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This sucks. This just fucking sucks. I didn’t wanna be in here anyway. I never wanted ANY of this. This was N and Uzi’s idea. I didn’t need to learn about my past. It’s done nothing but hurt us. Absolutely nothing good has come from this.
There’s not much else I can do as I push up my glasses. They’re broken, but it feels… nice having them on… nostalgic. I struggle to fight off those dumb sentinels. Tessa said she could control them but of course she can’t. Why would she be able to? Why would ANYTHING go right?!
…She’s been acting weird… but- come on, V! Focus… Tessa acting weird is the least of your concerns right now! Jeeze…
I’ve managed to get a few of the sentinels off my back. But they just keep coming. That red freak- she’s the one who did this. She opened all of the doors. But I don’t have the time to be mad. I need to focus on getting rid of all of these stupid dinosaur things so we can leave.
We’re finally at the elevator we’ve spent so long to get to. We’re so close.
The others are inside of the elevator. They’re trying to fix Uzi’s freaky powers. But y’know… that’s fine. I just need to fight off these last few sentinels and I can get in with them.
N just keeps screaming for me. That annoying… adorable voice of his. Screaming my name. I’m struggling not to get distracted or run back to them. All I want right now is to feel him hold me… tell me it’s going to be okay… I want things to be normal again. I just wan- NO. NO TIME FOR WANTS. It’ll never be like that again. Never. Never. Never. NEVER.
I try to recalibrate myself before I hear some loud metal footsteps from the other side of the elevator. I perk up a bit and look at it.
There’s no fucking way…
I watch, helpless, as one of… them.. rips off the control for the elevator the others are in. It begins approaching my.. team and flashes its bright light at me. I lose my glasses from the force of me swinging my head around to avoid it. But, before I can even process what happened, another sentinel steps on them. They shatter instantly.
I duck my head quickly as another one flashes its lights and temporarily blinds me. The glasses, at this point, are the least of my concerns as I struggle to see for even a moment.
They’re surrounding me at this point. In my brief moment of vulnerability, they’ve managed to swarm me. There’s no way out as I watch the elevator slowly rise. Exposing my.. friends… People I’ve gotten attached to. My processor feels weird as I see the looks in their eyes. God damn… those scared eyes…
“Hey… uhm…”
N covers his face and cowers next to his new… best friend. He’s always been like this. Wanting to cling onto someone. I wish I could’ve been that for him. There were so many times I could’ve been that someone.
“No! No! No! V! We NEED you!”
That voice… that fucking voice…
If only…
I look at him, my CPU housing over a million different scenarios. The only good ones are practically impossible. I want to try. I want to go over and hold him. I want him to tell me things will be okay. But, the logistics of that… It would never work. Not without some miracle. One that wouldn’t happen.
“... Nah..”
It simply comes out. I’ve made my choice as I begin charging up my gun.
“Uzi…”
I watch as those purple and yellow eyes look up at me. I can see her really struggling. Struggling to stay powered on and running. She looks so helpless. Pathetic… but… I know N will be able to help her. I’m positive.
I’ve seen how much he loves her. I see the look in his eyes. The feelings he has. Those same feelings he used to have towards me. As I stand here and watch them, huddling close together, my core hurts. Something I’m not used to. It hurts. It hurts so fucking bad.
I hesitate as a small smile appears on my face. I know she can make him happy. I know she can be there on those cold nights. Nights that N would need someone to keep him company for. Those same nights that I would do anything to go back to right now. To be the one to huddle with him as our bodies heat each other up.
But I can’t go back. And from now on, Uzi may be the only one able to provide that comfort.
“...I trust you.”
I look at them, offering one more small parting gift for them: A smile. I’m terrified. But I somehow managed to curl my mouth into one last small smile for my.. best friends.
I raise my arm and, with one swift motion, I burn the wires for the elevator, stopping its gradual ascent. The wires are barely hanging on now, red hot from the burns.
I take a small step back as I hear N’s desperate voice calling out to me one last time. As much as I want to do something, there’s nothing I can do. I step back from the elevator, struggling not to look at their faces.
Especially N’s…
He looks so scared… so sad…
I shut my eyes tight, I don’t want to see this…
This might not be the most romantic place to admit it to myself but… I truly love him.
I can hear the sentinels start to surround me now. They’re hungry. And for once, I’m the prey.
The wires snap finally as I bring my hand to my forehead in one final salute. I have a small smile still plastered on my face as I furrow my eyebrows and relax my body.
The elevator drops rapidly, leaving the sentinels alone with their main course.