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"Hit the largest button on the Gardener's control panel. Or all of them. Eventually, one will disconnect him from the glow network."
Table looked towards the table in front of her. Four buttons rested on the surface, all identical in shape and color. She hesitated briefly, but one glance at the glitching body of her friend pushed her forward. Quickly, she pushed the button closest to Hekla.
Nothing.
She pushed the button below that one.
Nothing.
Anxiety rising in her throat, she pressed the one closest to Einar.
Still nothing.
With only one button remaining, she practically threw herself forward to press it, hand slamming hard on the table. The flow surging throughout the room slowed to a stop, the galdur in front of her finally ceasing activity. Table let out a relieved breath, turning to look at Einar.
"Einar? Are you there?" She asked cautiously, taking a few steps towards the robot. To her dismay, the galdur was still glitching. Throughout the static and stuttered words, she could pick out a few fragments.
"Error....transfer incom....no...up detected."
"Well shit." Table muttered to herself, reaching up to flick one of the many baubles Einar was adorned with. The man's body seemed to curl in on itself before snapping to full height. Table jumped back with a startled squeak, not expecting the sudden movement. She quickly cleared her throat, brushing off her shirt to act like nothing happened.
"Did that work?" Hekla asked from behind, prompting Table to turn and face her.
"No. He's still glitching. Something about the transfer being incomplete? And something not being detected." Table responded, walking closer to the rounder galdur.
"Hmmm. It appears the update to Einar's runeworkings has halted, but he is incapable of restoring functions on his own." Hekla replied, looking as downcast as someone without facial features could. "We will need to extract the reversal protocols from the Gardener's runeworkings."
Table hummed thoughtfully, chewing on her lip as she looked at the Gardener before them. While she was incredibly pissed at the being for tampering with Einar, she didn't think violence was the way to solve this (for once). There was the risk of the Gardener harming Einar further if they angered him. So, trying to reason with him was probably their best choice. She relayed this much to Hekla.
"Please be careful." She said. "And remember, I am proud of you."
Table squashed down the flare of warmth she felt at that statement. Right now wasn't time for her weakness for praise to show. Right now, it was serious time. She approached the table, staring out at the large galdur head before her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her thoughts before speaking.
"Gardener?" She asked hesitantly into the empty space. A mechanical voice replied.
"You have interrupted my process. Your companion is now stuck with an in-progress update."
'No shit. I hadn't noticed.' Table thought snarkily to herself, biting her tongue to keep the words from leaving her mouth. Again, not the time to try to antagonize someone else. He spoke again before she could.
"Why have you come here?"
"Why are you erasing my friend?" She shot back, unable to help the irritation coloring her voice. Not that the galdur was likely to pick up on it.
"He's not being erased. He's being fixed." The Gardener said.
"I'd like to fix you." Table snapped, her response being drowned out as the galdur continued to speak.
"Do you wish for your companion to suffer? He is adrift in questions and emotions he barely understands."
Table hesitated at that, looking back at Einar. Was he suffering? Was she fighting so hard because of what she wanted, not what Einar wanted?
Her conflict must've shown to Hekla. The rotund galdur stepped forward to stand beside Table. "I can converse with the Gardener and restore Einar." She said, eyes staring into Table's very being. "I require one thing from you."
"Yeah? What do you need?" Table asked, head tilting slightly to the side.
"You possess a tool called an ax, do you not? I require it for a few moments."
Table blinked, her words taking a moment to fully process.
"My ax? Uh, yeah, I have one." She said. She reached behind her, unstrapping the tool and holding it out to Hekla. "Here you go. I don't know why you would need it..."
She trailed off as Hekla took the ax, turned, and headed straight for the galdur before them. Table wasn't sure what she did, but something she did caused a bunch of platforms to rise from the vast space below them, forming a bridge that connected them to the Gardener's main...body? Whatever it was, Hekla walked down the path, heading right towards it. With Table's ax in her hand. It finally dawned on Table what was happening.
"Oh my God. She's finally snapped." Table said breathlessly. She was too far away to hear what the two were saying to each other, if they were even physically talking, but she could clearly see Hekla raise the ax and bring it down harshly on the metal of the Gardener's frame. A harsh metallic sound rang out through the room, causing Table to cover her ears to protect them. However, she couldn't tear her eyes away from Hekla, the sweet galdur who did anything to make Jina happy, swinging an ax repeatedly down on another galdur.
'Have I died and gone to heaven? What is happening?' She thought to herself.
Hekla finally stopped swinging the ax and returned to the balcony with Table and Einar. She held the ax out for Table to take, the human doing so cautiously and strapping it back into its place.
"Sooo..." Table trailed off, not knowing what to say. Hekla didn't seem to notice.
"Einar should be returning back to full function." She said. She almost sounded proud, if that was a thing that could happen. Table's neck cracked with how sharply she turned to look at Einar. She hurried over to her friend.
"Einar? You there, buddy?" She asked, crossing her fingers and channeling as much hope as she could feel into the air. Einar's head tilted as he looked down at Table.
"Hello. I am almost reacquainted with my corporeal form." He said, voice clear and no longer a static mess.
Table's entire body tensed with happiness, and she couldn't help but jump at Einar, wrapping him in as tight of a hug as she could manage.
"Einar! You're back! You're okay!" She said, squishing her cheek against his torso. After a few moments, she felt hands against her body, holding her against him.
"I have been present the entire time. Thank you for cushioning my oneness from harm during this time of need for cushioning." He said, his voice vibrating through Table's head.
Table continued the hug for a few more seconds before releasing him, backing up a few steps to give him his space back. Einar took a moment to look around the room, gaze landing upon the mangled form of the Gardener's main form.
"What has occurred in my time of absence from my body?" He asked, turning his head to look back at Table.
She looked over at the Gardener and snorted, a grin stretching across her face.
"Remind me never to get on Hekla's bad side.”