Repair Bay - RHQ

This room is one of the largest in the Repliforce Headquarters, rivalled only by the Barracks, Briefing Area and Hangar Bay. This is the place where the wounded reploids come to get their parts replaced or for general tune-ups and tests. The latest technology is in evidence all around the room as programmed reploids scuttle back and forth, both on legs and some on wheels. Thre are numerous Repair beds that will enclose a reploid fully, and there are places for the larger reploids to power down until they get fixed. The room stretches out quite far in all directions, the only two exits leading out are either to the Laboratory or the hangar-bay sized doors into the hallway. The Repair Bay is extremely well lit, and has a definite antiseptic feel to it, as it is always emmaculately clean.

General [RF]
Colonel [RF]
Ring Redwing [RF]
Burn Dinorex [RF]
Iris [RF]
Raymond
Whipcrack Octopus [RF]
Nightingale's Desk of Evil
Apothecary's Pharmacy <AP>
SIGN
Crosswire's Workdesk
Repair Chamber

Obvious exits:
<SL> leads to Science Laboratory - RHQ.
<S1H> leads to Sub-Level 1 Hallway.

Ring Redwing finishes her prayer, with one final long glance at Iris, Redwing leaves to help Ten out in Reconnaisance.

Ring Redwing enters the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Ring Redwing has left.

Iris is a pathetic sight to behold. Quite a bit of her synthetic skin and surface armor have been melted completely off, revealing the plating beneath. Most of her long, dark hair is gone. The rest of her body is badly scorched. One of the stranger marks she has on her is a large handprint on the side of her face, which appears to have melted that side of her head straight down to the neural net.

Minutes continue to pass. A sense of uneasiness is felt from the medical gumbies in the room, who is used to Lieutenant Whipcrack "The Maestro" Octopus' busting out another perfect repair job from Reploid wreckage in the time it makes to make a bag of microwave popcorn. But the minute hand continues to sweep across the face of the clocks in the room as he trudges on, working "slowly" (by the standards of his gumbies, and assuredly by his own standards) even though all eight of his tentacles and both of his "hands" are a blur to anybody who isn't used to extreme Reploid speeds.

Holographic diagnostics continue to pop up around Iris as the gumbies do what they can, feeding Whipcrack Iris' parts and doing the minor, automatic repairs that don't require the godlike presence of mind Whipcrack possesses. Superficially, she's already looking a lot better -- but he hasn't closed her up yet, and he's spending an extraordinary amount of time on the neural connections that span throughout her body -- the kind of thing that you never want to see a medic focusing too much on, because that indicates the kind of nightmarish damage that only a certifiable robotic genius can properly mend.

General's gaze shifts to Colonel as he notices the expression of his XO. There are very few times when Colonel does not even acknowledge General... and when his sister is near death is one of those times. Frowning, the General merely leans over and gently rests his hand on Colonel's shoulders. It remains there for a few moments before he withdraws it, resuming his normal at-ease stance. The General's gaze drifts around the room, peering at the dozens of injured Repliforcers. Most of them are on their way to recovery, or being worked on right now. General gives them a salute of support, hoping to at least raise their spirits. It's the least he can do.

(Ch. D [Public]) Heat Man transmits: 'WOW! We cook better than Roll!'.

Deep in her deepest subconscious, Iris is still at war. In what's left of her mind, she's still in the Network...fighting off Peacock.

Iris relives those final moments again...and again...and again...as the EMP-pulse destroys the entire satellite network grid, she continues to see that play in her mind, unable to escape it.

(Ch. D [Public]) Stalker Tiger transmits: 'You wish.'.

Flare Feline is one of the many soldiers wounded in last night's battle. Inferno Panter got the better of him early on, his loss mostly to blame on his mental state at the time, he's still not snapped out of yet. And he's probably not going to feel any better once he sees the company gathered in the medbay. After reciving basic repairs, he finally begins to wake, just groaning slightly as he sits up, mumbling weakly "I.. really haven't had a lot of luck lately..." Finally he sits straight up, and looks around, looking quite surprised at everyone gathered in the med bay. Rubbing the back of his head, he says grogily "What... what's going on?"

The silence in the medical bay is deafening. Everyone in the room knows about Iris, and how badly she's hurt -- and they know of the Maestro's abilities, and how quickly he can repair almost anyone. Those in recovery look on towards the wall of medical gumbies around Iris -- those being repaired are completely silent, not wanting to miss any news that may occur. The medics not involved continue to work diligently, but a sense of increasing alarm is moving through them as minutes ... now into many minutes, approaching 30 ... continue to pass.

Whipcrack works onward, repairing and replacing part after part, rebuilding her entire lower body and now working towards her head ... which sustained the most internal damage. While her lower body looks pristine, her upper body is still kept open, the delicate connections being reattached, repaired, tended to. He has not ceased moving ever since he began, constantly at work on her. In human-work-unit time, a crew of elite medics has spent several days working on her -- the repair chamber would have written her off as unsalvagable by now. But still, Whipcrack carries on, refusing to give up, fighting to save his Repliforce comrade ... and his best, possibly only, friend.

Rising, Zombie-like, from a repair bed down the way, Burn Dinorex hmms once, glancing around. "What the..." Oh yeah. King. Looking across the room, he notes the rather large group of folks in the surgical theatre. "Hope whover that is makes it out alright." Planting his feet upon the cold floor, he rises to his full height, casting off sterile anti-static sheets and flame retardant materials as though gladly removing a used hospital gown.

Walking towards the exit, he pauses to look over at that somber grouping again. General, and Colonel. Definitely someone important.

He'll ask around, the Ocelot will know.

As quietly as possible, he makes his escape.

Burn Dinorex enters the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Burn Dinorex has left.

Colonel takes a glance back toward General, providing him a slight nod of acknowledgement but continues to stay silent. Returning his gaze towards Iris, Colonel knows she is in good hands and will recover. However, The Repliforce XO appears to let no guilt pass him by... All that has happened appears to be a burden now laid upon his shoulders, "Iris..."
With his fist clentched tightly, Colonel knows his sister is thinking of him and him of her right now, but alas he cannot stand to watch this any longer. "Cyber.. Devry.. you will pay." murmers from an escaped breath as the Colonel turns about and begins making his way towards the doors outside the repair chamber. Obviously, He appears determined to complete a little unfinished business.

General returns his attention to Iris, brow furrowing with concern. He doesn't consciously ignore Flare Feline's question, but is rather out of tune with the rest of the room at the moment. His concentration remains on Iris, and to a lesser extent, Colonel. Judging from Whipcrack Octopus's frantic movements, the situation seems to be getting more desperate. The General silently prays in his mind for Iris.

<Global News Network> *A Reploid Reporter with mic in a busy industrial area*
Good evening, folks, this is your sports reporter, Biff Wellington, reporting from the Commercial District in Moscow, where the Blazing Fists tournament is about to begin on the rooftop of the Gan Corporation headquarters. Presiding over this display of martial arts finesse is the internationally wanted criminal, the Robot Master Slash Man. The fight is going to begin shortly, in approximately fifteen minutes. Tonight's premiere matchup will be between: Hurricane Kangaroo, of the Repliforce, and Overdrive Ostrich, running pride of the terrorist Maverick forces! We expect spectators to start filling the stands shortly. I know the excitment is getting to me! ...We have been refused live coverage, sadly, however the weekend Sports Report will have the details from the first rounds. This is Biff Wellington, back to the studio. Marty?

Iris visits some happier places in her mind. One moment she's stargazing with her brother. The next moment, she's walking along a beach with Jet. Then, she's talking and laughing with Twila. Sharing a joke with Rock. Confiding in Fugue. These images flash past in her mind, in a quick montage. (Life flashing before my eyes?) she thinks. Then she sees Sigma kneeling before her, giving her the hilt of his sword as a gift...

Colonel departs from the area, set and ready to take his revenge

General watches Colonel depart with worry in his expression. He takes one last look at Iris, then lumbers quickly after his XO. "Colonel," he emits sharply, just trying to catch the attention of the Repliforce XO. The General glances behind him, not wanting to speak of these matters in public. He gives a slight nod towards the hallway, and continues in that direction.

Flare Feline watches Colonel leave, almost asking him what's going on, but the look that was on his face kept Flare's mouth shut. He feels a rather... large presence in the room, and finally only now notices the General (Only Flare could manage not noticing the General...) and can barely see Whipcrack working on someone he can't make out. He's never met the General face to face yet, and his size is MORE than imposing enough to make someone anxious, add that to the gloomy atmosphere in the room makes Flare sound about 20x more nervous than he usually does when addressing a superior. "S-Sir.." He offers a saltue if General bothers to look his way "What's been happening since the battle last night? It almost seems like someone died in here?"

General gives a glance back to Flare Feline on his way out, looking rather distracted. "Read the reports, Corporal. You'll find what you're looking for there," the General answers, before heading into the corridor.

Colonel stops midway and gazes back to notice General's nod towards the Hallway.. Growling slightly, he turns back and makes his way outside to wait for General.

General enters the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
General has left.
Colonel enters the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Colonel has left.

It is now 45 minutes into the operation. Whipcrack has not broken his constant pace, and the parts surrounding him initially have dwindled down to very small, but highly expensive, boxes of stuff ... mostly dealing with the Reploid brain. The gumbies start assembling the stuff into one concentrated pile, putting them at Whipcrack's disposal as he continues to work.

Everything below Iris' neck is in perfect working order -- oil changed, fluids rotated, chassis lubed, hinges greased, conduit rewired, the works. She may as well be brand new from that point back. The head, though, is apparently giving Whipcrack problems. His speed has dropped to a quarter of his full potential, and only four of his tentacles and his `hands' are active now, working slowly enough so that even a human can track the movements -- by human standards, they are inhumanly rapid and precise, but to Whipcrack he may as well be moving through a haze of ether.

Medical gumbies, as they finish the repairs to other Repliforce gumbies, begin gathering outside of the elite circle of techs that attend Whipcrack, watching with growing fear as their hero -- their greatest medic, the best that may have ever been, is, or will be -- struggles to save the beloved Iris. 50 minutes and counting, and Whipcrack, rather than increasing his speed, seems to be going slower, and slower, and slower ...

Razor Pterodactyl has connected.

Somewhere in what's left of her mind, Iris visits Whipcrack. She's on the roof of RHQ-London, and he's painting a picture. She's asking him about it...

Flare Feline blinks as the General leaves, and mumbles to himself "I must really have been out of it..." He access the Repliforce database (or however it is we ICly read the reports) and after a few moments he, indeed, finds his answer, regardless how much he doesn't like it. "Oh My god...." He jumps off the bed, probably hurting himself further considering how damaged he was, but he doesn't pay attention to it. He walks over to where he can see Whipcrack working, and indeed, gasps as he sees Iris there. "Oh no...." He stays far enough away so not to distract Whipcrack, not that he could be distracted "No wonder the Colonel seems like he'll go on the warpath any minute..." He just shakes his head, his own personally mindframe hasn't exactly been cheery lately, and this certainly isn't going to help "Iris... hang in there..."

55 minutes into the operation, and Whipcrack has downgraded to only using his fully prehensile `hands' to work on Iris' head. He is going about as slow as the average human medic now, constantly checking the holographic schematics as he works on. It is frighteningly silent in the med-bay now...so quiet that you can hear the hydrolics in Whipcrack's delicate fingers pump as he moves them. Many of the gumbies around him are very nervous looking. Some excuse themselves to leave the room, not able to contain their growing horror. They know something is very wrong. You assuredly can sense that. But nobody quite knows what, aside from Whipcrack moving at record slowness and only using his hands to work on Iris' neural net.

Razor Pterodactyl breaks the silence by yawning loudly. He shakes his head a bit. "Ahhh... what a refreshing nap that was." He blinks as he checks his internal chronometer. "Uhhh... that can't be right. According to this, I was out a whole day..." Which makes him blissfully unaware of exactly what is going on not too far away from him.
Flare Feline looks over at Razor and does the annoying 'Shh' that the guy behind you always does in movie theatres, walking over he says in a low whisper "Keep your voice down, Whipcrack's doing some vital work on a /very/ important patient in there..." Chances are Whipcrack is in a soundproof room or something, but Flare doesn't want to take the chance.

Whirlpool Lobster has connected.

Deep in what's still functioning of Iris' neural net, she's up on stage, singing joyfully to the whole world, while Decibel and the Bandroids play music...

It's been an hour since Whipcrack started working on Iris. Ten other patients who had been reduced to rubble could have been fully repaired and sent on their way, due to Whipcrack's atypical speed and efficiency in repairs. This, however, is a special case -- something has happened to Iris. Something bad. And it's taxing Whipcrack's mental resources to fix.

Everything below Iris' neck is in perfect working order -- polished, shined, new parts adorn her. Her neural net and its related components, however, are the focus of most of Whipcrack's attention. He works on it only with his `hands', and is going so slow that even a human could easily keep up with his movements. The entire chamber around him is deathly silent, his gumbie minions looking on in growing horror, realizing that Whipcrack -- rather than speeding up, signifying the end of an operation -- is going slower, and slower, and slower. Something bad is happening. Something very, very bad. The gumbies know that never in his career has Whipcrack ever had to work so slowly, and work for so long, on one patient. Even when Colonel was reduced almost to a talking head, he was up and around in around 25 minutes. But it's been an hour now, and Iris is still unconscious, her brain being worked on by the best medic Repliforce has -- possibly the best Repliforce has ever had, or ever will have -- and there is the growing feeling that he isn't going to be able to pull this one back from oblivion.

Razor Pterodactyl 's eyes dart over to Flare as he approaches. Sitting up on his bed, he whispers back, "Oops, sorry. I wasn't aware..." oO(Of anything. For a whole day, it seems. Man...)Oo Continuing the whisper, a flood of questions comes out next, "An important patient, you say? Who is it? What happened?"

Flare Feline sighs, and looks back over to where Whipcrack is slowly beginning to finish, with no sign of her waking up. "It's .... Iris. And she's in /real/ bad shape. Something happened with Cyber Peacock last night, she's struggling to hold on." Flare's voice is a mix of sadness for this scene, with some left over depression from what's been going on with him over the past few days.

Iris appears almost to be sleeping, now...very peacefully at rest, and much, much improved, at least physically, from the pathetic condition she was brought in, much thanks to Whipcrack and his dedicated team. However, much of her neural net has been fried from Cyber Peacock's relentless attack on the Eurasia security network...and what's left of her mind is locked away deep, very deep indeed.

Whirlpool Lobster enters the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Whirlpool Lobster has left.

Fugue arrives from the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Fugue has arrived.

(Ch. A [Repliforce]) General transmits: 'Someone keep me apraised of the status of Iris.'.

(Ch. A [Repliforce]) Whipcrack Octopus transmits: 'Acknowledged.'.

Razor Pterodactyl jumps off his bed. "Cyber Peacock did something to Iris?" He puts two and two together. "Must've been something computer-related... oh, I see. That could be bad... that could be very bad indeed..." He tails off, seemingly sinking into his own thoughts. Or perhaps he just doesn't know what to say.

Fugue slips into the medbay, carrying a long, thin box under one arm. Despite the mood in the room, she smiles brightly and waves with her free hand, "How's the patient doing?"

(Ch. A [Repliforce]) Ten transmits: 'Well, I checked out the Robot Master barbecue. I haven't seen any sign of trouble. It appears the RMs are obeying the law currently. Now, if you all will excuse me, I'll begin stuffing my beak now.'.

Flare Feline doesn't turn away from watching Whipcrack work, but still responds "It /is/ bad Razor. I thought that what Cyber did to Colonel was something, but she doesn't seem to be waking up, even though her body has been repaired." He hears someone ask how she's doing behind him, not knowing who it is, he just replys, since Whipcrack is far too busy to speak to someone "She doesn't seem to be waking up..." He repeats "I think it's pretty bad..." His voice is still echoing the sadness he feels right how, coupled with his current depression. He just keeps his gaze locked on her oO(Come on Iris... you can hang on...)

Deep inside what's left of her functioning mind, Iris is reliving the battle in the Eurasia security network...the seconds immediately before Cyber's EMP-pulse detonated, taking out the entire thing. ("You know...you could have been someone special, you had so much -potential-...why, why did you throw it all away?" she asked Peacock, with a tinge of sadness in her voice.)

Fugue sets the box down somewhere safe and walks slowly toward Iris' table, careful to stay out of the way of the medics. With a quick glance at Whipcrack, she gestures toward Iris, "May I?"

An hour and 15 minutes into the operation, Whipcrack is now moving at a snail's pace, slowly picking out each individual finger-tentacle's movement. The room is extremely quiet, the medics surrounding him having turned to their own coping mechanisms -- silent prayer, mental distraction, becoming one with their tasks. The tension is as thick as its ever been, the master medic going slower, and slower ...

Until, finally, he stops. Just ... stops.

Seconds pass. The octopus does not move, does not indicate his plans, does nothing. His multi-threaded processor architecture continues to run through courses of action, thinking twenty, thirty moves in advance. Every repair strategy he knows cycles through his CPU twice, each one found wanting. Creativity blossoms as he makes up a hundred seperate strategies on the fly ... and one by one, they get knocked down by his own internal logic, until nothing remains. His processor throbs with heat as he accomplishes hundreds of thousands of human work-hours of cognition of the problem, using all of his knowledge, all of his experience, to try to find a solution. And still...

Nothing.

Whipcrack straightens back up, arms at his sides, tentacles coiled back to their shortest length. He looks down at Iris as the holographic diagnostics show everything all clear except for Iris' startup program, which will not compile. It is full of errors that would take him hundreds of real years to untangle ... provided he was ten times faster than he was now, ten times smarter, and knew the first thing about the true nature of artificial intelligence. He has found the wall. He can go no further. A few of his gumbies begin to sob quietly; their champion has toiled longer, fought harder, done more than any they have ever seen before, and has come so close ... but still, he comes up short. He is out of options. Slowly, the crowd around the table begins to break up, the gumbies filing silently out of the room to attend to tasks elsewhere. It's hard to be around someone who has just let down their best friend ... even when that person has no expression to read.

The life support systems continue to read green. Iris still lives, but in a deep, dark coma world that no one can touch. She may as well be dead, her stripped-down cranial area nothing but a Terminator-esque mixture of metal and plastic with an exposed neural net. Whipcrack briefly considers some philosophy books he had read one evening long ago about the nature of consciousness. Does she dream? he wonders, silently, kneeling down beside her and resting one of his `hands' on hers. He does not acknowledge Fugue. In his mind, he may as well be completely alone except for the silent, unmoving, unconscious body of Iris.

Razor Pterodactyl merely lets out a deep sigh as Flare speaks. He may not know Iris all that well personally, but her reputation as one of the most cheerful and friendly members of Repliforce is widely known. Certainly one of the last people you'd wish something like this would happen to. And besides, Flare's depression is contageous, it's rubbing off on Razor. As it suddenly becomes even more quiet than it already was, he looks over at the table where Iris is for the first time. His eyes drift over to Whipcrack... something's wrong here. oO(...why isn't he doing anything?)Oo

Flare Feline hmms as Whipcrack stops, oO(Maybe.. he's just taking a break...) Moments pass, nope, he's done. "Wh-what? Is he finished? But.. what about Iris?" The sadness/depression quickly turn to worry, as it seems nothing can be done, and just shakes his head in disbelief "No..."

Fugue takes the silence as consent. Leaning forward a bit, she peers into one of the monitors, "You guys are really too quiet and depressed in here. I mean, jeez... if I were lost, I wouldn't want to come back to a place filled with an attitude like this." despite her critical statement, she's still smiling kindly, eyes never leaving the displays.

Other than the top part of her head, Iris looks as well as she ever has, much thanks to Whipcrack's vigilant team of workers. She only looks as if she's resting. However, she's deeply 'trapped' within her own damaged mind -- the result of a near-fatal network attack. She has no concept of the people around her...the things being done to save her life. If she did know, if she could only give a sign...but she isn't capable of that recognizance. In her mind, Peacock is hitting her with everything he has, and the EMP-bomb counts down from 5 seconds down to 1. "THE HUMANS, they MADE me do it!!" he shrieked.)

Whirlpool Lobster arrives from the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Whirlpool Lobster has arrived.

(Ch. D [Public]) Heat Man transmits: 'Hey, Uncle Thom! We're having a great party! Dad's not around! Would you, and the rest of our cousins, and Mom like to come and have some food?'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Twila Peterson transmits: 'Erm...busy counting...ah...metal plating. That's it.'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Metal Man transmits: 'Come on mom we are not hurting any one'.

Silence. Whipcrack holds Iris' hand, his faceless body revealing nothing of his internal dialogue. What is he thinking? Does he have feelings? Does death impact him, being such a seasoned medic? Can anything break through the iron medic's efficient, professional facade?

Iris could. Iris was his one real friend, the first he had ever had. As a commanding officer, as a person, she was the first to show him real kindness outside of his capacities as a repair unit. And now ... Iris is beyond his powers to resurrect. The Maestro cannot finish this symphony.

He does not hear Fugue. He's not paying attention to his sensors at all now, focusing only on holding Iris' hand. And even this passes ... slowly, he uncurls the tentacles wrapped around her hand and rises again, looking down on her silently. To anyone not skilled in reading medical technology, it would seem that Iris is completely brain-dead, despite an unblemished body (aside from the absence of flesh on her head).

He hears something, finally -- he looks up at an invisible thing, visible only to his HUD. He scrolls back, looks at it, and in a picosecond realizes his final option. He has one hope, one long-short 11th-hour reprive, one last miracle left in him.

He has Dr. Thomas Light, the grandfather of all artificial life.

(Ch. D [Public]) Sage transmits: 'That voice... Ms. Peterson?'.

(Ch. C [RF/Hunter-Com]) Whipcrack Octopus transmits: 'I require the assistance of Dr. Thomas Light.'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Twila Peterson transmits: 'Yes it is. Hello.'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Sage transmits: 'Why are those here calling you mother?'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Top Man transmits: 'Mom? Hihi Mom!'.

Broadcast Ocelot arrives from the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Broadcast Ocelot has arrived.
Broadcast Ocelot stalks into the area, tail swishing from side to side.

(Ch. D [Public]) Twila Peterson transmits: '*sigh* Veeeeery long story...'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Top Man transmits: 'Hey! Mom, why doncha come to the party? We've got lotsa food and we're not even doin' nothin' to make people mad!'.

(Ch. C [RF/Hunter-Com]) Dr. Thomas Light transmits: 'This is Doctor Light..how may I be of assistance, dear boy?'.

<Global News Network> "This is Michael McAffee, reporting from what can only be called the Robot Master Block Party. An entire hectare outside of Cairo has become a gigantic party, including civillians, Robot Masters, Repliforce Members, and possibly even a few of the Maverick Hunters. It's a truly touching sight, and one that is as beautiful as it is surprising!"

Flare Feline keeps his gaze locked "This is horrible..." And a little voice rings out from the back of his mind 'Horrible? Yes, this is reality. Something that you've been running from for a long time...' Flare shakes off the bad vibe, there is quite enough to worry about now. He wonders how long he should stay here, if he should leave, if he should pray. Since he has yet to recieve repairs himself, he'll be staying, but it's unlikely that his attention will be turning away from Iris for awhile yet...

(Ch. D [Public]) Clown Man transmits: '*quickly* Dad was going to marry Mom but the Blue dweeb messed it all up... or is it Proto? But we still love you, mom. *kissing sounds*'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Jared Kintane transmits: 'Old man Wily wants to hook up with her. And not a bad choice, I've gotta say. Too old for me, but still. Good call Wily.'.

(Ch. A [Repliforce]) General transmits: 'Status, Ten.'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Twila Peterson transmits: '*deep sigh*'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Adler Blau transmits: 'Indeed, one could say that the lustrous beauty of her heart and soul for a moment penetrated through the haze of Wily's insanity.'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Sage transmits: 'So... she is your mother because Dr. Wily courted her?'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Top Man transmits: 'Duh, sage'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Clown Man transmits: 'Yeah.'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Top Man transmits: 'She's mom because she's mom.'.

(Ch. D [Public]) Sage transmits: 'Circular reasoning.. interesting.'.

(Ch. C [RF/Hunter-Com]) Whipcrack Octopus transmits: 'Iris has suffered a Class 10 Neural Cascade Failure and has become trapped in a Morden-Kurashi programming loop. She cannot be reactivated without her suffering total brain death from the shock of the present shattering her programming. She is beyond my abilities to revive. All other options have been exhausted. It is ... it is now up to you, Doctor Light. I can do ... nothing more. I am powerless before this.'.

Razor Pterodactyl looks on for a while, before beginning to walk closer to Iris's bed. Without a hint of emotion in his voice, he responds to Fugue, "Well, I would hardly say we have for celebration." He stops a short distance away from Iris' bed, and regards her silently. oO(She looks so peaceful... I'm sure she's still in there somewhere, having the best dreams imaginable...)Oo Of course he has no idea that what's really going on in her mind is quite the opposite of good dreams.

(Ch. C [RF/Hunter-Com]) Dr. Thomas Light transmits: 'Oh deary me.. that is indeed bad news. Of course, I shall be over directly, please have me the current situation and a schematic of her neural net standing by.'.

<O-Repliforce> BGY-11 General says, "Iris is dying and you say "deary me". :>"
<O-Repliforce> Mischan Master! Flare Feline says, "LOL"
<O-Repliforce> Burnt to Toast Ring Redwing says, "What?!"
<O-Repliforce> Bouncier, Hurricane Kangaroo laffs
<O-Repliforce> Dr. Thomas Light is Doctor Light!
<O-Repliforce> Bob the Guardian lols.

(Ch. C [RF/Hunter-Com]) Adler Blau transmits: 'Iris? Trapped? Doctor, I stand ready to assist however I can, in whatever meager capacity! We cannot allow such a girl, a girl who personifies peace, forgiveness and innocence to die in such a way!'.

Fugue continues watching the monitors. She knows what some of it means, at least... Too bad her specialty is the mind itself and not the physical processes of the neural net.

Dr. Thomas Light arrives from the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Dr. Thomas Light has arrived.

While everyone seems to be in not so high spirits at the moment, Broadcast Ocelot bounces in carrying a rather large floral arrangement. With a grin on his face he traverses the broad floor of the Repair Bay over to Iris' bedside. As he places the flowers down on the stand next to the bed he scowls at the Maverick broadband. Finally he looks to everyone else here and simply says with a nod, "Evenin', evenin'."

Dr. Thomas Light huffs and puffs as he comes in. He ain't lost that much weight yet that a good sprint doesn't wind the old man. Clattering in his hands is an old leather bag.. the type that doctors of old used for housecalls. The same one that contains the same tools that brought Blues, Rock, and Roll, and many others to life.

Fugue offers BO a bright grin, "Glad to see -someone- else around here is getting the place nice and cheery for when she wakes up... Hi, Doc Light!"

Whipcrack Octopus is standing next to Iris. Her entire body, save for everything from above her neck, is in flawless condition. Her head is bare of synthflesh, and the metal casing surrounding her neural net has been removed, revealing a lot of internal damage. Holographic maps surround the operating theater, showing the complete status of Iris' neural net. All are reading a lot of red and not a lot of green. The octopus looks to Dr. Light as he enters, stepping aside. "Good evening, Doctor. The situation is as you see it."

(Ch. C [RF/Hunter-Com]) Phoebus transmits: '...'.

Broadcast Ocelot nods to Fugue, "Yuh could say dat. Buh these flowers eh come from me. They're from Sergeant Stingray. I'm jus' de delivery guy." And sure enough, if one were to read the card, it would say something along the lines of 'To: Iris, From: Jet Stingray'. When Dr. Light walks in the ocelot nods to the human and steps back to let the medics to do their stuff.

Flare Feline doesn't move from where he is standing, not to acknowledge BO or Dr. Light. He eyes BO for a moment, maybe part of him is still a bit depressed over everything that's been happening, and now this, that he almost looks a bit sour over BO's cheery attitude. Still, he's here at least. Just nodding, he says "Evening, sir." He doesn't speak to the Doctor, but he is secretly hoping inside that he can do something to save Iris, keeping his fingers crossed, so to speak. Finally, he takes a few steps back, to clear the area, so the master can go to work. If anyone can save her, it's Light. He briefly turns to Razor "We should get out of their way now, we won't do Iris any good by hovering around here..."

Razor Pterodactyl moves away from Iris' bed, to give the doctor some room. "Doctor Light...", he mutters to himself, acknowledging Broadcast with a nod as he passes him, heading back tin the direction of the seriously depressed Flare Feline. "Good plan, Flare... we should probably let the experts work their magic." Never stopping, he continues past Flare, straight out the door, not waiting to see if anyone is actually coming with him.

Razor Pterodactyl enters the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Razor Pterodactyl has left.

Dr. Thomas Light approaches the table, absently placing a hand against one of Iris' bare cheeks. "Worry not, dear child, you will come through this." he says in a comforting tone as he slips on a pair of wire-rimmed specticles, and glances up at the charts, trying to ascertain exactly where the problem(s) lie.

Flare Feline moves away from the area, and lies back down on the bed where he woke up, since his own repairs aren't done yet. He keeps his ears open for signs of Iris' condition. He doesn't want to leave yet anyway. He may not be Colonel, he may not be Jet, but he does consider Iris to be his friend, even in the short amount of time he knew her, and he doesn't want that short time to /stay/ a short time. Sighing, he lies back, lost in thought.

Whipcrack has done what he can for Iris -- and his skills are indeed remarkable. The massive damage throughout Iris' body has been erased, and he has made great progress on fixing Iris' neural net. He has, however, encountered one of the great problems in repairing neural networks that only a handful of specialists can figure their way out of. Dr. Light is one of those specialists.

Broadcast Ocelot just stands with the rest of the medically inept peoples currently in the Repair Bay. He did his thing of delivering flowers to Iris so there isn't much for him to do again. Except maybe stand around and wait or until Dr. Light kicks them out the room so he can work. Whichever comes first.

Iris would probably cry, if she had any idea how many people cared about her this much in her darkest hour. As is stands, she isn't even aware that she's so close to death...her mind is looping in upon itself, conjuring up memories both recent and distant. Now, she's recalling with perfect clarity a conversation she shared with her brother and Broadcast on the Command Floor not too long ago...and then, she finds herself right back in the Network surrounding Eurasia, sensing a foreign presence...

Whirlpool Lobster enters the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Whirlpool Lobster has left.

Dr. Thomas Light glances at the charts, and focuses on them for a moment, before frowning to himself in thought. "Seems to be extensive damage to cranial nerves leading to the main feeds for sensory output to the rest of the frame, with those severed.." he says, as he gets out a pair of gloves, and puts them on, "..Iris has no contol over her basic functions, including the very processors that assure that she maintains her vital systems. I will need your assistance with this, Whipcrack my boy, it has been quite a while since I have done this, and I always needed a second set of hands."

Whipcrack Octopus fans out his tentacles, raising up his delicate `hands'. "I have five sets, Doctor," says the octopus.

Broadcast Ocelot isn't gonna do much until something that actually involves him comes up. So he just is.

Dr. Thomas Light considers that for a moment, with a smile, as he takes out a pair of tweezers and a microwelder. "..I need an incision about three centimeters above the cranial nerve bundle, so I can work my way in there, and splice the nerve endings back together again."

Whipcrack Octopus extends one of his hands, his tentacle-fingers untwining around the flat of it. The tip of his `index finger' opens up, and a small lazer emerges from it. In a careful, delicate movement, the incision is made in precisely the dimensions and depth the Doctor desires.

Way down in her subconscious, Iris is having a strange, silent dinner at a fancy restaurant with...Protoman? And then once again, she's back in the Network, battling Peacock while the timer on his EMP-Pulse bomb counts down...

Dr. Thomas Light goes into motion as the cut is made, taking the delicate fibreoptic nerves work on relieveing the pressure of the fuel line that is causing all the delicate nerves to snap. "..in a human, they call this surgery retromastoid craniectomy." the doctor explains while he works, "When blood vessels cross and compress cranial nerves, various characteristic symptoms develop depending upon which cranial nerves is being compressed.. Trigeminal neuralgia develops by blood vessel compression on the trigeminal nerve, hemifacial spasm by compression on the facial nerve, intractable positional vertigo by compression on the vestibular nerve, tinnitus by compression on the cochlear nerve, glossopharyngeal neuralgia by compression on the glossopharyngeal nerve and spasmodic torticollis by pressure on the spinal accessory nerve and upper cervical nerves. Microvascular decompression which consists of placement of small synthetic sponges between the compressing blood vessels and the cranial nerve, carries a good chance of relieving those symptoms. We have to go a bit further though, because of the swelling and clotting that the burns that Iris has suffered caused to her neural interfaces, that caused these same fuel lines to back up, and snap these nerve endings from their original connections." As he works, the microwelder flashes on occassion, as he works on making a minute incession behind a set of torn nerves and into a swollen fuel line. "..a sponge if you please, Whipcrack.. apply it to this incision right after I make it."

[OOC] Broadcast Ocelot says, "Light's making up words again."

Flare Feline is being worked on by the generic medical gumbies, his damages being minor. He still listens in on their work on Iris, his worry not decreasing. But he contends with lying back as he is repaired, unable to do much more besides keep praying for her.

<O-Repliforce> NY Communications Head, Broadcast Ocelot says, "Light's making up words again. I mean: trigeminal neuralgia? As if such a word ever existed. ;)"
<O-Repliforce> Mischan Master! Flare Feline says, "Just smile and nod BO"
<O-Repliforce> Grumpy Ol' Siege Wolverine says, "... It's technobabble, BO."
<O-Repliforce> Grumpy Ol' Siege Wolverine says, "Learn it, use it, make it yours."
<O-Repliforce> Dr. Thomas Light says, "Go look it up, BO. I dare you. :>"
<O-Repliforce> NY Communications Head, Broadcast Ocelot accepts your dare.
<O-Repliforce> NY Communications Head, Broadcast Ocelot then mutters, "I hate you." ;)
<O-Repliforce> Grumpy Ol' Siege Wolverine says, "What the hell is it?"
<O-Repliforce> Bouncier, Hurricane Kangaroo says, "And I'm on miss streak again. This is annoying. c.c"
<O-Repliforce> Burnt to Toast Ring Redwing says, "Special him!"
<O-Repliforce> NY Communications Head, Broadcast Ocelot says, "Trigeminal neuralgia, also called tic douloureux, the most frequent of all neuralgias, causes severe, stabbing paroxysmal pain on one side of the face. It is characterized by a sudden, severe, electric shock-like or stabbing pain typically felt on one side of the jaw or cheek. The cause of trigeminal neuralgia is unknown, but the disorder occurs most frequently in middle or old age (more common in women than in men)."

Whipcrack Octopus does exactly what the Doctor tells him to, readying the appropriate sponge and applying it to the incision after it is made.

Dr. Thomas Light completes the microvascular decompression, and as he does so, a small spurt of fuel, pressured behind the burn clot sprays out over Light's lab coat. He frowns, as Whipcrack gets the sponge into place, and finishes severing the fuel line. "..this area of the line is burnt beyond use.. so we will.." He makes a cut underneath the burn area, and using his tweezers, removes the clotted area completely, setting it in a small tray. "..splice it together directly." He starts to weld the two artery parts together, gently pushing back the sponge as he does so.

Down in Iris' subconscious, there's suddenly a change. She's still trapped in that whirling loop of memories; however, there's a point where she's reliving the fierce Network battle from the previous evening, and she gets a sudden snap of clarity. (*This isn't happening -- This has already happened. It's not an event, it's a memory.*)

On the monitors, there's a slight jump in Iris' mental processes...perhaps by 5 to 10%.

Broadcast Ocelot woos to himself.

Whipcrack Octopus moves the sponge when indicated to do so, watching the monitors. It's working -- he sees the activity spike. The last minute hope is starting to come through -- but can he keep this up?

Dr. Thomas Light says, "..Broadcast, Fugue, Flare.. please monitor Iris for any signs of physical movement. Once I close up this line, and make sure there is some teflon in place around the area to shore up the weld, I will start to reconnect her nerves."

Flare Feline looks up as he hears the Doc say his name, along with everyone else. Thankfully the medic gumbies have finished with him for now, and he sits up and walks over to his previous position, keeping an eye on her. oO(Please... you can make it Iris...)

Zero arrives from the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Zero has arrived.

General arrives from the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
General has arrived.

Dr. Thomas Light has Iris' net sprawled out over the table, and is doing delicate microsurgery. Now is not the time for ponytailed warriors to be running in here in a panic.

Broadcast Ocelot nods to Light and does what he's told.

Fugue glances from the monitors to Iris, and back again, "Hey, Doc? Think it'd be possible to connect her audial sensors first? Well.. not first, but one of the first things?"

General lumbers back into the Repair bay, expression hovering between somberness and extreme worry. He chooses to ignore the formalities of rank for the moment, simply taking up a spot where can see Iris and the medics clearly (which is pretty much anywhere) and watch silently.

Flare Feline continues to stand where he is, only partially repaired, but well enough. Keeping an eye on Iris with his arms crossed, and a worried look on his face.

Pushing aside the doors with a force that causes them to strike the wall and cause steel itself to dent and bend from the rebound, 0 comes into the room, a look mixed with resolve, anger and worry plastered on his face. Despite the display of superior strength, the Hunter looks shakey, having only recently...and forcefully, released from Hunter Medical Bay. "Where is she!?" he shouts, even before the doors strike the walls. He doesn't even acknowledge the non-Medical Repliforce officers on duty as he approaches the table where Dr. Light is operating.

Dr. Thomas Light almost jumps at the shout, but keeps his composure. He's used to people barging in all worried. "If you cannot watch quietly, Zero.." the doctor warns in a gentle tone, "Please excuse yourself, yelling will not help the situation, and only distract my work." He glances up at Fugue, and nods. "Of course, dear girl, I will work on that as soon as I am assured that her vitals are all back to stable levels."

As the Doctor says this, he starts to work on Iris' craniocervical junction, slowly, and carefully reconnecting the nerve endings of the most importance first, starting with basic vital systems. "Her subtemporal systems should be our next priority, Whipcrack, the senses. Be sure that is all prepared to be reactivated."

In this situation, Whipcrack Octopus is the ranking officer on duty (unless General wants to countermand him). He prevents Light from making a misstep by keeping his hands steady with a set of his tentacles, if it comes down to it. He gets the most notice before Zero enters, his sonar picking him up about a meter away from the doors. He tightbeams orders to his medical gumbies -- they form a defensive wall, two Reploids thick, around the operating theater to keep him away.

"Hunter Zero," the octopus says, in a flat, calm tone, "Please take a seat outside of the operating theater next to General. Any further outbursts like that and I will have you put under arrest for reckless endangerment of a Repliforce officer. We are in the middle of complex neurological surgery, and the Doctor cannot be distracted."

Fugue nods to Light and turns around, pegging Zero with a bright grin. She doesn't call out a loud greeting though.. now's not the time. She does wave, and returns to watching Iris.

Broadcast Ocelot casts a glance at Zero before looking back to Iris.

Flare Feline briefly glances back as Zero barges in. He doesn't say anything to him, but he knows who he is, at least as far as his relationship with Iris is concerned. He should have expected this, if Jet were here he'd have done that twice as loudly, about 3 hours ago. He resumes watching Iris, monitering for any signs of physical movement... which just pretty much involves looking at her. It's hard work, but someone has to do it. ;)

In her mind, Iris is sinking in deep, cold water. She can't swim, and she isn't submergable like her brother, so all she can do is sink. As she sinks, she hears strange sounds...some of them sound like ethereal noises one would expect from deep-sea creatures...others sound vaguely like voices. Familiar voices...

Iris' right hand slowly moves a couple of fingers...and then, she starts clenching and unclenching her hand.

Flare Feline quickly picks up on Iris' movement "Hey Doc, her hand is moving!" The former depression and worry which has gripped him until now, is quickly starting to fade, he's probably jumping the gun, but darnit, it's the first promising sign they've seen all night.

General watches Zero explode into the room, though remains silent. He's content to let Whipcrack Octopus handle things, since this is his domain, not General's. The Repliforce CO mainly gives Zero a hard, but calming look. He's prepared to back up the MSE XO's statement if necessary, but hopes it doesn't come to that.

Fugue isn't watching the hand. She -is- watching the monitors and Iris' face, though. "Brainwave patterns, too. She's thinking in there.." She pauses, tilting her head a bit, "Dreaming, I'd say."

Zero is about to protest, but stops and merely scowls. He has sufficient reason to be upset, but the Hunter decides to relegate himself to waiting beside the General. He looks over at the giant and simply nods solemnly, before taking a leaning position by the door. A faint flicker of hope causes him to tense though, and step forward, as he watches Iris move.

Broadcast Ocelot just stands there, arms folded across his chest, looking all cool like. He's learned from the best, namely Jet Stingray. Yeah, he's glad that Iris looks to be coming around. Although it may not look like it.

Whipcrack Octopus, having done his Fascist Act Of The Day, continues to check Iris' neural net, making sure he hasn't left any proverbial breakers open that shouldn't be active.

(Ch. D [Public]) Metal Man transmits: 'Come on down to Cairo the BBQ still is on and ther is plenty of food for every one.'.

Dr. Thomas Light continues to make connections. "..that's excellent, Flare.." he says to him, but isn't too excited yet, she's not waking up. "..she should be able to hear now." He tells Fugue, before suggesting. "Anything you may want to say to guide her back to consciousness can be helpful.." thinking for a moment, he adds, "..encouragement, prayers.." a look at Zero, "
Dr. Thomas Light says, "..apologies. Will all be helpful."

(Ch. D [Public]) Duelist Cavalier transmits: 'Oh, really? Do tell.'.

Fugue nods, crouching a bit so she's near Iris' head, but far enough away so as not to interfere with the operation, "Hey, Iris.. It's Fugue. I'm gonna be chatting with you for a few minutes while Doc Light and.." She pauses, trying to remember from when she flipped through Repliforce personel records. "Whipcrack Octopus work on waking you up."

Broadcast Ocelot keeps quiet for now since he doesn't have much experience in that sorta thing. So instead, he'll hope for Iris to get better in his mind. At the moment, he could care less if anyone here thinks that he's being insensitive or something like that.

(Ch. C [RF/Hunter-Com]) Hurricane Kangaroo transmits: 'Ow.. Go get 'em Magma.'.

General silently prays for Iris as he watches Dr. Light and Whipcrack work on her. o0(It is unfortunate that Colonel chose not to be here... I am sure Iris would benefit from his presense.)0o.

Whipcrack Octopus helps the Doctor when he is asked to, his many tentacles in action whenever they are called upon. While the great Light works, he begins talking to Iris whenever there is a quiet moment. Other people will want to talk too, after all.

"Hello, Captain," he says, quietly. "You're going to be alright. When we finish with your brain, I'm going to put your face back on. I made up some lovely skin formula for you ... I went out and bought some special mixture for you out of my salary. I got it from a Reploid boutique in Beverly Hills. It cost most of my salary for this month for the down payment, but your skin will be movie-star soft and clear. I also went out and bought your favorite kind of hair from that store you like in Manhattan. I went out and found the exact shade, too, and I've been keeping it in storage for a few months in case something like this happened ..." A mechanical chuckle. "When they asked me who it was for, and I told them, they almost tried to give it to me for free. I paid them, though -- they needed the money, especially in this economy."

(Ch. C [RF/Hunter-Com]) Magma Dragoon transmits: 'I will do my best.'.

Dr. Thomas Light smiles kindly at Whipcrack as he works, he has nothing to say at the moment, as he wipes his brow off with a sleeve between connections, his eyes looking wearied, the eldest Light looking tired from the sprint here, and coming off the inital adrenaline rush that got him started.

Iris turns her head, just ever-so-much, in Fugue's direction as if she does hear what Fugue is saying to her, but she doesn't yet open her eyes. Inside of her mind, she endures a difficult struggle to return to the 'surface'...sensing her true consciousness is at the 'surface', that's the direction she heads, but the going is tough. Sensing yet another familiar voice, she moves her other hand a little bit, and her mouth turns up in a hint of a smile.

Ring Redwing arrives from the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Ring Redwing has arrived.

Hurricane Kangaroo arrives from the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Hurricane Kangaroo has arrived.

Zero looks at Light... and then at Iris. Then his eyes scan the other people in the room. Several Repliforcers and some he doesn't wholly get along with. He looks at Iris again, and then, slowly, steps over towards her, his feet making a slow tapping sound against the metal floor. He moves to a side where no one is doing anything important, nor is in the way and lays his large, gloved hand on Iris'. "Iris," he breathes, in a low, almost silent prayer, his hand tightening over her own as he looks over at her.

Hurricane Kangaroo meanders into the repair bay after Redwing, still looking a bit punchdrunk, as the saying goes. "Hope she's doing alright."

Flare Feline coughs, as he thinks he should say something... "Hi Iris, it's Flare. We're all here, we're waiting for you to recover. Me, Broadcast, the General. Not to mention everyone who's praying for you. We know you're strong, you can make it!" He sighs inwardly oO(She has to...)

Fugue smiles softly at Iris, "Just relax now.. don't try to wake up. Just let it happen once you're ready... There's no need to rush or strain your mind." She arches an eyebrow and grins toward Zero. The big softy. "Zero's here for you too."

Ring Redwing nods to Hopper, her usual cheerful expression much more dour, without the inverted eyelashes definately, she claps her hands together again, "All we can do /is/ hope."

Broadcast Ocelot just continues to stand there, a good distance away from the operating table, with his arms still folded across his chest as he just merely watches. Hoping for Iris to get better. He still says nothing, leaving those better at it than him to take care of the comforting thing.

Dr. Thomas Light continues his work, reattaching the delicate nerve endings to where they belong, when he makes the final connection, the old man yawns. "..could you close up for me, Whipcrack. I believe she should be fine, if she comes out of this coma."

There's a sudden spike of activity on the monitors as everyone begins talking to Iris. She's trying very hard to come back, but she just doesn't have quite enough power to force herself into the waking world just yet. For a long time, she doesn't move, but the monitor activity continues to go up steadily. Then, her expression changes to a 'conscious' expression -- a genuine smile. "Wh...What...?" she asks softly.

Hurricane Kangaroo leans back on a wall like usual and crosses his arms. "Sounds like she made it back just fine, thankfully."

Dr. Thomas Light smiles tiredly. "Welcome back, Iris.. I believe there are a lot of people here waiting to say hello."

Ricochet arrives from the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Ricochet has arrived.

Fugue beams at Iris as she speaks, "Well, that was quicker than I expected. Welcome back."

Ring Redwing sighs with relief, and lowers her clasped hands. Her bangs drift over her face as she lower her head then raises it again in a smile, "Thank Goodness."

General smiles as Iris returns to consciousness. He brings his arms up and crosses them, content to observe her and all the others swarming around her with well-wishes.

Ricochet, unlike the others, has no idea of what's going on. Mostly since he came to pick up his armor after it got smashed up for the second time in a week. Orbit bounds in behind him.

Zero watches Iris come back, and he feels a certain weight lift off his shoulders, visibly relaxing. He looks down at his hand, and as people gather around her, he steps back, slowly and as quietly as weighing a good deal and being made of metal will allow him to. He turns and walks slowly towards the door, his blonde hair wafting close behind him and swirling like a cat's tail.

Whipcrack Octopus has no expression -- he has no face, so he can't exactly show what he's feeling. He does as the Doctor orders as he brings Iris back around, closing back up Iris' brain and resetting the metal shielding around it, preparing Iris to be `dipped', as it were, to regain her skin. "We're almost done," he says, quietly; and his medical gumbies snap back into action, preparing the dipping equipment for Whipcrack Octopus to use to resculpt Iris' face and coif.

When Iris begins to make it back, a grin once again reappears on Broadcast's face. But still, he doesn't make any movements towards her. Mostly due to all the other people that are bigger than him that are doing it first. Although he hopes she notices the floral arrangement that he put next to her bed for her.

Fugue sends a radio transmission.
Zero receives a radio transmission from Fugue.

Flare Feline inwardly sighs with great relief as she speaks up. Not really intending to crowd her, but he can't help it, he swarms over near her too, along with everyone else. The past few days have had a real strain on Flare, bringing him down to real depression, it's good to finally have something to be really happy about. He's actually smiling for the first time in days.

Iris's eyelids flutter open...she's not ready to hop of the table and start running around, but she's definitely awake and alive -- two things she -wouldn't- be, if not for the heroic efforts of Whipcrack and Dr. Light. Her eyes lack focus, and she looks a little bit confused, but she's definitely out of the danger zone. "Almost...done? What happened?" Noticing the crowd, she begins to look alarmed. Especially when she sees Zero here. "Zero?"

Hurricane Kangaroo just watchs silently from out of the way, leaving the important people to crowd around her. Though he's more than happy that hse made it back, himself. But there's enough people here that are going to get all sappy over it, surely.

Zero stops at the door, taking a glance backwards, assuring himself that everything is alright. He throws Fugue a particular glance and a quick one at Iris. He doesn't say a word, but instead continues to walk. The doors close behind him, and after a single second, you hear, "RAAAAAAARGH!" followed by the sound of steel shrieking and electric sparking, and then the reverse of it, and then a continued step of metal across the floor, moving away. Anyone inspecting beyond the doors will find a fist-sized hole in the wall...

Skyblade Eagle arrives from the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Skyblade Eagle has arrived.

Zero sends a radio transmission to Fugue.
Fugue receives a radio transmission.

Broadcast Ocelot is still standing back, letting everyone -else- crowd around Iris. Just watching for now. Although the very loud yet muffled scream from Zero and the sound of a fist slamming into metal draw his attention for a few seconds. The cat then looks back to Iris.

Fugue smiles sweetly as Zero glances at her. It's so cute that he doesn't want anyone else to know how squishy he is inside. "I think that's Zero-ese for 'I'm glad you're awake, Iris.' Or something."
Hurricane Kangaroo cringes at the sound outside, having put his share of fists through walls enough times to reconize it. And having super-enhanced hearing doesn't help sometimes either. "Well," he murmurs under his breath, "He took that well, considering..."

Ricochet talks to some random gumbie about getting his armor back. Of course, having half a platoon gathered around one medtable is a bit... worrying. He blinks. "What's goin' on?..."

Iris heh's. "That's...that's Zero," she says softly. Her voice and movements are still very weak and slow, she's obviously been dealt a -serious- net-fry and it will take some time to completely get over, but she's made it over the toughest hurdle. With some effort, she moves to sit up. She boggles that even -General- is here. (My god, did that egotistical Peacock fry me THAT bad?? Was I that close to getting shutdown permanently?) "Thank you...for...being here, that means a lot to me," she mentions awkwardly.

Zero enters the Sub-Level 1 Hallway.
Zero has left.

General looks away from Iris as he hears Zero go on his little destructive spree. Sighing heavily, he makes a mental note to ban Zero from RHQ for a little while. Iris won't be happy about that, but the Hunter can't get away with destruction of Repliforce property. Looking back at Iris, the General looks genuinely pleased with this turn of events. He remains silent even as Iris boggles at the sight of him.

Dr. Thomas Light finds a chair while everyone else is welcoming Iris back, and curls up quietly into it, and is soon, like his college days.. like the days when he was building Protoman.. he is fast asleep.

[OOC] Iris says, "Aww, Santa's getting his rest. 8)"
[OOC] General hops into Light's lap. "Hi Santa!"
[OOC] General says, "... oh crap."
[OOC] Hurricane Kangaroo says, "Let's shave his beard while he's asleep, and see if he notices"

Ring Redwing nods, "You were out for hours Iris, we all were worried sick you wouldn't make it through..." She rubs a ringed right forearm across her optics as if she was brushing away tears. "We're so happy you're safe now..."

Whipcrack Octopus stands over Iris, holding up the dip equipment. He eases her back down with a tentacle. "You aren't done yet." Once she's back in a workable position, he calmly lowers the eye-shields and the nose, ear, and mouth-guards around Iris' head. "Dipping time," says the octopus, and begins to reapply flesh onto Iris' skull like a fine artist, sculpting the synth-flesh into Iris' normal, beautiful features. You can tell the octopus is an artist by his care in application, the ease in his brushstrokes, and the skill in his movements. Once a few coats of flesh are applied, which doesn't take long at all, he begins restitching Iris' hair back into her head, starting with her eyebrows before moving onto the hundreds of millions of fibers that go into her scalp. Good thing he's got eight arms and moves considerably faster than the average human. He lets Dr. Light rest, working diligently on the strictly superficial details of his friend.

Broadcast Ocelot says, "Evenin', evenin' captain," Broadcast says with a grin from behind everyone as he finally pads over. With arms still crossed, he motions to the flowers on the stand with a nod of his head, "Dat arrive fuh yuh earlier today. De card say it's from Sergeant Stingray." He then smiles at her, "Glad tuh have yuh back."

Flare Feline smiles as it looks like Iris will make a total recovery. Instead of continuing to swarm over her, Flare slowly makes his way back to his original medtable, where he woke up earlier and this whole mess started. oO(What a night...) He still has some repairs to be done, and will be here for the rest of the night, he can probably speak to Iris later, there are other people who know her much better than Flare does that want to speak to her. He lies back, he may not have done much, but this whole ordeal was exausting, even for him.

"Evenin', evenin' captain," Broadcast says with a grin from behind everyone as he finally pads over. With arms still crossed, he motions to the flowers on the stand with a nod of his head, "Dat arrive fuh yuh earlier today. De card say it's from Sergeant Stingray." He then smiles at her, "Glad tuh have yuh back."

(Ch. A [Repliforce]) Skyblade Eagle transmits: '*yawning*'.

Ricochet blinks. "*BLURP BLIP BLEEP*" <I think Iris is up.> "Eh?..." Orbit bounds over. "Oh. Heyya, Iris. Feelin' better?"

Hurricane Kangaroo watches the Octopus work for a few moments, and then eeews softly to himself at the application of synthetic flesh. Makes him glad he's all metal and armor and none of that fancy pseudo-humanish stuff. "Glad they don't gotta do that to me." Whipcrap looks like he knows what he's doing to Iris, though.

Iris gets her 'beauty workover' by Whipcrack in the interim -- the face-dipping bit isn't so fun, but she enjoys it when he starts in on the hair. She seems amazed by what Ring tells her, raising her brow in surprise. "I'm...sorry about what happened...I tried to...to prevent the Mavericks from...taking over the station, and...they went in through the Network first." She gives Orbit a wink. "Much...better than a few hours ago, yes indeed!" She reaches for Broadcast, giving him a weak one-armed hug. "Thank you for...bringing those...if you contact...Jet, tell him I...miss him like crazy."

---

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