation has found us."

So this was the infestation, then. Not surprising. Perhaps these were a variety of those "Digimon" creatures.

She continued shooting, but it wasn't doing all that much good. She hit her targets a couple of times, but without enough damage to kill any of them. Mostly, all she had accomplished was putting a few dents in the panels of the digital ceiling.

"We need to lure them down."

Not as simple as it sounded. These things, from what little she knew about caterpillars, could walk as easily upside-down as on the ground. Furthermore, their ranged attacks were as good as hers - neither side was having much effect, but she was sure the larvae could surmise that coming to the ground would disadvantage them. Assuming their intelligence isn't too subpar, that is. But how could she get them down by force without actually hitting them? She no longer had her mind control abilities, that she knew. The only way she could reach them was with Crescent Gold.

But what if I don't have to hit them? She had noticed the creatures clinging to the ceiling, especially to the cracks in it. Cracks in the ceiling. Which were slowly, gradually widening as she repeatedly barraged them with gunfire. As much as she didn't want the ceiling to collapse... it may happen soon enough if the two sides continued this way.

[Kopaka]

Kopaka saw it as well. The cracks in this virtual ceiling that the kunemon had gnawed would be their own undoing. The Toa of Ice just hoped that he would be able to protect the two of them when it came crashing down. As soon as there came an ebb in the onslaught of energized silk, Kopaka pointed his sword towards the ceiling and let out blast of ice. Thankfully, the element reacted the exact way it did in the real world, allowing Kopaka to stitch a large seam of ice across all the cracks in the ceiling. He then formed a large knob of solid ice in the middle of it all.

Unfortunately, this ornate plan left the Toa open to the attacks of the kunemon, and he was soon enwrapped in a multitude of sticky, electrified web. The Toa let out a roar of pain and sank to one knee before glaring at Athena.

"Fire at the ice, now!" he shouted. Even behind her blindfold, Kopaka could see the woman's eyes widen in surprise at the sudden ferocity with which the otherwise quiet and collected Toa spoke. Still, the God-Soul fired a burst of scythe-fire at the frigid stalactite, shattering it, and with it, the rest of the damaged ceiling. Kopaka held his shield above them as Athena hunkered under his icy bulk. There came large shockwaves as chunks of digital superstructure slammed into the Toa's shield, but Kopaka did not waver. Once the rubble had ceased its fall, Kopaka stood up with a loud grunt, smacking one last chunk of virtual rock away from the pair of them. Everywhere, kunemon wriggled and groaned as they tried to free themselves from the crumbled stone.

Kopaka had moved to put one of the yellow worms down, but the pitiful creature suddenly shouted out in mercy.

"W-waaait! Please don't kill me! We...I...we'll go! We'll go back to the digiworld!" it gurgled, trying to pull free of a particularly massive boulder. Kopaka gave the creature a hard stare. The Toa of Ice was not so quick to trust, but he was also not so heartless as to slay a helpless beggar. He turned to Athena, the same sub-zero look in his eye.

"What say you, prime?" he asked in a hushed tone.

[Athena Myaló]

This was your objective, wasn't it? Athena thought silently. She still hadn't entirely processed all that had just happened. The robot had a blade that could manipulate ice? She was no weapons specialist, but she hoped she could get a closer look at that later. She supposed that if a machine in her world could weave an impenetrable shield out of nothing but invisible energy, then an ice sword wasn't too far-fetched. Still, whatever properties it held were sufficiently alien to her that the weapon demanded examination.

At the same time, she wondered at the human-like qualities of her new-found ally. Depending on the level of technological sophistication, robots could be mindless tools or practically sentient beings. Athena wasn't sure where this one landed on the spectrum, but it (he, presumably, given the voice) at least appeared to have some range of basic emotion (strong emotion, even). On the other hand, he apparently was incapable of resolving ethical issues (or, at least, hesitant to do so). Well, at any rate, the decision fell on her shoulders.

Athena stared down at the squirming yellow caterpillars. Rather repulsive creatures, she decided, not that it had any bearing on the situation. So she could determine their fates. She knew that a certain comrade of hers would kill them just for the convenience of it (or the pleasure, depending on what mood he was in), but all things considered, Athena would rather try to be more like Delta or Nitrogen than Abstract. She would have to formulate a plan to maximize everyone's well-being while preferably expelling the creatures from the establishment. She thought for a moment, running possibilities through her head, and then chose one. It was a little complicated, perhaps, compared to just taking all their insectile lives, but she was satisfied with it.

She slid the God Sword off her back, holding the cumbersome weapon in her left hand while keeping her gun in her right. She approached the pile of rocks that had buried the creatures. The larva that had spoken trembled in fear as she walked up to it and lifted the sword... but it breathed a sigh of relief as she used the large blade to pry up the boulder. It quickly scurried out of the way - but froze again as she trained her gun on it with a cold stare.

"Here's what we're going to do," began Athena. "You - " she jabbed her gun towards the released creature - "will guide us to the exit - both myself and the robot." I'll have to find out what his name is, as well. "From there, one of the two of us will remain there to make sure you don't come back. The other will bring the rest of your friends individually until the library is empty of you entirely." She took a step so she could see the pile of boulders as well as her gun's target. "If any of you do anything other than what is expected of you, we will not hesitate to take all of your lives. That includes ever returning to the building. Agreed?" The larvae shivered almost in unison and nodded their heads fiercely. They believed her, whether she was telling the truth or not.

Actually, her speech had been a partial truth. The only disparity between her words and reality was that she didn't expect to remain in the library - or even in Coruscant - long enough to be recruited as a permanent employee for this sort of work, in case they did return. But that was a trivial detail. Her job (or, the robot's, which she had somehow gotten involved in) was to remove the infestation, and she would do that. The intruders knew the plan, and they would comply.

Athena directed her next words towards her ally, altering the tone to sound less harsh, although her gaze remained on her hostage. "You may want to bring one with you, too, in the interest of time. One captive per person should be easily manageable."

[Kopaka]

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Sure!" the Kunemon said. Kopaka went around with Athena, helping the entombed insects out from under their digital, stony prisons. One by one, they gathered near the end of the datastore hallway, looking nothing but sorry for themselves. Kopaka's hard stare prevented any sort of thought of betrayal; they knew that any false move on their part would be guaranteed to get them slain. The female human was hardly any better...in fact, the fact that she could be so intimidating, even without seeing her eyes, was downright terrifying.

The Kunemon led Kopaka to the exit node of the library's datastore that connected to the greater dataverse as a whole. One by one, the slipped into the whirling nexus of information, until there were none left. Something was bothering Kopaka, however. This was too easy. Was this the extent of the infestation the library turaga had been speaking about? This was a truly immense space, and a dozen or so pathetic worm rahi did not seem to be the kind of thing that warranted the attention of a prime, or earn Kopaka the right to access the Kanohi Hau, for that matter.

Still, at the moment, there did not seem to be any clear and present danger, so Kopaka hung his sword and shield on his back before turning to face Athena once more.

"You have assisted me in my task. It is only right that I assist you in yours. I am Kopaka, Toa of Ice. I am at your command." Kopaka said. It was nearly impossible for Athena to glean any kind of emotion from the biomechanical warrior. The mask on his face was completely unmoving, and the only thing that slightly denoted his emotions was the slivering of his left eye; the only one not covered by the otherwise immense telescopic array over his right eye. Kopaka had his own questions for the biological female. Why did she conceal her eyes? Furthermore, how did she navigate her surroundings without sight? How did her weapon function? Being the Toa of Ice, and therefore associated with the pursuit of knowledge, Kopaka naturally was extremely curious. His inherently reserved nature reinforced a reluctance to pry into the other prime's nature, however. In due time, he was sure that he would learn what he wanted to know.

"Well...I had initially just come here to learn about the Omniverse. I was called here recently as well." she said, trailing off. She still had the digital tome on Nexus Gates clutched under her arm when her brows furrowed.

"What are you doing here? I'm Athena Myaló, by the way." the woman asked, holstering her own weapon.

"Initially I had come to this hall of information for the same reason as you; to educate myself. Upon entering, however, I saw an artifact from my...home world, located in the Library's museum. An agreement was made that if I sanctify this world of data, I would be permitted to don the mask." Kopaka said. He looked around again, the servo motors in his mask's telescopic array whirring audibly as he looked around.

"...I am concerned that my work in that regard is incomplete. Regardless, until I know for sure, I will follow at your discretion." Kopaka said. The Toa reflected quietly to itself as it waited for Athena to give him a command. Normally he did not tie himself down to anyone, let alone two strangers in a row. This was an odd place, however, and it called for odd dealings. The Athena female reminded Kopaka of...someone...he couldn't remember exactly who. Whenever she spoke, it just reminded him of another female and the color blue. Perhaps the memories would return to him the longer his processor had time to recover itself. Biomechanical systems were not as flawless at information recall as purely mechanical minds were, but those had their own faults.

For now, he would content himself with following and observing. Hopefully, at some point, he would be able to return to the comfort of being alone.

[Kopaka]

The pair of primes spent the next hour or so pouring through tomes of information relevant to the Omniverse and its environs. Kopaka was more interested in all the new terminology to be used...not a single tome used words like 'rahi' or 'tohunga' which originated from his own universe. Still, Kopaka was far from stubborn; if these were the words that the Omniverse used, then he would simply have to adapt.

It wasn't until Athena and Kopaka had moved on to the databank section on philosphy that the two of them suddenly perked up. There was a soft buzzing sound echoing through then digital hallways, like some sort of immense fan or propeller. Kopaka focused his optics and peered through the endless shelves of information. His X-Ray vision came in hand when he spotted some sort of immense flying beast about to bank around a corner at them.

"Down!" Kopaka cried, leaping in front of Athena and spinning up his shield. The flying monster launched a barrage of thick, fuschia stingers at them from its abdomen, two of which bounced off of the toa's shield with loud cracks. Kopaka peered as the monster pulled an aerial u-turn and retreated, trying to get a better look at it.

It had visual markers similar to the Kunemon they had banished from the Library's databanks not so long ago, with a navy blue beak and black stripes along its face and body. It was easily three times the size of Kopaka, however, and had a violent orange mane.

"What do you want to do?" Athena asked, flipping her scythe out and into its rifle configuration. Kopaka thought for a moment, keeping an eye on the digital monster as it came around for another strafing run.

"Split up! I'll go that way," Kopaka said, pointing behind them. He then pointed towards Flymon, "You run under it, throw it off." Kopaka said calmly. Athena nodded solemnly and began to sprint down the hall at the buzzing monstrosity, firing suppresive shots that prevented the beast from lining up a proper shot. It flew straight over Athena, opting to pursue the toa which still lay directly in its path of flight. Kopaka dashed around the corner at the end of the shelf row just as more stingers embedded themselves in the green floor.

He continued to run as Flymon approached, trying to goad it into attacking him. The chase went on like this until Kopaka's organics screamed for a rest. By now, the toa had no idea where Athena was. No matter. He would handle this matter on his own, as usual. The toa suddenly skidded to a halt and let his shield start spinning. The fly monster overshot just a bit before landing on a nearby wall with a thud. It let out a bestial hiss before flipping its abdomen over its head like a nui-jaga and firing more stingers in a volley of four.

Each impact sent Kopaka skidding back a few inches, but his shield held strong. The rate at which this monster could attack was such that Kopaka wasn't sure he would be able to attack while also keeping his shield at the ready. Still, this was not a battle he would win through attrition. The toa gathered the power of ice into his blade and quickly cast it forward, sending a brilliant stream of frost hurtling towards the fly.

The monster had been anticipating an attack, however, and immediately launched off of the digital surface as the beam impacted. It launched another burst of stingers at its prey, and though Kopaka was able to block most of them, one did manage to embed itself in his metallic shoulder. This wasn't a huge problem, but Kopaka could feel the organics in that area start to go numb. A quick diagnostic revealed that this creature was armed with a potent paralytic toxin, which was rapidly doing its job.

The Kopaka was only fifteen percent organic, this did pose a threat to his respiratory system. He watched as his vision began to go wobbly, and the toa suddenly sunk to a single knee.

No...this may not be the end of him, if his visions before emerging from stasis were to be believed, but it was an ignoble defeat. Hubris had caused him to become careless...a mistake that perhaps...ah...he couldn't remember their names. He couldn't remember...

...Kopaka lost consciousness, with his final thoughts before drifting into a stasis mode being of a sense of loss...but he did not know what...or who...

[Athena Myaló]

Athena had quickly decided that it would be useful to keep the robot around, even if she didn't have a specific task for him. She didn't keep allies nearby just for company most of the time, but the Toa of Ice had proved his worth as a combatant, and she did need some sort of protection until she had a full understanding of her surroundings and of the remnants of her mental abilities. Fortunately, he seemed to be seeking the same thing - knowledge - so the logical way to proceed was obviously to remain in the library. They agreed upon this and began (or, in Athena's case, continued) studying.

However, Athena didn't spend all that time with her nose in a book, either. She spent a few minutes focusing on creating her Muse, which she was convinced would prove just as useful in this world as it had in the last. In a short amount of time, she was equipped with the silver device around her upper arm. She spent about twice the time trying to figure out how to use it. Despite her best efforts in creating it, the controls were far from intuitive. There were exactly two round buttons and two rows of tiny rectangular ones, but unlike her old Muse, the machine wouldn't respond to voice commands or taps on the screen panel.

Eventually, she found herself sitting at one of the reading tables, holding the Muse listlessly in her hands and staring at it, utterly perplexed. On the slowly scrolling screen were a series of short, out-of-context phrases, written by some random characters way out in all the farthest reaches of the Omniverse. At the top of the screen was the title "OmniTwitter," but that did little to help her understand what she was reading. She couldn't make sense of any of it, nor could she figure out how to leave the application. She pressed the one button that she had been able to figure out how to use, and turned off the display. Shaking her head, she slid the Muse back onto her arm and picked up another book.

A few minutes later, a faint noise startled her out of her studies. She heard the monster before she could sense it, but was ready by the time it rounded the corner towards Kopaka and herself. She ducked down to safety, and then turned to her ally.

"What do you want to do?" This time, she made sure it was the Toa's decision. Luckily for them both, he seemed to have a plan, albeit not one that she would have chosen. She braced herself and then started running at top speed towards the creature, firing as rapidly as she could and fighting the urge to look away as she approached. It dipped down dangerously close to her all the same. She could tell that at her present height, she wasn't going to make it under. At the last second, she tucked her legs in and sprang underneath the angrily buzzing creature in a tight roll.

That was harder than she remembered. She missed the horrendously large stinger, thank Kiarza, but went sprawling almost immediately into the nearest bookshelf. She shook her head in frustration. Everything was more difficult to execute in this world, even simple, everyday acrobatic maneuvers. She jumped up and turned to look where the creature had gone, sniper rifle still at the ready. It was following Kopaka, who was running away in a full sprint. Both biomech and Digimon were around the corner before Athena could train her gun's sights properly. She jogged after them, albeit at a slower pace, trying to think up an effective plan before she arrived back in the combat zone. She continued to be frustrated by her lack of knowledge about her opponent, but at least there was only one monster.

Of course, irony chose that moment to strike, as she heard an ominous drone behind her only a few seconds later. Athena extended Crescent Gold to its full scythe form with a frustrated sigh and ducked behind the next tall shelf as the second Flymon approached at a moderate speed. It hadn't seen her - excellent. She had to hope its powers of perception weren't particularly acute, but with the huge, grating noise it generated while flying and its apparent lack of a nose, she wasn't all too worried. It began to pass the corridor she was sheltering in... it reached the end of the gap... and she sprang at it, bringing the curved blade of her mechanical scythe down directly on its abdomen.

The flymon released a terrible screech of pain. It had little natural armor, apparently, and Athena cringed just slightly as Crescent Gold sliced three-quarters of the way through the bug's body. It whirred its jagged fuschia-colored wings and turned to face her as she backed away, calmly pressing the trigger to return Crescent Gold to its rifle form. The flymon's stinger hung limply, unable to spear her, and the monster was forced to zoom forward in an attempt to crush her with its fearsome mandibles. Athena lifted her hand and shot a blast directly into her opponent's gaping mouth. It crashed to the ground, dead in a few seconds.

Athena had no time to work up any regret, even if she had deemed it necessary. It was time to find Kopaka, especially before any more of these monstrosities showed up. She cast around with her mind while running through the hallways, but neither her sixth sense nor her regular five caught any sign of him or his aggressor until she reached the far end of the library. Then she picked up two life forms, which she quickly determined to be the robot and the Digimon. Kopaka collapsed to the ground right as she arrived. Luckily for her, the giant creature still hadn't seen her. It was instead focused on its former attacker, approaching with a cautious buzz. Besides, the God-Soul and the beast had a bookshelf between them, blocking sight. Athena could certainly use that to her advantage, and for more than simply hiding.

She struck a shelf at eye-level as hard as she could with her forearm, sending four books flying off the other side. One of them went far enough to actually hit the Flymon - it bounced off without leaving a mark, but it distracted the creature. Confused, the mutant bug turned its grotesque head - and was greeted with rifle fire through the window left by the absent tomes. Athena squinted through. It was difficult to get an accurate shot with such little visibility, but her position was still quite advantageous. The Flymon was too large to fit over the top of the bookshelf - it would have to go around.

Except that wasn't the Flymon's view on the situation. Angered by the distraction and the attacks, it headed for the gap over the bookshelf anyway. When it hit the top, it kept right on pushing, directing all its energy into its furiously flapping bug-wings. Soon enough, the bookshelf tilted... just the tiniest bit... then further... and then came toppling down, bringing all the books with it.

Athena only had time to extend Crescent Gold and use it to block the bookshelf from coming down on top of her. She covered her head with her arms and winced as book after wonderfully dense book fell onto her crouched form. This is far from the optimal position for me to be in right now, she thought anxiously as the drone of the bug creature sounded continually in her ears. The multi-level steel shelf, propped up diagonally by Athena's scythe, afforded little cover now that the shelves' contents had spilled out, and she would have to wade out of the pile of books before she would regain satisfactory maneuverability. In other words, she was in trouble.

[Kopaka]

"Tahu! What are you doing?!" Kopaka yelled, holding his whirring shield up to block the incoming blow from Makuta Krika. The Toa of Fire seemed to be occupied with trying to hack his way through the door that was containing them within the Brotherhood's temple. The mighty Fire Sword Tahu wielded was certainly able to cut through mere stone and wood with absolute ease, but the gate was made from reinforced Antidermis. Naturally, the hot-headed Toa of Fire decided to remain stubborn, and continue his futile attempts. This did strike Kopaka as slightly odd...normally Tahu was more than eager to get into fights, whereas Kopaka was more suited to problem solving. What had happened where their roles had suddenly reversed?

The Toa of Ice's attention was snapped back to the melee at hand, as Krika swiped at him with one of his barbed appendages. Kopaka caught the leg against the flat of his sword, and began to try and push the hideous warrior of darkness backwards. Normally, he would have been able to freeze his opponent on contact, but Krika shared elemental control over ice, just as he did. Any attempt to freeze the Makuta would just result in feeding him power...yet another reason why Tahu should be the one fighting. Kopaka's eyes widened as Krika's Kanohi Crast flared with a brilliant light. A moment later, the Makuta's Mask of Repulsion sent Kopaka crashing into the wall next to Tahu.

"If you fought as hard as you thought, maybe you might stand a chance!" Krika taunted, his raspy voice barely audible over the roar of Tahu's fire sword. Kopaka rose back on to his feet with a groan. It was not normally in his nature, but perhaps, in this instance, he would need to work alongside the Toa of Fire to win the day. Kopaka would be loathe to report such teamwork to Hydraxon, but his pride rarely trumped his logic. As such, Kopaka gripped his brother's sword arm and wrenched it out of the flaming gash that had been cut into the gate.

"Tahu! Listen to me! There is no defeat more ignoble than that borne of ignorance! We need to play to our strengths!" Kopaka shouted, absentmindedly swatting away an icey spear that Krika had thrown. Tahu's flared with characteristic anger, but the Toa of Fire gave pause.

"Keep Krika occupied, and let me examine the gate." Kopaka said, nodding towards the Makuta. Krika appeared to be waiting patiently for the fight to resume. This behavior always made the Toa of Ice nervous; Krika was famous for his devious feints and traps.

"I do not take orders like some small Tohunga, Toa of Ice, so do not think yourself my superior. Allow me to prove it." Tahu said with a hint of satisfaction in his voice. With this, he surfed towards Krika, blasting a wall of fire in front of him as he advanced. The Makuta shrieked ina bestial manner and dodged to the side, towards the edge of a large, vine choked pool.

Kopaka proceeded to peer up at the gate, calling upon the powers of the great Akaku to see into the stone and Antidermis itself. It appeared as though the gate activated using a system of counterweights that were applied from the far side. There was a thick chain, however, that held a ratcheting mechanism in place. If that chain was cut, the gate would crash down into the space for it carved below. The only problem was how to get to the chain...

"Kopaka!"

"Just a few moments more, Toa of Fire, I-"

"Kopakaaa!"

"What?!"

"Wake uuupp!"


Kopaka's blue optics flickered back on, and suddenly he remembered where was. Omniverse...Coruscant...Library...Databank...Athena! The Toa immediatelt lurched upwards with a pained cry of anguish. The venom from the flying creature...his mechanical systems were trying to counteract it, but his biological systems were in agony. No matter. The vision had shown Kopaka his folly, and lessons forgotten. Play to your strengths, work as a unit. The Toa saw Flymon towering over the girl as she crouched, trapped under a pile of books and toppled shelving unit. The flying monstrosity was clambering up onto the steel racks, trying to jab at Athena with its blasted stinger through the narrow gaps.

Solve the problem.

Kopaka aimed his shaking sword arm at the shelving unit and unleashed a blast of ice at the angled structure. The mound ice grew and grew until in had leaned the book rack almost to a seventy degree angle. Kopaka's elemental energies were now spent, and Flymon's attention was back on him. Athena had an opening...Kopaka hoped she wouldn't miss it.

"Athena, Now!"

[Athena Myaló]

Athena heaved a sigh of relief as Kopaka's 'eyes' lit up with their usual blue glow. She had been flattened against the mound of spilled books, unarmed and barely out of reach of the Flymon's vicious stabs. She had also been aware that as soon as the dimwitted creature remembered that it could shoot stingers, she would be done for. As soon as her ally stabilized the bookshelf and she could tell that it was probably safe, she reached up and pulled the trigger to return Crescent Gold to its gun mode. Then, at the Toa's command, she quickly aimed and shot.

The first gunshot took out the monster's right wing. It crashed to the ground, only a few inches from Kopaka. It struggled to its feet and thrust out its front appendages in an attempt to grab him. Athena tensed, but then relaxed as she saw the end of the robot's thick blade sprout from the abdomen of the beast. The sword retracted again, and the Flymon collapsed. Athena sent a final shot deep into the back of the creature's crest to ensure that it wouldn't get up again, and then set about removing herself from the haphazard pile of tomes.

A few moments later, she was free, and turned towards the battle scene. The mutant insect was undeniably dead, fuschia blood covering most of its body. It was impossible to tell from the Toa's expression how badly he was injured, but his shoulder had developed a sickly violet tinge, and he still hadn't stood up. Athena approached and regarded him with concern.

"I can't heal - I mean, I don't have the ability naturally," she began. She wished Nitrogen were present - her healer friend had strengthened the team greatly in battle after she had been recruited, often without lifting a finger in offense. However, wishes did nothing to fix the problem, Athena knew. On the other hand, the Omniverse was advantageous in other ways...

"I could try to create something that would help, though. In my world, there were bandages that would fuse to injuries and weave the skin back togeth... actually, I'm not sure whether that would work on mechanics - er, biological mechanics?" If the Toa had been affected by poison, then Athena was certain he must be partially made of living tissue, but she had no idea how such a thing was possible - she had certainly never encountered anything of the sort personally. Maybe the mechanical parts were simply a shell that had been constructed for a biological organism? She shook her head. Again, those musings were not constructive in the current situation.

"As I said, I could try. However, it could be difficult to make, and there might be more of those things around. With one of us weakened and the other concentrating, we'd be basically defenseless. I recommend we return to the physical world, find a way to get you healed somehow, and perhaps get some assistance as well. We could even recruit four others. Six is always a good number, don't you think?" The suggestion was mostly her own inside joke - Athena gave a fleeting, wistful smile recalling her own group of six, the God-Souls. However, the Toa probably wouldn't be able to relate, and despite the extent to which she had become involved, the removal of the infestation was still Kopaka's quest. Therefore, she would respect his opinion on the matter. That is, assuming he had the strength to speak.

[Kopaka]

"I...agree. I will disconnect now." Kopaka said with a strained breath. Fighting the venom was exhausting, and the Toa did not believe he had the stamina to continue. He accessed the user interface, which appeared before him as a small, glowing window and hit the large, red LOG OUT button. Kopaka practically punched the virtual screen, in fact, and his body immediately began to discorporate into thin beams of white light that shout up into the ceiling and out of sight.

...

Once in the physical world, Kopaka reeled backwards from the VR station with a sharp breath and staggered to the floor, barely holding himself up in a kneeling position. His hands, splayed on the cool granite floor, immediately began to cover the slick surface with a layer of ice. It seemed as though his elemental powers had only been expended in the Dataverse, and that in this realm, he was still at optimum operating capacity. He felt a hand on his left shoulder, and his servos whirred softly as he turned his head to see the wan smile of Athena. Kopaka had no means by which to offer a similar expression, but in this instance, it may have been one of the rare instances for him to do so. His body further buzzed and whirred as he got to his feet, and ran a quick diagnostic to make doubly sure that he wasn't in danger of residual damage.

"It seems as though, that which happens in the Dataverse, is isolated there." Kopaka said, turning back to look at the booth he had been standing in. It was now covered in a thick encrusting of flaky ice, and the Toa hoped that this would not damage the device. Almost as the thought crossed his mind, however, a small flock of what appeared to maintenance drones buzzed up to the booth and began to clean it. Nodding, Kopaka looked back down at Athena.

"I apologize for pulling you away from your studies. Perhaps there is further knowledge to be gained outside of that digital world that cannot be acquired in this Lore Hall." Kopaka said softly, walking towards the elevators. Athena seemed to hesitant as to whether or not she should follow the Toa, but he looked back at her with a soft gaze seeming to indicate that he either expected or wanted her to follow.

The elevator ride was silent as Kopaka and Athena rode back to the administration level of the Library, but after some time, Kopaka spoke up.

"...I...approve of this idea to acquire four other compatriots. Six is...indeed a good number." he said simply. He was quite ruminant, however. When Athena had said the number six...and specifically six...it was as if it had triggered something in his hardwired processes. A team of six...and only six; no more, no less. Kopaka blinked slowly, trying to remember more about his past. The vision he had seen in the Dataverse seemed to want to fit into a place in his memory that didn't exist...or...a light had been shined in a darkened corner. It was confusing, though, why Kopaka should have even been able to forget information in the first place. The brain of a Bionicle was optimized so that the tasks better handled by organic brains were handled by organic components, and the tasks better handled by computers were handled by technological components. Memory was one such task that was overseen by the mechanical portion of his central processor, so the fact that it had been corrupted or damaged when he was supposed to have been in stasis was...troubling.

His thoughts strayed back to the vision with the white biological creature that had initially informed him of his new status...Omni. Had Omni done something to tamper with his memories, or had this been fated even if he had...

...

...had what? There was something he was supposed to do; something he was destined for. Mata Nui...the name held some significance...it was supposed to have been his destiny to repair or restore this spirit...entity...something...to its whole, but the nature by which Kopaka and his siblings had been meant to do so was lost to him. The Toa's hopes laid within the Kanohi Rau...perhaps, if he were able to acquire the mask, he would begin to regain his memories...and purpose. As the pair exited on to the administration floor, Kopaka promptly exited and retraced his prior steps to the office of the Library's turaga. The man seemed eager for Kopaka's return.

"Ah, prime! I was hoping to see you again today...and I see you have a comrade. Splendid!" the director said, steepling his hands together. Kopaka scrunched his eye up in mild distaste. The man's enthusiasm did not suit Kopaka's sense of professionalism.

"Is the infestation thwarted?" Kopaka said in a low, quiet tone. Athena looked up at the Toa with some mild concern. She hadn't heard him sound this hostile since they had had to deal with the Kunemon. Was this just his normal demeanor? And if so, why did he act different around her? Regardless, the Library Director stuttered for a moment and then nodded heavily.

"Uh, Y-yes. We just ran a scan of the databanks and found no trace of whatever had been interfering with its operation, although..." the director said, adopting a slightly forlorn look on his face.

"Although what?" Athena offered, adopting a harsh tone of her own. If nothing else, she didn't want to seem like the weak link between the two of them.

"Well...the damage that was done to the file structure...it will take some time to repair. I'm afraid I can't let you have the mask until it is fixed..." the director said, offering a conciliatory shrug. Kopaka's entire body immediately frosted over. While it was not in his nature to express his emotions outwardly, certain subconscious reactions could not be prevented.

"Those were not the terms we agreed to. Athena and I fixed your infestation, and now you owe me the Rau." The Toa of Ice said, crossing his biomechanical arms. He leveled his unblinking stare at the museum director, and did not break eye contact with the feeble biological.

"Y-yes, but under the circumstances, I can't lend Library property to someone who has damaged the systems. we-"

"So in your eyes, it is not necessary to account for services rendered, but to account only for what they have cost you." Kopaka said, his voice carrying no tone but one of carefully chosen words. The museum director gulped slowly.

"Well...perhaps if you were to re-enter the VR station and repair the mess you made, I could reconsider-"

"No. How am I to trust that, if I perform this task, you will not find another reason to refuse my compensation?" Kopaka said, his tone deathly cold.

"Oh come now prime, shouldn't the satisfaction of helping a citizen come as enough of a payment? Where is your sense of justice without reward?" the small, old man said. He was beginning to become cocky, and Athena could sense that this last statement had thrown Kopaka for a loop, given the Toa's clear desire to be a hero of integrity and merit. At the same time, it was clear that he held other people to the same standard, hence the inner conflict. Still, she could sense a certain desperation in Kopaka to collect whatever it was that this Rau artifact was. The Toa of Ice remained silent, staring at the shriveled biological. There had to be a way to resolve this situation...

[Athena Myaló]

Athena called up the exit screen and felt her body melt rapidly into light. The sensation was slightly disconcerting, but it only lasted a few seconds, and then she found herself back in her physical form. She took a moment to readjust to her usual lack of eyesight. Being in the Databanks had reminded her how much easier life was with eyes, even when in possession of a mental sixth sense. Once again, everything in her field of vision was blackness, nothingness. She stepped back away from the uplink station and brushed her fingers lightly across the scars protruding slightly from under her blindfold. The empty cavities in her face and mangled tissue from the dagger cuts had long since ceased to repulse her, but she kept the piece of cloth on out of consideration for others - and because she tended to draw less attention this way.

Her first action was to seek out Kopaka. He had linked into the Databanks at a booth relatively near hers, which was fortunate, as more people were steadily filtering into the hub. Athena wondered if perhaps the workday had just ended. It was hard to tell when one couldn't see the sky out the windows, and the God-Soul had been temporally disoriented to begin with. She approached Kopaka, quickly noticing first the layer of ice over everything in his immediate area and then the apparent lack of damage to the biomech. Maybe all the damage was virtual? That would be convenient, unless it would automatically return as soon as he re-entered the Dataverse. Well, it was a relief regardless.

She tapped him on the shoulder and was relieved to note that he stood up with minimal difficulty. His comment confirmed her suspicions - nothing in the Dataverse physically affected those in the outside world, at least the way the two library-goers had been using it. She followed him to the elevator, and Kopaka punched in the buttons for the director's office. Hopefully soon this ordeal would be over so Athena could get back to...

To what, exactly? She had done enough reading to answer the pressing questions that she had arrived with, and she couldn't spend her whole existence poring over every book in the library. It wasn't that important just to satisfy her eternal curiosity. She had to get back to her own world, as steep as the odds seemed against her. Just because no one ever had escaped didn't mean that no one ever would. But she still had no leads - no clues as to Omni's whereabouts, no grand exit gate surrounded by impossibly difficult obstacles, nothing. What she really needed to do was contact someone more experienced, who had been making progress in finding an exit already. Her next step should be to figure out how. That is, after Kopaka has his mask, she reminded herself as the lift's doors slid open. She still needed teammates, and compromises would always have to be made in exchange for protection.

She could sense the director sitting in his study before the door was even open. She was curious to find what types of people ran this establishment, and whether she would dislike them as much as the other Coruscant natives she had encountered in her time in the city. In fact, thinking back, the only person she could actually put up with so far in this universe was Kopaka. Although the humans were more pleasant on the surface, they... bothered her. It seemed like they were either trying to cover up fear and animosity, or manipulate her in some way. Athena wondered if this was the natural divide between those labeled "Primes" and "Secondaries" (if so, she didn't like it), or if it was just bad luck. Or there was a chance she was just fabricating such suspicions as a result of her initial distrust of this world.

That last thought evaporated as soon as the librarian greeted them. Athena shifted her jaw in annoyance. More unnecessary enthusiasm. Still, she didn't think it warranted Kopaka's open hostility. Maybe previous dealings with the human before had soured the Toa's opinion of the man... or he was just irritated after all the trouble he'd had to endure. Either way, Athena would assume it was justified.

She calmed as the director relayed the good news - the infestation was gone entirely, so there was no need to go back and finish the job. However, her relief turned to dismay as soon as the dreaded conjunction escaped the man's lips. Although... ?

"Although what?" Athena did not need any further complications to this already-distasteful task...

"The damage that was done to the file structure...it will take some time to repair. I'm afraid I can't let you have the mask until it is fixed..."

...especially when her teammate seemed even more angry about it than she did. She wasn't sure what the icy sheen that covered the Toa's mechanical body signaled, but it couldn't be a good sign. She bit her lip and stayed silent for a while as the argument unfolded. Finally, the two opponents found themselves at an impasse, and Athena thought it was best to step in at this point. She had no inclination to attempt to resolve the negative feelings between the library official and Kopaka, nor did she think she could if she tried, but she could at least try to reason them all out of the current situation.

"'Justice without reward' is hardly relevant to the basic agreement. You gave your word, I presume. 'Justice' would dictate that the agreement is honored regardless of any other factors, wouldn't it? And, as a matter of fact, you knew the nature of the "pest" problem, unless you're very poorly informed of the matters of your own library. Wasn't it a reasonable assumption that there would be some collateral damage? Those bug creatures were huge and deadly, and obviously strong enough to knock over whole shelves of data. It would have been a very lucky break if we had expelled all of them without any complications. You couldn't have expected it from us, especially if I hadn't been there. Kopaka nearly got killed!" she finished emphatically. The director seemed quite taken aback by her rapid reasoning; Athena hoped that at least some of it had sunk in. She stepped back again slowly, but never turned away. It couldn't quite pass for holding his gaze, but it was as close as she could come. After that, she awaited his response quietly, almost passively. Please let this be over with soon.

[Kopaka]

The Director certainly seemed to be flustered by the woman's rapid-fire reasoning. He wasn't used to people trying this hard to undermine him. Of course, he was trying to get a word in edgewise, but Athena simply kept talking over him.

Justice without reward' is hardly relevant to the basic agreement. You gave your word, I presume.

"Well-"

'Justice' would dictate that the agreement is honored regardless of any other factors, wouldn't it? And, as a matter of fact, you knew the nature of the "pest" problem, unless you're very poorly informed of the matters of your own library.

"Yes, but the thing is-"

Wasn't it a reasonable assumption that there would be some collateral damage? Those bug creatures were huge and deadly, and obviously strong enough to knock over whole shelves of data. It would have been a very lucky break if we had expelled all of them without any complications.

"I can hardly say that-"

You couldn't have expected it from us, especially if I hadn't been there. Kopaka nearly got killed!

"Now listen here, miss! I don't know who you are or where you came from, but the gentleman and I had an agreement-"

"Apparently not." Kopaka quipped, crossing his arms again.

"...I just don't see why you're deciding to get involved with this, miss." the Director said, throwing his hands up in the air. His meaty forehead was starting to collect beads of sweat, despite the chill that Kopaka carried with him wherever he went.

"Don't change the subject." Athena said, glowering at the Director from behind her blindfold. Sure, she didn't exactly have eyes to glower with, but the body language was all in the head. "Who is your superior?" she asked, tilting her head. The Director looked flustered. This intrigued Kopaka. It had been his impression that this man was the topmost authority within this Library. The thought that there may be someone with authority over him had not occurred to the Toa. On Mata Nui, there usually weren't hierarchies of authority. There was one Turaga, and there were their followers.

"That'd be Rex Libris, but-"

"We will go speak with this Rex Libris. Perhaps he will be willing to shed light on your treachery." Kopaka said, seamlessly falling in line with Athena's direction of thought. The Director looked honestly afraid. Evidently, this Rex Libris individual was someone to be feared. In addition, it was more than likely that he would not approve of the Director's actions, otherwise the shriveled biological would not be blanching the way he was.

"No...no...that won't be necessary." the Director said, heaving a deep sigh. Kopaka would have to keep in mind that chains of authority were very important in Coruscant. The idea was still alien to him, but Kopaka was intuitive enough to recognize what was going on here. The pudgy Director picked up an odd looking device on his desk and spoke in to it. Kopaka wasn't sure what was going on, but from the sounds of it, they were making progress.

"Hello, yes, Glen? Yes, I'm about to send two primes down to see you. A Mr. Kopaka and..." he drifted off, glancing at Athena.

"Athena." she said flatly.

"...and a Ms. Athena. I need you to head the language exhibit in the museum wing and give them the translation mask."

...

"I understand you're very busy, but I'm afraid..."

...

"What do you mean, a biker gang?"

...

"That doesn't..."

...

"Just...just...don't worry about it. I'll have security keep an eye on them. This takes precedence."

...

"Fine, yes. Take your lunch afterwards."

...

With that, the Director clicked the device back on to its holding apparatus and massaged his temples for a moment. This was really turning out to be quite a stressful day, and here his doctor had informed him to try and relax more. He could feel his ulcer acting up already. After a moment to gather himself, the old librarian looked back up at Kopaka, who still held a steely, frigid gaze.

"The librarian down at the front desk will get you your mask. Now, please...I have a lot of work to do." he said, his voice projecting the very soul of defeat. Kopaka nodded once and turned on his heel, sweeping out of the office with Athena in tow. As they rode the elevator down to the ground floor, there was another period of silence before Kopaka spoke up.

"...thank you." he said, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead.

"Mhm." Athena said quietly, also keeping her face looking straight. There was a bit of stress lingering in her voice, and though Kopaka did feel a tad responsible for leading her into such a stressful environment, he could not claim to be able to fix anyone else's emotions. Besides, Athena was a competent female; she would be fine...

[Kopaka]

Continued in Now, Let's Count Up Your Sins!