Qilby, for his part, was almost too busy grumpily wringing water out of what bits of his hair and hat he could get at without taking the thing off his head-- almost too busy to notice the faint, nagging sensation in the back of his head that'd been growing ever more noticeable with each new annoyance. First, having to manage to swim with one arm: inconvenient and aggravating, even, but not impossible. Second, the robot who ended up being at least twice as large as he'd imagined, entirely too large to fit in the blasted main tunnels. It wasn't as if he minded going off the beaten path -- he almost preferred it -- but he liked to make these decisions under his own power rather than out of necessity.

But he couldn't really complain, however much he would have liked to. Barricade ended up being exactly what his name advertised, a massive hunk of metal that'd make just as good a shield as a Weapon -- assuming he sorted out that whole transformation business. If they got overwhelmed by enemies, alone like this, perhaps he'd be distracting enough for Qilby to slip away unharmed; that'd teach Demona not to shove greenhorns onto him, no matter how tough or helpful they may appear to be.

"And to think, it's only going to take another dip in the pool," he replied, regarding the illuminated pool mildly. Of course it was after he'd just managed to get his hat somewhat dry. "If I'd known you were so fond of water, I'd have let you play around in the earlier tunnels a little more."

Goddess, he didn't like how still it was, the way even the smallest drip of water became a monumental sound that pierced his growing headache. It reminded him of far quieter and far emptier landscapes, places he'd rather not be reminded of. The company was better this time around, however, even if Qilby was liable to start a fight with the way he was treating it. He glanced up -- he wasn't used to looking up at people -- and added, "Have you learned how to transform yet? You may have an easier time of it if I simply carry you."