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Post by Penny Royals on Feb 19, 2013 16:35:33 GMT -8
Once Brian had taken off, Ryan let go of Lyra, taking off after him- mostly at seeing how fast he was going. The journey seemed like it may not taking terrible long, after all- and they could possibly even be back before sundown.
He arrived, panting slightly, around the middle of the conversation. He was quiet, listening and glancing back to see if anybody else had followed, and then looked back up to the giant robot towering above them. He found his cheek start to itch as the robot told them not to pick at the scabs.
"Why exactly did we need this?" Ryan asked after a moment, gently rubbing his cheek. "And... and... uhm... do you have a name?" He felt silly asking, but he figured it was something worth saying- especially after the argument for most of the day.
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Post by JW% on Feb 20, 2013 1:36:46 GMT -8
The round brass robot (who stood only about as tall as the children, not exactly giant... this is your Alpha, not your Zords if you want to think Power Rangers) turned to look at Ryan, and it's optical relays cycled. Well, one of them did, the one that was damaged seemed to try and get stuck halfway before giving up.
"Apologies. I was sent to care for your pods and assist your recovery. It probably seems rather harsh sending recently recovering individuals into such a landscape, even though your bodies need the mineral content and solar radiation to rebuild themselves. As the great and powerful is not able to oversee your outside exercises, I am here to reassure you and answer any further questions you may have. I was also tasked with bringing you further supplies."
"Or are you asking why exactly did you need the process at all?" The robot tilted it's spherical head. "As such aggressive restructuring of your body seems excessive for a mere inoculation, doesn't it?"
"Uh, yeah." Brian said. "I think I kinda hate having this kind of strength in my fingers. Though it was cool running like that. Aside from my feet hurting like I'm walking on sharp sunbaked blacktop." Actually, they'd just sort of gone numb with a dull aching sensation at this point.
"The body conversions are, in addition to an inoculation against the plague, added adaptations that should help you survive, including a subdermal sheath with chromoelectric field. While you would have experienced the pain of the radiation therapy from the inoculations anyway, it was deemed necessary to include upgrades such as your strength, stamina, and durability. In addition to heightened senses and nervous system uplink ability. All of which should be useful for your job of protecting humanity."
"Subdermal? Chromoelectric?" Brian repeated, confused as anyone else at the technobabble. "Basically you're saying the stuff would have screwed us over anyway, so Oz decided to put in little bonuses?"
"Yes, I believe that's accurate for our purposes." The brass man nodded. "Unfortunately the previous group was rather upset, as over half of them did not survive the inoculation process. They were all notably older than you seem, I believe hormonal issues could be to blame. They utilized their additional augmentations in... violent and aggressive ways, refusing to continue to help. They are the reason I am in my present state of disrepair." He gestured to his broken arm and dented body. "As for a name, do you want my serial production number, or my chassie model type to refer to me as?"
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lovely corte
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Lindsey Looseflaps
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Post by lovely corte on Feb 20, 2013 3:03:00 GMT -8
Benjamin had finished the grave, and rather quickly at that given the sheer amount of pain and agony that came from the endeavor. He had to finish this, some underlying psychotic tick forcing him to push through.
The grave wasn't rather deep. If anything, he dug it purposefully above ground, so that he could come back to it. Maybe Oz had some sort of degree of intelligence on the girl, her name, where she came from.
She was put peacefully in place, and dug in, the pink lid placed over her before he sat down, drank and ate. They still weren't back by the time he was gone. That gave him time to think, which when he went over the events in his head, only seemed to grate on him.
Was he too little of an asshole? Or too much? He spooked Lyra, just a little bit with there fighting and that touched him in a bit. Then again, she seemed to sob about everything.
He mentally scolded himself for mentally scolding her. Maybe they could read minds, but he thought that far fetched. Lyra would of raised the issue if she could.
Minutes passed by, before he kicked up dirt painfully and huffed over to Brian. The man was right, and wrong. They weren't a unit, but they were stuck in this. And if the man wanted to go around calling himself White, than who was he to judge?
He stood up, pressing down on his feet and walked down the jagged rocks, away from the grave. He picked up his box along the way, and kept walking. He sieved through his box, and took a sip of water before he went walking.
He went over the words in his head, and before he knew it, he knocked into Lyra. He stuttered a bit, and looked at the girl, gently laying a hand on her shoulder.
"S-Sorry," he recoiled his hand once he realized the action might hurt more than it would make up for his painful transgression. "W-... What's going on with those..."
"Is that... a robot?" Ben asked, looking at Lyra. "And what are those two doing with it?"
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Post by Penny Royals on Feb 20, 2013 9:36:13 GMT -8
"Between layers or just underneath of the skin," Ryan spouted off to Brian's questions almost automatically, "and chromoelectric... chromo usually means color like chrome, and since I DOUBT he combined electricity with chromium... maybe chromoelectric means the electromagnetic radiation given off by certain colors?"
He looked up to the robot then, nodding to himself.
"Well, what does Oz call you?"
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Feb 20, 2013 9:53:44 GMT -8
" I think they're talking to it," Lyra said, "And...is it talking back?"
She ran over and joined Brian and Ryan to investigate, " what's going on?" she asked
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Post by Penny Royals on Feb 20, 2013 10:01:20 GMT -8
"Exposition," Ryan said with a shrug. "We're kinda-sorta almost maybe indestructible now."
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lovely corte
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Lindsey Looseflaps
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Post by lovely corte on Feb 20, 2013 13:49:07 GMT -8
Benjamin was a little shocked at the idea of a robot, just walking around and coming up to them like this. But, honestly, could it of been out of place?
The Brass Man was a little less scary than the whole operation they went through, and his dented plating gave him an almost polite, wounded appeal. Benjamin actually kind of felt safe in his presence, even if he was made out of metal as much as they were made out of scabs.
He walked over to the group, taking quite some time compared to running, but he honestly didn't feel like putting that much pressure on his feet.
Waddling over, he looked at Brian, rather awkwardly, and then back to the Brass Man. He could apologize after they had all been introduced to the robot.
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Post by Alastor on Feb 20, 2013 18:44:40 GMT -8
Austin stood in awe, in confusion, of the mechanical man made of nothing but brass. What was this? A morbid storybook for children? That would explain quite a bit of his life, and quite likely the others as well, really...
Ah, but that's idealistic thinking. Something this world seemed to punish, considering everything. After all, they were dumped in the salt desert with no skin- you can't call a world where this can happen an idealistic one. At best, your life's a dark comedy.
He followed Benjamin during this, planning to make a proper introduction to the group when this was all sorted out.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Feb 20, 2013 18:51:36 GMT -8
"Um...hello" Lyra said to the robot, "So are you one of Oz's...friends? Did he say when we can come back inside?"
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Post by Alastor on Feb 20, 2013 19:11:26 GMT -8
"And," The green one added after the group's youngest ended, in as polite of a tone as his sore sounding voice could muster. Oh how he wished he had grabbed one of those water bottles before joining the rest of the team. "What're supposed to do for warmth and shelter during the night?"
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Feb 20, 2013 19:16:39 GMT -8
"We can sleep in our pods, put the lids back on." Benjamin said to the green-clad boy next to him, offering his box out to the man. He scratched his side. "Past that, It'll be a long night."
Benjamin was happy that the knowledge his military father had passed onto him, even if he was a cunt. He had taught his son how to survive out in the wilderness, live off the land and fend for himself. It was a fun lesson with his father.
Until his father left him there on purpose to see if he could survive long enough to get back. He did. He didn't even apologize.
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Post by JW% on Feb 20, 2013 19:58:01 GMT -8
The brass mustache of the mechanical man quirked up in what could have been seen as a smile as Ryan attempted to figure out the terms. "Beneath the skin, in the lipid tissue predominately. It is a natural storage area for the body, so it is being used to store the liquid state of your body sheath. Chromoelectric and chromomagnetic actually refer to the quantum color charge states of the particles."
"Though I fear you are hardly indestructible. Your skin, once it recovers, is still quite permeable. You will need to summon your body stocking, and even then you will be limited by what power your body can supply to the field holding such clothing on before your attire ablates away. You may find yourself bullet proof, but the impact of the bullet will still knock you backwards as well as reducing your bioelectrical batteries." The robot seemed to be taking a great pleasure in this, speaking and gesturing somewhat like a professor.
"Wait..." Brian said. "I got bodystocking and clothing out of that... you mean we have a suit of cloths... underneath our skin?"
"Indeed. You need only to summon it forward with suitable a concentration. Verbal and somatic expressions often can be used as a mantra for concentration. Though I would suggest you restrain yourself from making any attempt at least until tomorrow."
Brian looked like he wanted to ask more, but was returning the gaze of Ben at the moment. So the brass robot returned to addressing Ryan and then Lyra.
"As for what I am called, it is usually my chassie model, though if there are multiples of that chassie model available, then my specific serial number is used. As for being allowed back in side, it wouldn't hurt. There are bunks available, so long as you can restrain yourself from causing damage to the interior."
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lovely corte
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Lindsey Looseflaps
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Post by lovely corte on Feb 20, 2013 20:35:07 GMT -8
Benjamin looked upon the robot and sighed, scratching at his forehead and smiling at the robot as he spoke. He seemed to calming, so intelligent. He was very relaxing to be around.
He looked up at the Brass Figure, whom in his fatherly position, looked rather appealing.
"Would you prefer a name?" Benjamin asked. "It'd be more personable."
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Post by Penny Royals on Feb 20, 2013 22:28:18 GMT -8
"I don't think we'll cause any damage," Ryan said, nodding. He fell into silence and simply gained a big, goofy smile as Ben spoke. "Maybe we could call you the Tin Man, if you were made of tin."
It was so, so, so hard not to laugh as he spoke... so he did. It was a good-natured laugh, and the first time he had laughed in a while, he realized. He stopped suddenly.
"That was... bad, wasn't it? Sorry."
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Feb 21, 2013 0:19:24 GMT -8
"Like the Tin Woodsman from the Oz books?" Lyra asked. Lyra had read the majority of L. Frank Baum's books, though she had never seen the famous movie in question. She never took much interest in television, much preferring books. The Oz books were a personal favorite of hers, mostly because of wish fulfillment of wanting to go to a wonderful world, hell any world but this one.
Lyra stopped thinking about this and took the robot's words into account, "So uh... we have clothes under our skin? Thats... really gross. Will they be covered in blood when they appear? Cause there's a lot of blood under the skin and... I don't like blood" She could barely tolerate the scabs on herself, if she had actually eaten anything recently all the blood she'd witnessed today would of probably made her throw up.
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Post by JW% on Feb 21, 2013 16:08:16 GMT -8
The mechanical man seemed rather confused at these questions as to a name. "I do not believe I fit as either the Tin Woodman, nor the Tin Soldier of the Oz Books. However, at least one of the contractors who helped construct the command center and various other parts of technology, myself included, was apparently a fan of the series, giving the great and powerful his nick name. As such my chassie model, 'Tik-Tok', would be the most suitable form of address."
"We were just wondering." Brian said. "Do you know any of our names?"
"I apologize again." Your robot buddy said, looking down at the ground. "I was not informed of any of your names or titles before being sent out to assist. Introductions may be in order, if you believe it necessary to be personable."
"Oh... no." Brian looked a bit downcast himself, glancing over to the burial plot Ben had made. "Just wondering."
"Then moving on." The brass automaton focused it's one good eye on Lyra once more. "I do not believe I am programmed to judge 'gross'. The body stocking is maintained beneath the skin in liquid form and on suitable nervous impulses it is released through specialized pores. There will be no blood involved. The opening of these pores and the connection to your bodies bioelectrical systems however requires momentary neuropathy to avoid the pain triggers. Until your nervous system has stablized attempting to summon your undersheath would be physically undamaging, but excruciating."
"Verbal and somatic..." Brian repeated. "So, like we strike a pose and shout a battle cry?"
"That is one option, as the mantra is primarily to focus your mind on triggering the..."
Brian did a few quick flexes like warmups for aerobics and then threw his hand into the air, legs spread and shouted out "Guardians of the Brink: Shining White Light!"
What happened next was a little too quick to follow. What looked like white starburst sparkles(would match your characters element: IE flames for Red, etc) covered and hid his body, causing his bandages and scabs to evaporate. To him it felt like he had been immersed in acid, which had then suddenly been electrified. A material like white paint seemed to cover his body, moving to stick to itself. In less than a moment he was coated from head to toe in a body stocking that looked to be made of white material, somewhere between spandex and latex. It was skin tight in most places, and shiny, though it covered his feet like socks hiding his toes, and other locations as well covering his modesty so was not completely skin tight. The material also had a bit of a reflective quality to it, showing it to be not completely cloth like despite it's flexing. His face and head was still exposed, his expression locked in a rictus of absolute torment, with the suit ending at a turtleneck that reached his jawline.
The outfit was also not entirely white, as there were highlights in an odd gunmetal with gold circuit print design along the sides of his chest, matching his ribcage, a V shape on his chest matching his breast and collar bones, down his back matching his spine, and rings on the back of his hand and upper arm and thighs, resembling plugs for life support or further additions to the suit. Of course, making out these details as Brian collapsed in spasms, his lungs letting out an inhuman whine that was all his vocal chords could produce. The pain had swept over him so swiftly that he hadn't time to scream, and now he couldn't feel anything but sharp bladed cold. Every sensation was lost and he simply curled up int the fetal position on the ground and sobbed.
"Please, none of the rest of you attempt it until your body has fully recovered." Tiktok said with his uncaring robotic monotone.
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Post by Penny Royals on Feb 21, 2013 16:30:37 GMT -8
"What the hell?!"
Ryan dropped down next to Brian, half afraid to touch him. He found his heart racing and his breathing heavy- he'd never seen someone else in pain before... at least not like this. He'd seen kids with scraped knees, servants who had dislocated an arm, what have you- but this was very different from that. This was a pain where the only thing the victim could do was cry... and that he, a budding doctor, was powerless to fix.
"What happened to him?! What did that do?!"
He wanted to attempt to comfort the older boy, but he wasn't sure if he should touch him- after all, that could cause much MORE pain...
He wasn't used to this. He wasn't used to feeling so... vulnerable. He wasn't used to seeing someone else in severe pain. And he certainly wasn't used to the fact that despite himself, he found his eyes beginning to well up with tears himself.
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Post by JW% on Feb 21, 2013 16:43:08 GMT -8
"Even your augmented nervous system and physiology has it's limits." Tiktok said in the same sympathetic monotone. "His body was not yet ready to handle this further push. I am surprised that he did not pass out from the pain or suffer a heart attack. Perhaps younger bodies are more resilient to the process." His one working robotic eye studied the group in their pitiful state. "At the moment he is likely numb to all sensation. Recover time estimated at three minutes, though given his displayed resiliency the estimation is likely erring on the side of caution for his wellbeing."
Brian didn't really hear any of that, as all he could feel was the sharp cold numb sensation you have after searing your body and killing all the nerve endings. A faint pricking sensation was starting to push it's way past that, like needles being driven into his body. He simply clenched his eyes tightly closed and huddled on the ground. So much for his assumption that he'd already experienced excruciating pain with the salt and sunburn combination. It seemed there was always a deeper well to draw from.
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mekasoundwave
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Post by mekasoundwave on Feb 21, 2013 20:15:36 GMT -8
As the group shifted towards the brass machine man, Zephyrine followed after it was apparent that everyone was going there...rather quickly it seemed. To her surprise, she was able to make it there just as fast...if she was a bit sore by the time she got there. She would've asked a question about why she was able to go that fast, but by the time she got there, they were already discussing something about body modification. So she was able to fill in the blanks there.
Before she could really process what was going on, "White" was suddenly clothed...and on the ground, seizing in pain. That almost made Zeph jump out of her (currently nonexistent) skin.
"H-holy Shit," she half exclaimed, half whispered. She'd seen people in pain before, but usually there was some visible reason for it. Ben, on the other hand, had just flashed and suddenly collapsed in a heap. It was a little off putting.
Z's eyes shifted from the pained, but clothed Brian to the nearly crying Ryan next to him. Leaning down and putting a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down.
"Don't cry," she said. "The metal man said he'll be okay. You just need to let him get better by himself. That's the best thing you can do. Now, come on, get up."
It may have seemed cold, but her words were ones of reassurance.They may have been simple and short...but it was still the most she'd said to anyone in a while.
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lovely corte
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Lindsey Looseflaps
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Post by lovely corte on Feb 21, 2013 21:08:23 GMT -8
"I think we're going to be seeing a lot of blood in our future." Benjamin mused, hanging his head. He scratched at his head, feeling the fuzz that was once his dark hair. He sighed. "A lot more pain, too."
Benjamin stepped back a bit as Brian stretched out, smiling as the man made theatrics of the whole event, before he focused and finally completed the transformation that they had been told about.
It was when Brian resumed, dressed in his new form and collapsed, that Ben dropped his box and got down to Brian's level.
"W-White!?" Benjamin called out, pressing his hands onto the boy. He felt a bit silly calling him that, and felt the whole uniform was silly, but it was all he knew about the boy that his name was 'White'. "W-... What's wrong with him?"
He listened as the man explained it, and as Z spoke the very hard truth, he backed up, but didn't stray from the boy.
He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, looking at him on the ground.
"It's gonna' be okay, man." Benjamin cooed, "It's gonna' be okay."
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Feb 21, 2013 22:14:02 GMT -8
"Oh Tik-Tok! Sorry I should of thought of that"
Lyra shrieked as Brian transformed But she had many questions, "How?.... so all of us can do that? Is it by our colors? So am I yellow like my bandages were? What happened to his bandages anyway?" The questions were asked with half a tone of curiousity and half a frightened tone.
While she felt bad for Brian, part of her thought in the back of her head that he deserved it, as Tik Tok had just said it would cause him pain, and he struck a pose and said a phrase anyway.
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Post by Penny Royals on Feb 21, 2013 22:17:52 GMT -8
Ryan looked up to the girl clad in black, and felt his cheeks flare up in embarrassment. He nodded at her words, and slowly stood up, rubbing his eyes and going to stand by Lyra.
"I... Tik Tok?" He asked, after a few seconds. "...We... we lost someone. What... who... should we..." He gave an exasperated sigh, and bit his fist while he worked to gain more confidence before continuing. "...Is there anything we can do?..."
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lovely corte
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Post by lovely corte on Feb 21, 2013 22:24:39 GMT -8
Ben looked over White, his face in a grimace as he eyed the boy in pain as he lay on the ground in the dirt. He felt so bad for the boy, even if the two had argued quite frequently.
"D-Does Oz..." Benjamin started, looking up at the intelligent Tik-Tok, "Does he know her name?"
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Post by JW% on Feb 21, 2013 22:53:57 GMT -8
Tiktok started with Lyra's questions as everyone else paid attention to Brian. "Yes, though I ask you again not to attempt it until your bodies heal and are more stable. The material and the process by which your body generates it, was keyed to the color of the chamber you stepped into, I believe you were asked to pick your favorite, and you will likely be difficult to tell apart once the helmets and other sections are added. The bandages are biodegradable, and any material in extremely close proximity to your body when the transformation is triggered will likely be damaged as the body sheath grows out of your skin." By the time he'd finished answering Lyra, other questions had been thrown his way.
"Lost?" Tiktok asked Ryan, and looked around in what could have been a worried manner. "Then we should probably find them. It was my duty to gather you all and oversee your recovery. I have eight Em Are Ees to distribute, one for each of you."
Finally Tiktok focused on Ben's question. "Know who's name? I'm reasonably certain that the great and powerful knows the names, families, and residency of all of you, if you are referring to one of your group. Have they not introduced themselves? I apologize but was not briefed on such matters. I believe that I should have asked you for your introductions sooner."
Brian, still clad in his white suit, started to crawl across the desert floor. "Then..." he gasped, "Let's go see Mister Z... It's not so bad... I'm... kinda numb by now..."
In the far distance however, another figure was approaching their group...
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Post by Penny Royals on Feb 21, 2013 23:08:37 GMT -8
"She..." Ryan found it hard to say this as well. "...She... didn't make the transformation... we found her and... she was dead..."
He looked down to Brian, and then got down beside him, offering an arm.
"Here, I'll help you..."
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Feb 21, 2013 23:08:46 GMT -8
"Well I like yellow, so I'm okay with that," Lyra said, "Aren't most clothes bio-degradable... so does that mean everytime we transform we'll be...naked?"
"Tik Tok she's... she's not lost per say. She's dead. The thing killed her..." Lyra said. She realized something, "8? There's only 7 pods, and 6 survivors"
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Post by JW% on Feb 21, 2013 23:23:34 GMT -8
"Yes, and your body sheath is not only biodegradable but also intended to ablate as a level of protection. As for the issue of nudity, any loose clothing you wear over your body stocking will be maintained... though there is a question of the armor process shredding it as well. It would depend on the situation you are summoning your uniform under."
Brian was still a little too numb to actually get on his feet, but managed to grunt in appreciation of Ryans efforts to get him upright again.
"Dead?" Tiktok asked, his mustache drooping at the words. "The child is... dead? Dead?" There was an audible click from within him and the sound of grinding gears. "No. No. No. Error. Duty to protect. Dead. Failure. Please do not further damage this body." The brass figure stepped back and then sank down to sit on the ground, head slumping forward. Loud internal clicking sounds could be heard as it seemed something was trying to process but the damage and dents were making it unable to draw the next set of instructions.
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Post by Alastor on Feb 21, 2013 23:49:55 GMT -8
Austin, really, shared the majority of the reactions of the rest of the group- shock and awe at Brian's morph and the resulting sobbing wreck (which he would go over to help with, but saw it was taken care of)! Hope and excitement at the mention of food!
...The bitter feeling of all his hopes and dreams shattered as the others broke Tik Tok within ten minutes. He sighed again, looking towards the horizon. Couldn't let this get him down, he couldn't let this get him down... Gotta be brave, kid, gotta be brave...
"...Hey." He said to the group, a cautious tone in his voice, seeing a figure in the distance. He pointed to it when, and if, he got the group's attention. "...You think Oz sent something else to help us out? Somethin's coming our way"
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Feb 21, 2013 23:54:45 GMT -8
"No!" Lyra knelt down by the robot, "Please wake up Tik Tok... oh God I shouldn't have said anything. I didn't think Rose dying would kill him... oh God. I'm..." her stomach decided at that moment to growl loudly. She would do anything for the hot meal she'd almost been given.
Lyra looked up at Austin's statement and saw the figure for herself, "Is he hurt? He kind of looks like he's... staggering."
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Post by JW% on Feb 21, 2013 23:58:34 GMT -8
This second figure in the distance seemed to be moving faster than Tiktok had. It also seemed to be more conventionally human shaped, though it's gait was more of a shuffling walk. It also wasn't coming around the plateau, it was coming across the desert, from back where their hometown was if their sense of direction was correct. Heat ripples made it hard to make out at this range, and it could have been simply a mirage, though time would tell that it was not. It would be several more hours before this new arrival managed to reach the group at the rate they was traveling. Of course, any one of them could rush out into the open desert to confront it...
Brian considered that, like he had hurried over to Tiktok when he saw everyone was worried about Tiktok being hostile. Then Brian decided that simply being able to walk again would be his first priority. The numbness was giving way to pins and needles in a most unpleasant manner.
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