MechA cademy [IC/PG-13/Co-Hosted by Skaia/Not Accepting]

[Asriel Dreemurr 38]

"It was nice to get to speak with you." Xa'tok nodded to the other nomad as the boy turned to make his way off to some other part of the school. That conversation hadn't done much for the dilemma he was currently facing, but it had been a pleasant distraction. Something to break the overwhelming silence of this place as it were. His ears flattened back against his head as he once more started to walk, steadily working towards the geometric center of the campus. He still did not have any idea of what the spirits of this place would take in offering. He needed to convince them that he was worthy of their attentions, but without any clear idea of what they wanted.

"I could simply ask them." He mused aloud, nodding to himself. Yes, that would do well enough. But first he needed to draw up the appropriate spirits to speak to. That didn't change much about where he needed to go, however. The heart of the school was where he was headed.

[LordCowCow 839]

Erica could search all she wished but she wouldn't be able to find a staircase. For the simple fact that there was no such thing in this building. So, try as she might to avoid it, she would have to take the elevator in order to see the other floors.

When the doors opened she saw that the elevator was empty. After entering and the doors closed, however, the lights flickered for a moment. Then a voice behind her said, in a low, muffled, voice. "You going up or down?"

If she were to turn to look she'd see a tall figure, over six feet, with an old and tattered black cloak. Its hood pulled so low that she couldn't see their face. They would wait a moment for her to respond but if she didn't they'd just repeat themselves again.

---

"I'm looking for something... no, someone, myself. Have you seen him? He's a robot, about..."

"O-oh." The boy said, looking a bit dejected as Sammi continued on. "You mean, um, the House Bomb person? Why do you need to...n-no, nevermind, um." He shifted uncomfortably then nodded. "I think I know where he is. He's kept...er, he lives in a bunker near the dorm rooms." The boy started towards the dorms, then stopped, started going the other way, then looked at her. "If you want I can...show you." He said, keeping his eyes down.

Either way Sammi would find her way towards what looked like a small hill with a door in it. Said door resembled more of a hatch than a door, complete with the circular handle.

Upon opening it lights would come on along the walls. A tunnel heading downwards until reaching a narrow room. On the other side was another door. However there was also a sign. "Caution, Mine Field" and under it was written in blocky letters "Enjoy!"

---

Kelsey's eyes glazed over as Vivian talked about...trees. It was probably interesting in its own way but it also reminded her way too much of a school lecture and, given she wasn't being graded on this, she couldn't help but tune out.

"Well, it certainly sounds rough where you come from, but we don't have many forests where we're from and the weather's normal enough right?"

"Huh, what?" Kelsey broke out of it from Stella's voice. "Oh, right, super normal. We almost done here by the way?"

Evidently not. The girls continued on their trek. Kelsey following along behind Stella as the other girl added more and more to what was becoming a rather precarious stack.

"I wonder what the weather here is like?"

From behind the stack of notebooks and folders Kelsey called out "Dunno, probably...normal?"

Finally, it seemed their quest had reached its conclusion. Their loot was now towering over the top of Kelsey's head. Swaying back and forth as she followed the girl. "It's okay, it's okay, I totally got this."

---

"...How long was I out? And what the hell did you guys put me under with?"

The nurse looked up and sat the magazine to the side, laying flat with the page she was on pressed onto the desk, and stood. "About four hours I'd say. And I just gave you a sedative...I wasn't sure what your problem was or how long it would take so I just gave you the strongest one I had. I'm sure you'll be fine...by the time you go to class tomorrow anyway."

She moved next to him and began to check various parts of him. Checking his heartbeat, alertness level, and so forth.

"She never said what she was doing to you so I really hope that it was something you were okay with. It didn't seem to take very long and as soon as she was done she wandered off. Something about a toaster, I'm not sure, but she seemed to have a breakthrough while messing around with your head."

Kansuke would realize he knew the exact temperature and time needed to make the best toast possible.

---

"I guess I'll catch you later then, Aya."

"Or not." Aya suggested.

Once in his dorm he would find his roommate in there again. This time wearing headphones. He grunted as Chase came in and said, in a voice a bit above normal volume, "Already done flirting? That your type or something?"

---

Spoiler

Okay so as usual I'll be able to do more the more you give me to do and the more info you get the more you can do.

Also Keto ngl I am not sure if you're wanting something from me and if so what it is.

 

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

Erica was surprised by the figure as she looked at the source of the voice. She was not, however, one to scare that easily by the sudden appearance, nope, not at all, definitively not. "Uh... yes... down, please... I am heading to the exit." She simply held onto her fan as the elevator went down. It was technically an iron fan, of those used for monk guards in the temples, if only because she used a broken cutlass to make it out of leather and copper, but she made it specifically for the fashion. She's somewhat trained in self defense, if only because, as a Robattler, she's expected to move the same way as her robot.

Edited November 7, 2019 by ZetaRESP

[Skaia 578]

Stella continued to awkwardly shuffle around Kelsey as the stack the girl was carrying seemed to be more precarious than anything else. Trying to move with the swaying of the supplies, just in case anything fell, Stella still left the job to her friend. After buying everything and getting them packed away in bags, though, Stella still didn't want to shoulder the burden on Kelsey yet again. Taking some of the bags in hand, she exited the store and took a deep breath of fresh air as they got out. Stella had felt revitalized, being able to share all of the wonders of paper to others, as well as learn more about paper in other worlds. However, there was still daylight and while Stella was fine to just go back to her room, the awkwardness of her dragging her friends to a school supply store on the day before school was setting in once again. 

The problem remained, though, that Stella didn't have much of an idea of what to do to hang out. There was this and...Turning to the rest of her friends she said, "so, uh, anything else you want to do. On our day off and all...food?"

[yui 573]

"O-oh. You mean, um, the House Bomb person? Why do you need to...n-no, nevermind, um. I think I know where he is. He's kept...er, he lives in a bunker near the dorm rooms. If you want I can...show you."

"Please do."

With the boy's guidance, Sammi was brought to a... well, a bunker. That was the only way to really put it. That in itself was odd, but no big deal. What was a big deal was that the hallway between this door and the next was apparently also a minefield! BOMB had a pretty sick sense of fun. But she had to cross this. On her own it would be no big deal. On her own, she could handle a minefield as welll as a regular hallway. But with this fleshbag next to her...

"Thank you for bringing me here. You can head back to whatever you were looking for now."

If only it were that easy. The boy had opted to stick around instead. It was because Sammi had suggested the house heads might know where it was, wasn't it? Damn that big mouth of hers! He didn't look like he had much of a throwing arm, either. It was all on her then. Sammi looked the boy dead in the eyes. "Never tell anyone about what you're going to see here." Simply put, Sammi didn't want to walk through an entire minefield. If she could reach the door in some other way, of course she'd try that instead! She normally reserved this for maintenance, but this seemed like a worthy exception.

A hissing sound came from Sammi's left shoulder, followed by a deep click, then the girl's left arm fell lifelessly to the ground with a clunk. Sammi picked up the fallen arm, and looked down the hallway. She took a few steps back, then ran forward to where she'd been before, throwing her arm as hard and far as she could in the process. Ideally far enough to hit the other door and hopefully get BOMB's attention like that.

---

With the shopping trip concluded, Vivian was ready to tackle the school year head-on! But the day was still young!

"So, uh, anything else you want to do. On our day off and all...food?"

Trying to think of something all three of them could enjoy was tough. Stella didn't seem like much of an athlete, so not sportsy stuff probably. Kellz by contrast didn't seem like she cared much for the more relaxed stuff as pastimes. And that left Vivian herself, being an outdoorsy type who wasn't too keen on sitting around inside and playing video games all day. Surely there had to be a middle point between all three of them somewhere...

"How about... hmmmm..."

It was also important to remember that these two girls weren't as mobile as Vivian was. An odd thought, given that she knew Kellz had a more mobile mech than her, and she was willing to bet Stella's could also manuever better. Wait... that's it!

"Something to do with mechs maybe?" Vivian suggested. "I'm not really sure what though... some kind of sparring matches perhaps."

[LordCowCow 839]

Kelsey was perfectly fine with taking the bags from Stella but it seemed the girl wanted to hang on to some of them. With a shrug the girl marched her way out of the store and back into the blessed light of day. Throwing her arms up she shouted "I had almost forgotten what the sun felt like!" She glanced back at the others and winked to show she was joking.

"so, uh, anything else you want to do. On our day off and all...food?"

"Food, eventually, but I dunno. I kinda wanna do something more...active right now, ya know?" She said as she hopped from one foot to the other.

"I'm not really sure what though... some kind of sparring matches perhaps."

Kelsey pointed her mechanical hand towards the girl, with a couple bags dangling from it. "Now that's an idea! Whatcha think, we should go sneak back onto that field or something? How far you think these watch things reach?"

She went to lower her arm and winced. A moment of panic went through her head as she saw that the prosthetic wasn't fully lowering. So her arm stayed somewhat pointing even as she turned. "We should, uh, get going then. Wherever we're gonna do this thing."

---

"Never tell anyone about what you're going to see here."

The boys eyes widened in fear as the girl confronted him so boldly. He shivered as she turned away and refused to look directly at whatever it was that Sammi was doing. Thus he only caught some movement out of the corner of his eye as the girl's arm sailed through the air and struck the door on the other side. Making a resounding thud that echoed along the hall.

A short time later the door opened up with a hiss and BOMB himself stepped out. He was wearing a pair of extremely large pajama bottoms, pink, with pictures of red dynamite sticks along it, and a plug could be seen sticking out of his back. He saw the two but before greeting them lowered his body to look at the ground. Picking up the arm he held it out in front of you. "Did one of you drop this?"

---

The elevator ride down to the bottom floor was slow. And at first silent. But then the lights started to flicker again and a strange noise could be heard from the figure. A low groaning noise. Then a sound that resembled wind blowing through the trees. An almost howling noise. Erica would feel as though someone was leaning up close behind her...

And then the door opened up.

A girl, likely younger than Erica, was standing on the other side.

She jumped a little as the door opened, as though not expecting it to open, and started to shuffle into the elevator. "E-excuse me." She said softly as she entered.

She didn't seem to even notice the other person in the elevator and, if Erica looked to check for them, she'd notice they were nowhere to be seen.

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

Erica simply stayed in the ride until the lights began to flicker. She then heard the groaning and the strange noise. She didn't move, mostly because she was feeling a thick chill in her back, which she felt like suppressing. Her danger sense was going off as she felt something coming to her. She was ready to protect herself-

Then the door opened and she saw the new girl coming in. "E-excuse me." Erica simply looked at her and then noticed the figure was nowhere to be around.

"<That is odd... maybe that guy Xa'tok from the ship knows better? Maybe I don't go for it just yet...>" She just stayed silent for a moment as the elevator kept the ride. She looked at the girl. She definitively was familiar with the demeanor and look. "Is everything okay?"

 

[ChampionZero 62]

Kansuke blinked a few times, hard, before rubbing his eyes again. "That's kinda disturbing," he admitted, letting her finish up her checks.

Once she was done, he got to his feet and reached out with his arms, flexing his fingers, rotating his wrists, testing his full range of motion. Maybe it was just the anticipation of knowing he could finally hop into the Tyrant and get to work, but Kansuke felt stronger. At the same time, he felt strangely as if he were missing a limb... A dull, phantom ache that surrounded him. He couldn't quite pinpoint it...

I won't fall behind now. Not after sitting idly by on the Finback... He smiled as he put his shirt and jacket back on, baring his teeth involuntarily. I'm going to excel.

"Thanks for your help, doc," He said as he passed through the door.

Now what... he had nothing to do for the rest of the day, and it had to be at least noon. To that end, he set out to see if he could still get something to eat. Where was the mess hall again...?
 

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"Already done flirting? That your type or something?"

"Eavesdropping, I see." Chase rolled his eyes, walking into his dorm room and closing the door behind him. Even though Sid had his headphones in and spoke in an above normal volume tone, it was plain to see that this guy was definitely eavesdropping in on the conversation. He made his way to his side of the room, tossing a few things on his bed before sitting down on it.

"Firstly: as I told Aya already, was only being friendly. Couldn't handle a relationship if my life depended on it." he said, holding up one finger, then proceeding to hold up a second. "Secondly: she's a neighbor to us so I figured I just strike up conversation. I apologize if that seems a little foreign to most people around here...you especially... And thirdly: for your information, I don't have a type."

That last part might've actually counted against him, but he figured it might actually not this time. Regardless, he moved and grabbed his notebook and began to work on another design for a mecha, just to keep himself busy...plus possibly avoid Sid talking to him more, but he figured that last part was going to happen regardless.

[Asriel Dreemurr 38]

With his efforts to find the geometric center of the school, Xa'tok found himself rather precariously in front of the door of the Principal's Office. While this might have given other students of the Academy pause, the young shaman was just the right combination of desperate for approval from the spirits and deprived of sleep that he didn't quite care as much as he should have. While he didn't make his way into the office itself, he did set himself up in the hallway. Down went the brazier. Into it went a few pellets of incense, and atop there went a small amount of wood shavings which were themselves swiftly annointed with a few drops of perfumed oil. A match was struck, dropped into the brazier, and the shaman spent the next few moments trying to stoke it up sufficiently to begin filling the space around him with smoke from the incense. At which point he clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and began quietly murmuring a wordless tune. The intention of which was to summon up whatever spirits were about to commune with, and see what could be gleaned from them.

[LordCowCow 839]

"Is everything okay?"

The girl cast a side glance at Erica. "Yes, no...well." She nervously fiddled with the collar of her shirt for a moment. "I just...got off on the wrong floor is all." She said finally.

There was a silence until she blurted out, "Oh, Blossom. My name...Blossom Artem."

The elevator continued down, to the next lowest floor, before the door opened up once more. Another girl was standing there. With her arms crossed and her foot tapping. Erica had seen the girl before, on the Finback, but hadn't really talked with her much. She didn't so much as address Erica. Instead she went right to Blossom. "There you are. Didn't I tell you to follow me? You're going to keep getting lost if you wander off like that." She blew a strand of her hair out of her face and finally seemed to noticed Erica. "And who are you?" She asked, her tone demanding.

---

"Thanks for your help, doc,"

"Nurse." She corrected quickly. "For a doctor you'd need to go to the hospital."

---

The "mess hall" as Kansuke put it, or, as normal, chiller, individuals, called it the cafeteria was open. But it seemed that at the time there werean't many people there.

Long rows of metal tables with metal benches, lined with what looked like shag carpeting, stretched in several rows from the door to a rectangular area that resembled a large window on the other side.

Only several others were seated, making the large room seem even larger, as he made it towards the far end. A young adult stood on the other side.

He gave the boy a warm smile as he reached the counter. Beyond Kansuke could see a large variety of appliances and several robots that resembled small cranes with oven mitts moving around behind him. "Another new face, first year? I'm Jorge. What can I do you for? We got some fresh bread in if you're interested. Raisin bread, rye bread, banana bread, breaded bread, bread crumbs, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, tomato bread, apple bread..." He blushed. "Sorry I got a little carried away."

---

"I don't need to eavesdrop, you're right outside the door." Sid said with an annoyed click of his tongue. He was silent for a while, nodding his head along with the music, then sighed. He pulled the headphones out and Chase would be able to hear the loud music coming from them. "Everyone has a type. Tall, short, fat, skinny, lizard, whatever." He looked over and saw what Chase was doing and clicked his tongue again. "Oh so that's how it is. A hard working good boy." He gave a short laugh. "Great, lucky me." He muttered.

---

Noise ceased to exist where Xa'Tok was. All but a slight hum, reminiscent of a ship's idling engine.

His eyes were closed but he could see colors around him. Gold, pink, and blue. Swirling together but never touching. It felt peaceful, if occasionally hectic, as though the colors were coexisting and settling despite their frantic nature.

Then something changed. A flash of an image appeared in Xa'Tok's mind's eye.

The colors darkened, and scattered, and Xa'Tok felt a coldness and hunger like he's never felt before.

And then a hand was on his shoulder and everything came rushing back to the physical world.

He was laying on a couch. In a room that, looking at the wall, resembled a bird cage. With the spaces between the bars filled out in tinted glass.

Hovering over him was the bearded face of the principal. "You gave me quite the scare. I was just about to go for a jog when I saw you twitching in front of my doorstep.

As Xa'Tok became more aware of his surroundings he'd see that the principal was dressed in a bright pink jogging suit as well as his usual sunglasses.

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

"Yes, no...well. I just...got off on the wrong floor is all." Definitively the kind of girl she expected from her demeanor. "Oh, Blossom. My name...Blossom Artem."

"Glad to be acquainted with you, Blossom, I-" Just then, the door of the elevator opened and a girl was already waiting. She had vague memories of her... from the library of the Finback, maybe? Yeah, she seemed familiar... Bianca? Yeah, that clicks onto her.

"There you are. Didn't I tell you to follow me? You're going to keep getting lost if you wander off like that." She began to assume they were probably roommates or acquittances from before the academy. "And who are you?"

Erica noticed the conversation shifted back to her, albeit in a rude tone. She, however, was taught to have an albeit of modals. "My name is Erica Katorian Sapphire. If I recall correctly, you are Bianca. We met in the library of the Finback." Of course, given she was dressed in a very different way and even her hair looked different, it is likely she wouldn't recall her right away. "You... complained something about gangs, though I am certain there were none back then." And, of course, some figures of speech fly way past her radar.

[yui 573]

"Did one of you drop this?"

"Yes, I did. Would you mind disabling this minefield so I can come over there and get it?"

"Oh, but why? An inactive minefield is no fun for anyone."

"I would argue a trip to the nurse's office is even less fun." Sammi pointed at the boy who had done as she asked as she continued "I'm not sure what sort of force your mines have, but a biological organism wouldn't be able to handle something exploding right under their feet and just walk it off like you might." Come to think of it, how well could BOMB handle explosions?

"Are you sure? But I tested this field on the principal and he said it was great fun...." Bomb slumped a bit, seemingly disappointed.

Was BOMB a child? "I'll humor you on the way out," Sammi sighed. "I don't mind an explosion or two, but this boy has business with you too, and he looks a bit more frail than the principal did."

BOMB kicked at the ground a bit, then "Okay..." He said and moved off to the side where a large red switch was. He flipped the switch and all of the mines suddenly exploded at once.

Not the deactivation I was expecting. Sammi nudged the fleshbag boy with her foot, nodding down the hall to signify that it was time for them to meet up with BOMB more closely. The robot girl retrieved her arm from BOMB, and let him and this other boy talk over his business here while she worked on getting the arm re-attached. Once they had wrapped up, the boy told Sammi he'd be waiting outside, and took off. That just left the two robots.

"..." This was going to be awkward. "I have a question about Jax Benton's physical education class. He claimed we'll all get stronger or break trying. I was wondering how you - as a robot, which should mean your physical parameters don't improve - handled that."

"Oh, that? That was easy, I just did the best in my class so he had nothing to complain about!"

"Noted. And, while I'm at it... how much of that scan did you finish from yesterday?"

"What scan?"

"You said you were going to scan me... were you not able to start before I left?"

"Oh. I forgot....who are you again?"

Not everything could be perfect, Sammi supposed. "Sammi Knett. A-Anyway, that isn't the point. Basically, what's a robot doing walking around in broad daylight? Don't we have potential enslavement or disassembly to worry about?"

Question marks appeared in BOMB's visor. "Why ever would that happen?"

"...what?" Sammi was just as confused as BOMB now. "The... the war?"

"The last galactic war was with the people from the Helios Sytem...are you one of them?"

"N, No, this was a war that happened on Kavra and surrounding planets, about... three-hundred years ago. Mechanical versus organic life. I understand that part of the galaxy is pretty remote, but... that did happen."

"A devastating event for those in the area; it did not have a widespread effect...I do not understand where your concern comes from."

"Er... being built by Kavran technology myself, I thought... it might be problematic..." Even if the technology was pretty old. Pieces were starting to come together in Sammi's mind, bringing her to the one crucial question. "Okay, straight answer. Machines and fleshies, are they no longer at odds?"

BOMB's visor seemed to be full of squiggles. "I do not understand the question. I have never heard anything like it. Cannot properly answer."

"I'll take that as a no." This was a lot to take in all at once. It was only one piece of data, but the sheer significance it had was staggering to Sammi right now. This certainly gave her a lot to think about on her downtime. "I'll be going now. Thanks for your time. Feel free to reactivate the minefield."

---

"Now that's an idea! Whatcha think, we should go sneak back onto that field or something? How far you think these watch things reach?" Then, something happened. Kellz's arm was stuck. Was she okay? "We should, uh, get going then. Wherever we're gonna do this thing."

Should she call attention to it? One out of a person's two arms suddenly stopping sounded like a problem. But at the same time, from her limited interactions with Kellz, Vivian got the feeling that she wouldn't want someone to point it out. This was a difficult spot to think her way out of. It was probably best to leave it to Stella. She understood her friend better than Viv did. "I don't know how far these reach, but surely they can at least reach the field on campus. I bet we can also find a mech gym or something to spar in if we look around a bit."

 

[Skaia 578]

As was expected, Stella's idea of what to do next didn't really fit with either of the girls. Not that she was entirely upset that neither of them wanted to go get something to eat now, Stella herself wasn't particularly hungry either. However, she was glad to see that Vivian could come up with something that seemed fun for Kelsey - something probably obvious to Stella in retrospect. Though, as Kelsey had mentioned their wrist watches, Stella froze up for a bit as she thought about sparring in mechs with one another. This slight moment of anxiety was only made worse, however, as Kelsey's arm seemed to freeze up. 

Almost instinctively, Stella began to apologize but kept herself from doing so. Instead, she looked over to Kelsey with concern, but meekly said, "uh, yeah. The field sounds good. I'm sure the watches work that far...yeah," she agreed with Vivian. However, still bothered by Kelsey's arm's lock up, she added, "we can also uh, stop by a mechanics...area...workshop or something first..." Though she didn't have any tools on her, the girl was confident enough that if she had them she would be able to figure out what was wrong with and fix Kelsey's arm. It was, after all, the least she could do for the girl. 

[LordCowCow 839]

"My name is Erica Katorian Sapphire. If I recall correctly, you are Bianca. We met in the library of the Finback."

The girl seemed surprised by this. "I...yes, that's my name." She narrowed her eyes and looked the other girl up and down. Clearly not recognizing her.

"You... complained something about gangs, though I am certain there were none back then."

"I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about." Bianca said slowly and inched closer towards Blossom. She spoke in a whisper, but they were close enough Erica could still hear, "Blossom, I think she might be crazy. Just back away slowly."

"D-don't we have to get back on the elevator though."

Bianca froze for a moment. Then, standing straight and nodding to herself, went onto the elevator. She was silent for a moment before "What in the world are you wearing anyway?" She said.

Beside her Blossom moved behind the girl, watching nervously.

And still the continued down the Elevator of Vague Amount of Floors.

---

As Sammi left the bunker she saw the boy standing there, staring at the ground. When she passed by he spoke up "U-um, i-if. Could you maybe...wait? I just don't want to go to the security guard alone...butyoudonthavetoifyoudontwantto."

He then hurried into the bunker to go talk to BOMB.

Unfortunately for him, due to Sammi's words, BOMB had already reset the mines and she heard an explosion soon after. Followed by the boy's surprised shout, and BOMB's "See? Isn't it fun?"

---

"I don't know how far these reach, but surely they can at least reach the field on campus. I bet we can also find a mech gym or something to spar in if we look around a bit."

"we can also uh, stop by a mechanics...area...workshop or something first..."

"I don't need..." Kelsey started to say, her tone frustrated. But she couldn't seem to get her arm down more than a few inches. "Just...fine, just go on ahead without me. I'll meet you there."

She wandered off, checking her phone for somewhere she could get help, before finding a place called "Rusty Rick's R-Mechanics."

The inside of the place was cramped, with bits of technology hanging off the ceiling, piled up all over the floor, and mounted on the walls.

She couldn't see anyone, but she could hear someone in the back working on something. As she stepped closer they called out "Oi, don't get too close, I don't know if this thing is safe or not. If you need the workbench it's behind that pile of toasters. Just use whatcha need and pay me back after."

Spoiler

Note that I was vague on if the others followed Kelsey on purpose. Also, Yui, for Sammi she doesn't have to wait for the kid if she doesn't want to. Just make sure to give Sammi a goal at least.

 

[ChampionZero 62]

Kansuke raised an eyebrow at the small legion of baking robots, unable to keep himself from staring for a few long seconds before shaking himself free of the flood of thoughts about dextrin and toast and starch crystallization-- 

Wow, these implants were doing something absolutely RIDICULOUS to his brain. Hopefully that would wear off before he had to get into an actual tactical situation...

Kansuke forced himself to focus. "I... just came to get some lunch, I..." He paused for a moment, looking at the young man across the counter. "Wait, does this place only make bread? Or are you just... inordinately passionate about it?"

Edited November 20, 2019 by ChampionZero

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

"I...yes, that's my name." Erica looked at Bianca stammer and then look up and down on her. Erica was pretty sure they met before. After all, she wasn't that bed about remembering faces. She then recounted what she remembered of the situation back in the ship.

"I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about."

Erica blinked before eavesdropping the whispering. She gave a slight glare at them, not really liking the implication. "<Crazy? What is this girl talking about? I am just recalling the last time we met. That was really uncalled for.>" Also, why was she acting like if they haven't met before? As the girls came into the elevator, Erica was just looking them fidget and-

"What in the world are you wearing anyway?"

Erica looked at herself... and then she realized what happened. She sighed and simply revealed her goggles, placing them over her forehead to make her at least look closer to her regular outfit. "I am one of the girls you said was in a gang back in the library. I recall your name as you said it before leaving the place. It was during the flight through the asteroid rain, before the attack of the pirates." She can recall that part at least. "I am sorry if you couldn't recognize me in my Asarian outfit. It is what I wear when I am not training or battling on my mech." She was still glaring at Bianca as she said so. "Also, it is rude to whisper such things about people without confirmation of truth."

[Skaia 578]

Despite Kelsey telling her to go otherwise, Stella didn't entirely feel comfortable leaving her friend alone. Both because she didn't even want to partake in sparring, mecha or otherwise, and that she was worried about Kelsey's arm. Feeling it her responsibility to help Kelsey out as well, the girl simply stammered out, "w-wait up Kellz."  Making her way over to her friend, she looked to Vivian and shrugged, not really sure what to tell the other girl to do. All the same, Stella followed Kelsey to the mechanic shop. 

Looking around the shop, Stella felt an immediate urge to go organize everything around, seeing how much of a mess everything was. Not daring to look in the back as well, Stella kept to herself before walking over to the mentioned pile of toasters. Cautiously moving them aside, and finding a workbench, Stella looked to see that there was indeed some tools lying around that she could probably use to help fix Kelsey's arm. Grabbing a few she looked nervously to her friend and said, "well, um, I haven't really done this much before - other than for, well - " the girl gestured to her leg. "But I've read about it, so I think I can - uh, yeah...so uh." The girl shifted about uncomfortably, looking towards Kelsey's arm. 

 

[LordCowCow 839]

"Wait, does this place only make bread? Or are you just... inordinately passionate about it?"

A light blush appeared on Jorge's face, matching his hair, and he shook his head. "N-no, sorry, we have more than bread. I just...well, I'm pretty confident in my baking, is all." He hesitated. "I shouldn't try and push that on you though. Dad always sai-." He stopped talking suddenly and when he continued he acted like he hasn't said anything at all. "So, what d'ya want? You speak it I make it...oh, that didn't rhyme like I thought it would. But you get the picture, right?"

As they talked it seemed a few more students, mostly first years, came in. Kansuke noticed a couple of the females glancing over at him and then whispering among themselves, looking annoyed.

---

"I am one of the girls you said was in a gang back in the library. I recall your name as you said it before leaving the place. It was during the flight through the asteroid rain, before the attack of the pirates."

Bianca seemed even more confused than before. "Right, gang, on the ship, gotcha." She turned away from Erica and towards Blossom. The other girl nodded a bit and Bianca moved to stand next to her.

"I am sorry if you couldn't recognize me in my Asarian outfit. It is what I wear when I am not training or battling on my mech. Also, it is rude to whisper such things about people without confirmation of truth."

"Well, that was....very interesting." Bianca said, speaking slowly and smiling more than normal. "I'll keep that in mind then. After we get off the elevator. At the next stop. Which...isn't where you're going, right?"

As the elevator made its way down it suddenly seemed to stop. And, like before, the lights started to flicker. "What's that?" Blossom said, looking about in a panic.

"Probably just someone forgot some maintenance or something. I'm sure it'll be back running soon." Bianca seemed rather annoyed by this.

Erica meanwhile would hear noises right behind her and near her ear. It sounded like whispers but she couldn't make out what was being said.

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

Erica was sure that Bianca was not getting anything of what she said. She sighed heavily. "You complained about a boy wearing a mask, I replied to your concern and you then mentioned I was in a gang and-" Suddenly the elevator began to flicker and do its thing. She pulled out her fan and unfolded it, out of instinct. She then heard a whisper behind her but didn't turn. She had the same bad feeling as she had before Blossom came in. She looked at the elevator lights flicker again and she was ready. "Do not move, Blossom and Bianca, this elevator had already did something like this before and it was not really pleasant." She pulled another fan this time. Both were brass and brown leather with designs that looked somewhat like dolphins. "And I can now be certain I was not alone before Blossom arrived." She focused on her surroundings through her hearing. She was not willing to be taken by surprise by whatever was gonna strike on them.

Edited November 27, 2019 by ZetaRESP
No guns.

[ChampionZero 62]

ÏThe latter, then. That was valid-- after all, some people's passions were in more peaceful areas. Kansuke wanted to be a soldier-- this guy wanted to be a baker. He was at the Academy because he wanted to protect that freedom.

"A sandwich, then? The long kind, with meat and cheese and leafy vegetables-- we call it a railway where I'm from, but I don't really know the terms here."

He glanced behind him out of habit and saw the gathering peers staring at him and whispering-- literally talking behind his back.

That touched a nerve immediately.

Turning on one heel, Kansuke gave the ones who were less subtle the kind of stern, expectant look his father used to give him for mumbling.

"If you got somethin' to say about me, say it to my face." He bared his teeth in a feral smile. "'Less o' course, you're scared o' me."

[Asriel Dreemurr 38]

For a moment, one beautiful moment, the young Shaman was at peace. He had felt this sensation before, and knew that he was entering the spirit world. The vibrant colors, though distinct from those of the void, he took as a sign that the spirits were welcoming him to speak to them. His heart raced, and he listened closely to try and catch even a fragment of a name with which to address one of them. He thought he heard something, and opened his mouth to speak.

And then it all went dark. A spirit, or a Demon, showed itself to him however briefly and already he felt that he was losing himself. He felt a sudden chill washing over him, and it seemed even his heart was going still. A thousand thoughts of ships, floating dead in the interstellar void, overcame his consciousness. He briefly feared that he, too, would become as cold and empty as those blasted hulks long since abandoned by all save the dead. But the fear soon vanished, and he was overwhelmed by a gnawing hunger. So intense that it felt like his body was eating itself, and he became desperate. He tried to lash out to grab something, anything to eat but he failed. He couldn't grab anything, and the desperation turned to anger. He would hunt, he would fight, he would kill, he would eat! Everything! Not even the stars would be spared!

Then as suddenly as the vision had overcome him, he was back in the physical world. The Principal's hand on his shoulder while he was laid out on a couch. The sensation of cold left him, and as he felt the more normal warmth washing over him he began to sweat. It almost felt too hot.

"You gave me quite the scare. I was just about to go for a jog when I saw you twitching in front of my doorstep." That brought Xa'tok's wandering attention back to the principal, and he looked over the large man for a moment or two. Pink had been one of the colors in the spirit world...was this man a spirit?

"I-" he paused, overcome by a coughing fit as he tried to speak. His throat was remarkably dry and hoarse, as it always was when he returned from such a journey. "I am sorry. I was trying to commune with the spirits of this place."

[yui 573]

After Sammi had emerged from the bunker, the boy she'd arrived with asked if she didn't mind waiting. She had no obligation to stay, of course. But she also didn't have anything that really needed doing, aside from a lot of thinking about her exchange with BOMB. And she could do that anywhere. So waiting for him to come back was fine by her. As she sat down to ponder everything though, Sammi heard an explosion from inside the bunker. Right. The mines.

"See? Isn't it fun?"

...well, Sammi had to admit. It did put a smile on her face.

---

Talk about an awkward situation. Kellz was going to find a mechanic shop to fix whatever was wrong with her arm, and while she'd said not to go with her, Stella tagged along anyway. And that left Vivian in a spot where she'd end up in one of two awkward situations. Either she went too and it be awkward because she followed along despite being told not to and not really having any experience as a mechanic, or she went ahead to the field herself and it would be awkward there because she'd just be sitting around waiting for the other two to show up.

So Vivian picked the one she figured would be less awkward. Tagging along with the girls, but not following them into the shop. That was close enough to what Kellz had asked for, right? And it gave Vivian some time to check out the nearby area, too! And take pictures. And so, fishing out her trusty camera, Vivian took note of where Rusty Rick's R-Mechanics was and checked out the other shops nearby. Perhaps she would find something interesting!

[LordCowCow 839]

"Do not move, Blossom and Bianca, this elevator had already did something like this before and it was not really pleasant."

"Oh my god." Bianca said, looking at Blossom in concern. "You really are crazy. What are you going to do with...those things." She gestured at the fans.

Blossom shrunk back. "Please don't fight." She muttered.

It was then that the elevator started moving again. And once it hit the next floor it opened up. Bianca grabbed Blossom's hand and pulled her off into the floor. "Let's get out of here." She said, shooting Erica a glare.

Erica heard behind her a noise. Sounding like a chuckle. And felt a hand brush the back of her neck. Though were she to look she would find no one there.

---

"If you got somethin' to say about me, say it to my face. 'Less o' course, you're scared o' me."

The gaggle of girls let out gasps and crowded together. Looking rather fearful at the young man. This attracted the attention of some of the others in the area and they began to mutter among themselves about "What an ass, threatening those girls like that."

"Sheesh, who let someone like that in here."

"Maybe someone should get the principal?"

The door opened and several people walked in. A quartet of men surrounding a tall, muscular, female with some rather feline traits.

"Oi! What's all this then?" She said, gesturing around. "Some first year kittens eh?" She strolled across the floor like she owned the place and, when she got up to Kansuke, she gestured for him to step aside. "Grab your grub and move along little man, I'm hungry."

---

"I am sorry. I was trying to commune with the spirits of this place."

Xa'tok could see the principal's eyebrows raise from behind his sunglasses. A few moments later he nodded slowly. "I see, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. I knew this might happen when I accepted your entrance. You'd be Xa'tok then?"

He raised a hand before the young man could respond. He reached back and, a sensor beeping, a stool came up out of the ground and the man grabbed it. He placed it in front of himself and sat down. Leaning forward he continued to talk. "I'm not sure how much you know about this place. But there is supposedly a spirit of sorts in the center of the planet. It had been there since...before I came here, at least, but not much is known about its origin. Any attempts to contact always ends with the initiator sick in bed for weeks without even so much as catching a glimpse of them. I'd ask you avoid a similar fate. I can't let a student come to harm after all!"

The man stroked his beard. "Is there something you needed from them? If there's something you require I'm sure I can help. After all I want to make sure all students of all kinds are happy here."

---

Kelsey wasn't entirely happy about the other two coming along with her. She felt stupid, and helpless, as they made their way to their destination. Her arm hurt and was awkwardly sticking out, drawing a couple glances on the way, and by the time they got there she felt like a complete freak.

She was relieved to find that only Stella was going in with her. When the girl mentioned helping her out with it she hesitated. Kelsey glanced around, making sure no one was around, then smiled at Stella. "Sure, suppose I can let you tinker around. You're the only one I'd let touch me, after all."

---

Outside, Vivian would find many shops around. Too many for any sane person to expect to list all at once. And even some that perhaps one wouldn't think about existing until that very moment!

As she looked around she would notice people smiling at her, and a few shaking their heads in amusement, at her curiosity and camera.

The one who seemed most amused was a bird. A bird with a fork-like beak. Though amusement didn't fit right. More like curiosity. Or was it hunger?

Either way Vivian would feel she knew the bird. Not personally. But like a friend of a friend. Or less a friend but more an acquaintance that she didn't realize how close she was too.

---

Eventually the boy came out of the bunker. His clothes and face covered in soot and a bit of a dazed look on his face.

He coughed and a bit of smoke came out of his mouth. Then he looked over at Sammi. "Um...hi. I, well, he told me where to find the security guard." He blushed, though it was barely visible through the soot. "It's actually, uh, just outside the campus when coming in...C-can you come with, maybe?"

The security station was a perfectly square building. It was grey, steel, and imposing. With spikes sticking along the roof and a large parabolic antennae sticking off the top. Rotating slowly and beeping.

At the front and back was a narrow, wide, window. As they approached, the boy holding back, they heard something coming from inside.

Looking into the window they would see a uniformed girl standing in the middle of a room filled with monitors and screens and various dials.

She was bouncing a ball with her head, and knees, back and forth when they looked. When she saw the pair she seemed distracted and the ball smacked her in the face before bouncing off and hitting various things in the room.

Sirens started going off and the girl scrambled to shut them off.

Once done she sighed and opened up a panel at the side of the window and stepped outside. "Well helllooooo there, I'm Lois, suppose I'm the guard here or something. What's up?"

The boy hesitated then muttered something. The girl tilted her head. "Come again?"

"Um. My friend. No. Uh. A guy. A student. Classmate. You took something. Um. A bottle? I. Bring it back...um, sorry."

Lois turned to Sammi. "Translation?"

---

Spoiler

Don't forget to ask if you want any specifics. And yes, I don't have anything in mind right this moment for Vivian, but I'll figure something out.

 

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

"Oh my god. You really are crazy. What are you going to do with...those things." Erica stopped at the simple mention of her being crazy and looked at Bianca. She was not really happy with what wqas being said about her. At all.

"Please don't fight." When Blossom spoke, however, Erica looked at her and simply lowered her fans. As soon as the elevator stopped and Bianca ran away with Blossom on tow, she replied at her with a glare of her own.

"<I am totally gonna blast her apart in a mech battle as soon as we get the chance.>" Erica kept her thoughts to herself when she felt the hand coming at her. She didn't turn back, however, as she was still very angry. "<But first, I am gonna get this specter in check. I will either talk with Xa'Tok or with whoever does the maintenance of this place.>" And with that in mind she left the elevator. She had no clear where to go right now, but she really wanted to clear her mind... however, she realized she was in the wrong floor and there was no other way down. She was not gonna get out through the elevator, however, because she didn't trust it. Begrudgingly, she went in and pressed the button to go down.

Edited December 3, 2019 by ZetaRESP
Continuity error