Party at Mambi's realm, all are invited!

[Marius Merganser]

<he takes a drink and his eyes widen> Mmmm, that is a nice cider, isn't it? How sweet of them!!! <he waves over to the duck and mouths "thank you!">

<Marius nodded back with a sly smile.>

<as the note from Arizona arrives with the gun and coin, you and the holoduck read it eagerly, as you carefully examine the gun she sent. Aurora waves her paw over the gun and on a display a series of schematics is listed in strange symbolic language. She turns several of the symbols green and points to them>

She was correct, these items highlighted can be salvaged with ease. How very generous of her! We should contact Lucien when convenient to see how to proceed.

<she looks confused a moment> Query: Arizona's note says she has given a coin as well? Most curious...where is it? Perhaps she neglected to deliver it in her excitement?

<you look down at the coin in your hand right under the holoduck's face, and hold it up to her as she glances into your hand and continues obliviously> We can inquire later, though additional luck is always beneficial when performing experiments! As I have no need for finances, you may possess the coin on our behalf when she gets a chance to deliver it.

"Uh...ok." <Marius wasn't sure why she didn't see the 1899 dime sitting plainly in his feather hand but he decided to shrug it off. It wasn't the weirdest thing to happen so far. With that, he dropped the coin into his pocket>
"Heh, how much more luck could I need when I've already met you?" <He winked at the holoduck and picked up the gun.>

"Lucien said time was short, so we might as well take it to him now. Hey, do you mind walking with me? I'd rather not scare anyone walking through the hallways with this thing."

<Aurora agreed and let Marius know that she contacted Lucien who requested a meeting at the fabricator. The two waved in unison to the other couple on the way out of the garden, leaving them to wonder where the ducks were off to in such a hurry and with such mischievous laughter.>

<They made their way to the fabrication machine without passing another soul and they met up with Hydra who was waiting for them.>

Do you have the bag?!

"Not as such." <Marius presented a very confused and impatient Hydra with the gun.> "It's a cloning gun."

All of the parts on your uncle's list compromise its construction. <Aurora waved at the gun to display the schematics again.>

<Hydra accepted the gun and skeptically looked it over. His scowl faded.>

Yes, I suppose this will work. I've already started the modifications to the fabricator.

YOU have?

Under my uncle's direction. Now, Aurora, stand over here and you can use this console to complete the form displayed on the screen. You can determine the parameters of what your body will look like. I will disassemble the gun to get to the usable parts and complete the modifications. The body needs to be created in its entirety nearly instantaneously or the organic structures will collapse.

<Hydra produced a tiny black box on the tip of his finger and continued.>

This quantum transceiver will be embedded in the back of the skull. I'll provide you the algorithm you'll use to implant your sentience into the body with it. It is also used to sync your memories with your core, but the range is limited. It will only work while the body is inside your superstructure. If you should die outside, any memories after the latest sync will be lost forever. When the body does die, your core and other avatars will remain unaffected.

<Marius was relieved to hear the risk to her safety was nearly zero.>

The brain will have preloaded awareness of the rest of the body so you'll know how to walk and talk and function as if you were incorporated into the body since an infantile birth. The process will require full access to your core. But since there are doubts of my trustworthiness despite my years of service, I will stay on the far side of the room so you can disable full access if you feel threatened. Any questions?

"Can I help?" <Marius asked sheepishly.>

Make yourself useful and bring some food from the kitchen. I am...hungry. Aurora will likely need to eat shortly after we're done. Don't worry, we won't start without you.

<Hydra calculated a 93% chance of success, but if the process went wrong, he wanted Marius to witness the horror unfold. As much as that trauma amused him, he needed the process to work for his own secret reasons. As Marius went to get some food, Hydra began disassembling the cloning gun. Aurora was too busy inputting the specifications of her body to notice Hydra was proceeding without the need to follow any instructions or communicate with his uncle.>

 

[NightmareEyes]

<the cat reads the note as you're inscribing it, examining the gun closely> Hmmm, a cloning gun? I have basic replication tech in the supply closet but it only works on established patterns. This can scan and duplicate at the same time? Impressive tech...can it shoot itself? <he laughs and sets the gun down for you to attach to the note, while examining the original note and list with a perplexed shrug>

Huh, this is quite the list of items, isn't it? I know most of these, a lot for them are quite advanced materials! Odd, I didn't think that Marius was quite that knowledgeable scientifically, no offense to him of course. Wonder what he and Aurora are doing with them? Ah well, I'll have to ask him later on, for now I'm all yours, my lovely friend!!! <he giggles and raises his cider glass, as the note and package flies off to the duck...>

"Yah can dupe clone guns, actually, though yah do need t' have two in order t' do so. It's kinda interestin', actually. Like I said in th' note, th' parts an' materials that make up these guns can be quite dangerous in th' wrong hands. Or right hands, depending on how ya look at it. They come from a sorta dystopian world where th' cost of learnin' is so great that only the rich an' powerful can afford it. Created a society where th' general public was ignorant of all th' hardship they faced, and th' rich got richer in their quest t' push science as far as they could possibly manage, leadin' to a buncha creations like this clone gun, that only helped th' rich get richer. Snatched a pair of these, kept two dupes for myself, then turned them over to th' rebellion an' taught them how to weaponize them. How t' turn them into bombs an' such. And... well... ya can imagine how great that went." The coyote said with a shudder.

"HQ announced th' world dead shortly after an' sent me back t' trainin' t' make sure I didn't make such a mistake again. Still a li'l green, so I wasn't punished too harshly. Guilt pretty much did that job for them."

The coyote shakes her head. "Sorry, that took a turn. Stop me th' next time ah start ramblin'. But yeah... maybe Aurora has some sorta secret project she wants help on? Or... probably not. You know her better than me, ah guess. I'm sure it's nothin'. Shouldn't be able t' get into too much trouble, ah don't think. But yes! Let's get back t' this!" Arizona says with a smile as she leans a little over the table to get closer to Mambi. Her attire fully transforms into the white, peacock style dress from before. The one with the long sleeves, the feathers at the back, and an elegant, beaked mask that brings out her soft brown eyes. She seems a little... different, wearing it. The blush is still there, the pure smile, the wet cheeks... but there used to be a small bit of implied embarrassment about these displays that simply isn't there anymore. She seems more confident. More sure of herself.

She gingerly takes another sip of cider before speaking.

"So. You know pretty much everythin' there is t' know about me." She starts. "An' while I could certainly spend th' whole night talkin' t' ya about th' slug creatures with th' infinite cookie jar, th' time ah saved th' leader of a mercenary group with his own experimental G-Diffuser technology, or my rivalry with what is basically a giant alien heart, ah don't know a whole lot about you. If ya don't mind me askin', that is. Also, ah've been wonderin... that portal thing you do... magic? Mutation? Somethin' else?"

 

[Mambi]

Yes, I suppose this will work. I've already started the modifications to the fabricator.

YOU have?

Under my uncle's direction. Now, Aurora, stand over here and you can use this console to complete the form displayed on the screen. You can determine the parameters of what your body will look like. I will disassemble the gun to get to the usable parts and complete the modifications. The body needs to be created in its entirety nearly instantaneously or the organic structures will collapse.

<the holoduck looks on with curiosity> I was not aware you had such technical knowledge. Is not your primary skillset culinary preparation? I do not recall you demonstrating any previous skills in this matter in the past.

<Hydra produced a tiny black box on the tip of his finger and continued.>

This quantum transceiver will be embedded in the back of the skull. I'll provide you the algorithm you'll use to implant your sentience into the body with it. It is also used to sync your memories with your core, but the range is limited. It will only work while the body is inside your superstructure. If you should die outside, any memories after the latest sync will be lost forever. When the body does die, your core and other avatars will remain unaffected.

<she nods> I understand...this will house an independent copy of me, so to speak, with memory linkages. This is a logical design. But how did you...

<Marius was relieved to hear the risk to her safety was nearly zero.>

The brain will have preloaded awareness of the rest of the body so you'll know how to walk and talk and function as if you were incorporated into the body since an infantile birth. The process will require full access to your core. But since there are doubts of my trustworthiness despite my years of service, I will stay on the far side of the room so you can disable full access if you feel threatened. Any questions?

"Can I help?" <Marius asked sheepishly.>

Make yourself useful and bring some food from the kitchen. I am...hungry. Aurora will likely need to eat shortly after we're done. Don't worry, we won't start without you.

<she stands straight and exclaims excitedly> EAT? I...I will be able to...taste and consume...organic matter?? I had not considered this, how interesting! Maruis, I was not aware of this level of development!!! Your uncle is a technical genius Lucien, Mambi must communicate with him as soon as practical, as he has had difficulty with the bandwidth interlinkage subsystems. Marius, I look forward to your return...we will wait for you, I promise.

<Hydra calculated a 93% chance of success, but if the process went wrong, he wanted Marius to witness the horror unfold. As much as that trauma amused him, he needed the process to work for his own secret reasons. As Marius went to get some food, Hydra began disassembling the cloning gun. Aurora was too busy inputting the specifications of her body to notice Hydra was proceeding without the need to follow any instructions or communicate with his uncle.>

<the holobunny considers her body, realizing this this prototype will be locked into place, she considers making the form a holoduck for Marius, but decides to optimize her primary internalization for personal comfort instead. After a few moments of tweaking the image, she turns around and faces the rabbit, tilting her head curiously>

Lucien, I have completed prepared the parameters for my body, but I am sorry, I must inform you that trust is irrelevant regarding access to my core systems. As you know, I am unable to give you access to my core systems, as only primary user Mambi has access through console verification plus verbal authorization code. Furthermore, Mambi has requested that your personal access is limited to secondary systems only until the results of your scans are processed.

Do you wish for me to contact him? <she asks innocently, oblivious to the inner rage building in the rabbit>

 

[Mambi]

"Yah can dupe clone guns, actually, though yah do need t' have two in order t' do so. It's kinda interestin', actually. Like I said in th' note, th' parts an' materials that make up these guns can be quite dangerous in th' wrong hands. Or right hands, depending on how ya look at it. They come from a sorta dystopian world where th' cost of learnin' is so great that only the rich an' powerful can afford it. Created a society where th' general public was ignorant of all th' hardship they faced, and th' rich got richer in their quest t' push science as far as they could possibly manage, leadin' to a buncha creations like this clone gun, that only helped th' rich get richer. Snatched a pair of these, kept two dupes for myself, then turned them over to th' rebellion an' taught them how to weaponize them. How t' turn them into bombs an' such. And... well... ya can imagine how great that went." The coyote said with a shudder.

<the cat winces and cringes> Oooo, replicating bombs, never a good idea! The ability to replicate anything has to be kept very limited....that's why I only use the one in the supply closet and only at about 1/18th the power. Small-scale only, nothing too complex. Definitely nothing explosive, what were they thinking? <shudders and takes a cider sip> Those cloning techs can destroy an economy and also shatters the power balance as you said, and once that happens, trouble usually always follows. <sigh> Some people just can't handle the insecurity of realizing they are fundamentally the same as everyone else despite the fancy clothes I guess. <shrugs>

The coyote shakes her head. "Sorry, that took a turn. Stop me th' next time ah start ramblin'. But yeah... maybe Aurora has some sorta secret project she wants help on? Or... probably not. You know her better than me, ah guess. I'm sure it's nothin'. Shouldn't be able t' get into too much trouble, ah don't think. But yes! Let's get back t' this!" Arizona says with a smile as she leans a little over the table to get closer to Mambi. Her attire fully transforms into the white, peacock style dress from before. The one with the long sleeves, the feathers at the back, and an elegant, beaked mask that brings out her soft brown eyes. She seems a little... different, wearing it. The blush is still there, the pure smile, the wet cheeks... but there used to be a small bit of implied embarrassment about these displays that simply isn't there anymore. She seems more confident. More sure of herself.

<the cat smiles widely and whistles> Very nice, a beautiful metamorphosis! <he holds his glass high as the unicorn quietly thumbs-up in her corner in approval of the new look> But yeah, I trust her and Marius, I'm sure it's fine...if they need anything they know where we are.

She gingerly takes another sip of cider before speaking.

"So. You know pretty much everythin' there is t' know about me." She starts. "An' while I could certainly spend th' whole night talkin' t' ya about th' slug creatures with th' infinite cookie jar, th' time ah saved th' leader of a mercenary group with his own experimental G-Diffuser technology, or my rivalry with what is basically a giant alien heart, ah don't know a whole lot about you. If ya don't mind me askin', that is. Also, ah've been wonderin... that portal thing you do... magic? Mutation? Somethin' else?"

<he takes a big sip and sets his glass down, gazing at the beautiful hybrid with admiration> Oh I don't mind at all, of course! You're welcome to ask anything at all. The portals are magic...a beautiful gift from that lovely equine over there actually! We'd been seeing each other for a long time by then and had quite some times together so this was near the prime of our relat.....<he looks to the unicorn as memories come flooding back and he starts to gush, then catches a look from the unicorn and backpedals modestly, turning his attentions back to you fully, clearing his throat and blushing slightly>

Ahem, sorry...anyway you see, a long long time ago it was my birthday and we were watching some odd humans tie their fellow humans to plus signs for some reason. Seemed a little silly and overkill to me, and they didn't seem to deserve it much, but the oddly-dressed ones started cracking whips and one by one up they went! Don't worry though, I got him good days later...<evil grin> Anyway, I'm digressing...after the sun went down and the weirdly-dressed ones left, we snuck over and let everyone down who wanted to come down, healed them up, and sent them on their way.

Well, after saving that many lives and doing such good, Natasha was just bubbling with energy and decided right them and there on the hilltop that she was going to give me something unique and special for my birthday. She took her hoof and scratched the smallest little piece of her horn off, then did something to it that frankly I'd never understand in a hundred years. No exaggeration, believe me, I literally tried and after 200 I gave up! <ahem> The filament glistened, then turned a bluish colour and floated between us. She then took my paw tightly, asked me to say a few words and concentrate, and in seconds I was bathed in a rainbow light!!! I felt every hair tingle, every cell was warm, all my senses amped to 11! It was the most alive I'd ever felt, as I felt the filament float up and dissipate into my being, my very spirit soured as it linked my spirit to the energy of the realm! That was the day my life changed forever...and just like that, my unicorn-infused spirit was now linked to a completely different dimension, and I had the ability to pass to and from it at will. <he sighs dreamily>

As the glows faded and things returned to normal, we spent days with her teaching me how to use it...focusing techniques and the like to get the location and feel of the universe, objects, having an aim that won't portal me into the sun...that sort of thing. See, this place here isn't the actual realm she gave me, it's just a little playplace I have. I just use the portals to get people here and back, but my actual place is a little, um, different...but I like partying here so here is where I play! <blushes> Anyway, eventually I got really good at it, and learned to make portals there AND here at the same time...so I can bop around from place to place. See, I open one here to my realm, put another right literally in front of it, and bop the other exit point anywhere else! Convenient space bending! <he smiles proudly>

Make any sense? <he laughs and takes another drink> Everything else in the building's all technology of one form or another, but the portals are 100% unicorn magic.

 

[Marius Merganser]

Lucien, I have completed prepared the parameters for my body, but I am sorry, I must inform you that trust is irrelevant regarding access to my core systems. As you know, I am unable to give you access to my core systems, as only primary user Mambi has access through console verification plus verbal authorization code. Furthermore, Mambi has requested that your personal access is limited to secondary systems only until the results of your scans are processed.

Do you wish for me to contact him? <she asks innocently, oblivious to the inner rage building in the rabbit>

No, that won't be necessary. <Hydra said through clenched teeth as he stifled his impulse to smash something in frustration.>
YOU aren't granting ME anything because I don't require access to any of your systems. YOU will be giving YOURSELF access to this console so YOU can transfer your state through the quantum receiver into the body. It must be THIS console because it is the one that is rigged to the fabricator. You do have sovereignty over your own sentience, do you not? Or are you Mambi's property that requires his permission to make choices about YOUR existence?

I do not-

<Hydra cut her off and turned his attention back to parts he was working with.> Communication will be unidirectional from the console to the transceiver during the process. Your core will remain unchanged. I will provide you the instructions on what to do and you will be entirely responsible for carrying them out. You maintain full control of the procedure and I will be waiting over there. <Hydra pointed to the far end of the room.> If you still don't trust me after all I've done for you, then you can even have your boyfriend stand guard over the console and shut it down at your will. <He wasn't sure if the little guilt trip would be effective on Aurora, but was proud of himself for including it.>

It's up to YOU.

 

[NightmareEyes]

<the cat smiles widely and whistles> Very nice, a beautiful metamorphosis! <he holds his glass high as the unicorn quietly thumbs-up in her corner in approval of the new look>

Arizona's blush deepens a little further. "Thank you." She says, giving her outfit a small once-over.

Ahem, sorry...anyway you see, a long long time ago it was my birthday and we were watching some odd humans tie their fellow humans to plus signs for some reason. Seemed a little silly and overkill to me, and they didn't seem to deserve it much, but the oddly-dressed ones started cracking whips and one by one up they went! Don't worry though, I got him good days later...<evil grin> Anyway, I'm digressing...after the sun went down and the weirdly-dressed ones left, we snuck over and let everyone down who wanted to come down, healed them up, and sent them on their way.

"I'm... sorry? Giant plus- Oh. Right." The hybrid takes a sip of her drink, realizing way too late that she should have done some sort of research about this Earth by now. She was getting sloppy. McCloud would've had her scrubbing floors if he caught that particular offense. Well, at least she knew that Romans existed in this universe now. Other nations and peoples were crueler, and significantly more evil or flawed, but not many could top the Romans in their sickening creativity. If there was one thing they knew best, it was how to make other people and creatures suffer. But... that wasn't exactly important, especially not right now. So she tucked the thought away and continued to listen to the cat's explanation.

Well, after saving that many lives and doing such good, Natasha was just bubbling with energy and decided right them and there on the hilltop that she was going to give me something unique and special for my birthday. She took her hoof and scratched the smallest little piece of her horn off, then did something to it that frankly I'd never understand in a hundred years. No exaggeration, believe me, I literally tried and after 200 I gave up! <ahem> The filament glistened, then turned a bluish colour and floated between us. She then took my paw tightly, asked me to say a few words and concentrate, and in seconds I was bathed in a rainbow light!!! I felt every hair tingle, every cell was warm, all my senses amped to 11! It was the most alive I'd ever felt, as I felt the filament float up and dissipate into my being, my very spirit soured as it linked my spirit to the energy of the realm! That was the day my life changed forever...and just like that, my unicorn-infused spirit was now linked to a completely different dimension, and I had the ability to pass to and from it at will. <he sighs dreamily>

As the glows faded and things returned to normal, we spent days with her teaching me how to use it...focusing techniques and the like to get the location and feel of the universe, objects, having an aim that won't portal me into the sun...that sort of thing. See, this place here isn't the actual realm she gave me, it's just a little playplace I have. I just use the portals to get people here and back, but my actual place is a little, um, different...but I like partying here so here is where I play! <blushes> Anyway, eventually I got really good at it, and learned to make portals there AND here at the same time...so I can bop around from place to place. See, I open one here to my realm, put another right literally in front of it, and bop the other exit point anywhere else! Convenient space bending! <he smiles proudly>

Make any sense? <he laughs and takes another drink> Everything else in the building's all technology of one form or another, but the portals are 100% unicorn magic.

"Ahhhh... Unicorn Magic. Shoulda been able t' figure that one out." she said, raising her glass to her lips with a small chuckle. "That sounds like... quite th' experience. Seems Unicorn Magic is some really potent stuff. Compared to a Philosopher's Stone, at least. Pretty cool." She sets her glass down and pours herself a little more cider. "And... y'know, while it's cute that yer embarrassed about livin' in a burned-out hell dimension, yah've got nothin' t' worry about. It's actually quite nice. Cozy, too, though I admit th' stone walls aren't exactly th' homeliest things in the world. Natasha showed me a bit of it while you were away." She explains with a giggle as Mambi's eyes widen with shock. "You'll have t' show me around sometime.

"Anyway, I'm curious t' know as well: when an' how didja meet Natasha? An' what were ya like before then?"

 

[Mambi]

No, that won't be necessary. <Hydra said through clenched teeth as he stifled his impulse to smash something in frustration.>
YOU aren't granting ME anything because I don't require access to any of your systems. YOU will be giving YOURSELF access to this console so YOU can transfer your state through the quantum receiver into the body. It must be THIS console because it is the one that is rigged to the fabricator. You do have sovereignty over your own sentience, do you not? Or are you Mambi's property that requires his permission to make choices about YOUR existence?

I do not-

<Hydra cut her off and turned his attention back to parts he was working with.> Communication will be unidirectional from the console to the transceiver during the process. Your core will remain unchanged. I will provide you the instructions on what to do and you will be entirely responsible for carrying them out. You maintain full control of the procedure and I will be waiting over there. <Hydra pointed to the far end of the room.> If you still don't trust me after all I've done for you, then you can even have your boyfriend stand guard over the console and shut it down at your will. <He wasn't sure if the little guilt trip would be effective on Aurora, but was proud of himself for including it.>

It's up to YOU.

I-I am property but...but I...<the holoduck closes her eyes, as her logic centers try to sort her situation out. She is free to act as she pleases as long as her actions do not affect her core directives, and these clearly do not. She was instructed not to trust Lucien, however she trusts Marius and he trusts Lucien therefore the directive is overridden by proxy-logic. She knows that she does not have the physical ability to provide full write-access to her core to anyone or anything, however he is correct in that he is only requesting download access which is read-only. For that level, authorization from primary administrator user Mambi was not required. It was resolved...she was free to act within read-only frameworks. She opens her eyes and with a wave of her paw, various lights on the console illuminate and a series of symbols flash on a display>

<after a few seconds, she responds> Full access to my primary core cannot be granted, even by me. Only Mambi has that authorization, I do not have the ability to grant that access to you. However, I have provided read-only access to my systems for duplication purposes, and created a buffer system to deposit memory files for manual integration at a later time when out of range. Once Marius returns we can begin.

<she blinks twice and tilts her head> Query: Why have you not mentioned to Mambi your technical abilities, nor your uncles? When you assisted in food delivery during the remote projector's development, your insights would have been very beneficial. Did you not believe we would be interested?

 

[Mambi]

"Ahhhh... Unicorn Magic. Shoulda been able t' figure that one out." she said, raising her glass to her lips with a small chuckle. "That sounds like... quite th' experience. Seems Unicorn Magic is some really potent stuff. Compared to a Philosopher's Stone, at least. Pretty cool." She sets her glass down and pours herself a little more cider. "And... y'know, while it's cute that yer embarrassed about livin' in a burned-out hell dimension, yah've got nothin' t' worry about. It's actually quite nice. Cozy, too, though I admit th' stone walls aren't exactly th' homeliest things in the world. Natasha showed me a bit of it while you were away." She explains with a giggle as Mambi's eyes widen with shock. "You'll have t' show me around sometime.

"Anyway, I'm curious t' know as well: when an' how didja meet Natasha? An' what were ya like before then?"

<the cat gulps hard as his eyes widen, and he almost spits out his cider in shock> She-she what??? You've seen it already? OMG, Natasha! How-how could you without asking first? <she just grins and rolls her eyes> You know that it scares some creatures and Arizona means so much to me and...

<realizing he just said that out loud, he sighs and blushes> You're right, this is you I'm talking to, and it's silly to think it would scare you.

<deep breath> O-ok, yeah, as I guess you've just seen, the main realm is a lot like Hell, but the evil's gone and it's really cozy actually! I'm working no the decorations but...well...I'm apparently not a decorator! <giggles> Still, a little art, some statues, candles and torches, soft furniture, catnip bar, it's great! It may be an old hell dimension, but still though it's got a lot going for it, absolute privacy and security, perfect temperature control, consistent weather, oodles of mystic doodads, and even a few demons stayed around to help out! <he smiles sheepishly> That's who Nizerich is by the way, great guy with a good heart but scares some guests sadly so he hangs around on his own. I'd gladly give you a tour of the place sometime as long as it doesn't, well, freak you out too much. I never want people to judge me by that place...it's my home but not where I'm from, you know? I'm only as evil as I choose to be. <he winks and pours another glass of cider>

As for Natasha? Well it's interesting actually! <you see her snickering in the background quietly> Before meeting her, I was mostly as I am now actually, just a fun curious cat with dreams and interests...walking around in this nomadic world exploring it and the odd humans that lived there. Here. Whatever. Anyway, it was about 3000 years ago plus or minus, and I was studying some mystic potions in a desert place where everyone was wearing eyeliner and odd cones on their heads, and one of the potions accidentally caused a big colourful fireball in the sky! Well that got everyone's attention, including this lovely unicorn's apparently as she was approaching the same school at the time, and with my location temporarily revealed accidentally, the weird cone people all swarmed me and started bowing and chanting!

Next thing I know, I'm being hauled into some chamber and being showered with coloured rocks and food and all sorts of attention, and they even got 4 humans to stand by me and cool me off with a big leafy thing! I admit it was nice to be pampered for a while, but the catch was they wouldn't let me leave!!! I'd try to go back to the school to study more, and they'd swarm me and send me right back to that fancy chair and my pad. Hell they'd follow me to the litter box, and frankly given how they apparently saw me, I don't want to know what they did to the...um, deposits. <shudders> It was kind of annoying after a short while being worshiped, trust me...,but that's when she arrived.

<the cat giggles as he recalls> The moment she got there, she just walked right through the main gates of the temple they had me as a "guest" in, and instantly they all scream and run to get their leaders or something. She winks and just calmly asks me if I want to leave, I enthusiastically jump down to her, and in a glittery flash of light we were gone!!! I thanked her profusely for the help and showed her where the school was located, and after she cast a cloaking spell, we returned and studied very closely together for years. The school prevented aging while we were there, but as soon as we left a few centuries later, I realized that she was going to outgrow me fast, so when she gifted me with my realm and I discovered that as a side-effect it also stopped my aging as well, I was ecstatic!!! After that we were together for a few more centuries or so until she had to go into hiding...but I think I told you this part already in the room eariler and I'd hate to bore you. <smiles impishly>

<he winks playfully> So yeah, you're talking to a former god to some! <he laughs modestly> Humans can be so silly sometimes...

 

[Marius Merganser]

I-I am property but...but I...

<Hydra found it very satisfying to get her to say it, but he wished Marius was there to hear her. Perhaps he could exploit that bit of information later.>

<after a few seconds, she responds> Full access to my primary core cannot be granted, even by me. Only Mambi has that authorization, I do not have the ability to grant that access to you. However, I have provided read-only access to my systems for duplication purposes, and created a buffer system to deposit memory files for manual integration at a later time when out of range. Once Marius returns we can begin.

<she blinks twice and tilts her head> Query: Why have you not mentioned to Mambi your technical abilities, nor your uncles? When you assisted in food delivery during the remote projector's development, your insights would have been very beneficial. Did you not believe we would be interested?

<Hydra answered dismissively.>
I didn't know much about it at the time and it wasn't relevant to my uncle's interests. He considered it, primitive.

<He continued soldering multi-colored wiring to the various pieces of equipment while they waited for Marius to return. He moved about the spare parts laying strewn about the floor along with the maintenance hatch of the fabricator. Half of the machine's insides were hanging out of the hatch, jury-rigged to the gun parts. He ran checks, powered up some of the equipment, and ran more checks.

Not much time later, Marius returned carrying a tray of tacos and glasses of iced-tea which he set down on a table. >

"Hey, I'm back. What I miss?"

<As Aurora explained how they worked out some details, Hydra approached the tray and looked skeptically at the food. He selected a taco and sampled it. Surprisingly, he very much enjoyed it and began to shovel them into his mouth faster than he could swallow. If there was one positive thing to being in a physical body, he thought it had to be food.>

"Uh, you okay there, buddy?" <Marius asked, amused.>

"Ahmershed weady." <Hydra answered with a full mouth, spraying some taco bits.>

"It's like he's never eaten before." <Marius muttered sarcastically to Aurora as Hydra chugged down the tea.>

<The ducks waited as patiently as they could while Hydra completed his work. After what felt like a lifetime, he began to power on the various components, pausing only long enough to watch their indicator LEDs flash from yellow to green. Finally, he walked over to the fabricator and powered it on, causing an increasingly high pitched whining noise. Rows of LED displays came to life and the console display began to flash power-up self test data. Without a word of fanfare, Hydra took a seat at the far end of the room. Marius saw the display go dark and the word "READY..." appeared in small green letters.>

Aurora, take your place at the console and you can start when you're ready. I'll be over here.

<Marius stepped out the way of the holographic projection of Aurora as she stood in front of the console.>

"Good luck." <He encouraged her with a warm smile. She smiled back and nodded.>

<Reams of odd text flowed across the console at a very high rate of speed. Aurora's image appeared to freeze and flicker a little bit while studying it. She utilized much of her resources in following along. She established a secure tunnel from her core to the console and confirmed the integrity of test data. She reviewed and approved the specs of the body and established another secured tunnel with the fabricator. The fabricator reported it was ready. Then she set up a tunnel with the transceiver which had been placed in the expanded receptacle where her body wold be formed. It, too, reported it was ready.

Marius grew nervous but he took Lucien's indifferent expression to mean there was no reason to panic.

The fabricator began to hum, but the LEDs remained green.

The strange text came to a stop at the console and Aurora's projection unfroze. She gave Marius a smile and turned to Hydra.>

The communications network has been established and the fabricator is primed. I am ready.

<Hydra appeared to be more interested suddenly, though he only nodded an acknowledgement. The fabricator began to hum louder and started to vibrate a little more violently than Marius was comfortable with. One by one, the green LED indicators went dark. When the last one flickered out only a few moments later, the machine suddenly stopped humming and vibrating. It was deathly quiet for a moment and Marius saw Lucien point to the console.

The text was now replaced with a display of a health monitor. It reported pulse, oxygen saturation, electroencephalography data, and electrocardiogram data in green numeration. A progress bar underneath indicated Aurora's sentience was downloading to the transceiver in the skull. Marius held his breath until the bar reached 100%. The progress bar was then replaced with a new one labeled "Inhabitation." Once it reached 100% the console display went dark and the all the equipment Lucien needed went dark, too.

Then they heard movement in the receptacle and the door opened.>

 

[NightmareEyes]

<the cat gulps hard as his eyes widen, and he almost spits out his cider in shock> She-she what??? You've seen it already? OMG, Natasha! How-how could you without asking first? <she just grins and rolls her eyes> You know that it scares some creatures and Arizona means so much to me and...

<realizing he just said that out loud, he sighs and blushes> You're right, this is you I'm talking to, and it's silly to think it would scare you.

<deep breath> O-ok, yeah, as I guess you've just seen, the main realm is a lot like Hell, but the evil's gone and it's really cozy actually! I'm working no the decorations but...well...I'm apparently not a decorator! <giggles> Still, a little art, some statues, candles and torches, soft furniture, catnip bar, it's great! It may be an old hell dimension, but still though it's got a lot going for it, absolute privacy and security, perfect temperature control, consistent weather, oodles of mystic doodads, and even a few demons stayed around to help out! <he smiles sheepishly> That's who Nizerich is by the way, great guy with a good heart but scares some guests sadly so he hangs around on his own. I'd gladly give you a tour of the place sometime as long as it doesn't, well, freak you out too much. I never want people to judge me by that place...it's my home but not where I'm from, you know? I'm only as evil as I choose to be. <he winks and pours another glass of cider>

As for Natasha? Well it's interesting actually! <you see her snickering in the background quietly> Before meeting her, I was mostly as I am now actually, just a fun curious cat with dreams and interests...walking around in this nomadic world exploring it and the odd humans that lived there. Here. Whatever. Anyway, it was about 3000 years ago plus or minus, and I was studying some mystic potions in a desert place where everyone was wearing eyeliner and odd cones on their heads, and one of the potions accidentally caused a big colourful fireball in the sky! Well that got everyone's attention, including this lovely unicorn's apparently as she was approaching the same school at the time, and with my location temporarily revealed accidentally, the weird cone people all swarmed me and started bowing and chanting!

Next thing I know, I'm being hauled into some chamber and being showered with coloured rocks and food and all sorts of attention, and they even got 4 humans to stand by me and cool me off with a big leafy thing! I admit it was nice to be pampered for a while, but the catch was they wouldn't let me leave!!! I'd try to go back to the school to study more, and they'd swarm me and send me right back to that fancy chair and my pad. Hell they'd follow me to the litter box, and frankly given how they apparently saw me, I don't want to know what they did to the...um, deposits. <shudders> It was kind of annoying after a short while being worshiped, trust me...,but that's when she arrived.

<the cat giggles as he recalls> The moment she got there, she just walked right through the main gates of the temple they had me as a "guest" in, and instantly they all scream and run to get their leaders or something. She winks and just calmly asks me if I want to leave, I enthusiastically jump down to her, and in a glittery flash of light we were gone!!! I thanked her profusely for the help and showed her where the school was located, and after she cast a cloaking spell, we returned and studied very closely together for years. The school prevented aging while we were there, but as soon as we left a few centuries later, I realized that she was going to outgrow me fast, so when she gifted me with my realm and I discovered that as a side-effect it also stopped my aging as well, I was ecstatic!!! After that we were together for a few more centuries or so until she had to go into hiding...but I think I told you this part already in the room eariler and I'd hate to bore you. <smiles impishly>

<he winks playfully> So yeah, you're talking to a former god to some! <he laughs modestly> Humans can be so silly sometimes...

Arizona can't help but laugh at Mambi's telling of his story.

"Hehe... so ya were always quite th' charmer, eh? Though, t' tell ya th' truth, I wouldn't mind gettin' greeted like that every once in a while. Usually when humans catch wind'a me doin' the whole dimensional travel thing, or even just catch a looka me in general, it's usually t' accuse me of bein' a witch. And then th' pitchforks an' the torches an' th' tar an' th' feathers come out an'... well, you know humans. You get the idea."

Suddenly the Wisps start to flicker, to move a little slower, less energetically... sleepily... through the air. Their bright lights die down, becoming more muted as Arizona lets out a long sigh.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh... already? C'mon guys, ya can do better than that at least."

But she let's out a sharp, piercing whistle anyway, as the Wisps perk up suddenly, filling with one final burst of energy as they rush back into the jar in one last beautiful streak of color. Then, after checking to make sure there aren't any stragglers hanging around, the coyote tightens the lid, but doesn't put it back in her bag, instead choosing to let the faded colors swirl about, softly lighting up the table in front of them, and allowing Mambi a closer look at the orbs of light. And that's all they appear to be, unless... are those wings?

"You guys are such a tease, ya know that right?" She asks, teasingly flicking the jar as she glances back up at Mambi.

"Sorry. Ya can typically get 'bout an hour, maybe even two on a good day with Wisps. Looks like today ain't a good day for 'em." She says with a shrug.

 

[Mambi]

The strange text came to a stop at the console and Aurora's projection unfroze. She gave Marius a smile and turned to Hydra.>

The communications network has been established and the fabricator is primed. I am ready.

<Hydra appeared to be more interested suddenly, though he only nodded an acknowledgement. The fabricator began to hum louder and started to vibrate a little more violently than Marius was comfortable with. One by one, the green LED indicators went dark. When the last one flickered out only a few moments later, the machine suddenly stopped humming and vibrating. It was deathly quiet for a moment and Marius saw Lucien point to the console.

The text was now replaced with a display of a health monitor. It reported pulse, oxygen saturation, electroencephalography data, and electrocardiogram data in green numeration. A progress bar underneath indicated Aurora's sentience was downloading to the transceiver in the skull. Marius held his breath until the bar reached 100%. The progress bar was then replaced with a new one labeled "Inhabitation." Once it reached 100% the console display went dark and the all the equipment Lucien needed went dark, too.

Then they heard movement in the receptacle and the door opened.>

<everyone turns in anticipation to the fabricator, including Aurora herself, as she shimmers and resumes her normal rabbit form. As the doors open, very slowly a perfect replica of the holobunny emerges, almost identical except slightly more curvy, not glowing, and most importantly quite solid and fluffy in her blue furry body. She stands astonished for a moment, examining her paws with great curiosity as she slowly touches and examines everything with the wonder of a raver on molly, then turns and walks forward...slightly unsteady at first but quickly adjusting. She and the holobunny face each other and speak in perfect unison.>

Active memory bandwidth verified...synchronization active to buffer unit 7...awareness protocols adjusting to altered input...please hold...

<both bunnies move their paws slowly at the same tine upwards, then outwards and back to their sides. The holobunny smiles and disappears as the newly born avatar approaches and slowly reaches her paw out to you, speaking to you softly> Marius, I believe it worked!

<she takes your hand softly in hers and you gasp as for the first time since you arrived, you actually feel her blue paw in yours, her fingers intertwining with your own>

I...feel you? I actually feel you! <she squeezes you gently as she closes her eyes> This is such a strange experience! I feel so...confined and free at the same time. <she bends down to touch the floor and the walls as her eyes wander> How interesting...I can feel myself, and I can feel myself touching myself...resolving feedback loop now.

<she blinks several times and shudders momentarily, then stands straighter and touches the walls again more normally> Feedback resolved, realigning sensory units to compensate. Maruis, this is most wonderful! I-I never imagined it was like this for organics! Thank you both for this wonderful gift!!!

<the hydra smiles knowingly, his own agenda still being hidden, as you are completely distracted...staring into her alluring but now solid eyes and face for the first time>

 

[Mambi]

Arizona can't help but laugh at Mambi's telling of his story.

"Hehe... so ya were always quite th' charmer, eh? Though, t' tell ya th' truth, I wouldn't mind gettin' greeted like that every once in a while. Usually when humans catch wind'a me doin' the whole dimensional travel thing, or even just catch a looka me in general, it's usually t' accuse me of bein' a witch. And then th' pitchforks an' the torches an' th' tar an' th' feathers come out an'... well, you know humans. You get the idea."

<the unicorn shudders and winces a little as the cat grimaces> Oh yeah, we know exactly how humans can act, that's why she went into hiding. Humans with their greed and ignorance, always trying to kill and take the magic rather than just work with the magic. <sigh> Every now and then I'd be accused of being some evil demon cat or satanically powered destroyer of all or something ridiculous. One time I did have some fun getting Nizerich to scare the armour right off a few morons...they dropped their shields and swords right at the sight of him suddenly appearing out of nowhere! Good times! <he laughs gently to himself>

"You guys are such a tease, ya know that right?" She asks, teasingly flicking the jar as she glances back up at Mambi.

"Sorry. Ya can typically get 'bout an hour, maybe even two on a good day with Wisps. Looks like today ain't a good day for 'em." She says with a shrug.

Oh it's no problem from those little ones, it was a wonderful show while it lasted! <he gazes closer at the jar, trying to figure them out, then pushes it aside gently just as the unicorn rises from her chair and approaches us> Mambi, I'm just going to go for a nice soak in your jaccuzi in the pool room, but you two go on together and we can meet up later. I promise I won't go anywhere ok? Please have fun and it was a pleasure to be able to meet and help you Miss Arizona.

<she bows her horned head majestically> Until later then, enjoy your sushi!

<she soundlessly walks through the main doors and closes them as the garden resumes it's sunset ambience, the two of us alone at the table in the room now. The cat's eyes glow slightly in the darkened room as he savours his sushi roll, looking across at you warmly> Thank you again for the sushi gift, it was wonderful! Um, mentioning Nizerich earlier...I really do feel a bit silly being embarrassed over my main realm though, sorry about that. <he giggles sheepishly> See, that's one reason why I like you so much...you're so multidimensional that you're cool with seeing past the surface, so you see a cat from a "hell dimension" and you don't judge. That's so awesome you know, and shows you got a good heart.

<he holds your paw gently in his> You're company is the best gift of all though, and equally cherished. <he smiles widely>

 

[NightmareEyes]

<the unicorn shudders and winces a little as the cat grimaces> Oh yeah, we know exactly how humans can act, that's why she went into hiding. Humans with their greed and ignorance, always trying to kill and take the magic rather than just work with the magic. <sigh> Every now and then I'd be accused of being some evil demon cat or satanically powered destroyer of all or something ridiculous. One time I did have some fun getting Nizerich to scare the armour right off a few morons...they dropped their shields and swords right at the sight of him suddenly appearing out of nowhere! Good times! <he laughs gently to himself>



Oh it's no problem from those little ones, it was a wonderful show while it lasted! <he gazes closer at the jar, trying to figure them out, then pushes it aside gently just as the unicorn rises from her chair and approaches us> Mambi, I'm just going to go for a nice soak in your jaccuzi in the pool room, but you two go on together and we can meet up later. I promise I won't go anywhere ok? Please have fun and it was a pleasure to be able to meet and help you Miss Arizona.

<she bows her horned head majestically> Until later then, enjoy your sushi!

<she soundlessly walks through the main doors and closes them as the garden resumes it's sunset ambience, the two of us alone at the table in the room now. The cat's eyes glow slightly in the darkened room as he savours his sushi roll, looking across at you warmly> Thank you again for the sushi gift, it was wonderful! Um, mentioning Nizerich earlier...I really do feel a bit silly being embarrassed over my main realm though, sorry about that. <he giggles sheepishly> See, that's one reason why I like you so much...you're so multidimensional that you're cool with seeing past the surface, so you see a cat from a "hell dimension" and you don't judge. That's so awesome you know, and shows you got a good heart.

<he holds your paw gently in his> You're company is the best gift of all though, and equally cherished. <he smiles widely>

"Dawww... thanks." The hybrid says, smiling abashedly as she gives the cat's paw a squeeze. "I get why you'd want t' hide that, yeah. But... yer also talkin' to a girl who carries around a solid gold statue of herself in her pockets. An' is best friends with a Luv Bot. An'... well, let's just say I have a lotta... questionable stuff in my bag an' leave it at that. For now at least."

She falls silent, watching the virtual sunset before turning back to stare into Mambi's magnificent amber eyes, just as much a stunning sight, if not even more so. Picking up another sushi roll, she chewed it thoughtfully. They really were amazing. She almost couldn't believe that she'd made them herself! With a great deal of help, sure, but her Silver Hands had actually done something right for once. These sushi rolls tasted... so good. Fishy without actually being fishy. A dash of sweetness. A pinch of salt. Such vibrant flavor! And fluffy too. So fluffy... like how clouds should really taste. And... well, speaking of taste...

Arizona sheepishly glanced back up at Mambi. That was... something creatures did, right? Taste each other, in a sense? Though... she didn't exactly like how she phrased that. She hadn't dared consider the thought. Especially here. Now. With so many other creatures to take up Mambi's time. But... now that they were alone... now that there wasn't anything to distract them... perhaps now?...

May as well propose the thought. It wasn't like she had a whole lot to lose, anyway. And even if the cat did reject her, she had no reason to suspect he would do in such a way that wasn't kind or gentle. Her brain said. Her stomach was a whole different story.

Taking a deep breath, a feeble attempt to calm her nerves, she let it out slowly, pulling some sort of die out of her bag to fiddle with as she dropped eye contact with Mambi.

"Y'know... I've... never actually kissed anyone before." the hybrid said, wincing at how... abrupt that sounded out loud. So she quickly added on a little more. "Never kissed an actual creature, anyways. I've spent a lotta time obsessing over it, actually. Practicing. Studyin' out how t' do it. Even tried a few practice attempts with Asmodeus, which... don't really count. He is still technically inorganic after all. Maybe that sounds kinda like a silly thing t' do. I dunno. I just... always wanted th' first time t' be special, y'know? Didn't want it t' feel awkward, or cringy. But... that's kinda th' wrong way t' go about it, right? It's... not about performance. It's.. about th' moment. Th' closeness. Findin' the right person t' do it with an'... lettin' it happen all on its own. It's just... been so long, ah guess that... I kinda forgot about that."

 

[Mambi]

<As the cat's mind races as fast as his heart at the idea, out of nowhere, the world does dark and the music stops. The cat's jumps a bit as he looks around frantically in the dark, his keen nighttime vision working fine as he takes in his surroundings and sensing the power outage as the cause, takes your paw in his in the dark for comfort>

Don't worry Arizona (@NightmareEyes ), looks like a random outage. Systems should reboot soon enough, just hang tight...

<as we find ourselves plunged into total darkness suddenly out of nowhere, the sounds of mumbling and mild chaotic confusion grow from all around us. The lights stay off for far too long...then with a click and a humm, you start to see the panels glowing in the darkness. A soft glow forms around the main perimeter of the room as the face of Aurora appears on the console display>

Systems restarting, energy rerouted...please stand by. Activation in 28 seconds...

<the image disappears as a series of lights change from green to blue sporadically, then back to green again. You hear several relays clicking in the walls around you, then after a few seconds with a loud hum, everything shimmers brightly again, the sunshine and warmth from the garden's holographic displays beaming onto us once again, having defaulted to mid-day apparently. The cat blinks several times, trying to re-adjust to the brightness again...>

Woah, wonder what caused that? Very odd...I'll have to find out later on...but for now, I want to be right here with you! <he shakes his head as his vision returns...a beautiful vision of your face staring at him, your maw reminding him of the idea of the kiss as he hopes the random blackout didn't kill the mood!>

 

[Mambi]

<everyone turns in anticipation to the fabricator, including Aurora herself, as she shimmers and resumes her normal rabbit form. As the doors open, very slowly a perfect replica of the holobunny emerges, almost identical except slightly more curvy, not glowing, and most importantly quite solid and fluffy in her blue furry body. She stands astonished for a moment, examining her paws with great curiosity as she slowly touches and examines everything with the wonder of a raver on molly, then turns and walks forward...slightly unsteady at first but quickly adjusting. He and the holobunny face each other and speak in perfect unison.>

Active memory bandwidth verified...synchronization active to buffer unit 7...awareness protocols adjusting to altered input...please hold...

<both bunnies move their paws slowly at the same tine upwards, then outwards and back to their sides. The holobunny smiles and disappears as the newly born avatar approaches and slowly reaches her paw out to you, speaking to you softly> Marius, I believe it worked!

<she takes your hand softly in hers and you gasp as for the first time since you arrived, you actually feel her blue paw in yours, her fingers intertwining with your own>

I...feel you? I actually feel you! <she squeezes you gently as she closes her eyes> This is such a strange experience! I feel so...confined and free at the same time. <she bends down to touch the floor and the walls as her eyes wander> How interesting...I can feel myself, and I can feel myself touching myself...resolving feedback loop now.

<she blinks several times and shudders momentarily, then stands straighter and touches the walls again more normally> Feedback resolved, realigning sensory units to compensate. Maruis, this is most wonderful! I-I never imagined it was like this for organics! Thank you both for this wonderful gift!!!

<the hydra smiles knowingly, his own agenda still being hidden, as you are completely distracted...staring into her alluring but now solid eyes and face for the first time>

<@Marius Merganser , I could have sworn that there was something else from you since this...a description of Hydra's new form as I recall, but it seems to have vanished from the thread since the crash!!! I'll just write from Aurora's POV since she doesn't know about it anyway, but yeah...weird! Happen to know what you wrote by any chance, it was quite good a description as I remember! <boops your bill playfully>



<meanwhile, the duck (@Marius Merganser) stands in a random hallway in the darkness, his newly-born avatar laying at his feet catatonicly staring upwards, immobile but seemingly unharmed. Various creatures mill about you in the dark stumbling about, trying to be careful where they walk and occasionally tripping over Aurora's body>

After several minutes, with a click and a humm, you start to see the panels glowing in the darkness. A soft glow forms around the main perimeter of the room as the soothing comforting face of Aurora appears on the console display, filling you with a sense of relief>

Systems restarting, energy rerouted...please stand by. Activation in 28 seconds...

<the image disappears as a series of lights change from green to blue sporadically, then back to green again. You hear several relays clicking in the walls around you, then after a few seconds with a loud hum, everything shimmers brightly again in the room, and you see the swirling lights from the dance room down the hall. You see several guests and bunnies scampering to get back to things, just as you sense some movement by your feet. The beautiful solid form of Aurora looks around and slowly stands up, looking around before turning towards you>

Connection restored, it is good to see you again Marius! <she holds her thigh a moment> I have never had to stand up before, what an unusual sensation. I had not considered the effect gravity has on organics until now. I am sorry for the interruption, power was lost throughout the systems through unknown means. Was I unconscious long? I just got this body and would hope to enjoy it with you. <she smiles innocently>


<meanwhile unknown to everyone...a panel beeps silently in the viewing portal to the now-empty observatory, signaling a loss of containment to the odd world it leads to. A shimmer forms just as the lights return to green again...but unfortunately it happens right after a reptilian bipedal lifeform emerges and squeals, it's raptor-like head looking around for food. As it sees a discarded apple, it bites down and swallows, almost immediately growing a foot larger as it sniffs the air looking for more to eat...>

 

[NightmareEyes]

<As the cat's mind races as fast as his heart at the idea, out of nowhere, the world does dark and the music stops. The cat's jumps a bit as he looks around frantically in the dark, his keen nighttime vision working fine as he takes in his surroundings and sensing the power outage as the cause, takes your paw in his in the dark for comfort>

Don't worry Arizona (@NightmareEyes ), looks like a random outage. Systems should reboot soon enough, just hang tight...

<as we find ourselves plunged into total darkness suddenly out of nowhere, the sounds of mumbling and mild chaotic confusion grow from all around us. The lights stay off for far too long...then with a click and a humm, you start to see the panels glowing in the darkness. A soft glow forms around the main perimeter of the room as the face of Aurora appears on the console display>

Systems restarting, energy rerouted...please stand by. Activation in 28 seconds...

<the image disappears as a series of lights change from green to blue sporadically, then back to green again. You hear several relays clicking in the walls around you, then after a few seconds with a loud hum, everything shimmers brightly again, the sunshine and warmth from the garden's holographic displays beaming onto us once again, having defaulted to mid-day apparently. The cat blinks several times, trying to re-adjust to the brightness again...>

Woah, wonder what caused that? Very odd...I'll have to find out later on...but for now, I want to be right here with you! <he shakes his head as his vision returns...a beautiful vision of your face staring at him, your maw reminding him of the idea of the kiss as he hopes the random blackout didn't kill the mood!>

"Huh. A random outage? That's... interesting." The hybrid mutters, clutching the cat's paw tightly as the room suddenly grows eerily quiet. She waits a moment, tense, as though expecting some sort of strange terrible creature to jump out at them, her other hand clenched around her firearm.

The wisps on the table provide some illumination, but it isn't nearly enough. She can barely see Mambi's beautiful green eyes in front of her, let alone the rest of the room. And that only served to make things worse. It gave the darkness life, turning it into a hungry sort of beast. Swirling all around them, waiting to pounce, to gather up enough strength to devour them whole. Mambi's gentle voice eased her fear slightly, but her hand remained firmly clenched around her weapon until the lights turned back on. Upon which she let out a small sigh of relief, realizing she'd been squeezing the feline's paw more tightly than she'd meant to.

She muttered a quick apology, loosening her grip as her gaze returned to Mambi's, with the occasional glance down to admire his muzzle.

"Yeah. For which I'm incredibly grateful. But...yeah. Like I was saying before... y'know... I've never actually kissed anyone, an' at this point I'm almost too embarrassed t' try. Cause... I'm sure no matter who I do it with, they're already gonna have at least like... five years experience. Probably more. Could be ten. Maybe twenty, or a couple thousand. And then there'd be me. Me with my zero years experience. No way I won't make a fool of myself. Is it... hard? Or is there like... some sorta technique t' use?" Arizona asks, staring straight into those enchanting emerald eyes.

 

[Marius Merganser]

<Yes, there definitely is at least one lost post but it's great to have the fourms back. I'll see if I can recap...
Hydra had jury-rigged some exotic hardware in conjunction with the fabrication machine to create a physical, organic, and independent body for Aurora. She and Marius were ready to celebrate with a first meal in the kitchen, but Hydra has shooed them on their way, saying he would join them after cleaning up.>


<Alone again, Hydra examined the hardware set up. All the LED indicators were dark, but the console once again displayed the word, "READY..." in small green letters. He smiled broadly. In their excitement, the duck and rabbit seemed to have forgotten that the console retained read access to Aurora's entire core. He knew there was no time to waste.

Hydra started powering on the hardware again. The LED indicators once again flashed to life and the fabricator started to whine as it started it's power cycle. He loaded another tiny transceiver into place inside the fabricator's receptacle and connected a cable from deep inside the fabricator's maintenance access panel to a metal disk that he attached to the back of his neck. Technically, it was Lucien's neck.

He spoke aloud to Lucien's consciousness that was still buried inside the body that he had commandeered.>

Well, my friend, your body's usefulness has come to an end.

<Hydra selected another cable and plugged one end into the console's I/O connector. The other end attached to another metal disk that he also attached to his neck, above the first disk.>

The good news is that I have decided to let you live because your hatred of that duck amuses me.

<He typed on the console and reams of odd text scrolled by too fast to read. >

The bad news is, there's no telling how much damage this will do to your memory. You'll be lucky if you remember anything from this last week.

<The fabricator began to hum and vibrate as more text flowed across the console display. >

Oh, and this is going to hurt like hell!

<With one last keystroke on the console, Lucien's body began convulsing as if being electrocuted and he crumpled to the ground in a heap.

When the console's inhabitation progress bar crawled to 100%, the fabricator's violent shaking stopped and the LED indicators flickered out. The receptacle door opened and a very tall, strong, and physically fit eastern coywolf stepped out. Hydra's new body had greyish brown fur with black pointy ears on top of his head and a black tipped bushy tail. His piercing eyes flashed gold and his sharp teeth were as bright as a star. His claws might have been short, but they were razor sharp. He came out complete with a black button-down dress shirt and a metallic gold colored tie. There was no doubt he would be turning heads.

At that moment the room was plunged into darkness for a few moments. Hydra wondered if Aurora had rebooted to disable read access to her core and once again, he ran to the console which was in the process of rebooting. No matter, his inhabitation of the new body was already complete and his transceiver had already collected enough information from Aurora's core.

He unnecessarily stepped on Lucien's back to pin down his unconscious body while he ripped the smoking disks off the back of his neck. Then, with one hand, he effortlessly picked up Lucien and dropped him unceremoniously into the chair at the far end of the room. Finally, he ripped apart the hardware setup, destroying the rare equipment in the process, before dumping it all into the fabricator's recycle bin, never to be used again.

He started to laugh maniacally, knowing it was time for his revenge.>

 

[Marius Merganser]

Connection restored, it is good to see you again Marius! <she holds her thigh a moment> I have never had to stand up before, what an unusual sensation. I had not considered the effect gravity has on organics until now. I am sorry for the interruption, power was lost throughout the systems through unknown means. Was I unconscious long? I just got this body and would hope to enjoy it with you. <she smiles innocently>

<Marius coughed, feeling a little embarrassed about other possible meanings of her comment.>

"Only a few seconds. Are you okay? What happened? Lucien said your body was supposed to be independent. Or was that what he meant when he said you'd need something to eat right away?"

 

[Mambi]

<Marius coughed, feeling a little embarrassed about other possible meanings of her comment.>

"Only a few seconds. Are you okay? What happened? Lucien said your body was supposed to be independent. Or was that what he meant when he said you'd need something to eat right away?"

<she blinks several times as she stares off, then looks back> Diagnostic systems report a massive power drain of unknown origin. Data still being processed by rebooting sub-systems. As for my independence, I am independent, however I still require an initial link to the primary core for synchronization of memory dumps and sensory alignments. I was still adjusting to the independence of this body when my main systems lost power, and at that time my head started to feel oddly light. Once my main core went offline, I was unable to process further sensory commands until re-synchronization and I apparently fell down. I am sorry, I cannot explain it better than that at this time as I have no reference frame.

<she smiles and holds your hand, marvelling at the sense of touch again> I assure you, I seem to be fine now...though I am quite hungry I think. Perhaps it is a connected issue, I do not know. This is...new, to me, all this. <she waves her arms slightly and blushes>

 

[Mambi]

She muttered a quick apology, loosening her grip as her gaze returned to Mambi's, with the occasional glance down to admire his muzzle.

"Yeah. For which I'm incredibly grateful. But...yeah. Like I was saying before... y'know... I've never actually kissed anyone, an' at this point I'm almost too embarrassed t' try. Cause... I'm sure no matter who I do it with, they're already gonna have at least like... five years experience. Probably more. Could be ten. Maybe twenty, or a couple thousand. And then there'd be me. Me with my zero years experience. No way I won't make a fool of myself. Is it... hard? Or is there like... some sorta technique t' use?" Arizona asks, staring straight into those enchanting emerald eyes.

<the cat flusters slightly as he looks at the beautiful hybrid> Um, well yes I have kissed before, many many times over the centuries, but you know something? Every time is always special and unique, as everyone is different and each kill is different. Some simple and soe more, exploratory. You just feel for the person, lean in, and let instincts take over. I-I'm sure you'll be just fine, with your soft muzzle and warm lips...

<he trails off slightly, catching himself in his own inexperience. As much as he tries to show off confidence, deep down he knows every time is special, unique, and unpredictable...each feeling like the first for him with the same nervousness each time, especially with one so lovely as his current companion! Was it that way for everyone? Probably just him, maybe in a few more millennia he'll finally clue in, but for now he leans closer and gazes into your eyes>

K-kissing is...well...it's magical when you...you...ohletmeshowyou...<he closes his eyes and takes a chance, his heart pounding as he moves his face closer to yours, feeling his whiskers brushing gently against your face. He can smell your sweet scent as he starts gently, his warm lips pressing gently against yours tenderly as his paw shakes>

 

[Mambi]

When the console's inhabitation progress bar crawled to 100%, the fabricator's violent shaking stopped and the LED indicators flickered out. The receptacle door opened and a very tall, strong, and physically fit eastern coywolf stepped out. Hydra's new body had greyish brown fur with black pointy ears on top of his head and a black tipped bushy tail. His piercing eyes flashed gold and his sharp teeth were as bright as a star. His claws might have been short, but they were razor sharp. He came out complete with a black button-down dress shirt and a metallic gold colored tie. There was no doubt he would be turning heads.

At that moment the room was plunged into darkness for a few moments. Hydra wondered if Aurora had rebooted to disable read access to her core and once again, he ran to the console which was in the process of rebooting. No matter, his inhabitation of the new body was already complete and his transceiver had already collected enough information from Aurora's core.

He unnecessarily stepped on Lucien's back to pin down his unconscious body while he ripped the smoking disks off the back of his neck. Then, with one hand, he effortlessly picked up Lucien and dropped him unceremoniously into the chair at the far end of the room. Finally, he ripped apart the hardware setup, destroying the rare equipment in the process, before dumping it all into the fabricator's recycle bin, never to be used again.

He started to laugh maniacally, knowing it was time for his revenge.>

<as the lights rose, the coywolf could hear the sounds of commotion outside the door in the hallway, as everyone was regaining their bearings. Peeking out the door, he can see the duck helping his newly created mate up as they resume their way to the kitchen. Satisfied, he pulls back into the room, just as a servant bunny passes and saunters inside casually while lost in thought looking at a list in his paws. He looks up startled suddenly realizing he's not alone.>

Oh-OH!! Well hello there my fine looking...<ahem>, I mean, good evening! You must have just arrived, I'm sorry I'll just be a moment, I needed to get some...

<he looks past the coywolf at the destroyed equipment and the unconscious Lucien, and with a sigh puts the list in his pocket> Oh what have you done now, you crazy furball? <giggle> Always getting into antics. First it's the new ovens, then he keeps getting laid out by some duck here, and now he goes and wrecks the equipment and falls asleep before even putting up a sign! Sheesh!!!

<he shrugs and with a subtle hint of pure attraction, he looks you over quickly and smiles bashfully> Anyway, I'll go use the fabricator upstairs I guess, just leave him here when you go and I'll send someone to get him back on the job in a few minutes. Do-do you anything before I leave sir? <he squirms slightly as he tries not to be too obvious in his attraction>

 

[NightmareEyes]

<the cat flusters slightly as he looks at the beautiful hybrid> Um, well yes I have kissed before, many many times over the centuries, but you know something? Every time is always special and unique, as everyone is different and each kill is different. Some simple and soe more, exploratory. You just feel for the person, lean in, and let instincts take over. I-I'm sure you'll be just fine, with your soft muzzle and warm lips...

<he trails off slightly, catching himself in his own inexperience. As much as he tries to show off confidence, deep down he knows every time is special, unique, and unpredictable...each feeling like the first for him with the same nervousness each time, especially with one so lovely as his current companion! Was it that way for everyone? Probably just him, maybe in a few more millennia he'll finally clue in, but for now he leans closer and gazes into your eyes>

K-kissing is...well...it's magical when you...you...ohletmeshowyou...<he closes his eyes and takes a chance, his heart pounding as he moves his face closer to yours, feeling his whiskers brushing gently against your face. He can smell your sweet scent as he starts gently, his warm lips pressing gently against yours tenderly as his paw shakes>

"UR-"

Arizona's small exclamation is interrupted as Mambi suddenly presses his muzzle against hers. And then... somehow the world slows down. Like some sort of temporal anomaly, only... sweeter? Did that make sense?

But that thought was just about the furthest thing from her mind right now. What with the cat pressed so tightly against her. It was... everything she thought it would be. At the same time, it was none of it. And so, so much more.

Some things she'd expected. The taste and smell, for one. Sushi and cider, mixed into Mambi's silky fur, along with a hint of... something else. Something that made her head spin as she breathed it in. She expected some of the warmth too, just... not this much of it. She certainly didn't expect that warmth to start bubbling up in her chest, the euphoria, the glee, the anxiety, feed by the touch of the creature oh so close to her. Unexpected as well was the strong, bestial instinct, slowly, urgently knawing at her. Telling her to feed. Mambi had been right about that, at least, some muddled, far away part of her brain whispered. Soon, the urge to feed proved too much to handle.

And so she fed.

 

[Marius Merganser]

<she smiles and holds your hand, marvelling at the sense of touch again> I assure you, I seem to be fine now...though I am quite hungry I think. Perhaps it is a connected issue, I do not know. This is...new, to me, all this. <she waves her arms slightly and blushes>

<Marius nodded with a smile.>
"Good. I'm always hungry."

<The two proceeded to walk up to the kitchen doors and Marius held up a feather finger. Aurora paused with one part confusion and one part amusement as Marius poked his head through the kitchen door. He saw the kitchen staff, still busy as usual.>

"Hey, guys."
<One of the rabbits who was polishing some silverware turned his head.>
"Hey, Marius. What kind of trouble are you causing now?" <He asked with a wink.>

"Who, me?" <He asked feigning offense.> "I just wanted to see if there were any tacos left for me and my date."

<The rabbit looked puzzled.> "Yeah, we have some- wait, tacos for your date? I thought you had a thing for..."

<Marius opened the door all the way, revealing Aurora's physical form. In shock, the rabbit dropped the silverware, causing a loud clatter that got the attention of the rest of the staff.>
"Is that...?"
"Did Mambi upgrade the projectors?"
"Uncanny!"

"Have you met Aurora?" <Marius asked.>

<The staff rushed over with much excitement to say hello, shake hands, and find out how this was possible.>

"About those tacos..."

"Right this way!" <One of the rabbits led the couple through the kitchen to a quiet table in the dining area. Marius pulled out a seat for Aurora and then sat across from her as the staff set up a tapered candle and lit it. Just as he turned to leave, another rabbit appeared with a large tray of tacos which he set on the table. Right behind him was another rabbit with a pair of drinks.>

"Let us know if you need anything." <he said cheerfully and the staff ran back to the kitchen where they piled up to peer through the windows.>

<The couple selected their tacos and each took a bite, sending half the contents out the other end onto their plates.>

<as the lights rose, the coywolf could hear the sounds of commotion outside the door in the hallway, as everyone was regaining their bearings. Peeking out the door, he can see the duck helping his newly created mate up as they resume their way to the kitchen. Satisfied, he pulls back into the room, just as a servant bunny passes and saunters inside casually while lost in thought looking at a list in his paws. He looks up startled suddenly realizing he's not alone.>

Oh-OH!! Well hello there my fine looking...<ahem>, I mean, good evening! You must have just arrived, I'm sorry I'll just be a moment, I needed to get some...

<he looks past the coywolf at the destroyed equipment and the unconscious Lucien, and with a sigh puts the list in his pocket> Oh what have you done now, you crazy furball? <giggle> Always getting into antics. First it's the new ovens, then he keeps getting laid out by some duck here, and now he goes and wrecks the equipment and falls asleep before even putting up a sign! Sheesh!!!

<he shrugs and with a subtle hint of pure attraction, he looks you over quickly and smiles bashfully> Anyway, I'll go use the fabricator upstairs I guess, just leave him here when you go and I'll send someone to get him back on the job in a few minutes. Do-do you anything before I leave sir? <he squirms slightly as he tries not to be too obvious in his attraction>

<It took some effort, but Hydra managed to suppress his urge to tear the bunny into tiny pieces. Instead he flashed an intimidating smile.>

Where can I find Mambi the cat and the hybrid-coyote, Miss Arizona Hartlow?

 

[Mambi]

Some things she'd expected. The taste and smell, for one. Sushi and cider, mixed into Mambi's silky fur, along with a hint of... something else. Something that made her head spin as she breathed it in. She expected some of the warmth too, just... not this much of it. She certainly didn't expect that warmth to start bubbling up in her chest, the euphoria, the glee, the anxiety, feed by the touch of the creature oh so close to her. Unexpected as well was the strong, bestial instinct, slowly, urgently knawing at her. Telling her to feed. Mambi had been right about that, at least, some muddled, far away part of her brain whispered. Soon, the urge to feed proved too much to handle.

And so she fed.

<His heart still pounding with excitement, the cat savours the warmth of the kiss, quivering slightly as the tenderness of her soft muzzle makes his heart flutter more. His thoughts become mush now, caught up in the moment totally as his toungue carefully explores your mouth instinctively, his soft paw gently holding you close as he looses himself to the moment. How long he kisses you nobody knows as time stands still for us both...until the door flies open suddenly! Lost in his revere the cat jumps up startled as the door flies open and smashes against the wall, leaving in the doorway a frantically panting weasel looking at the cat with terror in his eyes and blood on his arm>

MAMBI, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!!! Something big just attacked me outside the organic recyclers!!! HELP!!!

<he runs back through the door down the hallway and ducks into the infirmary, as the cat sits shocked, absorbing what he just heard. With that, he takes a deep dejected sigh and sits back, shaking his head slightly and muttering to himself> UGH, why now? Now of all times??? <he rolls his eyes and gazes at you> I'm sorry, that was wonderful! Are you sure it's been a long time for you kissing, you're a natural! But looks like first, we may have an issue to take care of...care to join me on a hunt? <smiles sheepishly>

 

[Mambi]

<The staff rushed over with much excitement to say hello, shake hands, and find out how this was possible.>

"About those tacos..."

"Right this way!" <One of the rabbits led the couple through the kitchen to a quiet table in the dining area. Marius pulled out a seat for Aurora and then sat across from her as the staff set up a tapered candle and lit it. Just as he turned to leave, another rabbit appeared with a large tray of tacos which he set on the table. Right behind him was another rabbit with a pair of drinks.>

"Let us know if you need anything." <he said cheerfully and the staff ran back to the kitchen where they piled up to peer through the windows.>

<The couple selected their tacos and each took a bite, sending half the contents out the other end onto their plates.>

<as the collection of kitchen bunnies flock to watch Aurora's solid form with amazement, the solid Aurora examines her taco with bemusement and wonder, sniffing it often and touching the differnt ingredients with her paw with wide-eyed fascination>

This is wonderful! Everything feels so different than my usual method! I have never touched this material before in this matter, as the last time was when someone dropped a plate onto the floor. The smells and textures are so intriguing! I can see why organics enjoy mealtimes so much now...I never realized how encompassing the sensory additions from food are! This is a wonderful first meal, thank you!!!

<she takes a glass and tipping her head back, slowly pours the liquid into her open mouth before swallowing and lowering her head. She looks at you slightly embarassed then takes a bite and tries to swallow it whole, almost choking when she does but swallowing regardless> OOOMPH!! I forgot that chewing is required. This eating thing...it takes practice it seems but is quite enjoyable, and is relieving the odd feeling in my torso region appropriately. I still am processing the fact that I am an organic avatar now, this is incredible!!! Thank you again for this wonderful gift!!! <she leans in close, her beautiful eyes gazing lovingly into yours as she smiles warmly>

<as you dine with Aurora like never before, the bunnies in the window mill about, trying to make sense of it all>
I don't get it, Mambi never could make that work! She's really solid now?
She's beautiful, and so sensual! Is she actually eating?
That's one lucky duck for sure...

<a familiar robotic female voice joins in> Yes, I agree that we both are quite fortunate.

<the bunnies all turn in surprise and see the shimmering form of the holobunny standing right with them, observing the meal with them. They do a full doubletake, looking at the real bunny sitting at the table and then back to the transparent identical holographic bunny standing beside them, as she continues casually>

This is quite a unique experience, is it not? I am not accustomed to observing an avatar that I am not actively controlling. <as the rabbits stare confused, she quickly explains to them> That organic avatar eating with Marius contains a copy of me that synchronizes it's memory manually, but as of 2.6 minutes ago it is operating completely independently from my core systems. Regardless, it is still me and thinks as me. Query: Is that still me, or do you think an alternate name for this avatar is appropriate?

<the dumbfounded rabbit just shrugs and returns to watching the dinner, as the holobunny smiles and does the same...>

<It took some effort, but Hydra managed to suppress his urge to tear the bunny into tiny pieces. Instead he flashed an intimidating smile.>

Where can I find Mambi the cat and the hybrid-coyote, Miss Arizona Hartlow?

They-they should be down that hallway in the garden room, or at least they were the last time I delivered some peanut butter to them. Mambi tends to bounce around a lot and when you can make portals to anywhere with a thought, sometimes it's hard to keep track of him. Still though, if you really need to know at this second, the place's AI is called Aurora and can usually help you out, just press a red button anytime to activate her. She's pretty helpful and friendly, I doubt you'll have any problems.

<he points to a vined door down the hall and starts to leave reluctantly> Anyway, I really have to go get those supplies. Garden door's down that way, and they should be inside. Enjoy your time here, and really look for to seeing you around! <he smiles and with a sheepish wave, he bops around the corner and up the stairs>