[IC] Fateful Convergence

[Vocalia]

"He appears to be highly irrational and prone to unmediated actions," Alexis replied and looked at the direction of the kitchen. "However, he also appears to be unconstrained by societal norms and his preferences are... deviant, from my observation thus far. He has exhibited interest in myself in particular and I cannot pinpoint the reasoning behind it." Turning back to Sean, she asked, "Is there a name you would prefer to be addressed with?

[Daxam]

"I see," Sean says, wondering what exactly went on in the bedroom. Hearing Alexis' question, he turns back to her and says, "Just call me Sean...or Supreme Overlord and Master of the Universe. Whichever's fine." From the kitchen, Vincent calls, "Hey, dipshit! I'm gonna order pizza and charge it to this credit card I found! Hope you're cool with it!" Turning back toward the kitchen, Sean yells, "Alright, as long as it's not the black card!" A few moments of silence pass until Vincent yells, "They're all black!" Chuckling, Sean turns back toward Alexis and, leading her into the living room while deciding to leave Vincent to his own devices, asks, "What do you think about Isaac and Hayley being together?"

[Vocalia]

"I neither approve nor disapprove my operator's relationship with Isaac Ryder. Evidence suggests that he is a potential threat to her well-being, but until any conclusive proof is found, I act on what humans call the 'benefit of the doubt' and let her form that relationship with him. So as long as he does not harm her physically or mentally, I will not obstruct his attempts to engage her in social relationship." Alexis' way of classifying romantic relationship seemed odd, until one realized that her lack of emotions meant that she was talking about it from a logical perspective.

[Daxam]

Sean nods, seeing the sense behind Alexis' words, as well as understanding it better than most people would. Now curious, he leans forward and says, "Alright, let's say, hypothetically, you somehow become aware of feelings toward Vincent and 'engage in a social relationship' with him, as you'd put it. If that were to happen, then do you think your feelings toward Isaac would change? Or would they remain the same, considering the fact that, even though they share a body, Isaac and Vincent are still two different people?"

[Vocalia]

"My observations indicate that emotional knowledge has the potential to create bias of judgement towards two related individuals. I cannot say with high certainty that I will not be subjected to this bias, but I will minimize it to reduce any unbalanced correlation between Isaac Ryder and Vincent. They are two different individuals with their own psychological traits and characteristics. As such, I will view them differently, irrespective of my hypothetical emotional connection with Vincent." Alexis gave him a curious look. "Much like Vincent, you seem to imply that I am capable of being emotional. That is not the case."

[Daxam]

Sean smiles and shrugs. "Hey, I'm just a genius," he says. "What the hell do I know?" Just then, Vincent vaults over the back of the couch and lands between Sean and Alexis. Wrapping his arm around Alexis' shoulders, he asks, "What're you two talking about?" Sean shrugs and grabs the remote. "Nothing," he says, flipping through the channels, which mainly consisted of anime and news channels.

[Vocalia]

Alexis said nothing at first until Sean flipped to one of the news channel that was reporting about the commotion caused near a supermarket, along with aerial photos of the destruction. It was where Hayley, Isaac and Sean engaged Nigel and Arlia. "It would appear that we have to prepare a more discreet plan of attack," Alexis said to the two men sitting beside her.

[Daxam]

Sean stops on the channel Alexis commented on and watches as a sketch of Nigel shows on the screen. "That'd probably be a good idea," he says. "It's kinda hard to be secret about it when we're fighting for our lives," Vincent remarks. "True," Sean responds. "We'll just have to be more careful about collateral damage, in that case. It wouldn't be very pertinent of us to bring a building down on some poor sap's head."

[Vocalia]

"With our current resources, will it be possible for us to solve this problem from its source?" Alexis asked. As a being with no heart, she was more than willing to resort to assassination to achieve her goals. "Otherwise, we are fighting a battle of attrition which would deplete our resources with minimal results. Is there anything you wish to suggest?" she turned to the genius and the battle maniac, wanting to hear what they have to say.

[Daxam]

"I say we storm their front doors and slaughter everyone in sight!" Vincent proclaims. Sean, meanwhile, takes a few minutes to speak, thinking hard. Eventually, he says, "We wait." Vincent turns on Sean and demands, "What?! So they can try that again?!" Sean turns to Vincent and says, "The Medici's are not people you wanna fuck with. Word has it that their upper echelons can do things that no one else can. Plus, their endless funds allow them to get their hands on the best weaponry available. As for Nigel's group, Crey, their elites are enough to make me look about as powerless as a fetus. We try storming either one of them, we'll get our asses handed to us. Odds are, Crey's probably gonna be sending their best men out next time they try anything, which is why I wanna train you guys."

[Vocalia]

Alexis turned to Sean with a curious gaze. "You wish to train us? I will promptly accept this opportunity, but may I ask why do you wish to involve yourself in this matter? I understand that your prior connection to Isaac Ryder and Vincent is a probable cause, but I am unable to draw a conclusion to this decision. You have no coinciding goal which would be mutual with ours, unless you similarly wishes to see Crey and the Medicis eliminated."

[Daxam]

"I could care less about the Medici's," Sean says. "It's Crey I wanna see burn. They've taken way too much from everyone, even more than the Medici's ever did, and they need to pay for every drop of blood they've spilled." Vincent says, "Then let's go to their HQ and raise some hell!" Sean turns toward Vincent and responds, "Weren't you listening? They have guns, they have super-powered people strong enough to take me down, and they have numbers. We're not going until I say you, Isaac, Hayley, and Alexis are ready, got it?" Vincent glares at Sean and says, "Why are you being such a bitch about it? At least my idea's better than us hiding out, waiting for them to come to us!"

[Vocalia]

"Vincent, I put my recommendation behind Sean Anderson's plan. We currently lack the capacity and resource to eliminate Crey and the Medicis. We also lack information about their objectives, the size of their forces and their current plan of action. While I am capable of exercising my powers to an absolute degree, Hayley Summerland's knowledge is very limited at best and she still experienced difficulties in keeping her powers under control. I do not wish to act irrationally and I would highly suggest that you consider what Isaac Ryder would say in this situation. We are at a clear disadvantage." Alexis was clearly on Sean's side and even Hayley herself agreed that she would need a lot of training. "I really don't wanna fuck up and end up nuking the city or something..." she mused inside their shared consciousness.

[Daxam]

Just be patient, Isaac tells his violent counterpart. They'll get what's coming to them. Don't worry. Vincent sighs, and says, "Whatever. But only if we get stronger, otherwise I'll be pissed that we wasted so much time." Sean chuckles and says, "Don't worry, Vince. starting tomorrow, I'll put you guys through the ringer!" Vincent grins and says, "Can't wait." This is gonna be fun, Isaac sarcastically says. You wimp, Vincent replies. Where's your sense of adventure?!

[Vocalia]

"Who knew he'd volunteer to train us himself?" Hayley mused, sounding like a giddy schoolgirl. "I would advice that we remain cautious at all times. We do not know for what purpose Sean wishes to train us. While the training and education would be most beneficial, it is imperative that we do not trust him or Isaac Ryder completely." Groaning and rolling her eyes, the blonde muttered, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Lex." Alexis then looked back at Sean and asked, "Is there any important details that we must attend to prior to your training session, such as location or suitable attire?"

[Daxam]

"Not really," Sean says. "The only things that you'll require are light clothing and we'll meet upstairs every morning at 6:00 AM sharp. And I don't wanna hear any complaints or else I'll be waking your asses up at four in the morning." This guy's a dictator! Isaac says, while Vincent chuckles. "I like this. I can already tell we're gonna have a great time!" Isaac groans and says, Oh, well. Since it's so early in the morning, we'll be able to get it over with as soon as possible.

[Vocalia]

"Joy. Boot camp!" Hayley chuckled and said to Alexis, "Hey, might wanna put that down on your calendar. We don't wanna wake up late and have him go drill sergeant on us all." "Such tardiness is not permissible, Hayley Summerland. I will ensure that you are awakened on time." The robotic woman turned to Vincent and noticed his more exuberant behavior. "You appear to be emotionally engaged with the planned schedule. You and Hayley Summerland have shown similar response, but what about Isaac Ryder? What is his personal observation regarding this training schedule?"

[Daxam]

"He's not looking forward to it, the wimp," Vincent says. "He's never understood why it's a good thing to work so hard." I probably work harder than you! Isaac fires back. The only problem I have with this is the fact that I'd rather avoid any fighting. Vincent sighs and asks, What the hell does Hayley see in you? If it weren't for that fact, I'd probably be tapping that over and over again by now! Isaac stays quiet for a few moments before saying, Don't even think about trying anything with her, or else I'll find a way to seriously hurt you.

[Vocalia]

"His observation would suggest tendency towards pacifistic solutions. While those are ideal and not necessarily 'weak', they are impractical in this scenario. I would suggest that Isaac Ryder utilizes the training to acquire new experiences and use them to achieve his desired objective," Alexis replied. "I would also suggest that you refrain from unnecessarily provoking Isaac Ryder. Your cooperation is vital to your survival and those of Hayley Summerland and Sean Anderson. Conflict is highly undesirable at this point in time," she sternly warned, saying to Vincent in her own way that he should cut down on the teasing.

[Daxam]

"Yeah, yeah," Vincent says as Isaac lords his minor victory over his counterpart. Sean, sensing that the conversation was pretty much done, says, "Alright, so training starts tomorrow morning. Until then, feel free to do whatever you want: go for a walk, order food, watch TV. If you guys need a little 'private time' in your room, feel free." Standing up, he says, "In the meantime, I think I'll call around and see if any of my old friends in Intelligence can come up with anything about our enemies." That said, he waves to Vincent and Alexis before walking upstairs to his room.