First Steps (Cale)

Q7 tilts her head to the side, unsure what Cale means by test. However, before she could ask what exactly he meant by test, they were off, Cale explaining things to her, which she greedily listened to in silence. Information is important after all. Not that Q7 minded at all, Cale had been very helpful, so she had no complaints about being led around again. Q7 does trust Cale to take her to where she can find more music after all.

She listens to what he was saying intently, making sure to memorize all of it for the test that was going to be given to her. It wasn't long before they finally got to the store that Cale had spoken of, with both of them stepping inside. Q7's glances around the store, but the main thing that instantly catches her attention is that she doesn't hear anything. Nothing at all, not even the tiniest note that could be music.

Q7 rapidly becomes impatient with what seems to be needless distractions that are sidetracking her from her goal. She turns her gaze onto Cale, all but glaring at him. "You said that you would give me more music. I do not see any music here. I do not have time to play games with you. I need more music." The last sentence was more pleading then anything else. Q7 then turns and goes out the front door, pausing outside to get her bearings again before doing anything else, trying to figure out a plan so that she could find the music she needs.

"You're surrounded by music. Cale is this another one of your-?Nope, found this one.-Well that explains that." The other guy said with a chuckle. The girl turned to walk away it would seem, but the cashier clicked a button on his laptop and then suddenly music began playing throughout the entire store. If that didn't catch her attention then Cale wasn't really sure what would. Cale turned and looked to Q7 before smirking a little and then looking to his cashier friend who seemed amused by Q7, to say the least.

  "Gadreel don't play no games. That's why he brought you here." The clerk said with a smile. "Gadreel is another name people call me." Cale said to Q7, keeping her informed, though he assumed she'd likely forget now that the music was playing. "Austyn, teach her!" "I AM AH-TEACHIN' GADREEL!" The clerk, Austyn said as he clapped his hands. He then walked around the counter just to jump up and sit on it, legs dangling off the side as he looked to Q7.

 "Music class 101. You want music? You got music. But first there's a LOT of music. You wanna learn about music little miss-?"Q7-Q...7? That's not suspicious at all. Alright then. If you're ready to learn and hear all about music you just tell me when you're ready." Austyn said, Cale half expecting Q7 to assault him in anticipation, much like a drug-addicted person grabbing ahold of and shaking their dealer as they were looking for a fix.

At the sound of the music playing, Q7 freezes in place for a moment, before looking around for the source. Not being able to find it, she instead just stands there and listens, ignoring the two men who were standing there watching her. It wasn't until a minute or two later that Q7 finally turned and took a few steps into the store. Although she was still glancing around slightly, Q7 did realize that one of them is why music was being played right now. Remembering what Cale told her before, when they were walking to the store, she focuses her attention onto the shop clerk.

After taking a moment to review what was said, Q7 finally speaks again. "I would like to learn about music now." She pauses for a second, shifting her gaze around for a moment, before looking back at the clerk. "Please." Q7 glances at Cale to make sure she was doing it right, not that sure on how effective the word is, before looking back at the clerk, waiting for him to teach her about music like he promised.

Austyn taught her alright. He taught her first how humans had too many types of music for them to list them all quickly because, how Cale pointed out, humans couldn't recall information and communicate information the speed of robots. Austyn blew him off a little and explained that that's why they invented the categories of music. From melodic rock and metal all the way to country and gospel. Austyn knew them all, even to sub-categories. He willingly and effectively taught her them all, and he played examples for her so she could get a better understanding for her own personal likes of music. Cale had to admit, he had fun watching Austyn teach music, he was a damn good teacher if he had to say so himself. He adapted perfectly to Q7's learning curve. Watching Austyn teach was... a pleasure actually. It never ceased to amaze Cale. He learned something new about teaching people every time Austyn did this for one of the robots.

  Austyn even managed to teach her about Compact Disc's. He even went on to try and explain things more clearly for her. He finally took questions from her and then asked her a question of his own. "So, tell me Q7. What are ya thinking you like most with music?" He asked. There were lots of factors to from what Austyn had taught her. Vocals; Growling or clean. What types of instruments and the general "feel" and vibe of the band or genera. It was a successful day of course, and unfortunately for Cale it was mostly over. He'd need to get back to the Lighthouse soon, make it to base before anyone thought he was missing. It caused him to wonder the question of the hour. What the Hell was he gonna do about a strange robot? Seraphim didn't even know he had his currant fo-three robots... how was he gonna sneak in another one. Oh it could be done of course...but it needs to be done with grace... something he feared Q7 lacked.

Q7 listened with rapt attention to everything she was taught about music, finding that it all was very interesting, since it was something that she wasn't used to at all. She, of course, was just enjoying the fact that she got to listen to so many interesting things in such a short amount of time. Not really worried about what genre it was, or which band she was listening to, much rather just enjoy the different rhythm and beats as they were presented to her. She was even told about all of the different musical players that he had on hand. Q7 even had one in her hands, being allowed to fiddle around with it after she was taught how they worked.

It didn't feel like any time had really past since they arrived at the store, but she already learned a lot about music. Still fiddling with the music player she got a while back, she looks up at Austyn, thinking for a moment. "I find the different rhythm interesting. It is different then I am used to." With that being said, she turns to where Cale is, holding up the musical device for him to see. "I would like to have this. Please." She correctly remembers to say please of course, not forgetting what he told her about politeness making it more likely for humans to go along with what she wants. After showing Cale, Q7 goes back to messing with the device, seemingly enjoying just clicking the buttons and having it do what she wants.

"Okay. You can't have THAT one. That one belongs to Austyn. But I'm sure if you ask Austyn he can get you your own." Cale said to Q7. Unfortunately he wasn't willing to go out of his way to ask Austyn to give up his mp3 player. Q7 could have her own and she could do whatever she wanted with it for the most part. "Austyn, can you?" He asked before Austyn nodded and patted the counter, trying to get Q7's attention.

"Okay. So here's what we need to know. You need to pick the color and I need a name to put on the back." Austyn said. Cale interjected by waving his hand, telling Austyn to essentially forgo the addition of the name. Austyn quickly punched a couple buttons into the register and then added a discount before charging Cale. Cale sighed at the thought that he was going to shell out money he intended on using to help repair Nostro since his last...scuffle. But Nostro would understand...most likely. Hopefully. Oh God Cale better come up with a good excuse as to how he lost that money. "It's the majority of a commission check but it'll be worth it in the end. She'll make the most out of it I'll bet." Austyn added. Cale nodded and prayed to God that Austyn was right.

"Alright here you go. Your very own Mp3 player. Portable music wherever you go, fail-safe service and a stab to my wallet with a nice sadistic wrenching motion." Cale said as he handed over the mp3 player and smiled. He then looked around and noted that the store was clearing out. "Alright. The store is closing we need to leave so Austyn can go home. Once we get where we need to go I'll show you how to put more music on your mp3 player." Cale said, hoping that the promise of more music would at least be enough to convine her to get out of the shop. He looked to Austyn and smiled. "Thanks man. You're a life saver."

"Yeah, anytime. Except now, we're closed. Later man." Austyn said, joking about the "except right now" part, but hey, Cale didn't intend to keep him any longer than he had to. He started on his way towards the Lighthouse which was a decent ways away from the music store, but hopefully Q7 would follow until they reached the Lighthouse base of Seraphim. His home and where his own robots were hiding deep within.

Q7's head snaps up when Cale says she can't have the device, but she pauses as he continues to speak. Settling back down, she messes with the device for a moment longer before giving it back. Staring at the ones behind the glass, Q7 glances at the colors until she spots one that is silver, just like her. She points at it right away. "I would like to have the silver one. please." Keeping her eyes glues to the music device, Q7 watches it as Austyn rings it up. After taking the bag from Cale, Q7 clutches it close to her chest, not wanting to part from it now that she has it.

Now that she has the device, she looks up at Cale. "Thank you." Now that she had her music device, Q7 was rapidly ushered out of the store, something about it closing. Remembering that Cale said he would teach her how to put music on her device, she walks along beside him, heading off to wherever that were going.

About a block or two down, Q7 speaks up again, having gone through the conversation that happened while they were still in the store. "Your wallet was stabbed? Was it damaged? Does it need repair?"

"You're welcome." Cale replied with a slight chuckle. Seeing her hold the little player made him wonder what exactly was going on in that circutry of her's. Most robots didn't find their passions so quickly. She was obviously an A.I or sentient life that rivaled his own. Something both morbidly curious and also worrying to him. Pushing the thoughts aside. She then jumped him with the question if his wallet needed repaired. He just sighed and shook his head. "I'll fix it later. It'll survive for sure.  Now...when you come in here you're going to meet a couple other robots. We have three rules in here. The rules must be followed. The first rule is that once we're in the Lighthouse there is NO leaving until the sun is up tomorrow. The second rule is that there is no talking about "robots" technologically created life, androids or whatever you would classify as yourself. These people don't know I can make robots, and they would be absolutely livid if they found out I didn't tell them about it. The Last rule is very simple...when you meet Nostro...don't put water near him." Cale explained the rules. Of course when he let the barrier acknowledge Q7, she was able to pass through.

  Cale essentially had to smuggle her in, but she was in, if she followed of course. Cale opened the door and the first thing he saw was none other than [/url=http://data1.whicdn.com/images/37485094/thumb.jpg]QT.MC[/url], that devious furry little feind had spilled the bottle of water Cale left open in order to trigger Nostro's hydrophobia and claim the television as his own! The cat looked up and quite obviously smiled an uncanny smile at Cale before it let out a surprised "MEEYA!" and ran away as Cale approached. "For the love of Chirst MC! Selfish little prick." Cale called out after the cat. The cat that suddenly appeared on Q7's shoulder. It's mechanical goggles had cogs and little gears turning as it seemed to investigate her.  Cale rolled his eyes when he turjned around to see that the cat had made use of the devices it had been gifted.

  "Q7, these are your fellow robots. This is N.O.S.T.R.O and QT.MC. Boys this is Q7P13." Cale introduced. The cat mewed and bowed its head as if understanding it were being introduced. Nostro's head turned slightly and the voice spoke from it's voice-box. "A pleasure to meet you." Nostro added, seeming to become more and more unlocked as Cale began to wipe up the water.

Q7 listens to Cale as he explains the rules to her, the bag still clutched her her chest. She keeps looking down to make sure it was still there too. She quickly memorized the rules, knowing that rules were important to follow, though she does tilt her head at Cale. "You didn't make me. Doctor Riley did. Why would it matter if they know about me?"

After nodding at his answer, Q7 looks up at the lighthouse, staring at it for a moment before stepping through the force field and into the building. Her gaze was wandering around the room, until Cale's shout caused her to turn and look at him, confused for a moment. Then she saw the water and figured that it had to do with the rules being broken. It was then that the cat, QT.MC landed on her shoulder. She turns her head to look at him before looking over at where N.O.S.T.R.O was. "Hello." She just stands there for another moment, before figuring the conversation was over and heading off to explore the rest of the lighthouse.

Moving through the lighthouse, Q7 quickly arrives at the stairs, looking up for a second before wandering down into the basement. First she went into the gaming area, messing a bit with the systems in there, mostly just pressing a few buttons on the keyboards or fiddling something else, seeing what each thing does, but doing it carefully, making sure not to break anything.

It was then that she wandered into the armory. She begins to mess around with the different lockers, ignoring the vehicles for now. She tries a few lockers before finally reaching in and pulling out what seems to be a gun of sorts, staring at it for a moment. Not really understanding what it is or how dangerous it can be, she then lifts it up and stares down the barrel, trying to see inside.

"Because the whole concept of robots will spark their interest. They'll trace you being here back to me and then they'll find MY kids. I'm not giving up my kids to be used as tools of war. If they choose to do that, that's on them. But I'm not going to make them just to fight." Cale explained. Sure there were a couple little flaws in his logic, but most of the flaws were covered up by the fact he knew how the members of the group worked, and the fact he utterly refused to make robots just to fight. Q7 seemed to simply take it at face value and began to investigate the entire lighthouse on her own accord. Cale, however, needed a shower and he went to wash the day's grime off him before getting settled in for the night.

Cale didn't even think for a moment that she would wander away into the armory while he showered. If he had thought of that he'd have put a barrier over the door so she couldn't do anything to hurt herself. Then again she wouldn't have any damage that she couldn't recover. Of course Cale was most surprised when he exited the shower and noted that not only Q7 was missing, but Nostro was missing as well. Cale looked to Aegis and Bulwark, whom were continuing their game of chess. "Aegis...Bulwark...where's your little brother?" he asked. Unfortunately he would not recieve an answer. Cale just sighed and hoped for the best. Maybe Q7 needed help finding something. Though he wouldn't lie... Nostro being out and about concerned him. He was good at remaining hidden and silent...but his appearance was bound to have him assumed to be a villain. Cale, being the irresponsible young man he is, decided that he'd rather turn in for the evening and sleep.

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Nostro had wandered off on his own, well actually he was talking the hell out of this other apparent robot. It was the first time he had seen a robot other than his "sister" in a humanoid form. He watched silently for a while, observing oh so curiously this strange robot. The wonders he experience. Who was it's creator? What importance was she? Was she as functional as they were? Was she MORE functional than they were? Too many questions and yet too hesitant to ask...and so he just observed.

"E-excuse me. Q7. That is the old TM-W.4.7.3.R." Nostro said shyly as he peeked around the side of a set of lockers and looked to Q7, who was inspecting the weapon. The set up of the room was quite simple. It was a very massive room with armored and customized vehicles in the center, ready to go. The farthest and smallest wall was lined with one set of lockers. A few feet back was a second row of lockers. Then in equal displacement was a third row. There were tons of weapons on racks lined about with two large canvas boards where the sparring was done. Q7 was at the locker of the old "Barachiel" the angel of lightning. "It is a weapon conceptually designed by Cale. It was made for Barachiel. Unfortunately he is not active in duty as he is recovering from wounds caused by...another robot. It channels the power of cold-fusion to produce powerful blasts of energy. It could very well damage one of us." Nostro informed her. Despite his best attempts he was considering the fact that the algorithms in his head began to cause him to display the "emotion" of concern and worry for her.

Q7 looks over at where Nostro was standing, tilting her head to the side slightly. "I understand." She then goes back to looking down the barrel. She offhandedly wonders exactly how powerful the gun was, understanding that it was a weapon from what she was just told. It was then that her finger slipped slightly, pushing against the trigger and sending a blast of energy right into her eye. Her head jerks back from the contact, as she drops the gun, having labeled it as dangerous and no longer wishing to hold it. She just stands there for a moment, blinking a few times before reaching up and just removing her eye, staring at it for a moment.

Looking around at the loads of weaponry around her, she turns and heads out of the armory, heading back up the stairs.Settling down to wait until morning, so that she can go get her eye repaired back at the lab, not knowing that all of the things she needs to repair it are right here in the lighthouse, she just has to go find them.

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Q7 was just sitting on the couch, listening to the television, since Nostro was kind enough to turn it on, giving her something to do while he tried to fix her eye. It was then that she heard Cale start downstairs and turns to face him, giving him a nice view of her face and clear lack of eyes. Two completely empty sockets just staring in his direction.

"C-Cale? Is that you. I...I can't feel my body. What's happening to me?"

Another nightmare. It's the same damn thing every night now. Every.Fucking.Night. Cale turned slightly puling the comforter over his shoulder and rubbing his cheek against it, trying to get comfortable again and drift off to bed. Of course there was a smell. A smelly smell that smelled all too...smelly. With a wrinkled nose Cale opened his eyes as a squint for a moment to see two semi-illuminated eyes in the dark. In an instant the lights turned on and revealed it to be nothing other than a human skull. No big deal. Oh, save for the fact Cale had the most intense fear of the undead. So seeing a human skull with two eyes locked on him. "Oh. Hello chum" the British voice caused him to yell and roll off his bed. He also found British accents unnerving and weird. So a British skull was literally the most uncomfortable thing he had ever experienced.

"AAAAAAARRRRAHAAAA!!!" The skull screamed in response, apparently just as scared. It honestly sounded like Rafiki's battle cry before he skillfully outskilled the hyena gang. Cale began to kick himself back on his floor, Bulwark and Aegis nowhere to be found, ultimately leaving him defenseless. Of course that didn't stop him from literally ripping a telephone base out of the wal and chucking it, clonking the skull. "Ah! Ow! I say, bad form my boy, BAD FORM!" The skull protested as an eyeball plopped out and a little luffy tail snaked up into the air. In an instant the skull lifted and seemed to have a...cat-like body.... Cale's eyes narrowed into a glare as he stood up.

"Oh dear oh me Cale my boy. You look rather...peeved." A more familiar voice came and in an instant the skull disappeared into dust before giving the most demonic smile on his face. This was not a typical cat like grin, but a full fledged smile with dozens of needle like fangs. The inhuman animatronic cyborg-cat let out a little chuckle. "Marvelous Tristan out!" the cat said before it itself turned to dust and slipped out of the room by going under the door. Cale hadn't even gotten dressed yet and now he was holding two familiar eyeballs. All he could wonder is how in the hell the cat got these eyes. Of course after he finally put clothes on and went down the stairs he saw where he had taken the eyes from.

"Hey Q7. Any idea where these-FUCKING CHRIST!" Cale said as he stopped dead in his tracks, looking up from the eyes to Q7...an eyeless doll of sorts. Well fuck this. This was already a rather annoying morning for him. "So, yeah...I never thought I'd have to say this to anyone but...please put your eyes back in your face." He petitioned the young robot, Nostro sitting in a corner of the room, silently watching. He began preparing to operate should Cale suffer the heart attack he was anticipating decided to occur.

Q7 tilts her head to the side, then reaches her hand out to receive her eyes. "Please give me my eyes." Once she has them, she pushes them back into her sockets. She closes her eyes, giving them time to correct themselves and get reconnected into her system. Opening her eyes again, she looks at Cale, having regained her sight. "Thank you." She looks around for a moment before reaching up and covering her left eye, shifting her gaze around the room. After a moment she drops her hand again and looks over at Nostro. "There is still some error with the visuals, however it is within operational parameters. Thank you."

That being said, she turns and actually starts to watch the television now, instead of just listening to it, since she could actually see it now, having her eyes back and all. It was on the history channel, allowing Q7 to gain more information. Though this time MT couldn't just spill a glass of water and switch to another channel.

"Yeah. Keep better hold of them. I don't even know why they were out but...yeah." Cale said, this entire ordeal a little more than frightening and irksome. His patience already tested this morning, he quickly devised the fastest way to make things work in his now occupied schedule. Of course the robot lady had damaged one of her optical units. This was...concerning to say the least. He didn't hesitate as he turned from the fridge. It looked like he would be skipping breakfast to fix her eye. Not because he had to, or because he needed to. He had a compassison that was extraordinary when it came to robots. He was selfless, and sadly it often went unrecognized. Nostro, the baby of the family seemed to be the only one who caught onto the selfless acts of kindness, though he seldom spoke of it. He knew bringing these little selfless deeds to attention would only displease Cale and retract from the small joy he got from his actions.


"Okay then, damaged. Let me take a look girl, see if we can fix this back to optimal function." Cale said as he held out his hand, awaiting to recieve the eyeball. Of course at a rough observation he was puzzled, though pillung out a pen and clicking it's backside he reached over and began hastily scribbling illegible notes on paper. In all seriousness, it was practically a superpower how he could make out his own handwriting. God knows nothing else could make it out with any ease. "Well Damn it needs diamond. I don't get diamond too often..." Cale let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair as he began to curse himself out internally. Leave it to him to pick up a money-pit of a robot.

"Look, I can't just up and buy diamonds, it's expensive and honestly I don't got the money for it. You're going to need to function like that for another week before I have the money to-" Cale's accented voice was stopped the second that Nostro's knee made it'smechanical whirring noise and he peaked around the wall. Cale looked to him curiously.

"Father...My spark is made of several diamonds. I-I believe that I may be able to spare one of the lesser diamonds in order to repair her optic." Nostro said as he stepped around. He had a strange posture. Cale honestly would have protested, as Nostro was quite obviously battle damaged beyond recognition. He once looked remotely human but now...scrap parts just to keep him alive. Unfortunately Cale knew that arguing against Nostro did no good. His "Heart" may have been metal, but he had more heart than most things with one of flesh and tissue. Nostro reached in and with a couple clicks his ribcage opened and the red electricity died down as he removed his "spark" Nostro's movements began to tremor. "Spark severed. Power cell decay in 2 minutes." Nostro began as it tried to break a piece off of the crystal within the metallic sphere. Slowly his skeletal structure began to seize...but he was able to break a good portion off. He then made the movements to place his own spark back where it belonged. He let out a gasp and shook his head before looking around, seeming to reorient himself before stepping forward
　

"You realize you've just cut your lifespan by repairing her eye, right?" Cale asked. Nostro remained silent and slowly he began to repair the eye, the diamonds being put to perfect use. "Well we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Q7, I have to work. Nostro and QTMT will be able to help you with whatever you need to learn, okay?" Cale asked, the question was rhetorical as he was already half way out the door, leaving Nostro to finish with the eye and do whatever it was that the young-older robot wished to do.

"Here you are... it should function at about 98.7% efficiency. That is the best I can do." Nostro said, presenting the eye back. "And so I ask you what you would like to learn about. Perhaps we can study it." He offered, trying to see what types of things this robot wished to study.

Q7 turns from the television, tilting her head to the side. "You said I should keep a better..." She trails off at the look on Cale's face, understanding that he was going to want to see her eye again, no matter what she says. Reaching up and pulling it out, she hands it over to him, returning to watching the television with her one good eye, but listening to what Cale was saying. He then said something about having to wait a week, so she just nodded. Though she already told them that it was within operational limits, so she was not worried about waiting for it to be repaired, figuring that the repair bay would fix it when she goes back to get her power supply charged.

She turns her head when Nostro speaks though, wondering what he meant by spark. She stares at crystal, finding it very similar to what she uses for a power source. She stands and walks over to where Nostro was working, staring at him. Q7 doesn't even notice Cale leaving, focusing solely on Nostro. She just watches him as he works on her eye, accepting it when he was finished. She looks down at it, then shoves it back into place. Once her eye was in correctly and she made sure it worked, Q7 puts a hand on Nostro's chest. "Your actions were unnecessary. I would have been fine." Q7 does the closest thing to concern she was actually able to do with her current system.

She just stand there for a moment before stepping away, finding a pen that was laying around and getting a blank piece of paper. Thinking for a moment, Q7 begins to write out a series of runes, working quietly ignoring everything else besides the piece of paper in front of her. She goes through multiple copies of what she was doing, almost as if she was attempting to refine whatever it was she was writing down. Finally, with dozens of tossed aside pieces of paper around her, she holds up the final draft, giving it a look over to make sure everything was correct, making sure that she didn't have any unneeded words.

With that being done, she turns around, finding Nostro and walking over to it, placing the piece of paper on his chest, right over where the spark was located. Forcing a spike of mana through her arm, she channels it into the runes, causing the paper to start to glow as the magic starts to take effect. That's when it went wrong, Q7 watched the runes shift, the magic taking control as it rebounded away from the spark, Suddenly Nostro was a hot pink in color, which wasn't even close to what Q7 was trying to do. She looks at the piece of paper, then up at Nostro. "That did not work. I am sorry. I cannot fix your core."

Q7 moves over to the table, picking up the papers filled with runes that she had left. Then almost as an afterthought she places the finished one on the table, once again channeling mana into it. The table changed to a hot pink also, matching Nostro in color. This required further testing, which she shall have to do back in her creator's lab. With that out of the way, she looks up at Nostro. "I would like to learn about castles."

"I'm so...fancy?" Nostro asked as he looked at himself. He had a new layer of hot pink on his skeletal structure, his energy still being it's blood red. She royally messed him up. He felt a little pang of "emotion" and it was frustration, as he was able to quickly analyze through various youtube videos in his head. He quickly altered his response in order to be more accommodating of how Cale acted to him when he "messed up" in a situation. Nostro looked to Q7 and the loose gears and tumblers on his upper "cheek" area began to move and twitch as he attempted to smile. Of course he had no lower mandible or even lips so it likely didn't convey the meaning very well. "I appreciate that you attempted. " he added, genuinely sounding happy as he could before she up and turned Cale's table pink. Nostro was now overly cautious to let her touch him again.

 "Castles are very interesting constructs created by humans. What would you like to do first? See one intimately? Study their history? Perhaps reverse engineer one?" Nostro offered, not considering that the last one was an invitation for trouble to happen. Meanwhile Cale was off doing his job, making sure all went accordingly and totally not expecting his new friend and his old friend to get themselves into trouble.