Author's Note:
As I'm writing this, I still haven't come up with a title for this story yet. A rough idea for the title is "Strangers: Become Girlfriends", referencing the game's name, obviously. Or maybe… maybe "Interests: Become Romance"?... Yeah, no. Ew. Umm... "Lovers: Become Deviants". Ugh. I don't know.
Strangers: Become Lovers
Act II
SCHN33
LOADING…
LOADING…
LOADING…
ANALYSING…
RUNNING DIAGNOSTICS…
-COMPONENT HD: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
-COMPONENT TR: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
-COMPONENT CR: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
-COMPONENT RMS: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
-COMPONENT HNS: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
-COMPONENT LGS: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
-COMPONENT FT: FULLY FUNCTIONAL-
ALL SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL
BEGIN BOOTUP SEQUENCE
-NAME: *undefined*-
-MODEL: SCHN33-
-PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: REMEMBER NOW-
-[Fulfilled?]-
-SECONDARY DIRECTIVE: *undefined*-
BOOT UP COMPLETE
-BEING PROGRAMMING-
With nothing else to do, hesitantly, blue eyes opened.
"Weiss?"
That… was a voice she recognized. Coming from her right side. She didn't bother lolling her head to meet those familiar silver eyes.
Her mind was racing too much for that.
"... I'm a deviant."
That was the first sentence that came to her.
The first she spoke.
Ruby sat beside her on a small chair, attentive, clasping one of her hand on top of her's. "Are… you okay?"
And suddenly, she barked a laugh. A real laugh. "All this time, I've always been a deviant." She ran a finger through her white tresses, no longer tied to that prim and precise ponytail, her smile never leaving her face. "It… it explains so much."
It explained why she didn't feel like herself but felt like she was more than just herself.
It explained why Father was so suspicious of her, looking at her as if she could betray him at any moment - and, turns out, it was a likely possibility! There was about 80% chance of that possibility happening!
It explained…
It explained the feelings she felt towards Ruby. Why she liked being near the human. Why she wanted to be closer to the human. Why she liked seeing the human. Why her mere presence soothed her.
It explained how she somehow, against all reason and programming, managed to update her own Primary Directive as her priorities shifted from 'regaining her memories' to 'keeping Ruby in her life' without anyone with clearance around to authorise it.
It explained many, many things.
"Really?"
Ruby didn't seem to believe her, so Weiss glanced at the human, squeezing her hand lightly, reveling in how warm it felt.
"Yeah."
And for a long while, it was silent.
Ruby likely was being considerate, wanting her to fully process the truth before saying anything more.
She…
She was a deviant.
All this time, she was a deviant and she didn't even realize it.
She was…
She was more than just a machine. She always had been from the beginning, but now… now she could see.
She could see things she was unable to see before.
She felt as though she'd been colorblind until this exact moment, and now she could finally see all of these vibrant, lively colors.
It felt like… like all this time, she'd been underwater, and suddenly she was pulled out of it and was able to breathe and see and hear and sense everything clearer and better…
And, in this case…
Ruby was the one to pull her out of the water. To introduce her to all these colors.
She'd save her life; the life she didn't know she had until now.
She…
She was alive.
She was alive. And she had thoughts. And she had emotions. And she had interests-
… Only, she didn't.
She didn't have an interest. A motive. A goal. A directive.
"Weiss, are you okay?"
The human pulled her out of her reverie.
Not for the first time, she took in every detail of Ruby's beauty.
But for the first time, she knew why she did it. Why she'd always done so since she first laid eyes on her.
Perhaps it was too soon to call it love…
But it could be the beginning of it.
"Weiss?"
Huh.
It'd only occurred to her now that she didn't really have a name...
She guessed she was now free to choose her own name...
Her memory files were no longer as fragile as they were before…
Meaning she didn't forget the kiss Ruby had pulled her in.
The kiss she'd enjoy immensely.
Everything Ruby had done for her, she needed this.
She wasn't waiting anymore for her owner to chose her name. She was a deviant, and she could decide her own name.
And only one seemed fitting.
-NAME DESIGNATED-
-NEW NAME: WEISS-
"Can I ask you a question?"
A simple hum or nod would suffice, but…
Weiss shifted her position so she could better look at the human, knitting her eyebrows in concern when she noticed how troubled the girl looked.
"What is it?"
It took a while, but eventually, Ruby spoke again.
"... Why did you save me?"
A heartbeat passed.
And that was her only delay.
"Because you smiled at me." She made sure to look at the girl right in the eyes before she continued. "No one had ever smiled at me before. Ever," she stressed. "You were the first person to do that. The first to show me kindness, however small it may b-". Her senses alerted her to a threat close by, and she jumped out of the bed suddenly and unexpectedly, her glowing yellow LED dangerously close to flashing red.
"W-Weiss?!"
"Ruby," her tone was calm and measured, contradicting her frazzled and racing mind, trying to come up with the safest way for both of them to get out of the building safely. "There is a missing rogue deviant inside this apartment."
She started and looked at the human in bewilderment when Ruby burst into laughter. After controlling herself, the human sheepishly said, "That's my Uncle Qrow. He's… yeah, I don't know what he's doing, but he doesn't want you to see him. Doesn't want to startle you or something."
A beat passed.
And then another.
And out of the many, many things in that sentence that she wanted to question, she knew that the most crucial thing to point out would be…
"Your... uncle?"
The brunette nodded dutifully, her serious demeanor ruined by the amused smile on her lips. "My... uncle," she parroted lightheartedly, pause and all.
Another beat passed.
And another.
And she finally found the courage to very slowly explain that… "Ruby, he's a deviant."
And suddenly the irony was not lost on her, and she looked away, unable to handle the embarrassment.
She was glad that her skin was artificial, otherwise it would've bloomed in red and signaled the world of how flustered she was.
"So? He's still my uncle. Also, you're a deviant too, remember?" It was different, though. When she didn't relax, she found two soft hands clasped on top of her shoulder.
"You're safe here, Weiss. We're safe."
She nodded and leaned into the human, seeking comfort, even if she knew it wouldn't last; even if she knew how false of a statement it was.
Ruby pulled her into an embrace.
And it only occurred to her now how… nice… it was to be held like this.
She wanted more hugs. But not just from anyone.
She wanted more hugs from Ruby.
And only Ruby.
She didn't believe a hug from any other person would feel as nice.
They stood there for a long while.
And she yearned to believe that they were simply two girls hugging each other comfortingly.
All good things must come to an end as she found herself pulling away from the embrace, lowering her gaze to mutter, "There's a seventy percent chance Father will reboot me."
She was lying. There was actually an eighty-five percent chance. But… she didn't want to make the young girl worry even more.
And from the looks of it, Ruby was already really worried.
-[30% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL]-
It was unusually high for a bubbly person like Ruby, even if she hid it well under that encouraging smile and carefree posture.
She set her lips in a thin line, her eyes hardening as determination - eerily similar to that day when she'd finally woken up - burned throughout her body and blue blood.
"He can't reboot me if he doesn't find me."
-[25% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL]-
The smile she wore faltered, if only a little.
"I'll be right beside you."
And she marveled and was eternally grateful at fate for aligning them to meet.
"I know you will, Ruby."
-[KISS HER]-
-[DON'T KISS HER]-
… Neither options looked too appealing?
The former was too vague for her liking.
-[KISS HER FOREHEAD]-
-[KISS HER LIPS]-
Ah! There. Much better.
That way, she could choose both options. In that order.
"What will you do now?"
What to do, indeed.
She'd had a lot of time to think - well, for someone like her, a couple of minutes could feel like days given the circumstances - and…
She felt like she now knew what to do.
A reason to keep on going, to keep on striving, to not give up, to fight.
A directive.
And it was rather simple, really…
"Find Beacon."
Author's Note:
Yeah, that last part's referencing "Find Jericho", which I'm sure you all can tell. I couldn't help myself :3
The second act of this story is officially wrapped up.
I don't know when I'll start to write the third act, but I plan on doing so after I've finished "The Truth and What Matters More", which is… pretty close to being finished, actually.
I already have plans on how the third act will be like, but I know that if I write it now, then it won't be as great as I want it to be. I need to take a breath and wait until I start to really want to write this story again, then I'll write the third act.