Chapter 3: Castle of the Lone Machine
6H and 33E jogged up the stone slated stairs, their breaths quickly shortening with each step. On reaching the top, they found themselves in between two tall stone walls that extend to a large gate. A small bridge offered footing atop the entrance.
Just behind the gate was a small field of grass that led to the monstrous mansion. The brief glimpses from beyond the ridge didn't do the structure justice. Offering one large dual door entrance, with a balcony shielding it from the sunlight. To either side, an array of large windows graced the front of the building, as if intending to display it's craftsmanship to the world at large.
To either side of these protrusions, the building recessed to extensions that stretched to an unknown depth, leaving overall size of the building a mystery.
6H let out a sigh, still catching her breath, "I have to ask-" she stopped, what remained of her excess oxygen immediately escaped her.
She attempted to continue, "Why- why did you have to try and approach those androids to begin with?" the medical unit said, clearly frustrated by her partners overt aggression.
33E jolted upright and pinned 6H to the stone wall.
"If you want to give me shit for how I fight, fight for yourself." she scolded quietly.
33E pushed away from the wall, taking a deep breath. Any confidence 6H had accumulated during the previous encounter had instantly deflated.
She's right… She thought. Even when I offered to help in combat, I could only really help with my Pod via a makeshift EMP.
6H's mind drifted to a previous mission… She shuttered.
No... I won't let that happen again… She thought to herself, a newfound determination lighting a spark of confidence once more.
"So then, where are we?" 6H asked.
33E sighed, the reality of her situation setting in.
"I don't know." she chided, "But I do know that I'm not going back to those- things."
6H didn't blame her either. Her Pod had been analyzing the rest of the data collected from the encounter. The just being that it wasn't anything they'd seen before. It would be an interesting discovery to bring back to the bunker.
33E began stepping forward, inspecting the details on the walls. There wasn't anything especially of note. Both the edging of the walls and the gate made prominent use of bricks in their construction. Most of which had been worn down significantly. This only indicated that this place had existed for not an insignificant amount of time.
6H opted to follow 33E, but stopped when noticing something strange about the flooring ahead.
"Hey, Thirty-Three?" she called out.
33E called back as she continued her walk forward, "What?"
"Something is weird with the ground, maybe we should-" 6H was cut off by a jagged yet abrupt SHWING.
Large wooden spears protruded from the ground below 33E, impailing her through the chest. She let out a scream, before clutching her face quiet, wanting to avoid altering anyone in the area.
"Good god- Thirty-Three!" 6H ran over to inspect the situation.
33E appeared to be paralyzed from the pain, only managing to clutch the spear.
"G-god- D-D-DAMMIT!" 33E failing to cry out at a muted volume. She clutched the spear, preventing herself from moving much more.
"Are you OK?! Don't make any sudden movements!" 6H ran down an instinctual list to provide first aid, "How many finger am I holding up?"
33E swatted her hand away, "Sh-Shut up and get me out of this!"
"S-sure-! Pod!" 6H called her Pod over and began analysis of 33E's situation.
6H stepped back, looking at the spear itself. It was crudely put together. As if someone just cut down a tree and carved the trunk into something vaguely resembling a spear. It was jagged and rough all around. Subtlety changing angles multiple times before reaching a point.
She cocked her head, "it's strange, this looks nothing like the rest of the place. But I should be able to get you out of there, I just need to be-"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAH" A reverberated noise interrupted the healer unit's train of thought.
"Oh- Son of a bitch-" 33E cursed, interrupted once again by the loud noise.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" From atop the gate, a short figure jumped up. It's legs were of uncanny length, it's torso being strangely cylindrical. Its thin arms spread to either side. In total, it was about two thirds the height of 6H.
"FOOLISH CARNIVOROUS ANDROIDS!" The figure called out.
"YOU HAVE ONCE AGAIN FAILED TO PENETRATE MY IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS!" They said in full confidence.
"NOW, SUBMIT AND COWER BEFORE THE STRONGEST MACHINE LIFEFORM KNOWN TO ALL OF THE EARTH!" They continued, "THE Mighty! THE INDESTRUCTABLE-!" They reeled back, as if taking a deep breath.
"PHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL!" they screeched.
Silence filled the area. Both 6H and 33E were frozen in place from shock. They were being ambushed by a single machine.
6H blinked.
"Wh-" 33E stammered, struggling to articulate a rational thought through the pain of impailment. "What the fuck!?"
"FOOLISH ANDROIDS! LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS!" the machine, apparently known as "Phil" brandished a pair of axes that appeared to be made from sheet metal and pipes.
"W-wait!" 6H called out throwing a hand up, "We're not here to fight!"
33E glanced back to 6H, "What are you doing?"
6H leaned in, with a frustrated tone, "Making sure we don't die, now shut up!"
"PHIL GREATLY DOUBTS YOUR INTENTIONS!" Phil shouted. "WHY ELSE WOULD A PAIR OF ANDROIDS INTRUDE ON MY LAND?"
"How's about the fact you're not dead yet you bastard-!" 33E shouted.
"Wait a second," 6H said quizzically, stepping towards the machine, "You're not a part of the machine network, aren't you?"
Phil cocked their robotic head, "NO." it seemed to consider the question longer than either android was comfortable with, "I AM NOT."
6H shook her head. Another time. She thought. Focus.
"We're not from around here." she started, "We're actually with YoRHa, looking for other YoRHa units."
The machine circular eyes winced with doubt. "YOU MEAN, YOU ARE NOT HERE TO TAKE MY CASTLE?"
6H shook her head, "Just passing through, really."
Phil turned their head around, inspecting the surrounding area, expecting some form of reinforcements. They relaxed their weapons. "VERY WELL. PHIL WILL OFFER REFUGE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS YORHA. DO THE ANDROIDS ACCEPT?"
6H nodded, "We do."
"Bullshit we do!" 33E intruded, especially frustrated. "Son of a bitch impails me and we're going in its house!?"
Phil readies themself, "IF THE ANDROID DESIRES A FIGHT, PHIL CAN OFFER A FIGHT!"
"It'd barely be a fight if I wasn't impailed, asshat!" 33E shouted.
"THE ANDROID IS CLEARLY THE ONE WHO IS THE ASSHAT, AS THEY ARE THE ONE IMPAILED." Phil chided. While 33E was left fuming.
6H felt the tension beginning to rise. In an attempt to distract 33E, she told her Pod to cut the spear.
With one swift, calculated motion, the spear was cut loose, 33E nearly falling over from the sudden freedom of movement. 6H catching and shouldering her.
High on adrenaline, 33E forced the remainder of the spear out of her chest. Letting the piece of wood fall from her back to the ground.
"Pod, determine if self repair protocol is possible." 6H said, approaching the gate.
Phil let out one last robotic scoff before jumping down from their perch and opening the gate, "COME. ENTER PHIL'S HUMBLE ABODE."
As they entered, it felt as if color was leaving the world. A strange sensation rolled down 6Hs spine.
The inside of the mansion was something to behold, if not incredibly worn down.
The stairs that greeted them across the great foyer were run down and practically useless. Making the second floor effectively inaccessible. Evenly spaced pillars supported what would be the halls for the floor above.
At the floor of the staircase, a single man stood proud and at attention, arms folded behind his back to display the confidence in his demeanor. Despite how tattered his attire was, he was dressed nicely.
"Welcome back, master Phil." the man said, bowing. He softened as the machine approached.
Phil clattered his hands together to make a crude metallic clapping sound.
"SERVANT, FIND A PLACE FOR THE INJURED ONE TO REST." Phil commanded.
"Of course, sir." the servant bowed slightly.
"WHEN YOU ARE ABLE TO DISCUSS THIS YORHA ENTITY, FIND PHIL IN HIS STUDY." Phil began walking towards the back of the building.
6H shared a glance with 33E, who's face was beginning to lose color.
"Thirty-Three!" 6H said, startled at her partner's sudden decline.
"I'm- fine… Just- have to lay down somewhere…" 33E stammered.
6Hs Pod floated in front of the two, "Unit 33Es level C self repair protocol damaged. Black box damaged."
"Shit!" 6H cursed, "Is level B or A self repair possible?"
"Both possible. Level A advised." the Pod responded.
That means Thirty-three will have to be unconscious for a while… Better than losing her, though. 6H thought.
"Please, this way, she can lay down in here." the servant said, guiding the androids to a room attached to the foyer.
They entered a long dining room. Fine silverware was placed on the table as if expecting a party to sit and enjoy a meal. Three unlit candelabras were evenly distributed across the long table, their whicks being melted down, yet dried to the point of wax flakes peppering the table. The only source of light was the chandelier overhead providing minimal light, as well as blinded windows leading to the adjacent halls allowing sunlight to peek through.
Immediately next to the door from which they came, a lounge couch stood. 6H guided 33E and laid her down on it.
"This'll burn like hell, so please bear with me." 6H warned, grabbing a metal spike from her fanny pack.
"Is there anything else you both will need?" the servant asked.
"N-no thanks." 6H said, avoiding eye contact as she stabbed the spike into 33Es chest. A loud electric snap was heard, followed by short successive pops. 33E was barely responsive to them.
"Level A self repair initiated." the Pod alerted as 33E quickly lost whatever was remaining of her consciousness.
"I apologize for my master lashing out at the two of you so." The servant said, sadly. "He truly means well. It is just that many androids that have come attempt to take ownership of this manor."
6H pulled out a series of small irons and began to poke around the wound, "Why are you here, anyway? You're an android, right? Why stay here?"
The servant was slightly taken aback, as if never even considering the thought himself.
"All I can remember, is that I've served this manor for as long as I've lived. It is… Important to me. And important that I don't leave." the servant smiled sadly, "In fact, I was prepared to die here alone, but then master Phil came and opted to become owner of the manor."
The servant straightened, his determination returned, "Now I have a new found purpose. I will protect and assist Master Phil for as long as he needs me to."
6H quickly placed down the irons and grabbed a pair of tweezers. She began pulling out small splinters from 33Es wound, "So… You were build to serve others?"
The servant cocked his head, "Are… You not?"
6H paused, her grip fixated on the tools in her hand. It began to shake from the intensity of her grip. On realizing she might bend the tool, she shook her head, "I suppose I am, in a manner of speaking."
"Well," the servant bowed, "If there is anything else you require, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be performing my daily routines around the manor."
He turned around making his exit.
"Wait-" 6H called out, the servant pausing, "Has your master mentioned any strange androids recently? We're looking for a specific kind of android we believe fled to this island."
The servant shook his head, "That is a question for the young master to answer. You can find him in the library, which he often refers to as his study."
The servant bowed once more and exited the dining room. Leaving 6H to finish her maintenance on 33E.
She sighed, using the tweezers to pull the artificial skin from the perimeter of the wound straight and removed a splinter. The damaged skin quickly deteriorated, but slowly began to regenerate.
"I know you hate machines," 6H said to an unconscious 33E, "But I don't see any other safe options. If we keep wondering around the island aimlessly, we're bound to end up injured beyond repair. Or worse."
6H would spend some time repairing 33E. It wasn't long before she had to let her self-repair protocol do the rest.
"Pod." 6H said, "Stay here and monitor 33E's situation."
She stood, looking at her handiwork, ensuring she hadn't forgotten anything. She nodded to herself and made her exit.
…
...
…
- WARNING: LOW POWER -
A heads up display appeared in 33E's vision, she was apparently regaining consciousness. The last thing she recalled was slumping over being supported by 6H.
She sighed, This was a bad idea… She thought, referring to entering the mansion. There's no way we can trust this machine.
33E sat upright in the lounge chair. She inspected herself, recalling she had a hole in her chest, last she checked.
Oh. Good. She though, seeing that the hole was now largely patched up. Her clothes had been tattered considerably, but were absolutely usable. Nothing that couldn't be fixed later.
The android stood up quickly, reeling for a moment.
OK- No sudden movements- Got it…. She thought, clutching her still healing wound.
She took a deep breath as she tried to look around the room. It was too quiet. There should have been someone to scold her for standing by now.
By the window of the room, waiting in the sunlight, 6Hs Pod sat, presumably recharging. It piped up on noticing her.
"Unit 33E has regained consciousness. Commencing automated medical inspection." the Pod said, beginning to float around 33E, who began swatting at it.
"Stay out of my face, stupid Pod. Where's 6H?" she commanded.
"Unit 6H did not state her destination." The Pod said, pausing. "Unit 6H was informed of location of the machine lifeform known as Phil."
Shit. She cursed. She should know better than to go looking for that thing alone.
"Pod, where is Phil?" 33E said. The Pod floated backwards to a uniform distance.
The Pod responded, as monotone as ever, "The android servant said that the machine lifeform known as Phil was located in the library."
Without a word, 33E marched out of the dining room and back into the foyer. The Pod flew in front of her, blocking her way forward.
"Alert: Medical unit 6H advised you stay and continue self-repair." the Pod said. 33E could swear there was an actual tinge of emotion through the dull blinking exterior.
She shoved it aside. There was no telling what could happen if 6H was left alone with a machine.
As 33E walked down the hall, there was a noticeable draft of wind coming from multiple directions. Carried by it was the scent of the sea and the dust of the canyon. It was… Oddly nostalgic, in its own way.
It was a long hallway that seemed to stretch to the back of the mansion. With the walls plastered with paintings that were worn down to the point of being effectively indistinguishable from one another, besides the mild changes in color pallette.
The windows held salt-stained curtains that were softly wofting in breeze, with every second window protecting thin tables housing vases that rattled in an almost rhythmic motion.
33E winced as a loud and brittle shatter was heard. Turning her gaze downward revealed the broken glass that extended from one of the tables.
On the floor next to it, a small circular piece of wood lay face down. 33E walked over, picked up the wood, and inspected it.
Turning over the soft piece of what she assumed was some sort of cherry wood, revealed a mostly water stained painting. Any and all details were muddied beyond recognition, but she could make out two small figured accompanied by a single large figure.
A father and his sons? She thought. Or a mother and her daughters?
Not that these details mattered. 33E quickly realized she was losing track of the mission at hand. She sat the painting down on the table and continued her walk down the hall.
Approaching the end, she began to hear a wide range of frequencies in sounds. Shrill one second, soft and muted the next. The closer she approached, the louder and clearer the sounds became.
To the left side of the end of the hall, a set of dual doors were stationed while being cracked open. She peeked through, seeing Phil stationed at a desk that sat in front of a large window that took up most of the back wall of the room, leaning his head against one hand, as if considering something. The machine was surrounded by shelves upon shelves of books. Ladders stations every third or so wide column. Out of the corner of her eye, a book fell to the ground. 33E reeled in surprise. Slowly and quietly, she summoned her spear.
"Do you need help?" a voice spoke behind 33E.
She went white, throwing herself to the wall and raising her spear again the servant.
"I would appreciate if you didn't swing your weapons inside. I'm still in the process of cleaning." the servant said, unfazed.
33E was stuck in place, dumbfounded.
"Should I introduce you to the young master?" the servant clocked his head.
"N-no. That's alright-" 33E said, lowering her weapon. She was grabbed by the shoulders and shoved through the door anyway.
"Please, I insist!" the servant pushed 33E to the center of the room.
Off by one of the columns of books, beside another couch, 6H was sat on a pile of books, flipping through pages with intent. She stopped on seeing 33E.
"Master Phil, your other guest has awoken." said the servant, stepping away.
"YES YES. NOW LEAVE US. WE'RE BUSY." Phil said, dismissively.
33E blinked. She was at a loss for what was happening around her.
The servant bowed and made his exit.
6H stood, "Thirty-three? I didn't know you woke up."
33E shook her head, "Y-yeah. I didn't know where you went and you left your Pod so-."
6H chuckled quietly, trying to avoid making her companion look stupid, "I'll bet. I'm surprised you made it here. It's easy to get lost."
33E shook her head, "Whatever, are we leaving?"
6H approached her partner, book in hand. She leaned in and whispered, "Listen, Phil here knows this island far better than either of us. He's been willing to answer my questions so far, but right now we're looking for a map for my Pod to scan."
She looked over her companion once again, frowning.
"Not to mention, you still look awful." she said.
I don't feel spectacular either... 33E thought.
She held her tongue, however. Because ultimately, she was finally on the same page as 6H. Neither of them had any idea where they were going and, given their current rate, they weren't going to live to find the traitors.
In a hushed tone, scurrying for whatever scraps of dignity she had left, 33E mumbled to 6H, "… Fine…"
6H relaxed, patting 33E on the shoulder, "How about I let you rest on the couch here? We might be a while."
As 33E sat down as the Pod flew over and began making concerning beeps and boops that she didn't have the capacity or care to understand.
"Level C self repair possible. Commence?" the Pod said, awaiting a response from 6H.
"No. Finish the job in A-level." 6H responded as she took another look at the wound. It was beginning to stitch back together. The lowest layers of artificial skin had begun to reform, but based on 33E's fatigue, is was clear she could use the rest anyway.
6H handed 33E her now cleaned and refilled flask of water. A small dent was now embedded on its side. 33E felt a tinge of guilt.
"Here. Drink up." she said. "I'll wake you once we find anything substantial."
"You'll wake me up when something goes wrong, is what you'll do." 33E huffed, her words were beginning to slur. She fell limp on the couch as she quickly lost consciousness.
"ARE YOU DONE?" Phil asked, clearly unamused and impatient.
"Y-yes…" 6H said, bringing a book over to Phil's desk.
"Can you tell me anything about this?" she laid down a book with a strange design that she initially mistook as a sort of emblem. But on closer inspection, it turned out to be some sort of misshapen face.
"HRM." The machine hummed to himself as he picked up the book. "A STRANGE ONE FOR SURE."
Phil circled the book on his hand. "LET'S SEE WHAT WE HAVE HERE, THEN."
He opened the book and began processing the information. As 6H returned to the shelves.