002

[deniedaccess]

 [1]
[Tieria could be found that day in the Arboretum that day, idly examining some of the stranger looking plants as if out of curiosity. It was clear that something else was on his mind.

Feel free to poke at him and bother him, people. Though, be prepared for wild snarks.]

[2]
[Locked to Gundam Meisters of Celestial Being]

I need a second opinion on a problem.

Comments

[deniedaccess]

The entire situation doesn't bode well.

[He was concerned for the woman, but their enemies in that factory also fled before the battle had really begun. Something else was in the works.]

[saikyocivrobo]

It could definitely use an improvement, yes. But it's not exactly a lost cause. We dealt a major blow to the Ruina, and a certain someone is trying to help out with Vlaska's condition. And she's rather good at trying, if I say so myself.

[deniedaccess]

That is true on all counts, but they are by no means finished. Don't you think that they left too quickly?

[saikyocivrobo]

The Ruina? Didn't they leave because they knew in advance the whole place is going to blow up? We only learnt that when it was almost too late.

[deniedaccess]

Did they?

[He had his own distractions, with the one that was immune to his canons and being slammed into a wall.]

[saikyocivrobo]

It's just an idea, I must admit. But a pretty likely one.

[deniedaccess]

It is likely, but it's too early to judge that right now.

[Besides, was it egoistic of him to want to see if his canons could defeat that one?]

[saikyocivrobo]

Should they appear again, we'll beat them. If I can defeat one of them in a one-on-one duel, in conditions he chose, then we'll obliterate them in group combat.

...I'm not a fan of duels.

[deniedaccess]

Who is?

I was in a two on one, and neither of us had a chance to defeat it before it fled. In better conditions, however, it shouldn't be a problem.

What did yours do?

[saikyocivrobo]

Boneheads who treat war like a martial arts tournament, maybe.

I fought against some kind of mad scientist, controlling a multi-headed mechanical hydra creature. He used attacks based on corrosion and disease.

Appropriately, I defeated him with Prometheus' vaccine attack.

[deniedaccess]

[That would never make sense to him.]

The other 'camper' and I [As Castellan termed it,] fought one that absorbed our shots. Energy blasts, to clarify. My Gundam doesn't have live ordinance, and his wasn't much different.

The best strategy would have been to overload her, but she left before we could try.

[saikyocivrobo]

Well, since I doubt that was the last time we heard of the Ruina, you will have the opportunity to try another strategy next time. Same with me, since the vaccine works only once on a certain target. They become immune afterwards.

[deniedaccess]

[He had no doubt about seeing the Ruina again either, but that wasn't something to worry about for the moment. Instead, he gave in to curiosity.]

Only once?

[It sounded needlessly difficult.]

[saikyocivrobo]

That's how vaccines work, after all.

[deniedaccess]

It just sounds strange and inefficient for a weapon.

[saikyocivrobo]

Prometheus doesn't really have any set weapons other than his drill lance. Everything else is semisolid plasma from his generator, shaped by the pilot's mind in a process that's at least partially subconscious.

Strangeness and inefficiency are a part of the game.

[deniedaccess]

I see.

[It was another thing that he needed to factor into everything that he was learning and observing for his own benefit. ]

It sounds unique.

[saikyocivrobo]

Indeed. As far as I know, Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus were the only robots created by Artifex before he was banished from this reality.

[deniedaccess]

How so?

[Although he wasn't good at small talk, he was indeed curious now. Besides, it wasn't like they were total strangers anymore.]

[saikyocivrobo]

Artifex is an ancient god-like being, with ties to technology. There's another one, connected to nature, named Baphomet. Baphomet never liked humanity a lot, but he had enough after the Second Impact, and decided to destroy us. Artifex didn't want to let him, because all the technical devices we're creating make him happy.

They fought for almost 15 years. By the end of it Baphomet defeated Artifex and banished him, in a process I can't quite understand. But not before Artifex released Prometheus and Epimetheus, and these robots did a really good job helping us fight off Baphomet's elementals and cultists. I only learned the truth about Artifex a few months ago, but now that I know it, I'm working on a way to defeat Baphomet for good.

[deniedaccess]

[It was a far more complex explanation than he had anticipated, but it fit with everything he was coming to understand about the Chalice and the people on board.]

I see...

[Everyone had their reasons, and this was a damned good one.]

[saikyocivrobo]

Mhm. Sorry for drowning you in waves of unbelievable-sounding news. I know well how strange Prometheus' story is.

If you'd like to learn more about it, you can always ask him. He's sapient, you know. Or at least is so good at pretending it makes no difference.

[deniedaccess]

Everyone has something.

I thank you for the offer, but I think I'll pass for now.

[It seemed rude to go interrogating someone's mech, even by his standards.]

--oh. Thanks for the other day.

[saikyocivrobo]

Well, if you ever change your mind, he's not hard to find. He tends to run around and bother people he finds interesting.

And you're welcome. I'm always trying to help my allies and innocent bystanders first, defeat the enemies second. I'd be a pretty awful hero if I didn't do that.