Wait... can Robots even swim?... (Charles, Oki)

"Oh come on! Stop squirming will ya?" Jack sighed as he stopped the wench for the umpteenth time. Today was a very special day! No it was not Christmas, no it was not bring your daughter to ancient Rome to help her over throw the reign of Caesar in a violent and bloody cue that would cost the lives of hundreds of her countrymen and untimely lead to the fall of the great Roman empire, and no it was not Flag Day. Today was the day that Jack decided to test his brand new fixes to Charles' arm! Hmmm Yes! Isn't that lovely? Jack had been running a batter of tests all morning in order to see if the new patches and endoskeleton were holding up. They seemed to withstand the heat and cold test rather well, along with the raw steak and tickle tests. After a long day of testing only one remained. The full submersion test, it had to be waterproof after all. And what better place to do that then at the beautiful Analu falls! Jack had said it was because the waters here were the perfect temperature for the test... but that claim soon fell apart when Jack showed up in his red swim trunks with a cooler and super soakers.

"Just relax man!" Jack would shout as he started up the winch again "I am seventy percent sure that the seams will hold. Seventy! That's a solid C-! Unless your in Mr.Timber's class... seventy to seventy two is a D my big fanny..." Jack had hooked up an automated wench to lower Charles into the water slowly to ensure a controlled exposure. The one down side was... it looked rather silly...

"Now where Oki with that Tea..." Knowing the day would be long and stressful, Jack made a call to Oki's tea shop to make a delivery to the falls. That and he knew the day would be more fun if he had more company. Now he was just waiting for her to arrive.

"Don't shout at it." Charles complained aloud, eyes locked on the notebook he held in his hand and the pen which moved with utter grace around the surface of the paper. Seriously... wasn't this guy some engineering pro or something? How was a wench such an issue? He flinched, his hand rapidly moving to rub his shoulder as something clicked in it after a sharp stroke of his pen. The new hand worked fine, but he would have to get accustomed to it first. "Ah, it's done? Finally." He looked up at Jack in the distance, still rubbing the new shoulder with his hand while also putting his notebook closed onto the flat rock he had been sitting on as he stood up. He caught a glimpse of the light reflecting off the waterall and had to close his eyes. Jack wanted to fix him up and run some tests here, eh. They already went over all kinds of tests, though, from heat to actually putting raw meat on the shoulder... He shook his head and leaned against the edge of the hill from which the waterfall flew down, looking at Jack's bright red trunks with his hands crossed at his chest. "You gotta wear that? Wasn't just I supposed to go into the water?" He glanced over at the clear, everflowing surface. He didn't really fancy the idea of getting wet all over, especially 'cause they had no idea if he was even waterproof or something. There were enough instances in which his components could have been damaged or punctured, giving water a place to enter deeper. Ah well, it was most likely going to be fine after all. Besides, the hand felt better. Jack, despite his demeanor, was a pretty good mechanic after all.

Still, Jack seemed to have called someone else over for... tea. "You sure it's gonna be fine if someone were to see me like this?" He extended his arms wide, showing off the upper part of his mechanical body that now laid uncovered as he wore no shirt or jacket during maintenance. His pants were still on, though. He wasn't going to strip to a pair of trunks like Jack... It wouldn't even make any sense for him to do that. "You get what I'm saying? Or are they also a Persona User?" Seriously though, Jack had ordered tea... into this jungle. Whoever was crazy enough to go all the way from an urban area to this place just to deliver some tea was probably going to be okay even with Charles like this. He sighed a bit. "Are we waiting for them before we start?"

It was rare for Oki to be outside of the usual odd black clothing that it usually wore, but after getting a text from Jack about hanging out and having tea in a place called Analu Falls and doing some research on said place, the old being decided that a change of clothing was necessary. It wasn’t due to heat or anything that this was necessary, but due to the apparent abundance of water. While Oki could swim, it rather not be bogged down by its heavier clothing should it end up in the water, so a pair of blue jean shorts and a nice white spaghetti strap shirt was what it settled on. It had to hunt the clothing down, through the chaotic piles it had all around its room, but a few minutes of cloth surfing later, the being had what it sought and even found a nice simple pair of slip on shoes to go with it.

As it looked at itself in the mirror, it took in the nicely fit body that still showed no gender despite the clothing it wore. Alright….so the faint scars on the legs, arms and hands showed. There was no escaping that, but at least the ugliest of scars was hidden by cloth and the large tattoo of the nine tailed fox upon its back was mostly hidden. The elaborate design, easily covered its back and spread a bit onto its arms.

The mark was nothing Oki was afraid of showing. After all, unless Jack had some super sixth sense, no one would ever know its true nature as long as nothing unnatural didn’t occur. In any case, once dressed, the being hunted down a hat before going down stairs, pausing half way to peek in Sky’s room. She was gone today, so it assumed the strange guy that she had brought with her was too.

Alright then, so it didn’t have to say goodbye to anyone today. Cool enough.

Oki skipped down the rest of the stairs and then headed along the twisted pathways to the kitchen where it dug out a basket and a strange assortment of items. Cups, plates, spoons, knives, forks, two kettles, sugar, and some other items that made it seem like the being was going on a camping trip rather than going to have tea with someone.

Oki packed light munchies and all the dressings need for a perfect cup tea. It even managed to get the cream in its small cooler to fit in the basket next to a kettle of piping hot water. When the being was prepared, it would take its heavy load from home to the train station to the island Lunapa and through the forest until it finally found the falls and in turn Jack and the other that he said would be here.

With straw hat firmly on its head and its basket clasped in its hands, the being would easily glide over to the spot the pair where at taking note of the way both were dressed. No shirts and only pants…were they planning to go swimming or something? They were certainly near enough to the water to suggest so….Curious. Curious.

The being would stopped easily within the social ring as it smiled and gave greetings to both.

“Hello, Jack and Jack's friend. I brought the tea and some other things as requested,” Oki said to with a light chuckle as it held up the basket for the pair to see before placing it down at its feet. Green eyes would narrow in delight at Jack before they swung towards the other and went back to their normal almond shape as the expression on its face went blank. Oki walked around the basket, paused tilting its head one way and then the other, and then hopped forward a few paces before pausing again as it examined the other up and down. His structure was human, but he seemed to be very different. More built…like a doll or something and those eyes….

Unconsciously Oki got closer until it was on its tippy toes as it examined those strange eyes of his. The being was inches away from the other, balanced at such an odd angle that it was amazing it didn’t fall into the other as it examined the eyes of the stranger. This one was not an ordinary human was it?

Oki asked as it continued to examine the other not seeming to understand that being in personal space was not good by everyone’s standards. In fact this might be the worst person to invade the space of. After all, had not its sibling done something similar at another point in time?
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Note: Pretty eyes are pretty eyes. What be this creature that holds them hmmm?

"Aw don't worry Charles! Oki is a close friend of mine! She's very trust worthy, and a persona user. I think... Well she's got powers and knows about shadows and junk so that makes her about equal to a persona user. So I'm sure she's on the up and up! And for your information A) It is scientifically proven that shouting at things makes them work better. Just the other night I shouted at my computer until it decided not to blue screen anymore. B) I need to be in the water with you to check for air bubbles. If any air bubbles appear on your arm while it is submerged it's a sign that the seems aren't holding and need to be redone. And C) I look damn good in them so I feel I deserve to show off a little every now and again." Jack would then jump back and attempt to mimic some of the poses of the various men in his mother's "Don't tell daddy about these and I'll get you that Morpher you've been asking about" Magazines...

"Jealous... No?" It was around this time that Oki would appear on the scene... Juuust in time to see Jack make a fool of himself by flexing... He would jump a good three feet in the air after Oki's greeting, knowing for a fleeting moment what it felt like to be Tom Cat... He would land a few seconds later hard on his rear."Ow.... Eh? Oki! Good to see ya! Oh uh... How much do I owe ya again? Twenty Three Fifty plus tip right?"  Jack would give Oki a warm heartfelt smile before getting up and going to get his wallet out of his bag. On his way over he would hold up his right hand and flash the ring Oki had given him a few day's prior. He cherished the gift more then she could possibly know...

"Oh uh. Oki this is my buddy Charles! He and I are here to run a few tests on a prosthetic arm I'm designing for him. We need to test it's waterproofing, and sense it was such a lovely day I thought why not try it out here! Might get a good swim in while we're at it. But I just couldn't imagine such a pristine day without your tea so... Hens the call heh." Ah... Jack had the feeling today was going to be a glorious day of fun and friendship! He hoped his two friends would become friends as well! Oh that would be perfect! A true testament to their combined souls! Burning through the night!

Charles shrugged as jack explained the situation. Whatever, if Jack said so, eh. Not like Charles was even gonna use that scrappy looking contraption Jack made to lower himself into the water. Nah, his plan was to just jump in. His eyes widened and he grinned when Jack started flexing himself like some sort of a dumbass. Charles couldn't help but chuckle a bit as well when Jack jumped up at the sight of his friend. It served him well when he was acting in such a manner, hehe. Speaking of his friend... was it a he or a she? To be honest, Charles couldn't really tell. And the name Jack shouted didn't help much. Oki? Jack said it was a she, so he just went with that assumption. That could've been anything, for all he knew. Hearing the greeting, he decided to wave back. "Hi, I'm Charles. You must be O-oooo!?" He was cut short by this... Oki, jumping straight in front of him. He backed away with his left foot, nearly falling down into the water as the other one began staring at him. Her action and the way she leaned in front of him reminded Charles of a certain girl... It reminded him all too well of that. In any case, he shook his head, brushing the thoughts about that day away, raising his hands in front of himself in defense as he smiled wrily. "S-something wrong?" He asked before quickly glancing over at Jack with a frown which read something like: 'What the hell, didn't you say she knew about this sort of stuff? What the heck!? Gosh, at least help me now!!! Jaaaaaaaack!'

When Oki arrived on the scene, it appeared the being had interrupted some form of conversation or perhaps a competition between men. The odd being didn’t know which it was as it saw Jack flexing for one reason or another at the one who was with him. While it was tempting to mimic the move, luckily for both gents the old being had a basket within in its hand as it approached.

When Oki made itself known, it gave a sheepish grin as it winced slightly when the flying Jack came crashing back to the earth in the most uh… “graceful” of fashions. His friend seemed to be amused by it, but to be honest the being hadn’t meant to startle the other so much. Still, it was relieved when the other could get back up and even remembered that he owed it money; however, as the other got up to get his wallet, Oki shook its head.

“No. No. You have amused us, so this time it is on the house,” Oki said giving the other a wink before taking notice of the ring upon his hand, and smiling. "You kept it," Oki said quit pleased with the other who did not realize just how much that small action meant. That ring...and the one it belonged to....

Oki pushed those thoughts aside as turning its attention to the one who called himself Charles and immediately becoming intrigued by said other.

Unfortunately, the name was the only thing the guy got out as he backed away as much as he could from Oki as it invaded his space as soon as the basket was out of its hands, but Oki being Oki did not understand off the bat this was uncomfortable for the other. It wasn’t until he lifted his hand and the being somewhat bumped into them that Oki blinked and looked down at the hands, tilting its head left and right before looking up at the other as he asked a question and looked panicked.

“Wrong?” Oki repeated as it blinked before taking a few steps away from the other, but still remaining relatively close to the guy that was at the edge of the water. Green eyes flicked from the guy to the water and back as the being folded its arms behind its back and rocked back a bit looking up at the other more or less innocently.

“No. Nothing be wrong. Oki just likes your eyes and is curious about one thing,” the being said as it continued to rock before becoming still and locking its eyes on him. “Do you sink or float?” the being asked before its innocent smile turned into a mischievous grin.

Quick as lightning, Oki moved forward and attempted to push Charles in the water.

Wrapped up in its small test, Oki would only faintly pick up Jack’s presence for now. Perhaps whatever was to be done here would have different results with Oki here. Good or bad was yet to be seen. However, Oki wouldn't mind either way. A result was a result either way.
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Note: Come now, human or not human. Show me how well you can dodge and swim, hmm?

"On the house? Are you sure? I mean the last few cups of ZyuGreen have been "On the house" and I know the stuff is expensive from trying to buy my own on ebay. You've got to be hemorrhaging  money from me at this point, and I just feel horrible about that so I insist you take my money. It's the least I can do to pay you back for-TRYING TO DROWN CHARLES! WAIT!" Jack turned around just in time to see Oki go to push Charles into the water. Now let us pause for a moment and play everyone's new favorite game!


To play What Will Jack Do, all you need to do is vote on what you want Jack to do! If you want Jack to...

1)Let this happen and laugh at the suffering and misfortune of his robotic friend! Text JerkFace to 555-555-5555.
2)Flail and run around helplessly before jumping into the water himself to try and save Charles. Text Helping to 555-555-5555
3)Charge in and try a daring rescue, only to end up pulling himself and Oki into the water with Charles. Text MakeingItWorse to 555-555-5555

Vote now!

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .... ... ...

Thank you for voting You have chosen! Number 3!... I hate all of you...

As if charged by greater deity, Jack let out a battle cry and ran forward in an attempt to save his friend from a watery fate! Though due to a sudden bout of plot, Jack some how managed to trip over an over grown blade of grass at the last moment and slam into Oki's back, knocking not only himself... But most likely Oki into the water as well. What happened to Charles was yet to be seen

"Y-yeah, wrong!" Charles pouted and rose his nose up high. "You can't just come here and start sticking your nose into my face, you know!" Luckily, Oki stepped back and Charles could lower his guard, relaxing and sighing. She got him worried for a second there, but it all seemed to be fine now. He was just about to offer her a hand as truce when he heard her speak the words which etched themselves deep into his heart, making it drop to his feet.

It was a mistake to lower his guard. He should have known something was wrong the moment she approached him in a similiar fashion to Sky. Alas, he had been pushed into the water. The sensation being forced out of balance was like a mixture of shock and freight, a unusually unnerving sensation. He flailed around for a moment in a vain attempt to grab hold of something, but it only made his fall look even stupider. He heard a loud shout moments right as he made contact with the water. What was it from, he had no idea... He crashed head first through the surface of the water and sank to the bottom, his vision now blurred from the sand his impact raised and the water above him. It was strangely calming after the fall, just laying there completely relaxed as his body slowly descended. The shining rays of sun he could only see for a brief moment reached his eyes only seconds before another shadow blocked them off... Was it J-jack!?

Oho. It appeared this one didn’t take kindly to space invasions. The snappy comment and actions got Oki to shrink back away from the yelling, the being giving the other a blank look as if it was waiting for another command or perhaps even for the other to strike it for bad behavior. It could hear Jack in the background speaking of money, but it was much too focus on the other to comprehend what was being said. It was indeed a strange look, but it quickly vanished as Oki’s curiosity got the best of it and the being decided to run a test of its own. It would charge at the other testing reflex more so than anything with the action. It expected to end up in the water, but not in the fashion that occurred. It was anticipating a dodge or even for the guy to side step it and shove the being in the water, but instead it heard a shout from Jack and then before it could react to what happened next, the being found itself unexpectedly squished between flesh and…not flesh?

Oki wasn’t sure what to make of the material Charles was made of, but then again it had no time to analyze it either. It had been hit and knocked into the other and there was no way to stop the gravity from doing its job from there, so Oki did not resist as it went forward and down into the cool water below.

Untangling itself from the mass of limbs Oki would swim to the left, its hat completely lost at this point as it only sought space. As it saw bubbles from the first that went in and then shortly after itself, Jack’s own entrance into the water. It stayed under water for only a little bit, its eyes following the shadows of startled fish, before surfacing only slightly. The being would remain mostly submerged its nose and mouth under water as green eyes blinked back the water that dripped from its black hair as it stayed in one spot watching the surface to see if Charles and Jack would surface. It wasn’t panicking or anything as it waited. It was simply watching with the unnerving eye of one used to observing and taking the end results down. It would not move to save anyone until its mental timer dinged to let it know that said persons were potentially drowning….

Falling... Huh... Jack tended to do that quite often now that he thought about it. He fell down the stairs this morning. Fell off his bike on the way here, and now he was falling into a large body of water after his robotic best friend... What a strange world this-AH! COLD COLD COLD COLD COL-oh my that is quite refreshing-COLD!

Jack hit the water with a sickening smack that could have only come from a belly flop... Ouch... Jack cringed and writhed int he water for a moment before finaly regaining his composure and breaking the surface for a breath"BWA! Ah..Ah..haaaaaa.... Wait... CHARLES!" With a shout he dove back under the suface of the water and franticaly started his search for his robotic Buddy. It didn't take him to long seeing as how Charles was slowly sinking right below him... Huh... Guess that means he doesn't float, good to know. Shaking these thoughts away Jack began to swim down to Charles, and even though he was determined to save his friend, he couldn't help but notice the lack of bubbles coming from his arm. Jack... just had to get a little closer... aaaaaand...

"WOHOOO! MY WELD HELD!... wait...." Jack forgot he shouldn't talk underwater....Frantically Jack clutched his throat and flailed, but only for a moment. A second later Jack broke the surface of the water, distinct black X's replacing his eyes.

The two bodies falling on top of him only pushed Charles harder and deeper into the pond he had been thrown in. he watched curiously as Jack dove to get him but ended up almost drowning himself. Typical Jack. Charles shrugged and leveled himself to a standing position in the water. He wasn't a human, but he could swim. It wasn't like he was filled with lead or anything, nah, his insides were hollow at certain spots. He had air inside, he could float if he put some effort into it. Pushing himself against the rocky bottoms of the waterall pond, Charles lunged himself upwards, eventually emerging from the water next to Jack and... the other thing, Oki. Dammit, why did she do that!? Charles directed a frown at the girl immediately after resurfacing. Her stare made him cringe. It was sharp and glaring... Somewhat in contrast with her other features, yet still forming a perfect harmony with what he could at that point deduct to be her personality. The curious, unscrupulous stare, shining through the reflection of the sun in her two big, wide eyes. He shook off the stare, replacing his sudden flabergast with a kind of rage born from both the similarities he could sense between this girl and Sky and the fact she had pushed him into the water. Without warning! Where was her respect! He swam the short distance between the two and gripping her left upper arm and pulling her up, glaring directly at her face from above. If he wanted to, he could just pull her with him down below. He didn't need air, but he was sure she did. "What was that all about!?" He yelled at her, water dripping off his hair, creating ripples in the surrounding body of water. The anger in his eyes was nearly palpable. If he had a heart, it would've been pounding viciously at that point.

Oh dear this had escalated into quite the event pretty fast, hasn't it?

That was Oki’s thought as it stayed mostly submerged in the water, eyes watching the surface for Jack and his friend. Well Jack did come up, but it did not look like he was in a good situation. As much as Oki would’ve loved to help Jack, it would appear when Charles came up, the being would have a very real problem of its own. The other came up all frowns and with a few strokes had covered the distance between the between, his hand would reach out and grab Oki by the left arm and yank the being upward causing water to slosh and splash from the motion. Once he had the being, he unleashed his anger upon it. He was yelling and being rough, a combo that would make the ordinary cringe or even cry, but Charles would find he was dealing with something far from normal.

Oki could feel pressure and discomfort from his action and being held in such an awkward position, but its face remained blank as green eyes locked on the other’s. It had no ability to register pain.

“You are quite a fascinating thing. My sister has a friend similar to you. Human looking, but not human we think. Oki has wanted to examine said friend, but has not had the time to, so when Oki saw you, we had to run a test. Oki apologizes. We should not have acted on impulse, but to see if you could dodge, sink, or swim was too tempting to let go. I will try to do better to keep my urges for data low around you, Sir Charles,” the being said in smooth tones hardly flinching or wiggling under the intense grip. It was caught and would accept whatever punishment came for its bad behavior’ however….

“We understand Oki needs to be punished, but please hold a moment. We believe Jack is in need of assistance. It is never a good sign to see people float like fish when dead...and he most certainly is floating like dead fish,” Oki said looking from Charles and bit around him at Jack who was still floating in the water. They really should get him out, but Oki couldn’t escape from this one’s grip without damaging itself further. Prehaps this one would see reason…..perhaps.

Jack continued to bob in the water like a corps... y-...you guys havn't saved him yet... Still got the Xs in his eyes ya know... Ya know what? Take your time... he aint goin no where for a bit.

Charles was a little caught off guard by the girl's reaction-there wasn't any. She should've at least cringed! He was holding her hard enough! He would've most likely continued to tighten his grip on her arm and shake her some more, but was promptly stopped when she opened her mouth to speak about her sister, who apparently had someone like him at home and about how she wanted to do some resarch on him and that was why she threw him into the water? He pretty much stopped listening at the mention of the sister. Was it Sky? Charles' eyes narrowed and one could expect another outburst, but he let go of the girl instead. She apologized. He wasn't going to apologize back, though. "Just don't do that again! People don't like such surprises!" He said, turning away from Oki.

Charles would raise his eyebrow and look back towards the girl as she spoke again, shifting his attention to the drowning Jack. Wait! Jack was drowning!? Oh right, he opened his mouth to speak when he the hatch was holding... Idiot! He turned to Jack, swimming over to him and holding him up so that his nose and mouth were safely and completely out of the water. His eyes were still Xs... What was the deal with that? Even so, he wasn't particularly worried. Jack's heart was definitely still beating. But how were they going to wake him up? He glanced at Oki-maybe she had a solution.

Fury and then calming. Sure the other was still steaming in a fashion, but at least he wasn’t trying to break Oki as he instead took the information in his eyes narrowing at the mention of a sibling. Oki would take in the look carefully as its head tilted lightly causing some of the water upon its hair to shake off as it looked at him curiously. It wanted to question the look, but he was talking again telling the being not to do such things again as he released it from the grip.

“Oki will not push Charles anymore and will restrain from tests without permission. Understood,” Oki responded back in a monotone almost mechanical way before it was blinking and focusing on the floating Jack. When it made mention of the floater, Charles reacted by getting the guy out of the water…or rather his head, so that he could breathe better…provided he was still breathing that is. There were strange X like markings on his eyes…and the last Oki had seen those marks were on old dolls that symbolized death. Well, that was definitely not a good look.

Pushing bad memories aside Oki would move into action as it spoke.

“Bring him to land. Oki may be able to fix him what we may have broken,” Oki said as it swam to shore. As soon as it was on land, it would turn back to the water. If Charles had obeyed and brought Jack to land, Oki would help the other pull the male up onto solid ground once more. After they had Jack resting on his back, Oki would check for signs of breathing and a heart beat. Well the heart was fine, but the breathing wasn’t…so it had to do that huh? Alright.

“No breath, so CPR is required. Let’s see if we can get him to cough up whatever amount of the pond he drank,” Oki said in calm tones before shooing Charles out of the way and getting to work. As it worked, the area where Charles had gripped it so tightly would begin to bruise, but Oki did not seem to register the pain associated with such a bruising...
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Action: Oki attempts to revive Jack with CPR….