nonscriptum | hadriel { ic inbox }

Hey, Nate. No real emergency, but I was hoping I could speak with you in person about some recent events whenever you're next available.

[He just doesn't want to mention Name on the network. Also, he also wants to check in on Nathan after the last event and the whole demon issue.]

sure, i've got some time

[Heaps of it, really, because Hadriel allows for free wandering most of the month. Unless some catastrophe strikes them in the next three seconds, he's available.]

where do you want to meet?

Wherever is fine; maybe near the park?

[Some nice fake nature sounds good.]

[Decent fake trees are better than no trees, though they do lack the production of that weird, crisp taste in the air pre-rain.]

sounds good

see you there

See you there.

[And Lance heads out of his apartment to go to the park, going down a few flights of stairs within the Spire, and then just runs straight into Nate coming out of his apartment. Oops.]

Hi.

[Yeah, so, he might have assumed they would run into each other, but maybe not so soon. Hell, Nate could have just walked up to Lance's apartment.]

...fancy meeting you here. [He offers a crooked grin.] Guess I should've asked where you were.

[He grins back, a little, half in response and half just in reaction to Nate's.]

I should've too; I guess I just always assume you're on top of a building or something.

Well, it's not a bad guess.

[Most of the time, anyway. Nate claps a hand on Lance's shoulder and gestures to the stairs in front of them. A silent shall we?]

You wanna wait until we get there to talk about "recent events," or...?

[He smiles a little more at the gesture, beginning to lead the way down the stairs.]

No, it should be fine; I just didn't want to talk about it on the network. You saw the post a few weeks ago, from the Null that claims it's still within the city?

[Nate keeps step, glad for the time to get outside after the recent (if brief) chaos earlier in the week.]

Yeah, the one with the Null that called itself- [air quotes] "Name?" Says it got separated from the group?

Right, exactly.

[Ah, fresh air. Lance is still catching up on his own time outside as well, after the incident with the Visitor and then having to be cautious regarding the sudden demon attack. Which is... A think he can't believe he can say, in all seriousness.]

What do you think about it, and its story?

I think it's sketchy as Hell.

[He says point blank, shielding his eyes from the flare of one of their twin suns as they adjust to the outside. Nate conversed with Name briefly, didn't detect any apparent malicious intent, but doesn't trust the Null as far as he can throw them. Which, when they're inhabiting large robotic forms, is not very far at all.]

Say it's telling the truth. Say it actually got separated from its...hivemind...thing. That's why it was left behind. Doesn't mean it doesn't still share the Null dogma, that it won't want to gain trust to do the same thing the rest of the unit wanted. Or-

[Now that the ball is rolling, Nate can't stop it.]

Or, it's not actually separated. It's a spy. Or a sleeper agent. Something that could screw us again when we're most vulnerable, y'know?

[Lance listens to all of that, nodding a little, doing the same in shielding his eyes as they exit the building; he pretty much never bothered with sunglasses at home, but in this place he's starting to wonder if he should look for some.]

All of that is completely possible.

[Nate isn't wrong about the risks, and those are all worst-case scenarios Lance has thought about as well. He just can't get past another possibility--]

But what if it isn't, and it genuinely means us no harm?

[And is lost, and alone, and feeling emotions for the first time?]

[Distantly, Nate realizes this is more risk-aware than he is used to being, but he is still sporting a fresh scar on his throat and arms from the attack in the alley, can still remember the sizzle of burned flesh in the air as the Null rolled through the city like a well-oiled Panzer tank. He doesn't want more people to get hurt, and neither does he want to have to go back to the gods for help. Once was enough, and even then it smarted.

Nate shifts uncomfortably as they walk, the kind of motion that betrays his knowledge that Lance's proposition is equally valid, and probably right.]

You think it's honest.

[An observation, not a question. He pauses, hands on his hips, and frowns at the ground for a moment.]

It told me it thought it would die.

I think there's a distinct possibility that it's honest.

[It's a small correction, but for the most part, yes. He nods at the last comment, giving a quiet sigh.]

It said the same thing to me. We know the Null are... Not particularly good--to put it mildly--at understanding emotional responses, considering their belief that asking us to kill each other would be seen as perfectly reasonable, and so I can't see one of them being aware enough to purposefully manipulate us in such a way.

[Which is one of the many indicators he's thought might tip the scales toward Name being truthful.]

But ultimately, it comes down to whether we want to account for the possibility, or write it off entirely. But I can't agree with killing something that asked for help, when it's only an unconfirmed possibility it could be dangerous.

[If they just killed anything that might possibly pose a threat, where would that stop?]

[These aren't unreasonable theories, but they are theories either way. Nate has worked with less to find more. It's unfair to be critical of something like this, after all, when Nate knows a synthetic person in Hadriel.

He sucks his lower lip between his teeth, considering.]

...so what do you want to do?

I want to find it, and get a better idea of the situation. Right now, we have no reason to believe it can contact the other Null, so we should be safe to take some time and permanently disable its communications while figuring out more about whether it's telling the truth or not.

[Basically, he doesn't want to kill it as a first option, but he still plans to be very cautious.]

Okay.

[He's still wary, and for good reason. Nate has laser burns left over from Name's former buddies, but if he can rely on one thing it's that Lance has a good head on his shoulders. He wouldn't propose something like this if he didn't believe that the likelihood of honesty was high.

Nate chews his lip for a long moment, processing the direction in which he thinks this is going.]

Where do we start?

[The agreement, even if--or, rather, especially because--he can tell Nate seems to be hesitant, means a lot; he appreciates the trust being put in him, even if it's a little terrifying. He's still not completely sure this won't all end up being a huge mistake.

But he believes this is the right thing to do, both logically and morally, and he takes a deep breath.]

We know that the Null is probably trapped under some rubble somewhere in the city, and Nick thinks it may be near to the god temples it seem to be feeling the emotions of most strongly. It's just a guess, but it's as good a reason as any to start looking in a particular place.

hadriel { ic inbox }

[text]

[text] u mentally called him NATHAN wow

[text] sometimes he likes to maintain distance even when totally not necessary OKAY

[text] mhm okay lancelot

[text-->action] only his girlfriend calls him lancelot, bro

[action] lance gets dressed: pantsalot

[action] omg no

[action] lance goes abroad: francealot

[action] boooooo

[action] lance learns to tango: dancealot

[action] no one should ever allow lance to try to tango he's dramatic enough already

[action] Drama (TM)

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