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Post by Gaia on Jan 18, 2023 18:20:08 GMT -8
#s://cdn~discordapp~com/attachments/858178610224562196/1049866352405532782/JokerAcidCard~png
He looked at the device that Dynamo produced, while listening to his explanation of the necessary precautions. He grimaced at the thought, realizing that, had this problem presented itself much earlier, he would be in a much better position. As it were right now, he had no place to take Merrill that was isolated enough, and even then, Dynamo didn't appear to, either. Which meant that the only other option . . .
. . . was time. He cast his gaze towards Merrill, his jaw shifting as he grinded his teeth, thinking carefully about his next words and thoughts. It seemed that Dynamo expected his failure, perhaps even was expecting him to admit it, to submit that Dynamo had to be trusted to follow through with what was going on. Without a place to move him to safely, like his Noise Wave, Joker had little he could think of that would suffice for his needs.
". . . Then we'll put the device on his chest to save us time, and begin working on a place to safely move him to," Joker acquiesces, turning back to Dynamo.
It is at this moment that Joker pauses as a voice whispers in his ear. Heartless' voice was ragged and contorted, like she was barely controlling herself, which was an immediate alert to him, but, she explained her previous plan for Element City in more detail. He had his concerns, but her reasoning was solid. He looked more squarely at Dynamo, now, with a plan for himself.
"What will that thing do to Merrill, once on his chest? Will he still be operational?"
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Post by Mega on Jan 18, 2023 19:04:21 GMT -8
Steve had absolutely no idea what was going on, but the tall people (which was everyone compared to his three-ish foot nothing) seemed to be very serious. He didn't recognize anyone except his fellow kidnapee- from where he didn't have the foggiest. Something about shrimp robot soldiers or something? Why was he here again? Instead of overthinking things, Steve would get back to his feet after realizing he was still technically face down. Then he'd reach up and make Steve-Sounds at Glassman while pointing at the gathering as if asking him what was going on. He needed someone to explain it simply to him!
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Post by Wackoguy on Jan 19, 2023 14:00:48 GMT -8
As the others seemed to be having quite a lengthy discussion, Glassman did ponder over whether or not he should inquire. His initial thoughts were to not intrude, but at this point they - himself and the closest one to an ally at this point - weren't doing much else.
Before Glassman could make a move himself, Steve's inquisitive sounds caught his attention. Looking from his little comrade to the others there, he then heaved a sigh and chuckled to himself.
"You're pretty assertive, huh?" Glassman asked, rhetorically, returning his glance to the others in the vicinity, a look of confidence on his face. "Let's find out then. Shall we?"
Leading the way, Glassman walked over to Joker, Dynamo and the others, stopping a ways off so he didn't appear intrusive on...whatever they were doing.
"Excuse us, but what are you all..." Glassman began, stopping short as he looked at the device of sorts in Dynamo's hand and then at Merrill. He had some semblance of what they might be doing, but he definitely had to ask now.
"What are you all doing?" he finally asked. Glassman felt surprisingly even more curious now that he had walked over.
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Post by Xypher on Jan 24, 2023 13:52:52 GMT -8
Merrill continued to sit and meditate, until a loud and obnoxious horn sounded, to which his focus instantly faltered.
"What now?"
He sighed, turning his attention to watch as the green van drives up, and dumps out a couple of navis. He recognizes the voice of Edge
"The prankster? Now's not the time for jokes..."
Knowing he had about run out of time with his stalling tactic, he moved down to speak with the newcomers. He vaguely recognized the dark-skinned navi with colored gems, but the name escaped him. But as he moved in to converse, he overheard just the last bit of Joker speaking to Dynamo
"... I don't like the sound of that..."
He sighed.
"What did you just say, Joker?"
He called out, as he slowly walked forward, vis voice calm, but cautious. He couldn't tell what Joker was holding, but either way, it didn't seem good.
This situation was looking like it no longer was in their favor.
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Post by shadowwalker on Feb 12, 2023 22:20:21 GMT -8
ColdJoe looked around noticing the little guy and Glassman. The last thing he remembers was taking on a virus hoard before blacking out now he's waking up after being tossed out of the van. "out of curiosity, where are we?" he asked joining the others. he heavy feet causing frost-like footprints to form as he walks, Looking down at the little one. "and who might you be little friend." he asks with curiosity.
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Post by Genesis on Feb 19, 2023 10:37:34 GMT -8
"He'll be operational, just a bit dampened seeing as it's intended to keep the problem factors in check."
*That would be all then, leaving the rest in their capable hands. And it looked like Merrill had finished his trip as well. It looked like Joker didn't have much more time for distractions either if the pause was any indication. It likely also played into why he asked about Merrill's operational status while it was applied. If they were going to be under fire soon, only made sense to make sure that they were able to get out of it fine. Time certainly made itself the ally of no one, that much was for certain.*
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Post by Gaia on Feb 19, 2023 11:16:58 GMT -8
#s://cdn~discordapp~com/attachments/858178610224562196/1049866352405532782/JokerAcidCard~png
Joker took the device that Dynamo had given him and turned towards Merrill, blinking once as he considered his friend. He ran a scan of him, seeing the volatile energies that made him up, but knew from experience not to dig too deeply. He sighed as he approached his ally, holding up the restraining device for Merrill to see it.
"We're going to Element City, but, before we go, I need you to let me put this on you," Joker said simply. "The powers you've absorbed from the enemies we've faced have been modified by the individuals we are fighting. It seems Hollow's concerns were correct - you've been compromised," he said simply, staring down Merrill.
"It will suppress that power that you've obtained until we can safely remove it. Then, we need to make our way to Element City."
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Post by Xypher on Feb 19, 2023 12:01:25 GMT -8
Merrill listened carefully as he looked at the device in Joker's hands. His eyes quickly darted to Dynamo, a glint of sudden understanding crossing through.
"..."
He crossed his arms, a frown appearing on his face. He turned to face Joker.
"Compromised, how, exactly? How did you come to this conclusion? If that was the case, why didn't you tell me immediately?"
His gaze shifted towards Dynamo.
"I had hopes that our crossing had been happenstance. But I guess I was wrong, wasn't I? I was your goal all along... Well. I can guess what the goal really is."
His thoughts strayed, only for a second, to what he had been told previously. Having the power made him a target, after all.
He stood still, taking in Joker's scan. His eyes narrowed.
"Tell me something, Joker. Up until now, you've been saying that I am worthy of the things we have done. That I should believe in myself. That I have the power to grow beyond my current strength... You say you sense it, and yet, in this moment, you wish to restrict it. What changed your mind?"
He stared right back at his ally.
"Do you not trust me?"
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Post by Genesis on Feb 19, 2023 12:38:08 GMT -8
*Joker had cut some corners on those descriptions, that much was true. It was pretty vague details to say one thing and then move on without going into the details. As for his own part in all of this, he simply raised his hands harmlessly as if he were caught in the act or something.*
"I did say that I was sent out to look for strangers in need of assistance."
*That meant that rather than happenstance, he was out searching for people that met that criteria and Merrill was one of them, hence the 'goal' as he labeled himself. Merrill had something to say to Joker about the fact that he had been discussing this with someone else without asking him about it. He probably figured Merrill would be on board with it if he said he was compromised, but then telling someone that and proving it were two different matters. If anything, it's more surprising that neither of them considered how compromised you both were. Then again, Dynamo supposed they both had their reasons for why they presumed otherwise. The database had his reasons and as did Merrill. Adding his two cents wouldn't exactly serve to endear either way minus stating what he had to Joker, which was likely what Joker was going to do anyway in regard to explaining his own chosen course of action. If that action wasn't swayed by Merrill's words anyway.*
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Post by Gaia on Feb 19, 2023 13:25:07 GMT -8
#s://cdn~discordapp~com/attachments/858178610224562196/1049866352405532782/JokerAcidCard~png
Clenching his jaw, Joker stepped to get closer to Merrill, considering him and his words. Joker was trying to do this without looking imposing or threatening, though, so, reconsidering himself, he took a step back. He could see how Merrill saw this as conflicting, but knew that to fail in his mission was dangerous in the extreme.
"It is not that I do not trust you, Merrill. It is that I cannot trust that which we do not fully understand. Already, the power that I have absorbed has caused me great harm, when it was used against my will to destroy the NIA. No amount of strength available to be was enough to stop that, and I saw it used again just recently when a modified Falzar was attacked, and Falzar was used to attempt to destroy someone with another explosion that warped timespace. Analysis would prove that you have absorbed Pandemic, a Cybeast that we know very little about, and was also in their possession for some time. Its corruption may have leaked out all over your systems.
"Unless we act, you may be permanently lost, and once you are lost, not only will we have lost a powerful ally, I will have lost a trusted friend. To circumvent that, even we are wrong, it is worth the risk to lose a little power for the time being."
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Post by Mega on Feb 19, 2023 14:58:48 GMT -8
Well, that seemed hardly courteous and quite rude. The question asked had been... maybe not ignored but it felt like it had been. But before Steve had half the mind to Steve his complaints, the other kidnapee asked who he was. Steve made Steve Sounds, remembering that only as many people he could count on his nubs could understand his indecipherable speech. So instead he summoned his Steve Clone and together they started using their bodies to make the letters S T E V E. But now back to the matter at hand- what was the matter at hand? One of them was weird to be around, something about having a power and stuff? Going to Element City? That place sounded familiar but from what context he was barely picking up- this was some kind of serious business and he had no idea why he was here still. Also why was he at the bottom of the totem pole with his clone standing on him?!
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Post by Wackoguy on Feb 21, 2023 1:24:14 GMT -8
From their conversation, it was pretty easy to understand what was going on here. At least...Glassman thought he grasped the info correctly.
"...absorbing a Cyberbeast...?" Glassman mused aloud. he could almost remember reading or hearing rumors about something like that happening in the distant past, supposedly. Or maybe it was just a navi decked out like one...?
Regardless, Glassman reflected on what Dynamo said and made up his own mind. Since they were here and came across them, it was natural to help if he could.
"If you need additional help with this, we'll lend you all a hand too. Even if we only met, maybe we can help you all out with this situation in some way." Glassman proposed.
But then he considered that he hadn't really even asked the other two, Steve, who was gesturing with a clone what his...name was? Or maybe trying to tell them a meteor was about to crash into the area...? And their ally, Coldjoe, as well.
"Are you both onboard with this as well?" he asked directly, not wasting anytime beating around the bush.
In the recesses of his digital mind though, he couldn't help wondering what kind of enemies were out there that could rig a Cyberbeast to go off like a bomb...and since they had enough firepower to blast the whole Net at once (if they pulled that off as well), they were more dangerous than the more simpler foes they'd faced in the past.
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Post by shadowwalker on Feb 22, 2023 22:05:02 GMT -8
Coldjoe looked to Glassman and Shrugged his shoulders. "Not like we have a choice here I don't know where I am and our ride just bailed on us so why not." Came the joes response before looking at the Steve. "So how bout it stue you up for this?"he asked while keeping his Eye on the other people not exactly trusting them.
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Post by Gaia on Mar 22, 2023 14:48:57 GMT -8
#s://cdn~discordapp~com/attachments/858178610224562196/1049866352405532782/JokerAcidCard~png
Merrill seemed highly conflicted with what was going on, and had yet to respond to his questions, but they had since attracted an audience. Turning to consider the newcomers, who Joker had as of yet just ignored, he gave them his attention, trying to think of how someone more kind, like Unity, would address them. Joker himself had little patience or care for their antics, or even someone that registered with such low battle potential as even the most impressive among them possessed, but he tried to keep that to himself.
"We face against mighty adversaries. I worry that, in truth, protecting each of you would be more dangerous a task than the monstrosities we have fought," Joker states simply, panning from GlassMan to the others. "All said, however, the desire to support is valiant. We need more forces, and the only way to grow to be able to contend with our adversaries is to be given the opportunity to fight. Come along with us, and I will do what is within my power to control to ensure that continue to stand to fight for a better tomorrow.
It was weird, he felt, promising someone else to follow through with Unity's goals. It felt good, in a way, if not also painful.
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Post by Wackoguy on Mar 23, 2023 12:41:21 GMT -8
"Don't worry. We'll do our best to pitch in and pull our weight. Right, guys?" Glassman said with confidence, nodding approvingly to Steve and Coldjoe.
Despite Joker's words about the kind of mighty foes they'd be facing, Glassman felt enthused and almost excited to pitch in - a chance to blow away the figurative 'battle dust' and interact with new people too? It was an exciting chance in his eyes.
At the same time, something reminded him to also try to backup as many here as he could, not just the two he arrived alongside.
'Well, the more the merrier, as they say.' Glassman thought inwardly.
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