Altered Fate (Inscryption Fanfic)

Chapter 5 ~ Thunderstorm

You woke up the next morning, still on the beach with the scrybes... It was a very rude awakening. You shot up to the sound of booming thunder, Leshy also waking up, mere seconds after. There were some... ominous clouds in the distance. Leshy looked at you, worried. "Perhaps... you should stay here, a bit," he said, not thinking. "I can't," you begin, "I have to talk to 03. He's the last one-"

"It can wait," he responds, sharply. "Storms are... harsh, around here... We can't have you hurt." You look at him, and sigh. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this." He steps back as you say this... You hear more thunder, behind you. "I'll be fast, alright?" He nods... He knows there's no stopping you. You're too stubborn.

You get your stuff together and give him a hug. He seems surprised, but calmly hugs back. "Be safe," he mutters. "Please..." He seems so worried... You nod, giving him some reassurance, and get going. It isn't that far of a walk to the factory, thank god. Only takes you about 10 minutes to get there. Upon going inside, the sassy robot you're so used to seeing at the table, there, is nowhere to be seen. You look around, searching the factory, asking the inspector, melter, and dredger if they'd seen him... None of them had, since the previous night. This was... concerning... You look around some more. Would he really have left the factory...? No, why would he, ever? Then again... the pure envy of his expression, last night, makes you think... What if...

You begin to freak out, a little. You go around, checking around the outside of the factory... Nothing. Not a single trace of him. So, you look a bit further, checking around Magnificus' tower. Not there, either. You look around Grimora's crypt, in hopes he might be there... Still nothing. You're beginning to lose hope, going to check one of the last places you could possibly look. Leshy's cabin...

There, you find him... near a small pond, staring blankly at some small, orange flowers. Concerned, you go up to him... "Didn't expect you, of all people, to find me," he mumbles. "I got worried," you begin, "I've never seen you willingly leave the factory, before, unless you were making fun of Leshy..." "Yeah," P03 responds, trying not to look at you, "I know, you didn't expect me to be here. Well, I didn't expect you to come looking for me. Too busy hanging out with the other three..."

"Are you really that jealous about it?" He freezes up, looking over at you, when you say this. He seems to have been caught off-guard by this question. "Jealous...?" "Yeah, you heard me right," you retort. "What you're feeling, right now? That's jealousy. Don't worry, it's normal... Just feel that left out, eh?" He looks away, again, his face changing to show an irritated, slightly flustered expression. You made him blush... He's embarrassed about the fact that he feels envious. "If you want attention, you can say so," you chuckle, softly. You go to him and sit next to him...

"... This pond's really pretty. Nice and calming. Is that why you decided to come here?" He looks at you, again, when you say this. His expression goes from irritated to slightly sad. "I came here," he says, pulling a ring out of a small compartment in his torso, "because it reminds me of better times." You suddenly realize what he means... Why he was so sad. "So, you... do miss them?" You can't help but sound so surprised. "Of course I do, they're... well, they were my friends, until Leshy turned me into that stoat, Mags closed himself off and pushed us all away... Grimora is the only one I'm still willing to call a friend, to this day..." He reaches down and picks one of the small orange flowers. "... I was happy to delete everything, all those times, before. I was... but this time is different. You... you're doing something to me - to all of us - and I, for one, don't like it."

"Things are changing, and you're not prepared," you say. P03 looks at you. "Read your mind, didn't I? Yeah, well, you're not the only one." He stays silent... giving you your turn to talk. "I've spent the last... psh, however long of my life trying to get to this point, and not even I'm ready for it. I thought it'd be easier than this, but for once, I have no clue what to do. It's... so surreal, I just... I don't know... part of me constantly wonders if I'm doing the wrong thing. If you looked at the inside of my brain, last night, you would have been... so overwhelmed." You look at him, with a tired, yet understanding look. He thinks, a minute... "Yes," he finally responds, "I do, indeed, understand... the feeling of being so... unsure, for once. It's... awful," he sighs.