Chapter 120: Chapter 36: Marble
The pieces on the chessboard formed into yet another line of writing:
"I will offer you protection from Absolute Being, who are the organization behind Infinity."
'So, do you want to play?' Hong asked.
'Yes, yes I do.'
The chessboard is shaken once more, and Hong waited until the pieces have settled before speaking, 'the general rules of this game of chess is survival. The longest you can last in the game, the more likely you will win.' Then, Vindy looked down at the board again and it reads:
"I am just a user like you, and they have requested for both of our powers tonight in order to arrange for the desirable events to happen."
'But how can you just make a move like that?' Vindy asked, thinking that Hong's artifact powers must also be incredibly powerful if it is so valued by Infinity.....now called Absolute Being. However, to Vindy, that's merely another name.
The chess board shook once more and another line of writing formed: "Artifact users don't reveal their secrets to one another most of the time. That's how we can survive, but it will happen, and you just need to follow my lead for tonight."
'It's like a performer never shares her secrets.' Hong said, 'you understand that. I know that's very unsatisfying, but I can tell you something else.'
After another shake, Vindy looked down once more: "Your job is to capture that asset using your manipulation of sound waves, and my job is to arrange to put you in that position."
'Before you make any moves, you will do whatever you can to ensure that your plan is the one reality that's going to happen, no matter what.' Hong said, 'where ever I wanted the pieces to go to, that's where they will go to.'
'But how do you know it will happen?'
This time, Hong merely tapped the chess board once, and another line of writing formed: "It will."
'I guess I have just been playing the game long enough.' Hong said, 'but are you confident that you can pull off such a move here?'
'I don't know.' Vindy said, looking down at her thighs and thinking back to how she can do what he asked. She can indeed use sound waves that utilizes a combination of her music box and her artifact to influence people's emotions. That just seemed way too far-fetched, 'Are you saying I have to brute force my way here?'
'No, there is no room for brute force on a chess board.' Hong shook his head, and the chess pieces changes their formation again: "Just try your best to put the asset to sleep, or make her feel sluggish with your music."
'I don't think that is possible.' Vindy said, and another lined formed before she finished speaking.
"For us humans, our emotional state is closely tied with our physiological state. If you make the asset feel something that she has been trying to bury for a while, then it will work to our advantage."
'That's because you haven't seen all the pieces yet.' Hong said, before reshaping the pieces: "Lady Lily will also be here to capture her. But the asset may be too powerful. My job is to ensure the asset ends up here, which it looked like everything is going according to my manipulation, and your job is to weaken her."
'I see.' Vindy said through gritted teeth, 'What happens after the pieces work together?'
'When you sacrifice this piece, it makes the other stronger.' Hong said, tapping his finger onto the board and made an extra effort to emphasis the important of the next line: "I have a brittle neutral relationship with Absolute Being, but I feel like they will want to break that relationship once this job is over. Lady Lily can reprogram your brain now, and your body and artifact will serve them forever."
'Is that what you have to do?' Vindy asked.
'No, not really. But for the purpose of winning, it will be done. Shall we play a bit later?' Hong said, "Absolute Being are moving in a trajectory that I can no longer follow. Will you follow me?"
'Yes.' Vindy nodded understandingly, as Hong Fu's only ally with an artifact may actually end up being her. All of the wealth and power he has generated may account to nothing when compared to the powers to alter reality itself, 'we shall.'
'Very well.' Hong Fu said, 'now, let's rehearse, please.'
When she heard that Hong Fu wanted her to rehearse, the musiciann's instinct within Vindy immediately kicked in, and she was immediately eager to do so. However, if there is anything she has learned from the conversation with Hong just now, it would be to read between the lines. Every line of dialogue has its own meaning and importantace, and Vindy think the same may be happening here.
As they continued to talk while Vindy's setting up the music box, Hong finally conveyed what he wanted Vindy to do. Both of them know that Vindy is tracked and potentially bugged by Lady Lily who can spy on their conversation and movements. However, that meant audio signals are being collected, and Vindy can do many things regarding audio signals, including overloading it and burning it up.
That's what she did. As she played the single most rock and roll song in her musical library, an tiny explosion occurred from underneath her thick fur, then another two happened as the song nears its climax.
'Do Rockies wash their body much?' Hong asked as Vindy picked out the tiniest trackers from her hair, now burnt to a crisp due to a combination of her music and Wavestriker applied back onto her body. She has learned that one's artifact can be used back onto itself without too much of an issue, like how Lady Lily fixed her own arms the day prior.
'Not as often as humans or Aquarians.' Vindy said, 'we just don't smell.'
'Each to their own.' Hong shrugged his shoulders, 'that was good, but perhaps we should play something a little different. Here's the profile of the asset for tonight. Your only role is to slow her down and disrupt her mentally, and the others will take care of the rest.'
Vindy opened her personal interface as a new document is sent to her, and she reads it carefully. The asset's name is Elmyra Zin, a human female who was once the daughter of a giant mining company that collapsed earlier this year. She is the user of an artifact just like the rest of them, and it does seemed like Absolute Being is on a spree of hunting artifacts. That makes the success of today's plan even more important for their freedom.
Vindy lets out a sigh as she reads through the briefing and felt bad for Elmyra immediately. The year is about to go from bad to worse for her, but there is nothing she can do. You can only watch out for yourselves in this galaxy, and the only reason Hong has taken any interest in her is because of her power.
The hours of preparations continued before Vindy is finally happy with the set that she will be performing. As the guests arrive and began to settled into the night, she will start with some mellow and light background music. Then, Hong will give her her signal, and that's when Vindy will focus in her energy towards establishing a connection with this Elmyra Zin person. Then, everything will be done for her and Hong will give her another signal, whether Absolute Being is moving on him, or whether they are waiting for another chance.
Either way, that's when the both of them will hope onto a pre-arranged ship and get the hell out of here. The destination is unsure for now, but it will be far from the center. Hong said he had two hidden home bases in both Rockie and Aquarian territory that they could go to hide for a bit before deciding what to do next. So if it comes down to it, that may be Vindy's future.
As the night settles in the entertainment district, a special sign showing the Marble Casino is booked out for the external event is being put up as news comes from the technology and high fashion district about the conclusion of their event. The empty casino is rather eerie, and Vindy tried quite hard to not make any noise despite her ever increasing nervousness, and that's when the damn droid ran into the counter.
'It is confirmed, the asset is indeed at the event and will be coming here, as expected' Hong said after having a holographic call with Lady Lily, 'many others will also be coming. Lady Lily, Sir Deva and a new guy will also be here shortly.'
'Are they all users?' Vindy said, 'the new guy too?'
'Yes.' Hong said, 'and they will work together with us tonight.' He especially emphasized the the last word, showing his distrust to the organization, and yet there is nothing they can do right now. They have only started to show their true intentions, or speed up their process recently, and Hong Fu with all his good luck only had limited time to prepare. Thankfully, he has always had a back up plan, and the arrival of a disgruntled artifact user underneath his control is really the icing on the cake. With two artifact users in one place, they will at least be a minor powerhouse in the age of the artifacts, a force to be considered.
'However, depending what happens next, this will be our plan...'
It wasn't long after their conversation that Lady Lily has finally made her entrance into the Marble Casino. Hong told Vindy that it's fine if she isn't there to meet Lady Lily, and he alone went ahead to greet her.
'Mr Fu.' Lady Lily acknowledged the man in front of her as he bowed to welcome her, but Hong doesn't seem to care what kind of attitude she is putting on the outside. She needs to always maintain a certain image to the outside world, and Hong, to be honest, just don't give a shit about his very own image. He plays the game of life to survive and have fun, not to leave behind some crooked legacy like Absolute Being is trying to, at least to his upmost understanding.
'I presume you have done your preparations thoroughly.' Lady Lily asked, following Hong Fu towards the main room, where Vindy learned that she will NOT be performing in. Vindy's body is still traumatized after the fight with Lady Lily yesterday, however, her mind is sharp, and she trusts Hong Fu for now. She trust that he has a plan, and all she has to do is to follow it, 'we will spring our trap in the side room, where our asset will be brought over.'
'If by thorough, you meant following your instructions, then yes.' Hong responded sharply, and Lady Lily simply looked at him, 'come, Vindy.'
Vindy came into the room with choppy steps as her body is still afraid of Lady Lily, which conveys a perfect image that Lady Lily do indeed dominate over her mind and soul, and that's one of the key parts of their betrayal at the end of the night.
'You didn't mention who this asset is with in your communications.' Hong said, 'It would be hard to be thorough without knowing it.'
'It's from the group. The artifact bearers.' Lady Lily said, 'we can confirm that Vindy is with Zel, the thief, but there is no news of the other two.'
'It is certainly impressive that you have obtained such information...' Hong said, looking over at Vindy who had to tried to look oblivious to their conversation despite her shock, things turned to be quite similar to what Hong has predicted, and their plan of escape might just work out.
'Master has provided us with that information after diving through an unthinkable amount of data.' Lady Lily replied, 'that's all he could find despite all of his efforts, goes to show the amount of preparation they have done.'
'I don't presume them being the only group on the planet?' Hong asked, 'why her? Why this.....Elmyra?'
'Master seemed to have seen something in her that interests him more than any other artifact users.' Lady Lily said, 'that's not of our concern. Vindy, you role is to subdue or weaken either Elmyra or Zel or both of them if they are in the room. Mr Fu and I will take care of the rest.'
'And what would Sir do?'
'He will take care of something else.' Lady Lily said without explaining further, 'that is all.'
Knowing that Lady Lily is compartmentalizing her plan on a need to know basis, Hong ceased to try to figure out the rest of her plans. Whatever fights that will happen is irrelevant to both himself and Vindy. They just need to do a simple job of assisting Lady Lily.
The last stages of the preparation went underway, and soon the gigantic cube that is the inner stadium of the fashion show appeared on the edge of skyline.
'Things are really working out perfectly today,' Zel said, as both himself and Elmyra, who's still in her half cyborg half miner's outfit, stood by the window on the upper deck of the arena ship. She has once again wrapped her arms around Zel, and he enjoyed every second of it, 'I had a great time, and we can even win some money tonight.'
'Don't waste all of my good impressions of you.' Elmyra said, looking at him with a serious look. Her face is slightly blushed due to the light cocktail that were compliment of the show. Zel still hold the drink in his prosthestic arm and seemed to have forgotten about it.
'Trust me, I have always been a cautious yet decisive person in the casino.' Zel said, his eyes still fixated on the city lights right beneath their feet, 'I know what I am good at, and what I am bad at.'
'I will take your word for it, by the way, have you checked in with the group today?'
'Oh, I will send them a message, just saying that we will be at the Marble Casino for an after party.'
Then, as the Cube attached to the Marble Casino, the after party of the fashion show officially begun as the gates opened, and the guests flooded the main floor of the casino. Instead of rushing into machines or card games, Elmyra and Zel instead went to the dining area on the floor above and overlooking the crowds that are slowly settling into their groups before the AI holograms started the dealing of the very first game of the night.
'First, I will scout out the tables and see where the best place to win is.' Zel said, putting a finger towards his prosthetic eye and adjusting the precision and focus of it, 'This eye is not to cheat, but to observe before I play, just saying.'
'Yeah right.' Elmyra rolled her eyes as she had little interest in gambling. She opened the menu and ordered a few simple dishes for the two to share. After spending a day with Zel, she had learned of exactly the kind of simple dish his pallet fancies.
That's when a human waitress came up to the two and said with a big smile, 'Mr and Mrs, as a further thank you for being our guest model, the Marble Casino would like to invite you into our VIP lounge for some relaxing music, chances to socialize with the others and complementary food and drinks. It will just be over there.' She pointed a finger towards a open door in the back room with some purple lights flashing from within the room, then she took a bow and left.
'Did you hear that?' Elmyra asked.
'What?'
'VIP lounge for being a model!' Elmyra said, pulling on Zel's sleeves.
'Really? Would it be as exciting as watching those potential losers play?' Zel said, his eyes still searching for his targets on the floor down below.
'There is free food and drinks.'
'Ah I love a VIP lounge!'
There have already been a few of the people in the lounge by the time the two has gone into the area. A Rockie DJ is playing some mellow electric music in the background that's actually rather soothing as some other models with distinctive outfits and features are already hear and talking among themselves.
There are arrows on the floor pointing towards the food and drinks bar. Elmyra first started to find a seat somewhere while Zel went to fetch some drinks for the both of them. Then, the front door is gently closed.
'Is it just Zel and Elmyra?' Vindy asked the communication channel between all of the artifact users involved, 'they have both just entered into the room!'
'And Elmyra is held down and moved out of the line of fire.' Fu said, 'phase one, go.'
All of the guests within the room continued their conversations, eating and drinking, and as Zel worked his way to the bar in front of the Rockie DJ, the music suddenly changed to a classic orchestral pop music mixture with a touch of anger and sadness. The music flowing in the air immediately brought Zel back to the days and age when he was still just a boy in the wild regions. The pop songs being played on repeat in his ship sounded exactly like that.
Zel's movements slowed as he enjoyed the tune. The DJ's body moved side to side with the music, as her fingers lit up with every strike on the music box. As this personal performance continued finally winds down, Zel had both hands on the table in front of him with teary eyes. He thought he has already left those days and memories behind after what has finally happened between her and the Rogue Ghost, but they were merely buried underneath his surface, creeping out in his most vulnerable moment.
'Thank you.' Zel looked up to the DJ and said with a smile. Then, the floor shook hard underneath him and he was sent flying up into the ceiling by a drastic quake that came out of nowhere. The clicking sounds magnetic boots engaging was heard all around the room as all of the guests apart from those two still remained standing despite Vindy's sudden attack. Then, the lights were turned on, and all of the guests turned around with pseudo-artifacts armed and ready to fire. Elmyra opened her mouth surprised as Zel's unconscious body dropped from the ceiling and was captured in midair by what she immediately recognized as pseudoartifacts of Lock Down, Valerie's artifact.
Elmyra went into the Space of Uncertainty immediately as the fake guests that are wearing the costumes of the other audience models turned on their artifacts and attempted to lock her down. Seeing how her body will be locked in place, or rather being slowed down to basically not moving from the perspective of viewing events from the Space, Elmyra manuverred herself out of the lines of fire, but she immediately realized that all of the empty room that she can evade to has been covered, and there isn't enough time as the waves of 'lock down' started to crawl its way towards Elmyra. However, there are no rooms to go to, as all of the empty space around her is fully covered.
The only reason she is not yet knocked out by the Space of Uncertainty is because the timing of each of the pseudo-Lock-Down firing is out of sync due to human errors, meaning there are some area of space at certain times that haven't been affected by Lock Down just yet.
Elmyra continued scanning her room, thinking back to her lessons about observing the room and making quick decisions. She spotted the only opening in the room. It was between two of the fake guests, and there is an opening in both space and time that she can move through.
Then, she was out of the Space of Uncertainty, as she flickered in between the guests and the region that she was in was locked down, with her jacket suspended in the air and some strands of her hair ripped off. However, she managed to escape the first wave of attack, and as she prepared to fight those soldiers around her, the one in front lifted her hoodie up before unzipping her jacket and throwing it away.
'You know, these outfits are okay, but red dresses are more like my thing.' Lady Lily gave Elmyra a big smile, 'It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Elmyra.'
'You know who i am?' Elmyra took a step back as the crowds around her retreated to the edges of the room, taking the suspended Zel with them, 'are you with Zero?'
'Indeed I am.' Lady Lily said, reaching a hand towards the Pen by her hip and giving her a cunning smile, 'You are well-trained, Elmyra. Now show me what you can really do.'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone