Etcetera

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

And here I thought I might have gotten to get the adrenaline pumping.

@Multifarious

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion quite yet.
*Walks toward the void and tears into a wall that doesn't appear to be there, revealing the image of the same central console, framed by ragged edges of darkness*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Host>

*Intercepts them with blinding speed, catching each in one red-aura covered hand and holding them until the interactivity levels no longer allow it*

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

That didn't take long at all.

@Multifarious

Fortunately the simulation thought to provide us a virtual interface of itself. Most machines dislike infinitely recursive procedures.
*The image of the room is stretched and pulled into the hypercube like a cloth*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

*Looks back to you momentarily, eyes widened as the flame around me is dispersed the moment it comes within a certain range*

@Multifarious

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

*Two tendril-like prismatic bands lash out at your neck*

@Host

Done!
*The simulation routine begins, slowing down everything in the room to a crawl as a hypercube floats in its center, glowing with a mystical light that appears black; every moment, the number of facets inside the cube continues to increase and the room becomes less interactable at the same rate*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Host>

None of us ever had to be here.
*Throws my hand out wide and casts the barrier energy such that it divides the entire room between us as well as the pellets*

@Multifarious

*Explodes violently, the flames consuming everything in sight*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

*Lashes out at the terminal with one of the bands*

@Host

*Blocks it with my shoulder, the metal denting heavily under the blow*
Just a little longer...

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

I don’t suppose waiting to see if this works is too much of a waste of time, should you be fake.

<Snipped quote by Host>

*Glances upward for a moment, then back to you. A blanket of the red energy barrier forms point blank over the light between it and us, and thrust my hand open-palmed in your direction, sending a swift streak of vibrant green your way*

@Multifarious

<Snipped quote by Multifarious>

*A prismatic barrier meets it halfway, and repels it toward you, and the thousands of lights shoot downward through you both*

@Host

*We seem to become translucent wherever the lights touch us, dealing no damage*
Wait, there's a followup to this technique!

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

*Glares and swipes the staff, the streamers causing the keyboard to implode*

@Host

Almost...
*Connects a wire from the keyboard interface to my wrist*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Multifarious>

*Thousands of points of light spawn above you, each rapidly shifting through a myriad of colors*

@Host

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

*The same red barrier forms around you*
How can I trust that you’re real and this isn’t a waste of my time?

<Snipped quote by Host>

*My eyes narrow and my ear twitches once*

@Multifarious

*Looks up and appears taken aback before I grab onto you*
You're going to have to trust me.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Multifarious>

*Chuckles and points upward*
You could say that.

@Host

*Shakes my head and continues typing at the terminal without looking up*

<Snipped quote by Host>

*Thrusts my palms outward into each and smashes a hole through them large enough to allow me to avoid being hit by them*
You’re gonna keep making talking mildly more inconvenient for us, aren’t you?

@Multifarious

I'm going to create a paradox in the system. I need you to keep him occupied.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Etcetera>

Was?

@Multifarious

He attacked my labs before the implementation of DataNet. It would not be unreasonable for the system to replicate him.