Chapter Text
To be fair to Yaya, she didn't expect that the ship was actually a sentient being.
No one told her anything about it, anyway. Just that there was a foreign guest staying on their island, and that they all should be on their best behavior.
And she didn't mean to tresspass! It's just that stupid cat--what was its name? Meowy? Milfer? It had a cowboy hat and a crazy look in its eyes, so Yaya will call it crazy cat, and that cat is unforgivable to her because it stole her flower pin!
It was a gift from her dad, okay? She didn't want to lose it, so what choice did she have?
She'd followed the cat, ran after it, and she was so focused on trying to catch the little thief that she didn't notice concrete turning into wood, turning into steel, until she'd wrestled the cat down, and realized that she was somewhere she doesn't recognize at all.
She was in a hall almost her width, with pipes and valves neatly organized at her sides, on the walls. The ceiling was also filled with these pipes and fluorescent lighting, making it seem she was about to be examined. Ahead of her were steel doors, closed shut.
The doors look hard and heavy to maneuver. This whole space looked like it could suffocate her at any moment. She could even feel the pipes beating as if she was in a beast's belly...
She wondered where she was.
Her question was quickly answered when she found a circular window. Peering out said window, she could see the pier...and endless ocean, and...
Yaya feels the blood drain away from her face. Sh-she's inside a ship!?
And not just any ship; there were no other ships present in the piers that would have a hallway like this, except for the big fancy one that...uh, that just arrived today...
Oh, gosh. She needs to get out of here.
Quickly taking back her flower hairpin, amber eyes frantically looked around, trying to figure out where she came from. There were doors at the end of the other side, too; also made out of steel and seemingly closed shut.
Uh.
Where did she enter??? What the heck, how will she get out now?
The crazy cat dashed off, managing to wriggle out of her grip. It dashed off to the doors on the west, slipping past the doors...okay, so it's not so locked.
Praying to Allah that no one will find her and she won't get in trouble for this, Yaya takes a deep breath and chooses the one in the west, where the cat went. The cat must know where the exit is, probably. Plus, you can never go wrong with west, right?
--apparently, you can.
Because the second she opened the door, someone turned around and saw her. Seeing the gaze on her, Yaya freezes.
At first, she thought she was looking at another intruder. Except--this face, she hasn't seen him before. Brown eyes as dark as chocolate, a sweet face, brown hair with a streak of white--the face wasn't at least familiar.
He looked 16, though, the same age as Yaya. He's wearing a black shirt with elbow-length sleeves under a partially zipped orange vest with a prominent collar, along with a pair of blue jeans and a black belt. Fashionable...but also not very familiar.
The boy tilts his head, letting the light in this room hit him at a certain angle. Glowing orange rings suddenly illuminated inside those chocolate brown orbs.
And Yaya pales. Ah.
The boy opens his mouth, his voice soft yet firm. "Please refrain from unauthorized interaction with private property."
The girl splutters, trying to explain herself--
"Please refrain from unauthorized interaction with private property. This is your final warning."
And hologram circle arcs appeared around the boy, surrounding him. The whole room lights up with these arcs, intimidating and buzzing with raw power.
Yaya backs away.
She's screwed. She's so, so screwed.
==
It's common knowledge for the civilians, knowing the fact of what this boy is.
Yaya may not know much, but she knows one thing; this person may look like a human, but he isn't.
He's a weapon.
This is taught in her history class. Decades ago, the political group Central Intelligence--or CI--established their fair rule among the lands. To keep the peace, they created weapons with their own artificial consciousness and intellect.
Military Fleets that answer to the Central Intelligence and operate in the sea, the land, and the sky, depending on their functions. These weapons are made from nanomaterials; indestructible material that is adaptable and able to be manipulated however one pleases.
These nanomaterials allow the weapons to take the form of humans for better communication as well as stealth.
Those forms are called mental models. And one such mental model is standing in front of Yaya right now.
Looking at her. Clearly seeing her as a trespasser of his own ship. And while she doesn't know a lot of things about mental models, she's pretty sure this one has the authority to blast anyone's face for going in here unauthorized.
Yaya doesn't plan on dying here, please and thank you!! "Wait, wait! This is an honest mistake!"
Chocolate eyes blinked. The mental model tilted his head. "Mistake...?"
"Yes! You see", the girl wearing pink held up the flower pin she took so much effort to get back. "This is my treasured pin!"
"...this one is unable to comprehend why that is relevant."
"A cat stole it from me! I ran after it to get this back!!", and speaking of which. "The cat should be here, anyway! It ran away to hide, the coward!"
The holograms around the mental model started to glow brighter. Yaya flinched.
D...did she make the mental model get even more furious? She didn't mean to...
She watched as the mental model stood there. Placing his hands on his chest, he spread his arms, making the arcs spread out and engulf the room.
"Commencing search", the mental model then said, eyes looking around. "Finding heat signature of life forms..."
It didn't take much time at all. A red and violet silhouette appeared from underneath what seems to be a control deck--and the mental model shut off the hologram arcs to personally go up there and grab the cat by the scruff of its neck.
The cat hissed, looking like it wanted to scratch the mental model with it's claws.
The mental model was completely unfazed, walking to the door and letting the cat go into the hallway. It ran in the opposite direction.
...so that was that. Huh.
The mental model straightened. Yaya tensed when he turned to look at her.
He opened his lips to say something--
And Yaya blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "What is your name, by the way?"
The mental model blinked rapidly, startled.
"There's lots of, uh, mental models like you, right?", Yaya barrels on. Anything to distract him, really. And she does want to know; no harm in that. Right? "So...I want to know your name. What do others call you?"
There was a pause.
And then the mental model inclines his head. "I am the mental model of warship B-104, of the Navy Fleet."
B-104... "Well, er. Do you have a nickname?"
The mental model, B-104 blinked. "Nickname?"
"Yeah! Something your friends call you, or something like that", or when your name is too complicated or so unlike a name to use, but Yaya chose not to say that out loud. "Do you have one?"
The holograms appeared again. On one part of the hologram arc, some sort of shape lit up, like that of a beehive pattern. It reminded Yaya of a save file.
"Nickname...another name close individuals call someone aside from their given name", B-104 noted. "Entry logged. Categorized. Saved."
Uh...
"As for your question", Yaya perks up when B-104 went on, tapping his chin. "My brothers call me 104. Is that an acceptable nickname?"
It--it really isn't. It just sounds like an error message. "Do you, um. Do you have a nickname that doesn't involve numbers?"
B-104 tilted his head. "Humans don't have identification codes?"
Identification codes...that's what this mental model calls himself, right?
Yaya shook her head. "Uh, we do, but it's not what we use to call each other."
Identification codes seem like what's written in her school records and ID, but no one really remembers their own, much less the codes of others. So...
"I see...", the hologram arcs appeared again, with that save file beehive thing lighting up another cell. "Entry logged. Categorized. Saved."
Um...
"So, yeah. You saw the cat. I-I'm telling the truth", Yaya wrings her hands together, nervous. "It won't happen again, I promise."
B-104 observes her for a moment longer.
Then he inclines his head, and the doors opened on it's own behind her.
"Explanation accepted", he said. "Please be more careful next time."
Yaya felt so relieved, she could collapse right then and there. "R-right. Thank you!"
And she runs right out, hoping that she won't get into more trouble on the way out. She feels the mental model stare after her as she goes through the hallway.
When she goes back to town, she swears she's going to find and strangle that crazy cat.
==
One thing you need to know about Yaya is that she's a simple girl. Well, simple and outstanding.
She's the student prefect of her school, as well as the class president. She's also the constant first in class, with her rival being her best friend, Ying, and they make a fun spectacle out of their rivalry.
She wants to be known for the things she fought hard to achieve, the things she's proud of.
"It's you."
But then Yaya gained the ominous fear of becoming a laughingstock once this whole thing is over, and it's become crippling.
The whole group fell silent when those words were uttered. Chocolate brown eyes stared at the center of the field, expression revealing curiosity.
The guards stationed on either side of the mental model exchanged looks. The guide for this trip had her eyebrows raised in surprise.
The teacher that brought Yaya and Yaya's class here had chuckled awkwardly. "What do you mean?"
Yaya wished she should have guarded her flower pin better. She wished she had the guts to actually commit animal abuse before the trespassing thing happened.
Just so this wouldn't happen to her! Aaah!
Right now, she's on a field trip. To where? To the same ship she accidentally entered yesterday night.
This is supposed to give them more information about CI and mental models (but just barely gives them anything except what they already know from class, which sucks). Alas, Yaya didn't know this trip is going to be her grave.
B-104 never left his gaze on her. Yaya wished that's all he'll do, that he won't do anything, the field trip continues, and they all get on with their lives.
But of course, the universe just had to agree to ruin her day.
"B-104", the tour guide brought up. "Why don't you try talking to one of the people here?"
Yaya felt herself screaming internally. No? Lady, this is illegal?? I'm going to sue you???
"Understood."
And the mental model wasn't even normal about it, literally jumping off the platform on the ship, into the air, and then, with hologram arcs activating, slowly drifting down like a leaf assisted by the wind towards the center of the group, where Yaya's classmates made way.
B-104 landed in the middle of the field trip group.
B-104 landed in front of Yaya, staring at her.
And Yaya literally can't speak, because the mental model singled her out, and oh gosh, everyone's going to know her sin, this is the worst, this is hell--
"Your name."
Amber eyes blinked. Huh?
"My database hasn't acquired your name", B-104 informed her gently, tilting his head. "What should you be called?"
Yaya could feel her classmates stare at her. She could feel her best friend Ying drill holes in the back of her head.
Uhh...haha...?
"Y-Yaya", the girl ended up introducing herself. "My name is Yaya! Yaya Yah."
"Yaya. Yaya Yah", B-104 acknowledged, the beehive save thing appeared within the arcs again, and while the mental model's face doesn't change, she gets the sense that he was smiling. "Entry logged. Categorized. Saved."
Silence descended on the people here, all attention on Yaya and B-104. Yaya's valiantly trying not to hide her face.
Oh, gosh, why is this happening to her?
==
Gossip stirred all around.
Ugh. Not exactly the same, but her worst fears are happening.
"What was that?", blue eyes peered at her through the lenses of her glasses. "Why does the mental model know you when he only arrived yesterday?"
Yaya looks on ahead and keeps walking out of the ship. The field trip, fortunately, didn't take too long, so she can have sweet freedom soon enough.
Seriously, that was...she was lucky enough that the mental model didn't call her out on her trespassing. But...
"My database hasn't acquired your name. What should you be called?"
Why does that mental model want to know her name? Surely, it's not to place her in a permanent record that will damage her future, right? Right?
"Who said the mental model knows her?", one of Ying's classmates interjected, playfully nudging Ying's shoulder. "Didn't we all hear the guy ask her name?"
"Yeah, but..."
"The mental model probably just got attracted to Yaya! You know, love at first sight?"
Yaya's eye twitched. Never mind; this is worse.
"Don't be ridiculous, Martha!", one of Yaya's other classmates brought up. "You heard the guide. The mental models only look human, but they're not people!"
That...was also true. It was explained by the guide that each of the mental models is designed for specific functions and abilities, and they are programmed to do those directives---and that was all. Whatever was unique for the mental model were side effects from the combined commands given to them, which is probably why B-104 went out of his way to ask the name of one person in the class.
They're just...advanced computers. Weapons that seem like humans. That's all.
It doesn't make Yaya feel any better.
By the end of the day, she knows what happened today is going to circulate through the whole school. She's still doomed.
It's going to be a pain to face classes tomorrow. Sigh.
==
Yaya can't sleep.
It's just her misfortune that she lived in a close-knitted town; at least the adults were gracious enough not to stare at her for too long, but they were definitely thinking it.
How strange, for a mental model to focus on her. How strange, when mental models rarely act out of their programs.
And Yaya's the only one who knows the reason why B-104 did that, so she was sweating bullets the whole time. Agh, she really should have stopped that stupid cat before she ended up inside the ship.
Of course, the stress this whole thing brought had rendered her unable to sleep, so she ended up walking around. Just, walking, with no destination in mind.
The stars twinkled in the night sky, like shiny jewels. Her house was three turns away from the beach--which explains why she ended up on the ship in the first place--and on looking out, she could see the calming waves moving on the shore.
"Why do people fall in love?"
...and a silhouette on the said shore.
"What does love even mean?"
A human, by the looks of it. Singing by his lonesome.
When Yaya goes near, she could see hands drawing on the sand, and fishing out seashells. She can make out a fairly small collection of seashells in his arm.
"But have you ever fallen in love before?"
As she got closer, she could make out more of the outline. Messy hair, and then chocolate brown eyes ringed with orange--
The girl wearing pink stops.
And then the silhouette, which turned out to be B-104, says. "Please refrain from unauthorized interaction with private property."
She couldn't believe it.
"You--you were singing!", Yaya gasped. "And picking on shells! And playing in the sand!"
Just like what a teenage human would do out of boredom without cell phones, all alone on the beach! What!
She can't even call his singing the sort that's played from a computer and coming from someone else, too; the tune was entirely different, and Yaya doesn't even think B-104 was really following a particular rhythm...
B-104's gaze subtly turned colder, orange rings on his eyes flashing. "Please refrain from unauthorized interaction with private property."
Ah, sh*t. "W-well, I'm not trespassing this time! I'm outside the ship! Talking to you!! You're outside your ship, too! This isn't unauthorized interaction, is it?"
A pause. B-104 blinked. "I suppose it's not."
Yaya sighs. She'll live for another day, thanks.
She looks out the horizon again, to where the sky and the sea should meet. It's too dark to see anything.
No--it would be more accurate to say that there's nothing to see.
"Why are you here, by the way?", and so, Yaya found herself asking the mental model beside her. "Out on the beach?"
...B-104 didn't say anything for a while, simply looking out the horizon like she did just now. Then, "Technically, I'm not here. My core is still standing guard inside my vessel, ready for any threats that may arise. This current body you see here only contains nanomaterials."
"Core?", Yaya has no idea about cores and stuff like that, since classes never really tackled what makes up a mental model; and for good reason, she supposed, considering they're government weapons. It makes sense, though, if the mental models are like computers and--wait, they're getting off track here. "Nevermind--that isn't what I meant."
A pause. Chocolate brown eyes turned to look at her.
"I didn't ask about the how. I asked about the why."
Silence stretched again, long enough for it to be awkward. Looking away, Yaya feels silly; maybe she should drop this--
"One of my saved entries spoke of this activity as fun for humans."
Amber eyes widened. Yaya whirled back to B-104, who looked at the horizon again. She noticed that he didn't let go of the seashells in his arms, and had actually tightened his grip on them, like a child afraid of having his toy taken away.
"I suppose", B-104 went on, words said in a whisper. As if he was unsure whether it is truly safe to say this out loud. "I was curious."
Yaya looks at him. The breeze went by; it feels cold. She should have worn a coat. "And? Is it fun, for you?"
Another pause.
Then B-104 says, looking down at the seashells. "Error; unknown calculation yielded."
And the girl could only stare.
==
It was impulsive.
She shouldn't be doing this.
"Hey, B-104."
Yet still, she was still doing this, holding out a small pouch for the mental model to take. It was the next day after she found B-104 with the seashells, and she managed to ask him to show up at the beach again. And then she does this.
Chocolate brown eyes blinked, looking at the said pouch in what could only be confusion.
"You want to know how humans have fun, right?", Yaya explains, still holding out the pouch. "Humans can have fun making these. Go on, try it."
Why was she doing this?
Well...she supposed it was because of pity.
B-104 is a mental model, a weapon. He may look human, but he's not one. Even so...it just looked like he was trying so hard to understand humans, regardless. Therefore...
It would be cruel of Yaya to not do anything to help, right?
Hands took the pouch, gingerly getting them out of Yaya's hands to cradle against his chest. B-104 tilted his head.
"Open it", Yaya gestured, eager. She was curious, too, okay?
B-104 opened the pouch to reveal heart-shaped cookies. Made by Yaya herself! He should feel grateful, really.
Though... "Can you eat food? I feel like you can, but I don't know..."
In hindsight, maybe she should have asked first. That's her mistake.
"Yes, I can", except B-104 says this, picking up one cookie and inspecting it between two fingers. "Though it is not necessary for me to consume such things to regain energy, my body can still let me taste edible human creations."
"Oh...that's good, then!"
"Yes", and then. "These are called cookies, correct?"
"Uh-huh. Made by me. I hope you'll like it."
B-104 hums. He goes to take a bite--
"NO!!"
And suddenly, the cookie was taken out of the mental model's hand.
Yaya sees dark skin, a large body, and a red band over a forehead, and her eye twitches. "Gopal..."
Gopal, her classmate, looks back at her in indignation. "Do you want to kill someone, Yaya!?"
"What do you mean, kill!? Does that look like poison to you!?"
"Yaya, you're the class president, and I respect you a lot, but this person could be poisoned--"
B-104 took another cookie and took a bite.
Gopal went pale, screaming, being so ridiculously horrified. He ran over. "OH SH*T ARE YOU OKAY!??"
Yaya thinks that reaction is so over-the-top. But she was curious, still. "How is it? Good, right?"
B-104 continued to chew and eat. Then he looks down at the bitten cookie in his hand, then at the pouch.
Then the mental model turns to Yaya. "Is this sandpaper?"
...
"SANDPAPER!?"
Gopal ran back, hiding behind the mental model. Yaya didn't care, because she feels insulted, she feels--
"Ingredients processed; this contains butter, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, flour, food coloring", B-104 spoke, accurately describing what she used to make the cookies. "Pepper, a chemical substance I'd rather not name, and parsley."
Silence again. Gopal blinked, processing.
And then, Gopal thrust an accusing finger at Yaya. "N-no wonder they're so terrible!! Who uses pepper and parsley when making cookies!? And a chemical substance!??"
"It's a substance that is normally poisonous to humans and animals alike. However, Yaya seems to have found a way to stop its ill effects from affecting those that consume it, which is a wonder..."
"That doesn't make it better!!"
Yaya pouts. She just wanted to be creative, was that so bad?
--and then a giggle sounded.
Yaya and Gopal stare, as B-104 covered his mouth with the back of his hand. However, this didn't hide what he was doing.
And B-104 was giggling, looking like a normal teenager amused with his friends' antics.
The two humans stare. They didn't think B-104 was capable of it.
"Regardless, this is the first time I've received gifts", he then says, tucking the pouch close to his heart. His eyes were bright, and he was smiling just as brightly, like a pleasant day with your favorite drink. "Thank you, Yaya."
Yaya wanted to say, you're welcome, but she was tongue-tied and probably gaping like a fish.
B-104 doesn't look too bad when he smiles...
==
"And you are?"
"Gopal! Gopal Kumar!"
"Gopal. Gopal Kumar", there were no hologram arcs that appeared, but still, B-104 says. "Entry logged. Categorized. Saved."
Gopal chuckled. Yaya predicted something ridiculous is going to come out of his mouth--which was proven correct when he says. "Wanna be best friends!?"
A pause. B-104 tilted his head. "Best friends?"
"Yep! You do know what best friends are, right?"
B-104 looked to the side, as if scanning something only he can see. "I believe so, yes."
Gopal grins. "So...what do you think?"
B-104 beams back.
"Also, if I'm your best friend, can I drive your ship?"
B-104's smile disappeared instantly, replaced with a dry look. "Please refrain from unauthorized interaction with private property."
Yaya gave the same dry look, too.
Gopal laughed, now sweating bullets. "I'm just joking, I'm joking! Ehehe...heh...pleasedon'thurtme."
==
Since that time, something's...changed, Yaya guesses?
B-104 still makes it clear that they're forbidden to enter the ship and will blast their faces off if they try, but when they get spare time to explore after school and catch him alone on the beach, he...
Well. It's hard to recall he's an artificial intelligence entity and a weapon, with how he acts around them.
Three months had passed since Yaya had given him those cookies. Since that time, she's seen him play games with Gopal, climb up trees and swim with the other teen, and she had also been dragged by him to explore the streets.
She thinks she's seeing B-104's real personality, in these times.
B-104 is energetic, with boundless energy that bursts forth whenever something interests him. He's also endlessly curious; Yaya lost count of how many human facts he's saved in his entries, and he's still going on saving more.
Other than that, he's also unexpectedly...
It was the first time she saw him outside the ship with the hologram arcs around him. There was a screen on those arcs, where B-104 seems to be talking to like a video call.
She was fairly far away, so she could only make out purple and blue clothes, and a visor, but their voices were pretty clear to hear.
"B-104, remember your directive. Don't get distracted", the individual on the screen snapped. "You are to stay there and survey the island. Nothing more."
"But..."
"We are weapons. We shouldn't waste time on little things, we shouldn't pretend to be human. Remember that."
And then the scene shut off. B-104's shoulders sagged.
Yaya hesitated on approaching him--but B-104 turned and noticed her.
He gave her a smile, hopeful and slightly embarrassed. "Yaya. Care to help me?"
Yaya blinks.
B-104 has been slowly adapting to human society, applying the informal terms of speech he'd learned ever so slowly. She thought those were the only things he'd learn or show, but--
But then she was proven wrong when she was made to purchase a small bowl, a bottle of milk, and a blanket.
At first, she was confused. What's all this for? B-104 doesn't need the blanket since he can't really be affected by changing weather, and he's said before that mental models didn't need to eat or drink...
A small ball of fluff in a box answered her questions.
"I found her inside a trash bin", B-104 explained, taking the blanket to fashion a pillow with it. He was careful not to hit the unmistakable small form of a kitten in the box. "I can't just leave her there."
B-104 took the bowl. Yaya poured milk there.
The mental model then, with great gentleness, picked up the kitten to place her on the makeshift pillow bed. Then he places the bowl close to the small creature.
A pause. Then the kitten slowly crawls out to lap up at the milk, still covered in the excess blanket of the pillow.
Yaya kneels down next to B-104, observing the cat, then turns to observe the mental model.
"My brothers and I used to have a pet", the mental model then shares, not taking his gaze off the kitten. He looked fond, but wistful. "A fluffy cat with the personality of a spoiled mistress. B-102 named her Mimi."
"Mimi...", a surprisingly normal name to give, for entities who seem to have no normal names for themselves.
"I wanted to give this kitten a home in this ship", B-104 reached out a hand to the kitten--then drew it back. "But Central Intelligence won't let me. F-094 warned me against it. So, I suppose I'd have to look for another home for her..."
That...was that the conversation she accidentally overheard, earlier?
But, still. Yaya didn't expect this.
"Thank you for helping me, Yaya."
She didn't expect B-104 to be also...kind. To the extent of going out of his way to help a creature in need.
And so, she smiles, bumping shoulders with B-104, and says. "No problem."
Then, she wonders.
Mental models are said to be simply weapons. Yet...how could this mental model be so human-like, to show such compassion?
==
And then something happens, because of course it does. They just can't have good things, can they?
"On that day, when we met...I actually have a name like yours."
Yaya looks up from drawing in the sand. They were on the beach again, with Gopal nowhere to be found considering that he was late (and Yaya caught him) and so he was forced to clean up the school as punishment. Now, she was here, with B-104, and they were just content to be in each other's presence, until B-104 suddenly brought this up.
She puts the branch she was using down. "A name?"
"Sorry, I didn't tell you", B-104 scratched his cheek. "I decided not to for...well, reasons."
"But...you're willing to tell me now?"
B-104 nods.
He stands, brushing the sand from his pants. Yaya stands, too, and sees him hold out a hand to her.
"I'm the mental model of warship B-104, of the Navy Fleet", B-104 then says, introducing himself like an actual person. His smile was as bright as a cloudless sky. "But you can call me Boboiboy."
Boboiboy...
Yaya smiles back. She goes to take the hand--
But then his outline suddenly shines red, glitching at the edges, and he stumbles back with a cry.
Yaya ran to him in an instant, catching him. He felt solid and warm, but becoming undone, like dust turning back to stone and back again.
Glitching...
"I'm...", panting, B-104 leans to Yaya, holding his head. His whole body was trembling. "S-scanning for threats...system error. Scanning for hindrances in vessel processes...system error--wh-what is happening to me?"
Yaya has never seen him look so vulnerable. The form he took had always been smaller than her and Gopal, making him rather cute and somehow adding to the intimidation when he wants to be intimidating, but now, in this state in her arms, he looks...delicate. Like a flower being torn to shreds.
Red stripes appeared on his body, creeping up from his heart. The second it reached his forehead, B-104--no, Boboiboy, flinches violently.
And he screams.
Like his soul was getting ripped out of him, like he was being cut open with sharpened blades. It was a horrifying sound, and Yaya wants to make the pain he was feeling stop, but she doesn't know what to do, doesn't know what even is happening--!
He completely fades away in a flurry of light. Yaya stumbles forth, trying to catch the remnants drifting in the air.
...was Boboiboy, B-104, really...
N-no, no, that can't be right. He did this before, and he explained this phenomenon; said that this is how he reunites with his core still inside his vessel, when he wants to go back.
The ship...that's right! What must be wrong must be inside the ship!
The girl clad in pink stands again.
Boboiboy's going to be so mad, for her to do this. But this is an emergency--surely, he'll make an exception?
Just that, no matter what, she's going to help her friend.
And so she runs to the ship, hoping that whatever it is, she wasn't too late.
==
"I heard a scream! What happened?"
Somehow, Ying caught her on the way, blue eyes shining with worry.
"I-it was B-104, wasn't it?"
Gopal was with her best friend, eyebrows furrowing. He honestly seems concerned for Boboiboy.
Yaya gives a shaky breath. She looks up again.
Boboiboy's vessel was pretty fearsome and impressive, now that she's looking at it properly. Truly fitting of the title of a warship, though she could also see how this belongs to such a gentle person.
Now, red stripes invaded the ship's hull, creeping up--or was it down? She can't tell.
But the fact that it's there...
"I'm going in", Yaya told Gopal and Ying, determined. She won't falter. "Cover for me."
"But didn't he tell us--YAYA, WAIT!!"
Yaya was already too far for them to grab, by that point.
==
She was in a hall almost her width, with pipes and valves neatly organized at her sides, on the walls. The ceiling was also filled with these pipes and fluorescent lighting, making it seem she was about to be examined. Ahead of her were steel doors, closed shut.
Coming back here, months later, feels almost nostalgic.
And she could even pretend that nothing was wrong, that B-104, Boboiboy, decided to invite her in himself, if it weren't for the red stripes to still be present inside the ship.
She bursts into the steel doors, momentarily surprised that it was actually unlocked, and then she sees him.
Boboiboy was there, collapsed on the ground, unconscious with tears falling from his face. Hologram arcs surrounded the whole room, much like that time when he searched for the crazy cat--except, this time, it wasn't anything good.
Yaya looks around, recognizing the vast collection of beehive save files Boboiboy had gathered these few months. To her horror, they were disappearing.
[Authority Override: Auto Control activated by Central Intelligence]
That hologram box was at the center of it all.
But, thinking of nothing of it for the moment, Yaya dashes forward despite the consequences, scooping Boboiboy up in her arms.
Red stripes were still present on his skin. He was hardly breathing, feverish to the touch. Motionless.
The tears continue to stream down.
{Entry: Gopal Kumar}
[DELETED]
Yaya looks up at the holograms, helpless.
Wh-what is happening?
{Entry: Yaya Yah}
How could she stop it?
[DELETED]
All at once, everything disappears. The red stripes disappear. The hologram arcs faded back to their original size around Boboiboy, though it accommodated Yaya's presence, too.
Boboiboy's body relaxed. The fever faded back to normal temperature.
And chocolate brown eyes ringed with orange fluttered open.
"Thank goodness", Yaya found herself muttering. She reaches out, cupping Boboiboy's face, brushing stray hair away from his eyes. "Thank goodness...are you okay, Boboiboy? H-how are you feeling?"
Boboiboy stares at her. His lips pulled in a straight line.
The last two entries deleted scared her, but-but--surely, that doesn't mean anything? Surely--
And then the hologram arcs glow, brighter than ever.
"Please refrain from unauthorized interaction with private property."
Yaya freezes. She tries to laugh it off. "B-Boboiboy, come on. I was worried about you--"
"How did you know that name?"
"--h-huh?"
His eyes were cold and blank. "You are an unknown individual. There is no record of you in my database. So, how do you know my name?"
Her breath caught in her throat, heart stopped in place. In shock, she realizes what had occured.
"Please refrain from unauthorized interaction with private property."
Boboiboy looks at her, tears already stopped. There was no recognition on his face.
"This is your last warning."
He doesn't remember her.