Lost Lion. Please Help?

[lionunchained]

WHO: Shiro and You!
WHERE: Around
WHAT: New Arrival Exploring
WHEN: Beginning of January
WARNINGS: None yet. Will update.

This was certainly not the last place that Shiro remembered being. He had last remembered returning to Earth and ending up with his new robotic arm. As he stood there for a long moment, wracking his brain, there wasn't much more after that. Certainly, there wasn't enough he would have suddenly found himself here in a world that seemed far more dilapidated than the Garrison was with far fewer technologies.

The information that suddenly came to him was certainly helpful, but very disturbing to him. After all, what had most of his recent life been like other than some other being deciding he needed to be somewhere that he didn't consent to going?

Typical.

But Shiro was out in the town and exploring. Sure, he had the device and he did pause a few times to review it, specifically looking at the map more than anything else, but still, he'd rather see them for himself. After he had figured out where he was going, he could see if there was anything that he could assist with. If he was going to be here, might as well do something productive.

Comments

[deal_me_in]

Somehow that metal face managed the impression of a grin. He stepped in the other man's direction with a bob of his head. "Oh, you have no idea! I mean, there's tons of things left over in general there, some kind of shop back in Agrii heydays. I was just scavenging for more things to use at the bar."

He looked Shiro up and down before giving a thoughtful nod. "You're new here," he decided, not really a difficult conclusion to come to when you knew most of the faces in town.

[lionunchained]

"Really? So everything was just left there? Such a strange thing... but at least you are able to use what was there."

Shiro nodded his head at the assessment. "I am. I'm Shiro."

[deal_me_in]

"Most everything's just been left as is, I'm guessing. Some things just fared better than most." The Exo shrugged. "I mean, just take a look around at the place. Still, a lot of this city's in better shape than some of the places back home."

He shifted his load to one arm, sticking his freed hand out to shake. "Name's Cayde. This is Sundance," he says, nodding over his shoulder at his Ghost, who gives a slight bob in the air in acknowledgment. "I'm figurin' you got the basic rundown of the situation."

[lionunchained]

"I suppose that's true with everything that's just been left behind." He glanced around at the comment to look around. "Hmm... that is true. I've seen some places out there in the universe that were really not in good shape, but that wasn't necessarily their fault."

War kind of did that.

Shiro reached over to shake his hand. Of course, it was his floating disembodied robot hand...

"Nice to meet you, Cayde. And nice to meet you too, Sundance. Yeah, I got the basic gist of it. Still... a lot to take in."

[deal_me_in]

Cayde gave a knowing nod at that. He did arch a metal brow at the man's arm, definitely up there on strangest things he'd ever seen, and it said a lot when he was centuries old.

"At this rate we're going to have a club for people with metal arms," he joked. Except he came built with his. Still hadn't coaxed the story out of the other guy he knew. "Oh yeah, definitely a lot to take in. Not as straight-forward as it's been made out to be, either. If...being abruptly saddled with clean-up and world-restoration for an alien race is straight-forward." He paused. "-I guess it kind of is until you start asking questions anyway."

[lionunchained]

"Well, we can certainly start a club if there are more people with that or in case we get others." He had better feelings about this one. It wasn't the Galra arm that had been intended to help him fight, to control him. It was the one that his team had made for him.

Shiro nodded his head as he said. "I feel like I could definitely say been there, done that. I guess there's a lot of those questions here?"

[deal_me_in]

Oh good, someone who can roll with his jokes. The Exo chuckles. "You never know I guess. Between random worlds and universes and then alternate universes, could be possible!"

He arches a metal brow at Shiro. "Oh yeah? Previous experience is always good. Less freaking out and being all upset at the situation. Although it's completely fair to be the latter. I mean, that seems a more natural response than lookin' at this place and thinking we're on vacation." He shrugs. "But yeah. A little more complicated than just the 'get here, fix things for these poor displaced Agrii.'"

[lionunchained]

"Other worlds I have seen. I've seen plenty of those, but alternate universes? Is that really a thing?"

Yeah, be amused Shiro - just because no one told you about Sven or the obligatory game show episode

"Yeah, I've been to a lot of places and had to deal with a lot of things. Don't really like the 'no choice but to be here' part of it, but I'm sure that's a sentiment shared by all if not most people here." At least he hoped so. "Anything worth sharing or is it a long story?"

...we need a Slav, STAT

[deal_me_in]

"Oh yeah. I mean, we got what, several versions of Earth so far as I know. Unless I'm from some terrible future version, but uh- anyway, there's some guys that sorta know each other but then not really?" Cayde pauses, backtracks as he realizes how confusing that might sound. "Same faces, same names, not the same...version. I don't know, I'm just going off of what I hear from people here."

The Exo nods as he folds his arms. "Yeah, the 'no choice' bit is the clincher, but otherwise it's not...terrible? Now, when you consider that maybe someone's set all this up just for the hell of it? Then I'd say we all have the right to be perfectly pissed. And I'm not talking about the Agrii- who do exist, by the way, in case there might be doubts. They might just be some unfortunate bystanders in this mess, a means to a thus far unknown end."

A good way to make Shiro freak out lol

[lionunchained]

"Really? That's very strange. I guess... in all the stuff I've seen. I shouldn't be too surprised by that."

He listened to what Cayde had to say and frowned at it. "So there's the possibility that some force we don't know about is playing around with us and using Agrii to do it?"

That was just sick.

Hahaha

[deal_me_in]

"Well, at least you've got an open-mind." People around here have been strangely accepting of these things, but then Cayde figures that's better than them freaking out.

He nods with a frown of his own at the following question. "Yeah. Maybe more than a possibility. There's a lot of questions we've been batting around and we just end up going in circles."

[lionunchained]

"At this point, after everything I've seen and have had happened, I can't afford to be closed-minded. It's impossible now."

Shiro frowned even more at that. "Hmm... certainly sounds like there is something off here if you keep ending up back at point A when asking questions. It's cowardly for them to mess around with people like that."

[deal_me_in]

"Right? No fair with 'em hiding. I prefer a straight-on confrontation." Cayde sighs, giving a shrug.

"Thing is, there are people here who've been through something similar. Got snatched from home, stuck on a ship. They say the ships we got here? They're the same ones they had back when they were under these other alien folk. And guess what? All that was so that they could be put through different scenarios for some kinda show." He shakes his head. "That don't sit well with me. But supposedly those guys're gone."

[lionunchained]

"Same. I'd much rather go for the fight than have to beat around the bush."

Shiro blinked in surprise.

"A gameshow? That's very odd. So this is just a continuation of that? But then... that would make sense why they are messing with people if they are getting some entertainment out of it."

As messed up as that is.

[deal_me_in]

Cayde shakes his head. "No idea, really. Guess it's not a possibility to rule out, at least. But all that aside, the problem with the storms is a real thing. Guess they're lethal to the Agrii, and while they don't outright kill us, they still have some effect on us. The last one that came through here was pretty bad."

He pauses, shifting the crate of things he'd gathered in his hands before laughing dryly. "Hoo, talk about a heavy welcome, eh? Sorry to drop all this on you."

[lionunchained]

"So we're trying to stop these storms then? That's kind of odd. I'd guess they aren't normal if the people who lived here before us weren't able to survive them."

He chuckled softly. "It's fine. I've gotten some pretty big shocks in my life in the past few years."

[deal_me_in]

"That's the plan! But um, they're not your average storms. Sure, there's rain and wind and thunder, all that, but there's some other stuff goin' on too. I've heard tell from people who've experienced it more than once that power fluctuation is an issue. Not like, electricity sort of power but like..." Cayde gestures vaguely with a hand. "Superhuman abilities, I guess you could say?"

He shrugs. "Well, at least you've got the optimism. And I'll bet you've been through some things. That arm alone suggests that." The Exo smiles crookedly as he nods at Shiro's robotic floating limb.

[lionunchained]

"So it will affect people who have abilities?" That was just wonderful. Made it difficult to deal with the storms as they were happening and possibly had a negative effect on people. So many good things going on there... "Somehow, I'm not surprised."

He shrugged. "I've seen a lot and we somehow managed to get through it so this should be the same way once we have the information that we need." He glanced down at his arm before back at Cayde. "Yeah, nothing like getting your arm taken by an alien race because they wanted to make you their champion slave fighter. This, by the way, is not that arm. Lost that one and this one was made by my friends."

[deal_me_in]

"Fun stuff, right?" Even so, the Exo manages to make light of the situation. It hadn't been fun that past storm, but if nothing else, they've proven they can get through it.

Eyeing Shiro's arm again, Cayde arches a brow at the story behind it. "Wow, no kidding? That's...yeah, that's worse than the aliens I know who worship machines and dismember their own limbs in exchange for mechanical ones- I think. Had mine shot off once. Got better. From your friends though? Nice. Interesting design choice."

[lionunchained]

"Oh, yeah. Sounds very fun." Nothing like an unnatural mechanical storm to make things more amusing.

"... Can't say I've ever heard of anyone who worshipped machines and partially turned themselves into one. Some of the Galra soldiers did have limbs replaced, but no telling if that was by choice or by necessity."

He glanced down at his arm again. "Yeah, apparently that one had coding in it that allowed them to control my clone so he tried to kill my friend. He cut off the clone's arm which stopped it and-" And slightly amused scoff because this was where he was going to sound crazy. "My consciousness was transferred to his body from the lion I was trapped in."

[deal_me_in]

"That's the Fallen for you. The Eliksni. They're one of several alien races that just seem to have it out for us," Cayde explains breezily.

The look the Exo gives Shiro with the further input about his arm is nothing short of confused. He waves a hand about. "Whoa, whoa, whoa- you can't just jump from clones to being stuck in a lion- where'd the lion even come in anyway??"

[lionunchained]

Yep, it was a long story.

"So when I escaped from the Galra, I ended up back home on Earth. In an attempt to avoid those who wished to capture us, I and four others found a giant blue robotic lion underground. It took us through a wormhole and we ended up at an alien ship. The lions were made by a now nearly deceased race as defenders of the universe. Well, we took over as their pilots. I fly the black one."

That's where the lions came in.

[deal_me_in]

Glowing eyes widen at that. "A giant robot lion. I feel like we've missed out some. Oh, but it didn't originate from Earth. Okay then. Maybe that's why."

Cayde nods as he soaks everything in. "So. Important question. But how does piloting a giant lion work?"

[lionunchained]

"Nah, it was just sent to Earth to hide it from the Galra. It wasn't made there."

Yeah, it's a lot to take in and that's not even half the story Shiro feels like. "There's a cockpit in the head with controls. But the lion is also sentient as well so if it doesn't want you to pilot, it won't let you. It will pick the best for the tasks that it normally does. The one I piloted, the Black Lion, was the leader so the pilot had be one who'd be able to lead the other four."

[deal_me_in]

"Sentient robo-lions! Huh! Imagine that!" Cayde marvels, stroking his jaw with his free hand. While he's still confused about the concept, he's not going to argue that lion-shaped ships sound pretty neat. Picky lion-shaped ships, but he can see how beneficial that could be to find the right pilot for a ship.

He smiles lopsidedly at Shiro. "So you're the leader of the lion club, eh?"