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 Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2021 4:53 pm
The sands of Uranus were quiet as the keeper of the tower of Andronicus materialized outside it's front door. They were always quiet this far out from the capital and other wonders. Its knight didn't mind though; the utter silence except for boots against stonework, the groan of the old door into the tower, and the wind spiraling through the stairwell were a welcome delight for Andronicus over the chaotic sounds of Destiny City.
The tower it self smelled of sandal wood and pine, courtesy of the numerous oil diffusers she'd placed throughout the liveable floors and the stairway. Over the last several years, the tower had been cleaned up and out, and generally more well kept than it had in centuries. It felt... like the right thing to do. At the very least, she really didn't want to keep coming home with sand everywhere and her allergies flared due to dust.
Usually she came here to think, to consider, and generally just have some time to herself. Sometimes she'd bring Alexandria with her to stargaze or simply relax. Her continued presence seemed to help the wonder itself - though nothing could be done about the broken floors and crumbling books - and there was a part of Andronicus that felt more at home here than on Earth.
Today though, today she had a plan. Sort of. Rather, she'd been having thoughts again, and there was only a few cosmic beings she could contact on the regular. This one wasn't exactly her first choice, but seeing as Caedus had left Earth and she had no way to contact him, this was the next best option.
Didn't mean she had to like the Code anymore than she already did, though.
Andronicus found the small portion of the Code kept on her wonder among the shelves of unreadable books, as it ever was. She didn't despise it, not really, but she certainly wasn't a fan of interacting with it. But again, it was as good of a choice as any, at least for information.
"You have a moment to chat, Code? I got some questions about an... idea," she asked, leaning against the shelving unit next to her as she waited for the all powerful cosmic floating scroll to respond.
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:23 pm
The Code pulsed in her presence, not quite ominously but with some otherworldly life. It didn’t often speak; it responded, sometimes, but whatever power was rooted in it sometimes seemed spread thin. The ethereal scroll glowed and shifted a bit; it seemed like it was made up of many tiny particles of glowing sand, and it resonated in her presence. Something about it seemed like it was an old magic waking up--and then, the distinct sensation of eyes on her, despite the fact that it had no face and took no other form. “A moment,” it answered. “I will answer as best I can.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:14 pm
That always freaked her out, the way the Code's presence just seemed to stare at her. It had long established that it was a separate entity from Cosmos or Metallia; aligned with Cosmos, clearly, but a separate entity nonetheless. Much in the way that Caedus was, though Caedus at least had a body. Still, it weirded her out that the scroll just sort of stared with no eyes or face or... anything else. Probably one of the reasons she just sort of... avoided it.
"Do you know, or have you come across, any methods of muddling a person's aura when powered up? Not dampens it, like Guardian Cats can do, but makes it more... nebulous?" she asked, it, trying to describe what she wanted to do. Idealy, she wanted something that masked her aura as 'Order' but didn't mask the range or power level of it. Just so she pinged like order and chaos were in the same space, almost?
"I'm pretty sure that trying to figure out a way to hold both my power as a knight and Chaos in my starseed at the same time will, ah, destroy it, but I'm curious if there's a way to appear to others as though there's both." Andronicus had thought about, she had, but it didn't exactly seem practical - also hadn't Valhala or Camelot or some other knight gotten some sort of aborted corruption that did really bad things to them? It probably wasn't a great idea to try to hold both at once. Tempting, and a very interesting thought, but probably deadly.
Probably.
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 6:31 pm
The Code swirled curiously, not like it had to think to answer her question, but like it was trying to see into her mind before it gave any concrete answer. “That’s complicated,” it answered slowly. “There are ways,” it assured, but there was something that almost sounded like doubt. “But not all of them are safe. It is true, if you try to carry even a small bit of Chaos in your starseed, it will eat away. The decay spreads wherever it can.” It swirled, like mist caught in a ball. Something about it seemed thoughtful. “I wish to understand your purpose to better answer that question. Why do you want to muddle your aura?”
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 3:12 pm
It was weirdly curious and thoughtful. Andronicus wasn't sure she'd ever seen it be so... human-esk. Well as human-esk as a cosmic entity with no body could be. She leaned against the bookcase behind her, glancing out of the small window to the endless expanse of sands and stars behind.
"Earth, and Destiny City specifically, are a bit of a... nexus for cosmic powers. Beyond Metallia or Cosmos, we seem to be attracting other powers now and..." she trailed off, scratching her cheek. This was a little embarrassing to admit, since she essentially was trying to be a 'special snowflake' as people on the internet would call her.
"I want to muddle my aura, maybe even my powered glamour, to essentially be incognito while trying to keep the civilians of the city safe. From everyone, regardless of affiliation, without them going 'oi Andronicus what are you doing fighting your own people!!' while there's a civ bleeding out from collateral damage or splash damage. Knights and senshi tend to take offense when I chastise them for getting a civilian injured."
It was all essentially a self preservation tactic, but maybe in the future it could be used for other purposes too. "Depending, could be helpful to snuff out Metallia and her agents?" she added after a moment. She might not use it that way, but that doesn't mean no one else couldn't, in theory.
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Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 3:26 pm
“All life is precious,” the Code answered simply, but it did not seem to criticize the Knights that might have hurt a civilian. It was difficult to look at something so black and white, and all it could do was trust that the Knights were acting with their best judgment. “You have an interesting approach to solving this problem. I do not know if I have a simple answer for you. The universe is full of puzzles, and sometimes the pieces are broken up.” The Code itself was a prime example--one great thing, broken into many pieces. Only, the Code wasn’t supposed to be put back together. Not when it was so dangerous. And yet, as it considered Andronicus’ request, its shape again changed. The ball of light formed into something different; it began to glow brightly--almost uncomfortably, and then it faded. The white light remained solid--a mask--that hovered in the misty haze. “It will not hide what you are, or who you are. But it is something to work with. You are a piece of the puzzle. It is a piece of a puzzle. What you put together is up to you, Andronicus. But I think you can be trusted to do the right thing with the powers you are given.”
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Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:09 pm
Gently, she took the mask and looked at it for a moment. A few ideas popped into her head, but this was a starting point. It reminded her of the paper mask she had tucked away in the map room downstairs, the one she hadn't really gotten around to investigating what it did yet. Seemed like one of those 'one time use things' from a game.
Andronicus tucked the mask from the Code into subspace. "Thank you, I think I have a few ideas what to do with this." She smiled at the code piece.
"Do you need anything of me?" she asked.
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 12:08 pm
The Code seemed patient, thoughtful. It watched like it was questioning the sincerity of the question, like it was trying to figure out if she really wanted to know what it needed of her. “No,” it decided. “I do not need anything of you. Do your best. Visit more often.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2021 7:56 pm
Andronicus snorted and rolled her eyes at it's response. "Okay, mom," she said in reply, sticking her tongue out at it. Their business was concluded though, and Andronicus had a fiancé and needy cat to return to.
"Thanks for the time Code. Don't go doing anything I wouldn't do."
With that, Andronicus wandered out of the bookshelves and returned home.
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