AN: This one's pretty long. There was just so much I wanted to cover! Many thanks to InLuvWithMicky, Shi-P-Dream and DragonRider-Xankira for your reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Nine
Tres had caught Esther with ease, before swiftly checking her vitals. She had fallen asleep after being up for over twenty-four hours straight. Once he'd established she was stable, he began marching back to Rome.
The journey had been unremarkable. Tres had reflected on how he knew to talk to Esther so she would cooperate and surmised the accumulation of data on her had created a profile that suggested that was the best approach. Where this profile resided, though, was a mystery yet to be investigated.
It was almost evening when he reached Rome. Esther woke up half a mile before they arrived, had blushed finding herself in Tres' arms and insisted she walk the rest of the way. Tres had reluctantly agreed, sternly warning her on overexerting herself.
"Gunslinger, you are to report immediately to Lady Caterina," an officer said the moment Tres had set foot in the Vatican. He had simply nodded and headed to her office, leaving Esther to gape.
"Uh, excuse me, but did Father Tres do something wrong?" she asked and the officer huffed.
"If you consider directly disobeying orders to track you down, then yes he did. I swear that robot is broken," the man replied, clearly annoyed.
"Oh, and you have to go and be debriefed. Lady Caterina wants to speak to you personally."
Esther internally gibbered, but nodded and hurried to her office. She wasn't permitted entry; Tres was inside. The walls and doors were thick and Esther couldn't hear a thing.
'Perhaps she's not shouting at him? I guess Lady Caterina doesn't seem like someone who'd shout a lot. Tres doesn't really shout either – he just speaks loudly.'
It took half an hour for whatever exchange took place between Caterina and Tres. He exited, expressionless and headed in the direction of his room.
"You may enter now, Sister Blanchett," a nun informed her and Esther hopped up from her seat, scared witless. Was she going to be punished?
She entered Caterina's office, making sure to close the door. Caterina was standing, looking troubled.
"Ah, Sister Blanchett. Please take a seat."
Esther scurried over and sat down, swallowing. Caterina paced around her office.
"Please illustrate the events that took place this past eight days."
Esther nodded and explained about the Methuselah attack and how Tres had turned up after all hell had broken loose and saved her life. She decided Caterina probably didn't want to know she'd collapsed and been carried back by Tres.
"I see."
Caterina paced some more, looking thoughtful.
"And he didn't mention he'd disobeyed orders?" Caterina asked and Esther violently shook her head.
"He didn't say a thing – he just turned up and took control of the disaster and we left. Everyone was fine. S-should I have not left my post? I was meant to leave yesterday, but I suppose I shouldn't have since they'd been attacked. No-one got hurt – I made sure they had barricaded themselves in. Oh no, I messed up, didn't I?!" she fretted. Was she going to have the record for shortest time as a member of AX?
Caterina shook her head.
"Calm yourself, girl. You performed admirably, given the circumstances. Any relief the parish may need will be seen to by someone else. What concerns me is what drove Father Tres to disobey. Do you have any insights at all, Sister Blanchett?" Caterina was studying Esther closely, while Esther tried to think of anything. She came up blank.
"We're… a trio?" she lamely suggested, "I mean, Abel, Tres and I travelled for a while together. Maybe he thinks we're a unit?"
It sounded pretty dumb. Caterina took it in.
"Hm." She sounded as convinced as Esther felt, "You may go. I wouldn't get too comfortable, though. There's a mission coming up soon and we have you in mind for it."
Esther got to her feet and bowed, hurrying out. Another mission? Esther felt like that first was almost enough for her. But she was tired and frazzled from the whole fiasco. She returned to her room and rested.
Over the next few days, she couldn't find Tres anywhere and the mission ledger clearly listed him as being in the Vatican. She suspected he'd been taken off missions for a bit after the whole disobeying thing. What worried her was what they were doing with him while he wasn't out in the field. She'd visited his room several times to find it empty, which only managed to ratchet up her concern.
But on the fourth day, he reappeared in his room.
"Tres!" she exclaimed, hugging him tight.
"What is wrong, Esther?"
She pulled back, thumping his chest.
"What is wrong – what is wrong?!" she shrieked, "You disappeared after getting told off, or whatever! That's what was wrong! I was beginning to think that Lady Caterina had decided to have you dismantled!"
She breathed heavily and tried to calm down. Tres shut his door and offered Esther a seat before taking one himself. Esther stood for several moments before finally sitting down beside him.
"I was reprimanded and sent to the labs for testing. But there is nothing wrong with me, so I am free to return to duty," he told her.
It was fear, Esther realised she'd been feeling; real fear Tres was being taken away. With Abel gone so much, Tres was the only person she really knew in the Vatican. And he'd disobeyed orders to protect her.
'I'm not going mad; he was showing emotions when he rescued me.'
She was getting closer to the truth; she could feel it.
"Well… why did you do it?" she finally asked, watching Tres carefully.
"It is my duty to protect people. I was informed of an altercation and set out to rectify it." He was completely expressionless.
"But you were expressly told not to go, right?"
"Affirmative. I performed calculations based on the information I received and predicted you and those in the area would be dead by dawn without immediate intervention. So I intervened to conserve life."
Esther didn't know what to say to that. She was glad he 'intervened', as he put it, but it didn't explain precisely why.
'How far should I push it?' She debated with herself for a few minutes before opening his mouth again.
"Tres… that doesn't answer the question of why. Surely it wouldn't matter what calculations you did if you were told not to go. You thought that saving lives was more important than the orders given to you."
"You are trying to imply that I wanted you spared over all else. I must try to preserve life. A large factor was who gave me the orders. If Lady Caterina herself had issued the orders directly to me, I would not have gone."
He wasn't looking at her, and his speech put Esther on edge. She stood up, getting annoyed.
"Are you accusing me of trying to force emotions on you?" she said, affronted.
Tres gave her a blank look.
"I accuse you of nothing."
Esther huffed and stormed out. Why was he always like that?
She didn't speak with or see Tres for the next few days. Which was good, she decided, since it gave her time to cool off. Just as she thought she was getting closer to understanding what Tres was all about, he always seemed to steer the conversation is such a way that infuriated her, or disappointed her.
With a sigh, she left the firing range. Her arms were aching from the constant recoil from repeatedly unloading her pistols. Her aim was improving, and she was determined not to be a liability, especially after the Reisfal incident. She'd been having nightmares about almost being devoured by that gang of Methuselah ever since she'd got back and never wanted to repeat it.
"Sister Esther?" someone asked. Esther looked up to see a priest coming over.
"Yes, that's me," she responded and the priest nodded.
"Excellent. Lady Caterina wants you in her office. A mission is prepared for you," he said. Esther nodded and he left. She quickly made her way to Caterina's office and was shown right in.
"Ah, Esther," said Caterina, looking up from a pile of papers, "Have a seat."
Esther sat down, nervous. What kind of mission was awaiting her?
"A shady group has formed a business in Albion and we believe they are connected to the Rosenkreuz Orden, one of our greatest threats. You and Tres are to pose as a businessman and his assistant and infiltrate the group and learn as much as possible," said Caterina, holding Esther's gaze, which made Esther a little uncomfortable. Esther really didn't like the idea of Tres pretending to be anything other than an android.
"Does it really have to be Tres? What about Abel?" she asked. She still hadn't seen him in months and it was becoming depressing to think she might not see him again.
"He's too well known for this type of mission, especially those involving the Rosenkreuz Orden. And you know very well he has been assigned a mission already."
Esther was starting to get a little resentful of that mission ledger.
"Then…" she desperately tried to think of someone else, but her mind was blank.
"Tres will do. He is programmed with the correct procedures. You will be briefed given your outfits and travel documents together at twelve. Dismissed," Catherina waved Esther away. Flustered, Esther bowed and left.
The last time she'd ended up with Tres, he'd been reprimanded. She'd already caused him enough trouble, already. And she was still a little mad at him. Still, she knew Tres would ensure they made it back in one piece, which reassured her.
A mission in Albion… it was too good to be true… Abel's explanation that Tres was shipped from Albion rang in her head. It seemed Tres had been created in Albion, apparently as a tool for his master's rebellion. Esther wondered what Tres would be like as a rebel, then abandoned the idea. He seemed indifferent to his missions; he would be the same for rebel missions as well. He'd said as much in her previous conversations; all that mattered was obeying his masters' orders. But where did her first mission put him?
With a faint heating of her face, she recalled how it felt to have Tres pull her out of harm's way, arms wrapped tight around her. He'd been so adamant on keeping her safe, when they shared the same job, now. Somehow, she couldn't quite convince herself that his actions were solely the execution of a simple program, curse her heart.
It was only half an hour before twelve, so she sat outside the briefing room, listlessly staring out of the window at the grounds. Before she knew it, she heard the familiar stomp of Tres' heavy frame marching along.
She tried to ignore him, but he came to sit beside her.
"Good day, Esther," he said, and Esther folded her arms.
"I guess."
He said nothing in reply, though did look at her, as if analysing her expression.
"Is something wrong, Esther?" he finally asked and Esther sighed before turning to face him.
"Yes, Tres. What's wrong with me is you." She was feeling incredibly uncooperative; why should she have to tell him every single problem she had with him, when he should be able to work it out himself. Why could he never understand?!
"Your phrasing is confusing. You are suggesting that I have affected your wellbeing in some way?"
'It's the job of people around him to explain, otherwise he'll never learn. He has no proper point of reference,' a particularly annoying little voice in the back of her head whispered and Esther finally calmed down.
"No, Tres, not precisely. Our argument we had last time has been bothering me. I'm angry at you, because you said things… I didn't like," she admitted, deciding to finally open her heart a little, "I suppose… perhaps on reflection… I was suggesting you went after me because it was me. You, Abel and I… well, I think of us as a trio. I don't have anyone else, now. I would rush out if I heard you or Abel were in trouble in a heartbeat. It wouldn't matter if I was told to stay behind, or I'm not strong enough, because you two are all I have left to depend on."
She sighed heavily, feeling sombre.
"Tres… what I mean to say is, it doesn't matter what I think, really. Your motives are your own. I'm just glad you saved me. Can we be friends?"
She held out her hand and Tres watched her for several moments before shaking it.
"We are friends, Esther."
It was the most reliving thing he had ever said – even more than when he'd told those Methuselah to step away from her. He sounded almost normal. As normal as Tres got.
Esther grinned.
"Good. Now, shouldn't our briefing be now?"
"Affirmative. The current briefing must be longer than they anticipated."
"Who's in there?" Esther began to ask, but suddenly the door opened.
"Why must I return there?! I almost froze to death up there last time! You wouldn't do that to poor old me?!" a familiarly overdramatic voice cried. Esther leapt up.
"Abel!" she shouted and before her brain could do anything, her body threw herself into Abel's arms. He blinked and instinctively held on to her.
"Esther? Esther! I haven't seen you in… I couldn't even say!" Abel said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.
"Have you been running from me, Abel? You're always out on missions!" Esther joked, but then narrowed her eyes. Abel looked a little too sheepish for Esther to think it had all been some terrible happenstance he'd been sent out on so many missions.
"Uh… well…" he fumbled, letting go of her in favour of nervously stepping back.
"Abel…" Esther implored. Her heart was pounding. His absence was her fault?
"You've been very inquisitive, Esther," he finally said, looking sad.
'He was watching me!'
It all made sense now. She knew he'd been reluctant about his past, but to go this far…
She felt sick.
"I won't… I won't pry again. I swear." It was all she could think to say. She felt like she'd been slapped.
Abel put his hands on her shoulders. The glimmer in his eyes made Esther want to cry.
"I know. I have to go, though. Work calls. We'll have to talk when we both get back, alright?" he said, looking serious. Esther mutely nodded and Abel let her go and left.
Esther felt so flustered and ashamed she'd been caught red-handed. So much for secretly trying to research Abel's background. She should have given him more credit. Had he disappeared before or after she'd started hanging out in the archives? She couldn't recall.
A hand came to rest on her shoulder, making her jump.
"Esther, are you all right? We must go in for the briefing," said Tres and Esther relaxed.
"I'm fine," she lied, not wanting to deal with the situation right then, "Let's go in."
The briefing had been pretty basic; go to a nearby city that dealt with continental transport so they weren't suspicious, and head to Albion. Get into the business district and get in with this new, possibly Rosenkreuz controlled company. They'd been furnished with tickets, appropriate clothing and weaponry. Before Esther knew it, she was changing and sitting on a train to the city where to continental airships gathered.
Tres sat on the seat opposite. Esther smirked, trying not to laugh. He looked so strange not in his usual outfit. He was wearing a suit and his top hat sat beside him, along with a cane. Esther was distinctly reminded of William.
As for herself, she was in a knee length navy skirt with a suit jacket and white shirt underneath. She'd never worn such an outfit, but found it tight and uncomfortable compared to her usual habit.
"Tres, are you sure you can act like a businessman?" Esther asked for the hundredth time.
"I can operate accurately as many different individuals," he replied as he had all the other times Esther had asked. No matter what she asked, his mechanical answers didn't reassure her in the least.
Part of her stress was her worrying over what had taken place between herself and Abel, and she was just taking it out on Tres. But she couldn't get the look Abel had on his face when he'd spoken to her. He had looked so sad, and a little scared. If she'd known her poking about was going to cause this much upset, she would have left it all alone, curiosity be damned.
The rest of the train journey was spent in silence, Esther still torturing herself over Abel. Tres only spoke when the train stopped and he stood, looking down at Esther while putting his top hat on.
"We must hurry. We have seven hundred and eighty seconds until our flight departs," he informed her.
Esther got up, quickly doing the math in her head.
"Thirteen minutes. You know, businessmen don't time things in seconds," she said, getting up and following Tres.
"Then I shall amend my timekeeping," he said, and Esther blinked.
"As easy as that?" she murmured to herself, staring at his back as they walked.
Their quarters were beside each other on the large transport ship. It was already evening and they weren't to arrive in Albion until the morning. Esther decided she had been pleasantly shocked to see Tres in something other than his uniform. She'd begun to think the thing was glued to him, considering she'd never seen him in anything else.
A part of her brain speculated what he looked like without his uniform and her face began to grow hot. She covered her face with her hands and took a deep breath.
'I'm being stupid. I just want to find out the truth.'
She stood up and went to Tres' door, hovering for a moment before gathering herself together and knocking.
"Come in."
For some reason, the fact his tone remained the same reassured her, as if her thoughts were nullified by his mere presence. Her thoughts were just thoughts, and would never be borne into the real world.
So it came as quite a shock when she entered, closed the door and turned around to find Tres half naked, mechanically towelling his sopping hair.
"T-Tres! Y-Your hair!" she exclaimed, unable to think of anything else to say. Somehow, 'Tres, you're half naked!' wasn't a good substitute.
Esther straightened, just noticing she'd pressed herself against the door, and took a step forward.
"Did you… have a shower?" she questioned, very carefully coming closer.
Tres nodded. He was sitting on a chair, wearing a pair of loose black trousers, but his torso was bare. A few rivulets of water had escaped his towelling and run down his body. Esther blinked, unsure what to do.
"Affirmative. Even an android requires cleaning. This is the most convenient method available," he explained, halting his hair drying.
Esther finally drew up beside her.
"Uh, I can dry your hair for you, if you want," she offered, "I'm feeling at kind of a loss over what to do with myself, so I want to keep my hands busy. The devil finds work for idle hands and all that, you know?"
"If you wish," he said, and handed the towel over.
Esther stared at the towel. She hadn't seriously thought he would simply let her mess about with his hair. She looked at him; it was odd being at eye level, since he just watched her, utterly unconcerned. His hair was plastered against his face, just reaching the bottom of his ears.
She carefully put the towel on his head and began to rub.
"I really had to get out of my room. It was too empty," she chattered, desperate to fill the silence.
"We have more than sufficient furnishings and facilities for a long-haul flight to Albion."
Esther sighed, moving to tend to the back of his head.
"It doesn't matter if I'm the only person in there. There's no-one to talk to, or just spend time with. I hate being alone," she confessed, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"I am not a person."
There it was; those words justifying that sensation of incoming depression.
"Don't say that!" she snapped, tousling his hair a little rougher, "You are a person; I'm sure of it! That's part of the reason we're heading to Albion – to find out the truth!"
She stopped and pulled the towel off his head. His hair was as dry as it was going to get with a now damp towel, and was now sticking out in random directions. Esther waited for him to say something. He turned his head to look at her.
"That is true. But you may simply prove that I am nothing but a machine. What will you do then?" he replied.
She threw the towel on the dresser and planted her hands on her hips.
"I just know you're not just a machine," she sounded as resolute as possible.
"But how do you 'just know'?" Tres questioned, tilting his head.
Esther grew frustrated. In a fit of anger and determination to try and prove her point, she moved and straddled him, putting her hands on his shoulders so she didn't fall back. He looked at her, impassive.
"Don't you feel anything in this position?" Esther asked, watching him, waiting for his face to falter – something! She could already feel her cheeks reddening.
"I feel the weight of you sitting on me, Esther," he replied, and Esther groaned in frustration. She leaned forward and lightly head butted him. It was the first time she'd come into physical contact with his bare skin. His forehead felt extremely warm and slightly synthetic, like a soft plastic, or rubber, she wasn't sure.
"I don't understand you at all, Tres," she sighed, leaning back, "You act all strange when those Methuselah attacked in that village and I was the only line of defence, you suddenly agree to help me find out about your creation with no qualms after we have a massive argument… I don't know what to make of you, Tres."
"There is nothing to 'make of me'. I am simply myself."
A slight smirk appeared on Esther's lips.
"Surely giving yourself a 'self' isn't something a machine traditionally does is it?" she suggested and Tres nodded.
"No, it is not. Perhaps your argument is more valid than I thought."
Esther felt a little put out.
"You gave up very easily. I'm kind of disappointed."
Tres tilted his head again.
"Why?"
Esther sighed.
"Because it means I probably can't hang out here much longer. I'll have to go back to my room and sleep or something."
She realised she was getting way too comfortable on Tres' lap and went to get up, but Tres took hold of her arms.
"You are welcome to stay here, Esther, if your fear of being alone is so great. It would not do you good to be under more stress than necessary during this mission. You may use the bed provided for me, since I will not be requiring it," he told her, and Esther's mouth fell open.
"Are you serious?"
"I am always serious, Esther."
It sounded almost like a joke to her. To distract herself, she got up, reached out and began pushing his hair into its usual style. It reminded her of better times, when she'd fuss over the kids that came into the church back in Istvan. Esther let her mind wander. She felt like she hadn't been able to properly relax in a long time. Something always interrupted. That week in the Reisfal parish was the last time she wasn't stressed out or angry.
"Esther, I believe my hair is sufficiently tended to," said Tres, making Esther jump.
"Oh, sorry! I got completely distracted."
She stepped back, putting a little distance between them.
"Um… I'm going to grab my bedclothes," she said before hurrying off.
'What am I doing?'
It was Tres who was offering this company, Esther firmly reassured herself. Then why was she getting so worked up about it?
By the time she got the courage to return, covered from the neck down in a long nightdress and a heavy dressing gown, Tres was fully dressed in his business clothes again sitting on the chair he'd been in before.
Esther was beginning to think this was a bad idea, but she couldn't completely articulate why. She took off the dressing gown and carefully climbed into the untouched bed, tugging the tightly tucked sheets out so she could get in. She felt a little better once she was settled in the bed. Tres stood and turned the lights off, making Esther tense again. She saw his shadowed form return to his seat.
"So… you're just going to sit there?" she whispered.
"Affirmative. There is no call to perform any duties currently," he responded.
The silence stretched on.
"… Do you know any stories?" she asked. She caught a faint red glow in his eyes and he turned his head to look in her direction.
"I know many stories. Why do you ask?"
"I thought maybe you could tell me one? To help me sleep?"
'Anything to ease this weird situation. I should have just sucked my loneliness up.'
"Very well."
And to her shock, he began reciting one of his and Abel's adventures. Their first meeting, it unfolded as he spoke. Esther smiled and snuggled into a comfortable position. Any trace of awkwardness was now gone, replaced by interest at Tres' story.
But before Tres got to the thrilling conclusion, Esther's eyes had grown heavy and she slipped into a dream of running and gunning, awkward conversation and explosions.
