Futuristic Scrapmetal Circus: Wayfinder

[Inufandom]

Hours ago, the Hotel Moscow had recieved word than Xen was conducting buisness and not to be disturbed. However, what he was doing in truth was selecting attire for the guest of honor, in addition to select bodies he would be taking along for his excursion to Falo. Digital renderings of dresses and various fashions and accessories flashed before Xen as his long dead friend hovered before him, the digital dresses rendered on her body.

"How do we dress you for this evening, love?" He finger swiped again, obviously bored. "Any ideas?" He giggled at him asking her questions. "Too bad you're no help in this." He sighed, and then closed his eyes, taking a wild finger swipe and peeking only once the dress had stopped switching. At once his breath was taken away, and he had to take a second to steady himself.

Xen looked on a spellbinding deep blue dress, accentuated by none other than black strappy heels and a head band with a small top hat, embroidered to match the accents on the dress. Upon her arms, blue embroidered gloves running up past her elbows, with bracelets made from golden bubbles and precious stones. "I think this one."

At that moment Jade entered, dressed to impress in a very formal but stylishly designed tuxedo. 'Isn't this a bit over the top?" He asked, and took off the jacket. "We need this much for this party?" He sat down, and crossed his arms, still looking every bit the part of prim and proper. "I'm the assistant, do I really need all this?"

Xen smirked. "Of course it is. If you're going to be seen with me then you simply must look your best at all times. No exceptions."

Xen threw his hands up, feigning resignation. "But tell me, what do you think of our guest in her new dress?" Xen now guestured to Celeste.

Jade looked over the woman, before finally asking, "What color are her eyes? Will the dress match or compliment them?"

"Her eyes were something special, one could get lost in the hazel galaxies of possibility always spiraling away in them. She never did lose that something special that drew you in, not even until her final breath. And her voice... even the angels in heaven were envious." Xen smiled, and he flicked the dresses again, this time they showing masks, arms, legs, eyes, and others of the Seraphim line. Models were being fitted with the limbs at that moment. His new employees would be getting personal treatment on their arrival. "And look, your mask for the ball. Welcome to the masquerade." He placed a half mask on Jade's face, the silver melding to the shape of his face while small purple lines softly glowed after touching the mechanical eye, enhancing its capabilities.

Xen smiled. "You'll be giving a demonstration today. Congratulations, you'll be modeling with the other new hires."

 

[AnnaVale]

Jade rolled his eyes. "Oh joy. So exciting..." He said sarcastically. "These new hires better be worth all the get up that they'll be getting." He said looking at a mirror, examinging the mask on himself.

 

[Inufandom]

"You look marvelous." Xen commented, smiling wickedly. "And by the way, dear friend, your mask will be unique amongst our guests. I had you in mind with this to begin with, but I had an excuse to give it to you now. No one else gets to wear anything remotely shaped like this one. Feel special. Now, I also have something for your hands as well, but those must be installed along with any work on your co-workers once they arrive."

Xen's brow furrowed, and he pondered his next move. "I believe we have to make do with present facilities in the sub levels, but we should have no problems getting you lot in and out, especially if I personally do the work."

Jade sighed. "Work calls already. I'll greet the new employees personally and see to it they report to our cybernetics facilities before retreating to their rooms to change for the evening. As you wanted, their new attire is waiting for them already."

"Thank you, Jade." Xen looked behind him, and then he pressed a button on the touch screen. The dress in question was suddenly revealed as a mannequin rose wearing the very same outfit. "I will dress our guest and then go to the facilities myself. I have a few bodies I want to take with me down there. A few more will meet us in transit. Off you go, she is a lady with naughty private bits."

Xen waved Jade off as he returned his attention to his friend. "Now then, it's time to wake you up again..." he said.

 

[sDoyle1223]

Yuriko grabbed her coffee and went to the lounge where they all convened for the first time. She wanted to be able to focus, and with the signal or feeling of another android like her kept bringing her focus away. It was new to her, but she was not sure she enjoyed it.

As she sat there, she watched different clips of events that had gone on in the past of the Hotel. Nothing too suspicious, just shows and a lot of foot traffic for the corporation. She looked forward to meeting the person in charge, just for the pure curiosity that was slowly taking over her.

J ate quickly, enjoying every bite. He never had fresh food cooked like this and taste so good. It beat eating fruits from his home planet. They smelled good, but dang were they nasty.

“Thank you for the meal. It was so good. I’ve never had anything this good.” He blushed in embarrassment then turned to them both.

“I hope that the first mission our employer puts us on is going to be fun. I’m aure its going to be challenging, but fun.” He smiled excitedly. He itching for a challenge that he has yet to overcome easily.

 

[Inufandom]

Zeke smiled. " Thank, kid. A death planet such as Falo will be a challenge, even for someone like me. I can breathe there just fine, but other hazards lie in the wastes of such a planet.

Above them, there was a DING! As the onboard monitors flickered to life. On them was Jade. "Hello, fresh hires. Good morning, and Welcome to Seminol. You'll be docking here in about 45 minutes, and then here in about another 25. I have orders for you already from the boss. You are to report directly to the Cybernetics Facilities on Sub-level B5 once the arranged taxi has dropped you off here at the hotel. I will be accompanying you there. Oh, and I do hope that Madam Dijio's performance tonight has you excited. You may meet her in person, should Xen see fit. Do play nice, and we'll see you when you here."

The screens went blank and they all knew it was time to face the boss.

 

[AnnaVale]

Rust smirked after jade went off the screen. "This should be exciting." he said while taking a drink. He wondered to himself what his other coworkers would be like. He was even more curious as to what Xen is like. He went back into his room and slept for a few more minutess so he was in tip top shape.

 

[Coriander]

Remi had never seen so many people dressed so nicely, fancy clothes with masks plastered to their faces. It was as if he has anything special on him, but he was glad at the given attire. He could feel the twisting of electricity running from his feet to his gut, excitement settling in nicely. Meeting new people was a favorite of his, and with so many new possible faces, it was the best meeting yet. A new boss along with a new adventure always sent thrilled chills. Though, he wondered why masquerade? He had to admit that the mask's and theme was fairly nice, song drifting in air leaving him relaxed and tranquil, but for an introduction to a most likely lethal mission? Questionable. None the less he got prepared, giving himself a rundown at how not to act and having means of being as polite as he could be, even if it meant shutting up. Being professional usually left the largest impacts.

 

[Inufandom]

Zeke was in awe of the Hotel complex, it seemed like an amazing architectural feat. It seemed to spiral around its guests, with 'floating' mini oasis pools and other such gravity-defying architecture.

But as he and his merry group were shuttled along, it became very clear that they were expected. The taxi driver followed his onboard directions into a parking garage, where they were met with Jade in person.

"So nice to meet you, your lot is the last to arrive. You have two other co workers in Cybernetics already. Follow me, and Xen will be with us momentarily."

 

[sDoyle1223]

The process of shuffling shuttles made J and Yuriko both nervous and excited. This was one place they had never been before. The land was beautiful and so was the architecture. They had only imagined what it would be like, but this far exceeded their expectations. J stuck close to his mother, an instict that was very hard to break, and looked around in wonder. So many questions were buzzing through his mind. Oh the samples he could take, the studying he could do to understand the cybernetic world that was there.

Yuriko stood cautiously by her team and kept an open mind to everything. The fact that they were having to "put on a show" with their new gear was kind of odd and left an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was ready to get on with it. The Osc, Jade, seemed like a nice boy in her eyes. She could read into the mask's code that was attached to the young man's face and found it fascinating. If that was a design of their new employer, she could only imagine what the lot of them would be in for.

 

[AnnaVale]

Vivienne looked around the place and her eyes lit up as she was fascinated by the design and architectural beauty of this place. She stayed close to J as she felt safe near him. Jade seemed somewhat familiar to her now that she met him in person, although that could be the fact of him also being an Osc as she has never met another Osc before. She was heavily interested in Jades mask, it peeked her curiosity.

Rust stayed far behind the party of the other shuttle. He looked around cautiously as if being somewhat paranoid. He wasn't sure if he could fully trust his other co-workers fully yet. However, The android woman with white hair peeked his interest. He found her to be quite stunning. More stunning than any other woman hes came into contact with before.

Jade walked along as he gave the new employees a tour. As they passed some of the labs he would talk about the research and design that they did here in regards to the prosthetics and cyber-defense. He smirked as he noticed how fascinated everyone was with this place. He mainly kept his sight on the Osc girl, trying to figure out whats so familiar about her.

 

[Inufandom]

Xen stood before his long dead friend, she now dressed to impress in the attire he'd selected earlier. A wire connected to a complex machine routed energy from Xen as he ran a diagnostic on the antique body. She was aged, of course, but the readings he was getting suggested she was still in the perfectly operational margins.

He disconected from the machine and embraced the statue of his friend's stiff body. He accessed her Magitek processor, and initiated activation as he slipped into her cyber-brain. It was mildly disconcerting to have two perspectives at once, one from his body, and then the view of Celeste's closed eyelids.

Xen was now in full control of Celeste, though he had yet to actually activate her body fully. Xen sat down as he bypassed security within the cybernetic body. He mentally entered the body of the woman, and drew a rasping breath, the first she'd taken in years. Slowly, Celeste began to warm up, her muscles and joints softening to allow movement. Her eyes opened, and she began to walk with some difficulty, though it was easing with every step. Activation after disuse always went like this. His previous body closed its eyes and slumped down slightly as Xen now fully occupied the 'new' body.

Xen began piloting the body around the room, feeling the body out and allowing it to air out some. He opened the hotel door, and began making his way down to his new employees. He did, after all, need to do the work on them still. This would prove interesting, to say the least. It might be fun to see them react to the different body. Xen couldn't help but wonder who would recognize her.

 

[AnnaVale]

As Jade got to where Xen was, he looked at everyone "Now, how about we all introduce ourselves. I'm Jade, I'll be working with you on this mission via Xens instructions." He looked to the Osc girl.

Vivenne looked at everyone before speaking, "Hello, I'm Vivienne. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." She said smiling big while standing slightly behind J. She was shy with meeting new people.

Rust chuckled slightly at Vivienne, "No reason to be shy little miss. Names Rust." He said crossing his arms.

 

[Inufandom]

Zeke sat at a chair in the room and crossed his arms. "The name's Zeke Remmington. I specialize in cyber- attacks and warfare." He peered around the room, at the faces and bodies of those around him. He wasn't surprised there was so much augmentaion amongst those hired for the job they would be embarking on. Though what concerned him was the android who hadn't spoken as of yet. Zeke didn't know what they were capable of, and if the bot could possibly discern the ZX types from normal humans. This was a bit unsettling, but until Zeke could figure out the bot, he wasn't about to admit to anything.

 

[Inufandom]

Xen smiled, as he'd remained quiet during the introductions. None of them had spoken of them yet, though Zeke had been eyeballing his new body in a sense of caution of the unknown.

"And now I will introduce our host, ladies and gentlemen." Jade spoke out, bowing his arm, the others now pivoting their gaze to the 'woman'. "Xen Seraphim."

Xen smiled, his new body every bit the woman who once inhabited it. "A pleasure to meet you all in the flesh before a busy night."

 

[sDoyle1223]

J stood beside his mother cautiously, trying to keep his curiosity in check.

"My name is J, and this is my mother Yuriko. I'm good at tinkering with robotics and inventing different types of tech. Mom can read into the code of most objects to find a weakness. Pleased to meet you." J and his mother gave a small bow to those around them. The Rust person seemed interesting, but did not want to get too close.

 

[Inufandom]

Xen cocked his head, looking into them all more in depth with his own eyes. The man, Rust, was sporting a gnarly augmented arm, though from another company. Not only that, he could see several defects in the design.

Yuriko, however, was another story. This gun mechanic in her leg made no sense to him, though now that he had her here, he would have to ask about it.

And James.... the poor child was squirming before Xen's gaze. Xen smiled, stepping forward, and remarking while pointing at his arm. "My, my, my, look what we have here. A Seraphim product. Young man, Are you trying to flatter me?" Xen's face belied his inner joy, instead a majestic, knowing smile. "Or are you insulting me with how archaic it is?"

Xen turned his pointed finger into an outstretched palm, and his smile changed little. "James, If I may examine you, please."

 

[Inufandom]

Zeke gawked at Xen. That was him now? Hours ago he'd been in a male chassis. And there was no organic brain.

His eyes weren't deciving him, there was no brain in there. And he was no fool, that body was in all the advertisements plastered everywhere. Xen was Celeste? What was going on? Who was this woman? Zeke's eyes faintly glimmered as he connected to the net to do some research.

And then using their proper names regardless of introduction of themselves. This... what was this guy's game?

 

[Inufandom]

"I can see you staring, Mr. Remmington. Please, close your mouth. It's quite rude." Xen sighed and peered at the bio-android, his eyes almost like fire. "You, robot, will be pretending to be a baseline model robot from my company for tonight and serving drinks and doubling as security should need arise. I have not forgotten anything."

Xen returned his gaze to the young man. "Rest assured I remember my own products. Now, if you would allow me an inspection proper." Xen held his hand out again, this time smiling gently. "I assume you do all the work on this."

 

[sDoyle1223]

J nearly melted from nervousness and excitement as he looked into the eyes of the woman in front of him. He knew that the owner did not keep the same look most days so it was hard to locate him by interviewers and others. He held out his arm, it having a few newly designed parts to it to help with patches to help with previous damages.

“Y-yes. Thank you. It was my mother's idea to go with Seraphim as I grew up. She only wanted the best I guess, but I’ve been meaning to get an upgrade.” He chuckled and Yuriko blushed looking away. His little heart was racing as he looked the woman over. That was the body of the opera singer that was famous for performing there, and the connection to another body not only interested J but Yuriko as well.

 

[Inufandom]

Xen smirked as he looked over the arm in question, and he gently pressed on the 'skin' in various spots as he examined the limb. The obvious repair and maintenance had visibly taken a toll on the arm, and Xen smiled. "Interesting work." Xen began to press on points in the wrist, popping the top section of the forearm off and peering into the inner workings. The discoloration of sections told Xen this arm had been through hell and back, much had been replaced or improvised.

"How interesting. Your patchwork is shoddy, but creative." Xen pulled on the hand, and it twisted to unnatural angles for Xen to inspect tension and calibration. The young man sat fixated on Xen's every word, unsure how to take Xen's comments. Feeling merciful to the child, Xen ran his finger along the main connection to the nervous system. "Ingeniously done. Not many possess the ability to recalibrate such intricate pieces on this model, even with the age of it. I can see the tool marks on the central nerve line, but the fact it functions is quite impressive, especially for a self-taught amature." Xen squeezed slightly, and felt the arm slightly give. "You'll be gifted with a new arm momentarily. State of the art, and brand new to boot."

Xen smiled as he turned away from the child to face the mother. "Yuriko, my dear, would you be so kind as to allow me an inspection of your leg? It has baffled me for some time."

 

[sDoyle1223]

“My leg?” Yuriko looked at the woman confused. The code she was looking into stopped running and looked down at her leg. “Uhm sure I guess.” She moved her leg so that it would be revealed to the hip for full access. J looked away and giggled excitedly to himself as he thought over which type of arm he will get.

“My creator added the weapon usage in this limb as an emergency option.” She thought back to when she asked her Master about the weapon. He seemed hesitant to answer, but told her that one day that she would more likely be trapped with no other way out. That was his way of combating that.

 

[Inufandom]

Xen smiled, and tapped his foot on the floor. A bench appeared, and twisted to allow Yuriko more comfort in lying down.

"I see," he replied. "But, what purpose could this possibily derive such self-destructive resorts? How old are you, Yuriko? And tell me honestly." Xen placed his hands on her leg, feeling the musculature and mechanical byline. This was so bizarrely done by his opinion that he couldn't help but be fascinated by it.

Yuriko sheepishly responded. "I woke up for the first time over fourty years ago."

"So you're an early model... Now that makes more sense now. Your kind was much more experimental in nature back then. Things are more streamlined these days." Xen sat back, producing what appeared to be a glowing ring with a wire connected to it. "Let's get started immediately. Is that alright, my dear?"

Yuriko nodded. "Alright, but what is it you're going to do?" Xen chuckled. "We're going to work this leg over and see if it can be optimized." He replied.

Xen slid the ring like apparatus up along Yuriko's leg, he connected to the back of his own neck with the wire, activating it. As he did, Yuriko would no longer be able to feel her leg the higher up it went. The ring glowed brightly for a few seconds, before suddenly severing her leg entirely at the hip.

"There we are, now to study this for a minute or so in a bit to produce something a bit more... workable." Xen placed the leg in question on a side table, with scanners and replication of tissue already starting as he asked Yuriko, "So, what would you like as a replacement?"

 

[sDoyle1223]

Yuriko watched the persons precision and was amazed and grateful that she felt no pain as they severed her leg. It seemed odd to look at but it did not bother her in the least.

“Just a reprocessed leg would suffice. I dont need anything flashy. Unless of course you have something else in mind sir.” She smiled up at the person. J was about to freak out as he saw his mothers leg come clean off. He started to panic but knew that Xen would be someone to trust with the wellbeing of his mother.

 

[Inufandom]

"As a matter of fact I did. What would you say to a bit of extra firepower, given the nature of the original leg? I can add in a few things to make it worthy of the runway tonight." Xen turned to James again. "Do you have any ideas for your new limb? Speak up and let's hear them once I'm ready for you. Your mother shouldn't take too much terribly longer."

Xen looked to a monitor floating next to the severed leg, and Xen tapped a few buttons, several tank-like contraptions appearing from the floor of the room, one for each of his employees receiving work done. "And you with the arm... Sit down and turn off all senses in it."

Xen returned his attention to Yuriko and her leg. "I believe I may be able to modify the original weapon to fit into your new leg, along with a few more modifications to it. Would you like that?"

 

[sDoyle1223]

“Yes please.” Yuriko smiled up at them shyly and looked over at her son. He was tinkering with the different settings of the arm. He debated quietly with himself with the different additions and alterations that could be done.

“I would like a laser shield if that isn’t too much to add. The additions of a holographic touch screen. It allows for me to edit blueprints easier and access different codes needed for mods.” J smiled up at the man inside the body, truly excited to be in the presence of the master he looked up to for so long.