paixaorpg | Let Confusion Reign... [Active]

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Current Location: Niflheim

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Let Confusion Reign... [Active]

Character(s): Glitch, Harpuia
Content: Reintroduction
Setting: Niflheim
Time: Mid-Afternoon
Warnings: Hungry cake-lovers should not read this post.

Glitch was full for the first time in a long time. That is, he thought it was a long time; it sure seemed that way. In his present condition, he thought he might rely on strangers for food and money. Naturally, it was logical to assume that, in these times, he probably didn't get to eat as often as he liked.

Harpuia was on the receiving end of Glitch's observations about food and money, and what his present condition appeared to be, as he had no memory of it himself. His present topic appeared to be cake, particularly fudge cake with mint icing, accompanied by a fresh scoop of vanilla ice cream.

"I like to leave it to melt," he was explaining, to the no doubt enraptured delight of his companion. "Just a little, so the spoon peels off the first layer of ice cream like an apple. I like how it curls delicately around the spoon, and if you help yourself to some cake with your ice cream..." He paused only to sigh in contentment, shoulders sagging and face going slack as he daydreamed of the treat. "If the cake is made right, the layer of mint icing between the layers of cake is about so wide." He demonstrated with his fingers, holding them well out of Harpuia's sight. "The mint, in combination with the vanilla of the ice cream, should turn this pastel green -- it begins as a spring green, you know."

If Harpuia had left, Glitch likely would not have noticed. In fact, if Harpuia chose to comment, Glitch likely did not notice. His attention was solely on his description of the perfect dessert.

"There shouldn't be many crumbs," he began to explain, almost scientifically, "If the cake is moist enough. How to tell if a cake has enough moisture..." Glancing towards Harpuia, the man trailed off. He looked the robot up and down, back up, and down once more, then asked, "Say, have we met?"

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Harpuia walked along with the man, listening patiently... sort of. He honestly had tuned Glitch out about halfway through the one-sided conversation. He would likely hear it many times over in days to come, anyway.

Instead, he was busying himself wondering where their other companion had gotten off to. It seemed as though she had just disappeared off the face of the planet. He had heard of such things occurring, but he didn't think he would actually be able to see it for himself. It was worrisome.

Harpuia paused and stared at Glitch for a moment. How many times had this happened so far? He really hadn't been keeping track and he had the feeling that he would have ended up losing count anyway. "Yes, at the entrance to the city? I am Harpuia."

"Harpuia," Glitch echoed, placing a little too much emphasis on the "puia." He stared at him a long moment, as if trying to decide something. At long last, he seemed to accept Harpuia's response, and he nodded good-naturedly.

"Where'd Rebecca go?" Turning around -- and completing the turn by forming a full circle, the rather confused man found himself facing Harpuia again. "...I didn't just imagine her, did I?"

Harpuia stopped and blinked. Interesting... Glitch had remembered her? He had thought that with the man's inability to remember his name, he would have forgotten the woman as well, but it seemed that wasn't the case. The human mind seemed to be a complex thing after all. A very complex thing.

"I'm not sure," he replied honestly. "It seems as though she'd just up and disappeared. I had heard that such things happened in this place, but I wasn't sure whether or not it was true."

He shook his head as he answered the next question with a small smile, "No, you didn't imagine her. She was here before. I'm certain."

"It seems it is true," Glitch answered gravely and a touch glumly. It was a shame; he had liked Rebecca. Then again, he also like Harpuia. And with that thought, he felt he had to ask, just to comfort himself, "You're not going to disappear too, are you?"

It was a childlike question, filled with the dread only a child could muster.

Nevermind the response, Glitch continued, morosely. "Usually, when people disappear, it isn't a good thing. No, it's not a good thing at all..."

Harpuia couldn't help but stare at the man for awhile when he heard the question. The question was so scared and childlike. Harpuia wasn't entirely sure how to handle it. And as Glitch continued, the robot just watched.

"No," he finally replied, "No, I won't. Not if I can help it."

He hoped it didn't come to that. Still... It really was bothersome that so many people had gone missing. It seemed to be a common occurrence if his information was right. Where did everyone go? People didn't just disappear into thin air.

Then again, he might have had an answer for that, albeit one he really didn't care to consider too much. Had there been something wrong with those who had disappeared? Was a similar policy to Neo Arcadia's one on Irregulars being implemented in this city? If that was the case, then there really wasn't much that Harpuia could do. That was the policy and that was that. If those people were a danger to the city and the people in the city, then they had to be eliminated.

But Rebecca hadn't seemed to follow that case. Maybe she had just gone home? Surely not all disappearances could be attributed to dangerous people.

Glitch seemed greatly relieved by Harpuia's reassurances, and he nodded. "Well, maybe she just went back home..." He suggested it idly, unknowingly echoing Harpuia's thoughts. "If she were brought here so suddenly, perhaps this world sent her back home suddenly as well. Popping in and out..." What could have been an academic, intelligent observation abruptly dissolved. "Like popcorn!"

Rather than pursue that train of thought, however, Glitch's half-brain found a new topic of conversation. "So, what's it like being a robot? I've always wanted to ask one...y'know, when they're not trying to kill me..."

Like popcorn... Strangely enough, it seemed a relatively accurate comparison. They had appeared here suddenly and could seemingly disappear just as suddenly. Every pop was finished in seconds, all randomly, likely all the time. So he was essentially stuck in a giant popcorn bag with heat being applied to it. He imagined Fefnir would find that analogy amusing.

"I don't know," he responded honestly. "It seems just as normal as being a human would be for you. I wouldn't be able to tell you without some basis for comparison."

"I suppose that would be true," Glitch agreed, good-naturedly. "You're probably one of the better built robots I've ever seen! Most of them don't try to hide that they're robots -- but, I guess when you live in Milltown, you don't really have to hide it, do you?" Amusing himself with that momentarily, Glitch added, "Have I ever told you about the robots in Milltown? They tried to kill us once!"

"Hm... Those are the ones that do not care for humans, aren't they? If they are, I think you have," he stated with a nod. It was still hard to believe, really. Glitch, a human, believing that those robots' hate for humankind was somewhat justified? Had they been in Neo Arcadia, the town would have been annihilated on the spot--likely with Harpuia himself leading the effort. But.... Well, they had said that this Azkadelia truly was an evil person. He still wasn't sure he could wrap his mind around that.

X-sama had always said that humans were good, even if one had to search deep down to find it. There had to be some shred of good intentions to this woman. Surely she couldn't be doing it all out of selfishness... Even if it didn't seem like she had good cause.

"X-sama built me," he informed Glitch.

"Oh, I suppose I did," Glitch replied, torn between disappointment and relief. Although he liked to tell stories -- and boy, did he EVER -- there was a certain amount of relief which accompanied not having to tell the same story twice. After all, with his glitching, who knew if the story would be the same both times around?

"Who's Exemia?" Glitch asked, looking thoroughly puzzled. There was a tiny little buzzing in the back of his skull, trying to inform him that he had mispronounced the word. Unfortunately, those synapses had been temporarily disconnected. Fortunately, the synapses identifying the term were still functioning.

"Exemia," Glitch echoed, as though reading from a dictionary. "A condition in which a considerable portion of the blood is temporarily removed from general circulation."

Unfortunately, because his logic circuits were down, this information only served to befuddle Glitch further. "Do robots HAVE blood?"

Harpuia figured that answering Glitch's first question would be easier, seeing as that was the subject the man was currently focused on. "Not real blood, no, but an artificial sort," he explained. "The idea was to make us as similar to humans as was possible."

"X-sama formed Neo Arcadia as a haven for the remaining humans of the world. My siblings and myself were created in order to restore Earth. But then came the threat of Irregulars... and we were needed to stop them."

"X-sama believed in the basic goodness of people, and his beliefs were taught to all of us."

"X-sama," Glitch said, correcting himself. "X-sama sounds like someone the OZ could use more of -- or someone who would have fit right in twenty years ago." It was a sad thought, one which Glitch chose not to dwell on.

"Did you win?"

Win? What a strange way to look at things. There was no "winning" or "losing" in life, there was just the way things were. One could win battles, he supposed, but that wasn't really winning. Wars were never won, one side just came out on top. But, in the sense of normal conventions of winning and losing, it could be said that Neo Arcadia had lost. But...

"It depends," Harpuia stated. "We eliminated most of the Irregulars, but there was an insurgence that needed to be dealt with. We're still working on halting their efforts." Or getting rid of them, if he were to be truthful. The judgment that would pass on the members of the group would certainly be death. Order had to be kept, after all, and those who disturbed order and incited chaos and violence in X-sama's utopia had to be punished. It was the law. It was only right.

"Too bad," Glitch murmured his sentiments. "Do you think it will be very difficult to do?"

Somewhere, deep in the recesses of Glitch's remaining brain, something recognized the similarities -- both came from places which were paradise, and both places had been threatened. The only difference was that Harpuia was still fighting; the O.Z. had already fallen.

"One of these Irregulars doesn't happen to be a very scary lady named Azkadellia, does she? Because I still think she has something to do with this place. It seems like something she would do, banishing people to other places, other Zones, without so much as a warning. But, you know, I still haven't seen Raw or Zero or DG here -- and you'd think I would, wouldn't you? Unless she's sending everybody to different Zones, to make us miserable." And before Glitch quite realized it, he was rambling again.

Harpuia was about to answer Glitch's question when he heard a certain name. Instantly, his expression turned to a frown. "Zero?" he asked quietly. "He wouldn't happen to have armor somewhat similar to mine, but in red, would he?"

Zero... He was supposed to be a hero, and yet he joined the Resistance instead. He was fighting against X-sama's wishes, and he had been the legend's best friend! And X-sama... X-sama and Phantom were dead because of him. And yet Zero had thought that what he was doing was right. It didn't make sense. Destroying Irregulars was right. Zero had fought in the wars against Sigma, so he knew that fact as well as Harpuia himself did, and yet Zero was choosing the other side.

And then there was the Zero he had met when he had first entered the city--the one who knew nothing of Neo Arcadia. This... all of this was so confusing. The red robot and himself had gone their separate ways and hadn't seen each other since then, which was likely best. Harpuia may have respected Zero, but he didn't like him.

"Why, no," Glitch responded, a little surprised. Of course, it was entirely possible that Zero WAS secretly a robot...but that would just be paranoia talking!

"Zero is Azkadellia's right hand... He's a Longcoat." Glitch paused, then thought he had better explain. "The Longcoats wear long coats. That's how you can tell who they are." He'd wanted to make sure that was clear, in case they came across any. "They used to be tin men, but they work for Azkadellia now."

Harpuia didn't respond at first, instead looking away in thought. Then Glitch hadn't met Zero, or, at least, the one he had fought against. He idly wondered whether or not Zero was still in the city, or if he had just imagined the legend in the city in the first place.

"We both have Zeros to watch out for, then," he stated. "The one I mentioned is one of the members of the insurgence."

"And they're bad, right?" Glitch seemed to be expectantly awaiting an answer, but, as usual, he didn't have the patience to wait for a response.

"Zero. I wonder how come there's two of them? Why would you ever name a kid ZERO? That's just begging for them to be made fun of in school. ZERO. No wonder they turn out so bad -- hey, do you think we can blame their parents for their behavior?"

"The name of Zero's creator has been lost to history," Harpuia said, blinking confusedly at Glitch's response. "I can't say for his case. But it might have something to do with the actions of the one you know. He might have his own reasons."

((Argh, short, sorry. >.O))

"Unless it works the other way. Maybe they weren't CALLED Zero until they became bad people. Or their parents knew they were bad people, so they called them Zero. It seems like...an unfriendly name. Very harsh. And a little silly, too." A giggle bubbled up, quiet and fleeting. "ZERO."

Glitch schooled his face into a more solemn expression. "Now, that wasn't very nice of me, was it? No -- but it isn't as though anyone is here to see. They can't help their names, after all." He looked around, looking right through Harpuia, as if he weren't there at all. "Oh, good," Glitch told himself, with a self-assured nod which immediately dissolved. "What if MY name is Zero? Oh, that would be a terrible name for me..."

Harpuia paused, tilting his head and frowning slightly. "But your name is Glitch." He wouldn't lie, he was rather confused. "Unless... That isn't your real name?"

Had Glitch forgotten it? It seemed likely. The man already suffered from a severe case of short-term memory loss. Maybe that wasn't the only damage done.

A look of realization crossed Glitch's face. "Glitch," he echoed, pleased. "Yes, that sounds right." But, the statement immediately sent alarm bells ringing through his skull...

"It isn't my real name, though," he explained, more to himself than to the confused robot. "At least, I'm pretty sure it isn't. It seems to me I just figured OUT my real name. Now, what was it?"

Glitch's never-ending speech seemed, at last, to fade, as he attempted to reclaim the memory. He was almost certain DG had been there -- and Cain, and Raw as well. There had been snow, hadn't there?

((Sorry about that, my internet died on me. D: AND I can't put the post in the right place. XDDD))

Harpuia's head tilted to the side a little. So it really was the case. "Surely it will come to you again. It just might take a little time," he said with a nod. To be honest, he really wasn't sure that would be the case, but if Glitch had been able to recall his name once, it was a possibility that he'd be able to do so once again, right? Maybe with just the right amount of encouragement or reminders... Of course, the question remained as to just what those reminders would have to be.

"Well," Glitch said, with a somewhat quirky smile which spoke of his embarrassment and a slightly-off laugh. "I guess it doesn't much matter, as long as I have *something* to go by."

Though he did wish he knew his name. It bothered him, that it had been on the tip of his tongue just an hour ago...

"Hee, Glitch fits better anyhow. My synapses don't fire right, you know. Glitching again!"

"You have a point," Harpuia agreed. It wasn't really a bad name, either. Not perhaps one that a man would like to carry around with him his entire life, but it was better than nothing at all, wasn't it?

His own name... He wondered what X-sama had in mind when he had been named.

Suddenly, Harpuia realized something--something important. Glitch didn't have a place to stay. Neither of them had a place to stay, really, but for a human, shelter was more important. "We should find a hotel," he stated.

"Hotel?" Glitch answered, peering upwards at the dome. "Will it be dark soon?" But, something more pressing suddenly rang in the back of Glitch's head...

With a sheepish expression (which was, unfortunately for poor Glitch, a rather common expression on his often-comical face), he said, "I, uh, don't have any money. The last time I tried to stay at a hotel without money..."

Had he ever tried staying at a hotel without money? He suddenly wasn't sure. It seemed a possibility, and, yet... "Hee, well, if I ever tried staying at a hotel without money, I bet Longcoats would have kicked me out."

"Not for a few more hours," Harpuia stated. He smiled a little bit before shaking his head. "From what I have read, one can simply use the leaves on the trees or whatever plant life is available should he want to pay," he said. It made sense to some point, considering that the materials here could have monetary use, but... It still seemed off. But who was he to question these people's ways?

"I'll 'pay' for it," Harpuia offered.

"You would do that?" Glitch asked, genuinely surprised. "For me?"

And it did, truly, come as a surprise. The O.Z. was no longer a place where people helped out strangers -- in fact, it really wasn't much of a place where people helped out friends. Rather, it was a suspicious and distrustful place. Glitch imagined he spent quite a bit of time alone -- or locked in tree-suspended cages.

"Gee, that's...that's very nice." Truly, it was! "You'll have to let ME but YOU something someday... Say, why can't all robots be so nice?"

He seemed surprised. How strange. This was not normal where he was from? Hm... No, Harpuia supposed that such acts weren't the usual anywhere, not even in Neo Arcadia.

Although... Harpuia wasn't sure what exactly what could be bought for him in this place. Then again, he really hadn't done much window browsing, either, being more focused on getting the lay of the land and keeping an eye on Glitch than anything else. There might be something of use somewhere... But that was for another time.

He nodded. "If you want, but it's unnecessary."

"Oh, I *do!*" Glitch responded, giddy with joy at the opportunity. Now, if he could only figure out what robots *bought.*

"Tell you what," he decided, after a few moments of silence. "When we get to the O.Z., I'll take you out for a night on the town, whaddaya say? It seems to me I might know someone with front row tickets to every show in town!" Somehow, he thought he didn't care much for this particular gentlement -- but who would turn down free tickets?

A memory struck him then, and he beamed. "I'll take you to see the Wizard! Last time I visited, we went to the Wizard and saw his show. Hee, the girls there..."

Harpuia held back a sigh. (And he couldn't help but wonder just what this "Wizard" place was, what these "girls" were, and who brought Glitch into such a place as that.) "If that is what you want, though I'm not sure if that will be possible."

He shook his head. "We should move," he stated, beginning to head in the direction of the closest hotel to the area.

And Glitch followed the robot, somewhat oblivious, as always.

"Why not possible?" Glitch asked, curiously following him along. "I mean, sure, *I* don't really know how to get there from here -- but all we need to do is find the Yellow Brick Route and follow it!" Obviously, his voice said.

"Where we going?"

This time Harpuia couldn't hold in his sigh. Glitch just didn't understand. If this truly was another world, it wasn't so easy as following a road back to where you came from. A metaphorical road, maybe, but it didn't seem as though Glitch was being figurative. But he ignored the statement in favor of answering the question.

"We're going to find you someplace to stay," he said as they walked. A bit later he stopped to take a few branches from a small tree. They'd need something to pay with.

"Oh," Glitch responded, rather thoughtfully. "Where are you staying, Harpuia?" It sounded more curious than worried, and was immediately followed up with, "Don't robots need to sleep?" And "Oh, here, let me help!"

Being the helpful soul Glitch was, he immediately began to help Harpuia strip the tree of its leaves, prattling all the while.

"Probably not. After all, machines usually don't need to sleep, so why would robots? Hee, I bet you could stay up all night and never get sleepy!"

"I will likely stay in the same building," Harpuia responded. It was a matter of convenience, but being able to keep an eye on the man was definitely a benefit.

"We don't sleep in the same way that humans do, and not as often, but we do. It serves a similar purpose in the end, though," he stated in response to Glitch. "The longer shut down, the more energy recovered."

Harpuia nodded a short thanks to Glitch for helping him gather the leaves before starting to walk again. "I suppose it's difficult to explain."

"Not really," Glitch replied, studying the leaves distractedly. He turned his head this way and that, tilting the leaves to see how light gleamed off them. "Anyone with any knowledge of robots and mechanics could see how much sense it makes, hee!"

He looked up, eyes distant, as though the man were lost in a memory. "I build all sorts of things -- I'm an inventor, I am! I've never built a robot -- but robots really build themselves in the O.Z. -- and they really don't like us humans, though I think they used to!"

An inventor... Harpuia couldn't entirely remember whether or not Glitch had told him this yet. It was still something to consider. An inventor in his state? How many projects went unfinished? ...What were the finished projects like?

"Opinions change, even for the worse," he commented simply.

"What is your world like?" Glitch asked, smiling cheerfully at Harpuia. As usual, it was so wide and child-like that it was almost disturbing. "I mean, I know there are robots. Obviously, hee."

Fortunately, Harpuia was spared having to answer the question. At that moment, Glitch saw the hotel -- and, in a rare moment of clarity, he noted, "Look! The hotel! I wonder if they have free mints and minibars, hee!"

Okay, so maybe the moment wasn't *that* clear -- but it showed more clarity than his usual ramblings.

It was probably for the best that Harpuia didn't have to answer the question. It would have definitely put a dampener on the mood. There was hope, yes, but for the most part it was quite depressing.

The general entered the hotel and approached the front desk. "I need a room--a suite if it's available--for however many days this will pay for."

The clerk nodded and tucked them away before fishing around for the keys. "Here you are, sir. Please enjoy your stay." He handed them over to Harpuia before going about his business once again.

The reploid handed one of them over to his companion (with the feeling that he was going to have to get a few more keys as time went on). "Don't lose it." ...Telling Glitch that couldn't hurt anything, right?

It didn't hurt to tell Glitch anything -- chances were, Glitch would forget it soon enough anyway.

"Okey-dokey!" he said cheerfully, sticking the key into a worn-looking pocket. "Which room?" He had spent the majority of the conversation with the clerk examining the ledger on the desk and trying to make out the handwriting upside down.

Scarcely waiting for a response, he cheerfully began up the stairs. "Say, Harpuia! Think this place has a bar, huh?" He was grinning widely. "Meet some dolls, eh?" It was hard to tell whether he expected Harpuia to be enthusiastic about this plan or not, for he was soon distracted -- counting the stairs out loud.

"9. 10. 11. 12. 13 -- oh, that's an unlucky one!"

Harpuia decided it would be best not to tell Glitch that he wasn't looking for anyone at the moment--especially not human women. He had his duties to fulfill, and that meant finding a way back home, which also meant not having to deal with distractions such as relationships.

Which he supposed could also apply to Glitch himself, but that would mean leaving the forgetful man without anyone to help him, which was something that Harpuia didn't think he'd be able to forgive himself for.

"214," the general replied. "It should be just down this hall."

And Glitch went merrily along until he found the appropriate room, pausing to fiddle with the locks. "I think my key is broke," he complained as he twisted it and the doorknob -- until it suddenly simply popped open. "Oh, nevermind! It's not!"

Slipping the key thoughtlessly into a worn-looking pocket, Glitch stepped into the room with an air of satisfaction. "Not bad!" he noted, looking around himself. "Not bad at all!"

He grinned at his companion a moment, then his face fell. "We didn't have luggage, did we?" This room deserved to have some luggage unpacked and placed in its various drawers... Glitch couldn't remember having luggage -- but that didn't mean they hadn't. In fact, just because Glitch couldn't remember it, there was a distinct possibility they *had...*

Harpuia took a moment to look around the room. It seemed fairly nice for a hotel. Clean, cozy, nothing like home, but he doubted that anything would be able to remind him of it. This place had neither the technology nor the air of home, and the general wasn't sure whether he liked that or not.

It seemed as though Glitch shared his sentiments, and Harpuia nodded in response. "We didn't. This is the second place we have been," he replied. "I'm sure there is somewhere in this place that you could buy some should you find yourself in need of it."

Idly, the reploid wondered where he should sleep. Glitch would get the bed of course, it would be rude for him to take the bed when there was one who needed it more than he did, but--oh. It seemed as though there was another one. That was one problem solved, at least.

"I could buy things?" This seemed to have peeked Glitch's interest -- for half a second. Without bothering to kick off his shoes, the man flopped down onto the bed with a very content sigh. "Wonder how long it's been since I slept in a bed," he wondered aloud, with his eyes closed and head nestled on his folded hands.

And it seemed the man intended to take a nap just like that.

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Let Confusion Reign... [Active]

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