I'm just out of school like I'm real real cool

[goodluckkobra]

Who: Kobra and Daneel
Where: Their house and then the lighthouse
When: Backdated to Day 17
What: Adventuring!


Kobra was bored and when Kobra was bored, destructive things happened. Having already broken a few things in the kitchen, Kobra went searching for some new entertainment. Normally, he'd just jump all over Party or something, but the asshole was out somewhere having fun without him.

He wound up climbing up the ladder and knocking on Daneel's attic door. "Hey, man, you around?"

Comments

[goodluckkobra]

"Oh, check that out!" He saw a little gleam between two stones and hopped up a few more steps to try and squeeze his fingers in there. He just manages a tiny grip and a tug and... it's a gum wrapper.

"Damn."

[thezerothlaw]

In all honesty, Daneel thought the likelihood of actual treasure of any concrete value was very small. He had more hope for information, but even then, it was a small chance.

"Don't be discouraged." He put his hand on Kobra's shoulder. "I think we're far more likely to find something at the top than on the stairs. We have plenty of ground still to cover."

[goodluckkobra]

Kobra grinned. "You're right."

There was an odd scrape-creak from above and Kobra jumped to attention. "What was that?!"

[thezerothlaw]

Daneel looked up, his expression blank, but feeling vaguely alarmed. He hadn't been aware of anyone else in the building. There were any number of things it could have been: some small wild animal, for example.

"I don't know, Kobra. Shall we investigate?"

[goodluckkobra]

"Well, obviously." He took a deep breath to calm himself a little and then he started to climb the stairs. He was a little freaked out, but Dan was with him and it was probably wind, anyway.

[thezerothlaw]

Daneel was close behind, focusing on anything he might sense up above that was out of the ordinary, and not coming up with anything. He didn't like being behind in a situation like this; he would have preferred to be able to take the lead and shield Kobra from any danger, imagined or otherwise.

"Have you heard anything about this lighthouse I should be aware of?"

[goodluckkobra]

"No, but it's creepy as fuck, right?" Or maybe robots didn't pick up on spookiness. He wasn't sure.

Suddenly his head snapped to the left. There'd been a bright light just out of the corner of his eye for just a moment, but it was gone now. "Did you--"

[thezerothlaw]

"I neither saw nor heard anything, Kobra. What did you observe?"

This was... interesting, if not quite alarming, not yet. Daneel had his head up and was looking around; there might not have been anything at all -- he was familiar with the tendency human minds had for fooling themselves -- but if there was, he would see it.

If -- and it was a very large if as far as he was concerned -- there were such things as ghosts, could a robot perceive them?

[goodluckkobra]

"It was like a... thing." His voice was loosing its steam. Fuck if he knew what it was. He barely saw it.

He took a deep breath and took another step and then another.

He jumped. Okay, he couldn't be imagining that. "Tell me you're seeing little light flashes."

[thezerothlaw]

"I haven't seen anything, Kobra."

He was frowning slightly, worried, disturbed at the idea that Kobra might be hallucinating, or that he was somehow missing something like that. Neither struck Daneel as encouraging. A trick, perhaps. An illusion. That was a nicer possibility.

And then, Daneel did see something, a brief flash on the very edge of his vision; he turned towards it calmly, and discovered nothing. He shouldn't be able to hallucinate. He wasn't sure what this implied.

"No, that's incorrect. I have just seen a flash of some variety."

[goodluckkobra]

Kobra wasn't sure if it was better or worse that Daneel was seeing whatever it was, too. On the one hand, it probably wasn't in his head, but on the other, some shit was going down.

He let out a loud, shaky breath. "Okay. Okay, on we go, right?" This time he waited for an answer before marching on.

[thezerothlaw]

He considered for a moment, weighing potential danger against, well, curiosity. At present, there was no evident risk to either of them. If that changed, well, he would reconsider that then.

"Yes, we do. Be cautious, Kobra."

[goodluckkobra]

"Yeah, yeah. I've got it." He grinned and soldiered on up the steps.

Suddenly, there was a weird, glowing shape a few steps up and he stopped short. The shape shifted into something almost human-shaped.

Kobra grabbed behind him for Daneel. "Okay, fuck. Fuck! Can you--Is that there?!"

[thezerothlaw]

"I see it, Kobra."

Daneel's voice was low, but he had no idea what it was he was seeing. Ghosts were impossible, what he was seeing had to be some sort of illusion. He didn't sense any sort of mind... but would he be able to sense a ghost? How would he even know.

He grasped Kobra's arm, reassuringly as he could, and stepped forward, making some effort to put himself between Kobra and... whatever this was.

"Are you sentient?" Daneel demanded of the glowing shape. "Do you understand me?"

[goodluckkobra]

It pulsed a few times from bright to dim.

"Okay, this is the opposite of treasure. This is the part of the movie where the first dude dies." He stepped down one step backwards, grip tight on Daneel.

[thezerothlaw]

Was that an answer? Daneel wasn't sure. He couldn't tell, had no way of knowing. Was it even real and not just an illusion? Without any detectable mind behind it, he was inclined to say so, but he lacked the proper information to say so for sure.

"No one is going to die," he said firmly. Honestly, he saw no way for it to harm them either, but again, he was lacking information. Still, if a tactical retreat was necessary, so be it.

Daneel lifted his chin, not taking his eyes off the apparition. "Communication is necessary. If you understand me, pulse once for yes."

[goodluckkobra]

The light disappeared.

"Okay, I'm out. Are you out? 'Cause I'm out, but I'm not leaving you." Kobra tugged gently, but insistently on Daneel's arm. Holy crap, that was scary. He just wanted to take Dan and Lyds and make a fort of blankets and hide forever. Was that an option, please?

[thezerothlaw]

Daneel stepped back, still not in the least sure what he'd witnessed. It was... concerning, to say the least. His hand on Kobra's arm was gentle, but firm.

And as curious as Daneel was, Kobra was scared. He couldn't push them on.

"Yes, of course. Let's leave, if that's what you want." He nodded, briskly, and began moving them down the stairs, his hand still protectively on Kobra.

[goodluckkobra]

Kobra didn't stop until they were out the door and several steps away from it. His heart was racing and he really didn't want to admit it, but he was fucking scared as shit.

"Do we... tell anyone about that?"

[thezerothlaw]

"Perhaps we should."

He was at a loss. Ghosts and phantasms were not something Daneel could really cope with.

"I don't believe that phenomenon is dangerous to anyone," he said slowly, "but in the case it is, then perhaps we should alert others."

[goodluckkobra]

"But we totally lie and tell everyone that we faced it down bravely, right?" He grins. That is obviously what he's going to do and he hopes Daneel does the same.

"'Cause we gotta save face if we're gonna look like the suave motherfuckers we are."

[thezerothlaw]

"I see no shame in our actions, Kobra. We were confronted with an unknown entity, and we stood our ground until it vanished, at which point we withdrew."

It was that simple, the way Daneel saw it.

"But to be honest, I'm not sure that it wasn't some sort of illusion."

[goodluckkobra]

"Uh, yeah. We left 'cause it was gone and we were bored. Totally what happened." This was why he liked Dan. His logic could make anything sound cool, even robot junk. Especially robot junk. Daneel was the coolest.

[thezerothlaw]

"There was nothing more to accomplish," Daneel pointed out. "Unless you intend to continue exploring the lighthouse, that is, although perhaps that is meant as something to warn us off. It's difficult to say."

So many possibilities, and Daneel didn't really like any of them.

"Do you intend to return home now, Kobra?"

[goodluckkobra]

"Yeah... yeah, I think it's time for hot chocolate and being inside, don't you?" He sure as fuck wasn't going anywhere alone.

"You can sit with me and tell me about the future or something." He slung an arm around Daneel and leaned into his side.