tailbane/Cyber Dome Distress

## Cyber Dome Distress
*Previously, on Elona-DW!
00:37 Lok Rey found herself blushing profusely...it was /their/ song. Tears of

pride and joy fell from her eyes.
00:37 Lok Rey stands and claps loudly along with everyone!
00:37 Lok The blonde gentleman rushes to Lok with a strange voice-amplifying

device in hand.  "Sir! That was beautiful! Simply amazing!"
00:38 Lok Lok takes a bow, and leaves the stage.
00:38 Lok The audience cheers, and the ceremony's closing music plays in the

background.
00:38 Lok Everyone is leaving their seats now, chattering about the

performances they've seen tonight.
00:38 Lok Rey takes Josh by the hand and goes looking for Lok. She listens to

the conversations as she walks by.
00:38 Lok "Rey! Rey! Over here!"
00:39 Lok You can hear this voice coming from a crowd of walkers. Lok catches

up to you. He's in his normal clothes now.
00:39 Lok Suddenly, his eyes fill with terror.
00:39 Lok "Rey...? Who's /that/...?"
00:39 Lok He points to the little girl holding your hand.
00:39 Lok Where did Joshua go?! She had just had him!!
00:39 Lok You've been holding some other child. It's a smiling little girl.
00:40 Lok  Lok turns around and yells. "JOOOOSHUAAA!!!"
00:40 Lok ----
00:40 Lok As Rey and Lok panic, thundering footsteps can be heard. It is

accompanied with a frightful groan!
00:40  Lok turns in the direction of the groan. A Big Daddy is coming this

way!
00:41 Lok How did they end up with its little sister?
00:42  Rocketgirl lets go of the little girl, "Who are you and were's Joshua?"
00:42  *** Rocketgirl is now known as Rey
00:43 Rey where's*
00:44 Lok The smiling little girl starts skipping towards the Big Daddy. "Mr.

Bubbles!"
00:45  Rey follows the creepy girl in hopes that the /thing/ she' running to

may have found Joshua.
00:45 Lok The Big Daddy sees Rey, and charges towards her!
00:46 Lok At this, Lok pulls out his Rapier and starts dashing towards the Big

Daddy!
00:46 Lok "No!"
00:46 Rey She squeaks and tries to dodge the strange behemoth of metal and

glass!
00:47 Lok She dodges a giant drill-shaped arm which crashes into the floor

beneath her
00:47  Lok starts slashing at the Big Daddy, but all of his attacks are

bouncing off!
00:47 Lok "Leave her alone!"
00:48  Rey shouts, "Lok get away from that m-monster!"
00:49 Lok The Big Daddy swipes at Lok with his Drill, and Lok barely manages

to dodge it!
00:50 Lok People are screaming and frantically running away!
00:50 Lok The Big Daddy takes out his shotgun, and aims at Lok!
00:50 Lok Lok can't dodge that!
00:50 Lok The Big daddy is about to shoot, when suddenly he becomes

electrified!
00:50 Lok The little girl screams, "No! Mr. B!"
00:51  Rey tackles Lok. It's too late for her to stop now.
00:51  Lok falls to the ground. "H-Hey!"
00:52 Lok The Big daddy falls to the ground also.
00:53 Lok As the behemoth falls to the floor with a metallic groan, guards

surround the beast, pointing their guns at it. Behind the fallen giant is a

military woman in a beret. In one hand, she's holding an intimidating looking

cattle prod with an electrified tip. In the other, she is holding Joshua's

hand.
00:53 Lok Joshua lets go of her hand and runs over to Rey and Lok, hiding

behind them.
00:54  Rey rushes over to Joshua, "Josh sweetheart! I was so worried about

you. What happened?"
00:54 Lok The military woman scoffs. "Damn girls...always playing tricks." She

looks toward Lok and Rey. "Are you alright?"
00:54 Lok Joshua is trembling. "I...I don't know."
00:54  Lok gets up. "Yes...thank you for saving us."
00:55  Rey is busy hugging Josh tightly, tears are pouring down her face, "S-

s-shh Joshua..everything's ok n-now."
00:56 Lok The woman sighs. "Sorry about that. The little sister used a

dimensional switch on your kid. They like to play pranks every now and then,

but it's usually not this dangerous."
00:57 Rey Rey looks up at the strange woman, a part of her is furious..but

she's so relived all she can say is, "A w-w-what?"
00:58 Lok "Dimensional switch. It switched places with your kid,"
00:58 Lok The Big daddy gets up, groaning all the while.
00:59 Lok The little sister stops crying, and hugs the Big Daddy. "Mr. B,

you're back!"
00:59 Lok The guards are warily aiming their guns at the beast, but the Big

Daddy seems content now, and it slowly marches away.
00:59  Lok winces. Such a powerful armored behemoth.
01:00  Rey picks up Joshua and nuzzles him. She was so afraid...her heart is

still pounding..
01:01 Lok Joshua hides his face as he curls up in Rey's arms.
01:01  Lok sighs. "Yeah well...we almost got killed by that thing! How can you

let the little girls run around like that?"
01:02 Lok The woman flinches. "It's not like we /want/ them to run around like

that. We're just forced to share a home with those...things."
01:03 Rey "Lok..what are those...m-m-monsters?" Rey refuses to let go for Josh

now, but she leans on Lok slightly.
The military woman is still eyeing the Big Daddy as it storms off into the

distance. "Big Daddies. They populated this area before the Cyber Dome was a

civilian area. They guard the little sisters, and the little sisters gather

energy from various sources."
23:28  Rey shivers slightly. She doesn't want Joshua anywhere near those

things..
23:31 Lok "They usually mind their own business, as long as we don't bother

them or their little sisters...We don't really have a choice but to watch our

step around them. Still...with monsters like those walking around, there's

bound to be a few serious accidents every now and then..." She sighs.
23:32  Lok frowns. "Accidents? Try casualties! We didn't even go near the damn

thing!"
23:34 Lok "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down. I understand it's

not your fault. In fact, I'd like to set you folks up with a room here in

Cyber Dome, if you haven't registered one already, free of charge."
23:35  Rey leans against Lok, trying to calm him down, "We'd like that..w-

wouldn't we?"
23:35  Lok sighs. "Yeah, alright. I guess that'd save me some credits."
23:37 Rey She nuzzles Lok's shoulder, he can feel the wetness of her

tears..but she says no more..she only clings to Joshua.
23:37 Lok The military woman nods, and takes out a small pad of sorts from her

jacket. "Right...just swipe your card through this slot, and I'll apply the

discount."
23:38  Lok takes out a small plastic card from his jacket. Strange...never

seen it before. Must be new.
23:38 Lok He swipes it along a slot on the woman's pad, and the woman presses

a few buttons.
23:39 Lok "Alright...and...there. Enjoy your stay at Cyber Dome Mr. E."
23:39  Rey blinks...how much more didn't she know about her lover?
23:40 Lok She checks her pad. "Your room is D-23. Do you need an escort to

help you find it?"
23:40  Lok shakes his head. "No, it's alright, I've been here before. Besides,

I need to get another one of these cards for the lady. Can you point me to the

bank?"
23:40 Lok The military woman nods. "Certainly." She gives Lok directions to

the Cyber Bank.
23:41 Lok "Alright Squad, get back to your patrols. I want sector B secured!

Keep an eye on those little girls dammit, don't want another mishap like that

again."
23:41 Lok The soldiers, military woman included, begin to march off in

different directions.
Lok sighs. He turns to Rey. "Are you alright?"
23:43  Rey clutches Joshua against her chest, "I'm...terrified. Lok...I

thought you said this place was safer than Derphy.."
23:44 Lok "It /is/ safer than Derphy. Big Daddies aside, this place actually

has a security force. Besides, they saved us."
23:45 Rey She frowns and quietly asks, "Joshua..do you feel safe here?"
23:45 Lok The boy is silent has he buries his face into your arms.
23:46  Rey sighs, "Lead the way..we'll talk of this more once were not..in the

open."
23:47  Lok shakes his head. "No point in going any further if you're still not

convinced. Rey...if you /really/ think Derphy is safer than this place, then

fine. We'll go back immediately. I'll cash in these credits for gold, and we

can pay for a coach to drive us back."
23:50 Rey She's chewing on he bottom lip, "I'm nervous..but we should stay the

night at least..the room is free after all.."
23:51  Lok frowns. That didn't sound entirely convincing, but at least she

still trusts him this much.
23:51 Lok "Come on, we need to get you a card."
23:52 Rey "The card is money..right?" She asks as she follows him.
23:55 Lok "Yea. In Cyber dome, they use a monetary system known as 'credits.'

It's...a bit difficult to explain, but it's like money that's recorded into a

tiny plastic card."
23:57  Rey understands the concept of credit, Hawk taught her basic finances

so she could run the guild, just in case he got killed. "Oh..that doesn't

sound very secure.."
00:00  Lok shrugs. "In a few ways, maybe. But then again, your card can't be

stolen either, unlike actual gold. The card only works for you, you see. Don't

know how they do it. Something about recognition technology or something."
00:02  Rey is busy trying to think of ways to steal something like that..she

comes up with a few possibilities, but they aren't appropriate for Josh's

ears.
00:03 Rey "The t-technology here reminds me of strange magic.." She says as

she fearfully marvels at your surroundings.
00:04  Lok chuckles. "It's science. Personally, I prefer science to magic. It

makes sense, one way or another."
00:04 Lok Finally, they arrive at a kiosk.
00:05  Lok is greeted by a cheerful girl.
00:05 Lok "Hello Sir! How can I help you?"
00:05  Lok clears his throat. "The lady here would like some help registering

for a card."
00:06 Lok "Well alright then! I just need a finger print and your user tag,

and we'll be set!
00:07  Rey hesitantly sets Joshua down for a second, but continues holding his

hand, she turns to Lok, "Please..don't take you eyes off him.." Then she

attempts to look the lady in the eyes and holds out her hand.
00:08  Lok nods.
00:08 Lok The lady uses a small device to scan Rey's finger. "Okay then!

Please give me your user tag so I can see if this checks out, and we'll be

done shortly!"
00:09 Rey "User tag?" She already completely forgotten what that was..
00:09 Rey she's*
00:10  Lok leans over. "Your uh...nick name."
00:11 Rey "Sparrow."
00:13 Lok The lady nods, presses a few buttons, and a confirmatory 'bing'

noise can be heard. A small device prints out a plastic card, and the lady

gives it to Rey. "Annnd here you go! Have a nice stay in Cyber dome!"
00:14 Rey "Uh..t-thank you very much." She takes the card and hands it to Lok

so she can pick Joshua up once more.
00:20  Lok arches an eyebrow. "Uh...this is for you to keep, in case you need

to buy something while I'm not around." He pushes it back to Rey.
00:21 Rey She raises an eyebrow as well, "And why would you n-not be

around..?"
00:22  Lok shrugs. "What if I need to do more jobs requests?"
00:23  Rey clearly doesn't like the sound of that..her eyes look weary, and

scared, "Lok..can we please just go to our room? I'm exhausted.."
00:24  Lok sighs. "Alright."
00:25 Lok As Lok leads them to their room, they pass by many people. Humans,

Dwarves, Mutants, Elves, Halflings, even Snails!
00:25 Lok Truly, the Cyber dome is a place of Diversity.
00:25 Rey Was it just her imagination..or did he seem../annoyed/ with her

since she found Joshua?
00:25 Lok Although, one can't help but cringe as they pass by a Big Daddy.
00:26  Rey follows on in silence, a tad afraid of all these new..beings..
00:27 Lok Eventually, they arrive at their room. The door has no keyhole,

instead it has a smile slot to swipe a card in.
00:27  Lok takes out his identification card, and swipes it.
00:27 Lok The lock clicks, and he opens the door.
00:28  Rey notes that such a lock would be difficult to pick..impossible with

her set actually..
00:28 Lok The room inside is...clean!
00:30 Lok The beds are made and tucked, the walls are glowing white, the floor

is soft and smooth, and a light source hangs from the ceiling.
00:30 Lok For such a simple room, it's feels quite luxurious and modern.
00:31  Rey set Joshua down and smiles at him. "This is where we get to sleep

tonight. Do you like it?"
00:32 Lok The boy is smiling, and he jumps onto the bed and starts curling up

immediately.
00:32  Lok chuckles at this.
00:32 Lok "Poor kid. Must have been a while since he's slept in a nice bed."
00:34  Rey can't help but laugh as well...it feels good to chuckle after the

day they've had..almost cleansing. "Well, he's with us now. He doesn't have to

worry about where he sleeps anymore."
00:35  Lok stretches and yawns. "Actually, I wouldn't mind taking a moment to

relax myself."
00:36 Rey She's tempted to tackle him onto the bed..but refrains..they can't

go carrying on like newlyweds with a child about..
00:37  Rey flushes at that thought, "I'm a little s-sleepy too." She lies.
00:38  Lok smiles. "Well then. Shall we call it a day?"
00:39  Rey nods and hugs onto Lok with a grin, "You know..there's alot of

things  don't know about you.."
00:40 Rey I*
00:40  Lok pats her on the back and chuckles. "Well, you could always ask I

suppose."
00:42 Rey She pulls him towards the bed, "Well..I never knew you were

so..musically gifted.." She blushes beautifully as she says this.
00:43  Lok gets onto the bed with her. "I dabble."
00:43 Lok "Or...dabbled." He smirks.
00:45 Rey She curls up against him, "It was beautiful...and you played /our/

song...in that..suit." She's even more red now, and unable to look him in the

eyes.
00:46 Lok She's so cute when she blushes. "Well...as a thief, I was able to

travel the world. I found that people in Cyber dome appreciated people with a

talent for music, so I was able to get a taste of the limelight during my stay

in Cyber Dome. It was nice actually."
00:48  Rey lays her head on his chest, "Tell me more about your travels Lok."

It dawns upon her how little of the world she's actually seen.
00:49  Lok puts his arm around Rey and relaxes his head a little. Joshua is

already sleeping like a baby. The poor lad must be exhausted. Everything up

till now has been a long nightmare for him.
00:53 Lok "Well..I've been to many places in Tyris. It was nice feeling,

exploring the world on my own, so I took advantage of it.
00:54 Lok I've been to the temple of altars north of Palmia. It's quite the

spiritual place...though, I'm not sure why there were so many silver cats

jumping around."
00:55  Lok ponders as he thinks upon his travels.
00:55 Lok "Seen my share of dungeons too. The Puppy Cave is quite interesting.

Feels as if the walls are always...shifting in that place."
00:56  Lok looks at Rey. "Oh, have you ever seen snow?"
00:57  Rey is silent for a moment then sadly says, "No, Hawk's told me about

it though. He said he'd take me when I got older..but he always got too busy.

Is it really like a frost spell all over?"
00:58  Lok nods. "Yea. In a town called Noyel, far..far away in the corner of

Tyris, it's always snowing."
00:59  Lok smiles. He wonders what his friends have done in Noyel since he

left...?
00:59 Rey "Always snowing? Then how do they grow food?"
01:00 Lok "They trade with other towns. Fish from Port Kapul are quite the

delicacy to them."
01:01 Rey "That must be hard...having to depend on another town completely

like that.."
01:02 Lok "Well, not just Port Kapul. They trade with all the towns of course.

Lumiest, Vernis, Palmia..." He chuckles. "Even Derphy."
01:03  Rey feels like she should know these things..after all information was

her job. Maybe she's just too tired to recall.
01:04 Rey She's starting to get sleepy, her fingers begin tracing lazy circles

on Lok's chest.
01:04  Lok lets out a content sigh. "Yeah...it's a big world out there." He

yawns.
01:14 Rey Her worries start to creep into her mind, "Hey, L-lok...you aren't

mad at me..are you?"
01:16  Lok arches an eyebrow. "Hm? Why would you think that? Of course not."
01:19  Rey looks away from him, "Well...I'm n-not so innocent now..I've k-k-

k-killed people..and.." he gaze falls upon Joshua, "I didn't exactly ask if

you were ok with bringing him along.." She flushes again, this time feeling

ashamed.
01:20 Lok "Though I /did/ say it was unwise to bring him to Derphy, I didn't

save him just to ditch him there, you know...?"
01:20  Lok frowns. "You really think I wouldn't try to help the kid? He's like

you after all."
01:22 Rey She gives him a slight smile, "I know that...but..I should have at

least..consulted you before deciding to take him...I'm s-sorry.."
01:22 Lok "Hey now, none of that. If a stray child needs help, we'll help him,

no questions asked."
01:24 Rey Her smile brightens, "Thank you Lok." She chuckles, "Though if we

keep this up we'll have to run an orphanage."
01:24  Lok frowns. "Whoa there. We can only do so much within reason."
01:25  Rey pokes him on the nose, "That was a joke, love."
01:25  Lok smiles.
01:25 Lok Still though...
01:26 Lok He's right. They can only do so much within reason...
01:26 Lok He's no Hawk. He can't take in orphans as he pleases. He can only

offer so much protection.
01:26 Lok Today's Big Daddy fiasco proved that.
01:26 Lok Sooner or later...and most likely sooner...they're going to have to

leave Joshua somewhere. It'd be irresponsible to keep him around.
01:28  Rey kisses Lok's chin, then whispers, "Do you think we'll /really/ be

able to find his real family?"
01:28  Lok is silent.
01:29 Lok The boy looked...very malnourished.
01:29 Lok Almost as if the fat man had stopped feeding him.
01:29 Lok Which meant...the fat man probably had no use for Joshua anymore.
01:30 Lok Even a kidnapper has to take good care of his kidnappee.
01:30 Lok "...Well...another part of the reason why I wanted to bring him here

was because the Cyber Dome is the best place I could think of to track down

his parents...but..."
01:32 Rey "But?" She feared she already knew the answer..
01:33  Lok avoids her eyes. "Well...Rey...you know the odds. I mean...the fat

man was already looking for another child to kidnap..."
01:34  Rey nods, "Which means..either he grew tired of Joshua..." She shudders

at that thought, "Or...he could not longer ransom him.."
01:34 Rey no*
01:36  Lok sighs. "But...I promise, we won't leave him till he's in safe

hands."
01:37 Rey She can't help but gaze at the sleeping child, "I know it's

silly...but I wish we could keep him."
01:40  Lok can't help but cringe a little at the thought of having kids.
01:40 Lok It's not that he doesn't want to have kids with Rey eventually, but

the idea of having one /now/...well...that's just irresponsible.
01:42 Rey "Don't make that face..I'm not stupid..I know we can handle a child

now...that wouldn't be fair to him..but..I don't just want to hand him off to

some strangers that will never let us visit him.."
01:43 Lok "Yeah...I know what you mean."
01:43  Lok sighs. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that..."
01:45  Rey squeezes his hand, "Yeah...I wish I knew where my family

was..they'd care for him in a heartbeat.."
01:47 Lok Family...
01:48 Lok How long has it been since he's seen his parents?
01:48 Lok For that matter, how long has it been since he's even /thought/ of

his parents...?
01:48 Lok Would they be proud of him if they knew he was doing his best to

protect the love of his life and an innocent child...?
01:49 Lok Or would they shun him after realizing what kind of remorseless

monster he's become?
01:49 Lok Perhaps...it's best not to think of them for now.
01:49 Lok "...Yeah."

01:51  Rey fidgets a little, "Lok...you're family is still alive correct?"
01:52 Lok "Yeah.
Rey tries to choose her words carefully, she doesn't want to come off

as..desparate..or pushy, "Have you ever t-t-thought of visiting them a-again?"
02:06 Lok "Honestly...? Not really. Then again, I suppose I'll have to

introduce you sooner or later..."
02:06  Lok smiles. "...Then again...I suppose that wouldn't be so bad."
02:07  Rey blushes brightly and smiles from ear to ear, "You..want to

introduce me to them?"
02:08 Lok "One of these days."
02:10  Lok yawns and begins to close his eyes.
02:10  Rey kisses him on the cheek and cuddles closer, "I'd love to meet them

Lok.."
02:10 Rey She'd been worried that he was embarrassed of her..
02:10 Lok "Mhm..." He's starting to drift away.
02:11 Rey Lok came from a wealthy family. Heck they might have even been

nobility for all she knew..and she..was just a clanless thieving elf girl..
02:13 Rey His family probably wanted him to find a /proper/ wife, someone of

the same social class...she knew she'd be..a disappointment.
02:13 Rey But Lok didn't care.
02:13 Rey He wanted to introduce her anyways...
02:14 Rey Because he loved her.
02:16  Rey couldn't help but drift off to sleep with a soft smile on her face.

She dreamed of Lok in /that/ handsome suit on one knee..and asking that

terrifying question.
02:17 Rey --SCENE--
02:19 Lok (Clap clap clap clap!)
02:19 Lok (Bravo! Bravissimo!)