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Nana's sigh of relief would perplex Than for a moment, before he figured it was simply about his arm. "Don't worry about it that much; it's just minor damage. The wrist and fingers just won't move right is all." It was minor damage, but since the fingers of any artificial hand were bound to be intricate, thos small repairs would take longer than if Than had damaged another part of the arm. "I could take care of it myself, but Proto can do it faster."

He nodded to Nana's question about his otherwise health. There was no obvious reaction to Nana putting her hand on his back. "Nothing the shower didn't fix. Except for this arm I seem pretty tough against damage." While waiting around for Than to get his repairs done, Nana might also notice that Proto's design was slightly different. On the outer side of each leg, below the knee, there was a single attachment, mostly quadrilateral in shape. The narrower ends were attached to his legs, while the other end pointed behind Proto, at a 45 degree angle toward the floor.

Than chuckled a little immediately after Nana's question, figuring he couldn't evade it for long, not that he felt he had to be ashamed of his actions. "I went to the dojo. A few people I didn't know from before were there, so I didn't really bother with them. Then at some point Xol showed up looking to start trouble with one of them for god knows what reason. I wasn't in the mood to let him be a bully, so I got in his face. I survived the inevitable fight better than my last set of clothes." It was a brief and straightforward explanation, although Than couldn't help but feel a swell of pride at having stood up to Xol, and for what he saw as a good reason. If he had the chance, he'd do it all over again.

Than wasn't ignorant of Nana's change in mood; it had been expected the moment she asked what happened, and Than even knew the precise reason for it. Than would rather quickly lift his right hand, bring it over his shoulder, and place his fingers over Nana's. "Hey, I had to do it. He was there after some girl, probably for personal reasons. Another young kid there wanted to step in and keep Xol away from her, but he didn't have any powers and there was no way for him to take on Xol. I couldn't let Xol pulverize the kid." He even laughed a little, justifying his part in the fight by mentioning he had to cover Elergy and Sai.

At that point Proto stopped working for a moment and emitted several beeps afterward, probably meant for Than. "Iya, keep working; there's nothing wrong staying here." With that permission, Proto resumed his maintenance on Than's arm. "Anyway, it went well. He was the one retreating by the end of the fight, not me. All I've got to show for it is ripped clothes and a damaged arm. He left with half his side missing. I bet he'll recover fast, but hopefully the sting will stick with him for a while." He slowly slid his hand back to a resting position, still seeming rather pleased with his performance.

Disappointingly, Than realized what he had to say wasn't much consolation. At least it didn't seem that anything he could say would make things worse, seeing as how the skirmish had ended for the better. "but yeah, if I can make him retreat once I can do it again. Although it's kind of odd that he retreated that early in the fight. If I have to judge, I think Xol might have someone he cares for now, which is related to why he retreated quickly. In addition, I kind of have a feeling I know who it is." Than decided not to say anymore than that, since even he wasn't certain and it would be unbecoming to implicate anyone at this point. It shouldn't be hard to find out for sure though. "Don't bother your thoughts with him though. I'll take care of him somehow at one point or another." It was also probably best that Thanatos didn't reveal to Nana his prelimary plan for keeping Xol in check.

Than probably took the embrace better than Nana expected, even chuckling a little when she did so, althoug perhaps that was because he took her statement lightly more than he should have. Than put his right hand over one of Nana's arm, his physical response to her. His cheek rested against the side of her jaw or neck, depending on how high she kept her head. The motion had inadvertently made Than move his left arm a little too much, and Proto would beep a few times in protest at the unworkable conditions. "Whoops, sorry." Than stilled his arm so Proto could resume working again but didn't make Nana move. "It's not something I can just turn my back on when I know it's happening. I wouldn't be a role model if I did, and I definitely wouldn't be a big brother if I didn't step in the path of a brute."

Mortality was one thing that in the past seemed to be absent from the BC. Many had died and been revived quite some time after death, so it was a wonder if being killed even held meaning to people like Xol. Of course, Than was probably in a better position to understand the more permanent nature of death better than anyone, being mostly human. But that didn't deter him from using his unusual powers. Where as Kaiori had chosen to avoid being human all together, Than had chosen to embrace it and harness it. "I'm glad you do. At least someone has to understand why I act insane sometimes." He chuckled again, regarding the moment with humor still. There was no reason for him to feel bad at the moment.

The change of subject caught Than a little off guard though, and he too looked in Proto's direction for a moment. Proto himself hadn't paused for a moment when Nana posed the thought. "It's just second nature to me now.... always has been really. To be honest it's a thought that kept me up pretty late for a few nights." Than reclined back again, turning to face the ceiling for now. "It bothered me because I never remember learning how to talk to him. He just beeps and I get it. I'm pretty sure I don't remember studying it at any point. In fact, the other bots in the citadel can do the same kind of beep-talking he does. It's only slightly different but I can't understand a lick of it. It's only when Proto talks that I understand it." The comment would be followed by a beeped response from Proto. "Oh, yeah, and V5 too."

"I wouldn't be sure if you've met him or not, since I haven't been around to se--" Than was interrupted by Proto, who still didn't look up while fixing Thans' arm. "Whoops, nevermind. Apparently he knows what you're talking about though. He says that's the one." Leader of the Vanguard, V5 was the last of the five to come online, but for one reason or another had developed a knack for being around the citadel even when there were no battles to be fought. The other four machines stayed in the hangar getting constant upkeep until they were needed. There had never been an instance where all five were deployed at once, although during Xol's last breakin, V3 had been sent after him, and Micha had caught a brief glance at the transforming mech. V5 on the other hand seemed to be of a different nature than the others, both in 'personality' and physical build. Only Mastema really knew all the secrets behind V5, and perhaps V5 had secrets even Mastema was unaware of. "V5 can talk in the same beeps as Proto, even though he mostly talks in english. I can understand either way, but then again it's still only the two of them. Though now that you mention it, those nanomachines are an odd thing. Those attachments on Proto's legs are auxilary thrusters we were testing on Proto, just to see if he could fly better. They worked well, but when I went to take them off, the nanomachines had completely covered them over and I couldn't. A couple days later the nanomachines are gone and the thrusters are permanently attached. Only explanation I can offer is they're part of Proto's self improvement protocol or something." Than was still a little baffled by the mystery, since he couldn't explain why the nanomachines had integrated the auxilary boosters but not other upgrades or new weapons into Proto.

Than nodded, but for some reason either thought Mastema wouldn't be entirely forthcoming with what he knew or he wouldn't know himself. It would be hard to tell since no one could say for sure whether Mastema would be lying or not. "Well, you can ask him if you like. I'm content to let the nanomachines do what they want for now; they wouldn't destroy the body they inhabit in any event." A few moments after making that statement, Proto would stand up again, put his tools down, and beep to the two, closing up the panels on Than's arm. "All right, finally ready!" Than got up from his chair, and with his other hand he began doing a few simply coordination tests with his wrist and fingers to make sure they did as they were supposed to. "Perfect. For some reason I thought it'd take longer to fix this, but you're amazing, Proto." He chuckled, saluting casually his thanks to the android. "Well then I guess it's time for me to grab my costume and get going-- oh." Than chuckled a little nervously and turned back to Nana. "I forgot to mention. It looks like there's a little event going down at Twice Royal tonight, and it'd be a bad opportunity to miss, so I'll be heading off for the rest of the night. Looks like I won't be sleeping much either." Hopefully at this point, Than running off on his own escapades would be standard business for Nana.

"Don't know! Never been there before." The response was just as light hearted as his previous responses had been. Thanatos had only checked on Twice Royal and known of its situations through the observation satellites as well. He'd never actually been there in person. But, now that he'd met Griffin face to face, it was as good as an invitation for all Thanatos cared. "I'm pretty sure I'll find it if I just start of in the right direction and go by sense. Doesn't really matter how far it is." At least it didn't for Thanatos. "By the way, Bell will probably be there. If I get the chance, I can give her your greetings. If I remember, you were enjoying yourself with her at the Count's party."