Time paradoxes and machines don't go well together (Rackie and Arc)

"It makes sense that they have not, since you did not have a timepiece enchanter there to work on them," Michi said, looking to Minerva's screen with interest. He could tell what the first image was, but the second stumped him. He managed to miss infrared imaging somewhere along the line, since it didn't align with any of his interests. "And what does this show?" he asked. Staying ignorant wasn't an interest of his either.

"This shows the feed from my infrared camera. Since I assume you'd not like me to give you an hour-long lecture about this technology, I'll give you a so-called "TL;DR" : In such cameras, the brighter the spot, the hotter it is. It also changes colours depending on the temperature. Temperatures around zero, are displayed as almost black, above zero temperatures have certain shades of blue, violet, red, orange and yellow. So, dark blue spots are the coldest and bright yellow are the hottest. For example, in this feed, you can see that your bodies are in different shades of orange, which indicates which areas of your bodies are the warmest at the moment. Since projectiles usually generate heat, I presumed we could analyze heat signatures coming off of our practice target." Minerva explained both getting and not getting into details. She wanted to keep it short and informative. Of course, as an A.I, she had no real way of knowing if such an explanation was sufficient for her organic, human friends.

"I... Believe I see," Michi said, scratching his head as he looked at the image with the new information. "I imagine seeing the thermal behaviour of the projectile during the time between impact and the effect might help, yes, but if the projectile is in a stasis of sorts, then the thermal behaviour would show as not present at all. After all, if it were paused then there would be no transfer of energy."

"That... would be correct. Yes." Minerva said after a short pause, which was needed for her to properly analyze his words. She had to cheat her own logic a little bit to actually understand the context of the conversation. All because of the assumed time-manipulation done by the projectile. "You can use data provided by my eyes as proof to confirm or deny your theory, I suppose. Besides, as a walking-talking ultra-advanced supercomputer I could also perform some advanced calculations if you'd like. Anything to help you fully understand the behavior of projectiles powered by your crystal." Minerva explained. She wasn't really sure whether her assumption that the enchanters still didn't understand the nature of the crystal was correct or not. Her observations, however, pointed towards a conclusion that her assumption was correct.

"I have never quantified my enchanting, as I believe it to be near to impossible, but thank you for offering to do so," Michi said, nodding to the machine-girl. He watched the infrared image with renewed interest, now that he could tell what was what to some degree. Indeed, the shots seemed to disappear from the infrared image, though brief flashes could be seen from each of the impacts whenever another hit, in sync, too fast to do anything to the dummy but visible enough on the IR display. Everything then reappeared as on the visible spectrum. "So it seems they synchronise with each shot. It sheds more light, but the exact mechanism doesn't seem to be anything beyond a delay. Often, that is all there is to it," Michi turned to Mark and shrugged. "This crystal does not appear to be any more or less destructive than any other in your possession. I am tempted to leave it with you as you strike me as a trustworthy man, though I should rightly have you destroy it. If you would simply promise to me that you will make use of the time delay effect it seems to exhibit in something that is not a weapon, I could agree to that. It would not be the first time an object enchanted by myself would find itself in the care of another. What do you say?"

Mark rubbed his chin considering Michi's offer. Even if he accepted it, he would probably never end up using the tool anyway. Because of the special properties of the crystal that had been enchanted by Michi, he also would rather keep it away from his main business partner. Even giving to his younger sister was out of the option, since she could actually use it to harm someone. No matter how he looked at it, something had to be done to prevent the crystal to be used as a weapon. "Hm, I could modify the mechanism to make it even less dangerous, I suppose..." Mark said after a moment of silence. "I think I can promise not to use this tool as a weapon. Especially since I am certain it can be modified further to prevent it from being used as such."

"Very good. I leave it in your hands, in that case. Do with it what you will, barring the obvious," Michi said with a single nod, then moving towards the box he left out of the way, crouching in front of it and pulling out a few drawers to look inside. Soon enough, he came back to Mark and placed a small pocket watch, the cover ornate as well as the watch-face itself; it was all made by hand, after all, and by a master. "As payment for allowing me to make use of the crystal and the mannequin, and a little something as thanks for the conversation. Unenchanted of course, but unpopular enough a style nowadays that finding a buyer proved difficult. I see that you wear a waistcoat, and as such I figure it might see use with you."

Mark looked at the watch carefully. He could clearly see the master craftsmanship put into making it. In his eyes, it was certainly worth much more than what he'd offered to the watchmaker. "It's wonderful. Truly, at first glance, I can tell that it must be the most exquisite watch I have ever had the pleasure of seeing with my own eyes. I must say that I have not done nearly enough to deserve such a wonderful gift..." Mark said. Him being modest was nothing new, but he was reaching new heights with it.

"Then you can offer him something more in return. I reckon you've had quite a few attempts at making clocks yourself. There should still be a few hidden somewhere in your workshop. Alternatively, you could simply offer him a few more crystals to play with. Perhaps it's possible to use them for something more than firearms. Perhaps, they can be used in clockmaking as well." Minerva suggested.

"That... doesn't seem like a bad idea... " Mark said as he looked at Michi, waiting for his response to the offer.

"Depending on whether the crystals resonate at a frequency similarly to, say, quartz, then there is no doubt in my mind that I would be able to make use of them. If you believe this watch to be worth more than what you have given, then I won't hesitate to take you up on that offer," Michael said, after listening to the robot-girl's suggestion, smiling slightly at the fellow toolmaker, the small expression seeming pronounced with the contrast of his almost universally deadpan expression.

Mark rubbed his chin trying to remember the properties of quarts when it comes to frequencies. In the end, he shrugged "Frankly speaking, I'm unsure if resonat-..." Mark said but was suddenly interrupted by Minerva.

"Visually they appear to be quite similar. The biggest difference seems to be the fact that one is able to hold energy charges generated by magic. There's a high probability that could be used as a replacement for quartz. Of course, I am unable to confirm it without proper a proper analysis of one of such crystals. The fact that I do not possess much knowledge about these crystals can be considered ironic since this body is powered by them." Minerva said. "By the way. Is there any chance any of you know someone willing to live with a robot?" Asked Minerva not to waste any time. After all, her original goal was finding a place to build a small server room in.

"I... know a person who might." Mark said after the confusion caused by Minerva's sudden speech. "Excuse me for a second..." He said, before walking off to grab some items. Quickly he returned with a small metal box in his hands. "This box contains four fully charged magical crystals and two empty ones. Please accept this as a sign of gratitude for your precious gift." Mark said with a sincere, wide smile as he handed Michi the box.

"I am little more than a wanderer, and as such, I cannot help," Michi said to the machine-girl, after her take on the crystals and her question both. He nodded to Mark when he excused himself, waiting for him to come back. "And crystals with magic stored to boot. Most generous, thank you," Michi said, with another nod, as he took the box from Mark. Of course, he placed that box within one of the wooden ones inside his own big box.

Mark pulled an old-looking flip phone out of the back pocket of his trousers. "I suppose I'll quickly deal with Minerva's request before she breaks my phone because of all these text messages reminding me to help her find a place... My apologies" Mark said, realizing that in the span of a few minutes he'd received tens of text messages from Minerva. He made a call which would start a whole chain of calls... most likely.
"Ahem. Hello Aurora... See, Minerva's got a small... request for us... Uhm, she's looking for a, well... She's looking for a home for herself. I think she might be in a need of a roommate too."
On the other end of the call, Aurora Foster smiled widely. She already had a perfect candidate for a roommate for the A.I.
"Leave it all to me, Mark!" Aurora replied, before hanging up, which was before Mark could even say anything. After that, she immediately dialed a number to her coffee-addicted cousin.

"Well, it seems like Aurora will deal with it, Minerva." Mark said, before focusing once again on Michi. "My apologies for making a call in such a moment. Oh! Speaking about phones..." He said as he reached into a pocket of his waistcoat. "I don't know if you possess a mobile phone, but here, please take my business card. If you ever needed my help, please give me a call." Mark said and gave Michi a small card with his number on it.

"I do not, but there are plenty ways to call someone outside of that. I'll keep hold of it," Michi said, nodding to Mark again as he took hold of the card and stood himself up. "I come by Death City often enough, so we will almost definitely meet again. I think it is about time for me to be taking my leave, however pleasant the prospect of more conversation might be."

"In that case, I'll be looking forward to our next meeting! Whenever that meeting would happen." Mark said, smirking. His fists automatically landed onto the hips as he watched the other enchanter prepare to leave and possibly continue his journey.

With one last nod, Michi turned around towards the exit, box on his back. Once he opened the door, he propped it open with his foot and raised a hand, to wave to the man behind him. "Auf Wiedersehen," he said as he left, indeed, to continue his journey.

OOC: Fin?

OOC: Blue fin tuna.