“Vital packet?” Shock asked, handing me one.

“Yes, yes, yes.” I wasted no time inserting it into the panel in my arm.

Shock and I sat down on a couple of small crates together as the others made their way into the factory's main room.

“My god, you could've died,” she remarked. “If that blade was just a few inches over, bam, goodbye Aural. This whole third of your face, smashed right off. But... you can see just fine, you said?”

“Well,” I began, realizing my vision wasn't as clear as before. “My peripheral vision on my damaged side is, like, not even there. It's not a huge deal, but, yeah, I guess it is a bit messed up.”

“I'd have to get a bunch of supplies if I wanted to fix this. Frankly... I don't really have time to with our big Tangent adventure still plaguing us.”

I sighed. “It's okay. Do I at least look like a bad-ass?”

Shock gave me a half-hearted smile. “Yeah. You look like a bad-ass.”

Heh. Good.

“One more thing, Shock, if you don't mind.”

“Mhmm?”

“What is your relation to that TV-head that keeps disappearing on us?” I was hoping she wouldn't dodge the question in a one on one situation.

She sighed. “He's good at that whole vanishing thing, isn't he? He's an old acquaintance that was once so, so important to me.”

“...Boyfriend?”

“No. He was someone who... well... helped Zynima City get established. I was around him for a while, then he said he was going to do something important, and then he fucked off, never to be seen until today.”

“Yikes. Hopefully he shows up again...”

“You're telling me.”

Once both Trivos (?) had settled in, I immediately hopped to my feet and walked over to them with Shock in tow. This “other Trivo” might be the key to answering a lot of questions, and like hell was I going to miss that chance.

“Hey,” I casually greeted them both.

“Hi Aural,” Trivo replied. Trivo 2.0 mimicked her flawlessly.

“So, I don't mean to interrupt you two if you were in the middle of something,” I began, crouching down and clasping my hands in front of my chin, “but there are some really pressing questions I was hoping you could answer,” I finished, directing my speech at Trivo 2.0.

“I will be of as much assistance as I can. Ask me anything!”

“First off, how are there two of you?”

“We are part of a robot series called “Vesky”. Originally from Hallow, our series is designed to be a friendly and sociable security robot.”

Hallow... hadn't heard of it. That aside... Lavil was right. Trivo was part of a series.

“When our eyes are green,” she continued, “we are social. Please feel free to interact with us! However, when our eyes are yellow or red, please stay away! Those colours means we have switched into combat mode, which is an autonomous personality incapable of sapient interactions; our only objective in this mode is to neutralize any pertinent threats. When all threats are eliminated, we will return to social mode with our green lights.”

“Does this mean she has these crazy weapons in her too?” I pointed to Trivo, my eyes widening at the thought.

“Unless she has been illegally modified, yes.”

Trivo's head sank a bit, and I understood why.

“...Is there any way to tell if her weapons are still in her?” I shrugged

“Yes. Let me examine you,” the Vesky told Trivo.

“Ah, okay,” she sheepishly replied.

The Vesky stepped over to Trivo, kneeling down in front of her. She started inspecting the panels on the outside of Trivo's thighs, tracing them with her finger and wiggling them to see if they were solidly intact. After a short while, she moved to Trivo's hands and wrists, performing the same actions around a couple of discrete panels I wouldn't have even noticed without a careful look.

Then, she said it.

“Her weapons are intact.”

I gasped.

“However,” she continued, “if her combat systems are malfunctioning, she cannot use them. If she did not enter combat mode during the scuffle on the street, there is something wrong with that part of her software.”

I suppose that's why the Vesky had asked Trivo if she was malfunctioning back out there. “Do you know how to fix her weapons?”

“Not without a lengthy maintenance session. It would take well over six hours, and even then, I may not be successful. There could be countless reasons why she isn't fully functional.”

Over six hours? That's one whole day on Zynima.

“Aural, do you think I should?” Trivo asked, her voice wavering between excitement and anxiety.

“Well, it's your body. But if you want my input, I'd give you a resounding yes. Imagine having that kind of firepower! You wouldn't have to worry about being kidnapped anymore. You'd be unstoppable.”

“She has been kidnapped?” the Vesky asked.

“Many times, apparently.”

“Perhaps that would explain why she's malfunctioning.”

I nodded. Made sense to me.

“But... h-hmm...” Trivo mumbled. “I don't think that's why. Even in the faintest memories fragmented away in my back partition... I never had any knowledge of this weaponry. I don't remember what could've happened to cause that, but I don't think it was because of the memory wipes.”

“Huh.” I wanted to believe her, but I didn't know how much credibility an amnesiac had. Either way, it didn't do much to resolve any questions I may have had.

“Vesky– er, what should I call you?” Shock spoke up. “You have a name?”

“Vesky is just fine.” She cheerfully arched her eyes into a happy shape.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“All right, Vesky. Would you need any help fixing her?” Shock placed a hand on Trivo's shoulder and her other hand on her own hip. “I'm the chief medical officer of this city.”

“I greatly appreciate your offer. However, it is an exceedingly delicate operation, fixing a Vesky robot. Additionally, we come equipped with the knowledge and skill required to conduct repairs on robots of our series.”

Shock hummed. “Yeah, okay.”

“...Aural, you seem damaged.” the Vesky said. “Would you like me to help you–”

“No, she's fine,” Shock answered for me, taking a step forward. “I have her covered. Don't you worry.”

“Okay,” the Vesky responded before turning her attention back to Trivo. “I must hear it from you: would you like me to conduct repairs on you? It will likely take an entire day.”

“Yes,” Trivo answered without a moment of hesitation, much to my surprise.

“Shall we begin now?”

“Not yet,” I interrupted, lowering my voice. “We have a safe house where you can work undisturbed and secure, but there's a bit more chattering I want to do before I leave here.”

“Is this okay with you?” the Vesky spoke to Trivo.

“Yes.” Trivo gently nodded.

“Then we will wait for Aural's leave.”

“...All righty!” I jumped to my feet. “I'll be as quick as I can.”

“No rush!” Trivo beamed.

“Uh, big rush!” Thanks, Shock.

I was in more of a hurry than ever. Trivo has unbelievable weaponry stored in her body? And she might be able to use it?! Tangent doesn't stand a fucking chance if she gets that up and running. I needed to hurry with my business here.

I headed over to 301, who looked like he was scolding the punk from earlier.

“...Yeah, okay pops, quit embarrassing me!” the punk grumbled, just within hearing range. “I'll say–”

301 pointed to me as I approached. Both of them went quiet and turned to face me, then the punk stepped forward.

“Yo, miss... sorry for bitchin' your ass out when you iced that mothafucker. Y'all're pretty dope.”

“Uh, yeah. No problem.” I tilted my head a bit.

“Reuben,” he exclaimed, extending a hand to me. “Reuben Tanner. #77 on the skill chart!”

I shook his hand. “Aural Automaton. Uhh... #500 or so on the sound chart. I think.”

Taking a good look at his face, it reminded me of Historical a bit. Wide, yellow smile and squinty, blue eyes. The colours didn't match, but the shape was uncanny.

“Y'all ever 'round these parts again, hit us up. We'll hook you up with whatever you need.”

“Yeah?” I raised the eyebrows on my visor and looked at 301, who was listening in from behind Reuben.

“Naturally! Comradery spurred by combat is akin to no other bond, my friend,” he shouted, raising his sword in the air.

“Does that mean you'd share a processor blueprint with us?!”

301 chuckled, lowering his sword. “As much as I'd love to, that's a rule I cannot break. My sincerest apologies.”

“Damnit! Agh.”

“If there's anything else I could do for you, though...”

I laughed a bit, just to make sure he knew I wasn't actually mad. “Uh, not really. I guess there's one little question I have before we head out?”

“And what might that be?”

“That recharge station over there,” I pointed out, “do you actually use that? The little terminal on it says it's abysmally impure!”

“Right you are. I wouldn't dream of using something so impure. It's something Reuben here found just before you arrived here; he told me he lifted it from the CRT Siphon Yard, but I'd like to hope he wasn't loitering in such a dangerous place.”

CRT Siphon Yard. Reflecting on what Historical told me about that place, the idea of Reuben stealing something from there sounded quite brave. Or, perhaps, foolish.

“Okay, good... I'm glad you don't use something that low.”

“Hell nah. Only the best for us,” Reuben commented.

“Right. Well, hey, it's been swell, but we have to get going. Important mission and all that.” I tried to refrain from telling them exactly what we were up to, just in case.

“Farewell, my comrade! Might you visit again sometime?” 301 shouted.

I started walking over to Shock and the Veskys. “I hope so!” I waved back at him. Reuben gave me some sort of wacky hand motion, which I assumed was either a wave or a gang sign. I just kept waving.

“You done?” Shock asked as I turned to face her.

“Yeah. Let's go.” It was hard for me to contain my eagerness to get to the hideout.

----------------------------------------

A white Trivo and a grey Trivo. Well, not really a grey Trivo, per se.

She seemed to be handling it really well. If I suddenly met a palette-swapped clone of myself, I'd be freaking out. Maybe, just maybe, Trivo had the knowledge of her being a part of a series fragmented in her back partition...? That would explain how calm she was. Just a guess, though.

As we entered Verdin Square, I was hoping we wouldn't encounter anyone else on our way to the hideout. Alas...

It was only a couple days ago when I'd first seen them: the blue news robot with the microphone and all the arms, and his entourage of camera buddies. The instant they saw me, they all bolted right to us from the sidewalk, quickly stopping us in our tracks.

“Aural Automaton!” the microphone bot excitedly yelped. “Do you have a moment?”

“Uh, no, sorry, not this time.” With Trivo and her new Vesky friend with us, I didn't want to risk any unnecessary exposure. “Catch me in a couple days, okay?” No idea if I'd ever see him again.

“I have sources claiming you scammed robots out of their money to see a show by you at Assault? Is it true?”

Oh fuck. I never did deal that situation up. Fuuuck.

“Scammed? Hell no! They'll all get full refunds once I have some time to catch up! Something's come up and I'm very busy!” I signalled my friends to usher past the news crew. I didn't want to deal with this right now.

“Some of them–”

“VERY BUSY!” I repeated, blasting it through my speakers. “Hurry, let's go,” I said to the group, increasing my pace.

Shock speed-walked up to my side. “Should we be going to the hideout if the news crew can still see us?”

“We still have to walk down the side street and turn the corner into the alley. They won't see us if we're fast.”

“Go, then.” Shock's speed-walk turned into a run, which I matched, with the tip-tap of the Veskys' footsteps close behind.

Passing through the plaza, we turned the corner to our road, checking our six as we ran. By the time we reached the alley entrance, the crew still hadn't pursued us, so we hurried in. By then, it was just rolling through the motions: unlock the door, get inside, and lock it behind us.

“Yo,” Lavil shouted as the door slammed shut.

“Yo,” I shouted back. “We brought a guest with us,” I explained as we made our way down the spiral stairs.

“You WHAT?” I heard Lavil scramble out of his seat. “What the fuck are you doing? This is a hideout!”

“Dude, shut up for a second and at least look who it is,” I barked.

As we stepped onto the main room's floor, Lavil lightened up instantly.

“You're kiddin'... not only did you fuck up your face, heh, but look at this. They've got the same model.”

Shock crossed her arms. “Turns out you were right when you said she might be part of a series.”

Trivo and the Vesky stood with each other near the stairway while Shock and I explained to Lavil what happened at the factory: the battle, the people we met, and everything this new Vesky told us.

And he listened without a word of interruption.

“Fucking yes. Oh, yes. This news is far better than the processor thing would've been.” Lavil looked at the Vesky. “You gonna make Trivo whole again?”

“Trivo is her name?”

“Yeah, that's her.”

The Vesky's eyes turned yellow, and the firearms in her wrists deployed, aiming directly at Trivo. “Trivo is a wanted suspect for a series of murders.”

Trivo screeched in terror, holding her hands in the air.

“Whoa, whoa whoa whoa, no, no, wait! Hold on! She's not the one!” We all panicked and tried to calm the Vesky down.

“She's been framed!” Shock said. “We know who the real killer is. His name is Tangent!”

“Tangent's been trying to kill me! I know first hand it's him, not Trivo!” I shouted.

“I've been with her all my life! She ain't got nothin' to do with this!” Lavil chimed in.

We waited five more seconds in an incredibly intense silence.

The Vesky's yellow lights faded to green. We all collectively sighed a sigh of relief, and Trivo put her hands down.

“The chances of you all conspiring to assist a serial killer is very slim, compared to the meagre evidence seen on Zynima's news. Very well.”

Shock sighed again. My circuitry still felt overloaded with tension.

“I assume this is the location you intended to bring me to?” the Vesky asked me.

“Yes. By all means, if you two want to get started with your repairs, please go for it.” I answered.

“I-I'm r-r-ready,” Trivo said, visibly shaken from that scary moment.

“You will have to temporarily shut down while I fix you. Is this okay?”

“Y-yes.”

“Once you shut down, I will begin maintenance.”

Lavil walked over between them. “Let's get you to the back room,” he suggested, to which Trivo nodded. He guided the two Veskys to the small room in the back of the hideout.

“I'll be here, okay?” Lavil whispered to Trivo, just loud enough for us to hear. “I'll be watching over you. I might need to step out for a moment now and then, but I'll be making sure Vesky here behaves, okay? Don't you worry.”

“Thank you, Lavil... I trust you.”

I displayed a little smile on my face. For all the shit Trivo goes through, I'm glad she has someone like Lavil.

“Where does that leave us?” Shock asked. “We've got a date with Xaita tomorrow morning, and it'll be dusk in half an hour or so.”

“Recharge. Recharge, recharge, recharge. I've never expended my energy in combat like that before! I doubt I could last another hour like this...”

Shock shrugged. “Figure I should as well, then.” She walked over to the recharge station set up near the far corner of the room. “I still can't believe this thing is 100% pure.”

“Better believe it, lol,” Lavil laughed at us as he walked into the main room again. Again, I can't believe he just said “lol”. What was with that?

Shock huffed. “I'm going to bed. Good night.”