Chapter 2

Iris looked around her new room. It was in the same decrepit state as the rest of the Resistance base, but it was cozy and would suit her needs adequately. It contained a bed with white sheets for her to sleep on, a desk with a chair, and a small vanity. The metal door could be locked if she wanted privacy, and her desk and vanity contained several drawers to store things in.

"Is this room to your liking?" Ciel asked. "I'm sorry we can't provide anything better."

"This will do just fine, Dr. Ciel. Thank you," said Iris.

"I'll give you some time to get settled and explore the base. I'll find something for you to do tomorrow."

"Understood."

Once Ciel left, Iris decided to take the scientist's words to heart and explore her new home. She wandered around the many hallways, creating a mental map of the base as she did so. She ran into many Reploids, but found herself unable to squeak out anything more than a soft "hello" to them before slipping away. If a Reploid approached her, she would avoid eye contact and feel an urge to run or hide behind something. At first, she thought it was simply the result of trauma from the gun incident, but her database informed her that these reactions were the result of an emotion called "shyness".

Iris found her shyness frustrating. She knew she'd be seeing these Reploids a lot more in the days to come, so she shouldn't be trying to avoid them. Yet, she couldn't stop feeling the urge to escape whenever someone tried to talk to her. In spite of these difficulties, she was able to generate a basic understanding of the base's layout before the day was over.

When evening came, she retired to her room. She removed her beret and her hair tie and placed them on her vanity before lying down on her bed. The mattress was worn but comfortable, and Iris easily slipped into the relaxed state required for a proper shutdown. She closed her eyes, wondering what the future held.

She found herself standing in a completely black area. Where was she, and how did she get here? The endless black was broken only by a figure somewhere out the distance. Iris squinted and focused her optics as much as she could, but she couldn't make out anything about the figure. She stepped towards it, but no matter how far she walked, the distance between her and the figure remained the same.

"Is someone there? Who are you?" Iris called. She had the distinct impression that the figure turned toward her. A whisper of a voice tickled her ears, but she could not make out any words. She strained her auditory receptors to their limits, but she was still unable to decipher anything about the voice.

The figure turned away and slowly grew smaller. Iris shouted for it to wait and ran after it, but her efforts proved fruitless. She was left alone in the darkness.

Her eyes snapped open as she sat up. She realized she was back in her bed at the base.

"It must've been a dream," she muttered. As her processor sorted through her thoughts, she recalled that today was the official start of her new life as a Resistance Reploid. She climbed out of bed and stepped towards her vanity to pick up her beret and hair tie, but the sight of her reflection stopped her cold.

What in the world had happened to her hair? It stuck out all over the place and reminded her of a haystack. A quick search of her data archives confirmed that she had bed hair, and a bad case of it to boot. Feeling embarrassed, Iris quickly dug into the vanity's drawer and found a brush so she could tame the mess. Why did this happen now and not during the century she had spent inactive? Maybe the nature of her capsule helped, or maybe she moved around a lot in her sleep. Either way, she didn't want anyone else to see her hair like this. Once her hair was in a satisfactory condition, Iris replaced her beret and her hair tie and left to see Ciel. She found the scientist's lab with the help of her mental map and knocked on the door.

"Dr. Ciel? It's me, Iris."

There was no response. Iris waited a while before knocking and calling again. Finally, Passy's voice answered.

"You're the new girl, right? Ciel's not available now."

"Why not?" asked Iris.

"She's kind of…asleep."

"Asleep? But it's 10:00 AM!"

"This happens sometimes. She'll get so absorbed in her research that she loses track of time and eventually just passes out from exhaustion."

"But…she was supposed to assign me a job today!"

Passy sighed. "If you're that desperate for work, why don't you just go clean or something? There's a supply closet a bit further down the hall."

"Okay, I'll do just that. Thanks, Passy!"

Iris quickly found the supply closet in question. Inside were all sorts of old-fashioned cleaning supplies: a broom and dustpan, a bucket, a mop, soap, and so on. All of them looked like they'd never been touched. Iris guessed that she had a lot of work to do.

She took the broom and dustpan, brushing off the dirt and grime that had accumulated on them. She went to work sweeping the hall. After a few minutes, she got the hang of using the broom and was able to work more quickly. She soon created a large pile of dust and dirt, which she scooped up with the dustpan and disposed.

She repeated the process over and over throughout the hallway. It was menial and tedious, but it gave her purpose. Maybe it wasn't a real job, nor did it make a huge difference, but she was willing to bet the other Reploids would notice her work and appreciate it.

"Are you the new Reploid?" a small voice asked.

Iris turned around and spotted a female Reploid designed after a young girl. She had blond hair like Ciel, and she wore a pink sleeveless dress with yellow trim and brown metallic boots. She clutched a white cat plush in her arms as her big blue eyes focused on Iris.

"I am," Iris responded. The shyness she had felt around the other Reploids was absent. This little blond girl radiated innocence, enabling Iris to feel completely comfortable in her presence.

"Are you a maid?" the little girl asked.

Iris imagined herself wearing a frilly black and white maid outfit and blushed in embarrassment. "No, no, I'm not a maid. My name is Iris. Passy told me Dr. Ciel was sleeping and sent me off to clean until I'm assigned a real job."

"Sis must've been working really hard again," the blond Reploid murmured.

"Huh? 'Sis'? But Dr. Ciel is a human."

"I know that. But she saved me from Neo Arcadia, and she gave me my name and this doll. She's just like a big sister to me, even if we aren't actually related."

Iris was surprised. Despite her appearance, the small Reploid was remarkably insightful. "What is your name?"

"I'm Alouette. It's nice to meet you, Iris. I'll see you later. I'm going to see how Ciel is doing."

"Why don't we go together?" Iris suggested. "I'm pretty much done sweeping this hall, after all."

Alouette readily agreed, and the two Reploid girls headed for Ciel's lab. Alouette opened the door without knocking, which confirmed that she and Ciel were close.

"Sis, where are you?" Alouette called as she entered the lab. "The maid Reploid Iris wants you to give her a real job!"

"Alouette! I told you I'm not a maid!" Iris cried.

"Alouette? What's this talk about a maid?" Ciel appeared and approached the two Reploids. The dark circles under her eyes indicated just how tired she was.

"This Reploid was cleaning the hallway. She says she's not a maid, but she must be one!" Alouette chirped. "After all, no one ever cleans around here."

Ciel gave the supposed maid a questioning look. "Iris?"

"I stopped by earlier, but Passy said you were asleep," Iris explained. "I didn't know what to do, so Passy told me to clean until you woke up."

"Oh, Passy," Ciel sighed. "I'm sorry, Iris. I've just been so busy lately."

"It's okay. I didn't mind it too much," Iris responded. "So, did you think of a task I can fulfill?"

"Based on what you've told me and what I can gather from your design, you seem to be best suited for the medical staff," said Ciel. "That team is led by a Reploid named Rocinolle. She'll give you the ropes."

"All right. Thank you, Dr. Ciel."

Iris departed the lab with the intent to find Rocinolle. Simple deduction helped her determine that Rocinelle was most likely in the infirmary. She was about to head off when she felt a tug on her dress. Iris looked down and saw Alouette had gotten ahold of her clothes.

"What is it, Alouette?"

"You're going to be a medic, right? Is it okay if you do a job for me, too?"

There was no way Iris could say no to those adorable blue eyes, even if she wanted to. "What do you want me to do?"

"I'm worried about Ciel. She's been trying so hard to find Zero and she's tired all the time. I can't always be with her, so could you help look after her?"

Iris smiled. "It would be my pleasure, Alouette."

Gaah. Alouette is so cute. It's hard to not love her. I really enjoyed the Rockman Zero audio drama, "Alouette's Good Day". It was really cute and funny and helped expand on things that happen around the Resistance base. In that drama, Alouette calls Ciel "Ciel onee-chan", or "big sister Ciel", which is why I'm having Alouette affectionately refer to Ciel as "Sis".

Again, this chapter is unchanged from the original. The newer chapters I made will be posted next.