
Timestamp: 2011
There were some things Professor Kongo did not miss about the Alchemist Union - but the Chemies themselves weren't on that list. So when certain alumni offered to bring them over to show the children- well, she'd insisted on precautions, she wasn't careless. But she was hardly going to turn them down!
Steeeeeaaaam! MadWheelWHEEL! Kesuzooooo~!
Not all of the Chemies had come along; that was to be expected, particularly with the Cosmic and Fantastical Chemies - the history between the Level 10s of those categories and certain alchemists meant such an association would always be more fragile than any that involved the other categories - but there were still more than enough to hold the attention of all the children under her care, from the youngest to the oldest.
BountyBUN! ~Panpakaparka!~ RenKING!
Which meant... a lot of Chemies. And while she was far from understaffed, and some of the older children had siblings they looked after, that still all added up to a LOT of commotion.
---
Sabeliger hadn't been convinced the other Chemies' enthusiasm about these small, 'pre-alchemists' was warranted. But as one of the more imposing Chemies, he'd seen fit to come along in X-Rex's stead, to oversee some of the likewise-small Chemies in the hopes of providing some needed protection.
... And yet, he had found himself an object of- climbing. They did not pull on his fur, making it more akin to an awkward hug than any of them trying to treat him like Xeggdrasil, but it did cause difficulty keeping track of everyone else.
'Are you all right, Mister Sabeliger?'
Sabeliger nudged one of the kids who had gotten too close to his face - a mild warning, swiftly adhered to - and turned to look down...
Televi. One of the newer Artifact Chemies. An appearance reminiscent of recent human technology, making them 'newer' on more than one level.
'I am unharmed, Televi,' he replied, resisting the urge to shake out his fur. (He could now see that three of the Insect Chemies had found a toy chemistry set. BeetlX had joined this expedition, making that not his problem. Thank goodness.)
'If, however, you are willing to distract some of them for a time, that would be... appreciated.'
One of the small humans leaning against him was purring, which led him to believe this might not work, but his patience WAS limited. He had to try.
Televi cocked their head, then nodded. 'I'll do my best, Mister Sabeliger! Just, hold on.'
They scuttled over to a desk - a clean one, not where the aforementioned chemistry set had been - and started tracking down age-appropriate channels. On silent, not that that stopped all of the kids from noticing.
The reaction was notable. And, thankfully, positive.
---
Smaphone was on a mission.
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This new place had many computers - but, maybe there was one like him, that was ALSO a Chemy? Then that Chemy could be a trio with Smaphone and Televi!
Which meant putting its Chemy Detection app to work...
Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping-
Whoops... That was the downside of so many of them being here, but it could deal with that!
"Hello? You're not really a phone, are you?"
Smaphone pointedly did not jump upon being addressed, turning to see... one of the pre-alchemists, small and with brown-blonde hair. Both Chemy and human stood still for a few seconds, sizing each other up.
"Sma sma?"
"... Oh! I know! I can take you to Sabimaru-kun! If he doesn't know the answer, I'm sure his brother will. I'm Amu; what's your name?"
That was easy enough to answer: "Smaphone! Sma sma!"
The two chattered away with questionable amounts of mutual intelligibility, eventually making it to the library. Finally able to sense something different through its detector app, Smaphone grew increasingly animated in excitement.
"Hey, Sabimaru! Do you know what this Chemy can do?"
There was an even smaller pre-alchemist, holding a tablet, hiding behind a stack of books. The little one flinched, and Smaphone couldn't help but relate. 'Hi! We won't hurt you!'
Whether this human could understand it wasn't entirely clear... but the tablet in his hands had something interesting on its screen.
Provoking a muffled "Hey!" from Amu, Smaphone jumped down to get a better look. The center icon glowed, and Sabimaru... calmed down?
The tablet even emitted a voice: 'It is nice to meet you, Smaphone. Amu wasn't bothering you, was she?'
Smaphone shook its head, absolutely thrilled at being in this situation. Human and technology, working together to speak!!! What an excellent friend to make.
---
Renkingrobo had had his reservations - not about the kids, or the lab, but about himself. How he'd hold up.
It wasn't possible to be full size in this location, but being so small felt... more vulnerable than he'd like.
Which was why, rather than joining in the hubbub of play and conversation, he had found himself in a work-area with desks, quietly picking up the debris that seemed to accumulate anywhere alchemists worked. Pens, papers, little cardstock pieces - he being one of the Chemies with sufficient articulation, picking things up and moving them out of tripping-hazard range was well within his capacity.
'Hello? Look, Gutsshovel, it's one of the other Level Nines! Maybe he can help us.'
Renkingrobo did not startle, and good thing; one of the Chemies that had spoken was hovering just overhead - the other, just as small as Renkingrobo himself at the moment, rumbled along the hall to a stop.
'... Well, how can I help you?' He tilted his head, mentally placing them. 'Gekiocopter and Gutsshovel - can't find Steamliner?'
The flying Chemy chirped privately to its fellow, then responded to him again: 'Well, we can't, no, but that's not what we need help with - one of the pre-alchemists threw something in a game, but now it's stuck on the roof! Would you be willing to spot for us?'
Renkingrobo put the last of what he was holding (a particularly beat-up eraser) on a stable desk surface, then put one hand on his chin. 'You're used to working as a team, then?'
'Of course! I'm rated to carry any of the other Vehicles, except Steamliner when they're big, or Exceedfighter all of the time, really.'
And Renkingrobo... smiled. 'I'll help, then. And thank you for coming to me. We need to be able to rely on each other, to help at our best.'
The two Vehicle Chemies cheered. And so did the kids, once the frisbee (and a few assorted other knick-knacks) was rescued.