Chapter Text
Professor Membrane sat at his desk, staring at the Irken PAK in front of him. It'd been a year since Drex had died..he still couldn't get over that fact. But..it did bring him comfort to know that Drex's entire being, from his personality to his memories, were stored inside the PAK.
The Professor picked the piece of alien technology up and held it in his hands. He had an idea of what to do with it..but he wasn't sure if it was the best course of action.
"To hell with it." He mutters to himself as he holds the PAK to the back of his head, waiting for it to recognize him as a suitable host. And when it did, when it sent those wires shooting into his skull where they embedded themselves into his spinal column and made their home there, he cried out in pain.
And then the PAK began to speak to him.
"You idiot! What the fuck are you doing!?"
The voice was a welcome intrusion of his thoughts. He hadn't heard that voice in over a year…and he missed it.
The Professor laughed to himself. "Drex. It's nice to hear your voice again.."
"What the fuck are you doing?" Drex screamed, repeating himself.
"Well, quite frankly, I've missed you, and all my attempts at cloning you…or..your body at least..have failed. Think of this as a sort of last resort."
"You know this could kill you right..? Your feeble human body chemistry is completely unsuited to host the PAK and its functions. Even if it doesn't kill you, you'll be stuck with my voice in your head. Our personalities could start to merge even..or I could completely take over.."
"I'm aware of the risks. And I don't care. It's nice to hear your voice again, and if your personality overshadows mine, so be it. You're a better person than I am, so perhaps some good would come of it."
The Professor hears a sigh. "You're insane, you know that?"
"Ohhh surely I'm not all that bad. After all, you've announced your love to me several times throughout the few years we were married."
Professor Membrane sits down at his desk once more and props his feet up on the surface.
"See? This is what I mean! You never prop your feet up on your desk! That's something I do! Membrane, take my PAK off and build me a robotic body or something! Hell! Make me a pathetic human body! Just don't put yourself in this kind of danger!" Drex's voice sounded frantic. He knew what he was talking about.
But the professor didn't listen. "I knew this was going to happen. I knew you'd try and stop me from doing this. You were always so stubborn, and you never listened to me. You never listened!"
"That's because you were usually wrong!" Drex screamed.
"Well..I'm not wrong now! This is all I have left of you, and I'm not going to let you go! Not again!"
"I wish you hadn't done this. I really do."
"Then I wish I didn't love you so damn much. I can't let you go! I have to keep you alive! I'm sorry, Drex, but this was my last option."
"You're a fucking idiot, Membrane!"
"I know. But I'm also human, and I have a heart. And..I love you."
Silence. Deafening silence.
The Professor put his feet down and leaned forward onto the desk with his head in his hands.
He'd grown tired of silence over the past year, but he should have known the brief break was too good to last. He just didn't know what to do now.
He didn't know how to feel.
All he could do was take one gasping breath after another as the tears fell onto the desk below.
Drex. His best friend, his partner, his lover.
He had lost his life.
And now the Professor was losing his mind.