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Agent Adrian has long lost count of how many days he’s worked in the safety department, tucked away into this silent corner of the facility. He was the only person in the safety team, there were no other agents nor were there any clerks; even his Sephirah, Netzach he believed the robot was called, was barely present. He doesn’t actually remember exchanging a single word with the AI despite how long he’s been here.
The reason for the strange setup of the department lay with the abnormalities contained within its halls. Two non-breaching ZAYINS and a useless HE tool, he doesn’t even bother to remember their names or their properties, he’ll never have to work with any of them. No, he only had one job aside from the occasional ordeal he had to suppress by his lonesome, and that was to work with the ALEPH to make sure it doesn’t breach.
Melting Love—what a strange relationship he had with god forsaken thing. It was the cause of his loneliness, the reason why he’s been completely isolated from the rest of the world. He was ‘blessed’ by her, he personally preferred the term ‘infected’ or ‘drugged’. Every few minutes his body would release explosions of slime that threatened to infect and kill any and all other employees within his vicinity.
Melting Love, and by extension him, were deemed too dangerous and as such, he was effectively considered to be an abnormality that also needed to be contained. So here he was, forever bound to a monstrosity vaguely taking the shape of a human girl.
He wanted to hate it, he truly did. Every day this constant isolation drove him to insanity, made him want to end it all with the simple pull of a trigger; yet he wasn’t even privileged to go mad. The blessing constantly messed with his mind, restoring his sanity to some semblance of normalcy, yet it never truly helped. All it did was prevent him from breaking, never actually taking off the weights that sat heavily on his shoulders. He was stuck in an endless cycle of mental turmoil, all because of this damned abnormality.
His thoughts are interrupted by an order from the manager, he didn’t even bother to check his tablet. It was going to be attachment work with Melting Love, it always was. He walked through halls soaked with slime from the constant explosions of infection, there were no clerks to clean it and he couldn’t be bothered to do so.
After just a few paces, he was standing in front of the object of his only purpose in life now. A single click of his tablet, and the doors of the containment cell opens. He enters wishing to despise it with every cell in his body, yet still couldn’t muster a single thought of hatred after he walked in.
He distinctly remembers his first time working on it, when he was just a rookie on his first day of work. Merely the thought of intersecting with an ALEPH was enough to nearly send him into a panic at the time. Yet now he finds the slime creature to be pleasant to the eyes, perhaps even beautiful. Perhaps that thought alone was proof enough to some that he’s already gone insane a long time ago, now holding onto a false veneer of humanity.
But he couldn’t help it, despite all the pain it caused him, despite the fact that it was the root of his suffering, these sessions were also the only thing he had left in his life. The only light that still shined within these accursed halls.
He had long learned to read the emotional states of Melting Love, and his lips turned upwards into a small smile when he saw the recognition and adoration within her strange paper white pupils. He always made sure her room was pristine; she deserved at least that much in exchange for all the love she showered him with. They played games, he spoke to her about nothing and everything, they even made physical contact.
The last one was definitely a breach of protocols. He was chosen to work on Melting Love because of his temperate nature, to make sure he doesn't form an actual emotional connection to the abnormality. But he didn’t care at this point, he held out for as long as he could in his isolation, but no man is infallible.
Her ever-adoring eyes never failed to make his heart flutter, her happiness when she won a game always lit up his dark existence. As much as he wanted to hate her, he couldn’t. As insane as it may be, he was already in love.
After a while, he leaves the containment cell with a brand-new hairpin and immediately feels the warmth of affection leave his body, the memetic effect of Melting Love receding from his mind. Adrien grits his teeth in anger, he just didn’t understand anymore. What was real and what wasn’t, the world didn’t make sense. Maybe he should just end it all.
Just as he puts the barrel of a corporation issued gun on his chin, its ‘blessing’ activates, snapping him out of it. The cycle continues.
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The first trumpet sounds as a noon ordeal begins, an order for him to suppress the abnormality comes from the manager. The elevator opens to reveal a horrid looking beast that only somewhat resembled a clown. He’s armed with both the E.G.O suit and weapon of Melting Love, the two are proof of her affection, and are named accordingly.
Against a veteran agent with ALEPH level gear the fearsome beast stands no chance, and in just a few minutes Adrien is standing over a brutalized corpse disappearing as it was slowly consumed by slime. Its ‘blessing’ activated the moment the battle ended, flooding him with warmth. He was suddenly the happiest man in the world, knowing that he was protected by the one he hated loved so dearly.
But the flood lasted only for a second, and so the cycle went.
He expected the first trumpet to end soon, it usually did after an hour at most. Instead he was greeted by the second trumpet as a notification that CENSORED had breached came in. Adrien wasn’t worried, this wasn’t the first time CENSORED had escaped, and it probably won’t be the last. Even if it resulted in massive casualties, CENSORED will be back in its cell within the hour.
That wasn’t at all what happened. Instead a dozen more notifications were sent. Nothing’s there, Blue star, Big bird, Judgement bird. Dread filled his heart as he saw them escape one by one, each of them capable of wreaking havoc just on their own. The third trumpet sounded somewhere along the line.
He forced himself to calm down. It was unlikely for any of them to reach the upper levels, Briah and Aziluth will likely be put under complete lockdown and flooded with an army from R-Corp soon enough. He’ll be fine. This wasn’t the first time they’ve dealt with a third trumpet.
His idealistic thoughts are put to an end as something rams the door of the department entrance. He turns around to CENSORED.
He could feel a sense of hopelessness consume his soul as he saw its CENSORED do CENSORED just to CENSORED the moment it finished. In just three attacks the entrance collapsed, and he was face to face with the abnormality.
The sight of CENSORED alone would’ve likely been enough to send a lesser man into madness, but he wasn’t a veteran of L-Corp for nothing. The feeling of Melting Love’s blessing bolsters his courage as he takes up his E.G.O weapon. He’ll suppress the abnormality by himself if he had to, he always did.
He fought valiantly, he truly did, its missing CENSORED was proof enough of that. But even a veteran with ALEPH tier gear was still a man at the end of the day. After a monumental struggle, he ran. Limping away with his broken leg as CENSORED pursued him from below. In his panic filled desperation, he went to the only place where he could feel some sense of security, to her.
The door to Melting Love’s closed just as CENSORED rammed into it, the lock buckling under immense pressure. Judging from her expression, he must’ve been in a terrible state. He’d perhaps even go so far as to say the slime looked horrified. He limped over to her, collapsing into her grip as his strength eventually gave out. All the while CENSORED continued to attack the door.
After having seen the horror of CENSORED, he was sure of it now. There was nothing more beautiful in his world than her. She held him as best as she could, making sounds that were likely her best attempt comforting him. It felt good to be held by another, even more so since it was her.
His heart exploded in joy as her beautiful hue of pink slowly filled his vision, he could feel her love consuming his entire body, his E.G.O suit slowly seeping into his skin. Pushing away the pain of his injuries as he became one with her. How lucky he was to die in such bliss, melting in her eternal love.
The last thing he saw before his vision completely disappeared was his love growing into a form he might’ve called monstrous had it not been for her divine beauty. CENSORED broke down the door at the same time, the two abnormalities released their respective roars of rage and… pink.
Melting Love has breached containment. Whitenight has breached containment. Consider all personnel KIA. The fourth trumpet has been sounded, beginning burial protocols.
Thank you for working with Lobotomy Corporation.