Do Androids Fear Electric Snakes? (Closed/Melany+Flash)

There was a commotion on the pier, the lifeguards were all out dealing with a boat which had began to sink in the sea of Bellmuse. The tide was in and a call had been received, a man looking for fossils had become trapped in a cave due to the inflow of water. He was up to his knees, the cave's layout meant that it was always flooded however in times of high tide it had the potential to overflow. The man was trapped on a small rim of rock surrounding the pooled area. A storm was closing in on the island and the potential for the cave to fill even further than normal was indeed terrifying. They couldn't send a fleshy one to do this job, to swim so far and be able to retrieve the man was near impossible for one who themselves had to breath, and so the call had first gone out to the android students... and Flash driver had been the first to respond.

Flash didn't have a super relationship with water, his best friend Sno was incredibly susceptible to damage from the stuff, and he had to make sure all his patchwork was perfect otherwise he would be to.  He was performing a systems check before he would dive, body testing his entire body with small electronic pulses, looking for cracks in his hull. He was surrounded by anxious onlookers, the man's husband was to Flash's right and rather distraught. He knew the approximate direction of the cave, it was just a matter of swimming there.

Atlas has its frosty tundra, Vacuo its arid deserts, Mistral has sheer cliffs and mountains while Vale has the famous Everfall Forest. And while Bellmuse has a similar wood with Finnek Forest, the best part of the island according to Melany was its beach. Apparently it was one of the most beautiful all across Remnant and since winter was gone and the snow had all melted away, the android decided to go for a little swim today. Plus the weather forecast said that it was going to be a warm and sunny day, especially for the season which only made the girl more happier to grab her swimsuit and head for the beach as soon as possible, and by soon she went there it wasn't even 10 in the morning and the sky was mostly clear at that time, some clouds here and there but nothing to worry about.

Mel scanned the beach as she arrived, looking around to see if she was sharing it with anybody which didn't seem like the case right now. All alone on the shore, the girl installed herself on the sand with a towel and lied down to feel the warmth of the sun against her body. With no one around and the sound of the waves, it was super calm, so much that Mel actually ended up falling asleep. When she woke up, hours later, it was from the lack of sunlight as the sky had become grey with an upcoming storm on the horizon. The fact that there was a commotion that wasn't here before at the pier sure wasn't helping to get some rest. Although something was odd, from afar it was easy to see that Flash was among the people on the pier, which intrigued Mel a lot. Getting up and gathering her stuff, she joined the mass of people and waved toward her friend. "Hey Flash? What is going on here? Why is everyone on edge?"

Current Outfit:

To say the droid was scared would be an understatement, Flash didn't like the idea of coming across a potentially lifeless body. To his right was a sealed bag containing provisions, in case he couldn't get the man out of the cave and had to stay in there with him.

Melany first let go of a sigh of exasperation when Flash told her the weather was going to be stormy for the weeks, which clearly made her mad a little. "Weeks!? But the meteo was supposed to be sunny all week? Stupid meteo broadcast... ruining my day..." She was about to answer Flash's other questions, but the fact that it was scrolling through its text rather quickly which got her worried. Then her friend told her the full situation, about the boat at large, how dangerous the storm was and the man trapped in a nearby cave. Mel smiled, not because of the dire situation, but that Flash was one to help absolutely need anyone that could need it.

Mel turned towards one of the people on the pier and handed them her stuff before turning towards Flash with conviction burning in her eyes. "I'm coming with you. And no need to try to dissuade me, my mind is set. A rescue mission alone would be stupid so I'll help as much as I can." The girl gave a thumbs up to her tall friend with a smile. ""And don't you worry about me, I'm more sturdy than I look. Plus no need to breath so the waves won't be a problem from underwater, so lead the way!" She stood there waiting on Flash while people around her were thankful for helping out. The girl gave smiles back to them before the two androids would leave for the task at hand.

Before reaching for the back he turned to the man's husband, gently patting his head and giving him a strong thumbs up. With that done he pointed out to the direction of the cave. The bag was fixed over his lumpy shoulder, rather than making a traditional style of dive Flash crossed his arms over his chest and leapt into the water feet first. Almost as if he was a drill coming down to pierce the ocean, after all having a square and large head made the typical style of dive rather ineffective for him. He'd quickly rise to the surface to get his bearings once more, turning on the light behind his screen to shine out. Submerging himself in an attempt to avoid the crashing of the waves he set out in a front crawl style swim. He knew he couldn't go too deep, otherwise ocean currents would suck him under, so he kept to around a mid-deapth. On occasion he would turn his sensors back to the girl behind him, making sure she wasn't struggling, as well as reemerge in order to make sure they were still on track.

It would take a solid twelve minutes of swimming, fighting the waves and currents, but they would arrive at the mouth of the cave. The mouth of the cave was similar to a bottle neck, the neck of the bottle was around the height of the water so with every wave the cave would fill more and more. It was so bottle like as the area past this small opening was sloped; floor of the cave went down low before flattening out. Erosion due to the constant flow of water had done this. Had the tide not been in or so rough it would simply be a small steam, like a tiny waterfall, slowly filling the cave. Already however the cave was almost full. Only a few inches separating the bottleneck from the amassed water. Standing on this small ridge, just wide enough for the two to stand on, he turned to her.

Melany waved her hand in front of Flash as it was making sure that she wasn't just coming along for the fun of it. "Don't worry about me, I'm way more sturdy than I look. A second pair of hands could also be useful no?" While her tall friend seem to make sure that there wasn't any spot unprotected from the water, the girl simply made sure that her bikini was well tightened around her as she didn't want to lose anything because of the waves or the current of the water. Her body was totally impermeable, so she didn't have to fear any leaks, at least as long as there was no important breach in her skin. If there was now there would be a major problem.

Mel immediately followed Flash when it jumped in the troublesome water of the cove, making a more traditional dive than her tall friend. The girl let herself sink a bit though before inhaling, which caused water to fill up what serves her as lungs which would help greatly to stabilize the pressure of the water and since she didn't need to breath it wasn't causing her any problem. Why did Mel have lungs though if breathing wasn't needed? It's easier to analyse the air by doing so, bring it direction to your sensors rather than have it linger outside trying to figure out its composition. It also works with liquids, so she knew exactly at this moment what the water of the cove contained and the android was quite happy to see that it wasn't polluted at all. Maybe the lack of big industrial infrastructure?

A light turned on behind Mel's eyes, similar to the light shining from Flash's screen so it didn't need to shine her the path ahead and she simply followed her friend to the destination. She wasn't feeling super comfortable underwater like this as anytime she would go for a swim she'd stay at the surface, but at same time she never needed to avoid crashing waves like those currently above. The two androids reached a bottleneck leading to the cave where the man was trapped and Flash turned towards her to converse. She read the plan and nodded, knowing that sound travels slower in water than air she didn't bother to voice anything and simply stayed behind her friend and waited.

With another nod to Melany Flash reactivated his light, staring deep into the cave. Reflecting off the water in the lowlight setting, there was a sudden cry echoing out through the cave. incoherent due to the cavernous echoes colliding with one-another and perpetually reverberating. Gently stepping down into the water Flash now saw in a more breast stroke fashion, though being so heavy the movements were repeated far more often than a lighter person would have to. He pressed forward, taking lead, as they got closer and closer the sound became easier and easier to make out as a human voice. Letting out moaning cries of "Help me" and "Is anyone there, please someone be there!" in not the loudest of tones. It was when the crying stopped that Flash became truly worried, further picking up the pace.

Eventually they reached the back of the cave, the large droid began to clamber up the high slope in order to reach flat ground. Reaching the top he found the man, curled up almost in the foetal position. Checking him over he didn't look particularly injured, though he was unconscious. Perhaps simply shock and fear had jolted him into that state? The large droid wasn't sure. Regardless, he was in absolutely no state to swim out of here... as Flash had expected. Removing the bag from his shoulder the large droid unfolded a well packed blanket, kept dry by the sealed nature of the bag. Gently laying it over him Flash went through the bag, there were foodstuffs and bandages in order to help him last the time until they were free. Placing a finger at his neck Flash could feel a pulse.

He gestured to Melany to come closer and try to talk to him... being unable to vocalise things himself to gently awaken the man.

Melany followed Flash as it entered the cave and immediately began to look around which obviously seeming worried. Part of it was caused by the echoing voice of the man further in there, but another was that she wasn't really a fan of dark enclosed spaces like this. She wasn't claustrophobic in any way, nor afraid of the dark, but the lack of direct sunlight was unnerving for her. Right behind the tall android, she noticed it began to accelerate the pace and so she did the same in order to not be left behind. It took Mel all the time to reach the unconscious man to understand that he had stopped crying earlier.

While Flash covered him with a blanket it had brought along, Mel began to scan the man's vitals in order to know what would be the best thing to do for him right now. At least the man was just unconscious, a minor dehydration as well but nothing alarming for now, they just need to make sure that he drinks something when he'll come back to him. The girl sat next to the man, ready to help with any suddenly medical problem the man could have. At the same time, Mel activated her emergency heater to provide the cave with some warmth.

"He should be fine, he passed out from stress but his life isn't in danger. We should let him rest a while and make sure he doesn't suffer from hypothermia. Let's just hope the waters calm down meanwhile, I really don't want to be stuck in here..." Bringing her knees closer to her face and wrapping her arms around them, Mel simply looked down, unsure of what to do. Sure she came here to help and would make the same decision again if she could choose again, but she still didn't feel safe in here with the only light around being the ones coming from her eyes and Flash's screen. Deciding to go for a warmer color and a less aggressive lighting, she turned off her current light source before creating some sort of lamp using her semblance, letting hang from the nearby wall giving the cave a orange tint and an overall better view around them.

With that said the large droid tried to relax, legs dangling over the edge and kicking slightly.It wasn't the best of views, though he was thankful that his friend seemingly had the ability to create a light-source. He turned off his screen light but... focusing his optics on Melany it seemed as though something was up. For a moment she had huddled herself, almost into a ball, staring down. Without hesitation Flash reached out gently patting the top of the girl's head before turning properly to her.

Mel looked up to Flash as it petted her head, it seemed like it noticed that she wasn't really feeling well in here. She shook her head as her tall friend suggested her to go back outside before accepting the hug. "Thanks, but I'll stay, I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I was to just up and leave you here alone with him. I came all the way here so the least I can do is stay until the end." The girl then huddled back next to the unconscious man, less than earlier though but then looked back to the ground with a slight smile, although it would be short-lived.

Melany's eyes light up in a orange hue, and immediately looked panicked. The small android immediately stood up and began to walk toward where the two first came from while speaking hurriedly. "You know what, you're right, I should stay if I don't feel comfortable, you're a capable android, you'll do just fine without me, I'll see you outside..." Going back into the water without even looking back, it nearly seemed as if Mel was trying to escape more than exit, unfortunately for her, luck wasn't on her side. Mere meters underwater and away from the exit, the strong waves caused by the storm eroded the cliffside enough to result in a sudden cave-in, the way out was blocked. Both her and Flash probably didn't hear anything because all the rocks piled underwater. What was before panic quickly began to turn into despair for the girl as she sat there for a moment, staring at the rubble in front of her and analyzing them.

It took about 10 minutes for her to go back by Flash's side, looking miserable, a complete contrast with her usual self. She looked down before shaking her head to her friend. "...we're trapped in here... the entrance was sealed..."

Flash gently returned the hug of course, waving the girl off as she left. Happily sitting with the almost drowned man, gently pressing his back in a massage style fashion. Making sure he was okay and still breathing well. It was much to his surprise however that his friend returned a rather downtrodden look on her face. Upon hearing her words Flash sprung into rather immediate action, hugging the dripping android before pulling out so that she could see his face and read his screen properly.

Melany was once again hugged by the tall android, although this time she didn't return the gesture and simply stood still before shaking her head slowly when it suggested to dig their way through. "If we dig from the inside the structural integrity of the cave will be at risk, everything could just crumble down on us. The only way to get out would be to dig from the outside, which we can't and no one can right now with the storm..."

The girl clearly looked more and more scared as time went and Flash kept coming with ideas, asking her if she had her scroll with her, again Mel shook her head. "I already tried, couldn't get in touch with anyone. Plus the storm is still a problem..." All of a sudden she crumbled on the floor, starting to sob in almost a fetal position while holding her head. The idea of staying days here, in this cave, this was too much for her. "I... I can't... For days? I won't even last until tonight... I... I need to get out... I HAVE TO GET OUT!!!" The small android screamed, her voice echoing across the cave which surprisingly didn't woke up the unconscious man. Mel stayed on the ground, her sobbing turning into full on crying while tears mixed themselves up with the water still pearling on her face.

She then began to mumble, what she was saying not really aimed at anyone as she was more likely talking to herself. "I didn't want to come.... I didn't... but what would they have thought...? All those people... I complained about the weather while a man... him... was in danger... I looked like a jerk, I couldn't do nothing after that, could I? I had to do something... anything..."

The tip of his thumb began to spark, a small dose of electricity coating it. A light and a crackle to be clearly observed from it, Flash's semblance was incredibly simple after all. Transmuting aura to become electricity, requiring contact to transfer into an object. All done by a small device, or organ, within his body.



Flash was terrified deep down, really he wasn't sure how long his aura supply would last, let alone his own battery... but being left alone in here was only the iceberg of his fears. Running out of energy would mean shutting down, shutting down. The thought that he would one day shut down and never reawaken was terrifying.

Mel's head was once again patted by the tall android, but it didn't made her feel better. While the idea for the waves to move the rocks away was possible, the probability of that happening was slim considering that the waves were crashing against them towards the cliff. When Flash created a spark of electricity at its fingertip the girl stepped back quickly before shaking her head. "No! Direct contact with electricity will simply hurt me!" She sighed before taking in a deep breath to calm down before continuing. "Sorry... with the way I'm built I require to transform electricity into a certain density of plasma, electricity being too sudden and volatile it only causes an overcharge that harms my systems. The only way for me to harness electricity is through a custom battery pack that I always leave at home..."

Mel walked back toward the sleeping man and sat down before resuming her inner workings. "See, since I was built to mimic the human cycle, my father found a way to basically force me to sleep at night. Problem is that it's extremely flawed as I can't stay up even one night without going in sleep mode or else I risk to shut down and the only way for me to wake up would be to plug me to my battery. How I can go about my everyday life is simply because I'm using the sun as my primary power source. When night comes I'm slowly depleting my energy and need to connect to that battery which also accumulated energy from the sun during the day. A cloudy day doesn't force me to deplete my energy, but the gain is less important which can impact my day in some situations." The girl then looked back towards the ground, her eyes filling up with tears. "...and with being stuck here without the sun, I don't have more than 4 hours before shutting down..."

Melany smiled towards Flash, not because she was reassured, but simply because she appreciate that it was trying and cared so much. "I can't really do anything about the way I recharge, I would need a complete system overhaul, and by complete I mean everything would need to be changed, which could take years of work. Plus it's not that restrictive really. I was simply never meant to go underground, why would I need to anyway? And the fact that I can't spend the night outside just makes me responsible, makes me go to bed early to be ready for the day. It is a flaw, but it does make sense for my purpose."

The girl then watched as Flash detached its arm before she moved closer to reattach it. "I appreciate the thought, but I do need natural light. If any light did the trick I'd create lanterns and keep myself charged all the time. And while upgrades are an option, I do need the original blueprints of my model, which were destroyed by my own father. Now only he knows what can be done as upgrades..."

When Flash talked about shutting down, Mel simply had shivers as she listened. She never shut down before, but she always disliked the idea of it happening. Just going in sleep mode from which she could wake up by herself wasn't pleasing to go through. She often heard people talking about dreams, but that's something she never experienced herself. If sleeping without dreams was boring and left her uneasy, what was it to shut down completely? She couldn't imagine what Flash when through.

Flash mentioned fearing magnets, which made Mel pout as she remembered one time a magnet got stuck in her back a year ago. "I hate magnets... I've heard of android feeling disoriented and dizzy, you you lost your memories and are unable to feel angry... me when I'm affected it's as if I was drunk..." The memory wasn't really a pleasant one, but it was better for the girl to talk about that than talking about shutting down.