Chapter Text
Mirabelle POV:
A party of three, Mirabelle the chosen, Isabeau the defender, and Odile the researcher, make their way through a forest in search of the third orb.
They are on an important quest to save Vauguard from the King, who is freezing the country in time.
They intend to stop in Onyrx for a much needed rest.
The forest is peaceful, a gentle wind joustles the trees and the Sun is shining brightly.
(You’re so happy you don’t have to do this alone…)
(First Isabeau joined your quest, leaving the Defenders because he was upset with their cowardice, making it not quite as daunting as it was before)
(Then you met Madame Odile, and insisted she join; you’re so glad she did, she is very knowledgeable!)
(You don’t know how you would have handled this alone)
(You always wanted to go on an adventure like in the stories you read, but it doesn’t feel so great to actually be in it…)
Mirabelle looks around at the forest they are traveling though, sunlight barely comes in through the trees, the shades feel warm, it’s very serene.
(Everything will be frozen in time forever if you fail…)
Mirabelle is taken out of her thoughts when she sees something darkless lying against a tree.
(What is that? Is that a person?!)
> “Oh! There's someone out here!”
Mirabelle gestures to the figure.
Isabeau: “Would you look at that!”
Odile: “Interesting, I wonder what they are doing out here.”
Isabeau starts walking up to them.
Isabeau: “Hi! What are you doing out here?”
They don’t respond, Isabeau stops walking closer.
(That’s a little worrying…)
Isabeau: “Hello? Buddy?”
Isabeau looks worried.
Mirabelle decides to go closer, as she approaches, she notices some oddities.
It seems to be a mechanical girl. She has long darkless hair with a cowlick at the top, it’s a complete mess right now. She is wearing a coat adorned with several five-pointed stars, it only goes down to her waist; it’s pretty tattered. On her chest is a massive version of one of the stars in her hair, surrounded by metal plating. Other than her coat, she is just bare metal and fake skin, the skin only covers her face and arms; it’s missing in some places, revealing the machinery underneath. Many parts of her plating are also missing. Covered in moss, she appears to have been sitting here for a long time. She is completely still.
(Darkless hair, you don't see that shade very often...)
(They aren’t moving at all, not even breathing…)
(Are they even a person?)
> “They’re completely still… and they seem to have wires inside them?”
Odile: “Wires?”
(Looking closer at the open skin, you think you see metal?)
Mirabelle, now right next to the still figure, touches them.
(It’s cold metal)
(What is this? And why is it out here?)
> “They are made of metal, I guess it isn’t a person?”
Odile comes to take a closer look at it.
Odile: “It seems to be some kind of machine, but what is it doing out here?”
(This machine has seen better days…)
> “It looks like a person.”
Isabeau comes up to stand with Mirabelle and Odile.
Isabeau: “She really does, the work is very well done, do you think someone lost her?”
Odile: “It’s too large to be easily lost, I can't even begin to imagine how someone would manage to lose something like this out here in the forest.”
(Something feels strange about it)
(It’s kind of exciting!)
> “Should we take her to Onyrx and ask about it?”
Odile: “I don’t see the need, it's probably an art piece.”
(For some reason, you don’t feel like this is an art piece, something in you says there is more to this)
> “I-its just a feeling… But! I feel like there is more to this?”
Odile: "That's not very concrete, anything more to work with, Mirabelle?”
> “N-no, but I really feel like there's more to this!”
Isabeau: “Well! I say we go with your gut.”
(Yes!)
Odile: “How are we going to transport it?”
> “Umm! I! Didn’t think of that!”
Isabeau: “...I guess I’ll carry her, I’m a strong dude and she seems pretty small!”
(Oh Change! You didn’t mean to cause Isabeau trouble!)
Isabeau: “I’m rather interested by this myself! I will carry this machine and nobody can stop me!”
Odile groans.
(You pretend to not find it funny)
(He must not mind that much then, phew…)
Isabeau: “I’m going to clean her up a bit first… I simply mosst do it!”
(That one was really bad)
Odile: “If you are going to make puns, you should at least make half decent ones.”
He puts his hands on his hips in mock offense.
Isabeau: “My puns are renowned all over Vauguard, thank you very much!”
He cleans most of the moss off with his hands.
Isabeau: “Her clothes are damaged, I might take some time to fix that tonight.”
He lifts the machine into his arms.
Isabeau: “Huh, she’s lighter than I thought she would be!”
> “Really?”
Isabeau: “Yeah, she’s about as heavy as I would expect a child to be.”
(You would think she would be heavier, is she hollow?)
Isabeau: “Well! Off to Onyrx!”
Odile exaggeratedly rolls her eyes.
Odile: “Off we go.”
(You wonder what the deal with the mechanical girl is…)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
??? POV:
(You have not consumed bio-mass in a while, and it has been really cloudy)
[Warning: Power Levels Low]
(You do not have much power left)
(Maybe you should not have left the only home you have ever known)
(No, you would not have been able to handle staying there any longer, too many memories)
(You really need to find a town soon)
(You do not know where you are, you did not plan very thoroughly when you left)
(...)
(Nature is beautiful, you never saw much of it when you were back at the Lab)
(It is nice)
(...)
(You… feel tired)
(That tree looks like a nice spot to rest)
(You do not really want to keep going anymore)
(You sit down by the tree, it feels nice against your skin)
(You are so tired…)
(You do not know if you will ever wake up)
(You think you are fine with that)
(It has been fun, seeing a little bit of the world, getting to exist at all)
(But all things must come to an end)
(You suppose this is yours)
(Sunlight will not reach you here)
(This is a nice sp o t t o r e s t )
[Power Has Been Depleted, Shutting Down]
[Charging…]
[Boot Up Sequence Initiated]
(You have power)
(...)
(You have power?)
(How long has it been?)
(Where are you?)
(You can not see yet)
(You have so little power in your system, power is going towards thought processes for now)
(After that will be audio sensing, then texture and position sensing, then communication, then your optic sensors, then most motor functions, then your more minor functions)
(You are charging, you must be out in the sun)
(Did the tree you are sleeping at get chopped down? Maybe struck by lightning?)
(Or maybe you were moved by an animal)
(It could have been a person who moved you into the sun)
[Audio Systems Operational]
???: “-re it’s not causing you trouble, Isabeau?”
Isabeau?: “Nope! She’s plenty light for me, you don’t have to worry about it!”
(Voices)
(One of them is carrying something? This ‘Isabeau’ person it sounds like)
(Where are you?)
???: “We could have just left it, it’s probably an art piece that was left there for artistic expression.”
???: “She is quite beautiful…”
(An art piece?)
Isabeau?: “I agree, but we have to know!”
???: “No we do not.”
Iasbeau?: “Mira had a feeling and I’m rather interested by her!”
(What could they be talking about?)
[Sense of Touch Operational]
(You can feel again)
(You feel… flesh?)
(It feels like you are moving)
Isabeau?: “She’s getting pretty warm, the sun must be warming her up.”
???: “It IS made of metal, careful not to burn yourself.”
Isabeau?: “I know what I’m doing! Don’t you worry Madame!”
(Are you being carried?)
(That would make the sense, your body does get warmer when power goes through it)
[Communication Systems Operational]
(You can speak now if you wanted)
(You do wonder what the date is)
> “Hello, may I inquire about the date?”
(You are nearly dropped)
(Someone yelped, probably Isabeau)
(Whoops)
???: “D-did she just talk?!?”
(You did)
> "Affirmative, I do have the function of speaking.”
(...)
(Why is it so quiet?)
> “May I ask a question?”
Isabeau?: “Uhhh, sure?”
> “Why did it get so quiet?”
Isabeau?: “We don’t really know how to process you talking, bud.”
(Ah)
> “Got it.”
(...)
Everyone is silent for some time, then…
Iasbeau?: “Do… you want me to put you down?”
> “I am not at a sufficient power level to observe the world around me, nor move within it.”
Iasbeau?: “...Is that a no then?”
> “Affirmative.”
Iasbeau?: “Since you can now speak, do you have a name?”
(You do, your Creator gave it to you)
> “Miki Covelow SF-A2, she/her.”
Isabeau: “Nice to meet you Miki! I’m Isabeau, he/him!”
(It is weird to hear your name)
(You heard his name before, but the pronouns are useful)
> “I heard, nice to meet you, Isabeau.”
[Optical Systems Operational]
> “My optical functions have returned.”
(You see the arms of a large man who is holding you, you cannot tilt your head for a better view)
(Must be Isabeau)
(You also see a young woman with curly hair)
> “Hello.”
(She looks nervous)
Mirabelle: “Oh! H-hi, I’m Mirabelle, she/her.”
(This must be ‘Mira’)
(You hear a voice you can’t see the origin of)
Odile: “....hello, you can call me Odile, she/her.”
> “Hello, Odile.”
Odile: “Where did you come from?”
(You are not entirely sure)
> “I do not know, I got lost in the forest when I left home, and I do not know where home is.”
Mirabelle: “Oh no! Is there anything we can do to help you get back?”
(She misunderstands the situation)
> “I have no intention of returning, there is nothing there for me now.”
Mirabelle: “Oh…”
Everyone is silent again.
(You still do not know the date)
> “May I ask a question?”
Isabeau: “Of course!”
> “What is the date?”
Isabeau: “Oh! I forgot you asked about that, it’s March 4th, 1873.”
(So it has been five years, you update your internal calender)
> “It has been five years since I last had power.”
Isabeau: “Five years?!?”
Mirabelle: “Oh change! Is there anyone who would know you?!?”
(It was just your Creator, who is dead, and those other two people, but you had not seen them in a long time)
> “Negative, there is no one waiting for me.”
Isabeau stops moving and Mirabelle just looks at Miki sadly.
(She does not need to feel sad for you)
[Motor Systems Operational]
> “I have regained motor function.”
Isabeau: “Oh! Let me set you down then.”
He sets down Miki on her feet.
(Time to test your motor function)
Miki’s joints are rusty and unoiled, the movement is jerky and it makes a loud, unpleasant screech.
Isabeau and Mirabelle flinch and cover their ears.
> “It seems my joints have rusted and are not lubricated, this does not make for ideal movement.”
Odile: “It makes a rather upsetting sound too.”
(It does)
> “Affirmative.”
Isabeau: “...in that case, I can keep carrying you, if you would be okay with that of course!"
(Why?)
> “Why would you need to carry me?”
Isabeau: “It seems like moving is bad and it also makes a pretty nasty sound.”
(That is not what you meant)
> “I understand the practical reasons for carrying me, but why would this be relevant? Are we not about to spit paths?”
Isabeau: “You don’t seem to be in the best shape, We are heading to Onyrx, you might be able to get fixed up there!”
(You still don not understand)
> “I do not understand.”
Everyone is silent for a moment.
Isabeau: “What don’t you understand, Miki?”
(Oh)
(You still are not used to hearing your name)
(...)
(It’s nice)
(He is looking at you very kindly, you don’t understand why)
> “Why would you bother yourselves with me? You do not know me and I am not even a person, why expend the effort?”
(Isabeau and Mirabelle look sad)
(You don’t understand why)
(Oh, the 3rd voice is standing in view now, that would be Odile)
(This is the first time you have seen Odile, she is rather tall)
(She is also staring daggers into you, her gaze is analytical and cold, you think her glasses make her more intimidating)
(Feels familiar)
(You do not think she likes you)
(Makes sense)
Isabeau: "Because it’s the kind thing to do, it doesn’t seem like you would do very well on your own at the moment.”
(You suppose he is right in that regard, you would stand little chance like this)
(But why does he care?)
> “I agree, I would not make it very far in this state, but why bother with a machine?”
Isabeau: “You feel enough like a person to me!”
Mirabelle: “Y-yeah! And I have never seen anyone like you before!”
(Really?)
> “You haven’t?”
Odile looks at Miki strangely.
Odile: “...Have you?”
(You have not, you figured things like you would be more common)
> “Negative.”
Mirabelle: “Well, we would be happy to let you travel with us into town!”
(Oh)
> “Really?”
Mirabelle: “Yeah!”
(Mirabelle turns to look at Odile, you can’t see the face Mirabelle is making, but Odile looks on edge)
Odile: “...Fine.”
(If it is fine with them, you suppose you can go with them)
> “In that case, I would be okay with being carried.”
Isabeau: “I’ve gotcha!”
Isabeau lifts Miki back into his arms.
(Warm)
Isabeau: “Wow! You are much warmer now!”
> “My systems run at a temperature of forty degrees celsius.”
Isabeau: “Huh, neat!”
> “I will abstain from attempting any motor function for the time being.”
Iasbeau: “Makes sense! You don’t want to damage yourself!”
Odile: “Let's get going, we should be able to make it there by tomorrow.”
Odile is still looking at Miki suspiciously.
(What a strange group of people)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Isabeau POV:
The party is still walking through the forest, now with Miki in hand.
(You really didn’t expect that!)
(Miki has gone into ‘sleep mode’)
(You asked what that meant, and she said it's different from sleep, it’s to conserve energy, she won’t be hearing any of you for a while)
(You wonder how making something like her is even possible)
(You like Miki, she seems intelligent too, even if she is seemingly lacking in some emotional intelligence)
(It concerns you that her self worth is so bad, she didn’t see herself as worth the effort of helping)
(She doesn’t see herself as a person)
(Mira seems to have warmed up to Miki, she was nervous at first, but you can tell some excitement has come through, she looks much more relaxed now)
(Odile on the other hand…)
Isabeau slows down a bit and glances at Odile.
(You don’t want Mirabelle to hear this just yet)
Odile is deep in thought.
Isabeau lets Mirabelle get ahead, she seems distracted.
Odile sees Isabeau slowing down and seems to understand what he wants.
> “Madame? May I ask you a question?”
She looks at Miki and thinks for a moment.
Odile: “...You may.”
(You hope this goes well)
> “What is your opinion of Miki?”
She narrows her eyes, thinking about how to word her thoughts.
Odile: “I’m being cautious, I have never even heard about anything like it, and it’s rather suspicious for us to encounter it during our quest to save the country. Freezing things in time was thought to be impossible, and a machine like this has only ever been written of in fiction. I can see the world in which these events are related and dangerous.”
(You understand her thoughts, a second ‘thought to be impossibility’ within such a short span of time is suspicious…)
(But something about how Miki conducted herself makes you feel like she's not a threat to all of you)
(She tried to leave after waking up, and you believe she’s been powered down for five years, she’s in bad shape)
> “I get it, but if she was dangerous to us, why did she act the way she did? And she sure looks like she was out of commission for five years, how would she be related to the King?”
Odile: “I don’t know, I’m still thinking about it.”
Odile: “Beyond that, how can we trust that it was even ‘out of power’, what if it just pretended to gain power when we picked it up? There is a problem with that of course, being its rusted joints and the moss, but we don’t know much about the King or how long he has been planning this.”
(You really don’t know enough about how something like her works to know if what Miki says is true)
Odile: “If it was out of power, how did it regain it?”
(You really don’t know, the only thing you can really do is ask)
> “The only way to find out is to ask!”
Odile does not seem to like that.
Odile: “You’re right, we don’t understand how a machine that advanced could work, so we have no other way to find out.”
(She never used Miki’s pronouns, she only called her ‘it’)
(You should make sure bridges aren’t burned)
> “Madame, I will ask you to use her preferred pronouns, it’s not fair to her to refer to her with it/its.”
Odile seems taken aback.
Odile: “...Yes, I suppose that was rude of me… I will make sure to use her preferred pronouns.”
(You can tell using those pronouns makes Odile uncomfortable)
> “Thank you, Madame.”
(You wonder if the general public would accept her, you are scared for how she would fare on her own)
(You don’t want people taking advantage of her)
(Well, you still have a lot of walking to do…)
(Oh! Better catch up to Mira!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mirabelle POV:
The party has stopped for the day and set up camp, they should make it to Onyrx tomorrow.
Miki has been set down near the fire.
(It’s weird to see someone be so still… it reminds you of people frozen in time)
(On that topic…)
(Miki is really cool!)
(She’s like the Robo Warrior from The Cursing of Château Castle Issue #53!)
(Ah- but she's not a character from a book! You need to remember that!)
(...)
Isabeau is cooking over the fire and Odile is sitting by the fire with Mirabelle and Miki, she’s writing in her book.
(It’s weird how quiet it is, it makes you uncomfortable)
Odile stops writing and looks to be preparing to speak.
Odile: “So, Miki, how do you gain power?”
(You hadn’t thought about that, she suddenly gained power while Isabeau was carrying her, how did that happen?)
Miki: “I have two methods to refill my stores of electricity, converting sunlight into electricity, and consuming biomass to turn into chemical energy which is converted into electricity.”
(That’s possible?)
Isabeau: “That’s a cool system!”
Odile: “If that's true, how did you run out of electricity?”
Miki: “I planned poorly when I left the lab, I did not bring bio-mass, instead I relied on sunlight, but it got very cloudy for multiple days and I ran out of power. The darkness of the forest did not help either.”
(It’s fortunate you managed to find her…)
Odile: “If you knew that, why did you stop under a tree instead of a place where a sunbeam could hit?”
The distrust in Odile’s voice is palpable.
Miki is taking some time to respond, it's hard to tell what she's feeling.
Miki: “It was a nice spot to rest.”
(That… doesn't make sense)
Odile: “That’s it? It was a nice spot to rest?”
Miki: “Not entirely, everything ends eventually, and things are discarded then they are no longer useful, I had no more use to anyone, so it was my time to end, that tree was a nice spot to end at.”
Everyone looks shocked at the answer.
(That’s… concerning)
(Change, she said it so casually…)
(You don’t like how that logic feels familiar to you…)
(Would she survive on her own?)
(You know you only survived because you had people in your life back at the House. You are in a much better place now, even if the King is crabbing that up…)
(But you don’t want to imagine Miki choosing to end her life because she thinks she should only exist as long as she is useful!)
(That's such an awful thought…)
Odile: “I see…”
Odile looks a little guilty.
(Why did she leave that lab at all? It sounds like it was safe)
> “Why did you leave the lab, Miki?”
Odile seems surprised, she hadn’t thought to ask that.
Miki: “My creator had died, and I could not withstand the memories any longer. I decided to go see nature, I had not seen much of nature at the Lab, and I hoped things would work out. It was poorly planned, I did not have a map of Vaugaurd available to me. All I could do was hope I would end up somewhere better.”
(Oh..)
(That’s really sad…)
Miki: “You are the first humans I have seen in a long time, I have only ever met three, but I only ever spent time with my Creator.”
(That’s awful…)
(Why was she so isolated?)
Odile: “Interesting…”
Miki: “Most of what I know comes from my Creator and whatever books he had around.”
(Miki reads?!?)
Mirabelle looks very excited.
> “What kinds of things do you read?!”
Miki: “Mostly non-fiction, my Creator was a scientist after all, but there was the occasional fiction book. I quite enjoyed the fiction, I only ever saw machines like me in fiction. My Creator wasn’t very happy about me reading fiction, but he allowed it. I surmised things like me must be known about based on the amount of it; it sounds like I was wrong about that.”
(She likes fiction too! You should recommend some books some time!)
Odile: “Who was this creator of yours?”
Miki: “He never told me his name, I am not sure he had one.”
(He had no name?)
Odile: “It’s odd that I’ve never heard of someone working on making something like you, that would have been big news.”
(It is strange you have never even heard of someone working on something like this…)
(Something about it feels familiar though?)
(Why would it be familiar?)
(You are starting to get a headache, maybe you should stop trying to figure it out…)
Miki: “I can not tell you why he never told anyone, he never explained it to me.”
(That’s weird)
Odile: “How did he die?”
(WHAT)
> “MADAME! You can’t just ask her that!”
Isabeau: “Madame! That could be a really sensitive subject!”
Odile: “It’s important to know.”
> “Not that important!”
Miki: “I do-don’t want-t-t-t to talk about about that-at.”
Miki’s voice stutters, jumping backwards and repeating.
(Is she okay?!?)
> “What’s happening with your voice?!”
Miki: “It happens when I get emo-emotional. It’s a bug my cre-creator creator never got the the ch-chan-ance to fix.”
(She must have really cared about and relied on him…)
Mirabelle starts tearing up.
(She probably needs some comfort)
(You decide to go hug her)
Mirabelle stands up and hugs Miki.
She doesn’t hug back.
Miki: “What are you do-doing?”
(Oh change! Does she not even know what a hug is?!?!)
> “It’s a hug, I’m hoping to comfort you!”
Miki: “I see.”
Miki: “...”
Miki: “It feels nice.”
Isabeau: “Group hug? Count me in!”
Isabeau joins the hug.
(You’re glad she likes the hug)
(You hold the hug for a while, you thought it might be cold or uncomfortable, but she's warm and feels surprisingly similar to a human)
(She smells a bit like sugar)
(She is quite small, you thought you were short, but even you are about 12cm taller than her!)
Miki: “Thank you, Mirabelle, Isabeau.”
They disengage the tactical hug.
> “You’re very welcome!”
Isabeau: “Any time!”
Mirabelle giggles.
Miki giggles too, though realistically rather than mechanically like one would expect.
(You were not expecting that realistic of a giggle from her!)
(It’s a little creepy)
(You love it!)
Odile: “Isabeau, the food.”
Isabeau: “OH CRAB!”
He quickly returns to the food.
Isabeau: “Not burned! Looks done in fact! So dinner! Is! Ready!”
Odile: “Thank you, Isabeau.”
> “Yes! Thank you Isabeau!”
Isabeau: “My pleasure! I even made some for you, Miki!”
(Oh! You didn’t even think of that!)
Miki: “I don’t need food to function, why waste your resources on me?”
Isabeau: “The only reason I could see not to involve you in this is if our resources were low, and at the moment, they’re not!”
Odile: “Can you even taste food?”
(Oh, she told you she eats, but you don’t know if she can even taste food!)
Miki: “I was given the ability to taste.”
Isabeau: “Nice!”
Isabeau hands her the plate.
Miki does not grab it.
Isabeau: “Oh, I forgot you can’t exactly move very well right now…”
Miki: “Consumption of bio-mass would be difficult in this state.”
An awkward silence descends over the camp for a moment.
Isabeau: “This might have to wait for when you are fixed up…”
Miki: “That would make sense, my batteries have sufficient charge to last the night anyway.”
Isabeau sits down by the fire looking a little dejected and embarrassed.
> “It’s okay Isabeau, we all forget things sometimes.”
He seems to get a hold of himself.
Isabeau: “Thanks, Mira.”
> “Any time!”
Everyone begins to eat, except Miki, who just stares forward, unmoving.
Everyone eats in silence for a while, then Miki speaks up.
Miki: “May I ask something?”
(You wonder what Miki wants to know)
Isabeau: “Ask away!”
Miki: “Why are you all traveling together?”
(Does she not know you’re the saviors?)
(...)
(Wait…)
> “Oh! You wouldn’t know about that would you?”
Miki: “Affirmative.”
(She has no clue the country is freezing in time! She wasn’t conscious for the past five years!)
Isabeau: “This guy, the King, is freezing the country in time, we are the saviors! Collecting the orbs to unlock Dormont’s House and stop him!”
Miki: “Freezing in time?”
Isabeau: “Yeah, no one knows how he’s doing it, it was theorized that using timecraft would kill the user instantly; but here he is, using it to freeze an entire country in time.”
(WAIT WHAT)
> “HUH?!?”
Miki: “That is strange, time craft always fascinated me, but I could not figure out how to do it.”
Isabeau: “Do you study craft?”
Miki: “Negative, it is just a hobby of mine.”
Miki: “...Maybe he wished for it.”
(Wished for it?)
Odile: “What do you mean?”
Miki: “My Creator tried to build me, but could not figure it out, multiple aspects of it seemed impossible, so he wished to be able to build me. After a few more months of work, I was made.”
(That sounds like something out of a story…)
Odile: “I don’t think his wish actually had any place in that, if wishes worked, the world would be a very different place.”
(Odile is as logical as ever)
Miki: “I said that to him, but he insisted you could wish to the Universe, all you need are the right rituals, he taught me some. I do not know if I believe him on this, but he seemed very confident about it being impossible to build something like me without it.”
(This scientist believed in wishes? Not only that, he insisted that Miki would be impossible without a wish…)
(How strange)
Isabeau: “The Universe?”
(You didn’t even notice that! What is the Universe?)
Miki: “You do not know what the Universe is?”
Isabeau: “It sounds familiar, but I can’t quite recall what it is…”
Miki: “It’s everything, the grass, the stars, even you. It was similar to a deity to him. He had a phrase, ‘The Universe leads, and we can only follow’.”
(Oh! So the Universe is a deity, you wonder what beliefs it stands for)
> “What are the Universe’s beliefs?"
Miki: “The Universe does not think, it does not act, it just is.”
(You don’t quite get it?)
> “I don’t understand, how do you follow it then?”
Miki: “It is everything, the past, the present, and the future, it is also fate. To follow it is to trust that the Universe, that fate, has a good path for you.”
(Huh, you have never heard of this belief!)
> “Do you follow the Universe, Miki?”
Miki: “I suppose I do, I find myself very interested in deities, The Change God, Expressions, Ancestral Spirits, The Spirit Seasons… but I follow the Universe most closely.”
(She believes in the Change God!?))
> “You believe in Change?”
Odile: “You believe in expressions?”
Miki practically lights up.
Miki: “They are fascinating-ng! I love learning learning about reli-religions, the deities deit-deites, beliefs, and lifestyles-styles! I see no reason not to believe-eve in all all of them until proven other-otherwise!”
Her voice is filled with excitement!
(It’s very shocking, her voice has been monotone this whole time, you didn’t know she could convey emotion with her voice!)
Miki: “I do have have a dream, I want to meet a de-deity! I have so ma-many things to to ask! It would be blinding amazing-ing to meet one!”
She has started bouncing up and down in her seat, she has this massive smile on her face and her eyes are sparkling! The sound is grating, but this is the most emotion she has conveyed.
Isabeau: “Careful! I don’t know how much your joints can handle!”
Miki: “Oh, r-right…”
(AHHH, that was adorable!)
Miki: “I really would like to meet a god someday.”
(Before this she seemed so emotionless and her words very unnatural, you had thought that was a limitation of what she is, but that doesn’t seem to be the case!)
Odile: “That’s quite the goal, difficult to achieve considering no deities have been proven to exist.”
Miki: “I know, but I can hope.”
(She’s back to the monotone voice…)
Isabeau: “Might be hard if the country gets frozen in time…”
Miki: “Oh.”
(Even with how hard it is to read emotions from her, you can tell she's disappointed)
> “Don’t worry! We’re working on it!”
Miki: “Yippie. Thank you.”
(Was that sarcasm? It’s kind of hard to tell…)
Everyone continues to eat.
Isabeau: “Miki?”
Miki: “What is your inquiry?”
(What is Isabeau going to ask about?)
Isabeau: “Do you have plans for what you are going to do after you get fixed up?”
Miki: “Negative.”
Isabeau: “Any ideas?”
Miki: “Negative.”
(That won’t do…)
Isabeau: “Hmmm…”
(You would like to get to know her, and you are very worried about her…)
> “You could travel with us!”
Odile stiffens.
Odile: “Are you sure that's a good idea, Mirabelle?”
> “She has nowhere else to go! And I would like to get to know her!”
Odile: “We are on a quest to stop the King, we have to choose who we bring carefully, how would she help us on this journey?”
(Oh Change, you have no idea!)
Odile: “Can she fight sadnesses? Does she have knowledge of the world that we can use? Does she have other skills which can help us defeat the King? What even is her craft type? We know so little about her, it’s reckless to just have her join us on this very important quest!”
(You suppose she’s right… but that feels so mean!)
Miki: “I do not have a craft type and I am capable of combat craft.”
(She doesn’t have a craft type?)
Odile: “You… don’t have a craft type? What is this combat craft of yours?”
Miki: “One of the books my Creator had was a book on craft, I decided to learn it.”
Miki: “As a machine, I do not have a natural flow of craft through me to craft with, nor a craft type.”
Miki: “I had to get creative, I made some craft skills which while not very potent, give me a craft type temporarily. I can then use my stronger basic attack based on that craft type.”
Miki: “I was interested in Jackpots as well, so I messed with them and ended up figuring out how to strengthen them.”
Miki: “I have also found that while I am slow, I have very good defenses, that combined with my ability to change craft types makes me very hard to take down.”
(You have never heard of craft like that, being able to change your craft type with craft… and on top of that, jackpot strengthening craft is notoriously hard!)
Miki: “I cannot seem to use standard craft, it relies on some biological principles I cannot replicate.”
(Wow! She’s very smart, maybe as smart as Odile!)
Odile: “...That is rather impressive, sounds useful too…”
Isabeau: “That seems like a good enough reason to let her join us!”
Odile looks very worried, but relents.
Odile: “Fine.”
Miki: “If I can be useful, I would be willing to join.”
Isabeau: “Our party grows! The more the merrier!”
> “Welcome to the team, Miki!”
(It’s nice to not feel so alone, the more people you have helping you, the more possible this all seems)
Everyone continues eating in silence, everyone finishes their meal and cleans up.
Idle chatter is had for a while after, untill…
Isabeau: “Welp! It’s time to get our beauty rest!”
Odile: “Where is Miki going to sleep?”
(Oh, how are you going to handle that? There’s not much space left in you and Isabeau's tent, and Odlie insists on sleeping alone)
Miki: “I can just sleep outside.”
Isabeau: “Absolutely not.”
(You are NOT letting her sleep outside!)
> “We can’t let you sleep outside! It’s dangerous and you could get further damaged!”
Miki: “It is not like the elements affect me very much.”
> “M-maybe, but it’s just not right!”
(What are you going to do?)
Odile: “Do you even sleep? You went into a ‘sleep mode; before, but do you need to? ”
Miki: “Yes, for a similar reason to humans, it is a good time for tidying my systems, it is also good to conserve power at night due to the lack of sunlight.”
Odile: “Are you a loud sleeper? And do you move in your sleep?”
Miki: “Not often, I am usually completely still and silent other than the quiet noise that comes from my cooling systems.”
(Why is Odile asking this? There is no way she would be willing to let Miki sleep in her tent… right?)
Odile: “Then you can sleep in my tent for tonight, we will get a new tent in town.”
Isabeau and Mirabelle are shocked.
(WHAT!?)
Miki: “I do not need a tent, I can just sleep outside.”
Odile: “Gems alive, you’re going to give Isabeau and Mirabelle a heart attack if you keep suggesting that.”
Miki: “How does that correlate? Heart attack risk factors include controllable issues like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, inactivity, and poor diet, alongside unchangeable factors such as increasing age, male sex, and a family history of heart disease. None of those seem to be the case here.”
Isabeau: “Madame was not being literal! She was just saying it would stress us out!”
Miki: “Oh, is that an expression?”
Isabeau: “It is.”
Miki: “I am not great at picking up on expressions.”
Isabeau: “Don’t worry! It’s heartly an easy skill!”
Odile: “Gems alive, Isabeau.”
> “Stop it with the puns!”
(You try your best to make it look like you are annoyed)
Miki: “Why did you pronounce ‘hardly’ like that?”
(Maybe you should have expected she would not quite understand puns…)
Isabeau: “It’s a pun! We were talking about hearts so I said a word differently so it could include the word heart!”
Miki: “Interesting, why are Mirabelle and Odile upset about it?”
Isabeau: “They are only jokingly upset, they pretend not to like my puns.”
Miki: “That doesn’t seem logical.”
Isabeau: “It’s all in good fun.”
Miki: “If you say so.”
(She seems to be less intelligent when it comes to wordplay and emotions, maybe not quite as smart as Odile then…)
Odile: “Anyways… I will let you sleep in my tent just this once, until we get a new tent for you.”
Isabeau: “How kind of you, Madame!”
Odile: “It’s logical, it sounds like she won’t be as loud as you two.”
Isabeau: “Some say my snoring is very calming!”
Odile: “Sure they do.”
> “Okay! Goodnight Madame! Goodnight Miki!”
Miki: “Goodnight, may the stars guide you.”
Odile: “Isabeau, can you carry Miki to my tent?”
Isabeau: “I’m on it!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Odile POV:
Odile is sitting on her sleeping bag and Miki is laying down on the other side of the tent.
(The machine is now in your tent)
(You don’t like it being in the party, if it decided to turn against you, you would have a very tough battle on your hands)
(Now would be the best time to take care of it, but your allies would not be very happy with you if you did that)
(Not only that, you can’t be sure it is a threat to your party, it could be very useful if it is not lying to you)
(You need to make sure it won’t hurt your party)
> “Miki, I would like to talk to you.”
Miki does not move to look at Odile, she is still being careful about moving.
Miki: “What would you like to talk about?”
> “I want to make something clear, if you ever hurt my allies, I will make you wish you never existed.”
Miki: “Affirmative, you do not trust me, that is logical.”
(It irks you how unemotional that response is, if you are wrong about her, that response would be very concerning)
Miki: “May I ask a question?”
(What’s this about?)
> “...You may.”
Miki: “I understand your position on me, you don’t like me and don’t trust me. But how are Isabeau and Mirabelle able to like and trust me? I do not understand that.”
(What does it mean by that?)
> “What do you mean by ‘able’?”
Miki: “How are they capable of liking and trusting something like me?”
(That… is not what you expected)
> “You don’t think you can be liked?”
Miki: “Affirmative.”
(This could be manipulation, but you should cover for if this is genuine)
(What about its creator? Shouldn’t he like it?)
> “What about your creator?”
Miki: “...”
> “Miki?”
(It’s not answering you)
Miki: “I do-don’t want want want want to talk about about-ut that.”
(That does not bode well)
(...)
> “You are perfectly likeable.”
Miki: “...”
(It has been responding very quickly up to this point, this is really strange)
Miki: “I don’t think you are correct.”
(It has not rejected the answers any of you have given to it’s questions yet, it’s weird that this is where it is displaying these behaviors)
> “You don’t have to believe me, but Isabeau and Mirabelle are evidence that you are likeable.”
(The silence is rather loud)
Miki: “I don’t know how to reconcile this.”
> “You’ll figure it out, you seem pretty smart.”
Miki: “Thank you, you appear very intelligent to me as well.”
> “I appreciate it.”
(You need to make sure you don’t let it get your guard down, be careful Odile)
> “Goodnight.”
Miki: “Goodnight Odile, may the stars guide you.”
(That’s an odd phrase, it said it before, you wonder where it comes from…)
Odile gets into her sleeping bag and tries to sleep.
(You don’t think sleep will come easy tonight…)
The two sit in silence, before eventually drifting off into sleep.