"It's not fair! She should get to see the sky too!" Sham protested unrelentingly before boarding the spacecraft to bring her home.
"We have our orders," a technician responded, tired of Sham's complaints. "You can take it up with your father when we land."
Sham gave one last glare, but she knew with her father, orders were absolute and there was no arguing. Then she looked over at poor Sora, injected with an anesthetic that would keep her asleep the entire way home. Not once did she get to see out a window. Not once did she get to see the spectacular sky.
Still, Sham couldn't help but enjoy her own view as they descended back towards the planet, though it had something of an opposite effect than it did on the way up. As they descended, Sham felt a rising sense of dread that increased and increased as they moved closer to the thick layer of clouds.
Well, for the most part. When her dread was at its worst, it all suddenly melted away almost directly above the clouds. For a few, fleeting moments, things felt wonderful as Sham saw a dark navy blue rather than the black of space. A color of great comfort to her. A color of hope and potential.
And then the dread came rushing back once again once they passed that, hitting the haze of the thick clouds that blotted out that peaceful color, casting the world below them into shadows.
And before Sham knew it, she was home.
Waiting for her at the dock immediately upon landing was her father with his hands on his hips and Nath, looking quite concerned.
Or so Sham thought, but actually, they were waiting for Sora.
Glaring the sleeping Sora down now, Sham's father simply said "Wake her."
Nath nodded, still seeming nervous, and took out some smelling salts, running them under Sora's nose to rouse her awake.
"Ah!" Sora exclaimed, jumping to her feet and clinging her teddy bear tightly.
But not tightly enough.
In one quick movement, Sham's father yanked the bear right out of Sora's arms, holding it up where she couldn't reach.
"My teddy!" Sora exclaimed. "Give it back!"
Sham thought it was a low blow, really, to take the girl's best friend and source of confidence. But it was about to get much worse.
Sham's father turned to Nath. "Nath, did you bring the weapon I asked you to bring?"
"Of course, sir. I have it right here," Nath responded dutifully, taking out a laser gun. "My apologies, though, I am afraid I do not understand what I am meant to do with i-"
"Shoot the bear."
Nath's eyes widened. "S-sir?"
"Shoot the bear, Nath," Sham's father repeated impatiently, holding up the teddy in such a way that it could be shot without any other destruction to himself or the environment.
"But sir, I-"
"Don't MAKE me say it again," he threatened. "Shoot it. NOW."
Everything was silent. The people unloading the ship had all stopped, staring at the altercation without interfering.
Nath looked from the bear, hanging limply from the grasp of the one she was to never disobey, then to the child it belonged to, a sad but not surprised look on her face.
Nath took a step back, scrunching her eyes shut. "Please do not make me do it!" she burst out. Nath wasn't typically an emotional person, and she really didn't know where this was coming from, but she couldn't control herself. She's killed many and seen many more die, and yet… this was where she wanted to draw the line.
"Father, you're going too far!" Sham shouted out. "This isn't fair!"
"Oh, and don't act like you're innocent in this, Sham," her father countered. "You didn't even notice her in your bag."
"And that's on me!" Sham shouted. "And I am very sorry Sora, I should've noticed and warned you how AWFUL my father would be after this. But Nath has NOTHING to do with this, dad! Leave her OUT OF THIS!"
"Fine then," Sham's father said, smirking. "YOU destroy it then."
"Wh-what?" Sham asked, the wind knocked out of her sails.
…
Only momentarily.
"Fine," Sham stated with a newfound determination to protect her friend, even if it meant hurting her potential new one.
Nath looked to Sham. "Sham-"
"It's okay, Nath. It's not right for you to be punished for something you had nothing to do with. Hand me the weapon."
"Sham, you-"
"Do it, Nath," Sham's father added. "Redeem yourself at least slightly here after disobeying me so much."
Nath looked to Sham, then the bear, then to Sora once again. "I am very sorry, Sora," Nath stated.
Nath aimed, and fired, not even looking as she pulled the trigger, knowing her aim would be true despite the danger of the weapon.
"Nath!" Sham exclaimed, rushing to hug her best friend.
Nath's arm went limp, the weapon falling to her side. She was stiff as a board as Sham squeezed her in a way that should have been comforting, and her eyes were dull.
Still, she managed enough spice as she made direct eye contact with her dictator. The one she always hated yet never had a choice but to listen to in the end.
Well, that wasn't technically true. She DID have a choice, just not the guts to use it.
"Are you satisfied, sir?" Nath asked in a monotone voice, knowing very well he WASN'T. He never would be, of course, but especially not when it took her so long to listen to his demand.
But she just couldn't let Sham have that on her conscience.
Sora had fallen to her knees, staring at the ashes that were once her beloved teddy bear. But she didn't scream, didn't cry. She just stared blankly at what was left, silently. Eventually the nearby technicians continued unpacking, and things went back into motion once again, but she just sat there, staring. She had no idea how long she was there, but eventually Nath approached her, an empty look familiar to Sora in her eyes.
"Sora, we must train. Come on."
Sora found her feet and managed to stand up, but instead of keeping her balance she fell forward into Nath, resting her head on the torso of the one that killed her teddy bear and yet she held no malice towards her. Malice wasn't even a thing Sora thought she could MANAGE right now.
"Sora," Nath said, clearly not wanting to acknowledge what happened earlier.
"I never wanted to be a Weapon Girl," Sora muttered quietly.
Taken off guard, Nath wrapped an arm around her. "I did not either."
Sham wasn't exactly in the best mood when she got back to her room, and honestly, she would snap at any form of authority right now because not a SINGLE OTHER PERSON was willing to stand up for Sora and Nath.
So when Sham got a phone call she was quite angry when she saw it was HIM of all people. "Hello, 'Doctor Shifu'," Sham said annoyedly in a disrespectful tone.
"Oh, we're doing this now, are we?" Shifu asked, sounded quite unimpressed. "I can tell you're not in a good mood. Regardless, you're going to have to do as I say."
Sham rolled her eyes, though Shifu couldn't see it. He could be so conceited sometimes!
"What do you want?" Sham asked.
"I'm going to need you to give a tour to some suspicious individuals who PR seems to believe are potential investors into SHORE," Shifu explained as if the request meant nothing at all. "I, however, don't believe that for a second, but apparently money's quite tight and the higher ups think it's worth the risk."
"Hence why you're putting my life on the line instead of yours?" Sham asked, still quite bitter about the last interaction she's had with Shifu.
"You won't be in much danger," Shifu responded. "I plan on supplying you with a Weapon Girl to give the tour with. She's quite perceptive, but she doesn't look like much. The intruders shouldn't recognize her as a danger, and she'll figure out if they are what I assume they are. I wouldn't normally give you such a complicated task, Sham, but a big emergency just occurred at one of the other bases. I, along with most other people of authority are headed there now."
"When is this tour?" Sham asked, knowing arguing would get her nowhere with Shifu.
"Tomorrow morning. The Weapon Girl I'm sending you is already on her way and she should be there soon."
Sham paused, nerves suddenly flooding through her. "Like, tonight?" Sham asked.
"Is that a problem?"
"No, it's just…" Sham wasn't really sure how to put what she felt currently into words. "...What is she like?"
"As I've said," Shifu said with some aggression, "she's quite perceptive. She's not the most efficient fighter, but she'll get the job done. She's also not the most intelligent Weapon, but she's not so unbearable that you'd want to lock her in a room just to get her to quiet down."
"That's… oddly specific," Sham responded. "But that's not what I meant. I mean… what's she like… personality wise? Is she nice? Mean? Cold? Hot tempered?"
"Do you think I know or care?" Shifu asked. Then he sighed. "I'm quite busy, really. I'm sending you some information about the tour route and some trivia you should give, and I'll send her the same to look over during the ride to you. Memorize all of it."
With that, Shifu hung up.
Sham stared at her phone with fear before turning her attention to her computer. Sure enough, she was emailed some information. She tried to look over it, but…
She just couldn't focus!
She hoped this Weapon Girl would show up soon…
Sham paced nervously on the loading dock, waiting for the mystery girl to show up. Out of the corner of her eye, Sham saw one of the members of the regular SHORE military give her a disapproving look.
Whatever. She didn't have the mental fortitude to deal with the nobodies right now.
Suddenly, an armored vehicle pulled up to the dock, and the military approached it, not letting whoever was inside out until they passed a few tests to verify their identity. It was pointless, of course, since there were certainly much more rigorous tests a few miles back at the gate before the passenger even GOT this far, but SHORE could be quite particular about their security precautions, and it was better just to let it happen.
Finally, they decided the passenger was safe, and allowed her out.
She was quite the small girl, probably about Sora's age, and she looked incredibly nervous as her eyes darted around the base, taking in every little detail she could all at once.
Of course, seeing this girl made Sham so much more nervous than she had been before, but she knew she should probably go ahead and just meet her already so her fears could hopefully start to subside. Sham took a deep breath, and started walking towards the girl with a purpose.
But her determined expression and quick pace seemed to terrify the Weapon Girl as the sight of Sham rushing towards her caused the girl's gaze to fall to the ground, and she began slightly shaking while holding the suitcase she arrived with out a little bit as if it was a shield.
By the time Sham got to the girl, she looked so much more terrified of Sham than Sham ever could've been of her.
"I'm sorry if I'm not what you were hoping I'd be!" the girl exclaimed quickly. "Or if I'm late, or-"
"No no no no no no!" Sham quickly soothed. "I'm not mad at you in the slightest! I never meant to come off that way!"
The girl's trembling stopped as she looked up slightly to get a proper look at Sham, and upon seeing this girl's caramel-colored eyes Sham had a very important realization.
"You're adorable!" Sham exclaimed.
"H-huh?" the girl asked, taken aback.
"You're so unbelievably absolutely positively adorably cute!" Sham told the girl with excitement now.
"You think I'm… cute?" the girl asked, now looking at Sham completely and lowering her guard. And then she smiled, bringing her cute-o-meter to the next level. "Mau, nobody's ever said that to me before!" the girl exclaimed.
"Really?" Sham asked. "Well, they should've!"
"You're really cute too!" the girl told Sham. "Like super-ultra-mega cute!"
"Eeee, thank you!" Sham responded. "Now that I think about it… I don't think anybody's ever called me cute before, either!"
"Muhwuh! Really?" the girl asked. "That's such a surprise! I would've thought people would've been lining up to tell YOU that!" The girl then paused, looking around guiltily. "I'm sorry I was so afraid of you at first, Sham. I thought you'd be more like your father."
Oh, so she knew who she was. That made a lot more sense.
"I'm nothing like him," Sham stated with certainty. "You don't ever have to be afraid of me, okay?"
"Okay," the girl said with a smile. "Then, help me get to know YOU. What is SHAM like?"
Sham smiled back. "Well, I'm 12 years old, I like building robots, singing, and spending time with my BFF Nath! What about you?"
"My name is Saki!" the girl exclaimed with vigor. "And I'm 7. And I really, really, REALLY love making sweets! Like, it's all I dream about! When the war's over, I want to bake every single day and make treats that spread happiness to everyone!"
Sham's eyes widened. She wasn't expecting the girl to be THIS cheerful! In Sham's admittedly limited experience with Weapon Girls, they tended to be a little gloomy, especially about the future. But this one was already talking about her after-war plans, which was something not even Sham had really thought about.
"Do you bake a lot?" Sham asked.
"I'm not really allowed in the kitchen anymore…" Saki admitted. "So I've only ever baked twice before. But it was so extremely fun!"
"Maybe you've been forbidden from THAT kitchen," Sham said, "but last I checked, pretty much nobody of authority is in the entire facility right now, so nobody can really stop you. So if you like baking… I see no reason why you can't."
Saki's eyes lit up with excitement so much Sham could've sworn her eyes actually glowed for a moment. "Mau, REALLY?"
"This way!" Sham said, grabbing Saki's hand and taking off running inside towards the kitchen.
It was incredible really, watching Saki at work. She was measuring and mixing ingredients with a level of elegance Sham couldn't really understand. Much like Sham felt Weapon Girls looked when they fought, it was so precise and natural it almost looked like a sort of dance. That's a weird thing to say about someone putting food into a bowl, but it was true.
"Wow Saki, you're incredible!" Sham complimented. "Where did you learn the recipe?"
"Hmm?" Saki looked at the bowl she was now making balls of cookie dough out of. "Oh, I don't know. I guess it just came to me."
"Really?" Sham asked. "You seem so confident, like you've done this a million times!"
"It's more that I know it's what I was MEANT to do, you know?" Saki responded. "Like I've said, I dream about sweets CONSTANTLY. I guess it's only natural that my sugar-coated dreams seep into real life sometimes."
Saki had finished making her cookie dough balls and placed the tray in the oven for ten minutes.
"By the way," Saki mentioned, "you said you were friends with Nath?"
Sham smiled widely. "Of course!"
"Wow…" Saki responded. "She's never really seemed like the 'making friends' type to me. Honestly, she kind of scares me…"
"She takes her work really seriously," Sham responded. "She also tends to be a little cold towards people she doesn't know very well."
"Well, I've really only ever talked to her during training sessions before," Saki admitted. Then she gasped. "I know! I should give her a cookie!"
"That's a great idea!" Sham responded. "Maybe Sora, too? I don't know if she's ever had sweets."
"Sora?" Saki asked. "She's here? I was wondering where they relocated her!"
"You know her?" Sham asked.
"Of course I do! Before she got sent here, she was stationed at the Weapon Base like most Weapon Girls are. I guess she was moved here so a closer eye could be kept on her progression."
"I had no idea!" Sham responded. "Honestly, I really don't know much about her."
"Me neither," Saki told Sham. "We really weren't allowed to interact with her much. They always kept her way too busy for that."
Sham sighed. "Sounds about accurate. She's had a terrible day today too, so maybe a cookie could help cheer her up?"
"Well, cookies cheer everyone up!" Saki exclaimed. "At least, they have both other times I've made them!"
That's how the girls ended up in a room Sham hadn't been to very often - the break room for Weapon Girls. It was fairly small and kind of uncomfy, with the furniture being a couple fold-up chairs and a fold-up table. There was an obvious camera watching over the whole room, and frankly this was the LAST place Sham would want to go relax in if she had just gone through the kind of day a typical Weapon Girl went through. None of the actual Weapon Girls seemed to mind it though, since Saki was humming as she set up the cookies on the table while Nath watched her curiously while sitting in one of the folding chairs with a subtle smile on her face. Sora was just standing and staring openly.
"That smells quite good," Nath complimented.
"That means a lot coming from you, Corporal Nath," Saki responded.
"Please do not call me that," Nath told her. "I would prefer if you just simply called me 'Nath'. We are not on the battlefield."
"You got it, Nath!" Saki responded cheerfully.
"I still don't know what a cookie is," Sora admitted openly, sitting in one of the chairs. "But it seems good."
"Well, you're about to find out!" Saki exclaimed, handing Sora a cookie. "Careful, they're still hot - but that's when they're the best!"
Saki then handed one to Sham and Nath, and together all four girls took a bite of their cookies.
The only way Sham could express how she felt at that point was a single consonant, repeated many times.
"MMMMMM!"
"These are incredible," Nath added.
Sora just stared at the cookie in awe of how good it tasted.
Saki smiled widely. "I'm glad you all like them so much!"
As she exclaimed that, the same sort of light that appeared in Saki's eyes before glimmered for just a second once again. Was it caused by one of her modifications as a Weapon Girl? It would make the most sense, but Sham felt like it was something… bigger, somehow.
The four girls thoroughly enjoyed the entire tray of cookies without a second's thought about the fact they wouldn't be hungry for dinner now. When she was done, Sham could say with certainty "This is the best thing I've ever tasted in the history of forever!"
"I agree," Sora added softly.
"You really do have a talent for this, Saki," Nath added.
Saki was so unbelievably happy, she was able to forget just for a moment what she really was. For now, she was just a normal girl hanging out with her friends, showing them her favorite thing ever.
But of course, that moment of feeling as if the whole world was just as sugar-coated as her dreams had to pass, and she came back to reality.
"So, now that we've done all of that, we should probably focus on all that tour stuff now…" Saki mentioned.
"Right!" Sham exclaimed in surprised. "You're totally right!" Sham turned to Sora and Nath. "We should probably go, but I'll see you later!"
"Good luck," Nath told the two as they left.
With what Saki said earlier, Sham couldn't help but realize now as she saw Nath's fairly relaxed expression as she said this - Nath WAS a lot friendlier now than she used to be.
Back when Sham was younger, her father always told her to stay away from Weapon Girls, claiming they were dangerous and could easily accidentally slip-up and hurt her. And so Sham spent a lot of her younger days watching them from afar, too scared to approach but too curious to leave. Somehow, the way they'd practice their dodges and attacks looked so… pretty to her. Like some sort of militaristic performance.
In all of her time watching, Sham didn't think she ever saw Nath smile even the slightest bit, though she would sometimes glance towards Sham who thought she was hiding so cleverly. Sham would always slink away in cowardice and Nath would never pursue. Things remained this way for many years.
But only a few years ago now, one morning when Sham went to go hide in her then current favorite hiding spot, there was something waiting for her there. A small clay figurine of the adorable little pink robot that had been Sham's first ever unique robot design.
Sham had picked up the figure and ran back to her room with it, placing it on her desk, where it still was today.
Later on that day, when Sham and Nath had crossed paths, Sham smiled and said "Thank you" - the first words ever exchanged between the two girls.
That was the first time Nath had ever smiled at Sham, in the same exact subtle way she does now. But it would be the first time of many, as the two slowly began to talk to each other more after that, and now they had the attitude of friends who had been that way their whole lives.
But now wasn't the time for such trips down memory lane, was it? Sham needed to focus on the here and now so she could pull of that tour she needed to do!
And maybe, in the process, gain even more respect from her father for a job well done.
Sham let out a breath. "I'm nervous," she admitted out loud.
"Heh, how do you think I feel?" Saki responded. "If these people really are from MOUNTAIN, not only will I be the only one responsible for noticing, but if a fight breaks out I'll be the only one nearby to defend the base. At least until Nath catches wind of it and comes over." Saki sighed. "I'm not a very good fighter…"
"I'm sure they won't even be imposters," Sham comforted. "Seriously, who's dumb enough to waltz straight into enemy headquarters and think they'll get away with it?"
Sham opened the door to her room, where she had been subconsciously leading Saki this whole time. "C'mon," Sham said, "let's go over the plans for tomorrow."
"Sounds like… a PLAN!" Saki responded, and the two girls giggled before getting down to business.