A Brass Night Ballet

Isabelle Street

There it was again. That odd, calm confidence. Aries was much of the same when it came to anything emotional. Yet another puzzle for her to figure out. They seemed to believe that it would come to her in time, and she had no reason to doubt them at their word. Although there were many emotions Coco did not understand at the moment, she did come to one understanding before she used the Brass grazer to send herself back to City Hall even if it was an odd one...Coco liked music.

Isabelle Street was quite unlike the dark atmosphere that seemed to constantly hover over the Malmsbury District. It had little to do with the District's run down buildings and constant raining that Coco had to deal with while in the area. Even considering the surroundings, it was easy to see why this was the town's main entertainment district. There wasn't a shop or theater that wasn't at least around the corner - at least when the city wasn't locked off like it was now.

Though that only solidified the reason as to why there were so many bodies in this area. When the uprising started, it was extremely busy. And many of the automatrons were working as extra entertainment or to provide utility to the local businesses. It wouldn't take long for the bloodshed to start. "You're brooding," Aries chimed in, interrupting the Coco's thought process. "Only thinking," she said, weaving out of the way of a robotic maid's horizontal strike. With one precise strike, Coco stuck her arm blade in the maid's neck and removed it with an upward flick.

"What about?" Aries asked. "The uprising," Coco said before looking at the automatron making its way towards her. She narrowed her green eyes in slight suspicion before the robot opened its chest, a flash of red shining in her face. "Get clear, Coco! That's a bomb!" Aries exclaimed.

Sure enough, the jester like automatron made its way towards Coco as fast as it could. Coco dug her heels into the floor as hard as she could before propelling herself backwards against the opposite wall. Right as the jester launched itself at her and blew itself up. Followed up by a second jester with the same appearance.

Unwilling to deal with something like that again, Coco took a Luce Cell out of her storage compartment before tossing it at the jester. The electricity immediately fried the bomb in its chest, causing it to blow up. But it also blew up a sizable chunk of the construction site it was standing on.

"That's a new one," Coco noted. "We are in the automatron's main domain. Still... I didn't expect ones that self detonate," Aries said. "Surely there would be a better use for them than to blow themselves up if their goal is to defend this place," Coco noted with a frown.

"Never doubt what absolute faith will do to someone. Be they robot or human," Aries told her. "But to blow themselves up?" Coco questioned. "It's history. Humans have been willing to put their lives on the line to fight for what they believe in. I'm not surprised the automatron's are following suit,".

Coco did not have a response to that.
Continuing down the street from here was a bit of a bother, considering the robotic jugglers taking positions alongside two riflemen. Coco had to keep her feet moving and use her arm blade to deflect away bullets in order to avoid getting hit. She made sure to sweep the area for anything she could use before continuing forward, her audio receptors picking up on what sounded like... music?

"Well, that isn't foreboding at all," Aries said, looking at the robots impaled on pikes. "Could be why they're changing tactics - someone's wiping them out," Coco said. "You seem awfully pleased about that," Aries pointed out. "What makes you say that?" She questioned in a curious tone. "You're nodding your head," Aries told her.

Coco blinked in surprise. She hadn't even noticed that. "I..." Coco was at a loss for words, and Aries considered it necessary to laugh at the her usually calm demeanor breaking. It didn't happen often, but it was refreshing to see. "Just pushing your springs. I know about your thing with music," the spherical object told her. "I do not have a... thing," Coco told him. "So you don't like music?" Aries questioned.

"Of course I do. But it's something that all automatrons have a particular inkling towards. Father told me so," she defended. "To the point where you'll spend your hard earned Luce for it over more tools to help you fight out here?" Aries questioned. "Even the black market guy was confused."

If there was one word Aries could use to describe the look on Coco's face, it would one hundred percent be embarrassment. "I'll be the first one to admit that it perhaps wasn't the smartest thing in the world..." she said in a tone that was almost bashful.

"Nah, it was smart. You're good enough to not need that stuff. But who knows if such artistry will ever be found any time soon," Aries told her. "I have a job to do. Father is counting on me stop the uprising and the monsters that have been discovered. I shouldn't waste valuable resources on records," Coco told him.

"And you'll still do it. Doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself when you can," Aries told her. Coco merely shrugged, and was glad that Aries left it alone after that. She noticed that doing so seemed to be a good conversation ender when she had no desire to speak.

Coco hopped down from the stands, keeping her arm blade at the ready the entire way. Not everyone recognized that she was an automatron, but everyone that did treated her no less than one would the rest of the robots that attacked on sight. Various humans mostly - the Black Ribbon Brotherhood being the biggest example. She tried her best not to kill them, but the eldest hardly gave her a choice in the end. There was little doubt the other three would return for her if they thought they could win. Even if it was unlikely to happen.

Coco put her hand on the dead robot in the middle, looking at the roses and pikes impaled in it along with the rapier in its mouth. It was a rather odd display. Was it meant as a warning for all automatrons or merely the Brass King?

She frowned when an odd feeling suddenly took hold of her. It felt like she was being watched. Such a thing was absurd she knew, but it still got her to look up nonetheless. And sure enough, there was someone watching her.

"What a beautiful robot you are!" a feminine voice told her, the faceless mask looked at her up and down. "Aries, is this woman being sincere?" Coco murmured. "Look at the automatron bodies around here and use your best guess," Aries hissed back in a low tone. "Oh, come now. No need to doubt me. I can appreciate fine craftsmanship," the woman told Coco, and it definitely didn't seem anywhere close to sincere this time.