O-01-92

"Captain! Lin told me they need help with the new abnormality at the department the manager just expanded! W-What's with that expression?"

"Who is this 'Lin'?"

"T-They're just our coworker! You know them. We beat their pink head when they went crazy the other day."

"Ek? Do you have a fetish about smashing people's skulls in you haven't told me about?"

"Whaat?! No! I just like them! Eh- Wait, that's not-"

"That's…"

What should I do? I honestly want to feel happy for Ek, but knowing they have developed an attachment to another employee who works here, together with us in this hell… I can't bring myself to congratulate them. What if Lin went mad and pointed a gun at my head? What if Lin went nuts and pointed a gun at Ek's head? What if I had to kill Lin with my own two hands in front of Ek?

I honestly wanted to say 'Oh-ho? So my little Ek has a person they're interested in, huh?' while teasing them and pushing them to go nourish that relationship for my entertainment… but I couldn't. Not at Lobotomy Corporation.

"I'm sorry, captain. I didn't mean to worry you like this…"

I chopped their head with the back of my hand. It hurt them more than I expected, so I apologized first.

"I won't tell you to forget about Lin. As long as we keep working here, we're bound to meet new people and develop new relationships with our coworkers. However, we know the most probable outcome for us. We're going to die here, Ek. All of us."

"I know. That's exactly why I want to cherish that person. I don't know how much longer they will survive, so I want to experience them as many times as I can. When the time comes, I will pull the trigger myself."

Their answer made me relax. Ek was no longer that rookie who knew nothing about the corp. They matured and grew stronger. I even felt proud. They placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I also cherish you, captain, but you're not cute enough for me."

"Haha, I'll take that as a testament to my toughness. Take care, Ek. Don't make me find a substitute for you any time soon."

"I won't make any promises."

"You really shouldn't. Not in L Corp, anyway. Back to the topic at hand. I expect you to report your progress wooing this Lin individual. Also, where did you say I had to go now?"

Containment unit number 9. Adjacent to the Information Department, a whole new section was unlocked. Unlike Control's somber yellow and Information's galactic purples, that place had a warm brown colors. I went to their Main Room. A bunch of employees were fainted on the floor while clerks nursed them back to health. They didn't show any important wound, but their breathing was weak and instable, almost as if they were in the brink of death.

A Sephirah rested next to her employees, offering them words of relief and encouragement to recover promptly. It was even… touching how much she cared for them. She noticed my arrival and stood up to welcome me.

Hod's robot body was made of two bronze-colored boxes on top of each other, with a single digital glowing orange eye in the center of the lower part of the body. Her Sephirah name was displayed at the top of the upper part, and an antenna-like protrusion stuck up from the very top, resembling a hair cowlick. The body possessed mechanical arms and legs. Her legs were connected to a cylindrical piece below the body.

"You must be [DATA EXPUNGED], from Control Team, are you not?"

"That's what my captain armband means, indeed. What is the situation here?"

"My employees tried working on a new abnormality, but we failed to discover the managerial rules. If only I had trained them better… this is all my fault."

"Well, it would be your fault if you had any prior information about this abnormality, but you don't, do you? The fact none of your employees have died despite this being their first day is remarkable. They have my praise."

Somehow, my words hurt her. Hod fell silent, so I started humming whatever song I could think of to keep the explosions away from my mind. HamHam PangPang's theme was an all-time favorite. Her continued indecision made me wonder whether she was having a software bug or something.

"Miss Hod?"

"Y-Yes. Forgive me. I was… thinking. I'm sorry to waste your time. I will tell you now everything that we know from O-01-92."

Today's Shy Look. TETH. Cannot breach. Deals Black damage. Red Eyes suit protected me from every type of damage except Pale, so I would have it better than those unprotected employees who wore the standard issue suits.

I took a peek through the chamber's window. Shy Look was a humanoid person of brown clothing and skinless legs that dripped blood on the floor. They stood behind a mounted 'net' of skin –probably theirs–, held up by two supporting poles at each side. The skin was bloody on the edges and contained five different expressions ranging from happiness to anger. Each few seconds, the person behind moved to a different position to express a different emotion.

Hod's voice caught me off guard.

"What do you think, Inspector?"

"I-Inspector? What's that about?"

"The other employees referred to you by that nickname, so I thought…"

"Ah, right. It's okay, miss Hod. I was just surprised that nickname reached even the Sephirahs, that's all."

"Do you hate it?"

"I… hate its implications. I mean, I will inspect every abnormality in the facility if the manager orders me to, but I'd rather have X find some other capable employee who can take turns with me. I'm counting on your Training Department, miss."

"Sure! I'll train my employees to the best of my abilities!"

I nodded, satisfied with her resolve. Unlike the professional and task-focused Malkuth or the distant law-abiding Yesod, Hod was quite passionate towards the employees, which was a pleasing change of routine. Well. As long as it didn't devolve into compulsion. It was usually the gentle souls that corrupted first.

… Lobotomy Corporation is getting to my head…

I shook all of that from my mind and kept humming some random song to keep the screams away, snapping my fingers to the beat as I calculated my approach.

Shy Look, huh? The name implied the person behind the skin net was shy or believed themselves to be shy. The net had five expressions, which seemed important to them. I mean, there was no sun to be had in that room, but they were drying their skin faithfully.

Oh! They tripped on the puddle of blood.

"Inspector! Inspector! Can you hear my voice?!"

"Ugh… The [profanity] was that?"

I had… fainted? I… saw their face. I wasn't even inside the unit and I took a nearly lethal amount of Black damage! The Sephirah had taken me back to the Training Main Room and the regenerator dispenser was working its marvels on my fatigued body and mind.

"So… this is Black damage, huh?"

"Don't talk, please. You need to rest… I need to apologize to Malkuth… you almost died…"

I placed a hand on Hod's chassis.

"You should let go of that guilt, miss. It won't end well for you if you keep suffering this much for our sake."

"I… I refuse. You sacrifice yourselves in this place to meet our unreasonable demands. I am not capable of turning a blind eye to your misery."

"Miss… you are an idiot, but I'm glad to have a Sephirah like you around."

Leaving her stunned, I got up and made my way back to that shy person on the upper floor. I peeked through the window. They were behind the happiest face. I entered. I had questions to make, so Insight work it is.

"Hey there, buddy. How are you doing?"

"I'm happy! And you?"

"I have just recovered from fainting, but I'm feeling alright. You kinda hurt me when you showed me your true face."

"I am sorry, but that was an accident. I'm happy now, so let's talk about happy things!"

I took my pen and my notebook.

Depending on the face currently expressed by Today's Shy Look, the probability of positive interactions increases. Happier expressions lead to happier results. What happened to this person to give up their own facial expressions, though?

"What do you think of this place, Shy Look?"

"It's great! People don't reprimand me for not being happy all the time. I always wondered why they wanted to make the residents of the Outskirts so jealous, but that doesn't matter in here. I'm happy!"

"Do you feel mad at me for seeing your true face?"

"No! That was an accident. I don't really care either way. I use these skin to express what I feel like, but whenever someone interacts with me, I choose an expression to feel. I'm now happy!"

That doesn't make much sense. Or… maybe it does make a lot of sense. If I made the same question to them while they were angry… I wonder how they would react then. Maybe the Training Team overlooked this detail and entered whenever, careless of their expression.

Wait until Shy Look is behind their happiest expression. Then engage with the work.

"If you don't care, why did you attack me?"

"I didn't attack you! You were just surprised of how beautiful I am! I'm happy!"

"Do you… not feel pain? Being skinless and all."

"It hurt at first, but now it is quite a pleasant feeling. I am free! I am unrestrained! I am happy!"

"Oh, by the way. You tripped before. You do want somebody to clean that puddle of blood?"

"I don't! The blood goes back to me after a while, so it never remains for long. It's so great to have blood so loving of its owner! I'm happy!"

"That's… a bit disgusting."

"That way people won't be charmed by my incredible personality and I will be loved by who I truly am! I'm happy!"

"That's incredibly optimistic."

"People feel better around optimistic and charismatic people. Since that is what I am, I'm happy!"

"Then why do people call you 'Today's Shy Look'?"

"That's because I'm really shy. I'm so shy I am not talented to express my emotions. That's when I had this great idea! If I dry my skin, I will be able to express whatever emotion they want me to without any trouble. That way everyone would be happy! Just like me!"

Just like the green happy face on the window. That was terrifyingly easy.

"See you in a bit, Shy Look."

"Bye-bye!"

I exited the unit. I reentered the unit.

Before I could even formulate a question, my consciousness took a hit of Black damage. It wasn't as shocking as seen their true face, but it certainly brought me closer to death.

"That's a rude way to say hello, Shy Look."

"Shut up. I'm angry."

Oof.

"What do you feel now about me taking a peek at your true face?"

"I hate you. I'm angry."

The whole chamber darkened. Or was that my vision, starting to fail?

"What do you think of yourself?"

"I hate myself. I'm angry."

My knees trembled. I fought to stay still.

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"I want you to die. I'm angry."

"What did I even do to you?"

"You didn't do anything. I'm angry. That's all it takes for me to hurt you."

My knee hit the ground and my hands kept me from kissing the puddle of blood that kept expanding each time my consciousness took a hit.

"What… do you think… of this place?"

"I hate it. There is no sun. I'm angry."

"Do you want to breach?"

"I won't leave my skin. I need it to express myself. And now I'm angry."

"You're a very simple abno. Thanks."

"I don't welcome you. I'm angry."

I woke up at the infirmary again.

"Hey, doc. Missed me?"

Alpha0356 hit my head with the report about my injuries. I really needed to stop meeting them like that. I would bring them some coffee to thank them for patching me up every single time… after I helped suppressing the rogue Little Helper that was painting the corridors of red again. I never understood the employees who despised the clerks. They may not collect energy, but they were our lifeblood.