Match of the Millennium

Description: Still trapped in the depths of the Zaibatsu laboratories, Steve has yet another encounter with the enigmatic Moondyne Maus. His groggy self at first does not remember her, until they take the time to sit down and talk about stuff.

[STEVE]
Steve is sitting against the sterile, cushioned wall and floor of his "Rooming" nothing more then a prison cell, really. The acces-controlled door preventing entry to the small, depressing chamber. There is naught in here except a bed with laundry-white sheets, a metal toilet, and a chair he isn't even using. The room permanently lit up by blinding, white bars of light in the ceiling of the room.

Steve is bored. So unbelievably bored. His motivations have been crushed into the ground by now. Right now, he doesn't care about Mitsuru. He doesn't care about Heihachi. He doesn't care about the fights these people are putting him through for the sake of "Experimenting".

He just wants to be out of here.

Steve Fox cups his hands over his face, breathing out a heavy sigh of frustration. How long could it be until he'd see anything else then this extraordinarily bland room? Steve adjusts his hospital gown, and stumbles over towards the bed to rest his head- and hopefully get some sleep.

[MOONDYNE]
It is some time later--an unknowable length of time when one is trying to rest in a room with no sign of the sun or windows, when Fox might feel a prickling of the hairs on the back of his neck.

"And I thought *I* was supposed to be the lab rat here, hmmph!" it's a voice Steve has no doubt heard before, either in a experience he can recall from before, or maybe in a half-remembered dream.

"Somehow I'm not sure we're really feeling the home team spirit here, Stevey-kun, you haven't even tried to escape yet," Moondyne Mouse was standing in the far corner of his cell, no telling how she got there, though she is holding her tail and swinging the tool pod tip on the end about idly, sort of watching and tilting her head at him, as if she's disappointed.

[STEVE]
Steve did fell asleep, yes. It was his first sleep in a while. It was good sleep.

It *was* good sleep.

Steve jolts awake, and looks around. He's still in his room, good. But his eyes stop at the peculiar creature nesteled in his room. "Who.... are you?" Steve's brain is still working slowly. He just woke up, is regularly on sedating drugs. All in all a great time. A few seconds later, a feint recognition spreads around Steve's face. Her voice. Her weird appearance. It all seems familiar.

"Have I... seen you before?" he tilts his head, not out of dissapointment, but out of confustion. "Tried to escape? How.. could I. It's hopeless. I can't punch my way through metal doors." He remarks, entirely serious.

[MOONDYNE]
"I'm the Dormouse, Steve. I breathe when I sleep, and I sleep when I breathe," Moondyne smiled and bowed her head to Fox, letting her light blue bob hair-cut of hair flutter along as she raised her head, around those very large ears of hers.

"It's time to draw you a few pictures beginning with the letter M, like mandalas..." she began 'drawing' in the air with her finger, making marks that looked like glowing, rainbow-colored marker. Something obviously that was out of the ordinary indeed, but in the grogginess of sleep might just be remembered as if you were still dreaming.

"Mousetraps... and memory," she went through a few arcane designs in the airs, before drawing a little cartoon mouse trap, and then finally pointed a small white-furred finger directly at Steve, her pointer finger, the long squared nail at the end of it might have looked like a press on nail--but thankfully not quite as long as some.

"Memory, yes yes--you need to reawaken some of it--why were you here?" from the tip of her finger more of that rainbow colored 'ink' was fired, circling around in front of him. He was supposed to do something here... and got caught, right?

[STEVE]
"....Why was i here? Mitsuru brought me here. I got caught while I was unconcious. I never wanted to be anywhere near Heihachi." He looks extremely sad all of a sudden, barely managing to not cry. "Blimey, Mitsuru... how long has it been? I hope you're doing okay... I can't help you anymore." He runs his hand through his tangled-up, messy hair. It has grown since he got himself into this situation, how long ago that may be. "I don't know what you want, Mouse. Leave me alone."

[MOONDYNE]
"Mitsu--Oh right, the one with bandages that looks like a 16-year old," Moondyne rubbed her chin, looking as if they were trying to recall that. "I'm sure she's fine," Moondyne said casually, though it came out a little too easily and quickly, just by a half second or so.

Of course, meanwhile, she was likely off somewhere being stepfordized by Heihachi's cruel governess, but the mouse wasn't about to dwell on that--she quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, enough about that, lets talk about you--like getting that extra pert butt out of here," the mouse lady pointed at him and grinned, wide enough for Fox to see her ivory teeth, as well as the large buck teeth up front. They might remind one of a cartoon character, though it flew in the face of her sometimes unsettling demeanor.

"Thing of it is... what might you do after you get out of here?" she tilted her head at him curiously.

[STEVE]
"I.. I would see about rescuing her first. I want to thank... and scold her." Steve says with a sad smirk. "Whether that would succeed or fail, I'd go and visit my adopted parents back in England. Mitsuru made me realize I should've been more thankful towards them. They're great people." His face is now more sad then smile, as he continues. "And then... I'd go too a local bar and get myself nice and Knackered. It's been ages since I've had a nice, cold beer."

"And... And... I'd have to thank Bob and Velvet Blue, for all their help. There is.. a lot I want to do." He sits upright on his bed, his legs going off the matress and touching the soft floor. "There is a lot. A lot I want to do. A lot I can't do right now. I want to do more then.. then bloody sit around."

[MOONDYNE]
"What the boss wants with her is none of my concern, alas, so..." Moondyne extended her thumb and pointed downward with it, giving an obvious 'thumbs-down' to that idea. "Besides, I've been going over your files, and apparently you're connected with the Zaibatsu in some way, huh?" Moondyne peered at the man, curious and distracted at the talk of family.

"I'd say that's a definite yes there, Mr. Fox, you ought to have stayed where you were and been grateful, but you just had to know more, huh?" she leaned back, idly twirling her tail about at her side again.

[STEVE]
Steve starts to look upset towards Moondyne. "Shut up. I never came after the Zaibatsu. I didn't understand my connection to them until recently. Mitsuru brought me here in an attempt to get me healed after some... after some succubus skank burnt me to a crisp. *They* came after *me*. Not the other way around. It was nothing more then a unfortunate coincidence."

He stands up in a burst of anger, and punches the cushioned wall with a muffled *thump* "Turns out I'm some bloody "Devil Gene" test baby that escaped from the Zaibatsu laboratories as a kid. Isn't that just a Fuckin' unfortunate coincidence." The moment of fury seems to fade, as Steve slumps against the wall, having used up some of the little energy he had left.

"So hush yourself. You don't know *anything* about me."

[MOONDYNE]
"And what if I did, what would it be worth to you?" Moondyne raised a brow, looking over at the man with a sort of look on her face like 'really?'. "Succubus skank? Hmph, you got to watch out with those darkstalker ladies, likely that's not all of yours she burnt," she nodded, with a little grin.

Blinking as Fox punches the wall, Moondyne had to look 'up' now as Steve was likely a fair bit taller than her. Most humanoids were, seeing as the mouse bot was just about 5-foot nothing.

"I know you're gonna help me, or you're not getting out of here," perhaps unknown to Steve, Moondyne had already 'attacked' him once before, though it's not clear if he remembers. It's probably best this way--if things don't turn out the right way for Mouse's gambit, she might not get to even use it.

"In the meantime, anything I can get you, bottle of water, spare blanket...?"

[STEVE]
Sitting against the wall, moondyne *is* slightly taller then he is, at the moment. "Help you? Get out of here?" The words seem surreal to Steve, she is part of the Zaibatsu, right? She has to be.

Steve barely remembers the first time these 2 had met, including the part where he got brain-lasered. "I don't get it. I really don't. Who are you?" Steve sighs "I don't even know if you are real. For all I know it could be imagining this whole conversation between me and some.. some antropomorphic Maus." Another deep, yet relieved sigh. "Never mind that. Both of those would be nice.. Sorry for my outburst earlier.

Steve opens his mouth- then closes it again, hesitating to speak. Until the words come out without any real thought. "Could you.. could you tell me about something? Whatever, anything. What the world outside is like now, who you are. Whatever. I just want- I just want something to distract me from this room. I haven't talked to anyone in ages."

[MOONDYNE]
"Moondyne!" the mouse lady looked as if she was momentarily frustrated at being repeatedly asked who or what she was--and even looked like she was 'hopping mad' for a second, balling her fists and her shoulders rising up as she furrowed her brows at him.

"Ahem--I mean to say, I am the mouse, that is true--that is what I am, and that's all you really need to be concerned with," she grinned again, though it looked a little forced, stepping closer to him.

"As for the outside uhh... do you want the good news or the bad news?" she folded her arms, looking down at the man, sitting there in his cell like a caged animal.

"Apart from the rioting and the pandemic and the seemingly unending need for humans to tear eachother apart?" she quirked a brow.

[STEVE]
Steve smirks a little. "A pandemic and riots? That sounds about right. It's nice too.. meet you, Moondyne. Though I have this strange feeling of Deja Vu." He looks at the mouse. "I'm Steve Fox. Though I suppose you know that already." Steve falls quiet for a bit, unsure of how to continue this unusual conversation. Until he asks "How are you doing?" about the most excepted, bland question one could expect. And, to say the least- A strange thing to ask seeing the situation he's in.

[MOONDYNE]
"Sure do, Mr. Tight Butt," Moondyne winked and waggled her fingers at the man in greeting, grinning again--though this time it seemed less forced, and more genuine. With how the man's hospital gown was flapping about, it's likely she'd also been witness to him.

"How am I doing...?" it took her a moment to really come up with an answer, she hadn't really been asked this question much before, usually she was dealing with NESTS business, or this contracted work for Heihachi, or other related CRIMINAL HAPPENINGS, so small-talk was not her forte.

"I exist in an ever present state of existential dread and one of my few solaces is the schadenfreude of others," she thought about it a moment, looking down, then back up at the man, "So you know, basically broken--and lacking in emotional development and care," she said more affirmatively, apparently pleased she'd been able to summarize it better.

[STEVE]
"That... does not sound very pleasant. Take care of yourself, yeah?" Steve says, with a geniune tone. "I also feel broken. I don't really know what to feel anymore." A little self aware, Steve re-adjusts his hospital gown as to not reveal anything. "Does that satisfy some of that schadenfreude?" He asks with a smirk. "I have plenty of suffering to share."

"Have you always... felt like that? Or was there a time were you felt different. Were you felt less Dread, less Broken."

"In my case, at least, I hope there's a way back from being broken.. I would wish the same for you. You don't seem like a bad sort." He reassures her.

"Meanwhile, would you mind not commenting about my.. my behind? It's not like I'm saying anything about those wacky ears of yours.

[MOONDYNE]
"I wish I... could, but I can't really stop, at least not now," Moondyne reached over and placed a hand against the side of Steve's head, fingers partly tousling into his hair. But that's about all she did--just sort of feeling him.

"I'm not tissue and blood like you, I was created--for something a lot more than just ripping people off and hurting people--" she winced and shrugged a little. "As fun as the latter can be in the right circumstance and occasion, you know--" she probably expected Steve to understand this part.

"There's a time and a place, ecetera--but for right now, I gotta think about others... that being, that sexy old man in the labcoat they brought in to run tests on you, I need 'em, at some point, there's a few questions I gotta ask him," she nodded, relinquishing her hand from Steve's head, before giving him back his space.

"Then maybe..."

[STEVE]
The story about her being created stirs a memory within Steve. They *had* met before, he remembers more now. "Oh- I remember now. You are a Robot, and we have met before. I was.. tied up that time, yeah?"

"Then maybe...?" he shakes his head for a moment, before continuing. "I suppose that is your secret. I hope you manage to reach that 'Then maybe', because whatever it is, it sounds important to you." He looks a little uncomfortable little as Moondyne touches his head, and draws back, but doesn't react in any other way. "I suppose a apology is in order. I had you introduce yourself to me a second time. Makes sense why you got angry earlier. I won't forget you again, promise." Steve says with a humorous wink.

[MOONDYNE]
"Huh, I would have thought you remembered that at least," Moondyne looked over at Steve, perhaps implying she thought he was into situations like that. She still has this teasing nature about her, regardless of what happens.

"Well, my attempts at getting you to remember didn't work as well as I thought," Moondyne cast a glance outside the cell, before quickly looking back at Steve.

"Anyway, steel buns, I need to make a bit of an errand, I'll see about getting you that spare blanket~" she promptly seems to fade out of existence with a shower of digital pixels. The door to the cell opens very briefly--before shutting again, quietly as possible--after a few moments a technician walks by, seemingly confused, and looking around, before shrugging and moving on.

Log created on 13:59:59 09/28/2020 by Steve, and last modified on 17:40:26 09/28/2020.