smashrising | Where In The World Is Lucca Ashtear?

Who: Rock and Lucca
What: Time to find out if the Gate Key still works
Where: All Over The Island
When: March 4
Warnings: P for PORTALS

While cleaning the library, Lucca had raised an interesting question. Did the Gate Key work again? Previously, some force kept them from communicating outside of FDC, or even leaving. They had assumed it was the moon falling. Now that it was gone, was it possible the device worked again?

It was up to Lucca and her trusty lab assistant to find out!

Rock was having a bit of an adventure all his own right now, thanks to discovering a mysterious disk with Zero and Harpuia that allowed him to take on human form. He'd figured out how to safely switch between forms, which for him presented less of a problem than it did for the Reploids, as Rock's primary power source was a solar battery. But it was such an interesting experience, being human... He was enjoying figuring it out. But if they were going to run into any troubles with the Gate Key, Rock wanted to be ready for action. So he arrived at the meeting place out front of the mansion in robot form, and donning his Mega Man suit.

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Lucca was really glad Rock had learned to swap between human and robot forms. Not just because it was dangerous out there and having a megabuster would be helpful. There were some trappings of being a living creature that she hoped he didn't ever have to experience... Plus, he was sort of like a superhero now. He was a mild-mannered human that was turn into an awesome fighting robot, and matter how you look at THAT, it was awesome!

"Hey Rock! You ready for this?"

Generally, the weak points in spacetime that she could pry open with the Gate Key were either super-stable or not there at all. However, that was only for movement between different times. Going from one world to another, like they planned to do, was a more brutish mechanic that meant turning up all the dials to 11 (and yes, the dials actually went to 11) and blasting a strategic hole in reality to slipping through. That said, it was safer if they started outdoors.

He DID feel kinda like a superhero... It was pretty cool, all things considered.

He held his helmet under one arm, and nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be," he replied with a smile. "Fire it up, and let's see where we go!" Her adventurous streak was definitely rubbing off on him!

She charged up the star-shaped mechanical wand and pointed it at the open air, opening up a gaping black Gate.

"Let's go!"

A leap, a dizzying swirl of dimensional static forming odd wavelengths, and--SPLASH!

...wait. Splash?

"PFFT! Pff! Pleh! Oh no! I lost my glasses in the water!"

Splash, splish...

"What happened? Why's it so steamy? And why do I smell orchids and patchouli? Well, at least we're not inside a giant monster; trust me, they don't smell like that!"

Rock was... not expecting that. He sputtered as his sensors readjusted themselves to their new location. He felt around in the water, grabbing Lucca's glasses and holding them up for her. His poor helmet was now completely waterlogged and floated nearby.

"Geez... The heck happened? Is this some swamp dimension?" He looked around the room. "...Hey, wait a minute! This is the mansion's baths!"

"Huh?"

She mashes the large lenses back onto her face and waits for the water to run off of them.

"...It IS the mansion's baths! Ugh, I must've miscalculated the power we need or something!" She adds in a slight huff, grabbing his errant helmet and pouring the foam out of it. She hands it to him and starts to slosh her way onto the tile.

Rock took his helmet back, pulling himself out of the bath. He looked around the room quickly, and snatched up a big towel. He flung it around Lucca, and started to dry her off. As a robot he wasn't too worried about himself, but best make sure she doesn't catch cold. "We should try it again," he suggested. "After we've dried off, that is. How much power can you draw for the key?"

"I can get about twice the power, maybe three times if we're in any place with a gate point."

Whatever that means ,she lets it lie as she gratefully dries off. The touch makes her smile, and she flaps out the towel and dries out his hair in a playful trousle.

"Gimme a sec, and I'll tweak it to do that." She adds, passing him the towel and slinging the water off her gate key.

"Got it!" he said, hanging up the towel and flicking his helmet once more to get the excess water out before sliding it on his head.

"Have you been able to detect any more gate points on the island?" he asked. "I don't think I'd even know where to look for something like that..."

"Not yet. In fact i done think there are any around! For a world that was literally smashed into existence, it's remarkably stable."

She finishes fiddling with the Gate Jey, and casts another portal right there on the tile.

"Now, let's try that again!"

Another blind leap through, and cool air hits them both along with the smell of leaves. The woods are dark, and don't seem to be concerned that there are now two teenagers in it.

The teleportation was still jarring, as it had been before. It felt different from the times Rock and Lucca had used the Gate Key to go on dates throughout time and space in the past. As soon as they arrived, Rock checked on Lucca to make sure she was okay. And when it was apparent that they were safe and sound, Rock looked around. Another benefit of his robotic form was better night vision.

"We're in the woods... Pretty far out from the mansion," he explained, narrowing his eyes as he gazed into the distance. "Hey... There's something out there," he said, pointing. "Something metallic, I think."

"...We ARE still on the island again, aren't we?" She muttered, scratching her head and looking around the shadows of the forest. Then Rock's alert catches her attention.

"Metallic?" She shuffles though the brush and squints, adjusting her glasses. "That mound of moss? It's... uh. Yeah, you're right, I can see a weird glimmer in it! What is that?"

She beckons him to follow and hikes closer. The vines and moss and leaves cover a hill that's far too smooth to be really natural...

"...No. Wait. Oh my gosh, is that--" Her steps quicken towards it.

"Lucca, wait up! We should stick together!" Rock called out, chasing after her when she started hurrying. There were sounds in the forest that put him on edge, and if something attacked them, the last thing he wanted was for them to be separated.

"What is it?!"

"Look!" She calls back happily over her shoulder, and she almost reaches the hill when a thorny vine slithers under her feet and she tumbles against it. Spotted, grinning bulbs lurch up from behind the thing.

Whatever it was that she was so happy to see, it was apparently nestled in the middle of a piranha plant patch.

"EEAAH!" She does more than just scream, of course, as she sends a blast of fire magic at the open maw of the nearest piranha plant before it can clamp down on her. It recoils and she scrambles to her feet, but there were many more still leering at her.

Rock caught up to her after she fended off the first plant, only to find plenty more where that came from. When he got close enough, vines whipped out to try and latch on to him, but he quickly dodged a swing for his arms. "Killer plants?! Really?!" he shouted. He quickly accessed his weapon database...

DWN-054 SLASH MAN: SLASH CLAW

Rock's suit turned to a mix of green and yellow, and his hands reconfigured themselves into claws. This time, when another vine shot for him, he whipped out a hand and sliced the vine in two.

A vine whips around he wrist and she scorches it away. Another ties to her other wrist and leg. She scowls and ignites both hands, slamming them to the ground with a shockwave of fire that toasts the moss on the hill under her feet, showing off glass and white metal.

"You picked the wrong girl to grab, you overgrown dandelion!" She pulls out a pistol now and picks away at the hungry flowers as she slides down the sloughed-away moss closer to Rock. "I KNEW IT! I knew I recognized that overgrown mound! That's Epoch under there!!"

"The Epoch? How'd it get here?!" Rock asked, slashing at vines that insisted on encroaching on their personal space. He covered Lucca as she investigated, fending off attacking plants that dared try and get fresh with his girlfriend. "Can it fly?"

Where In The World Is Lucca Ashtear?

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