Writer’s corner: Greetings friends! And some mind-to-mind talk this chapter

SO, here’s the point where I go and start complaining to DeathCrawler for the fact that he got it right and that he shouldn’t post spoilers on the comments, but since it was a guess, I think he deserves a candy for that. So have ye candy!

BESIDES, this is a dialogue heavy-chapter, so don’t say you haven’t been warned, okay? This is mostly a exposition chapter, expanding the world and so on. That and some blush moments with your favorite professor/Lunn’s victim.

BESIDES(II), o0sky0o posted this last chapter, I thought that he deserved a mention in this chapter for how amusing it is:

“Such kawaii for the moe-fanatic-shopaholic- elf-chic ,

Much surprise for the dwarf-boss against his own company.

Much curious for the mortal-man Gaz doomed to die,

One for the Forgotten goddess on her dark cage.

In the land of (Re)install where the oddballs lie.

One Ruby to bribe them all, one Ruby to meet them,

One Ruby to bring them all and in the day light bind them

In the Land of (Re)install where the "Insania" lies.”

SO HAVE YOUR CANDY, o0sky0o!

Beep, and enjoy your story!

---

It happened during the night, while Gaz was nearly finishing the hind legs of his new body, trying to shove a few more horsepower of strength on them to so that it could compensate for the extra weight his new body would carry in comparison to the drone’s usual bodies. He and his companion divinity were distractedly doing their work when suddenly, said companion said.

[Huh? What…] She never really finished her words, leaving them just like that. Gaz could even feel as her attention was directed somewhere else for that moment.

[What happened?] Gaz asked his companion as he also stopped working on the motor.

[No… It’s just… I felt…] She tried to find the correct words, but they seemed to escape her.

[You felt…?] He asked her, gently pushing her to explain.

[I’m not sure… it felt like the link we have… But… Different… Almost like…] She once again drifted off before finishing her words. [I’m not sure how to explain it, to tell the truth…] She said finally.

[Anything else that might help us, besides it being strange?] Gaz asked, and much to his surprise he felt as the goddess nodded.

[Yeah. I can pinpoint the source to be nearby… Very close, actually.] She said surprising the small robot.

[Well, what are we waiting for them? Lets get going!] Gaz said cheerfully while rolling his way to the door. [Where is it?] He asked.

[Upwards. Probably on the third floor is the most I can pinpoint.] She said with a worried tone.

[Back to working on the robot!] Gaz said cheerfully while making a perfect U-turn. [Stairs… My mortal enemies! I shall have my revenge!] He said in an overly dramatic tone as he went back to working.

The goddess in his mind simply laughed wryly at his reaction.

…

After asking the goddess to keep an eye out for the feeling, Gaz went back to working on his new body, only to find out that one of the parts was a bit more fragile than what he had initially expected and had to rework the last one or so hours to fix the new leg.

While keeping an eye out for the strange feeling that she had, Ekis said once during the night that she had the brief feeling that the source of the feeling had moved, but she couldn’t be so sure, as it was still very vague.

A few hypothesis brewed themselves within their minds as they thought about what it could be, but only when the first rays of the morning appeared that another significate change appeared.

As Gaz finished the new leg for the third time, thanks to over-tuning the joint motor distractedly, and receiving a long lecture from the goddess about how he should be more careful with machines, something echoed within his mind.

[I have so many questions to make to Beepy!] A voice that they had more than grown used to hearing echoed within their link. The only problem was that they were both quiet at the moment.

[Was that…?] Ekis asked surprised, her voice the closest to a murmur as their link allowed.

[Shh!] Gaz hissed at her so that she would let him hear better whoever was speaking. To tell the truth, he didn’t know if it worked that way, but better safe than sorry.

As they heard the young girl’s voice resounding in their heads, appearing a lot more cheerful than the usual shy tone it usually had, Gaz slowly made his way out of the workshop and looked out for possible sounds around the house. Hearing the sound of the bathroom’s sink turning on, Gaz patiently waited outside, a short distance away from the door to give the girl her privacy.

But as soon as he heard the voice changing into a tone of surprise and worry, Gaz immediately darted away from where he was and went to check on her worriedly. Looking carefully through the door, he saw as she turned towards him with a shocked face, before sighing loudly in relief.

[Oh… It’s just Beepy…] Ruby said a bit surprised.

[GODDAMIT! IT REALLY WAS HER!] Gaz shouted surprised, shocking the poor girl.

[Waah! No wonder I felt something weird!] Ekis said, sounding cheerful. [See Gaz! I told you that I felt something strange this night!]

…

[Wha… What is happening here? How can I hear you guys in my head?] Ruby asked confused and flustered as Gaz guided her to his workshop.

It took some time, but after playing the cards of him being almost destroyed and the fact that the others wouldn’t believe her if she suddenly said that she can hear voices in her head, Gaz and Ekis somehow managed to convince the young morfian to speak on her mind instead of out loud. After that, teaching was surprisingly easy, and she confirmed that she could filter her thoughts and speech if she focused a bit.

Gaz briefly looked around to make sure that no one was following them and closed the door behind him.

[Well, for starters, as we already said…] Gaz said while making a sound similar to clearing his throat. [We have no idea why we can speak with you like this.] He said with a mental shrug, and he could feel as Ruby became surprised. [Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll keep working on the new body as we talk, is that a problem?] He asked as he picked up the drones parts and started to fiddle with them.

[Hmm…? No… I don’t mind…] Ruby said a bit shocked with how casually he asked that.

[Geez, Gaz! Why don’t you pay a bit more of attention to the poor girl?] Ekis complained in their link, making the girl look around confused.

[Hmm… If Beep… I mean… Gaz…] She started a bit shyly, but Gaz stopped her.

[You can keep calling me Beepy if you want.] He said distractedly. [I’m already used to it.]

[Hmm? Thanks then…] She said, and Gaz didn’t even need to turn back to know that she was blushing embarrassedly. Ekis sent a soothing feeling that made him imagine if she was smiling gently at their exchange. [If you are Beepy… Then who is the other one?] She asked confused while blushing slightly. Then her eyes widened a bit as she thought. [Are you…]

“BEEEEEP!”[WRONG ANSWER! Not mirage. Try again.] Gaz said playfully, making the girl blink in surprise before blushing again.

[Gaz! Can’t you see you are leaving her embarrassed?] Ekis said annoyed.

[But it’s so fun to tease her!] Gaz said in a playful tone. [And don’t say that you don’t like to see her blushing like that! It’s cute!] As soon as he said that, a strong feeling of embarrassment flooded their link and he laughed even louder.

[You meanie! I never knew that you could be like that!] The goddess said with an annoyed tone while Gaz laughed away.

[It’s mostly because you don’t have many things that leaves you embarrassed…] He said with a shrug. [That, and leaving the only person that I could actually talk to mad at me isn’t exactly a smart idea.] Ekis sighed at this.

[Anyway, as I said, my name is Ekis, and I’ve been Gaz’s traveling companion since day one.] She said with a gentle tone.

[It’s… It’s nice to meet you…] Ruby said shyly as she looked around. [Hmm… Where are you?] She asked a bit confused as she didn’t see anyone else besides the small robot in front of her.

[That’s exactly what we want to know.] Gaz said with a mental nod, before reminding himself of something. [By the way, she’s the goddess of the robots and have been locked away by the other gods right after your world was created. Thought you might want to know.]

Gaz said that almost as if he was simply saying the weather, and Ruby widened her eyes slightly for a moment before nodding surprised. Noticing this, Gaz slowly turned back to her and noticed as she slowly digested that information.

Then she shot up in surprise and said out loud.

“Goddess of robots?”

[Now that’s the reaction I was expecting! And please, tone it down a bit or you’ll wake up the whole house.] Gaz said nonchalantly and he saw as Ruby blushed heavily before sitting down on the ground. [By the way, I’m saving that photo on my memory.] He added lastly.

[Yeah, that was a good one!] Ekis added. [She looks so cute when she’s embarrassed like that!]

[Geez, and you say that I’m the mean one…] Gaz said mischievously. [But they still don’t beat the ones from the shopping spree. Those are worth their size in gold!]

Ruby went even redder at these words and couldn’t go anywhere further than the corner she was already in. Gaz and Ekis laughed a bit more at the shy girl before deciding to stop for now, as they were starting to pity the poor girl who couldn’t even return to her original coloration anymore.

They gave her some time to cool down herself as he patiently worked on his body. During that time they heard as the others started to wake up and walk around the house. Ruby lifted her eyes a bit and looked at the door, probably wanting to go out there and talk with the others.

Gaz took this chance to also stop working a bit and walk around while following Ruby around the house. They firstly went to the kitchen, where they found Volgoff exploring the drawers and taking a few utensils from them. Sadly, he didn’t find any food, so the group used their own resources for the breakfast. The troll made a mental note to go and buy some food on the city during their next travel there.

During the time the group was eating around, Gaz felt as excitement started to boil within Ruby, and more than once she opened her mouth to speak something, but closed down.

[Look, you are free to tell them about me.] Gaz said gently in their links, and for a brief moment her eyes sparkled. [But, I’ll also be sure to play the record of your shopping spree for every one else to see, okay?]

With that she paled deeply and went back to eating her sandwich.

[Why… Don’t you want them to find out about you?] She asked him a bit confused.

[I… Have my reasons.] Gaz said slowly. [And last time I checked it wasn’t anything evil.]

[… Okay…] She said a bit waryly, but agreeing nonetheless.

“What happened, sweetie?” Asked Lunn as she hugged Ruby from behind and rubbed her cheek against her head. “You looked so distracted today…” She said worryingly, which left Ruby a bit worried whether she could answer her or not.

“I was just… A bit tired. I didn’t sleep to well this night!” She said briefly with a convincing fake sleepy tone.

“Geez, then if you slept so badly alone, you can come sleep with me, okay?” Lunn said with a half-joking tone.

“Hmm… Okay…” Ruby answered a bit shyly. [It was actually quite confortable…]

[Hooh… what does that mean?] Gaz said playfully.

[I WASN’T SUPPOSED TO SAY THAT!] She replied while blushing heavily, which led to an even tighter hugging from the elf.

…

[And that’s the story behind Ekis.] Gaz asked as he passed Ruby a sensor. She nodded slightly. [So, what’s your other questions?]

[Wow… That’s sad.] She said while looking towards Gaz with a pitying look. [But what about you, Beepy? What kind of robot are you?] She asked curious as she welded the new cables to the sensor.

[Well, my story is a bit different from what you probably expect.] He said with an amused tone. [For starters, I’m technically one or two weeks old. Physically, at least.]

[Wait, didn’t Yllivia say that she found you one or two weeks ago?] Ruby asked confused.

[We… Kind of got caught twenty minutes after I brought him to this world…] Ekis answered in a wry tone.

[Brought to this world?] Ruby asked confused. [What does that mean?]

[Well, to tell the truth, I came from another world, and when I died, Ekis here resurrected me using all of her accumulated power.] He explained to the girl as he took back the sensor.

[Then… There’s a whole world with robots just like you?] Ruby asked excited,

[Geez, calm down.] Gaz said while laughing wryly. [And no, there isn’t a whole world with robots like me. Heck, I wasn’t even a robot before!] He said amused

[You… weren’t a robot before?] Ruby asked surprised. [And you said that you are a guy…] She said slowly before suddenly blushing slightly. But this time Gaz could also feel a slight anger seeping through the link. [Then, back at the shop you were…]

[NOPE!] He said before she could go on. [Why did you think I didn’t follow you at the dresser?] He asked in a deadpan tone, which caught her a bit by surprise. [I may be a man inside, but I still have some integrity within me, okay?] He said while turning towards her slightly annoyed.

[Sorry…] She said lowly, and Gaz sighed.

[Besides, you kind of remind me of my sisters, so it just felt wrong to even think of that.] He added wryly. [Even if your personality is completely different from theirs…]

[Sisters…?] Ruby asked surprised.

[Well, to tell the truth, he was actually embarrassed when he had to wait at the store.] Ekis added lastly, which left Beepy a bit embarrassed as he quickly turned back to work on the body.

The girls shared a short giggle as they watched the flustered robot for the moment.

[Say… What were you before resurrecting?] She asked curious as she helped plug the legs on the body.

[Hmm? I don’t think there’s something like that here…] Gaz said in wonder. [But I was a human. Haven’t really seen any of them around, at least.]

[Human? What’s that?] Ruby asked confused.

[I’m…. Not sure how to explain.] Gaz said a bit confused. [Midterm between an elf and a dwarf, but only picking the bad parts of each, I guess…]

[Wow… That sounds bad!] She said with a slightly teasing tone, and Gaz laughed a bit at that.

The duo worked a bit longer in silence, not even changing a few words as they worked around with the body, even when they exchanged some of the most complex part of their jobs, and even when they did talk to each other, it was mostly some short questions that she made him about his other world and so on.

[You seem surprisingly calm with the whole goddess thing, you know?] Gaz commented a bit curious.

[Well… It’s mostly because it actually makes sense.] Ruby said as if stating the obvious. Sensing Gaz’s and Ekis’ confusion. [I mean… Doesn’t this makes me your priestess?] She asked a bit confused.

[Sorry… I don’t think I explained this well enough.] Gaz said in slow and deliberate tone. [I’m from another world while Ekis has been locked inside the other gods know where for the last eternity.]

[Hmm… I think that what he wants to say is that we have no idea what you mean.] Ekis said with some easier to understand words, which made Ruby widen her eyes in surprise for a moment.

[There weren’t priests back at your world?] She asked surprised.

[Probably not in the way YOU are thinking.] Gaz said.

[Hmm… How to explain it…] Ruby said in wonder. [Priests are the ones who talk directly to the gods.] She said as if trying to explain what an animal is. [I… Heard that they listen the voice of the gods… And each god gives them some special blessings… I guess?] She said a bit confused, before blushing slightly. [Sorry… I never really thought much about this... I spent most of my time studying robots…]

[And that’s probably what made you her priestess?] Gaz said in wonder.

[Maybe… But…] She stopped to think for a moment. [I thought that the Priests were always from one of the races the gods created…]

[Maybe its because there isn’t a sentient robot besides Gaz?] Ekis said a bit confused. [And I did make Gaz a bit different from how I made the other robots…]

[Then, the priestes-ship… Is that even a word? Went to our shy little morfian professor right here!] Gaz said finalizing the thought. [And that might also explain how we seem to work so easily together.]

[What do you mean?] Ruby asked, so Gaz laughed a bit while looking at her.

[Tell me, my little red friend.] He said in a playful tone. [Little being a relative expression of course, what are you doing right now?]

[Hmm? I was going to the workshop to alter this needle launcher so it can shoot a bigger, armor piercing needle. Why?] She asked confused stopping just short of the door.

[And where do you plan on adding said launchers in my future body?]

[A large amount on the tail for wide area attacks and some more precise ones near the head and the claws, why?] She said with surprising confindence.

[And what I am doing right now?] He asked her finally.

[Preparing the tail to receive the laun… Oh…] She said as the information finally sunk in. [I… Didn’t even notice…]

[Yeah… I almost didn’t too.] Gaz said with a mental shrug. [Anyway, get going already because I want to test my new body already!]

[Okay, okay!] She said with a wry smile as she left the room.

[Say… What about asking Lunn to help you buy some working clothes?] He asked when he guessed that the girl was around the middle of the house.

“NO WAY!” a loud shout came from the main room, and soon embarrassment and annoyance flooded their link.