(Untitled)

[purejustice]

[Worried Rock is worried. He's found his way to the fountain, and he's taken off his helmet. Sitting on the edge of the fountain, he kicks his feet back and forth against the stone. There's so much that he had to take in so quickly! It's awfully overwhelming. He's not depressed, just deep in thought, just trying to sort it all out

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[proto_hero]

*As Proto is wont to do, he wanders. And spots Rock. After a moment of consideration, consisting of tilting his slightly oversized head to the side, he decides to walk over with a nod.*

Getting used to this place so far?

[purejustice]

Hi, [a grin] 'big' brother!

I guess I'm doing okay, yeah. I did get a chance to talk to Dr. Light for a little bit, but I don't have orders yet still. But I found out some information about what's been going on, and Copy's with us now. Oh! And Elec's here too!

[proto_hero]

Don't start getting cheeky on my size yet...

Really? That's good. At least now, if you get lost, we can organize a search party.

*He struggles to get up on the edge, kicking his little stubby legs, and then readjusts his scarf-bandanna while clearing his throat, pose as cool and mysterious as possible.*

That... Just didn't happen, right now.

[purejustice]

[he giggles and nods very, very seriously, then makes his face as Very Serious as he can!]

I didn't see anything. Nope!

[And here he breaks down into a laugh again.]

Uhm, you know. I had a question about that. The getting lost thing. I know now why my teleport and radio transmissions weren't working, because we're obviously nowhere near home. But has anybody tried to radio each other from inside this place?

[proto_hero]

Hm... Good question. I certainly haven't. Who would I try to contact?

But as long as there's not too much distance between the ones talking, it should work. Seems like it's only blocking things from the outside.

[purejustice]

[Rock shoots Proto a mock-stern look, like he's disappointed.]

Well, obviously, we should talk to each other! Especially if this place moves around a lot, right? Doesn't it make sense? That way, we can know if there's a problem and if someone needs help.

Do you answer on the same frequency as... well, I mean... You are Proto after all..

[Now he's getting confused again.]

[proto_hero]

*It's his turn to be amused, enough to smile and chuckle.*

I changed it just in case after meeting the other Proto Men. New one's 24.1. I trust you won't be telling it to everyone, right?

That, and I'm not sure what your frequency is, considering you've been altered from the Rock I know...

[purejustice]

17.7 with 128-bit random encryption. I don't know if you're using that, but we started to after we realized that Dr. Wily could get ahead of us by listening in to our transmissions on unguarded frequencies.

[proto_hero]

I'm not... And considering what I do, it's not like I need to.

But if that happens, we could always turn it back around and send Wily on goose chases.

[purejustice]

[That makes him laugh as he nods]

That's a good idea too!

[Then he gets more serious and dares to say what Proto surely knows is coming...]

That kind of thing is why we really need you, Proto...

[proto_hero]

*Can't be seen under the shades, but he still gives a reproachful look at Rock.*

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he's set for life." Do you know what it means?

We can't always depend on everyone to do things for us. We have to make mistakes and learn to correct them, not have everything fed into our brains. If I was always there to tell you what to do, you'd be a burden to me, and I'd prevent you from learning on your own what works.

[purejustice]

A burden?

[Ow, that stings, and Rock squirms in place uncomfortably.]

Th-there's always a need for someone to look at things from the big picture and decide what should happen next...

[proto_hero]

Mhmm. *He offers a nod, calm and measured.*

You're nice, and you're fun to be around, but you still depend on people a lot, don't you? You still depend on Light to be given instructions when you're in a new situation, because you don't really know how you should react.

Am I right so far?

[purejustice]

[He feels like Proto is doing him an injustice, but he can't exactly explain why. He knows he's a robot, and robots are supposed to help humans, and that's the end of it, isn't it?]

But that's how it's supposed to be.

It's not a good idea to let someone like Dr. Wily make a robot that can't be controlled, right?

[proto_hero]

It's how it ended up being.

*That brings another chuckle out of Proto, along with a grin.*

Probably not, but are you aware you're calling me a bad idea?

[purejustice]

It's what's right. We're stronger than human beings so we have to be more careful and we shouldn't ever just do something because we feel like it.

[His hands clench above his knees as he stares at the back of his fingers. Oh, Proto can be so frustrating! Sometimes he just can't understand him at all- why he has to be like that!]

I didn't mean that...