InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Eep op ork ah-ah"

radicalhacker (radicalhacker) wrote in indarkness_logs,
@ 2010-08-12 13:01:00

Entry tags:

!dropped, 2032 08, radical edward, spike spiegel

RP: This is a New One
Characters: Spike, Edward
Time/Date: Backdated to him finding the costume
Location: Spike's room
Warnings/Rating: Language knowing Spike
Summary: Ed comes bearing clothes and booze
Status: Private, ongoing

This time Ed was ready.

She had spent almost 15 minutes gathering everything from clothes and booze but had gotten nowhere on the hunt for ammo. Ed knocked on Spike's door and called (using a bit of ongoing code),"Because Edward is Edward" since she had used the line very early on. She added as a just in case,"I'm alone out here too" having heard about the costumes during her hunt to find clothes for Spike. As she spoke she held onto an overstuffed bag of clothes and a second bag filled with booze.

Edward also had another reason for her visit, she had tried to hack into the feed the morning of the infamous video and wanted to share her results with someone. Ed had gotten nowhere with the first attempt but had a theory she wanted to run by Spike,"Maybe they have tricks even I don't know about?" she got to thinking out loud.

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lunkhead
2010-08-13 05:46 am UTC (link)

If Spike had been from the proper time, he may have found humor in the irony of turning a lovable, children's character like Buzz Lightyear into a chain-smoking, stressed-out, bounty hunter. Instead, he waited in hiding for Ed to arrive with the clothing and booze he'd requested. Or, if one were to ask him, he wasn't so much hiding as refusing to leave the room until he had something a little less embarrassing to wear. (In his mind, there was a difference between the two.)

Lucky Spike: he'd finally gone to bed in nothing but his underwear instead of falling asleep fully-dressed... and this was apparently his punishment. He couldn't exactly parade around in front of the girl he still thought of as a kid with nothing but a pair of boxers on. That would be... just plain weird. And wrong. Or something like that. Maybe if Faye were there... No. He'd never ask her for help in such a compromising situation. She'd torment him for all eternity and then some. So maybe he was, in some strange way, lucky to have Ed around instead. Even if that meant being 'forced' to look silly for a little while.

Spike opened the door only after Ed promised she was alone. He heard her thinking aloud, and couldn't help but to take a small jab at what was actually quite normal behavior for the hacker.

"Am I interrupting your conversation?" He gestured for Ed to enter... and tried to just pretend he didn't look completely ridiculous. He knew she'd notice, but he didn't feel a need to draw attention to the predicament himself.

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radicalhacker
2010-08-13 05:54 am UTC (link)

"Nope and I was hearing about this while clothes hunting" Ed added as she handed over two stuffed bags. "I had to guess on the suit but it should be pretty close at least till you can get a few things" she confessed. "As for the booze it was an easy find but no ammo floating around" but she was not laughing, ok the outfit was beyond crazy. "Ok, whoever cooked this up is beyond bonkers. What are they going for? Public misery?" she got out.

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lunkhead
2010-08-13 06:40 am UTC (link)

Though he paid attention to what she said, Spike busied himself with raiding the bags. He checked the sizes in the clothes and decided they were close enough. The pants seemed about right, though the shirt was a size too large, and was the exact opposite of thrilled at the prospect of breaking in new shoes. Overall, though... it was better than the alternative. Much better.

"I knew there was a reason to keep you around," he teased, though his tone fell a little flat. "Haven't found any computer guts floating around, either." He gathered the clothes in one arm and walked toward the bathroom, grabbing his Jericho (and the holster it rested in) from the bedside table along the way.

"Public misery sounds about right," he agreed. "Unless we missed the masquerade."

He shifted out of view within the bathroom but left the door open so that she could hear him speak as he changed clothes. "About those tricks you mentioned...?" (So maybe it wasn't a proper question; Spike didn't see a need for extra words.)

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radicalhacker
2010-08-13 06:52 am UTC (link)

A smile escaped Ed at that, even she needed the boost after all. "No major parts but I found enough to finish the revamp of the laptop and I'm keeping the torch as a makeshift weapon" she nodded. She added,"Its the one thing making sense unless someone sees a bad costume as a sick sort of joke".

Ed came clean,"Day of the snuff festival video I tried to hack into the video feed, came up empty. So it got me to thinking either these wackmobiles have tricks even I don't know about or just have a different brand of tech going. Next time a feed pops up I'll try again as well since I've got a few more ideas to try out".

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lunkhead
2010-08-13 07:37 am UTC (link)

"Good. I haven't had to kick mine, yet; but the screen on that thing is a real pain." Of course, Spike wasn't exactly one to appreciate technology for its usefulness except in the case of the Swordfish (and even it was a vintage fighter). Even if he didn't prefer holographic screens to the eye strain-inducing LCD technology, he'd likely find some other reason to complain... like its frailty or its shape.

"It's possible..." Spike wrestled a bit with the sleeves of the slightly-too-large shirt, but finally managed to get them to stay pushed up as he preferred. "They could have technology from a different universe." After he checked to make sure his gun was fully concealed in the unfamiliar clothes, he returned from the bathroom.

"Maybe you should try a different approach... something that would make absolutely no sense."

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	radicalhacker 2010-08-13 08:18 am UTC (link)
	"If all else fails you know I can tune up that thing" Ed as usual offered in her unique way. She nodded,"Actually I've got a few ideas up the mouse that I'll try next time a video pops up but right now I think you are onto something" making plenty of mental notes as she spoke. "Besides I do have one extra weapon: my VR goggles". (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

lunkhead
2010-08-13 08:36 am UTC (link)

"What, so the psycho-posts are easier to read?" Spike scoffed and shook his head. "No, I think I'll keep it as is." He cracked his neck and took a seat on the edge of the bed, tilting his head toward the nearest chair in offering for Ed to take a seat.

"You sure that's a good idea, kid?" Spike grabbed a random bottle from the bag of assorted booze, not really caring what it was, and worked on opening it as he spoke. "They might have a way to counter-hack... could even be able to control you like those Brain Scratch freaks."

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radicalhacker
2010-08-13 08:51 am UTC (link)

Ed nodded as she sat down, kicking one leg over the chair arm like old times. She confessed,"That's why the goggles are on the reserve weapons list, what if they can pull a Brain Scratch" showing she had gone over all her options. "If they know I have the goggles who knows what else they can pull so I'm thinking of seeing if anyone would let me hack a device via the goggles before going for the big guns".

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lunkhead
2010-08-13 09:15 am UTC (link)

Spike drank as much as he could handle in one, large gulp (he couldn't be bothered with getting a glass) then let out a frustrated sigh. "You can crack into that thing, for all I care," he offered, pointing vaguely in the direction of his laptop. "So long as it works eventually..." He shrugged and drank some more before sitting the bottle aside on the bedside table.

"Something doesn't feel right," he muttered, clarifying after a brief pause, "about the situation. I have a feeling things are going to keep getting worse. More personal." Of course, it couldn't get all that much more personal for him and he could handle himself well enough to move past it. (Even if while in an agitated half-daze at times.) Truth be told, he was actually kind of worried about Ed... about whether they'd take her away to get to him. She was, after all, the only person he could fully trust. Not that he planned to admit caring so much...

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radicalhacker
2010-08-14 03:01 am UTC (link)

"Just give me time, no idea what I'm up against but they have no idea what I can do" Ed vowed. Plus she was loving the challenge this was giving her.

"You are onto something Spike" Ed had her own ideas going but she was not exactly sure about a few things. "Crazy weather and sick costume ideas aside but it just feels like things are only going to take a turn for the worse or the weird" hoping she somehow was making sense. "Been doing some listening during my hunts for parts and besides the snuff festival people are being nailed by more videos" filling in a few blanks that she had overheard.

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lunkhead
2010-08-14 03:50 am UTC (link)

"You have until we're dead... That long enough?" Just like old times, Spike offered the grim facts with indifference. Sure, it wasn't completely genuine apathy; but he had a knack for not letting such things show.

"Does that really surprise you?" He half-laughed and glanced toward Ed curiously. "The videos are a valuable weapon. You can't blame them for bringing out the big 'guns' if there's worse planned." But, blame or otherwise, killing them was a legitimate reaction. Or so Spike believed.

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radicalhacker
2010-08-14 05:41 am UTC (link)

That was nothing new and it did feel like old times, Ed needed that even now.

"Not really" she was honest. "I mean we've seen plenty of wacky on the road chasing bounties but this is a different ballgame. The videos had me thinking brian Scratch but since I could not get into the feed it has to be something else". Dark eyes spoke volumes,"But I have a very sick feeling about things too, I may know a little about guns and I have a welding torch under the bed but maybe if weapons come along we should find some".

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lunkhead
2010-08-14 06:51 am UTC (link)

"I'm insulted," Spike teased. "You think I would let a good weapon go to waste?" He reached over to the bedside table for a pack of cigarettes and his lighter. "As if we'll find any just laying around."

Then came the not-quite-awkward but still useless silence many conversations with Spike lulled into. He lit a cigarette and fell back on the bed, crossing his arms behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. There really was something strangely frustrating about the non-metal ceiling - something that went beyond a longing for normalcy. He couldn't explain it and didn't waste thoughts trying to; instead, he allowed his thoughts to drift for a short while. When he finally spoke again, it was nothing more than another grim musing under the guise of apathy...

"There probably isn't a way back, you know."

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radicalhacker
2010-08-14 11:40 pm UTC (link)

Ed could see the teasing was in good fun and it did feel like old times.

"Oh ye of little faith" Ed fired back. "There has to be a way and you know what? You and I have something different and that means we can think of things nobody else would think of". She added,"Plus maybe there are more clues floating around but the costumes are trying to throw off our trail".

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	lunkhead 2010-08-15 04:11 am UTC (link)
	"You know I'm not a detective, kid. I've had my fill of trying to figure this place out." Spike scoffed and stretched his legs out, causing himself to slip just slightly off the edge of the bed. He didn't bother rising up and instead just continued to stare at the ceiling. "So what if we don't find a way home? We're only in danger as long as those fuckers are alive." (Reply to this) (Parent)