The War of Paradigm City

"I'd suggest she ride along with me, but it is a snug fit in Mirror Zero..."

*Thiera uses Basilisk to drill into Rozengeist's cockpit.*

T"Very well. We'll take the tunnels back to our house. The Paradigm military probably won't want to risk starting an assault in the middle of one of the Domes, unless people already know there are Megadeuses about."

"I guess you're right," Zell said, making her way closer to the cockpit to check on Lilith.

*Once Basilisk has drilled through the cockpit, it opens the hatch on its neck & presses it to the hole. Lilith weakly reaches out & begins dragging herself into the hatch.*

Zell tries to help her out, "Are you alright, Lilith?"

L"The structural integrity of my midsection has been compromised, it can no longer support the weight of standing up. Additionally, many of the parts used for movement were damaged or lost. Some of my fuel and coolant lines are leaking. This is an overheating and fire hazard. I estimate I only have 55% of power remaining, even after recharging with the Megadeus."

"That is not very good at all," Zell said, trying to help Lilith up, "Lets try to get you home in one piece, hopefully Thiera can fix you up." She would have been more concerned about Lilith, but she had seen her go through about 4 arms, and have her head blown off, so she figured Lilith would be fine.

L"I would advise against your current course of action."

*Touching Lilith's skin feels roughly like high-fiving a high-powered lightbulb that's been on for 24 hours.*

"Ow, son of a--" Zell backs away, then pulls down her sweater sleeves past her hands and tries to see how hot Lilith is now by patting her forehead a few quick times. "Jeez Lilith, why are you so hot? I mean... you know what I mean..."

L"My abdominal cavity is literally a large combustion engine. Ordinarily, it is maintained by coolant, as well as heavily insulated by redundant structures and my synthetic skin. With all of these systems damaged, the internal heat is being radiated outwards, making my body and its immediate surroundings--as you say--quite hot."

Zell tries to help Lilith up again, "Ah, that makes sense." Zell tried not to giggle at the implication that she was 'quite hot' by being close to Lilith.

*After Lilith is loaded into the Basilisk and they are on their way down the tunnel, Thiera stops them, training the lights from Basilisk's eyes on down a stair well. Anyone who cared to look would notice Aamon's dead body lying in a pool of his own blood.*

Thiera{Well then. It looks like they didn't both get away after all.}

Lilith{Did the military kill him? I never would have expected them to enter these tunnels. Or perhaps he fell to his death during his poorly-planned escape?}

Thiera{No, Lilith, I think Barbatos killed him.}

Lilith{I do not understand your suggestion. They were members of the same social unit. She could not have killed him. It is contrary to the nature of a mutualistic relationship. Your conclusion must be in error. Perhaps you sustained damage to your memory circuits?}

Thiera{I don't have...I'm not...Zell, back me up, here!}

"Barbatos betrayed Aamon," Zell said, "People do that sometimes."

Lilith{No they do not. None of us have betrayed the others. Gevurah self-destructed for the sake of his mission.}

Thiera{Damn, that's right, Big Duo is still out there. Barbatos wil probably try to steal it.}

Lilith{No one disobeys their primary function, and Barbatos had no reason to destroy Aamon.}

Thiera{I was not aware Barbatos's actions seemed reasonable to you.}

"People don't ALWAYS betray others. Usually it is just bad people that do. Don't think of it as disobeying a primary function. Barbatos primary function was probably always about helping herself. When Aamon stopped being useful in that regard she got rid of him."

Lilith{I will not dispose of either of you. Not even if you are useless.}

"Thank you, Lilith. I l- wouldn't either."

*When they return to Thiera's basement, Basilisk somewhat unceremoniously deposits her onto a table. Thiera sets out to gather welding tools, sheets of metal, and rolls of wire. Lilith rolls over onto her back & closes her eyes.*

Having never actually seen Lilith get fixed, Zell takes a seat to see how it all goes down, "So, does it hurt?"

*Lilith does not answer, open her eyes, or move in any way.*

T"I don't believe Lilith has pain sensors. If you're going to stay down here, you're going to need this."

*She hands Zell a welder's mask, & puts one on herself.*

Zell put it on, "That is good, I guess, but there are other ways to hurt than simply physical pain." She then looked at Thiera, "Speaking of, are you alright?"

T"I should be fine. You should know, though, that I've been living with Lilith for years now, and in all of that time, I haven't seen her demonstrate anything that could be called emotions."

*She pulls a can out of a drawer under the table, shakes it, & pushes the nozzel. All that really sprays out is a bunch of white fog. After it passes over Lilith, she gets a sponge & mops up the leaked oil and other fluids.*

Zell furrows her eyebrows. "What cause do you have to bring that up? Is there something you're trying to imply?" Zell asked, feeling a bit insulted on Lilith's behalf, thinking that Thiera was trying to imply that Lilith was some sort of lesser being.

T"I can't think of any kind of pain other than physical or emotional. So I'm not so sure how you think she might be hurting."

*She sets to work stuffing the pipes that are leaking.*

Zell ruffles her hair a bit, "I'm just not used to seeing Lilith as... not human. Perhaps it is an uncanny valley thing, but she seems human enough to me that it is hard to wrap my head around her... not feeling. It is sad really, and unfair too, I guess. I expect things out of Lilith that she just can't give, and it isn't her fault."