Trigger: POV

I stared at the small white bird that chirped at my arrival, the Manager had suddenly sent the order to work with the little guy.

Not that I mind, it has been a while since I saw him. He flew from its dry… tree? It seems like a black branch.

And he landed on my shoulder. Peter and Parker stared at the bird in a challenging way, the bird stared back, and they went from my head to my shoulder.

Like they wanted to put some distance between the bird and them.

The white bird then flew on top of my head and puffed his chest proudly, while smugly looking down at Peter and Parker.

Well… that happened.

"You're excitable today." I commented with a small smile, to which the bird chirped proudly.

He made various… signs and movements, like he was trying to tell me something. Most of it flew over my head.

What I did understand is that he punished someone, "Oh? Who was it, little buddy?" His eyes became more prominent and what seemed like a frown formed on his beak… somehow.

"Dakota? I guess she was grumpier than usual." She must have hated the pecks.

Punishing Bird rose his head proudly, meaning that I got it right.

Reaching out, I rubbed his chin, which made him flap his wings and lean his head into my finger. Adorable… an adorable murder machine.

Still adorable though.

Flapping his wings again, this time to fly, he pecked at the black branch a few times before staring directly at the Magatama on my neck. He seemed confused for a moment.

Before flying and grabbing Yang with his beak and pulling back a few times. He suddenly stopped and stared at the Magatama this time, in a… apologetic manner? He then nodded and went back to his branch while closing his eyes and thinking deeply.

… What just happened?

Punishing Bird perked up and seemed to stretch his body a bit… before straining… wow, his face is really red.

What is he-

A loud pop… and I saw an egg. It's white and… blue? Like the white parts seem like skin barely wrapping itself around it, in the middle I saw the same red patch Punishing Bird has with two very familiar jaws moving upwards like horns. It was a rather small egg.

Punishing Bird started poking at the branch it had, removing a big piece of it… ate said piece and the egg with his chest jaw, which was just an interesting experience.

And spewed out a… bracelet. A black bracelet, like the branch it had with the egg, embed on it like a decorative piece. I kind of stared at it while the bird picked it up with his tiny feet, flying in front of me and chirping proudly.

"It's… nice." I said, trying to ignore the process of this gift, while taking it and moving aside my sleeves and putting it on.

Suddenly I felt… nimbler. Like if I tried it, I could run circles around anyone, I hopped on the spot a few times. Yeah, everything does feel lighter.

Doing a back-flip with zero troubles, to the point it felt like I never did it at all, I smiled at Punishing Bird, "I'm definitely going to give this good use, thanks little buddy." I pulled down my right sleeve, hiding the new gift from sight, while Punishing Bird was flying around my head happily.

I hummed in thought, taking note that Peter and Parker went inside my coffin. The bracelet had another two openings, egg-like too. I wonder what they are all about?

The room flashed green, and I smiled at Punishing Bird, who seemed annoyed by the light, "Looks like I have to go. I'll see you later, little buddy." He chirped happily while I left the chamber.

Mmmm… what to do now?

Glancing at BongBong, who is wearing that... weird E.G.O from the lock monster, while still using the Bird Pistol. She was sitting next to Rober, both of them seemingly leaning closer and closer to each other.

I… decided to do nothing, what a cute pair of lovebirds. A bunch of butterflies blocked the view of the Manager while they had their intimate moment.

Closing my eyes, I could still feel their emotions, and they reached their peak upon contact. It was like… a volcano going off. At that moment, I opened my eyes, seeing them staring at each other with dumb blushes on their faces was a sight to see.

Well, there is no need for them to see me, my butterflies returned, and I walked away. Always knew those two would hit it off.

Which also means Dakota and Amelia will give Gonzales half of their lunch next time… their fault for gambling it.

This day has been just good things, I think that goes for everyone today.

POV Change: Hod

I stared at his actions more than once. How natural it all was, with no shame whatsoever.

He is a good person, so why does he make me uncomfortable? Why do my insides churn when I see him?

I'm the only one that cares…

What did he do to me? I should be happy! So many people had changed for the better, what was the issue?

They should be thanking me…

Maybe I should ask him for tips? To help my rehabilitation program grow!

Would they acknowledge me or him?

Moving through the videos that contained him, I focused more and more on those interactions he had with Abnormalities, how easily he extended his hand out towards others, and they took it without shame.

Some called him too positive, I saw a man that tried really hard to be a good person.

Not harder than me!

I would love to exchange words with him. This is the kind of spirit many employees here could use, may as well spread it.

I'm glad nothing went wrong with Yang, it would be a great shame to lose someone like this like that.

It's true, that's what I feel. I know it.

Still, meeting him to apologize is the right choice here!

…

Ummmm… I still have many reports to sort through after work. Updating my Rehabilitation Program, preparing Training Manuals, perhaps later… yeah.

That sounds good.

"Hod."

perked up, that was Malkuth's voice… what would she want right now? "What do you need, Malkuth?" I asked back earnestly.

"You are aware that after a certain amount of time wearing Yang, Yin breaks out and Yang does so too… right?"

Uh… yeah, I think that much would be obvious, "Yes, it is explicitly stated on the manual." Nodding to myself, even inside this Sephirah small and safe boxed area, I could pull it off.

"Good, good… so why did you let Trigger have it for so long? Even if this is Trigger, and he can do unexpected things to Abnormalities, it was still quite the risk to take."

Pondering this for a moment, I realized that I was being… blamed here. Of course I'm not trying to kill Trigger, he is amazing!

I'm not doing that, am I?

"That's because…" I wasn't sure, but that wasn't an attempt on his life. It just wasn't.

"... You don't seem so sure yourself, I'd like to talk with you after work, Hod. I have my… concerns regarding today."

She cut the call, and I had to really resist being outraged. That wasn't planned at all, just an honest mistake from my part.

I'll talk it out with Trigger, all of that was just a… test. Yes, a test!

That's all there is to it.

I'm a good person, after all.

POV Change: Malkuth

That talk was… enlightening. Of all the things I expected to go wrong, this wasn't one of them.

I wasn't sure what to make of her. She didn't seem dishonest, but her actions are clearly malicious.

She, somehow, doesn't seem to notice that? I know this facility is leaving more scars than we already have, but Hod never seemed the completely unhinged type.

A face to face talk should help me understand more of her situation… well, I hope so.

That is the least of my problems, Yesod now wants to use Gebura of all people to separate Trigger from Yang.

The same Gebura that tried to cut him in half when they both interacted… Angela at least stopped that along with Binah.

And Binah is another can of worms I'm not ready to open.

It's a good thing I no longer have a heart. Pretty sure that if I heard all of this with one, it would not be able to take it.

Why Trigger...? Why are you so you?

Still, I would not have it any other way. He is a good friend and fun to be around.

Reminds me of better days.

I wouldn't mind it if he reduced the chaos factor, just a bit.

"Angela, we have a problem." I just hoped she responds normally.

"When do we not? Hod just tried the worst plan imaginable."

Or she could ignore my mental pleas, "That's the thing, she doesn't seem aware of… her plan? It's a weird situation that I'm trying to work out." Angela was silent, probably mulling over my words.

"Nothing is ever simple. I'll be preoccupied with Tiphereth's case and a few wild cards to deal with… like the memory repository."

The… what is she planning? "What are you going to do about it?"

"... Simple, I will erase A's memories from it. He will not come back, we do not need him anymore."

So that's it…

Should I really speak out, when I feel the same way?

After all this time and what I found out, I didn't even want to find out why all of this happened or if it was worth it. Was it selfish? Yes.

Did I care? Not anymore.

"Good luck with that, Angela. I'll work on things on my end." Yeah… this is it. With that sole action, we declared we are against the rest of the Sephirah.

"Good luck to you too, please do tell me how it all worked out in the end."

The call was cut, and I sighed. Useless gesture… I miss my flesh body sometimes. I need to make sure Gebura and Trigger don't just fight again.

Although, if it comes down to it, I can't really stop them. Both are essentially walking disasters waiting to happen.

Angela will be busy with her own work, so there is only one person left that I can trust to put a stop to things… or just watch.

I… can't believe I'm doing this. Starting the call, I could feel an invisible weight on me, "Binah, I would like to talk with you. I find myself with the need of your… abilities."

"What do you need, child?"

Her voice is as cold as ever… does age even matter anymore to us? Wait, that's not what I called her for, "There is going to be an attempt to remove Yang from Trigger… planning to use Gebura for it, and I need you to be around in case they decide to fight again."

"Hmmm… I cannot deny your request. You are my superior, after all."

…

I just shivered, my body is metal, but I shivered.

Ordeals don't show up, Trigger doing Trigger, Binah saying… that. Why can't we have days without ominous events happening?

"Thank you for cooperating." I hope I didn't sound too creeped out.

"You're welcome."

It was hard to not HEAR the smile, this is not going to end well…