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Chapter 6: Reclaim
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Everything after that fell together rather well. Hatchet and his son Sebastian were incredibly enthusiastic about building the food processor, with 9S bouncing between helping the former Resistance android design the machine and Jackass with her own research.
On her end, Jackass had taken a few samples of Alexander's blood and a number of detailed scans in order to properly ascertain what he needed supplement wise.
Over a month had gone bye, though, and they were still nowhere near completion.
A2 was growing worried. She and 2B had gone ruin diving and salvaged what supplies they could. They hunted down as many wild animals that could be milked but for the most part they were too large to be kept at the mansion, and the season for fresh milk was almost at its end.
If they could not finish the food processor in another month Alexander would starve.
"How goes the work you three?" Emil asked, rolling over to the trio of male androids as they worked on the complicated device. He was holding onto Alex while the androids labored away.
"Not well. We've managed to do most of the software thanks to 9S, but we need a few parts to complete the Food Processor and Sterilizer, or FPS," Hatchet bemoaned.
"What do you need?" Emil asked. "Maybe I could help scrounge up the parts."
"There are two parts that are the most important, yet also the most difficult to aquire," Hatchet said with a moody expression. "We need an Auto-Scan +15 OS Plug-in Chip and a Hydro-Carbon Fluid Filtration Capacitor."
"The former is a high-grade YoRHa only Plug-in, while the latter is a highly advanced machine life form part," 9S said seriously. "Neither one is going to be easy to find."
"Oh dear," Emil muttered worriedly. "What can we do?"
"We find them. Whatever the cost."
Everyone jumped a bit as A2 strode into the base. She threw down a sack of random scrap and walked over to Emil. Alexander giggled happily as he spotted her, and her taciturn expression turned loving as she took him from the magical skull-in-a-bot.
"Where's Jackass?" she asked after a minute, looking around.
"In the back, working at her lab. She claimed to have made a break through," Emil said, pointing towards the back of the manor.
A hastily improvised medical laboratory had been set up in one of the old rooms, and Jackass had made herself at home. A lot of equipment had been brought in from the Resistance bases nearby, but most of the tools she needed could not be moved so she was constantly running back and forth.
Thankfully none of her comrades considered her actions suspicious. She was already seen as an eccentric, border-line defective android.
"If you see her, tell her to hurry up," A2 said, tickling Alexander's tummy.
"Tell me yourself," a haughty voice called out and the woman in question strode into the living room.
"Speak of the Devil and she will appear," Hatchet grunted.
"Aw, you're so sweet and flattering," she said in a faux-vapid tone. She faced A2 and passed her a syringe filled with a blue-green substance.
"Here. The first round of inoculations," she declared, slumping into the couch. Emil had found an actual couch frame in a heap somewhere and managed to fix it up, adding real leather coverings to it along with down stuffing. It was nice, if a bit sticky when it got hot.
"What's it for?" A2 asked, tilting her head and bringing the syringe closer for a look.
"Well, humans got sick a lot as children, and the Server had a bit of data on those illnesses," Jackass explained as she kicked her feet up and let them rest of Hatchet's tool box. He bit back a growl and busied himself with the inner workings of the processor.
"Before they got wiped out, some egg-head managed to record the chemical compositions of every known virus and ailment and their available treatments. Thanks to that, what you're holding is a vaccine for chickenpox, measles, mumps, flu, and a variety of others. The full list is extensive but you can read it here," the scientist said, passing it over to 9S since A2's hands were full.
"Won't this overwhelm Alexander?" 9S asked worriedly. "If I recall, vaccinations worked by injecting a piece of the virus itself into the child so their bodies could identify it and fight the problem off later in life."
"True. Which is why I included a special something to the mix," the crudely named android said. "Included in that serum is a specially designed delayer protein that is coating the individual viruses. It will help speed up the white blood cell's analysis of each illness, while also only activating one virus at a time in his body."
She steepled her fingers together, and took on the appearance of a mad scientist.
"When his body has deemed him able to handle the next virus, the delayer proteins will dissolve into the white blood cells, and help them fight the newly released virus. All the while the rest of the viruses lie inert and dormant within him. Ingenious, no?"
"You're sure it will work?" A2 asked cautiously. Jackass frowned at the lack of faith.
"Yes, it will. I know my stuff. All the tests I did on his blood samples pan out. I simply scaled accordingly for his full dosage."
A2 hesitated for only a moment before pressing the syringe against Alexander's left heel. He began to wail when the depressor went down and the needle shot into his foot.
She shushed him softly and removed it once the vaccine was delivered.
"There you go, my brave one. It's all better, now."
The baby whimpered and nuzzled into the gynoid's chest.
"Did I miss something?" 2B asked as she came into the house, her own sack of scrap bulging.
"Alexander just got his first shot of vaccinations," 9S explained.
"Yup! It's all thanks to my brilliance!" Jackass crowed.
"9S, Hatchet, are you certain we only need two pieces of technology for the processor to be finished?" A2 inquired, glancing at the two.
"Yes."
"Then we must find them, and soon. Does anyone have any suggestions?"
"I might have an idea for finding the Hydro-Carbon Fluid Filtration Capacitor," 9S admitted slowly. "Pascal is still alive, are they not? They might know where one might be."
"Yes, she might," 2B muttered. "What's the second item?"
"A YoRHa Plug-in Chip," Hatchet said. "As for that, I know a guy who worked with body disposal. He's the one I got Sebastian's body from. He might be willing to help."
"Alright, here' what we'll do," A2 announced. "9S, you go with 2B to Pascal, see if he has the part. Do whatever they ask if they propose a trade."
She turned to Hatchet. "I will go with you to find your contact with YoRHa. Merely as a precaution, of course. Is that fine?"
"Perfectly," the bio-mechanic said.
"Sebastian, stay here with Emil and look after Alexander," Hatchet instructed.
"Yes, father," the young-looking S-Model stated.
"And what about me?" Jackass inquired as she lounged on the couch.
"Keep working on the rest of Alexander's medicine, of course," A2 said as if that was painfully obvious. Which to be fair it was.
"Fine, don't get your panties in a knot," she grumbled.
"Alright everyone, we have our missions. Let's go!" A2 passed Alexander over to Emil before darting out the room, all but dragging Hatchet along. 2B and 9S followed at a slightly more sedated pace, but made sure to bring POD 153 with them. Jackass just rolled her eyes and headed off to do something somewhere else.
As the adults all left the manor for their various duties Emil and Sebastian shared a look, then glanced down at the squirming little pudgy baby.
"Do you know how to change diapers?" Emil asked cautiously. Sebastian shrugged.
"Ok. Well, how hard can it be?" he mused. Alexander giggled and a rank odor filled the room. It seemed their own test was about to begin.