Node1127: Private Channel with ModScarlet
test: i see ur havin a hard time with kyoko
test: sorry.
ModScarlet: It is somewhat frustrating.
ModScarlet: You think it'd be easy to get the cooperation of my users since I'm offering them superpowers.
ModScarlet: But noooo. My Node is dysfunctional and couldn't get along if you paid them.
ModScarlet: And now they're trying to weasel concessions out of me?
ModScarlet: "Exceptional" apparently means "exceptionally annoying!"
test: sorry again.
test: if it helps im interested in powers.
test: but i think i have nothing to offer.
test: u said that basic laws of physics shit isnt exceptional.
test: not exotic
test: dont think plain ol electricity counts.
ModScarlet: Have you considered talking in the Node, yet?
ModScarlet: You seem reasonable, for the most part.
ModScarlet: Perhaps you could act as a moderating influence?
test: uh
test: isnt that literally ur job?
ModScarlet: Clearly, I'm not very good at it.
ModScarlet: Could you give the matter some thought?
test: …idk yet.
test: can i just give u some advice instead?
ModScarlet: Sure. I'll take anything, here.
test: u shld b more assertive.
test: u 2nd guess urself a lot.
test: & ovreact when u make mistakes.
test: stop it.
test: people notice when u dont have confidence.
test: so people wont have confidence in u either.
test: if u want kyoko & undyne & pyrrha to listen to u
test: u shld try to b some1 worth listening 2
test: like dont go overboard?
test: but mean what u say.
test: use "…" less
test: & dont fold when u fuck up
test: u have more power than u think here.
test: use it wisely.
ModScarlet: Huh.
ModScarlet: That is well-reasoned.
ModScarlet: And it certainly sounds like you have experience!
ModScarlet: I think I'll try that!
ModScarlet: Thank you, test.
ModScarlet: Though, you didn't mention Yuri?
test: she alrdy listens to u.
test: prbably
test: i think shes scared of u.
ModScarlet: Huh.
ModScarlet: Also, I assume that test is not your actual name?
test: lol
test: ya
test: im emma.
ModScarlet: Then thank you, Emma.
"Hey! Pyrrha!"
Pyrrha glanced down from her position atop the Beacon dorm's roof, hearing her name called by a familiar voice.
Even from this great height, the mane of blonde hair was unmistakable. That shade of brilliant yellow was something of a rarity on Remnant. Coupled with its immense, flowing volume and also the fact that she was shouting at her from ground level, there was no confusing Yang Xiao Long for anyone else.
Standing beside her, looking slightly less excited, was the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company: Weiss Schnee. Though, perhaps it was unfair to designate her purely as such. It was not as if Pyrrha enjoyed being constantly identified as the Invincible Girl after all! If she were instead to describe her character, she would call Weiss prickly. Easily riled up, and quick to judge. But at the heart of it all, she cared. She cared for her team, about upholding her own high expectations and family legacy. For the people she fought to protect, and the skill that allowed her to do so.
It was not as if Pyrrha herself had not exhibited some of those negative traits. When they had first met, Weiss had attempted to partner with her. She had not done a good job disguising her naked desire. Pyrrha had assumed that the heiress was planning on riding on her coattails, so to speak (she didn't wear a coat), and had actively avoided her as politely as possible. In hindsight, while there was undoubtedly some element of that—Weiss Schnee was an opportunistic, pragmatic person—there were also genuine common elements between them. Both had been held apart from the masses by a pedestal, that invisible barrier of perceived superiority. Both possessed great skill at combat, a fact that had frankly surprised Pyrrha to see. And both had been quite lonely, when first entering Beacon.
Pyrrha was glad that she had not rebuffed Weiss more forcefully on their first meeting. It would have been a shame to lose such a good friend over a poor first impression.
"Hello again!" she shouted down, only half-paying attention to the Node now, Undyne and Yuri's speculation on her teammates.
"Whatcha doing up there? You rushed out of the cafeteria so quickly!" Yang shouted.
"I am," Pyrrha started, before realizing that she didn't have a ready reason to provide. 'I wanted to send people from a different dimension a snapshot impression of Vale' would… probably require some additional explanation. And she didn't really want to go through that right now! She needed to come up with a plausible excuse that dispelled suspicion.
Pyrrha, floundering, glanced around at Beacon's campus. Her eyes locked onto the only building taller than the dorm roof, which gave her the idea she needed.
"I wanted better CCTS reception," she announced proudly, holding up the Scroll in her hands.
Beacon Academy's central tower served many purposes. It stood above all of Vale, serving as a symbol of inspiration and awe for all of its citizens. It contained Professor Ozpin's office, a spot at the very top where he could survey his school, do paperwork, and sip his cocoa (presumably). It was a landmark (a beacon if you would) for lost travelers. And arguably most importantly, it was one of the four pillars upon which the Cross-Continental Transmit System was built.
The CCTS facilitated global communications for all peoples of Remnant. So long as one held a Scroll and the four CCT Towers stood, one could speak with a loved one, a coworker… anybody at all, anywhere at all. One tower resided in each Kingdom, and if any of them were to fall, Pyrrha was certain that the world would be plunged into a new era of chaos, of darkness. A time of false information and frightened searching for lights in the blacked-out sky.
Yes. It would be a simple fact to state that the CCTS was fundamental to society as they knew it. It was the reason that the Towers were so strategically guarded, sectioned in the middle of the Huntsmen Academies. It would take an army, led and composed of pure evils who wanted for the downfall of not just Vale, but the entire world, to bring a tower down.
All of this to say: the transmitter and receiver at Beacon Academy was at the top of the tower. It made perfect sense to climb to a height if one wanted a better connection. It was genius.
…Judging by Weiss's baffled expression, it seemed as if not everybody present agreed with Pyrrha's deductive reasoning.
"Are you sending a large file? The reception is just fine down here!" the white-haired girl shouted.
Oh no. A hole in her ruse.
"Maybe?" Pyrrha tried.
It only now occurred to her that she could have said 'I wanted to send a picture of Vale to a friend in Mistral.' That wasn't too far from the truth, and wouldn't raise any questions. In her defense, though, she wasn't especially good at. Lying. Honesty was the best policy, wasn't it?
"What do you mean, 'maybe'? That's—" Weiss let out a long-suffering sigh. "This is ridiculous. Get down here. I don't want to keep shouting up at you."
Ah, that was reasonable. Pyrrha's voice carried, but she too would prefer not to wear it out unnecessarily. She put her Scroll in her pocket and went to meet Weiss and Yang the same way she had initially gotten up here.
Thud.
"Nice landing," Yang commented. "Could've done without the dust in my hair, though."
Pyrrha straightened and put her hands over her mouth, mortified. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She'd simply wanted to get down quickly!
Yang laughed it off, thankfully, shaking some of the aforementioned dust loose. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, Weissy and I were going to finalize some stuff for the dance this weekend. Just figured we'd say hi."
Weiss interjected, "Speaking of the dance…"
An accusatory finger, pointed straight at Pyrrha's heart. It jumped.
"Do something about your lout of a partner! He won't stop propositioning me to go to the dance with him! I've been quite polite in rebuffing him so far, but Jaune is starting to try my patience!"
It was true, Pyrrha couldn't help but think. Jaune had been… quite persistent, in his attempts to woo her. In some ways, she could admire his determination. He'd spent nearly the entire semester attempting to win her affection, despite her complete and utter non-interest. Negative interest, borderline antipathy. Truly, the ice queen was cold.
A more present part of her wished that he would look at Pyrrha with that degree of absurd fervor. Was Jaune just into poliosis?
Weiss concluded, as Pyrrha thought the matter over, "If he asks me again, I'm sending him through the nearest window."
"Please don't. Though, I'll see what I can do," Pyrrha affirmed, offering a slight smile.
"Welp," Yang said. "We should be on our way now. Nice catching up with you, Pyrrha!"
That, too, reminded Pyrrha that she had an appointment to keep. She'd promised to study with Nora for Professor Peach's Dust Studies exam. While her teammate was quite skilled in mixing Dust out of what seemed like natural talent—she built her own grenades from scratch!—her ability to exhibit that skill and practice on paper, the mathematical requirements to know exact Dust ratios and identify more esoteric types, needed some work.
Looking at the time, she really did need to be going. Pyrrha bade farewell to Yang and Weiss, and returned her attention to the Node as she walked towards the library, where it seemed that Scarlet had an announcement to make.
Kyoko: I dunno. He's got a certain kind of charm to him, but
Kyoko: Pretty-boys just aren't my thing.
Yuri: I can't believe this is the discussion we're having.
Yuri: Pyrrha's classmates are all too young to…
Yuri: …Be doing much of anything, now that I think of it.
Undyne: They seem like adults to me.
Undyne: None of them are wearing striped shirts!
Yuri: …What.
ModScarlet: Hi!
ModScarlet: Hate to interrupt.
ModScarlet: But following up on yesterday's discussion…
ModScarlet: I'm finally tentatively willing to give you some Core access.
ModScarlet: The Relic Core is the most difficult to weaponize, and also the most directly relevant for our purposes here.
Pyrrha: Scarlet, I believe we may have put the conflict between Kyoko and Undyne to bed.
Pyrrha: The whole issue involved a misunderstanding regarding the Summoning Core.
Pyrrha: Which I presume you could have prevented, if you'd elaborated.
Pyrrha: So would it be alright if you considered being more lenient?
ModScarlet: …I saw.
ModScarlet: I'm guessing there still might be some lingering enmity.
ModScarlet: I don't want to stir that up, so I'm being cautious.
ModScarlet: That said, I'm taking it under consideration.
ModScarlet: We'll see if you girls can control yourselves for a little while longer.
Undyne: I think I liked you better when you were being useless and cagey.
Undyne: As opposed to veiling insults at us every chance you get.
ModScarlet: Welp. Here goes!
ModScarlet: /admin relic enable
Relic Core enabled.
Kyoko: Yay.
ModScarlet: Yay!
ModScarlet: Now. Kyoko. Is that "Grief Seed" still available for analysis?
Kyoko: I've got one, yeah.
Kyoko: It's a different one, but they're mostly the same as far as I can tell.
ModScarlet: How large is it?
Kyoko: It's a sphere with pointy things on either end, about 8 cm in length.
ModScarlet: Oh. Hm.
ModScarlet: Let me check on some diagnostics real quick.
"Hey! Pyrrha! Over here!"
Nora's voice filled the library, much to the consternation of the other students studying there. Her table, across the library, was covered in books, food, and Dust. Pyrrha hurried to her classmate's side in the hopes that she'd quiet down. It worked, thankfully. As soon as she sat down, Nora's voice shrank to a whisper: "What's going on? You left us at the cafeteria in such a hurry! Is it something to do with—" Nora glanced left-right, furtive, her voice dropping further, a whisper of a whisper, "Your Node buddies?"
"Yes. Of sorts," Pyrrha replied in that same low tone. "Yuri wanted a view of Vale."
"That's the quiet one, right?" Nora asked.
Pyrrha nodded. "Though, that isn't why we're here." She tapped the Dust Studies textbook in front of her.
"Aww…" Nora whined plaintively. "But
aliens…"
ModScarlet: Alright. We have a minor issue.
ModScarlet: The connection Relic functions as a portal between contexts, which uses the Node as an intermediary.
ModScarlet: It is through this portal that I would be able to run analysis on your Grief Seed, Kyoko.
ModScarlet: Unfortunately, I don't think we can make a portal that is large enough to scan it, with our current capacity.
Kyoko: Why not?
Kyoko: How hard can it be to make one, I don't know.
Kyoko: The size of a fist?
ModScarlet: The size isn't truly the problem, though I do suppose any increase in portal size would draw more power.
ModScarlet: But the real killer here is dimensionality.
ModScarlet: A zeroth-dimensional portal is the smallest possible connection—a point.
ModScarlet: It would only be useful for transferring energy and certain magical properties.
ModScarlet: It takes up approximately 6% of our Node's power capacity when active.
ModScarlet: Since all of your worlds consist of at least three dimensions, we would need, at minimum, a two-dimensional connection.
ModScarlet: This would allow for a scanning, of sorts, that would irrevocably destroy your Grief Seed.
ModScarlet: Capacity consumed is proportional to both dimensionality and size.
ModScarlet: We don't have enough.
Yuri: I assume that, given the difficulty involved in creating even a small portal, a portal the size of a human body would be nearly impossible?
ModScarlet: A bit oddly specific, but that would be a pretty hefty draw.
ModScarlet: Why do you ask?
Yuri: I wanted to know how difficult it would be to send Undyne a human.
Yuri: To free her people.
Pyrrha wondered why Yuri had decided to disguise her intentions. Was it because she simply didn't trust Scarlet? Or was it that she was testing the waters, so to speak? On how much they were willing to tolerate, morally speaking?
Alternately…was she straightforwardly telling the truth? That raised a whole different cache of concerns. Where would she be obtaining such a human? Yuri had mentioned the City was a harsh place to live, but had not gone into much detail as to
why. Mentions of Grimm-like monsters, true, as well as a mercenary—Fixer, sorry—job that seemed utterly soul-crushing. Did she deal in that many human corpses?
Pyrrha could appreciate the consideration for Undyne and her circumstances. But now she worried for Yuri's soul.
…She had a solution to Undyne's issues as well. It was a good one. But she did not like thinking about it.
She could have one more semester, right? She wanted to shine at the Vytal Festival. She wanted more time with her teammates. She wanted… more time.
The future wasn't here quite yet.
ModScarlet: Ah, fair enough.
Undyne: Can't you just pull the soul out and use a smaller portal?
Yuri: …No?
Yuri: That would require the use of a Singularity, I think…
Yuri: Can monsters just do that?
Undyne: Huh.
Undyne: Human souls tend to linger after death in my world.
Undyne: I guess this is one of those weird constants that ModScarlet talked about.
Undyne: One that doesn't hold across worlds.
ModScarlet: On that note, I bid you all a task.
ModScarlet: Rare kinds of energy! Magic! Whatever!
ModScarlet: Compare and contrast to figure out what's exclusive to where!
ModScarlet: Discuss!
ModScarlet: And we'll see what we can do with them.
Pyrrha: This is the part where you bow out without offering any further help, isn't it.
ModScarlet: Almost!
ModScarlet: But let me help you get some toys to play around with, first.
ModScarlet: /relic create Connection{'Realm1', 'Realm2', 'Realm3', 'Realm4'} point(freeFloating, open)
Creating Relic.
Opening Connections.
Right there on the table next to Pyrrha's hand, a tiny point appeared, just as Scarlet had described. Glowing. Free-floating. She got the sense that she could pick it up and move it around if she wanted to.
Was this really a portal to another world? It was so small.
"Hey, what's that?" Nora asked, eyes keenly focused on the new distraction.
Pyrrha didn't know how to answer. So she parroted back the terms the Moderator had used to call it into existence.
"It's a connection between four realms. A free-floating point," she said, slowly.
The weight of the Node, previously just a mental chatroom and little more, began to set in. This was a tangible point in the physical world. More than just words and promises.
"It's a portal."
"Hey. Whaddya think we'll do when we finally reach the surface? What kind of plans do you have?"
Alphys's room, inside the Royal Laboratory. You wouldn't think a metal building built inside the roiling inferno known as Hotland would be comfortable. But thanks to the glorious Alphysian invention of AIR CONDITIONING, Undyne could hang out with her best friend at her house without shriveling and dying! She was super considerate like that!
"Oh… Um. I-I-I guess I'd… want to see the sun! Sunlight! Being outside and feeling the sun on my, uh, scales… it sounds r-really cool! Uh, I mean warm!"
For those not in the know, Alphys was a yellow lizard monster. The Royal Scientist, a very lofty title! Also, a HUGE NERD! She threw herself into things with the same fervid intensity that Undyne threw herself off cliffs! Except, instead of chasms and falls meant to toughen her body and soul, Alphys preferred the finer things in life: Anime! Cup noodles! Human history! Also science, she guessed, but it was those things that had drawn the Captain of the Guard to the Royal Scientist in, like a fish to a hook!
"Hahaha! That's cute! But, I'm not gonna lie: That doesn't sound like you. When was the last time you left the lab? This room?"
It was what they were doing right now, actually. Watching some human anime. Specifically, one about magical princesses! Alphys had been overjoyed by her interest, and being the well-prepared professional video-player purveyor that she was, already had one queued up! Panic'd Manic'd Mary Maine had been a little slow, so far, but she'd already learned so much about Magical Girls…
"Uh… I-I-I mean, I think I'd, uh, go outside more? If it was, uh, the real surface? *sigh* No, you're right… at least we'd get, uh, like, more complete a-a-nime? Less scrounging around in the, uh, dump."
Er. She didn't really have a great reason to kill Kyoko anymore, but she wanted to be equipped just in case she had to! What was that they said about the smallest edges and the difference between life and death? Probably that a BIGGER edge was better for both, haha! Hence the SUPERMASSIVE anime sword they'd been building together but that wasn't the point at all now was it.
"Sounds like a good reason to me! Plus, on the surface, they have anime ONLINE, don't they? You wouldn't even have to leave your house! Your room! Dream come true or what?"
A nod from Alphys. A period of companionable silence between the both of them, as they settled in and watched Mary Maine kicked the ass of a bunch of brain-spider-tank-things with her crazy magic spear.
Right up until Undyne broke it.
"Hey… Alphys. You've worked with some weird sciencey stuff, right?"
Her primary job, as Royal Scientist, was to break the Barrier through any means necessary. The two of them, they worked towards the same goal, the same dream, from different angles. Neither of them had yielded fruit so far.
"Uh… Yes? Y-yes, of course."
Her eyes were still locked on the television screen.
"What's the most powerful thing you've ever worked with? Like, a source of energy?"
As ModScarlet had suggested, the members of the Node had done some brainstorming, earlier that day. Each had walked away with leads to chase, powers that turned out to be unusual brought to light. Pyrrha had her 'Dust'. Yuri had 'Singularities'. Kyoko had her magic, though it turned out that wasn't exactly an option for… some reason. And Undyne…
"Oh! Well, I, um, I've performed maintenance! O-on the CORE? That thing powers the, uh… the entire Underground, doesn't it. D-does that count?"
Monster magic, maybe. But she was hoping for something with a little more punch to it. Something more unique. ALL monsters had magic, after all. Not so exotic when you got down to it!
"True… But I was thinking a little smaller. Something powerful that has a lot of energy! And I know this is a bit of a stretch, but… maybe something that rivals the power of a human soul?"
Alphys wasn't looking at the television anymore.
"O-oh. I-I-I… I see. That's… T-that's—If I, uh. If I h-had something p-p-powerful enough to… to break the b-barrier. I would h-have used it! Already!"
She was nervous. Well. Moreso than usual. Alphys was normally kind of a twitchy bundle of nerves, Undyne could admit. But this was weird, even for her. Undyne felt kinda bad even for asking.
…Yeah, what kind of friend was she being? Of COURSE Alphys didn't didn't have anything that strong. Undyne was insinuating that the Royal Scientist wasn't trying hard enough to break the Barrier, wasn't she? God, now she felt like crap. How would SHE feel if, say, Jerry, frickin' Jerry, said that she was soft on humans? SHE'D BREAK HIM OVER HER KNEE!
But Alphys wasn't like that. When she was out of her element, she got scared. She wasn't a combat-focused monster. So…
"Ngah. Forget it, let's just watch the show!"
"Okay!"
So they did.
Pyrrha: I have something of a strange question for you all.
Pyrrha: How do you see the stars?
Kyoko: With my eyes?
Pyrrha: Let me rephrase.
Pyrrha: What do you think of them?
Kyoko: Hell do I care?
Kyoko: They're just white dots.
Kyoko: Light things up at night.
Kyoko: Occasionally mistake airplanes for 'em.
Pyrrha: Stars, by what I have been taught, are the markings of heroes.
Pyrrha: Legends, written in the night sky.
Pyrrha: One can look up into the celestial sphere and be comforted by the belief that history has its eyes on you.
Pyrrha: And someday, even if they do not know it, someone will look up and find your star in the sky.
Kyoko: Wow.
Kyoko: That's.
Kyoko: Way too flowery for me.
Yuri: Stars are…
Yuri: The freest beings in the City. They hang so high above.
Yuri: You can always see them, reach for them, close your fist and pretend you're holding them in your hand.
Yuri: But they are so far out of grasp.
Yuri: No one can touch them, not really.
Yuri: …Sorry. I got carried away.
Pyrrha: It's okay!
Pyrrha: I think that's a very valid interpretation.
Pyrrha: Undyne, what do you think?
Undyne: I hate to break it to you.
Undyne: But I live in a CAVE, remember?
Undyne: I've never seen the stars.
Pyrrha: Oh. That's right. I'm sorry.
Undyne: The closest thing we've got is the glowing lichen on Waterfall's ceiling.
Undyne: I guess that's pretty nice.
Undyne: …
Undyne: I imagine the real things are even more beautiful, though.
Pyrrha: Hold on for one minute, please.
Undyne: ???
Pyrrha: /inputFlow
That's how Undyne became one of five monsters in the Underground to see a sky full of stars.
Pyrrha: I probably ought to apologize.
Pyrrha: These are the stars, as seen from Vale City.
Pyrrha: Light pollution has reduced the quality of the view.
Kyoko: Your moon is really big.
Pyrrha: Is it?
Kyoko: Also broken.
Pyrrha: …Yours isn't?
Waterfall's ceiling was beautiful in its own, unique right. Some monsters called it gloomy, dank, depressing. But Undyne liked it and she'd fight anyone that said otherwise. Spreading and dying mosses and lichens, each glowing a slightly off-white color, contrasting with the black-blue stone and reflecting off the rushing waters below. As much as she hated the Underground, she truly, genuinely, loved Waterfall. There were worse places to build a home.
The night sky of Remnant blew it out of the water. Which, Onionsan aside, was probably where most monsters wanted to be anyway.
It was the DISTANCE that was really getting to her, she was guessing. In the Underground, everything was… well, underground. The ceiling was never more than a couple of hundred feet away. A lot of the time, in the twistiest caverns of Waterfall, she could reach up and touch it. Jump up and poke it. Throw a spear at it.
Undyne hadn't paid all that much attention back in monster school, but thanks to Alphys's occasional nerd-outs, she knew that each of the little twinkly dots was actually an unfathomable distance away. Light-years. If she were to chuck a spear at the stars, it'd just… come back down. Even in the fastest rocket ship monsterkind could ever build, actually traveling there would be next-to impossible. The gulf of space was not entirely unlike the Barrier: completely impassable.
Unless you were a human in a giant space robot!
Undyne: Wow.
Undyne: That's really something.
Undyne: It's so much better than in the books.
Undyne: The TV.
Undyne: ASGORE's recollections.
Undyne: It's like…
Undyne: Someone sprinkled glow-in-the-dark glitter all over the ceiling.
Undyne: Except the ceiling is a million billion miles high.
Undyne: And also someone broke a dinner plate in the middle.
Undyne: What's up with that?
Pyrrha: The moon has been like that as long as life has been present on this planet.
Pyrrha: I really don't see what is so strange about this!
"Uh, U-Undyne… Are you, uh. Okay?"
Undyne startled, realizing that she had been paying absolutely no attention to the anime Alphys had put on. Too starstruck, literally. Crap.
"I-it's just that, uh. You were kinda… s-spacing out? Mary just d-defeated the, uh, Chill Queen. And you'd normally b-be, like… s-s-saying something? Right h-here?"
Undyne sighed. Yeah, that was enough.
"Yeah… you're right. I've been a little distracted."
She'd intended on finishing the anime before breaking the news. Get Alphys comfortable, all that. But seeing as she'd picked up on Undyne's distraction, she figured this was as good a time as any.
"But there's a good reason for that! You know that question I asked earlier? About exotic sources of energy? It wasn't… gah. What's the word? It wasn't RHETORICAL. That's it."
Undyne pulled the Node Relic, the portal, the connection - the whatever. She pulled it out of her pocket. And felt pity at Alphys's expression of confusion. It was about to get so much worse.
"So there's this Node…"
