[audio]

[psimera]

Would anyone know where one could get uncommon adapters? Or, um, wire something electronic up to the grid here directly without frying it? Or any other way you can think of to charge unusual things?

[The voice starts off trying to be calm, almost mechanical, but it very quickly slips into desperation. Apparently this is urgent. The Commander's got blueprints of his insides saved in his head for repairs, but he doesn't actually know how they work, besides the fact that they do if everything's connected properly. He's clueless about this.]

[...he isn't someone who's been heard on the network before, either. It rather sounds like he chose it as a last resort.]

Comments

[a_gentle_boy]

...

[Lucas debates whether or not he ought to say anything. The Masked Man will get nothing but awkward light breathing for a little while instead.]

/quietly slides this into timeskip in other thread timing wise?

[psimera]

[By this point the Commander's had a response, and at least some hope. In case it doesn't work out, though, he's still paying attention to his COMP while heading to the park. Not that he's sure he'll have the time to get to another place if Ruri can't or won't help, but...]

[Breathing. He can't recognize someone just from that, but then he doesn't expect to recognize anybody on the network.]
...
Yes?

Works for me!

[a_gentle_boy]

[Oh no had he been breathing loud enough to be noticeable
Lucas immediately stops breathing

...
...
...

A minute later there is a light gasp, a few heavy inhale-exhales, and then the breathing stops ag --

No this was stupid Lucas clears his throat.]

...

Is something wrong?

[psimera]

[Oh. Pork.]

[The Commander freezes in place for a moment with one foot raised, flashing back to 'Designation Claus recognized' - no no no shut up that was just a stupid glitch not recognized not recognized he's got something way more important to deal with now - and checking his charge level is enough to get him back on track.]

[...Luca - the boy being able to access the network wasn't something he expected, somehow. He'd always felt like Luca... fine, Lucas - was the sort to avoid technology. And it'd be a monumentally horrible idea to tell him of any weakness, but he's pretty sure Lucas can figure it out from the original audio. That's bad.]

[On the other hand, even if Lucas is definitely wrong about the Commander being - that name, he's a chimera, not someone's br... - anyway. Even if Lucas is wrong, he thinks he's right. Maybe that'll make him want to help, and if Lucas has any ideas...]

[Well. He actually doesn't really see a downside. If Lucas does want to attack him while he's low on charge, there's probably not much difference between it running out or being destroyed. So, after what might have been a bit of a long pause and one or two harsh breaths, he starts talking curtly.] My cybernetics are almost out of charge. A number of my internals are cybernetic. [Lucas should be able to figure out the rest himself. Meanwhile, he'll get moving again.]

[a_gentle_boy]

[If the Masked Man is expecting practical help, Lucas probably ranked near the bottom of the list of people who could do anything about cybernetic charges. ...He probably didn't even know what a charge was. If he wanted generalized sympathy, though, Lucas wasn't a bad place to go for that, even if there was a part of him still bemoaning something about abominations and travesties of nature.]

Cybernetics...

[Lucas was at least clever enough to understand that he meant his robot parts, anyway.]

And you... need them? To, um. Well.

[An absurd question, but from a thirteen year old technological dunce's perspective, maybe letting the robot bits die would make him human again.]

[psimera]

[...maybe not, then. Lucas doesn't sound very sure about the Commander needing them, and he most certainly does.]

...
Without charge, my right arm and left eye would deactivate. I would not be able to use my jetpack or the Shield Killer. More importantly, a number of my organs were repaired during my reconstruction, and my heart is entirely artificial. Yes, I need them.

[...pork, now he's getting himself scared again. He forces himself to focus on the street in front of him steadfastly - what was he even thinking about Lucas helping? Something about - a controlled PK Thunder, maybe, but he's not sure it can be controlled, and besides... it was Lucas's companion who knew that, wasn't it?]

[a_gentle_boy]

[Great. The Masked Man knew he was reconstructed from a dying body but he couldn't recognize which body it had been even when staring his twin in the face. ...Now probably isn't the best time to bring that up again, though. When Lucas speaks again, his voice is slightly unsteady.]

I-I see. You mean you would die.

[And Claus aside, he had had enough death to last him a lifetime. Even, at the very end, Porky... He had been glad he had chosen another way out.]

You need a chimera doctor. Someone like Dr. Andonuts.

[Although... He had seen chimeras casting Lifeup before, hadn't he? Did they have 'cybernetics' as well? Who knew?]

[psimera]

[It's more that he's not even letting himself think about it. He's always thought of his programming as stable, but whenever he's faced with that idea, it suddenly feels painfully fragile. He can handle the name by itself, probably, but all the details he's supposed to know and sort of feels like maybe he does - no. He needs his programming.]

...yes.

I would need Dr. Andonuts or another scientist for repairs. [Like after Chupichupyoi.] Right now I need charging. I have not found any compatible chargers here, and just plugging in would likely do damage to my cybernetics - electricity needs to be controlled.

[Though if one of the scientists were here, they could probably make an adapter easily. The Commander wishes he'd been instructed in how to do things like that, but - that wasn't his purpose, his purpose was fighting, so he hadn't been.]

[a_gentle_boy]

[What was the use of technology and science if his brother needed to be a mass of iron and steel and plugged into a wall to live? Not for the first time, Lucas feels a faint surge of general distemper, undirected at anyone in particular, but simply at the fates that had allowed such a situation to come to pass. Worse, there was the knowledge that there was absolutely nothing of any use he could do to help. He didn't even know any scientists.]

How much more time do you have?

[psimera]

[At full charge, if he doesn't overextend himself by, say, flying everywhere, he can last several days. Like this... well, he's getting really low.] A few hours.

...
I might have found something to help. [He's not sure why he's volunteering that information, but there it is. And - there's the park, too, he's nearing it. The Commander hesitates, though still moving, unsure about whether he should turn off his COMP or not now. Probably. He feels like he should say something before he does, but at the same time he has no idea what, and neither does he know why he kept talking to Lucas once he decided there wouldn't be any help from that direction.]

[a_gentle_boy]

['A few hours', Lucas wants to cry, but panicking has never accomplished much of anything to his knowledge. Least of all in front of somebody like the Masked Man. There is the sound of a choked swallow before he continues on quickly.]

What is it? Do you need help getting there? I can... come. I'd like to come.

[He hadn't planned on saying that last bit, but it wasn't as if it weren't true, after all.]

[psimera]

[Now this he knows is a bad idea. Lucas searching for him to attack him while he's weak is one thing, he'd probably get to Ruri before then, and if that didn't work out then it'd be bad Lucas or not. If Lucas knows where he's headed, though - this could all be a trick and the Commander's chances might be smashed. This way there is a risk.]

[He still almost wants to say yes, especially after that noise over the COMP. What did Lucas do, earlier...]

No. [To everything.]

...
I'm almost there. I'll tell you if it did work once it's done. [There. That's almost a parting message, right? He disconnects, only realizing seconds later that what he's done is basically promised to contact Lucas again.]

[a_gentle_boy]

But --

[Lucas continues to talk into the speaker for a few moments after disconnection given that he knows zilch about how these communication devices work. Eventually, he exhales slowly and presses the button to disconnect on his end as well.

There is nothing to do now but to wait.]