Nole Express

They continue their journey through the luscious forest, gathering any sort of fruit they could gather from within the forest for later use; being adaptable to the surrounding areas is a must, after all. The birds chirping and the wildlife springing to life was a nice change of pace after the intense fight for their lives.

the forest disappearing slowly from their view the further they got, finally letting their minds ease out,

sigh

Hino was clearly tired internally from the fight earlier; he had to stay on that tree counting his days if K4 didn't win against the dogs. On the other hand, K4 was still ready to continue their time walking towards the Nole Express; a robot has no need for rest; the sun absorption mechanism is plenty for her.

In the distance there was a neo-futuristic building fully painted white; both of them knew this was their destination. Ploughing through the open fields once more, Hino runs ahead to be met with a concrete pavement. This was super rich for a post-apocalyptic society; the owners of the noble express were definitely loaded!

'Hino should meet those two first; they never knew I was a robot in the previous rewinds, but now with my arm gone, there won't be a choice but to reveal the truth to them.' She tries thinking of a good situation in her mind; how would these two be pleased with this information in any way?

"Hey, K4, come here!" Her gaze shifted back up unknowingly, having her face down when thinking about scenarios. Hino calls her over as she is about to step onto the concrete pavement to join them; a sudden surge enters her system.

'What is happening? Why are my parameters going crazy? I'm starting to lose control...' Her circuitry starts going insane; there was an overloading of power going into her, causing there to be too much for the batteries to handle. She collapses onto the concrete pavement, her body shutting off, leaving her in the mindspace.

'I never knew these old idiots had such a system! I shouldn't have underestimated them; after all, they do own the Nole Express. Her frustration was evident as she started walking around her mind space, trying ways to reboot herself, to no avail.

'I'm going to come back half dismembered, cut up, on life support and maybe even destroyed at this rate!' Her mockery for failing so easily was understandable; what type of war robot isn't built for a bit of a power surge?

"Hello, K4. Can you wake up?" A light whisper was heard from her mindspace; her various activation attempts somehow managed to activate the hearing system of her body, and she listened in closely.

"Can you turn her back on already?" Hino's voice was definitely the one talking; she figures out a current plan.

'He's talking to the Nole Express couple; they shouldn't logically turn me back on, but if I get my mouth to turn on, then I would be able to convey myself in a friendly manner.' She continues ways of trying to turn her back on more specifically now whilst also listening to the conversation in reality.

"We won't turn back on a robot, yet also a war robot! Do you think we're idiots or something?" An old man's voice was heard this time answering back to Hino; the man was very stern and logical in the way he spoke.

"Yes, we're sorry, child," an older lady was heard apologising for apparently not turning her back on. They both have contrasting personalities but are unfettered by the fact they don't want to die yet.

'This sure is annoying... My mouth should be working in a couple of days with natural recovery, but we don't have that time to spare due to Ara Sand's climate.' She forces a temporal reboot to her speech, her mouth opening to talk.

A robotic voice filled the room, clearly not that of K4 from what Hino knows. "Hello, dear sir and lady, I'm K4, and this is Hino. We only want your services, and we can depart ways." Straight to the point with random yapping, the couple starts considering their options.

"We will only on one condition," the man stated.

'In every rewind, this man was truly a pain, but yet again he managed to surprise me in more ways than one.' She thinks back to the other rewinds where he either refused to help or offered more conditions similar to these.

She accepts, "So be it..." Her words were hinted with disappointment but understanding of the man's actions.

"Your power output will be limited by 80% when you are here; this, I'm guessing, will limit your combat capabilities severely, and we have plenty in store for you if you do try anything."

'He's right... This would make me completely useless at combat, not as if I expected anything less from him,' she smirks inside her mind space, almost satisfied by this precaution.

"I accept your offer." Her words had no ill intention.

The man walks off towards the storage room of the station. He delves into the depths of his various components and gadgets, ready for any occasion. He then stumbles upon his masterpiece, a small hand ring made of conductive metal with internal programming as planned.

Walking back, he takes out the hang ring and puts it over the remaining hand that she still has.

'This sure makes me feel weaker...' Her mouth couldn't even speak anymore; the limiter was definitely efficient at its task. She waits in the dark for them to power her on.

An hour passes by.

'Finally I'm back.' The power output starts going back from the measly functioning requirements, which are hidden at the deepest level; the power starts to flow back slowly, trying to cover the whole frame of her metallic body.

Her lens flutters slowly, focusing on the ceiling above; the pure white colour washes her with a sense of calmness. She starts to slowly move her parts around her legs and hand, her body and various other components to test their viability; all seem to work perfectly fine.

She starts to raise herself into a sitting position; as she does, Hino was beside her, nearly tearing up at the sudden awakening. Slowly she pats his black hair and looks straight ahead, quickly getting a glance at the room and the couple looking at her.

The room wasn't just white on the ceiling, but the whole room was white. There were no windows but only a single door blocked by the couple armed with the remote and a pistol; the stale air was intoxicating in the tense situation.

Gently standing up from the bed she was placed on, K4 starts to approach the couple slowly, trying not to raise any alarm. "Thank you for trusting us," she extends her hand for a shake while getting a good scan of the couple.

The silver-haired lady was standing behind the man with the remote in case of emergency; her clothing was a loose white robe, nothing out of the ordinary for a citizen. What was more surprising was that the cleanliness of her clothing was near perfect; it was in perfect condition.

Then her eyes met the old man, definitely a rural settler; his cotton clothing was equivalent to an early 21st-century citizen's. It looked like a plain red sweater; his aim being trained onto her with the pistol, not flinching even for a moment, was commendable.

"I guess I have no choice..." He pulls the pistol back into his back pocket, extending his hand to meet hers; they exchange a firm handshake. He offers her a better room to talk about what is to come. Hino follows behind them all while the man and K4 walk in front.

Following out of the pure white room, they are greeted by the chilly air and feeble light of the sun passing through the clouds. It was already pretty late in the afternoon due to the hours that it took to reboot K4 back; the winter is unforgiving.

They walk around the station; in the middle lay the beast of the Nole Express, a train which still operates a miracle in this age. Only mere settlements would have this luxury around the world left yet, but in front of their eyes there was exactly that miracle.

It was modified, of course, after the revolt; it had a rusty exterior, and only one carriage remains from the original five or more. This wasn't a citizen locomotive anymore but a means of transportation for just a group of people at best.

"Come in here," the man welcomes them all into the main lounge of the station.

Fine leather furniture with cushy pillows scattered around gave a good sense of comfort; the peach colours gave a sense of warmth despite the harsh winter, and K4 and Hino both rested upon the couch while the man and lady rested on their own chairs.

"Now let's talk about what to do with you, shall we?"