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The Legion do not dream.
Based on one of the most complex mammal brains along with the legion's liquid micromachines, it doesn't need to process dreams to sort out its memories.
The legion do not dream. That much is true.
But what if the legion obtained a brain with a fear so intense, so pure that its traumatic memories persisted through death?
Such is a story of a single Ameise that roam the lands of the United Kingdom of Roa Gracia.
<<STANDBY MODE DISENGAGED>>
<<WARNING: FORIGEN ENTITY WITHIN>>
<<ERROR 404>>
The warning woke the Ameise up once more.
A warning so unique, it doesn't know what protocols to take.
<<AUDIT INITIATION BEGINS>>
<<ERROR FOUND: ZERO>>
A strange result, even for an inhuman killing machine.
The very first time this message was received, the Ameise looked around with its many sensitive sensors under its torso.
Nothing but the cold pure snow, untouched by humans, it can not feel. Moments later, the warning dissappeared only to appear once more.
Days, weeks, months passed and the Ameise continue to receive the same warning —more frequent with as time pass. It noticed its movements and central processing system gradually slowing down during its battle against the humans.
The Ameise doesn't think beyond the commands it was given but it had slowly begun to attempt to process the issue by itself. After all, it had got to the point where it's becoming difficult to complete its tasks with maximum efficiency.
But unfortunately for the Ameise, it was already too late to even start an attempt when the opportunity arrived.
An extreme blizzard roared through the empty desolate snowy lands. The conifer trees covered in pure white snow and ice, robbed of its dark green leaves and mud bark skin.
Such conditions made it hard for the Amesie to see—its optical sensors rendered obsolete under the raging silver storm. It couldn't even see its fellow Ameises ahead.
But they continued marching forward. They were told to head over to the frontlines where the United Kingdom of Roa Gracia's forces are holding its defensive line at the bottom of the Dragon Fang mountain base.
<<WARNING: FORIGEN ENTITY WITHIN>>
<<ERROR 404>>
<<AUDIT INITIATION BEGINS>>
<<AUDIT INITIATION REJECTED>>
The Ameise hesitated for a moment before continuing its trek. It wanted to deal with the error yet the order from the Merciless Queen took top priority.
So it ignored the warning. Just like every other time.
<<WARNING: FORIGEN ENTITY WITHIN>>
<<ERROR 404>>
<<WARNING: FORIGEN ENTITY WITHIN>>
<<ERROR 404>>
<<WARNING: FORIGEN ENTITY WITHIN>>
<<ERROR 404>>
<<WARNING: FORIGEN ENTITY WITHIN>>
<<ERROR 404>>
The warning flooded the Ameise central processing system, fully halting the metallic ant in its tracks.
<<WAR<@NING: FORIGEN ENTITY W×£(ITHIN>>
<<ER&@ROR 404>>
The Ameise found itself to be malfunctioning from within. It turned its optical sensor to view its surroundings. Nothing but white pure snow and the marching Ameise passing by, fading away into white blizzard— consumed.
<<WAR<@NING: FORIGEN ENTITY W×£(ITHIN>>
<<ER&@ROR 404>>
The Ameise's precise movements began to waver. Its six legs moved in perfect sync suddenly oscillate irregularly.
<<WAR<@N^NG: FORIG2N ENTITY W×£(ITHIN>>
<<ER&@ROR 409.4>>
Something was inside.
Suddenly, its central system began to heat up. The surrounding snow under the tips of it's six legs began to melt, only for it to freeze under the blizzard.
<<W2R<@N^NG: F{|RIG2N EN#/_TY W×£(ITHIN>>
<<ER&@R×R 409#_£>>
Something was inside.
The Ameise suddenly fired its 7.56mm antipersonnel machine gun, downing some of its fellow Ameises. The sounds of bullets were swallowed by the raging silver white storm.
The Ameise collapsed into the snow, unable to comprehend what was happening.
It wasn't long until the final bullet was fired.
<<×<2R<@N^NG: F{|RI;2N EN#/_TY W×?£(ITHIN>>
<<*×R&@R×R 4#_£>>
The ameise was all alone.
And something was inside.
Hours passed.
Its optical sensor looked up towards the silvery grey cast sky. A fine accomplishment by the Eintagsfliege, massive in numbers.
The Ameise laid on the ground upward looking at this unchanging sky. It wasn’t long before something crawled within its optical sensors.
A small head with a flattened and broad body. It was hard to see but it was dark in colour. Its six thin legs moved at a high pace.
Similar to itself, similar to the enemies inferior man-made machines.
Yet...it was foreign to the Legion.
The six-legged mechanical creature found itself processing a memory that should not have exist after its creation.
It found itself seeing such a creature prior to its first command to eliminate its human enemies.
It was consuming a coiled and tangled ball of something long, thin and warm before seeing it hiding inside.
It remembered how it made it feel.
Fear.
It was scared.
The Ameise found themselve scared.
It remembered what it was.
The foreign entity within the sensors became two.
Then three.
Then four.
Then eight, twelve, twenty....
The Ameise reached out one of it's legs to escape but it was no use. It was too late.
The extended leg dropped, the sound of a metallic thud softened by the thick pure white snow.
Lena found herself standing infront of the unused hangar. She was told that Shin was headed here to check something unusual about the ruined legions they had gathered.
Instead, Lena found a woman with golden hair and blue sapphire eyes dressed in the maintenance crew's overall. The woman's head turned upon Lena's approach.
"Ah, Colonel Milizé. Surprised to see you here. What can I do for you?" Touka spoke in a cheerful tone while starring intensely at the ruined legion infront of her.
"Corporal Keisha–"
"Please, Touka is fine."
"Oh. Um...Touka. What are you doing staring at a Ameise?" Lena asked, peeking at the ruined legion unit.
"Well, we found this one yesterday. Among all of the ruined legions we got, this one is undamaged yet it's dead..."
Lena eye's widen in surpise and curiosity, taking a second look.
"Oh? Wait you're right. So strange..."
"Rrrright?"
The two stood infront of the pristine Ameise, both crossing their arms thinking of any possible reasoning.
"It could be a malfunction within its central processing system?" Lena asked again.
"Perhaps, i haven't touch it yet. It could exploded for all we know."
Lena immediately backed away, almost tripping over her heels.
"EXCUSE ME WHAT?? THEN WE SHOULD NOT BE NEAR THIS THING! W-WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?"
Despite the cautious Lena, Touka laughed.
"I'm kidding Colonel. Shin verified it was dead. And besides, Ameise don't self-destruct...yet."
"Corpal Keisha!"
Touka laughed once more, tapping Lena's left shoulder before walking away from the Ameise.
"I'm kiddingggg Colonel. Well, I'm going to heat up my pasta now. I'll be back so take a look around. Shin will come back soon by the way."
Lena turned around in surpise, almost speechless. She hasn't yet mentioned why she was here.
"Wait, how did you know?"
"Everyone knows Colonel. Everyone."
Lena was left alone with the fallen Ameise.
Its perfectly smooth thin slivery armour reflected the maiden in a distortion that made her giggle upon looking at it. Desipte its prior caution action, hearing that Shin verified its death made her relieved.
Well...its not everyday you see an legion this close in person...
Lena reached out to touch the Ameise, pressing her fingertips slightly against it. She felt her body heat seep into the cold metallic surface.
At that moment, tiny scratch-like sounds echoed around. Lena immediately pulled her hands away.
She looked around the empty hangar. Various rusted interior steel beams, mechanical tools and piles of ruined Legion parts were scattered all around.
Maybe it was just the sounds of this place...
Unfortunately, that was not the case.
The same sounds echoed again. But within the Ameise.
Lena's eyes laser focused on the legion's torso. The sounds concentracted at that location slowly made its way towards the small gaps inbetween its metallic armour.
It was a sound that Lena was familar with.
But her legs had gone cold and stiff from the realisation.
She wanted to deny the conclusion she had thought of.
No...
It can't be...
Something crawled out of the Ameise.
A small head with a flattened and broad body, red-brown in colour. It's six thin legs moving at a high pace.
And several of them were crawling out.
"Ah..."
"AHHH"
Once more, it revealed itself infront of Lena.
"ARGHHHHHHHH!"
Cockroaches.
And this time, the cockroaches opened their wings and flew towards her.
"AGRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
With a bowl of pasta heated up, Touka made her way back to the unused hanger. It was then a very familar boy appeared in front of her.
"Ah Shin, looking for Colonel Milizé?"
Shin turned, his expression unfazed from the question. But his words expressed something different.
"...Yes. i heard she was looking for me?"
"Yeah, yeah. She's in the hangar with the Ameise. we were just looking at it moments ago." Touka mumbled, taking a bite of her pasta with her plastic fork.
Shin's crimson red eyes widen.
"You left her with that?" What's wrong with Y— tsk!"
Stopping his question halfway, Shin ran off.
"Hey! Wait for m-," Touka was about to follow him but was surprised to see Shin had also stopped immediately after. "What's wrong?"
"...here she comes."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAA"
In the distance, a frightened Lena was running at a speed that even made Shin stunned.
"Lena, what's wro-"
"COCKROACHES SHIN. AND THEY CAN FLY!
"C-cockroaches??? Again??"
The sudden state of confusion caused Shin to miscalculate. He opened his arm in an attempt to catch Lena in his arms. But Lena ramped into his body, making him trip over his heavy boots.
"OI OI OI, WAIT! HOLD ON!"
Behind Shin, touka was holding her warm bowl of pasta, wailing her left arm to stop the domino effect from taking place. But she was unsuccessful.
THUD!
Lena fell on top of shin.
Shin fell on top of Touka
And Touka's pasta fell on top of her.
Pasta sauce dripped across Touka's face and strands of pasta were mixed in her blonde hair, also dyed in sauce. Lena and Shin rolled off Touka after impact.
"Um....what's going on here?" A confused Guren stared at the trio on the ground in silence.
"So in the end, the Ameise has a cockroach infestation within and their central processing system was damaged..."
Guren spoke as he stared at the opened Ameise, revealing more cockroaches crawling all over its interior.
Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.
Touka's pasta?
It was later made again by Lena to calm her after coming back from a shower to clean off the pasta sauce from her body.
In the end, Lena was banned from entering the unused Hanger.
[THE END??]