It wasn’t long after when DH showed up, jogging towards them with their medkit in hand. They knelt down next to TO and dug through the bag.
“I thought I’d just grab the whole thing and come back here.” They said as they focused on searching through the bag.”
“… I don’t need medication.” TO said, even as they tried to cling to the previous conversation they had with Avery. “Hey, did you know Marissa apparently—“
“Has romantic interest in you.” DH said, “Yes, I noticed.”
TO felt their ears dip down. “… Sorry,” they said. Maybe they shouldn’t have said anything. How would they feel if a civilian had such an interest in them? “Maybe we can redirect her to Avery.” They said with a shaky smile, “that might-“
“No, thank you.” Avery said. “I enjoy watching the two of you fumble over one another, but I have no interest in such relationships.” They gave TO a hard look. “Not with GiDi, Marissa, or anything else.” As they watched TO’s ears pin back, they cleared their throat, “That’s not to say I have an issue with it, and if I wanted such a thing, I’d pursue it… but I just don’t. At all. For anyone.”
“And you’re taking meds.” DH said as they pulled the packet of pills from their bag. They passed it to TO, along with a small bottle of water.
“I really don’t-” They started, but DH gave them an unexpectedly sharp look.
“You do.” They said, “Take it.”
TO looked away, focusing on the packet. There were two small yellow pills inside.
“I could only take one-“
“Both.” Came DH’s sharp reply. Without another word of argument, TO popped the pills into their mouth and chased them with water.
“I know you’re in medic mode,” Avery said, “But you’re actually a little scary when you’re like this.”
It occurred to TO that though DH was in medic mode, the last time DH had really helped them, they hadn’t been so sharp with them. They were about to say this, about to ask why, and if something was wrong, but then they realized why.
Of course. They had just killed seven civilians. They massacred one. Of course, DH would be upset.
“… I didn’t want to hurt any of them.” TO said, “I didn’t try to, I-“
“TO, you don’t have to talk about this.” Avery said. They looked at DH, “Right?” In response, DH nodded briefly.
“… But they’re angry.” TO said. “They won’t look at me.”
DH’s ears dipped down, but even so they didn’t look at TO. TO leaned back, eyes closed as their head rested against the wall.
“It’s fine.” They said, “I’d be angry with me too.”
“… I’m not angry with you.” DH finally said. “I obviously know that you didn’t go out to hurt people. You went to help GiDi.”
“And Tham was-“
“Tham is Pearla’s brother, and Pearla is GiDi’s mate.” Their ears twitched. “It’s still odd to think that, honestly, but that’s what it is. You’d never hurt GiDi, and hurting Pearla would be the same thing as hurting GiDi now.”
“And I didn’t mean to kill-“
“I know that!” DH snapped. They stopped and took a deep breath. “I know that.” They said again, though a little calmer now. “Tham said that most of them just fell. The other one attacked him.”
“I should have let them attack.” TO said, their ears dipping down, “I should have. I should have let them take us-“
“And if you do, you’ll get separated.” Avery said, “Or they had killed outright you. They don’t know you’re a synth, and I doubt you had any way to prove it to them.”
“Right.” DH said. “You had a task, and it was necessary for you to defend yourself. You were helping civilians.” They clutched at their bag. “… You can’t understand how happy I was when you got back.” They said, “Everything that was happening, I was here, listening to the messages Vik was getting. I was so worried when you stopped responding, and when Tham called and said you were unconscious…” they shook their head. “I was worried about you.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“We should have both gone.” TO said, “I didn’t mean to worry you, but Tham -“
“I know.” DH said. “I was still worried. Obviously, it had to be you, because a multi-gun would be useless in the tunnels, and I’m useless without a multi-gun. ”
“You’re not useless-“
“But I was still worried.” DH said. “And I was so happy when you were back safe. And when the news report came on..” Their ears dipped down, “When they talked about the seven officers, the one -“
“Don’t go into detail.” Avery said, “Not now.”
DH stopped and looked at Avery for half a second before nodding and closing up their bag. “I’m happy that you’re here.” DH said, “I’m happy you’re safe. It’s all a lot, though, right?” They looked at TO, their eyes landing on their chin, “It’s been a lot, hasn’t it?”
“It has.” TO agreed. They reached out and took DH’s hand in their own. “Maybe… just some shows for a little? Before I have to think about-“
DH squeezed TO’s hand, but then pulled away. “I’m actually going to help Goretta.” They said.
The medication was taking effect. They could feel the surprise run through them, but they felt oddly detached from the feeling. It was like seeing water, knowing it was there and knowing it was wet rather than actually feeling it. “What?” They said. “What are you going to help her with?”
“Snout and I are going to help her.” DH said, “While you were gone, she said that if they went ahead with the procedure, then I could help her and Snout.”
“But… but it’s a surgery.” TO said. The thought of blood came to their head, but the accompanying sensations that normally came to them stayed away.
“… Do you think I shouldn’t?” DH asked, “You’ve been quiet about the whole thing. You didn’t say if you think it should happen or if you didn't agree with it.”
“There’s not much other choice, is there?” TO said.
“…. Do you think I shouldn't be involved?”
“I’m surprised you’d want to be involved, that’s all.”
“Right.” DH said, “And… and you’d not be upset if I was?”
“I wouldn’t…” TO said. “Do you want to do it, though?” That was the only part they couldn’t figure out.
“Of course I do.” DH said, “I could learn so much, see so much! And maybe I can help Kei. Maybe they’ll be better if we restore their mind. Besides that, Avery is worried about them-“
“To reiterate.” Avery said, their voice growing firm, “I don’t have interest in any kind of romantic relationship with them, though I do like them-“
“How?” TO asked as they turned to Avery. “They’re awful. They tried to get DH and I separated!”
“I know. And that bothered me, but if it’s because they messed their brain up, then they wouldn’t have a choice, would they?” They shrugged. “And I’ve been around them more. I know them better, and they never had the same animosity to me as they did the two you of.” Their ears pinned back, “At any rate, if the procedure is a success, please don't pull with us what you did with me and GiDi. Trying to get us alone, hoping we might fall for each other. Don’t do that to me again, with Kei, or with anyone.”
“But what if you -“
“I promise, if I ever even have the faintest hint of romantic attraction to anyone, you two will be the first to know. At that point, I give you full permission to attempt whatever you want. Until then though,” They gave TO a serious look, “I’m not interested.”
“Alright, aright.” DH said, “Avery doesn’t want romance. Understood.” They gave a weak grin as they stood up, “I still want to help, if I can.” DH said. “And I have to go now, so-“
TO pulled themself to their feet. “I’ll go with you.” They said.
“TO, I’m not letting you step foot in the surgery room.” DH said, their ears pinning back, “You fainted once today, and that’s more than enough.”
“Oh no, I don't want to watch the procedure,” TO said, “But… I’ll walk there with you? I’ll wait until you’re done?”
“Me too.” Avery said quickly, “I’d like the company.”
TO and DH exchanged a brief look, their eyes locking for the first time since the news report; a look of concern for their friend, shared for a second before DH looked away again.
“… Alright.” They said, “Let’s get back then. We have to get Kei ready for the procedure.”
======
They met Goretta on the way to Kei’s room, where they had to subdue the other synth. She had a plate of food in one hand, and a syringe in the other.
“You think they’ll let you give them a shot?” Avery asked, “They won’t.”
“This isn’t for them.” She said, “It’s for the food.” She pointed to the cooked bug on the plate. Oddly, the same level of disgust for the awful creatures didn’t strike this time. “I filled the needle with a little something to subdue them, and have them asleep in a half hour, then-“
“If you do that, they’ll starve when you’re done.” TO said. “Do you think they’d ever accept anything you gave them to eat afterwards?”
“Well, if they get hungry enough-“
TO shook their head, “Not even if they’re hungry enough. If you poison their food-“
“It’s not poison.” She said, her tentacles twisting around her as they turned red. Unlike Marissa, she didn’t seem to change color all over. “It’s a sedative. It’ll make them sleep-“
“They’d consider that a poison.” DH said. “And they wouldn’t eat during their recovery.”
“I could intubate them.” She said, “Make sure they eat-“
“Can’t you use that thing that Vik used on us?” TO asked, remembering the awful noise that drove them to their knees and rendered all three of them unconscious, “What, they called it a subsonic… thingy?”
“Takes a lot of preparation, and a specific set of conditions for it to work,” she said. “I asked Vik that. Apparently, the tunnels there worked because of their acoustics. Vik said it won’t work in their room. It’ll just give them a headache.”
“Even if you intubated them, what then?” DH asked. “They won’t trust any food you give them, and you can’t keep them intubated forever. You’d have to keep them strapped down all the time, or they’d pull the tube out.”
Goretta huffed, “Great.” She said, “now I need to think of a different way to do this. A dart gun or something-“
“A multi-gun on stun?” DH suggested, “I don’t want to shoot them, but-“
“I’d be worried about damage that might cause pre-operation.” She said, “Otherwise, it’s a good idea.”
“… I might have an idea.” Avery said, their ears twitching slightly. “I… I think I can get them to eat the food willingly, knowing it’s medicated.”
“They’d never do it.” DH said, “I heard how they spoke to you before. They won’t listen to what you say-“
“Let me in with them.” Avery said, even as their ears dipped down, shaking, “Let me in with them, let me talk to them.”
“If they get violent-“ Goretta started, but Avery cut her off.
“If they get violent, Then DH and TO are right outside. “
Goretta watched Avery, considering as her tentacles twisted about her. Finally, she nodded.
“Tham might throw a fit, but it’s fine.” She said, “So long as Kei doesn’t get out, it should be fine.” She sighed. “Honestly, I'd feel better if they agreed to the procedure. But you couldn’t get them to agree before. why do you think you’ll get them to agree now?”
Avery sighed as they continued down the hallway, “Because we’ve isolated them for so long, and because this is going to happen one way or another… and because I just thought of a way to make them want the procedure done.”