Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the land of Canis, there is a legend. One that has spanned through the years, tracing back to the beginning of Queen Rhea’s rule. Legends will say that a child was made for the Queen as a gift, one made to look just like a normal human child. The child, they say, has a perfect memory, and the mind of a supercomputer. The perfect gift for the Queen, who was desperate for children. 

However, not all tales can be so perfect. The legend also includes a jealous Doctor, who snatched the child away and raised her as her own. The Queen, they say, is still mourning her child, and once each year, on the child’s birthday, Queen Rhea lifts lanterns up to the stars, to commemorate the stars in her child’s nursery. 

The child grew up, her eyes turned to the stars, and became known as Unit 214. The name she chose for herself, however, was Hera.

~

Hera sighed, blinking up at her ceiling. She automatically knew that it was 6:47, and she wasn’t allowed to get up until seven am, getting dressed and oiled and shined by 7:15. Cooking breakfast took anywhere from 7:20-30, depending on what she wanted to ‘eat’. More, really, for what Pryce wanted to eat. 7:45 saw her cleaning up, and Pryce climbing out to gather or collect supplies for something or another. She’d be back by 10 am, meaning Hera could fill the space in between with whatever she wanted.

Today, however, was going to be different. Today, she was going to ask about the stars.

Hera wasn’t sure that they were actually stars, but there wasn’t anything else in her databanks that matched. She knew so much about her surroundings- she’s been here for almost 20 human years, now, after all- and the stars are pretty much the only thing she still doesn’t understand. Plus, they came on her creation date, and though she was sure it was just a coincidence (that’s what Doctor Pryce says, anyways), but it just made them feel even more special to her. Almost as if the two were...connected, somehow. It wasn’t logical, not really, but Hera had held the connection close to her nonexistent heart over the years.

Hera tried to get up again, groaning as she realized it was 6:59. Damn coding. A minute later, she hopped up, going to her closet. She had finished sewing a new pair of black pants yesterday, and so she slid them on, adding a light-blue long-sleeved shirt over top. Donning a pair of sturdy boots and tying her hair back with a blue hair tie, her outfit was complete. 

She walked out into the kitchen and started pulling out pots and pans. Cracking an egg into a frying pan, Hera went over her plan again. She’d ask when Pryce came back from a supply run, when Pryce was at her most distracted. Hera didn’t even want to spend more time outside the tower than was necessary, just long enough to see the stars. That- Pryce would have to see the logic and thought behind that, right? She- she’d have to.

Breakfast came and went, Hera quietly buzzing with adrenaline the entire time. She didn’t say anything yet, although she was trying to slightly block the thought from her mind. Pryce probably couldn’t read her mind, but when Hera asked if she could, all the Doctor did was laugh. Her chores seemed to take less time today, and soon enough Hera found herself in front of her workbench, fiddling with some tools that Pryce had given her. She was working on several projects, but never had the materials to complete any of them. There had been a few robots that almost made it to completion, but their algorithms quickly ran out of space on the second hand memory cards, and they shut down minutes after their launch.

Hera sighed and pulled out a metallic plant, one of her works in progress. Originally a decoration piece, Hera realized she had primed it almost perfectly for the algorithms she put in most of her animal creations. Around that time, she was learning about carnivorous plants, and some (specifically the Dionaea muscipula, or the Venus Flytrap), had caught her eye, giving her the idea for her plant.

It wasn’t ready, though, not nearly. There was some work to be done, and still the problem with the memory chip. By the time she got to that stage, though, Pryce would be back, and Hera would have to put away her friends.

Doctor Pryce. Just like that, Hera was nervous again.

~

Currently, in the forests of Canis, there was a thief who did not care about the legends, and instead was concerned with a sign posted nearby.

“Oh come on,” The thief frowned, leaning over and snatching the piece of paper off of a nearby tree. “Look at this. They still can’t get my nose right.” Said paper was supposed to be a picture of Eiffel, but his nose was freakishly large. There was the word WANTED above his head, and the promise of a 1000 sum reward.

“Watch out, kid. The price on your head increased. One of these days we might decide your company’s not worth the money we could be making,” Lovelace joked. 

“Guess I’ll have to keep earning my stay,” He mostly joked back. “But seriously, look at this!”

Minkowski caught sight of the poster, and broke out into laughter. “Oh, oh my stars, that’s even better than the last one.” 

“I kind of think I should turn myself in, just so they can see what my face actually looks like, instead of this lazy telephone game.”

“But if you do that, you won’t be available to help us steal the crown,” Minkowski added. 

“Fair point, Commander.” Calling her commander- that was an old joke of theirs. Back when he had started teaming up with Lovelace and Minkowski, Minkowski had said that, had they all actually been a team, she’d be the Commander and Lovelace the Captain. The names stuck, and the rest is history. 

“Speaking of the crown,” Lovelace cut in, “Let’s go over the plan one more time.”

The plan was simple in theory, but Eiffel knew from experience that that only meant it could get worse. Luckily for him, he wasn’t doing this alone- he had his team for backup. Eiffel knew that the palace prison wasn’t impossible to break out of, but that didn’t mean he was eager to go back in. They had worked it out so Eiffel wouldn’t even be in the castle when the crown was stolen, instead being the “secret weapon” for the pair of thieves. His part was pretty simple- meet up with Lovelace and take the crown from her while Minkowski chased the guards away, then book it back to their meeting zone as Lovelace helped Minkowski lose the guards. 

But, like he said earlier, a simple plan doesn’t always lead to a simple execution. So, Eiffel really should have seen this coming. He’s running over the roofs, the crown bouncing in his satchel over his shoulder. Lovelace had run back, but something had obviously gone wrong. He can hear the shouts of the guards behind him, though they’re pretty far away. He jumps down to the streets, almost tripping on a couple roots as he books it to the forest.

Eiffel missed the second meetup point, but he can’t go back. There’ll be hell to pay with Minkowski (if she can escape the guards, that is), but he’d rather be in trouble with her than with the guards. The pair always managed to find him eventually, when they needed his help, and so he doesn’t doubt that they’ll find him soon enough.

Until then, though, he’s still being chased.

There’s a sheet of willow branches up ahead, and if stories have taught him anything, it’s that things like that always have a secret passageway behind them. 

His luck must be compensating for the bad stealing attempt, because there is indeed something behind it when he checks. It looks like a tunnel, and so, with the voices growing behind him, he walks through to the other side. It leads to a valley, sloping down a good three feet. There’s lush green grass everywhere, along with all types of plants, some of which Eiffel’s pretty sure he’s never seen before. Of all things, there’s a tower in the distance. 

What fantasy world did he get dropped into?

Eiffel can’t hear the guards anymore, but he’s still not sure how safe he is out in the open like this. He eyed the tower again, and started making his way over to it. It was a vertical climb, but the stones were uneven enough to where he could see plenty of handholds. Grabbing one of them, and tugging on it experimentally, Eiffel began to climb.

It took a few minutes to reach the top, with plenty of not-looking-down, but eventually he slipped through the massive window and into the structure. The interior was fairly simple, stone walls with a few wooden beams across the ceiling. There was a staircase on one side, also made of wood, and a few doorways here and there that Eiffel assumed lead to other parts of the tower. Odd, though, was that he didn’t see any way back down. 

He took a step towards the staircase, and a large object thunked against his head. 

~

Hera was freaking out a little. Perhaps a lot, even. She had just been about to clean up her workstation when he came in.

There was a person in her house. An honest to stars person . She couldn’t see a single lick of cybernetics on him. 

Remembering Pryce’s words of caution when it came to outsiders, Hera dragged the unconscious man (man? Is that what men look like? When she scanned him, he had biology that differed from Pryces) over to her desk chair, tying him to it with some rope she had found in her hall closet. Securing the knots, Hera eyed said closet again, and a second later the man was inside of it. 

He must have climbed in through the window, because she didn’t see any contraptions like the pulley system Doctor Pryce uses, nor any climbing gear at all. If he had truly climbed, it was honestly rather impressive. The strength it would take to climb, however, meant the man would be able to easily bust out of the closet, but she’ll cross that bridge when she gets to it. She still had the frying pan from breakfast, after all.

There’s something on the floor, and Hera mentally berates herself for not noticing it earlier. It looks like a bag, and the man- the intruder - must have dropped it. It’s brown, and very plain, though the odd, multicoloured stitching implies that it’s fallen apart several times and been lovingly put back together. The bag reminds her of Rachel, a doll she’s had for years. So long, in fact, that most of her stitching has had to be redone.

Inside of the satchel there isn’t much, just a piece of paper and an odd ring of metal. Hera was puzzled by its use- she didn’t see any levers or buttons to turn it into something practical. Everything had a use, after all, but she couldn’t figure out what it was for this. 

A loud thump forced her attention back to the closet, mind back on the mysterious man inside. Slowly, for she wasn’t sure if he had heat-vision implements like Doctor Pryce had warned her about, Hera raised her weapon (honestly, she was just lucky she had done the dishes before she started working) and approached the door. Psyching herself up with a count of three, she opened the cupboard, hitting the man upside the head as he spilled out. 

~

Eiffel’s head was throbbing. Never a good sign. 

Vaguely, he remembered a tower, with lush greenery, and a climb that stung his fingertips. Then, he remembered a frying pan, and his head pain made more sense. 

So, someone was living in the tower, and he had essentially broken into their house. Great. Local recluse who lives in a tower with no way down. What’s the chances they’ll take a simple, ‘sorry’?

“You’re not supposed to be here.” A voice said. Eiffel glanced around, straining his neck behind him, but he could see no one in the dark. 

Oh well, he could try. “Yes, and I’m really sorry about that, I didn’t know anyone was here.” He responded quickly. 

A dark shape emerged from the shadows, and Eiffel squinted to see. It looked like a person, down to the mid-length hair on their back. 

The figure came closer, and Eiffel could vaguely begin to make out their features. Their hair was black, and cascaded down their back, held off of their face by a blue hair clip. Their skin was pale, but smooth, and Eiffel got the impression that it would tan, had they not been a complete and utter recluse. They studied his features with an almost giddy expression, their eyes wide with excitement.

The figure was right in front of him now, and they opened their mouth to speak. “What are you? Are you human? Do you have any cybernetics?” The look in her eyes screamed that she was hungry for any information he could give her. 

Overwhelmed by the questions, Eiffel stutters for a second. “Um, yes, I’m human. I haven’t- no cybernetics for me. I didn’t know this was your tower, sorry. If I could just grab my bag and go-”

“No,” The figure frowned. “I don’t think so.” 

“No?” Eiffel repeated nervously. “I really didn’t know this was your place.”

“Oh, really, I’ll just let you go then,” The figure said. Eiffel felt a flicker of hope, but it was quickly dashed by them adding, “Wait, that wasn’t sarcastic enough. Really ? Well, if you didn’t know about my place, then I’ll totally let you go!”

“I don’t even want anything to do with you!” He cried. 

“Yeah, but you broke into my house. That kinda puts a damper on my opinion of you.” They frowned. “What’s your name? You have one, right?”

“My name is Eiffel,” He told them, hoping they didn’t keep up on the latest castle drama. 

“I am called Hera.” Hera said. “Though not many people call me that. Probably because I don’t know many people.”

Eiffel was unable to hold back his snort of laughter. “Yeah, that’ll do it.” Oh, stars, laughing at his captor. ‘ Good job, Eiffel, are you trying to get murdered?’ he could almost hear Minkowski saying.

Hera hummed. “Was that funny? I don’t really know what counts as funny outside.”

“Um- I don’t-” Eiffel stuttered.

Hera leaned back, like they were considering something. “You don’t know. But- you are from the outside.”

“Yeah, I guess so?” Eiffel didn’t mean for it to come out as a question, but it did.

“Well, Eiffel, here’s the thing. There are 15 cracks in the walls. There’s 195 stones in the floors, and 157 types of flora visible from the window. I know everything there is to know about this tower, and I’m bored of it.” She backed away from and turned to the window, staring at it longingly. “I don’t know anything about the outside world. My doctor- my mother, as you would call her, says I don’t need to know anything, and- and maybe that’s fine. But star day is coming up, and- I just can’t stand not knowing anything anymore, not when another option is right in front of my face.”

“That’s, uh, very nice, but what does that have to do with me not being able to leave? Because I just need to get my bag and go-”

“Tell me, Eiffel.” Hera cut him off, coming back right in front of him, leaning close to his face. “And don’t even think about lying. Tell me, what do you know of the outside world?”

“I- I travel around- I’ve seen most of, um, most of the kingdom.” Eiffel told her, too nervous to say anything else.

Hera’s face softened. “Good. Good.” They backed up, and Eiffel let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. “Then, Eiffel, you will be my guide.”

“I’m what now.” Eiffel said, too shocked to be scared. 

“My guide.” They repeated, as if it were obvious. They continued to mutter something under their breath, but Eiffel couldn’t make it out. 

There was a clanging sound outside, and Eiffel tensed, only able to think, ‘ They found me ’ before the frying pan smacked him again.

~

Hera had been in the middle of cleaning up, so how could she have forgotten? Forgotten that it was almost ten, that Pryce was right around the corner? All the warning she got this time was the rattling of the pulley Pryce uses, and that only lasted seconds. Pryce was nothing if not effective. 

It was barely enough time for Hera to throw Eiffel back into the closet, and she really hoped that the multiple hits to the head didn’t damage him too much. Her workstation was still a mess, and Hera winced, anticipating Pryce’s words.

“214?” A cold voice asked.

“Over here, Doctor.” Hera called back, trying to shove the mess away neatly.

“Ah. I see you have made a mess of the tower. I thought we talked about this?” Her voice carried tones of disappointment. 

“I’m- I’m sorry, Doctor, I ran out of time.” A half-truth.

“Hmn. I’ll have to take a look at your processors later, if you’re so blind to what should be obvious.”

“Yes, Doctor.” It should have been obvious, Doctor Pryce was right. “But, um, Doctor, I have something to-”

“What were you even trying to accomplish here?” She asks, picking up the plant Hera had been working on. “What sort of childish code is this?”

“I’m not finished with that one, Doctor,” Hera defended, “And I’ve been meaning to ask-”

“I should hope you’re still working on this one. A child could put together a better backdoor mainframe than the one you’ve put in here.” She glanced back at Hera, who had a hurt expression on her face. “Oh, come off of it, Unit 214, you know I’m just trying to be helpful.”

“Y-Yes, Doctor.” Hera said gloomily. “But it’s Hera, now. Remember?”

“Ah, yes, this silly notion of your ‘humanity’. Must we have this argument again, Unit 214? Or are you going to continue to be ridiculous?” 

Hera wilted. “No, Doctor.” 

“Wonderful.” Pryce smiled. “Now, what was it you were trying to say?”

“I was just- well, I-I was g-going to-”

“214.” Pryce interrupted with a snap. “Stop the mumbling. Aren’t you better than that?”

“Yes, Doctor.” Hera sighed. “I- well, Doctor, it’s my birthday in two day’s time, and-”

“‘Birthday’. Ha. Such a trivial, human thing to worry about.” She spat the word ‘human’ as if it were an insult. “Really, Unit 214, I thought you were better than this. I’m just trying to help you improve.”

“Well, then, it’s star day on Thursday, and- and I want to ask if- if we can go- ifwecangoseethestars .” She spit the last part out in a hurry.

Doctor Pryce smiled, but it wasn’t kind. “You want to see the stars.”

“I- yes?”

“Yes or no, Unit 214, be confident in your answers, not whatever half-answer that was.”

“Yes, Doctor. I want to see the stars.”

“Ha!” Doctor Pryce laughed. “ You , want to go outside , to see the stars. Please, Unit 214, drop this comedy act. What in the world makes you think you’re capable of that? What makes you think you’re able to handle the thugs outside?”

“I-”

“I’m only looking out for you, Unit 214. You’re so naive, with these childish notions of ‘adventure’. I wouldn’t want to see,” she paused, “you get hurt.”

“But Doctor, I’m nearly-”

“Nearly this, nearly that, you still don’t have any experience, am I wrong?”

“Well-”

“Of course not. Now, Unit 214, if I do much more for you, you’ll become spoiled. Let’s not discuss this any further.”

“But Doctor-”

“Not another word, Unit 214.” Doctor Pryce’s words rang through the room. “You will not be leaving this tower, now or ever.”

Hera’s heart sank to the floor. “Understood, Doctor.”

Pryce sighed. “And now you’ve made me the bad guy. Really, Unit 214, I’m only trying to protect you.”

Reflecting back on it, Hera didn’t know what she was thinking. Of course she wouldn’t be allowed to leave the tower, she never was. For good reason, too. But that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it. 

But now what was she to do with the man in her closet? 

“Unit 214,” Doctor Pryce called, “I’m heading out for supplies.”

Ignoring how Doctor Pryce just got back, Hera turned to face the older woman. “Actually, Doctor Pryce,” She called after her, “While you’re out, could- could you get a new memory card for me? I want to make a project that’ll last more than an hour.”

Doctor Pryce scoffed. “That’ll take me three day’s time, Unit 214, are you sure you can handle being on your own for that long?”

“Yes, Doctor. I can handle that.” Hera promised. 

“Fine.” Doctor Pryce sighed. “Three days, Unit 214. Try not to make a mess of the tower this time, will you?”

“Yes, Doctor.” Hera said, trying to keep the smile from her face. 

“One more thing,” Pryce called. “Never ask to leave the tower again.”

Oh. 

“Goodbye, Unit 214.” Doctor Pryce called, lowering herself out of the tower.

“Goodbye, Doctor.” Hera responded. She watched as Pryce left the clearing, making sure she was gone for real before returning to the closet.

The man inside blinked at her blearily. “Can ya’ lemme go now?” He slurred.

“Come on, Eiffel,” She smiled, “We’ve got a trip to take.”

Chapter Text

This was a bad idea. A terrible, horrible idea, and Hera could almost feel her programming split in two with this decision, but she had had enough. She had been in the tower for far too long, and she needed this. 

Eiffel was...not her first choice, she’d be the first to admit. But he was her only option, even if that option was scruffy and looked like a kicked puppy. She didn’t see the big deal, he only needed to take her to the stars and then he could go free. It’s not like she was keeping him prisoner or anything. 

The pair left the tower, Eiffel climbing down the way he’d come and Hera clinging tight to his back. There wasn’t much said between them until they reached the ground, whereupon Eiffel said, “Look, tower girl, you’re clearly uncomfortable with this.”

Hera frowned at the assumption, but didn’t bother to correct him. “I’m fine,” she snapped. “Let’s just— move forward. You said you knew the kingdom, so lead the way, or whatever it is you need to do.” 

Eiffel rolled his eyes, but he started to walk forwards, Hera trailing behind him. Her eyes raked in the scenery, her processors almost overwhelmed with the new sensory input she was receiving, as well as trying to catalog all of the new information. The grass was almost softer than she could have imagined. 

“C’mon,” Eiffel glanced at her. Hera’s mind caught up, and she shook herself out of her shock, quickly walking after him. 

Stars, Pryce was going to kill her.

Maybe she should just... go back. Go back to the tower, where everything was safe and she knew what to expect—

But then, she would never figure out what the stars were, and Hera couldn’t pass up that chance. But still, The Doctor would be heartbroken to see Hera leave. She would be so upset and Hera didn’t like it when Doctor Pryce got upset. 

No. Hera needed to know what the stars (or lanterns, or whatever they were) were, and she couldn’t pass up the opportunity, not when it was right in front of her face.

Eiffel shot her a look she couldn’t decipher before saying, “Hey, tower girl, are you hungry? I know the best place.”

~~~

Eiffel hopped down the well-worn path, sending a quick glance behind him to make sure Hera was following. She looked nervous, and honestly, Eiffel didn’t blame her. 

“Over here,” He called over his shoulder, “Is one of the… finest restaurants our kingdom offers.” He winced. That seemed to be a new stain on the sign, and he felt for the poor schmuck who must’ve left it there. 

Hera looked at the place skeptically, her gaze sweeping up and down the building. “ Here ?” she asked, obviously in disbelief.

“It’s a… little run down, sure,” Eiffel frowned, “But I spend a lot of time here.”

“...Right.” She frowned again.

“Oh, just— come inside, it’s— it’s better on the inside.” Eiffel ushered her through the door, a frenzied crowd greeting them. Eiffel smiled as he slipped away into the crowd, almost forgetting his tag-along.

“Eiffel!” Jacobi shouted, pulling his aside. “I heard what happened at the castle, I thought you were dead for sure!” He seemed happy about that, but you could never know for sure with him.

“Who’s this?” Hera asked, her fingers tightening on her frying pan. 

“This’s Jacobi,” Eiffel introduced. “Jacobi, this is Hera.”

“Oh, cheating on Minkowski, are we now?” Jacobi joked. “Finally done with that soldier stealing her away?”

“Someone’s projecting tonight,” Eiffel joked back. “How are things with Kepler, anyway?”

“Oh, shut up , Eiffel.” Jacobi shoved him playfully. 

The next thing Eiffel knew, Jacobi was lying on the floor, unconscious, and Hera was standing a couple inches away, frying pan raised. 

“Did—“ Eiffel stared at her. “Did you just knock him out?”

“He pushed you!” Hera defended. 

Someone started charging towards them, and Eiffel recognized the figure as Kepler, Jacobi’s not-boyfriend. Great.

He tackles Hera before Eiffel can say anything to warn her, and the pair crash down to the floor. Eiffel steps over to try and pull Hera away, out of the fight, but Kepler’s swinging punches his way before he gets the chance. A couple of them hit other patrons, and soon enough it’s turned into a fully-fledged bar sprawl. 

Hera is blindly swinging her pan around, and she almost hits Eiffel before he grabs her hand, and the two fight their way to the counter. 

“Um, hello,” Hera says after a brief pause. Eiffel looks over to see Maxwell just sitting at the counter, still just eating her lunch. 

“Hello.” She says back. 

“Maxwell,” Eiffel says. 

He glances between her and the door, and it must not have been as subtle as he thought because she says, “I have no intention of fighting you, if that’s what you’re wondering. I leave that to my teammates.” 

“Teammates?” Hera asks.

“Jacobi and Kepler.” Maxwell answered. She glanced over at Hera, a slight frown growing on her face. “You’re new around here, aren’t you?”

“She’s— she’s with me. Just until Lantern Day, we have an… arrangement.” Eiffel told her.

“So, blackmail.” Maxwell smirked. “What’s your name, anyways?”

“Hera.” She looked back at Maxwell. In the background, someone smashed a chair on the ground. 

“Hera,” Maxwell repeated, “That’s a nice name. Did you pick it out, or was it assigned to you?”

“I— well, I picked it out myself, but—“ Wait, wait, Hera was trans ? How on Earth did he miss that? They could have been bonding about that the whole time!

“Ha! I knew it!” Maxwell seemed to light up with joy. “How fast do your processors go? Your memory drives must be huge , do you have outside servers? What about your sensory inputs, can you even feel pain?” She went through a series of these rapid-fire questions, but with each one Hera seemed to withdraw more and more into herself. 

Eiffel’s mind felt like it was short-circuiting itself. So it… wasn’t a trans thing? But then what…

“I don’t know what you mean.” Hera says stiffly. 

“Yeah, Maxwell, what do you mean?” Eiffel asked.

Before she could answer, the bar behind them quickly went silent, and all three turned around to see Lovelace walk through the doors, and oh man, she looked pissed . 

“Where’s Eiffel?” Lovelace asked flatly, looking around the room. Eiffel ushered Hera over the counter, before turning around and standing up.

“Hey, Captain!” He says, trying to be cheerful. He knows it came out shaky and nervous, but he just smiles anyways.

“Where is it?” Lovelace asks him, quickly crossing the distance between the two. The regular crowd noise of the bar started up again.

“Where’s what?” Eiffel plays dumb. Dumber than he meant to, but stick with the bit, right?

“The satchel .” Lovelace growls, though Eiffel knows what she really wants is the crown.

“Well you know what they say about satchels, and—“ 

“If you don’t tell me exactly where it is right now, I’m forced to assume you lost it. Minkowski had to go underground because of this, and we’re just hoping the guards are still as incompetent as they were when we broke you out. So, Eiffel, where is the satchel .”

“Uh.” 

“Oh my stars, you actually lost it.” Lovelace rubbed her temples and started taking deep breaths.

“No! No, I know exactly where it is.” Eiffel said quickly. 

“Where is it, then?”

“About a half-days walk from here.” Eiffel tells her. “Northeast until you find a sheet of willows, go through that tunnel and you’ll find a—“ He lowered his voice— “A tower. Climb up and it’s somewhere in there.”

“Somewhere in—“ Lovelace huffed. “Fine. Fine, stars.” She started to walk away, and Eiffel watched as she left the building, waiting until he couldn’t see her figure before pulling Hera back over the counter.

“Who was that?” Hera asked. 

“Lovelace. I… work with her sometimes. She’s my friend, of sorts.”

“Huh. You know a lot of people.” 

“If you live my life, you kinda have to.” Eiffel huffed. 

“You still haven’t answered any of my questions,” Maxwell called from beside them. “I’m curious about your servers.” 

“I’m really not sure what you’re trying to--”

“ Please , Hera, you basically admitted to being an AI unit. I just want to know what makes you tick. I’ve never seen anything so advanced.” Maxwell looked intrigued, and she leaned closer to Hera. 

“I-- I’m not-- you can’t--” Hera stood up suddenly. She glanced around before running out of the bar, Eiffel hot on her heels. 

“Hera, wait! Where are you going?” Eiffel called out, but she ignored him, running deeper into the forest.

~~~

Miranda Pryce fully intended to walk to the spare parts shop that had been set up outside of the kingdom for a while, before she realized she could make one herself that, although lasted for a shorter amount of time, would maybe teach Unit 214 a thing or two about ingenuity. Stars know that the unit could use an actual skill or two. 

Luckily, she was only about half a day's walk from the tower, and so getting back wasn’t a difficult endeavor. 

She climbed the tower quickly with her device, and called out, “Unit 214? I’ve returned early.” There was no response from the tower, and Miranda frowned, setting her travel bag down. The unit was programmed to respond when called for.

“Unit 214?” She tried again. There was no response, which could only mean one thing: the unit was gone. 

Miranda quickly moved to the unit’s room, just to make sure, but there was nothing there. She heard a thud from the main room, and quickly she walked out, only to see a dark skinned woman tumble from the window. Miranda jumped at the stranger, quickly rendering her unconscious. After all, even if she didn’t hold knowledge of Unit 214, Miranda could still make some use out of her.

~~~

 “Hera!” Eiffel shouted, wandering through the forest. He knew she couldn’t have gone far, but the forest was difficult to navigate on your own. He turned into a clearing, and there she was, sitting on a log near the middle.

“There you are!” He said, rushing over to her. “I was worried for you.” 

“Oh, yeah, can’t let anyone damage the merchandise.” Hera said sarcastically.

“What?”

“I’m an AI. Don’t you want to… strip me down for parts and stuff?” Hera gestured vaguely to herself, but continued to stare at the ground.

“Why would I want to do that?” Eiffel scoffed. He looked at Hera, and said, like it was obvious, “I wouldn’t even know where to start. And I like you as one piece. You’re… cool, even if you’re a little… beep boop.”

Hera glanced at him. “Dr. Pryce always said that it was too dangerous for me to go outside, because people would sell me without a second thought.”

“Well, no offence, but the more I hear about your Pryce, the less I like her.” Eiffel shook his head. “I would never do anything like that to you. That’d be like, I don’t know, black market organ selling.”

There’s a moment of silence before Hera asks, “What did Lovelace mean when she said she broke you out of prison?”

“Ah, well, that’s--” Eiffel sighed. “I… I did a bad thing. And I got punished for it-- rightfully so, but Lovelace and Minkowski sprung a mass jailbreak, and I just got swept up in the tide.” He shrugged. “It was a while ago.”

“You didn’t… kill anyone, did you?” Hera asked.

“No! No, I didn’t.” Eiffel told her. “It was--” He paused. “I don’t want to talk about it. But no, I didn’t.”

He looked away from Hera and squinted at a figure in the distance. It… looked like Lovelace, and she was gesturing for him to come over to her. “Um, Hera,” he called out to her, “I’m going to go see what Lovelace needs.”

“I’ll be… here, then.” Hera said. He walked over to her, and she kept waving him over.

“Lovelace,” Eiffel greets. “Why are you here? Is-- is something wrong? Did you find the satchel?”

“Nothing is wrong,” Lovelace smiled. “Everything is fantastic.”

“ Ok ay, then,” he squinted, “Why did you call me over?”

“Who is it that you are with?” She asked with a smile.

“Hera, she’s a friend of mine. Why?” Lovelace was acting weird, and was throwing him off.

“I was just curious.” Lovelace smiled. “And also, I was asked to discuss various things with you.”

“What? Who asked you?” Eiffel blinked. “Was it Minkowski?”

“Minkowski is still underground.” Lovelace told him. “But it was not her who asked me.”

“Well, then, who did?” 

“I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to say.” Lovelace looked troubled. 

“What do you mean--”

“Goodbye!” Lovelace smiled, and walked away. Eiffel stared after her, and a moment later he turned to look back at Hera, who was staring away from camp. He walked up to her, and she turned around quickly.

“Eiffel.” She greeted, but she looked worried and almost out of breath. 

“Hera. I just had the strangest conversation with Lovelace,” He frowned. “It’s like she wasn’t thinking like herself.”

“That’s… weird.”

“Yeah, yeah it was…” he looked over her again. “Are you okay? You look kinda pale.”

“Me? I’m fine,” Hera said, much too quickly for it to be true. 

“Right,” Eiffel frowned. “Well, I’m glad for that."