Making Monster Girl 9 -- Chapter 6 (Patreon)

“You brought A.B. along,” I uttered flatly, swiveled my gaze to the feline-woman, and raised my brows.

“Well, I figured that they should meet.” The ash-blonde giggled. “And what would be a better time? We’re going on a short journey, just the five of us, and Celty and A.B. could get to know each other better during it.”

“What, Charles?” the brain barked. “Are you disappointed that I made a surprise appearance? Oh, I see how it is. You wanted to keep me locked away in that stuffy makeshift laboratory. I knew it! I suspected it all along! I bet you never intended to craft me a body in the first place!”

“So,” Celty stated. “This is the reanimated brain that you told us about?”

“What?” Beatrix shrieked from the front of the submersible. “You brought your brain with you, and you didn’t tell me?”

Instantly, the submersible jerked to the side, and before Valerie and I could tumble off of the bench, I braced my legs. My arm instinctively moved to grab the organ’s jar as it skittered precariously close to the edge, but before I could reach it, Celty placed both hands around the container. Her metallic fingers clinked against the glass, and all of us fell silent as she lifted him entirely off the table. As the robotic woman brought A.B.’s jar closer to her own, the two brains seemed to size each other up.

“If I’m honest.” I laughed under my breath. “I don’t think A.B.’s ever been this silent during the entire time I’ve known him.”

“Can you see?” Celty asked.

“Yes and no,” A.B. replied. “I like to call it a sensation of ‘unseeing.’ I know there are objects around me and I can pick them out, though it’s kind of like needing glasses but not wearing them all the time, so you’ve grown accustomed to the blurriness.”

“I remember that sensation.” Celty nodded. “I can see now, but only through the aid of the body that Beatrix built for me. When I take off my faceplate, it’s all a blur, so I generally try to keep it on. I haven’t had much interaction with other humans, but I’ve learned they certainly don’t like seeing a human brain out in the open. There’s also something to be said for their dislike of robots too, but that’s unrelated.”

“Humans don’t like things that appear human but aren’t quite,” I explained. “Something to do with the idea of appearing human, but not actually being human. There’s a whole theory about it, but most of them came about because of the skincrawlers of the northern territories.”

“Skincrawlers?” Valerie asked.

“Yes.” I nodded. “They’re a type of mythical beast that can change its form to appear to be something else, but it slowly wears off, and they are forced to shed that skin.”

“These science types.” A.B. sighed in exasperation as he shook in his jar. “They think because we’re brains that we’re instantly interested in all things science-related.”

“That wasn’t even science-related…” I chuckled. “It was about a mythical beast.”

“I can relate,” The mechanical woman breathed. “This one thinks that because I’m now living in a robotic body that I should be instantly interested in all things mechanical and mechanized. I may not remember my past, but I must’ve had hobbies, and I highly doubt that any of them involved science or inventions.”

“Thank you!” my assistant cried. “Someone finally said it! Sure, I don’t mind taking notes every once and awhile, but I’m not overly interested in hanging over your shoulder twenty-four seven--”

“Hey!” Beatrix shouted through a grimace. “If you hated it so much, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Also,” I broke in. “Science isn’t a hobby for me. It’s my profession if you hadn’t realized that by now.”

“You know that you are my dear friend, Charles.” My assistant laughed. “But a brain’s gotta get out every once and awhile. Stretch its… brainstem and whatnot.”

“Yes.” I chuckled. “And here you are, out in the world, and stretching your brainstem.”

“I mean, it’s not all bad,” Celty assured, rested A.B.’s jar back on the table, and bent down closer to his level. “I get to travel and see different places… through the portholes in the submersible.”

“Ah, yes!” A.B. cackled. “I was allowed to leave the manor once, and that was it. The other time, they placed me in the caravan’s driver’s seat, and I nearly spilled out into the middle of the road. It’s a wonder I didn’t get trampled by the horse’s hooves or the wheels!”

“Hey!” I chuckled. “You asked to sit up front with us, so it was your fault.”

“Look at them,” Valerie cooed, tugged at my sleeve, and sat back against the bench. “They’re bonding.”

“Yeah.” I snorted. “In a bizarre and somewhat offensive way.”

“Don’t think of it as offensive,” the ash-blonde corrected. “We just don’t know what it’s like to be in a situation like A.B. or Celty’s. They can’t move or go anywhere on their own. They’re entirely reliant on the people who found them, except in Celty’s case now that she has a body.”

“Speaking of that body,” my assistant interrupted. “How can I get one of those things? Maybe not the exact one, but a manlier version?”

“I’m sure that Beatrix could build you one,” the mechanical woman assured. “But I will tell you, it’s not the same as being in a body. Sure, I can move around, pick things up, and do anything that others can, but it’s certainly not the same. As you’ve probably already suspected, I have no sensation of touch. I pick things up, and all I feel is the weight and a strange… coldness where there should be texture and sensation. I’ve been a reanimated brain for a long time, but for some reason, the memory of touch is the only thing that’s stuck with me for so long. I think that’s one of the senses that most humans take for granted…”

“I can understand that,” A.B. concurred. “I can’t remember what it’s like to touch anything, and I think if I were in your position, I would go mad. It’s like teasing a horse with a carrot, only to snatch it away seconds before it’s about to grab it. I-I don’t remember a lot of things from my life before I was extracted. I can recall the person who did this to me and how it happened, but other than that, my life is a wasteland of blackened echoes. Even if I do hear or see something, there’s no memory attached to it.”

“For as long as I’ve had A.B.,” I explained to both Celty and Beatrix. “He has only had one clear memory, and it was the moment before and after his mistress extracted him from his body. Celty, I won’t pry about your past and how you came to be like this, but I can’t deny that I’m incredibly curious. Another reanimated brain is uncommon, but a female one? It almost seems impossible. No one would dare to lay a hand on an aristocrat, but to kill the body and extract the living brain? To be honest, it seems like blasphemy. Maybe not now after witnessing how lower-class women are treated in places like Birskonn, Granhamn, and Tulna, but growing up in Edenhart, nothing bad ever happened to any woman.”

Celty’s robotic body turned, and the bulbous brain stared at me for a long time. Just like with A.B., I couldn’t tell if she was seeing me or not, but a long blast of air exhaled out of the mechanical body like a sigh.

“We’ve never been to Edenhart.” Beatrix broke the silence in a low, melancholy tone. “But from what we’ve heard, it’s a small, quaint little town nestled in between the mountains. I don’t mean to sound rude, Charles, but there is a huge difference between growing up in the capital and living in Edenhart… Everything that’s been going on with the Queen has been occurring for a long time. It’s not new. I can tell that Celty isn’t comfortable enough with you yet to tell you what happened, but I can say that Celty isn’t the first, and she’s certainly not the last.”

“What?” I breathed and instantly swiveled my eyes back to the mechanical woman. “I won’t pry, but this… this is absolutely shocking.”

“Like A.B.,” Celty started and then paused for a moment. “I was one of the first experiments and the only one who survived through the trial period. Therefore, I am like your assistant. Entirely unique and irreplaceable. The Queen wants super-soldiers. We already know that, but it wasn’t the brutes she was testing on in the first few experiments. It was females. She wanted to perfect the method she already used on the elven women, but as more and more women died, her council grew concerned about how the public would react if they found out somehow. I can only guess at how many women she killed, but if I were to make an estimate, I’d say… seven hundred or more.”

“Those numbers sound a lot like the woman who extracted me,” A.B. interrupted. “The only memory I have is right before the experiment and after when I was already in a jar on a shelf. There were hundreds of other jars around me, but none of them answered when I called out to them. They were dead.”

“Charles and I discussed the possibility of the scientist who did that to you might have been my predecessors at the palace.” Beatrix nodded. “All of the information sounds the same, and Charles even described your dream to us. It fits.”

“Predecessor…” My assistant repeated. “I can assume that means she’s dead?”

“Yes.” Beatrix nodded solemnly. “Long dead from what we learned. They had a replacement for a bit, but I don’t think she did very well, so they searched for me.”

“Why do you ask?” Celty probed.

“I think I was in love with her,” the brain admitted. “She was my mistress, and somehow, I can sense that I would’ve done anything for her. I feel as if I was her assistant then too, but I know that’s not possible as a brute. After the memory came back, I spent a lot of time dwelling on it, and I think I know what happened. This isn’t coming from my memory or anything like that. It’s strictly my own thoughts.”

“What do you think happened, A.B.?” I asked.

“Do you remember the night of Edony’s ball?” my assistant uttered, and I nodded along.

“Yes,” I said. “It was the very same night that I created Valerie. I figured out what was the missing variable and rushed home from the Duchess’s manor. Why?”

“She had a moment like that too,” the brain explained. “She rushed in a manic state. I can’t recall what she said, but she was so excited and couldn’t wait to try out the process one more time. I know for sure that I was her consort, and that’s why I was so close to her. The men used in the experiment were nothing more than patients, just like yours, Charles. She figured that it wouldn’t work unless it were someone close to her and… I was her loyal lapdog. I would do anything for her, and because of that loyalty, here I am. A reanimated brain in a jar. I have another theory, Charles, if you’d like to hear it.”

“Of course.” I nodded. “Go on.”

“I think she was the first person that I could talk to like this,” A.B. murmured. “She hadn’t expected it, of course, and when I suddenly started speaking directly into her brain, she tossed me out. She worked so hard to create me, and once she finally perfected the technique, I was no longer useful to her. Isn’t that funny? It’s horrible to admit, Charles, but when you heard my voice and brought me home to the manor, I thought the same thing would happen again. You would tire of me and then send me off to another lonesome curio shop where I’d rot in my juices until eternity.”

“Has that happened yet?” I asked. “We’ve been together for almost a year and a half now, and I still haven’t done any of that. Do you really expect it to happen again?”

“I don’t know.” The brain shook in the liquid of his jar for a moment. “I know I can be demanding and overbearing, but it’s just my personality, and I thought that there’d come a day where it’d be too much for you. You’d get annoyed with me demanding a hamster ball or tubes around the manor, and just… toss me into a lake or something.”

“Hamster ball?” Beatrix laughed.

“Tubes?” Celty repeated. “What in the world can you mean by that?”

“They’re two genius inventions of my own design!” The brain laughed. “The hamster ball is based on, well, you know, a hamster ball but entirely closed off. Charles could pop me in with a bit of my liquid, close up the hatch, and let me roll around along the floors of the manor. The other invention was to cut holes in each room’s floors and ceilings then fit thick, clear tubing through the house. After it’s built and filled with my special liquid, I can float through each room at my leisure.”

“Oh!” Beatrix gasped. “That is clever! Celty, why didn’t we ever think of that?”

“Because I would’ve refused to use either,” the robotic woman said. “And we can’t cut holes in the floors or ceiling of the submarine because, well, it’s a submarine.”

“I mean, if you think about it,” the scientist snickered. “We could’ve done something like that outside of the submarine with holes in the tubing so freshwater could flow through. I’m sure that I could’ve used the welder to get a good seal on the holes we cut--”

“Beatrix,” Celty interjected. “You built me a robotic body for a reason. I’m not going back to stationary brain status again.”

“Fiiiiine!” Beatrix groaned. “But I would just like it to be known that I think that all of A.B.’s ideas were great, and Charles should’ve done them when he had the chance.”

“Thank you!” My assistant cried.

“He did build this!” Valerie grinned, grabbed something else from inside her bag, and brought it out.

I stared at the apparatus I’d built months ago to hold and carry A.B. while we infiltrated Ortensia’s dorm. I couldn’t help but laugh and shake my head as the ash-blonde offered it to me over the tabletop.

“You know how he’s been begging to come along with us,” the feline-woman reminded me. “I felt like now would be the best time. We finally met Celty and Beatrix, then within the next month, or even weeks, we can figure out how to build him a body.”

“Yeah!” the redhead cried. “We’re even going to Magnta, which is one of the best medical cities across the country! I’m sure that if we snooped through a few of their books or ledgers, we could learn something that could help us.”

“I love how all of you are trying to convince me to bring him along.” I laughed lightly. “He’s already with us. It’s not like we can turn around and give him back to the others. We’re stuck with him on this journey until we return.”

“Well, I’d hope you wouldn’t do that.” Beatrix laughed and pointed ahead through the glass dome. “Because we’ve just made it out of Tulna and getting back through the entrance into the canal is pretty difficult. For some reason, the underwater archway is super small, so we’d have to go farther down the canal, turn around, and then slow down to make it through. At that point, I’d probably kick all of you out and make you walk to Magnta!”

“I hope you wouldn’t do that.” I smiled, and the redhead winked at me over her shoulder.

“So, now that we’ve got introductions out of the way,” A.B. broke in. “How long will it take us to get to Magnta? A few hours? Should we have brought along snacks or drinks? I’m sorry. I haven’t been on many road trips, so I don’t exactly know the etiquette.”

“Well, since we’re traveling along the canal,” Beatrix explained. “It should only take us a day and a half. Since we left pretty early, we should get there around noon tomorrow.”

“Okay, uhm, how many hours is that?” My assistant asked. “When I’m left alone, I generally count the hours, but when I’m bored, I count the hours, even the minutes.”

“Do you really do that?” I balked.

“Seems you’ve never been left alone in a room for five or six days, have ya, Mr. Charles Rayburn?” A.B. immediately shot back.

“I apologized!” I groaned. “I said I was sorry, and you accepted my apology, so can we please move on?”

“Are they always like this?” Beatrix asked, turned in her seat, and leveled her eyes at Josephine and Valerie. “Do they bicker like this all the time?”

“Generally, yes.” Josephine giggled and nodded once.

“I think it was worse when we lived at the manor,” Valerie explained. “Since then, the biggest complaint that A.B. has given us is that he wants a body, but when he asked Charles for that, he was genuine.”

“Most of the time when he asks for things, it’s kind of in a whiny, singsong tone.” The heiress added. “It’s like he’s pretending to be a little kid asking their parent for something, but at the same time, he’s joking? I don’t exactly know how to explain it. You’ll probably understand it better the more time you spend with him.”

“Oh, I think I can already understand.” Beatrix snickered and glanced at Celty out of the corner of her eye.

“What is that supposed to mean?” the robotic woman barked. “When have I ever demanded something in such a way? I never have.”

“Celty, my dear.” The scientist winced. “You may not do it in a singsong, whiny way, but you can be pretty demanding about the things you want.”

“Like what?” Celty boomed. “When have I ever ‘demanded’ something?”

“Uhhhm, like the pod?” Beatrix offered. “You demanded me to build it for you because you said, and I quote, ‘it feels unnatural for my body to be awake and I, the pilot of the body, am asleep at the helm’.”

“I stand by what I said,” the mechanical woman assured, crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned against the far wall. “It is entirely unnatural, and that’s why I won’t allow it ever to happen again.”

I sat back against the wooden bench, and a small smile crept over my lips. I listened to the pleasant sounds of Beatrix and Celty’s good-natured bickering as if they were old friends or even sisters. The way that they spoke to each other reminded me of my women and how they got along while out on the road. I missed them with all of my heart even though our journey had just started, but here in the submarine, it felt as if we’d made another little family. By tomorrow, we’d reach the end of the canal and land in Magnta, but right now, I just wanted to enjoy this moment of peace with my two women, my assistant, and our new friends.

Soon darkness would be on the horizon.