Forums » General Roleplay » Sands of Time (1x1)

A static-y sigh crackled out of Clutch's speakers. "Good, we've got a decent connection. I can do a quick diagnostic check from here if you'd like, but I'm gonna say that it's probably not going to go well. If you've been in the ocean for 56 years--" the awe and horror in his tone was easily heard, "--then you're probably worse for the wear."

CD snorts. ''I'm..Still running, ain't..I?'' She replied, starting to waver a bit. The wear and tear was finally starting to get to her, power between her systems starting to fail from the rusty inside. Even with the connection, though, she appeared to be more than rusted hunk of a sports car. She held several idling guns, some even those used to snipe with, but embedded into her trunk, which was in better shape than anything. ''Though...I am a generic..standard issue..Sports car...''

"That's what I said when I was still in my lemon of a vehicle." Clutch muttered as he reattached the towcable. "Generic and standard issue are meant to be replaced every couple of years, ya know; not last half a century under the ocean."

Pulling her along, he turned onto a road with actual traffic and sped up. "But if there's one person who can fix you, I know the one."

''Wh..o?'' She asked, before shutting down, power cut off when her core shut down from it's age, falling deathly silent as a result. Not 'dead', just appearing to be taking a aged-induced nap.

Sixteen year old Chris Sanders, bedecked in an oil-stained mechanic's suit, looked up as a familiar horn blasted down the street. He sighed and grabbed his Auto-Wrench, wondering if he needed to knock some sense into Clutch, when the red Buick pulled up into the garage, hauling something behind him.

"Chris! Can you fix her?" Clutch demanded, coming to a halt before he flattened the young mechanic. Chris winced as the vehicle behind Clutch didn't stop immediately and crashed into him from behind, shoving him forward another foot.

Chris sighed and looked at the car. It was a rusted bucket of bolts and seaweed. "Did you go fishing or something? Where did you find it?"

"I found her in the ocean, can you fix her?" Clutch asked again.

Chris sighed. "I'll do my best." With Clutch helping, it took less time to prepare. He dove into the engine first, to dry off circuits and the battery. "Good grief, this thing is ancient." He patted the battery. "No offense." And then he hooked up some wires to a laptop and sat in the soaking wet driver's seat where he turned the key in the ignition. "Alright, let's start you up, shall we?"

The engine puttered a bit. CD stirred awake from her nap. ''Hunh..?'' She asked, staticy. Her eyes opened a bit, still pure white. The core rattled, and started to beep annoyingly, though still damaged.

''Who...'s touching my keys?'' CD questioned. ''And in one of my...seats?'' She asked also, though droggy and barely awake and concious, water dribbling out of the ignition slightly, smelling like seawater.

Chris couldn't help but grin as the car came back to life and spoke. It never grew old, waking one of the AIs up. He patted the steering wheel gently, grimacing at the slimy feel.

"Hi, my name's Chris. I don't suppose you remember Clutch fishing you out of the ocean?"

Clutch beeped at Chris, trying to cut in. "Cranky, you're awake!"

Chris frowned. "Is that your name?"

''My...Names Cranky Doortrap.'' She replied, frame shuddering from the engine which stalled again. ''I remember asking...Him who you were...Then I blacked out...'' Her voice straining. Her insides were fishy smelling, and the gearshift was jammed into neutral, lodged there by a fish skeleton. ''Wher am I..? I can't see...Cameras out..'' She whined, engine trying to start up again, but then smoke bellowed out, dangerously close to the core she had.

Chris nodded as he listened. "Cameras huh?" The smoke, however, made him panic. "Ah, Cranky Doortrap, I'm gonna have to shut you off for a while...the smoke isn't a good sign and I'd rather not have an explosion in my father's garage. I'll get you online asap though, if you tell me where your AI core is."

Clutch flashed his lights anxiously. "What's going on? Is it bad? Can you fix her?"

Chris glared at Clutch. "I'll fix her faster if you stop interrupting." Meekly the AI stopped flashing and fell silent.

She winced, and her hood raised up, the beeping there getting louder and annoying as she shut off, smoke still bellowing out. Gas could be smelt strongly, from the metallic gleam deep inside, close to the engine. And within the gleam rested a cracked white crystal, an odd core that was CD's AI. Though it seemed less than man-made, smooth and glistening dimly; Also dangerously close to the smoking engine, too.

He slid out of the driver's seat and went around to the engine when the hood popped up. He peered in past the smoke and sighed. "If I ever meet those AI designers, I'm gonna wallop them for putting these things in the worst possible location."

He grabbed a pair of gloves and then reached into the engine to get a better look at the crystal. Wires and what not. He frowned in thought, before gently grabbing it to move it. He hissed as something hot and liquid scorched his glove before picking up the crystal. Once it was in his hands he made quick work of relocating it to another vehicle that was in working order.

"Alright, let's hope this works." He put the crystal into a similar location on the vehicle as it was in CD's, and then hooked it up as he remembered it. "Alright, let's see if this works."

Clutch idled anxiously in the background, not daring to interrupt this precarious situation as Chris went around to the driver's seat and turned on the vehicle. "Cranky Doortrap, can you hear me? It's Chris..."

After a few minutes had passed, it seemed no response was to be heard...Aside from the core beeping angryly in a fit to the war tune again, but it did seem to be an ill reply of the closest 'Yes' CD could conjure up, even if the beeping was annoying too. The core seem to disliked getting touch, too.

Chris growled and went back to double check the schematics of the other car. It was so rusted out it was difficult to tell. "Alright, guess I'll have to monkey around with it."

He jury-rigged some more contraptions, wires, and whatnot together, twisted them into a cord and then stepped back from the crystal. He adjusted the radio knob a little and then crossed his arms.

"How about now?" If it still didn't work, he'd have to spend a few hours cleaning the rust out of the engine--which he'd have to do anyway. He just preferred AI company when doing so.

Clutch sighed and ran his window wipers, brushing sand off his windscreen. "Make it work already!"

After a tense moment of silence, the speakers crackled a bit before a clear femininr voice could be heard. 'Much better.'' The beeping subsiding and dimming until it was no longer heard. ''How did you move my core without cracking it any more?''

Chris sighed in relief and pulled the gloves off his hands to rub his face, not realizing he smeared grease across his nose and cheek when he did so. Clutch beeped happily, hearing Cranky Dootrap's voice filter through the speakers.

"Thank god, you live." Chris said in obvious relief as he eyed the crystal that was obviously CD's AI core and shook his head. "I hate to say it, but whatever was holding your AI crystal intact was probably rusted away. It wasn't too hard to extract otherwise. I can build you something better, waterproof at least, to keep it safe once I clean up your shell again."

He turned back to look at her rusted car. "If you want me to save your shell that is. Clutch came in as a lemon--so I transferred his AI to another vehicle, as I just did with you. You're currently in a Subaru WRX. I haven't seen a car like yours in...well, ever. What year are you?"

''Urmm...Whats a year..? I was built in a general factory for standard issue default racecars. Though I just know whoever built me tripped a wire that tripped some weird device that became a crystallized core. The metal under my hood read 'CrankDoor 450927 9468 94761'. Is that any hint on years..?'' She asked, puzzled. ''Other than being a spy..''

Chris rubbed his face again. "Crankdoor, huh? Sounds like manufacturing numbers or serial numbers. One second." He hurried to his laptop and typed in the numbers and description. "Strange, I have no record of any model like yours..."

He nearly fell when he heard the latter part. "Spy car? You were a spy? One of those?" He hit his forehead. "That explains a lot. Judging from your exterior...you were probably one of the first prototypes..." He turned back around as Clutch helpfully chimed in.

"She was in the ocean for fifty-six years. Does that help?"

Chris opened his mouth and then closed it. He sat down abruptly. "Fifty-six ears? Oy that would more than explain it. I'm only sixteen. That was long before my time." He grinned. "I'll bet you had all sorts of great gadgets though, as a spy car." He pulled out a huge dryer fan from one end of the garage and aimed it at the car. First things first, dry it out.

''Well, most of the gadgets were in my trunk. I don't remember what got me into the ocean though. Only that Clutch ran into me, and stirred up my sensors. My cameras were located near the windsheild. Brakes are shot too. And now I'm going to be hating water because ocean water does not react well to purple paint.'' She retorted. ''All my parts were generic brands, aside from the core. There should be a boat hook hooked up to the trunk, but the ropes frayed. If Clutch hadn'gt found me, I might aswell had sunk back into the water. I don't see how I stayed concious, even with all that rust and messed up wires...'' CD rambled on.

Chris found a towel and turned off all the systems he could find before he set to work drying wires, cords and everything he could find in the engine. He listened intently to CD as she spouted on about her systems, getting up only to check on the trunk when she mentioned it.

"I'm seriously impressed," Chris replied, earning a backfire from Cutch in disapproval. "Clutch, you have me all the time; give me a chance to work with Cranky Doortrap here." He finished drying off the main components of the engine and then hauled himself under the car to check on oil and whatnot. The AutoWrench made its appearance and whirred to life.

"You have a lot of rust, CD, and--ah!--oh wait that was just a clam. You're probably gonna need a new interior and a new coat of paint, otherwise I think the electronics can be saved. Surprisingly enough. You're out of oil though, so that explains the smoking engine. I think I can get you back to running though. Shouldn't be too hard." He rolled back out from under the car and stretched. "Whatcha think?"

''As long as your mindful of the gears I have. And a new bumper, too. Mine came off. It muted my speakers.''