Chapter 45: Ford's Nightmare And Reagan's Anger

Ford's POV

"You wanted to know why you're the 'regent', right?" The cold voice of the artificial intelligence named Arlecchino echoes in the laboratory. She hasn't looked away from me for a single moment.

But I can't take this as a sign of honesty.

She's a machine.

Arlecchino could easily imitate certain gestures to gain my trust.

I've decided to keep my blaster pointed at her out of caution.

"Explain to me why there are two Stanleys here and why they're... unconscious," I say, my finger on the trigger.

"I understand, trust will have to be cultivated between us over time," she says in a understanding tone.

"For now, let me show you the truth." Arlecchino draws a magic circle in the air.

"I can detect a mental protection around your mind. Allow me to transfer my recent memory concerning Earth and Master Stan."

I hesitated to accept.

Although she doesn't seem to want to steal my body or control me, I've had a bad experience with letting free access to my mind.

"I can perform a magic oath and, if that's not enough to make you more comfortable..." She pauses, as if thinking about something, before continuing.

"I can allow you to limit my freedom of action by giving you access to my programming for this purpose."

She's literally allowing me to access her very essence?

"*Sigh* No need to go that far. A magic oath will suffice."

I lower my blaster.

A gesture to convey my goodwill and intention to cooperate.

I no longer think she has bad intentions.

No sane and ill-intentioned person would go this far to put their prey at ease.

Arlecchino seems relieved by my action.

Shortly after, she extends her hand for a handshake.

This involuntarily reminded me of bad memories, but I quickly pushed that to the back of my mind.

I quickly grasp her hand. The AI traces a magic circle around our hands before nodding, satisfied.

"Now, I can show you the situation we're facing."

She didn't wait for me to ask questions about how the information transfer would occur.

Arlecchino reaches out to me, or more precisely to my head, and an avalanche of information crashes over me.

I could feel her despair and helplessness when she saw Stan collapse on the icy floor of Antarctica.

I felt the emotions she's experienced since her "birth".

I sensed her disappointment towards her "equal", named GIFfany.

I perceived her contempt for the AI hidden in the basement of a government organization called Incognito.

I could also feel her curiosity about the "creature" currently developing in the belly of the woman called Camila Noceda.

There are also memories that testify to her cold side, as in the case of the boy named Gideon.

The "emotions" and memories of the AI named Arlecchino penetrated my mind like an unstoppable avalanche.

"I see..." I don't know when, but a tear rolled down my face.

All her memories, filled with various emotions from Arlecchino's perspective, had only one goal in mind, which could be summarized in one sentence: "for Master Stan's well-being".

For me, this loyalty is just... obsessive.

"You've suffered a lot, haven't you?"

Although her body was destroyed by Time Baby, this AI continued to fight by helping Fiddleford use the "Iron Giant"

I don't fully understand Stan's intentions, since Arlecchino herself doesn't know them in detail

But one thing is sure... The idiot left me to clean up after him.

"Suffering? I see... This Oracle magic also transferred my feelings along with my memories," she says in a neutral, emotionless tone.

I'm sure Stan himself doesn't know that his creation experiences feelings that go beyond simple loyalty to him.

She's obsessed and blinded by his well-being, Gideon's situation is proof of that.

She even transplanted a magical organ similar to that of witches, despite the fact that she doesn't appreciate magic.

Why?

To quickly recover some strength to help her master who's been sleeping for an unknown time.

"You can call it suffering, Mr. Regent, but I just see a necessary evil," she explains, walking towards a strange box.

"You're still playing tough, but I'm going to have to disappoint you on some points."

She turns around with a liquid of a strange color.

From her memories, it's Titan's blood.

"How so?" she asks, frowning.

This is the first genuine expression she's shown since our encounter.

"There's no way I'm cleaning up the mess on Earth caused by Stan's war in Antarctica, and there's no way I'm taking responsibility for Stanley's actions on the Boiling Isles."

I'm a scientist, not a criminal or a dictator.

Arlecchino observed me for a moment without moving from her location before nodding.

"I'll take care of Incognito and the other supernatural factions on Earth, but I'll have to 'insist' on the Boiling Isles."

"I..." I wanted to refuse this "job", but the AI's look made me reconsider my decision.

"I know you don't want to leave Earth so soon after your little multiverse excursion, but this is 'necessary'."

After she asked me so nicely, I finally accepted being the regent of the Boiling Isles.

After all, I could always slowly establish true democracy there, not Stan's.

....

The universe...

I remember finishing my discussion with Arlecchino and wanting some time for myself.

After...

"You fell asleep like a baby during your walk," declared a familiar voice.

"Bill..." I say, turning towards the direction of the voice.

(Image)

"In the flesh, well, sort of speaking, haha," he says in a nonchalant tone before looking around for a moment, as if checking something.

"What are you doing here?!" I instinctively reached for my blaster, but there was nothing.

I was currently in a mental world.

"Should I congratulate you for being on your guard, or congratulate you for once again proving YOUR STUPIDITY?!" He took on a more intimidating appearance at the end of his speech.

"I no longer fear you, demon!" Although I say this, the fire currently burning all around us blinds me too much to express myself properly.

"You say this because of your dear brother who played with this universe's timeline?" His size increased again in an attempt to intimidate me.

"THIS WILL CHANGE NOTHING ABOUT MY FINAL PURPOSE!!!" Several voices resonated on multiple intonations simultaneously during his declaration.

*Slash* A tear forms in space just between me and Bill after his words.

"Damn Triangle, you really had the balls to invade someone's mind in Gravity Falls?" This voice, this silhouette, and that arrogant tone...

"Stanley?!"

....

Reagan Ridley's POV

Damn, why did I think keeping this damn AI was a good idea?

[I advise you to check the security of your organization's facilities, and also the "prison" of Alpha-Beta.]

This simple message managed to help me notice the slow but progressive evolution of Alpha-Beta in the Incognito system, and also on the Internet itself.

Because of me, the country's internal security was temporarily compromised.

It could have been worse without this suspicious warning.

"Reagan, why are you looking more pissed off than usual?" Brade's voice brings me back to Earth.

(Image)

"Sorry, Brett, but I'm... on an ultra-serious project!"

I can't tell him that I didn't destroy a creature I was ordered to destroy.

I can already imagine my promotion slipping through my fingers because of Brett's inability to keep a secret or if this incident leaks to my superior.

"Oh Reagan, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit to my humble prison?" Alpha-Beta declares nonchalantly.

"Stop being an idiot, I just suppressed your online evolution," I say, standing in front of the glass separating us.

"So it's not the other one this time," he mutters, frowning.

"Who's the other? And stop trying to weasel out!!" He's really starting to annoy me.

"Reagan, Reagan..." he repeats three times, shaking his head, as if pitying me.

"Do you really think I could have evolved to only this stage after all this time?"

Shit!!!

I was used to neutralize Alpha-Beta, and also to keep me occupied.

I immediately jumped to a nearby computer and started digging through our database.

All data concerning the unknown gigantic entity above Antarctica had disappeared.

"Damn it!!! *bam*" I couldn't help but swear and smash the computer.

"What information did she take?" Alpha-Beta asks with a mocking smile on his lips.

"She?? Do you know her?" I narrowed my eyes at Alpha-Beta.