Mother, make me: Make me a bird of prey so I can rise above this and let it fall away!
. . .
Copy X looked even more sour than usual, not that it phased Harpuia.
"The Hunter's Guild has found the almost complete ruins of an informational library lost during the Elf Wars." Copy X informed Harpuia. "They have conversed with the Neo Arcadian Administration Bureau to survey the area, and have come to request my presence in overseeing their investigations."
"That sounds like an interesting arrangement." Harpuia said.
"However," the fake continued, "I am unable to oversee the site."
For a split second, Harpuia was almost unable to refrain himself from questioning Copy X's schedule. But he caught himself (just barely) in time, and remained silent.
"As the first of the Four Guardians, you are -by law- my second in command." Copy X then droned, not wanting to give the spiel any more than Harpuia wanted to hear it. "Therefore, it is your duty to go on to the survey area with both the NAAB and Hunter's Guild to supervise their expeditions."
"I would be unable to do that." Harpuia softly argued. "I was called to oversee the signing of a treaty between..."
"Fairy Leviathan has already agreed to go in your place." Copy X informed Harpuia harshly. The news did more than shock the green Guardian, it was almost on the edge of anger.
"Why would she do that?!" Harpuia questioned, losing his composure to argue against Neo Arcadia's highest authority. "That meeting is going to take too long for her to stand! Leviathan can't be out of the water for too long or she'll…!"
"It is her duty as commander of the Meikai Army and third member of Neo Arcadia's Four Guardians to oversee the signing just as well as you can." Copy X spat, silencing Harpuia with a horrifying glare. "When I informed her of the situation, she agreed almost immediately- whereas, we now have you, exercising your right to be more stubborn than Fefnir. I expected more from you XF#1, Sage Harpuia."
"You expect too much." Harpuia chillingly replied before turning to leave what he was requested to do.
. . .
Sage Harpuia paced from the Transerver to the survey point while trying to get a communication line to Leviathan.
"Direct line to XF#3, Fairy Leviathan." his sister's voice greeting from inside his headset, confirming the connection.
"I don't care what he told you," he immediately declared into the headset, "You had all right to refuse going to that treaty signing in my place!"
A silence on the other end of the connection made Harpuia fear for a moment that the connection hadn't been secure.
"He didn't force me to do anything." Leviathan then replied carefully. "I made the decision on my own."
"Siren, so help me if I find out he did anything..."
"You can ask the Mother Elf yourself if you don't believe me you stupid griffin." Leviathan snapped.
"M-mother?" Hapruia fumbled as it never occurred to him that he could have reviewed all of this with the Mother Elf before coming to the survey site. In fact, maybe he could just pop in now if he could…
"Have you already completed your new mission?" Leviathan then asked, snapping Harpuia out of his thoughts.
"I'm on my way now." he confirmed, even giving a cheesy smile as if she could see it. "Stay hydrated during that signing, it's going to take awhile. I normally have to keep from going to sleep after the first hour- I can't imagine how you're going to feel from being above shore that long."
"I've got it covered! I hired an Aqua Man unit to keep me going, I'll be fine. But for now I'll talk to you soon, okay?"
"Alright." Harpuia agreed. "See you soon." and with that the two severed the communication link between them as the green Guardian arrived at the survey site.
After being introduced to all those involved with the project, Harpuia then allowed everyone to begin researching the survey site.
The site itself could have been rather impressive back in its heyday- perhaps even now if someone could show a bit more love and work to it than what it had been given after the Elf War. Just walking along, Harpuia noticed that the floors were once made of superior marble (real marble!) that still had yet to crumble from age. Shelves that contained rows of books -or even plant seeds on some occasions- formed the walls that distinguished each 'room' the area seemed to contain. Not all the books were salvageable, Harpuia found with some degree of regret. He did find some things that wouldn't hold much value to anyone anymore, but he asked both authorities regarding the NAAB and Hunter's Guild if he could keep them- after being referred back and forth of the two parties and a quick inspection of the items he found, Harpuia was able to pocket four little trinkets out of the six he found. Three of them, he figured, his siblings could choose what they wanted and then the other would go to the Mother Elf.
As he thought over in his mind which trinket each of his siblings were sure to pick, an alarm sounded around the site. The ground was starting to shake as well, leading Harpuia to demand that everyone head toward an evacuation point immediately to get out of the area. No one had to be told twice to make a run for it, and once everyone was at the safe point Harpuia took role call. Everyone from the Hunter's Guild had make it out safely, so he went on to the ones under the Administration Bureau. As he almost finished the list of serials and given names, he called out a certain name,
"TK-31."
But no one answered.
"TK-31!" Harpuia shouted again, this time with a tone he was sure would have scared any Reploid not listening. Despite this, still no one came forward or even pretended to be TK-31. It was at this point that Harpuia was started to get annoyed- faintly, he could still hear the warning sirens go off in the library. "Where is TK-31?!"
The group of surveyors all looked around at one another, deciding who had saw TK-31 last or had any idea where he had went. The alarm was not deterring any quicker either, and with an angered huff Harpuia withdrew the Sonic Blades before rushing back inside the building. As he went through the main doors, someone from behind him shouted,
"I think he went downstairs!"
Well, at least Harpuia had a place to start looking.
. . .
The warning alarm had gone off for nearly three minutes- the computer interface that TK-31 had found went crazy shortly before that. Information poured onto the screen, overlapping some other article then opening back up again in droves. All the information at once was superiorly overwhelming, but try as he could, TK-31 couldn't look away. There was something so… addictive about this information, so… enticing. Then he saw it; he saw the true light. A simple loop of lab footage played over and over, showing that moment when their history started. The moment were a new light of hope reigned against the darkness.
That was how Harpuia found him, sitting at the computer console, staring at the loop as if it were controlling him.
"TK-31." Harpuia declared sternly. "You need to evacuate the area immediately, you are in danger if you stay here."
For a moment, the Reploid did not answer the Guardian, but when he did, he only turned his head slowly to face Harpuia- TK-31's face was devoid of emotion as a single questioned form on his lips, heard in just barely a whisper, "Is it true?"
"What are you-" Harpuia started to question before taking a glance at the console monitor. When he saw what footage was looping through the screen, he almost wished he had the means to vomit.
"The Mother Elf has a human brain, and you know it. I can see it all over your face." TK-31 declared slowly and darkly. Harpuia looked at TK-31 and realized that the Reploid now looked a bit smug, as if knowing this information some how gave him authority over Neo Arcadia's Guardian.
"The information you saw was not for public viewing." Sage Harpuia said to the Reploid in a dark, cold tone that almost immediately wiped the smirk off his TK-31's face. "Deleting your memories requires a permit and hostile intent on you part. Unless you plan on nuking Neo Arcadia with the Mother Elf's power, it is best that you forget everything that you saw. And if you ever do plan on doing such a thing to endanger Neo Arcadia's safety, I will personally erase your data until you are one file away from a perfect factory reset. Do I make myself clear?"
TK-31 looked up at Harpuia, all smugness gone in knowing that the green Guardian was not lying.
"Yes sir." the Reploid finally answered, "Perfectly clear."
. . .
Harpuia almost couldn't make it through the door of the Mother Elf's chamber before falling to his knees.
"Erase it!" he demanded, an unfamiliar feeling of little tears running down his cheeks, "Erase it all Mother!"
Calmly, and slow enough to almost grind on his already downgraded nerves, the Mother Elf's hologram materialized in front of him- sitting as if she was a child staring down at a little bug on the ground.
"Why would I do that?" she asked in a whisper.
"I saw her die. I saw the exact moment when she… Mother… Mother, now I want to die!"
The Mother Elf did not answer, but Harpuia felt a small sense of static partially disable the left side of his electronic brain.
"But what about TK-31? How do you think he feels about the information he learned? If the information where to get out, there could be unseen consequences in Neo Arcadia's security. And even if the truth stays hidden..."
Harpuia waited for the Mother Elf to give her final remark, but she didn't. Instead, the static sensation grew in intensity allowing Harpuia to lean into it as he slowly lost control of his body movements. She wasn't erasing his memory, but she was easing his pain.
"Thank you..." he muttered so quietly that he was almost inaudible. The Mother Elf, however, remained silent.