[IC] Fateful Convergence

[Vocalia]

Alexis couldn't comprehend Vincent's obsession over her free will, or lack thereof. She didn't know how to do what he asked her to do and found herself puzzled. "I... I do not know what I would desire, if you do believe I am capable of executing such emotional function," she replied, sounding as if she had just been told to break herself in half. "Perhaps, the closest answer I have to your request is that I desire to study more about you, irrespective of our operators' personal observations."

[Daxam]

"You wanna study more about me?" Vincent asks, honestly surprised. He hadn't thought that Alexis would want to get to know him. After all, they were practically two sides of two different coins: she was quiet, calculating, and he was...well, Vincent. However, that doesn't keep him from grinning and asking, "Really? Well, what all do you wanna know about me, Lexie? Whatever questions you have, I'm more than happy to answer."

[Vocalia]

Alexis paused for a bit, as if she was 'downloading' her questions from her head. After a short moment of deliberation, the black-and-gold eyed woman asked Vincent at long last, "You and Isaac Ryder appears to be acting independently, at times in conflict with one another. Why do you show no hesitation in disobeying your operator so frequently? Is it not expected of us to act within our operators' best interest? Your actions and exhibited behaviour are generally antagonistic."

[Daxam]

Vincent chuckles, not at all surprised by Alexis' question. "I'm me," he simply says. "Sure, I look out for Isaac, try to keep him safe, but that doesn't change who I am. If I wanna go out on the town and kill someone, I'll do it. If I wanna go to a strip club and bring a few chicks home with me, I'll do it. If I have to put someone through a wall to help Isaac out, I'll do it. If I were a goody-two-shoes like Isaac, that just wouldn't be any fun. Understand?"

[Vocalia]

"Are you stating that you have a directive independent of Isaac's approval? This directive you have referred to as 'free will'?" Alexis asked, tilting her head to the side like a confused puppy. "It is as if you are categorizing yourself as your own operator, one that is independent from Isaac Ryder. Is it simply how you are created or is it inherent to all other humans such as my operator and yours? In that case, am I an anomaly or are you merely an anomaly to others around you?"

[Daxam]

"Uh, I guess I'm like other people," Vincent says, his head spinning from all of the big words Alexis was using. "All humans have free will. And I'm pretty sure you'll eventually find yours." Reaching over, he gently caresses her cheek, ignoring Isaac telling him not to touch his girlfriend, and says, "Maybe you'll feel the same way I do when you discover your free will..."

[Vocalia]

Alexis contemplated on what Vincent thought she was supposed to be, but she still believed otherwise. Whether or not a free will was actually acquirable was something Alexis had no answer to. As such, she could only draw a blank, but now she had something from which she could learn from. "With your definition and my existing directive, I do not fulfill the requirements of a human. I lack the directive of 'free will' that is present in all humans. I do not possess self-preservation for my existence, but merely that of the survival of my operator. I do not fear termination if it is necessary for the ongoing existence of my operator," Alexis paused for a while, letting her words sank into Vincent's mind. "If the directive of 'free will' is something that a human has acquired since the beginning of their mortal existence, would that not make me an anomaly should I be required to seek this directive through external feedback instead of prior programming?"

[Daxam]

"So what if it makes you an anemone?" Vincent asks, completely botching Alexis' choice of words. "What's wrong with being strange? Even if you have to go about it unlike anyone else, as long as you find out whether you can act on your own or not, it shouldn't matter, right?" Resting his hand on Alexis' waist, he then says, "You know, I think we're starting to go around in circles, now. Let's talk about something else. Have you always been in Hayley's head or did you just kinda show up?"

[Vocalia]

Although unable to extract the answer she was looking for, Alexis kept Vincent's advice in mind. With him moving to a new topic, she paid attention to what he asked, then replied, "Since the theory of my presence being sudden and unexplained conflicts with my pre-existing directives, I would conclude that I have existed within Hayley Summerland's subconsciousness from the very start of her biological conception, but have remained dormant until my dormancy state was permanently deactivated."

[Daxam]

"So, when you say 'permanently deactivated,' you really mean you can't go back to sleep?" Vincent asks. However, he doesn't give Alexis time to answer as he immediately says, "That's awesome! Glad I don't have to worry about you somehow disappearing!" He had no idea what it was, why he was so drawn to the cold, calculating Alexis, but whatever it was, it was doing a good job at drawing him in. Eventually, after a few moments of silence, he asks, "I think I might know the answer to this, but have you ever wondered what it was like to have your own body?"

[Vocalia]

Alexis pondered upon Vincent's question and then replied after a period of silent thinking, "It feels... liberating. I feel unrestricted and creative, both physically and mentally. Because of the lack of physical restraint, I am more capable of acting within my own directives instead of co-existing with my operator. I must admit, however, that these descriptions are hypothetical, at best, as such a scenario is impossible for me."

[Daxam]

Vincent nods slowly. A few minutes pass in silence until he asks, "So, you couldn't leave Hayley's body and, like...I dunno, make a new one for yourself out of that black stuff, like you did in my dream? I mean, something like that's impossible to do, but to get into my head, you had to leave Hayley's body and get into Isaac's, right? Or did you do it a different way?"

[Vocalia]

"I can manifest in front of your consciousness by moving between bodies and I can manifest into any form which suits my purpose within the realm of consciousness, which would confirm your assumption. However, I am unable to physically manifest outside a physical body, which is why I require a temporary vessel, such as my operator's biological body," Alexis replied.

[Daxam]

"Oh, I see," Vincent says, although he barely understood a word of what Alexis had just said. Just then, Sean's voice sounds from the living room, "Hey, you two, get out here! Now that we're living together, we should be spending time like a family!" Vincent sighs and mutters, "That idiot. Just when I was about to try something..." Turning to Alexis, he sits up and says, "We should go see what he wants. Pretty sure he's the type to barge in on people after a while."

[Vocalia]

Alexis nodded, seeing the validity in Vincent's opinion of Sean. "Yes. It would be a productive activity for us to be able to learn more about Sean Anderson." The woman sat up and stretched her arms and legs, still getting used to having a body of her own after years of long sleep. Although she didn't show it, Alexis was quite eager to learn new things, if only for practical reasons.

[Daxam]

Vincent watched Alexis sit up and stretch. Unable to stop himself, not that he wanted to, he wraps his arm around her and pulls her into a kiss, surprising Isaac, who immediately starts yelling at Vincent, who, as far as he was concerned, was also kissing Hayley. Breaking away after a few short moments, Vincent says, "I'd say I was sorry, but I'm not. I've been wanting to do that for a while, Lexi. There's just something about you that I can't resist, even if you don't understand it."

[Vocalia]

Alexis clearly didn't see it coming. All her carefully ordered itineraries flashed into a blur moments after the kiss and she was struggling to readjust her body back to normal as her heart beat rapidly inside her chest. What... is this sensation? she thought before managing to regain her composure. "Thank you for your feedback about my... unknown, but irresistible attribute. I do not understand what you just did, but it appears to be important." Looking at the door, she said, "In any case, we shall go and meet with Sean Anderson soon."

[Daxam]

Seeing the normally stoic Alexis as flustered as she was, Vincent suppresses a chuckle and stands up. Taking her hand, he helps her to her feet as he says, "Sounds good." Letting her hand go, he walks out of the bedroom and nearly runs right into Sean. "Watch where your'e going," he says before walking past Sean, who looks back at Vincent with a confused look on his face. Turning back to Alexis, thinking it's Hayley, he asks, "Is that Vincent or did you and Isaac have an argument?"

[Vocalia]

"That is Vincent," Alexis replied in her robotic tone. "From the intonation of your voice, it would appear that you have mistaken me for my operator. My codename is Alexis. My internal data shows that this would be our first verbal contact with one another, despite our awareness of the existence of each other."

[Daxam]

"Oh," Sean says, slightly put off by Alexis' tone of voice. "Nice to meet you, then...I guess." Sighing, he mutters, "Would it kill you guys to tell me when you're switching places so I don't feel like an idiot...?" Vincent then calls from the kitchen, "Dude, there's nothing in your fridge! Don't you eat?!" Sean calls back, "Of course I do! I just order out all the time since I can't cook for shit!" Turning to Alexis, he asks, "So, you're Hayley's other personality, huh? What do you think of Vincent over there?"