Island of Misfit Toys 25

[17:23]	`GM	[Phrine leads Ai through the northern undeveloped stretches of the island, as evening continues to get closer to dusk.]
[17:24]	`GM	[It is composed of patches of scrub grass and tropical trees, sometimes in dense forest clusters and sometimes wider plains. Even though the island is really quite small, walking is no quick trip.]
[17:26]	Phrine	"...You should really let her sleep, y'know? Sleepy people forget they're mad."
[17:26]	Phrine	"She was really mad..."
[17:29]	Ai`	"If she is asleep, I will not disturb her. But I must talk to her."
[17:32]	Phrine	"Yeah, yeah, I get it I get... You really don't wanna let this go."
[17:33]	Phrine	"What'd you even do to her anyways? I forgot."
[17:33]	Ai`	"Damaged relations are not tolerable," she affirms.
[17:33]	Ai`	constantly scans the environment on several spectrums, doing her best to spot Kitkat.
[17:37]	Phrine	[The pair approaches the island's antenna tower. No organisms of significant mass show up on Ai's scans.]
[17:39]	Phrine	looks up at the higher tower access platforms, craning her back far more backwards than is necessary.
[17:39]	Phrine	"...Kitties DO love to climb stuff..."
[17:40]	Ai`	"Kitkat is not here. We should proceed."
[17:41]	Phrine	looks at Ai curiously.
[17:41]	Ai`	Curt, Ai begins to stride onward amidst her tunnel-vision.
[17:41]	Phrine	"But... you didn't even look..."
[17:42]	Phrine	remains stationary behind her, unsure.
[17:42]	Ai`	"No light or heat signature here matches Kat. She is not here."
[17:44]	Phrine	"...What?"
[17:44]	Ai`	stops and turns to face her.
[17:44]	Ai`	"I looked. I did not see her."
[17:47]	Phrine	"But... you didn't even look..."
[17:48]	Ai`	looks the tower up and down using her head and eyes, rather than her other sensors. Not a second later:
[17:48]	Ai`	"I have looked. She is not here."
[17:51]	Phrine	keeps staring at her, still not really getting it.
[17:51]	Phrine	"...H-Hey, don't run away, you're gonna get lost! I can see in the dark!"
[17:52]	Phrine	bounds ahead to catch up with Ai again.
[17:53]	Ai`	"I can, too. Let us go."
[17:53]	Ai`	waits for Phrine, but turns about to move on to the next site.
[17:54]	Phrine	"...Mmmmm, hungry..."
[17:54]	Phrine	"Are you hungry? I'm hungry."
[17:56]	Ai`	"I am always 'hungry'."
[17:59]	Phrine	"Whaaa...?"
[17:59]	Phrine	hugs Ai as they walk to the lighthouse.
[17:59]	Phrine	"Awww... So sad..."
[18:00]	Ai`	"No pain is involved, unlike you, so it is not 'sad'."
[18:00]	Ai`	"It is just a problem to solve."
[18:02]	Phrine	continues to hug. After a while, she sort of forgets to keep walking and drags behind Ai.
[18:04]	Ai`	repeats her wide-spectrum scans once near the lighthouse, this time doing Phrine the courtesy of actually looking at it.
[18:04]	Ai`	"I do not see Kat here, either."
[18:05]	Phrine	"B'what if she's inside? Like, it's all stoney!"
[18:06]	Phrine	"Bet you can't see through stone~..."
[18:07]	Ai`	"Not yet. Let us look."
[18:07]	Ai`	She changes course without the slightest pause, dragging Phrine in an arc behind her before they resume a linear path.
[18:08]	Phrine	"Yay, we're looking! Ummph."
[18:08]	Phrine	stretches her hands outwards and claps, but in doing so lets go of Ai and falls to the ground.
[18:09]	Ai`	stops and turns, offering phrine a hand.
[18:09]	 Ai`	"Let us go."
[18:13]	Phrine	takes the hand and picks herself back up.
[18:14]	Phrine	"I forgot again~..."
[18:14]	Ai`	Unsure, the alien pauses before speaking.
[18:15]	Ai`	"You are alright. Shall we proceed?"
[18:20]	Phrine	"Mhm!"
[18:21]	Ai`	"Good."
[18:21]	Ai`	And thus, she proceeds.
[18:24]	Phrine	[The lighthouse is actually made of steel and siding; shows what Phrine knows about anything. Like all the structures on the island, it's fairly new and quite spartan. The inside contains various mechanical supplies, spare lights, and an operation panel, as well as a spiral staircase to the top platform.
[18:26]	Phrine	[Unless Kat is hiding in the supply closet, there's nowhere down here for her to hide, and she's not there.]
[18:28]	Phrine	"Aww, there's no little candy ring in here..."
[18:30]	Ai`	Ai turns back towards the door after giving the room and Phrine a quick glance.
[18:30]	Ai`	"Kitkat is not here. 'Candy Ring'?"
[18:31]	Phrine	"You know, the candy ring!"
[18:31]	Phrine	draws a ring in the air with her fingers.
[18:32]	Phrine	"The, the ring! It's like, a big candy, ring, thing!"
[18:33]	Ai`	"I do not understand. You can show me later. We should move."
[18:34]	Phrine	"...Move where now?
[18:35]	Phrine	"...Up?"
[18:35]	Phrine	"No, wait, up is... Out?"
[18:37]	Ai`	"Just out."
[18:37]	Ai`	exits.
[18:38]	Phrine	"Right. Out."
[18:38]	Phrine	goes up the stairs to the exterior platform.
[18:39]	Ai`	reenters at ground level.
[18:39]	Ai`	"Phrine, down here."
[18:40]	Phrine	looks back down, having not quite made it all the way yet.
[18:41]	Phrine	"Whuh...? But, I'm going, out?"
[18:41]	Ai`	"If you exit there, you may get hurt. If you exit with me, you will not."
[18:42]	Phrine	giggles.
[18:42]	Phrine	"Heehee, I won't get hurt; only smart people get colds! Don't you know that?"
[18:44]	Phrine	continues going out to the exterior platform.
[18:44]	Ai`	Deadpan, the android speaks out.
[18:45]	Ai`	"Give me a hug."
[18:45]	Ai`	She holds out her arms.
[19:53]	Phrine	doesn't get it.
[19:53]	Phrine	"...From all the way up here?"
[19:53]	Ai`	"Come down here and hug me."
[19:54]	Phrine	"But... I, already did...?"
[19:54]	Ai`	"Do it again."
[19:54]	Ai`	holds out her arms and stares at Phrine, expectant.
[19:56]	Phrine	puts a finger to her mouth, thinking, then smiles.
[19:56]	Phrine	"...You come up HERE and hug me~"
[19:57]	Ai`	"Very well."
[19:57]	Ai`	advances towards Phrine, only re-raising her arms to embrace the ditz once she is close.
[19:58]	Phrine	scampers off upwards and goes through the door to the outside catwalk.
[19:59]	Ai`	frowns. That was unexpected.
[20:00]	Ai`	She follows, however, and soon joins her ward outside.
[20:05]	Phrine	[The exterior catwalk has a steel grill floor and sturdy railing; the rotating light is housed in a glass cylinder in the center, though it's rarely ever on, and isn't on tonight.]
[20:07]	Phrine	[Phrine leans out from the opposite edge, supported by only one hand and one foot. She waves at Ai with her free hand.]
[20:08]	Ai`	"Please come over here and hug me, Phrine?"
[20:08]	Ai`	Once more, she holds her arms up.
[20:08]	Phrine	[Phrine shakes her head, then points silently over to the left.]
[20:09]	Ai`	looks.
[20:10]	Phrine	[Oh look, it's a kat.]
[20:10]	Ai`	She drops her arms.
[20:10]	Phrine	"{...Do her instead~}"
[20:11]	Ai`	"... Kitkat. Hello."
[20:11]	`GM	{=-= Whisper brackets}
[20:14]	Kitkat	sits on the grill with her feet dangling over the edge, white labcoat she always wears bundled around her; it's actually quite chilly up here.
[20:15]	Kitkat	turns around, face weary and eyes red. She stares at Ai for a few seconds, then looks back out at the sea.
[20:17]	Kitkat	"Mmm."
[20:18]	Ai`	walks over and sits down next to her.
[20:19]	Ai`	"I wanted to tell you I am sorry. I would increase my volume to demonstrate sincerity, but that might put you in danger."
[20:21]	Kitkat	glances at Ai again.
[20:21]	Kitkat	"S-Sorry? Sorry for, for what?"
[20:21]	Kitkat	seems quite distracted.
[20:22]	Ai`	"The lab incident. I should not have supported Wallberg in using it against your will. Instead, we should have found a different location."
[20:22]	Ai`	watches Kitkat closely, trying to decode all possible signs as to what she is thinking and feeling.
[20:23]	Kitkat	"Oh, th-that? I don'... I don' even, care anymore..."
[20:23]	Kitkat	looks the other way and sighs, resting a hand on her cheek.
[20:24]	Ai`	"Then what is wrong?"
[20:25]	Kitkat	"Oh, it's just... stuff, lots'a, lots'a stuff, it's me, don' worry 'bout it..."
[20:25]	Kitkat	"Nyot your fault."
[20:26]	Ai`	"Please tell me? I would like to assist."
[20:29]	Kitkat	"Nyo, it's, it's nyothing, I'll get over it... Just, sleep it off, maybe..."
[20:30]	Ai`	"If you say so, then. Would you like a hug?"
[20:34]	Kitkat	looks back at Ai. Either she looks like she could cry at any moment, or she is crying, but without tears.
[20:35]	Kitkat	"...y, yes..."
[20:35]	Kitkat	actually moves first and flops into Ai's unexpecting arms.
[20:37]	Ai`	is shocked to inaction, at first, but then slowly and tenderly wraps Kitkat into a hug, even lightly warming her "skin" to create better comfort.
[20:39]	Kitkat	wraps her arms around Ai and just sits there, taking deep breaths.
[20:42]	Kitkat	"You, are... D'you ever... lonely?"
[20:43]	Ai`	thinks for a moment, silent.
[20:45]	Ai`	"I do not feel the emotion 'loneliness'. But I find coexistence with others informative."
[20:46]	Ai`	"I have not yet downloaded emotional processing."
[20:46]	Kitkat	grabs fistfuls of Ai's uniform from behind her back, hands shaking.
[20:50]	Kitkat	"That's, you...nnnnnn..."
[20:50]	Kitkat	hugs her tighter; perhaps painfully so if Ai wasn't Ai.
[20:52]	Ai`	softens her voice slightly. Not as much as a well-accustomed human might, perhaps, but it's a step in the right direction.
[20:52]	Ai`	"If you are ever lonely, you may find me."
[20:54]	Kitkat	squeezes her eyes even tighter shut than before.
[20:54]	Kitkat	"But, you're, nyot... You, aren't...!"
[20:56]	Kitkat	unconsciously begins to tear Ai's uniform, deepening the rips caused by Phrine's earlier roughness.
[20:57]	Kitkat	"YOU'RE NYOT REAL!"
[20:57]	Ai`	frowns.
[20:57]	Kitkat	lets go and shoves Ai away slightly.
[20:57]	Kitkat	"You're nyot, you don't THINK like... This is all...!"
[20:58]	Kitkat	"Gnnnnyaaaaah!"
[20:58]	Kitkat	grips the railing bars and shakes them furiously, not really moving them all that much.
[20:59]	Ai`	lets her go but watches carefully, ready to counteract any danger.
[20:59]	Kitkat	"It's all, it's all a lie...! Nyone of..."
[21:00]	Kitkat	rests her chin on the railing, dry sobs peppering her voice now.
[21:00]	Ai`	"I am not human, and I do not share your form. But I am real, even if my 'brain' is incomplete. I may not understand now, but I eventually will."
[21:01]	Kitkat	"I, I just... I wanna go home... I wanna go home!"
[21:02]	Kitkat	"Nyobody here's... It's all... Myommy..."
[21:03]	Kitkat	"I, I miss..."
[21:06]	Ai`	[Next came something unexpected.]
[21:06]	Ai`	"I 'miss' my 'family' too."
[21:08]	Kitkat	"Shutup you don't HAVE a family! You're a ROBOT!"
[21:08]	Kitkat	"They're all FAKE, they're not your REAL PARENTS!"
[21:08]	Ai`	frowns.
[21:09]	Kitkat	pokes Ai in the chest forcefully.
[21:09]	Ai`	"I am not a human 'robot'. All of my kind are more like you than me."
[21:09]	Kitkat	"YOU'RE not REAL. Did you, I, I lived in a house, and, I had pancakes, I had friends, like, online yeah, but..."
[21:10]	Kitkat	"I, I had a, life..."
[21:10]	Ai`	stares directly into Kat's eyes, her own glowing slightly.
[21:13]	Ai`	After a long moment, she speaks.
[21:13]	Ai`	"... I do not know what that is like, but ask, and I will do my best to improve yours."
[21:16]	Kitkat	stares at her angrily, though confused.
[21:16]	Kitkat	"...What?"
[21:17]	Ai`	"'Having a life'. Can you keep a secret?"
[21:18]	Ai`	's unblinking stare continues unbroken.
[21:18]	Kitkat	"I don't even... what?"
[21:20]	Ai`	"Directives demand I share as little information with non-Consensus entities as possible. I am choosing to break this, if you can keep a secret."
[21:20]	Ai`	briefly looks about for Phrine.
[21:22]	Kitkat	shakes her head for a rather unrelated reason.
[21:23]	Kitkat	"This... this is why. You just don't get it, do you...?"
[21:23]	Kitkat	"You just don't GET it."
[21:24]	Ai`	frowns again.
[21:25]	Ai`	"I do not yet. But that can change when I next visit the lab. I could do so tonight."
[21:25]	Kitkat	grits her teeth.
[21:26]	Kitkat	"You can't just... Nnnnnnnyrr, it's so EASY for you, isn't it?! Just, nyew program, whee, magic, there you go?"
[21:26]	Kitkat	"That's nyot how it WORKS. It's nyot REAL."
[21:28]	Kitkat	"Fake-ass job on a fake-ass island in the myiddle of nyowhere... Why, why am I HERE?!"
[21:28]	Kitkat	"I just, wanna go home!"
[21:31]	Ai`	Puzzled, Ai tries to process the most diplomatic response.
[21:32]	Ai`	"I can help build a home here. And, in time, help you return home."
[21:37]	Kitkat	still looks dejected and angry.
[21:37]	Kitkat	"It's too late... Government knows now..."
[21:39]	Kitkat	"Just, thought it was... Y'know... an adventure..."
[21:40]	Kitkat	"Sucks..."
[21:41]	Ai`	"It does."
[21:41]	Ai`	uses EMPATHY!
[21:41]	Ai`	[Eer, Sympathy?]
[21:41]	`GM	[Ai was goofing off!]
[21:41]	`GM	[Ai used APATHY instead!]
[21:43]	Kitkat	"You were... Gonna, say, something? 'Bout, your myom...?"
[21:44]	Ai`	nods.
[21:46]	Ai`	"I was created four earth years ago. One year later, I arrived on my assigned planet and began 'work'. Three years later, I awoke and was driven here following a threat to my life."
[21:49]	Ai`	"During that time, I had eighteen minutes of contact with my 'mom'. Communication was text only, and primarily consisted of spatial warfare tactics. Thus, I have only 'lived' for this past month."
[21:54]	Kitkat	"...oh..."
[21:54]	Kitkat	really has no basis of comparison. She feels like she should be sad for Ai? But it's kind of hard to when, y'know...
[21:55]	Kitkat	"That sounds... nyot, fun, I guess..."
[22:00]	Ai`	"We are similar in some ways. I wished to demonstrate that, and restate that I wish to help how I can."
[22:01]	Ai`	pre-empts Kat.
[22:01]	Ai`	"Sorry. I am not the best at talking with others."
[22:01]	Kitkat	"Mmm..."
[22:05]	Kitkat	"Thanks for... a-apologizing, I guess..."
[22:06]	Ai`	"You are welcome."
[22:09]	Kitkat	"Did you, want anything, else?"
[22:11]	Ai`	"I wanted to ensure that you are alright. You seem better now, at least."
[22:13]	Kitkat	"Kkkkindaa..."
[22:13]	Ai`	"That is better than before."
[22:13]	Ai`	smiles slightly.
[22:16]	Kitkat	"Y-yaaaayyyy."
[22:16]	Kitkat	fakes.
[22:18]	Ai`	The smile disappears.
[22:19]	Ai`	"If you are still angry at me, or anything else, please don't hide it. If you wish, I can leave you alone for the now."
[22:21]	Kitkat	"Alone is... iunno. Whatever..."
[22:21]	Kitkat	doesn't really seem to have the gumption to do much of anything, positive or negative.
[22:28]	Ai`	"Next time I see you, then, the hug will be 'real'. Or 'more real', at least."
[22:29]	Ai`	slowly begins to stand.
[22:30]	Kitkat	"You can't just 'decide' that, you knyow..."
[22:31]	Kitkat	"That's why you don't get it."
[22:31]	Kitkat	sighs again and continues to look out at the ocean.
[22:32]	Ai`	"It is more like growing a missing part of brain rather than 'deciding'."
[22:32]	Ai`	begins to go.
[22:35]	Ai`	And so she does.
[22:39]	Ai`	From there, she proceeds straight to the lab, and after finding it locked, she heads to the main house.
[22:39]	Ai`	With a misison on her mind, she rejoins the others.