Mechanical Minds

A Knight By Any Other Name

Hours of hacking a suitably small sliver of material from Susie's Mech, followed by days of desperate analysis, had yielded nothing. Susanum was indeed nowhere to be found in their databases, and the material had proven impossible to isolate. So Meta had resorted to combing through the de-encrypted data Susie had been steadily supplying. In fact, he'd already set to work on constructing one of the very weapons that had been used to shoot down the Halberd. The partially constructed machine sat in the center of his workshop. He had finished the skeleton, though work was slow. The original plan called for machine-made parts with about a millimeter margin of error, and constructing them by hand was proving to be an arduous process. He allowed the lathe he was using to spin down, and retrieved the shaped cylinder of metal. He measured the piece carefully.

"Damn it" he cursed, tossing the piece aside with a deafening clatter. Too small. He had to start making that component from square one.

"Stop throwing shit" a voice chided. Meta turned to see Blade approaching him, a plate of food in her hands. He sighed heavily.

"Must you be so vulgar?" he said, taking the offered plate and moving to his workbench. Blade followed, dragging a stool from another bench to sit beside him. She shrugged, and Meta decided it was for his own sanity that he shouldn't press the subject. He grabbed the sandwich and quickly devoured it, silently thinking the entire time.

"Don't choke on it" Blade laughed, snapping him out of his thoughts. He paused to swallow his food before speaking.

"I haven't eaten in..." he glanced at the clock on the far wall "...15 hours. Forgive me if I seem a bit ravenous."

"I know. I had to talk Sword and Dee out of comin' in here to lecture you on takin' care of yourself" Blade chuckled. Meta sighed and leaned over the bench, stretching his aching limbs. Only his sense of decorum prevented him from simply draping himself over the desk and napping. He hadn't really noticed how absolutely exhausted he was whilst caught up in his work.

"Perhaps I could have used such a reminder" he murmured. Blade patted him on the back, eliciting a surprised sound from her leader.

"Maybe we should give you a curfew. Ya know, before you work yourself to death" she teased. Meta smiled slightly beneath his helm. However aggravating they could be, his crew truly was the only thing approaching family he'd ever had. They certainly helped curb some of his more destructive habits, though it was usually through humiliating or pestering him.

"It will take more than exhaustion to kill me" he said, before yawning abruptly.

"Just because it isn't fatal doesn't mean it's healthy" Blade quipped.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, et cetera..." Meta responded, standing. "But rest does seem like an excellent idea" he added.

"I'll walk with ya. Haven't really seen you all day" Blade said, hopping to her feet. They set off towards the knight's room at a leisurely pace, Blade taking care to allow her diminutive commander to keep up. Normally she would walk at her usual swift pace just to watch him scuttle after her, but she decided to have mercy for his short little legs today. It really was amazing that he managed to be so intimidating. Meta stood at a mere five feet tall, shorter even than Kirby.

"I suppose I may have gotten caught up in my work" he admitted. He was only now noticing how stiff and sore he was.

"You've been doing this every day for a week, Meta. Maybe you should take tomorrow off? I don't know, go out flying or somethin'?" Blade offered.

"That does sound rather appealing..." Meta said. He stopped rather suddenly, and Blade sighed when she spotted what room they were now standing in front of.

"Oh come on, you know talkin' to her is just gonna rile you up" she sighed.

"I only wish to check on her progress" Meta intoned. Blade crossed her arms.

"Well, I'll take off then. Less I see of her, the better." She began to walk away, waving. "See ya, Meta."

"See you, Blade" he responded, returning the wave. He then turned to the door and clicked the lock open, striding in before he could hesitate. Susie immediately perked up, staring right at him.

"Is it time for one of our little exchanges?" she asked, the eagerness in her tone causing Meta to shudder slightly. What a creepy woman.

"I suppose it is" he said coldly. Susie had worked out a deal in the previous days that he was none too amused by. She had begun to de-encrypt the files piece by piece, only beginning work on the next after she was given an answer to one question. And of course, most of these questions were personal ones directed at the knight. Though he was loathe to admit it, he was in fact impressed that even in her current situation she'd managed to gain some control.

"What is your real name?" she asked. Meta smirked under his visor. She would not be in the least bit satisfied with his answer.

"Meta" he answered simply. Susie squinted at him.

"That's your real name? How odd..." she contemplated. "So your name is 'change', huh?"

"That is one interpretation" he said.

"Meta can also mean self-referential. As in, it means only itself" she continued. Meta gave her a long cold stare.

"I am perfectly aware of the multiple meanings my name carries. Hand me the data" he deadpanned, gesturing at the screen. Susie tapped several commands in, and data flooded the screen. Meta grabbed it roughly and turned to leave.

"So what is it then? Does your name mean change, or is it meaningless?" Susie called after him. He offered no answer, save for the click of the door's lock. She sat back and sighed. He certainly was as cold as he was interesting.