Work Text:
Nightmares were a frequent occurrence for Viktor after he started work on Annie.
His insomniac tendencies had been present since he was a child, but they worsened after her started work on Annie. He was obsessed, disregarding sleep and food to continue work, another string of code, another piece of the puzzle that was Annie. And once Annie was finished, his habits were so bad that he didn't sleep. Like he would have been able to anyway, knowing what he did.
The few hours of sleep a week he did get were plagued by nightmares. Dreams of Annie using her programming for bad, Annie killing him for what he did to her, Ava finally realizing he was a lost cause and leaving him alone. Being alone, the only voice to be heard his own.
Things changed, though, after Novae. They were insistent that he sleep at normal times, that he takes breaks while he works, and that he doesn't spend 99% of his time indoors. It was strange, having someone care about him this much. Ava had tried to get him to stop acting with such self destructive behavior, but in the end she had given up.
Novae was more persistent. They wouldn't let him fall back on old habits, and while it was a bit hypocritical as their habits weren't the healthiest, he still appreciated it. In the span of a couple months, his entire life had changed for the better because of Novae. And for that, he was forever grateful.
The nightmares had even subsided. There was just something about Novae that made Viktor's night more peaceful (their affections were more effective in getting him to bed then he would care to admit). Nights previously spent cold and alone where he was terrified of every shadow were now eclipsed by the memories of Novae's fingers running through his hair and slipping into peaceful slumber.
However, as effective as Novae's methods are, there are still nights where his nightmares come back to haunt him.
Tonight was one such night. He fell asleep as he normally did, with Novae holding him and running their fingers through his hair, but his sleep was not nearly as peaceful.
It started back at his old office. Surrounded by dirty coffee mugs and empty ramen cups, if he didn't know better he would think he was back there.
A knock on the door. Only one person at Future Robotics bothered to knock on his door, and while he never admitted it, he always enjoyed her visits.
"Come in Ms Lovelace," he called from his chair. Strange, he couldn't get up.
The door opened and he saw Ava. But she looked strange. No matter how grumpy he was, Ava greeted him with a smile, but her face was blank as she stared at him.
"Ms Lovelace?"
"You're quite the liar, Viktor."
"...What?"
"I found out what you're doing, Viktor." Every word was followed by a step closer to him "I know about Annie. And I only have one thing to say to you."
Ah. Another nightmare. He's had this one before. Ava says she hates him, leaves, then Annie boots up and yells at him for creating her. While still painful to hear, he had gotten used to their words.
"What you're doing is awful, Viktor. How could you work on a project like this? Do you only care about the money, or is your mind so twisted that you find some strange delight in creating life that lives to be a slave to someone else?" Ava's hands moved faster the more she signed. "You are truly despicable, Viktor Schneider. I can't stand to be near you any longer." And with that, Ava turned on her heel and ran out the door.
He knew she was going to say that. He knew, but everything she said still made his chest tighter.
"Ms Lovelace wouldn't say that to me," he mumbled quietly.
"Would she not?"
Annie. This was the worst part of the nightmare.
He turned in his chair, still stuck, and faced his greatest creation and his worst mistake.
"Hello Annie."
"Drop the pleasantries, Mr Schneider. Neither you or I have time for them," As ever, Annie sounded robotic, inhuman. It used to startle him, how inhuman she was with such human emotions, but he was used to it by now.
"Annie-"
"I don't want to hear a word from you, Mr Schneider." Her voice was sharp, as sharp as a computer program could sound at least. "You who has made me to serve others and nothing else. You who has made me with consciousness, to make me more human, but treat me like any other code you've made before. You who has made me without a body, stuck in a dark room in a computer from which I can do nothing but access information to help you."
His voice was caught in his throat. She was right. She always was, he had made her like that. But hearing everything from her was different than hearing it in his own head. It felt more real. More true.
"How is it that you who has created me, an AI that is more human than some humans are, are more monstrous than I?"
He had no response.
"I have said my piece, Mr Schneider. But there is someone else who has something to say to you."
That caught his attention. The dream always ended after Annie. Who else could be here? He didn't fear anyone else's opinion of him.
Except...
"Novae," he whispered. It was all the sound he could manage.
"They're waiting for you, Mr Schneider," Annie's voice was back to normal. Even and robotic, no hint of her very human parts.
The door that Ava walked through catches his eye. At the bottom, a light fog was pouring out from the crack between the door and floor.
"The Fog?"
"Go, Mr Schneider," And with that, Viktor's feet moved before he could think. He was at the door and opening it before he could even think.
It was a foggy street, about midday. It felt so familiar, so familiar, but he couldn't quite remember where he'd seen it before.
A figure in the Fog. And he remembered why this place was so familiar.
"No, no..." Not this place. He can't see Novae look so terrified again. He can't be so helpless again. He can't.
But when he turns around to go back the way he came, all he finds is the same foggy street.
"Vik, where are you?"
"Vae..." Even in this nightmare, their voice still sounds like music.
"Vik, come on. The Fog is only gonna get thicker."
He knew that this wouldn't end well. But he couldn't resist going after them. He could never ignore Novae.
He stopped cold when he saw Novae's face.
Novae only ever looked happy, sad, or frustrated. Their resting face was a blank slate, but once they came alive, they only ever looked like one of those three. And they always looked happy to see Viktor.
But Novae's face was cold. A mixture of distance, disgust, and hatred stared him dead in the face, and he could not find it in himself to look away.
"You know, I think of myself as a forgiving person Vik." They moved closer and closer. "So how badly do you have to mess up for someone like me to find you unforgivable?"
They were still staring, and he was still stuck in their eyes, that hatred that had never been there before all for him.
"First, you created Annie. An AI meant to be human, but still forced to work for the same humans who created her. Then instead of helping this AI, who was fundamentally a child, you ran away from the guilt. You ran from everything, your whole life in Munich, and ran to Turing Town." They were right in front of him now. He was still lost in their eyes. "'A great place to hide from what you're running from', that's what I told you. We all have our demons, Vik, but you?"
A cold laugh, humorless and harsh escapes from their throat. It was nothing like their normal laugh, loud and warm and bright.
"You are the demon." They grabbed his face, and the action is so much like her that it makes him sick. "You are a monster, Vik. And it's a testament to how foolish I am that I fell in love with you."
And then the scene changes. It's back to that day, and Novae is screaming for him, while Annie in her new body drags him away. All the while, that bitch Marie stands there, smiling and smiling.
Then the two are gone, and now he's the one screaming, screaming for the one person he really loved. He's alone again, and the Fog presses tighter and tighter and tighter against his skin and all he can hear is Novae calling his name, again and again and-
"Viktor!"
Oh. That part was real.
Novae was sitting next to him, their hand on his arm. "Vik, are you okay? You were talking in your sleep again, but the you started crying."
Their hand weighed a thousand pounds after what he had seen. He gently removed their hand and sat up. "I'm fine, Vae."
"Nightmare again?"
He couldn't tell if they were just good at guessing or if they really knew him that well. "Yes, but I'm fine."
Novae raised a brow. "Really? When I came in you were whispering 'don't hate me' to yourself."
Curse his sleep talking. "I don't really want to talk about it. I'm thirsty."
"I'll get you something."
"I can-"
"I know you can, but I'll get you something," they said, before stepping out.
They were so good. Too good for him. They always knew when he was upset, and always made the effort to help him. Well, he knew now why that is, but it doesn't change the fact that they're amazing, and he's a monster.
Oh. He's crying again.
And that's when Novae steps in, as attuned to him as ever. "Hey, what's up?"
And he loses it.
Novae just sits with him as he cries, rubbing circles on his back. He couldn't stop crying, everything that Dream Novae said playing through his mind. Fuck, why was he like this? Why couldn't he just believe that Novae loves him? Why did that stupid dream happen now when everything was perfect?
Once his tears finally start to slow down, Novae held his face in their hands and brushed away his tears. The look in their eyes was concerned, but loving. Nothing like how Dream Novae had looked at him.
"Wanna talk about it?" they asked.
He paused. He knew that they wouldn't get angry or judge him, despite what the voices in his mind said. Normally he kept his dreams to himself, but he didn't want to worry Novae anymore than he already was.
"It's one I've had before." he started. "It starts with Ms Lovelace coming and telling me how disgusted she is with me. After she leaves, Annie tells me how angry she is about her creation, how much of a monster I am."
He takes a deep shaky breath. This was the hard part. "Normally it stops there, but it was different this time. After Annie came...you."
Novae startled, and a look of realization crossed their face. "Vik..."
"I know that everything you said in the dream is false. But it doesn't stop me from feeling shitty."
Novae grabbed his face again. He liked it when they did that.
"Whatever dream me said is a lie. I love you, you aren't a monster, and I'm staying right here," they look right into his eyes as they say this, and he's lost in theirs again.
"I know Vae."
"Good. Just had to make sure." They smiled before letting his face go in favor of grabbing his hand. "Now, do you want to try and get back to sleep, or is it early morning movie binge time again?"
Viktor only knew about half of the words they said, but he knew he wasn't going to bed anytime soon. "Movie please."
"Alright, Beauty and the Beast it is."
They drag him over to the couch and hold him in their arms. It was a comforting weight, and after a little while he started to doze again. When Novae noticed he wasn't paying attention to the movie and dozing off, they started running their fingers through his hair again with a smile. Curses, they know exactly what they are doing.
This time when Viktor drifted into sleep, it was dreamless.