Chapter Text
The lab is silent.
V1 sat on a table, giving themselves time to really process what had happened. Rather, it was like savouring a treat, and although they were still so hungry, that didn't mean they didn't like how it felt to get fuel. In fact, that's part of the twofold problem: they never stop being hungry, and 'eating' feels so so good. They ponder this. They had time to ponder. It's not like they were in a rush to go anywhere, anyway.
...That's why humanity died. Because all the robots, to V1's knowledge anyway, felt this way. Maybe not the terminals, although they couldn't exactly get blood, and they never died, so maybe they had something different. But all the other robots ran on blood. It was kind of funny, really, demons had blood, angels had blood, humans had blood, robots had blood. It was like... like anything living had blood in it. Well, robots weren't living, were they? Then again, taht depended on who you asked. Gabriel always called it "machine" which was... not ncorrect at all, really. A pretty central view on what it was. It is mechanical, it did things. It is a machine. But they also were called "weapon" by Sisyphus. Not as correct, technically, but really, maybe it was just as correct, if not moreso. It was made by humans to destroy other humans. That's what a weapon is. They remember, though, what Minos called it. They were called "creature of steel." They were called a creature. A creature. For some reason, that felt... different. V1 didn't tend to feel insulted by things, especially when they could kill anything that bled, and many things that don't. But being called a creature, a creature of steel... it felt softer. Kinder. It felt like they had an identity beyond murdering. Did they? That was their purpose, for sure, their drive, their hunger. That is what they were made for. (Perhaps Minos would say they were born to do it). That wasn't all they were though, not anymore. Style. Music. Exploration. Little moments where strong flashes of personality came through. The fact they'd salvaged a voicebox out of a Swordsmachine for... some reason. Those are personality traits, right? Personality. And they also ran on blood, like every other living thing that wasn't a plant. So perhaps Minos wasn't wrong after all, either....
They look around the lab, reminiscing. That was another thing humans did, reminisce. Memories of their lab days, their development days came to their attention, finding parallels in the now destroyed and bloodied lab they sat in and the lab they were created in so long ago. They kept thinking....
....They didn't want to be hungry all the time. Being hungry all the time was what led them to 'eat' their way to starvation. Their insatiable hunger was their downfall, all the machines. The fact V1 was the most adept out of all of them so far didn't change the fact there's only so much fuel to go around. But humans reproduced. Animals reproduced. Life springs forth if you leave some left, which they hadn't. They hadn't! And they were doomed for it! V1 felt... anger, another emotion humans (as well as other types of beings) felt.
Maybe they were more of a creature than anyone besides King Minos had realized. It was funny, because Minos was the only one they felt even a little bad about killing. V2 COULD HAVE made that list, if they hadn't been such a bastard. Shooting their own coins, but fair, they could learn. They were just... so irritating. So fucking irritating.
But that was... well, as close to a brother as they had. Brother, that was a human word. Male equivalent to sister, female equivalent to sibling.
Two creatures born of the same mother, father, or both. Well, the development teams worked closely together, and they were made by mostly the same people, so their "parents" were pretty much the same in a way. Brothers and sisters tended to share a resemblance, which V1 and V2 did. But they weren't identical. Just like... just like siblings. The blue one, born for war, and the red one, born for keeping the peace. It was funny... funny and sad.
V1's wings droop the slightest bit as they got lost in their thoughts. Maybe... maybe it wasn't too late. They could use that voicebox (handy, maybe!) to ask... for help. They seemed smart, the scientists here. They had seen glimpses of what seemed like robotic humans, so they could... maybe, just maybe, work on them. Help them with their constant hunger. Give them a life beyond feeding on blood. Not get rid of it entirely, necessarily, but be able to do other things than eat themselves out of all the fuel. Give them a chance to not just survive in style, but actually live.
V1 flipped a coin onto the ground, dedicating it to the late King Minos in their minds for this thought planted within them. They quietly spoke in their mechanical voice, almost impossible to understand by any living bystanders (of which there are none).
"[Thank you for showing me I am a creature.]"
V1 stands up, putting their guns away and preparing themselves. They'd... go and try to get help. Maybe make amends, some had escaped. Although, if that didn't work, they supposed they could... try. It's not like there would be NO fuel, they had reason to believe this earth was alive and well. They could, if it came to it, work on themselves. It would be hard, and long-lasting, and voerall really fucking awful, probably, but they could. One way or another, they were going to fight for something beyond blood and a rating.
They were determined to fight for the right to live a life they wanted beyond a desperate war for fuel.
V1 heads down the hallway at a walking pace, approaching the door at the end.