Chapter 5

They were making good time as they wove their way through the forest. It wasn't the shortest route to the dunes, but it was definitely the more scenic route. The elder's estimate on how long it would take them to navigate through the forest was a bit off, as Quote and Curly did not have to stop for breaks, and could handle the terrain better than any mimiga. She still held onto his hand like a lifeline, but Quote didn't mind. In fact, he kind of liked it. He felt more... safe, holding her hand, or like he could protect her. Or maybe it wasn't that... he wasn't quite sure what he felt. He'd run a diagnostics check later.

Balrog could still be heard behind them, humming an old tune or occasionally breaking boulders and exclaiming, "Huzzah!" Quote still wasn't sure if he should treat Balrog as a child or as an adult... He showed characteristics of both, and it confused him. Really, the only way he could treat Balrog was... well, like Balrog. He was his own individual, Quote had never met anyone else like him. Like Curly... Quote wondered about his own individuality. Was he the only model of his version? He thought about this for a long while. Even if there were other models of Curly's version, Quote believed that the Curly he knew would still somehow be... different, individual. Maybe this had to do with the time she spent raising those children, and fighting her way through the island...

Quote and Curly hopped over a fallen tree and made their way around a thorn bush, and ended up at the tip of a steep ledge. Curly was about to slide down, when she noticed something a few meters from the summit. She raised up a hand, and whispered, "Hold up!" Quote got low and looked over the lip. There was a tall, dark figure, wearing a dark-brown trench coat. It appeared to be wearing gloves and a wide-brimmed hat, no skin was visible through the shadows. Through all of their time here, neither Quote or Curly had seen such a figure, and they were intrigued.

Quote spoke in a hushed tone, "Do you think it's human?"

"I can't tell," whispered Curly. "I wonder what it's doing here..." The figure just seemed to be looking around, its hands in its pockets. Occasionally, it would take out a notepad and scribble a few things down.

Suddenly, Quote and Curly heard a booming, "Huzzah!" as Balrog thumped down behind them. "What are we looking at?" The figure turned to them, and Quote heard Curly gasp as two glowing red eyes became visible behind a pair of goggles. This couldn't be human. Quote reached his hand down to unholster his gun, but before he had the chance, the figure vanished, as if it had teleported. They looked around for a moment, trying to see where it went, but it was no use. The figure was gone.

Curly turned around. "Balrog!" She was annoyed. "We were trying to be quiet!" Balrog looked down.

"Oh... I didn't know..." He seemed quite sorry. Curly sighed.

"It's fine... Maybe we'll see that thing again..."

"Whatever it is," said Quote, "It's gone now. If we do happen to see it again, be on your guard." Curly rolled your eyes.

"See, that's what I mean! Always so protective!" She shoved his shoulder, playfully. "Loosen up, tinpot!"

"... 'Tinpot'?" Quote raised an eyebrow.

"Always acting like a big old robot. We're androids. You have emotions, use 'em!" She smiled.

Quote opened his mouth to say something back, about how that was a dumb idea, that they needed to be careful out here, that there could be danger, or something. Something. There was always something. He felt... tired of that constant pressure. He finally felt what Curly was talking about. He was tired. He did want to just experience the world around him. "... Alright." But at the same time... he knew that something was up. He'd felt it ever since the encounter with the flower cub. Maybe it was just his programming, maybe it was paranoia. But then again, maybe it wasn't. He looked into Curly's eyes. "... At this rate, we won't get to the beach 'til dusk!"

Curly's eyes got wide. "Oh, gosh, yea! We gotta get moving!" She pulled Quote, and they slid down the ledge together. "Let's go, slowpoke!" Quote smiled as he followed along, chuckling. Maybe, just maybe emotions were a luxury he could finally afford...

When they finally arrived at the dunes, the sun was fast approaching the horizon. Quote and Curly moved as fast as they could over the dunes. Despite their ability to maneuver around terrain easier, they could only go so fast. Quote began to regret selling the Booster. They climbed to the top of a particularly tall dune, and saw the beach in the distance. The sky was orange, and the sun was large and approaching the water. Only one last dune to climb, and they would be there. Curly smiled wide. "We made it!"

Quote looked onto the sunset in awe. He'd never actually seen a sunset before; the sun had always just disappeared behind the tree line. But now that he could really see the whole sun, in all its glory, he was stunned. "Come on," said Curly, once again pulling him down a hill. They raced down the dune, then climbed over the last one, laughing as they ran towards the beach. They stood about a meter from the water, watching the sunset hand-in-hand. Balrog was a ways away on top of a dune. He was preparing to make his trademark entrance, when he stopped and looked down onto his friends. Something about them... there was something about them that made him smile. It seemed like they were getting along a lot better than they were at the beginning of the trip. They seemed happy. Balrog decided just to walk down to his friends for once.

"Isn't it pretty?" Curly looked on in amazement. She also had never seen a true sunset.

"It's beautiful," said Quote. He turned to Curly, who still looked on. "It's absolutely beautiful. He blinked. He wasn't exactly sure why he said that a second time. Nor was he completely sure if he was still talking solely about the sunset. He did not know what this meant.

Curly looked to him and smiled. "Let's lie down." Quote nodded, and they laid themselves down onto the sand, watching the sun as it touched the water, and sank underneath the surface. "I want to stay like this for a long time."

A while later, Quote was lying down on the sand. Balrog was asleep behind him, and Curly had fallen asleep on his chest. When she had begun to fall asleep, she got closer to him and had laid her head on his chest. He assumed she felt safer with closer proximity. He felt this as well... He thought. He remembered that he was going to run a diagnostics check, which he authorized. He swept his system for any abnormalities, and found none. All systems were normal and intact. He hadn't believed anything was really wrong with him, he just wanted to know what new emotions he was experiencing. Unfortunately, the diagnostics check could not tell him that. He sighed. He supposed it was a part of... life... Yes, a part of life. A life he was living. He smiled. Even androids, he thought, were alive. With that thought, he closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep.