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Today wasn't the greatest day of his life.
Subspace held onto Boombox on the couch, staring off into the distance as the other watched him with concern. Usually, they would watch a movie or do something more meaningful (as Subspace called it) but today, Subspace was the one who wanted to do nothing at all. It was a little weird.
"Subspace.." Boombox mutters, but he doesn't seem to hear. Not wanting to pry, he goes quiet. He takes Subspace's hand into his own, and Subspace tightens his hold on Boombox's entire body.
Other than the quiet music always playing in Boombox's place, it was dead silent.
Subspace usually came to where Boombox lived at midnight, as a break from everything at Blackrock, and he would tell Boombox exactly what to do to make him feel better– they would just spend some time together, and he would start talking.
Inevitably, he did start talking. "Boombox, are you interested in my latest model of Biograft?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah," he nods, thinking Subspace might want to talk about it- he had never heard of 'biografts' before, but it was probably something Subspace was working on.
"I call it the Zeta model. I just got funding.." he murmurs, not looking at Boombox as he spoke. "It's going to one of my best creations in my career.. robotic soldiers for Blackrock. I made a few others, but I think Zeta will be the best."
"That sounds.. awesome. So, like, robots? What are they gonna do?"
"They can.. fight for Blackrock. If we want anyone gone, we can use the Biografts to get them."
"Ohh," Boombox smiles at him. "That's so cool. You came up with that yourself?"
"..Yeah."
"..."
"Boombox."
"Yeah?"
"If a Biograft ever comes for you.. don't be scared. You might be an enemy of Blackrock, as a Playground citizen, but.. they will never hurt you."
Subspace snuggles closer to Boombox, hugging him close and resting his head on Boombox's shoulder.
"Um.. okay," Boombox laughs.
—-
Something was happening.
Subspace hadn't come to his place for months now. The last time he had come was when he was eerily quiet. That wasn't bad at all, because it could mean that he didn't have any issues with Blackrock as of late, but it also could mean something was stopping him. To Boombox, it felt like the latter, especially with how he was acting the last they met.
A while back he saw a robot on the streets. A few of his friends had shushed him, telling him that that robot would beat him if it saw him. While they snuck away, he caught a glimpse of the Blackrock symbol on its chest. He was sure it was a Biograft.
..Recently, something odd had been happening, too. Advertisements had been put up. He could hear the Biografts parading in the streets of Crossroads while he performed, putting flyers up and playing loud messages. Over the music, he couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but it didn't bode well to him. He never remembered to take the flyers.
One day, as he was finishing up a small show, he noticed a bunch of Biografts run by, so fast they were gone in a blink. He didn't think much of it until after the show, when everyone was gone.
He could hear noises from behind the building. Groans that he couldn't hear prior because of the loud music. He glanced over, to find total darkness. Right, it was late.
As he finished cleaning up, a group of Biografts came marching by once again. This time, he could hear what they were saying.
They were looking for Subspace. They said he fled to Lost Temple, and that anyone with any information relating to him should contact Blackrock superiors.
It was creepy, their descriptions of him. Apparently, he had lost an eye, and would most likely have a large scar on his face. Thinking about it made him shiver. Thinking about Subspace leaving Blackrock made him shiver. He didn't really care about the entire 'betraying your faction' thing, but he knew Blackrock was really big on it. Especially since they were looking for him so desperately- he must have done something.
Before he could think about it further, the groans resumed. He hadn't noticed, but it had gone quiet as the Biografts marched by. He slowly crept to the source of the sounds, peeking over the corner to find–
Another Biograft.
Except.. this one was green.
The moment it noticed his shadow, it jumped up into fighting position, yet just stood there for a moment. Boombox tilted his head, stepping away.
"..AL//Y DETE!^?TED," it spoke, its voice incredibly scratchy and staticky compared to the other Biografts that had come by earlier.
"Ally?" Boombox suddenly recalled what Subspace had told him the last time they had met. "Oh, yeah!"
"..." the Biograft stood silently, watching Boombox closely.
It was now that Boombox could look at it up and down and realize just how different it was than the other Biografts he'd seen. It seemed be rusting, with moss covering its head and chest and certain parts chipped off, exposing.. a ribcage, for some reason. Its insides were made of some sort of neon, green gelatin-like substance, and, every so often, it would twitch and make a glitchy sound. It was definitely defective.
"What are you doing here, buddy?" he spoke softly.
"TH#^$THEY ARE L#&^OKING FOR M$#@%," it responded amongst garbage noise. "I AM HIDING. I-I-I AM. DEF#$%$#CTIVE."
"Ah," it should be obvious that Blackrock wouldn't want any failed projects to be out in the open.
Wait. Failed project? Would it have anything to do with Subspace's disappearance?
"Do you know where your creator is?" he asks hopefully. "Or what happened?"
It twitches. "YE-E-E-S. MY CRE@!#TOR HAS LEFT BLACKROCK. !@#$@//T DID NOT AGREE WITH-WITH-WITH HIM. THEY F#%#GHT. M$@!#T IS NOT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH ANY L%^#2NGER."
"..Are you saying that you're no longer loyal to Blackrock either?"
"YES."
"..." He didn't know what to think about this.
"CREATOR WIL-L-L BE JOINING THE CHURCH OF THE TRUE EYE. INSIDE OF L-LO-LOST TEMPLE."
"Oh," he'd never heard of it, but, well, who was he to criticize his boyfriend's decisions?
"Well, um.. I'm sure he would have wanted you to stick with him. Um.. while I clean up, maybe you can hide in the shop next to us," he beckons to the building, and Biograft looks up. "I don't really own the place, but it's fine. I never see anyone inside."
It nods, and Boombox watches as it scurries inside, disappearing in the blink of an eye. He stands there for a moment before returning to the mini stage he was on, looking around for anything to do.
He didn't know what to think.
But, well.. it was Subspace. He knew what to do.
If his boyfriend wanted to leave Blackrock, he would support him.
If his boyfriend wanted to join this church, he would support him.
..He only wished that he could actually get to see him. The man he was supposted to share a lifetime or two with.
But, at least while he waited for however long that could be, he had a new buddy to hand around. One that could remind him of Subspace.