World Tree MUSH

Ghost had traveled a lot across the multiverse. She'd been the nice places, beautiful places. Places of gold and silver, filled with all manners of wonders and breathtaking sights.

This was not one of them. This was a sleezy casino. Not a nice casino. This was the kind of casino that people with nothing better to do went. the kind of casino where if you won, you were lucky if you didn't get shot on the way outside. The kind of casino that only people who were tough would go.

Which was probably why she stuck out, because she was a tiny little blue robot girl. Sure, the robot part probably made her look a liiiiiittle more dangerous. Who knew what weapons she had? But... Still just a robot. The casino had more than a few guards of such type.

"Gosh this is pathetic..." she grumbled as she leaned up againt the wall, tapping on a data pad and looking(feeling) bored.

"Yeah, I know. Just stay there a bit longer. You got the dongle in, right?"

"Hee hee, yes. Lots and lots of stealth."

"..... Ghost..."

"No, really. It's fine. Just keep doing your thing. I'll keep being here. And bored. And waiting to extract. Ugh. Cybercriminals of--

"Do you want to ignore the bills? We're over drawn as it is, and you're the one who's tapped into a--"

"I know, I know, I'm being patient..." she grumbled as she looked around. There had to be SOMETHING interesting to do while she waited...

    Luck depends on the perspective of the person in question that instances currently may affect, and even then it might not seem readily 'good' or 'bad'. At the moment, one might say that Cayde-6's luck is bad in that he's not won many hands at the table he's parked himself at, but all things considered, at least it means he has less of a chance of getting targeted when he tries to take his leave.

    True, it's not a very classy place, but in the Exo's book, those places just mean they pre-cheat. Here you had real skill, or you were just really bad at calling your shots. Win 'em all and people looked at you funny. Lose every game and you were just as suspicious, at least until you were cleaned out and thereby considered a false alarm.

    Sundance reminds Cayde that he needs not make any friends in this company, his ghost unseen but ever vigilant while her Guardian wastes his time...and his glimmer.

    "One more round," the Hunter says, sliding his latest losing hand back to the dealer before dropping a few glimmer to add to the growing pile of winnings- or maybe losings is the better term for it. He pointedly ignores the sigh of his Little Light companion, who decides to internally track the latest visitor to this dingy gambling den. There aren't many inorganic forms here, so Ghost has caught her attention pretty quickly. Cayde may have slid a brief glance in her direction upon being informed, but for the most part he's been focusing on the cards as they're once again passed around the table.

Ghost was bored... bored... Still bored. Nothing to do. "You almost done?"

*You aren't really needed until the end, if you wanna go--*

"No. Not gonna... hmmm. Fine. I'll entertain myself."

*Ghost. What are you doing?"

"Nothing~ You can trust me." She pushed off the wall and started walking towards the table Cayde was at. Why? There weren't a lot of robots here. Except the security and some dealers. He seemed.... different. He moved right. Like a person. Like her. Was he alive?

She moved up behind him and then, said in the most chipper voice. "Man, do you suck at this, or is your luck just really that bad?" she then sat down besides him. "Deal me in!"

"The hand's already been dealt in."

"... Oh. Um. Next... hand then," she said with a light chuckle. Before glancing to him. "So, what's your name? I don't see many androids around here." For an android, she had an.... incredibly human like and expressive face. Her entire form, whoever/whatever built her had obviously worked very hard to make her human-like.

    Cayde glances over his shoulder as Ghost comes up by the table, brow plates lifting as he's finally able to get a good look at the robot. His face just as quickly shifts into a scowl, optics lidding slightly as he pulls his cards closer to him with something of a sniff.

    "Know what, I'm just gonna ignore that," he says as he takes a peek at his cards, rearranging them in his gloved hand. He casts a careful look around the rest of the table, hoping no one else might jump to the conclusion that she's been studying them before deciding to jump in. It could just mean an unwanted target on her back. Or maybe that's how she means it to be. He doesn't think too hard on it.

    "Name's Cayde," he instead replies, tapping his cards as he waits for the others to look over their own. "And we're called Exos, back home. You? Obviously not from here either, been idlin' about over yonder and just now you decide to get chummy?" He somehow smirks at her, perhaps more of a trick of the light, the angle in which he tilts his face and the lift of a brow, but all the same, for a face of metal he's incredibly expressive himself. Orange light glows from his throat whenever he opens his mouth to speak, his optics a brilliant blue. 

    "So, only fair I ask your name since you asked mine."

Ghost blinked and then grinned. A playful grin. "Ghost. And sorry, I forgot. It's really rude of me not to introduce myself first," she said with a happy giggle. She looked... Well... Dumb. Though, she was already getting looks. No one was this stupid, not being here.

*Dang it, Ghost! Do you even know HOW to play whatever game that is?*

She shrugged. "Nakamura. Back home we were called Nakamura, the perfect servants. Not, you know. Now though. I mean, if I was a servant I'd hardly be planning to play cards, now would I?"

"And I've been realllllly, like, SO bored. You know? That feeling when you're aiting. And waiting. And you can just FEEL your bolts coming undone from boredom? Oh my gosh. That. And you looked interesting. Or like. That at least interesting things would happen near you. So I thought it'd be fun!"

*Oh gosh dang it. She's going to blow this entire job to kingdom come.*

"So, what IS back home? And what are the Exo's? Like, there's gotta be some kind of story for them, right? Something interesting, and fun? Perhaps in a future you wiped out your creators to establish a robotic overlord universe, only to have it all undone by a time traveling guy who went back in time to stop you altogether. Cause. Well. That's why he was a time traveler. And all your people were stopped and now you wander the galaxy."

Pause. Then glance up at his head. "Or maybe you're like. A brain in a metal body. Or maybe an advanced civilization that travels the universe, sharing kindness and candy with all the..." She trailed off. "Actually, I don't think you'd be here if you were some super omniscient being of light and good. It's a pretty crummy casino."

"H-hey..."

"I mean, it is. Is it almost time to deal me in?"

She was gonna get shot...

    "....."

    If his own ghost weren't hidden right now he'd be sharing a look with her. So instead Cayde's left to just stare a bit as -this- Ghost goes on. And on. And...on.

    "Nakamura, eh? Sounds Japanese. You don't by any chance come from some version of Earth, do you...?" Although the more and more he hears from her the more he sure hopes that's not the case. Because if she's giving some insight as to her own homeworld, well... Yeah. 

    He can't help but scowl again as she starts trying to guess at his own origins. Brain in a metal body. He emits a snort, looking back to his cards, and cautiously at the others around the table that have all started to stare at the newcomer.

    Ho boy, he sighs inwardly, feeling his ghost echoing that sentiment. 

    "Hey, she with you? You two must be up to something," one of the other gamblers blurts suddenly, eyeing Exo and Nakamura with equal suspicion now. 

    "Wha-? Hey! No! I've never met her until right now!"

    Correction. She might just get them -both- shot.

Ghost nodded. "Well. We called our world earth. but I've been about a dozen different places that called themself earth. Also, seen that movie in like, a dozen different universes. It's totally awesome. 'Come with me if you want to live', classic." She then glanced away and then gave an almost flirty smile to the other gambler. 

"Oh, that's just rude. I assure you. I am ALWAYS up to something."

... She was definitely going to get them both shot.

*She's going to get them both shot, isn't she?* Boogen could be heard from the other side of the coms.

*Ghost, I'm ALMOST done. Please, leave the table. Get in position.*

"I can't stay long though, Cayde. Just one hand. Okay? Then I gotta... umm... I wanted to make an exo-pun here but.... All I could think was 'exo-plode' and I don't think that's applicable." IT WOULD BE SOON!

    "And I thought our Earth had it bad..." the Hunter Vanguard mutters. Briefly he entertains the scenario of how things would have been if Exos decided they were the superior...species? Race? He's not sure where they'd be shoehorned in, but that seems like a whole different headache to think about.

    Slowly, he lifts his free hand to run across his face. Who is this 'bot and why does she say such things? If she plays cards anything like she likes to blabber then it'll be a short game...

    "Yeah, sure. Whatever." He's only half listening, waving his hand at her. Do what she wants. He's just going to be ready to pull out his gun because he really doesn't like the way the others are eyeing them both, even as the dealer calls for them to show their hands. At least this round his cards aren't downright terrible. It's a fair hand, but at the moment he's kind of wishing it were the opposite, given how stoked Ghost's babbling has gotten the others.

Ghost cocked her head to the side. "Huh? OH! No. I'm not from like. Some tyranical overlord world of robots or anything," she said with a giggle, wavign a hand dismissively. "We just got legal rights because of... Well. A whole lot of stuff. But you know, sentience. Not polite to keep us slaves, you know? And let me tell you. That legal fight was... Well... I'm thankful I'm a mercenary, not a lawyer, let me tell you."

She then galnced to the cards and picked them up. And the confusion was evident on her face. As was her attempts to hide it. "O-oh yeah. Heh heh. Errr... Ummm... I... call?" she tried.

Oh gosh she'd never actually played poker before HOW DID SHE DO THIS OH MY GOSH THIS WAS A BAD IDEA WHY DIDN'T SHE THINK OF THIS BEFORE HAND?! SHE HAD A KING! that weas good, right?! A kind was like, the piece you won with in chess OH MY GOSH WHY?!

    Now the others just have to wonder if she's playing them. After how she'd gone on earlier, surely she can't really be so clueless as to how to play, could she?

    "Um. Those are my cards," Cayde helpfully points out, although he's more watching the others than Ghost, especially now that he's seen the rest of their hands. Damn, what a time to win.

    "Cheater!!" yells out the gambler who'd earlier accused the two of double-teaming. The others tense, but from their expressions one can guess what side of the argument they might be siding with, even as the Exo raises his hands.

    "Hey now! I won that one fair and square! Or as fair as any of you guys've been playing! Why if we pulled out all the cards between us an' whatever you've got tucked into cuffs and boots and folds we'd have several decks' worth of royals!"

    If his win hadn't been enough of a provocation, his calling them out on cheating definitely has. Hands and appendages reach for weapons without any attempt to be subtle about it, and Cayde kicks his chair back as he stands, hands still held out even as his fingers are twitch to have his Ace of Spades in grip.

    -which happens in about two seconds once weapons are brandished and the first shots fired.

Ghost eeped and took a step back, hands up. "H-hey, I didn't, we didn't, I'm just not any good at--"And then the first shots. She yelped, before taking cover. "Reallllly didn't wanna have to do this, but you're NOT leaving me a big choice!" she yelled at them. And was greeted by gun fire.

 She pulled out a large, strange... Fun... Diving and NOW SHE WAS OUT OF COVER! As the bullets flew at her, she turned and shot the gun....

And it made a barrier in front of her, which caught the bullets. "Whew. Gotta love instant cover."

She then switchedut the by(which all seemed to come out of her body. Weird.)

She shot the next one a few times and... Drones were now flying through the air, zapping the guys who were shooting at them. Not killing shots... but well. It'd still hurt, likely make a gun or so get dropped.

"Sorry!" she called to Cayde. "I don't know what came over them! But this happens a lot!"

*Ghost, I'm done!*

"About time! I'm a little busy though!"

    Cayde returns fire amongst the first shots, and with Ghost stumbling over an explanation he'd been about to overturn the table to shield them- not that he felt it might do so for long but it'd at least make it harder to target them if they weren't directly seen. He follows through on that notion, just as the female robot dives and...does things. "Hey, what're you- Oh. Well then," he says, ducking behind the table, flinching as a shot from the other end goes clear through it and narrowly misses his beautiful, beautiful horn. 

    He seems to be taking this in stride as Ghost moves to start returning fire, and with a myriad of fun things to help her out. Not about to let her have all the fun, the Exo pokes around the table to shoot off a few with his handcannon, disarming others. He takes the opportunity to collect the glimmer that's now on the floor. ...and some of the other currency and spoils from the scattered winnings. 

    "All a big misunderstanding! Don't worry, I'm sure it would've happened sooner or later. Part of the game!"

Ghost yelped as her shield finally dropped. She quickly rolled behind the table. "I mean, like. I'm a robot. So even if they shoot me I can just be rebuilt. If I shot them, not so much. I mean, well. If I shot to kill. So really it's not exactly the smartest thing, you know?" She yelped as a bullet went nearby. And to make matters worse? Now OTHERS were firing! Cause there was shooting, and so people either took cover, or started shooting...And a place like here? A lot of the latter.

"One second! I got an idea!" And then she just... Poof. Upped and vanished. Only to appear about ten seconds later behind the other players...

She reached out and slammed two of them into each other, before diving at the third and knocking a fist into his stomach, making him drop and--

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Ghost stumbled back as three shots caught her in the chest, sending her toppling back."If... I was human.... that'd have really hurt," she whimpered, as she tried to right herself. Then yelped as the gun was pushed to her forehead.

"Goodbye." The shooter said and she squeaked.

    "I don't think they think about that sorta thing too deeply, Ghost," Cayde says, finally pulling himself away from trying to clean up his spoils as his own ghost insists that he -focus-. "See, around here people run high on emotions. They get mad, they shoot. They get hurt, that's on them. I guarantee they will not be overly concerned about if they did that to you an' me if we weren't made of metal."

    He starts to push off of his feet, yelping as gunfire comes from another direction entirely, his own weapon flaring in reflex. 

    "Idea? Wait, what kind of-"

    Oh, that kind of idea. Not bad, the Exo thinks, at least until Ghost gets herself caught off guard. She might be too preoccupied by the gun aimed point blank to notice Cayde's done a vanishing trick of his own, appearing to disappear in thin air and a shimmer of light. In the next heartbeat he's there right in front of her, the point of his hunter's knife jammed between the trigger of the shooter's weapon, Ace of Spades leveled right between their eyes.

    "Might wanna rethink that," he says. Before the other can decide, he makes the decision for them, twirling the handcannon around to smack it upside the shooter's head. 

    "You all right?"

Ghost stared up at the gun. Oh. Oh dear. Huh. Boogen was going to KILL her. She wondered if they could afford to get her body fixed. Would she end up in some kind of off model... ugh, she hoped not. She didn't blink, her eyes wide...

And then Cayde! Her eyes widened and... "O-oh my gosh..." she said softly, staring up at him.

With stars in her eyes. "THAT WAS SO COOL! YOU ARE AWESOME!" she squealed, before letting out another shriek as gunfire rained down on them. "Although it may be a moot point if we don't get going! Um... How insulated... Okay, either way. Brace yourself!" Her torso sparked... and then she scrunched up.

And then a burst of electrical energy erupted off her, in all directions. A wave of energy. It was... well... rough. Not enough to be fatal. But damn if it didn't knock half the people on their butts... and wipe out a LOT of the robots. Some kind of like... EMP burst weapon. She wobbled a bit. "Oh, that one always sets off the alarms... let's... let's get out of here before we... Oh dear..." She slowly got to her feet and would kind of... wobble towards the exit.

*Great job, Ghost, you fried the systems.*

"You get anything, Jacker?"

*... Got enough. Seriously. W'll be fine... for a little bit.*

"Then wooooo! I wish I could drink. I'd totally get a... something. A thing. With drink. Cayde are you still okay? Cause that was really, really fun. And cool! But I'm leaking fluids and... I should probably get that looked at. Boogen is gonna kill me."

She didn't notice that not ALL robots were fried, there just so happened to be a rather big, bouncer robot at the door... Looking at them and readying to crush her like a tin can.

She namely didn't notice because a LOT of parts of her were broken now.

    Cayde winks at her. Why no, he apparently does not mind being showered with praise even amidst questionable circumstances. The admiration is cut short as they're quickly reminded that they're still sort of in the middle of a firefight that they may or may not have inadvertently started. "Ow! Hey!" he shouts, glaring over his shoulder before returning a few shots after a few pelt his armor.

    "Insulated? Huh? Wait, what th--"

    Light flares, and for a brief moment the Exo's seeing stars, electricity dancing off of him as he staggers back a few steps, grasping his head. "Eyuggh... That reminds me of... Okay, I can't remember when exactly but I'm pretty sure that's not the first time something like that's happened," he grunts.

    He looks around somewhat blearily, shaking his head as he tries to in turn shake off the lingering effects. Something sparkles, emerging from the Exo, taking form of a rusty red and gray-striped star of sorts, points blunted, vertices twitching, its core glowing equally bright a blue as Cayde's eyes, that which it turns from Ghost to Guardian. 

    "Are you all right?" Sundance inquires, already running scans. 

    "Yeah, just feelin' a little stiff. Should be fine," he replies for both Ghost's benefit. "Yeah, I say we beat it. Glad you had fun but I think we wore out our welcome." Were they ever really welcome? His optics shift towards the doorway, shoulders sagging in something of a sigh. "Aw c'mon big guy, you can't be like that. I'm sure this sorta thing happens every Friday. No?"

Ghost gulped and looked up. She then sighed. She drew her gun and aimed it at the big guy. "Okay, big guy. You're asking for it.

-------

Ghost shrieked as she was flung out of the casino, hitting the wall back first. Followed moments later by Cayde. "You two! Banned! FOREVER! Don't show your faces near here again!"

"... i-I am so thankful I don't have pain sensors... Because i can SEE the pain right now," Ghost whimpered, before slowly getting up, and then falling face first, her chest sparking. "Heyyyyy. Boogen, you're listening, right? I ummm... may need a pickup. Oh, come on. It's not my fault. Okay, it is my fault. But you wouldn't leave a lady out on the cold, miserable streets, wounded and helpless, would you? Hey! I AM A LADY! What?! Oh you can just... Yeah, fine, I'll get there..."

She slowly got to her feet, putting her hand on her chest. "I... Think I'm gonna need to get home. Walk me to the pickup point, cayde? What? No. He's awesome. Listen. NO ONE that bad ass can be a bad guy. I'm a bad girl. That's the difference. Besides. I'm not really bad..." she said, talking into her com. She then nodded. "See you soon."

Then she smiled up at Cayde, before beginning to walk... "So... who was your little guardian drone? I got some drones. Well. Normally. I didn't bring them to this. Since it was supposed to be just a little... hack and get out. Hee hee. Was fun, though. I was totally right about you. You do have fun things happen."

    "AGH!"

    It's not the most graceful of landings, and indeed it can't have been very comfortable for it being that he'd done so on his face. Cayde slowly pushes himself up, wincing as he gives his neck and shoulders a few twists. "Y-yeah... Not one of my finest moments," he mutters, hauling himself to his feet. He dusts himself off, then reaches down to pick up his beloved handcannon, buffing it a bit before sliding it into its holster.

    "Sounds complicated. And slightly familiar..." he chuckles to himself, waiting until Ghost's stopped conversing with...whoever's on the other line. Preening about the compliments.

    Once she starts to head in whichever direction they need to go, he falls in step beside her. "Heh, not drone. They get insulted when they're called that. But she's my ghost. And I'm the Guardian of the team." He grins that lopsided grin of his. "We're partners. She keeps me kickin', and I keep things from being boring. So, yeah. You are an excellent judge of character."

    Oh boy.