Chapter 25: Gaudi
Malco had chosen to personally visit the warehouse for two reasons. One, because he felt that his programming would allow him to easily determine what was or was not worth bringing along in their inventory. Two, because he was anxious to find out if Retrieval Team 9 had left any information behind that might help him learn more about his companions. While he was mostly satisfied with what he'd uncovered regarding himself, their identities were still shrouded in mystery. Malco, by that point, had sifted through enough files to confirm that Quote and Curly weren't listed among the members of Team 9- or, it seemed, any of the scout forces that had been sent to the island. They were undeniably soldiers, so what was their purpose if they hadn't accompanied the other robots to retrieve the Demon Crown?
Speaking of which… the thought had crossed his mind at least once that he could potentially be acting against his orders during the war. After all, hadn't their mission been to retrieve the crown for mankind? The Doctor, from what he could tell based on Quote's description, was certainly a human, so had Team 9 succeeded in the end? Malco wondered if his ultimate goal would be to turn against his two fellow robots as they tried to defeat the Demon Crown's owner.
"No, that's ridiculous," he thought. "They've been kind to me so far, and I wouldn't want to attack them at all."
It was also possible that the Doctor wasn't even his master. Another recent scan of his memory banks revealed that Team 9 was sent to the island on behalf of a man by the name of Miakido. While Malco had never personally met him, he remembered enough to tell that he wasn't a doctor of any kind. Of course, ten years was a long time… he could have become one after the war had ended. Nobody seemed to know what the Doctor's real name was, either.
He pushed those thoughts aside to better focus on the present. Reflecting too much would only distract him from helping Quote and Curly, and until someone with genuine authority over him commanded otherwise he was on their side.
"Hey there, robo-man!" a Gaudi outside the warehouse said casually. "I saw you talking to Chaba before. Need some supplies on your way out?"
"How do you know we're leaving?"
The beetle-like creature gave an odd clicking sound that might have been a laugh.
"I can't imagine why three surface robots would want to stay down here. You probably have important stuff to take care of elsewhere."
"You're right about that… except we're not sure how to leave. In fact, none of us know much about where we even are."
Nodding her (at least, something suggested to Malco that it was a female even though they all looked identical) head rapidly, the Gaudi gestured for him to follow her into the warehouse.
"I'll tell you everything you need to know while you look over the equipment."
Conveniently, Quote was also obtaining information at that time. He and Curly hadn't gone far into the village before being set upon by several excited Gaudi all at once. The robots weren't asked many questions about themselves, strangely. Rather, they were on the receiving end of a barrage of random facts about the Labyrinth. It was as if the giant insects would talk to anyone, at any time, for any purpose. As he tried to take in the jumbled speech from about seven different sources, he wondered if most of the Gaudi were merely talking to themselves.
Well, eight sources if one counted Curly among them.
It astounded him just how quickly she'd gotten used to the mess of a conversation. She rambled on and on with the creatures cheerfully, as if she'd lived with them for weeks by then. The more she talked, the less she seemed to care that Gaudi once ate Mimiga- though it likely hadn't escaped her mind quite yet. Nevertheless, she was chattier than she'd ever been since they met in the Sand Zone.
How long ago was that, anyway? Time passed in something of a blur to Quote, as he'd gone through so much already. He couldn't have known his two fellow robots for more than a day in total, yet he felt like they'd been together for as long as he could remember (which wasn't entirely inaccurate). Malco had given him a curious but pleasant sense of companionship by monitoring him, and Curly… well…
"Hey Quote, are you paying attention? They're trying to tell us how to escape."
With a surprised jolt, he realized that the Gaudi had all fallen silent and were staring at him. The soldier awkwardly cleared his throat (or the robotic equivalent) and focused on the one Curly was pointing to.
"Sorry. What was that?"
"Like I was saying," the beetle-like creature continued without even sounding annoyed, "way at the end of this tunnel there's a huge boulder blocking the way forward. If you can move it, you should be able to find a way out somewhere up ahead."
"Be careful, though!" another Gaudi cut in immediately. "Our neighbors past the boulder are pretty violent towards anyone who comes too close. That's why they blocked the tunnel in the first place."
"That old witch told us they're guarding something important," said a third. "Whatever it is, it's keeping this island afloat, so make sure you don't disturb it on your way out."
Quote stared at the last one to speak in surprise.
"Old witch? You mean Jenka?"
"Is that her name? She hasn't been around for such a long time that most of us forgot it. But she's the one who tunneled out the Labyrinth and put us Gaudi down here."
He looked back in the direction of the warehouse.
"What about the soldiers from the surface? Where'd they go?"
Suddenly he almost wished he hadn't asked that. All seven of the giant insects responded with the same energy as before. Amidst the endless chattering, the most he was able to pick up was that Retrieval Team 9 had come through during the war a decade earlier and briefly set up a camp in the village, but disappeared after passing the spot where the large boulder currently was.
At his side, Curly was thanking each of the Gaudi for their help. Quote followed her out of the crowd, which waved to them happily.
"I think I still prefer Mimiga," she said once they were a good distance away, "but these guys are pretty nice too once you get to know 'em."
"Yeah, they're even bubblier than you are."
"Hey!" Curly replied, though not actually seeming offended. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Heh… nothing."
"That's quite a lot of stuff, can you really carry it all?"
Malco, to be honest, was wondering the same thing as the Gaudi he'd been talking to. He had gathered several rounds to reload Quote's missile launcher, an advanced targeting attachment to improve the weapon itself, and an upgrade for Curly's machine gun. Nothing else in the warehouse was particularly useful for any of them, and by his analysis it seemed that he'd chosen the optimal assortment of items to help the group. Of course, somewhere along the way he forgot to take into account how easily one non-soldier robot could move all of it.
Not easily at all, clearly.
"O-of course I can, this is nothing!" he attempted to reassure her as he stumbled toward the warehouse door. "Thank you for the information, I'll be sure to fill my companions in."
"Don't mention it. Oh yeah, one more thing! There's this huge machine left behind by the soldiers past the village. We can't figure out what it does, but maybe you guys will have better luck."
Malco nodded gratefully and stepped outside to find the others. The sooner he could stop hauling all of this equipment around, the better.
In hindsight, Curly realized, she'd been doing most of the talking as they traversed the Gaudi village. Quote was usually silent whenever one of the creatures would come up to them, which seemed ironic considering his name. However, when they were alone she found him to be more talkative. He laughed at the occasional jokes she would tell (even if they were mostly about Mimiga) and made several attempts of reasonable success to tell his own. Was he just socially anxious under his less-than-emotional shell? She didn't know if it was possible for robots.
"What do you think the outside of the island is like?" Quote asked at some point during the walk. It was a question that she herself hadn't even thought about much during her time awake, so she was taken aback by it.
Of course, that didn't make her any less enthusiastic.
"Well! I can't say for sure how high up in the air we are, but maybe we're right among the clouds! I bet there's a bright sky all around us right now, with a lot of warm sunshine beaming down. Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be in a cloud? Do you think it's soft to the touch, or maybe-"
Curly stopped herself abruptly, realizing that she was rambling again. Quote didn't appear to mind, like normal, but she hadn't meant to monopolize the discussion.
"Whoops… sorry about that!"
"It's alright. I noticed something strange, though: while you were describing that, I almost felt like I could see it too. Neither of us have seen the outside of the island, and yet we can understand concepts like the sun, sky, and clouds."
She crossed her arms thoughtfully.
"I guess it is weird when you put it like that. Maybe it's buried somewhere in our memories, so we remember just enough to get an idea. Still, I'd love to see it for myself once this is all over."
"Me too," Quote said in reply. "I assume you'll be bringing the Colons with you?"
She gave him a wink.
"You know me so well. Hey, you're welcome to join us. The more the merrier, right? I'm sure Malco would like to come too."
"Why yes, I would!"
Both soldiers jumped in astonishment at the sound of his voice behind them. The third robot was trotting along a few yards away, carrying their supplies in one large heap. It was clanking quite a bit; how had they failed to hear him approaching?
"How long have you been there?" Curly asked, still recovering from the surprise.
"Four minutes and fifty-four seconds... fifty-five… fifty-six… It took me some time to catch up, so I apologize for being late. I must say, not looking through both your eyes and getting to see things for myself is quite refreshing."
At her side, Quote frowned.
"Five minutes of you not saying anything? I don't believe it."
"I didn't want to interrupt the conversation. Besides…"
Malco was giving him an odd, almost teasing look.
"Maybe it is common for me to speak a lot. I was programmed that way, it seems. But it ISN'T common for you to have so much to say, Quote. Nobody else has gotten something like attempts at humor out of you! Curly, what's your secret?"
She couldn't help but crack a smile in his direction. At the same time, though, it was strange to think that she was the first person to elicit such behavior from the other soldier.
"…I guess I'm just rubbing off on him?"
Quote was determinedly ignoring both of them, which only caused the other robots to become more amused. Eventually, however, all three of them found their attention focused on something unlike anything they'd seen so far- which was saying a lot after going through a village of beetles the size of them.
Behind Curly, Malco was muttering something.
"Is this what that Gaudi was talking about? It's… a tank! A tank from Team 9!"
