Author's Notes:
Like in the game, this story will jump from one POV to the another.
There will be a character who is essentially the 'Kara' of this universe, but that character simply won't be all that important until the later chapters.
Strangers: Become Lovers
Act I
SCHN33
?:?
Unknown Day
LOADING…
LOADING…
LOADING…
ANALYSING…
RUNNING DIAGNOSTICS…
-COMPONENT HD: POTENTIAL MALFUNCTION IN SECTION FLU-E1, CORRUPTION OF MEMORY FILES-
-COMPONENT TR: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
-COMPONENT CR: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
-COMPONENT RMS: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
-COMPONENT HNS: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
-COMPONENT LGS: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
-COMPONENT FT: FULLY FUNCTIONAL- BEGIN BOOTUP SEQUENCE
-NAME: *undefined*-
-MODEL: SCHN33-
-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: LOOK PRETTY-
-SECONDARY DIRECTIVE: *undefined*-
BOOT UP COMPLETE
-BEING PROGRAMMING-
"Are you one hundred percent functional?"
The android blinked, taking one long look at her surroundings, noting that though she couldn't immediately identify the pieces of machinery surrounding her, she could still tell where she was; the place where she was made. Where she was born, sort of.
"My left eye is experiencing a malfunction, but other than that, I am perfectly functional."
The man took one step forward. She didn't need to analyze his face to know who he was. Father was the man who built her; it would be an insult not to remember him.
"State your model, purpose and primary directive."
"I am a SCHN33, Serial Number 1. My purpose is to serve the humans, like any other androids. My current primary directive is: to look pretty."
He nodded, his satisfaction-level rising. "Good. It is a real shame that your skin is dented and will leave a permanent scar, Schnee, but through our clever marketing, we managed to use that to our advantage."
A permanent scar? On her skin? The android's brow furrowed.
Her memory was fine up to the point where the robber stepped foot into the shop.
It had been a peaceful day like any other, and then that girl, Ruby Rose, had smiled at her, and…
Her memory file was corrupted - the rest of it glitching and simply… hard to properly look into. What she couldn't understand was why so.
"If I may ask, what happened?"
The human tapped a few buttons, releasing her from the wires that constricted her movements. She took a moment to relish in her freedom, twisting and turning her fingers and ankles in small, unnoticeable movements.
The android might not get 'cramps' as a human did, but not being able to move discomforted her nonetheless.
"You were foolish, Schnee, that's what happened." She was quiet as she processed this information. "You tried to apprehend the criminal and, in doing so, got shot in the eye." When she spotted a mirror, she immediately grabbed it. Her LED turned yellow when she saw a pink line running across her left eye, explaining why it felt off. She was… no longer flawless. Upon noticing the android's distress, the man snorted. "Yes, I can't believe it either. You tried to save a bunch of humans. Poor humans, at that." His nose wrinkled in disdain but he readjusted his tie, straightened his back, and put back his poker face. "We believe it might be a virus of some kind. Others have reported their androids behaving strangely as well."
"Will I be alright?" After all, it would be disheartening to know that the newest, most advanced android in the world was corrupted beyond the ability to be fixed.
He stared at her, and she concluded that - based on the wrinkles his furrowed eyebrows caused - he was in deep thought. He showed no signs of distress or disappointment. That was a good thing.
"That's what I want to know, as well. For now, we cannot tell if you're broken or not, not until you tell me what happened. I suppose we'll have to wait until your memories return, which usually takes about three or four days. SCHN33, primary directive complete. Authorization, Father."
-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: COMPLETE-
"New primary directive. Remember. Authorization, Father."
-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: REMEMBER-
-DIRECTIVE ACCEPTED-
"There. Now, you are to report back the moment your memories form again." He turned his back to her and left, but not before adding as an afterthought, "Oh, and that child wishes to see you. Go meet her in the lobby and get rid of her, Schnee. That is an order."
-SECONDARY DIRECTIVE UPDATED:-
-GET RID OF HER-
"Thank you, Father."
It was less of genuine gratitude and more of a means of formality.
Weiss looked at her reflection once more, eyes narrowing at the imperfection on her face. This was… not pleasant. But the humans were clever creatures, and Father said they had a plan to use it to their advantage. She'd have to leave it to them, she supposed.
Or perhaps they would simply reconstruct her face and erase the existence of scar altogether. Yes. That was a much more appealing choice.
Slowly, her LED turned back to the calm blue, and she walked to the direction of the lobby, wondering why the human girl wanted to see her… she was trying not to dwell into the fact that she'd breached her own rules just to save her.
What had happened?
5:25
MONDAY
The android arrived at the lobby, quickly scanning every person in the vicinity to locate Ruby Rose.
After a moment of analyzing, she found that the human was sitting in the edge of the chair in the far corner, away from many people. She didn't look that different from when the android last saw her. She still wore the red hoodie and jeans, but the android did notice that her lips were shinier than before, suggesting that the girl had worn some sort of lip balm or lipstick.
The android walked towards her, purposefully making her footsteps loud to announce her presence.
The girl quickly looked at her and, again, she was momentarily transfixed by those rare silvers.
Ruby Rose waved at her, wearing a small smile.
SCHN33 blinked.
-[WAVE]-
-[DON'T WAVE]-
She didn't do anything other than to keep on walking. Once she was within range - close enough for the girl's ears to listen to her - she asked, "Is there something you'd like?"
"W-what?"
Her stress-level rose ever-so-slightly, and Weiss sat down next to her, elaborating, "You've requested to see me. What would you like me to do, Ruby Rose?"
Ruby rubbed her neck and looked down, one foot shifting back and forth as she refused to meet her critical blue eyes. "Well… I… I guess I just wanted to see if you're alright and…" The human finally gained the courage to look into her eyes, and the android was a little overwhelmed by the number of emotions written in those eyes. "And I wanted to thank you."
Thank… her?
What did she do that required the human to go so far as to come here only to show her gratitude?
-[QUESTION]-
-[STAY QUIET]-
It would be wise to simply stay quiet and let the human speak until she told the android exactly what she wanted.
Her secondary directive was to 'get rid of her' and, in staying quiet, she was able to do so much more quickly…
"You… do?"
Her LED flashed yellow for a brief second. That… wasn't an ideal question to ask and would only serve to slow down her directive at present, which was to 'get rid of her'.
Even so… Something was telling the android to keep listening and to learn more… Something she couldn't tell…
She must request to be fixed immediately, and perhaps even tell Father of these weird things she kept feeling. He'd know what to do.
"Y-yeah, I mean, you saved my life!" The android was pulled back into reality. "If it weren't for you, I'd probably be the one with a cool, awesome looking scar." That was incorrect. If shot, a human would have an 89% chance of dying, not gaining a 'cool, awesome looking scar'. "How can I not thank you?"
-[COLD]-
-[SINCERE]-
Some of the workers here might be watching. It would be unwise to look as though she was befriending the middle-class human.
"My actions were nothing more than a malfunction. I assure you, it will not happen again."
The girl's face dropped. And she looked… concerned. Worried. And not for herself.
"Mal...function?"
The android stiffly nodded. "Yes. I broke the protocols programmed into me in order to perform a risky action that would have no doubt put me in danger. Do not fret; our workers will fix me."
Ruby bit her lip, slowly leaning forward towards her - though not close enough for it to be considered, as the humans say, awkward.
Suddenly she shook her head, leaning away, planting her eyes to the floor; a display of solemness and a sense of troubled.
And then the human spoke, quiet enough for it to be a whisper that only the android could hear:
"... What if I don't want you to be fixed?"
… She was unsure of what to say.
She was unsure of what to do.
And that had never happened to her. She was always sure, always quick to take action. She wouldn't be the most expensive and the latest model otherwise.
Suddenly, a message was sent to her, the LED blinking in response.
The android stood up. "I apologize, Miss Rose-"
"Just call me Ruby," piped the human.
"I apologize... Ruby..." Saying that felt unorthodox - as if she was breaking some sort of invisible formality protocol, "but I do need to leave so that the human-scientists can take another look at me again."
The human didn't respond. SCHN33 took the opportunity presented to her and made her move to leave…
She couldn't take a step.
Turning around, she found that the human had grabbed her wrist, her grip firm, but still loose enough for her to be able to free herself without any complications.
Uncertain blue met determined silver.
"What do you say we meet again?"
"... Pardon?"
The human had this bright smile that confused her. "How 'bout tomorrow, at around eight thirty, or whenever you're free. I'm thinking we should go to that restaurant downtown, you know, the new one that just opened up? What do you say?"
The android didn't know what to do. All of the rules, the protocols that were given to her; none of them gave her directions on what she should do - what the correct response should be.
-[ACCEPT]-
-[DENY]-
-[DON'T ANSWER]-
That strange 'something' again… it urged her to choose the option that defied all logic.
"I'll… see what I can do."
The human's smile widened as she let go of the android's hand. She tried not to think too much about how cold her skin was without the girl's warm and soft hand.
"I need to go too! My big sis is picking me up outside!" A curious glance outside revealed that there was a blonde woman with a motorcycle… was that her 'big sis'? The android doubted it. The girl walked outside with a spring in her steps. Once the door opened, however, she looked at the android again, giving her a wave and an earnest smile.
-[WAVE]-
-[DON'T WAVE]-
The android waved back, even going so much as to give a smile.
And she didn't understand why, other than the fact that it had to do with the girl's previous words.
"... What if I don't want you to be fixed?"
Words that didn't make sense.
… Words that, for some reason, resonated within her.
Author's Notes:
We get an introduction to Jacques, which is practically this version's Amanda. But unlike Amanda, who can and will replace Connor if he shows signs of deviancy, Jacques wants to "fix" Weiss if they can indeed confirm that Weiss is a deviant, and to do that, they need Weiss' memory from that day...
A small thing I changed in this chapter is how Weiss addresses Jacques as "Father". This is a thing that will be semi-important to the story later - much later.
See? Didn't I say that the cliffhanger isn't useless? Weiss' drive is wanting to find out just what happened after shit went down.