[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

[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]

[buildyourworld]

[ He laughs in response to her bragging, finding it both impressive and amusing that she thinks so highly of her ability to cook. ]

Alright. As long as I'm not going to suffer from food poisoning, I'm not choosy.

[ If he caught the wink, he didn't respond. Or rather he can't respond to it. So, for safety measure, he's picking the most boring option out of the two. ]

I'll wait in the bar. [ He gets up and gives her wave before walking through the kitchen door for the bar. ]

[feastorfamine]

[it took a while, but eventually, Amy produced exactly what Eugen asked for. A wide smile on her face, she walked out and proudly presented it to him]

Here you go...! I hope you enjoy it. I even made the fries from scratch using some potatoes we had!

[buildyourworld]

[ While he's waiting, Eugen looks around the bar, checking out the alcohol selection and the titles available for the jukebox. When Aila finally emerges from the kitchen, he takes a seat at the bar and gives the plate an appraising look. ]

Looks pretty good.

[ Picking up a fries with his hand, he pops it into his mouth. ] Nice. How long have you been cooking?

[feastorfamine]

[Amy smiles when he takes a bite of her food, leaning against the bar]

Oh, since I was a little girl. I didn't take it seriously until I turned twelve though... that's when I decided I wanted to be a chef someday.

[buildyourworld]

[ He takes another fries before he starts on the fillet, noticing that it's cooked properly. ]

Impressive. Are you going to attend a culinary school then?

[ Pushing the plate slightly towards her, he tilts his head for her to join him. It's awkward to be the only one eating... ]

[feastorfamine]

That's right. And probably business school, if I want to run my own restaurant.

[that smug, proud look on her face? Not going away]

[buildyourworld]

All the best then. [ He smiles and gives her a nod of approval for knowing what she wants to do. It's nice to know that she has her future planned for. He notes the smug look and figures it runs in the family.

He continues eating the early lunch she prepared him, letting their company falls into comfortable silence. ]