Chapter 344: My bad….

Alexa had arrived!

[Fan Girl] and [Meat Shield] had kept talking with [Big Brother] about so many stuffs, they had asked so many questions that weren't really important! So many meaningless stuff they discussed, nothing about Alexa! Nothing that was important!

Really, why did they want to ask so many things? They didn't matter!

Any thing that mattered would be told when needed in a more organic way! There was no reason to find all the hidden information with an info dump session when they arrived at Aquila! That was lazy plotting!

Instead Alexa decided to focus on the more important bits, like returning home!

"Alexa has returned!" Alexa said as she pushed the doors wide open. They had returned to their home apartment!

It was exactly how Alexa had left it! All her thingies were in the same spot, and even the rooms that had been before.

"It looks comfortable." [Fan Girl] said as she looked around, "We could pick one of those rooms, couldn't we?"

"That is for [Auntie Viv]." Alexa said when [Fan Girl] pointed at one of the doors, then she moved her hand to the next door, "That one is for the [Mom] person, and that one is for [Big Brother], one for Ale, and then that's Alexa's room."

[Fan Girl] had been pointing at each door, but every room was already accounted for, so really. They would need to find another place, couldn't they get their own room? Like a normal person.

"Do they live here?" [Fan Girl] said looking around, the apartment looked normal to Alexa though, how could she doubt that!

"Of course!" Alexa answered nodding, "We all live happily like the big [Family] we are!"

That was important, because it was the [Truth].

"Eversoul and Kellet do have their own home." [Big Brother] spoke from the back as he waited for [Meat Shield] to walk into the apartment, "But they never go there, none of the scientist seem to like having their own homes, most sleep at their office or in one of the sleeping areas around the laboratories."

"Sleeping areas?" [Meat Shield] asked confused, "As in…"

"There are holes in the walls where we put sleeping pods with doors and noise isolation. People can use them to sleep, they get disinfected daily, but some people put their names on the doors and just keep using the same." [Big Brother] shook his head as he spoke, "The madmen, only reason we had those installed was because they kept using any empty space to sleep instead of going to their own homes. Why do I even give them apartment housing if they will not use it?"

"So you are saying there are apartments empty around…" [Fan Girl] smirked as she spoke, "We can have one of those, can't we?"

"No, they still store their stuff in there, and some have family that use said apartments." [Big Brother] sighed, "You can have the one in front though, that one is empty."

It was?

"Most of the other apartments near this one are empty actually. People moved, and those that didn't move I bought off." [Big Brother] pulled out a set of keys from inside his lab coat, "Pick one each, the rooms are in the keys."

"That is quite generous." [Meat Shield] picked one of the keys, he was still on his more smaller form, "Are they capable of housing someone like me?"

"A latino?" [Big Brother] said arching an eyebrow. "Of course, don't ask me to get you extra spices or something. I don't buy my own food, so I don't know who even sells that stuff."

"Someone of my weight." [Meat Shield] said shaking his head, "I am also not a latino, I do have their ascendancy, but I was born on America."

"They can hold you at your biggest registered weight." [Big Brother] answered back with a shrug, "You may have more issues with doors if you keep growing to those inhuman sizes, my suggestion would be for you to keep this more smaller form. Lest your body gets used to having huge sizes."

"So just like that?" [Fan Girl] moved forward and picked one of those keys, looking at the number and then blinking as a wave of [Space Mana] spread around, was she looking into her new apartment? "No cost?"

"Oh, there will be a cost." [Big Brother] said with a smirk, "Your apartment will have a room for Ale, in case she decides to move there, or sleep there at a later date."

"Is Ale moving?" Alexa asked confused, why would she move? She was happy here with Alexa too!

"Not as far as I am aware." [Big Brother] answered with a sadge smile, "Just making sure, how is she by the way?"

How was Ale?

"[Main Core]! Status report!" Alexa asked raising her hand and pointing at the TV!

"[Subject: Ale Saintsworths is still in hibernation mode.]" [Main Core] answered from within the TV, "[Transmit wake up protocol to suboptimal machine intelligence?]"

Alexa turned to look at [Big Brother] did he want to do that?

"Do it." [Big Brother] said with a frown, holding his hand atop Alexa's head, but he wasn't moving! That's not how one ruffles Alexa's hair!

"[Starting procedure.]" [Main Core] obeyed [Big Brother]'s command, like he should! "[Procedure started, awaiting response.]"

"Hmm… I kinda expected it to go differently." [Big Brother] said removing his hand after finally ruffling Alexa's head, "I may need to check on with Sapphire."

"Are they okay?" [Fan Girl] asked from the side, "They are just sleeping, right?"

"I am not sure." [Big Brother] said shaking his head, "Ale's existence is… a miracle in some forms, and a terrible mistake in others."

"Ale is not a mistake!" Alexa complained while puffing her cheeks, "She is the coolest and prettiestest of them all!"

It was impossible for Ale to not be okay! Alexa knew it! She had been careful when coming out, she made sure to record all the little itty bitty bits of Ale, and she made sure that her [Core] was safely tucked away, Alexa could get it out whenever she wanted!

"Sorry, wrong term." [Big Brother] then apologized to Alexa! As he should! It was rude to call people mistakes! "What I mean is that Ale is very special."

"That she is." Alexa nodded in understanding.

"Let me test something." [Big Brother] then kneeled in front of Alexa, "Do you still have the thing I gave you before?"

The smoll sphere? Alexa… should have some of that somewhere…

"[Main Core]!" Alexa decided to bring the responsible for that to the front, "Pull the thing!"

Then the next second, Alexa felt something bloom at her forehead, [Big Brother] smiled as his finger touched the metallic sphere that surfaced on Alexa's forehead.

"Good girl." [Big Brother] praised Alexa! "This shouldn't hurt."

Then Alexa saw [Big Brother] close his eyes as he frowned, he was focusing, Alexa knew he was focusing even if he closed his eyes. That was [Big Brother] focusing face!

"[Awake]" [Big Brother] said only those words, but Alexa felt his [Mana] change properties faster than she could see!

Then from his finger that was touching the metal ball that Alexa had made with the remanent of the previous ball, Alexa felt the jolt as it dived into Alexa's minds palace as the Lightning bolt kept bouncing around.

Only for it to suddenly dissapear, [Big Brother]'s eyes opened at that point and they were shining in azure light, only those weren't [Big Brother]'s eyes. As they were closer to a reptilian creature, even if they shone in azure light. Alexa wouldn't be deceived!

"[Found you.]" His voice even sounded weird, more grounded, more tied to what Alexa could only describe as seeded within [The World]. "Aaand that should do it."

Only for it to fade away as if nothing had happened.

"Sapphire, can you detect her?" [Big Brother] then turned to look at the TV on the wall. "I know you have been watching."

"*Sigh* Yes, I can see her now." The voice of the porple woman sounded from the TV! The next second the image of the porple woman showed on the TV, she was still wearing that weird white towel, but she looked different. It was not how Alexa remembered her looking!

Unlike how Alexa remembered, she was supposed to be a plank! She was flat! This was deception! This was lies! She looked wrong!

[Big Brother] could look different since he was [Big Brother] he had that right to be whatever he wanted! The porple woman was different! She was a stalker!

"Your… Sister is glaring at me." The Porple woman said from the TV, "This is why I told you I didn't want to be around."

"Alexa, don't scare Sapphire, she is helping. Don't you want to make sure Ale is okay?" [Big Brother] said as he sighed, "Anyway, can you patch her up?"

Alexa could do that!

"[Main Core]! The thing!" Alexa said raising her fingie to the sky.

"[Notice, inferior intelligence is refusing commands.]" [Main Core] failed! No one could connect to Ale now!

Awawawawawa, what was Alexa supposed to do now?!?!?

"Patching up a connection. Wait a sec, they are asking for credentials…" The porple woman said something but Alexa was too busy having a panik.gif attack! "And we are live. Hello sleepyhead."

"Huh?" The voice of Ale sounded from the TV! Yay [Main Core] made it! "The heck? Where am… This does not look like the apartment."

"Sorry about that, had to build a virtual environment from scratch last second. I haven't set up any special environmental rules, so it may feel weird. I am using the template and not what you are used to having lived in Terra Nova." The porple woman then turned to look at Alexa… No, she was looking at something behind Alexa? But behind Alexa there wasn't anything special, what was she looking at? "I'll leave you to your family reunion, call me if you need something. I left my contact information with your [Core]."

And like that, the porple woman dissapeared from the screen.

"So… the heck?" Ale said from the TV, she seemed to be stretching and testing her body. Alexa knew it! The porple woman probably did something wrong! Alexa had to fix it later.

"[Greetings. I am the local assistant to Mistress, her Computational Operation and Research Entity. You may refer to me as Main Core if you so desire.]" On the screen besides Ale a small round bird appeared from nowhere, it was…

"An eagle chick?" [Fan Girl] asked confused, "Why is it so round? Did you overfeed it Ale? You need to be responsible with your pets."

"Hahahahahahah." On the other hand [Big Brother] was laughing as if he had seen the funniest thing ever, was it funny? Alexa didn't understand what was so funny. "Oh god, that's hilarious. I don't know why, but seeing [Main Core] like that its the funniest thing ever. Hey Albireo, if you don't decide for an appearance you can take your cue from Ale."

"[That will not be needed Master. Our form has been pre-approved by Mistress Sapphire already.]"

"Of course it was." [Big Brother] continued laughing for a few seconds after that, and then turning serious again, he turned to the TV. "Heya, you doing okay? I saw the clip, and while I will not try to know or understand why you two decided for such a thing. I can try and help you know?"

"[… I am fine. Alexa did as I asked, and we needed to get over it. So its all good. I'll not need you to wake me again.]" Ale then turned to the round birb on the screen, "[Besides Main Core is already formulating a more efficient way to deal with this kind of stuff.]"

"[That's correct. Mistress will be safe next time she decides to do something as utterly stupid as this.]" The round birb turned to [Big Brother] after saying that, and in the most serious tone a round birb can speak she asked. "[Should we require assistance for another hostile takeover attempt, may we count on your assistance?]"

"Another hostile takeover?" [Big Brother] asked confused, " Who dared to try and take what was not theirs?"

"Yeah! Who is bullying Ale?!?!?" Alexa would not allow that to continue! She would nom whoever dared to bully Ale!

"[… Really Main Core, stop being petty with Alexa's Main Core.]" Ale sighed as she bonked the round birb, "[They have a petty squabble. My Main Core doesn't like Alexa's Main Core because they both want to be overseeing the other.]"

"Oh…" [Big Brother] deflated a little at that, "I mean… You two could be put under Sapphire or one of her secretary AI's?"

"[Denied.]" "[We will take it under consideration.]"

Both [Main Core] and Main Core answered almost at the same time, but Alexa was confused. Why was Ale's Main Core even considering it?

It would be working under the stalker! That was a no-no!

The stalker wanted to take [Big Brother]! And she was old! Like very old! She was a bad person!

"Okay then." [Big Brother] nodded, "Just send a message my way, or to Sapphire. Since she gave you her number… Even though she doesn't want to give me her number and I have asked her for years…"

[Big Brother] grumbled something at the end, but Alexa didn't pay attention, since it was about the porple woman, so it was probably not important.

"Then, we got your apartment settled. Ale is okay, Alexa is okay. Your friends have their own rooms, you all have your ID's and are settled…" [Big Brother] went over a list of things, "Next important bit would be about identities I guess?"

"What about them?" [Fan Girl] said with wary eyes, "We got registered under the promise that our identities wouldn't leak. And your schools promised they wouldn't."

"Oh they won't leak." [Big Brother] waved away those worries, "Not from us anyway. You see, they annoy me. Everyone with a brain inside their head will find out who is who if they care enough. But even so, they will not leak from our side, the thing is… What do you all want to do?"

"Meaning?" [Meat shield] pointed, "Some of us have no way to hide who we are. Our identities are an illusion. Not that many three meter tall constructs walking down the streets."

"That's a peasant problem." [Big Brother] said snapping his fingers, and the next second the figure of [Meat Shield] transformed into…

"A very normal and mundane guy… With the wrong color of skin. Why is he brown?" Alexa asked confused.

"You can't ask that!" [Fan Girl] said rushing out towards Alexa and covering her mouth, "That's rude!"

"Something something melanin, genetics and ethnicity diversity." [Big Brother] walked up to [Meat Shield] whose hands were trembling as he looked at them, "I am terribly sorry about it. Didn't think about the implications of just dropping this on you like that."

"…its fake, isn't it?" [Meat Shield] asked looking up at [Big Brother] his face was normal, which was weird considering how his voice was trembling, "Do I… Do I look like myself at least?"

"I wouldn't know," [Big Brother] shook his head, "I don't know how you look. The hologram you are wearing is a generic Hispanic descent image. You can customize it up to your liking, if you have any picture of you, send it to this device and it will update it. From there you can personalize it to your liking."

And with that, [Big Brother] offered a device to [Meat Shield] who took it with extreme care, trembling hands and everything.

"So, my point was… Before forgetting how traumatic an experience could this be, again. Sorry about that." [Big Brother] asked for forgiveness again, weird, everyone should forgive him even if he didn't say anything, [Big Brother] never made mistakes after all, "We can disguise you all in any way you want, and we don't mind if you go around with your minion masks or even new villain masks. Your actual identity doesn't have to be the same you carry around, so you can just do whatever. Aquila and its leadership doesn't care. Nor do the schools you are in. So… what's gonna be?"

Yeah, what was gonna be?

Alexa would pretend to be Alexa like always though.