Action for any city;

[punmodeactive]

[One perk of being a mechanoid; not requiring food, drink or shelter. So this entire time, Kunzite has been on stand-by, watching the network and studying all the inhabitants who post to it.

However, today, he had an unscheduled day off. Sort of. Today, he'll be facing his greatest adversaries:

Children.

It doesn't really matter where he is at this point. Every once in awhile, a small group of small boys run up to him and express how cool he is and asking to play. Because he was programed with several modes, a Play Mode was certainly something he doesn't mind using. It kind of comes with the territory of being a mecha knight.

So here Kunzite was standing before a group of kids, a few boys playing heroes and a girl playing a princess while Kunzite gets the honor of being the villain. Does not compute, but he'll manage. The mechanoid had no toys, so he adds to the immersion by using Soma Vex, having his katars and bladed tentacles out.]

"Your reign of evil ends here, Dark Lord! Face the might of justice!"
"Negative, Hero. Probability of justice being dished out calculated at a minimal 12.57 percent."

[Hey, he tries.

Kunzite stepped forward and leaned out, controlling a Soma tentacle to thrust out quickly, but suddenly slows and gently swerves out of the way to give the "Hero" boy some room to dodge.]

"Ha, missed!"

[The boy hit Kunzite's robot tentacle with the wooden sword!]

"Damaged sustained. Status: critical. Soma Vex shutting down. Probability of evil schemes being thwarted increased to 100 percent."

[And Kunzite powers down his Soma, retracting the katars and tentacles. Next, the kids cheered and rushed in to playfully wail on the mechanoid's impervious armor. Then the kids cheered one last time, having been victorious in defeating the super big bad.]

"Sensors indicate Fun Ratio at 93 percent, well within acceptable ranges. Ending program. I will be returning to my predetermined matters."

[The kids waved good-bye to Kunzite and ran off to play something else. Kunzite went in the opposite direction of them, walking along and being on patrol. Hopefully no one saw him.]

Comments

[pianola]

[ Dorothy sees. She observes. She, very quietly, approves, once she sees the weaponry was not brought to bear upon the children. (The android wasn't armed like Kunzite was, but if necessary, she would have intervened. Thankfully, it was not.)

But the staring is rather noticable, even from across the street. Most of the natives, of course, go about their day like there was nothing strange. They walk around her, not seeming to mind that she's standing, motionless, in the middle of the sidewalk.

Once the children leave, she approches.

Her tone is deadpan: ] A fierce battle.

[punmodeactive]

[Kunzite stops when he hears a monotone voice. It's a shame he was spotted, but... he ultimately doesn't care.

The mechanoid turns the woman and initiates scans. Don't worry, nothing perverted by robot standards. Kunzite is just determining her threat level. And the results of the scans were interesting.

Weapons: Unavailable.
Threat level: Minimal.
Configuration: Closely matching a mechanoid. It was just a quick scan before he responds in monotone.]

My Play Mode served it's purpose. Identify yourself.

[pianola]

[ Dorothy feels the scans, attuned to them. Part of her program - no. There was nothing malicious here. It was a quick brush, nothing more. This robot likely just needed to see if she was a threat.

Still. This was enough for her eyes to widen, just slightly, before she returned to her placid expression. ]

My name is R. Dorothy Wayneright.

What is your name?

[punmodeactive]

Kunzite.

[A pause.]

Your configuration closely matches my own. I was not aware of any other.

[He had only spoken to Kaytoo and was aware of Grievous. Kunzite considered another scan to search for a soma on, or even a artificial Spiria in Dorothy, but if the first scan didn't find either, a second scan would be pointless.]

[pianola]

[ She doesn't reach out with her peripherals, designed to call out to and begin interface with megadei and similar robots. She'd probably never be curious enough to do that. There was too much fear, for Dorothy, that something like the Archetype would respond.

Even if she was curious. ]

Do you mean, we are both humanoid androids?

[punmodeactive]

Affirmative. However, you do not appear to posses a artificial Spiria. Probability of you and I originating from the same world is calculated to be approximately 4.63 percent.

[Anything that can be mistaken as hostile will be mistaken as hostile. Kunzite has a habit of striking first and asking later if he isn't warned.]

Do you have a Master or a directive?

[pianola]

What is a "Spiria"?

[ Eyes narrow, just slightly. ]

I make my own choices. No-one owns me.

Do you have a programmed directive?

[punmodeactive]

To summarize, Spiria is what allows emotion.

[That reply almost sparked a reaction from Kunzite. Not once has he felt like he was owned or enslaved. But then, that may be due to his programming.]

Affirmative. My primary directive is the location and subsequent protection of my master, Lithia.

[pianola]

I see.

[ Did he think she was emotionless? Perhaps. Most humans did.

... A bodyguard. A weapon? It would explain his armaments, before. Was that person here? She wasn't certain what it would be like, to have your functioning centered around someone, and then to have them taken away.

Would it be like, when her father was killed?

She didn't know. ]


Is Lithia here, in Genessia?

[punmodeactive]

[Kunzite didn't assume. He was merely conversing. It's what people do, right?

He's more than a mecha knight in shining armour. He even comes with a Massage Mode.]

Negative. A secondary directive is required until the primary can be continued.

[pianola]

[ She knows she's being nosy, but she can't help but ask: ]

What is your secondary directive, then?

[punmodeactive]

Secondary directive is to alternate between stand-by mode and patrol for trouble.

[pianola]

There's a lot of trouble in Genessia.

[ Mischief and trouble both, really. ]

... Though there is more you could do. During stand-by, perhaps.

[punmodeactive]

Records show an average of twenty-five cases of criminal activity a month.

[Being a logical, calculated mechanoid running on a primary directive of guardianship, he hasn't done much thinking on what he can do.]

Negative. Primary directives may extend beyond my master, requiring me to be combat ready at any moment of change in situation.

[pianola]

[ She's determined she's not a Negotiator, but maybe there's something she can do about the level - no. Another time, perhaps. ]

... There is a lot you could choose to do, that would allow you to remain combat ready at any moment.

There's a lot I did, and yet I could assist with combat in a moment.

[ She'd like to foster a sense of freedom in Kunzite, but she's wary of directly combatting his directives. Those could be very hard to overcome, she realized. And he might not want to overcome them. ]