haunted-machines

[haunted-machines]

@takahashi-labs

There were a lot more robot masters around the world since Snake had been activated. Light and Cossack were heralded as pioneers for their innovation in constructing so many different types. You don't see creators like them very often, and for good reason. Building one Robot Master for one job takes a big budget for not much initial return. Nowadays it was more common for creators to make one or two designs, purchase the trademark, and then sell them off to a company for mass production. That didn't mean there weren't still doctors like Cossack and Light, though. Those were the interesting ones.

A full line of eight, all under one name, no duplicates. That was worth looking into on its own, but a deeper dig revealed the existence of a ninth unit as well. A prototype, still active. Prototypes weren't uncommon by any means, especially not for up and coming scientists, but they were usually scrapped for one reason or another by the time the first official model was finalized. They certainly didn't last decades. How coincidental that this prototype, who appeared to be one of first few Robot Masters ever serialized, was still kicking.

That was more than enough to peak Dr. Wily's interest, so he did what he always did when another scientist thought they were hot enough for the big leagues. He sent a spy.

Search snakes descended upon Takahashi labs with ease, getting to work mapping out the land before their owner even set foot on it. It was a quaint little place. A single, moderately large building seemed to double as both a laboratory and a home. It reminded Snake Man of Light Laboratories. Perhaps that was a good reflection of Dr. Takahashi's character, if she was anything like Dr. Light. With the landscape mapped and the optimal route planned, he quickly dropped through the large ventilation system of the laboratory. The only thing stopping him now was a stray Takahashi number wandering about right where he needed to be.

[haunted-machines]

Shadow Man scowled at Proto Man. He had done well to all but erase that memory from his data banks up until now. After all, it's not like he expected to ever see this particular Proto Man again. How unfortunate for him that they are tenacious bastards in every universe.

"Is that what you returned for? To verify my sobriety?" he asked, thoroughly unimpressed. He leaned as forward as he could without risking his balance. "Do you take me for a fool?"

That had been the crux of their argument, hadn't it? Of course he took him for a fool. He was a Proto Man. The eldest took them all for fools. His guard would not be let down so easily for petty lies, though. He looked the other over quickly. As suspected, both his armor and buster were inactive. It was perhaps a risk to approach a Proto Man so closely, but leaving the eldest with higher ground and a clearer shot was not much better. At least he could keep his movements firmly in sight from where he was.

"How do you know?" Ghost taunted him. Each of them knew how smart the other bot was, and it would seem that they respected that to a certain degree. That didn't stop Ghost's habitual shit talking, though--which continues as Shadow sizes up the tree.

"This tree has the perfect branches for sitting on for napping. It's not my fault that Wily felt entitled to claiming the land around it for himself. I was here first."

He could feel where Shadow was re-materializing before he saw it--like a feeling you get when you can feel someone standing next to you, or watching you with intent. Ghost glanced over to the Wilybot, mismatched eyes studying him from behind his darkly tinted shades. Would Shadow resort to violence if he kept up with this banter for too long? Almost certainly. But, Ghost was prepared for that.

"It's such a nice day out, I felt like taking a walk." Ghost answered. "I happened to wind up around the neighborhood, and thought I'd see what everyone was up to. I got bored when I didn't find anyone and climbed up here to relax."

Speaking in half truths was practically a skill for the eldest. Ghost doubted that Shadow would buy any of it, as it was the other's nature to be skeptical and suspicious. But it kept the ninja in place, which gave Ghost time to really study the other. Poking and prodding, putting feelers out to see how he was doing. Ghost was mentally kicking himself again. It was ridiculous to be this hung up over a little tiff, and to be so distracted by thoughts of another RM that he went out of his way to spy on them. Too late to turn around now. He may as well poke and prod some more;

"Glad to see you've sobered up since the last time we talked. A drunk espionage unit is a recipie for disaster."

[haunted-machines]

"You were not asleep," Shadow pointed out bluntly. He did not care to put up with his ridiculous small talk. He knew that Proto Man wasn't stupid. At least, not in a technical sense. They both knew the swing had been perfectly intentional right where it was. "You would not be trespassing if you had nothing to gain."

Shadow paused to size up the tree. It was sturdy, clearly enough so to support the eldest. He may not have known this one's measurements, but from what he could recall, he would estimate Proto Man to not be too much lighter than himself. With that in mind, and a few extra mental calculations, he dipped down into the dark shadow cast by the tree in the midday sun. His body dematerialized, as if melting into the void, and reconstructed itself a moment later onto the conjunction of a nearby branch. Like an object in the dark slowly coming into focus, he appeared to Proto Man's right. In one swift motion, he drew his sword from its sheath and stabbed it shallowly into the wood as he crouched down. It wasn't for balance, he could do that on his own feet, but a quiet, unacknowledged display. His other arm rested more casually over his leg.

"What do you want?" he repeated.

Ghost really couldn't care less what Wily was up to, or what he'd ordered any of his RMs to do. He noticed when Shadow's patterns changed though, and had been seriously thinking of just leaving. He knew Shadow was smart, and probably sensed someone's eyes on him long before he started alternating his usual route. Yet he didn't move. Ghost just continued to watch him.

He perked up a little when Shadow suddenly turned and was coming in his direction. A part of him hoped that, by some miracle, Shadow didn't know he was there. But just as he'd noticed the shift in the robot master's shadow, there was a twang of metal and a heavy thunk as the blade was stuck into the tree by his head. Well....at least Shadow didn't want him dead. He could have easily gotten Ghost square in the chest or the forehead from that distance, with that speed.

Well. The jig was up.

"....hello to you too." Ghost spoke down at the Wilybot. "Who said I wanted anything? Here I was, enjoying the nice weather and having a nap--which you so rudely woke me up from."

Ghost reached up to where the blade was sticking out of the trunk, and flicked the handle with his gloved fingers.

"Cuttin' it kind of close there."

[haunted-machines]

Shadow Man could be rather dense when it came to social situations, but spacial awareness was one of his areas of mastery. He had picked up on the fact that he was being watched fairly quickly, and by who, but he had yet to do anything to give it away. He had paused and slightly adjusted his patrol to keep this spy out of too much of his family's business, but it slowly became more clear that this Proto Man did not seem interested in that business. After all, if he had intended to follow him somewhere important, he surely would have noticed the irregularity of his pathing by now. But that didn't make any sense. Why follow him just to watch him? What was he gaining from this? The first was strange, to be sure, but the longer he simply peacefully observed, the more his questions ate at his processor.

Finally, unable to take it any longer, he shifted to begin walking towards the tree in which the Proto Man sat. His gate was slow and casual, and he pointedly did not look in his direction. If this was an ambush, he would be walking right into it, but he had the sneaking suspicion that this one was not so patient as to wait for that long.

A shadow blade was summoned and then flung half the distance between them before a human eye could have registered the movement occurred. It sunk cleanly into the trunk of the tree, several inches from where the Proto Man's head had been lounging.

"What do you want?" he asked dully.

Closed starter for @haunted-machines

--------

This was stupid.

Ghost was kicking himself in the rear mentally as he sat up in a tree. He laid back against the trunk, lounging on a sturdy branch with one leg propped up and his arm resting atop his knee. From his resting place he kept a close eye on his target in the distance, going about his day and duties.

This was so stupid.

It had been months since he and this Shadow had their little spat. Shadow had been more than clear that he had no interest in seeing Ghost again. Fine, he thought. He just won't see me. But now that he was staring at the back of the ninja's head, it was starting to sink in just how ridiculous he was being. Why did he care so much what this one thought of him? Why was he so fascinated by this particular model? It pissed him off. And yet...

He was here. In this stupid tree. Doing this stupid check up on a bot who wanted nothing to do with him.

Ghost laid his head back against the trunk of the tree, brunette bangs moving ever so slightly as the breeze went through the leaves. At least it was a nice day out...

[haunted-machines]

“You’re one to talk.” Was that a laugh? “I’ll remind you these edges are for more than just looking pretty.”

His singular optic flicks up. Then down. His eye crinkles at the edge.

"... You keep telling yourself that. I see more edge than perfection." Little shit.

[haunted-machines]

He winks. Congrats, you've got him started.

"Why wouldn't I? It's not too often you get perfection on the first try."

"And I suppose you consider yourself "some bots?""

Oh no when did he get here.

[haunted-machines]

"Least antiques aren't a dime a dozen. You should consider learning a few tricks to keep teenage girls from backing you into a corner, cannon boy."

Oh so it's like that is it? Figures. There's always someone isn't there.

"I don't really have time to listen to an antique talking shit. If you have an issue with me personally, fine, but making sweeping generalizations about people is pretty old fashioned in my opinion. You should try learning some new tricks."

[haunted-machines]

"And a can of worms with it, dumbass. Did they forget the intelligence part of the AI when they were ripping off Robot Masters to make Reploids? Seems like you should've learned your lesson by now."

"Lotta important shit goes in the chest cavity, extra padding's a given." Nothing to see there.

"Just looks better on some bots than others." Unless there is.

[haunted-machines]

"Lotta important shit goes in the chest cavity, extra padding's a given." Nothing to see there.

"Just looks better on some bots than others." Unless there is.

[haunted-machines]

praise for Shade and Shadow? And biting for Shade

♡ >> send me a kink and I'll have my muse rate it << ♡

"Do you think I am some kind of dog?" yes, he is

scale: fuck no, gross, not for them, eh, no opinion, kinda, hot, fuck yes, p l e a s e do this

"Too few can take a compliment without becoming combative, though that's not to say the reaction can't be endearing. And as for receiving, well, who doesn't really?"

scale: fuck no, gross, not for them, eh, no opinion, kinda, hot, fuck yes, p l e a s e do this

Regarding your second question, he just sort of looks at you.

scale: fuck no, gross, not for them, eh, no opinion, kinda, hot, fuck yes, p l e a s e do this, what do you think?

[haunted-machines]

Bondage for Shadow?

♡ >> send me a kink and I'll have my muse rate it << ♡

". . ."

He's taking a surprisingly long time to answer.

"No comment."

scale: fuck no, gross, not for them, eh, no opinion, kinda, hot, fuck yes, p l e a s e do this

[haunted-machines]

((I was suddenly drowned by homework over the past couple of days, answering asks now))

[haunted-machines]

♡ >> send me a kink and I'll have my muse rate it << ♡

scale: fuck no, gross, not for them, eh, no opinion, kinda, hot, fuck yes, p l e a s e do this

[haunted-machines]

Shade's ear twitched at the strange jangle, and his eyes fell to the. . . chain? What on earth was that there for? It surely was not related to any of his weaponry, and he could only imagine what difficulty a noisy little accessory like that would apply to stealth. He blinked pointedly at it, not that Shadow could see, before ultimately deciding not to point it out quite yet. Instead, he returned his attention to the conversation at hand, hardly skipping a beat.

"I would argue I have a far greater amount of distance from any threat while airborne," he objected lightly, pleasantly surprised by the lack of hostility in the other's tone so far. "Who's to stop any number of unwelcome guests from simply ascending whatever stairwell leads this way once you've been spotted?"

He remained where he stood, cautiously not yet closing any distance. Quite frankly, the fact that the ninja had decided to wholly turn his back to him was a surprise. Either this alternate was far more self-assured than most, or far more stupid. Whichever it was, he promptly decided to prod until he found out.

... He did not buy the others words for one second. Was he willing to give this Shade Man the benefit of the doubt? To an extent, yes. But until proven otherwise, he would be expecting shenanigans and prepare accordingly.

Instead, he just let out a huff—one that sounded suspiciously like a laugh—and turned around fully.

His arms were crossed, and the chain around his hip jangled as he moved, but he made no moves to walk closer or slip away. It actually seemed like he was... well, not relaxed, but his stance was much less guarded than one would expect. Whether that was because of the distance between them or the familiarity of the Wilybot before him remained to be seen.

"I do not see why it matters if our master asked for one or not." He hummed, a lighter note sneaking into his tone. "Though I'm surprised you are more concerned about my exposure than your own. Battons are not common in this part of the city."

[haunted-machines]

"Well, I would think it quite rude to simply sneak up on you," he answered plainly upon touching the ground, as if that was not something he habitually did to his own sibling.

He landed a good several feet away, knowing from experience with his Shadow Man that the ninja could be quite skittish when he wished to be. After all, there was no easier way to escape an unwanted interaction than to simply evaporate into the nearest bit of darkness. His wings were folded neatly behind his back, and his hands followed to clasp together. A curious brow was raised in the other's direction.

"It's quite exposing to just be standing out in the open like this," he noted, keeping his tone neutral for the time being. "I don't suppose the doctor asked for a survey of the scenery?"

Shadow Man had been out scouting far more often recently. Well, "scouting." He would, of course, go on his regularly scheduled patrols. That was a given as Wily's eyes and ears. But once they were completed, and once he had gathered all the information the doctor required, he found that he didn't want to return to Wily City right away. It wasn't a bad thing, per-say, he actually liked skulking around on his own terms. It was just something he had caught himself doing a lot more recently.

It was during one of these longer-than-usual escapades that he picked up on the other's presence above him. He'd just emerged on top of a roof, fully intent to observe for a little while, only to pause. He didn't turn around, just barely tilting his head to glance upwards, spotting the familiar shape of one of his brothers. His brow furrowed beneath his mask.

... What was Shade doing out here?

Wait, no. It was not his Shade, he realized after a quick check of his own network. He was still back at home base. This must be one of the alternates. Well, this would be interesting. He hadn't run into another Shade Man as of yet. He kept an eye on this one, waiting until the other had fully descended. "... Am I correct in assuming you made yourself known at my expense?"

[haunted-machines]

It wasn’t often that Shade Man ventured far from the fortress. What reason did he have to leave, really? He was busy enough inside, and he could command hundreds of lesser units to be his eyes wherever he wished to send them. It was dangerous, too, leaving the safety that the island’s cloaking provided. He wasn’t exactly the stealthiest of robot masters, either, what with his size and talons.

Still, he found himself wandering on occasion. Perhaps it was the stuffy nature on Dr. Wily’s offices, or perhaps it was what remained of that spark of wanderlust that any caged creature would develop from his early years. It didn’t exactly matter, given he was already quite far out. He had given a vague excuse of monitoring, but it wasn’t like anyone looked over his work. The doctor had his own business to attend to. Shade certainly wasn’t expecting for anything to actually capture his attention.

That was until a glint down below caught his eye, and a familiar figure emerged from the darkness. Whatever was he doing all the way out here, away from his post no less? Shade had begun to open up logs to communicate, only to find the location of his own brother to not match up with his sight. So this was another. Well, he certainly couldn’t pass up the opportunity to chat in that case. With surprisingly little noise, he descended from the sky, though he made no effort to truly conceal himself.

@melodic-mayh3m

[haunted-machines]

((Hi again, sorry for dying for like. a year))

((Going to try to reboot this blog))

((If we had a thread together from forever ago that you’d like to continue pls let me know! Otherwise I'll probably be starting from scratch))