「 ..Duo... 」

you show promise. but promise won't save you from what comes next.

// ive been having lots, LOTS of maestro thoughts recently. might be time to brush the dust off this old thing...

ㅤ 「 Be safe, Enker. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThey watch him go. Desperately do they want to run to him, to find that age old comfort in his arms. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBut they don't. ( ..I love you. ) ㅤ

ㅤ 「 ..I don't know. I'm so scared that my reasons will never be my own. 」 「 At the very least, I need to be alone right now. For my nerves... 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 How am I supposed to trust myself with anything..? Everything I've done in the past decade wasn't even my own choice. This is something I /know/ Ra Moon wouldn't want me to do. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 No! God no! I-It's just... 」 「 ..I don't know how many of my own /aspirations/ are truly mine. I can't trust those, then I can't trust anything. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Well... yes, intentionally. I /want/ to protect Earth. But I'm not sure if that's for good, or because Ra Moon wanted me to. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 How do you know that? Everything I've done has been to help Ra Moon— all except for helping Darma and leaving the Tower. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 No. Darma and Duo took them out... but I knew I couldn't be a /security guard/ with that knowledge. 」 「 Especially since what Ra Moon wanted me to do was... protect the Earth on their behalf. The same thing I've been doing this whole time... 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 ..a few months ago, Darma and I returned to the Lanfront Ruins for answers. And Ra Moon... brought me back to who I /was./ Who I really am... 」 「 ..a violent champion of their reign. 」 「 Maestro is a mistake. A beautiful, wonderful mistake, but... I can't help but fear I'll be fixed again. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThere's no getting out of this without explaining what happened, is there? 「 ..I'm a danger. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 No, it's alright. I'm honored, honestly, I'm just... 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤA danger. Better away from others. 「 ..more suited to be out here. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 I don't have temperature like you all, so don't worry. I can't feel it. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThey shake their head, looking back into the cave. But before Enker can comment on it, they look back at him. ㅤ

ㅤ 「 It's clear when you're thinking about something. What else is it? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 ..are you alright? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 I know I can. I just... haven't needed anything. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 I was at the Tower for a short while, but... 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThey trail off, looking away as well. 「 ..it didn't work out. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Doing out here..? Enker, this is where I live. I've lived here for years. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Yes, I'm alright. Did I worry you..? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤThey stagger back a little when it's confirmed, oddly... antsy. Their shoulders are tense, eyes wide. 「 ..I'm sorry for vanishing. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤFootsteps raise them from their already failing slumber, narrowed eyes searching the entrance in the dark. Whoever it is, they want to see them first. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤAnd when they do... ( ..Enker? ) ㅤ

ㅤ 「 I should've made that more obvious, sorry. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Wow, I wonder how you would've guessed. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤA mechanized laugh comes from them, words sarcastic. ㅤ

i have never once seen you do this

are you SURE

..you're steaming

oh, sorry. i just hadn't heard you laugh like that before...

?

i love you

darma can you kill this guy

ㅤ 「 But, ah... he had a helmet, but didn't really have a head. So I assume it's the same force..? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 An old... friend? Er, I suppose he was more of an ally... 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Oh, I suppose that makes sense... like Sunstar's helmet. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Floating it. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Alright. Uhm... how are you doing that with your hand..? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ( I... prefer not to speak in this language, but if it's better on you, that's alright. ) ㅤ

ㅤ 「 Americam Sign Language and... Universal Basic. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ︵ ㅤㅤ➣ㅤㅤ 𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍 ᴼᶠ ᵀᴴᴱ 𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐄𝐑. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ︶ ㅤ

ㅤ 「 N-No, I'm fine. Just... not designed to speak in English. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 No name, huh... I'm sorry to hear that. You can call me Maestro. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ 「 ..it feels a little odd to learn this before I learn your name... but I am proud of you. 」 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤTheir voice is starting to deteriorate a little... ㅤ

ㅤ 「 What do you mean by that? 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤIt's... a little cute, Maestro has to recognize. 「 ..I don't think I've seen you before. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤMaestro's shoulders tense a little. 「 Of course. Take as much time as you need. 」 ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤFor a while, there was nothing. Then, cautious footsteps approached. Slow, as if going against the owner's better judgement... ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤWhen the figure steps into view, it's... a small robot. Especially compared to the ones they would be used to... ㅤ

temp pinned