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Post by skyeknight on Feb 13, 2024 4:32:17 GMT
Ruby headed to the science labs. There were rumors the rather scientifically inclined students hung out in the labs in their off time, working on experiments. It made them sound a little diabolical. Like mad scientists gone rogue. Or perhaps that was just her over imagining things. She hoped they could help. They were her only hope at this point to save her poor baby. She clutched the melted weapon in her arms like a dying puppy.
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Albedo had requested Zelda to meet him in the labs so they could work on their next project together. Their operations were going quite smoothly and with their shared resources, they were tackling problems on campus one at a time. His newest interest was making little staff bots that would pick up garbage and keep the schoolgrounds clean. He would never admit it out loud, but he really wanted Zelda to like his ideas. Anxiously, he tapped his fingers on the tabletop as he waited for her to join him.
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Post by zuyuri on Feb 13, 2024 4:42:20 GMT
When her phone buzzed, Zelda braced herself for another social outting by Dorothea. Just once, could she not be asking her to come out for some fresh air? Zelda would go out on her own time, preferably with a book and a hot tea. Or maybe hike up with Namine to hide from the world together. But no, the message came from Albedo. Well, that was much more to her liking. The last time she saw him was in class.
But at the science labs offer, she felt nervous. Weeks ago, there had been an accident there. She was one of the students who had their powers switched. When the cure had been found, she had never been happier to hear the beeping of zeroes and ones in the place of flowers.
As Zelda left the library and headed towards the labs, she eyed a redhead holding a weapon that looked like it had been through hell. Literally.
“Oh dear,” she murmured solemnly.
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Post by skyeknight on Feb 13, 2024 4:47:53 GMT
"Oh um... hi. I'm Ruby," she said, not nearly as enthusiastically as she usually would have. "Um... are you going to the labs?"
She wasn't sure if this was one of those tech wizards who would be able to help her or not. She could be hopeful, right? She was doing her best not to let her despair show, but her heart simply wasn't in her smile. She eventually gave up on it, clutching the weapon closer.
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Post by zuyuri on Feb 13, 2024 14:17:27 GMT
"Zelda." She inclined her head to the steel and glass doors leading to the science wings. "And yes, I am heading over to the labs. I'm meeting a friend in there to discuss..."
Then she trailed off. Albedo probably would';t like it if she just blabbed on about their tech adventures. Although, maybe Ruby could be a potential customer? There was that age old concept of service, and as Zelda saw in class, her tinkering partner was not the strongest socially. Eve she who didn't like interactions much, was far more sociable.
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Post by skyeknight on Feb 14, 2024 2:08:50 GMT
Albedo could hear Zelda so he stepped towards the door and opened it. He frowned when he saw her talking to someone. He knew that Zelda had other friends. Other people that she could talk to but something twisted inside of him when he saw her with someone else. He decided the best course of action was to stamp that feeling deep down.
"Who is this, Zelda?" he asked, aiming for casual.
Ruby looked at them both, looking rather helpless. She hugged Crescent Rose close. Her poor, beautiful baby was now beyond recognition. She wanted to save it, if she could. This was her first weapon, the one she built from scratch. It meant a lot to her.
"I uh, I'm Ruby. I wanted... to see if someone here could help me with... a project."
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Post by zuyuri on Feb 14, 2024 3:51:30 GMT
“You built this?!” Zelda asked, her green eyes widening as she looked over Ruby’s massive weapon.
The design on this weapon was incredible. When not in use, it looked like a large pocket knife. At first glance, that was what Zelda thought it was. But then she traced the outline. Instead of a long blade, the blade inside was a giant sickle. Essentially, this weapon was a large foldable scythe. But wait, why was one section hollow? Zelda ran a finger along the rim. Black soot was left behind from it. Clean soot, too. This machine was a scythe and a rifle in one, providing an impressive bit of range. So what exactly was…then Zelda saw what it was. The scythe’s blade was a deep cobalt blue veined with a rusty color.
“What do you think, Albedo?” Zelda looked over to her friend, “the blade seems to be the only thing that took the greatest damage. The gun barrel in the end could use a bit more cleaning, but nonetheless it wouldn’t be too difficult of a job.”
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Post by skyeknight on Feb 14, 2024 4:01:22 GMT
"Yeah, but my uncle helped," Ruby said. "I just... I was fighting a hydra and we had to cut off its heads, so we decided that we needed to cauterize the wound..."
"And you superheated your weapon," Albedo said, "However, the metal isn't tempered, and some portions have melted."
He looked over the blade of the scythe and saw that it almost looked like the metal had gotten so hot, it became a liquid and then solidified in that melted, drippy form. He was curious about just how hot that the fire had been to make the metal melt.
Ruby gave a miserable nod.
Albedo turned to Zelda, seeing the eager look upon her face. He took a step back, slightly startled. He supposed... his suggestions for the new staff bots would have to wait. He looked away from Zelda before clearing his throat.
"I suppose... We can take a look."
"Really? Oh! Thank you! Thank you!"
Ruby held Crescent Rose out to the side as she suddenly hugged Albedo tightly. His eyes went wide in alarm, but she let him go just as quickly before giving Zelda a hug as well.
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Post by zuyuri on Feb 14, 2024 4:07:08 GMT
Zelda was startled by Ruby’s very quick hug. Elk, she would say this; this girl was incredibly friendly and thankful. She slowly returned the gesture before letting go after a comfortable amount of time passed. Albedo agreed to help fix the melted scythe blade, which would not be long.
“So, Ruby, you said your uncle helped design this…er…scythe rifle?”
As she went to hack the lock on the lab’s storage closet to hunt for tools m, she whispered to Albedo, “You can show me your project when we’re done.”
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Post by skyeknight on Feb 16, 2024 3:24:42 GMT
"Yes! I did bring the blueprints with me. I'm willing to pay you whatever you need. And I'm fast! I can get materials super quick!" Ruby insisted.
She smiled at both of them, so glad that they were willing to help her. Her scythe was her precious baby. She just knew that while she did build it, she was incapable of unwarping the metal. Or salvaging it without ruining it. She could break it down faster than anyone around her, but her poor poor scythe. It should not have had to suffer the way it did just to slay the hydra.
Albedo flushed with embarrassment when Zelda whispered softly about his own project. He wasn't entirely thrilled about helping Ruby, but Zelda did and that was reason enough for him to help her. The sooner he helped Ruby, the sooner he could send her off on her way.
"It's fine," Albedo lied.
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Post by zuyuri on Feb 16, 2024 4:59:45 GMT
Zelda pulled her handy dandy Slate from her back pocket. After setting it up on a stand, she activated it with a touch on the screen. She held out a hand to accept the blueprints. With then, she could make some quick calculations and measurements of the s the. The work could cut time on fixing the weapon in half; no pun intended. She ignored Ruby’s offer of payment. She was already rich. Money was the least of her concerns.
“By fast, you mean as in your powers or in how quickly you can get the materials that Albedo and I might need?”
There was a difference, after all. Ruby’s speed in getting tools in helping with repairs would make the project quicker.
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Post by skyeknight on Feb 17, 2024 5:44:30 GMT
Ruby laid the rolled-up blueprints into Zelda's hands. It felt like handing over a piece of herself since she had labored over the design for ages before finally settling on its final form. She wasn't an inventor or even half as smart as they were. She had made the design, but her uncle and his designer had been the ones to assemble it and put it together for her.
"Uh, my powers. I deliver takeout for people when I'm not studying. The food is always hot when I deliver?" Ruby said with a small half smile.
Albedo pulled out a set of pattern weights to weigh down the blueprints once they were rolled out. Once the pattern was set out, he took Ruby's scythe and began to look it over. It was a fine piece of machinery. In his opinion, it needed some improvement. Maybe incendiary rounds? That way Ruby didn't have to rely on someone else for fire. Acid rounds could be interesting... Or smoke rounds for stealth?
"I think... We might have to re-melt the blade," Albedo told Zelda, "In a crucible and in the pieces to reassemble it. We could add an alloy that resists heat? The staff itself is salvageable. Though it could use some touchups... And of course, the paint job after."
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Post by zuyuri on Feb 17, 2024 16:40:59 GMT
The tiniest twitch of her cheek showed Ruby that Zelda found the whip about fast deliveries funny. Speed powers would be useful in that scenario. Ever the scholar and scientist, she wondered how effective Ruby’s speed was compared to other delivery services? Could she prove the “30 minutes or it’s free” slogan was just a scam? Well that was an experiment for another day. With consent, of course.
Albedo gave his diagnostics. With his input, Zelda began rapidly typing on her Slate. Images of different chemical formulas flew past. She dismissed several after scrutinizing them. The recipe for the heat resistant alloy remained on screen. “Perhaps a failsafe to protect the scythe?” she suggested, walking to the cabinets and pulling out a crucible and Bunsen burner. I can easily wire one.” She looked over the blueprint again , her finger tracing the scythe’s support for ways to safely wire such a device.
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Post by skyeknight on Feb 19, 2024 4:28:36 GMT
"If we're going to make it fire resistant, we should improve it's cold resistance and electricity resistance as well."
"Can you really do that?" Ruby asked in awe.
"Of course we can," Albedo dismissed.
He was trying not to be offended at the insinuation that he couldn't make the weapon fireproof. This was now a challenge, and he was going to exceed expectations on it. As he did with all his tasks. He pulled out a piece of chalk and began writing out a formula mixing Zelda's heat resistant alloy and a chemical compound that would modify it.
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Post by zuyuri on Feb 20, 2024 0:25:41 GMT
“Forgive the intrusion of your thoughts, Albedo, but how long do you suppose fixing this will take? I don’t want to take up too much of Ruby’s time.”
Besides, the sooner that they were able to fix Ruby’s scythe, the faster they could get to talking about whatever project Albedo had cooking for them. Zelda loved hearing her friend’s ideas for new inventions. Some were very easy to work with, while others had her concerned about getting it done. In a way, she was extending basic social courtesy without turning it into a lecture. Albedo was smart enough to get the hints.
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Post by skyeknight on Feb 22, 2024 4:42:42 GMT
"Well, do we want to fix it in one go or bring it in for regular maintenance?" Albedo asked.
He could make this take a long time to fix. He knew this. But he wasn't about to do some half assed job just because this hero needed to get back to destroying her weapon to fight monsters. He did have other projects to be working on and was really only taking this one on as a favor to Zelda.
"I mean... it's really whatever is easiest for you two..." Ruby said. "I'd like it back sooner rather than later... but if it's not possible to finish quickly..."
She trailed off. Not having Crescent Rose felt like a piece of her had been taken away. It felt wrong to be letting someone else take care of her weapon, but it was just out of her hands. Quite literally. And she lacked the skills to do it herself.
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