"Someone else here is a machine too…" Evan's words haunted Jonathan. He didn't sleep, he didn't eat breakfast. He watched. He watched Brock take down his and Lui's tent, a smile on his face. He watched Craig drink his coffee with Tyler, checking on him occasionally to make sure he was okay. He watched Lui clean his knives from where he sat on the front seat of the truck, his calm gaze watching the others. He watched Tyler help the others with taking the camp down, his shoulders heavy with regret. He watched Evan move stiffly, the machine trying to be human.

"If someone else is a machine...Does that mean they are spying on us for whoever sent the war machines? For who sent you?" Jonathan had asked Evan who could only nod. "And you don't know who it is?" He had nodded again, fear creeping into his mind.

"Are you okay?" Brock suddenly asked, making Jonathan jump. "You seem out of it."

"Just...sore is all." Jonathan shrugged, forcing a smile.

"Tyler's sorry."

"I know." Jonathan nodded.

"Come on! We still got a long way to go. I guess we can't rely on the Vanoss-IV anymore, can we?" Brock asked. It couldn't be him, there was too much happiness, too much emotion.

"Survive past regular human life, but still be human mentally…" Smitty had said. Jonathan found himself wondering if the Delirious project that he had told them about was the same thing; if it had served as a blueprint for Evan. He pushed the thought away, deciding that it couldn't be Brock.

"Yeah...We do have a symbol, though." Jonathan said as he followed Brock into the back of the truck where Lui and Evan had already settled in. The truck rumbled to life as the truck's front doors closed, finally on it way again. Jonathan reached into his bag, pulling out the Vanoss-IV chip and pointed to the ohm symbol. "It's a watermark. Someone made it. If we can figure out whose mark this is, we know who sent the machines."

"What is that?" Evan asked. Jonathan hesitated, glancing at the others who wouldn't meet his gaze; none of them wanting to be the one to tell Evan.

"It's...It's you. Or at least a version of you." Jonathan explained, placing the glowing blue chip in Evan's hands. "This one isn't nearly as nice."

"It's me…" Evan stared at the chip, his eyes wide with a mix of emotions. Jonathan couldn't imagine what he felt; to hold oneself in the palm of their hand. Slowly, his look of shock turned into a smile. "I'm an idea…Something you can never destroy. That's what I told Tyler in..In my last letter. But I never thought…" Evan made an odd sound as if a sob was stuck in his throats and he couldn't get it out. "Never thought it'd be like this." He handed the consciousness chip back to him, his hands shaking as he placed it in Jonathan's palm. "So many different versions of me...how do I know which one is really me?"

"One...Two...Three…"

Snow drifted through the trees, landing on a makeshift camp of military tents and a dying fire. Jonathan stood in the middle of it, hearing footsteps in the snow behind him.

"Someone is a machine...Who is it?"

"Why do you think I know?" Evan asked from where he stood behind Jonathan, the back of his soldier's uniform soaked with blood.

"Four...Five...Six…"

"Because you've told me everything that has happened so far. You told me not to come out here. You told me that I won't be able to handle what I'll find. Is this it? Is this machine what I can't handle?" Jonathan yelled in anger as he turned to face the ghost. "Tell me who it is! Or I don't believe in you. You aren't really real, are you? You're just a figment of my imagination! I wanted you to be real so I've given myself nightmares, made you a soldier from a war that ruined this world! That makes sense, doesn't it? Fuck you! Fuck these nightmares!" Jonathan screamed, kicking one of the tents and knocked it down.

"Stop it." A new voice made him jump, fear and confusion washing over him. "You're better than this." Jonathan turned around slowly to face himself. He wore a uniform just like Evan did, an owl patch over his heart. "Jonathan, you have to think now, but I think you know who it is."

"You're...you're me…" Jonathan stammered.

"Seven...Eight...Nine…"

"What will you do when you come face to face with this machine, Jonathan?" Evan asked, glancing at the soldier across from him with the matching patch.

"You have to do what is right, Jonathan." Jonathan told himself. "Figure it out."

Jonathan awoke with a start, looking around the back of the truck with wide eyes. He had been asleep long enough for the sun start dipping towards the horizon, snow falling around them as the truck rumbled down the road. He met Evan's gaze, who gave him a look that asked if he was alright. He nodded slightly, turning away from him. A version of himself had been in that dream, a soldier just like Evan.

"You know who it is…" He had told himself. Jonathan glanced around at Lui and Brock. They were too relaxed, too emotional. They saw a world filled with colour. He knew who it was. Someone who had asked to join them because he didn't want to be left behind. Though he had helped them take down New Town, he was a creation of it. Yet the more he thought about it, the more sloppy it seemed to him. If this machine was spying for who sent the war machines and Evan, it was too convenient that it would be him. Evan wasn't going to hurt them, his only purpose had been to tell Jonathan that someone among them was also a machine. It was supposed to hurt them, more than Evan's reanimation hurt them. It couldn't be Craig but Jonathan couldn't think of anyone else it could be. He had tried to test Craig before and even though it hadn't worked, he had to try again. He couldn't just accuse him of being a machine because no one would believe him except Evan and that wasn't enough.

"Dinner is ready." Craig called out, a smile. Tyler jumped down from the back of the truck, bullet shells falling to the snow.

"Don't lose those!" Lui reminded him. "We need them and I don't want to die because you forget them."

"Relax, Lui. We got enough to last the winter." Tyler laughed as they made their way to the campfire and the small bunsen burner, a pot of warm soup bubbling on top.

"I didn't think we had that much." Brock joked, an exaggerated expression of confusion on his face that broke into a smile as they sat down beside him around Craig.

"Thank you, Craig." Evan said with a stiff smile as if he was still getting used to his 'muscles'.

"You're welcome." Craig nodded. To Jonathan, it seemed like there was something mechanical about the way he poured the soup into their metal bowls.

"Are you okay, Jonathan?" Brock asked, suddenly snapping Jonathan out of his thoughts. He nodded, suddenly finding himself unable to say anything. "Jon?"

"I-I…" Jonathan stammered, his wide eyes locked on Craig. "M-M…"

"Jonathan what's happening?"

"Ma-mach…"

"You know who it is…" He couldn't breathe, panic and fear strangling him as the words he had told himself echoed deafeningly in his mind. "You know who it is! You know who it! You know who it is! You know who it-"

"Jonathan." Evan suddenly took Jonathan's hand, a feeling of calmness washing over him. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know…" Jonathan breathed, meeting the other's confused, wide-eyed stares. "Sorry...I...There was something in my throat." He coughed and managed a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Thank you, Craig." He took the warm bowl from him, the spoon in his hand shaking.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Tyler asked, noticing Jonathan's shaking hand.

"You know who it is." Jonathan looked at all of the faces of his friends, seeing gears behind their eyes and wires replacing their veins. He closed his eyes tightly, feeling hot soup splash against his hand and burn.

"Jonathan?" He opened his eyes, looking back up at them.

"I'm fine." He repeated. "I'm fine."

"Why did you tell me?"

"I had to." Jonathan shook his head, meeting Evan's sad gaze.

"No...No, you said you didn't want to." Jonathan turned away from him, looking off into the dark woods. After dinner, he had wandered away from the camp, trying to clear his head but it hadn't worked. More questions filled his mind and they refused to be ignored. Evan had followed him, keeping his distance for a little while before Jonathan had finally acknowledged him. Now they walked together through the snow but stopped when Jonathan couldn't stop the words and the tears in his eyes. "You were...programmed to tell me. How do I know you were telling the truth?" He took a deep breath, shaking his head. "I can't trust you...I can trust the Vanoss-III, but you...You aren't the Vanoss-III...You're a zombie...a ghost! Fuck, the Evan in my dreams is more real than you!"

"You dream about me…?" Evan looked surprised.

"Did you lie to me?" Jonathan suddenly grabbed Evan's collar and slammed him against the nearest tree, choking him. "If I pull out your consciousness chip will I find an ohm symbol on it?"

"I'm not lying to you!" Evan shoved Jonathan off with more force than any human could have. Jonathan fell to the snow, looking up at Evan with terror. He took a step towards him, making Jonathan scramble back on the icy snow. "There is someone else that is a machine. I had to tell you...Yes, I was probably told to tell you, I don't know. But I would never lie to you, Jonathan."

"I want to believe you…"

"Then believe me! I will never lie to you, Jonathan! There is another machine here! I don't know who it is...You've been with them since the start of this, you know who it is!" Evan cried. Jonathan tensed. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm just so scared that it's you...It can't be you, right Jonathan?" He didn't say anything. "Right Jonathan?"

"I don't know, Evan!" Jonathan yelled as he got to his feet, ice and snow falling from his back. "I don't know what's happening anymore! You're haunting me! You weren't ever a soldier but I keep seeing you as one! I keep seeing you covered in blood, dying and warning me about something that has yet to happen! I don't know what is real and what isn't anymore!" Evan simply stared at him, watching him break down. "I want you to be the Vanoss-III, the Evan I kept safe and fought for! You say you remember me…"

"I only remember you as flashes of blue light and a voice. A distant voice that helped me find myself again. I told you, I'm the Vanoss-III." Evan said, his tone the same as the one he used to call Tyler down. Jonathan shook his head, turning away from Evan only to stop when he realised that he also stood behind him. The soldier stared at Jonathan, blood dripping down his back.

"Oh god…" Jonathan cried, tears falling from his eyes. "I'm losing my mind, Evan…" He turned back around only to scream when he saw blood dripping from a wound in Evan's forehead.

"Jonathan?" He turned away from the two dead Evans and ran into the woods, his tears blinding him. He tripped and stumbled, crashing into the snow.

"Isn't it a beautiful night…?" He slowly looked up at the Evan that stood in front of him, a rotting apple in his hand and blood blossoming on his chest. The smile on his face was forced and full of pain. Jonathan screamed again, scrambling to his feet and ran.

"You know who it is!" A soldier with his own face yelled at him, following him among the crooked trees. "You know who it is and you can't run from it!"

"Leave me alone!" Jonathan screamed. "Leave me alone! Please! Leave me alone!" He fell to his knees, gasping for air between violent sobs.

"You won't be able to handle it." The soldier with a bleeding back said as he walked around Jonathan, his footsteps silent on the icy snow.

"Don't lose yourself." Jonathan's attention turned to the monster, his red jacket torn like the bandages around his hands. This Evan's eyes looked like a malfunctioning computer screen.

"You're making me lose my mind!" Jonathan screamed at them. "What do you want from me?"

"Do what is right." His eyes went down to the red glow of the Vanoss-III's screen, a sob escaping his throat as his cold hands curled around the tablet. "You have to do what is right. This world needs you."

Jonathan couldn't stop himself from screaming as he woke up. He sat up suddenly, heaving for air. He scrambled to the front of the tent, pulling down the zipper and stepped into the cold dawn.

"Jonathan? What is it?" Evan placed a hand on Jonathan's shoulder, making him flinch and push his hand away.

"Don't...Don't touch me…" Jonathan stammered. "I don't know if you real…"

"Of course I'm real. It was just a bad dream, Jon." Evan said calmly, trying to reassure him.

"What's going on?" Tyler stepped out of his tent, glancing between Evan's calm expression and Jonathan's pale, sickly stare.

"I heard a scream." Craig said, peeking his head out of the tent.

"You…" Jonathan suddenly grit his teeth, his hands curling into fists as he stormed towards Craig. He grabbed his shirt and threw him to the snow. "It's you, isn't it?"

"Jonathan what the fuck?" Tyler yelled, pushing him back.

"He's a machine! He's spying on us!" Jonathan shook Craig roughly, his grip on his collar choking the air from his lungs. Craig struggled, trying to push Jonathan off.

"How do you know?" Tyler demanded, pulling Jonathan off Craig. Craig spat at Jonathan as he got up, brushing the cold snow from his pants. Full of rage, Jonathan could only answer Tyler's question by pointing at Evan. "Fucking christ… No one except Evan is a machine! I've known Craig for years, Jon!"

"Evan was programmed to do nothing to us but tell us that someone here is a machine! He can't lie!" Jonathan yelled though he wondered if Evan had really said that or if it had only been a dream.

"What happened?" Lui's tent unzipped and he and Brock climbed out, looking between the four of them with confusion.

"Did he say that someone else is a machine?" Brock asked, his eyes widening. Tyler nodded. "Oh...God."

"What does this mean? That we're being spied on by the ohm guy?" Lui asked. "How do we know that isn't what Evan is doing right now?"

"I promise you...I'm not!" Evan held up his hands in defence. "I swear I'm not spying! I don't even know who uses the ohm symbol!"

"But whoever is a machine...is spying?" Craig clarified. When Jonathan nodded, he began to laugh. "You think I'm a machine? Have you seen me? I am not made out of metal or whatever the fuck is keeping Evan functional." Evan seemed to flinch at the words, looking away from Craig. Jonathan lunged at Craig again only to be held back by Tyler.

"You were never supposed to come with us! You just showed up conveniently right as we were about to leave and asked for an adventure just because you helped out the last time!" Jonathan snapped.

"He's right…" Brock sighed. "Craig was never a part of our plan to come out here."

"That doesn't mean shit!" Craig yelled, suddenly shoving Jonathan back. He swung at him, missing and staggering past Jonathan who tripped him. Craig let out a cry of anger and brought Jonathan down with him, hitting him as hard as he could. Jonathan snarled and threw Craig off, kneeing his side.

"Stop it!" Tyler yanked Craig to his feet, giving Jonathan the opportunity to get back up, his lip cracked and bleeding.

"Have you ever thought that maybe it's you, New Towner? You came from that sick fucking tower where they did the Vanoss-III project! How do we know that you aren't the Delirious project or whatever the hell Smitty was talking about!" Craig got to his feet, staring Jonathan down as he waited for a response. "If anyone here is going to be a machine, it only makes sense if it's you!"

"I'm not...Not…" Jonathan suddenly found himself unable to speak, just as he had earlier. He couldn't process what Craig had just said to him.

"You know who it is."

"I'm not a-a m-m-"

"What?" Craig's brow furrowed, glancing at the others as Jonathan spluttered, struggling to speak.

"Oh...No." Evan breathed. Jonathan met his gaze, feeling as if the world was suddenly collapsing in on him. "I didn't know."

"Know what?" Tyler cried. "Jon? Fuck, what's happening?"

"Jonathan?"

"Jon!" He ignored them as he moved slowly past them, realisation dawning on him. His friends were too real. His life wasn't. Before meeting them, his life was routine, programmable. He knew who it was. Once at the truck, he reached into the back for one of Lui's knives.

"Jonathan don't." Evan warned. Jonathan looked down at the blade, seeing his own reflection. When Lui tried to get close to him to take the knife away, Jonathan jumped back, threatening him with it.

"I know who it is…" Jonathan said, tears falling from his eyes. "Craig's right. It only makes sense...But there is only one way to prove it...Right?" He fixed his grip on the handle of the knife with his right hand, stretching out his left arm. Taking a deep breath, he plunged the knife into his arm, blood splattering to the snow as Jonathan cried out in pain.

"Stop it!" Brock yelled, wanting to stop him. Lui held him back despite how much he struggled. "You don't have to do this, Jon!" Jonathan ignored him, gritting his teeth as he pulled the knife up the length of his arm, cutting it open. Blood spilt down his arm, soaking his clothes and the snow around him. Weakly, he dropped the knife to the snow, looking up at the others who were horrified, even Evan. Unable to look at them anymore, he turned his gaze back down to his arm, knowing that he wasn't done yet. He winced as he forced himself to peel back the skin, telling himself that he had to be wrong. He opened his eyes, letting out a cry of pain and shock as he did. Jonathan began to laugh, falling against the side of the truck.

"It's me…" Jonathan felt numb. "I'm the machine…" There were no veins and there were no bones. Gears clicked and wires ran up and down the length of his arm, metal glinting in the dim light that began to fade around him. Jonathan looked back up at his friends as he slid down the side of the truck, the world going dark as he collapsed to the blood soaked snow.