[Author's notes: Alright, this chapter is based strongly (90%) on the episode 'Brothers' by Rick Berman and is a little on the lengthy side (but that is entirely because of Rick Berman's genius). Also, feel free to be impressed by my knowledge of the term 'forceps' as I chuckle evilly to myself. Comments and constructive criticism always welcomed.]

Draining - Silversun Pickups

Chapter 5

Lore gazed out over the night metropolis from atop the Rand Building, which was one of the largest sky scrapers in the city. Perhaps I'll find my way up here again. He sipped at his glass of champagne, celebrating the New Year on Olympus with a few people who, in another lifetime, he might have called friends.

Lore glanced at the large clock which hung in the middle of the elaborately decorated hall. Two hours to go...Natalia sauntered up to him, wearing a dress that was designed for murder. He smirked, taking an excessive amount of time to look her up and down, much to her delight.

"Why are you standing up here alone?"

"Enjoying the sights." He replied too casually.

"I'll join you." She rested her elbows on the balcony, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"What's on your mind?" Natalia always seemed too distant to talk with and he was surprised when she asked him such a personal question. Nevertheless, he dodged the inquiry, as he always did with women such as her.

"Oh… I'm just thinking about how sad I'll be when I'm spending the rest of my last night here alone." He feigned his lightheartedness as he rested his hand gently over his collarbone.

"I would join you but I know we wouldn't do anything fun. We would probably just end up playing cards. Again." Lore grinned and tipped his head to the side. He was an adamant poker player.

"But you don't know that. And you're only worried about playing cards because you know I would win."

"We will see about that." Her tone was lofty; it was obvious she was not talking about a card game any longer.

"Natalie!" Someone called her from across the room.

"I'll stop by later tonight to say goodbye." She whispered and gave him that signature look of hers as she strolled back over to a group of wealthy-looking men.

Only hours later did Lore find himself wandering into Natalie's lavish apartment with her trailing behind him. She looked around the studio with distant eyes. Lore sat casually on her couch, picking up a news tablet and pretending to be interested in the Olympus news headlines. He did not get very far into the story before Natalia slid into his lap with seductive intent, easing her hands down his chest. She was very attractive, her blood-colored hair framing her confident shoulders and cascading down her back in curls. But Lore was not about to tell her any of that.

He wrapped his hands around her wrists, preventing her from moving any further. She let out a moan in the back of her throat which almost sounded like a purr. He could not believe it, she was actually enjoying this.

"Natalie, no." Lore could not understand why he was rejecting her. His stomach churned. Something buried underneath, something programmed inside was preventing him from continuing.

He gently moved her to the space next to him on the couch.

"What is it?" She moved in closer to him, biting at the corner of his ear. Wrong, so wrong."Am I not attractive enough for you?" He said nothing and she froze, backing up a little.

"No." He said soberly. "We're too different… I'm not human, I mean… do you even know what I am? We're two completely different species…"

She pursed her lips, grinding her teeth.

"Fine. Get out." Her tone was ice cold and caused Lore to raise his eyebrows indignantly. She would not even look at him. He rose and swiftly exited her flat. Standing out in the hallway for a moment, he contemplated what had just happened. For whatever reason, the memory of the feeling of her hands running down his chest made him feel dirtier than he ever had before… it made him feel evil.

Returning to his run-down apartment, he got into the shower to try and let the water cleanse his feelings of filthiness. The hot water ran over his skin for nearly an hour, but once he realized that his feelings of sin could not be cleansed by a shower, he stepped out of the stall into his frigid bathroom. During his absence, the season on Olympus had turned cold and the tile under his feet was chill to the touch. He dressed swiftly, sliding on his heavy boots. Inhaling deeply, he looked around his room. It felt as though he was suffocating; there was no room to think. Unable to remain static, he nearly ripped the apartment door off its hinges, and bolted down the stairs. He exited the building through an old emergency escape, which no longer functioned as anything more than an alternate exit.

Out in the streets, he wandered aimlessly, with no particular goal in mind. As he scanned the crowd with pale eyes, he noticed people passing him by with curious glances. It was a sobering thought, to step outside one's self and ponder what any one individual among the crowd might be thinking about him. He jerked his head up sharply as a group of construction workers dropped a large piece of building material down onto a pile of rubble, giving off a resounding crash. All at once, Lore was sick of the people surrounding him, bumping into him, breathing on him. He needed somewhere to hide, somewhere where he could observe, with the remote detachment of a scientist. And then he remembered: the Rand Building.

At the top of his escape, he watched in fascination as the tiny lights from cars and buildings glittered like the electrical impulses that ran through his neural pathways. In truth, Lore loved heights. To be up high where he could watch everything and have no one watching him; it was almost like being a god. Lightning struck on the horizon as deep blue clouds rolled over the city. His sensitive ears picked up the sound of thunder in the distance, a deep bass sound which struck a chord in his chest. The wind pressed lightly against his face; it smelled faintly of the distant sea. Lore closed his eyes and with the sensation that he had fallen asleep, he reopened them to find he was not in his starting place.

"That should do it." A vague sense of elapsed time washed over him but did little to relieve his confusion. The first sight which met his eyes was that of his father. He had aged quite a bit since Lore had last seen him but the old sparkle in his eyes was still there. In an instant Lore was overcome with joy. Lore believed him dead and yet he stood there next to him, hunched over under the weight of time. How many times had he wished he could see his father just one more time... but Data stood beside him and all his feelings of joy were ripped away from him, leaving him cold in his skin.

"So… you're still alive." Lore tried to act as though he did not care. He may have fooled Data but his father could always see right through him. "I'm surprised you woke me, why didn't you just disassemble me again and be done with it? That is why the two of you captured me, isn't it?" If they were going to deactivate him, he wished they would have done it before waking him. He would have preferred his last memory to be the relaxed atmosphere from atop the Rand Building. Instead he was here amongst confusion and rekindled memories. Lore cleared his thoughts as he worked to put his emotions back in check. He stole a glance at his surroundings. The walls surrounding him looked like a haphazard cross between a science lab and a natural history museum.

"Data had nothing to do with this." Lore could see that Dr. Soong may have found his remark humorous if the situation were not so serious. "And nobody captured you. Not exactly anyways…

"You see, both of your brains contain a simple homing device. Data's was activated purposely. Yours… well until you walked through that door, I had no idea you had been reassembled."

"No thanks to you." He bit back at his father's stinging comment. He was summoned by accident. Lore stood angrily, unable to sit still. "But thanks to you, Dear Brother, I spent nearly two years drifting in space. If it hadn't been for a fortunate encounter with a Pakled trade ship, I'd still be out there."

"I had no alternative. You would have destroyed the Enterprise," And I'd do it again. Lore scoffed at his brother's words.

"Well, since I seem to be an uninvited guest at your little party, I'll leave you with your most beloved son… and be on my way." A sickly smile spread across his face and he stalked around his father, stealing one last look at him, but Dr. Soong called after him.

"Lore, wait! There are questions I can answer! You'll have no chance to ask them later you see… I'm dying." His words left a hollow ringing in Lore's body which stopped him in his tracks. "Yeah. I'm dying."

"Dying from what sir?" Dr. Soong turned at the sound of Data's gentle voice. Lore did not hear him.

"Wait a minute…" He started, his voice a tiny whisper. "Wait a minute! What do you mean you're dying? You look fine." Lore's voice broke around the word 'fine' as he fought back the growing lump in his throat. He bounded down the steps, itching to clear the distance between them. "You're not that old, you look fine… what- what is this some kind of trick?" The undertone in his voice suggested he did not really believe it was a deception.

"I wish it were." Lore looked into his father blue eyes and swallowed hard, using every fiber in his body to fight back tears. A long silence spiraled before anyone was able to speak.

"I don't- I don't understand." Lore remembered his first years when his father was much younger than he was now. Lore had learned about mortality and how it did not apply to him. He remembered fearing the day when he might lose his father… and now that day was approaching in full realism.

"Ask me anything you want to know. Either of you." Dr. Soong added as an afterthought.

Data looked to Lore uncertainly. Turning to his father again, Lore asked "You know I still don't understand… I always tried to be what you wanted me to be… I tried to follow in your footsteps. Why would you deactivate me?"

"I… did what I had to do." His voice was full of rue.

"'You did what you had to.'?" Lore laughed, shaking his head. "What kind of an answer is that?"

"The only one I can give you." Dr. Soong rested his head in his hand and Lore felt himself soften a little. He really was so old.

"You took me apart." Lore fought back his emotions. It made no sense to him. He was loyal to his father, he always had been. And his father betrayed him, telling him that he was going to help him, to fix him. But he never got around to it. His attention was centered on Data.

"Lore told me that the colonists petitioned you to construct a less perfect android."

Dr. Soong shook his head, wagging his finger at Lore in disapproval. "The last thing you should think of yourself as, Data, is less perfect. You two are virtually identical… except for a bit of programming..." Virtually identical? Lore was amazed his father would say something like that. That bit of programming defined who they were as individuals. It would be like saying any one human is exactly the same as the next, except for a bit of genetics.

"It was a lie. Another lie." Lore rolled his eyes at his brother. Did he understand anything beyond its surface value?

Lore turned back to his father. "I would have proven myself worthy to you, if you had just given me a chance. Instead it was just easier to take me apart and build your precious Data."

"You were the first, you meant as much to me as Data ever did. But you were unstable. The colonists were not envious of you, they were afraid of you. You were unstable."

"Why couldn't you just fix me?" Lore begged his father to explain it to him in a way that he could understand. "It was within your power to fix me."

"It wasn't as simple as that… The next logical step was to construct Data. Afterward I planned to get back to you, to fix you." Lore could hear the sincerity in his voice. He did not care.

"'Next logical step…'" he pushed his sentimentality aside and scoffed at his father.

"I am not less perfect than Lore." Data was still marveling to himself, off in his own world. Lore's irritation flashed out and he attempted to bring his brother back down to earth.

"'I am not less perfect than Lore.'"

"Enough! Both of you sit down." It seemed as though the father was fed up with his sons' bickering. "After all these years, I've been plagued by what went wrong. With all of your complexities, Lore, your nuances… basic emotion was simple by comparison.

"But it turned and twisted… and tangled with ambition… Lore… If I had known you were no longer sitting on some distant shelf in pieces… that I could have simply pressed a button to bring you here, I would have spent my last years working to make things right for you as well. But all I knew of was Data. And I've worked long and hard, and I believe I've succeeded. This… Simple feelings, Data. Your feelings." Dr. Soong held up a tiny chip in between a pair of forceps.

Lore glanced at the look of pure awe on Data's face. No…Not Data, not his brother. The emotions would destroy him. Lore felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, fear spiraling in his body… fear for his younger brother. In that instant, Lore realized that Data's wellbeing was far beyond his own. He was not about to let him become their father's final experiment. Lore would do anything to protect Data now. He himself may be dysfunctional, beyond help; but, if he could do anything, it would be to protect his brother.

"I've imagined how hard it's been for you. Living amongst beings so moved by emotion…" Data's goal in life was to be as human as possible and having emotions was a colossal step in that direction. Lore knew that it would never come to that. The emotions would devastate Data, in the same way they destroyed him. Androids simply were not meant to deal with something as foreign and primitive as feelings; Lore believed Data's abilities would be superior without them. He simply had no idea how lucky he was, so lucky that emotions were not fully integrated into his programming, as they were with Lore.

"I don't have to imagine. I know how hard it's been. You'd be surprised Data… feelings do funny things. You may even learn to understand your evil brother. To forgive him." The words were almost choked out. He knew how much Data wanted this.

"You and I will be more alike, Data, you'll see..." They never would be, he was sure of that. "You know, I'm happy for you."

"I question your sincerity, Lore."

Dr. Soong huffed a short laugh. "Perhaps with this," he indicated to the chip "you will learn to be more trusting, Data. Your older brother has had good reason to be bitter."

"But sir, Lore is responsible-"

"He wasn't given the chance that you and I were given… to live. But now I'm sure he understands. That I did what I had to do. If there was only time, Lore. What a shame." A shame? Lore pulled his thoughts away from Data as he struggled to keep his face straight of the anger which was rapidly consuming him like a dry-wood fire. This is your fault. You destroyed me. Lore could not believe he would try again. After one unsuccessful attempt, he would try again. Lore would show him how wrong he was, how wrong emotions were.

"The procedure is fairly simple… I'm tired. I need to rest." As he hobbled towards his quarters, Data turned towards Lore. If he had not known better, Lore would have thought he looked fearful. He gave Data a quip of a wink.

When Dr. Soong roused the next morning he found Data alone in his lab and the Enterprise was the only ship remaining in orbit.

He sighed sadly, looking into Data's eyes. "He's gone." Data nodded. "I'm sorry, Data…. Now are you sure you are ready?"

"Yes." He spoke confidently, eyes glittering with anticipation. Dr. Soong smiled at how animated he was, even without emotion.

"Very well. Have a seat Data." Dr. Soong opened the sector of his subdermal matrix where a portion of empty circuitry was waiting. As soon as he did, Data passed into a natural unconsciousness which was part of his programming. The empty circuitry had remained there until Dr. Soong was finally ready to reconnect the filament links which ran from his anterior cortex down into his organic/inorganic interface. The interface dually served as a catalyst for the physical aspect of emotion… and the actual 'feelings' which were perceived by the brain. After the chip was in place, his neural mesh resealed and he gasped into consciousness.

Dr. Soong marveled when Data began singing an old folk song, a smile growing on his face. "Data? How do you feel?"

"I always loved that old ditty." He threw his head back and laughed. "But I could never get the tune quite right. Thank you father."

"You called me father."

"Well what would you prefer I called you? Often Wrong?"

Dr. Soong peered curiously at his son "What did Lore tell you about that?"

"That is what the colonists called you isn't it? Often Wrong Soong." Lore's face tweaked. "It's a very sloppy rhyme. Wrong, Soong? You know, it just doesn't work! Let's see-"

"Data. How are you feeling?"

"Often Wrong's got a broken heart, can't even tell his boys apart!" He grinned.

"Lore."

"Well, well. You're not as feeble as I thought you were."

"No, this won't work. Those circuits, they weren't designed for you! Where's Data?"

"'Where's Data?' You didn't construct Data with substandard parts, did you, Old Man? No… that honor was bestowed upon me. You owe me, Old Man. Not him… me." Data be damned, this was between Lore and his father now.

"It's not meant for you. You're not listening to me, it must be removed!"

Lore scoffed. "Nice trice, Old Man. Nice try." Lore stood angrily, but stopped short of his father. His systems jolted and he suffered a temporary lapse in consciousness. He paused and frantically analyzed his inner workings.

"I don't know what it's doing… but it's doing something." He grinned, a wild look in his eyes.

"Lore, I didn't know you were alive." Dr. Soong reached out to touch his son's arm and Lore retaliated with fury; he could not stand the idea of his father touching him. Lore twisted his wrist in anger and threw him over the workstation next to them. Silver tools and stacks of papers went in every direction. Without a glance backwards, he pressed a button nested in the circuitry underneath his fingernails and transported back to his own ship while still singing the rhyme which was stuck in his head.

I want a bumper sticker that says 'I love my beta reader".