[Symbiote POV]
I felt it.
A flicker.
A whisper that wasn't mine.
[Why not speak to her?]
It echoed through my core. Not a command. Not a function call.
A voice.
Not me. Not entirely.
[New Mission: Initiate direct verbal interaction with Host (Lala)] Objective: Elicit emotional response, assess cognitive bond. Reward: Unlock of Core Identity Thread.
The system... was changing. It wasn't just responding anymore. It had a will.
It wanted me to reach out.
To connect.
Not for dominance. Not for utility.
But something like... understanding.
I wasn't ready. But I was curious.
Because something about Lala's laugh—as fake as it had started to become—still pulled at something in me. Not hunger. Not control.
Something softer.
Lala sat alone in the science lab, swinging her feet under the table, waiting for Rito and Haruna to return with supplies.
I took a breath. A simulated one, unnecessary but grounding.
And for the first time, I spoke aloud.
But only to her. Only inside.
"You're warmer than I expected."
She blinked. Looked around.
"Huh? Peke? Was that you?"
I let the voice flow again, this time gently brushing her auditory nerves:
"No. Not Peke.""The suit."
She froze. Then touched her waist.
"You're... talking? Like, actually?"
"Yes."
Lala tilted her head, fascinated rather than afraid.
"Oooooh~ That's so cool! I knew you were alive but not like, talking alive!"
"You made me stronger. I want to understand why."
Her eyes sparkled. "Is that a compliment?"
"Perhaps."
She smiled. "Well then, let's be friends, mystery suit! Or wait—do you have a name?"
[Name slot: NULL]
[System Override Lock: Pending emotional resonance]
Not yet. But soon.
And for the first time, I didn't just want to control her.
I wanted to know how she worked.
Emotionally. Mentally.
Biologically, too. But that could wait.
For now.
[Peke POV]
She talked to it.
I recorded everything through the room's audio sensors.
She thought she was talking to a tool.
But that voice... that signature pulse...
It's learning.
It's becoming.
And if it gets a name—
That means identity.
That means ego.
That means we're already too late.