Nos bit into his thirtieth battery, glad for the silence it brought him to send Aya off. Maybe it was a mistake to tell her he didn't care what she did, (he knew he'd regret it later) but he just wanted peace and quiet, and it was doing wonders for his headache.

"Bleck..." Nos shook his head, "So disgusting..."

Defeat had a weird effect on him. Since he wasn't programmed to know what defeat was like, it left him unprepared. He realized that was an error on Zurg's part, but it was something he had to live with every day of his life. When was the last time he'd even been victorious? He could only remember defeat, and it was slowly eating away at his sanity.

Buzz Lightyear. He hated that name so much it made his teeth grind together. He hated Zurg and XR sure, but that didn't even come close to how much he despised the top dog of Star Command. Every...single...time...

"GRAAAH!" he slammed his head into the keyboard, draining yet another battery. Why!? Why was victory never in his grasp!? Why was he always defeated so swiftly!? Why couldn't he do anything right!?

Sometimes he wished he had someone to talk to...

"Nos?"

Oh, right. He turned to her, "What is it this time?"

"I...I heard you cry out, and, um..." Aya suddenly looked very uncomfortable, "...I thought you were...sorry, I'll leave you alone..."

"Wait."

She froze, "What?"

Why was he doing this? "Can I talk to you? Just for a minute?"

"Huh?" Aya seemed surprised, he would be too, "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

Well, she was going to die anyway. Might as well get this off his chest, "What does defeat feel like for you?"

"Hm?"

"Surely you've been defeated before." he replied, "Those scars couldn't have just appeared."

"Oh, right..." Aya thought about what to say, "They were from Forthright, but anyway, yeah, I've seen defeat. I'm always disappointed when I'm defeated, but I try to think of it as an opportunity to learn."

He slammed his fist on the console, "Why can't I think of it like that..."

"Wh-what?"

"I can't think of defeat as a good thing...defeat is not in my programming...I had to teach myself not to fall apart when I did, using it to fuel my revenge..."

"Nos..."

"Why? Why!?" he sucked in a breath of air, his servo-fluid boiling, "I don't understand!"

"Hey, hey...calm down..."

"I always do this! Always! I charge into a situation recklessly because I feel invincible! Why can't I just..."

"Nos, listen to me." Aya said, "Defeat isn't supposed to feel good! I'm always devastated after a defeat! Don't beat yourself up over it if it's something you can't control!"

He tried to compose himself, mostly failing, "Is that so...?"

"Nosferatu, failing does not make you a failure." Aya continued, "The more you fail, the more likely you are to finally succeed. And you know what? It feels great once you do."

"Nosferatu?" Nos almost smiled, "Where did you get that?"

"I donno. Your name is Nos-4a-2, it just kind of, rolls off the tongue better. Anyway, my point is, it's fine to be discouraged by defeat. It's just a normal part of life."

Curious...

"Thank you." Nos bit another battery, "I'd like to be alone now."

"Okay. I'll be upstairs." and with one last glance, Aya was gone.

Nos finally did let himself smile. He was named after Nosferatu, so it made sense to call him that. His fingers began to clack away again.

Maybe isolating himself wasn't the best idea after all.

Aya came across some old machine manuals, trying to figure out what the thing was even used for. Humans used to use a sucking machine to pick up crumbs on the ground? And it had to be operated manually? Vacuums were weird.

She opened another large book about a foot tall and a piece of paper tumbled out. She bent to pick it up.

As you requested. Keep it safe.

Huh. She flipped through the giant book. It was a record of past events. Interesting. She flipped through the pages absently.

Day 1: Many interesting things. Star Command itself was rather bland, but the people there were incredibly strange. I enjoyed playing with their lives like a cat with a mouse. Begging for mercy.

Then I was defeated.

Day 4: I wish to find victory. I wish to suck the energy from everyone I've encountered, but nothing works. I couldn't find anything worthwhile, knowing I could get a high from victory but being unable to attain it. Buzz Lightyear must die.

Day 7: Nothing's changed. The voices in my head are driving me insane! I can't do it! No one will yield their energy to me! It's been so long since I've bitten anything...

Day 20: I can't even find any batteries. I'll take ion batteries! lithium! Quantum incinerators! I'll even take a child's toy! Anything is preferable to this madness!

Day 40: I'M LOSING MY MIND. I NEED ENERGY, I THIRST FOR IT, I CRAVE IT, I WANT IT MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, SOMEONE! ANYONE! GIVE ME SOMETHING TO EAT!

Day 54: I'M STARVING. SOMEONE HELP ME. I'M GOING TO DIE. I'M GOING TO DIE! HELP ME! HELP! ANYONE, PLEASE!

Day 61: I'MDYINGI'MDYINGI'MGOINGTO-!

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

Aya screamed, dropping the book and the note, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't bite me! Please don't kill me!"

Nos snatched the book from the floor, "Ugh...no, this was my fault. The only thing I didn't want you to have, too..."

"I'm so sorry!"

"Just, never read this again, okay? How far did you get?"

She couldn't help but lie, "Not far, really! Just to page five, I think..."

He felt like she was lying, but he didn't even care at this point, "These are my mad ramblings. Really, I don't care if you get your hands on anything else, but do not read this book. Do you understand?"

"Yes! Loud and clear!" Aya cowered.

"Ugh..." Nos felt another migraine coming on, "Look...just stay out of my hair while I continue my research."

"Okay..." Aya slowly rose again, "I really am sorry..."

"Whatever. Just go downstairs so I can sleep."

Aya hovered as far as the door, then hesitated, "Nos?"

"What is it this time?"

"I'm sorry..." Aya worded this carefully, "Not just for reading that book, but also for what happened, whatever it was."

"Just get out already..."

"I mean it..." and then she was gone.

Nos closed the door to his room, "More batteries...I don't even care anymore, I just need the energy..."

EVE drowned out everything else. She was so focused on getting her sister back, she didn't care about literally anything else. Aya was all that was on her mind.

"How long has she been gone now?" Leah asked, again holding Baby Ted.

"Two weeks..." EVE rested her forehead in her arms, "Aya..."

"I want to talk to her..." Leah replied, "She must be losing her mind with Nos as her captor..."

"No kidding..." EVE lamented, "I just want to see her one more time..."

"You act like she's already dead..." Ruby said.

"I'm so worried about her..." EVE replied, "I'm such a stupid sister..."

"Hush, Eve." Rio replied, "This could've happened to any of us, it just happened to be her."

"If it was anyone's fault, it was mine..." Ruby said, "It was my job to protect her..."

"What's the plan, Eve?" Rose asked.

"We have to find her..." EVE said, "I want to find her...get everyone involved again...I won't be able to sleep until she's safe and sound..."

No one objected.

"I'll get everyone together..." Rio left.

Please... EVE begged, Please be okay...please be okay...