Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: forge-world Moscow 1
Age: 37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Old_Iron
*puts away the rifle*
Surprisingly well. I even managed two classes that are nearly identical in content.
Well, here comes chapter 2 of Leave of Absence.
Prologue
Chapter 1
Spoiler for Leave of Absence: Chapter 2:
The day following Reinforce's wholly unexpected reintroduction to his life, Yuuno found himself sitting at his coffee table with a wide array of tomes and data pads spread out before him. A half full mug of dark coffee sat steaming within reach. As he poured over the information and Lost Logia records he was able obtain access to, Reinforce looked on in interest from behind the computer display that had become her window to the physical world.
It was fascinating to watch Yuuno work. The deep concentration and furrowing of his brow while he read through volumes and volumes of data. His hands flew about as though they possessed minds of their own, writing down multitudes of notes and theories. Murmuring and whispers could be heard whenever Yuuno began translating passages aloud. Reinforce found herself unable to tear her gaze away from the scene.
When an antique wall clock chimed, the spell was broken. "Yuuno, I think it would do you well to take a break. It is already ten o'clock." The silver haired woman interrupted.
Blinking, Yuuno looked over to Reinforce's display and then to his clock. "I think you're right." He downed that last of his drink and stood up, stretching as he did so and eliciting more than a few cracks and pops from stiff joints. "Still, I think I've made some headway into a solution for you."
"Oh?" Reinforce was curious as to what he could have found in such a short time.
"Its only a theory at this point, since there isn't very much data on Unison Devices surviving to this day... But from what I gathered in the data I took from you last night, your current state has only sufficient magical power to maintain that form." Pausing to find the right words to describe the situation, the blonde tapped his pencil while looking thoughtfully at Reinforce's display. "The limitations of that form are part of what is preventing you from regaining a body. Your linker core is simply unable to generate enough power to reach the critical mass that would allow you to move beyond the digital realm."
It was a bizarre hypothesis, but one that seemed to make some sense based on the information he had gathered and processed. Unison Devices were an extremely poorly understood legacy of the Belkan Empire. They were living beings and sentient programs at the same time. The idea that a computer could bleed when cut, or that flesh and blood could be made of data was both amazing and mystifying on many levels. Truly, their creators were on a wholly different plane of brilliance.
He continued his explanation, Reinforce listening intently, "I'll need some more time to check my hypothesis. I believe that if you are supplied with enough mana over time from another source, we may be able to jump start your linker core into higher levels of production. From there we could bring up your power levels to a point that would allow you to exist in a physical form. The only issues beyond that are what to do about your damaged code..."
"The defense program." Reinforce spoke in a hushed tone that conveyed much worry to the librarian. "Since the portion of my code that controls the regeneration of the defense program is severely damaged, we are safe. But if fixing that code brings back the corrupted program..."
There was no need to finish that statement. Both knew that fixing the code could lead to a disastrous repeat of the bloody events that the Book of Darkness had carved into history. An uncomfortable silence settled around the two as memories and knowledge of the past surfaced into the forefront of their minds.
"I must think on this, Yuuno. please excuse me." With a short bow, Reinforce vanished from the display before Yuuno could call out to her. For a moment, Yuuno stood there with a hand outstretched towards the computer.
Sighing, the librarian flopped back into his seat. "That could have gone better..." His enthusiasm for discovery had gotten the better of him. It happened on occasion, when dealing with a topic of great significance, and soon it was more the discovery and research that mattered than the people around him. He recalled the last time it had happened and had wound up being chased around Section 6 by an irate and embarrassed Vita.
The issue with the defense program was obviously a worrisome topic for Reinforce and Yuuno realized that, in hindsight, it would likely have been better to hold off on giving her too many details until he had something more concrete to work with. "I'll apologize when she comes back." He told himself before beginning to clean up his workspace so that it didn't look like a complete disaster.
It was perhaps and hour or so later when Yuuno began making preparations for lunch that the doorbell rang. Glancing at the still blank display, he set down the loaf of bread and went to answer the door. "I'm coming! Just a moment." He hollered to the unknown entity beyond the door as it rang the doorbell again.
Imagine his surprise to see one Commander Yagami Hayate standing at his door. He blinked for a moment, a combination of surprise and worry at the possibility of Reinforce having been discovered lingered in the back of Yuuno's mind before being banished. Improbability aside, if Reinforce had been found out, Hayate would not be the only person standing outside his door.
"Well, aren't you going to invite your cute childhood friend in?" Hayate broke the short silence with a teasing grin.
Finding himself, Yuuno stepped aside and made a sweeping gesture with his hand to grant the young woman entry, lowing his head as he did so. "My apologies, m'Lady. Please, come in." He spoke with a false regal tone.
"Thank you good sir." Hayate's grin intensified before she schooled her face into a vision of great self-importance. She stepped into Yuuno's home with the air of a monarch, her briefcase held like the hand bag of a royal.
To their credit, they lasted all of twenty seconds before breaking down into laughter. Yuuno's noble act had started as a spur of the moment means of getting back at Hayate's nearly endless teasing. Needless to say, it backfired spectacularly and had gradually become a point of mutual amusement over the years.
When the laughter finally died down, Yuuno took note of the dark circles under Hayate's eyes and how her normally impeccable uniform seemed wrinkled to the point of having been slept in. He reached over to take her briefcase which was surrendered without complaint. "Had to stay overnight at the office?"
The tiredness seemed to catch up to Hayate rather quickly as her shoulders sagged weakly. "Thirty-six hours... Just meeting after meeting after meeting, not including my own work." She managed to get her shoes off but seemed to be having some difficult with the jacket. Yuuno helped her out of it and hung the article of clothing on a coat rack.
"Well, you are always welcome to crash here. I may have to get you your own key at this rate though." He said good-naturedly. Due to the proximity of his home to the administrative offices at the TSAB HQ, it wasn't terribly uncommon for one of his friends to drop by after a particularly grueling day at work. Hayate was the most frequent offender owing to the distance between her home and her office and the fact that she probably put in more extra hours due to her rank than anybody else.
She usually showed up whenever everyone else was out on duty overnight or when she didn't feel awake enough to make the drive all the way home. To Yuuno, it looked like the latter of the two was the case.
"I may take you up on that offer." Hayate replied with a smile. "Still, thanks for letting me stay over every now and then... I can't believe its almost noon and I'm this tired."
Glad that she hadn't decided to take notice of the large stacks of tomes and data pads, Yuuno pulled up a chair for the brunette by the lunch table. "Want something to eat? I was actually about to fix up some lunch."
As if on queue, a loud rumble and a red-faced Hayate answered him. "I... didn't get a chance to grab breakfast." She admitted somewhat bashfully.
"I'll make us some sandwiches. Is pastrami alright?" He rummaged around his refrigerator for said lunch meat.
"Sure." Hayate watched Yuuno go about making their lunch with a smile as tiredness continued to urge her body into dreamland. One might wonder why she didn't call up one of her 'kids' to pick her up at the office, but Hayate knew that they had their own situations to deal with and that despite their absolute willingness to drop everything and come to her aid, she didn't feel it was fair to them.
A flickering light caught Hayate's attention out of the corner of her eye. Turning to see what the unknown was, she was wholly unprepared for what she saw.
"Yuuno, I have been thinking about what you said and-" Reinforce's image went perfectly still as she laid eyes upon the one person she was truly not ready to see yet.
As blood red and dark blue eyes met for the first time in years, Yuuno could only curse his carelessness.
Also as an FYI, I'm going to start posting my stuff on ff.net as Old Iron along with posting it here. You lot get to see it first though.
Old Iron's FF.net Profile
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So, fateful meeting is occurred and now we could expect very emotional reunion.
P.S. Sorry for not reviewing from the start - nice start, Old Iron, I hope you muse wouldn`t leave you.
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