I took it and wiped my face, grateful for the small generosity. "Thank you, you're so kind for an expendable like me." I smiled slightly.
She nodded, "You can keep it. I don't really get to use it anyway."
I paused, holding the handkerchief for a moment longer than I needed to, then tucked it away. It was strange, but I don't really mind it that much. "So um... Can you lead?" I take a look at revolver chamber, There're two bullets left. "I don't really feel like leading that much." I continued.
Ferina thought for a bit, "Yeah, sure." before I could say anything, "But you have to watch my back, Got it?" I gave her a thumbs up, "Alright." We begins our journey to find Arthur.
Ferina leads me to the gate to the next room. It looks like the last on-
Ah wait, let's change the story a bit. Suddenly, I have a second thought. "What if we bring Z-779 with us?" Ferina looks at me in disbelief, her mask covering most of her expression, but I can feel the 'really?' face behind it. "For real?"
"Yeah... Maybe it has some clues about Arthur." I glance around the room and spot a rope. "Ta-da! I'll strap him to my back." ...Yeah.
Even though I can't see her full reaction, her sigh is enough. "You can't be serious."
"Totally serious!" I reply, already holding the rope. "Whatever..." She adjusts her mask and walks on. "But this is on you."
I walk back into the Z-779 room with a rope in hand, Ferina waiting outside leaning against the door frame. "Ready to go on a trip?" I asked, stepping closer to Z-779.
"A what!?" Z-779 Said in disbelief. "You heard that right." The door lock beside Z-779 was broken, and... well, I kicked the door down. I- uh, never knew I had this much strength.
"Are there any necessary components..." I glanced at him, unsure of what to do.
"H-HEY STOP!" Z-779 shouted, clearly not wanting to go with me.
"You can take the whole thing, he's not connected to any wires." Ferina pointed out.
Without another word, I strapped him to my back.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Z-779 groaned. He was a bit heavy, but I didn't mind. "Alright, let's go." I walked outside to Ferina. "Let's go find Arthur." As I stepped out, I noticed a security camera pointed at me like someone was monitoring us from above. Ferina led us to the gate again, walking in front of me.
"I hate you." Z-779 mumbled behind me. "Mhm." I replied, lightly tapping his screen.
Z-779, clearly wanting to bite off my finger but unable to (since he's just a talking computer), grumbled in frustration. "Nice try, buddy," I teased, before finally stopping.
We stood still infront of the gate as the sensor scan us, then the gate open up with a slight hiss of air. The room is the same as this one but with fully lit lights.
As we made our way through the hallway, Ferina suddenly stopped, her eyes focusing on a vent overhead at the wall. "Wait a second." she said, her voice slightly muffled by her mask. She pointed at the vent cover, which was slightly open. "He might've gone through there."
I tilted my head, staring up at it. "You think Arthur crawled through the vent?"
Ferina shrugged, "He's impulsive enough."
Z-779 let out an irritating beep, "Great, another genius move. Vent crawling. Classic."
We walked further down the corridor, passing several locked doors until we heard a faint banging sound from behind one of them. My heart jumped. "Arthur?"
I ran up to the door, banging on it. "Arthur, are you in there?"
"Y-Yeah! I'm stuck!" his voice came through, sounding frustrated but unharmed. "I crawled through the vent, and now the door's jammed!"
Ferina rolled her eyes. "Of course he did."
Z-779 let out a groan. "Of all the brilliant plans, this is the one he picks."
I ignored the snark, "Hang tight, we'll get you out."
I grabbed the handle, trying to force the door open, but it didn't budge. Ferina sighed and pulled out her gun, aiming it at the lock. "Step back." she said. One quick shot, and the lock shattered.
The door slide open, revealing Arthur sitting on the floor, looking sheepish. "Uh...thanks."
I crossed my arms, shaking my head. "Next time, stick with us."
"I will..." he said, brushing dust off his clothes. "Luckily you still have Navi-AI, otherwise I wouldn't have made it this far." I nudged him playfully, trying to lighten the mood.
"What do you mean?" Arthur looked at me, clearly confused.
"Oh- Uh... It's... a long story." I stammered, realizing I almost let slip about my death and return.
"Right, right..." Arthur waved it off, not pressing further. Typical. He always ignored the weird stuff when things got intense.
I glanced at the pad beside the door, noticing that it finally displayed some numbers. "Room 67." I muttered. We were making progress toward the crystal room, moving from room to room.
We arrived at the next room, which appeared to be a checkpoint. Suddenly, a voice crackled through the intercom.
"You're gonna have to take a slight detour. Several pieces of equipment in the sector are broken, and we need them fixed. The door is remotely locked until every broken apparatus is operational."
...I see.
(AHAHAHAHAHHA IM GOING INSANE FROM 24/7 HOURS SESSION OF GAMING)
(Anyways ty for waiting for this part to come out♥️♥️♥️ I really appreciate it.)
(Next part is coming out VERY soon)