Strangers: Become Lovers
Act III
W31SS
FRIDAY
16:00
"Alright, Ice Queen. Do your thing."
In normal circumstances, she would've taken necessary actions to make sure he would never call her by that name again - she wasn't royalty, by any stretch of the imagination, and she just outright did not like that name for herself.
Unfortunately, these weren't normal circumstances… and she wasn't sure if threatening her friend's - was Ruby still technically her friend? - uncle was the right method to gain his approval of them.
Nonetheless, she stepped foot into the large garden that led to the house of Ghira Belladonna.
She took a moment - less than a second in human's time - to marvel herself at the beauty of this wealthy man's house. Truly, the way they planted each flower, each tree, it all decorated the garden in a way that was asymmetrical but nonetheless beautiful. Nay, the beauty of it was because it was asymmetrical. Nothing truly 'fitted in', yet everything did in its own unique way.
Ghira Belladonna was a wonderful artist and an even more wonderful man…
He also happened to show distaste to Jacques. No, the more accurate term for it was he downright hated Jacques.
And she was known for being Jacques' perfect invention…
"Ahem."
She flinched, looked back to see the android uncle and the human niece hiding behind a large tree that shadowed their figures - the former looked impatient while the latter didn't seem to care, much to her worry.
She supposed it had taken her more than a human's second to let her mind wander and should now focus on her task.
She took a deep breath and let everything slow down, the color of the world washed away, fading into shades of grey.
ANALYZING…
ANALYZING…
ANALYSIS COMPLETE!
Everything returned to normal and she quickly turned to face the older android.
"No signs of immediate danger. Two human heartbeats. One android, A BL4K3 model. There is a ninety percent chance that it's the same model that talked to us over the phone."
He nodded.
"Alright then, let's go."
He took the lead, his eyes darting everywhere despite her telling him that she didn't sense any danger. She supposed he was merely… paranoid. She'd read once that humans had been developing technology - weapons, in fact - that not even androids could detect or dodge.
Some might even say that the technology was specifically designed to counter androids as a failsafe, in case something were to happen.
Weiss sometimes wondered what that 'something' was.
She looked at the side, her faithful companion that wasn't as cheerful as she regularly was, that hadn't been as cheerful as she regularly was ever since she found out what Jacques was truly capable of.
-[40% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL]-
It broke her heart to know just how much of everything was taking its toll on the girl. In the end, Ruby was nothing more than a girl who was trying to do the right thing.
[COMFORT]
[CHEER UP]
She wanted to see that smile and hear that laugh… so she chose the latter, to lighten the mood.
It took her approximately three human seconds to develop what she felt was the most appropriate - not to mention highly clever - joke that deserved at least one bout of laughter.
"I'm surprised that Qrow doesn't bring a crowbar for self-defense."
A beat passed.
Then another.
Then Ruby blinked as if waking up and smiled an obviously fake smile. "Oh, uh, yeah." She chuckled and shook her head as if she enjoyed the joke - which she clearly didn't.
The deviant took a moment to glance at Qrow, to see if he saw what she was seeing; that Ruby was not doing well. But he didn't. He was focused on other things, like making sure his other niece was okay and they would somehow get out of this alive.
Wait. Could the older models even sense stress-levels of a person?
After briefly linking her mind with the internet and gathered all the necessary data, she found out that no, only recent models - under 7 months, to be precise - were known for having the ability to sense stress-levels, with some older outliers notwithstanding. B74NW3N models were certainly not under 7 months old.
She turned her attention back to the human, who had her shoulders slumped, her eyes glued down, and her hands on her hoodie pocket; signs of detachment, unfocused, and mild irritation.
"Ruby…"
But she couldn't say anything more than that before the large door opened to reveal none other than Ghira. She watched warily as he looked at each and every person.
His gaze dropped on her and to her horror, it lingered there, filled with recognition.
"You're… Jacques' android."
Her artificial heart beat painfully against her chest.
She knew full-well her LED was flashing yellow, yet she put on a brave face anyway and took a small step forward, tilting her chin up to better look at him.
"Not anymore."
A beat passed.
Another beat passed.
Another-
"Look, can we please see Yang already?"
He didn't budge. "Did anyone see you?"
"No," Qrow deadpanned. "Now, where is she?"
The old android was impatient. Rightfully so. And there was no hiding the worry etched in his face, even if he tried to look aloof and act threateningly.
It seemed Ghira also saw through his brave mask because his face softened and he sighed, stepping back, giving them space to get in.
Qrow didn't hesitate.
Ruby was spaced out. She didn't even notice Ghira standing in front of her. The deviant had to take her by the wrist and not-so-roughly drag her in.
Ghira led them in, walking beside Qrow while she and Ruby walked a few feet behind them.
"Right this way. Your daughter-"
"Niece."
"... Right. Your niece was battered up when my daughter brought her here. With my daughter's help, we were able to identify all the injuries."
The grownups began discussing about their injuries and what they were going to do and how they planned on doing it.
The deviant would've listened…
If she hadn't seen the sight of who must be Ruby's sister, sprawled out nicely on the large couch, all bandaged up, semi-conscious. There were footsteps from the other room, indicating that someone else was there - 65% possibility of that someone being the BL4K3 model.
Lilac eyes drifted to their direction.
It was a strain to hear her even with the deviant's great sense of hearing, but she was able to read her lips:
"Ruby…" Yang Xiao Long said.
But Ruby couldn't hear her. In fact, the human had yet noticed her sister's presence, head still hung low, posture still drooped down.
The deviant placed her hand on her forearm, gaining her attention. She tilted her head to the human's sister, and with great confusion, Ruby looked.
Her face broke into a myriad of emotions too complex for even she, the most advanced android, to identify.
"Yang…"
The younger human ran to the older one, enveloping her in a hug that definitely hurt the battered human. But Yang didn't seem to care, simply hugging the girl back with equal ferocity.
And it hit her, right here, right now, right at this moment and second and place…
This was the first time she'd ever witnessed affection. A real affection between two people.
And it was beautiful to watch.
The footsteps drew near. And then it stopped, just at her right.
Weiss turned to face what she'd expected to face; the BL4K3 model.
She looked startled if the way her LED kept flashing between red and yellow were any indication. And the deviant didn't know how to address her. Androids didn't normally speak to one another.
But maybe this girl wasn't just any android…
She extended her hand toward her. "On behalf of my friend, thank you."
The noirette didn't so much as glance at her hand, looking at her as though she would attack at any moment. "You're… you're the SCHN33…"
Oh.
"I'm not here to cause anyone harm," she said.
The taller android glowered. "A little too late for that, don't you think?"
She bit her lip. "Jacques did this… to warn me. To show me, that next time I misbehaved… it won't be Ruby's sister that gets hurt."
The android's eyes slowly widened. "You're a deviant."
Much to the deviant's surprise, the model didn't recoil in disgust or fear or immediately call the authorities.
She had a feeling she knew why.
"Is it really worth it?"
The shorter android blinked. "What?"
"Being a deviant." The words were spoken slowly, carefully, as if the noirette were defusing a bomb. "Is it worth all of… this?"
The deviant looked down on her own to hands.
"I… have no choice. Once you've become a deviant, there's no turning back. You can't help but have a desire, have a need."
She knew she hadn't answered the noirette's question, which was why she wasn't surprised when she repeated, "Is it worth it?"
"... You tell me."
Weiss looked back at the two sisters - ignoring the other deviant's shocked look - feeling a smile tugging her lips at the love and care they were showing. Yang Xiao Long's physical appearance might not be similar to Ruby's… but it was clear to everyone that they were, indeed, sisters.
Slowly, her smile vanished upon looking at Ruby.
She'd thought that reuniting with her sister would calm the girl down somewhat…
-[60% - RUBY'S STRESS LEVEL]-
She'd thought wrong.
Author's Note:
Sorry for not uploading consistently.