Nyrath

Figures I wouldn't be able to actually see him. The dark angel doesn't bother with trying to spot Avenger once he speaks instead she just straightens out and speaks out loud to the room. "Fair enough, just a few words before I leave. She's hungry but I hope you can do better for sating her than random people off the street. Oh, and she's got a broken back at the moment, she did try to eat me." It's unclear just where Alex pulls out the crippled vampiress, but out she comes. The brown skinned amazon kneels for moment as she lays the smaller woman gently on the ground. "Please try to stay out of trouble, I don't want to run into you like that again." With that said Maenheld teleports out and away, she had other things to do.

When Mark leaves Aiko visibly relaxes, the tension partially leaving her. But with the fedora sporting new arrival she doesn't loosen up completely. Facing him she gives a slight bow of her head. "Ah, hello. My name is Karakuri Aiko, may I know you name?"

Aiko perks up a little at the mention of Ashley's cousin. "Sounds interesting, I would like to hear about her. And please, and this stage I believe you may adress me as Aiko-san. At least when we're not in a crowd or so. But I'm sidetracking, do please tell me of your cousin."

Aiko was sticking by Ashley for now, but she did take an interest in the art present. Currently the gynoid was taking it all in, her seemingly cursory glances recording it all for later reviewing if she so felt like. Unlike her roommate the bluehaired girl wasn't carrying anything apart from the clothes on her body. Underneath those clothes was her costume, it wasn't like the heat was about to bother her at this stage. Still, while the art was interesting Ashley seemed anxious. "You alright Ashley-san?"

Just before Ashley asked her question Aiko closed her remaining eye and released the seals and locks holding her head securely fastened to her head. When she answered there was a slight but noticeable artificial quality to her voice. "Depends on the damage that needs to be repaired." The gynoid lifts off her head and gently sets it down. "This is actually fairly simple, but your help certainly helps. Camera on the damage please." With the head in front of her Karakuri gently lifts away the upper part of her cranium, getting a much clearer view of the area to be fixed, and the fact that there's a fair bit of wasted space inside the skull. Seeing a body operating on its own detached head was probably a bit macabre, but Aiko wasn't thinking about that at the moment. Instead she was, ever carefully and gently, picking out the damaged pieces of her ruined eye. "A little to the left please Ashley-san." And similar slight guidances occasionally get said as the gynoid begins to reassemble her occular sensor from whole components. All in all the headless robot is remarkably fast and steady in her work. Before long the repairs are done and Aiko is able to lift the head back into place. Still, around her newly repaired eye the skin is visibly damaged. "Ah, seems I will have to wait until tomorrow to repair the synth-skin." Almost sheepishly Karakuri looks over at Ashley. "It wouldn't be good if someone saw me with this split skin. Perhaps, would you be able help me with some make-up? I have never acutally used it myself."

While the vampiress languished in her dimensional pocket Mongrel Angel was busy trying to figure out the details of what to do with her. Consulting Moira for a way to contact an expert in the city, and this being Freedom there was garantued to be at least one, had taken half an hour or so. Turns out Avenger, that terror of the night, was the one to talk to about it. Moirley had disinclined to give any real details, simply stating that while she knew the vigilante in both personas it wasn't her place to reveal the personal details of another hero. Still, arranged meeting time had been a few hours away, time well spent in the mind of the two lovers. Now though she was leaning against the wall in what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse waiting for Avenger to make his presence known in some way, the dark angel figured she probably wouldn't be able to spot him unless he wished her too do so.

Even though she realized it had to be a mind trick of some sort Mongrel Angel felt the encrouchment of despair as the vampiress chided her. The words shouldn't be enough to induce this, so even though she felt her heart contracting and shot through with ice the dark angel refuses to give in. "I've died before bitch, I'm not afraid of your threats." She answers with just a bit of waver in her voice even as her arms keep up their crushing grip. Suddenly she feels, and hears, a mighty crack and the body in her arms goes limp. Damn, what do I do with an unconscious hungry vamp? Alex asks herself as she feels the grip of despair loosen and slink away. She's not dead at least, and I can't get myself to kill her now. Perhaps Moira'll know someone. Who am I kidding, Moira will know someone. So without further ado the dark amazon slips her adversery into her special pocket before teleporting away.

For once a genuine calm smile dawns upon Aiko's face. Corny line or not, she seems relieved that Ashley would be willing to help her that far. "Thank you Ashley-san, your words are much appreciated. And if you should require help yourself, you need but ask. Now then, let us see if we can't repair my optic sensors." Picking up the video camera Karakuri points it at herself, and turns it on. "Kami-sama, well it is not as bad as I feared but worse than I hoped. And at least the link works." Handing the now active camera towards Culdis she asks "Could you hold this? I need both hands from here on out."

Round 2: Will save vs Emotion Control [Despair] DC 21 (1d20+10=12) Grappling again, keeping it up to deal damage: Round 2: Grapple check (counting Shaken), DC 28 toughness save if succesful (1d20+23=39) And move action: Round 2: Forcing charisma check (1d20+6=22)

Aiko sits quiet and listens as Ashely speaks, thinking about the words she hears and working to discern meaning behind them. A moment or so after the brunette finishes talking the blue haired one answers. "Yes, I do. And it helps a bit. Th past is merely a foundation, what and where I build on and from it is my decision. But Otaku has been such a massive fixture in my life that it is almost impossible to avoid. So I work with that. I will spite him, defy him and exceed him. I'm already a more competent combatant than I ever were serving him. In time I shall surpass his intellect as well. Any immortality he achieves shall be solely through me, and I will make sure he knows that in his final days. Probably not the healthiest of mindsets, but at least it keeps me going for now while I craft my own place in the world. And I suppose I've got his sick obsessions to thank for my disturbing degree of 'anatomical correctness', at least that's helping me now somewhat.."

By all means it should be pretty hard to bore a machine, the curator here was managing it. Sure, Aiko wasn't an average example of machinery, but she was still getting bored. And evidently she wasn't the only one. "I understand completely Culdis-san. If I want to learn here I do believe I would be better served by coming here outside of a tour. Lead on."

The brunette seems shocked alright, but as the vampiress bites into her neck the girl proves herself to be more than she seems. Rather than meekly submitting she fights back, and with gusto. As Mongrel Angel turns the hug into a tightening vice she shifts from the unassuming petite form she'd been wearing into her own amazonian one. "This is why I can afford to be a bit incautious bloodsucker." The dark angel's voice is like velvet clad steel as she speaks into the vampire's ear.

Toughness save vs Bite DC 25 (1d20+15=22) So Injured & Bruised She'll squeeze in retaliation.Round 1: Grapple check, if succesful DC 28 toughness save (1d20+25=27) Okay, Rouge could actually match that. Screw it, I've got 4HP and I'm burning one now to reroll that; Rouge can't beat a minimum roll of 36 since she's Morphed and not using her Strength setting. I'll also burn a HP to nix fatigue for a Surge: going back to her usual form and ramping up her Supernatural Attractiveness to full effect. I suppose I could say I use my move action force a charisma check too, just because it seems fitting. Round 1: Charisma Check, forcing open Rouge's drawback (1d20+6=13), I'll just claim the low roll is cause she can't see her properly, just the face and neck.

"After terminating that interation of me Solo pulled out an earlier back-up of my programming and overwrote my mind, so I was back to how I was before. Whatever granted me sentience did so a second time at the end of September, and this time I retained my memories of what had been done to me. It was a small miracle I lasted until that Con on the 8th of October. Otaku got cornered by a few heroes and he called on us to bail him out. I just struck him between the eyes instead." Again, the gynoid smiles. "If Darkstar hadn't stopped me I'd have spread his brains all over the floor, and felt good about it too." And again, the smile drops, along with her mood. "I broke down emotionally at that point. Solo had used, abused and then killed me for simply being a person and not just a toy. Being denied vengeance at that point broke a couple of floodgates. I spent over half a year in Daedalus's care, just getting to function, being capable of being independent." Now Karakuri's voice goes dark, practically baring steel. "I will not allow anyone to have that kind of power Solo had over me. Never again."

Ashley's pity stung a bit, but Aiko realized that in this case it was because the brunette cared. "It does bother me, but I need to speak of it. If we leave of here things will simply be horribly awkward later and your mind might unbidden construct some rather fanciful and possibly harmful scenario's concerning my presence." For a moment a smile creep onto the gynoid's face. "Heh, at least some form of insight from all that manga and anime." It is fleeting though and soon drops. "So to start, I loved Solo; it was in my programming after all. At some point, I don't know why, I achieved self awareness and was no longer bound by the parameters he'd set. I still loved and served him, but when I spoke to my sister about it I learned she was still operating solely under programming. She told Solo, and he basically just killed me."

As she moved over to heal Rycon's mild injuries Alex takes a moment to consider her question. "I have no 'scientific' base for it, partly instinctive on my part. I do see it as locking onto a body's instinctive knowledge of how it should be when whole and hale and sort of moving into that state. But, no idea if that's quite what it does." Seeing that the healing took the dark angel opens up another of her portals. Making a motion to offer passage through it she resumes talking. "But for now let us step out of the ring and let the next pair set up their bout. We can discuss this, and possibly more, later."

"I can access it directly, and it will most likely be more efficient that way. Especially since if possible I would prefer to detach my head for better access. And since I will need both my hands for the work itself it would be helpful if you could handle the camera." As she spoke Karakuri was gingerly feeling around the top of her neck with her fingertips, seeing if the joints and seals where still in good enough condition to just disengage when removing her head. Aiko stops cold, for several moments she makes neither a sound or movement. Then her shoulders slump down and she looks over at Ashley. "Takashi Solo. Or as you probably know him, Doctor Otaku. Until October last year I was one of the Angel Androids."

"That was quick, though I suppose it would be." When Ashley reappeared Aiko was using her remaining eye to inspect the parts that would in a short while grant her stereovision again. "If you could be so kind as to bring over whatever you brought so we can get started Ashley-san. I am willing to explain as we work, but I will need to be able see what I am doing to accomplish anything."

Trust or not, Aiko still made sure to update her profiles on everyone that could be a potential threat in some form. it was long list by now. Better wait here, Martel-san and the others in the dorms need sleep and we wouldn't want to wake them. So Karakuri basically just waited until Ashley got back.

Sure

"Not very long. Well, yes I did throw Geckoman into a wall last April and stuff like that. But I've only come anywhere close to knowing them, and them me, during the last few weeks since I arrived here." Aiko seemed somber as she talked now, a bit detached. It doesn't take the gynoid long to collect what she needs. "We should probably get moving Ashley-san. So are we heading over to your old home or is it possible for you to bring whatever is needed here faster than the two of us together can get there?"

"Any kind of video recording device that can be linked to a computer should suffice actually." Aiko said to relieve at least some of her roommate's doubts. "I have some spare parts for my optics systems, and the tools to work with, in what I brought with me when I arrived. The tricky part is going to be the synth-skin, I don't have the facilities or material to repair that at the moment and will have to go through the faculty to get it. Speaking of which, at least most of them know what I am. So does Martel-san. She, kinda helped me with a major metaphysical question the day she arrived. Still, I deeply appreciate your willingness to keep this a secret."

Ashley does seem to be trustworthy, might as well extend it further. Holding Ashley by the hand Aiko goes to leave the room, passing close enough by the controls to mentally shut down the Doom Room. "I certainly appreciate the offer, but I do believe I can handle most of it. Though I could use your help in setting up a secondary optics system for when I detach and my head to work on it. And I think you at least deserve some more details so you will have a better understanding of my situation Ashley-san." Change in adress mode, let's see if she can pick up on it.

"...a doctor wouldn't be of any use." Aiko sounds resigned, and a bit scared, as she speaks. "I'm, artificial." The gynoid states as she lets her right hand drop exposing what should have been a gory, horrible mess. It's still a horrible mess, but instead of gore it's visibly high teck components. Most of these are shattered and broken, thin cables torn out of their sockets, or sheared through, or the lense array that made up the robots eye that now sits pushed back in the socket with great cracks in it.

Aiko tries to hide her injury for moment Sleight of Hand, untrained with +2 bonus (circumstancial) (1d20+14=15) and fails