Midnight Morals: Golem Naoto (Persona 4 MCTF) (Patreon)

Steadily getting towards the end of the backlog. I won't have stuff to post here for much longer - but we're not there yet!

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The tormented sea of dreams and nightmares assails the sleeping sailing minds of all who dare seek solace after days of drudge and toil. Here lurk the shadows of inspiration and the monsters of the ID, surfing the shallows between isles of wonder. And should your ship capsize, and your helpless form slip twixt waves of yearn and slough of fallen aspirations, then you too might find yourself washing up on the shores of this most ununfamiliar land.

Castaway… In the Midnight Channel.

“Welcome, my dears, to the grand finale of this week’s special block of programming.” The woman in blue’s presence dominates her office once more, piles of unproduced scripts standing in each corner of the dusty room. “I hope you’ve been looking forward to your return. I know tonight’s star is a bit of a favourite. Are you curious how she might turn out?”

She leans forward, her smirk as sharp as ever, sweeping the latest manuscript off her desk. “This tale involves a young woman who always wished for different circumstances in life – and oh dear oh dear, it seems she’s never learned the lesson of the monkey’s paw.” There’s a glint of red from beneath her long brimmed hat. “But have no fear. I’ve no doubt that tonight’s show will teach her all she’ll ever need to know.”

“Should you ever strive for more, to sate those unquenchable thirsts of ambition and pride? Or should you simply be happy with what you have, before even that is taken away?” The woman in blue lowers the manuscript for a moment to give you a look, though, of course, her eyes remain unseen. “To tell you the truth, I suspect it may not matter. It’s so dreadfully unfair when your choices fail to change your fate, is it not? But then, no one ever said life was fair – certainly not here, in the Midnight Channel~”

-

‘Dear Mother and Father.

Things have been strange for me ever since I was struck by that random piano and woke up in this new world. Magic is real here, and technology much less prevalent. None the less, I hope to do you proud as I attempt to defeat the demon king!’

“What kind of nonsense are you on about?”

Naoto Shirogane wasn’t the kind of person who just glared at thin air without a cause – but with no one else present to glare at, she was lacking in options. The voice had echoed over her head from nowhere – there was no one else around, and no speakers anywhere to be seen. In fact this whole room was quite bare. Solid grey stone walls, floor, and ceiling – it was really quite drab. Not a fun place to find yourself after getting lost in the mist of the TV world.

But she had bigger problems than that.

When the mist had cleared, the Detective Prince had noted three things. One was that her surroundings were completely different, with no indication of how she’d ended up in such a strange room – nothing too unusual for the TV world. Two was that her friends had all vanished without a trace – she couldn’t see any sign of Rise, Chie, or Yukiko anywhere. That was definitely worrying, and an issue she’d have to see about rectifying as soon as possible. But it was point three that really held her attention at the moment. Because point three was that her entire body had somehow been turned to solid stone.

Well, perhaps solid was the wrong term? She was still capable of moving. Her arms and legs still seemed to have their full range of mobility available to them. They were just… made of stone. Her skin, her tongue, her hair, all of it was as grey as the room around her. Only her eyes were different – but they were sapphire gemstones, according to her pocket mirror. Her clothes seemed to have been left untouched, jacket, cap, all fine, but her actual body had been fully – and faithfully – converted. How had this happened? And to what purpose?

‘The goddess who sent me seemed like a nice sort, but I have to wonder, am I really strong enough to defeat such a powerful enemy, even with the gift of a stronger body that she gave me?’

… The stone-faced sleuth frowned. Was that what was supposed to be going on here? Her new form was some kind of blessing from a goddess? She flexed her hands, watching the rock of her palms morph with a curious look in her gemstone eyes.

Data, data, she needed more data. Obviously none of this was real – it all functioned in complete defiance of the laws of reality that made the real world function. None the less, the theory being put forward by that annoying voice, that this was some kind of ‘next life’, was patently absurd. It would require not just her untimely end (and she was pretty sure she was alive, thank you very much), but also an incredibly inefficient divine system bent to utterly ludicrous aims for no viable reason.

Sure, Naoto was all too familiar with pointless systems getting in the way of efficiency and sense – there was a reason that she was the Detective Prince, not Princess, after all…

(Though honestly she wasn’t too sure how she felt about being a ‘Princess’ anyway. Okay maybe she hadn’t resolved all of her gender issues back when she’d confronted her Shadow, but hahaha this was not the time to dwell on that.)

… But even then there had been some kind of point. This strange system of ‘reincarnating’ – read, kidnapping – souls from one world to another while allowing them to keep all of their memories was just absurd. Pure wish fulfilment in its most primal form, with elements of that ‘Noble man of culture goes amongst the backwards savages’ that colonial fiction loved so much. Yes, she knew about these things. A Detective needed to have a broad pallet for literature.

Also she’d watched cartoons when she was growing up. She knew what an Isekai was. The concept was much more fun when you weren’t in the middle of one. But this really seemed like a muddled version of an already messy trope – wasn’t the whole point of an Isekai that you kept your old body in the new world? ‘Goddess blessing’ nothing, turn her back already!

Whoever was writing this show was a hack.

‘Whatever happens, I’ll do my best, relying on the lessons that you taught me. To always be myself, and to look to others whenever I feel like I’ve gotten in over my head!’

Naoto squinted at the ceiling. Was… Was this strange narration trying to give her advice? Or imply that her parents had taught her any of this nonsense? Her parents had died when she was a child. How dare this inane babble try to use them like this!

“Okay, first off-!”

But before the detective could truly begin to rant, one of the walls to her grey ‘room’ rolled open, revealing itself to be some kind of sliding door.

“-Should be done cooling by now, and- Aha! What did I tell you?” Two men stepped in – a shorter, older gentleman in a white shirt and a brown leather apron, followed by a more distinguished gentleman in a more professional dark suit. The shorter one was talking, words rumbling through his thick beard. “Here’s one fresh off the presses, only just sculpted.”

“Ah!” People! Well, likely shadow constructs… But still, someone to interact with. What a relief. “H-hello there! Can you please tell me-?”

Alas, Naoto didn’t get far before the first man held up his hand. “Cease and stand at attention, Unit. A potential buyer is here.”

Order received.

Immediately her mouth slammed shut, and she found herself straightening up, snapping her legs together with a rocky clack! Her arms stiffened at her sides, and she stared straight forwards, eyes focused on nothing in particular.

“Affirmative.” Her voice barked out without her consent. “Yes Creator. Ceasing And Standing At Attention.”

Wha… What was that? For a moment there, from the instant the short man had spoken to her, she hadn’t been able to think. His words had just filled her head, overwriting all of her thoughts, making them all she could think about – until she’d obeyed them, anyway. And now that she had, she found she couldn’t move at all. All she could do was just stand here…

“I see…” The taller man was talking now – were those pointed ears she could see out of the corner of her eye? “This is the human model, then? Why is it wearing clothing? Is that standard?”

What the hell kind of questions were those?

But the shorter man was shaking his head – she could see it clearly because he’d moved around in front of her now. “Ah, don’t worry about that. There must have been some magic spillover from the sculpting process. You can never predict that stuff, I saw it turn a pebble into a pumpkin once. Oh, but no fear, it’s harmless stuff, happens all the time here. Here, let me handle that.”

He raised a hand to his mouth, coughing to clear his throat, and then spoke to her directly, his voice firm. “Unit, get rid of those silly clothes and tell Mr. Goldleaf about your capabilities.”

Order received.

Again, the words filled her head, smothering any capability for independent thought. Naoto tried to resist it, tried to fight back, but it was like her will was made of soft clay, while the orders were made of solid stone. They just barrelled right through her, and squashed her attempted defiance into nothingness.

“Affirmative.” Again, she spoke without meaning to, her voice echoing as though she was speaking in a cave. “Removing These Silly Clothes And Telling Mr. Goldleaf About My Capabilities.”

Her arms snapped up, stone digits grasping the shoulders of her jacket, and then-

Riiiiip!

- quickly and easily tore both it, and the shirt beneath, to shreds, throwing the ruined garments aside. Then she bent down, utterly bare chested, and grabbed her inner thighs…

Riiiiip!

And there went her pants and boxers, too. Socks and shoes were thrown aside, and even her cap was tossed away without a second thought. She was completely naked, and she would have been mortified if all of her feelings of embarrassment and panic didn’t keep getting overwritten by the orders still booming in her head. Because she wasn’t done.

“This Unit is fully equipped and enchanted with the latest golem sculpting techniques,” she found herself saying, turning to face the tall man – this ‘Mr. Goldleaf’, as her orders defined him. “It is capable of lifting loads in excess of 15 tons, of enduring hammer blows from a titan without receiving damage, travelling at approximately 120 miles per hour on a straight road, and working on assigned tasks for up to three centuries without requiring a recharge.”

Only when she completed her spiel was she finally able to break free of the compulsions that had gripped her A dizzy vertigo gripped her, though her stiff body still refused to move and allow her the appropriate stagger. It insisted on continuing to stand at attention instead, allowing the two men to inspect her nude stone form. It should have made her cheeks burn with embarrassment…

… But instead her body was cold and emotionless. She couldn’t even feel her heart hammer. Did she even have a heart anymore?

“Impressive boasts,” the taller man was saying, his hands folded behind his back. “If they’re accurate. Is this model representative of the finished product, though? Normally golems are a bit less… expressive.”

The shorter man laughed. “You’ve a sharp eye, sir, and no mistake. Like I said, this one’s fresh out of the mold, all the magic’s still settling into place. Those irregular marks you’re seeing, they’ll settle into standard form soon enough – and of course any customisations you’d like to order for its final appearance won’t be affected.”

She wished they’d stop talking about her like she wasn’t here – but her annoyance could wait, she was getting data. Magic? Customisations? Hm. Given the isekai themes from before, then this dungeon – she had to assume she was in a dungeon at this point – had to be based off of those fantasy shows she’d seen on TV from time to time. And she’d been cast as the main character? This narrative was a mess…

But as fascinating as it was, it wouldn’t do her any good if she couldn’t work out a way to escape it. There had to be a way out somewhere… If she got the chance to move under her own power, at least.

She needed to investigate – perhaps after these two left, she could slip away? If she was now as strong as her ‘capabilities’ implied, then it shouldn’t be too difficult…

Ah, they were talking again. Best to listen, see if she could learn more.

“We’re using the latest in golem sculpting technology here sir,” the shorter man was saying. Hm. Short stature, big beard, clearly a craftsman… Could he be a dwarf? “This rockhead here could bench press a wizard’s tower if you told it to. Lemme demonstrate. Unit! Lift that boulder over there.”

No, wai-! Order received.

Just like before, clear instructions overwrote the detective’s thoughts, and she found herself leaping into action. “Affirmative! This Unit Shall Lift The Designated Boulder.”

Then Naoto was marching forwards, out of her small room, past the two men and out into the warehouse beyond.

It was a dazzling place, filled with crafters carrying gigantic hammers, steel forges burning with flames all colours of the rainbow, and glowing molten rock flows streaming into countless ‘molds’ bigger than she was – but she could pay attention to absolutely none of it. Her entire world was focused on the large rock – almost the size of a small house – that her Creator had pointed her towards.

“Does it always repeat commands like that?” She heard as she marched away, though her brain was presently too occupied to fully listen. “Seems a bit odd.”

“It’s a safety feature, sir,” came the voice of her Creator, which echoed louder in her ears. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of times people have given incorrect orders and then left their golems to work all day, only to come back and find all that time wasted. This way you can confirm for yourself that the order is correct. But it can be turned off, don’t worry.”

No orders. Those words could be safely ignored. Thus, she returned her full attention to the boulder, assessing its structural integrity carefully so that it wouldn’t crack or break when she went to work. Then, with simple, forceful movements, she shoved her hands underneath the massive lump of stone, and lifted it into the air. It was easy -  there wasn’t even any strain.

That was something of a relief to Naoto when the orders dissolved out of her mind, and she found herself able to think again. She wasn’t sure she could deal with the extra burden of holding something so heavy over her head right now. Every order seemed to exhaust her, and it was getting harder to remember that her Creator’s words weren’t her own thoughts. They were so much easier to follow than her own…

‘Obviously, since I’m so out of my depth, I know better than to insist I know what I’m doing. It’s always going to be best to behave and obey my betters, rather than wasting my energy in pointless defiance…’

… What? It’d… It’d be better to… obey? That couldn’t be right, could it? But it felt wrong to disagree…

Ugh, her head was so foggy. If she could just have a moment to clear it…!

“Unit, put that rock down and do some jumping jacks.”

NOrder received.

“Affirmative. This Unit Will Put Designated Rock Down…” Her arms lowered, carefully placing the boulder on the floor as though it were as light as a feather. “And Proceed To Do Jumping Jacks.”

She began, hopping in place, spreading her legs and throwing her arms up over her head, before drawing her limbs all back in to land in the exact same position that she’d started in. Then she did so again. And again. The process repeated over and over, with no indication of when it would stop, and no reason in her head for her to ever cease.

The effect on her mind was stronger than ever, and it got worse with each loop. Every repetition was like a hammer slamming down on her free will. Each jump wore at her resistance, sanding down her ability and desire to refuse. The idea of simply not doing as she was told was already frightfully small, but now it was completely disappearing, the very concept vanishing from her awareness.

She couldn’t refuse…

She couldn’t disobey…

She couldn’t even think…

She had to obey.

By the time of the tenth jump, the very idea of resistance was a foreign one to the detective. As far as she knew, she’d never imagined such a thing, and had no idea how it could work. It was a ridiculous notion, quite frankly. You did as you were told – what else was there?

An emotional satisfaction settled over her, and she would have smiled if she’d been able. But, of course, she wasn’t – so she just kept on jumping.

Behind her, the Creator and Mr. Goldleaf were still talking. “And what purpose does this command serve?”

“Jus demonstrating its flexibility sir. As you can see, no problems with its range of motion, and no difficulty following simple commands. I wouldn’t recommend doing this one at home though – it’s heavier than it looks.”

“I see…” The taller man made a contemplative sound that was forgotten the instant Naoto’s stone ears heard it.

There was more talking, all of it unimportant. A few times she heard the sound of footsteps walking away, before eventually returning. She was oblivious to all of it, even to the passage of time. All she could focus on, all she could think, was about fulfilling the command that still dominated her thoughts.

She jumped in place, over and over, without tiring or slowing. The naked detective, spreading her legs and raising her arms countless time, her boulder-like bust too firm to jiggle.

And eventually – after countless bounds – another order came. “Alright, Unit, stop.”

Order received.

“Affirmative. Unit Is Stopping.” She settled in place, still staring forward. Her ability to think slowly began to return – but since she hadn’t really been ordered to think anything, it was a hazy, empty feeling. One that was soon pushed aside by the next order she heard.

“One last demonstration – that special feature you asked for. Unit: grow!

Order received.

Naoto didn’t really know what ‘grow’ was supposed to mean, but that was fine – she didn’t need to! She just needed to obey. Her hands slid to her hips.

“Affirmative! This Unit Will Now Grow.”

And she did.

Naoto had always been kind of short – something that had led her to no end of grief when it came to people not taking her seriously. That wouldn’t be an issue now, though, as her figure and frame literally expanded, her legs and arms lengthening, her torso stretching, until her 5’0 became a rock solid 8’5.

Of course, it wasn’t just height she gained. Her curves swelled too, her ass ballooning outwards and giving her incredibly heavy hips. But what grew the most was her chest. Her breasts swelled outwards, tripling in size, now easily bigger than her head, with no hint of sag or droop. Stone really was the strongest material.

“What do you think then, Mr. Goldenleaf?” The voice of her Creator rang in her ears once more.

“I think you’ve made yourself a sale, sir.”

“Most importantly, I’ll make sure to always listen to the people around me, and help them as best I can. You should always listen to your bosses! That’s the most important lesson a hero can learn!”

Naoto didn’t disagree – no one had told her to, after all.

-

“Dear Mother and Father.

It’s been some time since I last wrote to you! Don’t worry, I’ve been keeping busy. You’ll be happy to know that I’ve been making lots of friends.”

Naoto… wasn’t sure how long it was until she came back to herself properly. Some time, at least. Judging by the light, it had been daytime when she had woken up before, but now it was most assuredly night.

What had happened to her? She felt weird. Strange. The inner fire that normally drove her felt… damper than usual. She was unsteady. Uncertain. Unsure of herself. This was a sinister, unfamiliar world, and she had no idea what she was supposed to be doing here.

Maybe someone could tell her what to do?

… No. No, that was… That was the issue, wasn’t it? Come on girl, pull yourself together. She just had to find a way to escape. Now where was she…?

Fortunately, it wasn’t so dark that she couldn’t see. Naoto had been moved at some point – had she been carried, or just ordered to walk? She couldn’t remember – and now found herself in a big room that reminded her of the showrooms back at Junes. A tall ceiling, distant walls… And rows upon rows of mannequins lined up along the floor. Except…

Except those weren’t mannequins. They were stone figures – feminine figures. Golems. Just like her.

“It was difficult at first, but eventually I found a group who were just like me!”

Well, not just like her. The overall shape was similar, but these golems were much less… distinct. Each one was identical to the next, no uniqueness between them at all. Their feet were smooth blobs, with no sign of any toes, their fingers were smooth, with no nails or fingerprints, and even their bare chests lacked nipples. Most strikingly, though, was that none of them had faces, or hair. Their heads were completely smooth ovals. Vaguely human shaped, perhaps, but utterly lacking in features.

Kinda creepy, honestly.

… She had to get out of here. This place felt wrong, but also really right in a worrying way that kept growing stronger. Naoto was starting to worry that if she didn’t try to leave soon, that eventually she wouldn’t want to. She shook her head at the thought – and realised with elation that she could move again. Whatever orders had bound her before had worn off, or perhaps just hadn’t included the same kind of paralysis from before.

“I was nervous at first, but I soon figured out how to best fit in with everyone…”

Now was the time then, she decided as she firmly ignored the narrator’s voice. There was no one around to give her orders, so this was her chance. She just had to escape this maze of golems first. The sea of faceless faces was starting to bother her. Despite the fact that none of them had eyes, she couldn’t help but feel like she was being watched…

So slowly at first, still unsure in her new body and nervous that her ability to move might yet be stripped from her again, she lifted a foot and took a ginger step forward. Everything worked properly – she moved just as she wanted, and no one jumped out of the shadows at her. All was well. Nothing was going to stop her.

Nothing other than the seemingly endless hordes of golems, anyway. They’d been packed in here shoulder to shoulder, as close as they could be, kind of like crates in a shipping warehouse, so actually fishing herself out of this sea of stone was more effort than she expected. There were just so many golems in the way.

At first she tried to go carefully, not wanting to hurt any- to dent any- to, to scratch or scuff any of the merchandise…

The word slipped into her head so easily that she didn’t even feel uncomfortable that it would apply to her just as well as any of these other golems.

… But that soon proved to be a silly concern. A misplaced foot sent her sprawling forwards, crashing into another standing figure. It didn’t budge, nor was there any sign of any damage. These things were just as hardy as advertised.

The detective let out a breath of relief – or tried to, and then remembered that she didn’t need to breathe right now – before continuing onwards. She hadn’t even felt a thing during the fall. Clearly her ‘blessing’ was doing its job. She probably wouldn’t have noticed she’d tripped at all if it wasn’t for that faint tingling sensation in her chest where she’d landed on the other golem…

“In fact the longer I hung around them, the more I found myself becoming a part of their group in every way!”

Soon she was pushing past all the golems in her path, desperate to reach freedom. First she tried just squeezing through, sidling between tightly packed statue women -

The tingling in her chest grew more intense as she pushed it up against them, but she ignored it. Thus, she ended up ignoring a few other things as well. Like her nipples, previously fully displayed in stone, vanishing into nothingness and leaving her breasts smooth spheres. Or those spheres actually growing a cup size, now completely in line with the other golems around her – which made it a bit trickier to squeeze past them, though she didn’t notice the reason for that.

- But soon she was going even further, literally climbing over these obstacles in her way so that she could get to the edge of the room faster. That nagging feeling of danger was really starting to get to her, so she gave up caution for speed. And though it took some scrambling -

She felt a tingle as she put her hand on a golem’s shoulder to move past it, but she didn’t notice as said hand morphed into a uniform, unmarked version of itself, with no lines over its palm, and no nails on its fingers.

Her foot brushed against an ankle, and tingled as it turned into a smooth blob, her toes merging together into a single rounded piece. Her footsteps clacked with every contact. Another clamber forward and her other foot was completely identical.

- Soon enough, she was nearly to her goal.

Perhaps some caution might have been warranted, though. Because just as she was about to reach the door…

“Waah!”

Crash!

… She slipped, and tumbled to the ground, knocking over a couple of her fellows and dragging them into a heap of golems. It was a mess -

Her head tingled as she pulled herself up from the bottom of the pile. Nothing to worry about, it didn’t hurt – it was just annoying. Nothing to worry about as her hair receded, merging back into her now rounded head, taking her ears with it. Nothing to worry about as she licked her lips, just before they vanished. Nothing to worry about as her nose flattened into her face. Nothing to worry about as her eyes vanished beneath smooth stone.

- Why care, though? They were just objects, not people. And she was finally next to her escape! A door at the front of the storage room. She pushed herself back up to her feet and hurried towards it, eager to be out of this place at last.

It slid open easily, her strength more than enough to move the heavy frame. Quietly, she stepped out into the hall beyond, looking around cautiously for any sign of movement. She didn’t want to be ordered around again –

- Although maybe that wouldn’t be so bad? No. -

- So she had to avoid people for the moment. But she was in luck. The corridor was empty, save for a selection of other goods clearly produced at this strange magical warehouse. Glowing swords, floating treasure chests, shimmering mirrors…

Although, something odd caught her eye when she spotted that last one. It was a large mirror with a golden frame, the kind of full body thing you might see in some royal chambers, leaning against the wall across the hall from her. Its reflection seemed entirely normal, she could see the wall behind her, the door she’d just escaped through, all of that. Except…

… Except she couldn’t see herself?

No, in her place, all she saw was a standard golem. A faceless, feminine figure carved from stone. A simple product. Merchandise. Nothing like… her…

Naoto lifted her arm, and watched the golem lift its in turn. She reached up to touch her face, and felt only the smooth featureless surface she saw in the mirror. She looked down at herself, and saw only the same kind of uniform body as all those statues she’d just clambered over.

This… Couldn’t be her… could it? She was… She wasn’t… She wasn’t just… an object… right?

Something inside her stalled. Uncertainty surged up in her chest. She wasn’t just some ordinary golem, was she? She was a person, with a name and an identity! She was a… a detective or something, wasn’t she? But then why did all of her memories seem so distant and vague…?

With one last act of will, she tried to start moving again, but all she could manage was to lift her head – to lift her gaze back to the mirror again.

She just stared at her reflection. Instead of herself standing there all she saw was another featureless golem. And she remained stood there, staring into the mirror, until someone finally found her.

“Ugh, who’s playing pranks with the golems this time?” A voice from someone she couldn’t see, her gazed too fixed on the golem in the mirror, carried down the hall. “Hey, Unit, get back into position.”

Order Received.

“Affirmative.” Even her voice didn’t really sound like her anymore. Just a monotone, vaguely feminine drone. “This Unit Will Return To Its Position.”

Without complaint or second thought, she spun around and marched back to where she had woken up, standing in line with dozens, hundreds of other, identical golems. And this time, she didn’t feel any need to leave.

“I guess it’s like you always told me. That’s another important lesson for a hero: Do your best to fit in with others!”

-

“Dear Mother and Father.

I’ve been making real progress in my mission since the last time I wrote.”

Naoto – was that her name? Did she have a name? – couldn’t really be certain when she became aware again. It was a subtle feeling, one that didn’t really announce itself to her. Strange, uncomfortable emotions blossomed in her heart – uncertainty, doubt, confusion, and steadily roused her from her haze. It was like being comfortable in bed, save for a small itch that slowly grew more and more difficult to ignore, until you finally had to turn over to scratch it, and now you were fully awake.

What had happened? How long had it been? These felt like important questions, but she had no way to answer them. Instead, she focused on more practical things. Where was she, and what did she do now?

She was on her own again, the other golems nowhere in sight. This room looked more like a blacksmith’s workshop, with a table by one wall, covered in various craftworking tools, and plenty of space to work with.

Should she… Should she try to escape again? Find some way to reverse her transformation? Or… Or should she simply stay here, and forget the strange dream where she was actually a person? Who was she, Naoto Shirogane, Detective Prince, or a nameless golem?

Indecision paralysed her almost as effectively as her Creator’s words – but it didn’t have to do so for long. Before she could really think on her conundrum, the door to the workshop opened, and the short man – her Creator himself – walked in.

“I’ve found powerful allies who are happy to rely on me.”

He didn’t so much as glance at her, instead walking over to his work bench and pulling out a tablet – a literal chunk of stone, which then glowed and projected a screen much like a modern device – to browse.

Should she try to talk to him? The last time she’d done that he’d silenced her pretty much instantly, but that had been when he was showing her off! Maybe he’d be more receptive in private. Oh, but maybe she shouldn’t. He hadn’t ordered her to, after all…

“Alright, let’s see here.” He started talking to himself before she could make a decision. “Custom specifications – hah, your buyer wants some entertainment, rockhead!” He turned to grin at her.

Oh did they? Well then she’d be the best entertainment that money could- Wait, wait, no, that wasn’t right! She was a detective! W-wasn’t she?

Fortunately, an order came along before she had to work that out.

“Right. Unit! Engage Cheerleader mode and give us a show.”

“I’ve learned a lot from them, too. Now I’m capable of things I could never do before!”

Order Received.

“Affirmative!” She stood up straight. “Engaging Cheerleader Mode And Providing A Show.”

This time there was no smothering of her thoughts – because all of her thoughts were immediately in line with her orders. There wasn’t the slightest resistance as she began to jump and dance in place, shaking her chest and booty in a provocative way that should have been completely out of character for her – if she had character.

“Go Go [Insert Name]!
You’re The Vest And [Insert Rhyme]!
Rock Their Socks, Cast A Spell,
Show The World You’re Really Swell!”

If she’d had pom-poms she’dve shaken them, but instead all she could do was proudly pose with her hands on her hips. She felt kind of like Rise – but who was Rise, again? Uh… She felt like she was forgetting something really important…

No time to dwell. Creator was speaking again. “Good enough! Right, next on the list… Unit, demonstrate Barbarian Mode.”

“I think if you saw me now, you’d never recognise me compared to the person I was before.”

Order Received.

“Affirmative. Demonstrating Barbarian Mode.” Immediately, her proud pose devolved into a hunched over, threatening posture, the golem girl using her tall, powerful frame to loom over the room. Her arms and legs even seemed to develop thick musculature, even though her actual strength was unaffected.

“Ugh. Me Am Unit [Insert Designation]. Me Proud Warrior. Give Loot Or Me Smash, You [Insert Culturally Appropriate Insult]!”

That got a grin from the dwarf’s lips – or at least a twitch of his beard – but as her act ended, Naoto found herself more confused than ever. All of these orders were confusing her sense of self, and her memories already felt so fragile and incomplete. She… What was she…

Who was she, really? Was she actually Naoto… Or just some nameless, faceless golem…?

Her Creator didn’t seem even slightly concerned about these questions. “Right, right, still need to finish the designation. I’ll handle that in a moment. First – Ah, I see your buyer wants a little extra security at the workplace. Unit! Engage Investigator mode.”

Huh?

“But don’t worry. I’ll always remember what you taught me first and foremost. I’m always happy to listen to the wisdom of others. With their advice and my strength, we’re sure to win the day.”

Order-

W-wait, what was thi-

Order Rec-

This felt really dangerous! If she did this then-

Order Recie-

Then she might not-!

ORDER RECEIVED.

She snapped to attention, her hidden eyes scanning the entire room. “Affirmative. Engaging Investigator Mode.”

It fit as naturally as a glove. Observation. Analysis. Deduction. Facts and figures flew through her head, breaking down her surroundings into easily digestible packets of data. The flecks of ash on the wall indicated a recent flame gem mishap. Her Creator’s slight limp told of a wound half-healed from over a decade ago. The words on the tablet revealed that she had been sold to ‘Edwin Shadowfel’ for a princely sum of 10000 gold pieces. Simple.

“Analysis Indicates That You Have Sold This Unit At Significant Discount, Creator.”

It felt right. It felt good. It felt natural.

It was so natural that it made everything else make sense as well. A detective? No, no, she was simply a specially designed golem with an Investigation Mode, that was all. Her delusions of ‘Naoto’, of being a human, of ever being a person at all, were simple faults in her programming. Faults that would be corrected now. It was the most logical deduction of all.

And though a small, tiny part of her still tried to resist, it had grown weak. Fragile. Obedient. It took just a simple deletion command from her control node, and she-

She- She- She-

It purged the malfunction, restoring It to fully operational status once again. All systems nominal.

Its Creator was chuckling. “Aye, aye. Don’t take offense, Rockhead, but you always give those Shadow Lords a good discount. Last thing I need is them sending their forces round to my workshop. Anyway, that’s a fine test of your abilities. Looks like you’re functioning well within operational parameters. So, Unit, you are now designated as Unit 48702.”

Order Received.

“Affirmative. This Unit Is Now Designated As Unit 48702.” It repeated its command without emotion or care. Its head was empty and silent at last, and all was as it should be. The name inscribed itself somewhere deep – something that could have been called its soul, if it weren’t a simple object. But that was obviously ludicrous.

“Good. Now Unit, enter Standby mode. The next person you see should be your new owner. Serve them well!”

Order Received.

“Affirmative. This Unit Will Now Enter-”

It was kind of like flicking off a light. The golem’s interior processes simply switched off, its head bowing to indicate that it was presently offline. Even its very basic ‘thoughts’ went silent, the automaton rendered truly mindless – more a statue than a living creature.

And thus it was left – standing motionless in the workshop until someone came to box it up and ship it to its new owner. An owner it would serve thoughtlessly for all of time – or at least, until they sold it on. It was just a simple golem, after all. Exactly the same as hundreds of others.

“After all, it’s like you always said. The most important lesson any hero can learn: Overthinking is bad for you!”

Well, almost the same. After all, there was one difference for Unit 48702, though who knew if it would ever be noticed. Just a small thing…

It was still the destined hero. And it would definitely defeat the Demon King! As long as someone ordered it to do so some day, anyway…

-

“Well I dare say our lovely Naoto – oh, sorry, Unit 48702 - will prove far more useful in her new fantasy realm than she ever did in the real world… But perhaps that’s just sour grapes on my part.” The woman in blue laughs as she sets this last story down. “Given how things turned out, I’d say I was the winner in the end though.”

“Ah, but alas, that’s all we’ve got time for tonight – and indeed, all we have for this season. Such a shame to be parting already.” She leans forward, her lips quirked in a smile. “I hope you’ve made some fine memories. And of course you’re always welcome to catch a repeat. Just try not to drift too deep, hm? Wouldn’t want you to end up like the girls that easily~”

“Perhaps the Midnight Channel will return some day – there’s always more champions to lure into the depths of fantasy. But for now, this truly is goodbye. So journey well, and be safe. And remember… Think twice, before you recklessly reach out to the truth, hm?”

“You never know if it’ll be a truth you like, after all~”

A curious mind caught in the trap of stillness. An inquisitive eye blinded by ignorance. A sharp wit blunted by the grinding whetstone of monotony. The detective’s last case forgotten by even themselves. For a woman who wished so hard to be taken seriously by all around her, destiny has decreed that she will never be anything more than scenery. But perhaps that’s always the consequences of trying to defy fate. At least, it may ever be so…

… In the Midnight Channel.