EVE couldn't sleep again. Haunted by thoughts of NOS-4A-2 hunched over her sister, his fangs in her neck, sucking every last drop of life from her body. She couldn't stop the visions of her sister being controlled by the vampire, playing with her like a puppet on strings.
"Eve?"
"Oh!" EVE jumped, turning to see Rio, "You startled me!"
"Sorry. I just couldn't sleep again and noticed you were gone."
"Right..." EVE scratched her head absently, "I can't stop thinking about Aya...I'm really worried about her..."
"So am I..." Rio scoffed softly, "I never thought I'd miss her ramblings..."
"She does like to tease you, huh?" EVE shook her head, "I miss her so much...it's so quiet without her..."
"Yeah, too quiet." Rio agreed, "Like an eerie quiet that you can't escape from."
"That's exactly what it's like without Aya..." EVE blinked. Was she crying? "Aya..."
"Hey, Eve..." Rio wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "We'll find her...even if that energy vampire drains all her power, we can charge her back at the Axiom."
"But how long will that take? Will she ever get out? Will he recharge her just to suck her dry again!? I can't think about that, Rio!"
"I know, I know..." Rio huddled close to her sister, "I haven't been bitten yet, remember? He can't take control of me..."
EVE blinked, "Ugh! I can't stand it! NOS-4A-2! PLEASE GIVE MY SISTER BACK TO ME! PLEASE DON'T HURT HER ANYMORE!"
She couldn't stop sobs from wracking her body, leaning on Rio for support, "I can't stand this! I want her back!"
"Eve..." Rio hugged her comfortingly, "We'll find her if I have to throw that Nos guy into the ocean. I'll cut his fangs off so he won't be able to bite anything anymore. He'll go crazy! Just you wait!"
EVE laughed through her sobbing, "Really? You'd do that?"
"I want to keep my family safe." she replied, "I don't want another tragedy like Autopilot's to ever happen again."
"Me neither..." EVE looked up at the stars, glad that the dusty clouds were beginning to clear up and they could see all the stars with perfect clarity.
"Come on..." Rio pulled her sister back towards the Axiom, "Let's go to sleep. We'll find Aya as soon as possible."
"Of course..." EVE drifted off before they got back, but Rio put her to bed without complaint.
I'm sorry, Aya... she thought before she finally drifted off into restless sleep, I'm sorry for getting so mad at you for everything...
Please come home...
Aya lay on the floor of NOS-4A-2's bedroom, listening to his gentle breathing from on the bed. He hadn't been sleeping, or eating, or doing anything. He was just awake and aware. Only Heaven knew what he was thinking about. Aya could only guess.
Aya picked up an old magazine and hovered underneath the canopy of purple and red silk, "Nos?"
He didn't respond, blankly staring at the ceiling.
"Nos?" she repeated, turning to a random page in the magazine, "Look..."
He didn't look.
Aya poked his cheek. His complexion was getting paler by the day. It would get out of hand if he didn't feed soon.
"Nos." Aya set the magazine aside and waved her arm in front of him, "Hello?"
He blinked, but he didn't stir.
She went to retrieve something else, grabbing a random pair of gloves, "Can you tell me where you got these?"
No response.
Man, she sucked at this whole cheering people up thing. If only Leah was here.
"Nos!" Aya tossed the gloves aside, "Why are you doing this to me!? Remember!? I need social interaction to stay sane!"
He still didn't react.
"Please!" Aya shook the collar of his shirt, "Say something! Anything!"
He blinked, "I killed all those people..."
"Okay, okay that's a start!" Aya tried to think positive, "Can you say something else for me? Maybe related to whatever you're thinking about?"
Nos took a shaky breath, "...they were just trying to protect themselves...they just wanted to protect their friends and families...and I slaughtered them without a second thought..."
"Noooss..." Aya wined, "This isn't helping!"
"...does this mean that Buzz Lightyear had feelings too...? Did XR have a family...?"
"Huh? Who are they? Uh, n-nevermind that, can you sit up?"
He didn't move, "...no..."
"Nos." Aya stuck her arms underneath him and pushed him up, "Come on! You have to do something! You haven't moved in a week!"
He didn't stop her or object. He managed to hold himself up.
"Can I get you anything? Perhaps a battery? Do you want to read a book?"
"...n-no..." he mumbled, "...just leave me alone..."
"Nosferatu!" Aya rubbed her eyes, "I can't do that! You'll just wither away if I leave you in here!"
"...what does it matter...I deserve it anyway after all the atrocities I've committed..."
"No! You didn't know! It was built into your program for crying out loud! It wasn't your fault! You were only doing what you were made for!"
"...leave me alone..." Nos' voice shook, "...go away..."
"No! I refuse!" Aya wracked her brain for anything she could do for him, "Uh...I'll bring you a battery! Yeah, that's what I'll do!" she left the room and returned with her arms full of the energy capsules, "Here, just eat one okay? I can promise you that batteries are definitely not sentient!"
He wanted to refuse, but he was so hungry. His fangs drilled into the metal casing, draining the battery of it's power.
"There you go..." Aya grabbed another battery, "You must be starving..."
He drained that one too, and another, and another...
He ran his tongue over his four teeth, "Aya?"
"Hm? Do you need another one?"
"N-no...I was just going to ask..." he made eye-contact with her for the first time in seven days, "Why are you being so nice to me? After all I've done to you...all the screaming and berating and biting your family members...why do you show me mercy?"
Aya smiled, lifting another battery to his lips, "If you drain a couple more, maybe I'll tell you! Teehee!"
He smiled along with her as he downed a few more. They were disgusting, and he would much rather drain the energy of a real machine - preferably a robot - but somehow, he took comfort knowing he could keep living without hurting anyone.
Once he'd eaten 10 batteries - and there was a noticeable improvement in his skin tone - Aya let herself rest on the bed beside him, "I'm showing you mercy because I understand. Remember? I have a sister who sided with evil, believing it was her choice, but then she heard the story of a good friend of ours and realized that she did have a choice, and she chose to be our sister." she explained, "I know it's not your fault. Just like Ruby though, now that you know the truth, you can break away and learn how to forgive yourself. Do you want to stop hurting people?"
"Why yes!" he exclaimed, "More than anything!"
"Then I can help you with that." Aya giggled good-naturedly, "I can help you get used to eating batteries, or machines with no sentience. You're not allowed to use mind control, and you're not allowed to bite sentries or my family anymore. Okay?"
He was apprehensive about all of that, but he nodded, "Alright."
"Good." Aya placed a hand on his shoulder, "Listen. I know there's good in your heart. You proved that to me when you broke down, realizing the pain you've caused everyone. If you were truly evil, you wouldn't care."
Nos smiled, "I can be...good? Heh. I would've laughed at you if you had said that before."
"Yeah, well..." Aya became serious, "But hey, if you really want to change for the better, you should learn to forgive yourself. Okay?"
Nos was doubtful, "You really think I can?"
"Absolutely!" Aya's eyes seemed to sparkle, "And I can help you every step of the way!"
"You're so kind..." Nos lay his hand on Aya's, still on his shoulder, "Maybe I could do that...?"
"Sure! Why not?" Aya spun into the air, "Okay! You still hungry? I can get you more batteries! We have rechargable ones on the Axiom that are super energy-efficient!"
He listened to her ramble with smiling eyes. How had he ever found this annoying?