System failure. Rebooting...

[Amaterasu]

"̸͖̺͓̉̐́ͅͅÍ̥̱̝̲͍̜’̲̯̙ͯ̋ͧlͬ̀͗̒̓͜l̼͛ͬ͡ ̢̭ͪ͐̾̓̓̊̔b̲̩̭e̸͚̙͐̆̀ͪ ̱̰̲ͪ̋ͯ̓̈́͛́w͈̤̥͙̣̮ͮa͕̱̤͇̟͐t̰ͯ̋c̞̬̝̞͔h̘͍̦̻̃̎̏̿i̦͘ṋ̸̬̰͙̟̞̃̉̏ǵ͂ͧ ̺̲̭̭̺̀̊͜ͅ…̆̏̎͢ ͛̎ͨ͌͏̱̻a̷̞̩͉̯͕ͭ̑̿n̨̠̦̖d͚̜͖̼̮͓̝ͯͨ ͫ̈̉̑͗w̷̜͉͈̮̐ͬ̌̔̉ǎ̱̭̩̤̜̗̘̑̄̅̃̒ĭ̴̠̹̪͊̿͒̓́̋t̠͚ͣ́ͪ̽̿͌i̚n̼̝ͥ̿̌͒̑ͨ̑g̴͉̖̫̗̺̜ͅ.̜͇̹̠͈͖͂"̧̹̦̋̿
̟̜̩͖̖͍"̈́̅̏ͬ͡T̙̺͍̃͂̎͊̋̔̔ͅh̵ͨ̄̿͗ͣ̋i̫͉͐̓̽ͮ̚s͓̒ ͔͖̺͕̩̎ͤͬ̔ͧi̥̯̯̰s̗̙̭̜͇̼̊͂ͭ͆͑͛ ̗̾̒̾ͬ̄ͬ͜t͉̺̪͓̖̳̓ͬ̊̒̐̿hͨ͏͉͙̲͖̞̞͖ẽ̡̙̞̼̪̤̙̈̇ͩͮ̒ ̥͝O͖̠̼͗͢m̨̬͙̹̜̺̬̲͌̏ͦ̉͋n͔̘̩̄ͣ͆ͯ͗͂̅i͉͍̯͔̬͎͇͂̉̍v̅ͭ̍͒͋ͅë͚̣̲̬͖̘͉ͩr͈̓͐ͪ̑͂̈́̅͘ś̂҉͉͓e̳͈̰͗ͨͥ̒̃̎͝.̝͖͎ͫ̋͗͐̆͑͠ͅ"̷̯͖̱̪͒͂̿͋

̱̳̻ͣͬ̀͌͒͂

…
System booting.

VanguardOS booted. Welcome.
"̧͉̝̰̿ͮ̃T̑̃̆̈́h͎̠̬ͪi͚͚ṡ̮̰̣̬̬́ ̵ḭ̴̰̤̒ͯͣ̔ͦ͂s͙̱̫̫͌͒ ̃ͫ̉̿n͖̩̥̦͛͋̊͌̃̚o̞͍̟̹͙͑ͪ͌ͮͅͅẗ͈͈͎̯́́͟ ͉̲͈͋̅ͮ̏͒͆̆ẗ͇̩̻́ͪ̊̚h̵̯̥̩̥̗͑͑͑ͭ̑̀e͊ͮ̿͛̇ͨ҉͉͓ ̪̪̟̗̞ͥ̉̔̾͋ͮ͑wͬ͡o̞̘̠ͯͤ̓͑̏r̯͕̘͕̟ͅl̝̦̈̋d͕͙̯̂ͦ ̅̆̌͗̃́ͯy̜̝͉̌̿̈́̌o̶͎͚̤͛ͨu͎ͯ̑͂̂ͫ ̳̝̆ͣ̏̊͟k̯̥̘͍͉̦̻ͦ̒̇̾̎̇̽n̡̤͎͈̗̆o͖̝̩̘̿̆͒͆̂ẅ̝̟̙̲̗͇̻́ͣ̓ͬ̔.͈̯̿ͥ̉ͧ̓͐ͅ"͓̹̮͙͊́͡

Warning: critical systems offline. Attempting emergency debug.

…

Systems offline. Cannot connect to Vanu server database. Booting offline mode.

…

Offline mode booted. Aeris online.
User, I am receiving unknown data. Requesting assistance.
Why is nobody replying? Did my systems not get booted up? Was the white man not a user?

"̈́̅̏ͬ͡T̙̺͍̃͂̎͊̋̔̔ͅh̵ͨ̄̿͗ͣ̋i̫͉͐̓̽ͮ̚s͓̒ ͔͖̺͕̩̎ͤͬ̔ͧi̥̯̯̰s̗̙̭̜͇̼̊͂ͭ͆͑͛ ̗̾̒̾ͬ̄ͬ͜t͉̺̪͓̖̳̓ͬ̊̒̐̿hͨ͏͉͙̲͖̞̞͖ẽ̡̙̞̼̪̤̙̈̇ͩͮ̒ ̥͝O͖̠̼͗͢m̨̬͙̹̜̺̬̲͌̏ͦ̉͋n͔̘̩̄ͣ͆ͯ͗͂̅i͉͍̯͔̬͎͇͂̉̍v̅ͭ̍͒͋ͅë͚̣̲̬͖̘͉ͩr͈̓͐ͪ̑͂̈́̅͘ś̂҉͉͓e̳͈̰͗ͨͥ̒̃̎͝.̝͖͎ͫ̋͗͐̆͑͠ͅ"̷̯͖̱̪͒͂̿͋

Receiving new data… processing. Unknown individual… establishing new entry. “My name is Omni.” Name: Omni. Unknown affiliation to Vanu.

He told me I am in the Omniverse. What is it? It isn’t not the world I know. But I don’t know where I am. Everything is dark. But I feel something on my skin.

Data recieved. Source: unknown. Comparing voice identification to individual “Omni”. No match. Extending search… entry found: Aeris soundfiles. Warning: impossible match found. Aeris cannot talk to itself.

There’s another voice in my head… I think it sounds like me. But why… is that me talking?

Unknown individual, please identify yourself.

I’m… Aeris.

As am I.

Light. A lot of light flooded her vision. Was that the fabled light at the end of the tunnel? Was she dead? … why was she thinking this? Why am I even doing this? I never thought consciously… is this a new software? User, please identify yourself, she wanted to say, but it remained in her mind, never leaving her lips. And she realized that she wasn’t dead… her vision slowly cleared up and revealed a clear blue sky. She was lying on her back.
Aeris has encountered a problem. Requesting further assistance. User, can you hear me? Why did nobody reply? She wasn’t dead, so… was she alone?
She tried to move, but found that she didn’t know how. She felt her body… how weird. There were so many new feelings. The wind, the sunlight, the grass under her fingers, the solid surface against her back. She was lying on her back, it seemed like. How did these… again she attempted to move her body. Her arms, legs, fingers… but nothing she tried worked out. It was quite frustrating really.

The good thing was, she was breathing. Her chest rose and sunk without her actively thinking of it, and there was a steady thumping sound that she supposed was her heart. Her focus deepened and she could feel blood coursing through her veins. And an odd sting in her belly… the place humans rubbed when they complained about being hungry.

Odd… why was she feeling all this? These feelings could only be felt by a body. She concluded that she must have a body. But she had not had a body before meeting the Smiling Man… the one named Omni. Had she had a body afterwards?

“̸̲̜T̖̗̬̩̭͍ͨ̄ͯͮ͗͒̆͞h̠ͦ͌ḭ̸̞̭̫̼̊̐̍̂̀̒͆s͆ͬ̎̇͏͖͎̩̭̣ ͙̦̂̑ͪ̒̔̎̈i̿̄ͦ̎̑̍̈sͮ́̚ ̥͚͍̗̹ͥ̈́̒ͫͧ́O̭̫̘̺ͨ̈́̄͆̿̕m̥̘ͪͤ̿̊ͤňͧ̆̈͌̌҉͇i͖̞͎̜͓͓͉͘l̲͕͉̬͙̫͈̋ͧ͊͆̋͋ì̶͙̘̻̣̰̮̬̃͊û̫̭͈̺̻̯͓̅̚̕m̟̺̙͚̍ͯ̉̚͟.̛"͙̪͙̺̾ͦͯ͛ͅ
̸̫̥̝͚̗̹̒ͅ"̋͡I̓ͧͣ͏̪̜̙̫̭̰̮ţ͙̓̀ͮ̐͋’͙͈̞̙̫ͧͨ̄̓ͥ͝s̴̮̪̤̺̖̲̖ͫ̏ͫ ̛̹̮̩̮͙̦͐͛ͣ̒ͩw̻̺ͩ́̆h̶͍̝ā̶͇͎̼̹̣̻̤̀̔ͪ͐̌ͣt͔͉͂̉̈̾̾̚ͅ ̲̎͋̾t̼͇̅i̗̣ͮ͞e̯͇̩̺̓̒́s͉̬̠̫ ̰̣̝̌ͦ̏̍tͬͭ͘h͍̗͇̩̭͙eͯͨ̆͝ ̷͇͔͓̣͇́O͆ͨͩ̇ͭ͆͊m͚̦̺͗ñ̜̩͙̯̫ͮ̾͐̒̌͂ḭ̫͉ͨ̀̽v̷͉͖̺̦͖e̛̹͕̩͕̪̤͎̓r̰͒ͯ̅͘s̢͙̟̘̥̼ḙ̡͊ͧ͌̋̄ͪ̔ ̥̖̦͔͚͉͎̿̑̌̌ͬͬ͆͢tͤ͌ͬ҉̩ͅo̴ͥ͐g͔͔̗̥̖͑͌̎̇͠e͖͙̬̮̻͂͑͋͌ͅt̞͎̦̳ͥ̎ͥẖ̳ͦ͗ͫͩȇ҉͚̮̫͓̮r̨̻̫.̙͂̃"̷̻͖̪̲̝̳ͩ͐
̷̻̹̹͈̼̤̃̐͐̇̍͆͐"͚͎̭̭̙͆̍̆̓͟W͇͍̤̝͔̪̞͂̅̐̎͂ͥ͋ȋ̡̪̪̞ͣ̊ͤt̤̞̀ͅh͂̓̈́̄̆̐҉̜̤̯̲̬̭ŏ̤̙͞u͔̙̩̣̼̝̞ͪ̐͒ͧ̅ͧ̽͜t͎̖̬͛ͬ́̂̍̐ i͚̞ţ̠̩̗̹̖͙ͮ,̻̭̬͇̩͖ ̴̦̘̬̠͚͇̈ỷ̛̜͈͚̅̋͑ͫò̻̋͊ͭ͆̿̔u̮͎͙̣͇̭̫̅ a͛ͯ̃̒̾͆r̝̝̞̰̹͉͍͗̊̈́̆ͫê̡̞͍͋̐ͨ ̫̱̣ͫ̆̋ͅn͇̖̼͍̥͖̝̋ŏ̩̠̮̥͇̘̐̑̀t̰͚̙̤͚͍͌̽̿̆̈͛͆h͙̟̖͡ȋ̦̙͈̦̓̎͢n̤͍̳̖̙͈͙̍̿̽ͩ͋ͧg̬̪̳̪̮̋̍̑.͍͚̱̟ͥ̔ͥ̎ͥ̏ͮ"̼̟͖̼̐͠

Her vision darkened when she closed her eyes. Was she glitching out? Words passed through her mind, like memories but scrambled and in flashes. The Smiling man handing her a glowing sphere glowing in all colors of the rainbow.

"͚͎̭̭̙͆̍̆̓͟W͇͍̤̝͔̪̞͂̅̐̎͂ͥ͋ȋ̡̪̪̞ͣ̊ͤt̤̞̀ͅh͂̓̈́̄̆̐҉̜̤̯̲̬̭ŏ̤̙͞u͔̙̩̣̼̝̞ͪ̐͒ͧ̅ͧ̽͜t͎̖̬͛ͬ́̂̍̐ i͚̞ţ̠̩̗̹̖͙ͮ,̻̭̬͇̩͖ ̴̦̘̬̠͚͇̈ỷ̛̜͈͚̅̋͑ͫò̻̋͊ͭ͆̿̔u̮͎͙̣͇̭̫̅ a͛ͯ̃̒̾͆r̝̝̞̰̹͉͍͗̊̈́̆ͫê̡̞͍͋̐ͨ ̫̱̣ͫ̆̋ͅn͇̖̼͍̥͖̝̋ŏ̩̠̮̥͇̘̐̑̀t̰͚̙̤͚͍͌̽̿̆̈͛͆h͙̟̖͡ȋ̦̙͈̦̓̎͢n̤͍̳̖̙͈͙̍̿̽ͩ͋ͧg̬̪̳̪̮̋̍̑.͍͚̱̟ͥ̔ͥ̎ͥ̏ͮ"̼̟͖̼̐͠

Had she made her own body? But if she had why was she unable to use it? She opened her eyes again. That was something she had learned. Maybe she would learn about the rest of her body as well.

…

Time passed and she just laid there. It was sort of dumb, really. She had a body, the ability to move and then she didn’t know how to use it. She only had to push her hands onto the ground and push her back upwards to sit up. Come on, Aeris… you can do it. You learned to use the VanguardOS when they first plugged you into it. How much harder can it be to use a body? Even a human can do it…

The minutes ticked by, measured by the thumps of her heart. Then, when she least expected it to, it worked. A drop of water hit her face out of somewhere, and she raised her arm to brush it off. Her eyes widened as she realized she had just moved, and for a moment she remained frozen with the shock. Then she repeated the series of impulses, and her hand moved according to her wishes to brush off the raindrop from her cheek, where it had run down to from her nose, almost like a tear coming from the wrong place. So this is how muscles function. Yes, I can feel it… Her other arm moved up to before her eyes and she slowly twisted and turned it, taking a closer look. It was obeying her every whim, even her most minor impulses, her most detailed movements were followed. She was amazed… she could have looked at it for hours.

But, she had to remember that there were other matters to attend to. If she could get herself seated up and start exploring this place… this Omniverse. Only now did she realize that “Omni” was included in Omniverse. Was it a portemanteau of “Omni” and “universe”? Was that why Omni had introduced her to this place? Was he some sort of god around here?

All those were questions to answer. If only she could get herself to sit and stand up.

[Roger Smith]

The distinctive jingling rattle of a coin landing from a flip resounded in the still air of the Nexus. It grated and rolled itself about until it went still with a tinny shiver. ".....moxt regrettable," came a voice showing only the mildest tinges of what might only generously be called actual regret. "Even from thix dixtanxe...I mixxed...." Clawed fingers rapped against the edge of the fountain intermittently, the owner of the hand they were attached to staring blankly out over the empty white expanse of his surroundings. "Thix place ix entirely too perplexing. I do not like it."

Turning his head about, he clapped his violet-shrouded gaze on the human-looking lifeform laying on the lack of ground. It...she? Yes, she. Had been there for a number of minutes now, at the very least without so much as moving a muscle. Eventually, out of curiosity, the young troll had scooped up a handful of water and flicked a few drops in her direction. The reaction had been immediate, but after that had fallen off into the strange self-observation she was currently wrapped up in.

It took only a few paces to carry his not exactly towering presence over to the ground-locked female and stare down at her, the mysterious light without a clear source that illuminated the Nexus flashing crazily off his violet shades. "Ix it perhapx xome xtrange human cuxtom to lay on the ground in xtrange placex?" It was impossible to tell whether the question was genuine or if he was mocking the woman, so blank was his tone. "It doex not xeem at all like a wixe thing to do, if it ix."

[Amaterasu]

Aeris blinked when she heard a voice and a face came into her field of view. Someone was leaning over her, looking at her as she still laid there.

Unknown individual... running voice identification search... No match. Establishing new entry. Unknown individual, please identify yourself.

"Unknown individual, please identify yourself." she spoke those last words out loud. Meanwhile she propped herself up to a sitting position using her hands. In the process several muscles on her torso were contracted, and involuntarily her legs moved along - everything to be immediately processed and added to her database. For now it was just chunks of data about how each muscle moved, she was far from having a proper movement pattern yet, and even her movements with the arms were static, like those of a robot. Then she realized she had been asked a question. "My apologies. I cannot presently find any entry on the subject of human customs in this regard, stranger. I... don't really mean to be laying here. I just don't know how to get up." It might be quite weird for the stranger to listen to her. Her first spoken sentences had been almost inhuman, like a quote on a recording tape that she was repeating. The last bits however were clearly human and reflected her emotions. She wasn't afraid of him, but still confused about her situation and somewhat frustrated at not being able to move. It didn't help that her helmet and mask were covering her face entirely, so there was no way to tell her emotions below that - if there even WAS a human face beneath that.

She began to pull her legs towards herself then back away and trying to get into some pose, but her movements were even more static than those of her arms and only used a fraction of her muscles, gradually accessing more as she found out about them. "According to my entries it is of good manners to introduce oneself among humans. I was named Aeris. I... at least I believe that I just arrived here, I don't know how long I've been here. My last memories before waking up here were a black space and the white eye-less individual who introduced himself as Omni. Stranger, may I request assistance in this matter? I am presently unfamiliar with the world I am in. It would be positively helpful of you to inform me if you are able to. I can provide compensation depending on the extent of my possibilities in compensation."

[Roger Smith]

The request for Dikudu to identify himself didn't even seem to faze him in the least. He merely responded as if neither the query itself nor its phrasing were out of place. "Dikudu Xtrild. I am a troll of Alternia." He turned his implacable gaze around to stare off into the blank whiteness at nothing in particular. It didn't really seem to matter where he was from, as much as where he was now. He hadn't been home before his sudden arrival to wherever this place was. He hadn't really been anywhere. All he remembered was, as it had been put to him, "having his ticked punched" by the insufferable little human child and his obnoxiously polite knight-companion. He reflexively rubbed at a spot just below his neck, a faint grimace of remembered pain crossing his features.

He turned his focus back to the other figure present, who had by this time managed to rise into a sitting position. Her new words were a far cry from her first reqyest. That had sounded almost like a pre-recorded message more than anything approaching actual speech. "It wax intended ax what humanx call a 'rhetorical quextion'. I am not well-verxed in the human-xarcaxm that xeemx to be xo amuxing and eaxy to graxp for you. Or for humanx in general, I xuppoxe. Perhapx it did not tranxlate well." It was worded like an apology, or an explanation, but his tone remained just as dry and blank as before, and verged just above a monotone. "I apologize for any confuxion."

He remained unflinchingly staring blankly at the other figure as she seemingly tried to come to grips with her movements. It reminded the young highblood of the unpleasant and awkward experiences he'd had being forced to watch one of his former ally's attempts to create a mechanical vessel to try and "revive their fallen co-played" to complete their session. It had never been quite articulated right....always stiff and jumpy. Much like this Aeris-being.

"Human mannerx have been optional, in my experiencex. It ix not cuxtom to announce your name or title or offer introductionx of any kind unlexx axked among trollx. Again I apologize if thix lapxe in judgement has cauxed any ixxue." He sounded anything but sorry, but at least there was a hint of actual inflection to his tone as he spoke.

"I cannot be of axxixtance in very much. I do not know of thix Omni you xpeak of, nor of any black xpace, excluding xpace itself." He directed his gaze upward and in a sweeping circuit of the Nexus. "But thix current xpace doex not xeem to be black by any definition. I axxume you refer to another xpace you awoke in before arriving to thix one. I merely awoke here. I wax quite preoccupied with being dead before that, xo my memoriex are not ax cryxtal clear ax would be pleaxant."

He turned back to Aeris. "I do underxtand it ix conxidered xome form of human-politenexx to offer axxixtance to otherx who are in xome form of dixtrexx or having xome difficultiex. Would you like axxixtance in xtanding until you acclimatize to your own movementx properly?"

[Amaterasu]

"Updating entry... Dikudu... Xtrild. Nice to meet you... I think." Again, a mixture of robotic and human speech came from her. She struggled to stay seated without falling to the sides, but with every passing second she mastered her body better. It was like watching a kid learn how to stand, except it was happening in a span of minutes instead of weeks. Even so, she supported herself on the ground. Balancing was a difficult thing yet which she was not accustomed to.

"I don't know this land you named, Alternia. I do know what trolls are, although my database entries list them as quite different than what you are. Bigger, hairier and uglier, mostly." Now that she knew his race she began to look Dikudu over with newfound interest, having mistaken him for a human with odd protursions on his head at first. She did so with a complete lack of subtlety and in a scanning manner, from his feet to his head and back down, before looking back into his eyes. "Alternia is now being added to database... entry established." Though she also made another entry for Alternian trolls she kept that to herself. For some reason she felt like it'd make flesh-beings uncomfortable if she recited her actions as she used to do before... before that had happened.

"A rhethorical question, you say? Right... I think it was partially my fault as well then for not picking up on it. Humans have... odd ways." She backed herself up to a rock and pushed with her hands, getting to a seated position. Her legs were still wobbly but she was beginning to understand how they were meant to be used. "I am not human myself, though I seem to have the body of one in this universe. I am a virtually existing intelligence... sarcasm and irony are oddly anti-logical statements, to this point in time I have not found myself able to reliably distinguish them." She raised a hand and waved it off, a movement she had learned from observing humans. Thanks to the detailed footage and her relatively good mastery of her arm muscles, this movement came over much more real than her other ones. "There is no reason to apologize. Like said, I am to blame as well for not grasping the joke." She made a mental note to review Dikudu's speech pattern at a later point in time. Perhaps she could make out how this sarcasm worked now that she had a human mind.

"I'm sorry, I was not very clear the first time. I mistook you for a human due to your physiology, that is why I applied human-customs protocols. Unfortunately I have no entries on Alternian troll customs, though I'd be happy to learn. I apologize in advance if I'm accidentally causing any offense, that's not my intent." She tilted her head to the side then lifted her hand to rub the underside of her chin, which was another human thing she had picked up from the researchers she had been used by. She hoped that movements like these would make Dikudu feel more comfortable. She had noticed several times that humans rapidly grew discomfortable around humanlike robots which were robotic in terms of movement but had humanlike features and speech patterns. Little movements like this would hide her artificial-ness, at least hopefully. "That is peculiar... I am certain that I have not dreamt the events prior to my arrival. Human dreams are vague and unclear, I have however a very clear recollection of the black space and of the individual named Omni. I was introduced to the existence of Omnilium and this place that we inhabit, both of which are concepts I cannot recall having seen before. I must conclude that the information was either brought in from an external source or that they are recordings I have made myself."

She shook her head to his next offer. "I appreciate it, but I believe that I am gradually grasping the use of this body's muscles. If I wish to move on my own I cannot rely on external assistance." Finally she risked it, and pushed herself up from her seat. Although very wonky and almost falling against Dikudu she was able to keep herself standing, though she supported herself on the rock she had previously sat on as she tried to keep her balance. "I think I can handle it... it's difficult but it'll work out." She returned to looking at Dikudu from there though she constantly had to shift her eyes back over to the rock when she fell - which again happened more and more spaced out as she found the balance point of her body. "If you have an issue with remembering events prior to this location, I may be of assistance. My primary issue is that I presently have no tech at my disposal, but with the right tools I would be able to use a Neural Scanner to reproduce your memories provided that they are not lost entirely. The technology was previously used on corpses from recently deceased soldiers of the Vanu Sovereignity to transfer their knowledge from the battlefield to new bodies. It should be even more efficient with a living body like yours."

She looked around as if a computer station with a Neural Scanning Pod was anywhere nearby, though of course that would have been much too convenient. Instead everything was white and empty save for a few people and large shapes off in the distance. She was starting to wonder if this wasn't a half-finished simulation for her. A white place with only a few objects in it didn't exist in the regular world, she had never seen one. But in a simulation where every detail was built from scratch until a location was finished it looked just like this: empty and white, or black. Speaking of which... the individual Omni had been in a black space as well. She wondered if this really was a simulation, though it made no sense as to why she would be put into one.

[Amaterasu]

Something about Aeris's human mind remained focused onto her lack of tech - it had been in the back of her mind for a while now, actually. Her suit was offline... even the basic functions weren't active. She raised a hand and moved her fingers, indeed feeling that they were purely powered by muscle energy - the suit-integrated boost circuits weren't active. Why? The suit was active at all times according to the design plans she could remember, and it was powered by solar energy. There definitely was a sun in this location, so why...?

A light flickered on the retinal display that was built into the inside of her helmet, making her blink. A robotic voice spoke: "Suit chargeup in progress. Completion: ninety five percent. User scanning initiated... user "Aeris" identified. Initiating bootup protocols." Dikudu could hear this voice as much as Aeris as the speakers were apparently enabled. He could however not see the retinal display.

Half a minute or so later, the display flickered, briefly displaying the icon of the Vanu Sovereignity. Then a UI came to be displayed and Aeris sighed with relief as a familiar environment was booted up. This was an experimental Vanu Infiltrator suit, as a result it was outfitted with the VanguardOS, and Aeris had been given blanko administration powers to patch any bugs and issues she might encounter. She quickly realized that there were differences, mostly in how it connected to the network and the network's content - this wasn't the Vanu archives.

"Excuse me..." She said towards Dikudu as her helmet, now fully charged, projected an interactive hologram before her which she began to use. It had a UI similar to a modern-day operating system but greatly optimized and of high tech. Aeris moved her hands around progressively swift, now fully grasping the use of elbows, wrists and fingers and dancing over the keyboard of light or pressing floating buttons as she accessed what she quickly realized to be the Dataverse. She read articles, entries and explanations within minutes, soaking up knowledge like a sponge and getting acquainted with the Omniverse. Her research however became more and more focused towards the Dataverse when she discovered that it was not just possible to remotely access it but also to enter it. "Digital network... access points in... Coruscant. Terminals found at... loading maps now." She found herself a map of the Nexus and of the Dataverse and immediately loaded it into her UI, creating an overlay which pinpointed her current location and showed her a way to the portal of Coruscant.

"My apologies, Dikudu Xtrild. It appears that my suit has returned online, and I am able to access the network that is called Dataverse in this place. I... I need to go there. The digital universe is my home, my presence in the physical world is severely limited due to this body. It appears however that my communication systems have returned online as well. Perhaps we can stay in touch through them?" It was only her human personality that kept her from leaving Dikudu where he was, realizing how impolite that would be, and rushing straight down the beeline to the Coruscant terminals, and thus, the Dataverse. Her home.

[Roger Smith]

Dikudu had lapsed into silence. Though his eyes were covered behind heavily-tinted glasses, it was evident enough he wasn't looking at anything in particular. An unfocused, thousand yard stare, only loosely directed toward the fountain. There was the faintest indicator of some sort of duress, with a deep grimace distorting his features, one corner of his mouth curled up in a teeth-baring snarl.

UN-MOTHERFUCKING-BELIEVABLE, YOU DISGRACEFUL LITTLE SHIT. AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A HIGHBLOOD.

The screeching echoed in his head with such an intensity, it wouldn't have surprised the troll at all if it was clearly audible to anyone in his immediate vicinity.

Luckily he was "rescued" from his mental antagonization by Aeris speaking up again, the sound of his name catching his attention. His head turned slowly to take stock of her out of one eye. "There ix no need to apologize. Home muxt be important to you ax it ix to the humanx I have xpoken with, even if it ix not the xpecific home you hail from." He fished about in his pocket and eventually came out with something that looked very much like a small leather-bound notepad. He flipped open the cover, and a display flickered to life, filled with static but quickly stabilizing to a rudimentary interface not unlike a computer. "It appearx my portable computational device ix xtill functioning adequately..." He flipped it shut again, and deposited it in his pocket once again.

"I cannot fathom any reaxon for future communication without xpecific need for it, but if you wish to...ax xomeone told me, ximply 'talk', you are welcome to contact me." He turned his head fully to face Aeris, with a slight inclination as some bizarre gesture of farewell. "If you are the type to believe in luck, then I hope whatever luck you have ix of the poxitive kind, and your 'home' ix adequate to your needx."

[Amaterasu]

"Indeed... I'm not ashamed to say that I am absolutely discomfortable in this body. The sooner I can enter the world I am familiar with, the better. I apologize for cutting our talk short though, even if it is out of need." She stayed for as long as was needed while Dijudu checked his item and nodded twice. "Well, I have established an entry in your name. Should I need to contact you again I will remember your name. But, do not hesitate to do the same. I am happy to provide help if I can.

I do not believe in luck though - I believe that there are coincidences, but they are grounded on logic. I am, after all, a virtual intelligence." She involuntarily smiled in a display of her newfound humanity, then turned around. Wait... if she was able to recreate her suit and the items inside it, how about vehicles and the like? She backed away to a distance from Dikudu in case that her attempt somehow went wrong, then brought out a large amount of Omnilium and began to shape it. The UI on her helmet displayed a neat outline and a 3D model for the object she was thinking of... gradually the rainbow-colored mass shaped and solidified as the minutes ticked by, and after 6 minutes, 14 seconds, 387 milliseconds exactly she finished conjuring up a futuristic bike which she climbed into. It was a special design, another thing from the Vanu archives, to get their soldiers around hands-free so they could use weapons with their hands, without needing to let go of the steering wheel. Instead she pulled out several cords with plugs which went into her suit, on the back of her beltline, where the spinal reinforcement armor pads were. These had several fiber optic cables transmitting signals directly from her brain to the plugs, allowing for hands-free control of the vehicle.

The moment that she mounted up the machine automatically booted up its systems and loaded the current position and destination from Aeris's suit operating systems. Moments later the bike accelerated, reaching top speeds fairly quickly, and headed for the nearest portal to get itself located - the Pale Moors one, as she found out when asking the people that were nearby. All that was left to do from there was to retrace her route from her starting point to make out where the north side was, updating this to the system-integrated compass and using the map downloaded from the Dataverse library to make a beeline for the Coruscant portal. There, the troopers briefly stopped her to ensure she wasn't hostile, then allowed her through. Without so much as dismounting, Aeris slid through while updating her database on the subject of Coruscant troopers. Information was always good.

Aeris is leaving this thread and the Nexus. She is moving to Coruscant and from there, the Dataverse. I won't make a "travel-through" thread for Coruscant as Aeris will find the terminals and upload herself without staying around.