"Space… Space…" He whimpered. Neil stood before a once pure mirror. The pane of glass was now smeared
with assorted paints. The portion of the mirror portraying his tear stained face had been blotted out. Dribbles of
paint trailed down to the floor. The lanky man dropped to his knees and buried his face in his hands, once again
begining to sob.
"I need.. I need to go to space… Everything will be okay if I go…" he whispered to himself. He
continued on like this for ten minutes more, rocking back and fourth. He withdrew from his slouched position to
stare up at the full moon beyond the bathroom window. Something about its perfect form spoke to him - quite
literally - and prompted him to rise. "It won't be okay…?" he asked to nobody in particular. Knees weak, he
shook with each step he took towards the window. Hands stained green, blue and yellow left smears on it as he
pressed himself to the glass. He shook his head slowly, averting his gaze from the image he so idolized. "No it
won't… It'll never be okay if I leave." he decided.
The red head sat back down, his legs now pulled up to his chest. 'Maybe it happened for a reason… to me
for a reason. I know what happens out there in the real world. And now I have to protect them, yeah? My family,
yeah?' Neil thought. He nodded. 'Yeah.. y-yeah, yeah. I can't let them get hurt too… But…'.
"How can I make them safe?" he asked himself. He was quite aware that it would be impossible to keep all
three of them near him forever. The kids had to go to school, Wheatley had to go to work and Neil himself would
need to leave their sides at some point or another. What could he do? "…No. I won't let them leave." he
declared, standing up. His steps quickly became more confident as he marched out of the bathroom, closing the door
behind him. Neil entered the kitchen and rummaged through the droors until he produced a simple kitchen knife.
"The only thing I can do now… The only option left… I won't anybody have them." he said, stroking the cold
metal with slender fingers. "If nobody can have them, they'll not get hurt, right? And.. and then…". A releived
grin danced on his lips. "Everything will be okay when they go."
'The kids should be saved first.' he decided. The first of which, he decided, would be his 14 year old
daughter Sophia. With a most child like giddiness, Neil snuck towards Sophia's bedroom. He pushed the door open
slowly and peered inside. The slit of light shining through from the other side fell upon her prestine face,
pretty as a peach. He slipped inside quietly and closed the door behind him so not to wake Orion. Slippery as an
eel, he slunk over to her and sat by the side of her bed. Cold fingers traced the outline of her face and ran back
through her blond hair.
"Oh, look at this hair… It's still as pretty as star dust." He cooed, smiling lightly. He propped
himself up on his elbows so that he was hovering above her. "And you know Space-Dad's not going to let anybody
hurt an inch of it." he assured her. The slender man stood once again, still half bent over. Carefully he removed
her covers, revealing the rest of her unconcious body. Smiling sweetly, he planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"Goodnight, sweet heart." Neil said in a hushed tone. Humming a soothing little tune as he did this, he moved the
pillow out from beneath her.
Soon enough her face was concealed by the fluffy mass. The red head raised the weapon and, with the utmost
force, brought it down and penetrated her chest cavity. Sophia jerked at this, a murmur or two escaping her lips.
Neil's grip on the pillow strengthened as he practically smothered her face with it. Again and again he plunged
into her with the sharpened blade, her life's fluid spraying everywhere. Not soon after, her stirrings had ceased.
All was silent save for the heavy breathing from her father and the occasional drip drop of blood dribbling over
the side of the bed.
"Are you okay now?" he asked curiously. Neil pulled the bloodstained pillow away slowly before sighing
happily at his work. The lifeless look in her eyes assured him she was indeed dead. Her tormentor dropped the
knife and slumped down to the floor, kneeling beside the remains of his love's gift to the world. He grasped her
hand, his cold, thin fingers intertwining with her nimble ones. On any normal occasion seeing this much blood as
well as knowing it came from his daughter would have given him a literal heart attack. But this was different.
Much different in fact. The red that painted the walls around him was a symbolism of his love for his family. As
much as he had wanted to stay with her, he knew the two others left needed his help. Neil pulled the now sodden
covers back over her. A quick pat on the head and he was gone, the door closed behind him.
Next up was his 7 year old son, Orion. He lay in his bed, curled up in a ball with his legs tucked into
him. He contently sucked on his thumb as he slept, much to Neil's delight. Before he could go on with his scheme,
though, he had a thought. Wheatley would be coming home soon and he would likely walk in on him. That wouldn't do
him a lick of good.
"I don't have time for this…" Neil said, brandishing the knife. "But I need to save him!". He thought it
over for a few minutes before begining to panic. He didn't have much time left and if he didn't come up with
something fast the whole point of this was going to go sour.
A sly grin stretched across his face and his worries were laid to rest as a new plan hatched in his head.
"Ooh, I know what to do!" he exclaimed, shoving the blade into his back pocket and pulled his shirt over it.
Working quickly, the skinny perpetrater gathered up some pillows, a blanket and a small stuffed bear dressed in a
space suit. Adding to this pile, he scooped up Orion from the bed. The movement roused the boy. His eyes fluttered
open slightly and he tiredly looked up at his father.
"Mm… Space-Dad…?" he called tiredly. Neil smiled softly, caressing the child's cheek. "What are we
doing…?" he asked.
"It's okay. Just go back to sleep." He said. Orion easily complied, being that he was much too exhausted
to argue even if he wanted to. The lunatic nuzzled against him, gently rocking him back and forth for but a
moment. He knew time wasn't exactly on his side and he needed to hurry.
Soon enough the two were packed into the car and were heading for the lake. Once there Neil carefully
pulled up to the old dock and stopped there. He looked back at Orion who was unsurprisingly sound asleep in the
back of the car. The red head crawled over to him and began stroking him lovingly.
"I'm sorry I had to do this the hard way, Orion. That's my fault. I shouldn't have wasted so much time."
he apologized. "But it'll be alright. Just stay asleep and it'll be okay.". Neil carefully pulled the covers over
his son and tucked him in. Along with this he set the stuffed bear into his arms, which Orion happily snuggled
closer to in his sleepy state. "Goodnight, kiddo." he cooed, kissing him on the forehead just as he'd done to
Sophia. He climbed back into the front of the car and released the parking brake. He then proceeded to exit the
car, lock the doors and cast the car keys into the middle of the lake. Looking back inside, he thought that
perhaps he should have buckled Orion in so the chances of him escaping if he woke up would become less of an
issue. But then again, it was too late now and he seriously doubted he could escape a locked car sinking into a
lake.
"Goodbye!" Neil hollered. He used all of his might to push the car forward. It was quite a feat for him to
pull off, given that the car weighed at least a few tons. He was really quite a stick of a man, too. So, after a
short while the vehicle had splashed into the lake and was sinking fast. Neil allowed himself a well deserved
break and plopped down on the dock. There he watched as the burgundy form was swallowed by the chilly lake water.
'I hope I didn't accidentally wake Orion up…' he thought to himself. Now that he really put some thought into
it, there was a lot of movement involved with pushing a car into a lake. And on top of that, the boy was not a
heavy sleeper in the least.
The star cluttered sky shadowing him reminded him he wasn't quite finished yet. "I'll ask Wheatley to
apologize for me when he sees Orion." he decided. Neil frowned, realizing he'd have to walk all the way back to
the house. Not that the distance was an issue, but it was freezing. It had to be around 40 degrees. He grunted at
this and got to his feet. The things a man would do for his family.
Ten minutes later he found himself standing next to Wheatley's beaten up car. It was quite old and both of
them still wondered how it even managed to run at this point. Not long after, Neil was turning the doorknob and
entering their home, prepared for the worst. The task of saving Wheatley was definately going to be hard. He had
likely discovered Sophia's body. Orion and himself being missing was a guarentee he wouldn't be going to sleep any
time soon. Whatever happened, Neil had to make sure Wheatley didn't fight back.
"NEILOHMYGODTHEREYOUAREIWASSOWORRIEDABOUTYOUWHERE'S ORIONWHATHAPPENEDOHMYGODOHMYGOD".
Neil was taken aback momentarily by the incomprehensible collection of outbursts. Wheatley was a wreck.
Shaking, pacing, sobbing violently, hyperventilating and not being able to sit still for a moment. "N-Neil!
She-she-she's- What happened!? Are you- are you okay? Oh my God, you're bleeding! Is-is that your bloo-blood!?" he
cried out. He made a grab for Neil's hand, who promptly yanked it away. He gave a false cry of pain and Wheatley
winced. "A-are you alright? What happened!?" he cried.
"Ow… I-It really hurts… Don't touch…" Neil whimpered. He felt the slightest bit guilty for lying to
him and making him think he was hurt, but he figured the more he played along the faster Wheatley would join his
side and he would be vulnerable to him. Then he could make his move.
"W-we need a doctor! A really good d-d-d-doctor!" The brunette stammered, his breathing rapidly speeding
up. He paused and then snapped back towards him.
"Did you see!?" he demanded.
"See?" Neil asked, cocking his head.
"SEE WHO DID THIS!" Wheatley cried out, stepping around a pool of vomit. He gripped the fabric of Neil's
dirtied shirt dramatically. "He-he-they-… Neil they… they hurt Sophia.. They hurt… Where's Orion!? He…
they.. they…" he trailed off, his knees buckling beneath him. His legs were limp as he clung to Neil. Crying was
unavoidable as he continued moaning incoherent sentences to his partner. "Hurt them… They..Th-they hurt our
babies… No… Why…Whyyy…" he sobbed. Neil frowned sadly. Seeing his love in such pain was not at all what he
wanted. It was a bittersweet feeling to know that while he was going to become Wheatley's saviour he would also be
the last person to hurt him before he did so.
The redhead heaved a great sigh. He couldn't bear to watch this anymore. He wrapped the shorter man in a
tight embrace, rubbing his back soothingly. Wheatley accepted the gesture without even thinking about it and held
him back, desperate for the comfort. As they did this, Neil reached behind him with his free hand and lifted his
shirt just enough to reveal the handle to the knife. He withdrew the weapon and positioned the blade stained
crimson carefully behind him.
"…Wheatie?" He called softly. Wheatley sniveled, looking up at him with reddened eyes. "Tell the Orion I
said I'm sorry for me, okay? And say hi to Sophia for me too." Neil requested. Before Wheatley could question this
the cold metal was pervading his backside. He let out a shrill scream which Neil did his best to silence by
shoving Wheatley's face into the fabric of his shirt.
Neil continuously shanked him in the kidney, blood spewing all over the carpet as it entered and exited
him. It was tiring work as Wheatley had nearly slipped away on several occasions. His attempts were in vain
however. With every blow he became weaker and weaker until his legs eventually gave out from beneath him. Neil
dropped the knife in favor of catching him before he could hit the ground. He gently got to his knees and set a
just barely alive Wheatley into his lap. The man gave a series of frightened whimpers and moans in response to the
space obsessed lunatic smiling down on him and petting his hair.
"Shhh… it's okay… Everything's okay now…" he whispered. He propped him up so that his head rested on
Neil's chest. Once there, he leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. "Goodnight, Wheatley. I love you."
He said as the brunette faded away. He knew he would not have long. Soon the police would come for him and he'd
have to be seperated from his love. Two bodies in the house and the third in the lake meant hard time or maybe
death. Neil would be sad to go, but at least they were safe now. Nobody was ever getting to them again. And in a
way he welcomed the thought of being killed for his crimes, as it meant he would get to be near them again. He
looked through the living room window where once again he saw the moon shining down on him. He smiled widely,
pleased with what he'd done. 'I… I did good.' he thought cheerfully. Neil closed his eyes and laid down next to
the body. He clasped their ice cold fingers together and sighed.
"Space-Dad'll be there soon, guys. Don't worry. Everything is gonna be okay."