Snyderverse Neptunia Snippets

by Derald Snyder

Snippet 66- Iris' Archeological Adventure

The hovercraft touched down nearby the dig site, the passenger doors on the left and right soon opening, discharging Iris and Jack Cain respectively; the latter walking to the front right door as it opened to help his father climb out. Once the trio had assembled, they began walking toward the nearby tent, another man emerging from said tent to greet them. He was rather short and plump, his walking looking more like waddling. He wore a lab coat over a formal shirt and pants, a red helmet with attached goggles covering his hair, if he had any. Said goggles were currently flipped up, showing large light blue eyes. "Cain, my old friend!" he greeted.

"Gaudile! You're looking well," James Cain greeted with a wave. "You remember my son, of course."

"Yes, how could I forget little Jack? Oops, well, I guess you're not so little anymore, now are you?" Gaudile chuckled, having to crane his neck up to look the younger Cain in the face.

"Yeah, nice to see you again, Professor Platypus," Jack ribbed as he shook hands with Gaudile. "And this is Iris, my magnum opus."

"Oh my! Not what I was expecting!" Gaudile gasped as he looked the robot over. "I'm thinking that you designed her to look non-threatening, instead of... other reasons. Not that your father would ever let you get away with that!" he quickly appended.

"No, my creator is not a pervert of any sort," Iris stated with a pout. "And you're not the first person to have made such a suggestion, even if you were being sarcastic!"

"Easy, Iris," Jack said with a raised hand. "We want you to make a good impression for the dig team, all right?"

"I understand, but I don't want any misconceptions or salacious rumors going around!" Iris insisted.

"Nothing to worry about. Around here, we deal in facts and educated guesses, not wild conspiracy!" Gaudile asserted. "Anyway, let's hurry and get to the main tent, before the wind kicks up dust in our faces!" With that, he flipped his goggles down, before turning and waddling towards the tent in question, Iris and the Cains following...

*Inside...*

"What is all this, now?" James Cain asked as he observed what appeared to several bolts and magnets strewn over the table, along with three metal balls with single eyes.

"This is what we dug up recently, and why I asked for your son's help," Gaudile replied. "We think that this was an ancient machine of some sort, but none of us have any clue how it's supposed to be put together." Turning to Jack, he asked, "So, do you have any insight to this puzzle?"

"Hmm..." The younger Cain put a hand to his chin as he pored over the parts. "Well, I'm more into modern technology than ancient history, but..." He took one of the larger magnets, turning it this way and that as he looked it over... after a few moments, he took the other large magnet and stood them upside down on their poles. "It's a long shot, but these two almost seem like some sort of legs or feet..."

"You're saying the machine walked on these?!" Gaudile said incredulously.

"They appear balanced for that purpose," Jack nodded. Setting them down, he then looked over at the metal balls, taking one in hand. "Look, this one has different markings than the others. It must be the main head. And these other two are likely its subordinates."

"So you think these are all part of the same machine?" James Cain said with a raised eyebrow.

"Possibly. The main head sits atop the other two, which rest on the magnet-legs," Jack hypothesized. "Although I don't know how the other magnets and bolts fit in..."

"But how would it stay together? The whole thing would just collapse on itself!" Gaudile pointed out.

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But these magnets provide a vital clue," Jack countered. "It's possible this ancient machine used a form of electromagnetism to keep itself together. Perhaps it even used said electromagnetism to cause an electrical discharge against intruders..."

"So it's a sentry, then. Used to guard something important," his father concluded.

"But if that's true, then what was it guarding?" Iris mused. "Do you have any ideas, Professor Gaudile?"

"Well, this was clearly an ancient settlement of some sort, but we haven't determined it's purpose yet," The stout man replied, head lowered in thought. "It's too small to be anything like a palace, though..."

"Maybe this sentry was meant to protect something, not someone," James Cain interjected. "Perhaps this place was a religious shrine, of sorts... after all, it's too out in the open to be a treasure vault..."

"Possibly. I guess we'll just have to keep digging, literally and figuratively," Gaudile shrugged. "Anyway, back to this sentry. I wonder if there's any way to give it power...?"

"I dunno..." Jack said as he examined each head one after the other. "I don't see anything like an outlet on any of these..."

"Professor, if I may," Iris spoke up. "Perhaps if we were to induce an electromagnetic field, that would cause this machine to reactivate?"

"Well, there's an idea," Jack nodded. "Of course, this thing is so old, there's no guarantee that would work..." Setting the last head down, he turned back to Gaudile, asking, "Would it be possible for me to gather up these parts and take them back to the university, so I could test Iris' suggestion?"

"Well..." Gaudile hesitated. "As reluctant as I usually am, to let somebody walk off with a find like this... but you are Cain's son, and I trust your father completely. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't extend that same trust to his child?"

"Well, this IS why you called him down here to begin with," the elder Cain pointed out.

"Indeed, indeed. All right, let me go see if I can find a suitable container to put these parts in, so they won't be damaged..."

"Well, keep in mind we came here in a hovercraft, so you won't have to worry about bumps in the road or stuff like that," Jack said.

"Right, right," Gaudile grunted as he waddled off...

*And so, back at the university...*

"Okay then, we should be all set," Jack Cain said as he finished adjusting his helmet, which covered his whole head and had a visor for him to see through. He was now dressed in an insulated bodysuit similar to Professor Turo's, albeit more grey in color. "Iris, have your buster on standby in case this thing turns out to be hostile."

"Understood, Professor," Iris nodded with a frown, her right hand transfiguring into a small plasma cannon. The two were standing in a sealed testing room, table standing in the center with the ancient robot's parts arranged on it in the pattern Jack thought was its most likely configuration, with two electrodes installed on the sides of said table. "Ready."

"Okay, initiate electromagnetic field," Jack intoned. The electrodes turned on, sparks of electricity shooting back and forth between them... the main head began to wiggle a bit, before suddenly turning itself upright. It then began to rise into the air, the other two heads beginning to activate as well...

"It's working!" Iris exclaimed.

"I see that. Stay on your guard," Jack cautioned, remaining still as the two heads joined to the bottom of the main one, the two larger magnets rising with their poles pointed downward, the lower heads joining to them... then the smaller magnets began to attach themselves, one to each of the two lower heads, two more attaching to the sides of the main head, the last two connecting to its top and rear respectively. Then the bolts rose up, two each joining to the three heads, while the rest connected together in a line behind them, almost resembling a tail of sorts. "Those bolts on the back must act as a grounding point of sorts," Jack observed.

"...Look out, Professor!" Iris gasped as he the heads' eyes suddenly turned angry, the machine discharging a large lightning bolt, Iris throwing herself in front of her creator, teeth gritted as she took the attack and was zapped!

"Cut the power! Cut the power!" Jack cried, the electrodes promptly shutting down... but the machine remained standing, turning as it charged up another bolt- but a shot from Iris' buster nailed it in the main head, interrupting the charging process. The robot then dashed up to the table, staring down the machine in its main eye...

...and after a few terse seconds, the main head's eye drooped, the other heads following suit as the magnets lowered slightly, the remaining electrical charge dissipating. "...phew, it looks like it worked."

"Wh... what did you do?" Jack asked, not daring to get any closer.

"I managed to interface with its primitive AI, instructing it to return to standby mode until further notice," Iris said as she turned back to face the professor, a jagged burn mark on her chest from where the bolt had impacted. "I got the idea from Dr. Cossack's robot Ramesses, who used a similar method to disable my doppelgänger."

"Oh... oh, good," Jack sighed as he relaxed. "Good thinking, Iris... at least we know it works now. And it's clearly a sentry like we theorized." Making his way to the door, he then said, "Okay, let's leave that where it is for now, and get you over to maintenance for repairs..."

"Internal operations energy is at 83%. To paraphrase, that bolt was more flash than substance, though you still would have been seriously injured," Iris pointed out.

"I think that's more a testament to how well I built you," Jack sighed as he enter the code to open the door, removing his helmet once they had both exited. "Anyway, just calling that 'machine' won't cut it anymore... we should give it a proper name."

"So what will you call it, Professor?" Iris inquired.

"Well, given where we dug it up, I think I'll call it... Sandy Shocks," Jack decided. "Anyway, after I've checked you over, I'm going to consult with Professor Turo about how we can possibly reprogram it so it won't attack anything that enters its field of vision..."

"Just as long as it doesn't interrupt any correspondence with his son," Iris nodded as they went off together.

"Perish the thought," Jack chuckled...

*Snippet 66- End*

A/N: For those of you who are confused, Sandy Shocks is indeed based on Magnemite/Magneton, but it's an actual Pokemon from the most recent entries, Pokemon Scarlet/Violet. I wonder where it came from, though... and what was it protecting, exactly?