[Digi-Diary Entry Log: 42-1A-P – Warning, Time Sync: Unavailable.]

[Manually input Time Format?]

[00:00:00]

[Yes/(No)]

Looks like the SkyNet connection is freaking out. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with this tacky thing… Wait, it’s recording my voice? That makes it a hell of a lot easier than writing out my thoughts since I can't spell worth a shit. Anyway, I’m bored. So~so ~ incredibly bored. For the past… I dunno, like, twenty-kagillion hours, Liger’s confined me to the stupid tent.

Else, be more mindful of your friend. She should still be asleep.

Does it sound like I’m Liger. Messing with this dumb pendant isn’t worth the hassle. Izumi’s out like a light, and I’m itching for adventure- *ouch!* D-damn it, why did I lean upon my wrist? I’d kill for one of those Diketro-pills right about-

Not happening.

Killjoy.

Go back to sleep. We may not have the leisure to do so in the future.

[User has ended the recording session prematurely.]

[Backup File Rehashing…]

As I flicked off my Digi-Diary’s display, I looked to a lump beneath the foil blanket breathing steadily.

“Do robots even need to sleep?” I scoffed, raising the edge of the space-age reflective sheet to find Izumi undisturbed, seeped in beads of sweat.

“Hey, Liger? Any chance you got a portable washroom stashed away inside this tent?”

“I regret to inform you that a briefing on said technology would be a breach of classified information.”

“Was that a joke just now?”

“Classified information.”

I rolled my eyes, returning a dry laugh.

Lame jokes aside, I could really – really use a bath and some actual clothes, and I’m certain Izumi would be quick to side with me had she not been snoring away peacefully. The starchy material of the gowns Liger provided us retained their creases from the impossibly small shape they were packaged in. Coupled with a coarse tear-resistant surface and the humidity inside the tent, they were incredibly itchy and provided little to no warmth against the cold.

Had the tent zippers not been fashioned together with impossibly strong zip-ties, I’d fancy a bit of fresh air, but then again, I can see the snow beginning to accumulate overhead through the semi-translucent tarp. With only my undergarments beneath my gown, a step outdoors didn't appear to be a bright idea after all.

“Hey Liger, aren’t you cold?” I asked the shadow moving along the tent’s perimeter.

As expected, he paid me no mind.

“Ne~ne! Little Frill! Why don’t you tell Metal Man there’s two sweaty girls and a blanket he could share!”

From over my shoulder with arms draped around my neck, Silky’s face popped into existence.

“Vi- you have to stop doing that. One of these days you’re going to give me a heart attack.”

“I’ve gotta keep the hot blood a’ pumpin’! Soldier Boy doesn’t seem to be in the mood to keep ya warm, and I’m justa’ projection or something along those lines. Want one of my Quick Charge specials?”

At the mention and sight of Silky’s taser-fingers sparking dangerously near my chest, I stood up far to quick for my blood to reach my brain. Under a dizzy spell, I instinctually placed my hand out to brace myself against the tent’s flimsy inner wall and found it to be… remarkably solid.

“Please, try to keep the commotion down to a minimum,” Liger spoke through the thin barrier, causing me to retract in an instant. “If not for your friend’s sake, then for your own. I have been monitoring radio frequencies with my Exo-Suit’s remaining power. It appears a third party has a vested interest in the contents of the PEDS Unit.”

“H-How? I beat Revi's group here- OH SHIT…”

Up until now, I completely forgot about Revi who last I left doubled over on a nearby rooftop.

“I have already spoken with the party who came to collect the individual you… disabled. They are still civilians as far as the law, and I am concerned.”

“So, you mean Savagers then? I don’t recall them ever being a threat -unless you mean worried about Izumi and me. Just deal with them like you did last time.”

“Potentially.”

“What do you mean ‘potentially’? Why did you even bother showing up then?”

“Fulfilling my duty in response to the GOOJF device…”

Of course, typical Liger mentality.

“And, if it is of any significance, I did make a promise to see to your safety.”

Oh…?

“I came across something recently that gave me pause for thought. The MacroSD card you gave me… if I understand correctly; meant a great deal to you, so perhaps I felt… indebted.”

“It meant a bit, but for some reason, it wasn’t terribly hard to let go. I can't imagine what you've found given that all this seems uncharacteristic of you. You always talk down to me with ones and zeros.”

*zzzzZZZZZZzZZZzzzZT*

Appearing to move under its own volition, the tent zipper split open.

“For the record; never has it been my intention to ‘talk down to you.’” Liger spoke out of view as I ducked through the opening. “Consider it a flaw in the quality of my Personality Profile.”

As I set my sole down in the powder outside, I found it to be warm and lacking the distinct ‘crunch’ underfoot. When I retreated, a chalky residue clung to my foot. It’s Ash…? -And that smell? Something is burning.

On the horizon, a silent inferno engulfed the synthetic forest reaching far into the sprawl of structures responsible for regulating the oxygen farm.

“There’s no need to apologize…” I muttered in both shock and wonder. “Revi’s group, they’re… okay, right?”

“Medically speaking, I cannot say. They headed east, away from the blaze.”

“But the closer you get to the inner city -what about the Zombies? It’s crawling with them.”

“I offered them some advice; a Stack-Hotel situated under a corporate structure would prove easy to defend as most of the building is subterranean. The Golden Lotus V.R Resort. I noticed the entrance barred behind security fencing while searching for the origin of the seismic quakes. Given the nature of the structure, it should not have many patrons lingering inside the perimeter.”

“You sent them to a love hotel?” I chuckled faintly, rounding the tent to find Liger garbed in a strange skin-tight tessellated suit addled with a plethora of ports, wires, plugs and armored plates.

“Considering it would be easy for you to find, and within the vicinity- yes. Such a resort would have food, water, and basic medical supplies and until the electrical grid ultimately fails; electricity. The neon signage will guide the way.”

“Whoa-whoa, hold up! Who said anything about me joining them? Think for a second; do you really think they’d take me back after I ‘disabled’ Revi and left him stranded on a rooftop for hours?”

“That is of no consequence. I will assist you in rendezvousing with the other survivors. ”

“Still doesn’t change the fact that they probably hate me.”

Crossing my arms, I squatted next to Liger watching as he routed the wires between devices laid across the ash-stained roof-liner.

“On the contrary, the woman, Ora, she expressed a wide range of emotions and language for your sake. I can safely say the group’s consensus is that they were worried about you. The used the word ‘Family’ on multiple occasions.”

“Yeah, well… I still feel shitty about it, but at the end of the day, I did what I had to do, and Izumi is alive because of it. For that; I’m not sorry… though, I do feel bad I dragged Revi into this, so if I’m going to be doing any apologizing, he’ll be the one to get it.”

I wonder if that jab to the gut was enough to make Revi forget about the ‘reward’ I promised him… Oh well, if I don’t get a bath soon, I’m sure I’ll be filthy enough to deter a good hate-fuck.

B-But little Frill, angry sex makes the best sex! So long as it’s vaguely consensual of course! *Sparkle*

“Don’t you’ sparkle’ at me.” I scoffed absentmindedly. But when I opened my eyes again, it was Liger, not the ghost of my past who planted a firm hand on my shoulder.

“Forgive me for not taking your feelings into consideration. My thoughts were to give you the best chance at survival. Anxiety and tension are not nearly as lethal as the undead or the thugs and looters.”

“W-What are you apologizing for again? What gives? It’s like you’re a completely different person! – And don’t you dare fuckin’ say ‘classified information’!”

For a moment, Liger’s eyes widen, then refocused on me.

“We need to leave immediately. Wake your friend, it’s not safe here anymore.”

“I’d say ‘how convenient’ but-.”

Before I could finish, Liger’s suit split into glinting facets of metal, enveloping his entire body. Like a swarm of insects, his suit rematerialized just in time for his sharp, armor tipped fingers to tear into the side of the PEDS tent. Despite the disturbance and deluge of light, Izumi remained motionless, and without a chance to stir from her slumber, Liger administered some form of anesthesia through the glowing circuitry tracing along his palm.

“Try to keep up.” He ordered with a stern glint in his eye. “If you fall behind, I will be unable to assist you.”

Then, after situating Izumi on his backside with her arms draped over his shoulders, he fumbled with a device ingrained on his thigh.

“Take my service pistol.”

“Wait-what, seriously?”

“I have considered the many games you have played from the files yet to be overwritten on the MacroSD card. Your marksmanship in virtual is lackluster, but above average for a civilian.”

Unable to rationalize the situation, I froze, that is, until Liger forcefully wrapped my hand around the hilt of his pistol which I then drew from its holster.

“That specific model appears in a few Titles, surely you recognize it from the titles Armored Gear and Heavy Core.”

“Y-Yeah, but you need a special hacker talent in the game to wield computerized smart weapons. Shouldn’t it be tasering the shit out of me by now?”

“No. I disabled the authorization requirement and tuned the ballistics computer to compensate for your wrist. Please, refrain discharging the weapon if possible. We need not draw more attention or injure yourself any further.”

While I looked over the pistol’s intricate features, Liger broke from my side, disappearing through the barricade we set up around the roof access’s vacant doorway.

“H-Hey! Wait up!”

Wait up… Wait up… Wait up…!

No matter how many times I called after him, Liger would always be twenty steps ahead of me thanks to that fancy Exo-Suit of his. Even without Izumi’s dead weight, I struggled to keep pace and often had to rely upon the tamping of his metal boots to confirm his location.

“C’mon Liger- *wheeze* slow up already! I haven’t eaten a damn thing, and my calves feel like they’re made of lead *cough-cough* ack!"

Ignoring my obstinance, Liger trudged through the ash caking the sidewalk, pausing momentarily to kick aside the undead impeding his path as we pressed onward into the inner city where the high-rises choked out the fiery aura looming in the distance. Further into the heart of Scarlet City, the towering monoliths and obsidian bastions surrounded us on all sides, leaving a narrow gap the width of the road where the sunlight illuminated the grey clouds overhead.

The further away from the massive fire, I discovered that the weather had all but turned on its head as the cold returned and the ashfall intermingled with snow steadily amassing in the streets. What little warmth my gown retained by now was lost to the wind, and what started off as goosebumps in turn became uncontrollable shivering.

But we couldn’t stop…

Not now…

The Zombies were thick enough to reroute us almost at every turn. Luckily, the effects of subzero temperatures slowed their bodies at a rate far greater than my own… but the tips of my toes were beginning to turn blue, caked with an ash-snow slurry, and I can no longer feel the pinpricks dancing along my fingers.

“Liger…” I let out a small moan, nearly losing my grip on the pistol’s bare metal hilt were it not fused to my skin.

“Just a little further.” He urged.

He knew I was nearing my limit by how far I have fallen behind. Eventually, the threat of becoming a zombie-popsicle would not keep me on my feet as my knees were beginning to buckle.

“Gotcha!” Hooking her shoulder beneath my armpit, I found Vivian’s smile resting over my shoulder.

“Look, just up ahead. See those lights?” She pointed, guiding my sight towards a flickering array of neon lights masked behind a curtain of snowfall. “You’re nearing the finish line.”

Under the weight of exhaustion, my eyelids fell shut momentarily. When I reopened them, a familiar face took Vivian’s place at my side.

“Revi? What are you…?” I asked, unable to catch my breath.

“C’mon, everyone’s waiting for you inside.”

“B-but… I…”

*Dink!*

While I kept my head down, avoiding eye contact with Revi, my foot struck something rigid and sharp lightly powdered in snow. When I looked up, I found myself unable to move. The object in question was none other than Liger’s armored boot, still connected to its user. His body both limp and unresponsive stewed in a pool of synthetic fluids and blood that appeared crudely smudged along the patch of ice where he lay.

Still fast asleep and stained with coolant and oil, Izumi lay on her side in the center of the road. Although scraped and battered, she appeared to be unharmed other than suffering from the effects of the cold… it was the hole the size of a golf ball in Liger’s shoulder blade that rendered me unable to act, let alone swallow.

“I’ll grab your friend!” Revi shouted, shattering his shock induced trance before taking Izumi into his arms. “There’s no way we can move your Soldier pal. -I’ll get Al and Ora! They will know what to do!”

“C’mon lil Frill, I’ll take one arm, you take the other!” Vivian appeared from a vortex of wind, motioning to hoist Liger’s arm into the air.

“Vi… You can’t- I-I can’t…”

“Nonsense!” She pouted, stepping over Liger’s body, coming to a stop directly in front of me. “You just need a Quick Charge! Good thing I have a little control over your adrenal gland. It’s pretty tapped out, so let’s do this together! – BOOP!”

In the act of poking my forehead, I felt a surge of warmth wash over me. Despite my fingers and toes being numbed, they obeyed as I scurried around Liger, testing various carrying positions before settling on rolling him over onto his backside to better drag him by his palms.

“Mush!” Vivian cheered as she floated overhead.

“What are you, a sled driver now?!” I howled, demanding my soles gain traction on the icy roadway. “Give me a freakin’ hand, would you!”

“Ehee! Do you really want me to poke around the thing they call a flight response?”

“Do it! I don’t care! Whoever did this to Liger is probably still out here! AAAARRGHHH!”

Exhaling in frustration, I gritted my teeth, slowly inching Liger’s heavy frame towards the Hotel’s entrance whose features were still cloaked in a dervish of frigid wind. Further complicating my grip on my good hand, the pistol’s cold metal surface tore at my skin with every burst of effort.

“Hmmm, I dunno about that, lil Frill. I’m sure that fella is long gone with what’s been creeping up behind ya.”

“Is that supposed to light a fire under my ass? Grrr!! You gotta do better than that, Vi! Damnit Liger!!!”

“Oh, I can manually trigger your flight response. Buttttt~ I don’t need to scare you for that.”

“What?!” I grunted.

“You know what a flight response is, dontcha?”

“No that’s not, - wait, yes! I do know what a friggen flight response is!”

“Oh, what is it then Miss Know it All?”

“Ugh, SILK! I don’t have GRRRAAAHH!! Time for this! It’s ‘healthy fear’!”

“Gold star for you!” She clapped energetically just before falling into a deadpan glare. “Seriously though, look behind you. Consider the fire under your bum, LIT.”

Jerkily edging my chin over my shoulder, I saw the outline of pure, unbridled terror reaching towards me from the snow-blind. A massive hand the size of a small transport vehicle, wrapped in a muscular flesh with a metal underbody splayed out its fingers like a cage.

I’ll never know if it was my intention, or Vivian channeling her will through me; but in the following seconds, I let loose three shots from Liger’s pistol directly into the giant mechanical palm. Fear denied the pain from having torn the pistol out of my grasp, and fear pushed my muscles beyond their limits as I began to accelerate with Liger in tow at a manageable speed.

Without looking back, I trudged to the Hotel’s front doorstep and through the security shutter where I was promptly greeted by stares of disbelief given to me by Revi, Ora and Alphonse.

“Hol’ up! Ya dropped this!” Vivian’s ghostly hand appeared, placing the pistol on Liger’s sternum.

“Thanks… Vi…” I exhaled, faceplanting the algae colored marble of the Hotel’s grand entrance.

“Ora, treat the big guy!” Alphonse ordered nearby, though my view of the world tunneled towards the security shutter falling into place behind me. “Revi, do what you can with the first aid kit, then get our stubborn idiot warmed up. H-hey- HEY!”

Turning myself over towards the commotion, I found yet another sight of disbelief. Liger was standing under his own volition, his wound dribbling a thick fluid through the hole in his armor.

“Please tend to the others,” Liger stated plainly as if nothing had happened. “Now that I have rebooted, I will see to my maintenance, but first; we must descend. It may not be safe for us to remain here on the surface.”

“Oh-alright.” Ora sighed, back-peddling with her hands in the air.

“If you say so, Metal Man,” Al added. “Just let us know if you feel like turning into a Lost, alright? The last thing we need is for you to be going zombie on us while we’re locked inside.”

“This injury did not compromise any critical sub-systems, or damage the integrity of my A.I. Core. Come, let’s withdraw post haste.”

After strewing Izumi over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry, Liger motioned to scoop me into his arms.

“Set me down. I can see clear through that gaping hole in your chest.” I muttered as we entered a large, gold embroidered elevator. “I can stand… with some assistance…”

“What’s she mumbling?” Al scoffed, nudging Liger with his elbow. “Kid, you did good. Just chill out, would you? We all saw you save Metal Man, you’ve earned your rest.”

“Come here. I’ll tell ya what I'm moaning about...” I groaned, attempting to throw my arm against Liger’s chest with the strength of a wet noodle.

“Nonyafuckingbuisness!” Vivian exclaimed, poking her head through the elevator’s ceiling. To her dismay, I was the only one who could perceive her bellowing and startling entrance. “Sorry, had to steal your thunder, lil Frill~!”

In sneering her name, Liger took my deadpan glare towards the ceiling as something else entirely.

“You may seriously injure yourself if you push yourself any further. Allow me to assist.”

Through my gown between my legs, the same light that emitted from Liger’s gauntlet appeared just before I felt a sharp pinprick to my rear.

“Dichkk… . whyd.. . yuuu. . . anessshatihzhe… . . mheee… . .zZZzzZz”

“Going down!” Vivian’s voice chased after me as I entered the Sandman’s playground.