Iris Chapi:
As the rain grew heavier, we had no choice but to hurry back to the base. My father promised he would explain everything once we were back in the hangar. The path gradually turned to mud beneath our feet as we made our way home, while the clouds thickened overhead until they almost swallowed the sky.
The forest no longer resembled the peaceful trail we had followed earlier. The sound of my father's footsteps splashing through puddles, the steady trickle of rain cascading from the branches, and the deepening darkness beneath the canopy created an atmosphere that felt almost oppressive. When we finally emerged from the trees, we reached the vast plain leading to the military base just as a military truck appeared in the distance, its headlights piercing the gathering gloom.
The truck came to a stop beside us, and the passenger door swung open.
"Need a hand?" Vivian called out.
"We wouldn't say no," my father replied, as four soldiers climbed down to help me into the back.
"Please, be careful," I asked them in their own language, which earned a few embarrassed smiles. With my current body and tracked locomotion, overcoming obstacles was never easy. Climbing into a vehicle like this was almost an expedition in itself.
Fortunately, the interior was spacious, with a central aisle and benches facing each other along both sides. My father climbed aboard just after me, followed by the soldiers, while Vivian pulled back onto the road toward the base.
"So... you didn't bother checking the weather?" Vivian asked from the driver's cabin through the small rear window.
"Not at all. I didn't expect it to change so quickly once we were outside," my father replied, drenched from head to toe.
I was just as soaked, but unlike him, my body was completely waterproof. Even so, I'd have to hose down my tracks later to wash away the mud that had built up inside them.
I noticed my father shiver ever so slightly, and I couldn't help hoping this spontaneous outing wouldn't leave him even sicker than he already was.
"When we get back, I think we're both due for a hot shower, don't you, Father?" I said, looking at him.
He smiled back at me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught several soldiers exchanging discreet glances in our direction.
"Tell me, Vivian... did you know we were outside?" my father asked curiously.
"You could say part of my job is keeping an eye on you," she replied cheerfully. "So I was notified the moment you left the base."
"I see..." He paused. "Have you spoken with Lady Natali since then?"
He still seemed uncomfortable after their argument on the bus.
"No, not since I came back from watching over the Pavel family. By the way, they asked me to give you their regards. They hope they'll see you again soon."
"You saw them this morning?" I asked before my father could answer. "How was Elowen doing?"
I had wanted to speak with her myself. She was one of my closest friends, but considering everything she'd just been through, it wasn't surprising that I hadn't been able to contact her.
"She was doing wonderfully," Vivian replied. "In fact, she was already trying to get out of bed despite her parents' firm objections."
My father let out a quiet chuckle.
"I'm glad to hear that. They're in for quite an adventure now that she's finally broken free of her limits," he said with a warm smile, though his voice still trembled slightly before a small sneeze escaped him.
Once we were safely back inside the military base, the soldiers helped me down from the truck. My father and I used a hose stored nearby to wash most of the mud from my tracks. After thanking Vivian for coming to pick us up, we headed back to our workshop.
My father didn't even wait until he reached the bathroom before starting to undress. He struggled for a few moments with his soaked T-shirt as it clung stubbornly to his skin before finally pulling it free and tossing it aside with an exhausted sigh, leaving him standing in nothing but his underwear.
"Come on, sweetheart. Let's get you cleaned up properly," he said as he walked toward the bathroom.
"Dad, take care of yourself first. You must be freezing, and I still want us to finish our conversation."
"I promise we will," he replied. "But come here first. Let me take care of you."
I gave in. Besides, with my pincers and the last clumps of mud still lodged in my tracks, I was making a mess of the floor anyway.
The shower was spacious enough to accommodate someone with limited mobility. He carefully cleaned my tracks and part of my chassis, removing the mud and the tiny stones wedged between the rollers.
As he worked, my gaze drifted over the countless scars covering his body: the scar where his diseased arm had been amputated, along with the burns and cuts scattered across his right forearm. He had injured himself countless times back in the barn while building the Liberty alongside me...
But the scar across his abdomen remained different.
A forgotten piece of the past...
One that was slowly beginning to come back to me.
As I studied the scar, my fingers brushing lightly against it, fragments of memories came rushing back.
The explosion in the barn.
My father on his knees, desperately pulling at the machine's cables.
His abdomen torn open.
Blood running down the metal frame after the blast.
The scene replayed before my eyes with startling clarity. I remembered standing there, unable to help him, as a blinding light engulfed the barn and he collapsed to the floor.
"Iris!"
I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up at my father, only to realize that my pincer had tightened ever so slightly around his scar.
"I'm sorry, Father! I didn't hurt you, did I?" I asked, suddenly horrified by what I had done.
"It's all right, don't worry," he replied gently. "You just weren't answering me anymore. You're all clean now, so it's my turn."
Still shaken, I left the shower and returned to the workshop, unable to stop thinking about what had happened that day.
Almost instinctively, I rolled toward the Adamai Celestial Ring, resting on the workbench and connected to supply power to my body.
"Why can't I hear you?" I whispered, unable to hide the frustration in my voice.
My father could hear him.
Séraphina had confirmed it herself.
Which meant he wasn't imagining things.
So why couldn't I hear them, no matter how many times I called?
Neither Adamai nor Avangelyne ever answered.
That silence hurt more than I wanted to admit.
Was it because I wasn't human?
The thought tightened around my heart.
A few moments later, my father emerged from the bathroom wearing a tracksuit and quietly took a seat beside me at the workbench.
For a long while, he simply watched me...
...while my eyes remained fixed on Avangelyne.
"All right," my father said at last, his voice growing serious. "As I promised, I'll answer your questions."
"Fragments of my memories are coming back... but they're still painful," I admitted.
"I know, sweetheart. Take your time."
"What happened that day? What... did I do?"
"That day, the explosion sent a piece of metal straight into my abdomen, tearing it open. The Celestial Ring lit up... almost as if it were mocking me while I collapsed to the ground. Even now, my own memories of that day are incomplete because I spent it in a coma. Everything I'm about to tell you was told to me by Johanna."
As he spoke, scattered fragments slowly began falling back into place inside my mind.
"Aunt Johanna... Yes... she came to the barn. I remember now. She's the one who saved you," I whispered.
"Not exactly." He gently shook his head. "That day, she received an emergency message telling her to come to the barn immediately... and you were the one who sent it. Do you remember?"
One piece after another clicked into place, forming a sequence of blurred yet coherent memories.
I remembered barely being conscious, but I had known something was terribly wrong.
Some instinct deep within me had told me that I had to act.
An indescribable pain had surged through me, though I hadn't understood why.
"Yes..." I murmured. "It's coming back... I contacted Aunt Johanna..."
"Exactly." He smiled softly. "That was the first time you became truly self-aware. When I came back from the hospital, you were different. You asked me questions. You interacted with me. Even your code had changed."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"But what surprised me most... was seeing you trembling because you were happy I'd come home."
A faint blush colored his cheeks.
"That was the moment I realized..."
He smiled at me with quiet warmth.
"...I had a child."
His words awakened memories of his absence within me—the overwhelming emptiness, my very first feelings of loneliness. I had buried them deep inside myself... but now, they returned with perfect clarity.
I even remembered the very first time I had called him Dad, and the memory alone warmed my heart.
"But... how could this have happened, Dad? I don't understand."
"Life is something humanity still doesn't fully understand," he replied thoughtfully. "And just like life itself... you remain a mystery, my daughter."
"Then... how are you going to create my little brother?" I asked, a hint of sadness creeping into my voice.
"I have an idea..." he answered, averting his gaze for a moment. "But before I do anything, I need to be absolutely certain that there won't be any risk to you."
"What do you mean, Father? Please explain. Why would there be any risk to me?"
My father drew a slow, deep breath before answering.
"My daughter... I believe that, in a way..."
"...you are the key."
He hesitated, carefully searching for the right words.
"But for that to happen..."
"...you would have to share a part of your soul..."
"...so that another soul could be born."