( Ballade trails off, scolding himself for sounding so scared. But at the same time, he /needs/ to tell someone about this; he's been holding it back for years. )

... I get reminded of it every time I see 'em. It feels like I'll float off into space again, and no one will find me this time.

( He doesn't say that with his typical boasting demeanor; he sounds /desperate,/ as if he's trying to cling to this idea. )

But every time I look at the night sky, I just /freeze./ I keep remembering those few seconds, when I was surrounded by all those stars, and it was all silent, and I...

( 💭 WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO )

And Kirin... well, they're technically Enker's partner, but still a part of us. Gentle, meek, /really/ shy, but persistent as hell with their kindness. I don't think there's a single robot that they've made an enemy out of.

And then there's Quint, who was /technically/ built before me, but he's still the youngest out of all of us. Kinda shy, but kinda mischievous, too. And he's got a support robot, Sakugarne. If you put a purse dog into the body of a jackhammer, they're kinda like that.

( Punk laughs again. )