Wave's Allure
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Despite how smoothly Omega-Xis' lie came out, it was pretty evident from Triese's expression that she didn't entirely buy it. In fact, his clarification, if anything, made the lie more obvious. If Omega-Xis was "activated", then why'd you ever accidentally act like he just manifested from nowhere? Well... maybe it wasn't that weird. Maybe she was just overthinking it. It was hard not to try and read into everything someone was saying when you were friends with someone like Lan...
"Weeellll...." Triese began, curling her lip as she eyed Geo suspiciously. But... it'd be pretty rude to question a new friend like that, wouldn't it? Geo wasn't as outwardly... prickly, as Lan was, but did anyone really like being poked and prodded? Lurerre did get on her case for intruding on peoples' privacy a little. "Okay! I guess I haven't really eaten anything all day, huh? Th-thanks!!"
She waved right back at Geo as he scuttled down the stairs, though she couldn't help but feel a little... sad, as he disappeared out of view. Well, the sunset was always kind of an emotional time of day. But now she was alone, with just her bag with her. Now would be the time when she'd talk to Lurerre... but she wasn't here. Of course she wasn't. The only reason she wasn't here right now is because she broke her PET - probably because she was messing around with things she didn't fully understand. Stupid.
Was Geo hiding something from her? Was that why he walked away, and made that weird face at her? It wasn't like she really minded it if he was, but it only made her feel more useless than she already was. All she'd done was cause problems today. Sure, she made a new friend, but... Couldn't she make friends without them having to swoop in and save her? That was what happened with Lan, too. No, no- that was irrational. That was stupid.
Sighing, she leaned back, fishing her Visualizer out of her bag. She slid on the glasses to view the Wave Roads again, if only to soak it all in before she had to go back to her own world. It really was like watching a diorama come to life, wasn't it? A super-lively Internet, except it was floating up above her head. She could only imagine what it was like to stand up there. Float? Most of the beings up there seemed to float. Weren't those Hertzes? She'd seen those before in the chatroom, hadn't she? They were kinda cute, weren't they...
...Stupid.
-
"My, my!" a mysterious voice echoed around Triese from seemingly everywhere, "What a poor little thing!"
With a blue flash that made a sound like a water droplet, a strange creature appeared before Triese. It looked like an imp of sorts with a long fish tail sitting in a shell all made of a shifting ethereal matter. She floated up to the young girl, leaning over with her head propped up on her hands as Triese stared up into the Wave Road above.
"You're a charming little doll aren't ya?" she giggled sickeningly sweetly, "So excited over the most boring of things!"
To Triese's obvious confusion, the mysterious creature spun and pose, holding a little limb to her mouth, "I'd be careful, doll! No one else can hear me right now so let's keep things hush hush, shall we? I bet your little head's swarming with a~all sorts of questions, so let me tackle the most obvious ones first."
"Today is your lucky day~!" she bounced and spun, scattering ethereal wisps all about, "You get to meet me! Siren! I've been watching you for a bit as I was drawn in by the sad, lonely song in your heart," she wiped a non-existent tear, "And I just knew I had to help. For you see, I am a very special Wizard with a particular power. A power than can help you achieve all your dreams~"
Siren's words came out in a rapid fire rhythm, plowing right over any and all things Triese was trying to interject with. But now, Siren had settled down, leaning her head on her little limbs, peering over Triese like she was the most interesting specimen in the menagerie. Emanating from the strange Wizard was a quiet, yet lovely sound that Triese could feel more than she could hear, and all the while Siren peered onward with playful eyes.
-
Well. Triese sure was blankly staring at this mysterious being for an uncomfortably long amount of time. With how fast she was talking, she couldn't help but find herself stunned for a few seconds, stuck unable to think about anything other than the weird tingling feeling on her skin. Wizard? Huh? Wasn't that the kind of... future-programmy thing that Pat and M had...? What was a 'Wizard' doing talking to her like this...?
"Wh-what...?" she couldn't help but mumble as soon as 'Siren' was done talking. She took one step back, reflexively holding one of her arms in front of her chest. "H-hold on... I don't understand. L-lonely song?" She couldn't help but narrow her eyes suspiciously. "...Power...?"
Something about this seemed really off. Was she getting offered power like the start of some TV show? W-well, she did always want something like that- but- no, no, that's stupid! Why was Siren talking to her like that?! Why was this happening so suddenly - and right when Geo left, too?! ...What was that weird hum that she could hear...?
But didn't she have to take this seriously? What if this was normal here, and by questioning it she'd expose herself as a time traveler? Why did Lurerre have to not be here at a time like this...?! "Okay! Wait! So! You've been watching me?! What does that entail?!" she couldn't help but pry. "Wh-what could you even know about my dreams, or whatever? I-I don't want to be suspicious, but, uh, coming in out of nowhere like this is kind of a little suspicious, isn't it?" She paused, a little bit of fear flickering in her eyes as her gaze darted to the side. "Wh-what do you mean, no one else can hear you...?"
-
Siren let out a spirited laugh and clapped her little hands, "I knew there's a reason why I liked you! You're so smart!! Always thinking, aren't you?"
She hummed as she floated around Triese, leaning about to inspect her closely, "I know these things because I've been following you since you hopped on that train leaving Echo Ridge, but I also know these things because we resonate. You can tell, can't you? It's something that can't be expressed with words."
That sound, deep and calming, was more apparent in that moment and all the while, Siren's eyes glittered.
"Power..." she sang, voice dripping with hunger like sickeningly sweet honey, "Is just what allows us to do whatever we want, doll. To break past the things that limit us. You want to see the Wave Roads up close, don't you?"
She unfurled her hand, reaching out with her tiny palm face up, "What do you say, Triese? Don't you want to see all the things the world has to offer?"
Something like music filled the air, whisper quiet but building, slowly. The tempo quickening. And a bass that rumbled deep in the chest.
-
Triese's heart couldn't help but flutter the more Siren talked to her. She couldn't tell if it was just nervousness, or there really was some truth to that resonating thing. If she focused, then... she could feel Siren from where she was standing, couldn't she? She hadn't felt anything like that when she was in Reg's world... Not even when her own Navi manifested in front of her.
For a moment, Triese felt like she had a cork stuck in her throat. "I-I...?" she eventually blubbered, her face flushing out. "I-I don't want anything... I-I mean, I don't really understand what you mean..."
Up close? Was Siren just going to lift her up there? Those kinds of waves... weren't even solid to begin with, were they? The Mettaceans just passed right through her, after all... so what was Siren even talking about? Unless... what she was offering... was... something... like...
No, no, what? No. That was ridiculous. It would be kind of suspicious if someone was randomly offering something like that, though, right? Silver wasn't anything like Siren. "I'm, uh, I think I need to... know more, I think," she began to incoherently babble. She truly had no idea how normal what was happening to her was, and she had a creeping suspicion in the back of her mind, driven by memories of conversations she couldn't fully remember. "I don't... I don't really need power... To be honest, it kind of scares me," she admitted, continuing to keep her distance as her face went red - though she refused to take her eyes off of Siren.
-
A sudden sour note played in the soundless music as one of Sirens' eyes twitched, but it recovered when she spun her back to Triese.
"That's too bad..." Siren sighed, tilting her head to the side, "It really isn't that scary. I had hoped you were going to be braver..."
She paused, slowly turning her head back over her shoulder, peering just beyond her shell right at Triese, and then forward once more.
"I suppose it's better to back out now rather than later," she slowly drifted away, "You have to be pretty brave to do what it takes to walk along the Wave Roads. To deal with viruses up close," pause, "To Wave Change."
The low melodic sound thrummed back and forth like the coming tide, slow and all encompassing. Each wave pulling her target in closer and closer. Could you blame Triese for being curious? She was such a good girl. And good girls listened.
-
Triese couldn’t help but flinch at Siren’s insinuation - and maybe the slight change in tone, as well. “U-um! It’s not that I’m scared!” she immediately clarified, finally taking a step back forward. “B-but… but-“
Wave Change. She knew what that was. She’d learned about it at the beach… as something that was kind of like Cross Fusion, right? But she had no illusions of ever being able to perform something like Cross Fusion… even though it sounded awesome. Right? She’d never be able to do it. She wasn’t strong enough for that.
…Yet here Siren was, offering it so casually. It was hard to resist her own curiosity. “U-up there… with viruses…” she muttered to herself. “N-no, but… I’m not… scared at all! I don’t want to fall behind! If I… if I did this Wave Change… if it’s easy, like you say…”
Something was wrong. There was the smallest bit of Triese’s mind that was trying to inform her of some disconnect between the way she was feeling and the actual words coming out of her mouth. But the constant lovely hum that Siren emitted was drowning it out, and Triese was too confused and overwhelmed to be fully aware of that. She just knew that she had to keep listening… and then… and then…
-
There it was. Her catch had swam right into the rip tide and was being pulled out into the open ocean's loving embrace.
Siren's grin stretched across her face and the music grew in volume to such a point that it seemed to drown out the world around the little girl. Siren swayed down to Triese, holding her hands behind her as she floated right up to her.
"It's incredibly easy, my little doll~" she trilled, "All you have to do," she poked Triese's nose, "Is open your heart up to the possibilities! Open up, to me~"
The world swirled and wobbled, but Triese's feet were rooted in place. A strength seemed to rise in her body, urging her forward while her head swam about in a sea of clouds.
The music rose to a melodic cacophony, reaching towards an ever encroaching crescendo.
"Just take," she whispered, "my hand," and beckoned.
It was always easier when they decided for themselves that this is what they wanted all along. To tie the little strings on their wrists themselves. That way she won't question why they were there. She wanted this.
-
Something was... wrong, wasn't there? Triese's breath was quickening, and she felt like she couldn't go anywhere else other than the exact place she was standing right now. She flinched when Siren poked her, but she couldn't bring herself to run away. Instead, she leaned closer, unable to tear her attention away from the EM being. What? No, there wasn't anything wrong. All that she needed to worry about right now was the lovely song surrounded her... she thought.
"U-uh," Triese blubbered, nearly falling into Siren before she managed to right herself up in time. "I-I don't... I don't want to... be a loser. I don't want to close myself off." She didn't want to be left behind, did she?! She finally had what she wanted... She had friends, and the people who'd made her miserable had been beaten back for now. But she couldn't help but wonder... how fast that would get torn away... once Lan decided she didn't need to hang around her anymore...
What was she opening her heart to? It had to be some kind of power. A really cool power, that would make her stand out. That would make her a hero, like she'd always wanted to be. Right? Right?! It had to be that! All she had to do... was... listen... to Siren... and she'd be able to do so much more.
"I-I want to see," she muttered, her voice sounding a little strained. Slowly, carefully, she took Siren's hand. "I-I just want to know! I want to be something!" Her eyes had become glassy, like she was desperate for something. "I-I want to... EM... Wave Change..."
-
"Perfect~" Siren chirped with a high pitched note that flowed right into the overwhelming crescendo that descended upon Triese like a deluge.
A sensation of cold then numb overtook her, making her suddenly light as air yet surging with strength in every part of her body. Her movements were her own and when she finally opened her eyes the entire world around her was different.
She stood upon a central platform at the crossroads of two Wave Roads with yellow-orange paths stretching far in every direction, winding around and intersecting at right angles all over. Antennas on the ground spiraled light that fed into the roads like many upside-down waterfalls flowing into rivers.
The world glowed and pulsed softly in much more vibrant hues than Triese had seen with just her visualizer. In the distance Hertzes of all types traveled up and down the paths, occasionally avoiding viruses that trotted alongside them. It was full of colorful, quiet life.
"Well, my doll?" Siren's voice echoed deep in Triese's mind, "Is it everything you had ever imagined?"
Outside of the Wave Changed Triese, the roads did not appear quite as peaceful. Hertzes that came across any virus panicked and scattered while the viruses gave chase.
-
The feeling of being whisked away and opening her eyes to find herself in an entirely different world was weirdly... familiar. But she knew she'd never Wave Changed before, so why would she even think that? Maybe it was just a sign of how right for her this was. Now that she was standing on the Wave Road, and seeing all these colors the way she was meant to see them, her trepidation were finally melting away.
"I-I..." she muttered to herself, her gaze slowly dropping to her feet. Her dress billowed out now, and it was surrounded by what almost looked like a floatie made of water, wrapped around her knees like it was a giant bracelet. The dress also came with comically oversized sleeves, nearly covering her hands. She couldn't see it, but she was also definitely wearing some kind of helmet with visor attached now, and the sounds of the Wave World around her were being broadcast into her mind in obscenely high quality.
"O-oh my gosh," she muttered to herself, surveying her new form. It... reminded her of how Reg looked, didn't it? That meant... she'd transformed! Just like Reg! She was a hero like Reg now! "I-I did it! I transformed! J-just like in a show or something!" She waved her arm to the side, which incidentally commanded a little note made of water to fly around her wrist. "Wh-what can I do? What should I do?"
She tried to skip forward, but her complete lack of body weight meant that she accidentally launched herself into the air for a brief moment, giving her a beautiful view of how the Wave Roads twisted around just like the Net did. It was a lot like the Net, wasn't it?! She'd transformed and entered the Net!! But from the future!! And it was all because Siren helped her... Why... why was she even worried...?!
-
The jubilation that Triese experienced threatened to overtake Siren before she quickly centered herself. This Wave Change was going to test her abilities to maintain a level head in the face of this human that was essentially a very excitable dog. But Siren was a master of her craft and smoothly giggled along with Triese's joy. She wouldn't be swept away by that human's feelings, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited at all, after all, things were finally going her way.
"With my power you can do anything, my doll," Siren whispered about Triese's mind, "You can swim over the Roads with ease and attack foes with explosive water based attacks. You can also confuse opponents with sound based attacks if you're getting overwhelmed. With our combined strength, nothing will stand in our way!"
She eased her excitement and pondered, "Tell me, what do you know about fighting? Have you ever done anything like this? Ah, no matter, let me show you something."
Crosshairs appeared over the visor on seemingly arbitrary points in the area.
"Fire at these points with the bubble buster so we can gauge your skill," she suggested, holding off on sharing the thought that she was only setting this up to tell how much she'd have to do the fighting here.
Of the many crosshairs that were situated about, one was locked onto an electronic sign on a building. Put there by Siren just to see how much damage this Wave Change was capable of.
-
Triese was very easily swept up by Siren's sales pitch; the very revelation that she'd gained water-based abilities made her feel even sillier for worrying to begin with. That was what she always wanted!! Why was she being so weird about this?! Something she'd dreamed about for years had finally come for her, and she thought she had a right to worry about it?! Silly! Just silly!
"W-wow, um! Well! I really love Net..." she began to respond, before cutting herself off. Wait, was it still a problem that she was a time traveler? All the battling tips she knew were about something that might not even exist here... but if she was being offered to play out her dream, did it matter that much...? "I watch a lot of TV, so I think I know what you mean! O-oh, oh man, it's like a Bubbler, uhh..."
The crosshairs were like little fireflies in her vision. She thrust her arm forward like she imagined how it'd feel to load a Bubbler for herself... and sure enough, a bubble formed around her hand. Her mouth popped open with joy, and she fired a bubble at the closest crosshair, the water flowing underneath her catching her before the recoil could make her fall over.
"I-it's real, it's real, oh my gosh," she muttered to herself, loading up another shot. Triese did not particularly pay attention to what she was firing at - all that mattered to her was the super-awesome abilities she'd finally earned!! Each shot was made with more and more precision, as she slowly gained her bearings and internalized how it felt to become something else. "I can't believe it! Th-this is awesome, Siren!!"
-
What was that thing Triese was about to say? It seemed as though she had familiarity with Wave Battling but perhaps called it something differently? That's certainly what the thought process felt like. Didn't this human have a Navi of all things?
She dismissed this train of thought before it sprouted legs. Whatever was going on with WAZA didn't concern Siren -- it was all not going to be a problem soon with any luck anyways.
"You pick up on things quickly! Good~" Siren hummed, "Next I should warn you, not all viruses on the Wave Roads are peaceful. Don't worry, I'll be sure to indicate which ones are hostile and areas where they are going to attack. Ah, speaking of attacks..."
Her mood became slightly devious as she recalled a location with particularly good loot, "You'll need more than basic attacks to survive out here. It's a good thing I know of a place nearby that has some powerful ones hidden behind a large locked door. It'll be like... The final boss of the tutorial."
Siren indicated with a ping on the visor a small antenna off a colorful building nearby.
Big Wave was having some odd problems with their signage out front and Mr. Suther was busy scratching his head over it. The storage Cyber Core was completely open and unguarded at the moment.
-
"W-well, yeah, of course, if you're mean to viruses then they're going to..." Triese began, before her head dropped with a bit of a lull. She really liked viruses... but there were a lot of scary ones out there, weren't there? Siren was looking out for her... so she'd better play it safe, so that a particularly nasty virus didn't end her career so early. Reg had to fight viruses, too, after all. "Yeah... yeah. I mean, th-that's what people like us do, right? We have to bust viruses to keep everything safe!"
When Siren sent a ping to Triese, she already began to float toward their destination, like she was a cat following a laser pointer. "W-woah, um! What kind of place?" she couldn't help but ask, sounding entirely too sincere for such a strange request. "Well! Um! I'm not scared! I can take on a tutorial, no problem! It'd be stupid if I couldn't!"
Triese seemed to remember the way they were going, for whatever reason, but that didn't really matter. She leaned toward the antenna, and before she could even ask any questions, she found herself getting pulled towards it. It kept pulling and pulling, and then... she was off the road, into the antenna, and... and...
It was a really weird feeling, teleporting from one place to another. It made her a little dizzy - Reg was probably used to stuff like this, wasn't he?! "Okay, okay! What's next?!" she said, once she'd regained her bearings and surveyed the area. This was... a small computer, wasn't it?! Just like one on the Net! It really was just like the Net! She was fighting to protect the Net!!
-
The Cyber Core featured a vault in the back with a Mr. Hertz floating in front of it, just as Siren suspected. With some quick thinking, the visor overlayed an image of a virus over that of the Hertz. They were far enough away that the naive human would not be able to tell the difference.
"Hmm, it seems we have company, doll~" Siren hummed a bit theatrically, "No worries. I'll overlay reticles to help you aim for their weak spot!"
Just as she said, crosshairs covered the vault on key weak points and one large crosshair over the
Hertzvirus.Ah, there was a bit of righteousness to the human wasn't there...? She could work with this.
"Yes, we're fighting to protect you as well, because although together we are quite strong, life is... so fragile, isn't it?" she emphasized a feigned sadness (humans were always going on about their tiny, short lives), "But behind that door will be something that will make us stronger. Something that will keep us safe. Go ahead, take it down, I know you can do it."
-
Triese narrowed her eyes at the virus standing guard in front of the vault. “H-hey, you’re right! What’s a virus doing here? W-we can’t let it eat that data!” she exclaimed, raising her buster. She… hesitated for a moment, overcome with a strange feeling of nausea, a hyper-awareness of how light and hollow she was - but it quickly passed. She wanted this! It was supposed to be this way!
“People die all the time. Data gets eaten up all the time. It’s really sad,” Triese couldn’t help but mutter in response to Siren’s reassurance. “W-we have to be as strong as we can… so that doesn’t happen as often, right? So we don’t lose everything again!”
She took another step forward, calculating her battle plan in her head. With Siren helping her out, it felt even easier than she thought it’d be. One confident grasp of her bubble arm later, and she charged up a triple-spread of shots, making up a call-out on the fly. “S-Siren… Spreader…!!”
The centermost bubble flew straight for the virus in front of the fault, trapping them in… well, a bubble, while the other two nailed some of the vault’s weak spots. Almost automatically, Triese then swirled forward and blew a kiss, manifesting a little note made of water to swirl towards and finish off the virus.
(This was so cool! This was exactly what she wanted! And it was all because she listened to Siren! S-she should… always listen… to Siren!)
-
"We'll never lose anything ever again," Siren giggled.
Even though she knew she was the one pulling the strings, Siren was taken aback briefly by how easily Triese was falling deeper and deeper under her spell. This was going much more smoothly than she expected! How wonderful, maybe she should press her luck.
"Nice shot!" Siren cheered, "You cleared out the targets with ease! You're a natural!"
And she really did mean it. Triese was perfect. The delighted anticipation Siren was feeling was infectious.
"Now all you need to do is go inside the treasure room and pick out the cards that suit you best," she suggested.
In addition to the regular fair of cards that were frequently traded in, there was a selection of extremely rare exclusive cards that dealt massive damage. She would let Triese decide which ones she wanted to use as it was so much easier when the weapon chose the bullet themselves. She did however, point out the Ice Stage and Sticky Rain cards as they worked quite well with their Aqua abilities.
"Once we're done here, we should skedaddle," she mentioned, excited for the next phase.
-
Triese felt a mixture of emotions as she saw the vault split open - it was mostly the sight of the rare Battle Chips (cards? Were they the same...?) that made her hesitate. It was so hard to get something like a Giga Chip, so much so that a few falling into her lap this easily just seemed... wrong. W-well, she didn't need them, anyways. She would earn them... from her hard work... like she usually did...!!
"Y-yes! Um! Okay!" she nervously responded, nodding her head as she ducked into the vault. They would have to hurry, wouldn't they?! She wasn't completely sure why they were under a time crunch, but she just knew that it was true intuitively. After she took Siren's suggestion and pocketed the Sticky Rains and the familiar Ice Stage, she searched for any other Aqua cards she could find. She didn't really have time to ask what any of them did... so she was running off of a lot of assumptions, but...
Wait! Wait! If they were getting Battle Chips out of the vault, then did that mean she got to use them?! It really was like Cross Fusion...! Oh my gosh, she had to pick the cutest ones and then use them as soon as she could!! There was a card with a shark on it that seemed kind of familiar, and another with what looked like a yeti virus on it, and one that kinda looked like an Ice Seed, th-there was this really cute bunny oh my gosh...
"I-I don't want to take too much, because it kinda feels weird if I do," Triese voiced as she backed away from the vault. "I'll do my best with this, anyhow!" She bounded across the comp and to the exit pad, returning back to the main Wave Road above Echo Ridge. Giddily, she bounced in place, staring at the sky in lieu of actually being able to see Siren. "Okay! What next, what next?! This is so awesome!!"
-
What a good natured girl. If there was one flaw to this whole plan it would be that.
Siren kept her thoughts to herself on this matter, even if she longingly contemplated the Break Time Bomb. Those things probably had some sort of tracking program on them as they were high value items. Can't be having that. Oh well, c'est la vie.
As they popped back out onto the Wave Road Siren waited for the opportune moment. Right when Triese began to settle, curious about what could possibly be next, Siren made her move.
Ever so slightly she increased the tension, the anxiety. That little reptile part in the back of all human minds that squirmed and ran from danger. Fear of something far away as if a sniper was aimed a poised to fire at any moment at her position.
When Triese finally acknowledged the feeling, Siren was quick to swoop in and soothe, "You've noticed it, haven't you?" she directed Triese's attention far off into the horizon, "That."
She put a circle over the target -- the far off peak of Mt. Belenus.
"What you see there is where the headquarters of a pernicious organization lays, one that is hellbent on monitoring all EM Wave Change activity. They're watching us, Triese. Never taking their eyes off of us nor any of our fellow Wave Changing brethren," Siren intoned low and quietly, then sighed, "It's just a shame that no one has shown up who's brave enough to take them on. To free all of us. Maybe one day a hero will appear."
Silence, with a low growing anxiety emanating from that peak like it was a crack that broke the horizon. Like it shouldn't be there. Like with just a swipe of the hands it could be wiped off the face of the Earth if the hand was strong enough. And Triese... Siren Splash... was strong, wasn't she?
