Memory and Machines [Pyxis]

[Vincent Celosa]

'Tch. Those scientists couldn't trust me with better equipment.'

The Red Android gave an unfavourable click of his 'tongue' against his teeth as after another battery test of his current standing, nothing seemed to have changed much from his second start up. It was difficult not to compare himself to what he had been before the incident, his chains were damn well capable of cracking concrete without too much effort and right now he couldn't even break a pebble. That was a massive change in strength, not to mention that his durability and speed were barely anything in terms of being useful against the usual stomping grounds he had.

So here he was, trying to make do what he had. Not that it was doing much right now but who knew, the more shadows he killed, the bigger the chances of him getting something to fix his stuff with. But for now, he was too busy trying not to get his ass wiped out by the fire balls and electricity heading his way. Oh what Vincent would give to do what he could.

---

Pyxis

[Pyxis]

And that was all there was, so to speak. Pyxis's latest outing marked the end of her tour of the outer circle, as she had initially planned it. All that was left, at this point, was to take on the giant floating castle. With Alisa's directions she had been able to locate the thing and...yes, it was exactly as she said. A giant floating castle. But this trip had not been a good time to go inside. It would almost certainly house the biggest and strongest of the shadows lurking in the infested zone, and she wanted to be in the best possible condition when she set foot inside. Of course, she was still in good condition, but after descending into a shadow-infested sinkhole and making her way back out, it wasn't optimal.

So, she was making her way back through the ruins of what had once been a part of Mosaic City. It was there that she caught sight of a familiar-looking figure, fighting off surprisingly weak-looking shadows out in the open. That...didn't make a lot of sense. Something was very wrong. The last time she had seen Vice deal with shadows of this caliber, he had wiped them all out in a single blast.

So naturally, Pyxis stepped in, shredding through several of the approaching shadows with a single volley of her guns, then taking up a position near the man. "Hey, Vice. Didn't expect to see you out...here?" She looked over the man again and quickly realized why something had seemed off. Their appearances were similar, but the man was very clearly not Vice. For one, he was shorter. For another, Pyxis had never once seen Vice without his biker jacket. And for a third, the man was wielding chains of all things. "Huh. Not Vice. Sorry about that, you just look a lot like a friend of mine."

[Vincent Celosa]

The next lightning bolt that came from those damnable hand shadows came at him again, and this time Vincent was lucky enough to have managed to duck under it just in time to counter. His chained fist was already approaching it, ready to maximise the damage output by bouncing the appendage back the moment it dug deep enough, but was surprised when the thing just exploded into shreds. Immediately his sensors blared warning signs all over the custom hud he had on his visual programs and the motors in his feet rolled back just in time to allow the Android to hop back without getting damage.

Those things could take a beating, at least from the attacks he had been dishing out, and to see them just get punctured into nothingness, well, the attention he got from whoever that was was probably a lot stronger than the current him right now. Which also meant that if it was an enemy, the smart thing to do would be to retreat and never look back. The scientists were too far off and he doubted they'd be able to find him again should a repeat of the incident happen. Readying himself for a fight or flight scenario, Vincent was just about to call forth for Orpheus when a female's voice reached out to him.

The metallic apparition was half way being formed when the Android caught sight of the target. Certainly, it was enough to cause him to falter midway of summoning and instead raised his fists up to act as a preliminary guard. Sure it wouldn't do much against anything ranged in combat but it was still better than nothing. And then apparently he looked like someone the girl knew? Whoever the hell this 'Vice' was, Vincent was pretty sure of two things. That one, he had a really shitty name, and two, it'd be someone to avoid from here on out in case this was a hostile.

"Who…are you?"

[Pyxis]

The man gave a guarded response as Pyxis approached, raising his fist and starting to summon his Persona. It was only partway through materializing before it vanished again, but Pyxis could tell from what she saw that it was a more mechanical-looking Persona than most, although that didn't always mean very much. Even so, it reminded Pyxis a lot of her own. Or, at least, before it had transformed. Elpis was much less machine-like than Pandora had been. But more curiously, the man regarded her as a possible enemy. It was a rational response to anything in the shadow-infested zone, but also a surprising one considering that she had just torn down the onslaught of shadows he had been struggling against.

And then he answered her, with a short and simple question of who she was. "A friend. Probably," Pyxis answered. There was always the chance that he would do something stupid and dangerous, or still regard her as a threat. But at the very least, he didn't seem like a shadow. Nor was he a civilian to be chased back into the safe zone like she had once tried to do with Alisa. So was he just a newly awakened User? "Call me Pyxis," she added. Having an actual name to go on would probably help the man to realize she was not his enemy.

[Vincent Celosa]

Tentatively, Vincent slowly and reluctantly lowered his fists as the person began to introduce herself to him. He knew it was still dangerous, seeing whatever the hell happened just didn't occur everyday after all, but since he wasn't dead just yet and this person was fine with talking him down then the chances of it trying to kill him had exponentially decreased. Still, Vincent made sure to keep Orpheus lingering around the forefront of his mind for easy access. It may not do much, but a second or two could mean the difference of getting an arm repair or not having anything to be repaired at all.

"Pyxis…?" The name rolled off the usually quiet Android's tongue, as if in a very human-like effort to remember it. The voice was still guarded, but hopefully the tension apparent on his stance was slowly going away. "What are you doing out here?" Saying that it was dangerous was stupid because it was obvious, and that the girl could probably take care of herself better than he could save himself. "Were you sent by them?"

[Pyxis]

Pyxis relaxed a little bit as the man let down his guard. If nothing else, the sheer difference in power between them would probably allow her plenty of time to react if he did do anything stupid and dangerous. The man repeated her name, and Pyxis nodded. Then, he asked what she was doing out there. Which was...a strange question, coming from from someone who was struggling against shadows that Pyxis had just taken out with little effort. But, what he said to follow up that question made it make a little more sense.

Although, 'them' could be anyone. She wasn't going to bring up her organization until she knew that was what he was talking about. "I was exploring the far reaches of the shadow-infested zone. Although, actually, I was on my way back from that," she answered. "As for 'them', that depends on who 'them' is."

[Vincent Celosa]

"I…see."

Well, Vincent didn't know what to say to that. He knew that there were others sent here before him, or people who could awaken and become strong enough to do battle against the shadows that infested the area. He just didn't think he'd be meeting any of them this early, or anyone this capable for that matter. Then again, it wasn't like the scientists gave him any more data than what was required of him to know.

"The organisations? Wasn't there a command to send out all available Users here?" The android tried to filter through his memory banks again. There wasn't much left in there but he could try and piece together a few things to at least try and see part of the bigger picture. "Unless you're from around here but if you are, then I didn't know this place already had such worthwhile fighters already. Was there a problem in the information system?"

[Pyxis]

"Of course," Pyxis said, nodding. "Yes, I'm with the organization. I was sent here with an earlier team." That explained a lot, then. From the sounds of it, this man had only recently arrived. So did that mean they were still sending teams? Or else, was it just taking this long for some of them to respond? Either way, that meant that more help was steadily arriving.

She turned, on instinct, as she detected another shadow approaching. It was a small reading, probably just a straggler from the small horde that this man had been fighting off before. She raised one hand, aiming instantly and firing off a few rounds. The shadow dissolved as soon as the shots hit. "As for worthwhile fighters, though, there are some from around here even stronger than me," Pyxis continued as though she hadn't been interrupted. "That wasn't something any of us could have anticipated, though. We knew that more Persona users would likely develop if there were any survivors. But all of us came in ready for the possibility that this was a dead zone."

[Vincent Celosa]

"Then they're probably from the ones based around China. It would make sense---" an suddenly bullets we're being fired at some position. It took Vincent a bit of time to register that and only when his visual receptos saw the evaporating red mist that he figure out that there had been a shadow bearing them. Ignoring the rather humane pang of jealousy, The android continued "that they would get the signal faster. Have you guys set up a home base yet? Protocol for the situation dictates that after integrating into society there be a branch for communications."

The android continued, tilting his head as he did so. He was slightly wondering about how the current team set here were dealing with things. If they had already established a concrete chain of command then that would be all the more better for him. At least then he could get from a trustworthy command center. That instead of wondering of how things are going, Vincent just decided to ask Pyxis here about the situation.

"Who's the one leading the operation then?" He began as his stance began to stiffen up into a strict military stance that had been drilled into his programming a while back. "And forgive me for my earlier actions, ma'am. I meant no disrespect."

[Pyxis]

Difficult questions. Pyxis knew there was a leader, since there had been a few coordinated actions in the past that had to have been organized by one person, but...she had never actually met them. And despite having sent in a report of the incident at the school a couple months ago, only a few of them had showed up at the shopping center last month. Whoever this 'leader' was, Pyxis was beginning to have her doubts about them. Was it possible that they...no, better to not jump to conclusions.

"Well, we do have a base station for communications. But...it's impossible to connect to the outside from in here. So, now that we're here, we're on our own. As for the one in charge, I haven't actually met them," Pyxis said. A trace of bitterness lingered in her tone as she said this. This was a problem, and she knew it.

"You are forgiven, though," she added. "Even with local Persona users around, it's difficult to trust anyone who just approaches out of the blue out here."

[Vincent Celosa]

"That's quite unfortunate." Vincent replied at the notice of the area's incapability of connecting to the outside. This was also going to be a lot more difficult than he had first imagined. Without the ability to contact the other organisations then expecting any kind of timely back up would be a pipe dream. It also meant that they didn't have a lot of expendable resources nor replaceable man power. Sectioning off one of the programs he had been made with, Vincent made sure to segment off the continuous scenario building in his information so that he could focus at the conversation at hand.

"Then is there no temporary form of leadership, or a hierarchy of some sort from the locals? I'm sure that by now, the 'logical' route of action would be to have some form of system to prevent things from falling apart." Shaking his head then, the red android did agree with the whole trust thing. Still, despite his earlier reluctance, the girl, Pyxis, had shown him enough ground to work his trust building with her and could at least potentially take her off the least of people to watch out for her.

"I also forgot to introduce myself. I am Anti-Shadow Unit Number 02711, Code Name: Vincent Celosa."

And with a touch of nervousness to his voice, he added:

"Any…pending orders?"

[Pyxis]

"Hierarchy? No, but the locals have come together. I'd hesitate to call anyone a 'leader', but there are a few who have taken charge during the larger battles." Some more successfully than others, at least. Pyxis did remember the woman from the shopping center fight who had tried to take that role, only for nobody to really listen to her. "As far as the people living here go, that may be for the better. A system where everyone shares information and for the most part works together but with no single leader means that there's no fights over who gets the spot. And it's worked so far, at least."

She nodded as the man introduced himself...another Anti-Shadow Weapon? Normally, Pyxis was much better at picking them out. This was...unusual to say the least. But not unheard of. "In that case, a more proper introduction is in order from me as well. I am the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon Pyxis. Unit number 14, 8th reassignment." Hopefully, that wouldn't require to much explanation. Apparently there had been seven others to bear the unit number 14 before her, none of whom were ever cleared for active duty. Thus, all of them had been scrapped.

Then, Vincent asked about pending orders. "None at the moment. But, as a personal recommendation, I would suggest being prepared for battle on the night of the next full moon. That's when the strongest shadows have been showing up."

[Vincent Celosa]

Vincent may be suffering from the more mechanical slash technological version of amnesia but it didn't mean he was dense. He knew when, or at least he told himself that he knew such things, there was a land mine that he shouldn't step on. Absorbing the information that he was being presented to, the once more inexperienced Android simply processed it and tried to come up with any kind of suitable framework that would best serve the current cause rather than his own gains. He was, after all, designated to be a weapon. Nothing more, nothing less. Anything that went beyond such duties were his own decisions and so were the consequences.

"I'll make sure to mark it."

And already he was creating several timers and alerts for when the next full moon would be. A few side notes as to what he should take care first before it happens were there along with what he could do in order to find some better equipment. He was just about to add something else when his sensors began blaring out the same obnoxious 'WARNING' on his hud. He really needed to set that and minimise so it'd stop blocking his vision. Turning around, Vincent instantly whipped his chains into a readied position and was half a thought away from charging forward. And then he remembered that there was, for the most part, what he could consider a superior.

"Permission to engage?"

[Pyxis]

Thankfully, Vincent opted not to ask any further. Soldier through and through, huh? Well, that had its merits at least, even if it was a mindset Pyxis tried to avoid herself. Then, a few seconds after Vincent's confirmation, a blip appeared on Pyxis's radar. Typically, while she could detect them at long range, her systems only put up an alert for nearby shadows when they were in typical engagement distance. So the fact that another one popped up meant that there were more stragglers than the one Pyxis had just blasted. She turned towards the source, raising her arm again, but a second later, Vincent asked for permission to engage.

"Granted," Pyxis said, priming her weapons anyway to ensure that if Vincent had trouble she could quickly and easily step in. Normally she'd just say to go in together to make sure nothing could go wrong. But, she was curious about Vincent's capabilities, and they were out in the open where really strong shadows were much rarer. Simply acting as a backup would be fine. "Let's see what you've got."

[Vincent Celosa]

As Vincent waited for the permission to engage the present target, the android had began to disassemble the shadow in his eyes. Memorizing its profile and running a scenario of possibilities that could come from the thing. Cross referencing also started the moment the profile had found a match and marking down potential differences in their battle abilities from the ones in his records. Unfortunately, the expansive battle data he had managed to collect from before could not be transferred to his current system due problems and he would be required to reestablish all of it once more.

When the required authority was finally granted, Vincent began to increase his motors efficiency and dashed forward just as the Hand Type shadow moved in on as well. The first clash came in as something akin to testing the waters with the Android whirling a chain in a small arc to hit the eerie little bastard on the side while bracing himself against the fist that had been formed. The slightly damaged Android would have continued the engagement had the opponent not decided to call a quick retreat to get some space back. Not wanting to let up on the pressure, the metallic persona appeared with a vocal command from the Suppression Unit and as if with glee did Orpheus raise its massive lyre and charged at the slightly unbalanced hand. With an expert swing, Orpheus cracked its Lyre against the fingers of the Hand Shadow.

Everyone in the area probably heard it.

The following fireball wasn't exactly expected either and Vincent just barely had time to raise his forearms up to protect his chest from getting the brunt of the attack. Thankfully, his clothing didn't catch on fire but the sleeves were pretty much screwed and he'd have to perform some emergency maintenance on it when he gets back to the workshop. Commanding the still floating Orpheus for another Assault Dive, Vincent wanted to make sure that his attack would take down the shadow this time. He would, after all, prefer not to get surprised by some other element that this freak could use. When the goo finally started flying, Vincent finally began to let up in order to save himself from the fatigue.

When the ichor had finally evaporated, Vincent rotated his wrists and along with them, the chains he used began to jingle with them. Turning around to Pyxis, Vincent gave a curt nod.

"Threat eliminated."