Chapter 136: AngeRing the Beast

It took them a couple minutes to work out a plan of action, until they remembered they could just form a dark corridor straight to 7's office, and both promptly felt like idiots for not remembering sooner. Granted, Riku didn't want to touch R—Namine couldn't exactly blame him—so she was left doing all the heavy lifting. It was a good thing that Replicas in general were significantly lighter than humans. And that R was coherent enough to work with her, but not currently coherent enough to protest.

Better news: 7 was actually in his office, and they didn't have to wait around for him.

He looked surprised to see them, but also, perhaps, a little wary? He got out of his desk chair and approached them, pausing near the doorway.

"I… assume this is R, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah," Namine answered.

7 sighed. "Figures. Come on, if you can help me get her to the cot…" He moved to shoulder the rest of R's weight, leaving Namine mostly unburdened and only doing a little help with guiding. "Also, I appreciate the two of you bringing her to me, though I have to say I'm very surprised."

"Namine insisted," Riku said.

"I couldn't just do nothing!" Namine argued.

7 grimaced. "Oh, I dread to find out what she did to herself this time," he muttered.

"She seemed to be in a lot of pain, and then collapsed," Namine said. She wasn't sure if he wanted the information right now, but it seemed better to offer it anyway.

7's grimace deepened. He turned and called over his shoulder. "Riku, go to my computer and fire up the RVE. That's probably the best place to start, until—oh!"

This exclamation of surprise came because R, having regained coherency, rapidly shoved away from him and Namine both. She took a few staggering steps backward and away from the cot. Then she stood still for a few moments, blinking and scowling like she was trying to place a thought but couldn't quite.

"Hello R, it's nice to see you," 7 said, amusement glinting in his eyes. Either he didn't notice her distress, or didn't currently think anything of it.

"Hi 7," R replied, that and nothing more. She sounded tired, and looked distracted. But she didn't look like she was going to do anything drastic—yet—which Namine considered a step up. 7 opened his mouth to say something more, but Riku interrupted.

"Hang on, you two know each other?" he asked. Demanded, really. Typical Riku, Namine thought with a sigh.

7 and R nodded in near unison.

"Yes," 7 said.

"Like… 37 and L?" Riku pressed.

Immediately, 7 and R both made identical faces of disgust.

"Definitely not," 7 said hastily.

"Eugh, no!" R said, groaning. "Me and 7? We're friends." (She looked more at ease, now, less in pain.) "Or… kind of, anyway?"

"Perhaps… rivals?" 7 suggested.

"Mm…" R didn't seem to think quite as highly of that. "Frenemies?"

At this, 7 reflexively cringed. When he recovered, he sent her a smug look. "The only reason you're still alive," he shot at her.

"LISTEN."

"What's this about?" Namine asked, suppressing a giggle. She shouldn't be laughing, there were more serious things bubbling under the surface of this, but it was nice reprieve to push them to the side for the moment. As if they could pretend they didn't exist. (And, she was curious. Would she even get a chance to ask later?)

"Oh, I caused him some trouble with a few of the viruses I wrote," R explained.

7 scoffed. "Some trouble!" He rolled his eyes. "You nearly got all of us killed—honestly, it's only because Master Vexen found your endeavors amusing that the Replica Program is still what it is."

R rolled her eyes back, but when she spoke, it was with a barely-hidden fondness. "Oh, give yourself some credit! He only let it go on because he could trust you to fix it."

"Yes, cleaning up your messes is my absolute favorite job," 7 replied, dryly.

R sneered.

"Viruses?" Riku asked.

"A hobby," R said. "Replicas can't get sick, but I figured out how to get our bodies to perfectly mimic symptoms of the common cold. Or the stomach flu."

"And then there was the one that caused everyone infected to randomly break into song and dance every five minutes," 7 said, with a long-suffering sigh and hand pressed to his forehead. "Despite the fact that literally none of us can do either of those things!"

"Ahh the Demyx virus. That one was amazing." R grinned widely, fondly. 7 glared at her.

"Yes, and it's a miracle Xemnas didn't kill us all two hours into that mess!"

R just flapped a hand at him, rolling her eyes.

7 shook his head and took a very deep breath. Once he had calmed himself, he looked R over, a more serious expression on his face. "Anyway," he said. "I know this visit isn't actually for pleasure, so… What did you do to yourself this time? I figure it must be new."

"I… oh."

The smile fell from R's face, and suddenly all tension returned to the room.

"R?" 7 pressed, worry burning in his eyes.

"I…" She eyed him, then her eyes flicked over to Riku. Namine tensed. R sighed. "Sorry, 7," she whispered. She flicked her hand to summon lightning.

None came. Of course none came. None had come last time, either, and—same as last time, R looked down at her empty hand in confusion. Had she forgotten she couldn't summon it? It hadn't even been five minutes!

"R?" 7 took a step towards her. "What are you doing?"

From his spot leaning against the doorway, arms folded over his chest, Riku laughed. "Oh, she wants to get herself killed!" he said, smiling wide.

"What?" 7 said. Horror was creeping onto his face.

"She's dying," Namine explained, rapidly. "Or, she said she was dying? And she said—"

"Hey! You don't need to tell 7 that!" R snapped.

Namine shot a glare at her. "Well excuse me, but I'm not just going to sit here while you commit suicide!"

7 reeled back as if struck. He blinked a few times, mouth working. "Sui- suicide!?" he managed, finally. "R, why in the worlds—what. What did you do to yourself!?"

R closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. She muttered something sharp and foul and her hands twitched, brows furrowed like someone in pain. (What hurt, Namine wondered. Was there a pain in her body, or was it just the heaviness of the situation?) She let out a huff of annoyance. And then she opened her eyes.

"Do you remember what happened to Xion?" she asked, turning to 7.

Somehow, 7 turned a few more shades paler.

"R you did not," he said, and his words were furious.

Namine glanced over at Riku, wondering if he had any idea. He'd mentioned Xion, a time or two, but he hadn't said enough to give Namine any kind of context here. Riku only shrugged back at her, looking similarly lost.

"Mmm," R carried the sound out for a moment, then shrugged. "I did."

"Why. The. Hell?" 7 spat, stepping towards her.

She threw her hands up in the air. "I just wanted to stretch my virus-writing muscles, 7!" she spat back, matching at least his frustration, if not his fury.

"But why this, of all things you could do—"

"I don't know! It sounded like a nice challenge and—"

7 ran a hand through his hair, pain breaking across his face. "That's a horrible reason, and yet somehow I'm not surprised."

"I didn't intend to catch it!" R argued.

"You never intend to catch them!"

"Well of course I don't!"

"And you didn't even think to make it so you couldn't catch—"

"Don't even start!" R spat. "Trust me, 7. I haven't stopped thinking about how easy it would have been to prevent this." She was seething, now, trembling where she stood. Her voice climbed higher and higher with her anger. "All I would have needed to do was write something into the virus telling it to ignore Replicas with a string of data that matched mine! Or I could have written something into my own data that would contradict- that would cancel out the, that would- that would… cancel the…"

She trailed off here, a vague look entering her eyes again. Her breaths came in short gasps, and she swayed where she stood.

"R!" 7 moved towards her, catching her before she could collapse. He steadied her where she stood.

"I- what was I—?" she stammered, and then shook her head, glaring. "I'm fine." She made to push away from 7, but only swayed again, and had to put her weight against him to remain standing. She muttered a curse.

"R, please," 7 said, and then. "I'm sorry. I have to ask. Please- please tell me you didn't make it contagious."

"What?"

"The virus. Tell me it's not contagious."

"Oh, please, I'm not that stupid."

7 let out a shuddering sigh of relief. "Well. That's good news," he said. He gripped her arms tightly, as he looked down at her. There was such a warm gentleness in his voice, as he spoke…

Namine shifted a little uncomfortably where she stood. This seemed like something they maybe shouldn't be watching? Riku also looked uncomfortable, but somehow, Namine doubted it was for the same reason.

Maybe they should go… But. Namine really wanted to know how this played out.

"And you know what else is good news?" 7 continued. "We can fix this. Remember? You helped me work on the cure."

"Mmmm…" R said. The hum of someone who didn't quite want to say no.

"What?"

"It won't work," R said, her voice bright, bitter. She pushed away from 7, and this time managed to remain standing on her own.

7 eyed her over. "What… do you mean?"

R leaned towards him, eyes glinting. "Do you think I'm stupid?" she asked. "Do you really think I'd write a virus based on something I'd helped write the cure for, and then not make sure said cure wouldn't work?"

"Well," 7 began. He stopped and considered for a moment, frowning. "There must be something else."

"Mmmmmmm," R said again, carrying out the note a little longer this time. That bitter smile had not left her lips. "No, you see. I may have, a little bit, 7-proofed this one."

7's eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"Excuse me?"

"Every single possible thing we had slated to maybe fix Xion? They won't work, 7," R explained. Her eyes burned. "I made sure of it. And I made sure every potential cure that I could think of, on top of that, wouldn't work either."

"R," 7 began.

"After all, it's supposed to cause a slow and painful death that takes months to completely kill someone," R continued, like she hadn't heard him. "Plenty of time for you to fix it! But what use would it be if you could just fix it?"

Instead of her tone darkening, it just got brighter, more bitter. Somehow, this was so much more unsettling.

"R," 7 said again, a little more urgently this time.

"That's the problem, 7. I'm incredibly smart, but I'm also a dumbass." This was said with a laugh, a laugh that was exasperated, pained. "Because I went through all that trouble to make sure you couldn't cure it, but didn't take the time to make sure it wouldn't hurt me, or you, or anyone else I care about."

"Oh, R…" 7 whispered. His tone was fond, sad, a little proud. He took a deep breath. "Listen… Listen. You still have a couple of months, don't you? The least I could do is look at it. Maybe there was something you missed—"

"I kind of doubt it," R argued.

"R, please, you have to let me try," 7 said.

R considered this a moment. And then she shook her head. And she laughed. That laugh was every inch the laugh of a broken woman at the end of her rope.

"No," she said. "I don't."

The next things happened very fast.

R moved across the room and grabbed Namine and—

"R!" 7 shouted and—

"HEY!" Namine yelped and—

"Sorry Namine," R said and—

Pain like fireworks exploded down Namine's arm as R ran a knife along it, leaving a trail of red in its wake, and—

Riku threw himself at R.