you're part of a machine [OPEN/CLOSED]

[circumitus]

Who: Rey/Safronov and Nick Valentine (feat Alphys) + a couple open prompts.
What: Finding out that she has limited time left before her brain melts due to the infection that led to her death, Rey Safronov suffers a few blackout episodes before she is able to bring her successor back.
Where: Abandoned shop, Science lab, Robot House (1401).
When: March catch-all (feel free to specify dates in the subject line when tagging an open prompt if it's important).
Warnings: Suicidal ideations and other heavy subjects.

---

7th-19th; Abandoned Shop [OPEN]
(are you insane like me, been in pain like me?)

The headaches only got worse as the days went by. Sometimes, she would hear the most unbearable ringing in her ears, like a grenade had just gone off right next to her head. More frequent came the nosebleeds, and within a week it became blatantly obvious that Safronov was working on borrowed time. She knew this, and there was no pride in being right.

Her memories at the Russian command center were vague at first, but over time she began to recollect her life more. Perhaps it was due to the infection constantly reminding her in the forms of distractions that were getting increasingly more difficult to ignore, but she remembers it all now: She had failed in her objective to destroy the synthetic's hub at the Grigoryevich Underground Center. As a result, its systems had trapped her. Hooked her up to a seat and sent a needle through the port to her brain.

It's not much unlike the needle that her successor had evidently worked from scratch, which had been used to unintentionally bring Safronov back to the forefront. Such a crude design, but one that did the job it was supposed to. All Safronov needed to do was make sure it did its job even better. Her DYI handiwork was all over the shop she had set up base in, so that she could labor on in peace. Peace that was becoming more frequently disrupted through headaches and, now, blackouts.

Sometimes, she would lose track of what she was doing, only to wake up on the floor after trashing the extra tables, chairs, and shelves around her. Quite a racket, for those passing by on the outside and happen to notice a light beaming in the mostly empty establishment.

At some point, it gets even worse. Blackout. Then, another bloody headache. Literal this time. Blood is coming out of her nose as she grips her head, screaming and rolling on the floor. The agony is searing through her skull, electrifying her body and she feels it under her skin.

One bullet should do the trick. In her blinding pain, she crawls across the floor, to the table where she had been working at to find her gun there. Or, Rey's gun. Her successor's gun. It isn't like she hasn't done this before. This is her body, after all. A different owner has taken it now, but she recognizes the subtle flaws and blemishes that were special to her.

Regardless of whose gun this belongs to, it's Safronov's pill now. Just what the doctor ordered.

20th; Science Lab [CLOSED to Alphys sciencelizard + Nick Valentine synthedick]
(do you tear yourself apart to entertain like me?)

Of course, her only 'remedy' had been less than ideal, though unsuccessful. In the end, she can't.

This isn't Safronov's life to take away anymore. Despite the pain that Rey had so badly wanted to erase, it was clear that she didn't want to be removed from the world entirely. Not when there were people who cared for her.

More than anyone ever cared about Safronov. There would never be anyone to mourn over her death, and she was better off that way for it. It gives her less reason to cling to this life, or lament the inevitable.

Still wracked with the hot pulsing pain tearing through her skull, Safronov somehow manages to make it across this strange and hot city, back to the place where she had began. While most seem to arrive here through that Door, she came through different means. Unlike the people here, however, she has an exit strategy.

Her nose is bleeding once again as Safronov opens the door to the science lab, the bag holding her supplies that she will need for this slung over her shoulder.

"Doctor?" Safronov calls into the lab before entering. She can't recall if the reptilian scientist had ever designated herself with such a title, but that is what she is called now. Whether the fact that such a creature could even be called a scientist has never struck her as strange, however. Perhaps a little bit of her successor remains, grounding them both, or it's just that Safronov has bigger concerns. "Are you here--?"

Oh. Oh no. Not again--

Safronov grunts, staggering forward while the door slams behind her. Eyes squeezed shut, she finds a wall to rest on, fighting to remain conscious this time.

---

30th; House 1401 [OPEN to close CR]
(you can't wake up, this is not a dream.)

Nearly a week and a half passes and Rey's body barely stirs in her bed, though it's hard to say if she still even is Rey. If not for the steady breathing, one could easily mistake the prone woman for a corpse.

Though she doesn't show it, every so often she is cognizant of her surroundings. Voices of those standing over her, their presence nearby. She hears, she listens, but she could never reply.

Until the ninth day since Safronov had gone rifling through their head once again. Only her eyes open, and for the first several hours all she can do is stare at the ceiling over her bed. Process her surroundings, feelings... who she is, why she's here, what happened. She remembers her name -- or a name, more like it. And a few other things. The mysteries keep her thoughts more than occupied for the long hours she can't move.

And then she blinks.

Isn't it about time you wake up, sleepyhead? says a quiet whisper in the back of her mind. Where has she heard that before? In a dream?

The questions flutter away as she closes her eyes again, until she hears the sounds of footsteps approaching the opened door to her room.

To what should come as no one's surprise, curled up at the end of the bed is a three-legged cat, whose head lifts at the prospect of company. They will find themselves being stared at by the one, single eye belonging to the creature, before yawning as he stretches his front leg over the covers.

Comments

[synthedick]

There's that one particular word, bringing a smile to Nick's face: love. For as terrifying as it can be to love, and to risk losing it, Nick will argue it's worth reveling in while possible every time. For all the resentment and anger buried within him regarding Jenny's murder -- regarding the friends he's made, Undine, Rey, and what the gods have put them all through -- he knows the pros will always outweigh the cons when it comes to being able to truly feel. Love, empathy, concern for one another and the bonds formed between people -- they're what separate folks like them from the Null. They're what made Rey and Nick who they are, more than just the tools they were created to be. They're what living is all about.

And he might not be much more than a machine, but there are times Nick feels truly alive, like he's more than just some escaped construct of the Institute with a head full of memories that aren't his and a lot of problems with his own identity. He feels it when ire rises in his gut at the thought of injustice; he sees it in the way people come together for a common cause in a place like Hadriel, making the town a better place bit by bit, making it home. Most of all, Nick hears it when Rey says his name, when someone who has been through Hell and back is still willing to admit what they share, despite everything.

That feeling of life, of being alive, is worth it every time. She's worth it. What they have together -- the home they've made -- is worth it. Nick's grasp on Rey's hand is gentle, but encouragingly firm. He won't let her go through this alone. Not now, not ever, and he has no doubt in his mind that she'd do the same for him. It's what family does.

"Someone has to watch your back," he returns, that somber grin still worn into him in spite of the grim scene. "You're always keeping me in one piece, so let me do the same for you this time around."

He keeps his hand around hers as she closes her eyes, letting her rest fully against him, reminding himself that no matter how real this feels, help is on the way, and this is just a memory -- she'll pull through. She's always been stronger than she'll give herself credit for.

[circumitus]

Such a word isn't one that Rey takes lightly, least of all not in a place where emotions can be turned against them, twisted and perversed in ways that can do harm to others. Love is a dangerous thing, and it has caused more than enough pain. That's why Rey is here, in a variety of ways.

Her one good eye tries to adjust, but the light of the area starts to become blinding. Voices turn to static. She's lighthearted, faint, insides churning. She doesn't want to go, but there is comfort in Nick's words that dulls the fear and anguish.

It's okay. It's fine. She can rest a while. He said so. She's done enough.

Where has she heard that said before...?

She opens her mouth to speak, but all that comes is a gasp for breath. Her arm goes limp, fingers uncurling in Nick's metal hand. The white fades to black. Static to silence.

And then, just like that, everything is black, leaving Nick kneeling in a void.

"This should be enough," comes Safronov's voice once more.

[synthedick]

Even with his lap vacated and the memory ending, the world around him having disappeared, Nick remains on the ground for a moment more. It's been weeks since this all started, weeks since he saw Rey, heard her voice. He's been living with her as family for over a year now, and in that span has really come to appreciate those times where they could spend the evenings in the den, just enjoying each other's company. Sometimes, he'd talk while working on reports, tell her tales of cases long-solved and a wasteland he may never see again. Other nights, she'd nap on the couch with Tripod, as if, for a little while, there wasn't a care in the world.

He wonders now, as he looks to his empty hands, if he took those times for granted. He can try all he likes, but if she doesn't come back, he'll eventually forget, won't he? He'll forget those good times, struggle to recall how the tone of Rey's voice, fail to remember her face and the impact she's had on him. All those memories of the Commonwealth, of Hadriel, and of Rey -- gone, erased by outdated hardware.

Just like his brother.

Nick gets to his feet, his eyes still fixed on where Rey was lying, as though it all might fade the moment he pulls them away. That's not how it works, but... it's a heavy weigh in his gut all the same.

"Is she gonna be okay?"

One thing at a time, and for now, her safe return is all he wants.

[circumitus]

One thing at a time, Nick.

He is met with a long and uncertain silence at first. Safronov doesn't answer, and for a moment it's a wonder if she will...

"That will depend on you," she soon says, a reminder that her presence still lingers in the darkness of this abstract place, despite remaining unseen. "I can rearrange memories. Rewrite them. But I cannot erase what has already been done."

In that regard, her is much different from Nick's. A fact that Safronov does not attempt to deny.

"There may need to be time to heal. Can almost guarantee that. It is your task to cause little strain on what I code. You do well to remember."

So long as that doesn't apply to her successor, Rey.

[synthedick]

Nick nods; though Safronov isn't within his view, he assumes she can see just the same.

"I'll do what I can."

He says that, but what he means is that he'll do whatever it takes to keep Rey safe. At least that's one good thing about Maketh being gone: she won't be able to refute any of these rearranged memories. He'll need to contact Henry, make sure he knows. Try to figure out if anyone else knew Rey and Maketh weren't just close. The only other person who would know what happened in the last moments they were together would be whomever Maketh called to help. Nick wants to say it was someone from the Clinic, maybe one of the healers. He can't really be certain.

With a sigh, he makes a mental note to see if they kept records of that day; however, he's betting since it was during the invasion, any records they'd have had would have been lost, if there were ever any at all. Maybe they'll never have to cross that bridge. Things don't work out often like that in Hadriel, but here's hoping.

"Hey."

One more thing he should say before they disconnect.

"Thanks for this. For everything you're doing for her."