Magical Girl Mechanical Heart

The raw shock of Thea, of all people, ordering me to stay silent about my own obligate slavery short-circuits my thought processes. Figuratively speaking, of course. The crystalline components that pass for my circuits are fine, it's just… what am I supposed to say? What am I supposed to do?

I want to ask why she did this to me, but I can't. I want to berate her for it, but I can't. My thoughts fire off over and over, trying to figure out how to engage with this situation only to be reminded every time that I can't. I can't talk about Thea being my master. I can't. She's taken that from me. I can't I can't I can't I… I'm doomed, aren't I? It's all just going to keep happening forever, I'm just going to be used again and again and—

Stop. Calm down. It's Thea we're talking about here. My one consistent ray of light in the prison of steel Melpomene trapped me in. This is… bad. This is really bad. But if anyone has earned the benefit of the doubt, it's Thea. I can feel how anxious she is, how upset and sad and frightened and guilty. There's no part of this she's looking forward to, not like Melpomene was. Whatever this is, it's an act of desperation.

So… I know what I do need to ask.

"What do I need to know?"

It's a simple question, but one that gives my new master the opportunity to show me how she wishes to be served. Whatever is going on right now, she's upset, and it's my job to fix that for her. Thea's eyes widen a bit, and she takes her hands off my face, hesitating only for a moment before she starts to speak.

"…You're free," she tells me, her tail flicking with agitation behind her. "You're a human soul operating entirely under your own free will. As long as that's true, the Preservers won't take you away."

Ah. Okay. That… starts to explain things. See? It'll be okay. It'll be okay. This is a good thing, right?

"Where are we right now…?" I ask.

"The Fort Collins Earth Guardian Headquarters," Thea answers. "So a Preserver could just pop out of nowhere at any time."

"What happened?" I ask.

"Castalia nearly destroyed you. Mel told me she did destroy you. But then a few months later, Nana and I got into a fight with some of the Earth Guardians, and they mentioned you, and I asked Mel about it, and she… she just went ballistic. I've never seen her do anything like that in my life, and I just… I got scared. I grabbed everything I thought I could carry and ran away to turn myself in. I somehow managed to be allowed to fix you, and I was told I needed to free you, but… well. It. Took a very long time, because the system that keeps you bound is built directly into the part of you that houses your soul. And Uma'gabo started getting really impatient."

Okay. Okay, this makes sense. She's not betraying me. Of course she's not betraying me. Hell, she betrayed Melpomene for me. She's an angel. I never should have doubted her.

It sounds like she couldn't figure out how to break my chains at all, but she must have figured out how to change who my chains consider to be their wielder, since she swapped that control to herself. And the reason we're going to be forced to keep that a secret is because someone—presumably a Preserver—is looking for any excuse to do something nasty to me.

"I understand, Thea. Thank you," I assure her. "Who is Uma'gabo?"

"Another Preserver," Thea shrugs. "Uma'tama's assistant, I guess? They're nowhere near as… pleasant. Or as used to humans."

Okay, that's pretty much what I assumed, but confirmation is good. God, I still can't believe how long it's been. I look down at myself, getting some visual confirmation of what my proprioception systems have already noted. Most of my plating is missing and nowhere to be found, though there are some partly-rebuilt pieces of it here and there. So my internals are very exposed—transformation stone included, so I assume Thea just couldn't remove that either—but otherwise my body seems almost completely repaired. I should be able to walk, so I go ahead and scoot to the edge of the worktable, letting my legs dangle off the side. I'm about to hop off when I sense three magical signatures appear all at once.

"We've got company," I report. "Earth Guardians."

"Oh, they're back," Thea says hesitantly. "Well, uh, they're probably going to notice you, so… don't attack anybody?"

Understood. I cannot attack anybody. Better than the orders I'm used to, I suppose. Still…

"I wasn't planning on it," I say flatly, "but thank you for the clear instructions."

She flinches, and I internally wince. Shit. Of course that would upset her, why did I say that?

"Good job, both of you," I hear Amaterasu say as the three Earth Guardians get closer. "Our coordination is getting better. Aurora, you are becoming much more skilled with flight."

"Thank you!" Aurora says happily.

"Veritas, your control is improving," Amaterasu continues.

"I wish my strength was improving," Veritas complains.

"It is. Control is strength," Amaterasu insists.

"You say that, but you're not getting any stronger either," Veritas grumbles under her breath. I can still hear it, of course, and I wouldn't be surprised if Amaterasu can, too.

"H-hey, you're both way stronger than me now!" Aurora butts in, probably to head off an argument. "I still can't believe you managed to class up before I could, Veritas!"

Red mage. Red mage. I'm calling it, she's a red mage now. That poor kid has some serious anger issues. Or… well, she had them the last time I saw her, which was just over eight months ago, an absolutely insane amount of time that charges my battery every time I think about it.

My power reserves have increased to 12%.

Right, speaking of: I really need more power. I do not feel safe in the middle of enemy territory on twelve fucking percent. I know my body has needed to use all the power it's been gaining by putting my soul through the memory wiggler on self-repair, but seriously? It can't even get me out of power-saving mode first?

Fun fucking way to spend eight months, by the way. Loved having my worst moments replayed on an amnesiac version of me to farm maximum emotional damage. You know, I'm starting to think the slave robot designed by insane revolutionaries for the express purpose of trying to inflict pain on their tormenters maybe kind of sucks, actually.

…Jury's still out on whether it's worse than my old body or not, though. It's a close competition.

"What matters is that we defeated the monsters," Amaterasu says. "The city remains safe for now. The rest will come with—"

She cuts herself off as she passes by the doorway to Thea's workshop, though 'doorway' is a bit of a misnomer for something without a door. The way to the hallway is clear, so all three magical girls immediately stop to stare at the robot which has, apparently, been lying functionally dead on this table for the better part of a year… who is now sitting up. Oh, boy. This is going to be really awkward. But… hey. I don't have any orders against speaking anymore. I give them a polite wave.

"Hey," I greet them. "Sorry about everything before."

"It talks!?" Veritas yelps, Amaterasu making several surprised Japanese noises at the same time. Aurora just opens her mouth in silent shock. All three of them are in their human forms, not their incarnate forms, though I do see Veritas' hand creep toward her stone.

Also: I totally called it. Veritas' stone is red now. I wish I could feel smug about that, but it's mostly kind of sad, isn't it?

"I can talk!" I confirm. "Hi. Thanks for keeping me safe for… eight months, apparently?"

"…I am going to go wake Castalia," Amaterasu says, stiffly turning and continuing down the hall. "Aurora, call Uma'tama!"

"R-right!" Aurora stammers in assent, pulling out her cellphone and speed-dialing a number.

"Thea. Explain!" Veritas orders.

"W-well I did what I was told to do!" Thea insists. "I fixed her! She's free now, so she's not going to hurt anyone."

"The robot doesn't look fixed to me!" Veritas insists. "It looks like a creepy robo-skeleton!"

"My plating is just there to help protect me and better conduct my shielding capabilities," I explain. "Well, and to make me look less gross, but I can run perfectly fine without it. Also, can you please not call me an 'it?'"

"Uh… right," Veritas says, relaxing only slightly. "Sorry. You're really not evil now?"

"I was never evil on purpose," I promise her. "I really am sorry about all the times we fought."

"Uma'tama! Oh, thank goodness you picked up," Aurora says into her phone. "The robot's awake. Er… Luna, right?"

The last question is directed at me. I nod in affirmation.

"Not Muramasa?" Veritas asks.

"Absolutely not," I answer immediately. "Please never call me that."

"…Okay," the girl agrees cautiously.

I certainly can't blame her for her suspicion, but it still kind of hurts.

"We're here!" a flying cat says, suddenly appearing in a puff of northward magic. "Oh our goodness gracious, you really are conscious. Castalia will be beside herself. Metaphorically! Because that is a metaphor that means 'overcome with emotion.' For some reason. Oh, right, hello! We are Uma'tama."

"I've heard a lot about you from Thea," I say, holding out my hand to offer a handshake.

"Oh! We appreciate the offer, but unfortunately our Earth forms aren't designed to enjoy being scratched behind the ears," Uma'tama sighs. "I can't help but be jealous of real cats… er. Wait. We're getting distracted. If we understand the situation correctly, you are a human named 'Luna,' correct? Or… were a human named Luna. Or were a human, but are still named Luna!"

"My name is Luna, and I was previously human, yes," I say, tapping the crystal that Thalia's transformation stone stuck itself to. "My soul is in here, apparently."

"Most likely, yes!" they confirm, their voice chipper. "Goodness, goodness, goodness, this is quite a pickle. Metaphorically!"

I'm interrupted before I can respond by a second puff of happiness, from which another flying cat emerges.

"Tama!" the Preserver snaps. "Why did you not inform us that the artifact has regained consciousness?"

"I only just found out myself!" Uma'tama responds. "It would seem our Guardians are correct, and the human soul contained within the artifact is fully intact and aware."

"We see," the Preserver that is presumably Uma'gabo hums. "That is unfortunate."

"No? It isn't?" Uma'tama says, tilting their head. "It is bad when humans die, Gabo."

"We know that," Uma'gabo insists. "But is this not a form of death? The artifact is not alive, and it contains not a mote of a human's physical form."

"Irrelevant," Uma'tama shrugs. "The soul was born from a human, has the memories of a human, and is even compatible with the technology we designed specifically for humans. We will accept no further argument on this matter."

"Very well. This creates an obvious issue, however. A human cannot be in possession of an Antipathy artifact," Uma'gabo says.

"Yes, we've been considering that, and—"

A third plume of joy cuts them off, but this one is unlike the prior two. It doesn't herald the arrival of a Preserver, and it is far less restrained. From a room well down the hall, the familiar burst of happiness that accompanies Castalia entering her incarnate form radiates outwards, more powerful than ever before.

"Luna!" Castalia's voice cries as she rockets into the room fast enough for the wind to nearly topple Aurora over. I don't think I've ever heard her raise her voice like that before.

"Luna," she says again, stopping directly in front of me. "Are… you Luna?"

God. So that wasn't just another dream. She really has been watching over me all this time. If I could, I'm sure I would already be crying. She did it. She really did it.

She saved me.

"Yes," I tell her. "It's me. Thank you, Castalia. Thank you so much."

She crashes into me, giving me the closest thing she can to a hug with her one stub arm.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I could have stopped all of this. I could have stopped Melpomene sooner."

"The fact that you stopped her at all is enough," I tell her. "Are you… really not mad at me at all?"

She pulls away.

"Were you doing any of those things by your own free will?" she asks.

"Well, no," I confirm. "I never wanted to hurt any of you."

"I know," she says. "I could tell. So of course I forgive you. You are free now, right?"

Ah.

"Yeah," I confirm.

"…You are free now, right?" she presses, because… well, of course she does. She's an empath. She can feel my hesitance, my regret, my guilt… but she doesn't necessarily know their source. I can still lie my way out of this, as much as I hate that I have to.

"I don't have to obey a single word from Melpomene anymore," I say. "It just… doesn't quite feel real yet, I think. I'm still a little disoriented. Has it really been eight months…?"

"Yes," Castalia confirms.

"Well damn," I sigh. "You're going to have to catch me up on a lot."

"Yes," Castalia agrees again.

This is… all just so overwhelming. I wasn't expecting this. I was expecting fallout, I was expecting people to be angry about what I did, I was expecting justice. I wasn't expecting to be shot forward so far into the future that everyone else has already figured out what happened to me and processed it all.

I haven't even processed it all yet. I was… I was so ready to kill her.

"Right!" Uma'tama interrupts my thoughts, clapping their paws together to get everyone's attention… though the soft little beans don't really make any noise. "Now that everyone is here, we do need to discuss the elephant in the room. Metaphorically!"

"Uma, you don't need to say 'metaphorically' every single time you use a phrase like that," Thea sighs. "We can already tell you don't mean it literally."

"But what if there was an elephant in the room, and simply no one saw it?" Uma'tama asks.

"That's… the whole point of that phrase is the idea that there's no way you couldn't see an elephant, so if people aren't discussing it, it must be on purpose."

"We would still rather not risk it…"

"Wait, wait, back up a second," I say, interrupting their byplay. "What do you mean 'everyone is here?' Where's Eliza? Did something happen to her?"

Silence. Oh, fuck. No. No, no, no. Please, no.

"She's dead," Veritas says bluntly.

No! Damn it!

"God," I swear. "I'm so sorry, I… what happened?"

Some sick part of me hopes it was unrelated. That maybe she was killed months after everything, while I was still asleep.

"She chased after Melpomene into the Dark World, and she didn't come back," Amaterasu says.

"Wait, is that it?" I ask. "Did no one go after her?"

"We're afraid we have no idea which fragment she ended up in," Uma'tama says. "The rifts Melpomene opened were not like standard Dark World portals. So far as we can tell, they could have gone anywhere."

"Okay, but surely you went searching for her anyway?" I say.

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"I did," Veritas says. "I searched every single portal we found until Uma'tama made me stop."

"Veritas dear, the crystals growing on your body—"

"I don't care about the stupid crystals!" Veritas snaps. "Even the evil robot thinks I'm right, we should be looking for her! We don't even have a body to bury!"

"In that case, do we know for sure that she's dead?" I ask. "Nanaya survived in the Dark World for months without food and water. Apparently, that's how she got to America."

"She's dead," Thea sighs, shaking her head. "Melpomene told me to my face that she did it. I know she's a liar, but… I don't think she was lying about this."

Fuck. Well, there's two hopes shattered. I got one of my only friends killed.

"Eliza… I'm so sorry," I whisper. "Castalia, is Chloe alright? She must be devastated."

Castalia goes stiff.

"I… haven't checked," she admits.

"What? Seriously?" I ask.

"No, I… with the state you were in… and I've been very busy…"

So Chloe lost three friends. All at the same time. Jesus Christ. Wait, actually…

"Is Chloe alive!?" I ask in a panic. "How many people got killed in our fight?"

"Thirteen," Castalia answers. "Jenson Mccarthy, Sean Hart, Dylan Hughes, Rebecca Graham, Rosie Stewart, Eva Lewis, Eve Read, Leila Church, Aiden Robertson, Jess Burgess, Casey Gibson, Ashley Wallace, and Jude Thompson. Six also sustained permanent injury."

"Fuck," I say. I recognize a few of those names. No one I really knew, but I had class with them.

"It is not your fault," Castalia says. "The evacuation effort was swift and largely effective. Most of them died from hostile magical overdose rather than direct attack, which would be a result of Melpomene's incarnate transformation. The ones that did die from direct attack were killed in the fight between Melpomene and myself. By the time you began using particularly destructive methods, the survivors had escaped."

"But the fight was at least partly because of me," I insist. "If I had just tried harder, or… no. If I hadn't avoided Melpomene every single time she started having an episode, or worse, goaded her on, maybe she wouldn't have completely snapped. There were so many things I could have tried, but then it was just… way too late."

"Luna, you were literally being mind-controlled!" Thea butts in. "I've worked on you enough to know how deep that control ran. There was nothing you could have done. I was the one who stuck my head in the sand about everything."

"I did not wish to believe the truth either," Castalia reassures her.

Amaterasu cuts off Thea's response with a loud groan.

"There are no winners at the blame game," she says. "Uma'tama was saying something. We should listen."

"Ah! Right, thank you for reminding me, Su-san," Uma'tama says. "So! As Gabo has helpfully pointed out, we are at somewhat of an impasse. The rules governing our actions in this situation have become contradictory. A human soul inside an Antipathy artifact is not a situation we dared to foresee."

"Indeed," Uma'gabo agrees. "And so, in the absence of clarity, what we require is consensus."

"Yes!" Uma'tama confirms happily. "The consensus of those present."

"What," Uma'gabo scowls.

"We believe Luna has two options," Uma'tama says. "The first would be for us to consult ourselves on the contradiction currently present within our policy, coming to an official stance based on the wisdom of Preservers with no experience dealing with humans whatsoever."

"But that is how policy is corrected!" Uma'gabo protests. "Via consensus! To ensure that all policy which exists is agreed upon by all of us! So that weaknesses in an individual do not propagate to consequences for entire societies!"

"We agree!" Uma'tama confirms. "But the other option is to create a situation in which policy is not being contradictory in the first place. Luna! It appears you have bonded with a transformation stone."

"Yeah, that's true. I have," I confirm hesitantly. "If you need it back, that's fine. My incarnate form is kind of horrific anyway."

"Removing it from your body seems likely to be more difficult than it would be for any other human," Uma'tama says. "But what if… that was simply unnecessary? What if we did not have to worry about your ownership of a transformation stone, or your propensity to handle dangerous artifacts, or your ability to independently cast magic, because you were fully authorized to do such things under proper supervision?"

"…You cannot be serious," Amaterasu groans.

"We're understaffed, and you're overworked!" Uma'tama insists. "I can see the heightened blood flow underneath your eyeballs, you know. Thea says that means you need sleep!"

Amaterasu glares at Thea, who instinctively hides behind me. I raise an arm to protect her better without really thinking about it.

"You seriously want to induct an Antipathy artifact into the Earth Guardians!?" Amaterasu gapes. "What if it betrays us?"

"Then that would be very bad!" Uma'tama says, their voice still perfectly cheerful. "But the situation is not… entirely unprecedented. There have been situations in the past where Antipathy artifacts have bonded to or otherwise become irremovable from an Earth Guardian's body. Though this usually resulted in their death, it did not result in their discharge."

"I mean, Luna's really strong," Aurora comments. "It would be great to have her on our side."

"Amaterasu's right, though," I say. "What if I do betray you? Or more likely, am forced to betray you? I'm free now—"

Aaaaagh. Maybe just don't think about it.

"—but do we know for sure if Melpomene can't just… regain control over me somehow?"

"U-um," Thea squeaks from behind me. "Yeah. I'm confident. I mean, I had to figure out how the whole system worked to free you. Melpomene would have to do the same to reverse what I did, and she just… doesn't have the knowledge to figure that out. Plus it would probably take a long time."

Well… that's good, at least.

"Okay, but does i—does she even want to help us?" Veritas asks, crossing her arms. "We've done nothing but beat each other up. I don't like her."

"Veritas, it wasn't her fault!" Aurora protests.

"Yeah, according to the other evil person in the room!" Veritas insists, causing Thea to shrink even further behind me.

"You know that's not the only reason," Aurora scowls, poking Veritas in the cheek. "Castalia and I can both feel she regrets everything. She hated fighting us!"

"…And she hates Melpomene," Castalia adds. "She has from the start. I just wish I had figured out why sooner."

"It's okay, Castalia," I assure her. "I was being forced to actively mislead you to the best of my ability. But… yes. I would gladly fight alongside all of you, especially if it means I get to kick Melpomene's teeth in. Or Nanaya's."

"Wait, what did Nanaya do?" Thea asks.

"She was complicit in all of it," I answer. "She knew what was happening and did nothing."

"Oh…" she mumbles, her whole body drooping.

"From what Castalia and Thea have both told us, Luna is a delightful person. We are sure you will get along with her if you give her a chance!" Uma'tama chimes in.

"This is absurd," Uma'gabo complains. "You cannot induct her into the Earth Guardians!"

"Yes… we can?" Uma'tama blinks at them. "Inducting new Guardians is one of the primary duties of our position, Gabo."

"She is far beyond the ideal age for new Guardians!"

"An age chosen mainly for optimizing receptiveness to magical tutelage—something she does not need, given her proven combat effectiveness—and for resistance to Dark World miasma, which her condition actually makes her immune to. Which, may we point out, is a nearly irreplaceable asset given our current situation."

"That… is true," Uma'gabo hums. "But this is willful misinterpretation of the spirit of the consensus. So many things you have done reek of I, Tama. You travel down paths you cannot understand."

"The spirit of the consensus is not merely the individual laws to which our position is beholden to, Gabo," Uma'tama says. "The spirit of the consensus is to prevent tragedy. If the path to that is dark, it would be foolish of us not to follow the will of those who can see."

A pause.

"That was a metaphor for the purpose of elucidation," Uma'tama clarifies.

"Oh," Uma'gabo says. "Oh! We… believe we comprehend your meaning. But any further conversation on this matter should occur elsewhere."

"Agreed. Though for now, we will exercise our authority on this matter. Do not forget the lesson we passed to you, Gabo."

"…Do not trust our instincts," Gabo seems to quote. "Trust our Guardians. Very well, Tama. But if this use of your authority once again invites disaster, then we will do all in our power to see you removed from that authority entirely."

They vanish into thin air, leaving that… terrifying and fascinating bit of insight into Preserver culture forever locked in my memory. The hell did half of that even mean? The 'will of the consensus' seemed almost… spiritual. But also like, governmental? I could be totally misinterpreting all of this, I don't know how to read the nuances of flying magical cats. Or… whatever the Preservers actually are when they're not communicating through those magical projections.

"Right," Uma'tama says, "with that out of the way, we would like to request everyone's approval on this decision. I recognize this is sudden for most of you—"

"More than sudden!" Amaterasu protests. "Artifacts are dangerous! They are evil! Is this not what you have taught us?"

"Er… well, yes, but humans aren't evil and dangerous, so—"

"Hold that thought," I butt in. "First of all, yes humans are, or at least we can be, so that argument doesn't really work. And second of all, Amaterasu is right: my body is evil and dangerous. But if I can speak for myself on this, I feel like it's worth noting that my body is evil and dangerous in ways we understand. It was designed to trap and torture a soul by forcing it through servitude, and by fucking golly it did that. I know that some of you felt what it was like for me in here."

"Yeah," Aurora confirms softly.

"…Yes," Amaterasu agrees. "But I do not see how this is a point in your favor."

"Well by itself, it isn't," I answer. "But my point is that, unlike with most Antipathy artifacts, you're not dealing with an unknown here. You know where the evil is directed, and you'll have the danger on your side. The best place for me is alongside you."

I have to advocate for myself here, which is a little frustrating because I just woke up and people are already arguing about whether or not I should get to exist. I wish the experience wasn't so painfully familiar. Still, someone has to actually make good arguments in my favor, because I'm pretty sure Thea would be sad if I got taken to the Preserver homeworld.

…Also, they'd probably disassemble me.

"I don't know any of that," Amaterasu says. "I only have your word and the word of another enemy to go off of."

"…Hasn't Thea been here for months?" I ask. "If you haven't figured out that she isn't your enemy by now, I can only assume you weren't ever trying in the first place. I mean look at her, she's practically shaking in terror at the idea that you might be a little mean to her maybe."

"Buh," Thea squeaks, shaking in terror.

"She's a green mage," Amaterasu says. "That only makes her more dangerous."

"Oh my god," I groan. "You're all just as terrible at this as the Dark Rebellion, aren't you? How can people who rely on their feelings as much as you have zero emotional intelligence?"

"How dare you," Amaterasu growls.

I start to respond, but Castalia unexpectedly bumps into me, causing me to briefly lose my balance and almost fall off the table. I turn to her in surprise.

"You are Luna," she says, relief flooding off of her.

"Were you not convinced until I insulted someone!?" I sputter, embarrassed.

"I was not convinced until you insulted someone while trying to help them," Castalia clarifies. "It is strange hearing you talk out loud."

"Oh," I say, now even more embarrassed. "Sorry about that. We couldn't find a way for my disguise to have a working jaw, since it still has to fit around my robot body. It was easier for me to learn sign language to hide it than to try to figure out a realistic way to look like I'm talking without a working mouth."

"It's okay," Castalia says. "You are back. You are alive. Also, I liked getting to read sign language again."

"Oh. Yeah," I say awkwardly, unconsciously bringing a hand up to feel at my transformation stone. At… her transformation stone. Thalia's.

"Castalia," Amaterasu says flatly.

"Yes?" Castalia says even more flatly.

"Do you trust her?"

"Yes."

"Fine, then," Amaterasu sighs. "I approve of Uma'tama's plan."

"Just like that?" Veritas scowls.

"Hey, come on, V," Aurora says gently, reaching down and squeezing Veritas' hand. "You have to admit a robot friend is pretty cool!"

"I guess," Veritas allows reluctantly, not really seeming to agree so much as she just doesn't want to argue with Aurora.

"Wonderful!" Uma'tama cheers, doing another silent clap. "Great to have you, Luna! Or… hmm. We suppose we should be official about this. Give us a moment, I haven't done this in a while…"

They close their eyes, taking a deep breath and pausing for a moment before suddenly emitting a radiant light, hope and joy flooding the room. When their eyes open, they glow like golden fire.

"Child of Earth, you have been chosen to stand as one of your planet's great protectors. The path before you will be one of hardship and strife, but it is one that must be walked! Will you accept the call, young one, and protect your world?"

"…Wow," I say, lifting up one arm and shading my optical sensors from the full brunt of the lightshow. "That is super manipulative."

"Er… what?" Uma'tama says, the atmosphere in the room returning to normal as their light dims. "What do you mean? We do warn people it will be dangerous."

"Yeah, like, briefly? While in the middle of joy-blasting them and talking about grand destiny? Like damn, it would take a lot of balls to say no after all that."

"W-well, we make sure to do our research in advance and only approach those we believe will be receptive in the first place," Uma'tama admits.

"Well that's just creepy," I say, crossing my arms.

"Er," Uma'tama says. "Is that a no, then? We must admit, we aren't really sure what to do if you say no."

"What? Nah, I'm definitely still joining," I say. "I just want the manipulation tactics on the record."

"Oh! Well!" Uma'tama immediately brightens back up, both figuratively and literally. "Then accept this proof of your destiny! And, er, this is the part where we'd give you a transformation stone if you didn't already have one."

"Thanks, Uma'tama," I deadpan. "I will be sure to protect humanity with this great and noble power."

"That's the spirit!" they beam. "Welcome to the team!"

"Cool," I say. "Incidentally, do you have any LCIs?"

"What?" Uma'tama blinks.

"LCIs. You know, Liquid Cardinal Injectors?" I ask. "I have a port for them in my thigh so I can use them for power intake, and if I charge my batteries enough, I can finish repairing myself."

"Do you mean Liquid Chromatic Injectors?" Uma'tama asks.

"No, but sure," I say. "Those."

"I'm afraid we can't simply… hand those out," Uma'tama says. "But we will look into it for you."

"Alright," I say. "My power reserves are currently sitting at thirteen percent, and I can probably charge them a bit faster if I reconfigure my crystals to a different color, but it won't be a good idea for me to do much fighting until I have those numbers up."

There's a long and increasingly awkward pause, where no one seems to be interested in saying anything. Throughout it all, Thea starts looking increasingly uncomfortable, so I speak up again.

"So! Uh. Now what?" I ask. "We did it! I'm alive and stuff. I'm an Earth Guardian I guess. Can I like… go?"

"Can you go?" Amaterasu repeats back to me, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Yeah, like, am I under arrest?" I ask. "Or can I go outside the base, go find my other friends, and tell them I'm alive?"

"I think you should slow down for maybe five seconds and give us a better understanding of what happened," Amaterasu answers. "I was not expecting any of this. I did not think you would be awake, and I certainly did not think you would be talking to people. The only thing I know about you is that you cut my legs off after several months of assisting magical terrorists. I would like at least some explanation as to why everyone is trusting you so easily."

"Oh, shit," I say. Right, that did happen. "That makes sense. Sorry. How… are your legs, by the way?"

"They're fine," Amaterasu growls.

"They're kind of cool now!" Aurora says brightly.

"They are not!" Amaterasu snaps.

Right, I'm not getting into the middle of that.

"Well, first off, I am genuinely sorry about all the times we've fought. None of them would have happened if I had any choice in the matter. And now I do!" I assure her. Like a liar. "My body is an artifact known as The Cage of Returning Pain. It bound my soul to Melpomene's will. No matter how much I wanted to, I was incapable of disobeying her. Which, uh, y'know, really sucked! So sorry if I get a little mouthy, it's just kind of how I deal with stress now? Speaking my mind was one of the only things I could physically do to her, and even that only worked when we were alone. Thea had no idea I was a slave."

"…I might not have believed it, honestly," Thea says quietly. "I just… I had no idea she was that bad. I had no idea."

"It's okay, Thea," I assure her, not wanting her to be upset. "Really. She put on her best face for you. She didn't want you to know, and I had to help her lie."

"It just seems too convenient to me," Amaterasu says, crossing her arms. "The idea that you were a good person all this time but you just had to hurt so many people, and none of it is your fault? I do not like it."

"Well! I have two answers to that," I say. "The first is that if you're worried I'm not feeling guilty about any of it, hoo boy, I can assure you that fear is misplaced! I was honestly hoping Castalia would just fucking kill me. Though I gotta say, I like this outcome better. Thanks again, Castalia, you're the best."

"You are welcome," she nods.

"And secondly… get me a TV or monitor with wi-fi access, and I will just let you watch my memories. Because I'm a robot. I can just… do that, and trivially prove everything I'm saying. Hell, I can do the voice clips right now." I pretend to clear my throat, swapping over to a juicy soundbite from my former master. Let's see… ah. Yeah. It's pretty hard to top this one.

"'You're going to have to make up for this little personhood fiasco you've got everyone worked up about,'" I begin. "'You're going to let Thea figure out a way to get you to talk, because this whole yes-no thing is making you useless for the one thing I've actually gotten excited about since I turned you on. But when she does, you'd best remember, dear. You are so very, very thankful to me, and everything I have done for you. Everything I have done to you. You want to be here, you want to help us, and you will not give Thea, Anath, or Nanaya even a single minuscule hint that this is not the case.'"

Castalia bristles beside me, and Thea brings her hands up to her head, almost as if to cover her ears… though she aborts the motion and buries her face in them instead.

"'You will not show them your real emotions, except in service to this truth, and to everyone else—our enemies, our allies, or random people on the street—you will continue presenting yourself as nothing more than a cold, unfeeling weapon, and when they oppose us, you will respond accordingly,'" I continue. "'All that emotion just comes from a magical battery, like every other artifact we use or sell for petty cash. I know you fucked it up the first time around, but do you think you can handle getting one more chance?'"

I let that one simmer in the air for a while, a mixture of shock and overwhelming sadness filling the room so quickly I could swear the air almost tints blue. I have… several more zingers lined up if necessary (Melpomene certainly didn't supply me with a shortage of them), but this alone seems to have done the trick. Castalia brings her knees up to her chest, floating in a tight ball as the others just stare at me. Amaterasu swears in Japanese again. Next time I get internet access, I should learn every language.

"…Part of me wishes to point out that you probably could have faked all of this," Amaterasu says, "but I suppose it is obvious you did not. I felt the emotions inside of you. I just… something like this should not be possible. Ought not be."

"If it makes everyone feel better, being a robot kicks ass outside of the whole slavery deal," I say.

"Language!" Aurora protests. Which. Hmm. I suppose she's like nine or something.

"…Sorry," I concede. "But really, now that Thea has me all fixed up, I'm pretty happy as-is!"

Behind me, Thea flinches, her hands moving up to cover more of her face. Moisture starts leaking out from between her fingers.

"We are so sorry," Uma'tama says softly. "We really have failed you. All of you, to some degree or another. We certainly failed Melpomene."

"What that big mean monster did isn't your fault, Uma'tama," Aurora assures her.

"I have to go," Thea blurts, pushing past me and the others and rushing out of the room as tears start to fall down her face.

It's my fault, I realize, and it makes me sick. That familiar wretched grasp on my soul, squeezing and crushing at my failure. Maybe it's fine for Thea to hear what happened to me in service to the truth, but to twist the knife like that? And now she thinks it's all her fault, all something she could have prevented. It certainly isn't in my master's best interest to feel guilty for saving me. I hurt her. I can't let myself do that.

"Thea, wait!" I say, getting up and rushing after her.

I don't have a choice. But… it's something I'd want to do anyway. I care about her so much, she's unfathomably important to me, and she'd never abuse me the way Melpomene did. I know that. So it's okay, isn't it? It's fine.

As long as she never makes me do something like what Mel did, everything will be fine.