D-01-106, D-03-109 & Regret and Atonement
"Did we really just receive another ALEPH?"
"Why the long face, partner? You're the best fighter around! If anyone can protect us from its horrors, that's the great Qwerty!"
Izzy was ridiculously optimistic at times, really.
"Jackass and I will be counting on you, Apollo G."
But if Neal also trusted me, I could only accept the situation and prepare myself for the future.
"What will it be this time? A giant leg-shrine portal towards the stars? A bunch of [CENSORED]? Nothing There?"
"I heard she looks like a slime girl."
"Wild!"
"Slime… What a sticky business… No pun intended."
I wasn't in the mood for jokes. Fighting against the Fixers was so tough I had to periodically replace my mechanical limbs. It was quite taxing on me. Whenever I'm not suppressing a breaching abomination, I'm beating the invaders. If not, I'm dying at the infirmary or bargaining for cheap and solid limbs.
My albino friend poked my face.
"You look tired. How is your project going?"
"I'm almost done. I have completed the ASIYAH and BRIAH layer's tunes, but I still can't find a good selection of instruments for the ATZILUTH. That layer is so mystic nothing ever comes close to portraying it."
"Don't overwork yourself. Lobotomy Corporation would lose a great improvement to its ambience if you were to die. Please, Qwerty. Take care."
We were baffled at Neal's warm request. They were rarely this caring about others.
"What about me? What about me? Do you have something nice to tell me, Neal?" Izzy fluttered around them. Everyone moved back into the ASIYAH lounge, so nobody would laugh at their antics.
O'Neal grabbed them by the necktie of their Apocalyptic armor and forced them to sit.
"Since you ask for it, I shall oblige. I hope you get Angela to notice you."
"Yeah! Now that I have your blessing, it's only a matter of time!"
"What's so good about her, anyway?" Neal continued, giving up their attempt to continue reading their novel and focusing on the ever-noIzzy.
"I also want to know." I admitted. "She's always distant and allows no one to get close to her. Why do you bother so much with such a person?"
"Heh, it seems you don't at all, do you? Makes sense! After all, I am a noble."
"What does that even have to do with anything, blue-blood?"
"Nothing, really, but it's cool, so I always try to remind everyone of the fact."
That was why, despite being Central Command's captain, nobody really liked Izzy. On the other hand, I really liked their confidence. They were my role model… and a good friend who helped me achieve my goals. I'm sure Neal also sees one of their redeeming qualities. Otherwise, that bookworm would never bother with Izzy.
"Have I told you about the time I heard the Inspector through Tiphereth's speakers?"
"Twenty-two times. There was a wall you sensed, mysteries, cryptic words… and Angela checked on you to see that you remained ignorant about whatever secrets Lobotomy Corporation guarded." I summarized.
"Have you ever felt the presence of the wall?"
I haven't had the time to. Being Disciplinary Department's captain, there is simply no end to my workload. I shook my head.
"I have." Neal answered. "It feels like… there is something I'm meant to learn in this place. However, since I am not one of the main characters of this story, I am prohibited from doing so. If anyone ever crossed that line… I don't think it would end up well for them."
"The Inspector was such daring person... They played hide and seek with Angela and the manager during that time, for reasons that still elude me. When Angela spoke with me after that… I felt it."
"It?"
"The challenge. I bear desire to no end. I wished to make Lobotomy Corporation mine, but that no longer interests me. This corporation will soon meet its end anyway. Angela, however, will not."
"What do you mean?" I asked, completely intrigued by his words.
Izzy could be a goofy character, but anyone who underestimated them were in for a surprise.
"I'm afraid that's something you will have to wait and see for yourselves. Until then, all I ask of you two is that you remain by my side until then."
"No way! I need silence to read and there's none to be found next to you."
"So cruel! Don't fail me, my heart!"
"So noisy…"
Heheh… For these two, I would fight my best. Today, we would have our rematch against the Red Mist after enduring five cycles of increased pain. Things were different this time, though. After all, a simulation can never be as tough as the real one.
An upgrade from TETH level gear to ALEPH, huh? The white conductor suit was nice, but it made me hear some weird noises. Still, if I wanted to endure the rest of the day, I had to wear it.
D-01-106. A pink slime creature with a female humanoid figure. She had a head with substances resembling hair, covering the top and reaching her waist. Her eyes were white. Since she had a mouth, I believed her capable of speech. Her thin body had a pair of arms, but from her waist down, she melted into a puddle.
"Hey there, cutie."
Did I just say what I think I just said? It seems one of this abnormality's traits makes anyone who looks at her feel affection. She reached her curvy chest with her hand. She liked my compliment.
After that, I was compelled to barrage her with a wave of flirting and unrestrained winks. Looking back on my behavior, it certainly makes for a troublesome abnormality to deal with. Once the work was over, she presented me a slimy heart that followed me anywhere I went.
I was the ordered to go back to my tasks and work with Bloodbath. After I finished my job, I noticed my teammates' skin was starting to turn into pink slime. I hurried after the one who just got sent to another department and stopped them dead in their tracks. Until we found out more about that contagious anomaly, the Architecture department was to be quarantined. The manager would also need to trench up at his office. Thankfully, our department was the only one that had no clerks around. The infection would be easily contained that way.
As for me… I… needed counseling. Badly. I… felt… love… towards that slime girl. One of the company's rules prohibited the adoration of abnormalities, so I needed help keeping myself in check.
Maybe the manager thought it would be a good idea to dispose of me, so he sent me work with the other ALEPH of our department.
D-03-109 was cartoony pink heart floating above the floor. A single black and white soldier-looking figure was inside the heart. I pushed my desire to return to my mistress aside and focused on the task ahead. I was to attempt Insight, so I had a lot of information to extract.
"Hello. What's your status?"
"Army in Pink, reporting for duty!"
Hm. An army in pink colors. Quite ironic, but also quite fitting, considering the army of pink slimes my mistress wished to amass.
"Why pink? Isn't black a more fitting color for an army?" One that is not made of slimes, that is.
"What's your opinion on the nature of humans, er, miss… mister…?"
"My gender is confidential. Rules of the corporation. As for my name, you can address me by my ID instead: employee 00002. To answer your question, I'd say that depends on a person's experience. We are what we are made into. Why do you ask?"
"It is a highly debatable topic, but this is what we think we should do. If a person is good from the start, we protect their good heart. If a person is bad from the start, we will make a good heart out of them and protect that heart."
"Sounds nice, if we assume goodness or badness are concepts beyond human constructions about reality. How will you do that?"
"We can see the color of humanity's hearts. The color of the human heart is pink, and by wearing the same color, we can blend in with people's minds. We will gladly get dirty for the sake of the goodhearted."
"That, my dear soldier, seems like something a goodhearted person would say. Who will get dirty for you, though?"
"If anything happens, just call us, employee 00002."
Before long, a soldier breached in each department. Their heart had dirtied so much it was no longer pink, but black. It sought to clean the human heart of good thoughts. Once they reached the Main Room, they vowed to protect us with their black love and blew up after they saluted one last time.
Chaos unfolded after the explosion. I could not think straight. I wished to return to Melting Love's side, but I was too weakened to be able to stand up. These… abnormalities… they all sought to protect those they loved… yet their obsession only got everyone killed. I was the only survivor of the Architecture team... again... The manager seemed to be okay in his office, but the rest of the facility was thrown into chaos.
Another man, different from yesterday's, spoke in a depressive manner through the facility's speakers.
We tried not to put trust in anyone, but we shamelessly woke up our colleagues who had fallen into eternal slumber when we needed them… We destroyed everything while holding her warmth in our hands. Tell me, what great purpose did we fulfill with all those actions? You have to let it all go. You don't even have the strength to grip onto anything… It was my duty to protect my coworkers, my friends… but I couldn't save even a single one of them. Do we really deserve to persist in existing? Meanwhile as we step on all those sacrifices?
Death sucks. I don't want to die, nor do I wished to be sacrificed. It may not be me, but someone would fight.
While we expect for the meaning of existence…
…we will hold fast to the courage to protect…
…those who are faithful and trustworthy.
Regret is fine, but atonement exists to put an end to it. We must move on.
