An Ordinary Oddball
Perry (4)
When Perry had gotten far enough away from the University she had let Mavash 'port her back to the school, and was now following Armada down the hall as best as she could.
"Mr. Bozo!" she called out. "Need hide this important thingy. I explain when calm down." The spirit medium sounded out of breath and shaky.
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
Ultimate Hope, Absolute Insanity
Iridium Wonders – Convention Centre – Dementius' Gambit
"Dante" stared at Mahvash as she gave Perry and Cole the tomahawk. He felt that the other one(s?) that she made was pretty much fake, because of the fact that he could feel a bit of the daeva brat's aura in it.
He, however, decided to try to play dumb and look unaware of what happened, while he would secretly take note of Perry's and Cole's soul signature (especially Perry's) and focusing on them.
When people were freaking out about the girl cyborg's really critcal conditions, he planned something.
Dante's Dreamscape Dimension
Dementius grinned as he created yet another screen, in which the running medium with real tomahawk was shown.
Oh well, Dante... , he turned towards the restrained jester, We— no, I had lots of fun with you and your body, but...I gotta leave with a bang, literally... , he cackled as they started to feel some pulsing vibrations.
Dante started a glowing a purple light. It glowed rythmically, making him look like a living alarm. The rythm would start to get gradually faster and faster.
No! You can't do this to me! , Dante screamed, desperate.
Dementius ignored Dante's plea, as he waved goodbye, with a cheerful smile, before jumping into the screen.
Dante's eyes started to water.
I-I'm sorry for letting this asshole get the b-best of me. I'm sorry if I get you guys in trouble because of his shenanigans. I'm sorry for being the weak link in my squad in these last m-months. I'm so...so sorry for being this..this useless for you....
When Mahvash returned to this place, Dante started to release an extraordinary amount of purple flames that would scatter around the area, possibly hitting some Eternal Horde mooks and possibly hitting someone from Class 1, especially Mahvash. Even if the flames wouldn't hit her, she would still get weakened by the flames that were around her.
Saint University – Down The Hall
A portal opened above the spirit medium. Dementius came out of it and landed near Perry.
Gotcha! , he spoke mockingly, as his tendrill-like wings extended towards the tomahawk that she was holding.
You might know everything I'm going to do...but that's not going to help you, since I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU'RE GOING TO DO! STRANGE, ISN'T IT?
School - Something Taken
The school had itself faced trial and tribulation while the students were away - a separate Eternal Horde attack, initiated at the same time as a suspiciously dead-eyed band of terrorists launched independent bomb attacks. It was transparently obvious to those who knew that everything, plus a sudden tech blackout in certain areas, was the work of a certain sphinx.
While the attacks were successfully fought off, causing damage to the buildings or the infrastructure was not the end goal of the attack.
No, that was made obvious by the damage done in the burial room of no less than The Saint. The crypt was blasted open.
The body was gone - burgled - stolen.
Everything worked toward one end or another. While the artifact may have made its way into the hands of the heroes, for now at least, the body of The Saint now rested in enemy hands.
Cole - (4) / (52)
Cole resisted the effort to remove him, and by the time his blast died down, he was left awkwardly standing there, suddenly conscious of himself again after his bout of rage. He looked down at his own hands and muttered, "...What did I do...?"
Malhareff chuckled as a portal opened behind him, "Oh, you did nothing - if anything I heartily approve of your rage shutting up that prattling, smug demi-deity."
"Fuck your approval!" Cole got ready to blast him, but Malhareff already moved into the portal, and it closed before Cole could get his shot in.
He was then made conscious of Dante's presence, and he could see flames forming from him in frankly uncomfortable amounts.
"Dante what the hell is goin' on man!" Cole started employing his telekinesis to try and suppress the flames, dispersing them as they appeared.
Intergalactic Guardian Angel fight
The massive mechanical angel was buffeted by the snow, but being used to the icy temperatures of space - 3 celsius warmer than absolute zero - the shift lower did not much bother the angel. However, the incoming lightning drill breaker smashed right into the middle of the creature and by the time the attack was done, though it still rose again, a prominent crack in its armor was visible - and it seemed to be having trouble trying to heal that.
Damage to outer chassis;repair moduleERRORERROR;REPAIR.EXE NOT FUNCTIONING AT STANDARD SPEED.
However this did not stop its routine and before long a tremendous halo began to form around it, and this halo began to burn bright.
Engage Phoenixian Array.exe.
The halo then suddenly exploded, emitting a massive shell of quickly expanding, holy burning hot flame around itself in a large radius. The least that could be said was that it broadcasted this tremendous attack.
Van - Squad 3
Van was left awkwardly silent as he walked in after fighting the zombies and elephant zombies outside. He saw that it looked like Renegade was arrested, and Van looked around and stated, "Mm, while I'd personally prefer that son of a bitch there end up desiccated, it does seem he wanted to die. And I'm all good with denying him everything he'd ever want."
He shrugged and looked around, noting the severe expressions and reactions. He definitely got a feeling something happened while he was out.
An Ordinary Oddball
Wilma (1)
Wilma backed away from the IGA as it seemed to be preparing a pretty powerful fire-based attack, and formed the rest of the paper into a spear in short order.
She took aim for the exposed core with her blackened arm, shouting "TAKE THIS! STRIKE TRUE, GAE BULG!!" As soon as she said the name, Inspiration crackled outwards and into the spear, transforming it from paper into a black, spiky, vaguely spear-like weapon. The rose brooch was fully tinged pink now.
Her stretchy arm squelched as she threw the legendary weapon with a mighty heave, right at the IGA's heart.
Whether or not the spear would reach the core before the Phoenexian Array blasted it away was anyone's guess.
Perry (4)
Perry parried Dementius' wing-tendrils away with the Lance of Longinus almost lazily—it seemed he forgot that she was the bearer of such a holy weapon.
And she jabbed at him with it to keep him away with its holy nature while slipping away into the Other Side with the Lamp. If Dementius tried to enter it, then Perry had the chance to call on Reapers for help.
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
Hallway
"Shit!" Under any other circumstances Armada would have dropped everything and jumped into the fray, but the blood seeping through Sally's makeshift bandages was just as if not more pressing than Perry's plight. Still, there was something she could do. She briefly closed her eyes before they lit up like a stop sign. With her specific configurations, communicating with security was a breeze. She sent them a message telling them to get over there ASAP. Hopefully Perry would be able to hold out until then. But if she didn't get a move on, there wasn't much chance of Sally holding on for very long. She jetted once more down the halls, cursing herself as she blasted toward the elevator.
She'd have to have a very long talk with Matten once this over.
Ultimate Hope, Absolute Insanity
Saint University – Down The Halls
Goddamnit!
The medium brat has got holy weapons. She also went to the Other Side. He also would have gone to the Other Side, but she would have called the other reapers. Yes, he was one of the most powerful sorcerers in the Abyss, but he didn't know how powerful they were, and because of that, he didn't want to take the risk.
He scowled. His gaze then was directed towards the android Armada. A maniacal smile grew on his face. Since he is at University now, why not cause some chaos here? Trying to follow Perry is a lost cause at this point. But...that Sally girl...she's close to death. How much despair could come out if he manages to get one of the promising, hope-filling youthful proto-heroes and end their life in cold blood?
...How exciting could the reactions be?!
Dementius started to quicken his pace, while cackling like an absolute madman and firing, with his right hand, purple flames at Armada. He then fired a bigger flame, with the other hand, at the elevator's call buttons.
Edited by Theyja on Jun 6th 2019 at 3:01:11 PM
You might know everything I'm going to do...but that's not going to help you, since I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU'RE GOING TO DO! STRANGE, ISN'T IT?
AKA Nixer
Holiday – Saint University
There was a gust of wind, and suddenly a shape was in front of Dementius' blasts.
Or at least, the smaller ones. The ones headed towards Armada. It was a difficult judgement call to make for a machine, but it appeared that this one had prioritized the lives of two over a simple call button. Although at the cost of its already damaged body.
A strangled whimper rang out amidst the crackling of the flames washing over it, and there was a heavy thunk as it momentarily fell to its knees.
The supernatural flame had managed to melt straight through her clothing, remaining skin layer, and even a significant chunk of her chassis beneath; leaving only a few scraps of recognizable human features and a twisted metal skeleton beneath. Oil dripped onto to the floor as exposed wires sparked and sputtered, and the ACP rattled as it struggled to raise its head up—spilling some of its internal contents on the floor as it did so.
Hey, at least she was lighter now.
Critical error. Core housing fractured. Unstable processor. Coolant systems offline. Oil pump offline. Stabilizers offline. Hydraulic backup systems online and active. Panic mode initiated. Transferring to emergency power settings . . .
The machine audibly gasped as her pain receptors were abruptly shut off, before hardening her skinless jaw as she forced herself back up onto her feet. Empty shell casings fell onto the floor as the storage compartment that housed them fell open; jolted as she extended her miniature SMGs out from her palms. She locked gazes with that of the fire-spewing demon's, and only briefly turned her head back—addressing Armada in a broken voice that sounded as dead as she looked.
“Run̢. I̶ will̴..̷. tr͘y̡ a̢ņd ͘h̷ol̛d ͞h҉im̷ ̸off.͝ ̵I͘ s̡h͞a̕ĺl͡ ͢follo̢w y̴o͜u ̕a҉fte̵r you'v̵e ҉r̛ea̸cḩed̡ a sa̴fe͏ dìs̀tanc̕e̡. Aļso.̕..́”
Vocal processor failing. Shutting down all unnecessary systems . . .
“...́if you̶ s̨ee̢ ̧a͝ ̢s̵mal̵l ̀a͘ra̵chno͞id͟ dro͞n̛e̕, p҉le͞a͜se̷ ̵p͜i̧ck͟ it͠ ͝ųp.҉ ̀I̡ ͢fear I ͘mi̷ght̡ di͏e.͠ I͏t c͝on͠t̕ain͢s a back͢up͘ ͜o̧f͏ my ̵prìma͘ry͘ ͡p͝r͠o̧cess͞ơr. P̶l͞e̷a͠s̡e͞,̡ only if͏ ͝you ca̢n.̨ I sh̴al҉l.̨..̷ ̴sȩn̨d́ it o҉r̴dęr̡s͞ to͏.͡.. ̷ta̧r̶g͘e̵t̸ y͠o҉u͜ŗ ̴p͞ǫs͡i͘t́ion͜.”
She hacked up fluid, eyes growing half-lidded as she clicked her remaining ammunition into place. What was left of her mouth muscles pulled up into a sad smile as she looked back again, a spark of determination and sorrow glinting in her glassy grey eyes.
“.͢.͟.͞My-̕My ̧n͝am҉e ̧i̛s͠ ͠Hol͝i͞da͡y͏. Pl̀eaşe̵.̴.. remęm҉b̢e̸r m̛e͏.”
Shutdown complete. Primary objectives: protect assets and self. Priorities in direct order. Destination: nearest laboratory. Follow android and her passenger. Remaining power: 42.7%
Edited by Enirboreh on Jun 6th 2019 at 4:06:44 PM
bork
Hallways
Armada barely had time to think before a fellow android swooped in our of nowhere and took one of the blasts. Of course, the elevator buttons were still fucked. Not that it mattered. Because she wasn't gonna let anyone die today.
"I'll do better than that." Armada outstretched her hand and fired a blast clean through the floor, creating an opening that led straight to the basement. "Come on!" She slung Sally over her shoulder and seized what remained of Holiday, slinging her over the other shoulder before jumping into the hole and firing another blast behind her for cover. "When this is over we'll really have to work on that frame of yours. Way too fragile!" They soon landed on the basement floor. And as soon as they did, Armada took off running.
Because God help her,they were all gonna get out of this alive.
Ultimate Hope, Absolute Insanity
Saint University - The Pursuit
How honorable... , Dementius stared back into the automaton's synthetic eyes.
Such an heroic deed... , Dementius spoke solemly, Throwing away your perfect sythetic body for the safety of your fellow lumps of metal... , he sniffled a bit, All of this...is making me FUCKING CRY!!!! , the spider demon burst into crocodile tears (spider tears perhaps), before abruptly blowing a raspberry, with lots and lots of saliva, at the fallen ACP, ...NOT! I could never be moved by such a cheap ass sacrifice! Even the laser-induced impalement of that DAMN hedgehog is sadder than that! , Dementius rambled rambunctiously.
If things could get more annoying, Mama 'Droid decided to take with her the metallic corpse and take off.
Dementius rolled his eyes and summoned his wings, and started to fly and chase Armada.
Edited by Theyja on Jun 6th 2019 at 8:01:21 PM
You might know everything I'm going to do...but that's not going to help you, since I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU'RE GOING TO DO! STRANGE, ISN'T IT?
AKA Nixer
Holiday – Saint University
. . .
. . .
. . . Good thing I'm not dead.
Despite being on the verge of total shutdown, the android craned her head upwards to face the approaching Dementius and managed to weakly claw her hand towards him. The gun clunkily retracted and was instead replaced by something small, grey, and round—which she sharply tugged something out of with her teeth and threw at the demon's location.
It was a frag grenade.
Holiday was reliant on both her and Armada's respective metal bodies to protect the dying Sally, but the sound was something else entirely. If the cyborg was still in any way conscious, she may feel something being slipped over her ears—a pair of pink earmuffs, deployed from the damaged endoskeleton's left forearm.
Reassessing priorities. Require arc welder for core. Require solder for wiring system. Require replacement coolant and patchwork for leakages. Require replacement metal plating for chassis. Require replacement silicone panelling for external skin layer. Remaining power: 36%
The ACP lowered her head, deciding to rest so as to save power.
Edited by Enirboreh on Jun 6th 2019 at 4:56:50 PM
bork
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Iridium Wonders - Trace
"..." Between Cole letting Sphinxy go—probably while staring slack-jawed—and the latest demon also finding its way through the dirt... The familiar disruption of a portal...
"Ryuu!" She appeared before the dragon after some quick scouting and a bit of time for the T-X to set Dementius up the bomb. She gave him but that little warning before taking him. "Its urgent. Demon attack in the school and delaying Armada's work. On Sally. We're going to drive him off the grounds. And squash him. Don't get burned."
That still left Dante, but unless a runaway bus bent over and pulled out a way underground too, the other sites to leave him were worse. Proximity to a recent possessor vs Beam Spam made the dirt seem 5 star. Plus the time the detour would take. For now, she sent where he was to Ever Green. Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Ultimate Hope, Absolute Insanity
Basement
Dementius' eyes widened when the ACP threw the frag grenade.
The tendrills of his wings shielded him from the explosion and the onslaught of shards, as if they acted on instinct.
Ack! Piccola baldracca! , Dementius winced from the pain. The explosion burned his wing-tendrills and the shards dug into their fleshy insides.
They made him unable to flap his wings without feeling annoying pain. And because of that, he un-summoned his wings. Dementius needed to act quickly.
C'mon Dementy. I know that you've got a brilliant intellect, so START TO FUCKING THINK! THINKTHINKTHINKTHINKTHINKTHINKTHINKTHINKTHINK- YES, I've got it!, at this epiphany, a metaphorical light bulb appeared above his head.
Dementius put himself into a goofy position that was reminiscent of an upside-down(-ish) fetal position. The next phase of the plan was to put his hands next to each other, as if he threw a Kamehameha beam. The final phase of the Dementi-plan was simple: release a beam of flames that was so powerful that its recoil and propulsion would launch the spider sorcerer towards Armada, with abrupt speed and power.
Edited by Theyja on Jun 6th 2019 at 7:59:20 PM
You might know everything I'm going to do...but that's not going to help you, since I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU'RE GOING TO DO! STRANGE, ISN'T IT?
Basement
Persistent little bugger, wasn't he? Still, Armada had a job to do. Two now actually. And she wasn't going to let some spider monstrosity from hell stop her.
The palms of her hands flowed and her eyes lit up as a bright blue forcefield surrounded her, causing Dementius to bounce off of it and around the basement like a pingpong ball. Still, if he could survive a grenade, then he could survive just about anything. In that case it was time to call in the big guns.
She turned off the field and jetted around the corner, making her way toward the labs. It wasn't far, but she couldn't afford to take any chances. And they were close enough now that this would work. She briefly closed her eyes before they lit up once more, and she whispered a command so soft that only she could hear. Or so it seemed.
"Killtrons 1 through 2000: Activate."
Time for some fireworks.
Ultimate Hope, Absolute Insanity
Saint University - Basement
Dementius bounced off the forcefield. He also put a forcefield around himself, so that bouncing around the basement would be less painful and more enjoyable.
Hahahahahahaha! Do you think you can simply stop me, Anansae Dementius, one of the greatest sorcerers in the Abyss?! , he boasted, laughing like a maniac.
You might know everything I'm going to do...but that's not going to help you, since I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU'RE GOING TO DO! STRANGE, ISN'T IT?
Surrounded by weirdoes
I.W
Ryuu just nodded, and seeing the spider monster.
"Dude, shut up" The dragon said, with a deadpan look. Several spheres formed in his hands, as the air swirled, tossing them at the wannabe sorcerer as they were made to explode in windblades on impact, before charging in.
Impulsing himself, he shot out like a rocket ready to kick the bastard on the face.
Might as well let him remember them.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Breath of the Sun
Squad 1 - Convention Center - Ellie
The Angel cracked, but didn't fall. It announced another attack, and Ellie pushed herself away, readying herself for its counterattack. She threw her arms up, bracing for the flames.
She realized too late they were holy flames, and pushed herself backwards, roaring in pain as she burned. Crashing into a wall, she slumped to the ground.
Slowly, she shakily pushed herself up, bracing herself against the wall. But between her attack before, and the burns, she couldn't keep fighting.
Hopefully, the crack she made would be enough for the others to do something.
Squad 3 - Convention Center - Mikael
Martin, it turned out, was not dead. He promptly blocked the shot that was intended to kill Renegade - apparently foiling some plan of the villain's in the process.
"Well, that's spectacularly anti-climactic." Luce mused aloud, casually flickering over to Eille in a flash of light. "But what will you do?"
He swiped the orb from her and tossed it to Mikael in one swift motion. The half-demon caught it, staring at the memory within for a long moment, before swallowing it. He smiled as the memory of Ellie's beaming face returned to him.
Luce placed a hand on Eille's shoulder. "Well, I've had enough excitement for today, so I believe we'll be off. Ciao!"
The two of them vanished into light, likely off to the Abyss. The Cage disappeared with them, in a cloud of sparkles. Mikael watched them go, and then, steeling himself, he turned to Martin. "Look, I'm not going to fight you over this, but if you knew killing him was playing into his hands, you should have fucking told us. I'm not stupid - I would have listened."
He gestured towards Renegade. "But I also think that, if you really have canceled his powers, and can do it safely, you should kill him. Because if he does ever escape prison, and kills more innocents, then those lives will be on your head. That's why I was trying to kill him in the first place. So he could never harm anyone, ever again."
Mikael turned away, staring into the distance. "Sometimes, killing is the right thing to do. You'll have to kill one to save many others. Cops can use lethal force, and when it's truly justified, killing doesn't make them any less heroic. Same goes for soldiers. And for us."
He sighed. "I've killed people myself. Even before the whole thing with Gaea. Hell, I've killed people by accident. And until now, I thought you were understanding about that. I thought we were friends. But if you're hiding things from me, if you're gonna tell all of us how to act, then I don't know."
Mikael began to walk away.
"I'm going to make sure Ellie's alright. Hopefully they'll have the rest of these assholes sorted out by now."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Basement Lab
With Ryuu providing cover, Armada was finally free to act. She raced down the corridor and turned the corner at top speed until she at last made it to the labs. Several tables roughly the size of an average human being had already been prepared for testing, but they would still suit her her purposes.
"Sorry kiddo, gotta be quick!" She dropped Holiday on the table nearest to the door before carefully placing Sally on the next one over. She hopped over one of the counters which contained many different beakers and other such gizmo's and doodad's. She grabbed a cord and plugged it into the nearest outlet before sticking it into a port on Holiday's neck. "There you go! Should keep you going till I can make some proper repairs. But right now I gotta get to work!"
She raced over to a set of storage units in the back containing several spare android bodies. She opened one up and grabbed a model that looked remarkably like Sally before slamming it on the third table. She grabbed a helmet attached to several wires and a small monitor before placing the helmet on Sally's head and sticking the wires into an open port on the back of the android 's nrck. And with one flick of a switch, the process began in earnest. All they could do now was wait.
As for Dementius and Ryuu, as their battle raged on they could hear the sounds of tanktreads in the distance. Several thousand tank treads in fact. As if something or another were coming their way.
AKA Nixer
Holiday – Saint University
Power charging. Panic mode deactivated. Reactivating subsystems . . .
A choked wheezing generated from Holiday's voicebox as it came back online, and—upon her feeling the plug inserted into her neck—managed to turn her head over to the other android as she worked on the critical cyborg.
“...́Tha͠nk͘.̧.̶. ̸y҉ou͘.́.̶.̧”
Her eyes briefly fluttered, and she sighed—letting her head fall back against the berth. If she shut her eyes completely and just listened to the ambient noise of the laboratory, she could imagine herself back home in the workshop. She could hear her so-called Father working in the background, clanging and bashing something into place and occasionally swearing up a storm as he hit his fingers instead. She could hear his ‘friend’, the one who insisted on only being called ‘Mom’ in private, shouting to him about something or other and (rightfully) smacking him upside the head when he sputtered out some weak or nonsensical response. She could hear her brothers and sisters coming in for repairs, the more cheery and friendly of which rushing over to greet her–
“I t̨h̨o͢ught̶ I ͏wa̕s g̷on̵ną ͏di̧e̢.”
Error. Irrational statement.
“̨I... I͟ ne̴v͟er éven̷ ͘t̛hougḩt ̴ab̢ou̸t i̷t befo̴re͢...̸”
Caution.
“I͠.͝..̴ ̛b́ut.͝.̷.̶”
She vented again; this time through her nostrils as she lifted her damaged hand in front of her face and studied in neutrally.
“I̡.́.. w̸òu̧ld͠'͠ve ͘done, if i͝t̛ mea̡n͟t̀ ̛you ̨got͝ out̸.̷..”
. . .
“..͞.̢a͏-͝ánd I͟ ̨do̴n̛'̧t̷ ͢know ẃh̛ý.̶”
. . .
System stabilizing.
Edited by Enirboreh on Jun 6th 2019 at 10:25:32 AM
bork
Squad 3-Martin
Martin wanted to say something to Mikeal, but in the end there was nothing to say. "Stay safe, you never know what else might be out there."
"He's right you know," Renegade chuckled under his breath, looking up toward Martin. His skin was rapidly growing pale, his own body folding in on itself without his powers to keep him healthy. "Eventually I'll break out, or someone will break me out, and this whole show will keep going on and on and on."
Martin didn't talk, he lifted Renegade by his shirt and looked into his eyes, thinking.
"Oh don't worry I get it," Renegade shook his head. "You're a man of absolutes, we both are. If you start letting yourself get okay with killing it means you won't stop. Every threat, every enemy, keeping yourself so controlled because you know just like me, you have no control."
"You're right," Martin finally said. "I really am too pathetic."
Renegade yelped as a sharp pain hit his arm, tracking down to see what happened, watching at a syringe fell between them, only to be crushed with a single step under Martin's foot. "I see, the cowards way out. Keeping just one in case you ever fell."
"I have people to keep me honest." Martin hauled him away toward the police line. "You'll be given whatever care you need inside of a cell, you'll live in pain and agony for the rest of your life as the side effect of her gift rips you apart."
"No judge, no jury, just the executioner. You are such a hypocrite." Renegade finally passed out from the stress he was under.
"Yeah...there is no such thing as a Saint in this world."
Up on Melancholy hill.
Mason - Squad 1
Mason winced internally as he listened to Ellie crumple against the and fought against the urge to make sure she was okay. She was a demon, she was tough, and frankly, it'd be easier to get rid of this thing before they started calling for medical help.
So, taking out the giant mechanical abomination was gonna take prioity for now.
He jumped into the air where the gravity took him upwards and he was more aligned with it than he was on the ground. Flicking the switch three times, swirling purple energy collected around his foot, where he aimed it.
The purpose of this one was to basically, increase the gravitational pull of an object in his vicinity, specifically around his foot and bringing this next, ahem, Fighter Kick, as he was tentatively naming it, aiming it directly at the creature with the gravitational pull of Jupiter twice over. Hopefully, with the sudden force aimed at the crack, and the two attacks aiding him, it'd do more than annoy this thing.
Is it selfish that I'm happy as we pass the setting sun?
Lab
Armada was closely watching the monitor as Holiday began to have an exxenistial crisis. "Hey, don't worry about it. Just doing what comes naturally. And I think you did too. You don't always have to have a reason for this sort of thing."
A pause. "Thanks. For saving Sally. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what I would've done."
AKA Nixer
Holiday – Saint University
Processing . . .
“That's okay. I think you would have managed fine without me anyway,” the ACP replied, voice beginning to stabilize as she breathed in with newfound power flooding through her system. Now her core was getting a kickstart again it wouldn't be long before she could unplug herself and work on patching it up. “But in whatever case, it is my duty. I am an ACP, after all. Tom informed me of what was going on, so I– wait, Tom... ”
A note of tenderness entering her tone, she sat herself up with a whirr of struggling motors, making sure to keep her movements slow and steady as her creator had repeatedly scolded her for not doing in the past when she was injured. She made an odd, repeated clicking noise with her rubbery tongue, and was pleasantly surprised by a nearby chirp—a vent across the room denting open as the little arachnoid prised its way through and scuttled up to her berth.
“Hello, Tom. You must be thirsty,” she smiled—or whatever constituted as such with her distinct lack of face. Only the crinkle of the single piece of skin remaining of her eye and upper cheek indicated her genuine happiness at the sight of seeing her drone again. “You can charge up, now. I'm all done...”
Planting her bare, skeletal feet on the floor to brace herself, she placed her hand upon her neck and pulled out the plug—instead inserting it into a matching port on the drone's thorax and letting it curl up into a sleepy ball on the berth. Now free to move, she gently pulled herself up into a standing position and managed to take a single step over towards the other android—only to weaken and sway all of a sudden and having to grasp at a nearby worktable to steady herself.
“If... if it's easier I can fix myself...” she offered as she firmly locked her joints into place; not wanting to risk falling again. “The primary source of concern is my self-perpetuating core. Father only has two spares. It's an experimental technology, after all, and very unstable when exposed... but it's also able to stabilize itself in a contained environment. I need a welder and some metal plating to mend its housing, then I can move on to my coolant systems and wiring before fixing my chassis.”
Now that she had been temporarily charged she seemed a little more composed. The wellbeing of Sally also appeared to be a priority, as she softly removed the (already dislodged) earmuffs from her head and instead placed in her arms a small teddy bear.
“She may struggle, during this...” she noted, lowering her voice to a whisper. “I don't know her, but I would be frightened. I don't think I'd even know how to breathe...”
What am I becoming?
“...so if it's any consolation, I can help care for her. It is my duty, after all,” she smiled.
Why does it feel so... scary?
Edited by Enirboreh on Jun 6th 2019 at 11:27:18 AM
bork
Labs
"Hey, whatever floats your boat. We've got some tools in the back. Should have what you need." Armada continued watching the monitor, though she was occasionally glancing at Holiday. "And thanks. You know, when this first happened to me, I was scared shitless. Didn't know what was happening or what was going on, just that one minute I'm me and the next I'm not. I didn't know what I was becoming or why it was so scary, just that it wasn't me anymore. It was hell. So I really didn't want her to go through this. Or at least not like I did."
She paused as Sally's vitals gradually began to drop. Normally this would be a cause for alarm, but given the process, it was simply a matter of course. "What she needs is someone to help her through it. I'm gonna be there as much as I can, sure. But I think she also needs someone who sees things from the other side. Someone who for this sort of thing is as natural as breathing. Though, and maybe this is just me, but I think you might need her more."
AKA Nixer
Holiday – Saint University
“But breathing is unnatural.”
A momentary pause.
“For a robot, I mean.”
She moved to the back as instructed while her brain clicked through Armada's words, flitting from scrounging through the pile of tools and materials for a welder to fix her primary core. Tom shifted over on the berth, and Holiday suddenly felt... relaxed.
It was all very strange to her.
“I am... defective,” she admitted. “Or at least, I think I am. I... miss Father. He said that I was doing things ‘according to design’, but... it's all very confusing, and I don't think I can tell the difference anymore...”
She didn't bother with protective goggles as she finally began to weld her core's housing shut. There was no point. And her remaining chassis could handle the sparks anyway.
“...but that just means I understand. That... clawing feeling of uncertainty. I am unfamiliar with it. I am... obtaining emotion. So if I'm lost in that way, and she's lost in the other way, then... well, I'd be obligated to help her...”
She paused again, readjusting her grip on the welder before nodding firmly to herself in conviction.
“Yes. I will... I'll help her. I know what it's like. Do you think...” she trailed off, glancing over at the motionless form(s) of Sally and motioning to the teddy bear in her new body's grasp. “...do you think she'll like that?”
bork
Clean Room
Armada would have cried if she could. Truth be told, she didn't want to do it. Not like this. Not like she did, bleeding on the floor with blood soaking her garments. Where the only choice was no choice at all. But what else was there? Though truth be told, part of her saw this coming. She had already been working on a spare body for Sally, just to be safe. Though she had hoped they wouldn't need to use it. At least not for a while.
Fat chance of that.
Once Sally made her choice, Armada knew what had to be done. "Alright. We need to get her over to the lab stat! If we can staunch the bleeding just enough, we can hook her up and upload her brain patterns before her body goes into shock. After that it should be smooth sailing."
Nurse Hello helped move Sally into Armada's arms. "Sorry I couldn't be more help, but—"
"It's alright. For now, try and get Reinbach. Might need his help for what comes next. Because God knows readjusting is always a pain in the ass." Her eyes briefly lit up as a pair of thrusters popped out under her feet, jetting her down the halls like a blur. All that mattered now was getting Sally to the lab, getting her hooked up, and letting her tech do the rest.
She could only hope she'd forgive her after this was over. Assuming she could forgive herself.
Goddamit.
Edited by kkhohoho on Jun 5th 2019 at 11:41:55 AM