With Implements of Comprehension

["Zero" Americanski]

"Well I doubt if they eloped or anything like that. They stopped by his apartment yestarday and took a couple jackets. I don't know how long they were there because, well, I was rather busy. Why don't you trust Mischa?"

[Peter "The Owl"]

Peter's eyebrows raise ever so slightly. "Erika? The former host of Zwei? You know where she is?"

["Zero" Americanski]

"We're looking for her now... Why are you interested?" I try to ask as politely as possible.

[Peter "The Owl"]

"Erika played host to an advanced cybernetic lifeform. What machine could not be interested in a biologic which once held the closest thing to a god of our kind?"

["Zero" Americanski]

"I hadn't considered that, good point. So how long have you been fully mechanical?" I ask him, realizing why I never was able to defeat him.

[Peter "The Owl"]

"Several trillion cycles, or perhaps eight months in biological time. I received the final augmentation after my final conflict with Vladimer Tepes, your old master. Since that time, I have come to embrace my new nature. My past and present provide a unique insight into the world and the people that populate it. I was once human, allowing my interacts with your kind to be much more effective than other machines."

["Zero" Americanski]

"Interesting. I hadn;t considered the concept of a man becoming a machine. If you're at all interested some time I would enjoy sparring with you." This is because I could fight to my limits without having to worry about killing him.

[Peter "The Owl"]

"Every opponent I combat enhances my information base to draw upon in battle. I would be willing to spar with you. But for now, I must locate Hope. She is a centeral focus of my training but she has not returned to our camp yet.

I believe that recent events may have caused her to become disconnected emotionally and wander off. Has she contacted your organization recently?"

["Zero" Americanski]

"No. I haven't seen her for quite awhile..." Not since you threatened my Lubimi, bastards! I think, but push that aside. "If I did however I would let you know immediately."

[Peter "The Owl"]

"My thanks. Hope can be most difficult to location when she wishes to be. I found Despair because I was tracking the signal present in all Dayspring models. Her own signal changes, making effective tracking impossible. If you receive word of her, I would be thankful to be informed of it."

["Zero" Americanski]

"I will try to keep you informed." Sure the Lapland Rebels are a seperate group, but giving them a hand does help with our own credability.

[Mikhael Nadyezhda (Mischa)]

((I looked through the posts and didn't see you post anywhere, Erika, so I apologize if you have and I missed it))

I wake up with my arms around Erika, and a jacket over my head. I pull the jacket off, and sit up. Erika is still asleep. I put my jacket over her body and smile. She's cute when she sleeps, more human.

I light up a cigarette, and lean up against a tree, looking up at the leaves and branches, as though they were sheltering me. It's so cozy here.

[Peter "The Owl"]

"And what function would you have me perform in return?"

[Despair]

"I do not trust Mischa because he is trying to corrupt Erika. She is losing faith in Red Infinity. He is too human, he must die." Despair replies in a mechanical possessed tone.

[Erika "Zwei" Faust]

(I didn't post, thanks anyways)

Slowly consiousness returns to me. I hear and smell nature all around me... And the distinctly artificial smell of cigarettes. I open my eyes and see Mischa leaning against a nearby tree. "Guten morgen herr 'Mischa.' Dis..." I pause, allowing my mind to wake up some more. I continue in heavialy accented English: "Did you sleep comfortably?"