Draco's eyes snapped open. She gasped for air as she tried to pull herself up. The hundreds of wires connected to her restrained any movement so she violently shook, hoping to free herself eventually. Her eyes adjusted to a dark room, only illuminated by the lights from monitors. After enough tugging, she felt the snap of a couple of cables around the base of her neck, the electricity in them sparking before fizzling out.

In desperation she threw her head forward, the wires connected to her ears and mouth shot off as she slowly regained her motor functions. Once her hearing returned, sirens blared through the room. Her mouth resumed function and she let out a piercing screech, the monitors rattled and a cup on a nearby desk shattered. She stopped and let her head fall limp. Her sight had become fully operational. She looked around the room, a comforting feeling fell over her as she recognized the room.

It was her room. She slowly blinked, her body exerting a great amount of power to reach full capabilities once more slowly.

"Revive lock, disengage."

The wires and cables disconnected from Draco's body. She reached out and put her hand on the glass of her pod. Her robotic body was on full display. No skin to hide it. Serial codes dotted her forearm, each telling of the many manufacturers that had a part in her creation. As she looked down at the rest of her body she found it in perfect condition. Her hand slowly traced down her body, the feeling of the touch returning. She left a slight tingling sensation in the pattern her fingers traced over and over again.

She clenched her other hand into a fist. At first, she applied minimal pressure but it slowly increased till the joints in her fingers squeaked. She promptly stopped before she broke her hand. Her attention then turned to her legs. She rolled her knees and made sure her blade legs were attached securely. Some of her joints get locked, forcing her to push them back into place.

Once her routine was done she pushed her pod open and stepped out. Her room was covered in mechanical equipment and discarded body modifications. Her monitors displayed cameras dotted around the Advance. Almost every room had a camera, including the other's bedrooms. Draco looked in a mirror. She slowly touched her bald head before turning to a couple of jars hooked to multiple high-tech machines.

The jars had two disembodied heads in them. She limped over, dunked her hand into one and plucked a hair from them. She returned to the mirror and opened a small compartment in the top of her head. With the mirror's assistance, she slotted the hair strand into the compartment and closed it. In a single moment, her usual hair sprouted out, growing rapidly until it reached its typical length. Not long after, a layer of skin covered her robotic body.

Draco sighed before putting on new clothes. She opened her closet, her eyes roaming to a pink flower dress crumpled in the corner. She took a replica of her uniform before checking the cameras around the Advance. The halls were empty. Some cameras only displayed static while others showed piles of Ignition soldier bodies. She flicked through every camera over and over again searching for where the rest of the crew might have gone.

Suddenly, she stops. She backs away before shaking her head.

"Must have taken them. No corpses so they have to still be alive."

Draco glanced back at the cameras. She inhaled sharply, her breathing turning stagnant as the monitor flicked between each camera independently. The screen glitched and Draco approached cautiously, her eyes watching intensely. Soon, the cameras stopped. Standing in the hallway outside of her room was a girl with strange grey hair. Upon closer inspection her hair resembled TV static, constantly shifting around like grains of sand being tossed around.

Draco's eyes narrowed before she summoned her bow and arrows. Not wasting a single second, Draco kicks down her door and walks out into the hallway with an enraged expression.

"Shouldn't have stuck around."

Draco pulls back her bow. Before she can fire, however, she notices how quiet the hallway is.

Her head spins around, thinking the girl is behind her but to her dismay the hallway is empty. She looks back into her room and sees the monitor in which the cameras are being displayed on. The girl was standing in the hallway, she was facing the camera. It was impossible but with how she was standing it looked as if the camera was a background, a green-screen.

The girl strolled forward, her long hair cascading down before she slowly looked up. Her hair parted and one of her beady black eyes stared straight toward Draco—who had no idea what to make of the situation.

The girl giggled.

"What? Never met a celebrity before?"

The girl reeled her arm back before shooting it out of the monitor. Draco's first instinct was to run. She darted down the hall, her joints still slowly clicking into place. The joints in her knees then froze which caused her to trip. She looked back to see the girl's arm stretching out of Draco's room. It slammed into the wall before an eye appeared on its palm. It scanned the hallway before spotting Draco.

The eye quickly turned into a mouth, grinning devilishly.

"Why the rush? I just want to talk!"

Her arm dashed toward Draco, continuing to stretch infinitely.

Draco scrambled to her feet and ran down the hall. The sirens blared as red lights blinked continuously. Her body gradually got used to moving once more as her pace greatly increased. The faster she ran, however, the longer the hallway seemed to get. She squinted, watching the hallway grow in length. She threw her arms forward and sprinted like a madman.

The walls broke apart and more hands chased after her, each spouting nonsense.

"Come talk with me! I get so lonely here~"

"Need the latest fashion advice? I can make you beautiful!"

"There have been a plethora of reports detailing a woman getting chased by speaking hands. We have Barbara, live, on the field, ready to give us all the latest information!"

"Tired of your average blender? Come get the Glender! A standard blender with a hidden gun compartment, in case you need to dispose of those pesky unwanted guests!"

"He's a bear! He's a Pharaoh and he's a superhero! The only thing Terry Terrific isn't is a good multitasker! Can he keep his secret identity a secret to his parents? What about friends? Or even... THE WHOLE WORLD?! WHILE ALSO SAVING IT!? Find out now."

Draco covered her ears as the hands closed in around her. The floor cracked beneath her and soon reality snapped apart. White noise filled Draco's ears as she screamed in agony.

Soon it all stopped.

The running. The sirens. The lights. The hands. They had all disappeared.

Draco sat in a plush vinyl chair. Her mind still reeling from the events. She buried her face into her hands.

"What... What was that...?"

Draco looked up, darkness covered all sides. She could faintly see the outline of people in front of her. She squinted before drums began to play. She looked around to find where they were coming from.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Not over..."

A saxophone soon came on and delivered a cool jazz. Lights burst to life. Draco winced and looked away from them. Spotlights circled her and she could see a crowd sitting before her.

"Good heavens to you all!"

The girl from the monitor walked out in a snazzy pink suit.

"Welcome to another episode of..."

Drum roll

"Signs of love!"

The girl pointed to a giant sign hanging above that read 'Signs of Love~' with love being neon pink.

"I'm your host, Heartbreak! Joined with me is a very special guest... give it up for Draco!"

The crowd clapped. Draco tried to move but her body wouldn't budge anymore.

"This is a... gameshow?"

Laugh track plays

Heartbreak cackles, urging the crowd to do the same.

"With a response like that, Navie should have made you captain! Captain OBVIOUS that is!"

Laugh track plays

"Well, Draco. Welcome to Signs of Love! How are you feeling this morning, afternoon, evening?"

Draco continues to struggle against the chair but it just holds a tighter grip on her.

"What do you want with me? Why play games?"

Heartbreak looks appalled by Draco's response.

"Wow. Hear that everybody? I don't think our friend Draco has seen Signs of Love."

Heartbreak pouts and makes a heartbreaking motion with her hands.

"I'm devastated. But that does make this show even more interesting."

Heartbreak jumps up and runs over to a giant wheel of names.

"Just for you Draco, we will go over the rules and how the game works."

Heartbreak spins the wheel.

"We have the names of people you're closest to, whoever is chosen when the wheel stops will be brought out and we test for any signs of love between the two of you. If you don't get a match then your true feelings about that person will come out! This is a game of truth. Are you ready?"

Before Draco can respond, the wheel stops. Pyxis.

Draco watches Heartbreak intently.

"I'll kill you... I swear it..."

Heartbreak spins around to the crowd and throws her arms up.

"Pyxis, everyone! Or should I say... Simon Geneo?"

A spotlight shines on Pyxis, who is restrained to a wooden board.

Draco tries to rush to him.

"Pyxis!"

Draco scowls at Heartbreak.

"Let him go."

Heartbreak grins and whispers away from the microphone.

"Cracking already? I thought you'd be more fun..."

Heartbreak quickly returns to her persona and addresses the crowd.

"Our first captive- er... I meant contestant, ladies and gentlemen give it up for Pyxis!"

The crowd claps as Pyxis struggles against his bindings. His mouth was covered by a large metal device.

"Pyxis. Keep calm. I'll handle this."

Draco began to lightly and subtly shake her head, hoping a loose strand of hair would fall.

Heartbreak pulls up a television screen.

"Let's take a look at some of your great memories with Pyxis."

The screen turns on and shows Pyxis and Draco playing tag aboard the Argo Navis. Pyxis is laughing as Draco chases him. He is quickly tagged and begins to chase after Draco.

Heartbreak puts her hands to her heart.

"Aww~ How cute. A fun game of tag. Considering how fast Draco can run I think it's obvious who would have won that game.

Laugh track plays

The next video is Draco and Navie helping Pyxis learn how to drive the Advance. He is concentrating deeply as he begins to move the ship forward. Navie nods approvingly as Draco gives a thumbs up. Pyxis smiles, which causes him to lose focus and flip the ship upside down.

Record scratch plays.

Heartbreak tugs on her shirt collar.

"Oof. Learning how to drive is tough, now try to teach it to someone who's never driven."

The final video is of Pyxis inspecting and tinkering with the internal systems of Draco. Using his compass, he connected her software to a computer and was playing around with the settings. He pressed a couple of in-built dance buttons and messed around with the colours Draco saw.

Heartbreak nods approvingly.

"So you're a dummy for him to test with. How adorable. Anyway, let's get onto the main event. Let's search for any Signs of Love!"

A bar appears and, slowly, hearts fill it.

10%

20%

30%

40%

It stops filling at 42%. Text then fills the screen. Little Brother.

Heartbreak nods as the crowd murmurs in agreement.

"It seems our dearest Draco views Pyxis like a little brother! From what we've seen I'd say that tracks. Who knew the stone-faced Draco could feel a connection like that!"

As Heartbreak continues to speak, a loose strand of hair falls from Draco's head and lands in her hand. She transforms it into an arrow and begins to chip away at the chair to cut herself free.

"So, let's continue. Will the next on the block be Draco's one chance at love?"

Heartbreak spins the wheel. It soon stops on Nayjhren. Nayjhren comes out, tied to a wooden board as well. He thrashed around before making eye contact with Draco and slightly calming.

"Oh my. A new person in Draco's life. Will she view him as another family member or perhaps something more distant? First, let's watch a few of their interactions!"

The screen shows a video of Nayjhren and Draco at Jia. Nayjhren was staring at Draco's legs. She walked over and showed them to him. He seemed alarmed by how casually she took off her legs. He backed away, somewhat frightened by the exchange.

Heartbreak turned to the crowd with a cringed face.

"Not the best first meeting. Very awkward in fact."

The next video was when Draco spoke with Nayjhren in his room. Nayjhren seems visibly uncomfortable by Draco, even more so when she rips her face open.

Glass shatter plays

Heartbreak slowly turns to the crowd. Her jaw was wide open.

"Well... That was... an interaction. It seems disassembling herself is Draco's go-to introduction. Wouldn't be my first choice, personally."

The final video was of Draco looking through one of Nayjhren's books. She flipped through and read through a story about two foxes running from a snowstorm that follows them no matter where they go. Draco is infantilized by it but puts it back before Nayjhren notices.

Heartbreak's eyebrows go up.

"Either Draco is one nosey girl or she really does wish to form a connection. Hopefully by not ripping herself apart."

Draco manages to free one of her arms. She keeps it still and slowly chops away at the couch.

"What do you hope to gain from this? It's clear that none of this is real so why bother attempting to humiliate me?"

Heartbreak moves the microphone away from her.

"Because I know what will make you crack. That metal exterior is all you show off to people, even yourself. I'll chip that away... slowly. Now let's get ready for our final spin."

Heartbreak turns back to the crowd.

"Alright, folks! We have one more spin of the wheel before our break. Let's make it a good one!"

Heartbreak spins the wheel. Draco speeds up her cutting when the wheel stops.

Toshi.

Draco stops. She freezes. She is staring at her lap, her eyes wide. Heartbreak looks over with a wide grin.

Laugh track plays

"Toshi... Dearest sister."

Heartbreak turns to the crowd and smirks.

"Everyone! Welcome Draco's sister, Toshi!"

Draco keeps her head down.

"No..."

A wooden board rolls out.

Laugh track plays

Heartbreak smiles and makes a heart with her hand.

"Sorry to say but it seems we've run out of time. We'll be taking a break right now so those tuning in online, stay tuned! We will be right back!"

Heartbreak winks as the curtains on the stage slowly close. Heartbreak sighs before walking past Draco.

"I'll be back after the break. Sit tight."

Draco hears Heartbreak walk away. She uses all her willpower not to look up. It fails. She lifts her head up, dread crawling up her spine. Her fingers twitched and her jaw quivered. She stares at the wooden board. Her mind scrambled as the laugh track dug into her head. Before she was her sister, tied to the wooden board.

"T-Toshi..."

Draco drops the arrow, her body going limp as she stares at the bloody corpse of her sister. Her body was mutilated beyond recognition. Her brain splattered across the top with her chest ripped open. The tips of her ribs sharpened. Her organs still pulsating with life. Her limbs we crushed, splatters of dried blood where they should have been. The curtain closes as a spotlight remains on Toshi. Draco spends a long time reuniting with her sister...

Laugh track plays