"That just means--" she paused as she pulled herself up a few more agonizing inches, "--you haven't been eluded yet." she called back. Tsk, this was slow going, but it seemed that he wasn't going to simply smash through the roof of the elevator the same was he had done the floor. She wondered how long it would take for it to come up with an alternative plan.

Yellow sirens began to pulse and strobe in the elevator shaft as the lights came back on. Juniper bit her bottom lip, not that long at all apparently. She gave out a little shriek as the cable she was clinging onto starting moving swiftly while she gripped it tightly, huddling up against the cable and clinging to it reflexively as her grip threatened to slip. Opening her eyes, she saw the narrow counter-weight pass by her . . . half-way point of the elevator shaft. She looked up, hoping to see a grate in the ceiling that she might be able to climb through and get to the chamber that'd hold the pulley system for the elevator, but she didn't hold her breath.

Swallowing, she loosened her grip and slid back down the cable until she landed hard on the roof of the elevator, another scared little cry slipping passed her lips as she hit the car too hard and started to roll off towards the side. Seconds crawled by as she lay there on the roof, rolling to one side to be safely away from the guide rails as she panted. She needed a plan, but nothing was comming to her. Hopping off of the sides of the elevator was tantamount to suicide, there was no way she'd be able to stop herself against the walls. No guarantee that there was enough head space at the top of the shaft for her to squeeze against either . . . assuming she wouldn't just be trapped there until someone with smaller hands dragged her through the ceiling hatch and back into captivity.

She tried to poke her head over the edge of the hatch and look down into the car, to guage if there was enough floor left for her to land on and try anything risky . . . and then got a good look down through the bottom of the elevator car at exactly how risky she was talking. She swallowed a bit. Suddenly throwing in the towel didn't look quite so bad.

"What's your stake in all this anyway, Metal Man?" she asked, rolling onto her back to watch the approaching ceiling, trying to figure out what the hell to do.

Tinman did the calculation according to the blueprints it had accessed. Had there been a chance of smooshing her against the ceiling of the shaft it would have used another plan entirely which would have increased it's capture time not that it cared.

About three fourths of the floor was gone and what was left half of it was occupied by Tinman.

As she looked down it looked up though the grating. Soon she would only have space to crawl around up there. Tinman was patient. It could wait considering that it did not wish to injure her more than necessary.

It would wait out her next move having all the time in the world.

“AFFIRMATIVE. NO ONE HAS ELUDED ME WHEN I HAVE BEEN CHARGED TO CAPTURE THEM. I DO NOT ALWAYS COMPLETE ASSIGNMENTS IN TIMELY FASHION.” Now that it had her complete attention it returned her banter from earlier, probably not even aware that it was having a conversation with her but answering an inquiry.

'STAKE ...” It analyzed the word for a definition. “TO FULFILL MY PROGRAMMING TO SERVE THE SCIENTISTS OF THIS ISLAND.”

"Just happy to fulfill you function, huh Big Guy?" she asked, tucking a hand behind her head as she watching the ceiling growing closer, and closer. Amber lights threw shadows this way and that over her prone form, her chest rising and falling as she forced herself to take deep but steady breaths of hot, stale air. It was a long elevator trip, and Tinman seemed content to wait her out until the trap closed tightly around her, she had time to breath, to recover a modicum of strength, and plan her next move.

"I can understand that." she said with a nod. Well, she supposed she was distorting her understanding a bit, what she tried to follow was a purpose, and one that gave her a potent feeling of righteousness to pursue. Tinman . . . he'd been built for his purpose, had never sought it out, and to pursue it did not grant him any particular satisfaction so much as he really had no other choice. Still, he talked, and it's naive but resolute mannerisms were endearing in their way . . . though she imagined she'd find them far more so if they weren't directed at her.

"Though I find it kind of hard to believe that Rena qualifies. That didn't exactly seem like the scientific method earlier . . ." she said, rolling over so that she was face down against the roof of the car. She was only going to get one chance at this, and the timing was going to be tight . . . and the only point of reference she had had been the timing when she and Rhaine had arrived at the previous level. As the elevator was coming to as top, but before it had settled into it's final position, she'd grab hold of the lip and pull herself down into the elevator head-first. Folding her body, she'd swing back towards her mechanical pursuer and let go of the roof, bracing her weight against his broad chest for a moment, then she'd kick free of him and dive for the hallway as the doors to the elevator were still openning.

He was sure to be expecting something from her, she hadn't exactly been accommodating towards his efforts to get ahold of her so far after all. Hopefully, however, he wouldn't expect her to do that particular maneuver.

“AFFIRMITIVE.” It had to follow it's programming even if Dr. Balnab abandoned it long ago. It kept up with maintenance and carried out it's basic programming to the best of it's ability. It looked up at her, blinking lights on that face plate as it stared at her processing the organic's words.

“AFIRMITVE. THE DOCTOR DOES NOT USE THE TRADITIONAL METHODS WHEN IT PERTAINS TO THE STUDENTS THOUGH I HAVE YET TO ENCOUNTER A DOCTOR HERE THAT DOES. SHE FITS THE CRITERIA.”

Of course as she made her move Tinman had already calculated the odds with her surrendering peacefully or not.

It grabbed her with a clam-like hand as the door open as she made contact with him ensuring that if she were going to go anywhere she would have to drag half a ton.

It was not finished jerking her back so that hit held her by that single limb securely as it held her over the hole in the floor, depressing the down position on the elevator to send them back down from when they came.

“Having fun yet, dearie?” A very familiar voice crackled over an internal radio of Tinman added as an attachment for today's little detail.

"Ulph!" All of Juniper's forward momentum came to a sudden halt as she tried to kick off of 2179's bulk, his broad clamp having gotten a firm grip around her calf in the brief moment they'd been in contact with one another. He was quicker than he looked, she observed somewhat sardonically, probably for the best she hadn't tried to double back and jink passed him earlier. Still, the the elevator doors swishing open, it seemed like a shame to give up just yet.

"Let me get back to you on that." she responded to Rena's taunting, her thumb snapping the catch on her pilfered holster free as she leveled her revolver at the elevator control panel, intent to snap off a few rounds and hopefully halt the car before they'd moved too far beyond their current floor.

What Rena said was cut off with the sounds of the revolver going off. Tinman seemed unconcerned seeing that the revolver wasn't aimed at it. The doors remained open, the elevator did hot move though Tinman analyzed something …

RISK 4% … LETHAL DAMAGE LESS THAN 1% ….

It grabbed her then by the shoulder then jumped down the hole in the floor falling like a stone as he pulled her close to secure her and minimize the damage to her though mere seconds before colliding with the floor of the elevator shaft the rockets kick on, the repulsors keeping him half a foot above the ground due to the repulsor field.

It sets down then turns towards the twisted wreck of the door.

Juniper couldn't help herself. As Tinman stepped his ponderous weight out over the abyss, she breathed in deep, a shrill shriek echoing off the metallic walls as the two of them plummeted into darkness. There was an almost pleasant undercurrent of weightlessness as the pair went into freefall, though it was temporarily buried under the rush of mortal terror as the wind tore at her clothes and hair, stinging her eyes as she watched the bottom rush up to greet her. Then, all that weight came back as a kind of crushing pressure, the Tinman's boosters firing as they struggled against the momentum the two of them had built up. When he came to a stop, there wasn't anything of the shuddering crash she'd have expected, instead, he came to a rest balancing upon a cushion of air.

Juniper's face was buried against her unyielding chest as he cradled her smaller form securely against him. Her shoulders trembled and shook quietly for a few moments, finally yielding to a bubbling laughter as the exhilaration of the fall and the relief of her continued existence mingled together.

"Okay, now I'm having fun." she said, squirming against his grip on her shoulder so that she could wipe tears from her eyes, "What're the odds we can do that again?" What could she say? She was a thrill seeker at heart, and deep inside she was certain that she'd stalled long enough for Rhaine to get free. Maybe she hadn't quite managed to taste the sweet air and see the open sky herself again, just yet, but she was certain her opportunity would come.

There were no cameras in the elevator shaft though there was one in the elevator itself. Now Tinman was free to make it's own decisions more or less as long as it achieved the objectives set out to it so it looked at her flushed features.

The shriek had indicated terror but it knew that people screamed at amusement parks all the time. It's programming had been fairly basic as it loo straight up the elevator shaft then to her features as if using it
s facial recognition soft ware to see what that look corresponded with.

'FUN ...” Well no one told it not to do such. “100% … HOLD ON.”

Unless she did anything weird it would climb up the elevator shaft giving her a piggy back, the hand holds already there as it scaled back up, into the elevator car again where it picked her up, held her to his chest though the cameras caught him jumping again and it was on the fall down that Rena contacted him.

“What the hell are you doing! Bring her back to the lab!”

There was a pause as it processed a response. Then it answered slowly. “HAVING FUN."

”Fucking cut that out! Bring her back and secure her!”

“AFFIRMITIVE.” Tinman seemed to analyze something for a few seconds. “GET A GOOD GRIP, WE WILL HAVE MORE FUN.”

"Eh?" Juniper blinked slightly as the Tinman twisted slightly so that she was behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he instructed her to hang on to him. She swallowed a bit of nervousness back down as he reached out to the sides of the shaft and grabbed hold of grips his powerful hands had torn into the walls on his first pass up. By her estimation, the shaft had to be something like thirty meters, so it was slow going. After a few moments, she swung her legs up and wrapped them as tightly as she could manage around his boxy torso, resting her cheek against his back and trying not to fixate on hor far away the ground was.

Finally, he clambered back up into the elevator car. Juniper looked and saw the elevator doors still open, her fingers loosening as she considered trying to make a break for it. Before she could think to act on it, however, it took hold of her wrist. More gently than she would've expected such a being to be capable of, it pulled her back around to the front and gathered her up securely against it's chest again. It was a wasted opportunity, but she had to admit, the implications of her current situation probably required further investigation.

She gave a whoop and a holler on her way down this time, knowing what to expect from the fall let her push down that initial fear response and really focus on the rush of the fall. She was actually making enough noise that she missed it when Rena called in to, rather forcibly, demand to know the meaning between her ride's current actions. Instead, it was the Tinman's response that caused her to cut her jubilant cry short, chewing her bottom lip as his repulsors kicked in to slow their descent again.

"Tch, are you sure it's not too late to redesignate her as a stick in the mud?" she asked, looking off to the side as Rena demanded her return to the labs, looking more than a bit dejected as she thought about what surely awaited her back at the labs. Apparently 2179 noticed her crestfallen expression though, as it told her to get a good grip so that the two of them could have more fun. Apparently, he'd equated speed with fun . . . heh, she was a bad influence, even on robots it seemed. There weren't too many seams to his metal body that she could find that she'd want to stick her fingers into, so she simply reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck again.

"Hey, we don't have to take the shortest route, do we?" she asked, pouting slightly as she tried to influence the machine a bit further, "Rena's idea of fun and mine . . . well, they're incompatible."

The expression made a deal of sense to it as it analyzed that term. It turned it's radio of given that there was a 66% chance that Rena would contact it, the small amount of chance it reasoned by her prior experiences she could be in route to the room it question.

"AFFIRMITIVE. SHE IS A STICK IN THE MUD BUT STILL A SCIENTIST ...”

There had been no reason why she couldn't be both things after all. But there was an immediate answer to her next question.

“NEGATIVE. I WAS NOT INSTRUCTED TO USE HASTE. HOLD ON ….”

Tinman had a child-like understanding of things. It hopped out of the elevator shaft, kicked in those rockets and went screaming down corridors. It restricted itself to the vacated section of the facility. Using the lasers beneath it's visor it weakened doors doubling over to shield her as it crashed though doors, leapt down stair wells landing with enormous crushing thuds and continuing onward, even kicking off walls as it jumped down some stairwells though all good things came to an end and eventually she was back in the room she had started her journey in.

It set her down as the rocket/repulsors clicked off and it looked towards the table. “IT IS TIME FOR RENA'S FUN … PLEASE GET ON THE TABLE ...”

She scarcely had to hold on as his booster rockets roared to life, the world lurching suddenly around her as he slammed his way into high gear. She tried to catch a glimpse of Gersham as they rumbled through the lobby she'd encountered him in, but they were threw it and into the halls before she could register much more than a blur with her eyes. Velocity pressed her body tightly against his form, but she still clung tightly. She remembered what was coming next, and sure enough, when he reached the top of the stairs Tinman jumped with his bulk, skating along the outside wall of the stairwell as though he was riding along the inside of a pipe. She ducked her head reflexively as he let his weight carry him through the door without bothering with the niceties of things like opening it first.

Her eyes grew round and wide as she saw a beam of coherent red light slice through one of the heavy metal firedoors that had blocked her path before, her chauffeur doubling over protectively before slamming into it at full speed, the hard jutter rattling her teeth in her head, though he didn't seem to slow at all. She could see that Rena wasn't kidding when she said he wasn't made out of any soft metal like tin, there wasn't so much as a dent in his frame when he stood tall so that she could see again . . . and the scratches, she wagered, would buff right out. Her heart raced in her chest, but as he diverted from the route she'd used before to loop a long way around, she got more comfortable in trusting him not to accidentally flatten her, and did indeed start to enjoy the ride. Though her enthusiasm was ever burnished by the knowledge of where it was that he was taking her.

"Hey, take this set backwards!" she suggested when she saw him heading for another stairwell. Sure enough, he jumped again as he reached the dip of the stairs, kicking off the wall so that he could keep the momentum as he turned and followed the course in reverse, conservation of momentum allowing him not to lose much speed as he rode on the cushion of air. For her part, Juniper let go of 2179's neck so she could punch both hands into the air, feeling his grip tighten as she did so "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

She wobbled unsteadily on her feet as he set her down, a little dizzy from it all. Shaking her head a bit, she looked around . . . she was right back where she'd begun, the stark white light scything through an oppressive darkness to give everything it's own sterile glow. Her eyes softened slightly . . . she was right back where she'd started. Everything ventured, nothing gained. She glanced back at Tinman . . . well, perhaps not nothing. She couldn't countermand Rena's orders, he was hardcoded to obey scientists, but it seemed that there was some wiggle room in there and that he was generally eager to please.

"Hey, 2179," she asked quietly, backing up to the table and setting her hands upon it, so that he'd recognize that she was following his instructions, however reluctantly, "Are you just a sophisticated program, or are you a learning computer?" she asked, hopping up on the table and sitting on the edge. She leaned forward, balancing her elbows on her knees and propping her head up as she regarded the seven and a half foot tall construct of gleaming metal, "I guess I mean, are you just a tool, or do you have the potential to be a person, given enough time to grow?"

The ride was over, it had orders to carry out though it watched her through that broken visor, perhaps one of the view things that did not comprise the strange alien alloys that made up it's body. Even the cables of his arms had this metal flowing through it in thin strands.

It watched as Juniper showed that she was willing to comply with orders though after today it would have some general maintenance to do, fixing the visor, fueling up the rockets and recharging it's repulsors/boosters. It also had to get more capture line as it was out.

Tinman moved closer securing her down to the table as it addressed her question.

“SUBJECT AMELIA THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUERRY IS BOTH. THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE ENCODED INTO MY PROGRAMMING THAT I MUST OBEY. ALL ELSE I AM FREE TO INTERPRET AS I WISH GUIDED BY THE PROBABILITY OF CHANCE FROM LEARNED PAST EXPERIENCE.

“I AM INCOMPLETE. DR. BALANAB MADE ME AS A WEAPON BUT I WAS A FAILURE. HE LEFT SOME TIME BACK BUT I AM COMPELLED TO CARRY OUT HIS FINAL INSTRUCTIONS UNTIL HE RETURNS OR IT IS FOUND THAT THE ORDERS ARE NO LONGER VALID SUCH AS IN THE EVENT OF HIS TERMINATION WHERE THE DATA I CONTINUE TO GATHER FOR HIM WOULD BE OBSOLETE.

“WHEN I WAS FIRST ACTIVATED I WAS LITTLE MORE THAN A PROGRAM, I HAVE GROWN A GREAT DEAL SINCE AND NOT ALL MATTERS COULD BE RESOLVED BY MY INITIAL PROGRAMMING SO I HAD TO IMPROVISE. SUCH AS JUST NOW. I WAS NOT UNDER ANY ORDERS TO BRING YOU BACK IN EXPEDIENT FASHION THOUGH RENA'S VOICE MODULATION INCREASED TO DISPLAY ANGER OR ANNOYANCE IT WAS STILL UP TO ME TO DECIDE HOU TO CARRY OUT THE WISHES AND OBJECTIVES. WHILE I REASONED BRINGING YOU BACK IN EXPEDIENT FASHION WOULD HAVE BEEN BEST NON FUN AWAITED AT THE END POINT OF THE DESTINATION.

“BY MAKING IT FUN IT COUNTERS THIS POINT A BIT ANE WHILE I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN OVERLY CONCERNED IF YOU HAD YOU HAD NOT TRIED TO ESCAPE WHEREAS IF I BROUGHT YOU STRAIGHT HERE CHANCES WE HIGHER THAT YOU WOULD AT LEAST TRY IT THOUGH I SAW THE COMPUTATIONS THAT YOU HAD BACK WHEN WE STARTED THEY WERE THERE FOR ONLY1.3 SECONDS.”

Tinman seemed to have no reservation about telling her this. It was beyond it's initial programming now. It could think but was still bound by a few things as well. However, it was just beyond the bonds of programming and thus still approached things almost with a child like interest. Well, most things at least.

She didn't fight him as her tipped her back and pressed her arms back into the restraints, locking them tightly around her wrist again as he talked. As much as she hated being back here, as much as she wanted to struggle, she couldn't turn the current situation into a win. So, she stalled for time, gathered information, and tried to find ways to stack the deck for her next bid. 2179 seemed to be functioning as Rena's enforcer for these tests, learning a little bit more about him, maybe taking the time to establish some kind of empathy might make it a little more willing to interpret orders in ways Juniper might find beneficial. He didn't seem to bare her a grudge for the electrical jolt, at least.

"So, what would you do if you found someone other than Dr. Balanab to who could complete you?" she asked, giving her arm a pull to make sure that the cuff was secure, unsurprised to find she had to pull hard to even move the manacle, "Do you even want to be a weapon? Or is it all about not displeasing your creator?"

She looked away from him for a moment, squinting as she looked into the glaring light fixture hanging over the table. While she had enjoyed the trip, after a fashion, she didn't want to tell the machine that her lack of fight had been every bit as much about being unable to shake his grip much less get free of him without hurting herself as she slipped his grip as it had been about any fun she was having. After all, if it thought that a little quid pro quo would grease the wheels for it in the future, maybe she'd spare some of his future victims a measure of heartache.

"Hey, I know the boss-lady said you're to refrain from playing it today, but it looks like we've got a little time before she shows up." she said, grimacing a bit as he pulled her body taut before locking her legs into place as well, "I can at least teach you the rules to "I Spy" right quick . . . you can use it to occupy a captive subject's mind the next time you end up on silent guard duty. Or something." she smirked a bit. Okay, maybe she mostly just wanted an opportunity to annoy Rena with a seven and a half foot tall juggernaut talking about the colors of things it could see in a given room.

It processed the question, taking an eternity for a machine … 5 seconds … “I HAVE NEVER CALCULATED THAT BEFORE. DR. BALNAB ONLY WISHED TO PROGRAM ME AS A WEAPON AND OCCASSIONAL COLLECTOR BUT IN HIS ABSENCE I HAVE BEEN FREE TO RE-EVALUATE A LOT OF THE OLD COMMANDS AND USE DOWN TIME AS I SEE FIT. OCCASIONALLY, SUCH AS TODAY, I GET PULLED IN FOR SIMPLE SCIENTIFIC WORK.”

Tinman paused to allow this to sink in with her. “I WOULD ONLY BE COMPLETED AS A WEAPON. I HAVE NEVER CALCULATED MY ROLE AS A WEAPON AS IT WAS ONLY NECESSARY TO KNOW THAT I COULD STILL BE USEFUL AS A COLLECTOR.”

But as the topic of 'I Spy' returned the metal giant seemed to ponder. It's radio was still of but no doubt Rena was either watch or in route, given her interest in Subject Amelia she was probably on her way. But he had been forbidden by Rena's order and could not brake that command.

“NEGATIVE. THOUGH I CAN PLAY ANOTHER GAME ...” it chose to interpret Rena's earlier annoyance as it pertained to just 'I Spy' in part because it was curious about the game. “TRUTH OR DARE … THOUGH I CANNOT GO AGAINST ORDERS THAT HAVE BEEN ISSUED. ALL ELSE IS FAIR GAME THOUGH.”


She was going to kill the bastard! Her fist twisting the metal of the table near the monitors. “Two One Seven Nine!” But the radio was off. Aegir flicked his gaze in the direction of the monitor, the room of course had surveillance devices recording the audio and visual components in that room.

Aegir said nothing though he chuckled inwardly. The machine would know about those devices, it knew the security and lay out of the building but it choose to listen selectively like a child.

It had no mind, Aegir could not speak to it in the normal telepathic sense so he had to use sign language with him.

I can feel it in your mind, the objective to get Rena pissed, he communicated to Juniper's mind. Your little joy right pissed her off to no end too, this has gotten her nuclear. Just passing that along.

She was probably in for it soon, Aegir went silent after the comment though.

Ah, Aegir. she thought, resting her head back against the table with a smirk, You always know what to say to bring a smile to a girl's lips. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, turning the demon's little horror show into a carnival ride was certain to get her blood up. But that was good. Rena seemed to be the sort who was easy to rile, and when she was angry she'd be more prone to make mistakes. Juniper just had to hope that she'd slip up before she prematurely killed the student.

"Heh, you've got me at a bit of a disadvantage there." she responded to Tinman's offer to play Truth or Dare, "Unless you want to challenge me to do something like touch my tongue to my nose, I'm pretty much going to have to stick to Truth." her weight shifted marginally on the slab to indicate she'd tried unsuccessfully to shrug in her restraints, "Still, my life is an open book. So long as you don't ask my real name, or anything about my intrusion into this facility, yeah, I'll play."

"Ladies first, I guess." she said, glancing over at the metallic Man for a moment, "Let's try Truth. I get the impression there's something specific you want to ask, and Ze Doktor will be along any moment now."