Soulless Beauty Aorta

GARDENIA

"So why didn't you just kick that thing's ass?" Hyacinth asked in reference to the 209 HOT-SHOT, as she and Rose made their way through the bowels of The Shell. They were heading for a secret computer room that Hyacinth had found, where she spent most of her time, uninterrupted by drones, when Rose answered, "What, you think I want to be in more trouble?" "'Trouble' is for pussies!" Hyacinth barked, "You wouldn't give a shit if you had..." Hyacinth stopped as she reached back over her shoulder and retrieved her stubby chainsaw from hooks she had formed on her back. "One of these!" She held the weapon out in front of her in both hands before pulling a trigger, causing the thick blade to split in two as the newly-revealed second blade sprang out around the tip and slotted into place with a satisfying ca-CHUNK. It was a jointed chainsaw, with the second saw able to either latch in place or swing freely, the momentum aiding its ability to rip and tear.

"Holy FUCK Hyacinth-" completely ecstatic, her eyes wide and her cheeks red, Hyacinth's twin tails whipped around as she turned her head to look at Rose with a massive, toothy grin, "I KNOW RIGHT?!" Rose's face was frozen in shock, "Where the hell did you even get that thing?" Hyacinth made a sing-songy 'I dunno' hum, "I just found it. Well, kinda. I... knew where it was. I even knew how to use it."

With a look of confused concern at her own words, Hyacinth returned her extravagant weapon to her back as the two arrived at the entrance of the computer room, hidden behind a pile of broken, unusable pipes and electronic components. It was a room with a low ceiling, just high enough for Hyacinth to fit under, that stretched out horizontally. The computer was embedded in the far wall.

Just as Rose was about to log on and begin further investigating the folder she'd found earlier, she heard a whimper. "Wasn't me," Hyacinth must've heard it as well, Rose thought. There it was again. It sounded like the hushed crying of a child. Rose and Hyacinth followed the sound to a vent in the wall near the floor. Concentrating to transform her right index finger into a Phillips-head screwdriver and then removing the vent, Rose came face to face with a small, crying Aorta inside, clutching a ragged plush cat. On her hands and knees, Rose carefully put her head inside to try to talk to the child, having to angle her body in an uncomfortable way to get her head in, as the horns on her back made the position just barely possible. She took a gentle and shallow breath in to begin speaking, when-

"Get away from her now." Startled by the unknown male voice coming from behind her, Rose jumped and hit her head on the top of the vent, and scrambled backward out of it, turning to see the barrel of a cannon in her face. Standing over her was another Aorta. He looked slightly shorter than Hyacinth (who also had a gun pointed at her). Two of his four arms had been transformed into beam cannon weapons, charged and ready to be fired at any nanosecond, while the other two were held back, his fists clenched. He had three eyes, the third in the middle of his forehead above the other two. "Daddy!" The tiny Aorta let out a shrill voice, and ran out of the vent directly to the stranger, holding her toy cat under her arm, and hugging the Aorta's leg.

"Hey, hey, we weren't going to hurt her," Hyacinth blurted out. Both cannons immediately swung, fixated directly on Hyacinth's head and chest. "How are you talking? I-INPUT UNIT NUMBER," The father's gentle-yet-nerdy voice was shaking. Without thinking, Rose blurted out, "Everyone just calm down," all heads in the room turned, locking on to Rose's eyes.

The mysterious male Aorta displayed a face of surprise. "Rose, is that you?" he asked. "Do you... remember me?" Rose hadn't recalled much, so she wasn't surprised when she only faintly recognized these two. Disappointed, the four-armed man silently looked toward the little one. "My name is Heather, and this is my daughter, Gardenia. She's a bit of a handful, but I love her anyways." He smiled softly as he pat his hand on Gardenia's head. Gardenia held up her plush cat, exclaiming "Cheshire wants a headpat too!" "Oh does he now? Has he been a good kitty, protecting you while I was gone?" Heather was now kneeling in front of his daughter, one set of arms resting on his knees and his right hand still on the top of Gardenia's head. "He did great! I wasn't scared at all, Dad!" Heather used his other free hand to gently pat the plush cat's head "Well then, good cat!" Gardenia spoke for her small friend, beaming, "Meow meow!"

[Heather & Gardenia]

Heather looked over Rose and Hyacinth again, and after assessing the two for a moment, he made a decision, "Come with me."