Unrusted Heart

Huh? That's...

I'm sorry, Doctor. He fell again.

Owww! It hurts!

Looks like you hurt your leg. Let me take a look.

Hm. That was quite the bump, but it doesn't look like you've damaged your frame or joints.

So I'll be able to walk again?

Haha, of course you will. Just rest for a few days and you'll be good as new.

What a relief! Now, no more running around. Got that, you little scamp?

Got it! Thanks!

Doctor, I've been looking for you. Would you mind taking a look at my bad back?

Hm, I think your screws have come loose. With these old ones, there's a knack to how you tighten them...

Doctor! Thish ish tewwible! Ever shince I woke up, I've been talking weally funny! My tongue'sh gone all weird!

Hm, perhaps you slept in a poor position. Allow me to examine.

Doctor! I'd like to consult you about my condition!

Help me! My eyes won't focus!

Thank you, Doctor! I can talk normally again!

And my back's better than ever!

We all really appreciate you coming to the Underbelly, Doctor. Until next time.

Hey, do you have a minute?

Oh? I'm afraid I can't examine humans.

Don't worry, that's not what this is about. We just wanted to ask you something.

It looked like you were treating the residents' health problems...

I was, I'm a mechanic. I used to live on Midlayer, but I recently moved here to the Underbelly.

You're a mechanic?

Yes. My job is to repair broken and faulty machinery and get try to get it back to normal wherever possible.

I see. So like what a doctor is for humans.

The living standards in the Underbelly are far worse than on Midlayer. Rigorous manual labor and poor diet means that ailments are common here. I want to help them.

So you moved from Midlayer? That's so selfless of you.

Heheh. That must be why the residents love him.

Would you mind if we accompanied you while you do the rounds?

That's fine by me. I was just about to head off to my next appointment.

All right. Let's get going.

Hello there. How are you doing today?

Doctor! Who are they?

They're just folks who wanted to see how I work. You don't mind, do you?

No, not at all.

Sorry. We'll try not to get in the way.

Now I'll just crack on with your examination. Hold still a moment.

So? What do you think, Doctor?

Your symptoms don't appear to be progressing further. It looks like my anti-rust ointment is working.

Yay! Thank you so much, Doctor!

......

I'll give you some more ointment for now. Let me know if you notice any changes.

Time to go.

Huh? Already?

Are you...

Am I, what?

No, it's nothing. Take care.

Oh, a smart cookie. You noticed, didn't you?

Yes. I didn't want to say anything since you didn't...

But she's in a pretty bad state, isn't she?

What? But you said she was fine.

You mustn't have seen, but there was rust all over her back. She was so young, though. That can't be normal.

I didn't see any sense in distressing her.

Have you heard of red rust disease?

Red rust disease? No, never.

It's an infectious disease that first broke out in the Underbelly a few years back. Rust of unknown origin will suddenly appear on a mek's frame, then spread across their whole body. Ultimately, the corrosion will even reach their lightspark. Once that happens, they won't have long.

So it's lethal?

What? So that girl's gonna...

Yes, but not just her. At its peak, this disease was simply horrific.

There was no cure, and no treatment. So many fell victim, and everyone else was terrified of catching it.

Life in the Underbelly practically ground to a halt.

That's terrible...

......

It seems much more controlled now, though. Is that because of your ointment?

It provides some relief, and helps stave off the infection. I was just a humble mechanic when I started. It is nice to be needed by so many people. Oh, I do apologize. I shouldn't say things like that.

No, you should! I think you're incredible. But you said the disease was contagious, right? So are you okay?

I'm taking all measures I can. It's still not absolute, but... Fear risk and you'll never achieve your goals.

So you came down to the Underbelly to understand the pathology and create a cure, didn't you?

I did, but perhaps it's just a pipe- dream. There's still so much we don't know about the disease.

Well, that's it for today's rounds. Did you find it helpful?

Yes, I learned a lot.

If there's anything we can do, just let us know.

Thank you. May we meet again.

I hope he's able to find a cure.

Yeah, me too.

Hey, Aldo. How would you like to go visit that sick girl?

It's been a few days. I'd like to see how she's doing.

Sure, let's go. I do hope she's getting better.

Oh, it's you again...

Hello. How are you doing?

Hasn't the mechanic been here today?

No. He hasn't been back since when you were here.

He used to come check on me every day...

He's stopped visiting? Did something happen?

I don't know...

I'm just so worried. What if he's abandoned me?

It's going to be okay. He's not the kind of person who'd abandon you. Just leave this to us. Let's go find him, Aldo!

Right! Let's look around town first.

What ishh the meaning of thishh?

Don't make me repeat myself. I'm fed up with having to take care of you.

B-But Doctor... My back...

Oh, do be quiet. It's just a few loose screws. Literally anyone can fix that. You don't need to keep coming to me. Ask someone else for a change.

B-But...

Am I shtuck talking like thishh for the resht of my life?

I don't know. Have you considered getting a proper night's sleep? Maybe try using a good pillow for once.

Hey! That'sh sho mean!

Get away from me!

Fine. We won't bother you anymore.

You are Midlayer made, after all. Of course lowly folk like us don't matter to you.

I'm vewwy dishappointed in you.

......

Hey...

Oh, it's you again.

What happened? You were so empathetic the other day.

Weren't you listening? I'm sick of living in this Underbelly dump.

I can't take any more of their constant moaning. I've got to get out of here.

But...

What about that girl? She's been waiting for you to check up on her. And what happened to your dream of creating a cure for red rust disease?

......

I'm sorry, but I've no time for this nonsense. If you'll excuse me.

Where are you going? Back to Midlayer?

Before that, I want to look out at the world from the mountains one last time.

The mountains? You mean Mt. Weissel? I thought no one was allowed up there?

I'm from Midlayer, remember? I have a permit.

It's like he's a completely different person. He's really going back to Midlayer?

......

Let's go after him, Aldo. But stealthily. We don't want him to spot us.

Ashtear, have you worked something out?

It's just a guess at this point. But if my hunch is right...

Hey! Ashtear! Wait up!

......

Phew... Mountain climbing sure is tough.

But if I dig through the mountain surface here, I know I'll find it!

There he is!

Oh no, monsters! Hurry, Aldo!

Hey, are you all right?

He's not responding!

Let's take care of these guys first, Aldo!

Okay! I'm on it!

Are you okay?

Aldo, wait! Something's not right about him.

......

Oh! His whole body's covered in rust!

I thought as much. The mechanic caught red rust disease.

What?!

Ugh... Splimble sploom. Beep beep boop!

Oh no! He's losing his mind! There must be some way we can get him back!

You're too late. There's no saving him now.

Minalca? What are you doing here?

We've been monitoring him. His use of so-called "maintenance" to unfairly prolong mek life makes him a threat.

He's not a threat! He just wanted to help people who were suffering!

I can guess why he came to the mountains, too. To collect materials to forge a new frame. That violates the laws of the mek world. It is a clear act of treason.

So you came to execute him? We can't let you do that!

You're being paranoid. There is no reason for me to kill him. Not anymore. His red rust disease is doing my job for me. It has already reached his lightspark.

He will be gone before long. I don't need to deliver the death sentence.

Oh...

Wait. If that's true, then why are you here?

I asked her.

It's you!

You managed to climb all the way up in your state?

No, I carried her up. Normally I'd refuse, but I thought she'd help me acquire important testimony.

It appears I was too late.

M-Miss! You don't want to get too close!

Wait, Aldo. Let's see how this goes.

Doctor, can you hear me?

Ugh... Boop...

I heard what happened. Everyone else was so angry, but I realized what you were doing. You lied, didn't you? To make sure they wouldn't get infected. You wanted to keep that pain from them.

......

I have to apologize. I thought you'd abandoned me. But you didn't. You gave me the courage that I would get better. Without asking anything in return. You got sick, all because of me...

And I didn't even notice until it had gotten this bad!

......

Thank you for everything, Doctor. If nothing else, I'll make sure your last moments aren't alone...

No. You have to live.

Doctor?!

He's regained consciousness?

You don't need to apologize. I was glad when I realized I'd caught red rust disease.

What?

It's so much easier to check rust locations, symptom progression, specific symptoms, on my own body. The last few days have provided me with the optimum conditions to find a cure.

So you basically used your own body for clinical trials?

And I cracked it! I realized this disease is caused by a fault in a specific part.

......

A tiny joint screw, to be precise. A common part used in every single unit. With the raw materials, I can make a new, identical screw. No transplant rejection, no killswitch. It was touch and go, but I just made it in time.

And that's it. I replaced my faulty part with a new one.

What? You completed it before we got here?

Well, it helped that it was only a simple part. One even I could make. But now, we should be able to stop your symptoms from progressing any further.

No way! I can hardly believe it! Thank you so much!

But what about you?

It took all I had to make that one part. My fingers can barely even move now. I can't make any more screws.

But that's terrible! What will you do?

That's not for you to worry about, my dear. It may not be much, but I achieved my dream. Besides, I imagine she'd have something to say if I survived.

Hmph.

Oh no! Is there really nothing we can do?

......

I don't accept this. I simply don't!

Ashtear?

Tell me how to make those screws! I'll make them for you!

I appreciate the thought, but no. The part may be simple, but it must be executed with exact precision.

Yes, yes! Just tell me already!

Heh. You win.

Okay, it fits at least. Now, we just need to see whether it takes...

Incredible! I didn't think it was possible to make one so quickly!

It's too soon to relax yet. Let's go back to town and see how you are then.

......

Ashtear isn't even a mek, and the mechanic was prepared to die just to make that screw. Surely you can't still insist he's breaking the rules?

I really don't care about my job enough to get worked up about something so trivial as a screw. I've got better things to do. I will let you go.

Then let's go back to the city.

Thank you so, so much, you two.

I owe you my life.

Don't mention it. I'm just glad the part seems to have taken.

Though my body is still covered in rust. It's not working as it should.

I guess the rusted parts can't go back to normal?

With a frame this rusty, my days as a mechanic are over. It is a shame I wasn't able to complete an antidote for red rust disease...

......

It's going to be okay! I'll pick up where you left off!

Y-You will?

Are you in earnest?

I want to help people, like you have! So tell me everything! I'll follow in your footsteps. Then I can make your dream of a cure come true!

You're sure?

Okay. I will tell you everything I know.

Yay! Thank you!

But the road ahead will be tough. Your first step will be to...

Create a screw?

You've got to walk before you can run, apprentice. Your first step will be to properly tighten a screw.

W-We're going that basic? Is that really necessary?

A common screw, eh?

Hey, lady. Was this all your doing?

Oh my? What could an arbiter possibly want with me?

I'll get straight to the point. What do you know about the epidemic known as red rust disease? Or are such things of no interest to lofty nobles like you?

Oh, how rude! Of course I've heard of it. It's a disease afflicting the peasants down in the Underbelly. What of it?

Research has been poured into it, yet the cause of the disease and the source of infection remains unclear. Doesn't that seem a little suspicious to you? But everything adds up if you think of it like this...

Someone must have created a part to cause this irregularity... Then implanted it in the meks at the Spark Forge.

......

It's probably a tiny, common part that nobody would ever notice. There won't be many folk who could manage such a thing...

What are you trying to say?

Look, I don't know anything. Even if those screws were the cause, that's the Acacia Stargliders' doing, not mine!

Screws? I didn't mention any screws. I just said "tiny, common part."

......

Unlike others, I have absolutely no interest in poking my nose into such troublesome things.

But remember. The Empire is watching you.

What a rude woman! I honestly don't remember anything about this silly disease. The Empire doesn't know a thing. It takes suffering and salvation to rule.

But never mind. I can't keep using this flop of a plan if it's already been exposed. Next time, I'll have to think of a more effective method.