Xenoblade Rush

by lolrus555

Chai was admittedly expecting a lot when he signed up for Project Armstrong, but he'd also readily admit that getting 'musical robot powers,' having the entire tech company trying to KILL HIM as a result, and ending up bonded to a girl that could command flames were NOT among those initial expectations. Needless to say, both Chai and the Aegis have a long road ahead of them...

2. Track 1: A New Beginning

Okay, after close to two months, here we are. Once I started nearing/got past 30 pages for Track 1, I realized it'd be a better call to separate things into separate parts before we end up past two months, especially since I'd say what's currently available is a nice, meaty piece of content to chew on while waiting for part 2. Anyway, hope you all enjoy and give me your thoughts in the reviews/comments. Now, with any luck, I'll have all of track 1 out before March comes and goes.

XENOBLADE RUSH

Track 1: A Fresh Start, (Part 1 of 2)

*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*

*CHNK!*

*CHNK!*

*CHNK!*

*CHNK!*

*CHA…*

*Yaaaaaawn…*

It was the sound of an alarm harshly going off and the feeling of the metal restraints on his arms, legs and torso being removed that caused consciousness to slowly ebb back into Chai's being…

*FLING!* "WHA-!?" *CRASH!*

…And it was the subsequent sensation of suddenly getting launched off the goddamn operating table and crashing face-first into a metal fence that properly woke the young man up from his anesthesia-induced drowsiness.

After taking a good moment or two to properly recover from that sudden harsh awakening (by which I mean he spent that time pitifully rolling on the floor, clutching his now agonizingly stinging face, and letting out several yelps and pitiful squeals of pain) the pain in Chai's face eventually faded into a much-more tolerable throb, allowing the wannabe-rocker to pick himself up.

"Argh… Ugh, phew…" Chai groaned out, running a hand through his face and hair, still getting his thoughts in order in wake of such a rude awakening. "...Huh?" However, it was just as Chai's mind finally cleared up that he then realized that he just used right, formerly disabled arm to rub his head just now.

"Whoa… Heh…!" Quickly piecing two and two together and realizing that the procedure for his brand new arm looked to be a success, Chai was quick to take his newfound robotic limb in, in particular just reveling in the complete and utter control of the arm he now possessed as he had the hand itself rotate a complete 180 degrees independent of the metal arm. Already, possibilities began to flood into the excitable young man's head as he imagined all the things he'd be able to do now that he had two functioning arms to work with…

*An error has occurred. Please proceed to the checkpoint.*

Chai was snapped out of his awed stupor at the sound of a LU-C1LLE making an announcement over the speakers. "Okay! Checkpoint… where's that?" As he made that declaration, the brunet took a quick glance around at his surroundings and realized that he had no idea where said checkpoint was supposed to be. "Eh, don't worry. Probably no big deal."

Chai had just been about to wander off in search of either that checkpoint or an exit when he took notice of an O5-KAR unit to his right just finishing up stacking some boxes on a nearby shelf. Figured he could get some directions from the old Vandelay model, he was quick to stride up to him and get his attention.

*Are you here to see what a good job I did stacking these boxes?* The O5-KAR asked, keeping his appraising gaze on his handiwork even as he spoke to Chai.

"Uh, I mean, they… look good to me, but…" Chai began, testing out scratching his scalp with his new robot hand as he took in the stacked boxes. True to the O5-KAR's words, those boxes WERE quite immaculately and neatly stacked… though that didn't really do anything to help Chai. "...not really, no."

*Ah, well if it's the exit you're looking for, it's a good 180 degrees behind you, lad. There's only one route out, you can't miss it.*

"Oh, cool! Thanks." With that said, Chai continued on his way, casually double-jumping over a sprawled over set of pipes a nearby SCR-UB accidentally knocked over. "Yaaaaaawn… Man, that surgery really drained me out." The young man yawned out, still feeling some lingering drowsiness despite the rude awakening he was dealt barely even a minute ago. "Hm? Ah! Now don't mind if I do~." Though as if in response to his complaints, Chai was then greeted with a damaged cardboard box full of energy drink bottles. Without even a second thought, the young man was quick to snatch one of the green plastic bottles up and began to down it, already feeling his energy return to him with each step he took. "Ah! That hit the spot."

From there, Chai continued to enjoy the drink as he continued on, only coming to a stop at the sight of some commotion at a stairway near the exit.

*We told you no more than 10 boxes at once! Now look at what you've done!* Specifically, Chai was greeted with a group of Vandelay CAR-11E robots (Carry) gathered around the stairway, two at the bottom (with both holding unstable-looking stacks of cardboard boxes over their heads) while one stood on its wheel at the top utterly panicking over the splayed over cardboard boxes all over the stairs. *We will surely face consequences for this. It has been a privilege working with all of you.*

*Curse my slippery robot hands! CURSE THEM! I have failed in my duties! I will surely be fired, or even worse… Rekka!* The CAR-11E at the top of the stairs lamented, panicking the most out of the trio of robots with how this was directly his fault… or maybe that panic was because of that 'Rekka' person he mentioned, cuz it seemed like they were bad news, whoever they were.

"Soooo, I'll be the first to admit I'm no box carrying expert here or anything like you guys, but… is there something stopping you guys from just picking all this junk up after you're done? Or just… y'know, not carrying so many boxes they're bound to fall over?" At this point, Chai couldn't help but interject, tilting his head as he took in the scene and got the three robots' attention.

*You are not incorrect. In fact, it would be much easier to simply transport all these boxes about just one or two at a time. It was actually how we went about our jobs in the BK era, but ever since Kale became the CEO of the company, he has mandated that we triple or even quadruple our carrying load!*

"Uh huh. Well, I'm not exactly seeing him mirco-managing you guys right now, so if I were you guys, I'd just pick all this up and pretend it didn't even happen. Well, those are my two cents anyway, and it's looking to me like the better option than wasting all day here panicking. Anyway, later!" Chai shrugged, barely sticking around enough to give a farewell to the trio of CAR-11Es before he jumped to the top of the stairway via the nearby cargo lift. Upon doing so, the young man was pleased to see the apparent 'checkpoint' mentioned earlier… and with what looked to be all his stuff at the pick-up line too!

*Please collect your belongings…*

"Yeah, time to get out of this gown already." Chai thought aloud, quick to swipe his clothes from the conveyor. It went without saying, but uncomfortable patient gowns with only his boxers to protect his modesty weren't exactly Chai's preferred style of clothes.

One stylish dressing-up sequence later (which was only slightly hampered by a disgruntled Chai having to stomp one of his shoes on to (im)properly get it on), the brunet quickly took notice of the giant doorway opening behind him just as he finished re-purposing his his old sling to act as a scarf… as well as making sure that little cowlick he had was still upright.

"Whoooaaa…!" Once again, an awed, curious smile expression made its way onto Chai's face as he slowly walked out from the dim production facility and into what looked to be a courtyard in this neck of the campus that was overlooked by a gigantic statue dressed up as an Olympian and with an elaborate robot arm.

*Smack!*

"H-Hey!" So taken with his surroundings, Chai only took notice of the trio of SBRs apparently waiting for him when one of them held up his tablet for the oblivious young man to walk face-first into.

*Alright kid, let's see here: robotic arm LX-DUST75, magnetic waste management affixture...* The SBR read from his tablet, quickly summing up the arm's designation, purpose, and function.

"W-Wait… robotic waste management…!?" Chai repeated, flinching back and feeling an uncomfortable weight settle into his stomach at the SBR's blunt sum-up of his new arm's apparent purpose.

Foreign objects warning

DEFECT

Please proceed to recall facility

!

*'foreign objects detected,' looks like a defect. Take him in.* At that statement, the group of SBRs all began to then surround and converge on the hapless Chai, who at this point could only instinctively let out a few nervous laughs as he backed away from the now-hostile security robots, raising both his hands in what he was hoping would come off as a placating gesture…

*Whirr!*

*Pop!*

…Only for everyone -Chai and the SBRs included- to stop in their tracks when Chai's arm (the same one apparently made for garbage collection) suddenly flicked open at the wrist after a 180 degree turn and dispensed what looked to be a more literal and primitive trash grabber, the kind you'd see felons using while performing community service at a busy overpass. The moment his robotic arm's hand clipped back into place, it instinctively grabbed tightly around the trash grabber's handle.

*...Is that a weapon?* The SBR asked, tilting his head quizzically at the trash grabber that suddenly popped out of Chai's robot arm.

"U-Uhh… I don't think so…?" Chai answered tentatively, sounding even more confused than them by the sudden appearance of the trash grabber.

*I think he's resisting.* The other SBR bluntly stated, he and his partner immediately readying their advanced, hard light stun prods to dispense some Vandelay-branded 'security justice' onto the wannabe rocker.

"Wait what!?" Chai exclaimed, stumbling back in panic at the two security bots' uncaring assessment of him.

*SLAM*

"Pff-BWOAH…!" Chai wheezed out, gasping out a combination of breath and spittle and the world momentarily feeling like it was slowing down around him when, before he could get another word in, one of the SBRs slammed their stun prod right into Chai's gut…

*fweeee…!*

*beat… beat… beat beat beat beat beat!*

…and subsequently kickstarted the beginning of the end for Vandelay Technologies' current line of management, for that blow to the gut not just started up the MP3 player implanted into Chai's chest and his arm's Power Core Unit…

"...Huh?" …But also allowed a certain red-headed Blade searching the campus to hone in on our wannabe rockstar's position.

"This is… certainly unusual…" Slowly skidding to a halt, the redheaded Aegis instinctively brought her hand up to her Core Crystal, which was now rhythmically pulsing with green light. Looking down at it in confusion, Pyra once again found herself at a loss in the face of this unusual phenomena. As the Aegis, Pyra was well aware that she had a great many things about her that separated her from the usual Blade, but in all the time that her other half had been awake for before their sealing, she'd never experienced an odd occurrence such as this before.

"Is whatever this is… linked to who my current Driver is…?" As she vocalized the only possible answer she had for this odd occurrence, Pyra slowly began to walk on… only to once again come to a halt when she noticed the strange beating and pulsing of her Core Crystal slowly growing weaker with every step she took. "Wait a minute…!"

With an idea beginning to form in her head, Pyra quickly retraced her steps and just as she suspected, the rhythmic pulsing in her Core Crystal began to regain its strength.

"This is linked to my Driver…! Maybe if I use this beat like a radar, I can find them." It wasn't much, but this was currently the best option and lead Pyra had to go on. With her mind set, the redheaded Blade moved about in all directions, quickly settling into a sprint in one direction when she clearly felt the beat grow stronger that way. Hopefully, when she found her Driver, whoever they were, she'd be able to get a better idea of what this place was and how she ended up here.

'...?' However, as Pyra continued onward, she slowly began to take notice of yet another strange thing. The beat of her Core Crystal was continuing to grow strong, but along with that, she was… almost certain she was beginning to hear something in the distance. Something considerably different from the sounds of a gigantic campus bustling with active machinery.

"Is… is that music I'm hearing…?"

***O***

Back with Chai, the young man had still been in the middle of reeling from that gut blow while on his hands and knees when he began to take notice of how either his robot arm, the trash grabber, or both were beginning to rapidly vibrate, with the squadron of SBRs also noticing how several bits and pieces of scrap metal on the ground all around them were beginning to slowly move and vibrate. With the pain in his gut quickly fading into a dull throb, Chai stumbled back onto his feet and held out the now-rapidly vibrating trash grabber with fear and apprehension.

As he did this, bits of scrap metal from all around Chai's immediate surroundings began to zip towards and converge around his trash grabber, with the young man stumbling around as the scrap rapidly slammed into the grabber and kept him off-balance. When it was over, however, Chai was very pleasantly surprised to see that all the scrap somehow formed into the shape of a Flying V electric guitar! One that looked very good at smacking around a bunch of asshole robots.

Clearly, the pleased sneer that made its way onto Chai's face made his newfound intentions clear to the trio of SBRs, who seemed to know what was about to happen with how they all recoiled back in clear fear. If any of them had the idea to run, however, they certainly wouldn't be able to act on it with how the surrounding area's security measures kicked in and quickly trapped both Chai and the SBRs together in the courtyard.

*GET HIM!*

Trying to smother their fear with aggression and bravado, the SBRs were quick to try and go onto the offensive when they realized they were stuck there with Chai, with the apparent leader of the group (the same jackass that hit him with that gut blow) leading the charge and once again trying to beat him into submission with their batons. However, Chai was ready this time, nimbly dashing away from the strike before following up with several strikes from his own kickass new weapon.

"WOO!"

"HEY!"

"CHAI!"

Chai was too amped up on adrenaline and the overall absurdity of the situation he was suddenly thrust into to really take notice of how, periodically, cheering and chanting seemed to be going off whenever he apparently timed his hits just right, instead focusing on landing one final blow that sent the unfortunate SBR sprawling to the ground, his body heavily sparking and damaged before getting consumed in a small explosion. The pleased smirk on Chai's face at the sight of this didn't fade even as one of the other SBRs tried hitting him in his blind spot, instead double-jumping out of the way before suddenly crashing back down on the SBR that tried to hit him with an overhead slam from his newfound Scrap Guitar and following up with another aggressive barrage of blows… all of which was in time to a beat that he, the SBRs, and really, everything else in their immediate surroundings unconsciously moved to.

"Okay, I have no idea what is going on here, but I'm loving every second of it!" Chai exclaimed gleefully, a toothy smile on his face as he delivered the final blow to the 2nd SBR, causing it to explode like the last one. True to his word, Chai had no idea how any of this insanity was happening, but he couldn't remember the last time in his life he felt so powerful… so capable! It was a far cry from the handicapped loser he'd been just a few hours earlier.

*SMACK! Whap! WHAM!*

"Argh!" Though the smile on Chai's face was quickly wiped off when the last remaining SBR managed to get a lucky blow in him and capitalized on it with several merciless strikes, clearly intending to outright kill now with how Chai destroyed his two co-workers.

"Hey!" Chai exclaimed in frustration, blocking the last hit in that bombardment before retaliating with a furious trio of baseball batter-esq strikes with his guitar, with the last one sending the hapless SBR screaming into the sky before he blew up in an explosion that reminded Chai of fireworks. "Yeah, not so fun being on the other end, huh!?" The young man exclaimed, too out of breath and annoyed with the series of hits the SBR dealt to him to really question how he blew up into fireworks just now.

Trying to steady his breath when he realized that he'd gotten all of them, Chai anxiously looked around his immediate surroundings for any other potential threats before suddenly flinching up and taking notice of the constant, rhythmic vibration going off in his chest… as well as how something was apparently emitting a vibrant, emerald green glow just underneath his shirt.

Confused and wanting answers, Chai slowly pulled up his shirt to see just what was going on under there…

*Gasp!*

And could only gasp and stare in wide-eyed shock when he saw that his music player, along with that weird green gem from before, were both floating around in the chest-implanted Power Core Unit that was used to power his robot arm.

This wasn't even touching upon how both were rhythmically beating to the music Chai was just now beginning to take notice of. (Many years of frequently having his MP3 blast music into his ears made him think nothing of the music that had been playing in the background since he woke up from his surgery, or even notice that his MP3 had been missing among all his belongings.)

As the exact nature of his situation began to sink in for Chai, he slowly lowered his shirt back down to hide the two stowaways floating in his chest from any potential prying eyes. Bringing his robot arm up to his chin, the music lover began to go over the facts to make sure he was understanding everything properly.

"If I'm getting this right…

1st: music player in my chest; pretty sure that's not supposed to be there… (Neither is the uh… glowing green gemstone, but no idea what that's all about, sooooo… more on that later… when I know more.)

2nd: The MP3's powering up my new robot arm.

3rd: It's making everything sync up to the beat…

And 4th!:... this sounds ridiculous… but when the music kicks in, it feels like… like…!

Like I'm on a stage!"

At that last realization, Chai's tone took on a much more excited tone before his mind began to very thoroughly wander…

…To the point that not even a moment later, the wannabe rocker then imagined himself getting launched onto a stage that looked like the setting for a big rock venue. As Chai stood back on his feet and took in the roaring crowd in front of him, he was briefly blinded by stage lights and, as his eyes quickly adjusted to the light, he was then thrown off even further when some inflatable punching bag with the look of a SBR suddenly rose up in front of him.

"Okay everyone, ready for something wild!?" An announcer suddenly spoke up from the 'venue's' speakers, startling Chai into getting his attention. "Chai's here! And his attacks sync up with the music!"

Shaking off his surprise and confusion when he realized this voice's info would likely be important in getting a better grasp on his newfound abilities, Chai was quick to follow along with the nifty explanation, all while using that punching bag dummy to get a better feel for them and how he could maximize the damage he dealt by consistently landing hits to the music's beat. Before long, the announcer had affirmed that Chai had a solid grasp on the basics of his abilities, which only intensified the crowd's eager cheering and chanting of his name

"Chai! Chai! Chai! Chai! Chai!"

"Hahaha~! Yeah! And the crowd goes wild!" Getting lost in the wondrous sound of cheering and chanting that he only heard in his deepest dreams and daydreams, Chai couldn't help but soak in the crowd's adoration of him. "Thank you! Ah, thank you! Oh, you over there want an autograph? Well I'll get you an autograph! Chai, cha-"

*Poke, poke…*

…He soon found himself brought back into reality, however, when he felt someone insistently start poking at his shoulder. Blinking his actual surroundings back into focus, Chai then found himself thrown for a serious loop when the first thing that greeted him was the sight of a very pretty and confused-looking girl with vibrant, neck-length red hair and matching eyes standing in front of him. The sudden appearance of this girl while he was off daydreaming would've been off-putting (and embarrassing) enough as is for Chai, and this sentiment was only exacerbated by her strange choice of clothes. She appeared to be wearing some black, green, and red colored, revealing outfit capped off by a very elaborate, very real-looking sword sheathed at the small of her exposed back and gold tiara with a radiant emerald gemstone adorned onto it.

All of this combined had Chai initially thinking that some girl that was super into cosplaying stumbled across him. The Project Armstrong flier that brought Chai here in the first place had mentioned that Vandelay was particularly reaching out for celebrities and media influencers for Project Armstrong, so maybe this girl was some sort of famous cosplayer or model or something? He didn't recognize her or the distinct look she touted, but at the same time, Chai interests weren't really in the fashion or cosplay industry, so it's not like he'd know either way. Besides, he also had a pretty big backlog of anime to catch up on, so maybe she was dressed as some character he just wasn't familiar with.

"Uhhhhh…" Was the only thing that came out of the confused Chai's mouth. After the frankly unreal events that had occurred little more than a minute ago, he wasn't exactly sure how he should take this new arrival. The look on her face suggested she had questions, possibly relating to his 'music robot arm power,' but even with the recently made discoveries he made regarding that, he was still kind of at a loss at putting all of that into a proper explanation.

"You… might want to turn around." The girl seemed to be at a similar loss for words initially, seemingly having a lot of different thoughts running through her head as she took Chai in. Eventually though, after a concerned look over the brunet's shoulder, the redhead managed to get that sentence out, capping things off by meekly pointing right behind Chai.

*Ahem!*

At both the girl's prompting and the sound of a mechanical throat being deliberately cleared behind him, Chai flinched up before whipping around (Obliviously flicking a certain redheaded Aegis in the face with his scarf, to her bemusement) to see another squadron of SBRs standing before him and the girl with what looked to be questioning scowls on their robotic faces, topped off by several having their arms crossed and the leader tapping his feet as he waited for a response from Chai.

"O-Oh! Uhhhh…!" At sight of the SBRs he wrecked and their apparent buddies looking at him all too accusingly, Chai could only run a hand through his hair and try and make himself look inconspicuous before posing a question to both the SBRs and the redhead, the latter of whom was now looking at him with slight concern and a bead a sweat running down the side of her head. "Any of you see the guy that did this?"

*THAT'S THE DEFECT!*

"What!? No, nononono! I was just-!" Chai began frantically, only to let out a resigned sigh and slump his shoulders when he saw, just like the last batch, the squadron of SBRs ready their stun prods once more… though he quickly perked up when he noticed that redheaded girl stepping up beside him before turning to face him.

"Your name is Chai, right?" Still rather confused about what this girl's deal was (or how she knew his name for that matter) Chai could only mutely nod in response while giving her a curious look. "I can help you fight against these Artifices. You see, I-"

However, Chai's silence was ultimately temporary, and upon hearing the girl begin to offer help, he couldn't stop the cocky smirk that began to creep onto his face before cutting her off by swinging out his robotic arm, surprising her, with the wrist once again flicking open and popping out his trash grabber.

"Soooo… whatever you had in mind, thanks for the offer and all, but I'm good," Taken aback by this, the girl had no time to say anything before Chai turned her offer down, and was further blindsided when the scrap from all around them once again magnetized towards the grabber and formed his kickass new Scrap Guitar. Fighting to suppress his laughter when he saw the girl leaning slightly towards the Scrap Guitar with a tilted head and a wide-eyed, flabbergasted expression, Chai then opted to go for some extra style/show-off points by tossing the unique weapon into the air and catching it at its handle. "I still got a lot of beats I wanna try jamming out to."

And on her own end, the fire Aegis found herself too blindsided by the rapid-fire series of confusing events that just happened to properly respond before the young man she was almost certain was her Driver suddenly dashed toward towards the squadron of Artifices and began smacking them around easily with that instrument-like rod of scrap he was using as a weapon. He was showing himself off to be surprisingly agile with the strength to back it up, nimbly dashing away from several strikes just as they were about to land before retaliating with several powerful blows… all in time to the beat of that music Pyra had started hearing!

"So he is the source of that music I'm hearing…!" The Aegis realized, her gaze fixated on her apparent Driver as he eagerly swung and swiped his way through the security bots. Between this and every other surreal, confounding thing she'd experienced since waking up, Pyra was beginning to wonder if she hadn't truly woken up at all, somehow banged her head hard while inside her container, and was subsequently experiencing some bizarre fever dreams as a result.

*POP! CRICKLE-CRACKLE!*

…Pyra found herself leaning further into this theory when one of the young man's strikes with that strange weapon of his sent one of the Artifices careening and screaming into the air before creating a colorful, fireworks-like explosion.

(Several minutes earlier)

For a few minutes now, Pyra had been wandering through this strange location, relying mainly on that curious beat and the ever-growing sound of music she'd been gradually hearing to hopefully find something, be it either her prospective Driver or some sort of lead or idea on just where the hell she was and what to do next.

Additionally, since waking up and making her way through this futuristic cityscape, the redheaded Blade found herself coming to a halt several times upon happening across what appeared to be Artifices, or at least something akin to them, going about and performing maintenance at various points, with some models hyper-fixating on cleaning their surroundings whereas others were focused more on simple cargo transportation and organizing said cargo. She'd actually encountered a few squadrons of combat variations of these Artifices not long after her awakening that tried to apprehend her, but she'd made quick work of them.

Unfortunately, despite all of these bizarre Artifice-like machines somehow appearing to be fully sapient and capable of communication, Pyra really didn't get much in the way of help from any of them, not even the ones not trying to attack her. On the rare instances she could get one of the little cleaning machines' attention, all of what they had to say was just rambling (and some… surprisingly insightful philosophies) about cleaning and how much they loved to do so. The other models Pyra ran into weren't any help either, with the ones apparently charged with moving cargo around being far too stressed out, high-strung, and hyper-fixated on doing their job correctly to really acknowledge the Blade's presence, much less help out.

Pyra made slightly more progress (In the sense that it actually acknowledged her presence and responded to her instead of the barely sidelong glance she got from most of the other machines) with a one-eyed robot that had the voice of an old man, but still ultimately learned nothing helpful from it with how everything she asked somehow always looped back to the work it was doing and the sheer amount of pride and satisfaction it felt from a job well-done.

(Slight silver lining though; Pyra at least got some really good tips on how to properly stack up boxes while making the end-result look like something, like an animal or a distinct landmark, so that was something, she supposed… though that really didn't help with her current predicament.)

However, it wasn't too long before Pyra's initial plan of following the beat bore fruit, since as she leapt down from a ledge she'd been using to examine her surroundings and subsequently dropped into an area that looked like an outdoor lounge/garden, the Aegis felt the constant beat and increasing music she'd been hearing reach an apex in one particular direction; namely, past a gigantic statue towards the base of the garden.

"Alright, hopefully I was right and my Driver's just around the corner now…!" At this realization, Pyra took off in a sprint past the statue and straight towards the source of the beat and music, eager to finally get some sort of answer regarding this bizarre situation she woke up to. However, upon making it past the statue and down some stairs, Pyra found herself slowing to a halt, her calm, determined expression once more turning into a wide-eyed, baffled look when she was greeted with… another group of those security-focused Artifices, the smoking, crackling remains of several more of them scattered all around, and at the center of it all holding the attention of everyone present…

"Chai… Chai… Chai… thank you, thank you…!"

…Was a brown-haired young man in yellow with a long, red scarf that was currently in the middle of whispering/chanting what seemed to be his name to himself, all while acting like he had a roaring audience standing before him… and again, judging by how the rhythm and music she'd been following and listening to this whole time reached its apex in volume once she got here, topped off by how he was the only person she was seeing here that was human and thus, could resonate with a Core Crystal… There was really no doubt about it, strange as this whole situation was; that young man who was currently blissfully unaware of his surroundings was her Driver.

In response to such a revelation, Pyra voiced the first thought that she managed to process upon stumbling across this odd scene.

"…Is… Is he… daydreaming?" Was the only thing Pyra could think to ask herself once she found her voice and her mind properly processed the odd scene before her. Admittedly, compared to the sheer whiplash and utter surreality of everything else she'd experienced since waking up, seeing her apparent Driver daydreaming and having the general demeanor of a goofball really wasn't that odd. (If anything, Pyra would admit that she found the act rather endearing and cute). No, the Blade's concerns lied more with the several wrecked robots all around him and how a squadron of those same armed robots were now looking at him questioningly and with growing suspicion.

* ...Kiiiiinda lookin' like it, yeah.* One of the robots in question casually piped up in response to Pyra's spoken thought, causing her to jump slightly and bringing her attention back to them. Like her, the robots seemed mostly just bemused and confused by the young man's antics, though the growing looks of questioning and suspicion on their faces implied nothing good. *...So should we try and get his attention or do you wanna go and do that?*

"I… think I'll take you up on that offer, thank you." While Pyra was still thoroughly confused about all this, she had more than enough sense to piece together that whatever was going on here, these Vandelay people that discovered her likely didn't intend to research her or Blades in general for any sort of benevolent purpose, that all the strange robots she'd encountered so far worked for them, and that her Driver -He keeps repeating 'Chai,' is that his name? She would assume so till proven otherwise- was likely at odds with them as well with the wreckage that was all around him. All this in mind, Pyra certainly wasn't going to refuse the robot's offer to get the young man's attention first. For all she knew, these robots' means of 'getting his attention' could simply involve beating him over the head while he was blissfully unaware.

Tentatively stepping up, around, and to the front of the young man, Pyra was then able to better take in his facial features and details she initially missed, like the little pins attached to his scarf, the lightning bolt T-shirt he wore… or the fact that he had a robotic right arm.

'...Another question to add to the list, I guess.' Now, having what appeared to be a mechanical arm was certainly a stranger sight than just zoning out in one's own little world, but with how things were currently looking, Pyra decided she'd save any questions regarding that strange limb for later as she reached out to tap Chai's shoulder and get his attention.

"Oh, you over there want an autograph? Well I'll get you an autograph! Chai, cha-"

*Poke, poke...*

Blinking back into reality upon feeling Pyra poke at his shoulder, the metal-armed young man flinched back slightly, eyes widening in slight surprise upon seeing the redhead standing just a few feet away from him. Much like how she'd been feeling since waking up, Chai looked rather confused and unsure what to make of her sudden appearance. He gave her a look up and down, which only seemed to further his confusion, before making the only vocalization he could think of at the moment. "Uhhhhh…"

"You… might want to turn around." …And at that eloquent statement on her Driver's end, Pyra then decided to take the time to point out that they weren't alone in the courtyard, pointing behind him and towards the two robots with accusingly questioning looks on their faces.

"O-Oh! Uhhhh…!" Flinching up further at the sight of the robots, the brunet proceeded to try and make himself look inconspicuous to everyone present, running his metal hand through his hair "Any of you see the guy that did this?"

'Yes, I think so. I think he's actually standing in front of us all right now.' Was Pyra's silent response to that question, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face as she watched the young man's floundering attempts at appearing inconspicuous.

*THAT'S THE DEFECT!*

And judging by the near-immediate response of the robots and how they readied their prods, they clearly weren't buying Chai's act either.

"What!? No, nononono! I was just-!" The brunet began frantically, only to let out a resigned sigh when none of the robots showed any sign that they'd hear him out.

"...Your name is Chai, right? I can help you fight against these Artifices. You see, I-" It was at this point that Pyra began to step forward, a narrowed, focused gaze on her face as she turned to address Chai properly, ready to offer up her assistance and power. She wasn't sure exactly how the brunet managed to destroy the robots that apparently accosted him before she showed up, but he surely would welcome some extra assistance… That was at least what she thought, anyway, before her Driver suddenly cut her off by extending his metallic arm just before she could elaborate any further.

"Soooo… whatever you had in mind, thanks for the offer and all, but I'm good," As he said this, Pyra was subsequently given a front-row look at just how he took out the robots that attacked him earlier. With his metal arm's hand flicking open at the wrist, Pyra finally noticed the eager smirk on his face as he watched several bits of scrap metal all around them apparently magnetize and converge around the clawed tool Chai was holding, taking the shape of some V-shaped instrument. "I still got a lot of beats I wanna try jamming out to."

And with that last statement, Pyra found herself rooted to the spot as she watched the young man toss the weapon into the air, catching by the handle without even looking before he eagerly dashed forward and began fighting against the robots, displaying a surprising amount of agility and adeptness in combat as he did so…

(Back in the present)

…Taking us back to the present, with a surprised Pyra continuing to watch as Chai deftly tore through the last of the robots, dashing around so rapidly that none of the robots were able to get a hit on him before he dealt a crushing series of combos to them. However, the redhead was soon brought out of her surprised stupor when she noticed a familiar strand of blue light suddenly appearing from her Core Crystal and connect to the occupied brunet's chest, who was in the middle of finishing off the last robot with a trio of slow, powerful, flaming club-like swings.
"Whoa…!" Not expecting it, Chai could only stumble back slightly in surprise when his last swing was wreathed in fire and let out a wave of the scalding element, melting a good brunt of the SBR's body to molten slag before he even hit the ground.

"Huh… fire. That's a new trick. And uhh…" Chai began, wide-eyed and taken aback by the flaming, melty mess he just left, as well as how his Scrap Guitar now had licks of flame radiating off it for a few seconds before dissipating. A feeling in the music lover's gut told him this was unrelated to his 'musical robot powers' or how well he fought to the beat just now, and that feeling was only reinforced when he also noticed the blue string of light coming out of his chest. "Wait a minute." Upon spinning around hastily and stumbling slightly, Chai's unspoken suspicions were proven true when he saw that the blue strand of light led back to that redhead and more importantly, back to that very familiar emerald-colored gemstone she had on the chest of her outfit. Upon seeing that she had the slacker's attention, the redhead looked as though she was about to speak, but Chai beat her to the punch and once again left her speechless when he pulled up his shirt, revealing his robot arm's Power Core Unit and the music player and gemstone that were both embedded into it. "Sooooo… shot in the dark here, but does this maybe belong to you?"

"...You could certainly say that." Was all Pyra could initially think to say in response, eyeing the emerald gemstone floating around in the young man's chest in shock. How in the world did that happen!?

"Huh! Well, at least that's one mystery solved. Anyway, I'd uh… give it back, but seeing as how it's kindaaaa…" Chai trailed off, searching for the right word to say as he tapped his pulsing Power Core Unit's glass casing with his index finger. "...stuck in there, my hands are a little tied here, y'know? Doesn't help that the only people that could help with getting it out just had their security try to kill me and all. Speaking of which, I'm gonna get out of here before any more of those guys show up and try to continue where the others left off. So if I'm right and this is yours, then I guess you can come along with me if you want. Just don't expect me to suddenly figure out how to get this thing out."

With that offer laid on the table, Chai then slung his Scrap Guitar over his shoulder before beginning to walk off at a leisurely pace. Blinking at that, the redhead was quick to catch up and start walking alongside Chai. "I'll take you up on that, especially seeing as how I ran into similar troubles not too long ago."

"You too, huh? So what'd you do that put you on their bad side?" Chai couldn't help but ask, shooting the girl a curious look before giving the park-like lounge area they were in a brief look over, taking note in particular of how even the trees and various bits of piping all around them were also moving to the beat of his music player.

"I'm not entirely sure of that myself, and the ones that I had to deal with weren't in any rush to explain what I did wrong."

"Well, that sounds… painfully familiar," The brunet winced slightly, instinctively bringing his free hand up to his gut as he said that. "Starting to think that Vandelay's security protocols or whatever could use some serious workshopping. Welp, guess we have something in common! Uh… other than having weird, glowy rocks close to our chests, anyway. Today's just been one crazy surprise after another that I've barely managed to make sense of."

"Hmhm, yes, I suppose so~," Despite herself and the odd circumstances she'd been thrust into, the Aegis found herself letting out some muted chuckles at her newfound Driver's words, quickly finding his energetic demeanor amusing. "Speaking of, you don't have to worry about getting my Core Crystal out of there. Odd beating aside, it seems fine where it is."

"Huh… bit surprised at how lax you're being about all that." Chai couldn't help but admit, taken aback by how lax the redhead was about how what looked to be her incredibly rare gemstone was lodged in his chest. When she tilted her head slightly and had an expression that implored him to elaborate, the brunet was quick to continue. "Like, don't get me wrong, I appreciate how chill you're being about this, just uh… I'm no mineralogist here or anything, but I can tell just from a glance that this is a pretty rare and expensive-looking rock I got stuck in my chest here, and that's not even going into how it looks like an accessory for your whole outfit there… which ALSO looks super-expensive, now that I mention it. Guess I'm just trying to say I expected more… uh… backlash, I guess you could say, to it being stuck there."

"...Yes, there's really no need to worry, Chai. First, if you really are concerned about where my Core Crystal was originally embedded, then it's fine," As she said this, Pyra reached back with a single hand and unsheathed her sword from the small of her back, easily whipping it in front of her for Chai to see. Stumbling back at the force and feeling of the sword cutting through air as it was whipped out, the wannabe rocker was initially stuck on the confirmation that the elaborate-looking weapon was the real deal and not just some fancy prop, but that was forgotten and his attention was instead grabbed by the sight of a glowing green gemstone embedded into the base of the sword that was identical to the gemstone currently floating in his chest/arm's Power Core Unit. "I've already got a replacement ready and set. More importantly, I'm not sure how exactly it happened, or the exact technicalities of it, but it seems like my Core Crystal ending up in there essentially made you into my Driver. As far as I can tell-"

"'Driver?' Uh, look lady, if that's why you're sticking around, I can't exactly help you with that." The redhead looked as though she had a lot more to say, but Chai felt compelled to cut her off and clarify a few things at the mention of the word 'Driver.' "I uh… okay, so don't go telling everyone about this, but I… don't really… have a license…. Aaaaand uh… sorta had to hitch-hike my way over here. Soooo yeah, if you needed someone to give you a lift somewhere or something, you might wanna try asking someone else."

That wasn't exactly a secret that Chai was proud of sharing -being past 25 and still having no license- and he wouldn't deny that the idea of some girl that could somehow control fire needing him to act as her chauffeur was a rather weird turn of events, but after every other rapid-fire thing that happened to him today, it was a theory that felt pretty believable if you asked the brunet.

"W…What…?" However, judging by the way the redhead initially only blinked in response while looking utterly flummoxed by his confession, Chai was going to assume she'd been referring to something else just now and didn't actually need a lift somewhere. "N-No, that wasn't what I was referring to. When I call you my Driver, I mean-"

*HEY-OOOO! BIG BOSS OF PRODUCTION REKKA HERE!* Once again however, the redhead was cut off by a big, booming voice before she could properly explain. With them both flinching up in surprise, the two could only watch as several gigantic monitors installed around the courtyard area were suddenly filled with the image of a very brawny and very fuming woman with tan skin and highlighted hair that was swept to the side. *SO REKKA'S GONNA BE NEEDING SOME OF YOU HALF-WIT SECURITY AND WORKERS TO EXPLAIN WHY THERE ISN'T JUST A DEFECT RUNNIN' WILD IN REKKA'S ZONE, BUT THAT IMPORTANT CARGO GOT LOOSE ON HER STOMPIN' GROUNDS TOO!* For as confused and blindsided by this sudden development as they both were, both Chai and his new, redheaded acquaintance quickly caught onto how this Rekka woman was referring to them both just now, and that she clearly wasn't happy about them both running around unchecked. *ANY ONE OF YOU CHUMPS SEE THAT KID RUNNING AROUND, REKKA WANTS YOU TO CRUSH HIM, SMASH HIM INTO TINY PIECES! SAME APPLIES FOR THE GIRL, JUST MAKE SURE SHE'S IN ONE PIECE SO SHE BE SENT OVER TO KALE! NO DEFECT'S GETTIN' OUTTA PRODUCTION, AND NO SWORD GIRL EITHER! NOT ON REKKA'S WATCH!*

"OK! That's clearly someone we don't wanna run into." Was all Chai could think to say in response to all that, thoroughly unsettled and a concerned frown plastered onto his face. The brunet already knew that Vandelay's security was trying to kill him for some bullcrap about being a 'defect,' with the redhead he just met apparently also having a target on her back, but having a big, scary woman like that loudly broadcast just how badly she wants to see you get smashed to pieces certainly helped put this insanity and the danger he was in into perspective.

"She… definitely doesn't come off as a reasonable sort of person." Pyra couldn't help but add, similarly unsettled with a nervous sweat running down the side of her face. As if she didn't need any more confirmation that whatever these 'Vandelay' people wanted with her wouldn't be anything benevolent…

"Yeah, uh… with that in mind, we should probably pick up our pace." Chai was quick to suggest, and Pyra certainly wouldn't argue with that idea. With that, the two sped up their pace into light jogs as they neared the exit of the garden-like courtyard. Though, they didn't get very far before the brunet felt compelled to address a certain fiery elephant in the room. "Hey, so in the meantime, I gotta ask; what exactly is the deal with the whole 'fire' and 'sword' shtick you got going there? I mean, I've got a vague idea of how my 'musical robot powers' work and how I got them -that being the music player in my chest boosting up my new robot arm- but uh… I'll be honest, I'm kinda drawing blanks on how this works other than the fact that the flames I spouted earlier has something to do with the rock I also got in my chest, which uh… mind you, looks a lot like the ones you got on your clothes, sword and earrings. Soooooo… yeah, any insight there?" At all these questions on how exactly the bond between them as Driver and Blade worked and the various benefits that came with it, the redheaded Aegis slowed to a stop before a thoughtful expression crept onto her face, all while bringing a gloved hand up to her chin. All very good questions that Pyra figured she'd be going over given the nature of the place she woke up in and how those tablets she found earlier treated Blades and Core Crystals as newly introduced, foreign objects. When a moment passed by with no answer coming from the redhead, Chai was quick to wave his question off with a literal wave of his robotic arm. "I mean hey, no sweat. If you don't got any clear-cut answers, fair enough. I'll admit I'm just coasting along here myself on assumptions."

"No no, you're right. Those are very good and important questions you're asking and I can answer them, it's just hard to even decide on where to start, or even how to properly explain." Pyra was quick to reassure Chai that wasn't the case with a wave of her hand. However, just as she was about to speak and begin trying to explain, something out of the corner of her eye -through a chain-link fence and into some sort of loading bay/in-construction looking area- caught her attention and utterly derailed her train of thought. "Y-You see Chai, when you came into… contact… w-with… with that… uhm… what in the hell am I…?"

"You uh… you all good there, buddy?" Chai couldn't help but ask, tilting his head slightly with both hands behind his head as he looked at the now-flummoxed redhead.

"Yes, I'm fine, it's just…" Quickly shaking her head to clear her thoughts and confusion, Pyra at this point decided it'd simply be best to just point towards what caught her attention and left her so bewildered. "Uh… is that a floating fridge with a face? With a set of arms and a sign?"

At her words and where she was pointing, Chai was quick to turn on his heel toward that direction. True to the befuddled redhead's word, there was indeed a white and blue colored floating fridge with a smiling face floating several feet away from the both of them, merrily waving around a large cardboard sign that said *HINT!* in black sharpie like he was a street advertiser.

"Uhhh! Yes, yes it is…!" Was all Chai could say in confirmation, wide-eyed and similarly flummoxed and disturbed by the sight.

*Hello there~! Can I be of assistance?* The fridge in question suddenly asked, addressing the both of them as it waved towards both Chai and Pyra in a very enthusiastic, animated manner.

At that inquiry, the unlikely duo could only give one another confused, questioning looks before slowly walking over to the eagerly waving fridge. After a moment of silence and confusion on both their parts, Chai was the first to find his voice. "Uhhh… What are you?"

*Vandelay smart fridge VA-SFO7, commonly known as 'Smidge.'*

"Not very catchy, but-"

That was about all Chai managed to get out before the self-proclaimed 'smart fridge' suddenly floated uncomfortably close, making Chai feel thoroughly unsafe and in-need of an adult -despite legally being one for over half a decade now- and making Pyra stumble back a bit in surprise too. *I can analyze your well-being and guide you to satisfaction! LET ME INDULGE-*

"Hey, hey! No indulging!" Was all Chai had to say in response to a proposition such as that, making a point to use his Scrap Guitar to push the floating fridge back several feet.

*You seem to have MUSICAL ROBOT POWERS, Would you like me to explain the mechanics of your malfunctioning abilities?*

"Wait. You can explain what this… beat coming from Chai is? Or at least how it works?" Pyra was quick to ask, perking up at the prospect of getting some sort of clarity/explanation regarding her new Driver's bizarre abilities.

"No need, already got the gist of that. Attack to the beat and time my hits, and that makes my blows hit harder. I don't need a second class on it, dude." Chai, however, didn't seem to share this sentiment, bluntly summing up his own thoughts on the matter with a dry expression, mainly due to the robot describing his arm's abilities as 'malfunctioning.' "Also, with how these powers are the only things that kept me from getting my shit rocked in by the security here, I wouldn't really call them 'malfunctioning' in my book."

*Oh! Well then. If you are already well-acquainted with how your malfunctioning abilities work, then perhaps I could provide you some insight on the FOREIGN EXISTENCE that's both standing behind you and has a piece of itself lodged inside your Power Core Unit!* Without missing a beat, the smart fridge was quick to eagerly offer up clarity and guidance on that matter instead, prompting a confused, questioning expression from Chai and a surprised expression from Pyra.

"Foreign…? Wait," Chai began, only to trail off and his eyes widening slightly in realization. Without another word, the robotic-armed young man pulled up his shirt and revealed his Power Core -and the two unintended stowaways inside it- for the talking fridge to see. "So, just so we're all on the same page here, you're talking about the green gem in my chest here, right? Not my MP3?"

*Indeed! I can tell just from a surface-level scan that the FOREIGN EXISTENCE lodged inside your Power Unit is not only part of the very same FOREIGN EXISTENCE behind you, but it also allows you to further bolster your attacks if you meet the right requirements!*

"Huh…" Was Chai's initial response, giving both the fridge and silently listening redhead a curious look before looking towards his still-formed Scrap Guitar. Immediately, the image of one of his earlier blows being wreathed in fire came to mind. "And uh… I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume that extra 'bolstering' you mentioned involves… fire, maybe?"

*Correct~! It would appear that if you remain in close enough proximity to it in combat, your blows should then be wreathed in flames, as indicated by the blue beam of light connecting you both. Additionally, it would seem that if you can maintain that beam of light till it gains a gold coloring, then you might have even more devastating fire-based attacks at your disposal!*

"Hm! Well that sounds pretty handy!... if sorta situational with how it sounds like we GOTTA stay close for any of that to work properly." Chai thought out loud. That whole explanation was pretty straight-forward and did a good job explaining how… whatever this was between him and the enigmatic redhead worked, though to be perfectly honest, Chai wasn't exactly feeling super-keen at the prospect of making use of the redhead's fire powers, neat as they may be. His own abilities he gained via his 'musical robot arm' seemed much less situational in a fight.

*Not only that, but it appears to be a process that goes both ways!* Smidge continued to explain, particularly getting Pyra's attention at that. *Just as you can potentially gain access to its flame abilities in battle, it would seem that remaining in your general proximity allows the FOREIGN EXISTENCE accompanying you to also make use of your MUSICAL ROBOT POWERS.*

"My uh… name is Pyra, Smidge." Pyra felt the need to interject at this point, the first thing she had to say being a clarification on her name before some more prominent questions came to mind at the mention of her also being able to utilize her Driver's… 'musical robot powers.' "So… in the same sense that Chai can utilize my fire as long as the Affinity Line is live, you're saying I can do the same with his music powers?"

*Correct! As established, attacking enemies on the beat does more damage, so like your partner, I sense it is beneficial to do exactly that! For some, the beat is hard to find, like inner peace, so here is a tip!* All too happy at having inquiries directed towards him, Smidge was all too eager to answer Pyra's questions, providing further details for the intently listening Blade. *Our immediate surroundings appear to be moving in time with the beat, so if you ever lose your rhythm, it would only take a simple look at a nearby object or appliance to reorient yourself.*

"Interesting… it certainly sounds very strange, but I think I understand what you're saying." Pyra hummed, quickly getting an idea of what the fridge was saying.

*Excellent! Though if you still have any lingering uncertainties, then please! Take the time to practice your newfound rhythm-based attacks on me.* As Smidge made this offer, he quickly spun around for a quick second, revealing that he'd replaced his sign with a set of punching bag-like gloves and had even drawn a six-pack onto his… door with what appeared to be a sharpie.

"You…want me to hit you? A-Are you sure you'd want to offer something like that? I don't want to hurt you." Pyra asked, both concerned and disturbed by the fridge's clear enthusiasm at what he just suggested.

*I can see it excites you~. So please, practice your attacks on me for as much as you need!* These feelings didn't really fade with what the floating fridge followed up with, and that sentiment was quickly shared by Chai once Smidge turned his attention towards the brunet. *The offer is open to you as well, my friend! Your hits would only fill me with joy~!

"Nah nah, I think I'm uh… I think I'm good. I'll just hang back while you two… uh, have fun." Making no effort to hide how disturbed he was by the offer, Chai made a point to both back away and put both his arms up in a 'no thank you' gesture, not even caring that he dropped his Scrap Guitar as he did so. (Whether it was due to his proximity or maybe that the claw it was formed around was magnetized, the scrap forming his makeshift weapon stayed together even while out of his grasp.)

"...Fair enough, though I suppose you're not in any rush to try anything with my fire then, are you?" Pyra asked, all while a few beads of sweat ran down the side of her face. Whether that sweat was due to Smidge's… concerningly forward demeanor and words, exasperation at her Driver's behavior in response, or a combination of the two, no one could say for certain.

"Yeaaah, again, I'm good. I learn better in the heat of things anyway. But hey! Don't let me stop you! By all means, the stage is all yours to rock." Chai was quick to respond, making a point to gesture towards the 'ready to be beaten down' Smidge with an exaggerated bow. With how it was now abundantly clear that both that sword and all those flames he'd been seeing so far were very real -doubly so with the confirmation that she could apparently also attack to the beat- the wannabe rocker was undeniably curious to see what the redhead was capable of with it and what sort of cool combos she could pull with that sword.

"Pfft. Alright then~." Covering her mouth with her free hand to stop her sudden chuckle, Pyra soon found a smile creeping onto her face and a sense of amusement overriding her previous feelings. Putting her focus back on the still-ready Smidge, the redhead's expression turned thoughtful once again as she briefly looked the fridge over and did the same with her sword before seemingly deciding on something. "Ha!" Making a point to try and time her attacks to the ever-present beat, Pyra did what she considered a basic combo; that being a quick, bare-handed jab followed up by several subsequent slashes of her sword, with the last two in particular causing her sword to activate briefly, fire roared from her sword's tip and sides.

*Excellent! Now why not try a heavy attack?*

"Heavy attack, you mean like…?" Rather than finish that sentence, Pyra continued to move with the rhythm and instead delivered another combo Smidge's way: this time, the redheaded Blade attacked exclusively with her sword, hitting the fridge with several disciplined but powerful swings, her sword activated again through the combo's duration…

"HEY!"

"WOO!"

"HEY!"

"YEAH!"

…And just like with Chai earlier, each perfectly timed hit Pyra landed was signified by apparent cheering and chanting with each hit. The final blow in the Aegis's combo sent the floating fridge careening onto its back with slowly growing flames littering its gloves and body, but just as Pyra was about to express some concern for the strange fridge, it spun back onto its feet just as quickly, the fires on its body dying out just as soon as they appeared.

"Whoa…" Chai uttered under his breath in awe, both from all the fire that came out of Pyra's sword and the power and finesse behind her combos. It was very obvious to him that he would not want to be on the receiving end of one of her flaming attacks, especially from how clearly she was holding herself back, otherwise Chai was sure Smidge would have been reduced to a melting sludge of metal right now. The wannabe rockstar was also impressed at how quickly Pyra was able to pick up his rhythmic-based abilities, but then again, Chai himself was quite proficient with his newfound power from the get-go, so maybe it's not wasn't that much impressive.

*Just like I thought! You CAN do it!" Smidge cheered, clapping his gloved hands in approval.

"Well! That was exhilarating…!" The Aegis breathed out, a wide-eyed, pleased expression on her face as she looked down at her sword, which had now reverted back to its usual dormant state. Just from the impact alone, Pyra could feel that her perfectly timed strikes just now hit considerably harder than usual, and that wasn't even touching upon the satisfying rush that came with perfectly timing her attacks.

"Okay, that was pretty cool!" Chai couldn't help but chime in and praise his redheaded companion with a thumbs up. Pyra smiled back at him in gratitude. "And man, gotta admit, you threw me off a bit at first, but you fridges are great! You really do know me!" He then turned to Smidge, similarly impressed at him and starting to rethink his initial impressions of the talkative, floating fridge…

*I know EVERYTHING about you…* …Though that sense of amazement was quickly replaced with an overwhelming sense of 'creeped-out-ness' at Smidge's next words, with the way he leaned in uncomfortably close to Chai doing nothing to assuage that feeling. *And I look forward to our next chat~!*

"Okay! That's just uh… creepy."

"Uh… maybe try and be a bit less… forward in the future, alright Smidge? And thank you for your help explaining this." Similarly disturbed, but with her polite attitude and gratitude winning out, Pyra opted to be the one to say goodbye on behalf of her and Chai, getting between the talking fridge and young man as she said this. It was a bit of a necessity, what with how the latter was now backing away with a thoroughly unnerved expression on his face.

*Always happy to be of assistance! And please! If you ever feel like you need more practice with your moveset, I'm always happy to act as a target!* The smart-fridge happily said, all while oblivious to how he was unnerving the newfound Driver and Blade duo one last time with that parting remark. Neither Chai nor Pyra said anything in response, the two instead just quickly jumping up several shipping containers and into what looked like some sort of 2nd floor docking bay in a clear hurry.

"So uh… as helpful as all that was…Yeah, I don't know about you, but that entire experience left me feeling kinda… violated." Was all Chai had to say once he was certain Smidge was out of earshot, the unnerved expression on his face matching his words.

"...I'd say that's surprising with how he didn't touch either of us that entire exchange, but… yes, that's a fair thing to be feeling right now." Similarly, despite feeling genuine gratitude for the… eccentric machine for clearly and concisely explaining how her newfound abilities worked in relation to her Driver, she wouldn't deny that its overall demeanor and attitude while speaking was more than a bit disarming and unnerving.

"To be clear, it's kind of a mental violation I'm feeling right now, but I digress…" Chai said, all while using his Scrap Guitar to break apart a pile of wooden boxes that had been left haphazardly in the middle of the hall, blocking the way. As he finished up with that and allowed the both of them to continue on (all while a bunch of vividly gold and silver colored gears flew into a magnetic compartment in his arm, funnily enough), something occurred to the brunet that caused him to look towards the redheaded fire girl questioningly. "Say, uh… Pyra, right? Now that I'm thinking about it… howexactly do you know my name, anyway? Cuz it's kinda dawning on me that I never introduced myself at any point since we met."

"I… overheard you chanting that name to yourself back in that courtyard." And like that, Pyra awkwardly having to point out that particular detail of their initial meeting caused Chai to go from questioning to embarrassed and a bit flustered.

"Oh… huh." Was all the wannabe rocker managed initially, coughing into his mechanical hand as he recalled that, yeah, he kinda had been in the midst of his whole 'tutorial zone-out' and was in the middle of reveling in the 'crowd's' cheering for him when the redhead (and security for that matter) happened across him. "Yeaaah, yeah, that tracks. And uh…. Oh, hey! Look at how big that gap is!"

Growing increasingly desperate for a change to a less embarrassing topic, Chai then opted to call attention to the first thing that caught his eye, which in this case was the apparent dead end they came across in the form of a gigantic gap over a pit that looked to be bottomless. "Yeah, I don't really see myself getting across this without either a grappling hook or over a decade's worth of parkour experience. Any ideas?"

As soon as Chai finished that sentence, he already began hovering all around the immediate area near the gap for a potential solution, leaving Pyra to muse a solution on her own end in silence. "Hmm…" The redheaded blade hummed, a thoughtful expression on her face as she measured the distance of the gap between where they were and the rest of the way and whether she could cross it while carrying Chai with her. "I actually think I can make that jump. Maybe if you hop onto my back, we can-"

*Whap!*

*FWING!*

Pyra had been so caught up in considering this potential solution that she was unaware that Chai took notice of the pipe valve located right underneath a warning sign that blatantly said DELICATE! BE GENTLE! Nor how his immediate instinct upon seeing this was to smack the valve with his Scrap Guitar. The results were immediate, with the valve itself flying past a startled Pyra's face before sections of the wall along the gap unfolded, providing a set of impromptu platforms for the unlikely duo to use.

"Alright~! Found us a way across! That was easy." The young man cheered, a pleased expression on his face as he slung his weapon over his shoulder and took in their new path.

"I'm… reasonably certain I could've gotten us both across to the other side, Chai. Was that really necessary?" Pyra questioned her Driver's actions with a disconcerted expression as a bead of sweat appeared on the side of her head.

"Ehhhh, probably not, but with how security's trying to kill me and capture you for what're looking like really stupid reasons, I'd say we're both entitled to a little vandalism around here." The brunet shrugged, the easygoing expression still on his face even as he double-jumped across the unfolded steel walls, with the redhead soon following after a moment's hesitation. "Besides, I'd say this is a better alternative to you having to carry me across or something like that."

"I suppose so, I just hope the noise we're making doesn't attract any more of that security to us."

"Pfft! C'mon! You're talking like they'd be a problem for either of us! I'm already getting the hang of all this and I could tell just from that little demo earlier you'd kick ass in a fight. Honestly, as someone that still has some more moves and tricks I wanna take for a test run, I'd be all for another couple of fights."

"...For someone that's also actively being hunted and pursued, you seem very… gung-ho at the prospect of more of those Artifices finding us. And… you've never been in a fight like this prior to today?" Pyra couldn't help but ask, Chai's words not doing much to alleviate her disconcertment. The fact that he looked and generally acted like he led the mundane life of a civilian rather than a soldier or Driver only made the surprising adeptness he displayed earlier taking out those security robots all the more shocking.

"Nope~! Buuuut like I said before, I'm a fast learner. The fact that beating those bots down gives me one hell of a rush helps too." Was all Chai had to say in response, a confident and slightly boastful tone in his voice as the two approached another large, steel door, which opened up to reveal another loading bay-looking area as well as some more company. "Speaking of which…"

*Hey, so what exactly did Rekka tell us to be on the lookout for again? I can never listen to her too long with how she's gotta SCREAM everything she's saying. I always just mute my hearing when she starts ranting for more than a half-minute.*

*Eh, apparently, we're supposed to be on the look-out for some defect running around the campus and some escaped cargo.*

"Oh! So y'mean like us?" Pyra had just been about to suggest maybe going back a bit and finding another route to avoid unnecessary conflicts when Chai immediately sprinted ahead of her and got the squadron of security-droids and got their attention, clearly feeling differently about the prospect of more… well, prospective fights.

With them all quickly realizing that their targets had appeared before them, the present SBRs all lost their previously lax and casual postures and readied their stun prods before several trap metal trap doors in the walls and floors opened up and deposited out more robotic security, topped off by their immediate surroundings locking down once more. *Get them!*

"Try and catch this~!" Was Chai's only response, his eager tone matching how he surprised one group of the SBRs before they could even try to swing when he immediately closed the distance between him and them in three subsequent dashes, followed up by two strikes,

*Beat!*

And a single lull in the beat and Chai's rhythm before he followed up with a crushing blow that sent the robots up skyward. The brunet was quick to cap this surprise attack off by leaping up after them and sending them all crashing down hard to the ground with a slam of his guitar after a mid-air combo barrage.

"Was there any particular reason we couldn't have just taken another door, Chai?" Pyra couldn't help but sigh in exasperation, nonetheless not missing a beat (har har) as she nimbly leaned back and continued to dodge the repeated swings and attempts by the SBRs to hit her before retaliating with a lethal, fiery combo that was on-beat, culminating in the redhead using an uppercut-like slash of her sword that hit two SBRs at once and sent them both flying up into the air and setting both their bodies on fire.

"Not really, but this is way more fun!" With the eager smirk on his face only growing more prominent upon seeing the opening, Chai was quick to act. Sending the SBR he'd been previously focusing on stumbling back with a solid blow from his Scrap Guitar, the brunet then ran forward before leaping up, using the hapless robot's head as a platform in place of his double-jump (which consequently sent his already loose head tumbling off his body), and proceeded to then make the two flaming robots' day even worse by following up on Pyra's assault with another, different variation of mid-air strikes with his guitar, culminating in his final, crushing blow which sent both lethally damaged SBRs crashing to the ground, followed up soon by the Scrap Guitar itself stabbing into the concrete ground below and Chai himself landing feet-first on the embedded weapon, the attack being enough to finish the thoroughly damaged robots off.

"Think I'll be calling that one 'Stomp Box~.'" The brunet thought aloud as he backflipped off his impromptu weapon, letting out a pleased exhale as he took in both his and Pyra's handiwork. However, as he took in their surroundings, Chai then also took notice of something else. Namely, the fact that there were three doors in this particular area, counting the one where they came in from, and barring that door, they were all still locked, which put their progress on hold. "So uh… you seeing an exit anywhere? Cuz I'm not."

After keeping her gaze on her rather hyperactive Driver for another moment to see if he wouldn't stumble and hit his way into clearing the route again, Pyra began to scan their immediate surroundings as well. However, like her Driver, the redhead wasn't seeing any obvious way out of this area. She could definitely jump the metal gate to her right, but that just led off a cliff into the dark depths of this campus down below. "I'm not seeing anything either. Unless we get some help, we still might have to go back the way we came-"

*Hey! Are you two alright down there?* And almost as if in response, the pair heard the voice of a girl calling them from afar, specifically coming from a large nearby building across the gap into the campus depths dubbed 04 PLANT. *You guys need a hand?.* The girl offered.

"Well, that's convenient." Chai smiled, not looking at the gifted horse in the mouth. "Lookin' to get outta here!" He shouted back at the girl. Pyra seemed a bit skeptical at this though, but as things stands she's willing to welcome any sort of help, so she didn't protest her Driver's decision to accept the girl's help.

*Well, that might be something I can handle if you-* The girl attempted to reply before being cut off mid-sentence by Chai.

"Hey, yelling like this is awkward! Can you speed this up?" Finding all the yelling in this conversation to be both awkward and annoying, Chai opted to get straight to the point.

"And a bit straining on the eardrums…" Pyra noted under her breath, a bead of sweat running down the side of her head and she rubbed at her now-suddenly tender ears.

*Fine, then! Look, I hacked the nearby access panel. One of you, just smack the switch and come up.* The girl replied, clearly sounding a little annoyed at being cut off, but acquiescing nonetheless. A nearby read button that had PUSH broadly stamped across it then lit up brightly. Without a second thought, Chai leapt up and smacked the button…

*OW!*

…And Pyra quickly found herself having to catch up to Chai when she found herself once again flummoxed and rooted to the spot upon hearing what seemed to be an exclamation of pain just as Chai hit the switch, subsequently opening up the nearby gate and raising up several floating platforms across the gap between buildings, allowing for a way across and up into the 04 PLANT building. The Aegis was quick to shake off her confusion and start leaping after her Driver when she realized he was going on ahead without her… but that question was still nagging at the very back of her head. '...Who made that noise just now?'

For a brief, stupid moment, Pyra considered the notion that the button itself made that exclamation of pain, but just as quickly waved that ridiculous notion off. Even with all the crazy, bizarre things she'd seen since waking up, that possibility was just a touch too insane for her to stomach even for this place.

By the time Pyra caught up to Chai, who had already made it across the platforms and was now navigating his way up a catwalk/stairwell that led further up the building, he'd been in the middle of complaining about something she'd only briefly heard the tail end of. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't hear any of that, Chai. What were you saying just now?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just venting a bit about how much of a bummer Project Armstrong's turning out to be. I only came here for a cool, new robot arm! Not a target on my head." He replied. "I mean, it's not all bad, I guess. I'm really liking my new 'musical robot powers,' and getting to smack asshole bots around with my sweet new guitar to the beat of kickass music, but I definitely don't like being hunted down and killed by those crazy security bots that think I'm a defect!" He complained further. It had barely been a half hour, and already the cons of this situation were outweighing the pros in his opinion.

"I'm not familiar with this project, but I'm uh… going to go off on a limb, if you don't mind my saying, and guess that it involves giving people robotic limbs?" Pyra asked, attempting to help alleviate his mood a little bit with some wordplay.

"Ha! Good one!" Chai laughed, mood immediately taking a good turn at the sound of a solid pun. So on top of all the cool anime fire powers, she knew how to drop a good pun too? A girl after his own heart. "But yeah, it was this big charity project Vandelay Technologies started up pretty recently. The end results speak for itself, but I'm definitely seeing that my whole 'music robot power' shtick wasn't exactly what they had in mind for me when they gave me this arm." No, that would be fucking garbage collection. Now that the shock of that particular revelation wore off, it just left Chai both pissed off and feeling thoroughly vindicated about all the property damage he'd committed so far.

Oh, and that 'trying to kill him' thing really sucked a lot too, but currently, Chai couldn't help but dwell on his thoroughly wounded pride. And obviously he wasn't going to tell Pyra what his robotic arm was originally for, that would be more embarrassing than when she saw him being lost in his daydream earlier.

"Well, in any case, hopefully that person who called for us really can help us get out of here. I can't say I'm very eager to see what these people want with me either after everything I've seen of them."

"Yeah… uh, hey, before that though, I think I'm seeing more of those floating gears across the other rooftop," Chai began, quickly getting distracted upon realizing that at the height they'd currently gone up at, they could likely make it across to the adjacent rooftop across the gap. "might be something else over there, so I'm just gonnaaa…" Pyra had only just singled out the gears and cogs Chai had been referring to with her vision when the young man suddenly leaped off the ledge they'd been on. The redhead's heart briefly skipped a beat at the sight of such an action, but her panic was just as quickly alleviated when her Driver made use of his shockingly impressive mobility and dexterity by leaping again in mid-air followed up by a dash that allowed him to clear the gap and touch down on the roof. For a moment, Pyra could only watch the brunet eagerly pick up all the nearby gears on the rooftop before she gauged the gap and prospective leap across herself.

"..How does he do that?" Pyra couldn't help but ponder aloud before leaping across the gap after him. On her own end, the redhead had her nature as a Blade and the Aegis to justify her superhuman physical feats, and while such feats certainly wouldn't be impossible for Chai now that they were bonded together, the way he naturally did so, combined with how he clearly wasn't drawing on any of her power to fuel his movements, told her that Chai's shockingly abnormal agility was all his own, even discounting his robotic arm and music powers.

…It was at that realization that Pyra got the gut feeling she'd lose sleep if she dwelled on how such a thing was possible, like many of the bizarre things she'd happened across in the brief time she'd woken up in this world.

In any case, upon landing on the rooftop herself, the redheaded Blade didn't need to look far for Chai, who seemed to be in the middle of talking to another one of those Artifice-like machines. This one in particular appeared to be a humanoid model like the security droids that had been attacking them both, but one built specifically for manual labor rather than peace-keeping or combat.

There was also the curious little fact that said robot was lazing back on a lounge chair and appeared to be trying to catch a tan, if the set of sunglasses, notably more singed metal frame, and tanning mirror was any clue…

"...But uh… you're made of metal, how would you even-?" Whatever Chai and the robot were discussing before Pyra came in also seemed to be related to tanning, judging by the brunet's baffled words followed by what he asked upon noticing her presence. "Oh hey, so, I know this is gonna sound dumb, but can robots get tans?"

*Yes, they can. Now how about you both move anywhere else and stop blocking my rays.* The robot in question interjected irritably before Pyra could even think to try and answer, and it was at this that a thought occurred to the Aegis that left her feeling more stumped the more she thought about it.

"Uhm… excuse me, but… given what I've seen of this place so far, shouldn't you be working?" The fact that a machine apparently built to carry out menial labor could outright just choose to not do its job confounded Pyra on several different levels.

*If you ask any of the bosses I got here, yeah, definitely. Thing is; you kinda gotta MAKE your break-time when working in this company. Besides, there's just as good a chance Rekka or some other bullcrap would scrap me even if I wasn't on the job. Just gotta know where her blind spots are…* The tanning VA-SER shrugged before adjusting his seat followed by his sunglasses, his tone giving off the vibe of someone that long since stopped caring about their job and wouldn't care if they got fired as a result… or even worse in this machine's case with Vandelay's comically appalling treatment of their robotic workforce kept in mind.

*Any one of you that thinks of taking a break today is getting CRUSHED!* And as if fate itself wanted to reinforce the tanning VA-SER's point about Vandelay's god awful workforce practices, a monitor being held up by two flying drones passing by suddenly lit up, revealing Rekka's snarling visage and voice. *My eyes are EVERYWHERE, keeping a sharp look out for SLACKERS!*

*...Case in point. On that note, again, would you both beat it already? I don't need that whole 'defect and missing cargo' crap Rekka keeps screaming about to draw attention to my hiding spot.*

"Well, you got a real award-winning attitude. Whatever, let's get outta here," Chai remarked dryly, the VAS-ER's attitude not doing anything to endear it to him. Still, with how it looked like he properly cleared the rooftop of those shiny gears, there really wasn't any reason to dwell here any longer. High-time to see who that voice was and what she wanted. Without another word, both Chai and Pyra made their way back over to the ledge leading to the 04 PLANT building, with the former already beginning to check to see where it would be best to jump off from. "Alright, looks like the best way across is over to that ledge with… Oh crap."

*Hello again, my friend~! Once you make your way over here, I have something to say that I'm sure will be of assistance!*

Specifically, it looked like the safest way to jump would be to the catwalk that had a Smidge robot on it eagerly waving towards them. Seemed to be the same one from earlier too, judging by the way he was talking.

"Greaaat. Something to look forward to." Chai said, his tone and expression making it clear to Pyra he was anything but looking forward to the interaction as he nonetheless leapt across the gap, landing in front of the Smart Fridge with the Aegis following a moment later.

*I was watching you fight down there and while you were navigating across that gap. You seem very good at DODGING.

"Oh… yeah, I-I think I can do that."

*Analyzing your personal data, and I can see that your DODGE is very versatile.* Smidge continued, bringing attention to one of Chai's greatest strengths in combat. *Apparently, dodging with the beat enables up to a triple dodge, which combined with your air-dash and double-jump gives you no small amount of mobility options and means to reposition yourself against a tricky opponent.*

"Honestly, his advice here is actually very sound, Chai. From what little I've seen so far, your mobility and that triple dodge in particular is incredibly versatile, like he said." Pyra couldn't help but add on, voicing her own amazement with her Driver's agility, especially since she could recall several instances in the past where that sort of mobility would've been very handy.

"Sheesh, with the way you two are talking it up… I know it's useful, but is it really that useful?" Chai couldn't help but ask, brow raised. He knew first-hand that his dodge was handy, but the way they were talking it up made it sound like it could be the difference between life and death for him down the road.

"Undoubtedly." Pyra affirmed with a nod. She could think of several difficult battles during the Aegis War where Addam and his companions would have benefited greatly from such an ability, especially with how so many attacks on Alrest could cover such a range in such a short time.

*But I know what you're both thiiiiiinking~!*Chai had been about to thank the redhead for the little vote of confidence, but was cut off when Smidge suddenly (somehow) appeared right between them both, throwing them both off and unsettling them both considerably. *LIGHT and HEAVY attacks can be chained right after a dodge!*

"I actually WASN'T thinking about that." Was Chai's dry response. Meanwhile, another disturbed bead of sweat ran down the side of Pyra's face as she was once again reminded to give the talking fridge a bit of a berth.

*Of course you were! But just make sure to press the ATTACK BUTTON right after a DODGE.*

.

.

.

"'...Attack button?'"

*Nevermind small details like that! I'm sure you're eager to try those maneuvers out on a live target, and I am more than happy to oblige!* Neither Chai nor Pyra were allowed to question Smidge about what he meant by an 'attack button' further before he once again whipped, or rather spun out the drawn on six-pack and boxing gloves, eagerly waiting for Chai to test out his attacks on him.

"Okay, well… sorry in advance!"

*Again, your hits only fill me with joy!* And with the go-ahead given to him once again, Chai didn't hesitate to get some practice in with his attack variations that incorporated his dash/dodge, with the 'light' variation involving a spinning leap into a slash/whack with his Scrap Guitar, and the 'heavy variation' being an uppercut-like swing that sent both Chai and Smidge several feet up into the air for a brief moment before they touched down a moment later.

*Fantastic! Now here is a refreshing beverage. I hope I was useful!* The smart fridge cheered, taking a moment to indulge in some happy clapping before opening its… door and handing two green bottles of energy drink (of which it was stocked to the brim on) to the recently minted Blade and Driver duo.

"..." Initially, Pyra could only look down at the green bottle in her hand before casting her gaze back up towards the smart fridge, who was now looking at her expectantly with a static expression. The Aegis's gaze lingered on Smidge for another moment… then went back to the bottle… then it went back to Smidge… before she finally settled on the bottle with a note-worthy look of trepidation on her face. "...Uuhm… These… are safe to drink, right Smidge?"

Beyond the fact that they didn't know if it was poisonous or not, there was something that felt very… suspicious about ingesting this being's… fluids, context be damned.

"SLUUUUURP!"

Pyra then got her answer, not from the smart fridge, but from Chai, who didn't hesitate to practically inhale down the contents of his own bottle before tossing it off the ledge with a satisfied sigh. "Ahhh! Thanks for that. I needed a pick-me-up."

"...I… suppose that answers that question." …With every minute that passed, Pyra felt like she was steadily building more of a picture regarding her Driver's personality and quirks, and she wasn't sure what to think about what she was seeing.

"I uh… wasn't really listening. What were we talking about?" Chai asked offhandedly, rolling his neck and stretching his left arm as he looked towards the path that would lead into the 04 PLANT building and apparently to that voice that talked to them earlier.

"N-nothing important. Let's just get going. We don't want that person to think we're not coming." With no arguments about that idea, Chai didn't hesitate to follow after Pyra as she continued climbing and jumping up several platforms and catwalks. From there, their brief climb into the building was an uneventful affair, with Chai being the first to drop through the window and into the interior.

"Helloooo? Hacker voice… lady?' We're here!" Chai called out, only to be greeted with nothing aside from some leftover tools and parts nearby that had been left to gather dust. "Urgh… maybe this wasn't such a good idea afterall. What about you? You see anything?"

In response to that inquiry, Pyra opted to give their surroundings one more look over, admittedly not expecting to find anything at this point. "No, I don't think so. Maybe we really did take too long and that person is… huh?" The redhead trailed off, losing her train of thought when the sight of neon blue out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.

"What's up? See anything?" Chai was quick to ask. The wannabe rocker got his answer when he followed where his… 'Blade's' gaze was directed, and was subsequently greeted with what looked to be a small black cat with neon blue highlights. Additionally, between those neon blue highlights as well as the fact that its fore and hind legs appeared bolted on made it pretty clear that this was a robotic cat. "Is that… a cat? A… robot cat?"

"Well hello there, little fella. What are you doing wandering around here by yourself? Are you lost?" Pyra found herself a bit too preoccupied taking the cute feline in to really consider Chai's question, a small smile creeping onto her face as she gently picked the surprisingly weighty yet small cat up by the armpits. The cat itself didn't appear to mind this, instead taking a moment to lick at the back of its paw while the redhead gladly took in its cute appearance and unique design.

*Nah on both fronts. I always make sure to keep an eye on 808's live feed when I send her out, and she has a built-in GPS, so getting lost isn't a problem for her.* And it was at this point that Pyra was thrown for a loop for the umpteenth time today when she suddenly got an answer to her rhetorical questions. Not from Chai, but from the voice from earlier, whose voice came through the cat's mouth. While both the Aegis and her Driver were both too busy reeling from sheer surprise at this sudden turn, the cat then took this opportunity to look Pyra up and down up close like she did to her just a moment ago. Of note, the cat's gaze seemed to linger on the fire Blade's… thoroughly endowed chest, topped off by the… cat girl, apparently, sounding rather flustered with what she said next. *Man… you are… uhm… a lot to take in, aren't you?"

Pyra didn't have any time to dwell on the implications of that little observation before Chai posited another question to her, sounding very, very confused. "...Okay, so I didn't hit my head earlier, right? You're seeing the talking cat too, right?"

"...I was actually inclined to ask the same question, and yes, I am."

…And this was all topped off by a sinking sense in the Aegis's gut that things were only going to get stranger from here.

***O***

www . youtube watch ? v=m8rJc3rLbdI&ab_channel=CaseTech279

Hi-Fi Rush OST: Boss (Vandelay theme)

At the moment, Kale Vandelay was having the absolute worst time trying to fight off a migraine that had begun to make its presence known…

"I see…" Currently, the CEO of Vandelay Technologies found himself seated at his office, with the current source of his (completely unwarranted!) stress and headaches being the sudden report he'd gotten from Production… "So what you're telling me is that less than an hour after I leave Production -less than an hour after I give that specific order for no defects and no problems getting the cargo transported to my lab- not only did you get reports stating that you have a exactly that running around causing chaos in your district, but that the very important cargo I specifically said to be carefully handled on the way to my lab got out!?"

…And of course, the report in question had to involve not only the exact scenario Kale specifically warned against happening -a defect running rampant on his campus!- but also involved an even worse caveat in the form of the 'Blade' girl apparently awakening and breaching her container before he could properly take the chance to study her unique traits compared to the rest of her kind.

The worst possible situation Kale wanted to avoid had just been set into motion, and if left unchecked could compromise both Project Armstrong and the new projects and studies Vandelay had initiated regarding these alien 'Core Crystals.'

"The Hell do you want from Rekka here!? It ain't her fault that damn gem and some random crap fell on some punk during his surgery! Besides, even if those chump security bots can't handle em', then Rekka'll just break em both over her knee herself!" Rekka exclaimed on the other end of the video call, sounding both defensive and similarly angry.

"I don't want boasts, Rekka! What I want is for you to do the job I gave you competently!" Kale snarled out, his face contorted with rage for a moment before he managed to reign in his temper. Taking a deep breath, the CEO of Vandelay Technologies leveled a narrow-eyed glare at the scowling image of his head of Production."...Send me the footage of that girl breaking out of her container as well as the specs on the defect and his botched surgery, and make sure they're dealt with! This all happened in your area, so it's on you to deal with them, Rekka!"

"Rekka don't need you to tell her that, boss! She ain't about to let some defect punk or redhead bimbo ruin her record!" Kale was very tempted to bring up to his hot-headed idiot of a subordinate that her precious record was already broken in wake of all this mess, but opted to keep silent as the brawny woman logged off. If there was one certainty Kale had learned about Rekka in the time since he hired her, it was that she did her job best when she was angry and had something to prove.

Kale ended the video call before slumping in his seat, he let out a sigh in irritation as he rubbed his forehead, which did very little to soothe his throbbing headache. "What a pain in the ass. Maybe I should've just left her and those damn crystals in R&D afterall…" Figures that a combination of his natural scientific curiosity and a rare instance of initiative on his end would just come back to haunt him like this. If he just elected to let Zanzo and the R&D team continue their work on the Blade projects, then this mess wouldn't have even happened.

Kale likely would've mulled and stewed over this even longer, but his attention was soon grabbed by a compilation of security footage regarding that girl since her escape. Wasting no time, Kale began the footage, and was immediately greeted with the group of SBRs he'd left in charge of transporting the girl's container to his lab.

With his 'off camera' scowl plastered onto his face as he examined the footage, Kale soon found himself grimacing and having to shield his face when the girl's container suddenly erupted into blazing flames that quickly consumed the SBRs before growing beyond even that. When the flames finally faded in their intensity, the CEO was then greeted with the freed redhead who soon woke up and seemed just as confused about what just happened.

Watching intently, Kale then sped the compiled footage along to the first timestamp of several, most of which showcased the fire-wielding girl fighting off the SBR units that subsequently tried to put her back into containment. All the footage of her fighting -particularly just how powerful her attacks appeared to be and how vivid and intense her flames were, disposing of any attacking SBRs with no effort- then made it even more clear to him that the host to this particular Core Crystal they acquired was hiding something truly special. "...Well, she's certainly a cut above the rest of her kind, though that much was already obvious."

This knowledge and the fact that this girl was clearly a key factor in smoothly advancing their Blade projects only had Kale more adamant that this entire mess must get patched up and fixed as soon as possible. If things went well today, then hopefully he'd get a report from Rekka that the former had either security had actually done their jobs or that QA-1MIL did it for them. However, with the way things were looking -particularly regarding the robotic body count that had already been built up within an hour- it might be a good call to look into some precautions for this problem.

The reports he'd gotten from R&D when they initially managed to bring those crystals over also mentioned a strange phenomena, which was the sudden appearance of alien, airborne particles that were invisible to the naked eye that saturated all of Vandelay Island in a matter of hours and steadily beginning to spread further out into the atmosphere. Thankfully, said particles were completely harmless for all living beings, but further research indicated that these strange Blade beings drew power from these particles, so it might be worth looking further into that himself, even if this doesn't escalate.

It was as Kale was mulling over this, the specs/scan of the defect's implantation process came up, complete with where things went wrong. Leaning closer, Kale's eyes widened in shock when he got a closer look at the problem was and realized two things; one, that the 'defect' in question apparently involved that crappy old music player he threw away earlier, and two, that the Blade girl's awakening was apparently caused by that crystal from her sword falling on this idiot pre-surgery.

"...Of all the places that piece of junk could've landed…" Kale groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to process this revelation. "So beyond that, these two catastrophes are connected too… because of course they are."

…Kale was honestly hard-pressed to decide what was a more vexing revelation; that some defect loser was running around causing chaos with his property and his technology, or the begrudging acknowledgment that Kale… might have accidentally set this mess into motion. Though… It was actually funny. For as annoying and frustrating as this revelation was, a potential solution popped into Kale's head just as quickly.

With his scowl soon fading into a more calm and focused expression, Kale quickly brought up a list R&D managed to compile regarding these crystals, specifically regarding which would awaken into the standard, robot-like form that they'd seen via previous experiments, and which would take up more unique and powerful forms upon awakening. As the ruthless CEO took in the attributes and abilities of several entries on this list, a smirk slowly began to creep onto his face as a potential back-up plan began to form. if things escalated any further, then he'd simply fight fire with fire.

…

And that's the chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it, that I managed to capture the vibes of both Hi-Fi Rush and XB2, and that everyone felt/acted in-character.