Get in the car. It's time for suit shopping.

[megabuster]

Who: Rock, Zero, Harpuia, and Fefnir
What: Okay, post-apocalyptic robots, it's time to look fashionable.
Where: FDC Mall
When: May 29
Warnings: Fefnir will probably try to ambush Zero in the changing rooms

Rock was certain of at least two things at this time of year. First: That his robot friends wouldn't know the first thing about attending a school prom. Second: That none of them owned any manner of formal wear. The latter wasn't so surprising; he had never seen any of them without their armor on. But then, a lot of robots he knew couldn't remove their armor. Those designed for combat or industrial uses had no need of it. Rock was a special case, and he knew it. But he also knew one other thing: that he would do whatever it took to help them find a place for themselves in a peaceful world.

A prom may not have been very glamorous for people like Zero or the Guardians, but it was just one of those facets of life they had previously been denied, that Rock hoped would give them some hope for normal lives.

He'd sent messages to each of them, asking them to meet him at the school gates. He neglected to explain why, hoping that by being vague he could ensure they'd show up instead of writing off his request out of hand. At least he had a feeling Zero would have.

Comments

[fightingfeffers]

Fefnir was vaguely aware of the prom coming up. It seemed like the type of social event where chaos could potentially occur, and would require a security guard being around. Normally the kind of duty that the general would pass down the chain of command, not requiring his personal intervention, but he was planning on going, since he wasn't in that kind of position anymore. Besides, it kept him busy. He preferred keeping busy, lately. His own thoughts rarely made good company anymore.

Still, while he was planning on going, he was still going strictly as security, full armor and all. He had no intention of actually participating in it or having a good time, as Rock likely intended for them.

When he shows up at the meeting point to see the younger robot there, Fefnir greets him in the reploid's typically abrasive manner. "Sure hope you had a good reason for calling me over here, kid."

[awakeningwill]

Zero was leaning against the school gate, eyeing the guardians that had shown up with a measure of caution. Seeing as Rock was the one who called him out here, Zero would naturally make time for him. But if this was going to be some kind of group trust exercise they were getting roped into, well... that seemed like an idea that was doomed to fail.

Rock would probably have an explanation for this pretty soon though, so Zero stayed silent and waited expectantly. No need for any demands or complaints to come from his end. The more he could fade into the background, the better he'd feel.

[lovesthepain]

Harpuia already knew, for better or worse, that Rock had been behind the idea of Zero spending more time with the Guardians, and the fact that Zero was here with them now gave him the the sneaking suspicion that whatever they had been called here to do, they were probably going to be asked to do it together.

Not a prospect he was especially looking forward to, but even in his most stubborn moments of pride, Harpuia wouldn't dream of disappointing the Lightbot that had been so kind to him the whole time he'd been here. Whatever this was, odds are, he was going to play along.

He arrived from the sky, much to the surprise of probably nobody, touching down with practiced ease and folding his arms in his usual straight-backed, haughty manner. "Be respectful, Fefnir. I'm sure Rock has something important in mind."

[megabuster]

"Great! You all made it!" Rock said with a bright smile. So far so good. He had them all together. That was the easy part.

"So... I guess you all know the school term is ending," he said. "And there's a big dance coming up after the graduation ceremony. I'm guessing you're going, especially since two of you are campus security, right?"

[fightingfeffers]

Fefnir gives a quiet "Tch" at Harpuia's chastising. He wasn't yet aware of Rock's plans to make Zero and the Guardians friends, so no thoughts of ulterior motives cross his mind. While he's certainly thankful to Rock for his kindness, like Harpuia, Fefnir still has a bit of difficulty seeing the robot as anything but a naive child.

"Yeah, that's right. Why, is there something we need to know for security matters? Because it seems like you could've just said so over your message, instead of calling us all here."

[awakeningwill]

Zero continued to say nothing, but he did tilt his head slightly and give Rock a look of, is this going where I think it's going? He suppressed the urge to glance over at Harpuia, if only because he trusted the sage to be smart enough to pick up on Rock's intentions on his own. A few people had already mentioned to Zero the requirements of going to such a dance, and he'd brushed much of those needs aside for the sake of practicality. His guess was that Rock was going to attempt to fill one of those requirements.

There was skepticism in his eyes, but Fefnir was being grumpy enough for probably all three of them, and Zero wasn't going to contribute much by complaining. Patiently, he waited for Rock to say his piece.

[lovesthepain]

Harpuia, indeed, knew enough to tell what graduation entailed. Neither he nor Fefnir had the free years to spend on actually going to a school, let alone graduating one, but like all ceremonies of note, it had a fair degree of the same old ritual attached to it. Several speeches, probably some kind of dinner, formal attire.

"If it pertained to security, he wouldn't have invited me," Harpuia pointed out to his fellow Guardian. In fact, he was neither security nor a graduating student -- in all honesty, he had almost immediately made up his mind that he was not the least bit relevant to grad... or the obligation of attending it.

But, on the other hand, Rock did already have all of them gathered here, so... "I'm guessing you have something of a more personal nature in mind, Rock. Am I wrong?"

[megabuster]

"Actually yeah," Rock answered. "This isn't anything serious, really. I just figured... You guys all look so intense all the time, and there probably won't be anything terrible happening at prom, so you could just relax and try to have a good time. It's supposed to be a party after all."

"And on that note..." And now came his real motivation. "You guys don't ever wear anything besides your armor all the time. So I was thinking, maybe, for prom you might want to put on suits...?"

[fightingfeffers]

"Of course we don't take our armor off. We're combat reploids." Combat reploids who, in 2 out of 3 of their cases, were originally built as something else and have the ability to take their armor off, but. Just because they can doesn't mean they're going to. At least, Fefnir doesn't plan to. "Removing our weapons and armor would kind of defeat the entire point."

He glances back over at Harpuia. "And besides, you're basically an honorary member of security anyway. If something DID happen, there's no way you'd allow yourself to sit on the sidelines."

[lovesthepain]

Well, he certainly did enough security paperwork to count as staff.

But... removing weapons and armor? Harpuia splayed his hand over his chest, fingers resting over the x-shaped design of his vest. "This isn't just our armor; it's the Neo Arcadian uniform," he began, by way of protest, but his mouth abruptly snapped shut, the thought crumpling in on itself. They had been... stepped down, after all, before the treasonous rebellion that had killed them, and even if they hadn't, Neo Arcadia didn't exist, did it? Not in this time, not back home. That it was a uniform... no longer meant anything.

Harpuia's hand dropped back down to his side. Though his expression gave away that he was still struggling with the concept, he tried again, a bit less objectionable. "I suppose... we do need to get used to civilian life. This is something you think we should try, Rock?"

[megabuster]

"Well, I'm not saying you should abandon your uniforms," he said, face becoming a bit more solemn at Harpuia's explanation. It was not unfounded. Their outfits gave them a connection to their pasts, to their old lives, that was difficult to let go of. "Just... for one night, you don't HAVE to be soldiers. You can just... enjoy yourselves."

[awakeningwill]

Finally, Zero spoke up. His tone was neutral, but he did want to point out, "If a combat situation does arise like it did last year, we'd be caught flat-footed. We can't teleport our armour on like you."

The guardians did have their armed phenomenon forms - though Zero couldn't say for certain if they could activate it at any time, regardless of their dress - but as for himself, all he had was what he carried with him into battle. Even if he wanted to, casting aside his role as a soldier wasn't so easy, especially when his skills were necessary to protect others. It seemed short sighted to put themselves, and everyone else at risk simply to try and blend in for one night.

[fightingfeffers]

His armor didn't have quite as much meaning to him as Harpuia's did. At least, not in the same way. He existed to fight, and his armor was a part of him. Removing it had never even occurred to him before. "I haven't taken my armor off once since I was activated, except for maintenance. I LIKE being a soldier, Rock. It's what I enjoy. There's nothing more exciting than a good fight!"

Do you enjoy creepy, semi-psychotic smiles being directed at you, Zero? Because that's what you're getting.

[lovesthepain]

Wait, like last year? Harpuia certainly couldn't assess the likelihood of a combat situation arising at a dance, though the fact it apparently wasn't unprecedented was... not reassuring.

"It would involve surrendering a lot of our functionality. We are combat models, as Fefnir said." He tried to consider it -- no jets, no flight, no sabers? In the event of emergency, what would he even be able to do for anyone? He didn't find the idea of fights as fun as Fefnir might have (most of them, probably, ssshhh we won't speak of certain other fights), but he didn't relish the idea of being slow and vulnerable when people needed protecting. ...If something attacked. If, not when. Exactly how dangerous was this school?

"I'm... not unwilling to listen to you, but I think we would all feel more than a little naked if we were to armor and weaponry behind. You're confident in this idea?"

[megabuster]

They all raised valid points... They didn't have the capabilities he did. Some of them liked being ready for combat at all times. And some of them considered it a fundamental part of their identities.

"Well... I understand where you're all coming from," Rock said. "If there's trouble you need to be ready for it. But this is peace time, and giant robot attacks aren't exactly common. It doesn't mean you're not armed for security, it just means you're not there as Guardians, you're there as chaperones."

The plan was starting to fall apart. None of them were particularly pleased with the idea, and Rock could understand why. But a sudden burst of inspiration hit him, and he perked up.

"What if I called Dr. Light, and asked how the armor activation worked? Maybe I could install something like that in you all, so you could gear up whenever you wanted, but didn't have to all the time?" he suggested. "I mean, if Harpuia and Fefnir are based on X's design, the technology SHOULD be compatible, right?"

[awakeningwill]

It was a nice enough solution, but one that unfortunately couldn't apply to Zero. And even if it did, this reploid had no desire to be upgraded. He wasn't a fan of anyone altering his body, even under the best of circumstances, but after having a evil scientist tinker with him, the idea of having anything else installed in him again felt repulsive. Frankly, the risk of going into battle without armour was preferable to going through that feeling again - all Zero had to do was not get hit, right? He's taken bigger risks.

With a shrug, Zero deflected the decision onto the guardians. "It's your call."

[fightingfeffers]

Fefnir crossed his arms, looking down at the ground for a while as he thinks it over. He really, really doesn't like the idea of having to remove his armor and feel vulnerable. On the other hand, he doesn't exactly want to crush the little bot's hopes, and receiving some kind of advanced lost technology does sound pretty appealing... Not to mention, he doesn't want Zero to show him up. If the legendary hero is fearless enough to go without his armor, then Fefnir's definitely not going to be the one that says no.

Harpuia can be the one that says no, if it really is a bad choice after all, as he turns toward him and deflects the decision specifically onto him now. "Well? You think it's a good idea?"

[lovesthepain]

Harpuia was unsurprised but not unprepared when the question got rapidly passed onto him. Being the guy who makes the decisions for everyone was sort of just a thing it inevitably ended up being his job to do. Good thing he was so good at it, right?

"I believe we would be compatible with a modification like that. The basic principle can't be all that different from our Armed Phenomenon activation," Harpuia mused. It would be interesting, too, to consider what Dr. Light's input would be. Few had the chance to have such a close look at the work of the father of modern robotics, especially in their era. Harpuia did have to admit he was curious.

"I have no objections," he announced. "We can plan it out later, but for now... you wanted us to put on suits, Rock, correct? Why don't we try that out?"

[megabuster]

Not only was that not a no, it was a yes! Rock started to beam again, smiling brightly. Operation: Get Reploids To Try And Have Ordinary Lives could enter the next phase!

"Great!" he said, clapping his hands together. "There's a suit shop in the mall that does lots of business for the academy's proms, so that's as good a place as any to start!" he suggested. "We'll find something for each of you!"

[awakeningwill]

Despite being pleased to see Rock smile so widely, Zero still couldn't help but sigh a little. He still had doubts about whether this would had any significant impact on their war-honed mindset, but for his friend's sake, he'd at least try to play along.

Studying Fefnir and Harpuia's response, as well as their obvious uncertainty towards this endeavour, Zero turned his gaze back towards Rock and told him, "I'll meet the three of you there. You're going to need some tools to pry those pauldrons off." When was the last time anyone even took those shoulderpads off Fefnir? No one knows. And Zero still had the tools he'd borrowed from Lucca.

It might have been an exercise to try and grow and bond as robots, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try and do his loner thing anyway. It'd just be a lot less awkward if he wasn't with the guardians en route.

[fightingfeffers]

"Fine. Let's get this over with, then." Fefnir is not trying at all to hide that he's pretty annoyed with this turn of events, even if he's going along with it, as he starts walking off in the direction of town. He doesn't want to waste any time on this and make it take longer than it has to.

[lovesthepain]

"Suit yourself," Harpuia replied, ha ha get it suit yourself ha ha. It made no difference to him if Zero arrived separately, and it can't have been that far, anyway.

Resigned to the slow, terrestrial process of walking but determined not to be a poor sport about trying this out, he hurried to catch up to Fefnir. "Don't sulk, Fefnir. We don't gain anything by refusing to adapt."

It might even be... fun, right? That was the word you used for things like this, wasn't it? Probably?

[megabuster]

He shouldn't have expected much else from Zero, but there it was. He nodded in agreement. "All right... We'll meet you at the mall," he said as he set off with his robot nephews in tow.

"So, I was wondering... I know you were both designed to be soldiers and protectors, but did Neo Arcadia ever have anything like this? Prom, I mean."

[fightingfeffers]

"Uh... Probably?" Fefnir looks back towards Rock, shrugging a little. "I mean, we had children. And schools. Makes sense that they'd have proms, right?" He's making it pretty clear that he has no idea what the specifics would be. School events are hardly the kind of thing that fall under a General's duties, after all.

[lovesthepain]

"He means yes, not probably," Harpuia clarified, because of course the Guardians knew all about the society they had protected, even if they most definitely had not attended a single day of school in their own lives. (Or at least, the insufferable know-it-all Guardian did, anyway.)

"But we have no firsthand experience with it, if that's what you mean. There was a period of time where I would serve as Master X's representative for political functions," Mostly on account of him being dead and all, "but formal events aren't something that we were usually needed for, especially not just for fun."