"Alright then." Without a second thought, Monte whips his viola over the robot's head with a resounding "twang." Of course, he doesn't hit the android too hard. Understandably, he doesn't want to damage the viola. Twitch. Monte giggled.
"Agh!" He falls to the ground backwards but rolls at the last moment. He then drops to one knee & puts his hands on his head... "Ow!"
((Whoops, I hadn't seen this last bit. Apologies for being quiet. Somehow, Luie doubts the robot was really hit that hard. Why does it seem like everybody here has a penchant for drama? But other than that, she ignores the side action, more interested in Melissa's response to Monte's question. "M'sieur Monte, I'd advise you stay focused on the task at hand..."
"Yeah, you should stay focused." He rises to his feet. "I did not expect such an immediate reaction to my statement... Ow." "That hurt way more than it should have. Next time don't be an idiot & fall."
Melissa bursts into a giggling fit over seeing the strange metal man hit with that wonderful little doodad. "Hehehe... What was I saying? Oh yeah! That "Ander Romanoffer" guy... Yeah, he's just this big mythy thing that the Queen uses to--" Melissa stops abruptly. The Queen. "... You people don't work for the Queen, do you?"
"Well, someone enjoyed that... No, we do not work for the Queen. Please continue... please." "You already said please." "Oh, yeah... oops..."
Gale seems just a bit concerned about this aforementioned queen... "Uhh... Queen? What queen are you talking about? Please tell me it's not some sort of giant hive mind controlling queen..."
((Ugh, sorry for not replying.)) "Well of course she's the giant hive-mind sort of queen! Sort of. I think... Okay, maybe not in the literal sense, but she's definitely controlling! She has everybee working their wings off in her big 'factory' building 'space ships' and 'lasers.' It's obviously just a bunch of nectar; her only goal is to suppress the worker bee, and everybody's fallen prey to her schemes except me." It seems as if the topic of the Queen has gotten Melissa so worked up she is no longer effected by the viola. How very peculiar.
Gale seems intrigued by that last part... "Wait, how do you mean? are you saying that she is controlling and suppressing just about everyone, but not you? why not you? and what was that bit about lasers and... space ships..." the space ship part especially piques her interest as this may be the key to repairing the ship...
Melissa twirls her antennae, in a way akin to rolling one's eyes. "Oh, the whole things with spaceships and lasers is fake; they're just myths she's--what's the word?--perpetrated--so she can keep everybody working. She says we'll 'Fly among the stars' and 'Become a grand enterprise,' and garbage like that. I think--um, I mean, I know that everybee knows deep down inside that none of what she's talking about is true, but they won't go up against her because she has them all afraid of her Yellow Jackets."
Gale's eye suddenly twitches and goes wide... "You didn't just say... "Yellow jackets"... did you" she begins to giggle...
"I assume you are not a big fan of yellow jackets." "One zero one two is thirty two in base three." "Stop talking!" "Okay..."
Monte, who has been furiously fiddling away for the past few revelations (because I haven't responded in a bit ), slowly realizes that he's not actually helping anymore and his music slows to a halt. He tenderly buffs out a mark the robot's head left on his viola before stashing it in his hat with a flourish. Hey, that's my quirk. He notices Gale's pronounced eye twitch at the prospect of these "yellow jacket" fellows. "Ahem, scusi, Signorina Melissa, but could you possibly bring us to this Queen? She certainly sounds interesting. Perhaps she knows more about this mystery, no?" Under his breath, he whispers to Luie. "Yellow jackets? How garish! Anyone with a fashion sense so obtuse must be withholding secrets. Yellow waistcoats, perhaps, but jackets? Absurd!"
Melissa's antennae twitch ever-so-slightly. "Um, no, I don't like the thugs that suppress helpless workers. And who want to kill me. Like, seriously, if it wasn't for the 'crazy-flowers,' they'd probably have gotten me by now." "Hey, why'd you stop the music? Wha--take you to the Queen?! Why would I--" Melissa, you MUST return to the Queen. "Er, I mean, she's a terrible person, really, and--" You have a duty, Melissa; fulfill it! "Well, she'd probably just kill you all, and I wouldn't want that to--" It doesn't matter! Go to the Queen! "Um, uh, well, I mean, I'd rather--" NOW, Melissa!! "I mean, uh, I could, it's just--" NO! You MUST go NOW!! Melissa curls into a ball on the floor and starts rocking back and forth. How very peculiar; though apparently peculiar has become the norm.
"We don't have to go there, do we?" Luie already knows the answer to this question, but she asks Monte anyway. "This is madness... This whole endeavor is pure madness. We need to find another way." Yet, her intuition tells her, going to - or at least toward - this ominous Queen is their best and only chance so far to get the parts they need for their ship. So, she can't really raise any substantial objections.
He walks over & crouches down next to Melissa & says calmly & quietly, "Calm down... everything is going to be OK. Please explain what is wrong. If you tell us we may be able to help you..."
Gale stares down at Melissa as she curls up into a ball... "Oh... umm... was... was it something i said? do you need anything? Sedative? anti-septic? ecstacy? honey? some ginger whiskey perhaps?"
Melissa shakes for a few more moments before calming down. She stands up, shaking off everyone that's come around her. "Ah, I'm fine. Come on; let's go see the Queen." Without another word, she begins walking off into the woods, apparently expecting the others to follow.
"That was a bit... unusual." He stands. "Onward!" He then runs to catch up but his leg goes limp again & he falls. "OW!" He immediately jumps back up & limps after Melissa.