As Hilbert was the last one to enter the mysterious room the group had entered, he closed the door. His clothes were drenched and felt cold, yet the warmth of the mysterious building made it feel as if his clothes could be dried inside. Asteria cleared her throat, demanding their attention.
"Now that we're safe and away from enemies' eyes, let's go over what we have procured when the house got destroyed." An unsure expression formed as she asked, "You all were able to save something, right?" She showed off the blanket and bundle of clothes that had been warming her before the collapse.
Margaret showed off a first aid kit. "I grabbed this."
"Excellent." Asteria looked satisfied.
"I got the pot that contains Nova's weird looking curry." Vanessa sheepishly showed off the pot.
"How much is left?" Margaret asked.
"Just a little bit."
"Is it enough for all of us?" Marlo questioned, worried.
Asteria furrowed her brows. "No one else grabbed food?"
Everyone avoided her gaze in worry.
"...Utensils?"
No response.
"Plates or bowls?" Hilbert could hear Asteria sounding even more baffled the more questions she had asked.
Esta whispered, "We're sorry…"
Asteria fixated her attention on Esta. "Well, what did you bring?"
"Nothing!" Her bravado impressed no one.
Ignoring her, Asteria then asked Marlo the same question.
Marlo wrapped an arm around Sara's shoulder and proudly remarked, "As long as Sara's here, I'm fine with not bringing anything!"
Sara, unamused, forced his arm off of her. She showed off two devices that she had grabbed instinctively: a phone and a laptop.
Asteria approached Sara and stood on her toes to pat Sara on the head. "Good job."
When she went back to her original position, Asteria then turned to Bootes. "What did you bring?"
"The jetpack, obviously."
Asteria paused before moving onto Hilbert. "What did you manage to find?"
"I…didn't salvage anything…"
"Well, you're the most important member of DUO, so as long as you're safe, I'm fine with that."
Esta and Marlo gawked at her response and then simultaneously yelled out "You're so biased!"
Asteria then turned to Murphy and Sophia. "Did you two manage to salvage anything?"
"I got Arcturus's bag." Sophia showed off the bag slung over her shoulder.
Asteria raised an eyebrow. "Is that important?"
Sophia looked surprised. "Of course! Arcturus told me to keep it safe!"
"Will it guarantee our survival?"
"Maybe not ours, but for Arcturus and Nova's, it will."
Hilbert could see the mention of Nova's name causing Asteria to ease up. "Okay."
Murphy then raised a hand and showed off a small rod. "Also, I always carry a portable fishing rod on me."
Asteria looked happy but her expression quickly soured when she realized their lack of resources. "What's the point of surviving off of fish if we don't have utensils or a fire?" She fell onto her knees in distraught.
~
After Asteria calmed down, the group decided to venture further into the castle. Hilbert found it the most fascinating. Everything around him was lavender and it wasn't as cold as he assumed he'd be. The interior wasn't what he had expected. All he saw was lavender corridors and everything was pretty empty. He knew seeing the same sights annoyed his allies, but they only excited him more. He wondered what the secret to creating such a place was and that he wanted to build a house or even create an invention out of the material.
He approached the wall and placed a hand on it.
This is incandescent ice. It's strange how it's so different from the ones produced at Winterfully. Wait, it should be different–this castle is supposedly made from Souhait's powers. It's not your ordinary incandescent ice. I must know what this is! I need him to produce some for me!"
"What are you doing?" Sara asked.
"I'm admiring the wall."
"Stop admiring them! We have no time to do so!" Asteria quipped.
The group resumed walking. They were just aimlessly following any path that was in front of them until they reached a rather large room. It was empty, but there was something rather noticeable in the center of the floor. Hilbert felt Constance zip right past him as she examined the immobile body of her brother-bot 541-STG. The sight of him caused the group, minus Sophia and Murphy, to pull out their weapons.
"Why's he here?" Bootes questioned with a bewildered expression as he stood in front of his in-laws.
"Are we even strong enough to beat him?" Vanessa inquired.
Asteria then gestured to everyone to stay on their guard. Constance was checking up on her brother-bot. Hilbert saw her examining his body by placing a hand to his chest. She pulled back and then turned to look at the group.
"He is no longer functioning."
"Is it due to water damage?" Hilbert asked.
Constance nodded. "Water damage and it also seems as if Virgo decided to stop controlling him."
"More importantly, why is he even here?" Marlo quipped.
"Is this some sort of weird trap?" Vanessa pondered.
Constance shook her head. "This is no trap. I do not detect anyone or anything malicious around."
"Perhaps, it's just by luck that he made it here when the castle tower was formed…"
"I'm glad luck exists…"
Hilbert's eyes widened when he saw a small smile forming on Constance's face. Shifties usually have the same blank stare despite the differences in their appearance, so he never expected them to be able to show emotions. The fact that Constance did show that there were more to these man-made beings than people give them credit for. He even believed they could go beyond their creators' intent.
"Wait, if Constance's brother is here…" Sara muttered, "Does that mean Nova and Arcturus are here too?"
Hearing their names caused Hilbert to remember how Nova jumped into the ocean while transforming. "If this tower is formed from Souhait's power, then they should be here," he explained, "Nova jumped into the ocean to chase after Arcturus who fell in."
Everyone started to worry; Sophia clutched the strap of Arcturus's bag tightly. Asteria demanded that the group should proceed further in to find them but Constance asked a question.
"Can I take my brother along?"
The humans' worried faces all changed into bewildered ones. While Hilbert himself was surprised, he saw that everyone else was more shocked. They were against it. Sophia and Murphy looked conflicted, however.
Constance took the chance to go to them. "Are you two against it?"
"We just don't want you to get hurt…" Murphy placed a hand on her shoulder.
"But he's my brother-bot…"
"We know, but we're worried that Virgo might control him again and cause havoc."
"It's not a trap…"
Hilbert felt troubled because he was the only human for the idea. He was for the idea to bring her brother along as he wanted to repair him. He stepped up as he raised his hand.
"I'll take responsibility! I promised Constance that I'd repair him!"
All eyes were on him and they looked at him as if he had lost his mind.
"You're not a creator, though?" Bootest remarked.
"I can always learn!"
"Your plan is technically illegal." Margaret looked very concerned.
"We're a rebel group planning to overthrow the mayor! That's basically illegal! We're all doing illegal things!"
Sara was the first to be convinced. "He's got a point."
Everyone else agreed. Asteria then walked up towards him with a serious expression.
"He's your responsibility going forth. If he gets controlled by Virgo, that's your problem going forth and not ours. I won't help you, got it?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Asteria then turned around and walked ahead.
"Let's go."
The rest of DUO followed her, but Hilbert and Constance stayed behind, wondering what they should do to carry him. Shifties were known to be rather heavy and he lacked the physicality to carry him.
"I could carry him."
"Will you be able to fight with him on your back?"
"I can always use my legs."
Before Constance hoisted him up, she dug into her pocket to get out a red earring. She reattached it to his ear, despite knowing he wouldn't activate. She then hoisted up her brother's body onto her back and locked her arms under his knees. She followed the group, but Hilbert didn't follow behind.
Worry came to him. Did I remember to carry the purple earring with me? Where was it before the destruction? I think it was on my desk…meaning it's lost at sea…
The anxiety caused him to be chilly. He believed his drenched coat was the cause, so he took it off. A small clinking noise caught his attention as he looked down to see the earring next to his foot.
It was in my coat pocket the entire time? How come?
Realizing he was going to be left behind if he kept still, he quickly bent down to grab the earring and dashed to catch up with the rest.