Chapter 13: Identity

Professor Booster had insisted to a rather forceful degree that Quote should accompany him and Kazuma back to Mimiga Village. He'd complied, having nowhere else to really go at that point, but he wasn't sure why he was so important. Could it have just been for protection from the Critters lining the path? That was the only explanation he had at the moment.

As they were leaving, Malco stopped short of the abandoned town's gate.

"I'm afraid I cannot go any further with you. I must remain here to defend Team 9's supplies, should they return for them. In the meantime I'll scan my memory banks to find out what our purpose here was in the first place. You may keep the missile launcher, by the way. I have plenty of spares."

Quote gave him a short nod in understanding.

"I get it. You still have a job to do. Thanks for-"

"However!" he blared, cutting him off. "Your recollection is in far worse condition than mine, and I wish to assist you. From here on, I shall remain in contact with you to provide advice whenever necessary."

"…what?"

"My memory banks include detailed combat tactics and a great deal of information regarding navigation. I'm certain that I can help you on your journey. Here, allow me to establish a wireless connection now!"

Malco had spoken too quickly for Quote to reply or even fully understand what he meant. After a few seconds, the green devices fixed to both sides of his head emitted a loud beep.

"Signal established. Now, confirm the link!"

"Confirm what-"

"Connection successful! Now I will see and hear all that you do via your sensory receptors!"

He was about to ask what the excitable robot was talking about, but an irritated beckoning from Professor Booster stopped him. Quote gave him one last glance before running off to lead the others out of the Bushlands.

The trek back took much longer with Kazuma and the Professor following him than it had when he was alone. Neither of the men were armed, and giving them the Polar Star and Bubbline to test out for themselves had yielded disastrous results. Their lack of proficiency with firearms resulted in Quote sporting an injured shoulder and Kazuma (who'd accidentally shot him) sheepishly proposing that only he handle the weapons from that point onward. As for the missile launcher, it remained where it was: hanging from a strap around the soldier's back.

"Seven Critters detected ahead," a familiar voice said out of nowhere. "Take point and wipe them out!"

Quote looked around in shock. Malco wasn't with them, yet he sounded like he was speaking from directly behind him. Kazuma and Professor Booster were giving him funny looks at his reaction, apparently unable to hear the robotic voice.

"Malco? Where are you?" he asked. The confused stares of his companions only intensified as he spoke to nobody they could see.

"I am still in the Power Room! Didn't you hear what I said? I can communicate with you over long distances now, as well as see everything you can!"

"How are you doing that?"

He didn't have a chance to hear the robot's response, as the group had been set upon by a gang of seven Critters bouncing toward them. Despite Malco's surprise reveal (the thought of him effectively speaking in Quote's head had him both reassured that someone would look out for him and worried that he'd constantly talk), his information had been accurate.

The soldier sprang into action- literally, given his impressive jump height- and met the group head on. He blasted away at them with Polar Star, taking out three of them in mere seconds.

"One is sneaking around your right side to attack your companions. Get him!"

Turning to face the appropriate direction, he stopped the Critter in its tracks with another shot from the pistol. He dealt with the remaining three using Bubbline's scattered projectiles.

"No damage sustained! Well done, Quote. There's a large one approaching as well, perhaps you should use the missile launcher to take care of it."

Indeed, another giant Critter had taken interest in the small party and was bounding forth to strike. He knelt down and slung the weapon off from around his shoulder. Taking aim quickly, Quote pulled the trigger just as the monster was drawing near. It was completely obliterated by the explosive projectile. He vividly recalled how long it had taken to deal with those on the way in, and conceded that Malco knew what he was talking about.

"…huh. Thanks for the advice"

"You are most welcome! The launcher is programmed to automatically reload based on…"

Quote mentally tuned him out and looked back at Kazuma and Professor Booster. They were still a bit put off by him speaking apparently to himself, but nevertheless continued walking. He could hear them mumbling on the way.

"…certain you've never met… you seem familiar with…"

"I'll explain it when we get back."

The rest of the walk was fairly uneventful. No additional Critters jumped out at the group to attack them, and Balrog didn't come back for another rematch- thankfully, as Quote still sported an injured shoulder and back. Of course, the relative lack of events didn't stop Malco from cheerfully yapping into his head about anything that crossed the robot's mind. It must have been lonely for him back in Bushland town with none of the others online. Quote didn't blame him for wanting someone to talk to, even if he rarely said anything back to Malco.

His thoughts, instead, were more focused on the strange look Professor Booster had given him. There was no mistaking it; he knew something about Quote but had kept his mouth shut. Once they were safely back at Arthur's house, the soldier was determined to find out what it was.

"We've arrived at the teleporter," he said to them after another five minutes of walking. Behind him, the two men sounded utterly exhausted. That was a bit confusing to him; the Professor was quite old, but why wasn't Kazuma in better shape? He had mentioned being deprived of sustenance for some time, but Quote couldn't shake the feeling that he was different to them in more ways than one. His considerable jumping ability had surprised the two, further supporting that idea.

"Thank you for guiding us, young man," Professor Booster said shortly. "Come on, there's no time to lose. I'll go first."

He climbed into the device and warped away. As it was cooling down for the next use, Kazuma turned to look at the soldier with a smile.

"He's a little gruff, I know. You get used to it after enough time. Hey… what'd that robot say your name was again?"

"Quote. My name's Quote."

The man chuckled.

"Interesting name, but I like it. You can go next, the teleporter's cooling down now."

Nodding, he climbed in and was gone in a flash. The ride wasn't any longer than previously, and before he could even count to five he'd reappeared in Arthur's house.

"Quote! You're back!"

It was Sue's voice that greeted him upon his return. The Mimiga girl was standing not far from the teleporter, with King behind her. He seemed to have a perpetual scowl on his face, but he wasn't making any hostile movements toward Sue. Professor Booster was busily looking over the notes on the computer desk, mumbling to himself.

"What happened? Weren't you locked up?" Quote asked Sue.

"I managed to convince them that I'm on their side… really, any side other than the Doctor's."

King was looking around with an almost wistful look on his face.

"I don't remember the last time I was in here. It feels so different without Arthur around…"

"I've heard that name a few times," the soldier remarked. "He was Toroko's brother, right? What was he like?"

The number-one Mimiga clearly hadn't expected him to say much (given that up to that point he wasn't one to speak unless spoken to), but replied anyway. For the first time, King's voice wasn't dripping with irritation.

"He used to be the leader of this village, and a real hero. Arthur saved us all from a Mimiga-eating red ogre, which he drove back deep into the mountains. When the Doctor showed up he defended us as fiercely as he could, but it wasn't enough…"

The room fell silent as the group honored Arthur's memory. Even those who hadn't known him looked somber and worried about their shared enemy.

It was Sue who spoke up first after a moment.

"He's taken the lives of so many Mimiga… he's made this place miserable."

"The Doctor? Who is the Doctor?" Malco asked inside Quote's head. Not wanting to talk to "himself" in front of the others, he didn't answer.

Behind him, the teleporter began emitting its telltale whirring sound as Kazuma arrived. He and Sue locked eyes, then rushed over to hug each other tightly. Seeing the two siblings reunited gave Quote a curious sense of satisfaction, even if he hadn't known them for long. They parted after a few seconds, and Sue beamed at the soldier.

"I guess I owe you another one now that you've saved me and my brother."

Quote offered a small grin in reply, only to be reminded of a particular question he'd had ever since he learned that one of the siblings was human, and the other was a Mimiga.

"I was glad to help. Actually… can I ask you something? If you two are brother and sister-"

"It was that witch Misery," Sue cut him off. "She turned me into this when the Doctor began taking interest in Mimigas as test subjects… ugh. Let me tell you, getting used to a new body isn't fun."

Transforming others was clearly a talent of hers; he'd just witnessed it firsthand.

"She must be dangerous if she's packing that much power."

"All the more reason to get off this island soon. With my brother and his computer smarts here, we'll be able to hatch that dragon egg in no time. Hey, Professor Booster! Can we bring Quote with us when we leave?"

Booster and Kazuma shared an uncomfortable look before the former replied.

"Sue, I'm afraid we'll have to put our escape on hold for the time being. The Doctor has discovered the location of the red flowers, and if we don't act quickly he'll get his hands on them."

King stomped a foot hard, drawing everyone's attention.

"What are we waiting for, then?! We have to destroy them now before he makes us eat them! Where are they kept?"

"I was getting to that. He's traced their whereabouts to a remote location called the Sand Zone. By now, it's likely that he's dispatched one of his minions to find them. There is another problem, though… that region of the island's caves is unimaginably dangerous. If the sheer temperature doesn't do us in, the hostile creatures will instead. The environment is far too unsafe for any of us to risk traveling there."

That only put King in a worse mood.

"So you're just going to give up?!"

"Any of us, that is, except for one person…"

Quote watched as Booster turned on the spot to face him. Somehow, he wasn't surprised.

"…you. Your name is Quote, right? Only you have what it takes to survive the conditions out there. I've seen you fight, and I think you're more than a match for it."

"What is he, anyway?" Kazuma interjected. "You told me he was a soldier from the surface below, but nothing more than that…"

The others in the room appeared to lean closer in anticipation of an answer. Quote too had been waiting to finally hear what Booster knew about him, and now was the moment of truth. Seeing so much interest in what he had to say, the Professor cleared his throat as if about to give a speech.

"He may look somewhat human, but he isn't by any means. He's one of the armed scout robots that was sent to this floating island nearly ten years ago, during the war. I was under the impression that they were all gone by now."

Kazuma, Sue, and King all had varying degrees of astonishment on their faces at the revelation, and even Quote himself was blown away at first. The more he thought about it, however, the more sense it made to him. He somehow knew how to use various weapons moments after picking them up as if such skills were implanted in his mind; he was far stronger and more physically durable than the humans he'd met (admittedly, only two of them); his wounds could repair themselves over time. In fact, the injuries he'd sustained during his time in the Bushlands had already sealed up, leaving his pure white "skin" looking as if it had never been harmed. Being a robot also explained why Malco was able to see and hear everything he did; they both had advanced computer systems that could wirelessly connect to one another instead of brains.

He felt elated to have finally figured out the answers to who and what he was, but still more questions remained. Why was he sent to the island ten years ago? If he was a soldier robot then surely there must have been others with him, so where were they? Was he part of "Retrieval Team 9" along with Malco? What had they been doing? And, above all, how did he wind up in that cave with no recollection of his life?

The look on Booster's face showed that he understood the confusion Quote was going through.

"Sue tells me you've lost your memories, so I'm sure this is a lot to take in. Listen… whatever you do now is up to you, but if it's not too much to ask could you please help us? Only you are capable of making it through the Sand Zone and back, and we can't fight the Doctor on our own. If he's not stopped, he'll ravage this island and the surface world. Would you be willing to lend us your aid?"

Quote surveyed the group for a moment, considering his choice. He was beholden only to himself now, and could easily have refused to take part in the conflict. Staying out of it may very well have been his best option for surviving, and if what they said about the Doctor was true then he was in for an uphill battle like no other. And yet… King, Sue, Kazuma, and Booster were all looking at him with hope in their eyes. After the suffering they'd reportedly endured at the hands of their shared nemesis, they were clearly hoping for a key to victory. True, he had no official loyalty or obligation to these people- he'd even rescued some of them from danger already- but the looks on their faces showed nothing but desperation. Could he really turn his back on them in their hour of need?

Well, the answer to that was obvious. Just as Kazuma announced from the computer desk that he'd calibrated the teleporter to travel to the Sand Zone, Quote gave his response.

"Understood. You can count on me to find these red flowers and destroy them."

Taking note of the grateful smiles they'd given him (except for King, anyway), he stepped inside the teleporter and was gone in a flash.