Chapter Text

Track 0: An Otherworldly Pre-show.

"Well… not like I didn't see this coming, all things considered… but it still royally blows and means I'm in for a miserable homecoming very soon." One brown-haired young man by the name of Chai groaned out, fighting the urge to collapse against the wall he was leaning back against as he took in the paper he'd received from the campus faculty that told him his final grade for the semester. As he'd correctly suspected going in, his Grade Point Average for the entire semester (barring a few exceptions here and there for a few subjects) was completely abysmal, overall meaning he flunked hard.

"Urgh, God, I can already hear Mom and Dad dressing me down the moment I hear from them too…" The young man continued to think out loud, running his good hand through his hair as he tried not to think too hard of the furious, disappointed reprimands he was bound to hear from his folks for essentially ensuring that his year in college was just a giant waste of money. "Well, not like I'm gonna miss this dreary dump, if that's any silver lining…"

That was probably the most frustrating thing about all this too, Chai grimaced as he reached for the earbuds attached to his ever-trusty MP3 player and began his trek back to his dorm room to begin packing his stuff, he wouldn't even have wasted the time or money putting himself through college if he had any say in the matter. But with how his right arm's… disability ensured that most manual labor jobs Chai could take up would be overall stacked against him and his parents had been dead set on seeing a college education through… even though he just barely managed to graduate from high school, he didn't have much of a choice.

'Wonder what they're gonna tell me to do when they're done screaming at me… Probably make me find a local job at a carwash or some trash dump… Awesome.' Chai thought glumly, his dour expression all too clear to see as he continued with his trek. 'Well, better than wasting my time here learning to be an accountant… as low a bar as that is.'

And as Chai continued on his way, eventually reaching the campus's dorm building, he couldn't help but lament on how frustrating it was to be born with a disability that made pursuing his real dream and ambition -wowing the entire world as a kickass Rockstar- borderline impossible, with all his previous attempts at learning to play an electric guitar being overall abysmal experiences where very little progress was made. His dour thoughts on the matter certainly weren't helped by the fact that everyone Chai knew back home -from his family to the acquaintances he had back in high school- really had no faith in the music-loving young man's aspirations to become a Rockstar, partly due to how his birth defect made what would be an already difficult aspiration even more daunting, and especially due to Chai's nature as a goof-off slacker that barely skirted by in terms of grades back home.

Chai knew that deep down, he couldn't really begrudge most people for their lack of faith in his dream, given his arm's disability and the easily distracted, slacker personality he had under normal circumstances, but that didn't make it sting any less, especially from his parents and the people back home he'd tentatively refer to as friends.

"God… this sucks so much. Not even Trent's tunes are cheering me up." Chai groaned out in dissatisfaction as he walked up the stairs leading into his campus dorm's lobby, yanking out his earbuds when he came to the sobering realization that the Nine Inch Nails' greatest hits were doing nothing to better his dreary mood. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, the young man continued his walk out of the lobby and to his soon-to-be-vacated dorm room, mentally going over how best to approach matters with his parents if they didn't also get the news about his grades…

*Thp! Thp!*

"Hm?"

…till the sound of something being stapled back at the lobby caused the lanky young man to reverse-walk back the way he came. It seemed as though that while he wasn't looking, someone went and stapled some flashy-looking fliers onto the dorm's public board. With a look of curiosity creeping onto his face, Chai took in the flier's depiction of a broadly built robot's form standing triumphantly and apparently holding up the world, or maybe sun, amid the foreground of a cityscape at sunset. At the top of the picture were the words 'TOUCH THE SKY' with 'PROJECT ARMSTRONG' being at the bottom. Upon noticing that one of the fliers posted next to it provided some sort of explanation, Chai gave it a closer look.

"'Project Armstrong… volunteers wanted…? state-of-the-art robotic limb transplants…!? Disabled participants get a special pass for free!?' ALRIGHT!!~" As Chai read through the contents of the flier out loud, it was as though a meter was steadily being turned with his previously depressed and dread-filled mood doing a complete 180.

Yanking the flier containing all the important details off the board, Chai bolted off towards his dorm room with the intention to pack what few personal belongings he brought with him to college and his mind utterly racing. Unlike just a few moments ago, however, where the young man had been sullen and full of nothing but thoughts about how miserable the next few days and reunion with his family would be, now he was positively giddy and reveling in this sudden, miraculous turn of luck. His entire life, his stupid, stupid bum arm made his efforts to actually try and play guitar a nightmare and when combined with what people back home knew of him personality-wise and uh… work ethic-wise, had most convinced that his ambitions to become a bonafide rockstar was an impossible pipedream, despite Chai himself being certain that sort of career was his path in life.

Now though? It was like fate had finally given him both the sign and break in life he'd so desperately needed all along. People were so damn convinced that just cuz he could be a bit on the lazy side, that it'd be impossible for him to play guitar properly, let alone make a career out of it.

"Well let's see them say that to me again when I come home with a sweet, cool, robot arm and the musical skills of a Rockstar~." And with that said, Chai finally made it to his dorm room, kicked it open, and quickly began to pack what few things he had, ready to cross mountains and oceans if need be on his newfound path to Vandelay Campus.

Funnily enough, the energetic young man really wasn't wrong, per say,when he came to the conclusion that seeing that flier just completely changed the path his life had been on. However, at the moment, Chai came to the misguided conclusion that Project Armstrong and the technology it had to offer was the ticket he needed to easily coast through life and achieve his dreams of becoming a rockstar without breaking a sweat, the high that the newfound possibilities the project offered already getting to his head a bit.

In reality, while this newfound path he now was going down was certainly going to benefit Chai overall and help him grow and mature as a person, it was by no means going to be an easy one, not by any stretch of the word. Without even realizing it, Chai had just signed himself onto several life-threatening journeys that if summed up to him in advance, would just have Chai convinced that the one telling him this stuff is either playing an elaborate joke on him, or went genuinely mad from watching too much cartoons and anime.

(Hi Hi Rush OST: The Beacon.) 

…At the moment though, as Chai happily and obliviously air-guitared to his music in the entry lobby of Vandelay Campus, waiting his turn at the front desk, he was still certain his life was now on easy street from this point onward.

*Next…*

Yup, it looked to him like karma was finally balancing itself out on his end and giving him a much-needed break, and once he got a kickass new robot arm, he could finally get started doing what he'd always wanted to do…

*Next.*

Just the thought of this arm letting him properly play a guitar only got him further into his eager, oblivious air-guitaring, particularly reveling in the thought of having a crowd of adoring fans chanting his name. And hell, who knew how Vandelay did stuff? Maybe they'd even have a specially designed arm for shredding on a guitar. That'd make things even easier for-

*I said next!*

Perking up at the sound of the annoyed LU-C1LLE apparently calling out for him specifically, Chai pulled out his earbuds and confidently marched up to the front desk before pulling his filled-out form out of his red sling and sliding it over for the receptionist robot to read. The robot receptionist's bored, apathetic gaze lingered on him for another moment before taking the time to go over his form. *'Chai…' is it?*

"Yup." The young man answered confidently, putting an emphasis on the P as he spoke. Upon hearing that, the LU-C1LLE's lifted up the application to better examine it, honing in on the 'profession' box and the answer listed inside it.

*Profession is… 'Rockstar…?'* The robot read aloud, the paperclipped picture of the young man that came along with the application not being very flattering with how it showed him attempting to imitate a Rockstar guitarist's expression mid-performance…

*Fwip.*

…though it was nonetheless very accurate with how Chai was currently mimicking that very same expression, pose and all, as she took in the application.

"FUTURE Rockstar." At the sound of his chosen profession being mentioned, Chai blinked out of his rockstar pose before correcting the LU-C1LLE with a confident tone and point of his finger. The robot showed no reactions to Chai's boasts, just watching with a bored, deadpan expression before he broke into another riff of air-guitars and finishing off with a mock-riff and another pose.

*...Are you done?* the LU-C1LLE asked bluntly, making no effort to hide her utter lack of impressment and patience with the young man.

"U-Uh… yes…?" With the figurative winds taken out of his sales at that response, Chai could only tentatively provide an answer.

*Urgh, whatever. Here's your Project Armstrong pass,* with that, the LU-C1LLE put Chai's application away before pulling out a pass that had his picture and information on it. *and welcome to Vandelay Campus.*

"YES!" And like that, Chai's chipper, eager demeanor was back in an instant, quickly swiping up his Project Armstrong pass before sprinting off towards the passageway that would lead into the Campus proper.

Before long, Chai found himself reaching the literal light at the end of the tunnel, and found a clear grin creeping onto his face as he took in the pristine, futuristic streets, buildings, and appliances of Vandelay Campus.

All too eager to get on with getting his transplant and with the music in his MP3 providing him with even more of a spring in his step, the young man continued to race through the bustling streets of the futuristic campus, intent on locating the building where orientation for the project was taking place and being among the first that got their robotic enhancements. If he was hearing things right while signing up, all that was happening in the Campus's Production Center.

"Welcome applicants to Project Armstrong! Technology flawlessly meshed with the human body, all dedicated to improving the lives of people all over the world."

The sound of one of Vandelay's executives, that lady in charge of Marketing -Chai really couldn't be bothered to try and remember her name at the moment- did nothing to slow the aspiring musician's stride down, only slowing down into a brisk jog when he caught sight of his destination and made his way into a building where the other Armstrong applicants were all gathered.

"AND NOW, THE CEO OF VANDELAY TECHNOLOGIES: KALE VANDELAY!!!"

And judging by the sight of Kale Vandelay confidently striding out from atop his high-rise platform to address the cheering crowd, Chai was going to assume he made it to the right place.

"What a historic day!" Kale began, his tone personable as he addressed the crowd. "You're all the best of the best, and you're about to become even better… thanks to our robotic enhancements!" As the CEO continued with his introductory speech, the pleased smile on Chai's face only grew more prominent as he took off his earbuds to better hear him. Getting confirmation that he really was special all along really was just the cherry on top to what was already shaping up to be the best day in Chai's life. "We here at Vandelay have always been about helping those in need, and you all in Project Armstrong are about to show the world just how special you can become!"

"In fact, for those among you who truly are the best of the best, you might just have the privilege of assisting us at Vandelay with another project we have in the works. One that could potentially end up being just as revolutionary to the world as Project Armstrong will be, maybe even moreso!" At the enticing prospect of whatever this mystery project Vandelay has in the works was, the crowd's already enthusiastic cheering only doubled in its intensity.

"Now go! Get ready for a better life!" And with that, the CEO turned around and took his leave, leaving all the Project Armstrong applicants to get properly sorted for their upcoming robotic enhancements.

'Wait, they're setting up lines…!? Urgh, and I was one of the last people to arrive here too!' It was at this point, all while restlessly trying to look past the crowd, that Chai realized that the process to get set-up with some sweet Armstrong tech had a 'first come, first served' approach to things… and with how Chai had only arrived here about a minute earlier, he realized that if he legitimately waited his turn in line like a good boy, then he'd be stuck here till the evening, actual arm disability or no.

"Huh-? Hey!"

"I-I'm with him…!"

"You looking for a punch to the face, punk!?"

"Special pass here!"

"The hell do you think you're-!?"

"I uh, think they just called my name!"

…and with his realization in mind, Chai opted to put his natural agility to good use and navigate his way past the other applicants and to the front of the line. As one would expect, actively cutting through the line earned the wannabe rocker no small amount of glares and clenched fists that looked ready to strike him, but Chai's own speed and surprising lightness on his feet ensured he was able to dip, dive, and leap his way past several incensed Project Armstrong applicants unmolested, capping things off by jumping right over a particularly brawny looking guy and deftly stepping through the doorway the applicants were meant to go through… albeit right after nimbly ducking underneath said brawny guy's furious attempt to cold-cock him in the back of the head for cutting.

Not even a moment after pulling this off, Chai then noticed someone tapping on his shoulder. Turning to his left, the young man saw that it was one of Vandelay's ES-101 security robots (The Elite Saber), which was currently holding a plastic container and gestured for Chai to place his belongings inside it.

One quick change of clothes into a hospital gown later (followed up by him reluctantly parting ways with his MP3), Chai found himself being led (Read: repeatedly kicked) through the Project Amrstrong facility, so awed and taken with his sleek, futuristic surroundings that he didn't notice how a nearby screen that scanned his body and mental faculties came to the conclusion that the best robotic limb transplants for him would be one suited for garbage collection…nor did he notice the heated discussion going on at the railway several stories above him.

"You promised me the best of the best, Mimosa!" Kale pointed out irritably, stopping mid frustrated stride to properly address both his head of marketing and his head of production.

"Production asked for 'test subjects,' Kale… and Marketing delivered." The afformented Mimosa pointed out coolly, seamlessly shifting any blame over to her colleague as easily as she did breathing.

"HEY! Don't pin it on Rekka! You tell that grand-stander Zanzo in R&D to-!"

"Enough!" As one would expect, Mimosa casually throwing Rekka under the bus like that (figuratively, of course. Such a thing would be impossible in literal terms) quickly earned her the brawny woman's ire, but before she could truly get into her tangent, Kale's furious tone cut her off. "We need people with influence, and instead you're giving me…" As the irritable CEO continued with his tirade, he caught sight of something on the belongings conveyor that only proved the point he was trying to make. Without a second thought, Kale grabbed the nearby MP3 player that belonged to one of the applicants and brandished it in front of both executives. "LOSERS!"

"It'll work."

"It better!" Was Kale's sharp response, keeping his incensed glare on Mimosa and Rekka for another moment before his gaze drifted over and ultimately settled on the two cargo containers currently accompanying the three to the facility's exit. The tan-skinned man's gaze lingered on the container to his right, which was currently storing a great deal of exotic, albeit identical-looking dark-blue crystals, with one in particular standing out compared to its brethren due to its rectangular, cross-like shape when compared to the other, more cube-shaped crystals, and most prominently, due to the faint emerald color and glow it constantly radiated. "The recent development Zanzo discovered regarding our newest project needs my direct input and research, and the last thing I need to worry about on top of that is having to do all your jobs to ensure our more immediate efforts proceed without fail."

Kale didn't bother looking towards Mimosa or Rekka as he said this, keeping his icy gaze trained on the crystal for another moment before turning towards the more vertically shaped container, which housed both the curious, intricate red sword that R&D had painstakingly pried that emerald gemstone from… and a motionless red-headed female humanoid with the same sort of emerald gemstone embedded into her chest. "...And while you're at it, have the drones that'll be properly transporting these materials across campus to my lab to double-time it."

"And remember; no slip-ups, and no defects!" Getting his mind back on more immediate matters and projects, Kale made sure to hammer that demand home to both his subordinates one more time before continuing on with his day… but not before giving the MP3 player he snatched out of the check-in line one last disdainful look over. "...What a piece of junk."

And with a dismissive scoff, the cantankerous CEO tossed the music player over the railing and into the depths of the facility before he continued on his way… completely unaware of what he just set in motion.

Incidentally, Kale and the rest of the executives went on their way, pointedly ignoring how the music player Kale tossed smacked one of the VA-SER units responsible for carting the container full of those gemstones over to his lab.

*W-Whoa! Shit!* The VA-SER exclaimed, thrown off by the object suddenly smacking into his face, to the point that he nearly fell over entirely, which wasn't doing any favors to the other three VA-SERs, who all just barely managed to avoid collapsing to the floor and having that container crash down on them all with disastrous results.

*Be more careful you moron! You tryin' to get us all scrapped!?* The moment they were all certain they weren't at risk of dropping the container, one of the VA-SERs was predictably quick to start arguing with the one that set them off balance in the first place.

*Hey! I wouldn't have lost my balance if I didn't get a friggin' music player tossed onto my face!* Came the first VA-SER's immediate, indignant response. From there, all four of the Vandelay work-force bots were quick to start arguing, snarling, and hissing at each other as they all nonetheless continued on with their job. However, all four VA-SERs were so caught up in their arguing that none of them notice how that curious emerald-colored gemstone, the same one R&D went through all the trouble of prying out from that red sword from the other container, had tumbled out of its containment when the container had been briefly put off-balance, fell out of the container through a gap in it's design, and began steadily falling right after the MP3 player Kale callously and dismissively tossed away.

Both the music player and crystal rapidly and deeper still tumbled through the depths of the Production facility, each bouncing in surprising tandem off of several rails, one confused SC-RUB, and one headlight before finally landing at their destination… which would be on the chest of one unwitting Chai, who was currently being strapped into an elaborate operating table that was to give him his robotic replacement arm.

"...Huh?" Craning his neck forward at the sight of what appeared to be his MP3 player landing right in the middle of his chest out of nowhere -topped off by some weird green rock falling right on top of it not even a moment after- Chai could initially only vocalize his confusion before his eyes darted forward as the concerning question of what this meant for his surgery occurred to him. "U-Uhm…"

That was about all Chai managed to get out before the other end of the advanced operating table came forward and not only caused the young man to black out, but would also seal his fate for the considerable future… at the ever-present risk of sounding over-dramatic, of course.

Not long after Chai's surgery went underway, and not too far outside the Production facility, someone was beginning to awaken as a direct result of these events.

As established earlier, Vandelay's R&D division recently chanced upon a discovery related to these Otherworldly crystals (among other things), with us currently following the squadron of SBRs tasked with transporting these materials to Kale's personal research lab in Vandelay Tower. Even with the R&D head's recent discovery/development regarding these crystals, he still hadn't made any substantial progress in his experiments regarding them that would benefit the company, leading Kale to the conclusion that he'd have to get some research done on them firsthand if they were to see any actual progress done with them…

*Hey! Careful with how you move those things! You know what we were told, Kale does not want any of this cargo damaged or even scuffed up on the way to his lab,* …And with how Kale made it exceedingly clear to them how there'd be dire consequences for everyone regarding any potential damage sustained to these materials, regardless of who was at fault, it left the entire squadron of Vandelay bots a bit on the high-strung side. This was made clear when the lead SBR admonished his colleague for stumbling forward and once again shaking up the container with all those blue rocks. *and we all know it's straight to the scrap heap for all of us if even just one of us messes this up.*

*Yeah, if we're lucky. With how we're starting this job in Production, I wouldn't be surprised if Kale or Rekka just decides to go with QA-M1L instead.* One SBR dryly brought up, letting out a grunt as he helped push the cart along.

*Eugh, don't jinx it!* Another SBR shuddered. *That overbuilt freak gives me the creeps. Heard he doesn't just eat defects, either. Rumor has it Rekka, Kale and the rest of management even feed him the newer models that don't do their jobs properly!*

The banter between the several Vandelay bots continued like this for some time, continuing towards the Production district's main exit, the lot of them expecting this to be a simple -albeit much more high priority and sensitive- cargo-transport job they'd get done before lunch.

*FWOOM!*

Needless to say, those plans and expectations were abruptly dashed when the container holding their cargo spontaneously combusted out of nowhere.

*Say… any of you guys smell burning metal-?* The SBRs carrying the container barely even had the chance to comprehend that they'd also been lit on fire before the flames suddenly grew all-consuming, swallowing them all up and growing greater still. Just when it seemed as though the flames reached their apex, they suddenly began to shrink in and converge on their source, the fire Blade and Aegis known as Pyra.

At the moment, the Blade spoken of in legends in the world of Alrest was slumped down down in a kneeling position, seemingly unconscious and motionless. This only lasted for a moment before her vivid red eyes slowly began to drift open. "Hmm…?"

"H-Huh!?"

Once she properly took in her immediate surroundings, Pyra felt her initial composure upon feeling her awakening take a blow when, rather than being greeted with the cold, dark interior of the Tornan ship Addam sealed her away in, she found herself surrounded by the wreckage of what looked to be her container, several piles of melted scrap metal that appeared vaguely humanoid shapes, and a vibrant, colorful, high-tech cityscape all around her that resembled nothing from the memories of 500 years ago.

"What in the…?" Rising to her feet, the redheaded Blade could only take in the alien environment all around her while feeling a growing sense of awe and confusion. "Where… what is this place…!?"

After everything that happened in the events leading up to her sealing -after all the horrific devastation and death that had been wrought to Alrest in the immediate aftermath of the Aegis War- Pyra would readily admit that seeing such a new and futuristic cityscape like this was the very last thing she expected to see upon waking up. Had… enough time passed since her sealing that Alrest actually managed to recover -possibly even improve- from all the damage she and Malos inflicted on it? Or… was whatever was happening here something else entirely?

Pyra probably would've stood there pondering her current circumstances even further when two objects of interest out of the corner of her eye caught her striding over to them both upon noticing them, the first object was one very familiar to the Aegis, her sword, which was piercing into the ground, even if like herself now, its form was now changed considerably compared to how it was 500 years ago. However, even with its drastically changed appearance in mind, Pyra immediately took notice of something amiss with her weapon.

"...The Core Crystal is missing? How is that even possible…!?" Pyra thought aloud incredulously, blinking to make sure this wasn't a trick of her eyes. The sight was so confusing and opened up so many more questions for the redhead to mull over that she almost forgot about the 2nd object that caught her eye. It looked to be some sort of high-tech black tablet with a blue screen that had the words 'VANDELAY' typed onto it. Hoping this would at least provide some answers to whatever was going on here, Pyra picked the tablet up and began to fiddle with it, a curious expression on her face, before something popped up on the screen.

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING THE 'CORE CRYSTALS' AND 'BLADE' TRANSPORT JOB:

[As established, with the utter brick wall Zanzo and the rest of R&D have hit regarding the new materials related to this 'Blade and Core Crystal' project, Kale wants a container of the materials -along with the new set of 'materials' discovered during R&D's latest experiments- to be brought to his lab in Vandelay Tower for research.

Also, friendly warning for any workers on this job if you don't want a ticket straight to the incinerator; DO NOT say anything about how…  suspicious  it is that Kale wants an unconscious girl in a container brought to his personal work-space. I actually caught a glimpse of one VA-SER that was actually dumb enough to bring this up to his face and uh… needless to say, it was the last thing that poor sap ever did. (Also never knew a guy could go from 'annoyed' to 'utterly enraged and affronted' in just a few seconds like that…)

Either way, the long and short of it is that this whole job and matter is clearly a sensitive one for Vandelay as a company, so my advice is to just stay focused on the job AND NOTHING ELSE so that you all will live to see the end of this day]

…Well, that answered at least a few questions… but also raised many, MANY more, Pyra reflected as she re-read the contents of the note with slightly wide eyes and a look of confusion. It was very clear that whatever happened between her being put to sleep and waking up that she, along with multiple Core Crystals according to the title of this note, had been discovered by some sort of group or organization that wanted to research and learn more about her… and with the way they referred to her and the Core Crystals, it was as though they were referring to a completely new and alien discovery, not a concept that would've been well-known and established on Alrest for centuries by now. 

"...So I'm in a completely unfamiliar place, the Core Crystal on my sword is missing, this… 'Vandelay' company has a clear interest in researching Core Crystals and Blades, and my Driver is nowhere to be found… This… is all ending up being much more complicated than I expected…" Pyra sighed, she brought her free hand to her head. "And the way this note is worded… has so much time passed in Alrest that its inhabitants don't even know what Blades and Drivers are anymore?"

Exhaling through her nose, Pyra took a deep breath before taking her sword and pulling it out of the ground. 

"Hmm..." The redheaded Blade brought her weapon closer to her face, her eyes focusing on the cross-shaped hole where its Core Crystal should be. "Well, I might not know what's going on, but at least I can do something about this." She said before putting one of her fingers from her free hand into the hole. The Aegis focused her power, causing her Core Crystal to glow and after a few second an emerald glow came out her hand and into her sword. A few moments later, Pyra removed her hand and saw that her blade now had its Core Crystal. She then proceed to test out her weapon by activating it, and thankfully, the fiery blade of energy projected out of the sword as it should. 

Pyra sighed in relief. "There, much better. That's at least one concern less." She smiled as she deactivated her sword and unsummoned it. "Now then..." She took another look around her surroundings before choosing a direction to go in. While glad that she could fix her sword, she still had many questions as to what was going on, but pondering on them with no clear answer wouldn't get her anywhere, whereas she could feel that her awakening was caused by someone resonating with her Core Crystal and becoming her Driver. If the Fire Blade wanted to make sense of the situation she awoke to, then finding her Driver -whoever they might be- would be the first and best step to doing so…

…Though this course of action unfortunately brought one more question to Pyra's mind, one that was rather important too.

"This… place is gigantic. Where do I even start looking?"

To be continued...

Chapter Text

XENOBLADE RUSH

Track 1: A Fresh Start, (Part 1 of 2)

*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*

*CHNK!*

*CHNK!*

*CHNK!*

*CHNK!*

*CHN…*

*Yaaaaaawn…*

It was the sound of an alarm harshly going off and the feeling of the metal restraints on his arms, legs and torso being removed that caused consciousness to slowly ebb back into Chai’s being…

*FLING!* “WHA-!?” *CRASH!!!*

…And it was the subsequent sensation of suddenly getting launched off the goddamn operating table and crashing face-first into a metal fence that properly woke the young man up from his anesthesia-induced drowsiness.

After taking a good moment or two to properly recover from that sudden harsh awakening (by which I mean he spent that time pitifully rolling on the floor, clutching his now agonizingly stinging face, and letting out several yelps and pitiful squeals of pain) the pain in Chai’s face eventually faded into a much-more tolerable throb, allowing the wannabe-rocker to pick himself up.

 “Argh… Ugh, phew…” Chai groaned out, running a hand through his face and hair, still getting his thoughts in order in wake of such a rude awakening. “...Huh?” However, it was just as Chai’s mind finally cleared up that he then realized that he just used right, formerly disabled arm to rub his head just now.

“ Whoa… Heh…!” Quickly piecing two and two together and realizing that the procedure for his brand new arm looked to be a success, Chai was quick to take his newfound robotic limb in, in particular just reveling in the complete and utter control of the arm he now possessed as he had the hand itself rotate a complete 180 degrees independent of the metal arm. Already, possibilities began to flood into the excitable young man’s head as he imagined all the things he’d be able to do now that he had two functioning arms to work with…

*An error has occurred. Please proceed to the checkpoint.*

Chai was snapped out of his awed stupor at the sound of a LU-C1LLE making an announcement over the speakers. “Okay! Checkpoint… where’s that?” As he made that declaration, the brunet took a quick glance around at his surroundings and realized that he had no idea where said checkpoint was supposed to be. “Eh, don’t worry. Probably no big deal.”

Chai had just been about to wander off in search of either that checkpoint or an exit when he took notice of an O5-KAR unit to his right just finishing up stacking some boxes on a nearby shelf. Figured he could get some directions from the old Vandelay model, he was quick to stride up to him and get his attention.

*Are you here to see what a good job I did stacking these boxes?* The O5-KAR asked, keeping his appraising gaze on his handiwork even as he spoke to Chai.

“Uh, I mean, they… look good to me, but…” Chai began, testing out scratching his scalp with his new robot hand as he took in the stacked boxes. True to the O5-KAR’s words, those boxes WERE quite immaculately and neatly stacked… though that didn’t really do anything to help Chai.  “...not really, no.”

*Ah, well if it’s the exit you’re looking for, it’s a good 180 degrees behind you, lad. There’s only one route out, you can’t miss it.*

“Oh, cool! Thanks.” With that said, Chai continued on his way, casually double-jumping over a sprawled over set of pipes a nearby SCR-UB accidentally knocked over. “Yaaaaaawn… Man, that surgery really drained me out.” The young man yawned out, still feeling some lingering drowsiness despite the rude awakening he was dealt barely even a minute ago. “Hm? Ah! Now don’t mind if I do~.” Though as if in response to his complaints, Chai was then greeted with a damaged cardboard box full of energy drink bottles. Without even a second thought, the young man was quick to snatch one of the green plastic bottles up and began to down it, already feeling his energy return to him with each step he took. “ Ah! That hit the spot.”

From there, Chai continued to enjoy the drink as he continued on, only coming to a stop at the sight of some commotion at a stairway near the exit.

*We told you no more than 10 boxes at once! Now look at what you’ve done!* Specifically, Chai was greeted with a group of Vandelay CAR-11E robots (Carry) gathered around the stairway, two at the bottom (with both holding unstable-looking stacks of cardboard boxes over their heads) while one stood on its wheel at the top utterly panicking over the splayed over cardboard boxes all over the stairs. * We will surely face consequences for this. It has been a privilege working with all of you.*

*Curse my slippery robot hands! CURSE THEM! I have failed in my duties! I will surely be fired, or even worse… Rekka! *  The CAR-11E at the top of the stairs lamented, panicking the most out of the trio of robots with how this was directly his fault… or maybe that panic was because of that ‘Rekka’ person he mentioned, cuz it seemed like they were bad news, whoever they were.

“Soooo, I’ll be the first to admit I’m no box carrying expert here or anything like you guys, but… is there something stopping you guys from just picking all this junk up after you’re done? Or just… y’know, not carrying so many boxes they’re bound to fall over?” At this point, Chai couldn’t help but interject, tilting his head as he took in the scene and got the three robots’ attention.

*You are not incorrect. In fact, it would be much easier to simply transport all these boxes about just one or two at a time. It was actually how we went about our jobs in the BK era , but ever since Kale became the CEO of the company, he has mandated that we triple or even quadruple our carrying load!*

“Uh huh. Well, I’m not exactly seeing him mirco-managing you guys right now, so if I were you guys, I’d just pick all this up and pretend it didn’t even happen. Well, those are my two cents anyway, and it’s looking to me like the better option than wasting all day here panicking. Anyway, later!” Chai shrugged, barely sticking around enough to give a farewell to the trio of CAR-11Es before he jumped to the top of the stairway via the nearby cargo lift. Upon doing so, the young man was pleased to see the apparent ‘checkpoint’ mentioned earlier… and with what looked to be all his stuff at the pick-up line too!

*Please collect your belongings…*

“Yeah, time to get out of this gown already.” Chai thought aloud, quick to swipe his clothes from the conveyor. It went without saying, but uncomfortable patient gowns with only his boxers to protect his modesty weren't exactly Chai’s preferred style of clothes.

One stylish dressing-up sequence later (which was only slightly hampered by a disgruntled Chai having to stomp one of his shoes on to (im)properly get it on), the brunet quickly took notice of the giant doorway opening behind him just as he finished re-purposing his his old sling to act as a scarf… as well as making sure that little cowlick he had was still upright.

“Whoooaaa…!” Once again, an awed, curious smile expression made its way onto Chai’s face as he slowly walked out from the dim production facility and into what looked to be a courtyard in this neck of the campus that was overlooked by a gigantic statue dressed up as an Olympian and with an elaborate robot arm.

*Smack!*

“H-Hey!” So taken with his surroundings, Chai only took notice of the trio of SBRs apparently waiting for him when one of them held up his tablet for the oblivious young man to walk face-first into.

*Alright kid, let's see here: robotic arm LX-DUST75 , magnetic waste management affixture...* The SBR read from his tablet, quickly summing up the arm’s designation, purpose, and function.

“W-Wait… robotic waste management…!?” Chai repeated, flinching back and feeling an uncomfortable weight settle into his stomach at the SBR's blunt sum-up of his new arm's apparent purpose.

Foreign objects warning

DEFECT

Please proceed to recall facility

!

*’ foreign objects detected,’ looks like a defect. Take him in.* At that statement, the group of SBRs all began to then surround and converge on the hapless Chai, who at this point could only instinctively let out a few nervous laughs as he backed away from the now-hostile security robots, raising both his hands in what he was hoping would come off as a placating gesture…

*Whirr!*

*Pop!*

…Only for everyone -Chai and the SBRs included- to stop in their tracks when Chai’s arm (the same one apparently made for garbage collection) suddenly flicked open at the wrist after a 180 degree turn and dispensed what looked to be a more literal and primitive trash grabber, the kind you’d see felons using while performing community service at a busy overpass. The moment his robotic arm’s hand clipped back into place, it instinctively grabbed tightly around the trash grabber’s handle.

*...Is that a weapon?* The SBR asked, tilting his head quizzically at the trash grabber that suddenly popped out of Chai's robot arm.

"U-Uhh… I don't think so…?" Chai answered tentatively, sounding even more confused than them by the sudden appearance of the trash grabber.

*I think he's resisting.* The other SBR bluntly stated, he and his partner immediately readying their advanced, hard light stun prods to dispense some Vandelay-branded 'security justice' onto the wannabe rocker.

" Wait what!?" Chai exclaimed, stumbling back in panic at the two security bots' uncaring assessment of him.

*SLAM*

"Pff-BWOAH…!" Chai wheezed out, gasping out a combination of breath and spittle and the world momentarily feeling like it was slowing down around him when, before he could get another word in, one of the SBRs slammed their stun prod right into Chai's gut…

* fweeee…!*

*beat… beat… beat beat beat beat beat!*

…and subsequently kickstarted the beginning of the end for Vandelay Technologies’ current line of management, for that blow to the gut not just started up the MP3 player implanted into Chai's chest and his arm's Power Core Unit…

“...Huh?” …But also allowed a certain red-headed Blade searching the campus to hone in on our wannabe Rockstar's position.

“This is… certainly unusual…” Slowly skidding to a halt, the redheaded Aegis instinctively brought her hand up to her Core Crystal, which was now rhythmically pulsing with green light. Looking down at it in confusion, Pyra once again found herself at a loss in the face of this unusual phenomena. As the Aegis, Pyra was well aware that she had a great many things about her that separated her from the usual Blade, but in all the time that her other half had been awake for before their sealing, she'd never experienced an odd occurrence such as this before.

“Is whatever this is… linked to who my current Driver is…?” As she vocalized the only possible answer she had for this odd occurrence, Pyra slowly began to walk on… only to once again come to a halt when she noticed the strange beating and pulsing of her Core Crystal slowly growing weaker with every step she took. “Wait a minute…!”

With an idea beginning to form in her head, Pyra quickly retraced her steps and just as she suspected, the rhythmic pulsing in her Core Crystal began to regain its strength.

“This is linked to my Driver…! Maybe if I use this beat like a radar, I can find them.” It wasn't much, but this was currently the best option and lead Pyra had to go on. With her mind set, the redheaded Blade moved about in all directions, quickly settling into a sprint in one direction when she clearly felt the beat grow stronger that way. Hopefully, when she found her Driver, whoever they were, she'd be able to get a better idea of what this place was and how she ended up here.

‘...?’ However, as Pyra continued onward, she slowly began to take notice of yet another strange thing. The beat of her Core Crystal was continuing to grow strong, but along with that, she was… almost certain she was beginning to hear something in the distance. Something considerably different from the sounds of a gigantic campus bustling with active machinery.

“Is… is that music I'm hearing…?”

Back with Chai, the young man had still been in the middle of reeling from that gut blow while on his hands and knees when he began to take notice of how either his robot arm, the trash grabber, or both were beginning to rapidly vibrate, with the squadron of SBRs also noticing how several bits and pieces of scrap metal on the ground all around them were beginning to slowly move and vibrate. With the pain in his gut quickly fading into a dull throb, Chai stumbled back onto his feet and held out the now-rapidly vibrating trash grabber with fear and apprehension.

As he did this, bits of scrap metal from all around Chai's immediate surroundings began to zip towards and converge around his trash grabber, with the young man stumbling around as the scrap rapidly slammed into the grabber and kept him off-balance. When it was over, however, Chai was very pleasantly surprised to see that all the scrap somehow formed into the shape of a Flying V electric guitar! One that looked very good at smacking around a bunch of asshole robots.

Clearly, the pleased sneer that made its way onto Chai's face made his newfound intentions clear to the trio of SBRs, who seemed to know what was about to happen with how they all recoiled back in clear fear. If any of them had the idea to run, however, they certainly wouldn't be able to act on it with how the surrounding area’s security measures kicked in and quickly trapped both Chai and the SBRs together in the courtyard.

*GET HIM!*

Trying to smother their fear with aggression and bravado, the SBRs were quick to try and go onto the offensive when they realized they were stuck there with Chai, with the apparent leader of the group (the same jackass that hit him with that gut blow) leading the charge and once again trying to beat him into submission with their batons. However, Chai was ready this time, nimbly dashing away from the strike before following up with several strikes from his own kickass new weapon.

“WOO!”

“HEY!”

“CHAI!”

Chai was too amped up on adrenaline and the overall absurdity of the situation he was suddenly thrust into to really take notice of how, periodically, cheering and chanting seemed to be going off whenever he apparently timed his hits just right, instead focusing on landing one final blow that sent the unfortunate SBR sprawling to the ground, his body heavily sparking and damaged before getting consumed in a small explosion. The pleased smirk on Chai’s face at the sight of this didn’t fade even as one of the other SBRs tried hitting him in his blind spot, instead double-jumping out of the way before suddenly crashing back down on the SBR that tried to hit him with an overhead slam from his newfound Scrap Guitar and following up with another aggressive barrage of blows… all of which was in time to a beat that he, the SBRs, and really, everything else in their immediate surroundings unconsciously moved to.

“Okay, I have no idea what is going on here, but I’m loving every second of it!” Chai exclaimed gleefully, a toothy smile on his face as he delivered the final blow to the 2nd SBR, causing it to explode like the last one. True to his word, Chai had no idea how any of this insanity was happening, but he couldn’t remember the last time in his life he felt so powerful… so capable! It was a far cry from the handicapped loser he’d been just a few hours earlier.

*SMACK! Whap! WHAM!*

“Argh!” Though the smile on Chai’s face was quickly wiped off when the last remaining SBR managed to get a lucky blow in him and capitalized on it with several merciless strikes, clearly intending to outright kill now with how Chai destroyed his two co-workers.

“Hey!” Chai exclaimed in frustration, blocking the last hit in that bombardment before retaliating with a furious trio of baseball batter-esq strikes with his guitar, with the last one sending the hapless SBR screaming into the sky before he blew up in an explosion that reminded Chai of fireworks. “Yeah, not so fun being on the other end, huh!?” The young man exclaimed, too out of breath and annoyed with the series of hits the SBR dealt to him to really question how he blew up into fireworks just now.

Trying to steady his breath when he realized that he’d gotten all of them, Chai anxiously looked around his immediate surroundings for any other potential threats before suddenly flinching up and taking notice of the constant, rhythmic vibration going off in his chest… as well as how something was apparently emitting a vibrant , emerald green glow just underneath his shirt.

Confused and wanting answers, Chai slowly pulled up his shirt to see just what was going on under there…

* Gasp! *

And could only gasp and stare in wide-eyed shock when he saw that his music player , along with that weird green gem from before, were both floating around in the chest-implanted Power Core Unit that was used to power his robot arm.

This wasn't even touching upon how both were rhythmically beating to the music Chai was just now beginning to take notice of. (Many years of frequently having his MP3 blast music into his ears made him think nothing of the music that had been playing in the background since he woke up from his surgery, or even notice that his MP3 had been missing among all his belongings.)

As the exact nature of his situation began to sink in for Chai, he slowly lowered his shirt back down to hide the two stowaways floating in his chest from any potential prying eyes. Bringing his robot arm up to his chin, the music lover began to go over the facts to make sure he was understanding everything properly.

"If I'm getting this right…

1st: music player in my chest; pretty sure that's not supposed to be there… (Neither is the uh… glowing green gemstone, but no idea what that's all about, sooooo… more on that later… when I know more.)

2nd: The MP3's powering up my new robot arm.

3rd: It’s making everything sync up to the beat…

And 4th!:... this sounds ridiculous… but when the music kicks in, it feels like… like…!

Like I'm on a stage!”

At that last realization, Chai’s tone took on a much more excited tone before his mind began to very thoroughly wander …

…To the point that not even a moment later, the wannabe rocker then imagined himself getting launched onto a stage that looked like the setting for a big rock venue. As Chai stood back on his feet and took in the roaring crowd in front of him, he was briefly blinded by stage lights and, as his eyes quickly adjusted to the light, he was then thrown off even further when some inflatable punching bag with the look of a SBR suddenly rose up in front of him.

“Okay everyone, ready for something wild!?” An announcer suddenly spoke up from the ‘venue’s’ speakers, startling Chai into getting his attention. “Chai’s here! And his attacks sync up with the music!”

Shaking off his surprise and confusion when he realized this voice’s info would likely be important in getting a better grasp on his newfound abilities, Chai was quick to follow along with the nifty explanation, all while using that punching bag dummy to get a better feel for them and how he could maximize the damage he dealt by consistently landing hits to the music’s beat. Before long, the announcer had affirmed that Chai had a solid grasp on the basics of his abilities, which only intensified the crowd’s eager cheering and chanting of his name

“Chai! Chai! Chai! Chai! Chai!”

“Hahaha~! Yeah! And the crowd goes wild!” Getting lost in the wondrous sound of cheering and chanting that he only heard in his deepest dreams and daydreams, Chai couldn’t help but soak in the crowd’s adoration of him. “Thank you! Ah, thank you! Oh, you over there want an autograph? Well I’ll get you an autograph! Chai, cha-”

*Poke, poke…*

…He soon found himself brought back into reality, however, when he felt someone insistently start poking at his shoulder. Blinking his actual surroundings back into focus, Chai then found himself thrown for a serious loop when the first thing that greeted him was the sight of a very pretty and confused-looking girl with vibrant, neck-length red hair and matching eyes standing in front of him. The sudden appearance of this girl while he was off daydreaming would’ve been off-putting (and embarrassing) enough as is for Chai, and this sentiment was only exacerbated by her strange choice of clothes. She appeared to be wearing some black, green, and red colored, revealing outfit capped off by a very elaborate, very real-looking sword sheathed at the small of her exposed back and gold tiara with a radiant emerald gemstone adorned onto it.

All of this combined had Chai initially thinking that some girl that was super into cosplaying stumbled across him. The Project Armstrong flier that brought Chai here in the first place had mentioned that Vandelay was particularly reaching out for celebrities and media influencers for Project Armstrong, so maybe this girl was some sort of famous cosplayer or model or something? He didn’t recognize her or the distinct look she touted, but at the same time, Chai interests weren’t really in the fashion or cosplay industry, so it’s not like he’d know either way. Besides, he also had a pretty big backlog of anime to catch up on, so maybe she was dressed as some character he just wasn’t familiar with.

“Uhhhhh…” Was the only thing that came out of the confused Chai’s mouth. After the frankly unreal events that had occurred little more than a minute ago, he wasn’t exactly sure how he should take this new arrival. The look on her face suggested she had questions, possibly relating to his ‘music robot arm power,’ but even with the recently made discoveries he made regarding that, he was still kind of at a loss at putting all of that into a proper explanation.

“You… might want to turn around.” The girl seemed to be at a similar loss for words initially, seemingly having a lot of different thoughts running through her head as she took Chai in. Eventually though, after a concerned look over the brunet’s shoulder, the redhead managed to get that sentence out, capping things off by meekly pointing right behind Chai.

*Ahem!*

At both the girl’s prompting and the sound of a mechanical throat being deliberately cleared behind him, Chai flinched up before whipping around (Obliviously flicking a certain redheaded Aegis in the face with his scarf, to her bemusement) to see another squadron of SBRs standing before him and the girl with what looked to be questioning scowls on their robotic faces, topped off by several having their arms crossed and the leader tapping his feet as he waited for a response from Chai.

“O-Oh! Uhhhh…!” At sight of the SBRs he wrecked and their apparent buddies looking at him all too accusingly, Chai could only run a hand through his hair and try and make himself look inconspicuous before posing a question to both the SBRs and the redhead, the latter of whom was now looking at him with slight concern and a bead a sweat running down the side of her head. “Any of you see the guy that did this?”

*THAT’S THE DEFECT!*

“What!? No, nononono! I was just-!” Chai began frantically, only to let out a resigned sigh and slump his shoulders when he saw, just like the last batch, the squadron of SBRs ready their stun prods once more… though he quickly perked up when he noticed that redheaded girl stepping up beside him before turning to face him.

“Your name is Chai, right?” Still rather confused about what this girl’s deal was (or how she knew his name for that matter) Chai could only mutely nod in response while giving her a curious look. “I can help you fight against these Artifices. You see, I-”

However, Chai’s silence was ultimately temporary, and upon hearing the girl begin to offer help, he couldn’t stop the cocky smirk that began to creep onto his face before cutting her off by swinging out his robotic arm, surprising her, with the wrist once again flicking open and popping out his trash grabber.

“Soooo… whatever you had in mind, thanks for the offer and all, but I’m good,” Taken aback by this, the girl had no time to say anything before Chai turned her offer down, and was further blindsided when the scrap from all around them once again magnetized towards the grabber and formed his kickass new Scrap Guitar. Fighting to suppress his laughter when he saw the girl leaning slightly towards the Scrap Guitar with a tilted head and a wide-eyed, flabbergasted expression, Chai then opted to go for some extra style/show-off points by tossing the unique weapon into the air and catching it at its handle.  “I still got a lot of beats I wanna try jamming out to.”  

And on her own end, the fire Aegis found herself too blindsided by the rapid-fire series of confusing events that just happened to properly respond before the young man she was almost certain was her Driver suddenly dashed toward towards the squadron of Artifices and began smacking them around easily with that instrument-like rod of scrap he was using as a weapon. He was showing himself off to be surprisingly agile with the strength to back it up, nimbly dashing away from several strikes just as they were about to land before retaliating with several powerful blows… all in time to the beat of that music Pyra had started hearing!

“So he is the source of that music I’m hearing…!” The Aegis realized, her gaze fixated on her apparent Driver as he eagerly swung and swiped his way through the security bots. Between this and every other surreal, confounding thing she’d experienced since waking up, Pyra was beginning to wonder if she hadn’t truly woken up at all, somehow banged her head hard while inside her container, and was subsequently experiencing some bizarre fever dreams as a result.

*POP! CRICKLE-CRACKLE!*

…Pyra found herself leaning further into this theory when one of the young man’s strikes with that strange weapon of his sent one of the Artifices careening and screaming into the air before creating a colorful, fireworks-like explosion.

(Several minutes earlier)

For a few minutes now, Pyra had been wandering through this strange location, relying mainly on that curious beat and the ever-growing sound of music she’d been gradually hearing to hopefully find something, be it either her prospective Driver or some sort of lead or idea on just where the hell she was and what to do next.

Additionally, since waking up and making her way through this futuristic cityscape, the redheaded Blade found herself coming to a halt several times upon happening across what appeared to be Artifices, or at least something akin to them, going about and performing maintenance at various points, with some models hyper-fixating on cleaning their surroundings whereas others were focused more on simple cargo transportation and organizing said cargo. She’d actually encountered a few squadrons of combat variations of these Artifices not long after her awakening that tried to apprehend her, but she’d made quick work of them.

Unfortunately, despite all of these bizarre Artifice-like machines somehow appearing to be fully sapient and capable of communication, Pyra really didn’t get much in the way of help from any of them, not even the ones not trying to attack her. On the rare instances she could get one of the little cleaning machines’ attention, all of what they had to say was just rambling (and some… surprisingly insightful philosophies) about cleaning and how much they loved to do so. The other models Pyra ran into weren’t any help either, with the ones apparently charged with moving cargo around being far too stressed out, high-strung, and hyper-fixated on doing their job correctly to really acknowledge the Blade’s presence, much less help out.

Pyra made slightly more progress (In the sense that it actually acknowledged her presence and responded to her instead of the barely sidelong glance she got from most of the other machines) with a one-eyed robot that had the voice of an old man, but still ultimately learned nothing helpful from it with how everything she asked somehow always looped back to the work it was doing and the sheer amount of pride and satisfaction it felt from a job well-done.

(Slight silver lining though; Pyra at least got some really good tips on how to properly stack up boxes while making the end-result look like something, like an animal or a distinct landmark, so that was something, she supposed… though that really didn’t help with her current predicament.)

However, it wasn’t too long before Pyra’s initial plan of following the beat bore fruit, since as she leapt down from a ledge she’d been using to examine her surroundings and subsequently dropped into an area that looked like an outdoor lounge/garden, the Aegis felt the constant beat and increasing music she’d been hearing reach an apex in one particular direction; namely, past a gigantic statue towards the base of the garden.

“Alright, hopefully I was right and my Driver’s just around the corner now…!” At this realization, Pyra took off in a sprint past the statue and straight towards the source of the beat and music, eager to finally get some sort of answer regarding this bizarre situation she woke up to. However, upon making it past the statue and down some stairs, Pyra found herself slowing to a halt, her calm, determined expression once more turning into a wide-eyed, baffled look when she was greeted with… another group of those security-focused Artifices, the smoking, crackling remains of several more of them scattered all around, and at the center of it all holding the attention of everyone present…

“Chai… Chai… Chai… thank you, thank you…!”

…Was a brown-haired young man in yellow with a long, red scarf that was currently in the middle of whispering/chanting what seemed to be his name to himself, all while acting like he had a roaring audience standing before him… and again, judging by how the rhythm and music she’d been following and listening to this whole time reached its apex in volume once she got here, topped off by how he was the only person she was seeing here that was human and thus, could resonate with a Core Crystal… There was really no doubt about it, strange as this whole situation was; that young man who was currently blissfully unaware of his surroundings was her Driver.

In response to such a revelation, Pyra voiced the first thought that she managed to process upon stumbling across this odd scene.

“…Is… Is he… daydreaming? ” Was the only thing Pyra could think to ask herself once she found her voice and her mind properly processed the odd scene before her. Admittedly, compared to the sheer whiplash and utter surreality of everything else she’d experienced since waking up, seeing her apparent Driver daydreaming and having the general demeanor of a goofball really wasn’t that odd. (If anything, Pyra would admit that she found the act rather endearing and cute). No, the Blade’s concerns lied more with the several wrecked robots all around him and how a squadron of those same armed robots were now looking at him questioningly and with growing suspicion.

* ...Kiiiiinda lookin’ like it, yeah.* One of the robots in question casually piped up in response to Pyra’s spoken thought, causing her to jump slightly and bringing her attention back to them. Like her, the robots seemed mostly just bemused and confused by the young man’s antics, though the growing looks of questioning and suspicion on their faces implied nothing good. *...So should we try and get his attention or do you wanna go and do that?*

“I… think I’ll take you up on that offer, thank you.” While Pyra was still thoroughly confused about all this, she had more than enough sense to piece together that whatever was going on here, these Vandelay people that discovered her likely didn’t intend to research her or Blades in general for any sort of benevolent purpose, that all the strange robots she’d encountered so far worked for them, and that her Driver -He keeps repeating ‘Chai,’ is that his name? She would assume so till proven otherwise- was likely at odds with them as well with the wreckage that was all around him. All this in mind, Pyra certainly wasn’t going to refuse the robot’s offer to get the young man’s attention first. For all she knew, these robots’ means of ‘getting his attention’ could simply involve beating him over the head while he was blissfully unaware.

Tentatively stepping up, around, and to the front of the young man, Pyra was then able to better take in his facial features and details she initially missed, like the little pins attached to his scarf, the lightning bolt T-shirt he wore… or the fact that he had a robotic right arm.

‘...Another question to add to the list, I guess.’ Now, having what appeared to be a mechanical arm was certainly a stranger sight than just zoning out in one’s own little world, but with how things were currently looking, Pyra decided she’d save any questions regarding that strange limb for later as she reached out to tap Chai’s shoulder and get his attention.

“Oh, you over there want an autograph? Well I’ll get you an autograph! Chai, cha-”

*Poke, poke... *

Blinking back into reality upon feeling Pyra poke at his shoulder, the metal-armed young man flinched back slightly, eyes widening in slight surprise upon seeing the redhead standing just a few feet away from him. Much like how she’d been feeling since waking up, Chai looked rather confused and unsure what to make of her sudden appearance. He gave her a look up and down, which only seemed to further his confusion, before making the only vocalization he could think of at the moment. “Uhhhhh…”

“You… might want to turn around.” …And at that eloquent statement on her Driver’s end, Pyra then decided to take the time to point out that they weren’t alone in the courtyard, pointing behind him and towards the two robots with accusingly questioning looks on their faces.

“O-Oh! Uhhhh…!” Flinching up further at the sight of the robots, the brunet proceeded to try and make himself look inconspicuous to everyone present, running his metal hand through his hair     “Any of you see the guy that did this?”

‘Yes, I think so. I think he’s actually standing in front of us all right now.’ Was Pyra’s silent response to that question, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face as she watched the young man’s floundering attempts at appearing inconspicuous.

*THAT’S THE DEFECT!*

And judging by the near-immediate response of the robots and how they readied their prods, they clearly weren’t buying Chai’s act either.

“What!? No, nononono! I was just-!” The brunet began frantically, only to let out a resigned sigh when none of the robots showed any sign that they’d hear him out.

“...Your name is Chai, right? I can help you fight against these Artifices. You see, I-” It was at this point that Pyra began to step forward, a narrowed, focused gaze on her face as she turned to address Chai properly, ready to offer up her assistance and power. She wasn’t sure exactly how the brunet managed to destroy the robots that apparently accosted him before she showed up, but he surely would welcome some extra assistance… That was at least what she thought, anyway, before her Driver suddenly cut her off by extending his metallic arm just before she could elaborate any further.

“Soooo… whatever you had in mind, thanks for the offer and all, but I’m good,” As he said this, Pyra was subsequently given a front-row look at just how he took out the robots that attacked him earlier. With his metal arm’s hand flicking open at the wrist, Pyra finally noticed the eager smirk on his face as he watched several bits of scrap metal all around them apparently magnetize and converge around the clawed tool Chai was holding, taking the shape of some V-shaped instrument. “I still got a lot of beats I wanna try jamming out to.”  

And with that last statement, Pyra found herself rooted to the spot as she watched the young man toss the weapon into the air, catching by the handle without even looking before he eagerly dashed forward and began fighting against the robots, displaying a surprising amount of agility and adeptness in combat as he did so…

(Back in the present)

…Taking us back to the present, with a surprised Pyra continuing to watch as Chai deftly tore through the last of the robots, dashing around so rapidly that none of the robots were able to get a hit on him before he dealt a crushing series of combos to them. However, the redhead was soon brought out of her surprised stupor when she noticed a familiar strand of blue light suddenly appearing from her Core Crystal and connect to the occupied brunet’s chest, who was in the middle of finishing off the last robot with a trio of slow, powerful, flaming club-like swings.
“Whoa…!” Not expecting it, Chai could only stumble back slightly in surprise when his last swing was wreathed in fire and let out a wave of the scalding element, melting a good brunt of the SBR’s body to molten slag before he even hit the ground.

“Huh… fire . That's a new trick. And uhh…” Chai began, wide-eyed and taken aback by the flaming, melty mess he just left, as well as how his Scrap Guitar now had licks of flame radiating off it for a few seconds before dissipating. A feeling in the music lover’s gut told him this was unrelated to his ‘musical robot powers’ or how well he fought to the beat just now, and that feeling was only reinforced when he also noticed the blue string of light coming out of his chest. “Wait a minute.” Upon spinning around hastily and stumbling slightly, Chai’s unspoken suspicions were proven true when he saw that the blue strand of light led back to that redhead and more importantly, back to that very familiar emerald-colored gemstone she had on the chest of her outfit. Upon seeing that she had the slacker’s attention, the redhead looked as though she was about to speak, but Chai beat her to the punch and once again left her speechless when he pulled up his shirt, revealing his robot arm’s Power Core Unit and the music player and gemstone that were both embedded into it.   “Sooooo… shot in the dark here, but does this maybe belong to you?”

“...You could certainly say that.” Was all Pyra could initially think to say in response, eyeing the emerald gemstone floating around in the young man’s chest in shock. How in the world did that happen!?

“Huh! Well, at least that’s one mystery solved. Anyway, I’d uh… give it back, but seeing as how it’s kindaaaa…” Chai trailed off, searching for the right word to say as he tapped his pulsing Power Core Unit’s glass casing with his index finger. “... stuck in there, my hands are a little tied here, y’know? Doesn’t help that the only people that could help with getting it out just had their security try to kill me and all. Speaking of which, I’m gonna get out of here before any more of those guys show up and try to continue where the others left off. So if I’m right and this is yours, then I guess you can come along with me if you want. Just don’t expect me to suddenly figure out how to get this thing out.”

With that offer laid on the table, Chai then slung his Scrap Guitar over his shoulder before beginning to walk off at a leisurely pace. Blinking at that, the redhead was quick to catch up and start walking alongside Chai. “I’ll take you up on that, especially seeing as how I ran into similar troubles not too long ago.”

“You too, huh? So what’d you do that put you on their bad side?” Chai couldn’t help but ask, shooting the girl a curious look before giving the park-like lounge area they were in a brief look over, taking note in particular of how even the trees and various bits of piping all around them were also moving to the beat of his music player.

“I’m not entirely sure of that myself, and the ones that I had to deal with weren’t in any rush to explain what I did wrong.”

“Well, that sounds… painfully familiar,” The brunet winced slightly, instinctively bringing his free hand up to his gut as he said that. “Starting to think that Vandelay’s security protocols or whatever could use some serious workshopping. Welp, guess we have something in common! Uh… other than having weird, glowy rocks close to our chests, anyway. Today’s just been one crazy surprise after another that I’ve barely managed to make sense of.”

“Hmhm, yes, I suppose so~,” Despite herself and the odd circumstances she’d been thrust into, the Aegis found herself letting out some muted chuckles at her newfound Driver’s words, quickly finding his energetic demeanor amusing. “Speaking of, you don’t have to worry about getting my Core Crystal out of there. Odd beating aside, it seems fine where it is.”

“Huh… bit surprised at how lax you’re being about all that.” Chai couldn’t help but admit, taken aback by how lax the redhead was about how what looked to be her incredibly rare gemstone was lodged in his chest. When she tilted her head slightly and had an expression that implored him to elaborate, the brunet was quick to continue. “Like, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate how chill you’re being about this, just uh… I’m no mineralogist here or anything, but I can tell just from a glance that this is a pretty rare and expensive-looking rock I got stuck in my chest here, and that’s not even going into how it looks like an accessory for your whole outfit there… which ALSO looks super-expensive, now that I mention it. Guess I’m just trying to say I expected more… uh… backlash, I guess you could say, to it being stuck there.”

“...Yes, there’s really no need to worry, Chai. First, if you really are concerned about where my Core Crystal was originally embedded, then it’s fine,” As she said this, Pyra reached back with a single hand and unsheathed her sword from the small of her back, easily whipping it in front of her for Chai to see. Stumbling back at the force and feeling of the sword cutting through air as it was whipped out, the wannabe rocker was initially stuck on the confirmation that the elaborate-looking weapon was the real deal and not just some fancy prop, but that was forgotten and his attention was instead grabbed by the sight of a glowing green gemstone embedded into the base of the sword that was identical to the gemstone currently floating in his chest/arm’s Power Core Unit. “I’ve already got a replacement ready and set. More importantly, I’m not sure how exactly it happened, or the exact technicalities of it, but it seems like my Core Crystal ending up in there essentially made you into my Driver. As far as I can tell-”

“‘Driver?’ Uh, look lady, if that’s why you’re sticking around, I can’t exactly help you with that.” The redhead looked as though she had a lot more to say, but Chai felt compelled to cut her off and clarify a few things at the mention of the word ‘Driver.’ “I uh… okay, so don’t go telling everyone about this, but I… don’t really… have a license…. Aaaaand uh… sorta had to hitch-hike my way over here. Soooo yeah, if you needed someone to give you a lift somewhere or something, you might wanna try asking someone else.”

That wasn’t exactly a secret that Chai was proud of sharing -being past 25 and still having no license- and he wouldn’t deny that the idea of some girl that could somehow control fire needing him to act as her chauffeur was a rather weird turn of events, but after every other rapid-fire thing that happened to him today, it was a theory that felt pretty believable if you asked the brunet.

“W… What…?” However, judging by the way the redhead initially only blinked in response while looking utterly flummoxed by his confession, Chai was going to assume she’d been referring to something else just now and didn’t actually need a lift somewhere. “N-No, that wasn’t what I was referring to. When I call you my Driver, I mean-”

*HEY-OOOO! BIG BOSS OF PRODUCTION REKKA HERE!* Once again however, the redhead was cut off by a big, booming voice before she could properly explain. With them both flinching up in surprise, the two could only watch as several gigantic monitors installed around the courtyard area were suddenly filled with the image of a very brawny and very fuming woman with tan skin and highlighted hair that was swept to the side. *SO REKKA’S GONNA BE NEEDING SOME OF YOU HALF-WIT SECURITY AND WORKERS TO EXPLAIN WHY THERE ISN’T JUST A DEFECT RUNNIN’ WILD IN REKKA’S ZONE, BUT THAT IMPORTANT CARGO GOT LOOSE ON HER STOMPIN’ GROUNDS TOO!!* For as confused and blindsided by this sudden development as they both were, both Chai and his new, redheaded acquaintance quickly caught onto how this Rekka woman was referring to them both just now, and that she clearly wasn’t happy about them both running around unchecked. *ANY ONE OF YOU CHUMPS SEE THAT KID RUNNING AROUND, REKKA WANTS YOU TO CRUSH HIM, SMASH HIM INTO TINY PIECES! SAME APPLIES FOR THE GIRL, JUST MAKE SURE SHE’S IN ONE PIECE SO SHE BE SENT OVER TO KALE! NO DEFECT’S GETTIN’ OUTTA PRODUCTION, AND NO SWORD GIRL EITHER! NOT ON REKKA’S WATCH!!!*

“OK! That’s clearly someone we don’t wanna run into.” Was all Chai could think to say in response to all that, thoroughly unsettled and a concerned frown plastered onto his face. The brunet already knew that Vandelay’s security was trying to kill him for some bullcrap about being a ‘defect,’ with the redhead he just met apparently also having a target on her back, but having a big, scary woman like that loudly broadcast just how badly she wants to see you get smashed to pieces certainly helped put this insanity and the danger he was in into perspective.

“She… definitely doesn’t come off as a reasonable sort of person.” Pyra couldn’t help but add, similarly unsettled with a nervous sweat running down the side of her face. As if she didn’t need any more confirmation that whatever these ‘Vandelay’ people wanted with her wouldn’t be anything benevolent…

“Yeah, uh… with that in mind, we should probably pick up our pace.” Chai was quick to suggest, and Pyra certainly wouldn’t argue with that idea. With that, the two sped up their pace into light jogs as they neared the exit of the garden-like courtyard. Though, they didn’t get very far before the brunet felt compelled to address a certain fiery elephant in the room. “Hey, so in the meantime, I gotta ask; what exactly is the deal with the whole ‘fire’ and ‘sword’ shtick you got going there? I mean, I’ve got a vague idea of how my ‘musical robot powers’ work and how I got them -that being the music player in my chest boosting up my new robot arm- but uh… I’ll be honest, I’m kinda drawing blanks on how this works other than the fact that the flames I spouted earlier has something to do with the rock I also got in my chest, which uh… mind you, looks a lot like the ones you got on your clothes, sword and earrings. Soooooo… yeah, any insight there?” At all these questions on how exactly the bond between them as Driver and Blade worked and the various benefits that came with it, the redheaded Aegis slowed to a stop before a thoughtful expression crept onto her face, all while bringing a gloved hand up to her chin. All very good questions that Pyra figured she’d be going over given the nature of the place she woke up in and how those tablets she found earlier treated Blades and Core Crystals as newly introduced, foreign objects. When a moment passed by with no answer coming from the redhead, Chai was quick to wave his question off with a literal wave of his robotic arm. “I mean hey, no sweat. If you don’t got any clear-cut answers, fair enough. I’ll admit I’m just coasting along here myself on assumptions.”

“No no, you’re right. Those are very good and important questions you’re asking and I can answer them, it’s just hard to even decide on where to start, or even how to properly explain.” Pyra was quick to reassure Chai that wasn’t the case with a wave of her hand. However, just as she was about to speak and begin trying to explain, something out of the corner of her eye -through a chain-link fence and into some sort of loading bay/in-construction looking area- caught her attention and utterly derailed her train of thought. “Y-You see Chai, when you came into… contact… w-with… with that… uhm… what in the hell am I…?”

“You uh… you all good there, buddy?” Chai couldn’t help but ask, tilting his head slightly with both hands behind his head as he looked at the now-flummoxed redhead.

“Yes, I’m fine, it’s just…” Quickly shaking her head to clear her thoughts and confusion, Pyra at this point decided it’d simply be best to just point towards what caught her attention and left her so bewildered. “Uh… is that a floating fridge with a face? With a set of arms and a sign?”

At her words and where she was pointing, Chai was quick to turn on his heel toward that direction. True to the befuddled redhead’s word, there was indeed a white and blue colored floating fridge with a smiling face floating several feet away from the both of them, merrily waving around a large cardboard sign that said *HINT! * in black sharpie like he was a street advertiser. 

“Uhhh! Yes, yes it is…!” Was all Chai could say in confirmation, wide-eyed and similarly flummoxed and disturbed by the sight.

* Hello there~! Can I be of assistance?* The fridge in question suddenly asked, addressing the both of them as it waved towards both Chai and Pyra in a very enthusiastic, animated manner.

At that inquiry, the unlikely duo could only give one another confused, questioning looks before slowly walking over to the eagerly waving fridge. After a moment of silence and confusion on both their parts, Chai was the first to find his voice. “Uhhh… What are you?”

*Vandelay smart fridge VA-SFO7, commonly known as ‘Smidge.’*

“Not very catchy, but-”

That was about all Chai managed to get out before the self-proclaimed ‘smart fridge’ suddenly floated uncomfortably close, making Chai feel thoroughly unsafe and in-need of an adult -despite legally being one for over half a decade now- and making Pyra stumble back a bit in surprise too. *I can analyze your well-being and guide you to satisfaction! LET ME INDULGE-*

“Hey, hey! No indulging!” Was all Chai had to say in response to a proposition such as that, making a point to use his Scrap Guitar to push the floating fridge back several feet.

*You seem to have <MUSICAL ROBOT POWERS,> Would you like me to explain the mechanics of your malfunctioning abilities?*

“Wait. You can explain what this… beat coming from Chai is? Or at least how it works?” Pyra was quick to ask, perking up at the prospect of getting some sort of clarity/explanation regarding her new Driver’s bizarre abilities.

“No need, already got the gist of that. Attack to the beat and time my hits, and that makes my blows hit harder. I don’t need a second class on it, dude.” Chai, however, didn’t seem to share this sentiment, bluntly summing up his own thoughts on the matter with a dry expression, mainly due to the robot describing his arm’s abilities as ‘malfunctioning.’  “Also, with how these powers are the only things that kept me from getting my shit rocked in by the security here, I wouldn’t really call them ‘malfunctioning’ in my book.”

*Oh! Well then. If you are already well-acquainted with how your malfunctioning abilities work, then perhaps I could provide you some insight on the <FOREIGN EXISTENCE> that’s both standing behind you and has a piece of itself lodged inside your Power Core Unit!* Without missing a beat, the smart fridge was quick to eagerly offer up clarity and guidance on that matter instead, prompting a confused, questioning expression from Chai and a surprised expression from Pyra.

“Foreign…? Wait,” Chai began, only to trail off and his eyes widening slightly in realization. Without another word, the robotic-armed young man pulled up his shirt and revealed his Power Core -and the two unintended stowaways inside it- for the talking fridge to see. “So, just so we’re all on the same page here, you’re talking about the green gem in my chest here, right? Not my MP3?”

*Indeed! I can tell just from a surface-level scan that the <FOREIGN EXISTENCE> lodged inside your Power Unit is not only part of the very same <FOREIGN EXISTENCE> behind you, but it also allows you to further bolster your attacks if you meet the right requirements!*

“Huh…” Was Chai’s initial response, giving both the fridge and silently listening redhead a curious look before looking towards his still-formed Scrap Guitar. Immediately, the image of one of his earlier blows being wreathed in fire came to mind. “And uh… I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume that extra ‘bolstering’ you mentioned involves… fire , maybe?”

*Correct~! It would appear that if you remain in close enough proximity to it in combat, your blows should then be wreathed in flames, as indicated by the blue beam of light connecting you both. Additionally, it would seem that if you can maintain that beam of light till it gains a gold coloring, then you might have even more devastating fire-based attacks at your disposal!*

“Hm! Well that sounds pretty handy!... if sorta situational with how it sounds like we GOTTA stay close for any of that to work properly.” Chai thought out loud. That whole explanation was pretty straight-forward and did a good job explaining how… whatever this was between him and the enigmatic redhead worked, though to be perfectly honest, Chai wasn’t exactly feeling super-keen at the prospect of making use of the redhead’s fire powers, neat as they may be. His own abilities he gained via his ‘musical robot arm’ seemed much less situational in a fight.

*Not only that, but it appears to be a process that goes both ways!* Smidge continued to explain, particularly getting Pyra’s attention at that. *Just as you can potentially gain access to its flame abilities in battle, it would seem that remaining in your general proximity allows the <FOREIGN EXISTENCE> accompanying you to also make use of your  <MUSICAL ROBOT POWERS.>*

“My uh… name is Pyra, Smidge.” Pyra felt the need to interject at this point, the first thing she had to say being a clarification on her name before some more prominent questions came to mind at the mention of her also being able to utilize her Driver’s… ‘musical robot powers.’   “So… in the same sense that Chai can utilize my fire as long as the Affinity Line is live, you’re saying I can do the same with his music powers?”

*Correct! As established, attacking enemies on the beat does more damage, so like your partner, I sense it is beneficial to do exactly that! For some, the beat is hard to find, like inner peace, so here is a tip!* All too happy at having inquiries directed towards him, Smidge was all too eager to answer Pyra’s questions, providing further details for the intently listening Blade. *Our immediate surroundings appear to be moving in time with the beat, so if you ever lose your rhythm, it would only take a simple look at a nearby object or appliance to reorient yourself.*

“Interesting… it certainly sounds very strange, but I think I understand what you’re saying.” Pyra hummed, quickly getting an idea of what the fridge was saying.

*Excellent! Though if you still have any lingering uncertainties, then please! Take the time to practice your newfound rhythm-based attacks on me.* As Smidge made this offer, he quickly spun around for a quick second, revealing that he’d replaced his sign with a set of punching bag-like gloves and had even drawn a six-pack onto his… door with what appeared to be a sharpie.

“You… want me to hit you? A-Are you sure you’d want to offer something like that? I don’t want to hurt you.” Pyra asked, both concerned and disturbed by the fridge’s clear enthusiasm at what he just suggested.

*I can see it excites you~. So please, practice your attacks on me for as much as you need!* These feelings didn’t really fade with what the floating fridge followed up with, and that sentiment was quickly shared by Chai once Smidge turned his attention towards the brunet. *The offer is open to you as well, my friend! Your hits would only fill me with joy~!*

“Nah nah, I think I’m uh… I think I’m good. I’ll just hang back while you two… uh, have fun. ” Making no effort to hide how disturbed he was by the offer, Chai made a point to both back away and put both his arms up in a ‘no thank you’ gesture, not even caring that he dropped his Scrap Guitar as he did so. (Whether it was due to his proximity or maybe that the claw it was formed around was magnetized, the scrap forming his makeshift weapon stayed together even while out of his grasp.)

“...Fair enough, though I suppose you’re not in any rush to try anything with my fire then, are you?” Pyra asked, all while a few beads of sweat ran down the side of her face. Whether that sweat was due to Smidge’s… concerningly forward demeanor and words, exasperation at her Driver’s behavior in response, or a combination of the two, no one could say for certain.

“Yeaaah, again, I’m good. I learn better in the heat of things anyway. But hey! Don’t let me stop you! By all means, the stage is all yours to rock.” Chai was quick to respond, making a point to gesture towards the ‘ready to be beaten down’ Smidge with an exaggerated bow. With how it was now abundantly clear that both that sword and all those flames he’d been seeing so far were very real -doubly so with the confirmation that she could apparently also attack to the beat- the wannabe rocker was undeniably curious to see what the redhead was capable of with it and what sort of cool combos she could pull with that sword.

“ Pfft. Alright then~.” Covering her mouth with her free hand to stop her sudden chuckle, Pyra soon found a smile creeping onto her face and a sense of amusement overriding her previous feelings. Putting her focus back on the still-ready Smidge, the redhead’s expression turned thoughtful once again as she briefly looked the fridge over and did the same with her sword before seemingly deciding on something. “Ha!” Making a point to try and time her attacks to the ever-present beat, Pyra did what she considered a basic combo; that being a quick, bare-handed jab followed up by several subsequent slashes of her sword, with the last two in particular causing her sword to activate briefly, fire roared from her sword’s tip and sides.

*Excellent! Now why not try a heavy attack?*

“Heavy attack, you mean like…?” Rather than finish that sentence, Pyra continued to move with the rhythm and instead delivered another combo Smidge’s way: this time, the redheaded Blade attacked exclusively with her sword, hitting the fridge with several disciplined but powerful swings, her sword activated again through the combo’s duration…

“HEY!”

“WOO!”

“HEY!”

“YEAH!”

…And just like with Chai earlier, each perfectly timed hit Pyra landed was signified by apparent cheering and chanting with each hit. The final blow in the Aegis’s combo sent the floating fridge careening onto its back with slowly growing flames littering its gloves and body, but just as Pyra was about to express some concern for the strange fridge, it spun back onto its feet just as quickly, the fires on its body dying out just as soon as they appeared.

“Whoa…” Chai uttered under his breath in awe, both from all the fire that came out of Pyra’s sword and the power and finesse behind her combos. It was very obvious to him that he would not want to be on the receiving end of one of her flaming attacks, especially from how clearly she was holding herself back, otherwise Chai was sure Smidge would have been reduced to a melting sludge of metal right now. The wannabe Rockstar was also impressed at how quickly Pyra was able to pick up his rhythmic-based abilities, but then again, Chai himself was quite proficient with his newfound power from the get-go, so maybe it’s not wasn’t that much impressive. 

*Just like I thought! You CAN do it!* Smidge cheered, clapping his gloved hands in approval. 

“Well! That was exhilarating…!” The Aegis breathed out, a wide-eyed, pleased expression on her face as she looked down at her sword, which had now reverted back to its usual dormant state. Just from the impact alone, Pyra could feel that her perfectly timed strikes just now hit considerably harder than usual, and that wasn’t even touching upon the satisfying rush that came with perfectly timing her attacks.

“Okay, that was pretty cool!” Chai couldn’t help but chime in and praise his redheaded companion with a thumbs up. Pyra smiled back at him in gratitude. “And man, gotta admit, you threw me off a bit at first, but you fridges are great! You really do know me!” He then turned to Smidge, similarly impressed at him and starting to rethink his initial impressions of the talkative, floating fridge…

*I know EVERYTHING about you…* …Though that sense of amazement was quickly replaced with an overwhelming sense of ‘creeped-out-ness’ at Smidge’s next words, with the way he leaned in uncomfortably close to Chai doing nothing to assuage that feeling.  *And I look forward to our next chat~!* 

“Okay! That’s just uh… creepy.”  

“Uh… maybe try and be a bit less… forward in the future, alright Smidge? And thank you for your help explaining this.” Similarly disturbed, but with her polite attitude and gratitude winning out, Pyra opted to be the one to say goodbye on behalf of her and Chai, getting between the talking fridge and young man as she said this. It was a bit of a necessity, what with how the latter was now backing away with a thoroughly unnerved expression on his face.

*Always happy to be of assistance! And please! If you ever feel like you need more practice with your moveset, I’m always happy to act as a target!* The smart-fridge happily said, all while oblivious to how he was unnerving the newfound Driver and Blade duo one last time with that parting remark. Neither Chai nor Pyra said anything in response, the two instead just quickly jumping up several shipping containers and into what looked like some sort of 2nd floor docking bay in a clear hurry.

“So uh… as helpful as all that was…Yeah, I don’t know about you, but that entire experience left me feeling kinda… violated .” Was all Chai had to say once he was certain Smidge was out of earshot, the unnerved expression on his face matching his words.

“...I’d say that’s surprising with how he didn’t touch either of us that entire exchange, but… yes, that’s a fair thing to be feeling right now.” Similarly, despite feeling genuine gratitude for the… eccentric machine for clearly and concisely explaining how her newfound abilities worked in relation to her Driver, she wouldn’t deny that its overall demeanor and attitude while speaking was more than a bit disarming and unnerving.

“To be clear, it’s kind of a mental violation I’m feeling right now, but I digress…” Chai said, all while using his Scrap Guitar to break apart a pile of wooden boxes that had been left haphazardly in the middle of the hall, blocking the way. As he finished up with that and allowed the both of them to continue on (all while a bunch of vividly gold and silver colored gears flew into a magnetic compartment in his arm, funnily enough), something occurred to the brunet that caused him to look towards the redheaded fire girl questioningly. “Say, uh… Pyra, right? Now that I’m thinking about it… how exactly do you know my name, anyway? Cuz it's kinda dawning on me that I never introduced myself at any point since we met.”

“I… overheard you chanting that name to yourself back in that courtyard.” And like that, Pyra awkwardly having to point out that particular detail of their initial meeting caused Chai to go from questioning to embarrassed and a bit flustered.

“Oh… huh.” Was all the wannabe rocker managed initially, coughing into his mechanical hand as he recalled that, yeah, he kinda had been in the midst of his whole ‘tutorial zone-out’ and was in the middle of reveling in the ‘crowd’s’ cheering for him when the redhead (and security for that matter) happened across him. “Yeaaah, yeah, that tracks. And uh…. Oh, hey! Look at how big that gap is!”

Growing increasingly desperate for a change to a less embarrassing topic, Chai then opted to call attention to the first thing that caught his eye, which in this case was the apparent dead end they came across in the form of a gigantic gap over a pit that looked to be bottomless. “Yeah, I don’t really see myself getting across this without either a grappling hook or over a decade’s worth of parkour experience. Any ideas?” 

As soon as Chai finished that sentence, he already began hovering all around the immediate area near the gap for a potential solution, leaving Pyra to muse a solution on her own end in silence. “Hmm…” The redheaded blade hummed, a thoughtful expression on her face as she measured the distance of the gap between where they were and the rest of the way and whether she could cross it while carrying Chai with her. “I actually think I can make that jump. Maybe if you hop onto my back, we can-”

*Whap!*

*FWING!*

Pyra had been so caught up in considering this potential solution that she was unaware that Chai took notice of the pipe valve located right underneath a warning sign that blatantly said DELICATE! BE GENTLE! Nor how his immediate instinct upon seeing this was to smack the valve with his Scrap Guitar. The results were immediate, with the valve itself flying past a startled Pyra’s face before sections of the wall along the gap unfolded, providing a set of impromptu platforms for the unlikely duo to use.

“Alright~! Found us a way across! That was easy.” The young man cheered, a pleased expression on his face as he slung his weapon over his shoulder and took in their new path.

“I’m… reasonably certain I could’ve gotten us both across to the other side, Chai. Was that really necessary?” Pyra questioned her Driver’s actions with a disconcerted expression as a bead of sweat appeared on the side of her head. 

“Ehhhh, probably not, but with how security’s trying to kill me and capture you for what’re looking like really stupid reasons, I’d say we’re both entitled to a little vandalism around here.” The brunet shrugged, the easygoing expression still on his face even as he double-jumped across the unfolded steel walls, with the redhead soon following after a moment’s hesitation. “Besides, I’d say this is a better alternative to you having to carry me across or something like that.”

“I suppose so, I just hope the noise we’re making doesn’t attract any more of that security to us.”

“Pfft! C’mon! You're talking like they’d be a problem for either of us! I’m already getting the hang of all this and I could tell just from that little demo earlier you’d kick ass in a fight. Honestly, as someone that still has some more moves and tricks I wanna take for a test run, I’d be all for another couple of fights.”

“...For someone that’s also actively being hunted and pursued, you seem very… gung-ho at the prospect of more of those Artifices finding us. And… you’ve never been in a fight like this prior to today?” Pyra couldn’t help but ask, Chai’s words not doing much to alleviate her disconcertment. The fact that he looked and generally acted like he led the mundane life of a civilian rather than a soldier or Driver only made the surprising adeptness he displayed earlier taking out those security robots all the more shocking.

“Nope~! Buuuut like I said before, I’m a fast learner. The fact that beating those bots down gives me one hell of a rush helps too.” Was all Chai had to say in response, a confident and slightly boastful tone in his voice as the two approached another large, steel door, which opened up to reveal another loading bay-looking area as well as some more company. “Speaking of which…”

*Hey, so what exactly did Rekka tell us to be on the lookout for again? I can never listen to her too long with how she’s gotta SCREAM everything she’s saying. I always just mute my hearing when she starts ranting for more than a half-minute.*

*Eh, apparently, we’re supposed to be on the look-out for some defect running around the campus and some escaped cargo.*

“Oh! So y’mean like us?” Pyra had just been about to suggest maybe going back a bit and finding another route to avoid unnecessary conflicts when Chai immediately sprinted ahead of her and got the squadron of security-droids and got their attention, clearly feeling differently about the prospect of more… well, prospective fights.

With them all quickly realizing that their targets had appeared before them, the present SBRs all lost their previously lax and casual postures and readied their stun prods before several trap metal trap doors in the walls and floors opened up and deposited out more robotic security, topped off by their immediate surroundings locking down once more. *Get them!*

“Try and catch this~!” Was Chai’s only response, his eager tone matching how he surprised one group of the SBRs before they could even try to swing when he immediately closed the distance between him and them in three subsequent dashes, followed up by two strikes,

*Beat!*

And a single lull in the beat and Chai’s rhythm before he followed up with a crushing blow that sent the robots up skyward. The brunet was quick to cap this surprise attack off by leaping up after them and sending them all crashing down hard to the ground with a slam of his guitar after a mid-air combo barrage.

“Was there any particular reason we couldn’t have just taken another door, Chai?” Pyra couldn’t help but sigh in exasperation, nonetheless not missing a beat (har har) as she nimbly leaned back and continued to dodge the repeated swings and attempts by the SBRs to hit her before retaliating with a lethal, fiery combo that was on-beat, culminating in the redhead using an uppercut-like slash of her sword that hit two SBRs at once and sent them both flying up into the air and setting both their bodies on fire.

“Not really, but this is way more fun!” With the eager smirk on his face only growing more prominent upon seeing the opening, Chai was quick to act. Sending the SBR he’d been previously focusing on stumbling back with a solid blow from his Scrap Guitar, the brunet then ran forward before leaping up, using the hapless robot’s head as a platform in place of his double-jump (which consequently sent his already loose head tumbling off his body), and proceeded to then make the two flaming robots’ day even worse by following up on Pyra’s assault with another, different variation of mid-air strikes with his guitar, culminating in his final, crushing blow which sent both lethally damaged SBRs crashing to the ground, followed up soon by the Scrap Guitar itself stabbing into the concrete ground below and Chai himself landing feet-first on the embedded weapon, the attack being enough to finish the thoroughly damaged robots off.

“Think I’ll be calling that one ‘Stomp Box~.’ ” The brunet thought aloud as he backflipped off his impromptu weapon, letting out a pleased exhale as he took in both his and Pyra’s handiwork. However, as he took in their surroundings, Chai then also took notice of something else. Namely, the fact that there were three doors in this particular area, counting the one where they came in from, and barring that door, they were all still locked, which put their progress on hold. “So uh… you seeing an exit anywhere? Cuz I’m not.”

After keeping her gaze on her rather hyperactive Driver for another moment to see if he wouldn’t stumble and hit his way into clearing the route again, Pyra began to scan their immediate surroundings as well. However, like her Driver, the redhead wasn’t seeing any obvious way out of this area. She could definitely jump the metal gate to her right, but that just led off a cliff into the dark depths of this campus down below. “I’m not seeing anything either. Unless we get some help, we still might have to go back the way we came-”

*Hey! Are you two alright down there?* And almost as if in response, the pair heard the voice of a girl calling them from afar, specifically coming from a large nearby building across the gap into the campus depths dubbed 04 PLANT. *You guys need a hand?.* The girl offered. 

“Well, that’s convenient.” Chai smiled, not looking at the gifted horse in the mouth. “ Lookin’ to get outta here!” He shouted back at the girl. Pyra seemed a bit skeptical at this though, but as things stands she’s willing to welcome any sort of help, so she didn’t protest her Driver’s decision to accept the girl’s help.

*Well, that might be something I can handle if you-* The girl attempted to reply before being cut off mid-sentence by Chai.

“Hey, yelling like this is awkward! Can you speed this up?” Finding all the yelling in this conversation to be both awkward and annoying, Chai opted to get straight to the point.

“And a bit straining on the eardrums…” Pyra noted under her breath, a bead of sweat running down the side of her head and she rubbed at her now-suddenly tender ears.

*Fine, then! Look, I hacked the nearby access panel. One of you, just smack the switch and come up.* The girl replied, clearly sounding a little annoyed at being cut off, but acquiescing nonetheless. A nearby read button that had PUSH broadly stamped across it then lit up brightly. Without a second thought, Chai leapt up and smacked the button…

*OW!!!*

…And Pyra quickly found herself having to catch up to Chai when she found herself once again flummoxed and rooted to the spot upon hearing what seemed to be an exclamation of pain just as Chai hit the switch, subsequently opening up the nearby gate and raising up several floating platforms across the gap between buildings, allowing for a way across and up into the 04 PLANT building. The Aegis was quick to shake off her confusion and start leaping after her Driver when she realized he was going on ahead without her… but that question was still nagging at the very back of her head.  ‘...Who made that noise just now?’

For a brief, stupid moment, Pyra considered the notion that the button itself made that exclamation of pain, but just as quickly waved that ridiculous notion off. Even with all the crazy, bizarre things she’d seen since waking up, that possibility was just a touch too insane for her to stomach even for this place.

By the time Pyra caught up to Chai, who had already made it across the platforms and was now navigating his way up a catwalk/stairwell that led further up the building, he’d been in the middle of complaining about something she’d only briefly heard the tail end of. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t hear any of that, Chai. What were you saying just now?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Just venting a bit about how much of a bummer Project Armstrong’s turning out to be. I only came here for a cool, new robot arm! Not a target on my head.” He replied. “I mean, it’s not all bad, I guess. I’m really liking my new ‘musical robot powers,’ and getting to smack asshole bots around with my sweet new guitar to the beat of kickass music, but I definitely don’t like being hunted down and killed by those crazy security bots that think I’m a defect! ” He complained further. It had barely been a half hour, and already the cons of this situation were outweighing the pros in his opinion.

“I’m not familiar with this project, but I’m uh… going to go off on a limb, if you don’t mind my saying, and guess that it involves giving people robotic limbs?” Pyra asked, attempting to help alleviate his mood a little bit with some wordplay.

“Ha! Good one!” Chai laughed, mood immediately taking a good turn at the sound of a solid pun. So on top of all the cool anime fire powers, she knew how to drop a good pun too? A girl after his own heart. “But yeah, it was this big charity project Vandelay Technologies started up pretty recently. The end results speak for itself, but I’m definitely seeing that my whole ‘music robot power’ shtick wasn’t exactly what they had in mind for me when they gave me this arm.” No, that would be fucking garbage collection. Now that the shock of that particular revelation wore off, it just left Chai both pissed off and feeling thoroughly vindicated about all the property damage he’d committed so far.

Oh, and that ‘trying to kill him’ thing really sucked a lot too, but currently, Chai couldn’t help but dwell on his thoroughly wounded pride. And obviously he wasn’t going to tell Pyra what his robotic arm was originally for, that would be more embarrassing than when she saw him being lost in his daydream earlier.

“Well, in any case, hopefully that person who called for us really can help us get out of here. I can’t say I’m very eager to see what these people want with me either after everything I’ve seen of them.”

“Yeah… uh, hey, before that though, I think I’m seeing more of those floating gears across the other rooftop,” Chai began, quickly getting distracted upon realizing that at the height they’d currently gone up at, they could likely make it across to the adjacent rooftop across the gap. “might be something else over there, so I’m just gonnaaa…” Pyra had only just singled out the gears and cogs Chai had been referring to with her vision when the young man suddenly leaped off the ledge they’d been on. The redhead’s heart briefly skipped a beat at the sight of such an action, but her panic was just as quickly alleviated when her Driver made use of his shockingly impressive mobility and dexterity by leaping again in mid-air followed up by a dash that allowed him to clear the gap and touch down on the roof. For a moment, Pyra could only watch the brunet eagerly pick up all the nearby gears on the rooftop before she gauged the gap and prospective leap across herself.

“..How does he do that?” Pyra couldn’t help but ponder aloud before leaping across the gap after him. On her own end, the redhead had her nature as a Blade and the Aegis to justify her superhuman physical feats, and while such feats certainly wouldn’t be impossible for Chai now that they were bonded together, the way he naturally did so, combined with how he clearly wasn’t drawing on any of her power to fuel his movements, told her that Chai’s shockingly abnormal agility was all his own, even discounting his robotic arm and music powers.

…It was at that realization that Pyra got the gut feeling she’d lose sleep if she dwelled on how such a thing was possible, like many of the bizarre things she’d happened across in the brief time she’d woken up in this world.

In any case, upon landing on the rooftop herself, the redheaded Blade didn’t need to look far for Chai, who seemed to be in the middle of talking to another one of those Artifice-like machines. This one in particular appeared to be a humanoid model like the security droids that had been attacking them both, but one built specifically for manual labor rather than peace-keeping or combat.

There was also the curious little fact that said robot was lazing back on a lounge chair and appeared to be trying to catch a tan, if the set of sunglasses, notably more singed metal frame, and tanning mirror was any clue…

“...But uh… you’re made of metal , how would you even-?” Whatever Chai and the robot were discussing before Pyra came in also seemed to be related to tanning, judging by the brunet’s baffled words followed by what he asked upon noticing her presence.  “Oh hey, so, I know this is gonna sound dumb, but can robots get tans?”

*Yes, they can. Now how about you both move anywhere else and stop blocking my rays.* The robot in question interjected irritably before Pyra could even think to try and answer, and it was at this that a thought occurred to the Aegis that left her feeling more stumped the more she thought about it.

“Uhm… excuse me, but… given what I’ve seen of this place so far, shouldn’t you be working?” The fact that a machine apparently built to carry out menial labor could outright just choose to not do its job confounded Pyra on several different levels.

*If you ask any of the bosses I got here, yeah, definitely. Thing is; you kinda gotta MAKE your break-time when working in this company.  Besides, there’s just as good a chance Rekka or some other bullcrap would scrap me even if I wasn’t on the job. Just gotta know where her blind spots are…* The tanning VA-SER shrugged before adjusting his seat followed by his sunglasses, his tone giving off the vibe of someone that long since stopped caring about their job and wouldn’t care if they got fired as a result… or even worse in this machine’s case with Vandelay’s comically appalling treatment of their robotic workforce kept in mind.

*Any one of you that thinks of taking a break today is getting CRUSHED!* And as if fate itself wanted to reinforce the tanning VA-SER’s point about Vandelay’s god awful workforce practices, a monitor being held up by two flying drones passing by suddenly lit up, revealing Rekka’s snarling visage and voice. *My eyes are EVERYWHERE, keeping a sharp look out for SLACKERS!*

*...Case in point. On that note, again, would you both beat it already? I don’t need that whole ‘defect and missing cargo’ crap Rekka keeps screaming about to draw attention to my hiding spot.*

“Well, you got a real award-winning attitude. Whatever, let’s get outta here,” Chai remarked dryly, the VAS-ER’s attitude not doing anything to endear it to him. Still, with how it looked like he properly cleared the rooftop of those shiny gears, there really wasn’t any reason to dwell here any longer. High-time to see who that voice was and what she wanted. Without another word, both Chai and Pyra made their way back over to the ledge leading to the 04 PLANT building, with the former already beginning to check to see where it would be best to jump off from.  “Alright, looks like the best way across is over to that ledge with… Oh crap.”

*Hello again, my friend~! Once you make your way over here, I have something to say that I’m sure will be of assistance!*

Specifically, it looked like the safest way to jump would be to the catwalk that had a Smidge robot on it eagerly waving towards them. Seemed to be the same one from earlier too, judging by the way he was talking.

“Greaaat. Something to look forward to.” Chai said, his tone and expression making it clear to Pyra he was anything but looking forward to the interaction as he nonetheless leapt across the gap, landing in front of the Smart Fridge with the Aegis following a moment later.

*I was watching you fight down there and while you were navigating across that gap. You seem very good at <DODGING.>  

“Oh… yeah, I-I think I can do that.”

*Analyzing your personal data, and I can see that your <DODGE> is very versatile.* Smidge continued, bringing attention to one of Chai’s greatest strengths in combat. *Apparently, dodging with the beat enables up to a triple dodge, which combined with your air-dash and double-jump gives you no small amount of mobility options and means to reposition yourself against a tricky opponent.*

“Honestly, his advice here is actually very sound, Chai. From what little I’ve seen so far, your mobility and that triple dodge in particular is incredibly versatile, like he said.” Pyra couldn’t help but add on, voicing her own amazement with her Driver’s agility, especially since she could recall several instances in the past where that sort of mobility would’ve been very handy.  

“Sheesh, with the way you two are talking it up… I know it’s useful, but is it really that useful?” Chai couldn’t help but ask, brow raised. He knew first-hand that his dodge was handy, but the way they were talking it up made it sound like it could be the difference between life and death for him down the road.

“Undoubtedly.” Pyra affirmed with a nod. She could think of several difficult battles during the Aegis War where Addam and his companions would have benefited greatly from such an ability, especially with how so many attacks on Alrest could cover such a range in such a short time.

*But I know what you’re both thiiiiiinking~!* Chai had been about to thank the redhead for the little vote of confidence, but was cut off when Smidge suddenly (somehow) appeared right between them both, throwing them both off and unsettling them both considerably. *<LIGHT> and <HEAVY> attacks can be chained right after a dodge!*

“I actually WASN’T thinking about that.” Was Chai’s dry response. Meanwhile, another disturbed bead of sweat ran down the side of Pyra’s face as she was once again reminded to give the talking fridge a bit of a berth.

*Of course you were! But just make sure to press the <ATTACK BUTTON> right after a <DODGE.>*  

.

.

.

“‘...Attack button?’”

*Nevermind small details like that! I’m sure you’re eager to try those maneuvers out on a live target, and I am more than happy to oblige!* Neither Chai nor Pyra were allowed to question Smidge about what he meant by an ‘attack button’ further before he once again whipped, or rather spun out the drawn on six-pack and boxing gloves, eagerly waiting for Chai to test out his attacks on him.

“Okay, well… sorry in advance!”

*Again, your hits only fill me with joy!* And with the go-ahead given to him once again, Chai didn’t hesitate to get some practice in with his attack variations that incorporated his dash/dodge, with the ‘light’ variation involving a spinning leap into a slash/whack with his Scrap Guitar, and the ‘heavy variation’ being an uppercut-like swing that sent both Chai and Smidge several feet up into the air for a brief moment before they touched down a moment later.

*Fantastic! Now here is a refreshing beverage. I hope I was useful!* The smart fridge cheered, taking a moment to indulge in some happy clapping before opening its… door and handing two green bottles of energy drink (of which it was stocked to the brim on) to the recently minted Blade and Driver duo.

“...” Initially, Pyra could only look down at the green bottle in her hand before casting her gaze back up towards the smart fridge, who was now looking at her expectantly with a static expression. The Aegis’s gaze lingered on Smidge for another moment… then went back to the bottle… then it went back to Smidge… before she finally settled on the bottle with a note-worthy look of trepidation on her face. “...Uuhm… These… are safe to drink, right Smidge?”

Beyond the fact that they didn’t know if it was poisonous or not, there was something that felt very… suspicious about ingesting this being’s… fluids , context be damned.

“SLUUUUURP!”

Pyra then got her answer, not from the smart fridge, but from Chai, who didn’t hesitate to practically inhale down the contents of his own bottle before tossing it off the ledge with a satisfied sigh. “Ahhh! Thanks for that. I needed a pick-me-up.”

“...I… suppose that answers that question.” …With every minute that passed, Pyra felt like she was steadily building more of a picture regarding her Driver’s personality and quirks, and she wasn’t sure what to think about what she was seeing.

“I uh… wasn’t really listening. What were we talking about?” Chai asked offhandedly, rolling his neck and stretching his left arm as he looked towards the path that would lead into the 04 PLANT building and apparently to that voice that talked to them earlier.

“N-nothing important. Let’s just get going. We don’t want that person to think we’re not coming.” With no arguments about that idea, Chai didn’t hesitate to follow after Pyra as she continued climbing and jumping up several platforms and catwalks. From there, their brief climb into the building was an uneventful affair, with Chai being the first to drop through the window and into the interior.

“Helloooo? Hacker voice… lady? We’re here!” Chai called out, only to be greeted with nothing aside from some leftover tools and parts nearby that had been left to gather dust. “Urgh… maybe this wasn’t such a good idea afterall. What about you? You see anything?”

In response to that inquiry, Pyra opted to give their surroundings one more look over, admittedly not expecting to find anything at this point. “No, I don’t think so. Maybe we really did take too long and that person is… huh?” The redhead trailed off, losing her train of thought when the sight of neon blue out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.

“What’s up? See anything?“ Chai was quick to ask. The wannabe rocker got his answer when he followed where his… ‘Blade’s’ gaze was directed, and was subsequently greeted with what looked to be a small black cat with neon blue highlights . Additionally, between those neon blue highlights as well as the fact that its fore and hind legs appeared bolted on made it pretty clear that this was a robotic cat. “Is that… a cat? A… robot cat?”

“Well hello there, little fella. What are you doing wandering around here by yourself? Are you lost?” Pyra found herself a bit too preoccupied taking the cute feline in to really consider Chai’s question, a small smile creeping onto her face as she gently picked the surprisingly weighty yet small cat up by the armpits. The cat itself didn’t appear to mind this, instead taking a moment to lick at the back of its paw while the redhead gladly took in its cute appearance and unique design.

*Nah on both fronts. I always make sure to keep an eye on 808's live feed when I send her out, and she has a built-in GPS, so getting lost isn’t a problem for her.* And it was at this point that Pyra was thrown for a loop for the umpteenth time today when she suddenly got an answer to her rhetorical questions. Not from Chai, but from the voice from earlier, whose voice came through the cat’s mouth. While both the Aegis and her Driver were both too busy reeling from sheer surprise at this sudden turn, the cat then took this opportunity to look Pyra up and down up close like she did to her just a moment ago. Of note, the cat’s gaze seemed to linger on the fire Blade’s… thoroughly endowed chest, topped off by the… cat girl, apparently, sounding rather flustered with what she said next. *Man… you are… uhm… a lot to take in, aren’t you?”

Pyra didn’t have any time to dwell on the implications of that little observation before Chai posited another question to her, sounding very, very confused. “...Okay, so I didn’t hit my head earlier, right? You’re seeing the talking cat too, right?”

“...I was actually inclined to ask the same question, and yes, I am.”

…And this was all topped off by a sinking sense in the Aegis’s gut that things were only going to get stranger from here.

Hi-Fi Rush OST: Boss (Vandelay theme)

At the moment, Kale Vandelay was having the absolute worst time trying to fight off a migraine that had begun to make its presence known…

“I see…” Currently, the CEO of Vandelay Technologies found himself seated at his office, with the current source of his (completely unwarranted!) stress and headaches being the sudden report he’d gotten from Production… “So what you’re telling me is that less than an hour after I leave Production - less than an hour after I give that specific order for no defects and no problems getting the cargo transported to my lab- not only did you get reports stating that you have a exactly that running around causing chaos in your district, but that the very important cargo I specifically said to be carefully handled on the way to my lab got out!?”

…And of course, the report in question had to involve not only the exact scenario Kale specifically warned against happening -a defect running rampant on his campus!- but also involved an even worse caveat in the form of the ‘Blade’ girl apparently awakening and breaching her container before he could properly take the chance to study her unique traits compared to the rest of her kind.

The worst possible situation Kale wanted to avoid had just been set into motion, and if left unchecked could compromise both Project Armstrong and the new projects and studies Vandelay had initiated regarding these alien ‘Core Crystals.’

“The Hell do you want from Rekka here!? It ain’t her fault that damn gem and some random crap fell on some punk during his surgery! Besides, even if those chump security bots can’t handle em’, then Rekka’ll just break em both over her knee herself!” Rekka exclaimed on the other end of the video call, sounding both defensive and similarly angry.

“I don’t want boasts, Rekka! What I want is for you to do the job I gave you competently!” Kale snarled out, his face contorted with rage for a moment before he managed to reign in his temper. Taking a deep breath, the CEO of Vandelay Technologies leveled a narrow-eyed glare at the scowling image of his head of Production. “...Send me the footage of that girl breaking out of her container as well as the specs on the defect and his botched surgery, and make sure they’re dealt with! This all happened in your area, so it’s on you to deal with them, Rekka!”

“Rekka don’t need you to tell her that, boss! She ain’t about to let some defect punk or redhead bimbo ruin her record!” Kale was very tempted to bring up to his hot-headed idiot of a subordinate that her precious record was already broken in wake of all this mess, but opted to keep silent as the brawny woman logged off. If there was one certainty Kale had learned about Rekka in the time since he hired her, it was that she did her job best when she was angry and had something to prove.

Kale ended the video call before slumping in his seat, he let out a sigh in irritation as he rubbed his forehead, which did very little to soothe his throbbing headache. “What a pain in the ass. Maybe I should’ve just left her and those damn crystals in R&D afterall…” Figures that a combination of his natural scientific curiosity and a rare instance of initiative on his end would just come back to haunt him like this. If he just elected to let Zanzo and the R&D team continue their work on the Blade projects, then this mess wouldn’t have even happened.

Kale likely would’ve mulled and stewed over this even longer, but his attention was soon grabbed by a compilation of security footage regarding that girl since her escape. Wasting no time, Kale began the footage, and was immediately greeted with the group of SBRs he’d left in charge of transporting the girl’s container to his lab.

With his ‘off camera’ scowl plastered onto his face as he examined the footage, Kale soon found himself grimacing and having to shield his face when the girl’s container suddenly erupted into blazing flames that quickly consumed the SBRs before growing beyond even that. When the flames finally faded in their intensity, the CEO was then greeted with the freed redhead who soon woke up and seemed just as confused about what just happened.

Watching intently, Kale then sped the compiled footage along to the first timestamp of several, most of which showcased the fire-wielding girl fighting off the SBR units that subsequently tried to put her back into containment. All the footage of her fighting -particularly just how powerful her attacks appeared to be and how vivid and intense her flames were, disposing of any attacking SBRs with no effort- then made it even more clear to him that the host to this particular Core Crystal they acquired was hiding something truly special. “...Well, she’s certainly a cut above the rest of her kind, though that much was already obvious.”

This knowledge and the fact that this girl was clearly a key factor in smoothly advancing their Blade projects only had Kale more adamant that this entire mess must get patched up and fixed as soon as possible. If things went well today, then hopefully he’d get a report from Rekka that the former had either security had actually done their jobs or that QA-1MIL did it for them. However, with the way things were looking -particularly regarding the robotic body count that had already been built up within an hour- it might be a good call to look into some precautions for this problem. 

The reports he’d gotten from R&D when they initially managed to bring those crystals over also mentioned a strange phenomena, which was the sudden appearance of alien, airborne particles that were invisible to the naked eye that saturated all of Vandelay Island in a matter of hours and steadily beginning to spread further out into the atmosphere. Thankfully, said particles were completely harmless for all living beings, but further research indicated that these strange Blade beings drew power from these particles, so it might be worth looking further into that himself, even if this doesn’t escalate.

It was as Kale was mulling over this, the specs/scan of the defect’s implantation process came up, complete with where things went wrong. Leaning closer, Kale’s eyes widened in shock when he got a closer look at the problem was and realized two things; one, that the ‘defect’ in question apparently involved that crappy old music player he threw away earlier, and two, that the Blade girl’s awakening was apparently caused by that crystal from her sword falling on this idiot pre-surgery.

“...Of all the places that piece of junk could’ve landed…” Kale groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to process this revelation. “So beyond that, these two catastrophes are connected too… because of course they are.”  

…Kale was honestly hard-pressed to decide what was a more vexing revelation; that some defect loser was running around causing chaos with his property and his technology, or the begrudging acknowledgment that Kale… might have accidentally set this mess into motion. Though… It was actually funny. For as annoying and frustrating as this revelation was, a potential solution popped into Kale’s head just as quickly.

With his scowl soon fading into a more calm and focused expression, Kale quickly brought up a list R&D managed to compile regarding these crystals, specifically regarding which would awaken into the standard, robot-like form that they’d seen via previous experiments, and which would take up more unique and powerful forms upon awakening. As the ruthless CEO took in the attributes and abilities of several entries on this list, a smirk slowly began to creep onto his face as a potential back-up plan began to form. if things escalated any further, then he’d simply fight fire with fire.

…

Chapter Text

XENOBLADE RUSH

Track 2: A Fresh Start, (Part 2 of 2)


*FWOOM!*

*Say… any of you guys smell burning metal-?*

What Kale wasn’t aware of, as he began the preparations for back-up plans in case this mess escalated further, was that in another time and in another place, a certain someone that contrasted the Vandelay CEO in many ways was also playing witness to Pyra’s awakening. Back when said awakening was happening first-hand, a certain robotic cat that doubled as a drone had been spying on Kale since he gave his introductory speech to the Project Armstrong applicants much earlier into the day, with the robotic cat’s master only opting to cut her spying on the corrupt CEO short when it came to those two strange containers with even stranger contents.

With her curiosity piqued just from the distant, unclear look she had of the containers’ contents from her spot on the scaffolding, the cat’s owner had the robotic feline deftly and silently follow after the Vandelay bots that had been tasked with transporting those containers and the materials in them to Kale’s lab in Vandelay Tower. The cat soon came across a figurative crossroads when the respective groups carrying the two containers opted to separate and apparently use different exits on their way out to do the jobs given to them. After a brief pause as she mulled over which container she should have her robotic pet follow, the hacker commanding the cat ultimately had her follow after the container holding that inert redheaded girl.

*FOOOOOOOOM!!!*

The cat’s master soon realized that she made the right call to follow after the girl’s container, since only a few minutes after the group of SBRs handling it made it outside the Production facility, she bore witness to them and the container rapidly being enveloped by unnatural, roaring flames.

*Okay, so Macaron really wasn’t blowing anything out of proportion when he linked that info to me! Good to know!* The hacker, directing the robotic cat, couldn’t help but voice her thoughts upon seeing this, the cat itself mirroring the look of bewildered surprise she currently had on back at her Hideout. This shocked expression remained plastered onto their faces as both cat and master watched the girl that had been the source of those flames slowly rouse into consciousness and take in her surroundings with clear confusion. 

*Alright, getting more info on SPECTRA and whatever Kale’s hiding can wait. I better look into this first…* The girl decided after a moment’s thought, making her cat move quickly and deftly to try and catch up to the girl before she went too far…

…With the end-result of that choice being the impromptu meeting taking place between the cat and master duo and the Driver and Blade one. By the time she’d opted to start following after Pyra, the cat had unfortunately lost track of her for a bit, but with how much noise and damage both the redhead and her Driver had been causing already, it hadn’t been long before the mechanical cat picked the trail back up.

*...No, I’m not a talking cat. 808 here is a cat, yeah, but I just built her and made a point to design her so that I could see and talk through her.* The voice speaking through the now-dubbed 808 clarified, sounding mildly annoyed at the two’s assumption. *That’s not what we’re here to talk about though. So look, I was actually nearby when you woke up and busted out of that container earlier. I actually know a few things about your circumstances here and was planning to touch base with you about it, but now that I saw the both of you fight, I think we can all help each other out, actually.* She continued on, looking specifically towards Pyra as she said this.

“Wait… you know how I ended up here…!?” At this person’s claim that she apparently had information about how she ended up here, Pyra’s interest was quickly piqued, looking intently towards the cat as she waited for her to continue.

“Uhhh…” And on the other hand, Chai seemed much more skeptical that their new acquaintance would actually be of help. Finding out you were actually talking to a cat all this time tended to do that, even if the cat in question was acting more like a walkie-talkie, apparently.

*Yeah, I have a contact on the inside that leaked what Vandelay’s been doing behind the scenes to me and I definitely figured the detail about the R&D department doing a crap ton of quantum physic-based experiments lately would grab your attention, especially seeing as how these experiments they were doing apparently culminated in alien lifeforms, ones that initially take the form of a crystal, being brought in here from another dimension.* 808’s owner elaborated, pausing momentarily to take in the look of wide-eyed shock on Pyra’s face as a result. *Judging by the look on your face, I take it I’m on the right track here?*

“Okay, y’know what? That’s enough, I’m good.” Before Pyra could respond, however, Chai decided to interject, having had his fill of all this after hearing that garbled mess of an explanation the cat just provided. “I already thought my ‘music robot arm power’ and the girl with the very real, very anime-looking sword and can casually make fire magically appear was pretty crazy, but this… maaaaybe I’m better off on my own after all.” As Chai said this, he made a point to address Pyra, who was currently only listening on with wide-eyed surprise at his dismissive words. “If you wanna go and help out the robot cat… girl over here, knock yourself out, but I think I’m just gonna start looking for a way outta here by myself now.”

At the young man’s declaration, topped off by how he began walking away from both Pyra and 808 with both arms behind his head, a stunned Pyra quickly realized that -whether due to a lack of understanding, lack of caring, or a combination of the two- her Driver was genuinely planning to leave them both here and start going off on his own. “W-What? No, Chai! That’s a terrible idea-”

*Yank!*

“Hrrk!?”

Pyra had been about to quickly catch up to Chai and try and get him to see that going off on his own would only end poorly, but paused mid-step when 808 beat her to the punch by biting on the end of the brunet’s red scarf and yanking back on it, causing him to stumble.

*Dude, listen. Even barring the fact that Vandelay’s clearly up to something, you both have security crawling all over you both and I meant it when I said I could help. I can keep them off your-*

“Thanks, but I’m good-”

*PWEEM!!!*

As Chai reached for the robotic black cat with his metal right hand, his initial intention had been to simply give the feline machine a few pets as he dismissed her master’s offers of help. However, the sudden rush of electrifying energy that coursed through Chai the moment his robot arm made contact with 808 instantly told the wannabe rocker that something far more extraordinary was about to take place. Frozen mid-step with wide, shocked eyes, both Chai, 808, and even Pyra all found themselves rooted to the spot as the electrifying energy coursing through Chai grew stronger and stronger with each passing beat.  

HOST SYNCHRONIZED

*MEOOOOOW!*

*Pop!*

Upon letting out a loud and particularly vigorous ‘meow!’, both the brunet and his Blade companion could only watch as the latest baffling surprise today revealed itself to them as 808 suddenly leapt up before spinning into a new, ball-like form that immediately began to orbit around Chai.

*808’s not responding… What did you do!?* Initially sounding confused at the strange readings she was suddenly receiving and lack of response, 808’s master was quick to take up an angry, accusatory tone when she began to suspect Chai did something on purpose.

“H-Hold on a sec! Did you just feel that? That… beat?” By comparison, Chai’s tone was of surprise and confusion as he tried to make sense of what happened when his robot hand made contact with 808, prompting a confused, questioning look from the cat in question. (Or at least her owner.)

“I… I did…” Pyra began, looking down at her Core Crystal -which had been glowing even brighter than usual during that whole ‘synchronization’- and how its light was slowly fading back to normal before looking back at Chai and 808. “It felt like she was… synchronizing up just now, to you and that beat your music player gives off.”

“...Huh.” That was initially all Chai had to say upon hearing that, giving both the arm and 808 a thoughtful look over before something in his eyes lit up. “Y’know, maybe I was speaking a bit too soon. I think we got something here!”

Pyra just stood there silently for a moment, waiting for Chai to respond and expecting him to elaborate on what just happened with the robo-cat… only for a concerned bead of sweat to run down the side of her face when instead of that, both the young man and 808 instead gained a… glazed, unfocused look in their eyes as they both stared off into space.

“C… Chai? Hello?” When another awkwardly long moment passed with still no indication that he’d respond or even do anything, Pyra tentatively stepped forward before trying to rouse Chai’s attention by waving a fingerless glove-clad hand in front of his face, not getting a response even when she snapped her fingers a few times. “U-Uhh… voice… controlling ‘808,’ a-are you there?” The same issue applied to 808, who continued to just silently orbit around the brunet while bobbing her whole ball-shaped body in time to the beat.

When she still hadn’t gotten a response from either her Driver, the robotic cat, or even her owner, Pyra began to comb her head for some idea on what the hell she should do in a situation like this. It quickly proved to be unnecessary, however, when both Chai and 808 suddenly perked back to reality another short moment later. “This is gonna be awesome!”

Flinching in surprise at the sudden sound of her Driver’s excitable declaration, Pyra could initially only stare at him in confusion, wondering both what just happened and what Chai was even talking about. “A…Are you both okay? You were both just… staring off vacantly there.”

*Okay seriously, what the hell did you do to 808!? Her video feed just blacked out for a bit there!* It seemed as though Pyra wasn’t the only one confused about what just happened either, since 808’s owner suddenly spoke up through her once more, impatiently glaring towards Chai as she waited for an answer.

“Now, I could do that, but I’d say a first-hand demonstration oughta work better and quicker than any attempt at explaining. Long-story short; I’m reconsidering your offer… buuuuuuuut! I’m gonna need to borrow your cat for a bit.”

*What? Why?* The girl demanded, immediately suspicious of Chai’s intentions with her cat.

“Hey, you wanted to help, right? And don’t worry, it’s just till I’m outta here.” Chai assured her, a pleased grin plastered onto his face as he watched 808 orbit around him for another moment before continuing down the only path in the building available.

**Sigh* You better not run off with her.* 808’s owner warned the young man in an annoyed tone.

On her own end, Pyra watched the two go for another moment, particularly lingering on the curious form of that cat-shaped ball (Or… ball-shaped cat, perhaps) before catching up to them. While the Aegis still couldn’t make any sense of what happened just now, her Driver’s confident words made it clear he discovered something about whatever happened with 808 and that whatever it was would help them.

“So… I take it you managed to make sense of whatever that was just now?” The redhead couldn’t help but voice her thoughts as she caught up to Chai, tilting her head in curiosity as she cast 808 another look.

“Yeah, a little inspiration struck me just now and now I know exactly how 808 and I are gonna make this work. Just wait till we find something we can smack around for a bit. You’ll see what I mean.” Chai said, sounding completely assured in whatever realization he came to.

“Oh. Well in that case, would he work then?” Pyra asked curiously, pointing forward down the hall they were currently going down… specifically towards another Smidge unit that might or might not be the same one they’d be interacting with earlier.

“No…! I was actually thinking uh… Y’know what? Just uh… come on, come on.” Immediately, the sight of the talking fridge with zero sense of personal space caused Chai’s face to blanch. Expecting them both to start interacting with him like they did before, Pyra was subsequently thrown off a bit when Chai started guiding her along by pushing his Scrap Guitar against the small of her back… all while pointedly trying to ignore the eagerly waving and sign-carrying Smidge. “ Don’t make eye contact, don’t make eye contact. Whatever you do, don’t make eye contact.”  

Quickly realizing what Chai was trying to do, a wide-eyed Pyra just stiffly walked along with him while also trying to ignore Smidge, who was still avidly waving at them both even as they turned a corner to break his line of sight.

“...Part of me feels like just ignoring him like that was rather rude…” Pyra began, looking back the way they came as Chai began to examine a bright red and yellow button that was just as comically large as the one they saw earlier. “.. .but, with how our other interactions with him went, I can also understand why you weren’t jumping at the chance to talk to him again, per say.”

It was such a pity too. From just a few words, the smart fridge’s sincere desire to help was clear enough even for a blind man to see. It was just a shame that his… overly eager attitude with no regard for personal space turned Chai off and likely many others from his offers of assistance.

*Yeaaaah, the Smidge units never really had much of a chance when it came to actually bringing in a profit when word of mouth about that… design quirk of theirs spread .* 808’s owner couldn’t help but comment dryly. Really, this was one of the few cases where Vandelay Technologies’ drastic change of management had nothing to do with the failure of a product. *Anyway, to get back on topic, I wouldn’t bother with that button. It needs a specific kind of maintenance robot to properly operate it.*

“Is that so…?” Pyra hummed, bringing a hand up to her chin as she took in the details around the large button, (which Chai was irritably and repeatedly whacking with his guitar in an attempt to get it to depress) particularly taking note of the large number of cogs engraved into the wall just behind the button, or how the button itself seemed to start up a lift platform that would take them to the roof of this building.  “I guess we’ll have to back-track after all.”

“Nah nah nah. Hold up. I think I got something…” Getting her attention with that last remark, Pyra watched as Chai once again started bombarding the button with a string of heavy, batter-like swings, none of the hits budging the button at all. However, at the final blow, the Aegis was taken by surprise when that third hit suddenly unleashed a powerful shockwave of neon-colored energy accompanied by an electric guitar's riff, which finally did the trick and pressed the button in. “Alright! I knew that would work!”

Neither Pyra nor Chai had any second to ponder what pressing that switch would do or how Chai suddenly managed to make that shockwave, since the moment it happened, the gears in the wall behind the button started rapidly turning before the now-rumbling lift suddenly began a very fast rapid ascent to the rooftop…

1F

2F

3F

…With the ensuing momentum launching both the brunet and his redheaded acquaintance a good two stories up into the air of the rooftop, subsequently giving them both a brief but striking look at the technologically advanced and sprawling cityscape all around them.

“Whoa…” Chai breathed out, taken aback by the entirety of Vandelay Campus from their brief look in the air. It should be worth noting however, that while the sight definitely inspired some amazement and impress from Chai, it was nothing compared to the sheer whiplash Pyra was currently feeling taking in this alien cityscape in its entirety.

‘It’s… It’s unreal…! Like nothing I’ve ever seen before…!’   The redhead in question currently felt stunned speechless at the momentary look she had at the entirety of Vandelay Island and the sprawling campus that had been built onto it. If she had a choice in the matter, Pyra likely would have remained where she was for a few good minutes to properly take in everything she was getting a brief glimpse of.

*BAM!*

“Bring it on!” Of course, with them both being launched into the air, the two only had a brief instant to take in their surroundings before they both touched down on the rooftop, several SBRs already getting launched out of the trap doors built into it and every other part of the campus. “HUMBUCKER!”

Wasting no time upon touching down and readying his weapon, Chai gleefully dashed forward and started swinging out his basic light-combo chain, culminating in another burst of neon energy. In this particular case, three bursts of the energy erupted from the floor like a geyser or volcano. The burst of energy was large enough that it hit most of the SBR squadron, the force of it being powerful enough that it scattered the group in different directions, allowing both Chai and Pyra to pick them all off with ease.

As Chai began to get into the zone and eagerly began to dash around the rooftop-turned-impromptu-arena, Pyra was having a similarly smooth experience dealing with the SBRs that opted to target her. Each attack the robots readied, she easily saw coming thanks to the constant beat, providing an even easier time than she would’ve normally had dispatching them as the redhead weaved about, blocking and retaliating with flaming, decisive strikes. Upon sending a flaming swipe at one and quickly blocking a swing that came towards the side of her head, Pyra quickly realized that she was surrounded on all ends. Not just that, but it felt like all this fighting had built up enough energy/Ether within her to deliver just the Special Attack she was thinking of for this situation.

With a look of determination on her face, Pyra began to crouch down and ready both herself and her sword, subsequently leaving the SBRs briefly bewildered when her now-flaming sword telekinetically floated just behind her. “Flame…”   The moment Pyra began to speak, she suddenly rose up with both her arms raised, the action subsequently causing the sword to start rapidly spinning around her, trailing vivid flames as it went and utterly wrecking the SBRs she caught in her attack. “NOVA!” She finished exclaiming, briefly kneeling with both arms outstretched as a small but fiery explosion finished off the SBRs, leaving them burning wrecks.

Letting out a pleased exhale in wake of a successfully executed Special, the redheaded Aegis had no time to take in her handiwork before noticing one more SBR out of the corner of her eye trying to get the jump on her. (Evidently having no sense of self-preservation with how Pyra just melted several of his buddies into slag just now.)

*PWEEM!!!*

The SBR didn’t even have the chance to try and swing at her, however, with how an instant after noticing him, the SBR trying to get the drop on Pyra was suddenly and thoroughly wrecked by a beam of energy, it’s vivid, neon colors making it clear it was Chai’s handiwork.

*Well, that looks like all of them…* 808’s owner noted, the sudden lack of new security drones attacking either Chai or Pyra making that claim clear. Upon hearing that confirmation, a satisfied Chai allowed the scrap forming the shape of his guitar to fall off from the trash grabber before popping it back inside his robot arm’s storage compartment with a *click!*

“Maybe things aren’t so bad afterall…” Said the wannabe rocker with a smile on his face as he wriggled his robotic fingers briefly, feeling more positive than before about the wild and borderline nonsensical situation he was in.

*Ok… so I got a basic idea of how she can use fire like that and everything, but remind me later to ask you how you do all that with the music.* The cat’s master noted, unable to shake the curiosity she felt regarding Chai’s unusual abilities. As strange and outlandish as Pyra’s whole deal was, the info her source leaked to her also handily explained how all that was possible, or at the very least just gave her an idea of what to expect regarding these ‘Blades.’ She had no such luxury of explanation regarding the brunet’s music-based powers, which only further gnawed at her curiosity.

“Pfft. Like I know. Anyway, your turn, I need to get outta… wherever we are.” Chai dismissed with a light shrug, the tone in his voice making it clear he had no answers for the girl either. As he said that, he began to walk towards the edge of the rooftop to better take in his surroundings, the sound of footsteps to his left indicating the Pyra had stepped up next to him to also get a lay of the land.

*You two are in Production, and the only direct exit is through Quality Assurance. Either of you see it?* 808’s owner replied, gesturing forward through her robotic pet. 

At that inquiry, Pyra briefly gave the cityscape in front of her a quick look over, and barely had to look before catching sight of the circular building that towered over all the others in the district with ‘QA CENTER’ printed plainly on it for all to see. “So many buildings… it’s hard to tell.” The Aegis had just been about to tell 808’s owner that she found it when Chai’s hushed, thoughtful comment beat her to the punch. Blinking at his words, Pyra turned and momentarily found herself at a loss for words, a bead of sweat running down the side of her head, when she noticed that Chai was still looking around with a hand over his head and narrowed eyes… apparently not noticing the biggest building in the area or how it blatantly said ‘QA CENTER’ ... somehow.

*...It’s the one that literally says ‘QA CENTER’ on it.* The robotic cat’s owner pointed out dryly, her claim being given further support when Pyra tentatively took both sides of his head in her hands and angled it so that he was staring straight at the building in question.

“Oh yeaaah! That one.”  

*But with that way out, they’re probably expecting the both of you, so-* The cat’s master tried to explain before being cut off by Chai.

“You had me at ‘way out.’ Let’s go~!” The young man began enthusiastically, giving 808 a quick pet with his robotic arm and an affirmative point with his flesh one before dashing off for the nearest route off this rooftop he could find.

“Wait… Y-You mean you're really just going to-? N-No, Chai, that is a terrible idea. She just told us we’d be walking straight into an ambush if we went there.” Pyra ran after him and grabbed him by his organic arm, forcing the young man to stop in his tracks. 

*Exactly. Look, being cocky isn’t gonna get either of you out of here.* 808’s owner agreed with the Aegis, both trying to convince the burnet not to do something needlessly stupid and borderline suicidal.  

“Uhhh. The best solution to a problem is always the most obvious.” Chai said to both girls, sounding as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“...” Both of Chai’s companions looked at him with dumbfounded expressions, (Though it was a little harder to tell with 808, given that her ball form limited her ability to emote properly noticeably), as if he grew a second head.

“N…No… it isn’t?” Was all Pyra could manage, an incredulous look growing on her face. Who in the Architect’s name told him garbage advice like that!?

*No, that is just… wrong on so many levels and TERRIBLE advice in general! Look, in case I wasn’t making this clear already, you’re both wanted. We need to outsmart them!*

“Then I’ll just fight my way out!” The brunet said with a lax, nonchalant shrug, and despite the confidence in his tone, his words did very little to inspire it in either girl.

*Are you an idiot!? That’s literally the opposite of outsmarting!* 808’s owner exclaimed in exasperation, and that feeling only grew more prominent when she realized that Chai clearly wasn’t listening to what either of them were saying and instead opted to go further on ahead to look around the roof. (Specifically, he became very intent on grabbing a broken piece of purple-color tech that was perched on top of a small water tower.) *Aaaaaand he’s not even listening. Awesome.* The hacker sighed, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut that this was turning into a babysitting errand before addressing Pyra, who was watching where her Driver wandered off to with a combination of exasperation and concern on her face. *So you think he’s always this… exhausting?*

“I… don’t want to assume, but it certainly seems accurate…” Pyra admitted after a moment’s hesitation. Just after saying that, it then dawned on Pyra that she still didn’t know what to call 808’s owner/creator. “Speaking of people I’ve recently met, what exactly is your name? Chai and I both know what to call 808, but not you, I’m realizing.”

*Oh! U-Um, it’s Peppermint, actually. Glad at least one of you thought to ask that before we met in person.* The newly-dubbed Peppermint explained, stuttering slightly at the stunning redhead’s sudden interest in her.

“Well it’s very nice to meet you, Peppermint. My name’s Pyra and both Chai and I appreciate you offering us help like this. I think we both definitely need it…” She politely introduced herself, even making a small bow. What the redhead didn’t notice was how all this caused her new acquaintance to fluster up slightly. 

*Y…Yeah, likewise. A-Anyway, at least we have a basic idea of what to expect from him going forward. Probably oughta go keep an eye on him too, now that I think of it. Don’t worry, we shouldn’t be far.* And it was with that exasperated remark that the hacker had 808 float off in the general direction where Chai went, realizing it’d be smart to keep an eye on him before he wandered off too far and got himself killed.

Now temporarily left by her lonesome, the redheaded Aegis took the chance to better take in the rooftop of the building they were in. Funnily enough, it wasn’t all the signs of in-progress construction, the sight of some arguing VA-SER units nearby, or even the ever-present and awe-inspiring view of Vandelay Campus and the surrounding ocean that caught Pyra’s attention, but rather the familiar sight of another blue-screened tablet laying atop a pile of metal boxes.

Curiosity about her new surroundings once again overtaking her, Pyra grabbed the tablet and began to read through its contents.

TO ALL EMPLOYEES!

REKKA HERE!

THIS IS IMPORTANT SO ALL-CAPS THIS TIME!

KALE’S VISITING THE FACILITY AND REKKA KNOWS ALL YOU GRIMY GREASE-HEADS ARE BUSTING YOUR NUTS AND BOLTS TO GET THINGS WORKING, BUT REKKA WANTS THIS PLACE SHININ’ ON ARMSTRONG DAY, AND SOMEONE SPELL-CHECK THOSE ARMSTRONG SCANNERS!

YOU HEAR THAT VOICE, THAT’S THE CROWD CHEERING WHEN THOSE ARMSTRONG UNITS ARE PUMPIN’ OUT TO THE PUBLIC.

AND WHEN REKKA GETS HERSELF A NICE BONUS AT THE END OF THE FISCAL, REKKA’LL BE SURE TO NAME-CHECK YOU ALL IN THAT MILLISECOND BEFORE REKKA KICKS BACK AND GIVES HERSELF A ROUND OF APPLAUSE.

“... Quite the motivational speaker.” Was initially the only response Pyra could muster out in response to that all-caps tangent, unimpressed with the loud, brawny woman’s demanding attitude and treatment of her workers. ‘I’d question whether she even realizes how demoralizing messages like that are, but everything I’ve seen of her makes me think she doesn’t care at all.’ Such behavior reminded Pyra of Drivers that were unashamedly selfish towards their respective Blades, treating them more as slave labor to take any and all risks on account of their innate durability and borderline immortality.

*...I’m telling you, that was Kale in the flesh!* Before Pyra could dwell any further on the godawful workplace standards Vandelay Technologies’ robotic staff had to deal with on the daily, her attention was then grabbed by a heated discussion she began to overhear between two VA-SERs. With a look of curiosity on her face, the redhead walked closer to better hear what they were saying.

*You don’t even HAVE flesh. You wouldn’t know.* The 2nd VA-SER pointed out dryly, making it no secret that he thought his co-worker was full of it and using this as an excuse to avoid doing more work.

*Actually BEING in Production? Does that count that I MET him?* The 1st robot asked rhetorically, a similarly annoyed tone in his voice at how blatantly his pink-colored co-worker didn’t believe his claim.

* No, it doesn’t. So get over it, and let’s fix this staircase.* the 2nd VA-SER retorted irritably as he gestured to the mess of an in-construction stairway past Pyra.

“‘Kale…’ that’s the person who’s in charge of this island… and this entire company too, right?” Pyra couldn’t help but interject at this point, undeniably eager to get some more context on where she was. By now, spending every few minutes getting blindsided by something (literally) out of this world was beginning to get a bit tiresome.

*What, you bein’ serious when you say that?* The orange-colored VA-SER -the same one who claimed to have met Kale- asked, a slightly incredulous tone in his metallic voice that only grew more prominent upon seeing Pyra nod. *Sheesh, what sorta rock have you been livin’ under all this time, girlie? Kale’s been placed in charge of Vandelay for years now, and he sure as hell hasn’t been modest about makin’ sure everyone knows that.*

“I… haven’t exactly kept up with current events for the last… several years now.” …Which was a more-straightforward and easy-to-digest way of saying that even if she wasn’t apparently from another dimension, she’d still been asleep for at least several centuries and as such knew nothing about her current environment, whether it really is Alrest or not.

*You don’t say? Welllllll, if you need someone to fill in the gaps in your knowledge, then I can probably take some time outta my busy schedule to make sure you’re up to speed on Vandelay history.* Upon hearing all this, the orange VA-SER was oddly quick to offer some much-needed exposition to the displaced Aegis.

*No, no you’re not, cuz we still have a stairway that needs repairing on top of dozen other things we gotta take care of before the day’s up, and if you think I’m gonna let you use making small talk as an excuse to shuck all that work on me, then you’re delusional.* Before Pyra could take him up on that offer, however, the other VA-SER finally opted to speak and beat her to the punch before she could answer, in no mood to have his co-worker slack off on him. *Look lady, you really wanna know more, then just look it up on the internet like everyone else does these days. Failing that, I got no doubt Kale and the other execs got plenty of self-aggrandizing crap going on about how amazing and ‘revolutionary’ they are all over the campus. Try finding some of that.* And with that, the VA-SER began to move towards the half-assembled staircase to begin the job he’d currently been assigned to… all while keeping an eye on his co-worker to ensure he actually did his part and didn’t try finding excuses to slack off again.

“A… Alright then…! I’ll… be sure to do that. Sorry for interrupting…” Was Pyra’s initial, awkward response, instinctively apologizing as she watched the two Artifices begin their repair job. ‘Well that… answered a little bit.’ She thought, letting out a small sigh before her gaze began to wander and then fixated on the sight of the surrounding ocean and the nearby docs.

Taking in an awed breath, the strange circumstances Pyra found herself in suddenly felt like a secondary issue as she took in the gigantic, seemingly never ending body of water that spanned past the horizon. As someone who hailed from a world where such a sight couldn’t exist, the Aegis found the view to be strange but wonderful and very beautiful. A world with seemingly fixed land masses instead of living, moving Titans; an endless sea of blue instead of white and where clouds only exist in the sky…Such a world goes beyond even the dreams of Elysium, something beyond imagination for anyone from Alrest, and yet here Pyra was, witnessing it with her very own eyes. Despite knowing for sure this was real, it all felt very unreal for the Aegis.     

“What sort of world is this…?” Pyra couldn’t help but muse aloud, simultaneously wondering how a world like this came into being, and whether Alrest could’ve been in a state such as this if events long before her time went differently…

*Whistle…*  

Jumping slightly at the sudden sound of whistling to her left, Pyra turned to see that Chai had since finished looking around and joined back up with her, the impressed yet casual smile on his face a notable contrast to the wide-eyed look of astonishment on her own. Clearly, he’d also been taking a few moments to take in the sight of the sea and the nearby docks. It was also worth noting that he’d been holding a curious piece of broken, purple colored machinery, one that he stuffed into his jacket’s inner pocket as he turned to better address the redhead. “Yeah, this campus has some pretty sweet views and scenery… though I can definitely confirm that the constant view of the ocean gets pretty old when you spend the better part of the day getting sea-sick on a ferry.”

“Oh, so you… took a ship to get to this place then?” She couldn’t help but ask. It was almost a certainty that Titans don’t exist in this world, so the redheaded Blade couldn’t help but wonder what the mediums of transportation here are like and how they worked. Perhaps like non-Titan Tornan ships, she figured.  

“Well, I wasn’t gonna swim all the way here or row my way over on a lifeboat, and I didn’t exactly hear anything about Vandelay Island having an airport either.“ Chai responded with sarcasm, unaware that Pyra was asking a legitimate question when she asked that… or how much more confused she looked at the mention of an ‘airport.’ “Anyway, if you wanna get going, I’m ready when you are.”

‘He talks about this sea of water and getting across it so casually… I wonder just how different living in a world like this really is when compared to the living situation on Alrest… And what is an ‘airport’?’ With that last question being posed to her with no answer -with the same question applying to whatever the ‘internet’ was- Pyra opted to avoid distracting herself with these thoughts and questions as she caught up to her Driver, who’d just been in the middle of smacking another gigantic button that consequently erected a steel bridge that would allow them to cross the gap between buildings and inch their way closer to QA Center building.

(This time, at least, she didn’t suddenly hear the button make an exclamation of pain when Chai slammed down on it.)

The unlikely trio continued on their way before Chai came to a sudden halt, forcing his two companions to stop once again “Chai? What’s wrong? Why did you… Oh.”   Pyra asked before looking at what her Driver was looking at and immediately understanding what was wrong. “...It… looks like he has something he wants to tell you.” She said as the trio saw Smidge up ahead, eagerly waving his HINT sign as usual. At this point neither Driver, nor Blade, not even their hacker acquaintance doubted that this is the same exact Smidge from the other times. The group started to suspect that the smart fridge was somehow following them, or following Chai to be more precise.  

*Yeah, call me crazy, but I think you have an admirer.* Peppermint observed, the sight of the eagerly waving Smidge unit reminding her of a news article she remembered reading that mentioned that part of the reason the Smidge units got recalled was due to them hyper-fixating on a particular person that caught their attention, some of the times not even being the person who bought them.

It still brought a bitterly satisfied smile to Peppermint’s face thinking about the PR nightmare Kale and the other executives likely had to deal with in wake of all that. 

“Oh really, you don’t say? I didn’t notice.” Was Chai’s deadpan, unamused response, which would’ve elicited some amused chuckles from Pyra before she once again found herself being hastily led along via a Scrap Guitar being pushed into her. “Okay, just like last time, don’t make eye-”

*ZIP!*

LET ME HELP YOU

…The brunet and his redheaded acquaintance had only gotten about four steps past Smidge when he suddenly zipped ahead past them and started avidly waving an even larger sign up for them both to see.

“...Contact. Crap.”  

“Maybe you should hear him out, Chai…” Pyra suggested. She had a gut feeling that told her that unless they humor the ‘eccentric’ smart fridge, he will keep following them, so maybe it was a good idea to hear him out, if nothing else so he will leave them be, at least for the time being. 

*Whatever it’s worth, I get they can be off-putting, but they do also provide legit advice.* Peppermint agreed with her. 

“Urrgh, okay okay, sheesh…” Chai groaned, briefly giving the rest of the rooftop past where Smidge was a momentary look before walking towards him. Well hopefully, he’d be three-for-three when it came to providing useful advice at the cost of being seriously unintentionally creepy.

*Oh! Hello there again, friend!* Smidge happily greeted when both Chai and Pyra walked up again.

“...Yeah. Uhhhh… hey.”

*Oh, you must have not seen me. Perhaps my sign wasn’t big enough.*

“...Yeah, that must’ve been it.” Chai said with a completely flat tone and expression that made it exceedingly clear he didn’t mean that, Pyra noted, feeling a concerned bead of sweat run down the side of her face as she watched this exchange play out.

*I knew you wouldn’t be so rude as to deliberately avoid me. I was just looking around, and it seems like the whole world seems to be moving to your <MUSICAL SUPER POWERS.>* The smart fridge began, with the mention of how the entire world, or at least their immediate surroundings, moved in time to the beat of Chai’s musical powers causing both Chai and Pyra to perk up considerably.

“You know, I was actually noticing that too.” Chai commented. He had been seeing the world around him move to the beat, but never put too much thought into it because he thought it was just his imagination. Apparently not, though. Seems like it was actually an effect of his newfound powers.

*Finding the beat is as simple as looking around!* Smidge continued to explain, and true to his claim, one only needed to give their surroundings a brief look over to see everything around them , from the warning lights, floating platforms, and even the pipes, actively moved in response to the constant beat coming from Chai’s MP3 player. *Even the environment reacts to the beat, as I’m sure you’ve noticed! I think this is what young people call being <IN THE ZONE.>*

“Maybe…? But anyways, that’s cool!” With Smidge’s ensuing lack of response indicated that he said his piece, Chai and Pyra began to walk past him and take their leave, with the former admittedly feeling better about that whole encounter than he had going in. “Huh, well that went better than expected.”

“See? No harm done. Honestly, Chai, I think you’re being a little too quick to judge Smidge. Believe me, I completely understand why you’d be off-put, but at this point, I’m fairly certain he’s not going to bite.”

*ZIP!*

Barely a second after Pyra said all that, both she and Chai were startled into stopping when Smidge suddenly zipped past them again, all while holding up an even larger ‘HELP’ sign for them to see.

“...H-He can certainly move though, I’ll admit.” Pyra admitted after another moment of startled silence.

“...Yeah, I get that part and everything. Doesn’t make him any less creepy though.” Chai explained to the Aegis, tone and expression deadpan, before opting to just bite the bullet this time and see what else the smart fridge wanted to say.

*Ohh! I remembered something else!*  

“Must be really… important… ” Said Chai dryly. At least the living fridge wasn’t being too ‘friendly’ so far.

*With everything moving in the beat, that also means Vandelay’s robots.* Smidge explained, bringing attention to how all the Vandelay security robots they’d fought up to this point only acted and attacked in response to the beat of Chai’s powers. *Upon looking at your recorded data, it seems that all Vandelay security units are moving and acting to the same rhythm as you !* The smart fridge continued to elaborate, with both Chai and his two newfound companions both quickly realizing just how much could help this could be down the road if this whole situation got any worse. *Which means… by paying close attention, you’ll know exactly when attacks will come: On the beat!*

*Feel the beat to attack, feel the beat to dodge! Things are seeming quite simple now!”

“Well I can definitely do that, I’ll tell you that much.” Chai replied with a confident smile. Feeling like the smart fridge really was all done explaining this time, the trio went on their way once again.

‘What a strange power… and it’s not even exclusively affecting those Artifi- ‘robots,’ either.’ Pyra mused, recalling how even several trees and other distinctly non-technological objects they passed by reacted to the beat; she was fairly certain that Chai could see this effect too but it was good to have confirmation on it. This knowledge only made Chai’s music-based powers seem even more strange and curious to Pyra, since prior to this point, one could’ve just assumed that Chai’s music powers exclusively affected technological entities. Getting confirmation that everything, not just machines and the like, moved in time to the beat only raises further questions for the redhead regarding her Driver’s unique, low-key reality warping powers.

…As an Aegis, such concepts certainly weren’t unrealistic for her to consider, but as noted, she was also an Aegis, and as she was now certainly couldn’t just casually toy with reality’s nature like how her Driver’s unique ability currently was. This all made the fact that, outside of his robotic enhancements, Chai was just a regular human prior to their meeting all the more strange.

‘I…Is he… somehow unconsciously tapping into my true power to cause all this?’ Pyra briefly considered before immediately dismissing that theory with a shake of her head. It certainly didn’t feel like that was the case, and if anything, her interactions with Chai so far seem to indicate he wasn’t exactly jumping at the chance to make use of the Aegis’s power as her Driver.

Realizing that it wouldn’t do her any good to dwell on this now, especially when she now found herself with a Driver with such a short attention span, Pyra opted to save any further theorizing for when the both of them didn’t have to worry about any more security robots accosting them. It wasn’t long before the two of them soon came across a series of water towers in a row, and Chai quickly got the idea to use the water towers as platforms to cross over to the next rooftop, subsequently getting them closer to the QA Center. Without a moment’s hesitation, Chai double-jumped up onto the closest water tower, and Pyra had been about to jump after him…

*Cre-ACK!*

…Only to suddenly stop mid-sprint when the water tower suddenly buckled underneath Chai’s weight, followed immediately by the dread-inducing sound of metal straining and breaking.

“Uh-oh…” Was all Chai could mutter out, eyes widening in dread as he realized what was about to happen.

“O-Oh no…!” Pyra had a similar reaction before panicking and trying to urge Chai to jump off the unstable water tower. “Chai, jump off that thing! Quickly-!”  

*SNAP!*

“AHHHHHH-!”

*SMASH!*

“Ungh!”

*WAM!*

“Ack!”

*BAM!*

“BLARGH!”  

Unfortunately, the Aegis’s warning came just an instant too late, and she could only watch and wince at every hard, metal object Chai slammed into before touching down face-first at a lower-level rooftop.

“A-Are you alright!? You didn’t break anything, did you!?” Wasting no time, Pyra quickly leapt, descended, and slid her way down to where Chai crashed at, concern blatantly clear in her voice as she tried to help the still-reeling brunet, who currently just got onto his hands and knees, to his feet…

* SLAM!!!* …Though that proved to be unnecessary with how the surprising sight of the unstable water tower crashing into the rooftop barely a foot away from Chai startled him back onto his feet. Wide-eyed and startled, he and Pyra could only briefly watch as the dust cleared before the tower fell off the rooftop and tumbled and crashed deeper into the campus.

“Yeah, I’m uhm… fine. Think I found us a shortcut, actually.” Chai managed once he got his bearings, noticing that they not only still had a viable path ahead that they could take, but that it still went in the general direction of the QA Center.

*Uh-huh. Yeah, sure.* Rolling his eyes in annoyance at how blatantly the cat girl saw through his attempt to save face, Chai then took a moment to dust himself off before re-forming his Scrap Guitar around his grabber via the bits of metal all around himself and Pyra and setting off towards their destination once more…

Shuichi Kobori
I Got This
Hi-Fi Rush originals
Bethesda Softworks

…all while the active playlist in Chai’s music player cycled over to the next song in its track. The sudden change in song evoked a slight reaction from the Aegis, whose slightly surprised gaze shifted from Chai’s chest -where his arm’s Power Core Unit and two unwanted stowaways were- then back to her constantly-beating Core Crystal embedded into her own chest. The redhead only had a brief instance to ponder whether the sudden change in music would affect combat for the both of them going forward when she suddenly heard movement ahead of her. Blinking, Pyra looked up to see that Chai was already continuing and platforming along, and she could only let out a small sigh at the constant need to keep an eye on her newfound Driver before following after him.

“Whoa… this campus is huge! It’s more like a city…!” Chai couldn’t help but note, slowing to a stop and taking in the bustling cityscape and all the constantly active machinery and trams with a look of awe. Pyra was much the same in this regard, also taking the chance to take in more of the advanced, alien cityscape that she’d been surrounded by since waking up here.

“I’ve never seen so much advanced machinery together in one location… to say nothing of seeing it all active in harmony and rhythm like this…!” As she once again had the chance to take in the proper scale of the environment all around them -even when at a lower vantage point when compared to earlier- the Aegis steadily found herself leaning more into the theory that somehow, she’d ended up in another world entirely, which was only compounded by Peppermint outright saying that the circumstances that brought her here involved quantum experiments.  

“Oh. So you’ve never seen anything like this back wherever you came from, huh?” Chai commented casually. Pyra glanced at him for a few moments, looking as if she was pondering something, before shaking her head in response. She wanted to say more, she still had a lot of questions about… well everything overall, but she figured that can wait until both her and Chai get somewhere safer. For his own part, the brunet merely gave the redheaded Blade a curious look at her non-verbal non-answer, but ultimately shrugged the question off to focus on more present issues.

Their hacker acquaintance, however, kept 808’s eyes, and thus her own eyes, on Pyra a bit longer. Unbeknownst to the Driver and Blade duo, Peppermint took notice of this interaction and committed it to memory. It might be very little, but it’s at least something about the world where Pyra and her Blade kind came from…

*Very grandiose, isn’t it? Perks of being the world’s leading tech company. Vandelay likes to show off. But I’m looking for what they’re hiding.* Peppermint chimed in. She figured letting her new possible allies know a little of what her angle was would be a good idea. 

“Oh, so you like digging up secrets, huh? How ‘bout telling me your name?” Chai suddenly opted to ask, it just now occurred to him that for how much he and Pyra had been talking with their new hacking, robot-cat owning friend, he hadn’t really heard a proper name from her, or really any idea of what to call her beyond her cat’s name.

*Okay, if you went this long without thinking to ask me that, then you can wait a bit longer.* Came the snippy response from 808’s owner. *Maybe next time, ask someone a question like that within your first few conversations with them like Pyra here did.*

“Alright, fine…” Chai huffed out, his tone equally snippy before pointedly addressing Pyra, who had been watching this exchange play out with a slight bead of sweat running down her face. “Do YOU wanna tell me what her name is, then?”

“Alright. She said her name wa-” That was about all Pyra managed to get out before 808 suddenly floated over to her shoulder, morphed back into her standard cat form, and dutifully slapped one of her paws over the redhead’s mouth before she could finish.

*Yeah, if it’s all the same to you, I don’t think he’ll get the message otherwise, so let’s save that for when we meet in-person.*   Peppermint explained with a deadpan tone and expression, eliciting another annoyed groan from Chai. On her own end, while she would’ve been fine with just telling her Driver their new mutual friend’s name, Pyra also understood Peppermint’s intentions with deliberately keeping this tidbit from Chai till they properly met. In the short time since they met, the Aegis had quickly come to see just how hyperactive and easily distracted her Driver could be, after all.

“Urgh, okay, whatever. I don’t really care.” Chai rolled his eyes in annoyment. Peppermint couldn’t help but smirk a little at riling up the wannabe Rockstar.  “I’m Chai, by the way.”

“Yeah I got that part. Thanks.” Was Peppermint’s deadpan response, having heard the Aegis call the brunet that earlier. From there, the next few moments passed in relative silence as both Chai and Pyra focused on navigating their way forward, such a thing being a necessity with how they were still several stories up topped off by the precarious platforms they had to rely on for footing.

*PFFFFFFT!!!*

“W-Whoa!” Pyra exclaimed, barely managing to keep her balance when the lid of a large steam pipe she and Chai had been standing on suddenly got launched a solid story up into the air by a sudden jet of steam. The Aegis had only barely managed to steady herself when the metal lid abruptly dropped like a stone back to the pipe when the influx of steam stopped, causing her to land flat on her ass.

“Y-Yeah, my advice is to try planting your feet before the steam launches it.” Chai noted, looking similarly unbalanced by the lid being launched up only to suddenly drop down just as soon as it happened.  The brunet was quick to offer a hand to help get the Aegis back on her feet, which she gratefully accepted, however, upon feeling the lid they were standing on once again start rumbling due to another imminent influx of steam, Chai was quick to pull Pyra back onto her feet to speed things along, placing his robot hand on her back to make sure she was steady.

*PFFFFFFT!!!*

Despite knowing it was coming, Pyra still found herself taken by surprise when the steam once again abruptly launched their impromptu platform into the air… and her surprise didn’t stop when she suddenly noticed and honed in on how Chai’s hold on her got much more firm for a moment there. She was well-aware that her Driver only did so to ensure she wouldn’t potentially be sent careening off the lid and into the depths of the campus, but the sudden close contact nonetheless left a wide-eyed Pyra rather flustered.

“Okay, jump!”  

Blinking back to reality upon seeing Chai sprint towards and about to jump towards a hanging scaffolding platform that provided a route forward (Topped off by three of those small blue cleaning robots stacked atop one another to more efficiently clean the wall they were focusing on, funnily enough.) Pyra instinctively followed and leaped onto the scaffolding after him, not wanting to lag behind, especially with how the lid was about to drop down again.

*WRACK…*

Neither Driver nor Blade had the time to even widen their eyes in what was about to happen before the scaffold’s rope supports suddenly gave out, causing the two to drop to the ground like stones along with it

*Wham! Slam!*

The second the scaffold platform crashed into the rooftop underneath, Chai found himself bounced off the platform and head first onto a nearby SC-RUB none too gently before touching down face-first on the floor.

“Wow… lotta-!”

*WHAM!*

“Urgh… Ow…” Whatever pained observation Chai was trying to make just then as he tried to force himself back onto his feet was cut off when a similarly falling Pyra bounced onto his back like he did with that SCRUB not even a moment ago.

“...World of pain.” After initially displaying some confusion and disorientation at such a sudden drop, the pained groan coming from right under where she landed immediately cued Pyra into where, and more specifically, what she landed on.

“ OH! I-I’m so sorry! A-Are you alright!?” Upon realizing that Chai’s body served as a partial cushion, Pyra was quick to get off him while simultaneously offering frantic apologies and a hand up, which he clumsily accepted.

“...Yeah, I’m good, I’m good.” Chai groaned out, his voice slightly strained as he worked out the newfound kinks in his spine from all that crushing weight that landed on him. Pyra was surprisingly much heavier than her appearance would suggest. “Urgh, loooooootta short-cuts around here.”

“Are shortcuts around here normally this… painful?” Pyra couldn’t help but ask, wariness creeping into her tone. She may have been practically immortal as an Aegis, but she could still feel pain, which certainly had her hoping that stumbling into these ‘shortcuts’ wouldn’t be a recurring thing. None of this even went into how her Driver was quickly shaping up to be a magnet for these types of misfortunes, either.

“That’s usually kind of a coin-flip, but they’re definitely more on the ‘aching’ side today, that’s for sure.” Was Chai’s nonchalant response, which did nothing to ease Pyra’s worries. In any case, now that they were both back on their feet, the unlikely duo and their new cat companion continued onward undaunted, sliding down some sort of slope that was in the skeleton of an in-construction building, its steel beams all still exposed. At the bottom of the slope was an elevator lift with another one of those giant buttons located at its center. As she watched Chai once again leap up and smash his guitar into the switch (all while keeping a sharp ear out if she heard any more sudden exclamations of pain), both Pyra and her Driver found the lift suddenly going down. Thankfully though, their descent wasn’t nearly as abrupt as it was while on those steam pipes, or during Chai’s two ‘shortcuts,’ and not even a moment passed before they now found themselves in the dim interior of an area that looked like a warehouse storage area.

As she continued to take in her surroundings with a curious expression, she noticed Chai leaping into a hole in the center of the room. She had just been about to follow after him when the blue glow of a computer terminal across from the hole caught her attention. Eager to get more information regarding this world and this island she found herself on, Pyra quickly began to glean the information available on the monitor. Though… as she read on, an increasingly familiar sense of bewilderment replaced her initial curiosity.

Battery Pack Production
RE: Production Order from R&D

PGR-0101 Unit #31340 over at the labs. Zanzo wants this unit out there for sale Today, even though he thought of the idea yesterday…

Product Name: Expanded battery pack for Project Armstrong Power Units.

By design, the battery is made to fail at the 6-month mark (exactly a minute past the warranty period). Zanzo wants to put out this battery supercharger to… help that…? I don’t know what he wants anymore.

You didn’t hear it from me, but all it does is mess up the charge and wear it out faster. But FYI this thing is like a lightning rod. Zanzo didn’t want any protective covering since it ‘looked cooler.’

Wear rubber gloves or something.

“...The more I’m learning about this company, the more steadily concerned I’m getting.” Pyra sighed, stepping back from the terminal, which was currently providing a digital picture of the ‘battery supercharger’ it described. With how blatantly and comically corrupt this entire Vandelay company was coming off as so far, it made the fact that they had herself and multiple Core Crystals acquired for research even more distressing than it already was. The Aegis could’ve, and likely would’ve spent longer ruminating about the bizarre details of this world, but the in-beat sound of lasers going off along with the sound of Chai jumping and dashing brought her back to the present.

Deciding that these sort of musings were again best for later -especially when it sounded like her Driver was getting himself into trouble once again- Pyra dashed over to the hole Chai jumped down and descended downward herself…

“Hey, cool! What’s that?”

*I wouldn’t touch that…*

…And subsequently felt her heart get caught in her throat when she dropped into the sight of a blissfully unaware Chai reaching out to touch the same dangerously unstable battery pack she’d just read about.

“CHAI, WAIT-!”

*BZZZZ-KRT!!!* Upon realizing what was about to happen, Pyra hastily tried to blurt out a warning for Chai, only for it to fall on deaf ears when the brunet proceeded to place his metal hand on the unstable battery pack. The result was instantaneous, with the Aegis’s wide-eyed, horrified expression only growing more prominent when the unstable device sent such an intense electric jolt into her Driver’s body that for a brief second, Pyra was certain she got a brief X-ray shot of his skeleton mid-electrocution.

“A-Are you alright!?” Pyra exclaimed, a combination of panic and concern in her voice as she sprinted over to the now-smoking and gobsmacked Chai.

*Well, that didn’t kill him, and that’s way more than I was expecting, sooo…* Peppermint noted, her tone and 808’s wide-eyed look reflecting her current shock (hah) quite well.

“T-The opposite, actually… Feels more like I’m… powered up!”   True to his claim, despite both the burning smell and sight of smoke slightly radiating from his body, Chai both looked and felt mostly okay despite clearly reeling from what just happened. Really, the only note-worthy thing the brunet was feeling in wake of that sudden shock was the strange feeling that there was a LOT of pent-up power and energy thrashing around in his arm right now.

*808 is showing me you’ve got a lot of energy stored up in your arm right now. Maybe try… letting it out?* Peppermint suggested, the tone in her voice as she said this indicating she was just as in the dark as to what would happen if Chai did as she suggested.

“Letting it…? Oh… Alright, I… uh, I think I get what you mean.“ Clamming up at the prospect of ‘letting out’ all the alarming energy he felt built up in his arm, not helped by Peppermint’s own uncertainty as she suggested it, Chai could only give his arm and Scrap Guitar a look of growing apprehension before extending both towards the thick glass panel that separated this apparent battery pack production zone from the rest of the production building, though it was very much worth noting that the electric shock Chai just experienced upon touching the battery pack was so severe that it damaged the panel to the point to cracking it thoroughly. Uncertain how to proceed going forward, with 808’s owner being no help with the ‘you’re on your own, dude’ vibe she’s giving him via her robo-ball-cat, Chai couldn’t help but cast a nervous glance Pyra’s way, hoping perhaps her input would help. “Does this uhh… look right, to you?

“Hmm… I think you’re on the right track, yes.” Pyra began slowly, her tone and expression one of contemplation as she gave Chai’s right arm and Scrap Guitar a methodical look over. “Just do what comes most naturally to you and you’ll be fine, I think.”

“‘Do what comes natural,’ yeah, sure. Words to live by, let me just… ahh…” Despite trying to hype himself up a bit for whatever would happen, Chai ultimately couldn’t help but give his arm a pleading look and one last hushed exclamation before attempting this. “Please don’t explode…”  

However, just as Chai was about to attempt the motion he felt in his gut would release the energy built up from the battery pack, he was brought to a sudden halt when he felt a warm, delicate hand grab his shoulder in a surprisingly firm, but gentle grip. Letting out a confused hum at the sudden contact, Chai cast a curious, questioning gaze Pyra’s way, his apprehension momentarily forgotten. Similar to her grip, Pyra’s gaze as she began to address the wannabe rocker was in equal parts gentle and reassuring while also in a confident tone that booked no arguments. “You’ll be fine. Trust me, just take a deep breath and focus on what you want done.”

“Ah, yeah, got it. Thanks for the uh… vote of confidence…” Taken aback by the sincere show of support for someone he’d known for barely an hour, Chai nonetheless kept Pyra’s advice in mind and took a breath to steady himself before concentrating. “Okay, focusing, focusing. Hoping for something hard-hitting, like a… like a…!”

“POWER CORD!!!”

As he made that sudden exclamation, both Chai’s arm and his Scrap Guitar both began to emit a bright orange glow before the young man sudden leapt forward and bombarded the cracked glass panel with a rapid vertical spinning attack, the force of the ongoing attack rapidly chipping more glass off the panel while also causing Pyra to shield her face slightly from the gusts the attack was building up.

*Beat! Beat!*

*BAM!* *CRAAASH!*

And with that final strike landed perfectly in time to the beat, the glass panel shattered apart, allowing the group of three to continue onward.

“WHEW! THAT WAS AWESOME!” Chai exclaimed gleefully once his ‘Power Cord’ attack ran its course, an exhilarated expression on his face as he touched back down on the floor.

“I’ll say…! That attack certainly looks like it can do some damage.” Pyra commented, a wide-eyed and impressed smile on her face as her initial suspicions were confirmed. ‘Looks like that ‘battery pack’ gave him access to Driver Specials…! Or at least a close-enough equivalent…’

“Got that right…! Makes me all the more amped up to try it out on some security next time they attack us… once I feel up to it again, anyway. That actually kinda drained me out.”

“I can certainly imagine.” Pyra commented, reminded of how her previous self, Addam, and their companions back during the Aegis War would have to gradually build their Specials back up via repeated use of their techniques known as Arts. Funnily enough, it was as Pyra was musing on the particular mechanics of Chai’s own apparent variation of a Special when she caught sight of just the fridge that could provide some more details in that regard, per usual eagerly trying to get their attention via his ‘HELP’ sign. “Maybe Smidge can provide some details on how to build it back up?”

“...Urgh. Alright, might as well bite the bullet.” Chai acquiesced, immediately grimacing the moment he caught sight of the disconcerting smart fridge after smashing away some wooden boxes blocking the entryway out of this production room, but at this point coming to understand the hacker and the redhead’s point that Smidge nonetheless provided useful information. Smiling in appreciation at Chai accepting the idea, Pyra followed him as he went up to properly address the smart fridge.

*Oh wow, you seem to be able to now use <SPECIAL ATTACKS.>*

“...That literally JUST happened, like not even a minute ago.” Chai couldn’t help but point out dryly, even if he had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn’t be provided with a satisfactory answer.

*Reminder: I know A LOT about you.* True to the recently minted Driver’s assumption, Smidge’s response both didn’t really clear anything up and just creeped Chai out further.

“Yeaaahhhhh…” Was all Chai could really say in response to such a thing, making sure that there was a healthy distance between himself and the fridge while a few beads of disturbed sweat ran down his face. For her part, Pyra could only give him a sympathetic smile and hold to his shoulder, all while a similarly disturbed bead of sweat ran down her own face.

*But these <SPECIAL ATTACKS> are key! You really are channeling your energy here.* Smidge continued to explain, *Landing <BEAT HITS> will knock batteries out of enemies to recharge your arm’s ability to perform <SPECIAL ATTACKS> But it seems all the energy will disappear after a battle. Seems you aren’t built to hold that much of a charge. So remember to use it while you have it!*

*Knowing Vandelay’s current line of management, that’s an intentional design flaw.* Peppermint commented dryly, well aware that crappy, intentional design flaws meant to make the consumer pay the company for repairs wasn’t even something that was exclusive to Vandelay since Kale’s takeover. Other companies certainly loved screwing over their consumers in that regard too.

“Most likely, yes.” Pyra agreed in a similarly dry tone, instantly thinking back to the file she read barely a minute ago.

“Like they say, if you don’t use it-” Chai attempted to comment but was cut off by the smart fridge.

*You live in constant regret over what could have been, correct?* Smidge cheerily finished, throwing all three of them off with the jarring change in tone and subject.

“Thaaat’s… not how I remember it.” Chai pointed out dryly, his tone deadpan. Last he checked, that saying was a lot more catchy, less of a mouthful, and didn’t leave most people lamenting the past.

‘...All the same, he isn’t wrong.’ Were Pyra’s own morbid thoughts on the matter, though she quickly shook off her concerningly self-deprecating thoughts on herself and the past when it was clear Smidge finished his exposition and Chai began to continue on past him as a result.

Before long, the two stepped through a large doorway labeled ‘exit’ that did indeed lead them back outside, and at what seemed to be ground level, no less. This was all topped off by the sight of their destination straight ahead, though the added sight of several large glass gates/double doors standing between them and the QA Center building made it clear they still had a ways to go before they got there.

*We found em’!* Not only that, but before Chai or Pyra could start searching around for a way through the gates and to the QA Center, they were reminded that security was still a persistent threat when a squadron consisting of a new type of Vandelay security robot literally dropped in from above in front of them both. For the most part, these robots resembled the SBR robots the Driver and Blade duo had been dealing with since ending up in Vandelay’s crosshairs, albeit with darker red highlights to their armor, some scanner-looking eyepiece on their right eyes, and most notably, an oversized sci-fi looking blaster with laser sights that were now aimed at the unlikely group, zeroing in on a gormless Chai in particular. These particular types of Vandelay robots were known as the GNR-020 (Gunner), and they had now been deployed in response to the security threat the trio of misfits presented being greater than originally anticipated. *Rekka wants the defect wasted, so let’s waste him. *

“Oh cra-!” Flinching up not unlike a deer in headlights or the way one would freeze up staring down the barrel of a loaded shotgun, Chai suddenly found he wouldn’t have to quickly try and dodge out of the way when a certain red figure dashed to his front and then erected a circular, golden-glowing forcefield around the both of them, handily deflecting the onslaught of laser blasts that came from the squadron of GNRs “Phew! Thanks for the save!” Wasting no time now that he’d shaken off his surprise and wasn’t staring down the barrels of several charged laser cannons, Chai eagerly dashed forward, following up with a heavy swing that took himself and a GNR into the air, where he proceeded to wale on it in mid-air, or ‘Aerial Rave’ on it, as he’d personally describe it.

“Of course! They don’t stand a chance against us now!” As Chai sent the GNR he’d sent up crashing back down to the ground with one final slam of his Scrap Guitar, quickly following up with an overhead slam to avoid the readied laser of another GNR, Pyra herself didn’t waste any time dispensing of this new security squadron that attacked them either. With her Aegis Sword extended via her flames, the redheaded Aegis was able to close the distance between herself and her long-range attackers with little difficulty, catching two GNRs with the brunt of her fiery bombardment.

“WHOO!”

“HEY!”

“YEAH!”

“HEY!”

In this particular instance, the chanting and cheering came from both Chai and Pyra’s strikes at once, both managing to get into the rhythm and maximize the damage they both delivered, with Chai particularly taking note of how floating batteries got knocked out of the GNRs he landed Beat Hits on, just like Smidge said. (Chai’s Beat Hits had always been doing this to the security bots he’d been engaging since he acquired it, of course, but they only now magnetized towards him now that he’d gained the capability to perform Special Attacks. The details of how and why this was weren’t clear, like a lot of the comically inexplicable things about Chai and this world, but perhaps it was a side-effect of that ‘battery pack’s’ shock.)

Feeling that one last good Beat Hit would ready himself up for another Special Attack, and seeing a good opportunity knocking with the current positioning of the GNRs, Chai’s next Beat Hit after his subsequent combo bombardment culminated in him dropping a small but brightly glowing ball of energy with a smirk on his face. The moment the ball hit the ground, it unleashed a wave of four harmonic energy beams that went in a counter-clockwise wave, with only one GNR in the group he aimed for barely managing to stay out of range of the lasers. Either way, it was more than enough with dozens of batteries getting knocked out of the robots and immediately magnetizing towards and into Chai’s robotic arm.

“Alright, time for an encore!” Once more and with an eager smirk, Chai leapt up with his robotic arm and Scrap Guitar raised, readied, and glowing, and with another gleeful exclamation of “POWER CORD!!!” bombarded any of the GNR units unfortunate to be in the brunet’s path with his spinning Special Attack. By the time the brunet finished spinning and touched down on the floor once again, Pyra had easily picked off the remaining stragglers before they could continue to be pests.

“Not bad at all.” Said Chai with a satisfied smirk on his face as he let his Scrap Guitar rest on his shoulder.

“Nicely done, Chai.” Pyra commented to her Driver, looking the brunet’s way as her sword’s flames retracted and she resheathed it at her back. As she did so, however, the sound of machinery moving about closely above her head caught the redhead’s attention. Craning her head upwards, Pyra then quickly caught sight of a potential way forward and past those several glass gates in the form of an active crane not far above them. The crane in question was automated, currently holding a very large metal sheeting, and via some quick climbing up some nearby cargo containers in this particular shipping yard, they could act as a convenient route to a doorway into another production building, which was situated at a catwalk about one or two stories high. From what Pyra could see from here, by cutting through that building, they could then get closer to the QA Center building and at the very least cut through a few of those glass gates.

“Hey Chai, I think I’ve found us a way forward. If we use those large metal sheeting as platforms, we can reach that building over there and hopefully get closer to the exit.” Pyra quickly informed her Driver, pointing in the direction of the moving metal sheetings and the production building. 

“Nice! Sounds like a plan.” Seeing no other way through and having no arguments with the path pointed out, Chai wasted no time leaping up to the top of a nearby pile of cargo containers that had been just left there, jumping onto the crane’s ‘platform’ with Pyra right behind him.

After quickly platforming through the moving sheetings, the group managed to reach the catwalk without any problems.

*Superhuman physiology, combat prowess of a seasoned swordsman, pyrokinesis and now instantaneous hard light projection in the form of protective barriers. You sure are something else, aren’t you?* Said Peppermint, nonchalantly praising Pyra for her skills and powers all the while taking note of said impressive capabilities.

“Same here. Gotta hand it to ya, you’re packing some serious firepower over there..” Chai couldn’t help but agree with their hacker companion while letting out a small pun. If the brunet didn’t know any better, then he might’ve guessed by now that Pyra was some sort of magical girl straight out of an anime! She certainly had the overall look and powers to be one… though all things considered, Chai decided to keep this thought to himself. He didn’t really see himself explaining this whole genius theory to Pyra or their hacker friend without jamming his foot into his mouth.

“Heheh, thanks~.”  Pyra giggled in response, finding the double meaning humorous as a tiny blush appeared in her face. It had been a long time since anyone had given her such genuine praise for her and her abilities. On the other hand, Peppermint and her robotic cat just rolled their eyes, clearly not as amused.

“Hey, now that I think about it… Couldn’t you have just, ya know, melted through those glass gates?” It was then that a sudden realization hit Chai. In hindsight, having witnessed quite a few times how Pyra’s fire was so intense that it could turn Vandelay bots to burning slag, he was now pretty certain that melting some glass gates would have been a pretty trivial task for her, even if they were some fancy, high-security bullet-proof glass gates or something.

“Oh, uh well… I could have, it’s just um…” Pyra tried to reply, but drifted off as she wasn’t sure how to word it best.

“Let me guess. You didn’t want to?” Chai asked bluntly, his assumptions quickly proven correct when he got a sheepish nod from Pyra in response.

“It’s just… I don’t like to use my powers to destroy things if I can avoid it. Sorry.” The redheaded Blade apologized, there was a tinge of… sadness in her voice as she said that, though neither Chai nor Peppermint didn’t quite get it.

“Nah, it’s cool, I get it. Not everyone likes to wreck stuff, no biggie. Sure, it would have been faster to just burn down any blockade in our way, but hey, if you don’t want to do that, I’m not gonna force you. Besides, sometimes taking a small detour can be fun.” Chai said in a carefree manner as he put his hands behind his head, 808 nodded in agreement.

“Thank you for understanding.” Pyra smiled in gratitude.

“Eh, don’t sweat it.” Chai waved it off.

*Yeah, now that we’re talking about it, It’s actually a very good thing that you’ve been so careful with your powers. With how a certain someone’s been using his own abilities, I don’t wanna imagine how chaotic it’d be if anyone else had them.* Peppermint commented, giving Chai a not-so-subtle jab in the process.

“Urgh, will you cut me some slack here?! Yeah sure, these jackasses deserve getting their stuff wasted, but you’re acting like I’m going out of my way to break everything I see!” The wannabe rocker defended himself, personally feeling justified in his actions since waking up from his surgery.

*Uh-huh. sure.* Said the hacker sarcastically. In the time since she’s met the brunet, Peppermint’s seen him destroying robots with gleeful abandon, smashing up every wooden box he’s caught sight of, and smacking his Scrap Guitar on big buttons without a second thought, so she’d say she was well founded in her assumptions of him. As she watched their exchange play out, Pyra couldn’t help but giggle a little at the two’s banter.

“Ugh, whatever. Let’s just keep going.” Chai rolled his eyes in annoyment as he walked off, and his companions followed after him into the production building.

As they continued on their way, Peppermint had 808 discreetly glance at Pyra. The more she saw of the fire Blade in action the more convinced she was that the leaks she received were very real. And while the hacker was glad that Kale and Vandaley’s top brass didn’t get their hands on Pyra and her powers, Peppermint couldn’t help but wonder… Do other Blades as powerful as Pyra exist? If so… then there was a lot of cause for concern, but for now she would put these thoughts on the backburner until she got more definitive info on what Vandelay was planning with these Blades and what types were in their possession.

In any case, as the group walked into the building (After Chai combo-ed on yet another big red button to open the metal door leading inside), they noticed that this seemed to be a processing facility of sorts with all the large conveyor belts and the materials being carried in them. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be an easy way forward except going through the conveyor belts, so without any other viable, non-destructive option, they progressed through the conveyor belts. Fortunately for the Driver and Blade duo, it proved to be rather easy as it was just a matter of timing to avoid the crusher-like devices above the conveyors and get through safely.

As Chai and Pyra navigated their way past two of the three conveyor belts, the both of them took notice of the contents of the conveyors and the overall purpose of this particular building. The initial conveyor had dozens of large, old-looking, and gray colored Vandelay robot models being carried to the crusher-like device that converted the inert robots into containers full of SBR limbs and parts. The next conveyor continued this trend with bundles of boxes full of unknown contents being converted into containers full of those gold and silver gears Chai had been collecting. “Hmm… this looks to me like this is all some sort of recycling center…” Pyra said in realization.

“Yeah, I noticed. Looks like they’re getting rid of the older Vandelay bots, too.” Chai added, having also noticed the purpose of these conveyors and their materials. Made sense, since last Chai heard, Vandelay had recently opted to discontinue the production of several of their older robot models, all while making sure everyone knew about the new line of robots Vandelay had developed since Kale took over the company.

*Yeah, cuz who needs the old, reliable models that get their jobs done when you can just can their production and start charging obscene prices for the newer and flashier models? Y’know, the ones that don’t do their job nearly as well.* Said Peppermint with a noticeable bitterness in her tone.

“...Y’know, if that is true, I’m not sure whether I want that sentiment to apply to all the security bots we’ve been trashing or not. Not nearly as badass thrashing a bunch of shoddily put together robots if you ask me.” Chai couldn’t help but add in, Peppermint’s comment causing him to wonder if the security bots were similarly crappily built.

*Wouldn’t surprise me at all and it’d at least make things easier for us.* Peppermint responded bluntly, her tone and 808’s deadpan expression making it clear to both Chai and Pyra that she didn’t want to go into further detail about the subject. At the hacker’s notably more bitter expression as she once again went into Vandelay’s business practices, the two couldn’t help but briefly exchange curious glances with one another, both wondering what exactly the deal with that was.

Regardless, both knew this was a poor time and place to contemplate that peculiarity, and instead focused on safely making their way past the crushers on the 2nd conveyor belt. Both Driver and Blade were able to do so without issue, thanks partially to, like everything else, the crushers moving in time to the beat.

*DINK-! BRRRrrrr…*

However, just as the duo both set foot on the final conveyor, it along with the lights, scanners, monitors, and all the crushers/converters that were changing the decommissioned Vandelay bots and scrap metal into reusable gears all suddenly shut down, leaving the human, Blade, and robotic cat in darkness with only the dim glow of emergency lights illuminating them.

“Uh-Oh. Power’s out. Generator looks busted.” Chai was quick to note, grimacing and narrowing his eyes slightly as he leaned forward to better examine the generator in question. It was a large contraption, with its gears exposed on the side, a red glow emanating from its own emergency light, and was apparently responsible for powering everything in this immediate sector. It looked like the thing was short-circuited… or… something like that. The exact tech lingo and terminology for the problem at-hand kind of eluded Chai, if it wasn’t obvious.

*Can you fix it? Any tools nearby?* Peppermint asked, having 808 give their surroundings a look over so she could see for herself.

“Not… really?” Pyra said slowly, making sure to try and get a look around her surroundings, dark as they currently were, to confirm this. “Though really, without the proper know-how from me or Chai, I don’t see either of us fixing this thing.” The Aegis considered herself well-versed and knowledgeable on a great number of matters, but blue-collar maintenance like this admittedly wasn’t one of her strong-suits, doubly so when the machine in question was from another world entirely, and she was going to make the reasonable assumption that her Driver didn’t know any more on the subject than she did.

“Pffft. ‘Tools? Know-how?’ Hah, I got a better idea~.” Pyra had just been in the middle of giving the large, hard-light barrier that deterred their progress another look over, trying to see if there was a way to bypass it, when she heard Chai cockily propose an alternative solution. Curious to see what her Driver had in mind, especially with how he’d had no shortage of surprises and tricks up his sleeve that had turned out surprisingly well, the redhead took several steps back and kept her gaze on Chai as he confidently strode up to the shorted-out generator with his Scrap Guitar raised.

*Beat beat beat!*

“HEY!”

*Beat beat beat!*

“HO!”

*Beat beat beat!*

“HEY!”

*Beat beat!*

“HO!”

Taking a few extra steps as he began, Pyra continued to watch as Chai hit the generator with his Scrap Guitar in time with the beat, each hit crackling with electricity as it gradually filled up a power meter, and upon landing the final hit, the generator -along with everything else in the immediate production area- immediately started back to life, allowing them to continue back where they left off.

“And the beat goes on~.” Chai noted, a satisfied smile on his face.

“Well, that’s certainly more convenient than having several levels of Electric Mastery and who knows what else on-hand…!” Pyra couldn’t help but comment, a bit taken aback but ultimately unsurprised given everything else she’d seen her Driver do all on his own up to this point.

*It’s definitely speedier than trying to walk the both of you through fixing that thing, I’ll give you that much.* Peppermint was more subtle in her praises, but wouldn’t deny that the excitable brunet’s idea helped speed things along than if they did things as usual. She questioned how that even worked or for that matter, how the wannabe rocker didn’t end up breaking the generator further, but with the other nonsensical stuff she’d seen him do so far, best not to think about it too hard.

“Yeah, I might like the guitar, but the ‘percussive’ kind of maintenance is definitely my speed all the same.”

“Pfft~, if I didn’t know any better, I’d assume that’s an actual ‘term’ here and not something you just made up on the spot.” Pyra noted with amusement, stifling her slight laughter before a gnawing question occurred to her. “While we’re on the topic though, how did you know just repeatedly hitting the generator like that would work? I get it was probably low on power, but still…” Repairs or charging something back up usually took more of a lighter touch instead of ‘whacking it repeatedly with magnetized scrap.’ Part of Pyra wondered if she was just wasting her time ruminating on this when in the short time she’d been here, both her Driver and this entire world itself seemed to enjoy playing fast and loose with the laws of reality when it proved to be fun or comical.

“Well alright, since you’re that curious, I’ll let you in on this world’s biggest secret when it comes to repairs,” And with that offer on the table, Chai then made a point to take a conspiratorial look around their surroundings for added effect before gesturing for the redhead to come in close, close enough that he could whisper an incredibly important secret to her. Despite knowing in the back of her head that this was likely the lead-up to some sort of joke, Pyra nonetheless leaned in closer with a wide-eyed expression of intrigue on her pretty features.(It was also worth noting that it was 808 floating in closer along with Pyra to better hear this. Not Peppermint, mind you, who quickly checked out with an annoyed and exasperated sigh when she caught on to Chai trying to be funny again, but the robotic cat herself, who like Pyra, was quite intrigued by what the brunet had to say.)

When it was clear that he had a rapt audience of two waiting for him to speak, Chai made a point to pause for another moment for dramatic effect before finally speaking. “If you, by any chance, have something that starts breaking down or bugging out on you? Hit it. Doesn’t matter what it is, it always works. If it doesn’t? You’re either hitting it wrong or at the wrong rhythm.”

Despite admittedly expecting a non-serious answer like this, the delivery of said answer and Chai’s confident tone had Pyra blinking for a brief moment before she found herself having to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle her growing laughter, feeling a very prominent sense of amusement.. “I… I see. Thank you for the… insightful advice, Chai.” On her own end, Peppermint just rolled her eyes at the exchange via 808, but said nothing as the group navigated down the final conveyor.

*I told you to check that generator! You had ONE job!* As the duo stepped off the final conveyor and towards a hall that would lead them further north, and subsequently closer to the QA Center, their attention was soon grabbed by the sound of a pair of VA-SERs engaged in a heated argument, seemingly referring to the busted generator Chai just powered back up.

*You set me up!* Was the gray-colored VAS-ER’s heated response to his red-colored co-worker.

* What? Rekka will destroy both of us if we run behind!* The red VA-SER pointed out irritably.

*Well, someone fixed it, SO STOP YELLING AT ME!* As the VA-SERs continued yelling at one another without even noticing the presence of their three observers, it became increasingly clear to their audience that the two robots could keep at this argument ad nauseum unless they were interrupted, topped off by the fact that with their lack of breathing or fleshy parts, running out of breath or a dry mouth certain wouldn’t stop either of them.

“...Huh.” Was all Chai could say in response to the heated argument unfolding in front of him, Pyra, and 808. The trio took in the sight for another moment before they began to move on, and as they left, Chai couldn’t help but think back to Peppermint’s earlier dry remark about the new Vandelay robots’ general ineffectiveness when compared to their older, more simplistic contemporaries. This thought only grew more prominent when they caught sight of a nearby SC-RUB dutifully cleaning the catwalk it was on without a word of complaint. The stark contrast compared to the still-arguing VA-SERs prompted Chai to voice his current thoughts, shooting 808 a curious look.  “Y’know, I kinda figured you were just complaining for the sake of it earlier, but I’m uh… starting to think you might’ve been on to something about the newer Vandelay models not being the most uh… effective work-force compared to the older bots they built.”

*Obviously. I don’t run my mouth if I don’t know what I’m talking about.*

*SLAM!*

And as if in response to the subject on-hand being about Vandelay’s robot types, another new type suddenly popped out from another trap door on the floor just as Peppermint finished her sentence. In stark contrast to all the SBRs and GNRs they’d been dealing with so far, this particular robot was a large, hunched over machine with blue highlights on it’s armor, two neon-blue tubes coming out from the back of it’s head and onto it’s shoulders, and a set of appropriately large and painful-looking metal fits to top the entire look off. This particular model of security bot was a Vandelay BA-B00, which boasted a hefty amount of offensive and defensive power, even discounting the fact that this particular model didn’t come with the energy barrier built into most other BA-B00s.

“Well he’s a lot bigger than the other guys! Gonna take a wild guess and figure he hits just as hard.” Chai observed, with both he and Pyra dodging out of the way when the BA-B00 lunged for them with both its arms raised and slammed them down where the Driver and Blade duo just was. “Still faster though~!”

While Chai continued to use his triple dash to swerve and zip around the BA-B00’s attempts to smash him, Pyra opted to maintain some distance between herself and the hard-hitting machine before flinging her sword at it Blazing End-style. However, unlike the SBRs and GNRs they’d faced previously, the large blue robot barely reacted to or even noticed the Aegis’s blazing attack, still occupied with trying to smash Chai into paste. For his part, after nimbly leaping back from another attempt to smash him into the ground, Chai opted to counter by bombarding the hulking robot with his heavy-attack combo, confident that his final blow in the series of crushing attacks would leave the BA-B00 staggered and open to more follow-up attacks…

*Rrrrrgh…*

Consequently, Chai then felt like he was caught with his pants down when instead of that, the final strike merely caused the unflinching BA-B00 to glare down with narrowed, yellow eyes at him.

“Y-You… You uh… were kinda… supposed to start flinching by the end of that.” The hulking robot’s only response to that meek statement was to roll his mechanical neck, letting out several popping noises in the process… despite being a robot, meaning that shouldn’t have even been physically possible. “Ohhhhhh crap.”  

*ZAAAAP!!!* And before Chai could attempt to get away or do anything else, the BA-B00 began to crackle fiercely with electricity before slamming both of its fists into the ground and subsequently causing an electric shockwave that sent many painful jolts coursing through Chai’s body.

“ARGH-!” That exclamation of pain was all he could get out before the BA-B00 followed that shock up by backhanding the paralyzed Chai across the face, the force of the blow easily enough to send the hapless young man flying.

“Chai!”  Pyra exclaimed in worry, wasting no time in intercepting her sprawling Driver, leaping up and catching him before he ended up sprawled out on the floor or got sent plummeting off the catwalk and down into the depths below. “Are you okay to keep fighting…!?”

“Ugh, I’m fine, I’m fine! I’m made of tougher stuff than an iron fist!” The brunet was quick to retort, forcing himself back onto his feet and out of Pyra’s grasp as he returned the BA-B00’s narrow eyed glare.

*Reminder: sick days must be registered six months before the desired date.* Chai looked as though he was about to charge back into the fray and meet the heavy-duty robot head on, only for the sound of a LU-C1LLE making an announcement over the speakers caught everyone’s attention, including even the BA-B00, who stopped in his tracks to look towards the source of the announcement.

*Asterisk, sick days for robotic employees will not be approved.* And of note, that last part of the announcement caused the BA-B00’s yellow, mechanical eyes to widen for a split second before a look of blatant anger was clear to see on his mechanical face, further making his displeasure at that announcement clear by slamming his fist down onto the catwalk and letting out an enraged, mechanical-sounding growl.

“Sheesh, maybe that’s why this guy is so mad. Coming in to work under the weather would put anyone in a bad mood.” Similarly, despite having gotten shocked and a good smack from the thing not even a minute ago, Chai felt his anger and indignance for the BA-B00 fade and quickly get replaced with sympathy upon hearing that announcement.

“That possibility aside, Chai…” Pyra began, thinking back to how the hulking security bot was barely phased by her and Chai’s attacks before an idea occurred to her. “Let’s try hitting him both at once as hard as we can. I’m sure the both of us together have enough force to phase that thing.”

“No complaints on this end. Let’s do it.” The brunet cyborg had no issues with that approach, idly giving his Scrap Guitar a twirl in his hand, all while flames extended Pyra’s sword once more, before both dashed forward and charged the BA-B00. Like with all its previous attacks, the duo saw blatant wind-up to the robot’s attempt to hit and smash them and both deftly evade the attacks before following up a series of their hardest hitting strikes.

*SMASH!*

*GRORGH!* The BA-B00 exclaimed, finally unable to stop tanking the blows being sent its way and staggering back several feet from the combined blows of the wannabe rocker and the Aegis.

“This is our chance, Chai!”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice! I got just the thing in mind!” Feeling a bolt of inspiration strike him (As well as a nice abundance of batteries after landing that final Beat Hit), Chai’s eager, cocky smirk made its way back onto his face as he began to sprint forward, his arm and Scrap Guitar emitting the same orange glow from earlier. “PICK SLIDE~!” And as he made that gleeful exclamation, Chai then proceeded to powerslide straight into the staggered BA-B00, with the strum he performed in time to the next beat emitting a powerful enough shockwave that it sent the oversized robot flying straight off the catwalk, crashing into a nearby wall (leaving an indent in the shape of its body, funnily enough) before finally peeling off the wall like a piece of paper and plummeting down into the dark depths of the Campus below.

“Wonderful work, Chai! That was clever, using your surroundings to your advantage like that.” Pyra praised him for his apparent cleverness.  

“Oh! Uh… yeah, totally meant to do that.” Blinking at both the end-result of his Special Attack and Pyra’s words of praise, Chai instead just opted to go along with the Blades words rather than informing her that the whole maneuver was more of a ‘happy accident’ than anything.

*...By which he means it was a complete accident.* Peppermint, by contrast, had no stones about bluntly telling things like they were. *So anyway, if you still wanna go with that stupid idea of just waltzing through the QA Center, that vent over there should drop you off just outside there.* She informed the duo as she had 808 gesture at a large open vent nearby, though due to the rhythmic effect of Chai’s musical powers, it closed and opened back up to the beat of the music. 

“Awesome! Good eye!” Whether Chai was just ignoring Peppermint’s continued warnings about how going into the QA Center was a blatant trap or just genuinely oblivious to how bad of an idea it was, neither she nor Pyra could say for certain with how the brunet didn’t hesitate to start moving and climbing towards the vent, an oblivious, satisfied smile on his face as he did so.

*...Not even a second to consider it.* Peppermint sighed in exasperation before having 808 turn towards Pyra, who unsurprisingly had a concerned expression on her face in regards to her Driver’s blatant lack of regard for the imminent trap waiting for them in the QA Center. *In case it isn’t obvious, if you actually do end up following him into what’s an obvious trap, make sure to stay on your guard.*

“That was already my plan, Peppermint, believe me.” Pyra sighed, having already realized that Chai had no interest in changing his current plan and that they’d have trouble inevitably awaiting them as a result. In any case, well aware that she wouldn’t want to lose track of the excitable brunet lest he get into more trouble, Pyra leapt up after him, making sure to time her jumps across the platform and when the vent’s grate was open for a beat.

*These rhythm games are too hard! I want to relax, but you gotta time it right-*

“...No, dude, dude. You’re playing it all wrong. You said it yourself that you wanna relax, right? So be relaxed. In fact- just pause and pass it here for a second, let me show you how it’s done.” Upon touching down on the inside of the vent, Pyra was then greeted with a curious sight, namely Chai in the middle of yanking a hand-held device out of the hands of a red colored VA-AER, who’d been sitting down in a discreet corner of the vent while fiddling with the device prior to the brunet’s appearance.

*Hey, I’m workin’ here!* The blue-collar robot protested indignantly, rising to his feet to better address Chai.

“...Didn’t you just say you were playing a game and trying to relax, though?” Pyra couldn’t help but ask, tilting her head slightly as she pointed this out.

*U-Uhm well… that’s uh…* The red colored VA-SER initially found himself at a loss for words as he tried to think up a good response to Pyra’s call-out. *IIII… just happen to work better when I take a quick break every few minutes. Some people are just built differently after all. In my case literally, too.* And as he finally settled on a response, it was clear to anyone even slightly listening that he made that excuse up on the spot.

“Relatable. Anyway, just watch, okay?” Chai added in, his eyes still focused on the game’s screen even as he said this. The rhythm game in question involved a female character side-scrolling automatically while she dodged over or hit incoming projectiles with her guitar. “Just don’t freak out trying to perfect everything your first try and focus more on the beat than all the distracting stuff on screen. You’ll be golden.”

True to his words, Chai then proceeded to play through the level the VA-SER selected with clear and practiced ease, the brunet’s relaxed posture as he leaned back against the vent a stark contrast to the VA-SER’s tense and high-strung demeanor while playing. Without even realizing it with how ‘in the zone’ he currently was, Chai managed to ace the game’s level perfectly, all while gaining a rapt audience in the form of the VA-SER, Pyra, and 808, who hovered just over his shoulder to better take in the gameplay. “See, just relaaaax.”

*Yeah, that’s a lot easier said than done working in a place like this.* The VA-SER pointed out dryly, taking back his handheld game once Chai offered it back to him and starting fresh on a new level. To the slacking robot’s surprise, he found the advice the brunet offered was actually quite helpful, with his gameplay being considerably better when compared to just a few minutes ago. *Huh… think you’re actually onto something there. Thanks for the tip.*

*Hey, always down to help out a fellow rhythm gamer.” Chai responded easily, a shrug complimenting his easy-going smile before an important question occurred to him. “Say, also, just making sure, but is this the way to that QA Center building, right?” The brunet took this rare instance of coming across a robot that wasn’t trying to kill him or be too ‘friendly’ as a chance to ask for directions just to be sure the group was on the right path.

*The QA building? Yeah, you head down that grate there and it should be just around the corner.* The VA-SER answered, still focused entirely on his game event as he said this.

“Nice! We’re almost outta here!” Further emboldened upon hearing that, Chai didn’t hesitate to smack a large red button with his Scrap Guitar that opened up the grate the VA-SER referred to, leaping down without a second thought. Upon landing, and hearing what sounded like Pyra also landing a few feet behind him, the duo found themselves in a large, circular room with a garage door behind them and a large, open doorway over a body of water in front of them. From what they could see from where they were now, crossing that body of water would lead them back to the main road to the QA Center building with several of the glass gates that blocked them now behind them.

However, before Chai could even take a single step towards the room’s exit, another familiar voice he’d acquainted himself with today suddenly spoke up, surprising him. *How about combining those light and heavy attacks for even more combos and Beat Hits? Now’s the time to try it out!* As if in response to his ‘inner voice’ saying all this, the two large monitors on either side of the way out of this room both suddenly lit up with the words ‘ ’COMBO TUTORIAL’ printed boldly across both.

“Nah, maybe later.” Chai responded to the voice without a second thought… either forgetting or unaware of the fact that his present company heard nothing and saw nothing on the TV screens. 

“Hm?” Thinking he was addressing her, Pyra merely waited for him to respond with a curious expression and slight tilt of her head.

*...Who are you talking to?* Peppermint asked simply, raising a brow at the brunet’s sudden words.

“Ehhhh. Nevermind, forget it. Anyway, let’s get going!”  The two girls’ curiosities would go unanswered, however, with Chai instead opted to quickly triple dash out the doorway leading outside before performing another overhead slam on another button that would trigger several platforms for them to cross the… bay, or pool, or whatever you’d call the body of water separating them from the QA Center’s front doorsteps. 

*OW!!!*

Pyra herself stumbled as she went after the brunet when she was once again thrown off by the apparent sound   “P-Peppermint, did you hear w-what sounded like a-?” She began to ask the hacker tentatively, only to stop herself when she realized that 808 opted to float after Chai rather than stick around. Once more baffled with the feeling only exacerbated by having no one to confirm what she just heard, Pyra could only sprint and jump after Chai in a hurry.

By the time Pyra had caught up to Chai, the redheaded Blade had leapt from a platform only to land on a considerably large and orange construction platform hanging from a crane. Her Driver was standing at the other edge of the platform, specifically right by a ledge/gap between the railings and a warning plastered onto the platform that said ‘JUMPING TOTALLY PROHIBITED’ complete with a simple illustration of a robotic stick figure jumping crossed out.

“...A rather on the nose warning, wouldn’t you say?” Pyra couldn’t help but note, quickly also taking notice of how they’d pretty much have to ignore the warning with how their destination was right there at the bottom.

“Yep. And now I pretty much gotta jump off.” Was all Chai had to say on the matter before doing exactly that, the tone in his voice making it clear it was more so for the luster of so blatantly breaking such an obnoxiously presented rule. For their part, Pyra could only huff out a slight laugh, a bead of sweat running down her face while Peppermint gave a slight roll of her eyes via 808 before they both followed after him.

As she touched down on the ground, Pyra found herself unsurprised to see their coming in via the front doors warranted multiple SBRs and GNRs popping out from more trap doors, topped off by two GNRs perching themselves at sniping positions atop ledges across from them. However, like with every other combat encounter they’d engaged in on this day so far, neither Driver nor Blade were daunted and didn’t hesitate to leap into the fray. Of note, while Chai gladly wailed on some ground-perched GNRs with his Scrap Guitar, and while Pyra deftly parried an incoming blast at her blind spot with her barrier and gracefully countered an attacking SBR after blocking an attempted barrage of strikes, a certain blue line that symbolized Driver and Blade beginning to resonate in combat manifested.

As a result of Chai unwittingly getting into High Affinity with Pyra, as symbolized by the blue Affinity Line linking them, Chai’s Scrap Guitar began to get buffed with flames once more, his various blows against the Vandelay security robots hitting that much harder as a result. This became especially apparent for the brunet when his Humbucker’s Beat Hit’s pillars of neon energy were complimented by fiery shockwaves that sent the burning robots in Chai’s range flying, with the ones unfortunate enough to be sent flying in Pyra’s direction being deftly bisected by her.  “Whoa…!” Once again Chai found himself caught by surprise once he realized that his last combo and Beat Hit were imbued with flames. The burnet glanced at glanced at his Scrap Guitar, lick-like fire radiating off of it like last time before noticing the blue Affinity Line coming out of his chest. An excited smirk quickly appeared on his face upon realizing what this meant “Hah! Alright! Looks like things are really heating up now!” The young man cheered, throwing his Scrap Guitar up for a quick twirl in the air before catching once again as he threw his robotic arm backwards, top off by a second backwards swung, his now Blazing Scrap Guitar’s flames flared up noticeably at the end of the swing, making it flash a bright orange and crimson for a second. The wannabe Rockstar then dashed forward into the remaining enemies with eager confidence and excitement.

Chai went on to perform a Stomp Box combo on a SBR, finishing it up with him landing on the guitar’s handle and, just like with his Humbucker combo, the Beat Hit at the end was alerted noticeably, replacing the neon shockwave that usually came up from a Stomp Box Beat Hit with a small but intense shockwave of fire that caught other two SBRs in the blast, destroying them in an instant.  

*Please don’t tell me these awful puns are gonna be a running thing with you.* As surprising and intriguing seeing this phenomena happen was, Peppermint couldn’t help but groan, unamused and blatantly annoyed by the terrible pun, particularly fighting the urge to groan a second time at how Pyra somehow found the pun funny, as indicated by her holding back her laughter

“Pffft, sorry to disappoint, but it’s hard not to be witty when things are going this easy-”

*CLANG!*

“Whoops!” Predictably, it was as Chai was making that boast, topped off by him cockily twirling his Scrap Guitar around by the handle, that his grip slipped and the makeshift weapon tumbled gracelessly out of his hand, leaving Chai stumbling to pick it back up, Peppermint once again rolling her eyes in what she noticed was rising frequency, and Pyra feeling a familiar bead of sweat running down the side of her face.

*Blast! Blast!*

Chai’s attempts at picking his Scrap Guitar back up weren’t made any easier by the still-present issue of the GNRs taking pot shots at them from that ledge above, with Chai having to stumble away from several timed laser blasts as he hastily went to grab his weapon. Pyra also found herself unable to relax with her having to use her hard light barrier to block a surprise laser strike of her own between dodging.

Chai managed to retrieve his Scrap Guitar just in time, given that the instant he did so, another BA-B00 robot leapt out from the large trap door right next to Chai, forcing the brunet to dash away from an overhead slam as it touched down on the ground.

Gripping tightly onto his Scrap Guitar with both hands, the slacker-turned-Driver attempted to follow his evasion up with a series of hard-hitting strikes that would hopefully either stagger the hulking robot or at least put it well on the path to staggering it. However, just as he was about to land the Beat Hit of his heavy-hitting combo attack, he was interrupted and sent stumbling back a few feet by the perched sniping GNRs, who had no intention of letting their targets forget about them. Letting out a groan of annoyance, Chai threw himself back onto his feet and dashed out of the BNR-00’s range just as it attempted to capitalize on the brunet’s getting interrupted with that ‘area of effect’ electric slam. He attempt to follow this up by dashing back up close and breaking the BNR-00’s guard once more, but he’d only gotten two hits into his light-hit combo before he heard the increasingly annoying sound of the GNR’s blaster charging and was forced to dash away again, not just from the laser blasts, but from the follow-up swings of one big and angry robot that wanted to crush him to paste.

“Okay, you’re being a constant headache that needs to stop!” Chai exclaimed in growing frustration and annoyance, his eyes narrowed as he skidded back next to Pyra. This fight would be ten times less of a headache without those annoying jackasses taking potshots at them from above, and he had just the trick in mind to knock them down from their high horses. And judging from the brief glance over he gave the redhead, it seemed like she was on the same page as him.

“My thoughts exactly, Chai!” Pyra, having herself been accosted the duration of this encounter by the other GNR perched on the ledge, knew Chai’s frustration well in this case with her focus and attempts at combo attacks being constantly disrupted by the sniping robot’s lasers. With narrowed eyes, the redhead, like her cyborg Driver was doing, reared her sword back with its flames extended before flinging it at the GNR that had been targeting her at the same time Chai flung his Blazing Scrap Guitar at his own GNR that had been bothering him.

Syncing their timing up with one another and the time of the beat, the two threw their respective weapons and both nimbly leaped back just as the BA-B00 attempted to hit them with a leaping smash. With both their weapons spinning past the hulking robot on both ends -the active Affinity Line ensuring Chai’s Scrap Guitar was radiating flames- neither it nor the sniping GNRs had any chance to properly react when the two weapons spun towards the latter with shocking accuracy and both slammed into the two robots hard. The blows from the Scrap Guitar and Aegis Sword were both more than enough to leave both GNRs smashed wrecks as they slammed into the ground, and an instant after this, both weapons rapidly began to fly back towards the duo like they were boomerangs.

As both Driver and Blade grabbed their respective weapons they noticed that the BA-B00 was their last remaining enemy, and with both GNRs finally taken out, dispatching the hulking blue robot should be much more doable. “Okay, that’s the last one! C’mon, Chai!” Pyra turned to her Driver, ready to finish this fight alongside him.

Before Chai could respond, however, he quickly glanced at his robotic arm, having noticed that with the destruction of those last GNRs and absorbing their batteries, Chai had amassed enough charge to perform a Special Attack, as the orange glow coming from his right arm indicated. What was different, however, was that the flames radiating from his Blazing Scrap Guitar had grown brighter and burned more intensely.

“Whoa…” Chai uttered in awe and both of his companions were looking at this in intrigue and surprise. An excited and confident grin appeared on his face. “Actually, Pyra… You can leave this one to me. I Got This~. ” Chai said with confidence, pointing at himself with his thumb, before taking several steps forward to face off the hulking robot, 808 floating right behind him.

The redheaded Blade stayed where she was, knowing for a fact that she was about to witness yet another amazing feat from her Driver, and so she looked on with intrigue and expectancy. Peppermint, for her own part, was in a similar boat so she didn’t argue against the brunet’s idea.

Chai came to a stop a few feet away from the BA-B00, both glaring at each other. The robot growled at the young man as it slammed its large metallic knuckles together. The wannabe Rockstar’s grin remained plastered on his face. “Alright, big guy. Time for a fiery remix~!” He declared as he threw his Blazing Scrap Guitar high up in the air before catching by the handle when it fell back.

“BLAZING-!” Chai dashed at the BA-B00, ready to perform his Special Attack.

“-POWER-!” Chai performed a rapid spinning attack on the large robot, the flames coming from his Blazing Scrap Guitar giving off the appearance of a whirling ring of fire. The BA-B00 found itself being pushed back slowly by the strength and speed behind Chai’s fiery onslaught as it became fully encased in flames. Chai then stopped spinning, his Blazing Scrap Guitar raised up and burning even brighter, ready to bring it down in one final Beat Hit.

*Beat! Beat!*

“-CORD!!!”

*BOOM!!!* 

Upon landing the Beat Hit and finishing his Special Attack, a small but intense fiery explosion was unleashed upon the hapless hulking robot, blasting it to pieces.

Pyra shielded her eyes from the blast as smoldering pieces of metal flew about everywhere. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Chai back on the ground, stumbling back slightly from a small, scorched black crater and the molten remains of the BA-B00.

The unlikely trio took in the sight of what Chai just did in awe. “WOOOO!!! THAT WAS SO FREAKING AWESOME!!” And the brunet couldn’t help but shout in utter amazement with a wide-eyed, impressed look on his face, his gaze shifting between the few melted scraps of the blown up BA-B00 that remained and at his Scrap Guitar, the flames coming off of it dispersing, before settling his gaze on Pyra, who seemed similarly pleased with the end result of that buffed up Special Attack he pulled off, and 808. “You guys see that?! How I totally burned that thing to pieces!?” The young man couldn’t help but radiate a child-like glee and excitement.

“Mm! We did! That was amazing, Chai!” Pyra praised him, being nearly as amazed as her Driver.

*Yeah, that was a pretty impressive spectacle, Chai, I’ll hand it to you.* And Peppermint couldn’t help but agree with the Aegis.

“Hah! Don’t you mean a pretty fire spectacle ?” Chai yet again couldn’t help himself but pun as he let his Scrap Guitar rest on his shoulder with a smirk on his face.

*Aaaaand now I regret opening my mouth.* Peppermint’s response was as immediate as the regret she felt praising Chai upon hearing another godawful pun come out of his mouth.

Pyra giggling at the terrible joke didn’t help alleviate Peppermint’s mood either. “I guess we can say that you were… on fire , Chai.” The redheaded Blade thought it’d be humorous to do a play on words as well.

“Hahahah! Nice one!” And her Driver responded positively.

*Oh my God… Not you too, Pyra…* Their hacker friend didn’t agree though as Driver and Blade shared a laugh for a few moments.

“Ya know… It’s pretty sweet when we get in-synch like this and I start shooting fire like you.” Chai said to Pyra with a smile, coming to enjoy fighting beside her in-synch to the beat despite having only known her for about two hours or so, and the elemental buff that came with reaching High Affinity made it even better. “We should jam together like this more often.” He extended his left fist to her.

Pyra was slightly taken aback by this gesture before smiling at him and raised up her own fist. “Mm. I feel the same.” She nodded in agreement as the duo bumped fists.

“Alright, ladies, the exit’s right over there. Let’s get out of here.” Chai said, gesturing at the entrance of the QA Center with his thumb as he let the scrap of his guitar fall off and stored back his trash grabber inside his arm before walking inside the building.

Pyra and 808 followed after him as Peppermint sighed and shook her head in disapproval through her robotic pet.

As the trio walked through the building at a leisurely pace, Pyra couldn’t help but notice that it was quiet, very quiet. No new enemies suddenly popping up, no traps suddenly being sprung, nothing. Well, nothing other than a nearby O5-KAR and the pile of wooden crates it meticulously stacked into the shape of a dog on the side of the corridor they were walking on. This much quietness was rather unsettling for the fire Blade and she has a feeling that Peppermint agreed with her, unlike Chai that didn’t find anything of this off as he walked on without a single worry with his hands behind his head, all the more reason for the redhead to be on guard.

“And here we are! The Exit! Told ya guys this was easy!” The brunet noted happily, his mood further improving upon noticing the large and blatant ‘EXIT’ sign posted over the doorway ahead of them. Chai’s two female companions, however, were much less enthusiastic at the apparent way out in front of them.

*That’s bait, idiot. They’re clearly expecting you.* Peppermint bluntly pointed out in exasperation one last time, hoping that this time, the slacker with musical aspirations would actually hear her out about how much of an obvious trap this was… as unlikely as she was realizing that was.

“Not exactly how I’d word it, but she really is spot-on otherwise. Chai, there’s really no way this is anything other than a trap we’d be walking straight into. Are you truly certain you wouldn’t rather just try and find a more… subtle way out of here?” Pyra was much in the same boat, very concerned about this reckless plan and how, like Peppermint pointed out, Vandelay’s security was clearly expecting them going forward.

“Pfft. Okay, look, so let’s say they ARE expecting us with something -which I still seriously doubt, mind you- with WHAT? Nothing either of us can’t handle!” However, despite the two girls’ continued concerns, Chai was still undaunted regarding his current plan, placing both hands behind his head once before giving the two one last glance. “Look, you’re both welcome to go your own way and look for another way out if you seriously wanna, but I’m going.”

And with that flippant remark and shrug, Chai turned around and began his leisurely stroll to the apparent exit dead ahead, leaving both girls and robotic cat standing/floating there watching him go with varying levels of exasperation. *...Like talking to a brick wall. I get the sinking sense that whatever happens next is gonna be the exact opposite of ‘subtle.'* Peppermint was the first to voice her thoughts, having zero faith that Chai would actually get to just walk out the front door of this place unmolested before 808 began to float after him.

“...I doubt don’t it.” Pyra sighed before speedwalking to catch up to Chai, ignoring the older Vandelay bot as she did so. Even with that exchange that just occurred, the redhead was truly finding herself growing endeared to her newfound Driver, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that this reckless attitude and mindset of his was going to be a problem. Though having said that, the Aegis would readily admit that she was hardly in a position to judge a young person acting recklessly with their power, considering how she acted for much of the Aegis War. Pyra would just have to look out for her Driver, especially when he did something reckless and do what she can to ensure he matures away from acting in such a needlessly dangerous manner.

By the time Pyra had caught up to Chai and 808, the latter had just morphed back into her standard cat form while her Driver continued at his leisurely pace, humming some indecipherable song with both hands still behind his head. “...” In contrast to the brunet, Peppermint had 808 stay on alert while Pyra had been silently looking around for anything amiss, ready to act in case of an ambush.

Chai also gave his surroundings a quick look over, but again, compared to the two girls, it was much more lax and uncaring, giving out another shrug before he began to speak, a confident smile on his face. “See? Just like I thought, it’s fine! You two seriously need to relax.”

*BANG! BANG!*

And whether it was an actual person or Lady Fate herself feeling like Chai was acting a bit too cocky for her liking, it was almost as though the banging and subsequent announcement that went off was a direct response to the brunet’s relaxed words. 

*Introducing… the Head of Production… REKKA!!! *

With Chai left startled and Pyra tense and on-guard, the both of them and their feline companion could only watch as up above on a scaffolding directly above the exit outside was the woman in question, the same robotically augmented and incredibly brawny woman that headed Vandelay Technologies’ Production department and the same woman that had been calling for the brunet’s blood and the redhead’s capture, Rekka in the flesh. When it was clear she had their attention, Rekka greeted her audience of three with a grandstanding pose complete with a gigantic, flashy neon monitor behind her that had her name plastered across it and even fireworks (Which Chai would admit was good taste for a bad guy) which abruptly halted as she held both hands up.

*Oh no…* At the sight of exactly what she was afraid of happening coming to pass, Peppermint could only bring a palm up to her face as she felt a sudden rush of mental exhaustion, with 808 mirroring her actions.

“Agreed, this is bad…!” Pyra was in much the same boat, having expected something like this, but having a bad feeling either way, her hand hovering over her sword’s handle as she kept her narrowed gaze on the boisterous, aggressive woman.

“HEY OHHHH! There you are, little man! You got ANY IDEA what sorta headaches you’ve been givin’ Rekka today!? Not just messin’ with Rekka’s crew and production, not just runnin’ around with confidential Vandelay property, but worst of all… yeah… messin’ with Rekka’s perfect NO-DEFECT RECORD!!!” The loud, brawny woman ranted, punctuating that last slight against her with a loud, echoing banging of her fists together.

*BANG! BANG!*

“‘Property?!’ A-are you talking about me…?!” Was Pyra’s initial response, rightfully indignant at hearing the large, angry woman calling her Property . 808 snarled at the Head of Production in agreement with the fire Blade.

“Okay, first: That bit about Pyra sounded reeeally shady . And second: Your security tried to kill me!” Chai was quick to point out, indignance clear in his tone. It was one thing to have the company suddenly out and try and kill him because of all this ‘defect’ crap, and another thing entirely to hear someone delusional enough to act like he was the bad guy in all this. And there was also the very suspicious part about Pyra being referred to as ‘Vandelay property;’ but for obvious reasons, trying to be killed for a bullshit reason and treated like he was in the wrong took priority in the brunet’s mind.

“Project Armstrong EULA. Fine print.” Rekka began, emphasizing that last part as she displayed the EULA contract Chai had to sign to get into Project Armstrong for the three to see. “Shoulda’ read it, PUNK! Defects get RECALLED!” She finished as she made a ‘slicing a throat open’ gesture with her right thumb.

“Uhhh, ‘recalled?’ You mean KILLED!?” Chai exclaimed, an incredulous expression on his face as he pointed this out to the irate Production manager, with Pyra mirroring his look of indignant confusion.

“Pfft. Rekka ain’t pick the verbs! Tch! That’s for the mooks in Marketing!” Rekka scowled angrily at the music lover.

“I don’t know who you people are or what you want with me and the other Core Crystals you got, but whatever it is I won’t allow it! I’m not some object for you people to profit off of, neither are any of the other Blades you brought here!” Pyra shouted with rightful outrage, pointing an accusatory finger at the Head of Production.

“Hmph! Don’t pin that whole little spiel on Rekka, bimbo! Take it up to Zanzo or a manager that cares!” The large brawny woman said dismissively at the redheaded Blade, whose angry scowl deepened in response at being not only talked down to, but outright being insulted to boot. “Rekka ain’t the one that brought you here and she ain’t the one that has any grand plans for you, either! REKKA’S JUST HERE TO PUT YOU RUNTS IN YOUR PLACE WHERE YOU BOTH BELONG!!!”

Upon finishing that hot-blooded exclamation, Rekka’s scowl soon morphed into a sneer as she looked down at the two headaches she’d been tasked with dealing with. “...At least that’s what Rekka would have to do if you two weren’t dumb enough to just waltz on in here. Rekka ain’t gotta get her hands dirty now!”

*I told you.* Peppermint was quick to point out, wasting no time in having 808 give Chai a look that screamed ‘This is your fault.’

“We… both did, yes.” Pyra could help but add in. She honestly wasn’t looking to pile onto Chai’s callout, but just felt compelled to make that fact clear with whatever they had to contend with next right around the corner.

“You’re not really helping here, guys…!” Chai glanced at his companions with annoyance in his tone and expression.

“Welcome to the Project Armstrong Defect Check, honey! *BANG! BANG!* And our QA is the beeeest in the business! HEY-OOOO!!!” Rekka then capped that bombastic, TV commercial-like statement off with another pose, and for the brief moment of silence they had, Chai, Pyra, and 808 could only stare at her in a combination of bewilderment and confusion…

*RUUUUMBLE…!*

“W-Whoa!”

“Huh!?” And when that moment did pass, the three of them were left stumbling in shock when the large, circular platform in the center of the room began to rumble and revealed itself to be a lift that slowly began to rise up, all capped off by the percussion of drums coming from Chai’s chest.

NINE INCH NAILS
“1,000,000”
The Slip
The Null Corporation

Recognizing the beat and the sound of those drums, Chai instinctively pulled up his shirt to better take in his robot arm’s Power Core Unit and the music player floating around inside and quickly got confirmation that he wasn’t mishearing anything; one of his favorite songs from the Nine Inch Nails just started blaring up. He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the sudden change in playlist song, and judging by the wide-eyed looks of confusion on both their faces, neither did Pyra, whose Core Crystal was glowing up brighter and beating in synch to the music, or Peppermint, but with how Rekka capped off her last exclamation before leaving them in the care of the ‘Project Armstrong Defect Check,’ it was probably safe for the brunet to assume it wasn’t anything good.

Blinking and dropping the bottom of his shirt when 808 suddenly opted to perch herself on his shoulder, both Chai and Pyra gave their surroundings a look over when the lift suddenly came to a stop at the apparent top floor of the production facility, leaving the ground several stories below them and a dim darkness covering their immediate surroundings.

A few seconds later they saw a large glowing set of orange eyes peering through the darkness. Both Driver and Blade got on guard for whatever that thing was, which was swiftly broken when the rest of the floor’s lights suddenly flashed on, revealing the entirety of their newfound company for them to see.

As one would likely imagine with everything they’d previously faced, the orange eyed ‘thing’ was none other than another hostile Vandelay robot, but compared to his previous contemporaries Chai and Pyra faced, this one was much, much bigger, to the point that it dwarfed the BA-B00 like it dwarfed the usual SBRs and GNRs, with Chai and Pyra barely measuring up to his glaring head that zeroed in on them both. His most notable feature was how the colossal robot had no proper body from the waist down, instead having a metal joint that connected him to the electrical railing all around this circular room and subsequently allowing him to move around his ‘workplace’ with ease… which made his job of ‘inspecting’ any particularly skittish defects trying to keep their distance a trivial matter.

“Waaaaaaa…” That was the only vocalization Chai could manage upon realizing he had what looked to be a two-story tall robot staring down at him with what certainly didn’t feel like good intentions. Pyra herself was in a similar boat, wide-eyed mouth slightly gaping at the sudden sight of a robot of comparable size to a proper Artifice.

*I LIKE defects.* The gigantic robot finally spoke, his gravely yet mechanical voice conveying a clear sneer despite how most (Read: ALL) of Vandelay’s robots didn’t have much going for them in the way of facial expression.

“That’s good!” Chai responded with a nod and smile, 808 mimicking the motion. Pyra seemed less reassured by the giant robot's words, but nonetheless loosened her grip on her sword handle slightly as she waited for it to continue, her head tilted slightly.

*I like how they TASTE.*

“Ohh, that’s bad!” Was the defect in question’s only response to that clarification, an understandably wide-eyed look on his face upon hearing that as he and the robotic feline shook their heads in unison while Pyra’s expression turned to one of comically white-eyed mortification.

*Inspection level; ONE MILLION!!!* And with that gleefully sadistic exclamation, the QA-1MIL, Rekka’s head inspector that was just as passionate about ‘recalling’ defects, brought both of his hands overhead and slammed them both onto the platform where Chai and Pyra were.

Without missing a beat, both Chai and Pyra nimbly lept and slid back several feet just before the robot’s attempt to smash them connected. Raising his head, Chai then returned the oversized inspection robot’s glare on him and Pyra with a surprisingly focused narrow-eyed gaze, the redhead responding in a similar manner as she rose to her feet with flame roaring from the pipes of her sword as she glared up at QA-1MIL.

After taking a moment to ensure 808 had a moment to leap off from his shoulder and back into her floating ball form, Chai also rose back onto his feet before deftly whipping out his trash grabber from his robot arm’s compartment, the Scrap Guitar rapidly forming in time to the beat to 1,000,000.

“Let’s rock, big boy!”  

*ROOOOOAAAAAAAAR!!!*

Kind of hard, hard to see

When you crawl on your hands and your knees

*Ha-HA! BRING IT!* QA-1MIL exclaimed with clear delight, opening the fight with a wide, sweeping attack across the circular platform that covered the majority of it, forcing Chai to double-jump to avoid it while Pyra was forced to block the incoming strike with her Blade Barrier, the force of the strike nonetheless sending her careening close to the edge of the platform. As the circular barrier around her dispersed, the fire Blade made sure to keep her balance as she teetered towards the platform’s edge, quietly exhaling in relief before leaping back into the active fray with her Driver.

With your face in the trough

*Chai! His hand is extra-sensitive for uh… inspecting! * Peppermint quickly informed him.

Wait your turn, while they finish you off

“Weird way to say ‘hit them…’ but okay.” He acknowledged before dashing to one of the QA-1MIL’s massive hands and started to Air Riff on it. Seeing this, Pyra quickly understood the robot's hands were his soft spot so she also went on to attack the other hand. 

After landing a good number of consecutive hits on their opponent, the QA-1MIL moved his hands away before crossing his arms across his torso, electric energy starting to come off of him.

*Get out of there, guys!* Peppermint warned the duo, and both didn’t think twice before jumping backwards just in time to avoid getting hit by an Area-of-Effect blast of electricity that certainly would have at best shocked them stunned or at worst fried them to a crisp. 

Don't know when it started, don't know how

The moment the electrical AoE ran its course, Chai didn’t hesitate to dash back towards the large, glowing yellow chestplate on QA-1MIL’s chest that acted as a weak point. However, the gigantic inspection robot anticipated that Chai would immediately attempt to attack his chest after his electrical attack and responded appropriately. Just as the brunet winded back to bombard QA-1MIL with another series of batter-like swings with his Scrap Guitar, the robot in question brought both of his oversized hands up to his chest to nullify the incoming damage to his chest. He then followed up by shooting out both his hands as Chai landed his second heavy hit, smacking and sending the brunet tumbling a few feet. *It’s high time you got flattened, punk!* QA-1MIL exclaimed with clear sadistic glee, winding back his right fist to punch Chai into the platform just as he rose back onto his feet.

Should have found out, should have happened by now

*SLAM!*

“Not on my watch!” Pyra exclaimed, her eyes narrowed and her barrier holding strong. Just as the oversized, robotic fist was about to painfully slam into Chai, the Aegis quickly dashed in the way to intercept, forming another Bade Barrier just before the blow could enter either of their spaces, and unlike the last instance of this, neither Pyra nor her barrier were sent flying from the force of QA-1MIL’s attack despite the force of the impact making her buckle slightly but she recovered immediately. Gritting whatever equivalent Vandelay’s robots had to teeth, the gigantic ‘inspection’ robot applied more force into his right fist as he tried to break through the redhead’s barrier, but the metallic scowl on his face quickly change to panic when he began to notice the black metal that made up his knuckles were beginning to melt from all the excess heat the fire Blade was producing.

*Hot, hot, HOT!!!* The gigantic robotic exclaimed in panic, quickly retracting its hand away from Pyra’s barrier to shake the heat off it, only to be caught by surprise when he was then greeted with the pesky defect he’d trying to deal with hanging off his fingers like he was a damn spider, an infuriatingly cheeky smile on his face.

“‘Bout to get a lot HOTTER!” Was all Chai had to say before suddenly leaping up and coming back down on QA-1MIL’s tender right hand with an overhead slam. Between Chai’s own uncanny strength and the already-damaged state the right hand was in, it proved to be no issue for the wannabe rocker to cause the right hand to crash back down to the platform below, temporarily unresponsive.

*Hand down, Chai! Go get him!* Peppermint informed him, having a window of opportunity to land so real damage upon the towering machine.

“Way ahead of you~!” With that excited exclamation, Chai then reared back his Scrap Guitar before performing a spinning leap that culminated in an overhead slam with his weapon down on the inert right hand. The force of the blow was more than enough to bounce QA-1MIL’s hand off the platform and into the air, with Chai following up by dashing forward -his Scrap Guitar leaving sparks as he trailed it along the floor- and hitting the fist with another strike just as it was about to fall back into the platform.

*SLAM!* *KRKT!*

The end result was QA-1MIL’s own robotic fist colliding hard right into the side of his face, the force of the blow more than enough to utterly shatter the right side of the Production inspection robot’s sleek faceplate and causing his LED pupils to shrink to the size of pinpricks.

*AUGH! MY FACE! MY SHAAAAME!!!* 

Got these lines on my face

The force, pain, and utter disorientation QA-1MIL felt from experiencing such a painful sucker punch from his own fist was more than enough to send him briefly stumbling below the platform, his lower body’s connection to the railing being the only thing that kept him from tumbling down to the bottom. Immediately after this, the gigantic robot quickly rose back up to the platform, wailing out about the current state of his now-ruined face as he swiped and flailed at the platform in an attempt to crush the pesky duo without success as the Driver and Blade duo dodged all these attacks.

With the fire from her sword blazing and all while nimbly dodging the strikes that came her way, Pyra followed up on the humiliating blow QA-1MIL received with several deftly placed strikes and fire blasts with her power upon one of the robot’s hands once again. Leaping up, the redhead had one final strike in her onslaught planned, but she was once again forced to make use of her Blade Barrier when the gigantic robot finally recovered and smacked Pyra away before she could do any further damage.

After all this time and I still haven't found my place

Like the first time, the force of QA-1MIL’s blow on her hastily erected barrier was more than enough to send her careening and tumbling across the circular platform, only coming to a halt when Chai leapt up and intercepted her before she could go any further.

When the two came to a landing, they then finally got a proper look at the facial damage QA-1MIL received that set him off so badly… and his reaction was frankly warranted with how jarring and humiliating it looked on the formerly imposing robot. “ Oof! That is uh… that is hard to take in…” Chai began, wincing at QA-1MIL glaring with pure murderous intent at him while half of his face-plate was crudely taken off, exposing a far more basic and crude-looking robotic face underneath the faceplate. “You uh… want me to get the other side too, dude? Maybe even you out a bit?” He awkwardly asked the pissed off towering machine.

*...On second thought, smashing’s a bit too quick and merciful for you. Fiery, explosive ‘inspection’ is much more your speed, defect.* The mechanical behemoth growled, punctuating his icy threat with four gigantic blasters that came out from his back in time to the beat of the music. *Least I finally get to use these now!*

*You really got a knack for getting on people’s nerves, don’t you?* Peppermint observed dryly as both Chai and Pyra blanched slightly at the sudden inclusion of the blasters, the former audibly gulping.

*TRY AND DODGE THIS!*  

 I jump from every rooftop

The QA-1MIL then shot several missiles from his blasters at the duo, forcing them to spread out and avoid all of the incoming projectiles. 

So high so far to fall

“Why does an inspection robot need to have freaking rocket launchers?! ” Chai shouted in panic and exasperation as he continued to dodge the missiles as they impacted and exploded across the platform.

*Beats me! You can thank Rekka for this excessive crap! * Peppermint replied in exasperation as 808 dodged alongside the brunet. Truly, she would never understand why the hell did Rekka have to commission what was essentially a massive war machine to work in Quality Assurance, but with how excessively over the top the brawny large woman was, it wasn’t so strange. Still, very much so overkill.

Once the barrage of missile strikes ran their course, Chai attempted to get close and do some damage with Pyra right behind him, only to be forced to once again go on the evasive when the colossal ‘inspection’ robot extended both his hands and began firing several laser blasts at them in time to the beat. In Chai’s case, he was able to deftly jump out of the lasers’ way whenever they came close to hitting them -perhaps the ease with which he avoided the blasts could be attributed to how often he listened to 1,000,000 - while Pyra wasn’t so fortunate, unable to dodge in time to avoid getting hit by the last laser blast in QA-1MIL’s barrage.

I feel a million miles away

“Ah!” Pyra exclaimed, feeling pain flash through her as she was left tumbling back. Wincing as she rolled back onto her feet, the redhead had no time to recover or take a brief breath with how QA-1MIL didn’t hesitate to capitalize on the blow he landed, following up by sweeping across the arena several times, once again forcing the Driver and Blade duo onto the evasive. This proved especially difficult for Pyra with how the Inspection Robot was focusing on her specifically after getting that blow in on her.

“Alright, that is ENOUGH! “ Pyra exclaimed, having more than enough of the Artifice-sized robot’s constant, irritating swiping at her and her Driver, timing her frustrated exclamation in time with her spawning a Blade Barrier around her body just as QA-1MIL attempted to once again swipe at her body, having held up her sword in a blocking motion as she did this.

*SLAM!*

Pyra grit her teeth and felt her feet slide slightly across the floor as QA-1MIL glared down at her and increased the pressure of his blow, fully intending to send her flying in her barrier like he had all the other times. (barring the instance that ended with his humiliating facial-damage, of course)

The struggle between the two to see who would give out first would have continued were it not for Chai rushing in and interjecting. He knocked the robotic behemoth’s hand away with a heavy uppercut, sending it high in the air and leaving him wide open.

*Now Pyra!* Peppermint shouted at her.

“Got it!” The fire Blade said in acknowledgement, quickly sizing up the opportunity to retaliate against the massive enemy. Focusing her built-up Ether as she prepared to perform her second strongest Special Attack, glowing emerald lines appeared on her arms and legs, flames flaring out of her Aegis Sword. “BLAZING END!” Pyra then threw her weapon in a boomerang-like fashion at the QA-1MIL, spinning rapidly through the air as it flew straight at the joint of the QA-1MIL’s left forearm.

I don't feel any thing at all

*SLICE!!*

*AHHHH!!! MY HAND!!!* The massive Inspection Robot cried out in searing agony as his hand was sliced clean off with ease by Pyra’s Special Attack right at the forearm joint. The robot quickly held the burning stump where his left hand once was in a futile attempt to lessen the intense pain he was experiencing.

It was quite the odd sight to see such a massive and imposing machine being capable of experiencing pain, but the group didn’t have time to ponder on this as upon getting detached from its owner, the gigantic severed limb was sent flying higher in the end before starting to fall back into the platform. Seeing this, a bolt of inspiration struck Chai’s mind and an excited, confident smirk appeared on his face, his eyes practically sparkling as the idea for something both rocking and stylish reared its head in the brunet’s mind.

“Ohhhh, I got this, I got this!” Chai exclaimed gleefully, quickly putting his plan in action. On Pyra’s end, after catching her weapon back, she briefly paused to take some deep breaths to recover from the Ether and energy spent with that Special, and looked up just in time to see her Driver sprinting right where QA-1MIL’s severed hand was about to fall with his Scrap Guitar raised.

“Home-!” Running full speed ahead, Chai held his Scrap Guitar, which once again began radiating flames as he reached High Affinity with Pyra, with both hands and spun about once before swinging out with all his might. “-RUN!!”  If the redheaded Blade perhaps had anything more than a split-second, she might’ve tried to call out or possibly even intervene, but as it was, she just felt her heart leap out of her throat before her Driver once again threw both herself and a similarly shocked Peppermint for a loop when he whacked away the giant, severed limb as if it was a baseball as hard as he could, Trent Reznor’s tunes amping him up as he batted away with a confident smirk.

*HUH-?!*

*WHACK!*   *CRE-AAACK!* *CRASH!!*

And Chai’s confidence proved to be well-founded, as the force of his blow when it connected to the falling limb housed enough force to redirect it fist-first straight into the other side of QA-1MIL’s face that still had plating on it. This time, the force of his own severed arm and fist colliding with his face sent the QA-1MIL slamming into the wall behind him so hard to the point of deeply cracking it, a gaping and thoroughly discombobulated expression on his metallic face. Though the robot’s gobsmacked and staggered reaction to being punched in the face with his own severed arm was merely secondary to the much more attention-grabbing sight plastered across his forehead…

“Whoa… does that literally say ‘weak point’ on his forehead!?” Chai would have gone on to cheer and celebrate his own amazing feat of strength were it not for the sight of the QA-1MIL’s exposed face that caught both him and Pyra by surprise.

*By design. Speaks for itself.* Peppermint, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised at all, having seen the blueprints and specs of the massive Inspection Robot in the past.

“...Why would anyone design a machine like that???” Pyra couldn’t help but ask rhetorically, knowing damn well she wouldn’t get a satisfying answer even if she was speaking with the person who designed this thing.

*RRRRRRRAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!* If either Chai or Peppermint had a response in mind for Pyra’s baffled question, there’d be no time to answer it with how the QA-1MIL then let out an enraged roar at the pain and humiliation he just endured before the gigantic Inspection Robot pulled himself out of the wall with his remaining arm, leaving a massive imprint with his shape.

The mechanical behemoth glared towards the spot where his left hand used to be, still burning an intense red hot -electricity now constantly surging out of it like a geyser- before clenching his remaining hand hard in time with the beat of the music, deciding it was high time to take off the kids gloves and show these damn punks what happens to anyone that challenges his authority. *Time… to get… SERIOUS!!! AAAHHHHHHHHH!!!*

SERIOUS MODE: GO

I wake up, on the floor

With that incensed exclamation, a massive surge of electricity coursed through the QA-1MIL’s massive, hulking, robotic body, resulting in the orange highlights of his body turning dark red with steam rapidly getting exhausted from the back of his head, all indicators of a drastically increased energy intake.

Start it up again

“Awww. Why so mad, big boy? Come on~! At least it’s symmetrical now! Your face, that is!” However, by this point, Chai had completely lost any sort of intimidation he might’ve initially had for the QA-1MIL, having spent the time the robot was gearing up into ‘Serious Mode’ balancing his Scrap Guitar in a lackadaisical fashion by the handle in the palm of his robotic hand, flipping it into the air and catching it without missing a beat as the colossal robot got ready to attack them once more.

like it matters anymore

In an attempt to disorient the two, QA-1MIL slammed his remaining fist into the edge of the circular platform, the force of the blow more than enough to thoroughly rock the entire platform and causing both Chai and Pyra to lose their balance and causing QA-1MIL to follow up with another barrage of rocket blasts. Despite their initial disorientation, the duo were both able to recover quickly and narrowly managed to avoid the explosion range of the incoming rockets. When the barrage came to a halt, the Blade and her Driver didn’t hesitate to dash forward and counterattack, and despite the QA-1MIL’s attempt to stop them from getting any closer with several fires of his palm blaster, Chai and Pyra were both able to close the distance and further lay down some damage on the Inspection Robot, with Pyra opting to bombard his yellow chest piece with a flaming series of sword strikes and Chai leaping up and Aerial Raving all over his face.

I don't know if it does

*ENOUGH!* QA-1MIL exclaimed in rising frustration and anger, smacking both Chai and Pyra away before they could do any further damage and following up by angrily trying to smash them to pulp with a series of brutal slams into the platform with his remaining fist, each strike rocking the platform thoroughly. For the final strike in this barrage the QA-1MIL opted to charge up his fist with electricity before slamming it down into the platform and sending hundreds of volts coursing through the metal platform, which the duo narrowly avoided. In Chai’s case, he simply opted to leap into the air once more and continue hammering at QA-1MIL’s head and prominently labeled weak point, whereas Pyra felt she had enough Ether coursing through her to make use of her Level 2 Special Attack.

Is this really all that there ever was?

“Prominence…” Pyra began as she leapt several feet up, her sword poised to impale with both hands and her entire body radiating a golden glow. “REVOLT!”  

Put the gun in my mouth

Close your eyes, blow my fucking brains out

Upon finishing that exclamation, Pyra then stabbed her sword down to the hilt into QA-1MIL’s shoulder at the same time her Driver landed the final blow in his Aerial Rave combo. Letting a surge of fire course through her sword just before she was forced to dislodge and sent flying several feet back onto her feet, Pyra was pleased to see that her attack left the sound visualizer on the colossal robot’s shoulder thoroughly cracked, half-melted, and with sparks of electricity crackling out of the stab wound she made.

Pretty patterns on the floor

That's enough for you

*It’s… It’s not over yet!* Despite all the damage he’d accumulated from the duo over the course of the fight, QA-1MIL refused to give in or relent even slightly, swiping across the platform again before sending out another barrage of rockets.

but I still need more, more, more

*You’ve almost got him!* Peppermint informed them.

“I can see that!” Replied the wannabe rocker and indeed it was obvious from a glance that the massive machine was almost down for the count.

I jump from every rooftop

The robotic giant then unleashed yet another barrage of missiles upon the duo, however, this time he also went on to slam the platform with his fist, making it greatly unstable and thus much harder for the Driver and Blade to dodge the blasts. Chai and Pyra nearly lost their footing several times as they stumbled and nearly fell while dodging the missiles. It was then that Chai, dodging out of the way of a missile explosion, lost his footing and fell to the ground.

“Chai, lookout!” Pyra warned him as unbeknownst to him a missile was about to land on top of him.

“Huh?! Oh shit!” Chai cursed as he looked up before rolling out of the way, while he avoided the radius of the blast, the resulting shockwave sent him rolling across the platform with no way to stop his momentum. 

So high so far to fall

“Chai!” Fortunately, Pyra was able to grab him by his flesh arm right before falling off the platform.

“Phew! Thanks for the save, dude!” The young man thanked his Blade companion as she pulled him back up. It was when he was back on his feet again that the brunet felt something missing. “Huh…? Crap! My Guitar!” He cursed again as he looked at his now empty robotic hand before looking at the void behind him as unfortunately for him the now disarmed wannabe rocker lost his grip of his Scrap Guitar before Pyra caught him and as result, it fell off into the ground below.

However, neither he nor his Blade companion didn’t have time to linger on this as the QA-1MIL started to shoot energy blasts from his remaining palm at them, forcing Pyra to stand in front of her disarmed Driver, spawning a Blade Barrier to shield them both.

I feel a million miles away

“Aw man! This is bad! Now what am I gonna do?!” Shouted Chai as he took cover behind the redheaded Aegis until the energy blasts stopped.

“Chai, here! ” It was then that Pyra turned around and threw him her Aegis Sword.

I don't feel any thing at all

“Huh?!” The brunet quickly reacted and caught Pyra’s weapon by the handle with his right hand. Upon doing so, the sword became automatically active, flames extending out of it. “Whoa…” Utter Chai in awe as he felt the sheer, raw power coming from this sword. It was then he noticed that the Affinity Line came back, but not only did it connect to his chest, it also did to the Aegis Sword, to be exact to the Core Crystal embedded on top of the handle. The blue line then suddenly started glowing gold and so did his entire body. “What the…?”  He uttered in awe and wonderment as he glanced at his glowing body, not only was he literally glowing, he also felt powered up, more so than when having a full charge to pull off a Special Attack.

*Amazing…! I’m getting very high levels of energy readings coming from you and Pyra!* Peppermint said in amazement not only at what she was seeing, but also the energy reading she was receiving from 808.

“Chai, focus!” Pyra called his attention, prompting him to look at her and seeing, that just like him, she was also glowing gold, her right hand extended with her left hand holding her own wrist, the golden Affinity Line coming off from her hand, making it very obvious that she was directly powering him up with her Ether now that he held her sword. The golden Affinity Glow signifying that the Driver and Blade duo have reached Full Affinity .

I feel a million miles away

The slacker-turned-Driver then looked forward to the gigantic robot, who roared loudly at the group. “Heh! Alright, time to flare things up a notch! ” Proclaimed Chai with exhilaration in his expression, feeling the rush of power coursing through him as he threw the Aegis Sword into the air before catching it for style point when it fell back down. The young man then sprinted forward at the towering Inspector Robot, the Aegis Sword’s edge trailing in the ground, leaving a line of fire in its wake.

The QA 1-MIL attempted to crush the punk to pieces with his remaining hand, but Chai sidestepped out of the way and continued to rush forward until leaping towards the robot’s chest. 

I don't feel any thing at all

“BLAZING POWER-!” He then began to perform his Special Attack, spinning rapidly in a ring of fire, quickly causing the giant machine to become enveloped in flames. However, instead of going for the typical Beat Hit that came at the end of his Special Attack, Chai opted to backflip away from the flaming QA-!MIL.

*Beat! Beat!*

“-CORD!!!”

*BOOM!!!*

To then throw the Aegis Sword in a Blazing End-like manner at the burning robot, and upon making contact, a bigger, more intense fiery explosion that last time occurred, causing the whole building to shake for a few seconds as Chai landed back safely in the platform, the Aegis Sword flew back to his robotic hand in a boomerang-like fashion.

*GAH!* QA-1MIL exclaimed in pain, the sheer force behind Chai’s Blazing Power Cord sending his entire body crashing back-first into the scorched black wall, embedding him deeper than last time. The colossal, burnt robot was as black as the wall he was embedded to with his outer plating melting away into a burning slag, he remained stuck there for a brief moment before peeling off the wall and his upper body crashed down against the circular platform. In Pyra’s case, she was forced to hastily leap out of the way with how the colossal robot would’ve collapsed into where she was standing.

I jump from every rooftop (Is this really all?)

With her current positioning and how close she was to the edge of the platform, Pyra was forced to use her superhuman strength to hastily leap across the gap leading to the bottom of the facility and just barely managed to grab onto the railing of the metal stairway installed into the building’s walls.

Back with Chai, the brunet had been in the middle of trying to catch his breath and wiping the sweat off his brow, his grip still tight on the Aegis Sword, when the extremely damaged QA-1MIL shakily rose back up from his slumped down position and aimed one last swipe at Chai. Despite his mounting exhaustion, he nonetheless nimbly leapt up several feet just before QA-1MIL’s last, desperate attack could connect.

So high so far to fall 

Touching down feet-first on his forearm, the brunet then began to sprint up the side of QA-1MIL’s arm, with the robot in question only able to look and glare as Chai leapt up one final time with the Aegis Sword raised in both hands.

I feel a million miles away

Pyra, from her spot, quickly extended her right arm at Chai’s general direction as the golden Affinity Line manifested once again, causing both of them to glow gold once more.  

“You’ve got a killer track…” And it was as Chai began that confident boast that Pyra’s Aegis Sword’s flames flared up, extending the length of the blade even further, becoming twice as long. “ but every song’s gotta end!”

I don't feel any thing at all…

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

*SLICE!!*

And with that said, Chai then swung down as hard as he could, cleanly separating QA-1MIL’s head from his body and causing the ‘ WEAK POINT’ plastered across his forehead to be replaced with ‘ OWWWW!!!’

“Amazing…!” Pyra breathed out, surprised and awed by Chai’s landing of the final blow, especially with the knowledge that he’d never been in combat prior to today

*BREAAAK!!!*

…though that awed, impressed smile quickly changed to a wide-eyed look of horror and panic when, as a result of this spectacle, QA-1MIL’s decapitated body collapsed completely into the circular platform, all that extra weight suddenly on it finally breaking the platform’s already-strained supports and causing it and everything on it to plummet back down to the ground floor. This of course included QA-1MIL’s body, his head, and Chai’s panicked, flailing form. “Chai!”

*Creaaaaak…*

And it was upon hearing the sound of metal straining and the railing she was hanging onto abruptly jerk that the redheaded Blade came to the realization that she was about to quickly catch up to her Driver. “Oh no…”

*CRACK!* That dread-filled remark and grimace was all Pyra could manage before the entire metal stairway broke off from the wall, sending the Aegis falling down in a panic similar to Chai’s.

“aaaaAAAAHHHH-! Oof! Ugh…” Chai’s panicked yelling came to an abrupt halt when he suddenly hit the ground face-first along with several pieces of rubble falling all around him. After taking a moment to groan about all the dull, throbbing pain he felt pulsing throughout his body, the brunet then languidly rolled onto his back. However, he didn’t even have a split-second to take a breath or even reorient himself before he was greeted with the blood-draining sight of QA-1MIL’s headless body falling straight towards him.

“AH-!”

*PHFOOOM!*

Upon tentatively removing his hands from his face, the brunet was pleasantly surprised that he was not dead. As luck would have it, the metal joint that connected the QA-1MIL’s body to the railing on the top floor of this building was just barely holding strong, preventing the colossal robot body from completely crashing into the ground and squishing Chai as a result.

*SLAM!*  

…This was followed immediately by the QA-1MIL’s severed head landing a few feet next to Chai, further startling him.

“AH! H-huh…? Oh… Phew…” Upon realizing what happened and how he’d narrowly avoided getting turned to paste, Chai then let out the biggest sigh of relief in his entire life before relaxing and closing his eyes, feeling now he could take a moment to catch his breath now that he was out of immediate danger…

*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*

“Hm?” …Though that prospect was immediately dashed by the piercing sound of alarms blaring through the building, topped off by flashing red lights. Opening his eyes in confusion and annoyance, the brunet’s attention was soon drawn to the sound of a less intense beeping going off to his right.

SELF DESTRUCT

“Hmmm…” Now, the sensible thing to do upon being faced with alarms, flashing lights, and a boulder-sized robot head that had ‘SELF DESTRUCT’ printed across its forehead would have been to immediately vacate the premises ASAP. However, Chai’s brain still hadn’t fully caught up with his body after all the crazy, rapid-fire things he just experienced in short succession,(plus, he could just be kinda dim sometimes) and as such, simply narrowed his eyes as he gazed more intently at the QA-1MIL’s head, trying to discern what it all meant.

5…

4…

3…

2…

“Ha- AHH!” It finally took a rapidly falling countdown for Chai’s brain to finally get the message and for him to start running for his life.

“Ugh…” Pyra groaned, stumbling out from the detached and overturned metal staircase and pinching the bridge of her nose, trying to regain focus and rid herself of the disorientation she was experiencing after falling from such a height. “By the Architect… that was utter insanity… and my head hurts…” All the alarms and flashing lights going off certainly weren’t helping Pyra with that last issue, either.

“RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRU-!”

By the time Pyra had reoriented herself, she was startled by the sound of Chai’s frantic voice as well as him sprinting in her general direction like his life depended on it. Pyra had just been about to ask her Driver what was wrong when she took notice of the QA-1MIL’s severed head, noticed the rapidly descending countdown, subsequently put two and two together, and felt her eyes widen in that split-second of comprehension and horror.

1…

BOOOOM!!!

RU- AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”

Pyra had no chance to react and Chai had just been about to pass her when QA-1MIL’s self-destruct feature finally went off, engulfing the colossal robot’s body in a powerful explosion whose shockwave was more than enough to send the screaming Chai and Pyra flying.

Vandelay Production

DAYS WITHOUT DEFECTS:
994543519
*SMASH!*
000000000

Chai’s flight came to an abrupt halt when his body slammed into a monitor that apparently showcased the longest span of days without defects. Appropriately enough, in addition to thoroughly cracking the monitor’s screen, Chai’s collision ended up resetting the count back to zero, and if the brunet had been in the headspace to consider this (and wasn’t currently slowly peeling off the monitor like he was a cartoon character), then he’d have derived some satisfaction from the sight of Rekka’s ‘PERFECT NO-DEFECT RECORD’ getting officially broken.

“WOO! Did you guys see that!?” As it was at the moment, however, the brunet was focused more on the insanity he just survived and whether he looked good doing it as he immediately stood back up to his feet after falling up in front of 808, using Pyra’s sword in his flesh arm as an impromptu crutch to keep himself standing.

*Yeah, yeah. But this time, just shut up and follow me. We REALLY gotta get outta here.* Peppermint said in a tone that booked no further arguments, punctuating that statement by having 808 toss Chai’s trash grabber back to him.

“Oh, thanks!” The brunet thanked her as he grabbed his trash grabber with his robotic arm before storing it back within it.

*Wait… Where’s Pyra?* The hacker then noticed the absence of a certain redheaded fire Blade. She didn’t get to see where she went flying off to as 808 was more focused on the wannabe rocker.

*Sizzle…*  

Before Chai could even take his first step, however, he and 808 were stopped by the faint sound of smoke sizzling. Before either could question what the noise was, they got their answer when Pyra suddenly stumbled back into view from the exit, having apparently got launched outside while Chai crashed into that monitor.

“Here…” Said Pyra with a tone and expression that denoted both exhaustion and irritation, seemingly having heard Peppermint asking for her.

*Uhhh… you okay there, Pyra? * Peppermint couldn’t help but ask, a slightly wide-eyed look on her and Chai’s faces as they took the redhead in. All things considered, the Aegis looked fine, though the disheveled, tired look on her face, topped off by the slight smoke radiating off her and how the ends of her scarf caught on fire, and it all made for a rather concerning image.

“...Still in one piece.” She replied in an uncharacteristic blunt tone. It was evident that she has reached her threshold of how much insanity she can take in for one day.

“Right, right… I think you could use some cooling off after that wild ride we just went on, eh?” Chai said nonchalantly, letting out one of his typical puns.

*Ugh. Seriously, Chai? Now of all times?* Peppermint admonished him for coming off as insensitive.

“What? I’m trying to lighten things up here. Laughter is the best medicine, you know?”  The wannabe rocker retorted.

The Aegis, for her part, chuckled a little at Chai’s attempt to lift her mood. “That’s terrible, but it does help a little, actually. Thanks, Chai.” She thanked him with a smile, her mood improving significantly as she dusted herself off, fixed her hair and put out the fire on her scarf.

“Any time, buddy.” Chai smiled back at her, giving her a thumbs up with his robotic hand. Peppermint just deadpanned at this through her robotic cat, at this point not surprised that the fire Blade found Chai’s lame-ass puns humorous. Well, at least she was feeling a little better now.     

“Anyways, are you okay, Chai?” Pyra couldn’t help but ask with a slight concern, even if she was seeing him standing straight up and pretty much unscathed she wanted to make sure.

“Oh yeah, totally. I mean, just a bit a sore here and there, but nothing to worry ‘bout.” Chai waved it off casually. Though he lied a little when he said he was ‘a bit sore here and there’, in actuality he was sore all over but he could still stand up just fine as the blunt soreness faded away by the second.

“Thank goodness.” The redheaded Blade sighed in relief.

“Oh and here, this is yours.” The brunet then casually threw Pyra her Aegis Sword, which she promptly caught in her right hand without an issue, though there was confusion in her eyes.

“You… still don’t want to hold onto it?” The Blade couldn’t help but ask, admittedly feeling some slight disappointment. After all that, Pyra was admittedly hoping it would get Chai to realize he’d be better off primarily wielding her sword. However, it was clear the brunet was still adamant about sticking to his Scrap Guitar when he could help it.

“Nah, not really. I mean, don’t get me wrong, that thing sure has some mad cutting power, I can totally see the appeal of swords now. But y’know, smacking things around with a guitar is way more my style.” He explained in a carefree manner as he put his hands behind his head. Yes, it was pretty awesome to use Pyra’s sword, but there’s just something about using his Scrap Guitar that is far more appealing to him.

“Hmm… Well, I understand.” The redheaded Blade said as she sheathed her weapon on her back once again. Perhaps in the future her Driver might change his mind, but for now, she’d leave it be. And It’s not like she has to worry about him being defenseless as he has proven to be quite capable many times already. 

*You guys are done? Good. Now c’mon, follow me.* Peppermint told the duo in a manner that allowed no argument whatsoever as she had 808 walk towards the massive hole where the platform at the center of the building once was

Pyra did what she was told without complaining unlike her Driver, who hummed a little in annoyment but still walked after his companions.

The group looked down upon the chasm below once they reached the edge before Peppermint told the wannabe rocker in a stern tone *And no complaining this time.* Before 808 jumped into the hole.

Pyra flinched in surprise at this. But she didn’t have time to process this as she heard Chai say “Alright, alright…” In annoyment before jumping in as well without a second thought. She only stood there seeing him drop from above for a few seconds before she too jumped down, trusting that the hacker knew what she was doing.

*Thp!*

Upon landing, Chai’s mood quickly took a turn for the creeped out when he found himself in what appeared to be some old, abandoned maintenance tunnels. The entire area was enveloped in a dim darkness, which when combined with all the vague, intimidating shapes all around him, left the brunet feeling considerably on-guard and tensed up, considerably more so than when he had been walking straight into an obvious trap.

*Alright, my Hideout can be reached through these old tunnels. Once Pyra lands, I’m gonna have 808 lead you both there.* Peppermint explained, raising a brow via 808 as she took notice of Chai’s tensed up demeanor.

“U-Uh… right, yeah. Awesome…” Chai responded with a nervous tone, anxiously looking around the dark, creepy tunnels that were just barely lit up by the robotic cat’s neon highlights. ‘Oh God, if a spider creeps onto my head or down the back of my shirt in the dark, I’m gonna scream so hard.’

*Thp!*

“AHH!” The brunet jumped and screamed in an unmanly manner when he heard something land beside him before quickly turning around and seeing Pyra, who just touched down from above. “Oh, it’s just you… Geez, don’t creep on a guy like that, will ya?!” He scolded her for the jumpscare as he put a hand on his chest.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” The fire Blade quickly apologized. The hacker for her part couldn’t help but chuckled at how skittish the wannabe rocker is acting now.

Thankfully, Chai found his apprehension alleviated somewhat now that Pyra was here. What’s more, her Core Crystal and all the neon emerald highlights on her outfits began to prominently glow, illuminating the tunnel considerably.

“O-Oh… and I’ve started glowing…” Was all Pyra could say upon noticing the emerald glow she emitted, her tone indicating some embarrassment at this. “Sorry… I’m a bit self-conscious.” She apologized again.

“Don’t be . I kinda seriously wish I was glowing right now...” Chai responded immediately, quickly taking the chance to stay close to Pyra and the reassuring light she emitted, all while continuing to give his surroundings an apprehensive look over. “ Tell me if a spider tries to land on my head.”  

“U-Uhm… of course. Don’t worry.”

*Okay, are you seriously SCARED right now? After you just took out a giant robot that wanted you dead?*   Peppermint asked more in a joking tone, finding this more amusing than anything.

“Wha? Pssh, no! I-I mean… it is a little dark… neither uh… neither of you think there are any spiders down here, right? Or like… robot spiders?” At just the thought of such a horrific concept, Chai felt an involuntary chill run down his spine, rapidly looking around to make sure there weren’t any spindly, mechanical arachnids trying to creep onto his head and body. “Oh please don’t let there be robot spiders. AH! ” Chai’s nervous rambling was quickly cut off when he felt something make contact with his shoulder. Jumping in pure terror, the young man quickly and frantically whipped out his Scrap Guitar before whipping around and brandishing it in what he hoped was an intimidating manner at the ungodly robot spider that was trying to make itself at home on his body.

“U-Uhm.” When he was only greeted with a wide-eyed Pyra putting up both her hands in surrender.

“Ugh, Pyra! What did I just say?!” He scolded her again for jumpscaring him, again.

“Sorry! I was just trying to comfort you.” And yet again the redheaded Blade quickly apologized. As she said this though, her surprised expression soon shifted into a look of curiosity. “You… really hate spiders, don’t you Chai?”

“...Kinda hard not to after learning some things I wish I could erase from my skull.” To this day, Chai still prayed to any God that listened to that the apparent trivia of how people swallowed five live spiders a year in their sleep, at least, wasn’t real .

“Meaning…?” Pyra tilted her hand in confusion.

“You don’t wanna know. Trust me.” That’s all he said with a deadpanned, dark expression.

There are some things in life a man is better off not knowing, and in Chai’s opinion, that’s one of them.

Peppermint couldn’t help but chuckle at this, for as meanspirited as it might seem to make fun of the brunet’s distress.

“Hey, don’t laugh!” Said a very offended Chai.

*Heh. Sure sure. C’mon, we’re almost there.* However, Peppermint blatantly ignored this as she had her robotic pet walk down the hallway and turn around the corner. The brunet could only let out an indignant grumble as he followed after 808 with Pyra in tow.

*Okay, here we are.* A few moments later, the mechanical cat came to a stop at a steel door at the end of the dim hallway (complete with a pet entrance to boot.) The hacker then had her cat’s tail rapidly wag to show off a neon arrow pointing towards the door before having her go through the pet entrance. *In here.*

“*Gulp* Uh… L-ladies first!”  He quickly said as he walked behind the redheaded Blade and nudged her forward slightly.

“Hmmm. Okay then.” Said the aforementioned Blade in question, rolling her eyes in slight annoyance before approaching the metal door and opening it with her Driver right behind her.

“U-Uhh… hello? Cat-bot?” The brunet called out tentatively from behind his Blade companion as she cracked open the metal door, peeking inside and trying to get a look around despite how dark it was inside the room. Pyra was much the same, scanning the dark room for any sign of 808’s neon highlights, remaining standing in the doorway as Chai forced down any lingering apprehension he felt before cautiously stepping forward into the room.

*Yank!*

“WAAA-!”

*SLAM!*

The brunet had only taken a few steps before a rope trap was suddenly sprung around his left ankle. Eyes widening, Chai could only yell out in shock as he was abruptly yanked off the ground, his voice cutting off when he slammed face-first into the room’s ceiling before ultimately finding himself dangling upside-down by the ankle, gravity then bringing the hem of Chai’s shirt up to his chin and exposing his Power Core Unit and the two objects floating around inside it.

“C-Chai!” As one can imagine, this sudden turn of events immediately sparked Pyra’s concern, focusing on the rope holding him up by his ankle and reaching for it. It was also worth noting that once the trap was sprung, a singular light went on right above where Chai was trapped, providing a sort of spotlight. “O-Oh jeez! Just hang on, I’ll get you down from there, alright?”

Just as Pyra began to fiddle with the rope tied around the dazed Chai’s ankle, the two’s attention was quickly grabbed by the sound of someone walking forward from the darkness behind them. Immediately going on guard, Pyra was quick to turn around with her sword drawn, standing protectively in front of her Driver and ready to face whoever prepared that trap. However, the Aegis was quickly reminded of where they were and who guided them there in the first place when she took notice of 808 casually moving over to the newly revealed person in the room, who had just finished stepping into the light.

Upon stepping into view, the first thing both Chai and Pyra took notice of about their newfound company was the fuchsia-colored prosthetic she had in place of a right leg, with it bearing a certain resemblance to Chai’s own Project Armstrong limb. Other than that, it was also worth noting that the girl in question had brown, tan skin and platinum blonde hair that was shaved on one side and topped off with turquoise highlights at the tips. In regards to what she was wearing, it consisted of a sleeveless jean jacket with several pins on it, a white crop top, jean shorts, and a pair of fingerless gloves, giving off the overall impression of a mechanic, or just generally a tech-savvy woman. The newcomer seemed to be around Chai’s age.

Neither Chai nor Pyra were initially sure what to say as they took the girl’s appearance in, though their confusion quickly faded away when the tan-skinned girl then opted to raise a white and pink colored blaster, leveling it squarely at Chai’s head, a confident smirk drawn on her face.

“A rope snare?” However, rather than fret over being held at gunpoint, Chai was more preoccupied with the fact this girl apparently boobytrapped this place with something straight out of a dumb cartoon. Upon craning his head towards his foot and seeing that he was indeed snared to a rope, he couldn’t stop the dry rhetorical question he had from leaving his mouth. “What are you? A cartoon character?”  

If the girl had any reply to that sarcastic remark, she had no time to speak it with how Pyra took this chance to firmly grab her hand by the wrist and made sure to keep her blaster pointed away from Chai’s head, an uncharacteristically serious and deadpan look on her face. “Don’t do that.”

Oddly enough, despite the dead-serious tone in Pyra’s voice and her deceptively strong grip on her wrist, the tan-skinned girl didn’t appear rather daunted or intimidated. Instead, she just appeared to be growing more and more flustered and wide-eyed as she took in the Aegis’s various assets and her skin-tight, revealing outfit that left little to the imagination, a slight blush growing on her face as she did so. “J-Jeez… you’re even bigger in person...” Thrown off by her sudden change in demeanor and left confused at her words, Pyra’s initial stern expression was forgotten as she let go of her wrist and gave the tan girl a curious look that implored her to elaborate, complete with a slight tilt of her head. The girl didn’t answer, however, with how her attention was quickly brought back to Chai upon taking notice of the Power Core Unit in his chest, or more specifically, what was inside it.

With an intrigued, inquisitive look on her face, the robotic-legged girl leaned in slightly closer to Chai’s chest before tapping at the Power Core Unit’s glass casing with her knuckle, watching the music player and emerald-colored Core Crystal float in there for another moment before leaning back. “So… I take it this is where the magic happens, huh?”

As she asked this question, Pyra noticed how 808 didn’t hesitate to nuzzle up against and rub her head against the tan girl’s legs affectionately, prompting the girl to smile before leaning down to pet her and scratch behind her ears. As she did this, the girl looked back up towards her two guests and decided that now would be a good time to introduce herself. “My name is Peppermint.”

“Wait! That voice…” Chai began, the gears in his brain visibly turning as he realized who it was he and Pyra were talking to. “ YOU’RE the cat!” The brunet exclaimed in shock, swinging slightly in the rope snare as he abruptly pointed towards Peppermint. Letting out some muted chuckles at his reaction, the tan-skinned hacker looked back down at 808 before speaking once more.

“808 is my eyes and ears out there. But it looks like she’s taken a liking to you.” As she said this, both Peppermint and Pyra couldn’t help their amusement as they watched 808 lick at the still-dangling Chai’s face, his deadpan facial expression making it clear he was unamused with his current circumstances. His expression quickly changed to one of panic, however, when Peppermint once again opted to level her blaster right at his face.

“Waitwaitwait! Okay, okay! She’s yours!” Chai panicked, instinctively covering his face and coming to the conclusion Peppermint was violently protective of her robotic cat. Upon peaking through his fingers, however, Chai was surprised to see that Pyra had once again taken exception with this, her previous amusement forgotten as she grabbed the barrel of the blaster and once again pointed it away from Chai.

“Peppermint, please stop pointing that at him.” Was all the redhead had to say, her tone and unamused expression making it clear that this wasn’t a request.

“Easy, easy. I wasn’t seriously gonna shoot him, just blast off the rope.” Peppermint was quick to say, putting up both her hands in surrender and even allowing Pyra to keep holding her blaster by the barrel to show that she didn’t truly mean any arm. The Aegis kept her suspicious gaze on Peppermint for another moment before her posture relaxed, realizing the hacker meant what she was saying. Extending her hand with the blaster in it, Pyra offered the hacker her weapon back, which she didn’t hesitate to grab and reholster it. “Okay, tell you what; I’ll let you get the slacker down from there if it bugs you that much. When you’re both done with that, meet me over at my desk, cuz we got work to do.”

Having said her piece, Peppermint then returned back to where she made her entrance, activating her Hideout’s lights upon resituating herself at her desk. Chai and Pyra weren’t sure what to say initially as they gave their lit-up surroundings a look over before giving one another a look that said they were both kinda lost regarding this sudden turn of events. Their confusion only lasted for a brief moment before the redhead returned to her initial task of untying the rope snare around Chai’s ankle.

“Oof! Urgh…” Upon once again colliding face-first with the floor, (though at least not from several stories this time.), the brunet merely opted to let out a groan before rolling himself into a sitting position and tenderly rubbing his head. He was then prompted to get up when his new buddy offered a dainty, fingerless glove-clad hand to help him up. Chai didn’t hesitate to accept Pyra’s offer for help, and upon looking in Peppermint’s direction and the elaborate computer set-up she had at her desk, he couldn’t help but feel like he’d been thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire… with the pun this time around being completely unintentional.

Hi-Fi Rush OST: Boss (Vandelay theme)

As our heroes took a well-deserved moment of respite back at Peppermint’s Hideout, a certain Executive Board was having an impromptu meeting through video chat over these recent unfortunate, but intriguing  turn of events.

“Hmm… interesting.” Kale thought aloud as he watched video recording of the defect and the Blade’s fighting prowess, tearing through any sort of security that stood in their way throughout the Production District all the way to how, together, they utterly turned the QA-1MIL into a burning wreck.

Normally the CEO would have been positively livid over some defect punk running amok, not only risking his company’s reputation, costing them thousands in property damages, but also running away with invaluable property assets. However, Kale kept his composure and instead focused on taking in the Blade’s truly otherworldly capabilities that made her stand out from her Blade brethren, as if he didn’t need more proof of that fact already.

“Indeed, sir! Her power is truly something to behold! Ahhh, just imagine all the possibilities we will have once we capture her again. Mwahahaha! I truly cannot wait to test out all of her limits…!” Said Zanzo, Head of R&D, in a gleefully maniacal tone, utterly fascinated with the Blade’s immense power and desiring to learn more about what she can truly do.

“As long as we get a big return of investment, then all costs would be worth it.” Said Roquefort, Head of Finances, not sharing in his fellow department head’s excitement and focusing more instead on the massive profits the company can make once the situation is under control. The prospects of making riches beyond belief were enough to keep the old man calm instead of getting angry over all the money the defect just cost the company.

“RRRRAAAHHHH!!! THOSE FUCKING PUNKS!!! THEY RUINED EVERYTHING!!! REKKA’S CREW!! REKKA’S PRODUCTION!! REKKA’S PRIZED INSPECTOR ROBOT!!! AND ABOVE ALL ELSE, REKKA’S PERFECT NO-DEFECT RECORD!!!!! I’LL TEAR THEM APART PIECE BY PIECE ONCE I GET AHOLD OF THEM!!!” Shouted Rekka, sounding and looking utterly furious, if her loud shouting and veins popping on her forehead didn’t already give it away, over not only the defect punk and the Blade escaping, but also utterly destroying her QA-1MIL and leaving her QA Center an utter, burnt mess.

“Hmph. Well, that’s what you get for letting a robot do your work for you. If you want a job done, you do it yourself.” Said Mimosa, Head of Marketing, snidely at the fuming larger woman. Her smirk clearly indicated that she enjoyed seeing her fellow department head failing and adding further insult to injury.

“SHUT THE HELL UP, DOLLFACE!!” And Rekka clearly didn’t take well to the ego-centric woman’s remarks.

“That’s enough, you two.” Kale interjected in a calm, but stern manner as he raised his right hand up. “We have more pressing matters to focus on than petty squabbles amongst each other.” He reminded his underlings.

“Oh? You seem quite calm for a situation like this, Kale. Care to explain to us why?” Roquefort couldn’t help but ask. “If you excluded Korsica from this meeting, can we assume it is related to the progress of  SPECTRA?” He added, pointing out the distinct absence of the aforementioned Head of Security from the video meeting.

“Actually no, Roquefort. It is, in fact, because I believe I finally made a breakthrough with Project Driver.” The CEO informed, as a sinister smile was drawn on his face. This news caught the attention of the rest of the Board.

“Really?! Then please, tell me-! Uh, I mean, US what you have found out, sir!” Asked Zanzo with great excitement and intrigue. 

“Heh. How about instead of me just telling, I show you what I have found out?” The CEO asked rhetorically before pressing some keys in his board, sending his underlings a series of diagrams. “This is my current hypothesis to reliably manage to awaken Blades.” He explained.

“Ahhh! OF COURSE! It was so obvious! How didn’t I think so before?! After all that time hitting dead end after dead end on my research on the Core Crystals, the solution was so simple…!” Said Zanzo after quickly going through Kale’s diagrams, almost immediately understanding what they entailed. “You’re brilliant, sir!” He praised his superior.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” The tan skinned man smirked in satisfaction.

“Hmmm… Interesting. I see quite the profit opportunity for us if your hypothesis is correct.” Said Roquefort with a pleased smirk appeared on his face as he rubbed his bear.

“Uhhhh…” Rekka, for her part, was still reading through the diagrams, seemingly struggling to comprehend their contents.

“Ugh! Can somebody please tell the meatheaded brute what this means?” Said Mimosa in annoyment at Rekka’s perceived stupidity. 

“Wait! Rekka can do it…!” The brawny woman said insistently. The rest of the board only had to wait for a few more moments before understanding finally came up to the Head of Production. “Oooooohh yeah! Rekka gets it now!”

The Head of Marketing only rolled her eyes in annoyment at this.

“Ahem! Mr. Kale, sir. If you don’t mind me asking, did you perhaps put this most brilliant hypothesis to the test?” Zanzo asked in a very eager, yet respectful manner.

“Of course I am. In fact, I’m doing so as we speak. And so far, the resulting data I’m getting from the tests are very promising.” Said the Vandelay CEO with a smile as he looked at his monitor, which currently showed live footage of the ‘tests’ he was running and the data he’s collecting from the results that so far were proving that his hypothesis was correct.  “Now then, all of you. I need you to come here ASAP. This is not a request, it's a direct order.” He then instructed his underlings in an authoritative tone that left no room for any sort of argument.

“And can we ask why you need us at such short notice?” Roquefort asked.

“You’ll see.” Was all Kale replied with a smirk.

“Uhhh… But Boss, what about-?” Rekka attempted to ask, but her superior interrupted her.

“I’ll send a clean up crew to take care of your mess. Just get your ass here NOW.” Said Kale sternly. “And remember to make sure to not tell Korsica a single thing about this or SPECTRA until I say otherwise, am I clear?” He reminded his Board that the Head of Security was not allowed to learn about any of the company’s top secrets.

“Y-yes, sir! R-right away, sir!” Rekka replied in an uncharacteristically nervous manner, knowing better than to talk back to her boss when he gives her a direct order. She promptly ended her call after that.    

“Well, this might be interesting. I’m on my way, Kale.” Said Mimosa with a smug smirk before ending her call.

“Ehehehehe…! I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us, sir!” Said Zanzo with excitement before ending his call.

“Kale, while I have no reasons to doubt you, what will we do if Korsica does find out before you deem her ready?” Roquefort asked.

“Then we’ll handle it accordingly. Anything else?” The CEO replied matter-of-factly, no needing to elaborate further as the Head of Finances knew exactly what his superior meant.

“No.” Said the old man, satisfied with that answer. “I’ll be there soon, Kale.” And with that Roquefort ended the call and thus ending the meeting, leaving the tan skinned man alone in his office.

Kale then stood up from his desk and walked towards the window behind him. He stood there with his arms behind his back as he overlooked his campus from his office up high. “Soon enough, we’ll be able to master these Blades and their power…” Said the CEO with a nefarious smirk.

To Be Continued…

Chapter Text

Uhhh… hey there. So GOD. Where to even start?

Several months back, this AN was initially going to feature a freaking page-long eulogy I wrote up while still reeling from Tango’s abrupt closure when the sky legit felt like the limit for them and the Hi-Fi Rush IP. THEN, in a surprise turn, when I had more or less come to terms with Tango’s sudden end, I’m left blindsided when I hear the freaking PUBG guys acquired Tango, the Hi-Fi Rush IP, and got as many of the original staff as they could back on-board. With how frequently we’ve all been burned by corporations and the like in recent years, ESPECIALLY in regards to the games industry, it’s hard not to instinctively wait for the other shoe to drop about this miraculous turn of events, especially after the Callisto Protocol and how I’ve vaguely heard iffy stuff about Krafton, but MAN. After months of reeling from the idea that we’d never see Chai on another fun adventure after his amazing first showing… it feels GOOD to have hope for the future again… :) (Also, if Krafton owns the rights to the Callisto Protocol IP, they should 100% get Tango and all the devs that worked on The Evil Within 1 and 2 to take a crack at a follow-up of some kind. That’d be great.)

Anyway, full disclosure is that there isn’t much in the way of action or eventful stuff going on this chapter. It’s mostly just down-time covering developments and interactions in the Hideout… which makes the overall page count of this chapter and the several fucking months it took to get out even more of a gut punch in my book ._.

XENOBLADE RUSH

Track 3: Power Up, (Part 1 of 2)

"RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRU-!"

BOOOOM!!!​

“RU- AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"

“Yup, that’s me; Chai. Looking especially good and inspiring with my new pal Pyra as we nonchalantly walk away from an explosion, like cool people do. Noooow, an outsider looking in at this image might have some questions about what me and my new fire-launching buddy are doing here, and how we ended up in this situation. Wellll, that’s all pretty standard. Sooooo…! ”

“I got a state-of-the-art robotic arm and then had one of those ‘old music players falling into my Power Unit so everything I do is synced up to the beat’ type of thing happened so now everyone thinks I’m a defect so I might as well fight back!... To the music~.”

Upon finishing his excitable rambling that… more or less qualified as an explanation and recap of events, both Pyra and Peppermint (With 808 resting on her owner/creator’s lap) could only look at the energetic brunet while initially unsure on what to say. Pyra’s neutral and slightly befuddled expression complimented by a few beads of sweat running down her face as she adjusted her seat in the swivel chair Peppermint brought out for her in storage. By comparison, Peppermint’s expression was considerably more deadpan and unamused, leaning back into her own chair while taking in Chai’s excited, expectant expression before finally deciding on what to say. “...So you’re saying you have ‘musical robot powers?’”

“Ch’yeah!”

Hi-Fi Rush OST: The Hideout 

“...That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” The tan-skinned hacker groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to stave off an increasingly familiar sense of exasperation she felt in response to Chai’s dumb remarks so far.

“Hey, you can say it’s all as dumb as you think it is, you’re entitled to your opinion and all, but you’ve seen enough firsthand to know I’m not exactly talking out my ass here.” Was Chai’s immediate retort, his tone defensive upon hearing Peppermint’s immediate dismissal of his awesome, rhythm-based powers. “Besides, it’s not like I’m the only one here with powers, or did you forget about Ms. Firestarter next to you?”

“...I feel like you’re referencing something I’m not aware of when you call me that.” Was all the redhead could think to say upon being suddenly brought into the conversation like this.

“Another band or song if I had to take a wild guess. Anyway, I mean at face-value? Yeah, kind of. Making the entire world move to the beat of the music player in your chest is a bit more… out of left field than pyrokinesis in my book. I also at least have something resembling an explanation on what Pyra’s whole deal is. I didn’t exactly get anything about Armstrong applicants getting superpowers like yours in the data my contact leaked to me.” As Peppermint spoke, she turned in her seat to address Pyra properly, who, as one would expect, perked up considerably at the hacker’s claims of having an explanation for her presence here. “Speaking of which…”

“Yes, could you please provide some more clarity on that, Peppermint? I… think I’ve got an idea of what’s going on here, but it’s all a lot to take in, and some confirmation would be greatly appreciated.” At Pyra’s request and expectant expression, Peppermint merely gave a nod before turning in her seat towards her computer screen and bringing up the data leaked to her regarding ‘Project Driver.’ While most of the data consisted of a bunch of science babble Chai couldn’t make sense of, what particularly caught his eye along with Pyra’s were the various images of multiple, bizarre-looking humanoids of varying shapes and sizes. At a passing glance and to an outside observer, one could be forgiven for assuming these odd-looking figures were simply designs for more life-like robots Vandelay -or other robotics manufacturers like the Negabot Corporation for instance- had planned down the line, though a quick glance Pyra’s way and a good look at the wide-eyed expression of recognition on her face confirmed to Chai that likely wasn’t the case.

“So, like I told you and Chai earlier back when we met, my whole… operation here has been all about being smart and using sabotage to bring Vandelay down, and helping with this is the fact that I’ve got a contact on the inside working in the company leaking me info.” Peppermint continued to explain, all while both Chai and Pyra continued to take in the images of the bizarre, robot-looking creatures on the monitor. Of note, Pyra’s gaze at the moment was focused on the one that looked to be in the shape of a lion, or an animal of similar shape and size. “Not gonna lie, the first time I was reading through all this, I had some trouble believing it, even with all the details right here. I really only came to Vandelay Island and set up shop down here because I was looking to get more info about the other project that was leaked to me in all this data. Still, seeing you and your powers in action firsthand got rid of any doubts I had; I don’t know how they actually managed to pull something like this off, but as crazy as it sounds, Vandelay’s R&D department somehow managed to pull you and a whole bunch of your kind, along with those ‘Ether’ particles that power you from your world into ours.”

“I thought so… If nothing else, it’s nice to finally know beyond a doubt the circumstances that brought me here. I had my suspicions that this was the case, but ultimately couldn’t tell if I really did come from another world or if I’d simply been sleeping for so long that Alrest was just completely… unrecognizable from how I last saw it. Although… Now all this makes me wonder just why these people went through all the effort of doing this.” Pyra mused, wondering why exactly she and a bunch of other Blades were brought to this strange world now that she got confirmation of what exactly happened that landed them here.

“Would’ve thought that part was obvious with the whole recent crash-course you and Chai both had about what kind of company this is; they're looking to exploit and profit off you… well, that’s at least their plan now that you're here and they know what your kind can do. As for what spurred them into doing a ton of quantum physics-based experiments that pulled you here via a wormhole all of a sudden, best answer I can give you right now is that Vandelay’s head of R&D is an insane weirdo that runs whatever sort of tests and experiments he thinks is cool at the moment.” The tan-skinned hacker explained, giving a nonchalant shrug as she did so. She also took notice of the word ‘Alrest’ Pyra used to refer to what was most certainly her world of origin, and decided to make a mental note of it for later. 

“That's the ultimate motivation behind me ending up in this world…!?” Pyra asked, her face blanching a bit at the prospect. So it was entirely possible that the only reason Pyra woke up to all this insanity was due to a mere happenstance? Because some random person she didn’t even know had an ill-thought out idea they wanted to try? Well… that certainly fits when considering everything else she’d experienced upon waking up here, she supposed. Same with the idea that these Vandelay people had every intention to exploit and profit off her power and the miraculous abilities Blades were capable of.

Pyra certainly had more that she wanted to discuss with Peppermint regarding this topic, but before she could get another word in, she was cut off by Chai, who like her, was having some difficulties processing all the information presented so far… albeit for considerably different reasons. “W-Wait wait wait! Hold the phone for a sec. I kinda already gathered that whatever your deal is, you weren’t exactly local to these parts, but… ‘you were pulled in from another world…!?’” The brunet repeated incredulously, his wide-eyed expression matching his tone as his gaze shifted between Pyra, Peppermint, and the data the latter displayed on the monitor before settling on the now-befuddled redhead. It then took only a second before Chai then blurted out the first theory that came to mind in wake of all this info. “Are you like an alien or something!?”

Oh dear God, was that gem in his chest gonna be like a freaking chest-burster from Alien!?

“I… I uh…” As one would expect, Pyra initially found herself at a loss for words in response to Chai’s exclamation, or how to respond to his assertion that she qualified as an alien from beyond the stars. (Would she be considered as such? Technically, none of that claim was wrong, per say, and Pyra wasn’t a human after all, but… on second thought, Pyra opted to abandon this train of thought when she felt another headache coming on.) “...Don’t know how I’m supposed to respond to that.”

Thankfully, the redheaded Aegis didn’t need to muster up any more of an answer or response as Peppermint beat her to the punch, her expression a blatant combination of annoyance and exasperation. “Okay, were you even listening earlier when I mentioned how Pyra ending up here was because of Vandelay’s R&D department performing experiments based in quantum physics and pulling in objects from other dimensions… or when I was talking about it just now, for that matter?” 

“Um...Not really, no.” Chai admitted after a moment’s pause, his energy from not even a minute ago completely forgotten. “I also don’t even know what half that stuff means beyond it being vague, Sci-Fi jargon.” He followed up bluntly.

“Oh my God, look, she’s not an alien and Vandelay didn’t find her in some wrecked UFO.“ Peppermint groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose as she began another explanation that hopefully even Chai would understand. “It’s more like… the company pulled her and the rest of her kind in from another dimension through wormholes. Does that clear things up or do I need to give you a run-down on what another dimension and wormholes are supposed to be, too?”

“I mean, you could’ve just opened with that and kept things simple for everyone, but yeah, sure.” Chai felt the need to point that out, which only caused Peppermint to give a roll of her eyes. The brunet’s expression soon changed to one of curiosity though as he then turned towards Pyra, who blinked upon noticing the sudden focus on her. “Pretty crazy either way though, even after everything else that happened today. Well, that definitely provides a quick and easy explanation for all your crazy fire powers.” As Chai mulled over the fact that his new, fire-using redhead pal was from another world, his expression suddenly lit up as a far more important question occurred to him. “Oh! Hey! Now I gotta know; what kinda music does your world have, and as the world-hopping traveler here, what are you thinkin’ of our worlds’ tunes so far by comparison?”

“...Somehow I’m not surprised that’s the first question you think to ask someone that’s from a completely different world.” Peppermint noted dryly while Pyra blinked in surprise at the question, unsure how to answer. Well, at least the brunet had been consistent in the hour or so that she’d known him. “Anyway, there’s definitely some stuff I wanna ask Pyra about her world too, but there’s still a few more important things we gotta go over, so let’s save any questions like that for later.”

“Right! So, 808 said that YOU said you were gonna help me get outta here.” Chai noted, remembering the main reason he and Pyra opted to accept the hacker’s help in the first place.

“I am. Riiiiiight after YOU help ME look into SPECTRA, and this whole project Vandelay has planned with these Blades while we’re at it.”

“SPECTRA…?” Pyra repeated, the confused expression on her face upon hearing that name mirroring Chai’s.

“I don’t even know what that first thing is.” The brunet was quick to admit, expression once again deadpan as he said this.

“Wouldn’t expect you to. This is ‘whistleblower’ level.” Peppermint elaborated, feeling no need to include Pyra in that as she spoke. With what was just established about her origins, the hacker would be more surprised if she did know anything about Kale’s pet project.

“I’m sorry, I… don’t know what that means.” The Aegis couldn’t help but interject again. Hearing all these different slangs and terminologies native to this world and having no idea what any of them meant was certainly becoming an annoying issue.

“Yeaaah, that sounds bad, but to be clear, it means…?” 

“*Sigh…* really confidential and shady information the company does NOT want getting out.” Peppermint elaborated after another exasperated sigh, rubbing her forehead as she said this. “I don’t have all the details yet, but I know for a fact that whatever Vandelay’s planning with this can’t be anything good. Same with whatever they’re planning to do now that they’ve brought you and a bunch of your kind over into our world. Right now, I’m working with a team to expose them. We’re small, but-”

“‘Small’ meaning… just you and your cat? Dude, I’m bigger than this!” Chai quickly cut off before Peppermint could elaborate further, making no effort to hide his utter disinterest in the hacker’s agenda against Vandelay.

“...Chai, is having a blatant ego and acting dismissive like that really necessary? There’s no need to mouth off to one of the few people here so far that hasn’t tried to kill us.” Predictably, Chai’s flippant and dismissive response impressed neither Peppermint nor Pyra, the latter of whom was quick to admonish and try to curb her Driver’s attitude. Again, the brunet wasn’t exactly wrong when making that boast, per say -he was now the Driver of the Aegis with all of the cataclysmic power that came with that title- but that was neither here nor there in this case and topped off by her Driver blatantly acting arrogant for the sake of it. This wasn’t even going into his blatant disinterest in using her sword or getting more details regarding how their connection as Driver and Blade worked.

“Yeah, it’s especially rich coming from ‘rockstar’ here, too.” Peppermint added, the wry grin that crept onto her face a stark contrast to Pyra’s deadpanned, unamused expression. “Do you even know how to play guitar?”

And like that, the winds were subsequently knocked out of Chai’s sails at Peppermint’s uncomfortable question. “I-I…! I uh… Well…” Was all the brunet could manage, his previously dismissive and arrogant demeanor having completely left him.

“Figures. All talk.” The tan-skinned girl scoffed, wry look still plastered onto her face.

“Uh… Ugh…” Despite the annoyance Chai felt at Peppermint’s teasing and provocations, he was begrudgingly aware that saying anything else to the two of them at this point would just end with him putting his foot in his mouth, so he opted to keep silent for once.

“Chai, I think with how sprawling this place looks to be, along with how the people in charge here seem to have eyes everywhere and are dead-set on finding us, we should really try and avoid any further blind running around this… campus if we can help it.” Pyra argued, in no rush to do any further wandering around with no plan with how messy it had been so far.

“Yeah, you’ve both probably seen enough of it firsthand to know, but this entire campus is a maze of hallways, lifts, and dead ends all filled with security. Doesn’t matter how much firepower either of you have, with the company actively gunning for you both, I don’t see either of you getting out of here, much less off this island, without my help. All that said, you both help me with my own mission here, then I promise I’ll arrange a route off this island for you both.” Peppermint followed the Aegis’s words up with a summation of the offer she had for the duo, hoping her sum-up managed to get through Chai’s stubborn skull.

“Alright, I’ll gladly help you, Peppermint. I definitely can’t just walk away from whatever these people are planning to do with Core Crystals…” Pyra agreed to the offer quickly, all around seeing no reason to refuse before turning expectantly towards Chai, hoping Peppermint’s words just now better swayed him. Unfortunately, the brunet’s posture and expression currently wasn’t one of someone reconsidering what they just said.

“Wellll, you can do that, but I think I’m good. So far, I’d say I’ve done pretty… uhh… hm.” Chai began confidently, only to peter off as he recalled his and Pyra’s… explosive and not-so-graceful escape from Production, as well as several other painful stumbles he’d been dealt with on their way to this place.

“Horribly? Who even knows how things would’ve gone against that inspection robot if Pyra didn’t have your back.” The tan-skinned girl pointed out bluntly, and the Aegis in question could only nod her head in agreement at her words. “Look, if you help me, I’ll make sure you get off Vandelay Island.”

Thankfully, it seemed like Peppermint’s words finally managed to get through to the slacking brunet, who finally conceded, albeit begrudgingly. “Fine. whatever, I guess. Coulda’ taken that thing on my own though. That is a hill I will die on… losing my guitar at the end notwithstanding.” Peppermint could only scoff at that while Pyra could only let out a soft sigh, both in relief at the fact that he ultimately accepted the hacker’s help and in growing exasperation at his continued prideful behavior, another bead of sweat running down her face.

“Right, I’m sure you could’ve. Anyway, welcome aboard! Both of you.” With that said, Peppermint’s wry grin changed into a more welcoming smile as she leaned back into her seat. With introductions and agreements now settled, both Chai and Pyra then began to take a better look at their apparent newfound base of operations.

“So THIS is your Hideout? You really are a small operation. Well, won’t deny it’s a pretty fancy setup for an uh… abandoned room in some old maintenance tunnels.” For his part, Chai didn’t sound very impressed as he took the Hideout in… even though he didn’t even have a place to call his own unless one counted his old college dorm or his family home. As he said this, Pyra continued with her own appraisal of the Hideout with a curious look on her face.

“Well, now we’re plus two. You can rest on that sofa.” Peppermint offered before addressing Pyra. “And on that note, I actually think there’s a reclining arm chair back in storage if you wanna bring that out.” The hacker offered. The idea occurred to her with how the chair in question was a light red that would compliment the Aegis’s hair color and clothes nicely.

“Really bringing out the five-star accommodations, huh?” Chai observed with a dry tone of voice.

“Honestly, with the lights on like this, I find it quite homely and comfy,” Was Pyra’s take on the look of the Hideout, smiling slightly as she enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere it gave off. However, the redhead jumped slightly when she noticed Peppermint’s expectant gaze was still on her, apparently still waiting for a response regarding the chair offer. “O-Oh! And thank you, Peppermint, but I’m fine for now. I’ll find somewhere else to make myself comfortable for the time being.”

“Alright. Well, let me know whenever you want to bring it out.” With that said, Peppermint turned in her seat and went back to reading through various files displayed on her computer screen while Pyra’s attention was drawn to a mirror in the corner of the room.

Well, looks like we got a bit of down-time before we start doing anything. Guess I can finally get these two to clear up any questions I got, but man! Where to even start… and who to even start with, for that matter?’ Chai mused, leaning back against the couch’s armrest as he realized that he had no shortage of questions to ask either the hacker or redheaded Blade. After another moment of contemplation, Chai eventually decided that he might have an easier time getting any answers/further clarification from the person that was actually from his world, as well as appeared to know a decent amount about whatever Vandelay was doing here… even if a good chunk of it admittedly flew over his head.

“Sooo… ‘808,’ huh?” Chai began as he walked forward and got Peppermint’s attention, initially unsure of which subject exactly he wanted to talk about with the tan-skinned hacker till his gaze settled on the robotic feline in question, who was currently lounging on one of the pillows on the couch while also taking the time to lick at her crotch. “You made her yourself?”

“Yeah. Normally, you’d just make a spy drone, but I thought, hey, no one suspects a cat.” Peppermint elaborated, the smile on her face both prideful and full of fondness as she watched 808 languidly leap off from her spot on the couch and once again settle herself on her master’s lap, curling up comfortably.

“Actually, a robot cat here is even more suspicious than a drone.” Chai couldn’t help but point out dryly, recalling how Vandelay had several, drone-like robots amidst their line-up.

“Ugh… whatever…” Peppermint groaned, her expression slightly annoyed at hearing that little point-out before it soon turned notably downtrodden, gently running her hand down 808’s back as she continued. “On the plus side, there’s some companionship…”

“It does seem like it can get pretty lonely down here…” Chai observed, wincing as he gave the Hideout another look over and realized just how isolating it must be spending God knows how long hunkered down here, with your only consistent source of company being a robotic cat, one that spent most of the day elsewhere acting as reconnaissance, mind you.

“I’m used to it...” And at that vague, illusive statement, Chai couldn’t stop the sarcasm that was creeping into his voice with what he said next.

“‘Loner hacker girl with a mysterious past looking to bring down the big megacorporation.’ Not cliche at all.” That dry statement merely got an eye roll from Peppermint before she shot back in an equally dry tone.

“Really rich coming from the ‘music-loving, wannabe rockstar slacker who’s finally getting his time to shine,’ all with the literal power of rock,” As Peppermint said this, she gestured with her head towards an oblivious Pyra, who was currently standing in front of the mirror at the opposite end of the room, taking in her appearance with a curious, appraising expression on her face. “And do I even need to go into the bigger cliche of you meeting and ending up connected to a mysterious, drop-dead gorgeous girl with powers literally out of this world?”

“'Drop-dead gor...?” Chai trailed off with a raised brow, giving Peppermint a questioning look at her particular choice of words. “Okay, between THAT and how weird I've seen you act around Pyra a few times now, is there something you need to get off your chest... maybe to her specifically?” The brunet might not be the brightest bulb in the box, but even he could pick up when someone is acting funny because of something, or in this case someone.

“Okay, alright, that’s enough of that!” Peppermint interrupted forcefully, an embarrassed flush coming over her wide-eyed face as she tried to keep her voice from becoming too loud. To her relief, it seemed like the voluptuous Blade still hadn’t taken notice of their conversation, or at least hadn’t heard the turn that the last part took. “Anything else you wanted to ask me!? Or just… any other topic for that matter…!?” She asked in an insistent tone, obviously wanting to change the subject.

“...Well, now that you mention it, I was noticing that it’s kinda sparse around here,” Chai kept his questioning gaze on the flustered Peppermint for another moment before opting to focus on the Hideout’s decorations, or lack thereof in this case. “Not a big fan of decorating, I take it?”

“I like to focus on the basics. What we need.” The hacker answered simply, regaining her composure. With how she set things up down here with the express intent of bringing down Kale and the other Vandelay executives, cosmetics and decorations for her base of operations weren’t very high on her priority list.

“Come on, you could have some posters here, a stereo there, a drum kit to go along with it… you could have a kickass pad here!“ Chai, however, made it no secret that he had opposite thoughts on such a matter, already picturing several more decorations that would make this underground Hideaway the envy of any college-aged person that had a love for music.

“This is supposed to be a base of operations, not a hangout. Home decorating wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I set up shop down here.” Peppermint pointed out irritably.

“Doesn’t mean it can’t be both!” Regardless of whether he was oblivious to or just ignored the annoyance in Peppermint’s tone, Chai’s continued persistence on the matter made the hacker realize it’d be easier to just go along with whatever he had in mind rather than trying to make him drop the matter.

“Tell you what then, I’ll leave the feng shui up to you.” The tan-skinned girl sighed, once again leaning back into her chair as she looked at Chai. “Anything else you wanted to ask me?”

At that prompting, Chai then opted to ask Peppermint why she specifically sought the both of them out when everything she said so far indicated a vested interest in the redheaded outworlder. “Yeah, so I get why you were interested in getting Pyra’s attention and everything, but I’m actually kinda surprised you were asking for me too. Why?”

“You mean beyond the fact that 808 lost track of her for a bit and only found her when she met up with you? Well, she caught sight of you picking a fight with security and I won’t pretend that what you could pull off wasn’t impressive.“ Peppermint elaborated, recognizing the utility of Chai’s combat capabilities, especially now that she had context for how they worked. “Plus, with how you two are clearly connected in a few ways, you both kind of came off as a package deal.” She continued, tapping where Chai’s Power Core Unit would be beneath his shirt as she said this.

“‘A connection,’ huh? Guess that’s a good word for it, especially with how I don’t see myself getting that uh… ‘Core Crystal’ thingy or my MP3 out of my chest without sitting through another round of surgery.” Not that he’d want his MP3 out of his chest, mind you. With the discoveries Chai made today, he could confidently say he was happy with where it was now. “So the bottom line is; you thought you could use me!”

“I-I mean uh…! I wouldn’t really put it like that-”

“I would.”

“Look, it’s a bit complicated-”

“Hey, hey! I don’t care. As long as you get me off this island, we’re square.” Whatever Peppermint was planning to say, Chai was quick to cut her off with an easy-going tone of voice. If the hacker really could arrange a safe way off the island for him, then he had no issues about playing along. Though as he said this, another question quickly popped into the brunet’s head. “…Since you mentioned it though, you got any more details on all that ‘Project Driver’ stuff? The specifics kinda flew over my head.”

“With what I’ve seen of you so far, that’s not surprising…” Peppermint noted dryly, though in fairness, she wouldn’t give Chai much flak in this case given the unreal and (literal) otherworldly nature of the subject in question. “Don’t really have much more to tell you than what I already explained to you and Pyra. What else did you even wanna know?”

“Well, I mean uh… pffft… off the top of my head…” The slacker began in an uncertain tone, wracking his brain as he tried to settle on what he should first ask about. A task that was much easier said than done with how complex and daunting this whole matter came off as. After another moment’s thought, however, Chai snapped his metallic fingers upon deciding on what he wanted to ask. “Oh! I know. How does all this ‘connection’ stuff even work to begin with? Earlier Pyra called me ‘her Driver’ and from the looks of things, she wasn’t talking about me knowing how to drive a car, soooo… yeah, what does that all mean exactly?” Chai asked, the lingering question of what the redhead meant when she kept calling him her ‘Driver’ still gnawing at him.

“Well… According to the info I got, a Driver is a person that’s able to resonate with a Core Crystal and awaken the Blade within it.” Peppermint explained in the simplest way possible.

“Blade? You mean like Pyra’s cool anime sword?” The brunet asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“Hmmm… Well, yes and no.” The tan-skinned hacker replied after a few seconds of pondering the question.

“Huh?” Chai titled his head in confusion, clearly not understanding what his new acquaintance meant. Fortunately, she planned to provide some clarification on the matter.

“See, ‘Blade’ is the name of Pyra’s species. They’re artificial lifeforms that manifest a physical form when a compatible person resonates with their Core Crystal. I get it, it’s a little strange and confusing that an entire race is literally named after a type of weapon, more so given that, from what I gathered, not all of them use swords like Pyra apparently. But to be honest, as insensible as it might sound, it is kind of fitting considering that Blades, as their name would suggest, are basically living weapons.” Peppermint further elaborated, making sure to not raise her voice at that last part as to not call Pyra’s attention, not wanting to come off as rude or disrespectful towards her or her kind.

“W-wait wait. So Pyra is a… weapon?” Chai asked in surprise, briefly turning his gaze at Pyra, who was still checking herself up in the mirror, before looking back at the hacker. The brunet supposed that explained all the intense flames the redhead was capable of producing and the adeptness she displayed with that sword, but it was still a shocking thing to hear either way with Pyra’s gentle and polite disposition in mind.

“Pretty much, yeah.” Peppermint nodded. “Now do you see why Vandelay is so intent on getting their hands on her? Not only are Blades powerful beings by themselves, but they can also lend their strength to their Drivers, something Pyra’s shown off plenty of times already.” She further explained, all the info she received on this otherworldly species having been corroborated by her witnessing Pyra’s prowess though 808 as well as the energy reading her robotic pet got on the fire Blade. 

“Right right… That makes sense I guess. As messed up as it sounds, it’s way better than the alternative.” Chai nodded in understanding as he crossed his arms. The tech savvy girl opted to ignore that last part and would have carried on with her explanation were it not for Pyra approaching them.

“Excuse me, but were you both talking about Blades just now?” The redheaded asked with great interest, having overhead bits of the conversation.

“Yep. I was just telling Chai what I know about your kind.” Peppermint nodded.

Pyra perked up at hearing this. “Oh! Well, if you guys have any questions, then you can ask me.” She said with a pleasant smile, feeling like this was as good a time as any to inform her new friends on what they would want to know about her and her kind.

“Well… Peppermint just told me a bit about that whole ‘Driver’ thingy and it got me wondering… How does this whole ‘resonance’ stuff between Driver and Blade even happen? Feels kinda relevant for uh… obvious reasons.” Chai asked his redheaded buddy, knocking on his chest for emphasis.

“Oh, that’s quite simple actually. When a compatible person comes in contact with a Core Crystal, the resonance occurs, allowing the Blade within it to awaken and take form, thus the bond between Driver and Blade is established, becoming one in body and soul.” She was quick to explain.

“That easy, huh?” Chai commented, before blinking as the last part of her explanation sunk in for me.. “Wait… ‘One in body and soul’? What does that mean?” He asked, tiling his head in confusion. Peppermint also arched an eyebrow at this.

“Well, it’s a way of saying that you and I are connected now. In a way, we’re part of each other.” Pyra elaborated. “Although… normally not this literally in your case.” She added, pointing at his chest where the Core Crystal from her Blade weapon was.

“Really? So it’s not normal for any other Driver guys to have a Core Crystal in them or something?” Chai asked as he put his hand on his Power Core Unit.

Pyra shook her head in denial. “As I said, someone compatible with a Core Crystal just needs to touch it to awaken the Blade within it. I’ve never seen something like this happen to other Drivers before.” Perhaps something similar could happen if Pyra, for whatever reason, was in a situation where she had to transfer some of her Core to someone else if they were fatally wounded, but as things were now with her recently acquired Driver, she didn’t see such a scenario happening any time soon, if at all.

“I can confirm. That’s what the data I got says about the Blade Awakening process.” Peppermint added. Nothing in that data seemed to indicate that Kale, Zanzo, or anyone on R&D had the idea to try mixing the Project Armstrong surgical procedure with awakening a Blade, at least so far…

“Huh…” It was all that Chai said until another question sprung in his mind. “And um… What exactly happens if someone incompatible tries to wake up a Blade?” He asked with some trepidation, having a feeling that he might not like the answer.

“Oh uh… W-well, you see… um…” Pyra stuttered as she tried to come up with a pleasant way to answer that question with the morbid subject matter it entailed…

“From the data I got, apparently if someone incompatible touches a Core Crystal, they get rejected by it, which leads to the person in question getting hit with a severe negative reaction. Namely profuse hemorrhaging.” Peppermint said without any qualms. Pyra flinched at this.

“P-profuse hemorrhaging…?” Chai repeated in a creeped out tone, his face blanching at the unpleasant, bloody mental image that made itself at home in his head.

“Yep. Either nasal hemorrhage or even blood literally exploding out of the body.” The hacker further clarified, her tone blunt. Pyra flinched again at this.

“Exploding?! You mean that could have happened to me?!” Chai exclaimed, a wide-eyed look of distress and horror on his face. So when that gem landed on his chest, there was basically a coinflip’s chance that all it would’ve done was explode all the blood out of his body while unconscious during his surgery!? That… that was such a chilling and terrifying way to go out that it even trumped the brunet’s arachnophobia.

“No, of course not! You clearly were compatible with my Core Crystal.” Pyra was quick to assuage him, putting a comforting hand on his back.

“Thankfully.” Peppermint added nonchalantly.

“You’re being a little too blunt now, don’t you think?” Pyra then shot an annoyed glare the female hacker's way, not appreciating how tactless she was being right now. Chai’s similarly unamused expression indicated that he shared his Blade’s sentiments.

Peppermint just shrugged her shoulders at this.

“Ahem! In any case, was there anything else you both wanted to ask me?” Pyra decided to change the topic to lighten up the mood.

“I got one. Can you tell us more about what exactly these ‘Ether’ particles are? I know that they’re the source behind you and your kind’s powers and abilities, and that they’re harmless to other organic lifeforms, but that’s about it.” Peppermint asked, wanting to know about these mysterious alien particles that appeared right after Pyra and the other Core Crystals were pulled into this world. She would have liked to research more on these particles herself, but not only did she lack the time and proper equipment to do so, but particle physics and such other similar branches of science weren’t exactly her forte. As such, this was a good opportunity to learn as much as she could from someone very well familiarized with Ether such as a Blade like Pyra.

The redheaded Blade nodded in understanding before replying. “Of course. While I’m afraid I don’t know the exact science of Ether or what it truly is, I can at least give you both an idea of its role in the world I’m native to, Alrest.” She began, briefly wondering what to cover regarding Ether with how she didn’t know the technicalities behind its existence before settling on covering its most important roles in her homeworld. “To put it simply, Ether is a very important substance in my world, to the point that…it really wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it ‘the building block of life…’ Not only does every Blade use it to fuel their powers, but the same thing applies for the Titans. Pure liquid Ether flows through their bodies like blood. Ether, by its very nature, is an essential and ever-present part of the world I come from and all those that live in it.” 

“Uh-huh…” Chai nodded slowly as he took all this in. Peppermint, for her part, was quick to take in this information and commit it to memory. So from the sound of it and with how it was apparently the fuel for Blade powers, Ether was sounding like a pretty important and fundamental resource in this ‘Alrest’ world the redhead hailed from. In particular, Pyra’s mention of something called ‘Titans’ and how they lived off these particles like blood piqued the young man’s interest. “And when you say ‘Titans,’ I’m guessing you’re talking about something really friggin’ big, right? Probably plays an important role in your world too?”

“Considering nearly every living person in Alrest has to live their lives on their backs, it’s certainly an accurate description.” Pyra elaborated, which only furthered both Chai and Peppermint’s interest. With each sentence that passed, the descriptions of this ‘Alrest’ only sounded more and more surreal. “As you might imagine from the name, Titans are colossal beasts with Ether running through their veins that spend their lives roaming the Cloud Sea of my world. They vary considerably in size depending on their age and form, with smaller ones being used as ships to navigate the Cloud Sea, while the largest ones act as landmasses that a majority of Alrest’s civilizations make their homes on… leading back to what I said about Ether essentially acting as a ‘building block of life’ for my world. Without Ether, and without the Titans that survive off it, then as far as I’m aware, there wouldn’t be any viable place for the people of my world to live on…”

Again, all these facts made the ramifications of her battle with Malos even more of an unbearable truth she had to live with than it already was…

“Sheesh, from the sound of it, does this crazy fantasy cloud world you come from have ANY actual land to walk on?” At that inquiry from Chai, Pyra merely shook her head in response before providing a verbal answer.

“Again, as far as I’m aware, no.” 

“Man, with the way you’re describing it, sounds like getting around in a world like that is way more of a giant pain there than it is here.” Chai couldn’t help but take note, quickly getting the feeling that going from point A to point B in Pyra’s world wasn’t easy if you didn’t have the money or connections. As much of a giant pain in the ass as it was for Chai having to hitch-hike all the way down here, at least that was an actual option available to the brunet. From what he was hearing from Pyra, it didn’t seem like people in this ‘Alrest’ world had the luxury of being able to just rely on the kindness of strangers to hitch rides and get somewhere if need be, and that wasn’t even going into what seemed like a lot of other day-to-day problems for this world. Certainly gave the phrase ‘first world problems’ a whole new meaning. “No offense, of course. Like, your world sounds cool as hell, like some place straight out of a JRPG, especially the part about people living on top of huge ass Titans that fly about though the clouds, it’s just uh… from the way you’re describing it, it also sounds like there’s lots of problems that come with that.” He was quick to add on, not wanting to not come off as rude or disrespectful of Pyra’s homeworld, and he meant it.

Just from what they briefly gleaned so far, Alrest really did sound like an otherworldly, awe-inspiring place, and also like something out of a cool JRPG that he’d love to see and explore with his own eyes, but even he understood that a world like that would have a lot of issues for the common everyday people living in it, issues that this world wouldn't have by nature. 

Pyra nodded in response. “Mm. Alrest is, at least from what I remember, quite a beautiful world. But it is an undeniable fact that living in such a world comes with many difficulties for day-to-day life. Difficulties that the people of this world, from what little I’ve seen so far, wouldn’t have to deal with.”

“Difficulties, I imagine, like the constantly looming threat of dwindling inhabitable space for the people to live on and resources they need to survive. Since these Titans are living beings, they would eventually die off, even if I'd imagine the ones people make whole nations on have pretty long lifespans, reducing the amount of space and resources that people need, which would naturally lead to conflicts amongst each other over the remaining Titans and their resources, right?” Peppermint assessed with the information she was provided with.

Pyra looked at her in surprise over how spot-on she was. “Y-Yes… that’s right.” She nodded, still taken aback over how accurate the tan-skinned hacker was with her assessment. “Such an event would eventually happen, and for all I know, it might already have…” She added, her demeanor turning slightly crestfallen as she thought about the fact that Titans can die, something that she knows for a fact, and she couldn’t help but feel a certain familiar feeling of guilt and regret surfacing for a moment before forcing it back down. Thankfully, her new friends didn’t seem to notice this.    

“Yikes… seriously?” Chai asked as he looked at his redheaded buddy, who nodded in response. “Man… how'd you figure all that out, Peppermint?” He asked the tech-savvy girl as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Simple logic. All living beings die off eventually, no matter how long-living they are. And in a world where people live on the backs of Titans, it means that livable spaces and resources would be limited. And that means that, out of necessity, people would inevitably fight each other just to be able to live.” Peppermint explained casually with a nonchalant shrug.

“Huh… Yeah, that makes sense, I guess.” Replied the wannabe Rockstar as he crossed his arms. The unpleasant realities of living in a world like Alrest were already sinking in for Chai, and Peppermint’s deduction just now only reinforced that view for him.

“And that’s not all.” The Aegis interjected. ”On top of what I already mentioned, there’s also the fact that both the Cloud Sea and Titan bodies have various monsters indigenous to them, many of them being very dangerous. Thankfully though, the nations’ militaries are there to protect civilians from such threats, as well as independent mercenaries that hunt down monsters for the right price.” Pyra continued to elaborate on her homeworld, eliciting a look of surprise from Peppermint in particular at her casual mention of monsters in her homeworld.

“Wait, wait. So let me get this straight… In your world, there are monsters, like actual monsters?” Peppermint asked in a somewhat incredulous tone. Was it difficult to believe that Pyra’s homeworld, with all the fantasy elements it was established to have, would also be home to various species of monsters? No, not really. And yet, it was difficult for someone so grounded in factual science like her to believe the idea of monsters like those from fiction being actually real.  

“Oh c’mon, Peppermint! We’re talking about a fantasy JRPG type of world, of course there’d be monsters there!” Chai, on the other hand, accepted this particular tid-bit without a second thought, finding it par for the course, especially after what they’d heard about Alrest already.

“I’m not really surprised that you’d just take that at face value.” The tan-skinned hacker deadpanned at him.

“Kinda surprised you didn’t with the crash-course Pyra just gave us on those Titans and Blades just now. Monsters don’t seem like that much of a stretch by comparison” Chai was quick to shoot back, a snippy tone in his voice.

“I suppose this confirms that there are no monsters in this world. Unless you count the robots roaming around on this island, that is.” The fire Blade quickly opted to interject before things could potentially escalate, though it helped that it was also an actual observation she was curious about. She already suspected as much, but it’d be nice to get some proper confirmation.

“No, not really.” Peppermint shook her head in denial.

“Yeah, nothing but the mundane sort of animal life in this world. Though I gotta say, having a bunch of badass warriors or hunters, or whatever you’d wanna call them, decked out with all sorts of cool Driver and Blade powers fighting monsters sounds like it’d be pretty sick.” Chai couldn’t help but point out, an excited grin on his face at the thought of such a thing. With the taste he’d acquired for combat today combined with all the fantastical elements he’d learned about Pyra’s world so far, he personally found the mental image of people with Driver and Blade powers getting to make a career out of fighting monsters straight out of fiction, with all of the backdrop of otherworldly, fantastical settings that comes it, quite appealing! However, the slacker flinched when noticing that his female companions were giving him a deadpan, unamused glare, even Pyra surprisingly. “What? It’d make for a more cool and fun career than what’s normally available these days!” He exclaimed defensively.

“I mean… perhaps there are many other people here that would share that sentiment, but I can guarantee you that most people from my own world would gladly be rid of monsters with the constant, varying problems they pose.” The redheaded Blade explained clearly, hoping to get this point across to Chai. “Especially those that can’t become Drivers.” 

“Same here. Maybe try looking at something like this practically rather than from the POV of a twelve-year-old.”  Peppermint was quick to agree with her, keeping her deadpan stare trained on Chai.

“Okay, alright. I got the picture. Pros outweigh the cons. Sheesh…” The brunet muttered out in annoyance.

“In any case, as you see now, my homeworld is one filled with strife and danger. It’s not an easy existence for many people in my world -and it certainly has no shortage of looming issues either- but... the people living there persevere nonetheless, not just surviving, but thriving in spite of such a world.” Pyra continued, getting back on topic. “To be honest, I always found it amazing how humans in Alrest are able to do that even in a world such as ours.” She added with a smile.

“Well, if humans over there are anything like the ones here, then it’s not really surprising. If there’s one thing humans have always been good at, it’s adapting to their environment. That’s what makes us as a species so resilient even in the harshest of conditions.” Said Peppermint with a smile of her own.

“Mm.” Pyra nodded in response. She always admired how humans were capable of enduring even the worst of calamities and moving forward from that. That fact gave her the comfort that even after the horrors and tragedies from the Aegis War, the people would be able to pick themselves back up and thrive once again, now more than ever with her being gone from Alrest…  

“Say, Pyra. I have a question. How advanced is the technology in Alrest? I’ve been curious about that for a while now, especially with your reactions to all the technology and robotics on this island so far in mind.” Asked the tan-skinned hacker, being very interested in knowing what sort of technology exists in the fire Blade’s world and how it compares to Earthly tech.

“Oh yeah! I remember her saying something like that earlier.” Chai commented, being reminded of that short chat he had with his Blade companion a while back while on the rooftops while observing all the active machinery around them. The music-lover wouldn’t deny he was curious about this as well and also wanted to know more, even if the topic wasn’t exactly his forte.

“Well, I’m not exactly an expert on the matter, and frankly, I really doubt that any sort of science or technology on Alrest could compare to what’s available on your world with everything I’ve seen so far, but that doesn’t mean we’re without advancements of our own. Like I said before, all of Alrest’s nations opt to take smaller-sized Titans and modify them to act as ships to cross the Cloud Sea, most Drivers and their Blades can end up helping people in a variety of ways with their abilities, and going off from that, my world’s inhabitants also learned how refine and compress Ether into chips, we call them Core Chips, which can be attached to Blade weapons to increase their strength and other attributes. Not to mention that we used Ether as a source of energy for pretty much everything, that’s another reason why Ether is so important in my world.” The redheaded Blade explained as best as she could.

“Hmm, interesting info. That’s for sure...” Peppermint replied in a thoughtful tone, finding that particular bit of information interesting. She made a mental note of writing all of this new information down later. Right now, she had a few more questions on this particular topic. “Tell me, since Ether is basically the lifeblood of Titans, does over extraction and overuse of it have some sort of negative impact on the environment?” She asked, quickly seeing some parallels between Ether and oil and already guessing that extracting it isn’t doing any favors to the Titans people on Alrest live on.

“Yes, it does.” The Aegis nodded in response. “Overharvesting Ether can be harmful for the Titans and it can lead to their ecosystem being negatively impacted, such as, for example, the local flora withering and dying.” She explained, the image of the arid wastelands on Mor Ardain coming to mind when she gave that example.

“Right. I figured as much.” The tech-savvy girl wasn’t surprised at having her suspicions confirmed. “I’m also guessing that overharvesting also has a negative impact on a Titan’s lifespan, right?”

“...Yes, that’s right.” Pyra said with a tinge of sadness in her voice, the image of the Ardainian Titan coming to mind again with how clearly the overindustralazation of the Empire was taking a toll on it. It was already getting bad back during the days of the Aegis War, the redheaded Blade couldn’t imagine how much worse it might have gotten now. All things considered, it probably doesn’t have a lot of time left… “Is there anything else?” She asked, wanting to move on to another topic.

“Yes. You mentioned that smaller-sized Titans are used as vehicles to go around between the bigger Titans, but is that all that they’re used for?” Peppermint asked, rapt curiosity clear on her face.

“Well… several nations have decided to turn smaller Titans into weapons for warfare.” The fire Blade replied with some discomfort in her demeanor and tone, something her new friends took notice of, but opted to not comment on. Knowing what they do about the redhead, it was more than obvious that she doesn’t like needless violence and destruction, so talking about warfare and such would naturally make her uncomfortable.

“Right, cause you can’t have a proper military with just soldiers, you also need the proper weaponry, means of transportation, and equipment for it to be effective. And considering the circumstances of your world, it’s not surprising that different armies would opt to repurpose smaller Titans as weapons.” Said the tech-savvy girl in response, already having suspected that at least some of Alrest’s nations would be using smaller Titans as weaponry for their armies, most likely these being their version of tanks and other similar combat vehicles.

The Aegis nodded in response. Chai, for his part, only stood there silently while rubbing the back of his head, unsure of what to say or add onto the conversation, at least until a question came to mind.

“Say, with this Titan stuff and all being the topic at-hand, I’m kinda wondering… How big exactly are these things, anyway? The uh, huge ones most people live on, I mean.” The music-loving slacker asked. 

“That’s… actually a good question, Chai.” Peppermint commented, sounding rather surprised that the wannabe Rockstar would ask such a good question.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Was the brunet’s immediate response, a pleased, easy-going tone in his voice.

The tan-skinned hacker rolled her eyes at that before turning back to Pyra. “You said they were big enough for whole nations to be built in, but that doesn’t really say much about their sizes, cause here in our world nations vary from one another in terms of scale. Some are absolutely gigantic and others are very small. So, saying that the biggest Titans are nation-size doesn’t really give us much in terms of a sense of scale here.” She told the redheaded Blade.

“Y-yeah, what she said.” Chai said in agreement with her. In all honesty, he hadn't really been thinking too deeply about details like this when he asked this question, but he wasn’t about to say that out loud. 

“Really? Is that so?” Pyra asked back, surprised to hear about that fact about this world’s nations in contrast to Alrest’s, which are relative to each other in terms of size. Peppermint nodded in affirmation. “Wow, that’s very interesting.” The fire Blade said, intrigue clear in her tone. “Back in Alrest, all of the Great Titans are more or less about the same size. But, I wouldn’t be able to tell you their exact measurements.” The Aegis never had the need to learn such a thing, thus why she doesn’t know.

“Hmmm…” The tan-skinned hacker cupped her chin thoughtfully, until something came to her mind. “I have an idea.” She declared as she turned around in her seat back at her computer.

The Driver and Blade duo looked on with curiosity as the tech-savvy girl quickly typed on her keyboard. After a few seconds, the screen displayed a full picture of a world map, which greatly intrigued the redhead and confused the brunet. Fortunately for the latter, their tan-skinned acquaintance was quick to provide an explanation.

“This is a complete map of our world, Earth. You can use this to give us a point of comparison to give us an idea of the Great Titans’ size on average.” Peppermint told the fire Blade with a smile on her face.

“Ooooh! I get it, now! Good idea, Peppermint.” Chai complimented her, giving her a thumbs up.

The tech-savvy girl simply smirked at him self-assuredly in response, though it soon faded when both she and Chai noticed Pyra’s lack of response. They looked at her and saw her standing there silently, seemingly transfixed with the map on the screen.

“Uhhh… Pyra? You okay there, buddy?” The wannabe Rockstar called out, waving his right hand a few inches away from his fire-wielding partner’s face to get her attention.

“Huh?” The redhead Blade reacted, coming out of her stupor before glancing at her Driver and hacker friend. “Oh, sorry… What were you saying?” She asked, feeling embarrassed with herself.

“Just that you can use this map to give us an idea of how big the Great Titans are.” Peppermint replied calmly.

“Oh, I see! That’s a good idea, Peppermint.” The redheaded Blade smiled at her.

“Eheheh… It’s nothing.” Replied the tech-savvy girl with a sheepish smile as she rubbed her cheek with her index finger, a small blush coloring her face. “God, she’s precious…” She couldn’t help but think to herself upon seeing Pyra’s adorable smile. 

“You, uh… kinda zoned out for a minute there. Everything okay, pal?” Chai asked his Blade companion, tilting his head slightly as he made that inquiry.

“Yes, I am. Sorry about that, it’s just…” She trailed off as she looked back to the map on the screen.  “It’s so… unreal. All of these immense, fixed landmasses amidst this vast sea of blue…” Pyra said with very clear wonder and fascination in her tone, bringing her hand up to the screen and tracing her fingers slowly through one of the great landmasses on display. “It’s so… amazing.” She finished as a smile slowly made its way onto her pretty face.

It was one thing seeing a fixed landmass and the blue sea from up close, and it was an entirely different thing seeing the sheer scale and magnitude of this world in its entirety. She wondered at first if there was a World Tree in this world, but it would appear that wasn’t the case. In hindsight, she should have figured as much, but at the time she thought it could have been just too far away to be seen.

Peppermint smiled at this, finding Pyra’s amazement with their world quite endearing. “It is, isn’t it? From the way you've described it, you wouldn’t have seen anything like this back in your world, that’s for sure.” She commented, prompting the fire Blade to look back at her and nod in response, smile still clear on her face. “We called these huge land masses ‘continents’. See all of these lines spread throughout each continent? Those are the limits that mark the territory of each country within them.” She explained, giving their otherworldly new friend a small lesson on Earthly geography. 

“Wow…” The Aegis muttered in awe, mind practically twirling as she dwelled on how fundamentally different life in this world would be with stark differences like this. “There’s so many of them.”

“Yep. 195 countries, to be exact.” The tan-skinned hacker clarified.

“Amazing.” Pyra breathed out, astonished at the thought of such a thing. “There must be a countless number of people living in this world, far more than those in Alrest.” She commented as looked back at the map. It didn’t take a genius to know that in a world with such abundant space for people to live in, the population would be much higher than that of Alrest's, especially on the account of the fact that they wouldn’t have to be afraid of monster attacks or their countries suddenly sinking into the sea. 

“If you’re looking for a specific number, there’s actually about 8.2 billion people living in this world right now.” Said Peppermint nonchalantly.

“8.2 BILLION!?” The redheaded Blade exclaimed in utter shock. “That… t-that is a STAGGERING number of people!” Her mind was reeling at the fact that such an unreal, almost unfathomable number of people (From her point of view) were currently existing and going about their lives right now. “Back in Alrest, the most a nation could house was around 11 million people in total.” She explained to her friends, still having trouble processing the shocking bit of information she just heard. “ And… as far as I’m aware of, there were at least 6 Great Titans in Alrest.” She continued as her expression turned slightly painful as the memories of the three great Titans that fell during the Aegis War flooded her mind:

The nation of Coeia was the first to fall and the event that sparked the Aegis War, swiftly destroyed overnight by Malos, with millions of people having perished and the Titan sinking beneath the Cloud Sea. The tragedy was quickly covered up by the Indoline Praetorium to make it appear as if they did it along with the Empire of Mor Ardain to avoid mass panic and outrage from the rest of Alrest.

The Titan Temperentia, home to the ancient nation of Judicium, was the second to fall after many clashes between her and Malos that left the Titan permanently scarred, leaving it scorched, black and barren, and the kingdom built on top of it wiped out. The Titan perished soon after and its remains were left floating on the Cloud Sea.

And lastly… the Kingdom of Torna, the last one to fall at the climax of the war and where Malos’ mad reign of terror and destruction was finally brought to an end… but at a very severe cost. Not only was Torna’s capital city of Auresco destroyed by Malos during their final battle, wiping out thousands of innocent people, the massive widespread collateral damage ended up killing the Tornan Titan, which soon after sank to the bottom of the Cloud Sea in the aftermath of Malos’ defeat… 

Pyra forcefully shut down her train of thought as she didn’t want to remember all that she lost at the end of the war… All that she destroyed… Reflecting on those memories has always been too painful for her. No matter how much time passes, it still aches as if it was just yesterday… 

As she focused back on the topic at hand, she realized that she doesn’t know exactly how many Great Titans remained after the Aegis War, hence why she said that she believes there were 6 left. She… didn’t want to find out, as the trauma was still fresh in her mind and she didn’t want to make it worse. For all she knew, there might have been more Titans out there that she wasn’t aware of at the time.

The Titans she knew for sure remained were: Mor Ardain, Gormott, Uraya, Indol, Genbu and Spessia.

The former four were thankfully spared from being targeted by Malos during the Aegis War, although Gormott had suffered frequent skirmishes between the Ardainians, their political allies, and Coeian terrorists, who took refuge in Gormott after the fall of their Titan. She hoped that, with the end of the war, the Ardainians were able to focus on their efforts in apprehending the terrorists and restore peace to Gormott.

Genbu was site to several battles between her and Malos, leaving the land within permanently scarred, though nowhere near as bad as Temperentia. It was fortunate, however, that the Titan was mostly barren of human life so there were no innocents caught in the crossfire. Although there were almost no humans living within the Great Titan, there were a lot of ancient ruins scattered around the region. Researchers theorized that at some point in the past there was a nation that existed within the Titan, but for one reason or another it fell into ruin, and as far as she knew, there was no solid explanation as to why, only that it must have happened at least several hundreds of years ago. The land was still inhabitable and with no ownership by any of other nations so hopefully the Tornans decided to settle there and restarted their lives after the loss of their home…

Spessia was where half of the Tornan refugees led by Addam’s militia evacuated after the fall of their Titan, while the other, being led by Addam’s rivals, namely his uncle, High Prince Zettar, fled to Indol. Before parting with Lora, Jin, Haze and Mikhail, Addam instructed them to head to Spessia in his stead and request his militia to relocate to the Leftheria Archipelago, where both the Hero and the Aegis traveled to seal the third Aegis Sword within the Royal Spirit Crucible Elpys before sealing the Aegis herself away within an Ancient Tornan Ship that sank deep below the Cloud Sea. She wondered what happened to Lora’s group and Addam’s militia as she was put to sleep before any news about them could reach Addam, she hoped that they received Addam’s message and relocated to Leftheria.

Speaking of the Archipelago, the redheaded Blade wasn’t counting it among the surviving Great Titans as, for one, it was composed of many smaller Titans that act as islands so it really doesn’t count as a Great Titan. Adding onto this, there aren't a lot of places in there to form a viable settlement there besides the island where the entrance to the Crucible resides, and on top of that, the region was crawling with dangerous monsters. That being said, Pyra did recall how Addam talked about making Leftheria his people’s new home once his militia relocated and after that establish several settlements in the Archipelago, with a village in particular being founded in the aforementioned area and settling down there with his wife and unborn child, who were with his militia in Spessia, to live the simple farmer life he always wanted. Sadly, she didn’t get to see any of this as she was sealed away shortly after sealing the third sword, but she hoped that it all went as planned and that by now Leftheria is home to thriving settlements where the surviving Tornans and their descendants got to live in peace and prosperity. In particular, she hoped that Addam, his family, Lora, Jin, Haze and Mikhail got to live happy and peaceful lives, and that the aforementioned Tornan Driver and her Blades did get to establish that orphanage just as they said they would before the final battle against Malos. 

Pyra felt a deep sense of nostalgia as she thought about her original Driver and her friends, and what became of them after she went to sleep. …She missed them, even though she didn’t get the chance to know them as much as she would have wanted to. However, they were all better off without her and all she could do is pray that they all got to live the rest of their lives without any more conflict and tragedy… They deserved as much after all the horror and heartbreak they went through during the Aegis War.

The fire Blade focused back on her current situation, what felt like minutes of contemplation to her were in fact only a few seconds in real time.

Peppermint cupped her chin as her expression turned pensive, but there was also a noticeable amount of concern in her face. “Hmm… so going off those facts, it would mean that at the very least the total world population in Alrest would be about 66 million people.” She noted an analytical tone in her voice as a picture began to form in her head, and it wasn’t a pretty one for the long-term of the redhead’s homeworld. The fire Blade nodded in confirmation. “By comparison, our world’s population is around 125 times greater than Alrest’s. To give you an idea, that’s about the same amount of people that live in France.” She further elaborated as she turned back to her computer, quickly typing on the keyboard to highlight the aforementioned country to help illustrate her example to her new companions

“Yikes! I’m not a math wizard or anything, but that's a lot less people.” Chai commented, rubbing the back of his head with a concerned look on his face. Numbers weren’t his forte, like at all, but even he understood the massive gap between the populations of Earth and Alrest.

Pyra, for her part, covered her mouth, being very much taken aback by this fact. She figured that a lot of this world’s nations could easily house the entirety of Alrest’s populace and with plenty room to spare, but seeing that they all could fit neatly in a relatively small to medium-sized country was still quite surprising, to say the least.

“Yeah. Though it’s not really surprising that the population in Alrest would be so small, given the living conditions over there.” Peppermint said to him. “Having an ever dwindling amount of livable space and resources after factors that can severely cripple population growth, doubly so with the threat of literal monsters lurking about the place.” She added, feeling like she had to remind the slacker the key issues plaguing Alrest.

“Yeah… Guess so.” Replied the music-loving brunet as he was starting to really get a grasp of how precarious the living situation is in Pyra’s homeworld. He glanced at his Blade friend and saw that her expression turned noticeably crestfallen, reflecting how the mood got a little heavy so the wannabe Rockstar figured he should try to lighten things up a little. “But hey, it’s not like everything’s doom and gloom. You said that folks over in your world were doing just fine even if things over there are pretty rough, right?” He said to the redhead with a cheerful smile, elbowing her in a friendly manner.

“Mm.” Pyra nodded in response as a small smile appeared on her face.

“See? So don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’ll be okay.” The brunet grinned at her, happy to see that his fiery buddy was starting to feel better again.

“Same here.” Peppermint commented, smiling in appreciation of Chai cheering Pyra up in a surprisingly sensible manner (And for once not doing so through making an awful pun, thank God).

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right. Thank you, Chai.” The redheaded Blade smiled back at her Driver in gratitude, feeling herself back in good spirits. Worrying about Alrest right now won’t do her any good, especially since she has no idea of how much the world would have changed after all this time, so the best she can do is to have faith that things were just fine over there.

“Anytime, pal.” Replied the wannabe Rockstar, giving her a thumbs-up.

“Oh right! I almost forgot, I still haven’t told you how big the Great Titans are in relation to this world’s continents.” It was then that Pyra remembered what they were talking about a short while ago, and couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed for getting very distracted.

“Oh yeah. Heh, guess we got a little off topic there, huh?” Said Peppermint with a good-humored smile, having also briefly lost track of the current topic. “Alright, go ahead. Take as much time as you need.” She gestured at her computer screen.

“Thank you.” Pyra nodded in gratitude before looking at the map on the screen. A minute passed as she studied the map, but unfortunately finding a good point comparison from the many countries displayed on the map proved to be more difficult than she initially thought. “Hmmmm… Say… Peppermint? Do you, by any chance, have a variation of this map that has units of length available? As amazing as it was taking the whole scale of your world in, I’m now realizing that I don’t have a way to properly gauge the sizes of these continents and the countries within them, especially in comparison to the Great Titans.” Pyra asked after another moment scrutinizing the world map, realizing that she’d need a version of this map up that properly displayed units of length if she was going to properly gauge and compare sizes. Most people would likely need much more than that to properly figure something like that out -such as a map of the entirety of Alrest, not just the region where the six Great Titans she knew of were- but being what she was, the redheaded Aegis would be able to handily calculate the size of this world’s continents and compare them to the Great Titans once she had some proper units of length to work with.

“Oh, yeah. Sure thing, just let me… there!” Peppermint began, and barely a moment later, the layout of the world map changed to the type that would more easily allow measurements. “Uhm… to be clear, you guys have inches, feet, and miles for units of length back on your world, right?” She had to ask because for all she knew, the people in Alrest would use a whole different measurement system.

“We certainly do! Now then, by my estimate, most of Alrest’s Great Titans would be around the size of… these land masses right here.” Pyra finally decided, pointing specifically towards the Caribbean Island Countries of both Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

“Hm… Cuba and the D.R., huh? They also have around the same amount of people you mentioned that live in the Great Titan’s nations on average, too.” The tan-skinned hacker noted, an analytical tone in her voice as she observed the data on the map of those two aforementioned Island Countries and committed it to memory, with the same applying for the rest of the information Pyra just gave her. Now she had a good point of reference to give her a solid approximation of the average length and width of a Great Titan.

“Sooo… you’re saying that the Great Titans are more or less the size of those islands?” Chai asked his Blade companion for further clarification, getting a nod from the redhead in response. “Geez… That’s… kinda really small.” He commented. He might have not been very good at geography, but he knows enough that the Caribbean Island Countries are some of the smallest countries on the planet and if the Great Titans are roughly comparable to these, then the Great Titans might as well be specks of living, moving land to the rest of Earth. “Uh, no offense.” He added quickly, not wanting to bring back the dreary mood when they’d just finished banishing it.

“None taken.” Pyra replied nonchalantly.

“Say, Pyra. Earlier you said that you think there were at least six Great Titans alive and active in your world. Does that mean there could be more?” Peppermint asked, curious about that particular detail the Aegis mentioned.

“It is possible, yes. I… didn’t keep track of all the Great Titans in the immediate region I was awoken in.” She admitted, a hint of embarrassment in her tone. “No to mention there could be more Great Titans outside of that region, but that’s uncharted territory, so I can’t say anything for certain…” She added. It was a well known fact that Cloud Sea extended far beyond the known radius around the World Tree that the Great Titans circle around all year long. But, as far as she was aware, no one dared to venture beyond the region with most people believing that there was nothing out there except more Cloud Sea that extended into the horizon endlessly. The idea that there could be Great Titans that exist out there certainly wasn’t impossible, but no one has tried to see if it was true or not… and if anyone did, they certainly never returned alive to tell the tale.

“I see…” Said Peppermint in a calm manner, her expression turning neutral. The bleak mental picture of Alrest she envisioned earlier came back to mind.  It was more than evident that a lack of space to live on and resources in Alrest is a problem that would keep getting bigger and bigger as time goes on. Whether it would take decades, centuries or even millenia, the Great Titans would eventually die off. While it might not be a problem she’d ever have to deal with, being the native of an entirely different world, it was nonetheless disconcerting to hear how the people of Pyra’s world were essentially living on borrowed time. The fact that there didn’t appear to be any clear solutions to such a problem, at least with what was currently known, didn’t help matters. Not even the prospect of those smaller Titans eventually becoming Great Titans, which by logic should be the case, wasn’t a real solution as it most certainly would take too long for them to grow into that form and by the time they do, who knows how many Great Titans and their respective civilizations would have died off. Even the energy crisis Roxanne Vandelay resolved many years ago came off as a paltry issue by comparison.

The tan-skinned hacker decided to keep these thoughts to herself as she didn’t want to upset Pyra again, it was clear that the topic was a sensitive one for her and for good reason. 

“Welp, for all that it’s worth, aside from the prowling monsters and lack of reliable land masses, your world sounds like it could make for a pretty scenic vacation spot!” Said Chai after a brief moment of silence and mentally going over everything Pyra told them once again. Just from descriptions alone, and setting aside all the big problems it had, this Alrest place sounded like it had some pretty fantastical and beautiful sights, fitting for a fantasy world straight out of a JRPG, the kind that would look good on a postcard, or an Indie album cover. In all honesty, part of him kinda wanted to see the place firsthand right now.

“No denying that. A world entirely in the clouds sounds beautiful and like something you’d only see in fiction, at least around here, anyway. Though, with everything else explained, I can’t deny those ‘Core Chips’ you mentioned piqued my interest too. Got any more details about that?” Peppermint added, her interest particularly grabbed by Pyra’s earlier mention of ‘Core Chips.’

“It’s nothing too complicated, Peppermint. Just that at some point, the inhabitants of my world found a way to imbue Ether into these chips. Most, if not all Blades are compatible with these chips and can be fused to a Blade’s weapon to bolster their strength as well as adding other perks.” The redhead quickly summarized, which only increased Peppermint’s interest.

“Hmm… that’s… certainly interesting to hear.” Was all Peppermint could initially say in response to all that, making it clear she was more so thinking out loud than anything as she briefly glanced at Chai’s robotic right arm. In all honesty, watching the brunet deal with security so effectively earlier gave the hacker a few ideas about implementing some potential upgrades for his right-arm, and with how the most prominent idea she had involved upgrade computer chips, it had the hacker wondering what she could do if she opted to be a bit more creative with this new discovery…

“Huh… that sounds like stat modifiers you’d get from items or gear in any RPG.” Chai pointed out as he crossed his arms, finding the similarities between these ‘Core Chips’ and your average stat modifier item or equipment from the videogames or tabletop games.

“Hm?” Pyra looked at him confused. “‘Stat modifier’?”

“Oh that’s just RPG jargon. To sum it up, just think that if you consumed something like potions, or went out of your way to equip certain pieces of gear, be it weapons or armor, you’d get an  increase in your attributes and a bunch of cool extra perks to go along with it. For example, uh… I don’t know, say you found yourself a cool new tiara to replace the one you’re wearing right now and the second you put it on, it’d suddenly increase your speed and strength as long as you keep it on, maybe even make your luck better too. Something like that.” Chai explained in a quick, but clear and concise manner as if it was the easiest thing in the world. He may struggle to memorize a lot of boring school topics, but when it comes to geek and gaming stuff, he knows these topics like the back of his left hand.

“Oh, I see!” Replied Pyra with clear understanding in her eyes. “Well, under that definition I suppose Core Chips count as ‘stat modifiers’” She added with a smile.

“Now you’re getting it!” The brunet smiled back at her enthusiastically.

“...Also, what does ‘RPG’ mean?” The redheaded Blade innocently.

Flinching up in surprise at that question, Chai's knee-jerk reaction in response was to incredulously ask the redhead if her world even had video games… Before recalling everything Pyra had told them both earlier about Alrest and subsequently realized a world like that probably didn't have proper video game development anywhere on its list of priorities. “Ohhhh, right… as painful as it is hearing you ask something like that, a fantasy world like yours probably doesn't have anything like video games available, huh? Much less with all the problems you mentioned, like land availability and everything…” Chai followed his fair share of game development and was well-aware that developing and shipping out a good video game could be an ungodly experience even in the best of circumstances. He couldn't even begin how nightmarish it would be trying to do something similar on Pyra's world, with the constant threat of monsters and lack of livable space people had to deal with on a daily basis there.

“N…no, I don’t think so.” The redhead shook her head in denial.

“Yeah, that makes sense, I guess.” The brunet replied in an understanding, yet disappointed tone.  However, his expression quickly perked back up a few seconds after. “Well, in that case I’ll just have to teach you all about the wonderful world of gaming when we get a moment!” He declared with giddy enthusiasm as he brought his redheaded pal close to him via a side hug with his left arm and did a grand sweep with his right arm. Pyra, for her part, was left mildly flustered from the sudden closeness. “Video gaming, to be exact.” Chai further clarified as he pointed at his Blade partner. “Man, we’ll have A LOT stuff to go over before putting you up to speed, but don’t worry it’ll be worth it in the end.” His high energy suddenly went down quite a bit as he almost dreaded the monumental task ahead of him, but just as it easily went down his energy went back up at the end. “When I’m done with you, you’ll be a bonafided hardcore gamer girl! And we’ll start with one of the absolutely greatest gaming icons of all time: Sonic the Hedgehog!” As he went on with his excited tirade, he brought Pyra’s face closer to his, causing her checks to turn significantly red, though her Driver didn’t appear to notice as after another second he pulled away, looking ahead as he finally finished his rambling with an impassioned smile and a certain glint in his eyes as he mentioned one of his favorite fictional characters of all time.

The Aegis was left stunned for a few seconds before finally finding her voice again. “Um, Chai? I, uh… don’t really understand a lot of what you’re saying right now.” She said, expressing her confusion and slight discomfort at this very moment.

“Don’t worry, buddy! It’ll all make sense soon.” Chai replied reassuringly as he patted her shoulder with his left hand. “Trust me, you’re gonna love it!”

“Uhm, O…kay?” Was the only thing Pyra could say in response to all that. Her Driver’s enthusiasm for this whole ‘video game’ thing was a little too intense for her liking, but at the same time it was endearing in its own way, and after sharing a lot about her world with him and their hacker friend, it’s only fair that she would be willing to learn about this world, more so if it’s an aspect of it that her Driver this much enthusiastic about. So it can’t hurt to humor him… right?

“Awesome~!” The music lover cheered excitedly as he let go of her. “Hey, Peppermint! Seeing as how you’re clearly tech and computer savvy, you gotta have some experience with gaming and stuff too, right? You want in on this? I’m already building up a good list of games we can go through!” He turned to look at the tan-skinned hacker, who had been quiet since asking her question about the Core Chips. However, she just sat there in silence, looking downwards as she cupped her chin, looking deep in thought and clearly not paying attention to what’s around her.

The Driver and Blade duo looked at each other in confusion before the latter tried to call their friend’s attention.

“Peppermint?” Again, no response.

“Yo, you still with us here?” Chai tried again, and thankfully this time their hacker companion was snapped out of her stupor. 

“Hm? Oh uh… yeah, just thought of something, that's all.” Upon blinking back to reality and that she had both Chai and Pyra giving her confused, questioning looks, Peppermint was quick to dismiss how she suddenly got caught up in her thoughts like that. After dwelling on it, she’d opt to hold off on saying anything till she had something of substance to show off. “Back on topic, just from what you’ve told us, your homeworld sounds like a pretty amazing place, Pyra. Between those Titans, the Blades, and how it’s all covered by a sea of clouds… I don’t know how else to describe your homeworld other than as awe-inspiring… Probably really dangerous too with all the monsters you mentioned prowling around, but awe-inspiring all the same.” She said to the redhead, focusing on the fantastical, borderline surreal aspects of Pyra’s homeworld.

“Totally.” Chai nodded in agreement. “Your world sounds like a place with some pretty killer views no matter where you look!” He added in, similarly impressed like Peppermint with the otherworldly description of Alrest the Aegis had provided to them so far.

“Thank you.” She replied in appreciation with a soft, but sincere giggle. “I could certainly say the same about your and Chai’s world. It’s still so much to take in, being surrounded by so much vibrant and active machinery I’ve never seen before, all topped off by this island, and all of the continents that make up this world, being surrounded by a sea of water.” For her part, Pyra just made it clear that from her own point of view, her new friends’ world and the astonishing sights Vandelay Island had on display left her feeling a similar sense of amazement. "Sadly though, it’s hard to truly appreciate everything about this massive world when my mind keeps drifting back to the circumstances that brought so many Blades into this world along with myself. After everything we’ve learned so far about the people that brought me here, I can’t shake this looming sense of… concern.” As she said this, a troubled frown crept onto the Aegis’s face as she was once again reminded of the troubling circumstances that left her in this world.

Upon hearing all this, Chai felt the need, even with all the chaotic danger he experienced previously today in mind, to posit the theory/possibility that the tech megacompany might not actually have anything malicious planned here. “Well, I mean… hey! We don’t know that Vandelay has anything messed-up or bad in mind for you or the rest of your kind. For all we know, maybe they just brought a bunch of those Core Crystals over into this world so they can just sell them to any buyers. Not exactly sure how people in your world view the whole ‘Driver and Blade’ arrangement, but I know for a fact a lot of people here would be super down to get themselves a partner that hooks them up with sick, anime-looking powers and weapons.” As the brunet continued, his fiery friend perked up at that last part, her cheeks reddening a little. “Like, I’m not ignoring any of what Vandelay tried to pull with us today -and I’m definitely not saying that it’s cool or alright or anything- just that it’s not exactly a big surprise that a big company like this is looking to make a profit off something they discovered like this.”

Chai certainly wasn’t glossing over how Vandelay had their security try and kill him little under an hour ago, just that from an objective and unbiased POV, he could see what they were trying to do. One of your guys apparently stumbled his way into opening a portal from another world, leading to a hefty supply of otherworldly crystals that could provide powers literally out of this world? The brunet was by no means a business savvy person, but he could easily see a scenario like that was equivalent to stumbling across a loaded gold mine… or crystal mine, in this case, he supposed.

“I… suppose that’s one way of looking at this whole situation, Chai.” Pyra managed once the red tint in her cheeks faded. “That being said, regardless of their methods and exact intentions, I don’t have any real faith in the people running this company to be benevolent and responsible with whatever sort of Core Crystal distribution they have in mind. There was only one organization back on Alrest that handled the regulation and tracking of Blades, and I frankly have my own share of reservations regarding them...“ It was hard not to be considering Pyra’s history with a certain Indoline in the organization…

“Exactly. Understandable or not, Vandelay having their hands on these Core Crystals and a way to access Pyra’s world is a cause for concern no matter what.” Peppermint added bluntly, her tone making it very clear she didn’t buy the notion of Vandelay having nothing planned for the Core Crystals beyond just selling them as they are. “From what I gathered from the records I received, Vandalay managed to pull a lot of Core Crystals over from Pyra’s world, including her of course, enough to fill up at least several shipping containers but there could be a lot more for all we know. And if all the Blades within those Crystals are even at least half as strong as Pyra is, then we are in very serious trouble.” Peppermint elaborated, emphasizing just how many Core Crystals Vandelay apparently had to get the gravity of the situation across for the two.

“Several shipping containers, you said?” The nod of affirmation she got from Peppermint caused a troubled frown to creep onto Pyra’s face, bringing a hand up to her chin as she contemplated the situation on this island. “You’re right. If they have that many, then they’re bound to have gotten at least a handful of powerful Rare Blades…”

“Okay, well uh… when you both put it like that and in such grave tones of voice, I can maybe see how that would be pretty bad.” Chai admitted with a scratch of his head, feeling the wind get taken out of his sales at both Pyra and Peppermint’s rebuttals.

“It is bad, Chai. Very bad.” Peppermint confirmed with a blunt tone of voice. “Still, with any luck, we might be able to kill two birds with one stone before long. I’m working out a plan for us to get some more information on SPECTRA with minimum hassle, and odds are the computer we’ll be extracting that info from will also have files regarding whatever Vandelay has planned with the Blades and where they’re keeping them.”

“Wonderful to hear. The sooner we get to the truth of this matter, the better.” Pyra said, eyeing the tan hacker with interest. “What exactly does this plan entail?”

“Like I said, I’m still working out the details and should be ready by tomorrow. In the meantime, you two just take a breather and make yourselves at home. I’ll let either of you know if I have any more questions to ask.” And with that closing statement, Peppermint once again turned in her seat and returned to reading through whatever she brought up on her computer screens.

With his conversation with the hacker now concluded, Chai briefly considered following up and asking Pyra for some more details about all this ‘otherworldly’ business, but instead opted to take a much-deserved lie down on that couch, which was looking particularly comfy in his eyes right now.

‘Phoo! Oh yeah, that’s a nice load off, especially after all the crap I had to deal with today.’ Chai thought, letting out a satisfied exhale as he threw himself onto the couch and lazed across it. ‘Man though… getting ‘music robot powers,’ having Vandelay’s security trying to kill me, and meeting a girl straight-up from another world with fire powers? What have I gotten myself into?’ Even with everything that had been explained so far, the brunet was still having some trouble wrapping his head around all the crazy, rapid-fire events that happened to him today, not the least of which was the fact that the redhead he’d acquainted himself with wasn't actually from this world and wasn’t even an actual human being despite everything about her appearance suggesting otherwise.

However, as Chai continued to mull over the complicated circumstances he now found himself right in the middle of, he ultimately shrugged the troubling thoughts about his situation off before settling on one particular silver lining about it all. ‘Well, should make for a pretty cool story to tell five years from now…’ 

As Chai was having these thoughts, he noticed out of the corner of his eye 808 lazily leaping up onto the couch before settling herself on a pillow at the opposite end of the brunet. “Hm…” He hummed out, gaze now fixed on the robotic feline lazing across from him. Another few moments passed with Chai’s gaze remaining on 808 before his eyes shifted over to the vivid-red color of his scarf and an idea occurred to him.

With a smile beginning to creep onto his face, Chai couldn’t help but grab onto his scarf and flick the end of it over to where 808 was laying, hoping he’d evoke a reaction. The smile on his face only grew more prominent when the scarf-flicking immediately caught 808’s attention like it would a regular cat, with her eyeing it intently and looking ready to pounce it at any moment. Anticipating this, the brunet then quickly yanked the end of his scarf back by a foot, prompting 808 to try and pounce on it. He continued with this course of action several more times, with it culminating in the robotic cat happily jumping onto his lap and licking at his face.

“Well… you definitely look like you're enjoying this.” Chai laughed slightly, enjoying just how pleased and receptive 808 was being towards his playing with her. “Hey tell me… who do you prefer: Me, Pyra or Peppermint? Be honest.” He asked the robotic pet, making sure his voice wasn’t above a whisper so the girls wouldn’t overhear him. 808 just licked his face again in response. “I’ll take that as your answer. Don’t worry, we’ll keep this between us.” Said the brunet happily, winking at the robotic feline as he petted her.

*Pap…* Blinking upon feeling the couch’s weight shift slightly on one end, Chai ceased the petting he’d been in the middle of and looked up to see Pyra taking a seat on the side of the couch where 808 had been just a moment ago. Funny. There was another, perfectly fine couch Pyra could’ve called dibs on in another corner of the Hideout. The slacker figured that the Aegis would opt to make herself comfortable there once she finished taking in her appearance in the mirror.

“Oh, I’m sorry ...You don’t mind if I sit down here?” Pyra asked with a tentative smile, having noticed her Driver’s look of slight surprise.

“Nah, that’s uh… fine, I guess. Go on ahead.” Chai managed to get out once his momentary surprise wore down.

“Lovely, thank you.” The Aegis’s smile relaxed upon hearing that confirmation, letting out a pleased and relieved sigh as she sat back on the couch and enjoyed its soft cushions. “Ahh… it feels very nice to just sit down and take a breath after everything that happened today.”

“Definitely know that feeling.” He was still aching all over from all those falls and sudden launches that kept happening. 808 then moved from on top of Chai’s chest to Pyra’s lap and unsurprisingly the redheaded Blade didn’t miss the chance to pet the adorable robot cat. The brunet chuckled at this. After a minute of Pyra petting their robotic companion, 808 leapt off her lap and came to rest on the same pillow she was on a short while ago, which was now on the ground.

From there, a rather awkward silence ensued between both Chai and Pyra. Even with everything they discussed and established with Peppermint, it went without saying that the two still had much they’d likely have to talk about down the line given the nature of their newfound bond, but at the moment, neither the brunet nor the Aegis were sure what exactly to say or where to start. On Pyra’s end, this was mainly to her soft-spoken nature as well as how the brunet mostly displayed indifference at the prospect of being her Driver, which left her unsure where to even start.

Meanwhile, Chai was just wracking his brain for a good subject to ask the Blade about, and he soon came to a decision when his gaze settled on the emerald glow of Pyra’s ‘Core Crystal.’ The brunet’s gaze lingered there for another moment, mentally noting how at a passing glance, he’d likely just assumed the gem was an accessory for the redhead’s outfit, and not actually embedded into her chest, before finally speaking up. “Not to sound like a broken record, but it’s still seriously crazy to me that you’re from another world, and not even human either. Definitely wouldn’t have been able to tell that little tid-bit just from a passing glance.” He pointed out that particular detail, remembering that picture Peppermint showed them earlier, which now understanding the context, he figured those were other Blades like Pyra, except that didn’t look anywhere near as human-like as she does.

“That’s not surprising, some Blades can certainly pass as a human much more easily than others. I know that as long as I conceal my Core Crystal, I could likely pass as human with no problem, whereas certain other Blades you certainly would be able to tell aren’t human just from a quick glance at them.” Pyra explained, well aware that compared to the rest of her kind, she could easily pass as a human with the right preparations, especially in this world where Blades didn’t exist and her Core Crystal would likely just be written off as an accessory.

“That wording is both vague and makes me wanna know more. Do elaborate.” Chai said, rubbing his chin with his metallic hand in thought as he tried to picture what Pyra meant when she said that.

Pyra couldn’t stop herself from letting out a few, amused chuckles at the tone of Chai’s voice as he said this, her smile still matching her mood. “Alright. Well, a Blade passing for a human ultimately depends on what type of form the awakened Blade takes, and it varies considerably from Blade to Blade, particularly if they’re a Rare type as well. You already saw what common Blades look like in that file Peppermint showed us, and during my travels back on my own world, my old… companions and I met a good deal of different Rare Blades. Some of them were like me, virtually indistinguishable from a normal human aside from their Core Crystal,” Pyra elaborated, gesturing towards her own as she said this. “Whereas others don’t even look human in the slightest. It’s also not just one end of the spectrum or another. I recall meeting Rare Blade that had the traits of a particular animal, with many others also having note-worthy quirks to their bodies or replacements for normal limbs.”

“Definitely sounds like something I’d need a full picture catalog for to really wrap my head around.” Chai noted, raising a brow at Pyra’s description of other Rare Blades and the traits they’d have that would distinguish them at a passing glance from the average human. He understood the whole ‘animal traits’ thing -he’d taken in enough modern media and anime to know the Aegis was likely talking about something akin to a cat girl or something in that general category- but all that stuff about ‘note-worthy quirks’ and… stuff in place of regular limbs/body parts sounded like something the brunet needed to see firsthand to properly understand.

“Well, perhaps if we encounter any Rare Blades down the line, they’ll have the traits I was referring to.” Pyra theorized. If what Peppermint said was true and this corporation brought several shipping containers worth of Core Crystals here from Alrest, then she wouldn’t be surprised if they planned to awaken several of them into Blades and use them against her and her Driver, especially if she was correct in her assumption about these Vandelay people acquiring several Rare Blades from Alrest.

“Hmm… so, between the way you’ve been taking everything in and what you already told us, I’m guessing your world doesn’t exactly have robots or sweet, free robotic prosthetics on hand?” The brunet asked after another moment of thought, recalling how shocked Pyra looked when she saw her Core Crystal in his robot arm’s Power Core Unit. It was definitely hard to guess where the Aegis’s world was in terms of technological development just going off what she told him and Peppermint. Everything he’d heard so far -topped off by the look of Pyra’s sword and outfit, which both very much had a ‘fantasy sci-fi’ vibe to them- painted a very unclear picture.

“Well… from what I understand, there are mechanical prosthetics in Alrest similar to yours and Peppermint’s, but those are uncommon. Most likely because those would be difficult to produce and as such very expensive to pay.” She replied, recalling how during the Aegis War, her group encountered a shady mercenary that was after Lora, who had a mechanical right arm… That is, until Jin sliced it off… along with his remaining arm.

“Huh… I guess that tracks.” Chai noted, having figured that Pyra’s world wouldn’t have prosthetics as advanced as the ones Vandelay had available. With how the descriptions of Alrest they’d gotten so far indicated the world was lagging behind compared to Earth in terms of technological advancements, he wasn’t surprised, even with its various fantastical elements in mind.

Pyra nodded. “Yes. Although from what little I’ve seen of prosthetics back on Alrest, those were quite crude in comparison to the ones you have here.” Pyra could tell just from what she gleaned of Vandelay Island and its campus that this world had technology that was leagues beyond whatever state-of-the-art technology Alrest’s Kingdoms and militaries had available. The only thing Pyra could think of that came even remotely close to the insane robotics of this world were Torna’s weapons and various warships… and with what happened during her cataclysmic battle with Malos…

Pyra hated thinking about that any more than she already did, but she just knew that the fallout of that battle had sent Alrest’s technological developments -and several other facets of its civilization- back by several generations, the awful weight in her gut told her as much… She mentally shook herself off those dark thoughts and focused back on the topic.   

“Huh… well nice to hear this world has at least one cool going for it over yours.“ Was Chai’s takeaway from all that, prompting a silent eye roll from Peppermint as she continued to work at her desk. “Speaking of, still wanna hear; what’s music in your world like, aaaaand what are your impressions of the samples you’ve gotten here so far???”

“Oh! Now that’s… honestly quite the interesting question to consider… though I’m afraid I might not be able to provide the most reliable answer. Like I said before, the… life I lived up to my ending up here didn’t exactly give me many, if any, opportunities to really sit down and listen to some music, let alone try and see any performances done by musicians.” The redhead began, blinking in surprise at the sudden change in topic, her previously growing angst and grief having been forgotten. While there certainly was music, musical instruments, and people who played them on Alrest, there unfortunately wasn’t any time to enjoy those sorts of luxuries with how the brunt of her time spent since her awakening was spent trying to track down Malos and put an end to his rampage. “I can say this much for a certainty, though; what music I did hear back on Alrest was nothing like the kind of music I’d been hearing from your music player.” Pyra continued to explain, recalling how she could barely discern what each instrument was supposed to be in the songs she’d heard from Chai’s playlist so far. “I can honestly only wonder what sort of instruments this world has to produce music so… loud and intense.”

“You’re forgetting ‘catchy,’ but I think I see what you’re saying. Sounds to me like your world has music, but not much in the way of musical genres. So I take it that along with no rock and roll, your world doesn’t exactly have genres like rap, jazz, nu metal, or glam rock, huh?” Chai continued to ask, his interest piqued at the prospect of getting more details on the music culture of a whole different dimension.

“Seeing as how this is the first time I’ve heard any of those names before… I’d… have to assume so, yes.” Pyra answered after a moment’s hesitation. Like with Chai and his confusion regarding her description of the more unique forms of Blades, she couldn’t say for certain whether those types of music existed in Alrest or not given her lack of experience with the matter, but like she said, with how she’d never even heard any of those music types mentioned, it didn’t seem likely.

“Oof! Hearing that hurt me on a spiritual level, even more than the lack of videogames your world has.” Chai grimaced, the thought of a world that was so limited in terms of musical variety hurting his soul. “Tell you what, after we’re all done with all this, along with some awesome videogames, I’ll also show you a playlist of some of the best bits of music I’ve heard. Not just rock either, I’m talking the whole nine yards with different genres and their best songs!”

“O-Oh, really? Well… alright then, thank you! With how passionate you clearly are about music, I’m sure that’ll be a delight and the songs you want to share will be even better.” Pyra answered honestly and with a smile. While the redheaded Aegis still couldn’t make much sense of what ‘videogaming’ was, she did know and appreciate the beauty of music, and as strange and (literally) otherworldly as the music produced from her Driver’s MP3 was, she could nonetheless appreciate and enjoy what she’d heard so far, even with the hectic circumstances she’d been thrown into in mind. As a result, she didn’t doubt that Chai had some memorable bits of music in mind to show her later on.

It’d also be nice getting to properly take in this world’s music without having to simultaneously fight for her Driver’s life, all while in time to a beat.

“No prob! Couldn’t just sit back and do nothing now that I know you clearly haven’t lived life properly. In faaaact, if you’re planning on trying to go back to your world after all this, I’ll see if I can set you up with a mix tape with some seriously kickass songs in them! You’ll have something to seriously wow the people in your world with that way! …On top of all your crazy fire powers, of course.” Chai laid back against the couch’s armrest and kept his gaze on the concrete ceiling of the Hideout as he happily made this offer, oblivious to the way Pyra flinched up slightly and winced at the mention of returning to Alrest.

On her own end, Peppermint, who’d been offhandedly listening to the two talk while working, could only raise a brow at Chai’s enthusiastic mention of making the Aegis a mixtape with how that brought to mind a Walkman. Between that and how the brunet was a proud owner of a freaking ancient MP3 player, it seemed to her that Chai had a preference for more retro forms of music players.

“Wait… talking about this is making me realize…” However, about a moment after readjusting on the couch, a realization seemed to occur to Chai that made him lift up his shirt once again to re-examine his arm’s Power Core Unit and more specifically, his stuck music player. As he suspected, while the lodged MP3 seemed to know exactly what sort of song to play in Chai’s playlist that fit his current mood and circumstances, there didn’t seem to be any actual way to properly interact with it now, or more specifically plug it into somewhere to get some more songs uploaded into it, “if my music player’s stuck in my chest now, does this mean I can’t upload any more songs to it?”

In response, Pyra leaned forward a bit in her seat as she once again took in the robotic prosthetic’s Power Core Unit and the two objects of interest floating around within. As far as the Aegis could tell, there didn’t appear to be any way to manually interact with it, much less get it out from Chai’s chest without any long-term problems. “As far as I can tell, I don’t see any way for you to fiddle with it while it’s in there, so yes. I’m afraid so, it seems like. Though I’ll admit I’m not the expert here.”

“Yeah, no, there’s no getting that out or uploading new songs to it without another round of surgery.” Peppermint added in, still situated and working at her desk as she said this.

“Oh maaaaan!” Chai was quick to let out a discouraged groan upon hearing that confirmation, slumping further back into the couch as he did so. As all this happened, Pyra wasn’t quite sure what to say in response to Driver’s grief, merely looking at him with a bemused expression on her face.

“Okay, if the thing you’re stuck on is just that and not about how you got stuff lodged in your chest, then what’s stopping you from just buying another one after all this is done with? MP3s are probably dirt-cheap in this day and age.” Peppermint couldn’t help but ask, a questioning look on her face as she addressed Chai.

“Yeah, and I’m kinda dirt-broke at the moment!” Chai shot back irritably, letting out another discouraged groan before collapsing back into the couch, making a point to even cover his eyes with his scarf to really hammer home his newfound dreary mood. At the sight of this, the Aegis could once again only muffle her slightly amused chuckles, a bead of sweat still running down the side of her face before she tentatively reached over to give her Driver a reassuring pat on the head.

*Grumbleeee…*

Before Pyra’s dainty hand could ruffle up Chai’s brown locks, however, she was stopped when the sound of grumbling began to emanate from the brunet’s waist. Perking up at that and flicking his scarf out of his face, Chai just placed his robotic hand over his now-empty stomach before returning Pyra’s gaze. “...I take it you’re hungry?”

“Yeah, my meals were kinda scarce when I was making my way over here. Didn’t exactly have the chance to try and get breakfast today, either.” Chai admitted, his previous dreary attitude and irritation were forgotten in wake of his hunger pangs. In any case, he thought as he then turned towards Peppermint, this would at least allow him to see what this place had going for it in the ‘snacks’ department. “So, Peppermint, since we’re apparently gonna be hunkering down here while we help you with that ‘Spectrum’ stuff, you got anything good to eat? All that running around and fighting made me pretty hungry for sure.”

“Yeah, I got some stuff you guys can eat.” Peppermint affirmed, both Chai and Pyra watching curiously as she got up from her chair before walking towards the door of what looked to be a pantry. “I didn’t know how long I was gonna be here for when I was setting things up, so I just made sure to get the essentials. Stuff that’ll last a while. Here, catch.” Upon finishing that statement, Peppermint then suddenly tossed several objects -two plastic bottles and two small, cardboard boxes- towards the couch, with both him and the Aegis stumbling to catch them. Both the bottle and box Peppermint threw towards Chai hit him square in the face before tumbling onto his stomach, causing him to groan and rub his now-tender forehead, while Pyra’s own attempt to catch them had her fumbling with the box before dropping it, with her only barely managing to keep her hands on the bottle. Blinking and holding the bottle away from herself, the Aegis then saw that the hacker tossed her a plastic bottle of water.

“Hmm… and what are these?” Pyra couldn’t help but ask, only to get her answer when she picked the box up and got a better look at it; as it turned out, Peppermint tossed both her and Chai some boxes of snack bars with fruit filling and whole grains.

“What, seriously!? Is water and fruit bars really all you got down here?” As one might expect, Chai was quick to complain when he put two and two together and realized that breakfast bars and water were all Peppermint had down here when it came to sustenance, personally having more of a preference for pizza or a nice, juicy burger, to say nothing of his preference for energy drinks.

“I was kind of inclined to stock up on these with how they take a while to expire and how I have no clue how long I’ll even be down here for. It might not be the fanciest kind of meal available, but hey, no going hungry or thirsty.” Was the hacker’s immediate retort, tone predictably dry and unamused in response to Chai’s complaints.

“...Back again to living off breakfast bars and water. Cool. Awesome. And here I thought I left the college dorm life behind.” Chai groaned out with an unamused expression, taking a moment to look between the box of the breakfast snacks he had in one hand and the bottle of water he had in the other before shooting a question over to Pyra, who had already unwrapped a strawberry bar and currently chewing on a bite of it with an appraising expression. “Now I’m wondering; do you think if we ordered delivery, they’d come all the way down here?”

“Discounting the fact that you said you were broke a few minutes ago, we’re not gonna be testing that theory out with how it’d completely compromise the security of this place.” An irritable Peppermint pointed out. “Again, since you’re having trouble comprehending it, this is a hideout, not a hangout, so don’t go and do anything that would lead security right to us.”

“Personally, I’m still a little stuck on that ‘delivery’ remark you mentioned, Chai. You mean have someone delivering food here? Who? And how would that work? How would we even contact them?” Pyra asked curiously after swallowing, fairly certain that her Driver was referring to some mundane luxury his world had on hand, but unsure of the specifics beyond that.

“...Your world is sounding sadder and sadder with every detail I keep hearing about it, Pyra.” Was all the Driver in question could think to say in response to the notion of a world that not just lacked the various commonplace music genres here, not just lacked awesome video games to play, but also didn’t even have the luxury of pizza delivery.

The rest of the afternoon and evening in the Hideout continued mostly like this, with both Chai and Pyra idling about and conversing while Peppermint worked out the final details in her imminent plan to acquire more information on what exactly SPECTRA was.

Hi-Fi Rush OST: Boss (Vandelay theme)

“Well Kale, we're all here… well, everyone except Korsica, that is.” Mimosa began, making no effort to hide the naked disdain she had for the company's Head of Security as she spoke. “Are you finally going to stop keeping us all in suspense and show us this grand reveal we all had to be in-person for?”

True to the Head of Marketing’s word, every single one of Vandelay Technologies’ Top Brass was present in Kale’s lab when he gave them all the go-ahead to come up, the only executive absent being the tech company’s redheaded Head of Security. Both she and Roquefort mostly looked bored at the proceedings beyond mild intrigue at whatever Kale had under wraps, whereas Rekka was standing nearby with her arms crossed and impatient scowl on her face and Zanzo had a rather gormless look of wide-eyed anticipation on his face as he waited to see what breakthrough in science their boss planned to present to them.

The CEO in question didn’t answer initially, instead taking another moment to scan the terminal connected to his latest invention for any possible errors. Satisfied with the lack of issues that came up from the scan, Kale finally turned to address his subordinates, the look on his face neutral. “...For starters, you can all consider what I've put together here to be a… precaution in the event that defect and the Blade he's bonded to make it past security.” Kale then paused for a moment, considering the wording of his explanation, before he went into the specifics of what he had in mind. “If there’s at least one good thing that’s come out of this damn defect issue, it’s that the footage of that loser’s surgery showed me how to properly bond these Core Crystals to a person and draw out their power. Didn’t even take much work once I knew what I had to do, I just had to repurpose one of the Armstrong implant machines to work with those Crystals. Now that we have a reliable means to do so, I’ve arranged it so that each of you will have one of those Core Crystals placed into your implants that best suits your respective personalities and enhancements’ capabilities.” This clarification garnered varying looks of intrigue from both Roquefort and Mimosa, an expression (and pose) of exaggerated fascination and surprise from Zanzo… and thoroughly incensed Rekka.

“WHAT!? That’s why you made Rekka come all the way over here!? Rekka don’t need a damn partner to crush that defect punk and that little bimbo followin’ him around! You forgettin’ who the Big Boss was before you brought her on to handle Production, Kale!?” The Head of Production was referring to her past career as a professional wrestling champion with an undefeated streak. Rekka's career had been so successful and her undefeated streak had gone on for so long without any sort of proper challenge that she'd eventually grown bored and discontent with things till Kale came around. All the tan-skinned CEO had needed to do was assure Rekka that her talents would be put to much better, stimulating use as his company's Head of Production and that her salary would make her current income as a Professional Wrestling Champion look like chump change. (The latter of which was an easy promise to make when you were head of the largest and most successful tech company in the world.)

“Huh, for once, I can actually see where she’s coming from this time amid all the screaming.” Roquefort pointed out dryly, ignoring the incensed glare Rekka sent him as he addressed his boss. “Considering how much more powerful our cybernetics and enhancements are compared to the commercial junk we’re giving out to the Armstrong subjects, I have my doubts that this punk and his girlfriend would be a problem if they actually did make it past all our security. At worst, we all know I'd be able to handle them without issue with this body you gave me.” The Head of Finance continued, an impassive look on his face as he waited for his boss’s (likely irritable) response.

“Yes Roquefort, I'm not blind to this fact seeing as how I was the one who personally designed and approved your enhancements…! But that's beside the point.” Kale shot back irritably, having to make a point to regain control of his temper and recompose himself before continuing. “While I normally wouldn't consider a defect running around with a waste disposal arm to be high on my list of concerns, the fact that he's also bonded to what's easily the most unique and powerful specimen we dragged over from that other world complicates matters. Add onto that all those music powers of his and what happened to our primary Quality Assurance unit, and I’d frankly rather err on the side of caution. Furthermore Rekka, I categorically do not care if you don’t feel like you need the assistance of the Blade I selected for you. If you want to keep your position as Head of Production, then you will be undergoing this procedure with minimal complaints.” As he said that in particular, Kale made a point to send a sharp glare Rekka's way to better hammer home that this was not a negotiation. The brawny woman's scowled worsened for a moment before her arms eventually fell to her side and she silently nodded in understanding. Satisfied with his unruly subordinate’s response, Kale then turned his sharp gaze to the rest of the executives present. “This applies for the rest of you as well. I’m not taking any chances here when I’m on the cusp of achieving great things with this company.”

“So long as whoever you selected for me understands that I’m the queen of spin and that the spotlight is mine alone to enjoy, then fine. I shouldn’t have any issues with this.” Mimosa merely shrugged in response, in no rush to argue with her boss about this like Rekka boorishly tends to do and seeing no issue with it as long as this didn't interfere with her dailies.

“Indeed! I shall happily participate in this experiment regardless of which Blade you have selected for me, sir, though I at least hope whichever one you selected can even hope to keep up with my magnificent intellect!” 

“With how much of a grandstanding dullard you actually are, then it shouldn't be too hard a task if that's all you want from it.” Roquefort couldn't help but interject, a sarcastic tone in his voice as he gave the overly eccentric and money-burning R&D head the stink eye, one the green haired man didn't hesitate to return.

“Don't you dare belittle my intelligence, you penny-pinching mutt!”

“Call me that again you scatter-brained moron! See what happens!”

“Both of you save your snarling and hissing for after we're done here. You both know I don't like having my time wasted.” Kale barked out before things could escalate any further. When both Roquefort and Zanzo immediately settled down in response -albeit with the both of them giving one another mutual looks of contempt- Kale then returned his focus to the terminal connected to his repurposed invention and then brought up the profiles for the four Rare Blades Kale had deemed the best matches for his subordinates. “Now then, like I already said, I took the time to go over the particularly rare specimens we brought over from that other world, gauging their abilities and personalities. In terms of both personalities and powers, the ones I selected should only compliment your own abilities and roles here.”

Upon finishing that explanation, Kale then turned and leaned slightly back against the terminal as he addressed the other executives, a slight smirk on his face as he asked the big question. “So. Are we going to have any volunteers for who goes first?”

“Fine! Let's just get this shitshow done with, already!” And if Roquefort, Mimosa, and Zanzo had anything in response to say, then they were immediately beaten to the punch by Rekka, who was already striding towards Kale and his ‘Blade Awakening surgery machine’ with an annoyed scowl on her face.

“...I'd say this is a surprise with how vehemently you opposed this a second ago, but I'm also well-aware this sort of attitude is in-character for you, Rekka.” Kale couldn’t help but point out, raising a brow slightly as he addressed Rekka.

Rekka could only scoff in annoyance at that observation before squinting towards the computer screen. “So, which one are you setting Rekka up with, Boss?” Kale said nothing in response to that question, instead merely pointing towards the profile picture of the Blade he selected for Rekka.

Looking to where Kale was pointing, the first thing the brawny woman noticed about the humanoid figure selected for her (beyond her odd, greenish gray skin) was just how utterly scrawny she looked, at least in comparison to her!

“...You're kidding. You're SERIOUSLY telling Rekka you're gonna lump her up with that scrawny little thing!?” Rekka exclaimed in outrage, only to get an unamused stare from Kale before he tapped on the upper end of the screen where the girl was displayed… specifically towards the set of massive and muscular gloved hands holding an equally massive sheathed katana.

“And here I thought the colossal set of extra arms that could snap someone in two like a twig would've been the first things that caught your interest.” Kale observed dryly, watching as Rekka took in the Blade girl's colossal 2nd set of arms with a slightly wide-eyed look on her face.

“Oohh… Okay, you've finally got Rekka's attention now, Boss.” Was all the ex-wrestler had to say after another moment's silence, the surprisingly level and calm tone in her voice a stark contrast to her usual demeanor.

And upon seeing that he now properly had Rekka's attention, a pleased and smug smirk crept onto Kale's face.

Back at the Hideout where our unlikely group of heroes had taken residence, several hours had passed since the arrival of the Driver and Blade duo, with the sun currently beginning to slowly peek up from beyond the horizon. Given that the Hideout was underneath the streets of Vandelay Campus, neither Chai, 808, nor Pyra were aware of this fact, each of them still soundly sleeping away at their respective couches, with 808 in particular having curled up and hunkered down right on the sleeping slacker’s chest. The only person present who was both awake and aware of the current hour was Peppermint, and she was still putting the finishing touches on her plan for today’s infiltration into the main Production office.

“Okay, aaaaaaaand… done!” Peppermint thought aloud, a satisfied expression creeping onto her face, which was currently illuminated by the light-blue glow of her computer screen, which was the only thing currently lighting the Hideout up since Chai and Pyra called it in for the night.

With a satisfied smile plastered onto her face, the tan-skinned hacker then spun around in her chair before clapping her hands together twice, abruptly illuminating the Hideout in light as a result. As one would imagine, the sudden flood of bright light into the room did a good job of rousing its sleeping occupants back to consciousness, with Pyra slowly opening her eyes and letting out a muted yawn while her Driver dealt with the wake-up call in his own groggy manner.

“Uuuuurgh, God. That is the worst wake-up call imaginable…” Chai groaned out, running both hands through his face and hair in an attempt to wake himself up. “Well, as far as couches I’ve crashed on goes, that one was actually pretty comfy. Brr! Coulda’ used a blanket though…”

“Well, next time ask for one, or check around the storage room for something. Anyway, both of you have something to eat and drink if you’re thirsty, use the bathroom if you gotta, and when you’re ready, we can go over today’s mission.” Was Peppermint’s unsympathetic response, eliciting an annoyed roll of the eyes from the brunet.

“Understood. I’ll try not to be too long.” Pyra spoke before getting up from her own couch and making her way to the bathroom. For his part, Chai just took this time to have another fruit bar, quickly scarfing the grainy breakfast snack into his mouth before opting to down it with the rest of the bottle of energy drink he’d been happy to stumble across in the Hideout’s storage room last night.

Feeling a burst of energy from the green colored drink, Chai then proceeded to unruffle and dust off his clothes with an extra spring in his step. Upon making sure his scarf was properly on right and looked good, the excitable slacker then made use of his phone’s camera feature to make sure he looked presentable… and all while making sure to dutifully ignore all the unanswered calls and unread texts that his parents left him since embarking on this whole odyssey to Vandelay Island. ‘Yeah I don’t even know where to begin trying to explain this to them, and y’know what? That’s a problem for ‘far in the future’ Chai.’

“OK!” It was as Chai finished that exclamation that he noticed Pyra stepping out of the bathroom and looking ready for the day as well, prompting him to hop up from his seat and back onto his feet with a clap of his hands. “Ready when you and Pyra are, Peppermint. What’s the grand plan?”  

“Alright! Both of you check this out!” Peppermint began, her tone notably enthusiastic before she laid today’s plans out on the table for both Chai and Pyra to see… literally too, in this case.

MISSION REPORT!

So, this SPECTRA program is, like I said, top secret, and only the Top Brass of the company have info on it

-Why are you so worried? ‘SPECTRA’ could be anything.

-Given our past interactions with this company just yesterday, I’m not exactly inclined to believe they’re hiding anything benign, Chai…

Yeah, and if Pyra pointing out the obvious isn’t enough to convince you, then I can also tell you I got a source on the inside compounding this theory.

-Sure, whatever.

Anyway, what we’re gonna be doing is going back up to the Production Facility. Using my skills, Pyra’s fire, (and your powers), we break into the Production Head’s office. To be clear, that’d be Rekka -That lady who wouldn’t stop screaming murder at the both of you- and with any luck, she’ll be too busy cleaning the mess you both left at QA to be up in her office. We access her computer, steal the files on SPECTRA, and get out.

-Cool, cool… I wasn’t listening, but it sounds quick and easy.

-I’ll… make sure to walk you through any particulars you end up forgetting, Chai.

Probably for the best… actually, no, definitely for the best. Now, while you’re both away, I can sync 808 up with Chai’s Armstrong tech. Still working out a few more kinks, but I should be able to figure out a few extra tricks for you once I get things down.

-Wait, you’re not coming along with us?

Nah, I’m not stupid or durable enough to go on a mission like this. I’ll leave that up to you two.

-Sheesh, rude. The hell did Pyra do to earn being called dumb, Peppermint?

-Chai, I… don’t exactly think she was talking about me just then…” Pyra couldn’t help but point out, feeling both slightly exasperated and a bead of sweat run down her face as she addressed her oblivious Driver. Peppermint had clearly been referring to Pyra when she mentioned not being ‘durable’ enough, leaving both girls perplexed and with varying levels of exasperation. “Well, in the brief time I’ve known him, he has shown himself to be surprisingly resilient. I suppose it’s a fair assumption to think Peppermint meant him when she said that…” Though even as she rationalized that, the redhead knew deep down this was just another example of her Driver being concerningly oblivious and airheaded.

“No, I wasn’t. ” Peppermint interjected dryly. “Any questions now?”

“...Well, now that you mentioned it, I just gotta ask; Did you spend all last night drawing all this up?” Chai made a point to give Peppermint a very unamused look at her implicitly calling him stupid before asking a question that had been on his mind since Peppermint proudly brought out what looked to be a homemade comic-book detailing their plans for Production. “Was all THIS the ‘details’ you mentioned working on yesterday?”

“I had… other things to work out too, not just that, alright?” Peppermint said after a moment’s hesitation, her tone both defensive and slightly embarrassed.

“Hey, I’m not knocking it. Honestly impressive in my book that you drew all this up while we were sleeping.” Chai remarked, an impressed smile on his face as he took a moment to skim through all the pages of the ‘plan’ (read: homemade comic book). Judging by the surprising quality of the panels and how Peppermint apparently put all this together in a single night, all while Pyra herself leaned in a bit closer to get a curious look at the illustrations of herself and her three newfound friends, intrigue clear on her face, it was clear to both the wannabe rocker and his Blade companion that tech and hacking weren’t Peppermint’s only talents. “Anyway, on a more relevant note, how are we gonna get over to Production? With how you’ve kept going on about ‘secrecy’ and stuff, I’m guessing you don’t exactly want us walking on the streets, right?”

At that question, Peppermint perked up considerably, a confident smile on her face as she began to speak. “Now that, I’m glad you asked. Between the sewers, maintenance tunnels, and the underground magma cavern lab,” She began to explain, apparently not noticing the looks of shock on both Chai and Pyra’s faces at that last thing she mentioned. “The tunnels underneath the island lead to manholes and exit points all over Vandelay Campus. The one I’m planning to guide you guys to will put you both right at the Production Facility’s doorstep.”

“Alright. Well then, if that’s everything -and well, assuming you don’t want to explain that ‘underground magma cavern lab’- then let’s not waste anymore time.” As Pyra said this, a small smile made its way onto her face when she noticed 808 floating into arm’s length in her ball-form, prompting the Aegis to pet her behind the ears. “I take it you’ll be guiding us with 808 like you did yesterday, Peppermint?”

“You know it. I’ll make sure to keep you guys in the right direction on the way,” Peppermint explained before shooting a dry look at Chai. “Try to stay on track this time instead of wandering off again, alright?”

“Wasn’t exactly planning on sight-seeing through dark, damp tunnels that all look the same, sooo…” At the slacker’s flippant response, Peppermint merely rolled her eyes before silently taking her ‘mission report’ off the table and returning to her desk. When it was clear there was nothing more to say, both Chai and Pyra began to walk towards the Hideout’s main exit. Though as they reached the door, the brunet turned towards the Aegis with an important question on his mind. “Hey so, on our way, I think it’s important that we go over our entrances into the scene.”

“Entrances…?” Pyra asked in curiosity, giving a slight tilt of her head as she waited for Chai to elaborate.

“ Yeah!” Chai exclaimed as they both walked out the Hideout’s exit, 808’s LED lights illuminating the tunnels more brightly than yesterday, which combined with Pyra’s own glowing, meant for a much less dark and uneasy trip through these tunnels. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a band venue, start of a secret mission, or what, a cool, flashy entrance is always a necessity if we have time to plan it out. Doubly so if you have super powers that lets you jump around like we do. On our way over, we should definitely decide on pulling some cool, flashy ways of arriving on the scene!”

“Well, I… don’t think that’s necessary, but I also suppose there’s no harm in it. Did you have anything specific in mind?” Pyra admitted after a moment’s thought, her curious gaze continuing to bore into Chai.

“Very glad you asked!”

*Ruuuuumble…*

Above ground, back on the campus proper, the lingering remnants of dusk finally cleared away as the sun gradually rose up beyond its spot on the horizon. Naturally, this resulted in the early-morning atmosphere Vandelay Island had been host to quickly fading away, all while signaling that the day had officially begun. (Not that one would know this from a passing examination of their surroundings, mind you. With how obsessed Vandelay Technologies was with making maximum profits at a minimum cost, it naturally meant that Worker Droids were almost always manning the campuses many different facilities and putting in that crunch nearly every hour of the day, seven days a week.)

The bright, sunny day and rays of sun beaming down onto the campus also better illuminated one of the manhole covers on one of the paths leading up to Rekka’s main Production Facility, and in particular, how it suddenly began to rapidly vibrate and rumble.

*BASH!*

And no sooner than a second or two after this rumbling began, the cover for the manhole suddenly burst out from the ground and into the sky, followed quickly by the energetic forms of both Chai and 808, both of whom made a point to stylishly pose mid-air upon reaching the apex of their launch into the sky.

*Twhip!*

“I’m here, baby…” The brunet boasted with a confident smirk, making a point to top off his entrance with an appropriate ‘superhero landing pose’ upon landing (With 808 landing on top of his back in a similar manner), all culminating in an entrance that Chai was positive would make a certain movie loving Henshin Hero proud if he bore witness to it…

*...Who are you talking to?* Of course, the high Chai felt at his stylish entrance quickly wore off when Peppermint bluntly asked him that question via 808 not even a moment later. Upon seeing the airheaded brunet give his surroundings a confused look over in response to his question, seeing for himself that he was basically talking to himself just a moment ago, the hacker merely rolled her eyes before continuing. *Forget it, just… head to Rekka’s office. You can see it up there* She said, gesturing through 808 upwards at a particularly colorful tower with side decorations identical to Rekka’s crosshawk up ahead.

“Pretty high up…” Chai remarked as he looked at his current objective. 

*Ruuuumble…*

It was then, however, that he was reminded of how he wasn’t the only humanoid going on this mission when he heard the manhole rumbling again behind him. “Hoo, sweet! This oughta be cool to watch from the outside.” Well aware that this signified Pyra’s imminent arrival as well as the fact that she was also planning a stylish entrance, Chai merely stood a few feet away from the manhole lid, an expectant smile on his face. Peppermint meanwhile, just had 808 silently roll her eyes on her behalf, still bemused that he managed to convince the redheaded Blade to follow his lead about making a flashy entrance.

*BURST!* *FWOOM!*

As he figured, Pyra’s own take on a flashy and stylish entrance out the manhole had considerably more flare (Ha! Another one for the books) than Chai’s own, with vivid flames bursting out from the manhole’s edges and momentarily flaring out at all ends, prompting the brunet to shield his face with his left arm. Thankfully, he still had a good view of the Aegis flying out of the hole much like he did, flames trailing behind her like she was a rocket. At the peak of her launch, rather than go for a pose like he and 808 did, Pyra instead opted to cap things off with a mighty swing of her sword, briefly leaving an extravagant trail of fire behind her as she did so.

“Woo! Badass!” The brunet exclaimed with impression, enjoying the spectacle of Pyra’s fiery entrance with a broad smile. Immediately after this, the Aegis descended to the ground and touched down with a crouch.

”A-Alright, I think that went well. Certainly funny trying to show off at someone’s encouragement…” Pyra remarked as she began to rise up from her crouching position and look up from the ground. With how she, or at least… her previous self, made a point to flaunt her abilities, power, and alleged superiority as the Aegis, and with how in retrospect, she saw how Addam attempted to curb those traits in her, it was a rather funny contrast having her new Driver encourage her to show off and flaunt her abilities during her entrance. Still, Pyra wouldn’t deny that in the… heat (Ha, she was beginning to understand Chai’s love of lame puns more and more) of the moment, getting to show off like she did just now was much more fun and exhilarating than she expected. It also helped that sealed and restrained as they were, her powers weren’t nearly as destructive as they were previously… “How was that, Chai? Would you say that was a ‘stylish’ enough entraaaCHAI! YOUR SCARF!”

“Huh? What about my scaaaooooOOOH CRAP!”

…Only for that good feeling to get kinda nullified when she was then greeted with Chai’s scarf and his yellow jacket having caught fire on the end and on several places, respectively.

From there, the next few moments consisted mainly of the voluptuous redhead and her airheaded companion panicking and flailing about as they both tried to put out the various bits of Chai’s body that were on fire.

Additionally, as one might imagine, Peppermint merely had 808 silently watch on with a deadpan expression, sighing through her robotic pet as she had her facepalm.

“I-I am SO sorry! I-I was just trying to-! I-I mean…!” Pyra began hastily, stumbling over her words with how infectious her Driver’s panic was. Upon seeing Chai calm down a bit after finally snuffing out his on-fire scarf and other bits of his clothes that caught fire, the Aegis felt some of her own composure return to her, allowing the next words out of her mouth to sound considerably more put-together. “I… I didn’t burn you, did I…?”

“W-Wha? Pfffft! No, I’m fine, just uh… a little crispy in some spots. Cool entrance by the way! The pyrotechnics were a nice touch… singed clothes notwithstanding, anyway…” Chai was quick to hastily wave off Pyra’s concerns, personally more concerned with recomposing himself now that the fires on his clothes were out and he wasn’t smoking anywhere.

“O-Oh, well… I suppose I’m glad that little accident didn’t detract from your opinion of my entrance, then.” Was all Pyra could say, blinking in surprise at the sudden compliment. It really was a funny thing, seeing the brunet keep bouncing back from constant physical misfortune while barely skipping a beat.

“Hell yeah, it was awesome! Viewtiful, even!” Chai nodded enthusiastically.

“Viewtiful?* Both Pyra and Peppermint repeated at the same time, only for Chai to shrug off their questioning looks.

“Eh, forget what I said.” Said Chai, thinking better of what he just said.

Peppermint just rolled her eyes through 808 before saying. *Anyway, you two will have to head through the main Production building, but I’ll be your guide. Try to keep a low profile. And Pyra, please try to make sure he keeps a low profile.* She finished, sounding a bit exasperated.

“Understood” Pyra nodded in acknowledgement.

“Alright, alright! Buzzkill.” Chai grumbled out in annoyance as he brought out his Scrap Guitar. 808 then leapt to his shoulder before jumping off of it, turning into her ball form. “Welp! We’re burning daylight, so let’s bust a move and get going!” He declared confidently as he then leapt over and down the nearby railing behind them and began to trek towards the towering building that was Rekka’s office, with 808 retaking control not even a moment after this and began to float after the brunet. On her own end, Pyra could only let out a light sigh before re-sheathing her sword and quickly following Chai down the stairs.

“You ready to have some fun, 808?” Chai asked his feline companion with a smile, and that smile only got more prominent when she gave him an enthusiastic nod in response. “Oh yeah, I think she’s ready~.”

“Hmhm~. I’ve never seen an animal act so similar in personality to another person, and you’re not even her owner.” Pyra couldn’t help but note with a light giggle. Between this exchange and their playing with one another back at the Hideout, it was becoming quickly apparent that her Driver and their feline friend operated on the same wavelength, and the Aegis couldn’t help but be amused by their antics so far.

“Well, guess that just means she has an awesome personality.” Chai responded, eyes closed and a confident smile on his face. “So what about you? You pumped and ready that we’re about to embark on our first big adventure?”

“Well, I mean… wouldn’t yesterday count as our ‘first big adventure?’” Pyra couldn’t help but ask in confusion, figuring with how yesterday culminated in them fighting and defeating a murderous, giant Artifice-sized robot, that it would count as their first proper adventure instead.

“Yeaaah, but that was moreso us STUMBLING into adventure. Today, we’re deliberately going out to kick ass and take names! Big difference in my book.” Chai answered easily, and Pyra once again found herself letting out several muted chuckles while Peppermint was in the middle of rubbing her head in exasperation back at the Hideout.

“If nothing else, I’m certainly expecting a memorable day ahead of us, Chai.”

To be continued…

Alrighty, and that’s that. Again, I’m very sorry for how long this took to get out. It’s generally been a rough couple of months for me and the fact that I spent the brunt of those months reeling from Tango’s closure didn’t help my mood or writing motivation. I know I said something like this last time, but I really am hoping to more consistently get more chapters to this story out going forward. Just hope no more goddamn cosmic anvils end up landing…

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed… and I’m going to do everything in my power to ensure the next chapter won’t be nearly 50 pages and take several friggin’ months to complete ._.

Oh, also! Cookie to whoever notices the reference I left to the other corporate-styled spectacle fighter featuring a protagonist with timing-based combos and a robotics megacorporation setting.

Chapter Text

SURPRISE! I’M ALIVE! SHOCKING, I KNOW ._.

Urgh… I don’t even know where to start. I guess maybe with the fact that I’ve been job hunting and steadily bleeding money since October and only recently found myself another steady form of income, so having that constantly hanging over my head was kind of putting an active damper on my progress writing. I finally found something though! (and hopefully no cosmic anvils will fall on me) topped off by how I also more or less completed the Torna expansion!

I very much apologize for how long this chapter took to get out and hope that no one minds its admittedly daunting size. I hope that regardless of the latter, it’s nonetheless considered enjoyable. Without going into too much detail, we don’t get to Rekka’s fight on this Track, but I’d nonetheless say that interesting developments go down this chapter.

XENOBLADE RUSH

Track 4: Power Up, (Part 2 of 3)

REO
Production Destruction
Hi-Fi Rush originals
Bethesda Softworks

Both Chai and Pyra kept a steady pace as they jogged down the only pathway available to them, both their footsteps happening in time to the beat of the music playing from the former’s MP3.

“Goodness, that’s a large building, and it looks so expansive to top it all off. I know that Rekka’s office is likely on the highest floor, but if we don’t know where we’re going… well, then this could take a while.”

*No worries about that, Pyra. One very nice perk you and Chai got going for yourselves now that we’re working together is that I can usually hack open locked doors on the campus. Between 808 letting me see what you guys are seeing and how I got the Production facility’s blueprints on-hand, it means I can give you guys the most straightforward path available to Rekka’s office. Hell, if nothing goes off the rails, we might not even have to deal with any security on our way there at all.* Peppermint explained through 808, a hint of pride in her tone as she said all this, with Pyra nodding in understanding as she spoke, a small, pleased smile on her face. 

“Kickass! Well, let’s blaze on through then!” Chai was similarly pleased with all this information, giving neither girl any time to respond before he eagerly went further ahead, repeatedly triple-dodging in time to the music’s beat as he did so.

*...Well, assuming no one blows our cover anyway.* Peppermint said after a moment, 808’s deadpan, half-lidded expression reflecting her own back at the Hideout as an increasingly familiar sense of exasperation crept up on her.

“I-I’m… I’m sure it’ll be fine, Peppermint.” Pyra was quick to try and reassure her new friend and ally, but an unpleasant sinking feeling settling in the fire Aegis’s gut kept her from sounding as confident as she would’ve liked.

“Maybe keep a close eye on him just to be safe, yeah?” Was the hacker’s closing statement on the matter, her tone making it clear she was unconvinced before she had 808 rapidly float after Chai. On her own part, Pyra could only let out a quiet sigh at both Peppermint and frankly her own lack of faith in her Driver’s ability to be subtle before moving quickly to catch up with them.

‘Well, hope springs eternal, though with how Chai and subtly clearly don’t seem to mix together, Peppermint’s definitely right in that I should be ready for anything, especially a fight.’ That thought had Pyra unconsciously grip onto the handle of her Aegis Sword, making sure it was still firmly sheathed before catching up with Chai, which ended up being a surprisingly easy task to accomplish with how he slowed to a stop to overhear a conversation between two VA-SERs.

*Still can’t believe you actually got a drink outta that thing.* The two worker robots appeared to be on break as one of them was sitting back against a wooden bench with a can of Vandelay-branded soda in hand.

*Heh, if you hit the machine juuuuust right, it won’t eat your credits. Take it from a master like me!* The orange-colored VA-SER sitting on the bench proclaimed confidently, emphasizing his words by taking a hearty swig of his canned drink… the sight of which left Chai and especially Pyra rather baffled.

“...M…Machines in this world can… eat and drink?” The fire Aegis couldn’t help but ask with a baffled tone and look on her face. The day had barely even begun before this world opted to shove another outlandish sight in her face that trumped the last one.

“Definitely looks that way, yeah…” Chai added, a similarly baffled look on his face, albeit less so than Pyra’s own. He had heard a thing or two about how Vandelay’s robots had such revolutionary technological and AI advancements to them, that they could not only talk and think, but even eat, drink, and sleep like any other person. All that being said, hearing is one thing, seeing it firsthand is another thing entirely, and Chai hadn’t really cared enough at the time to check if there was any sort of practical point or application to the latter three features. With all that in mind, he decided that there was no time like the present to change that… “...Hey. So uh… does drinking that, like, do anything for you guys or what?” The question made Chai subsequently wonder if Vandelay’s robots had built-in taste buds too before something else occurred to him. “Wait, that’s not like a can of motor oil or anything, right?”

The two VA-SERs merely exchanged a look at Chai’s line of incessant questions before the one on the bench merely held out the can clearly for them both to see. The words ROQUEFORT ESPRESSO were printed across the can’s top while the face of a dark-skinned man of advanced age -presumably the titular ‘Roquefort’- was printed right in the middle, giving a toothy sneer to any observers. *I mean, unless espresso suddenly counts as a new form of machine fuel, not really, kid. Though it does have silver extract if the ingredients list isn’t lying.* The VA-SER commented dryly before downing another swig of the caffeinated beverage. *Anyway, to answer your question, doesn’t really do enough of anything to really be practical, to be perfectly honest. Setting yourself up at a charging station is a lot more efficient, but in this line a’ work, you take any sort of luxuries you can get. Which is exactly why I’m gonna milk this break for every second I got of it and enjoy a little pick-me-up while I'm at it.*

*Eugh, speaking of, I gotta say; getting a break only once every three months? Let me tell ya… kiiiinda stingy.* The standing VA-SER continued on, not noticing the way both Chai and Pyra balked at his casual mention of Vandelay’s work-force only getting a singular break every several months.

*Eh, could be worse. You could be in R&D.*

“Well, hearing all THAT suddenly makes me feel a lot better about being jobless…” Chai commented dryly, and Pyra could only mutely nod in agreement, an incredulous expression still on her face. A moment after saying this, a nearby vending machine, presumably the same one that VA-SER got his drink from, caught his eye, topped off by that remark about hitting them just right replaying in his head. “ Also makes me wanna break some more Vandelay property. So if you'll just excuse me…” And with that closing remark and a twirl of his Scrap Guitar, Chai then dashed over to the vending machine before proceeding to whale on it in-time to the beat like it was a security bot.

At the (frankly expected by now) sight of this, Pyra could only huff out a quiet laugh, a bead of sweat running down her face, before opting to take a quick look around their immediate surroundings. ‘So easily distracted…’

As her Driver spent the next minute or so vigorously smacking the vending machine around to the music’s beat, Pyra couldn’t help but notice a small, storage shed-like room off to the side next to the entrance into the Production facility. Opting to take a quick look inside while Chai occupied himself, Pyra poked her head through the doorway and near-immediately, the sight of another blue tablet in the corner caught her eye. Curiosity piqued, especially with how consistently bizarre the previous files she’d read were, Pyra didn’t hesitate to pick up the tablet and read through its contents, and just like the last few Vandelay-related documents she read, her face gradually fell as she read through its contents.

Unsent Complaint 

Email Draft Unsent from O5-KAR ID# 671993

//////////

To the HR department,

I don’t want to make a disturbance, but being that I am in charge of taking care of the Production Central Garden, I am curious over the reason for its existence.

Our ads tell people that it is for interoffice communication, but employees are requested to NOT go into the garden.

This is confusing for the employees since it is beautified but never used. Never mind the amount of work I and the cleanup team put into making it look immaculate.

Also, I am questioning the intent of the world’s largest hedge maze inside this as well…

Much like when she read about the… innovative ‘expanded battery pack’ recently made by Vandelay’s R&D Department, Pyra felt an increasing look of baffled confusion creep onto her face as she read through the document. “...So these people apparently go out of their way to prepare a fancy, public-use garden… only to completely bar their workers from enjoying it…? What is WRONG with the people running this company…!?” This feeling was also topped off by an increasing sense of disdain for the people running this company and all the various stupid and petty things they decided upon, not the least of which was this asinine ‘request’ (READ: Rule) regarding these Production gardens.

At least when she, Addam, and the others were dealing with Malos, they had a clear goal to accomplish and the obvious reason and drive to do it, even if she'd been harboring her suspicions of the Praetorium and certain individuals within it. This wasn't even touching upon all the odd jobs they assisted Lora and Jin with. Those tasks also had a clear goal and reward to go along with them, topped off by the job-givers being infinitely more pleasant and tolerable than what she'd seen of this company’s upper management.

All this though…? She couldn’t even begin to imagine how utterly miserable anyone working in this company would be with all these asinine rules and stipulations in place.

*SMASH!*

“HA! Jackpot!”

Before Pyra could dwell any further on this matter, she was brought back to the present at the sound of some machinery being smashed up followed by Chai’s excited exclamation. Already having a feeling as to what that sound was, the redhead silently walked back outside, and lo and behold, was greeted with Chai crouching down to pick up one of several beverage cans riddled all around the now-destroyed and smoking vending machine.

Covering her mouth as she let out some muted giggles at the sight of this, Pyra began to walk towards her Driver before speaking. “I take it your little side-activity went smoothly?” She asked, a small smile on her face as she watched Chai pick up several more cans before stuffing them into his coat’s inner pocket. Oddly enough, despite just one of them looking rather bulky, Chai was able to stuff them all into his coat without any issue, with there not even being any visual indication he’d even stuffed anything into his pockets. (Then again, on her travels with Addam, their group had collected a large variety of useful items that they carried around more often than not in their pockets even if, when thought about it logically, they shouldn’t have been able to carry them as easily as they did. So seeing Chai pocketing several cans on his jackets like this wasn’t that odd)

“Given the haul I just landed? Yeah, I’d say it went pretty well.” Was Chai’s immediate response, a satisfied look on his face as Pyra crouched down to pick up one of the cans that rolled into her foot. According to the can’s label, it was apparently a ‘sparking water’ (What exactly did that mean? Was it meant to indicate this water came from a particularly clean source?) that had orange juice mixed into it as well as…

‘’...Elegance?’ What does that even mean in this case?’ Pyra couldn’t help but wonder, tilting her head in confusion when her eyes settled on that part of the can.

*Klank.* 

Once again, the redhead was brought back to the present when she felt and heard another can lightly bump against the one she was holding. Blinking, Pyra then turned slightly to see a smiling Chai holding up a can that seemed to be styled after Rekka. “Welp! Given what we got on-hand now and how we haven’t properly set foot inside the building yet, I’d say that calls for a little drink and toast!” He explained in a chipper tone, capping off his sentence by snapping off his can’s tab.

“Oh! C-Certainly, that sounds lovely.” Pyra said, surprised by this sudden suggestion, but certainly not against any opportunity to build a bit of comradery and trust with her Driver. “Since it’s a toast, is there anything in particular we’re drinking to?”

“Uhmmm, in that case… how about a uh… toast toooo… Ah!” Chai trailed off upon getting asked that question, clearly having barely put any thought into this little idea beyond its initial proposal. However, after another moment of wracking his brain, a satisfactory answer came to the brunet cyborg. “How about a toast to free drinks and this whole mission going nice, quick and easy!”

At all that, Pyra couldn’t help but let out some muted, amused chuckles at her Driver’s behavior once more before also tapping her can against Chai’s. “Alright then. Certainly not against any of that~. To good health and a successful mission.” With that said, the Aegis then mimicked what Chai did with his own tab and snapped it off. She then proceeded to take an appraising sip of the can’s contents while her Driver heartily chugged his own down without hesitation.

“!” Pyra couldn’t help but bring her free hand to her mouth as the apparent water went down her throat, taken by surprise by just how… bubbly and fizzy it felt on her tongue. “Oof… Goodness, I certainly wasn’t expecting water to taste like that, even with it being from another world…”

*I take it they don’t have carbonated drinks back on Alrest?* Peppermint asked casually through 808, her cat raising a slight brow at the fire Blade’s response to the drink on her behalf. After everything the Aegis explained to them about the world of Alrest yesterday, such a notion didn’t surprise the hacker one bit. Even if someone can still readily make carbonated drinks with the right know-how and stuff, like dry ice or yeast depending on the method, making it widespread in a fantastical world where monsters were the least of peoples’ problems would be quite the challenge if one didn’t know the right people.

“First time I’ve heard of such a term, so I’d assume so. Like I said yesterday though, I’m definitely not the best source for details regarding my homeworld…” The Aegis reiterated, curious gaze still on her can before opting to take another gulp of its contents. The constant fizzling in her mouth was a bit irritating, but oddly addictive nonetheless. She also certainly enjoyed the orange-flavored tang it had. “Definitely feels like an acquired taste, though…”

*CRUNCH!*

Finding herself slightly startled at the loud sound of metal crunching up, Pyra turned to the source of the noise to see Chai crushing the can onto his forehead before tossing it behind him, the crumpled up can tumbling around the edge of a garbage can before falling in, a satisfied smile on his face all the while.

“...What? It was part of the serving suggestion! See?” Chai was quick to say when he saw the slightly befuddled look on his Blade companion’s face, kicking another one of Rekka’s branded drinks into his hand and showing her the instructions printed onto the can.

SERVING SUGGESTION

CHUG.
Crush can on forehead after consuming.

Please recycle!

“I… see. And here I was under the impression you didn’t like following instructions or rules.” Pyra couldn’t help but comment, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face as she took in the instructions in confusion. ‘...I suppose those ‘higher-ups’ had the final word on the printing details of their respective drinks.’

“Eh, that was one set of instructions I was down to follow,” Chai said with a wry smile, pocketing the extra can of apple juice via an inner pocket in his coat before pointing towards the main entrance with his Scrap Guitar. “Anyway, I’m good to get going when you are.”

“Certainly. High time we entered the building proper.” Pyra nodded, jogging at a steady pace as she followed her already-dashing Driver into the building… subsequently also leaving the two VA-SER units by the bench sitting/standing there, unsure what to make of or do with the conversation between the unwitting Driver and his Blade they just witnessed, their blatant unauthorized entry into the Production facility…. or the former’s gleeful vandalization of the nearby vending machine (which one of the VA-SERs accidentally provided the inspiration for, at that).

*So uhhh… should we go an’ report all that to Security?* The red VA-SER asked in an uncertain tone, scratching the back of his metallic head as he looked at where the unusual duo ran off into the building.

*Not my problem, just like how the mess that kid left isn’t mine either.* Meanwhile, the VA-SER that procured a drink from the now-destroyed vending machine made his own lack of caring on the matter clear as he leaned back on the bench, taking another swig out of his own drink to emphasize this.

*Yeah, definitely with ya there. Far as I’m concerned, this whole mess was made just after I finished my break and went back to my shift.* The standing VA-SER was quick to agree with his co-worker, showcasing a signature characteristic of laziness that much of their particular line was known for. He even took a moment to procure a drink for himself before they both made themselves scarce before any robot higher-up on the Vandelay hierarchy made fixing the broken vending machine their problem.

“Hey, there’s Kale! And that's… what's-her-face… the old Vandelay boss…”

The unlikely duo and their cat companion didn’t make it very far into the Production building, only making a single turn down the hallway from the entrance before they were greeted with a gigantic set of statues in a lobby-like room, one of which nearly reached the high-up ceiling.

“From what I’ve heard so far, I know ‘Kale’ is the current head of this company. Is that woman over there his predecessor, then…?” Pyra asked, a curious expression on her face as she eyed both statues.

*Yes, Pyra. ‘What’s-her-face’ there is Roxanne Vandelay, the one who founded this company when it was still ‘Vandelay Solutions’ and the reason it became the tech giant it is now.* Peppermint interjected suddenly, and Pyra found herself taken aback by the restrained anger in her voice as she explained who the woman was to the Aegis… anger that quickly became unrestrained when she had 808 turn to address Chai next. *She built the company from the ground-up, Chai! Know your history!*

“Geez, you don’t need to yell! Especially when you were all too happy to sum up who she is to Pyra a second ago!” Was Chai’s defensive response, confused and annoyed with their hacking ally blowing up at him out of nowhere. He wasn’t even trying to be a smartass or anything just now, he just didn’t bother to keep up with any history on who’s been in charge of Vandelay over the years. And why would he? The company didn’t exactly pique his interest till he heard they were giving away robotic limbs first come, first serve.

*Because she’s not from this world, so I wouldn’t expect her to!* Peppermint shot back heatedly, before exhaling and speaking again in a considerably more calm tone.*Just give credit where it’s due…*

“E-Either way, let’s all just calm down, alright? It was a simple misunderstanding, Peppermint, that’s all. I’m sure Chai isn’t the only one that doesn’t keep up with that sort of thing, even if you’re right that people should know their history.” Pyra, quickly realizing that for whatever reason, this was a sensitive topic for their new friend, made sure to play mediator and that neither the hacker nor her Driver re-escalated things.

*...You’re not wrong, Pyra, and that is unbelievably frustrating.* Peppermint sighed after a moment, both Chai and Pyra taken aback by her morose mood before the hacker in question focused back up. *Okay, whatever, let’s just get going…*

While Chai didn’t think too much of Peppermint’s outburst, Pyra on the other hand couldn’t help but feel there was more to that whole interaction than either of them currently knew. ‘Well, I shouldn’t press her on it. We only recently met afterall. Hopefully, she’ll be willing to confide in us down the line if it’s truly something that’s bothering her…’ With that thought in mind, Pyra merely nodded in response to Peppermint’s words before continuing on, at least until Chai lingered at the base of the statue, reading an inscription bolted there that had Kale and Roxanne’s names printed on it. “Chai?”

“Ah! Be right there.” Upon realizing that the two were waiting on him, Chai was quick to catch up with Pyra and 808 as they briskly continued towards another doorway at the statue’s back, which was their only route forward. Once again though, as they continued, the brunet slacker couldn’t help but once again bat for Vandelay’s current upper management. “So, maybe Roxanne founded the company, but Kale…! Cool dude, nice hair.” Indeed, all promotional media Chai had seen from both Project Armstrong and Vandelay Technologies in general presented Kale Vandelay as a rather cool, composed, and personable dude. Chai couldn’t deny he bought into the hype -that was part of why he was here after all- and the fact that he was still riding off the high of having a kickass robot arm that came with badass musical superpowers and let him kick all kinds of ass meant he didn’t mind playing Devil’s Advocate even after all the insanity and danger that’s happened since getting said arm.

*He’s riding off the coattails of a REAL pioneer.* Peppermint was quick to bluntly criticize once more. Thankfully, her tone was more ‘annoyed’ than ‘bitterly angry’ that time, though her disdain for Vandelay Technology’s current CEO was still apparent all the same.

“Sheesh, what’d he ever do to you?” Chai couldn’t help but ask, finally catching onto his hacking ally’s disdain for Kale and raising a brow as he opted to just get to the heart of the matter that was gnawing at Pyra’s and now his own curiosity. (Indeed, the former was silently but raptly listening along to the conversation all the while.)

*Let’s just focus on the mission.* However, any chance of immediate answers were dashed when Peppermint immediately (ha) avoided answering, keeping 808’s gaze trained on the hall ahead as she said this.

“Okaaay. Whatever then.” Realizing that trying to get a straight answer would be a waste of time, Chai merely shrugged off his initial curiosity before moving onward again. It was at this point that Pyra couldn’t help but speak up once again. However, whereas previously, the redhead’s questions had been regarding important details and facts about Earth, all to generally get a better understanding of her newfound environment…

“‘...Nice hair?’” …this time, the Aegis couldn’t help but focus in on Chai’s offhand remark that he apparently found the Vandelay CEO’s hair apparently good-looking. With that remark still in mind, Pyra cast her gaze back towards the statue of Kale, her gaze squinting as he focused in on his… very loud pompadour, before looking back towards Chai and providing a blunt follow-up. “His hair looks stupid, Chai.”

*HA! Nicely put, Pyra~.* Peppermint laughed, very much delighting in the redhead’s uncharacteristically blunt put-down of the corrupt CEO’s loud hairstyle.

“Sheesh! Not sugarcoating your opinion this time, huh Pyra?“ Was all Chai could say initially, taken aback by his redhead friend’s surprising put-down regarding Kale’s hair. “I don’t know, I think I could rock his whole black and red suit ensemble pretty well, hair included!”

“Please don’t. You look perfectly fine as is and I’m actively wincing at the thought of you with a haircut like that.” Pyra was quick to say, the wince on her face at the mental image of such a thing matching her words and tone.

“Man, you really know how to throw some shade out when you wanna, don't you?” Chai couldn’t help but remark, his words causing a rosy, embarrassed blush to creep onto Pyra’s face, especially with how this felt like a bit of a reversal of a certain conversation her previous self had with ‘the master of low-key shade’ back during the Aegis war.

*BEEP!*
*BEEP!*
*BEEP!*

If Pyra had anything to say in response to Chai's remark, then she didn't have the chance to get even a single vowel out when an alarm suddenly blared through the room they stepped into and the security hatches in the floor suddenly flew open.

“Uh oh…” Was Chai's knee-jerk response upon hearing the alarms, freezing and flinching up with a wince on his face when several security robots came flying out from the floor hatches, with a BA-B00 heading the group upon popping out of the largest hatch.

“So much for nice, quick, and easy…!” Pyra noted, a narrow-eyed look on her face as she drew out her sword and allowed the flames to roar out from its exhausts.

“Eh, I'm just as down to smash up some bots too!” Similarly, despite his initial reaction, Chai was quick to rebound with an eager, cocky smile, tossing his Scrap Guitar up and catching it by the handle before bringing his free hand up to his chest. Per usual, Chai's hand came up to his chest's Power Core Unit in time to the music's beat, and for a brief second, Pyra thought she saw a yellow grid spread out all along their impromptu arena.

FIGHT!!

‘...Nevermind that! Just another strange quirk of this world…!’ While initially surprised by the grid and the sudden exclamation of ‘fight!’ she'd heard from seemingly nowhere, Pyra knew better than to get distracted in a fight, focusing back up just in time to deftly block and parry an incoming blow from a SBR. Going onto the offensive, Pyra nimbly tore through any attacking SBRs and GNRs with fiery efficiency in time to the music's beat. While doing so, she attempted to remain in close enough proximity to Chai to make the Affinity Line appear between them, but this was made much harder for the redhead to do with how the BA-B00 bombarded her with an onslaught of crushing strikes with its metallic fists she was forced to dodge.

“CHAI!”

“CHAI!”

*Rest!*

“WOO!”

“HEY!”

“CHAI!”

*SMASH!!!*

On Chai's own end, he was off in his own little world, once again delighting in the thrill of beat-based combat and oblivious to Pyra's attempt to activate the Affinity Line as he finished another combo that he calls Tune Up, which he just came up with on the spot, on a SBR that tried hitting him, the final blow being a wide, sweeping, and painful blow that had the added bonus of hitting an annoying GNR that had been pestering him with laser fire too.

Pyra, having witnessed this out of the corner of her eye, took the chance to disengage and dash away from the BA-B00 and its onslaught of attacks, leaping into the air and bombarding the airborne GNR with a series of fiery strikes. Chai was right up there with her, having leapt up after his launched opponents and gleefully wailing on them in mid-air along with Pyra. Their close proximity -as well as both of their blows syncing up with the beat- meant that by the time both finished off their targets via slam attacks that sent them both down to the ground, the Affinity Line between Chai and Pyra manifested, buffing up both their attacks.

*ZAP!*

“Alright, like last time; we both rush it at once!” Pyra exclaimed as both she and Chai leapt back from the BA-B00's AOE electricity slam, her narrow-eyed, focused expression complimenting the way her sword’s tubers were roaring with intense flames.

“Right-o! Second verse, same as the first!” Was Chai's enthusiastic response, his Blazing Scrap Guitar radiating wisps of flame as he and Pyra dashed towards their large opponent, weapons at the ready. Predictably, the hulking blue machine reared back both its arms to try and smash the Driver and Blade duo, but both saw the telegraphed attack coming from a mile away and easily dodged just before either fist could connect with either of them. From there, Chai and Pyra proceeded to wail on the BA-B00 from both sides, both their buffed up weapons making quick work of the hunched over Vandelay robot and blowing it to bits when they landed the final blow in their respective combos.

“Okay, now for the stragglers! BLAZING POWER CHORD!” With the BA-B00 now disposed off, it was a simple matter for both Chai and Pyra to pick off the remaining SBRs and GNRs still present, with Chai opting to put a little more flare (ha) into his performance by immediately bombarding the nearest robot with a buffed up Power Chord, the rapidly spinning strike tearing and burning through any hapless Security robot hit by it. As soon as the attack finished, Chai was quick to continue nimbly dashing throughout the room while landing blows on the remaining both, with Pyra doing much the same.

*Well, there goes our low profile.* Peppermint noted, a flat tone in her voice as 808 took in all the now-destroyed Security bots’ remains.

“It's unfortunate, but I'll admit I was having doubts we'd just be able to walk in, take what we need, and walk out without a problem…” Pyra sighed, having felt in her gut that she and Chai being undetected by Security wasn't going to last long.

“Ah c'mon, you're both worrying too much, this is way more fun anyway! And besides, as long as REKKA doesn't-”

*ATTENTION! Rekka here! That DEFECT and his little bimbo girlfriend were spotted in MY BUILDING!* And once again, as though fate itself wanted to make Chai eat his words, he was abruptly cut off when Rekka's borderline snarling face popped up on every nearby monitor screaming her usual spiel.

 ‘Is that the only insult she can think up to use on me?’ Pyra thought in irritation, a familiar scowl creeping back onto her face upon hearing that obnoxious ‘bimbo’ insult again.

*I'm half hopin’ none of you chump security get to them first! I’ve been looking to get my hands on that punk and rip him apart -PIECE BY PIECE- for messing up my QA Center! As for that little spitfire following him around, Rekka's heard around the grape vine that her kind's REAAAL durable, so she should make a perfect practice dummy for Rekka and her new tag-team partner to test some moves out on!*

‘...Apparently not.’ Was all Pyra could think once Rekka finished her ranting and threats towards her and Chai, the single bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face mirroring the look of annoyance she had on at how the frankly meat-headed woman kept taking every chance to insult her.

*Whoa-ho-ho! Sounds juicy!* Meanwhile, Peppermint came off as more amused and entertained by Rekka's grandstanding and visceral threats towards Chai.

“I thought you said she wouldn't be here!” Chai hissed out, a combination of frustration and panic in his voice that caused Pyra to jump slightly.

*I thought YOU said this was more fun.*

As this was happening, Pyra remained quiet, her mind more preoccupied with the final part of Rekka's tangent. It was certainly easy to miss/gloss over amid Rekka's threats towards her and Chai, but the redhead couldn't help but zero in on the Head of Production's mention of having a ‘partner.’

‘’Tag-team partner…?’ Is she talking about…?’

(Several hours earlier, Vandelay Tower)

With her usual scowl still plastered onto her face, Rekka made sure that her tie was properly on and that she was looking ring-worthy as she examined her appearance in front of the mirror. From what Kale had told her after the anesthetic wore off, the surgery to implant her and her cybernetics with one of those crystals went off without a hitch and her new partner had ‘awoken.’ 

“Alright, Big Boss,” Rekka spoke to her reflection upon ensuring her tie was properly straightened. “time ta’ see if that scrawny little thing's worth your time.”

The former pro-wrestler was no stranger to matches and fights with a partner -she'd been in that business more than long enough to have ended up in that spot a few times- but her preference was busting skulls as a solo act, dammit! If Kale really was forcing her to lump up and get her hands dirty with one of these Blade things, then that murky-skinned girl he'd selected for her had better know how to perform up to her standards!

* CRASH!*

“Just what do you think you're doing!? I told you she'd be with us in a minute!”  

“The anticipation was killing me! Did you really expect me to stand idle when my Driver and CO are just a few feet away with only a sheet of metal between us!?”

Just as Rekka was about to stomp out of the changing room, she was brought to a halt when the metal door leading out suddenly exploded open like it was struck by a crushing amount of force, followed by the sound of Kale furiously chewing out someone with a woman's voice. Raising a brow at this sudden happening but not reacting otherwise, the bulky Head of Production merely crossed her arms as the built up dust began to clear and a figure marched through the doorway.

As Rekka expected, the figure that suddenly broke down the door was the same Blade girl that Kale showed her before she went under for the surgery. Like that red-headed bimbo running around with the defect, the girl much more greatly resembled an actual human woman than the other, more robotic-looking Blades she’d noticed during Kale’s whole presentation to them regarding this whole matter, albeit with some clear visual distinctions that made her nonhuman and otherworldly origins clear, chief among them being her grayish-green skin and the two colossal, muscular arms that floated above her head. In terms of apparel, she wore a pair of black, oval-framed glasses, black thigh-high boots with fire coming out from the top, and a military-styled uniform that… frankly looked more like fetish-wear than any actual proper set of clothes, let alone a military uniform. The girl’s sizable breasts were only barely covered by some fabric on each end, topped off by her crotch only being covered by a pair of black panties, overall leaving a majority of the girl’s midriff and her notably muscled build on full display. It reminded Rekka of some of the outfits the divas in her old wrestling federation commonly wore.

“The name’s Newt!” The female Blade began, capping off her introduction to her new Driver with a dutiful salute, both with her regular set of arms and the colossal pair floating above her head.  “Standing by for your orders, sir!”  

The unimpressed-looking scowl remained plastered onto Rekka's face as she looked Newt up and down, her gaze lingering on the gigantic pair of muscular arms floating just above her head, fire blazing out at where the arms would connect to the shoulders.

“ Is it really too much to ask that you rub what few brain cells you actually have together AND JUST WAIT TILL SHE STEPS OUT THE DOOR!?”   

Anything Rekka had to say to her newfound tag-team partner was cut short when an incensed Kale barged into the room with a hand over his eyes. With how Rekka had just been getting out of that surgery gown and dressed back up immediately after her surgery when ‘Newt’ barged in, it was clear why Kale was doing that. “ Please tell me you're decent, Rekka.”

“Rekka was just about to step out when the door broke down, Boss.” Rekka answered simply, as blunt as ever with her scowl still unchanging. At that confirmation, the cutt-throat CEO removed his hands from his eyes and his expression changed back into a neutral one at the confirmation of Rekka’s words, albeit with irritation radiating off him like heat.

“Good.” Kale groaned out with clear annoyance before his gaze shifted between Rekka and the Blade girl. “Well I suppose if there’s any silver lining to you breaking the door down and barging in, it’s that it spares me the effort of going through introductions.”

With that said, Kale turned around and stepped out of the changing room, well aware given Rekka’s general demeanor and what he’d seen/learned so far of this Blade girl that there’d be a lot of headache-inducing noise in here before long. “Once you properly acquaint yourself with your new ‘partner,’ get yourself back to the Production facility. I don’t want the production line’s efficiency to start lagging when we’re barely even a day into Project Armstrong.”

Having said his piece, Kale stepped out and out of earshot, both to make sure the machine he created to implant Core Crystals into Armstrong cybernetics was still working with no issues after Rekka’s upgrading and so that he could call in a clean-up team to fix the mess Newt just created… both of which he’d prefer to do without the inevitably ensuing screaming to distract him or leave him with any headaches. Having now been left alone with her new… Blade, partner, assistant, whatever the hell you’d want to call her, Rekka took this chance to silently walk around ‘Newt’ to size her up and gauge what she’d be capable of firsthand…

“What in the goddamn-!?”

…Only to be brought to a complete halt upon walking behind Newt and being greeted with the amber, football-sized eye resting squarely on the back of her head. At such a bewildering and disturbing sight, Rekka’s narrow-eyed scowl immediately shifted into a wide-eyed look of bafflement and shock.

“Starting off, let me just say that I’m very happy to report to you, sir! I’ll admit I was a bit confused to awaken to that superior officer of yours, but having now had the pleasure to take in the strength radiating off that refined build of yours, I can see that I had nothing to worry about. Already, I’m eagerly anticipating whatever intense conflicts we’ll find ourselves wrapped up in!” Having not noticed Rekka’s sudden stop nor her hushed exclamation of shock, Newt didn’t hesitate to start expressing her excitement at properly meeting her Driver, and said excitement only grew more prominent upon properly seeing her and her brawny, strong build firsthand.

On her own end, Rekka's bewilderment didn’t fade as Newt rambled off about how excited she was to meet her and eager to start working with her… all while said eye on the back of her head blinked at Rekka, its gaze fixed on her.

*BANG! BANG!*

“U-Uh…!” Eventually shaking off her shock at the bizarre feature on the back of the Blade girl's head, Rekka opted to cut off Newt's continued rambling with a signature slamming of her fists together, the metallic, echoing sound surprising the grayish-green skinned girl into silence.

“Alright, Maggot. Here’s the first order of business;” Making sure her posture was right, a wide-eyed Newt made sure to straighten up like a proper soldier as Rekka walked back in front of her, her usual scowl back on her face as she glared down at the Blade. “As long as you’re actin’ as Rekka’s tag-team partner, YOU LEAVE THAT ‘SIR’ AND MILITARY SHIT AT THE DOOR!!!”  

“O-Oh, uhhh… of course, if that's what you want from me, si-I mean… ma'am?” Taken aback (and perhaps more than a little disappointed too) by her new Driver's screaming demand, Newt was quick to try and amend her mistake, only to find herself uncharacteristically shrinking back slightly when Rekka's scowl worsened at being called ‘ma'am.’ “...General?”

“Rekka ain’t any general or ‘sir,’ SHE’S THE CHAMP! BIG BOSS WORKS TOO!” Rekka finally exclaimed in response, making sure to get up in Newt’s face as she screamed out the last part of that sentence.

“Big Boss it is! Understood!” Upon getting confirmation from the militaristic Blade in the form of an immediate, slightly panicked salute, Rekka's scowled slightly lessened in its intensity before she walked past Newt and out the changing room's doorway, silently motioning her to follow with a nod of her head. “...Where are we going then, si-Uh… Big Boss?’ ”

“ Trainin’. Been a hot minute since Rekka last had herself a tag-team partner an’ she needs to get herself a feel for how you work now with how she's got a defect punk and his bimbo girlfriend that needs smashing.”

“O-Oh! Understood then! I look forward to seeing what you are capable of and hope my own skills will be of use to you!” Unsure about what the brawny woman was referring to, Newt was nonetheless enthusiastic at the prospect of training with her Driver, eagerly walking right by her side as they began to make their way out of Vandelay Tower and back towards the main Production facility, all while Kale watched them go with an irritated scowl.

“...Well, at least she accepted working with her with only minimal complaints.” Kale groaned as he watched the two meatheads disappear down the hall, tone full of annoyance and irritation before he whipped out a tablet from his coat pocket and put it up to his ear. “Get a group of VA-SERs up here to clean this mess up right away!”

HR Auto-Surveillance Recording

Auto-recorded dialogue converted to text from VA-SER # 734144

[Submitted to HR department per Vandelay HR rules]

/////

(Audibly paranoid tone)

“Well, finally got this whole room automated. Makes me think… Once us robots finish automating the production line, what happens to our positions?”

“Are we gonna lose them to some machines who automate… better than we automate?”

“But how much more automatic can an automaton get? Am I getting scrapped over this!?”

[ROBOT SOBBING SOUNDS CONTINUE FOR 25 MINUTES]

“Yikes…”

Back with our unlikely duo and their robotic feline companion, they had just been in the middle of reading through an open document on one of the nearby terminals after using a vent passageway to drop into the expansive production room full of fully automated machinery (Which once again included catwalks hanging precariously over the seemingly bottomless chasm this room and many others in Vandelay Campus had in place of a ground floor.) As they continued to skim through the document, which also happened to provide some context for all the constant automation in the Production facility, both Chai and Pyra’s expressions gradually went from curious to varying levels of concerned and disturbed, all while 808 had a deadpan expression as she floated between them.

“...Working at this company seems like a waking nightmare.” Pyra couldn’t help but sigh, at this point unsurprised to happen across something like this but still nonetheless disturbed by the VA-SER’s clear existential fears… fears which were more than likely valid with what little she had seen of this corporation so far.

*Even a description like that is the understatement of the century,* Peppermint was quick to cut in, * Wouldn’t even be surprised if that robot’s paranoia is spot-on with how eager upper-management is to scrap the older Vandelay models.*

“Definitely doesn’t seem like a uh… cheery workplace, in like any sort of way…” Chai added in, a similarly disturbed look on his face with his Scrap Guitar resting on his shoulder. As he said this though, the brunet’s gaze instinctively drifted to the window of the terminal room overlooking the rest of this particular Production area and couldn’t help his impressed smile as he took in all the flashy and expensive-looking machinery all around them that ensured the production line continued efficiently and without issue. “Well, at least it has some cool and flashy sights to take in, especially with the context of us going around, taking in the sights and sounds, and beating up Security.”

“Unfortunately, I think we’re the only ones with that sort of context, Chai,” Pyra pointed out, a slightly exasperated tone in her voice as she followed her Driver’s gaze and also took in all the alien technology active all around them. “Everyone else here seems a bit too terrified or paranoid to really appreciate the sights.”

As the two were having this discussion, they both opted to get a move on while doing so, already having left the room the terminal was in and continuing through the expansive area along its catwalk. “Ehhhh, between that sunbathing bot and the one we found gaming yesterday, there’s bound to be at least a few more people, or uh, robots, working here that - WHOA! ” The two’s conversation came to a sudden halt when Chai felt himself on the verge of walking off into the abyss when his right foot suddenly came into contact with thin air instead of more catwalk to walk on.  

“ W-Whoa! Chai, be careful!” Similarly shocked by how the catwalk they were moving along just cut off into the abyss not even a foot away from them, Pyra nonetheless reacted quickly when it looked as though Chai was about to step off the ledge and into the depths below, making a point to grab onto his scarf and yank back hard on it. It worked perhaps a little too well with how the force of the yank and the both of them lacking balance meant that both the Blade and her Driver were sent stumbling back before Chai slammed back-first into Pyra and they landed on the catwalk with a groan.

“Urgh... Well, that could’ve been a way worse fall, I guess. Thanks for the save.” Chai groaned out, more than a little disoriented, but thankfully not hurting all over like with his last couple of falls. Perhaps that was because in this case, his fall here was equivalent to just tripping rather than falling several stories, or maybe it was because of how surprisingly soft the landing was. Either way, Chai certainly wasn’t complaining with his usual track record for accidents and injuries in mind.

“U-Uhm…”The redheaded Aegis had no response, mainly because she found herself frozen and flushed when she got her bearings and realized the way they landed meant that her… sizeable chest was squishing into the slacking brunet’s back, hence his cushioned fall. She was only able to muster up a response when Chai casually proceeded to get up, dust himself up, and offer the Aegis a hand up, which she took. “O-Of course, Chai. Always happy to help.”

Seemingly oblivious to the redhead’s flustered state, Chai merely squinted as he took in the sizable gap in the catwalk and the pit with no visible bottom in front of them. After another moment of examination, the brunet only had this to say in conclusion. “...Okay yeah, that is definitely not OSHA compliant.” The remark had the redhead tilting her head slightly in confusion, but before she could get a word out, 808 cut between them as she floated past the ledge and over the depths below.

*Probably not, but with how their entire workforce is made up of robots, it means the corporate can get away with pulling stuff like this and it can be found all over the campus as a result.* Peppermint piped up, her observation providing a bit of clarity on just why there seemed to be so many ledges and catwalks that precariously cut off like this all across the campus, with usually only literal floating platforms providing a feasible way across like something out of a videogame. *Anyway, hate to wound your pride Chai, but even you can’t make that jump. * The hacker was quick to follow up, a mere glance at the gap in the catwalk with no platforms to land on between making it clear that the brunet wouldn’t be able to make it across, even with his uncanny agility in mind.

“Hmph… yeah, you’re right. I’d have to break the laws of physics at least two more times than I’m able to already to get across.” Chai conceded as he took in the gaping… gap in their path forward, with both Peppermint and Pyra blinking in surprise at his casual mentioning of how he seemed to just break physics whenever he did that ‘double jump’ and ‘air dash’ of his. “Any ideas on this end?”

At that inquiry, Pyra realized that crossing the gap herself would be no issue for her as a Blade -let alone as the Aegis- and immediately voiced the first idea that came to mind. “If I concentrate and focus my power a bit, I should be able to jump across this gap with no issue…” Though, as Pyra spoke, she began to trail off when it sunk in for her what she’ll be suggesting to get Chai across the gap, a slight flush settling on her cheeks as well. However, at both Chai and 808’s (or was it Peppermint’s?) expectant gazes on her, the redhead quickly found the words to continue. “U-Uhm… If-uh, Chai, if we can work out how exactly I should hold you, I’m sure I could pick you up and carry you across the gap… A-Assuming, that’s fine with you, of course…!”

“...Any ideas that don’t involve me getting carried across like a little kid or fragile cargo?” For his part, Chai once again didn’t seem to notice Pyra’s apparent embarrassment and returning flustered nature at the offer she laid out, instead taking indignance at the thought of being picked up and carted across the gap like he was helpless.

*Well, if you’re really not interested in trying that option out (and God knows why) , then you might be interested in knowing this little tid-bit; the info 808 is feeding me on your arm is telling me that it’s magnetic. Should let you hook onto that point on the other end there.* Peppermint advised, prompting Chai to cast a curious look down at his arm and up at the curious mechanical point at the other end of the gap, which even came with a large, old-fashioned looking Magnet acting as its base. Additionally, much like Peppermint’s dry, internal remark on how he shot down the Aegis’s idea without a second thought, Pyra herself couldn’t help but display a strange mix of relief at her Driver’s continued obliviousness -particularly at her embarrassment/flustered demeanor as she offered to hold and carry him- and slight disappointment at how readily and unhesitatingly he shot the idea down.

“Huh… okay yeah, that tracks with how I heard this thing was a ‘ magnetic waste management affixture’ but uh… how does it work, exactly? Do I just, like, point at that- WHOA!” Chai’s confused sentence was abruptly cut off when, as he said, he pointed his metallic arm at the magnetic point on the other end of the gap, suddenly prompting a neon-orange chain to shoot out from his hand's palm and attach to the point, near-instantly sending Chai shooting towards the point as he connected, startling both 808 and causing Pyra to jump back slightly in surprise. Despite the brunet’s own initial surprise as he was zipped across the gap, he nonetheless gracefully front-flipped onto his feet upon reaching the magnetic point like it was second nature, subsequently spinning on his heels as he gleefully marvelled at his robot arm and what it just pulled off. “Whoa-ho- ho! That was awesome!” Chai gushed, stars practically shining in his eyes as he marvelled at his arm and the revelation that it had what was functionally a grappling hook or hookshot on the go! “Was not expecting the ‘magnet’ to be a badass looking neon chain when it’s in action!” He continued to gush, mind practically spinning with the new possibilities this feature of his arm afforded him. 

“Wow…” Pyra muttered out, once again taken aback and impressed by the unique utilities Chai’s arm had available. “Very impressive and certainly very handy!” She yelled out, awe clear in her voice… though she felt the need to add something quickly when she saw how her Driver started to light up and realized why. “Pun not intended, I’m afraid.” The redhead clarified, unable to stop herself from feeling a bit bad at how Chai immediately wilted a bit at that clarification.

‘Alright, now for me. I just need to focus a bit. It’s nowhere near as prominent as on Alrest, but there is Ether in the atmosphere here, meaning I just need to…’ Pyra’s thoughts trailed off as she focused on drawing from both her body’s own natural Ether reserves as well as the thin quantities available in the air, the emerald parts of her clothes and core crystal once again beginning to glow, and upon snapping her eyes open immediately leapt multiple feet up into the air and across the gap in the catwalk like it as nothing. Landing on the metal grating with a grouch, the redheaded Blade looked up to see Chai giving her an impressed whistle.

“Whoa.” It was all Chai could initially say, tone and expression impressed with how he’d never exactly gotten a chance to get a good look at Pyra’s own fantastical agility and jumping abilities as a Blade before now. “And here I thought I knew how to jump good.”

Pyra couldn’t help the meek smile that crept onto her face at her Driver’s praise as they began to continue on their way, nor could she help the slight flush now dusting her cheeks either. “It takes a little bit of focus, maybe also drawing in some Ether from the surrounding atmosphere as well if it’s a particularly extraneous task, but it’s ultimately a rather basic application of a Blade’s abilities. Honestly Chai, I find how you’re able to move in mid-air much more noteworthy. Really, how are you able to dash and leap a 2nd time in mid-air like that?”

“Sorry! ‘Fraid that’s a trade secret~!” Despite the curious, imploring looks both Pyra and 808 gave him at that question, Chai’s only response was an immediate deflection, placing both hands behind his back with a cheeky, coy smile on his face.

*’Trade secret?’ What trade is that supposed to be?* Peppermint asked, raising a brow via 808 at Chai’s deflection and wording… while also being undeniably just as curious as the redheaded Blade about how her Driver pulled those mid-air abilities off.

“Only the trade of people that know how to kick ass and look damn good while doing it. All I’ll say is that double-jumping and air-dashing is a basic necessity and trick of the trade.” It was at this point that Peppermint had 808 roll her eyes on her behalf while Pyra merely huffed out a slight laugh while an exasperated bead of sweat ran down the side of her face. Both girls were then left with a gut feeling that continuing to try and get answers on how Chai did those strange mid-air abilities would be a pointless endeavor.

As the three had been conversing, they nonetheless kept up a steady pace, eventually coming to a halt when the pathway they took led to another expansive, open room filled with active production machinery. Specifically, they were stopped by the sight of their path steadily leading up to a large production platform to the left. The path up eventually would’ve been too high for Chai’s leaping abilities, but thankfully, there was another magnet point, conveniently sitting at the edge of the platform above. At the sight of another opportunity to put his badass magnet-chain-grappling hook to use, Chai eagerly rubbed his robotic arm’s forearm before tossing his Scrap Guitar into his left hand. “Alright! Let's see if this'll work a second time.”

“Before you-” Just as Pyra was beginning to suggest something, she found herself cut off when she saw that Chai was already double-jumping up the initial ledge before dashing over and repeating the motion from earlier. As expected and to the brunet’s elation, the neon-orange chain once again shoots out from the wrist of his metallic arm, connecting to the nearby magnet point and sending him zipping up to it just as quickly as last time. As Chai let out a gleeful holler and whoop as he once again flipped onto the upper platform, Pyra couldn’t help but sigh and feel slightly irked.  “ ...do. Nevermind then…“ She thought aloud, a sweat bead of exasperation once again running down the side of her face as she once again focused her Ether.

As she tried to concentrate, Pyra's focus was broken when the facility's intercoms suddenly blared up. * Please note: Apparently, we're to be on the lookout for both a uh… 'music fighting' intruder… as well as a 'fire fighting’ one…* A LU-C1LLE drawled out over the speakers, pausing momentarily in confusion at the wording of the report given to her before continuing. *.. .I think that was just a typo. As well as poorly written and worded in general.*

‘Nothing we didn’t already know then… shoddy description aside.’ Pyra thought with slight bemusement, momentarily thinking back to Rekka’s screaming announcement over the intercoms earlier before focusing back up. In no time, the fire Blade was ready and easily cleared the gap up to the platform with a single leap.

CHAI!

HEY!

CHAI!

And upon touching down, the Aegis was quick to see what her Driver had been doing during the brief instance where he went ahead; that being throwing himself wholeheartedly into more combat with another wave of Security robots that honed in on their position.

“Hey hey~! Glad you’re here for the party, Pyra!” Chai greeted in an elated tone, slinging his Scrap Guitar over his shoulder to greet her, all while nonchalantly dodging and dashing away from every strike and blast sent his way as he addressed the Blade.

“Chai… do you think that maybe you might be enjoying yourself a little too much regarding the attempts on your life?” The Aegis couldn’t help but ask, all while she intervened in the fight by dashing towards the nearest GNR and performing a rising uppercut strike not unlike her Driver’s Air Launch attack, followed immediately by a fiery stab to the ground resulting in an explosion that engulfed another unfortunate bot.

“Pffft, what? These jobbers?” Chai scoffed, unable to keep the dismissiveness out of his voice upon dashing away from another strike and retaliating with a Tune Up combo that sent the perpetrator flying. “I got scrapping these goons down to an art by now! Even if they got beefier forces to send out, you really think I don’t got em’ handled after dealing with that colossus Rekka sicced on us in-?”

*SLAM*

Once again, fate decided it’d be fun to make Chai eat his words mid confident boast with how he heard something large and metallic slam to the floor behind him via security trap-door. Something that felt like it towered over him at that. Slowly turning around with a wide-eyed and alarmed look on his face -an expression shared by both 808 and Pyra as they watched the figure appear behind him- Chai was greeted with an ES-101 (Elite Saber) unit towering behind him with a robotic glare, much like the one that screened ( read:REPEATEDLY KICKED) him through getting his robotic arm, only this one had it’s weapon -a gigantic sci-fi looking sword that seemed to double as a shock batton- held and readied with clear intent to use it.

*Do you really, LITTLE MAN?* The higher-class Vandelay Handyman bot growled out, a thick, robotic austrian accent in his voice.

“Whoa there, big guaaAAAIPE!” Once again Chai was cut off and additionally forced onto the defensive when the ES-101 took several one-handed swings at him with his weapon, each one the brunet barely back-dashing away from, a necessity with how the security bot took closing steps towards him with each swing. Continuing to press the offensive, the Elite Saber then used his free hand to suddenly grip Chai by his ankle before he could get any further away. “Oh crap!”

With a furious roar, the towering Security bot winded back threw the hapless brunet forward as hard as he could, specifically along the ground and sending him tumbling and yelling into Pyra, who had attempted to dash forward and attack the Elite Saber upon him grabbing Chai. 

Anticipating such an action, Pyra braced herself and let out a quiet grunt as a disoriented and dishevelled Chai slammed into her none too gently, sending her skidding back a few feet. “...What was that you were saying just now, Chai?” Pyra asked, unable to keep the slightly dry tone that matched her similarly deadpan expression out of her voice, all while keeping a wary eye on the Elite Saber that was slowly strafing from left to right with his weapon readied.

“Well, I WAS gonna mention I always got you watching my back if things get too hot, but the big guy there kinda cut me off before I could get to that part. Cool to see you proving that last point right, though.” Chai grunted, recomposing himself and rolling his left shoulder as he noticed a familiar blue line of energy connecting himself and the redhead. “You ready to knock this guy down a peg?”

When Pyra’s only response consisted of a silent nod and a determined, steely glare directed towards the ES-101 -who took a beat to sling his sword-like energy baton over his shoulder before mockingly gesturing for the Driver and Blade duo to come at him- Chai could only smirk before readying his Blazing Scrap Guitar with a roll of his wrist. “Alright, comin’ at ya!”  

With that said, both the Driver and his Blade companion simultaneously rushed the ES-101, bombarding him with aggressive, fiery strikes from both ends. However, despite the initial pushback he experienced from the duo’s barrage of strikes, the ES-101 proved just why he was considered an elite variant of the SBR line-up (Beyond him being titled that simply to entice wealthier customers that wanted something both more expensive and stood as a status symbol, of course) by initially enduring the strikes sent his way before working through the pain and raising up his weapon in a blocking motion.

*THOSE WEAK STRIKES WILL NOT STAGGER ME!!!* The bulky Security bot roared out in indignance, riposting the next strike from Chai and forcing Pyra to leap backwards to avoid getting caught in the sweeping strike. Her Driver, being the ES-101’s current focus, wasn’t as lucky, letting out a pained grunt and staggering back upon getting struck by the large, retractable sword.

Capitalizing on how Chai was left staggered, the ES-101 reared his sword back with both hands before the length of his weapon rapidly extended further in two successive beats. When it was ready, the elite Vandelay Handyman swung his beefed up weapon hard at Chai, the force of the blow and the subsequent slash of light-blue energy it created sending him tumbling across the ground with several pained grunts.

“Chai!” Pyra exclaimed, shaking off her panic and dashing forward with her sword readied when she saw how the ES-101 was rearing back for another strike on Chai even while he was stumbling back onto his feet. With a steeled expression, the redheaded Blade deftly blocked the  Elite Saber’s follow-up strike on her Driver, gritting her teeth as the force of the blow made her slide back a foot before she used the momentum to redirect the towering robot and send him stumbling a few feet off in another direction, giving Chai enough time to hastily get back onto his feet and put some distance between himself and their adversary, with Pyra doing much the same with a quick dash backwards. “You’re alright to keep fighting, right? Those blows looked pretty painful…” She couldn’t help but ask her Driver, warily eyeing the way he was trying to avoid putting weight on his left foot.

“I’m good, I’m good…!” Chai was quick to assure Pyra, though the clear pain in his tone didn't do much to assuage her worries. She didn’t have any time to voice her concerns before Chai continued, all while warily glaring at the ES-101.  “Just uh… you think maybe you could hold his attention for a few seconds, tops? Think I got just the move to shut him up.”

“Of course. Take however long you need.” With that said and a quick nod of her head, Pyra dashed forward, meeting the ES-101’s sword with her own and spending the next several moments dodging and clashing blades with the Security robot, a narrow-eyed look of focus on her face.

While this exchange of blades was going on, Chai proceeded to firmly plant both feet on the ground before gripping his Scrap Guitar with both hands, eyes closed and a look of uncharacteristic concentration on his face. As soon as he took up this stance, various bits and shards of scrap metal began to steadily converge around the business-end of the weapon. By the time it was finished, all the metallic junk now swirling closely had turned his already-badass guitar of scrap metal into the Ultimate Guitar!... even though it didn’t even resemble an actual guitar anymore with all the junk haphazardly swirling around it .

Having noticed what Chai was doing out of the corner of her eye, Pyra then maneuvered herself so that with each block and dodge she performed brought herself and the ES-101 closer to the brunet each time. “Let’s see you shrug this off!” Pyra exclaimed the moment she and the robot were within Chai’s range, making a point to leap back just as her Driver unleashed his charged up attack. With an exhilarated expression on his face, Chai let his charged up Gain Tornado loose, turning him into a spinning whirlwind of hard, metallic pain that the ES-101 was forced to take the brunt of. Despite trying to defend against the onslaught, Chai’s literal tornado of blows wore down his defenses and broke the robot’s guard, leaving him exposed and open to the final blow in Chai’s Gain Tornado technique.

*GAAAAAHH!!!* The brutish robot yelled out as it was sent crashing back several feet, leaving him wide-open to a follow-up barrage from the Driver and Blade duo. Before the ES-101 could even try to get back onto its feet, he was then subjected to a relentless barrage of fiery blows from both Pyra and Chai, and it wasn’t long before all the damage sent the ES-101’s way caused it to explode like every other robot the two fought so far.

“Okay! Had to put in some more elbow-grease that time, but nothing we didn’t have down-” Chai began, tone initially confident before a sudden flare-up of pain at the left side of his waist and leg cut him off with a pained groan.  “ ...Pat. Okay, yeah, that smarts.”

“I-I know I already asked this, but are you certain you’re alright, Chai?” Pyra asked with no small amount of concern in her voice, crouching down and placing a hand on Chai’s shoulder to keep him steady as he slowly rose back to his feet, slightly pained grimace on his face. Even Peppermint seemed concerned for the hardheaded brunet if the similarly concerned look on 808’s face was any indication. “Do you… maybe need to stop for a minute or two? Catch your breath, perhaps?”

“Nah, nah, I’m good… just… give me a sec to…” Chai was quick to assure the redhead, and as he said this, he cut off any more concerned input from the Blade when he pulled out Rekka’s branded can of juice he held onto from the vending machine earlier. With the concerned look on her face quickly shifting into one of puzzlement, the Aegis could only watch as her Driver pulled back the tab on the can before starting to down it in time with the background beat.

*Uhh… You… sure you’re good, Chai? It looked like that Elite Saber landed some hard blows on you.* Peppermint couldn’t help but ask, a mildly concerned tone in her voice as a wide-eyed 808 and Pyra watched Chai slowly but surely down the contents of the canned drink.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just… GULP! Ah! Needed a quick Pick-Me-Up is all.” Chai replied, and it was worth noting that as he made that final gulp and finished off the orange juice, his body flashed with what looked like a green, healing aura. “Alright! Good to keep going when you guys are!”

*Defect spotted on the main floor! GET THERE!!!*

“U-Uh, yeah, we might wanna double-time it. I think there’s a path through there.” And that said, and with a newfound spring (and maybe also sense of urgency) in his step, Chai was the first to continue onward, showing no indication that he’d been injured from their last fight, and leaving the two girls to incredulously eye him as he jumped off a catwalk and used a series of floating platforms to reach another pathway.

‘Was… that a Healing Art like the ones on Alrest he used just now…!?’ She thought in surprise, before quickly shaking it off to catch up. All things considered, Chai seemingly just making up a Healing Art with some juice like that wasn’t too shocking of a surprise, considering most of the other blindsiding things and sights she’d been dealing with as of late. Wasting no time, Pyra was quick to follow after Chai through the passage he found, only slowing to a stop upon seeing him standing and staring at what was becoming an increasingly familiar sight.

“Oop. Look who’s back,” Chai noted upon seeing Pyra come up behind him, motioning with his head towards the familiar sight of SMIDGE eagerly waving at them and trying to get their attention. “Can’t even say I’m surprised at this point. Just kinda morbidly curious. Wonder what he wants to tell me this time.”

“I might have a few guesses.” Was all Pyra had to say, eyeing Chai’s robotic arm as she said this. At this point, Chai merely shrugged his shoulders and mentally prepped for a potential invasion of his personal space before approaching the Vandelay Smart fridge.

*Oh, hello again! I can feel a very special attraction between you and I!* To neither Chai nor Pyra’s surprise at this point, Smidge was very quick to close the distance between them, making sure to get in their personal space as he addressed Chai.

“H… Hello again, Smidge. Good to see you’re doing well.” Pyra managed out, backing away a few steps with appropriately off-put beads of sweat running down her face.

“Yeaaaah, uh… what she said. Anyway, what is it this time…?” Chai added, even more off-put than the redhead with how he was the target of the smart fridge’s… fixation, to put it lightly.

*Your magnet! It gets you where you need to go and fast! But it also attaches very easily to Vandelay security robots.* Smidge proceeded to explain, confirming Pyra’s silent suspicion that this would go further into how the magnet in Chai’s arm worked while her Driver proceeded to cast a look down at his arm in mild surprise, having not thought to try putting his magnet to use like that in the last fight. *Need to get in close to an enemy? Use the magnet! Also, if you manage to knock an enemy into the air, the magnet will bring you up to them quickly!*  

“Huh, you don’t say…?” Chai mused, casting a look down at his arm before mentally picturing himself using that same speedy grapple to zip around and right up close to the security bots in the heat of battle. Near-immediately, the thought of the tricks he could pull off with this magnet brought a pleased, excited smirk onto Chai's face. “Ohhhh yeah. Now that sounds like it'll make dishing out some air combos a lot easier.”

“I’m honestly shocked how you can stay in the air like that at all, even with all your double-jumping and air-dashing in mind.” Pyra couldn’t help but add, still feeling some surprise as she recalled a few instances in the heat of battle where her Driver was able to prolong his time up in the air by doing some mid-air wailing on any robots they'd knocked up into the air. The most she could manage was a fired up swing or throw of her sword in mid-air without having to really tap into her powers and abilities as an Aegis, and the less the fire Blade had to rely on that power, the better. Regardless, Pyra couldn’t help but huff out an amused laugh when she noticed how Chai notably puffed up in clear pride at her remarks about his air-time abilities. “In any case, I can definitely see that magnet adding even more to your existing air mobility.”

*Indeed! I do say, what an amazing piece of technology!* However, Pyra was soon left a bit concerned instead when something about Smidge’s remark just now left her Driver suddenly wilting up a bit, as though he was dealt a particularly cutting criticism from Peppermint, if she had to make a comparison.

“...Dude, this arm was made for picking up garbage.” Chai was quick to point out, an irritable tone in his voice as he fought against the urge to have all the scrap magnetized around his trash-grabber fall apart to emphasize his point.

*That’s not what it looks like from here!* Either ignoring or more likely oblivious to the irritation in Chai’s tone, Smidge closed off the conversation with a cheerful tone in his voice, prompting an annoyed groan and roll of the eyes from the brunet before turning to move to the other end of the room, Pyra right by him.

“I suppose what your arm was made for is a bit of a sore subject for you, isn’t it Chai?” Pyra inquired before they both walked out the room they found Smidge in and through a doorway onto another catwalk… one that once again cut off into the depths below, made worse by how the chain of magnet points ahead of him appeared to be off and garnered no reaction from his arm’s magnet, though hopefully the large red button next to the catwalk’s edge would rectify that issue.

*WHACK!*

*OW!!*

“More than a little, yeah.” Chai answered as he watched the magnet points switch from red to green, his response also snapping Pyra out of her incredulous stupor while looking at the button he just hit. “Full motor control on both ends is fantastic, don’t get me wrong, just kinda rubs me the wrong way knowing in the back of my head that all the kickass magnetic tricks were all put in and designed with garbage disposal in mind. Kinda totally kills the good vibes.”

‘Hm… between all his ‘Rockstar’ talk and reason for ending up on this island in the first place, it certainly fits.’ Pyra thought, mentally taking note of how the whole matter was a sore subject for her Driver before opting to try and improve his mood. “Well… so what about its original purpose? It’s like Smidge said, no one would be able to tell your arm was made for garbage collection with the way you’ve been using it lately. If you ask me, the profound way you’ve been making use of your arm’s various abilities so far is much more impressive and noteworthy than what those abilities were designed for. You should focus on that instead and be proud of it, Chai.”

At the redhead’s sincere praise and kind words, it was pretty much impossible for Chai to remain irritated, a bashful, flattered look on his face as he twirled his Scrap Guitar against the catwalk with his metal palm. “Welllll… when you put it all like that, I can’t help but feel a bit better. Like you said, it helps that I’ve been kicking tons of ass with it regardless of what it was made for.”

*Heh, not surprised you know how to dish out some good pep talk, Pyra.* Peppermint couldn’t help but note with amusement, causing an embarrassed flush to creep onto the redheaded Blade’s face.

“Alright! Time to keep putting this bad boy’s magnet to good use! First time chaining these grapples together too, it looks like.” With a spring back in his step, Chai readied his arm’s magnet as he approached the edge of the catwalk and prepared to use his chain-like magnet to grapple over the depths, past several shipping containers moving through the magnetic lines, and up to an entryway on the other end of the expansive production hall. However, just as Chai was about to try chaining his magnet grapple across the sizable gap, he was stopped when he felt Pyra's surprisingly firm grip on his robotic forearm. 

Blinking at the sudden interruption, Chai turned towards Pyra and was a bit taken aback when he saw that encouraging smile on her face… was still present, but had a more… firm and mildly annoyed vibe to it, which was a bit of a jarring thing to see on the Aegis given her usual sweet demeanor. “All that in mind, could you… please wait a moment to let me grab on before you use your magnet on these next set of points? While I was able to clear the last two gaps without issue, I’d… really rather not try my luck leaping across a bunch of moving cargo containers over a pit I can’t even see the bottom of.”

“Oh! Uh, yeah, got it. Didn’t think of that before, sorry.” Was all Chai could think to mutter out upon hearing all that, and all while shrinking under her surprisingly intense look. Yeah, looking at it now, even with the impressive distance Pyra could jump in mind, that would still be a risky thing to try either way. “Well, whenever you're ready, just… grab on and hang tight, I guess.”

“Alright. Well, let me just…” With her gaze lightening up considerably upon hearing that and seeing Chai raise both arms to allow her to easily grab on, Pyra made sure to get into position behind her Driver before wrapping both arms tight and securely around his waist. When she felt her grip was satisfactory for what would likely be a sudden and shifting ride, the redheaded Blade peered over to address Chai before inquiring, “Is this fine? You can still move and use your arm’s magnet, right?”

On his own end, Chai couldn’t help but instinctively flinch up upon feeling Pyra grip firmly onto him from behind, partly because this would be the first time he’d be using his grappling hook with a passenger considerably larger than a small black robot cat… and mainly because this would be the first instance of prolonged physical between the two of them, and it needless to say, it was a bit distracting being in such close contact with a girl that wasn’t family and having her hold on tight to him while her large breasts pressed against his back… a first in several regards for the wannabe rockstar, if he was gonna be completely real. Peppermint seemed to notice Chai finally getting a bit flustered up by his stunning partner and was visibly fighting back amusement if the look on 808’s face was any indication, all while she had her cat wave a paw in front of his face to get his attention. *Chai, you good?*

“U-Uhm…! *AHEM!* Yeah, this uh… should be fine. Just hold tight.” Making a point to focus back up, specifically on both the magnet and the constant beat rather than the pleasant smelling warmth pressing into him from behind. ‘Alright Rockstar, time for your first-ever grapple chain. Focus up, make sure you don’t slip up and die, and don’t get distracted by the… big soft bumps behind you.’

When he was certain he was ready and had his head in the game, Chai repeated his earlier motions and had his magnet’s neon-chain shoot out towards the nearest of the three magnet points, and Pyra instinctively let out a surprised yelp when she and Chai immediately shot towards the first point.

HEY!

“W-WHOA!” Pyra exclaimed, doing her damndest to keep her grip on Chai tight with how he flipped around before shooting his magnet towards the next point.

WOO!

It didn’t get any easier with the next point, causing Pyra to force her eyes shut as she and Chai once again suddenly flipped around and they near-instantaneously zipped to the next point.

CHAI!

Thankfully, the sudden swerving was over in barely over a moment, with Chai flipping onto his feet upon reaching the other end of the gap while Pyra stumbled forward and barely managed to regain her footing. “Aaaand we stick the landing!” The brunet cyborg exclaimed, looking back at the long gap they just cleared with a satisfied smile before turning to Pyra. “Soooo, uh… how was your first time riding on the ‘Chai Express?’

“I’ll… certainly need to better brace myself next time, that’s for certain.” Pyra managed upon regaining her balance and dusting herself off.

“Well, at least we got a feel for how it goes! Anyway, let's uh…! Uhh…” Chai began, only for his chipper tone to trail off when he noticed something rather jarring sitting in the corner of the room. Pyra’s gaze soon followed the brunet’s, with her ensuing baffled look matching Chai’s when she also noticed the golden bust of Kale Vandelay standing prominently on display next to a very large open vent that looked to be their way forward.

“Is… that a golden bust?” Pyra asked, her incredulous question voicing the thought going through a similarly baffled Chai’s head. Tilting her head slightly as she, Chai, and 808 took a moment to better examine the bust.  “Why would anyone place something like that somewhere like here? Practically no one would actually see it in a place like this." Said the red-headed Blade, still baffled as to how utterly strange the placement of this golden bust was.

“Yeah, definitely seems like kind of an… out of the way place to leave a gold bust of yourself.” Chai added in, voicing his own confusion about placing something like this here… confusion that frankly only grew more prominent the longer he and Pyra took in the sneering bust of Kale. “Okay, actually, the more I'm dwelling on this, the more I gotta wonder what Kale or whoever was thinking when they were putting this thing here. Like you said, barely anyone’s gonna see it all the way up here.”

*Why do the greedy morons running this company do a lot of the things they do?* Peppermint asked rhetorically, tone dry and full of withering contempt as she had 808 glare at the obnoxious, gaudy statue. *The answer's usually always either narcissism, stupidity, greed, or a combination of all three, usually also topped off by them being rich morons with way too much money to burn.*

“Certainly consistent with everything else I’ve seen regarding this company.” Pyra sighed, quickly realizing that this strange sight was far from the most baffling sight she’d seen on this island so far. Turning towards the vent passageway near the bust, Pyra began using the boxes and containers situated in front of it as makeshift stairs before leaping up to the entrance of the vent. “Well, let’s keep going then.”

“In a sec’. I wanna try giving this thing a…. ‘Durability test’ first.” Was Chai's immediate response, his words stopping Pyra in her tracks. Turning around with a curious expression, she saw her Driver walking closer to the golden bust of Kale with his Scrap Guitar readied.

“‘Durability test?’” She asked, tilting her head slightly as she did so.

“Well, with how we’ve been spending the better half of today and yesterday smacking around metal robots, it’s kinda making me wanna test my Guitar out on a softer sort of metal.” With that explanation and a smirk on his lips, Chai then proceeded to wail on the golden statue, making sure each series of combos he hit it with was as on-beat as possible.

OOF! OUCH! OW! NO!!!

On her own end, while she'd definitely say she was starting to develop a tolerance for the bizarre sights casually on display in this dimension, Pyra nonetheless found herself baffled once more when each painful-looking strike Chai landed on the golden statue somehow caused it to react like it was an actual person being hit, it’s default sneer repeatedly shifting to pained and gobsmacked expressions with each strike, all while each timed blow spawned more of those gold and silver-colored gears that the Vandelay robots dropped. Feeling how it couldn’t take much more punishment, Chai opted to try something new for his final combo, holding his Scrap Guitar in only his robotic right hand as he proceeded to unleash a rapid flurry of slashes on the statue, culminating in him leaping several feet up with both hands on his weapon, all the nearby scrap rapidly swirling around him before it all converged at the spot Chai slammed his Scrap Guitar down on the Kale Statue.

*SMASH!*

The end-result, as one might expect, was a gaping hole being blown out in the right side of the Kale statue’s head, smoke steadily rising out of it while the statue itself had an open-mouthed, gobsmacked look on its face. “HA! Shredded it~.” Chai laughed, giving his Scrap Guitar a twirl as he mentally decided on the name for that new move he just thought of and turning to Pyra, who had been watching the statue get pummeled with a look of wide-eyed surprise and fascination. “You should totally give that a try for yourself next time we find another one of those, Pyra. Can confirm it’s super-satisfying.”

“I… actually think I’ll take you up on that if we find another one of these statues, Chai.” Pyra surprisingly agreed once her surprise wore off, at this point just curious to see what hitting a statue that actively reacted to strikes even felt like.

*Huh, look at that. Something we’re actually on the same page about.* Peppermint added, once again making her utter disdain for Kale no secret, even while the why of it was still up in the air for the Driver and Blade duo.

From there and with nothing else to distract them, the three entered the large vent shaft that was by the now-ruined statue and continued onward, following Peppermint’s directions through the facility before the three found themselves in a vertically long room with the catwalk gradually spiraling up, all while various cargo containers moved on through the various stories of the room via the magnetic rails they were on.

“So Peppermint, this ‘SPECTRUM’ thingy you got us looking into… what’s that about?” Chai suddenly opted to ask, slowing slightly in his stride and an inquiring look on his face as he came to the sudden realization that he really didn’t know much about Peppermint’s goals or reasons for being on Vandelay Island beyond looking into some important project the company was working on.

“I… believe Peppermint said it was called ‘SPECTRA,’ Chai…” Pyra interjected before directing a similarly inquiring look at 808’s direction. “and I’ll admit I’ve been curious about it as well. The way you’ve been talking about it makes it sound like an important matter for you to look into.”

*You’d be right on both fronts, Pyra.* Peppermint confirmed before having 808 turn towards Chai with a pointedly annoyed look on her feline face. *First off, Chai: it’s SPECTRA, not ‘SPECTRUM.’ As for what it is, my informant sent me code implying it’s an AI. Apparently, it’s hidden in all of Vandelay’s Project Armstrong robotic parts.*

“Okay, well… what exactly has you so worried?” Chai asked, all while Pyra perked up at the mention of this project being some sort of AI. 

“Considering how life-like the AI for their menial labor robots are, I can see some reasons to be concerned about this company having a dedicated AI project, much less one that’s built into that arm of yours…” Pyra felt the need to point out, all while shooting a concerned stare in the direction of Chai’s robotic arm. (It’s a good thing that last night Peppermint was kind enough to teach her about some of the advanced Earthly technologies this world has to offer, such as Artificial Intelligence, or AI for short. Quite the fascinating and astonishing technological marvel, in her opinion.).

*My thoughts exactly, Pyra. Adding onto this is the fact that my source said that Vandelay has never kept a project under such thick wraps like this before. There’s red flags all over this.* Peppermint continued on. However, whereas Pyra just silently nodded along as the hacker explained this, her Driver took considerable more exception with the picture she was painting for him.

“What!? You’ve had me running around this whole time on some dark web hunch!?” Chai exclaimed suddenly, his sudden outburst and affronted expression taking Pyra by surprise.

*I trust my sources!* Peppermint shot back just as heatedly.

“You’re sounding more suspicious than Vandelay!”

“...Chai, even if you’re right in the assumption that this lead we’re following is nothing, can you honestly say that again with a straight face with how these people have immediately tried to have you killed since they considered you a ‘defect?’” Pyra sighed, unable to help the growing sense of exasperation in her voice as she pointed this out.

*Thank you! You seem to be glossing over how we’re talking about the same company that put a target on your head and is hunting you down! Seriously, If they’re perfectly fine with having people killed just for being implanted with defective Project Armstrong tech, then-* Peppermint’s heated ranting, however, was soon cut off by Chai’s disinterested voice, looking at both the hacker’s feline mouthpiece and fire Blade with a deadpan, unimpressed expression.

“Okay, y’know what? I’ll make this pretty clear; I don’t actually care either way. I’m outta here after this anyway. Both of you feel free to look into every company conspiracy theory imaginable then. Go look for Bigfoot even, it's not my problem.” And with that dismissive remark, Chai hoisted his Scrap Guitar back over his shoulder and started heading further up the cat walk before Pyra or Peppermint could muster up any sort of response, leaving them both standing there and feeling varying levels of indignance.

*It’s like trying to talk sense into a brick wall. One that also likes mouthing off every other minute.* Peppermint fumed, blatantly the much more visibly frustrated of the two after that exchange.

“I can… certainly understand some of your frustrations with Chai, Peppermint.” Pyra sighed, unable to keep her own frustration and exasperation out of her tone as she said this. For as headstrong and stubborn as Addam could be at times, he never outright dismissively brushed important information off like Chai did just now. Once again, the Aegis couldn't help but think back to her own behavior and attitude back on Alrest with how much Chai was reminding her of it. ‘I just hope it doesn't get worse. I'm well aware of the type of problems that attitude can cause…’ 

And with that foreboding thought in mind, Pyra picked up her pace and followed 808 up the catwalk, who in turn had briskly floated after Chai to catch up to him. Doing so led the redheaded Blade to a side storage room midway up the catwalk, where both Chai and 808 were while they listened in on a conversation between a VA-SER and SCR-UB.

*...And that's how I taught Rekka everything she knows about production!* The VA-SER apparently finished, a grandstanding tone in his voice as he talked the SCR-UB's nonexistent ears off.

*YOUR TALES ARE NOTHING BUT LIES.* The diminutive blue robot was quick to say, the lack of impressment clear to hear even in its robotic, monotone voice.

*Pfft. Like you would know. You just clean the floors.* Was the more humanoid robot’s immediate and indignant response. It only lasted a brief moment before his robotic voice took on a more smug and condescending tone. *Heh, I gotta say though; you older models? You deserve to be on your way out. You’re just slowin’ big, decision makers like me down!*

*THIS IS A DEPRESSING CONVERSATION…* The SCR-UB’s despondent remark was completely ignored by the VA-SER as he continued to boast about how great he was while also giving the SCR-UB verbal put-downs every chance he got, none of which endeared the robotic handyman to his three observers.

“...Hmm.” Was all that came from Chai as they watched the conversation play out, the unimpressed look on his face mirroring Pyra's own. This was immediately followed by him taking a firm whack at the VA-SER with his Scrap Guitar, the sudden action taking Pyra and Peppermint off-guard, all while the VA-SER's head was sent spinning like a top.

*HEY! I’m workin’ here!* The VA-SER exclaimed indignantly, all while grasping both sides of his square, metallic head so it'd stop spinning.

*MORE LIES.* The SCR-UB pointed out immediately, though one didn't need to be a genius or a robot to realize that.

“Uh-huh, don’t doubt it.” Chai said in a flat tone not unlike Peppermint’s when she was annoyed, his expression appropriately deadpan. “Say, why don’t you go find Rekka and give her some more pro-tips on production? I’m sure she’d really appreciate it.” That particular comment was enough to get the VA-SER to freeze up, a wide-eyed look of panic clear on his face before hurriedly resuming with his job of taking inventory of the nearby shelves contents before getting sidetracked with bragging. On her own end, despite the annoyance and exasperation she'd been feeling regarding his attitude barely a minute ago, Pyra merely gave the brunet a silent nod of approval when her initial surprise wore off.

From there, the trio continued on their tracks up the catwalk and to the very top of this vertical shaft-like room -only delaying for a moment when Chai caught sight of another one of those broken, purple machine parts, like the one he found in that other area of the Production District, yesterday near the ceiling of the room, prompting him to leap across the dangling cargo containers to reach it- and upon reaching the only hallway out, they were greeted with a curious sight.

Specifically, they found themselves looking at a glowing blue square tile that jutted out slightly from the rest of the floor and pulsed out further slightly in time to the beat. “Huh, this looks like fun!” Chai commented, eyeing the neon-blue pad with an intrigued smile, all while his gaze drifted upward and how directly above this blue tile was another long vertical shaft.

“Do you know what this… pad’s used for?” Pyra asked, giving the blue tile a curious look.

“Not exactly… but this feeling in my gut is telling me that if I time my jumps in sync with the beat, then maybe…” As Chai said this, he’d been walking onto the square pad on the floor, trailing off as he looked down at it and waited for the right moment, and when that moment came… “WOOOOO~!” Pyra was left jumping back slightly in shock when it resulted in Chai getting launched a whole story upwards in an instant, letting out an exhilarated, gleeful whoop all the while. With a wide-eyed look, the Aegis could only watch when at the peak of Chai’s launch, he somehow propelled himself another story up and with another show-offy pose, repeating the motion for a third time before he reached the end of the shaft and a ledge he could safely land on.

“WOO~! THAT… That was awesome!” Chai cheered out, pure delight in his tone as the high of what just occurred began to die down. With that eager expression still plastered onto his face, Chai turned back towards the shaft and called out to Pyra at the very bottom. “Pyra, you GOTTA try jumping off that thing! It kicks SO MUCH ass!”

“It’s not as though there’s any other way up…” The redhead sighed, eyeing the glowing blue tile with slight wariness before casting it off, stepping on, and like her Driver, waited until the timing of the beat was just right before jumping upwards. “W-WHOA!” And just like what happened with Chai barely a moment ago, Pyra found herself rapidly ascending upwards with far greater force than she put in, as though she was charging her jump up with Ether. Unlike Chai, who capped off each beat/peak of the jump with another stylish pose, Pyra was more focused on maintaining her balance, so much so that she nearly missed that she reached the top of the shaft, and found herself hastily forcing herself forward to reach the ledge.

“Gotcha! Alright, I gotcha…“ Chai exclaimed, hastily grabbing Pyra’s wrist with both hands when she was just barely about to miss the ledge, followed by him letting out a grunt of exertion as he helped pull Pyra up onto the ledge, the redhead making a point to grip his shoulder with her other hand to keep herself steady. “Phew… Okay, well! Glad that worked for you too.”

“Just barely…” Pyra breathed out, feeling a bead of sweat run down her face as she looked back down the shaft and the distance she ascended. A fall like that certainly wouldn't have been fatal or even injury-inducing given her nature as both a Blade and the Aegis, but it goes without saying that she wouldn't have liked falling all the way down from here, which more than likely would've happened if Chai hadn't caught her. “If it's no problem with you, Chai, I think I'll just hold onto you like I did those magnet points if we find another one we have to use.”

“Eh, give it another try or two if we run into more of these things. You pretty much had it down just now.” Chai was quick to wave off, and Pyra could only let out another quiet sigh before she followed after him into another vent.

Landing with a crouch a few feet behind him when the vent's exit led straight down, Pyra rose onto her feet to see that she and Chai had landed a rather open-ended room that had a series of complex-looking computer terminals on one end with the words CRUSH CONTROL printed for all to see on the glass wall/window right above it. This sight, along with the sights of various conveyor belts and pressure crushers steadily proceeding on with their functions seemed to indicate that the trio had found their way into the control room for the various crushers and conveyor belts all throughout the Production facility.

*THERE THEY ARE! Seal this room off and DO NOT let them leave!*

Before any of them could further look around the room or discern the way forward, another squadron of SBRs and GNRs were dispensed from the hatches in the ground, all while another ES-101 made his presence known after leaping off from the metal rafters above.

Exhaling through her nose upon seeing that they had another fight ahead of them, Pyra merely stood there with her sword readied, all while Chai immediately dashed into the fray with an eager, excited look on his face. Opening with a barrage of timed blows on the nearest GNR he could reach, Chai didn’t even need to look behind him to know several SBRs were trying to come up at him from behind. The moment the closest one attempted to strike him in the back, the brunet cyborg was quick to leap up -said strike from the SBR completely missing his intended target and instead finishing off the battered GNR- and subsequently plant both feet on the shoulders of his attempted sneak-attacker. Following up by gripping both sides of the SBR’s head hard, Chai then proceeded to force the hapless security bot to stumble around and through the crowd of other security forces all while Chai swung at any and all who got too close. This came to a halt when the brunet’s unwilling SBR right stumbled chest-first into the ES-101 leading the squadron, who didn’t hesitate to swing down with full-force in an attempt to get the defect. 

Anticipating this, Chai merely lept and flipped back several feet as the Elite Saber’s strike completely decimated the unfortunate SBR. From there, the wannabe-rockstar opted to dash all around the arena while landing several potshots on whichever bot got too close, and with how his insistence on dashing and zipping about meant that an increasingly frustrated ES-101 was unable to land any swipes or stabs on him, the broadly-designed security bot instead decided to focus its attention instead on Pyra, who had barely moved from her original position, countering and retaliating against any potshots or hits sent her way with lethal effect.

Seeing the Elite Saber coming and bracing herself, Pyra's narrow-eyed expression didn’t change at all as she deftly dodged and blocked the barrage of strikes that were sent her way, culminating in the Blade and elite security body getting into a sword lock.

*PWEEEEM!!!*

The blade lock was suddenly broken when the ES-101 was suddenly blindsided by a beam of bright pink, yellow, and white neon energy. Blinking at the sudden turn of events, Pyra turned towards the source of the beam to see Chai holding his Scrap Guitar in his robotic hand, a pleased smirk on his face that didn’t fade even as he proceeded to dodge the subsequent series of strikes and GNR blasts that were sent his way. Every time the brunet either dashed to a safe distance or out of the striking range of one of the robots, he was quick to retaliate with a swing of his Scrap Guitar that sent out another beam of neon energy.

As Pyra watched her Driver gleefully send out beam after beam towards every Security bot that crossed his line of sight, it caused a stray idea to pop into her head. ‘I wonder if I can also…’ Her train of thought was suddenly cut off when the Elite Saber forced himself back onto his feet and took a lunging swing at the Aegis with an infuriated roar. As she dodged the swings with several leaps back and put some distance between them, Pyra decided now was as good a time as any to test out the theory she had. Focusing up, the redhead adopted a stance similar to Chai’s when he prepared to send out those beams…

*FWOOOOM!!!*

…and upon swinging it in the same vertical manner he did, Pyra was pleased to see it produced similar results; a beam of fire shot out from the tip of her sword and hit the ES-101 head on. The blow was strong and hot enough to set the battle-damaged Elite Saber ablaze, and Pyra didn't hesitate to dash forward, close the distance, and finish things off with a fiery, timed barrage of sword strikes, reducing the once-imposing security bot to a burnt pile of scrap metal.

From there, handling the rest of the security forces was a simple formality for the duo, none of the remaining forces able to land any sort of blow on them as they dashed about and deftly dispatched them, culminating in them both launching their respective long-range attacks at opposite ends on a softened-up BA-B00, colliding in an X shape for a beat (and an explosion on the BA-B00’s end) before they both dissipated and left only the blue Security bot’s remains and some lingering flames courtesy of Pyra’s fire blast.

“HA! Cool~.”  Chai noted, a pleased as punch tone in his voice as he watched the flame trail from Pyra's beam slowly fade away, leaving only scorch-marks. “Nice  to see I'm not the only one here that can launch beams, though I kinda figured something like that wouldn't be out of your wheelhouse after everything else you’ve pulled off.”

The unhesitating praise of the energetic brunet caused a bashful smile to make its way onto Pyra’s face, all while her face took on a rosier tint. “W-Well, I was actually taking inspiration from all those beams you were launching just now, but thank you.”

“Oh, uh… seriously?” Chai initially seemed a bit taken aback and surprised by Pyra's admission, though only briefly before his energetic tone came back with a hint of pride now in it. “Well alright! Awesome to know a Rockstar like me is already inspiring people before I've even released my first album!”

The redhead could only let out some muted chuckles in response to that declaration, a bemused bead of sweat running down the side of her face, while Peppermint just silently rolled her eyes via 808.

“Alright, time’s a-wastin’!” And with newfound enthusiasm in his already-energetic voice, Chai started dashing towards the most prominent exit out of the Crush Control room, which was a sloped catwalk leading upward and towards a familiar sight both he and Pyra remembered from their whole adventure yesterday; their only way forward marred by conveyor belts and active crushers.

“Well this is inconvenient…” Was all Pyra had to say in response to this sight, eyeing the crushers warily and not particularly eager to rush between and past them once more. A second after saying this, however, a potentially easier way to get through occurred to the Aegis. “Oh! We were just in the control room for at least these crushers, maybe we can just turn them off at that termin…” She began to suggest, only for her initially hopeful tone to peter off as she turned towards said terminal in the Crush Control… and saw that it was now a smoking, inoperable, and slightly flaming wreck, most likely a result of all the beams she and Chai were launching off everywhere while fighting in there. “...al.”

“Well… so much for that.” Was all Chai could think to say as he also took in the wrecked control terminal, side-eyeing how Pyra visibly deflated a bit at the sight of it before trying to cheer her up a bit. “But eh, we got through these things just fine yesterday. We’ll be good as long as we’re careful and time things right.” And with that encouraging remark and a similarly encouraging slap to Pyra’s shoulder, Chai opted to go first, making sure his timing was right (and that he wasn’t standing on the active conveyor either) before quickly dashing through the first set of crushers.

Recomposing herself, Pyra similarly timed her own brisk dash through just as she heard the intercoms once again blare out. *At the risk of stating the obvious, please do not stand underneath the press machines when in use.* A LU-C1LLE droned out, her words briefly halting the duo with how relevant it was to their current activity. *I can't believe I even have to say this.* The robot secretary groaned out a moment later, either not noticing or just not caring how the intercom was still active (Most likely the latter with that model's uncaring and apathetic personality template in mind.)

*Not a bad warning. You'd probably do well to keep it in mind, Chai.* Peppermint snarked out, and before Pyra could even think to try and play mediator, Chai was quick on the response.

“Okay, do you seriously think I'm dumb enough to run head-first into an active pressure crusher!?” The brunet demanded in a clearly annoyed tone, making his offense no secret to the hacker.

*Considering the track record we've had with you so far, I really don't feel like taking any chances.* Once again, the tan hacker didn’t pull her punches with her dry barbs, which got her an annoyed scoff from Chai.

“Okay, wow. Screw you too.” And with that annoyed remark, Chai then focused his attention on the next set of press machines he had to get past

“W-Why don’t we just… focus on getting past all these press machines, alright?” Pyra quickly interjected before he or Peppermint could escalate things further.

“Don’t gotta tell me twice.” Thankfully, neither Chai nor Peppermint seemed intent on arguing and/or insulting one another further (Albeit not without the latter shooting an annoyed glare in Chai’s direction for his tell-off) and from there, the three of them getting past the press machines turned out to be a simple affair. As they made their way past them, Pyra also couldn’t help but take note of the contents of the conveyor belts and what the press machines were converting them into. From boxes of scrap being converted into those silver and gold gears, said gears being converted into Vandelay robot parts, and those parts being quickly and efficiently put together by the press machines, it was giving the Aegis somewhat of a better idea on how all these machines are manufactured en masse by this company.

This continued for a bit longer, with Chai, Pyra, and 808 all deftly navigating their way through the Press Machines and various halls of the Production facility before eventually finding themselves in a room that had a bulky-looking set of terminals in the center and two VA-SERs manning it, a vending machine situated in the corner, and another one of those blue bounce pads sitting directly across from where the trio came in.

“Ooh, more free drinks! Don't mind if I do~.” Naturally, the vending machine caught Chai's attention near-immediately, already giving his Guitar an eager little twirl at the handle before making his way over to forcibly get more free drinks. On her own end, Pyra only managed to take three steps after him before the conversation going on between the two VA-SERs at the terminals caught her interest.

*...Seriously though, you can tell how much Mimosa hates Korsica.* A red, square-headed VA-SER said, still working at his computer screen as he spoke to his co-worker.

*Yeah, congratulating every department but Security in her Armstrong email? That's a corporate slap in the face.* His co-worker, an orange-colored VA-SER with a more rectangular-shaped head agreed, though his tone seemed notably more blase/casual about the topic whereas his red-colored colleague regarded the topic with more blatant distaste.

“The… higher ups at this company don't get along?” Pyra couldn’t help but inquire, only for her next words to be more sheepish when both VA-SERs jumped slightly upon realizing they weren’t alone and both turned towards her with questioning looks. “I-I'm sorry for interrupting. I was just overhearing your conversation and I know very little about this company, so I couldn't help but listen in.”

*You don't? Kind of a funny thing to hear with where you are and what this week is, lady.* The red VA-SER pointed out, much like the one from yesterday did, though just as Pyra was about to stammer out some reason for that, the orange one beat her to the punch in speaking, starting off his words with an uncaring shrug.

*Whatever. You don't keep up with current events, more power to ya. Anyway, to answer your question, yeah. You don't gotta be a genius like Zanzo constantly claims he is to see that the Department Heads can all barely stand each other on a good day. I'd bet the pay and Kale keeping them all on a tight leash is all that's stopping them from trying to kill each other.* The orange VA-SER explained, giving Pyra a general picture of the interdepartmental interactions in Vandelay that very much matched what she’d seen of this company and the decisions made within it. *Korisca though? The rest of the Executives can at least kinda tolerate each other to run this place, but ever since she was made Head of Security a few months back, it's like all the other Department Heads are going out of their way to give her crap, especially with Mimosa. That diva has a freaking axe to grind with her.*

*And that’s puttin’ it lightly. It's like they're hazing Korsica!* The red VA-SER exclaimed, sounding annoyed on the Security Head’s behalf.

*Eh, too bad. You join a company like this and land yourself a position like Head of Security, you better be prepared to be the best of the best.* The orange VA-SER scoffed, giving an uncaring shrug as he said this.

“Certainly sounds very cut-throat…” Pyra couldn't help but note, a wince on her face as she took all this information in.

*That's puttin’ it lightly, girlie.*

*PEEM!*

If Pyra or the two VA-SERs had anything further to say on the subject, they were unable to before a stray Harmonic Beam from Chai’s Scrap Guitar suddenly hit the two VA-SERs out of nowhere, causing the two robots to yelp out and the Aegis to jump back in surprise with how close the blast was to her. Snapping her head towards the source of the beam, she saw Chai standing there with the look on his face clearly indicating the stray blast hadn’t been on purpose.

*Oh! Phew. Scared me there for a sec. Thought you were Rekka.* The red VA-SER said upon also seeing the perpetrator, his voice shifting from surprise (and slight panic) to calm relief when he realized Rekka hadn't stomped in while they were distracted to smack them around for whatever reason. (Usually just for kicks or venting out anger)

“Oh, U-Uh, yeah, that was an accident. My bad.” Chai stammered out, having not meant to hit that VA-SER like he had the last one. He’d just been meaning to get any goodies out of some nearby boxes and oil barrels in the room, and figured his Stomp Box combo was the most efficient -and fun- way to break them all in quick succession.

On that note, Pyra’s surprised expression quickly shifted into one of bafflement when she also noticed how Chai had in both arms as many drinks from the vending machine as he could carry, a few periodically falling to the ground as he stood there.

*Eh, you’re fine. Honestly dealt with way worse working this job and with a boss like Rekka, kid.* The red VA-SER said,

“Cool, thanks…” Chai said before his gaze focused on the scene of the two robots working at the large computer terminal, how they were standing despite plenty of chairs being available, and couldn’t help but ask something. “Say, on that note, I kinda gotta ask; with how you guys are standing and working while there are like, two perfectly good chairs next to you both, does Vandelay have a rule for its workers about how they can’t sit or something?”

“I mean, with how they’re Arti-robots, would that even be a factor for them? A-And I mean this with no offense, mind you.” Pyra asked, quickly adding that last part as to not offend the two VA-SERs.

“I mean, normally, yeah, that’d be a good point, but with how we got a surprise answer to whether robots could eat and drink earlier, I’m kinda thinking it’s a question worth asking.” And at that observation, Pyra had no retort or argument. 

*You’d honestly be surprised, girlie. I mean, sheesh, my buddies and I were all built with a high enough level of programming that a lot of us question why some of this stuff is built into our skulls with how it just makes our jobs harder a lot of the time. Imagine building a robot meant for something like underwater work only for him to be programmed to be capable of feeling aquaphobia. Dumb crap like that.* The orange VA-SER explained, not minding more conversation to ensure his shift passed by faster. *To get back on topic though, no, there isn’t any rule like that from upper management, but when you’re working under someone like Rekka, it’s all around kinda safer to just look like you're not comfortable at all while working your shift. Also, don’t ask any crap like that near management, will ya? Don’t wanna be giving them any ideas.*

“Say no more.” Chai didn’t hesitate to say, giving the two VA-SERs as much of a wave goodbye as he could with his hands full as he began walking over to that blue bounce pad. “Welp! Cool talking to you guys!”

*Uhhh huh…* Was the orange VA-SER's disinterested response, eyes still on his terminal screen as he said this.

‘Well, that was certainly some interesting information to keep in mind.’ Pyra thought as she followed Chai to the bounce pad, making sure she didn’t forget what she gleaned from that conversation. Beyond Rekka, she didn’t really know anything about the people running (and making the comically stupid and greed-motivation decisions) this company, and with how she, Chai, and Peppermint were more than likely to deal with the rest of them before this was all over, she figured it’d be good to learn what she could when she could. 

“Alright! Another one of these things!” There was a blatantly excited expression on Chai’s face as they made their way over to a newfound bounce pad, clearly looking forward to jumping up several stories in the span of a few seconds once more. Meanwhile, Pyra still seemed a bit wary about using these appliances after her shaky first go with one.

“R-Right. Like I said after the first one and just like that chain of magnet points, I think it’ll be best if I-”

“Sorrycan’thearyoutoobusyjumpingBYEEEEEEE!” 

Seemingly aware of what Pyra was about to suggest, Chai quickly rattled off all that before quickly making his way onto the bounce pad just as the beat was right and blasting off… also forgetting in his rush how he had a hand-full of canned drinks while jumping, consequently forcing Pyra to shield her face with how the launch off the blue pad sent all the canned drinks he was still holding fly off in every direction, though thankfully none of them hit her. (Though the same couldn’t be said for that orange VA-SER, if his sudden yelp and the sight of him rubbing the back of his head in annoyance was any indication.)

At the sight of her suggestion being so blatantly ignored for whatever reason, Pyra just couldn’t help herself and let out a small sigh of annoyance, rubbing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment…

*BEEP! BEEP!*

*WHAM!*

…And subsequently fought the urge to let out another one when an alarm went off and the floor/hatch underneath Chai closed the instant he reached the top of this shaft. “...Well, that’s certainly inconvenient, and only reinforces the suggestion I made earlier.”

“Ooohh… that's… probably not good.” Back up with Chai, the brunet cyborg couldn’t help but say this and wince when he was greeted with the sight of the ground suddenly shutting underneath him and preventing Pyra from following him up here. He… hadn’t been expecting something like that to happen in his rush to keep his personal space.

*There you are!* 

“And that's definitely not good!” Nor was he expecting to be greeted with a scowling Rekka on the gigantic TV screen in front of him!

*You think?* Peppermint asked, making her annoyance at Chai and what he just did not a secret.

*This is as far as you go, punk! You're on lockdown, AND GETTING THE SMACKDOWN!!!* And as if in response to that snarling declaration, a squadron of SBRs and GNRs headed by both an ES-101 and BA-B00 came out from the floor hatches, all of which had their weapons (or giant fists in the BA-B00’s case) readied with an eagerness to put them to use.

FIGHT!!

“Yeah, that's where I beg to differ!” Despite his initial surprise at this turn of events, Chai was quick to regain his bravado and fight-happy demeanor, making the first move before any of the security bots could react via a dash forward and opening with his Shred combo on the closest target; that being the BA-B00.

Just like with the Kale statue, Chai bombarded the BA-B00 with a flurry of rapid slashes from his Scrap Guitar, though just as he was about to leap up into the air and deliver the coup de grace to his flurry of slashes, he was forced to cancel out of the attack with how it still wasn't enough to stagger the BA-B00, which was about to slam both of its oversized fists down on the brunet in retaliation.

“ Nope!” Thinking quickly, Chai opted to finally test out his arm's magnet ability on the Security bots, quickly pointing his arm towards the nearest GNR that was out of the BA-B00's range and shooting the neon chain out from his wrist once more. Just like with the magnet points, the instant the orange chain made contact with the GNR's chest plate, Chai was zipped towards the hapless security bot in an instant. The moment the magnet deactivated, Chai gave the surprised GNR, no chance to react or retaliate before wailing in it with his Scrap Guitar, managing to obliterate it with another beam blast before the rest of the robots tried rushing him.

“Woop!” Chai was able to avoid several GNR blasts that came his way with no issue, though he did find himself put on the backfoot when the ES-101 charged forward and bombarded him with a series of swings from its sword. “Missed me~! Try again!” Despite this, Chai maintained a lackadaisical and taunting demeanor as he weaved, backed away, and generally dodged out of the way of the Elite Saber’s strikes, all of which was only serving to worsen the bulky security bot’s temper. Winding its sword back with two hands, it tried to hit Chai with a horizontal swing, “Bad aim AND a team-killer! A real winning combo!” only for him to jump upwards just as the ES-101's blade was about to hit him, instead bisecting a SBR that had been trying to flank him from behind while the brunet himself used the Elite Saber's head as a platform to jump off of. “Yeah, pro tip; you guys might wanna work on your aim.” Chai jeered out as he touched down on the floor, his Scrap Guitar slung over his shoulder with both hands and a toothy smile on his face.

*...RrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAGHHHH!!!!* Finally reaching the limits of his composure, the Elite Saber was unable to stop the scream of pure rage and hate that bubbled out his mechanical throat, leveling a glare of pure hatred at the lanky brunet the made it clear the elite Vandelay bot would snap him in two if he got his hands on him.

*Siiiiizzzle…*

*Hey, uhhhh… is it just me or is the floor starting to get scaldingly hot!?*

*FWOOM!*

However, the Elite Saber would never even get an opportunity to even try lashing out in rage at Chai with how the floor underneath him and several other SBRs and GNRs started to taking on an orange, glowing hue… and how said ‘floor’ was actually a closed hatch sealing the vertical shaft brunet came up from. Before the Elite Saber or any of the other security bots could question what was happening, an explosion of flame suddenly rose out from underneath their feet, followed immediately by Pyra zipping up through the newly created molten hole, her sword set ablaze and her position in mid-air evoking that ‘Prominence Revolt’ attack of hers.

“OH! WELL DON'T MIND IF I DO~!”   Taken by surprise by the sudden, molten explosion but never one to turn down an opportunity, Chai immediately sprang into action and took advantage of how the explosion sent several bots into the air. Deciding now was finally the time to test out his arm's magnet on these security bots, Chai shot his arm out and was pleased to see the neon-orange chain once more shoot out from his wrist and attach itself to the ES-101 at the peak of his launch height.

“FLARE SMASH!!!” As Chai made good use of his magnet’s grapple to remain in the air, the Aegis meanwhile opted to make her landing an explosive one, swinging her sword forward while the flames from its pipes blazed out, creating an inferno that sent any close by security bots flying back, with the most direct recipient of Pyra’s fiery blow being the BA-B00 Chai tried to Shred on initially.

*PWEEM!*

Back up with Chai in the air, the wannabe Rockstar was all too happy to bombard the wide-open ES-101 with a series of powerful blows while they were both up in the air, culminating in the final blow in his combo being another Harmonic Beam at point-blank range, this time pointed downward vertically…

*GAAAAAAaaaaaaa aaaaaa aaaaaaa aaaaaa aa aaa! * Smash!*

And coincidentally right over the hole leading back down the shaft Pyra created. As one might expect, the end-result was the unfortunate Elite Saber being sent flying down several stories to his doom. Landing with a crouch, Chai had no time to appreciate his handiwork with how there were still security bots about to take care of. In particular, Chai saw how Pyra was currently finishing off any remaining GNRs with singular and powerful fiery strikes, leaving him to finish what he started with a recovering (and softened up!) BA-B00. With a flick of his robotic wrist, Chai dashed forward, once again closed the distance between himself and the large, blue Security bot, and bombarded it with a series of rapid slashes in his ‘Shred’ combo, and with all the damage it accumulated so far from both himself and Pyra, it was ultimately unable to maintain its guard, and with the remaining security being deftly handled by the Aegis, it meant there were no interruptions this time as Chai leapt up into the air with all nearby scrap accumulating around the dazed BA-B00 and smashed his Scrap Guitar down on it and destroying it.

With a pleased smile and some more quick application of his arm’s magnet, taking care of the remaining security and even the subsequent wave that arrived was little more than a formality for Chai and Pyra, though the pleased expression on the brunet’s face was kind of wiped off and replaced with a slightly unsettled expression when he suddenly noticed Pyra giving him a deadpan, decidedly unamused look, all while standing near the still glowing-hot hole she created.

“...Are you seeing why I insisted that we go on those pads together now, Chai?” The redhead asked simply, unable to keep the dry tone out of her voice as she re-sheathed her sword to the small of her back.

“I'm uh… might be seeing where you're coming from on that, yeah…” Chai admitted, all while trying to avoid Pyra’s discomforting gaze on him. With the redheaded Blade’s demeanor normally being so sweet and kindly, it was a bit jarring and uncomfortable seeing her display some blatant annoyance like this. Being eager to change the subject, the brunet opted to take note of how they seemed to be under a lockdown in this area “And I'm also seeing that we're locked down over here. Peppermint, this is where you come in?”

*Way ahead of you,* As if on cue, the locked down door to the room’s right shifted to green before automatically opening up, giving them a path forward. *Get going this way.*

With no reason to delay, especially with how Rekka just spotted them in there, the cyborg, Blade, and Cat trio quickly moved down the L-shaped corridor and subsequently found themselves in a large room that had what looked to be a magnetic rail for storage containers going along the cealing and leading to an opening across from where they came in.

*Hold up, guys.* Peppermint suddenly spoke up before either had a chance to properly take in their surroundings, having 808 shift back into her feline form and land on Chai’s shoulder before gesturing towards a door to the right side of the room, its red lighting indicating it was locked. Though as Peppermint continued to explain, it shifted to green, indicating it was now unlocked. *See that door? Just bypassed security on that one and it’s actually a straight shot up to Rekka’s office from here. Rough route, though. Lotta stairs.*

“Well, a nice, straightforward route with no security harassing us sounds like a nice change of pace.” For her part, Pyra was all too happy to hear about a nice, alternative, straightforward route that promised no fighting the rest of the way to Rekka’s office…

“Yeaaaah, kind of a sucky change of pace if I'm gonna be real here,” …whereas Chai found the prospect much, much less appealing, mainly thanks to the emphasis the hacker put on the flights of stairs they’d have to scale if they went that way. As he said this, the prominent sight of a metal hook/claw attached to a magnetic rail instantly caught the brunet’s eye and very quickly an idea for a much better alternative route to the one Peppermint just proposed struck him. “I’m more for quick, EXCITING routes. This looks like more fun.”

“And considerably more dangerous , Chai. One with no guarantee it’ll even get us where we need to go at that.” Pyra sighed as she pointed this out, at this point wanting the rest of their journey up to Rekka’s office to be an uneventful affair. Ignoring Chai’s dissatisfied groan and the way he begrudgingly stopped dead mid-step as he tried going up to the rail, she continued. “After the fights and close calls we’ve had today, I’d really rather just take the straightforward route.”

After a moment where Pyra’s statement/request was left to hang in the air, Chai’s demeanor suddenly deflated a bit as he groaned out a resigned sigh. “ Okay then, you wanna climb the stairs, more power to ya.”

Exhaling a relieved sigh she hadn’t even realized she was holding, Pyra opened her eyes with a smile and was about to thank Chai for listening to her on this…

“I’m still taking the fun route tho. SEE YA AT THE TOP~!” …Only for those words to die in her throat at the last part her Driver just gleefully exclaimed out. With no time to react, Pyra could only watch as Chai shot his right arm towards the point on the rail, his magnet chain shooting out and sending both him and the still-hanging 808 zipping off to parts unknown.

“H-He… He really…” For a few tense, silent moments that to her felt much longer, Pyra just stood there trying to find the words to say, looking at the rail Chai and 808 gleefully took off on with a gobsmacked expression on her face. However, when the redhead finally found her voice, the most prominent thing to note was just how utterly affronted her tone was. “He really just left me here without a second thought…!”

The fact that this was right after that whole incident with the bounce pad only exacerbated the frustration Pyra was feeling right now. Exhaling a frustrated breath while pinching the bridge of her nose, the redheaded Aegis regained her composure before giving the still-unlocked door a look. “Well, at least I still have a clear way forward, and a considerably more calm one at that. I could use that and some time to think about how much has happened in just two days…”

And with that spoken thought left in the air, she walked towards her only available way forward.

“Ohhh….” Only to once again find herself brought to a stunned halt when she was greeted with the dozens upon dozens of stair flights she had ahead of herself, to the point that she couldn’t even see the ceiling from where she was. “ Ohhhhhh dear… Those really… really are… a lot of stairs…”

And at the sinking realization that she now had to climb all these stairs -topped off by the stray thought that Chai’s unknown trip down the magnet rail suddenly seemed much more appealing- Pyra could only groan out the following, “If I deserved it, I’d ask the Architect to give me strength…”

She had a sinking feeling in her gut that this was going to be an exhausting climb…

To Be Continued…

URRRRRGH, FINALLY! Something to post after all the months of nothing! Again, I hope that it was enjoyable and that Chai’s headassery in this Track wasn’t irritating/still felt in-character for a pre-development Chai that’s not invested at all in what’s going on yet and that it didn’t make him come off unsympathetic. I hope that I at least managed to get across that some of his more jerky actions he took this Track were partly due to obliviousness on his part.

Alright, with that finally out of the way, I’m going to enjoy myself some Thief 1 and 2, TF2 Classic, and ULTRAKILL custom missions with a guilt free conscience. Also got a gaming channel I seriously need to update ._.

Chapter Text

Track 5: Power Up, (Part 3 of 3)

*CHAI, WHAT THE HELL!? You don't even know where this rail goes!!!* Peppermint exclaimed in outrage as Chai zipped down the magnetic rail at a break-neck pace, all while her robotic cat/mouthpiece was dangling off his shoulder. As one would likely expect, this infuriated exclamation was the tan-skinned hacker's immediate response to the brunet slacker blatantly disregarding both her and Pyra's advice and opting to blaze down this rail instead.

“Chill out! It'll be fine~!” In stark contrast to Peppermint and the blatant frustration she was displaying, Chai's elated tone and expression as both he and 808 rapidly zipped down the rail and all throughout the Production facility's many expansive rooms and areas made it clear he had zero regrets about his spur of the moment decision and was actively having the time of his life, treating the whole thing more like a joyride than anything.

*Oh yeah? Well what about that?* The potential danger of this impromptu route was quick to rear its head however, as Peppermint didn't hesitate to dryly point out. True to the hacker's blunt words, dead ahead of the hanging duo and rapidly closing in were a series of stationary cargo containers hanging from the magnet rail, each at different angles with some veering to the left and others to the right.

“Okay yeah, that would be a problem,” Despite the distance quickly being closed between himself and the hard metal containers, Chai didn't freak out or lose his composure in the face of this, instead narrowing his eyes and tightening his metallic hand's ‘grip’ on the pulsing line of electricity coming from both ends of the grapple point’s magnet. “IF I WASN'T TOTALLY LOCKED IN!”

Making good on his loud boast/exclamation, Chai threw his body weight to the left just as he was about to painfully collide with the cargo container, nimbly dodging right past it unscathed as a result. With a grunt of exertion, the brunet cyborg repeated that dodging motion for the series of containers that came right after that first one, delighting in the rush of adrenaline he felt upon successfully pulling that off.

“WOOOOOO~!” Chai cheered in pure exhilaration, wide eyes taking in the sights of larger than life automatic production machinery anywhere he looked as he and 808 continued to blaze down the magnet rail.

*Okay, that wasn't too shabby. I'll give you that much…* Peppermint conceded, admittedly taken by surprise and perhaps also a bit impressed at the brunet's split-second maneuvers just now. (Though she sure as hell wasn't gonna say that out loud, lest she cause Chai's ego to grow even bigger than it already was.) *Think you can repeat that God knows how many more times though?* She was quick to point out to Chai he wasn't in the clear just yet though, as the particular path the rail was taking him and 808 down had more cargo containers hanging from it.

“That a challenge? Cuz in that case…” Undaunted by the rapidly closing in obstacle, Chai merely let a confident smirk make its way onto his face before once again nimbly throwing himself out of the way of the first container. “challenge accepted!”

And while displaying a notably uncharacteristic focus and concentration, Chai then made sure to deftly repeat the motion for every other container amid the set ahead of him…

*Beat! Beat!*

*LEAP!!!*

…particularly making sure to leap and throw himself up and above a container that had been dangling at 90° angle before 'catching’ the magnet as he descended back down.

This whole process continued for several more minutes, with an excited Chai making sure to enjoy the impressive and active sci-fi-esque machinery at work all around him between instances of him dodging any more poorly placed cargo containers.

“Aaaaaand challenge completed! Without taking a single blow to boot!” Chai exclaimed in satisfaction when another minute passed with no more containers to dodge making their appearance. “ Toldja it'd be fine, Peppermint~!” The lack of a prominent neon-blue glow in 808's eyes indicated that the robotic feline was exclusively behind the wheel at the moment. Ha, if Chai had to guess, Peppermint was probably huffing and sulking in annoyance back at the Hideout at how he was totally making this awesome shortcut work and looking badass as hell in the process! By contrast, 808 herself looked to be enjoying herself as much as Chai was, having a look of elation similar to his own as they continued to zip down the magnet rail while enjoying all the extravagant sights around them.

“WAHAHA, YEAH~!” Chai cheered out gleefully, zipping through a large fog of steam as the rail gradually curved downwards. “Admit it Peppermint: you wish you were doing this!” He added upon noticing the neon-blue glow returning to 808's eyes.

*Actually, no. Also, looks like you've been spotted.* However, despite Chai making this impromptu shortcut work for much longer than she anticipated, the inevitable disastrous end to it was now about to rear its ugly head, as she didn't hesitate to bluntly point out to the cocky airhead.

*That's as far as you go, PUNK!* Directing his squinting gaze dead-ahead at Peppermint's dry warning to him, Chai found the confidence he'd gained from his high-speed detour rapidly draining when he was greeted with an AIR-1N drone flying towards a portion of the rail ahead with what was clearly an explosive bomb in it's stick-like, mechanical hands…

*BOOM!*

…topped off by it accidentally dropping said bomb onto the magnet rail after being startled by Rekka's furious exclamation towards him.

*Tuck and roll, Chai.* And with that sarcasm-filled response, Peppermint allowed control back to 808, whose pupils immediately began shrinking at the sight of the rail's gap.

  “What!?” Chai was much the same as his feline companion, additionally letting out that panicked exclamation and flailing around on the rail in a feeble attempt to stop himself.

“WAAAAAAAAH!!!”

With his flailing about predictably doing nothing, Chai could only let out a panicked yell as he was sent shooting off the rail and sent front-flipping towards a nearby window with 808 in tow, the robotic cat desperately trying (And failing) to stay latched onto the brunet's shoulder.

*CRASH!!!!*

***O***

“Tch…” Rekka growled, a scowl plastered onto her face as she observed the human and cat-shaped silhouette now on the window the defect and his cat were flung through. “Guess that mangy cat-bot ain't the only thing with nine lives.”

Between his and that bimbo's victory against QA-M1L yesterday, his repeated survival against both Security and accidents like this one, and generally how bizarrely durable he seemed to be, Rekka would have to begrudgingly concede to the fact that this defect was proving to be trickier to ‘ recall’ than she initially figured.

“Well, if that defect runt really wants to keep kickin’, he better at least make it up to the office then. After all that practice, Rekka's got a real hankerin’ to get into a proper brawl.” She growled out as she turned away from her computer's monitor. As she'd said earlier during one of her announcements, Rekka at this point was frankly hoping Security would continue to fail in their efforts since that meant she'd be able to personally rip that punk apart. She damn well needed some satisfaction and catharsis like that to take away from the frustration of having her prized ‘no defect’ record broken, and tearing apart the punk responsible for breaking it sounded like some damn good stress relief in her book.

As she stepped away from her office's computer and started moving towards a break room-esque area she'd long since set up, Rekka casually directed her scowling gaze down to the spacious, arena-esque entrance area to her office, where several janitorial VA-SERs were busy cleaning up the aftermath of her and Newt's initial training session…

*Ahh, nothing like the successful feeling of fulfilling your purpose~!* …said aftermath being the broken and scattered remains/body parts of multiple Testing Robots that -when all assembled, anyway- had the basic shape of a SBR unit repainted black and caution tape-yellow, being littered all over the ‘arena,’ with one model in particular still being conscious/functional despite being reduced to only a head. *Happy to have been of use to both you and your partner, Ms. Rekka!* The head in question continued on cheerily upon noticing Rekka scowling down at them all from above.

“SHUT IT, TIN-CAN!”

*Understood! Shutting it right away!* The Test Robot responded happily, not appearing bothered in the slightest as the work-weary VA-SER handling his head tossed him into the waste-bin without batting an eye.

Predictably, given the personalities of both the Driver and her newly bonded Blade, Rekka and Newt wasted no time since their introductions to one another to start training and getting a feel for each other's combat abilities. Despite Newt initially being taken aback by the Production Head's loud, aggressive demeanor, she was quick to grow used to it -a task made easier by her existing reverence for Mor Ardain military might, subsequently making Rekka's loud, demanding demeanor an easy pill to swallow for the greyish-green skinned Blade- and the two soon proved capable of fighting fluidly in tandem. Before either hot-blooded woman realized it, they had spent the brunt of the previous night training Newt in how to fight and grapple like a professional wrestler while Rekka herself got a feel for how to make use of a Blade's powers and abilities.

‘Easier workin’ with that green shorty than Rekka figured…’ It was especially surprising with how Rekka’s professional wrestling career was primarily a solo one, usually working quite poorly when forced into any sort of team-up match. Meanwhile, Newt’s gusto, unquestioning obedience, and general enthusiasm and competence while showing her the ropes of her preferred style of combat left the Head of Production feeling a surprising and uncharacteristic sense of pride at how intently Newt listened to her instruction and just how quickly she got a feel for the professional wrestling maneuvers she taught her to do. With these thoughts in mind, Rekka’s usual scowl surprisingly morphed into a pleased smirk as she continued towards her office’s personal recreation area and was greeted with the green-skinned Blade sitting on the edge of her seat at her couch with a look of bated interest at her TV’s screen…

*CRUNCH!!!*

*Oh yeah,he's gonna be feeling THAT ONE in the morning, Jim!*

*I'll be surprised if he can still feel anything from the neck down after that, Vinny.*

“By the Architect… such magnificent maneuvers!”  Newt breathed out in rapt awe, completely oblivious to her Driver’s presence. After finishing their first stint of training together, Rekka opted to further educate Newt on the finer nuances to the art of professional wrestling by having her watch various clips and moments throughout the fine sport’s history to better take in and digest various techniques. This, of course, included various moments throughout her own glorious and brutal career of busting skulls all the way to the top.

The pleased -dare one say even proud- smirk on Rekka’s face only grew more prominent as she took in her Blade dutifully watching the clips and learning all she could from them… only for it to fade into an unsettled and disgusted frown upon being reminded of the giant eye on the back of Newt’s head when it blinked out of the corner of her eye. The unsettled feeling running through the Production Head only grew worse when the giant eye started looking right back at her, finally alerting Newt to her presence.

“Ah, Big Boss, sir! How is your reconnaissance for the Aegis’s Driver going?” Newt was quick to greet, pausing the clip she was watching with a click of the remote before jumping up to her feet and giving Rekka a dutiful salute with her extra set of arms floating up above.

“Well, a camera drone Big Boss sent dropped a bomb on the magnet rail the loud-mouthed punk was ridin’. He got sent flyin’ and screamin’...” Rekka explained after her initial surprise and disturbment wore off.

“That’s good!” Newt responded with a nod and a smile…

“...through a window into what looked like storage insteada’ dozens of stories to the rock-bottom of this place.”

“That’s… less good.” …though both petered out with Rekka’s follow-up statement.

“Alert’s still goin’ off and those chumps with Security are combin’ through the buildin’ to take care of him, but Rekka’s got this hunch that defect punk’s gonna find this way up here either way. All that in mind, stretch all your arms, get that sword of yours ready, and get especially ready to test those moves I taught ya out on somethin’ other than those jobber bots. Cuz I know I am.” At the last part of that statement, Rekka took a brief break from referring to herself in third person as she slammed both her fists together in a powerful motion, the two gestures combined hammering home the brutal Production Head’s bloodthirstiness and desire to personally take Chai apart.

“Mmmm…” Newt hummed out in response to all that, a notably thoughtful look on her face before she posed a question to her Driver. “Permission to speak freely, Big Boss?”

“Permission granted, now out with it already!” Rekka spat with a roll of her eyes, having realized hours earlier that it was easier to at least partially play along with all that military shit Newt was fixated on.

“I was frankly feeling much the same way,” She admitted after a moment, the smile on her face taking on a more… dangerous air to it, one that frankly looked closer to one of her Driver’s sneers. “After spending all those hours learning about the amazing art of professional wrestling, taking in all those amazing techniques, I’ll readily admit I was hoping to try them on a more challenging opponent, and hearing that this ‘defect’ target of ours is the Driver of the Aegis honestly left me giddy at the prospect of testing my might against him and the legendary Blade he wields.”

“Well then, good to know we’re on the same page, runt.” With that said, Rekka then opted to take a seat next to Newt on her couch, kicked up her feet onto her coffee table (tailor-made to withstand her throwing her weight on it none too gently, of course) and continue watching through various Professional Wrestling highlights together while waiting for their targets to make it to them.

Rekka also had to admit that, despite her vocal objections to being shacked up with a partner, the gung-ho and dutiful green-skinned girl was starting to grow on her.

***O***

REO

Some People Call This Teamwork
Hi-Fi Rush originals

Bethesda Softworks

“...What are these? Electric barriers…!? Come on!” Back with Chai and 808, after crashing through that window -and after leaving a human and cat-shaped impact silhouette in the process- the former was soon pleased to hear from Peppermint that the impromptu route he decided on left them right around the corner from Rekka's office! There was probably only around 10 stories or so left of the colossal Production building Chai had to scale before they reached their destination, which was A-Okay in his book.

Of course, the good mood Chai gained from this news quickly had a damper put on it with how they soon came across a roadblock with no clear way around. The cyborg and cat duo barely managed to make it down a hallway from the room they landed in before being greeted with, as Chai said, a blue, forcefield-looking electric barrier blocking the way forward.

However, in stark contrast to Chai's annoyed demeanor, Peppermint actually seemed pleased by the sight of the blue barrier before having 808 turn to her companion. *Alright, thought this might come in handy! You ready for this, Chai?*

“Ready for what, exactly?” Chai asked, the confused tone in his voice matching his expression as he addressed Peppermint via their mutual cat buddy. Peppermint said nothing in response, instead letting her actions speak for her…

*PWOOM!*

…and said actions entailed Peppermint suddenly and somehow teleporting in after 808 emitted a flash of blue light at her master's command. A baffled Chai had no chance to comment on this sudden turn of events before Peppermint, with dual laser pistols in hand and a confident smirk on her face, unloaded several rounds from her blasters into the blue barrier. Each shot caused spider webs of cracks to form all over the barrier, getting more and more prominent till Peppermint's final shot, which shattered the barrier and opened up the way forward.

“ W-WHOA! How did you-!?”   Chai stammered out in shock, his wide-eyed face still focused on where the barrier had been before whipping his head to where Peppermint was standing for an explanation. The brunet's baffled confusion only got worse when he saw that in the split-second he looked away from Peppermint, she somehow vanished like she'd never been there to begin with. “What the-!? Peppermint!?”

*You rang?* The very visibly confused Chai had been in the middle of giving his surroundings a look over with 808 when the latter suddenly spoke up, indicating that the tan-skinned hacker was back at her desk at the Hideout. *Juuust a little bit of temporal displacement. Kinda complicated -not really your lingo- but the long and short of it is that it's one of 808's hidden features.* She explained, pride clear in her voice as she provided a sum-up of her robotic feline's more profound features.

“YOU COULD HAVE BEEN HERE THIS WHOLE TIME!?” Once Chai's initial surprise wore off, it was quickly replaced by outrage and indignation at the realization that Peppermint could've dropped in to help at any point from the get-go.

*What? Thought you didn't need me, Mr. Confident,* The hacker retorted easily, her tone and 808's self-satisfied expression making it clear she was unphased by Chai's indignance. *especially not after you decided to ditch Pyra.* She additionally pointed out, with Chai flinching up at her accusation.

“What!? I didn't ditch her! I just…uh…” Chai shot back instinctively, a heated tone in his voice. Said heated tone quickly faded as the brunet trailed off and realized -with no small amount of discomfort- that he couldn't exactly refute what Peppermint said just now. “It… was… a strategic split-up! She gets to take the route she wanted and I get to take the route I wanted! That's a win-win as far as I'm concerned.” Was Chai's excuse/justification for his actions after a few moments of wracking his brain, though Peppermint didn't seem convinced in the slightest going by the deadpan, half-lidded look on 808's face right now.

*...Uh-huh.* Peppermint began, her dry, unamused tone matching the look on 808's face. *Y'know, something tells me Pyra would feel differently if she were here for this talk right now.*

“Oh yeah, why wouldn't she? Like I said, she got to take the safe, danger-free route she wanted to begin with so I'm seeing no reason she'd complain.” Was Chai's defensive retort, and when the deadpan look on 808's face didn't change in the slightest, he could only let out an annoyed huff before deciding to just drop the matter and continue on.

***O***

*Huff, huff…* ‘Okay, slow and steady, keep a slow and steady pace, Pyra.’ Back with the fire Blade in question, Pyra had been making sure to keep her breath steady and not go too fast, lest she tire herself out when she had who knows how many flights of stairs left.

Still, despite her initial dread upon taking in the many flights of stairs she had ahead of herself, the fact that she hadn't been suddenly boxed into an arena and forced to fight Security during her climb so far was leaving Pyra optimistic in spite of the slowly building ache in her legs and lungs.

‘Nice to know Peppermint was dead-on about this route being free of Security…’ The redhead thought, smiling slightly despite the ache and mounting fatigue that came with climbing so many stairs without stopping. Her smile didn't last however and she couldn't help but let out an exasperated huff when a quick glance around reminded herself of the fact that she was alone. ‘It would've been even nicer if Chai didn't take the first opportunity to go off on his own.’ However, it didn't take long before the redhead's annoyance at being so readily left behind turned to concern at her Driver's current whereabouts and whatever dangerous antics he'd since gotten up to. ‘Hopefully, he hasn't gotten himself hurt since going off on that rail… well, at least not too badly given his track record so far…’  

With that concerning thought giving her some extra motivation, Pyra slightly sped up her pace as she continued making her way up the flights of stairs, only coming to a halt when she was greeted with a sign on the wall marking which floor she was currently on. “ ...alright, that sign when I started said I began at floor 10, I'm now at 20, meaning I still have…!” Pyra thought aloud, feeling a smile creep back onto her face along with a newfound sense of optimism as she took in the decent chunk of progress she'd made so far…

20

100

“...many, MANY more flights to go…” …Only for said optimism to leak out of her like a bucket with a gaping hole in its bottom when the Aegis saw that she'd only just gotten started on her long, increasingly tedious trek up to the top floor. As Pyra said this, the smile that was on her face a moment ago was still present, but now devoid of any satisfaction/optimism.

*Thump*

A moment later, Pyra couldn't help but let herself slump head-first against the floor-sign that currently felt like it was mocking her , her smile finally breaking as she let out a dread and frustration-filled sigh. “This… might have been a mistake.”

At least there hadn't been any Security bots attacking her so far, like Peppermint had assured them… though in all honesty, the thought of a combat encounter to break up the slowly building monotony of climbing would actually be pretty welcome right about now…

***O***

“Looks like someone got an upgrade.”

Speaking of combat encounters, Chai and 808 found themselves about to engage with another BA-B00 accompanied by two GNR units, signaling the brunet's first proper instance of encountering Security resistance since going off on that magnet rail.

Of particular note -and what prompted that annoyed observation- was how the hulking blue robot spawned a barrier around itself after slamming its fists together twice. It was the same sort of blue electric barrier Peppermint shot up earlier, meaning Chai was likely going to need the Hacker's assistance to deal with this… Great.

*My time to shine! I can overload those enemy barriers, you know. Just call me in.* Peppermint piped up, the look on 808's face as she said that indicating she had no problem with getting in on the fights with Security first-hand. If anything, she seemed quite eager at the prospect.

“Well, not seeing any other way to deal with them, so…!” While not exactly eager at the prospect of having to call in assistance for a fight -especially with how this was the first chance he got to fight solo again since first discovering his music powers- Chai was nonetheless well aware that he had no way of breaking through those blue energy barriers on his own. “NOW!” With this in mind, the hotheaded brunet called out for 808 to once again bring Peppermint into the field while he started dashing towards the BA-B00. Upon closing the distance, rather than futilely attempting to strike at the shielded robot, Chai instead opted to double jump right over it and its circular barrier as it tried to smash him into paste.

*PowpowpowpowPOW! POW POW POW!*

The surprised BA-B00 had no chance to turn around and try to regain a bead on Chai with how Peppermint once more teleported in as this all happened, and the tan-skinned hacker already had her dual-laser blasters readied. With a confident smirk on her face, Peppermint was quick to unload as many blaster shots as possible into the hulking blue robot's barrier, each shot causing cracks to spread throughout it just like last time.

*CRASH!!!*

At Peppermint's final shot in her barrage, just before both her blasters were left overheated and needing cooling down, the BA-B00's barrier shattered, leaving the large blue robot exposed for Chai. Blowing on the barrel of her steaming gun and holstering both with some twirls and flourish, the confident expression on Peppermint's face remained even as the incensed BA-B00 attempted to crush her with an overhead smash, only for her to leap backwards and warp back to the Hideout.

Back on Chai's end, the brunet had been spending his time while Peppermint was taking care of that barrier smacking around the closest GNR he could reach, having just finished sending the unfortunate long-range Security bot flying and exploding with one final swing of his Scrap Guitar. With an exhilarated look on his face, Chai was quick to try and capitalize by dashing forward and unleashing a barrage of hard-hitting blows on the BA-B00. Unfortunately, even without its barrier to defend against the assault, the hulking robot was quick to prove it wasn't defenseless, simply tanking Chai's blows without even staggering before putting the brunet cyborg on the backfoot with a series of furious swings from its fists, forcing him to dodge, weave, and leap out of the way.

Noticing the other GNR getting ready to fire at him, Chai quickly opted to forgo another trading of blows with the BA-B00 to deal with the last of the annoying support bots, using his magnet chain to quickly zip over to the now-surprised GNR and just barely avoiding another swing from the BA-B00. Like with its partner he trashed mere moments ago, the hapless GNR was left with no way to retaliate with Chai immediately closing the distance like he did, following up by opening with a flurry of guitar strikes. Shifting his grip back into a batter's stance mid-combo, Chai's final strike sent the GNR screaming into the air and once more culminated in a spectacular explosion of fireworks at the peak of its launch.

Letting out a pleased exhale, Chai paused for a moment to enjoy the sight of the neon-colored fireworks slowly dissipating. “Alrighty~! That's the annoying, long-range guys dealt with, now all that's left is-”

*DUCK!*  

Instinctively responding to Peppermint's sudden exclamation, Chai ducked into a crouching position just as he was about to get cold cocked in the side of the head by the irate BA-B00's fist. “...Big, blue, hunched over and angry. Awesome.” The brunet groaned in clear annoyance as he dashed back to gain some distance. As he began to consider how he should approach this -preferably without getting sent flying like what happened with the first BA-B00 they encountered- 808's blue light rhymically pulsing out of the corner of his eye suddenly caused an idea to pop into his head. “So uhhh… just to be clear, you coming in to lend a hand isn't exclusive to you just… shooting down force fields and big blue buttons, right?”

*Weave, weave, dodge!*

*It'd be a seriously lame and situational feature if it was!* Peppermint exclaimed as Chai continued to dodge out of the way of another barrage of big metal fists trying to hit him. At that confirmation, a smile made its way back onto the brunet’s face as he tightened his grip on his Scrap Guitar.

“Cool, well, here's your 2nd cue then!” With that exclamation, Chai once again dashed forward to close what little distance was between himself and the BA-B00, power sliding through its legs and underneath it just as it tried to hit him with another swipe. Sliding back onto his feet in one fluid motion, Chai once again unleashed another barrage of Scrap Guitar strikes on the Security bot…

CHAI!

CHAI!

WOO!

HEY!

*POWPOWPOWPOWPOW!*

…and this time, when additionally supplemented by a barrage of laser blasts, Chai's series of strikes were enough to break through the hulking robot's guard and leave it staggered. At the sight of this opening, Chai didn't hesitate to take advantage of it, all with a smile that got much more toothy. After an opening strike, he once again opted to perform his ‘Shred’ combo, the BA-B00 unable to defend against the rapid flurry of guitar slashes and especially not against the combo's explosive slam-to-the-ground finisher. Sent tumbling and thoroughly damaged but still operational, Chai gave the robot no time to recover as he finished it off with a more straightforward series of strikes, the neon geysers that erupted from the ground more than enough to blow the damaged BA-B00 into pieces.

“Huh… that went better than expected!” Chai couldn’t help but comment once it was clear there were no more Security bots about to pop out, a pleasantly surprised tone in his voice at how painlessly that whole encounter went, both in regards to calling in his hacking ally in the midst of combat, and very literally with how he’d thankfully avoided any damage dealt this go around.

*Of course it did. I was there.* Peppermint added, pride clear in her tone as she spoke, though it quickly vanished when replaced with the pointed, borderline accusatory thing she had to say next. *Though, it probably would've gone by even quicker if Pyra was here too.*

“Ohhhhh, you don't say? Well, I'll be sure to fill her in on all the cool tricks we can pull off in a fight when I see her.” Was Chai's immediate, blithe response. “Say, uhh…. What’s up with that door up over there?”

And rather than stick around for what would assuredly be another lecture from Peppermint about him ‘ditching’ Pyra again, Chai decided to keep his attention on the nearest object of interest, which in this case was the curious-looking door up on a nearby catwalk, one with a reddish-purple coloration to it topped off by the number 2 displayed on its holographic screen.

*...Pyra really does have the patience of a saint putting up with him, especially with their whole arrangement together in mind.* Peppermint couldn't help but comment with an annoyed scoff before she had 808 follow after the brunet to the latest thing that captured his attention, admittedly also intrigued by this strange-looking door with how it didn’t resemble anything she saw in the various blueprints she had for Vandelay Campus...

***O***

“Okay, yeah… this was a mistake! Wanting to go up this miserable… endless stairway was a mistake…!”  

Speaking of Pyra, she was continuing to have a steadily worse and more exhausting time back on her own end.

Predictably, much more of the same had been happening since we last left the Aegis, with her gradually losing more and more of her composure with each flight of stairs scaled.   The redheaded Blade honestly wasn't sure what vexed her more at the moment; the gradually mounting exhaustion and burning in her legs or the fact that this route really was as security-free as Peppermint claimed it was, because at this point Pyra was getting desperate for something, anything to break up this exhausting monotony! Worse still was that, since her Driver wasn’t with her, she didn’t even have ANY background music at all to at least give her something else to focus on other than her growing exhaustion, her aching legs and the sheer absolute tedium of walking up these Architect-damnned stairs! 

“Come on now Pyra… keep positive! Don’t… Don’t exhaust yourself by complaining about your circumstances when you have great things to… *GASP!* “to look forward to, like…!”

As she wheezed that last part of her thought out loud, Pyra couldn’t help but slow to a stop, making sure to clutch the stairwell’s guardrails to support herself, and as she did all this, she instinctively craned her head upward with some effort… subsequently taking in how she still couldn’t see an end to all the flights of stairs she had to scale.

“...More stairs! Haha… ha! Ohhhh, that… that’s hilarious! I… *Huff!* I cracked myself up!” As Pyra wheezed this out, a borderline delirious tone in her voice as she laughed at her own joke, she shakily pushed herself off the guard rail before opting to resume her slow, exhausting ascent up to the top floor. “I bet Chai would think that’s so funny… if he was here that is!”

If one was present and looked closely (if they didn’t value their life anyway,) then they would point out that Pyra’s eyes seemed to briefly flash yellow as she yelled out that last part in frustration and exasperation.

***O***

*...Have you felt any side-effects like <SOMEONE TEMPORARILY APPEARING BESIDE YOU?>*  

“Yeah… uhh, that's, um… Peppermint.”

Back at a less tedious and Sisyphean route/neck of the Production facility, Chai's navigation through the facility's halls and elaborate production/assembly rooms was brought to a temporary halt when he and 808 ran into a certain familiar blue smart fridge.

*Well it seems very useful!! You can pull this <PEPPERMINT> into battle to help with combos or distracting enemies.* As one might expect, the exposition the floating fridge was all too eager to give out was related to Chai's newfound ability to have 808 teleport Peppermint in for combat support.

*’...It?’* Peppermint couldn't help but interject, sounding notably unamused at how exactly Smidge referred to her, not helped by how the smart fridge continued on with his explanation without missing a beat.

*I can even tell this strange lifeform is capable of using its weapons’ blasts to juggle and keep enemies suspended in the air!*  

*Alright, I'm not an it, I'm a she.* Peppermint once again interjected, this time more forcefully. *Seriously, is it that hard to call me and Pyra that and not ‘foreign existences’ either?* This time the hacker's annoyed comments did get Smidge's attention, though it was more due to the mention of the redheaded Aegis than anything.

*Oh yes! And this might go without saying, but combining these newfound tactics with the fiery abilities afforded to you by that <PYRA> lifeform with those of this <PEPPERMINT> lifeform should greatly increase the number of options and possibilities available to you in the midst of combat!* As he continued with his explanation, Smidge also gave the hall they were in a look over, subsequently taking notice of the legendary Blade's absence. *Speaking of, I couldn't help but notice her curious absence at the moment. Is she well? Does she require a refreshing beverage, wherever she is?*  

More than you realize, Smidge.

*Oh, so now Pyra's a ‘she’ and not an ‘it’ anymore?* Peppermint noticed, sounding even more bemused than she already was.

Flinching up in clear discomfort at the smart fridge's innocently posed question, Chai began fumbling out an explanation. “Uhhh, right… yeah so, that's cuz we-”

*Chai went and totally ditched her so he could go on a joyride on the magnet rails.* Peppermint bluntly summarized.

“...you just gotta bring that up every chance you get, huh Peppermint?” Chai groaned out after an awkward moment's silence, looking and sounding visibly annoyed.

*Truly? Well that's quite concerning! Why would you willingly hinder your abilities like that, friend? When properly utilized, the perks the <PYRA> lifeform provided you were both vast and quite beneficial!* Thankfully, rather than adding onto the lecturing and chew-outs Peppermint had been sending his way, Smidge's input was still focused on dispensing tutorial-like tips and pointing out he'd be more combat capable with Pyra's assistance.

Though… while it was certainly a relief that the smart fridge wasn't taking up an accusatory tone with Chai like Peppermint did, him happily and obliviously pointing out how he sorta kneecapped himself in terms of handy perks during combat didn't exactly make him feel better either, nor did it do anything to ease the persistent feeling of guilt that wouldn't stop gnawing at him, which again, wasn't helped by how the tan hacker just wouldn't let him hear the end of this.

“Look, if you really wanna know, she wanted to take the stairs, I wanted to ride on the magnet rails, so we TEMPORARILY split up to do our own things for a bit, and we’ll be meeting back up at Rekka’s office. Not like I threw her under the bus or anything.” Chai hurriedly explained, his tone taking on a defensive edge to it.

*Ah, I see! I'm not sure if that was worth limiting your combat capabilities but I shall respect your decision and if nothing else, it's reassuring to know she isn't currently in any sort of mortal peril.* Smidge continued on, seemingly unaware of Chai's discomfort with the subject. *Well, with that in mind, I can additionally advise you to make good use of all the abilities you are capable of until you manage to reunite with her, from Beat Hits to your magnet!*  

“Uhhh… noted.”  

*Well, say what you want about those fridges and their lack of boundaries, but you can't deny they've said nothing but the truth every time we've run into one.* In no rush to get into another argument on this whole topic less than a minute after the last one, Chai said nothing in response, only letting out a quiet, annoyed scoff before silently continuing along. However, they didn't get very far before they were once more stopped by their upcoming terrain turning hazardous. Like their many other instances of travelling through the Production District, Chai and 808 found themselves standing at the entrance to another expansive automated production/assembly room. Where it differed from the many others they'd seen so far was due to the deep body of water this room had for a ‘floor’ in place of another gaping, seemingly bottomless pit. That being said, now having a robotic arm topped off by the water itself looking deep -and maybe also the fact that Chai wasn't exactly the best swimmer around- didn't leave the brunet feeling any more secure or confident about his life-expectancy should he fumble navigating through this room like the others. However, as he began to mull over how he'd get up to the nearest catwalk -which was out of his reach and hanging over the water- a thought occurred to him.

 “Say, hold up. So we're like… dozens of floors up by now, right? I could buy one of these ‘big assembly rooms with only catwalks and no floors’ being full of water if we were on the ground floor or something -cuz y'know, we'd be way closer to the sea and maybe people would just have to build around the sea water- but again, we're a bunch of floors up, sooo, uh… why and how?” Chai couldn't help but point out, confusion at that particular design detail clear to hear in his voice. Peppermint instinctively opened her mouth to answer… Only to shut it when she realized she didn't exactly know the practical reason behind such a strange and prominent design choice either, at least not without a deep dive through her blueprints of the campus. However, just before she could posit an answer, Chai shrugged off the question as soon as he asked it. “Ehh, nevermind, I don't really care.”

While Peppermint just let out an annoyed sigh at all that, 808 then took notice of a nearby valve and was quick to draw Chai’s attention towards it. A quick look over at the valve, the green pipe it was connected to, and the two steam exhaust pipes jutting out of the water near the out-of-place catwalk clued the brunet in to what his cat buddy was trying to convey. Hovering out of the way as Chai began to wail on the valve with his Scrap Guitar, 808 watched intently as the steel covers for both exhaust pipes began shaking and rumbling before a final hit from Chai on the valve lined up with both covers shooting out and hovering in the air thanks to both pipes now shooting out continuous blasts of steam, causing both covers to now suffice as impromptu platform. Wasting no time and with no telling how long this was going to last, Chai quickly leapt across both raised covers and onto the elevated catwalk, letting out a relieved exhale as he watched the covers slam back down to the pipes below as the steam dissipated before turning to 808, who was still floating by his side with a constant bob to the beat.

“You just can’t stop finding ways to be helpful, can you 808?” Chai smiled warmly, conveying his gratitude to the robotic, hovering cat by giving her some affectionate head rubs, which she was all too happy to nuzzle into, purring all the while. “Thanks a ton, bud~.”

From there, the two continued along the catwalk and through the production area before coming to a stop at a large, spacious platform with a concrete floor jutting out of the water below, which quickly proved to be another arena for Security drones to pop out from. This time around, several lightweight, air-based units flew out from a hatch in the wall first, and Chai immediately recognized them thanks to that one from earlier that cut his magnet rail ride short.

“This thing again!?” The brunet groaned, making his dissatisfaction with this sudden appearance no secret. To be more specific, these were a group of AIR-1N units; flying, drone-like robots whose main purpose was to transport and deliver cargo and other objects across the campus, though every model in the line also came equipped with an explosion creation unit ‘just in case,’ in the R&D head's own words. With how Chai's first encounter with one in that magnet rail went, the brunet wasn't blind to the fact that these little guys and the bombs they could produce could cause some serious problems for him… when they weren't flying/bumping into one another like a bunch of stooges anyway, like what happened just now when the 2nd AIR-1N that came out gormlessly slammed into the one leading the group when it came to a sudden halt, subsequently causing the rest of the flying drones to comically slam into one another.

*ENOUGH!* Just when it looked like this instance of poor coordination among the AIR-1Ns was going to cause an animated argument -made all the more apparent thanks to the visual emotional displays installed into these particular models- they all immediately stopped and froze up in mid-air when a familiar mechanical voice with an Austrian accent got them in line. An instant after this exclamation rang out, Chai and 808 were greeted by an elite SBR shooting out of one of the floor hatches, an incensed look on its blocky metal face as it admonished the group of visibly intimidated airborne robots. *Stop with this pathetic infighting and focus on recalling the defect!*

*Okay, either just call me in or use your magnet to deal with the flying ones.*

“Way ahead of you on that one.” Chai was quick to say and even quicker to put his arm's magnet grapple to use, using it to zip towards the closest AIR-1N and start smacking it with his Scrap Guitar.

*Yank!*

“GHK-!?” However, just as he was about to land a finishing blow on the drone he was focusing on, Chai was abruptly yanked downward by his scarf, slamming back-first into the concrete floor an instant later. A moment after blinking the stars out of his eyes, the brunet slacker's disorientation was quick to vanish when the Elite SBR stood over him with a glare plastered onto its metal face, his scarf gripped tightly in one hand,and was brandishing his ready-to-stab sword in the other.

“Yipe!” Chai yelped, reacting quickly and rolling/flipping back onto his feet just as the elite SBR stabbed his sword into where he was lying just a second ago. “ALL YOU, PEPPERMINT!”  

“Nice timing!” Not even a second after making this exclamation, Peppermint teleported into the arena foot-first in a dive kicking motion, with her target being the higher-end security bot. Peppermint's robotic prosthetic slammed jaw-first into the SBR's face, causing him to stumble back with a frustrated grunt and opening him up to the hacker's follow-up barrage of laser blasts, teleporting back to the Hideout upon firing her final blast and all without even touching the floor.

“Glad you think so! Anyway, to loop back to what you said earlier. My awesome magnet grappling hook and I got the annoying, flying bomb-bots covered, so just keep the pressure up on the big guy.”

*Got it!* Peppermint exclaimed with a nod before teleporting back to the battlefield and unleashing another barrage of laser blasts on the Elite SBR. Only two or three of the various laser blasts actually hit directly, with the rest being either blocked or batted aside by the increasingly irritated Elite Security bot, but that was inconsequential with how, as Chai said, the goal of her 2nd consecutive teleport in was to keep it distracted and occupied. In the few seconds that Elite SBR had to deal with Peppermint’s blaster barrage, Chai had made good use of his arm’s magnet to zip across the air and deal a constant series of mid-air combo strikes to the AIR-1Ns, steadily thinning out their numbers. With how Chai didn’t quite have the required finesse yet to consistently keep himself in the air while dealing with flying/floating threats, it meant he still had to briefly touch down on the ground while dealing with these flying bots, so it was a good thing the elite SBR was currently occupied dealing with Peppermint’s blaster barrage. It was hard enough dodging out of the way of the bombs they dropped that often coincided with when he landed without adding a big, hulking security bot with a sword trying to dice him to boot.

“Alright, with all the annoying, flying bombers out of the picture, that just leaves…!” Chai commented with a pleased expression, not even looking in the furious, singed, and potshot-covered Elite SBR’s direction as it charged him, merely dashing away from its sword slash before countering with a dash back and swing of his Scrap Guitar that lifted them both into the air. “Big, slow, and angry~!”

CHAI!

CHAI!

HEY!

HEY!

*PWEEM!*

Starting with a light blow in mid-air, Chai then followed up with a series of heavy blows on the defenseless Elite Security bot, culminating in him slamming it to the ground and immediately following up with a downward Harmonic Beam straight down while still in mid-air, obliterating it.

With a satisfied smirk and while also readjusting his scarf to fit more comfortably around his neck, Chai was quick to resume his trek through the production room. Again, with how everything in his surroundings moved in time to the beat of his powers, it made leaping across the various moving platforms to reach the other end a simple affair, and after making his way through another hallway, both the brunet and 808 found themselves in a room with a vertical shaft upwards, revealing the sky. On the other side of the room was another body of water with another one of those steam exhaust pipes in the middle of it. Right beside this exhaust pipe -next to the cut off catwalk that led to the water- was a green pipe with a large red valve attached.

“Alright, now if I were betting man, then…” Chai mused aloud, shifting his gaze from the valve to the steam-exhaust pipe's lid before quickly hitting the valve with his Scrap Guitar several times and leaping on. As Chai suspected, the lid started shaking and rumbling before another blast of steam “HA! Bingo!”

Chai's satisfaction didn't last long, however, as rather than shooting him all the way to the top of the shaft like he expected, the steam blast stopped rising any further upon rising up to a single story, leaving both him and 808 standing there with confused looks on their faces. “U-Uhm-”

*Drop!*

That was all Chai could get out before the steam blast finally came to a stop, sending the steel lid dropping like a stone to its original position with a screaming cyborg slacker hot on its tail.

“WAAAAAH-! *SLAM!* Urgh…” Upon slamming face-first into the hard steel lid, Chai felt his previously good mood do a complete 180°. Rolling onto his back with a pained groan, the annoyed look on Chai's face wasn't helped by how Peppermint had apparently teleported in while he was busy taste-testing a metal lid and was now standing over him with an expression that was simultaneously smug and holding back laughter.

“Yeah, I think you're gonna need a hand if you want this new ‘shortcut’ you thought up to work.” Peppermint noted idly, her tone making it no secret she found what just occurred to be very funny at Chai's expense, which did nothing to lighten up his mood.

*Blast!*

Before Chai could even try to think up an incensed response, he found himself focused more on staying on his feet when another blast of steam sent the steel lid shooting up once more, again coming to a halt upon the same height from before. With a look of alarm on his face, the wannabe rockstar started rapidly looking around his surroundings for either a clue on what to do or somewhere he could jump off to.

By contrast, Peppermint had a cool and confident smile on her face, and with good reason, as she was quick to level her blasters with another nearby valve on the wall of the shaft and repeatedly fired at it with her pistols. An instant after doing this, Chai was forced to plant his feet on the lid as best he could with how it shot another story up. As the surprised brunet tried to keep himself balanced atop the lid, Peppermint repeated her actions with another nearby valve, upping the steam pressure as high as it could go and finally causing the lid to reach a height that would allow Chai to continue onward. Shooting an incredulous look Peppermint's way, he had no time to say anything before she brought his attention to a series of magnet points behind him.

“You're welcome.” And with those smug words hanging in the air, topped off by a mocking pat to his shoulder, Peppermint teleported back to the Hideout, leaving Chai with 808 atop the precariously elevated pipe lid.

“Oh shit-!” Well-aware that the pipe lid was bound to go plummeting back to the bottom at any second, Chai hastily reached his robotic arm towards the magnet point Peppermint pointed out and used his magnet to zip towards it and the other three that led to a nearby ledge.

*GRIP! WOO!*

*GRIP! HEY!*

*Thp! CHAI!*

“Hooraaay… Teamwork.” Was all Chai could think to say upon getting reacquainted with solid ground, a blatantly unenthusiastic tone in his voice that matched his deadpan expression. Upon giving his surroundings a quick look over, he made his way towards a catwalk that was on a slight incline and led to the only doorway available, the sunlight and fresh air doing little to improve his mood.

*C'mon, pep up Chai. We're almost there.* Peppermint pointed out, figuring that little tid-bit would cause him to regain his usual vigor, but Chai, still in a rotten mood, wasn't having it.

“Well, I guess your whole ‘geT tO ReKKa's oFfiCE wIThoUt hEr KnOwInG’ plan is shot.” Chai didn't hesitate to point out irritably, which was subsequently quick to cause the hacker's own mood to nosedive as well.

*Yeah, thanks to YOU!* Peppermint shot back heatedly.

“Hey, hey! Who is doing all the hard work here!?” Chai exclaimed angrily, his upset tone now matching Peppermint's own.

*It wouldn't be so hard if you just listened to me and Pyra to begin with and stopped running off half-cocked!* The incensed hacker pointed out, and her acidic tone only increased in intensity as she continued. *And for that matter, you don't get to complain about doing all this yourself either when you go out of your way to ditch Pyra so you can go on a joyride!*

However, these callouts fell on deaf ears to Chai, who could only let out a thoroughly ‘done with this shit’ groan upon hearing Peppermint bring up the whole matter with Pyra for the umpteenth time today like she was a goddamn broken record. “Oh my God, this again!? Look, you said yourself that the security-free way up to Rekka’s office is still open for Pyra to use and you also said we’re still heading that way ourselves! We’re heading to the same place in the same building, as far as I’m concerned that’s not ditching! Besides, excuse me for wanting maybe a few minutes to myself when I keep hearing all this Driver and Blade stuff is permanent with the way it’s all been described!” With how heated this argument was getting, Chai was so caught up in his tangent that he couldn't help but let that last concern he'd been keeping silent about slip.

*You are unbelievable.* Thoroughly unimpressed by Chai's response, Peppermint just had 808 subtly shake her head in blatant disappointment on her behalf before she spoke. *And I wouldn't be surprised if Pyra thinks the same and worse after leaving her, and especially if she heard you just now.*

“Well you also thought those cargo containers on the magnet rail were gonna be an issue and they totally WEREN'T , sooooooo… PPFFFFBBBBBBBT!!!” As Chai blew out that raspberry, he also made a point to steadily bring his left arm up for Peppermint to see as he was blowing it out… specifically making sure only his middle finger was raised.

“Oh you inconsiderate, narcissistic, THICK-SKULLED-!* However, just when Peppermint looked ready to go on a blistering and scathing tangent towards the now-unsettled Chai, she was interrupted by Mimosa's grating voice echoing through the area. Flinching up at the sudden voice, Chai and 808 turned towards the SP-55 drone carrying the monitor that was broadcasting Mimosa's voice with thoroughly annoyed expressions.

*For ALL workers who haven't yet entered the lottery for Project Armstrong festival tickets, now's your-!*

*PWEEM!*

“SHUT IT!!!” Peppermint, feeling at her wits end dealing with Chai's stubborn attitude and feeling particularly incensed getting cut off like that, didn't hesitate to teleport in and let off a furious barrage of laser blasts. This predictably resulted in the monitor showcasing Mimosa's face to explode, and miraculously enough, the visibly gobsmacked SP-55 emerged from the smoke of the explosion unscathed. The hapless looking drone floated there for another awkward moment before opting to hastily fly off and as far away from the furious Peppermint as possible.

“U-Uh…” Was all a similarly gobsmacked and wide-eyed Chai could muster out in wake of all that. If the thickheaded brunet was planning to actually say anything, however, it never came out with how he instinctively clamped his mouth shut when a visibly fuming Peppermint immediately turned and shot him a bone-chilling glare upon hearing his voice, one that made it exceedingly clear she was in no mood to hear anything else out of Chai's mouth at the moment, lest she do something they'd both regret.

…At that point, Chai opted to make the rare smart decision and just keep his mouth shut.

*THESE-PIGEONS-ARE-THE-SOURCE-OF-MY-DISCONTENT.* Keeping silent the rest of the way up the catwalk's path, Chai was brought to a halt when he noticed a SCR-UB unit apparently speaking to him. Raising a brow, the brunet cyborg turned fully to see that the little cleaning robot was staring intently -and rather intensely at that- at several groups of pigeons situated at different, out of reach areas all over… Sector B-12, if the giant letters and numbers printed on the wall of the other end of this open-ceiling area was any clue.

*I-REQUIRE-ASSISTANCE-IN-RIDDING-THEM-FROM-MY-CLEANING-AREA.*

“Well, uhm… long-range problems aren't really my specialty, but…” Chai trailed off with clear hesitation, unsure if he should risk prodding the hornet's nest that was Peppermint after the violent outburst that occurred barely a minute ago. “Think uh…. Think you could help out, Peppermint?”

Upon letting that question hang in the air, a rather tense and awkward silence ensued for a few moments as both Chai and the SCR-UB looked at 808 while awaiting a response from the hacker. The diminutive cleaning bot merely looked on expectantly while Chai felt more than a little apprehensive. This feeling was only intensified for the wannabe rocker when Peppermint once more opted to teleport in, the look on her face decidedly deadpan and unamused. (Though thankfully, she didn't look as furious as she sounded not long ago.)

Another moment passed before Peppermint let out a sigh of annoyance and leveled her blaster at the closest cluster of pigeons, that being the group located on the catwalk's guardrail. At the sight of this, Chai let out a relieved sigh of his own that he hadn't even realized he'd been holding back. “...Let's just make this quick. And it's on you to point out where they're hiding.”

***O***

*Hmph, just get a load of this. ‘Bigger, stronger…’ is this promo for Rekka, or motivation for the rest of us?* A grizzled, world-weary, and mechanical voice groused, eyeing the wall-covering, wrestling promo-like image of Rekka mockingly standing before him, his faithful partner, and a 3rd party that had been in the area. *I'm trying to make this a better place to work, and look at you, showing off every chance you get.* 

*IS-THIS-AN-HR-MATTER-SEB?* The partner in question, a repurposed SCR-UB unit that had the appearance of a police detective, complete with a black waistcoat, glasses over its beady yellow eyes, and apparent toupee. This curious-looking and unique SCR-UB and his partner -a similarly repurposed SBR with the addition of a brown trench coat over his own waistcoat- were both actually the Vandelay HR team's go-to investigators for any problems or matters brought up, regardless of where on the Campus it was happening.

The pair generally speaking made a great team… but whether they made for good HR representatives was another matter entirely… especially with how most HR matters they looked into generally went like this.

*Figures you don't see it. You think this encourages them?* SEB-AAA scoffed, waving towards the promotional image with his free one while the other firmly grasped his drinking flask. *Nah, it's just a reminder to everyone working in this forsaken place that you don't have what it takes. The workers here need to know: they ain't ever getting out of this hole they dug themselves into. This world is sick, dark, sad.*

With SEB-AAA expressing his extreme and unending pessimism at both their workplace and whether whatever meagre impact they had on the aforementioned issue would even be a positive one.

*BUT-WE-ARE-SUPPOSED-TO-HELP.* JSF-001's own passive nature and by-the-books approach to their job also meant he had very little -if any- impact on things or getting his partner to take a more proactive approach.

* ’Help?’ Impossible. We just mask the reality. Give the illusion that we care. None of us can change anything here. Not you, me, or anyone else working here. The cards are stacked too high against us.* SEB said in response, shaking his head at his faithful assistant's naivete before casting his glare back at the large poster of Rekka. *This poster and all the others stay. It says the truth.*

JSF initially said nothing in response, merely writing down several sentences onto his notepad before opting to direct an inquiry towards the 3rd party that had been present for their observations on this poster. *DO-YOU-HAVE-ANY-INPUT-ON-THIS-POTENTIAL-HR-MATTER-MADAM?*

If this story was being told via TV or illustrations, then this would be the moment where the camera panned back to reveal that this poster was actually located in the Production Building's multi-story staircase and that the ‘3rd party’ in question was none other than an utterly exhausted Pyra, slumping rather precariously against the stairway's guardrail and taking repeated, heavy breaths. She had just stumbled up to this floor (80 out of 100, it looked like) when she finally opted to stop for a few minutes, rest her aching and burning everything and just catch her breath. Coincidentally, it was the same floor where these two iconic HR representatives were conducting their latest investigation. “Nothing…. Nothing that comes… *phew…!* to mind… little fellow…” 

And with that lethargic remark left to hang in the air, Pyra painstakingly pushed herself off the rail and once more resumed her slow and agonizing final stretch of stair climbing, all while SEB and JSF silently watched her go, the former taking an idle sip from his flask as she went.

***O***

*MY-DISCONTENT-IS-GONE! PLEASE-TAKE-THIS-SATISFACTORY-REWARD.* Back with Chai and Peppermint, the SCR-UB they'd been opting to help out with its pigeon problem was quick to express as much joy as a robot of its design could upon seeing the tan-skinned hacker shoo away the last group of dropping-leaving birds, jumping barely a foot into the air repeatedly with its arms raised. As for the ‘SATISFACTORY-REWARD’ the diminutive robot mentioned, it was quick to suddenly open up its vacuum's red backpack and reveal a familiar-looking piece of purple-colored tech, one that looked like it would've been circular had it not been broken in half, holding it out for Chai to take.

*Oh, so I do all the work and you get the prize. How nice.* Peppermint observed, a dryly annoyed tone in her voice. Maybe she should've stuck around here for a moment longer after finishing up her pigeon shooing.

“Hey, don't blame the little dude for knowing who'd get the most leeway out of… uhm… hmm, actually, this thing looks kinda familiar…” Chai began with a cocksure look on his face, only for his cocky tone to trail off as he took a better look at the prize given to him. Hadn't he picked one of these things up yesterday not long after he and Pyra met 808 and Peppermint? “Hmm…” Rummaging through his jacket, Chai soon pulled out what he was looking for with his robotic hand and held it out to compare appearances with his newly acquired prize. “Huh, yeah, these both look like they're part of the same machine, just broken off at the middl WOAH!”

That was all Chai could get out before a sudden, magnetic force suddenly drew and locked the two pieces of the broken machine together. If that wasn’t surprising enough, the two, once-separate pieces near-immediately mended themselves, revealing the once-broken machine to be a Project Armstrong Power Core Unit that just… floated there.

With both Chai and 808 blinking in blatant surprise at this development (all while the SCR-UB intently continued on with its cleaning duties) the duo that shared the same wavelength could only share a look of confusion before Chai tentatively reached out towards the floating Power Core, whereupon it proceeded to disappear into his chest video game-style.

*VWEEM!*

TUBULAR!

***O***

‘I-I don’t know what Chai just did, intentional or not, to give me this sudden burst of energy, but it’s by all means welcome!’ a wide-eyed Pyra thought through hasty inhales and exhales, a sudden burst of energy flowing through her body all of a sudden, allowing her previously sad and slow pace to be upgraded to a steady jog up the stairs!

***O***

“Whoa…! Now that woke me up in a good way!” Chai commented after his surprise wore off, wide-eyed and practically rocking back and forth on his heels in wake of the sudden energy boost he got.

*I… got zero clue on how that just happened, but according to the feed I'm getting from 808, it looks like assembling that Armstrong Power Core unit gave you a bit of a boost to your vitality.* Peppermint commented after her own -considerably more pronounced- surprise wore off.

“ Woo! Well either way, I feel like I could pick a fight with the whole world and still come out on top, so c’mon! Time’s a-wastin’~!” With his newfound vigor giving him a much-needed kick to the chops, Chai was both eager and enthusiastic to continue onward, subsequently finding himself back underneath a roof and in the Production Facility's ‘area 13.’ Without missing a beat, Chai used his arm’s magnet function as he once again found himself greeted with another set of magnet points over a deep-looking pit. Upon reaching the final magnet point, the brunet flipped onto solid ground and was subsequently greeted with a familiar room layout; namely, it was arena sized and had several trap doors on the floor.

FIGHT!!

“Okay, first order of business…!” At this point and with those details in mind, Chai was unsurprised when another squadron of Security bots were launched out of the trap doors, this time consisting of a pair of AIR-1Ns and a far more imposing duo of Elite SBRs.   “ ...no obnoxious flying bomb droppers trying to ruin my vibe!”  

Upon landing a mid-air beat hit on the first AIR-1N, sending it flying and subsequently exploding -drawing several small batteries for his Special Attacks into him- Chai was quick to follow up with the 2nd one, using his magnet both zip away from an Elite SBR's swing and right up to the remaining air drone, repeating the process of swinging at it in mid-air with the same end-result.

“Okay, now onto the main course!” Chai exclaimed, following up his mid-air combo by slamming his Scrap Guitar down, hitting the nearest Elite SBR. Having long since gotten the message that it'd take more than that to stagger these bulky Security bots, Chai was quick to dash back and put some distance between the Elite SBR and its retaliatory sword swings. Figuring it'd be a good call to go with some attacks that had some range to them, the brunet cyborg opted to go with his ‘Breakdown’ Beat Hit, flinging his trusty improvised weapon out and preventing either Elite SBR from closing the distance to him. A mere beat after flying out in a counterclockwise arc and returning to his grip, a series of neon-colored beams shot out in time to the music's beat where the Scrap Guitar previously travelled, the blasts leaving both Elite Security bots reeling back and dispensing a boatload of more batteries out from them both.

“Alright! And since a kickass bolt of inspiration just hit me…!” Chai trailed off, a delighted tone in his voice before once more opting to toss his Scrap Guitar. True to the brunet's words, he felt inspiration strike him the same moment he absorbed all those batteries and felt himself juiced up enough to pull off another Special Attack. This time, rather than spinning or powersliding, Chai felt ready to ride!

“GUITAR RIDE~!”

Very literally at that. Rather than clatter to the ground upon tossing it, Chai's Scrap Guitar instead floated vertically a foot up from the ground in front of him. With the elated look on his face growing even more prominent at this, Chai didn't hesitate to leap onto his weapon like it was a surfboard or skateboard and utilizing either his arm's magnetic abilities, his musical robot powers, or some combination of the two, the brunet proceeded to ride his Scrap Guitar all around the room like it was a hoverboard, heedless of the two elite bots hastily trying to steer clear of him and gleefully laughing and whooping all the while. Once the initial moment of exhilaration wore off, Chai proceeded to focus up and made sure to steer himself and his Scrap Guitar-board into the direction of both remaining security bots, easily tearing through both Elite SBRs’ defenses like they were nothing.

In no time at all, Chai's relentless assault with his new Special Attack caused fatal explosions to envelope both Elite SBRs, though not even a second passed before the trap doors opened up again and revealed a 2nd wave of bots consisting of another two Elite SBRs and a BA-B00 with its barrier up. “All you, Peppermint!”   Prioritizing the BA-B00's considerably more obnoxious defenses, Chai was quick to call in Peppermint, and while she whittled away at the large blue robot's barrier, the brunet repeated the process of riding and ramming his flying Scrap Guitar into the two Elite SBRs, who were unable to hit or grab him as he literally flew all over the room.

*CRASH!*

Just as a particularly hard ram on his end left both hapless elite bots sprawled along the floor, Chai heard the satisfying sound of an electric barrier breaking like glass. “Alright, the floor's all yours now, Chai!” Peppermint called out, nonchalantly leaping back and teleporting away just as the now-vulnerable BA-B00 attempted to retaliate.

Feeling that he had enough gas left in the tank to capitalize, Chai skidded to a halt-mid air by firmly gripping the head and neck of his Scrap Guitar before reorienting himself so that he was directly facing the BA-B00. With an excited smirk on his face, Chai then shot forward and, with his hands still on his Scrap Guitar, popped an ollie just as he was within spitting distance of the BA-B00.

*SLAM!*

The end result was the mass of scrap that comprised the ‘'head’ of Chai’s Scrap Guitar colliding painfully with the BA-B00's own head, sending the hunched over robot sprawling onto its back. Feeling his Guitar shoot back into his hand while in mid-air, the brunet gleefully proceeded to slam the head of his weapon right in the middle of the defenseless BA-B00's chest, the motion resembling the final blow in his Humbucker combo. Also like his Humbucker combo, several geysers of neon energy spawned in wake of that slam down, shooting out from the BA-B00's body and violently  separating it into pieces upon the 2nd geyser's spawning.

Feeling like he was on a roll, Chai's smirk remained on his face even as he dashed forward to dodge an attack from behind courtesy of one of the Elite SBRs, the both of them having recovered while he was finishing off their larger and considerably more blue co-worker. Without missing a beat, Chai countered by dashing at the battle-damaged Security bot, seeing an opening to finish it off with a Grandslam combo. The Elite SBR couldn’t react in time and its damaged state left it defenseless against Cha’s first two brutal and heavy attacks of his combo…

…However, just as the wannabe Rockstar was about to land the Beat Hit of his combo, something unexpected and utterly bizarre happened; His Scrap Guitar started glowing blue as bolts of electricity coursed through it for a brief second… before, somehow, transforming into a REAL GUITAR! Instead of a trash grabber and scrap magnetically joined together in the shape of a guitar, Chai was now unmistakably holding a real Epiphone Flying V guitar in his hands, colored a bright red with a lightning bolt sticker on the bottom right side of the front and a sticker version of 808’s dog tag on the back. 

*Beat! Beat!*

*SMACK!*

*BOOM!*

The Elite Security bot was then sent flying across the room and ended up crashing hard against a wall, blowing up into pieces upon impact.

It was clear that Chai’s Scrap Guitar transforming into a Real one wasn’t just an aesthetic change. As not only his newly-transformed Flying V didn’t snap instantly like any other real guitars would when he smacked it right in the Elite SBR’s face, the Hit Beat came out notably stronger than other times in which Chai performed this combo.

*Whoa…! What the-?!* Peppermint reacted in awe, shock and confusion.

“Not done yet!” However, she was cut off by Chai as he then dashed at the last remaining Elite SBR, who in turn was also rushing at him with its sword in hand. However, just as Chai and the Elite Security bot were about to clash their weapons together, the burnet then swiftly ducked under the Elite’s SBR’s sword swing, taking the enemy by surprise. Chai’s robotic arm glowed a bright orange once again as he had enough energy left for one final Special Attack. But the wannabe Rockstar, for the first time since acquiring his powers, didn’t feel like using his Guitar. Instead he opted to ‘test out’ his right arm’s strength, and by that he obviously meant to Punch-Out (Hah!) the ever living bolts out of the Elite SBR!

“HIGH PITCH-!” Chai brought back his right arm, focusing all the energy stored within it to his metallic fist. “-PUNCH!!” Upon doing so, he then performed a powerful uppercut, striking the Elite SBR squarely on its metallic chin.

*CRASH!!*

*BOOM!!*

The strength behind Chai’s High Pitch Punch was so great that it sent the Elite Security bot flying upwards instantly, exploding into pieces after a very hard crash against the room’s ceiling, which now had cracks from the resulting impact.

“WOOOO!! And the crowd goes wild!” Chai cheered, still feeling the rush and elation coursing through him. “Did you see that, Peppermint?!” He turned to look at 808, and by extension her hacker owner/creator.

*Y-yeah, I did. And I gotta admit, that was pretty cool what you just did.* Said Peppermint through her robotic cat. While she’s still not happy with Chai’s antics and current attitude, she couldn’t help but give him credit where it’s due. The combat prowess he showed just now was very impressive, hopefully the tan hacker didn’t just inflate the brunet’s ego anymore than it already is by giving him praise. *But, Chai look, your Guitar!* She then quickly pointed out, as it was obvious that Chai didn’t notice his Guitar’s transformation.

“Huh? What’s with my gui- HOLY SHIT!” Chai’s confusion turned to utter shock the second he looked at his Guitar. He stood there thoroughly looking over, utterly dumbfounded and in disbelief at his brand new Flying V in his hand. “P-Peppermint…! M-my Guitar…! IT’S REAL!” Said the wannabe Rockstar to his hacker companion in a shaken tone as he pointed at his Flying V.

*Yeah. I can see it.* Said Peppermint flatly.

“And not just any Guitar, Peppermint! It’s a freaking Epiphone Flying V! I always wanted one of these bad boys!” Chai continued with child-like glee and excitement as he showed his Guitar to his feline companion and her master. As he just said, he always wanted to have a guitar just like this when growing up, but with how damn expensive they were and with his disability, his parents always shut down any attempts to buy him one. “Wait, hold on…!” He then realized something before he flipped his Guitar around and pulled one of its strings, playing out the expected note. “Ohohoho YES~! This is the real thing!” His excitement went through the roof after checking out that his Guitar was indeed real. “This is the best thing EVER!” He cheered as he brought up his Flying triumphantly as he felt one of his all time dreams coming true.    

*Well, I’m happy for you, Chai* Said Peppermint flatly once again, finding the brunet’s excitement unassuming. *But how exactly did you turn a bunch of magnetized scrap shaped like a guitar in a real, functional guitar?* It was absurd that she had to even say this outloud, but she couldn’t help but ask to try and wrap her head around one of the biggest displays of borderline cartoon nonsense she has seen coming from Chai yet.

“Who knows and who cares?!” Of course she should have expected that Chai would have no idea of how he made his Guitar transform. “Just imagine all the kickass songs I’ll be able to play with this, Peppermint!” The burnet was more focused on the exciting possibilities that having a Real Guitar gave him, which would bring him closer into becoming a Rockstar!

*If you learn how to play that thing, that is.* Rebutted the hacker.

“Hmm. I see what you’re doing, you’re trying to rain on my parade. Well too bad! Nothing you say will ruin this moment for me now that I have my kickass Flying V!” Chai declared, his high spirits unperturbed as he raised his Guitar in the air. Peppermint just deadpanned at him through 808 in response.

However, it was then that Chai’s Guitar started glowing like it did earlier for a few seconds before transforming back into the Scrap Guitar.

“What the-?! OH C’MON!” Surprise quickly turned to indignation as Chai felt like he just had the rug pulled from below his feet.

*Hm. What easy comes easy goes, I guess* Peppermint commented in a not at all subtle mocking tone. If 808 wasn’t in her ball form, then she would have reflected her master’s vindictive smirk.

“Oh haha! Very fucking funny!” Said the burnet bitterly before he glanced at his Scrap Guitar. “C’mon, turn back into a cool Real Guitar…! Please?” He tried shaking his Guitar in an attempt to transform it into a Real Guitar, which didn’t work obviously, before trying pleading with it, which was obviously both dumb and pointless, even for him.

*Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna work.* And Peppermint couldn’t help but state the obvious.

“Well give me a hand here, will ya?!” Chai looked back at her angrily.

*If you don’t know how you got that thing to transform in the first place, how the heck am I supposed to know?* The tan-skinned hacker refuted.

“You have a big brain, no? You can help me figure out how this works! Please, Peppermint!” Chai joined his hands pleadingly, his desire to get his Flying V back was strong enough to swallow his pride and ask his companion for help.

* *Sigh* Okay okay, fine.* Peppermint ended up caving in, since he most likely wouldn’t stop bugging her about it. *Alright, let’s try figuring this out as logically as possible, even with all the nonsense around your powers. Did you do something different during that last fight?* She figured that the best place to start was looking back at what happened when Chai’s Guitar transformed earlier.

“Hmmm… Nope, I didn’t.” Chai responded after thinking about it for a few seconds. “But… I think I felt something different.” He then said after a few more seconds of introspection as he brought his hand up to his chest, where his Power Core Unit was.

*What do you mean?* Peppermint asked once again.

“Well… It’s kinda hard to explain, but it was like, for a moment, it sorta felt like I was one with the beats of the music. It was like everything just sorta clicked into place, you know? It all felt… right. It was like this rush that made me feel unstoppable.” Chai did his best to describe that elation he felt at the end of the fight. And how it did feel like Chai was not just feeling the beats in the music from his MP3, but syncing up with the very music itself.

*Hmm… Well I wouldn’t say you were unstoppable, but I think you were a flow state. It sure seemed like that to me with how focused and in control you were back there.* Peppermint said after taking in what Chai described to her.

“Flow state?” The burnet tilted his head in confusion.

*That’s another way to say ‘being in the zone’. You know, what Smidge told us yesterday.* She replied in a way that hopefully Chai would understand.

“Oooooh now I get it! It's like when you play a video game and get so into the swing of things that you tune everything else out!” He then realized with a grin, finding similarities between being ‘in the zone’ when playing a video game and what happened just now.

*Sure, if that’s how you want to put it* The hacker replied nonchalantly.

“So you think being ‘in the zone’ is the key to make my Guitar transform?” Chai asked with a hopeful tone.

*I’d say so, it’s the only real explanation we have if everything else was the same to you.* Said Peppermint seeing no other thing that made sense to her, even if the nature of Chai’s musical powers were in of itself nonsensical.

“Then we gotta test this out!” He said eagerly before turning around to see if any more Vandelay bots popped out of the door traps around the room. “Aw really?! The one time you want the bad guys to show up!” Much to his disappointment however, no new enemies showed up.

*It’s better this way, Chai. You’ve been really pushing your luck today, so we best leave it at that and not tempt fate anymore than you already have. We still have a mission to finish, remember?* Peppermint said in a stern tone, reminding him the whole reason why they were here in the first place.    

“ *Sigh* Fineeee… I guess you have a point there.” Thankfully Chai conceded, albeit begrudgingly. “Bummer though, I feel like I could have gone for some more bot-bashing and I’m sure Pyra would have liked to see my Guitar transform while I kick ass with it.” He commented, thinking of his fiery pal and starting to miss her.

*Yeah, she would have. Too bad she isn’t here because somebody ditched her.* Peppermint yet again took the opportunity to reproach Chai over what he did to his Blade companion.

Chai groaned in irritation as he ran his left hand over his face. “Okay, okay! I get it! It was douchey of me to ditch Pyra like that! I’m sorry! There I said it, happy now?!” He was sick of Peppermint constantly beating him over the head with this topic, made worse by the fact that he felt quite guilty about what he did to the redhead Blade.

*It’s not me who you should apologize to, Chai.* Said Peppermint sternly as she had 808 shake her head.

“Okay, fine! When we meet up with her, I’ll apologize to her and promise her I won’t do that again.” While part of him is saying this just so Peppermint would stop pestering him, he did feel like he owed his otherworldly companion an apology. 

*I’ll hold you on to that. Now c’mon, if I’m reading this right and assuming you don’t get any more interruptions from Security, there should be a way into Rekka’s office lobby just around the corner.* Peppermint commented as she had 808 float up ahead. Chai sighed, relieved that his hacker companion finally seemed to drop the matter all together, all while he allowed the scrap to fall from his Trash Grabber before saving the tool in question back into his robotic arm.

“Alright, alright.” Said Chai as he quickly followed after his robotic feline companion, some of his good mood returning when hearing that they were almost at their destination Upon turning a corner, the brunet didn’t miss a beat when another jump pad came into sight, once more timing his leaping in time to his music’s beat to clear several more stories in mere seconds, and made sure to grab on when the open entrance to another gigantic air-duct revealed itself.

“Welp,” *Thmp!* “looks like we're here…” Chai noted, grunting as jumped out of the vent and landed in a crouching position, a curious look on his face as he rose back up to his feet and gave the spacious lobby leading into Rekka's office an appraising look over. “Hmm! Not exactly a shocker with how big of a company Vandelay is, but these are some pretty sweet digs for just the office lobby.”

True to Chai’s observation, the lobby not only had the sleek, futuristic aesthetics that the rest of Vandelay flaunted, but was considerably spacious as well, leaving plenty of room for the lobby to have several luxury chairs/couches to lounge in, many well-kempt and watered plants, a fully-stocked vending machine (exclusively full of Vandelay-branded drinks, mind you) and multiple large and loud posters on the walls featuring Vandelay Technologies propaganda… although the largest one featuring Rekka front-and-center was marred by several rows of caution tape that had *UNDER ACTIVE HR INVESTIGATION. PENDING FURTHER NOTICE* printed onto it in black.

*Yep, that’s another perk of this being the world’s biggest tech company. Of course the top brass have lavish personal workspaces.* Peppermint commented before shooting him a very pointed look. *Now remember; stay calm and act natural.* 

At that bit of advice, Chai's chest puffed up slightly with confidence as a cock-sure look made its way onto his face. “Heh, my specialty.”

*No. No it isn't.* Was Peppermint's immediate and blunt retort, having 808 shake her head slightly on her behalf as Chai ignored her remark and confidently strode up to the reception desk and the Vandelay bot manning it.

“Heyyyyy!” Chai began, an overly casual tone in his voice as he leaned against the reception desk with his robotic right arm. “Soooo, I'm not sure if you got the memo on this or not, but I'm actually scheduled to meet Rekka in-”

*Current waiting time for an appointment with Rekka is: <THREE MONTHS.> You're free to have a seat until then!* The robot receptionist recited cheerily, not bothering to look up from whatever she was typing on her computer as she addressed Chai. In stark contrast to the blatantly apathetic LU-C1LLE that got him checked into both the campus and Project Armstrong, the OL-404 secretary robot had the same frame as a SBR or VA-SER, which when combined with the dress she wore and the wig of blonde hair on her head and the less world-weary tone of voice, provided a more stereotypical and cheerful image for a robotic receptionist.

Of course, whereas the LU-C1LLE's were programmed to be loyal and do their jobs properly, (even if they had long since collectively set their mood gauges to ‘indifferently loyal'), the OL-404's specialty/purpose was focused more so on deflecting any criticisms, complaints, and feedback for their bosses and ensuring they had as little problems to distract them as possible.

As one might imagine, reception for this particular post-BK robot model was easily the most positively received among Vandelay's executives.

“Oh okay, sure. That's cool, that's cool…” Chai trailed off, giving the desk several drum-like knocks with his hands as he tried to maintain an air of casual disinterest. With his eyes scanning his surroundings to help play things off, the brunet's gaze soon settled on the gigantic double-doors leading into Rekka's office, and the door opposite to it on the other side of the room, right next to a vending machine. ‘That'll work.’ “Welp! Guess I'll just go… get myself a drink by the vending machine while I wait then.”

And with that loud remark and a clap of his hands, Chai shot two finger-guns the OL-404's direction (who still hadn't bothered looking up from her computer monitor) before turning and briskly making his way to the aforementioned vending machine, all while Peppermint couldn't resist letting out an exasperated groan. *Smooth, Chai. Real casual.*

“I know, I know, I'm amazing,” Either ignoring or oblivious to the sarcasm in Peppermint's tone, Chai responded with a proud expression, though it soon changed to one of curiosity as he looked towards the large doors leading into the office proper. “Sooo… What? Do we just go for the door? Uh, quietly?”  

*Well, the door doesn't look like it's locked, and the secretary won't tear her eyes off that monitor even if the whole building was coming down, so yeah, it should work…* Peppermint observed, eyeing said door with suspicion. She had the half mind to warn Chai that this was likely another trap and that Rekka was expecting him, but by this point, she knew better than to bother trying.

“Alright! Well, let's go and… uh… oh…” Chai began, only for his energetic tone to peter off when something on the wall out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Raising a brow, Peppermint was about to ask the airheaded brunet what the problem was, only for her to receive an answer when 808 opted to follow his gaze.

*Ah. So, starting to sink in just how many stairs you left Pyra to climb?*

To specify, what caught Chai's attention was the floor indicator posted on the wall right next to the doorway that led to the stairwell… particularly how it noted that they were on the 100th floor.  

“Okay wow, yeah, that's uh… that's a pretty big number for a staircase, especially if you were climbing it from… the bottom or… lower levels…”   Chai couldn't help but note with no small amount of discomfort, which was only compounded by how Peppermint made sure to have 808 send a deadpan, disapproving look his way. “I mean, Yeah! That's probably gonna be kinda exhausting for most people, but Pyra's not most people! Literally! Everything I've heard so far paints her as being super badass and powerful even compared to other rare Blades like her, so I bet going up all those stairs would be a literal walk in the park for her.” He hastily rattled off and tried to justify, though it was clear to anyone observing Chai was trying to convince himself of what he was saying rather than Peppermint.

*My gut and common sense are both telling me otherwise here, Chai…* Peppermint pointed out dryly, at this point just drained and exasperated by the whole matter.

“...You're just trying to guilt trip me again, but uh… in case you're actually onto something there… uhh…! Ah!”   Chai began in an uncertain tone, only for his eyes to light up when they settled on the nearby vending machine. Like every other time he came across one, the brunet cyborg was quick to start repeatedly hitting it with his Scrap Guitar till it blew up and spat out drink cans everywhere. With a satisfied smile, Chai then gathered up a bunch of the cans in his arms before carefully leaving them stacked up and in clear view for Pyra to see whenever she made her way up here. “There! Now whenever Pyra comes up, she can enjoy a little sit-down and drink while we go and take care of business in Rekka's office.”

The tan-skinned hacker was about to tell Chai to instead wait for Pyra to arrive, but thought better of it because she knew the wannabe Rockstar would get impatient and bolt off to Rekka’s office, so she didn’t bother *...Sure, fine. Let's get going then.* And with the two at least on the same page regarding that and allowing control back to her pet, Peppermint watched via 808 as she and Chai tried to make themselves look inconspicuous as they casually strolled (or floated, as in 808's case) to the large set of doors that would finally lead them into the office proper. With the large, futuristic doors sliding open as they approached, the inseparable duo of slacker cyborg and robotic drone cat crossed the threshold into the domain of Rekka and her newfound partner…