[OPEN] Ha? You think I'll apologize?

[psychokinesia]

Who: Add & you!
What: Arrivals, breaking and entering & other fun activities! I'm kinda using this as a catch-all so feel free to hit me up at BlueFlewFedUQueen or Discord/PM if you have a different idea for a thread! Prompts are in the comments.
Where: Mainly around the Mortis Lake area and the Merlaut Apartments
When: time is fake
Content Warnings: Add being an asshole to robots and trying to punch people but that's about it rn

Comments

Merlaut Apartments | Breaking & Entering

[psychokinesia]

What do you do when you appear in a weird place with no idea how you got there? Start looking for answers, obviously. And since whatever force that dumped him here also managed to knock out his machines, a certain delicate touch was recommended in order to get those answers swiftly.

In other words, he's found the apartment building and he's kicking doors down.

Someone has to be in this building, right? If not someone, then something he might be able to use. And frankly, he's already over the idea of peaceful negotiations. If anyone has answers for him, they're damn well going to give them to him whether they like it or not.

[A]

If the door is unlocked, he will at least try the doorknob before kicking through any locks. He's not a total barbarian.

He's still going to let himself in, though, and apparently someone is home this time. His presence isn't as intimidating without the (literally) electrifying aura he usually carries, but he's still going to do his best to stand tall and sneer at whoever dared to stay at their own apartment minding their own business today.

"Well, well, aren't you lucky. You get to tell me what the hell is going on here!" He may also be cracking his knuckles threateningly, because this is definitely the best way to meet the neighbours.

[B]

Alternatively, there isn't anyone in the apartment. Which obviously means everything inside is free game.

He's primarily drawn to the sight of electronics or useful tools he might be able to use, but really, he's not that picky right now. He has no idea what's going on, so he might as well examine everything in the room like he's some kind of point-and-click adventure protagonist. If it's not nailed down he will manhandle it and possibly decide to take it with him. If left in the room for long enough he may even start flipping furniture over, just in case there might be something hidden underneath.

It probably looks like a tornado blew through by the time anyone gets home. But hey, at least technically everything is still in the apartment? Just, you know, including a big guy with tattoos ransacking the place.

a

[laconism]

Red and Pikachu are each indulging in their own heavenly slices of cheesecake from the Lemon Cello Church at a low table that was salvaged from Takoba Beach, which is rudely interrupted by an unfamiliar, rambunctious man bursting into the room. Having a complete stranger break into one's home is enough to piss off most people, but that is especially true for Red, being the private person that he is.

He swiftly gets onto his feet and closes the distance between himself and the stranger despite the attempts to intimidate him. Red only has two whole inches on this guy but he'll take them, standing tall as he gets in his face and locks eyes in an intense glare. Pikachu regards Add with a similar expression, crouching low on the table and ready to pounce if he needs to protect his Trainer.

"Do I?" Red's voice comes out as a low rumble. Clearly he's far more interested in fighting the guy than helping him, but it's ultimately up to Add how this goes down.

[psychokinesia]

Interrupting a peaceful cheesecake party is truly the most heinous of crimes. Red doesn't back down, but neither does Add—if anything, his grin widens. This guy doesn't look that tough, but at least he's got some guts. Add could probably take him. The weird pet barely registers for now, his attention solely on Red.

Although, considering the circumstances, getting information still comes first. So he wouldn't want to go too hard on him... you know, just rough him up a little to make him talk. He doesn't even know yet if he's in enemy territory or not, so anything more than that might not be necessary.

It could be fun, though. But priorities!

"I think you do, since you're the one hanging around in such a suspicious place. But if that's a problem for you, I could come up with a more convincing argument, heheheheh!" That argument might be a punch in the face.

A

[forwearemany]

(The door is, in fact, unlocked! Unfortunately, there's not much interesting in this apartment.

Not much interesting in the form of furniture, at least.

The very tall, muscular looking robot in the room seems utterly unimpressed by Add's attempts to be intimidating, turning when he enters, and raising an eyebrow flap at the demands and cracked knuckles.)

This threat is unnecessary. State inquiry.

im sorry he's just like this

[psychokinesia]

[There is... a robot in this room.

Lucky(?) for Legion, the threatening aura is immediately dropped in favour of confused gawking, shortly followed by an enthusiastic] This place has Nasods?! I've never seen a model like this before...

[Not only that, but this is clearly an advanced model if it can respond like that. He's seen enough of the more mindless Nasods to know the difference. He enters the apartment fully to get a closer look—probably a little too close, but at least he's keeping his hands to himself (so far).]

Unknown model with advanced functionality... the design is completely different from Adrian's work, so it can't be from Elysion. Did another researcher manage to replicate the codes? Or maybe an original creation unrelated to Nasods...? [he is mostly just muttering to himself but now he absolutely needs to know] Who created you? Do you have a name, identification, model number, anything at all? Are there other machines like yourself? Tell me everything!

[... yeah he's pretty much forgotten about the whole reason he just broke in here.]

[forwearemany]

(They take a step back, chattering unhappily to themselves in Geth about the proximity.)

We are not a Nasod.

(Another variety of synthetic? It is likely.)

Our name is Legion. We are Geth, and we are the last.

(But this is getting off topic.)

State inquiry.

[psychokinesia]

The last? So there aren't any more of you? [he sounds GENUINELY UPSET about this revelation, though it is still also a very fascinating bit of information. He brings a hand up to his mouth, mumbling uselessly into it.] A new type of sentient machine, and I'm already too late... tch, guess some things can't be changed.

[But anyway, Legion just gave him an open invitation to ask questions, and Add is absolutely milking that for everything he can get.]

You said "we", so does that mean the name Legion belongs to more than one unit? Or is that just how you prefer to refer to yourself? Also, if you're "the last" then that implies there were more, but not anymore. What happened to the rest of your kind? Do you know who created you? Is that person still around— ah, I suppose not, or they would probably be able to create more. Unless this creator is still alive but unreachable, such as Adrian Nasod's situation, so perhaps it's not a completely lost cause...

Oh! Wait wait, before that— [he was already starting to talk a mile a minute but now he's really excited again] Your power source! What's powering you?! I've been trying to get Dynamo—I mean, my machines, you get the idea—nothing is responding, it acts like there's no power going to it at all, but that can't be right. But you seem to be functioning fine, so maybe it's something blocking the El energy transfer. If I could take a look at your central power core...

[... and he finally stops babbling long enough to catch his breath.]

[forwearemany]

(Legion is also genuinely upset about being the last of their people, though for entirely different reasons.)

There are 1,183 programs within this platform. Our Creators were a race known as the Quarians. They are also our destroyers.

(They take a step back at the power core comment. They aren't always the most trusting--given that their own creators destroyed them, is it hard to imagine why?)

This platform is not available for experimentation. Additionally, we are incapable of sharing power: though we ourselves remain operational, no electricity flows from us. This is likely a result of this world not consistently adhering to physical law, and is not affected by the design of our platform.

(They headtilt.)

You had inquiries prior to your discovery of this unit. You no longer desire answers?

A - It pretty much has to be A!

[blue_eyed_obsession]

Well this brought back some unpleasant memories for the ceo of Kaiba corp. When was the last time someone was trying to kick down his door? Ah-yes during the Duelist Kingdom tournament. Whoever it was had better have brought a working firearm because Kaiba was in no mood for this nonsense and he was liable to turn this physical himself.

With plenty of warning, he righted himself and crossed his arms over his chest, awaiting the inevitable failure of the cheap lock. He moved a little closer to the window and kept the computer chair between himself and the door.

Once the stranger burst through the door, and delivered his introduction Kaiba had a few words of his own to say. "Oh look at that- a witless baboon has managed to find it's way into my apartment." Then he smirked, tilted his head to one side and proceeded. "The only thing I'll be providing is a one-way ticket through the nearest window, I'm under no obligation to tell you anything."

[psychokinesia]

There are no robots in this room, but at least there's a very punchable face. Add scoffs, letting the broken door swing back behind him as he steps into the room fully.

This guy is so obviously suspicious. If he's refusing to answer, he probably knows something—that, or he's just a cocky brat who Add wouldn't mind teaching a lesson about respect. You know, by breaking into his apartment and beating the shit out of him. It's totally about respect. It definitely doesn't have anything to do with being mad about that petty insult at all.

"If you think you can, go ahead and try me," he shoots back. Bring it on, nerd. "But I'll warn you, I'm in a bad mood today so I can't promise I won't break that pretty face of yours in retaliation. That would be such a shame, since you won't be able to answer me anymore, kukukuku..."

He folds his arms as well, stubbornly staying put to block the door. He'll give this guy one more chance to change his mind.

"I've got more important places to be, so why don't you start talking already so we can get this over with, hmm?"

Or you could just talk like normal people...

[blue_eyed_obsession]

No robots.... yet. If Kaiba had his way that might not be true in the future but so far the lack of available resources was holding him up.

There was an unfortunate side effect to his general demeanor and mannerisms, his natural mistrust for others that projected that he, himself might be a person-of-interest. That and by having disparaging remarks at the ready, he managed to make a lot of enemies upon first encounters. Kaiba fully intended to give a good account of himself if it came to it, he was no slouch in the physical conditioning though most of his interests were more cerebral in nature.

"Let me get this straight," Fingers discretely slipping over the cards in his duel disk, an action made much simpler by his posture. "You're the one that broke into a clearly locked apartment, and not only do you seem surprised that I would have the audacity to retaliate, but are demanding answers?" Giving a shake of the head and ignoring the pretty face comment.

"Does that about cover it...?" The recap wasn't necessary, it was just a means to keep the other talking or distracted. Maybe the guy was expecting it, but Kaiba defied him to be ready for this. In a flash, he flung out one arm with lightning quickness, launching one of his duel monsters cards directly at the stranger's right eye. The trajectory was flawless so if the intruder didn't react he'd temporarily lose the use of that eye.

... but not stopping at that, Kaiba kicked the office chair forward, it sailed into the air on a collision course for his cocky bastard ideally with enough force to unbalance him.

talking like normal people? with egos this large??

[psychokinesia]

"Yeah, in an apartment building in the middle of nowhere—literally. Seems like you're pretty cozy here, too. So what kind of person decides to settle down in a messed up place like this, hmm?"

A suspicious person, that's who. (or a person in the exact same situation as him, but that's not really on his mind right now since this is obviously some kind of demonic conspiracy)

The sudden attack doesn't catch him completely off guard—he's been expecting a fight since this guy opened his obnoxious mouth, and the current "demonic conspiracy" theory would surely lead to some unpleasant battles if it turned out to be true. He sees a flash of motion and ducks out of the way, his face twisting into a manic expression of bloodlust. Peaceful negotiations aren't really his style anyway. He's going to solve this his way.

A chair comes sailing at him a moment later, and on reflex he lifts up a palm threateningly and... takes an office chair to the face.

Ah. Right, no dynamos.

Actually, this might be a bit more challenging that he would've liked, but he's not about to give up just because he has to get his hands dirty. He's quick to recover from getting knocked on his ass, hissing a curse under his breath as he tosses the stupid chair aside. Now he has a new reason to want to punch this guy in the face.

Add lunges forward, aiming to do exactly that. He doesn't know the other's full capabilities, but there won't be any need for that if he can finish this quickly, right?

A

[begetblue]

"Eep!"

Turing had started getting used to the utter strangeness of the Void, but that did not at all mean they were prepared for someone barging in unceremoniously. All they had wanted to do was clean and purge their apartment of mushrooms (yet again), what did they do to deserve this??

On the bright side, the door had indeed been unlocked. That had to count for something, even if the door wasn't great to begin with.

"That behaviour is entirely unnecessary!"

AGAIN: I AM SORRY HE'S LIKE THIS

[psychokinesia]

"Aha! So there are more of you!"

At least Turing is spared all the threatening gestures, but there's still a weird stranger barging into their apartment. He lets himself in like this is perfectly normal, eager to examine this exciting new specimen—

"Huh. Hang on..." Add pauses, closing the gap between them to get a better look at this new machine. He circles Turing like a shark sizing up its prey. "This design is completely different... different materials as well? Looks more lightweight, less suited for battle. Display is much more expressive... hmm, is the entire casing a screen?"

And with that, he is just gonna shamelessly try to touch Turing's face. You know, for science.

IT'S OKAY plus I'm not making it any better oh no

[begetblue]

Turing turned as Add circled around. It did not escape their notice that it was more like they were being talked at rather than talked to. For someone with chatterbox tendencies, this was deeply frustrating! Even more so when Add began moving closer.

Understandably, Turing pulled away when Add got way too close for comfort. They had let that go in the past, but they certainly weren't going to do the same for someone who had burst into their apartment in such a way!

...However.

"Yes. It is a capacitive touch screen, and I have full control over the display. It also functions as a two-way mirror for my own purposes."

...That did not extend to actually answering Add's questions. At the end of the day they were not above tooting their own horn, so to speak, and it wasn't like Add was asking about their sapience or similar. If only they realized that this was likely only going to make the situation worse.

[psychokinesia]

"Touch screen? Like a user interface?" For a second he almost gets the hint that Turing doesn't want to be touched by a total stranger, but then they have to go and call it a touch screen... what else is he supposed to do but want to touch it?!

Still, he has learned some manners... or at least that if he keeps pushing his luck recklessly, he might miss the opportunity completely. So as much as he wants to reach out and remove this robot's head to analyze it in detail right now, he resists the temptation and folds his arms instead. He can be patient, but he will touch that screen.

"Having something like that on your face seems wildly impractical... hmm, what's your main designation? Some type of administrative role, maybe?" A unit that doubles as an access terminal? That still seems weird to him, but that's more because he's used to everything being able to project cool holoscreens.

Merlaut Apartments | "Repairs"

[psychokinesia]

Eventually, Add does come to the conclusion that maybe breaking into the apartments of equally confused people isn't the best way to address this situation. So, he takes his investigation elsewhere. For now.

There are computers at the check-in counter of the apartment lobby—well, not anymore. One computer is now in several hundred pieces, all scattered around the counter in neat little piles. They're "organized", but in a way only Add would be able to decipher, most likely. At least he seems to know what he's doing? The more useful parts are set aside, as well as anything that might contain recoverable data. If he just had a way to access it...

He's completely absorbed in his task, muttering to himself as he carefully examines each individual circuit in detail. That said, he's not so absorbed he won't yell at anyone who tries to touch his work station—he won't allow even one tiny screw being moved out of place.

[activatingcombatmode]

[Look, Zack has just as many questions and no answers for them as anyone else new to this weird void-like place. The sky is full of white and nothingness, there's a beach full of junk and weird creatures all over the place. He's meeting people he hasn't seen in years and he's pretty sure the last thing he remembers before waking up in this weird milk-world is having several bullet wounds in him that are now miraculously gone.

So yeah. He gets the whole ripping-things-apart-to-try-and-find-some-answers thing.

Zack casually meanders over and reaches out to snatch up one of the computer chips off one pile to hold it up to the light like somehow that's going to tell him something about it.]

Do you really think breaking apart a bunch of computers will help? Have you found anything?

[He's genuinely curious! Even if it doesn't seem that way!]

[psychokinesia]

[Like a sixth sense activating, he shoots Zack a sharp glare the very moment his fingers touch that chip. It is ever so slightly out of his reach—ugh, he'd be interrupting his work even more trying to stand up and snatch it back...]

Those parts are delicate, put it back where you found it before you break the damned thing. [he might still try to grab it... please, he had those SORTED you are RUINING HIS SYSTEM] And I'm not breaking anything. I know exactly how to put this back together. Dismantling it to the base components is the only way I can analyze it right now.

[because, surprisingly, he is doing this for a reason beyond wanting to take a thing apart. He sighs, putting down the part he'd been looking at for now.]

I have a machine that isn't working, so I thought I'd take samples from machines present in this world to see what the problem might be. Except these machines aren't working, either. There's nothing apparently wrong with them, so there must be some other explanation for it.

[activatingcombatmode]

Oh, so that's what you're doing...

[Zack says this like he understands when he doesn't actually understand at all...

But at least he puts down the piece right where he found it. This guy must be a pretty big nerd to understand all of this tech and jargon. Zack would have guessed twice on that since he doesn't really look the type.]

None of the computers or machines are working at all? Maybe it has something to do with how ass backwards this entire world is. There's no sky and all.

[So he assumes there's no cell towers or anything like that either. Goodbye forever wifi connection.]

[psychokinesia]

[add is very proud of his punk-nerd aesthetic tyvm

He folds his arms, leaning back in his cozy office chair. Well, alright, the fact that even the sky looks weird should maybe be a hint that things aren't going to behave normally...]

I've been to dimensions with weirder skylines, but this is something else entirely. How can there be an interference that's powerful enough to disable all these machines, yet there are also sentient machines in this very building that are completely unaffected? There's no way an occurrence like that could be natural. There must be something behind all this, deciding which machines to disable and which ones to leave active.

But how would a force like that distinguish its targets if there's nothing unusual in the affected machines...? Maybe if I ask to examine them under those circumstances...

[He trails off momentarily, leaving it unclear if that was a rhetorical question or not. Anyway—]

Is there anything else unusual you've noticed about this place? Besides the obvious.

[bachagain]

[ oh no, it's a weirdo. what happens when two weirdos collide? does a big black hole just appear in the middle of the void, sucking everyone into it?

leo's deep into a notebook, squiggling... something. so, much like add, he doesn't really take much note of his surroundings. unfortunately for both of them, that means that... one tiny screw being out of place will... inevitably happen, given leo's walking right into the counter and, you know, slightly moving the lighter contents on the surface from that moment of contact.

ah. at least that's enough to snap him out of his distraction, ]

Ouch! Whoops, guess I'm not used to the layout here... Can't walk around blind--

[ wait. he's blinking at the counter, noting that... all the stuff here is definitely new. he didn't just happen to ignore all this before, right? it's entirely possible. ]

Huh? What's going on here?

[psychokinesia]

[For that brief, cursed moment, Add is completely absorbed in unscrewing a new piece from the frame. So absorbed that he doesn't even notice someone else approaching until the counter lightly jostles.

Like a butterfly flapping its wings, the results are catastrophic—all of his neat and tidy piles, all his hard work to keep things organized so he won't struggle to put it all back together... everything is ever so slightly shifted out of position. Maybe one or two screws roll onto the floor. The state of the counter may seem exactly the same, but the precise order of it all has definitely been ruined beyond all repair.

Add chokes out a strangled gasp, dropping his screwdriver.]

What the hell are you doing?! These are delicate components, don't just run into things like a fucking idiot! I swear, if even one piece goes missing—

[Leo is welcome to use his imagination for the rest of that one, since Add is now busy cursing under his breath and trying to re-sort his mildly jostled piles.]

[bachagain]

[ oh my god. someone with a better sense of survival and more than one (1) brain cell would perhaps find add's tirade concerning, but. but leo is not that.

you see, to him, it's just funny. add's very passionate? it's obviously a good thing. and it was kind of his fault there, so leo can't be entirely mad... though it's not like he's going to stand there and get called a bunch of shitty things either, god.

mmm, there's a screw on the floor? leo goes to pick that up as add raises his goddamn blood pressure. ]

Ahhh, shhhh, relax! Your hair's gonna get even whiter from stress if you keep on going, y'know! [ what ] I get how it is when someone messes with your work, so I can't be all hypocritical and be upset about it... But I'm not gonna sit here and get insulted either!

[ binch ]

Here's a screw! Where do you want it?

[ can't believe this is where leo tsukinaga is gonna die ]

[psychokinesia]

[Add is trying to ignore Leo. Clearly nothing good could come from this buffoon, so his best bet is to just sort this out himself and hope the cause of the problem will go away. He can't be dealing with all these constant distractions if he wants to get anything done.

But no, Leo is still here, and now he's got his dirty fingers all over one of the missing screws. Add scowls at him.]

With the rest of the screws, obviously. Where do you think it goes? [there are several piles of screws of varying sizes and shapes, but since Add knows the difference he sees no reason to explain further. this much should be common knowledge!!]

If you're going to keep being a pain in my ass, at least do it quickly. Where's the other one?