Evee and Jack sat alone in the confession room, silently.

“Jack I’m sorry. I had a dumb bitch moment.”

“You almost got killed" he scolded lightly.

“I know. I just…ever since I’ve been a little more monster myself, I wonder if I really want to be. I can’t decide if I’m stronger or just less human. I normally like bugs, but since being cloned I find myself eating them, and I just needed to know if I was losing my humanity.”

“Just losing your focus. You have to realize you’re important to all of us too. We have to go back in there and finish the job. Can you finish the job?”

“Yes I can. Fuck these damn bugs, I’ll wear armor. I’ll keep my gloves on. How’s Gizzy?”

“Fine, why wouldn’t she be?”

“So, Osirians can just…die and lose a body and wake up in another like it’s nothing? It doesn’t bother them?"

“It’s their technology; they’ve had it for thousands of years. It’s like getting a new car for them. You adjust the seats and mirrors and move on with your life. Their brains are mostly digital, they’re a semi-hive organism species, even naturally.”

“I could never get used to that.”

"Probably could if you gave it a few thousand years to normalize. None of us will live that long, though. If you’re ready, gear up. We’re going back in. We need your eyes and your knowledge of the tunnels. Silverback actually proved himself pretty useful. The 3 of us and…sexdoll Gizzy are going alone. Vinn’s just too big, Menace is too unpredictable, Vicki is exhausted and frankly so am I, but I’m used to this sort of thing. I think she may be getting a cold or flu, she;s been feeling lethargic lately. But you can power through and crash later. Let’s do this.” Jack said as Gizzy entered the room.

“Actually. You’re staying behind. She said to Jack. “Evee and I are doing this alone…well, as a duo.”

“I don’t understand.” he said.

“You don’t need to. This is not a negotiation, Evee and I are going, I have this handled, Jack."

The two gals wandered down the hallway, a foot of height difference and stride speed keeping them even.

“So why just me? Punishment for fucking up?”

“No. Evee, you’re unhappy.”

“Really, no shit. Only an expert therapist would notice such a subtle fact.”

“Your sarcasm has increased 210 percent over this month. You’re miserable. Everyone else is surviving, but you’re just barely existing. You were like that the moment lockdown started. Everyone else took time. Do you know why?”

“Because I’m stuck with myself and the man I love, and nobody even calls me by my name. Hyde is a dick, and I’m trapped with you. Does that about sum it up?”

“Basically, except you’re about to absolutely take back all your hate for me and give me a huge hug for saving your sanity.” she smirked.

“Right…what, are you taking me to die? Is the survivor just a fixed Nicole clone, and you’re gonna kill me and swap me for one with a happiness chip?”

“No, but that might have been easier. Nicole, you have been cheated and wronged by everyone, myself included though never my intentions, shit just happens, and you’re a magnet for shit. The truth is: I’ve been running an experiment behind your back.”

“Shocking.” Evee gasped.

“Let me finish, human.” She muttered. For some reason, Nicole 2 and Vinn are just…perfectly suited for happiness, regardless of their circumstances, and apparently you are stuck without closure. Life has been a bitch to you. You deserve better than Hyde and frankly Silverback is just the next best thing you have, and he’s too old for you. You’re still not happy. If only there was a way for you to have Vinn back, but then poor Nicole 2 would be alone.” She said, opening the door to the arcade. She stepped up the stairs and marveled at the fully working and brightly lit arcade, like Christmas. The memories of her childhood flooding back and making her feel a fleeting hint of joy.

“It’s beautiful…” she gasped like a kid.

“Wait till you meet the survivor.” Gizzy whispered. She turned and followed the sound of tinkering, one of the racing games echoed with clanks and clacks of tools, followed by a loud thud and a familiar sounding “OW, Damnit.” As she rounded the corner and noticed the big furry lug climbing out.

“Vinn…what are you doing here?”

“Fixing the games for you. I’ve been working on them for weeks. I wanted to surprise you. Happy early birthday, Nicole.”

“Vinn… I’m not Nicole. I’m Evee. You’ve been sneaking away for weeks to fix an arcade for her?”

“No, for you. And I haven’t been sneaking anywhere. I’ve been in this arcade for 2 weeks solid.”

“You’ve been in the mansion the whole time, Vinn.” she puzzled.

“No I haven’t. He has.” He said, leaning forward, and his eyes had the slightest shimmer of blue to them.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m Vinn, silly.” He smirked. Come on, Nicole, let’s play some games together.”

“Wait, I don’t understand, is this a dream? Am I dead from the bug bite?”

“Better… it’s oa dream you never have to wake up from.” He said, picking her up and kissing her just like he used to. She practically melted in his hands, going limp and nuzzling into his furry face.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“You’re a clone?” she asked, a tear streaming down her face.

“Yep. Just like you.”

“Vinn… You can’t.”

“I can and I did already. I saw you walking around with Hyde, miserable, alone. It wasn’t jealousy…well, it wasn’t just jealousy; I can tell when my Nicole is sad. He wasn’t good for you. So I asked Gizzy to clone me, and make one for you.”

“Of course, I said no. Delmarian cloning is illegal, which made it tempting, but I don’t do breakups. Then I saw you deteriorating in lockdown every day, losing that spark you had, watching him like a ghost of a husband you lost like some kind of fucking time travel spirit of Christmas past. Vinn saw it too. One of you blissfully with him and one of you dying inside watching them together.” Gizzy explained.

“And it killed me seeing you like that, Nicole.” Vinn 2 said with a sigh. “You’re just as much the woman I love as she is, but I can’t have you both, force you to share or fight. I couldn’t just watch you suffer. So I signed a waver and insisted Gizzy run the experiment. She finally agreed. She needed time to make sure I was properly cloned without any weird damage. It was a high chance I'd come out...wrong. So for 2 weeks I've been fixing up the Arcade, getting regular scans, memory checks, making sure I was myself, and setting up a little surprise for you in the downtime."

“So you’re...just you?” she asked.

“Yep…the only side effect was some weird defect in my eyes. I’m 99.9 percent Vinn."

“They couldn’t just clone you new eyes?” she asked, looking at Gizzy.

“He wanted an upgrade. So we gave him the synthetic ones. They’re actually trendy to have replaced now among some wealthy humans, so we have him perfectly good eyes…with night vision.” She grinned.

“Vinn…your soul?” she gasped.

“Honey, there’s no such thing. I’m as much Vinn as you are a Nicole, and this Evee shit has to stop. There’s nothing Evil Nicole about you. You’re Nicole 3, and I'm Vinn 2…” he said, dropping to his knee and removing his hair bead. “Will you marry me... again... and run away with me on your ship?” he asked.

“Oh my god, yes, of course I will. I fucking hate this moon. She sobbed, grabbing the bead and curling into his arms. Gizzy smiled.

“See…am I the villain you think I am?” she asked. “Your ship is fully fueled, Captain Nicole McMurderDurder or whatever the fuck your last name is now. Food and supplies, we moved out all of Hyde’s shit in crates, and we checked for bugs. You are clear to leave in 24 hours, as soon as the landing bay is double-checked and the hover-taxi is bug sprayed. In the meantime, enjoy your birthday gift. Your own personal arcade with just you and your husband.” She said as Nicole ran and hugged her tightly. “Okay, that’s enough human. Just proving a point.”

“Should I say goodbye to the others?” she asked.

“They have both of you already. You can say goodbye from the ship. Plus I’m recording all of this through my eyes, just say goodbye now and I’ll bring it back. You two need some alone time and a proper honeymoon, for once. This is the second time you two have been married to each other and didn’t get to go anywhere. You have your own arcade just to yourselves for a day…and then after that I’m gonna let the other two of you use it. He worked his ass off on this place, mostly by himself, I helped a bit, delivered some food, we talked a little. But mostly just him and his work.”

“Why?” Nicole asked.

"Because I ruined your life. My cloning error made you, my cloning error made Hyde, and then His toxic ass made your already miserable life worse. Plus, it's too confusing for the readers and I needed an excuse for more Delmarian clone research. Where else do I get a volunteer? How else do I get a chance to make things right? How else do I get the possible option of Vinn and Nicole in space: the spinoff? I'm just trying not to get canceled and keep this universe moving along."

"Half of that makes no sense, but I was asking Vinn, why?"

“Because I can't watch the woman I love wither into something else. There's 2 of you now, so it would take 2 of me to take care of you. Because it took 2 weeks for full brain scans to make sure I didn’t…you know…go full Hydra or anything. The Arcade was an important tactical point anyway, huge mess, I didn’t want to just wait in a lab to find out if I was actually me, so I fixed up the arcade, remodeled it to look like the one from your childhood. Even the air ducts and graffiti. Doing things for you, and thinking of you, kept me distracted and sane during a 2-week quarantine alone.”

“You recreated…my childhood arcade for me.”

“I love you, Nicole. It was a joy to do this for you. I had your pictures and videos to keep me company, I’m the same Vinn as last week, so I have your passwords to your social media and shit. Being away from you was the real challenge, but I couldn’t let you know until we were sure it worked. Delmarian cloning is still hit and miss, but the scans show it’s me.”

“So…what about Hyde?” she asked, kinda halfassed.

“Fuck Hyde, he cheated on you.” Vinn shrugged.

“Actually, he’s doing Dee in the weight room right now. You wanna see the security feed and how much he’s gonna miss you and what you are gonna miss?” Gizzy sarcastically asked.

“You’re right, fuck Hyde.” Nicole shrugged.

“And in my damn weight room?” Vinn barked.

“Technically in the other Vinn’s weight room. You’re now homeless and moving into your wife’s ship" Gizzy grinned. "Girl power."

“No…we’re married now. So we’re co-captains.” She smiled. “Not legally yet, but whenever we get the paperwork signed.

“Sweetie…you can be captain if you want. I know you always wanted to be a pirate captain, I am just happy to be your first mate.”

"Fuck yea, still, Captain!" she violently air-pumped.

“Okay, enough of that mushy love shit while I’m here. I got a goodbye to record and head out. Free unlimited quarters, popcorn machine is running, lock the doors, wipe down anything you screw on after you’re done, and room service delivery drones are working now for about 31 percent of the restaurants in town now. You kids have fun on your much-needed honeymoon...in a moon."

“Hey Gizzy…thank you. For everything.” Vinn said.

“You take care of him, Nicole. That’s 26 million dollars in illegal cloning tech, so don’t break him. I WILL charge you for repairs and spare parts. He’s only got a 75 year warranty.”

“I’ll go easy on him.” She smiled, pulling him closer by the beard for a kiss on the snoot. “Now get out of our honeymoon suite. We got tokens to win, and it’s all clothing optional.” She smiled.

The group sat around the game room, still a little in shock at the hologram replaying in front of them.

“Wow, I can’t believe she’s just…gone.” Said Jack.

“You got by with one set for this long, you’ll be fine.” Gizzy said, her eyes dimming and the hologram fizzling out.

“So…fuck me then?” Hyde said, looking annoyed.

“Oh, don’t even, you got a new hoe. You should be apologizing to Silverback.”

“Silverback…can you ever forgive me?” Hyde lethargically asked.

“Suck my old orange ass, Rudolph.” He smiled.

“Yea, I deserve that.” He nodded.

Melody nudged Silverback in the side to get his discreet attention.

“So…you bummed out about losing Dee or losing Evee?” she asked.

“You know what, Evee is happy, and I’m happy for her, and Dee deserves that asshole, fuck em both.” he whispered.

“Or fuck me…that’s an option.” She shrugged. He gave her a shocked look and pondered for a moment. “What? You’ve been eyeing me since we met, I’ve been locked in here alone too, bored as hell. I can't get out and party. I’m getting lonely. We’re the two oldest and the only two Eridani, I’m not proposing we get married and buy a condo, I’m suggesting we make due and have some fun with it.” Mel insisted.

“I didn’t think you liked older men. I thought luring younger men to their doom was your thing.”

“You grew on me. Plus everyone else is taken and we both aren’t what we used to be. You too good to hook up with someone over 35?” she asked

“You kidding, you don’t look a day over 34.”

“I’m a hundred and three.” she whispered.

“Okay, but you look like a very solid Eridani 80 and that’s basically a human 34.”

They got up and snuck off as Jack smiled and sipped his coffee, putting his arms around Vicki.

"Are we gonna make it?" she asked him.

"Sure we are. And I'm sure you just have a cold or something. Maybe being cooped up just got your immune system down. You'll be fine. We all will. One way or another." he smiled, peering out over her shoulder at the simulated blue sky over the hologram of the fake manufactured ocean, that was actually behind the glass, just a nightmarish hellscape of apocalyptic bug-domination. "What’s the worst that could happen?" he shrugged.