Chapter II: The Stars

Trigger

"I wonder what has caused the Master's illogical behaviour recently."

I looked up at Sera as she mused aloud softly, and she turned and began eyeing me in that eerie way she so often did, her crimson eyes as cold and emotionless as an arctic wasteland. Unlike the Master's eyes, they did not seem to see into my heart and they showed no kindness. Instead, she always seemed to be looking through me… It was a creepy and unnerving feeling, and one I try hard to avoid…when I can.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Sera's eyes locked onto mine, sending a bitter chill through me and locking me in place.
A very brief but painful silence followed, before she stated simply, "It is irrelevant. I summoned you in relation to your own behaviour, Trigger."

I wondered what she was talking about in regard to the Master behaving illogically, but I had little time to consider it as she got around to what she'd called me for: a lecture.

"Do you realize what you are doing, Trigger?" She said, about halfway through, "Doubting the System? Contemplating its purposes and pondering whether it should not even exist?"

She reprimanded me for some time, thoroughly explaining what I'd done wrong. It wasn't my questioning of the System, alone; Sera, her Servitor Unit Geetz, and several other Units as well had noticed how I had begun to speak differently, and, on several occasions, show non-preprogrammed responses, such as smiling to frowning, to certain events, something considered taboo among the Units. All of this had been the influence of the Master, but even still, I wasn't sure if it was correct.

"In doing these things, in acting against and challenging the perfect way of the System, you would put everything we hold dear in jeopardy," Sera finished, "Trigger, the System exists to protect and care for the Master, and to question it is to question the Master's wellbeing. Would you bring harm upon he who gave you life?"

Afterwards, I went out into the hall, feeling perfectly awful. Sera really knew how to tear a Unit down, and she didn't even have emotions. I wondered how things would be if she did. Probably a lot worse.

I headed back up the hall, shoulders slumped. She had let me know that I was wrong for asking, and made absolute sure I understood why.

What hurt me the most was that conclusion: "To question it is to question the Master's wellbeing. Would you bring harm upon he who gave you life?"

I knew it was true, and nothing meant more to me, as a Unit of the System, than the Master's wellbeing. What I'd done was wrong… I wanted to melt.

How could I possibly question the System, when that horrible path could only lead to… Rebellion?

Sera

As soon as the door had closed and Trigger had departed from the room, I turned to my Servitor, Geetz, who had been standing in the shadows over in the corner of the room, silently observing Trigger's reprimand. "Geetz," I called.

Geetz approached me with measured steps, adjusting his thin, elegant glasses with deceptively delicate-looking hands. "Yes, Mistress Sera?" He responded.

"What is your analysis of RockMan Trigger?"

"I believe that he is a risk to the System," Geetz replied, "He questions it and contemplates if it is truly necessary for him to obey it. Honestly, I do not understand why the Master wishes to keep such a Unit by his side."

"The Master is…lonely." I replied. "I do not understand the feeling, but I do know that it causes him to wish the company of another being."

"But why that Purifier?" Geetz mused.

"This I do not know," I said, "Since Trigger's initialization, he has always been close to the Master. The Master enjoys his company and speaks with him, often of strange subjects such as fictitious writings."

"Why do you ask, Mistress Sera? Is there something you want this Unit to do about him? Do you perhaps wish me to terminate him?"

"No. For now, the only thing we can do is keep an eye on Trigger. To terminate him based merely on suspicion would be reprehensible, but more importantly, his demise would most likely distress the Master. It is important that we are completely certain that the Purifier is a danger to the System before taking action against him."

Geetz nodded slowly. "Understood. Then, what action do you wish this Unit to take in the meantime?"

"None… yet. I merely wished to hear your opinion of Trigger. I agree with you, however; I feel that he is a threat. However, for the time being, we can only watch… and wait. Should he prove us correct…" I paused and watched Geetz's face for a moment, "Terminate him."

The Master

"So, little one… What exactly did Sera say to you that made you so upset?"

RockMan Trigger seemed surprised, but said nothing.

He simply looked over at me, his expression unchanging except for the slightest widening of his eyes, then continued looking straight ahead. He stood next to the door with his back to the wall, his arms by his sides and his body as still as a statue as he stood dedicatedly on guard.

"She scolded you again, didn't she?" I smiled. "Don't let it get to you… Sera often reprimands me as well."

"I questioned the System," RockMan said flatly, "Ultimately, I deserved a far more severe punishment than what I received. I was very fortunate that Mother Sera chose only to reprimand me."

I put my hand under the Purifier's chin and gently pushed up his face so that he would have to look me in the eyes. "What did I tell you? You don't have to be like 'them' around me. You have a soul, RockMan. Remember that. Now, then. Was she angry with you because of the question you asked me?"

RockMan looked ashamed. "Yes, Master. I'm sorry for asking…"

"Don't apologize," I said cheerfully, "She's always like that. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Uhm… Master?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"She said something else too…" He seemed uncharacteristically shy, which made me a little nervous about what he might be about to say. "Uhm, she said that you've been irrational lately and saying illogical things."

I lowered my hand, but RockMan continued to stare up at me with his soulful ruby eyes. I looked to the side, wondering what I should say in response, and ran my other hand through Trigger's long grey hair.

"I suppose it's true," I said, "Lately, I have been saying and thinking things that Sera would find strange." I paused, then said, "Would you like me to show you what I mean?"

I turned around and approached a large monitor on the wall which showed the endless expanse of space before Elysium. "Look at the stars, RockMan. Aren't they beautiful?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" RockMan asked confusedly.

"Just look at the stars." I said calmly.

RockMan came a little closer and gazed up at the monitor, swiftly studying the silent, starry view it offered. "What's so special about them?" Clearly he did not understand, but then, I honestly hadn't expected him to. There were two points I wanted to make here, but I was sure he wouldn't yet understand the first.

"All of them have their own unique characteristics, little one." I said, "Like that one for instance." I gestured at the North Star, "It looks the brightest." I pointed at another star, "That one has a reddish hue." I looked down at RockMan, who seemed to be busy trying to figure out where I was going with this. "Each star is special in its own way, just like each and every Unit here in Elysium, see? And that means you, too." RockMan seemed to be getting it, but he was still obviously confused. "Do you know yet what sets you apart from the other Purifiers, the other Units?"

RockMan shook his head.

"I see. Well…" I lifted my head and looked once more at the monitor. "I think you'll learn in due time, just as you'll learn the answer to your question."

"I suppose so," RockMan said.

My smile returned and I put my arm around RockMan's shoulder. "Look at that one there in the centre. What's different about it?"

"It's a planet, Master," RockMan pointed out in a small and humble tone, "It's Terra, where the Carbons live."

I nodded. "That's right. Do you know how they live?"

RockMan shook his head again. "No. That information is unnecessary to a Purifier such as mys…" I frowned; There he went again, speaking like a machine.

"Err, I mean, I never really needed to know that, since I'm a Purifier," RockMan corrected himself hastily.

When around other Units, RockMan behaved like one of them, speaking mechanically and showing little or no emotion, but the truth was, RockMan was clearly different.
Thinking once more of the issue at hand, I pressed a button on the control panel beneath the monitor, causing it to zoom in. I input several more commands, and in a moment it showed a view not of the stars, but of a Terran city.

"This is a Carbon city… Isn't it beautiful?" I paused and drew in a breath as I chose my words. "The people there live unpredictable lives," I found myself making idle gestures with my free hand as I spoke, "They know thirst, hunger, pain, and disease, and in the end… they grow old and die. And yet… For a brief moment they shine as brightly as the sun. Because they know suffering, they also know true happiness." I sighed. "In comparison, our perfect world is cold and sterile." I took a step back, releasing RockMan's shoulder, and looked him in the eyes. "RockMan, I'd like to ask you to do something for me. Will you… take me there?"

RockMan's expression changed to one of surprise. "T…take you there? But, Master… If you go to Terra, you'll lose your immortality! Do you… think it is worth it?"

"Yes," I looked once more at the monitor, at the people going about their everyday lives, "I do. I want to go to Terra, to experience the life that the Carbons lead."

RockMan bowed his head, and his grey bangs poured over his face, hiding his eyes save a shining red glint. "I… If you…" After thinking things through, he raised his head and nodded, his expression one of determination. "If it is what you wish, Master, then I'll take you to Terra. You… have my word."

RockMan Dash and related characters, etc., copyright Capcom
Elysium Trigger copyright Britt Dark

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