[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

[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.]