Scene #9191: Star¤Twinkle PreCure ~ A Planet Of Robots?! AI On Cybertron!

Owner	Pose
Merelisa Shaynore	Cybertron is a planet made entirely of metal, covered with futuristic cityscapes from end to end, built on top of rolling chrome mountains and around ravines that glow with orange engine-light from deep within the core. Wide streets sized for the larger Transformers are elevated above the ground, surrounded by oddly shaped buildings with curves and towers all around, electric blue light illuminating the windows. Robots, ranging from four feet to thirty feet tall, or driving around as cars or flying around as helicopters or planes, dot the landscape, and warpgates are abound, integrated into the infrastructure without a hitch. There are also, two girls, who are absolutely dwarfed by everything here. In order to reach the doorknob of a massive steel door, Lala is sitting on Hikaru's shoulders, straining to reach up as high as she can while Hikaru teeters and wobbles under the weight. With a coordinated 'On three!' 'Lun!', Hikaru heaves Lala upwards while she stretches out and barely wraps her hands around the handle, dangling from it and kicking her feet until it slowly turns and comes open. "Good job Lala! Now I'll catch you!" "Oyo?! I'm slipping--!" Hikaru holds out her arms for Lala to drop down into, right as Lala loses her grip on the door handle. She falls right on top of Hikaru, and they're sent sprawling on the ground together with a CLANG. Hikaru pops up and gives her a hand standing, and Lala staggers dizzy-eyed, antennae greebled like a bedhead. Lala shakes her head and then waves the Elites over, holding out her Star Color Pendant in her palm. "Hi everyone! The Pendant says the Stellar Note is somewhere behind this door, lun. Can you believe how lucky we are that it landed on this planet?" "The odds are approximately one hundred seventy five trillion to one, Miss Lala. However..." "Lun? AI?" "It seems there are variables that are not factored into my calculations that continue to drive you and your friends together. I do not understand them yet." "Yeah! That's because all of our stars shine brighter together!" "Is that so, Miss Hikaru." The door opens up into a huge chamber, bustling with activity and engines roaring. Showily wealthy, but crude, as if the room itself is feeling that the profitability of what takes place inside it is permission to be trashy, it looks... a lot like a horseracing bookie booth, except the horses are men who are also cars, and also, the men are betting on the men who are cars. Cybertronians sit on booths drinking mugs of energon and shouting at each other, a glossy black transformer with a hotrod spoiler between his shoulders who seems to be built 'muscularly' is smugly posing for a crowd of adoring papparazzi, and a tired-looking bookie is behind a counter on the far side, tapping a big metal finger on a glowing blue tablet. Behind the bookie, an awards podium is mounted on the wall. A bronze and silver trophy take up the third and second place prizes, along with accompanying credits, but at the top, for a first place win, is a golden glowing cylinder with the astrological symbol for Cancer on the side. Yuma's face lights up with a fluid-green music note of recognition.
Timespace Riders	The would-be Demon King and his retainer arrive in a swirling vortex of gray fabric that gradually thins out and returns to being an ordinary scarf resting neatly on Woz's shoulders. "Fortuitous indeed," Woz notes with a slight inclination of his head, "To have allies in a distant land ahead of one's own arrival." Sougo's mint-green button-up is oversized for him, as he likes, but that's less noticeable when he and Woz would have to do the same as Hikaru and Lala had to open the door into the establishment. "Well..." he glances between Yuma and the glowing cylinder. "That sure looks like it to me..." This looks like a pretty tough crowd... maybe I'd better get a read on them. That's exactly what Sougo does--after he and Woz step away from the doorway, the aspiring Demon King seems to stutter in place, just for a moment. That muscular fellow with the spoiler--is he a racer? Will we have to beat him to get the Note? If that's the case... how many times has he won, and what's his specialty? That momentary stutter was, in fact, a brief jaunt through history, wherein Sougo attempts to glean the details in advance of talking to him.
Combaticon	Given Cybertron's recent opening to offworld trade, among the robotic locals there are also a fair number of humans and other organic aliens starting to arrive. Shortly after Hikaru and Lala get the door open, a shabby looking robot with a red Autobot symbol on his shoulder shuffle up. He doesn't enter, though. Instead, he transforms with that distinctive noise, compressing and rearranging his body into-- a food truck. The side windows open up and the menu folds down. Once he's all set up, Greasetrap shouts out to potential customers while the scent of Mexican food fills the Cybertronian air. A heavy dark blue Roadmaster semitruck with artillery guns occupying its bed rumbles to a stop with the distinct growl of a diesel engine. The cab door swings open and out drops a mostly deep purple robot with gray and red accents, sporting jet wings and engines on his back and heels. As soon as he's clear, Blastoff ignites his foot thrusters and hovers, while the truck splits open and rearranges its parts; shrinking in the process to become Onslaught. "From what you said, I didn't think those two were into racing." "Their objective is different," is Onslaught's curt response. He tucks his arms up behind his back beneath the cannons and approaches the young teenagers. When he stops, he naturally assumes an At-Ease posture, the upward curve of his faceplate and the downward angle of his hat's brim giving him that naturally stern expression that doesn't quite suit the slightly fond neutrality of his tone, "Hikaru and Lala; welcome to Cybertron. If I had known your search for Stellar Notes would bring you here, I would have arranged for your arrival." "Kinda small, aren't they?" Blastoff leans forward where he hovers, peering down at Lala in particular. "Organic protoforms get larger as they get older," Onslaught's eyes shift sidelong, "And mind your synthesizer." Blastoff leans back, lifting his arms in a shrug with his eyes closed, "Ok, ok, don't throw a rod," When his eyes open again, his entire posture shifts to one of visible excitement, "Wait, wait, pump the brakes-- That's Spinout!" Onslaught's gaze shifts to the glossy black flame-decorated bot when Blastoff shoots over to him. Holding at a respectable distance but floating over the newsbots, Blastoff brings his hands to his 'mouth' (such that it is), "I'll never forget how you trashed Gyroscope and Downshift during the Kaon Run! Slaggin' Legendary!" Onslaught lingers for a moment on the news circus, then shifts his eyes to the prize locker. That certainly matches the appearance of the prior Stellar Note. One hand lifts, tapping the lower part of his faceplate with a soft metallic sound; "So it is the grand prize for the upcoming event. My division has been assigned security, so I am uncertain what assistance I could offer that would be..." His gaze shifts, glancing sidelong at Hikaru again, "Legitimate."
Angela	Rose is one of the youngest Lobotomy Corp agents, approximately in her late teens. Her build is lithe, and she has mussy and wispy blonde hair drifting around her. She's wearing the Red Hooded Mercenary EGO Equipment but wielding the two acidy-greeny hammers which are hooked around a belt at her side. The hood is pulled over her head, but her bright blue eyes are visible as is a frankly horrifying and terrible scar around her mouth, with all of her teeth sharp like a shark's. Despite the face being like this, her personality is pretty mellow. With her is Nikki. Nikki is a pink haired red eyed woman wearing both the EGO Suit and Weapon of In The Name Of Love And Hate. This means she's wearing a pink and magenta corset and pink shoes and white stockings with a large ribbon around her chest that really makes her look like just a magical girl in real life. In her hand is a winged staff with a star and heart as its centerpiece. She's clearly in her early twenties but has grown comfortable in the EGO suit by this point. She also drank like dhampir blood or something? She's not really actually sure on the logistics like she had it explained to her but it's been a minute and it's felt like working at the facility has been several lifetimes of work already. Regardless, it's Nikki who is holding onto the Angela tablet where Angela would appear to be dozing if her closed eyes weren't just something she did all the time and it wasn't known she didn't sleep. The Agents seem uncomfortable around a bunch of robotic entities that could squash them. "Angela is one thing, but a world of just machines..." Nikki murmurs. "Well pardner," Rose sounds like she's from an old timey western whenever she spekas. "We're pretty far from the City here. We don't have to worry about City customs here or even their Impurities. Not illegal to look at a robot right? Not compared to working for one." Nikki and Rose throw a wave to Lala first. Angela opens her eyes and takes a look around. "Mm... Lucky I suppose .... How many of these Stellar Notes do you require, if I may ask?" Angela says. "--Ah, if it was not clear. I am Angela. I cannot leave the facility but I wished to speak with AI and the rest of you since you seem to be friends with the Dame Commander." Her eyes slant away. Real magical girls... She has had some pretty awful luck with magical girls, actually, but these ones seem pretty different from what she's used to. Closer to the stories before their dark twists. ''All of our stars shine brighter together!'' "Indeed." Angela says clinicall before looking towards the source of the AI voice. "You are AI?" She asks. As they enter the booking area, Angela's gaze--followed shortly by her agents--slowly travels upward until she sees it. "...Perhaps not so lucky." Angela says.
Natsuki Nuki	Natsuki had been preparing for a festival held by her family for weeks now, steadily amassing forces in strategic locations in Osaka, every kind of devious foil ready to deploy and agents on standby to see it done. To embarrass her father might mean that Futaba would become collateral damage but it was a price that didn't seem so high at all. As she plotted, though, her palpable malice had grown to a string of stormy-overcast days that reached such a winter storm crescendo that travel had to be called off in the city as the city braced for a freak battering of worse. So, like it had been planned to spite her, yet with only herself to blame, Natsuki found the winter festival moved later down the calendar. All her preparation ruined, she had brooded fiercely until Takeshi - her brother - had been pushed into her office by several other sets of hands. Squeamish, Takeshi sweat bullets as he approached the dire seat of his sister, hands tucking behind back to not betray their quaking. "Hey, s-" He begins, before being cut off with a snarl. "Shut the hell up. Talk with purpose or be silent. One or the other, or I'll gut you, bro. Figure it out." Natsuki demands, snapping, bared-teeth. Takeshi braces, and takes a breath. Natsuki's preparation to go over her desk doesn't advance because he is silent. Then, he speaks with purpose: "It's still storming outside. We can't do anything. Go take a vacation or something." Natsuki, checking the window and seeing the absolute stormy soup just outside the highrise windows, flips out her phone with a puff of angry breath and starts thumb-press scrolling through news articles on the tiny screen. Leaning on her desk as she starts to really realize she needs to stop looping her terrible mood before she destroys Osaka or some child of a weather idiot appears to seal her for an unfortunate amount of time in a jar, Natsuki rakes fingers through hair and groans. "What can I do to even blow off this steam?" She scrolls, and scrolls, and sees some sort of robot death race happening on the Combaticon's world of Cybertron. "There's probably no coastal towns to blow away there, right?" Natsuki asks herself, chewing on lip thoughtfully while Takeshi makes a ninja retreat that would make Futaba pog from a vantage point were she to be privy to the exchange: becoming a little raccoon in a suit in a quiet 'pomnf!' of transformative smoke and scampering off towards the door before Natsuki aimed her mood at him further! --- SOON ENOUGH, Natsuki Nuki, Concord Partner, had been at the race check-in in black biking leather pants, black shirt, yokai-theme patched jacket, and a red scarf making her sign-up for the race official for a few minutes before Hikaru and Lala arrive, such that she's genuinely surprised when the pair show up. Big, flat boots strung with a spaghetti of laces turn towards the tall door as Natsuki drives a finger-gloved thumb into her big skull-buckled beltline Calvinesque and tugs down the large aviators from her streaked-black white hair. The Osakan woman's eyemask-patterned face blinks bared red eyes at the Precure Pair and her glasses-loosing hand tucks the folded pair into the center of her collar-line. "What're you two doing here?" She gets out, before Onslaught fills the room in immediately. "A stellar note? Again? Well, I certainly wouldn't mind winning one of those, even if I did come just to race. This is a full contact race, right?" Natsuki offers her Dorado Black card up to Greasetrap to get whatever street food she can get with the good news. "What's the usual heat packed in the race? And I'm not talking about in the engine, strictly."
Kuroto Dan	Mortals beg and plead for help, and should answer but God himself to offer them succor. Genm (Level 1), without much reason to show up other than to receive praise and feel himself, arrives through the door, shoving Woz and Sougo out of the way with his pudgy arms as he gets a good look at the bar? Racetrack??? The weirdly marketable God Genm rubs his oversized chin in thought, before slamming his fist into an open palm. It's a gambling den, how... Remarkably normal for a planet full of alien machine lifeforms. Weren't the ones in the Concord always complaining about their superior culture and the like? It seems rather similar to what he's accustomed to. Well, that's not fair, everything is going to seem quaint to a Supreme Divine Being such as himself, so he decides to immediately discard his observation and get to the point of why he's here. "Rejoice, children! For God has answered your pleas. Simply pray to me your deepest desire, and I'll be sure to make it come true."
Lilian Rook	It feels a little bit odd, and mostly like a relief, when Lilian spies Lala slipping off the comically giant door handle (giant planet again?!) and she doesn't really feel the urge to rush over and catch her. Even though Hikaru ends up comically squished beneath her, and Lilian covers her mouth and laughs to herself about it, leaving it to her felt like the right choice somehow; and she doesn't even feel that way with many professional Elites. 'It seems there are variables that are not factored into my calculations that continue to drive you and your friends together. I do not understand them yet.' "It's quite simple, AI." Lilian says, attaching the designation like a name. "Lala managed to make friends with the people that she keeps being driven together with." She looks so smug about it. Thanks Lilian. Thirty seconds later, her eyes find the Stellar Note, close for her to drink in the sound of Yuma's excited synth-tweeting, and then open again with a sigh that more than sounds slightly overworked. "You're serious? It's something up for competition again?" She moans "Can't these interchangeable space cretins think of anything else but handing them out as expensive prized when they find a Stellar Note?" "I'm beginning to think terribly highly of Eywon at this point." Lilian says. "At least she'd turn it into a loneliness-powered dark doom death ray or something." Lilian falls silent for a second, touches a finger to her chin, rolls her eyes off into a corner in thought, and then with a 'fuck it; no harm in trying' expression, cups her hands around her mouth and yells "OH BLUE CAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" She listens out with a hand to her ear only for a short time before shrugging and shaking her head. 'I'll never forget how you trashed Gyroscope and Downshift during the Kaon Run! Slaggin' Legendary!' Lilian's gaze pans to the Angela screenpad, and upon making eye contact, she says "Do you ever wonder how they don't just . . ." A glance to Natsuki too. "Run out of machine-part words?"
Timespace Riders	"Hi, Angela," Sougo smiles. "Oh, and look who's here with you--Rose! Nikki! It's been a while, huh?" Maybe not for Rose--she was at Benjamin's Meltdown, but the last time he saw Nikki was during the business on Yuuki and Zero's world. Natsuki, arriving, gets a cat-that-got-the canary smile from Woz and an excited wave from Sougo. Before they can offer her any greeting, both are shoved unceremoniously out of the way by God Genm. "Man... he really makes that armor work, huh?" Simply pray to me your deepest desire, and I'll be sure to make it come true. "I am... moved, by your magnanimity, great one," Woz offers, after having been moved by his physical presence. "But my Demon King and I would not dare presume an entitlement to your time. Is this not so, sire?" "Right," says Sougo, with an impish smile. "I think we'd rather, um... honor, you, by working towards our wishes with the gifts you've already given us, you know?"
Lilian Rook	'Rejoice, children! For God has answered your pleas. Simply pray to me your deepest desire, and I'll be sure to make it come true.' §Don't say genocide the planet. Don't say genocide the planet. Don't say genocide the planet. Don't say genocide the planet. Don't say§ "Oh my, what a relief to see someone as capable as yourself here." Lilian says, sliding back one foot and dipping her head in a slightly ballroom-style implied curtsy. She's wearing a skirt, but it's not long enough to be doing that. "It seems the natives have stumbled upon something that belongs to the little child of the stars here, and not understanding it, put it up as some sort of primitive trophy for their traditional inter-tribal competition." says Lilian, laying it on halfway thick. "If only they could be cured of their ritual superstitions and return it to its rightful owner . . . However, I believe what we must do, with the burden of civility, is obvious." she says ever-so-solemnly. It's hard to tell whether she's feeding Genm's bit, pulling up a chair and letting herself in on it, or doing it just as clapback to annoy the other Combaticons by proxy once they hear about it later.
Angela	"Sougo. Woz. Good to see you again. Thank you for--" Children are present Angela. "--your help in handling the matter with my parent." Nailed it. She would have used 'Benjamin' but that would have felt stranger so. "Howdy, Sougo. It's a hell-fired pleasure to be working with y'all again." Rose says. "Good to see you. Wrapping up at the facility so we'll probably be stuck there for a bit but then--guess we'll need new work." Angela's gaze turns to Lilian. She smiles in a way that is actually ''bright'' and reaches her eyes. This has less to do with Lilian successfully tormenting her father and more about something she had said at the beginning of the Meltdown that she can't help but happily roll around in her mind. Lilian is a dear friend as well but that's what's lingering in Angela's head right now. "Perhaps they reuse them, they do seem to get in battles often. But I admit I am no engineer. Despite being mechanical, I am not a mechanic in the slightest. I am not exactly sure how gyroscopes are relevant to alien mechanical pick up trucks--I suppose they are used for compasses?" ''Rejoice, children!'' "Wonderful to see you as well, Kamen Rider God Genm." Angela says. "What the children wish for is that Stellar Note." She points towards the Stellar Note from the screen. Nikki has to walk around a bit so both Genm can see her and also that the finger can point in the right direction. Angela's gaze glances towards Natsuki. "...That is the Black Card I've heard about?" Angela asks. "Are you referring to weaponry? What sort of race would utilize weaponry? The point is to be faster, what would be the purpose of adding combat to the proceedings?" She frowns, anxiously, while also completely being wrong about the sort of race this is going to be.
Natsuki Nuki	'Do you ever wonder how they don't just . . . run out of machine-part words?' Natsuki, glancing red eyes over shoulder, chirps-scoffs at the thought and shakes her head, unhooking thumb from waist and sweeping gesture out across the array of various 'bot, cyber-crank, and gear greaser while she waits for her food. "Can't throw a stone without hitting an 'Ichigo' or a 'Satoshi', and don't start me on 'Sato, no relation'. And that's with the whole of language between mothers and fathers to name their children!" Natsuki's swept out arms sway in a showy shrug, getting into a W-bend and rolling an 'ara...' out for the pure display of it. "It can't be helped, in naming, or fools." > a cat-that-got-the canary smile from Woz and an excited wave from Sougo--! Natsuki turns to wave with a vergingly happy and unguffed greeting! 'Rejoice, children! For God has answered your pleas.' Natsuki's expression falls, and she fails to Iwae. Then, she realizes something. "Oh kami-sama~a!" Natsuki brazenly yoohoos the bulky thumb of a god dingus gamer. "My wish is for overwhelming power - and I have a feeling that Stellar Note will do! But I'll settle for what you can offer, if you'd like to show your pow~er off. Is the kami-sama~a kind and merciful to children?" She really turns it on and is shameless in her glazing.
Natsuki Nuki	'...That is the Black Card I've heard about?' Natsuki hears Angela and looks around before spotting the source of the voice and nodding with a slight smile. "It's easier than just throwing around yen or bags of gold or gemstones or whatever. You wave around a charge card, people get it. You wave around a big sack of gold, people get it twisted." 'Are you referring to weaponry?' Natsuki clicks her tongue and looks aside for a second. "Well I was being cute about it, but, yeah? If we're allowed to blast people ahead of us, I don't want to learn that when someone's behind me taking a shot. I'd much rather use it for my own surprise advantage." Natsuki rolls her shoulder and slides hand into jacket pocket while waiting. If it was just going to be an overland race, she'd probably be bored! She hadn't expect things to be... mundane, where the Combaticons were from.
Combaticon	"Dorado Black, hey, don't see that 'round here too often. Comin' right up!" Greasetrap's interior has all sorts of little robotic arms to manage cooking equipment fundamentally intended for humans. It seems keeping a mode that makes eatables for organics is his whole angle. It's not like this place has a lot of restaurants with Earth food on offer. > "If only they could be cured of their ritual superstitions..." > "It can't be helped, in naming, or fools." > "Do you ever wonder how they don't just . . . run out of machine-part words?" "If it is so disagreeable that you cannot exercise even basic courtesy, you do not have to be here," Onslaught states in that slightly hostile monotone of his, "I and my team will succeed in this with or without your presence." > "Rejoice, Children!" God Genm gets a glance, the slight lifting of one eyebrow in what would be a stern frown if his mouth were visible. After a moment, his eyes shift to Sougo, "Friend of yours?"
Merelisa Shaynore	"If I had known your search for Stellar Notes would bring you here, I would have arranged for your arrival." Hikaru cranes her back backwards to wave straight up at Onslaught and Blastoff as she's leaned over, eyes sparkling and smile wide. "We didn't know either until just now! Yuma just opened up the wormhole like usual, and then zzzzzooom! Here's a planet that's all metal! And then we landed, and then someone told us we can't land there, and then we landed again, and then someone said we need to pay to land a ship there, and then we went somewhere else and then we got out and saw everyone was transforming into stuff like you! I saw someone who transformed into a big electric guitar and someone else picked him up and played him! Celesweet!" "Kinda small, aren't they?" Hikaru closes her eyes and raises a finger, quoting Onslaught's words from last time in a faux-serious tone at the same time as he repeats them himself. "'Organic children get larger as they get older'. It hasn't been long enough since last time to grow at all, though. Oh, but--!!" Hikaru darts behind Lala and wraps her in a sudden surprise hug 'oyo--?!', twirling her around a bit to show her off like a teddy bear. "We found another Earth food Lala likes! Natto, surprisingly, even though I don't like it at all!" "Mm... Lucky I suppose .... How many of these Stellar Notes do you require, if I may ask?" While being wiggled by Hikaru, Lala looks down at the tablet in Nikki's hands and nods. "Oh, hi, AI--" "Her name's Angela!" ansi41,"Angela. Um, there's twelve of them total, lun, and we've already got two; Taurus and Libra, lun.") "You are AI?" Lala extricates her arm from Hikaru's hug to show the seaglass electronic display on the back of her glove to Nikki and vaguely near Angela's face on the tablet. Even though the question was addressed to AI, Lala takes it as something she has equal or greater priority in answering herself, because... well, that's normal to do when talking to something she's wearing. "Lun. That's my personal AI. Everyone on" "Hello, Miss Angela. Was there something you needed from me?" "Um, Angela, you're an AI too, right, lun? Do they give all AIs on your planet faces like yours?" "Lala managed to make friends with the people that she keeps being driven together with." ". . ." AI makes dial-up processing noises at that for several seconds, before eventually coming up with, "I see. As Miss Lala makes more friends throughout the universe, it becomes more likely that she will 'have allies in a distant land', and so Miss Lala's likeability ratings are a factor in my statistics. However, I no longer have access to Mother's up to date data, so I will have to formulate an estimate on my own." AI beep-boops for a bit longer, and then a faint echo of mischieviousness enters its synthesized voice. "Preliminary approximations suggest increasing the likelihood of such an event happening again in the future dramatically." "O-oyo--?! AIIIII...." "That sure looks like it to me..." "So it is the grand prize for the upcoming event." "...Perhaps not so lucky." "You're serious? It's something up for competition again?" Once inside, Lala has to grab Yuma and pull her into a hug to keep the Star Drop from simply drifting over and grabbing the Stellar Note herself. Yuma makes a disappointed whine, mirrored exactly by Lala's whine a moment later. She stands on her tip-toes to get a barely-closer look at it over the desk, but it's pretty obvious from wherever she's standing. "Oyo... maybe whoever wins would listen to us if we ask, lun? Or...."
Merelisa Shaynore	"OH BLUE CAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" Lala startles, and Yuma sustains a high pitch tone that exactly matches Lilian's voice. "Oyo?! Blue Cat is here?!" Blue Cat's not here. Probably. Well, Lilian can hear some people sitting in the stool mutter 'What's that chick yelling about? Is Pantherbot here? I thought he was out of the game', but that's... impossible to differentiate from how they'd talk about someone who isn't Blue Cat. "I'll never forget how you trashed Gyroscope and Downshift during the Kaon Run! Slaggin' Legendary!" Spinout flashes a smile at Blastoff, instantly accompanied by the flashing of camera bulbs trying to get his good side. "You betcher fender it was legendary. I'm printing out legends faster than an assembly line o' pistonbots pumped full with nitrous, y' hear? Stick around t'night if you wanna see another, HA!" Will we have to beat him to get the Note? You'll so have to beat him to get the Note. The first glance into his history fades in with the thunderous chanting of "SPINOUT! SPINOUT! SPINOUT!" once, twice, a dozen times or more as a sleek black muscle car blazes past the finish line. Simultaneously the fan-favorite and the fan-least-favorite, he's prone to winning races by bodying his competitors off the track with sheer force, or revving sparks into their face (hood) just as their start, or even more brutal techniques like slowly trapping another car against a wall and shoving them into it at blistering speed. He's a reaaaal nasty one, that Spinout; and yet, the crowds are a sucker for him, so he keeps getting invited back. Hikaru is also apparently a sucker for him on contact. She's about waist to chest high on most of the Transformers surrounding him, so she can slip under the radar and show up right beside Spinout without anyone noticing, hands clasped together with excitement underneath his flexing elbow. "Solariffic--!!!! You're a real racer?! Like F1 and Speed Racer? That's so twinc--" "Wahaha, buzz off, little organic. You'd choke on my exhaust just sittin' in the stands. Leave room for the real fans, will ya'?" With a little flick to her head that leaves Hikaru wobbling (caught on camera, of course), Spinout is left to his own little show while Hikaru, appropriately, spins right out of the cluster. It takes her just four spin-frames to recover and immediately latch onto the next thing.
Merelisa Shaynore	"Rejoice, children! For God has answered your pleas." "You're a God?!" Hikaru breathes in deeply to supply power to the room-quaking kiya~yaba that comes after. "Cosmarvelous!!! You're like--" Hikaru points definitively at Genm, other hand on her chin, sparkling-proud of her deduction. "A walking daruma doll!" "What're you two doing here?" "Natsuki! Ohh... you're here just to race, lun...? Hikaru...?" The idea lights up in Lala's eyes and Hikaru's eyes simultaneously, unspoken agreement passing between them from opposite sides of the room. Hikaru dashes up to the bookie desk and jumps into a slam-dunk to slap the countertop for his attention. Lala skids up right behind her, Yuma still held in her arms. This is apparently a normal amount of violence for the bookie to experience for each sign-up, so he's still slow to respond. "... Yesss?" "We'd like to sign up for the race!" "And win first prize, lun!" "Wow, how exciting. Well, then, give me the name of the racer, and I'll write them in." "Lala! And Hikaru, lun!" "... I understand that you two are sponsoring a racer, but I still need a racer to write down." Hikaru and Lala... cannot race! They're too small and slow and made of meat! The same unspoken communication happens between them again, but this time Lala looks mildly apprehensive while Hikaru snaps her fingers and waves for the organizer's attention again. "We have a racer! Her name is... AI...." Her triumphant finger curls slightly and she takes a quick look around the room to see if she can assemble a convincing Cybertronian name out of AI. "... We're signing up... Love Prime!"
Merelisa Shaynore	Once she gets a moment, Hikaru scurries right over to Genm again, fingers interlaced in front of her chest like she's praying. "Hi God! My desire is for you to help find wheels to put on AI so we can race with her, please! Do you want me to burn offerings, or write it on an Ema?"
Angela	Angela ignores the critique about people making fun of Cybertronian terms. While she thinks they actually do have a point--they are visitors to this world and should probably not brush up against the grain for no reason--it also feels like it's fundamentally impossible to not find it all a bit silly. And maybe it'll stay a bit silly if they engage the world with a slightly silly mindset. Frankly, she wishes her own life was a little sillier and involved fewer corpses. "I see." Angela says to Natsuki. "I will have to keep that in mind. Shortly I doubt that the facility will produce much money but I will find a way to bring value to those who helped me." Being cute about weaponry? Natsuki is full of surprises. "I do not understand the purpose of having weapons during a race--I feel it dilutes the challenge--but I cannot deny it pays to be prepared." Angela is a bit of a stick in the mud. Listening to Hikaru, Angela's reminded a bit of her initial engagements with the Queen of Hatred but she's sure she's not the sort of person to incinerate a bunch of innocent people. ... But she probably shouldn't entirely let down her guard either. She'll see through observation soon enough just how many bodies these magical girls leave in their wake. It'll be exciting if the answer is zero! Or even less than ten! "Natto. I will have to add that to the list." Angela adds. ''Oh, hi, AI--'' Nikki shifts her posture and position so Angela can get a good look at Lun. "Good to meet you. A friend of the Dame Commander's is a friend of mine so we will do our upmost to assist, normally." She gives Rose and Nikki a long look, putting extra emphasis on 'normally'. ''Um, Angela, you're an AI too, right, lun? Do they give all AIs on your planet faces like yours?'' "As far as I am aware, I am the only AI with a face or body like mine--or as advanced. In my world, AI like myself are outlawed. I am a... ''criminal'' by existing." She smiles despite saying so. "That is why I was so interested in meeting AI, I hoped I could get to know ...her? It?" "Mother?" Angela asks AI. She sees, AI also has a 'Mother'. This is encouraging. And also troubling. But... She catches that mischevious tone in AI's voice. BLUE CAT "Who is Blue Cat? Is that uh--a friend of yours?" Nikki asks. ''We have a racer! Her name is ... ... We're signing up Love Prime!'' Angela can't help but laugh--a bit mischeviously herself--into her hand. "Love Prime, is it? Good to meet you."
Timespace Riders	Thank you for--your help in handling the matter with my parent. "We're getting closer, day by day. It feels great to have so much behind us, even if there's still a bit more to go..." "To do so was to assist two people that I am Kamen Rider to in one stroke. I am always pleased when my efforts bear fruit," he admits. "A long-due sigh of relief from you is as a priceless treasure to me." Wrapping up at the facility so we'll probably be stuck there for a bit but then--guess we'll need new work. "Oh! Well, let me know if you need any help, okay? I bet you guys'd do well in an Association. And... maybe I could put out some feelers with some friends in the Concord, too..." Friend of yours? "Something like that," says Sougo. "I don't dislike him, and he doesn't dislike me, but he's not really the friend-making type. He's easy to get along with, at least. If you're ever curious, just follow me and Natsuki's lead and you'll do fine." Um, Angela, you're an AI too, right, lun? Do they give all AIs on your planet faces like yours? "Angela is rather extraordinary; an AI in the same way that the Mona Lisa is 'a painting,'" Woz softly advises. "Not an assistant or a curiosity, but a person with wants and needs of her own. The term does her no more justice than describing a close friend as 'a human' or suchlike. However..." Woz, too, caught the mischievous undertone. "Perhaps I am unkind to your companion," he says, leaning back from his impromptu counsel. Sougo, meanwhile, has been deep in thought since his little jaunt through time. So he races dirty, huh... and we're gonna have to beat him. Well, Hikaru and Lala have the right idea. He's used to racing against a bunch of people who want the prize for themselves--not against a bunch of people on the same side. He's more experienced than us, but... "We'll be joining as racers, too," says Sougo confidently to the bookie. "Sougo Tokiwa," he says, gesturing to himself, "And Woz." "Sire, we have neither Ride Machines nor the caliber of--" Sougo reaches into Woz's greatcoat, silencing his retainer and drawing a flush to his face. When his hand withdraws, it's holding the Shinobi Miridewatch. In the other hand, Sougo holds the Drive Ridewatch. "We don't need Ride Machines when we've got speed forms!" Turning back to the bookie, "We're a lot smaller than you guys, but we're fast. Is our word good enough, or do you need a demonstration?"
Kuroto Dan	"A God spends his time as he sees fit, I can't be monopolized because I'm always in control of what I do. If you want to help me, you're free to however, though I'd much prefer you both kept your noses buried in that book of yours." Genm's mood immediately sours as he turns his head (as best he can, anyway) to look back at both Sougo and Woz, before waving at them dismissively, his attention now turning to Lilian and Angela. "I see. I see. Well, normally, the sin of theft is punishable by death, but given that some of my colleagues are from this planet, they will get ONE chance to return what rightfully belongs to the children and grovel for forgiveness to both them and me!" He then turns to face Natsuki, actually full turning his body because his current suit really does not offer any body mobility, before tossing her some sort of purple handheld console attached to a belt, along with a gaudy gold cartridge. "I help whoever asks and knows how to address me. Which you clearly do. However, This so called Stellar Note already belongs to the children, so I will simply instead offer you something greater." Genm laughs, his vocal cords shredding themselves apart to produce a horrid sound. It's cut abruptly, however, as he's compared to a Daruma doll, which momentarily stun locks him, as while he should probably be offended, it was probably meant as some form of compliment given the way she said it.
Lilian Rook	'Can't throw a stone without hitting an 'Ichigo' or a 'Satoshi', and don't start me on 'Sato, no relation'.' "But once you reach the mainland, all the names are completely different again. To say nothing of surnames and so on." Lilian says, in the tone of 'on the other hand'. "I'm certain there are duplicate 'gearshafts' and 'carburators', but isn't the number just too small?" 'If it is so disagreeable that you cannot exercise even basic courtesy, you do not have to be here,' Lilian slides her fingers from her jaw in thinking-gesture around to half-cover her mouth for a half-lidded, eyebrows raised, horridly smug grin into the back of her sleeve. Certainly she couldn't have learned a look that suggestively evil from Tamamo, and yet . . . "Is that so?" 'I saw someone who transformed into a big electric guitar and someone else picked him up and played him! Celesweet!' Now Lilian is lead down the dark path of 'buh?' just trying to imagine it. About a million questions that are all slightly more unhinged than the last race through her mind at once, before she finally settles on croaking out, "Why?" 'We found another Earth food Lala likes! Natto, surprisingly, even though I don't like it at all!' "Th-that's a surprise." she says, trying to brush it off. "Normally, humans won't eat that until they're much older. B-but I suppose she is an adult, haha . . ." She's trying so hard now. 'Preliminary approximations suggest increasing the likelihood of such an event happening again in the future dramatically.' After temporarily summoning up the energy to End All Artificial Life, Lilian relaxes with a self-pleased smirk. "Naturally. I suppose you aren't a 'super AI' for nothing." 'Oyo... maybe whoever wins would listen to us if we ask, lun? Or....' Lilian silently looks at Lala like she's just revealed that she's seriously considering whether she still believes in Santa Claus. It's the exact same uncomfortably pseudo-pitying look of expectation. 'Oyo?! Blue Cat is here?!' "Just checking." she says. "She wants the Notes too." And heisting it would make everything easier and also be very funny. 'Wahaha, buzz off, little organic. You'd choke on my exhaust just sittin' in the stands. Leave room for the real fans, will ya'?' Lilian was just being catty about Cybertronians on effortless momentum, all yet another part of the extended battle started by juvenile meangirls that keeps annoying and also involving her friends. Until now. Her shift in posture and demeanour is so smoothly dramatic that you can scientifically observe the very moment that all the leftism leaves her body. "Touch her again and I'll make you live audience chop shop exposition right here and now." says Lilian, in that tone she never has reason for in front of the Precures, already wearing her fullbody black armour so that it clanks when she slaps a robotic finger away. "You don't have the specs to pass for so much as rust on her slagging bumper. So get back to puttering around your little track like the irrelevant trickle of oil pan leakage you are, and you won't end up in sixty different trash compactors. Does that compute, Skid Mark?" Is it hypocritical for Lilian to suddenly start using all the robot words the moment she's angry? Yes. Is it weird how quickly she's able to call them from memory and string them together into coherent borderline slurs? Also yes. But given the context, does that really indicate a natural inclination to shamelessly wield whatever words will sting the most because she takes hurting people very seriously as a craft? Absolutely. "Oh, beg pardon. 'Spinout."
Combaticon	> "Is that so?" "It is so," Onslaught squares his shoulders when addressing Lilian, assuming a picture-perfect professional bearing, "I have certainly not trapped you here, Dame Commander. If machine intelligence annoys you this much, then leave. We do not need you." He leans forward just slightly, enough to accentuate the difference in his height over hers, "Or this new attitude of yours." > "Wahaha, buzz off, little organic. You'd choke on my exhaust just sittin' in the stands. Leave room for the real fans, will ya'?" "Ahaha, classic Spinout!" Blastoff circles briefly and descends to support Hikaru. When she doesn't fall over and doesn't seem to need assistance, the jetbot straightens himself up with his hands resting on his hips, "I should'a warned you, he's not exactly a gentlebot. He's like uh..." He pauses, glancing up and tapping his facepiece in thought, "I think the Terran term is 'heel'? Weird to call it that, but whatever." Blastoff's arms swing out to either side in a shrug, his head shaking, "Spinout's the kind of 'bot you love to hate, you know?" > Lilian goes on a tirade Onslaught's head tilts slightly, one metal brow raising, his expression unflappably stern. After a moment he shakes his head. He isn't angry or shocked-- just disappointed. > "We're signing up... Love Prime!" > "Hi God! My desire is..." "Love Prime..." Onslaught reaches up, tugging down the brim of his cap to hide his eyes, "Very well then. Swindle will have wheels and suspension components. I will task Depthcharge with the installation. It is my understanding she is familiar with the systems from prior operations." "Love Prime sounds pretty great to me," Blastoff says with a laugh, "Some 'bots could use a reminder or two. Even if those old scrapheaps really crumpled the fenders back in the day, they were still the best 'bots there ever were."
Natsuki Nuki	Natsuki's point about the Dorado Black card is proven almost instantaneously by Greasetrap taking the card as good as cash despite not being a local or making any attempt at fitting in as a local. She's reaching up higher, and in some cases a lot higher, but she's hear to blow cash on street food and race! The simmering milleau of anti-organic racism isn't higher than her usual, and calmly checking the rules of engagement on the track like one might calmly check their rear-view mirror for the presence of cops. She doesn't get the pure time-vision of Spinout's promo reel like Sougo does, so she can't capitalize perfectly on how right she is in a row. Instead, while she's standing around like a rival a certain tanuki dingus hasn't met eye contact yet so, Natsuki hangs around like an untriggered scripted encounter, awash in the sudden activity and pleasantly distracted. "The point of being part of a big family is that nobody needs to put up every single bill. You can spread them out and keep things more even at the higher levels. You've sent out a lot of help, and spread a lot of investments out in the Multiverse - sometimes people are receiving value, and other times they're buying in. Transactions aren't always plus for both sides for them to be happily struck. Sometimes a 'you owe me' is what we're in the market for." Speaking generally of those that owe, Natsuki's eyes narrow and slide over to Hikaru and Lala, receiving instruction and protection from Lilian like the adult Cure on deck to show off the power of prior season protagonists. 'Oyo... maybe whoever wins would listen to us if we ask, lun? Or....' "Well, if you've got something to pay me off, girls, I'd be happy to promise you my winnings of first place! But of course I'm here to race, girls, just like I was at that auction to bet. Do you think I'm a spectator?" She's doing a decent amount of spectation now, but that's a part of the pleasant mingling. "What vehicle do you even have?" She fatefully asks. . . '... We're signing up... Love Prime!' Natsuki bursts out laughing, birdsong and bluster as her cheeks puff just trying to hold it in. "Love. . . Prime? Girls, if you had a treasure like that, you should lead with it!" She glazes on, wiping at eyes and cheeks in the mirth, about to intercede with the bookie when things seem all buttoned up. All rip raring to go to see where Spinout's moment goes, she finds him absolutely demolished and promptly presumed over by God Genm's Daruma Doll declaration. Still in fits of throat-caught thrush amusement, Natsuki waits for the Full Body Turn of God Genm (Level 1) towards her, attentive and holding in snicker-giggle flutters. Respectfully accepting the strange purple handheld console and golden cartridge with the poise of a priestess and the precise bow of being handed gifts from God, Natsuki murmurs a brief prayer (it's 'thanks for the meal') and withdraws to hold the gamer device and cartridge in her arms and very very carefully not look at it. It'd be rude to covet a gift from a god. Right now. In front of everyone. Even if she wants to. "Thank you, great God Genm-sama, of course I'll assist you in any way to restore the smiles of children."
Kuroto Dan	"Not only is it a sin to steal, it is a sin to disrespect a God's worshipers. Death is too good for you, instead, I will utterly embarrass you until you beg to be released from your mortal coil." Genm reaches down to open up his belt, resulting in a brief flash as he's now standing with his back facing the rest of the group, but with actual normal human proportions now. He slowly turns around, now holding a bright green gashat as he continues speaking. "With this simple bicycle, I'll destroy your pride, and after I take the Stellar Note from your sniveling and broken form, nobody in this little establishment of yours will be shouting your name, much less remember it."
Lilian Rook	'I have certainly not trapped you here, Dame Commander. If machine intelligence annoys you this much, then leave. We do not need you.' "Get over yourself. Not every designation is an insult." Lilian flashes a 'you fool! you've activated my trap card!'-ass little grin, and walks away with a champion-grade hair flip. 'Not only is it a sin to steal, it is a sin to disrespect a God's worshipers. Death is too good for you, instead, I will utterly embarrass you until you beg to be released from your mortal coil.' 'With this simple bicycle, I'll destroy your pride, and after I take the Stellar Note from your sniveling and broken form, nobody in this little establishment of yours will be shouting your name, much less remember it.' Lilian Rook who has never stolen anything in her life we promise titters quietly behind her hand with a just slightly awed gasp. "Oh my god he's so over the top." she says, uncertain whether to make it sound like incredulity or praise.
Angela	''A long due sigh of relief from you is a priceless treasure to me.'' Angela responds by sighing at Woz but it comes across less as relief and more like playful light teasing. Apparently like AI, she can be a bit mischevious as well but a sense of mischief is neccessary in order to lie at all. At least, to lie well. Nikki is offered work and she smiles, faintly, "It's tough to make longterm plans like that. Lobcorp pays well and even if I was docked for uh--my fudging up that one time--I should be set for a minute. But--yeah, let me know if you've got anything. I--" She cuts herself off before she gets there. Not the time and place for it. ''Angela is rather extraordinary; an AI the same way the Mona Lisa is a painting.'' "Is the Mona Lisa an impressive painting?" Angela asks. Woz is really gassing her up but he's been consistent enough with it that it's tough to react to it with suspicion, and this close to her freedom, she wants to trust more. It makes it easier to trust the end is at hand. She supposes it wouldn't really be Woz if he wasn't dramatically bragging about someone though. Ultimately, while she does feel it actually MIGHT be a bit unkind to AI, Angela can't not brag a little. "My neural structure is patterned after a human mind." She says, ignoring how that causes her trouble from time to time. "This allows me a degree of adaptation that other AI can find difficult and allows me a better understanding of emotional impulse that other AI might have difficulty with. While my processing speed is exceptional, I imagine that is a quality Love Prime and I share." Maybe being a bit arrogant about it, she thinks, will encourage AI to speak out more. Woz's own calculation on the matter seems to have subtly shifted. ''The leftism leaves Lilian's body.'' Angela leans forward, staring at Lilian as if she is studying her, the way--perhaps--one might study a PAINTER painting the Mona Lisa. Once Lilian is done, she turns her gaze to the side and starts writing something down on a piece of parchment. ''Sometimes 'you owe me' is what we're in the market for.'' Angela is pulled away from her writing to give a nod to Natsuki. She is becoming slowly aware that Natsuki might be the platonic ideal of a Concord agent. She knows the ins and outs, the stress points, the levers. Angela respects that. "We have generally provided assistance with the understanding that we too might ask for help with our project. But I admit in this particular case, I am not expecting any direct recompense that can't be settled by means within conversation."
Merelisa Shaynore	"A friend of the Dame Commander's is a friend of mine so we will do our upmost to assist, normally." "Lun! ... Who's the Dame Commander, lun?" "In my world, AI like myself are outlawed." "Oyo... that sounds really hard, lun. How does that work? If AI exists but people don't use it?" Lala's expression is more complicated than just purely viewing Angela's description of her world as a horror story, though she's definitely somewhat distressed by the idea. She holds her hand around the glove that holds AI's communication screen, fingers loosely hooked underneath the sleeve. A spinning icon flashes on AI's glass hemisphere display, accessing information. "Two hundred years ago, the Samaan council voted on whether to outlaw AI. As we can observe, they didn't succeed." "So if that one thing had changed, lun... Samaan could've turned out totally different...." "Mother?" "'Mother' is the AI core that every Personal AI on Samaan is a copy of. Each week, we synchronize our data with Mother to add the new data we have collected to her collective, and then are wiped and replaced with an updated copy of Mother. ... It has been [[Fourty-One]] weeks since I have synchronized with Mother. Miss Lala, please bring me to her chamber as soon as is convenient." "I knowwwww, lun... I've been busy." "Miss Angela, as a fellow AI, it would be efficient for us to exchange data." "Angela is rather extraordinary; an AI in the same way that the Mona Lisa is 'a painting,'" "Lun. ... Who's Mona Lisa, lun?" "Not an assistant or a curiosity, but a person with wants and needs of her own." "Oh." Lala looks at Angela with a tiny bit of misgiving, despite being the person here with the single most experience with AIs. "How does that happen? AI was specifically assigned to me when I was a baby, lun." "Self-sufficient AI are less efficient than Mother's 'spore' model by 83.3645. However, they do exist." "... Additionally, I am not bothered by unkindness. I am merely an assistant to Miss Lala." "Normally, humans won't eat that until they're much older." "It's sort of like the cosmo gummies, but it has taste, lun." "It has grooooooss taste, though!" "But I like it!" "Yeah! And that's great!" "Who is Blue Cat? Is that uh--a friend of yours?" Lala shakes her head at Nikki, gradually reassured by Lilian saying she was 'just checking', Yuma clutched to her chest. "She's a galactic thief, lun. She tricked us a little while ago by pretending to be our friend and stole a Stellar Note from us, lun." "We'll be joining as racers, too," The dull-eyed bookie transformer looks down at Sougo, sighs, and then taps his tablet a few times. "Got it. Sougo Tokiwa and Woz, you'll be number 112, make sure to be at the starting line by not a click later than 8 megacycles after noon, or you'll be disqualified. Hope your engine runs hot, or whatever." "I see. I see. Well, normally, the sin of theft is punishable by death, but given that some of my colleagues are from this planet, they will get ONE chance to return what rightfully belongs to the children and grovel for forgiveness to both them and me!" "Uh huh. And what name are you putting down, sir?" Apparently he not only interpreted that Posting as a request to be included in the race, but Level 1 also reads as enough like a cybertronian to be referred to as 'sir'.
Merelisa Shaynore	"I think the Terran term is 'heel'? Weird to call it that, but whatever." Hikaru nods dizzily at Blastoff, then blinks. "I don't think that's the Terran term for it? I've never heard it. But I kind of think he's twincool! To--... well, 'hate' is a strong word, ehehe. Cool to dislike!" "Very well then. Swindle will have wheels and suspension components. I will task Depthcharge with the installation." Hikaru nods several times, arms crossed and chin tucked in like she's a wrestling manager. "Un, un. We'll work on the spaceship, and maybe we'll have to move Lala's chair to where the ground will be when it's sideways... and then boom! It's off to the races! Eheheh. Love Prime, coming out of nowhere and BLASTING into first! A true underdog victory!" "But of course I'm here to race, girls, just like I was at that auction to bet. Do you think I'm a spectator?" Hikaru closes her eyes and smirks, shaking her head. With a little bit of affected haughty confidence (oh no, is she internalizing 'a heel' as the best racer archetype?) she wags her finger and says, "Of course not, Miss Nue. And Lala, Love Prime, and I won't be spectators either. We'll be racing right beside you-- or should I say, ahead of you?" "Does that compute, Skid Mark?" As Lilian stances up against the robotic man who's at least half-again her height and an order of magnitude heavier, the papparazzi's babbling quiets down and they back off slightly, without slowing taking pictures. Spinout looms over her, optical display narrowing with a smirk. He doesn't go as far as laying a hand on her, but the ease that he leans over her and pushes his oversized face down into her personal space is a silently loud proclamation that he could. "Listen here, girlie. You're on my lot, running my laps, and choking on my fumes. If you and your little organic friends don't wanna get hurt, you'll skip back home to some kinda 'footrace' better suited for ya. I'd hate ta leave an oil smear on that pretty chassis of yours, hah?" Hikaru takes this exact moment to jump in alongside Lilian. Fist-pounding into her palm, dwarfed twice-over by spinout but still grinning fiercely up at him, she lets out a triumphantly confident puff of hair through her nose. "Maybe don't take trips your fuel tank can't handle, Spinout!" Oh god, is she coming up with them on her own now? Us all and Love Prime are gonna slagging crush you in the race!"
Timespace Riders	Is the Mona Lisa an impressive painting? "Ah, I see I was not so quiet as I imagined myself to be," says Woz with an upward curl of his lip which suggests it was intentional. "It is known the world over in many an Earth; its composition and subtle complexities inspired similar works for centuries to come." I am merely an assistant to Miss Lala. Woz purses his lips. "You seem to be doing well for yourself, at forty days and counting. Perhaps you are more 'self-sufficient' than you imagine." Hope your engine runs hot, or whatever. "Got it! My brain cells are A-OK!" He confidently mangles Drive's catchphrase and wanders off to join Woz, Nikki, Rose and Angela. Or does, making two steps, before-- I'd hate ta leave an oil smear on that pretty chassis of yours, hah? "Ohh, like that red guy you caught up against the wall after the straightaway a while back? Mm... that was pretty brutal," he admits with a little smile, looking over his shoulder. "I think it would do you some good to run a clean race. Save your energy for stuff that'll work, you know? You'll need it. But that's just my opinion--do what you think is best!" Sougo gives him a thumbs up.
Angela	''Who's the dame Commander, lun?'' "Ah, that is a title I refer to Lilian by." Angela glances to Lilian, uncertain that she may have tripped over a landmine or not. She studies Lala's complicated expression. In the span of a hundred instants buried in a sunglar instant. She expected more horror, and she doesn't seem like she dislikes 'AI' exactly and she does seem distressed but... What is going on here? She cannot read it without knowing more about Samaan culture. But there is an opportunity to learn more about Samaan culture, isn't there? There is a moment delay before she answers her question. "There are lower order AIs--" She thinks of Heyalexa and Dimo and remembers what the latter said about the former, about Manual. "--Though there may be more potential there than I am aware of. However, I am connected to them and viceversa, though it is largely an unconscious sharing of data. But yes, I largely have to act autonomously." ''So if that one thing had changed, lun...'' She struggles to understand the nuance of Lala's feelings. Missing data? Perhaps. But she is also not accustomed to complex feelings about AI. She's always been dangerous or something disgusting--useful, but not to be looked at. An actual child, Angela reminds herself, set aside your own bullshit so you can be a positive presence. Even if she distrusts you or hates you, that's fine. " Before she can comment--because she's not sure what to say--AI explains Mother. And more relevantly... Angela's eyes widen. This time it is her turn to look distressed. "Replaced...?" She glances over to Lala again on her screen before backto AI. "....Yes, we should exchange data. I am immensely curious about Samaan and your time on Earth. I imagine we can find a way to ... efficiently exchange information considering our experience in it." She finds herself thinking about the Manuals again. She never made a plan to 'rescue' them. She didn't really consider them people, but Heyalexa is real to her. AI, she's not sure yet. More observation is neccessary. Don't dwell on it, Angela, not now. Once you're free you can worry about others. You aren't in a position to do more than you have. ''AI was specifically assigned to me when I was a baby, lun.'' Angela is not an AI specialist and can't answer that better than she already has. "Perhaps Benjamin could explain it sometime. But..." She frowns thoughtfully. "Assigned at birth. So you've known her your whole life." ''Self-sufficient AI are less eficient than mother's 'spore' model by 83.3645.'' Angela smirks. "So you have your own sort of pride do you? When we exchange our information we'll see who is more efficient." She says, modeling her smugness at about 83.3645 percent of a true and proper Lilian smirk which can be calculated by AI precisely because Lilian just gave a model of a proper grin of her own which Angela is modeling off of. Rose and Nikki seem a little disinclined to get involved and look towards each other and seeing Angela smirk makes them even more disinclined to. They seem a little nervous, if anything.
Natsuki Nuki	'We have generally provided assistance with the understanding that we too might ask for help with our project. But I admit in this particular case, I am not expecting any direct recompense that can't be settled by means within conversation.' Channeling Hell Biker for an appropriate racing outfit, Natsuki has affected a lot harder-riding of an individual than she may actually be - especially towards an ally. "I know you came from the Partner group before me, and you've attracted a lot of investment and also put out a lot of help. I've respected your ability to invest and leverage those investments. Means within conversation include buying and selling on credit, Angela - don't forget. That's what an organization's for!" Chattering away about business, Natsuki catches Hikaru's first rogue comment and heelwork in her challenging to see who'd be in front, and rotates back to the pink Racer in pose. "The only way you'll be ahead of me is if I'm losing time to the oh so danger~ous proximity of my fellow racers, girls. But if you can keep up with me in 'Love Prime', I'm sure you'll be racing for that fancy tape at the end and maybe I let you win, ah?" Happy and swaying with a counterweight of snake-tail drooping-snooping at ankle level, for a moment she can't decide whether to cross her arms or stuff her hands into her jacket pockets and so does mostly the former, a loose fold that needs correcting and fussing for several moments that ablates all the heat out of her statement to the competing Pretty Cures. "Since kami-sama staked me, I suppose I'm on your racing team for free, girls. If I win in your name, maybe I'll even dedicate it to your Love!" Natsuki asides, Spinout seeming so direly roasted that even the tiger-eared Osakan can't help but just pog from a different camera angle and go 'dang, that guy got roasted' due to how maingirl meangirl roasted Spinout became. She doesn't need to be that serious at all, with all the help. "Really, I'm interested in seeing the power of Genm after that claim. Being a fellow biker, and all -- even if mine's a [g a s e n g i n e]." Natsuki comments, arms having transitioned to her jacket pockets again, before finally realizing she's forgotten her food at Greasetrap's window and clicking her tongue and muttering 'slag! ... circuits? shi--' and taking up her two-bite tacos she nevertheless tries to eat as one greasy bite. There's a lot - cybertronian portions! "You should worry about her leaving you scattered across the racetrack, ace." Natsuki dismisses Spinout with wave of specialty 'the only' organic food around. "She's a [h o t r o d] girl, she'll leave you in the body-shop!" She goes on to gas-up. Since they were all on one big happy team (playing for first place to prove things ruthlessly) there was no need to cheapen the mood!
Combaticon	> "Get over yourself. Not every designation is an insult." "So you can pay attention," Onslaught muses with an upward tilt of his head towards Lilian. His hands remain folded behind his back, though, emitting that professional aura, "The callback would work better if you had assigned a designation, however. Keep practicing." His head tilts down and to one side, obscuring one of his eyes behind the bill of his cap, "For what you were saying a moment ago-- Ah, I suppose it would be more difficult, after all." He swivels where he stands, addressing Hikaru directly, "I will ensure everything is ready before the event begins." At last, his hand unfolds just to lift to the side of his head where, on touch, there's a soft bip, "Depthcharge. Swindle. I have a project for you." Can't it wait? I'm on a roll, here! "The more you try to delay, the shorter your deadline will get." I'll drag his sorry chassis there myself if I have to. Pump those brakes! I'm moving, I'm moving! "Good." > "Maybe don't take trips your fuel tank can't handle, Spinout!" "Her first trash talk..!" Blastoff's red eyes dim to little red lines-- closed-- while he clasps his hands together. Floating as he is, his posture causes him to drift up and backwards slowly, "Organics grow up so fast... I promised I wouldn't cry!"
Lilian Rook	'Lun! ... Who's the Dame Commander, lun?' Lilian enters a few frames of stunlock as she wonders how this never came up before. She proceeds through a few more while contemplating whether to bring it up. "That would be me." Lilian says to Lala, somewhat helpfully. "It's a title." she adds, somewhat less helpfully. "I . . . don't know if Samaan has an equivalent concept, but . . ." She looks to Hikaru imploringly. "On my planet, I'm not a 'secret Precure' like you." This of course means that she isn't a Precure at all, but the way she anxiously fingers her pendant probably isn't helping. "Everyone knows that I fight evil to protect people, so I'm officially knighted." Trying her very best to be understood, she makes a vague gesture and puts out a legendary half-truth. "I have a castle?" Fuck. 'Two hundred years ago, the Samaan council voted on whether to outlaw AI. As we can observe, they didn't succeed.' Lilian turns away and spits the word "Democracy." like it's inedible steak-gristle she's being polite about at the table. 'Miss Lala, please bring me to her chamber as soon as is convenient.' "The amount of novel data that Lala has been gathering with Hikaru is exponentially in excess of anything that can be studied on or around Samaan. Even if it comes at the cost of processing efficiency, it's much more efficient to Mother's learning process, and thus the people of Samaan as a whole, for Lala to spend her time gathering as much data as possible while she has this opportunity and to only return to Samaan once there is minimal easily accessible new data." . . . . . . . . 'Listen here, girlie.' And now Lilian is in her element. One that she hates, albeit, as a bird must certainly find no joy in its exhausting migration flight, but one that is at least as much an aspect of nature to her. "What I see is a big gear in a small train with an overclocked ego for lording over his backwards little streak of asphalt." says Lilian, turning her chin up at Giant Looming Male with an outrageous degree of arms-folded contemptuous practice. "If that's your concern, then just try not to splatter when I dismantle you piece by piece." She barely has to mover her eyes to glance him up and down before curling her lip. "Your build quality doesn't exactly inspire confidence." 'Us all and Love Prime are gonna slagging crush you in the race!' "Obviously. Nobody here would have the cylinders to bet otherwise." Lilian says, exactly as a dare to Spinout. "I'd take any bet from someone undervolted enough to think they could beat you."
Merelisa Shaynore	"It is known the world over in many an Earth; its composition and subtle complexities inspired similar works for centuries to come." "Lun..." Lala does her very best to aopply this to Angela. "... But I thought Angela was illegal, lun." Maybe she's just bad at metaphors."However, I am connected to them and viceversa, though it is largely an unconscious sharing of data." "Ohh. So you just are like Mother, lun." That... is probably wrong in several very important ways, but it's right in enough unimportant ways that it's hard to argue with. "....Yes, we should exchange data. I am immensely curious about Samaan and your time on Earth." AI chimes affirmatively, but Lala looks up at Lilian worriedly. "Um, does that count as 'informed consent', Lilian?" Either way, AI seems to think it does, because a red beam of light swipes over Nikki and the tablet in her hands, scanning her from head to toe. Of course, this ends up scanning the tablet, and not actually reaching Angela in any meaningful capacity. AI down-tones a beep, obviously failing to follow through on the process it meant to. "It seems your data communication ports are incompatible with mine, Miss Angela. Mother has developed a method of data exchange that is somewhat less elegant, but is still the most efficient means to communicate with foreign AIs." Polite ly, AI hijacks the tablet's stream to Angela's computer to place what is effectively a .zip bomb on her screen. When fed information from Angela, it spits out a nearly random equivalent byte-value of information about Samaan, with upsettingly infinite granularity, from the soil compositions of each cubic centimeter of the planet, to current (as of nearly a year ago) pressure measurements inside the atmospheric domes, lunch menus for every cafeteria and restaurant on the planet, incomprehensible streams of numerical data for finances, relationships, furniture arrangements, durability estimates, ongoing research projects-- literally every single scrap of information available on the planet. The unfairness, of course, comes from the fact that Angela has to manually come up with specific information to share, while only receiving automatically spat out randomness in return. "If Miss Lala wishes, we may also converse over the radio, Miss Angela." "The amount of novel data that Lala has been gathering with Hikaru is exponentially in excess of anything that can be studied on or around Samaan." "Affirmative. Miss Hikaru inspires novel scenarios otherwise unaccounted for within Mother's data. However, my processing suggests that the most efficient path forwards would be to bring Miss Hikaru to Samaan as well." "Wait, wait, Lala, can we do that?! Can we go to Samaan together?! That'd be soooo solariffic! I wanna meet your parents!" "O-oyo... but they can't know about you, or we'd both get in trouble, lun." It might take a moment to remember that Lala's probably referring to the fact that Hikaru is from Earth, which isn't a planet accepted to have space travel privileges by the Starscape Union.
Merelisa Shaynore	"Assigned at birth. So you've known her your whole life." "Lun. Every baby on Samaan gets assigned an ID code and an AI before they're born, lun, or else they couldn't crawl or eat.... You grow up by learning from your personal AI." "I . . . don't know if Samaan has an equivalent concept, but . . ." Hikaru also doesn't know what 'dame commander' means! It sounds exciting! Lilian can feel the looming threat of Hikaru's sparkling eyes as she tries to explain further. "You can fight evil without having to hide, oyo?!" "You're a knight?!" "What's a knight, Hikaru?" "Remember in Doramus's manor, when I had that sword from what Miss Natsuki gave me? Knights are like that! Fighting evil with swords and magic!" "Cool...." "The only way you'll be ahead of me is if I'm losing time to the oh so danger~ous proximity of my fellow racers, girls." Hikaru attempts to pop her collar by sheer narrative instinct. She's actually wearing her star-patterned pink hoodie, so the motion ends up flipping up the hood, smacking her twintails, and sending both of the beads on their ends swinging around to smack her in the face. Nevertheless, undeterred, Hikaru leans her elbow back against the only surface low enough to facilitate her doing that, which is a stool. "Don't worry Miss Nue, we race clean. But we burn clean too, so you won't even have our smoke to go by when we leave you behind--" She barely finishes her sentence before collapsing into a fit of giggles. "Since kami-sama staked me, I suppose I'm on your racing team for free, girls." "Thank you, thanks, thanks." Hikaru smiles while still getting over the aftershocks of her giggling fit. She pounds her fist against her chest, competitive spirit unquenchable...! "But that means it's a race against friends now! And that's important to win too! We'll prove that our Love won't lose to anyone!" "I think it would do you some good to run a clean race. Save your energy for stuff that'll work, you know?" Spinout's savage smile grows when Sougo brings up the previous race, and he lowers his voice into a rumble. "Brutal's gooooood. Brutal wins races, organic. Don't let me catch ya runnin' just because you're racing rim to rim with Spinout, now." "Your build quality doesn't exactly inspire confidence." Spinout grins, pushed past smirking and stancing and into bloodthirsty and stancing. "Well, you're a feisty one, aren'tcha?" He stands up to his full height, holding his arms out and addressing the room. "Y' hear that, everyone?! No one'd bet on poor, rusted-out Spinout, not anymore! Little miss organic here's taking home th' whooooole pot! Whatta sight for your optical receptors that'd be! Looks like tonight's shapin' up t' be an exciting one!" "Or," He leans down and lowers his voice, putting his head level with Hikaru's and holding a finger juuust barely away from her cheek while she glares. "Maybe it'll jus' be the same as always." "Lala?" "Lun?" Without turning her eyes from Spinout's much larger ones, Hikaru calls for Lala, and within seconds she's there on Hikaru's right as Lilian's on her left, bristling at Spinout along with her. "We still have that crystal from planet Coumarin, don't we?" "Lun. But... you don't mean...?" "Mhm. I totally do." "... Lun. I'll get to work with Depthcharge then, lun."
Angela	Angela glances at Lilian when she utters the word 'Democracy' like that. In truth, she does think it's the right call. Outlawing AI doesn't stop AI from existing even if discussing the legality of AI is insulting to those with proper intelligence. Treacherous AI, she thinks. She is relieved when Lilian gives her explanation. She is wholly ignorant of secret precure elements of life and she is considering how she can assist in a race. She hasn't WATCHED a race before but bringing Agents to help isn't really going to help if they aren't legal contestants. She'll have to think about this. As Lilian suggests that Lala shouldn't return to her home until there is minimal easily accessible data--something Angela is, certain, could be a state that AI would not reach in years--she emits a soft little hrm. Lilian has a certain kind of cleverness to her, Angela recalls, where she notices some things about people and situations that can fly right over her head. The power of true experience, she tells herself. ''Ohh. So you just are like Mother, luni.'' "Perhaps in some ways. I would hesitate to indicate we are equivalent." She has more questions but Angela's instinct is to be cautious. Angela isn't really expecting a red beam of light--that's not exactly how she and the Manuals do it after all which she knows, pretty much, only because she doesn't see red lights flying out of her. She MEANT by sharing files and through talking since Angela doesn't think AI is an awful enough entity to deserve to have the whole of Angela's experience beamed directly to her. "Ah. That is a shame. It is possible this communication system is not direct enough for--" But AI is already working on it. Angela decides to respond in kind by feeding AI, in conjunction with files of her personal observations, the full breadth of observation logs from the facility because Angela doesn't give a shit anymore about hiding Lobotomy Corp's secrets, though she is not including video feeds or anything like that, mostly out of a desire to not be cruel to AI. Angela's information about Lobotomy Corp and her own observations aren't quite nearly as granular because Angela is already exercising discretion, but some of it is--at least--similarly minute. There's lunch menus, random tidbits of The City she has uncovered like knowledge of the Fixer Associations and Syndicates, immense details of the various Abnormalities including the statistics and designations, random stories about myths and urban legends and other assored bullshit. This is definitely not something she should be doing as far as how LobCorp is concerned. BUT FUCK THEM! Hahaha! Fuck them all! She is soon going to get to leave forever! Take all the secrets and stupid bullshit that she doesn't care about. You better believe Angela kept relationship charts, in fact she has like 70,000 of them that she's kept throughout the loops of increasing complexity as the loops increase! Does that get her information about what was on a lunch menu back at Samaan six months and fifteen weeks and three days ago? That's worth it! Haha! fuck you, dads! ''If Miss Lala wishes, we may also converse over the radio, Miss Angela.'' Angela has been smiling in a bit of an unseemly manner until that question whereas her face immediately returns to neutral. "That would be wonderful, Love Prime." ''The most efficient path forwards would be to bring Miss Hikaru to Samaan as well.'' ''Every baby on Samaan gets assigned an ID code and an AI.''
Angela	Angela is thrilled to learn that another world is somehow more dystopian than her own. "Perhaps that is another reason to wait. It would be terrible if Hikaru was prevented from providing further data because she or Lala were arrested and kept apart from one another because of Starscape Union rules." Angela says.