Another screw.
Another bolt.
On the floor of a remote laboratory in the veil of a session long doomed into nothingness there was a single troll amidst several piles of tools and parts. Despite his muscles, his work was surprisingly graceful and precise. It wasn't an easy task. From time to time his eyes would twitch in annoyance behind his black glasses when he accidentally crushed another wrench with his exceptionally strong hands, usually followed by a muttered swear. His arms and face and even the air around him were damp, yet grabbing a towel wasn't worth breaking his concentration. If one were to take a look around the room, there was one more noticable pile among those of metal scraps and broken tools and laundry (aside from the ever-inviting horn pile).
A rainbow of violet and olive and cobalt and ochre painted the surrounding tiles. There was not a twitch, not a sign of life detectable. From time to time his eyes would stray to that pile and he'd remember his terrible deeds.
He was unable to save her life, she was too curious and had run ahead to find the madman and he'd only stood there and watched as she died. That didn't mean all hope was lost. His greatest masterpiece would be recreated. This time, however, his determination would not be fueled by the appeal of romance glistening in the distance but instead a need to fix, to repair his wrongs that was so strong he could hardly bare it.
And loneliness. There was no one to keep him company. Not even the demon would be able to find him in this darkened pocket at the edge of the incipisphere.
With all the time he could ever need left he continued building and constructing. There was no need for breaks to eat or sleep, this was something that would and simply had to be done first.
On his face a hint of a smile would grow once the beautiful head was constructed. It was such a perfect and lifelike representation of her face. The excitement made him tremble. He was close, so close to completing it. The only task left was to combine it with the body and she would be back again. Maybe then he would be able to find some kind of peace.
But she would not return. Her corpse had been decaying for far too long for her own blood to be able to make the machinery come to life. There was only one thing that would do. He had- he had to sacrifice some of his own fluids, for they were still fresh and alive. Among the heaps of tools he spotted a saw that hadn't been damaged or bent too badly.
It'd taken more than he'd been prepared for. Certainly, one of his noble blood could endure some loss and damage, but nevertheless he felt light in the head and the first steps were clumsy, as if he'd just left his ruperacoon. His arm throbbed whenever he moved it, due to the bandages scraping against the gashes. It was all worth it, though. Despite the fact that her red glass eye was lifeless, despite the fact that she was merely a copy and that he had to stash the original body in a far corner of the lab so he wouldn't be reminded of just how fake she was.
"Equius." A hollow voice sounded across the room. At face value it was stern, but there was a strange hint of fear behind it.
"Yes, what is it?" He replied, with only a slight waver. The tone with which she spoke to him unsettled him somewhat.
She looked away for a moment in hestitation and doubt, before she decided to continue "I'm not actually Nepeta, am I?"
He couldn't reply. How had she found out? Had she discovered the body?
"Nepeta is dead. I'm a replacement. A copy."
The flinch he gave was enough to tell her the truth. He wanted to say she was real, something he'd almost convinced himself was the truth. But something like that made the actual truth far harsher when it caught up with him. So becaue he remained silent and unable to find an answer was forced to endure while she talked.
"You were lonely and I just want to say that it's okay and... I understand." However, he could tell it was a lie. He could tell by the stare she gave, by the tone of voice. The nervous shifting of her feet.
Finally, he managed to pull himself together enough to say something back. "Be quiet and stop talking about this now. It is an order."
Another one of those looks, but this time he was more prepared and for it. "No, I won't. Don't act as if this isn't fucking important!"
"Nepeta, stop using the vocabulary of the base classes. It is improper for someone of your status." He said through his gritted teeth. He hadn't fought in such a long time that they had all grown back, and he certainly didn't feel like doing it now. Especially with one that beared the face of- no, she was her. This was the actual Nepeta standing in front of him, just with a new body.
Her reply was rather unexpected. "You can't order me around anymore, Equius. I have the same blue blood as you now! Why won't you just accept the fact that I'm not real because I see right through you and I know this ISN'T HEALTHY!" With each sentence she spoke she came closer to him, and then she grabbed him by his collar, screaming the last words in his face. Then, she dropped him to the ground and ran away. The buzz of a transportalizer being activated sounded almost in unison with the thud of his body hitting the floor.
For a while, he was too dazed to be able to do anything. Suddenly, his head snapped upwards when a loud crash disturbed the silence.
"Nepeta!" Quickly, he entered the transportalizer. He couldn't find her anywhere in the common areas, which meant she was in her own room. He didn't want to disturb the sanctity of her room, but he had to help her. Quickly he opened the panel of the transportalizer and tried to remember what he did when he helped set up the system. After a few tries he'd rigged it and stepped on the panel, preparing for the worst.
On top of the roof, he found her. Her body was spread all over the floor, the parts of her body charred or dented. Blue was splattered all over the ground, seeping inbetween the tiles.
In front of him stood the cause of this horrible sight. The monstrosity with one are and eye. He'd made this happen to draw out anyone still in the meteor. It'd been a cheap and easy trap, a trick, but he'd fallen for it and now he'd pay.
Moments later his eyes opened, his mind slightly hazy. He felt a slight pang in his neck when he tried to turn it. Slowly he sat up, he'd been sleeping in a pile of coats. He searched the room and found someone smiling back at him. And even though in that moment he knew that he was technically no longer alive, it truly was the happiest moment of his life.