[SpringsSong]

"Vi, Vinnie, why are we out here?" a sickly young woman, about twenty years of age and with several tubes sticking out of her arms and connecting to her back, and a strange chestpiece that glimmered gold in the center of it.

"You mean, why are you out here," a woman who appeared to be about twenty-one years of age and wearing a white Victorian dress with a monocle, and a feather clip in her hair.  Her right hand appeared to be mechanical at least to the wrist, but that was all that was visible.

"Quite simple, my dear cousin," the only male of the trio, standing taller than the two woman and appearing to be about twenty-four in age, said.  He wore a top hat with a dark blue ribbon, a black coat and pants, a dark blue shirt and tie, and black shoes.  His right hand was mechanical, and in that hand, he held a peculiar cane.  "This way, we don't have to come back here over and over again to get the correct parts for your heart."

[Azura Rayume]

Yes, of course he knew this shop mainly sold parts for medical equipment. Yes, he knew he probably wouldn't be able to find what he was looking for here. No, that man in charge of the store did not know the full use of the compact hydraulic cylinder he had behind the counter, especially when combined with some components the machinist had back home. Honestly, the nerve of some people, thinking they had the right to tell someone what they can and cannot weaponize. Why, if given the proper time and resources, he could make some kind of something worth having in a fight just out of what was here in this store, let alone what he had back home. Things like actual ammunition.

Archie tugged at the hem of his vest in annoyance, unable to make up his mind on what he should do. Though he really needed that cylinder for his latest project- hand cannons that didn't take your actual hand off with them were a rare sight to see, regardless of modern scientific advances in both machinery and reattachment surgery- he was also growing weary of arguing the PSI with this fool of a shopkeeper. Obviously, this man was some sort of genius, able to predict the exact outcome of such an experiment and warn his patrons against such a thing. That's what the experiment is for! Besides, if it blew right up in his face, well, more business for the reconstructive doctors in the area, by the gods.

The little bell on the door chimed behind him, but he paid it little attention. He still needed that cylinder as well as some of the tubing that could be found here, but just how he should go about acquiring such items was just out of reach for the moment. The man who ran this place was obviously beyond reason, but he was less likely to find a more perfect part if he were to look elsewhere. So he just stood there, blue-gray eyes fixed in an expression of annoyance directed at the shopkeeper's face, strengthened by the fact that the man was now ignoring him in light of more, hopefully cooperative, customers.

[SpringsSong]

Unfortunately for the poor man, the customers who came in next were not going to prove easy or cooperative, at all.  Vincent had a checklist of what he needed, and he was not going to leave without it.  His cane clicked across the floor as he strode up to the counter, a piece of paper in his hand.

"Kind sir, I need all of the materials on this list," he said calmly, smiling as he said this.  "If you could, that is."

The man cursed as he muttered something about damn inventors and coming to Medicai for their materials.  After a moment, however, Vincent cleared his throat to catch the shopkeeper's attention.

"Some of those materials are to calibrate my ailing cousin's mechanical heart," Vincent said.  "Since a dear friend of mine and I created the heart, I'd rather not send her to the hospital because of what they might do to it."

"And don't forget this other gentleman over here," Viola said.  "I did notice that you began ignoring himm in favor of us."

[Azura Rayume]

Archie would have continued ignoring the others for as long as possible, trying his best to bore a hole through the shopkeeper's skull with his stare, if not for the sudden whir of machinery. While this store sold parts, none of the actual pieces were operational, leaving the air devoid of that most familiar sound. Now, however, he could detect it, slight as it was, and the sound seemed to be coming from the new visitors.

He turned around, trying his best not to be conspicuous but unable to hide his interest once he caught sight of the trio. Both of the older individuals bore mechanical limbs, at least to some extent, and the youngest was practically half machine from what he could see. Part of him felt sorry for her, having to rely on so much tech to continue living, but part of him was insanely fascinated. While he hadn't completely forgotten what he was actually here for, he certainly was distracted by these people.

While he knew it was impolite to stare, especially at someone like the youngest woman who were probably self-conscious of their modifications, he could not help himself. He was doing well enough not to have reached out to inspect the device for himself.

[SpringsSong]

After some vocal complaining, the man had given all of the materials which Vincent had requested, while Viola looked around the shop curiously.  She, too, could not help but notice that it was completely devoid of any mechanical sounds (for the whirring that came from her own arm, Vincent's hand, and Tessa's entire set up had become silent to her), but she shrugged it off--they would soon be holed up in a workshop alive with sounds of tinkering.

"Don't forget to ask about what you said you needed to modify my gun," Viola said, patting her side, where a gun was holstered.  "You know, about extending the range of Fusion Flare and Blue Flare."

"Yes, Viola; those were the first items on the list," he said.  Tessa, however, was inching closer to Viola.  She had, of course, noticed the other man, and she moved back nervously towards Viola.  When Viola noticed, she, too, looked up at the man.

"Hello, there," she said calmly.  "Please, forgive my cousin.  She... is horridly shy," she said.  She strode over towards the man, holding out her mechanical hand.

"My name is Viola Lisette Black, or Viola.  Might I know your name?" she asked.

[Azura Rayume]

Well, now he'd gone and done it. The machinist hadn't intended to frighten the girl, but if she was that shy, he supposed it couldn't be helped. "The apologies are all mine, actually," he said, trying his best to ignore the heat rising to his face. He extended a hand in response to her greeting, his flesh meeting her metal as if it were the most common thing in the world. "I shouldn't have stared so, and I believe that is what startled her."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Viola. My name is Archimedes, but, please, call me Archie." He actually hated his full name. Archimedes sounded too formal and wooden, like the name of some ship. He was an inventor, a scientist in fact, and was anything but wooden. He could pass for formal if he wanted to, though. "If you don't mind my asking, could I get some specifics on that device of hers? It's quite the curious construction, and I must say that I am fascinated by its workings." She had mentioned a gun, too, which he would very much like to see as well, though he felt it better to leave that subject of conversation a moment longer.

[SpringsSong]

Tessa inched behind Viola a little more, but Viola shook her head as she turned to the girl.  "Come, now; there's no need to be this shy!" she said, although she could understand why Tessa was so shy.  "She is naturally shy, no thanks to her condition."

"Vi..." Tessa said, but Viola shook her head.

"Archie.  I'll do my best to remember that," Viola said.  Then, upon him asking what the decide was, she chuckled.  "You mean her Heart of Gold?  Well..."

"Well, now; who's this?" Vincent asked, and Viola chuckled.

"Vincent, this is Archie; Archie, this is Vincent, mine and Tessa's cousin.  He's actually one of the two who constructed the Heart of Gold," Viola said.

"Ah, yes; little Tessa's heart," Vincent said.  "About seven years ago, Tessa's heart began to fail.  A close friend of ours, who goes by the name of Archer, helped me create it by providing the schematics.  We created it ourselves, because all of the doctors who looked at her dared not attempt the operation.  The heart, along with all of the tubes, keep her heart functioning as normal, as well as take any toxins out of her blood that she could not otherwise fight off herself."