Chapter 3: With These Hands That Will Not Bleed ...

[nanocerancowboy]

[ACTION - A (In and Around 458 Stone Street, Late Afternoon/Evening, OPEN TO ALL)]

[Gat is coming home from his shift at the Mayfield Fire Station when he notices that there's mail in the household mailbox. Curious, Gat retrieves the envelope inside. It's addressed to him ...]

What's this?

[Opening it on the spot, Gat pulls out a photo of-

Comments

B

[a_gentle_boy]

[Passing by Goldberg Street, Falk may spot a familiar looking kid having a conversation with himself.]

Please, you really have to try your best. The smell is just -- Of course I won't kick you out, but -- Well, it's just, I don't have the time to wash my sheets every day. You can sleep wherever you'd like, but if you keep spraying every time something scares y --

...What?

Robot? What do you mean ro -- No don't!

[Almost simultaneously, a cloud of brown gas and a shimmering green bubble pop up around Lucas. Coughing and choking ensues, after which he'll catch sight of the person walking up the street.]

Oh.

...Robot.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Yep, that's Lucas, alright. Gat clearly remembers that voice-and Lucas' hairstyle and clothes are hard to forget, too! Curious as to who or what Lucas is talking to, he decides to head over to where Lucas is.]

[Though hearing Lucas cry out in alarm makes him break into a dead run, prepared to assist the kid in case something's about to happen. ... That probably didn't help matters.]

[Gat slows down as he approaches Lucas. Despite his appearance, he's still got a sense of smell as keen as any human's. Which, in this case ... is unfortunate. He can't help but bring a hand up near where his nose would have been as a human.]

Lucas-? What jus' happened?

[That's definitely Gat's usual voice and accent, even if it has a mechanical echo to it now.]

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas has his own nose firmly gripped between his hands. Psychic shields didn't seem to stop diffusion of scent molecules, unfortunately, and his own voice is modified to a nasally sort of pitch.]

Stinkbugs, um. Stink.

[This is sort of self-explanatory. Falk may notice the insect running up and down Lucas's head and body frantically.]

.......You're...

[He's sure he's heard this voice before, but he's equally sure he's never seen this person.]

[nanocerancowboy]

That explains th' smell.

[Despite that visor over his faceplate, Gat can tell Lucas is having a hard time recognizing him. His head moves slightly as he watches that insect crawling all around Lucas' hair, almost as if he was tracking it.]

It's me, Falk Gatt. You helped Dakki out last month when that sorry Milkman was forcin' folks to drink his milk.

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas's eyes slowly widen, and his hands drop away from his nose.]

...It's alright. He's a friend.

[This is evidently directed at the stinkbug, which stops scuttling around in terror and takes refuge in Lucas's hair.]

Hi, Mr. Gatt. ...It looks like you've got a regain.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat's focus turns toward Lucas.]

That I did. Just got it in th' mail today.

[He sounds a little unnerved about getting his original body in the mail. As a photograph, of all things.]

This here's my usual CAST body.

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas glances at the robot a little curiously, resisting the urge to poke the armor.]

That's good; you're probably a lot more comfortable like that. ...You don't turn into a car, do you?

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat stands there silently for a few seconds, but the change in his posture betrays his feelings; he's taken aback.]

Say what now?

[a_gentle_boy]

N-Nothing. It's just the last friends I had who were actually robots did. ...I guess they were technically aliens. ...Never mind.

Thunderstorm finally passed. x_o

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat rubs the back of his neck in uncertainty. Considering this kid has a living table, he can only assume-]

-Naw, I don't transform into anything. Ain't built for that kinda function. ... Were they friends of yours from back home?

Oh, everything alright?

[a_gentle_boy]

Oh, no, they're here. ...Maybe you'll have something in common. Their names are Mr. Jolt and Mr. Sideswipe.

['Friend' is a sort of loose interpretation of the relationship he has with Sideswipe, though.]

Yeah, it just kept disrupting the power. 70+ MPH winds. D:

[nanocerancowboy]

Folks that turn into vehicles, huh.

[Meanwhile, Wren from Phantasy Star III just sneezed.]

Whatcha mean by bein' "technically aliens," though? They weren't built by folks from th' world Mayfield took 'em from?

Re: Yeah, it just kept disrupting the power. 70+ MPH winds. D:

[a_gentle_boy]

I... really couldn't explain that well. They're, um. Built by the... Force? Or was that a TV show? Oh, no, the All-Spark, that's right. And they... Well, they're born that way. Except they're robots, so I guess they're constructed that way. And also they're cars?

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat stands there while Lucas tries his best to explain, though his head tilts to the side some. He's not following all too well.]

So this All-Spark you're talkin' about, it's what handled their construction. An' you're sayin' they were born as cars, but have th' ability to transform into humanoid shapes?

Maybe by "All-Spark" they were referrin' to th' company or organization that built them.

[Boy is Gat going to be in for a surprise whenever he meets up with those two.]

[a_gentle_boy]

Oh, no, they don't look human at all, except when they first got here and were forced to be human, like you. And I think they've traded at the Post Office briefly.

The All-Spark is... their god, I think. Something along those lines.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat's head pulls back in a "say what?" gesture.]

That ain't just what they consider their creators, is it?