Heart of Steel

Chapter 14: Pep Talk

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A few days had passed, and Vulca had rarely left his workspace following the events. He spent it working on his project and shutting himself off from others. Elegg had tried to get him to come out to play boom with her, to no avail. Maiden and Guillotine tried to see him, but he mostly wanted to be left alone. The Cafe Sweety trio left Vulca some coffee in a thermos for him to enjoy, each working together to make something he'd like, which he appreciated since it was their way of giving him space whilst letting him know they were there for him. Even Erwin sent a few messages offering his support. Liter was the one who kept trying to reach out to him the most but eventually relented. The only one who refused to leave Vulca alone was-

"HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! V, I know you're in there! Can I come in?" 

No response as Vulca continued to weld and soldier parts onto his masterpiece. If he could get it working then no Nikke- no, no comrade of his would have to suffer ever again, he rationed. He figured he'd do it for his old squad and Mihara since he couldn't do anything to change their fates. He began to grow frustrated with himself, as his hands began to quiver when-

"V, there you are? Woah, this place is messy! How long have you been in here?" The cheerful ditz asked. Vulca quickly hid his work under a tarp before turning to face Centi.

"Oh, hey Cen." 

"You look exhausted. Have you gotten any sleep?" She asked innocently.

"Plenty." He said, his eyelids drooping before he shook his head vigorously to wake himself up. 

"It doesn't look like it to me." 

"Well . . .Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine." 

"Well . . . if you say so. . . But if you're fine, do you want to let me help you on your project?" 

"Sure." 

"Ah-hah!" Centi said, pointing at Vulca. "You always say no. That means you're not fine!" 

Centi had a point. Normally, he would deny Centi's request, but seeing how easily he gave in meant he was pretty checked out. 

"Don't you have anything better to do? I'll be fine." Vulca waved her off.

"Well, I cleared out all requests so I could spend time with my favorite person in the Ark."  Centi said, coming up and hugging Vulca. 

"I know you're having a rough time, but I'm here for you, okay V?" 

"Cen . . . " 

"So leave it to me, okay? I'll always have your back and I'll always raise and rebuild your heart too! Sorry was that too cheesy?" She said, earning a chuckle out of Vulca as he returned the hug. 

"I appreciate it. I just . . . need some time." 

"Oooooooooooh, okay! Do you mind if I stay with you in the meantime?" 

Feeling a little better, Vulca let her stay in the hangar with him. After some coaxing, Centi finally managed to get Vulca to tell her what happened that got him in this funk. 

"I didn't know her too well but . . . Maybe Mihara would've wanted you to stay strong for her? I mean, you do a lot already, for me, for Liter, for everyone. You're not useless or incompetent, V . . . You're cooler than you can even imagine!" 

"You've done so much for me, for everyone . . . It would help if you weren't so hard on yourself . . . It makes me sad you know?" Centi said nuzzling his cheek as she hugged him a little tighter. 

"Well . . . I'll try." 

"You said that last time . . . If you mean it then start by saying "I'm awesome!", okay?" 

"Uh . . . I'm awesome?" 

"I'm incredible! Say that next!" 

"I'm incredible." 

"And Now say I'm mighty!" Centi finally added, hyping him up. Vulca couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity but genuine sweetness behind the request.

"I'm mighty." 

"And since you're all those things be nicer to yourself! You should also take better care of yourself too, okay?" Centi added. Even if Centi was a ditz in other things, she knew how to cheer him up. Wiping a tear from his eye, he smiled at his friend earnestly.

"Heh . . . thanks, Cen. I needed to hear that." Vulca said cheering up slightly. He sat up and stretched, hugging Centi and deciding he'd take her up on her offer to spend time together.

"Yeah. It'd probably do me some good to get outta here for a bit. I just gotta do one thing quickly and I'll be right with ya." 

"Okay!" 

 Before he went with her, he needed to make a call to someone. Going to a secluded part of the hangar, he dialed their number from memory and waited.

"Hello, friend! It's been a while!" A chipper male voice called from the other side. Vulca greeted him back, before asking if he had a certain part he could borrow to reverse engineer his own. 

"Oh of course! It will put my Rapture Camo out of commission for a bit, but it's no big deal!" Raptillion said. "From where I am in the ark, it will take a few days to get to you! Hopefully, you don't mind!" 

"I don't. Thanks for your help Raptillion." 

"Don't mention it, friend!" Raptillion added before Vulca hung up. A sigh escaped his lips before he patted his cheeks. He did dislike sneaking around like that. Wasn't really in his nature. 

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He said, stepping out of the hangar, hands in his pockets. Centi beamed, wrapping her arm around his. 

"It's no problem! Now there's this neat restaurant that just opened up. We should go there! It'll be fun I promise!" Centi offered cheerily. Vulca looked at the smile of Centi and was reminded of Mihara's smile. Right . . . What Centi said earlier was true. 

He wasn't useless. He just had to make sure that with his use, what happened to Mihara would never happen to the other Nikkes he cherished in his life.  

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