Esmeralda: Liyue 2
A/N: This is a direct continuation of the Liyue chapter.
With Cloud Retainer's help, what would have taken Esmeralda days or weeks was done in hours. They worked quickly within the Adeptal abode, undistracted by the happenings of the outside world. Not only was Daisy fully functional again, with two working arms, but the two of them had also even managed to fit in a few improvements.
While the arm was disconnected, Cloud Retainer used her Adeptal arts to create a secondary power core within the arm itself, allowing Daisy to draw upon additional power to perform enhanced attacks. Doing so would cause the secondary core to be exposed, unfortunately, but that was a problem inherent to every Ruin machine. Until that weakness could be solved, Esmeralda would just have to be careful with her attacks.
There was still much that she wanted to do. Could Retainer had a host of abilities and inventions that Esmeralda wanted to try out - elemental-absorbing Adepti sigils, improved heat management and dissipation, a mega-ballista. The last one intrigued her, and Esmeralda asked the Adeptus how she had come into possession of it.
"This day has thus far been most worthwhile," Cloud Retainer said, ignoring her question completely. "Alas, our time together has come to an end."
Just like that, the Adeptal realm vanished. Esmeralda found herself back on Mount Aocang, standing in front of a cave with Daisy by her side.
"Oh! It's night? How long have we been working?" Esmeralda wondered as she stared into the starry sky. "I really must get going."
Could Retainer remained at the entrance to her abode, seemingly unwilling to leave her domain. "Your task is complete, and you have given one much to think about."
"Daisy's good as new, and it's all thanks to you. Still, I have more questions and tests I want to run with your help. Can I come back?" Esmeralda asked.
"You are welcome in one's workshop, young one," Cloud Retainer promised. "One has not met anything quite like your companion in many centuries. It would be a shame to disallow your return."
"Thank you, Cloud Retainer!"
"Before you leave, one has a gift for you," Cloud Retainer said. "Hold out Moon Carver's sigil."
Esmeralda blinked. "Oh, that," she realized, having forgotten about it. She held it up for the Adeptus to see.
With a flap of her wings, Cloud Retainer transformed the artifact. It changed from an orange glow to a light grey hue. She explained, "It is done. The sigil you hold is now of one's own. It shall mark you as an ally of the Adeptus and guide you to one's workshop. Do. Not. Lose. It."
"I'll take good care of it, I promise. Thanks again for everything, Cloud Retainer!" Esmeralda said, placing the precious sigil in her toolkit. With that, the Adeptus returned to her abode and Esmeralda began making the long way back.
Descending the mountains was easier than climbing, but in the twilight and without a guide, Esmeralda took it slow. By the time that she got through the first of many bridges - that desperately needed repairs and were even more terrifying at night - Esmeralda was sure that she had to either travel overnight or set up camp for the night. The former was unappealing and the latter even more so, given that she did not bring her usual camping supplies.
Although... Esmeralda looked at Daisy, who did not need to sleep.
Daisy hovered across the ground, taking extra care to remain as stable as possible. Cradling its precious, sleeping cargo in its hands, it constantly scanned the surroundings for threats. Already, it had passed two Hillichurl camps. Fortunately, the late hour meant that the monsters were asleep and had posed no danger.
The flicker of flame in the distance drew its attention. Daisy considered it. The area was barren, so a wildfire was unlikely. That meant that the flame was artificial. Monsters could set up campfires but likely extinguished them at night, as shown by the previous encounters. Daisy came to the conclusion that the flicker of flame was caused by humans who were still awake. From its memory, most humans active at night were bandits of some kind. They should be avoided.
The flame was stationary. Daisy plotted a new path around it and continued moving on.
It could sense a presence at the flame. Not by sight. Not by sound. Something out there seemed to simply radiate power. The sensation that Daisy felt was new and it did not know what to do.
Esmeralda's code had nothing for such an occurrence. Daisy dug deeper until a forgotten fragment of its precursor code recognized the feeling. What did it mean? Daisy asked itself.
Danger. Target. Kill.
Long-forgotten programming screamed at her to attack, to lay waste to its enemy. It refused. It would not attack without a valid reason, and the precursor code could not give it any. It did not know what it faced. Daisy chose to suppress the violent instinct and calmly gave it some thought.
Danger.
Daisy noted and acknowledged the threat. It would remain on guard.
Target.
Daisy could not target the unknown creature. Its location was unknown.
Kill.
Daisy refused. It would not harm those who did not wish it or its master harm. It would not prepare its weapons. It would not -
Kill.
Daisy had never had two sets of orders that so violently countered each other. Old orders contrasted with new ones. It did not know what to do.
'If something goes wrong, wake me up,' its master had said.
Daisy focused on that command. The newly awakened yet ancient code did not argue with this course of action. Wake Esmeralda up and let her decide. It hesitated.
How could it wake someone up?
Drawing upon its memory, Daisy noted that Esmeralda extinguished her light before sleeping. She woke when the sun rose and light flooded the land. It concluded that a bright light would wake its master.
Daisy looked directly at Esmeralda's closed eyes with its own 'eye', its power core. It sent a surge of power through its power core.
For a second, a new sun lit up the night.
"Ahh! My god!" Esmeralda screamed, jerking up and almost falling off. Daisy barely managed to move to cushion her. "What the heck?!"
Danger, Daisy told her.
"What?" Esmeralda wondered, doing her best to clear the spots in her vision. Combined with the dark night, illuminated only by the stars, and her sudden awakening, she was having significant difficulty in discerning her surroundings.
Squinting in the direction that Daisy indicated, Esmeralda made out a human figure dressed in brown. He was tall and wielding a polearm of some kind, but that was all she could make out. "Hello?" Esmeralda ventured.
A deep, confident voice answered her. "Miss, are you alright? Do you need help?"
The man seemed friendly enough, although Daisy kept repeating its warning: danger. It seemed ready to attack at any moment. Esmeralda definitely did not want that, so she placed a hand on it to restrain it. Were it anyone else who attempted that move, they would have been ignored at best, but her relation to Daisy meant that it calmed down, although it never let down its guard.
"No! Don't touch him!" Esmeralda whispered, confused at Daisy's unexpected aggression. Louder, she replied, "I'm alright. Who are you? Why are you here?"
"My name is Zhongli, miss," the man replied, "I had some business to attend to here. How about you?"
"I'm Esmeralda," she introduced. "This is Daisy. We were just passing by." Danger. Danger. Daisy, amidst its constant warnings, had not stopped staring at Zhongli. "I'm sorry, she's not usually like this."
"Is that... a modified Ruin Hunter?" Zhongli asked, taking a step forward.
DANGER! Daisy had almost opened fire before Esmeralda could react. "Stop!" she commanded, "Daisy, stand down!"
The automaton retreated, yet kept its power core running hot - battle status. Esmeralda was worried now. Something - a fragment of Daisy's original programming, probably - was actively trying to attack Zhongli. She felt, through Daisy, that there was indeed something special about this man, but he had shown no signs of hostility, so she resolved not to initiate a fight.
"I apologize for startling you," Zhongli said. As he spoke, he allowed his polearm to dematerialize and held up his empty hands. "I mean no harm."
"It's alright," Esmeralda replied, "I have no idea why she's so aggressive today."
At that moment, another figure popped out of the trees. She was shorter than Zhongli, wearing a dark outfit similar to his. On her head rested a wide black hat. She immediately focused on Daisy.
"Director Hu, I must suggest -" Zhongli managed to get that far before the newcomer made a beeline for the mech.
"Daisy! No!" Esmeralda yelled, but to her surprise, the machine was almost completely ignoring Hu in favor of glaring at Zhongli.
She gasped, hopping closer to the massive mech, showing no fear. "It's called Daisy? That's a great name. I'm Hu Tao!"
"Yes! I'm Esmeralda. Finally, someone who agrees! Everyone else just goes 'Daisy is such a weird name for a murder robot'," Esmeralda said.
"Aiyaya, that's easy. Tell them, if they have a problem with the murder robot, they can talk to the murder robot!"
"But she not a murder robot!"
Hu Tao shrugged, unfazed, "They don't need to know that."
Esmeralda considered it. "That does seem like a good idea..."
Nearby, Zhongli stifled a groan. Less than a minute in and Hu Tao was already corrupting Esmeralda. "Director Hu," he cut in politely, "It is late. We should return to Liyue Harbor."
Hu Tao shook her head. "Nope! The night's still young and our business is done. You can go back first."
Zhongli gave her a deadpan glare. "No," he said, "To leave you alone here would be both irresponsible and dangerous."
"Aw, come on! I can take care of myself!"
"Not dangerous for you. For everyone else."
"So, uh, what brings you two out this late?" Esmeralda asked, one hand still restraining Daisy. It seemed to have calmed down but was still ready to spring at a moment's notice.
"Oh, just burning some bodies," Hu Tao said nonchalantly, waving a hand.
Esmeralda's eyes widened. Her grip on Daisy loosened just a little.
Zhongli was quick to clarify. "What director Hu means is that we, as part of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, were cremating a body in accordance with Liyue customs."
"Eh, same thing," Hu Tao argued.
Esmeralda felt Daisy heat up under her hand. Its power core was likely charging up, ready to open fire. With a glance back, she realized that her theory was correct, and Daisy's eye was opening up in preparation for a full-powered laser. It was about to use its most powerful attack on someone who had done absolutely nothing against them.
"Daisy! Manual override: Shut. Down." Esmeralda snapped. A moment later, the robot's glowing eye blinked off and its entire mass crashed onto the ground. She winced at the impact.
Both Zhongli and Hu Tao hesitated. The former politely said, "I apologize. I think it would be best if I left."
Esmeralda gave a sad smile. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault."
"Still, we should not stay. Will you be alright?"
"I'll be fine," Esmeralda replied, then hesitated. "But before you go..." her voice trailed off. "You're... experienced with..."
For all her mischievousness, Hu Tao could get serious if she needed to. "Death?" she asked, her voice no longer playful.
"You've killed someone before," Zhongli surmised.
"I did," Esmeralda said, voice barely above a whisper, "I didn't mean to."
"Wanna talk about it?" Hu Tao asked.
"It... was when Daisy first awakened. I was so close to a breakthrough. Then the Hoarders... They attacked me. I was angry. I killed three of them," Esmeralda recalled. She could feel their bodies break as metal crashed into them. Feel their bones Shatter. Feel the blood spurt. Feel-
Esmeralda did not even realize that she was crying until Hu Tao hugged her from behind, snapping her out of her memory. Or perhaps it wss Daisy's memory.
"It's okay," the funeral director reassured. "It's not your fault."
"No?" she sniffed.
"No nation would judge you for defending yourself. I can assume that they threatened you first, correct?
Esmeralda frowned. "They interrupted my work. Many times. I... don't like that."
"Sometimes people just don't learn until they're forced to," Hu Tao commented.
"You attacked only in self-defense. Although some would say that your use of force was excessive, I believe that that was because of your unfamiliarity. You mentioned that your robot had just awakened, correct? Your control must be much greater now," Zhongli said. As with everything else he did, he spoke with the confidence that could only come from experience.
"Right. It won't happen again," Esmeralda agreed. They were right. She was far more comfortable with Daisy now. Non-lethal force was no longer an issue. But there was one thing she had to know. "Will they haunt me?"
"Don't be silly. Ghosts are very rare," Hu Tao said. "What'd you do to their bodies?"
Esmeralda thought back. "I buried them."
The funeral director laughed. "Aiya, then there's nothing to worry about. The rites were carried out and you didn't abuse their bodies. Unless one of them had some really really bad grudge against someone, you're fine. They've moved on."
"I... see," Esmeralda said, somewhat hesitantly. "Thank you."
"It is no problem. Now, I'm afraid we really must leave. Will you be alright? We can escort you back to Liyue Harbor, if you require," Zhongli offered.
"It's alright. I have somewhere to stay. I'll reactivate Daisy... but I think it's best if you leave first. I don't know why she considers you such a threat."
"Very well. Director Hu, let's return," Zhongli said, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he turned to leave.
Hu Tao jumped off Daisy's inactive form and waved as she accompanied her consultant. "Bye, Esmeralda! If you know someone who needs my services, send them to me! I'll give you a discount!"
"Director..."
Hu Tao laughed.
Esmeralda watched them disappear through the trees, headed for the glowing city that was Liyue Harbor. The day had been quite eventful, and she had much to think about. However, a dark forest was no place to do so, so she began the process of reawakening her companion.
"Alright, Daisy. Let's go home."