"God, you're insane, how can you wear this stuff in this heat?" Alfred whined, wishing he could peel off the Watcher body armor that encased him. Even after fifty years, the Watcher uniform still fit to his tall and deceptively gangly body perfectly, molded especially for him with enchantments scrawled inside to defend his own unique nature. However, he wriggled like a worm, trying to make himself more comfortable against the sticky leather seats. Above them, the hot Texan sun beat down on the earth, making the very air seem to boil, the dirt burn and cacti pop with pressure. Even within the confines of a tinted, air conditioned limo, a vampire certainly had their limits. Especially in red and black formfitted body armor.

"You get used to it," Arthur replied serenely, his gaze cast out the windows and to the bleak Texan desert that sped by at hundreds of miles per hour. The vampire didn't believe him for a second. He could see the Brit sweating underneath his own custom body armor. In fact, his face had already sunburnt on their brief stint in Japan to take care of their dying friend, whose ashes now lay tucked away in Alfred's bag, along with the passcon that was the entire reason that the vampire decided to return.

With a start, Alfred realized the Brit wasn't watching the scenery. He was watching him, his eyes bright and intense. Alfred grit his teeth and met his gaze squarely and unapologetically. Even so, he shuddered. Remembering again why he'd left. Remembering what this man could do to him. Had done to him. After a long beat, Arthur flushed and turned his gaze to the window again. Taking a breath, Alfred turned his own gaze out the windows at the place that had once been home to him.

Global warming hadn't exactly done Texas any favors and it was even more desolate than the vampire remembered. Not a house, no animals, no utility poles. It was like civilization had given up on it. The only signs of life came in the form of automated checkpoints as they sped along the super highway. Back to Watcher HQ. The thought made the vampire's very insides turn into jelly, especially when he felt so hot and steamy, like he was literally crawling into the belly of the beast.

No, the Watchers were certainly not the awkwardly amateurish secret club they started out as one hundred years ago.

"We're nearly there," Arthur announced as they passed another checkpoint, nodding off into the distance. An enormous bring metallic structure loomed off in the distance, shining like a diamond in the desert sun. Alfred squinted at it, watching it rapidly growing bigger and bigger at the speed at which they were traveling. It was like watching a marshmallow expand in the microwave. Soon, it was looming over them, several impossibly large buildings connected through multitudes of different skywalks so that no one had to brave the heat. It was the size of a small city.

"Holy shit," Alfred said as his head craned up and up, making his neck creak from the strain.

Mistaking the vampire's horror for awe, Arthur puffed up in pride. "It's expanded quite a bit while you've been away. We call it the Daedalus Campus now. It's completely self-sustaining. The buildings are covered in solar panels, which draw a considerable amount of energy. The rest is made up by the nearby wind farm. We also have a biodome now where we get all our food. Naturally, we still need to contract out for materials for R&D, but otherwise we're ready for the end of the world."

With a chill, Alfred realized that Arthur wasn't kidding.

The limo pulled down into an underground garage, the complex showing the first signs of life as someone in a spiffy black uniform with red trim stood by to open the door for the pair of them. "Sir, welcome back," he greeted, " the council meeting has been rescheduled to six."

"And everything else has been arranged?" Arthur asked as he reached out a hand to help Alfred out. Like a princess. Alfred ignored it, getting a twitch from the Brit.

"As ordered," the grunt replied, giving Alfred a strange look as his facial recognition popped up on his visor. "Agent Estonia. Welcome back. I trust your mission was a success?"

His what now? Exactly what did Arthur tell everyone he was up to? "Um, yeah, sure. Yup," Alfred said, tripping over Arthur's fib like a stray branch. "It was an awesome mission. Good stuff."

Arthur coughed behind his hand, trying to cover his laugh. Somehow, this drew even more attention from the grunt than Alfred himself. Alfred just tried not to grimace. Agent Estonia was a name that Arthur had playfully tagged him with when he was still with the Watchers, working with them as they slowly became the surveillance powerhouse it was now. Now, Alfred hated it. It just reminded him of the best and worst times of his life.

"We should get going. Alfred, follow me," Arthur said, waving the vampire towards the elevators. Alfred took a long breath, heaving his backpack over his shoulder. Arthur glanced over to him out of the corner of his eye, their elevator ride short but thick with tension.

"Welcome back," the Watcher murmured softly as the doors swooshed open. Alfred was almost blinded by the light, streaming in from the multistory tinted windows along the side of the building, broken up only by the enormous solar panels and a huge semi-opaque banner. Stark red and black with the W logo along with the harsh words beneath BE VIGILANT. On the other side of the hall were stories of honeycomb glass offices, the activity within like watching bees bustle about. On the ground level, people in uniform swarmed all around them like red and black ants, looking terribly important and busy as they headed to work. Though Alfred wondered how much of that had to do with Arthur's presence. It all looked too pristine and a little freaky, like something out of a weird dystopian sci-fi movie.

Thankfully, Arthur didn't seem to have any kind of entourage, though that seemed to make it entirely more obvious that the vampire was out of place. All the eyes on them suddenly made Alfred feel like target practice, their visors blipping every time his unfamiliar face popped up. Identifying him by the Agent Estonia moniker. Stuff of urban legend, it seemed, from the looks on their faces.

Not to mention, there were so many people now, all of their hearts beating so deliciously, thrumming all around him like a literal buffet. His hand reached out to tightly grip Arthur's own, making the immortal wince. However, he didn't complain, letting the vampire focus on him. Thankfully, people parted in front of them like a wave. If they had bumped into anyone, Alfred was not sure what would have happened.

Arthur led the pair of them down to a more isolated wing, security doubling and tripling. Thankfully, there was only one security guard, which Alfred could handle - in all meanings of the word. The locks he was going to have to hack into as soon as he could, in case Arthur ever decided to turn the key.

"Where are we going?" he asked, finally trusting himself to speak after they went through their third hydro-locking gate. He had a sinking feeling what Arthur was going to answer, right before the Watcher confirmed it.

"Your quarters, of course," Arthur replied nonchalantly. "You did ask for a lab off grid," he reminded the vampire, his tone almost chiding. "The only ones I have are particularly isolated for security purposes. There's also a room for you in here, so you could stay nearby your work. And so you do not need to worry about being so close to the main residences and dormitories."

Alfred leveled him a look. "Meanwhile, keeping me in a prison."

"Not a prison," Arthur scoffed. "You're free to leave whenever you like. Although you don't need to. Everything you requested is right here. You could bunker down and never leave," he said as he made a grand gesture over to the brightly lit, white lab as they approached.

The vampire stared at him. "Arthur, what's that on your shoulder," he said, pointing just beside the Brit's ear. When Arthur whirled around, Alfred snickered out loud. "Oh! Never mind, it was just your paranoia showing."

Spinning back around, Arthur fumed. "That is not funny, Alfred."

"Yeah, not really," Alfred agreed, sweeping into his new lab to inspect all the equipment. Most of it really wasn't in his wheelhouse. Then again, neither was nanotech. He'd have to spend a good amount of time just researching the mechanics. What if he could just hack nanites? That might make his life easier.

Standing by in silence as he watched the vampire float through the lab, Arthur anxiously fiddled with his sleeve. "Everything's off grid, as requested," he said suddenly. "Save for the computer terminal nearest the door. It's already been configured to your biometrics. You'll be able to research or order whatever you need there. Do you... do you like it?" he asked, drawing Alfred's attention back to him. Arthur looked so nervous that it almost drew a smile.

"Mmm, needs some paint," the vampire decided with a nod, "but it'll do. What about my room? And food?"

"Ah, this way," Arthur replied and led Alfred down just a door away from the lab. He touched his hand to a black pad and waited for the metal door to hiss and unlock. Inside was a rather cozy little apartment fit with many of the same trappings as his old digs in the brownstone basement. A bed, couch, TV, a personal computer, a bathroom and fridge. What was more surprising was the sunny beach landscape through the enormous wall to wall windows, complete with the sound of waves and the wind rustling through the palm trees.

"Fake?" Alfred asked rhetorically, pointing to the scene. Great, what better way to make sure that he never burned by keeping him in a prison with a fake sun?

"You can change it to whatever you like," Arthur responded, not sensing Alfred's cynical jibe. Then he called out to the room. "Windows: New York City Skyline."

Immediately, the beach scene changed, switching from the serene beach to the noisy metropolis that Alfred used to call home. Arthur looked to him for approval. The sight of New York made his heart ache to see it. He wasn't ready for it yet. "Windows: Machu Picchu." The scene changed again, turning to an elevated view of the ancient ruins.

Arthur pursed his lips, but didn't say anything. Instead he gestured to the fridge. "Blood bags are in there." The vampire dashed straight for it and wrenched the door open. There were tens of them, all bright and delicious and waiting for be devoured. Alfred lunged for them sucking down several bags before Arthur could even blink.

"...did you starve while you were away?" Arthur asked, both eyebrows raised as he seated himself at a table. One thing the vampire noticed. He was never gone, just 'away.'

"Nn-un," Alfred replied as he sucked down another blood pack. "Synthetic. You know, the clear fake stuff. It was awful, but it did the job."

"Oh? How is it different from blood from a bag?" Arthur asked, genuinely curious and a little concerned at how quickly the blood was going.

The vampire had to pause and think at that one. It had been a long time since he'd eaten human food to be making comparisons. "Well, s'like, think of this stuff as a hamburger," Alfred said, holding up a bag. "And straight from the vein is like the most delicious steak you've ever had in your life. With crack on top."

"And synthetic?"

"Like... Those little marshmallow candies that look like hamburgers," Alfred said as he pulled a face. "At first it tastes great. Then it takes a shit ton of them to make you feel less hungry and then you just sort of feel sick afterwards."

"Ah." Arthur watched as Alfred continued his binge. "So... Do you want me to find you some prey to feed on? I could, if you wanted..."

Alfred stopped dead. His eyes wide as he turned them up to stare at the Watcher. How could he possibly even suggest that? After all that they'd been through because of his addiction. How was it suddenly okay to feed his murderous impulses? Then again, Arthur was a hundred years immortal now. Maybe human life had less meaning to him.

Realizing that Arthur was waiting for a response, Alfred replied, "N-no, I don't want that. Please don't offer again. Not ever." Even after all this time, it was more difficult to turn down than he'd liked. Still, he was a hundred years clean and he wasn't about to break his streak.

"Alright," the Watcher replied, a small, warm smile spreading over his lips. As if he hadn't just offered up a sacrificial lamb to a vampire's bloodlust. "Do let me know if there's anything else you need. I tried to anticipate your needs, but I'm sure I missed something," he fussed, going back to wringing his wrists. It just made him look so normal. It was hard to remember that he'd turned into some personality cult overlord.

"I missed you," Arthur said suddenly. "I worried about you. If you were eating right, if you were doing well, who you were with..."

"I was fine," Alfred replied curtly. That's right, tamp down on those racing nerves. Keep it short. Maybe Arthur would just go away and leave him a little bit of time to process all this.

"Ah, yes. I see that now," Arthur responded, turning a bit sheepish. "I'm still glad you're back. What... What did you do? While you were away?"

Recognizing he wasn't about to get rid of the Brit so easily, Alfred settled his bag down and pulled out Kiku's urn, placing it carefully in the middle of a table. His passcon was in there too, but Alfred was careful to keep that hidden. However, the urn of ashes had the desired effect, making Arthur incredibly uncomfortable upon sight of it. "Traveled," he said, carefully adjusting the urn and watching Arthur's expression twist with each little movement.

Realizing that Alfred wasn't going to elaborate, Arthur still tried to press the small talk. "And... This project you're working on, what is it about...?"

"Nanotechnology," Alfred replied, not seeing a reason to lie. Just omit. "Not really something I can do easily out of somebody's garage."

Arthur gave him a queer look. "I didn't realize you had an interest in that sort of thing," his eyes fixed on Kiku's urn as Alfred kept turning it. "Alfred, will you stop that? You're going to tip it over."

"Is that an order?" the vampire asked in a low and dangerous voice, making Arthur immediately backtrack. It wasn't framed in a way to make his Collar react, but it was too close for comfort.

"No! No, it's not," Arthur sputtered quickly. Defeated, he got up from his chair. "I- look, I'll just leave you to settle in then. Please let me know if you need anything." He gave Alfred an entreating look, "Could I... hug you?"

Alfred kept himself from swallowing against the lump formed in his throat, feeling his nerves turn even more jittery. He was walking a very fine, almost microscopic, line doing all this. Coming back here, putting his liberty on the line, tempted by everything that Arthur offered.

Lying to him, again. He had better reasons this time. He had no idea how Arthur would react or if anything would even come of his research. Better later when he had some certainties under his belt. And if he ever spilled to anyone, Arthur would be the first and only. No one else needed to know about something that could possibly kill the immortal.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling of terrible foreboding as Arthur strode over to sweep him up into a tight and warm and familiar embrace.

"I'll leave you to it then," Arthur said as he pulled away and gave the vampire a smile. "If you need anything there's a phone. The operator will patch you directly to me. And... if you feel inclined to stay with me, I'll..." He made an awkward gesture and then seemed to think better of it. "U-um, right there's a phone. Just- anything-" he said as his cheeks heated up. "W-well, I'll see you. Visit, I mean, right."

Wow, this was sort of painful to watch. "I'll call," Alfred promised, just to make the awkward word vomit stop. "See you later."

"Right," Arthur said with relief. Then he turned heel and left, before he could embarrass himself even more.

Once he was gone, Alfred let out an enormous sigh of relief and fell back into his chair. Being around Arthur made his head spin with confliction. However, now in the deadly quiet of his rooms, his panic slowly began to bubble up like magma.

He was in a cell. An unlocked cell, but one that Arthur could turn the key and trap him in if he was ever so inclined. It's not like there wasn't a precedent. He closed his eyes, running his hands over his face as he tried to make his racing nerves still. "C'mon, just- calm down. Calm down. You can break out of any prison," he told himself. "Almost any prison. Except the one he made inside your own head."

...Wait, that didn't actually make him feel any better.

The hell did he get himself into? Why didn't he think this through? He didn't even know what he was doing!

No, no, no. Not going to think about it. Not going to think about it.

Deciding it was better if he try to distract himself, Alfred turned over to his only companion. "Well, Kiku. It's just you and me now. Time to fix Arthur," he told the urn shakily. He pulled out the wood-paneled passcon and opened it up to look at his friend's life's work. All in perfectly incomprehensible handwritten Japanese and supernatural gibberish.

Arthur is just a void in space-time. A visual projection over a chasm of nothing. That had been Kiku's theory. The vampire was not convinced. The Brit was here and real. He could touch Arthur, hear him speak, make him react, make him bleed. However, there were definitely a lot of things not right and they hadn't been for years. The inability to dream, to do magic, to create beautiful worlds in his mind. It was like part of his soul had been severed away from him. It was like he had become less than human. And whatever it was seemed to make him impervious to reality.

However, what Alfred learned in Japan was that electromagnetic-inhibiting nanites could do something to him. Alfred had no idea what, other than make the immortal conk out for longer than it took a straight hit from a missile to keep him down. They could alter his state of being somehow.

So here he was on a potential suicide mission trying to get his lover back.

With science.

Except he wasn't a scientist, damn it! He was a hundreds year old vampire hacker. This was not his thing. ...But he couldn't just not investigate. As much as Arthur claimed Alfred was his weakness, Alfred knew that it was mutual, much as he didn't want it to be the case.

Trying to stave off another wave of uncertainty, Alfred focused on taking just one step at a time. And the first thing was to try to get around the Japanese...

He pulled out his wrist console and plugged it into a port. "Alright, auto-translate," he ordered, waving his hands like a wizard. The pages whirred, blinking with a bunch of bizarre symbols, before a giant error message popped up.

Error: Translation Overload
Unknown Symbols Detected

"Aw, damn it!" Alfred hissed, smacking the wooden side of the computer, "can't you tell the difference between Japanese and alien drawings!"

Error: Translation Overload

Fuck, this was going to take much longer than he thought.