Fourth Consensus Redux (Video)

[forwearemany]

(As always, to those unfamiliar with them, Legion will seem calm. To those who know them well enough, however, the flashing lights and fluttering headflaps tell a different story.)

Shepard-Commander is gone.

Comments

[trabryu]

That so...

[ Has that happened before? Arisato mentioned about returning home and not remembering anything when he returned here. Would Commander Sephard forget all about them too? His eyes swim, his gaped mouth slowly close. There's still hope, with her belongings still being here. Maybe she went for a mission, or something... shit, could it be the Queens?

He's about to open up his mouth to throw a possibility when he finally notices the chattering noises coming from Legion. ]

...Oi, you aight?

[forwearemany]

...All systems ...functional.

(Yes Legion, you are physically fine. That's not what he was asking.)

Shepard-Commander saved us.

(They're not really the best at this emotions thing, okay?)

[trabryu]

[ ...Okay something's clearly weird with Legion, they're not making sense. ]

Where are ya now? I'm goin' there.

[forwearemany]

We are located on the fifth floor, room 109.

action

[trabryu]

[ Mondo'll be there in a bit, it doesn't take him long since he just needs to go down three flight of stairs.

Knock-knock. ]

Legion? 's Mondo.

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged.

(It comes from somewhere inside the room, followed by footsteps. Legion opens the door to reveal... okay that's a pretty fucking sweet pad. It looks like the insides of a Geth ship, all industrial and full of space age metal and polymers and glowy shit. The floor has three levels. There's the main floor which has what appears to be some kind of workbench, what is probably some kind of future terminal, their gun rack, and what is pretty unmistakably just a few boxes of emergency supplies. In an out of the way corner there's a raised platform with a small and relatively barebones bed on it, why it's there isn't entirely clear since a robot like Legion probably doesn't need to sleep. The biggest and best part of the room, however, is a lower section in the middle, which seems to be devoted entirely to gaming. There's a sleek shiny couch sitting in front of an absolutely massive flatscreen and multiple gaming consoles.)

Greetings.

(For someone living in such an awesome area, Legion doesn't seem to be in a hugely awesome mood. Admittedly, it's hard to tell with them, but they're definitely flaring their headflaps a lot more than usual.)

[trabryu]

[ There's a lot to see here. On other times, he'd probably be yelling out his surprise and excitement at how sick this whole place look, but right now he can only dart his eyes from one space to another. It's hard to get amped about it when all these worries are filling up his head ー both about Commander Shepard and Legion. He's amazed all the same though, just not in the way he usually would. He'd never think about giving his own room extra floors. Ok that's a lie, he thought about it after going to the Damian's cave, but y'know. ]

Dude, you look hella weird. Somethin' the matter?

[ If his texts are any indication, he's definitely not a tech-savvy person, but he's built a motorcycle from scratch, surely he can screw some bolts or shit. Either way, he's here to see if there's anything that he can do. Weird as it can be, he does feel some kind of bond with Legion after them fighting off zombies together. Him months ago would probably tell the current him that he's crazy. ]

[forwearemany]

(Legion likes Mondo too.)

All systems functioning within acceptable parameters.

(A pause.)

...Shepard-Commander is gone. (They are so distressed over this.)

[trabryu]

I heard that already.

[ And that's when it clicks.

The problem doesn't lie on the machine. Legion... is upset. It's probably crazy to describe it in that way, but seriously, but that's the only thing Mondo can think of. He knows Legion is made up of programs and is some kind of robot or shit like that, but he's seen enough to know that there's more about them than what it is in the surface. Plus, they should know better than anyone else if something within them isn't working properly. ]

You said that her stuff is still here, so we still have hope. [ Though unsure this will help any, Mondo puts his hand on Legion's shoulder, patting it. He guesses it's true when people say that you'll get much calmer when someone else's panicking more than you. ] D'ya know where she went the last time before she disappeared?

[forwearemany]

(They chatter a bit, but they don't attempt to move away from Mondo's hand.

...They are, perhaps surprisingly, warm to the touch, even if the texture is a bit weird.)

Negative. We believe it is likely she was asleep.

(They ponder for a moment, headflaps rippling.)

Additional possibilities include locations such as the kitchen, shooting range, or beach.

[trabryu]

[ Noticing the warmth under his palm, Mondo wonders if Legion is beginning to overheat. All these headflaps actions are giving him red light. ]

Hey, alright. It's okay. It'll be fine.

[ He moves to look at Legion eye to... well, eye, if that counts as one. ]

Commander's strong, right? She'll be back soon. 'm sure it's nothin'. ...I mean, if you wanna we can check out the places again to be sure.

[forwearemany]

(Legion is actually somewhat warm basically all the time, though it's not a bad guess.

And yes that is an eye. Probably don't want to stare into it too long, though. It's pretty bright.)

Affirmative. (Almost reflexively, they dim their eye a bit.)

...We would like that.

[trabryu]

[ Yeah, Mondo starts looking away after a while because that's too much to look at, even when they dim it. ]

Aight then, let's get goin'.

[ With a light smack on Legion's back, Mondo leads the way out of the room, towards the kitchen first. Maybe there's something that can clue them in there. ]

...Uh, come to think of it, do you eat anythin'?

[ A horrible attempt of conversation to keep Legion from thinking too much, but this in itself is a huge step ahead for Mondo. ]

[forwearemany]

Negative.

(They answer the question calmly as they follow behind Mondo.)

It is unnecessary. Additionally, this platform does not possess a mouth.

We are curious about the organic sensation of taste.

[trabryu]

Ah...

[ He expected that answer, but he's going to keep this going if it helps to distract Legion a bit. ]

Well, who knows, technology's always changin', right? Maybe you'll get to taste things too.

[ Down the stairs they go! ]

What kinda stuff you wanna try eating?

[forwearemany]

Uncertain.

We are puzzled by organic attraction to unhealthy foods when there are more suitable alternatives.

(Everyone seems to want to eat junk instead of stuff that's actually nutritious. It's weird.)

[trabryu]

[ Man, he's supposed to be cheering Legion up here but instead Legion's making him laugh. ]

Now that you put it that way... Well, it's cheaper, easier, faster? Tastes good too, so, there you go.

[ He shrugs lightly, with a little smirk on his lips. ]

I bet once you got yourself some sense of taste you'll get hooked too.

[ And finally, they've reached the second floor! Let's get in to the kitchen and see what they have! ]

[forwearemany]

"You value short term benefits over long term health?"

(They chatter.

They are uncertain of whether they can or even wish to understand. However, they are more curious than ever.)

[trabryu]

[ Mondo gives Legion a look, then laughs. ]

Humans are idiots, Legion. They're weak to those lil' things, even if they know what's better for them.

[ That's why a married person can betray their partner and get some other flings outside the family. ]

Sometimes things won't make sense, it'll be unfair... but that's life, I guess. [ He shrugs lightly. ] Being angry is free, though, so.

[ Inside the kitchen, there isn't really something that sticks out to his eyes. All he can see is just a neatly organised utensils, looks like someone bothered to tidy things up after using... or maybe it's the magic. Whichever it is, he doesn't see anything particularly useful for their investigation. ]

Nothin', eh?

[forwearemany]

...Acknowledged.

(They don't understand.

They look around, trying to see if there are any signs of Shepard-Commander. There are no signs of anyone.)

She is not here.

[trabryu]

[ Mondo confirms that with a nod, there's no signs of anyone been using the room recently, nor any kind of hint. Of course, it's too early to give up. They still have many places to check. ]

Let's move on, then.

[ As he leads their way out of the mansion, he whips his device out to check if he can send Commander Shepard a message.

...To no avail, that is. He holds himself from letting out a sigh ー gotta keep the morale high! Legion's already worried as they are. ]

Wanna check the shooting range next? We can see the beach at the same time, maybe there's some clue there!

[forwearemany]

Affirmative.

(Mondo's suggestion is efficient. They approve.)

We appreciate your willingness to assist us.

(It's an odd gesture, especially since they both know they won't find her, but it is appreciated nonetheless.)

[trabryu]

[ They won't know until they check it out. There must be something that they overlooked, somewhere! Clues, footprints, signs, whatever.

So he thought.

But when they reach the shooting range, he can't help feeling his morale lowering down further from what he was trying to hold on earlier. It's empty, and he can't see anything notable that could give them a sign of... anything related to Commander Shepard, really. He looks at Legion quietly, hoping that they see something else that he doesn't. ]

[forwearemany]

(Nope, nothing.

Legion is thorough in their inspection but, perhaps surprisingly, calm. They were already aware that this would be the result.)

[trabryu]

[ The noises and the frazzled gestures that Legion made earlier on hadn't seem to be showing their horn now that they're here. Mondo stands quietly to observe Legion, subsequently their surroundings. After a few more moments of silence, he breaks it. ]

Let's get back to the mansion and wait. She'll be back for sure.