Fantasy Chrysanthemum: Loss of What Was

[Little_Red_Cassette]

Tnk.
TnkTnkTnk...
TnkitaTnkitaTnkita...
Bzz..

Light....

Checking BIOS...
Critical Files Missing.
Initiating Recovery Program...
Critical Recovery Program Files missing.
Initiating Secondary Recovery Program...
Initiating Tertinary Recovery Program...
Initiating Quadrinary Recovery Program...
Quadrinary Recovery Program Deemed Sufficient For Use.

Recovering Critical Files... 10%... 23%... 48%... 62%... 76%... 90%... 99%... 99%... 99%...
Notice: Certain Personal Files Cannot Be Found. Is This Ok?
>yes no
...
...
...
Critical File(s): "Survival_Instinct.ord" Has Been Booted.
>yes
Recovering Critical Files... 100%

Echo: Off



O.R.D.E.R.
We Are Protection.

Loading...

Time Since Last Operation: [error]: Internal Clock Nonfunctional.
Recalibrating...

battery life remaining, assuming idle: 30 minutes.

Eyes... Eyes... Open... Please open... New day... Open...
Wake up... Wake up... Wake up Wake up Wake up Wake up WAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUP
​

Klnk!


"DHHhhhh... hh... hh... hhh... hhhhhh..."

Dark... All sides dark... When... When... How? Cant move. cant move, cant move!!
HELP!! I NEED HELP!!
Voice is muted. No. voice is... failing? Failed. Failed, yes.
Breathing... there. No noise, but breathing.
Calm... Need... Calm.
Breathing there. No noise, but breathing.
Area is... cold. Hard.
Heavy. Very heavy. Up is not an option.
Seemingly... metal? Surface of area is metal of some kind... many kinds.
Pressed between something... Floor and up. Metal. Floor and up, metal.
Wherever we are... Doesnt seem dangerous. Not immediately.
There appears to be time... some of it.
Ok. Then... how?


1. Out. You need out now. You need to find Out. You arent not in immediate danger, but eventual danger is not something you want to experience, so the best way is O.U.T., even if the only thing giving any hit to where you are is the light of our eyes, and the only hint of what you can do being that slight, ever so blurry shudder on your left, you need to get Out. Of. Here. Now.

2. Everything is still, nothing is moving... including you, lets be real honest here. We have the time, so lets take a moment. Maybe some sort of... diag... diagn... diagnostics. Diagnostics check, thats the word you were looking for. You should do one of those. Maybe it'll give some more info. Info you need. Maybe you're doing better than you think you are! Or maybe your doing worse. We should find out which.

3. Focus. Focus on whatever energy thats in your body, your only choice is to focus on that. You dont know where it came from or what its doing with you, specifically, but you gotta use it. Please be enough to do something. Please be enough to do something. Please be enough to do something.

4. Shuffle through your mind for a moment. Something must have come before this. Something. Anything. It may not get you out of here. Maybe itll run your flecks of battery away just thinking of something. It sounds a bit stupid, but sometimes wisdom can be found in the strangest places.

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

4

 

[THEKAZUHA_ANEMO]

4

 

[Little_Red_Cassette]

4. shuffle through your mind for a moment. something must have come before this. something. anything. it may not get you out of here. maybe itll run your flecks of battery away just thinking of something. it sounds a bit stupid, but sometimes wisdom can be found in the strangest places.

Quit it! Quit it! Quit panicking! This is... i need to think.
I just need to... clear my head.
I just need to...

"Fmmmmmmm... hhhhhhhh..."

Breathe...
Slowly, gradually, emptying your head of the immediate present, you thought. When you woke up, there was something said, spoken to you, but not really. You could see the spoken words.

notice: certain personal files cannot be found. is this ok?

Yes. Yes. That was it.
...certain personal files cannot...
...personal files...
Personal files. It said certain ones could not be found. But that couldnt mean all of them, right? There had to be something here that could explain something about what was happening. Why you were here. Here, inbetween two hunks of metal, hardly able to move more than a scrape right or left, why there was so little... feeling in everything. Everything that should, by all means, be there, but isnt. You didnt know how, but you knew those... things should be there.

With what little sight you had, you blinked. With a soft k-click of an eyelid, everything went dark for only a split second, then your sight transitioned into a soft, blue screen.

Attempt Partial Backup Restoration?
>yes >no

Attempting Restoration...
1%... 2%... 3%...
You waited.
10%... 11%... 12%...
And waited.
45%... 46%... 47%...
And waited.
97%... 98%... 99%...
100%
Notice: File deemed fit for use. certain parts may be missing. playing now.​

A sharp white light enveloped your sight, like swirling into a grandiose nothing, it felt like falling. Falling through the infinity of your head, falling through each piece of your mind! An endless swirling pulling things from all directions towards you, towards the center of yourself. Pieces came into view, sticking themselves to one another bit by bit in front of your eyes. Creating... Visages... A wall to your right. Blurry and white, much like everything else around you, but unlike the nothing, it had... Shape. Texture. It was something. Something from nowhere. Another wall, to your left, similar to the first. A third, in front, feeling far from you. Farther than you could reach in eternity and then some, but equally as close, attaching itself between the first two. And though you couldn't see it, turn to see it, percieve it in any way, you knew the 4th of the walls was behind you, attaching itself comfortably. A wall rose up below, attaching to the 4 walls before you, making a floor. Another floor fell from above, landing right on top of the walls. A cieling. A room. It made a room.

New shapes began collecting around one another. These awkward polygons sticking together in these wierd little ways that made it difficult to parce, until all of the different pieces came together at once, creating faces. No, not faces. Helmets. A visor. No feeling, the helmet becoming the only identity of whatever could be behind it that you could refer to it as. It's hands came together. Forwards, as if holding the underside, borderline holding out for you to touch- and yet, somehow, despite that, angry; threatening.

More shapes came together, farther away, closer to that wall. In through a hole in the first wall that you saw. They had that same identity. The same helmet as the first. That same identity. Feelingless. They we're coming towards you, one of the helmeted appearing to be coming through that hole in the wall. Then, as the last shapes collected, you recalled a feeling
Fear.

It hit like a sack of bricks. This overwhelming feeling rising up in your chest, everything coallescing into a burning heat in a part of you that you could not tell whether or not existed anymore. A gun. A weapon, pointed directly at the center of your head. Inbetween your eyes. Locked there. The walls around you steadily darkened, as did the helmets of the people, defining into vague, blurry suits with belts. Hefty suits. Things you would wear for protection. It darkened further. Quite a bit further. Further until the only light bleeding into the room was that of a more subtle brightness stretching in through that hole in the wall.

Then, everything was bright again. Not in any way that made things easy to understand. If anything the light made it much harder. Especially how it was coming directly from the weapon pointed at you

"DISENGAGE ALL OF YOUR MAGIC IMMEDIATELY AND KEEP YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!!" a voice shouted, the weapon being shoved closer up against you.

"What are-?! Why are-!? __________!! Whats happening?!" you shouted at the top of your lungs.
"WE ARE ________ ________ ________, YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT!" the voice shouted, the weapon continuing to be held in front of you

"I-I don't understand-! Why are you-?!"

"WE SAID DISENGAGE YOUR MAGIC IMMEDIATELY!! DISENGAGE ALL OF YOUR MAGIC!!"

"Now, now. lets calm down." a new voice said. There was new hole in the wall. Rectangular. Tall. From the void beyond the hole, shapes showed themself. Another face. Not visored or helmeted. A face. Blurry. Impossible to read. Blank. There was little detail, if any.

Everything stopped. As though put on pause, the world stopped a small screen flashed in your eyes

End of Available Memory.​

You couldnt understand. Was this all there was that remained...? What about everything before this...? And everything before that? There had to be more. Within the memory, you looked left, you looked right. You looked to your hands. Within one, raised up, was a large... note. A musical note. Something in the vague shape of it. Was... that magic? You seemed to recognize it as such. You could barely tell what it was. It was odd. You could tell it was... a part of you, somehow. Some extension of yourself.
Despite the fact that you didnt know what it was, but you knew its name

New Spell Obtained: Do

Ending Memory Recall Sequence...​

You blinked. Back inbetween the metal again.

Remaining battery: 20 minutes, assuming idle​

1. A new spell? Maybe that could help us out of this. You dont know what it does. Maybe it could help us out of this. I mean... you seemed to be trying to use it to protect yourself in the memory... (Use Spell: Do (cost: unknown.))

2. Hold on. What is magic? How do we use it? CAN we use it, as we are? We should still run a diagnostics before trying hasty things... Even if it will cost more of our battery...

---

a new post has been added
Chrysanthemum: The People
​

---

You know a new Spell!
Do
​

---

You obtained a new memory!
saving...
saved!​

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

1

 

[THEKAZUHA_ANEMO]

1

 

[Little_Red_Cassette]

1. A new spell? Maybe that could help us out of this. You dont know what it does. Maybe it could help us out of this. I mean... you seemed to be trying to use it to protect yourself in the memory... (Use Spell: Do (cost: unknown.))

You focused. You remembered that feeling from the memory. That feeling holding something, that subtle, intrinsic feeling of pulling energy into your hand. Shaping it, slowly enough to play out each small movement you made from what you remember, until-

BMMMMMM!!!​

A sharp feeling of wind and vibration COURSED over your body, rattling every piece of metal within you, wires, circuits, and chasis. It was an overwhelming feeling that set off alarms in your head. There was an absurd feeling of energy PUSHING you into the metal below you. And with that feeling, everything- all that metal and scrap that had been piled on top of you, forcing you down and leaving you immobile, launched straight upwards into the air as though an explosion had rippled straight from your very being.

Blue.

It was bright. Unfathomably vibrant in its nature. You could see everything above you. With the scrap gone, you saw a deep, blue sky, the pieces of metal little more than grey splotches upon the backdrop. Fluffy white clouds moved slowly across the blue, with rigid, brown dots moving steadily along with them.

it was only at this moment that you realized something else. you couldn't hear the outside world. not like you expected to be able to. nothing of what had just occured reached your ears, there was only that deep, resonant feeling of what you had just used shaking about every inch of the body you had.

Remaining Battery: 30 seconds, assuming idle
Releasing Emergency Signal
Find Charging Location Immediately
Switching to low power mode​

Your thoughts were cut short. Almost the instant you saw the message appear within your vie, an overwhelming feeling of drudgery hit you. Everything you were thinking about, everything you were trying to do, slowed. Dramatically. As though moving through a pit of tar, it became difficult to do anything, much less what you had done just a few seconds ago. The pieces of metal, since launched into the air, slowed their rise, and quickly began their descent! Towards you they fell, heavy bodies and sharp points careening towards you at high speed. There was nothing to be done. Nothing you could do with what you had. Your own mistakes and haste, falling towards you at high enough speeds to crush you flat.

Then, it stopped. The cold steel stopped, less than a few feet away from crushing you flat. in mid air, it stopped. your head slightly turned. a pair of eyes met yours, through glass spectacles. the owner of the eyes, little more than a dark figure. amidst the searing brightness of the sun around you. They took slow steps forwards. You tried to stay awake, fighting, brutally against the overwhelming tiredness, vision and thoughts, growing ever more dull by the second. Don't close them. Do not close the eyes. Stay awa-

Remaining Battery: 0 seconds
Initiating Shutdown.​

"Incoming emergency signal"

"Huh? From who? We didn't send out anyone for anything dangerous. What could be-"​

"sir. its coming from within Chrysanthemum"

"What in the..."​

"The signal index is not within our current registry, sir. The only one that matches it is one from... 50 years ago?"

"A... I'm sorry, you said 50 years ago?"​

"50 years ago, sir. Should we report this? It seems more likely it could be a false positive."

"Within chrysanthemum... 50 years ago... no way. Heeh. Heheh. Ok. Yeah. Lets call it a false positive."




​

O.R.D.E.R.
We Are Protection.

Loading...

Time Since Last Operation: 2 days, 5 hours, 8 minutes, 23 seconds
Currently Charging...​

"AUUUGH, FINALLY, you're booting, dragons ABOVE!" a voice shouted.

You heard. You were hearing again. Your eyes clicked open after a brief few seconds. The first thing that entered your view was a person. Someone with... wings. Wings and a halo. Were you dead? You had to be dead.



"You are SO goddamn lucky, yknow that?" they asked, before starting to spin around on a chair with wheels. You seemed to be in some kind of... Workshop? There were various tools hung up around you in... Basically every direction, messy prints of schematics all over, a desk... And, well, you, seemingly hung up on something or other, giving you- and seemingly this person- a slightly better view of everything going on. "i found you seconds away from metal landing on your face, thanks to whatever explosion you did that threw metal up in the air, I spotted you, and then i cared enough to pull you out of it, bring you over here, and figure out some way of charging you! Do you know what I've been going through in the past 2 days? Ive never seen anything like you! And that's saying something! Drakes! I cant believe i got you working!" they complained out loud, before letting out a sharp cough "aha-! Ngh...sorry. Sorry..."

"aHEM! wrong foot." they said, with a quick clearing of the throat and a dusting off of the clothes "Well, its good to know youre working, if nothing else, yeah? Listen, you are. Uhh. Not in the best shape right now, but im gonna figure out a way to get you fixed up, got it? I managed to find a microphone that fits with your... frankly DREADFULLY outdated hard and soft wares, and i was able to adapt a keyboard for your system. I think. If everything goes right, you should be able to type out words onto this screen by sending some inputs over. why dont you try now!


Free response time!
send in what you would like to type out on the screen to your mechanic! the first response from each user will be responded to in the next post! ask up to 2 questions!

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

What is your name?

 

[THEKAZUHA_ANEMO]

My notifs have blown over...>
What is my name? What do I identify as?

 

[Little_Red_Cassette]

What is your name?

"Wow, concerning yourself with me first? Im flattered-" They said, with a little wave of the hand towards you, before pausing a bit, realizing they should probably tell you who they were, considering that you likely... had no idea here you were, and promptly straightening themself upright in their seat, intertwining their fingers a bit

"a-HEM! As i was saying... my name is... Nineball." they said, with a subtle twinge of hesitation to it. "Nineball Hughler. My friends call me Nine. If you couldn't tell, i am an angel." they then flicked the halo at the top of their head, while flapping out their glistening set of wings, which held a far-less-subtle layer of dirt and grime on their feather's surface.

"And this here is my workshop!" they said, spreading out their arms a bit, in reference to the building you were in. "I run the little junkyard that i just found you in. luckily I was outside when I was. whenever I find something interesting out there, I sometimes take it over here and decide to make something out of it. I mean. Technically I'm not SUPPOSED to do that, but yknow." they finished. You didnt know.

My notifs have blown over...>
What is my name? What do I identify as?

"Well, uuuuh. I actually... have 0 clue." they admitted, before giving a shrug and a slightly bashful look. "I tried looking through some surface level files of yours, and as far as I can tell, any sort of identification was basically entirely missing, except for maybe a few fragments I couldnt really parse.. The only thing i have here to go off of is one of your shoulder plates. The one you have left has the letters 'CA' written on it." they said, pointing to one of... your only shoulder. indeed, turning your head towards it, you could make out the letters. 'CA'. Nothing more.

"Uh-! Dont worry, I didnt look through anything deeper than the surface! I'm not. yknow, trying to shuffle through your private life or anything like that." they hastily spouted out, before quickly calming themself, scratching the top of their head slightly, before clearing their throat again.

"And well, seeing as you dont know either..." with a wave of his hand a point a point of his finger towards you... They struck a dramatic pose, placing their hand to their forehead while kneeling slightly "Im gonna name you Cass!" They then sat back down, visibly satisfied with themself. It would have looked much cooler if this 'Nineball' person had actually cleaned themself up some before activating you.

"Cass the Droid!" he said with a happy nod. "Now, as for the... rest of you, you dont exactly look too great." they said with a sigh, using their chair to roll over to a faarther corner of a room, where a desk was. They opened up one of the drawers on it, a rusty grating noise coming from it as it slid out. Even from here, you could tell that thing was a mess on the inside. After a few short moments of rummaging around in it, they pulled out a hand mirror. Steadily rolling back over, they passed off the mirror to you.

You were hesitant. You knew it was bad. Worse than bad. You didnt have to touch any of it to tell. There was all sorts of missing... Feeling. All over. You werent sure how much of it there was, but... it was everywhere.

...Do you dare? Do you look in the mirror?

"I mean... eheh. Its alright if you dont wanna look. Some droids arent as good at that as others, so i wont fault you for deciding you dont want to look." Nineball shrugged with a slight look away.

1. Look in the mirror. Please dont be as bad as you think. It cant be that bad, right? Youre alive, arent you? You still have one of your arms right? It cant be too much.

2. Dont look. It would be too much. You dont need to know how bad things are. whatever it is, it can be fixed, cant it? Thats why hes showing it to you! You cant. You cant look.

Optional:
(optional choices are extra options you can choose in addition to your main choices. optional choices will be specified in a maximum of how many can be chosen. if desired, none can be chosen at all. add these after your main choices)

Choose up to 2:
1. One more thing... (free response! ask up to one more question to Nineball.)

2. I have a better idea... (Rename yourself! If you dont like Cass, free response out a name. This will be decided in a poll in the discussion chat after a certain number of votes come in.)

---

New person met!
Nineball Hughler
​

---

New character details added!
You
Nineball Hughler​

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

1, OPT 1.
"Did you name yourself?" Seems kind of weird...

 

[THEKAZUHA_ANEMO]

1

 

[Little_Red_Cassette]

1. Look in the mirror. Please dont be as bad as you think. It cant be that bad, right? Youre alive, arent you? You still have one of your arms right? It cant be too much.

Slowly, you pulled the mirror to yourself, to which Nine promptly raised their hands and backed off a bit "All right, just... dont say i didnt warn ya..."

Your hand firmly gripped the mirror.
Look.
Look.
Just look.

Your eyes closed, tightly. Just for a little bit. The focus on your own body resonated deeply, pushing itself into every last sense. The ones that you had, anywho.

Tink... Cl-tink... Tonk... Ka-tnk...

The subtle sound of some... pieces clattering up against one another. You could taste the air and feel it rushing through, only for that feeling to abruptly stop short- right in a place where it really shouldnt. It hurt to feel on a level far deeper than physical.

1, OPT 1.
"Did you name yourself?" Seems kind of weird...

You quickly typed the question down. A quick distraction, just for a moment. You didnt hand the mirror back, or make any sort of gesture you wanted to. If anything, you held the mirror closer to yourself, griping it so it wouldn't be pulled away. but, yes, thinking of it, it did seem like an odd name. Though the foundations of 'odd' were a bit shaky at best, and you couldnt really define how or why you felt that way, you just had a sense that it was a bit off-kilter.

"Ah-Ha, you noticed that, huh? Well, er..." with a slight side eye, they looked away for a few seconds, shifting around in their seat slightly before pushing with their leg, setting the seat into a steady spin. "Its moreso a... nickname than it is an actual one, I guess. Some close friends gave me the nickname on something of a whim, and, well, I guess it just sorta stayed!" they chuckled "I go by that name more often than my old one now, that's for sure." they finished with a wave of the hand, speaking in almost a reminiscing tone, the chair they sat in steadily bringing them back around to face you again.

You paused. You looked down, just enough to see the mirror held against you in your hands. You needed to look. what could your own past be? How could you look at it if you could not look at yourself? Then, with one smooth motion, you raised the mirror in front of yourself.

CW: Machine Gore/Body Gore
​

Nightmarish.

So little was left

A good third of your face, at minimum, was missing. Gone entirely, the small shreds of metal of where the metal connected to form your skull once were jagged in some places. Sharpened by the meanderings of time, and dulled in others, where time had chosen to do the opposite. Wires hung from the gaping hole that was made, spilling outwards and from their hold, many disconnected and dangling with the copper within exposed, others looping back up cramming themselves back into your skull in disarray, however they could conceivably do so. You had figured that your slightly awkward vision came with the territory of being damaged, struggling to grasp exactly how far away things were, but to have lost your entire left eye...

A surge stirred your body. This overwhelming feeling crawled from the top of your head downwards. You felt a silent urge to touch them, but you could not bear the idea of looking away from the mirror.

"I don't know." said Nines voice, sympathetically.

Your skin-the imitation of it, placed atop the cold, hard steel, had been shredded away, much more than any metal, stripping away any features you may have once had resembling someone like Nine. What came from beneath that coating was a skull of steel, carrying one half of a set of keen teeth, rhe sets other half, along with the jaw they were set into remained absent. A vacant space with little more than a hole at the very back. The center plate of your face remained smooth and flat aside from two holes boring deep into the steel. You couldn't even have the luxury of hair upon your head.

Your hand shook subtly. Then a bit more, then a bit more, until it became erratic. Uncontrollable. The dull blue light. The dull blue light was all, the only thing recognizable, from some... bizarre ether, recognizable as yourself, what you might have been.

"I... I couldn't tell you if i tried" Nine said, looking down slightly.

Your hand lowered slightly. You got to see the joint where your other arm once was. The crushed metal rod that connected elbow to shoulder, bent and twisted into a gnarled, bizarre piece with a sharpened end. Any sort of paint or decal placed on you was worn away, as was almost the entirety of the false skin placed over your metal frame. the frame had held up, fortunately, but not without its number of marks, dents, and so forth.

And moving down just a bit more, you understood why you being here was a miracle, possibly something beyond.

"I wish i could say..." Nine spoke, his voice alone telling you he was looking away a bit.

Everything below the waist was lost. In its entirety, GONE. wires piled out, similarily to your sliced face. There were no legs, no feet, anything to move yourself properly with. Everything there had been taken away, with all that remained being the wires, and the upper half of a glass case, broken and shattered in the middle of the wiring.

You couldn't cry. You couldn't cry or scream. You didnt have that privelege. You couldnt even have the privelege to make a decent expression of pain. the overwhelming feelings stirred to an extreme,the sounds of the steel wires hitting eachother echoed louder as your body stirred. It felt hot. Hot within you.

"i only know when i found you here... ive never seen something like you come in before." Nine said, moving a bit closer.

Your shaking hands slowly, steadily manage to hand Nine the mirror, who takes it from you. You look to the computer screen, which you had not even realized you were outputting into. The center of your chest hurt- it was hot and burned in your mind. Your breath found no place to continue.

From the top, it read:
"Holy...
Why?
Why, who??
What???
When??
Nine, dont just say you dont-"

Your hand grasps your frame for a moment, before moving to the side of the metal plate you are held up against.

1. "Dont just say you dont know anything!! Help me!!" You finish the input in rage.

2. You quickly delete the last of the inputs and replace it. They wouldnt show you this if they didnt have a plan. They must be able to do something, anything. they wouldnt show you your dying body without knowing what to do. "Nine... you can fix me, right? You... you have to be able to fix me. For sure! Right?!"

3. You quickly delete the last of the inputs and replace it. How much time did you have? How could you continue? "Nine! Theres- theres nothing left! How! How can i do anything like this?! I-I'm going to die like this!

4. you quickly delete the last of the inputs and replace it. you cannot come to terms with this. You want to go back. You should have stayed there."I... this is a nightmare isnt it?? This is a nightmare! I dont know who I am, where I am, what I'm doing. Nine. Nine I... I want to die. I should have died in that heap. Please kill me!"

!! 5. This is their fault. this could not be anyone else's. Raise your sharpened arm, and strike Nine where he sits. !!

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

1

 

[THEKAZUHA_ANEMO]

1

 

[Little_Red_Cassette]

1. "Dont just say you dont know anything!! Help me!!" You finish the input in rage.

Frantically, you typed out onto the screen. You could scarcely believe it. You werent even sure what there was left that could be repaired.

Th-thmp.
Your chest still hurt.

Nine looked somewhat shocked by such an abrupt response, pausing a brief moment to stare at the message on the screen. "I- Well- Lets just... Calm down for a second, I know it-"

"Calm down?" you continued to type out. "How am i supposed to even begin to calm down when there's almost nothing left of me?! Just... I need, you to help me, please!"

Th-thmp!
your chest felt tight.

"L-listen! I am going to help you!" Nine quickly responded, fumbling over their own words slightly. "I-its not going to be easy, per se, but I can do it. I'm going to definitely get some new parts; your stored blueprints aren't exactly fully intact, but repair is fᵘˡˡʸ ᵖᵒˢˢⁱᵇˡᵉ! ˢᵒ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ ⁱˢⁿᵗ ᵃ..."

Your head was overwhelmed.
Your chest burned.
TH-THMP!
It wouldn't stop.
The computers screen flickered lowly.

Warning: Maximizing Magic. Initiating Protective Burst.
THWAM!!​

"GAH-HA-!" Without warning, Nine was abruptly thrown against the wall! A massive, explosive force threw bits and tools around the room eratically! You were surrounded by magic enmasse, a powerful force uncontrollable by your hand! your hand gripped the side of the metal plate that held you tighter. The coils attatched to your body flailed wildly, your own cables, hanging from your body- you could feel them being pulled by the winds. The winds sharply flared in their intensity, almost as though they were threatening to pull you off of the plate you were set in.

Nine coughed roughly with a gasp, the wind knocked out of them for just a moment, only to quickly put out their hands, stopping a wrench from smacking them in the face. they looked at you through the barrier of dense magic. "H-Hey!! Stop!! youre gonna pull my shop apart!!" Nine shouted, amidst the winds, their voice just barely being audible to your ears. And yet, so far from audible to your councious. At most, it remained a distant blur in your head.

Nine pulled himself together. It was clear this wasnt going to be something that stopped on its own. Tools and small bits of metal were still swirling amongst the wind, crashing into walls, only to be torn away and pulled in the opposite direction. A light burst through the cieling! The roof itself of the place was starting to give in to the winds, the makeshift metal plating used to keep the rain and weather out, tearing away with clunks and creaks of the bending metal.

Nine stepped forwards slightly towards you, then immediately stepped back as a sharper piece of metal whizzed by, slicing a gash in the front of their leg!

Nine needed to stop this, but how...?

Notice: For this vote you will be influencing Nine. Throughout the story, you will be able to influence certain characters in ways, along with yourself. You will be able to tell which character you will be influencing in your decision by the name of the character in brackets after the number. Many characters have their own cability sets and magic, some of which you may not be able to see should you not have enough info. use these to the best of your ability!

1. [Nineball] Remove the charger! The magic barrier didnt fully cover the charger, and Nine could take it out. The winds might remain for a moment, but theres no way you have the power to sustain this for long!

2. [Nineball] Try to talk to you! The magic barrier didnt fully cover the keyboard of the keyboard, so Nine could use it to commune with them directly to try and calm them. Though whether the computer will hold for long in this developing tornado is easily up for debate.

3. [Nineball] Shake you out of it! If Nine really put their body into it, Nine thinks they could push their way through the barrier. It would definitely be a challenge. It might even put their life at risk, BUT if it worked, it would be the fastest way to save Nine's rapidly falling apart shop!

Optional:
1. [Nineball] Nine needs to protect himself! Cant help you if they're dead! (Use magic: Steel Yourself! (cost: unknown))

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

1 & 1

 

[THEKAZUHA_ANEMO]

2 & 1

 

[Little_Red_Cassette]

1. 1 of 2 (range: 1) (50%) 2. 1 of 2 (range: 2) (50%
Total Votes: 2
Rolling for Fate...
2!

2. [Nineball] Try to talk to you! The magic barrier didnt fully cover the keyboard of the keyboard, so Nine could use it to commune with them directly to try and calm them. Though whether the computer will hold for long in this developing tornado is easily up for debate.

1. [Nineball] Nine needs to protect himself! Cant help you if they're dead! (Use magic: Steel Yourself! (cost: unknown))

Nineball quickly raised up his hands, as far as they could, and sharply CLENCHED them, forcibly stopping a one of the plates flying off from the roof of the workshop before it could get away! With a swift motion, they yanked their hands backwards, the plate launching from its spot,zooming out from the winds and straight towards Nine! Spreading out their arms out wide to either side of himself, the plate collapsed around his body, enraveling himself in it from head to toe, aside from two slots forming into the metal, showing their eyes behind them.

Nineball's defence increased!

Shards of metal made sharp TANGs as they ricocheted around the room, Nine making quick glances around the room for anything that they could use to get this to stop. After a brief moment, they spotted it. The computer system hooked up to you! It was still holding out, even in the winds. Part of them had fully expected it to get blown away, but here it was! The metal plating keeping them safe, they made a quick dash forwards, a sharp CLANG!! Resonating out as metal struck his armor, keeping him safe beneath it.

Pushing through the harsh winds wasnt easy by any means. The winds quickly slowed his push forwards, not just pushing him away, but to the side, stopping both the advance, but also throwing off balance as it swayed from one side to another. Even as they got closer, they could feel the winds start to pick them up. With a swift motion, he put his hands down towards the floor, keeping himself attatched to the metal as he made one slow step after another towards the keyboard. In the storm, it was difficult to breathe. and even more difficult to see straight.

Clank! His metal covered hands grabbed onto the desk the computer was placed on. Slowly motioning himself along, he grabbed onto the keyboard attatched to the computer. It was difficult to even think of what to say in the storm.

SHTANG!!

Another piece of metal collided with the suit. He didnt have time to think about what to say, he just had to say something.

"HEY!" they typed, all caps, into the computer before hitting the enter, sending across the message. The torrents shifted; a pulse in the wind, more directed at Nine, as if something within had its attention turned

"IM GONNA FIX YOU!!" they typed "IVE FIXED A FEW DROIDS, SO I KNOW THIS IS HARD, BUT IM GONNA FIX YOU!" They slid back slightly on the ground, then took another, slow, thudding step forwards "YOUVE GOT A WHOLE PLACE OUT THERE TO EXPLORE! IVE OT MY FRIENDS TO SHOW YOU! WE'RE GONNA GO SHOPPING LATER!! YOURE GONNA LOOK GREAT BY THE END OF IT!!" they kept typing, before letting out a sharp cough. They took another step forwards amidst the wind, as if it were relinquishing its torrent. "ITS GONNA BE FINE! I DONT KNOW WHAT YOUR LIFE BEFORE NOW IS, BUT YOUVE GOTTEN THROUGH EVERYTHING SO FAR RIGHT?" another step. "SO I KNOW YOU CAN GET THROUGH THIS!" another step forwards. they were pressing directly against the barrier of the wind. Slowly, their foot started entering into it, moving trough it, the metal plating getting torn off into shreds as they went "JUST...!" They steadily reached their hand through, the fingers quivering in the wind. Their hand grabbed onto your arm, trying to hold it sofltly, until it trailed down to your hand, grasping it, even as it held onto the metal plate. The keyboard slipped from their grasp in the wind, the computer toppling of the desk and onto the floor.

"Breathe...!" they said aloud, the voice getting through the barrier, just enough to be audible. You tried to listen. "And then hold yourself tightly! Squeeze your entire body tight!" You squeezed his hand. and then clenched everything you could. "Good!" Nine shouted "Now... Release!"

THWMMMMMMM!!!

As you let go of yourself, an EXPLOSION of wind magic launched everything outwards, the barrier expanding itself as it became gradually thinner and thinner, until dissipating entirely. "DAH-!!" Nine went tumbling, rolling across the floor, before SMACKING into the wall on to other side of the room from you. "Gah... ha... ow..."

your breathing was staggered. it felt like you were about to fall apart at the seams. and you might have been, given what had just happened. all of your parts were a little bit shakier than before- more loose. and yet, somehow... it felt... right. you felt something in the palm of your hand. you looked down at it slightly, to see it was a small coin. green in the center, made of some unknown material, and bronze on the outside.

"Dragons be... DAMNED!" Nine said, the last of his metallic scrap armor falling off from his body in pieces, far too damaged to ever be what it once was without being reborn anew entirely. He spoke with exhaustion and relief as he threw off pieces of the metal from himself.

KLATATLTALTKLANG!!

The loud sound of metal toppling and hitting itself echoed outside. Fortunately the release of magic seemed to have tossed the roof plating away as well. All that remained was the sun shining through the torn apart roof, shining on your body, the soft echo of your hanging parts lightly clunking against eachother, the sound of your synthesised, heavy breathing, and Nine's breathing, syncing with one anothers in that tired, overwhelmed fashion.




After a short minute that felt like nothing short of a long eternity, Nine slowly picked up the screen of the computer off of the floor, setting it upright again. The screen was cracked, but thank the heavens, it still worked. Picking up the keyboard as well, he set it down where it was before the commotion- right on the desk, in front of the screen. "Cant believe bolting this desk down has been the smartest thing ive done to date."

Somehow, through this experience, you felt your desire to carry forwards become a little stronger...

Choose 2:

1. "Im... sorry...."

2. "What... have i done...?"

3. "How did... how did you know that would work...?"

4. "You said... we can go shopping...?"

5. "You said... we can meet your friends...?"

6. "Are you... mad at me for this...?" (req: Willpower: 1)

---

You Obtained:
Lifecoin x1
Bravery +1​

---

a new post has been added!
Chrysanthemum: The Mechanics (link visible from the discussion page)
​

---

New Mechanics Have Been Added!
Choices:
Primary Choices
Roll for Fate
Optional Choices
Character Influence
Resources:
Battery
Lifecoins
stats:
Social
​

---

New Character Details Added!
You
Nineball Hughler
​

---

Saving...
saved!​

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

1 & 5 {Willpower shall be saved...for now}

 

[THEKAZUHA_ANEMO]

1 & 5 as well

 

[Little_Red_Cassette]

1. "Im... sorry...."

There was a good moment where Nine just kind of... Sat there. Didn't look to the busted up screen where your message surfaced from. He leaned back in the chair, far, staring up through the big hole in the ceiling, as if bathing under the warm light. He then turned to the left, slightly narrowing his eyes to read through the screens cracks so they can examine your message.

A brief pause between the two of them after the words were sent. The air felt thick, like a paste. Whether that was a result of what had just occurred or just because of the tension being dense enough to cut with a knife was not something you were equipped to figure out on the fly. It could very easily be both.

After a short few seconds of a pensive glare from nine, one that struck a bit to deep to feel comfortable for you to be the subject of, they took a deep breath, then let it out. "Well," he began, slightly spreading his hands out from a clutched position in front of them, "I don't think either of us particularly... intended for that to happen- I mean, I've literally never seen that reaction out of a droid like yourself. Almost all droids are at least Reasonably comfortable looking at parts of themself; self repair is a relatively common thing droids need to undergo, so-..."

"Ahem." They swiftly cut off their myriad thoughts with an abrupt clearing of the throat. There was another brief pause between you and them, before they sat up straight "I'll let this be water under the bridge, yeah? None of us meant what happened here, and well... hopefully I can get this all repaired before too long. Shouldn't be too difficult any who. Mostly just some... metal stuff lodged in places, some dinky roofing...it's repairable." they lacked confidence in their response. "Maybe." they muttered.

"I've never seen a droid do... this either. I mean- this is absurd!" they said, voice a mix of awe, amazement, and disbelief, a mixture that could almost be made out to be angry by the tone, despite the intent being plenty apparent. "This something a human under threat of death would usually do, maybe a decently decked out mech. I've never seen anything like it." they said, doing a swift motion of the hands, putting a little bit of effort into it, pullng out a piece of the metal shrapnel from a nearby wall that the winds had thrown it into with his telekinesis-esque abilities. "Last thing i would expect this from is a frankly incredibly outdated droid- no offense- in your... situation" they were trying to be careful about their words, you could tell. He wasn't good at it.

"Mech?" you asked, out of pure curiosity. you had found the information on what a human was fairly easily.

"Ehhh... like you, but bigger; bulkier. Slower, but sturdier. Honestly way harder to repair! I'm glad you didn't end up being some ancient mech- that would have been hell and a half."

"Will I... get to meet one, eventually?" you asked. You weren't sure why, but something about this felt... important to you. You couldnt quite put a finger on it.

"Oh yeah, definitely. One of my friends is a mech. Im sure you two will get along." Nine responded with a confident, bright laugh.

5. "You said... we can meet your friends...?"

"Already looking ahead huh? That's good!" they said with a chuckle, gently grabbing your shoulder and giving it a comfortable little shake. "Well, dragons know they'd be mad if I decided to keep you hidden from em. Tell you what." they stood up. "I'm gonna get you looking a little more presentable, and THEN we can go meet em, hows that? Shopping first, get you looking a lil better, then friends. Good first impressions are pretty important, after all." they said, before clicking around on the computer for a little bit

"...You struck out the internet." they said, before letting out a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry..." you quickly typed out.

"Don't..." Nine paused, doubling back on the words while grabbing some sort of smallish, black rectangle from within a little cubby on the desk.. "...Its alright. Just means that weeee are gonna have to go in person." they said, walking back over to you. "might hurt a bit. And Hup!"

K-CHUNK!

Remaining Battery: 24 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds, assuming idle​

With a sharp pull from Nine's hand, It felt like something was sharply lifted off your shoulders. A weight of sorts. It granted a freedom you didnt know you had, or even could have. You twisted your head left, then right, then left again. You could almost pull your chin over your shoulder. Almost. Nine took a step back, looking at the screen for a good few seconds "All good? Computer says you're ok." Nine looked to you, to which you nodded. "Great! Now excuse me while I..."

Chk! Chk! ChkChkChk!

You could feel a bunch of little cords be unplugged from places you couldn't quite see, mostly your back and the side of your head. they were mostly cords looping back around into the computer again. You could feel yourself gradually losing access to the computers software, that sort of innate feeling of being able to speak being sharply cut off again. "There we go..."

K-chak!

And just like that, with another cord attached, the feeling returned "There we go! A tablet, so we can keep talking a little bit while we get there." Nine said, raising up the black rectangle, hitting a button on it, the screen on its surface brightening. "Fortunately it didnt seem to get knocked around too hard. One of the things that stayed in place, it seems." they said with relief. "Ok!" they clasped their hands together. "How are we gonna... aha." they picked up a backpack from off the ground, one of those sort of camping backpacks clearly meant for more stuff than would make sense for anything but extended trips outside. And yet, they made good use of its space by taking you off the metal plate you had been placed on, and plopping you right inside with a Clunk. "There we go! That should work. I hope."

"You hope?" you typed, the words appearing on the tablet now instead of the screen. Hope certainly wouldn't be saving you if you fell out from the bag and flat onto your already not-great-looking face.

"Yeah! Listen, my budgets not good enough for a proper droid carrier yet." They said, putting a few things in the bag along with you, in various different pockets. A container for water, a small crystal, along with a paper, one that, looking at it closely, appeared to be something of a drawing of you... well, more so schematics of whats left. It would be interesting to look at, would it not discomfort you deeply.

"And... hup!" with a swift motion, Nine then hoisted the bag onto his back. You could feel yourself sink into the depth of the bag a little bit. It was... surprisingly comfortable. Your arm went right over the lip of the bag, allowing you to reach out at different things, and you could get a clear view of the outside. "How's that for ya?"

You gave a thumbs up in response. "Its good, I think." you responded through the tablet

"Y'see? Told ya." Nine said with a chuckle. "Now lets go get you some new parts!" they said, before walking out of the workshop with you in tow. It felt somewhat comfortable, the way you leaned back in the bag, falling against against Nine's own back. "Speaking of you getting new parts... What are you gonna do once we get you put back together? There's still a lot of opportunity for you to get into out there, y'know." they asked, whilst walking through the junkyard outside.

You hadn't thought about this. What next? What comes after you're put back together?

Choose 1:

1. "I want to find my parents."

2. "I want to find the people that pointed a weapon at me."

3. "I want to find my true name."

4. "I want to be a singer, I think."

5. You ignore the question. "...Isnt this a bit childish...?"

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

4

 

[THEKAZUHA_ANEMO]

Rolling with 4 then

 

[Iamhe]

3