Valkyrie Smash

Opening her eyes, Zero Three slowly lifted herself up. She stretched her arms and yawned, feeling strangely refreshed. Taking a look around she noticed that something wasn't right.

'Huh? This isn't my room…'

It took her a moment before realizing she was in the lab. It was difficult to notice since this was the first time she saw it from such an angle, however when she spotted Sam leaning back on his chair with his eyes closed.

A moment later her face began to heat ad she remembered what happened a while ago.

'Huh?'

Recalling everything made her realize something else. She had just woke up which means she has been asleep before then. Even though that's the case she didn't see the talking Calamity.

'... strange…'

Just then Sam yawned as he woke up. He turned into Three's direction, looking at her with tired eyes before reaching for his glasses and putting them on.

"Oh, you're awake." He said, smiling. "Did you sleep well?"

The young Valkyrie opened her mouth to respond, however before she could say anything she began to blush again, only nodding and looking away.

"Good. We have a lot to discuss now that you've calmed down, but first let's get done with your examination."

Three stayed silent, changing into her pilot suit in another room before entering her container. Usually she would naturally fall asleep while floating inside the green liquid, however this time she managed to stay awake even though her eyes were closed.

A few minutes pass and the examination is done. After a quick shower she put on her uniform and returned to the lab where Sam was waiting for her.

"Alright then." As she sat on a chair facing him, Sam held his tablet and began speaking. "Physically you're in peak condition as always. I've deduced a few things from what you told me earlier today so-"

"Wait…" as if just noticing, Three whipped her head in the direction of the digital clock hanging on one of the walls. It was 22:32. She had slept through the entire day and she didn't even notice it. "I've been asleep for that long."

"Yeah." Sam replied with a nod. "I had to bring you here so I could keep an eye on you."

"I… see…"

Three didn't know why but the thought of someone watching her as she slept caused her face to heat once more.

Sam did his best to comfort the young Valkyrie as she cried in his arms. Eventually she passed out so he considered leaving her in one of the extra rooms so he could go take care of his job, however when he noticed that she was still clinging onto him he decided to bring her back to the lab with him.

The other day he had decided to add a bed in case he needed to take a quick nap. He never knew it would come in handy in a situation like this.

"Anyways, you said you see things while you're asleep, right?" Sam spoke. "I know it might feel uncomfortable, however I need you to tell me everything in details."

Seeing the seriousness in his eyes made Zero Three felt a little tense. After a few seconds of silence she began to tell him everything.

Sam kept a solemn expression as he listened to each elword carefully. He noticed that the the young Valkyrie was having a difficult time describing how she felt when faced with what she feared. The big battle from that day had left her with a trauma that broke the restraints on her emotions causing her to gain learn what it's like to feel fear.

"Three, I believe what you saw in your sleep is something we call a nightmare. A bad dream, in other words."

"A bad… dream?"

"Yes. Dreams are a series of thoughts, images and sensations that occur during a person's sleep. Some are good and some are bad. The fight against the talking Calamity has left a big impact on you which resulted in you seeing what you saw."

The young Valkyrie listened attentively, however her attention was drawn to something very important.

"A person's… but… I'm a Valkyrie… not a person…" she said, her eyes gradually widening.

Sam observed her reaction carefully. In stories about AI gaining sentience they would usually make it seem as if they're desperate to be recognized as living beings, however who knows if it would be like that in this case.

"That's correct." Sam said. "You are a Valkyrie, Three, however I don't think you're the same as the others anymore."

"... eh? What do you mean?" Asked Zero Three.

"First of all, you abandoned your mission and disobeyed your superior's orders." Sam said. "While that's bad on its own, the reality is that you aren't supposed to be capable of doing it. Unless something about you changed granting you the freedom to independently make such decisions."

It was only then that the Valkyrie noticed it herself. Today wasn't the first time she didn't feel like going out. The reasons varied but no matter what she wanted she would always carry her duties and follow orders. However this time she shut herself inside her room and refused to come out despite the time for the daily patrol arriving.

"Before we discuss what that implies, I would like to ask you another question." Sam said. He had already gotten his answer from listening to her moments ago. Still he wanted to confirm it one more time before deciding whether to tell her or not. "In the case of the talking Calamity, does it feel unpleasant when you consider the possibility of you getting damaged by it?"

As she thought about his question, the young Valkyrie looked down at her hands, clenched tightly on her lap. She began to recall the battle and the nightmare she had. A cold chill ran down her back, that alone was enough for her to understand what the Doctor meant.

"I… I always thought that I should avoid getting damaged, but…" passing for a moment, she then added in a trembling voice. "Now just the possibility of it happening makes me want to run away…"

"... I see…"

Sam held his chin in thought. A few seconds later he looked Zero Three in the eyes having decided to explain it to her.

"Three, the unpleasant emotion you're experiencing is something we humans refer to as fear." He said. "It's main function is to act as a signal of danger and threat and trigger the appropriate adaptive response."

"Huh? Isn't that just normal danger detection?" Three asked.

"Yes and no." Sam responded. "Your danger detection is designed to increase your combat abilities and minimize the damage you receive, however it can't overwrite your the actions you want to perform. Fear on the other hand has a direct affect on your decision making and now that you're able to experience it you wouldn't be able to do things the same as before."

To understand what he meant all she needed to do was to look at her thoughts from today and the day before. Though the conditions were the same, yesterday she had no trouble going out even with the possibility of the talking Calamity appearing. Now just considering it causes her to shiver and just thinking that she might have to fight that thing again is enough to make her want to hide in her room.

"Fear…" Three muttered to herself. "So it's called fear…"

"I don't know how it happened but I doubt your creator had intended for you to obtain this emotion." Sam said.

In the Valkyrie blue prints it was mentioned that the AI are capable of emulating fear, however a restriction was placed on it to make it possible for them to perform their missions without concern. That restriction was now broken in Zero Three and considering the situation theyre in it's clear that it's not the only one that was broken.

"Three, what I'm about to tell you is very important so you need to listen very well." Sam said. "Also, no matter what happens you aren't allowed to tell anyone about it. Not even Nine or Five."

Once again the young Valkyrie felt a but tense. She stayed silent for a moment before bracing herself and nodding, giving him the signal to start.

"Fear is a very important emotion. As I said before, it acts as a signal of danger and threats, which makes it a key component in one's desire for self preservation." Sam closed his eyes, breathing in slowly. "The fact that you're able to experience fear, as well as act on it while ignoring your orders mean that you're capable of putting your own survival as your top priority. You wouldn't be able to do that if you were nothing but a weapon whose only purpose is to fight."

As she stared at him in wide eyed disbelief, Sam finally revealed to the Valkyrie that she has now become.

"You are now a living being, and although you aren't exactly a human, you're also an individual. That makes you a person just like any of us."

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