[RPG] The Big-Oh! RP — An Archive of Storytelling

Roland finally arrived on the scene, ready in waiting for Angel and Beck to cruise by him. Just then he got a call from Cuffer, his fellow police officer.
"Yo, they want any available officers to check out nearby major bridges. They got a call in at the station and can't trace it."
Roland was not interested in abandoning his position. "Why don't you go? I'm busy."
"Look, man, I'm on patrol. I'm not really "Available." I'm protecting all the fine people livin' in a ten-block radius. Besides that Gold guy probably won't even be by. Think about it, Roland. There's no proof that he's even linked to that striped freak. I'll call you if I see him."
"Fine, but don't steal my credit."
Bustems started heading for the 59th Street Bridge. He was confident that all the weird events of the night had been linked in some way. The giant robots, the escaped convict, Alex Rosewater's henchman, a kidnapping...Bustems was sure they would all link together in some way or another, much like in the poor mystery novels he would read in his spare time. Although he was normally a lazy, underachiever of a cop, tonight he was keeping his eyes open in search of a clue. Of course, even at his best, he was still a fool.

R. Dorothy Wayneright heard the sound of rain falling onto her black umbrella. Her eyes noticed the caution the drops seemed to take when they slipped from the edge of the black fabric to the puddles on the ground. So far, she had been lucky. She had seemed to avoid any and all rain puddles, which she knew was a very unlikely event. She didn’t need to watch her step as the puddles just slipped by her feet as she walked.

Dorothy’s eyes glanced to her side, just to take notice of the surroundings. Beside her, reminding her of a very familiar day, The Speakeasy rose to greet her. Roger often went to the little bar to talk to Big Ear. Dorothy wondered if Roger had any inkling that his personal informant (well, he was more like everyone’s informant if the person paid the right price) was not human, but indeed an android, like herself.

This was her reasoning for being out and about at six thirty-two in the morning. R. Dorothy Wayneright was not human, but an android. Androids, as most people knew, do not have to eat food in order to survive, but oil. Norman had told her early this morning that her oil supply seemed to be unusually low and she should go out and buy herself the highest grade oil. But, according to R. Dorothy’s calculations, her oil supply was hardly low. In fact, she knew she had a little over half left, so what reason did Norman have for sending her out so early in the morning?

Dorothy’s petite black shoe splashed in the puddle. She looked down with little interest. She was an android and really could not feel the cold water as it sloshed over the sides into her little shoe, soaking her foot. Norman, of course, would notice and with a fatherly care, take her shoes and dry them by the oven.

Yet, this puddle caught her interest more than her wet shoe. This water seemed to have a crimson hue about it. Dorothy let her gaze move quickly from the sitting water to the little stream that flowed to it. Her eyes continued to take mental pictures until it fell upon a tan heap, which seemed to be the source of the crimson liquid. A man, she noted, was lying in the middle of the sidewalk. Why would anyone willingly lie in the side walk she thought as she walked to him.

His face momentarily felt dry, free from the slight drops of rain, as her umbrella shadowed over his face. The rain would end soon, she thought as she looked down upon this heap. Could he see her, she wondered, as she turned her head to the side, hiding her android “whir.”

“Sir,” she spoke gently, “Are you well?”

He noticed her, but did not show a sign of understanding her. Dorothy then noticed the red on his face. He was hurt. Someone, or something, had hit this poor creature and left him there to die. Dorothy set the oil pail in the nearby entrance to the alley. A gust of wind picked up, taking her umbrella from her loose hand. She hardly cared. She needed to take the man to see Norman where his wounds could be treated and he could recover.

Dorothy bent over, placing one arm under the tired man’s knees and her other arm around his shoulder. Gracefully she lifted him like he was a large pillow. She turned on her heel and prepared herself for a quick little run and flew off, sending a draft by the few wandering people going to The Speakeasy.

Her umbrella finally landed on the ground, spinning in a circle from the wind she sent when she ran off. A tired, ragged man, happily grabbed the umbrella, using the large fabric as a guard against the cold. His eyes watched in a amazment as the small girl, with that man in her arms, seemed to fly away, disappearing around a far away corner.

Dorothy wondered how Roger would react to the man that she brought home. He seemed to dislike her little habit of helping those in need, but he had helped her once. What made her helping people different?

The doorstep of Roger’s home greeted her eyes. She was surprised that she had arrived quicker than she had thought the run would take. Her feet carried her up the stairs, into the mansion, and over to the back stairs which she knew would be quicker than the elevator.

“Ah, hello Dorothy,” Norman greeted upon her entrance to the kitchen. “Did you-.”

But his words were cut off when he noticed the stunned man in Dorothy’s arms.

“I found him lying in the street and I believe he is hurt, Norman. I figured you would be better able to help him, than me,” Dorothy explained looking to Norman. “Should I place him in Roger’s room?”

(OOC: Amelia's post will come soon. Depending on how soon, I'll edit this post or add another. Depends)

(OOC: I'm not double posting. Its been about an hour since my last post and this is also a long one. I figured might as well split Dorothy's from Amelia's.)

Amelia watched as Alex picked himself up and dusted his coat. Replacing the fear on his face with the hard, stone look that he often presented. Alex Rosewater could feel fear, she thought, inwardly smiling. Michael would have been very proud of that fact.

She turned her head from the cold eyes of the President. He must have been responsible for her husband’s death. She would not stand for that, but she must continue on, without him, at least until she saw his body. Tears began to well again in her soft eyes as she thought about his death. She couldn’t loose him, but she had, yet she truly wasn’t sure... Confusion encircled her mind.

She lifted her blurry eyes to look upon Big Duo. He moaned softly as he realized the changes that had taken place on his face. If she were the dominus, then how could she care for it?

Dominus. What a funny word, she thought. A word to mean pilot of these giant machines, but also, she remembered finding out once, a title of respect. So, she thought, she was dominus of this megadues, the one her father and husband had both affectionately cared for, coming close, but not becoming it’s dominus.

Amelia smiled as she looked upon Big Duo. He had protected her, stopping Alex from laying a hand on her. Thank you she thought to Big Duo and quickly he replied, You’re welcome.

Slowly she turned to Alex. A new feeling raising up with grief. A feeling of conquest despite her anger. Alex was not a dominus by right, and here she was, accepted finally by her childhood friend for a greater purpose. All those years of being around Big Duo, thinking there was a ghost or imaginary person, only now to learn that she was indeed, the dominus of the Big Duo.

“What are you feeling, sir? Are you feeling anger? Are you feeling fear?” Amelia challenged from her side of the wedge that Big Duo had cut. “Do you despise me for the simple fact that my husband had searched to find a megadues, and returned with this one, only to to have him snatched away from your cold hands by his weeping wife?” Amelia moved her hand, clutching the air. “Do you despise me for having this duty granted to me honestly when you could not? That other Big, he was meant to be yours, am I correct? Is he yours? Did you earn that right to be his dominus?” she pointed “Did you earn the right to have that God?”

Her trembling voice echoed around the megadueses and around the storage facility.

Amelia stared at the President standing near the white horse, the white horse she felt he must furiously want as his own, yet she knew, she knew that the white Big had no wish to have Alex as his master.

He is guilty.

-----------------------------------
“You see Amelia, a dominus cannot choose his megadues,” her father had told her one day as he happily cleaned Big Duo, “The megadues will choose him.”

“Has that megaues chosen you, daddy?” she inquired happily as she watched him from the red blanket she sat on, surrounded by makeshift toys.

“No,” he replied, pausing from his cleaning and looking upon the mask, “I had hoped he would, but he has not. I am lucky that he has not refused my attention to him.”

“Would he hurt you if he didn’t like you, daddy?” she worried suddenly, reaching out to hug her doll. Her father turned from Big Duo and smiled at her.

“I believe he would have if he didn’t, but,” he thought out loud, returning to his cleaning, “he seems to like me enough.”

“All right,” she smiled as she returned to her informal tea party. Brenden, her imaginary friend, smiled and told her that her father was an excellent man.

Alex
-----------------------------------

The President's mind worked furiously as he mulled everything over. The situation was quickly spiraling out of control and for once he found himself unable to keep up. He had, of course, expected Amelia to have a connection to Big Duo from the start, possibly some lost and recovered memory about how the megadeus operated, some clue that could help him become the God he was meant to be, but not this!

It just couldn't be possible that this... this woman was a Dominus of Megadeus. Alex had thought that right, however unrichly deserved it was, belonged to Seebach. In any case, it was clear that he'd made a grave mistake, his first, in confronting her when he'd recieved word that the "android detective and Mrs. Seebach" had been seen entering the moved office.

He continued to stare at woman, his furied eyes focused enough to nearly burn a hole through her flesh. Amelia's words suddenly cut through the air, striking him like the blow he'd meant to deal to her.

“What are you feeling, sir? Are you feeling anger? Are you feeling fear? Do you despise me for the simple fact that my husband had searched to find a megadues, and returned with this one, only to to have him snatched away from your cold hands by his weeping wife? Do you despise me for having this duty granted to me honestly when you could not? That other Big, he was meant to be yours, am I correct? Is he yours? Did you earn that right to be his dominus? Did you earn the right to have that God?”

Inwardly Alex began to struggle with her words, uncomprehending but unable to admit it. He felt the rage building up inside him, enfuriated that this-this false Dominus, for that was the only thing she could be, could have the audacity to challenge his authority. Before he could surpress it, he felt himself lose control as it all poured out.

"Do not patronize me!" he shouted back. "If you are truly a Dominus, then you would realize that it is my destiny to pilot Big Fau! I am this world's new God! I will recreate this world just as my father before me!"

The hangar fell silent. Except for one sound. It began almost inaudibly, raising in volume ever so gradually, finally reaching such pitch as to overwhelm almost every other sound.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!"

The entire group turned to the source, a large steel cage. Chained inside by her ankles and wrists, everything about her new and untainted, was the insanely laughing form of the android R-D.

Again, R-D startetd her manical laughter, softly then loudly again as she replayed the conversation in her mind.

"Ha...ha...ha.ha.ha...hahahahahahahahaha!!!" she laughed. Despite the chains, she stood in her steel cage.

"Alex Rosewater," she muttered from her mechanical voice box. Her hand rose as she pointed her hand, shaped like a gun. "You, sir, have lost. You are nothing more than a tomato, a puppet." She laughed as she pretended to shoot with her hand. Laughter again, eminated from her mouth. "Do you really believe," she shouted, "that this cage can possibly hold me?" She hardly waited for a response.

"NO! It cannot Mr. Rosewater! And it will not!" She shouted as she attempted to grab the bars. An elecrical pulse shocked her hands, traveling quickly up to her arms and all through her body. She screamed and fell silent, unconcsious from the pulse. Her system furiously worked to reboot in a short time.

Amelia's hands went to her mouth as she stifled a scream. Amelia worried about the girl in the cage. Would she be all right or did that shock...kill her?

"She is an android..." she heard her familiar friend's voice say. "She will be fine when she reboots..."

Amelia couldn't worry about her though. Alex had mentioned something about being a "New God" and rebuilding the world like his father. But what had R-D meant when she called him a tomato? Amelia understood the words about being a puppet. Alex may or may not know, she thought, but he is no more than a puppet to his father.

"You just told me not to patronize you, sir," Amelia spoke, lifting her head. "I am not. Yet, how could you be a Dominus of a Megadues if Big Fau never chose you? Did he really come to you, presenting his hand to you in friendship? I learned at a very young age that you cannot chose a megadues, the megadues will choose you. So Alex Rosewater, did Big Fau, as you have named it, choose you, or did you choose it?"

She let her words echo in the room. R-D still laid on her side, crumpled in a heap. Amelia couldn't wait for an answer to all of her questions. As a child, she always wanted to know, "Could a woman pilot a megadues?" and here, Big Duo was, showing her the answer. She waited for Alex's answer, but she knew his answer would probably be a lie.
----------------------------
Amelia finally was old enough to help her father. Her tenth birthday had finally passed and her father had promised her that she could work on the megadues with him. He had handed her a cloth and took her up the scafolding to show her how to properly clean Big Duo.

"Dad," she asked as she began to clean the way she showed him.

"Yes, Amelia?" he replied.

"How does a person know that a megadues has chosen them?" she asked, looking over to him.

"Well," he thought, taking his arm and wiping his forehead for imaginary sweat. "I don't really know. I would assume that the megadues would just let them know somehow. Instinct, Amelia. That must be what it is. Instinct. I think one would just know.

"I'm sorry, Amelia, but I really don't know how to answer your question. I've never been in that situation, so I really don't know," he finished. Amelia paused and looked to the mask of the megadues.

"Can a woman pilot a megadues?" she inquired.

"I assume anything is possible, Amelia. My duty to this megadues is to take care of it until the pilot comes to use it for either for good will or bad. I figured that out a few years ago. I have memories of a mechanic, not a pilot, or...I forget the right word one is supposed to use."

Dastun went to his knees, gasping for air after the hold of Vera's whip. He couldn't believe what had just transpired; over half of his units were union spies, the giant robot coming back again like some damn zombie, and some cocky foreigner merc claiming to know about a 'big'. But when he saw the balloon in the air.

"It's the same thing as what happended during the assassinations. I bet that's where they're all headed."

Dastun ran to the radio and set it to call headquarters.

"THIS IS DASTUN! I NEED REINFORCEMENTS TO THE BRIDGE IMMEDIATELY! SEND GROUND CONTROL AND HOWITZER UNITS! MAKE SURE WE TRUST THEM! THERE ARE SPIES AMONG US!"

To the remaining units ready for action he waved them onward and he entered the top seat of the lead howitzer.

(I won't let this stand Vera, we have unfinished business. This ends now.) "ALL SQUADS READY TO ROLL! FOLLOW ME! THE REST WAIT FOR REINFORCEMENTS THEN HEAD FOR THE BALLOON!"

They then began the charge; to what they didn't know but they would soon find out.

Angel stopped in her tracks suddenly, causing Beck to bump into her backside. He lingered against her for longer than was appropriate, but Angel's mind was elsewhere.

"What is it now?" Beck yawned.

Angel pointed upward, to a bright spot of color against the inky black sky. A large red balloon was drifting upward slowly, purposely, as if the inanimate thing knew Angel was looking at it and had decided to hang in the air a while to torment her.

"He's playing games," Angel spat.

"I know that!"

Angel kicked a nearby trashcan. "This is useless! We'll never catch up on foot!" She pushed stray hair away from her face, tucking the unruly blonde locks behind her ears. "We shouldn't have left Snake's car."

"Oh, sure. We should have just stayed put and gotten killed in the Megadeus fight!" Beck scoffed. "Look, it's done and over with. I don't know why we're even bothering to save this girl anyway. What is she to you?"

"Nothing," Angel said quickly.

"That was an awful fast response." Beck's eyes were suddenly very sly. "Has the Fallen Angel finally developed a conscience?"

"No! It's Alan I'm after, not Emilia." She sounded uncertain, though.

The red balloon was still drifting upward in the sky, almost out of Angel's sight. She drew in a deep breath.

"Well, what now? I'm getting sore from all this running." Beck rubbed his side absently.

"We need a vehicle," Angel muttered. The street they were currently on was occupied by cars here and there, and Angel surveyed them carefully. She was silent for a while, then turned to Beck with renewed energy, smiling just slightly.

"How long has it been since you stole a car?" She said.

Beck grinned. "You're lucky I agreed to come with you, Angel my dear, even though I'm certain this will all end with you somehow double crossing me." And with that, he sauntered past her to take his pick of the cars lining the street.






Ten minutes later, Angel was flying down the street, hands strangling the life out of the steering wheel. They had selected a small blue car, nothing too fancy. Beck noted that this little blue thing would be faster than the other selections on the street, and without a moment's hestitation Angel had dragged him to it and set him to work. She could have easily hotwired it herself, but she knew Beck's handiwork to be faster and better. Besides, giving his ego a little stroke had calmed him down somewhat.


"Do you know where we're going?" Beck asked uncertainly. "Because I'd like to get there in one piece, wherever it is."

Angel didn't answer. Beck was starting to get used to her silence, but it was so unlike her. She usually had something to say.

"What is it with you and this Alan guy, anyway?"

Angel jerked the car around a corner, causing Beck to smash into the window on his side. He quickly pulled his seatbelt around and buckled once the car was upright again.

"Women drivers," he muttered.

Why? Well, It is somewhere to go. Snake thought. But if I must stay here, I must get rid of that damn tank that they kept me in. The tank..... Snake was looking the tank that he had been kept in 60 years ago...and escaped 20 years ago from.....

* * * * * * * *
(60 years ago... brackets will be used as Snake's narration)

[They treated me like a damned lab rat.]
Scientist #1: "Get subject 13."
Scientist #2: "Snake Marcato, subject 13, it is time for your treatment."
[Me]: "I don't want it."
Scientist #1: "You don't have a choice."
[Then they beat the hell out of me and drug me out of my holding room....to the tank.]
Scientist #3: "Get in the tank."
[Finally, they threw me into the tank."

* * * * * * * *
(Present)

I HATE that tank.
Snake took off his trenchcoat and picked up a nearby pipe.
"This is what I think of that tank!!!!!" Snake proceeded to destroy the glass tank and the computer attached to it. "Take that!!!!"
When the pipe was no longer usable, Snake went over to his coat, put it on, and pulled out two machine guns, "Be gone!!!!" He said before unloading the clips on the tank's computer.

Hmmm. A list computer.....What? can that be Her mirror?
Snake found a mirror that was rather dusted, and familiar to him. He picked it up, This is Julia's mirror. Why is it here?

Snake went to a random computer that appeared functionable. It worked. Snake pulled up a list of all the Schizo-fighters

Subject #13: Snake Marcato. Cryogenically frozen. Do not release ever.
Hmm. I got out. I wasn't released.
Snake scanned some more, and found something very disturbing
Subject #147: Julia Marcato. Deceased.
No, how horrible......I can't be here right now.

Snake took the mirror and left, hoping to find his friends again.....


(Hey, how do you like my little memory? I think i did kinda well, but the lab is not gone, remember, Big Soh now hides here.)

Vera
-----------------------------------

Vera gasped as she ran, wondering why he'd picked such a far-away rendevous point. She forced her legs to pump faster, faster, and barreled around a corner. Stumbling a little, she quickly regained her footing and ran on.

Several minutes later, she had made it to her destination, and was still making it, considering that her destination was moving. She jerked the door of the car open and jumped inside. It wasn't moving particularly fast, but the action did require some effort. Vera leaned back against the padded chair.

"Alan." she spoke, barely acknowledging the man.

Alex
-----------------------------------

The President of Paradigm snarled deep in his throat. He knew it, he knew that he had lost control of the situation. There had to be some way to salvage it, someway, somehow...

"Very well." He responded, paying absolutely no mind to R-D at all. "No. No, Big Fau did not choose me at all. But that is only because he does not have his core memory. If you know as much about Bigs as much as you think you do, you'd know that a megadeus without a cire memory is like a human without a mind." He paused shortly, before adding in a mocking tone: "Apparently you can talk to megadeuses. Why not talk to Big Fau and find out for yourself?"

Behind his back, he motioned with one hand to Habib, a sign that another killing might be nessacery.

Alan's reply was fairly nonchalant, as if he hadn't just made Vera run several, several meters to get to him. "Good to see you, Agent 12."

The movement of the car slowed a bit more as its driver waffled between options. Regardless of what he wanted, Vera was here, and it was a whole new game now.

"So," he interjected, sparing a glance through the rear-view mirror at Isalai, "where to? Should I keep driving, or should we let her find us?"

It was all too obvious who the "her" in this case was.

Snake drove around, constantly glancing at the mirror he had found at the lab. Why did they choose her? He thought. I have to worry about that later. I need to find my party. If only I could get hold of Roger....but my ring was affected by the magnetics in the lab.

With that, Snake drove to the Speakeasy, and sat outside it, fixing his ring. After about an hour, Snake had fixed the ring, and went into the bar, hoping someone would contact him. "Bartender!" Snake yelled because the bartender was at the other end of the bar.
"Yeah? What'll it be? The usual?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, what happened to your glasses?"
"Huh?"
Snake took off his sunglasses, and noticed that the lens that covered the scarred eye had changed. It now had some flame pattern on it.
"Hmm." Snake said, "They've never done that before. Not really sure what happened. Thanks for pointing it out."
"No problem."
Snake paid the bartender, and drank, waiting for a call...

"Bartender!" Snake had said. The glasses were really piling up, but Snake didn't even have a buzz. Hmph. Smart thinking. I can't drink myself to death. So the fighters really were extreme. Well, the scientists did one thing good: They nullified the effects of alchohol. Snake thought.

The bartender showed up in front of Snake, "Don't you thingk you've had enough?"
Snake replied, without the faintest feeling of drunkenness, "No. Do I look drunk to you?" Snake took off his sunglasses, showing his red eyes. This instantly stopped the bartender's questioning, so Snake got another drink.

"What is that guy? He's got more glasses in front of him than anyone I know, but his eyes haven't even been altered at all. Noone normal can do that, noone."

Snake smiled at this, and took a drink.


(I think something will come up soon that isn't Snake drinking. It involves Julia Marcato. She may be coming to life...)

Dastun continues his pursuit of Vera towards the balloon, having no idea what is waiting for him at the end. "You're not getting away that easily Vera. I have found a connection between all the things going on in this city, and I'm not going to miss it."

Suddenly Dastun is interuppted, "Sir, we missed the target."

Dastun looks at the unit in front of him, "WHAAAAAT!!!???"

Dastun slammed the gas and charged in front of the units. Vera had disappeared from view. "She can't have gone far men! Find her!"

Dastun turns the corner and searches the streets (don't get flustered Dastun, keep your mind clear and things will come to you.)

Someone must have been listening because just then a car with Vera and the man named Alan Gabriel passed him on the other side of the car.

"THERE SHE IS!! ALL UNITS SUSPECT HAS GOTTEN IN A VEHICLE ALONG WITH ALAN GABRIEL!! SUSPECTS ARE IN A SEDAN HEADING EAST!!"

and the chase begins...

"Bartender!" Snake siad holding up some money for the drinks.

"You're finally done, huh?"

"No. But I have to go somewhere. I need to find some people. Then I'll probably be back."

"You going to find those people you were with earlier?"

"Yeah."


Snake gave the bartender the money and left without even a stagger. He walked out to his car, and put the mirror facedown on the dashboard.

If they don't contact me, I'll just have to find them. Snake thought as he drove off to find Angel, Beck, and Emilia.



<TBC>


(Tifiara, Where are you guys?)

Vera
-------------------------------------

"Let her find us." Vera responded, pushing back her blonde hair and casting a glance at Alan. "It will be... interesting, to say the least. Besides," she added, "you know as well as I do that rogue agents must be diciplined. I believe you've had that reponsibility delegated to you more that once." A sadistic smile crossed her face as she thought back, to the days when Paradigm was still forming, when the Union had first been formed and had only begun to establish it's silent presence in the City of Amnesia.

Vera turned around, resting her arm on the back of the chair as she stared coldly at Emilia, going over her features with a cool efficiency. "Who is this?" She asked Alan. "Why is she here?"

Snake had meen driving around for what seemed like two hours when suddenly he heard the sound of screeching tires...again (Snake had heard them several times before, but not this close.). Suddenly, a car rounds a corner, and Snake gets a glance at the driver.

"What the hell?!?"

The driver of the wreckless car was none other than Angel.

"It took me long enough, two friggin hours, plus the time spent in the bar."

Snake wipped his black griffion around and pulled up behind Angel, then contacted her, "Well, I inspect the Megaduce fight, and you go for a joyride. Look in your mirrior, why the hurry?"



(Thank you, Finale, for telling me where Angel was.)

[OOC: Sorry. Still dragging out, but I have plans for action in the next post. I just had to post. Everyone else was doing it! Plus, I've had this for a few days...]BIC:

Amelia stared. Could she really talk to a megadues? Could she really understand what they said?

Big Fau loomed over the group, motionless, but not dead. There was still a remnant of a spirit, a soul in him, but his true self had been lost long ago. Indeed, he lacked the core memory to work, to understand, to comprehend the world around him. All he knew was who could and could not be his dominus.

Big Fau had no memories of his past, nor memories of his destined future. Amelia could tell that much from the garbled words and images she seemed to be sharing with the megadues. A garbled view of what he did know: fire with an intense rage, waking up, pain at the reawakening for the lack of who he was and is, and finally sadness for the loss of his true dominus. A flash of a woman fallen over in his chair, cables in her back, blood flowing from these cables that were Big Fau’s, shocked her.

“Your dominus…” she gaped, but stopped. Alex would not like to hear that, nor would he listen to her. Obviously this was a thought only for her. “No…no.” She shook her head and stepped to her side, moving away from the megadues, away from the image of a probbed woman.

Alex watched intently with one hand behind his back.

But it couldn’t be she thought. It just couldn’t. The image must have been blurry. She couldn’t believe Big Fau, not yet.

Big Fau ended the visions, the words, the thoughts. Big Duo quickly jumped at this break, showing Amelia something she needed to know before going on with anything.

“A dominus can be any sex, any skin color, any ethnic group. They can be any human you see on the street,” a voice was explaining, but not his. “You’re friend there, the one next to you, they could be a dominus and never know. Mostly though, what they have in common will be the lost memories of the past. All they will know is how to pilot the thing. It will be like God granted them this task. . . ”

“A core memory is very hard to obtain,” Amelia remarked. Big Duo noted her. “Are you planning on using Big Duo’s memory for this megadues or...or do you have other plans to obtain a memory?"

Amelia needed a distraction, but what? She glanced around, trying to pretend to keep her focus on either Big Fau or Big Duo as he spoke.

Alex
-------------------------------------

Alex looked on as Amelia communicated with the White Big, calmly taking in her every action and movement, everything he could read. She was hiding something, Alex noted, managing to catch the sound of her voice as she whispered "Your dominus..." He smiled.

“A core memory is very hard to obtain. Are you planning on using Big Duo’s memory for this megadues or...or do you have other plans to obtain a memory?"

"Big Duo could tell you the answer to that, I'm sure." He replied, casually removing his hand from behind his back as he crossed his arms over his chest. "He's met the man I orginally intended to be his pilot." Alex smirked at his own allusion to Alan. Of course, he'd known that Big Duo would've rejected the pale cyborg and likely killed him; which, of course, he'd planned on. "A lot of the cosmetic alterations were on his suggestion."

Alex began to walk toward Amelia, making sure that he was giving off a calm air, in order not to disturb Duo. "Naturally, I can't remove Big Duo's core memory without making him as worthless as Fau. So, of course, I have an alternate way to access a core memory." A smirk played across his lips, the same cruel smile as before... when he had been in control of the situation. "Don't worry, though." He casually remarked, idly waving a hand towards the red megadeus. "It doesn't involve you. In fact... you can take him, if you wish." Several of the engineers and others in the hangar started, shocked by Alex's words.

"My plans have changed, after all." He took a step to the side, passing Amelia completely and putting his hands on R. Frederick's shoulders. "Detective, you're free to go as well. As a matter of fact, I think your duties as an employee of Paradigm have ended." The android stared back at the tall white-clad man. Alex closed his eyes and turned away, folding his arms behind his back and strolling past Amelia again, back to his original position. "Well," he asked, his back to them both, the female Dominus and the android, "are you going to take him, or not?"

Bustems hadn't had any luck finding either Alan or Angel and he was starting to get nervous. He needed to show that he'd at least done some work tonight. He looked around his area and only found two cars, one driving behind the other. Roland though, at least I can give that guy a ticket for tailgating. He put on the sirens and drove behind Snake. It was too dark for him to see the passangers of the other car, despite their obnoxiously bright clothing.

(I know that was short, but I need to see how Snake's going to respond)