myblimpisbigger | Twenty-Seven: In Which Klaus Gets In the Spirit

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Twenty-Seven: In Which Klaus Gets In the Spirit

[Klaus is expecting shit to get real by the actual day of Christmas. Things are already weird: there are new, intelligent imposter drones wandering around (one of which is in his house, which is creepy), the power went all wonky and he doesn't trust it to stay fixed, and given last year? He's pretty sure this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of what Mayfield plans to dish out.

What does this mean? He's giving out his gifts early! That's right. Baron Wulfenbach, Tyrant of Europa, seven-foot-tall mad scientist, actually bothered to get gifts for the people he's managed to grow close to in this crazy place. Weirdly enough, he has more friends here than he ever did back home.]

A; 729 Anderson Kitchen, Morning

[Dexter, your present is on the table next to the usual morning waffles. Why don't you go over and open it, since it's clearly marked for you?]

B; 729 Anderson Garage, Afternoon

[Agatha, Garviel, Doof, Diana, Dist, Eddie, and Disciple will be getting presents. For the purposes of not driving Inku insane, we'll just handwave a phonecall telling them that said presents are available in the 729 Anderson garage. Oh, and the ones that are erased? Free to show up. He'll have forgotten you almost entirely, but all the presents are marked with a name, so you won't leave empty-handed.]

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[Showing up warily. THIS IS A TRAP ISN'T IT. Oh hey present....]

[Agatha, he's offended. Or he would be, if he knew who you were. He just noticed there was a gift here with your name on it so... why not mention you in the call. This holiday season has been very surreal.]

Ah, you must be...

[He checks the tag.]

Agatha. Or at least, a Mayfield-made construct that I am supposed to remember but don't who bears that name. Apparently, this is for you.

[Dare you open it, Agatha? It's a small present, ovular and a little flattened. It's also kind of heavy.]

.......That's one way to put it.

.....alright.

[Okay then.....

Opening it anyway. Slowly, carefully...with you in the same radius in case it's a bomb. ~~she goes down you're coming too~~]

[Amazingly, it isn't a bomb. It isn't even a weapon.

It's a metal trilobite, which may be familiar to her, since it's her family crest and everything. Really, it's much like her locket, if a bit smaller. It's obviously meant to be a bracelet, something like this (http://img3.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.243564663.jpg) but with a much larger centerpiece and comparatively less chain. Atop the trilobite is a small button, begging to be pressed.

Wat do, Agatha?]

[What do? Not even thinking about it. Presses the button.]

[Just like her locket, this trilobite opens. And what, may you ask, is inside?

AND NO IT IS NOT A BOMB.

It's a picture, actually. This one. (http://i.imgur.com/5S7su.png) Or rather, the important part of it, which is her father and her uncle, happy and together. That's the part he knew she'd want.]

[Just ...staring here...for a moment.....Give her a moment....]

.......

[Nope, another moment.

Then looking over.]

.....this is for me?

It has your name on it, so I would assume so.

[Oh......

You're getting a hug.]

[Klaus looks down at her, more than a little surprised (and a bit uncomfortable, considering this is a drone thing hugging onto him). But she seems... nice. Unsettling, but more human than many drones he's met.

He awkwardly puts a hand on her back.]

[Spur of the moment, ah well. She'll back up.]

....Thank you.

I'll thank you again when you actually remember me.

[Dist is the most wary. Still, he shows up, looking just about ready to bolt at a moment's notice.]

[Klaus was expecting that from Dist. The two of them are still on uncertain ground with each other, after all. But he felt if he owed anyone a gift on Christmas, it would be Dist, oddly enough. Dist was the very first person to ever speak to him in Mayfield, after all, and Dist has consistently been there. Maybe not for him, but he's been there.]

Hello, Dist.

[Your gift is a box about six inches by six inches, Dist. That is, your gift is in a box about that big, Klaus wouldn't just give you a box, that would be a dick move.]

Go on, open it.

...This had better not be a trick.

[He's peeling the paper back slowly; he has to admit to curiosity even when something might be dangerous. It's one of his weaknesses and his strengths.]

[Inside the box, Dist will find a clockwork that looks very much like a rosebud. There's a key near the bottom which is meant to be wound. It was made from the very last of the opalescent white metal and gold scrap that Klaus had saved from the Hopistal Mech he regained over a year ago, and for a garage job it's quite beautiful.

Wat do, Dist?]

[Why, turn the key, naturally! He's rather taken aback by how lovely it is, and logically a gift designed to hurt him wouldn't be crafted so beautifully only to be destroyed.]

[When wound, the rosebud unfurls, not into a flower but into a white mechanical swan. It stretches its wings and ruffles what appear to be hundreds of tiny metallic feathers before settling into Dist's hand with its gold beak tucked against its breast.]

It isn't sentient, exactly. But it will respond appropriately to physical stimulus and is hard-wired to consider you its 'home'. You are free to make improvements or adjustments as you see fit; I thought of giving it the capability to make sounds or even of limited speech but decided that was really more your area of expertise.

[The machine is gorgeous, and Dist runs his fingers lightly over the the mechanical feathers, completely entranced. It responds, fluffing up and seeming to enjoy the attention, provoking the first genuine smile Dist has managed in a long time.]

It's... it's perfect. But... why?

Edited 2011-12-22 08:48 (UTC)

[This was unexpected. Klaus was... getting him a present? A Christmas present? Really?

For him?

Depending on how this goes, he may actually progress from not hating Christmas to actually enjoying it a tiny bit.]

Er... Klaus? [So there he is, poking around in the garage of 729 Anderson...]

Ah, hello, Doctor. I was wondering when you'd arrive.

[He picks a present out of the dwindling pile. It's a rectangular box, about eight inches tall and four by four wide. Not large enough to be a ray gun or a doom machine, unfortunately, but he hopes Doof likes it anyway.

You gonna open that, then, Doof?]

For me? Really?

[He takes the box, and eyes it somewhat suspiciously. Shakes it once. And then tears off the paper and opens it up.]

[Inside is a mechanical... platypus. Yes. Standing on its hind legs with an expression that, for a platypus, could be considered determined. It's made of copper, which has been aged such that it's got a blue tinge. There's also a key in its back, meant to be wound.

The important part, though, is the metal fedora resting on its head.]

You'll find that I am fairly good at remembering details, even those mentioned in passing.

[It's... not quite perfectly Perry. He hasn't quite gotten the eyes or the beak shape, but it's very close. Astonishingly so. Even the color. He stares at it for a long time, turning it over in his hands, a look of utter disbelief on his face.]

You.... really remembered? I hadn't thought I had mentioned him much at all. Hardly at all. Not much...

[And if it were possible for his eyebrows to raise higher, they would. He has found the key.

He winds it excitedly.]

[The platypus blinks and makes what is very close to a chittering noise. While its eyes don't move, it projects a very obvious air of sizing Doof up, and its stance seems to be an expectant one.]

It is a learning engine, in essence. I understand the importance of always being on one's toes, especially when one is a mad scientist. And to be at the top of one's game, one must have practice. This machine responds to physical and visual stimulus and should, in theory, be able to present you with a unique fight each time you wind it in which it will demonstrate learning and problem solving based on previous encounters. Unfortunately, it will only stay active for twenty minutes when wound fully, but there is only so much longevity one can build into such small clockwork.

Go on. Attempt to, say, flick it.

You... you built a clockwork nemesis.

You built a clockwork nemesis!

[Delight is finally shining through the clouds of shock. He does indeed attempt to flick the playtpus across its beak.]

Ha!

[Perry the Clockworkpuss is fearless, apparently. Probably because he hasn't yet learned to fear (which is just how it should be if he's a replacement for the real thing). He tilts his head away at the right moment -- for such a small clockwork, he's got a decent range of motion -- and then jumps onto the back of Doof's hand, before scuttling up his arm.

To do what?

Flick Doof on the nose.

It's how he's been taught to attack, okay.]

[Dexter eyes the gift with great curiosity. He is pretty excited to see whatever Klaus would come up with for a gift.]

For me? Well, thanks, dad!

[Disciple shows up, all the confused] ...A present?

[ Garviel rolls up in his LAND RAIDER TANK, idling it in front of Klaus' house. ]

What is it you wish of me, Klaus?

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Twenty-Seven: In Which Klaus Gets In the Spirit

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okay I will break hiatus just this once because inku is my inku

i love you too kexus ;u;

;3;

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729 Anderson - Morning

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