Chapter 8

Curly had recovered from her stress the next day. Quote had not. Even though he could not get tired from lack of sleep, he felt exhausted anyway. Something had to be done. After Curly had woken up, she hugged her friend and went downstairs to walk out to the garden. Quote laid there for a bit, thinking. He was so very confused, and also concerned. He needed to get up, he needed to clear his head. Quote got up.

Quote waved to his friends as he left the house. He simply said he was going on a walk, and that he'd be back soon. He did not specify where or when. He headed off in the direction of the Mimiga Village. Quote did not arrive there at first, however. He made a winding path around the plains, looking at the sun, looking at the trees, the grass, anything. He didn't think, he only did. He only walked. Eventually, however, he did reach the Mimiga Village. He walked around the couple of buildings on the surface, greeting some of the villagers he knew. He approached the staircase, and descended into the streets below.

The Elder was sleeping when Quote walked into her chamber. Quote felt a bit envious. He wasn't sure if he should wake her, so he decided just to leave and return later. However, as soon as he had turned around to leave, he heard her raspy voice.

"Hello, young Quote. What have you come here for?"

Quote turned around, and walked over to the Elder. She motioned for him to sit down, which he did. The elder pulled out a tea platter from what appeared to be no-where, and poured two cups. Quote did not need to drink, however, he was able to anyway.

"Thank you," he said, taking a sip. It tasted of wild berries.

"What do you need," repeated the Elder. Quote set down his cup on his saucer. He was having trouble mustering the courage to voice his concerns. He started off slow.

"I... I've been... feeling something recently, and... I'm not sure what it is."

"Go on," said the Elder, sipping her tea.

Quote grimaced. "It's... hard to describe..." He took another drink of his tea in an attempt to calm his nerves. However, this was difficult, since the very fact that he was feeling nervous about speaking made him even more nervous.

"Well, give it a try." The Elder sat patiently. She was a very patient person.

"... I'm feeling part of it right now," said Quote. "It's a sort of... nervousness."

"Oh?" The Elder seemed to be interested. She took another sip of her tea.

"Yes... And I don't understand it. I shouldn't feel nervousness, I'm not supposed to. Or if I do feel nervousness, I should be able to control it, reset it..."
"Ah," said the Elder. "But you can't, can you?"

"No," replied Quote.

"Do you know the source of this nervousness?" The elder picked a bit, trying to put together the pieces.

"I... Believe so... But it may be several different sources..."

"We are all nervous at some point or another about many different things, but there is usually one sole thing that worries us the most, more than everything else."

Quote nodded. "I understand." He began to talk a bit more freely, He had calmed down a little. "I am worried about the recent aggressiveness of the Flower Cubs, and the presence of the Pignons..."

"As am I," said the Elder. "However, I am more worried, as my people cannot defend themselves very well against these assailants."

Quote nodded. He felt bad for the defenseless Mimigas. However, he would have to deal with that later. "That isn't my only concern though."

"Ah," the elder nodded. "What else, then?"

"... When we went on our trek two days ago, we encountered something in the woods."

"What kind of thing did you encounter?"

"It was... a tall, dark figure... almost resembling a human man. It was wearing a dark coat, gloves, boots, and a wide hat... and it had red glowing eyes." The elder said nothing. She was very interested in this information. "We only saw it for a moment before it realized we were there, and it... disappeared."

"Hmm..." The Elder was deep in thought.

"There's more," said Quote. "That night, I had a dream. I was in the plains, with Curly and Balrog. It was a simple dream, and a nice one... However, suddenly, the dark figure appeared. And it spoke to me."

"What did it say?" The elder was focused intently on the story. She was very concerned.

"It said that we, Curly and I, had not completed our mission. We were to destroy the Crown, but then return home. It said that it wanted us to return home, and that we still had a purpose, more missions to carry out. However, it did not give any information as to where this home was."

"Return home..." The Elder sat back. "As in, return to the place where you were built?"

"I would assume so." Quote looked away. "Curly said that maybe it had just been a dream, and she is right, maybe I fabricated this whole thing..."

"But you don't really believe that, do you?"

Quote was silent for a while before he answered. "No. I don't. I think that it could have been... possibly some sort of transmission..."

"As if the figure had contacted you..."

"Exactly. I think that whatever it is, it is here, and it wants us."

"I see..." The Elder put down her tea. "Is this what worries you the most?"

"... No," said Quote. "But it does worry me a great deal."

"Do not worry about this too terribly much. So far, the figure has only been passive. It has made no threats to you, or moves against you."

"What do you mean?"

"It fled when you saw it in the woods, and it only contacted you with a simple message. At this point, I would not consider the figure that much of a threat." The Elder sat back, resting her head on a pillow. Quote agreed with the Elder somewhat, and her words put him more at ease. However, he had to ask another thing.

"... If the figure seems to become a threat, what would be the best thing to do?"

The elder sat up again. "Since it appears to be able to speak to you through some sort of 'transmission', hiding would do no good. If you wanted to confront it, I would look for it in the Caves."

"The Caves?" Quote was a bit confused and worried. "Why there?"

"The Caves are the only place the Mimigas have not been. We know nothing of the inside. A strange place like that is quite fitting for such a strange character."

Quote nodded. "Alright, I see."

The Elder poured more tea into her cup, and sipped. "You said this was not the thing that worried you the most, correct?"

Quote sighed. "Correct."

"Well then," said the Elder. "Please, go on."

"... Well," Quote was still having trouble expressing his concern. "I... I've been experiencing a... well, it's..." He began to blurt out what he was trying to convey. "Recently I've been feeling a new emotion, and I don't know what it is!"

"Oh?"

"I'm very worried that something is wrong with me, I can't control this new emotion! I'm always able to reset my emotions if they get out of check but, but I can't get a hold of this one, and that bothers me greatly!"

"And what kind of emotion is this?"

"It's, well it's..." Quote slowed down. "It's... a sort of embarrassment, I believe... but it's more."

"Go on."

"Well, it's like experiencing extreme happiness, but sadness at the same time. It makes me warm, but I feel... alone, sort of."

"Hmm..."

"Have you heard of such an emotion?"

"Possibly," said the Elder, sipping her tea. "When do you experience this emotion?"

"I... only experience it when I'm with Curly."

"I see... And are you sure you don't experience this emotion when you are not with Curly?"

"Yes... wait, I mean no..." Quote was a bit confused. "I sometimes experience a sadness that is worse than the sadness I feel when I am with her. But I would assume that is because I miss my friend."

"Do you experience the same emotion when Balrog is not with you?"

"... No, I don't..." Quote was confused. "I mean, I still miss him, he's fun to have around..."

"But you miss Curly more."

"Yes..."

"Hmm..." The Elder sipped her tea casually.

"... Are you going to tell me what this is?"

"It seems you already know what it is."

"No, I don't... That's why I came here."

"Oh, it is?" The Elder smiled and sipped her tea. Quote was becoming frustrated.

"Yes," he said. "It is."

"Young Quote," said the Elder, suddenly turning serious. "You know what emotion this is. It is an emotion you are afraid of, an emotion which you have deemed impossible."

"Im... possible?"

"Yes, you believe this emotion to be impossible. I can tell. You take your guidelines much too seriously." Quote said nothing. He was getting a vague feeling that he knew what the Elder was talking about. "Coming here to speak of your emotions to me is a good step to fully understanding and embracing them. Embrace your emotions, Quote. They will not harm you."

"... I'm not the only one who has come to speak with you, am I." The Elder smiled.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. That's not of your concern."

"Then what is my concern?"

"Curly. She is your concern. You should go home and be with her."

"But..." The feeling of nervousness was resurfacing.

"You know you are capable. Go and tell your emotions to her. You will learn what they truly mean then." Quote slowly nodded.

"Thank you," he said, standing up and bowing his head in respect. The Elder nodded. As Quote was about to leave the room, however, the Elder said one last thing.

"Oh, and when you get home, do thank Curly for visiting so often. I quite enjoy her company over a cup of tea."

Quote returned home around noon. Curly and Balrog were tending to the garden, and they greeted him warmly. Quote received a hug from Curly, then Balrog. Even Quote felt like he was going to explode due to the sheer amount of pressure. They continued to work on the garden for the rest of the day. When it began to get dark out, Curly and Quote began to head inside. Balrog informed them that he would be going out a bit early this evening. He had finally figured out that both Quote and Curly had known about his late-night flights, so he was much less discrete about them now. They still didn't know that he visited the island, but that didn't matter right now. Quote was currently concerned with other things.

The two androids sat together by their fireplace, hand in hand. Quote was a bit nervous, but not as much as he had been in the past. Perhaps it was the fire that put him at ease. Curly rested her head on Quote's shoulder. She seemed to be content... but not completely.

"I went to visit the Elder today," said Quote, breaking the silence.

"Really," said Curly. "What for?"

"I went to go talk to her about some things that were bothering me, like the dream and the flower cubs."

"Oh," said Curly, sounding slightly disappointed.

"...But I also talked about my emotions."

Curly lifted up her head. "You did?"

"Yes. Believe it or not, I have emotions under this metal shell of mine." They both smiled Quote rarely told jokes. "I believe I'm not the only one who's gone to the Elder to discuss emotions, however."

Curly blushed a bit, and for the first time, Quote didn't wonder why their designers implemented this function. He welcomed it. "W-what do you mean?"

"The Elder said she was grateful for you visiting so often. She enjoys your company."

"I see," Curly seemed slightly agitated that the Elder had let that piece of information slip.

"She didn't exactly help me all that much," said Quote, smiling. "But it was good to talk about what was bothering me." Curly nodded. She understood what Quote meant. "The Elder did tell me one thing, though."

"What's that?" Curly cocked her head to one side.

"She said I should talk to you, explain my emotions to you."

"Oh?" Curly was a bit surprised, but also delighted. "Well, then... Would you like to talk about it then?" Quote nodded.

"Yes. I would."

"Alright," said Curly, smiling. "What is it that's bothering you?"

"Well, it's..." Quote found himself at a loss for words. "It's... You."

Quote felt Curly let go of his hand. "I bother you?" She seemed very confused, and slightly offended.

"No, no! That's not it! It's just, when I'm with you, it's..."

"So you're bothered when I'm around?" Quote could tell Curly was not pleased with what he was saying.

"No!"Quote stood up. Quote was trying not to yell, but he found it difficult. He sat down and buried his face in his hands, sighing heavily. Curly was still very confused and agitated. "... It's the opposite of that," he said, through his hands.

Curly blinked. She wasn't agitated anymore, but she was now curious. "The... opposite?"

Quote looked up. "When I'm with you, I feel on top of the world, and when you're gone, I feel empty." He closed his eyes. "But all the time, I feel like it isn't enough, like something's missing. It's not complete..." He opened them again, looking to Curly. "And I can never get rid of it. It isn't like any other emotion, it seems stronger somehow, beyond my control..."

Curly's face was a bit red at this point. She was very surprised and flustered. She reached down and held Quote's hand once more. "Quote... That's love."

Quote blinked. "Love?" He was very confused. "But we're not capable of that."

Curly shook her head, smiling. "We're capable of a lot more things than you think we are." She squeezed Quote's hand. "Just because we weren't programmed with something from the start doesn't mean we can't develop it."

Quote said nothing. She had a point. They were able to adapt to their surroundings, develop different battle strategies to take down different obstacles or assailants. They were able to learn different languages, they could learn to express themselves better in order to converse with others... And he assumed that they could develop emotions... But what kind of person could create such a thing... Quote shook his head. He didn't want to think about that now. He simply smiled.

"So... I'm in love then." Quote chuckled. "I never thought this would happen. I never thought it was possible."

"I guess you were wrong, then." Curly smiled.

"I guess." Quote looked up to Curly. "And what about you?"

"Huh?" Curly began to blush a bit.

"Are you the same way?

Curly looked down, her face even more red. "... Yes... I have been for a long time..."

Quote felt warm all over, and he assumed he was blushing. "I... I'm sorry I kept you waiting." He squeezed Curly's hand. "Is there some way I can make up for it?"

Curly smiled, the blush had spread across her face. "Yes," she said. "Like this..."

Quote's eyes widened as Curly leaned in and kissed him. He hadn't been prepared for something like this to happen so suddenly. However, now that it was happening, he was glad. He closed his eyes and leaned, in placing his hand on Curly's cheek.

The fire burned slowly through the night.