Meeting With Anko:
(Earth 8193#, the Lothrin Estate, the Palisades,New-Alexandria, 1991 A.D.)
Narrator
Chapter 34 = Meeting With Anko... Lothrin Estate in the Palisades District of New Alexandria of Earth #8193, in the year 1991 AD…
Narrator
Oskar, Anya, Emma and Monica stand gathered around Buffy's medical bed as Emilia stands working at a nearby terminal analysing Buffy's neural output data.,
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"So this is the girl?"
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Asks Oskar, staring down at the unconscious Buffy.
Monica Bathory/Lady-Crimson
"Yup. She's our little interdimensional lone-survivor,"
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Responds Monica, reaching down and tenderly stroking Buffy's silky brown hair.
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"Careful. That's how you get emotionally attached,"
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Jokes Oskar, noticing Monica's affection towards Buffy.
Emilia
"Honestly, it is all very fascinating, I mean interdimensional travel, like wow, you know. I mean I have seen neural activity like this." [giddy tone]
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Chimes in Emilia with a noticeably giddy tone, drawing smiles from both Monica and Emma and a chuckle from Oskar.
Emma
'Yeah it's crazy to think we are actually in the same room with our other earth adopted daughter."
Emilia
"Yeah, no sit"
Anya Lothrin/Knight-Raven
"I assume you looked over the data from the device just as I have?"
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"Indeed, I have. Unfortunately, I've come to the same conclusions you did. Our world is going to end in three months,"
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Responds Oskar, exhaling tensely.
Emilia
"Yeah, real bummer, huh?"
Anya Lothrin/Knight-Raven
"We need to begin production on the Time-Tethers immediately if we are going to get them done in time,"
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Anya and Oskar walk out of the Knight-Gallery Med-Bay and head towards the Knight-Computer.
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"Yeah, we do. But these schematics call for some pretty rare materials. Even with the vast reach and resources of both our companies, we will not be able to produce more than a dozen of these,"
Narrator
Replies Oskar as he and Anya go over the relevant data on the Time-Tethers.
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"'Project Roter Faden'?"
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Oskar smirks sarcasticlly as he reads the Delphi Tech project name that Anya has assigned for the Time-Tethers production.
Anya Lothrin/Knight-Raven
"What? Don't you like it?"
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Asks Anya with a smile.
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"No, it's fine. A little on the nose, and a little too German for a project that's supposed to help us stop Nazis. But it's fine,"
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Muses Oskar with a chuckle as he pours himself some scotch.
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"Now, about our other concern. That list of names contained within the data,"
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Continues Anya bringing up the profiles.
Anya Lothrin/Knight-Raven
"Yes half the team is from another reality but has apparently been given the same info we have. They more in their group than us so after the merger half their team will meet up with our time at the crashed ship to close the loop and the other half their team will show up her to help protect Lothrin from any potential threats. I think the time has come for us to go brief Anko on all this and get her onboard."
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"Makes sense but we're taking my ride because it comes with more pizza and better scotch than yours!"
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Oskar pulls out his cell phone and calling in his ride as he and Anya make their way up the stairs leading out of the manor. Within minutes ,they are in the air.
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"You ever stop to ask yourself when our life started running on comic book logic. I mean you died twice and came back to life, Emilia died and came back to life, monica died then came back to life. Super-Speedster delivering messages of apocalyptic doom from other worlds."
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Asks Oskar, already downing a warm gooey slice of cheese pizza.
Anya Lothrin/Knight-Raven
"Honestly, at this point I'm just counting my blessings and rolling with the weirdness as it comes."
***(Earth 8193#, Vega-Corp Tower, Mexico-City, The South-American Union [S.A.U.], 1991 A.D.)***
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"Greetings, Oskar and Anya! It's been a long time!"
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Proclaims Anko jovially as she leans in and hugs both of them.
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"Welcome to my favorite conference room,"
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Continues Anko, spinning around for a moment, gesturing to the room as a whole.
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"Why is it your favorite?"
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Asks Oskar with a smirk.
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"First, it has better Feng Shui than the other conference rooms in this building. Second, the view is amazing,"
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Responds Anko. Oskar mouths an exaggerated "Okay" to Anya, who rolls her eyes with a subtle grin.
Oskar sits down next to Anko as Anya hooks up the crystalline silver device to the video-feed system of the conference room and sits down as well.
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"Now, before we start Anko, we both need to know right here, right now, that nothing we are about to share with you leaves this room under any circumstances. You get me? Top-secret,"
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Presses Oskar, leaning in close to Anko.
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"If this is about that alien autopsy tape going around the Internet, I've already seen it,"
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Jokes Anko with an amused grin.
Anya Lothrin/Knight-Raven
"We're serious!"
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Responds Anya, her tone stern and cold as she shoots a death glare at her friend.
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"That serious, huh?"
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Asks Anko, leaning back in her chair nervously.
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"It doesn't get more serious than this,"
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Responds Oskar. Anko nods, taking in the gravity of the moment.
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"Very well, my lips are sealed."
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Anya stands up and begins explaining her experience at her parents' graves with Monica, Buffy, and the portal. She explains about the device Buffy gave her and the data stored on it. The future of things to come. Anko watches and listens in silence as Anya and Oskar lay it all down.
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"The end of the world? That's what we're discussing here?"
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Mutters Anko contemplatively as the presentation ends.
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"And all we have is three months to get ready. That's not a lot of time,"
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Continues Anko. She gets up and walks over to the window, lost in thought. She looks out at the city she loves, its beauty, its people, and then imagines it all gone, just gone. Tears burn the back of her eyes for a moment, but she pushes them down.
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"You say that Lihona wanted me to help you?"
Anya Lothrin/Knight-Raven
"Yeah. Apparently, the N.E.V. 11 version of you fought in the Resistance alongside N.E.V. 11 me and N.E.V. 11 Oskar."
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"Only you were a boy in the N.E.V. 11 Universe. Your name was Eijie De La Vega,"
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Remarks Oskar, amused. He looks Anko up and down, imagining her as a man. She sees this and gives Oskar a wink before returning to her chair.
Anya Lothrin/Knight-Raven
"The fact is, we need you, Anko. Yes, our world is about to end with a bunch of other parallel Earths. But as tragic as that is, it is minuscule compared to the amount of death that will be unleashed on the Multiverse if we do not succeed in this mission,"
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Explains Anya firmly.
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"Let's talk about rates of survival. You said that, according to Liahona's calculations, our world's population has the highest survival odds once this new Earth forms from the 'composite Vita-Vrillic Energy' of all the destroyed Earths, right?"
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Asks Anko as she downs some whiskey.
Oskar Turing/Dues-Excess
"Yeah. About a 65% survival chance on average for the people of our Earth,"
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Responds Oskar as he decides to join Anko by pouring his own glass of whiskey.
Anya Lothrin/Knight-Raven
"I have been working on a method of improving the survival odds even further for our loved ones. The only thing is, I need your help, Anko, to make it happen,"
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Presses Anya.
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"What do you mean?"
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Asks Anko, leaning forward.
Anya Lothrin/Knight-Raven
"Ever since the first night I got this data and realized what we are up against, I set Tenjin to auto-design a special device similar to the Time-Tethers … but not quite the same. If I can install this device in the Knight-Gallery, it will generate a force field which will ensure that all objects and living entities inside the field are transferred to the new Earth exactly as they are and in the exact same place, relatively speaking. Thus, ensuring none of our loved ones or any of our needed survival supplies are scattered, lost, or destroyed by the coming Dimensional-Convergence Wave. The reason why it relies on your help, Anko, is because Oskar's company and my company are already going to be working around the clock just to get the Time-Tethers ready in time. Thus, we need another company like yours to dedicate itself to building the Preservation Field Emitter,"
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Explains Anya.
Anko De La Vega/Eternal Zorro
"Well, obviously, I'm in. You've got it. I will order the shift in production focus right away. I assume the device schematics are included in the data you just downloaded to me?"
Narrator
Asks Anko, climbing to her feet.
Anya Lothrin/Knight-Raven
"Yeah, they are," answers Anya.