Chapter Three: Fantasia

132 watched the golden sphere of Venus speed by as the transport shuttle careened towards Earth's orbit. They only caught a single glimpse of its ivory and amber swirls before it was countered by the colorful blue and green patchwork emblematic of Earth; a planet so overstuffed with life it almost seemed to breathe.

A planet like Earth was uncommon in the Galactic Federation; many space-faring civilizations sacrificed large swathes of biodiversity in the process of obtaining fuel and space-worthy technology, and while the Federation's efforts had quelled most of this overexploitation, Earth's variety stood out regardless.

For this reason, seeing the white swirls drifting across the spotted marble of Earth brought 132 a sense of wonder. All they knew until seeing the place was Turo, and Turo…was beyond limited-nothing but a hub for the various representatives of the Federation, its purple surface a steel jungle of cities and businesses. Earth however, was bursting with life; 132 didn't need to be up close with it to see it was. Any planet with that amount of water and vegetation would be up to its ocean's surface with it, and although 132 wasn't there to sightsee…not necessarily, they couldn't help but wonder if they'd see anything interesting on their visits.

Their grunts shared in their excitement, 1951 and 1610 crowding the windows-or rather, 1610 let 1951 sit on their shoulders to get a better look. 1610.5 and the grunts Leroy bought along, 800 and 479, were the opposite; 1610.5 was napping, their head tilted forward in their seat. 800 and 479 were staring straight ahead, as if scared of seeing Earth again. 132 understood in their case; 800's midsection was still wrapped in a bandage, and 479 had introduced himself to 132 by mentioning he was slapped in the face with a spatula by an early experiment during the fight.

The Original was seated in front of them, so 132 couldn't see how he was taking things. Frankly, after what he'd said to them in the visitation center, they could care less. 132 was about to turn their gaze back to their front when the light above the cockpit blinked on.

They were about to enter the atmosphere.

132 took a deep breath squeezed their eyes shut in preparation. They wondered how this was going to go…

The turbulence of the ship's landing woke up 1610.5; they winced and rubbed their neck, blinking around the ship as the others poked their heads out from their seats.

"Alright, alright, no one move yet, I have to open the hatch to this thing." Their driver grunted, sliding out of their seat and clicking a key held tight in their hand. 132 and the others watched as the ship's hatch unlocked to a view of a lush field with a forest as the backdrop. Almost immediately, 132's fur puffed out in a mix of anticipation and…cold?

A slight breeze was blowing over the group, carrying with it innumerable scents 132 didn't recognize; the only one they could pick out was that of salt, and it was coming from beyond the forest.

Everything else? 132 supposed they were about to find out…

The same group of five was waiting for them when they stepped off, having been previously hidden by the ship's cockpit.132 nodded to them as the seven Leroys clustered together in varying states of enthusiasm-and in the Original's case, unenthusiasm, the driver clicking a button on a separate key to remove their cuffs.

"Everyone off?" The driver asked. 132 nodded in confirmation, "Yes."

"Good; these five have you for the day, so I'll be back in six hours." The driver said, "Mr. Jookiba, if they start anything, call us so we can report it."

Hammerface nodded, though 132 watched him place both hands behind his back before he addressed the officer, "Of course. Though, I don't think we'll have any issues with them."

The driver shrugged, "If you say so. 132's the only one on good behavior so far."

Plasmoid rolled his eyes, but his was the only reaction from the group as the officer wordlessly got back into the ship and activated it, closing the hatch and lifting back into orbit. 132 knew he wasn't going to be far, likely taking a joyride around the local solar system, but the idea he was still around made the fur on the back of their neck stand up.

Movement from their side brought 132's attention back to the group, seeing their leader's hammer-shaped head turn back towards them. In the process, he brought his hands out from behind his back, and 132 raised an eyebrow upon seeing the fingers on one were crossed. Hammerface caught their eye and smiled, though 132 got the feeling it wasn't just out of greeting.

"What's with…" They asked, pointing to his gesture. Hammerface uncrossed his fingers, his smile evening out somewhat, "Earth expression. Our bar for 'starting things' is too high for the Federation. Acting out with us isn't an issue."

"Now, scheming, yes, but I've dealt with so much from later series none of the usual fazes me." He corrected, placing his hands on his hips as he surveyed the seven of them, "Now, that aside, how are you?"

132 cast a glance around the group; despite the Original's downcast stare at the ground, the others were curious, 479 sniffing at the air while the twins took turns kicking dirt at each other's feet. 1951 was staring at the brush, evidently hearing something rustling from within. 800 was the odd one out, near ducking behind the Original in apprehension at seeing the group again.

132 shrugged, "Well…"

"Restless, I guess?" They said, giving their own sheepish glance towards the bush 1951 was staring at, "Some of us have only been on the space station, so it's completely new."

"Well, you and most of us later series." Plasmoid said, craning his neck at the group, "Trust me, that's actually pretty common."

132 nodded, "So…what now?"

"What now is that you'll just be staying at my place for the day." Hammerface explained, "If anyone wants to go out, tell one of us and we'll go with you. Other than that, the base is my partner and I's house."

"Partner?" 1951 asked, finally distracted from the bush, "You live with other people?"

"Most of us room with other experiments, yes." Hammerface said, "In fact, that's all of us. Clip and I just volunteered our place since it's…"

"Well, more visible now." He finished halfheartedly, crossing his arms and tilting his head towards something 132 hadn't noticed before-a blue and white structure at the end of the path, nestled right up against the forest and adjacent to a much larger building, though still a long ways away from it. From the distance they were at, the place seemed foreboding, the verdant shadows of the forest shifting over the house's roof in an emerald mosaic. The porch was shaded, more shadows seeming to spill onto the steps leading up to it when 132 squinted.

1610.5 raised an eyebrow at the house, clearly unenthused at its state, "...Looks cold in there."

"That or somewhere you dump bodies." Leroy added, giving the earlier series a hard stare.

Hammerface was unmoved, "It can be if you try to make any of us into that."

Leroy evidently took this as some sort of invitation to fight; 132 quickly stepped in front of him as he advanced towards an irritated Hammerface. He stopped-thankfully, but 132 still shook their head at the earlier series in exasperation, "...Sorry about him."

Hammerface shrugged, "Nah, don't be. For now, we should head inside."

A yellow ball of fluff opened the door of the house to them, Hammerface standing aside to let both the later series and the clones inside. 479, 800, and the Original were immediately avoidant of her, 800 in particular covering the injury under his bandage and gulping in apprehension at her massive claws. Upon seeing this, the experiment's blue eyes briefly rolled to the ceiling of the house before coming back to narrow at him, "You know these are for clipping hair, right?"

800 nodded, but still took a step back. The new experiment shook her head before turning to the rest of the group, nodding to them in greeting, "Name's Clip-177. It's nice to meet you when you aren't trying to behead my partner. Or me."

132 raised an eyebrow to the three Earth agents, but the most they could offer them was a throw of one hand by the Original. Clip offered him a wry smile as she closed the door, "Ah, right; didn't you say a few of them came from Turo?"

"Yup," Heat said, "132 and his grunts are from Turo's station."

"...Yeah." 132 confirmed, though not without some annoyance growing in their stomach at Heat's words, "1610, 1610.5, and 1951 are my grunts."

If Heat caught 132's irritation, he didn't show it. He gave the grunts a warm smile and a wave before glancing back to Hammerface, "Should I help set the table?"

Hammerface shook his head, "I'll take care of that. You four just focus on getting them situated."

"Seems one already is." Clip said, "Leroy, what are you doing back there?"

The Original purposely ignored her; he seemed hard at work-struggling to get into the corner of the room with a blanket taken from the couple's couch. 132 watched him incredulously before placing their head in their hands, "Gods…"

"...Okay, so Leroy wants to keep to himself then." Angel said, "Good choice."

He snarled at her from the corner of the room, causing her to bite her lip to suppress a snort. "Right, we're gonna leave ya, okay?"

"Best to." Thresher said, "Do the rest of you want to go out, or are you just fine to stay here?"

The clones looked to each before 132 shrugged, "Whatever you four think. We're new, even the Earth clones."

The four later series turned back to Hammerface and Clip, the former's head swiveling back to see them upon hearing Thresher's suggestion. "Well…"

"If you're staying here, don't go too far into the forest, that's all." Clip said, waving away Hammerface's raised brow, "It gets confusing in there, even when you've got good direction sense."

"Seems like we're good to go then." Plasmoid said, craning his neck to the group, "Just be careful about their veggie garden, 'kay?"

132 nodded, almost instantly sensing the interest of 479 and 1610.5, "We'll try."

The back porch was shaded, the clones having to squeeze their ways around a host of potted flowers set up in various spots around the deck. Heat was the last outside, carefully shutting the screen door behind him and casting a glance up at a small, crystalline ornament hanging next to it.

The breeze was back again, ruffling the delicate fur behind 132's ears, a faint chiming coming from said ornament by the door. It felt calming, and the shade offered by both the porch and surrounding forest spotlighted the garden-a neat, sectioned area with several raised beds and a wooden bin at the end. A small shed surrounded by a gate stood at the back of the yard, and as 132 looked around the side of the house, they could see Earth trees weighed down by fruit swaying in the wind. Said fruit was a bright shade of orange, and 132 recognized their scent as the same they'd smelled when they'd first touched down. They tilted their head at the row of fruit trees in curiosity; despite their hardline focus on finding information…not all of it had to be related to Hamsterviel and their situation…

…They supposed…

"Woah…" 1951 said, pricking their antenna in fascination at the new sights in the yard, "It's pretty out here!"

"It is…" 800 agreed, nodding to 1951 as they scuttled to the edge of the porch, "By the way, what are those in there?"

"Those?" Thresher's eyestalks swiveled over towards the beds, "Agh, that's their vegetable garden. Lot of us have 'em since, you know."

He blinked in surprise upon seeing the clones give him various confused glances, "Oh right-we're not that accepted out in the open here just yet."

132 crossed their upper set of arms, "I guess that makes sense. Speaking of…if we went out further, given what you mentioned, where exactly would we go?"

"Well," Heat held out a closed fist, opening up a finger with each place he listed off, "there's the local beaches-you might've already smelled the salt from 'em when you got here, there's a lot of gardens, the movie theater…"

He paused and tilted his head up at Thresher for a moment, "Hey, Thresh? Is the fair here yet?"

Thresher shrugged, "Egh, it's coming up; the farm's getting orders to stock up for it though."

"Ah."

"There's also all our experiment-owned shops." Plasmoid added, "Some of 'em double as houses for us too."

Angel nodded along to their suggestions, kicking her legs up from the step she'd settled on, "We can go to Witch and Crystal's store, ooooorrr the news station-there's also Elastico's act; he's pretty forgiving towards 'em!"

132 blinked at the extensive list each experiment sounded off; they and their grunts were used to the monotony of prison, so to see how many options these experiments had almost made them envious.

But…there was something they hadn't mentioned yet, and that was…

"...What about that building we're up against?" They asked, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the area, "What is that place?"

479 squinted in the same direction, "Ah, yeah-now that you mention 132, I smelled a lot of weird stuff coming from there. Any idea on what's inside?"

"Aw that." Angel peered over and followed their gazes, "That's the spa; Clip works there part time-usually gettin' rid of all those smaller hairs on humans. Think it was their eyebrows or something?"

"It's a place where humans go to relax and like…groom themselves for lack of better words." Heat explained, "They've got a bunch of different treatments for their skin and hair-that and massages. Experiments will go there sometimes, but it's not really our thing."

"Might be hers and Witch's though, for whatever reason you like that place, not sure why." He added, crossing his arms at Angel. She rolled her eyes and huffed, "What? I like their perfume! And their candles! Plus, I can roll around in their mud baths as long as I stay inside."

"Well you and Trainer both."

"I thought Trains got banned over that…" Plasmoid said, but Thresher shrugged, "Who knows by this point. For whatever reason she just dove in. Never seen her get that excited over something before."

Despite Heat's description of the spa, 132 couldn't help but feel intrigued; experiments were clearly harder for them to care for, but the idea of a place that would outright pamper them sounded like Heaven compared to the little brush they were afforded in the prison's showers.

In fact, it seemed like the idea didn't just appeal to them; surprisingly, all three of their grunts looked just as intrigued as 132 felt. Although 1951 had wrinkled their nose at the initial description of the spa, both they and the twins had perked up at Angel's listing off of the things she enjoyed about the place.

The freed experiments seemed to catch on, Heat letting out a surprised "Huh" at the obvious intrigue, "Never seen that before-you wanna go in sometime?"

1610 shrugged, "Well, it's definitely going to be better than our showers. And I'm sure humans don't smell as horrible as some of our cellmates, so…"

Plasmoid snorted, "You may be right on that. We just stay away 'cause it doesn't appeal, but it probably does your end now that you mention it."

"Oh definitely. 1610.5 said, "I also take it the food's better here too. At least not uh…"

"Nutrient powder? Freeze-dried chili? Protein drinks?" 479 asked, smirking to 1610.5 as he listed off their prison food. .5 stuck out their tongue in revulsion upon hearing it, "Eugh! Don't remind me!"

"Don't remind any of us for that matter-that stuff gave me indigestion the last time I ate it." 800 said, wrinkling their nose at the thought.

The group of free experiments grimaced at 479's list, Thresher especially sticking out his tongue to copy .5, "Oh, ew-even we had better food when we were captured; I'm sorry to hear about that."

132 smiled, "It's fine-it's better than nothing, right?"

"Well, yeah, it is, but it should at least be food." Angel said, "That ain't food, that's just…gross."

The group's conversation was suddenly interrupted by a knock from within the house, followed by Clip opening the door. "Lunch's ready! Sorry about the wait-I had to help this time since there's so many of you."

"'Kay-thanks Clip; we'll be right in." Heat said, nodding as she disappeared back into the house, "Come on-hopefully the Original's doing better…"

132 cast a final glance around the yard as Heat opened the door to let them back inside; the yard was as still and quiet as ever, wispy clouds swirling across the backdrop of the surrounding forest. It was a relaxing sight, and as impatient as they still were for information…they'd enjoyed seeing it.

That and their conversation on the porch.

"You coming?" Heat's voice roused them from their thoughts. 132 nodded and walked back inside, immediately feeling a growl from their stomach upon smelling what Hammerface and Clip had made…

The kitchen table was set up to accommodate them as much as it could-though, barely. 132 could almost hear it groaning beneath the numerous dishes and plates coating near every inch of its cloth. This was Earth, so they couldn't recognize any of what'd been set out, but it smelled delicious regardless. The rest of the clones were gazing curiously at the dishes, evidently itching to take some from their places at the center of the table. The Original was nowhere in sight, and a quick glance into the living room revealed he was still seated in the corner with his back to them. Hammerface followed 132's gaze and sighed, clacking a pair of tongs together as he began to take from the plates. "Still won't come out…"

132 glowered at Leroy's back; why was he even here at this point? Just to cause the rest of them problems? The others seemed fine, even 479 and 800. Why…

A gentle tap on their shoulder brought their gaze down to Clip. She was staring up at them with a concerned expression, a glimmer of what seemed to be annoyance in her eyes. 132 supposed she was equally irritated with Leroy, so they weren't expecting the words that came from her mouth.

"You know, you're going to have to give him time."

"Gods. How much?" 132 asked, "He comes off like an idiot. It's like he can't see there's anything wrong."

Clip sighed, "I get it's frustrating to see, but he hasn't done anything wrong."

132 glared off to the side, only to feel another presence from behind them, "Uh.."

Clip glanced behind them, "Ah-let him by 132."

132 stepped to the side as Hammerface walked past them, carrying a full plate of food for the Original. They watched him gently stoop down and place the plate next to him, offering him a quiet suggestion about turning on the TV. Leroy remained frozen in place, not moving a single muscle as Hammerface wordlessly stood back up and walked over to them.

"You'd better-" 132 began at Leroy, but was quickly shushed by Hammerface, "He doesn't have to."

"What's…going on here?" He continued, crossing his arms at 132, "I know I joked back there, but I don't want trouble 132. You need to give him space."

132 sighed, "Fine."

"Just…focus on the others, alright?" Hammerface asked, "He wants to be alone right now, it's best you respect that."

132 nodded, letting the two older experiments lead them back into the kitchen. The others had clearly been watching the exchange, since the later series gazed at them in concern as 132 sat at one of the three remaining seats.

"...Everything okay…?" Thresher asked, and 132 nodded, "Yeah…"

"You just…you see it clearer or something?" Plasmoid said, "I'll tell you, I didn't when we worked for Gantu and Hamsterviel. Doesn't make him dumb."

132 opened their mouth to answer him, but was interrupted by Hammerface, "Do you want me to serve you? I'm aware it's all unfamiliar, so I want to ask."

"Oh, um…if you want." 132 said. The 0-series seemed to take this as a yes, filling their plate with food from the dishes on the table; he was right-132 recongized none of it, and a part of them worried if they'd enjoy it…

"So…what is all this?" They asked, squinting at the dish; a slab of dark brown meat was placed next to green flower-like vegetables, red and yellow fruits and a pile of strange, doughy yellow objects dotted with spices. 132 peered at them, and then a container of white powder passed to them by Heat.

"'S Cheese for that-it's bow-tie pasta. On Earth we eat that with it." He explained. "You don't have to put any on if you don't want though."

"The rest is beef, tomatoes, broccoli and bell peppers." Hammerface added, setting 132's plate in front of them, "Took a trip to Hasagawa's stand yesterday to prep for this."

"...Who?"

"Oh yeah-Mrs. Hasagawa sells a lot of what's on our plates. Plus she takes care of like…fifteeeeeeen experiments I think?" Angel said, "Anyways-we try and buy from her when we can."

1610 blinked in surprise, "So-wait, humans take care of some of you?"

Hammerface shrugged as he pulled up his seat near 132, "Depends on our situation. Sometimes, they do; other times, we live alone or room with other experiments. In her case, she thinks they're Earth pets, so they live with her."

"Remind me-I need to call Hocker again about how their roof's holding up." He added, nodding to Clip. She held up a clawed hand in agreement, stabbing her fork into a line of bow tie pasta.

132 watched everyone in fascination, nearly forgetting about the food on their own plate from time to time. They couldn't help it-it was all so…different from the Turian prison they were housed in. Instead of the angry, bitter atmosphere of the cafeteria, the one of this kitchen was cheerful and casual. There was a near absurd variety between the freed experiments-from how they spoke to one another right down to what was on their plates; Thresher's was covered by a pile of leafy vegetables and fruits while Heat and Hammerface's were near completely taken up by meat and pasta. Angel, Clip, and Plasmoid bridged the gap, having more balanced dishes to reflect those of the clones and Original. All six were trying to converse with her and the Original's grunts- which, to be fair, was turning out well for them; Angel and 1951 were caught up in a conversation about music, while Thresher spoke with 800 and 479 about his farm. The twins seemed interested in whatever Hammerface had to say…which unfortunately irked 132. They'd meant to catch him and try to ask about Hamsterviel at some point, but at the same time…

He wasn't the only one caught by him…

Heat was directly across from them.

He'd have to do.

"So uh…Heat? About the…" They began, but almost immediately realized what exactly they were about to do. Heat seemed to realize it too, as 132 caught an unusually chilly gaze from him before he shook his head, "Wait."

132 irritably took another bite of food…and bit down so hard they felt the tines of the fork bend out of place. "Shoot!"

The casual conversations around the room instantly dispersed. 132's face turned a deep shade of raspberry as they felt everyone's eyes turn to them in concern.

"Everything okay 132?" Plasmoid asked, and they grimaced as they held up the damaged fork, "...Sorry…"

A moment of silence passed before a snort came from next to them, followed by Hammerface's outstretched hand, "Don't worry about that-I'll replace it."

"You've been kinda quiet 132…" 1951 said, craning their neck to stare at them from further down the table, "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm always quiet." 132 countered, covering half their face with a hand as Hammerface approached with a new fork. He raised a brow at them before seating himself again, and although he didn't say much, his next words instantly silenced 132.

"Time and place."

132 wasn't sure how he managed to keep them quiet about the subject throughout the rest of the meal. He was an old experiment, sure, but something about his tone told 132 they'd make him legitimately upset with them if they pushed about Hamsterviel any more than they already had.

…Best to heed his words until it was over.

Heat and Angel had gotten to work on the massive pile of dishes when Hammerface took 132 aside, leading them outside the house and onto the front porch to talk. The island was bathed in Earth's sunset, a soft orange glow drifting off the surrounding forest and path. The spa, already a similar color, seemed to glow as the sun crept ever further towards the distant mountains. If the reason they were outside wasn't taking up so much of their focus, 132 supposed they might've found it beautiful-like a lot of things on Earth.

"If you're worried about me yelling at you, don't." Hammerface's words caught them off guard, and 132 turned towards him in surprise, "Wait, what?"

He shook his head, "I don't yell. That's Hamsterviel's job. And 248's here on Earth. But that's not the point."

"You seem impatient about this." He said, placing his hands on his hips as he surveyed 132. They growled and shrugged at the wooden porch in irritation, "I…I'd like answers."

"You'll get them, but you need to give your grunts-and the Original, room. And us for that matter. Don't think I didn't hear you try with Heat." Hammerface's voice was stern, and although they weren't meeting his eyes, 132 could tell he was fixing them with a similar glare, "Is there a reason you're acting like this?"

132 had started to hyperventilate while he was speaking, finally throwing their hands up in the air in upset, "It's our court date! Okay?! It's our first one-you know how they work, right? I…I don't wanna stay in prison, okay? It's disgusting and cold and-and I'm alone and-"

"Okay, 132? Breathe-that's…" Hammerface took a deep breath himself upon hearing their list, "I understand. Please-all of us in there. We know how bad it can get."

132 gulped in air, taking in the scents of both the spa and the house. And them. It was oddly calming, that or maybe their intuition telling them to trust Hammerface at the moment.

"All I have is a month and…he," They gestured towards the door, "HE wants to prove me wrong about…all of this."

132 hadn't meant it; they didn't know Hammerface's history beyond a surface level, but…they felt like they struck several nerves at seeing the way his face changed when they mentioned the Original.

They…had. He was very quiet-eyeing the boards of the porch for a good while before turning his attention back to them.

"132…he's not dumb. You know that, right?"

132 shrugged, "He definitely acts it. And calls me defective."

Hammerface grimaced, "Well…he's not 132. But he is…"

He seemed to search for the right wording before he continued, "He's…been manipulated the most of you. So, while you can see what's wrong with Hamsterviel, he can't, or he doesn't want to right now. He might also just not be ready to hear things as they are yet."

"But doesn't that make him-"

"No. It doesn't."

132 started at the harshness in Hammerface's voice; it came out of nowhere…well, maybe it didn't, but it was still a shock to hear in comparison to the calm tone he'd been taking with them so far. In gazing at him, 132 realized…this was the nerve they'd been suspecting.

Hammerface's expression seemed as hard as his nose as he surveyed them, "132, I need you to understand it can happen no matter who you are. He fooled you too, didn't he?"

"Not really! I was skeptical."

"But not enough."

132 paused, then hung their head in ashamed realization as to what he was getting at, "...No…"

They felt their face heat up again. This time, in embarrassment-that and a bit of curiosity; it sounded a bit like Hammerface…knew what he was talking about, and truth be told, they were curious to know more. It had to be connected to their situation, right?

"Is…is the reason you're telling me this because…" 132 faltered, worrying as to whether they were overstepping again, "Do you…know this a bit? Like, do you have-"

"Experience? Plenty. And since you want info, I've been the victim of this kind of stuff before. Twice in fact." Hammerface confirmed, nodding to 132 as he spoke, "Once with Jumba, the other with Gantu. It can and does happen more often then you might think 132."

132 blinked in surprise. Twice over? But…he seemed so wise by comparison…they couldn't imagine someone like him being fooled at all given how attuned he was to the experiments' moods and needs.

But then again. They didn't know him until today. And nearly 30 years was old for the experiments…

"So…I just…leave him to figure it out?" They asked, and Hammerface shrugged, "You may have to. I know prison's…terrible, and I'm sorry. Unfortunately, there really isn't much we can do. Believe me, we'd love to get all 2000 of you out of there, but the Federation's not allowing it."

132 sighed, casting another glance at the floor, "Leave him to his own devices then. I'll…I'll try."

"I'm still pushing back when he calls me defective though." They said, and Hammerface nodded in agreement, "Please do; that's a vile thing to say; it's from Hamsterviel, and the sooner you crush that out of him, the better."

"I figured." 132 growled, "Hell, I'll even trade in my good behavior for it."

"Oh now, don't do that 132-at least, I hope it doesn't come to that." Hammerface said, "There's other ways."

132 smiled, "Yeah…well, hopefully."

"I just…wish he wasn't so stubborn." They added, turning their gaze back to the pathway. The sun was almost past the mountains by now, leaving a soft purple light in its wake as it completed its descent. 132 blinked up at the stars slowly coming into view, feeling the 0-series' eyes follow their own. To him, it must be a common sight by now, but it seemed they both took the same sense of wonder from it.

"So…we head back in now? Or…" 132 asked, and Hammerface nodded, "Yup; we'll get to the bottom of this, alright 132? You shouldn't worry so much."

132 took a deep breath and cast another glance to the stars, "Okay. Thanks Hammerface."

"Oh-uh-one more thing." They began, but almost immediately, felt their courage drain away at what they were about to ask him. Hammerface…he wouldn't understand…would he?

He turned back towards them, and they felt themselves shrink. They…weren't sure why.

"Could you uh…I'd like to be…"

Why were they struggling so much? He wasn't Hamsterviel-if anything, he was the exact opposite-why were they so nervous about asking this?

"...Do you need to write it down or-"

"Can you not call me he."

It came out as a whisper, and 132 slammed both their hands over their mouth in case the Original heard. Hammerface-thank the gods, immediately seemed to catch on. He silently nodded and gave them a thumbs up.

Relief surged through 132's chest upon seeing this; he really was safe to talk to on this…

"Thank you."

"Hey, that's nothing to be afraid of." Hammerface placed a tentative hand on 132's shoulder, "I'm sorry you were made to feel that way."

"We're going to push the Federation as best we can, knowing this. You…none of you can stay in there." He said. 132 nodded, trying as best they could to dismiss the urge to hug him-they knew he'd probably allow it, but they didn't feel up to doing so just yet…

"Wanna head back in now?"

132 smiled, "Yeah."

As they walked inside, 132 couldn't help but cast another glance at Leroy's temporary camp. Only…he wasn't there anymore. They blinked, and a quiet wave from 800 brought their gaze to the couple's couch; the Original was curled up, albeit still with the blanket over his head. His plate however…

It…was empty.

Completely empty-in fact, it looked like it'd been licked clean. 132's eyebrows raised in silent surprise as Hammerface went to collect the empty plate and put it in the sink. Maybe…maybe he was right.

Maybe time really was what the Original needed…