CHAPTER 9: The Exhibition
The Next Day, 13 Hours Later...
A great, but lively disturbance stirred about the crowd as they swarmed a humonguous, raised dark stage with a small, circular catwalk protruding out in front. The crowd looked like ants from afar as they awaited the arrival of a special guest. White blimps flew about in celebration of a three-day event occuring in and around the Central Park area, made known to document the acievements of Tesladyne in their years of fringe science research. The midday sun shone brightly in the blue spring air, and the day went on smoothly in the downtown streets, as if the small disturbance that occured the day before was naught but a fleeting dream despite evidence of it still remaining, barricaded in the usual police yellow tape. Behind the black curtains of the raised platform, stage hands went to and fro, communicating frantically to each other via walkie-talkies to get the show going. In the corner of the room stood a robot and a man with a muscular build, donning a brightly-coloured, untucked button shirt over knee-length cargoes. The robot wore a large gray shirt tucked in a pair of khakis, with the leggings also tucked into the long socks of his small boots. The man held a clipboard, gesturing to the robot as he spoke. In turn the robot nodded in agreement, all while scratching his head, feeling tense at the amount of information being given. The man gestured if the robot was ready with a thumbs-up, and the robot returned the favour with a confident wave.
"Show's gonna start in 30." a stage hand said, walking up to the man.
"Got it." the man said, nodding. They could hear the stage lights beyond the curtain flickering and turning on with audible sounds, causing the audience to divert their attention to the stage, cheering all the while. The man walked away from the curtain as the show began to unfold, giving a last thumbs-up to the robot.
"Presenting..." a voice called out from the speakers above. "The man, or should I say bot, who revolutionized weird science as we know it: Atomic Robo!"
The robot twiddled its thumbs nervously, somewhat slouching all the while, but caught itself doing so and stopped, standing tall as the curtains slowly opened to a bright atmosphere, causing it to shield its eyes momentarily before walking towards the circular edge of the stage. The entire audience cheered and clapped at at the robot's appearance, some making whistling sounds all the while. The robot pretended to clear its throat, and took to memory what the man had told him before he emerged to the public.
『Don't say a word, go with the flow.』
"A funny thing happened to me last night." the robot said, animating itself with its arms with an amused look on its face. Its voice projected to the speakers above like a megaphone. "I was doing the usual. Just splitting atoms here and collecting research there when wouldn't you believe it, I switched bodies with someone else halfway across the world." the audience started to laugh.
"Well, as you can see, it took a while to get back to my own body...but here I am now, telling the story to you guys today." the audience clapped at the accomplishment.
"So, what is science?" the robot began. "Science is all around us. It's how you can cook, watch TV, play sports, drive a car, and do many other things. Science can be just as practical as it is weird. We at Tesladyne look at a lot of weird phenomena twenty-four hours a day, and it's the weird that allows us to make it practical for everyone else."
"Science is a long, vast journey through all weirdness, and we at this very first exhibition are welcome to show you both the weird and practical stuff right here in Central Park, so without further ado, let's get this party started!" the audience cheered, and the barricades for the exhibits opened up at the sides of the stage, letting people through. The robot returned back to the stage, taking a deep sigh of relief.
Minutes later, after the crowd had dispersed, the man took off a square platform at the corner of the stage, covering an opening below and jumped in. He looked around in the dimness of the underside of the wooden mass, and saw a young girl in the nearby corner, slouching while sitting on a stool. A large box with a microphone was on a table in front of her, with a multitude of wires protruding from the back of the contraption. The girl wore a strange red and white outfit, slightly tattered in a few places. Her arms, face, and legs were slightly bandaged, and she was breathing heavily. When the man moved closer, he could see dark circles under her closed eyes. She was snoring loudly, and drool was coming out from the corner of her open mouth.
"Zzz...don't press that...zzzz..." she mumbled. The man smiled amusingly.
8 Hours Earlier...
『WHAAAT?』 Reimu cried as she gripped the fox shikigami's throat with her metal hands, shaking her back and forth. Ran flailed about for air. 『Whaddya mean 'till sundown?』
In the hours prior to the exhibition, Robo, Reimu, and Jenkins stood around the nine fox-tailed being in frilled clothes. They tied her onto the barber's chair, where Reimu was interrogated hours way before. Both Jenkins and Robo sat in the far corner. The fake shrine maiden had his bandaged arms crossed.
『I'm so sorry, mistress! Whaaaa...』 the shikigami bawled.
『Forget your mistress, she's not gonna come out for a while due to the sealing.』 Robo shrugged. 『Also, you need to cool down, Reimu.』
『I...can't breathe...Gakk...』 Reimu removed her grip, cursing. 『The transmigration process at most will only last a day and a half before weakening. I can't reverse it until sundown and that's that!』
『Then where the heck's the book?』 Reimu asked, frustrated.
『The mistress still has it...』 Ran said, sniffling.
『Funny,』 Robo started. 『She never used that book when she fought us. I thought that thing had powerful spells in it?』
『The mistress was bluffing...』 Ran confessed. 『Most of what was created were defensive and utility spells. The mistress got too haughty and decided to use the book on a whim, even though it was far incomplete.』
『Well, hey...』 Jenkins said. 『At least this whole thing will only take a few hours. It's not like you two are stuck in opposite bodies forever.』
"You totally missed the point, Jenkins." Robo sighed. "The exhibition's at one in the afternoon. We have to leave the island at half-past eleven."
"I'm only trying to look at the bright side."
"Well, the bright side of your argument is stupid." Robo said. "Look at me. I can't go out in public in this body, let alone this getup." he directed his gaze at Reimu, who returned with an accused look.
『W-why are you looking at me like that?』 Reimu asked, stuttering a bit.
『There's really no other choice, is there?』 Robo asked Jenkins.
『You could dress in drag.』 Jenkins quipped, smiling jokingly.
『Besides that.』 Robo interrupted, disregarding the suggestion.
『Guess not.』
『I don't like how this is going...』 Reimu withdrew herself a bit from the two.
『Ever kept your head in a crowd before?』 Robo asked.
『S-somewhat.』
『Good. I got another plan.』
6:30pm
The sun slowly sets in the Tesladyne complex. Jenkins, Reimu, and the asleep Robo were within the beige confines of the infirmary. Ran stood in front of two as they lay down in separate beds. Bernard, Koa, and some of the medical staff watched closely as the fateful event unfolds. On Ran's arms were metal shackles, and a paper charm was attached to her forehead to prevent her from using her powers to escape.
『Do what you need to do.』 Jenkins coaxed the shikigami. She stepped forward. She instructed Reimu to close her eyes prior to the process as a precaution. The shikigami held her shackled palms forward, reciting a mantra with fixed, concentrated eyes. An unknown, but calm force lifted upwards from the room. With a bright flash that startled the people around the room, both bodies revealed their true living embodiment. The ghosts of both Robo and Reimu presented themselves in opposite bodies. Ran changed her mantra, now reciting in what sounds like Chinese. A gust of wind could be felt as the living embodiment rose up slowly, expelling them from their physical cages. Both bodies became limp and lifeless. Quickly, the shikigami affixed hand signs in rapid succession; in a much faster rate than Reimu. With the final sign of the ritual affixed, another flash occured, and the embodiments disappeared. As everyone's eyes started to recover from the multiple flashes that occured, they could see the bodies slowly coming to life again. An electrically-tinged snore could be heard.
『My head feels funny...』 a girl's voice mumbled as Reimu's body slowly rose up from the bed. Everyone in the room took sighs of relief as Ran concluded the reversal of the spell.
"Zzzzz...bugs everywhere...zzz..." the robot mumbled in slight distress, his head cocked to the left as he stirred about.
『Why's he still sleeping?』 Jenkins asked Ran.
『Exhaustion transfers with the embodiment, regardless of the lifeform.』 Ran explained. 『The transmigration still isn't perfected, therefore there are side effects to its reversal.』
『Aah, who cares.』 Reimu scratched her head. 『At least I'm back to normal. That suit of armor was really suffocating, you know.』
『You two have a way to get back home?』 Jenkins raised a brow at the two of them. Reimu paused in the realization.
『Geez, way to ruin my mood!』
『The mistress still won't come out...』 Ran sobbed.
『I only thought I'd ask, but since you two don't look to have a way back...』 he looked at Bernard.
"You lookin' at me?" Bernard asked, pointing to himself.
"Do we still have components for another Heim-Droesscher?"
"I'm not sure..." the Action Scientist shook his head. "It's too risky to do another unless..." the Action Scientist had a realization.
"Unless what?"
"Mind if I ask for a paper charm from the girl?"
『Baldy here wants a paper charm from you.』 Jenkins said to Reimu. With a swish of her finger, she conjured an ofuda and gave it to Bernard.
『What's he want it for?』
『To get you guys a way home.』