recollecters | NPC INBOX 2.0;

Nobody knew what was going to happen. It's fine. [it's not. but it's her life now.] You don't have to make anything up to me. This gets us all closer to tracking down and killing Vanderweele, right? Saving the city? That's all I need.

[she looks up at him. it's not. they both probably know that from her tone of voice. the energy she threatened to aerate his chest with isn't there right now. thanks for calling. she'll get back to you as soon as she can.]

Just don't let anyone else go down there alone, I guess. As long as you aren't expecting me to be a tour guide.

[There's a snort that basically says "bullshit" but he leaves it alone. It's fine if this is what she wants to concentrate on now. Who is he to stop her?]

I'm not planning on either of those things. I'm going back down there, too. And I'm not making anyone go. It's going to be voluntary and with these--[A gesture to the bag of vials]--I'm hoping to figure out a solid formula for actually tracking you beyond layers. I thought I had something figured out, but...obviously not.

If I have to, I'll organize everybody in groups again. [Was Anna around during that point? He doesn't remember, really.]

Same as you did back when we first got places like Bosuma and Magatus?

[she remembers that, if that's what he means. she didn't know shit about shit and didn't participate at all, but. she heard about it. and that gets her thinking.]

Fuck me, dude. That was a year ago. In one year I lost my legs, my heart, and my eye. And I don't even know if you're dealing with any of this crap, too. [he did die, Anna. she scoffs at herself, like she's saying anything new and not just wasting his time at this point.] Who knew protecting everyone's souls was gonna be such a fucking ordeal?

Yeah, exactly. I needed you guys to check out the areas and see what was happening. That was before I realized there might be a bigger issue. [But yeah...there's a wince.] I still have a flesh heart if that's what you're asking, but...[Shrug.] The physical changes were things I got used to years ago even if they were jarring.

[There's a laugh though, hardly humorous but still there.] I did all of this to get my own memories back and track down someone important. Trust me. I definitely didn't know protecting everyone's souls would be this bad. There're so many things I wish I could change, and I wish I could ask the company. But we have to work on getting them back first.

[There's a beat.] I'm not sure if people think I don't read the posts we put up each month, but I do. The network's designed so we can't really meddle after the initial post, but several people have suggested I hire them as a part of the new Retrospec team. I'm almost half-tempted to say yes.

[well. there's a couple things there that pique Anna's interest. she decides to focus on the last one first and back pocket the part about why Zee's working here, doing all this research. weird how nobody ever thinks to ask HR why they want to work somewhere.]

Puts an even bigger target on their back than the one that's already there, yeah? But it's not the worst idea in the world. Get more people who've been through what you've been through to keep everything running.

[see, this is easier to talk about. this is easier to focus on than how half of her vision is black.] You thought about an application process yet? I mean, who's gonna stop you?

[Nobody asks and Zee's not entirely sure it's appropriate to tell, given he's PR and HR and now a whole company. Yet there's a sharp, almost lopsided grin.]

Yeah. Truthfully if anyone's going to understand enough to keep the company going, it'll be the people who've been under their influence for a while. I hate to admit it. And I hate to put you guys in a position that's even more dangerous than usual, but…maybe some of you will benefit from that.

[Talking's fine. Truthfully he likes her company and isn't about to shoo her off until she's ready, so he'll entertain the notion for now.] I should put one together, but I guess if I'm my own manager, supervisor and superior I can do whatever I want until we fix their memories. The latter is going to be tricky since I have no idea what kind of magic Vanderweele used, but it's not impossible. It's also dependent on what you guys as a collective want to do.

[some of them. ha. Anna tries her best to force a lopsided smile, or maybe it's just a regular smile because her face feels lopsided now.]

I don't know what you're working with in there and I have no managerial experience, but, I mean. I did tier two tech support for a few years, I could probably figure out some IT shit if you need it. [makes sense, doesn't it? who'd know IT better than a sentient piece of information technology?]

I just know that I'm not going to stop working for you if you need me. [her eye focuses on Zee.] I'm gonna need some time to process all this. But I'm not calling it quits after one bad mission.

[There's a curious tilt of the head.] It's…a mess. They knew where everything was so nobody bothered unpacking everything, but I'm still figuring it out.

[But. There's a nod.] …there's a reason I chose you, you know. You're sort of proving me right. [Guilt aside, he's still pretty impressed with her.] Don't consider it calling it quits. Think of it as a vacation while I work on things here. Although if you can think of a way to beef up our security on the network or somebody who could help with that, I wouldn't say no.

[here she thought the reason she got picked was because she bitched about it harder than other people.]

There was this thing that the machines did to androids. In A2's world. [this is maybe the first time she's thought of weaponizing this, but hey, her eye is opening.] A logic virus. They were able to beam it into androids who tried to mess with them and it made the ones who got infected start fighting against their friends. For the machines.

I don't know how to code something like that, but if Vanderweele's going to keep trying to hack us, I can learn.

[She just lost an eye, he's not going to tell her that was also a major part of it. He's maybe also just a little biased.]

So...something that would swing it so that anything that got caught in the beam would lose sight of its original mission to start destroying their own kind. That would be brilliant. Keep him out long enough so we still have an avenue for networking and planning, still be simple enough to learn. I almost wish Futaba still remembered...she would have probably figured something out.

[...] But I do have someone in mind we can use to test it if we get it working. Granted, he's nine, but he's smart enough. You're sure you're up for learning?

[She is still technically an android, and while he's not sure if he's even human himself he is a little worried about her trying something that might infect her herself.]

[she's not thrilled about it either. she remembers what it did to her squad. to A2's, but what's the difference given enough time? whatever. Zee's got the right idea, and she nods along as he talks. there's better people for this idea than Anna, but she's the one who's here. until she hears "he's nine", and she literally only knows one nine-year-old on the app, and she met him a handful of weeks ago, and her eyebrows lower in a dead look.]

I swear to god. What's Shinji bringing to the table?

Dunno. He's just the only one I know that has those sort of skills right now, so if you have a better idea I'm all ears. [He rubs the back of his neck.] I kind of need to make up the whole "dying and being gone for months" thing to him, too.

I don't doubt you, I'm just saying.

[first she swears her mouth off at him before she knows he's nine, next he's gonna be testing a virus? maybe on her? like, how else would it work? but those thoughts aren't really important when he says that second thing, and she tries... and hopefully doesn't fail to show a little sympathy.]

You're saying that like it was your fault. Like you just went down to the store for some smokes and never came back. [her words are coming out without her having to think about them much. good sign?] Nobody knew what was going to happen. Nobody ever knows what's gonna happen. But I don't know a single damn person still on the app who wasn't thrilled out of their minds to have you back.

[He also kind of questions Shinji's abilities but it's something he'll have to see for himself. Still, that subject's shelved a little when he frowns instead.]

Ah...pretty sure some people would agree it's my fault, yeah. [James. But then again, he has good reason to.] But if you mean nobody knew I'd be gone for five months? You're right. I sort of thought if I died it'd be like the rest of you. Kind of a shitty way to learn about new abilities, but here we are.

[There's a soft grin though, embarrassed suddenly even as he shrugs.] That's nice of you to say but I'm also pretty aware how some people view the company as a whole. Given the way we've been treating you guys? Can't blame 'em. [Wesker. Malik. Others who have expressed skepticism. He absolutely can't blame them.] It's been kind of nice being back and being in contact with everyone though. Hopefully we're all in agreement with that.

Yeah, well. Whatever. You're—[huh. well, actually. Anna takes a second to think about that, about what all of this actually means for him, and there's. not dread, but something dread-adjacent on her face. never mind the stuff about new abilities, too, what the fuck, she needs to ask him what his deal is once she can actually get to the bottom of this more pressing matter.]

You are the company right now. If he wanted to pick you off it would be the easiest goddamn thing in the world. [look. he's her boss and she's pretty sure they might be maybe getting a little closer to friends or something like that. she worries. because he's the only one who knows anything.] Can you, like, defend yourself in here? What's your plan if he finds you?

[He raises both eyebrows then. Logically, yes, he knew that but it's still a lot to grapple with all the same.]

I know how to fight if that's what you're asking me, and I'm kind of an expert at running away. [There's a hint of a smirk, but it's easily lost.] I'm working on defense wards and moving research out of here to where it's very limited access. There's a reason there's a scanner on the door and it's programmed just to you guys. It's not the greatest solution but it's the best one I had for the time being. This office is more of a front. I don't usually spend my nights here unless I have to.

And anyway I'm not sure it's me he's interested in now. With the actual brains of the operation out of the loop...[A shrug. The target would shift, he thinks. It's probably a naive way of thinking, but likewise he's worried about the users and what may come next.]

[ha. brains. but she'll find a way to laugh about that later; right now, she's just. she's thinking about everything Zee's told her. thinking about what he's saying now, about wards and about how he's even got this whole office set up. and it might sound like a question that comes out of nowhere, and it might not even be one she'll get an answer to, but. she's finally ready to ask, she thinks.]

You keep saying things. Things like how you got your soul back and you're still getting new stuff. You've got all this... magic, or whatever. [maybe it's technology. she wouldn't know.] There's just. You've got so much going on that feels like it's normal everyday stuff, but there's enough else going on that it's just. Not? All the way normal?

[she's great at this. give her a second.]

Do you just know a lot of shit that we wouldn't know? Or are you... what are you, Zee?

Why Anna, are you calling me abnormal? [Now's not the time to joke about it, but...yeah. He sort of expected this since he's been getting that line of questioning just often enough now. He goes quiet again because he's not even sure how to fully explain it.]

Zachariah Carlisle. 29, supposedly, though if memories are to be believed the guy I was was 10 years older by his world's standards. I call bullshit on that though and I'd rather stay 29 unless it's convenient to be older. [Like placating James Barnes, maybe.] I was human for a while, lived in a town not far from here and everything. Grew up, played basketball during high school and got a scholarship to a nearby university. Quit playing, stayed in school, went into psychology and tried my hand at being a DJ and gave that up, too. And then...one day about three years ago, my eyes changed from brown to blue and my hand completely phased through a wall and I was stuck for twenty minutes until I phased through the rest.

I'm not even sure if my name's Zee, but the best I can guess is that I'm not entirely mortal. Based on memory, people where I'm from should develop at least some offensive powers but I haven't yet, and I don't think I was ever going to and that's why I left home. You ever notice how sometimes the things that happen to you in this life sync up with shit you remember from your old life? What's up with that? It's one of my least favorite things about the project.

[He crosses his right ankle over his left, arms folded over his chest and stares at his shoes for a moment.] I think I'm an Oracle, and that could be why Retrospec actually hired me and accepted my bargain.

[Prophetic predictions and insight to something greater? Sure. That checks out, and it only really made sense in the last few months.]

[there's a lot there, not the least of which is she never would've given him 29 and he looks incredible for it. but she listens, more or less with bated breath, and... psychology, okay, she knew that. basketball? DJing? Zee's got a fucking wild backstory and she's glad she can finally learn a little more about it, even if none of it's gonna be. super relevant, maybe.]

[well, maybe if GIANT⚡ROBOT gets off the ground.]

[she thinks on everything he's telling her, though. the things about how what she's learning parallel things that happened to her—how A2 somehow went from mama's little android to forest trash hobo, how that specific blank hasn't been filled in yet but how she can probably figure it out. sometimes Retrospec is fucking eerie.]

Gonna be honest here, Zee. [she's trying to keep her tone casual. because there's something she hasn't addressed.] If you're right about what you are, you're kind of undercutting all the stuff about how nobody knew what was gonna happen to me. Not that I think you're supposed to be able to tell us outright or whatever. [a beat.] I like what you've done with Delphi, at least.

[His backstory's a little irrelevant as far as he's concerned and it's why he's never really mentioned it. It's fragments of who he was and who he is, but they won't be what helps the users move forward. The Oracle thing? That just might, and when she voices her concerns about that he frowns heavily.]

I'd be more inclined to tell you guys outright if I actually knew for sure. I think those powers are still developing a little because the visions I get aren't too far in the future, and they're not always clear. They've started becoming a little more clear since I died, but even now...I thought I knew what kind of things would happen to you. Obviously my sight didn't extend that far. But if I can adjust my own essence, too, maybe that'll help.

[But there's a half-hearted grin.] Forgive me?

[Anna fixes him with as much of a stare as she can give. it really, really is hard to reconcile that he's an Oracle with the part where she's missing an eye now. it would be really, really easy to turn all of this around and shut him out and become a massively bitter bitch for something that he says he didn't see coming. (ha.) but if she turns him away now, she'll just have to live like this instead, without getting any closer to Vanderweele herself. she'll stagnate. she knows herself.]

[and besides. she believes him.]

God knows it took me two or three months to remember how to use a sword, and that's more or less the only skill A2 had. [there's no smile, but her posture shifts, releasing some tension in her shoulders she hadn't realized she was holding just because it was her constant state of being.] We're good. And I'm looking forward to doing this whole thing again.

[It's hard. He's definitely guilty of withholding that information, and while his Sight is faulty at best he still could have given her a heads up. Maybe if he works harder on transcribing what he sees, it'll make more sense.

Did he see danger ahead of her? Yeah. Did he see her losing an eye? No, not quite, but perhaps he should have tried harder. It's not fair to Anna or even to any of the other users going through these things.

It's leverage, knowing what he knows. He knows that, but it doesn't mean he has to be an asshole about it.]

Given that being a good swordsman is an art that should be coveted, I'd say that's a pretty good skill. [There's a sigh through his nose.] I'm glad you've said that. I'd...like to continue working with you. Appoint you where I need you, that sort of thing. I'm sure some of them will listen to you more than they'll listen to me anyway.

Ha. You've got a weird idea of what they think of me out there.

[but it does make her a little proud to hear that, and her shoulders straighten. it's more of that idea that they're all born for this. they're supposed to be doing this and this is Anna's calling. it's hard not to take a little pride in it all.]

I might be able to convince a few people, though. Once you start sending more people in, I can tell people what to expect when they get down there, since I figure Clarence is gonna keep pulling the same kind of tricks on everyone. Just, you know. To prepare people for what's coming.

Do I? I've got weird ideas of what everyone thinks, I guess. Still true. [Doesn't mean he's backing down from those thoughts though. He'll double-down, really, because he's still confident that Anna has what it takes to proceed and be the change the city needs to keep going.]

A few people is better than none, and you know it. You know how these things happen. You convince a few, and eventually people begin picking up on the effect. Preparations won't hurt. That's what I'm hoping to do by having them channel what's coming and actually create a line of defense for themselves. It won't fix everything, but I hope it'll create some sort of buffer. I can't see too far, but I can at least see it'll take time. Will two weeks be enough?

Dude, you're the one setting the timetable from here out. If all you have is two weeks, I'll make damn sure it's enough.

[she's already thinking of the right way to approach this. she knows the people around here. she knows if she tells them to stay away from Bosuma, they'll ask her questions about it. they'll want to know. and that's when she can spring everything on them, let them know what she went up against. what she found down there, or what found her.]

We got this. You can trust me.

NPC INBOX 2.0;

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