Ika fumbled the strange tablet in her hand. She had heard of things like this before, but never actually got to hold one. She turned it upside down, looking for any obvious inputs. "Ika, have you *never* used a wire before?" Ika sighed. It wasn't that long before they'd reach Synth City - it was clearly visible, but you wouldn't register it as towering, but at this rate, she might as well entertain her partner during the walk. "No, not really. In fact, are you *sure* it's called a wire?" Mako nodded vigilantly. "Never been more sure of anything in my life. Well, except for one thing..." Ika tilted her head. "And that would be...?" Mako gave her lover a peck on the cheek. "You, silly!" Like always, she beamed with her eyes. If Ika knew what it was, she'd probably recognize it as some sort of emoticon. Ika just looked to the side out of embarrassment. "Mmrg... Love you too, Maks." Ika knew she should probably say more, but she couldn't. It's not that she didn't want to - she absolutely did, and probably would go any distance to be more appreciative and talkative, but lately, it's been a lot for her. It's been day after day, [[Night]] after night. "You know, Mako, I've been trying to make shields or swords of this wire thing, how is it operated, exactly?" Mako grabbed it out of Ika's hands without asking. "It's pretty easy! Here, you press this button and it turns on." She passed back to Ika who, in turn, pressed the appropriate button. A splash screen of a more literal wire being dunked into some water appeared, before transitioning to another screen, this time showing a couple of icons on a bluish background, complete with some bubbles, for aesthetics. "Hmmm..." Ika once again tried to turn it upside down, only finding the power button, and two other buttons labelled with a plus and a minus, which only seemed to change the parameters of the 'Volume'. "Mako, I don't think mine's working properly." Mako laughed. "It's a touch screen, you silly!" She stuck out her tongue and made a small "Pbt!" before demonstrating on her own tablet, using her finger to swipe back and forth and interact with all the various gizmos and gadgets the device offered. Ika looked studiously, but truthfully, really didn't get any of it. Using her own wire, Ika scrolled through the options until she found something she recognized: a camera. Tapping it, the background became transparent, effectively becoming a glass window as a small lens appeared on the back of the phone, and a button appeared on the side, ready to be clicked. "Mako, do you like taking pictures, by chance?" "Not really..." Mako was reminded of the strange bird watchers back in The Residence. "It's never been something I've been into, you know? Why do you ask?" Ika peered through the camera she had in her hands. "Well, I was wondering... would you like your picture taken? Sure, my memory is enough for me, but if I can look at your pretty face whenever I want..." Mako blushed a bit. "You think I'm pretty, sweetie?" Ika nodded. "Mako, truthfully? I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful woman." Mako physically had to look away, lest she ruin that visage with the blood rushing to her head. "I guess you can take a picture of me..." She stuck out a hand, visibly showing a number. "Just *one* though." Ika chuckled a little bit, before getting down on her knees, trying her best to get both the city in the distance, as well as the shattered "sun" into focus. Took a bit, but the focus got there as well. She motioned for Mako to get in the center of the two, with the sun on the left, and the city on the right. "I, uh... Just strike a pose? I don't know, I'm not much a photographer." "Like this?" Mako fisted her right hand, putting it on her hip, letting the arm droop down, creating a semi-line-of-action between the "sun" and the city. "That's perfect!" Being careful not to disturb the shot, Ika pressed down on the clicker, and a visible *snap!* was heard, before a small polaroid appeared out of the side of the phone, slowly coming out, before tearing off. Ika snatched it - indeed, it was the same picture she took. Both of them continuing their walk, Ika handed off to Mako. "What do you think?" Mako studied it intensely. "Oh, the knights, it's not that good." "Not that good? You look wonderful, Maks." "If you say so..." The rest of the trip was largely filled with Ika trying her best to get accustomed to the wire. Never *once* has she seen anything like it - not even her fragmented memory seemed to have any idea what it was. She eventually got it figured out, though - even getting Mako's "WireID" so they could communicate anywhere. It was around then when they reached the sought-after Synth City. Towering into the heavens was the various buildings and sky scrapers, all covered with various forms of sheet metal, concrete, brick and mortal, anything you'd use to build a city with. Despite the haphazard range of materials, each building was consistent - only brick, only sheet metal, et cetera. "Woah! That sure is big!" Ika snickered a bit, but kept it to a minimum. "Yeah, the city is pretty large. Wish I could climb them." "Pfft! In your dreams!" "Trust me, Mako, I am *way* ahead of you." The two approached the gate to the city. It was currently manned by two guards, both of which looked identical - the body shade of someone who was buff, grey skin, a near featureless head (save for a pair of sunglasses), and large suits of armor. "Hold on, Mako, your ear piece?" Ika procured a set of two small devices - it looked like a small clip with a clip on one side. The duo put them both on their ears - Ika on her left, Mako on her right. Ika then tapped hers. "Command, come in?" A familiar voice chimed in to both of them - Velvet. "Oh, hey, you guys made it?" "With no difficulties, Command. Just about to enter the city." "You don't have to call me 'Command', you can just say my name, it's fine." Ika sighed. "Sorry, force of habit. Anything we should know before we proceed, Velvet?" "Just show them your IDs. They'll let you through, no questions asked." Ika and Mako approached the pair of guards. The one on the left stopped them, with a gruff voice and demeanor, holding out a spear in spite of the gate clearly keeping them locked out. "Hold it! I'm gonna need to see some identification, ladies." Ika pulled out her wallet from her pocket, handing the card to the bouncer. Mako had to shuffle through her purse before finding it, but it wasn't that long. The guard eyed them closely. "You, green haired one. You look familiar." Ika looked to the side. "I... tend to get around. I've never been here before, though." "Oh, that wasn't an accusation. You just remind me of an old friend. About your height, same hair color, though it was black on the tips. Never really said anything to anyone." Ika was curious. "You remember their name?" "That's confidential to you." Mako just shook her head. "We just want inside, sir, may we?" The guard nodded. "Yes, please, come on in." With two snaps of his fingers, the gates started to pry open, revealing a long street in front of them. The city was *bustling* - at least, relatively so. Along the street were lots of people - more than they had at the residence. Some of them looked like humans, sure, but others looked more like pure robots - purely made of metal, barely resembling humans at all. Some of them boxy, some of them curvy, all of them a little strange. "I think this used to be my <font color="#e64539"><u>Base</u></font> of operations, Mako." They both faced each other. "You sure?" "Never been more sure of anything in my life. Well, except for one thing..." "And what's that, sweetie?" "You! Aha..." Ika just stared into the distance. "It was cuter when you said it."