Chapter 4

The sun was still low in the sky when they reached the rocky cave area. Curly had insisted they at least check it out, despite Quote's concerns. Balrog was entertaining himself by smashing small boulders. Quote had his gun drawn and was scanning the area for danger of any kind as he kept hold of Curly's hand. Curly, however, was intreigued at the many cave mouths and rocky boulders.

"Loosen up, Quote!" She tugged his arm, playfully. Quote smiled, but quickly went back to being a sentry. Curly shook her head. "This is supposed to be fun! You can relax a bit." Quote looked to her.

"I know you're really enjoying this, and I want you to have fun... I'd really like to have fun with you as well, but..." He looked away. "I don't want you to get hurt." Curly's gaze softened for a few seconds before she snickered.

"You want to... have fun with me?" Quote's head snapped back to face Curly, and he began to blush. He wasn't even aware that he was physically able to blush. Nor was he aware that Curly could understand something like that. He hadn't even thought about it that way. But... now that he did...

"W-what?! No! I mean- Why would-" Quote blinked. He reset his emotions to calm, and continued to speak. "No, of course not, Curly. I would not be able to facilitate such feelings in a situation like that." He had responded how his programming had dictated, but... something itched inside his core... he wasn't sure what, but he could swear it was... a feeling of some sort. His train of thought was broken by Curly.

"Sticking to the programming, as usual." She shook her head. "I don't know why you can't handle emotions." This agitated Quote a bit.

"I can handle emotions. When they begin to take over, I reset them, and-"

"No, no, no! See, you're doing it all wrong! You have to let the emotions take over, ditch the codes!"

"We're not humans, Curly." At this, she stopped.

"... You're right. We're not humans." She looked away. "But that doesn't mean we can't act like them." Quote said nothing. He knew they were supposed to appear and, to an extent, act like them. But they could never actually be humans. If he were to completely accept his emotions, to discard his hardwiring... Could he even disobey his hardwiring? He needed to ponder this, but he didn't have the time...

Quote and Curly heard a squeal from behind them, followed by a crushing sound and a large thump. They turned to see Balrog, smiling at them. "Huzzah! You two really should be more careful!"

Curly went back to her normal self. "Hello, Balrog!"

"Hello indeed! I just saved you two from a critter! It was going to ambush you while you were conversing. But it was not fast enough, no no!" Balrog looked pleased that he was able to help his friends, and was completely oblivious to the current tension. All he really knew was that he had two friends which he cared about very much. Balrog never dwelled on emotions, they just happened. He had always been this way; he was never meant to seem human, rather, he was meant to seem alive.

In the grand scheme of the world, humans were a relatively new species to inhabit the planet. Before them, many races resided upon the earth as some still do, such as the mimigas. Mimigas evolved and developed several million years before the great ancestors of humans crawled out of the ocean. Or fell from the sky. No-one really knows how they got there. The point is, Balrog wasn't meant to seem "human" in the way Quote and Curly were. Balrog was his own entity, with nothing to base his stature from. Balrog was merely Balrog, and he was fine with that.

"Maybe we should head towards the forest," said Curly. Quote nodded, hoping to leave their conflict behind in this rocky place. He still held onto Curly's hand, and she to his. Quote was unsure as to why she still held his hand, as he was sure she was annoyed with him, yet she continued to hold his hand.


Honestly, Curly wasn't really annoyed with Quote - she was worried for him. Sometimes she saw in him a spark of what seemed to be personality, something trying to break through his rough exterior of code and protocols. But he almost always choked it back down and locked it up again. Having spent ten years with the colons, she learned how to express herself. She learned what it really meant to be alive, to have feelings, to care for another being. Over the years, Curly felt as if she had shed her old rigid code-driven self, and had been born anew - she felt as if she had become something more. An individual, a being, something with a free soul. She saw a soul in Quote as well. Only rarely, but she did.

Curly pulled Quote into the woods, and they walked together under the canopy. They could both hear Balrog following behind them, softly singing or humming a tune. He seemed to be enjoying every minute of this adventure. Curly was starting to lighten up again as well. Quote, on the other hand, was once again a stone-cold sentry. "You really are overprotective," said Curly. Quote turned to her, confused. "You worry way too much. You'll blow a fuse if you don't relax every once and a while."

"But I'm supposed to be this alert at all times," said Quote. Curly sighed. She wasn't sure if he would ever understand what it really meant to be alive. Heck, at this point, she wasn't even quite sure if he was even alive at all. He had his moments, but…

"I wonder what the sunset will look like," Said Quote, breaking the silence.

"What?" Curly turned to him.

"I wonder what the sunset will look like. On the water, I mean."

"Well," a smile formed on Curly's face. "I guess we'll have to find out!" She tugged him along, moving a bit faster. She really hoped they could make it in time, and even though they were ahead of schedule so far, she didn't know if they'd make it. If worst came to worst she supposed Balrog could fly them there, but she preferred to walk. Either way, she wanted to see the sunset… She wanted to see it with Quote.