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Chapter 24: Mission: Save Alexander! Epilogue
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"How do you feel, Alexander? Hot? Cold? Sweaty? Do you need anything?" A2 asked, fussing over her son as he lay on his bed back in their hidden home. After spending a whole day inside a medical lab being 'examined,' he'd finally been released to the care of his family.
White had protested this, loudly, but Jaqueline had managed to convince her that it was better for Alex to be with those who'd treat him not just well, but as family, making it less likely that he'd grow up with a god-complex, or worse.
Reluctantly, the Commander had agreed, but only if the mad scientist provided weekly updates on his health and general mental state. A2 snorted, but submitted to the compromise.
So, after sneaking Alexander and themselves out of the Bunker using some old, abandoned passages and the Commander's security override code, the ramshackle family finally made it back to their own home, tucking the last human into bed so he could recover.
"No, mom, I feel fine," he said in a whisper, though a tiny exasperated smile danced across his face at his mother's attention.
"How long to I have to stay in bed, Aunt Jaqueline? I thought I was all healed?" he asked the mad scientist who stood by the door.
"You should rest for another day or two before trying to get up and doing anything more strenuous than walking. Your body is healed, and the tuberculosis removed from your lungs, but the damage it did to you needs a bit more time to recover from," she informed the last human.
Alex nodded slowly, disappointed but understanding. "What about guests? Can people still come visit me?"
"Of course! In fact, there's one person who's been dying to see you ever since she got you safely back home," Jaqueline said with a smirk. She then glanced over at A2. "Come on, let's give the two some privacy."
The battle-hungry gynoid bit her lip but nodded after a moment and followed the Resistance android out of Alex's room. Shortly after their departure a Machine burst in, static sobs escaping her as she rushed over to her friend's side.
"I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried!" Blue bawled, barely able to resist crushing Alexander with a powerful hug. She settled for kneel beside his bed and lying her round head against his lap.
"There, there, Blue. I'm okay, now. All healed up, and better than ever!" Alex said cheerfully, flexing his left arm while stroking Blue's head with his right.
"I-I thought I was going to lose you," she whispered sadly, hiccupping static as her emotions poured out.
"I'm not going anywhere for a long time, Blue, I promise," he said softly, patting her gently. He then straightened up her blue bow which was slightly crooked, the only obvious physical sign of her distress these past few days.
"How is Pascal and the village doing? Is everyone alright while I've been, uh, indisposed?" Alex inquired.
"Pascal is well. She was very worried about you when she learned about your illness. A lot of the others were concerned as well. They made you something, actually." Blue rummaged around in her internal storage before extracting a bundle of brightly colored sheets of paper. "We all made 'get-well soon' cards! According to 9S, these were a human tradition to send well-wishes and comforting words to the sick."
"Wow, so many?" he gasped, taking them from the Machine girl.
"Yup! Everyone in the village made one for you!" Blue said proudly. "Even Jean-Paul did! Although I don't really understand anything he wrote…"
Alexander took the purple sheet of paper and looked at the philosophical musings scribbled onto it. He tilted his head, trying to observe it from a different angle in an attempt to see if it made sense. It didn't, and he slowly put it down.
"I have a headache trying to make sense of this," Alex admitted, rubbing his forehead. "I also can't tell if he's trying to write a poem or not, either. I mean, half the time it rhymes, but the rest of the time it rabbles nonsensically!"
"That's Jean-Paul for you," Blue giggled, and the human couldn't help but chuckle as well at the thought of the odd philosophy obsessed Machine who came and went from the village at random.
"Yeah, you're right." He looked through the rest of the get-well cards, smiling all the while as he read the kind words the Machines had written for him. When he got to Blue's card, written of course on blue paper, she turned her head aside, embarrassed as he began to read it aloud.
"'I miss you so much, Alex. My core hurts thinking about losing you. What will I do without you? You better recover soon, or else!'" he read out, a smile on his lips. "Aww, you really care for me!"
"Of course I do! You're my friend! I lo- like you, Alex," she stuttered, a flicker of static in her tone. Alex didn't notice the hiccup in her words, intent as he was on rereading her handwriting.
"I missed you, too, Blue. At least, I did the few times I was conscious," he said with a self-deprecating chuckle.
She just looked down, unable to look at him. Inside of her programming, she berated herself for trying to use that silly word.
'I like him! LIKE HIM! I don't have any other 'L' word to describe my feelings for him!' Blue chastised herself. 'I'm just a machine, after all.'
The week without Alexander had been some of the worst days of her life, easily up there with the time she lost her sister and so many other friends from the first village.
She'd been separated from Alex before, and for longer periods, but this was the first time there was a chance she'd never see him again, and her software practically rebelled at the thought. Seeing safe and sound in front of her, though, made her code sing and her magic pulse.
"I hope you're ready to have your butt kicked when it comes time for lessons with Mister Emil to begin again," Blue said, distracting herself from her own thoughts and feelings. "I hope a week of being lazy and sitting on your squishy meat-butt hasn't dulled your skills!"
"I'll show you whose been sitting on whose butt!" Alexander declared with a laugh. The two shared a few more stories about the village, and how things in Relic City were doing.
There was one thing of major note that had happened: the Resistance had apparently managed to fully repair a section of the city back to how it used to be before White Chlorination Syndrome and the aliens. It even had running water and functioning electricity!
"I really want to see that!" Alex said, awe in his voice. The legacy of his ancestors… of his people… restored to how it once had been!
"We're planning on doing something similar to the village soon. Pascal has already began discussing the matter with Anemone," Blue revealed.
"Will you keep the plants, though?"
"Yes, I think we will keep the trees. It gives it 'personality,' I believe the word is," Blue stated. "It's our style, after all!"
"I look forward to it," he said eagerly.
After chatting some Jaqueline came up to let the pair know it was getting dark.
"We don't want Pascal to get mad at us for keeping you out so late at night," the scientist stated.
"Alright. But I'll be back tomorrow!" the Machine Lifeform declare.
"Sure, sure, come over and bother the brat anytime you like," Jaqueline chuckled. As Blue left, she went over to Alex's side and felt his forehead.
"Hmmm, normal temp… good, it seems like everything is nominal," she said with a smile.
"Aunt Jaqueline, um, I have a question," Alex mumbled, looking down at his sheets.
"What is it?"
"What's Project Ascension?"
The Resistance gynoid stiffened. "What? Where did you hear that?"
"I-I don't know, it just… feels like I know it. I-I think I heard when I was sick," Alex said slowly, not looking at her.
She folded her arms, thinking, then she said, "Project Ascension was an old idea androids once had to revive the human race. It involved turning androids into pseudo-humans, so that they could artificially give birth to genetically altered donor fetuses. It didn't work, though, because there wasn't enough fresh human DNA to go around for the project to begin."
"So, I'll really be the last human, then," he muttered despondently. Jaqueline sighed, cursed her emotions, and sat down next to him on the edge of his bed.
"Listen, Alex, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, okay?"
"Uh, sure," he said slowly, looking up at her.
"So, when I was curing you back at the Bunker, Commander White discovered something. Something potentially wonderous. Your DNA was… abundant, and fresh."
"Wait, you mean…" he gasped, and she nodded.
"Yes, Alexander, it's possible YoRHa may be able to make more humans. White demanded I take additional 'samples' from your body so she could test this theory. We won't know for sure until she's done, though," Jaqueline smoothly lied.
"Definitely do not tell A2, though, or she'll get crazy overprotective of you, and then we'll never know if we have a chance to rebuild humanity."
"I won't tell mom! I promise!" Alex vowed, making a zipping motion over her lips. The mad scientist smiled, and she patted his head.
"Good kid. Now, why don't you get some sleep? Or, if you're hungry, I can have 2B whip up something for ya."
"I'm kinda tired," Alex admitted.
"Mmm. Goodnight, then, Alex. Sweet dreams," she said, getting up and exiting his room.
He remained silent and still in his bed long after she left. He was excited, and hopeful.
'Maybe… maybe I won't be alone anymore,' he thought to himself.
/\/\/\/\/\
"Good work everyone," Commander White said after another hard day of managing the Bunker and all the various YoRHa assets. The Operators all nodded respectfully towards her as she departed. Once she left, the O-types on duty made way for the night-shift Operators. The Bunker never truly slept, after all. And their work was global, with agents in places where it was currently morning.
Commander White ignored everyone, as usual, as she got into the elevators and shot up to Floor 13. She stepped out of it, and went to her room to check on some data. She saw beeping lights, and smiled thinly.
'Good,' she thought, and made her way from her small room to a larger one, built for a conference. She stepped inside, neatly avoiding the severed hand that lay in front of the entrance.
Corpses of androids littered the conference hall, their bodies smashed and split apart, expressions of shock and confusion visible on a handful of intact heads. The spilt oil and lubricant was all old and dried, though, mere stains on the floor.
This was the site of the massacre which elevated her to Commander of all of YoRHa. Here were the remains of the so-called 'Council of Humanity' who, prior to her coup, had led the androids in the fight against the aliens. When she discovered the truth she had come here and gone on a rampage. None of the 'old' council were spared.
White kept the conference room exactly as she'd left it for a number of reasons. Anger, mostly. Disgust as well. It also served as a poignant reminder to herself and others that this was the price of betrayal.
Within the chamber of horrors were several decidedly not broken androids. Some were dressed in YoRHa uniforms, others clad in eclectic outfits marking them as Resistance. All of them glared at White as she entered.
"Why did you activate the Overlord Protocol? What was so important you recalled us from our duties?" One of the androids sitting in a chair demanded.
"Initiate Override Command E-Alpha-Omega. Install new objectives. From now on, your missions have a new set of parameters," White declared without preamble. "Ensure the success of Project Ascension. Ensure the safety of the human known as Alexander Spero. Observe and monitor the following androids: A2, 2B, 9S, Resist-Jaqueline/Jackass, Resist-Hatchet, and Mod-Sebastian. Do not take actions against them unless they endanger the human. Report all you discover and observe. These instructions are to take precedent over your current missions."
Utter silence fell upon the androids assembled, then one of them twitched.
"A h-human? There's really a h-human? And it's alive?"
"Yes. From now on, the E-types are all to dedicate time and effort to completing their new tasks. Continue to perform your prior objectives, but these orders take priority," White confirmed.
"How?" another disguised E-type demanded.
"Allow me to explain…" White then revealed to her special agents the truth of the matter, and they all gasped and clenched their fists with fire in their eyes.
"We will not fail," they vowed as one, and White nodded, pleased.
"Good. We won't allow humanity to slip into extinction once again," the Commander said. "Furthermore, begin inspecting and investigating androids who could be used to test Project Ascension. We'll need experimental subjects to make sure the procedure is safe for the rest of us."
"Understood," the E-types intoned.
"Now, disperse! Return to your duties. For the glory of mankind!"
"For the glory of mankind!"