Skeletons in the Box [Phalanx/invite]

It ticked, a clock for the milliseconds. The temperature was nominal, dreams of electric sheep washed by onto a foggy shore. Gyroscopes said it was upright, in motion. That was all, it was day and it was turned off.

The courier came to an abrupt stop however, making it rock in place. Unbeknown to the machine this was an electronics repair store and without its sensors it had no way of knowing that the other boxes were being unloaded, until it too was moved. Jostled and tipped the padding inside stopped too much movement, coming to rest on the pavement. A young man in a polo shirt was carrying the smaller boxes inside while what looked to be his father checked the manifest with the driver. Most of the boxes were cardboard, stamped and tapped. One stood out however, silver metal with catches, locked with a combination inbuilt. It too had a sticker on it but the older man seemed to be in a somewhat furious debate with the driver.

"I didn't order this, its huge."
"It had a bar code that matched up to your order,"
"I didn't order it, hey, Togashi! You order this?"
"No," With a shrug.
"You can't leave it here, its the size of a fridge,"
"I have a full load to pickup at my next stop, I can't take it back, its on your order so you take it up with the supplier."

The two glowered at each other with the most unpleasant aura until the older man finally gave in a signed the pad. His teeth grinding as he did so. Just what exactly was he meant to do with this thing, he couldn't even think what it could be, locked like it was. He didn't even had a clue about how to open it. Hell someone was going to come looking for it sooner or later right? There was no room in the shop though, not even in the storeroom? So what the hell was he meant to do with this thing? It was like a big metal coffin.

For now the sun was out, but clouds were moving in. Pressure from the humidity was starting to fill the air with a sticky warmth. The rest of the order needed to get inside before anything else happened, he could deal with this chest later.

Ugh... Why did it have to turn out like this? Phalanx looked the mess he had accidentally caused. Despite him being a machine, and a fairly nimble one at that, sometimes, he bugged out every now and again, due to not getting system updates as frequently as he should. Unfortunately for him, a bug popped up, causing his right leg to spaz just a bit too much, which ended up knocking over a vase, shattering it with a resounding "CRASH!" as it hit the floor. Luckily he was alone at the moment, so no-one had seen it. Now... came the tricky part. Replacing it. Sky would be absolutely furious with him if she found out that, well, he had basically turned a piece of her interior decorating into what was basically now dust, and a mish mash of shards of varying sizes. It certainly wasn't a vase anymore. Not by a long shot.

Normally, this wouldn't have been a big problem for him, but Phalanx knew that Sky was a woman to be feared, not to mention he had to deal with Oki as well... Which was... less than desirable. So, after scooping up the "Evidence" and disposing of it somewhere, Phalanx began strolling down the streets of Old Town where he would hopefully find a replacement before the Akumura siblings returned home. That would indeed be the most optimal solution. It was his mistake after all, so he should be the one to fix it. "Aye Aye..." the Android shook his head after looking through what was possibly the fourth store he had passed by. Seriously, was that Vase really a one-of-a-kind? Because if so... he was in deep trouble. Better not get worried about it now though, as there was still hope left. And that's when Phalanx heard the commotion further down the street. "Hm?" That metal box immediately caught his eye. In fact, that seemed to be the underlying reason as to why there was a commotion to begin with. "Excuse me... Is there any way I can help?" He'd ask in a friendly tone. Humans were a bit... difficult to deal with at times but it was a necessary evil for one to get by. Oh joy...

The man seemed to be naturally suspicious of everyone around him, maybe that was the mark of a shrewd businessman. Short black hair stood out on a round somewhat pudgy face that hid most of the wrinkles on his face. Approached by a stranger, a blonde haired young man who wasn't someone he remembered seeing around before. Sticking his face into other peoples business, the nerve. The reply snapped back almost at once, already bothered he was now hot from moving boxes, "Unless you want to buy this stupid thing, no." He had already checked the supply list for his order and he had nothing like this, nor had he been charged for it. He could only leave it outside so someone else might as well deal with the stupid thing.

Hefting a kick at the box it didn't even move, just made a dull thud. Its back was on wheels, its front a smooth metal, most likely aluminum. Grooves for grip ran down the sides and rounded corners made it seem at least somewhat designed. Wheels sat just off the ground on the back corner, enough to be out of the way but if tilted would allow it to roll. What really stood out though, to someone who had seen such things before, was it was a pretty standard storage unit for artificial humanoids. The size, the shape, the six digit lock on the side, the brushed metal.

The owner disappeared inside and his son came out to pick up the final box, regarding the stranger as an oddity for a moment before starting back through the door.

Hm? He did have a good chunk of money on him at present (mostly gotten from selling Spare parts of those two SE.RA.PH Androids he defeated on Malstu. Weapons on the black market give a pretty penny.) so why not. And while he was at it, he could see if these two didn't have a vase like the one he was looking for. "Hrm... It's for sale?" Phalanx inspected it thoroughly... "The contents are mine as well? Alright. How much?" He'd ask curiously, taking out his wallet. Better get rid of this dirty money before he actually got in trouble for it. "Hrm... You don't happen to sell any antique vases?"

It was worth a shot. In Old Town, you could pretty much find anything, for a price, of course. People were shady here. Not as shady as on standasen, but this really was the place to go if you looked for odd stuff. He probably wouldn't have much trouble getting it home though. As he was a robot, he didn't really have to worry about physical stamina.

How much was a useless fridge size box worth? The store owner furrowed his brow and thought about it hard for a moment, hand to his chin. He didn't expect even for a moment that this rube would take him up on the flippant offer, even going as far as taking out his wallet. Well if it came to that, time to lie though his teeth, with glee. "The whole shebang, and whatever is inside it, worth a couple of grand easy. If you want to walk away no questions asked, one K will do." The stubble on his chin itched, this could be biggest sale of his life, pure profit. He could finally go on that holiday, or go and win big at the casino, the thought made him want to drool.

With confidence and aplomb he extended a hand to finish the deal, surely it was already good enough. So he presented and in estimate to his honestly to the strange request he answered, "I am but a humble computer wholesaler, however there is an antiquates shop just a little further on, down by the market." Holding his tongue and outburst about what a stupid question it was to ask someone with what he sold so obvious. No, now was not the time to speak anything close to the truth, raw or otherwise. Sales were based on lies with just a little fact for seasoning.

------

It was still again, no more movement and the seconds kept marching on.

"One thousand, huh? Alright. It's a deal." Well, at least that money didn't go to waste. If this box contained what he thought it did, then this was well worth it. "It's a deal." Phalanx held out his hand, offering a handshake along with the money.

After paying, Phalanx looked at the box curiously. "Now... How do we open you...?" Well, that had to wait until he was back home. He'd pick it up, slowly carrying it. By now, he had forgotten all about that stupid vase. This was much more interesting. Perhaps, Sky would take this as a replacement? Once back in his small room, Phalanx set down the large container on the floor. It seemed to have a code-lock... Nothing he couldn't bypass. He'd summon his soulbound weapon, and stabbed the lock mechanism, which broke easily. Whatever was inside... Waited for him.

Just what he had suspected. An Android... It seemed to be unfinished, but functional at least. Phalanx himself had very limited knowledge on how this one functioned, so maybe he couldn't do much about it's appearance, but at least, he could make it act... somewhat human by teaching it. That, and interacting with humans in general would do the same. Right now though, keeping this one inside the house seemed like the way to go... // What do I do with this? // Phalanx thought. If it was indeed an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, then perhaps he could have use of it. if nothing else, it could help out around the house.

"Hehehe..." Phalanx chuckled at the robotic remark. Yes, indeed he wasn't. That much was fairly obvious. The android would take a good look around the newly awoken one, pacing around it. Despite it's unfinished state, it looked pretty advanced. Why would one ship this kind of android in this state? "Right now, you're in an apartment building, currently located on San Malarus Island of the Azores Region. Old Town, to be precise." He'd eventually reply as he finally stopped in front of the android. "What's your unit model, and creator's name? I'm an android myself. Phalanx, a Mark VIII Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon designed by SE.RA.PH industries." And that's all this one needed to know. He had no intentions of revealing that he had gone rogue. It wasn't another SE.RA.PH creation, that much was certain. No physical details on this android matched any SE.RA.PH units he had information on in his databanks were to be found... Of course, this was both good news and bad news. Good news being that this android probably wasn't hostile to him. Bad news was... well... He barely knew anything about this piece of machinery. At all.

Apartment, a type of abode that is built upon several floors of similarly sized domiciles, a place where people live. That would explain the furniture and the decoration, that there was a window that looked out into the sky, why would it be in such a place? It could engage the name of Azores, San Malarus in its database and give it a rough location, cross matching the older maps with newer to find the Old Town, however this was still a somewhat large area. Its request was complied with to an extent that was acceptable, the other unit had also identified itself, something helpful. SE.RA.PH was a competing company but should not pose a threat. From the experience it had fighting between machines only happened between those of the same company, to provide test data. They had the same goal to defeat shadows so it was pointless to engage in anything that might endanger that goal. This was also not a location for a fight, the risk to humans was too high, along with the collateral damage. It was a safe location and this counterpart showed no signs of aggression, though decidedly more human than this unit itself.

“This is unit Three of line One-Four-One, Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, property of Polyosys,” Tone changing for one that was clearly pre-processed rather than on the fly, “Fielding the future in personal defence.” In general its tone was disjointed, without software enhancements talking was a process that had to be calculated and that meant the limited processing power was focused on words rather than their exact nuance. Given that this was the location it was now in, the information that this was not where it should be 3/141 stood up inside the crate and started to step out with a skeletal foot.

“Who is the owner of this domicile?” There seemed to be no one else present which indicated that it was possible they were not here, or that this place was, no. It was not possible for a weapon to own property. Now standing 3/141 was clearly shorter than this other model, he appeared to be completed to aid in its operation. Why had this unit not also been so?

"Hrm..." Well, wasn't those the first four numbers of Pi? If he remembered correctly, that should indeed be it... "That name is rather long... Mind if I call you Pi instead? Since 3.141 are the first four symbols of the value Pi?" Well, it did make sense. At least in his head. As far as Polyosys went... He knew next to nothing about them... All he knew was that they competed with SE.RA.PH Industries... "Personal Defense huh?" He would say thoughtfully... He had also been assigned that role back in the day with Raynar... As a sort of bodyguard, you may say. But that was a long time ago... Now, things were slightly different.

"Oh, you mean the owner? Well it's not me. I'm just living here for the time being. The owner is an individual known as Oki Akumura and his sibling Sky Akumura. I guess I'm a guest of theirs." He'd shrug lightly, looking at the strange machine with great interest. "So... Do you know why you're here in Azores? For being an Anti-Shadow Suppression weapon, you seem... unfinished... Fully functional, yes, but... unfinished nontheless... Do you have any blue-prints or schematics we can use to patch you up somehow?" Well, if this one was going to fulfill it's role as an Anti-shadow suppression weapon... A more human-like appearance was perhaps necessary... Oh well... Perhaps he could find a solution to this in the future...

"This unit has never been given a designation before, it is acceptable," Testings its servos it started to walk gingerly at first, getting used to a carpeted surface without a fully finished foot was somewhat complex. Scanning around the room it took in more details, items on shelves, electronic systems, names of books, a range of colors. Without any hesitation it picked up the first thing that it queried, a pillow from the sofa. The poly-fibers shifted under robotic fingers that seem to be trialing their grip, examining the new object and questioning what its function could be.

That cycle was interrupted however by the questions that came after, a valid observation. Holding the pillow in its left hand it reached out with its right and cast its eye sensors over it up and down before turning its head back towards Phalanx. "I have no assigned mission or directive beyond my primary," Pi stated before tilting to look at the rest of its exposed body, "This unit requires extensive work to reach an optimal state, currently operating in Safemode, if you need technical support you should contact your Polyosys Representative." Internally it knew all the functions and parts it could carry, however it did not carry details of the parts themselves beyond their names and operating parameters. In safe mode however, it was not able to access much of that information as a protection, both to stop it and a thief from stealing secrets.

That Phalanx considered itself a guest rather than a tool was interesting, against any expectations. Acting more human was beneficial to its mission but it, it was beyond anything Pi's programming considered possible. It must pay close attention to this unit and learn from it.

(I was invited.)

Sky was dressed in a simple black skirt and a black short sleeve top. Her cross choker hung on a red band around her neck and was the only color outside of her blood red eyes that painted the black and white beauty as she strolled down the street with ease. She carried her purse on her shoulder, a grocery bag on her hip and another in her free hand.

She had left out of the apartment earlier to get eggs of all things and so had stayed out a bit to do a tiny bit of shopping. When she was done she headed down the familiar streets towards the old apartment complex that she had taken residence in. She shared an apartment with her younger brother who was rarely there when she was and a mechanical hunk called Phalanx (Sexy for short). In any case, she had left Phalanx home when she went to get the groceries, so when she returned home, she expected the place to be in order and Phalanx either still there or elsewhere; however, as she opened the door, the first thing she took notice of was that one of her prized vases were missing. A small narrowing of red eyes occurred as she tossed the keys on the table where the vase had been and then she began to walk into the living room speaking as she did so.

“Phalanx, where is my v—“ Sky began, her words stopped as her feet did, her body going slack as her jaw dropped open in shock. Well, Phalanx was here, but with a strange box and a even stranger mechanical creature. Had he found something useful to their cause or was this…..a gift to replace her vase? Well whatever it was, Sky was at first shocked, but now was quite thrilled as she recovered and re shouldered the weight of the bags as she moved forward once more at a casual cat like pace.

“Well, well, well….what is it that we have here?” she said as she carefully sat the bags in a chair with her purse before turning to face the strange machine that had one of the sofa pillows. Sky looked the thing up and down with a nod. Impressive even when unfinished, but what else could be learned from this?

“Who is your friend, Phalanx?” she asked in sweet , seemingly innocent tones as she moved towards the strange machine to get a better look at it. It was quite a complex piece of work, but Sky wondered why an unfinished product was here. “Where have you come from pretty?” Sky would murmur as she circled the machine carefully as she rubbed her chin considering what worth this odd machine may have.

"Heh, Pi it is then. Well met." Phalanx offered a handshake, with a light smirk on his face. He needed to teach Pi how the human world worked slowly. Might as well start with something simple... like a handshake. "Hmm... Well, I suppose our first objective would be getting you patched up... Do you have any Idea how to contact Polyosys?" He'd ask with a raised eyebrow. Surely Pi had some idea of where he could find some of the company's employees... Well, obviously there were a ton of mechanics stationed all over Standasen by now, but he couldn't exactly walk up to one and ask... Not when they were A: Out to Kill Phalanx, and B: Worked for SE.RA.PH Industries, a competitor to Polyosys it would seem... If they dabbled into Anti-shadow suppression weapon's research, then they were the competition.

"Oh... Welcome home, Sky." Phalanx said with a faint smile. Her reaction was miles better than what he had anticipated. Seems like she had forgotten all about her vase the moment she had laid her eyes on Pi. "Well... Sky, let me introduce you to Pi, another Anti-shadow Suppression Weapon. I found Pi in a metal case which I bought from a guy in Old Town not too long ago... Sure, it's not finished yet... but if we can fix it, then we have a new potential ally. If not, we could always let Pi take care of the house while we're away... or something." Well, it was just an idea. Hopefully they could get Pi patched up. A new ally to his cause was always a good thing... Might need some convincing to have it join his cause though...

A skeletal hand met his almost human one, of the reactions programmed a handshake was one of the simplest. Much harder was to judge the correct pressure, action and reaction, the unfinished unit could barely feel his touch as it was, having to judge by eye and reaction that its loose pressure was close enough. His introduction she recorded for later, assuming it was acceptable to use on other people. “Your user manual and documentation will contain all the information you need for servicing and maintaining a unit. I can provide you with a number for the head office if you would like?” Just as she finished attention was taken by the opening door, making the unit take a step back.

White skin, black nails, red hair, tall and ghostly blue eyes, a human. Breathing, walking and very much talking, before answering though an introduction was made some difficult details were highlighted by Phalanx. That she was recently purchased, then would he not know everything that he needed about getting her maintained. That he was also from a different company, it was odd but to her nothing more. Relegated to a background process while her attention was taken with the far more lively of the pair.

“I have been designated as Pi, well met Sky.” Extending a hand for a gentler still handshake this time, humans couldn't buy replacement hands.

A small smirk was returned to the greeting given as Sky was completely taken by the strange machine that was now in their home. Phalanx called it Pi, huh? Oho? And would you look at that! It seemed to adapt pretty well to introductions and even extended a hand towards Sky for a hand shake. Pausing to look at the hand for a moment, Sky would slid her hand into the unfinished one taking note of the strange feeling, but otherwise a more or less balanced pressure was applied to her hand. Interesting, very interesting. Maybe this thing was more valuable than she thought.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Sky would respond first to the guest and then her eyes would flicker to Phalanx as she brushed passed the machine and headed to the box she assumed it had been in. She would pause on the other side of it for a moment as she spoke.

“Mmm…I dunno know. A cleaning bot would be nice, but I would much rather see what this one would look like completed. Regardless, I agree. There is much potential to be had here; however, will it…or rather she help?” Sky asked her light smile still on her face as she glanced over at Pi as if awaiting an answer. Answer or no answer, Sky would eventually let out a small sigh as she tipped toed to look further into the box.

She would tilt over it until she was bent in half as she searched the bottom depths for something. As she searched the box, her voice could be heard.

“Neh, Pha-Pha? You said you purchased this one from someone? Who’d you get it from and for how much? And while on that subject…Pi, if you are bot like Pha-Pha designed to fight shadows and what not, then how the hell did you end up here?” her muffled voice would rise from the box before she was falling silent once more to listen. As she listened she moved a loose piece of the padding within and found what appeared to be a booklet of some sort. Not sure if this was the user manual and documentation that was referred to she would get out of the box and land on the floor with a light huff.

“Nah. We don’t need that quite yet. Let’s see if old black and white here can help us out,” Sky told Pi in response to the earlier phone number question as she raised the booklet she had found with a grin on her face. After the small gesture was made she would lower the book and begin to flip through it to see what she could or perhaps would not find out about this unit known as Pi.