High Roller Coaster (Pyxis)

[Pyxis]

And just like that, the conversation had veered straight into territory Pyxis didn't want to think about. Having to leave and go back to the lab was one thing. But 'kept away' carried with it implications of being put into stasis and locked away. Thus far, Pyxis didn't know any cases where that had actually happened. But then, she remembered the rogue anti-shadow weapon she had been tasked with bringing back, and how she'd never heard anything about her since then. What had happened to her? And would that happen to Pyxis as well if she went through with any of her ideas for permanently eliminating all shadows, successful or not?

Well, that was a reason to be cautious about how to approach it at least. She absolutely did not want to be locked away. If she went to her old life, at least, she would be able to talk with the people she had met here online. Probably. "Well...I would probably have to go back. I doubt I would be allowed to just wander around freely when I was no longer needed. My life at the laboratory before coming here wasn't so bad, at least. More structured, but I was allowed to talk to people and play games, at least. But...it would mean not being able to see you or anyone else in this city anymore."

[Ayakura Alisa]

I sighed as I winced. I may have made a mistake, but I couldn't help it. I guess deep down inside, I liked Pyxis quite a bit. She was a robot, but the feelings I have for her were somewhat reminiscent of the feelings I had for Chidori. Sort of a familial deal going on. Even though when we first met, things were awkward, but we soon grew to become reliable comrades in battle and even good friends. I didn't want to lose another person I eventually came to be close to, even in a platonic way. I was losing too much and not gaining enough to balance out the pain. I'm fairly sure Pyxis wouldn't want to lose the opportunity to see everyone she's met here, as well.

"I understand," I said sighing. "I guess that's the way things gotta go, huh... Well, for the meanwhile, let's do our best. I didn't mean for the tone of the conversation to go this way, haha..."

[Pyxis]

Pyxis closed her eyes again. "I think...if there were a way that I could stay here until I have to deploy again, instead of going back to the lab, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Metaphorically, of course." Human expressions had long since started rubbing off on her. Sometimes, Pyxis ended up even forgetting that they didn't actually apply to her. Oh well. "Maybe I could even call it a vacation. Any sensible person would take one after an ordeal like this. If that doesn't work I could just...disappear for a bit. Huh, I think I'm on to something here."

She laughed a little, opening her eyes again. Yes, that seemed like a good plan. Make a priceless and irreplaceable piece of tech, namely herself, just disappear. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that. Nothing except everything. "Either way, I plan to make the most of the time I have left here, no matter how short or long it might be."

[Ayakura Alisa]

I laughed softly when Pyxis mentioned of possible ways she could avoid the most likely obligation of having to return to the organization's lab. A vacation could be one such way, but Pyxis also mentioned just 'disappearing.' That is, faking her disappearance. That is how I interpreted it anyway, but I just played along. "That is one way to go about it," I said, smiling. "Indeed, you should cherish the good moments you have here. I realized something, going through all these trials and tribulations, that what keeps us going, are the bonds and attachments we've made throughout these tough times. It's a desire to see those we care about or at least have interest in, alive and in good condition. Right?" I idly gave Pyxis' mechanical shoulder a friendly pat.

[Pyxis]

What Alisa said next sounded a bit like something that would come from a game. In fact, there was at least one strategy RPG Pyxis remembered playing that made a big deal out of that kind of thing. Which, actually, didn't lessen the meaning of what Alisa had said at all. She was absolutely right. If it was in her power, she didn't want to see anyone in this city hurt. That was what fueled her drive to get stronger, and may have been what allowed her to successfully do so. And among them, there were the people who she would lay down her life, or at least her physical well-being, for. And somehow, Alisa had found her way to the top of that list. "Right," she said, smiling brightly.

She raised an arm to rest her hand on Alisa's shoulder, as Alisa was doing to her...but realized the moment she moved it that Alisa's fingers had found their way into the shoulder joint. Pyxis's smile faded and her eyes went wide as she realized what she was doing. She immediately snapped her arm back down and pulled away. "I am so sorry!" she said, mildly panicked at the thought that she might have accidentally broken Alisa's fingers. "Are you okay?"

[Ayakura Alisa]

Pyxis responded the same way as I was bringing my hand on her shoulder... until I realized that her joints were exposed and I found my fingers trapped in them. She snapped her arm down and I had to quickly retract my hand away or else I'd find them getting crushed, and I don't want crushed fingers before the next important engagement. I laughed sheepishly as I tried to nurse them, as it still hurt! "Ow, ow, it's not your fault..." I winced, trying to mute the pain and not let it show outwardly. "I'm sorry, I had forgotten your joints were exposed... I guess, if that confirms your suspicions that I might have preferred you to be human... The inconveniences of having mechanical bodyparts would be removed. Haha." I sheepishly joked as I shook my hand about a bit.

"I know I can feel at ease when I'm around you, for sure, I can tell you that much."

[Pyxis]

Pyxis was relieved, at least, to see that Alisa was alright. In pain, yes, but not so bad as to suggest that she had actually managed to crush her fingers. Alisa apologized back to her, but it did little to mitigate the feeling that Pyxis had messed up. Right after they were talking about 'alive and in good condition,' too. And then Alisa went back to the idea of Pyxis being human versus being machine, and how a human wouldn't have the dangers of accidentally hurting someone because of mechanical body parts. "Huh? So you're saying you wish you could touch me more?" Pyxis asked in response, in a surprisingly innocent tone for what she had just said.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Geez, what an awkward turn of events... I couldn't help but flush ever-so-slightly as I barely found myself managing to squeak out a "Did I make that implication?!" before scratching my head a little bit and having a wavering smile combined with a sheepish, soft laugh. Okay, I guess I did like the girl a little bit. Even if she was a robot. I couldn't lie to myself. Though, was that weird? "Um, well... I mean... Geez, this is embarrassing..." I fidgeted and felt like my mental guard was weakening a little. For all I had said, I still could not wrap my head properly around things like affection and being a bit too friendly with people. Or, as it seemed to be in this case, a robot.

[Pyxis]

It was only after Pyxis spoke and Alisa gave a blushing, awkward response that she realized what she had just said. Um...oops? She hadn't actually meant to imply anything like that. Even if she did find herself thinking about Alisa more and more lately. Contrary to what one might think of a machine (a living weapon, especially), Pyxis was perfectly capable of affection and even romantic inclination. It was something she usually ignored, though, mostly because such things exposed yet another physical imitation. That was not a subject Pyxis wanted to dwell on at the moment, though. Especially not with how awkward and embarrassed Alisa had gotten because of it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything," Pyxis said, although her own voice wavered as she spoke. "I...um...actually, I guess I should cover up a bit more, to prevent any more accidents." Bam. Subject change. Efficiently executed. ...Okay, maybe not so much. "At least with the maid uniforms, there's not much danger of anything getting down into the joints." The one she had been wearing up until that point had larger, padded shoulders that were designed to limit damage from the inside. They also had the convenient side-effect of cushioning the shoulders and allowing someone to put a hand there without immediately noticing the open joints. Her school uniform was similarly modified, although instead of padding a cardboard plate had been inserted into the inside, keeping the shoulders of the uniform jacket stiff. (Summer uniforms were a more challenging prospect that Pyxis had yet to figure out. Or, for that matter, need to figure out.) But, those would probably fold the moment Pyxis tried to go into battle wearing the school uniform.

What kind of ridiculous idea was that, anyway?

[Ayakura Alisa]

I fidgeted and soon Pyxis quickly change the subject to that of covering up a little bit more to prevent more accidents like that. Methinks she just wanted to divert the subject away from the awkward direction it was headed, but I think it was fairly justified. I had no idea whether Pyxis was capable of feeling things even closely resembling romance, but I was open to surprises, as evident from pretty much everything that happened ever since the lock down. I soon found myself wondering about the maid outfit. "Come to think of it, why the choice of the maid uniform? If you wanted to blend in better with humans, wouldn't be better to come up with more inconspicuous fashion? Or is there a process of clothing modification required in order to fit your body properly... This is all quite interesting to me, actually."

[Pyxis]

As awkward as the subject change probably seemed, Alisa seemed to accept it, and responded with a fair question. Pyxis had received a few strange looks for her choice of battle attire before, and she'd probably gotten a lot more than she hadn't noticed. No, she didn't blend in like that. That was what a school uniform was for. "Not quite to fit my body," Pyxis answered. "It's more that with anything that doesn't have large or stiff shoulders there's not much hiding the fact that the joints are open. Which, of course, would give away what I am. My school uniform's reinforced with cardboard, but that's not very good for combat situations. So...I took something with large sleeves and sewed a bit of padding into the shoulders. It doesn't stop me from fighting at full capacity, at least as long as I don't also wear the shoes, and it still keeps my true nature hidden, even from anyone else I meet in the shadow-infested zone."

The idea seemed almost laughable, now that Pyxis said it again. During the fight with the cleaver girl, the finger guns had probably been a dead giveaway. Not to mention the fact that after that incident, secrecy was deemed to be much less of a priority. "Not that that really matters much, anymore. Anyway, as for why I chose a maid uniform over something else with 'poofy' sleeves, the idea of going into battle as a robot maid amused me at the time. After that, I kind of got attached to it."

[Ayakura Alisa]

"Battling as a robot maid? Given your propensity to occasionally speak in video games, I can't say I'm surprised at that kind of humor. Anyway, it doesn't look like it's been attracting that much attention. If a human wore the same kind of costume where I come from, they would be receiving a lot of looks. Positive and negative," I said, commenting on Pyxis' reasoning for choosing the outfit. Of course, aside from the convenience of the uniform fitting the mechanical form quite well, requiring something that could hide the joints. It seemed it wasn't enough just to hide them from sight, but also having to conceal them from the touch as well. I couldn't blame her at all having heard her piece.

"I've been wondering about returning to an old weapon class of mine, actually. You've seen me use a knife and bow, but with the increased threat level of Shadows I wonder if I should return to my roots and battle with a sword or a spear..."

[Pyxis]

"I...see..." Pyxis said. She didn't actually know much about where Alisa came from, but it seemed like it had to be a strange place. Especially if the maid outfit could get positive looks as well as the usual weird ones. The words 'fetish for maids' from their first meeting came to mind. Was that the kind of person Alisa was referring to? "Well, I doubt I'd be getting much positive from the one I've had since I came here. It's pretty torn up by this point."

Then again, maybe people would like that too.

She listened to Alisa's thoughts about going back to a sword or spear when fighting. Pyxis tried to picture that: Alisa valiantly fighting with a curved sword much like Elpis's. The image came surprisingly quickly and easily. "I can imagine that," she said. "Well, if you want to do that, go right ahead. Just...I'd suggest making sure you haven't gotten too rusty before trying to go into battle like that."

[Ayakura Alisa]

I smiled as I didn't need to respond to her first statement about how ruined her uniform was. I'm pretty sure she knew there would be SOME people out there who were interested in that sort of thing. Well, that was kind of the thing in some parts of Japan, and I doubt that it was the only place where there were some kind of fetishizing of that sort of thing. Anyway, it wasn't my place to say and I didn't really want to make that a point of discussion. I'll leave that to the experts and those who actually care about that sort of thing.

"When it comes to combat, I don't get rusty. I can tell you that much. Training is a big part of my week when I'm not busy scouring for information. As I see it, if I wasn't trained as an investigator, I'd probably be a mercenary or an assassin or something. I don't know. I mean my mother was a mercenary before."

[Pyxis]

"Mm...that's a comforting thought," Pyxis said. Training was something she could probably stand to do more often. Her body couldn't become 'rusty', so to speak, but even she could stand to do some proper target practice on occasion rather than saturating the large area targets shadows usually provided with bullets. Games helped with precision and reaction time, even if hers were already above a normal human's (a fact that a certain BrideKnight found out the hard way), but that too could be helped with something a little more real-world. Something she had more control over than shadows that wanted to kill her on sight.

And, curiously, Alisa brought up the fact that her mother was a mercenary of sorts. That made...what, three things Pyxis knew about her? Three very small things. "You know, I don't think you've told me much about your mother before," she said. "She seems to have lived an interesting life."