[X] The Library. Perhaps the largest, and most vast room in the Castle. Ridiculously so, if you have to be honest. It practically eats nearly the entire middle of the Castle. Apparently, it was a source of pride back then. The King, Ernst, loved to read as his past-time — so his Subjects would collect paper books from across the city, and collect them here. There's also a lot of treasures, the Blue Machine mentions off-handedly. You don't miss the way 5B's eyes seem to shine
—
"We'll go to the Library first," you say, catching the twinkle in 5B's eyes.
Treasures, huh? "Maybe we'll find something there," though you're not sure
what, exactly, beyond books - and those you could easily find by looking into the database. Not that it matters either way, if you're going to be honest. You already have your Treasure. You don't really need it, and maybe you don't really want it, but what matters is the journey - that little anticipation together with 5B as you wonder what could possibly be inside.
"Oh, that makes sense!" the Machine chimes in. It gestures wildly with its arms. "The Library was very precious to the King - and thus, his subjects. I am sure if you desecrate them, that Red Machine will not be happy!"
You hum. Despite yourself, you can't help but frown. There's something odd there. "You said you were an Outsider, right?"
"Huh? Well, yes, I did say that," it nods vigorously. "Because of that, I stayed afar from the Castle, and preferred the small of my hut."
5B is quick on the uptake. She narrows her eyes. "If that is the case, how do you come to know this much?"
"... Well, I listened, naturally," it responds, arms jerking. You don't miss how it seems to pause for a moment. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's being honest. But you can't be sure. Fact is, even though you are aiding an enemy; an enemy is still an enemy. "His Subjects, they weren't exactly tight-lipped, if you understand. They would shout about the glory of their King, and such and such. Honestly, they were extremely annoying! I'm kinda glad that they're all hibernating, now! Thank goodness they were all idiots! Hah!" it jerks its arms out in a show of triumph, and spite.
"Well," you honestly don't know what to say for that. Good on him? You shake your head, turning around - and then you remember. You pause, looking over your shoulder. 5B frowns in confusion. "Before we go; yesterday, you've said about an
Android in Blue giving a prophecy… did that android have pink hair?"
"Huh? Pink hair?" it tilts its head in confusion. "No, of course not. That Android had a blonde hair - like that partner you have…" it trails off, shifting its focus on 5B. "Huh.
Almost exactly like that."
You blink. 5B blinks. You give her a questioning look, and she shrugs. Only android you know that fits the description would be Saber, but she doesn't wear blue outfit - and even if the physical description fits, the personality is so vastly different that it's outrageous. Granted, you have never seen her out there, and who knows, maybe she's the type of person who has a squishy interior despite a rough exterior… but even
that seems like a stretch.
… In the first place, isn't it odd that Saber has a really similar appearance to 5B? You shake your head with a sigh. It's definitely something to think later, and somehow, you have the feeling that Saber might even know.
Shame you've already burned that bridge… though that doesn't mean you can't ask her anyway.
"Okay then," you nod. "Thanks."
"Oh, no problem!" it replies. "Give her hell! Strike first, strike hard! No mercy! Rip and tear her apart, Androids!"
[Blank Storage]
Perhaps one thing that is immediately apparent to you as you enter the Castle proper is the
silence: the complete, and utter lack of noise; a vacuum. You can hear 5B's breathing; the fabrics of her uniform, rubbing against her skin. You could even vaguely hear the humming within you; that slight
shifting noise within your inner servos as you inhale, and then exhale. And your footsteps - they echo throughout the corridors, lingering across the tunnels of grey concrete.
It leaves you feeling stifled; unnerved as your eyes carefully trace your surroundings. Here and there, growing more often, are the sleeping Machine Lifeforms. Most are stubby, not unlike the Blue Machine, or the Red Machine, or even those listless things walking around the City Ruins. But occasionally, you would spot a few handful of unique ones. Some are built taller. Some are bulkier. Some are even built like an animal. All of them asleep, keeled over on the ground. You inhale. Hear the shift inside. Exhale. Hear the shift inside. It almost feels like you're stepping into a place where time has been frozen. It almost feels like you're entering someone's abode, and as though you are desecrating it with your mere presence.
And they're clean, you muse. Everything here is clean. Well taken care off. Even though you are sure it has been so long, there are no hints of rust on these sleeping Machines.
Shiny. Polished. It is hard not to draw comparison with the Blue Machine, how you can see hints of crimson, and oranges underneath its cloak. Hard not to draw comparison to those you've seen in the City Ruins; whom were so dirty, and rusty and lacking in maintenance, they move like they're about to fall over. Even the castle itself is not an exception. Dust swept, and overgrowths trimmed away. That
musty scent you are accustomed from being surrounded by urban structures within the city:
gone.
"It is strange," 5B breathes out, and you almost jump. You turn to her curiously. There's an expression of contemplation on her face. "No one ever expects Machines to be capable of…" she sweeps her arm around the place. "
This," then towards the sleeping Machines. "Or even
this..."
"I guess there's still so many we need to learn about our enemies…" you trail off, watching your lover's expression quietly. "... 5B?"
"I wonder," 5B slows to a half, facing towards a slouched Machine Lifeform. There's something in her eyes that you couldn't quite understand - or rather, you do, but you do not know what they mean. Melancholy. Thoughtfulness… Yearning? "This King, Ernst, I wonder what sort of King he was to be capable of inspiring such… love from his Subjects. To such point they would do
this."
Yearning. For a moment, time seems to crawl.
Yearning. You know yours, of course, but what of 5B's? You can't - you can't
just expect for her to be
just with you, can you? Of course,
of course she has something else. Something…
something. Just because she's satisfied with you, doesn't mean she doesn't want more. Just because you are satisfied with her, doesn't mean you don't want more. "Are you jealous of him?"
She blinks. Almost startled. "I -" she scrunches her face. "For some reason, I do. I don't - no, I don't think it's jealousy. Just… I don't know," she mumbles, and then -
pain.
"Fi - 5B?!" you call out, eyes flying wide. Your partner hunches forward, face set into a grimace as she hisses, one hand gripping the left side of her head. You reach out for her; she's shaking. "What's wrong? Come on, say something to me."
"I'm - my head -" she takes a deep breath.
Immediately, your hand hovers to her head. A Diagnostic Spell activated before the thought arrives - there's something in her memory core. Throbbing. You grit your teeth, and curse your lack of function in hacking. Knowledge flies from your factory database.
Closest comparison: migraine. Signs of chronic - has been for - horror strikes into your core.
Painkiller. Just something to soothe - you take a deep breath. Holograms flare up in your Heads-Up-Display. Codes, and Datas fly through your eyes. Synthesizing something quick through parts of yourself. You'd have to check in with the Bunker later for maintenance, but this is nothing -
You take something out of yourself. Feel the pain - that subconscious knowledge that you just pulled out something more than just "energy". It's required. Healing's different, and you can't heal this. First response. Rough around the edges. Particles form in your hands. An equivalent of Human Painkillers. It floats for a moment, like a ball of gel - and then it's absorbed into 5B.
There is a moment of dread. You wonder if you've done the right thing, or if you've miscalculated, and - 5B sags, her face relaxing, and you sag in relief. For a moment, neither of you spoke. Now that the initial worry, and fear has gone… something else. Something strange comes to you. Something you fear putting into words. 5B seems to be aware of it, by the way she seems to shrink.
"Why didn't you tell me?" you ask, quietly.
5B winces, glancing away. "I… because…" she trails off into a mumble. "It does not seem important."
"Does the Bunker know?"
She nods mutely. "... Normally during maintenance, they would give me something to stave off the pain. Something similar to… this. It's… not usually this bad."
You're… you're angry. Not at 5B - never at 5B. You don't think you could even get angry at 5B - you don't think you
deserve the rights to be angry towards 5B. No, you're angry at yourself. Why would you, a Healer Type who would normally stay within the Bunker, or be deployed in
groups be assigned to 5B? You've never checked. Never bothered to. You thought that she was being assigned to you, rather than that you were being assigned to her — better yet, that you were assigned to each other. Stupid. Hah. Maybe your previous counterparts did figure it out, and you're the only one who… didn't until it was too late.
"... I'm sorry," you return. "I should have known better -"
"No!" 5B shouts, and her voice echoes within the walls of this Castle. Her hands are suddenly on your shoulders; green eyes piercing straight to you, her face close enough her breath tickles. "You did not do anything wrong. I was deliberately keeping it a secret…" she trails off quietly, the previous intensity gone. Cheeks flushed red. "I - something like this takes a lot out of you, I know. You would need to return to the Bunker later for maintenance, and…" she shifts guiltily. "Like I said, it is not usually this… bad."
"Oh," you don't know what to feel about that. "So it has happened before and I haven't noticed?" definitely
worse. "How long have you been holding it in?"
5B grimaces, but doesn't answer - and in a way, that's more enough for you.
You take a breathe in. Remember. Your hand reaches up to touch her wrist. She flinches a little. "I'm not… mad," you say, smiling -
"Do not lie about that, 3H," 5B replies, and you stutter out a response. Well that failed horribly. "At least not to yourself. You have to be more honest. I - I c-can take harsh words even from you, you know?!" well, she says that, but the way she says that is very unconvincing.
You smile. "Well, I guess I am
extremely disappointed in you," you admit. "You should be ashamed, 5B. Can you imagine how scared I was? Do you think I wanted to feel like that, 5B?"
Despite her previous words, 5B looks like she's about to cry.
Well, now you feel like trash. Your cheeks flush red. She looks - w-wait this doesn't make any - you clear your throat and your mind, and promptly puts 5B's hands into yours. You meet her eyes squarely. "It's really,
really okay, 5B," you smile. "I'm not happy about it, but… maybe you could tell me more about it?"
For a long moment, 5B stares. And then she nods. Her eyes stray from yours. "I do not know the details, so I couldn't talk much about it. But it seems that I am afflicted by an anomaly - a certain glitch in the system," she admits. "The higher-ups could not fix it, unfortunately. However, they are capable of finding a way to… repress it."
… Hence why you have the "recipe" inside your
factory database. Perhaps why it feels so natural too. "I see," you say, and that seems to end that conversation. You want to pursue it, but where to, really? And what's more to say? You have your defect. So does she. In a way, you understand it. Certainly, you do not want to talk about your constant inner angst, and existential crisis. Spare her
that. You would automatically self-destruct if she knows.
"So… you want to be loved so," you say, and despite yourself, your lips pull upwards into a sly smile. "Like this King, Ernst?"
5B blinks, before sputtering. "... I do not know?" she mumbles. "It would be nice," she admits. "To be loved, and be loved in return, but I already have that," she says, staring into you. Well, this has backfired terribly. "I suppose it is from something before I met you, even though I have always been with you?"
You cock an eyebrow. "Like a past-life?"
She hums, tilting her head. "Something like that, do we have it?"
"I don't know," you admit, and you don't think anyone
does. "But I wonder what it's like, if we do have one? Maybe you were an unloved Emperor?"
5B gasps. "3H!?" she leans away, eyes wide. "Why would anyone not love me? If I am Emperor, I would have given everything I have to make them happy. And they would…"
"Well, they would also be happy," you continue. "I am, aren't I?
Maybe," you say, as you return to your journey into the Castle deeper. "I was your bride there, too?"
"... For some reason, I feel like I prefer to be the bride."
"Well, we could both be brides, right?"
Her cheeks flush. Not quite in embarrassment, but because she finds the idea too exciting. "If I was an Emperor, I would have certainly ignored the common convention!" she nods, nostrils flaring.
You find yourself laughing, and not long, so does 5B.
It almost feels like that little episode has never happened.
Of course, you know that's not the case. But someone like you, whose existence is so fleeting you'll be gone by tomorrow? You can keep it in. Act as though nothing happens. Everything will reset, eventually.
[Blank Storage]
The Blue Machine did not lie. The Castle's Library is truly
something else; a single three-stories room that has been transformed into a bastion of knowledge, stored into one of the most ancient medium in known history:
books. Their stench lingers in the background; a new smell that is immediately registered as
woods, and papers that feels oddly calming. There are rows, and columns of them, lined within large shelves that have been installed within the wall.
Looking down from the railing of the Library's second floor reveals more of the same thing. Shelves, and books. And on the base floor, you recall the map the Blue Machine gave you. There's a way there that leads into the Castle Garden. If you don't want to get hurt, finding a way down there would have to take a while since most of the paths you could see leading there are blocked (you have the feeling that it's deliberate), but you're certain you could find a way.
"Umumu… I guess this should not be surprising," hearing her observation, you turn around. 5B's exposed back stares back, and you have to clear your throat a little to focus. Right. Maybe you should let 5B take the lead, once in a while? Your cheeks flush, and you clear your throat a little louder, stepping to her side. With a hand under her chin, 5B's eyes trace along the ridges of the books. "All of these books, not only are they not catalogued properly," she explains, giving you a side-glance. "Most of them are copies of the same books," she says, before gesturing towards a few books.
She's right about that. Same color, and same titles: "
Easy Indian Home-cooking", it says. The cover has been rubbed off from time, and the language is extremely ancient. You follow her as 5B continues to point off more books. "
Le Morte d'Arthur"' placed between
"Not My Father's Son: A Memoir" and what looks like a children's book
"What Aunts Do Best". Indeed, it's as 5B said. Uncatalogued, copies, and if there's any rhyme or reason here, you don't see them.
"The King loved to read books," you remember the Blue Machine's off-handed comment. "But maybe it is simply like that? He just liked to read books. No real preference."
"Umu," 5B nods. "Or maybe because the Subjects never asked, or didn't understand. So they simply gathered whatever they could find…" she trails off, eyes trailing through the Library.
"Maybe they even copied those books themselves," you add, and 5B nods. "So long as the Library is filled with books, and the King was happy, there's wouldn't be any problem."
"It is aesthetically pleasing," 5B agrees with a smile. She saunters towards the railing, an excited smile on her lips. "Something like this, it could be made into a wonderful theater. I could see it. Down there," she points, and you follow her gaze. "You can place a podium there, and surrounded by audiences…" she hums tunelessly, closing her eyes.
You giggle. "You would be amazing down there."
Her eyes fly wide, her body whirling immediately to you. There's an excited glimmer there. "R-really!?" then she coughs, leaning back, cheeks pink. "W-well, of course I would know that! B-but… do you think…" she trails off shyly.
You crack a smile. "I would definitely watch it," you say.
"O-oh," she coughs again, and then lifts her head to face you directly. There's a fire of determination behind her eyes that make you take a step back. She takes your hands. "Then I promise to set up a show just for you, 3H. You will be me my one, and only audience."
Your heart skips a couple beat. "I'd be happy to."
She nods, and then breaks the contact. She's practically beaming. You're barely holding yourself from melting on the spot.
"Oh!" 5B perks up again, something taking up her brightness setting to another notch. "Look, 3H! A treasure chest," she points at the one side of the floor.
You blink. "Another what -" your jaws click shut, eyes landing on what 5B's pointing. There's an actual treasure chest. "Huh."
5B takes your hand, practically skipping as she pulls you onward. It's locked, but it really doesn't take much for 5B to unlock it. Forcefully so, as she
twist the latch, and -
You gasp, stars in your eyes.
Cloths! Sewing kits! You could make 5B's new outfit with this! Without much further ado, you begin to rummage through it.
Red! You take it, storing it within your Inventory.
White! Soft, and silky! In fact, rather than rummaging them, you instead store them all within your Inventory.
"How truly fortunate," 5B says, and she looks positively as giddy as you. You're excited to make this gift for her to remember you, and she's excited to receive the gift that she'll wear to remember you. To say that you're ecstatic would be an understatement.
[You Can Start Making 5B's Uniform!]
You stand up, before blinking. Underneath all of the cloths, and tiny accessories, is a small mound of materials. You blink. "Really fortunate," you say, recalling Sache's request. You're pretty sure this is all that he'll need. Without further ado, you also store that into your Inventory.
[Sache's Request Complete!]
"Umumumu," 5B mumbles, agreeing. "How about we look around more?"
You nod.
Pick One:
[]
Project Last Hope: Heroes Reborn. It seems to be a… document regarding a very old project, considering its Ancient language.
[]
Ernst, Our Most Generous King. It seems to be a biography made by one of his Subjects.
[]
Our Last Moments: Until His Return. It seems to be a record of the Forest Kingdom's Subjects last moment before they decided to sleep.
One Final Visit Before a Certain Fight:
[]
The Throne Room. The Blue Machine mentioned another Machine Lifeform who is still awake. Perhaps you could talk to it?
[]
The Secret Garden. The Blue Machine said that this would be the quickest way to attract the Red Machine's ire-slash-attention. There has to be a reason why.
