2023-02-10: A Secluded Soul ~ACCEPTOR~

• Cast: Alouette Pommier, Guy Shishioh, Takeshi Todo
• Where: GGG Orbit Base
• Date: U.C. 0096 02 10
• Summary: Having deemed Tsutsujidai no longer a safe haven, the true Gridman Sigma takes refuge on GGG's Orbit Base. He, Guy and Alouette discuss how to save the Takeshi Todo who still fights on as a Ruin Apostle.

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<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

Some might call him a coward.

By many degrees, they would be correct.

After all, he was the one who hid himself away while his closest companion-- the nearest thing a human could ever get to being his brother-- suffered under the cosmogone yoke of Cosmic Law. By all rights, it's not like he had any choice. For a being such as himself, the prospect of being bound in both body and soul to Oath Over Omega is utterly revolting on the most primal level. It's the kind of thing that could drive one of his ilk to becoming a Hyper Devil. But even so--

Even so, instead of trusting in the few his partner considered friends to keep him safe-- instead of giving them his expertise, diminished though it was-- he instead chose to live under the umbrella of one such Hyper Devil. Sure, he had been concocting a plan to save his partner all that time, but he could have done that elsewhere. Could have prepared it more quickly, elsewhere.

But that, too, is a limitation of Hyper Agents. Even Gridman had to spend time among humans to truly integrate what the power of 'bonds' meant. He was afraid, that is something he cannot deny.

But now his safe haven is shattered. There is nowhere left to hide. Will he run again...?

No. He has chosen another path.

Courage-- Courage is not the absence of fear. It's choosing to act even when you're afraid.

And so he is here. In this room. In this... this was basically a very large broom closet. Now it's something a little... more. Computers have been piled up all over the place, all of which appear PAINFULLY out of date. He's in the process of stringing them all together, carefully connecting one part to anoter with bundles of cable. It was a heck of a surprise for the patrols outside of Wadatsumi when he showed up wearing Takeshi Todo's face with a cart full of computer parts and a moving van full of a very humble apartment. He was almost arrested right then and there! But without any sign of Triple Zero on him at all, and with a message to one Guy Shishioh that he would be waiting down here for an important conversation...

Well, he was allowed to 'borrow' a broom closet. There's a concerned-looking GGG squaddie standing at the door, looking painfully generic and generically uncertain.

But the man with Takeshi Todo's face hasn't done anything... dangerous yet. So... It's fine...?

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette hadn't been up on Orbit Base for the past week, staying at home in France for a short while. And when she returned, she was immediately handed the most taxing task of all - girl's hour on the spa, invited by Hana and Hinoki. Reluctant as she was to join at first, it was definitely what she needed after all she'd been through in Tsutsujidai. So she returns to her post feeling relaxed and satisfied.

Hopefully too, that means she can properly greet their new visitor. This visitor, she'd been thinking of for a while. She briefly connected with Takeshi Todo, expert programmer, as a child. Then she fought Gridman Sigma at Central Dogma. Stranger then, when she lost the will to fight in Tsutsujidai, it was a man with the face of Takeshi Todo who filled in as her math teacher. Even then, she felt that it wasn't quite Todo who was teaching her... besides that he was busy fighting as a Ruin Apostle.

Given the time, she can put two and two together on what happened. "Todo-sensei!" She initially greets. "Or should I say... Hyper Agent Gridman Sigma?"

Having already understood the who, she instead expresses her curiosity of what, as she studies that formation of computer cables. "Oh? What are you trying to do there?" And maybe there's an implicit "Is there anything I can do to help?" in there. Computers are her expertise.

As for the important conversation he apparently had in mind, she'll follow Guy's cue on that one.

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

Guy has been all over the place, it feels like. With Orbit Base largely settling into its new long-term project of towing Tsutsujidai halfway across the Earth Sphere, and their guest largely sorted, now he's back in the colony.

The thing they never quite bothered to tell anyone who wasn't on the project...is that they can't turn the Galeoria Pliers off. They still sit in the Wadatsumi's hold, planted like a lawn dart into into the side of the PLANT's central mountain, grappled dimensionally onto two unrelated planes of the universe, and forcing them to touch. And the side effects of an unplanned power-down could be...bad.

So he's gotta keep an eye on THAT, now. Fortunately, as soon as he finished the first paragraph of his explanation to the Three Doctors, Doctor Hirata yelled 'YOU WHAT' and grabbed the other two to book a flight immediately, so that's under careful attention.

But it does mean he's here, when the call comes in that Takeshi Todo, But Not That Takeshi Todo, But Kind Of, has appeared. "I'll be down in a moment."

So the Acting Chief of GGG Green rounds the corner, takes one look at Alouette conversationally studying his work, and settles into a grin in the doorway. "He's good," Guy affirms for the poor squaddie, and then turns to 'Takeshi.' "Good to see you. Not looking like a casual visit, what's up?"

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

Even when he was maintaining the guise of 'Eccentric Math Teacher: Todo-Sensei', he was still fiddling with computers. Really, the class was less 'math' and more 'the mathematics underlying the fundamentals of computation', which is a PRETTY DIFFERENT THING ENTIRELY. But it also meant that a certain prodigy had basically no problem at all with the course material.

It also, ALSO meant that she'd seen his classroom before, and it was also positively packed with retro computer parts. None nearly as put together as what he's assembling here, though.

"Oh, miss Pommier! It's good to see you again," 'Takeshi' says with a smile. "Ah, you know. I just have a program that I need to compile with some very specific software, and it only runs if I get all this hooked up just right. If you don't mind, I would certainly not turn down any assistance." Oddly, what he's putting together appears to be some hodgepodge combination of graphics cards, CPU clusters that look like they were dredged out of the previous decade, and an actually fully modern 3D printer.

So. Yeah. Something weird. But not terribly hard to put together.

"So you figured that out too, eh...?" Sigma nods slowly, "Well. I should have known. You are a very sharp girl, after all."

But then, Guy Shishioh appears. Sigma was vaguely aware of the dimensional phenomena keeping Tsutsujidai anchored to this side of reality, but he had not personally interacted with the pliers himself. But nevertheless, he expected Guy to be... around.

The squaddie seems relieved that The Boss finally showed up and quickly snaps to salute before taking his leave. Finally.

"Guy Shishioh," Sigma nods. "I'll cut straight to the point. I'd like to express my interest in joining GGG, at least until we're able to rescue my other half."

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette had incredibly mixed feelings about her love of programming, when she was under Bujack's hold. Felt that it tied her down to her past to some extent. But she can't say that Todo's "math" class wasn't one of her favourite parts of going to school. It's just that... she never got to fully appreciate it until now.

Graphics cards, really old CPU clusters, a 3D printer. Hmm.. it sort of reminds her of what Junk had going on. "I might be able to find a way to make this setup a little more efficient and a little less roomy... but it would definitely take some time." Maybe.. the Program Ring system could help? Or at least something resembling it. So many untapped applications to that piece of code.. and she'd only gotten to work on it again recently.

Alouette does smile when Sigma notes she connected the dots. "Well... when you fight someone you think you might recognize, but he looks like your friend Gridman from Tsutsujidai and then you meet someone who looks like the person you remember, but acts nothing like him.. maybe it's the circumstances and not your memory that's wrong." Alouette explains how she figured it out, rather long-windedly.

Alouette nods at Guy as he makes his appearance, and then looks back at the setup, eyes glowing. "I'll vouch for him too." Alouette says after Guy.

And then when Takeshi expresses his wish to join 3G, Alouette looks to Guy, and then back to him. "Well... I don't exactly have the authority to say 'APPROVED!' but... it'd be an honour to work with you." She nods, and grins. "And maybe listen to all your lectures on mathematical computation now that I'm finally up to putting my heart into hearing it all."

She knows the main problem would be explaining the deal to everyone but.. she can't exactly want to turn down someone who just wants to reunite with their other half, and has no place to stay.

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

Guy cocks an eyebrow at All That, but opts to let younger hands fiddle with the device. "No monitor...so not quite Junk, but it's pretty similar." Pretty similar in that it makes his Evolual brain feel weird, mostly.

The request is met with an immediate smile, of course. "Heck, no problem here. I've got all sorts of things I could put another hand to. But..." Guy considers Sigma for a few moments, then his eyes flick to the machine they're putting together. "Before, you told me you weren't sure you could leave Tsutsujidai. Or rather, that you definitely couldn't and retain that form. With what the Galeoria Pliers did, I honestly am not sure what effect it would have on you. Will you be alright, further from this place?"

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

"Oh, the monitor's not here yet," Sigma says with a sheepish chuckle, "It's... probably the bulkiest part of the whole assembly. Not to mention fragile, what with the old cathode ray tubes. I can't exactly move it easily with everything else, so it's waiting for me to pick it up." It is absolutely the kind of thing that, like Junk, would probably give Guy a headache if he tried to interface with it.

Is that just because of all of the different formats somehow being made to converse with one another? Or is it just that they're mostly old as heck, and Evolual brains are not meant to be running at 144p?

"Hmmm, cramming it all into a tighter box would make it easier to move around," Sigma admits, "As long as we can manage the cooling properly, it should be... doable?" He taps at his chin. "...Well. We'll need to be careful. The hardware is specific; I can't build what I'm trying to build if it isn't just right."

Alouette explains how she found out, and Sigma gives a sheepish smile, "Aah, that does make sense. Regrettably, I'm nowhere near as good of an actor as I'd like to be." And also Takeshi Todo is, even as he's gotten older, still a COLOSSAL nerd. Sigma comes across more like... a mildly eccentric professor or librarian type? Same general genus, very different species. "Though I must say, I was surprised to see you in my class. I'm glad to see that you've grown into such a talented young lady, Miss Pommier. Though I really shouldn't have had any doubts."

But then, Guy asks the critical question: Why now? Would he be okay? Sigma's expression cools slightly and his glasses flicker in the dim glow of several of those computer parts coming slowly to life. "Well, that is a difficult question. It is indeed the case that, away from Tsutsujidai, I'm not sure if I would be able to maintain this form. After whatever you did, I certainly feel more... solid. Though that's certainly not a guarantee. But."

"Even if I'm forced to temporarily abandon this form," Sigma says, resolutely, "That does not mean I cannot be of assistance. I am a Hyper Agent. In the worst case, I can take refuge in cyberspace and reassume this form when I return to Tsutsujidai. And as it happens, GGG has some of the most advanced computers on the planet. The fact of the matter is that, with Tsutsujidai now 'welded' to reality, I have nowhere left to hide. If my 'other half' did not know where I was before, he certainly does now. Faced with the prospect of an uncertain future, I would rather not simply turn and run away when I can instead be of assistance."

"...Limited though that may be."

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Guy points out that it doesn't look like there's a monitor, and when Sigma explains that it's on the way it all makes sense. She's sort of interested to see what it looks like, or where it'll even go in the setup.

She then carefully nods at his assessment of condensing the setup. "Mmm, that makes sense. I could probably do it as long as I have your careful guidance throughout it." She can't be certain how specific the requirements are, and besides that, two brains working at it is just better than one.

The comment about his acting skills gets a bit of a giggle out of her, too. "You definitely have this... much more easy-going and relaxed vibe about you. It's not a bad thing, but he's a lot more intense, isn't he?" Still both the brainy type, though.

Alouette looks nervous for a second when Sigma mentions how surprised he was she was in his class. "Hahaaa, right... there were some strange circumstances there, and I probably acted a little different... it wasn't all so bad, though." She admits, in regards to her stay in Tsutsujidai. "I'm.. really glad you think so, though." She replies to his second statement, looking much more heartwarmed.

"If he's able to track you down, then he might be paying us another visit soon." Alouette adds gravely, at Sigma's resolute explanation to Guy's questions about how we will handle being away from Tsutsujidai. "Running and hiding isn't what we do though, and I'd like to take him head-on this time." She continues. She hates that he and the rest of the Ruin Apostles took advantage of her absence and shut-downs to stage an attack.. and part of her wants to make up for it.

"If it comes down to it, then we might need your help." She nods. "And then... we'll be able to reunite you both, right? What are you planning on doing after that?"

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

Guy's result is: Ambiguous!

But he gets the gist. "You're right. In fact, your very nature may make you quite well positioned for some of what we're working with now, between keeping the Galeoria Pliers behaving and thwarting any further weird plans the Ruin Apostles have up their sleeves. With Mic, Swan, and Stallion back, we've blunted a lot of their worst ability to surprise us, but...they've still got plenty of geniuses up their sleeves."

"I keep being on the other side of the battlefield from him," Guy notes to Alouette's commentary on the true Takeshi Todo. "But he sure does yell a lot." He chuckles at that one, then scratches his cheek self-consciously. "Well, I of all people don't get to throw stones on that point."

Discussing Alouette's brief tenure as a scared teenager makes his smile get a bit wisftul - that was a rough for everyone, but everyone can more or less smile about it now. Small mercies. He glances to Alouette to offer a slightly awkward 'oops' of a look.

"As you say, though," he says, looping back, "We've got some of the best equipment around for someone who has to harbor in computer circuits. And I can prrrooobably find a power supply that still takes 15-pin VGA in Dad's old things...?" He squints and scratches the back of his head, thinking. "Maybe. He might have used that on the toenail clipper, I feel like I'm remembering that."

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

"I'd be glad to have the help," Sigma reiterates with a smile. "With only two hands, getting all of this put together will take me... a while."

There are comments about the 'real' Takeshi Todo, all of which seem to make this one laugh, "He can get pretty loud. Takeshi is many things, but he's never been good at keeping his emotions under control. But then, he's someone with the soul of an artist, so as long as he can channel them properly, it's usually fine." His expression darkens somewhat, then, "...That he's resorting to kaiju again is... concerning. It also speaks to Triple Zero's desperation. But the one that he brought forth in Tsutsujidai was one of his older and more reliable designs-- Shinobilar, he called it. Did he bring it into being himself, or did he find and rebuild it...? Either way, a kaiju of that kind is a manifestation of an aspect of its creator's heart. I can only hope that he merely restored it, or is using Triple Zero to somehow grant it a physical form. Otherwise, if he keeps producing kaiju... I know many things it could imply, but I which one specifically is not clear. It's probably not good, regardless."

"...But humans are resilient," he says, transitioning toward the topic of Alouette's brief tenure in his classroom. "You may stumble once or twice, or more often than that, but somehow you often find the strength to stand back up again. I hope that someday you'll be able to look back at the time you spent in Tsutsujidai with... if not fondness, then at least with the surety that you've grown since then. Takeshi had plenty of the latter, but he'd always squirm horribly whenever anyone brought up his sordid past."

Like, seriously, the guy wore a suit casually as a teenager. What the heck dude??

"As for what we do once we're back together again..." Sigma looks thoughtful for a moment, then: "That will be up to him, I think. But for my part, I'd like to stay to help him recover from this debacle, at least. I think if he felt as though he were powerless to do anything to help, it would only hurt him more. So once all is made right, I'll have to be there to help him back onto his feet."

"Oh, a fifteen pin would be excellent. The trouble I keep running into is that they keep changing the standard every other year," Sigma complains with a sigh, "I've had to build my own custom adaptors, it's been quite a headache."

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette does laugh at Guy's comment about how much the real Takeshi Todo seems to yell. "I can't blame him either.. people tend to yell like that if they don't think people are listening." She points out. "But like you said there's nothing wrong with feeling so emotional... even if it makes you feel kind of silly after." Alouette for one, has all but embraced the hot blood in her by now though - no shame there.

And then her expression turns a bit more grim when Sigma mentions how Takeshi Todo is going back to making kaiju. "I used to think fighting kaiju was easier.. now I'm not so sure, since it's like fighting part of people's hearts." The other implications there aren't lost on her either. "You don't think.. there's someone like Alexis Kerib helping him, do you?" Probably not Alexis himself - he hates the Aura of Dawn. But it worries her all the same.

Noticing Guy's own glance, Alouette smiles and gives a look back, so as to imply she doesn't intend on going anywhere. And Sigma makes a clean transition between the two topics. "I'll consider that advice. It isn't always easy to look back but.. I was even able to make friends with Akane. So I hope so too." She nods carefully, at Sigma's own words. "I'll just have to keep being Brave." She smiles.

"I think... you'll be lucky to have each other." Alouette considers, about what Sigma and Takeshi will do next. "It must be very difficult for you too, so it's not like it's just one way."

Alouette can't help but laugh a little at the mention of the toenail clipper. Although she never met the great Leo Shishioh she heard all so much about his eccentricities. "And really! There's no reason for them to need to change it that much. Such a pain..." Alouette huffs. It's kind of fun being able to complain about much the same things with Sigma.

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

"The secret," Guy advises Alouette, "is to fill your heart with things you'll never be embarrassed by, and let them roar out!"

He puffs up at this. It is probably terrible advice, but it's not untrue, at least. To roar like a Brave takes a heart filled with courage and justice!

He does nod to Sigma's cautions regarding Takeshi. "Like I said. They've lost a lot of options now, but everyone left is still an incredible genius in some way or other, and they'll give everything to the task. Now that they're down to heavy hitters on the mecha side, it's likely we'll start seeing them exploring more creative options like kaiju to cover the strength gap in terms of options."

Then again they can apparently just MAKE Zero Robos so who knows anything about anything!?

"Agreed," he adds, to Alouette's thoughts on Sigma and Takeshi's next step. "Staying with your partner even at the worst...It's truly critical."

"Heck," Guy says, scratching his head. Building custom adapters is beyond his own level of tinkering. "What's this even do, then, Sigma? I guessed a communication system like Junk, earlier, but Takeshi has the lion's share of that power now." His eyes drift to the printer. "Making something...?"

TAKESHI used to make Kaiju, and if he were the one throwing together an Eldritch Machine with a 3d printer in a close, Guy would guess kaiju forge immediately. But Sigma's a Hyper Agent. He doubts he would.

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

"There's only one entity that I can imagine Takeshi would be able to strongarm into making Kaiju if he is not presently capable. But I am loathe to consider that he'd stoop so far even with Triple Zero muddling his thoughts. There's no way Takeshi would resurrect that old Hyper Devil, not in any form that would be capable of intelligent thought, anyway." And besides, That One is gone and dead. Erased forever in the hellfire that used to be Takeshi Todo's highschool PC. But then, so was Shinobilar. "...Triple Zero is a power that allows for the materialization of matter from pure energy. If you recall, that is what allows the Ruin Apostles to regenerate so rapidly. I can imagine that it could also be used to give form to the formless... Under the correct circumstances. After all, Gridman's-- and my-- true power is not meant only for destruction."

Or maybe it's just wishful thinking. Maybe Takeshi really has restored Khan Digifer, somehow. The thought has him rattled, and Sigma is eager to move on from it.

"It will be hard," Sigma says, of the future. "But I will do what I can to help him, and in so doing will find my way as well. This is... likely going to be a very dark period in his life. My hurt in all of this pales in comparison to what the Ruin Apostles have been made to endure. For Takeshi, this is not the first time he's been used as a puppet by a power he cannot comprehend. I can only imagine the trauma it's stirring up. Perhaps that's why...?"

Sigma drifts off for a moment, expression pensive. The talk of strategy is able to rouse him, however. "Sorry, I was just considering. If the materialization of kaiju is somehow Takeshi's means of coping with old traumas, then we can likely expect that some of his other kaiju are likely to emerge as well. I don't have encyclopedic knowledge of what those are, and Gridman's memory is still incomplete, but I can at least identify them when they appear."

As for what he's building... Sigma's expression brightens. "Oh. Well. I'm trying to make something special, like I said. Do you know what an 'Acceptor' is...?"

<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.

Alouette grins wide at Guy's advice, simple as it is. "...You're right. The things I have the courage to fight for, I could never consider them embarrassing. They're all the people I care so much about, after all."

"Mmm.. for now I think it's best to assume the Triple Zero explanation, and fight off the kaiju from there. If there really is a Hyper Devil helping him..." she pauses. "We'll just have to make a plan to bring him down, too." She says with all that boldness, despite them still not finding a way to even beat Alexis Kerib. The Ruin Apostles are getting desperate as Guy says though... would they really leave a card like that up their sleeves so long?

Alouette turns back to the subject of Takeshi and his potential recovery. "...Yes. It really is important he isn't alone in that darkness. Guy said it perfectly, that's what partners are for." There's a little more to that though.. it feels like Sigma takes some serious responsibility for what happened to Takeshi, and that's something that must be worked out too.

That long silence comes and goes. "...That's okay. Even a little bit of information will be better than taking complete shots in the dark." Alouette nods. Strangely enough, she's starting to pick up patterns of what kaiju do both from Akane and Tarabaman... but what if Takeshi operates on completely different rules?

And Guy finally addresses a question that was also on her mind: the thing looked like Junk but what was it? "An acceptor... mhm, that's the item Yuta, or I should say Gridman wears on his wrist. And lets him transform... I can kind of see what you're planning there."

<Pose Tracker> Guy Shishioh has posed.

Guy matches that grin from Alouette happily, nodding firmly. "The things that drive you, the people and things you care about..." He doesn't even finish it this time, proudly confident she understands.

As for Takeshi's side, Guy's face dims. "By the way," he adds, glancing to Sigma. "I won't interrupt your work now, but we should talk later, speaking of Hyper Devils. I noticed something when I fought Alexis Kerib and I'm hoping a Hyper Agent will have some insight on it. Hopefully, he's the only one we have to worry about. Even just him is a real handful..."

"We'll be here," is what Guy offers, to the hard days ahead. "Us and a lot more friends besides. Trust me, I know that promising the future will clear up is a pretty bitter pill right now..." He smiles, a little plastic, as the merest brush of the topic of Mikoto stings his mood. "But we'll get there. I believe in our oath sworn through courage."

"We'll be counting on that information, then," Guy affirms, and nods to Alouette's agreement too. "Relying on the experts is just how GGG gets through the day, usually." He laughs at himself, there.

"An Acceptor, huh? I don't know that I've ever seen it, actually. I wasn't...as involved, with Yuta and Gridman, as I might like." Before the situation changed so drastically.

<Pose Tracker> Takeshi Todo has posed.

Guy might be feeling a little plastic, but it's still less stiff than back when he was a cyborg.

(get it, 'cause his face was literally plastic and/or rubber back then)

(terrible)

"Yes, until we see evidence of a Hyper Devil in service of Triple Zero, it's best to assume that one doesn't exist. Takeshi would hardly suffer one to exist for very long in his company, I believe." After all, it was the sight of Alexis Kerib that caused him to briefly break from Triple Zero's domination of his mind. That kind of hatred runs far too deep to allow for anything even approaching cooperation.

"Well," he says, on the topic of the Dark Days to come, "I appreciate the help. I'll... do my best, as well. Not only in that respect, but in whatever capacity I'm able to provide. Green Planet technology is still a little beyond me for the time being, but interfacing with GaoFighGar should not be as much of an issue, once it's fully repaired, and all else can come with practice."

As for the Acceptor...

"It's not just a transformation device," Sigma explains with a smile. "An Acceptor is a tool that allows for one heart to connect to another. To join hearts and minds together as one- that is the true purpose of the Acceptor. The one I'm building is modified somewhat, but I believe it will be critical for saving Takeshi."

But for now... there's still much work to be done. Especially if there are any hurdles involved in incorporating 'extradimensional electronic entities' into GGG's hierarchy.