Wishing Stars Ch 07 Pt 2

"You will find," The Assistant near the door spoke suddenly, "that what we are depends greatly upon our purpose, and that our purpose depends greatly upon what we are."

With that, he opened the door and Abigail flew into the room. The other girl dashed across the circular chamber and collapsed into Thalia's arms. Her chest was heaving as she sucked in air. She had clearly sprinted up the tower stairs. Thalia heard the chamber door close again with a thud.

"They..." Abigail started, but had to stop to catch her breath. "They said..."

Thalia shushed her friend and ran her hands over her blonde hair, attempting to soothe her. It was such a familiar gesture, and brought back so many memories from the Quarantine Ship that for a moment Thalia's eyes misted over. With a frustrated wave of her hand, Thalia banished both the memories and the tears. She pressed Abigail back by the shoulders until the other girl was more properly seated on the window seat and looked into her face.

"I'm fine," Thalia said. She saw Abigail run skeptical eyes over her bruised and bandaged face. Suddenly slight uncomfortable, Thalia bit her damaged lip and repeated, "I'm fine."

"Okay..." Abigail looked very unsure. She reached out and took one of Thalia's damaged hands. "Because they said—"

"I don't care what anyone said." She returned with as much certainty as she could muster. "I'm not talking about what happened. I don't care about it. We are not going to sit here and cry, Abby. We need a plan."

"A plan?" Her friend returned blankly. She slowly pulled her hands away from Thalia's and sat back, blue eyes wide.

"Yes, a plan," Thalia leaned in closer and looked into Abigail's eyes, as if she could see the Assistants' tonic at work, "Are you drugged, Abigail? We need to get out of here. We need to escape—"

"Stop!" Abigail's hand was suddenly clamped over Thalia's mouth. Her other hand cupped the back of Thalia's head and pulled her in so that she could speak directly into her ear, "You can't talk like this," She whispered, "Not here and not with them,"

Abigail nodded meaningfully toward the Assistant droids standing passively by the door. Thalia pulled away from her friend, disentangling her hand from Abigail's grasping hands.

"The Assistants?" She asked, failing to whisper, "I know we were scared of them, Abigail, but they really just want to help. Somehow my rank means I can ask more of them now. They will help me if they can..."

Abigail was already shaking her head.

"Trust me," She said in a lowered voice, her eyes still on the Assistants, "that is what they want you to think. Every robot in this citadel reports directly to the King. They all share one mind, Thalia. What one knows, they all know."

Realization hit Thalia like a bucket of water. "They're spies," She whispered.

It made suddenly made sense. As soon as Xieol had noticed her affinity for the Assistants, they had become more helpful. He had even told her to make friends with them, and they had suddenly become almost friendly. Every question she asked them was being reported to him, or to his father. The Arktzirax had never chanced leaving her alone without a robotic chaperone. And, yet, when she had seen Xieol kill them, she had felt such pity for them. Even comradery. Was it all a trick?

"I'm so stupid," She whispered, and would have put her head in her hands but the sight of her bandaged wrists stopped her. Bile rose in her throat. Humans were so weak. She was weak. Xieol had hardly touched her yet and almost her entire body was damaged in some way. There did not seem to be a way to survive this. And suddenly all her vague escape plans were drying up.

"Leave us," Abigail's voice startled her out of her thoughts.

"Our apologies, Lady Abigail, but that goes against our instructions." An Assistant responded.

"Get out," Thalia said, but her voice was weak. Still, she had to try. It was no surprise when her request was politely declined as well.

"Then come here," Abigail said suddenly. Thalia glanced at her, confused, but her friend's face was a mask of determination. "Both of you."

Both Assistants consented happily and came to stand before Abigail, who had climbed to her feet. Thalia looked up at her friend in wonder as she instructed the droids to turn around. Again, both Assistants were more than happy to comply.

Abigail brought her hand quickly to the back of the Assistant's neck. Thalia saw something flash in her friend's hand, and heard a small metallic click, before Abigail spoke again.

"We are going to take a nap now. You will stand by the wall and make sure nothing bothers us." Abigail was speaking to the back of the Assistant's head while she quickly fiddled with something at the base of his neck.

"Y-Yes, Your...." The Assistant's voice was slurred, and his steps were faltering. He slowly walked to the other side of the chamber and stood facing the wall. Thalia could just make out the glint of something metal protruding from the clear casing of his neck. She turned to ask Abigail what was happening, but the other girl was already hard at work on the other Assistant.

Abigail had opened a small hatch in the clear casing of the second robot's neck. A bead of sweat ran down her temple and slid off her chin. With trembling fingers, she picked away at some inner-workings of the robot with a tiny metallic sliver. Thalia had no idea where it had come from, and was frightened to ask. She had never seen Abigail focused like this. Her friend was working as quickly as she could, her fingers white with their grip on that small metal tool.

Then there was a small click, and with a relieved sigh, Abigail slid the entirety of the instrument into the Assistant's exposed spine. She flicked the small hatch closed and sat back on the bench with her eyes closed in relief and exhaustion.

"What—" Thalia started, but was cut off by a raised hand from her friend.

They sat together in silence for a moment, and Thalia watched her friend's strained face in growing concern. Questions buzzed behind her lips, but she kept them quiet. After a few more seconds, Abigail smiled.

"No sirens," She said as she opened her eyes, "I must have done it right. At least, I hope I did..."

Despite her doubt, Abigail looked triumphant as she rose to her feet and gestured for Thalia to follow. As the two girls walked to the door, the Assistant Abigail had tampered with the most followed. The other Assistant stood obediently staring at the wall.

"Open the door," Abigail instructed. Her voice was confident, but Thalia could see a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. This was a crucial moment for her.

"Yes, Your Ma—"

"Don't talk." Abigail cut in abruptly. Her big blue eyes flicked from the robot to Thalia nervously.

The Assistant crossed the room without another word. He efficiently disarmed the wooden door and unlocked it. As soon as it swung inward, he placed his palm on the solid white wall beyond. A portion of the wall slid back with a click. The robot stood back obediently to allow them to pass.

Thalia would have spoken, but a sharp look from her friend silenced her. When Abigail rose and walked towards the door, Thalia was close behind. The Assistant followed meekly, keeping an exact ten paces behind. He did not speak again. His companion stayed behind, staring at the wall as instructed. As they began down the stairs, Abigail picked up her pace.

"Where are we—" Thalia started, but Abigail spun and slammed a hand over her mouth.

"Quietly." Her friend whispered. "He's disconnected from the hive mind, but every other robot in the Citadel is working just fine. The Assistant upstairs will keep reporting that we are napping. We have to either get out or get back before someone goes to check."

As they hurried down the stairs, Thalia managed to get a few whispered questions answered. Abigail had manually overridden the Assistants, and not in a way that could be reversed. The Assistants were irreparably damaged, and there was an immediate danger that someone would notice before the girls were far enough away. If they did not manage to escape, they would need to destroy these Assistants to cover their tracks. It was a risk to leave them behind, but Abigail could not think of an alternative. It would be suspicious if both Assistants suddenly stopped reporting.

They hit the main floor and continued their flight through the mazes of endless white halls. Both girls dropped their voices even lower, aware that the further from the tower that they ventured, the higher the risk of discovery.

"But," Thalia whispered so quietly she wasn't sure her friend would hear, "How did you know how to do that? Why didn't you do it before?"

There was a long pause as they cautiously turned a corner. Upon finding the next corridor empty, they picked up speed again. Never flat out running, that would be far too suspicious, but they walked quickly enough to build a sweat. Just as Thalia was about to repeat her question, Abigail finally answered.

"I've never done it before," She whispered without looking back. "But I've seen Thruk do it. When he doesn't want anyone to overhear him, or when he wants to spy. It's extremely illegal. He told me that if he was caught, or if I told anyone, the King would execute us both."

Abigail glanced back at the trailing Assistant quickly and lowered her voice even further. Thalia had to arch her neck over her friend's shoulder to hear.

"Right now," Abigail's voice was barely audible, "That robot thinks I'm the King. No access will be refused, and he will tell me anything. Plus, the King's actions are confidential. Nothing he does is reported back to the Mind. Still, it's a very dangerous game."

Thalia could only gape at her friend. What happened when the Assistants realized there were two Kings? Or when someone went to check on the two humans taking a nap in the tower? What if they were to cross paths with Xieol or the King himself? A dangerous game, indeed.

They were much deeper in the Citadel now. Signs of life were still scarce, but every now and then some grotesque object hung on the wall. Trophies of war, no doubt. Thalia tried not to look at them. The small numbered plaques that indicated doors were also becoming fewer and further between, indicating that the within were growing in size. When they passed a door near the end of a particularly furnished corridor—its' walls featured a painting of Arktzirax soldiers in battle, a blood spattered helmet and a gilded axe with a splintered handle— the murmur of voices sounded behind a door.

Alarmed, Thalia looked to Abigail. The other girl was already waving the Assistant closer. Thalia could not hear what her friend told the robot, but the Assistant nodded and led them around the corner quickly. They passed three more doors before the Assistant came to a halt before a plain expanse of white wall. There was no plaque to indicate a room within, or anything else that would have caused Thalia to glance twice at it.

The Assistant leaned down and ran his hand along the crevasse where the wall met the floor with one hand. When he seemed to find what he was looking for, he pressed down hard. His entire finger sank into the wall. With a sharp rotation of his wrist, he turned his finger like a key, and a small compartment opened directly above his hand. The Assistant quickly punched in some code, and the wall retracted into itself silently.

Unlike most doorways Thalia had seen in the Citadel, which were sized to accommodate the likes of Mighty Xieol and the other Arktzirax, this doorway was fairly narrow. It also opened into complete darkness. The Assistant took a step backwards to clear the way, and waved his hand as if beckoning them to enter. Abigail complied quickly. The second she stepped through the doorway, she was consumed into the darkness. It was as if she had fallen into some vertical hole and vanished from sight.

Thalia hesitated split second, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling as she contemplated the contrast of the darkness and the bright sterile lights above. With a deep breath, she stepped forward and was swallowed by the blackness.