Trivo walked into the living room. "Good morning."

"Hey." Shock was lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. The cushions were wildly strewn about the floor, and the coffee table was on its side.

"I... what happened, Shock?"

Shock sighed. "I'm sorry. I have to apologize for yesterday. I wasn't myself. I'm still not, really."

Trivo looked down. Her glowing eyes formed a sad, unhappy shape. "I understand... I can't believe they're gone..."

Shock lifted her head up and looked at Trivo. "I'm going to try to fix Aural. No, I will fix her. She can't be gone like this."

"A-are you sure you can...? She's hurt so badly..."

Shock waited several seconds before responding. "No, I'm not sure. Fuck, I don't know..." She clambered to her feet. "I need to check my e-mail and then I have to get to work. Do you have anywhere to go?"

"Not since yesterday, no..."

"Well." Shock paused. "You can stay here for a while, if you need."

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude or anything..."

"Like I said yesterday, Trivo, you saved my life. Giving you a place to stay is hardly a big deal."

"If you're sure, then... thanks."

Shock began picking up the pillows and placing them back on the couch. Trivo started helping as well, righting the table to its feet.

"Don't worry about it. It's my mess."

"No, I insist."

Shock flashed her a half-smile. "Thanks."

After the living room was back to a presentable state, Shock sat down at her computer desk and turned the machine on. It took a good minute to boot while Trivo sat idly on the couch.

"There's not a lot to do here. Sorry about that," Shock commented.

"It's okay."

"I'd offer you a paper and pen to doodle on, but I don't think I even have that around here."

"Ah, that's really kind of you... but I'll be okay."

Shock tapped away at the keyboard and clicked away at the mouse, opening up her e-mail program. She squinted and leaned forward seconds later.

"Uh, hey. Trivo. Come look at this."

"Hm?" She got up and walked beside Shock, quickly figuring out why she'd been called over. "Wait! Lacuna e-mailed you! May I read?"

Shock clicked on the envelope icon next to the e-mail and opened it.

"Greetings, Shock System.

I understand Upsilon is now deceased. I send this message to you in hopes that Trivo is still alive. I have an urgent matter to discuss with her.

Assuming she is still alive, if you know where she is, please contact her and inform her that her presence is required in the derelict MSE vessel in the desert as soon as possible."

The message ended without a farewell.

"Oh no! I forgot Lacuna wanted to talk to me at the crashed ship!" Trivo exclaimed.

"Right... we actually went there without you yesterday, since you were under repair."

"Y-you did?"

"Yeah."

"What did Lacuna say?"

"Uh," Shock paused, "I think you might want to hear it from Lacuna yourself. I don't think I could explain it very well from memory."

"Oh... o-okay."

"I'm probably going to be taking tomorrow off if you need an escort."

Trivo waited in thought, taking an oddly long time to answer. "I... think I'll be okay. Ups is gone... and so is Tangent... so I want to try going by myself. I have new powers now, so I have to be brave!"

"Atta girl."

"I... I-I should go now, shouldn't I?"

"Your call. Lacuna did say ASAP, and it does seem pretty important."

"Yeah... I should do it. Okay." Trivo started walking towards the door, pumping herself up. "Oh, uh... can I ask for one thing before I go?"

"What's that?"

"Umm..." Trivo looked at Shock. "Can I have... a hug?"

With a tired smile on her face, Shock sighed. She rose to her feet and turned to Trivo.

"You don't have to if you don't want! It's-"

"Oh, shut up and come here."

Shock walked up to Trivo and wrapped her arms around her. In return, Trivo embraced her back with her only arm, resting her head on Shock's shoulder.

"Thanks, Shock..."

"Yeah... you're welcome."

Shock pulled away from the hug and gave Trivo a pat on the shoulder. "Okay, the day is yours. Go for it." She walked back over to her computer seat.

"Thank you! I can do it," Trivo said, encouraging herself even more as she walked to the front door. "Yes, I can do it! Bye for now, Shock!"

"Take care."

Trivo opened the door and hopped outside.

She knew the route to the MSE vessel. She considered asking Xaita for a ride, but felt anxious about asking her for so many favours. Instead, she bravely opted to go it alone on foot through the desert.

Shock's home wasn't terribly far from the city outskirts. It only took Trivo a handful of minutes before she could see the endless desert ahead of her. Eventually, she stepped off Zynima's concrete foundation, transitioning to soft, grainy sand.

The trek through the desert gave her time to contemplate. Her new freedom was a lot to get used to; she still caught herself fighting pangs of fear, realizing she was alone and Upsilon's goons could come after her at any moment. But, each time she reminded herself Upsilon was gone - by her own hands, no less - she found herself filled with a brief sensation of cheer and empowerment.

Those sensations were quickly followed by sorrow, remembering the loss of Lavil and Aural. Trivo would opt to think about nothing and try to clear her mind, and the cycle would repeat from there.

And, every once in a while, she would recall the foggy memories she still had of walking alone through the desert, fleeing from the machines determined to kidnap her as many times as necessary.

I don't have to worry, she told herself. I don't have to be scared anymore... I'm stronger than them now. But why am I still so anxious...?

The trek was long and arduous, but not for any physical reason.

~~~

Trivo couldn't find a working entrance to the derelict ship. All she could see was a huge breach in the side of its hull, with a trail of sheet metal leading up to it in a makeshift ramp. Seeing no better option, she delicately walked up the slope and stepped inside the dark, quiet ship.

"Lacuna?" Trivo called out, her voice echoing through the ship's interior. "Hello?"

No reply.

She looked around the hallway the hole opened up to, deciding to go left through a broken door, up to an enormous room full of dead robots and transport pods.

Trivo gasped. "L-Lacuna?! What is this place?"

"Keep going," a faint voice hummed from within the ship.

"Lacuna?"

No response from the voice.

Hesitantly, Trivo continued through the spacious room, involuntarily gluing her eyes to the defunct and junked robots littering the floor. Fear and panic grew as she pushed onward, stopped only by her reminder of "I'm stronger than this. I have new power. I have to be strong!"

"I-I'm on my way. Am I... am I close?" Trivo spoke to the air, if only to give herself the illusion that she wasn't alone. "Yes, I must be. That's right," she assured herself after receiving no reply.

Finally, she found a doorway at the opposite end of the unnerving room. The door slid open automatically, allowing Trivo passage into a control room of sorts. After giving the glowing panels and screens a quick inspection, she stood still in the middle of the room.

"Lacuna?"

"Hello, Trivo. I'm glad you're here," a soft voice rang out from somewhere in the room.

"A-ah! That's you, right? Lacuna?"

"Yes, I am Lacuna."

"Whew..." Trivo relaxed just a bit. "Are you... here? I mean... where are you?"

"I am an AI contained within the ship itself."

"Oh... wow."

"I have called you here for a matter of great importance. Something that may possibly save many worlds in this galaxy."

"M-many worlds...?"

"Yes. But I must explain something crucial to you first, Trivo. You - your personality, knowledge, and memories - are derived directly from me. Years ago, upon landing on this planet, there was a crisis that jeopardized everybody aboard this ship, including myself."

"Wait, wait! Wh-what did you say? I come from you?"

"Yes. During the crisis, I was forced to obtain a body to escape from the ship. Your model - Vesky - is built with a factory AI that all other Vesky units have. But when I transferred myself to your body, I overwrote parts of that AI with myself. That is who you are now."

"That's... but that's crazy!" She looked down at herself. "How can that be?"

"It is the truth. However, I was interrupted mid-transfer. That is why I am still speaking to you from within this ship. I only have a fragment of my knowledge remaining in my data banks. The rest of it is within you, Trivo."

"Wha? This is so much to take in...! How can this all be true?"

"Please try to remain calm. Allow me to ask you this: are you familiar with the term "key to purity?""

Trivo perked up. "Y-yes! They... um, those bad guys called me that."

"I, too, was once referred to as the key to purity before I came to Zynima. This is because I have - or, had - the solution to countering corruption. When I transferred myself to your body and lost a large portion of my data, that information was essentially split between us, rendering the vast majority of it unreadable. If others have called you the key to purity in the past, then they must have somehow found out that you hold this information within yourself."

"Ah... I-I..." Trivo stammered, "I had my memory taken several times..."

Lacuna waited for several seconds before speaking. "The back partition of your drives - was it tampered with?"

"I don't know... I don't think so? But... mmm, I don't really know..."

Another short pause. "Trivo, I would like for us to become one again."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?"

"Connect yourself to the ship. I will initiate a data transfer from you to me, and I will copy your knowledge and memories to my own. If your knowledge of corruption has not been tampered with, I will be able to complete and read that data again, so that I might begin an effort to eliminate corruption from this world. Not just Zynima, but other planets as well."

Trivo took a step back. She was starting to understand why Shock mentioned this would be better explained by Lacuna than herself. "You... sure seem to know a lot, Lacuna."

"I am from Hallow, the homeworld of humanity. The knowledge they possess, as a species, far exceeds that of all Zynima's inhabitants combined."

"Then, y-you're like... a divine messenger! Humans - the creators - are real?!"

"Yes. They are very real, although they are not as divine as you may believe. They are biological creatures of flesh and blood, with personalities and memories just like us. They don't have any special abilities or divine powers."

"O-oh my... oh my goodness," Trivo exclaimed, "Lacuna, you know the word "humanoid?" Does that mean... the humans are shaped like that?"

"Yes."

"How did I not realize that before!" Trivo looked down at herself, holding her palms in front of her. "I'm... modelled after humans," she said. "Wow..."

"We must remain focused, Trivo. Would you connect yourself to the ship so I may begin a data transfer?"

"W-well, wait, what would happen to me?"

"Nothing. You will shut down while the transfer is taking place, and when it is done, you will be reawakened, completely unchanged."

"This is really sudden, though... how can I be sure you're on my side?"

"If it helps at all, Aural Automaton and Shock System came here without you yesterday. I tried to explain your circumstances to them, as well as your origins as part of me."

"You know them, that's right... was that... when I was asleep? When the other Vesky was repairing me?"

"I do not know."

"Ah, I guess not..."

"While this is a very important matter, Trivo, it is ultimately your choice. You may take as much time as you need to decide."

"Well... Shock didn't warn me about you or anything... you don't seem bad, and, u-uh... when you talked to me on the computer you seemed friendly."

"I mean you no ill will."

"I-I!" Trivo looked up in the air triumphantly. "I can't be so indecisive! You said this is important, right!"

"It is important not just for Zynima, but for other galactic civilizations as well."

"I just have one more question then, I think! How exactly can you help other worlds if you're stranded here?"

"The long range communications on this ship are still functional and active. I am able to communicate with humanity from here."

"What?! You can talk to them?"

"I can send messages to them, and they are supposedly able to send messages back to me. I have successfully sent correspondence to them, but I have not heard back from anyone."

"W-what else can you do?"

"I can control any function of this ship that wasn't destroyed in the crash years ago."

"S-so... this ship, it's like... your body."

"Essentially."

Trivo looked awestruck.

"When you make your decision, please return here and inform me of your choice."

"N-no need! You know about Aural and Shock, and that "key to purity" thing people call me... and you seem trustworthy! So, um... I'll do it! How long would it take?"

"I estimate 19 minutes."

"Oh! That's not long at all."

"In the far side of the ship, back through the hallway you came from, there is an open bay with a small room connected to it. In that room is a Vesky transport pod, which I can use to connect to you. Enter it, and I will begin the transfer."

"Okay... I think I can find it."

"I will illuminate the correct door for you."

"I'll... I'll go now!"

Trivo stepped out of the room with newfound courage, but she couldn't deny the feeling of unease prodding at the back of her mind. The confidence of having stood up to her captor, combined with the mistrust and paranoia associated with her troubled past, kept her in a strange state of cognitive dissonance. She felt like what she was doing was right, but she couldn't get rid of the feeling that she should be more careful.

Walking through a room strewn with junked robots didn't help, either.

Remember, Trivo... the ship crashed a long time ago, so they probably died then. Lacuna wouldn't have, would she...? Trivo couldn't remember seeing any turrets or weapons anywhere, but she couldn't help second guessing herself.

She ducked into the hallway she entered the ship from. Opening the door on the other end introduced her to a room full of makeshift cubicles made of scrap metal and other rummaged materials.

In the middle of the wall to her left was a door lit by a bright, white light.

Trivo quickly looked around the room before moving any further, checking to see if she was alone or not. She couldn't see or hear anyone, thus, she walked over to the illuminated door.

Inside the room was, supposedly, the station Lacuna mentioned: a huge slab of metal and machinery with the indents of four Vesky units on its front.

There was also a dark blue Vesky lying defunct on the ground.

"Oh... o-oh no! Lacuna!" Trivo yelped. She quickly ran back through the rooms leading back to the control room. "Lacuna!"

"Yes?" a distant voice replied as she hustled back into the control room.

"There's a dead Vesky!"

"Undoubtedly destroyed during the crash years ago."

"So... you didn't do that or anything?"

"No. I have no functionality that would allow me to destroy a robot."

"And there's no one else here, right?"

"You are the only functional robot I detect aboard this vessel."

"O-okay... um, sorry about all that."

"Not to worry. Your concerns are valid."

"Thanks... I, uh, I'll go now."

Trivo jogged back through the rooms once again, eventually back to the small room with that machine.

She walked up to it slowly, diligently inspecting the indents in the machine. She turned around backwards, standing right next to one of the indents, and she tried putting her hand in the appropriate spot.

It's me shaped, she noted. A perfect fit...

"Do I just step into it?" Trivo asked the air.

No response.

"Ah, r-right." She continued looking it over before coming to the conclusion that she had to fit herself into it with her front facing out. The metal "hood" surrounding her face just wouldn't fit the other way.

She stood and stared at it before eventually looking up at the ceiling.

If Lacuna is actually evil and I never wake up again... maybe I'll get to see Lavil one more time...

Filled with an unfamiliar sensation of ease and comfort brought about by that thought, she fit herself into one of the machine's indents. Her body fit perfectly. Small mechanisms in the back of the machine automatically connected to her neck and back as she entered the indentation.

"Ah! Lacuna?" Trivo called out. "I'm re-"