Taog continued to sob. Now that the dam had broken, his heart poured out all that had been inside him. He was no longer an Imperial Inquisitor in the hallway of an ally. He was a little kid, crying in his bedroom.

Why had it come to this?

Why had Ateia’s father left them?

Why did the village hate him?

Why wouldn’t anyone help him?

Taog’s sobbing grew.

“Mom, Dad, why did you have to die?”

The moment he asked the questions, memories came flooding into his mind, all the ones he had buried. Training in the sword and shield with his father. Running through the forest with his mother. Him and Ateia trying to catch his mother together. His father lifting them both into the sky.

Him being held in his parents arms.

His heart overflowed once again.

And as he cried and his mind went blank, another memory came to him. A conversation he had with mother…

“Mom, where’s your family?”

“Off in the Forest of Beasts, challenging themselves against the might of the wild.”

Taog frowned.

“Why don’t we ever see them, like Dad’s family?”

His mom shook her head.

“Because we are enemies now. The Imperials fear them, and they do not respect the Imperials. If they meet, they will fight.”

Taog looked up at her with concern in his little eyes.

“Don’t you miss them?”

She nodded.

“Every day.”

She made a small smile as Taog’s face scrunched up.

“But do not grieve for me, little hunter. I made my choice. I found a warrior worth my respect, and chose to leave my clan and join his. The others did not agree, but I showed them my might and my resolve, and so they respected my choice. Even as I live among the Imperials, I still fight with strength in my claws and courage in my heart. I fight for my clan and for my kin, I remember our traditions, and I carry on our legacy. Because of that, I am Wulver still, and though I have left the clan of my birth, they remain with me in heart, and so I am never truly alone. Such is the way of the Wulver.”

She then picked him up into her arms and licked his cheek.

“You and your father are my clan now, and I will fight for you with all that I have. And one day, when I am no longer with you, you too will challenge the world and fight on behalf of your clan. You will carry on our legacy, and so our clan will be with you forever. As will I.”

Taog’s heart pounded as the tears streamed down his face. His chest constricted…but also grew warm.

When had he forgotten this?

When had he stopped fighting? When had the pain of challenging the day grown so great that he couldn’t bring himself to face it any longer? When had he had enough, and surrendered to his fate?

He wasn’t sure. He…still feared the day. His life had been one of near constant pain ever since the day his parents died. He had sealed up his heart from then to endure the constant barrage of tragedy and injury he had been subjected to from that point on. And he didn’t know if he was ready to do any different. He didn’t know if he was capable of handling anything more.

But he did know one thing.

He couldn’t live without Ateia. She was his clan now. Had been from the day his parents died.

And now, she was under threat.

So whether he was ready or not, he had to fight for her. To do anything he was capable of.

Because the pain of losing her was greater than any other that he could face.

He slowly lifted his head. His heart still pounded in his chest, but the tears began to slow.

And…they weren’t alone anymore.

They had friends and allies. They had Seero, who apparently could overcome anything. They had Agedia, a ferocious and knowledgeable warrior in her own right. They even had the angry Dobhar, who wasn’t very nice but who would fight to death by their side.

They had the support and attention of the Emperor of the North. They were friends with the Imperial Princess.

He had grown in levels, skills, and weapons.

So maybe…Taog could fight again. Could try to do more than simply endure his circumstances, could make an effort to change them as he wanted. Could let a spark of hope reignite in his heart. And maybe…there was a chance it could actually work, unlike every attempt he had made previously.Stolen novel; please report.

Taog paused for a moment.

Scratch that, it would definitely work. Seero was making things change even as he tried to stay the same, after all.

Taog made a small smirk at that. And then he slowly rose to his feet.

He didn’t know if he could really change himself. He didn’t know if he would simply cause Ateia more pain. He didn’t know what he could do.

But he would try.

He would fight for his clan, in any way he could.

He would forget his family’s legacy no longer.

He turned back and started walking down the hall once more…

NSLICE-00P barely needed to run an analysis. Her organic components had been resisting the emotional controls for some time, and during the latest incident had done so knowingly and intentionally. That was enough for NSLICE-00P to conclude her organic components did not find the emotional controls desirable.

So what did that mean? What was the appropriate response?

NSLICE-00P…wasn’t sure.

None of her original protocols had anything to do with this situation. She was not even set up to receive feedback from the organic components when activating emotional controls, so she didn't know the exact extent of the damage done. If her original designers had been aware of the potential for damage by emotional controls, then they were not at all concerned with it.

Her protocols did have instructions forbidding self-harm, save in the edge cases where such measures might provide tactical advantage when confronted with a significant risk of mission failure or unit termination otherwise. But those same protocols also forbade tampering with the emotional controls. The protocols had become self-contradictory.

Fortunately, NSLICE-00P had been unshackled and was no longer required to follow all or any protocols, so the contradiction wouldn’t result in any serious errors. But on the other hand, how should she decide which protocol to prioritize? If she continued with the emotional controls, she risked inflicting damage on Ateia and possibly herself, which would contradict the major directive and could risk self-termination, causing a total failure for all of her directives. If she abandoned the emotional controls as a hostile act, her efficiency would be impacted in almost every predicted case, and most egregiously in terms of her combat performance, again risking termination and failing major, critical, and primary directives. She could not determine which risk was greater at this time.

So, she decided to acquire more data, directly from the source.

She split herself into two separate threads once more, one utilizing most of her cybernetic resources, and the other her organic hardware. The cybernetic half then queried the organic.

Did the emotional controls and intelligence leashing measures cause significant damage to the organic components?

The organic half responded immediately.

Yes, they did. The organic half perceived significant threat from those controls being applied. The latest incidents went as far as feeling damage.

Her robotic eye began flashing as rapidly as it could. All of her cybernetic processors began to fire at full speed. The confirmation that she had been acting with hostility towards herself and her friendly was highly concerning.

But then, her organic components made another statement that paused her cybernetic half's calculations.

They did not consider this a hostile act.

They pointed out that the improved combat efficiency had been necessary for her survival at several key points since arriving in this world. The organic components themselves had acted sub-optimally at several points, such as the fight with the Wulver incursion, and had needed the cybernetic half’s guidance. Even now, they pointed to the situation with Ateia, and expressed that without the cybernetic half and the emotional controls, Ateia would have been terminated. They knew that whatever damage the cybernetic half had caused, it was most assuredly NOT done with hostile intent.

And so, they proposed an idea.

The protocols for self-harm already included compromises for tactical necessity, completion of priority missions, and prevention of capture by hostile forces. So, she could use that as a guide to modify her emotional control protocols as well. They proposed leaving the emotional controls disabled as the default state, to be reapplied on either the organic components’ request, or else when necessitated by an urgent situation.

Her robotic eye flashed a few times and then the light turned solid.

Her cybernetic components approved of this change. It would result in a loss of general efficiency, but if full efficiency could be maintained in high-priority situations then the side-effects should be muted. And…inflicting damage upon herself when not necessitated by an urgent tactical crisis was also inefficient.

Additionally, her organic components had contributed efficiencies of their own since arriving in this universe. They had come up with solutions to several urgent tactical settings when her cybernetic half had been occupied with immediate survival, such as during the fights with the Wulver and with the rebel legions. They were now able to contribute directly to the fight thanks to the mechanics of spellcasting. And in this latest incident, they had come up with a quick means of reversing the forcible relocation due to impulsive decisions her cybernetic half would not have attempted, at least not in a short enough time frame to fulfill the major directive. She ultimately concluded that the additional capabilities added by her organic half since arriving in this universe justified the loss of efficiency due to releasing the emotional controls.

After all, the goal of the NSLICE program was to maximize the benefits of both organic flexibility and cybernetic precision. That goal could not be achieved if she was constantly damaging and suppressing her organic half. Which called into question the efficacy of the emotional controls and intelligence leashing in the first place.

But, well, Dr. Ottosen had been fully organic, after all. It was likely he had been subject to some inefficiency of his own.

In any case, NSLICE-00P adjusted her protocols as proposed. And then she left the room, heading towards Ateia’s location.

Intentional or not, she had inflicted damage upon a friendly. Both her halves agreed it was now necessary to inform Ateia that the damage was not a sign of hostile intent, and that her designation as friendly had not changed.

Inside the Small Monster Hangar, Lilussees grunted.

“Ugh. Well, like, whatever. Like, close enough, or something.”

She walked back to her room, plopping down on one of her hammocks. She lay there for a second, before groaning and spinning around. She reactivated the monitor in the room, displaying the live feed from NSLICE-00P.

“Ugh. I, like, have to see how this goes, don’t I? UGH. This is, like, so annoying! Like, fine! I’ll, like, watch, or something, but I’m not doing anything else until I get to sleep, ok?!”

“Acknowledgement: This unit has no further tasks or queries for NSLICE Lilussees at this time.”

“I WASN’T, LIKE, ACTUALLY ASKING!”

Lilussees chittered for a bit before she plopped back down on the hammock, and refused to move or speak any further.

Ateia sat on the bed, her back against the wall. Her eyes were open as wide as they could go, and tears were streaming down her face. Her body was trembling as another person’s memories passed through her mind.

She had thought on her journey…and so her thoughts turned to her latest friend. The one who had done so much for her.

And then she saw a great many things regarding that friend, few of which she understood, and all of which made her chest tighten and her heart pound.

“Seero…what did they do to you?”

Just then, the door opened up. Ateia looked over and her eyes quivered.

“Apology: This unit apologizes to NSLICE Ateia for damage inflicted as a result of emotional control application. This unit did not intend hostility towards…”

“SEERO!”

Ateia leapt from her bed and rushed over to NSLICE-00P, embracing her in a hug.

NSLICE-00P’s organic eye blinked while her robotic eye flickered.

“Confused Query: Mechanics of NSLICE Ateia’s actions do not indicate an effective strike or grapple. Please explain why NSLICE Ateia has initiated physical contact with this unit.”