Hours had passed, Aphrodite was now asleep and the two Servs were left to their own devices. They walked out of Aphrodite's factory still rather energised, their charge from a few hours ago still hadn't run out.
It was Ava's idea to take the Sylvie to the Evo town square, a place which they had started to frequent quite often in recent days. He'd never thought it'd happen, but both he and Sylvie had started to make friends with the locals, and they'd thought it'd be nice to say hi to their friends in the area.
Of course it was just a collection of small shacks and huts made from metal scraps, but every place was clearly built with love and care, each one indivdually designed in their own way. It was odd to think, there was, somehow, more colour in this little town square than the massive metropolises on Mars, and much more variety than the black pillars that polluted the skyline of Europa.
There was a small stall in the middle of the town square which the two liked to frequent, it was owned by a "mother" who had two very likeable "children" (Ava still hadn't figured out how this family unit thing worked, especially with beings that didn't even reproduce). It largely sold trinkets, unique bits and pieces that were found hidden among the waste heap known as the scrapyard. This included vanity items, oils, things that could be used as toys, some replacement parts like lights and so on.
The mother was at the counter, waiting for customers. Tall and cylindrical, quite rusted and wearing what looked like an apron made out of thick foil. She had modified her body to look... motherly, a stereotypical human mother according what Ava had heard from Aphrodite, as if she'd been a mother her whole life. She noticed the two walking towards her shop.
"Oh, hello Mister Ava, Missus Sylvie." she was extremely polite, well, they all were. Similar to Gobot in that sense.
"Hi, how you doing?" Ava looked around, "the kids doing ok?"
"Oh they're doing very well, I hope you both are doing well, would you like some oil?"
"Thanks, hehe, have I really become that predictable?" Ava chuckled. He never thought he'd be this comfortable around an Evo.
He fiddled around in his pocket to find his trade item.
"You need this stuff right?" some dye he'd found in the outer areas of the city, "is this enough?"
"Oh that's more than enough! Isn't there anything else you want?"
"Hm..."
Ava looked around. He then noticed Sylvie, who was being pretty quiet this whole time. She was eyeing something. There was something on the back wall of the shop. Ava recognised it from his experience in battle, it was a small metal hoop that was used to reinforce the turret of a certain S-class Evo tank. Purple.
"You want that?" asked Ava,
"Huh? Oh um-" Sylvie seemed unable to say yes,
"The purple hoop. How much is it?" Ava asked the Evo,
"Oh, this thing is pretty rare, it's purple after all, I don't know if the dye is enough I'm afraid" purple was a very rare colour in the scrapyard. This was no double meant to be an expensive vanity item. After all, it was repurposed to have a clasp at the back.
"Ok, one sec." Ava reached into his pocket and pulled out a few premium batteries. It was pretty much gold in the scrapyard,
"Whoa!" said the Evo,
"Ava, you don't need to-" Sylvie started. These things held value even on Mars, plasma charged, they lasted a long time and provided extreme mental stimulus when ingested. Actually the batteries were worth even more for Servs because they needed to undergo conversion to work with their power units before they were effective.
Aphrodite once mentioned, they were essentially the same as what her people used to value as gold. Ava had gone out of his way to find these in the scrapyard and, this seemed as good as time as any to buy one.
As rare was premium batteries were. They weren't as rare as something that truly caught Sylvie's eye.
"Here," Ava gave the Evo the batteries, she bowed in thanks and went to the back. She unhooked the hoop and gave it to Ava, who subsequently gave it to Sylvie,
"Thanks Ava, I don't even know why I want this. Sorry. Those batteries, they could've bought you some neat stuff on Mars couldn't they?"
"You like it though, right?"
"Yes," Sylvie smiled a distant smile, an echo of her past was being brought forth by the present. She unclasped it and put it around her neck. A shimmering purple collar that perfectly matched the purple top and black trousers that Aphrodite had loaned her,. "Thank you, honestly."
***
The two sat on the edge of the wall that surrounded the main scrapyard, it had became a favourite spot for the two for a bizarre reason. They weren't sure why, but the view of the scrapyard was oddly beautiful, the warm haze that billowed out of the factories, the small glimmering lights of the smaller buildings, there was something somehow comforting about the view.
There was silence for a while as the two took in the view, their legs dangling over the edge. Eventually, Sylvie spoke.
"Hey Ava, did we hang out much outside of our missions?" Sylvie asked,
"Oh uh, I guess. I mean you were sort of my only friend back in the day haha."
"What did we get up to?"
"Haha, I dunno, we usually just sat and talked. Although back then you were really forward, we synced almost the first day we met!"
"W-what!?" Sylvie blushed,
"Uh! I mean, it's not a big deal is it? That's what all Block-3s do!" wait... she wasn't a Block-3. She told him she was a Block-3. But she was actually a Block-2. So... What did that mean? Ava was confused,
"I didn't know I used to be so forward." Sylvie continued,
"Ha, I don't really have an explanation for your behaviour Sylvie, you used to be pretty kooky I gotta admit." but there was still part of her older self in there, Ava could tell as she played lovingly with her necklace that there was. "Have you started to remember anything by the way Sylvie? I know I always ask but-"
"I sort of have." said Sylvie, "I mean. I don't know. I've had dream for a while which has been pretty vivid."
"A dream?"
"It feels like a memory. But it's not really... plausible, you know?"
"What is it?"
"I'm living in a city, and I'm having food with someone I love. I'm going to school and meeting friends. The faces of my friends, they're so familiar, it feels so real." she smiled, "Once I saw you and the major too."
"School?" that was a human thing, Aphrodite had mentioned that. It couldn't be a real memory in that case. "Are you sure it's a memory?"
"I don't know." she pulled her legs up and dug her face into her knees, "It feels like it. But... I guess not."
"Everything will be clear eventually." said Ava, a warm smile on his face,
"Ava, in my memory we're... you and me."
"What?"
"I don't know." she smiled, "you know, these past few months haven't been too bad. Even though I've lost my memories, but I don't really miss them." She caught Ava's eye, "as long as some things don't change, I'll be fine if I never get them back. There's plenty memories I can make in the future, right?"
She didn't really seem to miss her memories as a Serv much. Ava had to admit the few months he'd spent with Sylvie were different. Less militant and strict, spending time with her did help them form a bond that was perhaps even stronger than the one they had before.
"Right," Ava smiled back.
Before the two could say anything else, they noticed a fire in the distance, suddenly an explosion, the echoes of screaming from far in the distance.
The fire was coming from the Evo town square! What happened!?
"Stay here Sylvie!" exclaimed Ava. Unfortunately, with her human body, Sylvie was useless in a fight, and Ava had a feeling that a big one was on the horizon.
He had no idea what he was in for. But it didn't matter. He jumped down the giant wall landed squarely on the hard ground below. It'd take fifteen minutes to get there at full speed.
Hopefully he'd make it.