Day 56: Bill's Hardware (Morning)
While speaking with Peter had been amusing at first, it hadn't taken long for their conversation to go down dark paths. It wasn't really the kid's fault, though, and so Harvey ended up just dismissing himself as quickly as he could once the bus arrived in town. It was impossible not to notice the snow, but he wasn't very interested in it, even as
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Misha...
The girl Sechs saved back when he was battling that crazed Whophon during the Z.O.T.T... The one girl out of many who were brainwashed into joining Whophon's cult, the only one Sechs managed to save from being hypnotized into killing herself. Once freed from Whophon's control, Misha's eyes were filled with utter loss... Sechs couldn't deal with her at the time, allowing her to leave the arena alive despite the judges announcing her as the last member of Whophon's team. Sechs could have easily finished her off with one hit, like stepping on a miniscule ant. But he didn't. It was just too easy. What ever happened to that girl anyway...?
Aigis on the other hand didn't look exactly like Misha, but just before her eyes softened, they looked just as lost as Misha's when he last saw her... Sechs blinked at that realization; it sort of explained some of the things he felt, (except for that annoying warmth in his cheeks...), but it still bewildered him nonetheless. Damn, why hadn't he noticed that before when he first met her? Then again, the last time Sechs was with Aigis, he had been too busy eating and then throwing his food at the staff and then the tear gas came in... Duh.
"Ah crap...!" Sechs was lightly jolted out of his thoughts when Aigis spoke again. He stretched his neck out over Aigis' shoulder towards the store clerk nearby, only to receive a suspicious scowl in return. "Yeah, I guess they wouldn't be," Sechs replied, his mind torn away from thoughts of Misha by the likely denial of weapon shopping. "And even if they did," he added gruffly, "I doubt Aguilar's thugs would let us take any back to the institute..."
Disgruntled by the unfairness of having money but not being allowed to buy arms with it, Sechs was just about to launch into a grumpy rant over it when Aigis's next response threw his brain in for another loop.
"Uh..."
Sentimental value?! The only kind of "sentimental" value Sechs could fathom for that store were its bountiful amounts of harmful tools and makeshift weapons! Surely that was what Aigis was talking about, right?
"Me too!" he suddenly blurt out, "Er-- I mean, not the sentimental part..." he awkwardly added, his face rapidly heating up as he struggled to backtrack on a conversation he just couldn't quite get. "I think..."
Another uncomfortable scratch at his shaggy head later and his brain stumbled to another conclusion. Aigis did look a bit sad just a moment ago... Right? "Um, I mean. Did something happen to you here before?" he asked uncertainly.
If Aigis' experience didn't have anything to do with weapons, Sechs wasn't sure if his brain could grind out anymore theories about what could have been bothering her without burning out...
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Aigis nodded, sighing. "It is unfortunate. However, perhaps we could..." She stopped, then moved closer. She dropped her voice, and looked down the paint aisle again. "Perhaps there might be something that would look harmless but could be used in the making of weapons."
She no longer needed a weapon herself. She was training to use the claws Heat had left her, and there were Evokers in the institute that she could borrow from either Minato or Yukari if that ever became necessary.
His question returned her to her previous thoughts, though she smiled against the pain. "Nothing happened really. I just came here with a friend on the previous trip. Unfortunately, Heat is no longer..." The trailing off of her voice said the rest.
She sighed and began to move down one of the aisles. She wasn't even sure if she really wanted anything from here at all, but it didn't hurt to look.
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Yet the talk of weapons was pushed out of Sechs' mind once again. Friend... Nearly three weeks ago, Sechs would not have understood the importance of that word; he would have just brushed it off with a scoff and left Aigis and her annoying "friendship" concept behind, like what he did with Misha...
But so much had happened during those past long weeks. The word "friendship" had far more dimension to it, more than Sechs could have ever imagined when he first came to life as an AR agent two years ago. Thanks to his time with people like Kibitoshin and Forte, Sechs had learned first-hand on what friendship really meant. To the Replica, its definition had grown to be nearly as meaningful as the word "battle"; its layered meanings including team work and victories -- but also loss and pain, something Sechs could sense and for once understand in Aigis' trailing words. He himself had lost Forte, most likely Teisel, and nearly Kibitoshin the night before...
"Heat...?" Yet by the time Sechs' mumble barely passed his lips, Aigis was already wandering off to one of the aisles. Sechs' pained smirk had long faded into a gloomy frown; he may have finally understood Aigis, but his reaction time was still pretty slow... Grumbling to himself, Sechs unplanted himself from the spot he seemed to have melted onto and quickly caught up with Aigis' saddened journey down the aisle.
"I had a... a pal here too.. awhile back..." Sechs replied, thinking over his noisy interaction with Teisel those two weeks ago. Huh. Maybe that was why the store clerk gave him the stink eye earlier -- Sechs and Teisel did cause quite a ruckus during their not-so-friendly first meeting. Chances were, the store clerk (and likely everyone else in the neighboring buildings) probably still remembered the uproar they caused back then... It was a good thing they didn't go into a full-blown fight right there, it turned out Teisel was a pretty decent guy, even with his shrill voice, big obnoxious hair and all... "He was this great fighter with a crap-load of weapons and I was gonna fight him when we all escaped, but..."
Moving on from that memory, Sechs shook his shaggy head as he struggled to think up what else to say to the fellow battle android. She was obviously feeling bad about the place and so was he, and a quiet voice from the uncontaminated part of his mind told him to do something to help the both of them out of this gloom. He wasn't sure how exactly, but he had to try, right?
"It sucks when... y'know happens..." he grumbled, his eyes scanning the aisles surrounding them for any useful tools, yet his sight was unfocused and distant. "I know, it happened to me too and... yeah. You're not alone."
Sechs frowned a little to himself at his own words. Someone like Desty Nova, Alita or even Zazie would have said far better, far wiser things for the situation at hand. Sechs had only lived for two years so far, and right then, all he could do was relate, to be there for Aigis, like how Kibitoshin and Forte had been there for him. It was the best he could do then.
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Friends were what made machines like Aigis feel human, more human than this form could ever hope to convince her of being. It was because of her friends that she became as empathetic as she had. And it was because of her friends that she had a will to choose her own fate, and a reason to live on.
She turned back to listen to Sechs talk about his lost comrade. She didn't quiet understand the talk of fighting someone dear, but if she considered her sparring session with Taura two nights ago then it was understandable. She tilted her head again. "You enjoy fighting very much, don't you?"
She nodded solemnly. Yes, she knew what he meant. But his words, despite their simplicity, brought a large smile to her face. She reached out a hand back to him and very softly touched her fingertips to his arm. Just a brief moment. "Thank you. I am glad I am not alone."
When this was over, perhaps she would escape but not return home too swiftly. Perhaps she would have time. Time to look for Heat. And maybe he would remember her, after a time. And maybe they would return to how things were, except without the institute looming over them. She could look forward to that day, at least, even if it was just a fantasy. Until then, she had her friends that were here. She would just have to cherish them all the more.
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However, Sechs' brief excitement died out a little in his words. Frowning to himself, the disheartened Replica pondered for a moment before giving his head a determined shake. "Although my progress has slowed down a bit since I ended up here, but I'm getting whatever I can out of this dump before I escape..."
Sechs stopped, his feet frozen to the spot as his turned rigid before Aigis' reaching hand -- only to relax at the soft touch of gratitude from the fellow android. Unfortunately, he knew for sure that his face was displaying some shade of red now! Sheesh! Just when he was getting used to Kibitoshin's acts of kindness..!
Sechs gave out a gulp and quickly turned his pink face away from Aigis, determined to distract himself from his organic body's quirky glitches by appraising the tools on the shelf beside him. Despite the uncontrollable discomfort there, Sechs managed a smile and a nod to the other android. "Uh... No problem," he said, feeling a true sense of victory for helping another fellow prisoner; even if it seemed a small feat, it was better than nothing at least.
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Her own programmed goal had been taken from her and then a freewill had been bestowed on her, to choose whatever goal she wished thereafter. She had chosen to stand by her friends and work to save them. Here, just like Sechs, her goal had become a bit harder to grasp than it had been before. "I understand your frustration. But we must use these limitations to make us stronger and sharpen our conviction."
He turned away, almost brushing away her thanks with his simple acquiesce but Aigis sensed he was somewhat pleased as well. Her smile brightened even more, and something about the redness in his cheeks caused her own to warm. Perhaps it was a catching reaction. "I may be weakened in this state, but please, feel free to lean on me in your own time of need, Sechs-san. I will help you in any way I can."
There was unmistakable sincerity in her voice. She had no strength here, just a pair of claws and perhaps a solid shot from Athena in a rare circumstance, but she would offer all that to help a friend.
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