A Tale of Two Cities

OOC: Ambiance!

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES….

*Certain people who moved to Paradigm-2 finds that they now have their own imaginary house, with an enormous imaginary basement. The imaginary basement is connected to an excavated subway tunnel. Parked in the imaginary basement is one of the Megadeuses from before, now attached to a structure that will allow them to move & deploy throughout the subway.*
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*Anyone who lives in the above city & happens to have their TV on is watching Helen Barbatos in front of a podium, speaking to an audience.*

<I know some of you may have been reluctant to move, but I am here to tell you, this is a great opportunity for us all. Not for Paradigm, but for us. Paradigm may have built this city, but now it belongs to us. We can do anything we want with it, and no one is going to stop us. If we don’t like the name, we’ll change it. And the Old Office best not have any delusions of receiving a portion of our profits. This, my dear friends, is a new beginning.>
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*Lilith is staring at several heaping plates of food. Thiera & Zell are also seated at the table, but no one is eating.*

L”It’s cold.”

T”I told you he’d be late, but you wouldn’t hear it.”

L”Because it is not logical. We arranged on a meeting time. It is past that time. Why would he have not shown up?”

T”Well, the point is, he didn’t.”

L”Lunch is ruined.”

T”I tried to tell you.”

L”I’ll break him.”

T”Maybe you should go recharge for a bit?”
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IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES….
*A man with white hair, chalk white skin, glasses, & a labcoat walks down the streets of Paradigm-1. He turns into an alley, climbing a fire escape. Atop the building, he turns, staring down at a prison. Reaching into his pocket, he removes a stick-like device with a button on the end & holds it out towards the sun.*

???<Ladies & gentlemen, it’s showtime!>

*He presses the button & an entire wall of the prison blows away, along with the gates. While most of the criminals avoid the subway entrance, unbeknownst to them, a single man with a bandaged face & a trenchcoat slips into the tunnels.*
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*A blond woman with curly hair & glasses in a business suit is sitting across from a man in white robes on the TV stations of Paradigm-1. The broadcast identifies her as Casey Jenkins & him as Valefor Pruslas, leader of a revivalist religion called the “Name of God.”*

Casey<You have to admit, it is fairly unprecedented for a religious leader to gain a seat in the Paradigm Office. For as long as anyone can remember, Paradigm has shown little to no interest in the implementation of a state religion. What do you think is the cause of your success?>

*He shifts, crossing his legs & gesticulating towards her.*

Pruslas<Simply put, I believe the matter of religion is more important to people’s everyday lives than the Paradigm Executives had previously considered, & all they needed was a prophet to show them the way.>

*The audio cuts out, being replaced by a man saying, "We interrupt this broadcast to inform you that there has been a prison break. Most are minor offenders, but a serial arsenist/terrorist is among those unaccounted for. If you see a badly burned man, please keep your distance & contact the authorities. Thank you for your cooperation."*

Pruslas<...In the butt.>

*Casey nods.*

Casey<The most gripping sermon I've ever heard, Mr. Pruslas.>
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*When Hitomi gets home from work, she finds a letter sitting on her desk. The envelope had already been torn open, & the letter removed, so the words are sitting in plain view.*

Thank you for returning this to me, young lady. It’s a shame no one ever wants to know about the tomato harvest. I would like you to keep it, but I imagine it will already have gone missing by the time you receive my reply. I’d mail you a tomato as consolation, but I imagine it would be pretty messy.

Words always have meanings, & those meanings are tied to our memories, but we may not always be able to retrieve them perfectly. If I were you, I would try tomato sandwiches. They help memory, you know. Probably.

*Hitomi stares at the letter reading it over a few more times before flipping to the back to see if there's more.*

[Little of that made sense.]

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"She should not give speeches."

*Vega changes the channel.*

Zell shifts a bit, and tries to stretch while remaining seated, "I don't think the meal is ruined, it is just a bit cold." Zell said in response to Lilith, "Oh, and try not to break him too severely."

*After Topaz and her brother settle into their new home, she decides to ride the Megadeus and attempt to travel down the tunnel.*

*Unfortunately, Vega finds that all channels are broadcasting the same show: Introduction to Paradigm-2.*

Barbatos<...Furthermore, we've decided to make advancements in android restoration common-->

*Her chin twitches very slightly.*

<--knowledge in this city. One area in which this will have immediate benefits is prosthetics.>
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*On the back is just a drawing of a tomato with Gordon Rosewater's face drawn on it.*
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*Once in the tunnels, the Megadeus's screen changes to a sonar-recreated map of said tunnels & a map of the surface. Both maps can be moved in all dimensions for comparison. However, several spots in the tunnel map appear to just drop off into nothingness when they get to lower levels.*
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*Thiera answers the door & Roger comes in, taking off his sunglasses.*

Roger<My apologies for being late.>

L"I will have to make another lunch."

Roger<Oh, I'm fine, I already ate.>

L"I will have to make another lunch. You will eat it. And you will like it."

*She snaps a fork in half before shuffling off into the kitchen with the fragments, leaving Roger scratching his head.*

*She puts the letter back down on the desk, word side up.*

[I suppose it's the thought that counts. I can't help but think he enjoys tomatos more than anyone should.]

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"Seriously? Not even cartoons?"

*After flipping a few more channels he eventually gives up.*

[Strange...]

*She heads towards one of those gaps carefully.*

Luna looked at the Megadeus and sighed... "What the hell is this doing... here?"

"Hello Roger." Zell said, "I would suggest eating."

*It's an absurdly steep tunnel that's far too small for the Megadeus. Judging from the level of light, it could be anywhere from 5 feet deep to going through the entire planet.*
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*Lilith re-emerges with a few plates of linguini. She gently sets the plates down in front of Zell & Thiera, but slams Roger's plate down in front of him, before sitting down at the remaining unoccupied seat. Roger pushes his plate aside (Lilith stabs the table) & puts his briefcase on the table in front of him, opening it.*

Roger<All right, then. Good morning, ladies. I see no reason to rush negotiations, but when you feel it's pertinent, tell me what you think of this offer.>

*He pushes a check in front of Zell, from the Paradigm Head Office, for 1 grand.*
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*The broadcast abruptly breaks, being replaced by a psychotically grinning mummy bastard against the backdrop of a flaming city.*

<Hey there, Paradigm lapdogs! Let's play a guessing game. Do you know why people like me can find so many Megadeus so easily, hm? Do you know what you aren't being told? To make the game more interesting, I want you to give your answer in the form of killing a giant robot spider.>

*He raises a remote & clicks it. The image behind him changes to the cityscape of Paradigm 2. Out of the ocean emerges something like a steel daddy longleg, 4 blocks in diameter, hovering just over the buildings. It stops over one & a port underneath it opens, pouring down a bunch of green fluid that quickly reduces the building & the streets below to slag. When a tank shoots at it, a red eyeball opens up on its leg & fires an energy beam. After a second, the tank glows red & explodes into fine fragments.*

<We now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcasting!>

*When the image changes, Barbatos punches an aid who tries to stop her in the face, & then walks off stage.*
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*Hitomi's phone rings.*

*She answers.*

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*Vega turns the tv off and drags himself off the couch heading to the basement or wherever the Megadeus is stored.*

Zell smiled as Lilith put the food down in front of her, "Thank you Lilith." She said. She took a bite as everyone was served and seated, but Roger drew her attention. Zell looked at the check absentmindedly, it wasn't her biggest paycheck, but she wasn't one for negotiations. "It is fine, I guess," Zell said, "Now, please, eat." She finished saying, turning back to her own plate to continue eating.

Picking up the remote, Luna activated the Megadeus and opened the cockpit while checking out all of the different controls.

<Zere is a problem at ze ocean zat we need you to take care of, 'Itomi.>
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Roger<That's good to hear. Negotiations will finish ahead of schedule.>

*Lilith pushes the plate back in front of him. Sighing, Roger takes a bite. Lilith's expression abruptly changes to a toothy grin.*

Roger<(...Androids.)>
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Cast in the name of God Ye not guilty

"Understood."

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*In the basement/hangar/whatever he boards the Megadeus and begins to leave.*

[Giant spider thing and I don't have a long-ranged rifle.]

Through the subway, mice, rats and homeless people were crushed by a stampeding Megadeus.
I've been given this, and I'm going to use it... maybe now I can find out just what is going on...
Wherever the giant spider is, Luna and her megadeus are fast approaching it.

*Vera hangs up. A rumbling indicates that the Megadeus has popped up outside.*
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*Both Megadeuses surface at roughly the same time. When they do, rows of eyes open along two of the spider Megadeus's legs pointing towards them. Said eyes then begin charging energy.*

*She hangs up and leaves going outside. Once outside she boards the Megadeus and it takes off towards the ocean.*

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*Gelu Chalybs immediatly raises its rifle and open fires.*

From inside, Luna cursed, "This thing is going to be troublesome...!"

Prolix Arma was lifted into the air on two tentacles and jumped closer to the spider-robot. Once in range, all other four tentacles lashed out at the spider's legs.
As the tentacles lashed out, Luna decided to test out the other weapons.

The right hand fired first, peppering the body of the spider with 50. cal bullets, before the left hand launched two of the super-heated metal injecting harpoons into the same spot.

*Several damage warnings appear on Gelu Chalybs screen as it's blasted with lasers. Some buildings next to where the other Megadeus was standing also collapse. A crack appears in the spider's armor, but it puts its legs together, firing its lasers upwards & then drilling into the ground.*
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*Once at the ocean, she sees that the lights in the submerged skyscrapers are flickering on & off, but can't see anything else abnormal.*

*Kanrei Tsuki stands looking about the water with its rifle at the ready.*

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[This thing cannot take a hit.]

*Gelu Chalybs begins firing at the main body*

Zell nodded, "That would be best for everyone, I think." She said before she took another bite of her food, "The food is good Lilith." Zell said as she finished up her food.

L"Thank you."

*Roger finishes & then waits for Theira to finish.*

Roger<Now, I'll just need to take the painting back to the Paradigm Head Office.>
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*A bigass eel monster with about a dozen eyes & a mouth like a whale explodes out of the water, roaring at the Megadeus.*
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*Unfortunately, the spider-Megadeus is spinning too fast for the bullets to do any real damage. It quickly slips underground, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.*

*Kanrei Tsuki takes a few steps back and raises its rifle firing at one of the eyes.*

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*Gelu Chalybs cautiously approaches the hole. Standing over it its mouth opens and fires a needle down after the Matarael Megadeus.*

Zell excuses herself from the table, "It is in my room, or the room I'm staying in; I don't want to be presumptuous." Zell said, "I'll take you there now." She said taking a few steps in the general direction of her room.