Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Sorry for being late, hit a little snag on the way here but its no biggie!"

N kneels down on one knee.

"This is for you..."

N puts the bouquet of paper roses down on Uzi's grave, some of its contents fall out on the ground.

"And this... is for you!"

N puts the bouquet of drone arms down on V's grave. The oil covering the arms have long since encrusted onto the metal.

"I know you have a big appetite but this'll have to do for now. I'll try to get some more next time."

N decides to sit down onto the ground.

"Must be pretty boring for you guys up here, but don't worry! I got a bunch of news to keep you guys entertained!"

"So. First things first."

"The workers have finally decided to live on the surface again! Well kinda, more like, they're rebuilding it so they can live there. All of them still live in the bunker, but now they only go inside if they need to recharge, otherwise they're hard at work cleaning up the mess outside. Its honestly super cool to watch!"

"Khan's been kind of harsh with them though... He orders people to work these crazy hours each day, each person only stops when they're on the verge of shutting down or when they get injured somehow. People have spoken out against it but... Khan's been strict... and I mean really strict... Like 'putting a gun to their head and telling them to get back to work' strict..."

"Lizzy's been hard at work trying to keep up everyone's spirits, but I'd be lying if I said things were peachy... I don't know what Khan was thinking but she is NOT the right person for the job. She's more suited to be a school mascot rather than being in charge of something like this..."

"Thad's been-"

"WAIT! I ALMOST FORGOT!" 

"So- get this- Thad and Lizzy are together now! Crazy right? Came right out of left field too! Just, boom, they're dating now!"

"Well... I say 'now', but I really mean two weeks ago. Khan had... uhh... "banished" me from the colony, so getting any information about the colony inside the bunker was impossible. Thad was actually the one to give the news to me, didn't really expect that honestly, Khan had made it pretty clear that no one was allowed to talk or even interact with me in any way..."

"..."

"Things... haven't been going well recently... if I'm being honest..."

"Workers have been scouring the city looking for me, its been getting harder and harder to hide from them, cause there's only so many buildings you could hide in, y'know?"

"I haven't killed anyone... if that's what you're worried about... don't worry, I haven't broken my promise to you Uzi..."

"And, as much as you would probably want me to, no, I wont kill any of the workers V..."

"I'm more than happy just hiding away in some big ol building eating nothing but stale oil from already dead workers everyday, thank you very much! And in all honesty? Its a nice change of pace! I used to hunt workers... and now they hunt me! Its like a game of cat and mouse! Except... now the mice have super cool railguns that can blow me away in a single hit... but whaaatever!"

"A part of me is glad they're actually using those railguns against me, because you designed them Uzi! I knew you were super talented, and your dad sure did too! Cause he ordered them to be like, mass produced and given to each member of the WDF. And on top of that, they're using ALL of your designs!"

"They got the standard one that you first built, not too shabby... and honestly pretty well rounded. They've even improved the recharge time!

"Then you got the heavy hitter... remember that design you made where you added 3 of those power cores together? Well now they've got them too! I've actually seen one of those things in action before, tore through a whole skyscraper like paper! Including the other 3 behind it!"

"They've also got that one design you made where it shoots super fast but does less damage, those ones are more annoying than threatening really... they have increased volume and rate of fire, sure, but it doesn't do big explosions! Presentation is the most important part of a weapon, you told me that one yourself! Can't believe they made so many of them too..."

"..."

"You really were talented Uzi..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I know... you probably don't care... but... I still haven't found J yet..."

"Now I can probably guess what you guys are gonna say. "Stop wasting your energy on her!" or "She isn't worth the hastle!"."

"And... a part of me actually agrees with the both of you..."

"..."

"But..."

"What kind of a friend would I be if I just left her to suffer like this? Suffer like the way I am right now?"

"Leaving her behind... it just..."

"It doesn't feel right..."

"..."

"I don't care how long it takes for me to find her... or however many attempts..."

"I have to help her..."

"I've failed too many people already..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"O-Oh, sorry... shouldn't start crying now... that would be s-super rude!"

N wipes his hand on his visor, despite the tears being digital, they've seemed to dissipate.

"But I... I think that's it for the noteworthy stuff."

"I mean, I could tell you about the times the WDF tried to kill me, but I think you guys wouldn't like to hear those stories... especially you Uzi..."

"Heck, you'd probably chew out your dad if you knew what he's been doing, and V, you'd ACTUALLY chew him out, like in a physical sense rather than a figurative one."

"And even if he is being a little... extreme... I don't blame him..."

"I..."

"I didn't..."

"I-I didn't get to save..."

"..."

"..."

"Oh c-come on N! Quit it w-with the waterworks already! This is s-so embarrassing! V would tease the hell out of you if she saw you like this..."

N returns his hand to his visor, wiping away even more tears.

"Okay... that should be it for now..."

"Can't stay here crying all night can I?"

N stands up and dusts himself off.

"Its been nice talking with you both! I'll see you guys some other time, and don't worry, I'll get more for you to eat next time V, I swear."

"And I'll try drawing some nicer looking roses for you next time Uzi. Sorry if my colouring is a little bad, still haven't mastered it yet, sorry..."

"..."

"Well I... guess I'll see you two later then..."

"..."

"Hope you two are happy... wherever you are..."

"..."

N starts walking away, head held low.

And for a third time...

He wipes away his tears...

"You sure you saw something around here?"

Stay quiet... stay quiet...

"Yeah dude! 100% sure!"

"And what if you didn't? What if you just imagined it?"

Stay quiet, don't let them hear you...

"So what if I did?"

"Dude... you know Khan doesn't like his time being wasted like this... remember the other guy who said he swore he'd seen something over in sector 19?"

"Yeah? What about him?"

"Seriously? You didn't hear?"

"He's dead dude. Like dead dead. Khan just shot him on the spot with his own pistol when there wasn't anything there."

"Told the rest of us to not joke around, said we'd end up like him. Where were you during that whole thing anyway?"

Don't make a sound...

"Oh I was by sector 22, I was with a different group doing clean-up. But he really went that far?"

"I wouldn't lie about something like this..."

"Damn... losing his daughter must've really sent him over the edge huh?"

"Well... every man has his breaking point. When you lose enough, you start changing... it really hits the fan once the guy who's losing it is running the whole show."

"Now c'mon, lets head back. I'd rather not be buried like those poor bastards at the spire..."

"Alright alright I'm coming, I'm right behind you."

...

...

...

Once she's confident both drones have left, J lets out a huge sigh of relief.

"Ugh... they're here already? It's been a week... jeez..."

J heads into the darkened alleyways, trying to make as little sound as possible.

"Looks like this sector is a bust... grrrrreat..."

"All that's left is the outskirts... it wouldn't take long to find me, it'll just be a matter of time..."

"..."

"Sure hope he's in a better spot than I am..."

"..."

With a saddened look on her face, J continues down the alleys.

"Sector 40 should be safe for a while..."

Chapter Text

"Number.. 251?"

Thad calls out a number, a worker jumps up from a seat and heads to where Thad is seated.

"Yep, right here."

"You're needed at squad 29 over by... sector 15."

"The stuff you need is in this bag, radios, construction equipment, use the radio if an emergency comes up."

"Uh.. will do!"

"Good luck."

Thad gives the drone a salute, he reciprocates the gesture and runs for the exit.

Thad leans back in his chair, clearly exhausted at this job.

Speaking of his job...

He has to sort through multiple squads, each with 20 or so members while keeping track of equipment, each squad's quotas, and account for any possible injury's and call in any reserve workers if need be. On top of all this, he also has to manage squads of workers looking for the two disassemblers exclusively. Weapons have to be in check, verify any possible sightings, the whole deal. And for some reason, only him and a few other guys can actually do this. Khan mentioned why there wasn't many people doing this in the first place, something about "not being trustworthy enough" or something like that. Thad was chosen because of his close connection with Uzi, he actually seemed quite receptive him which was a massive surprise.

Khan had been... spiralling, to say the least...

Thad was there when N brought Khan the news, he was devastated of course, made sense. What didn't make sense was N's 'banishment'. He'd done everything he could to protect Uzi, yet Khan didn't care... instead he sees N as the sole reason for Uzi's death. Thad was going to calm him down, get him to reconsider this course of action... but as he was going to... Khan pulled out his gun at N and started firing. As N was leaving, Khan was shouting at him to "never come back".

Thad was many things, and brave might as well be his middle name! He was with N and Uzi when they fought that weird spider crab thing in the bunker, he was with N and Uzi during their visit to the camp, he was there for the fight with the Solver, he'd seen and done so much...

Yet...

That look in Khan's eye... as he was shooting at N...

That scared him more than anything...

Just... pure, unfiltered rage...

...

As much as he loved N, he wasn't going to risk himself getting a bullet to the head, not when Khan was this close to breaking...

Luckily he'd managed to clear the air with N, he met up with him a fair bit away from the bunker, making sure to not go for any of the active sectors. The meeting itself wasn't half bad! Thad got to share what was going on inside the bunker, N shared how he had this cool spot up by the outskirts. He would've gone with him to check out his sweet looking home, but seeing as how he currently had a very important job, leaving the desk for more than 5 minutes was already dangerous.

Both of them bid the other a fair well, and left.

He really hopes he can see him again soon... he knows N doesn't have anyone left.

Thad is... pretty much all he has...

...

"Hey T-Thad? Can I t-talk to you for a sec?"

Well... maybe one other person...

"I would babe, but I am reeeaal busy over here... work has been kicking my ass recently..."

"Y-Yeah well its k-kind of a-an emergency."

"Really? What is-"

"Just get o-over here... please..."

Lizzy goes down a hallway, the direction she's going is toward her own room.

Thad stands up and follows her.

"Yo, Kate, you got my spot for a minute?"

Thad turns to one of the drones also working the desks. Kate is one of the 8 drones currently managing all of the squads, himself included.

"You are kidding right? With this work load?"

"I know its a lot to ask but please... this is urgent..."

"..."

"fine..... you better be quick..."

"But if there's an emergency then I'm calling you back... I'm not doing two jobs..."

"You got it! I won't take too long!"

Thad continues down the hall toward Lizzy's room. Along the way, posters are seen covering the walls of the bunker, each with their own bits of propaganda infused jargon. Posters like these weren't too uncommon around the bunker back then, just a few posted up on the walls here or there, now it might as well be the new wallpaper...

He reaches the door and notices its slightly ajar, Lizzy must already be in there.

Once he opens it he sees Lizzy pacing inside the room, looking incredibly stressed. Eye's hollowed out, shaking... this wasn't going to be fun...

"Hey Liz? You uhh... doing okay?"

Thad goes inside the room, Lizzy stops pacing and stands right in front of him.

"Well uhm... funny y-you mention that! Cause I... I..."

"I..."

"..."

"..."

"I'm about to fucking lose it here..."

Lizzy slumps against Thad, her knees buckling. Before she could fall down, Thad grabs her and brings her over to the couch.

"Whoa, easy there... relax... its-"

"n-no, no it isn't..."

"I am so goddamn sick and tired of dealing with this..."

"You were put in charge of that support group for the workers right? Isn't that a nice gig? Helping out with peoples problems sounds like-"

"BUT I CAN'T! I CAN'T FUCKING HELP!"

"I HAVE TO LISTEN TO THESE OLD ASS DRONES TALK ABOUT THEIR CRUSHING WORK HOURS. OR... OR HOW THEIR FRIEND GOT CRUSHED BY A PIECE OF A FUCKING BUILDING."

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HELP WITH THAT!? I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS! I DON'T KNOW A BIT ABOUT ANYTHING THEY'RE GOING THROUGH!"

"MY WHOLE SHTICK WAS JUST BEING "THE POPULAR GIRL". ALL I EVER DID WAS GOSSIP ABOUT SOME POINTLESS SHIT WITH MY FRIENDS..."

"AND-AND THEN THEY COMPLAIN TO ME SAYING "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HELP US!" "YOUR JOB IS TO MAKE US HAPPY!"."

"BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT!"

"I CAN'T EVEN MAKE MYSELF HAPPY! HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO HELP EVERYONE ELSE?!"

Tears continue to flow down her visor as she continues breaking down.

"I'M EXPECTED TO WORK MIRACLES HERE, BUT I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE SLIGHTEST CLUE WHAT I'M DOING..."

"EVERYONE KEEPS RELYING ON ME TO MAKE THEIR LIVES BETTER... BUT I JUST..."

"I JUST..."

"..."

"I can't..."

"I j-just can't..."

"And that scares me to death..."

"Because I know for a FACT that Khan keeps a closer tab on me than the other drones here..."

"Oh... right... because of your... previous history with Uzi huh?"

"And he still hasn't let go of that... he's just doing this out of spite..."

"He's acting like I'm the ONLY ONE who's treated her like shit for years... what a fucking hypocrite..."

"He's spent years shaming his daughter because she wasn't into those stupid doors... he acts like I'M the only one who was a bad influence on her..."

"Well that isn't true, right? He still hates N."

"Oh yeah, compare me with the guy who's committed genocide, love you too..."

"N-No wait! That's not what I-"

"I know that's not what you meant..."

"..."

"..."

Both drones sat there in silence, Thad slowly caresses her back, trying to make her feel better. Lizzy just looks toward the ground, leaning on Thad for support.

"..."

"You know what?"

Thad sits up, Lizzy looks at him with a curious expression on her face.

"I'll go talk to Khan, I'll ask for some time off. You clearly aren't doing well so you're my top priority right now."

"..."

"what."

The look on Lizzy's face turns from curiosity... to fear...

"Nononono you can't, you cant... please don't."

"Lizzy, you just had a breakdown a minute ago... this isn't something you can just-"

Lizzy grabs onto Thad's arm, squeezing it with all of her strength.

"I-I'll stop bothering you! I w-wont complain anymore! You won't hear a peep from me!"

"W-What? Babe, you aren't bothering me at all... why would you say that?"

Thad turns to face her.

"You mean the world to me... nothing you do will ever bother me..."

"Seeing you like this... makes me feel like the world is falling apart, I can't just leave you to suffer like this..."

"All I'm going to do is ask Khan for some time off, that's all, okay? Nothing else."

Thad turns around and tries heading for the door, Lizzy holds on to him even tighter, she digs her heels onto the floor to try and keep him in place.

"No pl-please you don't understand, h-he might hurt you- you know how he is, please just go and pretend I didn't say anything..."

"Nope! No can do! I'm going to help you whether you like it or not!"

Thad starts pushing away from Lizzy and goes toward the door.

"P-PLEASE JUST WAIT! STOP! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HE'S GOING TO DO! PLEASE! I-I CAN'T LOSE YOU!"

"Its going to be fine! Just relax!"

Thad manages to reach the console to the door, he pushes a button and the door opens.

"It'll be quick, I promise! All I need to do is ask him..."

"About... the..."

"..."

As Thad was about to leave, a drone blocks the way...

A very familiar drone...

"Thad..."

"Why aren't you at the desk? You know how busy things get around here..."

"M-My apologies, M-Mr Doorman s-sir! I was j-just... just..."

"Just... what, exactly? What warrants you needing to abandon your post like this?"

"W-Well you see sir, I uh... I wanted t-to..."

"To..."

"..."

"Ask for some time off...? If that's... alright with you...?"

"..."

A silence hung in the air for a few moments, both Thad and Lizzy's cores were starting to heat up from the building fear.

"..."

"A break huh?"

"..."

"Well... you have been very hard at work recently, one of my finest actually..."

"..."

"While it would certainly slow things down if you weren't here, I'd say you earned it."

"Alright then, you get three days, should be plenty of respite for you."

Khan pats Thad on the shoulder, he recoils a bit from the touch.

"You certainly look on edge... just make sure you're feeling 100% once your vacation is up, the world around you doesn't stop just because you decide to take a break..."

"U-Uh yes sir! Of course! Won't waste a minute once its over!"

Thad gives Khan a salute, he seems pleased by this.

"Attaboy, that's the spirit! If only everyone else shared the same spunk you have."

"You take care now..."

Khan tips his hardhat at Thad and walks off.

Once he's out of view, Thad closes the door and turns around to Lizzy. A mix of relief and joy plaster his face.

"Oh my god! Did you see that?! He let me take a break, just like that! Maaaan I thought that was going to turn out soooo much worse!"

"Can you believe it Liz? Now I have some time off with-"

*SMACK*

Before Thad could say another word, Lizzy slaps him across the face. She then grabs on to his uniform.

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!?! DO YOU EVEN REALISE HOW DANGEROUS THAT WAS?!"

"YOU KNOW HE'S STARTING TO LOSE IT, YOU KNOW HE'S HURT PEOPLE BEFORE. WHY WOULD YOU RISK YOUR LIFE DOING THIS?!"

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SO GODDAMN STUBBORN?! I SAID I WAS FINE! I TOLD YOU I COULD KEEP IT IN! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THIS!"

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO DO SOMETHING SO FUCKING RECKLESS!"

"Lizzy..."

"WHAT IF HE HURT YOU, HUH? WHAT IF HE KILLED YOU? DO YOU THINK YOU CAN SMOOTH TALK YOUR WAY OUT OF THAT?"

"..."

"JUST A LITTLE HEADS UP FOR YOU, THAT BIG, DUMB, STUPID, GORGEOUS SMILE CAN'T SAVE YOU FROM EVERYTHING."

"I'VE SEEN WHAT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE WHO SPEAK OUT LIKE THAT..."

"I WONT LOSE YOU TOO."

"I-I WONT LOSE YOU..."

"I-I-I WONT..."

"I CAN'T..."

"I..."

"I J-JUST..."

"..."

"I just can't..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Lizzy embraces Thad in a hug, she buries her face on Thad's shoulder as small sobs start to leave her.

"Its okay Liz... I got you... let it all out..."

"I got you."

"I got you..."

"..."

Thad and Lizzy stand by the door as they hold each other, the quietness of the room is occasionally interrupted by the sound of sobbing or whimpering coming from Lizzy.

After a good minute of standing, Thad leads Lizzy back to the couch.

"Here, take a seat, I'll grab us something to eat from the kitchen. Won't be gone for too long..."

As Thad is about to leave, Lizzy grabs on to his hand, although not with the same strength she used earlier.

"Sorry for uhm... slapping you like that... kind of a dick thing to do..."

"Its okay Liz, you got a lot on your mind, and I made you worry. I'm sorry too."

"Pfft, you shouldn't be the one apologizing, you just wanted to help me... can't blame you for that."

"Although, maaaybe don't play with fire so much? Or else, y'know, you might get a death via firing squad."

"I... don't think that's how the saying goes."

"Eh, close enough, now go on and get us some batteries, I'm STARVING here..."

"Yes Ma'am!"

Thad gives a salute and runs off to the kitchen. The sound of cabinets opening and closing can be heard.

A minute passes before Thad decides to speak.

"Hey... so uh..."

"You forgot where the batteries are?"

"Yeah..."

"Aaaalright fine, Lizzy to the rescue..."

"Thanks a bunch! Dunno what I would do without you!"

"..."

"..."

"Neither do I. "

"Aaaah. Home sweet home!"

N lands on the roof of his home, a skyscraper that's been semi-renovated by him to feel more comfortable.

He walks toward a ladder that leads down into his humble abode.

The room he climbs down into is incredibly vibrant. Multiple drawings made by him cover each of the walls, multiple stuffed animals lay on his bed that he found himself (though most of them are kinda dirty, seeing as they've been in a wasteland for 20+ years). A heavy metal poster is put on the ceiling, a memento of Uzi... on the drawer beside his bed lay a pair of glasses, a memento of V...

Both mean more to him than he can ever express...

But back to the happy fun stuff!

N goes to the table situated in the middle of the room, 4 chairs surround the table.

"Hey! How's it going Mr Rocky?"

He waves toward a rock with a moustache and two googly eyes.

"Eeeeeyyy! Rocky Jr! How's it hanging?"

Hey points two finger guns to a small rock with a mini-propeller attached to the top of it and those same googly eyes.

"Oh! Almost forgot!"

"Miss..."

He bows to the third rock of the group, this one has red string glued to the top of it, signifying hair. It also has red red lipstick painted onto it, with the same googly eyes as the other two.

"Glad to see you all are doing well! I'm doing fine! In case you were wondering."

"Just went out to visit my friends, they're still... well... you know..."

"But I'm sure they're happy wherever they are now!"

"Un..like... me..."

"..."

N walks to the bed with a saddened look on his face.

He plops down onto the bed and stares at the ceiling for a few seconds.

"I'm sure they're having a great time..."

"..."

N turns his head, beside his bed is a window that overlooks the entire area, the perfect vantage point. As he looks across the landscape, he notices the sun coming up. He shuts the blinds and looks straight back up.

His vision is starting to turn dark as his sleep mode is about to kick in.

As he slowly drifts off into sleep, only one thought still lingers in his mind.

...

I wonder how J's doing...

Chapter Text

"Just a little to the left there... riiiiight the- yep, you got it!"

Tessa gives J an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"How come I have to clean all the way back there? Not like anyone's going to see it..."

J stands atop a large ladder, she's currently cleaning a row of bookcases in the massive library the Elliott's own.

"The way it looks isn't the problem, dust can cause a lot of problems for regular humans like me y'know."

"Oh yeah, forgot you humans are as fragile as soggy single ply toilet paper, my bad. I'll try not to breathe too hard so you don't fly away, alright?"

"Oi now missy! Don't start a war you can't win! I've got some mean comebacks of my own."

"Uh huh? Lets hear them then."

"Ooooo, get ready for these sick burns..."

"*Ahem*"

Tessa steps back and strikes a dramatic pose while pointing at J.

"WALKING TOASTER OVEN!!!"

"Heard that one before boss..."

"Oh..."

"Uhh... what about..."

"Sentient microwave?"

"Yep, heard that before too."

"Glorified fridge?"

"Mhm..."

"Bucket of bolts?"

"Really Tessa? It sounds like you took that one from a movie..."

"But you've never heard it before eh?"

"Hey, I said I haven't heard it before, I didn't say it was good. Try again."

"Well look who's ordering who around now! You've certainly gotten more confident haven't you?"

"I remember you were soooo nervous when you first came here, you got scared by pretty much everything! The first week you were here you couldn't get rid of those hollow eyes."

"Look how far you've come now..."

Tessa gives J a warm smile, J looks away in embarrassment.

"Boss... I thought I asked you not to bring up my newbie days again..."

"I'm sorry! I can't help it! Its just..."

"Seeing how far you've come... seeing you change from that scared little bot who's always afraid of something, into this strong, confident and fearless drone..."

"Just makes me so proud..."

"Makes me feel like... I haven't done everything wrong, like I usually do..."

"..."

J looks back at Tessa with a worried expression on her face.

"...Did your parents give you a hard time again?"

"..."

"...Yeah..."

"...Do you... want to talk about it?"

"About what kinds of things my parents say to me? No thanks..."

"..."

J steps down from the ladder, once she reaches the bottom, she heads over to Tessa.

She puts a hand on Tessa's shoulder.

"Don't listen to those old fogies... what they say about you doesn't matter..."

"Yeah well listening to the people who made me call me a.. f-fuckin' mistake k-kind of make's me feel like my world is falling apart..."

Tears start forming from the corners of her eyes as her voice starts breaking a small bit.

"Well I think you matter, N and V think that too, you aren't some kind of mistake, far from it actually! As far as me, N and V are concerned, you're the best human in the world..."

"..."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better..."

"I mean it, you are important to us, I mean you SAVED us for robo-gods sake-!"

"-Still don't get why you guys keep putting the 'robo' in there-"

"-And I think rescuing the lives of three people is a pretty good thing, it sure as hell doesn't sound like something a mistake would do."

"You are worth more than you give yourself credit for, don't beat yourself down like your mom and dad..."

"Listen to the people who are important to-"

"-But they are important to me!"

"They're my mom and dad for christ sake! How can I not feel like shit when all they do is treat me like an item!"

"The only reason they ever had me in the first place is so they can use me... I'm not a daughter in their eyes, I'm a slave. And they have let me know every step of the goddamn way that I am nothing more than that..."

"..."

"I-I'm just... so tired of this..."

"How long do I have to keep doing this...?"

"..."

Tessa looks down to the floor, tears still coming out of her eyes.

"Tessa..."

"N-No, I'm fine, l-let me just.. clean up in the bathroom alright? I'll be back... you continue cleaning..."

Tessa walks away in the other direction, J tries holding on to her but Tessa moves her hand away.

"..."

"..."

"..."

As she's about to continue cleaning, she hears a voice coming from the back of the library.

"A dogs sense of smell is over 40x that of a regular person?! That's sick!!!!"

...

Great...

Him...

Welp.. can't clean this on my own... gonna need some backup for this.

J calls out to N.

"N! GET OVER HERE! I NEED YOUR HELP BACK HERE!"

"O-Oh! J! Is that you? I'll be there in a second!"

After a few moments, N pops up from behind a corner and approaches J.

"See that on the floor?"

J points to a grey feather duster on the floor.

"Uh... yeah? You need help cleaning?"

"What do you think stud..."

"̴O̶k̵i̵e̶ ̵d̸o̵k̶i̶e̵!̶ ̸G̵e̵t̷t̸i̶n̸g̶ ̶r̴i̷g̷h̴t̷ ̷o̷n̷ ̴i̸t̵!̷"̵

"̸A̷l̴r̷i̸g̴h̴t̴ ̴N̸,̴ ̵d̷o̸n̴'̴t̵ ̵s̷c̴r̶e̴w̴ ̶t̶h̵i̴s̷ ̷u̵p̵.̵ ̷U̵s̷e̶ ̶i̷t̶ ̶o̵n̴ ̴t̸h̶e̶ ̵b̶o̴o̸k̶c̵a̶s̷e̸ ̷b̴e̴h̶i̷n̴d̶ ̸m̶e̵ ̴a̶n̶d̷ ̵w̴e̵'̶l̵l̵ ̶w̶o̷r̵k̷ ̵o̷u̵r̶ ̵w̵a̸y̶ ̸f̶r̸o̶m̸ ̶t̷h̶e̶r̵e̶.̷"̷

"̸͍̹̩̀̍̋͝Y̶̲̼̌̓̃̿̅̿̈́ͅo̴̹̥̮͎͋͐ȏ̸̘̤͍̲̇̆̃͐̇͐͗ỏ̵̢̡̜͉̯̤̥͝͠õ̸̡̠̩̱̊̒̀̚͝u̶͇̓̐͌u̷̳̹̩͚̅͆̒͝u̵̦̯̬̙̭̿ ̴̛̙̭̖͉̲̞̘́̕͝g̸̖̒̓̈́̀̎̅́̕o̸̡̪͇̣̤̝̗͍͛̆̃͊̌ẗ̸̨̮͕̯̩̜̯̭̄ ̵̪̻͆͊̃̇̿̀i̸̪̞̲̜̜̱̜̊͂̃͛̏̚͜t̸͚̹̫̬͇̑͗͝!̸̲͍͕͍͎̋̈́"̵̩̠̓̄̓͠

,̴̟̪̀͛͑͊͐͌͌̚.̷̱̦̣͓̥̈͠/̶̡̻̩̗̺͔̹̬̀͌̃̌̔̃̑,̴̨̯͇̠͓̱͎̤̀̅̅́͐͑.̶̘͉͍̗̰́;̷̡͚̣̅/̵̢̨̤̲̫̓̈́̀̌̓́'̷̨̫̥̥̗̪̽͊̃̇͗͛[̴̧͙͙̲̻͉̇ͅ,̸̪̜̳̺̦̒/̶͖̙̹͇̼̀̆́̎̇̊̐͂]̷̡̻̎͌̿͘ͅ.̴̧̞̣̗̋̃́̕;̸͔̣̀̄͊[̶̢̬͓͓̣̆͂̈̇̍,̵̱̗̜͉͈̘̺̉̈͜/̶̨̢̜͈͍̇͂͌͐̆̈́͝͠]̴̠̹͙̭̥̮̎̒̃͌͆̊[̸͙̰̔͑̓͂̄͛,̶̪̖̻̩̝̾̐͂

]̶͎͔͉͙̃͂̔̍ͅ'̸̧̨̞̟͓̱̘̪͔̺̞͉̝̦̜̠̊̍̒̽̄͊̇̾̌̽̅̑̄̓]̵̨̼̮̠̬͓̭̙͔̙̼̘̃͊̆͑̌̈́͑̈́̔͜͜͝ͅͅ.̷̡̡̻͈͖̣͈̼̦̺̖̜͗̽͒̅́̓ͅ'̷͖͚̣͕̜͖̫͚͇̬̩̺̎/̴̡̱̗̰͔͓̗͉̜̫͎͍̩̫͗̔̿̈́͛̿͂͛̾͑̃͂͑̋̚>̷̪̖̀̉̅̐̊̿͒͑̇̓̈́̀́̋͠/̴̡̛̛̟̠̠̠̣̖̬̰̘͋̑̋̏̽̃̍͋͐̈́̈́̈́͐͆̏͘]̴̡̧̛̫͈͓̯͚̬͓̏͌͊̏̿̾͋̐̀͊͘͜ͅ;̷̡̙̦̄́̀̇͆͌̀̉͝#̵̠͍̟͖͈̟̞̜̈́̀͑̚[̶̧͙̜͙͎͔͚̺̩̥͈̥͈̠̜̭̐̈́͆̅̑͗̄̈̊̔̅̉̂̈́͐̎̏̚͝

,̶̡̙̣͖̈̈̃͐.̷̘̩̻͚̿̌,̶̣̱̠̳̰͎̮̙̠̙͓͎̤͓̦̱͕͎̍̑̎̚̕'̷̢̨̤̮͍̤̲̤̦̫̙͙͍̞̗̞̪̭͋͛̒̆̓̐̐̈́̂̾͆͒͘͘̚͘͝ͅ.̷͔̟͚̰͛̿͆͋̀̓̅͒̽͐͑̚̚,̴̢̲̞̣̩̫͉͖̤̞͌̈́̈́̕͜͠.̴̢̞͎͕͓͈͊̂ͅ[̸̨̣̟̝̞̼͙͔̞̦̤̼̈́̐̅̌̔͊̈́͋̕̕,̸̛͗̅̊̑́̈̓͛̌̚ͅ.̷̖̙̫͇̃̂̈̓̉̐̆̍̋̐̆͒̕͠͝͠]̴̧͕̘̯̬̫̍̓̈̅̐̋̉̓̕

"̷-̷s̶u̷r̷e̴ ̷y̶o̷u̸'̸r̸e̵ ̷o̴k̴a̵y̴?̴"̴

"̶C̶o̵u̶r̴s̸e̴!̵ ̷I̷'̷m̶ ̵g̷e̷t̷t̷i̸n̶g̷ ̴k̴i̷n̴d̸a̸ ̸u̵s̴e̵d̵ ̴t̸o̵ ̵i̴t̵ ̴n̷o̸w̶.̷"̶

"I... don't think that's normal, Tessa..."

"Yeah well, what can ya do? I'll get over it... only got so many tears left in me..."

"Next up on todays agenda is the kitchen!"

"You're comfortable with cleaning the dishes right?"

"Yeah... why?"

"Just thought I should ask, because, y'know, toasters and water don't go so well together."

"Ha ha, very funny boss... stocked up with jokes today, aren't you?"

"Sorry, couldn't resist! Had to make that joke at least once."

"Super glad to see that all your creativity hasn't dried up yet..."

"A cheap joke is still a joke, thank you very much!"

"But while we're doin' our thing, tell me how working with N was!"

Tessa gives a bright smile toward J direction.

J doesn't have the same jovial expression on her face that Tessa has...

"You know I don't like working with the liability..."

"J..."

"I've said this before and I'll say it again, working with him has got to be the worst experience I've ever had in my life..."

As J says this, a pain in her chest emerges...

...

She doesn't know why...

"J, please don't call him that, he has a name."

"And I still don't get why you hate working with him... he's nothing but a bundle of sunshine! Its like he got taken straight out of heaven and was plopped right down here!"

"That attitude of his is annoying... its a miracle he hasn't been thrown to the scrapyard yet. His work ethic is non-existent, he's worth-"

"J!"

Tessa shouts her name, startling her.

"That's enough! Why do you keep doing this?! He doesn't deserve any of the shit you give him!"

"He's done nothing to you! I've seen him try and impress you before but you just keep pushing him away! And don't think I haven't seen you lay a hand on him..."

"All he's done is just be happy... that's it... and you hate him because of something like that?"

"W-Well his attitude gets in the way of work-"

"THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO HIT HIM!"

Tessa scolds J even louder, the drone flinches from her tone.

"DO YOU THINK THAT'S ACCEPTABLE? DO YOU THINK THAT'S JUSTIFIED?"

"n-no-"

"DO YOU THINK MY PARENTS ARE JUSTIFIED DOING THAT TO ME?"

"W-What?! Hell no!-"

"THEN WHY ARE YOU SUBJECTING SOMEONE I LOVE TO THE EXACT SAME THING I'M GOING THROUGH?!"

"I'M AM TRYING MY HARDEST TO GIVE THE THREE OF YOU THE BEST LIFE I CAN! I AM DOING EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T END UP IN MY SITUATION..."

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HE'S GONE THROUGH... YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW HE'S FEELING..."

"AND YET YOU HAVE THE GALL TO MAKE HIM SUFFER EVEN MORE THAN HE ALREADY HAS... YOU PUT HIM IN THE SAME SHOE'S I'M WEARING!"

"HE'S BEING INSULTED, BERATED AND HIT EVERY. SINGLE. DAY."

"DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR TO SOMEONE YOU KNOW?!"

"IT SHOULD!"

"BECAUSE THAT'S ME!"

"I GO THROUGH THAT EXACT PAIN EVERY SINGLE DAY!"

"I KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE HATED BY THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU. I KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE TOLD YOU'RE NOTHING MORE THAN A WASTE. I KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE HIT BY THE PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT."

"AND EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW THE PAIN I'M GOING THROUGH... YOU STILL WANT TO INFLICT THAT ONTO HIM...?"

"I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THIS..."

"B-BUT... MAYBE..."

"..."

"..."

"Maybe not well enough..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Whatever... I'm through with this..."

Tessa starts heading for the exit out of the kitchen.

"J.. clean up the dishes, once you're done then just head back..."

"Wait! Tes-"

"J-10X111001, I am giving you a direct order, inability to fulfil this task will result in punishment. Do I make myself clear?"

"..."

"...yes... boss..."

"..."

Tessa walks out of the kitchen, a tear streaming down on her cheek...

"..."

"..."

"...I'm sorry..."

J slumps down onto the floor. Tears fall down her visor as she quietly sobs to herself.

...

She continues to be in this state until she feels someone poking her shoulder.

She looks up to find...

"Hey... are you... doing okay?"

N...

"Leave me alone..."

"̴A̴r̸e̶ ̵y̶o̸u̶ ̴s̵u̴r̶e̴?̶ ̵B̵e̴c̶a̶u̸s̵e̴ ̴y̸o̴u̴ ̸d̷o̷n̵'̵t̶ ̷r̶e̸a̸l̴l̷y̵ ̷l̴o̸o̷k̵ ̶l̷i̵k̵e̴ ̸y̷o̸u̵'̸r̶e̵ ̵i̴n̸ ̸a̶ ̴g̴o̴o̴d̸ ̵p̸l̸a̵c̴e̶ ̸r̴i̶g̵h̴t̸ ̶n̶o̷w̵.̸.̶.̶"̸

"̵I̸ ̷S̷A̶I̸D̴ ̵L̷E̸A̶V̸E̵ ̷M̸E̶ ̷A̴L̵O̸N̸E̶!̶"̵

,̶̬͕̥̖͕͔̥̯͑͂̂̃̆͐͑͠#̷͚̞͓̠̭̦͔̰̫͍̜̬͆̕[̷͎͙̳̻̭͌͌̒̉̚͘;̶̘̙̪̼̳̠̟̮͚̬̟̙̈́̓̀̾̍͊̑͒̆̚͝[̷̡̹̺̪̱̜͉͈̩̠̘̭̻̜̼̖̱̍͊̌͑͑̋]̴̭̹̝̳͆̉̾̂̑̃̆̔͂͘͝#̸̧̢̰̠̤̟̫̤̀̓/̸͍̝͔̘̲̮͚̘̀͛͋̈́̂͠,̴͓̟̞̠̱̰̣̬̤̤̪͍͍͖̙͙̽͌̾̿̈̓ͅ[̸̨̧̧̡͓̖͉̮͇͖͇̣̫͔͕͙͛̽̓̐̈́̂̾̽;̵̙̝̯̤͚͓͚͍̝͇͊̾̇̏̇̋̍

.̴̧͉̤̮̟̯͙͉͚̥̉̐̎̅͋̓̔̿̎̌̃͘͠#̸̨̡̱̰̝̼̩̙̪̽̓̌̐̀̓̔̒̌̑,̶̫̼̻͍̻̱̌̿̂̃̄̈́̍̂̀̈̋̎̔̎̅̆̑̚͜͠.̷̢̻̮͇̜̀̽̆̓̃̓͋͂̽̽͌̓̓,̶͇̮̳̞̼̎̃̓͋͑̈́̅̏͘͜͠[̵̨̧̹̦̖̫̮̼̼̖͈̳̳̼̣͍͔̖̹̦͑̏̔͊̌̾͝͠.̶̨̺͍̹͙̫͔͚̣̗̱̙̭͈̽̅̈́͂̈́͒̉͐̂̚]̴̡̳̗̦̭̺̩͉͍̜͖̉̓̀͋̋̆͂̾̉̔̀́͌̏̈́͒̕̚͝,̵̧̪̦̙̩̟͖̻̖͍̫̗̟̹̈́͊̊̿̏͑̃̑̇̍̍͂͌̀̊͠͝[̸̧̪͔̝̮͎̝̬̘̙̪͉̝̤͙̲͗̊͋̄͂̎͘]̶̱̘̩̅̏̀̓̉͛̈́͒͆͠;̵̧̝̭̒̊̈́͜

,̸̤̙̲̥̺̓̒͒̄̇͆̋̅̄̇̾͑̅̉̚#̶̢̣̲̻͈̪̹̹̜͔̗̟̖̌͒͂̑̊̎̏͂͆̚͝͝͝,̷̨̩̻͙̲̦͎͚͕͉͎̖̘̫̞͈̥͚̗͂̒̿̾̉̑͐̈́̂͜͝͠͝,̵̧̢̛͓͇̖̭̟̪͕̼͙̃̈́̌̓̂̇̃͐͐̔̀̔͗̀̉͗̚̚͝͠'̷̧̛̉̄̓̌̓̀͌̑͑͛͛̂'̵̢̩̬̭̲̽́̑̃̃͛͑͑͌̍̍̈̉͌͠͝͝͝;̷͇̀̑̍͆͐͊͊̓̇͂̎̈́͑̉̇,̸̘̟͔͉͍̖̦͎́̄͌̀͘̚̚]̶̛̛͖̟̖͐̈͋͗̆̄̐͂́̆̈́̀̊̑̕[̶͎̩̮͔͕̣̯̳̀̄̃̈͂́́̽̇̏̎̿͌͆́̊̚͠'̷̼͔̪̘̲̲̹̅̽̿͌̋̉̄̌̇̈̀̒̕̕̕̚͜͝;̶̥͇̩̼͎̻̳̙́̆̋ͅ#̴̺͋̏͋̎͒͂́̐̏̓̉͒̓̑,̸̡̛͉̣͚͙̖͚̥͊͊̍̎́̔̓̋͗̑̂̀̑̈́́̀̔̕͝͠ͅͅ]̶͉͉̯̈́̈̔̓͒́̇̾̏̀̌͆͊̌̚#̶̡͍̈́̆͊͌̈́̌͋͆̓̈́̆̉̆͌͒͠,̶̮͎̼̤̲̮̞͒̀̀̂͗̅́̔̑̍͊̿́̅̆͘̚͘̚͜͝͠ͅ[̶̢̨̦̜͖̠͕̮̻͎̲͓͚͑́̃̃͒̈́̈̀̌͛̓̀̎́̀̊́̽ͅ;̸̛̭̠̉̄̑̇̑̀̃̎̇̋̐̏[̶̧̛̫̪̥̟̼̰̠̯̥̳̐́͋͌͆̓͑̈͊̔͜͠,̶̨̢̛̛̜̪̦͈̳̗̣̤̣̖̜̦̾̏́͒̽̐͗͊͝]̷̨̧̛̞͕͔̖̻̠̤̰̘̙̞̻̔̍̐̊̈́̾̏́̎̂͘̕͜͝[̴̧̲͙͚̦͍̜̪̀̽̉͛̎̈̀͐̕̚͝,̷̖̼͍̟̫̥̦̪̂͜;̸̨̭̫̙̜̖̣͓͉͗̊̿̐̊͌̾̊̐̍̈́̑́̇͛̌̊̚̚͜[̵̺̤̙̟̭̺̮̱̯̜̱̥̤͂̒̐͌̃͆̔̚

"̴H̴e̸y̴.̷.̵.̸ ̷y̶o̷u̷ ̴g̷o̸o̷d̸ ̶t̶h̴e̶r̵e̷?̷"̵

"̷J̵?̸"̴

"Huh? Wha...?

"You kinda spaced out there... you feeling okay?"

"Yeah Tessa, just... got this really nasty headache... happened just now..."

"Huh... that's odd... want me to check it out?"

"Nah, I'm good, I'm sure its just a bug or something, should go away soon..."

"Alright then... if you're sure..."

Tessa and J are walking though one of the many hallways in the mansion, the halls are dimly lit with yellow light.

"So boss, what's on the agenda today?"

"Well, nothing really."

"I just wanna know how you feel."

"Like... emotionally or...? If you're worried about that headache from earlier then don't be, I'm perfectly-"

"How do you feel around me?"

"I mean... calm? I guess? Why-"

"how do you f̸e̵e̵l̸ a̵r̵o̸u̶n̴d̶ N?"

"...Look I've made myself pretty clear on what I think about that-"

"How ḏ̸̾o̸̙̎ ̴̟̐y̴̗̿o̷̮͛ṵ̸̑ feel about him n̶̮̓ò̶̙w̷̨̕?̷̟͑"

"W-Well I was just-"

"Ho̶̘͂ẃ̸̨ ̶̛̱d̴̨͂ơ̵̧ you feel about him ñ̴̝o̸̞͗w̸͙̽?̶̥̒"

"...Tessa...? Are you-"

"H̷̛̙o̷͗ͅw̶̜̑ do you f̴͓͘ě̷͇ẻ̵̯l̶̨̔ ̴̠̌a̴̝͊ḇ̵̇ö̶̹́ű̶̝t̶̛͉ him..."

"N̷̟͋͗̌̿o̸̡̘̜̳̪͎̖̼̓̔͒̈͐̈̉̚͝ͅw̵̩͙͙̪̮̬̼͖͖͑̆?̴̡͎̤̜̟̭̬̏̍̽̽̿̏̉"

"..."

"What's going on..."

"̴E̸v̷e̵n̵ ̵a̸f̷t̷e̵r̴ ̶a̷l̸l̶ ̶y̴o̵u̴'̴v̵e̷ ̸b̸e̸e̷n̷ ̴t̷h̷r̵o̷u̸g̸h̸,̷ ̸d̶o̸ ̵y̵o̶u̸ ̴s̶t̵i̶l̵l̷ ̵h̶a̴t̴e̵ ̷h̶i̶m̶?̷"̶

"W-W-What-"

"̸E̸v̵e̶n̸ ̶a̵f̸t̵e̷r̵ ̷s̷p̷e̴n̷d̵i̷n̸g̴ ̷s̵o̴ ̴m̴u̷c̴h̵ ̸t̸i̶m̴e̴ ̷w̷i̶t̷h̶ ̸h̸i̵m̵.̴.̴.̵ ̴i̴n̴ ̶t̵h̵i̴s̴ ̵p̸l̴a̶c̶e̶.̸.̶.̶ ̵o̸n̵ ̵t̵h̵i̷s̵ ̷p̵l̴a̴n̵e̶t̴.̵.̷.̷"̴

"̴D̶o̴ ̸y̸o̷u̷ ̵s̶t̵i̵l̸l̵ ̷h̷a̷t̴e̸ ̶h̴i̴m̷?̴"̷

"..."

"..."

"Not this again..."

J begins pacing around the hallway, the walls start to flicker.

"Any second I'll wake up... any second now..."

"̷Y̵o̵u̷ ̷h̵a̸v̵e̴ ̸s̵p̷e̴n̴t̸ ̴y̴e̴a̷r̸s̸,̷ ̵a̷n̸d̷ ̵y̶e̵a̵r̶s̵,̷ ̴a̷n̵d̴ ̸y̴e̴a̶r̶s̸,̴ ̵a̷n̸d̴ ̶y̴e̷a̸r̴s̶ ̵o̸f̶ ̷y̶o̴u̵r̶ ̸l̴i̴f̷e̵ ̶d̶e̵s̴p̸i̸s̸i̸n̸g̵ ̷h̶i̶m̴ ̶a̸n̸d̸ ̸e̸v̷e̶r̷y̸t̸h̵i̸n̶g̴ ̸h̵e̸ ̸s̴t̸a̴n̵d̶s̷ ̸f̷o̸r̵.̶ ̴W̸h̴y̵?̴"̶

"Because I was and still am a massive piece of shit who doesn't have one good bolt in her body-"

"-just get me THE FUCK OUT OF HERE ALREADY!"

"̵W̶h̶y̸ ̵d̸o̸ ̵y̷o̴u̵ ̶t̸h̶i̴n̶k̴ ̴t̶h̸a̸t̴ ̸i̶s̵?̴"̸

"..."

"̴I̸s̸ ̸i̶t̴ ̶b̴e̸c̷a̶u̴s̸e̷ ̶o̸f̷ ̴h̴i̴s̵ ̶p̶e̶r̵s̷o̶n̷a̵l̷i̵t̸y̴?̸"̸

"..."

"̴O̴r̷.̴.̶.̴ ̸i̶s̸ ̸i̵t̸ ̶b̶e̸c̴a̸u̸s̷e̶ ̵o̴f̵ ̷h̸i̸s̸ ̷b̸o̴n̵d̵ ̸w̸i̷t̶h̸ ̴T̶e̷s̵s̴a̶?̸"̵

"..."

"..."

"...Both..."

"̵Y̶o̷u̶ ̵d̸e̸s̷p̶i̸s̵e̶d̷ ̴h̷i̶m̶ ̴f̴o̵r̶ ̴g̸e̷t̸t̸i̶n̷g̸ ̶m̷o̵r̷e̸ ̴a̵t̴t̸e̶n̶t̷i̵o̸n̶ ̵t̷h̵a̷n̴ ̵y̵o̶u̸,̴ ̵s̸o̵ ̸y̸o̸u̵ ̸s̶o̸u̴g̶h̷t̶ ̶o̸u̸t̵ ̴t̷o̶ ̵r̸u̸i̴n̶ ̵h̶i̶m̶,̴ ̴m̸a̵k̴e̶ ̸h̵i̵m̴,̴ ̵f̴e̸e̶l̴ ̵l̴e̵s̸s̷e̴r̸,̷ ̷m̵a̷k̵e̶ ̷h̵i̵m̵ ̴f̸e̷e̸l̵ ̷a̸s̴ ̵i̸f̴ ̷h̴e̷ ̵i̵s̵ ̷n̶o̵t̵ ̸w̷a̷n̶t̵e̶d̴ ̷o̵r̶ ̸n̴e̷e̸d̸e̷d̴ ̶b̵y̷ ̴a̵n̵y̶o̵n̶e̵ ̶o̴r̶ ̷a̷n̷y̶t̵h̷i̸n̴g̷.̴"̵

"̵Y̴o̵u̸ ̵w̴a̷n̷t̸e̵d̸ ̵t̷o̶ ̵c̶o̷m̶p̶l̸e̵t̴e̴l̶y̴ ̸r̴u̸i̷n̴ ̷h̸i̶s̵ ̷a̶l̶r̷e̶a̷d̷y̷ ̴m̶i̸s̶e̶r̶a̸b̸l̸e̵ ̵l̸i̸f̸e̷.̷"̴

"B-But I've changed! I-I don't hate him! I've realised how goddamn stupid I was! I-"

"̴A̶n̵d̷ ̷i̸t̷ ̸t̴o̴o̸k̴ ̴t̴h̵e̶ ̵E̵a̶r̸t̶h̷ ̶b̴l̴o̴w̴i̸n̸g̴ ̸u̸p̷ ̶a̷n̸d̷ ̵t̷w̷o̸ ̸c̸l̴o̸s̴e̴ ̶f̸r̸i̴e̵n̷d̶s̶ ̵d̸y̷i̷n̸g̶ ̷f̶o̶r̴ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̸t̵o̸ ̶c̸h̵a̴n̴g̵e̷?̴"̶

"..."

"̵T̸h̸e̸r̷e̶ ̸i̵s̶ ̴n̸o̶ ̶r̷e̶d̴e̵m̴p̶t̴i̵o̶n̷ ̴f̷o̴r̸ ̸y̶o̸u̸.̷.̸.̷ ̶i̷t̷ ̴i̸s̶ ̴f̸a̶r̵ ̶t̷o̴o̴ ̷l̸a̴t̴e̵ ̴f̷o̴r̷ ̴t̴h̵a̷t̸ ̶n̷o̴w̸.̷.̶.̴"̶

"̵A̷n̷d̵ ̴y̸o̷u̵ ̴k̴n̴o̴w̵ ̵i̶t̷.̵.̶.̶"̵

"..."

"̷T̷h̴e̴r̸e̷'̵s̶ ̴n̵o̶w̴h̷e̶r̵e̸ ̷l̸e̷f̸t̶ ̶t̶o̷ ̸g̷o̸ ̷b̶u̵t̸ ̵e̶v̷e̷n̷ ̶f̶u̸r̷t̵h̶e̷r̷ ̵d̶o̵w̶n̴ ̵t̸h̷i̴s̴ ̸h̶o̸l̸e̷ ̴y̴o̴u̸ ̷y̴o̸u̴r̷s̶e̴l̴f̴ ̷d̶u̷g̷.̵"̷

"̶U̵n̴t̸i̴l̷.̵.̴.̴ ̴e̶v̵e̵n̴t̵u̷a̶l̸l̷y̶.̸.̵.̴"̸

"̴Y̸o̷u̵ ̷e̴n̴d̶ ̷u̴p̶ ̷r̸i̵g̷h̴t̵ ̷w̸h̶e̷r̸e̸ ̶y̴o̵u̶ ̷b̵e̵l̸o̴n̵g̸.̴.̵.̸"̴

"̷I̴n̶ ̷t̷h̴e̷ ̸d̷e̵e̴p̴e̸s̷t̶.̵.̸.̵ ̸d̷a̴r̴k̵e̷s̶t̷ ̶p̷i̴t̶s̸ ̶o̵f̵-̵"̵

"Fuck this."

J raises her right arm, it turns into a sword, replacing her original hand.

She places the tip of it directly onto her core...

And pushes down...

...

...

...

J wakes up in a cold sweat. Looking around, she finds herself in the dingy, rundown apartment she decided to take shelter in.

She calms down, the whirring noises her core is making is starting to die down.

Groggily, she reaches for an oil can set atop the dresser beside her makeshift bed.

She takes a swig of it before setting it back down and falling back on the mattress.

"The same dream again..."

"..."

"..."

"Uuuuugh... this sucks..."

"I'm going to down a few pints of anti-freeze..."

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"Come in..."

The door opens to reveal a worker in WDF attire, he looks nervous as he enters the room.

"Mr Doorman, sir? I've gotten the person you requested. Found him by a ditch in sector 3"

"Alright, send him in..."

"Will do sir."

The drone leaves the room, a bead of virtual sweat runs down his visor as he does so.

He returns with another worker, dressed in same clothing he's wearing. His whole body shakes as he's brought to the desk Khan is currently sitting at.

"Thank you, you may leave."

"Sir."

He salutes before exiting the room and closing the door.

Once the drone leaves, Khan focuses his attention on the new arrival.

"Flynn! So good to see you again after such a long time! Sorry I haven't kept up with you much over the years, things have been busy and... well... you already know. But better late than never!"

"I've heard you decided to ditch your post and make a run for it in the city, what happened? We've known each other ever since we got off the assembly line! Why would you do something like that?"

"Khan... I-I know.. you've been going through it lately... but the s-stuff you're putting everyone through? Its too much..."

"Whaaat? C'mooon! You know the things I've been doing is for the greater good of the colony! All of this is necessary to stop-"

"THERE ISN'T GOING TO BE ANYBODY LEFT TO STOP ANYONE IF YOU KEEP-"

"Watch your tone..."

"Y-Yes, m-m-my apologies... Mr Doorman... I-I didn't mean to talk to you like that..."

"I-I just think there m-might be a better way to run things! That's all!"

"..."

"...So you're questioning my leadership."

"NONONO WAIT THAT WASN'T WHAT I-"

"Oh relaaaax! I don't mind a little criticism here or there, I'll hear you out no problem! Just explain what your grievances with my leadership are and I'll try sorting them out as best I can!"

"O-Oh... uhm..."

"Al..right then..."

"W-Well... the working conditions you put me and my men under are, frankly, inhumane... I can't-"

"Well good thing we aren't humans..."

"...Uhm..."

"...I can't do my job if there's no way to guarantee my safety when working on clearing the city... I have better chances out in the wasteland with the murder drones..."

"I've seen dozens of good men and women get injured under damn near inhospitable weather..."

"You have people working in cold, blinding blizzards with a hundred mile an hour winds with no visibility... you know how dangerous this is."

"Now I understand trying to get us back to the good old days... before this.. whole.. murder drone nonsense... I know you just want to bring us back to that freedom we've strived for years... but this? This is not the way to do it..."

"Taking risks is one thing... what you're doing to these people might as well be an execution..."

"..."

"Wow! Very nice arguments made there!"

"I admit I might have been a tad bit overzealous in my pursuits, but can you really blame me? I've got a lot on my plate here! Those murder drones have been making me search the city up down for weeks! Its like looking for a robo-roach in a waste disposal unit, just can't seem to catch them!"

"Khan... this isn't a joking matter..."

"Look, I promise you that everything I've been doing here is for the greater good, you've known me for, what? 50 years now? Don't you trust me?"

"..."

"If I'm being honest? Khan?"

"No, not anymore... you've changed, you're not the same Khan I met all those years ago."

"..."

"..."

"...I see.."

"..."

Khan leans back in his chair, staring off into space, as if contemplating what to do.

"..."

"..."

"Remember about... 30 years back? Back when we still had humans running this place?"

"...Yeah...?"

"There was this one time.. me and you were working on... what was it again...? Engine parts? Think so.

"So we were working on parts, an-and I remember you told me to sit up (because I worked on the parts as I was sitting down), and I remember you told me that and I was like 'What's the big deal?'"

"Then you pointed in the other direction and low and behold.. the factory owner! Right there! In the middle of the whole joint! Just looking at each person working. I damn near collapsed once I saw him!"

"He came over to the two of us, since we were the best people there, and he asked us, "You guys work on somethin' besides car parts?"."

"I told him, "If need be, then sure." then he handed up-"

"-You remember what he handed up?"

"Was it... a diagram?"

"Yes! Exactly. Can you guess what was on the diagram?"

"I... no, its it was a long time ago..."

"Ah, shame. Well I'll tell ya. The diagram was of this super old German handgun called the 'Mauser', it was made like over a thousand years ago but for some reason this guy wanted it. And honestly? wasn't that complicated. Parts were easy to manufacture, had to get a few things shipped in, like the gunpowder for the bullets, but besides that we had pretty much everything."

"And the end result?"

Khan opens a drawer at his desk, and after a few seconds he pulls out...

A gun.

"This little beauty right here!"

Flynn's breathing gets slightly faster, his visor displays sweat.

"Now let me tell you.. when I first laid eyes on this thing I was stunned! Its just got an energy to it, y'know?"

"So once this was finished, we handed it up to him along with the ammo, they came in these little metal strips with the ammo jutting out of them, and he looked as amazed as I was! He even gave me and you a handshake!"

"But before we could go back to work... he said one more thing..."

"...You remember what that was?"

"No."

"..."

"..."

"He said..."

"I just need to make sure this works first..."

"...So he took the ammo..."

"Put them in the chamber..."

"Pointed it at one of my friends..."

"And fired."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"And it worked like a charm..."

"So he just... walked away..."

"As I was trying my hardest to keep the oil in my friends body..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I never told you how I got this gun, did I?"

"...Once the core collapsed, all life died on copper 9, and he wasn't an exception. I found him in his office... covered in coffee, cold to the touch and as white as a sheet..."

"And it was just sitting there... on the desk, in all of its glory..."

"So I took it, put it in my desk, and asked some other guys to throw the body outside..."

"..."

"I realised now that I should've done more..."

"Khan.. there wasn't anything you could do for your friend... you-"

"-I should've shot that fat bastards corpse where he sat... I should've been the one to dump his body out in the cold like the sack of garbage he was... I should've been a leader and dealt with it myself..."

"But I didn't."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't push far enough- I didn't push myself enough..."

"I didn't step up and take responsibility..."

"But now? This? All of this?"

He points around the room.

"THIS is what happens when I push myself, THIS is what happens when a leader steps up."

"You do what's best... and you do it yourself... like a REAL leader..."

"..."

"..."

"But... I know you're not here for a story time so I'll just let you go now."

"You abandoning your post like that was... bad, to say the least. But I'm willing to overlook that. Long as you keep up the hard work then it'll all be okay!"

"..."

"I see..."

"..."

"Thank you for your time, Khan, I'll see you later..."

Flynn gets up from his chair and heads to the door.

"Oh! Just uh, one more thing."

Flynn turns around.

"Yes.. Khan?"

"I know its been a while since we worked on this, but lately its been a little... finicky. I thought I could use another hand in fixing this old thing."

Khan hands him the Mauser, he holds the barrel, leaving the grip free.

"Spare parts is in the cabinet beside you."

"...Alright..."

Flynn walks back to Khans desk and grabs the gun by the grip, he goes to the cabinet, gun in hand.

"What part is causing the issue?"

"The hammer, things been jamming whenever I try to use it. And since I'm so busy I never have enough time to fix the damn thing! Now with you here you just might be able to restore this old piece."

"Well I'm honoured.. sir."

He looks through the cabinet, and thankfully for him, each part is labelled.

Flynn takes the hammer piece and heads back to the desk.

"Got any tools I can use?"

"Yep! Right here, never leave work without my toolbox. Don't know when you might need it!"

Khan hands him a large toolbox, inside are a bunch of screwdrivers, pliers and other such items.

"Uh, great! I'll get to work on this right away sir."

Khan just nods at him as he sits back down to start fixing it.

As he's working, he feels Khan's eye's burning into him as he fiddles with the gun, not taking his attention away from him for a split second...

After a few minutes of work, he manages to replace the hammer for the gun, making it as good as new.

"Here, finished it for you, should work like a charm now."

He hands the gun over to Khan.

"Ohohoho man! Finally! Thank you so much for this... I know you didn't need to. Your generosity is much appreciated."

"Yeah, no problem Khan..."

"But.. seriously... please consider what we talked about here today-"

"Hey, before you head off there."

"I just need to uh..."

"Make sure this thing works first..."

"...Uh..."

"I don't... I don't understand what you..."

"Mean..."

"..."

...

Khan checks through his desk.

"W-Wait a-a-a minute Khan, please."

He finds what he's looking for and pulls it out...

A stripper clip...

"J-Just think a-about this Khan, you don't w-want to do this..."

He brings the clip to the top of the pistol. He opens the chamber...

And pulls the bullets down...

"K-KHAN JUST W-WAIT! YOU'VE K-KNOWN ME YOUR W-WHOLE LIFE! PLEASE."

He aims it at Flynn.

"PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! THIS ISN'T WORTH IT!"

He squeezes the trigger.

"I'M BEGGING YOU! DON'T-"

And the round goes off...

...

...

...

Silence...