(no subject)

[themiracle]

Who: Quorra & Alan
When: Backdated to shortly after this.
Where: Alan's apartment
What: Q passes on a present from !Rinzler
Warnings: TBD

Her steps are hurried as she makes her way out to Alan's apartment, head dipped downward and eyes flicking up only briefly to acknowledge anyone she passes by. Tucked tightly beneath her arm is a bag -- one she'd borrowed from a friend at work -- weighted down by the item within it.

She hadn't trusted that what Rinzler had given her was real, at first. It couldn't be real. But she had checked to confirm -- and once the disk had activated, revealing the face of its owner, she'd known it wasn't a trick.

The ISO stops as she makes it to Alan's door, knocking quickly. She doesn't know if Clu knows where the disk is, who has it. If he's already searching for her. And she doesn't want to put Alan in danger. But she doesn't know where else to turn, and hopefully the User would know what should be done.

Comments

[alan_1]

Alan is ready for the knock at the door and answers quickly. He doesn’t know what to expect on the other side, but Quorra’s message had made it clear that time is of the essence. A dozen possibilities have crossed his mind since then: an attack, a dangerous new arrival, God forbid a death. Whatever it was, Quorra didn’t seem to want to share any details until they could meet face-to-face.

There’s nothing immediately alarming to see when Alan opens the door to his apartment. Quorra is standing there with a nondescript bag under one arm and a tense expression. A glance behind her to check if she’d brought anything—or anyone else—and he opens the door wider and steps to the side.

“Come in.”

[themiracle]

The ISO doesn't waste time when Alan opens the door and checks behind her; she slinks past him into the apartment, the bag still pressed snugly against her side as if it'll somehow vanish if she doesn't keep a good hold on it. "Thank you, Alan." She gives a curious, cursory glance around the apartment -- but once the door is shut, Quorra turns on her heel and begins to unzip the bag.

"You know all the weird stuff going on, right?" She starts and the words are clipped, quick, as if she can't talk fast enough to keep up with what she wants to say. Whatever is up with her, she's clearly very bothered by it. "With all the Users and programs acting ... differently? You know? Well, I was approached by Rinzler. Or, this ... version of Rinzler, that can talk. He didn't have his mask on. He didn't even attack me."

The bag is unzipped now, and she pulls the disk out from it. Her own is visibly docked at her back, so the one in her hands is definitely not hers. "He handed me this." She swallows, the disk in her hand somehow feeling heavier than it should. "It's Clu's disk."

[alan_1]

Inside, the apartment is small, but comfortable. There’s no one else inside—save a Bit from the ENCOM system that greets their visitor from a distance with a polite ”Yes.” But other than that, it remains quiet; even it can discern the seriousness hanging over the conversation.

Alan nods along to her explanation. “With the shadows? Yes, I know about them.” Fortunately, he hasn’t had any personal experience with the creatures. He’s seen the news though, and has learned enough to know that they’re dangerous. Still, he’s taken aback when she mentions Rinzler—and in particular, some version of Rinzler she implies is one of the doubles.

But as unexpected as the explanation is, he’s even less prepared for what she pulls out of her bag. Or what she says it is.

Alan stares in shock for a few moments, looking from Quorra to the disk in her hands. Some part of his brain processes that this should be a good thing—an advantage, a bargaining chip, or even a weapon against someone whose most distinguishing trait is how often he hurts people Alan cares about.

So why does he feel so afraid?

“I… see why you came to me with this,” he says after a long silence. He looks at the disk, misgiving clear in his expression. “Are you sure it’s really his? It doesn’t belong to… another version?” If there’s something impersonating Rinzler, it stands to reason that there could be one impersonating Clu.