Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 10/03/2024 13:54
The physical work was starting to catch up with him.
Once the bodies were all accounted for and their possessions were sifted through, he needed to call some of the stronger members of this group to handle moving everything. The valuables would be sorted through and divided up, and the bodies would be destroyed. Leo was tempted to watch them be dropped into the recycler, but he had a feeling it wouldn't satisfy him as much as he'd hoped.
There was more to do, but for now he could use a break. He headed to the room where all the documents and computers were being sorted, found himself a seat a took a deep breath.
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 10/03/2024 17:52
She had also opted to join the cleanup crew, though her focus had been on inventory for items that they could somehow use or might be worth saving, maybe she'd find a way to fix her brain in the process. She'd seen Leo in passing, on her searchs or pushing a wheel barrow borrowed from the village full of random items somewhere for sorting, often giving a bright smile and a greeting as they passed but the two were yet to meet.
She'd set herself up in the employee canteen; mountains of stuff around her quietly singing a j-pop song to herself with a bright smile on her face while she works. Her hat is on and the faint sound of music emenates from beneath it. Noticing Leo she glances upwards and offers him another wide grin to greet him before fumbling to find her mp3 player to pause it.
"Hey! How're you doin?'" she greets him, continuing to work. There's three laptops open on a table nearby which she's checking occasionally while emptying the contents of the barrow into sorted piles of useful items stacked on the tables around her
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 10/03/2024 20:21
He hadn't actually noticed her walking in, deep in thought as he was, so when she calls out he blinks and has to reorient for a moment.
"Oh! Uh, hey there." He shoots her a somewhat awkward smile, scratching behind his head. "Suzy, right?"
He was aware of her through Artemis but they'd never really spoken, especially with everything that had been happening with the raid.
"I'm doing alright, just taking a break." He peers curiously at the screens she's surrounded herself with. "Uh, what are you working on there?"
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 10/03/2024 20:43
"That's me!" she grins. Carrying a first aid box over to a pile of other first aid boxes situated on one of the long rows of tables. "Uhhh... Leo? Right?" she asks as she puts it down. Though they hadn't properly been acquainted, she never forgot names and faces. "Pulling info off the server." she replies as she moves back towards the wheelbarrow and picks up a laptop from within it and moves it to another pile. There's two piles beside the three laptops, clearly there's some kind of system but it's not entirely clear what. "Artemis told me to make sure we took everything we could use so I'm making sure we all have everything we need before we go home. There's a lot of information in here on all of us that we can use to help each other" she explains warmly.
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 10/03/2024 20:55
"That's me, yeah."
As she's explaining, he pushes himself back up onto his feet and heads over, crouching down in front of one of the piles, peering at all the things she's been sorting through.
"That's a good idea. They must have plenty of information on our genetics. I uh, don't know if you've met KC, but she was able to have kids thanks to the schematics on her body that her old owner had. If we had even more information on how are bodies work, who knows what we could do..."
It was an exciting thought. Maybe they could even fix their physical frailty. Maybe Leo wouldn't have to feel so weak.
"What sort of things have you found so far?"
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 10/03/2024 21:09
There isn't much to see. One laptop has an excel spreadsheet with numbers, names, information on each Nek0 and a link that it looked like Suzy was populating as she went though she hadn't gone in sequence. The 2nd laptop contains a rather mundane looking document containing a customer specification for a Nek0 referred to only as '581 - Felix 3' and the 3rd laptop contains two Windows Explorer panes and a pop up showing a lot of files were being transferred. Most of them listed as '734 - Luna'.
"I met KC but we didn't get to speak much. She sounds really really cool! I hope we get to speak properly one day. And meet her babies, they sound adorable!" she giggles brightly though her tone becomes more serious as she answers Leo's question. "Every Nek0 has a sheet which gives info on what they were made for. There's files on how and when they were made, what they were put through and any special requests as well as where they went. There's then a bunch of information that follows them through Nek0's facilities. Not everyone made it... its... hard to read sometimes... but for those that are free, we can use this information to give them the help they need"
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 10/03/2024 21:20
"...I see."
His lips pull tight, he sits back on his haunches, seems to be deep in thought.
"I...don't know if you've heard, but I used to be a rental here." The name Leo definitely isn't present on that spreadsheet. "It's been a long time, though. I thought maybe...we might rescue some of the other Nek0 I knew back here. But I guess they either got sold off to someone or...didn't make it either."
He sighs, glancing away for a moment, before his single eye peers up at her.
"You want any help with that list? I don't have any other work to take care of right now and...maybe I'll recognise a few names here."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 10/03/2024 21:46
She looks troubled at that. "Oh... I... wasn't aware... I'm sorry... Do you... remember the number they gave you? I... was R&D so... I knew what mine was but... I could probably find you if you know that? I found some... like you... but... a lot of them are copies so it's hard to tell what their name would be now. My name isn't on the system either." she asks cautiously. "If there's anyone you recognize then it'd be helpful. Its hard to track down... those like you... maybe there's some information you've got that could help?" she gives a weak smile back, this was the first she'd heard of rental Nek0 and the idea of it makes her feel a little bit sick. (edited)
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 10/03/2024 22:05
There was a twitch in his eyebrow at the mention of others like him. Leo wasn't surprised. After meeting Art is only stands to reason that the company had other copies. The thought made him sick to his stomach, the same way seeing Art's face for the first time did, but he bit the inside of his cheek and tried to ignore it. No point in freaking out about it in front of Suzy.
"I do, actually. I can probably find my own info. Uh, do you mind..?"
He places a hand on one of the laptops, but doesn't take it to look before she gives her assent.
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 10/03/2024 22:09
"Sure. I... found a file I wanted to take a look at so... you don't mind me doing that while I take a break? Always take a break together if you wanted? There's food in the canteen. I've got some special flapjack for if you're feeling tired?"
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 10/03/2024 22:22
"Ah, you don't need to do that. I don't really have an appetite right now."
Sorting through the bodies took care of that for him. He'd think about snacks later.
"Don't let me stop you from looking at whatever you need to. I'll uh, make sure not to mess up anything on here either."
He hooks a nearby chair leg with his foot and drags it close so he can sit down. Once he's done that, he spins the laptop around to face him and starts searching.
Leo went looking for himself first, and he found the information exactly where he was expecting to. The sheet was listed under NEK0_32311, and the name Freckle. A name had been noted down for the owner that had purchased him, but the name was struck out. If Suzy peeks, she'd see the picture on the sheet matched the Nek0 in front of her, except he has two eyes and no scarring on his ear.
Upon seeing the sheet, Leo strongly considers deleting it from the files, but decides against it. They needed the info, no matter how distasteful it was to see like this.
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 10/03/2024 22:29
"That's okay. There's still plenty in the canteen for whenever you're ready." she smiles warmly as she makes her way over to one laptop and with another click and drag moves some files around then returns to the 3rd laptop. "There's a file on the top level sorted by number. I... know its a horrible way to store this information but... that's how they did it so it's easier to do that for now. While we don't know who everyone is. Whatever you find, just drop it into the file once you're done" she gives a weak smile, the whole process was difficult, she'd already seen some horrible stuff but it was less physically demanding than the other work. She wouldn't peek at the laptop but she would occasionally smile to Leo. "How do you know Artemis? I... know he mentioned you a couple of times but I don't think we ever met before now?"
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 10/03/2024 22:44
"Sounds simple enough..." After she instructs him he sorts the file in the way she directs, adding the number to the spreadsheet along with his current name, before moving on to start with the rest.
"Artemis and I...I guess I've known him from the beginning. It's a long story..."
He starts from the beginning, with the car accident that led him to Polaris Pass. He tells her about the night he had limped into town, cut out the tracking chip in his ear, and the way he'd been saved by a stranger on the street. He tries to keep it brief and leave out the messier details. It took awhile after that for him to start exploring the town, but eventually he wound up meeting Artemis, playing piano in a music shop.
"He was a lot smaller at that time," Leo doesn't take his eyes off the screen, but he smiles fondly as he recounts meeting his friend. "His owner had bought him with the body of a child. You wouldn't have guessed he was actually older than me."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 10/03/2024 23:02
She listens silently, nodding along. Smiling at first though some of the more harrowing details remind her of her own ordeal so she pauses her work and turns to listen. Giving him space to explain though from the way she listens its clear she understands. The smile returns as he recalls meeting Artemis, the story had a happy ending after all they had been through. "You wouldn't have guessed... I... think he's eldest of all of us in Polaris Pass..." 'Ganymede' is listed on Suzy's spreadsheet so she'd know having seen the information. "I'm sorry they did that to you... I... I'm just happy that things are working out. That you can be free now. That we can all be free..." her smile is melancholy though still seems troubled, both from the details he experienced, the similarities to his story and hers and a nagging sense in the back of her mind she knows that in some ways she may never be.
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 10/03/2024 23:17
"Yeah...we never have to worry about the bastards ever again."
Venom seeps into his voice. He says it more for himself than anything else, like he's confirming it. Maybe eventually the anger at what they've done to him and the rest of his kind might fade, but it hasn't yet. He shakes his head.
"Artemis was still with his owner at the time. We had to keep meeting behind his back, it was risky for us both. Then, one day...he killed him. Though I guess that would be his story to tell, not mine."
Leo takes his fingers off the keyboard, curls them together and rests his chin on top of them.
"I think...I wouldn't have believed anything like this was possible, if not for him. I'd probably still be hiding, always looking over my shoulder. I wouldn't have thought it was possible for us to done what we've done since then."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 10/03/2024 23:19
She looks down, her brow beginning to furrow and responding only with a nod as though to confirm though its clear she's bothered by the conversation. "Yeah..." agreeing to let Artemis tell his own story if and when he was ready to tell her; she wasn't going to ask. "I... think if I hadn't of found myself in Polaris Pass. I'd be dead. I didn't know how many others there were like me until I was told to see Artemis and Charlotte..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 10/03/2024 23:22
His eyes flick back to her.
"...I'm glad you did." Leo eventually says. He gives a smile, trying to look reassuring. "All of us Nek0, we're all in this together, one way or another. We have to be able to look for each other." (edited)
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 10/03/2024 23:29
"Me too..." she attempts to crack a smile back. "We are... I... never met another Nek0 until then... my... keeper... kept me in his house... I don't remember my time here... I... knew there were others but... only because everything they were doing was for some kind of purpose... and because of that number..." she stares at the ground beneath Leo silently for a moment. Letting out a short exhale as she considers telling him her story (edited)
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 10/03/2024 23:34
"Most of us don't remember anything earlier than meeting our owners, and it's not very often they feel like telling us anything else. It's just another way of controlling us."
He grows quiet after that. The look on her face is familiar. When he speaks next he tries taking a more gentle tone.
"...Do you wanna talk about it?"
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 10/03/2024 23:38
She nods anxiously. "I... never really told anyone about it... Not all of it... and not another Nek0... I told my counsellor but... I guess we never talk about these things... Its painful... you don't realise maybe everyone else has a story like yours y'know..." (edited)
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 10/03/2024 23:42
He just nods, understanding, content to let her speak.
11 March 2024
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 11/03/2024 00:47
She goes on to explain that she was an R&D Nek0. About the thing that forces her to follow any orders without question. About the testing and mistreatment she faced at the hands of first the doctors and then at the hands of her keeper. She doesn't use the name she referred to her as in the past but does explain who he is and his connection to Nek0. She then goes on to explain how she was scared she was going to be sent back to stay with the doctors or maybe something worse. How distraught she was that he didn't love her and how desperately she wanted to escape. She then explains how she did it: cutting the ropes in the playroom where she was kept with razor blades she smuggled in her hands. Torturing her keeper to force him to remove the commands placed upon her then trying to remove her collar with a pair of kitchen scissors only to activate the failsafe and the hours spent trapped in agony on the kitchen floor until Nek0 agents came to collect her. She mentions briefly about stabbing an agent in the neck then fleeing by the skin of her teeth with only her grab bag; removing the chips placed inside her and tending to her wounds in her neighbors flower bed after vaulting the fence into their back garden then catching the bus with whatever money she could steal, heading to Florida though only making it as far as Oregon and then with the change in her pocket to Polaris Pass. At this point she's trembling, angry and upset but she carries on nevertheless. It felt good to vocalize this to someone who understood and without having to disect or revisit details. Just a space where she could say her piece.
[00:48]
"... I went into the woods trying to find a place to take shelter from the rain... Sonny found me there. He healed me and took me in. Gave me a job, bought me clothes and a mobile phone. I got a chance to be... not free exactly but... I was safe there. I got to meet Ava. Make friends. Find Artemis and de-print... I had to lay low for a while when Nek0 caught up to me but... Look where we are now" again a faint smile forming. Thankful for that much at least in spite of the trials it had taken her to get this far. "We still have so much work to do but... we are so close now"
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 11/03/2024 11:19
Almost everything she describes of her treatment makes Leo viscerally angry, but he stays quiet as she speaks, letting her have this time to just tell everything. It's easy to visualise. Her experiences mirrored some of his - mirrored plenty of other Nek0 he'd spoken to. He has to take his hands off the keyboard again to clutch his fingers together tight.
"...You've already done so much." He eventually says, looking at her with clear, newfound respect. "You're a lot like Artemis, I think. You didn't just wait for it, you saw your chance to be rid of them and you took it, regardless of the risk. You might be one of the strongest Nek0 I've met."
He takes a deep breath out, relaxing his hands.
"You've earned this a dozen times over, I think." He matches that little smile of hers. "I'm glad to know someone like you is with us."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 11/03/2024 14:53
She gives an upset looking smile and a shrug at his assessment of her. "I'm just Suzy... I'm glad to be here... I'm so happy that I got to meet you all. I... i guess i'm still just a scared little pet deep down, Artemis taught me how to use a gun though so... its different now" a slightly warmer smile forming, attempting to make light of the situation. "I just didn't want to be sent back... And I don't want anyone else to experience that either..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 11/03/2024 15:08
"I'd be surprised if any one of us said they weren't scared at all." He leans back in his seat, his tail slowly swaying back and forth. "But you're no pet. None of us ever were. We wouldn't have needed to do this otherwise."
He closes his eye.
"And none of us ever will be again."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 11/03/2024 15:38
"I hope not..." she replies considering what the future might look like, she'd thought long about it while she lay awake holding Ava and Leloo. "Its not over yet... is it?" she replies with a worried look. "I thought about what happens next... I wanted to be strong so they wouldn't take me away and so I could be like my best friend... without her I probably wouldn't have been able to do any of this... There's still so many of our kind still out there... they all need someones, even if they free themselves, how I have Ava and you have Artemis... Those of us who can be strong still have so much to do..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 11/03/2024 15:46
"...Yeah." It takes him a moment to respond, eye still closed as if deep in thought, tail continuing to sway. "It's not over until all of us are safe. But we can do it. I didn't used to be so sure, but I am now."
He opens his eye, giving her a look of absolutely certainty.
"Have you spoken to many of the rescues at all?" He asks, his fingers finally returning to the keyboard, approaching his current task with that same certainty. "I promised Artemis I would help them get settled once we were done here. I know what living her is like more than most of us."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 11/03/2024 16:45
"We can. We have to." mirroring his certain look. "I haven't left Japan yet. I wanted to make sure our work was done first... when we were storming the lab, Takeo ordered some of them to defend him... there was this... sweet and beautiful boy... he was so strong and brave... he didn't know any better... I... kicked him in the face and I think I might have hurt him... I wanted to apologise to him... and to the girl who looked after him in her hiding space... I wanted to make sure they were both okay... maybe I can find a way to look after the others too? I can be there for them like how Ava and Sonny and Artemis and Charlotte were there for me too somehow..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 11/03/2024 20:06
"...You did what you had to do. And they...you're right. They didn't know any better. They didn't have a choice."
Briefly his mind flashes to Art, and that rictus grin of his. Leo frowns and immediately banishes the thought.
"You should try and find them, once they're all settled in. You know what you needed, thanks to the others. Maybe you can give it to them too."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 11/03/2024 20:48
She nods in agreement to him. "I want to... I hope so, they need us. There aren't enough Ava's or Artemis' to go around so... it's up to us now..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 11/03/2024 21:13
"Yeah. We're all basically siblings, you know? Not in the same way as it is for humans, maybe, but...that's how I see it, at least. We gotta look after each other."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 11/03/2024 22:11
She nods to confirm she got it. "We're all most of us have. Even the people kindest to us don't understand so... yeah. We need to look out for eachother" she smiles back, a little bit brighter this time. "I'm glad I finally got to meet you Leo"
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 11/03/2024 22:16
"Me too." He smiles back, scratches the back of his head. "Kinda wish it were under more...peaceful circumstances, though."
He chuckles a little, before he wraps up noting down the last batch of files.
"How are things on your end, find what you were looking for?" He peers at her laptop.
12 March 2024
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 12/03/2024 00:01
She gives a shy sounding giggle. "Yeeeah... but. We'll get there" a hopeful smile beginning to form. "We can always hang out once everythings over if you wanted?" her smile warming, her tone a little brighter as she asks.
She turns back to her laptop. 734 - Luna's files have finished downloading, checking the file explorer, there's a lot of files in their folder. "I did... I... thought i'd check my own while I was taking a break. I... got this thing with my brain... If anyone tells me what to do, I... have to obey. I imprint super easy too... I wanted to see if I could find out how it happened... If I could fix it maybe..." (edited)
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 12/03/2024 13:45
His brow furrows at that.
"Like, even more so than other Nek0? That could be definitely be an issue." He makes a mental note to watch how he speaks. He'd had to do this with Artemis already, back when he'd accidentally imprinted on him. "Find any answers there?"
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 12/03/2024 14:20
She pauses, looking back to Leo as she explains. "Like... you could tell me anything and i'd have to do it. If someone says too much then... I imprint." she shrugs. "I'm technically under orders from Ava to ignore people but... it will wear off soon... it doesn't stop the imprint though..." she pauses momentarily, a dry looking smile appearing as though she had first hand experience of that very situation before returning to her work.
"No answers yet but.. my file has everything off the system so...". She sorts by date and checks the first files; acceptance and quality reports followed by a video from the maid house detailing a 'quality issue'. The video is a few minutes and shows a catgirl who looks alot like Suzy, dressed as a french maid, working diligently through the stages of her final test. There is no sound from the laptop but at one point the girl resembling Suzy seems to talk to the cameraman. She looks painfully shy, and seems to talk with a stammer. Suzy watches on silently with a furrowed brow
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 12/03/2024 19:15
That just makes Leo frown even further.
"And you...trust Ava can help you with this?"
It was a solution, having someone you trust give you commands that can't be superseded, but that wasn't a true fix, and it she imprinted onto Ava then it was all moot anyway, trustworthy or no, as far as Leo felt.
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 12/03/2024 21:04
She nods resolutely in reply though her gaze is still fixed on the screen. "I do. I trust her with my life. She gave me a place to move out of my brothers, well... the guy who took me in... and she saved me from being imprinted on someone just before the raid so... I trust her while i'm looking to find a fix".
She keeps searching. Another specification document, followed by a report titled 'RD_8838: Open Imprint' which she begins to skim read, looking more and more troubled by the second
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 12/03/2024 21:14
"Alright then." That would have to do for now, he supposes. He's looking away from his screen now, watching the way her expression shifts. "You ok?"
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 12/03/2024 21:24
She nods, though she's clearly not okay. "There were 12 Nek0 like me..." she says as she continues to skim through. "None of them made it..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 12/03/2024 21:26
He glances away. One of his hands curls into a fist on his lap.
"I'm...sorry to hear that."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 12/03/2024 21:39
She reaches the end of the report, staring intensely at the screen. She goes back to the file explorer and there's another couple of clicks as she silently opens up another document.
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 12/03/2024 21:43
He raises an eyebrow, but decides not to ask. Whatever she's looking at is clearly personal to her. So he focuses back on his laptop for the moment, at least until she speaks again.
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 12/03/2024 22:14
There is along and uncomfortable silence only punctuated only by the ocassional slow movement of the mouse and clicking noises as she goes through each document piece by piece.
Out of nowhere there's the sound of metal chair legs sliding against concrete followed by a loud bang as Suzy rises to her feet and throws the chair out of her way, impacting the nearby wall. She storms towards the exit, heading for the lab.
Two windows are open on Suzy's laptop. One window is a report containing an experimentation summary, the heading 'Subject M: 734 - Luna' is visible at the top of the page, the other window is a video; The video has ended though the image frozen on screen is that of a catgirl bearing Suzy's likeness stood naked in a room in one of the labs as though filmed from the perspective of the rooms security camera, covered in bruises as she stands awkwardly as if badly hurt, a wide smile on her face. In shot are two baton weilding Nek0 and one security guard, the face of one Nek0 is visible and he looks extremely uncomfortable.
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 12/03/2024 22:24
He flinches at the sudden outburst, nearly jumping in his chair.
"S-Suzy??"
Leo quickly rises to his feet as well, briefly torn over whether he should check what she had been reading through or go after her. He eventually chooses the latter after briefly seeing what's on screen. That reaction caught him entirely off guard and has him very worried. He rushes out of the room to find her.
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 12/03/2024 23:22
Leo would catch sight of Suzy continuing down the corridor and entering the lab, visibly shaking, seething with rage as she kicks the door open with a thud and enters, trying to place herself somewhere before she destroys something important. There's an angry and pained sounding cry, cursing in Lithuanian followed by another loud bang and a clatter as Leo enters to see another chair coming to rest beneath an observation window to one of the holding rooms that still rattles in its pane. She doesn't notice Leo enter, her singular focus on what the hell she was going to do now.
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 12/03/2024 23:47
"Hey, Hey!"
For a moment he looks torn between physically trying to stop her or not. There doesn't seem to be anything too valuable in the room to worry, but he lingers by the entrance in case she starts to throw another chair.
"Suzy." He repeats, voice loud, but less surprised. "What happened?"
13 March 2024
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 13/03/2024 00:01
She doesn't pay any attention to him at first. Pacing angrily though she responds. [They're fucking dead! They're all fucking DEAD!]. She launches a spin kick that hits with a terrifying force for a Nek0; making impact with a section of the thin walls that seperate the observation rooms from the rest of the lab. The sound again reverberating loudly from the impact (edited)
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 13/03/2024 00:08
"Suzy," He tries again, voice rising louder, cringing a little from the impact. In a somewhat risky move, he step over, putting a hand on her sholder. His brain switches to match whatever language she speaks on autopilot. ["Please, what happened?"]
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 13/03/2024 00:24
Bad move. She keeps pacing, lost in thought and continuing to shake angrily. The hand on her shoulder takes her by surprise and she turns quickly, planting her feet and launching the back of her fist in a fast and violent swing behind her; not intending to hit Leo specifically but intending to injure whatever it was that grabbed her, far too on edge not to react
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 13/03/2024 00:31
Smack.
Leo stumbles back, his vision almost going white for a moment. Her fist impacts into the side of his head and it's enough to make his vision blur.
"Fuck." He hisses, one hand clutching his head. He blinks, looking more surprised than hurt for a moment.
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 13/03/2024 01:41
She comes to rest, seeing she hurt Leo hurt makes her blood run cold. She freezes then slowly drops her guard with a frightened look on her face, snapping her out of her rage almost instantly though she's clearly scared; trembling at the sight of Leo recoiling from the hit
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 13/03/2024 01:54
He pulls his hand away and she can tell right there that he'll likely have a black eye from that. His vision is still blurry, but he can see that Suzy is looking at him. For just a moment, he seems to recoil, instinctively, but he regrets it almost immediately.
"I-its fine." He quickly stammers out. "I'm fine."
He's saying it more for his own benefit than hers. He approaches the glass to try and get a look at his reflection and check the damage himself.
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 13/03/2024 02:27
She watches on in horror. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. Leo. I... didn't mean to..." trembling and teary trying her best to apologise
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 13/03/2024 02:40
"I told you it's fine." He sounds agitated, his ears turning back on his head. He catches himself before speaking again and sighs, doing his best to speak with a more even tone.
"Look, I get it. Okay? I've been there. I shouldn't have tried to touch you like that."
He doesn't turn to look at her, but he does watch her through the reflection on the glass.
"I can give you some space if you need it."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 13/03/2024 02:44
She flinches at his tone, looking away, her own ears flat to her head. She shakes her head in reply to the idea of space. "Please don't leave me..." she trembles
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 13/03/2024 02:50
His expression falls, his shoulders drop and he sighs again. After a moment, he turns around, sitting down with his back against the wall.
"Okay." He pats the space next to him, though whether she takes the offered spot or not he doesn't move. "Take your time, okay?"
He'd likely need someone else to look at his face, but he'd been injured far worse in the past. It could wait until he was sure she'd be fine.
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 13/03/2024 02:54
She shuffles over, glancing only briefly at him to see what he's doing before sitting next to him, tucking her legs up close to her face and resting her forehead against her knees, arms wrapped around to form a sad bundle of catgirl (edited)
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 13/03/2024 03:01
Leo stays where he is, just slumped back against the wall, staring into the space in front of him. After a moment of silence, he eventually raises a hand, and assuming she makes no move to pull away, gently pats her back.
"You don't need to explain yourself."
But he leaves room for her to do so, if she wants.
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 13/03/2024 05:46
"His name was Jacinto... His payment was delayed so... he ended up in testing too. They did to him what... they did to me... then the money came through so they tried to remove it... He died. Even with the adrenaline reaction they gave him, the part of his brain that they changed just... stopped... He wasn't around for long enough for the test to be conclusive... This was 4 months before I... had my order cancelled..." (edited)
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 13/03/2024 09:25
His hand stays on her back, still gently patting her as she explains.
"...Bastards." He mutters when she's finished, the venom seeping back into his voice.
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 13/03/2024 16:33
"I was the last... its... gene therapy... alters a part of the brain and... once its in... there's no way to remove it... i'm stuck like this... I... may never be free..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 13/03/2024 16:42
He debates internally for a moment, before his hand moves to her shoulder - again, watching to see if she pulls away first. They don't know each other that well - before pulling her into a little side hug.
"Artemis was supposed to be stuck as a 12 year old." He says, voice firm. "KC was meant to be infertile. I was meant to choke if I tried eating anything other than raw fish. We can do things the company never could. We're better than that. We can fix their fuckups."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 13/03/2024 17:26
She leans into him, her crying getting a little louder as she's held. "He was like me. His brain just... stopped... I don't want to die Leo..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 13/03/2024 17:37
His eye narrows, his gaze still on the room in front of him, his hand softly rubbing her shoulder as he pulls her against his body.
"You aren't going to die." His voice is quiet. "None of us are. Not anymore. There's no one who can hurt us again."
He thinks about the bodies that are being disintegrated in the basement and scowls. They can't hurt them anymore. That should be enough. Right?
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 13/03/2024 17:54
She curls herself into him though tries to stay bundled up tightly. "Then i'm stuck like this. Aren't I... I'm broken... I... had to have Ava force me to deprint from someone who I thought was a friend... I don't want to be a burden... I don't want to keep loosing my freedom every time I try to exist... I... want to know... what it's like to be free... How can I be when even my friends might take that freedom away from me..." she sobs
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 13/03/2024 20:31
"No one is gonna take your freedom." His words come out like a growl. "The bastards responsible are dead and we aren't going to let anyone enslave another Nek0 again."
He gives her a little squeeze.
"Alright? No one is gonna control you again. We're going to make sure of that."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 13/03/2024 20:59
"But I need someone to do it. If Ava didn't before the raid, I'd have been too dangerous. When Takeo told the Nek0 to attack... I... nearly did too... i'm glad he's dead... that Sylvi let us finish him... I want to sleep. I want to rest and care for those we freed like Ava cared for me but there's still so much to do... I don't think I'll ever be free... not really..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 13/03/2024 21:25
"...You can rest, if you need to. Ok?" He swallows, trying to speak softer, more gentle. "You aren't alone here. The rest of us will keep at it if you need to rest."
It took effort on his part to keep his emotions out of his voice. It wasn't fair. They had killed their creators, plundered their secrets, freed themselves from their masters. That should have been enough. It was infuriating to think that it wouldn't be enough.
14 March 2024
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 14/03/2024 02:34
"I... can't... how can we? There's still others out there..." she looks up at Leo from the space where she'd settled, teary eyed and visibly upset though clearly still angry
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 14/03/2024 09:13
"...Yeah. There are." His voice is low, the gears turning in his head. "...And we have their names now, don't we?"
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 14/03/2024 14:35
"We have... almost everything. We have addresses too..." she replies softly though there is an edge in her voice. Not realising Leo may be thinking the same
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 14/03/2024 15:00
"Everything we need to figure out the rest." He withdraws his arm from her finally, puts his hands together, clenches his fingers tight.
"You know how I said I was a rental?" His voice goes cold. "Artemis, KC, Charlotte...their owners are dead and gone. Mine may have been the company, but the people who rented from them...they're out there too."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 14/03/2024 16:36
She realigns herself so she's still leaning and comfortable against him, she listens thinking it through. "We can find their details. They'll be on the system. Mine... he's still alive. I'm certain of it. He... ran the company that made shock collars, among other things... the doctors that... used to abuse me... they're Nek0 employees. They might still be out there... He has another Nek0... After everything he said to me... After everything I did..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 14/03/2024 16:53
"And since we hit the lab so hard and fast, I doubt they would have gotten any messages out. Jamming their communications was the first thing we did. They'd have no idea anything's wrong on this end."
Finally, he glances down at Suzy. That welt is starting to grow on his face, but his expression softens.
"...You can leave it to me, if you want to, if you need to rest." He says, carefully. "I - I think I have to do something, but you don't have to."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 14/03/2024 16:56
That look of hers begins to harden, pausing while she considers it herself. "I can't rest... we're not free until everyone is free..." she looks to Leo with a serious look as though to let him know she is ready to hear more
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 14/03/2024 17:16
He considers this, looking over her expression, lips pulling tight. Then his gaze returns forward.
"We should keep it small, then." He starts. "I doubt they'll be living in remote places like this lab, and a big group like we've brought here might get caught by the sleepers. We don't want to bring attention back home if we get caught."
They just got the Nek0 out of the labs. They didn't need to put them at risk again by doing something rash.
"Their names and addresses will be in the files already. So we get those, figure out how to get to them alone...and then we kill them."
It almost sounded simple when he put it like that.
"We can start with yours, if he still has a Nek0. We can bring them home."
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 14/03/2024 17:57
"I... already know where he lives... he has a big house outside Seattle and he lives alone. He goes out for work, sometimes to meet friends, but he spends most of his time at work... we could drive out there... if we can get inside... wait for him... find the other Nek0 and..." she doesn't want to kill him. She wants to do far worse. Wishing he could experience everything she had experienced. Wishing that her former self had done so much more than just force him to undo the orders placed upon her.
"He has information which might be helpful to free more Nek0..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 14/03/2024 18:28
He pauses, then looks back to her.
"How much do you remember about his home? The layout, how often he's there, anything like that?"
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 14/03/2024 18:51
"All of it. Its a large house in a wealthy suburb. Its got two floors, a garage and a big garden. He's got neighbors on all sides. He works late but he was always home for dinner. There's... his play room... its a room that used to be used for storage, no windows but... its big. I... used what was there to tie him to the bed and... undo my commands, last time around... he's also paranoid. He told me to pretend to be his maid when we had visitors and why whenever we went to appointments, I always had to go to the garage. He never let me outside unless it was in the garden. Its why he used to tie me up in the play room at night. Like I was another one of his toys..." (edited)
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 14/03/2024 19:47
His fists tightened until his knuckles went white.
"...Sounds as rotten as the rest of them."
Then, he stops, lets out a breath, forces the tension from his body.
"We need to finish up here first, deal with all the loose ends at the lab. But once we've done that, once we've got everything...we should make a plan."
He pushes himself off the wall behind him, rising to his feet, holding a hand out for Suzy to take.
"Sound good?"
Suzy Anderson
APP
— 14/03/2024 20:22
She gives a resolute nod, grasping Leo's hand firmly and rising to her feet. "Sounds good. When we're done here... come around to mine and we can talk about it. Where nobody can hear us. I can move the list and all the details to my laptop so we have them. First Michael... then the rest..."
Leo | Lotharingia
APP
— 14/03/2024 20:31
He nods back in response "I'll be there."
He gives her a smile, despite the grim subject of their talk, trying to look assured.
"We'll make sure he gets what he deserves."
He turns to head back to the canteen. There was still more work to do...and he figures he should come up with an excuse for the black eye before finding someone to look at it.
Lotharingia — 14/03/2024 20:41
end
