shademanexe:

He was about to snap back with a response about how he really didn’t give a care if he wastes anyone’s time, but he kept his mouth shut. Now was not the time to test Laserman’s patience. He needed to find a way to shift some of the pressure onto someone else.  He adjusted his posture, cocking his head to the side, and folded his arms. 

“Come now. Don’t make me out to be the bad guy here. I know why you’re angry, and it’s certainly not because of a few generic netnavi’s that I’ve destroyed,” he said. 

He looked him square in the face and continued; “It’s because some of those navis were owned by some of your pawns, isn’t it? That human you call Rosalie was one of them, correct?” He couldn’t help but grin widely. “It must be a real inconvenience for her to have to repeatedly replace them.” 

“Well, I’ll make a deal with you. You tell that human to get herself a real netnavi. One that can be useful to us, to this organization. Then I won’t be as tempted to eliminate her tasty- ahem, useless companions.” He took a step forward, bringing his arms out in front of him, before adding, “In fact, I won’t attack anyone unless they’ve become a threat. How does that sound?” 

Was Shademan really going to attempt to shove his blame on someone else? So many retorts were filtering through his programming: “It isn’t their fault if you can’t keep your fangs in your mouth.” “You’d best reign control over your primal urges.” “You are an idiot.”

These were the words that came out of his mouth, however: “I will not cut deals with you so that you follow orders, Shademan.”

He could understand why that human woman would rely on generic Navis. They didn’t arouse suspicion; they were simple Navis that every run-of-the-mill fool had. Still, they were obnoxious.

“… However, you do have a point. Nebula needs competent Navis. Fine. If that’s what it will take for you to follow orders, then I will play your game.”

Convincing the woman to get a customized Navi would be easy. She had a few obvious weaknesses that Laserman would have no trouble using. One was a desire for money— she shared that weakness with many Nebula operatives. The other was a touch more… delicate. For some reason, Rosalie would do almost anything to get in contact with his operator. Laserman couldn’t fathom why, but he was certain he could use that to Nebula’s advantage.

“Don’t think that you’re out of this mess, Shademan. I will be keeping in contact with you.”

shademanexe:

Laserman.EXE overlooked ACDC Square from a secure network, his optic humming softly as he scanned the potential “customers” that might seek out Nebula.

They would have had many by now, but one of Laserman’s minions had been… rather selective in his choosing. At the beginning stages, Nebula couldn’t afford to be too picky. Their goal wasn’t to find their elite, but to spread. The great Dark Navis would come in time, but they could never be discovered if they were deleted before they had a chance to grow and writhe in power. 

That’s why, after receiving numerous complaints from human and Navi alike, Laserman.EXE had summoned that picky minion to his throne room.

It was quite a few hours until Shademan finally arrived to the location in which he was summoned to. He had been busy tracking down his next meal, and didn’t have the time to be scolded like a child. He slowly approached Laserman, who was sitting in his throne tapping his fingers. It didn’t take more than a moment for him to sense his annoyance. 

“Well, what do you want from me? Come to ask me to shine your pretty little throne?” He sneered.  He didn’t need him to explain why he was annoyed. However, he could care less about his little schemes and their nuances. What should it matter to him that he was eliminating a few ignorant netnavis here and there. There are thousands of them littering the net, with hundreds being bought each day. There certainly isn’t a shortage of possible “customers”. 

“When I summon you, Shademan… you will come. Do you understand me?” He did not stand, but the threat in his voice was obvious. “You’ve wasted far too much of my time already.”

Laserman waved his hand and his view of ACDC Square dissipated.

“You’ve been drawing attention to us, Shademan. Those BBS messages are meant to draw in potential Dark Chip users. They are not your personal dinner bell! We need as many people as we can to spread them. The reaping of the weak will come later, I assure you. Then, you may dine as you please.”

Laserman.EXE overlooked ACDC Square from a secure network, his optic humming softly as he scanned the potential “customers” that might seek out Nebula.

They would have had many by now, but one of Laserman’s minions had been… rather selective in his choosing. At the beginning stages, Nebula couldn’t afford to be too picky. Their goal wasn’t to find their elite, but to spread. The great Dark Navis would come in time, but they could never be discovered if they were deleted before they had a chance to grow and writhe in power.

That’s why, after receiving numerous complaints from human and Navi alike, Laserman.EXE had summoned that picky minion to his throne room.