Robella/Profile

"I can't sleep yet, I still have work to do..."

This article still needs to be completed. You can help us by contributing.

Journals

Record 1

Her original name is RO635; the very first third-generation Doll, and a prized creation of Professor Persica.

She once fought side by side with the Commander, having taken part in many of the battles against Paradeus 10 years ago. She set herself apart with her great achievements, and served as one of the witnesses of the final fate of "that woman".

When the Commander left Griffin, the AR Team lost the shining beacon that lit their way forward. With M4A1 and M16A1 once again being missing during this perilous time, they were bereft of anyone whom they could rally behind. The AR Team thus desperately required a leader who could weather them through this storm. Naturally, the first thing Robella did was take leadership of the rest of the AR Team, and with Kalina's help, they left Griffin together, forming an independent PMC of their own.

It was not that they did not wish to pursue the Commander, but the Agreement meant that they were forced to operate independently. Despite this, they never once questioned the Commander's decision; if it had been up to them, they would have made the same choice.

"Someday, our paths shall cross once more. We'll tread upon the road together, and continue fighting for our shared goals once more."

Robella firmly held that belief within her heart.

Record 2

Robella has many reasons why she enjoys tokusatsu works. For instance, she holds great appreciation for the heroic protagonists who star in such works and their staunch devotion to protecting others whilst vanquishing evildoers. The visual presentation of such works and special effects are also an important part of it; the kaiju, fancy transformations, exciting fight scenes and so on impart awe into their beholders. Robella is also drawn to the imaginative scenarios presented in these shows; her heart had been won over by the varied monsters, powers, futuristic gadgets and other setting details of the medium.

But in truth, those concepts are by no means exclusive to tokusatsu movies. Films of other genres are perfectly capable of presenting such elements too. The utmost truth of why Robella is so in love with tokusatsu shows is for one reason and one reason only—because they're cool.

Indeed, unlike the self that she usually presents to others, Robella is madly in love with the unique characterization and showiness in tokusatsu media, be it the transformation sequences which others wave off as "ridiculous", the "unnecessary" pre-battle banter, or even the "seemingly pointless" multi-stage battle forms the characters take...

She hides this passion of hers deep within her heart, and only ever shows it when she has to. These "childish" fantasies are one of the few solaces she can afford for herself, who must be constantly calm and centered.

Record 3

As the leader of the AR Team, Robella must put up with an extraordinary amount of stress. While the only remaining members are Soppo and AR-15, Robella cannot partake in her daily life with them whilst keeping in her role as an impersonal leader.

After leaving Griffin, Soppo and AR-15 kept trying to find the missing M4A1 and M16A1, and while Robella was also worried about their friends who had vanished after their last battle, she also had to take into consideration how they would continue surviving in the chaotic world they found themselves in.

Robella was not only the team's leader, but also the legal representative of their newly founded PMC. Thus, she had to take on many commissions in order to keep it running and to acquire the funds required for their operations. Under normal circumstances, Soppo and AR-15 would help her in completing these commissions, at least until they found new "clues" pertaining to M4A1's whereabouts.

When that would happen, Soppo and AR-15 would drop everything they were doing to follow those leads, leaving Robella to clean up the mess by herself.

However, Robella did not complain about this. After all, she would have gone with them to search for her friends if she could, not because it was an imperative programmed into her base layer, but out of genuine friendship.

That said, there were simply far too many things for her to consider.

Record 4

Robella had been rolled out 10 years ago, when third-generation Dolls only existed on paper. Even after those self-proclaimed "third-generation Dolls" began to take part in various conflicts, Robella still drew much curiosity from her new friends as the very first of her kind.

"Hey Robella, Robella! Can you fly?"

"No..."

"Hey Robella, Robella! Can you shoot laser beams from your eyes?"

"I can't do that either..."

"Hey Robella, Robella! Can you move things with telekinesis? Maybe bend spoons with your mind?"

"I can bend them with my hands..."

Robella found herself rather at a loss for how to deal with all these imaginative questions from curious onlookers.

Logically speaking, even those new friends of hers who never worked at Griffin ought to have seen third-generation Dolls before. Yet, for some reason, such a misunderstanding had come up... Hmm, maybe it's precisely because they've seen other third-generation Dolls?

Still, as the original third-generation Doll, Robella did not possess any special abilities. The only thing that set her apart from other Dolls was her completely blank base layer.

However, that explanation did not seem like it would satisfy all those who sought their curiosity sated.

And so, in order not to disappoint all the hopeful eyes upon her, Robella began training to bend spoons with telekinesis.

Record 5

Robella HATES Dinergates.

That's obviously because once upon a time, she was stuck in a Dinergate body due to injuries. The experience has left a lifelong trauma in her heart, and seeing Dinergates twitching on the ground after being taken out makes her wince in unconscious sympathy.

Every Doll who had once served with Griffin knows this, and after Robella boarded the Elmo, everyone aboard soon learned about it too. Out of kindness, they did not go out of their way to inquire about it but instead took the initiative to get any Dinergates out of Robella's way during missions without bringing up the subject.

Robella can even tell two seemingly identical Dinergates apart in moments, discerning the differences in their appearances and performance specifications down to the most minute parameters. With a single glance, she can tell what mission profiles any given Dinergate is most suitable for and the types of terrain it can traverse.

Eventually, someone asked Robella why she had gained so much insight into Dinergates despite her utter loathing of them. Her embarrassed answer was:

"That's because... I find myself unconsciously wondering what would happen if I were stuck inside a Dinergate again..."

Clearly, the shadow that experience cast upon her heart will follow her for a long time yet.

Record 6

n the past, the person who filled Groza's current position on my staff, that is to say, my adjutant, was Robella.

Now that Robella was back with me, a somewhat awkward set of circumstances had arisen—On the one hand, Robella was an old friend of mine; we'd been through tough times and overcome great difficulties together.

But on the other hand, I'd been working with Groza for ten-odd years. From a certain point of view, that was over five times as long as the time I'd spent with Robella. There was also no question that Groza understood the situation aboard the Elmo better too.

As such, the working relationship between the two of them had turned particularly peculiar.

"Miss Robella," Groza's usual decisiveness was replaced with an uncommon caution. "What do you think about the arrangements for the upcoming mission?"

"Ah... well, I have no problems abiding by them. What do you think, Groza?" Robella seemed to have noticed Groza's wariness and was at a bit of a loss for how to respond.

—Scenes like this had occurred more than once in the ops room.

Perhaps it was to avoid situations like this and also to make her stance clear, but Robella began cutting down heavily on her visits to the ops room and avoided raising her own opinions. She had not come here in order to create division and dissent within the group, and she considered her silence an appropriate price to pay to avoid such an eventuality.

And that was also the reason why I now stood in front of Robella's room.

"RO... uh, I mean, Robella, are you in?" I said as I knocked on her door.

"I'm here. Please come in, Commander." I saw Robella caring for her weapon in her room. Upon seeing me enter, she smiled, something I hadn't seen in a long time. "Still not used to the new name?"

"I've called you RO for so long that it'll take a while to get used to calling you Robella." I smiled sheepishly, then found a chair and sat down. "Not going back to the ops room?"

"...I think I'll pass," Robella said with a shake of her head. For a moment, I glimpsed a hint of forlorn dejection in her eyes. "My position is a little... sensitive, and I'm afraid that it might interfere with the work there."

I fell silent for a while, then sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't take you with me back then."

"No, you don't have to apologize!" Robella put down her weapon and turned to me. Her gaze was firm and certain. "We all understand what you had to go through... After all, if even we didn't understand you, then who could?"

"Robella..." For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

"I'm very grateful to Miss Groza," Robella smiled with a hint of relief. "She took good care of you when I, Dandelion, Kalina, and Leva weren't around, didn't she?"

"Even if I'm not physically by your side, I'm happy enough just being able to help you out in some way." She blinked, then gave me a smile that was as warm as the rising sun. "Well, I do feel a little lonely, but being able to see you again after so long is enough for me."

"And besides, I can keep myself busy with my own affairs. I'm not trying to brag here, but I'm my own boss now~" She said, with a rare cheekiness in her grin. It was as though she was back to the RO635 from back then, brimming with both life and vigor.

"...Ah, you've done very well, Robella... I'm glad to see you all again too." I nodded as well, and smiled from the bottom of my heart.

While we'd both changed a lot and our circumstances were different now, the one thing that had remained the same was the trust and the bond between us.

Record 7

One night, I was passing through the lounge when I saw Robella lying on a couch, seemingly napping. She was curled up like a tired kitten and it tugged on my heartstrings.

While Dolls don't catch colds (probably), I had the feeling that sleeping exposed on the couch was probably none too comfortable for her and I made to carry her back to her room.

She was sound asleep and didn't react even when I scooped her into my arms. It would seem she had upgraded her frame, because her synthetic skin felt softer to the touch and had a warmth to it that was indistinguishable from a human's.

I soon reached Robella's room and entered. It was clean and relatively unadorned apart from some tokusatsu figures on her desk and bedside table, which was very much in keeping with Robella's personality.

I helped take off Robella's boots and gently laid her on her bed. After pulling the covers over her, I made to leave.

Robella picked this moment to moan in her sleep all of a sudden.

"Urgh... aaah..."

"Robella?" Panic crept into my heart. While there was ample evidence that Dolls could dream, there was still a very real possibility that there might be a problem with her neural cloud. "Robella? Are you alright, Robella?"

"M... M4!"

And then, I heard a familiar name from Robella's lips.

I froze up, and then Robella's eyes snapped open.

"C-Commander...?"

"...You were having a nightmare, Robella." I bent down and took her hand in mine. "Are you okay?"

"I..." Robella's voice trailed off. "I, I dreamt of M4 again, Commander."

"I know." I reached out and gently stroked her hair, hoping to console her a little. "It's not wrong to miss her."

"In my dream... I couldn't catch up with her no matter what I did." Robella's grip on my hand relaxed a little. "I ran with all my might, but she got further and further away, until I lost sight of her..."

I didn't speak, only watched Robella quietly as that gentle yet determined face came to the forefront of my mind as well.

"...Don't let your mind wander. The fact that you're dreaming of her is probably a sign that M4's still watching us from somewhere." I shook my head. It felt like I was saying it for my benefit as much as hers.

"You talk like she went to heaven."

Robella sniggered, and then she closed her eyes.

"Could you stay with me for just a little bit more?"

"Yeah, no problem."

I pulled a chair over and sat by the head of her bed, her hand in mine. As I looked down at her face, peaceful at last, I couldn't help but smile.

I waited until she finally fell asleep before I left.

Record 8

"Commander, want to bake a cake with me?"

"Hm?"

Before I even realized what was going on, Robella had already dragged me to the kitchen.

...In truth, I thought I knew what brought this on. It was probably because a cake ended up being a critical clue in the toku series episode we had just watched, which piqued Robella's interest, but I hadn't expected her to get so carried away.

To be frank, neither Robella nor I was the cooking type, and as I looked at the various ingredients and utensils in front of me, I had my doubts about actually following through on this.

"Relax, Commander," Robella chuckled as she pointed at a recipe book. "All we have to do is stick to the instructions and everything will be fine!"

"Okay then..." I said, and gathered up my resolve. Everything should be okay if we followed the recipe...

...And as it turned out, I had been far too naive. What ensued could be charitably described as a "kitchen nightmare".

I did as Robella said and mixed the flour, sugar, butter, and other ingredients together, then used a mixer to churn them up. However, I'd never used anything like that before and accidentally sprayed the flour everywhere, including onto Robella's face.

"Sorry, sorry..." I frantically tried to clean the flour off but accidentally dabbed her nose with cream instead. Now she looked like a cat.

"Hahaha..." Robella couldn't help but laugh at my messy, flour-coated face.

I couldn't help but join in her merry laughter.

"Commander?" Robella tilted her head in confusion as she watched me space out.

"Ahem... I... er... Well, Robella, you... look kind of cute." I couldn't stop the words from coming out, but there was a hint of good humor in them.

She froze for a moment. Her once-pale face instantly turned bright red as she lowered her head in mild panic and tried to wipe the cream off without meeting my gaze.

After much effort, the cake batter was finally done. Next came the baking, and I carefully poured the batter into the tray before loading it into the oven. Robella set the temperature and time, but we only truly relaxed when we took the cake out of the oven.

"And now... the final step!" Robella picked up a piping bag filled with cream. "Time to decorate the cake!"

"Awesome!" I picked up a piping bag too, eager to put it to use. "So, what are you going to put on it?"

"Hm..." Robella mused. "What do you think, Commander?"

I remember the toku series episode we just watched and laughed. "Let's go with the face of Mysterious Warrior N!"

We finished our artistic culinary endeavor and then sat back to taste this "hard-earned" cake. My somewhat abstract interpretation of the Mysterious Warrior's features meant that the cake wouldn't be winning any awards for looks, but it tasted surprisingly good.

"Robella, you're really good at this," I said, meaning every word.

"It was all thanks to this recipe," Robella smiled humbly." And besides, this cake wouldn't have been anything special without your help, Commander."

"Special? How so?"

"What I wanted to try wasn't baking the cake itself, but the experience of making one with you."

"I hope that we can do this more often in the future, watching tokusatsu shows together, making cakes together, chatting about meaningless things together, that sort of thing."

Robella winked at me.

"What do you think, Commander?"

"...I think I'd like that too."

Our eyes met, and we smiled.

Just like Robella said, this somewhat deformed cake that I made with her would probably become one of my most precious memories.

Memories

Pixelated Feelings 1

Pixelated Feelings 2

Pixelated Feelings 3

Pixelated Feelings 4

Focused On You

Private Meeting Logs

Robella

Wake up, Commander! Our world is under invasion!

This isn't the time to be standing around and doing nothing... The streets are on fire and kids are crying.