[video]

[feastorfamine]

[the video feed comes on; it's obviously something recorded with a smart phone, and not something live. Amy is taking extra special care not to show her face]

So... after the whole alien thing, I woke up with all of this... stuff.

[the "camera" swings around to show something on a desk; it's a plastic robot model kit.]

I had another pulse that came with this thing. I was controlling it, in some kind of... space battle. There were others with me, but I can't remember them very clearly...

I'm not sure what to make of it. I can't tell if the toy was some kind of... avatar or representation the game was like in the first memory I had, or if I was actually inside something. And the stakes seemed a heck of a lot higher than some glorified video game.

Aside from that...

[she moves her phone to her bed, where a slick, black, orange, and gray outfit with a visored helmet is lying on it]

I don't know what this is. It looks like some kind of weird costume! Like you'd wear to a sci-fi convention or something... There's also some kind of circuitry or something inside the helmet...

So. Yeah. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm not expecting anyone to, but...

Comments

Re: text; private

[feastorfamine]

No, I can tell it's customized. There's a speck of paint off on the shoulder... you can see red plastic underneath it, and there's small signs someone used a tool on some of the parts.

I see. Well, okay... just tell me where you'd like to meet up.

text; private

[buildyourworld]

There are tools used to aid with paint job, so it's not really that big a deal unless it means something to you?

Somewhere with some form of privacy so I can look at your helmet. Think Neil would mind if we use his autoshop?

text; private

[feastorfamine]

Not that kind of tool. I mean some kind of file or exacto knife. Something you wouldn't use in factory assembly. That's what tells me someone worked on it.

I... I dunno if it'd be okay to do that without his permission...

... You can come by the bar. We don't open until after 11 am, and mom is running errands right now.

text; private

[buildyourworld]

I see. In that case, the person must be really good at it then.

Sure. Do you have a side door I can use? I'm not exactly in the right condition of walking into bars in broad daylight now.

[feastorfamine]

Yeah, you can come in the back. Just knock three times, I'll know it's you.

[action]

[by the time Eugen might arrive, Amy is sitting in the back kitchen area of Dylandy's Bar and Lounge, waiting by the door for the signal of Eugen's arrival. Her suit is laid out on the table in the middle of the room]

[buildyourworld]

Be there soon.

[ action ]

[ Eugen pulls on a baseball cap, retrieves his sling bag and tool box before cycling over to the Dylandy's Bar. It's a good thing he has today free so he's able to meet up with Amy without problem. Once he's done parking his bike against the wall, he knocks on the door three times. He looks nothing like an engineer in the blue and grey checkered shirt over a printed V-neck T-shirt and the pair of faded jeans he wore. ]

[feastorfamine]

[promptly, Amy got up to answer the door... and ended up staring once she did. Her cheeks turned a prominent shade of red as she stared at Eugen... though he wasn't dressed particularly fancy, he was rather handsome and intelligent looking.

... Amy stared for a few moments before realizing what she was doing, and then stepped aside, stammering]

H-hi! Eugen, right? Welcome! Come on in!

[buildyourworld]

Hello... [ His greeting died on his lip when he noticed Amy staring and blushing very obviously at him. Great. Not new to this sort of reaction, he simply waits it out and deliberately makes no comment to acknowledge it. It's not that Amy isn't cute, but the fact that she is Neil's sister is reason enough for him to not consider her at all. He doesn't have a death wish. ]

Yes, that's me. You're Amy, right? [ He pulls off the baseball he's wearing out of courtesy when realization hits him. ] I've never told you my name. [ Neil. ]

[feastorfamine]

... A-ah, yeah, I'm Amy...!!

[she smiles sheepishly, looking nervous]

I-I'm sorry... I guess my brother told me... You're not mad, are you?

[buildyourworld]

[ He frowns and sighs at the knowledge but doesn't directs them to Amy because it's really not her he's annoyed with. When he turns to her, the annoyance from earlier has been replaced with a small smile. ]

It's alright, I'll get used to him, eventually.

[ Stepping into the kitchen, he looks around a little and waits for her to show him in so he's not intruding. ]

Are you well?

[feastorfamine]

[for some reason, Amy felt her heart swell a tiny bit when he asked her if she was well. Blushing lightly still, she nodded]

I'm fine. Do you... want to see the suit, now?

[buildyourworld]

Sure. Lead the way. [ Adjusting the strap of his sling bag, he nods, ready to follow her inside. ]

Before we start, any ground rules?

[feastorfamine]

[Amy blinks, snapped out of her infatuation for the moment and raising an eyebrow]

Ground rules? About the outfit...?

[buildyourworld]

No. [ He chuckles. He thought it's obvious what he's asking for but then he remembers that she's probably not used having her belongings being look through by an engineer. ]

The helmet. What am I allowed to do with it? Can I take it apart? [ He adds quickly, just in case she panics. ] I can put it back together.

[feastorfamine]

... well, as long as you don't break it, I guess you can do whatever you want? I mean... I need to get to the bottom of this, right?

[ah, his laugh... it's pretty nice...]

[buildyourworld]

Alright then. It might take a while.

[ He approaches the helmet and open his toolbox next to it. Picking up the helmet, he starts checking the exterior for a good while and after finding pretty much nothing, he picks up his tools and starts disassembling it carefully. He sets every bits down in proper order of where they were taken from, line by line.

After what seems like a long twenty minutes of looking at the circuit boards and mechanics installed in the helmet, he puts down his tools and rubs his eyes. ]

The only thing I can tell you so far is that this helmet is build with neural interface, possibly designed to receive input from another device. I'll have to look at it later, after you echo its' functions back. Most of them are non-functional right now, so I have no idea what they do.

[feastorfamine]

[Amy sat there, patiently watching him as he worked. Of course, even she could get bored, and by the time he was finished, she ended up jerking up in surprise when he addressed her]

So wait... you have to echo back how it works separately? That makes no sense...

[buildyourworld]

[ He chuckles at her surprise and starts wiping his hands clean before he starts putting the helmet back together. ]

Yes. It seems like any powerful ability or advanced items gained will need separate echoes before we can access or use them fully. It's the same with our Gundams too.

[feastorfamine]

[Amy makes a face]

That's... really hard to swallow. It's like having an oven and the burners don't work even though the whole thing is there...

[buildyourworld]

[ He chuckles at the comparison, simple as it is, it's surprisingly apt. ]

More or less, multiply it a few hundreds time worse for your brother and the rest of us pilots. I'm starting to think your mini Gundam is a good thing, beats trying to echo all the weapons and systems back on mine.

[feastorfamine]

... Yeah, but yours may actually have a use.

[she sighs and shakes her head]

Anyway, it feels like I wasted your time. How about I make you something to make for it...?

[buildyourworld]

I suppose. Although I would rather have nothing to do with owning a weapon of mass destruction. That kind of responsibility is something I can do without on top of everything else...

[ He stops before it becomes a full rant, shaking his head lightly as he waves the plier gently at her. ]

It's fine. This sort of thing is interesting to me. If there's one thing good about echoes, it's the amount of knowledge and information that come with them.

[feastorfamine]

... I guess I see your point. It's just... frustrating. You and Neil have this, and... I can't even back you up. I just have a toy.

... I still would like to do something nice for you, though. Come on, anything! Just name it!

[buildyourworld]

I think it will be more frustrating for Neil if you're on the pilot seat. Neil worries for his family a lot, I'm sure you being safe is better than anything. As for back up, you don't have to worry. We have each other's back. [ He reaches out to pat her shoulder gently before pulling his back. ]

Well, if you insist. [ He thinks for a moment and grins at her. ] Can you cook? It's been a while since I had fish n' chips.

[feastorfamine]

[Amy grinned]

Can I cook? You're talking to someone who plans to open up her own restaurant.

[she laughed a bit]

You're lucky I have what I need for that on hand. Go sit out in the bar and wait... unless of course you'd like to watch me work...

[is that wink at the end of that? Uh oh, it is]