Unity/Chapter 2: For Me, It Was Thursday

A Note For The Readers
I, Time, will be writing the majority of this chapter, but Nitro will be helping me.

On the note of canon, this takes place an indeterminate amount of time after Secret Discord. I'll try to keep spoilers for it to a minimum, but some events within the RP will most likely be mentioned at some point, so be warned! There will also be potential spoilers to events after SD as well, so watch out.

Chapter 3: For Me, It Was Thursday
It was a rainy Thursday afternoon, like many others that had come and gone recently. Despite this, Station Square was bustling once more, as if the events prior hadn’t even happened at all. People had returned to their lives, most of the damages had been fixed, and it seemed like all was fine.

For Clock-Watch, resident attorney-slash-detective, it was just a Thursday. Another day of slogging through case files and reports in the office for him (though his ‘office’ was really just a room in his apartment). He sat at his desk, shuffling through various folders, looking for something.

“Hey, how goes the case?” A voice called out from the other room. It belonged to his sister of a sort, Ryoku. The two had met only about a year and a half ago, but already had formed a sibling-like bond, being involved in all sorts of cases and intrigue. Apparently, both were made by the same creator, so they stuck together.

“Eh, it’s going.” Clock replied. “I’m looking for the forensic report on this one, though; it might just have the info I need.”

“I doubt that there’s a forensic report for a common gas station robbery.” Ryoku said. “What would that even get you?”

“I’ve just got a feeling, that’s all.” Clock sighed, setting the folders back down. Standing up, he stretched briefly, before walking into the other room at sitting down at his reclining chair, looking over to Ryoku, who was sitting on the couch.

“Something got you down?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. “You’ve been a little more glum than usual recently.”

“It’s just stuff that’s been on my mind since the incident that happened recently, that’s all…” Clock muttered, looking to the side. It wouldn’t take a lie detector to tell that he was trying to hide something, judging from his face.

Ryoku sighed. “I’m sure that we won’t have to worry about those crooks causing any trouble for a while. Just take it easy, okay? I got a parfait for you while I was out; take a break and give yourself something to eat.”

“One of the kind I like from that little shop three blocks down?” He asked, his eyes slightly lighting up.

“You know it!” Ryoku responded, making a finger gun at him and grinning.

Clock gave a small smile. “Thanks. That means a lot.” Walking over to the fridge, he pulled out the treat and sat back down in the chair with his parfait and a spoon. “I gotta stop worrying about crazy super-organizations and imminent world domination. When it happens, it’ll happen. Until then, I’m going to eat.”

"You know, you're going to jinx yourself, saying stuff like that." Ryoku snarked.

With all of this going on, Ryoku couldn't help but turn around a see bluish glow in the rain. This particular was outside, but it seemed more rhythmic. The glow was fading in to look like a sphere, and then faded out under the rain as it continued outside. It then lit up again, only this time, a small electrical jolt of energy could be felt, only instead of pushing her away, it almost felt it was enticing her to get closer.

Standing up, she walked up to the window in an attempt to get a better look at whatever was out there.

"Something the matter?" Clock asked, tilting his head to the side in the same manner that she had only moments earlier. "Is there something weird going on out there? A crime? Or is it more of a thing thing?"

"Is both an acceptable answer?" Ryoku replied. She was squinting out the window at something. "Like, a glowy weird thing thing? I can't quite make out what it is, but it really feels like something weird."

Quickly swallowing a few more spoonfuls of the parfait, Clock hopped out of his chair and rushed over to look out the window with her. "I don't see anything. Where did it go?" He squinted around, trying to get a glimpse of what Ryoku saw.

"It looked like it landed outside?" Ryoku guessed. "Do you want to head out and get a closer look?"

"Do apples grow on trees?" Clock snarked back, grinning. "You know me; how can I not?" In a flash, he threw his coat on, a blue-white scarf around his neck, and a towel for his hair tucked into one of his pockets sloppily. "Let's go figure out what this thing is! It better be quick, though; I really want to finish that parfait."

The two walked out into the rain, looking around for a sign of what had caused the glowing from earlier. Clock had pulled out an umbrella, holding it up for Ryoku. Sure, it meant that he wasn't fully protected from the rain, but he didn't really mind. Walking across the street, both of them scanned the area, Ryoku looking to the left while Clock looked to the right.

"I wonder what it is." Ryoku pondered. "It got brighter and darker in a sort of rhythm... It was almost like a heartbeat."

The light increased as they got closer and the electric signatures became frequent, as did the rhythmic bright and dim rhythmic of the light.

"You're right." Clock-Watch said, walking towards the glow. "Just what the hell is this thing?"

They soon reached a blue rhombus-shaped gem on the ground. There were three rings that wrapped around the gem as part of its structure. It continued it's pulsing rythym.

Clock knelt down to pick it up, holding it up to get a good look at it. "Not like anything I've seen before. It's no Symphony Crystal, that's for sure. Whatever it is, this is something else entirely."

Ryoku tilted her head to the side. "Hey, you can plug it into your cannon and see what kind of energy it is, right?"

"Yeah, that could work." Clock replied, still studying the gem. "Well, let's get back to the apartment. No point staying out in the rain any longer."

The two headed back, though for some reason, Clock-Watch felt uneasy about the gemstone he was holding. After all, magic stones don't come from nowhere. Where did this one come from?

The gemstone started glow a lighter brighter and the heartbeat rythym got faster and faster to the point where Clock-Watch felt a massive dose of electric energy travel from his arm all through out his body, forcing him to drop it, and it hit the ground. Strangely, it didn't lose its glow or rythymic pulsing, but it did however trigger a hidden sound wave that he couldn't hear, neither could Ryoku.

"What the...?" Clock muttered to himself. Looking at the stone, he realized one thing: Whatever energy it was exuding, it was dangerous. Quickly, he summoned his arm cannon, and used it to form a barrier of silvery energy around the stone. "I'm worried that this thing might be unstable. You go call Plat, she could probably make a more permanent barrier on this thing. I'll stay here, keep this thing from breaking anything, in case it unleashes any of the energy it's holding."

"You can tell it's that powerful, huh?" Ryoku asked. "Well, she's probably our best bet, then. I'll call her and we can try and figure out what to do from there, alright?" She walked over to a nearby pay phone, keeping a close eye on Clock, just in case something were to happen. She wasn't sure what exactly would happen, but her experience with the detective was that weird stuff tended to go on around him, and she was determined to be on the lookout.

The gem didn't make any noise upon being sealed by the barrier. It didn't lose its glow or rythmic pulse. It did however stand itself straight up and start spinning. The way it moved was similar to a planet rotated on its axis. Strangely, it didn't speed up or slow down. It just sat there spinning in the barrier, not even trying to destroy it.

"Where did this thing even come from?" Clock wondered out loud. "Hey, got an answer yet?"

"Nope." Ryoku sighed. "Seems like the storm is messing with the signal. My guess is that it's another soulstorm, but not as bad as the one a few months back. We should get back inside, just in case that's what's going on. We should be fine, but after the incident with that insane lightning mech, I don't want to even think about being caught outside during one of these stupid things again."

"Just great. I guess it's on us to keep this thing locked up tight, then?" Clock asked, picking up the barrier holding the gem. "Let's head inside, then. I can try to run some tests on this thing, I guess. Hopefully nothing crazy happens before then."

"Your barrier should probably work, as long as you keep it up." Ryoku noted. "Unless there's someone hunting for it, we should be fine."

"Hunting for it? Don't even make me think about the Symphony Crystals case again." Clock groaned. "If I never see those stupid rocks again, it'll be too soon."

As they talked, the two returned back to their apartment, and Clock kept his eye on the gem the whole way there.

When they got back, they were startled to find there apartment completely ransacked. Filing cabinets had been left agape, tables were either broken or flipped over, some shards of glass from a desk lamp had been seen on the ground adjacent to mangled desk lamp. Several folders had been opened and lay strewn about the apartment, and massive holes in the wall around the apartment. Not to mention that all closets, cabinets and household paraphernalia were strewn about as well.

But among all the scraps and carnage. A small beeping sound could be heard. It also sounded like some sort of unfamiliar language was being spoken.

Ryoku opened her mouth to gasp, but Clock quickly covered it with his hand. After a moment, he moved it to his mouth and made a 'shhh' gesture. Silently, he drew his sword with his free hand and walked towards the source of the beeping. At this point, he had concealed the barrier-covered stone in one of his coat pockets, just to be safe.

Just what the hell is going on? Clock thought to himself. ''If these case files are ruined, I swear... The bill on fixing this is going to hurt my wallet. I won't have food for weeks... Though I don't really need to eat, so I guess it's not really that big of a deal. The important thing right now is figuring out who these people are. I'll keep this gem hidden for now, though; it seems like it could be a valuable bargaining chip later.''

Ryoku followed behind, silent. The fusion reactor inside her began to produce more energy; she was ready for a fight, if it would come her way. Whatever had broken into their apartment, it was clearly a threat.

The two made their way to the source of the noise, ready for whoever- or, perhaps, whatever- they would find when they got there.

~

Meanwhile, about two blocks away, two agents of the Hyper Division were making their way towards the apartment. The two were none other than Hikari the Cat and Kiko the Fox. They were part of the Division's elite scouting team, known as the Sensors. Upon detecting the strange energy readings coming from Station Square, the two were sent to investigate immediately. Despite the rain, the two were perfectly dry; it looked like Kiko was using his powers to blow the rain away from the two.

"You think that those two are involved in this somehow?" Kiko asked, turning to look at Hikari.

Hikari turned around to give Kiko a look that simply said 'are you kidding me'. "Six-Two and Six-Three? Nah, I bet that they didn't even notice that energy signal right outside their apartment! Of course they're involved! It's in their nature to be drawn to this stuff. Which means that we'll have to deal with them. Again."

Kiko sighed. "Even so, I hope that they're all right. I wonder what's going on over there right now. Probably nothing exciting, but you never know."

~

Back with Ryoku and Clock, the beeping noise was coming from one of the desks. Upon finding it, it was a small communicator that could've been mistaken for a pager. But they also saw footprints and broken objects creating a trail to a broken window and a robot being temporarily deactivated.

"Huh!?" Clock gasped. "What the heck is this stuff?" He leaned out the window to look around while Ryoku picked up the communicator and examined it, attempting to figure out where it was from, or perhaps how to activate it.

"Whatever it is, it's fairly advanced technology." Ryoku noted, poking the robot. "I wonder where it came from? It's not Hyper Division tech, that's for sure."

"Not Hyper Division?" Clock groaned. "Just great. What I really needed in my life was yet another high-tech organization breaking my stuff. Yeah, totally."

"Hey, you got the mystery you were waiting for. That's something, right?" Ryoku chuckled.

Clock rolled his eyes. "Can I take that back? I want to get back to eating parfaits and paying my rent late again."

Soon after that, the communicator started beeping and revealed something else. A small, cylindrical tower rose out from the middle, and then a hologram of the gem they had found earlier formed. Some illegible text spawned underneath the gem too, presumably describing something related to the gem.

Ryoku's eyes widened in surprise. She squinted at the text, trying to figure out what it said, but couldn't figure it out. "Hey, Clock? I think I found something."

Around this time, the robot reactivated and looked up, only to see Clock-Watch looking out the window. The robot then started shouting at him, trying to get his attention.

The sudden noise startled Clock, and he stumbled back. "Augh! What the heck!?" Grumbling, he walked back towards the source of the noise, and glared at the robot. "You've got my attention, for better or for worse. Are you the scoundrel that busted up my apartment?"

The robot spoke total gibberish. Not a single world was english in the slightest, showing a obvious language barrier. Yet, it didn't take too long to see that robot didn't like the rain, going so far as to cover it's eye with its three fingered hands. It also generated some short noises in gibberish. It soon grabbed hold of the wall and tried to climb back in.

Clock stepped back, turning to Ryoku. "Hey, look out. We've got company, and I don't like the nonsense they're shouting at me."

With Ryoku, the device in her hand emitted a laser grid, scanning the entire room in a green color. The green turned to red when it detected something. That something was the blue gem they had acquired. The hologram faded in and out repeatedly, indicating a match.

Quickly realizing the implications, Ryoku shoved the device in her pocket, hoping to conceal the fact that it had detected whatever it was looking for. "I don't like the looks of this one bit." She whispered to Clock. "Whatever's going on, it's bad news for us."

Clock nodded his head silently in response, and the two stood back from the window, waiting for the robot to enter. Clock had his sword at the ready, realizing that a confrontation could very well be in his future.

The robot could be heard climbing its way up the wall, trying not to panic from the raindrops falling into it. It continued to grow closer and closer until it fumbled it's way inside the apartment. It continued to speak gibberish in an angry tone as it got on its feet. It then looked directly at Clock and Ryoku, and was scanning them for them for something. It soon detected the blue gem in Clocks coat. The robot pointed directly at Clock's pocket, and then opened its hand as if it was expecting payment. The robot motioned its eye at the pocket for a split second and directed focus at Clock. It also spoke the same gibberish it had earlier.

It's just as I figured. Clock thought. ''He's looking for this gem. But what for, is the question? I'm not handing it over until I know, that's for certain.''

Ryoku took a step towards the robot with her hands on her hips. "Hey, if you're trying to ask us for something, try speaking a language that actually makes sense. I don't care what you want, you're going to apologise for trashing our apartment before anything else!"

Clock turned to look at Ryoku. "I'm pretty sure he can't understand us." He snarked.

"I don't care! That desk lamp was brand new, and he's going to apologise for breaking it!" Ryoku grumbled.

The robot scanned her body language and current mood. Acting on the possibility of her being a threat, the grabs her under her muzzle and raises her into the air. The robot then balled it's hand into a fist in preparation to attack. It then continued to say the same gibberish as before as it stared directly into Ryoku's eyes.

The sudden movement caught Ryoku off-guard, and all she could do was let out a surprised "What-" as the robot raised her into the air, continuing its nonsense.

Clock was also surprised at first, but quickly realized that the situation had become hostile. In a flash, he brought his sword down on the arm holding Ryoku in the air. Normally he wouldn't be so quick to attack, but he was annoyed, his sister was being attacked, and he wasn't fighting an organic creature, so he had no qualms about instantly moving to sever the machine's arm. "Instead of this idiotic solution, how about we talk this out?" He sighed.

The robot still couldn't understand them, and proceeded to charge at Clock with a fist at the ready.

"Well, it seems there's no reasoning with you. Seeya later, robot from who-knows-where." Clock said, bringing his sword down once more in an attempt to vertically bisect the droid. He wasn't taking any more chances with the robot, seeing as it couldn't understand them. Also, it was liable to cause more damage to the apartment, and Clock really didn't want that to happen.

The robot looks up at the blade and grabs the blade, struggling to hold on to it, but it manages to cut through the palm of its hand, the middle of its arm, and through the rest of it, thus exposing it's inner workings to Clock. Not to his surprise, it was definitely an advanced form of technology that this robot had yet, the design of the exterior and the components of its interior were definitely not something anyone nearby had made. Yet, the fact it was so easy to beat alone raised more questions than answers.

With the threat gone for the moment, Clock breathed a sigh of relief. "You all right, Ryoku?" He asked, leaning down to examine the strange machine.

"Yeah, just startled, that's all." Ryoku sighed. "Any idea where this thing's from?"

"It's not Hyper Division, that's for sure." Clock noted. "I'm sure they have robots of this sort in the Division, but this is clearly the work of someone else. The question now, of course, is the work of whom? It's safe to say we know what they're after, but beyond that I'm drawing a blank. Either way, go get some water bottles and your Control Rod; there's a good chance we might end up in another fight sometime soon."

Ryoku silently nodded, and went to gather her supplies. After a minute or so, she had returned, with a number of canteens at her waist. Her Control Rod was poking out of a bag on her back; it would be easy to put on in case a violent situation arose, and she wouldn't have to cover up her right hand until it was needed.

"All right, if you're all ready, we should head outside. We might be getting some more visitors, and I'd like to avoid wonton property damage." Clock said, standing up from examining the broken robot.

"I'm all set. Let's go." Ryoku replied, heading for the door.

"We're off, then. Time to get to the bottom of this mystery." Clock said. Before he left, he gathered up the parts of the robot and dumped them out the window, sending them back down to the pavement. "Stupid robots messing up my apartment... I hope he gets tossed in a scrap heap..." He grumbled, quickly catching up with Ryoku.

It only took them a few minutes to get back outside. It still was raining, and wasn't showing any signs of letting up, but they had decided to go without an umbrella, in case they needed to draw their weapons. Clock's sword was no longer out; his blade was stored in the compartment in his back once more.

"Well," Clock commented. "Now, we wait."

Several robots akin to the one they just destroyed started converging on their position. They all had an arm extended, ready to fire.