Freedom Just Once

Summary: The world is changing. People are falling to a corrupt ideal, more than normal, and monsters are getting wills that allow them to break apart from the rest. Two monsters and a young traveler become a part of a plot that forces them to face not only the enemy but themselves in order to be free.

A/N: Welcome to my RO world. I will keep it as if this game was a real world, and that means the characters can wear other colors than the standard, it helps keep things interesting.

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Chapter 1: Escape Just Once

Pain. His body screamed of pain the whole time he was in darkness. How long was he in darkness though? Why was he in darkness and why did he not know anything at all outside of the darkness? It wasn't as if he didn't understand there was other things out there, but while it was in his knowledge, he didn't truly know it. But he wanted to know it. Just like he wanted the pain to end.

Maybe it was these thoughts, the core thoughts that formed him as he came to life, that made him try to escape…

He spent two years in that place known simply as "The Factory." The first year was just simply out of being satisfied with being free of the darkness and pain. Instead he roamed a territory that looked like an underground mall attached to a lab. He could even find the very room he was made in. None of his brothers he watched seemed to be in pain as they were being created. What was he, a failure? He certainly like any other robot there.

The second year may have been because the small companionship he could get out of the two types of maid robots there. There were Alices, the blue maids with long hair who summoned black cats to their side when they were bored. They treated him in a friendly manner, but he quickly moved away from them when he figured out it was just because they wanted to get close to Kiehl. Then there were the older sisters, Alizas, who were dressed in brown and had short hair. But you could only get so much from being treated as a little boy.

Then there were the fighting robots, dressed in what seemed to be some sort of school uniform. His sisters and brothers weren't even remotely friendly, they were violent as they competed for the rank to be in the top four of each to stand at their master's, Kiehl's, side. Kiehl was unapproachable by anyone but in the guard. And constants, small bombs that followed you around like a puppy, only lasted a few days before they found some adventurer to go kamikaze on.

So in the end he was alone.

After realizing this, he found himself often at the top floor of "The Factory," gazing at a closed, stone tablet that he often saw foolish adventurers travel down. What was out there? Maybe companionship, something that the other robots below couldn't provide.

However long he sat there at the top of the stairs, he didn't know. The day that an adventurer finally did come down, though, was the day that he began to move again. Of course, the adventurer vanished in an attempt to sneak by him and attack from behind. Foolish since he could sense the heat the man gave off, but as the person snuck around him, he ran past to get out of "The Factory" before the stone tablet once again closed. What awaited him was…

Darkness.

Darkness? Panicked, he began to try and flee back to his home. He quickly realized, however, that he could move. And there was no pain. This helped him relax a little bit, but he still was worried for the inability to see.

Moving blindly, it took him a while to find something, which came in the result of an orange glow. Sometimes the glow vanished, as if blocked by a tree or a wall, but he figured out how to keep it in sight. He drifted closer to the orange glow, seeing more images as he did. Cliffs were what were blocking the view and there were three people sitting around the glow, which he figured out was fire.

One person was dressed in black and red and had an odd band on his head with a disc. He was crouched closest to the fire so it was easy to tell that there was blonde hair cut short around his head. The other was a female with long brown hair, leaning against a tree. She also had a bird on her shoulder and wore a brown attire that was made for easy travel rather than protection. The third person was another girl, dressed in armor thick enough that it seemed hard to move. She also had a bird, but this one did not seem to be able to fly and had a saddle fitted on it's back. This girl had short green hair and was standing guard at the edge of the area they were in where they'd be most vulnerable.

The robot figured that the bigger bird was a Peco Peco, though it was unlike the ones he found running around just outside the factory. How he knew what either were was a mystery, but he was more curious about the travelers.

"I can't believe those orphan snobs!" the girl with the bird growled. "They won't let three travelers in for even one night! It's not like we're asking much! Ugh, I hope we get to Juno soon!"

"We will," the armored girl replied. "It'll only be a few hours travel tomorrow. We could leave late afternoon and still get there before sundown. Just head north and west."

"Then we would've gotten there earlier if you and Mark hadn't wanted to help that fisherman on the way!" said bird girl.

The guy designated as Mark sighed. "It is in our teachings to help those in need. And one more night in the wild won't be a problem. Consider it a test of--" He stopped mid-sentence, turning to where he heard a noise.

The robot froze, feeling the eyes land on him.

"A monster!" the blonde growled, pulling out a mace.

Run.

As quickly as he could, he ran. There was little chance of victory, at least that's what his mind screamed. He ran as fast as he could, fortunately leaving the group behind. It took the armor girl too long to get on her large bird in order to find the path he took. However, by the time he lost them, he had also lost all hope of getting back to his home. Not that he wanted to, but when he realized this he became scared.

He was lost. But where was he lost at? The surroundings were more different than the outside had been with more darkness. The ground was more solid, and upon further inspection he found that they were stone, like what he saw the building right outside The Factory was made of.

Ground entirely made of stone? This brought back something he couldn't quite make out. Even the floor in the Factory was made of metal.

Ahead were lights that seemed to illuminate the path down the stone. Walls just about knee height were on either side, and an archway occasionally went over the path. More lights were at the end, but he couldn't quite see what they lit up. He chose to walk down, curiosity telling him that something awaited him down at the end.

Along the way, he dared to look over the edge, where the walls back off, and a darkness as terrifying as when he was first born met him. Quickly, he moved away, backing up do far and feeling the edge of the other bridge, nearly topping over that.

As he was just about to go over, a hand caught his arm. Black gloves and a black sleeve clashed against the white sleeve and the silver claw of his. He forced his claws into the arm, to hold more onto the person pulling him up. It must have hurt, and he saw blood, but the person still held on.

"Hold on, I'll get you back up in a second!" the person called. It was another male voice.

Once balanced again, the robot was face to face with a man in shades. He wore a black coat with blue jeans. He had shades and slightly tan skin. On his head was what looked like bat wings on a headband that was visible with the long, dark blue hair. In contrast to his dark appearance he had a cart decorated with flowers and stashed with items behind him. Next to him sat an odd pink jello-like creature with a purple core.

"Good, you're fine," the man said. He looked the creature in front of him over and then backed up, pulling out an axe and standing on guard. "You're a monster. What are you doing so close to Yuno?"

Despite the weapon, the robot felt safe. It might have been because he was just saved by the man in front of him. "Yuno?" he asked. "I don't know, I was just running from some travelers that wanted to attack me and ended up here." He glanced around and decided the lights in the distance must be a town, or a city. "This is… my first time out of the Factory. What are you doing out here?"

"Me?" the man replied, raising an eyebrow. "What every other adventurer is doing: hunting, training, exploring. Yuno just happened to be along the way." The blue haired adventurer put his axe away and sighed, leaning back on his cart. He wasn't sure what made him trust this monster. It might have been the scared look in his eye or the fact that this creature was talking to him. "This is the first time I've met a peaceful… whatever you are. What is this Factory you're from? Why did you leave?"

"The Factory is where I was made. I was tired of the power struggles there," the robot responded. "What is this, question and answer?"

"Oh, sorry. I don't recommend you go into town though. Everyone will react like I did, or like those other travelers did." The man paused and looked down at his pink blob next to him. "Or… I could pretend you're a pet."

"Pet?"

"Well, something like you wouldn't be a normal pet, but I think it will pass. Just always stay near to me and people will think you're owned by me. Sashimi's a bit of a pet too," the man said, nudging the blob with his foot. He pulled out a yellow substance and held it down. "Hungry Sashimi?" As it ate from the man's hand, he turned back to the robot, removing his glasses. "I'm Paul. What's your name?"

"Name?" The robot had to think for a few moments, brushing his white hair with his claws. "Call me as my brothers are called. Aliot."

"Aliot? Well, welcome to my journey, Aliot. Let's get into Yuno before another creature who's not as nice as you appears."