Metal Hearts

A Cave Story Romance of Sorts by meteor9

Chapter 1

As the sun continued to rise, bathing the floating island in its light, a small figure could be seen flying away to the east. Though, it was only small in comparison to the chunk of rock it was escaping.

Balrog, for all intents and purposes, was about the size of a small truck. It was a wonder that he could even fly at all, let alone carrying two passengers with him. And while Quote and Curly Brace might look like ordinary folk to some, the reality was they were both more machine than anything else, and as such were appropriately heavier than they looked. So, in a physical sense the whole scene was just absurd, with the large box flapping his tiny arms in a comical fashion.

Their transport spoke up after a few moments, trying to make conversation. "So!"

They waited for him to continue, but as he didn't, Curly prodded. "So?"

He took another moment to think on it. When he came up with what he felt was a reasonable question, he replied, "So, what are you going to do now? I can take you anywhere."

"Hmm...you're right," answered the female android. "Well, our mission is over, and now I just want to live out my days somewhere where I can relax and enjoy a beautiful view." She turned and smiled to her partner, who up until now hadn't really said much. "How does that sound, Quote?"

He nodded, and smiled back. "I could go for that."

They continued their flight across the valley below, to a destination that still had yet to be decided. Of course, it's not like any of them were in a hurry. Considering the events of the past day or so, it was surprising that any of them were still awake. For now, they just relaxed, exerting no more effort than needed to hold on to Balrog as he floated along. The breeze was refreshing after having spent so long deep within the caverns of the island.

Still, Balrog was a bit uneasy. "Uh...you know," he muttered nervously, and trailing off into silence.

Curly tried to hear what he was saying, but she couldn't make out his voice over the wind. "What's that?"

"Would it be alright if I joined you guys? It sounds nice."

Without hesitation, Curly nodded and answered, "Sure!"

Quote, trusting her decision, also joined in. "Yeah, that's fine by me."

"All three of us'll live together," Curly exclaimed happily. "It'll be fun!"

Now, Balrog honestly hadn't expected so sudden a reply. Even if he had been under the control of the crown the whole time, he still found their eagerness to forgive and forget rather strange. "...really?"

"Yeah! I'll even let you pick the spot."

Quote suddenly had a feeling of dread. "Um, wait, can I just add-"

Curly continued as if he wasn't even talking. "Just, pick a good place, alright?"

"But-"

"You got it! Hang on tight!" With that, Balrog leaned towards the southeast and sailed off towards the mountains.

"Well," muttered Qoute. "This'll be an adventure, for sure..."

"Well...the view IS nice up here," said Curly, trying to be reassuring while also rubbing her arms to keep herself warm.

"You don't like it," pouted the large box. "That's okay, we can pick another spot."

"Mmph mmmph." Quote was attempting to be curteous to his new friend as well, but, it was difficult trying to speak through his scarf. He had wrapped it at least three times around his face in order to stave off the biting mountain winds, after all. So, he shrugged and nodded an apology.

"I just think it might be a little too chilly. I'm sorry, Balrog."

One might think it strange that a robot would be concerned about the temperature. Aside from overheating, that is. But, one has to consider that these two weren't ordinary robots. They both ate, drank, breathed, and slept just like an ordinary human being would, and seemingly with the results as with humans, too. This led them to believe that if they weren't androids, machines with biological aspects, then they were radically impressive robots. Balrog himself speculated the former, as he had handled both of the fighters when he helped them escape from Ballos' throne room, and decided they felt particularly and organically alive in his hands. Then again, it could've just been all the shaking and overheating weaponry, as well.

Still, if they were cold, they were cold. "Ah, no problem! We'll just find somewhere warmer, that's all! All aboard!"

They continued on their journey for the rest of the day, stopping every hour or so to scope out a potential new home, or to at least let Balrog rest his stubby arms. It wasn't an eventful day, really. Each promising vista had enough drawbacks to send the trio back to the sky, and in between there were numerous sites that were just terrible once they got up close and personal with them. Both Quote and Balrog were choosing locations now, as Balrog was the first to admit that he really had no clue what would make a good spot, having been stuck on the island for so many decades. Quote wasn't having much luck, either, as his memory of the world was still quite fuzzy, despite Curly's attempts to fill in the holes during their trip. And since Curly was busy relating as much info as she could to her friends, she wasn't accomplishing much in the way of surveying the terrain.

So, as the sun set on the day after the fateful battle, the heroes of the conflict found themselves back inside the last environment they ever thought they'd have to deal with again. A dank cave.

"No way! There's just no way I'm staying in a cave!" Curly was furious, needless to say. "I spent the last ten years trapped in that hellhole in the sky! I'm not spending another night in the ground if it's the last thing I do!"

While Balrog stood around looking sheepish, feeling a bit guilty about choosing this last location for the day, Quote tried his best to reason with his fellow combat android. "Come on, Curly, it's just for one night. And we'll be right near the entrance, too."

"Nuh-uh."

Quote continued his assualt of persuasion. "Well, we can't stay outside. It looks like it's gonna rain pretty hard tonight."

"I'll take my chances."

"But...but what if you get flooded again?" He was forced to bring up a point that he really didn't want to, if only because he didn't want to remember it himself. And it probably was a stupid thing to worry about, as well. Unless it was a hurricane, the chances that either one of them could be flooded by a mere rainstorm were pretty low. Stupid or not, though, it worried him.

She sighed, seeing that it honestly bothered him. Still, she would hold firm, so she smiled at him as reassuringly as she could. "I'll just keep my airtank handy. You'll be in the cave, right? You won't need it."

Defeated, Quote handed her airtank back to her. "Alright, alright."

She hadn't expected it to be so cold. The rain had already come and gone, lasting no more than fifteen minutes, which was quite far from Quote's prediction. But the wind had picked up afterwards, and she couldn't get a fire started in such poor conditions. She considered her options for a moment, but decided she'd be better off trying to find shelter under a tree than returning to that cavern. Finding the thickest one around, she got behind it, out of the wind, sat down, and leaned up against it's trunk.

After spending an hour lost in thought, trying to put all the events of the last two days into perspective, she allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

She awoke to the sounds, or maybe just the vibrations, of a woodpecker jabbing away at her tree. It took her a moment to remember where she was, and when she did, she was surprised. A large, red scarf was laying around her, rather jumbled, though it was apparent that someone had tried to cover her with it. Quote's scarf. Curly looked around to see if she could find the boyish android, and found him lying in the grass nearby, scarfless, and shivering slightly. "Oh, Quote..." She unwrapped the fabric from around herself and tried her best to cover her comrade. He stirred momentarily, but soon settled into his scarf, already seeming warmer to Curly.

The sun was coming up, and she knew it'd be getting warmer soon. So, she didn't mind laying back down in the cool grass, and falling alseep next to the one with whom she shared an iron bond.

To be continued next chapter...

Notes:

No, literally, I'm pretty sure it's an Iron Bond. Check your inventory sometime, and tell me if I'm stupid.

Anyway, this chapter was proofread by the always wonderful Black Waltz 0. I loves ya! If ya'll noticed, the opening to this chapter is pretty much lifted/paraphrased from the best ending of Cave Story. Now, if this is a spoiler to you, I just have to question what you're doing reading fanfics about something you haven't finished yet. Honestly, now.

So, I'm allowed to have one joke. We were discussing how a romance would work with one of the bad endings to this game, and...well...

Quote finally emerged from the basement, carrying with him something hidden under a sheet. "Look, everybody," he called. "Curly's back!" Everyone gathered into the room, waiting to meet this other robot that Quote had often told them of. When they had settled, he dramatically removed the sheet. Underneath was a crude assemblage of a mop, three cans, and various lengths of wire. Attached to the mop head were three googly eyes for some unknown reason. "It's Curly!" shouted the excited Quote. He then started to hug the abomination and stroke it's strands...I mean hair.

Sue proceeded to beat the crap out of him.