Remnants of the Earth
TEINAR => Teinar => Topic started by: Anonymous on January 09, 2010, 01:26:32 pm
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Tired and hungry. Tired and hungry.
Axel walked down the street, his head facing down. He didn't have enough money for something good to eat. The money he had wasn't enough. He sighed. Because of the mask, his breathing was loud and his voice electronic sounding. He sounded much more frightful than he really was. He didn't like being scary; he just wanted to be normal. He just wanted food.
A thought occured to him. 'What if I steal food?' He thought. It was a somewhat dangerous idea, but the growing hunger in his stomach made him consider it. He looked at the houses as he walked by. Which one should he get it from? He wished there was a better way. He didn't like doing things like this; he didn't want to get in trouble.
It was dark and late. There wasn't a soul in sight. That made sure that nobody would catch him; but, he wasn't so sure about the owner(s) of the house. He looked up at a 2-story house that was closest to him. He no longer felt like looking around for somewhere to steal from. This was good. He was tired and hungry, so this was fine.
Axel looked around, then circled the house. He found a window on the bottom floor. Better than crashing down the door. He tried to move it, pleased to find it unlocked. He entered the house without much noise; minus his breathing. The sound of it was softer now, to ensure that nobody would take much notice in it. He found himself in what appeared to be the dining room. He rushed into the kitchen quietly and found the fridge. He peered into it, taking what he wanted to eat, searching. Suddenly he heard a small noise behind him. He looked over his shoulder.
Oh. Andriods.
He tried to ignore the one that had come accross him. He didn't want trouble. He just hoped it wouldn't do something weird and stir the owner so he would come downstairs to find him and the food raided. Axel really didn't like stealing, and being caught would suck. Really, really bad. He didn't know who the owner of the house was, but he desprately hoped it wasn't someone who would be the type to beat him with a stick. Or send something/someone after him. He just wished he hadn't been forced into this situation to begin with.
Axel didn't mind androids if they weren't out to get him. He didn't want to destroy the poor thing if it went after him, but he might not have a choice. He slowly looked back into the fridge and started gathering food again. He had limited time, and he would make the most of it.
He sighed lightly. It just wasn't fair.
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Perhaps it was the android's outer shell that made it seem less threatening than it was. This android was in the shape of a young girl, dressed in a pale grey maid uniform with a skirt that hung about her knees, trimmed in lace. Her slender hands were clasped in front of her, slightly illuminated blue eyes watching the stranger as he raided the fridge. It was probably those eyes that gave her away, as they looked a little like lights in her face, which was certainly not normal for a human. Or it could be her passive, doll like expression, devoid of emotion or reflection of thoughts. Then again, the two seam lines running from forehead to chin, parallel to one another, was possibly the most obvious feature. They weren't necessary, of course...her master could easily have given her a perfect face. But it seemed that humans did not like their androids to look too human...master always had to give them traits that labled them as machines.
She took a small, dainty step forward, her shiny black dress shoes clacking ever so slightly on the tile.
"That course of action is not advisable. Guests are not permitted in the kitchen after hours."
Her voice was soft but eerily devoid of life, as one might expect from a machine. There was a slight whirring, the sound of her mechanical brain 'thinking'.
"And you are not a guest. You are required to leave immediately. I have notified the security drone of your presence."
And right on que, there was a shuffling sound from above them, where there were far more androids to be found, and where one was 'waking' to it's duty...protecting the home of it's master. This maidbot girl may not give Axel pause with her seemingly delicate construction, but the security drone that deftly made it's way down the stairs and into the foyer would certainly make Axel think twice about disobeying the girl's request. For from around her came the drone, called via wireless connection by the maid, and it had the shape of a rather large dog.
It held it's head high and proud, with a long, slightly boxy head, all the better to house a devastating pair of jaws, lined with metal teeth that could do far more damage than any normal creature.
"[font=fixedsys:r5uecdk6]Intruder detected. Identity...Unknown. Requesting identification. Please respond.[/font:r5uecdk6]"
Two glowing red eyes, truly a set of scanning lasers, were focused entirely on Axel, but they were having difficulty identifying him thanks to his mask. Thus it had asked him to identify himself...perhaps a strange step, considering Axel was an intruder, but the android was simply following protocol. After all, if this were one of the master's acquaintences, it would be a grand error to kill him without first being positive of his identity.
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Axel saw the large, dog-like android and knew he was screwed. He knew, at that very moment, that he had chosen the wrong house. This was the worst situation. He really wished he had picked some other place. This wasn't good. He might die!
He took a sharp intake of breath. He didn't know what to do at this point. 'Well, might as well do something...not harmful.' He slowly put some extra food back into the fridge and was left only with 2 food items. He closed the fridge and backed away from the androids slowly. He said, "You ask for my identity?" He was slowly going towards the window. "Axel!" He said simply.
To escape the giant dog-thing, he yelled and crashed through the window that had closed earlier after he broke in. He climbed up the side of the house onto the roof using the gloves he had designed. They allowed him to be much like a geko and climb up surfaces. He didn't want the dog killing him outside the window. In fact, he just wanted to get away. He waited on the rooftop. Normally he would have just run off then and there, but he dropped a glove on the ground outside the window. He shivered slightly. He didn't want to die. Or get hurt.
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"[font=fixedsys:3w1umj06]Halt intruder. Do not move. This is your final warning[/font:3w1umj06]."
A warning that apparently came too late, as the stranger dove through the window through which he had originally entered. The security drone lunged for him with all the liquid grace of a great cat, rather than a mechanical dog, and landed deftly outside the window...only to peer up as the man scaled the walls. A task it could not do, but it did not matter. Every android in the entire house was now on alert, and via their link to one another, they all knew the intruder was on the roof.
The maidbot turned calmly and went to the counter to begin making coffee. The master had been woken, so it was her duty to prepare coffee for him. Just following protocol. Meanwhile the security drone was circling the house in quick strides, its laser-eyes always pointed upward, scanning, watching, should the man try and make a break for it. There was no way a human would be able to outrun it.
In the upper story, Tristan was being forcibly torn from his peaceful slumber by one of his nurse droids, whom was persistently shaking him, despite his growled warnings to quit it.
"Master, you must wake. There is an intruder on the roof."
"If they're on the damn roof, then they're not intruding!"
"He was inside the house. Now he is on the roof."
"Then leave him up there and let me sleep!"
"It is too dangerous. His identity is Axel X, a deadly weapons manufacturer."
"Maybe if he blew us up, I could get some peace!"
"That option is not valid. Please wake."
Since he was being shaken enough to addle his brain, he finally gave in and sat up, blond hair ruffled up in every direction, especially smooshed on one side of his head.
"Fine, fine. Get me on the roof already."
As he spoke, he was swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing a bit stiffly. Damn but waking up was always the worst...nothing wanted to work the way he wanted it to. Hobbling across the wood floors, he snatched up a thick robe.
"Master, that course of action is not advisable. One of us should-"
"My house, my roof, my problem. I'm gonna talk to the guy."
Seeming to know better than to argue, the nurse droid bowed.
"Very well master. Instead, we will bring him inside for interrogation."
A grunt was the only response she got from Tristan, who was evidently still a bit grumpy. Turning, she strode calmly from the room, passing the maidbot on her way in (and with coffee no less), into the labratory. Words were not exchanged, for the androids could all communicate wirelessly through their collective networked 'brains'.
Moments later, and there was a male android effortlessly hefting himself onto the roof where the fugitive lay in hiding.
"Mr Axel, our master would like to have a word with you regarding the breaking and entering of his home. If you would be so kind as to come with me, we may avoid having to bring the master up here in the cold so as to speak with you."
This droid seemed more human than the others, for his voice had inflection and tone, and he even smiled a bit as he held out his hand as a gesture of peace. The seam lines on his face started under his eyes and went down to his chin, and his dark green hair was tied back in a long ponytail. His outfit was white, almost doctor-like in design, all crisp lines and simple cuts.
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Axel stiffened as the droid entered his little space on the roof. He was still rather scared, due to his little encounter with the security dog. He looked down at the food he held in his arms. He was going through all this for a little bite to eat? Hunger drives people to things they shouldn't do.
He replied in his electronic sounding voice, which was rather deep and seemed unfitting for a person his age, "Alright, as long as nobody's going to maime me."
He figured it was better than being killed by a dog. He followed the droid, reaching up to his mask for a moment and adjusting his vision to normal sight. When he was frightened, the mask had changed his vision to target- in case he decided he wasn't going to be so friendly. He really hoped the owner wouldn't just kill him once he went inside, or send his dog to kill him. He just hoped it was a decent person. Who was understanding to some level.
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"Of course you won't be maimed. Were that the case, we would simply have come up here and done it, rather than bringing you inside. The master would not be pleased with blood all over his equipment and floor."
Good point, though the way he said it so calmly made it a tad bit creepier than usual. His hand was still out to Axel, and since the human seemed unwilling to take it, he simply reached out a bit further and snagged the young man's arm himself.
"Please do not struggle. I am going to lower you to the window, where another will help you inside. You picked an awkward place to hide, as there is no door to get up here."
His grip on Axel's arm was firm but not so much as to be painful. He simply did not want to drop the human to an unpleasant death...or perhaps many broken bones and ruptured organs, should he survive.
Swinging Axel calmly over the edge of the roof, the android left his other arm free so that he could keep hold of the food he had stolen, holding him now by the upper arm and lowering him so that his legs dangled just outside an open window, at which point another android, another nurse droid, helped to guide him into the window and pull him inside.
Moments later, and the male android was gracefully lowering himself back inside the window as well, and he closed it behind him - not as an agressive action, but rather to keep the cold out.
Standing in the main lab, waiting with a big mug of coffee in his hands, was Tristan. He'd managed to get his hair a bit more under control thanks to a brush, though he'd left it loose down around his shoulders. And still he was all bundled up in that puffy blue robe, his sky blue eyes more awake than they were a little while ago. Ah the wonders of coffee...
As soon as the stranger was back on his feet and inside again, Tristan smiled at him as if this were not such an awkward state of affairs.
"Heya! Good evening, I guess? Heheh...so you're Axel, right? I....er....is that food?"
"He was raiding the kitchen." The maidbot who had first spotted Axel spoke up.
"Oh. Well then...guess that answers the 'why were you in my house' question, doesn't it? Heheh, well, I'm Tristan Nash, owner of this house and yadda yadda...nice to meet you and all the formalities I'm too groggy to care about right now. I guess this is where I let you plead your case to me about why I shouldn't do something terrible to you, yeah?"
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Axel wasn't particularly disturbed by the creepy way the robot said that. He wasn't scared of much, besides things that were obviously going to kill him. His feet landed softly on the floor next to the window. He looked at the owner of the house. He held the food out towards him. "Yes, I am Axel. I apologise for taking this food. I didn't take anything else; I promise." He went onto his knees. "Look, I don't think I have anything that you would want. I don't have money or anything. If you wish to do something terrible to me, I understand." He got from his pockets the little money he owned, and said, "If it pleases you, take this. Just...I don't want to die."
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Well, he did believe the man on that point...had anything else been taken, he'd have been notified. The green haired android calmly took the food items as Axel held them out, leaving momentarily to return them to the refridgerator.
What happened next, however, Tristan was entirely unprepared for. The guy was...actually on his knees. Aah...when I said plead, I didn't think he'd actually go this far...
"Wow guy, you're really serious about this huh?"
Walking up to Axel's kneeling form, Tristan calmly crouched to better be on eye - or was that mask lens? - level with him. He shook his head at the money and chuckled.
"Relax, I'm not a murderer. Well, not yet anyway. And even if I were, I doubt I'd kill you over some food. I'd make you a house slave before I killed you, I'm pretty sure."
The grin was back on his face again, and he seemed to be amused at the entire state of affairs, though he sobered up a bit with his next words.
"Do you not have a place to go? Are you a refugee then?"
It was common knowledge that Teinar was refugee central, and people coming in with nothing but the clothes on their back was not uncommon.
"You know, you can always ask for help. Most people aren't entirely unwilling to help out unfortunates wandering about the city."
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Axel shook his head at the question. "No, I don't have a place to go...Well, I do, but I'm not welcome there." He brought his head up from its lowered position. "Sorry again for stealing. I didn't have enough money to get the food I needed." He tilted his head slightly. "This is rather akward, as I broke into your house, but...may I ask you to help me?" He added with a tad bit of humor, "I'll be your house slave if it puts a roof over my head." He looked at the droids around and said, "By the way, did you create these?"
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Tristan grinned again, a pretty common occurance for his face, only this time it was more of the reassuring sort.
"Well, that makes you a sort of refugee then. Don't worry about it too much."
At the offer though, Tristan out right laughed, and then gave a bit of a mishchievous smirk.
"Well then! No way I can pass up the offer of a house slave!"
Standing again, he stuffed his slender hands into the big pockets of his robe, bare toes curling a bit on the cold floor.
"Alright, you can stay for a bit. And yeah, all these androids are 100% Tristan Nash originals! Not bad, eh? Ah...Holly! Holly-oh! Sheesh, you're always right behind me..." Turning a bit, he faced the little maidbot again and handed her the now empty mug.
"Go downstairs and make some more coffee for me, and some food for Axel, okay?"
The maidbot, Holly, bowed and then turned on her heel, almost silently sweeping out of the lab and down the stairs.
The nurse droid who had woken Tristan then spoke up.
"Sir, I do not believe this is advisable."
"What? I'm allowed to help people sometimes."
"Not that. You have only gotten three hours of sleep. You should go back to bed for the time being."
Tristan just waved her off as he waited for Axel to get up and follow him downstairs.
"Pff, like I could actually go to sleep after all this excitement."
"We could always use a tranquilizer."
That actually made Tristan stop mid stride, and he turned to glower at her over his shoulder.
"That's not even funny Isabel. Sheesh."
"I simply wish to make sure you are well." She bowed her head a bit, and just the the green haired android returned to the lab.
"Your caffeine intake is also a bit troublesome. You just sent Holly to make more, didn't you? In the last 24 hours, you've already consumed-"
"Argh, both of you quit it! Alright, I'll have decaf! And I'll go to sleep once Axel eats! Happy now? Bolts and buckets you guys are masters of naggery!!" Throwing up his arms in defeat, Tristan groaned rather dramatically. Not wanting to get caught in any more arguments he couldn't win, Tristan wasted no time in grabbing Axel's hand and half dragging him back to the kitchen, where Holly was undoubtedly preparing a meal for them now.
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Axel grinned madly behind the mask he had. He was really happy to find someone that would help him, even if only for a few days. He chuckled when the droids nagged him about various things that were apparently not good for him. When Tristan pulled him by the hand into the kitchen, he remembered his glove outside. He figured it didn't matter at the moment. He said, "It's quite nice of you to help me. Thank you." He sat down in a chair in the kitchen and said, "These droids are pretty cool, you said you made them?"
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As they entered the kitchen, Tristan released Axel, if only to go and stare at his broken window. Well, that was troublesome...guess one of the droids will have to fix it in the morning. Just then, a huge metallic head with lots of teeth popped out of the window from the outside.
"Gaah!!"
Tristan jumped back a good foot, before cussing in a most un-gentleman like way.
"What the hell Sifer?!? Good job giving me a minor heart attack!" He swatted the mechanical dog's head as if it'd have some sort of affect on the android. The very same one that had been chasing Axel about until just recently, no less.
"[font=fixedsys:3v2kmx6w]Apologies. I have retrieved items from the fugitive.[/font:3v2kmx6w]"
It's mechanical voice spoke without the movement of those jaws, in which Axel's gloves were held. It deposited them into Tristan's hands before leaping through the window and positioning himself below it - after all, now that it was broken, there was an even greater chance someone would try and sneak in. It was not going to let that happen.
Sighing heavily, Tristan rolled his eyes.
"Well, good job, I think. Here Axel, I figure you're the only 'fugitive' in the house at the moment." Handing them back to his guest of sorts, Tristan flopped into the seat next to him, laying against the table and making grabby hands in Holly's general direction. The maidbot turned as if on que, and set a large mug of coffee in front of him.
"Isabel and Morgan advised me to make decaf."
Tristan snorted, but chugged the coffee (black naturally) all the same.
"Guess I'll just pretend it has caffeine in it..."
"What shall I make for you master?"
Tristan shrugged as he set the mug down with a satisfied sigh, nearly half the black liquid already gone.
"Well since Axel broke into my house with hunger, I figure make whatever doesn't take too long."
"Understood." The small bot calmly moved over to the stove and began preparing their meal, and as she did so Tristan rested his head in his hand, studying Axel's odd mask idly as he waited for the other man to speak up.
"No problem, I don't mind guests. And thanks, glad you like em. It's what I do- I'm an android engineer. Pretty much been making them since I was in diapers, I took over the family business from my father, as it were. The little maid girl is Holly, the nurse upstairs was Isabel, and the doctor with the green hair is Morgan. The security dog is Sifer, sorry he chased you. I have a few others, but they're out at the moment getting supplies and the like. Usually it's just me and them, so it'll be nice to have another living creature to talk to, heheh." Again he grinned, naturally a pretty chipper person it would seem.
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Axel simply turned his head when Tristan's attack dog jumped though the window.He accepted the gloves and put them in his pocket. "That's quite interesting. The only things I've ever created are some weapons, my gloves, and this mask. The mask was needed, however...I wouldn't be alive without it." He admired the aroma of food cooking. He was happy to smell that food that he didn't think he would have gotten. He continued, "I can't breathe well in the normal atmosphere, so I must wear this to breathe properly."
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"I was wondering about that. Normally masks are only worn outside the city." Sitting up straighter, Tristan scootched his chair closer to Axel so he could get a better look at the breathing apparatus, leaning over a bit with his head cocked to the side. Very curious...were his lungs bad? Perhaps he couldn't properly collect oxygen from the atmosphere...or perhaps he was over sensitive? Had to have all the air perfectly filtered all the time? Hmm...well he couldn't be entirely sure what the mask did exactly unless he either asked or took it apart....and he'd much rather take it apart, though that seemed unlikely since apparently the poor guy needed it just to breathe.
"Must be tough. Clever though, you did a good job. It's not overly elaborate but is still efficient."
Sometimes he couldn't help himself, building and designing was in his blood after all. Alas, he was forced to stop oogling the mask as Holly placed two plates of food down before the young men, bowing slightly after she was done and silently excusing herself from the dining room to allow them to eat without a spectator.
Not particularly hungry himself, Tristan picked at his food, but was keeping a close eye on Axel, highly curious as to just how someone with a mask such as that would eat.
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Axel chuckled lightly. "Thank you. However, It's more elaborate than you think." He looked at the plate of food happily and said, "First good meal I've had in a while." He gathered a fork of food and brought it to his mouth. A hole just large enough opened in his mask, allowing him to put the food in his mouth without taking the mask off. "I got onto the roof with these." He held up one of the gloves. "They allow a person to grip a slick or otherwise non-adhesive surface and climb on it." He finished his food very quickly. He thanked Tristan for the food and said, "Well...it's rather late..where shall I sleep?"
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Tristan simply chuckled at that.
"I'm sure it is. I just mean it doesn't have any needlessly elaborate elements."
And then he was forced to sit back and watch as Axel ate, or rather inhaled, all that food. Hungry much? And what the heck, there was a food port in the mask...so not fair! Not even a peak...this was going to prove infuriatingly frustrating to his desperate need to know, the curiosity already crawling up his throat. Great...
Luckily Axel distracted him with talk of the gloves, which Tristan was more than happy to pounce upon. Studying the glove closely, he wished he had his glasses with him so he could get a really good look at all the finer details.
"Very cool...huh, must be useful..."
His voice was noticably distracted as he continued to look the gloves over, but he snapped out of it as Axel asked about a place to sleep.
"Oh, right...hmm..."
Handing the glove back to Axel, he pondered for a moment.
"Well I don't usually have guests, so there's not really a spare room anywhere. I suppose you can hijack the sofa? Ah-"
As he made to stand, he could not seem to get his lower body to cooperate, for though he placed his hands on the table and made an upward movement with his torso, he remained planted in the chair.
"Dammit..." He muttered under his breath, jaw tense now as he gripped the table in a white-knuckle grip.
"Isabel! Isabel!"
His voice carried easily enough, but in the meantime as he awaited her arrival, he smiled sheepishly at Axel, who was no doubt a bit confused.
"Er, sorry, my legs went numb...happens sometimes, I'll have Isabel grab my wheelchair. Ick. Anyway in the meantime, you can get settled on the couch, and I'll have Holly hijack some blankets from the spare closet for you."
-
Axel jumped slightly when Tristan almost fell, but grabbed the table. He nodded at the explaination. "Thanks again." He tilted his head at Tristan. "That stinks...hope you don't hurt yourself." He had a sincerety to that last part, kind of feeling his pain. He knew that feeling of not being able to do something others could, or having something that made you different than everyone else. He sighed and lay on the couch. "Good night, Tristan. See you in the morning..." His voice trailed off and the faint light coming from the lenses of his mask dimmed then shut off. His breathing was slowed, and he was asleep. He could almost shut himself off to sleep, sometimes, if he was tired enough.
-
Tristan laughed, though it was a terse sound, and more hollow than it should have been.
"Yeah, me too I guess."
Unfortunately I don't have to do anything but age in order to hurt myself....argh...Bu t he knew what Axel was trying to say, and he was grateful, it just sucked having to show this side of himself to his guest. He watched as Axel got up and left, just as Isabel passed him by in order to come into the kitchen.
"I need the damned contraption."
She knew he meant the wheelchair, and turned quietly to retrieve it for him. He'd have to use it until his legs returned to a proper working condition, which could take anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours.
"G'night Axel!" He called back just as Isabel returned with his wheelchair, folded neatly and fresh out of it's hiding spot behind a bookcase.
Although Axel had long since passed out cold, Holly came by to drape a few fuzzy blankets over his body, just as she had been asked. With the window broken, it was quite cold in the house, and they didn't want their guest catching a cold. Holly also had orders to make whatever Axel wished for breakfast when he woke, and as such had herself stationed in the kitchen, where she was on stand-by mode, eyes closed as though she were sleeping.
Tristan himself was brought up to bed with the help of his other two androids, and after a bit of fussing and discomfort, finally went back to sleep. Despite all their bickering, Tristan was the one who had programed them, and their job was to help improve his health. He was stubborn, but he knew they were right when they said he shuold get more sleep, or drink less caffeine. But it was hard to justify laying around and doing nothing when you knew you may not live to your 30th birthday.
-
Axel awoke somewhat early. He sat up and yawned. He coughed, and it made him sound rather ill. His mask was being irritating. Once in a while, it didn't cooperate with him, so he fixed it.
He was slightly startled when the droid at the kitchen greeted him and asked what he wanted for breakfast. He told what he wanted and looked up the stairs leading to the upper floor. He wanted to get a look around the lab. He needed to fix his mask, anyway. Wasn't that a good enough excuse?
When he entered, he was very quiet about his breathing and movement. He scanned the lab for tools he might need, and found them with some searching around. Carefully, he took off his mask. He was facing away from Tristan. It let out a faint hiss as he took it off. There was another part to the mask beneath it, covering his face up to below his eyes. He started working on the outer part, then took off the breathing part. He gasped quietly for a second, and his breathing sounded normal. However, He felt like someone high on a mountain not getting enough air. He coughed loudly and hoped it didn't wake Tristan up. Probabaly did, though. His messy brown hair hung down to his shoulders, and it managed to look good, even when messy. His face couldn't be seen from where Tristan was.
-
Holly went about preparing the meal she had been instructed to make, and did not think much of the fact Axel was wandering off. Sifer watched the stranger from his perch on the kitchen floor, but he too chose not to shadow the man. After all, master did not seem to find him a threat, and the others were upstairs along with him.
The entire top floor, minus the bedroom in which Tristan still slept, was devoted to machinery and computers. Everything had been streamlined and compacted to the smallest possible size, so as to be able to fit the most amount of equipment into the large room as physically possible and then some. Much of the equipment involved metal tables surrounded by tool benches and mechanical arms, very much like a mad scientist's lab. But humans were not often the creatures strapped to such tables; more often it was androids being worked upon. The only person frequently found on one of those cold metallic surfaces was Tristan...
Axel would have found reasonably useful tools easily enough, as there were so many in the room, and of all sorts. And despite the noise Axel made, Tristan's bedroom door remained closed...but that was not to say Axel didn't have company.
"Good morning, Axel."
Morgan's voice came from directly behind him, and it seemed the androids had a knack for moving silently about the house. He was the green hair 'doctor bot' whom had helped Axel get back indoors the night before.
"You do not sound well. Are you ill?"
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Axel did not seem surprised at Morgan's presence. He smiled to himself. His face often showed his emotions like a canvas showed a painting; with that mask, he didn't have to worry about hiding his emotions. "Good Morning to you." He frowned slightly. "Ah, I'm always, in a sense, 'ill.' You see, My mask malfunctions sometimes...I need it to breathe. I'm just fixing it. Thank you for your concern, though." He worked rather quickly on the mask, fixing things here and there. "I hope nobody minds me using these tools to fix the mask."
-
"I see."
Morgan himself frowned as well, showing himself to be the most expressive of the androids so far.
"Have you not gone to a doctor? Is there no cure for your condition? If so, you are much like the master. His disease has no known cure-"
"You really like to run at the mouth Morgan."
Turning, Morgan smiled a bit sheepishly at Tristan, who was again standing in all his groggy glory, powder blue pjs a bit crinkled, his blond hair again toussled in some pretty bizarre directions.
"My apologies master. Good morning."
"Yeah, yeah..."
Tristan was not at his best when first woken it seemed, and he yawned rather massively behind his hand, before stretching his arms over his head and scratching his ribs. He then blinked a few times as he realized he was staring at the back of Axel's head, and all the brown hair that came with it.
Wait...he has his mask off! Curse you and you're being turned away from me!! The curiosity would be the death of him, he swore it...
Although he was trying to slip around Morgan and Axel as quickly as possible to hopefully sneak a peak, he was at the same time trying not to be terribly obvious about it.
"I see you've made yourself at home, using my tools. For the record I hate people touching my things without permission...but I guess since you didn't know I can let you off the hook this time."
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Axel nodded quickly and put his mask on equally fast. "I'm sorry. I just needed to fix it. It was malfunctioning." His true voice was rather quiet and soft. The mask made a faint hissing sound again as it went back on his head. He didn't really realize that Tristan was trying to get a peek at his face. Tristan would have failed, considering how fast he put the mask back on. He began to make his way back downstairs. "Tristan, I can guess you like creating things. Would you like to see the plans for something I'm working on over breakfast?" He sounded casual. He did like to show people his ideas, because he rarely found someone who would listen.
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"You are so infuriating..."
Without warning Tristan had Axel in an abrupt headlock, though with his weak constitution it wasn't like he could actually do any harm. It was more of a playful gesture, and it kept Axel from escaping downstairs quite so fast.
"You are blocking my natural, God-given curiosity with that mask! And why do you have to be so quick at putting it back on!? What are you, some kind of freaky masked ninja??"
So energetic, and he hadn't even had his coffee yet...Morgan rubbed the back of his head and sighed before speaking up.
"Master, that's hardly any way to treat your guest..."
"Guest smuest, he's my house slave!"
"So you put your house slaves in impromptu headlocks I see..."
"Damn right I do!"
Ok, so now he was grinning and trying not to just start laughing. This entire thing had to look pretty ridiculous now that he thought about it...oh well, just his androids around to see it so it's not like it really mattered, haha. He could look the fool as much as he darn well pleased, so there! And as such...he refused to release Axel from the head lock just yet, even though at a whopping 5'6" it was a tiny bit awkward for him to do.
-
Axel realized that Tristan had wanted to see his face and said, smirking behing the mask, "I try."
Axel was not expecting the headlock he found himself in seconds later. He chuckled, then began to laugh. Then, he said in a joking monotone voice, "No, you cannot see my face. That is strictly prohibited." Axel said, still having difficulty talking through his amused laughter, "Your freaky masked ninja house slave requests release from the headlock." He grinned behind the mask. He sure didn't expect he'd end up like this when he'd first broken in to get the food.
-
"Strictly prohbited my ass! You just watch, I WILL satisfy my curiosity one way or another!"
He was only half joking...he had every intention of satisfying that need to know before Axel left his house. Already his mind was pondering various ways of getting that mask off...
He grinned somewhat smugly at Axel's laughter, and was quick to respond to the words that managed to get past the odd-sounding mask-laughter.
"Request denied!"
He tightened the headlock, but it was still no where near strong enough to actually put Axel in any sort of danger, and Tristan was well aware of it. At this point, he was just having fun. As he had said before, it was usually just himself and the androids...he was allowed to indulge in some playfighting while Isabel was still 'asleep'.
Morgan was quite content to quietly watch, a smile on his face. This might be the first time in his existence ever recording Tristan 'playing' with someone. In his opinion, it was a good experience...mental and emotional health were just as important, if not more so, than physical health, after all.
-
Axel took on the joking monotone again. "Access Denied. Please don't try again later." He said, "Request denied? You better be careful with denying my requests, or else I'll steal all your food with my freaky ninja skills!" Some button got pressed when Tristan tighened the headlock, changing Axel's voice to something that sounded rather evil and deep. "What..?" He snickered and began to play with the voice he got. "Look what you've done now. Your curiosity has brought me to the dark side."
-
"Screw you, jerk face! You can't deny access to your master! Even if you are a freaky masked ninja, you're still my freaky masked ninja house servant!!"
He had to bite back a laugh himself, still trying to play along, but he couldn't contain it at what Axel said next, and he burst out laughing, nearly losing his grip on Axel's neck in the process.
"Oh no, I'm ever so scared of your ninja skills. My refridgerator is probably trembling in fear right now."
Meanwhile Morgan was just shaking his head behind them, even as Isabel finally came from Tristan's room, only to stumble upon the absurdity happening in the middle of the lab. Morgan filled her in easily enough via their link, and she just stared blankly at the play fighting, trying to decide if it posed any sort of a risk to Tristan's health.
After the button was pressed, Tristan blinked a few times, before snickering and biting his lip to keep from out right laughing again.
"I don't suppose you gain evil super ninja powers now, do you?"
-
Axel slipped out of Tristan's grip and said, "It better be trembling in fear! My skills have no bounds!"
He said in a jokingly serious tone, "You want to see my face, huh...?" He scurried downstairs and said, "Maybe if you can get my mask off, you can!" He hurried over to the plate of food downstairs and ate a random piece of it. He turned and said, "Curiosity killed the cat. Maybe you shouldn't take a chance!" He didn't remember what his face looked like any longer. He was, honestly, rather curious himself.
-
"Ack, hey-!"
Wow, maybe he really was a ninja? Axel slipped out of his hold easily enough and was quick to make a dash for it. Sheesh the guy was fast...arrgh!
"Get back here!"
And before Isabel could advise against running in the house, Tristan was bolting after Axel, down the stairs, and back into the kitchen. Holly seemed a bit surprised at the flurry of activity, but set Axel's plate down on the table all the same...as well as a big mug of coffee for Tristan (though at this point he probably didn't need the caffeine anymore!)
Huffing a bit, simply thanks to the fact he never really did much more than a causal walk most days, he put his hands on his hips rather saucily...which was even more amusing thanks to his ridiculous hair-do.
"Maybe I will pull that mask right off your face. What then, eh master ninja??"
He then scoffed, smirking haughtily.
"And satisfaction brought it back. It's always worth the risk!"
-
Axel said, amused, "If you get the chance to pull it off in the first place, of course." He took another mouthful of the food and ate it. "I dunno why you're so crazy about seeing my face, but I don't think you'll get the chance!" He dove past Tristan and threw himself onto the couch, peeking over the back of it at Tristan. "I don't think you CAN take it off." He grinned behind the mask again. "Can't catch me, can ya? Can ya?"
-
Tristan actually stopped to ponder the answer for a moment. It wasn't really that he was super keen on seeing Axel's face, it was just...the not knowing that was driving him nuts.
"I just hate not having the option. My curiosity is a dangerous thing! Ack, quit it!"
Much to fast for him, Axel was able to dash by and dive into a hiding spot of sorts, frustrating Tristan to no end. Ugh curse my feeble little body, this is ridiculous!
Standing in front of the couch now, his hands again on his hips, he huffed a bit as Axel taunted him. But then the little light went on above his head, and he smirked as an idea blossomed.
"Well, maybe I can't...but that doesn't mean somebody else can't. I have other servants that are much more obedient than you."
And with all the epic timing that there was in the universe, Morgan picked that particular moment to come down the stairs...and effectively got himself caught in the madness.
"Morgan! Apprehend that squirly house servant. He's in need of some discipline!"
Blinking, the green haired android looked a bit perplexed (if he was actually feeling it was something else entirely), before sighing and shrugging his shoulders in defeat.
"I won't ask...please come willingly Axel, so I needn't use force."
He stepped closer to Axel, looking still a bit sheepish about this entire thing, but really unable to go against Tristan's orders.
-
Axel scoffed. "That's cheating, Tristan." He did come willingly, however. "Fine then, I'll come over. Good luck getting the mask off, however...." He grinned madly behind the mask as he walked over to Tristan. "I'd rather you not take it off for too long, if you do manage." He said jokingly, "Hey, I know my face just as well as you do. If I saw a picture of myself with my mask off, I would probabaly say, 'Who's that?'"
-
Tristan smirked and crossed his arms, quite pleased with the outcome.
"My house, I'm allowed to cheat, Mr. Freaky Ninja Servant."
He waited patiently for Axel to come to him, Morgan following close behind, apparently in case Axel should try and bolt again (not that it was a terribly big house, so it'd be a pretty short chase all the same).
Tristan had to snicker at that, still playing the part of king of his domain.
"Oh I'm sure I can manage. I build complex human analogs from the ground up, so I think a mask shouldn't give me too much trouble."
As he reached out to tinker with said mask, he had to snort at the next bit of information.
"Wow, that's...kind of sad. Don't you own a mirror...?"
Out of the blue, those slender hands, which had once been going for the mask, clamped down onto Axel's shoulders with a force not yet seen in his sickly body. Tristan's face went from mirthfully grinning, to twisted into pain, blue eyes darkening with the force of it as his fingers dug into Axel. He wasn't doing it on purpose...the pain shot through him with such ferocity that his muscles locked up, his knuckles turning white with force of his grip.
"Master!"
Morgan was right there, catching him about the waist just in time as his knees buckled. He wanted to let go of Axel, but couldn't...he couldn't even speak, and he could hardly breath, the air trapped in locked lungs, tears pricking his eyes and turning their edges red with unfallen moisture.
Dammit dammit dammit...just try and relax...you know it will pass soon enough...
"Geh...ah..."
He let out one sob before finally he collapsed entirely, the pain subsiding just as quickly as it had come and allowing his body to relax, and he fell against the waiting Morgan, who scooped up his limp body as though he were a doll.
"Apologies, Axel. You are not hurt I hope?"
Perhaps odd considering the one 'hurt' was clearly Tristan, who lay gasping in Morgan's grasp, but all in the house knew this was normal...well, all but Axel perhaps.
-
Axel stood completely still as the events happened. He shook his head. "I'm not hurt at all. Are you okay?" He sounded concerned. Then, trying to put a joking twist back on things, he said, "Besides falling victim to the dark side, I'm fine." He breathed in sharply and coughed. "Mask's still not fixed completely. Do you mind if I use your tools?" He said that rather sheepishly. "While I work on the breathing part of it, you can look at the outer shell, if you wish..." He faced away from Tristan and took off the outer part, placing it on the couch. Then, he went upstairs to fix his mask.
-
Tristan just nodded to the question of whether or not he was okay, still trying to regain his breath, his eyes closed as he rested in Morgan's arms. Morgan was obviously a bit more talkative about the situation.
"Master will be alright. Sudden flares of pain are a symptom of his condition. I am glad his grabbing you did not cause you any harm."
At Axel's joke, Tristan laughed weakly, managing a grin, but that was about all he could muster. The worst part about the pain was how drained he was afterward...he just needed a good rest.
Isabel was there in a flash, scanning Tristan's vitals a few times just to be sure.
Axel's own cough sort of broke the somber mood, and both androids watched him as he spoke. They then exchanged glances, before Isabel took Tristan from Morgan, whom followed Axel as he moved back upstairs.
"Jerk..."
Was all Tristan managed to get out, again robbed of a chance to see Axel's face, even though he'd been so close. All the same, Isabel laid Tristan out on the couch, making him comfortable and moving the outer shell of the mask for now. She covered him with one of the fuzzy blankets and allowed him to rest for a bit, the only real cure for this symptom.
Morgan shadowed Axel back into the lab, hands behind his back as he watched the young man's movements quietly.
"If you'd like, I could run a scan on your vitals? It's possible we have the technology here to help you, as master and his father have both done much research into the human body in a quest to beat master's condition."
-
Axel smiled a little when Tristan spoke. He really did hope he would be okay. As he set the mask down on a table, he looked over his shoulder at Morgan. He looked a little surprised. "Ah, so you think you can help..?" He looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "Sure, go ahead. Just don't let Tristan see my face." He wondered if they really would be able to help him. He had allways been like this, ever since he was born. He didn't like being called a freak. He did want the cure. Weirdly to him, he almost felt a regret in being able to get a cure. The mask had become a part of him, in a way. He said, sounding rather concerned, "You sure Tristan's gonna be okay? He seems like a good guy, I'd hate to see him doing real bad."
-
Morgan smiled and nodded slightly.
"I believe it is possible. Though this equipment is normally used for androids, we can also perform a myriad of different medical procedures as well. All of the medical data that has been recorded is saved on my hard drive. I am fairly confident we either have a cure, or we can find one."
He then had to chuckle, shaking his head slightly.
"Well, I'll do my best, but should he order me to...my protocol dictates I must obey him. Ever so sorry, Axel."
This face mystery was quite entertaining.
Morgan motioned to one of the metal tables, meaning for Axel to lay on it for the scan. But he was still listening, and sighed softly in response. Clearly, Morgan was the most 'human' of the androids here.
"He is okay, relatively speaking. In the grand scheme of things however, he is in a very bad way. He's slowly dying. Naturally, all humans are slowly dying if you think of it that way...so I suppose in reality he's quickly dying. His estimated lifespan is no more than thirty years...if he's unlucky he won't even hit his twentieth. And even should he live that long, he will be confined to a wheelchair. It's a degenerative nerve disease, passed down genetically in his family."
Possibly too much information, but Tristan was not here to censor him, and Axel seemed genuinely concerned.
-
Axel lay on the table as instructed, and frowned slightly, closing his eyes. "That's really too bad. He's so smart. I think he deserves as long a life as everyone else." He sighed, and coughed, sounding worse than before. "There's no history of this breathing problem in my family. Parents kicked me out for 'being a freak.'" He smiled again. "Thank you for filling me in on that, Morgan." Axel looked up at the ceililing. He coughed, once again, almost seeming to gag on the air. "No more talking for me" he said, shutting his mouth.
-
Once Axel had become as comfortable as one can on a hard metallic table, Morgan stepped closer to stand over him, but he had a soft smile on his face in response to the kind words Axel had spoken.
"I agree. I wish to be there when Tristan dies of old age, rather than his disease."
Perhaps the first time Morgan had called Tristan by his name, rather than master, but he was speaking from the bottom of his mechanical heart, and it was hard to say if it was a simulated emotion...or if he genuinely felt it.
He sobered quickly enough as the conversation progressed, and nodded slightly.
"That was very unkind of them. But thank you for telling me it is not an inherited condition...that does narrow down the suspects, if only a little."
Turning away slightly, Morgan began to type on one of the consols attached to the hub of the mechanical arms, but was listening all the same...even to those coughs. He could hear them in a way no human could ever perceive, catching octaves far beyond human ability, and running the sounds against data stored in his cybernetic brain.
"I understand. Do not speak further if it troubles you. This scan will not take long."
Suddenly the mechanical arms jumped to life, swinging out over Axel, instruments unfolding from their ends like metallic fingers. They swept over Axel's body from head to toe, scanning with lasers and sensors, without ever really touching him. They took detailed information about body temperature, body mass, heart rate, blood pressure, and other such basic data. They constructed a 3D model of his body, scanning first his surface, and then progressively deeper into his flesh and bone, layer by layer, gathering all manner of medical statistics on Axel.
Minutes later and it was over, the arms refolding, the scanners disappearing back inside the arms, and all the clicking and whirring of machinery was still and quiet.
"Alright Axel, thank you for your patience. I will begin studying the information gathered, and once master is well enough, he will come up and help I'm sure. I can only work based off what is downloaded into my memory...master has the ability to think in abstract ways, so his input is very important if we are to diagnose your condition."
-
Axel sat up after the scan was done and nodded. "Alright." He looked up at the ceiling. He said, quietly, "I wonder what it's like to be able breathe normally..." He got off the table and started messing with his mask again. He pressed buttons and switched dials. Then, he began having a coughing fit. He moved much faster in fixing it now. He quickly put it back on after he finished, letting out a long breath, and said, "May I have something to drink? My throat kinda hurts after that cough.."
-
"Hopefully you will soon find out."
Again Morgan was smiling, and though it was somewhat similar to Tristan's penchant for smiling often, Morgan's was softer, warmer, almost fatherly in a way. Despite being a machine, he still put off an air of calm serenity, and like any good doctor was good at putting people at ease.
Once Axel began to work on his mask, Morgan sat down in front of what appeared to be a large computer consol, and as soon as he began typing, information began flitting across the holographic screens in front of him...images of Axel's insides, data about bone mass, moisture density in his muscles, and things as simple as blood type. A few soft buzzers sounded as things were flagged, Morgan's pale gray eyes reflecting the words and images as they flashed about in front of him, far faster than a human could follow.
"Hm? Oh, yes, my apologies I should have paid more attention..."
Morgan frowned and stood, taking the few strides necessary with his long legs to stand at Axel's side, the look on his face one of worry. Via his link to the others, he'd notified Holly to bring up something for Axel to drink, and she was already on her way up the stairs. Morgan had even instructed her to include a straw, should that make drinking it easier on Axel.
Holly arrived moments later and handed Axel a cool glass of liquid, probably juice, with a straw. From behind her came Tristan, looking a bit less energetic than usual, but on his feet.
"Master, are you sure you should be up already...?"
"I'm about to sit back down."
And that he did, flopping into the chair Morgan had just been siting at, and scanning over Axel's anatomical data.
"What's all this?"
-
Axel responded after sipping some of his drink through the straw. "Morgan did a scan of me to see what exactly was wrong with me." He coughed again, but more lightly this time. "I had my mask off Tristan; you were late." He said the last part in an amused way. "Sorry I touched your stuff again." He had another coughing fit. "I swear...only off for a minute....and already....it's hurting my breathing." He sat down on the table because it was nearest. "You know, If you can help me, you can see my face."
-
Tristan blinked at the screens full of medical notation and images, before glancing over his shoulder at Axel. Why do I get the sneaking suspicion Morgan promised to help him...? His sky blue eyes narrowed as he glanced at Morgan...whom promptly cleared his throat and looked away. Argh, I knew it! Ask me before you make these decisions, you hunk of scrap metal! Sheesh...
He then visibly twitched at Axel's next words.
"Oh shut it...next time I won't be late..."
He grumbled, crossing his arms and turning back around in the chair. Snorting lightly at the apology, Tristan poked at the keyboard some, flipping through the information leisurely.
"Guess I gotta get used to it, since you keep doing it. As long as nothing ends up broken, it's fine."
At the coughing fit, both Morgan and Tristan's worried gaze was back on Axel. That accute...? He didn't have his mask off for long, but already the affects are rather severe...hmm...and it seemed Tristan's natural curiosity made the decision on whether or not to help Axel for him. Although moments later and Axel was giving him further reason to do so.
"Well in that case, let's get started!"
Grinning again in his usual manner, Tristan set to work shuffling through the medical information, momentarily distracted from all else. Morgan chuckled softly and shook his head, before coming up to stand behind Tristan to scan the information as well.
"Just try not to neglect your own research master."
"As if I could. I've got a limited shelf life, after all."
Curious way of putting it...eheh....
"Hmm, red flags all over the place...what's up with the toxicity levels? Shouldn't he be on his deathbed by now? His tissues are practically dripping with it."
Tristan scratched at the back of his head, and then realizing how mussed it was, attempted to smooth his hair down as Morgan took a look.
"Perhaps he's built up an immunity?"
-
Axel grinned. "Thanks, Tristan. I guess I'll have to hold up my part of the deal...well, soon enough." He spoke up at the questioning of the toxins. "I can explain....you see, I don't know why, but I can stand pretty much any kind of toxic material. I could drink poison if I wanted to..." He shrugged. "Don't worry. The way it is, I can't spread it around the house or anything..."
-
"Oh..."
Tristan blinked at Axel a few times, one eyebrow arched, before turning back to look at the screens.
"Er, well, that's curious...guess we'll need to take blood and tissue samples, if you don't mind. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised...with the way the Earth is, it was only a matter of time before people began to mutate more strongly to be able to handle the toxins everywhere. Interesting though...perhaps the mutation in your tissues is what caused your lungs to be hyper sensitive..."
The typing on the keyboard increased in speed and ferocity, as Tristan now had questions he wanted answered. He chuckled though as he paused to ponder that last bit.
"Well, we'll see. Your skin and sweat glands naturally try and release toxins built up in the body. You may actually be a lot more dangerous than you think. But there should be a way to help purge your body...though it'll probably have to be done regularly, since you body seems to store toxins naturally. I wonder...maybe you're like a giant air filter...if I put you in a toxic environment, would you eventually purify it as your body absorbed all the poisons?"
As Tristan spoke, Morgan went to Axel's side once again.
"Master, do not jump to wild conclusions or speculations until more testing has been done. Axel, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a sample from your arm."
-
Axel shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I would be a filter. Well, I guess I turned from a house slave into a test subject." He smiled behind the mask. Then, he offered his arm so that Morgan could take a sample. "So, Tristan, when is your curiosity going to get you and you just come over and take this mask off?" He said that in an amused way, coughing once more afterward.
-
Morgan gave Axel a sheepish smile at the test subject comment, but Tristan just snorted.
"Hey, you're the one that wanted help! And you're more a patient than a test subject, anyhow, heheh. You picked the right house to break into eh? Full of doctorbots and nursebots."
Morgan bowed slightly to Axel as the arm was offered to him, aiming for the vein at the underside of the elbow, where most blood is taken from people. Oddly enough, the needle came from Morgan's finger itself, and the blood drawing took no more than a tiny prick and a few moments of time. He then took a careful skin scraping, leaving a small patch of Axel's skin a bit pink, but that too did not cause much discomfort or take much time. Smiling, Morgan released Axel's arm before returning to Tristan to imput the data into the computers.
At Axel's quip, Tristan gave him an amusing look.
"What, you want me to jump you?"
Laughing, he simply shook his head and grinned.
"Nah, you've given me a much more interesting way of getting the mask off. All I gotta do is force your dna to give up it's secrets!"
He did love a challenge. And anyway, trying to 'jump' Axel, for all it's inuendo laden glory, was not a good idea...Tristan was still not as fast or as strong as Axel, after all! The indirect method would probably be his best bet, heheh.
-
Axel chuckled. "So, you've chosen the other way, huh?" He sighed. "You know, I've never had a chance to look at myself in the mirror, or at least my real face. At least, not that I remember." He started to cough again. "Can't....breathe.." He coughed loudly, and said, "Happens sometimes...don't worry...." It turned into yet another coughing fit. He fell onto the ground after a gasp for air. The problem was clear after he fell; part of the mask was loose. It was part of the breathing mechanism. It fell off; a metal part, and it rolled away. He tried to get it, and said, "Get....mask's...piece." He fainted from lack of oxygen. He wasn't going to die; he just had fainted. It was pretty obvious how it was supposed to go in; he had forgotten to tighten it correctly.
-
"Well let's put it this way: I'm pretty sure you'd beat me in a wrestling match. Since I can't rely on my physical self, I'll just have to resort to using my brain, heheh. But seriuosly though...I can't imagine not knowing what my own face looks like. I hope you don't break any mirrors, heheh."
Okay, so he couldn't stay serious for very long...it just wasn't in his nature to get all solemn and grumpy, especially when things went horribly awry...
....as they did just moments later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Axel would awake to find himself in a proper bed this time, though it was so squishy as to nearly suck him in, covered in fuzzy blankets and pluffy pillows. He probably wouldn't recognize the room, as he hadn't really been in it before, but through process of elimation one would have to assume it to be Tristan's room.
There was the rustling of papers to Axel's left, where Tristan sat in his office chair, feet proped up on the bed as he leaned back some, shuffling through a packet of data. Not that one could tell just from looking at it, but it was more information about Axel, in some amazingly fine print that required Tristan to have his slim, rectangular glasses on. It seemed that sometime during Axel's unconsciousness, Tristan had finally cleaned up and gotten properly dressed; his hair was back in it's usual ponytail, and beneath his white lab coat was a thin dark grey sweater and a pair of black slacks...though he had a pair of slippers on instead of shoes. Hey, the name of the game was comfort!
-
When Axel woke up, he sat up quickly, only to just sink back down to where he was before. He groaned quietly. "My head...ow.." It must have been from the previous lack of oxygen. He looked at Tristan. "Hey, Tristan..." He sighed. "God, I'm stupid. Sorry." He felt pretty damn stupid for screwing up like that. "Did you cheat and see my face?" He said the last part jokingly.
-
Tristan's blue eyes flickered up from the packet to Axel for just a moment as his guest sat up rather abruptly, but just as quickly as Axel was being sucked back into the bed, Tristan's eyes were returning to the fine print.
"Ow indeed. You passed out pretty hard."
Of course, Tristan and Morgan had fixed the problem pretty quickly, so Axel hadn't lost too many brain cells...
Flipping through a few more pages, Tristan finally sighed and set the packet down in his lap, the pen in his hand quickly finding it's way to his mouth, where he chewed on it thoughtfully. There was definitely something interesting going on with Axel's body...the toxin levels by themselves made that obvious. Amusingly enough, the word 'stupid' immediately snapped him out of his pondering, and he looked at Axel with both eyebrows arched and a grin on his face (despite the pen).
"Yeah well, it wasn't brilliant of you, that's for sure. But no real harm done, you're still alive with all limbs attached, so I'd say you're doing pretty good! Haha, and no, I didn't cheat. I was a little distracted with you passed out on the floor and all."
It was a little frightening how well he could talk around the pen...apparently pen-talking was a normal thing for him. Finally though, he removed it just to chuck it onto his desk, and then stood, the packet of data under his arm.
"Well since you're awake and coherent, I'm gonna go back to work. You can rest here some more if you want, I don't mind. Once I get some solid results, I'll let you know."
He gave Axel a mock-salute before taking his leave, eager to get back to his lab and all the anatomical information being analyzed on the computers.
-
Axel sighed, got up, and followed Tristan to the 'lab'. He was glad that Tristan wasn't angry with him for being stupid and screwing up. He watched Tristan and sighed. "You're really good at the stuff you do. Only thing I'm good at is designing weapons." He didn't sound satisfied. "By the way...I used to handle toxic waste in the city because it didn't hurt me...might explain where those toxins came from."
-
Having flopped back into the rollie chair in front of the computer consol, he didn't bother to look up even as Axel spoke.
"Well thank you, I do try. And hey, designing weapons isn't exactly easy."
Fingers that clearly knew their way around a keyboard flew over the keys, the light clatter filling the air as his blue eyes remained fixated on the screen buzzing with information.
"You gotta be proud of what you're good at. And if you're not, then just suck it up and find something else you're good at. And if you're not good at anything else, well, make yourself good at something else. Keep at it until you think you're gonna die, and if you survive the road there, you'll find that you've became skilled at it."
Despite the fact Tristan's mind was clearly on something far more intricate than their conversation, he'd managed to make a semi-understandable response. Then again, Axel had yet to see the true extent of his multi-tasking skills...skills that tended to border on the dangerous, depending on what exactly he was working on at the time.
Still typing like a fiend, he nodded slightly to the scrap of information Axel threw his way.
"I'm more interested in why it didn't affect you...the toxins of the Earth have always been a big issue, what with them being deadly and all. Your biology may hold the clues to helping us survive better in this poluted environment. But first, I gotta crack the code and force your body to give up it's secrets...."