action || later audio

[fuckinstoplights]

ACTION: Maurtia Falls
[Bad enough he wake up surrounded by soldiers again. Bad enough he wake up in a body that isn't his own, missing memories. No one shot at him this time, but it's a small comfort. Very small. As the soldiers are quick to deposit him in a big city.]

[And... surround him with people. Too many people. Way, way too many people.]

[He's not completely comfortable with this strange body yet, so when the young man with mismatched eyes -- one red, one green -- goes sprinting away from the porter, he ends up stumbling a few times. Once he even falls flat on his face.]

[If anyone's around to offer assistance, he just stares wildly at them, startled, awkward.]

[If they don't persist, he takes off running again, somewhere, anywhere away from all these people. Maybe if he runs far enough, Shadowmaru will return and make this nightmare end. He'd been trying to do the right thing -- he'd made a promise, he intended to keep it. Why is he being punished like this?]

[He'll eventually, if un-accosted, seek shelter in a park. Probably under a tree.]



AUDIO;
[Later on, after settling somewhat into realizing this won't change any time soon -- that he really is stuck here, Kagerou sets about poking at his comm device. He doesn't activate the video feed -- no, he's not comfortable with that yet. He just wants to figure out what's happening here.]

[He's almost talking to himself as he speaks.]

I don't understand this...

[That's all there is for a few moments. As if he's trying to determine the right thing to say.]

Why me? I'm nothing like a... like a "Hero". I've never helped a human being. And why should I? None of you have ever done anything for me.

Why should I be a "hero"?

Why should I do anything for human beings?

Whoever decided this -- whoever brought me to this place. You shouldn't have.

[He ends the call abruptly, right there.]

Comments

action --> for Sabriel

[fuckinstoplights]

((ooc: continued from here!))

[He refuses to meet her eyes as the woman speaks. What she says... it makes sense. It's logical. But it misses something. Something very important -- to him, anyway.]

People. You keep saying you help people.

[His shoulders gather, tensing again.]

I'm not people.

action

[bindsthedead]

AI's are people. [She says it in a matter of fact way, like she's correcting someone who made a mistake on their homework.]

I know other worlds have stories, and philosophical quiestions about whether it's possible to artificially create a person, or a soul, but my world is not so advanced that such a thing could be thought of. So I've had to rely on my experience, and the AIs I've met here are most certainly people.

So yes, I am going to help you.

action

[fuckinstoplights]

Others. How many are here...?

[It's almost an accusation. He almost sounds angry about it. But if there are several AI... then the chances of some of the Brave Police being here increase.]

[And with that, problems.]

Help me leave here. Can you do that? I don't want this body -- It's... wrong.

action

[bindsthedead]

At least two- Megaman and Magicman. And then there's LACKEY, but they're not an imPort.

[And Sabriel rubs the bridge of her nose.]

Do you mean leave this town? Or leave this world altogether? The first is easily done, but if there was a way back to where we came from, I would have taken it already. But your body...

Have you read your file? One of your powers may be returning to your original form. [Since all the AIs and Cybertronians- though the latter are all gone- she's met have had such abilities, it doesn't seem like an unreasonable guess.]

audio; id: Silk

[lunaraneae]

[There's a long sigh at the beginning of the message as Silk hesitates. Then she seems to gather herself.]

Humans can be kind of terrible. But... I dunno. Being a hero isn't about what other people can do or have done for you. It's about trying to be a better person. Even if it's really scary.

audio;

[fuckinstoplights]

I'm not afraid!

[It's sharp. Sudden. Like a child defending themselves.]

I just -- why should I do anything for people who deny me my life?

[lunaraneae]

Hey, no one here is trying to deny you anything! You can do whatever you want. Even if you just decide to live, that's fine.

We've got choices here. It's a brand new world.

[That might be the scariest part.]

[fuckinstoplights]

Human beings will. Human beings always have. They already are... Where to live, what to do.

Choices aren't meant for something like me.

audio;

[iamtetsuo]

[He doesn't usually show up on the network these days. He doesn't want to -- there's no one on here he wants to deal with. But this guy... there's something familiar he can't leave alone.]

Human beings, huh?

Yeah, sure. They'll call you a hero. Don't buy that act. That's not what they really mean.

audio;

[fuckinstoplights]

Yes. Human beings.

... What do you mean?

audio;

[iamtetsuo]

You really don't get it, do you?

[He says, like this has always been common knowledge to everyone, ever.]

We're just weapons to those guys.

audio;

[fuckinstoplights]

[No, Tetsuo, he doesn't -- because he's not even a year old.]

Just... weapons.

Just a tool?

Audio

[mammal_robot]

You don't have to be a hero if you don't want to.

[The voice doesn't sound QUITE human. The inflections are normal enough, but there's a slightly tinny quality to it. Almost like it was being spoken by a machine or something...]

But you're talking like you're NOT human, so what does that make you?

Audio --> video;

[fuckinstoplights]

That wasn't what they said.

[But... the voice. That's different. And it's enough to garner more interest than the other human voices have.]

[There's a pause. A fairly lengthy one. Sometime between the talk with Sabriel and now, he'd figured how to change form. It's a lot like changing to bird or car mode... and feels far more comfortable than the human body did.]

[So the video flicks on, despite the fact he's shoved himself in a shadowed alley.]

Kagerou. I am Kagerou.

Video

[mammal_robot]

They said a lot of things, yes. They're scared because they don't think they can control us, so they're trying to make it seem like we have no choice but to do what they want. You always have a choice, though.

[And then Kagerou switched to video and wow that's either a big robot or a small alley.]

Uh...Hello Kagerou. I'm Atomic Robo.

Video

[fuckinstoplights]

Control us... humans always try that. Don't they? They want us ordered around... How can you sound so calm about this?

[... both, probably.]

... Who made you?

[Because this guy looks nothing like any of the Brave Police.]

[ video ]

[enucleation]

If you aren't human, what are you?

And you are only a "hero" if you want to. And you only help if you want to.

[ video ]

[fuckinstoplights]

[Sometime after the chat with Sabriel, he figured out how to be more... himself. It's more comfortable that way. He even allows the video feed to come in, showing him crouched in the shadows of an alley.]

... Super AI, they call us.

They made it sound as if there were no choice.

[ video ]

[enucleation]

There are several AIs around. You aren't the only one.

Of course there is a choice. They just really want us on their side.

video;

[flowerette]

It was fate who brought you here. And what you do with this opportunity is entirely up to you. As others have said, there's no rule where you have to be a hero.

audio;

[fuckinstoplights]

That wasn't how the soldiers made it sound.

... Fate. I don't know what that means.

permavid!

[flowerette]

Some call it destiny. Some call it the guiding hand that leads you through life. Others call her by her other name -- Lachesis. She is the one responsible for bringing you to this world.

video;

[skybluecape]

[See this girl? She's totally not deterred by your lack of enthusiasm at all. In fact, she's only thoughtful. Her top hat balances precariously on her head as she tilts it back, to and fro, and she crosses her arms over her chest. She's even got a cape. She's practically a cosplayer. But then she speaks.]

Now that's a speech if I ever heard one -- why, you sound like a villain on the reform already!

Oh, I know! [Here she unfolds her arms and raises a finger, indicating that she has a thought.] You should just become an anti-hero.

video;

[fuckinstoplights]

[He's a little too surprised by the cheerful voice, and the lack of condemnation. He forgets to switch off video, as a result... and the strange human gets a nice shot of a surprised, pale, robotic face.]

I'm not either of those things.

[skybluecape]

[Whoa! That's not a face she expected, but it's a detail she takes in without a blink or even a pause. It's just a face.]

Sure you are. You've got to play a role, now that you're here. But being an anti-hero leaves you ambiguous enough, you can go either way! At least try to until you get trapped by your inescapable suppressed sense of morality and possible altruism. Or perhaps, a temptation to the dark side.